Aldi's Rocks!!!

Tonight's dinner was a hit for the whole family. I call this my
best Aldi's meal yet!
4 0z. Baked Chicken breast marinated in light Italian dressing
Steamed Fresh broccoli
1/2 c. 1% cottage cheese
1/2 low sugar canned peaches
Fresh Spinach with a little of the light italien dressing
Oh my!!! I have no clue what made my kids go crazy over
fresh spinach-that's just shocking... but they loved it with
that dressing. Even so much so that they asked for 2nds.
Our family of 8 ate the entire bag of baby spinach- yum!!!
My meal was 7 points (you could save a point with ff dressing)

Some of you know that it's a goal of mine to prepare a
healthy dinner for my fam. of 8 for under $10. This
one was a little more because of the chicken- but
so well worth it!
Does anyone else have healthy dinner meal ideas to meet my goal
of 10$/serves 8?
Also, I have a new goal of serving 1 fruit and 2 veggies at dinner time.

Yes, I do love shopping at Aldi's. If you are able to go there, I highly recommend it!!!
Here's what I love from there: ( I can actually walk through the store in my mind)
Baked Nacho Chips (great for taco salad)
100 Cal. packs of choc. chip cookies
LIGHT Buttered Popcorn- amazing!
Cocktail Sauce
mild salsa
Olive oil
cooking spray
skim milk- $2.76 gallon
Eggs
ff yogurt- .43
1 % cottage cheese
light sour cream
Baby Dill pickles
Turkey Bacon- the best ever and cheap- like $1.76?
Chip Beef- .33
Flour tortillas- .99
Shredded cheddar cheese- 4 c. for $3.29 (remember,
I like the real stuff)
String Cheese- $2.29
Bagged Iceberg Salad- .99
Bag of fresh spinach- $2 ??
turn the corner, going down 2nd aisle)
Raisin Bran- yum!! $2
Apple Cinn. Cheerios- for kids
Quick Oats
Tuna in water- .33
(I don't prefer aldi's light mayo, i go with kraft)
Thin spaghetti
Spag. sauce with mushrooms- this is my fav. spag. sauce around
sliced mushrooms
Tomato Juice
end cap:
taco seasoning pkt.
taco shells (for kids)
Dried Northern white beans
FF refried beans
next aisle is a lot of promo stuff, kitchen things, toys, totes, etc...
then, near the meat:
I love sliced turkey breast or sliced ham that comes in a little
plastic box (reminds you of a "Glad" storage container).
Fresh Meat: There 80% lean or higher ground beef is great.
they have nice chuck roasts, pork chops, etc.
I especially love the white Ground turkey- it's only like $2.36/lb and
comes in 1 lb. pkgs. I've just replaced ground beef with it and no one in
fam. notices. I make spaghetti, taco salad, chili
Fresh Fruits and Veggies:
All of it is usually awesome!!!
i buy:
bananas
reddish yellow apples in a bag- nice small size apples-perfect
for a snack or to let kids gnaw on
oranges are great, but give me cold sores
bag of yellow onions - .99
Russet OR idaho potatoes. Taters are nice baking size.
grape tomatoes and slicing tomatoes
pkg. of multi colored peppers is only $1.99
green peppers- 2 in pkg. are .99
Head of lettuce - .99
Fresh Broccoli crowns
mushrooms
head of cabbage
cucumbers
zucchini
Carrots
Canned stuff:
Light Sliced Peaches
applesauce
Mandarin oranges
i like all the basic veggies there.
The diced tomatoes are great
Mexican Chili beans
soups are good
end cap: chili seasoning packet
ff chicken broth
freezer section along the wall:
bag of skinless, boneless chicken breasts- $5.99
frozen broccoli, corn and peas, and california blend rock!
in the middle freezer section- Frozen Salmon fillet pieces - 4
4 oz. pieces in the bag for $3.99
Bag of deshelled and deveined large shrimp with tail on are about $4

Here are a few tips of things I love to make:
Taco Salad- Brown 1 lb. of ground white turkey. I use 1/2 the packet
of taco seasoning and about 1/3 c. of water. Add 1 can of drained
mexican beans. Heat until it thickens a bit.
Cover plate with lettuce from bagged salad. Sprinkle on about 1/4 c.
of meat and bean mixture. Sprinkle small amount of shredded cheese.
Crush baked doritos on top. Spoon salsa and 1 T. of lite sourcream on top.
Delicious and nutritious!

