A little me time ...

So I haven't been around in quite a while.  I started back to work/teaching in September and there were so many "lovely" changes that I really haven't been able to think of much else.  Soooo, I'm trying to re-prioritize what's important to me and what makes me happy and one of those things is blogging and posting pictures that make me happy.  So here is a picture/self-portrait that I just recently took and I must say, I quite like it.  It makes me happy and I've come to a place in my life where no one is going to make me happy but myself.  IF I'm not happy with myself, then how can others make me happy?  Right?

 

I'll have more to come in the near future including new recipes and other fun things so stayed tuned!

I know, I know ...

I know it's been forever since my last post.  Summer has been crazy!  I have been so busy working 5 part-time jobs and just having fun.  I will get back into the swing of thing once the school years begins, but until then here is are some pictures of my favorite little man enjoying the beach!

Eyes

They say your eyes are the window to your soul ...

... I hope you like what you see!



Reaching my goal ...

Hi everyone.  I know it's been quite a while since I last posted and a lot has happened.  In June we had a really bad storm and lost electric for about 40 hours and we were some of the lucky ones.  I had friends who were without electric, running water and well, everything for a week or more.  It was bad.  It was like a tornado hit the area. 

That was one of the reasons I haven't posted.  The other reason was that I have really been focusing on myself.  I teach so, I was finishing up that, and I was also focusing on a goal I just recently reached. 

I may have mentioned that I am on Weight Watchers, but I don't know if you knew how dedicated and focused I was about it.  See, I've been of WW in the past and for different reasons stopped going.  Well, I knew that this time when I signed up it was going to be different for a few reasons.  The first was that I was told that if I don't go on a low fat and cholesterol diet I was headed for some rough  times ahead with my health, like heart disease or even worse.  That was truly an eye opener.  The second reason was that I was in a better place in my life.  I go to counseling and have really been working on weeding out the negative and difficult people in my life, I have a better relationship with God and my husband and I was doing it for myself and not anyone else. 

Here is a picture taken of me in March of 2011.  When I look at that picture, I can't believe I let myself go that far.  I was pushing 200 pounds.  When I started WW I weighed 195.6 pounds. 

Crazy, right?  I cringe when I look at this picture, but remind myself that I don't ever want to get back to this. 

Anyway, the day after Memorial Day, this year, I reached my goal weight of 157 pounds.  Actually I exceeded that weight goal and weighed in at 155.6.  I was soooooooooo excited and proud!  It was an amazing feeling.  See, I don't usually follow through on many goals that I've set so to see this one through to goal was truly an amazing feeling. 

This is a picture that I took the day after I reached my goal weight.  What a difference.

After I reached goal, I then had to go on maintenance for six weeks.  This is where you find the right points balance to stay as close to your goal weight as possible.  This was by far the hardest time and the reason being was that your so in the zone to lose weight and to then be told to stop was a bit of a struggle.  My weight was like a yo-yo, but it wasn't that bad, just something new to train my brain to accept.  Here are my weights during that time.  157.2, 153.4, 159, 155 and 156.4. 

Well, I've reached "Lifetime" with WW and also applied and interviewed to be a part time employee for the company.  I was told last night that I got the job so that is a great bonus to my success story.

This has been a crazy, yet wonderful and amazing journey.  I have made some great friends on this journey and have even been told that I've inspired some people to start on WW.  I love what WW has done for me and love to share my knowledge and story.  If I can help just one person become healthy by sharing my story, then I have truly reached my goal. 

Stool Re-do

I was looking for something to put in my closet to use to reach things on my top shelf.  I'm 5'10", but still, I can't even reach the top shelf!  Well I found this stool at a yard sale and bought it for $5.00. 

All it took was a little elbow grease (sand paper) and a $3.00 can of spray paint and now I have a pretty little stool that I can leave in my bedroom and use when I need it. 

Cute!

Bahama Mamma

Some day I'll get to the Bahama's, but until then a girl can dream of sitting on the beach sipping this yummy drink!  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
¾ ounce Coconut Rum (Malibu)
¾ ounce Banana Liqueur (Hiram Walker)
1 ounce Spiced Rum (Captain Morgan)
1.5 ounce Orange Juice
2.5 ounce Pineapple Juice
2-4 dashes (1-2 tablespoon) Grenadine
¼ cup crushed ice

Preparation:

Combine all the ingredients and mix them in a cocktail shaker. Serve in a cocktail glass. Garnish with Orange/Pineapple wedge and a Maraschino Cherry

Rundown Beauty

I cam across this house while out for a drive a few weeks ago and instantly fell in love with it.  It has such character and charm, and even though it's rundown, it looks like a house that used to be cozy loved.  While I was taking the pictures, I imagined that it could have been a house that the characters in To Kill A Mockingbird would have lived in.  I grabbed my camera and started clicking away.  This is one of my favorite pics from that day.

