Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Today is my typical What I Wore but I’m also linking up with Heather for Pin It Spin It where you take an outfit from Pinterest – I love to do this! – and put your own spin on it.  This is a great way to decide what to wear in my opinion.  Simply put “white jeans” (or another item of clothing) in the search bar and see how others have styled them.  Genius!  

This is last Thursday – super comfortable!  Steinmart petite palazzo pants – didn’t have to hem them, Target Universal Thread shirt, thrifted cardigan, Tieks flats (consignment), and Kendra Scott necklace 

Monday I wore black MJ pants, Rothy’s flats, yellow old Steinmart cardigan, new Old Navy black flutter sleeve blouse, consignment necklace 

Yesterday I wore blue MJ pants (consignment over spring break here), new Old Navy sleeveless blouse, consignment cardigan from Banana Republic, clogs 

Since I love my kimonos and they are perfect for spring, I searched “kimono outfits” on Pinterest.  Aren’t these the cutest?  These are both pretty casual and most of my outfits are for school, so here is how I “spin” them.  

What do you think about kimonos?  Do you have any?  They are the perfect layering piece and make it easy to abide by the fashion “rule of three” – by adding a third piece – in this case the kimono – it adds interest and can spruce up your basics.  Boy, if they ever go out of style I will be upset!  Lol!  You know what… I’m seeing many of these this season in the swim cover up section – talk about versatile!  

Thanks for reading!

Amy 

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

I don’t know if this is a “tip” per se, but we all have a little bit of voyeur in us and it’s fun to see what each of us carries in their tote or purse!  And, maybe you will like something that I carry and decide to carry it, too! 

Also, I’m convinced that men want to know what we carry!  They always seem a little intrigued by our “bag of tricks”.   If you are a man and want to carry a bag, then I say go for it!  There are lots of options now – the fanny pack, the messenger bag, the backpack, etc.!  

Right now, I’m carrying a pretty big tote from Thirty-One – the direct sales company.  My college friend sold this to me a couple of years ago and it was half off including a monogram making it only about $30.  It is really well made and I really like it.  Teachers like tote bags and this holds my purse contents and my laptop, ipad, lunch, etc.  

I empty the contents pretty much daily because I don’t like a messy bag.  Right now I have:

regular glasses in case I need to take contacts out

2 pairs of sunglasses – one black and one brown

readers

sunglass readers

keys 

2 packs of gum – one fruity and one minty 🙂

the sequin pouch is my wallet right now – money and cards

face powder and the blue pouch with pink and yellow stripes

Inside the blue pouch is:  

ibuprofen

4 lipsticks or glosses (3 are Lipsense my fave and 1 is Seductress Maybelline Matte 

essential oil roller

blister balm for shoes

extra contacts

drops for dry eyes because of contacts 

I really like the pouch approach so you don’t have many loose items floating around.  

That’s about it!  

What’s in your bag?  What should I carry?  Haha – I’m opening myself up for all kinds of crazy suggestions!

Amy 

Monday, April 15, 2019

How was your weekend?  Boy, mine went by quickly it seemed, but it’s really feeling like spring around here.  My friend H surprised me with a quick visit after school Friday and we sat on my patio.  I cleaned off the table but didn’t have my decor out yet.  Son had practice until 7 and we got our favorite Mediterranean takeout – Shiraz.  I need to spruce up the patio because I treat it like another room in my house as the weather permits.  (The grass did get mowed later on in the weekend!)

Saturday morning was exciting – I tried Instacart grocery delivery for the first time.  I had a coupon to try it for free and I chose Kroger as my store.  It was a great experience!  Normally it costs $12 so I probably won’t make it a regular thing, but now I know how it works and I’m sure I spend more than $12 on impulse purchases.  What a great thing for the new mom or anyone that has trouble getting out to grocery shop!  Sometimes I’m amazed at how cool it is to live in this day and age!  

