#TBT Halloween & Pumpkin Roll Recipe

 Oh my, my, my...

Dog and Beth the Bounty Hunters
Halloween 2009ish
Weighing around 220 pounds 

Snow White and Dopey
Halloween 2010ish 
Weighing in at 170 pounds 

Trunk or Treat
Last night
Weighing in at 204 

Chris's Nanny, or as we call her Sparky, makes the BEST pumpkin roll. This cute little 78 year old lady lives in Chris's hometown of Milledgeville. To this day she still dresses to a T, wears big sunglasses, emails and reads my blog. She's precious and is a red headed spit fire. Thus her name...Sparky! 

The hubs and Sparky at our wedding shower

When I first heard of a "Pumpkin Roll" I thought, "Yuck pumpkin," but it really is sooooo delicious. If my man child will eat it you know it's good. Alrightee here's the recipe ladies. AND if you love it make two because this freezes really well. Then just take it out when you need it. 

Sparky's Pumpkin Roll 

What do you call three drunk ghosts? 

Aww come on you know...

Three sheets to the wind!! Hahaha 

Learning to Forgive

On the way to work this morning this overwhelming feeling hit me. I was mad and sad all at the same time. Have you ever had a situation take place and you didn’t even realize it upset you until later? Well several months ago I had one of those situations happen. I felt mad, cheated and wondered what in the world I did wrong. Until this morning I didn’t realize I’d been harboring anger for months. I had to stop and just pray. Was I done wrong? Yes. Did it hurt? Yes. BUT harboring anger only hurts ME. I asked God to please let me forgive and still help me to be a kind person.

“Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” 

Philippians 4:8

Sometimes we all have thoughts that we tell absolutely no one. We tuck them away in our heart and over time we can become bitter. I don’t know your situation, or what you are going through, but I do know that the things we think on feed our souls. Just because we don’t voice our thoughts, and guard our words and actions, what we think matters.

I have to remind myself that when I think I have no one to talk to or to lean on, because I couldn’t be more wrong. God wants to hear our moans and groans. He also wants to help heal our hearts so we can be at peace.

“Cast thy burden upon on the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” 

Psalm 55:22

Transformation Tuesday-Get Your Head in the Game

I hate to admit it but clean eating is HARD!!! I did really well for about a week but then…

I got HANGRY.

Yes, I spelled it right…HANGRY!! I mean there are only so many fruits and vegetables you can eat before you just want something filling. And honey let me tell you, I found lots of “filling” foods this weekend.

Friday night the hubs Mom and Step Dad came into town, so we took them to Ruby Tuesdays. I could have gotten just the salad bar or a low cal entrée but I DIDN’T!! I got pasta, LOTS of pasta, and I ate every last bit of it. Okay that’s just one meal right?!?! Oh no mam, not for me. A switch went off in my head Friday night and I reverted back to my “eat everything in sight” because tomorrow this ends mentality. Problem is, that lasted ALL weekend. Did I have a great weekend? Yes. Did we laugh histerically at all of Chris’s jokes? Yes. BUT I still could've had a good time without eating everything in sight. Why do I feel like the only way to have fun is to get to eat everything I want? Bless it. 

Top/Skinnes-JcPenney
Flats-Target
Chris's Mom and I went to get a mani
Saturday and left the boys at home watching
football. She's a nut and keeps me laughing.
Guess that's where Chris gets it from!
Hmmmm...
I think I might start using a polish change on
my fingers/toes as a reward for doing well
each week. $6 isn't bad at all...
and it makes me feel pretty. 

After church Sunday morning we ate lunch at RYAN’S before saying our goodbyes to Chris’s parents. Sunday night, we went to a big fish fry at church and by the time we got home I felt like absolute crap!! I was so tired, grouchy and didn’t feel like doing anything. Dear Lord I over did it. I knew I had to pull myself together. So, even though I had a million lesson plans to write, I ran to the grocery store and picked up a few things. Then I packed all of my breakfasts and lunches for the week. 

