Dinner at our House: Grilled Steak Salad

Yes! I'm alive, and eating delicious food. We haven't been cooking much, but this has been a new staple for the past two weeks: Grilled Steak Salads.

Mmmm...so good.

Tim will buy a pack of two small sirloin steaks and I will do the rub/seasoning. After it's grilled I add a few things:

• Blue Cheese Crumbles (reduced fat)
• Blue Cheese Dressing (lite; and I do a half serving)
• Balsamic Vinaigrette (also lite and half a serving)
• Additional ground pepper

All in all, when I've done the math the salad comes out to 7-8 WW points. Not too bad because I'm very full after eating steak. 

And just to update you on some of my 13x13 goals...

Notice two things: in 2 weeks I've lost 5.8 pounds doing WW and  C25K! 

Couldn't be happier and hopefully, healthier!

Thirteen in 13: Only 8 days late.

As usual, I fully intended to be like everyone else and post this on January 1. But, same old 2012 excuses- busy, busy and busy. I'm hoping that these will help whip me into shape. Without further ado:

1. Track our entire budget- last year I started out well, but it tapered off after about three months.
2. Use at least $500 in coupons- I'm pretty sure I surpassed this last year, but part of the problem was that I stopped tracking how much I was saving. This year I want to sort of unite these first two goals for a comprehensive look at our spending.
3. Personally put away $X in savings- I want to make sure I continue to contribute to our family's savings account.
4. Give up caffeinated beverages- Make a gradual change to giving them up or replacing them with caffeine free versions.
5. Lose X pounds- and keep it off- pretty self explanatory. I feel like losing X would put me at a very healthy weight and would get me back in my skinny clothes.
6. Run a 5k- I really want to do this! I need to do this!
7. Read 26 books- I really think I can do this, especially now that I have my iPad mini and I joined a book club.
8. Complete an organization program/regime- there is a 31 days to getting organized and a 13 week one. I'm not sure what I'll do yet, but I want to work on that.
9. Stick to my professional development hours at work and earn my step increase! I'm a little over 50% complete with my hours. I have about 7 or 8 months to get it done. I think I can do it!
10. Make at least three meals a week- we've been eating out way too much. This will help us stay organized, on a budget and healthier.
11. Finish wedding scrapbook- THIS YEAR MAKES FIVE YEARS!!! I have GOT to do this.
12. Wish everyone happy birthday :)
13. Have twelve unique dates with the husband. Gotta keep it fun and interesting. I'm taking any suggestions.

There it is. Thirteen things I'm striving for in 2013. I'm already off to a good start on 1, 2, 6, 7, and 12. Hopefully the rest will follow suit. Wish me luck!

Dinner at our House: Christmas Brunch

This Christmas I had both my parents and Tim's family over for Christmas breakfast. Lots of goodies were made including pancakes, quiche, bacon, Chocolate Chip Ricotta muffins, hashbrown casserole, and more. Two of the items I made were from my beloved addiction, Pinterest. One turned out AMAZING, the other was disgusting. I'll go ahead and rave about my favorite first.

Mmmm! Sticky cinnamon breakfast ring!

I found this gem on pinterest, and I am sooooo glad I made it. Was definitely my favorite part of the breakfast goodies.

Ingredients:

• Pillsbury Grand Biscuit (large)
• Pillsbury Grand Biscuit (small)
• 3 Tbsp. butter, melted (I use yogurt butter)
• 1/2 C. pancake syrup (I use lite syrup)
• 1/3 C. packed light brown sugar (I only had dark brown)
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

1. I sprayed down my brand new Bundt pan. 
2. Melt the butter and combine with the syrup. 
3. In a different bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon. 
4. Drizzle half the syrup mixture into the pan. Then sprinkle some of the sugar mixture. 
5. Place the biscuits on the bottom of the pan to form the "ring." 
6. Drizzle the rest of the mixture and sprinkle the sugar. 
7. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. I took mine out after 22 minutes.
8. Let cool for a minute, then flip over on top of a plate (I used my glass plate as seen above).
9. Consume and enjoy the gooey sugary love.

And now for the ugly:

French Toast in a crock pot?

First off, I don't eat French Toast. Tim does. I wanted to include something he might enjoy. Well, I don't think FT was meant to be made in a crock pot. This photo is actually when I first put it all in. I forgot to take a photo of the pinstrosity that arrive after the six hours in the crock pot. Tim gave it a 2 out of 10. Here is the original pin link.

