Reality Checks

Wow.  I got one heck of a reality check this week.  I don't want to go into details, but it was blunt and hard to miss and now I'm reeling from it.  Ouch is all I can say.  Well, I guess I can say one more thing.  I'm very blessed to be married to my husband. 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars

Sometimes we come across a culinary masterpiece in the kitchen.  Last night was my moment!  We'll at least Daniel and the kids thought so!  As usual, I wanted to make a recipe an didn't have all the ingredients. And here is what came of it!

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick cook oats (old fashioned will work as well)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter softened
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/2 can of pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon salt
Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan

Combine flour, oats, and brown sugar in a large bowl.  Add butter and mix until crumbly.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Reserve 2 1/2 cups for the topping.  Press the rest of the remaining mixture in the bottom of the baking pan.

In a mixer bowl, beat softened cream cheese it's creamy.  Add sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract, salt and pumpkin.  Mix until smooth. Pour the mixture over the crust. Sprinkle remaining flour mixture over the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle nutmeg over the top.  Bake for 35-40 minutes. 

Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.  Slice into bars and enjoy.

P.S.  We could not wait until they were completely cool.  They were divine warm! 

Baked Cod with Curry Crumb Topping

I've been working on adding different meats into our diet and get a bit healthier about it as well. While at Sam's, I purchased a bag of froze cod.  One of the neat things about it was that I could put them in the oven frozen!  I wasn't sure how that would work, but after trying it, I was in love.  Even Ashton ended up eating 2 of them!  So here is my favorite rendition.

4 pieces of cod
1 teaspoon butter
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated or shredded Parmesan
1 teaspoon curry
1/4 teaspoon coriander

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  On a small baking pan, rub the bottom with butter.  Place cod 1/2" apart on the pan.  Coat the top of the frozen cod with olive oil. In a bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, curry and coriander.  Mix lightly. Add one tablespoon of olive oil and mix until combined.  Pour breading evenly over each piece of cod.  Bake 22-25 minutes or until the cod is cooked thoroughly. 

It Begins...

Today I began a new work out regime.  You see, I'm fat. No, don't get all nice on me.  Nice does not change the size of my hips.  And no, I can not blame it on the baby. I lost the 20 pounds that I gained from Brenna not long after I came home.  Currently I sit at 182 pounds.  Don't gasp. It's a number that can change.  And, I don't give a hoot if anyone knows how much I weigh.  Too many folks get caught up on a number. Their lives revolve around it.  Mine doesn't.  That said, I'm fat and I've decide that it's time to change it. And I hope that this will motivate someone else to get a little healthier. (The above picture is not of me! I pulled it off of google. I'm not big posting images of my rolls!)

My weight has done the roller coaster thing all my life.  I'm happiest around 130. That's my long term goal.  Right now I'm aiming for a 10 pound loss by the end of the year. My friends, Randy and Tonyia, are joining me in this little endeavor.  We're hitting the gym 4-5 days a week.  It's going to be tough, but I'm looking forward to buying a spring wardrobe in a smaller size.  Buying XL's and size 16 pants are not doing much for my ego right now!

For the next two weeks, I'm going to work on being able to stay on the elliptical or treadmill for longer periods of time.  This morning I did 20 minutes on the elliptical at a lower level.  I want to increase the resistance to double the amount now.  After that, I'll be working to move that time up to 45 minutes.  My long term goal is to be able to run a few miles.  Ughh. I hate running in place, but I love the results.  And, I want to play softball this summer.  I need to be in better shape for that. 

In addition to cardio, I'm doing the weight circuit at the gym.  I made my first round this morning and my muscles felt like jello at the end. I'm certain tomorrow's workout will be tough, but I'm bound and determined to push through this tough spell.

And if I were not in for enough punishment at the gym, my loving hubby and kids gave me the Jillian Micheal's Shred DVD.  It's packed with some great workouts.  I tried it the other day and could not finish the video. I hurt for days after that.  But that's why I love Jillian.  She's tough and she knows how to get folks to lose weight. 

As far as my eating goes, I could lose a lot faster if I modified it. But, I'm not up for doing that right now. I know that for the moment, I can get off a good amount without changing my diet. That will have to change next year.  But for now I'm going to enjoy what I normally eat and not think about it!

As if that were not enough, I'm going to track my weight loss progress here. It'll probably be a post complaining about my sore muscles or something like that!  And I'll update with weight loss. It'll help motivate me to keep going!

Meeting the Great Grandparents

We tried so hard to get up to North Carolina and introduce Brenna Jean to her great grandparents not long after her birth. Then they got sick and Brenna went in the hospital and all kinds of things went down.  To make a long story short, we were finally able to make it at the end of October.

It always cracks me up (in a good way) to see Daniel's grandmother with the kids.  She calls all of them "it".  In Brenna's case, "It's a pretty one!"  And then she says something else that I love to hear - Youins.  "Youins come back now." I love that word, Youins.  Just thinking about her saying it makes me smile.

My Work Crew

Daniel came home and started to tackle the never ending pile of leaves and acorns.  He had a great crew of helpers.  Me, I was the photographer on staff!  It's a great job if you can get it.  Thankfully I have the right connections!

Ho-Hum, Blah, Ughh...

That was my week a little while back. Nothing was overly horrible, but then again nothing was grand either.  It was the same old stuff happening on a different day. I get up, feed the kids, do some cleaning, deal with attitudes, whining and crying, take a nap, feed the kids some more, etc.... During those days, I kept having this chorus stuck in my head. 

The enemy has been defeated
And death couldn't hold You down
We're gonna lift our voice in victory
We're gonna make Your praises loud

I sang that for 3 days before I finally realized that God was reminding me that the enemy has been defeated and I needed to snap out of the funk and live like it!  So the next time you are feeling like you are just existing, remember that the enemy has been defeated.  We are confident of that and we need to live like that.  Joyful that death had no hold on our Savior. Life is not meant to be blah.  And we are not meant to walk around like that.  Our side has won!  

I hope and pray that God places that song on my heart every time I get the blah feeling.  I want to live in victory.  I want to make praises to God.  It's a lot more fun than just existing!