Making money and where to go?

This new Waffle bar with ice cream looks to me like a place I must visit. Sounds like a fun combo and something new to try.  

Saturday the weather was pretty nice. I missed out when the sun was out, but we still went to the river, sat at the picnic table bundled up with blankets and had a few drinks. This was our big going out adventure, followed by more down hill ski watching while we had a few more beers. 

My old red couch/chair are officially gone! I made a whole $20 on the deal, but we didn't have to dispose of them and now they are out of here! My front room is empty and now I need to get my couch. We will wait till Monday since its snowing today. Plus, we want to wait till the stores aren't busy on a Monday afternoon. 

I also sold one pair of Nike shoes for $5 and they will be picked up today! One less thing to have around the house! Now to find more to sell since I'm on a roll. 

I'm making chicken lettuce wraps for dinner tonight. I can't get the bib lettuce by ordering on line since they don't carry that at Target. We will just go into the stores this morning, get all needed for tonights dinner! 

Happy News!

Saying good bye to our "red" furniture! I sold the chair and couch, it will be leaving today! I think we are all excited to say good bye to the red!

  In with the new! I'm getting a new beige/grayish couch for our front sitting room. I found the couch at Sam's Club it was $500, so not a bad price. I hope this new couch is comfortable! I took my last nap on the red couch yesterday! Zoey is a bit confused on why we need new furniture! Styles change and I need an update! 

The Sunrise was amazing! Of course, the photo never really can capture how it is in real life! 

What other happy news do we have? I FINALLY convinced Steve we need a new bigger TV for our porch! We will move the 55" in the basement and will put the new TV, we are thinking 75" but did consider 85" which might be too large. I'm excited, because our TV is at least 12+ years old. We also need a TV in the basement, so I don't always have to go to my room to watch TV at night. The kids have some where (Basement) to go to watch TV! 

I'm considering the new couch and TV my dieting rewards! 

I did a little splurging on food, Wednesday for Celina's birthday with cake and wine. I also had some pizza deep dish last night and really wanting leftover pizza for lunch today. I don't think it can wait till dinner! I never said this fasting diet I had to be perfect! I'm allowed to have off days of eating more. It will slow weight loss, but I plan to take 5 months to lose 20 pounds.

The snow is melting pretty fast since we've had the sun out and temps in the upper 30's and low 40's. The last day I was able to ski, was last week on Sunday. I'm missing skiing already but am ready to start biking again! Once it reaches 60+F, I'll be out biking daily. Now to start running in the afternoons, once the ice melts from the overnight freeze! It is going to snow up to 3" Sunday, but the weather looks too nice after for it to stick around. I might get in one more day of skiing but that will be it! 

I made more of my Thai chicken soup, this time I purchased a ready made rotisserie chicken and added it in. So much easier and made soup making that much quicker! Its my new favorite soup!! I did add more garlic and Thai chili this time around to make it even more flavorful! 

Week #3 Starts on Monday. We will see if I lost any more inches or weight! 

So far week #2, I lost 4 pounds and 5" on my waist. I might not have measured correctly the first week? I was also down 1" on my hips. Making progress one day at a time!! I will post photo updates starting Monday! 

This project has kind of stalled! I don't work much this coming week, so I will start back at painting the office furniture. Now that I'll have a new couch and will be getting new curtains (week3) reward, I need to finish up this desk! 

My week 1 /2 reward was a new white printer! It was a need since the old one, didn't line up and was printing all blurry! We can't send out business Invoices looking all a mess! Not sure I love the new printer since I can't see the white buttons against the white of the printer. No clue why they made it so hard to see! Old people seeing problems! 

Happy 21st Birthday Celina!!!

 

Celina is 21! She bought her first drink at Doolittles out on the patio. They set up heaters all around us so we could enjoy a few adult beverages. 

Crab legs and beef tenderloin for dinner!

Celina wanted to make her own gluten and dairy free birthday cake. She made two! 

Food and fresh snow!

I'm all about the food these days.  Just waiting for my meal of the day. Since I've been trying to fast till dinner (not always successful), I am always planning my meals. Last night Steve made his chicken & turkey Gyros. The store only had one package of chicken so we added in turkey. The meat was a little dryer than normal, but still good. I only ate half a gyro because I had some of my Thai Chicken soup before dinner. I couldn't wait any longer to eat as I was starving! When ever I feel like that, it's just better to eat something. 

