Christmas at the My House

The weekend before Thanksgiving I decided to get our Christmas decor out. Yes, I know it’s early, but there is just so much and I wanted to be able to enjoy it longer! And I also knew our Thanksgiving weekend was jam packed! So without further ado, here is our humble abode all cheery for Christmas!

Welcome to our home…please come on in!

These are a few of the things you’ll see when you first come in the door!

 

 Here is a sneak peak (reflection) of our tree!

And this is what you’ll see upon entering the living room!

 

My favorite nativity set!

 

And here is our tree!! 

I decided to go “green” for Christmas this year!

          

I updated our curtains to match the “pops” of green in the living room! Only problem is that to the left  of the bay window there is a single window that I forgot to get a panel for and they are all out! :(

I even added a few little things to the guest room!

      

This is our “light-less” Christmas tree in the office. For some reason this was the year that all our strands of Christmas lights decided to die! So you all know what I’ll be doing after Christmas (clearance Christmas light shopping)! ;)

 

I added some greenery and beading around the office windows! The office is also where I display my snowman collection!

 

Abby got something new for Christmas this year…a cute little shirt and some new food and water bowls!!

 

Another tree in the office! Right now we have 6 trees up…including little ones like this! And I still haven’t got our 3rd big tree up yet. Kyle says I have to though because it’s usually decked out with Hawkeye ornaments in the basement!      

And that concludes the Christmas tour of our home! Hope you enjoyed it!

This Girl’s Been BUSY!!

Happy Weekend everyone!!

I started out my Saturday VERY early!! I was planning on sleeping in, but I heard Kyle’s alarm and couldn’t get back to sleep. You know what, I never hear Kyle’s alarm M-F…why is it that when Saturday rolls around and I can sleep in…I don’t?!?!? Who knows!! Anway I got up, before 6am, and got my workout done. The gym isn’t open that early on the weekends so I decided to find Jillian and have her give me a good workout! So I did level one of 30 Day Shred. I kinda forgot what a great workout that is for only 20 minutes!

After getting my workout in I got right to work. I dusted, vacuumed, and picked up a few things in the living room. Then moved to the kitchen, office, guest room, and master bedroom! Woa…I think I should count all that for AP’s! After everything was cleaned I finished decorating for Christmas. I got the living room, kitchen, and bathroom done the Sunday before Thanksgiving, but didn’t have time to do the office or guest room. So I also got that done this morning. And during all this I kept laundry going…remember that horrid picture of my laundry room well it NO longer looks like that! Yep…I got all those dirty clothes washed, dried, folded, and put away!

Feels so good to have a clean, warmly decorated home!!

I was so busy cleaning and decorating I didn’t realize it was after 2PM already!! Yikes!! Talk about “stoaking your furnace”!! I was hungry for breakfast! The inspiration for my meal was my sister Stef. Me and my sisters went to visit her in Omaha last week. She was a GREAT host and one morning she made egg burritos! Mine consisted of 3 egg whites, salsa, 1 slice ff cheese, and a flat out. All for only 3 points! And I also had some strawberries and 2 clementines on the side for another 2 points! This was sure worth waiting for…even though that’s not food for you, I know!

After my late brunch I finished up a few organizing things and took a blogging break! I had to catch up and see what you all were up to! :p While reading I munched on a few animal cookies for 1 point.  

I also made a Target run this evening. I intended only getting 3 things…hooks to hang a curtain, mouth wash, and a gift for a friend. Well that changed…and I think it does every time I go to Target…I just love that store!

 

Not only did I got those three things, but I got another rug for the kitchen, new Christmas food and water bowls for Abby, a Christmas shirt for Abby, batteries, kleenex’s (the box looks like a Christmas tree…forgot to take a picture), wheat thins, and the list goes on!! But it still all fit in my shopping basket…it was just HEAVY!!!

