Summer Fun and Backyard Clean-up

Last Friday, we got together with some of our awesome baseball families for a fun evening.  We met at the Raines house, which based on this fabulous backyard should be forever called the Raines Resort!  Look at this place!  Chip had been there before, but this was my first visit.  When we got out of the car, he said "Mom, you better get ready to be blown away!" 

They have a giant backyard by Texas standards and a lovely pool and surrounding area.

The kids swam and the adults sat and visited.  The weather was so lovely.

Look at these cutie patooties....aren't they so sweet?  They played so nicely together.

Then there was pizza!   Perfect night in the life of little boys!

The adults also had pizza and me and Vivian thought we would go healthy and ordered from ZPizza.  It was a whole wheat crust and the pizza had mushrooms, artichoke hearts, ricotta cheese and a garlic sauce.  It was delicious.  I thought it was a fairly healthy choice and the calories were in check for pizza.....so I ran it by "Mr. Knowledge About the Human Body" the next day at the gym.  He looks at me and says "Whole Wheat sucks. Don't eat it."

I'm all..."But it has to be better than regular crust!"  I was feeling guilty.  This was the first time in 16 weeks that I ate something that I didn't know for certain was on my plan.  It was a stretch, I knew that.  Especially after I tasted it.  It was so good, I knew it couldn't be that healthy.  Dang it.

So "Mr. Knowledge" says whole wheat is just a tiny step above regular dough.  He prefers that I make a giant improvement and make my own crust out of some form of Ezekiel.  That sounds like an enormous pain in the butt, so I will probably just pass on pizza for now.

It was a mistake.  My first, but surely won't be my last.  But I recovered.  Didn't get down about it...just climbed on a Spin bike and worked my butt off!

It didn't do too much damage cause the scale is moving again.  I am down 34 pounds today!  With the 13 I lost prior to seeing "Mr. Knowledge" that is a total of 47!  Only 3 more to get to a significant milestone of 50 pounds from my highest!  Smiles all around!  Can't believe it most days!

In other news, here are some pictures from the back yard clean up that my sweet neighbor Karen helped me with!

She brought over her fogger, which she sprayed in all the bushes to zap the mosquitoes!  It was the coolest thing and worked like a charm.  I usually go out and have ten mosquitoes jump on me within seconds.  I need to put one of these on my birthday list!

I didn't get a true "before" picture....we were already well underway when we thought of it.  I mean it was a jungle out there!  Karen manned the electric hedge clipper and I was working with a hand clipper and clean-up crew.  We cut and clipped enormous amounts of overgrowth.

These are rose bushes I planted a couple of years ago that are nearly six feet tall.  They are ginormous and lovely, but being grossly overcrowded by this other crazy bush.

We made tons of progress and we didn't run into any snakes or other critters.  We did run into a giant wasp nest, but Karen zapped it with some wasp spray before they got crazy and stung us!

She came back the next day and we tackled some other flower beds and that giant crazy vine on the back fence.  

I could not have done it without Karen.  Would have hated to even start.  She is a go getter and I owe her big time!  

We are at the dentist and Chip is back getting his braces on...I will post some pictures later this afternoon of my sweet baby brace face! 

Have a great Wednesday! 

Happy Father's Day...A Little Bit Early

We had a little early Father's Day celebration this Sunday.  As soon as Hubby left for his marathon workout session early in the morning, me and the boys sprung into action. 

We whipped up posters...

Wrapped presents...made cards...made a breakfast casserole....

Then we waited.

He exercises for  a long time. 

He finally came rolling in.

He saw the table and the boys grinning at him and was very confused. 

He said "It's not Father's Day today, is it?"

"No" we yelled in unison!

He's all "Huh?"

He may have also been slightly distracted by the giant hornet that flew up his pants and stung him on his bike ride.  OW!

Finally, we got him focused on the celebration at hand and he started reading his sweet cards and opening his present.

Then the music cranked up and we were all dancing and singing...I'm going to Miami, Miami, Miami.

You see, there are only five MLB teams that Hubby has not visited yet and one of them is the Miami Marlins.  The boys and I thought it would be a great Father's Day trip and then Hubby will only need four more to finally see all MLB teams.  

We needed to give it to Hubby a little early so he could clear his work calendar and help us find a hotel.  He has been to Miami before, so he has a much better idea of where we should stay.

Hubby was thrilled!  We all were.  Should be a fun trip!

My Week in Replay

Another weekend is wrapping up and I am trying to get excited about some work I need to do today.  I am not accustomed to doing work on the weekends.  I have finally gotten a couple of work projects though and I need to get fired up about them.