I finally found caramel Premier Protein!  I tried Kroger and CVS, and finally found it at Walgreen’s.  It is soooooo good!  I think this will be my Saturday treat.  I only got one shot of espresso in a grande cup and only used half of a carton of protein.  During the week, I’m making my own iced coffee.  Most people who are talking about it get a “doppio” in a venti cup with ice and use the whole carton.  “Doppio” means two shots of espresso.  Since I had already had two cups of hot coffee upon waking I didn’t want to go too crazy.  

I picked up some promising books at the library.  I started the one on top and I’m enjoying it.  I haven’t had a good book in a while.  I haven’t finished the last couple that I started.  

I made a greek salad with leftover Mediterranean chicken for lunch on Saturday along with a piece of avocado toast.  

Son had practice until 2 and then we went down to sit on a boat at the river for our Derby festivities opener – Thunder over Louisville.  It is an all day air show followed by fireworks.  We have lots of events as part of the Kentucky Derby over the next few weeks.  The weather was perfect and I enjoyed spending some time with my sister in law, her husband, my husband, and some of their friends that stopped by the boat.  The weather was a bit overcast but it felt great after what seemed like a long, cold winter.  

Their dog’s name is “River” and she got a new hat for the occasion.  I call my husband the dog whisperer because dogs love him.  Don’t they look like they’re on a date?  She’s looking at me like she’s pretty smug about being with my man.  

We stayed until dinner time and then left to eat with our boys.  We start getting a little antsy with all of the traffic and crowds that the event brings out and don’t want to get trapped downtown!  

Sunday was meal prep, laundry, errands, a boy’s video project, Annie rehearsal, and homework.  

We mowed for the first time of the season and it looks so good!  It’s so green from all of the rain we had.   

How was your weekend?  I hope it was a good one!  Are you ready for the week ahead?  I’m not sure I am!  This is the week Annie opens and I have some meetings on top of busy work days ahead.  I have to sell Annie tickets and bake for the intermission bake sale, too.  Oh, and I have to help the Easter Bunny fill some teenage boys baskets!  

Come back this week for:

A Typical Day for me 

What I Wore Wednesday

What’s in my purse?

Friday Favorites 

Thanks for reading!

Amy 

Friday, April 12, 2019

Friday is always a fun blog post to write – I take photos of things that made me happy during the week – sometimes serious, sometimes materialistic.  I hope to link up with Andrea, etc. so go here to see other bloggers’ Friday Favorites!  

So my favorites today are also some of my favorite things in life – shoes and food!  This week was really just about working, sleeping, cooking, and eating – so there you go!  

I was in search of the perfect tan summer sandal – comfortable, perfect heel height, wearable at school and out and I ordered the MIA Bety.  It’s not as comfortable as the MIA Sofia, but I’m working on breaking them in.  

Lots of angles for you to see!  They definitely have a 70s vibe.  They were about $90 on Amazon.  

So, I’m plugging along with my WW plan and actually yesterday was one calendar month since I began.  

I have been having avocado toast pretty much every day for an afternoon snack.  My bread is one WW point, eggs are zero, my Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel seasoning is zero, and my avocado is spread thinly and only about 1/4 of an avocado or less so I count it as 2 points.  It’s a nice filling 3 point snack.  I also tell myself it’s the healthy fat from an avocado!  Are you a fan of avocado toast?  I feel like such a hipster!  

I love buffalo chicken!  Do you like it?  I have been having grilled chicken with Frank’s hot sauce, blue cheese dressing that is light – love Bolthouse Farms, and celery.  I have also made salads and below you will see the buffalo chicken quesadilla I made on a low carb tortilla that is only 1 WW point.  

O.k., I found out I don’t like the chocolate flavor, but this vanilla is the bomb.com!  I’m continuing to use it daily to make an iced coffee with just half of a carton for 1 point.  It saves a point and it saves money by only using half of a carton a day.  

This is an old recipe below, but it is zero points!  You take a can of fat free refried beans, about a cup of salsa, and about a half packet of taco seasoning.  Heat it up on the stove or in the microwave and it makes a delicious bean dip or a burrito filling.  I’m having it here with Good Thins sea salt flavor which taste like a corn tortilla chip.  