I snacked on a 100 calorie pack on the way home. And then I had another one when I got home…I think I was craving chocolate!! Not bad though to get my chocolate fix for only 4 points.  

Kyle’s parents stopped by for a bit. They had to measure something that Kyle’s Dad is making him for Christmas. I won’t spoil it…but here’s a hint…it is going to be a huge asset to our tailgating experience next fall!! While they were over I snacked on 1 serving of wheat thins for 3 points.

 

After Kyle’s parents left I realized it was almost 9 and not only had we not eaten yet, but we also had a Redbox to return before 9pm. So I jumped in the car and zoomed to the nearest Redbox. Got the movie returned and stopped at Subway, hoping my sandwich was going to be better than last night….and it was! It was delicious 11 point supper! Oh and I also had a Diet Sunkist..Mmmm!! My favorite!!

 

When I got home I found this…my two cuties snuggled on the couch fast asleep! Kyle had to work all day and he was beat!     

Here is a sneak peak (reflection) of my Christmas tree! I hope to get my “official” Christmas decor post up tomorrow.    

SATURDAY’S STATS
POINTS = 24/24
WEEKLY ALLOWANCE POINTS = 31 remaining/35
WATER = 75 oz
ACTIVITY POINTS EARNED  = 3 today/26 week
EXERCISE = 30 Day Shred, Level 1

Finally Friday!!!

This morning I got a BUNCH of stuff together to take to my work. Share What You Wear has been an annual event at Iowa Central since 2004. Last year, the event reached out to nearly 1,000 individuals in need from Fort Dodge and the surrounding area. Participants had the opportunity to select clothing, shoes, coats, toys and household items for themselves and as gifts to be given to loved ones at no cost to them. It is Christmas for some of the people that come. So I got rid of a TON of my clothes that are too big, a bunch of household items that I don’t use anymore, and a vacuum.  

Oh one more thing I did before I left home is weighed…and I happy to say that I am out of the 170s and NEVER want to see them again! The scale said 169.5 this morning and was SUPER happy to see that especially after I was unsure on the points value of my dinner out Thursday night.

After dropping off my stuff I raced to the gym (literally…it was about 10 steps away!) It was already 6:40 and I need to be in the shower by 7:10 to get to work on time. So I got in 30 minutes on the cross ramp, but it wasn’t an easy 30 minutes! I pushed myself and burned almost 400 calories!

I headed to my office and whipped of my usual bowl of oatmeal with PB2 and a small banana for 4 points. It didn’t look so usual today though…not sure what the deal was, but it still tasted delish!!!   

Since my work puts on Share What You Wear I was able to send half my staff over in the morning to help set up for it. Boy do I wish I would have got picture of that. They have a SEMI TRAILER full of donations that we have collected over the past month that we unloaded and sorted. It’s a HUGE project. I stayed VERY busy since my office wasn’t full staffed. But I didn’t forget my morning snack. I had the usual 1 1/2 c strawberries, 1/4 c grape nuts, and yogurt for 3 points this morning. These strawberries have been SO good. I almost didn’t want to mix them in….but I did! :) 

It wasn’t until after 2 that I left for lunch. I stopped at my church to pick up a card off the giving tree. I think I might do some shopping on Saturday. I had an apple while running around town for 1 point. Like my Under Armour Cold Gear gloves?!?! They are SUPER warm. Kyle and I each got a pair before we ran the half marathon in October because it was SO cold that day!!! And I am so glad that we did…they kept my hands nice and toasty during the whole race! I picked a little girl who is six years old off the giving tree…I loved her wish list: boots, tights, dresses, dolls…all things girl!!  

I was just going to grab that 395 calorie meal I’ve seen advertised from KFC and go back to office right away, but when I went there they said something was wrong with their grill and they didn’t have it at this time. :( So sad! Have any of you tried that yet? I’m curious and want to try it. And I also want to figure out the fat & fiber content so I can figure the points value. Since I couldn’t get that I decided to $ave money and run home to make my lunch! (Makes the hubby proud!!) So I had a turkey & cheese sandwich, strawberries, and animal cookies (I call them cookies ‘cause they are sweet like a cookie, not salty like a cracker and then it seems like desert !) for a total of 5 points. Very yum-o!!