We have had a great week.  We watched lots of basketball and have enjoyed that....right up until the nasty Heat beat our Celtics last night.  Dumb Heat.  Go Thunder! 

I did a Spin class on Saturday with a new instructor named Cheryl.  She tried to kill me.  We were standing and climbing hills and never sitting and we never stopped climbing hills.  It was dang near like we were touring San Francisco.  Or maybe like Mt. Everest.  I like downhill.  Always have.  I was sweating like crazy.  Annnnddddd, I loved it.  I felt like I had really done something exceptional.  In fact, I told Cheryl after the class that she needed to hand out medals for people who successfully completed the class.  I totally rocked it with just some minor whining and complaining.   Can't wait to do it again.

We have gotten back into our summer pool routine, hitting the pool both Saturday and Sunday.  The water has felt great!

I am holding at about 32 pounds.  I have been down to 33, but it was just a quick visit.  Hoping to see that number again tomorrow!   Ever since Chad told me to eat a couple hundred calories less, I have been eating a hundred more calories than normal.  I have been exercising a little harder than normal.  Walked six miles one day and did some time on the elliptical machine at the YMCA.  Swam laps with Chip one day. It has been good.

We have been on a hunt for a Chocolate Wonka bar for Chip.  He watched both the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movies at school and wanted to try some Wonka Chocolate.  We have checked Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, 7-11, HEB, HEB Plus and today we drove downtown to the Big Top Candy Shop and have struck out EVERYWHERE!!!  They have lots of Wonka candy...but no chocolate.  If you have Wonka Chocolate bars where you live, let me know.  We are specifically looking for the Waterfall or Fantabulous Fudge bar!

The boys have had their friends over and created a new game called Hallway Baseball.  It involves a ping pong ball and lots of screaming, sliding, laughing and screaming.  I know I put screaming twice.  That is because there is ALOT of screaming.  There are some weird rules that I don't understand, but it has been something they have played for hours and it makes them sweaty.  Good times.

Harry thinks he did fine on his first college exam.  We shall see when the old test scores are handed back! he sure seemed to know his stuff when he was studying it.

We had a special early Father's Day celebration today, but I am going to give that its own separate post!  A little teaser for you!

My friend Martha's mom is having surgery on Tuesday this week.  Please say a prayer for her.

Chip is getting braces on Wednesday!  Prayers for him too!  The first couple days are not that fun!

That is all for now!  Hope your week has been wonderful! 

Healthy Recipes

These are two recipes I have made lately that I have thoroughly enjoyed.  I think I found them either through Pinterest or Tosca Reno's website.  My boys ate the chicken bites with very little complaint AND said that I could make them again.  That is no small feat!  I am borderline obsessed with the dressing from the salad.  It is tangy, but tasty!

               Crispy Chicken Bites

Ingredients

1 ½ lbs, skinless chicken breasts

¼ cup oat bran  

¼ cup wheat germ 


¼ cup coarsely ground almonds 


1 Tbsp coarsely ground flaxseed 


½ tsp sea salt

½ tsp white pepper

Pinch garlic powder 


½ cup water or low-sodium chicken broth 


1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Prepare baking sheet by lining with parchment paper or coating lightly with extra virgin olive oil.  Cut chicken breasts into nugget-sized pieces, about 1½ inches square. Set aside.

Next, combine all dry ingredients in a large container with a tightly fitting lid. Shake well. This is your coating mixture.  Combine water and egg in a medium bowl. Dip each piece in the water-egg white mixture. Then dip each piece in the coating mixture. Make sure each piece is well coated.

Place on the baking sheet. When all of your chicken has been coated and your baking sheet is full, place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.

Tangy Pumpkin Seed Salad

Ingredients for Dressing:

2 cloves garlic, minced


½ tsp sea salt


2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice


1 tsp Worcestershire sauce


½ cup extra virgin olive oil 


Freshly ground black pepper to taste


10 cups of the lettuce of your choice


1/3 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Rinse lettuce of your choice under cold water and set aside in a bowl.  In a small bowl, add minced garlic and salt.  Whisk lemon and Worcestershire sauce into the garlic.  Continue to whisk the dressing while slowly pouring the olive oil in a steady stream. Whisk until smooth.  Add freshly ground black pepper to taste.  Add pumpkin seeds to the lettuce then pour the dressing over top. Toss the lettuce to coat with dressing and serve.

Houston Weekend

We had a lovely weekend away in Houston!  Me and Chip hit the Children's Museum and Hubby and Harry hit a Sports Convention on Saturday afternoon.  We reconvened in the afternoon for a late lunch and then an Astros baseball game. 

Here is Harry in sports memorabilia heaven.

Got an autograph from RG3! 

