How hard it is to get back to work...

I really didn't want to come back to work today, no offense to my coworkers. Just a few days at the beach, and a Tuesday return back to work was not what I was looking forward to.

The beach was great - pictures to be posted later this week. We visited old stomping grounds that we used to go to on our annual treks to the Outer Banks each year. We ate ice cream, went for runs on the beach, bought beach jewelry, took naps, read books. We took the kids to Currituck Lighthouse, climbed the sand dunes at Jockey's Ridge, and went to Roanoke Island.

We normally pack alot of things in our vacations, but just remember, my kids are early risers. We spent from 11:00am to 4:30pm on the beach on Saturday where we witnessed two girls getting "rescued" from the lifeguard (the riptide was pretty strong, and they weren't really in trouble, but the lifeguard went in after them anyway), saw crabs, had some crazy lady say she saw a shark, and just had fun. Audrey was great - at one point she said she was tired, so we told her to lay down and take a nap. Which she did.
Yesterday on our way out of town, we stopped by Roanoke Island and went to the NC Aquarium there. Where we literally ran into the man who was the best man in our wedding. Seriously, we haven't seen this guy in about 8 years, and we run into him at the beach. Not to crazy though since his parents own a house in the Outer Banks. But still, the chances? So emails were exchanged, kids were introduced and then we were on our way.

And now we are officially one week from the start of first grade for Ashley. She is in another Girl Scout camp tomorrow through Friday. This time, she is in it with a few of her friends, so she is really excited. I still need to take her school supply shopping and I promised her a new outfit for the first day of school.

Off to the beach...

Off we go...to the Outer Banks for a long weekend.

I am turning off all electronic devices. Well, except for my phone. And I may still possibly check email on it. Maybe.

I can sew

I break out my sewing machine every so often. Like when I am tired of Ashley's patches falling off with that iron on tape stuff.

Or when I want to finish my curtains I started like a year ago. And actually, these have been hanging for a few weeks, it just took that long for me to actually take pictures of them.

These were actually not that hard to make. And don't worry, they are not without their mistakes. Just don't look too closely.

Stove Top Challenge

As most of you know, Ray and I have challenged each other to spend only $75 a week on groceries. We have been mostly successful these past few months and have significantly decreased our monthly grocery bill.

So when I was asked by Stove Top to make 5 meals using Stove Top for my family for under $10 each, I was all for the challenge!

Stove Top sent me $50 and a ton of coupons (more on that later) and gave me five weeks to post 5 one dish recipes using Stove Top.

Bring it on.

This week, I chose a really, really easy recipe that makes clean up a breeze. We often eat a dish with chicken that has ranch, cheese, bacon bits and teriyaki sauce. This is a variation on that.

Chicken baked in foil? Easy - and yes, I am counting this as a one dish meal even though I packaged up two separate foil packs. I am not cheating.

Foil Pack Chicken
Ingredients:
2-4 Chicken Breasts (we used 2 for our family of 4)
1 box of Stove Top Stuffing Mix, Chicken Flavored
1 1/2 cup of water
Shredded cheddar cheese
Ranch Dressing
Bacon Bits

Instructions:
1. Mix stuffing mix and water in a bowl.
2. For each chicken breast, get one large sheet of aluminum foil and put the Stove Top at the bottom.
3. Place a chicken breast on top, and place about a tablespoon of ranch dressing on each. Then sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bacon bits.
4. Seal the aluminum foil to make the packets, and place in a baking dish.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 400 degrees.

These came out so juicy and tender. Audrey inhaled the chicken. Ashley smothered all of her food in ketchup and inhaled her as well. Ray and I like stuffing, so all the plates were cleared last night.

And the cost? Here is the breakdown:
Chicken breasts - even if you made it with four, I got 10 chicken breast for $11.98 at Walmart, so for four, it would be $4.79
Stove Top - $1.74
Cheddar Cheese - I used about 1/4 of a cup from a 2 cup pack that was $2.00 on sale, $.25
Ranch Dressing - I probably used 2 tablespoons, I am going to guess (over estimating probably) $.50
Bacon Bits - Another guess, I used about 2 tablespoons, maybe $.75
Aluminum Foil - I am guessing for 2 square feet of aluminum foil, $.25

So total bill for a family of four? $8.28 (being over cautious of course). Since we only used 2 chicken breasts, our cost was only $5.89. One economical meal that the kids loved.

And this is where you come in. I have coupons for free boxes of Stove Top. Post your own recipe in the comments or on your blog and let me know, and I will send you some coupons (first come, first served). And look for 4 more weeks of Stove Top recipes to come!

Up and down, up and down...

If you recall, almost three years ago, I lost 60 pounds using Weight Watchers and regular exercise. I mostly kept all the weight off, give or take 10 pounds. The 10 pounds (or more like 15) had been creeping back up on me the past few months until I decided to do the detox I did a few weeks ago.