I think with skiing and dieting, I get extra hungry. Yesterday, we had a lot of snow coming down while skiing. I got hot, so I took off my hat and was pretty snow covered by the end. I should have worn some goggles since the snow kept melting and dripping in my eyes. 

It's 40 degrees today. I worked all morning and now feel soo tired. I ended up eating the rest of my soup which was just a small bowl with a little wild rice. I'm still hungry, but will wait till dinner to have half a gyro. I should go out to ski but I'm a bit exhausted from work. I'll probably end up going soon. I have a Total Wine order to pick up before I ski. I can not forget about this!!!

I did a lot of this!

I did very little Saturday other then sit on the couch and watch the Kids Championship Baking Show. I watched multiple episodes. We were waiting to go ski when it warmed up, the high teens for the day. It took till around 2pm for that to happen. I was happy to get off the couch and actually do something with my day! 

I also spent a lot of time looking at food on TV and looking on line. I loved the look of this cake! I need this for my birthday! 

 Still on my diet, day #7 (1 week done)!! It's reward time again!!! I'm looking for an outdoor fire pit, a new gold ring, or an outdoor trail camera, or new white front window curtains to be my reward. I'll be searching today on what I want to purchase. It's not a need but a needed reward for sticking to this weight loss diet plan. My goal is 100 day diet, to lose at least 30 pounds. I will give myself extra days to lose 30 pounds since Summer doesn't officially start in MN till June 1st! Plenty time to drop 30 pounds if I stick with it and a few purchased rewards are a small price to not have to buy more summer clothes in a larger size! I'd rather spend money other places that buy fat clothes in a larger size! I'd like to just wear my last year summer shorts and skirts! 

Monday, I'll be taking measurements to see if I've lost any inches and will actually step on the scale, plus measure my % fat. It's time to know all the numbers so I can see progress from my diet. You can't always go by weight, it's more how I feel and inches dropped to fit into clothes comfortably. 

What I've been doing for exercise? 

Cross country skiing 3.6 to 4 miles

Lifting 15 pound dumbbells

1 min plank bent arm. 

What have I been eating? 

Baby Carrot sticks with 1 TBSP lite ranch dressing (snack)

Thai Chicken veggie soup with either white rice or wild rice. 

A few roasted nuts (almonds and cashews)

A taste of other foods. Just a bite. 

What we can do in Winter!

Temperatures are finally up above zero, in the middle to upper teens. Plenty warm enough to get out and ski again. We also had a bit of fresh snow to make the trails perfect for cross country skiing!  

Steve has been skiing with me the last two days. He is starting to like it better, but still likes a slower pace. I just ski ahead and we meet at the loop to turn around. 

My fingers were freezing on Thursday, so I wore heavy gloves and instantly regretted my decision. They felt thick and hot. I ended up just taking off my gloves half way through skiing. I just never know how to dress when its in the teens. Anything in the 20's and I'm back to wearing a light coat and thin gloves because I know after 1 mile I'll start to get hot! 

We've just been skiing 3.6miles. While dieting/fasting, I don't need to ski 5 miles. I'm on day #6 of my fasting diet and its going great! I do allow a healthy snack. I've just been choosing baby carrot sticks with a table spoon of ranch dressing. I did get a bottle of lite ranch so I won't have to use the full fat version. I like both and can't tell a difference. I either have my snack before dinner or after depending on how hungry I am that day. 

I made more Thai soup, but it didn't taste as good using light coconut milk. I'll probably just stick to the full fat version and not worry about the added calories. This is what I've been eating for dinner. I'll have leftovers today and probably Sunday before moving on to make something else to eat for my meals. I do need to research more healthy meals. On this diet/fasting and only eating one meal per day. My meal can be anything I am craving. This way, it doesn't feel like a restrictive diet. I'm just looking to eat less and cut calories. 

I've been so unmotivated to get our office desk/ shelves painted. I just need to force myself to get started again. I did get the upper cabinets and some shelves painted one coat of primer. Now to finish the rest in at least one coat of primer. I have other projects to move on to doing, so I need to finish this big one up! 

What are my next projects?

