Fitness Friday - Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

It's Fitness Friday over at OzzyPip Quilts.

I'm trying to keep this in perspective. I look at my stats over the last week, and am disappointed that I haven't hit 10,000 steps any day this week.

But then I look back over the last four months since my surgery, and I can see that I am making progress.  It's a little two steps forward, one step back, but it's still progress.

Things I learned this week:

• The One Direction concert didn't count for enough steps to account for how tired I was.
• The day after the concert I was hopeless.
• I may be in tenth place among my friends, but I'm still ahead of The Pit Boss and Grace!

How is your fitness journey going?



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Menu Plan Monday - Hell in a Handbasket

It's Menu Plan Monday and this week jumps to a whole new level of crazy. We have two cross country meets, a day off for each kid (but not the same day, of course!), an orthodontist appointment, two lacrosse practices plus a game, THE QUILT SHOW and...oh, yeah...tickets to the One Direction concert.

How did I get myself into this? The Pioneer Woman said it so much better than me.

• Sunday - leftovers from MMC's awesome birthday dinner
• Monday - Baked Pasta with Sausage and Spinach from the freezer, mixed green salad.
• Tuesday - Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches (that we didn't get to again last week!)
• Wednesday - dinner at the concert
• Thursday - leftover buffet
• Friday -  quilt show preview party dinner
• Saturday - oh, who knows at this point?

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - Schrodinger's Meatloaf

It's Menu Plan Monday and it's fall, y'all! You can tell by the sports, the break in the weather...and the allergies. Grace has been home sick off and on all week, but is much better today. Let's hope it stays that way!

These weeks when we are on the go, have meetings and practices and games and meets and late nights at work, are tricky for planning dinners. We are headed in all different directions, so the menu plan is even more important for those nights when we can sit down as a family. Tuesday and Thursday are the worst, leading The Pit Boss to question "If you make dinner and there's no one there to eat it, does it still taste good?" (Also known as Schrodinger's Meatloaf).

• Sunday - Skinny Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy, mashed potatoes, mixed green salad
• Monday - Pollo Sabroso, yellow rice, oven roasted green beans
• Tuesday - YOYO
• Wednesday -  Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches (that we didn't get to last week!)
• Thursday - leftover buffet
• Friday - Almost Famous Broccoli Cheese Soup, bread bowls
• Saturday -My Middle Child's 18th birthday dinner! - TBD

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - Next Week?

It's Menu Plan Monday and I'm clinging to the plan. I keep thinking next week will be less crazy, but that hasn't happened yet this school year. Maybe next week?

Lots of crock pot dinners this week to accommodate all the different schedules and directions we are headed!

• Sunday - breakfast for dinner
• Monday - Korean ribs, green beans, brown rice
• Tuesday -YOYO
• Wednesday - Crock Pot Italian Sloppy Joe, mixed green salad
• Thursday - leftover buffet
• Friday - Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
• Saturday - date night

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - Relying on Routine

It's Menu Plan Monday and I'm leaning hard on routine; I'm using familiar and favorite recipes, planning pasta for the night before a cross country meet, fish on the night Gracie won't be home for dinner, and a Saturday date night.

My Middle Child (MMC) just wrote an insightful college application essay about the importance of routines during time of stress, uncertainty, or chaos, and it really hit home for me at this busy time of year.

Speaking of college applications, we just got this in the mail Saturday:

 It's especially fun to get the first one. As he said, we know he's going to college somewhere!

• Sunday - Sirloin Steak with Avacado Salad, baked potatoes
• Monday -  Pollo Sabroso, yellow rice, oven roasted green beans
• Tuesday - Slow Cooked Jerk Pork with Caribbean Salsa over brown rice
• Wednesday - Easiest Pasta and Broocoli [with shrimp]
• Thursday - Asian Salmon with Vegetables (recipe from package of Cedar Papers)
• Friday - Leftover Buffet
• Saturday - Date Night!

What's on your menu?



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Fitness Friday - To Tell the Truth

It's Fitness Friday with OzzyPip and Sandy and it's time for truth or dare.