I got back to work, had 1 of my staff stay back and cover the office and the rest of us headed over to finish helping set up for Share What You Wear. It really puts things into perspective thinking that coming to an event like this is some people’s Christmas shopping and really makes me realize how blessed Kyle and I are for what we have. I stayed there setting up, sorting, and cleaning till about 6 and then headed home to meet up with Kyle. We were going to head to Des Moines to use our Kohls cash we got on Black Friday (I think we have $50 to spend!), but decided to keep it low key.

We were both pretty drained from a long day. So we got some supper and movie and came home. I got Subway and Kyle got Taco Tico. My sub didn’t taste right. I think something was wrong with the bread. I only ate half of it and then ate some chips and cheese dip of Kyle’s. I’m going to count my supper as 11 points. Two for the very small half of my sandwich I ate and 9 for the chips and cheese. And I think I fell asleep during the first 20  minutes of the movie! Sorry hun!!

And folks, that all she wrote for the day…not too exciting!! But I am sure excited for the weekend, lots to get done!

FRIDAY’S STATS
POINTS = 24/24
WEEKLY ALLOWANCE POINTS = 31 remaining/35
WATER = 125 oz
ACTIVITY POINTS EARNED  = 4 today/23 week
EXERCISE = 30 min cross ramp

I <3 New Moon!!!

Happy Thursday everyone!! Tomorrow is everyone’s favorite day!! Well, mine at least! I started out my day today just like the previous one…at the gym!  Today I did 40 minutes on the treadmill. A little over half was running and then the other part of it was walking at an incline. Boy is that a leg work out!

Breakfast was sorta a repeat of yesterday, but with regular PB2 instead of chocolate. Boy do I LOVE this 4 point breakfast. It’s super delicious and also very filling!  

My morning snack was more like lunch today! Once again my morning flew by and I didn’t get have my morning 3 point mush until about noon! But it still hit the spot…another combo I don’t think I will ever get tired of!  

Look at what I saw almost all day out my office window in the courtyard:

SNOW!!! I never thought I would be happy to see the stuff!! But it sure makes it feel more like the Christmas season. But I do have to say I much prefer the almost record high we had on Tuesday for December 1st….like 60 degrees almost! But hey if it’s going to be cold, then bring on the snow!

Not only did my morning fly by at work, but so did my afternoon. It was after 2:30 and I still hadn’t taken a lunch break yet. So I decided to skip it and just keep working. So I heated up a quick bowl of Progresso soup for 1 point. Sorry for the icky looking picture…it tasted much better than it looks! 

I finished off my afternoon with one of my most favorite 0 point items…DIET SUNKIST!!!! Mmmm it’s so good!!! 

My sister and I had a date to (finally) go see New Moon tonight. So I rushed out of my office as quick as I could and look what I found! My car covered in snow and it was still snowing…I think it looks like more than just flurries that the weather man was talking about on the news last night!  

My sister convinced me we should try Chen Garden, a new restaurant in town. They have a sushi bar, Chinese buffet, American buffet, and Hibachi (the raw bar where they cook it in front of you)…..a person’s nightmare who is trying to eat well!!! So here are my 2 plates. The first one was filled with bananas, oranges, grapes, and a very small serving of beef & broccoli. And then my 2nd plate wasn’t as good (points wise). It had a small amount of Hong Kong Chicken (I think it tasted like teriyaki chicken), a small slice of cheese pizza, 4 chicken nuggets, and a crab rangoon.

