Book Review - Stop It

Stop It by Sally Lee is a book about being bullied. Anabel is a little girl that is bullied by her brother George. In the end, she tells George to STOP IT! and he stops being a bully. While this book has a good message (don't be a bully, don't let a bully bother you) it's kinda abrupt. Basically, all Anabel does is tell her brother to stop it and he stops being a bully. Will this happen in real life? I doubt it. Is it a good first step in teaching your child how to deal with bullies? Definitely. A bully won't stop unless you stand up to them and this sort of teaches how to do it. Will it have a happy ending like Anabel? Who knows. I would hope every situation would end like this but I doubt it.

Review of CSN Stores - Cusinart Smart Stick Hand Blender

Ok, I was finally able to use my new Immersible blender thanks to CSN Stores very generous offer of allowing me to review it. CSN stores sell everything from furniture to home decor to cookware sets to shoes and everything in between. Let me tell you. Not only did I find a great new recipe to use my immersible blender in, this thing is awesome and I can't wait to use it more in the summer time to make smoothies and stuff for everyone in the house.

So I used this recipe:

Slow Cooker Green Pepper Chicken

3 chicken breast halves
2 large green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 (7-ounce) can whole or diced green chiles (mine were mild)
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 tablespoon dried minced onion, or 1 large yellow onion, diced finely
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream (to add before serving)
corn tortillas, optional (I used flour tortillas)


Directions:

I used a 4 quart slow cooker. Put the chicken into the bottom of the cooker, and add the bell peppers and the whole can of chiles. Add basil, onion, salt, and pepper. Stir a bit to combine. Pour in the 1/4 cup of water. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours, or on high for 3-4.

Before serving, use tongs to remove the chicken, and set aside. Using an immersible blender, blend the peppers and sauce left at the bottom of the slow cooker. If you don't have an immersible blender, carefully(!) pour the slow cooker contents into a traditional stand blender and pulse until fully combined. Pour back into the cooker.

Stir in sour cream until melted. If you don't have sour cream in the house, plain yogurt or cream cheese would work just fine---this is only to thicken the sauce a bit and to mellow out the peppers and chile flavor.

Slice chicken, and return to the cooker. Set to high for 20-30 minutes, or until your dinner is fully hot. Serve the meat in corn tortillas, or over rice. Or both!

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I obviously used the immersible blender instead of taking the VERY HOT liquid out and blending in a traditional blender. Here was my crockpot before:

And here is my crockpot after:

We were a little worried at first. But this recipe was DELICIOUS! We put the chicken mixture in flour tortillas and basically made burritos. It was YUMMY!! So easy to do and using my new immersible blender made it so easy. I think it took me 5 mins to blend it and that's because I was trying to figure out how to use it. LOL! If you are looking for an immersible blender, this one by Cuisinart is definitely one to try!!! Check it out at the CSN cookware store!!

I'm Happy to Report

That we will NOT be re-tiling the kitchen floor. YEAH!!! We know the week long project would probably turn out to be a month long project and I just can't deal with no stove, dishwasher, washer/dryer and the refrigerator in the garage with three little kids for that long. Um no. So we are just replacing the tiles that are broken/coming up/ making noises and we should be done by Friday. And in the meantime, although I have to walk around the missing tiles for a little while, I can still cook! Yeah!!

SWEET!

And that's not being said on a good note. Background - We redid our kitchen almost 7 years ago (wow does time fly! It seems like it was just yesterday but we redid it in 2003. Yikes!). Well the great contractor we hired to do the flooring did such  a great job (being said sarcastically) that we have one tile that has completely come up from the floor and most of our grout is missing in front of the sink and refrigerator. We were living with the grout issue but the tile coming up - well it was time to fix it. So we "hired" our neighbor who has construction background to help reinforce our kitchen floor (we have a raised foundation) and then redo a couple of tiles and regrout. Well, he reinforced the floor and today he was removing the tiles. Guess what he found? The wonder board that was placed under the tile wasn't done correctly. It should have been screwed in however, they nailed it in instead and so some of it is coming up from the plywood underneath. So to make a long story short, we are now going to re-tile the entire kitchen. Fun. This means, I will be without a stove and dishwasher for like a week (well knowing this guy it may turn into a month which would SUCK!). So there goes the meal planning for this week. Thankfully most of them can be moved to next week (hopefully we'll be back to normal then) and we have leftovers in the refrigerator we can heat up. I just made a HUGE pot of chili last night so I know dh will eat that as a leftover. I guess my plan of making up a list for the local fast food places should happen sooner rather than later now since I know us and we'll be eating out. Not good on the saving money front that's for sure. Ugh.