I haven't mentioned this until now, but twelve weeks ago I had some pretty major surgery. Luckily it was also routine and everything turned out exactly as it should. I'm fine; in fact, I'm better than I have been in a couple of years. The #twilters who pay attention to these things might have noticed that I was a little off my game. Not that I had a lot of game to begin with!

So anyway, I was out of work for six weeks and under some physical restrictions for four more. I'm now officially all cleared. Basically, it's time to get off the sofa.

While I was out of work, The Pit Boss was amazing about cooking healthy meals and taking such good care of me. I actually lost a few pounds, despite the fact that I was spending most days alternating between bed and the couch, mainlining all six seasons of The Sopranos and Nurse Jackie. (It wasn't as dark as it sounds.)

Now, though, I'm back to work, back to eating lunches out (Oh Em Gee! Have you tried Chicken Salad Chick?), birthday cake in the break room, and coming home exhausted. Between trying to rebuild my stamina and the start of school craziness, I've let more than a couple of Menu Plan Mondays slip away and eaten one too many Village Burgers.

So those few pound I lost? I found them. Plus some of their friends.

There is some good news, though. TPB is my hero. This week, after we skipped the grocery store again, he went after work on Tuesday and has cooked every night this week. It's been such a relief and pleasure to come home to a healthy dinner every night! To top it all off, he's gotten me out and walking after dinner several times. At first, I couldn't even go a mile before I had to stop. He'd drop me off at home and go back out for the rest of his walk. I'm getting better - this week I've broken 10,000 steps twice! I haven't done that in months. Tuesday night we walked together at the park for about 2 1/2 miles at a pretty decent pace, and I didn't even die.

Now I've told the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I dare you to post your own Fitness Friday and go link up with Pip!



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Making Connections - Fitness Friday with OzzyPip! Plus #LDSI and a Postcard Swap

One of my favorite things about being a quilter is how social it is. From the quilt bees of long ago to the virtual sew-ins on Twitter or Instagram, quilters like to work together and see what other quilters are working on.

My #twilter friend OzzyPip, who has been great about reminding me to post the Throwback Thursday links, has started her own linkup for Fitness Friday. This is where we are supposed to post our progress and cheer on other quilters in search of better health.

My Fitness Friday update is pretty short. The Pit Boss has been working hard to help cook healthy meals and push invite me out the door after dinner for a walk with the dogs. After a completely off schedule summer and two weeks of back-to-school insanity, I think we might be settling back into a routine after this weekend. I'm looking forward to having my FitBit recognize 5 digit numbers once again and get the scale moving in the right direction.

Of course, when we have a long weekend, it's time for a sew-in on Twitter. I'm hoping to actually get some sewing done this weekend. Come join us using #LDSI!

Last, Sandi over at Quilt Cabana Patterns has announced a fall postcard swap. Sign up to send and receive a fall/Halloween themed postcard. These are such fun, quick projects that allow us to own a piece of art that one of our online friends has made.

What are you up to this Labor Day weekend?



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Menu Plan Monday - Can You Survive Without It?

It's Menu Plan Monday and boy did I miss it last week! We had a crazy schedule with lacrosse starting, a senior parent meeting, back to school night at middle school, and the first football game of the season. I never made a plan or even went to the store because we were gone so much, and I thought we'd just "wing it." Basically, I gave up.

Spoiler alert: no menu plan leads to domestic chaos.

Since I didn't go to the store, we ran out of milk, bread, eggs, cereal, lunch meat, and anything else that could be made into a quick and easy meal. This resulted in eating out too much, eating junk too much, and general malaise. The dishwasher wasn't run regularly, so by Thursday we were out of coffee cups and out of energy (also: dog food). Add that to the 95+ degree heat this week, and you have a recipe for a stressed out, sweaty lunch hour and grouchy kids.

I'm not telling you all this to complain; I'm telling you this because this is how our life used to be A LOT and making a menu plan for even a few months makes you forget how chaotic it was. Just make the dang menu plan! (I'm talking to myself here. You can do what you want.)

This week is another jam packed week, but I'm trying to temper it by making a plan and having dinner together on the nights we are able. How do you cope with those weeks when it seems like everyone is running in a different direction?

