Hubby's Healthy Birthday Cake

Back in June was my Hubby's birthday.  It was just a few days after starting our new healthy lifestyle, but I didn't want him not to have a birthday cake.  I mean, I would feel like a total failure of a wife if I didn't make him a birthday cake.  He tends to like cakes with fruit in them.  His favorite is Lemon Supreme bundt cake, but that is not low fat.  So, I was on the hunt for a new cake.  I searched through many recipes and finally decided on this recipe. 

Easy Blueberry Buttermilk Cake

I tried to cut and paste the recipe, but Skinnytaste's website won't allow it so you'll have to go to her site to get the recipe. 

 Why is it the blueberries always sink to the bottom?  That drives me crazy!!

 We opted for one candle instead of 41. 

In other FFB news, Hubby and I have been on Shakeology and Insanity for 5 weeks.  My Hubby lost 12 pounds and 6 inches in that time.  I lost 4 pounds and 4 inches.  It doesn't sound like much, but it's progress and it's amazing how much better I feel.  I couldn't even do a push up at the beginning of this program, but now I can do at least ten.  I feel so much stronger than I did.  We have 4 more weeks to go so we'll see how much progress we make in that time. 

My New Way Of Life

So, have you ever sort of stumbled on something sort of life changing and not even realized what was happening?  That is the best way to explain what's going on with me right now.  As you know, I've been trying to lose weight.  I've struggled with it for YEARS.  I mentioned in my last post that I was trying something new.  I had no idea what a life changing experience it was going to be.  I actually look forward to working out every day.  If I have a rest day, I feel a little lost.  Weird, right?

So, I thought I would share just a tiny bit of what I'm doing.  First of all, this...

I know!  I know!  It's yet another meal replacement shake.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.....I like to actually chew my food.  I've NEVER done well with shakes because I don't like to drink my meals.  Well, this is truly different.  It curbs my cravings like you wouldn't believe.  I'm now in my fourth week of Shakeology and haven't had one piece of chocolate since I started.  I don't mean that I have had enough self control to stay away from it.  I don't mean that I threw out all of the kids Easter candy (Yes, we still have Easter candy).  I mean I haven't wanted it at all.  CRAZY, right?  PLUS, it has more vitamins and minerals than I would EVER get in a day.  I feel so much better.  AND, best part.....it is sooo good! 

I'm also doing this:

Yes, I have lost my mind.  Shaun T kicks my butt every day.  Now, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I look like this: 

because that would be a big fat lie.  Nope.  I didn't become some hardbody with unbelievable balance and coordination over the last few weeks.  I'm still a dork and I still stop A LOT, but I'm making unbelievable progress.  In just three weeks, I've lost an inch in my waist.  My clothes fit so much better and I'm seeing more definition in my big fat arms than I've ever seen before. 

So, in a nutshell, that's it.  I'll let ya know what my results look like after the 60 day mark......I might even post pictures.  Don't worry.  I will give you some warning first.  My before pics are SCARY!!!!

Have a healthy day!

There's Some Fat Chick Living In My Mirror

I think when you do something on a daily basis, it becomes something that is just a habit, something you take for granted and don't even pay attention to anymore.  Everyday I look in the mirror as I am putting in my contacts, putting on my makeup, etc.  I even catch a glimpse as I'm getting in and out of the shower (YIKES!), but I still never really pay attention.  This is what I think I look like when I'm not paying attention:

Skinny Me from eons ago (pre four kids)

Then one day, it happened.  I went in the bathroom to get something and caught a glance in the mirror.  I stopped in my tracks and slowly turned to look again.  What in the world?  Some chick was there looking back at me.  Some chick I don't know.  Some fat chick.  Who in the world is that fat chick in my mirror?  The next few minutes looked a lot like the opening sequence of The Patty Duke Show.  I waved my hand and the fat chick waved back.  I covered my eyes and peeked through my fingers (hoping the fat chick would disappear) and she peeked through her fingers right back at me.  WHAT THE CRAP?!?  Where did this fat chick come from? 

I know what you're thinking.  This seems a little familiar, right?  I've talked about dieting and stuff before and I've even lost a few pounds, but I've never been this fat....EVER!  Okay, I was this fat twice before, but it was right after coming home from the hospital with a newborn in tow.  Never have I gotten this fat just all by myself.  GRACIOUS!  What usually happens is that I post about being a fatty and go on a diet and when I lose 5-6 pounds, I start doing posts about cinnamon rolls.  Well, not this time!

I'm trying something new.  I've been on a new plan for about two weeks.  My workout is still hard for me but I'm improving a little every day.  I haven't been cheating on my diet.  I'm sticking with it and even my Hubby is impressed.  No sneaking Kit-Kats for two weeks people and I don't even miss them. 

We have a beach trip planned for the end of July so I have to lose some of this fat by then.  Why?  Well, I haven't had a new swimsuit in several years and I need a new one.  I've been searching high and low for a cute swimsuit with an underwire because "the girls" aren't what they used to be, but that's an entirely different post.  If you search for underwire swimsuits, this is what you get:

Ummmm, no.  I refuse to wear a swimdress.

