a new goal or two

I need to set some new goals. I have found that I cannot do this without the Lords help. I have been praying for help, but really not doing my part. So, from today, well really tomorrow, since it is almost time for me to go to bed-I will get up before 6 am no matter how much sleep I get. I will get in an hour of exercise everyday-except Sunday. and I will pray and read my scriptures to gain the help and insight I need to succeed. and I will use the knowledge that i have learned through weight watchers, and the word of wisdom to plan healthy meals for me, and my family. I plan to count points again, so I can get rid of some of this weight.

so I have been slacking. i haven't been doing a lot of running. But today I walked a good amount. I am thinking close to 3 miles. I need to stop scheduling things early in the AM. I'm gonna keep on trying.

I slacked on exercising over the weekend, because it was raining and it was General conference. Today I didn't get a run in either. I am a slacker. but I will get it in. I am disappointed because I thought I did good all week, and I gained weight, probably yesterday's yummy cinnamon rolls. oh well.

today's exercise was good. Yesterday I got nothing. Day was so busy. But today I did my normal walk the kids to school, which was a little faster than normal because the boys were on their scooters. then I ran home. then I ran to get Logan and walked back. I also vacuumed, and cleaned the kitchen. that hasto count for something. We went to the temple tonight, so I am going to continue to have heavenly help. Eating was good today. I made this yummy untunafish casserole. and then Jared and I shared a Nielsens Frozen custard. It was good. We went after the temple tonight. It was good to get out with 2 couples from our ward and I can't not take advantage of those friendship building times. I was glad Jared was willing to share with me. It was good.

10/01

Today was another good day. I did splurge on a home made whole wheat cinnamon roll tonight. But it didn't have very much frosting or anything, so maybe it wasn't too bad to eat. I ate really good all day. I ran/walked for 45 minutes and walked for 40 minutes. I am happy about how this week is turning out. Too bad Sunday is General Conference and we always have big, gooey, yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast. MMMMM I cna't wait.

9/30

I know I am a little behind. But I didn't want to go without posting about the day. Yesterday was great. I ran for 45 minutes and walked for 30. I think this increase is really going to help. My eating was good. I even gave up ice cream that the scout leaders offered. will power, motivation, and heavenly help. Its working. Its Wednesday and I am still on track. This is good. hoping for a smaller weight on Monday.

today was a great day. It was busy as usual, but I feel like I did pretty good eating, I guess I could have done better than a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. but that is what I made for the boys, and it looked so good. But I did a lot better with the junk food, and not eating quite so much all day. And I did 1 hour of exercise. half hour of running this morning, and at least 1/2 an hour of vacuuming at the church tonight. (it was our turn to clean. all in all a pretty good day. the only sucky thing was that I only lost .2 pounds this week. Hopefully with adding another 1/2 an hour a day of exercise and keeping within my points i will lose more.

today was a great day to walk. It was over cast and a decent temperature. Next week I am going to need to up my activity. or at least make sure I walk twice a day or ride and walk. any ideas on what would be a good addition?

9/25

yesterday I did not get a walk in. We had therapy, park day and grandma and Tom to visit. when they were gone it was dinner, showers, and a quick trip out to rejuvenate before I put the kids to bed. by this time it was really dark. Today we had therapy early too but we walked to get Logan from school. Jared is gone until Sunday so I am going to enjoy the walking time, just for a good happy feeling time.
Eating is going well so far this week. I haven't been writing anything down, but I have been watching more closely at what I eat. Next week I will have to start writing.

