HALLOWEEN GOODNESS!!!

I LOVE Halloween . It is definitely one of my favorite holidays!!!. We had a great weekend. It was jam packed as full as I could get it but totally worth it.

My good friend Lauren and I are now the room mothers for our kids 3rd grade class. I spent all night Thursday making treats for their party on Friday.

Nutter Butter Ghosts...
1 pkg. nutter butter cookies
1 pkg. white almond bark
1 pkg. mini chocolate chips

Melt the almond bark according to package directions. Dip cookies into almond bark coating them all over and lay on wax paper to dry. Add 2 chocolate chips for eyes before they harden and there you have a super cute ghost.

These are the brownie cones I made...

The idea came from Pillsbury Halloween Funfetti but our stores in our small town did not have the Pillsbury Halloween Funfetti brownie mix or the Halloween spray icing so I had to improvise with what I could find.
I just made regular brownie mix according to the package except I used 3 eggs instead of 2. I stood my cones up in a mini muffin pan and poured the batter in about 2/3rds full. I baked them according to the package directions. I then had to mix white icing with red and yellow food coloring to make orange, then I had to try to be fancy and use a tube thing to squeeze my icing on the top with. I think I did pretty good. Then I just sprinkled the top.

 I thought they came out really cute, the only problem...how in the world to get them to the school unharmed???????? I dreamed ALL night on how in the world I was going to transport these. I was so desperate that I thought maybe I should just super glue them on the cardboard and then cut off the bottoms before I serve them...Then it hit me!!!! Dip them in almond bark and let them dry sticking to the bottom of the muffin pan!!!

 This worked PERFECT!!! They rode all the way to the school in the passenger seat of my car and did not budge. I was nervous about how stuck they were now but they were not even that hard to get out at the party.

Lauren made chex mix that looked very tasty!!! of course I did not taste it remember I am on my way to skinny!!!


Halloween Chex Mix...
8 ounces white chocolate baking bars, coarsely chopped
4 cups Corn Chex® or Rice Chex® cereal
2 cups bite-size pretzel twists
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup candy corn
1/4 cup orange and black candy

Directions
In large microwavable bowl, microwave chopped baking bars uncovered on High 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes 30 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.
Gently stir in cereal, pretzels and raisins until evenly coated. Stir in candy corn and decors.
Spread on waxed paper or foil until cool and chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. Break into chunks. Store loosely covered.

      

The party was a success!!!

the kids had to dress like story book characters and Paige was Ramona from Ramona and Beezus...see the eggs in her hair.

Saturday night we had our Annual Halloween Party at the Collier's

                                                Here we have a carnival game and a Carni!!!

                              Chewbaca showed up to protect us from the Dark Side in case they showed up.

                          Buddy Holly is currently dating the vampire "Victoria" from the Twilight Saga

                                       and these are the 2 cutest Draculara's that I have ever seen.

                          and oh my it is more of the Twilight clan...Jasper Hale and Alice Cullen

 and here is our hostess with mostess...the mostess tummy that is!!! I love you Lauren!!! I believe she is a  pregnant prom queen...with her hubby the Dairy Farmer.

 ...and then here is the wild bunch!!! Who knew that the product of two Greek gods would be Gene Simmons, the Scream dude and a precious vampire. Oh and look the 2 Dracularas AKA NON-Brunsons made their way into the pic!!

 I don't even know what to say about this group...a taco????!!!!

We had a great time with more great food that I could not touch!!!

Now off to do more tonight!!!

Diet Here I Come...Day 12

DAY 12 145.6 lbs.
SUCCESS!!!!! I AM REALLY DOING IT!!!!!! Almost 8 lbs in 12 days. HIP HIP HOORAH!!! I even avoided some huge cinnamon roll covered in chocolate that appeared in the break room at my office yesterday. I am feeling AMAZING!!! My hunger is getting easier to control each day. I had so much going on last night that I almost forgot to even eat. I had to make cookies and cupcakes for my daughters Halloween I mean "Fall Party" and I did not lick my fingers once!!!! We made cute little ghost cookies and cupcakes in an ice cream cone, I will post pics later. For the first time in who knows how long my pants are loose!!!! GREAT DAY TODAY!!!!!

Diet Here I Come...Day 10

DAY 10 147.4 lbs
So there has been no weight loss since day 8 but I feel really good and I have A LOT of energy which has been non existent for months now. Yesterday when I got on the scale it actually had gone up half a pound but I feel sure that this is due to circumstances out of my control, circumstances that only occur once every month.

Upon my dieting boredom, I have found a few tasty little recipes:

Turkey Chili
1-2 lbs ground turkey
chili seasoning to taste
low carb tomato sauce to taste

Brown turkey and add seasoning and tomato sauce and water to the consistency you like.

