Had To Share!

Staring at Daddy, waiting for him to finish his Jello...

so she can lick the bowl!    ;)

Healthy Eating Journal

I feel like I'm finally succeeding in eating better, and it feels great! My mood is really improving as a result, which I'm sure my husband thinks is great. LOL! 

I used to come up with these strict meal plans and almost as soon as they were written down I stopped following them. This time I've just decided to follow a few guidelines based on what I know works for me. 

Breakfast:  

Choose 2 meals to rotate throughout the week.  This week it was homemade parfait's and oatmeal (I actually love oatmeal) with blueberries. 

Lunch:

Change it up! Lunch is something I'm not getting too picky about, so at the end of the day I don't feel like I want to eat every carb loaded, sugar filled item not nailed down. My main issue with lunch is portion control & too many carbs, so as long as I keep myself in check in that regard I should be good!

This week I had a quesadilla, clam chowder, and tuna salad with romaine lettuce. I would have had a tuna sandwich, but given how much mayo was used I thought I'd make the smarter choice and eat it with lettuce. All of this was accompanied by a piece of tangelo, which is my choice of fruit for the week.

Dinner:

No Carbs!!  The plan for dinner is to have a salad loaded with veggies, along with chicken, turkey, or beef, and a green veggie side dish. I have noticed how much better I feel physically (less bloated) in the morning having not eaten carbs for my last meal of the day.

This week I had tri-tip and salad, lettuce wrapped sushi (from store), chicken sausage and veggies. That's all I can remember actually.

Dessert:

Sugar Free Jello!!  That's this week, and probably the next too, until I can think of something else.

Here are some photos from this week!

 Lettuce wrapped sushi.

 Homemade parfait. Vanilla yogurt (Dannon light & fit) with 

blueberries, strawberries, banana, and Bran Buds on top.

 Sugar free jello. Portioned out for the week.

 Chicken sausage and veggies. This was last Sunday's dinner!

Tuna salad and lettuce. 

That's what I had for lunch today!

Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

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Window Shopping - On ETSY!!

On days that I decide to walk on the treadmill I usually goof off on the computer, and sometimes I manage to some get blogging done. You can actually tell how much exercising I get done by how often I post, and as you can see it's been a while...

Online window shopping is one of my favorite ways to kill time, especially on Etsy. I love sharing great finds, and below you'll find a quite a few recent favorites. I have to admit, I did not share everything because some things were added to my cart. :)

Just click on the photos and you will be taken to where you can purchase that item.

Vintage Crucifix 

Vintage 70's Oxford Pumps

Indian Sari Skirt

Mother Teresa Quote 

Cross Stitch Bookmark

Icon Bracelet 

The Practice of the Presence of God

Rosebud Belt

Our Lady of Grace

Gypsy Skirt

Immaculate Heart of Mary - wooden toy

 Thai Fishermen Pants

 Antique Sterling First Holy Communion Medal

Antique Virgin Mary Brooch

The Passion

MODESTY: WHAT IS THAT?!

I enjoyed this blog post on MODESTY, and wanted to share it.  When I read postings on the topic I try not to read it as a 30 year old woman, but as a young teenage girl.

I think this view on modesty is simple, direct, yet might actually cause a young girl/woman to think about it, instead of turning them off of the idea of modesty completely, especially those who have no strong religious or moral convictions.

Here's a tidbit. Please click on the link to read the whole article.

Modesty.  What is the first image that comes to mind when someone mentions modesty?  Do you have pictures of Amish women and nuns running through your head?  If so, I would like to show you a different definition of modesty, and why it is so very important for young girls and this generation.

Modesty isn’t solely about “how much skin do I have to cover”, it’s an outside and inside type of lifestyle.  The question shouldn’t be, “how much skin can I show without getting into trouble?”, it should be, “by wearing this, what am I trying to achieve or convey?”

MODESTY: WHAT IS THAT?!

She Needs A Name!

This is our newest family member, in fact we just brought her home today.  We are still working on a name but I would love some ideas if you have any.  She is 2 months old, her breed is a Shih Tzu-Poodle mix, and she's sweet and calm. The exact opposite from Cookie. Cookie came with an Energizer battery inside of her and it's still going...

