Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Happy last day of November! Hard to believe, right?

I mentioned a few things yesterday in my Hello Monday post, but today I plan to go more in depth about what I’ve been eating since we last spoke about the topic.

I keep saying I hope I don’t talk too much about this topic, but you, my dear sweet readers, seem to comment the most about this topic and I get the feeling you want the deets? If you don’t, just click away and I won’t be offended!

I am doing WW Personal Points and I still haven’t figured it all out yet, to be honest. The plan just came out at the beginning of November. I did WW Purple before that and got 16 points per day with 42 extras that I used on the weekends. Now I get 22 points a day with 28 extras. You can now earn extras for drinking water and eating a cup of vegetables. You can also change your plan by taking the assessment and getting different zero point foods. Anyway, it’s a lot but I think I like it. I’m still eating pretty much like I did while doing the Purple plan – low carb, lots of vegetables, lean proteins, lots of water, and not much sugar. I am also trying not to rely on too many packaged foods or artificial sweeteners; this is a personal preference for me. The app is amazing and lets you record what you are eating and tracks your points for you.

My goal going in to the holiday was to enjoy myself but not go crazy. I had two Thanksgiving meals – one on Thursday and one on Friday.

Here were my strategies:

-I made a pot of vegetable soup to help me not go to the meals too hungry – or as something healthy to have in the evening after the meals.

-I ended up wearing jeans both days just because I wanted to and…maybe as a bit of accountability and to remind myself that I have gone down 3 jean sizes? I wasn’t uncomfortable at all in my jeans but I learned last year that leggings were not my friends.

-I only put foods that I love on my plate. I didn’t request any special foods or act fussy. I don’t want to be that person ever. I ate slowly and enjoyed every bite but I did not stuff myself.

-I ate a great healthy breakfast both days that happened to be zero points.

-I made WW buffalo chicken dip and celery as an app to take that doesn’t feel like diet food to me.

I plan to employ these same strategies again because I think they really helped!

Another thing that helped is that I didn’t have any tempting leftovers.

On Saturday morning, I needed to re-stock my normal, healthy foods…

It felt good to go inside the store (rather than do pick up) to kinda peruse the healthier choices after the decadent Thanksgiving foods. I went at 8:30 and had the place mostly to myself. I primarily shop at Kroger and we have a Kroger credit card that we use for gas and groceries. I had $100 in rewards coupons/checks and only paid $3 for this order! Woohoo! That is the only credit card I have, by the way. I do have a debit card and Tom has one other credit card.

This is the vegetable soup I made:

Most Sunday mornings I work on my meal prep for the week. I take my breakfast and lunch to school everyday. Well, I take 2-3 lunches a week and my meal prep partner, Erica, does the other. Erica has now lost almost 30 pounds! I recently hit the 46 pound mark on the Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving! Erica started in July and I started in April.

I am trying to eat a cup of vegetables at breakfast and this is what my breakfast prep for the weekdays looks like. I made a mixture of yellow squash, green zucchini, mushrooms, and onions. I included two Jimmy Dean turkey sausages for protein, and then I add…

my low carb egg casserole on top. It has 6 eggs, a half cup of low fat cottage cheese, and a can of green chilies. The original recipe called for a bit of flour and lots of shredded cheese but I don’t find that I miss those and they would be more points. I am definitely an egg for breakfast type of person. And, I love breakfast.

I eat this around 8:00 a.m. at school during my planning period. I’m also still doing a half of Premier Protein with instant coffee in the mornings, too. Bananas are now 3 points for me so I don’t know what else to do for a morning snack around 10? I love vegetables way more than fruits so I recently changed my Personal Points to get more zero point foods and that made the fruits cost points now. It’s kinda confusing. I may change back to fruits being zero for me.

Dinner is a variation of whatever I make for Tom. It’s probably easier for me right now because I’m only cooking for two and I am not hung up on us eating the same thing. Tom works out like a mad man but he is NOT on board with all of my healthy foods. It’s kinda weird, but whatever. He wants a meat at every meal with two vegetables or the classics like spaghetti, tacos, etc. He is very easy to please. He eats lunch out every single day at work and often has leftovers that he is happy to eat.

Some recent foods:

I am not great about sharing recipes in these posts; it’s more like giving ideas, I guess.

This was a variation of Alice Springs Chicken from Outback – grilled chicken, honey mustard, mushrooms with broccoli and potato wedges. Yes, I usually eat one potato a day!

This was a dinner of skinny pizza dough breadsticks, apple gouda sausage, brussel sprouts, potato wedges.

Salad with…

a chicken wrap on a low carb tortilla and a light twice baked potato.

I actually took a Chick Fil a breaded patty and took it off the bun and put it in the wrap. The flour tortillas I use are La Banderita brand and are one WW point.

