Gadget & Technology Madness!

There is something that I can't resist about new things.... especially if they're related to technology :-) I just love the feel of a new gadget in my hand or a new program on my computer that let's me do something cool!

These are all my latest techy obsessions on my list. So far I've only conquered one of them. The Samsung Galaxy Tab! I love, love, love that thing! I love that it's like my little computer that I can take anywhere. The screen is bigger than my phone but it's no where near as heavy as my laptop.

It will be even better when I can get Google + on it! I really, really want to get on Google +. Why you ask? Mostly...... because I can't! LOL! There is something about not being able to have access to something new that everyone else has that makes you want it more. I think it's going to be really cool and I can't wait for my invitations to come through so that I can join in the fun!

The alarm clock is something that I've wanted for a really long time but the truth is..... I'm just too cheap to buy it! LOL! I can't seem to justify $50 for an alarm clock. However, that might be coming to an end rather quickly because I think I would much rather be woken up by music than a loud and obtrusive noise.... it's working my last nerve :-)

The camera.... oh the camera. I have a camera that's really nice and it works. The problem is that I want a new one. Only because i can get a new one that has more features than the old one that works just fine. Ha!

Technology.... I'm a sucker for it! Apparently, from reading what I've just written I'm also a sucker for ...... and !!!! He he he!

33 Is The New 21!

My littlest sister Lauren & I

So, I've turned 33! I can't tell you how great it feels! I've lost 30 pounds so far and I'm feeling amazing!

People have always said that your 30's are the best years of your life and boy were they right! I am thoroughly enjoying my 30's and really hoping that it just continues to get better as I age. There is something about life right now where, although I'm busier than I've ever been with school, work, and family, I'm really loving my life. I feel like I'm finding a deeper meaning to the purpose in my life. I'm learning to appreciate the small things more and more and to really cherish the little moments with my family and friends.

I'm so looking forward to the next chapters in my life. I can't wait to see what all God has in store for me! SO EXCITING!!!

Thank God for Fiber!

Well, it's no secret anymore that I love to eat! I'll eat just about anything to, as long as it's covered in chocolate and sugar is in the ingredients list. HA! One of my favorites is Girl Scout Cookies. All those cute little girls standing outside the grocery store to catch me as I'm headed in to get my groceries so that I will inevitably spend $20+ on their little boxes of yummy, hip sticking cookies. My all time favorites are these:

You can call them samoas, caramel delights, or as we say in my house, "those yummy girl scout cookies in the purple box"! Call them whatever your little heart desires. The bottom line is, I can shamelessly (and I do mean shamelessly) eat an entire box of these in one sitting!

Thankfully while my sister was at the store the other day she saw these:

These little puppies are A-MA-ZING! They taste identical to the Girl Scout Cookies! The best part about it is that I can get a lot of my daily fiber out of these and because of the fiber, they don't have near as many points as those blasted hip loving cookies do. If you haven't ever tried these you should... they are too yummy to pass up!

Jingle Bells

Jingle bells takes on a whole new meaning with this video. Yes, I am fully aware that Christmas has long passed, but this little video makes me grin ear to ear every time I watch it! I love that I have such a musical family. I also love that the "musical gene" has naturally found it's way into the next generation. Both my niece and nephew just love music! They love to sing, dance, play instruments all just the same. I love how my family is always encouraging their sweet little gifts. Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

L-O-V-E

I love Valentines Day! There is no shortage of love in my family. It's no secret that I'm the pickiest girl in the world when it comes to men so, I've had very few "Valentines" all to myself in my life. However, there is one that has always been consistent... my daddy! When my mom was a single mom she would always make sure we had a "Valentines surprise" waiting for us by our bed or outside our bedroom door when we woke up on Valentines Day morning. Since my parents have been married she has passed the torch to my dad. There hasn't been a Valentines day yet that all of us girls haven't gotten something from my dad. He ALWAYS remembers!

One of my favorite memories is when one year, I was on my way to work, and my dad was running late getting back home with his Valentines goodies before I left for work. He really wanted me to have them before work so he caught up with me and stopped me in the middle of the road to get out of his car to give me flowers and chocolates on my way to work. He's the best!

Today, he surprised me (TOTALLY caught me off guard!) at my office with these:

For those of you that don't know.... my office isn't exactly a hop, skip and a jump from my house. It's more like a hike, nap and another hike from my house! That was quite the trek from some delicious (and almost gone!) chocolate covered strawberries :-)

Every girl should have a daddy that is as thoughtful and loving as mine. It's something so simple but it's just a great reminder that my daddy loves me and would do anything in the world for me (i.e the hike, nap and a hike). For any daddy's out there that read this: make sure your girls know how much you love them. Not just on Valentines Day but every day. There isn't anything in this world that can compare to or replace a father's love!