Points value = I HAVE NO CLUE!!! Anyone have any guesses??? I know the crab rangoon was probably horrible with all that cream cheese. I think tomorrow I might take some time to figure the points, just so I know how many of my weekly allowance I used. If I get it figured out, I will post an update! UPDATE: I googled each food and estimated a total of 20 points for my supper and I think that was going high on everything because I think I had fairly small servings of each item.

 

I didn’t try the sushi (and probably never will…I’m not a fish person) or the Hibachi part either. There was a long line for that and we were a little short on time. But it looked pretty cool. They set your food on fire and even launch a few bites for you to catch in your mouth!! My sister was a little braver and got a plate of sushi….  I don’t think she was a huge fan of it! I tried to get an after face picture…but it didn’t turn out too well!! And that green stuff that looks like guacamole (I can’t remember what it’s called)…isn’t!!! It is some hot stuff and she put way too much on one of her bites… “Hot, hot, Darci this is too HOT!” I think those were her words!!! lol

Then after our dinner we made a quick lap around the mall, which got interrupted by a few shopping stops! And then headed to the theater to see New Moon. And OMG….did I love this movie!!! Wow…what did you guys think??? I think it was much better than the 1st and I am SO excited that the next one is coming out in June!! And boy, oh boy is Jacob FFFFIINNNEEEE!!! ;) But I think I am still “Team Edward”!!

I hurried home to Kyle afterwards and just wanted to talk about the movie SO bad, but didn’t want to spoil it for him. He will probably watch it with me when it comes out on DVD. I got a few more loads of laundry done from my huge piles yesterday…I think I only have 2 more to go!!

My day just kept getting better and better…I found out that one of my good friends (who moved to KC this summer) is coming to visit next week. I haven’t seen her since September and I’m TOTALLY excited for her to be here!!! Oh and the scale was down this morning too…it said 171…so down 2 pounds and 12 more to go for the “sister challenge”!!!

Well my favorites, I need to get going. It’s already WAY past Darci’s bed time and I need to get this girl to the gym in the morning!! G’nite all!!

THURSDAY’S STATS
POINTS = 28/24
WEEKLY ALLOWANCE POINTS = 31 remaining/35 
WATER = 75 oz
ACTIVITY POINTS EARNED  = 6 today/19 week
EXERCISE = 40 min run/walk @ incline

An Orange Italian

I started out my morning the best way, at the gym! I do admit though, I hit snooze for a few minutes, but Kyle was up and getting ready so I jumped out of bed and got going! I got in 35 minutes on the cross ramp and did 10 minutes of abs. Nice little sweat session.

I got ready and headed to my office to make some breakfast before the work day started. I had one of my favorite combinations, 1 small banana, chocolate PB2, and oatmeal. All for only 4 points.  Mmmmm, good!!! 

My morning FLEW by. My director is out of the office so I feel like everyone is coming to me, which is ok, but I don’t get anything done! So finally around 11am I had my morning snack, strawberries, grape nuts, and yogurt for 3 points.  

Not only did my  morning fly by, but the rest of the day did! I was training my staff on a new grant and it was past 2:30 and I realized I hadn’t been to lunch yet and I bet poor little Abby (my dog!) had her legs crossed! I ran to the grocery store to pick up some more strawberries ($2/pound!!). Oh and I had an apple for 1 point on the way, no picture though. Kyle called and said he was on his way home which worked out perfect. I grabbed a Lean Cuisine pizza (7 points) and went straight back to work! 

 

I stuck around work till about 6 to get a few extra things done. And I knew what was waiting for me when I got home. This:

Loads and loads of laundry!!! 9 to be exact! So if you need to find me…this is where I’ll be!  And you know I’m not sure I agree with my Uppercase Living that I put on the wall?!!?!?!

In between loads I made an odd, but easy supper! Pizza for lunch, cheese sticks for supper and everything is so orange. Kyle said I’m going to turn into an orange Italian! My supper tonight was some carrot chips, 2 clementines, ranch for dipping, cheesy bread, and cauliflower w/cheese for a total of 7 points.