A bagel sandwich with the skinny pizza dough in my air fryer…

A Boca burger wrap…

Erica’s lunch of copycat Olive Garden zuppa tuscano soup…

burrito bowls…

I am a big believer in putting your food on pretty plates. I would never eat a Lean Cuisine or a frozen meal in the container because I just think it tastes better on a plate! Another trick I do often is to cut things in more pieces so it seems like more. I’m weird.

This is what I use for creamer – no sweetener. You get used to it! Now I love my coffee this way!

I started adding this a couple of times a week. This may be TMI but we have a doctor friend that says everyone should be doing Metamucil everyday.

A great sweet treat for the cold evenings – one WW point.

This is what I buy for my breakfast – a great price at Costco and I put in the freezer.

This is my favorite bread at one WW point…

I often make avocado toast for an after school snack with this bread…

I love these!

Popcorn almost every day…

Ok – new to me… these are so good! I added some mayo and pickles and…

these buns for one WW point and it was like a faux CFA sandwich!

I plan to make 2 WW point egg rolls in the air fryer! I can use my egg roll in a bowl mixture inside and one of my readers reminded me about making buffalo chicken egg rolls.

As you can see I have been eating a lot of low carb tortillas and potatoes! And, I do repeat the same things quite a bit. Or, maybe it’s that I go in stages where I eat the same thing for a while before changing?

I am not really eating brown rice, whole wheat pasta, or other grains much now because it’s not zero for me anymore. I just need to learn this new plan a bit better and then I will add more variety I think.

Anyway, I love what I’m eating. It’s not perfect, but it’s a big improvement. I was eating way too much – mindless snacking, “tasting” while cooking, drinking too much alcohol and caloric coffees, eating way too much sugar… you get the idea.

If you have been on the fence about joining WW, I say do it! I feel so great heading into the new year for the first time ever. It feels so good to have already started working on my health goals pre-January 1, you know? There is no need to wait for a magical date on the calendar, and honestly, there is never a perfect time. Life is always gonna be crazy. While I have lost weight, I have gained so much. I am happier and more extroverted. I say YES more. I think I will have less Seasonal Affective Disorder this winter, maybe because I feel better? As far as vanity goes, everyone wants to be in shape and look good for the summer, but it is such a good feeling to look better in your winter clothes, too!

A word about the air fryer… I am using it so much! I think it’s especially great for people trying to eat healthier. It is also great for empty nesters who aren’t cooking for a large family.

If I can be of any help, let me know! This was a long post and I probably repeated what I have said in other posts but I always appreciate a followup, so…

Amy

P.S. – I would like to lose 4 more pounds before the end of 2021 to hit the 50 pound mark, but I am really just going to try to maintain through the busy holiday season.

Monday, November 29, 2021

It’s back to the grind today for most of us, right? Today I am linking up with Heather, etc. here for Hello Monday.

I had a nice 5 days off. My hopes were time with family and friends, time to read and relax, time off from the computer, not to eat too horribly – lol, and that’s about it. I did not do Christmas decor and I didn’t do much shopping and that’s perfectly alright with me.

I love a slow morning. I took the time each day to light a candle and read blogs or my books.

I made a vegetable soup to have for lunch before the big Thanksgiving meal. This is zero points for me and I am also bringing this with some turkey sausage (2 points worth) for our lunch today. I am doing 3 lunches this week and Erica is doing 2. I am doing chicken enchiladas one day and either Greek bowls or egg roll in a bowl on the other day. I weighed Wednesday morning and achieved my lowest weight to date! I won’t weigh again until this Friday morning, December 4th.

Wednesday I had to try out my fall sangria. I used this Trader Joe’s spiced cider and I love the extra bite it gives.

It was pretty cold all 5 days here, but I did manage to sit outside a couple of times.

I had a cider mimosa the next morning, too!

I finished this cute Hallmarky book. The end – or really most of it – was super predictable but it was just what I needed.

I started this and I am liking it so far! I love to get in the mood for the season with my reading!

These are so fun and the perfect little sweet treat – 2 WW points each – lol. I made some to take to both of our celebrations.

On Thursday around 2:00 we went across town to Tom’s sister’s house. I made this caramel cake using a yellow box mix (add an extra egg for a true homemade taste) and homemade, real deal icing – lots of butter, brown sugar, powdered sugar and milk. You have to cook the icing, too, and it is amazing.

My sis-in-law requested that I made mashed sweet potatoes and OMG – I will be doing this again. I roasted the sweet potatoes in my oven at 400 for a long time – like 1.5 hours. You let cool, scoop out the innards, and then mash and add a touch of milk, butter, and brown sugar along with some spices. The roasted aspect makes them not require much.

My 22 year old niece Morgan and I. She was my first niece and I am so proud of her. She is a nurse now and works the night shift.

My second niece, Brooke, is almost a nurse, too! She just got a paid internship with a big hospital group.

Tom and Mason – awww

Jack and Tom’s mom – love that I caught her looking at him like that!

The feast – It was so nice after taking last year off. We had a great meal and a nice day.

On Friday it was time for round 2 with my family and again, this would be our first Thanksgiving since 2019. My mom lives an hour away so we headed there around 11.

