Wednesday, August 25, 2010

What I'm Working On - August 25th, 2010

The cross stitch is coming along nicely. I am alternating between white (hate doing white) and backstitching. I have 3 more sheep to finish white on and then all I will have left is backstiching and french knots (lots of french knots....and I'm not a fan of doing those)!

My bargain shopping for the week....$4! At first I thought it was $3.60 again, but I had miscalculated. There was going to be some more free stuff, but Walgreens made me mad, so this is it! Not too shabby. I LOVE the Sense & Spray....except that Daysie has to run in the kitchen (where I have it set up) every time it sprays to inspect it. :)

Joseph has started cutting his first tooth. This makes me so sad. For one thing, I hate to see him be in pain and for another, it means he's growing up and the days of me seeing his beautiful toothless smile are numbered! *Sigh*

Thursday, August 19, 2010

2 Weeks Down!

So, I've been doing this 8 week Weight Loss Challenge at a gym in Frankfort. It's a boot camp style workout with weekly weigh ins and nutritional advice. I haven't been on a real "diet" since I am still nursing, but I have changed the way I eat. I don't eat sweets much at all and all my carbs sources have changed to whole grains and red potatoes/sweet potatoes. I also eat every 2 to 3 hours. I just got home from my workout and my 2 week weigh-in was today. My trainer did all my measurements as well as weight (I get weighed every week, but only get measured every 2). I was thrilled with the results. This is all roughly coming from memory but here's how I measured up (or down) for the first 2 weeks:
Weight: -3 lbs
Waist: -2 in
Hips: -2 in
Bicep: - 1/4 in
Thigh: -1/2 in
I can't remember how much my % Body Fat had come down, but it has come down, so that's good!

It's always nice to see results and know that all the hard work you've put in is paying off. Also, it was good to know that my vacation this past weekend didn't set me back any. :) I'll try to keep ya'll posted on my progress!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

What I'm Working On - August 18th, 2010

I got a little more done this week. We went out of town to my Aunt's and had a big time! I didn't spend much time at all on the cross stitch project, but it's getting there.

Here is my bargain shopping for the week:
In my excitement to include the bargains I got at Kroger last night, I forgot to put the Dawn dish liquid in the picture. Just imagine it's there. I got all this for $3.60. I'm telling ya...I'm just going to change this segment to "What can Julie buy for $3.60?"

Like I said, we went to my Aunt's this weekend. She has a pool and I just couldn't wait to get Joseph in it! So that was his "first" for the week.
Ready to take a dip...


"I could get used to this!"

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Roasted Tomatoes

These are my new obsession. This is coming from someone who CAN'T STAND a fresh tomato. Something magical and wonderful happens in the oven. Now, these were my second batch and I got them a bit too done. You will expect some blackness around the edges, but not this much. They were still tasty though. Here's how it's done:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Slice tomatoes in half (small tomatoes and Roma tomatoes like the ones pictured), quarters (for regular garden tomatoes and bigger tomatoes) or leave whole for cherry tomatoes

Place tomatoes skin side down on a baking sheet (I lined mine with foil for easy clean up).

Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chopped garlic (be generous with the garlic). Drizzle with olive oil once more for good measure.

Put 'em in the oven and leave them alone for an hour (cherry tomatoes and tiny tomatoes) or 2 hours (for Romas and larger tomatoes). I've read where they can be left for up to 2 1/2 hours. Mine got too done when I did this. I liked them better when I took them out at 2 hours.

What do you do with them? Well, you could just eat them as is. I like to chop them and stir them into pasta with a bit of olive oil and basil. OR you can make a sauce with them. Here's an easy one I did:

2 roasted tomatoes (these would be bigger ones that I had quartered, so 8 roasted quarters)
1 small can tomato sauce
a few dashes of italian seasoning
a dash of basil
(season to taste)
I put this in my tiny food chopper/food processor or you could use a blender.
Heat and mix with pasta. Mine made enough for about 3-4 servings of pasta.

Enjoy!!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

What I'm Working On - August 11th. 2010

I'm a little late today getting this posted, but it's better late than never, right? Here is the cross stitch this week:Slowly but surely, it's getting there. I'll finish it one day, I promise!

Here is my bargain shopping haul this week:
Total after coupons, rewards, etc: $3.60! Insanity!!! Yes, that is a laxative you see in the pic. I will have you know that I made $3 just by buying that laxative! :)

Joseph has been flipping from his back to his stomach for a while now, but until this week, he hadn't flipped from his stomach to his back. He has only done it once though. Here's a cute pic of him on the couch. I had propped him up, but he had slid down and his head went between the cushions. It's like he's saying "A little help, please!"


For those of you who have read my last post about fitting riding into my schedule:
This is how a spent some time this evening....it was nice! Just a girl, her horse, and a couple of crazy dogs (only one of which is mine)! Life is good. Joseph wasn't even crying when I got home..another plus! I think we are all getting more in the groove.

Monday, August 9, 2010

The Trials of a New Mom: Fitting it all in...

Here are a few true statements about me:
1) I have many hobbies and interests.
2) I like to do things well or not at all.
3) I absolutely hate to sit still.
4) I rarely do only one thing at a time.