Snapdragons

These beautiful flowers are outside the door to the school I work in.  They are a happy reminder that we need to enjoy the beauty in each day and put aside all the negativity that people may bring into our lives.

Walking

Each week I try to submit a photo onto the Photo Friday website.  This week the challenge is "Walk".  The photo I entered was taken a few years back of my husband and son at Fort Mott in South Jersey.  I love the colors and the peacefulness of the two of them just enjoying each others company while walking through the national park.  Hope you enjoy it too!

Mini Corn Dog Muffins

If you like corn dogs then here is a quick and easy recipe that we made in my cooking club at school yesterday.  You need just 4 ingredients, 2 mini muffin trays and some non-stick spray and you'll have a yummy treat for an after school snack or to serve at your next social gathering.

Ingredients:
2 boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 package of hot dogs (I use Ball Park Franks)
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk

Preheat your oven for 400 degrees.  Follow the Jiffy package directions to make the corn muffin mix.  Once you've finished making the mix, cut your hot dogs into 1" pieces.  Now it's time to assemble them for the oven.  Spray your muffin tins with some nonstick spray.  Spoon in about a tablespoon of corn muffin mix into  each muffin well.  They should only be filled about 1/2 to 2/3's full.  Then push a piece of hot dog down into the center of the muffin batter.

Place muffin tins in over and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Remember oven temps vary so keep and eye on them after they've been in the oven for 10 minutes. 

Pull them out of the oven when done and let cool in tins for a few minutes.  Then remove them and plate them up to enjoy.  We had mustard and ketchup with ours.

Hope you like them as much as we did.  ENJOY!

Mother's Day 2012

This Mother's Day I spent some time just me and B.  We went for a ride and ended up in a little fishing town called Shell Pile.  It lived up to it's name.  There were really piles of shells everywhere.  It was such a beautiful day. and I was glad to spend it doing what I love the best ... being a mom!

Happy Mother's Day!

Vootbeer Float

Today's cocktail is so easy to make and even better to drink.  It's called Vootbeer Float.  I can't wait to have one later tonight.  I'm having a friend over for dinner and will be servings these with a few yummy Weight Watcher appetizers.

You will need:
4 oz. of Pinacle Whipped Vodka
4 oz. of your favorite Rootbeer (I like A&W for the creaminess)
Dollop of whipped cream

Pours Vodka and Rootbeer in a glass filled with ice.  Add whipped cream and enjoy!

Taking a Peek

I was going through some old photos and came across this one of "B" on the USS North Carolina that is docked in Wilmington, NC.  We were on our way to my nephew's Marine graduation and this was one of the road trip destination. 

I love how he's peaking down at me. We were trying to stay dry during a sudden down pour and he was hiding in a gun turret.  He's so darn cute!

Saturday's Cocktail

Strawberry Shortcake Martini

Here's this week yummy cocktail.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the Strawberry Puree (enough for 5 martinis):
16 ounces frozen whole strawberries
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice

For the Strawberry Shortcake Martini:
2 ounces Pinacle Cake flavored vodka
3 ounces of strawberry puree
fresh whipped cream, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

For the Strawberry Puree:
Simmer for 10 minutes until sugar is dissolved and fruit is softened. Allow to cool and blend vigorously until smooth. If there are any pulp/seeds left, strain through a fine mesh strainer.

For the Strawberry Shortcake Martini:
Place ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously until chilled. Pour into a martini glass and top with (optional) dollop of fresh whipped cream, and garnish with a sliced strawberry.

finally friday

This week has been crazy!  Crazy kids at work, crazy co-workers, ... crazy!  It must have something to do with the full moon we're having tonight.  Well anyway, here is a collection of pictures from my week. 

I have to say this is one of my favorite snacks

Hobby Lobby opened recently near us and I LOVE IT!

Homemade ice cream cake I made for my son's birthday

The candy bouquet I made for my son's birthday

For not having a green thumb, my Easter flower is still going strong.

Love the light flares in this picture.

Leftover pizza, yum!

Vintage ice tea pitcher and glasses I found while dropping stuff off at my mom's church yard sale.  I unloaded about 15 boxes of stuff and only brought home this and a stone baker.  Not bad!



