Well…..

So, I kinda fell off the face of the Earth there for a while, eh?

Sorry about that! I really am! Things just get busy, hectic, crazy! and blogging is the first thing that goes… then my gardening board, then facebook, and when I’m too busy to watch my favorite TV shows… I know something has to give. 😉

I am still eating low carb! (Hooray!!) This past Friday, I weighed in at 184. That’s FORTY POUNDS gone! I could not be any happier right now than I am!! Okay, maybe if I had just made the final payment on our last debt, or if I just found our dream forever home and were in a position to actually buy it… OR I had just hit my target weight goal, or… okay.. you get the picture! LOL

So! A LOT of stuff has happened since I last blogged. CUH-RAY-ZEE!

First things first! NEW PICTURES! YAY! (Ignore the crazy sunburn.. yes I know I should wear sunblock. Shesh!) I’ve lost a total of 40 pounds, but I do not have any measurements to go on because I completely forgot to take them, and every time I say “Oh! I should do some measurements!” I never have anyone to assist me and forget when I DO have someone to help me. I think I should change my name to Dory.

This was My husband, my daughter and myself on Easter morning at church. We had just finished working the 3rd and final service of the day and my feet were KILLING me! (I wear heels about as often as moon turns blue) This picture actually sparked my oldest sister to call me and tell me that she almost didn’t recognize me, and that I really looked great. I’m not sure that I want my family to not even recognize me, but I took it as a compliment anyways. I actually got a little self conscious of everyone telling me how great I looked. Made me wonder if I REALLY looked bad before! LOL

 

Okay, so I don’t have that many pictures of ME to share, but, I did have SOME! Some is better than none, so quitcheryappin! 😉 And here’s a picture of an Iris from my flower garden (and one of the reasons I’m sunburnt!) for no reason.  Ain’t it purdy?!

 

Okay! In other news! The biggest news first! The hubby has started Low Carbing with me! WOOHOO!! He started last Monday (21 April) and has lost 5 pounds already! I’m so proud of him! I’m glad that he’s wanting to finally make that change and lose weight!  I’m so glad that I now have a live in accountability partner! Of course, since I “graduated” to Phase 2 of Atkins, I can eat a few more things than he can. The other day we had taco salad, and you can bet that I enjoyed every bit of those refried beans! No beans for the hubby. He was okay with it though. I DID let him indulge in some Carb Smart ice cream tho.  He’s not a big ice cream guy, so I was surprised that , but he DOES like candy, so, I’m glad that he’s not getting the candy. He DID have sugar in his coffee this weekend tho. He said it was just a muscle memory thing and by the time he remembered he had drank almost a whole cup! LOL I told him it was okay, and we removed the sugar from by the coffee maker. He has agreed to sharing his before pictures, so here are his before pictures. He weighed in at 250 pounds yesterday, which is down 5 pounds less than what his “start” weight was.

 

Other than that… let see!

Hubby and I went through Financial Peace University recently! Man oh MAN was it amazing! We’ve got money in the bank, we’ve got all of our bills taken care of, AND we’ve managed to pay off some debts as well! We sold my truck, which made me sad, but, by selling it, we will are on track to be debt free (other than our house) by December of 2015! That means that by the time that hubby graduates and we’re ready to start the next “chapter” we should have no debt, other than our house, and the small amount of student loans that he’s already taken, tho we’re not taking any more loans for his school.

We got some more chicks! Silkie chicks are about the cutest thing on the entire planet! We also hatched some quality Buckeye chicks as well. Not quite as many as we were HOPING to, but enough to get us re-started with these better quality birds. We’re still working on the new Silkie coop, but it will get done! Next thing would be the NEW new coop for the Buckeyes! *sigh* There is always something that needs fixed or built here! We have everything for our garden in the ground, other than our “summer spinach,” which I’m not so sure I want to plant any more. I guess I COULD plant it where we eventually want to put the garden tool shed so that way if we no longer want it we can just put it right over the top and be done with it.

Okay! I’ve got to get moving on some dinner for everyone, and get some laundry folded. A housewifes work is never done!!

Another weigh in!

So, I completely forgot yesterday was Friday and didn’t weigh in, so I weighed in this morning.

190.6!

I’ll take it!

Since I didn’t have a “Before”picture, the best I can do is a sometime before picture.  Lol Here’s a new picture from today that shows a comparison. I don’t think it looks like I’ve lost much weight in my pictures, but I am!  🙂

Macaroons

So, first off I want to say that I sometimes really suck at blogging. I get busy with one thing or another and blogging is the first thing to go!

Have no fear tho! I am still here! Still plugging away. I PROMISE that I will post my weight tomorrow. (Last weeks was 193.2 btw)

Anyways!

So today I was having a sweets craving. I have been for the last couple of days. I’m not sure why tho. Yesterday I quenched this by taking a shot of HWC with a couple packets of Splenda. It worked but it was HORRIBLE tasting! LOL It was SO sweet and kinda gritty because the Splenda didn’t dissolve in the cream. BLECK!! But id definitely worked!! So, when they kicked up today, I just decided that I was going to do something about it.

