Yesterday was my baking day and I do not want to do it again so that will be my motivation not to eat too much of my spoils!
I still am making these but in red and green. They are just fun to add to any dessert platter, you know? If you still need something little – heat oven to 350 and place square pretzels on a cookie sheet, top with rolos and put in oven for 5 minutes. Pull out and gently smush your m and m. I put the m and m logo face down so I don’t see it!
I made our family’s favorite pink meringues!
They must be put in a tin like this and kept in the freezer because that is what Aunt Judy did.
I made Chex Mix:
I made white chocolate Chex Mix:
And, I made Pioneer Woman’s Devil’s Food Cake Mix cookies. They were messy to deal with but PW has never let me down. These are delish! Take a DF cake mix, add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and whisk, then add 2 eggs, 2 teaspooons vanilla, and 1/3 cup of veg oil. Mix together and it will be super thick. Put in fridge for 30 minutes then roll in balls and roll in sprinkles. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
I think everyone will really like this new addition!
On Christmas Eve, it is just the four of us. We will go to church at 5:00, and then eat salmon, broccoli, and potatoes I think. Then we will open the family game we always get – this year is it Azul – and the boys will open their pj pants. It’s just pants now.
Christmas morning:
egg casserole and monkey bread
Christmas afternoon:
Tom’s parents and sister’s family are coming over around 2:00. We are having:
sweets platter
restaurant chips and queso
deviled eggs
Red Velvet cake
ham and turkey with hawaiian buns or biscuits
cheese and pickle platter
Tik Tok pasta – feta, grape tomatoes, olive oil
chipped beef dip
beef roll ups
Yup, it’s super weird, but I had to make a decision.
The Day After Christmas:
We go to my mom’s house and I am bringing:
(Plus there will be tons of stuff my mom and sisters are making)
little smokies
buffalo chicken dip and celery
bacon chutney dip
Mexican layer dip
We like our dips, you know?
I want to leave you with a recipe:
Chipped Beef Dip (another Aunt Judy recipe):
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons Miracle Whip
8 oz. cream cheese (one block)
a spash of Worchestshire
2 little packages of beef in the lunch meat section (the really cheap and thin kind) cut up really small
Mix all together and serve on Ritz crackers. I like to buy the snowflake shaped ones!
I thought I would throw in some talk about what I’ve been doing along with a very few outfit pictures. We are getting close. Are you ready? That seems to be all the talk right now. I have not wrapped a thing! I am going out to buy gift bags and tissue paper today and today might also be my baking day. I waited as long as I could so the temptations would not be around for long.
How have I done on eating so far? Pretty good! I used all of my extra WW Weeklies Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday but I didn’t go over my allotted amount. Monday I did pretty well with the exception of some white chocolate peppermint Hershey’s kisses. I am letting myself indulge this week but it is a slippery slope so I am being careful until Eve and Day. Also, I have worn jeans at least part of every day as a strategy. It’s hard to find the balance between being obsessive and careful, but I am trying.
Friday for our last day of school the weather was balmy and my classroom was tropical. I went with a blouse that is probably a bit big now but that was festive in its color scheme. I wore my Tieks to be comfortable. So these jeans fit in the stomach, but are big everywhere else and not that flattering. I am in between jean sizes, I think. I did have to donate my new consignment Chico’s jeans because they were definitely too big after wearing them a few hours. I am not going to buy any new ones for awhile if I can help it.
I really need to deal with my undereye area. Any suggestions?
Saturday was rainy so this is what I wore to the indoor flea market. I have on my new Costco lined boots – love!, my newish black jeans that fit pretty well but are a bit tight in the stomach right now, an old Old Navy feminine flannel, old Old Navy vest, and my Fucci cross body that is getting a lot of attention this week. I am trying to say Faux-Gucci and it could also come out sounding like Dr. Fauci. Lol! Sorry, but I do not want to wear his purse. It would probably only be approved for gatherings of two people outdoors. Too soon? Maybe so.
I swear I am not drunk – yet – lol; this is the only photo I have of this outfit. Other bloggers would leave it out. That’s why I’m different. I wore my pleather skirt, Target boots, another Old Navy old flannel, and an old Old Navy puffer to this small Christmas open house.
