Good Finds : Weight Loss Helpers

Okay so losing weight is not fun ... at all... period. Charles and I found out the hard way that gaining weight and eating exactly what we want whenever we want and exercising every so often is a bad combination.  So now we have the fun part, trying to shed the pounds.

http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/muscle-to-fat.html

Charles found an app for our Android phones called myfitnesspal, and it is so great! You set up a profile with your existing weight and how much you want to lose and you're good to go, this handy app does the rest :) Okay it doesn't really do anything, you input your daily food (you can scan the barcode of food and adjust servings and such).  The fun thing is, it restricts your calories ... wait let me rephrase that ... it has a set number of calories you need to eat less than to lose weight, there that's it. haha so after every meal you see how many calories you have left for the end of the day :) SO FUN ! haha y'all think i'm on crack ... I'm not. 

Screen shots from their site

So when Charles and I get home we know we have to go work out (it also lets you plug in your work outs and the calories you burn so you know how many extra calories you have for dinner).  Dinner is our favorite meal of the day that we can sup together as husband and wife, and well, it's just better if we don't have to eat celery and 4oz of lean chicken !

Definately an inspiration ... yep, my fitness pal is, well, my pal :) Along with my hubby for encouragement, maybe I will be able to shed a few pounds.

Oh yes, and this little bit of deliciousness :) This was part of lunch today ... Yum!

http://www.lightnfit.com/product_details_4pack.html

Crafty Creations : Garden sign

Well all y'all know mother's day is coming up soon !  It's very difficult for me to buy anything for my mom or mother-in-law because well, they have everything they need/want ... so I love to give them the gift of me ! i.e. quality time. 

I was talking to my mom on the phone the other day and she was talking a lot about her "garden" or the flowers she has planted in the front of their home.  She always likes to put up little seasonal signs so I thought it'd be fun to make one and bring it to her. 

I drew this and was going to add color and make it look so pretty :)

I had a great idea of one that I drew and I was going to use my silhouette to cut it out (see above), but, well, I'm busy and that sign will have to come another time.  I went to my ever so favorite Dollar Tree (yes everything is a dollar or less) and found these supplies to make a quick gift :)

 

Supplies
Decorative plaque ($1 they had about 3 designs)
heavy duty fly swatter ($1)
Staple gun (had at home)



cute sign

Securely staple fly swatter to back of sign

Finished product! A good gift for $2 !

Blog Browsing : From a friends blog

Stole this lil thing from this sweet girls blog
ENJOY learning some random little facts about me ! Repost on your blog :)


I am: a child of God, a daughter of the King

I think: I could live off cheese, potatoes, water and milk

I know: a lot of really random facts, which comes in handy when watching Jeopardy!

I have: the best husband ever ! I love you Charles Grayson !

I wish: I had a private jet, yep, one I didn't have to pay any of the expenses for :)

I hate: Carolina ... YUCK ! The Tarhole make me sick !

I miss: Being Ms. Wuf and cheering on the Pack

I fear: Being alone at night and hearing noises outside

I hear: My stomach grumbling :(

 I smell: nothing, but I wish I smelled a sausage egg and cheese biscuit

I crave: a smokes sausage egg and cheese biscuit

I search: for good deals on used items, right now, an elliptical :)

I wonder: how wonderful life will be in a few years when a couple of Baby Barrett's join our family

I regret: loving food too much and not exercising enough

I love: the Lord with all my heart ! And that love overflows to my wonderful hubby !

I ache: for the poor and needy kids and their families in St. Lucia and Chicago

I am not: Shy, I will seriously talk to anyone !!!

I believe: that there is one way to salvation (John 3:16)

I dance: a lot ! haha Zumba, stanky leg, shagging, you know :)

I sing: with the awesome kids at church (k-5 praise and worship team !!!)

I cry: quite a bit, they are mostly tears of joy though, y'all, I'm so blessed !

I fight: the urge to buy cute used stuff from goodwill/cragislist on a daily basis

I lose: at tennis to my hubby everytime we play

I win:  at best napper ever ! Seriously I can sleep a lot :)

I never: enjoy cleaning the bathrooms

I always: want dessert after a meal, yeah every meal, but I resist !

