A Healthy Habit

I know, I know, it has been forever since I have posted anything health related, but I haven't given up on that area of my life! It has just sort of been a little crazy around here to focus solely on health and fitness.

We make it a priority to eat healthy, balanced meals in our house, yet the whole fitness area has lacked immensely. Ever since my husband started his new job, our schedule has turned upside down. It has been great having him come home each evening to stay. Yet, every night he comes home, he heads straight to the gym and I am left to prepare dinner. No complaints with getting dinner on the table, but there is no space for me to get to the gym with him! I am going to have to get my own gym membership so I can go during the day... but it has helped to have healthy meals and snacks to keep my weight in check.

I'm happy to say that I have not gained all my weight back and have stayed in the same basic area for over two months. I believe that has all happened because of how we eat. And if I can get exercise on top of it all (which I am going to do!), the two will work together and I will be one healthy chickie. :)

To get into eating more fruits (which is what I am always needing), I have found this to be quite helpful in attaining that goal:
Buy fresh fruits at the beginning of the week, chop them all up, and make a yummy fruit salad! You can keep it in the fridge all week and scoop a little out each day for a healthy breakfast or snack (or stash in plastic containers to take to work). This has helped me to eat more fruit and it is soo delicious and refreshing! I love chilled fruit. Mmm. You can put whatever you wish in yours, but I stick with pineapple, strawberries, apples and bananas. The banana is kept out of the salad... just slice it on top when you are ready to eat. It really completes the salad. Fruits kind of give your body that jump start it needs for the day. In Weight Watchers, I have heard that fruit counts as zero points, so eat all the fruit you want! I would like to say eat 100% organic fruit, but I know that isn't always possible.

I am giving myself an attainable goal. I'll be in a wedding in July and want to look my best. So I figure if I lose 5 1/2 pounds a month, I will reach my goal of weight loss for the entire year! That is such an easy goal (hopefully) and I am really excited after looking at the overall picture. Seems like a lot when I say 30 pounds... but when I space it out and have a goal, it is much easier to get excited about.

Hope this is encouraging to those out there who are in the same boat. It all takes work, but it's worth it... as always. ;)

Homemade - The Way to Go!

Last week was hectic with many things going on! My sister-in-law came to visit for her school break, my sister had her wisdom teeth taken out (we took care of her most of the week), we went to Magic Wings butterfly conservatory, went to a fun ladies' meeting at church, went to a Sharks game and had my in-laws over for just a night. Those were the highlights of the week, though there was much more done! It went by quickly, but this week is a little more relaxed, thankfully. I hardly had any time to do anything at home last week, so this week I felt the need to get back into the swing of things. Started with creating the menu and then grocery shopping. I always feel that if the menu and grocery shopping is done, then it makes the rest of my week feel more under control! Strange, maybe, but that's just me. :)

I tried something new already, and am so excited when a new experiment actually works. I've had a little extra time to browse Pinterest, and came across a pin on how to make your own peanut butter. And who knew how simple it really is?! All you need is a food processor and peanuts... and about 5 minutes. Hah, now that is what I call easy. Here is a link to the site with instructions. I used the same exact peanuts from Trader Joes that are in the tutorial. The outcome was amazing, and really, I don't think I will ever buy a jar of peanut butter again. Sooo good.

It got me thinking after making the peanut butter how absolutely easy some homemade things can be. And how much more amazing things are when you make them yourself! Although I am sure I will never come even close to making everything homemade, I certainly am going to try to do as much as I can the old-fashioned way. People look at me and say, "You are so creative - I could never do that!" Yet, it's not complicated at all!

Heart Shaped Strawberries

Someone else has obviously come up with this idea I'm sure, but it just came to mind the other day for me! I am planning to make a strawberry snack for the kids at our church during club this week and wanted to be creative since it is close to Valentine's Day. Then the thought of making heart shaped strawberries hit me. So here's a cute idea for dressing up an ordinary snack for kids, or your sweetie! I plan to top them with whipped cream.
All you do is cut a V in the top of the strawberry, turn halfway, then slice.

My pictures may be poor quality since I am blogging from my phone... I'm kinda stuck inside for the day with this blizzard! I am rather excited to get snowed in, though, so it's all good. ;)

I also have a new recipe I experimented with today. I'll post about it later… It smells so good right now! ;)

I'm getting some baking done early in case we lose power. The kitchen is the best place to be right now since our heat isn't working! :-/

Stay safe out there!

The Big LOVE Day!

 It's February! Can you believe how fast the first month of the year went by? I can't. I feel like January was the month for taking a break from projects and such since my whole entire month of December was full of it! Now February is here and I am back in DIY mode again. I'd like to work on at least one project a month this year, whether it is just something small or big.


I like to try to make Valentine's Day special for my man. I usually create an elegant meal for the
evening and a decadent dessert. Of course he receives a lovey Valentine's Day card plastered with hearts and all that. This year I would like to try to do more to make it extra special. That's where Pinterest comes in handy. ;) I've come across a couple things to add to my agenda for the night, and am excited to get started soon. After all, it is next week!

After taking all the Christmas decor down, my home looked so bare. So to add my own personal touch for our romantic dinner and evening together, I've decided to make this paper heart chain. Hey, paper chains aren't only for kids, you know! It is cheap, simple and quick. Why not? :)

I'm not sure about my meal plans yet, but I do have an idea for dessert. Since I will be making something for a banquet we are having at church a few days before, I am going to try to keep our dinner date dessert simple. I found this dessert idea and thought it looked festive for the occasion. I will definitely be tweaking it a bit. After reading the recipe, I think I will add some brownies to the layers and try to find a strawberry flavored pudding, rather than using food coloring.

Lastly, if you have not heard of The Dating Divas, you should totally check out their website and join... for free, of course! It is a wonderful site for keeping your marriage alive with date ideas they send you every week via email. It includes free printables many times, DIYs, at-home dates, etc. I have used a lot of their ideas and am so thankful for a site that is clean, but shares tons of creative ways to have fun with your Hubby! And for those that have children and no time to get away, they have cool ways to involve (or work around) the kids with some of "dates" at home. I will be using a few things from them for the rest of our date together. ;)

For a gift, I ran across something that made me think, perfect. I don't really want to spend much money on a gift since I may be spending a little for the dinner and supplies for the rest of the evening, so I thought this was great. This lady made a free printable to frame. OR you could make and personalize your own. It would take a little time maybe, but how affordable and not to mention meaningful!

It's amazing all the free things you can find online now. I'm grateful for these resources, because I certainly am not as creative with some of these things like a lot of these ladies are. It makes it easier to mix things up rather than sticking with the "same old" usual routines year after year.