rain

rain rain rain.  all it did today was rain.  fitting for the day we buried Buddy.  There were lots of funny and sweet stories told today.  Buddy was a farmer and the rain today is already turning the world green. 

Buddy was loved dearly by many people.  Pray for my family as well as the Quest Farm family. 

Winfred A.

My family was hit by sad and shocking news.  Tuesday night, my great uncle, Buddy was found dead.  He was 80 years old.  Here's where you can view his obituary.

Buddy has lived at Quest Farm for as long as I can remember.  Quest Farm is an amazing place in Scott County where adults with developmental disabilities can live, work, worship and grow together.  Buddy has been at every Williams' family gathering I remember.  Buddy called me Marilyn as long as I can remember as well.  Buddy was a wonderful man who always saw the good in things.  He was a wonderful brother to my dada and I know they both loved each other very much.  The world is a sadder place without Buddy but I am thankful for my time with him. 

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal.  Love leaves a memory no one can steal." -Irish tombstone

RIP Buddy, or Winfred Awful as he was fondly known as.  You will be missed greatly.

He looks like he's got a secret doesn't he??  How handsome :)

quick note

One quick thing to note: laundry for the week is washed, dried, folded, hung and put up.  Woot woot!!

Crock Pot Chili for a sick weekend...

I've enjoyed my long weekend but have been under the weather.  Saturday I thought the perfect meal would be some crock pot chili from Skinny Taste.  I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while but Friday night I decided Saturday was the day.  I prepped the chili the night before and oh.my.goodness was it easy!?!  The anticipation was a killer though.  After getting the ingredients together Friday night, starting the crock pot Saturday morning and being home most of the day, I wouldn't have been able to handle it had the chili not been good.  Guess what though?  It was...fabulous!! 

One new fun thing I got to do was shred the chicken.   Yummy :)

 Now doesn't that look yummy??  Do yourself a favor and get out and make this chili!! Skinny Taste Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili.  Not to mention the fact that this is major low cal and mega fiber!  I've had two servings this weekend and still lost 1.4 pounds this week. 

Back to school tomorrow.  It was nice to have president's day off though.  Got a lot accomplished and some major rest :) Also got a cute new plant. 

Let's hope she'll make it.  I think I should name her...suggestions??

I'm outta here for now.  Off to bed before the rose ceremony on The Bachelor :)

the going is getting tough...

This week I have felt like munching.  No munching.  No munching.  No munching!!  I plan my snacks but I've wanted to munch beyond my daily points. 

As much as I want to snack extra, I keep trying to focus on how my pants fit better and my tops look better.  My body is loving being without those extra 36 pounds.  But boy oh boy.  This is when the going gets tough. 

As my shirt I had as a kid said, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going to Grandma and Grandpa's house." 

slacker...

It's been weeks and weeks.  A problem has been mounting in my life.  I couldn't get ahead of the problem.  And my problem???

Laundry!!  AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

It has been too many week!  How I've even found things to wear I honestly couldn't even tell you.  I always wash my clothes each week but rarely get around to folding them.  Well, ladies and gentlemen, here is what happens when you slack off major.

So Saturday I decided this problem will NOT defeat me.  I folded and folded and folded some more.  Phoebe was much less stressed.

She slept on.  And what did I do?  I folded and folded and folded some more.  Phoebe?  Well she moved seats and slept some more.

At the end of the day, however, I was the ultimate victor!!

YEEEEEEHAW!!!!

In other news, Nathan and I celebrated Valentine's day on Saturday night.  We got all dressed up and went out to Bellini's.  We were so lucky because we got a gift certificate for $25 for only $10 on restaurant.com.  And I had found 80% off of that so we got a $25 gift certificate for $2!!  WHAAAT?!?  Major woot!

Bellini's was hopping and we had to get a 9:00 reservation.  I took a nap beforehand.  I felt like a hipster eating dinner at 9 pm but I think I was faking it :)

We both had tortellini which was marvelous.  This is a picture (sorry for the bad quality) of the tortellini.  I've never had tortellini like this.  It was so good!!  We only got about 7 tortellinis and at first Nathan and I were not thrilled.  For $18 a plate, I expected more.  However, I was full and ended up giving my last one to Nathan.

And because I love a good deal, the meal was even better.  The sauce made it all worth it but the price was fabulous.  Two meals, one glass of wine, $10 gratuity and we only paid $30.  I was thrilled especially since the meals were so much.

