Mar 26, 2013

Happy birthday to....ME!

So today is my birthday but not just another birthday, no, today is my 40th! You know that birthday that puts even the most resilient to bed with a quart of rocky road ice cream. Yep, it's that one. I'm officially not in my 30s anymore and I'm 10 years from 50. Whoa, when I think about it like that it sounds even worse.

I know there are you who have made it to 40 and survived. I know that they say that 40 is the new 30, but who are "they" anyhow?

I know I have to get older if my kids are even gonna be old enough to marry and give me grands so I guess it's a good thing when I think about it like that.

Really I don't feel like that much times has passed that I could actually be 40 but it has. When I think back on the last 20 years, I'm amazed at all the Lord has done in my life. He's blessed me in so many ways it mind boggling.

When we arrived in Croatia I was just barely 28. I didn't have a clue about life or raising kids and for that matter I don't know much more than I did then. I had boys who were 7 and 4 and a sweet little girl who wasn't yet 3. I had only been married 9 years and only saved for 7. We were still trying to figure things out and there have been many a pothole in road to now that we had to maneuver though.

I can't remember turning 30 or even 35 for that matter. Life has always been so full and busy that my mind has filled to capacity and I think it's pushed some stuff in a back corner to keep relevant things available for recall. I'll remember this birthday for sure. We've just completely packed up Joshua's room to get him ready to go to the States and start college in the Fall. It's a crazy time, with the mixed feelings of Josh leaving and the big 40 i'm not sure how to feel.

All I really know is that I feel blessed. So blessed that I sometimes wonder why God cares as much as He does. I'm so thankful to be turning 40 today. Thankful that I have entered another decade of my life and I'm excited about what this next 10 years will bring. Hey I'm thinking there's bound to be at least 1 wedding in the next 10 years if not 3.

Anyhow, I really just wanted to let off some steam and you all are such good listeners. How'd you make it through? Any advice or words of wisdom for my next 10 years?

siggy

Mar 20, 2013

Preserving Facebook memories, Oh yeah!

Not too long ago I decided to leave Facebook for several reasons I won't waste time telling you about now but I did discover something super-cool. 

Facebook now allows you to download a complete archive of your information. 

So if you ever decide to leave FB and deactivate you can download all the photos, etc. you put on FB and have them to keep. I really liked this feature 'cause I was able to download all the wall photos that i've since deleted from my phone. It's pretty simple too. 

In Facebook
→ go to the Account tab
→ select Account Settings
→ Under the "Settings" tab you'll see "Download your information."
→ Click on "learn more" and you'll go to a page that asks for your password
→ Submit your password and an archive of all your account data will be compiled into a zip file
→ Once it's ready you'll receive and email telling you so and also will receive a link so you can download it. The time it takes to compile your data will vary depending on the contents.


works for me wednesday at we are that family



Hey it's a great way to leave FB and still keep the memories. Works for Me!


siggy

Mar 19, 2013

Excuse me sir, Do you Tweet?

With the whole emergence of social media years ago and the exodus from blogging to social platforms I was skeptical. I mean I always figured that if everyone was doing it then if probably wasn't of God and for the most part I sorta still believe that. So for that reason I was very slow to check out Facebook and Twitter.

When we returned to Croatia and left Cody in the States I signed up for Facebook so I could keep up with Cody and see photos of the parts of his life I was missing. After becoming totally enveloped in Facebook and finding out far more about my friends than I wanted to know I eventually gave it up, albeit difficult. Oh yea and by then Cody had stopped posting anything on FB.

I tried Twitter but totally couldn't understand the whole premise of the thing and so I left Twitville. The other night I'm lying in bed next to Johnny and he's messaging Cody back and forth on Twitter. WHAT? He was talking to my kid! I totally wanted some of that. Now, while I'm still a Tweeter in training I'm officially tweeting my little head off. I still don't understand how it all works but I'm giving it a try. I talked to my kid last night and told him that I couldn't wait to see him via Twitter. So it's sorta useful.

The thing I like about Twitter that I didn't like about FB was that it's not as interactive. I can't go and spend time looking at someone else's business. Okay to a degree but it's not the same at least that's where I'm sitting at the moment.

So while we still have a FB page for our family that folks can LIKE and get updates I don't have a personal FB page anymore but I do have a Twitter page! The truth of the matter and this post is that I'm friendless. Yes, friendless I tell you. I'm on Twitter and I have very few friends. So if you're on Twitter, I wanna be friends. So let me know your handle or user or whatever it's called and we can be buddies.