Week Three - Perfect 10 Check In

2. Journal EVERYDAY - Did NOT journal AT ALL this week

3. Plan my meals at least weekly - Planned my meals for the Week of 1/18/10!

4. Work out 4 x's a week - Um No.

5. Use the Wii at least once a week. Nope not this week. =(

6. Run 6 5ks. Want to get back to running at night since I figured out I cannot do the morning thing anymore.

7. Complete my Turbo Jam Challenge (ends 3/7/10) Then complete P90x. Didn;t do it at all. Thinking of scrapping it but maybe I'll just pick up where I left off.
10. Organize my house, one room each month.
January - Laundry Room - Did my bathroom instead. And boy am I glad I did! Now to keep it clean and tidy!!!!

11. Take the kids to a new park each month - Took them to Fullerton Sports Complex.

12. Stay within my budget!! No more impulse buying. Ask myself 3 times if I NEED it before buying - Didn't do good last week. Bought some books at a going out of business sale that I so did NOT need. Bought 4 $2 books for the kids (NOT upset about that at all!) But I bought a book for dh that I ended up giving away because frankly it was a book that was not needed and would end up as clutter. Then I bought an organizing book for myself which I actually put down once but picked it back up. Mistake. If I had put it down, It meant I didn't need it. Oh well. I WILL read it and utilize it that's for sure!

Well, I'm still not doing great. =( I blame it on this time of year and the weather. It's rainy, its cold and I HATE to be cold. Not to mention you are bundled up so who wants to eat healthy light things when the dense fat things make you feel warmer?? At least they do for me. Oh well. I need to get  a grip on this. I know. I was doing good at exercising and I determined I cannot get up at 4am anymore to exercise. It was just taking a toll on me and I was so tired. I will have to make time at night NO MATTER WHAT. And my eating. Ugh. I have to get that under control too. I will - eventually.

Ok an interesting tidbit about me - I don't have any pets (thank god!). So I can't say I have a strange pet or any pet for that matter. So I guess I will have to come up with something else. Think Heather think. Hmmm. Well, we did have a dog about 5 years ago. A german shepard. And unfortunately he was very sick and we ended up having to put him to sleep. One of the worse days of my life and why I don't want another pet. I will for sure NOT get a pure bred again. Too much of a headache! My parents have dogs and cats and my ILs have a dog so if they kids want thier pet fix, we'll go visit them and then leave them there with all their mess. LOL!

Check out other participants in the Week 3 Perfect 10 Challenge here.

I feel like a heifer

Why do I do this to myself? I am not eating out of hunger. I am stuffed. That is why I feel like a heifer. And yet I continue to eat. Why? Because I feel the need to chew/munch? That is why gum was invented. I have gum. I have 5 packs of 5 sticks I believe. I should utilize them. Why don't I? I don't know. I need to change. I will change. I hate feeling like a heifer.

On a more positive note - I went to Kohl's on Sunday night (braved it in the rain!) and tried on ONLY size 8 pants. Guess what??? They FIT! I am officially a size 8! My goal for the longest time was to be in single digit sizing. I'm there now. Everyone is telling me how great they look and how they are trying to follow in my footsteps. Makes me feel like I'm done. Am I done? HELL NO. I am still NOT at the normal BMI. I still have A LOT of jiggly fat around my mid-section (thank you three kids!) and would like to be toned. I've been in this mindset before and I pushed through. I'm here now right? Where I've never been before. I just need to continue to push through. I will get past this. I have to get past this.

