Getting Back on The GREEN side

Since our vacation and Rick’s new job my mornings have been a little nutty.  But I’m trying to get back on my Green Monster Smoothie breakfast kick.  I’ve done pretty well and will keep at it.  I have found a few new ones I thought I would share.

First off I made this Cinnamon Apple Smoothie, which was very tasty with a little kick from the cinnamon.  The only thing about my Ninja is it doesn’t make it as smooth as I would like but it was still yummy!  Make sure you visit or even be a FB friend of Skinny Ms. she post the best recipes.

Next on our mission was a very yummy tropical one.  I almost thought I was sitting on a beach … ok not really but it sure was tasty!  This next recipe came from another favorite Skinny Taste.  This Skinny Green Tropical Smoothie was a delight with the coconut and pineapple!  I also added golden flax seed and Chia seed.

Last on my list is a Sneaky Spinach Strawberry Mango Smoothie which I think I added more spinach so it wasn’t as peachy color as hers but still very yummy! I also added golden flax seed and Chia seed.

So there you have it some yummy smoothies that will keep you full and low in calories.

Noodles & Banana’s (ok not together … lol)

Ok have I told you how much I love Pinterest?  I love doing my meal planning with it and have found these two recipes PLUS a really cool trick how to shred chicken fast (instead of me doing it with 2 forks and having uneven chicken.

First I found this Bacon Ranch Slow Cooker Chicken, that was super yummy served over whole wheat noodles.

This was the trick I found on pinterest and it ACTUALLY worked!  I cooked the chicken in the crockpot and then threw it in my Kitchen-aid mixer with the paddle and with in seconds I had perfectly shredded chicken.

And a little something special for my neighbor.  I found this Banana Oatmeal Cookie Recipe that I made into scones in my new scone pan!  Then a simple glaze of powder sugar, milk & vanilla.

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So there you have it two more easy recipes.  We ended up buying a new bed last night at Ikea so it was a quick meal at the Ikea Bistro.  So hopefully tonight while Rick is building our new bed (with that lovely allen wrench) and taking apart our old four poster log bed.  I may get an actual dinner together.

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Sneaking Greens into Dinner

First off I want to say thank you for all the prayers for my grandmother’s passing.  They mean more than any words I can form right now.

I have a brain overload now, so I thought I’d put up some recipes.  As we know I’m all about getting veggies in.  My boys thankfully have always had veggies so I don’t really have a problem with them eating them.  BUT I do like giving it to them in new ways.  My mom use to always make Quiche’s and Soups so this is fitting to showcase some of my favorites growing up but done in a low fat version.

First off we have a Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche That turned out very yummy.  Now it’s not as creamy as if it was made with all eggs but still very yummy!

Next on the list is a Crockpot Creamy Chicken Spinach Soup that was very yummy and you didn’t have big spinach leaves.

So there you have two very simple and classic meals that were low in fat.  Enjoy!  On our menu tonight is Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff.

What is on your menu tonight?

A Sad Goodbye to the Life of the Party

Cole did the heart w/my necklace

I thought it was perfect for this post

This past Saturday we say good bye to my grandmother (or GG for my boys).  I will remember her as the life of the party.  I had the pleasure of meeting her when I was 9, I was brought into the family when I was 10 year old. 

GG was a bus driver for special needs kids and how they loved her.  Bus drivers stick together threw thick and thin.  You always hear fun stories of these ladies and there tocken guy.  They would go on vacations together to fun sunny place and lord be with anyone that was near them they would become part of the party and a story to that would last a life time!

I will always remember this fun lady that was bigger then life.  She would serve you the best drink and there would be no shortage of laughs.  She may even give you a little goose, she sure liked young cute men … LOL.  Rick’s first Christmas he came up to me “Your Grandma just goosed me”, we all turned and said “Welcome to the Family” … hehe.

We had some great memories that I will never forget.  My boys enjoyed their time with her and our Thanksgiving dinner will never be the same.

Some of my favorite photos:

GG w/ Cole, Caden & Cousin Ryan (Cole’s 5th party)

GG Wii Bowling w/Cole & Rick

Caden with GG doing his 2 favorite things art & food .

Rest in peace GG, we will miss you and your laugh!  I’m closing with mom’s favorite poem and I believe will be at the funeral.

If Tears Could Build A Stairway

If tears could build a stairway
and thoughts a memory lane
I'd walk right up to heaven
and bring you home again
No Farewell words were spoken
No time to say good-bye
You were gone before I knew it
And only God knows why.

My heart's still active in sadness
And secret tears still flow
What it meant to lose you
No one can ever know.
But now I know you want us
To mourn for you no more
To remember all the happy times
Life still has much in store.

Since you'll never be forgotten
I pledge to you today
A hallowed place within my heart
Is where you'll always stay.