APOLOGY: Sorry for the shameless plug for Twitter friends. I'm ashamed! No, I'm not really!

siggy

Mar 18, 2013

WTG! Monday and just random stuff

Okay so it's Monday again! Where is the time going to so fast? Today is WTG! Monday but I'll get to that in a sec. 
We are getting ready to spend April and May in Texas and there's tons to do to get ready to go. 
1. My house is going to be "hotel" spotless before we leave. I wanna come back home to Croatia and our home and be able to breathe a little and just relax in a comfy home that needs very little cleaning. 
2. Gotta get Josh's graduation stuff ready. Invitations, cap and gown and class photos. 
3. Gotta buy goodies to take home to our loved ones. 
4. Take the dog to have her groomed.
5. Take me to have me groomed. 
6. Get all the church responsibilities taken care of. 
7. Prune all the blackberry and Raspberry bushes. 
8. Clean out Josh's room and get all his things ready for his big move back to the States. 

BTW, can I just tell you that it's so much harder losing Josh than it was with Cody. At least with Cody I didn't have to completely clean the room out and I still had Josh around the house  Now I'm completely cleaning Josh's room out and it hurts. I find myself feeling very depressed about the whole thing. We kept Cody with us till he was almost 19 and Josh is not even 18 yet. Let me tell you it stinks super-stinks!

Oh yea and how strange it's gonna be to have only one child. Josh and Hannah spend so much time together that it's gonna be super hard for Hannah to be without Josh. Not only that, Johnny and I'll have to be very aware of spending lots of time with Hannah. We will be all she has here and that could be hard, at least I have Johnny. 

You know I've been dreaming so much lately about seeing Cody. It's been almost a year and a half since I've seen my firstborn. It's hard to go so long without hugging your kid, sadly I'm starting to relate to parents who complain about never seeing their grown-up kids, even if our situation is a little different it still hurts. So I'm tickled about seeing him and I can't wait for a big hug. 



On the weight loss front, It's going even if it's not going super fast. So for my 11th week weigh-in I'm down 1.4 lbs. It's not awesome but it's alright. I'm almost positive that I'm not going to make my goal of 30 lbs down by launch date but I'm still pretty proud of losing 24 lbs in 11 weeks. 

So with only two weigh-ins left before we leave I need to lost another 6 lbs. Can I do it? Oh yea I'm sure I can! Will I do it? We'll see!

How'd you do?


siggy

Mar 14, 2013

Belated WTG! Monday


Okay so I'm late and I bet you thought I fell off the wagon, right? WRONG!!! I'm so still on the proverbial wagon and after a rut in the path, I'm back on the down-swing.

So after gaining last week I lost 2 lbs. this week. I'm excited about that 'cause maybe it means I'm headed in the right direction again and I'm over the plateau I was on. Okay so maybe it was a self induced plateau but either way it stunk! 

So for my 10th weigh-in I'm down 22 lbs. I should have been more but that old appetite got in the way and Croatia has the best chocolate crepes in Europe.

I only have 3 more weigh-ins before we fly out to the States and I still need to lose 8 lbs. to make it to goal. Huge feat but it can be done but whether I can do it, dunno. 

How'd you do?





Took this recipe directly from Fitness Magazine

Quinoa with Latin Flavors

From: EatingWell
Cilantro, lime and scallions lend a bright finish to delicate quinoa. This versatile side pairs well with seafood, poultry or pork.
Servings: 6 servings, 2/3 cup each
Prep: 30 mins
Total: 45 mins

INGREDIENTS
1 cup  quinoa, (see Note)
2 teaspoons  canola oil
1   medium onion, chopped
1 4-ounce can  chopped green chiles
2 cloves  garlic, minced
1 14-ounce can  reduced-sodium chicken broth, or vegetable broth
1/4 cup  pepitas, toasted (see Note)
3/4 cup  coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup  chopped scallions
2 tablespoons  lime juice
1/4 teaspoon  salt
DIRECTIONS
1. Toast quinoa in a large dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until it crackles and becomes aromatic, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a fine sieve and rinse thoroughly.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add chiles and garlic; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the quinoa and broth; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Add pepitas, cilantro, scallions, lime juice and salt to the quinoa; mix gently and fluff with a fork.
Tips:
Notes: Quinoa, a delicately flavored grain that was a staple in the ancient Incas' diet, is available in most natural-foods stores and the natural-foods sections of many supermarkets. Toasting the grain before cooking enhances the flavor, and rinsing removes any residue of saponin, quinoa's natural, bitter protective coating.
Hulled pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, are dusky green and have a delicate nutty flavor. They can be found in the health-food or bulk sections of many supermarkets.
To toast nuts & seeds on the stovetop: Toast in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
NUTRITION FACTS
Calories 181, Total Fat 6 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat 2 g, Cholesterol 1 mg, Sodium 196 mg, Carbohydrate 27 g, Fiber 3 g, Protein 7 g, Potassium 379 mg. Daily Values: Vitamin C 25%, Iron 20%. Exchanges: Starch 1.5,Fat 1.
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet


Above recipe credit goes to Fitness Magazine


siggy

Mar 4, 2013

WTG! Monday & a Yummy Recipe



Wow, was week nine of my diet a total blow-out or what! This week was the first week to gain since I started. I happy about that but a little bummed too since I messed up an alright record.