Here is a very low point southwest salad below that is delicious!  

And, lastly a favorite was this Facebook memory of our favorite bagel place by our house that went out of business.  The boys loved it so much and we went there at least once a week.  This was after singing in church on a Sunday.  My boys were blondies until late elementary school!  

Happy Friday to all!  What were your favorites this week?  The first week back after break is always rough on the system!  

Amy 

Thursday, April 11, 2019

I may not be telling you anything new today, so let me apologize in advance!  

Have you become a strictly online shopper?  I would say I still buy 75% of my clothes, shoes, and accessories in person.  But, I am lucky to live in a big city where I have lots of options.  And, I enjoy getting out and looking in the shops.  I do try to shop locally when possible.  Don’t forget consignment stores- I would say about 25% of my wardrobe is second hand.

Where I shop online for clothing and accessories:

Amazon – of course!  Everyone loves Amazon and with good reason.  They have everything under the sun and the shipping is fast and free with Prime.  I don’t buy a lot of clothing on Amazon because I don’t want to deal with returns.  Exception:  When a blogger recommends a piece and also shows pictures wearing said piece.  Also, for accessories Amazon can be really good – I have been very happy with the earrings I have bought from Amazon recently.  I also use Amazon for many of my shoe purchases.  

Nordstrom.com- Nordstrom has such great customer service and super fast and free shipping and returns.  We do have a Nordstrom Rack in my city but I never find anything there.  The prices are not that discounted and honestly, I can find better deals on the regular website.  If you have never looked at their website, it is super user friendly.  Check it out and use the sale and price filters!  I order lots of my shoes from here. Tip: if you buy makeup from here, you get to choose beauty samples. I have found some great products this way.

Other than these two, I like to order from online retailers that also have a store front in my city so that I can make returns.  

Old Navy – Their online prices and deals are better than in the store I think!  Their sizing can be off so it’s a good idea to order two different sizes in each thing you order.  That often helps you get to the free shipping amount or the biggest discount amount, too.  I don’t do really well with their jeans, but some of my favorite tops have come from here.  I just love my new floral blouse and have been wearing it once a week, below.  

Target – Their website has more than just the store items.  Go to Target.com and look around.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised.  Target is great for swimsuits and cover ups and you will also find more selection in these categories on the website.  I also tend to order two different sizes from here to make sure I get the correct size.  Returns couldn’t be easier at Target at my local store.  I also use this for birthday gifts.  I love Universal Thread brand which has a Madewell vibe and I’m happy to know that they do still have the Knox Rose brand, which has a bit of a Anthropologie vibe.  

American Eagle – great for jeans and tops.  I can order short length for my jeans which I need!  Short is hard to find in the stores.  

Versona – Their website is user friendly and shipping was super fast on my last order which included two long vests with a ruffle on the bottom.  I got grey and tan.  Here is the grey below.  

JCPenney – I like the Liz Claiborne brand for some tops and will often use the filter to check out their new stuff each season.  You can find some great sales at JCP.com.  

I think that is about it!  There are many more websites I need to explore, I’m sure.  What are your favorite online shopping sites?  

Amy 

Wednesday,  April 10, 2019

So, this week I have a mixture of more casual Spring Break outfits and some back to school “teacher” outfits!  The weather has been 50-60 degrees and I’ve been enjoying my spring clothes – most of which are at least a year old.  I don’t love every outfit, but I’m going to show you anyway!  

So, without further ado – here we go!  

Last week I broke out the white jeans.  They are from Old Navy last year and I don’t love the fit.  I frayed the bottoms myself and I’m the least crafty person ever so I was proud of that!  I’m trying to hold a Starbuck’s cup like an Instagrammer!  The knit top is quite old from Kohl’s Chaps line.  I love me some tie dye!  The necklace is old from Versona but I thought the design looked a bit like Tory Burch.  I didn’t like this outfit because of the fit of the jeans.  They just continue to bag out throughout the day.  Old Navy jeans are often like this for me.  I know some of you love your ON jeans, but not me for some reason.  