I made mashed potatoes,

WW friendly buffalo chicken dip to snack on,

and roasted potatoes that my mom loves.

My sister Kate and I:

Nieces Nora and Samira playing Scrabble with Jack and Mason after our meal:

My nephew Silas was hard to get a photo of because he was busy!

We had a really nice day, but it was also a bummer because my other sister’s family was quarantined. My brother in law tested positive for Covid on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and then my sister Molly tested positive on Monday. They were both pretty sick and the whole family had to stay home, of course. Prayers that we can be together for Christmas if you don’t mind?

The sky on our drive home was beautiful!

Jack and Mason really just wanted to be at home, sleep in, lounge in pjs, and do a bit of homework. It was so nice to have them home. They only have a few more days of classes until Winter Break. It’s hard to believe they are almost halfway done with college. College really does go by faster than high school and that seemed so fast to me, too.

One of my besties, Heather and I cooked up a plan to do “Shop Small Business Saturday” but it really just turned into a boozy brunch and one store. I love one on one time because I feel like we can really talk, ya know? We ended up at Wild Eggs which is in a small shopping center with all locally owned places.

We had a pomegranate mimosa…OMG! This would be great for Christmas! You can’t tell at all that I love a mimosa, can you?

I stuck with my regular farmer’s market skillet!

I’m trying to get better at always asking to take photos!

Tom got invited by his brother-in-law to go to the big rivalry football game between University of Louisville and University of Kentucky. I tagged along to tailgate with my sister-in-law. The game didn’t start until 7:30 and both of us are not late night people. Plus, the tailgate is the best part, ya know?

Proof that we were there…

Jessica, my sister-in-law and I…

And, Sunday was a lazy day at home that also included meal prepping for the week.

I went to the store at 8:30 Saturday morning to stock back up on the healthy foods! Post coming tomorrow about what I’ve been eating/meal ideas. I do plan to buckle down for the next 3 weeks or so. I’m still learning the new WW Personal Points plan. I re-took the assessment and now I have 22 points a day. I was only getting 16 a day on WW Purple. I think I like the new program? I walked one day and did an exercise video indoors one day.

Erica (my co-worker and meal prep partner) hates the cold but I am hoping we can walk at least 2 days a week until the break. I am also trying to start Epic Heat on YouTube, which is free. I don’t think I’m in good enough shape to do the whole thing, but maybe I can work up to it. Any other suggestions are welcome! I do believe it’s about 80% diet, 20% exercise or something like that. I am trying to drink more water and eat more lean protein, too. I tried hard to stay dedicated without being obsessive. I hope you don’t think I talk about it too much here, either.

How was your Thanksgiving Break? I hope you were happy and healthy!

Amy

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

I couldn’t stay away. I thought I would go ahead and show some recent outfits so that I don’t have an overload next week.

I wore this to school one day – golden clogs, jeans, Target blouse, and a fuzzy vest. A student told me I looked “boujie”.

For a dinner out, I wore this outfit – Target boots, jeans, old black blouse, and an old poncho.

Saturday errands and shopping – Tieks, jeans, consignment sweater from Loft Lou & Grey line.

For school one day – newish boutique blouse, Matilda Jane pants, and Tieks.

Casual date night outfit – jeans, Target boots, fuzzy TJ Maxx sweater.

I tried a look – new Nordstrom Rack blouse, jeans, white booties. I will probably retire the booties until spring.

TJ Maxx blouse, jeans, old Jack Rogers booties.

Grey dress, long sweater, and boots – not very flattering…

These photos were days apart and look what a difference fitted clothes can make!

Do you ever shine your shoes? I bought some black and brown polish from CVS. It really makes your leather look like new!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I am so thankful for you!

Amy

Monday, November 22, 2021

How was your weekend? I thought I would pop in for a quick chat. I am not sure how much I will post this week.

My weekend was really chill and just what I needed.

I am now reading this and it’s cute but it’s one of those where maybe a third in the series is too much for me? Class Mom was really funny and You’ve Been Volunteered was too. Maybe it’s just that I am so far removed from the elementary years now?

So, I needed a little Hallmark in my life without resorting to the real Hallmark movies. This is shaping up to be super cute. I’m a sucker for anything about twins. #twinmom

My sweet student who gave me a facial last Friday uses The Ordinary products. I ordered all of this for $40! Ulta also sells this line. You start with the cleanser and use two serums and then end with the moisturizer.

I really have rarely committed to a regimen but it’s time. I’m so lazy about skin care that I primarily wash my face in the shower. I shower in the morning (very quickly and without getting my hair wet) and in the evening which is when I wash my hair pretty much every day. I think my skin has been looking better from not wearing makeup. I only do eye makeup and brows since I’m spending my days in a mask. I save my makeup for non-work outings. I am still loving my Seint makeup system and I am going to order more soon. Get ready, Jennie! Jennie is my friend and blog reader that hooked me up with this makeup.