5 Breakfasts-
2-Turkey sausage and scrambled eggs
2-Cottage cheese, pineapple and grapes
1-Oatmeal
5 Lunches-2-Chili
2-PB2 sandwich and banana
1-BBQ chicken and green beans
All I spent was $12 at the grocery store.
Everything else was leftovers. Not bad!!

It took all of Monday to "detox" from the weekend. I'm feeling much, much better today but I guess the moral of my story is...

You're gonna mess up!! 

You're gonna eat like crap sometimes!! 

You're NEVER going to be perfect!! 

BUT you just have to hold your head high and get back in the game. 

Saturday in that pretty green shirt
I felt just like this girl again...

All 274 pounds of her!!

THIS GIRL is who I want to feel like again. 
Being reminded of that is the
reason I'm keepin on keepin on!

#TBT You Suck!!

Who in the heck started throwback Thursday? Whoever you are I just want to say...

You Suck!! 

Every time Thursday rolls around I have mixed emotions. My #tbt pics bring back happy memories PLUS sad memories. I look at myself when I was 274 pounds and think, “How did I let myself get like that? “ I feel embarrassed and ashamed, but proud of how far I've come, all at the same time. Then I see pictures from my wedding, our first couple years of marriage and think, “Wow, I looked great!” I remember the feeling of happiness from purely being able to be myself for the first time ever. Then, every glorious Thursday, I long for that feeling again. Sigh.

2009ish-Hospice Benefit Ball 

May 29th 2010 with my sweet maid
of honor Kristen before the wedding

My Taddies has loved me big, small
and everything in between. In her
little eyes I am the perfect big sissy! 

Right now I am working my bootie off but I am stuck right in the middle. I’m not the 164 pounds I was at one time, but I’m for sure not the 274 pounder I was either. I feel "okay" with myself but I wouldn’t call it comfortable. I’m no longer ashamed of myself but I’m not proud of myself either. 

I want to feel PROUD!! 

I want to look back and smile because I am in the best shape I’ve ever been in not then but...NOW!! 

Am I the only human who over thinks throwback Thursday?!?! Guess I just need to keep on a truckin and maybe I can talk everybody into changing it to #todaybabytoday!

Weigh In Wednesday & 3 Clean Eating Recipes

Have you ever heard healthy people say, "Failing to plan is planning to fail"? I want so badly to roll my eyes and buy them a freaking cheeseburger but, I can't believe I'm saying this, they are RIGHT!!

I fail to plan in two different ways:
1. I don't buy groceries and eat whatever is in sight because I'm starving or...
2. I don't anticipate the temptations I'm going to have to face.

Up until Saturday night I was doing great on my clean eating diet. Then we had a cookout. I BLEW IT!! I mean I crashed and burned baby. I even bought chicken to grill and a sweet potato but still ate a dang hamburger AND a hotdog!! I just let myself get too hungry and I didn't plan on the temptations that would be ahead of me. I gave in! I'm not going to agonize over it though, cause ain't nobody got time for that. Instead I've turned from my wicked ways and decided to P.L.A.N.

Hobo Pouches

-1 squash
-1 zucchini
-1 red or yellow bell pepper
-1 small onion
-1 package turkey sausage
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-salt/pepper
-Mrs. Dash garlic and herb seasoning

Instructions:
Cut vegetables and sausage into desired thickness. Toss in olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic/herb seasoning. Place in foil packet and bake on 400 for 35 to 40 minutes. Easy! 

Honey Chicken Kabobs

-2 chicken breast cut into chunks
-1 onion
-1 red bell pepper
-1/4 cup honey
-1/4 cup soy sauce
-1 teaspoon minced garlic

Instructions:
Whisk together honey, soy sauce and garlic. Cut vegetables and chicken into chunks and salt/pepper. Toss veggies and chicken in honey mixture, place on skewers and grill. Flip kabobs every couple minutes for around 10 minutes. Enjoy! 