However, that little munchkin up there has thrown quite the little monkey wrench into the way that I like to do things....a cute little lovable monkey wrench, but a monkey wrench all the same. Therefore:
I still have many hobbies and interests, but only a few at a time. For instance, I had to pretty much give up running for the time being. I still think about it. I see people running and a part of me longs to do so. It's just not in my cards right now. Sure, I could work it out if I REALLY wanted to, but running just isn't high enough in my priorities at the moment. It's too stinkin' hot for one thing. Sure I could wait for the munchkin to go to bed, but Michael has been out of town for so many weeks that I've lost count and I'm not going to have someone come out just to sit every few nights in case the munchkin wakes up. And lately, it seems like I never get him to bed before dark anyway. I fully intend to pick it back up this fall when Joseph is old enough for a jogging stroller and it's cool enough to actually take him running. My baby is a wuss when it comes to the heat!

I think I may have worked out a way to get back to riding like I need to. I was inspired by Clea over at her Pancake is Cute blog. She has a baby who is only a little older than Joseph and still runs like a maniac. She's a hardcore runner though....way more than I ever was. She gets up EARLY in the morning to do her runs before work and before it gets too hot, I would assume. I'm not going to apply this to my running, but it got me to thinking....if she can work a full time job, have a baby, AND do her hobby to the best of her ability...then I can certainly work out a way to get back in the saddle consistently. I'm not going to be getting up at 3 AM...I could, but I'm not going to (and I doubt Spice would appreciate me waking her up either). I can't imagine if Joseph woke up and it was only Michael here and with Michael NOT being a morning person and having to go to work the next day...not a good combo. However, I COULD go to the barn after Joseph goes to bed. Michael stays up later anyway and he's much better at handling things at night. So, last night I gave it a shot. Unfortunately Joseph decided he was going to go to sleep later than usual (he was consistently going to be at 8:30 but last night it was 9:30 and he wasn't totally asleep but Michael told me to go on and he would take care of him), but I left for the barn at 9:40. Got out there at 10, but my horse was turned out. Thank goodness she was easy to catch though...she must have known I had had a rough time getting the little one to sleep...or maybe she missed me...or maybe she just couldn't tell it was me in the dark. I'll go with she missed me. :) We were saddled up by 10:15, rode until 10:45, and back home by 11:20. Shower and bed by Midnight. Up at 6. I have to say it went pretty well. Joseph stayed asleep the whole time. Michael is out of town again this week, but hopefully I will get someone to watch Joseph one afternoon this week so I can go out and ride. Once Michael ever gets home, I hope to be able to go out and ride a few nights a week. I'm pretty happy with this plan. Remember how I like to do things well or not at all? I had actually toyed with the idea of taking my horse back to my parents since I was only getting to see her a few times a month. It seemed like such a waste! But Michael, being the wise man that he is, knew I would only regret it and that soon Joseph will be able to ride with me and it won't be so hard to fit riding time in. Wise, wise Michael!

So, what I've learned is that I have to MAKE time for the things I enjoy when I can and yet still be able to settle down and enjoy my life as the mom of a fabulous little boy. I still want to be able to do it all, but I'm learning to take it a day at a time. :)

I promise I will be getting back to posting some recipes. I am actively trying to get my baby weight off (before I was passively trying...and I think I had gone as far as possible) and am trying to eat healthy. I've joined an 8 week weight loss challenge at a gym in Frankfort. I'm only a few days in, but I will try to give ya'll updates on how it goes.

Anyway, this has gotten long enough. I'm about ready to join the munchkin in dream land myself.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

What I'm Working On - August 4th, 2010

Can you believe it is August already?! Wow! Where does the time go? My week has been a touch hectic so far. We went to my parents' house for the weekend and now Michael is out of town. On top of that, I keep finding projects to work on around the house and no, Free Kitty Litter Fiasco 2010 is not resolved completely yet.

Anyway, here is the cross stitch this week:

As you can see, I didn't get a whole lot done on it. It turns out I'm missing a few colors so I have to find some time to run to the craft store to get them or figure out a replacement color.

I am still reading "The Innocent Man." Still doesn't really read like John Grisham, but I like it. It's interesting since it's a true story and also kinda scary at the same time that our justice system could make such crazy mistakes. I mean, this one little town put not one, but 3 innocent men away for murder....I don't think 2 were ever released. Anyway, I'm about halfway through it now. I've only been reading it while I've been rocking Joseph.

Here's my bargain shopping for the week:
All total: $18. It's kinda like buying the diapers and getting the rest for free. I splurged a little this week too by buying the Jean diapers. I have been wanting them forever. They are too big for Joseph now, but since they are limited edition, I didn't want to wait for him to be in that size to buy them. I also had some CVS reward bucks that were about to expire....so I used them to buy those diapers. I don't count reward bucks in the cost reductions though, since I counted them when I bought whatever item I got the reward for.

Joseph went to his first wedding this week:
One of my best friends, Joanie, got married back in Tennessee. It was soooooo hot and the munchkin actually spent most of the actual wedding in the car with Michael. He was sooo tired at the reception. Between him going to bed earlier these days and being on Central time down there instead of Eastern, we couldn't stay long, but I snapped this pic of the beautiful bride and my little man before we left.

Joseph also met one of his future classmates this weekend. My other best friend, Ellen, had her baby this past week...a girl named Gabi. We went to visit them before we headed back to Frankfort. Should all go well and we get to move back to Tennessee, those 2 little ones will be in school together! How cute!