And the fun begins

Yesterday was a long day! I got to work early and tried to wrap up a few things that I needed to get done before going to the airport. I realized about 15 minutes before leaving that I did not have my driver's license! I rushed home and got it (I changed purses the night before and failed to move that very important item to my new purse) got the driver's license and then rushed to the airport. The flight was good. I got to rest some and also some reading done.

I got to Atlanta, GA around 7:30 pm. Then it took me over an hour and a half just to get my luggage and rental car. I met Philip, Rosalyn, Rachel, Mike and Lizzie at Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. It was good to see them! After eating a good dinner Lizzie and I were off to the start of the adventure! We drove until around 1:00 am and had to stop since I could not keep my eyes open. We stayed in a really nice hotel in Augusta! Then we woke up today and made the final 3 hour trip to Monks Corner, South Carolina to my brothers new house.

Today we went to K-Mart with mom and Lizzie and we found some fabulous deals on clothes. $2.99 and $3.99 items. WHAT BARGAINS! I was able to get some things for my aunt, sister and mother! GOD IS GOOD- always leading me to the sales so that I can share!

Below are some pictures to share our first 2 days together! Hope you enjoy!

This is the room at the hotel room that Lizzie and I stayed in. Really nice HOTEL!

This is my cool Aunt Judy- trying out a pair of sun glasses.

Sisters working together in the kitchen getting dinner ready for all of us! (Aunt Judy and Mom)

Lizzie helping get dinner ready in this AWESOME kitchen- I really fell in love with the kitchen!

And last but not least- Kathy and Dad sitting around socializing!

Prepared

I spent most of last night packing- cleaning- washing clothes- just getting ready for my 9 day trip with family. I am really anxious for this trip. This will be my first actual trip that I take with my aunt. It is going to be my aunt, my sister and my mother! I will fly to Atlanta, rent a car from there and go with my sister to South Carolina. From there I pick up my mother and aunt and we take the trip to Pennsylvania. WHAT EXCITEMENT!
I am glad that my family is with me with regard to my eating habits- since they have changed drastically- so we have been planning carefully on what to take food wise.
Today at work I have a long day ahead- I have to get all things finished so I do not leave anything loose. I am SO thankful for a WONDERFUL assistant who I can rely on 100% while I am gone. I will have to make sure I get her some kind of souvenir for all her hard work!

The alphabet Me Me

My aunt posted on her blog the Alphabet Me Me and after I read it I thought it would be fun for me to do it.
Here goes!
A is for your age: 34, almost 35 !
B is for your burger of choice: Plain Jane- Just plain with mayo lettuce tomatoes and onions! (lots of onions)
C is for the car that you drive: 2007 Toyota Highlander
D is for dog's name: My last pets name was Tango- none since then- Maybe a few roaches here and there!
E is for an essential item you use each day: Perfume- very important (I love smelling good)
F is for your favorite television show: NCIS
G is for favorite game: I like to play escoba del 15.
H is for hometown: was born Winona Lake, IN but raised in Rosario Argentina until I was 13 when we were in Fort Lauderdale Florida.
I is for instruments played: took lessons for Clarinet (only a year)
J is for favorite juice: Cranberry
K is for what you'd like to kick: bad habits
L is for last restaurant you dined at: Sammy’s Woodfire Grill (great salad with grilled chicken- Low points!!!)
M is for your favorite Muppet: Miss Piggy, the ultimate diva!
N is for number of piercings you have: only my ears, and only two holes per ear
O is for overnight hospital stays: no overnight stays at hospital
P is for people you were with today: So far my husband only.
Q is for what you do in quiet times: Read, sleep.
R is for regrets: No regrets-
S is for status: HAPPY
T is for time you woke up today: 4:24 am
U is for what you consider unique: the unconditional love God gave for ALL of us
V is for favorite vegetable: I love ONIONS- I can eat them like an apple- but now that I am older it does not sit well with my stomach.
W is for your worst habit: biting my nails when nervous
X is for x-rays you have had: chest (for TB test since I always will test positive with a regular TB test) and my arm when it was broken and my teeth several times.
Y is for yummy food you ate today: homemade 2 point breakfast burrito with 12 grams of fiber!
Z is for zodiac sign: I’m not into Zodiac signs but I believe mine is Taurus.