I made a bagel in my air fryer with the skinny pizza dough. You can seriously do anything with this dough.

I had a leisurely Trader Joe’s Saturday morning trip. It was already crowded at 8:30 a.m.!

Any of these wooden products would make great gifts. Look at the gorgeous boards on the bottom shelf.

I could only find peppermint cleaner in the Mrs. Meyer line at my Target so I was happy to find the peppermint hand soap at Trader Joe’s. I am saving this for December as I continue to use Acorn Spice for the rest of November. These are some important decisions I’m making – ha!

Oh, and some bad news. The Ghost Vine wine was seasonal – waaaaaahhhhh! It would have been great for Thanksgiving! I can’t find it elsewhere so it might be a TJ’s exclusive.

I went to the mall. It was hopping! I really think people are frantically shopping so much earlier this year. Anthropologie overwhelms me because I love everything.

I went in Madewell and Old Navy, too. I didn’t buy a single thing.

I spent much of Saturday cleaning and taking down my Halloween and fall decor. I did my nails and read on the patio for a bit.

Tom and I went to Harry’s Bar and sat at the bar.

I’m sorry but I am so disappointed by restaurant Skinny Margaritas. Mine is soooooo much better and I just need to stop ordering them. I use a shot of Casamigos tequila (pricey but only 2 WW points), a half of a stick of Crystal Light lemonade powder, real lime juice, and fill to the top with ice and Fresca.

We ordered sushi and had some of their fabulous bread and butter.

I had kinda forgotten about these Target clearance boots from last season but decided to wear them for this casual date. They do not look like Target; I think they look really good.

I couldn’t keep my eyes open past 9:00 Saturday night.

Sunday morning I did a nice vegetable mix and egg for my breakfast. I sauteed mushrooms and onions and microwaved a very small potato before adding it to the skillet. I had lots of mushroom and onion to save for this week and will probably make breakfast burritos for the two days of work. I intentionally took a break from meal prep because of just a two day week.

This breakfast is zero points for me and it’s very filling!

Yes, this is exactly how I feel! Mason has a class that doesn’t let out until 5:45 on Tuesdays but then I think Jack and Mason should be home for dinner Tuesday night! I guess I have to cook. We usually get Mexican on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving.

I am lucky that I only have to do desserts and mashed sweet potatoes for Tom’s side on Thursday and mashed and roasted potatoes for Friday.

Oh yeah, and I can’t wait to make my apple cider sangria! I usually start making it in September but it involves bourbon and Fireball and I didn’t think it would be great for me to start that because those will be lots of WW points. I always bring this on Thanksgiving.

I did a Kroger pick up Friday and have all of my ingredients already plus all of the boys’ favorite foods. I am sure I will have to run in for a couple of forgotten things at some point.

How was your weekend?

I’m sure I will pop in a couple of times this week!

Amy

Thursday, November 18, 2021

I have always loved Thanksgiving! I love the food, the colors, the fall vibe, and really just everything about it.

Last year was such a departure for us from our “normal”. First of all, our kids were coming home from college for the first time and staying home until January. I hated that it was that way due to Covid, but I was giddy! Both of my kids were very scared of the virus and of course, there was no vaccine. We decided to just be the four of us and it really worked for us for that very different year. We had lots of Solo Stove fires, watched tv and movies together at home (the movie theater was still closed, I think), and my kids just really enjoyed time together. They had hardly seen each other during August – November because of the strict Covid rules. For identical twins, I can only imagine that was super hard. They continued with classes online for a couple of weeks from home and then did finals from home. I continued teaching virtually and Tom continued as one of the only ones going in to his office. It was just weird times, you know?

This year, Jack and Mason only have 5 days off just like their mom. Tom also has the time off which is nice.

On Thursday we go to my sister-in-law’s house here in town and we celebrate with Tom’s side of the family. We have the traditional meal around 4:00. This year I am in charge of the sweet potatoes and the desserts.

On Friday we will go to my mom’s house with my side of the family. It is about an hour away. We usually do the traditional meal again and we also go to some of the local businesses for some Black Friday shopping – small town style. It is weird without my Dad. He loved Thanksgiving. I am very excited to see all of my nieces and nephews. We have so many teenagers now!

I like to really wear my Thanksgiving colors because after this, I am over the fall colors and I move into Christmas colors and all.the.plaids! And, I start wearing my beloved velvet. I like to dress up and I might wear a dress one or both days.

These are some options to consider:

Thoughts? What do you wear?

Healthy Strategies:

I plan to eat what I want during the Thanksgiving meals. I will try to walk both mornings and eat a healthy zero point breakfast. Then, I will just enjoy and live life

I plan to do a grocery pick up for Monday after school for the ingredients for the dishes I am making and I am going to add stuff for a few lighter meals for the days before and after. I think it will help me to have the healthier stuff on hand. I plan to make a vegetable soup.

It also helps that I will not have the leftovers at my house.

Maybe I will think about halving some recipes so I don’t have a ton leftover.