9/23

We had therapy today, so I wasn't able to walk the kids to school, so I ran/walked to get Logan from Kindergarten. It was hot, and hard (pushing 70+ pounds of kids) but it felt good.
Eating today is going good so far, but the water intake needs to be pushed.

my goals

It has been even longer since i posted here. I guess I stepped off the weight loss wagon for awhile. But it is such a needed thing for me that I hopped back on. It is over whelming to me because I have a goal to lose about 65 more pounds. I can't seem to get my butt out of bed at 6 am, and if I don't exercise at that time, it doesn't happen. So I decided to just start again by walking to and from school and that is going to have to be good for now. I want to make that a habit, and then still try to get up early to run. Eventually Logan will learn how to ride his bike and we will ride to school. I am really looking forward to that. I am going to need your help-someone has to read this occasionally right? besides myself, so I plan to be accountable to you, and blog everyday, or almost every day. I need encouragement and whatever else you think I need that day. I wanted to join curves- to have someone to be accountable to, and to get that strength training in, but its just not going to work. So I am going to work on it myself.
So today I walked to the school and back, and I am going to head out again to walk as soon as it is time to get Logan from Kindergarten. I will post my food later. I am going to try and stick to the Weight Watchers Plan. I know it, so I just need to get back on. Thanks for listening to my rambling.
I am back to add a little more. Today's eating was okay. It wasn't great, but it is better than it has been.I had a lot of veggies, not enough of milk, or grains. It is a work in progress, right? Walking was good. I figured out that to the school is about .7 of a mile-so probably a mile and a half once you count going into the school and back out, and about an hour and twenty minutes-some walking Logan's speed. I need to set some goals. so my goals are:
1. To make walking a habit
2. To eat healthier, and start counting points again
3. To get more sleep every night (making sure I go to bed earlier)
4. To get my family involved in making healthy choices for all of us
5. Start with losing 10% of my weight
I think this is good for now.
I am trying to remind myself that I am important, that I deserve the time I take to exercise, and that I can accomplish whatever I set my mind to.
thanks for sticking with me this long!

10 Minute Chilaquiles

Ten-Minute Chilaquiles Recipe courtesy Jeanne Lemlin
Show: Sara's Secrets
Episode: Everyday Vegetarian
The sauce:
1 cup salsa (preferably medium hot)
2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
1 (14-ounce) can pinto or kidney beans, rinsed well in a strainer
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
The fixings:
1 (11-ounce) bag corn chips (about 8 cups)
1 cup sour cream
2 cups grated Monterey Jack
2 tablespoons minced cilantro, optional


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a large bowl. Pour half the sauce into a shallow 2 1/2-quart (12 by 7 by 2-inch) baking dish, and top with half the corn chips. You can crumble the chips slightly to make an even layer. Drop little spoonfuls of half the sour cream all over the chips, then sprinkle on half the cheese. Top with the remaining chips, sauce, sour cream, and cheese.

Bake 35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly around the edges. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the cilantro and serve. You can cut it into squares and serve using a spatula, or use a large spoon to scoop out the chilaquiles.

Cook's Note: Some packaged corn chips are very salty. Look on the back of the bag for the sodium content and choose a brand that has no more than 110 milligrams of sodium per serving. These will be the most flavorful corn chips and won't be overly salty to eat or use in the casserole.

For advance preparation: Make the sauce up to a few hours ahead and lay out all the other ingredients. Don't assemble chilaquiles, however, until the last minute so the corn chips retain a tiny bit of texture when baked

from the Food Network

recipes

Pasta and Sausage(this is supposed to be kid friendly, we'll see)
this recipe came from Discovery National Body Challenge website
1 cup whole wheat pasta, cooked (about 3 oz dry)
1/4 cup onions, diced 17 4 0 0 0
1 cup red&green bell peppers, chopped
1 link Italian turkey sausage
1/2 clove garlic
2 TBS parmesan cheese
1 cup broccoli
1 cup skim milk

Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Spray pan with non-stick spray; heat over medium-high heat.
Add turkey sausage and cook about 3 minutes. Add onions, garlic and peppers.
Cook until vegetables are tender and sausage is browned.
Mix pasta with sausage and peppers. Serve with parmesan cheese.
Steam broccoli until tender (about 5-10 minutes).
(to eat on the side)

running today and riding bike today. I did a similar route for both, just went a different direction on the same path. I still plan to do push up, sit ups and the bun and thigh rocker before the days out. we have one more week in our competition between Jared and I. I am a little nervous. ButI have lost a little bit of weight, so that's all that really matters.