Basically if you see me this week I am wearing Christmas colors and my Fucci cross body. I will be tired of it December 26 and then I will put it in the back of my closet.
Have you heard of Strap-Its? I’m not sure if this is really the best name for this product. They are one size fits “some” and I have been eyeing them for quite awhile in my local boutique, Tunie’s. I don’t know why because I only have one off the shoulder slightly top. But, I couldn’t really wear said top because of the bra situation.
Anyhow, I am now one of the “some” category that it fits but I am at the top of that “some”. I bought this pattern below. I love it! The clerk told me this is the only bra she wears now so she wears them even when she is not wearing an off the shoulder top.
I also really like this one, but if I wore this with my Fucci it would be Fucci overload and no one wants that. No one wants Fauci overload, either.
Anyway, I will wear my ensemble soon, maybe? We have crazy weather right now. It is going to be quite warm for Christmas they say.
I am thinking about trying this for Christmas Eve like Cassie of Hi Sugarplum. I have a similar Target skirt that is 20 years old. Seriously, it is elastic waist and I love it so much. I can wear one of my plaids tucked in?
Wednesday Whereabouts:
Where have I been? Sunday I went to the library – I love that they have a few Sunday hours now. I spent most of the day at home just being lazy after a very busy week and a very full Saturday.
Monday I was off to TJ Maxx at opening time for one last present and a look around. Then, I met Tom to shop together at a couple of outdoors stores and World Market. By this time it was noon and traffic was getting crazy. Tom headed to do some chores for our bathroom remodel (things started happening again and more will happen in January apparently) and I headed home to make lunch for myself. Later in the afternoon I went to a smaller shopping center with Jack because he wanted me to and I don’t say no. I made spaghetti for dinner and we watched a show together.
Mason has had a little cold. We tested and it wasn’t Covid. He has started watching Parenthood; Jack and I have each already watched it on our own. They both really appreciate superb acting and writing in a show. So, I have been watching Parenthood again with Mason. The three of us also watch Gilmore Girls sometimes. As a family we are watching What We Do in the Shadows on Hulu. It is hilarious and about a family of vampires that live on Staten Island – not something I would normally like.
The dark side of having teens home from college:
They sometimes go out around 9:00 and then you have to try to wait up. Ignorance is bliss at college and you don’t know the hours they are keeping.
They stay up late. One night I got up to go to the bathroom and I could hear Jack singing in the basement. I had to impose a “singing curfew” and he has to bear with me calling him “my nocturnal songbird” for at least a few more days.
They eat a lot of snacks and a lot of ramen.
The wonderful side:
The first night they were home I got so much joy from listening to them just laugh and laugh together. They both think each other is the funniest person they have ever met.
They thank us for being great parents now that they have heard so many stories of their college friends’ parents. And, now that they have gotten the distance from us they have a new perspective.
They (usually) notice a full trashcan now and do something about it.
They love on their dog so much more because they miss him when they are at school.
Are you a fan of this dip? I am! Have you ever tried to make it? I have made it several times. I decided to lighten it up a bit.
You can use frozen spinach but I used fresh. I used the whole bag – it cooks down so much! I added some chicken broth, garlic powder, and pepper.
I then drained it on paper towels.
I chopped up my artichoke hearts before
adding them to my skillet with about a half of a block of fat free cream cheese, a half cup of fat free sour cream, and a tablespoon of olive oil mayo. I also added some garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, cajun seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Lastly, I added a bit of parmesan and about a half cup of mozzarella – shredded.
Put it in an oven safe dish now and broil or bake for a bit to incorporate all of the flavors and to get it bubbly and hot.
I had it with celery and carrots but it is really good with pita chips, tortilla chips, or spread on a cracker.
If you don’t want to do fat free, you can do low fat versions or even full fat versions.
Not sure if the link up with Heather and the others is happening today but I thought I would still recap my weekend. I don’t know how much I will post this week so I would like to just keep my schedule loose. Hope that’s o.k. with you! I would say it will be quiet in blogland, but this is when I have more time.
Let’s go back to the end of the day Friday. Friday was fine. I was glad that I did my exams Wednesday and Thursday because that made Friday less stressful. We were able to do a few fun things and I returned exams and they knew their grades before the break. There was a TikTok challenge/rumor to do anonymous security threats in high schools so that was fun – not. When will this end? Do we really need another challenge besides Covid?
