Trials of a Long Haired Girl

Happy Friday eve a/k/a Thursday!  One of the things that I love about my Planner is setting goals and writing down things that inspire me to move towards those goals.  As my "word" of the year is "transform", I was lead to this scripture in Romans 12:2:   And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. I will focus on this going into February as January has definitely not gone according to plan for me. I will go through my goals tomorrow.  Hope everyone has a great day! 

Last week, after watching multiple YouTube videos and searching through some recipes, I decided to try to make the "Lazy Man Lasagna" that I saw here .  As you may imagine, I used her recipe as a guide and put my own spin on it.  The ingredients that she shows are:  1 lb. rigatoni 16 oz ricotta cheese 2 cups shredded mozarella cheese parsley jar of sauce 350 degree oven for up to 30 minutes. Using her recipe as a base and using what I had on hand.   What I used was  1 pkg of Whole Wheat Penne Pasta 15 oz. of Ricotta Cheese 4 oz. Mozzarella and 4 oz. of Parm Italian Seasoning Homemade Marinara Sauce that I cooked up in my slow cooker. I also added in about half a pound of ground beef.   I mixed half of the Mozzarella and Parm with the Ricotta Cheese and added some Italian Seasoning.  Then mixed the cooked noodles in with it.  Added some sauce, some of the noodle/cheese mixture, some ground beef and then repeated.  I put what was left of the cheese on top

Happy Tuesday friends!  Hope your week has started out well.  The topic for this week, much like the WW topic is Tracking.  Let's be honest, tracking can be a bit of a pain to do until you get in the swing of things.  In the past, I have tried the plans that don't require tracking, the former "Simply Filling" method, but I truly struggled with it.  I know, for my good and for my peace of mind, that I need to track using my WW app.  That's my preferred method, but I know other people that use LoseIt or MyFitnessPal and others that prefer to write it down on paper or in a notebook.    There are all sorts of different ways to track your food.  The big trick is to find one that you will actually use.  For me, I find the WW app works best.  One of the things that really makes me appreciate the app and tracking is that I can go back and look at what I ate if I've had a good week or if I had a not so good week.  It provides information to allow me to know what I ma

Happy Monday friends!  Hope everyone had a great weekend!  It was a busy weekend so I didn't have much time for writing.  It's time for another edition of Meal Planning Monday!  The past week's dinner plan was as follows: Lazy Man Lasagna; Turkey Pot Pie; Veggie Chili Mac; Macaroni and Cheese; Homemade loaded Tater Tots; Beans and Cornbread; Mexican Lasagna. What we had was: Monday: Lazy Man Lasagna; Tuesday: Homemade sandwich and tater tots; Wednesday: Crockpot Enchilada Casserole Thursday: Turkey Pot Pie; Friday: Subway; Saturday: Pei Wei; Sunday: Leftovers. For the coming week, our plan is: Cheeseburger and Tot Casserole; Frito Pie; Mexican Lasagna; Smoked Turkey and sides; Baked Potatoes;  Fettuccine Alfredo and garlic bread. As always, these meals are subject to change without notice.   This has helped me so much with staying on track. I was pleasantly surprised on Saturday when I headed to weigh in before my breakfast with friends.  T

Happy Friday Friends!  I hope everyone has had a wonderful week!  Last week, I mentioned that I was really focusing on my food since I wasn't working out.  I really haven't worked out this week, but have been hitting my step goal most days this week.  I didn't get as much done on Monday as I originally hoped, but I still got quite a bit accomplished.  Eggs boiled, two loaves of bread made, roasted Brussels Sprouts, roasted potatoes, made meat pies, made 2 lunches for my husband and I for Tuesday, smoothies made for 2 days and did multiple loads of hand dishes.  I feel like I had a "win" over the weekend as well.  My sweet husband and I go on a breakfast date on Saturday mornings.  I was so excited by the number on the scale and the fact that I have been doing pretty well in my Blue Dot Challenge that I didn't want to let my Saturday morning date de-rail my progress.  My husband and I had discussed and I knew he wanted to go to IHOP.  I checked out the menu,

Happy Thursday a/k/a Friday eve friends!  How's your week going?  So far so good for mine.  I've had several blue dot days this week and I'm proud of that.  I know meal planning and meal prepping can be a bit daunting, but I am really figuring out how beneficial it can be.  At the present time, I only meal plan for a week at a time.  Usually I have ideas in my head for a second week, but I don't usually write those down.  I keep seeing folks posting that they plan for a month at a time.  I am not sure I am quite ready for that yet, but I think I may try to go for 2 weeks, at least.  With everyone's schedule being so crazy, I think it's really going to be even more important that I plan for our meals.  My great hope is to take President's Day to prepare some freezer meals so that we are even more prepared for February and March.  I am compiling recipes now to do just that.  My primary focus is to choose meals that I know my family will enjoy that I can make

