keeping away from avalanches

Let me start by saying, "I know it's been forever."  Every day I visit my favorite blogs and I admit that I am a bit disappointed when there is no new post but for some reason the thought to write on mine never crossed my mind.  Granted I don't have a ton of followers hanging on my every word but maybe not getting on the page to post my progress is why I can't seem to pass the 30lb mark. Things have been going wonderfully:  Tarzan has started karate, I tested for my yellow belt and was invited to the Black Belt Club, and Cheetah enjoyed a 2 week vacation with the family in Mississippi.

We have had a blast celebrating the 4th of July with family, enjoyed a visit from a very special family, and have spent as much time in the pool as humanly possible.

                           

                          

With all the fun we've been having Cheetah says his top 2 activities of the summer have been his birthday party at the bowling alley and watching Winchester Fletcher!

Now that the heat has us running indoors, Cheetah and I found this cool shirt idea on pintrest and new it would be perfect for this weekend.  We had all the supplies we needed: cotton t-shirts (although you could use anything), Sharpies, rubber bands, paper cups, magazine, and 91% rubbing alcohol. 

You place a magazine inside the shirt to ensure the colors don't bleed through as you go.  Pick where you want to get started, slide the paper cup inside the shirt and secure the rubberband on top.  Now that you have your blank canvas secured you can begin to draw a design, we did all different ones but found that shapes worked the best (Cheetah preferred drawing pictures of things).  Keep the design to just over the size of a quarter, add 10 drops of alcohol to the center of the design and watch the magic happen.

The possibilties are endless, it's a really fun idea and it is something the kids can do during the hottest hours of the day.

I have allowed myself a small break from the daily mile due to the 7 days of rain we have had here, and for the past 2 weeks we have enjoyed a vacation from karate.  The dojo had it's annual instructors retreat,  I have tried to stay active by doing multiple miles on the weekend, doing my PS3 intense kickboxing class a few times a week, and continuing with my free weight and ab workout 6 days a week.  I have kept to eating healthy with a weekly 'cheat day', I am suprised at myself for choosing to eat well everyday.  I have cheated a handful of time since January but I remind myself that one slip doesn't mean there has to be a rock slide.

I say potato!

After 2 full months on the 'year of the dragon' plan, I am down 15lbs and I am starting to see my arms and legs taking shape.  I am pleased to say that my heartburn is also gone, thanks to cutting out carbonated beverages completely. 

Committing myself to a year of improving my health has lead me to give up something for lent.  I haven't made a lentil sacrifice in over 10 years and I am really enjoying it.  I could only think of 2 things that would be a true sacrifice; since there was no way in the world I could give up cheese, I opted for the white potato. 

That means no mashed potatoes, no french fries, no hash browns, no baked potatoes, and no crab-boiled potatoes.  Did I mention that it's crawfish season??  It has been hard but I haven't caved yet, breakfast is proving to be difficult.  I found a recipe on pintrest for 'egg cups' and I really like them, but the recipe calls for hash browns.  I opted to use sweet potatoes, you MUST try this.

There is one thing I want to point out, don't fill the cups all the way like I did...I can still smell the eggs burning on the bottom of my oven.  Next time I make them, I think I'll swap out the ham for mushrooms.

I found another great recipe for breakfast, this one was delicious.  I loved the taste of the pumpkin, the bread wasn't very sweet but I guess that's the point in eating healthier.  I would add more cinnamon and even nutmeg.

I am continuing to try different veggie dishes and learning healthier substitutions for my dietary favorites.  I am pleased to say that I even found green beans that I love.  Who knew you could boil green beans in low-sodium, fat free chicken broth?  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  SO good!

I found a way to enjoy squash without frying it, these zucchini chips are awesome.  I nearly ate myself sick.  Oh they are good, I would even dare to say they are better than the green beans...

I think the only way that I am going to lose more than 15lbs is if I stay off of pintrest.  If I ever have the chance to build a house I will make sure that the kitchen is closed off from the rest of the house, maybe I'd spend less time in the kitchen.

from my heart to yours

I love holidays, I love nothing more than making an ordinary day extra special for the ones I care for.  I trolled pintrest and found some great ideas, and I came up with more ideas than I had time for...

I found this recipe for brown sugar blondies and knew instantly that Tarzan and Cheetah would love eating these for breakfast on Valentine's day.  I used my grandmother's heart-shaped pans, I made a batch for the boys and one for Cheetah's teacher.

