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What Are You…Wednesday

February 8, 2017 By kelly Leave a Comment

Here we are again — it’s “What Are You…Wednesday” again. Wasn’t it JUST Wednesday something like two days ago?! I don’t know about y’all, but the weeks in this year so far are ticking off rather quickly around here. Not that I mind because winter weeks go ZIP by and get us to spring and summer, please and thank you. (*wink) In all reality, I have very little complaining that I can legitimately hold up this winter because other than a random snow/ice storm, it hasn’t been THAT cold. As odd as it seems to say this, I wouldn’t mind another cold snap to kill off some bugs and such, but, at the same time, I won’t gripe about not having to wear a coat much.

What are you eating?

As I posted on Friday, I’m walking more these days and have challenged myself to get a quarter million steps this month and a MILLION steps before our annual beach trip after school gets out for the summer. To go along with that, I’m trying to eat better by cutting out snacking, trying to limit carbs…that kind of thing. I must admit that Sunday, being Super Bowl Sunday and all, was a total cheat day. And, I’ve been a tad lenient with myself this week too, so I’ve got to tighten up the reigns, but I am getting my steps in daily, so that’s working in the right direction. (I almost said “a step in the right direction”, but that sounded incredibly corny. Right?) Mickey’s got a spreadsheet set up for us to track our steps and, as of yesterday, I’m over 90k steps, so far, for this month. Can I get a witness, y’all?! Within a couple of days, I should be more than halfway to my quarter million steps for February goal. Woo hoo! If you’re working on a similar goal, how’s it coming?

Today’s “What are you…” question is “What are you eating?” What’s on the menu these days?

On Monday, Macey helped me prepare Lemon Chive Salmon with roasted potatoes from Green Chef. We had sauteed squash and onions as our additional veggie side. This meal was fantastic! So good!
When I’m low carb’ing, flat bread pizzas and a simple salad are an easy go-to for lunch. I use any low-carb flat bread (such as Joseph’s), no sugar added pizza sauce, whatever toppings I want, and load it up with cheese. My salad is typically lettuce, toasted nuts, a bit of tomato, and ranch dressing. Really easy, low carb, and delish!
We were the very opposite of low carb for Super Bowl Sunday. Mariana made red velvet cupcakes, Macey made Oreo Truffles, and I made buffalo chicken dip. I also made some chili which can be low carb friendly.
I just recently got a doughnut pan too. I had to kill some time on Monday, so I went to Goodwill and happened to find a brand new pan right there on the shelf. Hello. It had to happen. So far, I have made Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts and Chocolate Chip Doughnuts*. Both were VERY tasty, I will say. The good thing about my new baking pan is that it only makes six doughnuts, so it’s not like it makes a ton of sweets to have here tempting me these days. I had half of the cinnamon sugar one and a whole chocolate chip one — just on different days, of course. So good! (*I didn’t have corn syrup, so I made a simple glaze with chocolate chips and butter and it was fantastic!)

What are y’all eating these days? I’m always in the market for great recipes and ideas, especially if you have some fabulous low carb meal ideas to share.

Happy Wednesday,
Kel

This isn’t my planned post…

February 7, 2017 By kelly Leave a Comment

Well, y’all. I had a different post planned to start the week and it would have been posted yesterday, except…well…the Super Bowl didn’t go the way I hoped it would. After many years of waiting, my Atlanta Falcons finally went back to the big game. The last time they went was in 1999, so this one has been awhile coming and the anticipation was GREAT! There were a couple of rough spots in this season, but when it got to be clutch time, this team showed true grit. I anticipated this Super Bowl all week and I had a victory post in mind, but that was not to be. The Falcons looked like they had it for most of the game, but the Patriots would not be denied another title. We lost in a heart breaker in overtime. That was that. No victory post from me. I actually still meant to post yesterday, but I’ll just be flat out honest – I was EXHAUSTED from staying up late (for me) the night before and I had things that had to get done, so the blog took the back burner for the day.

