Phone dump

I haven't updated the blog lately. I've just been feeling like crud lately and it's all I can do to make it through a day of work these days. So, here's my dump of pics over the last few weeks:



- avonlea's keen sandals for this summer




-custom outfit for Avonlea




-I really like the pattern on the right. I have this obsession with carseats!




-a hot mess!




-two peas in a pod




-Bennett looooves this Gator at Rural King. He must drive it at least 5 times while we are there.




-sissy found this car at Cracker Barrel and she was NOT going to share it.




-she thinks she's hot stuff using the big kid things.

The youngest two have also been battling a stomach bug since Friday. Frankly, I'm tired of cleaning up puke and poop. And so is my carpet shampooer!

I need a vacation!

Cooking and eating

This weekend I spent sometime making some homemade goodies for us. We have a deep freezer that we fill with cases of free range chicken and meats, organic veggies, etc. The freezer is tall but rather narrow and sometimes what's jammed in the bottom somehow gets forgotten about. For the next 3-4 weeks my goal is to do a freezer/pantry clean out. I would like to use as much from what we have with only buying produce, milk, cheese, etc for as long as possible.

This weekend I took an entire gallon of whole organic milk and made Greek yogurt. It was soooo easy and turned out great!

Source: onegoodthingbyjillee.com via Courtney on Pinterest

I also cut up my first whole chicken. Now, I roast whole chickens all the time. But I've never actually cut it up into pieces. The whole chicken gave me two whole meals to feed a family of five.

Honey soy chicken (really good!)

Source: nlrockrecipes.com via Courtney on Pinterest

"Worlds best chicken". Made this and put it in the freezer for later in the week:

Source: rachelschultz.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Made homemade hamburger buns:

Source: eatliverun.com via Courtney on Pinterest

And creamy pasta salad:

Source: anediblemosaic.com via Courtney on Pinterest

*This was super good! I doubled the recipe and used my homemade greek yogurt instead of the mayo.  I used however much on the pasta and then saved the rest for later. That night we made this for dinner:

Source: thelondoner.me via Courtney on Pinterest

and it was AMAZING! I used the pasta sauce on top of these instead of sour cream. Superb!!! Seriously!

I even made some homemade chicken stock using the remainder of the chicken bones, some carrots, celery, onion, garlic and herbs. I boiled it down until it was a rich broth. I got about 4 cups of stock from the chicken:




I'm hoping to get creative this week and in the upcoming weeks for meals. Any suggestions would be welcome and appreciated!

*Edited to add all recipes. Just click on pictures*

Bathroom vanity redo!

So, before I tackled the kitchen cabinets, I decided to transform our master bathroom first to make sure I liked it and knew what I was doing. :)

It was pretty easy. I could have knocked out the cleaning, stripping, primer, and first coat out in less than two hours. But all I had to work with was nap time. I got it all done up to the primer on and then the kids woke up. That evening when Hubby got home from work, I did the first coat of paint. Let it dry overnight and did the second coat the next evening and let that dry overnight. Then put it all back together again.

Here is the before:



And here is the after:





Hubby still has two handles to put on but other than that, it's done. We plan to refinish the hideous countertop in the charcoal when we do the kitchen counters.

Overall, it was pretty darn easy and I wish I would've done it sooner.

Weight loss update

As of yesterday morning, I have lost 16.4 pounds!! I am super excited about this!

I was talking with a friend the other day and she asked me what my secret was. I started to think about it and I realized something that had led to my success this time around: no pressure!

I haven't put any pressure on myself or been in a program where I have to lose each week or feel terrible about myself. Honestly, the only "tools" I have used are tracking on MyFitnessPal and doing Zumba. Some week I'm better at tracking and working out than others. Some weeks I gain and others I lose. It has taken me two months to lose the 16+ pounds but that's ok. Who's counting anyways?! I'm happy with my progress and I feel much better overall. I still treat myself (ahem weekly red mango trips!) and I still get off track. But then I get back on. This mindset has really paid off for me because ultimately I'm losing weight and getting healthy for me, and only me. And me says I can have Red Mango and I don't have to feel guilty if I want to snuggle with my babies instead of working out.

So yeah, that's that. Find something that works for you and do it! My goal had always been to feel better and healthier and be able to wear shorts this summer. That's really all I care about. Not the number.





15 pounds



The places I've noticed the loss in the most: my butt, legs, and stomach.

I'm getting there, slowly but surely. :)

Kitchen redo!