Salmon- I actually eat this for lunch about twice a week since
they are individually sealed and frozen. I thaw it in microwave
for 30 sec. Spray cooking spray in skillet, put salmon with
seasoning on it.. I like Garlic Garlic from Tastefully simple,
then I add a little lemon juice to pan. It sears up nicely.
Different twist- one day I tried the Garlic Garlic and a can
of diced tomatoes and a dab of olive oil. It was very good. I
can see this over brown rice or pasta. I tried it with pork and
beans- my strange concoction.. it was good.

One more Snack idea: I love "Pickles/CreamCheese Roll-ups"
Take 1 slice of chip beef and spread lite cream cheese on it.
Place a blotted dry pickle and roll up tight. These can be immediately
eaten or stored in a tupperware container until you are ready to slice
and eat. These are scrumptious.. but only 2 pts. for 3 baby dills wrapped
up!

Hallalujah!!!

Only have a second before taking Emma to preschool!!!

HUGE PRAISE- God provided some weight scales.
I walked out to my van today and a brand new,
still in the box, scales were propped up next to my
van door!!!! I feel like God Him-self put them there!!!
I am on cloud 9!!!!
Can you believe that? Now, mind you, this was after
I had called and complained to my dear hubby that
I needed to go buy some (he said I should wait and I wasn't
happy!).. Then, God just blesses me when I am having
a bad attitude about having to wait???? God is gracious
and I sooooo don't deserve all that He has done for me!!!

Other Great news... yes, I did weigh myself......
drummmmmmrollllllllllllll..........
and the result is : I've lost 11 lbs. since my dr's visit
a few weeks ago. (Yes, all scales are different, so
maybe it really isn't a full 11 lbs, but I'm going with it!!!)

Thanks for all your prayers... you really do sustain me!
i love you all!!!!!

God's Light is Shining Even Brighter....

This morning, God gently nudged me to open my
blog to more close friends. I've been hearing a lot
lately how sin hides in darkness. I'm so sick of being
unhealthy that I knew it was already time to share
my inner most being with a larger circle of gals.
I desperately need the prayers of each of you.
God has shown me that the battle has already been won-
He was crucified for MY gluttony and poor stewardship
of MY body- HIS temple.
I feel very vulnerable right now, extrememly transparent
and bit scared. I don't want to fail.. I WON'T fail because
I believe all of you are praying and will hold me
up through this. I have no strength on my own....
Love you all more than you'll ever
realize and appreciate you in my life greatly!

10 Random Facts About Me

Emily inspired me to blog 10 random facts about myself...
so here it goes:

1. I was runner up in the Little Miss Pageant of Lafayette
when I was in first grade. That silly girl that beat me was
wearing a corny red jumper and I was in a beautiful
hand made long dress with a hoop under it!
I rode on a corvette in the parade for that one!

2. John was the only guy I ever dated and it's all been uphill ever since.

3. I am an only child and wanted possibly one child when I grew up.

4. I write poetry. When I was in 4th grade I won a county-wide
poetry contest and went to the Long Center to see it presented.
It was about my Great Aunt Bea. I could perform it with great
exaggeration and expression. shocker, huh? ha!!!!

5. My cuz' Kristy is a sister to me- she's 4 years younger than
me and when she was in first grade and played softball, I, the
older and wiser "big sis" tried to carefully pitch a softball to
her in the backyard. CRACK!
She nailed that ball so hard that I didn't even know what
had hit me. My glasses flew off and I was left with a black
eye for quite awhile. I stayed home from school the next
day cause it was picture day :) She may be like a toothpick
now, but let me tell you when she was a kid she
was a brute and could pack a hard blow

6. I could spend hours looking through my own hair for white hairs.
Also, I love it when Anna lets me look in her hair for little curly
hairs that "don't belong". She let's me pull em out and i love it!

7. Last year I picked out my own eye glasses for the first time
since 3rd grade. I used to be so paranoyed about what my mom
thought of my glasses that she had to come with me to pick
em out. Then, I got bold and went by myself and decided to
go wild. The ones I have now (they have a turquiouse back side)
My mom recently said "Oh my! It looks like they were just
dipped in paint"

8. I love to play canasta (a card game), Eurcher and Spades.
I played cards everyday after school with my great Aunt Bea
for years!!!!!! She was a poor loser, so sometimes I had to let her win.