I would love to hear your plans! We are only a week away! It is so crazy how this fall has flown!

Thankful for you,

Amy

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Welcome to another edition of What I Wore Wednesday! Why do I post this? Well, I like fashion. Also, I like to see bloggers’ outfits and I can often put together similar items in my own closet.

Last Thursday’s “drippy fit” is below. If you want your teens to either have mad respect for your lingo OR get really annoyed at you, use this term. Apparently “drippy” is a good thing. And “fit” is just short for “outfit”. Since I teach Spanish, I like to compliment my students and tell them they look “muy drippy”.

I have on Target Universal Thread jeans and cardigan, a TJ Maxx very fall-ish blouse, and my Madewell sneakers.

Friday for the teacher work day it was cold. I wore my Costco Felina leggings, my Lucky booties, Target long sleeve, and Target poncho. Meh…I was comfy.

Saturday for my Girls’ Day with my mom and sisters, I wore another pair of Target Universal Thread jeans, a Target long sleeve, really comfy booties by Sanita, and a new long cardigan. I got this cardigan at Apricot Lane. I realiz now looking at the photo that the leopard purse strap that came with my brown Amazon is not really long enough.

For dinner, I changed into my new Amazon leopard skirt and my new and smaller size Amazon Essentials sweater; I have linked them. The sweater runs large and the skirt runs small. I have on a Kendra Scott necklace from a few years ago and some old suede pointy toe dressier booties.

And, for school this week I wore this Matilda Jane dress with the Matilda Jane vest. My mom gave me several Matilda Jane pieces that she bought from a former sales rep. The booties are very old but I have kept them because the color seems to work with several things I own.

And, as a bonus you get to see my sister Kate in her Sunday morning brunch ‘fit. She always looks cute and put together and her style is very “her”.

Do you have a favorite? I loved wearing the new leopard skirt outfit! I would say the first jeans outfit is the most flattering, though?

What have you been wearing lately?

Amy

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

This is not your typical gift guide. In fact, I may not even do any links, k? Let’s roll with my amateur blogging style.

We simplified gift giving several years ago. I only buy for Tom, Jack, Mason, grandparents and two nieces. It has made things so much easier. Most years Tom and I do stocking gifts only; we usually say we are giving each other a house project. Some years we break the rules and buy each other more than stocking gifts.

I don’t think we should put so much focus on gifts, but not everyone in my family agrees. I love giving gifts, but not at the expense of my family being stressed out and in debt, you know? Also, after everything we have gone through with the pandemic, it just seems weird to get so materialistic. Others use the holidays as a time to show love and appreciation and I get that, too.

Try not to stress. Try to enjoy the process if you can and once you decide, do not overthink. Use the Lazy Genius principle of “decide once”. I also love the idea of going with a theme each year like “cozy”, “pjs”, “fun in the kitchen”. I love a good theme, you know!

Step One: Make a list of all the people you buy for with potential ideas. I do keep a list of ideas in my phone throughout the year.

Step Two: Make a budget.

Step Three: The hard part begins. Start online shopping or shopping in stores. As you buy things, check off on your list. Do not overthink it and stick to your list. Also, do not overbuy.

There is nothing wrong with sticking to just a couple of stores for all of your gifts.

Use Amazon’s search bar and type in “gifts for 8 year old boys” if you need inspiration. Then, if you can find that item locally, do so.

Try to shop locally when you can and think outside the box. A gift certificate to a locally owned restaurant or a locally owned hardware store, boating supplies store, exercise studio, cookware store, wine shop, etc. all make great and thoughtful gifts. If you are local, what about a gift card to Paul’s Fruit Market, Lotsa Pasta, Fresh Market, or a locally owned restaurant. These are treats that some people may not normally have in their budget.

Really listen to the people you are buying gifts for. Do they mention wanting to learn to cook? Do they talk about a game they loved as a child?

Here are things I love to give:

-Bourbon Barrel Foods – bourbon smoked pepper, bourbon seasonings for grilling or cooking, bourbon caramel sauce for ice cream, etc. Krogers in my area have a local section where you can find many of these items.

-personalized notepads – I did this for both grandmas last year.

-monogrammed items. I love giving necklaces, sweatshirts, etc.

-photo gifts – mugs, mousepads, calendars – I have done all of these. Costco or Walgreen’s are where I have ordered from.

-experiences – tickets to a concert, play, etc.

-magazine or newspaper subscriptions

-streaming service subscriptions (maybe they would like Acorn TV for the British shows)

-StoryWorth

-go in with other family to get a bigger gift like Airpods or a Solo stove.

I love to shop at Costco for gifts. They have some really great products – books, clothing, gloves, socks, knives, cooking stuff, and so much more. One year I think I bought almost all of my gifts there.

I love Aerie for the teen and college age girls and for me! Their stuff is great quality and won’t break the bank.

Uncommon James – really cool jewelry at a decent price

Kendra Scott

Target.con is so user friendly. Did you know the website has more than the store?