Overall, it was a Christmas full of food and yummy goodness. In fact, I spent most of today in a food coma on the couch watching Nip/Tuck on Netflix. :)

Reflecting on the election

I started out the evening with what I'm deeming to be a pretty positive note. On Facebook I wrote:

"Here are my 2 cents on election day: don't let your enthusiasm die today. Do more than vote. Become an active participant in your community. Be a leader, or be the support role. Be something. Do something. Make a difference every day, not just during an election. We are just as important as any elected official on the left or the right."

So now that the evening has come to a close, and the results are in, I find myself coming back to my own words. I need to remind myself, that this isn't about one man or one woman. It's about all of us doing what we can to better our lives.

I'm not going to pretend that I was a total workhorse or anything, but I invested a good chunk of time, energy and passion into my first ever stint with local politics. I stepped out of my comfort zone (I mean really outside) and campaigned for Mark Post for District Attorney. I first met Mark when he spoke to my sexual assault volunteer group about our concerns (I have now been a victim advocate in my hometown for over a year). I saw something in him that I knew I wanted to know more about. Later on, I was invited to a meeting to learn more about him running for DA.

In the past several months I've really come to love Mark and his wife Donna, and several of the other volunteers, particularly Brad and Carleen. I am so honored to have served on this campaign because I got to stand for something. I got to say hey, I want my survivors to have a bulldawg (ha, UGA joke) fighting for them. I also learned a lot about working with others who are different than me. Even though politically I'm not a conservative, I worked alongside some pretty strong conservatives. The great lesson there is that if you pay enough attention to what people have to say, we all want the same things.

Coming back to the original thought with this post, I'm not going to let this discourage me (even though I've shed a few tears). I'm going to use this to motivate myself to be the absolute best I can be for my community. Because it really isn't about the one person elected in charge. It's about you, me and everyone in between and how we work to build up our community to be its absolute best.

Day Two of Thanks

Whew! I'm thankful I survived this week at work. It was a long one, but because of amazing coworkers it all worked out. So really, I'm thankful that God provided me with energy and endurance to meet my great challenges. I'm ready to take on the next one!

Day One of Thanks

Here we go again. I'm going to give it my very best effort. Here it is, 10:51 p.m. post-major event at work and I'm really in a reflective mood. I should be in bed, but I've got a million things to do before work tomorrow. Which is what I'm thankful for this evening. I'm thankful for my job. I work with some of the most wonderful people you could ask to work with. I lovingly call it my "crazy train," but I really do feel like I've made some of the most meaningful relationships with my coworkers. I'm so blessed to have my work friends who have transcended past the prefix of "work," as they are simply my friends. A lot of people have hugged me tonight and told me I did a great job, but I truly thank all of the people on my "team" who helped me. I can't do anything without the love and support of my friends, and for that, I am thankful.

So here is to a wonderful month of Thanksgiving! My favorite of holidays!!

September and October Birchboxes

I can't believe how behind I am *same old, same old excuses* But, I want to share what came in the boxes and the products I am loving.

September's box:
Birchbox and Color Club® Custom Collection
Jouer Matte Moisture Tint
kate spade new york Twirl 
LA FRESH® Eco Beauty Acetone-Free Nail Polish Remover 
Mighty Leaf Tea - Tea Pouches
Vasanti BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator

October Box

October's box:
theBalm® cosmetics Mary-Lou Manizer
Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm SPF 25+
tili Bags Small Collection 1
Nexxus® Pro-Mend Split End Binding Targeted Leave-In Treatment Crème
Nexxus® Pro-Mend Split End Treatment Daily Conditioner
Nexxus® Pro-Mend Split End Treatment Daily Shampoo
Naked Princess Naked Shine Luscious Lip Gloss

My favorites are the Jouer Matte Moisture Tint, kate spade twirl perfume, Mary-Lou Manizer, Dr. Jart BB and Naked Princess lip gloss.

I am now a second-time recipient of Dr. Jart, but I LOVE IT. I don't know if I'll ever go back to "foundation" again. I'm loving beauty balms and tinted moisturizers likes Jouer.

The kate spade scent is super light and flirty. Tim seems to be a fan of it the most out and any of the perfumes I've received.

The Mary-Lou Manizer is nice. You can use it in a variety of ways, so that's very appealing. Right now I've just been dusting the apples of my cheeks over my light blush.

The Naked Princess lip gloss is great. I definitely want to try some other shades. It goes on smooth and wears very light. Love it.

I haven't made my first full-size product purchase yet, but I'm close. I'm going to definitely buy full-size in Dr. Jart BB, and possibly the lip gloss.

Have I sold you on Birchbox yet? Has anyone done Little Black Bag yet?