This is the perfect kimono weather and I have one on here from last winter at TJ Maxx.  I have one my new to me consignment Matilda Jane’s from yesterday’s post here.  The necklace is old from Versona and the top is a LulaRoe perfect tee.  I’m not loving the tee because it shows some – ahem -stomach issues.  Maybe I could add a camisole or a suck you in tank undergarment.  Other than that I absolutely loved this outfit!  

I didn’t like the outfit below when I saw the photo.  This was to go out to eat at the Ethiopian restaurant.  I wore my new Hue jeggings, a black Chico’s top, a Versona vest and my MIA higher heeled clogs.  The necklace is old from Versona.  Wow – my old Versona pieces are getting a lot of wear right now!  

Below was to go out to eat Saturday night with our friends.  Same clogs, old Chico’s consignment pants, old Loft tassel sleeveless blouse, and the other $19 TJ Maxx kimono from last winter.  I was so comfortable in this outfit and it felt very me.  

Sunday it was rainy and this is what I wore to take son to art museum and Duluth Trading with my hubby.  I took advantage of a store mirror.  I just wanted to wear my yellow boots and chose things that matched!   

Monday back to school and we are having color theme days for a cancer fundraiser.  This day was grey.  Old kimono from Nordstrom Rack, LLR tee in grey, MJ pants, and clogs.  

Then, yesterday was baby blue and I wore my new MIA Bety clogs that I will talk about soon, a LLR Cassie pencil skirt, a blouse that is a hand me down from my friend V.  

I will tell you – I am learning a lot by photographing my outfits.  It is helping me to make better purchases and it is helping me to pick outfits that I’m more confident in.  Did you have a favorite?  Have you enjoyed wearing spring things recently?  

Amy 

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

So this isn’t really a tip like I normally do on my Tuesday posts, but I thought you might like to see what I added to my closet over my break!

I had a list of some things I wanted to add for spring and summer and I had the time over last week’s Spring Break to look around and shop in person – truly my favorite way to shop.  I love the convenience of online shopping, but I am picky about fabric and quality and I love to shop second hand, so for me that means getting out to the shops!  

First up, I went to Macy’s to look at their selection of Reef flip flips (it was bad, by the way – so I still haven’t picked out my Reefs for this season)

I happened upon a rack of clearance Hue leggings/jeggings.  I had been wanting to try the scarecrow hem in a pair of jeans so it was fate.  These were $13!  I know they are super dark so probably they were meant for winter, but I think darker jeans are more flattering on me anyway so I plan to wear these this spring and I have already worn them!  

Another day I visited one of my favorite consignment shops and found this adorable springy print of the LulaRoe Cassie skirt.  I love these skirts because they hit me at the right place or I can fold the waist over and they are a pencil skirt which I think is my most flattering silhouette.  I have maybe 6 of these skirts, by the way.  It was new with tags and I paid $16 for it.  I think their prices have gone up a bit, but it is still a savings of at least 50%.

Here is a close up of the print.  It reminds me of oranges and lemons.  I thought it would be perfect for Easter.  

Then, another day I hit up my other favorite consignment shop and there were some more Matilda Jane pants for around $15 each that are normally $58.  Now, these weren’t new, but they were in good shape and I know the quality is great with these pants.  Yes, I have a problem – I now own 7 pairs!  But, in my defense, I think they are the perfect teacher pants.  They are a bit dressy and I prefer pants to skirts to teach in.  I get compliments on them every time I wear them, too.  I may look back on this Matilda Jane faze of life and ask myself what I was thinking, but just let me be none the wiser for now! I got this navy below:

And this light moss color:

The moss color are a bit shorter length.  I have already worn them with a kimono.  

Then, I picked up two new pairs of earrings that I showed you last Monday here in my Hello Monday post.  The left were from World Market and the right were from the cutest little boutique here in Louisville called The Prickly Pear.

