Pillow Dilemma

Last fall I bought pillows for our sectional in the family room.  These pillows are well loved and well used and are starting to look a bit sorry, except for the brown pillow that I don't allow anyone to use!

They are starting to lose their shape, feeling pretty lumpy and this one even has a big rip on the side and the stuffing is starting to fall out.

Needless to say it is time for new decorative pillows.  So we headed to Home Sense.  They just added a new store at Heritage and Macleod that we hadn't checked out yet.  So here is my dilemma - I bought two new pillows but need some help on how to arrange them.

First option:

Aren't they lovely - the colours are gorgeous with my drapery and the brown pillow that I had already.  Notice how pristine it is - it is only allowed on the couch when company is coming and then promptly whisked away as soon as they leave.  I know it is completely insane - but I love that pillow!

Second option:

Please let me know which arrangement you like better.  I can't decide.  I wish they would have had two of the shorter, long pillow I would have bought both, one for each side of the sectional.
Also, stay tuned, I may have purchased something else.  I couldn't resist - I'm so spoiled!

Friday Weigh-In - Week 14

What is going on here!!  I'm starting to think maybe my scale is broken.  I weighed this morning for my weekly weigh-in and my weight is still EXACTLY THE SAME!!

0 lbs lost or gained

How is this even possible?  I must admit I haven't been as diligent in my weightloss efforts.  I haven't given up - not in the least - but maybe not giving it the same attention I was previously.  In my defense I've been sick and really busy, but I obviously need to do something a little extra to get myself past this little plateau I've been having.  So in 14 weeks I've lost 14 pounds.  I'm not going to minimize 14 pounds.  That is a good weightloss.  I'm happy with that, but I've got alot farther to go and can't stop now.

I've apparently got maintaining my weight under control, but I don't want to maintain, I need to lose.  I've still got 6 pounds to go before I can purchase my next reward.  So this week my goals are to keep track of everything that goes in my mouth, make healthier choices, and exercise 3 times.  You all know the exercise thing is really tough for me.  A friend of mine challenged herself to go to hot yoga every day this past month - and she's been doing it!  I so admire that, if she can do that, I should be able to get my sorry little, not as large as it used to be, butt off the couch and workout 3 times!!

So there it is - please make me accountable!  I'll report my successes next Friday.  I sure hope you see less of me next week!

Home Reading

Ashton's homework this year so far consists of home reading every night.  He brings home two books from school and his teacher sends home a little calendar with different ideas to make it fun for the kids to do.  One night it was to read in your favorite spot, another was to read in an empty tub, tonight it was to read to your favorite stuffy.

He kept holding the book so that his bear could see the pictures.  It was hard for me to follow along to make sure he was reading properly.  His reading has really been improving lately.  It amazes me how fast they are able to learn at this age.  Bowen has already started to read as well.  He is always typing little messages on the DS for me.  Love to see them enjoying reading.  It is one of my favorite things to do as well.  I'm missing going to my bookclub.  I need to get another one up and running!

Breathing a Sigh of Relief

Today at church was the primary sacrament meeting presentation.  As primary president it was my job to write the script for the kids and assign their parts to them.  We had spent the last two Sundays rehearsing.  The children did a wonderful job and I was so proud of them.  28 of our 31 children were present and they did their very best to speak clearly and sing their songs as loud as they could.  The little ones were adorable as usual.  Really the only glitch was when one of the sunbeams turned off the sound for the mic.  We quickly fixed it and his teacher kept a good eye on him the rest of the meeting.  We all got several comments about how good it was - so I think the congregation really enjoyed it.

For sharing time today I thought we all needed a bit of a break and a reward for working so hard on preparing the presentation.  So I brought a living scriptures animated movie "Journey to the Promised Land" for them to watch.  I had popcorn for them while they watched their movie and my counsellors had brought rice krispie squares.