9. Until I began going to Elston, I NEVER wanted people to
get plugged in to my old church.

10. I have 2 cats - Olly (Abby's) and Kally (Anna's). I'm currently
jealous of Olly, the big orange one, who is having too intimate of
a relationship with John. I don't like the way they look at each
other and caress one another. Ok.. ok... I'm a bit over the top
here.! It's a stupid cat for goodness sake! teeeeehheeeeeee!

No turning back...

Hey everyone! Great news!!!!
It went well tonight at Texas Roadhouse. All went as planned
and I unashamedly announced to the table which included
Mari and Leo, John and I, Katie L. and her hubby John, Rita,
Tasha and her friend Diana (guest).. I said "Ok everyone,
I need you to hold me accountable cause I am NOT eating the rolls."
At one point, Leo kindly blockaded the rolls that were within an
arm's reach. Don't worry, I wasn't even tempted! God is sooo good!

Dinner was delicious. I have to admitt that the best grilled chicken
in town and those mushrooms... ahhhh... they were so satisfying. I
could go on and on, thus just further confirming my addiction to food.
However, I do see that God is at least moving me to the place of
self-control. We were by far the craziest table in the restaurant,
laughing and carrying on. Other tables probably thought we were
slaushed :) teehee. NOPE! Just that good ole' Holy Spirit!!!
For once, I actually enjoyed the conversation more than the food itself.
Usually, the secret love affair between myself and the rolls over power
my interest in the people I'm with. Yes, another sad thought, i know!
I'm finding that writing all of this silly crap is very therapeutic.
Now, I see why people always say "Journal your feelings and thoughts."
Bad news about the scales. My mom stopped by when we were gone
and told my aunt that she couldn't find the stinkin' scales!
What????? Is God trying to tell me something here? I really want
to know my current weight. I might just drive to my dr.'s office
tomorrow and demand to be weighed. Did I just say demand? No..
I meant that I'd politely request to be weighed!!!!
I need to know!!!!!!! I want to move that darn little weight marker
at the top of my blog.

I've decided to literally get rid of clothes, bras, underwear, etc.
that are too big on me as I lose weight. No turning back....

The NEW Me....