Week Two - Perfect 10 Check In

Well shoot. Ok, Yes Week One wasn't too bad. But Week 2 really didn't do so hot. Ugh. What is it with me and the beginning of a new year? It is so NOT a new beginning for me. I don't think I've ever done good at the beginning of the new year. Anyway, here's the update (I'll condense my 2010 goals that fit into the Pefect 10 window):


2. Journal EVERYDAY - Did NOT journal this week

3. Plan my meals at least weekly - Planned my meals for the Week of 1/11/10!

4. Work out 4 x's a week - YES!

5. Use the Wii at least once a week. Nope not this week. =(

6. Run 6 5ks. Stopped running because working out in the morning AND running at night was just tiring me out! I have to do one or the other and since i started the TJ challenge, I'm going to finish that one out right now.

7. Complete my Turbo Jam Challenge (ends 3/7/10) Then complete P90x. Did my TJ challenge every day except two

10. Organize my house, one room each month.
January - Laundry Room - Have not started on this yet.

11. Take the kids to a new park each month - Took them to Fullerton Sports Complex.

12. Stay within my budget!! No more impulse buying. Ask myself 3 times if I NEED it before buying - Working on it. So far so good for me but NOT for dh! He bought a couple extra things at Costco when he went for me.

Not doing so hot. =( I have no idea why am I not in the mood to eat write and I'm starting to not like exercising. Well, not not like it just would like to sleep in instead!! LOL! I think since I did so well at the end of 2009 WITHOUT exercising I'm thinking I can lose the rest of this weight without exercising. :sigh: I have to get my mind back in control.

ETA:
Oops! Forgot about the intersting fact thing! I think I forgot last week too so I owe two interesting facts.

1.) I am married to my high school sweetheart. We started dating right after he graduated from our high school (we met each other his junior, my sophomore year and then the next year never talked until the very end of his senior year) and we have been together ever since!

2.) I have no idea who my father is. Never met the man. He left my mom when he found out she was pregnant with me. But considering he was still married with a son, um, woops! So out there in this world I have at least one half brother out there!!

I hope those two tidbits make up for my forgetting! I'll remember next week!!!! =)

Book Review - Lonestar Secrets

Lonestar Secrets is absolutely a fabulous read! I could barely put it down. The author Colleen Coble, weaves a beautiful story of intrigue, romance, and mystery all in one. The perfect combination for anyone looking to lose themselves in a book. The main character - Shannon - is a woman that most women can relate to. She must make some hard decisions in this book that will change her life and her daughter's life too. From the first chapter, the author sucks you in with a stunning revelation (you see it coming and yet you can't believe it would happen!). With all the great writing and storytelling, I can not wait to read another book by this author again!!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

I Lied

Ok I lied. I splurged on lunch. I went to Burger King and I have to say. . . It was so worth it!! I haven't had that good of a Burger King run in a LONG time!!! So it was worth it and now I'm ready to get back on track. I have a bunch of healthy leftovers for lunch the rest of this week do I'm good to go!!

Weigh In Monday

And I'm up. To 155.2. That's a gain of 0.8. Not doing too hot the beginning of the year. What went wrong?? I spent the day with my son on Friday and enjoyed a donut for breakfast, a mini hamburger and fries for lunch with part of his sundae, but I did eat leftovers for dinner that night instead of hitting up McD's. =)

Then Saturday, since I had a donut on Friday dh was like go get a dozen donuts for breakfast on Saturday. So I did. So I have a donut for breakfast and then we went to Hometown Buffet for lunch (where I was NOT good) and then for dinner we went to Jack N the Box. So talk about a whammy of a day. I keep  telling myself I need to make a list of what I can eat at the various fast food restaurants since we do tend to eat out a TON and I still haven't done it. Maybe I'll work on that this week.