Re-tiling our master bathroom floor, tub surround and shower with a new frameless shower door. It's not my project to do, but we need to pick out shower tiles and set a start date for Steve to begin. 

I need to paint the entire basement and re-paint the kids bathroom. We used flat paint in the bathroom and the steam has made the walls look awful. 

I need to find new white curtains for the two front windows and the stair landing window. New handles for the bathroom vanities and kitchen cabinets. 

While we are trying to do more saving than spending, I feel its a need to keep up on our house should we decide to sell. I want to enjoy the updates! It's just little updates that make a big difference. 

Over the dieting hump

 I'm on day #4!! I am over the three day hump. It not smooth sailing from here but I go through the hardest first days. Now to reach 100 and get to my goal! 

I usually don't weight myself right away. This way I'm not overly discouraged. I always under estimate my weight by a few pounds. So on day #4, I stepped on the scale. I'm not going to announce the number. Yes, I gained more weight the last few months then I should have. I'm on my way to getting rid of the weight, so no need to get down about my actual scale weight! I concentrate more on my body measurements and %fat. I took all those measurements on day 1 and will continue to do that every week. I'm avoiding the scale because some weeks you lose more than others. No need to discourage myself if I don't lose as much as I think I should have. I'm more all about fitting into my skinny clothes and feeling comfortable in my skin. 

I've been fasting most of the days. Lunch did consist of a few baby carrots with 1 TBSP of Ranch dressing. Dinner I made zucchini, onion/garlic and roasted cherry tomatoes with some red no sugar sauce. I did have a skinny slice of my homemade bread with garlic and parmesan cheese. Delicious, lots of flavor and a low calorie meal. I am trying to stay around 500 calories for the day. This fills me up and keeps me feeling like I'm starving! I even allow myself to have a few of my favorite PB pretzel nuggets. Usually 1 or 2 for the morning. I do eat dinner early since I am starving by 2:30/3pm. I am trying to hold off eating till 5 or 5:30pm. I just eat as much as I want of dinner. One meal is easier for me to control what I eat and lose weight, then to eat all day long. Monday on the start of week#2, I'll take my body measurements again and report my progress! I'm already feeling better after 3 full days of dieting. No loss of energy, not hungry feeling and ready to get done with day #4 of 100 days. 

I am setting up some mini rewards for my dieting accomplishments. Its non-food related rewards. 

Reward #1! Accomplishing 3 days of dieting! Getting the hardest part done, just starting a diet and sticking with it! Over the 3 day hump! 

What's my reward? A wireless speaker that is on sale at Target. It will be nice to listen to music if we go to a park, camp or boat this spring and summer. 

My next mini reward is after I finish week #1! I'm just not sure what the reward will be yet! TBD.... 

Checking it off!

 I'm on day #3 of my fasting diet. Yippee for me! It's always hard getting started on a diet, but it's always day #2 which is the hardest. I'm passed that! Now on to day #3! I have a 100 day diet goal. I'm eating one meal a day, dinner. Trying to stay around 500 calories but will allow myself to eat what I want for that one meal. I did this same diet last winter and it worked great! I just have my dinner a little early some nights around 4:30/5pm. I don't feel deprived and I lose weight easily on this diet. Doesn't even feel like a diet most of the time. I do struggle a little around 1pm every day. I just concentrate on making dinner at that time. 

My meals so far have consisted of my Thai Chicken Soup and I added 1 cup of white rice. 

I do also have a few PB pretzel nuggets in the morning. I limit those to under 5 nuggets if any. 

My before picture. I'll have to take a better photo once week#1 is done! 

My Thai Chicken Soup.. So easy and quick to make. I will add more Thai curry to the next batch as it could use a little more flavor. Plus, use light coconut milk for less calories. I didn't put in fish sauce, used soy sauce instead. It makes a very tasty soup, that I found on Pinterest. 

Zoey got a new baby for V-day. A Kola Bear. She just loves her stuffed animals. 

Come and gone!

Valentine's Day was filled with me getting everyone cards and candies. 

Kendra and Evan make these cute little Valentine's Day Robots. 

Celina made some delicious ice cream bomb treats for dessert. 

Steve cooked a delicious meal of beef tenderloin, asparagus and mashed potatoes. 