Nordstrom.com – you might be surprised at how reasonable their prices are. They have excellent customer service and quick shipping.

I love to get little kids rain gear – they get really excited over their very own umbrella, new rain boots, and a rain jacket. I will often get them something to play with immediately, too.

I would love to get any of these luxury beauty items:

I love the idea of these because I think a gift should be something someone might not buy for themselves but that they would love to have.

Bum bum cream – I did say I didn’t think it was that great, but I have changed my mind. It smells really good!

Ibis perfume or lotion. We discovered it in Michigan and it smells amazing.

Tan luxe the butter – the newer formula is even better.

Olive and June – manicure sets. They are supposed to be really good for those that enjoy an at home mani.

Olaplex – there are some amazing sets right now

Donna Karan deodorant – a cult favorite that I haven’t tried yet.

Fragrance Discovery set – these are really cool. You get to try out a bunch of scents to see what you like.

Gift sets – all kinds of sets are out in TJ Maxx, Target, and more.

I asked Tom for some suggestions. He is very particular and really likes these brands:

Free Fly

On shoes

Rapha biking clothes

Icebreaker

Bayleaf work out clothes

If you are local, he likes Quest Outdoors.

If you have a teen that is hard to buy for, they really just want…

Cash – maybe you could wrap it with their favorite candy?

Also, they love fast food gift cards, gas gift cards if they have to buy their own gas, Spotify gift cards or subscriptions, streaming service subscriptions, concert tickets, etc.

Happy Shopping! Do you have any recommendations for me? Leave them in the comments!

Amy

Monday, November 15, 2021

Hello all! I am linking up with Heather, etc. right here to talk about our weekends.

So, I started my Friday morning in a really, really good way! The scale hadn’t moved since the end of October and it finally moved. Do not weigh more than once a week. I had been doing that and it was really discouraging. Something happened between Wednesday and Friday and look:

That is not really correct; it was only 2.5 pounds from my lowest at the end of October, but my birthday and four days of cake had taken a toll. I upped my walking, my protein, and my water and just stayed the course.

My sister is only weighing every two weeks. So… that may help someone out there!

I had a teacher work day on Friday and it was really not bad at all. It was very relaxed with only a couple of meetings.

After school I had my first facial ever and it was by a student in her home. It was so relaxing and I think she did a great job.

She uses a lot of The Ordinary products. I promptly ordered some. The prices are so reasonable.

Don’t freak out – she basically just washed my face and applied serums but I loved it!

I went home and Tom had Totino’s and I had salad and skinny pizza dough pizza so we were both happy!

I fell asleep way early while watching a show.

Saturday morning it was cold, but I knew I was going to be eating all of the extra weeklies so I walked. Beth had given me this adorable hat Thursday. She made it! That Beth!

Fall…

Saturday around 11:00 my mom and sisters arrived for their turn to celebrate my birthday. I am a spoiled gal.

We started by eating at Ciao.

bruschetta:

My sister Molly and I split the Michigan apple salad with chicken. This is Kate’s without chicken. We ate ours too fast. I only tell you this much detail so you don’t think I’m a liar.

Brut Cava rose;

Then, we headed to Butchertown Market and it was so crowded!

$1 apple cider mimosas:

Not really sure what Kate is doing here:

Then we checked in to our hotel so we could ditch the car. We stayed in NULU and had dinner reservations right next door at the Cuban Bodeguita de Mima restaurant.

I opened some presents in the room before we set out again.

Next to the Cuban restaurant is a karaoke bar called Noraebar. Kate’s daughter is Nora so she covered the “e” for Nora.

We shopped all along the street the hotel is on.

We had to go in the macaron bar and they are so sweet there. They gave us free macarons for my birthday!

Then we cut through this courtyard and walked to…

the fabulous Cultured charcuterie bar.

This was a bourbon cocktail:

After the charcuterie, we went back to the hotel to change and rest for a bit.

Then, we headed to our reservation and I had a pineapple mojito. Yes, I mixed my sparkling, then bourbon, then rum.

We got three things to share and it was really delicious. My mom and Molly hadn’t ever had Cuban food before.

We headed back to the hotel after checking out the karaoke bar for a minute. Let’s just say it hurt my ears.

We went to bed shortly after hanging out for a bit.

Sunday morning I was the early bird and went to Please and Thank You coffee shop by myself. I brought a coffee back to Molly (we are the only coffee drinkers).

Then we did brunch at Wild Eggs before everyone got on their way home.

I got my farmer’s market skillet because it was time to be back on my healthier eating plan.

Molly got a wild mushroom scramble that was really good.

It was such a nice 24 hours. I really felt spoiled and it was so fun to get to celebrate again. Thanks to my mom, Kate, and Molly for all of the effort they put forth!

When everyone left I unpacked immediately. I do not like to put it off!

Then, I told Tom that I had made a big decision… I was gonna do it…I was gonna finally buy an air fryer.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he found out what my big decision was!