Taco Meatball Ring

As promised here is the taco meatball ring recipe. Of course make sure that if you are following Weight Watchers that you take a small portion and double up on the lettuce and tomatoes.

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

2 tbsp. water

4 tbsp. of taco seasoning

1/2 lb of ground beef

2 tubes of refrigerated crescent rolls

1/2 medium head iceberg lettuce, shredded

2 small tomatoes

1 onion chopped

1 cup of black olives

1 cup of sour cream

In a large bowl , combine 1 cup of cheese, water and taco seasoning. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 16 balls.

Place meatballs on a greased rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 12 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Drain meatballs on paper towels. Reduce heat to 375.

Arrange crescent rolls on a greased 15 inch pizza pan, forming a ring with pointed edge of the pan and wide ends overlapping. Place meatball on each roll; fold point over meatball and tuck under wide end of roll (meat will be visible). Repeat. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.

Transfer to a serving platter. Fill the center of the ring with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, olives, and sour cream.

No discouragement allowed!

This weekend was a good one! Paul and I had plans to go ice skating however were not able since his homework took a little longer than anticipated- I got to start a new book though while he did his homework. The book is called "A love to Last forever" by Tracie Peterson. I have most of it read- Really good book.
We had a very productive Sunday- First church and then we spent some quality time together since on Friday I leave for 10 days! Paul will be kept busy with school while I am gone but we still miss each other when we are not together!
Today I am making lunch for my staff. I am trying a new recipe. I am making Taco Meatball Ring. I will try a little portion (since I am counting my points) and then I will eat the salad that I packed for myself.
I weighed in yesterday and I have stayed level- no additional weight lost. I will not get discouraged though. My body is adjusting to the 13lbs it already gave up in 21 days so I will continue to count my points and NOT get discouraged.
I spoke to my mother in law and it is interesting how she made that some comment to me- God used her to remind me that I need not get discouraged when a week goes by without any weight loss.
The big thing is that I FEEL better. I sleep more soundly and I also noticed I do not get the indigestion I used to get before.
Look for the next post I make- I will be posting pictures of the Taco Meatball loaf and also posting the recipe.

Book Club

Last night was our monthly meeting for book club. There is a group of us that reads a book and then we discuss it. Every month we rotate who chooses the book and where we meet. Yesterday we met at Cupcakery (which was hard to find something healthy to eat) and we discussed the book "Time of your life". Most of the girls are not saved so the book choices are not christian books, however we have set guidelines as to the type of book that would be selected. So most of the books have been good. This month the book was a real thinker! It was basically the story of a lady that was married and feeling trapped in her marriage. She wishes she had done things different in her past- so she ends up in her past and starts to do things different but slowly realizes that the original decisions that were made were indeed the ones she wanted, she had just taken things and people for granted in her old life! She then comes back to reality and everything she sees in a new light and is more appreciative of everything and everyone!
One of the main problems she had was with her husband and after she comes back from the past she realizes that she has SO much to be thankful for.
The topic was interesting last night. We got to talking about the fact that all of us in the book club come from solid families. When we get together we NEVER sit around and complain about our husbands. We don't use this time to bicker and complain. The other interesting fact of our club is that all of us have parents that are still married to each other and it is their first marriage- This was amazing to me- How many people can actually say this in these times?????
I just found this VERY refreshing- even though they are not saved they have an understanding of what commitment-
I am so thankful that I am going to this book club because I think that God is opening more doors for me to witness to my unsaved friends.