On the way home from church today Ashton says to me "Mom, you know what I learned from the movie today?", I excitedly asked him what that was, thinking he had learned some profound gospel message.  He replied "I learned that Laman and Lemuel were jerks!"  I had to agree with him Laman and Lemuel were jerks.  It's been a busy and stressful week, but I'm now enjoying some downtime with my family.  I also must say I am so grateful for Jason and all his support for me.  He helps me out so much.  I know he would help me whether he was in the bishopric or not, but it is very convenient for the member of the bishopric incharge of primary to be my husband.  The gospel offers such wonderful opportunities for our children.   I Know the Scriptures are True!

Friday Weigh-In - Week 13

I am very late at posting today but I'm sicky!!  I've got a nasty little cold, congestion, sniffles, coughing, etc., and feeling very sorry for myself.  I did weigh in though with very little to report.   I didn't lose, or gain.  Another week of staying exactly the same.

0 lbs lost or gained

Which keeps my total the same at 14 lbs lost.  I'm not exactly surprised, in fact I was expecting a slight gain this week.  I always seem to gain when I am sick.  So as long as I stay focused and not sabotage myself this week I should be able to have a good weightloss next week.  It has been a long, busy, stressful week so I think I am a bit run down.  I accompanied at a funeral yesterday, will be accompanying two numbers at a funeral tomorrow and then our primary presentation is on Sunday.  Normally accompanying people is no big deal but a couple of the numbers are quite challenging so I'm a little stressed.  I am looking forward to Sunday afternoon - I plan on crashing!!  Then onto a less stressful week which I hope to fill with good healthy foods and getting some exercise.  I really hope I can report a great weightloss next Friday!

Serene Sunday

Since I hosted Thanksgiving this year I had quite a bit of leftovers and have been looking for something to make with my turkey leftovers.  I found this Turkey Potpie recipe online and decided to try it yesterday for Sunday dinner.  It was really fast and easy to make and was really delicious.  I was a little worried that it didn't call for a homemade sauce, but Jason and I both really enjoyed it and I will definitely make it again.

TURKEY POTPIE

1 cup      sliced carrots

1 cup      finely chopped onion

1/2 cup   chopped celery

1/2 tsp    dried thyme

1/8 tsp    pepper

3 tbsps    butter or margarine

2 cups     cubed cooked turkey

1 tbsp      all-purpose flour

1 can       condensed mushroom soup, undiluted

1 cup       frozen cut green beans, cooked and drained (I didn't cook them, just let them thaw)

1 Pastry for double-crust pie (I was lazy and bought tenderflake pre-made frozen pie shells)

1 tbsp      milk

In a skillet, saute carrots, onion, celery, thyme and pepper in butter until vegetables are crisp-tender.  In a large resealable plastic bag, combine turkey and flour; shake to coat.  Add turkey, soup and green beans to the vegetable mixture; mix well.  Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom crust.  Add turkey mixture.  Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; seal and flute edges.  Cut slits in pastry.  Brush with milk.  Cover edges loosely with foil.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 - 65 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

It was a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon after a busy morning at church preparing for our primary presentation this coming Sunday.  The boys stayed out of my hair all afternoon.  They played in the playroom, they played in their bedrooms.  They were dressed like this ...

I'm not exactly sure why!  At one point as Bowen was running by holding a bunch of toy money he yelled out - "I'm not a robber, I'm just rich!"   Whatever - they got along great, no fighting at all, and I loved hearing them play together.  I'm a lucky mom!!

Complete Look

As promised here is a picture of my new shooties, bag and new outfit. 

I really wanted to wear opaque leggings with this outfit.  So I bought a pair the other night.  I put them on as I was getting ready last night for my cousins wedding and I guess maybe I bought too big a pair because I looked like I had elephant skin.  They were all wrinkly at the knees and ankles.  So I had to settle for black nylons instead.  Mom, Rachel and Jared came up for the wedding as well.  We got a babysitter and left the boys at home and enjoyed an almost date night.

Jared, Rachel and Baby Jonas all ready for the wedding!

