She keeps growing!

This little girl is getting bigger and bigger! We’re pretty sure now that she’s rat terrier/beagle mix – a Raggle! She’s definitely got the howl of the beagle down. The other day I could have sworn the sound she was making was a female cat in heat! She was howling at us, wanting to go out.

As seen in the pictures, she likes to think she’s “people”, and sits up in chairs :)  Her mama thinks she’s “people” too and likes to lay on pillows, and she loves getting tucked in with blankets. Funny dogs!

It won’t be long and she’ll be bigger than her mama!

Am I losing weight?

I just wanted to say I’m doing fairly well with the diet change! I’ve lost some weight already – about 6lbs. I have changed my eating habits and am taking some supplements that are supposed to help burn the fat. I’m not sure what is helping more, but all together not too bad!

I had to cut back on the green tea supplement, as it was giving me massive bloat. I hate feeling bloated and LOOKING like I have a baby belly. It’s not a baby belly I’ve got LOL. If I had a baby belly I wouldn’t worry about looking like I had it, I’d just enjoy it. But, fat belly? Nope it can get gone! I’m sure it was partly due to the nature of it and how it’s supposed to make you feel less hungry. I definitely wasn’t feeling hungry – but didn’t like how excessive it was.

I’m increasing the amount of raspberry ketones I’m taking though. I’m going to get a different brand so I’m not stuck swallowing so many pills each time. I have a low dose I bought a while back, and never really stuck with it. This time I plan on sticking with it and bumping it up to the max dosage over time.

Apparently Dr Oz talked about the raspberry ketones on his show. I never watch TV so I had no clue!  I found out about the raspberry ketones when I was researching what daily multivitamin I was going to get. In the reviews for the ones I ultimately chose, people were saying how it would be completely perfect if it had the raspberry ketones in it, to help burn fat. So I started researching right away and found some locally.  I didn’t know to look in the diet supplement isle, so now I know where I can get higher dose ones.

I still make meals for everyone in the house, and eat the meals I cook. I just am eating them in smaller amounts. And eating more salads.

I’ve also cut back on the sugar in my coffee. That’s taken a bit to get used to. And overall I’m drinking fewer cups a day now too.  I know that in itself is good for me.

Next thing to work on… increasing water intake. I’m horrible about water. I hate the taste of it. But I really need to start drinking it!

Chicken Crescent Bundles Recipe

I love those little refrigerated crescent roll dough tubes! They’re awesome for so many different recipes. Though I’d prefer a croissant for plain eating :) The other night we had something very good using those, and I just had to share! Recipe originally found at The Virtuous Wife

 

Chicken Crescent Bundles

• 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1c shredded cheddar cheese
• 4T butter, melted and divided
• 2T green onions
• 2T milk
• 1/2t salt
• 1/4t pepper
• 4c cubed cooked chicken
• 2 tubes crescent rolls
• 1c crushed chicken stuffing

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, 2T butter, green onions, milk, salt, and pepper. Stir in chicken and shredded cheese.

Open and unroll crescent rolls. Do not separate. Pinch the diagonals closed, and separate so you have 8 total rectangles.

Spoon 1/8 of the filling onto each of the rectangles. Take opposite corners, twisting together at center. Take the other set of opposite corners and twist to fully enclose. You may need to pinch together some on the sides too. You want them sealed up.

Put bundles on baking sheets, brush with remaining melted butter, top with a bit of crushed stuffing – pressing down to secure.

Bake at 350 for 20-25min or until cooked completely.

 

You can also freeze these before baking them. Instead of putting them on a plain baking sheet, line the sheet with parchment paper. Once assembled put into the freezer until they are frozen. Then transfer to labeled freezer bags.

Always dying my hair!

I dyed my hair recently, and after many fiascos lately I just had to share! The last few times I’ve colored my hair, the dye doesn’t take fully. Leaving me with really weird splotches that are lighter than the rest. And not in a cute, looks intentional way… It was in the “does she know her hair looks like that?” kind of way. Seriously. Guess it’s a good thing I tend to just throw my hair up in a pony tail or messy bun… that made the weird color not look as obvious (I think….).

I bought 2 boxes, since most boxed dye brands 1 box isn’t enough. I didn’t know what to expect, so grabbed 2. The dye is for naturally dark hair, which mine is not. But I’ve used other brands for dark hair with success so figured it was worth a shot.

 

I was surprised that just one box was enough. I don’t know if it’s because this brand has more, or because it’s foam. The foam itself was strange to work with at first, but it definitely did the job!

