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Day: November 16, 2012

  • Lincoln in Theaters Today! {Date Night}

    Lincoln in Theaters Today! {Date Night}

    It’s Friday Night Date Night!
     
    In an effort to date my husband more, I’ll be bringing date night ideas to you each week! 
     
    Tonight, Lincoln, the new Steven Spielberg movie, is open in theaters. I have been waiting all summer for this movie!!!  We would be at the theater tonight, except we have other things going on this week.
     
    Here’s my idea though, and if you’re headed out to see Lincoln this weekend, you can use these to make the night a little more special
     
    Dress Code!
    Ladies – curl your hair in ringlets and pull back into a net. Then dust off those hoop skirts! (or borrow one, or wear your fanciest dress you own)
    
     
     
    Guys – pull out those suits, vests and pocket watches! If you have a top hat, wear that as well.

    Dinner
    If you’re doing dinner before the movie, find somewhere that has a good cornbread, and enjoy civil war fare.  Or whip up your own batch of cornbread and Lemonade.
     

    Then head on out and enjoy the show!  I’m hoping we can sneak away for a bit next weekend for our own date night.

  • How Big? {80 Bites, Week 2}

    How Big? {80 Bites, Week 2}

    Well, it’s week 2 of my new diet. Since week 1 was more about observation, I was pretty excited. This week, not so much. Trying to limit my number of bites, while remembering to count them as well, has been difficult. Mark needs the Ipad at school, so I don’t always have the 80 Bites App available to count for me.

    Remember how I said I thought the talking stomach was cute? Admittedly, I do still think he’s cute, but I found myself talking back to him when I disagreed with his comments. 

    Have you ever seen that commercial, where the teenage girls follow a man around and make comments about what he’s eating?  Haha, yeah. That’s what I felt like with this talking stomach. If I was eating too fast, he’d tell me to slow down, but in very humorous and um…snarky ways. When I reached over the “right” number of bites per meal he started congratulating me on eating for two….yep, I’m not eating for two.

    But I’m going to keep at it! I think over time I won’t feel as guilty or like a rebelling teen against the snarky stomach. That is the hope at least!

    Week 2’s tasks in the 80 Bites program includes watching the size of your bites. It really should be no bigger than a quarter….or an inch of a banana.  Which really makes sense to me, but I’ve also got a fairly small mouth. So I think I’m good on this one!

    Enough of my rambling, on to the weekly questions!
    Depending on the weeks tasks I may add to these questions.
     
    How Many
    Bites did you take?
    – I’m still trying to remember to count, but when I do, I am actually keeping it pretty close to 80.
    Do you feel
    deprived?
    – A little, but not in the sense I thought I would. I feel deprived of bites. I try to give myself 20 bites per meal, with 20 more for the rest of the days snacking. When I hit 20 though, and there’s still some yummy food in front of me, that is when I feel deprived. I’m big on flavors and taste, so I tend to over eat just to enjoy that flavor a little longer.
    Weight at the
    beginning of the diet?
    – 165 (that’s
    right I’m telling the world my weight!)
    Weight
    today?
    – 161.5
    Has it
    motivated you?
    – This week, not so much. But, I’ve been sick this week, so that really sucks the motivation out of me. All I’ve really wanted to do was indulge in quick and easy treats. Hopefully once I get over this, I’ll be motivated again to workout daily. I want to up my crunches from 50/day to 75/day, and go running at least once a week.
     
    Week 2 Question: Are there any times/situations that cause you to mindlessly eat?
    – You bet! Sometimes I get so focused on getting kids ready and fed, and dresses and laundry started in the mornings, that I forget to sit down and eat breakfast myself. I find when I skip breakfast, it causes mindless snacking the whole rest of the day! And I should know better. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all.
  • A 2 year old, a Hammer, and a Single Pane Window

    A 2 year old, a Hammer, and a Single Pane Window

    What do you get when you mix a 2 year old, a Hammer, and a Single Pane Window?

