I wish every weekend was a holiday weekend...

But then I guess they wouldn't be considered special!

I had a great Thanksgiving. So much to be thankful for and we were surrounded by friends and family all day.

I started my day off with a weigh in and was only up .2 after dinner the night before at Benihana's. We went out for Dave's birthday (Laura's Dave) and we ate a lot. I knew I wasn't going to worry about what the scale said but I was happy to see only a .2 gain.

The fan arrived around 11:30 to watch the Packer game and Mike and I put together this cool wreath.

You take a styrofoam wreath, hot glue tinsel on by wrapping it around and then finish with an extra pop of decoration.
I love my little wreath!

Then it was an afternoon of friends, family, and games. We had a heated marbles game going on in the kitchen right before dinner. Let's just say there were a few aggravated cooks who weren't too happy we chose the kitchen as our location to play.
Too bad!

Dinner was a smorgasbord of ham, turkey, swedish meatballs and so many sides we had two tables full of just food!

An of course Chaz was dressed to help clean it all up!
It was a great Thanksgiving!

Now we can officially start celebrating Christmas. I respected the bird but once Friday rolled around, it was all about Christmas! Saturday evening Chaz and I made homemade pizza, grabbed some Caribou hot chocolate, and decorated for Christmas.

The tree is up...I will post pics later, every nook and cranny is filled with tinsel (Chaz has an obsession with tinsel!), and the cats are getting in the mood!

It was great continuing the tradition of putting the tree up and decorating as a couple. This will be our third holiday season married and our 10th together. We are so lucky and blessed to have a love that feels new and bright each day. I am so thankful that I have that in my life!

We finished out our day helping D. Lo put some lights outside and otherwise, we have been inside enjoying the warmth of our Christmas lights!

an update...

I forgot to let you know last week that I forgot to weigh in on Thursday so I weighed in Friday morning and had maintained through the week. Nothing lost, but nothing gained! I was super happy with that. With the bachelorette party this past weekend however, I went a little crazy with the alocoholic drinks and sweets. I am not as hopeful for this Thursdays weigh in but I had fun this weekend, and I will have fun on Thanksgiving. Friday I will wake up, and continue on my road to maintenance through the holidays. Hopefully this mindset helps me be successful!

Duh...

It's Thanksgiving on Thursday...make THIS if you want to be considered cool! I know I will!

Clogged...

I am so good at getting behind! I thought the daily "What am I thankful for" would get me on here more but, alas, it really hasn't. So now I get to play catch up!

Friday night I made some bomb enchiladas! It was a recipe I found on Pintrest. Check them out...pinned here. So good...and EASY! It was the perfect meal before going out with my mom and sister. We went to see our friend Amy perform at a drag show and it was awesome! Amy is one of the best performers, by far, but there are a lot of talented performers so it made for an entertaining evening.

Saturday I slept, cleaned, then slept so more. Then off to a bachelorette party with Laura. We for sure drank a bit too much but it was such a fun night and it felt great to let loose! Oh, and my first limo ride!

Sunday I went to Twilight with my Alyssa and I have to say, I really liked the movie. It was a bit more grown up and the acting is stronger then in the other movies. To me, the first movie is pretty week and the cinematography is not that sharp. The movies have definitely evolved since then.

Now I am immersed in a busy work week. The next two weeks I am going to be running around crazy. Luckily I get Thursday as a break and can enjoy some amazing food. I love Thanksgiving! And tonight I will head to fitness yoga to hopefully relax, stretch, and de-stress a bit. Maybe that will have to be my go to workout for the next two weeks.

What am I thankful for today?

• I am thankful for those friends who are always there and I can completely let loose around. I love feeling comfortable around people.


• I am thankful for quiet mornings when I can wake up slowly and lounge around in bed for a while.


• I am thankful for last minute plans that turn out to be the best evening you have had in a while.


• I am thankful for warm clothes and a big scarf to wrap around my neck!

Cheers to the fricken weekend...

Happy Friday! My team at work is full and content after the breakfast I brought in this morning. Homemade cranberry pear sauce, strawberries, banana chocolate chip muffins and crock pot egg bake! It was all a hit!

I made my usual brown sugar banana muffins which are 4pp and I added some mini chocolate chips. Since the recipe seems to grow every time I make it, I got 16 muffins this time (the recipe is usually 14), so i think it is safe to say that with the addition of the chocolate chips, the muffin is still only 5pp. I am going to figure it out later and let you know because they were delicious and felt naughty! (check out my food tab for the recipe).

the crock pot egg bake was pretty easy too and I like the results. I think the eggs were a bit grainy but not enough to stop me from making this again. There are a variety of recipes online but here is what I did.