I have a “Before” and “After” pic to share… of course the “before” is a bad pic of me, but the only one I could find. That’s the down side of being the one with the camera; I have to remember to turn it on myself sometimes – though my current camera has a front LCD which should ideally make it easier to remember.

Of course, the “before” shows my massive icky roots I had going on, and doesn’t really show the splotches. And I didn’t have any makeup on either, and it shows *sigh*.  BUT I love how the color turned out! It is even throughout, which was such a wonderful surprise. I gotta say, I love the dark red color <3

Weekly Photo Challenge: Pattern

My husband surprised me with my Mother’s Day gift a day early! And wouldn’t you know it? It fits perfectly with this week’s photo challenge!

Happy Mother’s Day

I hope all the moms enjoy their day today!  To those who are hurting today, missing their mom or child – I wish I could take away the pain. I wish you nothing but the very best, today and always.

Here’s a picture of my mom and I soon after I was born:

And a quote and a poem I like too:

You can find more Mom posts here.

Time to get rid of the extra weight

I need to lose weight. Not for anyone but me. But it’s a challenge… I doubt my ability to stick with any diet anymore. Years ago I lost a whole person, over 100 lbs gone. But then I got pregnant with my youngest and the weight came back fast and while I didn’t re-gain the entire amount, it was difficult watching the scale during OB appointments continue to show just how much I was gaining. Some gain was okay, but the excess was not. Not for me.

I don’t want to be stick thin, but I don’t want to be where I’m at right now. I want to fall in love with my body again. I want to like what I see.

So, I’m going to the store to get prepared for this hopefully successful journey. I’m already drinking a smoothie almost every day. That helps. But it’s not enough. I need to re-learn portion control at meals. I need to up my salad sizes.  I need less sugar in my coffee. All of those things will help. I know they will. It’s sticking to it that I see being a problem.

I had no problems sticking to it when I was at my highest weight. That was when I didn’t drink coffee, at all. But the times I’ve tried to go back to that specific diet, I give up. I get tired of the lack of variety in food choices that I gave myself back then. I get tired of cooking for everyone else, and then unable to eat the food – because it’s not part of my diet.

I’m horrible about exercise. And the time I lost all that weight – I did it with diet alone.

What are some of your tips for me, and others out there who are struggling with weight loss? What’s your favorite way to lose weight effectively?  What helps you stay motivated, especially when the scale isn’t going down much, clothes aren’t getting too big fast enough?

You can help Stamp Out Hunger!

Photo from SOH facebook page

Today is dear to my heart. My dad’s a letter carrier and I used to go up to the post office and help him, his co-workers, and other volunteers with this.  It’s time for the 21st annual NALC (National Association of Letter Carriers) National Food Drive! Today, May 11. So please set your donations out with your mailbox for your letter carrier to pick up, or bring them into the post office. Your help is greatly appreciated!

The one I always helped with, the food collected went to area food shelves as well as a church who serves meals once a week, free of cost. It helps your local community. Your local town. Your co-workers and their families. Your friends and families. It helps everyone, in time of need. So please donate what you can!

You can find the Stamp Out Hunger facebook page here. The NALC “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive website is here.

A Great Recipe for Chicken Alfredo Muffins

These are such a hit at my house! It’s what my 11 year old requests almost any time I ask what we should have for dinner! We don’t make them as often as she’d like, but that makes them all the better! Perfect for leftover chicken, and I know they taste great with steak as well since we tried that once too!

fresh from the oven

Chicken Alfredo Muffins

• 1pkg Wonton wrappers
• 1 jar Alfredo sauce (we use garlic flavored)
• 2c cooked and cubed or shredded chicken
• 1-1/2c shredded Italian cheese blend

Using 2 greased cupcake/muffin tins put 1 wrapper in each spot. Yes, they likely won’t fit perfect, that’s okay! Then put a little chicken in each. Top that with a small spoonful of alfredo sauce. Repeat the layers, putting the next wonton wrapper opposite of how you had the first. So if you had the first one so it looked square, put the second so it looks more like a diamond. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.  Let set for a few minutes then remove from the pan.

You can add mushrooms like the post I linked, but we can’t do that due to an allergy. I think chopped up steamed broccoli would be amazing in this though!

Serve with a salad and garlic bread/toast/sticks.

Landscape

Here is today’s daily prompt:

When you gaze out your window — real or figurative — do you see the forest first, or the trees?

Looking outside my window from where I sit, I see some trees, bushes, a playground, other homes, and the back of my garage.

When looking at a wooded area, I see the whole forest at first. Then I start looking at the trees, what’s in between the trees, in the trees, the little things that make up the forest. Without all of that – there is no forest to look at. The “little” details are just as important, because that’s what makes the big picture.