Well, to all of you readers out there (teehee) who are wondering how my morning of worship went as I taunted you all with the possibility of me laying on the alter..... No "alter-sprawling"
for me this morning. It was a good morning though. I sat in a different location than normal near my sweet friend Emily, her mom and her hysterically funny and cute little Andy. It was nice to get a different perspective of worship. It's funny how set in a routine I get with where I usually sit.
Okay, now down to business... I'm dying to pick up these scales from my mom!!! I might talk John into making a trip over there this evening just to pick em up. Don't worry, I will definately be weighing in the morning as we all know you weigh less in morn :)
I bet I've only lossed 5-7 lbs., but let me tell you - I feel like a new woman. I put on a blouse
today that I haven't been able to wear for a few months since I bought it (yes, that's sad to buy clothes too small. God must have known that I needed some hopeful thinking that day!).
Last night when I went to bed, I whispered to John, "Wake me up when your alarm goes off at 4 a.m." And so he did. I rose up out of that bed this morning like a vibrant 130 lb. model. As John entered the shower, I jumped on that treadmill as though it was 8 a.m. It felt great. No, actually, it felt like I was floating on a cloud... gracefully strutting every inch of my "less than 272 lb. body". John just stared with disbelief at me when he got out of the shower. I thought to myself "You think I'm hot don't you!!!!?????" Then, I went back to sleep for about an hour until it was time to get up and go pray at church. Yes, it was a bit of a strange idea for me, but it sure did work. I might be trying this more often. Don't hold me to it though.. it might have been a fluke thing. :)
So, get this! You know how in my last post I mentioned that "my King" is my new phrase.
Well, this morning, as we were praying at church, my turn arose and sure enough before a word could even come out of my mouth... the worship music playing sang something about Jesus being the King! No kidding!!!! I just began to laugh because my Lord is soooooo focused on detail that he took extra delight in tickling my spirit with such a corelation.
Back to the food thing- I had a "taco salad" for lunch. Lettuce, 2 T. of ground white turkey meat, lite sourcream and salsa, 6 baked doritos. (I actually skipped the shredded cheese for once, and I am still alive!!! It's a miracle!!!) I do love cheese for those of you who didn't know this about me!
Personally, I hate lowfat or fat free shredded cheese. I can't stand that silly 2% sliced american cheese either. I tried making a grilled cheese one time with that and YUCK!!! If you like it- great! I won't hold that against you :) teeheee!!! My absolute favorite cheese is string cheese- the light kind is ok.. but my favorite is from Aldi's .
I once heard a person say that they'd rather eat less of the real thing than more of the "light stuff". I guess I feel the same way about cheese. I don't mind light sourcream, diet pop, baked lays, fatfree refried beans are awesome, 100 calorie pack choc. chip cookies totally rock,
and so on..... Enough rambling :)
Ok.. so you have to hold me accountable here, i've got 24 points left for the day (which includes some bonus points that MUST be used by tonight at midnight or else I lose em!) Heaven forbid me to lose points :) I'm just being facious of course. The adults from our small group are going to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and I feel prepared.... here's the game plan:
As soon as I sit down ask for water with extra lemon (to boost metabolism of course). I will push the "to die for rolls" down towards the other folks so they are not within an easy reach. Then, I will do the unthinkable, the unimaginable... I plan to announce to the table that I am NOT eating any rolls so please watch me!!! Is this me talking??? Yes, it is!! The NEW ME!!!
Then, I do plan to have a diet coke to quench my lack of caffeine today. I've been searching for 2 days online to find the nutritional facts for Texas Roadhouse and can't find em!!
So, I'm praying and just trusting God! I plan to order Grilled Chicken breast with a baked potato, butter on the side (only will use 1 T. of the butter) steamed veggies. I'm excited about a salad with NO cheese, bacon or croutons but add extra tomatoes with FF dressing. My splurge is gonna be the sauteed mushrooms that they serve that are phenomenal. I know they are soaked in delicious fatty marinade.. but I'm not ordering dessert NOR eating those rolls. So, I figure the meal should be definately under my alotted 24 points :) I feel empowered to already have decided what I'm ordering. I'm not even going to look at menu to be tempted by other cheesy, fried foods... speaking of which I'm not going to eat any appetizer!!!!
I'll write more later as to how it went .........

By His Grace...

I've been having a blast today tweeking my blog page.
This is so much fun!!! God has been working on me today
with contentment. I've enjoyed a very boring day at home
with no errands to run, kids running in and out of the
house, and even spent some time pushing Avry on the
swing. This new "healthy living" isn't so bad afterall!
I joyfully prepared a strange concoction for lunch today
(for just me, as the kids at PB &J's and soup). The
kids looked at my plate of salmon, beans and diced
tomatoes with a look of disgust. I assured them that
it was delicious and healthy!!!!

I find myself lingering in the kitchen... which is odd.
How many people do that???
I have my 1 L. bottle of water strategically placed on
the kitchen counter so that I will chug some "Living Water."
It's like my body just thinks it belongs in there, which is sad
but funny!!! When I really would rather eat something, I
drown myself with water and say as I drink it, "Jesus, you
are the living water. Fill me up right now as this water is going down!"

My mom called this afternoon and told me she's been "dieting"
this week. Oh, how I hate that stinkin' word "dieting." It shouldn't
exist as a verb, but only as a noun. I could hear the saddness in
her voice, the tiredness from "over doing it" -which actually means
she's starved her body of enough calories and thinks she's "dieting".
She of course wanted to know how I've been doing on my WW
program. I told her I'm looking for some weight scales and lo and
behold- she has some for me! Hooray!!! I don't have to buy em now!

The good news is that I feel empowered by keeping track of my
eating. It no longer controls me, but I control IT! It's fun to see
how many points I have left for the day and then think about
what I want to eat later in the day. I've actually went to bed
the last few nights NOT stuffed.
It's such a peaceful feeling to wake up refreshed and not groggy!
I'm realizing what food has done to me in the past has not been
pretty. I found out that I feel better if I where tighter clothes
around the house (it makes me feel thinner). I hold my chin up
high (not because it makes me look thinner :) but because
I KNOW the body I have today is NOT the body I'll have
tomorrow. Yay!!!! I'm kissin' this body good bye!