• Sunday -  Baked Pasta with Sausage and Spinach, mixed green salad
• Monday - Sweet and Fiery Pork, grilled asparagus, brown rice
• Tuesday - One more back to school night - YOYO
• Wednesday - Crock Pot Korean Ribs, oven roasted green beans, brown rice
• Thursday - College reception
• Friday - Leftover Buffet
• Saturday -Birthday party

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - For Real This Time!

It's Menu Plan Monday and we are clawing our way back to "routine." Deuce heads back to Tuscaloosa tomorrow morning shortly after Gracie leaves for her first day of 8th grade. My Middle Child (MMC) has a week under his belt, and is settling into the long days of school/cross country practice/dinner/homework/sleep.

We're experiencing a lot of lasts this week; tonight is our last night before Deuce leaves for awhile, and today will be my last open house at Gracie's school - our fifteenth straight one there! I'm nostalgic and excited and anticipating the very busy months ahead of filling out applications and making big decisions about high school for her and college for MMC.

• Sunday - on the fly (Fall Sports Night/Senior Pictures)
• Monday - dinner at the grands
• Tuesday - Healthy Chicken and Broccoli Tetrazzini
• Wednesday -Asian Brined Pork Loin, jasmine rice, stir fried veggies
• Thursday - chicken and veggie kabobs, quinoa
• Friday - Almost Famous Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Saturday - steaks on the grill, baked potatoes, Caesar salad

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - Back to School But Not Back to Normal

It's Menu Plan Monday and high school starts tomorrow for my middle child, formerly known in this space as the Bear. On a side note, he has informed me that this nickname has negative connotations (I'll let you google at your own risk) and he would prefer I not use it anymore. However, he cannot think of a nickname that he does like.  ("Can't you just kill off my character?", he asked.  Ummm...no.) Henceforth, he shall be called My Middle Child or MMC.

Aaaaaaanyway....he goes back to school tomorrow, Grace starts next Tuesday, and my college boy is home for a week in between his summer research program and the start of the fall semester. Summer is over but we aren't quite back in the routine yet.

• Sunday - fast food after the dinner I made FAILED
• Monday - Quilt Guild/YOYO
• Tuesday - hamburgers on the grill, potato salad, grilled corn on the cob, mixed green salad
• Wednesday - pollo sabroso, brown rice, oven roasted green beans
• Thursday - pork chops, yellow rice, Caesar salad
• Friday- we're introducing Deuce to Big Pie in the Sky, our new pizza obsession
• Saturday -dinner with the grands TBD

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - The Last One Before School Starts!

It's Menu Plan Monday and, yes, it's the last one before school starts. Can you believe our summer is over already? We have a lot going on again this week, cramming in the last of the sleepovers and pool days and date nights. It's a patchwork menu again, but I'm trying to have a healthy dinner planned for the nights when we are actually all together to balance it out.

Are you dealing with back-to-school or are you in an area of the country where you've just gotten into the swing of things?

• Sunday - Roast Pork Loin with Pineapple Glaze, mashed potatoes, mixed green salad
• Monday - Sirloin Steak with Avocado Salad
• Tuesday - Grilled Honey Lime Chicken Breast with Fresh Corn and Zucchini Succotash
• Wednesday -YOYO
• Thursday - Crock Pot Korean Ribs, brown rice, oven roasted green beans
• Friday - Pizza Night
• Saturday - Date Night

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - Rainy Days

It's Menu Plan Monday, and this week we are going to cool down with rain predicted every single day.  Sounds like a bummer, but for us in the south who have lived here long enough to remember terrible drought and water restrictions, it's just fine. It's a weird week anyway with a lot of stuff crammed in that makes me wonder when we'll have time to sit down and eat as a family at all!

Remember, the recipes we have tried and love are on my Menu Plan Monday Pinterest board.

• Sunday - Ribs, potato salad, baked beans, cole slaw
• Monday - Sweet and Fiery Pork, oven roasted asparagus, brown rice
• Tuesday - YOYO
• Wednesday - Baked Pasta with Sausage and Spinach
• Thursday -YOYO
• Friday - out to eat with friends from out of town
• Saturday - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed green salad

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - Hot Hot Hot

It's Menu Plan Monday, smack dab in the middle of summer. It's hot, we're not going anywhere, and our company has come and gone. It would be so easy to fall into a routine of no routine, of not cooking or grocery shopping or planning at all.