I made macaroons!!! Oh my goodness they are DELICIOUS! I found the recipe on the LowCarbFriends forum.

• 1/3 cup Almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (I think I added a little more I didn’t measure)
• 3/4 cup Splenda (I’ll admit… I only used half cup)
• 1 Tablespoon butter – melted
• 2 2/3 cup unsweetened flaked coconut (Mine was fine shred)
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (I omitted)

1. Blend together almod flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside
2. Beat together eggs, vanilla, and almond extract (if using) until foamy, then gradually beat in sugar
3. Add butter
4. Gradually add dry ingredients to egg mixture and mix well
5. Fold in coconut (At this point I thought mine looked a little dry so I added a little HWC)
6. Drop mixture by rounded teaspoon, about 2 inches apart, on greased baking sheets
7. Bake at 325 for 15 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges

This makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies or so, and is about 36g of carbs for the entire recipe.

This is one of those recipes that is REALLY dangerous if you don’t have self control. They are SO delicious! I’ve had 4 since they came out of the oven. I’m going to put the rest of them in a ziplock and into the freezer they will go!

I hope that everyone else is doing well on their journeys!

 

Friday weigh-in!

Ummmmmm….. I just want to say

WAAAAHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

196.4

I’ve lost 3.6 pounds since last week! (And yes… #9 is my favorite Dr, followed closely by #10!)

 

I was so ecstatic when I stepped on the scale this morning! I wanted to shout it from the rooftop! First thing I did was text my sister, because she’s the one that really got me started doing Atkins in the first place. Next thing I did was go jump on my bed with my husband sleeping in it. He grumpily told me to knock it off to which I exclaimed “CAN’T I’M IN ONEDERLAND!” to which he replied “Alice?” and I laughed and ran off.

Hooray!!!!!!!

It’s cold, and I want to eat!

So, I weighed in this morning. I’m 203, which means I “gained” .4 pounds. I’m not worried about it. My pants are fitting better, I feel great. 🙂

So! Today, the high is 37, and it won’t be all that great the rest of next week either, minus Sunday, but it’s supposed to rain, so that doesn’t count.

All I know is that it’s supposed to be 21 tonight. Um, no thank you! Where is my beach weather?! I KNOW it’s winter, but, I’m not used to this cold any more! This kind of weather is where I make a giant pot of chili with beans, make grilled cheese sandwiches with Velveeta cheese, and snuggle on the couch and watch movies with a nice fire in the fireplace. That just doesn’t work any more. I guess I COULD make chili with no beans, and just put real cheese and sour cream in my bowl and make grilled cheese for the fam.

 

I’m going to share my newly favorite “warm food” (which is what we call Chili!). It’s called Stroganoff Soup. It’s DELISH!! I borrowed this from Kyndra over at Peace, Love, Low Carb. I prepped everything in my cast iron skillet, then transferred it to my crock pot.

 

Stroganoff Soup

Ingrediets

• 32 oz beef stock
• 10 mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 Tbs garlic, minced
• 3 Tbs butter (I used MUCH less, more like 1 Tbs)
• 1 1/2 pound steak – sliced thin (I cut mine in about 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 Tbs beef bouillon granules
• 2 Tbs Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbs Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped (or about 1 Tbs dried)
• 1 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• 1 tsp Sea Salt

Directions

1. Heat slow cooker on high setting, add beef stock and mushrooms, cover.
2. In a large Saute pan, over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic in butter, until translucent and soft. Add to slow cooker.
3. Using the same pan, add the steak into the pan and sear it on both sides. About 1-2 minutes
4. To the slow cooker, add steak, heavy cream, sour cream, beef bouillon granules, Dijon, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, and salt, then mix.
5. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours.

12 1 cup servings with 4.5 net g of carbs!

It’s a GREAT way to gave something warm and delish on a cold night.

I hope you all are doing well, staying warm, and losing weight!

Monday I’m starting yoga, and possibly starting to work out with my Wii Fit Plus again! What changes are you making, if any, the beginning of this new year?

Took a little break!

I took my weight last week, and I was down to 203! Woohoo!

Since my daughter is home for Christmas break, I lost track of the days and forgot to weigh in today. Oops!!

We had a really nice small Christmas here at home. I made a turkey breast, some fauxtatoes, and green beans. We had gravy as well. I did have a little bit, but not much. I also made a pumpkin custard. THAT was my downfall. I ate almost the whole thing. I don’t think that I’ve gained any actual weight, but, I do think I need to cut down on the carbs a bit. 😉

I introduced my 10 year old to the movie Clueless yesterday and now she can’t stop watching it! I think I’ve created a monster. I do have to admit that I do sorta love the movie tho. I hope it doesn’t go to her head!