We headed to Target together and now he was part of this…

I was gonna go for a small one with a basket and he said (I quote), “Round ones are stupid.”

He liked this baby below so we have ditched the toaster.

I spent the better part of the rest of the day air frying. I had to do my meal prep, so I might as well air fry it all. I love how quiet it is. My oven is so loud and takes forever to stop being loud after baking. I did some really flavorful chicken and some ground chicken meatballs.

How was your weekend? I hope it was wonderful!

Hope your Monday doesn’t suck as much as it could, you know?

Amy

Friday, November 12, 2021

Happy Friday! I am happy to link up today with Andrea, etc. here.

I have a teacher professional development day today. We have lots of meetings but I hope I will also have a bit of time alone in my room, to rock in my chair and put glue on my face. Anyone get that reference? Billy Madison! I love that movie! What a great premise for a movie, right?

Moving on…

Here are my favorites for the week!

I am loving this Target Tenoverten polish and I think I do a better job with short nails and I also think dark looks great on short nails.

I am definitely making this recipe again! I want to make it a bit spicier. They are called spaghetti squash chicken enchilada boats. I find it so fun to try new recipes!

Amazon is always a favorite!

I really like this sweater but it was just too big. I am waiting on a smaller size. I recommend it! The Amazon Essentials have been really good!

I have been ordering several things because I have some gift cards. I return more than I keep; I am getting very discriminating and trying to only keep perfect 10s in my closet.

I need to try this on and style it. I am looking for a stretchy black blazer that doesn’t look stretchy and doesn’t make me look like I play linebacker for our football team. Apologies to any linebackers reading my blog.

And, these are some other things I ordered. I will tell you what I kept or sent back and why.

First up, was the v neck. I did not like the feel of the material.

Next is a cute shirt but it was too small and I just decided I didn’t need it. It is knit/cotton.

Third down is a super cute jacket that seems to be great quality. I returned it because it was a bit snug in the chest. I may order it in one size larger but I really need to inventory and try on the jackets I have. I like the idea of a bright color for the winter.

I love the skirt and I am keeping it! The material is pretty flimsy, but I like the smooth elastic waist. There is no room to spare for me right now. I am excited to try to wear this with the Amazon Essentials sweater coming to me from the first photo.

And, finally I love the cream sweater but I needed to size up one. I realized I already have a cream sweater. I may change my mind and order it in the next size up.

So, the trends I am trying to jump on board with are the leaopard skirt trend and the blazer trend. We shall see if I can rock them or not!

School has been really good lately. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a grind this year, but I have lots of things each day that warm my heart. I am constantly learning to work smarter and not harder and just like the kids, I had to find my groove again.

I offered a bonus opportunity to make bread of the dead for Day of the Dead (I do this every year) and I had at least one loaf per class. I had the idea to make it “to go” this year. I brought baggies, cut the bread (lots of jokes about me only bringing my knives to school one day a year!) and they took it with them. I made a pledge at the beginning of the year to not forgo the normal stuff and I have done pretty well with that. We miss our food days, but we hope we can do at least one in the spring.

This was a really pretty loaf.

I have had some kids really show improvement in their Spanish skills and that is so cool! I try to keep in mind that we are teaching them how to “do school” again, in addition to the academic piece. So, what we have accomplished in 13 weeks is pretty darn amazing. I’ve got some boogers; don’t get me wrong, but the overwhelming majority are awesome kids that make me want to be the best I can be.

Every November I do some activities about being thankful/grateful. We write thank you letters in Spanish to a school staff member and I really love this assignment. Spanish Club is preparing a thank you for teachers, also.

In other school news, I received word that I won the teacher superlative for “Most Likely to Host a Talk Show”. Retirement job, perhaps? The superlatives were pretty creative this year but I can’t remember all of the categories. I have received “Most Theatrical” and “Most Active on Social Media” before. I think that was at the beginning of social media maybe? I am definitely not that active now.

And, yesterday was like our Friday so we played Scrabble in Spanish for the first time. I think they really enjoyed it!

The leaves are starting to fall and it looks so pretty! I love the look of wet leaves and it rained yesterday!

Yesterday I had a fun happy hour with my friend Beth. We tried a new place called The Champagnery. It is gorgeous and I loved it!

We ordered a champagne flight and mine was called “A Trip to Spain” and Beth got “A Trip to France”.

We ordered some truffle popcorn – yum!

and fries with champagne aioli. OMG!

I can’t wait to tell everyone about this place and go again!

I feel like my favorites this week were all over the place! I had a little food, a little Amazon, a little school, and a little nail polish.

What made you smile this week?

Y’all are the best!

Happy weekend!

Amy

Thursday, November 11,2021

I hope you all don’t think I talk about this too much, but I do seem to get the most comments when I talk about healthy living/eating. I posted about healthy Trader Joe’s finds Tuesday here, non-scale victories here, but I haven’t posted about Eating Lately since the end of September here.