Love you Daddy!

Sweet Potato Empanadas

My new favorite dessert! This dessert is great for cold weather and is still figure friendly! They're fairly easy to make and you can prep the filling ahead of time. I think that they taste best when they are fresh out of the oven. These are fun to make when you're having a crowd over and need a dessert that you can eat without using a lot of points. These little puppies are only 2 WW points each! Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Empanadas

8 Reduced Fat Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

3 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour

1/2 Cup Cooked Sweet Potato

1 Tbsp Unpacked Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Sugar

2 Tbsp Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread with Flax

2 oz Weight Watchers Reduced Fat Cream Cheese Spread

Splash of Lemon Juice

Cinnamon

Filling:

Combine sweet potato, brown sugar, splash of lemon juice, and cream cheese in a bowl and set aside.

In another bowl, mix together your regular sugar, cinnamon, and a little bit of salt if you like and set aside.

Preheat your oven to the temperature on the crescent roll can. (I think it's 375F)

Get out your baking pans (you'll probably need two) and line them with parchment paper or spray them with non stick spray.

For the dough, you'll want to start with a clean work surface like your counter. Sprinkle your 3 Tbsp of Flour on the counter so that you can place your dough on it to prevent sticking.

Take your crescent rolls out of the can. Divide the roll in half along the dotted line in the middle. Now, unroll one half of what you just divided. When unrolled it should look like a really long rectangle. Divide what you just unrolled in half along the dotted line in the middle of your rectangle. You should end up with two sets of dough. Take one set of triangles (2) and pinch the dough together along the dotted line so that you create one solid piece of dough. Now roll out that dough so that you get one big square. Cut the square into four equal pieces and place them on the pan you want to bake with. Repeat this process with the rest of your dough.

Once you're done prepping all the dough it's time to fill. You'll want to place about 1 Tblsp in the middle of each of your squares. Next you'll want to dip two of your fingers in a little bit of water and run them along two touching sides of your dough. This will be the bottom portion of your empanada. Now, grab the dry corner of your dough and fold it over to make a triangle. The water that you just placed on the bottom part of your empanada will help to create a seal so that your yummy filling doesn't ooze out during baking. Make sure you press your edges together really well so that your empanadas don't spring a leak!

Bake at temp listed above for about 10 minutes. It's best to check them every minute or so after that to see if they're done. You'll want to take the empanadas out when they are just starting to brown.

When there's just a few minutes left in the baking process go ahead and grab a dish and melt your butter.

Once out of the oven, brush the tops of each one with the melted butter then sprinkle with your sugar and cinnamon mixture and enjoy! Just be careful... they'll be piping hot!

Inside Out

God is always working on us from the inside out. His latest project with me is the word and actions associated with control.

The definition of control is to exercise restraining or directing influence over: to have power over: to reduce incidence or severity of especially to innocuous levels. Some synonyms for control are bridle, check, constrain, contain, curb, govern, hold, inhibit, keep, measure, pull in, regulate, rein (in), restrain, rule, tame.

Wow! That's one loaded paragraph. God has really been dealing with me for a while about my need for control. I've realized that my need for control has come from a life of being out of control. I spent the early part of my life in a home that was out of control and very dysfunctional. I have to say that my mom worked as hard as she possibly could, with the knowledge she had, to make it as "normal" as possible. I think early on I developed this need to try and control the environment around me to keep order & reduce the chaos. When my parents divorced, I decided that as the oldest child, it was my job to fill the role of the other parent and help my mom keep my siblings in order. Let the control fest begin! LOL! I'm so thankful for God's mercy and that my siblings don't hate me anymore for it. Growing up I think they yelled at me on a daily basis "you're not my mom"! HA!

What I've learned in life is that there isn't much I CAN control! God is not a controlling God. He tells us in 2Peter 1: 5-7 that we should have "self-control" not control of the world or people around us. So, does that mean that all this time I've been spinning my wheels trying to make everything fall into place just the way it should? Yep. Hmmmm..... What can I control?

I can control, my thoughts, my actions, and my words.

In my thoughts I have to continue to remind myself (sometimes a gazillion times a day!) that I cannot control they way my life plays out. "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord". So that means that whatever I assume to be true may only be my own ideals. God makes the plans for my life. When things don't go the way I think they should then it's my job to control my thoughts and remind myself that God knows what He's doing and His ways are better than mine. Even when I think I know better ;-)

In my actions I have to remember that I cannot manipulate situations or try to intervene to force God's hand. I am just a vessel traveling on the path that God has planned for me. If I listen to Him and trust Him then I will be just fine on this journey. It will get hard at times and I'll feel like I can't go on but I have to push myself to continue to press on and press through. I have to make myself keep moving and run my race trusting in God just like Paul did!