My sweet twin girls in AP gave me a mug that said my teacher name by Rae Dunn!
Another sweet AP girl gave me a gratitude journal that says “Good Vibes” in Spanish.
I also got a lottery ticket! How creative! I got a few coffee gift cards and a donut gift card. I don’t expect anything and a note is still always my favorite and I save them all!
After school, we had a faculty happy hour at a place nearby called “Joe’s Older Than Dirt”.
I did not indulge in the happy hour snacks, but did have a couple of drinks.
Erica:
Me, dreaming of a two week break:
I don’t know where we got the energy, but I stayed about 4 hours. I had only planned on staying for 1 hour!
This was really funny; the bartender announced that someone wanted to make a toast but the “toast” was a request for the only remaining administrator to buy the next round and he did it!
Yup, this 50 year old hung with the young ones who were the last remaining except for a couple older than me. I went home and ate a later than normal dinner with Tom, Jack, and Mason.
Saturday morning I enjoyed my new mug!
Then, I had a peppermint mocha cold brew protein!
At 10:00 I met my friend Victoria at an indoor flea market.
Egg nog with bourbon! I waited until about 11:00 – don’t worry!
We had a lot of fun chatting and shopping. We both found a few things.
That evening we had a party to go to. The hosts Mike and Beth are married and both were in my high school class.
Tom with another high school friend, Dan:
Yum! Don’t worry the recipe is coming below…
Their lovely daughter was the bartender:
Both drinks were delish and I plan to make them! Maybe you need a cocktail for this week?
Now I want to make chocolate fondue for our holiday!
It was really nice!
Sunday morning I got up and enjoyed my coffee and then did not do meal prep. It was nice to take a break from my rigorous weekly meal prepping. I did laundry, cleaned, organized and felt so free because no school on Monday! I also evaluated all of my gifts and made my list for Monday shopping.
Tom is off this week, too, but he will go back to work two days after Christmas. Tom and I are going to be shopping today because we didn’t want to fight the traffic and crowds this weekend.
Yesterday was a super lazy day and I needed it!
What are you up to today? I hope you have some time off, too!
I thought we would start with a little humor. I will never give up cheese! I am using way less butter, but I don’t think it is evil by any means. I can live without much pasta. Chips are a gateway drug for me. I really do have to be careful around chips!
One night for dinner we had a ton of roasted veg with chicken, gouda, apple sausage and a half of a baked potato. I had lots of points left so I indulged in some Trader Joe’s ciabatta bread. This was a filling meal.
The spread of veg:
One night for dinner we had the Greek bowls and I added air fryer fries. I also made a siracha mayo dipping sauce. I love this meal!
I have popcorn almost every day. I cannot live without it!
I really like this cherry Bubly.
For our lunches this week I made ground turkey shepherd’s pie again.
This is what the base looks like:
Then, I topped it with mashed potatoes – with very little skim milk and butter. This is so delicious and gave us tons of veggies.
On the weekends I try to make something a little different for breakfast and one day recently I made a vegetable omelette and had extra veg on the side.
I have been adding this from Costco to my eggs and vegetables:
These are really good! I am excited to try a few more dishes with them.
I have been loving this shake with peppermint!
This creamer has been festive for the season!
And, I have plans to do more of this peppermint hot chocolate!
Erica made this fish taco bowl for lunch one day – yum! I had my doubts about heating up fish but it worked. She did a good job!
Then, a few days later I made our family’s favorite burrito bowls but used cauliflower rice for mine.
I plan to make my buffalo chicken dip soon. It is a great strategy to bring a healthier option to a holiday function.
That is one of my strategies for sure! But, I will also enjoy and indulge because this is a lifestyle and not a diet. It is a marathon and not a sprint.
These strategies are probably more for me than for you! In the comments, leave me a healthy strategy of yours!
I plan to employ many of the same strategies that I used over Thanksgiving break.
-Exercise everyday or as much as I can.
-Each holiday is only one day. I can celebrate Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve. The other days are normal days and not holidays.
-Do not go anywhere hungry. Pack a snack if I am out shopping or running errands when I could get hungry.