I'm trying to stay focused on the perfect grill weather and all of the fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season. Remember, the recipes we have tried and love are on my Menu Plan Monday Pinterest board.

• Sunday - Sirloin Steak with Avacado Salad (this was delicious!! We grilled the steaks instead of frying them, but this salad was like summer on a plate!) 
• Monday - Spring Stir Fried Chicken with Sugar Snap Peas and Carrots over brown rice
• Tuesday - Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
• Wednesday - Easy Roast Chicken, Roasted Garlic Zucchini and Tomatoes
• Thursday - out to dinner with friend from out of town
• Friday - Leftover Buffet
• Saturday - ribs, cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - Recovering

It's Menu Plan Monday and I'm in recovery mode after our week of family fun. I've eaten too much, played too hard, and let all pretense of organization or structure go out the window. It was a blast!

Now we've got to get back on track.

• Sunday - leftover buffet/MUSGO after big family brunch
• Monday - maybe dinner with the vacation stragglers - it's loose!
• Tuesday - Pollo Sabroso, grilled mixed veggies, quinoa
• Wednesday - Crock Pot Salsa Chicken Thighs (make your own salad/burrito/bowl)
• Thursday - Risotto, Pea and Sausage Soup
• Friday - Spring Stir Fried Chicken with Sugar Snap Peas and Carrots
• Saturday - Happy Birthday to me! Out to eat

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - VBS Week

It's Menu Plan Monday and the remaining children are volunteering at our church's Vacation Bible School once again. It's always a fun week, but they come home absolutely worn out and hungry. We're just getting used to the summer "schedule" and trying to find the right balance of activity.

• Sunday - Grilled Chicken Bacon Ranch Panini, Grilled Fries
• Monday - Sweet and Fiery Pork, oven roasted green beans, brown rice
• Tuesday - Steaks on the grill, baked potatoes, Caesar salad
• Wednesday - Risotto, Pea and Sausage Soup, homemade bread
• Thursday - Leftover Buffet
• Friday - out for pizza!
• Saturday - pulled pork, mac & cheese, cole slaw

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - #MDSI

It's Menu Plan Monday and I've been a very bad blogger. Chalk it up to Mother's Day (when I didn't make a menu plan or grocery list and, in fact, never even went to the store for the whole week!) or May-Hem or whatever. Sorry. Whatever it is, I'm ready for summer to be here.

It's already our last week to have Deuce home before he heads back to Tuscaloosa for his summer work. It's so hard to believe, especially since he will be moving into an apartment straight from his summer dorm residence. It feels like this is the last time we will all be truly living here together.

Regardless, I'm glad I have today off work and lots of family time scheduled this weekend. I had hoped to get some quilting done and participate in #MDSI, but I don't think that will happen much.

• Sunday - dinner with the in-laws
• Monday - dinner at my parents'
• Tuesday - Skinny Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy and mashed potatoes
• Wednesday - Healthy Tetrazzini with Chicken and Broccoli
• Thursday - Baked Pasta with Sausage and Spinach
• Friday -Almost Famous Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Saturday -out to eat - farewell dinner for Deuce ~*sniff*~

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - Cinco de Mayo and Comfort Food

It's Menu Plan Monday and all my chicks are in the roost. It was a stressful week last week with Deuce's finals and the storms rolling through Tuscaloosa. Instead of a Cinco de Mayo themed week of recipes I'm making a week of the least healthy recipes I could find old family favorites and comfort food. 

I did, however, make these Churro Truffles to bring to quilt guild tonight. I'm not such a huge fan of cinnamon and sugar, but my family inhaled the extras and assured me that they are awesome. 

I'm getting back into the routine of wearing my FitBit again, but have not been breaking any records. I don't have much in the way of excuses since the weather is gorgeous and I'm sleeping better now that my boy is home.

