Things I'm Loving Thursday

1. It's almost Friday!

2. Trop 50 Orange Juice

This stuff taste's so great and I don't miss regular orange juice! Its only 1 points plus point per cup! I used to try and drink the weight watchers endorsed lower calorie orange juice but it was watery and too sweet. I love orange juice since I don't eat any fresh fruits I drink it a lot (I don't what's wrong with me I just can't except for blueberries pretty much). Its just so many more calories. This fits the bill! Its been hard to find but its worth looking for. Plus I love the commercial with Jane Krakowski.

3. It was trash day toady. I love trash day. Maybe it's because we cook so much, or maybe it's because we are just not good at green living, or are wasteful (I hope not), but whatever the case we always have so much trash each week and we only get trash pick up once a week. So I love Thursday mornings when my wonderful husband takes the trash out and our house is just a little bit cleaner.

4. Baylor. Somedays I miss it more than others and have such fond memories. This day/week is one of them. It's SING season, and though I don't think I'll get to go to SING this year, it just brings up some of my most favorite memories of that time in life!

Here's a link to my baby, School Days by Kappa Kappa Gamma 2007...the act that Catherine, Stephanie, Whitney and I were sing chairs for our Junior Year! I can't figure out how to actually put the video on here. Ahhhh memories!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1CqFJAtLs4

Then, here's sister-in-law/sister in Kappa, Carla and me dressed up for that act.

Things I'm Loving Monday

Since I missed last Thursday posting on things I love due to being just plain busy busy, I can't resist doing a things I'm loving today in honor of Valentine's Day.

1. First and foremost, my husband. I just can't get enough of him this week and last week particularly. It seems that when things are most hectic for me he is the most calm and the presence that sets all right with the world as soon as I talk to him/see him you name it.

Don't get me wrong I can never get enough of him, but the past few days have just been even more.

I mean can how can I resist this face?

A pic from our Honeymoon in Maui, which just at the end of last week I got home late from work and he said he wanted to show me something. He proceeded to sit me down on the couch and turn on the tv and started playing all the videos we took on our honeymoon! We had not watched them yet and I'd almost forgotten. How special! We just talked and laughed and watched them for about an hour. Took me right back!

2. H-E-B.

I just love my HEB. I think I first heard about it from my grandma Dixie in San Angelo, TX, and then we got one when I lived in Livingston, but when we moved to DFW we no longer HEB there so I really discovered its greatness in Waco at Baylor. Ahh good ole ghetto HEB!

But more recently, I'm obsessed with HEB at Bunker Hill in Houston. I drive the 15 minutes just because I love this grocery! They almost always have what I need and its just a fun weekly trip to the grocery store. I go just about every weekend. And now that Jonathan is letting me do my lists on his ipad its even more fun!

3. Black Heels to Tractor Wheels

This is Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman's first book besides her cookbook of course which is an absolute must have!

This book is her love story of how she met her husband, Marlboro Man, their dating, engagement, and I think first year of marriage. She was a big city girl who fell in love with a cowboy. I'm about halfway through the book and it is so entertaining, and also reminds me so much of the place in life Jonathan and I are at in our marriage, and reminds me of those earliest memories dating. Such a special time that I treasure looking back on.

Oh and look at this limited edition Kitchen Aid mixer that Pioneer Woman was commissioned to design and gets to give away! She made it to match the cover of her book. As Rachel Zoe would say, "I die!!!". Ugh its so pretty!

Work Break

So I'm on a break at work (yes I'm at the office at nearly 10 pm on a Tuesday night). Ah tax season how I love thee. (sarcasm? I think so)

However, I'm now just waiting on Jonathan to get out of the Rockets game down the street so we can ride home together from the game where he has suite tickets tonight for work. Rough life I know.

So I thought I'd blog.

Let's see here's a catch up of random pictures and things I failed to blog about timely over the last few months.

1. We begin with Jonathan and my 1 year anniversary! November 7, 2010. Wow I can't believe its now getting close to a year and a half!

Our frozen cake was still soooo good!! I think even better than the first time.

We went to Carmelo's in Houston where we had dinner on our first dating anniversary.


2. We had Thanksgiving at the Lakehouse with the Theilig/Pavlic clan.

3. December 2010: We went to a WWE wrestling event called Tables, Ladders, and Chairs as part of Jonathan's anniversary gift from me. I hate to admit, but it really was pretty fun.

They literally have to climb ladders and grab the thing at the top to win the match, or "knock" someone out with a chair or throw them through a table to win. Hillarious! Even more hillarious was the crowd. I was sitting right behind this little girl no older than 8 who was not only wearing a mock championship belt but was yelling like CRAZY for her favorite wrestlers. Too funny, oh and the plethora of 25-45 year old grown men with belts around their growing midsections weren't boring either. Really great people watching.

Here's John Cena "You can't see me!"

4. December 2010: I got rid of the old faithful 4 runner and traded in for this new to me Lexus RX400h.

The new car! Its a hybrid and just happened to work out perfectly! We drove all the way up to Dallas to get it from the used Sewell dealership. What a wonderful experience and I am loving every second in my dream car!
5. February 2011: We had an ice storm and got a day and half off work!

These are the only pictures I snapped really, when we went up to our deck. Its hard to tell but this is what the roads were like all over Houston. Just sheets of ice. We had to walk very carefully up there because it was slick all the way to the door.

Here we had turned on the grill to de-ice it (left the cover off from cooking that week). It made some neat steam.

