Blog Directions...

I have been in serious thought about where I want this blog to go. I am feeling that I will now be using this blog as my family update tool, and for my creative scrapbooking showcase. If you would like to read about the recipes I am trying or my continuing healthy lifestyle journey please tune in to my other blog Making Mommy Marvelous.

 I hope everyone has a great week and I will be updating this blog on the weekends! :)

Goals For the Week: 9/12/2011

One of my very favorite bloggers is Cassie at Back To Her Roots. She began a weight loss journey a while back and one of the things she does to keep her self on track is post some weekly goals on her blog to get them written down and out in the Universe. This got me thinking that maybe I could do the same thing and start making my goals a reality.

So, without further ado, here are my goals for this week.

1. Walk all 4 training walks this week. 

My Susan G. Komen 3-day For The Cure walk is 54 days away. To some that might seem like a long time, but for me I am really starting to feel the pressure. I will be the first to admit I haven't been entirely faithful with my training sessions, I have been training, but not to the exact specifications they say I need to be. I could give you numerous excuses as to why, but they would be just that, excuses. I am done making excuses and I need to be on the ball this week so this goal is my top priority.

 2. Finish making the 50 cards to send to friends and family for donations. 

Last weekend with the extra day I had some time to sit down and make a list of close family and friends that I can ask to help sponsor me on my walk. For these people I am making a handmade, handwritten card explaining what I am doing and why this walk is important to me. It will also be asking for a donation. Last week I sent out 10 on Tuesday. I received my first donation back yesterday from my Papa John, (my mother's dad), and it was $60 a dollar a mile! I know that I can make the required $2,300 minimum fundraising requirement with the help of my generous friends and family. 

 3. Try 2 new recipes from my plethora of cookbooks.

I have recently begun to love the art of cooking. I am no chef by any means, but I love the feeling I have after I make a delicious meal for my boys and they are speechless, because they are too busy chewing :) I am trying to stick to a pretty strict budget (see rule #4) so meal planning and lists for the grocery store are essential. So it should be pretty easy to include 2 new finds in the meal plan this week. 

 4. Stick to a "cash only" budget. 

I am a teacher. My husband is a lawyer with a lot of school loans to pay back. Needless to say we don't have the most money in the world, but we aren't poor either. I want to start saving more money so we can build our dream house on our land. I have gone through our finances and made a budget for us to follow. So far September has been great, but ask me again closer to payday ;) 

 5. Pack my lunch for school the night before. 

I have a habit of waking up too late to pack my lunch. This wreaks havoc on my wallet and my waist line. So to help with my other goals for the week I am going to try and pack my lunch the night before so I will not have to waist time in the mornings.  

I will check back in on next Sunday with a goal recap for the week, and a new set of goals for the next. I hope you have a great week and get much accomplished!

Do you have any goals for the week? Do you write them down or share them? 

  

How To Have An Amazing Labor Day

So it's a national holiday, (in the U.S.). All the banks are closed. Many of your favorite restaurants are closed. What can you possibly do to have a little fun?

First, you need to be sure you have some really great partners in crime...enter my two favorite boys.

We decided that such a nice day called for a trip to the zoo! So, after a scrumptious breakfast made by dad...(soy chorizo eggs and toast)...we were off to have our WILD adventure. 


Jase absolutely LOVES the zoo. When we got there we had to park across the street at the Remington Park parking. All 3 teirs of parking were nearly full! If you are from around OKC you know that this is calling for a VERY packed place. Well, it was insane! It was literally standing room only to see many of the animals, so we decided to hit Jase's highlights. 


We saw the rhinos when we first got in the gates. Jase doesn't really care for them, so we continued on to the lions. 

Of course, when we got there the lions were snoozing in the shade and poor Jase couldn't see them. We then headed through the Cat Forest. The jaguar was up and on the prowl. Jase kept saying, "dat's a big kitty mama!". Yes it was! :)

Then it was on to his favorite part of the day...The MONKEYS! He was so mezmorized by these creatures.  

He kept saying, "Mama, I go pway wif Gawge"(Mama I go play with George) He is in love with Curious George and he thought these monkeys looked like him...yes, I know George is a chimp, but we will teach him the difference later lol!

Beside the monkey cages is a swing rope for the kids to play on. Jase immediately thought he needed to try it. 

 

"STOP TAKING PICTURES ALREADY!"

"Okay, I'll be nice for one."




Up the hill from the monkeys is a nice little splash pad for the little ones.  Jase wanted to "swim" so we took his shirt off and let him go at it.