We bought our house brand new 5  years ago. We did not build the house, it was finished when we purchased it. Needless to say, if I had built the house, I would have made A LOT of changes. I've been doing a lot of research  about some DIY home projects and I think I am ready to start.

Number one on my list: the kitchen! We have your standard oak cabinets...GAG! I despise everything about them, oak is just not my thing. After a lot of back and forth and what colors to do, I think I finally have it figured out. I am going to paint the cabinets white and we are going to refinish the countertops in a charcoal color. Repaint the downstairs, including the kitchen, and add a backsplash. Eventually the goal is to  get new appliances. We currently have those disgusting "off white" ones and I loathe those as well.

Here is my inspiration:

Source: hometalk.com via Courtney on Pinterest

Source: familyhandyman.com via Courtney on Pinterest

I've gotten almost all the supplies except the primer and the paint! I can't wait to get started!!!!

Here we go

It's been a while since the last time that I blogged. I needed it. December was a month full of a lot of emotion for me. I needed to take some "me" time and just let things be.

But here we are, a new year. This is going to be MY year. I have a lot of plans for ME. On the list of things to do this year include:
--losing more weight and becoming healthy and fit again
--going back to school to get my MSW
--take a vacation

I'm sure I'll have many more plans, but these three things are at the top of my list. Here's why:

1.) Losing more weight and becoming fit: I have lost a total of 13 pounds so far. I am a jean size smaller and my friends/co-workers are starting to notice. I have gotten a lot of "wow, over the last month, you have just glowed!" comments. I needed this more than anyone could possibly imagine! This month has been very emotional for me. I haven't shared it with anyone. I've kept my smile but on the inside I felt like I had died a thousands deaths. From this stemmed my decision to focus on me. I needed to fix me. And so I am. I work out at least 3-6 times per week doing Zumba at home or taking classes. I am watching what I eat. I have made the decision to move towards a more vegan diet. I can eat vegan without a problem and I already have many of the foods in my pantry. I want to do it for the health reason and  benefits. I have dropped my coffee intake to maybe once per week, which is a huge deal if you know me. I've replaced it with green tea, any other variety of tea, and water. I drink at least 3 cups of green tea per day now. I feel much better than I did, but I know there is still work to  be done. But I'm on the road.

2.) My desire to go back to school has pretty much been a mute point up until now. I knew I wasn't ready both mentally and just the ultimate time commitment for school, three  children, and working full time. But now I am ready. I have the desire to learn more about my field of work and to expand my job opportunities for the future. A big reason I have put it off is because there were no local schools that offered a MSW and I would have to drive an hour each way to attend class. Plus with my husband's work schedule, it would be impossible to attend class each week. However, now IUPUI offers a MSW online. This was my saving grace! I know several people that have completed their MSW through IUPUI and loved the program. I have already started the admissions process, my writing samples, and have lined up my references. I just need to complete it and get accepted. I hope to  start in March of this year.

3.) I haven't take a vacation in 4 years. Yeah, 4 years! I haven't take more than 3 days off in a row from work in 4 years, except for my maternity leave with Avonlea where I took 4 weeks off. Yes, I had a 4 week maternity leave. It was my decision. The thing with my job is that I only get paid for the hours I work. I make my own schedule, so if I don't work, I don't get paid. That means no paid vacation, no paid time off, no paid sick days, no paid maternity leave. Plus, I work my own  cases. If I don't do the visits or the case management, I feel like I have no idea what is going on with my cases. And that drives.me.crazy! I need to  be in control. :) But this year I have vowed to  save up some money and take a vacation! I need a vacation! Badly.

So these are my three major goals for the year. I know that I can accomplish them, I just need to do it and plan it.

What are your goals for the year?

Christmas 2012

I am 95% finished with my Christmas shopping. We aren't doing adult gifts this year so it's been easy to knock it out for all the kids.

Here is what we have so far:

Avonlea:

Bennett and Peytonn:

The boys will each get a bigger item, but we haven't fully decided what those will  be yet. I keep asking them, but it changes daily. I have a few ideas in mind.

My Christmas present was 2 new pairs of jeans and a pair of boots:

Source: zulily.com via Courtney on Pinterest

I absolutely love Maurices jeans! The top pic is the Taylor jeans which I adore! I have 3 pairs. The bottom ones are new to me, they are the Maurices Denim Flex line and I adore them even more than the Taylor jeans. I got them in my original size since they are a straight legged jean and they fit perfect! I probably could have gone with the size down, but I despise tight jeans! The good news is the jeans are affordable: $29 for the Taylor and like $38 I believe for the Denim Flex. I bought them at buy one get one half off!