Things I'm Loving Thursday

1. Being done with a very very busy work day. PTL!

2. Enjoying a happy hour with coworkers who I am enjoying getting to know even better.

3. Burberry purfumes. In this frigid inflow of cold weather in Houston I'm loving the warm fragrances from Burberry!

4. Spending time with good friends Stephanie and David this weekend! Going to Stella Sola a restaurant owned by a good friend of our's father.

Stuffed Chicken Cordon Bleu - Weight Watchers Style 7 Pts +

This recipe was so good! It is from the new weight watchers points plus program and in orange are my notes/modifications.


Ingredients:

1 medium onion(s), finely chopped
1 cup(s) cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (I chopped mine to be like the onion)
6 oz spinach
1 oz soft-type goat cheese, reduced-fat (2 tablespoons)
5 Tbsp dried bread crumbs, plain variety
2 large egg white(s), lightly beaten
4 tsp water
20 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, 4 (5-ounce) (I did 2 5 oz ones for me, one for dinner and one lunch for the next day, and then one 8-10 oz. (normal sized the way they come) for Jonathan.
2 oz low-fat Swiss cheese, (1-ounce) slices, each cut in half
4 slice(s) turkey ham, thin



Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a nonstick baking pan with nonstick spray. To make the filling, spray a nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and mushrooms; cook, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, 3–4 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the goat cheese and 1 tablespoon of the bread crumbs; set aside. (Add in some salt as well here, maybe a quarter teaspoon or so, just a pinch and taste, it needed a little something)



Whisk egg whites with the water in a small bowl. Place the remaining 1⁄4 cup bread crumbs in another small bowl.



Cut a pocket into the side of each chicken breast about 2 1⁄2-inches long. Place one-quarter of filling inside each slit. Lightly press pocket closed. Wrap 1 half slice of cheese, then one slice of ham around each chicken breast, making sure the ham covers the cheese; secure with a toothpick. Dip the chicken, one piece at a time, into the egg white mixture, then into the bread crumbs. Transfer to the baking pan. Lightly spray the chicken with nonstick spray. Bake until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes. Remove the toothpicks before serving.
Yields 1 chicken breast per serving. (The swiss cheese and ham I had did not go all the way around the chicken. I just placed it to try and cover a lot of the opening)

Enjoy!

Weekend Recap

We finally had a weekend to catch up on things at home. And for the most part we did (even if its not perfect). It meant sacrificing a few out of town events, but it was desperately needed. I mean we still had Christmas up for goodness sakes!

We got Christmas put away. Here are a few pictures of what Christmas in our home looked like this year. My color scheme was deep red, dark apple green (maybe that's not the name of it?), and turquoise.

I made a couple of wreaths to match our tree, like this one here hanging from the china cabinet.

Kitchen tree. Turquoise tinsel to match the overall turquoise theme of our home (note the light beautiful turquoise glass subway tiles in our kitchen. Probably my favorite part of our condo). Complete with little glass ice cream cones and cupcakes in shades of antique pastels, and some fun Disney ornaments!

Jonathan's tree! Sports, Sports, and cars!



We cleaned and cleaned the downstairs, mainly the kitchen. You see we cook nearly every night and usually its not just something simple, so I've just become used to the fact that our kitchen will take constant cleaning, but sometimes like this weekend will need some extra attention.



I went grocery shopping on Saturday night. It turned out to be a wonderful time to go, its basically empty!



We went to church and enjoyed the wonderful 11:11 band and a sermon about the name of God. This week, El Elyon, which means God most high. A good reminder that who are we to go about life our own way when God is the most sovereign? Here you can find past sermons, and this week's should be up soon. Dave Riggle preaches in our service for this series.

We saw the King's Speech. A wonderful movie! Surprisingly funny too.



We cooked. I tried out a weight watchers recipe for chicken and dumplings in an effort to satisfy my Cracker Barrell craving. It was ok, but I learned that so far, chicken and dumplings just isn't meant to be healthy. Maybe I'll find another recipe. Normally the WW ones are amazing, this was just eh.



We watched Miss America, where I sadly realized I am now too old to compete. (sigh)



We read. Well I read just a little, Jonathan is an avid reader these days with his ipad.

Things I'm Loving Thursday

1. My nail polish, Barefoot in Barcelona by OPI. I chose this color on Saturday when I got a quick manicure and it goes with EVERYTHING in my fall wardrobe, plus I have no chips 6 days later, I repeat none!! I have cooked, cleaned, worked, etc. and its still great! It's amazing.

2. Weight Watchers Points Plus. I joined weight watchers officially on January 3, going to meetings each week and all. As of this morning I have lost 5 pounds! The new program is a totally new points system that ignores calories and looks instead at carbs, protein, fat, and fiber. It is based on science and the way our bodies process each. Therefore, you really get more food for your points! I can explain more if you'd like, but basically I NEVER feel deprived, eat what I want, and bottom line is, its working!

3. Weight Watchers etools. I have the etools kit where you have access to all the weight watchers things online, like recipes, and tracking your points online/phone. The recipes are amazing! Jonathan and I picked out one for each day pretty much since I started and he is loving it too! I will have to share some here!

On his ipad, there is the coolest free app called Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion. You do have to subscribe to the weight watchers monthly pass to access it though. When you pick out all your weekly recipes you can add all the ingredients to your grocery list automatically. We literally took the ipad to the grocery store on Sunday and checked off the items as we bought them as it even has them categorized by part of the grocery store. We bought a whole weeks worth of food and were in and out in less than 45 minutes on the near busiest day I've ever seen the grocery!

Plus when you are cooking, you use the ipad like a cookbook basically and when it says an amount of time to do a step, you click on the time and it pops up with a timer!! You can have multiple ones going at the same time. Ah its made life/cooking a little more fun!