I am planning a post on holiday strategies – maybe more for me than for you! I have a game plan in mind but I am getting worried about all of the holiday foods coming up!

First of all, let’s have some real talk…

I started cleaning up my diet on my own on April 8, 2021. On May 1, 2021, I joined WW officially and started doing their “purple” plan. I had no exact pound goals in mind when I started; I just new I needed to do something to FEEL better. Looking better was a goal, too, of course.

I made it to a 43.5 pound loss at the end of October. Yes, I am going to include the “.5”. I went down another jean size at the end of October – making a change of probably 3 jean sizes in total. It’s hard to know what jean size I was in April because I wore “leggings size”.

Back in August, I started thinking I could have my goal be “50 pounds for 50 years” because my 50th birthday was November 2nd. I didn’t make that goal and to be honest, it has been slow going pound-wise lately. I do not know what my ultimate goal is, but I do want to lose several more pounds. I could get frustrated, but I am still happy with my achievements and I plan to keep trucking along.

My goals are: keep finding new recipes, drink more water (very hard as a teacher), walk more, add in more protein, and enjoy the non-scale victories.

Here is my day yesterday. The new WW plan rolled out on Monday and I am still learning it, but things didn’t change too much for me. I will talk more about that at the end of the post.

I drink two cups of coffee at home.

At school, I heat up and eat my casserole made of egg, green chilies, low fat cottage cheese with vegetables and two Jimmy Dean turkey sausage links. When will I get tired of this breakfast? Probably never.

Snack is a banana and a half of a Premier Protein. I usually have this with instant coffee but on this day I just drank it from the carton.

Lunch for Erica and I was the Mexican spaghetti squash boats. Tom and I had it for dinner the night before and it was Tom approved.

You roast your squash by cutting in half (I had to microwave to get it soft enough to cut) and putting it face down on a cookie sheet at 400 for about 40 minutes. You use a fork to string out most of the squash and mix that with some green enchilada sauce, chicken (rotisserie would work great), green chilies, corn, cilantro, green onion, and non-fat greek yogurt. You spoon back into the squash and bake for a few more minutes and then top with some shredded cheese and broil for a couple of minutes.

Yum! I will be making this again! It also makes me wonder what else I can put in a squash boat…

After school I had a half of a Built bar, but I had errands to run so I didn’t eat anything else.

For dinner, we had Greek bowls. Did you see the recipe? I am obsessed!

I made a pumpkin cake and put a few chocolate chips on top for dessert.

This time change may be bad for my eating because I got in a real snacky mood that night and had a string cheese, popcorn, and a dum dum sucker after my shower.

A couple of notes from lately:

I have been making faux rotisserie chicken with chicken broth, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in my crockpot. I seasoned half with Greek seasoning, and half with taco seasoning. That makes the week easier when you have the chicken ready. It is so good this way, too!

I have been having salad without dressing but with some mashed avocado and lime juice and it’s really good!

Hearts of palm pasta is decent:

Get creative! I had no buns, so I have been putting my veggie burgers in low carb wraps. You can put so many things in a wrap!

If you have not been on My Bizzy Kitchen yet, you need to go. You can do so much with her dough. You can make bagels!

Another salad with the avocado “dressing”:

Another wrap and homemade fries. I microwave a baked potato and then slice in wedges and “fry” in my skillet with a bit of Pam.

I am really thinking about an air fryer. I know it’s controversial to have another appliance, but I think I would use it every day now.

The best snack:

celery with laughing cow and everything but the bagel seasoning and avocado toast.

Leftover Chick Fil A grilled nuggets (get extra when you order them), brown rice, and my homemade tzatziki from the Greek bowl recipe. I could have used some veggies, but I needed a quick lunch.

This is what I do with my CFA nuggets. I use my own buffalo sauce, my own dill pickles, and make the fries.

Simple as can be: roast potatoes, green beans, and chicken sausage.

Mexican bowl with chicken, beans, pico, and a bit of cheese. I don’t miss the rice!

So, the new WW plan… I used to get 16 points a day on purple, which isn’t much. I would get 42 extra points that I would use on Saturdays mostly. Now I get 20 points a day and 28 extras but I can earn more by walking or exercising. I can add to my 20 dailies for every serving of vegetables and for drinking enough water. If you don’t use all of your daily points, they carry over to your extra weeklies. It is a personalized plan because I had to answer questions about the foods I love to eat and eat often. I get non-starchy vegetables and fruits for zero points, along with turkey and chicken, eggs, non-fat Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, and I do get potatoes and sweet potatoes for zero points, as well. It sounds more complicated than it is. It is very simple after you do it for a week or so.

The premise is food tracking or journaling, portion size, encouragement to eat enough fruits and vegetables, drink enough water, and to eat lots of lean protein. If you are thinking about joining, I say do it. The app is really amazing. It is easy to track and it also has a wealth of recipes, restaurant lists, and more.

Whew, I’m tired.

Thanks for reading if you are still here!

Amy