God knows why, with chilling touch,
Death gathers those we love so much,
And what now seems so strange and dim,
Will all be clear, when we meet Him.
I Knew you for a Moment

Tuesday Friends with Light Comfort Foods

Well I’m back to my normal schedule which is good for my sleep lol.  The extra hours I worked will help us get over the hump.  I will miss the extra hours but it’s a good move what my boss did.  Of course this crazy person had a minor freak out when I first noticed what happened but all is good.  Have I mentioned I have a slight abandonment issue? LOL, so my weeks won’t be a long and crazy and as always I know the Lord will provide until we work at all the changes with Rick’s new job.

We had a great Tuesday night dinner at our house this week.  I have not one but two friends from High School come by for dinner!  One friend had never had ground turkey so I of course had to find a recipe for her to try it out.  Meatloaf is always a hit with the boys so I found this recipe from the Hungry Girls’s Crazy Good Turkey Taco Meatloaf.  It was cheesy and good all wrapped into one!  The whole pan was gone before I could say another word (I did put one a side for Rick).

Next on the request list was for Mac and Cheese, I wanted to find  a healthy version.  This recipe called for winter squash but all I could find was butternut squash which I’ve used before in a mac and cheese so I took a gamble and made it again.  This Macaroni and 4 Cheeses off the food network and it turned out wonderful!

And we must end with dessert so why not a Banana-Peach Smoothie Pie that didn’t set up before our guest where to leave so we had a not set up pie that was super yummy!

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday, it looks like it will be a nice day here.  Maybe I can get the whole family out for a walk or something fun.

Working Hard

It’s been crazy around here, if you’ve noticed I haven’t been around sorry about that!  I have been a busy bee keeping up with an increase of calls for work. 

It always amazes me how God takes care of me.  As some of you may know Rick started his new job last week. He is loving it, but is in the training stages since he is the last one in he’s the first to be put on temp lay off if no work (thankfully when he is over training we won’t have to deal too much with this).  His job requires a ship to come in to drop off new cars.  The ship delivering this weeks cars was delayed do to a storm so no work for Rick Monday or Tuesday.  Which in most cases since he took a cut in pay for this job and then missed days would usually kill us.  BUT then like a hand taking care of me, my extra hours of work will help cover us.  PLUS since he is not working he is able to take care of the kids.  YUP ask and you shall receive.

Now only if I could have that body of the gal above!  Oh who am I kidding add some slippers and pink leopard print PJ’s and that would be closer to my daily look … lol.

Happy Wednesday everyone!  I hope to be caught up on work and can come do a marathon reading of blogs this weekend. 

Image found here

Misc Pictures of our Trip

I found a few more photos on Rick’s camera.  I’m slammed at work and my brain is a little fried so I got nothing right now .. lol.  So why not post some more pictures!

Disney Day 1 extra photos.  It’s a small world & Rodger Rabbit.

Photo posing!  A Darth Vader pic for Bapa and of course a Fire Truck.

Pictures on USS Midway.

Rick did get 2 shots of the his friends kids we visited while in San Diego.  They loved the convertible.

So they you go lol more pictures to enjoy!

Fun things I learned While In CA

• Make sure you sit next to a skinny person if your fluffy on the flight.  So your “booty overflow” doesn’t touch them .
• Blinkers are not even optional there, I mean not even used.  I was blown away with people bobbing and weaving out of traffic.  Rick just laughed and said that was just how it was here. I was cringing in my seat.
• Not always a lot of smiles and Hello’s.  I think this may be a Washington thing that we say Hello to everyone.
• Ladies will wear HIGH heels to Disney …. Who the HECK wears high heel shoes to a park.  CRAP my tenny shoes even gave me a blister!
• Ladies will wear skirts (like business type) to a park?
• Some people wear things I would expect to see at a beach not at a park, had to shield boys eyes a few times … lol ALONG with Ricks.
• IF you are walking slow to get to a line (you know dragging kids behind you) people will actually speed up and walk in front of you to get in line!
• People have no camera manners, they will walk right in front of you while taking a picture.
• You CAN bring in snacks for the kids to the park, we were even able to bring in Capri Suns.  YES that was a life saver and money saver!
• If your legs get chapped and need baby powder and you’re in a pinch you will pay $5.99 for a mini bottle you would find in the travel section for $.99!  Oh yes had to do that!
• IF you need bobby pins to hold back your hair when in a convertible and you’re in a pinch you’ll pay $6.99 for those also that you would find in a travel section for $.99!  Yup did that also!

So when you visit there make sure you sit next to a skinny person and learn to suck it in for a 2 hour flight!  Bathrooms are also tight so you may want to pee before you get on and avoid all drinks on the flight!  Make sure you pack cotton pants because new capris in the heat and walking will lead to chapping which then leads to expensive baby powder!  Be ready to drive fast and move the heck out of the way you never know when the person to the side of you may decide he wants your spot on the freeway!   Get your mean face on if your taking a picture let ppl know you mean business if they step in front of your view!  Pack Band-Aids for yourself, heck you may have to pass it out to the people in high heels!