My words. Boy, that's a really big one! Words are so much more powerful than anyone may ever know. I was watching a documentary on Maya Angelou last night and she was saying that she really believes that words are things that have actions. You know, if you think about that, there's a lot of truth in it. My words can discourage someone to the point of quitting a lifelong dream or encourage them to conquer the world! That's big time! I want to control my words. I want them to bring life, love, and encouragement to others. I want people to find comfort and joy in what comes out of my mouth. I want to control my words so that I build others up and encourage them to reach for the stars! I want my words to be like Proverbs 16:24 "Gracious words are like honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body."

There's SO much to learn about life. Learning what I can and cannot control can be really difficult at times but there is so much freedom when I let the one who was meant to control my life steer the ship!

Breakfast Tacos With a Little "Special Something"!

So we decided to have breakfast for dinner tonight. We decided on breakfast tacos... with a little "special something" that I'll get to in a minute. The tacos were amazing and they were really low in WW points. We used real Flour Tortillas, Egg Beaters, Oscar Meyer Ready Cook Bacon, and 1 Large Baking Potato. We diced the potatoes and then par cooked them and finished cooking them in 2 tsp of olive oil so that they would be nice and crunchy on the outside. Each taco had 2 pieces of bacon, eggs, potatoes and a little "something special".

I betcha wanna know what the something special is huh? Well, If you're an avid Top Chef watcher (which I just might be) or if you love great mexican food (which I do and that's NO secret) then you might be familiar with a chef by the name of Rick Bayless. Rick is a very well known chef who has several restaurants in Chicago all with some kind of Mexican style kitchen. While we were getting groceries at Wal-Mart this evening we came across these in the Mexican food isle with the salsa and stuff.

This stuff is A-MA-ZING-LY delicious! The one on the left is called Ballpark Nacho. It's a cheese sauce with just a little bit of kick and a lot of flavor. You just heat up the bag in the microwave and you're done. So easy! You have hot cheese for tacos, burritos, chips, nachos, or straight into your hungry little mouth! The one on the right is called Black Bean Nacho and it's exactly what it says. Black beans that are mashed with a smoky chipotle flavor that is fantastic. Oh, I almost forgot the best part... The Ballpark Nacho Cheese is NO WW points for 2 Tbsp. and the Black Bean Nacho Sauce is only 1 WW point for 2 Tbsp.!

Next time you're in Wal-Mart, go to the Mexican food isle and pick this stuff up! You won't regret it!

You can also find more products, which I fully intend on ordering, at www.salpica.com

Breakfast of Champions!

I haven't always been a breakfast person. Don't get me wrong.... I can eat ANY time of day. Eating is not the problem. The problem is that by the time I enjoy my one or two cups of coffee I'm full. So, once I started WW I realized how important it was for me to eat breakfast so that I could jumpstart my metabolism first thing in the morning. I have several breakfast favorites but this is my usual "go to" for breakfast right now. It's filling, satisfying and low in points!

Let's start with the bagels. I just love these Thomas Bagel Thins! They are 110 calories (3 WW points) and delicious! They come in plain, everything, and whole wheat. I'm currently addicted to the everything bagels but they are all yummy. Now, on to the cream cheese. I really enjoy good cream cheese. I won't mention brand names but I've tried the fat free cream cheeses and they taste just like...... fat free cream cheese. Not the way to start your morning! However, the WW cream cheese is the same amount of points (2 WW points for 1 Tbsp.) and it tastes like the real thing. It's so yummy and creamy and you wouldn't even know it's fat free :-)

My usual breakfast consists of a bagel with cream cheese, coffee and a Fiber One Key Lime Pie yogurt. All of that only totals 6 WW points! Not too shabby for a morning meal!

My Little Sunshine!

Lorelei Nicole Seymour was born on February 3rd, 2009 and that was the day she forever captured my heart! She is such a little bundle of joy and the best niece an Aunt could ask for. Lolly has me wrapped around her sweet petite fingers and she knows it! I have to say, I felt spoiled rotten when my nephew came along but having my niece is just a double blessing! She greets me at the door every day with a hug and a squeal and neither one of us would want to have it any other way. Lolly is the most amazing little miracle and I thank God for her cute face every day! Here are a few pics of Lolly for you to enjoy....because I do! ;-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOLLY!

Lolly with Logan... her partner in crime!

Lolly likes to play with her ears when she's sleepy

I think it's so cute!

Who could resist this sweet girl?

Love bug!

Enjoying her birthday cake tonight

I'm not sure who enjoyed it more... "Bubba" or Lolly!