Hmmmm, not with my current figure.

So, I'm on a mission.  I ready to kick the fat chick out of my mirror.  Mama needs a new swimsuit.  I'll let ya know how it goes. 

Spring Activities

I can't believe it's summer again.  Well, it is for the kids anyway.  I still have a few days left of work.  It's been busy around here.  There has been so much going on the last few months.  For instance,

J and I went to the Mother Son Dance at school.  He was way more excited about the nachos, popcorn and Sprite than the actual dancing. 

E's class had Pioneer Day.  The dress was one I made for my niece several years ago for a play.  Being the fabric hoarder that I am, I still had enough fabric to make the bonnet to match.  Her class made homemade butter and johnnie cakes and square danced in class.  E was a little upset with me because she wanted to be a pioneer kid and only pioneer ma's dresses went all the way to the floor.  Oh well.  She got over it and had a fun day anyway.

 

 

We had a great Mother's Day at my mom's house.  It was even better because of our personal chefs.

 

Hubby and My Brother (our personal chefs)

 

 

Hubby surprised Eden and I with tickets to Disney on Ice.  It was so much fun.  We had a blast!

Last week my J graduated from 5th grade.  On to middle school next year.  I must say I am a little quite nervous about middle school. 

My girls at recital. 

So, what's been going on with y'all?  Can't wait to read up and find out. 

What I've Been Up To

So, it's been awhile.  A loooooong while.  Six. Months.  That is waaaaay toooo loooong!  I have missed my bloggy peeps so much, but it seems every single time I sit down to write a post, something comes up and I have to stop writing.  I am only supposed to work four hours a day, but between subbing for other teachers in the afternoon, PTO meetings and household errands, it's really hard to sit down and get to write.  So, here it goes.

Wanna know what I've been up to for the last few months?  I would love to tell you about my tour through Italy and other exciting adventures, but when I look back to the last six months, not much has happened but everyday stuff.  So, here is my very exciting look back.

In September, my oldest baby, "C", turned 15.  We celebrated with pie.

We also had new puppies, only two this time.

Bella went to a sweet family in Texas.

This is Jake.  He stayed with us.

In November, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with some of our cousins from Texas.  We haven't gotten together for years so it was a blast to see them.  These three little cousins had a blast together.

On Christmas Day, we had record snowfall in Arkansas.  It was the first white Christmas in 80 years.  We got a total of 9 inches at my house.

In January, I turned 42.  No pictures necessary.  I'm trying to forget it happened.

February has been a pretty good month.  Hubby and I celebrated 12 years of marriage.  What did we do?  Not a durn thing.  We didn't go out to eat.  We didn't have a date.  E had dance and I think we ate leftovers.  My life is so exciting.  For Valentine's Day my sweet Hubby gave me my favorite chocolate truffles.  YUM!  I made him his favorite cake.  Again, no going out on a date.  ugh!  I need a nanny.  Wanna know who DID have a date with my Hubby?

E and Hubby at the Father Daughter Dance

Last but not least, the 1st grade at school has been reading and studying The Wizard of Oz.  On Friday, they had a Wizard of Oz parade at school E, of course, insisted on being Dorothy. 

The Dorothy with her face showing is E.  The other Dorothys were adorable too, but I didn't have permission to print their pictures. 

So, that's pretty much the last six months in a nutshell.  It doesn't sound like I've been busy at all, does it?  Oh well.  Hopefully things will be slowing down soon and I can get back to blogging on a more regular basis.  I can't wait to catch up with everybody!

Chicken Fried Steak is my CRACK!

So, let's take a walk back in time, shall we?  Let's go back to say....1991.  I was in college and working two jobs, one of which was waitressing.  Those of you who know me IRL are dying laughing right now.  Let's just say that I am a bit of a klutz.  It's part of my charm.  There were some broken dishes that year.  Nuff said.  Anyway, I was a waitress.  A very good friend of mine, Steve, was a chef cook in the restaurant where I worked.  After months of begging and pleading for him to cook the same chicken fried steak dinner for me several times a week month, he taught me to make it myself.  Yes, he was sick of cooking for me, but boy am I glad he was willing to teach me.  To this day, it was one of my favorite things to eat.  It's addictive people!  I've got the backside to prove it. 

I USED to go to Cracker Barrell or Dixie Cafe to get my CFS fix, but every single restaurant around here that used to serve homemade CFS, has switched to frozen CFS, like the kind the school cafeteria served in 4th grade.  Let me tell you, it's just NOT the same as homemade!

So, you ready to learn how to make AWESOME Chicken Fried Steak????  Get out your aprons people.  We're gonna get messy.

CHICKEN FRIED STEAK

Ingredients:

Cube Steak
Pepper
Seasoned Salt (I use McCormick)
All Purpose Flour
3 - 4 eggs
Milk
Oil (I use canola)

Start with your cube steak.  It's been tenderized.  Sometimes if you talk real sweet to your butcher, they will run it through the tenderizer a few extra times. 