My recommendation to you is this: go to www.restaurant.com and check out restaurants in your area.  Then follow couponcravings.com and they post restaurant.com discounts.

I love saving money.  I love eating good food.  And I love Nathan!!

bag lady

So how many bags must you have to be too many?? 

Pizza Pizza!!

Another easy meal (my fave!!) 

DiGiorno pepperoni pizza!! These pizzas are a little more expensive that the Tostino pizzas I used to buy but totally worth it.  They are crispy, super tasty and only 5 points!!  Woot woot!!  My fabulous little toaster oven  also saves me from heating up the big ol' oven for a pizza. 

Since I had a few extra points for dinner, I added a baked potato again.  I decided to google some potato nutrition facts and found this website.  http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=48  My favorite thing that I read is that potatoes may be healthier than broccoli.  WHAAAAAT?!?!  Good news for a girl who hates greens!  I take that back...GREAT news for a girl who hates greens!!

Now tell me that doesn't look good?? And for only 8 points?  I am full now which is a wonderful feeling :)

In other news, had a good day at school today.  Got to teach whole group for a while and it was good.  It's amazing to see how much I have grown in classroom management in the last year since beginning student teaching.  Keep putting those good thoughts and prayers out there that I will find a teaching job for next year. 

Until next time, happy munching :)

Simple dinner

One of my favorite meals, and the easiest, is a turkey burger.  Since I have started Weight Watchers (WW), I have not had a big ol' hamburger.  These turkey burgers seem to fill the need for now. 

I buy the Jennie O turkey burgers.  They seem to be the cheapest (about 8 bucks for a bag of 10 or 12) and they are pre-pattied.  I find these in the store in the freezer door section between shrimp and fish and the butcher section. 

I make mine on the George Foreman grill which cooks on both sides and takes about 4 minutes.  I sprinkle garlic seasoning to add some flavor. 

I've just switched on buns and this is a real steal!!  Same number of points for buns but more filling!

If you are a WW fan, you will see that these are a power food and only two points!!  Yum.

I usually add a little fat free mayo which, in moderation, has no points.  And there you go, 4 minutes late and you have a flavorful, easy 6 point main course! (The turkey burger is 4 + bun = 6)

Tonight, I added a baked potato for 3 points.  I always weigh my potatoes to make sure I'm exact on my points calculations.  I use spray butter which is zero points and makes the potato taste wonderful!!

And there you go.  A simple dinner that takes under 6 minutes to make and is only 9 points!  Woot woot!

Now off to bed early.  Not sure why I was so exhausted today but I spent most of the day in a daze!  Happy eating :)

Beginning

I'm not sure where this blog is going to go.  I only know that as an avid blog reader, I think it could be fun to start a blog.  I've been thinking about it for a while and finally a push from my friend Sarah convinced me. 

I've been doing Weight Watchers since September and am loving it.  I've completely changed my eating habits which has led to lots of new discoveries and frustrations, especially when Weight Watchers changed their program only a short two months after I had begun.  Suddenly, I was recalculating points and finding that foods I had grown to love in that short two months, were now ridiculously high in points and no longer worth it.  My grandparents and my mom have all been doing Weight Watchers as well.  I spent lots of time in the grocery store calculating points.  I never buy something unless I have calculated the points.  I share lots of ideas with my mom and my grandparents via text messages with pictures and comments.  This blog will hopefully be a chance for me to write down some of my different food ideas to keep them in an easy to find place for others as well as myself. 

Like I said, I had been thinking about blogging when Sarah mentioned it to me.  She had brought over a WW (Weight Watchers) friendly dessert one night and I have been hooked.  I shared a picture on facebook one night and had several comments.  It makes me think that other people are looking for simple and easy food ideas.  A four point dessert that you don't have to even make??  I am sold!!

This angel food cake is sold at Kroger and is often 2 for $5.  One angel food cake has 8 servings so you really get a lot of bang for your buck (and your points!!)!  With the new WW points system, fresh strawberries are ZERO points and adding a bit of Spelenda makes them so sweet.  The whipped cream is no fat which equals zero points in moderation.  I heap on the strawberries to make this sweet dessert super filling and totally worth the 4 points!!

Meanwhile, I've lost 34.8 pounds so far (and I include the .8 because it seems small but it sure does matter!!)  I'm focused on a healthier me and am close to being within my healthy weight range.  I've joined a gym and work out several days a week.  I hope you are able to enjoy my blog as I figure out where exactly I want to go with it.  Stay tuned....