I also already told you about this Costco Gloria Vanderbilt top that I picked up for $13.  

And, finally this swimsuit cover up from Target that I showed you in my Friday Favorites here.  

I’m super happy with all of my purchases and I’m getting to be a better, smarter shopper.  I think this comes with knowing yourself, dressing for yourself and not someone you’re trying to be, knowing your lifestyle – stuff like that.  

Here’s the breakdown:  

1 jeans

2 pants

1 skirt

I top

1 cover up

2 earrings

Total:  $115

The most expensive item was the cover up at $24.  

I still have a few things I would like to add for spring/summer.  

My list includes:

Reef flip flops ( I live in these in summer)

the perfect sandal (ordered the MIA Bety and will let you know)

some fun going out tops for summer

That’s about it.  Then, I feel that I will have a great closet from which to choose for any event that might come up!  

What about you?  

Amy

Monday, April 8, 2019

How was your weekend?  It’s going to look like all I did was eat out this weekend! But, in my defense, I cooked all this week from Sunday until Thursday – not eating out a single time! So, I needed a break!  

Let’s start with Friday.  Hub was able to take off work to spend the last weekday of Spring Break with the boys and I.  We saw the noon showing of Shazam at our favorite theater.  It was just o.k. to me, but they all seemed to like it.  I brought my own Skinny Pop and a baggie to portion out a small amount of the good movie theater popcorn, a clementine, and a dum dum and a seltzer water.  I felt pretty good about my behavior!  In the past, I would’ve eaten much more popcorn, stolen sips of my husband’s Coke, and had some M & Ms.    

After the movie we went home and did some chores and got ready to go to an early dinner at our Ethiopian restaurant.  One son has been asking to go there for quite awhile and it was on my list of things to do during Spring Break.  

I loved it.  Hub thought it was just okay, one son hated it and had to eat a sandwich when we got home, and the son who requested it thought it was just okay, too.  This tray is for all of us.  You scoop up food with the spongey bread they give you.  It was rolled up like toilet paper and we thought that was funny.  Also, you can see additional bread underneath the food.  I would go back, but I guess I would take other people!  Have you ever tried Ethiopian food?  

We went home and were all pretty tired for some reason.  

Saturday morning I ran some errands and then one son had theatre practice for 3 hours and the other son had a “day date” with his girlfriend.  I dropped them off on in The Highlands so they could look at shops and eat lunch.  The Highlands is an area of Louisville centered around Bardstown Road.  There are unique restaurants and shops and great people watching.  

I made arrangements to meet my good friend V at her house in the same area and we walked to lunch and sat on a patio.  The weather was really nice.  We went to The Eagle and both got a really good salad.  We were so hungry that I forgot to take a picture of it.  

After that, I picked up both sons and took the girlfriend home and we rested.  That night I ordered pizza for the boys and hub and I had a dinner out with our friends B and B. We tried a new to us place called Couvillion.  It was cajun/creole with locally sourced ingredients and they had my hub’s favorite drink Ale 8 One!  

A rare photo of us – hub doesn’t love having his photo taken!  I wore a sleeveless blouse from Loft and a kimono with black pants and clogs.  

Our friends – we always have lively conversation with them!  And, we have been friends for over 20 years.  

We had grilled cauliflower for an appetizer along with cornbread.  The cauliflower was really good and I only had a small piece of the bread but it was really good, too.  

I had a drink with bourbon and Ale 8 plus citrus called a “Young Buck”.  

I ordered from the appetizer menu and had shrimp remoulade and fried green tomatoes and a salad.  

I had saved up my “extra” WW points for the weekend and still managed to stay within my range.  

B is wearing brown clogs and I’m wearing black clogs!  

The patio looked so pretty.  I hope to sit outside next time!  

Sunday morning and I was back to my healthy breakfasts – avocado toast on sprouted bread with egg and zucchini.  This is 6 points.  

I did meal prep – sauteed zucchini for my breakfasts, made hard boiled eggs for snacks, made my egg casserole for breakfast, chopped vegetables for lunches and snacks, went to grocery and hub worked on his car brakes.  

