Are they ALL yours?

Monday, March 19, 2012

32 pounds in 32+ weeks

I've been feeling pretty yucky over these last few weeks and I know it has everything to do with my diet and my weight. I really don't eat a lot, but what I do eat is typically pretty bad, as far as fat and calories go. I really need to change the way I eat and lose some weight! Here's my game plan :

-drink more water

-portion control

-make better choices about what I eat

-stay away from chocolate!

-exercise twice a week for 340 minutes (not much I know but you have to start somewhere!)

-don't eat after 7:30

My goal is to lose at least 32 pounds by my 32 birthday (why does 32 sound sooooo much older than 31?!?!?!?). It's in November. I have about 35 weeks to get that done, which means I have to lose about a pound a week. It sounds doable right?

The plan is to blog about my progress, but I know myself and I will prolly lose interest in blogging about it in about 3 weeks, so we will see how that goes. I might reveal my starting weight at the end, but right know I will just be blogging about what I am eating, and if I am exercising and how many pounds I am losing.

Today, March 19, I have had a cup of coffee, and a grilled chicken breast with grilled asparagus. Yum. I've heard that if you plan out what you are eating, it's a lot easier to stay on track, so I might be doing that as soon as i can research some tasty recipes.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Mardi Gras

We learned a lot about New Orleans Mardi Gras this year!
For example, the best area for parade watching with your family is Uptown. We avoided all the New Orleans parades last year because we thought everyone would be wild and crazy and rude and intoxicated, which it probably is in some places closer to the Quarter. But on St. Charles where we were there were no problems at all. We had a great time. And it is definitely more fun to go with friends since there can be a lot of waiting after setting up camp and also in between parades.

We caught the end of the Thoth parade.

A MUCH larger crowd that Friday night! Our friend Katy got up at 4am to secure us a spot at this parade.

Parents set up these benches that are screwed into the top of ladders so their kids can see and catch stuff. The wheels are so you can pull the ladder instead of carrying it.

Tyler had a great time!

Colby and a friend from campus sharing a ladder

My Freckle King!

Dancing bands!

The kids have so much fun catching stuff and hanging out with their friends.

the 610 Stompers, a dance group from New Orleans composed of men ages 20-60.

Some of our crowd from campus

Mason, Tyler and Aidan

The closer to Mardi Gras the parades got, the crazier they were. So we were done with parades after Sunday night. Last year on Mardi Gras we decided to go to the Tanger Outlet in Gonzales, and we did the same this year. This is at Cracker Barrel.

We all enjoyed a game of checkers : )


My moody teenager : )

We had so much fun at Mardi Gras this year thanks to our friends the Pucketts who provided a place to set up, food, fun and fellowship!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Our first New Orleans Parade!

We have been to parades before, but only in Lake Charles and Metairie. This was our first one in New Orleans.

On our way to the parades!

Still pretty early, not a whole lot of people out here yet...

Silly boy!

Football with friends!

Our little Jack Jack boo.

My handsome husband playing with the boys while we wait...

Some more waiting...you have to set up and reserve your spot, then you just hang out and visit and wait for the parades!

Waiting is a lot more fun when you are with friends...

Boys boys boys!

I was so scared they were gonna tumble into the street! But they didn't : )

Parade is about to start!

Lotsa people!

This is how they used to light up the parades way back in the day...I think they are called flambeaus?

We had so much fun!

Our sweet friends!

The floats are nothing like what we had back in Lake Charles!

The Uptown throws were so much better than any other parade I've ever been to. We are ready to go back tomorrow after all this rain gone!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

How I plan our menu

I honestly don't know how people can do dinner every night without a menu plan! It may just be me. I have to have a plan and recipe for almost everything I cook. My husband Kyle can just open up the pantry and refrigerator and whip up a 3 course gourmet meal. It's annoying but at the same time awesome! I do wish I could provide 'made from scratch' meals like that for my family but God did not bless me with cooking skills!

Here's how I plan our meals:

I use these cute menu planning sheets to write everything out. Since we homeschool, I try to plan breakfast, lunch and dinner. (I am also not a mom that does hot breakfast. I stay up late waiting for Kyle to get home from work so we sleep in in the morning! The boys must fend for themselves most mornings.) I also try and plan snacks. With 4 boys, someone is always hungry!

I use several sources for recipes. One of my new favorites is Pinterest. SO many great food ideas! Several of the dinner and lunch ideas I have in the photo are from Pinterest. My favorite this month are the pizza rolls (so awesome with homemade ranch!). I also use several blogs, such as Heavenly Homemakers, which has lots of healthy-ish and organic recipes. (I am not an organic mom by any means, but I try here and there to buy less processed food and make more things from scratch). I also like Pioneer Womans website for recipe ideas, like the Marlboro Man Sandwich (which we call Cowboy sandwiches). I also have several cookbooks I'll refer to every once in a while.

I'll just make my grocery list from the recipes listed on the planner and then I am ready to go! I make little checkmarks in the boxes after I have made sure I have written down all the ingredients for that dinner.

Thanks for stopping by and checking things out!