I've never been more excited about church being tomorrow!!!!
It can't get here quick enough. I just want to worship my King.
By the way, that's a new phrase for me. I truly want to bow
down before my KING.. .by golly I might just sprawl out tomorrow
at the alter! Whatever God calls me to do.. so be prepared :) teehee!
I want to wheel in a wagon full of fat like Oprah did years ago...
ok, that might be a bit over the top.

As of now, I'm committed to 20 min/day of cario! I'm walking a
3.0 mph on treadmill which is only about 2 ft. from my bed. So,
I get up, get kids settled, lock my bedroom door and walk for 20 min.
I will be increasing this as the Lord leads, but in the past I've gotten
so burnt out with the 30 min. goal. Since this is a lifelong committment,
I'm starting slow.

I will hopefully have an updated weight here soon when I get those
scales. The exciting part is that I go back to the dr. in a couple of weeks
to see how the cholestrol medicine is working (which I never filled
the prescription...yahoo!) and to get updated bloodwork done.
So, I'm hoping the dr. will look at weight loss and lower cholestrol
and be thrilled. At which time, I will gently tell her that I am NOT
taking medicine for it and am getting healthy!!!

Oh, how God is full of grace. I've walked it today....

Why tomorrow will never come....

I'm sick and tired of planning to eat healthier "tomorrow."
Who was I fooling? No one! Tomorrow will never come and never did
come. God promises that if I come to him now with my broken life,
food addiction and all of my yuck... He will take it and give me the abundant life I've always dreamed of. He doesn't wait until "tomorrow", but His promises are immediate.
I've finally come to terms with the fact that tomorrow will never
come, but that God has only given me today, right now to live my life
to the fullest for HIM. Thus, I choose to follow Christ today. My health
is at stake and my body is to be used for HIS service and glory.

The Beginning to an End...

I've decided to begin the end. Sounds odd doesn't it? Well, is what I mean by that is
that my entire life has been consumed by food- what I'm gonna eat, what I'm not gonna
eat, how much I weigh, how much I've lost, what size I wear, etc.
Well, I've decided to begin the end- the end to a lifelong struggle with weight, food addiction
and unhealthy living.

This journey is gonna be lovely and ugly, happy and sad, triumphant and dissappointing.
This is going to be a frank and honest journal of my past, present and future health. Please join me on this journey and watch the "me" turn into the "me" God wants me to be. My precious friend Renay is also walking this journey with me, one bite at a time :) We can and WILL do this
and NOT for our own glory, but for God's Kingdom. We are going to be 2 hot, fit mamas ready to serve our King like crazy!!!!!!
WARNING: Sit down and be prepared to read some shocking numbers... I hate weight. I'm sick of being labeled by my weight. I remember various times in my life as to how much I weighed.. that's crazy!!!!

First and foremost, I must give all the glory where it belongs and that is to the God of the universe, the one who sent His one and only Son to die a painful death on the cross in place of MY sin. Hmmmm... my sin? Yep! Jesus went to that cross for my addiction to food. My life is
full of sin that thankfully Jesus has wiped clean from the slate so that I can be righteous in God's eyes! Yay!!! I was saved at about 8 years old and asked Jesus to cover me with His sacrifice on the cross... yet, I have struggled all of my life since about the age of 8 with loving food more than anything else! I can remember my Kindergarten school picture just looking as cute as can be, then by 4th grade I didn't sit up straight and you could see the roll of my chest (didn't have real boobs yet)... that was a mortifying picture!!! Anyhow... my years after that were spent "sucking it in" when trying on an outfit, standing before the mirror. Hearing many comments from people who loved me about my weight and the importance of "suck in your gut and stick out your butt" for pictures or "that makes you look thin" (yes, I know that sounds crazy, but I heard it more than you can imagine at a very young age.)
At last.. a beginning to an End of negative comments by family tearing at my heart and destroying my healthy view of myself, food and weight. (yes, I know that loving people will always say negative things, but this is the end of it ruling my life!!!)
Some more history.....
At age 10 I weighed 135 lbs. Then, the summer before 8th grade, I lost a lot of weight and was looking pretty good- a size 9 in juniors! But that wasn't good enough since all of my friends were a size 5!!! (This was also the same summer of my parent's divorce).Highschool was going good with me getting to about 145 lbs. I played volleyball and loved to exercise. I battled on and off with bulemia though. Then at the age of 16 I became pregnant with Anna. John and I got married at 17. My highest pregnancy weight was 175.... ahhhh... those were the days.... :) After Anna was born the roller coaster began again... up and down.... At age 19, John, me and Anna lived in Beaufort, SC as JOhn was in the Marine Corps and I went to the Dr. for an exam. This was the first time a dr. ever told me that I was obese and needed to lose 50lbs. I was devastated, embarrassed and shocked! By using Herbalife products, I got down to about 160 and felt great. Then, slowly back up, up, up again! After a miscarriage in 1999 (before Abby).. I became very depressed. I gained a ton of weight with pregnant with Abby in 1999-2000.
At last.. a beginning to an end of the food roller coaster.

