Thursday, December 29, 2011

We have a hoarder

That's what hubby told me after picking up Tyler from daycare last night.  When he walked in, he couldn't see Tyler, and the lady was just pointed to the sink area behind him.  He turned around and there was Tyler, playing underneath the sink.  Apparently this is his new play area at daycare.  He likes to haul all his toys there and play under the pipes.  And the lady said now other kids are starting to do that.  What a gomer.

He does like to haul his toys all over, we find little toys underneath the couches and chair.  Today he took the remote control and carried it all the way to our bedroom and put it in one of the clothes hampers.  

At least he's a cute little hoarder

We've had a pretty crazy week at the office this week, lots of people getting in because of the stress of Christmas.  Probably a good thing we haven't had any snow, because we wouldn't be able to fit everyone in from hurting their backs shoveling!

We did make it to the grocery store on Tuesday to stock up on some goodies.  

On Tuesday night we decided to use up some broccoli that had been sitting in the fridge, so I baked some chicken chunks with some Cookie's seasoning and some quick alfredo noodles (yes, the crappy packaged kind that has waaay too much sodium).  I steamed the broccoli and threw it all together.



For Wednesday's lunch, we had some left-over chicken to use up.  I made a taco salad, using chicken, spinach, black beans, salsa, Mexican cheese, and plain Chobani.  I had just a little bit of the Christmas Mission tortilla chips left, so I crunched them up and sprinkled them on.  Hubby made a chicken and black bean quesadilla, and wanted me to take a picture of it because he was so proud.  



Last night was a dilemma, because we had a pound and a half of lean hamburger to use up.  We were going to make burgers on the grill, but we were both exhausted after work and didn't want to go into the cold.  We got out the good ol' cast iron skillet instead.  Hubby made some burgers on the skillet with our grill press.  They ended up drying out a little, because we pressed a lot of the grease out of them in an attempt to make them healthier.  We topped it with Swiss cheese, spinach, ketchup and mustard.

Before the spinach, ketchup and mustard

Today was kind of a weird day.  I woke up early with Tyler, who has been doing great by the way, sleeping through the night until 6 am.  Unfortunately 6 am is early for me.  I stayed up with him until about 7:30 and then going to lay down for awhile.  I think I woke back up around 10?  Yikes.   

I had a piece of cinnamon raisin Ezekial toast and was going to have some yogurt, but it smelled really funky, so I ended up throwing it out.  When I got hungry a little bit later, I worked on a bag of delicious chex mix that my grandma gave us for Christmas.  

Lunch was at about 1, and I just made up a small salad because I wasn't too hungry.  Spinach, turkey, celery, feta cheese and balsamic vinaigrette.  



After an intense workout class- lots of cardio and lots of abs- we enjoyed a pasta bake that I had prepared earlier in the day.  My hubby loves lasagna, but I hate the work that goes into it.  I know it's not that bad but I found a way to make it way easier.  

I boiled up a box and a half of whole wheat pasta (I had half a box of rotini and a box of penne) for 8 minutes or so.  At the same time, I browned one pound of hot Jimmy Dean sausage with one green pepper and half an onion.  I drained both of those then threw them together in the big pot and added two cans of Heart Healthy spaghetti sauce.  In a separate bowl, combine one egg, a container of lowfat cottage cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 cups mozzarella cheese.  In a 9x13 pan, dump half the pasta mixture and spread the cheese mixture on top.  Top off with the remaining pasta mixture and sprinkle some more mozzarella cheese on top.  Super easy.  

350 degree oven- 30 minutes with aluminum foil covering the pan, then remove the foil for 20 more minutes.  

Here's what you get!


This dish ought to give us at least 4 meals, hopefully more.

I'll be back sometime this weekend with some goals for 2012... where the heck has this year gone...

Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas Recap

Does today feel like a Sunday or what?!  We spent the last couple days at my parents' farm, in NW Iowa.  I think this is the first time in many years that there was no snow.  It was so warm we contemplated playing a game of wiffleball outside, but instead just stayed inside and laid around like a bunch of bums.  It was awesome.

My mom made some pretty yummy stuff, as usual.  For lunch one day she made fish tacos.  They were fantastic, and I might have to try to replicate them.  It was fish cut up and sauteed with onions, celery and green pepper (I think at least, didn't watch her make them), and then toppings included cabbage, carrots, tomatoes and a sauce for the top, not sure what it was- cross between ranch and tartar maybe??