So on a side note, does it make me a bad mom if I was secretly waiting at camera ready for him to get shot in the face with water???
;)




How can you possibly end such a great day? With Chinese food of course!  Jase is so good about trying different foods, and he loves to go to The Grand House in OKC, the chinese food restaurant that is down from his daddy's work. 

...and in case you were wondering....

He does use chopsticks :)






Enjoy every moment you have by living in the now with the ones you love.  As always, if you like what you read please comment and share on your favorite sites!

Wordless Wednesday: Eggplant Parmesian

NUTELLA, WONTONS, and VEGGIES... OH MY!!!

This was an amazing meal! I have been searching for wanton wrappers for months! I have seen all kinds of delicious recipes that called for them and I wanted to try one out for myself. Guess what? I finally found them...by the TOFU! If my husband hadn't have decided to start eating vegetarian I might have never  found them. So thanks honey for helping me out!

This recipe starts off by sauteing one small yellow onion. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Add your chosen filling product. We chose soy chorizo...(my first time trying it and I LOVE it!)

 

Add 3/4 a block of cream cheese and stir well.

Place wanton wrappers on a cookie sheet. Spoon out a spoonful of filling on each wrapper. Fold over the wanton from corner to corner and press together to keep the filling from spilling out.

Spray the tops of the filled wantons with cooking spray. Place in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Now, what to do with all of those left over wanton wrappers....

DESERT ANYONE?

Thanks to Cassie  I have recently developed a sort of obession with a certain delicious hazelnut product...

Place the last 1/4 of the cream cheese block in a bowl. Add the bottom of the nutella jar (1/2c) and 1/2c of peanut butter. Stir together to make desert filling.

Spoon out mixture into a wonton.  

Use the same corner folding technique as before.

Place the finished wantons in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Now it's time to enjoy your Mexican wanton delights! I added refried beans and cantaloupe.

When ready heat a pan to medium heat and pan fry your desert wantons and enjoy!

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment and subscribe!

Archive of Me

 Thanks to my blogger "friend" Cassie at BTHR, I now have a fun little game to play. Feel free to join in on the fun by commenting or linking up your own blog!

 

 

The Archive of ME:

 

 

 

 

15 Years Ago (July 1996), I:

1. had just finished 7th grade.
2. was going through a really rough time trying to deal with my parent's divorce.
3. thought I would play basketball forever.

10 Years Ago (July 2001), I:

1. was broken hearted. I had just broken up with my first true love and was trying to figure out who I was.
2. quit basketball. I hated busting hump and only ever being a  bench warmer.
3. was getting nervous about leaving my mom and sister to go to college.

5 Years Ago (July 2006), I:

1. graduated from undergrad and was getting ready to start my first full year as a real 3rd grade teacher!
2. was excited to finally be married after 4 1/2 long years of waiting.
3. praying for guidance on where we should go for Jason's law school education.

3 Years Ago (July 2008), I:

1. just found out that I was over 2 months pregnant with little Peanut.
2. was scared to death if we would be good parents.
3. started my master's degree in Education Administration.

1 Year Ago (July 2010), I:

 

1. celebrated the 4th with Katie and my little man at Lake Texhoma while Jason studied the bar.
2. was getting nervous about my internship to get my principal's certification.
3. got a new job teaching 6th graders at Ninnekah Elementary. (A blessing in disguise)

Yesterday, I:

1. realized my baby is a little boy.
2. ate my first real garden burger, and I didn't even miss the meat!
3. went swimming with Jase and Uncle Shelby.

Today, I:

1. am going to our good friend Zac's wedding rehearsal.
2. am hoping Jase will act okay with the half arse nap he will be getting.
3. going to be drinking a nice lambic this evening at rehearsal dinner.

Tomorrow, I:

1. will wake up extra early to get my 10 mile walk done before the day begins.
2. will have to wear a dress...eek!
3. will get to see my boys all decked out in tuxes! Can't wait to take pics!

In a week, I:

1. will be in school mode, full throttle.
2. will be putting the finishing touches on my classroom decorations.
3. will be trying to come up with a post schedule for my blog.

In one month (August 2011), I:

1. will be kicking booty in the weightloss department with all my Susan G. Komen training.
2. hoping the weather is cooler.
3. would like to get my office organized.

In one year (July 2012), I:

1. hope I’ll be done thinking about weight loss.
2. will hopefully be making money from my crafty hobby.
3. will be on a family vacation.

In five years (July 2016), I:

1. hope to have our second child.
2. will have built our dream house.
3. possibly be a principal.

Happy Friday, friends!