 

WEDNESDAY'S STATS
POINTS = 22/24
WEEKLY ALLOWANCE POINTS = 35/35 
WATER = 100oz
ACTIVITY POINTS EARNED  = 6 today/13 week
EXERCISE = 35 min cross ramp, 10 min abs

The Sister Challenge is On!!!

Hello everyone and Happy December! I know my blogging since June has been VERY sporadic, but I’m back now!! I know blogging my daily eats &  activity and your support was key in to the success I had from last November to June.

So here I am….my lowest in May was 156, this morning the scale said 173.5. :( I’ve been seeing those upper 160s & low 170s too much lately. Today, DECEMBER 1st, is day one for me….again! I have been thinking I need to get serious again and what happened Saturday was just the key, so sit tight and read along!

My sisters and I had breakfast together Saturday morning after Thanksgiving with my Grandma. When I got there they were all talking about about the “bet” and who was going to win. So of course, I wanted to hear what this was all about. Lo and behold, it was about weight loss! They originally wanted to do a certain # of lbs, but I said we should do percentages, which in turn ended up being more weight for me to lose! lol In the long run it will be good for me! We settled on 8% and $20. So whoever loses 8% of their body weight first gets paid $20 by the other three sisters! Bring on the challenge sisters!! I’m ready to be back to my slimmer self!!! :) And beating my sisters wouldn’t be too bad either!!

Without further ado, here is my day of eats!

I started out the day hitting snooze and wanting to stay in bed with Kyle rather than go to the gym. Great start to the challenge, Darci!!!! lol But the extra cuddle time with my man was nice! It will have to last me all week ‘cause I’m hitting the gym the rest of the mornings this week!!!

I had a small banana on the drive to work for 1 point. I love little bananas. Kyle thinks it funny that I always look for the little bananas instead of the big ones when I’m picking them out at the grocery store! 

When I got to work I made a quick bowl of oatmeal and added a few blueberries for 2 points. These blueberries had been in  my freezer way too long and ruined my breakfast. I ate the majority of the oatmeal, but it wasn’t good! Note to self: throw out blueberries & buy new ones! 

I also had 2 clementines for 1 point with my breakfast. I love the fact that you can have 2 for only 1 point!! And boy were they good, super sweet & citrus-ey!!

I couldn’t wait for my morning snack. I know you guys are used to seeing this, but it’s a been a while since I have had my “morning mush”!! Strawberries really aren’t a fall berry and haven’t been too good or on sale at the grocery store. They were on Sunday, $2/pound! Kyle and I stocked up, I think we got 5 or 6 1lb containers! I thoroughly enjoyed my morning snack for 3 points!

I had a full plate for lunch today and I enjoyed every inch of it! It was fill with a sliced golden delicious apple, broccoli w/cheese, and a turkey & cheese sandwich totaling 5 points.

 

I packed a quick gym bag over my lunch break so I could get a sweat session in after work since I slept in this morning! My afternoon at work FLEW by, which is always good! Afterwards I hit the gym for a great 45 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes of abs. Boy was I soaked with sweat by the end of that! I love being back in the gym, but definitely prefer morning work outs, the gym is less busy and not as stinky! ;)

Kyle had to work late tonight so I made supper for 1! Someone mentioned macaroni and cheese at work earlier today at work and it had been in my  head ever since. So I decided to make a “lighter” version of that for supper tonight. My mac n cheese consisted of 2 oz of the light velveeta, 3 oz whole wheat pasta, and lots of broccoli for a total of 8 points. This was quite a large serving and very filling! 

TUEASDAY'S STATS
POINTS = 20/24
WEEKLY ALLOWANCE POINTS = 35/35 
WATER = 125 oz
ACTIVITY POINTS EARNED  = 7 today/7 week
EXERCISE = 45 min elliptical, 10 min abs

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Happy Friday! :)