Then we took a son to the art museum with his girlfriend and visited Duluth Trading and the river and took a peek at our boat!

What about you?  I’m not sure I’m ready for this week, but ready or not – here it comes.  

Thanks for visiting today!  Hope you will come back – tomorrow I am sharing my Spring Break wardrobe additions, Wednesday is What I Wore, Thursday Thoughts on online shopping, and Friday will be Friday Favorites from the week!  

Amy 

Friday, April 5, 2019

Happy Friday!  For once, I’m not happy to see Friday arrive because it means our Spring Break is almost over!  Even though we didn’t travel, we have had a nice week here at home.  The boys have had friends over and gone places with friends and I have enjoyed browsing in lots of stores, reading, trying new recipes, and getting caught up on tv watching.  I’ve also done some spring cleaning.  Hub is taking off today so he will have some time with us.  I’m going to attempt to link up today with Andrea, etc. so click here to find some new blogs!  

I have really enjoyed the weather this week.  After a chilly weekend, it warmed up quite nicely and I did some reading outside in the sun a couple of days.  I have loved my new sunglasses readers for outdoor reading.  

I got my first pedicure since 2018.  I choose OPI Funny Bunny which I own for touch ups.  Awkward foot photo!  

Each year, I buy a new cover up and this year’s winner is from Target. 

I wish I had taken a before photo but I am loving this self tanner.  I think this year’s formula is even better than last year’s.  I only do my arms and legs and I like to do it at night and then wake up like I have just arrived home from the Caribbean.

I’ve been enjoying my sun roof.  I feel like we have a very short window for using a sun roof here because soon we will need AC!

I changed my watch band to white for warmer weather!  This was a mother’s day gift last year from my husband.  I had the original grey and he gave me a white one.  

I have been on a quest for the perfect sandal of 2019.  I want something for work, play, going out, etc.  Since I love my MIA Sofia clogs so much, I happened upon these and thought they might be just as wonderful.  They should arrive today so I will let you know.  I plan to do a post next week on new spring clothing additions!  

I went into my local store that carries Kork Ease and tried these on below that I talked about last week and they were just too low heeled for what I’m looking for.  They are very expensive so they would have had to be perfect for me to spend that amount.  Also, the top straps were a little bit constricting.  

Today we have tickets to go see this as a family!  I have not been to the movies since February maybe?  

If you are new to my blog, welcome!  If you missed my posts this week, on Tuesday I posted about some drink recipes and maybe you would like to try one this weekend?  Go here for that post.  Yesterday I posted about my healthier eating and you can go here for that post!  

What are you up to this weekend?  Our boys have lots of plans, but hub and I are pretty free!  Isn’t that what ends up happening when you have teenagers?

Have a lovely weekend!

Amy 

Thursday, April 4, 2019

This post may not appeal to many so I apologize in advance if that is the case for you!  Please do come back tomorrow for Friday Favorites!  Lol!  

I started doing WW online March 11 and I know a few of my blogger friends are also doing it.  I am still learning the ropes.  The first week was the hardest and now I’m getting better, but I still have many temptations.  It’s a bit of a learning curve to learn how many points everything is, how to best utilize my points so I’m not crazy hungry – stuff like that.  The app on my phone is super user friendly.  It has an extensive list of restaurants, their menus, and point values.  I also love the bar code scanner.  And, you do get about two days worth of “extra” points to use how you’d like.  I try to save mine for the weekends.  

Also, if you have done Weight Watchers in the past, it is easier now than ever before, in my opinion.  So many things are on the zero points list now.  A couple of things that were kind of lightbulb moments for me – my sister reminded me that WW is a low carb diet when all is said and done.  In this confusing world of Keto versus Paleo versus whatever else fad diet comes along, I really think WW is the most sustainable.  In order to stay within your daily points range on WW, you must choose lots of lean meats and vegetables but you do get fruits, too.  But, there really are no “off limits” foods; you just have to find a balance which is what we should all do anyway, right?  The other lightbulb moment is when my sister said that you really must get enough protein to stay full longer.  By the way, my sister has lost 30 pounds in the last 1.5 years and looks great!  She didn’t do WW, but used My Fitness Pal and worked out consistently.  