Quesa Dillas

-1 avacardo...that subway commercial cracks me up!!
-1 can black beans
-1 can green giant Mexican style corn
-1/2 rotisserie chicken shredded
-Horizon organic mozzarella shredded cheese
-Whole wheat tortillas

Spray skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Add tortilla to medium high heat pan. Add toppings desired. Cook for several minutes or until cheese is melted. Fold and serve...yummy!! 

Friday I was a little too excited and weighed in prematurely BUT I was down 3.2 pounds. This morning I was down another .8 pounds for a total of 4 pounds gone since last Wednesday. That's more than I've lost in the past 3 weeks!! Gotta keep up the clean eating and hard work but most importantly plan, plan, plan!!

Down 32.4 pounds…eek!!!
Shirt-TJ Maxx
Earrings-Banana Republic
Scarf-too old to remember 

Living Room Makeover

I was really tired of our blah living room so Friday, while I was off on Fall Break, I decided to give it a makeover. At first I was a little scared to go for the bold color I loved, but I got my courage up and just went for it. No, I didn't ask the hubs before I did it. Girls, I've learned one very important thing in these 3 1/2 years of marriage...

Men just don't get it!!

So, if you're gonna do something in your house it's better to just ask for forgiveness later. I'm sure that's in the Bible somewhere. Right? 

BEFORE

Sorry forgot to take a pic before I started
moving furniture away from the wall.
I promise it wasn't this bad!

AFTER 

Color is Seascape-
It took 1 gallon and 1 quart to finish
the living room. That's with only one
coat because Valspar paint +
primer is the jam and so worth
the extra $$. 

I bought new throw pillows to tie all
the colors together but that's it...really!!

My Grandma got me all kinds of
baskets from a garage sale for FREE. I
was more excited than Chris Jacobs
at a George Jones concert son!!

Truth be told I had no clue how I was going to tie all of my brown, red and green decor together by painting the walls blue. BUT somehow it all ended up working out. Isn't it amazing how a little throw pillow or end table decor can make everything go?! The curtains in the foyer don't have a stitch of blue in them but I think they ended up looking fine. Now it's time to move on to my next project. I'm thinking the dining room would look great with the top gray (thanks Julie) and the bottom white with wainscoting?!?! 

Lamps I picked up at a garage sale
Friday for $2 each. I'm thinking about
painting them with Krylon's Looking
Glass spray paint and then adding
burlap shades. Hmmmm?!?!

Got this dresser from Corner Market
in Downtown Blakshear, GA Friday. Click
 HERE to see my post on this cool place.  

Using the dresser as a buffet. Can't
wait to start working on this room.
Hmmm....
I wonder when I'll be off and
Chris will be at work? Ha!

Weigh In Friday?!?! (Sausage Pinwheel Recipe)

I couldn't help myself y'all. I weighed in this morning. I know that's a "no, no" but I was just curious to see if this clean eating diet had started to take effect or was even working. Guess what?!?!

After WEEKS of staying between 206-208, as of this morning I am now at 204.8!!! That means I have officially lost 31.6 pounds. Whooo hoooo!!! I'm literally in shock. It's only been three days since I started my clean eating diet. I wouldn't say it's been hard, I would say it's taken thought....lots of thought! Before I put something in my mouth I have to ask myself, "Is this a 100% whole grain, fruit, vegetable etc." I've never in my life done that or cared so it's a MAJOR change. We've even been out to eat 2 of the 3 nights since I've started. I've just made better decisions. 

Wednesday night we went to a Japenese
take-out place. I got a side of shrimp with
no butter/soy and a side of zucchini and
onion with no butter/soy. It was soooo good!!!

Lunch Thursday-
100% whole wheat bagel thin with PB2,
a banana and grapes. PB2 is freaking
awesome and only has 45 calories vs.
180 for regular peanut butter.  

Dinner Thursday night at Ranchero's.
It's just like a Barberito's so I got a grilled
chicken salad loaded with veggies and
mixed in guacamole as my dressing.  