-Do not skip breakfast because I will be eating later. Continue to eat a healthy breakfast and lunch if I am indulging at dinner.
-Only indulge in the foods I really love. I can pass on a packaged cookie but there are certain homemade treats that are worth it!
-Stock my fridge and pantry/keep them stocked with the healthier choices that I have been eating and love to eat.
-Continue to plan meals and plan for the indulgences.
-Wear jeans at least once a week to keep myself in check.
We are in the home stretch! As you are reading this we only have 3 more days of school. In case you are curious, each of my classes has a final round table discussion in Spanish about winter break and holiday plans, a vocabulary test over all the vocabulary we learned this semester, and a multiple choice grammar test. Sometimes I also do a reading and a listening test, but that was too much for this year. I also am asking them to do a reflection on the semester; I gave them questions about their experience with school in general, my class, and their assessment of their own learning. Anyone want to grade all this for me? I am so happy that our first day back after the break is a teacher day. This should always be the norm.
Here are a few things I have worn lately. First, I wore my new Amazon top with a Michael Kors vest (old from TJ Maxx) and my scotch tape leggings. I probably won’t wear this outfit again.
My Loft blouse came in! A girl told me it look like her grandma’s quilt. Yes, chica, you are correct; it is a quilt pattern and I love it!
Here I wore my new Madewell sweater. It is my first and only piece of Madewell clothing. Target Universal Thread is my Madewell if you catch my drift. I wanted a cream sweater with a polo collar and buttons and that I got. Madewell is super expensive, no?
I am in love! I think I will get my $20 worth out of my new Costco short lined booties.
Another view of the sweater:
I went into Loft to exchange sizes of my new Wine and Cheese sweater; they had to order it for me so I can’t show it to you yet. But, I did see this pleather skirt and took a chance by trying it on and I love it! Anyone able to pick me up on their bike later? It is not as short as it looks and I am only 5’4.
On my way to meet Victoria last week, I stopped in to my fave consignment store and I hit the jackpot. The salesclerk asked if I came in looking for Chico’s. I did not, but that is what I found, and two of the items were new with tags! The other two were like new. I got all of this for less than $60. One item had an original tag of $130. One person’s shopping mistake is another person’s treasure, you feel?
Chico’s So Slimming girlfriend jeans:
Let’s hope they live up to their name. You gotta love Chico’s sizing, right? That will probably be the only way I am ever a 2. Chico’s jokes – I am sure they hear that one multiple times a day.
This vest:
This vest:
I like to wear stuff like this to school to make the students wonder if I killed multiple animals. A little fear/mystery is always a good thing as a high school teacher.
Yes I do like me some vests. They hide your love handles on the sides if you know what I mean.
And, finally this basic layering piece:
Chico’s makes great basics like this. The fabric is really nice and you know that you are getting high quality. It washes well, too.
My co-worker said her 70 year old mother-in-law shops at Chico’s. Well, now that I am 50, I can, too. But, the vibe of the items I found is much younger. There is old lady Chico’s and there is younger old lady Chico’s, if you know what I mean.
So…do you have a favorite outfit of mine from the last week? Are you tired of them? I kinda am.
Which is your favorite purchase of mine?
I know I said I wasn’t going to shop for clothing but I am just so easy to buy for.
I have been weeding out my too big clothing and I am now working with much fewer things. I do believe that you should feel your best along the way, too.
I always keep a donation bag or two in my closet. This past weekend I got to donate to the tornado victims in Western Kentucky and Tom also really came through with lots of his cast offs that are all super nice. We found coats, too, that we thought might be needed. My sweet former student put out a call for donations and she came and picked it up. She goes to college in the city that was hit hard. I was glad I had put off taking them to donate elsewhere.
Alright guys, I will be back tomorrow with another edition of Eating Lately and my holiday/break strategies. Friday will be Favorites!
O.k. – drop everything and go get the stuff to make this! I.am.obsessed and I am getting 15-30 grams of protein, baby!
I think I came up with this totally on my own so I am extra proud.
You need: half or whole chocolate Premier Protein, pure peppermint extract, and
instant coffee crystals.