I am still on track with TJ. =) Yeah. This week is a light week thankfully as I need a small "break". But I will continue to wake up and do it. AND I will continue to run this week too. I have my 5K coming up in a couple weeks and although I know I probably won't do better than my last time, I would like to finish right around 40 mins so I better keep going.

I need to journal better this week. Needless to say I did NOT journal Saturday or Sunday (and I did pretty good on Sunday. Call no journaling Sunday pure lazyness). Today is going to be interesting as I have training outside the office and therefore have to eat out for lunch. I am bringing my breakfast (yogurt and rice cakes smashed up to be mixed together). I guess I could have made myself a sandwich or salad and brought that for lunch. Hmm. There is still time. We'll see.

Upcoming Review - Stay Tuned!!!

Remember back in December I talked about an upcoming review for CSN Stores?? Well, I received my product - the Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender about a week before Christmas. With Christmas and New Year festivities there was NO WAY I was going to be able to pull this baby out and use it but guess what?? I have an upcoming recipe I am making this Sunday that I plan to pull it out and put it to use. So stay tuned!!!

Week One Perfect 10 Challenge Update

Well my first week of the New Year, ain't that great. It's basically 50/50. But I will turn it around because I plan to be very close to goal by the end of this challenge. In fact. I plan on losing 14 lbs during this challenge. I can do this! I WILL do this!!! Here's the update (I'll condense my 2010 goals that fit into the Pefect 10 window):


2. Journal EVERYDAY - Did NOT journal 1/1, 1/2 or 1/3
3. Plan my meals at least weekly - Planned my meals for the Week of 1/4/10!
4. Work out 4 x's a week - Worked out 1/4 (twice), 1/5, 1/6 (twice), 1/7!!!
5. Use the Wii at least once a week. Yes did it Thursday!
6. Run 6 5ks. Started training for my first 5k of the year on February 7th.
7. Complete my Turbo Jam Challenge (ends 3/7/10) Then complete P90x. Did my TJ challenge every day so far except for 1/1.
10. Organize my house, one room each month.
January - Laundry Room - Have not started on this yet.
11. Take the kids to a new park each month - Took them to Fullerton Sports Complex.
12. Stay within my budget!! No more impulse buying. Ask myself 3 times if I NEED it before buying - Working on it. So far so good but it's only week one of the month!!!

Turbo Jam Challenge - Update

So as you can see above - I've been doing pretty good on my Turbo Jam Challenge! I've only missed three days so far. YEAH! It was SO hard to wake up this morning. Ugh. But I did it. I wanted to sleep longer but I got and was glad I did when the video was over. One more day this week of TJ and then I can rest for two days!!

Book Review - Letters to Rosy

I read Letters to Rosy by C. Ellene Bartlett and thoroughly enjoyed this book! This book was a little difficult to understand. At first, I thought this whole book was written as letters. It is not. It's written with a letter and then a story attached to the letter as if writing a short story. There are two ladies writing back and forth and each woman is telling a different story. The way the author shows this is by using numerals for one person's chapters and written out numbers for the other person’s story. I have to say, I really enjoyed the stories once I figured out how to read the book. Both stories were beautifully told and very intriguing. Definitely a good book to read.

It's 2010!

And I'm sad to say I am not starting out the year too great. =( But today is a new day. It's a new week, and it's back to "normal"!! So hopefully that will help me get back into the swing of things. I am happy to report that I haven't gained that much weight over the holidays. If you start the Monday before Christmas and go to today's WI - I have gained 1 lb. NOT BAD. I think the exercising has REALLY helped me! This Turbo Jam challenge is really doing great things for me and getting me set for exercise. And I don't have to think about what to do. Now I just need to get back into running again. I have a 5K that I already signed up for on February 7th! That's basically 1 month away! UGH! Thankfully (sort of) we aren't going camping this month so I should be able to get into a routine and run with it! (Pun intended!). My plan is to run on nights that we are not doing baths for the kids. So that would be tonight. I had hoped to start doing it last week but that just didn't work out. It WILL work out this week.