• Sunday - Country Fried Steak, black eyed peas, mashed potatoes, fried corn
• Monday - out for pizza
• Tuesday - hamburgers on the grill, potato salad, cole slaw
• Wednesday -Pollo Sabroso, yellow rice, grilled mixed vegetables
• Thursday - Korean Ribs, brown rice, oven roasted asparagus
• Friday - fried pork chops, leftover yellow rice, caesar salad
• Saturday -leftover buffet

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - Let the Mayhem Begin!

It's Menu Plan Monday and we're kicking off that magical time of year I like to refer to as "Mayhem." Honestly, I think May might be worse than December! No graduation this year (next year we have TWO!) but exams, concerts, Mother's Day, my dad's birthday and Deuce coming home for the month make it challenging to stay on top of everything.

My FitBit is back to work, although I've had a couple of days where I forgot to put it on and so my step counts are even worse than usual! Seeing Pam in person last Thursday really inspired me to get moving...right up until the point where someone sent a mass email on Friday to say that there was leftover cake in the accounting department break room. So that happened.

My user name on My Fitness Pal is QJ2013 if you want to be friends.

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

• Sunday - out to eat with friends before the Alabama concert (It was awesome!)
• Monday - Grilled Honey Lime Chicken Breast with Fresh Corn and Zucchini Succotash
• Tuesday - Flounder Milanese with Arugula and Tomatoes (we never got to this last time it was on the menu plan)
• Wednesday - Leftover Buffet - Spring Chorus Concert (beginning of Mayhem observed*)
• Thursday - Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches with Carmelized Onions
• Friday - Pork Chops with Apples and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Saturday -YOYO - Spring Band Concert

What's on your menu?

*just to see how many of you actually read what I'm cooking!



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Menu Plan Monday - Happy Easter!

It's Menu Plan Monday and we are celebrating the Easter season. Lent is over, hopefully winter is over, and we are chasing all the sad away! Yesterday we attended sunrise service and had my parents and some friends over for a beautiful breakfast. The Tuscan Stratas from Lisa over at Garnish with Lemon are absolutely delicious!

It's a pretty calm week, which is great since I am presenting my Social Media for Quilters program on Thursday at the East Cobb Quilt Guild's evening meeting. This time it's for real! Keep your fingers crossed for me.

My new FitBit arrived in the mail (seriously awesome customer service!) on Saturday, and I was so thrilled to put it back on. Weird how much I've missed it. Still no scale, but that's on the list.

My user name on My Fitness Pal is QJ2013 if you want to be friends.

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

• Sunday - Tuscan Stratas, hot cross buns, hashbrown casserole, grapefruit mimosas, and a fruit/yogurt bar.
• Monday - Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Chicken, brown rice, mixed green salad
• Tuesday - Zuppa Toscana, homemade bread, Caesar salad
• Wednesday -Pollo Sabroso, yellow rice, grilled mixed veggies
• Thursday - East Cobb Program - everyone is on their own!
• Friday - Crock Pot Korean Ribs, leftover brown rice, oven roasted green beans
• Saturday - Date Night

What's on your menu?



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Menu Plan Monday - Recovery Mode

It's Menu Plan Monday and last week's attempt at clean eating was a total bust. It was a combination of too many activities and not exactly loving the recipes on the plan we were trying to follow.  This week I decided to go back to what was working for us (translation: Skinnytaste) and choose recipes from Gina's clean eating tag. My exception is Wednesday, when Gracie has an orthodontist appointment that we've been warned will be long and painful, so she got to pick whatever soup she wanted. Poor bunny!

I have also contacted FitBit and hope to be getting a replacement soon. The scale still has not been replaced, so I have no idea how I'm doing; I figure this is a good week to be in denial!

My user name on My Fitness Pal is QJ2013 if you want to be friends.

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

• Sunday - cookout at Mom's with the cousins
• Monday - Orange Chicken Makeover over brown rice
• Tuesday - Spaghetti Squash Sausage Lasagne Boats, mixed green salad
• Wednesday - Almost Famous Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Thursday - Chicken and veggie kabobs, quinoa
• Friday - Flounder Milanese with Arugula and Tomatoes
• Saturday - Musgo/YOYO

What's on your menu?



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