Mix your crystals with a bit of water. I probably use about a tablespoon of crystals and a tablespoon of water. It depends on how strong you like the coffee flavor. Add about 1 tsp. of peppermint extract (again you can make stronger if you like). Mix it well, add ice, and then pour your chocolate shake over it. The flavors of mocha peppermint are now yours to have. If you use half of the shake it is one WW point and if you use the whole it is two WW points.
Happy Friday to all! But, time slow down – we are at 15 days until Christmas! Eeeeeek! I am linking up today with Andrea,etc. right here.
I had to laugh at Tom using 2 leaf blowers at once and I posted this on social media saying “Can you tell Tom is a twin Dad or what?” I have so many funny pictures of him holding both boys at once.
Our weather has been crazy!
It went from high 60s Sunday to really, really cold on Monday. Sunday evening I turned on the patio lights for a bit.
My decor is almost done. It is very simple and minimalist this year. I just don’t have a lot of surfaces for stuff and I really don’t like a lot of stuff. I decided to stop doing what I thought I should do and only doing what feels right for me and my home.
I want lights and candles and cozy. I like to put more time into gift shopping, cooking, and baking.
I have also taken the time on weekday mornings this week to turn the lights on and burn a candle. Why save those simple pleasures for just the weekends?
I used the skinny pizza dough this week to try a small buffalo chicken pizza using the buffalo chicken dip, a bit of cheese, celery, and some added buffalo sauce. Um…. yum!
I also made a normal one. Has anyone tried the dough from My Bizzy Kitchen yet?
Tom won a really big project for his company and I wanted to celebrate him. I have been using my retro Target plates that I just love and I put some Arizona tea…
in a champagne flute. He thought it was sweet!
I made the pink meringues! This is a family recipe that screams Christmas to us. I made them for Spanish Club for our cookie exchange.
Erica and I (another Spanish teacher and my meal prep partner) have had a week of amazing meals!
We had Greek bowls with cauliflower rice, chicken, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta, and tzatziki one day.
One day we had mushroom chicken, broccolini and potatoes.
The Spanish Club cookie exchange. Each person brought 24 cookies and I gave them all a container from The Dollar Tree – some were poinsettias (native to Mexico) and some were snowflakes. They wore a rubber glove and chose one of each type of cookie so they went home with 24 different cookies. It was a big hit!
We also made cards for hospitalized kids as shared by Andrea. I emailed the contact and asked if we could do them in Spanish and they were very happy to have us do that!
It warms my heart to see kids give up their after school time to do stuff like this. It sucks to have to do this in masks but it is our current reality and I feel that I need to model the attitude of “we are doing life normally except for the mask”.
Our local catholic schools dropped their mask mandate this past Monday. What are schools in your area doing? I am in a very large public school district so I fear we will be in masks for a long, long time. My sister is in Ohio but she thinks we might even be in them next year. At what point will we consider that the damage by being in masks too long might be worse? Honestly, I don’t know the answer. I guess it is a small thing, but is it? I’m just thinking out loud here.
I have been having this as my morning snack. I open a laughing cow and sprinkle a bit of everything seasoning and then dip a few celery sticks in. I love it!
I think I have learned to never order a skinny margarita or any margarita out because I think mine is so much better. After last weekend, I think I have learned the same about avocado toast. I have this as an afternoon snack many days after school. I hope you don’t find these two statements to be bragging; I just really love my versions!
What were your faves this week? I hope you had many!
Here is a snapshot of what I’ve been wearing lately…
On this day I wore my Lucky brand black booties, my light Target jeans, an old Old Navy short sleeved black watch plaid, and a Land’s End cardigan (old).
On this day I wore my same black booties, my new black jeans, an old Old Navy black boho top, and an Old Navy hot pink vest.
Here I wore my TJ Maxx leave blouse that I bought back in August, I think. It has little greenery that looks kinda Christmasey. I have on darker Target jeans, my Amazon belt, and old cognac Jack Rogers booties.
Saturday I wore a different pair of jeans, black booties, and my knit leopard duster for my day with my niece.
Sunday I ran to Anthro and wore the lighter jeans, the cognac booties, and another TJ Maxx blouse from early fall.
And, a school outfit…I wore my Tieks, my Matilda Jane velvet pants, a knit cardigan, and my Feliz Navidad t-shirt from Target.