We did a lot of snacking, thanks to some relish and meat and cheese trays



Spinach Artichoke dip

On Christmas Eve we always go to the candlelight service at church then to my grandparents' house for supper.  It was quite the crowd this year as there were 6 little boys under the age of 5 there.  We had a feast of course.  I took a picture of just the appetizers...



I thought I was doing good filling up on veggies first, but Aunt Pat's spinach dip gets me every time!  It's so good.  And of course my grandma made those little "cheese and meat on rye bread squares" appetizers (not on the pic) so I had to have a few of those.  When it came time to eat the actual meal, I showed a little restraint.  Mostly because I saw the dessert options.  My aunt and her two daughters made some candy trays and I think I tried almost every single thing on there.  Didn't get a pic but my favorite were the red velvet cake balls.  Or the golden oreo cake balls.  Or the peppermint bark.  Yeah....

Christmas Day we were bums, like I said.  I did manage to finish Catching Fire AND Mockingjay, the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy.  I really liked the second book, but the third one was just ok.  Not as much action and it went into the psyche of the character a little more and how she responded to her responsibilities and the war around her.  Guess I don't really care so much about character development as I do about action and a fast plot.  Still a good series, and I will for sure be going to the movie when it comes out in March.

Since there wasn't much going on, I decided to have a bloody mary to get my day going.  

At 11:59 a.m.



I called it my "garden in a glass"





It had some vodka, Hair of the Dog Bloody Mary mix (out of Iowa City in case you're interested), pepper, green olives, celery, spicy pickles, pepperoncini pepper and pickled asparagus.  It was good, but it was a bit much, so I only had one.  Had to have a Bud Select 55 to cleanse my palate afterwards.

Here are some more goodies that my mom made for us:

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Chex Mix with cinnamon M & M's



Pumpkin cookies with chocolate chips



  

My immediate family got together on Christmas night for food and presents.  My family is growing every year, as we have two new babies and my brother just got engaged at Thanksgiving time.  So including babies, there are now 12 of us.  We've doubled in size.

We enjoyed a lovely supper of salad, pork loin, roasted veggies and corn casserole.  LOVED this meal.  Simple, healthy and delicious.  






So healthy that I decided to have one of each dessert option.  'Tis the season, right??  I had a piece of pumpkin roll and a piece of strawberry pineapple dessert.  With a glass of wine on the side.


We drew names this year and my dad drew mine.  I got a wine rack and an ice cream maker!!  Look out now... lots of ice cream and sorbet coming our way.  I've always wanted one so I could control how much sugar and what kind of ingredients go into the ice cream.  If Fareway had been open today, I would have made a pineapple sorbet.  Can't wait.

Tyler had a great time, he was such a good little boy.  He had a runny nose the entire time we were there, think it was because of the dry air or dust.  Still had fun.

Here are some pics of the baby on his first Christmas at the farm:

Tyler and Beau- partners in crime





Tyler and Great Grandpa Rodney

Tyler and Doris


My mom and dad's tree... always looks like it belongs in a magazine


part of the fam... anxiously awaiting the meal


Little Beau, all tuckered out


Tyler and crazy uncle Kyle





Go Cyclones!  Thanks Jake and Mollie!


Again, crazy uncle Kyle




Hope you had a happy and healthy Christmas!!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Here comes Santa Claus

I can't believe it's almost Christmas.  In case you didn't notice, my posts have been few and far between lately.  I feel like I have a billion things to do, but I'm slowly checking things off my lists.  I suppose that's why there are New Years resolutions, because things get so messed up during the holidays.

The last couple days have been busy, but I also have a new distraction.  Tyler (and possibly Hubby) gave me my Christmas present a couple days earlier.



I wasn't sure if I really wanted one, because it seemed like a lot of money, and then you have to buy books on top of that.  However, the books are cheaper, and this thing is awesome.  It's very portable, and no eyestrain at all.  I love that I can just download whatever I want to read within seconds.

So my first choice was the follow-up to The Hunger Games, Catching Fire.  I have heard that the second one is kind of boring and slow- not so!  I can hardly put it down.  You're lucky I'm writing this and not finishing the last 11% of the book (they have a little indicator that tells you how far you've read).

There's one more book in the series, so I'll definitely have it done by Monday.