Crock pot Egg Bake al a Adara
14 eggs (most recipes said 12 but I added a few extra for a larger group)
1-1.5 cups milk (depending on eggs used)
30 oz bag of frozen hash browns
1 cup cubed ham
green onions
1.5-2 cups cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Most recipes had a layering effect to how they put the mixture in the crock pot. I wanted my ingredients dispersed well so I mixed the eggs, milk, and seasonings, followed that by adding the ham, onion, half the cheese, and hash browns. I dumped it all in the crock pot, which was sprayed with cooking spray, and set it on low overnight (most recipes said 8-10 hours...I would even check after 6). 30 minutes before serving, top with remaining cheese.

It actually cuts similar to an egg bake. Just slice down the middle and then create slices in the opposite direction! Yum!

What am I thankful for today?

I owe you three of these as I have not been on her since Wednesday and even then I didn't put what I was thankful for!

• I am thankful for the holiday season. It really is merry and bright, as long as you make it that way. Last year during this time I was in a funk because we were moving. It was so stressful and we didn't even get to put up most our decorations. Hopefully I will never have to move over the holidays again but I am thankful that for this year, I am grounded, staying put, and happy as a clam!


• I am thankful for parents who will call and wake me up in the morning when my husband is out of town. I really suck at getting myself up in the morning and would probably sleep the day away with out them! (ugh, I am a night owl but it is getting more balanced!)


• I am thankful to have a host of plans this weekend including a friends show tonight, a bachelorette party tomorrow, and taking in the new Twilight movie on Sunday. Looking forward to it all!

Lovin me some misto...

I wrote on here a while back that to curb the cost of a coffee drink, I sometimes like to get a misto...half coffee, half steamed milk. And with the holiday season here, you can get egg nog in your misto. Since this is a bit of an unhealthy habit, I just ask for 1/4 of the drink to be egg nog instead of half.

This little number is super tasty and costs about half the price of a latte...around 50 cents more then a cup of coffee.

This got me to thinking though...wouldn't it be great to make this at home but with Holly Nog (light egg nog). Sure I can heat milk on the stove and then add it to my coffee, but there is something wonderful about steamed milk.

Cue wish list!

There are two options at Target.

One is this handy frother that doesn't use steam so it can mix hot and cold drinks.
http://www.target.com/p/Aerolatte-Milk-Frother-Stainless-Steel-with-Stand/-/A-10141928?reco=Rec_pdp_10141928_ClickCP_Adjacency

I love the steam aspect though and don't need to dirty the whole kitchen so maybe something like this would be better. Steam and froth at the same time!
http://www.target.com/p/AROMA-MILK-FROTHER-2-CUP/-/A-13759561?reco=Rec_pdp_13759561_ClickCP_Adjacency

Yeah, Aroma Milk Frother it is! Maybe I'll have to buy this little number soon! Better yet, maybe by Thanksgiving and I could play barista for everyone. Mmmm...pumpkin spice dunkin doughnuts coffee with Holly Nog...I can taste the holiday season already!

Maintain, not gain...

I saw this really great motto at the Y. Maintain this season, not gain. I really needed to hear that, and I really took it to heart after gorging on Friendship bread last night! Kory had a party for the Packer/Viking party and there was delicious goodies in excess. I had a hard time saying no. That, and I arrived right from a workout, so I was pretty famished. I will probably see it on the scale Thursday, but I didn't let it get me off track any more then it already did. I woke up this morning, got in an intense am workout, and ate well all day. That is what I want for this holiday season. I want to enjoy it, but I also want to lose, and maintain!

Tonight we had Trader Joe's mandarin orange chicken and rice. It was very delicious! And I made a pot of soup for lunches the rest of the week and I whipped up this yummy little treat!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/11/cranberry-pear-sauce.html

It was super easy to make and tasty. I had it with some greek yogurt and granola, and I am looking forward to throwing it in some oatmeal! It is amazing all by itself but it is fun to think of little ways to add it to some of my normal treats!

What am I thankful for today?

I am thankful for warm lighting and good shows on tv this dark cold evening. It may be bitter outside, but the warmth inside the house makes it bearable. And because I am feeling extra thankful this evening, I am going to post one more thing I am thankful for. I am thankful for my two wonderful cats. Both Faith and Kea provide so much love and warmth, on top of entertainment! I couldn't imagine life without them!