Trials of a Long Haired Girl

Happy Monday friends!  I hope that everyone had a great weekend!  We had some homecoming preparations for our daughter.  What are you having for your meals this week?  Last week was yet another stressful week, which made for a not so great food week.  Meals didn't get cooked as quickly as I would have liked and wound up being different than I planned, but it's okay.  I'm feeling a little more "head in the game" this week.   Breakfasts this week:  Pancake bake for my daughter and probably a breakfast casserole or eggs for me. Lunches: For my daughter, Lazy Man Lasagna (meatless) and sandwiches. For the rest of us: salad, sandwiches and hamburger Philly Cheesesteak over cabbage Dinners:  a Mexican casserole that I haven't made up yet.  Fish and veggies Kunk Poa Tempura Cauliflower with rice Fettuccine Alfredo (I'll probably use the spaghetti squash I just cooked) Sandwich night Last week, we wound up at The Ultimate Willy Wonka party, which w

Happy Friday friends!  Finally, this has been a long and stressful week, but it's going to have a great ending!  My sweet husband is taking me to the Ultimate Willy Wonka party.  I am so excited!  Okay, seriously, this has been a ROUGH week.  With the end of the month and being down a person, it's made for a difficult week.  It hasn't been the best food week but whatever the scale says, it says and I just have to move forward.  I did listen to an interesting book this yesterday.  It's called Own Your Everyday by Jordan Lee Dooley.  She shares a declaration that I will share at the end of this blog.  She talks about being present. I found myself really hungry this week so next week, I need to focus on being more prepared with my food and snacks so that I know I have things I can eat.  Goals also include getting to the Rec Center this week so I can get some workouts in.   1. Water intake of at least 90 oz. per day. 2. Track, track, track!   3. Take care of myself.

Happy Thursday a/k/a Friday eve!  Fall is here, even though it doesn't really feel like it in our neck of the woods.  The crafting bug hit me!  I offered to host Thanksgiving for my family at our house and it suddenly hit me that I needed to decorate for fall.  I used to enjoy working on some random crafting project with my Mom or playing games, but I told my husband, I think my mind just needs that down time so that I am forced to focus on something different.  I don't know about you, but I struggle with shutting down for a bit and getting overwhelmed with what I have going on.  For less than $20.00, I made this cute little flower arrangement from things that I bought from the Dollar Tree.  It is currently sitting on our front porch.  I'll be adding some additional items to my decor, but seriously I'm loving being creative!  The smaller scarecrows came in a 2-pack, but if my estimate is correct, I spent less than $15.00, tax included on this project.  I think I may t

Happy Wednesday a/k/a Hump Day!  Hope you are having a good week!  I decided to do something different this week.  Since fall is technically upon us and I wanted to prepare something different for my daughter for her lunches.  I used this recipe for Vegetable Lo Mein .  I left out the broccoli and the mushrooms.  I used whole wheat spaghetti noodles since that's what I had on hand.  My daughter enjoyed it, but said she wanted more sauce.  I'll keep tweaking it, I suspect, until I come up with the perfect mix for her.   I am looking forward to Texas weather cooling down!  

Happy Monday, friends!  Where have I been?  It was a rough week and I just never found the time to sit down.  For those of you that know me, I am not a big fan of change.  We had a big change at our office because one of my co-workers left our office for another opportunity.  I wish her well in her new venture.  Time was limited to meal prep for this week, but I really needed to be "on" this week like I was a couple of weeks ago. Breakfasts:   Chocolate Chip Pancake Bake  Breakfast Casserole. Lunches:  Hamburger Philly Cheesesteak on cabbage Spaghetti Squash and chicken meatballs Veggie Lo Mein Noodles Dinners:  Lasagna Burritos Kung Poa Tempura Cauliflower Fried Rice Salad Night Hopefully we will enjoy the Philly Cheesesteak over the cabbage.  I'm trying to keep it lower carb where I can, but I've decided for right now not to focus so much on that after my really off week. I've got ideas in my head for our meals on the weekend or for lunch