    Are we remodeling? you ask.  No, No we’re not. This happened shortly after Princess R, the mentioned 2 year old, locked herself (for the 3rd time) in one of the bedrooms. I attempted using the hammer to pry the door open, but the walls are a good 2-3 feet thick, and my hammer is not that long.

    I guess I left the hammer on the floor….though I may have also put it on Mark’s dresser. But that doesn’t matter, because Princess R climbs his dresser all the time in search of treats. I guess this time she thought the Hammer would be a fun toy.

    There I am, pot of water boiling for our Oh so Healthy Macaroni and Cheese lunch, mixing up a bottle for Prince L, when I hear it. The sound of glass shattering.

    What in the world? I say to myself. So I hand Prince L his bottle, and go investigate.

    I yell up the stairs “Girls, did something break?”

    “MOM! R has the Hammer and she hit the window!”

    SHOOT! Off I go, running up the stairs, just as I hear it again ~Shatter~ 

    Once I got the kids out of this room (which we don’t use for anything anyways), and the glass picked up, I made the dreaded call – our Landlord. How was I supposed to explain my 2 year old having a hammer, because I left out, because the doors have privacy locks that she can lock, but can’t figure out how to unlock, so I needed the hammer to pry her out without breaking the door, which resulted in her getting the hammer and breaking the window?

    Thankfully, it boiled down simply to “The kids were playing upstairs and a window got broken. What do you want me to do?”

    Well, hopefully he’s on his way over today to fix it. In the meantime, I probably should go cover it with some cardboard and tape to keep some semblance of heat inside the house.

    Of course after this little incident, we then had Princess C turn off the lights, and lock Princess R in another room. Sigh. I’m going to need some of these door muffs to keep the locks from being turned!

    Source: etsy.com via Adelina on Pinterest
  • Miffy’s Marvelous Muffins {Foodie Friday}

    Miffy’s Marvelous Muffins {Foodie Friday}

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    Hosted at
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    and
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    Miffy’s Marvelous Muffin Mix
    Apple Spice with Freeze Dried Strawberries

    Ingredients
    1 cup Apple Sauce – I used my home canned chunky applesauce
    1 egg
    3 TBS vegetable oil
    1/2 cup milk
    1 cup whole freeze dried strawberries
     
    Directions
    Follow the directions on the package to make and bake.  Be sure to remove the cinnamon and sugar pack before dumping the rest of the mix into your bowl -whoops!
     Since I used my chunky applesauce I left out the 2 peeled and chopped apples called for on the package, and since Miffy encouraged me to “make it (my) own”, I decided to toss some freeze dried strawberries in. The Princesses were as excited as me to eat these.
     
    I love that Miffy uses Organic Whole Grains and Whole Wheat in her muffin mixes. I was worried they would be too dense with all those grains, but they were really perfect. The kids also enjoyed them. Princess C and Princess R were found sneaking them all day long.
     
     
     
     
    ~FEATURES~
    Thanksgiving is next week! Can you believe it? I feel like November just got started.  Here are some yummy recipes from last weeks party that would be great for the holidays!  And since it’s a Holiday, I couldn’t stick to my normal 3 Features.  Enjoy
     
    Pesto, Tomato and Feta Straws
    from Love Bakes Good Cakes
    I think these would make a good twist to your dinner rolls at the Thanksgiving table.
     
    Mixed Green Salad with Dried Cranberries and Pistachios
    from Meatless Mediterranean
    Cranberries seem to be a classic Thanksgiving side. I personally like them the best in a salad.
     
    Pumpkin Pie, Gluten, Dairy and Egg Free
    From Not Missing A Thing!
    A few years ago many of my cousins were diagnosed with Celiacs Disease. We had Thanksgiving at their house, so finding foods they could all enjoy was difficult.
     
     
    Cranberry Butter
    from The Chic Geek
    This is such a creative take on Cranberries. Mark dips his rolls in the Cranberry Sauce, so I’m sure this would make a great alternative.
     
    Individual Apple and Eggnog Trifles
    From Aunt B on a Budget
    I’m not a big Eggnog fan, but these look delicious!
     

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