I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a sports fan and, as such, how we go through the highs and lows associated with the teams we support. Atlanta teams have an infamous reputation of dashing our hopes and while there have been some moments, like Sunday, that somewhat justify that sentiment, I’m still a loyal fan to my teams. Because, you know, that’s just life. As I’m sure we can all attest, sports are sports and the game is just a game for us fans. (Or, SHOULD be, in my opinion.) I don’t live and die by what the score is at the end. My emotions may run all over the place during the duration of the game because I’m invested in it, but what’s done is done when the final seconds tick off that clock. Oh, I’ll celebrate and I may even pout for a time, but it’s not all consuming far beyond the conclusion of the game. That is because as much as I love the game of football, and I consider myself a true sports fan, it’s still not THAT huge in the grand scheme of my life. Priorities being what they are, I let myself feel the highs and lows and then…it’s time to move forward.

Just as I don’t want to be judged by any one given day of my life, I don’t think it’s right or fair to judge a player or team by one day either. I’ve seen that especially after a loss, fans tend to look to play the blame game. They want to say the QB didn’t have his head in the game, or the O-line didn’t perform, that wide-out couldn’t run his routes if he had a map in front of him, the D-line must have been sleeping — there are many many excuses. I’ve dealt out some of them myself. Plenty of times. But, really, let’s be real here, “stuff” is going to happen. Let’s look, for instance, at Tom Brady who is, I am loathe to admit, one of the best QBs of all time. Look how many times he got sacked on Sunday. Now, the Falcons may have fallen short on the scoreboard, but I guarantee you that Tom Brady had some aches and pains on Monday that reminded him of certain Falcons in his grill on game day. Our guys, the Falcons? They played with heart. And, I’m not going to sit here and cry over them losing a pretty substantial lead and ultimately losing the big game in overtime even though I very well could. (By the way, OT in the NFL is the worst and I could rant on that, but I won’t.) Instead, I’m going to recall a banner year for our Birds. A year in which:

The Falcons went 11-5 in regular season play. This is the same team that went 8-8 in the previous season.
The Falcons dominated in the post-season and proved that the regular season was not a fluke, but a true indicator of the strength of this team.
Matt Ryan, our amazing QB, racked up almost 5,000 yards (4,944) this season and had 38 TD passes with only 7 INTs. He admittedly struggled the year before, but he made a tremendous comeback this season and showed that he really IS one of the elite QBS in the NFL.
Our WR/RB core racked up a total of 58 TDs in the regular season.
The Falcons showed up and showed OUT in the very last game in the Georgia Dome, handily beating the Packers to become NFC Champs for only the second time in franchise history.

There is a LOT to be proud of this season as a Falcons fan. I’m not going to fall into the “We should have…” or “But, if he would have…” or “Did you SEE that…?!” type of scenario. The fact is, it’s done now. We didn’t win the Super Bowl this year. Yes…we! The fans help made the team. Trust me, I put some emotional equity into the team every season. We could say all day how overtime in the NFL needs to change and maybe the outcome would have been different if Matt Ryan would have gotten his chance in OT on Sunday, sure. I believe that too. But, it is what it is. And, at the end of this day, I’m still a fan. At the end of tomorrow? Next week? Next year? Still a fan. Proud to be a Falcons fan, through thick and thin. I’ll sport my red and black and I’ll go in with the also infamous in our state “We’ll get ’em next year” mentality. Because, you know what? I truly believe we will.

Falcons, thanks for an amazing run this season! You gave us all a chance to RISE UP and I will always be a true fan!

On to next year,
Kelly

Our family proudly sporting our Falcons wear which we all wore to church on Sunday.

Get to Steppin’

February 3, 2017 By kelly 5 Comments

Well, y’all, it’s been another weird week with illness in the house and such. BUT, I’m going to give a praise report right here and now that strep got kicked to the curb quickly. Besides, we have ZERO room for complaints. I’m just gonna say thank God for His healing provision and for meds too. Can I get a witness?! (PS: Strep, I mean it…stay gone!)