I am back to running. It has been ages. But it felt great to actually run some. I also am doing a push up challenge-to be able to do 100 push ups in 6 weeks. We'll see how it goes. I did 100 sit ups this morning too. and then went out and pulled weeds. Lets see how I feel tonight. I might not be able to move. Jared and I are in a weight loss competition. He has been winning until this week. I won. Maybe now I will be motivated this week to watch what I eat. wish me luck.

no exercise today. I got less than 4 hours of sleep, and didn't get out of bed. I did work in the garage for several hours today. I guess that counts for something.

no run today. I got up with Austin at 5 hoping to get back into bed quickly, but it didn't happen, so I missed the alarm and slept on the couch until 7:15. Today will be a busy day anyway, maybe tonight I will get some form of exercise in. Not likely though. I am down .2 pounds. which is surprising. I am sure my eating habits from the weekend will bite me next week.

running was hard today. Not really on my body, just my lungs. The cold air kept it too hard to breath. Too many days without it and being used to the chilly air while I am trying to run. Running in the afternoon is hard too, because by then its too hot. But its done. I also did 100 crunches. I know I didn't lose any weight this week. I ate so bad this weekend-at least in the car. I have to eat while traveling, and its never anything too good. maybe I can find some good traveling tips on the weight watchers website for our next trip to SLC. I decided I need to count points again, but haven't really started doing it. Guess now is as good a time as any. I had oatmeal for breakfast, that's a good start.

Today was an all over workout on the ball. It was good. Not nearly as hard as running, so I guess I need to increase the length of time. But I did do a workout, so no slacking today. The scale went back up almost the whole pound I lost the week before, so i guess I need to start counting points. Its time to just do it. I know how to eat right, I have no excuses. Today started out bad in the food department. But I will try harder.

I did an easy run today. I wasn't pushing to get ready for a race anymore. I enjoyed it. But there are a few races coming up, not sure what I want to do. Its good to have a race as motivation. So I should pick something and just go for it. I feel really good about doing the Run 4 Kids. I set a goal and was able to actually stick with it and accomplish it. It felt so good. Usually I set goals, and don't go through with it. Running is something I can stick with, and if I pay money to run a race its great motivation to keep on running.

so today's run was okay. Not nearly as good as I would need for a race tomorrow. But I know its going to okay. My goal is to just finish the race.

I woke up Wednesday, of last week, with a very sore back, trying not to hurt it more I took it easy on the running. well that hurt my good running streak. It is so hard. It has been super windy-and that has made it really not fun. But its getting better. I did lose 1 pound last week. YEAH. The race is Saturday. My only requirement is finishing, no matter what the time or the place. Pray for me, I'm gonna need it.

Cowboy Enchiladas

12 flour tortillas
4 chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can diced green chilies
1/2 pound grated cheese

mix soup, sour cream, green chilies in bowl. Spread spoonful over tortilla, add chicken down middle, then cheese, roll place in pan. Continue with remaining tortillas. Spread remaining sauce over rolled enchiladas. Bake 350 15-20 minutes or until bubbly. Enjoy.

today's run was great. almost 2 miles. and better yet I lost 4 pounds last week. WOOHOO. Only 4 pounds until I hit my lowest weight yet. Running is working.

I have to say that today was the best run yet. I ran the whole loop-1.6 miles. I am so excited. It is a great accomplishment. WOOHOO for me.

eating yesterday wasn't too bad, except for the too many chocolates I had. Today's eating will probably be sporatic because we have dr. appts, play group, grocery shopping, YW pres meeting, dinner to make for a friend, and dinner at a friends.
Running wasn't so good today either. I had these wonderful pads in my shoes, and they are hard plastic and shot my shins into a fit. So I am really sore. I hope it wears off and I can get a good run in later.

running the last two days has been great. Yesterday I ran 3 minutes then break, then 5 minutes, then break. Today, I was having trouble at first, so I only ran 3 minutes, then break, then 5, break, then over 8. This is such a great accomplishment. Yeah for me. Maybe one of these days I will actually be able to run a mile, then two, then 3.

weigh in was horrible. Running was great. it was a bit hot out and I got tired quickly. It turned out good though. I need to remember that its getting warmer later in the day and so I should get myself out of bed early to get the run in. 3.5 weeks until 5k day. not sure I am going to be ready. But it will all turn out.