Have fun, this was all done in fun.  We had a blast and you know me I will always find something to laugh about.  Take no offense California or Disney we loved you!

Fluffy Girls Guide To Disney–Day Four (Well San Diego Today)

Day 4 we Ended up getting up at 9am for breakfast and then we hit the road.  Rick as you may know is from San Diego State, he even played football for SDSU.  So of course this trip to CA couldn’t be complete with out visiting there, his friends and even a visit with his mom.

We got on the road and let the top down for a while, my hair by the end of the trip looked like a beehive and not the cool looking kind.  No the kind that was done on me for prom, where I cried for 2 hours and my mother had to rewash my hair and do a quick updo. YUP!!

Rick drove us by all the ships and the beach, this is his kind of day.  Sadly I was so pooped with sun stroke and feet as big as my rear that I couldn’t even muster up a smile.

We then parked to see the beach and the seals.  The boys were wrestles by now and let’s just say everyone’s nerves were shot by then!

We then went to meet up with Rick’s mom.  She lives in CA, due to medical issues she is unable to travel and we have never been able to afford to take the kids down.  So the boys have never gotten the chance to meet her.  We were able to get them some food and even had a moment to talk with her.  What a true blessing that was!!!

We then went and did the tour of the USS Midway.  Rick LOVES all things military and can tell you everything for all the different planes.  We even saw an aircraft like what he flew on in the Coast Guard.  

That was a lot more walking then this mama’s feet could handle … lol.  I was beat!  After that we drove around a little more then we stopped by and visited Rick’s buddies that live there.  We let the kids run around and play for a while (Sorry I was pooped so no pictures).  We then hit the road, stopped by a Rally’s Burger – Because I saw it on undercover boss and never ate at one … lol.  Then we had to do our last visit at iHop for the kids.

Phew that wraps up our trip, we left early the next day Sunday AM.  I do have a funny post about things I learned about CA to come soon.

Fluffy Girl’s Guide To Disney … Day Three

Day three I woke up with my legs and feet killing me.  My blister the size of Texas was telling me to go back to bed.  I really thought it had a vein attached to it that might pop out of my body .. UGH!  I finally got up made it breakfast (yes the free one down stairs).  The day before I wore a brand new pair of capris and my legs were all rashed up.  So Rick took me BACK to Target to buy some stretching Gocho Pants and then of course I had to pick up a cute top to go with it!

We made it to the park again @ 10am, Rick knew I was hurting (even though he told me I was a whimp .. lol) so he drove me and boys to the park and then drove back to the hotel and walked back himself.

While we waited for dad the boys posed on the mickey heads.

Rick ran back (he is on his feet all day for work so he wasn’t hurting at all).  We hit California Adventure since we did all of Disneyland the day before.  The only bad thing was California Adventure was under construction with the promise it would be open this summer (not much help for us … lol).  Caden of course loved this part it was mostly about his favorite characters on Nick Jr.

We watched the Disney Junior Show (yes I got to put my feet up for a 1/2 hour).

We stopped and watched the Monster Inc Show.

Did a little stopping at a photo op .

We did the Monster Inc Ride also!

UPDATE *** I so forgot to add some more photos!

We watched the 3D Muppet Show!

We checked out the waterfall and the Cars also, they will have a new ride there of course this summer … lol.

We hit some lunch and the boys checked out the fish net.  Look close in picture 1 and 2 and you’ll see Caden’s face .

We did the Little Mermaid ride.

While Rick and Cole did the big roller coaster Caden and I waited in line for Goofy.  Unfortunately for Goofy, Caden took a running start and tripped with his arm out and hit Goofy in the not so nice spot!

We hit the rest of the rides, the water ride was down for the day along with a few others.  We ended up doing the whole park by 4pm!  My feet where done and Caden was pooped.  Rick went and complained to the office and was able to get our pass transferred back to Disneyland.  I was pooped and told him to take Cole.  Caden and I hobbled back to the hotel.  Poor thing was so tired and his feet hurt he cried the whole time.  I was so pooped and my feet hurt so bad.  The 10 min walk took us about 25 minutes … lol.  We got to the hotel and crashed we were going to go to the pool but we both were done. The boys got back to the hotel around 7:30ish.  They were able to do Splash Mountain, Indian Jones and a few more favorite rides a few more times.

We stayed in that night with Gatorade and a chicken salad Rick was dying to have.  He thought it was the best but I only ate half .. lol. To bed we went since the next day we were to get up early to hit San Diego to let the boys meet their Grandma for the first time .