Calliope's Photo Friday - Shoes

I love shoes! As a (slowly reducing) fat girl, shoes are my go to purchase. Shoes do not care if your thighs a thin enough for skinny jeans or if you arms are tones enough for sleeveless tops. Shoes love you no matter what!

These are my favorite dress shoes. I don't wear them often, as I only go out occasionally. They are not a special brand, but they were made by a boutique near my office.

Go check out everyone else at Calliope's Photo Friday! (So I'm late!)

Calliope's Photo Friday - Night

Once again, I'm participating in Calliope's Photo Friday. Go check out everyone else's submissions.

Obviously, I took this first picture a few months ago, but I love Christmas! This was also the first time I was able to really get the lights to pop. I also love the reflection of the lights on the wet street.

The second picture I took in Las vegas last fall. Again, a good camera really makes a difference. I would have never got this picture a couple of years ago.

Calliope's Photo Friday--Freezer Edition

This week the fab-o Calliope selected refrigerator/freezer as the Photo Friday Theme. My fridge is meh, typical black bottom freezer with lots of healthy stuff and a few unhealthy ones too. However, my freezer tells the most about me.

I have not one, but two stand alone freezers. I keep them stocked and organized. When I was a young single mom, I barely had enough money to eat from week to week let alone have anything extra. I fed myself and my oldest daughter on WIC coupons and about $5 a week. My parents were great and let me eat as many meals as I wanted with them, but I felt the need to be independent and take care of us. To me, a full freezer means security. It means I am taking care of my family. (Oh, I am also flying my freak flag a bit. Organized much?)

Miss Pretty's First Joke

Me to Miss Pretty: You're goofy!

Miss Pretty: No, I Mickey! (Starts doing the hot dog dance...)

Calliope's Photo Friday

I decided to start participating in Calliope's Photo Friday. I have been reading Calliope's blog for years; she is bright, funny and funky. I don't know her, but I have been a cohort in her search for a labyrinth rug.

I love this mailbox. It is near my house and the owner's dress her up seasonally. I hope it makes you smile!

Thrifty Finds

Mr. Henry and I went thrifting last weekend. It was her first experience really scouring thrift stores for unusual items and good deals. My best deal of the day was a light fixture I found at the Habitat for Humanity for $5. It was dusty and an ugly shade of antique brass, but with a good scrub and coat of spray paint it looks fantastic! I purchased all of the items in the slide show for $30. It was a great day!

Create your own picture slideshow

Long, Busy Weekend

I had a nice, relaxing 4 day weekend. I actually requested, and had approved, 2 consecutive days off work. I know that may not seem like much to some people, but I rarely get approved to have more than 1 day off at a time. I am essentially a department of one, and when I am gone--nothing gets done. It was refreshing, but busy!

I took Mr. Henry shopping and to see a movie on Friday. We picked up some good sale item from American Eagle and Aeropostale--she was very happy! We also saw "Percy Jackson and the Olympians". It was a great movie! I really want to start reading these books.

On Friday, Miss Pretty got sick. We had plans to go to a family-friendly dinner party at a friend's house that night. My husband (who gets major points for this one) stayed home with her, so Mr. Oswald and I could go. Mr. Oswald got to play with her new bestie and I got some much needed adult conversation!

By Saturday night, both little girls were sick and we were up all night with one or the other! Rob had clean the kid duty and I had strip and wash the bed duty. It was not a fun night!

Sunday was Valentine's Day, but it was also a Tae Kwon Do test for Mr. Henry and I. The test went well. I was really hard with a lot of verbal. It may seem strange to hear that a TKD test has a verbal component, but it does. As a student, you need to learn a lot of Korean terms and the meaning behind what you are doing. As always, we had to complete a board break to advance to the next level. Mr. Henry and I both broke on our first try! We are both now Green Stripe students, 7th Gup.

Valentine's was also special because my husband got me a replacement wedding ring! I was so surprised. More about that another day.

Monday was my last day off, but my husband was working from home. I took the kids out for most of the morning. We ran a bunch of errands and then went for "fresh, peach smoothies"! I had to put that in quotes because Mr. Oswald has been requesting "fresh, peach smoothies" everyday. She loves to watch iCarly with her older sister, and that is something the show characters talk about a lot! She was quite happy with her "fresh, peach smoothie".

On the diet front, I am now down 13.7 pounds! I also went to be measured yesterday, and I am down 11 inches--most from around my waist and hips! I no longer have a muffin top!!!!!

Utter Miscellaneous

I had a stomach bug last weekend and, to be nice, my husband did the grocery shopping. He took a list, but because he wanted one thing from a specific store he bought all the groceries at that store. Grocery total? $150!!!!!! OMG! I can usually get the exact same list for around $70 without trying! The concept of shopping at more than one store never crossed his mind. Note to self: Don't send husband grocery shopping unless you have a large cushion in the checking account!
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The diet is going well. I am stuck at 9 pounds down for the past two days, but I think my stomach bug over the weekend did a number on my system. Hopefully my losses will increase as the week goes on. Still, I am quit pleased with 9 pounds in 12 days.
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I should be reading my new book club book, but I cannot put down one of my Christmas gifts. It's "Under the Dome" by Stephen King. I think it is fantastic. Definitely more of a psychological thriller, than a gore thriller. It reminds me of "Lord of the Flies", but with adults in a modern American town.
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Puppy potty training....UGHH! That's all I'll say about that!

Slightly Off Plan = Slight Gain

I slightly went off plan yesterday and it showed this morning.