Besides the sick business, it’s just generally been a somewhat busy week. Not bad, just random stuff to do. For instance, I am one of the room moms for Mariana’s class and we were asked by the school foundation to assemble a themed basket for them to use in the upcoming silent auction. I actually enjoy this kind of thing, so that was fun. Our class theme was “Family Movie Night” and I had a good time assembling various movies, movie passes, pizza gift cards, and snacks to put in to it. It’s due to the school today, so, of course, I finished it…last night. Hey, at least it’s done. Woot!

I also started wearing my FitBit again this week. Full confession, I don’t even know the last time I put it on and counted steps. It’s been a minute. A very long, drawn out, don’t even want to admit how long, MINUTE. Mickey added me to a “Work Week Challenge” that he does and, y’all…I am so dang competitive sometimes. Within my reason, okay, let’s keep parameters fair. If you challenge me to a foot race, I know I most likely can’t even remotely compete. Pull-up competition? Please. Shoot baskets? Negative. I know my limits, of course. But, when it’s something I legit CAN win? Dude. I am hyper motivated. Getting steps in? BRING…IT…ON!! So, I’ve been beasting out some serious steps this week. As in, today I hit my 10k daily step goal before 10am. Whaaaaaaat?! Macey goes to FCA at school early on Fridays, so I got an earlier start on my nice long walk. Felt amazing, actually! And, I totally promise I’m not trying to brag much, okay some, but I’m killing it in that challenge. Someone give me a virtual fist pump, please! *wink

In addition to the “Work Week Challenge”, Mickey and I have challenged ourselves to get in one million steps before our beach trip with our friends after school get out for the year. ONE MILLION steps between now and then. Seems like a lot, but it’s totally attainable given that we have well over a hundred days until then. The idea was born from me wanting to get a quarter million steps in February. I’m trying to keep myself motivated. I really need to exercise and walking is something I really enjoy. I get out there, put on a Podcast (usually Passion City Church) and/or listen to music, just working my body and feeding my soul at the same time. I’m very fortunate that I have good areas to walk around my house and have routes anywhere from 1.5 to about 5 miles that I can take, depending on how much time I have, what I want to do that day, etc. So, I’m challenging myself to get out there, keep moving, and get those steps. I want a quarter million this month and ONE MILLION by the beach. I can do this, right? And, when I do — I need a t-shirt that says “I walked a million steps to get to lay on the beach.” HA! Who’s going to make that for me?

Would you like to join us in a steps challenge? Either getting a quarter million in February or a million by, say, Memorial Day? If so, let me know. Let’s get to steppin’ together and get healthier at the same time.

Oh and, this is so unrelated to this post, but…it’s FALCONS FRIDAY too, y’all! Our Birds have us pumped straight up for the Super Bowl this weekend!! RISE UP!!! I can hardly wait!!

Have an amazing weekend,
Kelly

What Are You…Wednesday

February 1, 2017 By kelly Leave a Comment

I missed blogging yesterday. Macey was home again, but she is feeling MUCH better now and she’s back at school! Very thankful that she’s turned the corner to wellness. Strep is no joke and I hope it stays far far from our house from here until forever.

Wednesday has rolled around on us again, so that means it’s “What Are You…? Wednesday” around here.

What are you reading?

I asked this question on my first “What Are You…? Wednesday” and I’m back to it again. What are you all reading these days?

As for me, I finally got my reading groove back and finished A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. Several friends had recommended this book to me and to those who did I say…THANK YOU!!

It almost never takes me THAT long to read through a book, especially one this good, but between having a lot of After Christmas/New Year things to do, then getting sick, and being in some sort of reading slump – well, it just took me longer than usual to read it. But, last week I finally carved out more reading time and finally got properly into this book and did NOT want to put it down. It’s such a good read, y’all! Even though Ove is a bit of a curmudgeon, to put it lightly, he’s a main character that you come to like and appreciate. And, so do his neighbors, as you’ll see in the book. I won’t give too much away, but if you’re looking for a wonderful read, this is it! And, I just found out there’s a movie too. It’s a Swedish film with subtitles and I am planning to watch it soon.

I took a couple of days off reading because, I don’t know about y’all, but sometimes I need a break between reads in order to refresh and reset for a new book with new characters. I’m currently reading Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks.