I can't promise you MY WAY is the correct way of doing Clean Eating but apparently it's working....
-Only 1 coke zero a day 
(These are not allowed with clean eating BUT I will have to detox myself slowly)
-Water, water, water, water 
(I've never drank so much water in my life. It's the only thing I have in my frig, besides what the hubs drinks, so I'm not tempted)
-3 small CLEAN meals a day and a CLEAN snack  
(Sorry I just can't do the whole 6 meals thing with my job)
-Watching my calories but not counting them 
-I've only been able to exercise twice this week so I've got to step that up and put more effort in 

TMI-This clean eating makes you very REGULAR. 

I may be losing weight from pooping twice a day folks!! 

Now from my bowels to what I've been up to this week...
Wednesday my kids at school helped me cater for a Career Day breakfast. We went with a fall theme and it turned out totes cute. We went simple and had lots of fruit, muffins, sausage pinwheels, jewish coffee cake (click HERE for recipe), water, coffee and juice. 

Centerpieces-
Wrapping paper cut into large
squares, hay and a BIG pumpkin

Hay made the cutest and cheapest runner 

Sausage pinwheels are ALWAYS a hit!
All you need is 2 cans croissants, cream
cheese and 1/2 roll of mild sausage.
Brown/drain sausage and add to softened
cream cheese. Press croissants together
from each can to make 2 rectangles,
spread sausage/cheese, roll into a log
and cut like cinnamon rolls.
Bake on 350 for 12-15 minutes. 

Add your ice in first and then you can
place your oranges.
Promise they won't move like this!!

Stole this idea from Pinterest 

Have a FABULOUS weekend and remember... 

Weigh In Wednesday & CLEAN Eating

Over the past three weeks my weight has fluctuated between 206 and 208. I am down 30 pounds but now I’m stuck there dangit!! And to be honest, it’s discouraging even though I knew it WOULD happen. It happened before when I lost down to 164 pounds. I know it’s NORMAL but, as normal as it is, it ticks me off. I thought by now I would be in the low 190’s, wearing all of my cute dresses again and no longer having a two as the first number of my weight. Sigh.

Here’s the thing…

I’ve got to stick to setting my goals and not give up. This is a big A hump in the road but I WILL get over it. Monday I set my new goals and one of them was to “eat as CLEAN as possible”. I’m thinking this will get me over my hump and on top of that make me feel better. I’ve been staying within my 1,200 calorie range but I’ve been eating the heck outta some processed foods. I LOVE fat free hotdogs, flour tortillas, ice cream and little kid cereal. Who doesn’t? BUT I guess the old saying is true “no pain, no gain”. So y’all I’m diving in head first to this Clean Eating thing. I have no clue what I’m doing or exactly what I can/can’t eat. BUT just doing it is the only way to learn. 

Last night I “researched”, okay I googled and pinterested, Clean Eating. I found some pretty cool stuff and now I pretty much get the concept. My understanding is that you cut out ALL processed/refined foods, fast food, sugar and white flour. Dear God, that’s everything I love!! You ARE, however, allowed to have fresh fruits/vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and limited dairy products. To me the hardest part is going to be cutting out sugar. I literally eat an oatmeal cream pie everyday and I know that a McDonalds happy meal has exactly 420 calories. BUT looking at the results of clean eating makes me feel MUCH better…

These two are the coolest couple.
They have been married 6 years and are
committed to clean eating. Just visit their
website. I PROMISE it won't disappoint!!
www.heandsheeatclean.com

I’m excited about starting my Clean Eating diet and going to the grocery store after work today. That’s saying a WHOLE heck of a lot! Especially considering I go the grocery store two, or sometimes three, days a week for my culinary classes. Guess I was bored with the same ole, same ole and didn’t even realize it. I’m hoping next week when I weigh in I will have some good news to share about overing my...

Hump get it??? Because today's Hump Day...I'm so lame!!  

My Mama actually told me about this lady 
a while back. She's really neat!! She not 
only has recipes but she also has a Clean 
Eating 101with shopping lists for Trader 
Joes, Costco, Wal Mart, Amazon etc. 
Check her out at: 
www.thegraciouspantry.com