Obviously, I did NOT talk to sweet to my butcher.  I just bought it out of the meat cooler thingee at Wal-Mart. 

Sprinkle your meat with Seasoned Salt and Pepper - the more of each, the more spicy it will be.  Set aside. 

Pour oil into a large frying pan and turn on Medium High Heat.  The oil should be about 1/2" to 3/4" deep.

In a shallow dish or bowl (I use a pie plate), put about 3 cups of flour in a shallow dish.  Add about 1 tsp of Seasoned Salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper and mix well (go ahead and use your hands - CFS is not fancy food).  In another shallow dish or bowl, beat your eggs and milk.  You ready to get your hands dirty? 

You will know your oil is ready when you drop a drop of water into the oil and it sizzles.  Do it carefully though because it will pop you.  Also, I recommend wearing an apron or an old shirt.  I have RUINED shirts by getting oil popped on them and washing without noticing the stain. 

Okay.  Now that your oil is ready, dredge your already seasoned meat into the flour to "set" the seasoning (so it doesn't wash off in the egg mixture). 

Now dip in the egg mixture. 

And back into the flour mixture again.

Then back into the egg and into the flour again.  Yes, I am a double dipper. 

Now, drop it into your oil.

Told you we were gonna get messy. 

Cook your steak until golden brown (5-7 minutes) and then carefully flip with a fork.

When both sides are golden brown remove to a wire rack to cool.

OH MY GRACIOUS!  I am sorry but that is just pretty!  Now, make some mashed potatoes and a veggie and you are good to go.  BUT, you really need gravy too, right?  I CANNOT eat chicken fried steak without gravy, can you?  Fortunately, I also have the secret for the best gravy I've ever tasted.  Wanna know my secret? 

That's right people.  I love me some Pioneer Gravy.  MMMM!  Now, don't get me wrong.  I can make gravy for roast or sausage gravy, but my cream gravy never turns out as good as Pioneer.  It rocks!

It just doesn't get any prettier than that, does it?  YUM!   My mouth is watering just looking at that picture.  Gracious!  Sure do wish I had some leftovers. 

Now, for those who did not follow my apron advice and you got grease on your shirt, be sure to scrub with some Dawn and water before you wash it.  It works for me. 

First Day of School

Monday was our first day of school.  We were all very excited about our new year.  What an adventure it will be, we thought as we drifted off into dreamland.  L must have been VERY excited.  I am quite sure he wanted to make sure everyone was ready on time so he decided to wake us all up at 3:30 Monday morning.  Wasn't that nice and considerate of him?  I thought so.  I especially loved it when he went back to sleep at 5:00 and I had to get in the shower and get ready while he got another hour of sleep.  GRRRRRRR! 

Anyway, we got ready and had a healthy breakfast of honeybuns and boxed muffins - did I mention that I'm a working woman now and the cooking a big breakfast the first day of school is OVAH!  I hate to sound like a bad mother, but I would hate to go to school smelling like bacon all day, not to mention that my butt is big enough without bacon. 

So, one of our longtime traditions in the FFB household, is the First Day of School Pics.  The kids are always so excited to get their pictures taken.  They can't wait to get dressed, get their hair done and hold the scrapbook paper chalkboard look-a-like signs I make.  Really!  It's the highlight of their first day.  Want proof?

Look at that sweet smiling face.  Sweet Little E.  She couldn't wait to wear her new dress.  The shoes don't exatly (ahem) match.  I am aware and I apologize profusely.  She refused to change. 

Even my little sleep deprived L said "cheese" for me.

Can you see the excitement in C's eyes?  Okay, so maybe that isn't excitement, but more of a smile in front of my gritted teeth while thinking, "Hurry up and snap the durn picture, Mom!"

Well, what can I say about J?  He didn't even bother to fake his excitement.  Oh well!

I, of course, had to make something cute for my teachers.  Nothing like a little bribery gift with no strings attached on the first day, right?  I mean, these teachers are taking these little stinkers off my hands for 8 hours a day shaping their sweet little minds, right?  They deserve a little treat.  They deserve more than a little treat, but I'm a poor girl so I worked with what I could.

Cute, right?  Sorry about the awful picture.  It's caramel sauce on the bottom and an apple and my little tag.  Our theme at school this year is "All American Readers" so I went with the red, white and blue theme.  No, I didn't think of it all by myself.  Y'all know I totally copied.  It actually came from Kelli at Random Thoughts of a Supermom.  Thanks Kelli!!!!  My teacher's loved it!!!

So, all in all the kids had a great first day of school.  The ride home.....not so much.  L had a total autistic meltdown.  SO. NOT. GOOD!!!  I think it had something to do with waking up at 3:30 a.m. but that's just me.  Today, however, was wonderful at school and on the way home.  WOO HOO!

Later bloggy peeps.  Gotta go bathe the stinky P.E. kids and get them to bed.  Hope to catch up with y'all soon.