This book has been out since 2012. I happened to find a hardback copy at Goodwill last autumn, so I had it at home, but hadn’t read it yet. A friend recommended it, so I’m giving it a read. I’m not far into it yet, but I’m enjoying it. What I like about Sparks’ novels is that they tend to be the kind of books you can get right into and they are good, easy reads. The way he writes keeps me turning the pages too.

I’ll try to post a review on Safe Haven at some point soon. In the meantime, tell me…what are YOU reading?

Happy Wednesday, y’all…
Kel

Oreo Truffles for Your Valentine

January 30, 2017 By kelly 6 Comments

Our sweet Macey is home sick with strep today. She hasn’t had it in at least three years, maybe four, but it got her this time and the poor girl is MISERABLE. So, prayers are requested and much appreciated for her to have quick healing.

I’ve been wanting to share some homemade Valentine ideas and today is a great day to share Oreo Truffles because they are, hands down, one of Macey’s very favorite things on earth EVER. And, I can honestly agree with her that they are amazing! Chocolate is a traditional Valentine’s gift, so what could be better than some delicious homemade Oreo Truffles?

Oreo Truffles

1 package Oreos (regular, not double stuff)
1 (8oz) block cream cheese (regular or reduced fat)
16oz semi sweet chocolate chips

Oreos, cream cheese, and semi sweet chocolate chips are your three ingredients. That’s all you need. Shown is a 12oz package of chocolate chips, but I found that I needed about a quarter bag more.

In a blender or food processor, crush an entire bag of Oreo cookies. I used my Ninja, so I did this in several batches.

Reserve 1/4 cup of the crumbs for sprinkling on the truffles.

Add the rest of the crumbs with an 8oz block of cream cheese into a mixing bowl. (Or, if you’re using a food processor, just add the cream cheese to the Oreo crumbs.) I used my stand mixer for this.

Mix your Oreo crumbs and cream cheese together. Place in freezer for 15 minutes.

Melt your semi sweet chocolate chips on the stove top.

Once your truffle mixture has had time in the freezer, scoop into balls and dip into the melted chocolate

I use a spoon to roll the truffle balls around in the melted chocolate and to lift them out.

Once they are dipped, place them onto a baking sheet that’s been lined with wax paper.

When each truffle comes out, I sprinkle with the reserved Oreo crumbs. When they are all done, I sprinkle again. Why not?

I put the whole baking sheet into the fridge and let the truffles set for about an hour. Once they are nicely set, I move them to an airtight container and store in the fridge.

I wish I had a photo of these all packaged up prettily, but that wasn’t the case for this batch. They went into a reusable container and into our fridge several weeks ago. And, they didn’t last long. These are a HIT! You can package these in a Valentine themed package and surprise your sweetie with something easy and completely yum too!

Enjoy!
Kelly

************

Oreo Truffles

1 package Oreos (regular, not double stuff)
1 (8oz) block cream cheese (regular or reduced fat)
16oz semi sweet chocolate chips

(Oreos, cream cheese, and semi sweet chocolate chips are your three ingredients. That’s all you need. Shown is a 12oz package of chocolate chips, but I found that I needed about a quarter bag more.)

In a blender or food processor, crush an entire bag of Oreo cookies. I used my Ninja, so I did this in several batches.
Reserve 1/4 cup of the crumbs for sprinkling on the truffles.
Add the rest of the crumbs with an 8oz block of cream cheese into a mixing bowl. (Or, if you’re using a food processor, just add the cream cheese to the Oreo crumbs.)
Mix your Oreo crumbs and cream cheese together. Place in freezer for 15 minutes.
Melt your semi sweet chocolate chips on the stove top.
Once your truffle mixture has had time in the freezer, scoop into balls and dip into the melted chocolate.
I use a spoon to roll the truffle balls around in the melted chocolate and to lift them out.
Once the truffles are dipped, place them onto a baking sheet that’s been lined with wax paper.
When each truffle comes out, I sprinkle with the reserved Oreo crumbs. When they are all done, I sprinkle again.
I put the whole baking sheet into the fridge and let the truffles set for about an hour. Once they are nicely set, I move them to an airtight container and store in the fridge.
ENJOY!