It tasted just as good as if I had had made it with ground beef. I added a lot of water to mine to make it really soupy which meant I could eat more of it and on the 17 day diet, in round one you can eat as much meat as you want. The only downside is that there is a lot of sodium which causes water retention but that's nothing a water pill can't take care of

I have also discovered how to make a good fat free ranch dressing, actually it was probably already discovered but still it is new to me

Ranch Dressing
Mix 1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix with 1 cup of plain fat free yogurt then add water to get desired consistency.

Let's see what else I can come up with.

What A Weekend and Diet Here I Come

Literally...WHAT A WEEKEND!!!! For someone who doesn't care a lot about sports, you sure wouldn't know it by looking at my life. Friday night football...GO TIGERS!!! We beat our biggest rivals!! Then there was Saturday. Bayley and the Jets had their first peewee football game of the season...they lost 6-0. Then Paige had her last soccer game which turned out to be our first loss, leaving us tied for 1st place over all. Then straight to Midland for Bayley's travel team baseball tournament and a birthday party for Paige's BFF.

We lost our first game, but won the second. Bayley got a triple and got to pitch!!!

This was taken from my phone so it is not a very good picture.

My poor baby boy was so tired after 3 games!!!

Then up early Sunday morning for another game. We won the first and lost the second putting us out of the tournament. We ended up 4th place...not bad out of 16 teams!!! I was so proud of Bayley. He played AWESOME and even got recognized by one of the coaches from another team!!! That was our last tournament until after the 1st of the year, so 2 sports down and just football and dance left for now...WHEW!!! I did get all of my errands run for Halloween preparations!!! Our costumes are gonna be so good!!!! But through all of this madness I DID manage to stay on my diet!!!

DAY 8 147.4 lbs
I had some ups and downs this weekend. I did stay on my diet the entire time YAY ME!!! but I only lost about 1 pound. Yesterday I started the 17 Day Diet by Dr. Moreno, which means absolutely NO CARBS for 17 days. Wish me luck. All in all week one was a success with a total loss of 6.10 lbs. I really need to be skinny for my Halloween costume!!! I wonder if 20 pounds in a week would be possible??!!!

Impatients...ERRR!!!!!

I have fallen head over heels in love with the most beautiful, warm, comforting, well taken care of, thing and I can't wait for it to hold me. Here is a picture:

Isn't it beautiful!!!!! Hopefully this is what our future holds in store for us. The only thing standing in the way of this love affair is the other house.

True... I do love it also but we have just grown apart or at least I hope to be apart soon. We have had 11 amazing years in our home but I do believe we have out grown all 1200 square foot of it. Well this is where the inpatients kicks in. It has been on the market since the end of August and we have only had one looker. I know, I know, that is only 2 months. I started out in the beginning praying for God's Will in this life changing decision but I have noticed as the weeks pass by my prayers have become more to sound like please God...I have to have that house and Please God...I NEED that house. I am already mentally moved in and I have it all decorated. Here is the entryway/ dinning room

And this is what I am going to put in here

from Kirklands

With this hanging above it

from Anthropologie

Oh and my FAVORITE thing of all...what goes under my dining room table

from Anthropologie

Isn't this the most gorgeous rug ever!!!!!

And then there is the master bedroom that will be big enough for my husband and I to upgrade from our full size bed. You can't tell in the picture but it has deep purple carpet...

And here is the amazing bedding I want for this room

I LOVE ANTHROPOLOGIE!!!!!

and check out the tub in the master bath!!!

Now for the kitchen

and the few things I have picked out for in here:

and of course both are from Anthropology...they really should block my access to this website at work!!!

And there you have my new house that is not even mine yet. But I will hang in there and be patient. If it is in God's will for us to have this house, it will happen.

Diet Here I Come...Day 4

DAY 4 148 lbs
Made it through yesterday with my yogurt for breakfast, I had 1/2 of an orange because I had dance class in the afternoon and I was feeling a little weak. I had my steak and apple kind of late last night because I have to go straight from dance to bible study and then straight to church. On a different note, bible study is AMAZING!!! We are doing Beth Moore's study of Daniel. It is soooo interesting. OK back to the original subject...All in all I feel really good. Yesterday was a little harder with my hunger, luckily I did not have time to eat!!! I was expecting to have a little quicker results but it is progress so I should not complain!!

OK Diet, Here I Come...again!!!!

2010 was a very strange year for me. I was at my best and also at my worst. In March of 2010, I decided once and for all to lose some weight. My weight has always fluctuated 10 to 20 pounds up and down. I was at 150 lbs when I decided to lose weight last year. One of my BFF's and I committed to this together and by July 1, 2010, I weighed 120 lbs and felt wonderful...

Here we are is South Padre when I was at my smallest. My little girl is so crazy!!!