My beautiful sister!



Mom and her sister Cheryl



Cute little Jonas chillin!

 I didn't even take a picture of the bride, but she look beautiful.  We had a great time, the decorations were gorgeous, and the food was delicious!


Friday Weigh-In - Week 12

With much trepidation I stepped onto my scale this morning.  Nervous because this past weekend was Thanksgiving, and nervous because I haven't exercised AT ALL!,  I've been so busy, but I know that isn't a good excuse, I need to make the time.  Somebody motivate me - please!!  So anyway I weighed and this week I lost ...

.5 lbs

That brings my grand total to 14 pounds lost so far.  I know it isn't much but this week I'll take it.  I've had quite a few weeks with tiny weight losses so I think I'm going to have a very strict week (like it's my first) and just see how much I can lose.  I will follow my plan as strict as possible, with perhaps the exception of tonight as I am going to a wedding.  I also will try exercise a minimum of 3 times.  I hope all of you will see less of me next week!

Crabapples

When we moved into our house almost 4 years ago we inherited a crabapple tree in our yard.  My grandma had a crabapple tree and I remember eatting them until I was sick when I was little.  I don't do that anymore but I do love making juice and crabapple jelly.  A couple of weeks ago we got to work and started harvesting our tree.

Ashton loves helping - Bowen hid somewhere in the house!

There are a few tall branches that we just couldn't reach - of course they look like they have fabulous apples on them.  Jason rigged up a crabapple picker a couple of years ago but it needs some tweaking.

The fruits of our labour, literally!!

I then spent the next few days juicing all the apples.  Washing, taking off stems and blossom, removing any blemishes, then steaming for 90 minutes.  Each bucket was one batch and would produce approximately 4 cups of juice.

Thank you mom for the use of your juicer!

I froze juice to use for Thanksgiving and Christmas and then last night made one batch of crabapple jelly.

I take alot of pride in the fact that I'm able to make and use something that we've grown.  I don't have enough room for a garden, but doing this every fall makes me feel very domestic.  I'm thinking a piece of toast with homemade crabapple jelly - yum!

Berry Shootie

I can't even remember the last time I bought new shoes.  I have a cousin getting married this weekend so I decided to find something new to wear.  I bought a new black skirt and blouse to wear and decided my old dowdy shoes weren't going to cut it.  So off to payless.  I love my new shooties!

I couldn't resist the bag too!  As an added perk when I got home I discovered they go perfectly with my leather coat as well.  Stay tuned for a picture of the complete look this weekend.

Let's hope I don't fall off them and break my ankle!

You'll Have to Deal with It

Last night we decided to run to the mall so I could try and find an outfit for my cousin's wedding this weekend (I'll blog about that later).  As we were leaving the truck and walking into the mall I noticed everything Bowen had selected to wear was just a little too small for him.  We were teasing him that he was too big for his clothes and Jason said that maybe we should stop feeding him.

Bowen turned to me and said "You'll have to deal with it, you have to feeded me - or I'll starve."  He's so funny!  I do however think he's going to eat us out of house and home when he's a teenager.

Gobble Gobble

This week I bought a couple of new items for my fall decorating.  I found this great door wreath at Michael's.

I also upgraded my paper mache pumpkins with ceramic.

I spent the last few days putting up a few decorations, cleaning my house and baking in preparation for Sunday.  My whole family - mom, Dave, Char, Cora, Leah, Blake, Jared, Amber, Emry, Calum, Armin, Rachel, Liam and Jonas (we were only missing Jared) came for Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday afternoon.  I was so happy that everyone was able and willing to come.  I enjoy hosting and it was fun for me to have everyone in our home.  We moved the living room furniture out of the way and added another table and made one long table that stretched the length of the dining/living room so we could all eat together.

Jason and Rachel helped me make place cards.