Eventually I got up to 273 lbs., after Evan was born (yes, that is a 100 lb. increase)!
After praying and begging God to help me, I was guided to LA Weightloss and lost 90 lbs. with
them before getting pregnant with Emma at 180 lbs. After Emma my weight skyrocketed again.. I could eat 5 qts. of vanilla icecream with chocolate syrup in just 2 days. No, i'm not exaggerating. I was struggling with post partum depression too. My weight crept up over 200 lbs. and then I got pregnant with Avry! We finally figured out what causes that and John got a visectomy :) tee -hee! I remember stepping on the scales and full pregnancy with Avry and seeing 250 lbs and thinking- I can't believe I got this heavy again!!! After Avry, I was up and down...
a long story to say that as of last Friday, Good Friday- I weighed 272 lbs.
I was told a year ago by my Dr. that I had to lower cholestrol- triglyc. were the worst (carbs!) and that I was "pre-diabetic". I promised to work at it and lose weight. Shocker... it didn't happen! I went back recently to find out that the cholestrol is still bad, but thank the good LORD
that I am NOT diabetic!!! That was it!!! I have had it!!!
God is sooo cool.. His timing is always perfect. The very next Sun. after hearing this from dr. ,
Pastor Randy did a message about "specific sin"... Hmm.... He even asked that people come forward and pin their sin, written on a note card, to the huge wooden cross at front of church. I can still remember exactly where mine is pinned. It read "overeating".
Now here's the sad part.. I wanted to really confess it to God, cause that's the right thing
to do. But I definately wasn't ready to give it to HIM fully. I was terrified that "I wasn't ready" or "I'll just fail, so why bother". Nonetheless, I pinned my card up there out of obedience to God
and went on with life. That was also the weekend of our church-wide 24 hour prayer and I knew breakthrough was coming.. I just didn't know when. God kept stirring in my spirit all week long.
I have recently heard that many of my friends use Weight Watchers and I became very interested. Finally, by Friday which was Good Friday I logged onto Weight Watchers and joined the online version! I love it and have been doing it now for 1 week.
At last .... The Beginning to an end of weighing 272 lbs.

Please pray for me whenever you see a fat person... :) I hate that word.. "fat".. but you got to call a spade a spade. I desire for every inch of my body to be pleasing to God. It doesn't have to be perfect, but I do want Him to be pleased with my stewardship of HIS temple... my earthly body.
I'm only 30 years old and I don't want to be unhealthy anylonger!!
At last... The beginning to an end of an unhealthy body.

For years, I've desired to be very close to God.. to walk like HIM, to think like HIM, to talk like HIM, to eat like He would. I've wanted this intimate relationship with Jesus that has been somewhat obtainable. I don't want "somewhat" anylonger!!!! There's ONE key thing holding me back and separating me from my heavenly Father and from living the fullest life that He has for me... and that is my love affair with food. I want to dance the dance of my life in the arms of Jesus. He is the lover of my soul, my biggest fan, the one who will NEVER leave me.
I'm sick of being sold short and buying into the lie that food will satisfy my deepest longing. It won't and can't. I know God has made me a passionate person for many reasons and I believe the biggest reason is so that I can turn my greatest weakness into my greatest ministry.
This is the Beginning to an End of a "somewhat" close relationship with Jesus. I'm ready for the REAL thing!