How did we do it???? It was not easy, we committed to a 1200 calorie diet and the P90X workout. Oh look at my arms in that picture. P90x was the most amazing workout I have ever done and I actually loved it and I normally hate working out. I have always been a rather starve than workout kinda girl. The only problem is once you start it you can't really stop. Like I said before I was at my best in 2010 but also my worst because by October I had gained every pound back!!!!

WOW look at the difference in my boobs!!! What happened??? Well 3 things actually...#1 we went on vacation for 3 weeks, #2 I quit working out, and #3 my dirty little secret, I quit taking phentermine, which is a prescription drug that gives energy and suppresses appetite. I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT!!! Too many side affects for me...moodiness & trouble breathing being the 2 main ones that I experienced, plus when you get off of it, and you have to get off of it as it is only safe for short term use, you are more than likely to gain the weight back anyway.

So that brings me to where I am now, up to 153.5 lbs...and I am feeling it. I went out of town this past weekend for work and being 4 women we shopped all the way there and all the way home. I LOVE SHOPPING. None of my friends like to go with because I wear them out. During our shopping journey this weekend, I was surprised to find out I could barely keep up!!!! My knees, my feet and my back were hurting. All a product of my weight gain!!! So I decided this Monday enough was enough!!! Of course I have decided this several other times too. So on Monday I committed again and I plan to write about it to keep myself  accountable. The whole world doesn't want to read about how I failed so here I go...

DAY ONE 153.5 lbs
While we were on our trip this weekend, we ran across a lady and I over heard her conversation with one of the ladies I was with about losing 5 lbs in one day. I immediately turned all of my attention to her and said I have got to hear this. She said it is very simple. You drink lemon water all day and that is it. Then in the evening you have a steak, as big as you want, and an apple. She swears by the lemon water as well. She said to try to drink a gallon a day. Not only is this for weight loss but also cleansing. So day one I drank my lemon water all day long. I was expecting to be very weak and light headed by the end of the day but I felt exceptionally well. I had my steak and apple and felt very fulfilled. Our church team had a volleyball game so I got a little bit of a workout also. So did it work???

DAY TWO 151.6 lbs 
OK not quite 5lbs but still it is a good start!!! I was a little weaker today but stuck to my water all day. Water is truly miraculous and so many people don't see that. I had my steak and apple plus I did a little yoga.  Very little...as in 5 minutes!!! Despite the slight weakness I still feel really good. Sure have been in the bathroom a lot.

DAY THREE 149.2 lbs
Hip Hip Hooray I am in the 140's. Due to my hypoglycemia, I had to have yogurt for breakfast this morning but I am going to try to push through the rest of the day with just my water, steak and apple. I have also been reading the 17 day diet book by Dr. Moreno www.amazon.com/17-Day-Diet-Doctors-​Designed/dp/1451648650 which I plan to incorporate starting next week!!!!

Wish me luck!!! Skinny here I come!!!

Birthday Girl

OK so this is a tad bit late but HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY to my favorite little girl in the whole world.

Things have been so chaotic lately we decided a trip to the spa was in order for the birthday girl... 

Thanks Sweet and Sassy for making my little girls day special and making it easy on me!!!!! 

Reflecting on the Summer

WOW Summer came and went faster than I could blink my eyes. I am not even sure where it went. I guess most of it was consumed with baseball. Bayley made little league this year, which in our small town is practically the MLB. He was picked up by the braves as a catcher...

We got second place in the league and went on to the playoffs making it to round three

Good job Braves!!!!

And then just when we thought basball was over for the year, Bayley made ALLSTARS!!!!!!

Oh and did I mention...there is also his travel team!!!! Wow I think our summer consisted of baseball!!!!

We did have to take a break from all the ball games and enjoy my little girls dance recital...

 This was her first solo dance...She did SOOO Good!!!!!

The star of the show In my eyes anyway and her Daddy!!!!!

It appears that someone might have gotten a hold of the camera...

WOW only a mother could love that face!!!!!!

Both kids road on a float in the parade for the 4th of July Celebration so me and Tony just watched this year for the first time in a while.

Paige got to dance as part of the July 4th festivities!!!

And then there was Church Camp...

My son thought he needed a mohawk for camp

 This is my favorite picture!!! He loves his momma!!!! Not embarrassed at all...LOL

Our group of girls was so sweet and such a blessing!!!

We love church camp. It is so nice to get away from TV and radio and just enjoy God's blessings!!!!

And then we ended the summer with our first travel team tournament. The boys got to play at the Texas Rangers Youth Ballpark. It was a neat experience. We got last place but the boys had a lot of fun.

All in all it was a great Summer!!! I decided to go back to work in the middle of it all so no vacation for us this summer but we will make it up next year!!!