Happy Hump Day, friends!  I hope everyone is having a great week!  At least once a week, I try to do a meatless meal or two.  This week, I have decided to use a recipe that I haven't made in quite some time.  I found this recipe several years ago from Moms with Crockpots .  The original recipe calls for corn, but as I have a child with an allergy to corn, I substitute it for bell pepper.  The recipe, as modified, is shown below: Crockpot Enchilada Quinoa Course dinner Cuisine vegetarian Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 8 hours Total Time 8 hours 5 minutes Servings  6  Servings Author Amanda Carlisle Ingredients 1 cup Quinoa 1/2 cup water 1 - 15 oz Can of Black Beans drained and rinsed 1 cup of Bell Pepper 2 - 15 oz Cans of diced tomatoes Ro-Tel would be perfect 1 - 15 oz Can of Enchilada Sauce Instructions Place black beans, bell pepper and Ro-Tel tomatoes in a large 5-7 qt crockpot. In a bowl mix the water with the quinoa and add it to the crockpot. S

Happy Tuesday, friends!  I hope everyone enjoyed their MLK day!  I thought I'd start sharing the WW topic of the week here.  This week the topic is "Choose Your Moves".   While not everyone moves at the beginning of their weight loss journey, it sometimes becomes necessary to add in movement to get to your goal weight.  The big thing no matter which way you choose to move, is the pick something that you enjoy.  Try something new.  One of the changes that WW has implemented is how activity counts.  During my journey, I've tried various workouts including strength training, cardio on an elliptical or a bike, taken some classes such as Zumba and yoga and Nia.  Aside from being good for your health, I have found that it helps me sleep better at night.  Quite honestly, I feel much better when I have worked out.  Starting my day with workout and a prayer, well, it just makes my day go better.   These days, I mostly walk.  It's a struggle some days to get my steps in a

Happy Monday friends!  Hope everyone had a great weekend!  It's time for another edition of Meal Planning Monday!  The past week's dinner plan was as follows: - Macaroni and Cheese; - Lazy Man Lasagna; - Cheeseburger and Tot casserole; - Fettuccine Alfredo and garlic biscuits; -Pizza Bubble-Up Casserole; and -Breakfast for dinner. What we had was: Monday: Crescent Dogs and Home fries; Tuesday: Pizza Bubble Up Casserole; Wednesday: Fettuccine Alfredo and garlic cheese bread; Thursday: Baked Potatoes; Friday: Subway; Saturday: Cheeseburger and Tot Casserole; Sunday: Snack Foods because we had a large lunch. For the coming week, our plan is: Lazy Man Lasagna; Turkey Pot Pie; Veggie Chili Mac; Macaroni and Cheese; Homemade loaded Tater Tots; Beans and Cornbread; Mexican Lasagna. As always, these meals are subject to change without notice.   I will say this really helps me to stay on track.  I like being able to pick a meal out of several meals depe

Happy Friday friends!  My apologies for being a bit absent this week.  With my allergies knocking me for a little, I wasn't feel up to doing too much writing with my head in a fog.  This week has not going the way I planned.  Well, let's be honest, January is not going quite the way I planned.  Am I throwing my hands in the air and giving up?  That a big ole NO!  One of the big things that I have learned on this journey is that I can re-group and re-focus and things start clicking back into place.  Between blowing my nose constantly,  sneezing my head off  and  hacking up a lung, my food hasn't been horrible, but it hasn't been the most healthy choices either.  Workouts have been non-existent.  Since I wasn't feeling up to working out, I have really been focusing on my food.  I've come in with blue dot days most of the days this week.  I decided since I'm off on Monday, I'm going to use this day to do a little meal prep to prepare myself for success. 

Happy Monday friends!  I hope everyone had a great weekend! Last week, the plan was: - Bean and Cheese tostadas; - Spaghetti (I'll probably have spaghetti squash), chicken meatballs, zero point marinara and garlic bread or garlic biscuits; - Crescent dogs and an unspecified side; -Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and an unspecified veggie; -Pizza Bubble Up casserole; -Macaroni and Cheese. What we had was: Monday night: Crescent Dogs Tuesday night: Spaghetti, zero point marinara and chicken meatballs Wednesday night: Bean and cheese burritos Thursday night: meatloaf and mashed potatoes Friday night: Taco Bueno (I had enchiladas) Saturday night: leftovers Sunday night: Pancakes and bacon This week the plan is: - Macaroni and Cheese; - Lazy Man Lasagna; - Cheeseburger and Tot casserole; - Fettuccine Alfredo and garlic biscuits; -Pizza Bubble-Up Casserole; and -Breakfast for dinner. Apparently, the Mountain Cedar has been crazy high.