The Cooks (Paul's name for Cookie) is not very happy, but it's only the first day so I hope that will change.

Any name ideas??

Puppy Prays Before Meal...Sweet!

Found this video at SANCTE PATER

Arizona

In early May my dad, and step mom Michelle moved to Arizona, but my baby sis Cassidy (she's 16) stayed in CA to finish the school year.

My brother Tim and I just got back on the 16th from taking her out to AZ. It was a fun trip!! I've really missed my dad, and even though we didn't see each other every day it's hard knowing I can't just go see him anytime.

It was hard being away from Paul for that long, but he was away at a conference on Church history that week. That's why I planned the trip when I did.

There aren't many pics from the trip and what I did take was on my phone so the quality may not be so great.  :/

There's also a short video of a lightning storm!

The view on the drive up. We're almost there!!

Cassidy on our first day exploring.

Dad & Tim on our first day fishing.

Cassidy & her new friend!  :)

Our dinner that night...the BIG one was mine! ;)

My dinner!!

Tim & Cookie on the back porch. 

Pretty rainbow (view from backyard)!

Same rainbow.

Michelle, Cookie, Tink (chihuahua), and Bella (Mastiff) relaxing!

Tim at the top the mountain at the ski resort. We rode up, but hiked down. Tim, Cassidy, and I didn't stay on the trail, we went into the trees where we knew there were bears and things because we saw a bear cub cross the trail on the way up.  It was fun!!

Another view.

Cookie chillin' on the back porch...I think she misses it! :(

This storm went on all day, the day before we left. I'm just glad it was clear the next morning.

Homemade Dog Biscuits (with rice flour)

                              

Last night I really wanted to bake something, but I also don't want to eat any sweets right now, so I decided to make something for Cookie.

I did a search for dog biscuits and this recipe I found was one of the simplest and I also knew I had all ingredients on hand.


The only thing i did differently was use Rice Flour instead of whole wheat.

I only used 3/4 of the dough last night (that filled up my baking sheet), and I just stored the rest in the fridge. I'll probably make up the rest tomorrow.

Recipe from Dog Treat Kitchen.com

Isn't she CUTE!!

My sister took this pictures over the weekend, and since they're the best pictures (in my opinion) taken of Cookie I felt I should post them here.

 I think this one is my favorite!

From the Missal

This spoke to me so much today at Mass, that I had to share it.

I can't even count how many times I've read over these lines, but for whatever reason they really jumped out at me today.

These words should be spoken daily.

I hope everyone had a blessed weekend!!

Love This!!

So true.

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A Life of Joy by Amy Clipston

Yesterday I finished reading the 4th book in the Kauffman Amish Bakery Series, and now I have to wait for the 5th and last book to be released. I'm just glad I only have to wait a few weeks and not a few months.

Some may not be aware, but I love reading Amish Fiction (found in Christian Romance in bookstores).

I just discovered Amy Clipston, and I'm so glad I did. I really enjoy her style of writing, and how she truly brings to life the Kauffman family and make you really wish you were at least their friend, if not family.

Something I've learned since reading these novels is that there are Catholic Communities that live almost the same as the Amish do. They dress the same, but I do think they have electricity. I'm sure there are many differences, but they dress like Amish. I've often wondered if I would be willing to join such a community...

I'm still thinking about it...

Memorial Day Weekend

Getting back into blogging....

I know, I know, I've said that before, but I really mean it this time.

Today caught up on housework, but I still have a lot to do tomorrow...ugh!!

This weekend was great. Saturday we went to a party with all of the people who were on the Holy Land trip with us, and we had a great time. Sunday, after Mass we went to my moms and hung out with her and my brother who had his two dogs with him (Zion & Kia), and since we had Cookie with us it made for an interesting visit. It was still fun though! On  Monday once Paul got home from golfing we went for a walk by a lake near our library with Cookie (pics below), got lunch, then napped, watched Bridge on the River Kwai, had dinner and went to bed.  I'm sure people assume that since it's just the two of us, we spend time like that all the time, but we really don't, so yesterday was a much needed relax with your sweetie kinda day!!