I had to take the kids and myself to the dentist yesterday, so I missed my afternoon snack and much of my water. Then, for dinner I had a zucchini stirfry using soy sauce. I think the lack of water combined with the small amount of soy sauce added up to a water weight gain of .1 today.

I'm back on track today. It is only 9:30 am and I have had 3 cups of coffee and 2 cups of water--go me!

We'll see what tomorrow brings.

January Photo Review

I'm going to try and do one of these each month.

Make a Smilebox collage

A New Plan

I have fallen off the Meal Planning wagon, but for good reason! I have started a new diet. It is a HCG protocol. I am working through a local distributor/counselor at Pounds and Inches Away.

I am taking homeopathic HCG hormone (the pregnancy hormone) and following a very low calorie diet. 500 calories to be exact! Now, I know that some people will say, "Of course you'll lose weight with only 500 calories a day!" But, I have to say that as of Day 3 I am not hungry and haven't been since the first day. I doubt that would happen without the hormone. Also, I have felt no loss of energy and completed a very tough Tae Kwon Do class last night.

On this diet, you can only follow the VLCD for 40 days. I figure I can do anything for 6 weeks. Especially something that promises an average of 20 - 30 pounds lost! I weight myself every day, and as you can see from the box on the right, it is going well so far!

I am excited that my husband is joining me on this journey---he starts Monday!

Week 3 - Eat from the Pantry

Last week went pretty well, everyone really liked the new recipes, especially Mama's Amazing Ziti. It was like a flavorful Hamburger Helper. I hate HH, but this was really good.

This week's menu is a mix of new recipes and old favorites, but still digging out the freezer and pantry. Grocery shopping was a total of $32.15--all produce, eggs and dairy. Over my draconian budget goal, but still pretty good.

Mon, Jan 18: Crockpot Gyros (I am looking forward to this one! I heart Gyros!)
Tues, Jan 19: Eggs, Bacon and OJ
Wed, Jan 20: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce; Cucumber Salad
Thurs, Jan 21: Leftover Buffet
Fri, Jan 22: Spicy Venison Stir Fry w/ Rice
Sat, Jan 23: Roast Chicken, Balsamic Roasted Asparagus, Baked Potatoes
Sun, Jan 24: Grilled Salmon, Grilled Artichokes, Garlic Focacia Bread

One more week and I think we can make it!

Week 2 - Eat from the Pantry

Week 2 in the Eat from the Pantry challenge was also pretty easy to plan, but I think this will be my last "easy" week. I was not successful in my plan to only spend $25 at the grocery this week, but I had a lot of dairy and produce to buy. There also may have been a bottle of wine find it's way into my cart---hey, it had been a very long week! Between Aldi's and Shop 'N Save, I spent a total of $40. Still not bad for a family of 5.

Weekly Menu

Sat, Jan 9: Venison Steaks with Shallot-Balsalmic Sauce; Rosemary Infused Cous Cous; Asparagus (bought Asparagus)

Sun, Jan 10: Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Corn, Andes Mint Brownies (bought potatoes)

Mon, Jan 11: Hard shell Tacos (bought lettuce, cheese and avocado)

Tues, Jan 12: Crockpot Indonesian Chicken Curry w/ Rice; Zucchini (bought zucchini)

Wed, Jan 13: Mama's Ziti; Green Salad (bought carrots)

Thurs, Jan 14: Leftover Buffet

Fri, Jan 15: Brats, Coleslaw, Fried Corn (bought coleslaw)

Sat, Jan 16: Monthly Family Night Out

We have a family tradition of Sunday dinner with dessert, and this week I am particularly proud of my pantry creation. I have taken a box mix of brownies and layered in some chopped Andes mints. I had both of these items in my pantry and the finished product smells fantastic!

Menu Monday--Eat from the Pantry Week 1

For the first week of the Eat from the Pantry challenge, I didn't have to think very hard. There was an abundance to choose from and recipes just seemed to flow. I wonder how long that will last?

My menu for this week actually started last Friday with the New Year.

Friday: Brats; Homemade Fries; Green Salad (purchased buns)
Saturday: Steaks; Corn on the Cob
Sunday: Olive-Stuffed Pork Loin, Chicken flavored Rice, Zucchini
Monday: Sausage with Sauerkraut; Applesauce (purchased applesauce)
Tuesday: Tortellini Soup; Garlic Bread
Wednesday: Venison Meatballs w/ Egg Noodles; Green Beans
Thursday: Smoked Ham and Eggs; Bananas; Orange Juice
Friday: Scallop Pad Thai (purchased bean sprouts, cilantro and limes)

Very few item purchased for our menu, but needed several dairy items, fresh fruit for lunches and there was a really good sale on apple juice (with two toddlers we go through a lot). Grand total at the grocery store this week---$27.17

Eat from the Pantry

For the past 6 months or so, I have been cutting coupons, trying to buy things on sale, and stock up when the proces are rediculously low. As a result, my family of five's weekly grocery budget is about $60. I think that's pretty good. Now, I'm going to take it lower.

There has been a challenge issued by Money Saving Mom to try to eat from the pantry for the month of January. I went to look at my pantry (both of them) and my freezer to see if we could do it, and, to my chagrin, I think we could go longer than a month. So, my personal challenge for the month of January is to spend no more than $25 a week and significantly decrease my pantry stores.

Gone?

I have not posted in a very long time. I think about it, but then life gets in the way. I want to try and post more in 2010. I guess that is my resolution. Let's see how I do...