Happy Thursday a/k/a Friday eve!  How's your week going so far?  I want to take a moment and talk about something posted on Facebook where people have made rude comments.  Here's the thing, purely my opinion, but I think that many people are getting more rude and not thinking about how it may cause others to feel because they are hiding behind their screens.  Here's my two cents or what it's worth, just be kind.  You don't know what others may be going through.  One smile from you may change the way their day is going.  One "good morning, how are you?" even if you don't really want to know.  Even if you do not agree with someone, there is no point in being rude to them.  We are all human and we all need a little grace sometimes.  We are not perfect and we each fall short from time to time.  I guess my Mom telling me for so long to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" just stuck and I try hard to be courteous to wait staff/fas

Well, hello, and happy Wednesday a/k/a Hump day!  This has been a busy weekend and a weekend of trying new things.  As I may have mentioned, I am trying to focus on some lower carb options.  I found a recipe for cauliflower hash browns and decided I would try to make them as an additional to breakfast casserole.  Unfortunately I didn't have 2 packages of cauliflower rice so I decided to halve the recipe.   Here's what I did:   I used my one smaller package of cauliflower rice (10 oz. package), 1 cup of the Simple Truth Organic Cheddar and 1 egg and I added some salt, pepper and garlic powder.   They were a little more eggy than I would have preferred but I didn't have the same amount of cauliflower that she had.  They are really tasty and made a good addition to my breakfast casserole.  I'm looking forward to having them this week.  Did you try any new recipes this week?  Maybe any of the recipes I've shared?  I'd love to hear!  Have a great Wednesday!

Happy Tuesday friends!  It's time again for Pep Talk Tuesday.  Let's talk for a minute about something we all do...and probably should do more of...sleep.  There are some nights I feel really rested, I get up and feel pretty positive...and then I get to work and start feeling tired.  Let's take a moment and talk about how to set ourselves up for sleep. 1. Build bedtime habits.  Pick a calming activity that you can do every night.  I found a great ten minute Yoga routine that I can do before bed time.  It definitely helps me.  You can also, take a bath or shower, or read a book.  It's harder when you are doing it on an electronic device.  Turn that calming activity into a routine.   2. Select a cue that triggers you to do the activity.  Set an alarm or use the end of an episode of your favorite show.  Be sure to set the cue at the same time every night so that you are maintaining a consistent schedule.  Start the routine earlier, perhaps 30 minutes, so that you can

Happy Monday friends!  I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend!  Mine was a bit busy, but it was good.  I got to enjoy some quiet time, but I got some good meal prepping done.  While my weigh in didn't go quite as planned, I am so seriously planning on a GREAT week!   As they say, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.   With that being said, I was struggling to eat the breakfast casserole by the end of the week.  This week, I made two different breakfast items to give me some options.  I made a ham, egg and cheese breakfast casserole, some cauliflower "hash browns" and a pancake bake.  I also made a pancake bake for my DD.  Honestly, because I struggle having the same thing for days on end, (really how do people do that??) I try to make different things that I can have on different days.  As last week was so crazy and I didn't eat everything I prepped, I still have some leftovers for this week.  So I will use that up and then I am thinking I will make a philly chee

Happy Sunday to you!  It's been a minute since I've posted on a Sunday, but I'm trying to get my routines back in order since we ran away on vacation.  Weigh in yesterday was a 1.2 pound gain.  To be honest, I could be really upset by this because I was pretty good most days this week staying within my points and carbs.  However, this week was full of some stressful situations and life.  I am NOT giving up or giving in.  I'm focusing on making the coming week a MUCH better week for me.  I'm meal planning and meal prepping.  I have my calendar out right now so I can put my workouts down on my calendar.  Also, this was the first week of focusing on my WW points AND net carbs.  It's a bit of an adjustment, but I'm gearing up, making plans and making it happen for me.  169 is literally 10 pounds away right now.   What are you doing to set yourself up for success this week? 