I confuse: myself a lot.  Charles helps me figure things out though :)

I listen: to country, pop, and Christian music on my 45 min commute to work

I am scared: the Lord will take me home with him before we have a family (kids)

I need: a smoked sausage egg and cheese biscuit ... and self control !

I am happy about: my life ! God is so good !

I can usually be found: at work or at home on the couch sleeping

Good Finds : Healthy(ish) Food

Okay, so I'm trying to tone up/lose some weight before I have to put on the dreaded bathing suit.  I may just rock a tankini and lil swim skirt this year ... haha yes, I'm getting older, I'm happily married and I'm gaining weight.  What a blessing ... I wouldn't have it any other way !

haha so some of the blogs I read have talked about a couple of products that were good so I decided to try them out. 

Athenos Greek Strained Yogurt

So I generally like yogurt.  Sometimes the texture of it is so blah I can't eat it for a prolonged period of time (like one cup per day for one week, then I get sick of it).  Well I heard Greek yogurt was packed with protein and little to no fat.   The yogurt by itself ... YUCK ! With the strawberries ... acceptable.  I doubt I'll buy anymore thought :(

                                       Breakfast on the Go Emerald Nuts


I love smores, and I really like nuts.  They are also a semi-healthy and a filling snack.  Also it wasn't even that expensive at Wal-Mart.  Warning : If you have delecate teeth, DON'T EAT THIS! hahahaha I know that sounds funny but I swear I was going to chip a tooth when I took my first bite :(  The graham cracker bits are the consistency of dog food (not that i've eated dog food) but you know when you can hear a dogs teeth crushing throught the dry food.  There are also these wanna be marshmallows in there that have no flavor and are also very VERY difficult to eat (I take them out).  Everything else in the little pack is great !  I'm interested in trying out some more flavors!

Anyways... I'll keep you updated on any other good healthy(ish) foods I find. Oh yes, and I've been doing ZUMBA ! So fun ! Here's a link to my instructors facebook page and some of her workouts on video ... isn't she precious !?!?!  ZUMBA

From our kitchen to yours : Mini Monkey Bread

Yum ! This is childhood right here :) Mom use to make this every so often on a saturday morning ... so easy, and so delicious.  When you make the original monkey bread, as you can see from the picture above, you need a hungry army to share it with you (leftovers are OK but not nearly as good as the fresh, warm, goodness you see).  So for me and Charles, I modified the recipe :)

One can of refridgerated biscuits (el cheapos or expensive ones, i've never tried a flakey layer but i'm sure it would work... be creative, you're going to want to make this more than once) about a 8-10 pack
melted butter - about 1/2 a stick
cinnamon sugar - about a cup to 1 1/2 cups
two cereal bowls
large muffin tins - texas size

Heat oven to 400
Take biscuits out of tube and but into quarters.
Dip quarters in melted butter, shake off excess butter.
Toss and lightly cover quarters in cinnamon sugar.
Place into greased muffin tin, fill about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way.

Any extra cinnamon sugar and butter can be mixed together and poured into tins for extra goodness!  You can also add nuts or raisins but I like mine plain and simple.

Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes

Place a plate onto cooked biscuits.  Flip muffin tin over so the mini monkey breads fall onto the plate.  Separate and serve with a nice cold glass of milk and maybe a size of bacon or fresh fruit :)

                                                                            Enjoy !

Crafty Creations : Baby Shower Fun

Me and a friend from church threw a baby shower for 3 first time mom's to be.  We had fun :) I made yarn flower corsages for the mom's and Melissa made a really cute punch!  Baby shower brunches are a great idea : Coffee, punch, mini bagels and cream cheese ( butter and assorted jellies too), fresh fruit, cookies and chocolate :) Enjoy... we did !

Corsage for Mom expecting a little girl

Corsage for Mom expecting a baby boy

Corsage for Mom who will be surprised - not finding out until she delivers!

Cute punch !

Delicious sugar cookies we had too much fun making! And yes they were all gobbled up !

Centerpieces and ... yep, chocolate :)