A childhood favorite I came across while clearing out the basement.

Me & My Little Man

Just wanted to share a photo I took of me and my recently turned 12 year-old little man!  I just love this kid!

Medical Bag DIY

I teach preschool and have over the years collected an array of stuff.  One thing that I had a lot of, was medical play tools.  The doctor's totes that they come in last about a year and then you're left with the play tools and nothing to put them into and a broken medical box.

 
So what do you do with all the mismatched items.  Well, I decided to create a canvas tote for them.  Here are the items I used.  An tan tote and some red polyester fabric.  I also cut out to rectangular templates to make a cross and used my handy dandy cutting board to lay everything out.

Once I cut the fabric pieces and pinned them to the tote, I used my sewing machine to sew a zigzag stitch along the long edges.  I'm not overly concerned about the short ends.  This is what the tote looked like when I was finished. 

To finish the bag off, I added some pictures of x-rays that I uploaded from the Internet and laminated for durability.  Remember these are preschoolers. Now all my mismatched medical play tools have a new home that won't be falling apart anytime soon!

The Birthday Boy

I can't believe that 12 years ago this sweet and amazing bundle of joy came into my life.

He is such an wonderful young man.  He is kind and loving and oh so talented.  I love the boy he was and the young man he is becoming.  I am so blessed that God gave me the chance to be his mom. My life would be so empty without him. 

Happy Birthday "B"!

Saturday's Cocktail

For this week's cocktail, I wanted to do a variation of a smoothie I make for my kid.  Of course his version is not spiked!

You will need:

1 can orange juice concentrate
1 cup milk (any kind is fine - whole, skim, soy ... etc.)
1/2 cup of sugar or sugar substitute to taste
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups ice or to taste

Combine all ingredients, except ice, in a large blender and blend until smooth and creamy, make sure all the sugar has dissolved and is well incorporated. If desired, add a splash more water or more milk. Add the ice and blend until smooth.

I added 1 to 2 ounces of my favorite coconut rum and I've also added Pinnacle Whipped Vodka to each serving. Makes approximately three eight-ounce servings

Cheers!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Today I made Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.  They were for a co-worker who is on Weight Watchers and doesn't bake.  These cupcakes are so easy to make and so is the frosting and the BEST part is that they're only 4 points.  I've been on Weight Watchers since last August and have found so many amazing and yummy recipies that I thought I should start sharing some. 

The cupcakes consist of:
(1) box spice cake mix
(1) can packed pumpkin

Mix the 2 ingredients together with a mixer and fill muffin tins that have been lined 2/3 full. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until done.

While they're cooking I made the icing.

The icing consists of:
(1) 8oz. pkg Neufchatel cream cheese - softened
(1) cup confectioners sugar
(1) tsp. vanilla extract

Mix together with a mixer until creamy. 

Once the cupcakes were cool, I put the icing in a piping bag and piped some icing on each cupcake.  I was supposed to use all the icing, but I really didn't need to. 

They turned out so yummy and the birthday girl loved them!

Enjoy!

Sunday's Inspiration

Saturday's Cocktail

This week's cocktail is a Summer Sangria with Rum

You'll need:

bottle red wine
1 cup light rum (such as Bacardi Puerto Rican Rum)
1 cup simple syrup (see recipe below)
2 plums, pitted and sliced
1 pint cherries, pitted
1 pint strawberries, sliced
sprig of mint, optional
12 oz lime soda
ice (optional)

METHOD

In a pitcher or glass bowl, combine wine, rum, and fruit. Gently muddle the fruit into the alcohol by pressing and stirring with a large spoon. Stir in the simple syrup (and mint if desired), cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1-2 hours. Before serving, stir in the lime soda. Serve over ice if you wish.

Simple Syrup

Makes 1 cups.

You'll need:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar

METHOD

Combine water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sugar dissolves, about 3-4 minutes. Cool completely.

Cheers!

Finally Friday

Here are a few pictures from my week.  The weather has been really nice here in S.J. and it's been great weather for a bike ride, playing with some chalk, and just enjoying the sun.  Hope you like the pics I've chosen for this post and have a great weekend.  Mine is going to be full of yard sales, both mine and ones I want to go to and cleaning.  I've been obsessed with cleaning lately.  Don't really know why and I'm not going to question it.

Riding with "B"

Playing with chalk on the school playground

Medical bag I sewed for the house lab in my classroom

Quote I posted to my hubby on Facebook

Sun flares and a steaming cup of tea to warm up my morning today