Another no knead bread with cheese gift Steve's mother bough us for day. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Yet another Valentine's Day. 

Our first date in Stillwater March, 1994. So glad we met at Aveda working years ago. I love you more every year!

Our two cutie grand children, Evan and Madelyn. 

A little Zoey Doggie love....

Yet another Covid Scare!

 Logan had a rapid 20 minute Covid test yesterday. It was negative! So glad for that. He gave a friend a ride home who was with other friends who were all testing positive. He wore a mask, the friend did not. I isolated in my room until he got the results back around 2pm yesterday. I didn't get any thing accomplished other then watch TV and read news on my phone. 

Another -8 degree temperature morning with highs of 0*F! Good news on the weather, by Friday we will be back into the 20's and 30's! I'm ready to stay goodbye to this sub zero temperatures! 

Mixing it up!

 I'm not a great cook, but when I do cook I like to make my top 5 items or try something completely new. This was a try something completely different and new kind of meal. Everyone seemed to like sloppy joes. It's not something that we ever make, until I made it a few months ago. I still need to stop adding any sugar into the recipe as it's already sweet enough with just adding ketchup. I had a can of croissant rolls, so I bought another package and wrapped the sloppy Joe meat and baked in the oven. It was actually really good. Steve and I just ate it since Logan was working and Celina had zero interest in eating our meal. Steve also requested tater tots, so it was a very brown meal! 

On my new favorite TV show, the British Baking Show, they have been making meat pies. This is my easy, quick version of that. Maybe some day I'll make a hot water crust and actually make a veggie or meat pie. I've made chicken pot pies in the past, but would like to up my baking and try the full on meat pie and decorate it pastry to look pretty too. 

Another baking technical challenge was to make 12 lace hearts, all the same. I've been wanting to try this using crepe batter. I also added a bit of red food coloring to turn the batter pink. 

My last pancake was the best at the design. I loved making these heart crepes. Just not the easiest to put on jelly. The Brit's eat theirs with sugar and lemon juice. Ugh, no thank you! I'll stick with raspberry jelly! 

I made these crepes for breakfast and had left over batter. This was our after dinner dessert. I cooked up the rest of the batter to feed the birds. 

I want to switch out our porch lights. We have a ton of lights by the ceiling, going all around the room. 

They are outdated lights. Its pretty expensive to change out all the lights. I did find these single lights for $20 at Menards that I do like. Or we could leave the lights and just switch out the glass

Considering I need at least 2 for each light, I might as well replace with a light that I like at $20 each. I need 6 lights! It's not a project that I need to do asap. Just thinking about it. Plus, I'd need Steve on board with my decision since he's the one taking down the old lights and replacing them. 

On other news, Logan's friends are all testing positive for Covid. He gave a friend a ride home that was exposed to the friends who are positive. That friend has yet to get Covid, but we are now getting Logan tested. (He previously had Covid back in August) This time, we have to stay indoors since it's -12 outside. I'll be spending a ton of time in my room. Otherwise wearing a mask in the house. I'd rather just hang out in my room then wear a mask all day. I'd like to get him a rapid test, but seems like they are all costing around $100. Otherwise I think its 24 hours. He mostly is in his room, So not a big deal to wait I'm thinking! He has a Covid test at noon today. I just do my daily alcohol spray all the door knobs, light switches, frig etc.. Now I'll be doing it at night too and maybe at lunch. 

Saturday night!

 What do you do on a Saturday night when it's below zero and Covid? Stay inside, play cards by the fire! I put out a few candles to mix up the look and try to feel like we were out some where, not stuck at home. 

A few beers and drinks with cribbage is always a good idea for a weekend night in. 

We ate chips, salsa and guac for dinner Saturday, but Friday night we picked up a deep dish pizza from Pezzo's in Woodbury. We had the Lincon with added sausage! So delicious and a great left overs to eat for lunch the next day. 

I painted our office desk Friday, the first coat of primer and the 2nd coat on Saturday. I'll do one more coat of primer today and then will start on the enamel. 

I don't have black enamel, so I'll have to get a small can of paint for the top of the desk. Fingers crossed it will look good when I'm done! 

I made more some more ice sculptures yesterday and will un-mold them today to see how they look. I think they are turning out great so far!