Food-wise, we're still struggling a little bit, because we're only going to be home couple days then on the road again.  Here's what we've put together the last couple days (warning- not the healthiest food, thank goodness for my workout class):

Turkey and Swiss on a Sandwich Thin with jalapeno mustard and spinach, with a side of Baked Cheetos


Chicken fajitas- courtesy of the pre-made Fareway mix




Cinnamon Raisin Ezekial toast (added a pomegranate Chobani)



Homemade pizza with sausage rounds, leftover Thanksgiving ham, green peppers and spinach



AND CHEESE


Fajita chicken salad with salsa, plain Chobani, and crushed up red and green Mission tortilla chips




Tomorrow is looking to be a crazy day at work, last day before the holiday weekend.  Everyone that comes in for an adjustment gets a free gift, so we'll be busy.  Teaser alert... it's a Lifetime Chiropractic t-shirt!!  Come see us!

I'll leave you with a couple pictures of Tyler.  We did a 9 month photo shoot the other day.  At his doctor's visit he was 29 1/2 inches long and 19 lbs 4 oz.  85th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight... tall and skinny like his daddy.





Guess who went to see Santa today?!?!

Sorry- picture of a picture, hence the flash spot


And had his first Chik-fil-a?!?!

The little guy, not the big guy- he's had plenty of Chik-fil-a

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Life is good.

I am back, finally.  We had a great trip to Kansas to visit Hubby's family and friends.  I'm happy to report Tyler is doing much better, finally back to normal.  He did great on the car ride down and the car ride back, even though his little schedule was thrown off.

My schedule was off too, it was pretty tough getting up the last couple days.

I don't even know where to begin for the recap of the weekend, food-wise. It's not pretty.  Our road trip started off with some greasy gas station pizza.  I had one and a half slices of Casey's sausage pizza.  Let the fun begin.

The next day we had a Christmas gathering at Hubby's dad's house.  Grandpa Lance and his family cooked us up a great meal.  Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole... it was like Thanksgiving!  I showed a little restraint, focused mainly on the turkey, salad and a fruit compote.  Of course I had to sample the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes though.  Dessert was about 3 cake balls and a small piece of cherry cheesecake.  Sorry there are no pics of this feast.

Next morning we had breakfast sandwiches, using the leftover ham and rolls.



We went into Topeka and met up with Hubby's grandparents and aunt at a Jose Peppers, a Kansas City-based Mexican restaurant.

I ended up with this bad-boy... here's the snippet:


Do you like how it starts out with "healthy, all-white chicken"?  Just ignore the rest of the description...

I was a little concerned with the amount of cheese on top, it looked a little intense and it was.  I only ate one of these, and that was plenty.  I didn't even fill up on all the chips like I usually do because I was entertaining Tyler.  That really helped curb my calorie count for lunch.  I gave the other half of this to Hubby's sister, who hadn't eaten all day.



After that we headed to Lawrence for the rest of the day to have Christmas with Hubby's mom and sister and her boyfriend.  We ended up ordering some sausage and corn pizza from Glory Day's.  I don't have a picture but you can browse through my archives if you want one, since we pretty much get this every time we're down there.

So as you can see, I'm eating super healthy up to this point.  Or not really.

The next day we went to one of our old favorite restaurants, Henry T's.  They have awesome burgers.  Hubby and I split a Cajun burger, since it was a lot of food and we had been eating a ton.  It had Cajun seasoning, pepperjack cheese and grilled onions and peppers on top.  We had some sweet potato fries on the side.

Sorry- camera phone pic


After lunch we headed to Kansas City to visit friends.  Our buddy prepared some homemade chicken nachos for supper.  Sad to say but that was probably the healthiest of our meals, since he uses grilled chicken, multigrain tortilla chips and spinach.

On our journey home on Sunday, we stopped at Taco Bell.  I had a Mexican pizza.  Sorry I did not take a picture of all that crap.

Since we got in late on Sunday, we didn't have time to go grocery shopping.  For lunch we made the stupid decision to go to Hardee's.  I chose the hand-breaded buffalo chicken tenders and side salad.  When we got home, I cut up the chicken and put it in with the salad.  Homemade buffalo chicken salad!  Yum.






I didn't really eat last night, unless you count the 2 and a half beers I had at the bar after our volleyball game.  We won all three, so a couple of us went out to celebrate.  Needless to say, I'm pretty exhausted.  I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with all the traveling and crap I've eaten.

We at least did hit up the grocery store last night before volleyball so get some veggies and meat for the week.  Mini-detox before another weekend of debauchery.

Enjoy the pictures of the crap I ate, hope you did better with your motivation.  Here are a couple of cute pics of Tyler from the weekend: