Resolution Update #10

I forgot to post a resolution update last month! Things have just been crazy busy and I sort of forgot! So I have to tell you all I'm so excited to be writing this post today! Since I made my New Years resolutions I've lost 27lbs! I'm beyond excited! It's the most weight I've ever lost! I've gone from wearing a size 2X top to being able to buy an XL! Now of course I can't wear all XL tops but for me trying that top on and having it fit! And look cute was so worth it! Now I still have a long ways to go until I'm where I want to be, like 50lbs more to go! But it was 75lbs! I'm a third of the way there! For me this is so awesome! I feel like I can see my goal and that I can achieve it!

The most exciting part is I lost the majority of those 25lbs while the Hubster was deployed, so he was surprised when he came home last week and it's a smaller me!

So I want to encourage all of you out there that are struggling with your own weight loss journey that it can be done! One more step and maybe one less bite at a time! 

What have I been doing to get to this place? It's easy, I've been working out at least 5 days a week! I'm making that a priority! If something happens and I can't get to the gym one day I make it up on the weekends! If I'm making plans with friends I let them know I can't do anything until I'm done with my workout! The not so easy part, and I really believe the biggest part, is what you are eating! I've struggled with this part for a long time. I don't do well with restrictive diets and I like to be able to eat what I want to eat, when I want to eat it. So I do, I just eat WAY less of it. No going back for seconds, use a smaller plate, and add more fruits and veggies at every meal. I still drink the occasional soda, but I try to limit that, I still eat chocolate, cause well I can't live without chocolate! But I just try to watch what I'm doing! And I drink a TON. OF. WATER! I try to get at least 64oz a day and most days I get somewhere between 72 and 96! I really think this helps with eating less and drinking less soda! 

As for my other resolutions, well... Ok so yeah the whole organizing thing isn't going so well! I've done a little in the kitchen, I did get rid of a bunch of utensils that I never ever use that were taking up space and I rearranged all my baking pans, but that's as far as it's gotten! 

Spending quality time with Man-Child, we haven't don't a lot lately, he has become quite the social butterfly and would much rather go hang out with his friends than with his Mom, which is great for him, me well I'm having a bit of a rough time with all this independence he's wanting! So I take our quality time in the amount that it's given, like working out together on a Saturday morning and then going to get a Starbucks after (which I know is totally counter productive) as Moms we have to take what we can get! Now that the Hubster is home though we have some really fun things planned! 

I hope you all have a great day and go one more step than you did yesterday!

Enjoy

Halloween Costumes Revisited

I was planning on making some more Halloween Costumes for my Niece and Nephew this year but they both wanted to be things that were honestly easier and cheaper to buy than make! My niece is going to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and my nephew is some Soldier Skeleton thing? Man-Child wants to be Uncle Si from Duck Dynasty, and that's a simple outfit all we had to do was buy the beard! So no costume creating for me this year! I thought I would just let you revisit the costumes from last year! And I'm hoping next year I will get to create some cool costumes!

Gnomes

The Joker

Spicy Pumpkin Soup

Have you ever tried something that you were just sure you were going to not like and ended up loving it? That was me with Pumpkin Soup. I mean really it doesn't sound that good to me, or at least it didn't the first time I tried it! I was at a church lunch and one of the ladies had made a spicy Pumpkin Soup, which I was sure I wasn't going to like but I tired it and LOVED it! This was about 10 years ago and I can't believe that I am just now getting around to trying to recreate that recipe, why I never asked for her for it is beyond me! I hope you'll give it a try!

Here's what you'll need:

2 cans of Pumpkin Purée

2 cups Chicken Broth

1 Onion, chopped

2 cloves Garlic, minced (I just used the already minced jar kind)

2tsp Chili Powder

1/2tsp ground Cayenne Pepper

1cup Heavy Cream

Here's how you make it:

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium heat. Combine the Onion and Garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent. Add in the Broth, Pumpkin and the spices. With an immersion blenders blend the soup mixture until all the onions are puréed into the soup and it is nice and smooth. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce heat and let simmer for 30-45 min. Just before you are ready to serve stir in the heavy cream. Garnish with a few shelled pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of heavy cream!

Enjoy

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Apple Cider

This is from our first Apple Squeeze!

In our local area we have an Apple Festival every Fall. They call it the Apple Squeeze! It's great they get all these people to bring out their apple presses and then you can buy a gallon jug and press or "squeeze" the apples. We've done 2 out of the 3 years that we've been here and we really enjoy it! The cider is sooooo good too! This year Man-Child wanted us to buy 2 gallons! So we did! I'm a pushover I know! But how so you resist fresh pressed apple cider? And what a better way to us some of that cider than to make Hot Apple Cider. I decided to use pumpkin pie spice to season it, just to get the flavor I was looking for.

Here's what you'll need:

6 cups Apple Cider

1/3cup Brown Sugar

1tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1tsp Vanilla

Here's how you make it:

In a small Crock pot combine the Cider, Sugar, Spices and Vanilla. Turn on high and let heat for 1-2 hours until cider is hot and spices have combined. Ladle into mugs and serve.

Enjoy

Halloween Snack Mix

Do you remember back during Easter I made a snack mix and I told you I would be doing a post in October on a Halloween Snack Mix? Well today is that day! I came across this idea about 5 years ago, and I've made it every Halloween since! We used to have Halloween parties for Man-Child and his friends, because he has a summer birthday and almost never gets to have friend parties! So we would do fun Halloween parties every year! I always tried to make cool treats for all the kiddos,  and this recipe was such a hit. Now I will warn you that there are those people who will just pick the candy pumpkins out and leave you with just snack mix sobe on the lookout for plates filled with pumpkins!

Here's what you'll need:

1 bag candy Pumpkins

1 family size bag Chex Mix

1 bag microwave popcorn

Here's how you make it:

Pop the popcorn and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the Chex Mix,the Pumpkins and the Popcorn. Stir to get it all combined! Serve! For leftovers store in an airtight container!

Enjoy

Coffee Table Re-Do

A few months ago I scored a coffee table from a friend for FREE! It was a little banged up and had some paint etc on it from her kiddos. But I knew I was going to do something with it anyway so I took it and... it's been sitting in my living room pushed over to the side ever since! I couldn't decide exactly what I was going to do. I'm kind of indecisive like that! I thought about painting it all white and then criss crossing tape over it and painting the shapes that were made in all different colors but I wasn't too sure the Hubster would love that idea!  He's way more of a Traditionalist than I am! I'm well I guess eclectic would be the right word for me! We have a lot of unique things in our house, but I usually keep the colors kind of muted, except when I did the pictures frames! And the Hubster said he liked it. But he hasn't seen it live and in person yet so we will see how that goes in just a few weeks! I actually think he will like it!

So I decided to keep the coffee table more basic, and but still wanted it to be a fun piece, so I decided to try Chalkboard paint! I am loving it so far, I mean what's not to love we can draw on it, leave each other notes on it, play games on it! And when family and friends come over they get to get in on the fun of it too! I actually want to chalkboard paint everything now, thank Goodness we live in a rental! But I'm not sure any of our furniture is safe ;)

Here's what I did:

First I sanded down the table with. Fine grit sandpaper. I wanted to just smooth everything out and give the paint something to stick to! Then I cleaned all the dust off with. Damp paper towel. I let everything dry and then applied my first coat. Now you can and probably should apply a primer but I didn't! I ended up applying 3 coats and let it dry for about 3-4 hours in between each coat. Then you need to let it alone for 3 days to "cure" after that you take a piece of chalk and rub it over the entire surface area that you painted. Erase it and you are ready to start using your chalkboard table! 

                                                                                                Enjoy

What is one thing you would paint with Chalkboard Paint if you could? 

Pumpkin Chili

What's better on a crisp fall evening than a warm bowl of spicy Chili? Pumpkin Chili!! Now I'm sure some of you are thinking Pumpkin? In Chili!?! But I promise you it's so good. It lends kind of a creamy texture to the chili making it a richer fuller flavor! I don't think you really taste the pumpkin over much, it's really kind of hidden behind the spices! Give it a try! I also like that it boosts the nutritional value of the meal!

Here's what you'll need:

1lb ground Beef

1 can Pumpkin Purée 

2 cans Tomatoe Sauce

1 can Black Beans

1 can Kidney Beans

Chili Powder

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Salt & Pepper to Taste

Here's how you make it:

In a large skillet brown the ground Beef until it is no longer pink. Add in the pumpkin, Tomatoe sauce and the beans, stir. Then add in your spices, stirring until they are combined. Let the Chili simmer for at least 30minutes so the flavors have time to develop. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some shredded cheese!

Enjoy

Crock Pot Chocolate Fudge Cake

Ugh so if you saw my post on Wednesday you might have noticed my little note at the top that my computer crashed and I'm using my iPad for now to write and post my blogs! The writing on the iPad is easy it's the posting of the blog that's a pain the arse! Seriously if there are any fellow bloggers out there reading this post please PLEASE please tell me how to make everything look better while using the iPad! So until I can get a new computer, which really is just a matter of me deciding how much I really want to spend/what I really want, just bear with me!

So today's post is a cake you make in the crock pot! Yay right? I've never baked in my crockpot before but I have made versions of this cake before. This is so easy you are going to wonder why you've never made it before!

Here's what you'll need:

1 box Chocolate cake mix

1 can Pumpkin Purée

1 container Chocolate Frosting

Here's how you make it:

First spray your Crock Pot with a cooking spray. Then in a medium sized bowl mix together the cake mix and the pumpkin until it is combined. Pour it into the Crock Pot. Scoop out spoonfuls of the frosting on top of the the cake. Cover and cook for about 2 hours on low. The frosting will melt into the cake and give it a nice warm fudgey sauce! Serve warm! It would probably. Be great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream but we didn't have any! and it is good just on its own!

                                                                                                                           Enjoy

DIY Lotion Bars

*PLEASE EXCUSE THE WAY THE POSTS ARE LOOKING, MY COMPUTER CRASHED AND IM TRYING TO DO THESE WITH MY iPAD! *

Fall is well under way here in the Pacific Northwest and I am starting to look ahead towards winter. It may seem a little early to you. But before you know it we will be bundling up and our skin will begin to dry out. My Mom has really dry hands and every winter they get so dry that they crack and sometimes even bleed! OUCH right?! I am always getting onto her about moisturizing but even regular lotions don't seem to help. I'm pretty sure she's tried them all! So I thought I would try to make lotion bars for her and see if they would help!

Here's what you'll need:

8 oz beeswax
3.5oz Palmers Cocoa Butter
3.5oz Coconut Oil

Here's how you make it:

Place all the ingredients into a sauce pan over low heat. Heat until everything is melted. Stir and pour into your molds. Let cool completely before removing.
I used a silicone mold. I wanted to make smaller ones, you could use a cupcake tin with liners if you wanted. I thought small ones would make nice gifts and fit in your hands easily. I had just a little left over and decided that Man-Child and the Hubster might like to have one too, so I made a couple of football ones! 

Do you have any tips or tricks to keep dry skin at bay? Share your tips in the comment section!


Enjoy

Sausage and Pepper Wraps

I needed a quick and easy dinner last night. We'd had a busy day finally enjoying some sunshine first we went to our local Apple Festival, it's so cool you get to make your own apple cider! It's so good and fresh! Look for recipes coming soon that include the cider! After the festival we came home and worked in our yard all afternoon! Finally cleaning out the gutters and raking up some of the leaves! Seriously the Hubster some how manages to be gone every Fall and misses having to rake up the leaves! he's the one who picked this house out especially because of all the trees, yet I'm the one stuck raking them up, jokes on him this year though I've only done a little so far and he will be home soon and there are still quite a few leaves on the trees! So anyway I didn't want to be in the kitchen ALL night, and wanted something quick and healthy too, or at least kind of healthy!

Here's what you'll need:

2 packages Beef Summer Sausage

1 small onion sliced

Several Peppers, seeded and sliced

Lettuce leaves

Here's how you make it:

Heat a skillet on medium heat add the Sausage, Peppers and Onions. Cook until the Onions and Peppers are tender. Scoop the Sausage and Peppers into the lettuce leaves, roll up and serve.

                                                                       Enjoy

Peach Upside Down Cake

While my Sister was visiting she did some of the cooking which was so nice! Even better she did the dishes every day! I wish she lived closer! It was great having all the kiddos together to hang out for more than just a few hours at a time! We made some great memories and we are already planning next summers’ vacation, Road Trip anyone?! One night she made a Peach Upside Down Cake that was sooo good; I had to share it with you!  You could use other fruits and I think it would be great, Nectarines, Apples, Cherries maybe even Bananas?  I might have to give all of those a try! You could also use a cake mix instead of making the cake yourself! Oh and I don't have a pic tutorial because well, I was enjoying time with my Sis and the kiddo's, So I only ended up with the finished product! 

Here’s what you’ll need:

3-4 Large Peaches, peeled and sliced

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

3 TBSP Butter

Cake:

1 1/2 cups Flour

3/4 cup Sugar

8 TBSP Butter, softened

1 tsp Vanilla

 2 Eggs, room temp

1/4 tsp Salt

1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 cup Milk, room temp

Cast Iron Skillet (or oven safe pan)

Here’s how you make it:

Combine the butter and brown sugar in the Skillet. Stirring until the sugar melts and it is bubbling, remove from heat and cool. Add the peaches in a circular pattern in the butter mixture. Cream together the Butter and Sugar. Add in the Vanilla and Eggs until smooth. Mix in the remaining ingredients for the cake and mix until combined. Pour the Cake batter over the peaches and make sure it is covering everything. Bake for 45-60 minutes at 350. Let cool 20 minutes and turn out onto a large platter. Slice and serve warm.

Enjoy