Happy Friday friends!  We've almost made it through another week!  Wow!  For a short week, this has been a crazy week!  Feeling good about taking time to prepare some meals and components were super helpful this week!  Now to figure out what to fix for next week.  I'm thinking a bacon breakfast casserole for next week.   This week I had a nuclear stress test scheduled for this week.  Initially, I was okay and then, as the time for my test got closer, the anxiety and stress started getting to me.  By the time that I checked in and was heading to the waiting room, I broke down and started tearing up.  I made it through the test and (Thank you, Jesus!) my tests came back normal.   This is my first week trying to double tracking my Freestyle SmartPoints and my net carbs.  Not everyday has been a win, but like I said to my husband, I am certain that it's better than what it might be if I were not tracking them. Focus for next week: 1. Water intake of at least 90 oz. pe

Happy Thursday a/k/a Friday eve!  I hope you are having a fantastic short week after the three day weekend.  As I'm going through the week, I realized I didn't share my weight loss this week.  I did not go weigh in the week prior because of the stomach virus and I did document my weight when I went to the doctor's office that Friday.  I was at 179.1 at that time.  This past Saturday, I headed to my weight in location.  Even though my food was not 100%, I am excited to share that I lost another 1.3.  The past week, I tried to focus on getting some steps in and pushing my water.  I think each of these things contributed to my weight loss.   With the plan this week of 23 Freestyle SmartPoints and limited it to 33 net carbs, I think it will help me to get past this "recycling pounds" roller coaster I've been on.  My goal is to get past 170 sooner rather than later.  Currently my weight is at 177.8 as of this past Saturday, so 8 more pounds and I'll be out

Happy Wednesday a/k/a Hump day!  I honestly don't remember if I have posted this recipe before, but it's basically my Mom's meatloaf recipe that I tweaked.  I have tweaked it for crockpot and now for meatloaf muffins.  I decided that this would be an easier option for me and my family for lunch.  Here's my basic reecipe: 1.25 lbs/20 oz. of Bison 2/3 cup of Panko 1 Egg 1/2 cup of Bell Pepper 1/2 cup of Onion I opened a 15 oz. can of Tomato Sauce, but it looked like it was too much tomato sauce. Prehead the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix your ingredients together.  I weighed my mixture and then divided it by 12 since I was making muffins and I wanted them to be pretty much equal.  After putting each one into the muffin tin, I topped with tomato sauce.  Then  I realized I forgot to season it, so I seasoned afterwards.  I cooked the meatloaf for approximately 20 minutes.  They came out looking very tasty.    I am pairing this with mashed cauliflower for me and my so

Happy Tuesday, friends!  First day back to work today.  Routines are good for me so I think it will be a positive thing for sure.  I feel set up for the week after spending some time meal prepping.  So, let't take a moment and talk a little about setting yourself up for success.  Since I decided to go with Barrett Pastor 's plan of 23 Freestyle SmartPoints, but staying with 33 net carbs beginning September 1st.  I didn't really hit the grocery store or was prepared when I got up on Sunday morning.  I winged it, but it was hard.  My breakfast started out with Alpine Valley Sprouted bread and 2 eggs.  It started my carbs off really high.  I decided after church to make sure that I was prepared for the week.  I spent time on Sunday afternoon after church shopping and preparing some of the food.  Yesterday, I did take some time to relax and catch up on some YouTube videos.  Then I got up, I fixed meatloaf muffins and chicken fajitas to set myself up for success.  With this

Happy Monday friends!  For my friends in the U.S., Happy Labor Day!  So, on my day off, I'm not really making an effort to "rest", but to use this opportunity to meal prep!  Here's the funny thing, I knew this challenge was coming and I had ideas, but I did not plan beforehand.  I'll be honest, my first day (yesterday), was not great because I felt so out of sorts and it was stressing me out!  So, Sunday, after church, we got ran to the library and I headed off to Marshall's, HomeGoods, Sprouts and Kroger.  I think I went a smidge crazy at Marshall's and HomeGoods, but I got some new placemats and some napkins.  I also went a little crazy with the food finds.  I am excited because AGAIN at HomeGoods, I found some extremely low carb lasagna noodles, which is a little funny because I was just asking what I could use besides zucchini on my FB page.   I actually came home last night, browned a pound of bison, a pound of sausage for my breakfast casserole,