Happy Thursday a/k/a Friday eve!  I was scrolling through my FB Memories the other day and this popped up from 4 years ago: "Okay, so they say in my WW meetings that if you just try to do 1 thing this week and write it down so that you are accountable, it's better. So here's my one thing: Planning dinners this week." It was a reminder to me that I have been on this weight loss journey and focusing on making changes for some time.  Many things have changed during my years on this journey.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I have been on this journey for years.  In the beginning, I focused on all of the things to try to get the weight off.  I ate fat free cheese, drank fat free milk, consumed no calorie sweetener without regard to what it might do to my body.  After my Mom had a bad reaction from Splenda, things started to change for me.  There were things that I discovered that I would not compromise on like butter and sugar.  I decided that I would just take the &

Happy hump day friends!  In the spirit of being prepared for the week AND getting my blue dot each day this week, I was inspired to make some garlic hummus that I saw Kim ( PrepWhisperer ) shared on her YouTube channel.  My husband and I love garlic hummus so I knew the minute I saw it that this was going to be a big hit in our house.  This was definitely a win!  The recipe is below: Garlic Hummus Makes approximately 1.5 cups/8 servings 1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed 2 tbsp Lemon juice 1 tsp Garlic 1/2 tsp Cumin 2 tbsp Tahini (add last) 2 tsp Olive Oil (after you begin processing) Water (as needed to get it to the consistency you want) Put beans in the food processor.  Add Lemon Juice, Cumin, garlic and then tahini. I have linked the video where I got the recipe above and Kim shares her past experiences with making it previously.  Definitely a winner and will be very tasty with my veggies this week!  I may even splurge and have a veggie wr

Happy Tuesday friends!  Hope everyone is doing well.  I was drinking a cup of Yogi tea last week.  If you haven't had Yogi tea, they have little sayings on their tags.  My saying on this tag was "There is nothing more precious than self-trust."  This is so very true.  Honestly, I have repeatedly failed myself and failed to keep promises that I have made to myself.  A big part of this journey is learning to trust myself again.  Knowing that if I do what I promise myself, that I will be successful.  My Mom always told me that I could do anything I set my mind to and I am truly in a place now where I know she was right about this.  It's taken me some time to figure it out, but I think I'm finally in a place where I can rebuild that trust with myself.  It may still be a slow process in some areas, I think that other areas are already on their way.  I am a work in progress.   I have been listening to different audiobooks and gleaning different things from the va

Happy Monday friends!  I hope everyone had a great weekend!  This past week was my first one using my new planner.  I feel so positive about it and I'm not using it to its full potential yet.  I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but we're all friends here, right?  I was keeping my "to do" list for meal planning in my head.  Seriously, it never occurred to me to write it down until I was watching Kim ( PrepWhisperer ) and she mentioned that she needed to check her list to see what's next and it was like a light when on.  Sometimes I surprise myself like that!   What did we have for dinner last week?  Monday: Papa John's Pizza; Tuesday: Black Eyed Peas, Cabbage and ham; Wednesday: Taco Bueno; Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie; Friday: Homemade Hamburger Stroganoff; Saturday: Baked Potatoes (served with butter, sour cream, cheese, bacon bits) Dinners for the coming week, in no particular order: - Bean and Cheese tostadas; - Spaghetti (I'll probab

Happy Friday!  I hope everyone had a great week!  It's been a little crazy for us with the holidays in the middle of the week.  My sweet husband messaged me on Wednesday asking me if I was sure what day it was.  Sadly, I think it's just thrown so many people off.  I will say that I enjoyed the holiday, even though I probably waited too long to try to make candy this year.  Next year, I need to try to start earlier.  I was listening to Jon Acuff's Finish today.  I have to say that he said quite a few things that really hit home with me.  I really need to focus on progress rather than perfection, but it also reminded me of a conversation that I had many years ago with my husband and with my uncle.  I think part of the reason that I have struggled with my weight loss journey has a lot to do with fear.  I know it may sound a little weird, but I think after some things that happened when I was younger, my weight became a mode of self protection.    I have tried to lose weight

Happy Thursday a/k/a Friday eve friends! I hope everyone is doing well.  While 2018 was not the best year for me due to some personal goings on that I don't really want to get into, I'm feeling pretty good going into 2019.  On Saturday, I weighed in and I'm just going to use it as my "official start weight" for 2019.  I weighed in and determined that I have less than 50 pounds left to hit my goal.  I haven't been this close and realized it in some time.  I really feel like if I focus, it's very doable for me to hit my goal in 2019.  On another note, I'm really going to have to purge my closet!  It's time to pull out those dresses, shirts and skirts that are too big on me, including some sweaters that probably should have been gone for quite awhile.  I am sure that someone else will appreciate them just as much as I did.  I have some gift cards that I've held on to that I can use to shop for those smaller items of clothing.  I hit my step goal

Happy Tuesday friends and Happy New Year!  Can you believe it's already 2019?  Where has the time gone?  Or maybe I'm the only one that feels that way?  I suppose that could be.  For those of you that have been with me for a bit, you may remember that I made the decision awhile back not to make resolutions for any new year, but instead to set goals.  I did not hit all my goals for 2018, but I am feeling pretty good going into 2019.  I have set some goals for myself using my handy Living Well Spending Less Planner.   My biggest goal this year is to hit my weigh loss goal.  I've discussed this with my husband and I have a plan in place to make this a reality.  My biggest thing is to make time for workouts, track my food and to meal plan.  These are huge things for me that I know will help me reach my goal weight.  As they say "Abs are made in the kitchen!", so I'm really trying to make sure that my meal plan works for me and helps me on my way to my goal