Thursday, February 2, 2017

Recipe of the Day: Mommy's Meatloaf from Brianna Thomas

Another Brianna Thomas recipe!!



This was a delicious meatloaf and SO easy to make! The hubby LOVED IT! I mean seriously - he was shoveling it in and then had it for leftovers the next night. He NEVER EVER eats leftovers!! My pickiest eater actually liked it...except the onions. I hated onions in stuff as a kid too - I think I'll leave the onions out next time I make it. I'll use some onion powder or something like that. The other two kiddos weren't huge fans...but what kid loves meatloaf?

We will have this again for sure! We had this with salad and our favorite Instant Pot Mac and Cheese!!



Lots of healthy fats in this recipe and I use Dreamfields pasta so it's THM friendly!!

Both are THM:S!

Verse of the Day


Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Recipe of the Day - Creamy Chicken Rice Casserole from Brianna Thomas

Creamy Rice Chicken Rice Casserole from Brianna Thomas
THM:E




I loved this recipe! The kids...1 out of 3 ate it. Hubby - hmmmm...didn't seem thrilled but ate it. Too many veggies for him I think. But I loved it and now have tons of leftovers!! Haha! Bonus!!


Saint of the Day: January 31, 2107

St. John Bosco

Patron of apprentices, editors and publishers, schoolchildren, magicians, and juvenile delinquents

Friday, November 18, 2016

My New Way To Eat - Trim Healthy Mama

Who needs to lose weight? It seems like I'm always needing to shed a few pounds. It's something I've struggled with since around college. In high school I *thought* I was fat. That makes me sad because when I look back at pictures of myself then, I was a perfectly proportioned, beautiful young lady. I spent a lot of time not liking myself when I really had nothing to dislike. 

Fast forward to now...I am still a beautiful *youngish* lady. Not exactly perfectly proportioned any more! I strive to LIKE myself no matter what I LOOK like but to be perfectly honest, I don't do a great job at that most of the time. I look in the mirror and feel sick to my stomach at what I see there. I shy...okay RUN...away from cameras which makes me sad because I'd like to have more pictures of myself with my kids and husband. I dread shopping because I hate the sizes I have to buy and I leave depressed because nothing looks right. And let's face it - being overweight is just flat out uncomfortable. Nothing fits right or feels right. No bueno!

I've been on many weight loss journeys in my life. Weight Watchers has gotten tons of my money and time - I even worked there as a receptionist weigh-er and a leader in the past. It's a great program that stands the test of time! But...lately I just couldn't get myself motivated to do it again. I needed something new and different. Something that would challenge me a bit. 

I ran across an eating plan called Trim Healthy Mama. It's a little bit of a lot of things. It's got some clean eating, some focus on healthy fats, some focus on low carb but also focus on healthy carbs. There's also a lot of stuff missing...counting calories being the main one!

I love, love, love everything I'm eating and I love, love, love how I FEEL. I don't every feel hungry and shaky. I don't feel sugar lows and highs. I don't feel deprived. I don't miss anything I'm not eating anymore which is basically just sugar and things like potatoes, white bread, etc. I know - I don't miss SUGAR. I don't know how that is but it's true!





There is a little more cooking, planning, preparing involved while doing this plan. About a year ago, I tried the 21 Day Fix by Beachbody and I really struggled with this part of the plan. I honestly don't know what is different this time. I can't put my finger on it. I really have not had trouble keeping up with the extra work involved in following this plan. 

The ladies who developed this plan are amazingly beautiful Christian women. They emphasize over and over that you have to give yourself grace while going through the process. They want you to eat every 3-4 hours and so their saying if you mess up is that your only 3 hours away from turning it back around. I love this! I have fallen off several "diets" because of one little mess up. One small candy bar can derail weeks of doing great. But this saying helps me remember that I can just get right back on the horse again and do better the next meal.

Okay, the fun stuff...I've lost 11 pounds in the 5 weeks I've been doing this. So a tiny bit above 2lbs a week...that's pretty good and steady weight loss. I'll take it!! So, please indulge me as I keep you updated on weight loss and share info and recipes etc in the future!

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links**

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Image Body Spa Rejuvenating Lotion - Product Review

Alright friends...gonna get real up in here! For the past several years I've struggled with...well, something...on my back. At one point the dermatologist said it was Keratosis Pilaris. Later he said it was back acne - or more commonly known on the street as bacne - haha. I've used prescription medicines, creams, gels and also tried some essential oils - whatever I could find. I kept my hair super long (for me) for a much longer time than I would have liked because I wanted my back hidden. I've suffered through wearing bathing suits and knowing everyone could see it. I've blushed as people have told me I have a rash and blushed knowing people were seeing it and wondering but not saying anything. I thought I'd just have to live with this condition and embarrassment forever. But then the gal who does my hair and my good friend, Sheila, was running a special on Image Body Spa Rejuvenating Lotion. I read about it and saw a review from a woman saying that she used it and it made her bacne go away! I thought I'd give one more thing a chance and told Sheila I wanted to buy some of the lotion. I didn't tell her I'd read that review and I told myself not to get my hopes up. It would most likely be another dead end. I was delighted when she said she'd drop off a bottle if I would write a review about it.

Well my friends...this stuff did the trick. Nothing I've tried has helped...but this did. Not only did it work, it worked fast! Just within a few days I could tell a difference. Now I can't see it's all completely gone, but the redness and raised bumps are gone. The itchiness is gone. The dry crackly skin I had back there is gone. It's AMAZING!!! Sheila couldn't even believe her eyes when I went to get my hair done a few weeks ago and she saw the difference!

Like I said before, I'm not one to pay a lot of money for products like lotion...but I will pay whatever it takes to keep using this wonderful product!!

**I received this product for free in trade for a fair and honest review**

Image Body Spa Rejuvenating Lotion - Product Review

Alright friends...gonna get real up in here! For the past several years I've struggled with...well, something...on my back. At one point the dermatologist said it was Keratosis Pilaris. Later he said it was back acne - or more commonly known on the street as bacne - haha. I've used prescription medicines, creams, gels and also tried some essential oils - whatever I could find. I kept my hair super long (for me) for a much longer time than I would have liked because I wanted my back hidden. I've suffered through wearing bathing suits and knowing everyone could see it. I've blushed as people have told me I have a rash and blushed knowing people were seeing it and wondering but not saying anything. I thought I'd just have to live with this condition and embarrassment forever. But then the gal who does my hair and my good friend, Sheila, was running a special on Image Body Spa Rejuvenating Lotion. I read about it and saw a review from a woman saying that she used it and it made her bacne go away! I thought I'd give one more thing a chance and told Sheila I wanted to buy some of the lotion. I didn't tell her I'd read that review and I told myself not to get my hopes up. It would most likely be another dead end. I was delighted when she said she'd drop off a bottle if I would write a review about it.

Well my friends...this stuff did the trick. Nothing I've tried has helped...but this did. Not only did it work, it worked fast! Just within a few days I could tell a difference. Now I can't see it's all completely gone, but the redness and raised bumps are gone. The itchiness is gone. The dry crackly skin I had back there is gone. It's AMAZING!!! Sheila couldn't even believe her eyes when I went to get my hair done a few weeks ago and she saw the difference!

Like I said before, I'm not one to pay a lot of money for products like lotion...but I will pay whatever it takes to keep using this wonderful product!!

**I received this product for free in trade for a fair and honest review**