Yummy Spaghetti Squash

I had the most wonderful lunch today! Spaghetti Squash with sauteed tomatoes and onions. It was so yummy! I could have a HUGE portion and still only use 2 points up. It was very filling. Everyday I seem to feel more energy- which is really refreshing.
I was talking to my Aunt today about the weight watchers eating style, and I was explaining to her how easy this has been- It is easy for me because I don't really feel like I am on a diet. I feel like I have just changed the choices I make- I am choosing wiser- Example- instead of double serving of pasta I take double of salad. The other trick I have learned is that I need to eat small portions throughout the day. I try to eat something small every hour or hour and a half, this way my metabolism is constantly working- and last but not least... I drink SO much water. I have been drinking between 2 and 3 liters everyday.
I am REALLY starting to get excited in seeing my family next weekend! I can barely wait.
I will keep you all posted on my weight loss or gain (hopefully not the latter)

13 lbs

Okay- my fellow bloggers! I guess I will officially announce to you that as of March 1, 2009 I decided that I was going to work on loosing weight. I am in a wedding in May and I have a dress that fits but it is an uncomfortable fit. My initial goal was to loose 20-30 lbs and then I would feel better!- Well- NOW I think I will go as long as I can- I have been following the Weight Watchers guideline (since it worked well before). I have lost 13 lbs. Can you believe it???? I think what is helping it out is that I am doing some form of exercise- tennis, bike riding, walking. Usually if I cut down on food and watch what I eat I tend to either maintain or loose very little. I have noticed that with exercise it goes so much easier. And- I feel good. I sleep good at night and I feel more energized to do more!
I have a motto which I did not have before- it is "I KNOW I CAN" I used to tell my self "I think I can" but now I wake up in the morning and remind myself that "I KNOW I CAN"
Okay bloggers... I am going to be held accountable to you all! This way I have someone that I report to!

Survived!

I can proudly say that I survived Tennis! It was actually really fun- even though I am a bit sore- I think it was worth it! We arrived at the courts and watched a couple play for about 20 minutes (this was good for me to get me prepped to actually play). Then it was our turn- I missed many of the first few balls... but as I got used to it we actually had the ball going back and forth for a while. Of course we played with NO rules, just making it go from one side to the other.

I want to say sorry to my blogger friends who have been following faithfully my blog- I have not been as regular in my postings- I have been trying to get as much work done before I go to Pennsylvania at the end of the month. I have a class to take and it was offered in Pennsylvania so I figured I would visit my grandparents while I took a class- so I am flying into Atlanta and picking up my sister and we are driving (hopefully) to South Carolina to pick up my mother and aunt and then driving from there to Pennsylvania. It will be a good trip and hopefully a good visit.

Today is our St. Patrick's Day Potluck- I made meatballs and have them in the crock pot with BBQ sauce.

Last but not least- CONGRATS to Tanya- she is 12 weeks pregnant-

Tennis

For all of you that know me well- I am not the most athletic person- However in effort to comply with my husbands wishes I will be attempting Tennis tonight with him. It has been lovely outside so the weather is perfect to some outside time. As soon as he arrives to pick me up we will be going to the nearest park to play tennis. This will be an interesting night! HOORAY for us! Hopefully I will be able to walk tomorrow after the playing!

Mark 16:15

This week God has impressed upon my heart the need to reach out to my unsaved friends. At church on Sunday Pastor Derek spoke about HELL and the reality of it. The fact is, I am surrounded by unsaved people everywhere and if they do not see the LIGHT they are going to a real HELL- Do I want this for my friends? Absolutely NOT- and my heart is burdened for them. I have been praying for them daily and I will continue to pray for them- but I must become bold and REACH out more. Please pray with me as I look for every opportunity God gives me to witness to my friends.

Mark 16:15 "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

LOVE

Saturday night I took the girls to see LOVE the Cirque de Soleil show. We met at Samba Grill for dinner and then we went to the show. It was a great show. I really enjoy spending time with my co-workers and it seemed that they all truly enjoyed themselves!