On the 1st, I’m going to start doing yoga and pilates. I’ve bookmarked several on youtube. I’ll be a beginner at both. I do have some Beachbody and Jillian Michaels workout DVDs, but, since I had knee surgery, it’s difficult to do most of them. Hopefully I will be able to get some muscles starting. 🙂

Low Carb Hot Chocolate

It’s starting to get colder here in the southwest corner of North Carolina, and one of my FAVORITE things on a cold day is to snuggle up on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate and watch some TV, usually something from my Hulu account that I’ve missed.

When I started on my Atkins journey last month, I didn’t even THINK about all the things that I was used to doing that I wouldn’t be able to do any more. I never in a million years would have thought something as simple as a mug of hot chocolate could make me sad, but, I really did miss that this past week.

Until yesterday!! I found a wonderful recipe for Low Carb hot chocolate (also known as Bulletproof hot chocolate) on an Atkins facebook group that I’m on, so I thought I would pass it on to all of you! 🙂

Ingredients:

•  1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, the unsweetened kind that you find in the baking section  (I use Hershey’s)
• 2-4 tablespoons coconut oil OR butter
• 2-3 packets of sweetener (I used under a tablespoon of Splenda)
• 3 tablespoons of HWC (Heavy Whipping Cream)

Pour a mugful of hot water into your blender.  Add ingredients and blend thoroughly.

 It will be rich, frothy and delicious.

Only 2.26 net carbs! If you don’t have a blender (like my sister…. LOL) I say go get one!! It’s completely worth it, and you can usually find them at thrift shops for a few bucks. I will admit, the next time I make it, I might add just a smidge more Splenda, but overall it was DELICIOUS and hit the spot!

Friday Weigh-in!

Good morning folks!!! I meant to post this yesterday, but, my mom and son flew in from Houston! Well, actually, they were SUPPOSED to be here Thursday, but their connecting flight was cancelled and they spent the night in Charlotte and flew in yesterday morning.

Anyways! I’ll just get down to the nitty gritty!!

On Friday I weighed 205.3! YEAH BABY!!!! That’s a total of 18.7 pounds lost.

I have an appointment to have my blood work redone on the 16th. I’m REALLY hoping that my insulin numbers are much better. I’m also hoping to be closer to that 200 mark as well. I don’t think it’s a good goal to lose 5 pounds in the next week. LOL

As soon as I know, y’all will know! 🙂

For now, I’m off to make breakfast, and spend some more time with my family! ❤

Post Thanksgiving weigh in

Well, today is “Black Friday,” the busiest shopping day of the year. Well, I’ve got everyones Christmas presents done, except for my Momma, and stocking stuffers.

I got my son, who will be 15 in December, Battlefield 4, a Minecraft t-shirt, and a Legends of Zelda t-shirt. I think that I’m going to get him an iTunes gift card and maybe a razor as a stocking stuffer. My daughter, who is 10 1/2 (the half is SUPER important!), got a combo straightening/curling iron, a new hair dryer, and a 48 piece nail polish set. I can’t say what I’m going to get my Momma, because I think she reads my blog. 😉 I’m also thinking about getting my husband a new electric razor for his birthday/Christmas present. He always says he doesn’t want anything, but, I always get him something practical that I know he will use and he is always happy and thankful.

ANYWAYS! Thanksgiving!!!!!! I had a great time! It was at our friend Amys house again this year.  She always does a BIG Thanksgiving. We had grown the turkeys at our place this year, and apparently we’re being “selected” to grow them for next year as well! LOL So, I’m already looking at prices for turkey for next year. We did have fun raising them, so it is something that we would do again I think. 🙂 I don’t THINK I went over my carb limit, but I guess it will depend on how many carbs the pumpkin bake I made was. (The recipe said 7 or 9 depending on if you used liquid or granular Splenda, and I made a double batch and only used half the Splenda… so….. I dunno! LOL) I tried to cut the pieces for myself small, but, you never know. If I WAS over, it wasn’t by a whole lot. I stuck with meat, cheese, more meat, a couple pieces of my pumpkin bake with whipped cream, and meat. Oh, and 1 glass of wine and meat.

My weigh in this morning I was at 209.2, exactly 1 pound more than I was last week, but, after all the meat I ate yesterday, I’m not super worried! (I ate a LOT of meat!!!) Did I mention I ate a lot of meat? 😉

Rainy night

So, it’s rainy tonight. All I want to do is snuggle up on the couch with some ice cream and watch TV. What is it with rainy nights (or cold nights) that make you want to do that? BAD BODY!!

I resisted tho. I made myself some sugar free jello and some homemade whipped cream for the top. Delicious!

In 2 days it will be one of the largest eating days of the year. I’m going to someone elses house, and I WILL be strong! That way when I step on the scale Friday morning I can say WOOHOO! and report how much weight I’ve lost. 😉

That’s really all I have for now. I’ve got some recipes to share soon!