The Children's Museum in Houston was great!  They had a big outdoor Flow Works water area where the kids could control all these valves and dams.  Chip really enjoyed that.  Here you had to press on a pedal to fill up the big giant bucket.

Then it rewards you by crashing and splashing.  Nice relief in the Houston heat!  That is one of the hottest places on the planet, I am sure of it.

Building with giant puzzle pieces.

Connecting circuits.

Building models of atoms.

Vacuum sucking ping pong balls through a maze of tubes and tunnels.

And a display board of various kinds of poop.  That's fun and educational, right?

The boys went to the ballgame early to watch batting practice and hope for a foul ball.  Not this time.

Looking over the all-star ballot.  Picking and choosing their favorite guys.

Minute Maid park is just a beautiful stadium.  If you ever get the chance you should definitely go see it!  It is air conditioned!  That is a beautiful thing in Houston, TX.

The game was high hitting with the final score something like 11 - 9.  We got to see several homers.  The Astros shoot this cannon after an Astros home run that I always forget about.  Dang near wet my pants when that thing blasted off!  I was ready after that! 

The most interesting story was this young Reds guy on second base.  It was his first major league at bat....and with two guys on, he hit it off the top of the wall and bounced back onto the field.  There was some confusion as to where it hit and whether it was a homer or a double.  The umps all gathered and went into the dugout to watch the replay to make their final decision.  The original call was correct and it was not a homer, but what a thrill for this young man. Welcome to the major leagues!

Great time all around.

I have more pictures to post from the Spurs game the boys went to on Monday and the massive yard clean up undertaking that me and Karen worked on yesterday.  UGH!  Hard work, but major improvement.  She is coming back today.  The girl is tireless!  She puts me to shame! 

Harry has his first college exam today!  I think he is ready!

I got a new proposal to work on yesterday!  I am going to function as a Proposal Coordinator although I am still not real sure what that means.  Learn as I go!

My girl Martha's mom is waiting to have surgery on the duct in her pancreas.  She is having a very hard time keeping down food and liquid.  Say a prayer for Rita today that she can stay comfortable and healthy until they can get her scheduled for surgery!  Also say a prayer for Martha.  She is a rock, but even rocks can use a little support!

I am down 32 pounds!   Go me!   I have some great new recipes to share and will try to get them posted here sooner rather than later.  One is Crispy Chicken Bites and the other is Tangy Pumpkin Seed Salad! YUM! 

Today is my nephew Alexander's 10th Birthday!  Happy birthday to the biggest Pittsburgh Penguins fan on the planet!  Also, today is my Aunt Gail's Birthday!  Happy birthday Puppy Rescuer!  I hope today your gift is that you find a home for those sweet orphans! 

That is all for now...have to go stretch and warm up my pruning shears...Karen will be here momentarily!

Hardest Challenge

The most difficult challenge on my get healthy quest is NOT eating the bits of pineapple, brown sugar and butter that sticks to the pan of a pineapple upside down cake.

Seriously.

Hands down hardest challenge I have faced in my 15 week journey.

But I did it!  Go Me!  

More to come on our fun weekend in Houston!  Boys are headed to San Antonio this afternoon for Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference Finals to see the Spurs and Thunder! 

Is it summer?  Still feel really busy!

Doctor Visit

I went to the doctor today...not with dread...but with a bit of a skip and a hop in my step.  I had asked her at my appointment in December to give me a challenge.  What did I need to do to get off of some of the medication I was on?  She said "Lose 10 pounds."  I said "Let's make it 20."

When I walked in to her office today I was down 34 pounds since my visit in December!  Go Me!!!

All my numbers were great.  She said my blood work looked awesome.  Then she started quizzing me on how I had done it.  I told her about "Mr. Knowledge About The Human Body" and what he had me doing.  She was in enthusiastic agreement with everything I was doing and wanted a name, address, hours, location, etc... Said it was a perfect example of a healthy way to lose weight!

She dropped my cholesterol medicine, said I didn't need it.  She said I could stop taking the Metformin but I told her that Chad suggested I stay on it because it was supporting my weight loss.  She agreed but cut the dose in half.  I will always have to stay on my thyroid medication because I don't have a thyroid...but my numbers looked great.

Then she hugged me and said I was a success story!   I almost cried.

Trying to cut out a few calories today.  I miss them!

Had a delicious dinner tonight at Longhorn Steakhouse.  A fabulous grilled trout and steamed veggies.  Yummy and healthy and getting easier all the time!

I am so proud of myself.

Bring on the weekend!  We are going to the Houston Children's Museum, a Sports Memorabilia convention and an Astros game tomorrow!  Should be a fun filled day!

Happy Friday to you all!