Joyfulness and Satisfaction

So as of lately I have felt an overwhelming sense of joy and satisfaction with my life.  Was it turning 40? Or was it just the fact that somethings are being revealed to me on a more regular basis that I'm open to accepting?  I have for sure decided to be more easy going, accepting differences in others and also not putting myself in situations just to make others happy or not to rock the boat!  I'm tired of living on egg shells.  So maybe it was turning forty that has given me this new sense of self but I love it!!!
  I have an amazing husband who takes great care of me and our family.  We love to be together and we love to have fun with our kids.  It amazes me how many parents, moms and dads who really don't interact with their kids, for example lets say at the beach.  They take them out and then they are expected to entertain themselves for hours on end without a parent even going into the water with them.  I can't imagine it!  Seriously, I don't lovvvveeee the ocean water but I do have to pee sometimes therefore  I have to go into the water.  Why not take the time to actually get in and splash around in the waves for a bit with the kids?  They love it and they think you are amazing!  It really doesn't take more than that.  Kids will then be very happy and play along the beach knowing their parents played with them.  And if you do let the kiddos go out a little further they know you will come out on occasion to play and then go back to doing whatever they were doing before.  I've been at the beach with families that don't play in the water with their kids and the kids will literally attack any adult that comes out.  REALLY?  Kids need attention and they crave it from their own parents but will take it from whomever they can get it from.  Very sad not to mention ANNOYING!!! I want to play with my own kid not yours.  Just because you brought them out doesn't make you a great parent you have to teach them how to play. You can't do that laying on the beach tending to your tan. Urghhhh! 
  Anyway I look forwards to spending more time with my amazing kids on the beach this summer and knowing I'm blessed beyond and so are my kids!  We may not have tons of money to buy entertainment but we do give them lots of attention, teach them how to swim and how to behave. Some of the best gifts in life.

  On another note I have finally lost the Christmas weight I put on in December!  It only took 3 months!  I won't be taking a two week break again anytime soon.  I'm trying to implement more real foods into my diet and it seems that you really do have to eat a ton more food if your going to eat real foods that are low in fat and carbs.  I'm loving it though. 
Have a blessed day.

Checking in

Finally!  The scale moved in the right direction!!! 2 lbs down.  So the official weigh in was 142.  Thank goodness.  My measurements were good also.
-1/2" upper chest
-1" midriff
-1/4" waist
-1/2"upper hips
-1/2"lower hips
So that's the good news!  Very satisfied with that this week.  I hope the scale will go down again next Monday.  I've been really watching my portions and the fat in take.  Trying to cut some calories although that's not as important when doing low-carb.

Very excited to share that I tried some new things.  First I don't think I've shared about trying spin class.  It was awesome!  What a great workout with lots of sweat!  I've done it twice now.  I know I will continue to throw it in once or twice a week.  The other thing I tried was goat cheese.  I made these really yummy quesadillas I found on Pinterest.  Here's the the link http://sugarcooking.blogspot.com/2010/02/chicken-spinach-goat-cheese-quesadillas.html

I think mine look really yummy!  I could go for one right now!

Omgoodness!!!! This was one really yummy quesadilla!  The tip about toasting the inside first was a real winner!  I will remember that for the future.  I also made a couple of changes.  To stay with low-carb I used low-carb tortillas and instead of avocados I used fresh guacamole.  I will be eating this again.
  Bad news is this, my darling hubby has been really interested in homesteading or backyard farming for awhile now.  He really thought having a goat for cheese would be essential.  Guess what?  He doesn't like goat cheese! Hahaha! So my experiment went really well for my diet options but not so well for my hubby's hopes and dreams.  Oh well.  If you have any suggestions on goat cheese I would love to hear them.  He said the kind I got, crumbles, is a fresher cheese and maybe a harder cheese might be better for him?  I don't know about this.  I just bought the only goat cheese I saw at the store. What other kinds are there?

Let me know if you try this and if you have any changes you really like.  I love quesadillas so variations are always encouraged.

Enjoy
Deanna

Monday Morning Madness

Found this on my obsession, Pinterest. 

This was on my mind this morning! Should have listened to the wiser!  I didn't want to get on but thought I better keep up with my accountability!  URGH!!! Ok I didn't cry but I don't want to do anything now.  I have been working my tail off to no availl!  The only saving grace is that I had the good sense to take my measurement last Monday!  Thank goodness.  So even though the scale goes up or stays the same, I've actually lost in inches.

3/4" off my bust
1" off midriff
1/4" off the small of my waist
1/2" off my lower abdomen(baby pooch)
3/4" off my upper thigh
1/4" off my lower thigh
These are very encouraging.  I know with low-carb your body will hold on to weight for a long time before letting it go.  I don't understand this but I know it to be true.  It's so important to not only look to the scale for signs but also other forms of measurements.