And, another school outfit…my new Loft blouse came (only one of the three items I ordered came in) and it is perfection. It is super soft. I wore it with my Matilda Jane layered flairs and booties.
Meh…I guess my favorite outfit was the third one – the blouse with the greenery. I am anxious to wear the new Loft blouse with something else.
I am working my way through my winter clothes to see what fits my body and my style. My goal was to wear 15 different outfits before the break. I don’t have much energy to put together cute outfits for school right now to be honest. I just want to be comfortable.
Wow – that weekend sure went by quickly! I am linking up today with Heather, etc. right here. (I am trying not to use so many exclamation points. I had to just change that last sentence. Can one person really exclaim that much? )
How was your weekend? Ours was unseasonably warm. Basically it was the weather we were supposed to have had on Thanksgiving Break.
Friday after school I busted out of those doors just as quickly as I could because it was 60 freaking degrees!
Erica came over for a quick margarita and to borrow some vests for her family photos and then Heather below took her spot for some charcuterie, conversation, and cocktail. I made her an Aperol Spritz. We fancy?
Tom came home and the three of us sat on my back deck until it was quite dark – around 6:00.
After Heather left I went and did my Kroger pick up and then an even better pick up….Mason! Jack needed the car so I was happy to be the Lyft driver. Mason wanted to come home for a distraction free environment to write his final semester papers.
Night driving…I hate it. I have an astigmatism so the lights look distorted. I need to find this meme that shows the difference between no astigmatism and astigmatism. Anyone else?
Mason and I watched a Gilmore Girls and then he worked Friday night and most of the day Saturday while Tom went hiking with a buddy and I had a shopping date with my niece Morgan.
We went to Butchertown Market/Work the Metal which I have mentioned before. It is a really large space with kid stuff, kitchen stuff, clothing and accessories, and more. It is a really great place to find gifts.
Um….and they have $1 mimosas. Morgan had an apple cider and I had a cranberry.
Then, we headed to the area called NULU which I have also mentioned. It is an abbreviation for New Louisville – an area of downtown that has been revitalized. We went in about 3 or 4 shops but I only bought a candle. I was looking for the Pickwick Mahomes for the Holiday candle and I knew the plant store Mahonia carried it. They only had Holiday so I got that and it smells amazing. Use your candles, people! Do not save them! Ha – just a little PSA.
We were both curious about this new business that only just opened a couple of weeks ago.
We tried a flight of a few different flavors. They are alcoholic but they also have non-alcoholic.
The vibe was super cute but honestly the seltzers were not fizzy enough for me or maybe anyone. I wished I had brought a Topo Chico in my purse to liven it up. It tasted like you had had a party and someone drank half of a White Claw and left it there and you were a slob and left it there for maybe 7 days and then drank it.
After that, we were hungry and headed to Frankfort Avenue which is a cute street of restaurants and we picked The Hub.
You gotta have fries!
Morgan got chicken and grits and I got…
tiny little avocado toasts.
We parted ways after lunch and I went home.
Around 6, Tom, Mason, and I went to try a new to us place called Falafel House. Sadly, they had no indoor seating.
We had to eat in the car before going in to a beautiful church as part of Bardstown Road Aglow to hear Jack sing.
They were awesome and it was the first time we have gotten to hear Jack sing in person because everything was live streamed last year due to Covid. Jack decided to come home with us for the night and it was already 10 by the time we got home.
I slept in until 8:00 a.m.! Teacher Tired!
I had my coffee and read and then jumped right into meal prep.
I did my 5 breakfasts for the week, Greek bowls, and this turkey sausage vegetable mixture. Erica has 3 lunches this week. It takes me a good amount of time but it really is so worth it to have all of my containers ready to go.
I also made the Trader Joe jumbo cinnamon rolls that I forgot to use for Thanksgiving for the three guys. Kim told me to get them and she is right again. I had to test a bit of one for quality control.
So, speaking of teacher tired and so many things I have to accomplish before December 17 in my professional and personal life, I am going to reduce my blog posts to 3 per week for now. I will be back Wednesday for What I Wore and Friday for Friday Favorites.
I hope you had a great weekend! Let me know in the comments what you did if you feel inclined.
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 