Mashed Potato Toppers

Thanks Tara for this awesome recipe. Its a keeper.

2 lbs stew meat
flour
salt, pepper, steak seasoning
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cups baby carrots

In bowl add meat, flour to coat meat.
add desired seasoning

Add meat to crockpot, set to low. add soup, and carrots, leave for 8 hours.

Make mashed potatoes. To serve, place potatoes on plate, then put meat sauce on top like gravy. YUM!!

so my weigh in Monday was horrible. i guess that is what I get for taking two trips in one month, and not really watching what I eat for the last too many months. so I decided I needed to really kick myself in the rear and run. So yesterday i ran 1 minute walked 30 seconds continual for over a mile. Today I ran 1.5 minutes walked 1.5 minutes, ran 3 minutes walked 3 minutes for that said mile plus. It is warm out today, and I am sweaty. but if I keep this pace up I will make it to 3 miles before the time I am 80. I am happy with my progress today.
I also started really watching what I am eating. I am trying to cut my sugar intake down. So yesterday and today i ate one small pudding cup. I haven't done great but I am doing better than I have been. Monday I am going to start counting points again. I know what I am supposed to be doing to eat right and have a healthy life style, I just need to do it.

Cafe Rio Pork (crockpot)

I got this from a friend who got it from a friend. We liked it, but I needed a bigger crockpot for the size of roast my husband bought. and maybe I will mix it in a bowl and then pour it over the pork. either way it is really yummy. The rice was really yummy to, so I added it for you.

Cafe Rio Pork (for salad or burrito)
2 lb pork roast
2 cans tomato sauce
2 tsp pressed garlic clove
1 1/2 c br sugar
2 tsp cumin
2 cups Root beer
2 tbsp molasses
1/4 tsp salt/ppr to taste
Put all in crock pot and cook overnight/ shred to use

Lime Rice
2 tbsp butter
1 1/4 c rice
2 1/4 c chicken broth
3/4 tsp salt
pepper to taste
juice and zest of 2 sm limes
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp cumin
In skillet melt butter with rice, add liquid and other ingrediants. bring to boil, reduce heat. cover w lid and cook for 20 minutes

cream cheese chicken (crockpot)

My family loves this. this recipe came from Christy at christysclipart.com
(OAMC section)

Cream Cheese Chicken
from Suzanne Brenchley
1 frying chicken -- cut up (or use 3 pounds of boneless skinless breasts)
2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
salt & pepper -- to taste
2 tablespoons dry Italian salad dressing (1 pkg.)
1 can condensed chicken soup
8 ounces cream cheese -- cut in 1" cubes
1 tablespoon onion – minced (optional)

Brush chicken with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a crockpot and sprinkle dry mix over all. Cover and cook on low for 6 – 7 hours. About 45 minutes before done, mix soup, cream cheese, and onion in a small saucepan. Cook until smooth. Pour over the chicken. Cover and cook another 45 minutes.

To freeze: Cool and place in 1 gallon Ziploc bag. Lay flat to freeze.