Obviously I’m not a food blogger, but I love to see photos, so here goes…

Below was a recent breakfast that I calculated to be 5 points.  

Sauteed zucchini, two scrambled eggs, 1/2 Jimmy Dean turkey sausage crumbles, 1/8 cup cheese, half of a small baked potato sauteed in Pam, and Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel Seasoning.  This kept me full until my late morning snack.  It doesn’t look like I’m sacrificing here, does it?  

This one didn’t keep me as full for as long, but it was still good.  I had one piece of sprouted bread toasted with a bit of spray butter, a fried egg, one piece of bacon, a sprinkle of lite cheese, and the seasoning again.  This was 3 points.  

I am so excited to discover the Premier Protein shake.  The vanilla is delicious by itself but I made an iced coffee with half of the shake for one point.  This was my late morning snack many days this week.  I purchased the liquid stevia drops at Trader’s but I stopped including it, because the shake makes it sweet enough.  

It was chilly Sunday so I made a pot of the zero point soup.  I used beef broth, a can of diced tomatoes, a bit of tomato paste, zucchini, carrots, green beans, and onion.  It was delicious!   

My boys wanted Subway, so I was happy to find out that I could get a toasted veggie with provolone but no condiments for 5 points.  I put my own fat free mayo on at home.  I also had a Kroger light string cheese for 1 point and some pop chips for 1.5.  I just halved the serving size on the bag.  These are pretty good chips!  

One little trick I do to fool myself is to cut things in half or in multiple pieces to make me think I am eating more than I actually am!  

Our favorite mediterranean place was dinner one night.  This only counted as 2 points due to the cheese and olive oil.  I had salmon which is zero.  

This was proabably too many points.  I had parmesan chicken, zucchini and mushrooms, and a homemade pizza using the bagel dough I will tell you about.  This was 7 points.  

There is an incredible bagel recipe that I must share.  I think I actually like them better than normal bagels now.  This recipe makes 4 bagels at 3 points each.  Or, you can take one or two balls of dough and turn it into your pizza crust like I did in the above photo.  

One cup self rising flour + one cup greek non fat plain yogurt.  Don’t get strained – my batch didn’t turn out great when I bought strained yogurt.  Mix together and knead a few times.  Divide dough into 4 equal parts.  Using a bit more flour, roll with your hands into 4 tubes and bring them together to form a circle with hole in middle.  Brush tops with one egg beaten and then sprinkle with the Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel seasoning.  Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.  You will seriously freak out!  They don’t even need cream cheese or butter in my opinion, but I will put a couple of sprays of the butter spray on it after slicing and toasting.  

The family had spaghetti so I had sauteed zucchini with the sauce on top.  I believe this was 4 points.  

I love, love, love Frank’s hot sauce mixed with blue cheese dressing (fat free or light) with chicken and celery sticks.  We also had salad.  I also had half of a small baked potato.  That’s a pretty decent sized meal!  

I always want something sweet after dinner.  So, I have this mug cake or a dum dum sucker.  Dum dums are one point and I can make that baby last a long time!  

To make the mug cake:  

buy an angel food cake mix

buy any regular cake mix you want – I bought Betty Crocker in chocolate fudge because why would you get any other flavor?  Ha!  

Mix the two cake mixes in a container or a large plastic bag – only the powdered mixes – don’t add eggs, oil, water.  

Spray a coffee mug with a bit of Pam and then add 1/3 cup of your cake mix mixture followed by 3 T. water.  Mix up really well and microwave for 45-50 seconds.  

One point – and the mixture lasts a long time!  

Are you still with me?  What are your go to healthy meals?  Do you do a particular plan?  

Leave me any tips you have!  I need all that I can get!  

Amy