To tell you the truth this was a really bad diet week. Mondays are date nights and because of a busy day we out it off till Tuesday but my body decided to celebrate by eating about 800 calories more that day. Then Tuesday when we finally went on date night we tried a new restaurant only to find out my grilled chicken and oven potatoes was actually grilled chicken in a white pine nut sauce and the oven potatoes were fried.  "Did you eat it", you ask. Oh yeah, I ate it all and the complimentary veal kidney pâté with the little breads. Yes I did! Oh that was Monday and Tuesday just wait till I tell you about Friday. Friday we baked for a get-to-get her at church and we made m&m sugar cookies, oatmeal cookies and snicker doodles. So I had all the intentions in the world not to let one of those cookies pass my lips but out of habit I accidentally licked a little of the batter off my finger and the beast was unleashed!!!! Counting Friday and Saturday (I'm being honest here) I probably put away 10  cookies no 15 cookies oh okay 20 cookies! 20 cookies and 5 of those were jumbo. I don't know what went wrong, something just clicked or unclicked in my mind and I was a beast.

So after trying to make up for it a little yesterday I managed to only gain .2 of a pound so even though that's a step backwards and a precious week lost I'm still okay with it. It could have been so much worse. I have only 4 weeks left till we fly to the states and I still need to lose 10 more pounds so GAME IS ON!!!

My goal this week is to workout Monday-Friday and really watch my sugar intake. We'll see on Monday how much of a impact it has on my weigh-in.

How'd you do?






  with a healthy superfood side dish of protein-rich quinoa



INGREDIENTS 
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion , sliced
2 red peppers , deseeded and chopped into largish chunks
3 tbsp chipotle paste
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
4 skinless chicken breasts
140g quinoa
2 chicken stock cubes
1 x 400g can pinto beans , drained
small bunch coriander , most chopped, a few leaves left whole
juice 1 lime
1 tbsp sugar
natural yogurt , to serve

INSTRUCTIONS 
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and fry the onions and peppers for a few mins until softened. Stir in the chipotle paste for a minute, followed by the tomatoes. Add up to a tomato can-full of water to cover the chicken and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the chicken breasts and gently simmer, turning the chicken occasionally, for 20 mins until the chicken is cooked through.

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil with the stock cubes. Add the quinoa and cook for 15 mins until tender, adding the beans for the final min. Drain well and stir in the coriander and lime juice, then check for seasoning before covering to keep warm.
Lift the chicken out onto a board and shred each breast using two forks. Stir back into the tomato sauce with the sugar and season. Serve with the quinoa, scattering the stew with some coriander leaves just before dishing up and eating with a dollop of yogurt on the side.

PER SERVING (5)
336 kcalories, protein 33.4g, carbohydrate 34.7g, fat 6 g, saturated fat 0.9g, fibre 4.1g, sugar 15.8g, salt 2.1 g



Swing by and check out BBC Good Food! It's a great website and there are tons of yummy recipes. It's also a lot more familiar for those of us who live in Europe. The above images are from BBC Good Food.

siggy

Mar 1, 2013

Early To Rise Challenge


Okay so I usually don't like to do to back-to-back posts but I had to add this one. 
I was over at ByGrace and Susan posted about this Early to Rise Challenge that is going on over at Money Saving Mom. I am so in on this! I have slipped into a really bad habit of sleeping late and I know I shouldn't be, so here I go. The challenge started today, March 1, but since I missed today I'm starting tomorrow. Better late than never, right? 
I'm looking forward to a quiet early morning and having everything done by 9. Who knows maybe i'll even have time to do a craft or read! 

So whatcha think? Are you in?


siggy

Flat Stanley, um.....Winkler Express

We were so excited to be the first stop on the Winkler Express heading around the world. Rachel over at Rachel's Reflections is doing this fun "flat Stanley" project with her kids and we were stop #1!


It was cool to get something from Estonia. We actually had to look it up to figure exactly where Estonia is. I was surprised it was so far north. 


Anyhoo, we took photos with the Winkler Express all over town. 


The above photo brought some unexpected trials. Our little doggie Zoi slipped off her leash as a biker passed and she was gone! She is notorious for being a naughty evil girl and not coming when we call her. She has stopped traffic at many intersections with her disobedience. Anyhow, she took off and when the bike was out of reach she finally stopped and my heart breathed once again when I figured she would come back. She instead decided to rush out into the little highway close to us and stop a couple semis. Finally she decided to come to me and alas she was back on her leash but it was an ordeal. Don't know why she's so disobedient but she's learning. Two months ago she wouldn't have come back at all so we're making headway. 


The kids are here in front of the Zrinski (Prince over this area ions ago) memorial in our town. 


Finally we send greetings from our center of town. See our lovely red, white and blue flag in the background. 
We were excited to make it to the Post yesterday and send the Winkler Express on it's way to West Africa. Too cool. Thanks Winkler family for letting us join in the fun!


siggy