We feasted on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, squash, and green beans. A family dinner would not be complete without mom's famous buns and Amber had brought a yummy layered jello salad.   We made crabapple sparkler from juice I'd made from crabapples off our tree.  So good!!

Bowen loved turkey this year.  He ate it plain, with gravy, and in a bun.  Dessert was delicious.  I had made pumpkin pies, peach pies, and Char made a fabulous pumpkin cake with caramel sauce.

My boys loving the pumpkin pie!!

I had such a great time and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves.  The kids played great together and got along so well.  The weather was great and they were able to play outside alot.  Hopefully none of them got sick from all the crabapples they ate.  I took a few pictures and then of course my camera battery died.

Ashton with sweet baby Jonas

My beautiful mom - she is going to hate that this picture is such a close up!

Jared with little Armin

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Friday Weight-In - Week 11

I guess it was inevitable, but I'm still a bit bummed about it.  In my weigh in this morning I weighed ...

Exactly the same - 0 lbs gained or lost

So my grand total is still 13.5 pounds lost.  I'm not really surprised.  I went out for dinner a couple of times this week, as well as going to a movie.  I also found myself hungry and probably ate more than I should have.  I also bought a couple of boxes of mint chocolate girl guide cookies (my sweet little students were selling them - so not my fault!!)/  Actually they are not that bad - 2 cookies are 3 points on the weight watchers program. 

I'm nervous about the week coming up.  I need to try really hard to not let Thanksgiving sabotage me.  I'm having my family for dinner on Sunday so as long as I don't go crazy I can then get right back on program Monday morning. I also think we are going to take the kids swimming again on Monday.

I made a couple of easy recipes this week.

BEEF BARLEY SOUP

1 lb             Beef stew meat, diced small

1 1/4 cups   Sliced or chopped carrot

1 1/4 cups   Chopped onion

3/4 cup        Chopped celery

5 cups         Water

1 tsp            Parsley flakes

1/4 tsp         Pepper

1 tsp            Sugar

2 tbsp          Beef bouillion powder

1/2 cup        Pearl barley

2 x 7.5 oz    Tomato sauce

Place all 11 ingredients in 5 quart slow cooker.  Stir.  Cover.  Cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours or on High for 4 to 5 hours.  Makes 10 1/4 cups.

This soup is really good.  Very filling and only 3 weight watcher points per cup.

Then I made a yummy ham dish.

SCALLOPED HAM MEAL

4               Medium potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 cup        Chopped onion

Salt, sprinkle

Pepper, sprinkle

2 cups       Frozen peas

2 lbs          Smoked ham, sliced 1/2 inch thick

10 oz        Condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup        Water

Put potato into slow cooker.  Scatter onion over top.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with peas.  Lay ham slices on top.

Stir soup and water together in bowl.  Pour over ham.  Cover.  Cook on Low for 8 - 9 hours or on High for 4 - 5 hours.  Serves 6.

This dinner isn't as good as my homemade scalloped potatoes with ham, but for a quick, easy dinner it was very tasty.



I hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving!  I know I will be giving thanks for everything I have with my family.  I will focus on enjoying the company of my family and focus less on the food. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

In the Dog House

A few minutes ago I decided that I'd make myself my lunch and sit down, relax and watch a bit of People's Court (I love TV courtroom shows - don't judge me!).  So anyways I've been looking forward to lunch all day.  I ate very little for breakfast in anticipation of lunch today.  Saving my weight watchers points so I could have a multigrain bagel with light cream cheese and ham - so yummy! 

So I head to the kitchen and I'm looking for my ONE bagel.  I only bought ONE bagel so I wouldn't be tempted to eat more, because I love bagels!!  I'm looking and looking and I can't find MY bagel.

So I phone Jason at work.  I ask "did you take my bagel for lunch today?", his reply "sorry - was that yours?".  Oh course it was mine - would I have boughten ONE bagel if it wasn't for ME.

So now I get to have a simple, boring, ham sandwich.  So disappointed!  Somebody is in the DOG HOUSE!