And in three days - POOF! - 10 pounds gone.

If anyone knows me, I am stubborn, which in some instances can be a good trait. In this instance, it was a good trait. I refused to gain back those 10 pounds I lost on the detox. I watched what I ate, still do, and not only have I kept off those 10 pounds, but I have lost about 5 more pounds.

SWEET!

And it has honestly been pretty easy this time. I sort of knew what I was doing wrong (over-eating, eating CRAP) so it hasn't been that hard. I would still like to lose a few more pounds, but we shall see.

One goal I have had for a long time is to run a 1/2 marathon. I have a love/hate relationship with running. I really, really like the workout I get from running. I like going out and running and having my thoughts all to myself. I like to sweat and feel like I am putting my body through a good workout. I hate the stitches I get, I hate having to convince myself to do one more mile.

And the thought of running 13 miles honestly scares the living crap out of me, but what the hell, you only live once.

I am signed up to run the Outer Banks 1/2 Marathon in November. Ray is signed up as well, as is about 20-30 people from my neighborhood. They are setting up some training groups, but I run really, really slow, so I am pretty sure I will have to train by myself. I have sort of come to grips with the fact I run slow and everyone will run faster than me, but hey, at least I am running.

Made it through

We made it through the weekend, celebrating our anniversary with making Ray watch Twilight with me and through Father's Day by grilling out. I got Ray a new mouse pad for his computer at work for Father's Day with the girls' picture on it. Luck have it, I was in Walmart on Saturday grocery shopping and the store called to tell me it was in. That will never happen again.

Ray's take on Twilight? Remember, he did not (and will not) read the books, but he thought it was sooo sloooowwwww. I get that, and can understand by not having read the books. I have him slightly convinced when they make the 4th book into a movie, he should totally go see that one.

We have a short week this week. Friday, we are leaving for the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a long weekend. We are using more of our Hilton points and staying at a Hampton Inn there. Ray and I are excited because we used to spend a week there every summer with my Dad and Stepmom and her family, and we miss it.

I have a few food related posts coming this week (Stove Top challenged me, and I took them up on their challenge, details later this week!). I thought I would throw in some food related goodness now.

With Ashley in various camps this month, and us enjoying the pool every minute that we can, snacks have been a big deal in our house these past few weeks. One snack item my kids love are granola bars. You see where this is going? I scoured several food blogs last week and random recipes sites to try and find a good compatible granola bar recipe for me to make at home that would taste a lot like what I buy in the store.

And no, I am not going to pretend I am doing this because I don't want my kids eating all the various preservatives that are in the store bought ones, because a lot of the posts I read about homemade granola bars toted that. And yes, it would be nice not to have corn syrup and such, but I was positive my kids would not eat the really, really good for you granola bars (aka the ones without the corn syrup, sugar, or whatever).

I settled on a recipe I found in All Recipes, and changed it up a little bit. And these things are so freaking easy to make, I am pretty sure I won't be buying any store bought ones anytime soon. I made this batch, cut them up into individual sizes, and stored them in snack bags and threw them in our snack drawer. It made 20 granola bars!

Gobble Up Granola Snacks

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup raisins (I omitted these, I don't like raisins)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter (I used honey instead since my kids don't like peanut butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I also added in chocolate chips, about 1/2 a bag of chocolate morsels.

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, stir together the rice cereal and oats. Set aside. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Combine the brown sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat just until boiling, then remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour over the cereal and oat mixture, and mix well. I waited a few minutes for it to cool a little, then added the chocolate chips.
3. Press into the prepared pan using the back of a large spoon. Allow to cool, then cut into squares.

These were perfect. The chocolate melted a little bit, but that actually helps me because Ashley has been known to remove and eat the chocolate chips first.

Okay, it's 11 years, not 12....

Um, so yea. It took my friend in Virginia to call me and ask me if I was sure I had been married 12 years.

It's really only 11.

Can you tell this week has been nuts?

12 years

This week has been kind of crazy with something going on every night, just random stuff that popped up this week. Ray has also pulled some late nights working and the kids have continued to not sleep as well as they should.

The week also started off bad with me finding out my best friend from college, who I was matron of honor in her wedding and she was maid of honor in mine, was getting divorced.

But it will end on a high note. Ray and I celebrating our twelve year wedding anniversary tomorrow. Yes, there are things about me that probably bug the crap out of Ray, like how I never like to make decisions or how I drive him nuts by worrying too much, but he puts up with me. We make a good pair, and complement each other in every way that we need to.

Last night, we took a page from Debbie's book and sat on the front porch after I got home from band practice and the kids were in bed and just talked. It was nice to have an adult conversation without it being between commercial breaks of So You Think You Can Dance or while trying to do the dishes.

We are not planning anything special for tomorrow; I have a Girl Scout event to go to with Ashley during the day. We won't do presents, but we will get to spend some time together at the end of the day. And that's all I want.