When I asked Cheetah for some ideas he said, "Ms. Hue LOVES oatmeal".  I figured you can't go wrong with a heart healthy breakfast as a gift for teacher, so we packed up her gift and used the shirt box as the perfect gift wrap.  I'm sure it will make her smile.

I packed Cheetah a special lunch with heart-shaped carrots and sandwiches; along with a snack mix made with the perfect heart-shaped cereal and the Valentine M&Ms. 

I made sure that even the people Tarzan and I work with will have something special to enjoy on V-Day.  Tarzan will bring the brownies baked with M&Ms and I'll be bringing the blondies.

To top it all off, we made the cutest Valentine's for Cheetah's friends.  Of course this isn't Cheetah but what a cute idea!  Happy Valentine's Day...love to all.

Ho'made Christmas challenge!

It was really fun to challenge myself to make ALL the gifts our family would be giving this Christmas, and like I have mentioned before I have pintrest to thank for most of the smiling faces of our friends, family, and teachers. 

We made 'hand' towels for members of both families, they were well received.  Cheetah got very creative with these...he traced (with my help) his hand on to iron on transfer paper (that can be picked up at Michael's, Walmart, or Hobby Lobby).  Make sure to select the paper that can be colored OR printed on with a lazerjet printer.  Each person recieved 2 towels, one with the hand print and then drew a picture he knew the recipient would love for the other. 

The aunt that will be moving into her new house soon received a fancy wipe off board.  I purchased a bronzed frame and dry erase markers to go along with the ribbon and scrapbook paper I already had on hand.  She loved that something so useful could be pretty too!  Great, easy idea!

For godparents, aunts, and coworkers we did hand painted or iron on transfers.  I chose items I knew would be used; like aprons, pillowcases, and tote bags.  The giftees were delighted with their unique and personalized items.

As my deadline was fast approaching I even enlisted Tarzan to help...little did he know he was helping me finalize one of his gifts.  :)  I picked 2 fun ideas for his presents; 52 reasons why I love you cards & a family 'portrait' made with our hands.  He seemed pleased with both.

The grandmother's and Cheetah's teacher gushed over his 'HAND'made Christmas tree.  I must admit it does look really nice hanging in my house as well.

I even went on Shutterfly and made a 2011 family album for my parents, the album included pictures from all three of their children's families.  To round out the packages I included homemade pralines and chex mix (both are family faves).

It was heartwarming to see such sincere smiles and hear the praise over something I made on my own.  I know Tarzan will try to change my mind but I'm pretty sure I'll be doing ho'made gifts again next year, I'll just have to try for an earlier start date.

Tarzan mostly stuck to the rules as well.  I was excited to see a wonderful photo book titled, "How do I Love my Mommy?" and some perfectly precise coupons for my personal use (1 free bug elimination & 1 Chick-fil-a breakfast are 2 examples).  So nice to know your SO loved. 

I must urge you to try the 'homade' route for your gift giving next year, the gifts felt so much more personal.  Homemade gifts can also prove to be easy on the budget, especially if you have a surplus of craft supplies and free-time in the evening.  My only advice is to keep within your skill set so your stress level will stay at a minimum as it gets closer to your deadline.

It's a very 'pintrest' Christmas.

I really have enjoyed preparing for Christmas this year, it's been fun making all of our gifts.  It was a challenge that made me a bit nervous but thanks to pintrest, I'm gonna come out on top this year.  We celebrated Christmas with Tarzan's family over Thanksgiving and it was a blast.  Somehow I managed to not take a single picture of the gifts that Cheetah made for the familes.  He chose a picture he thought each Aunt woutld enjoy and carefully colored each one.  I then ironed the picture on to a cotton tote bag that I later filled with some supper yummy treats.

I made my grandmother's pralines, a staple from my family's Christmas celebrations.  I threw in a bag of roasted nuts to help combat the sweetness of the treats.

I also found a fun recipe on pintrest for homemade butterfingers, they were a HUGE hit!!  SO cool, who knew you could melt candy corn!?!



For Tarzan's cousin, the talented musician and member of Winchester Fletcher, we made a really neat candy 'dish'. 

We knew he would enjoy a gift rooted in music and since he's our 'Little Drummer Boy' we knew we had the PERFECT record to use for his gift.  



There were other gifts given, but they must remain a secret until part two of the Smith family Chrsitmas has taken place.  So far it seems that people not only enjoy our ho'made Christmas but seem delighted by their heartfelt gifts.