To Serve: Reheat and serve over rice, pasta or potatoes.

weigh in

so i weghed myself today. I didn't change a bit. not that I have really tried. But I did run pretty good on Saturday. The longest distance without stopping so far. I was doing good today, until I took the kids to the library. not so good after that. oh well tomorrow is another day.

poppyseed chicken

4 chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
16 oz sour cream
3 TB chicken broth
2 tubes of ritz crackers, crushed
1 cube of butter melted
3 TB poppyseeds

boil chicken, break into small pieces, layer in 9x13 pan
boil soup, sour cream, and broth. pour over chicken, mix. mix crackers, butter, poppyseeds in bowl and spread over chicken mixture. Bake 375 for 15-20 minutes or until top is brown.
we like to serve this over angel hair pasta, but you could do other pasta, or rice.

quick rolls

Yummy, easy rolls. Also great for scones

1 3/4 cup hot water
2 TB yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 oil

Mix and let sit 15 minutes

add 1-2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp salt

then mix in 5-6 cups flour until barely sticky, knead.
roll out and cut into triangles. Roll from fat side to skinny point. or in other desired shape.
let rise 10 minutes. Bake 350 for 15 -20 minutes.

Mix and Match Chicken soup

by Deborah Taylor-Hough from srozen assests book

serves 10

10 cups chicken broth or 4 chicken boullion cubes dissolved in 10 cups water

cooked and chopped chicken or turkey

Grain-choose one or two(two cups)

rice, cooked any variety
barley, cooked
pasta, raw
corn
dumplings (add at the end of cooking time)

Vegetables-choose two or more
(1-2 cups - sliced, diced, or shredded)

carrots
celery
cabbage
onion
potatoes
tomatoes
green beans
yellow wax beans
turnips
parsnips
corn
zucchini
green pepper
peas or pea pods
cauliflower
broccoli
whatever you have around

Seasonings choose 2-4 (1-2 teaspoons each)

basil
cayenne (dash)
chives
cumin
garlic
marjoram
oregano
parsley
rosemary
thyme
onion powder

To prepare soup:
bring stock to boil in stock pot. Add all ingredients, salt and pepper to taste; reduce heat and simmer for at least one hour.
Freezes well.

Baxter's Meatloaf

This is so yummy. I wanted to keep it, and share it.

Ingredients: Meatloaf

2 lb Ground Beef (80/20)
2 lb Ground Pork
2 Shallots
½ cup Worcestershire Sauce
½ cup Tomato Paste
⅓ cup Chopped Garlic
¼ cup Chopped Parsley
¼ cup Chopped Thyme
2 Eggs
1½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs

Add all ingredients together and mix thoroughly.
Form as one loaf in loaf pan or
form in 8 oz individual loafs in small loaf pans.
Bake at 350° (large 45 minutes-1 hour) (small 35 min).

We didn't try this part, but someday I will get fancy and add the mushrooms.
Chef Joe's Wild Mushroom Ragout

1 cup Oyster Mushrooms
1 cup Cremini Mushrooms
1 cup Small Button Mushrooms
1 cup Shitake Mushrooms
¼ cup Butter
¼ cup Sherry
½ cup Beef or Veal Stock

Prepare all mushrooms: Oyster mushrooms can be trimmed at the bottom and they will naturally separate; Cremini mushrooms will need to be cut into fourths so they are bite-sized; Small button mushrooms should be left whole; Shitakes need to be de-stemmed and cut into fourths.

In a hot sauté pan add 1 tbsp of oil and the mushrooms. Quickly sauté the mushrooms until they just begin to color (1-3 min). Add butter, sherry and beef or veal stock.
Cook until butter is melted and the liquid thickens (1-3 min).
Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately over “Not Your Mother’s” Meatloaf.
Also good over other beef or veal dishes.

just my place

I decided I needed a place just for me... somewhere I can post about my weight loss, weight gain, eating, running, a whatever else I need at the time, and save the family blog, for just that...family stuff.

so, to start, I signed up for a 5k. It is April 12th. How am I ever going to be ready to run 3.1 miles without stopping. I ran for 3 tenths of a mile today and part of it was down hill. Thats it, that is a long way from 3 miles. I am happy that I was able to run that far, but its seems a little discouraging as well.
It will get better.

I weigh in on Monday's. I am still up from my lowest weight to date, but I did lose 1.5 pounds this week. Its only going to go down from here.