I didn't make it to the gym this morning due to not being prepared!  I know better.  The excuse:  I didn't do my own laundry.  Sorry not going to the gym in 3 day old stinky workout clothes.  My solution:  Go buy some more workout gear, an outfit for each day. LOL!  Is that frugal?  I wonder if not doing so much laundry would actually save us money in the long run!!!Hahaha.  Yes that's going to be my reasoning.  Wonder what hubby's feelings would be on that.

Now I would like to share a happy topic SPRING IS ON IT'S WAY!!! How I know this is our beautiful flowers have started to bloom.  I know they are winter bloomers but they are a sign of things on the horizon.  I love Spring and these are one of the only things I love about living in the middle of our country. Yeah I'm not a lover of Texas but I'll take what I can get.   And these are always a place of beauty.  They seem to show up right when I've just about had enough of the cold.  I'm ready to get my hands in to the dirt and plant some beautiful works of art by my Creator.  How can you look at these and not feel the peacefulness of God's great creations?

Have a blessed Monday!
Hugs,
Deanna

Family ties

Isn't this a true statement!  My daughter (15yrs) picked this out for me over the Christmas camping trip we went on to Austin.  It has to have been one of the best family times we have ever had.  We were all together, which being a blended family sometimes doesn't happen.  This in of it self made it special but the fact that we all had such a great time made it the best ever!  Together we have it all!  We aren't perfect, none of us, not me and my amazing hubby as parents, not our teens who have made some poor choices and not our littlest one's who are on the road of trying to find out the boundaries.  Our family has had it's bumps but we have recovered from them and we will continue to have bumps that we will eventually recover from.  But I love when we all come together.  A funny story about this trip, it was the first one our now adult, sorta, child came with us.  Trev hasn't lived with us for two years now and since we got the camper last summer he hadn't gone with us.  We also hadn't gone in the cold yet.  So here we are in a new park, very excited to go explore and we set up camp.  We go to bed, nothing new, didn't pay any attention to how cold it was going to drop during the night and we wake up FREEZING!  We hadn't ever used our heater, never needed to.  So we can SEE our breath inside the camper!!! We're blowing hot air out as if to warm the inside of the camper.  We are all laughing uncontrollably with chattering teeth, not because it's funny at the time but because we can't seem to get the heater on quick enough and then the fire alarms go off due to the heater's fumes.  It had never been used before so it smelled really bad.  As miserable as we all were it was a great moment!  Trev had only two little blankets and he's a 6'4" man.  This wasn't probably what he had expected as his first camping experience with us.  Welcome to our exploring Trev!  Good Times!  We all managed to defrost by a fire they quickly got started and got the heater to run for the rest of our trip.  It never got that cold again but at least we know it works now.

Today was Joe's baseball try outs.  Neither one of his dad's could be there but both his moms were.  We sat together and were excited for him, nervous for him and disappointed for him when he didn't do as well as he would have liked.  It was good.  Our other children ran around the baseball fields like they do every season but this year will be different.  We will have the loudest cheering section for him.  He always does but maybe this year it will be in sync.  It will be harmonious.  I'm excited to watch the boys play but I'm even more excited that the previous tension during baseball will no longer exist!  It will be only about Joe and not about being uncomfortable.  I can't wait to share more about how this goes.

So again FAMILY, we may not have it all together but together we have it all.  I know some might not agree that we are family but we have family ties.  My stepson has brothers at his other home and he has brothers at our home.  They all like each other and get along.  This will tie us together.  It's good for Joe.  I believe its good for all the boys to see the adults get along and that Joe doesn't have to have loyalties that separate his homes.  I hope that he will be able to go easily between the two homes or even enjoy his brothers all together if he chooses.  That way he can have it all together if he wants.  I'm not saying the adults will all get together but when we are together we can all be proud of how our families enjoy each other.  That sounds great to me.

Just my thoughts for today.
Hugs,
Deanna

Cream Puff Love

I'm pretty excited about this!  My mom makes this super yummy dessert that is a take on a cream puff.  I love it.  Everyone I know that has ever had a piece of the dessert loves it.  So in my interest to continue living as close to normal when it comes to my eating I thought I would try to make a low carb version of it.  I believe I nailed it!  My hubby loved it and I loved it!  Even my little one wanted to eat more.

I have to say it is NOT low calorie or low in fat.  I replaced the milk with a mixture of whipping cream and water.  I probably could have reduced even the amount of cream by using more water and I probably will next time.  I also tried replacing the flour with Soy flour.  It has a different consistency than regular flour but it worked.  So here's a picture of this luscious lovely.

Directions:

Cream Puff-

Bring to boil 1C. of water & 1stick of butter.  All at once add 1C. of the Soy flour and mix vigorously.  Take off heat, let cool slightly and beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, till thick and smooth.  This part didn't come out the same as it does with a cup of all-purpose flour.  But I didn't give up.  I actually made 8 blobs on a cookie sheet and poured the rest into a greased 8x8 pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30min. till golden brown,  and crossed my fingers.  The consistency was more like runny pudding than the usual thick dough that comes out.  To my surprise it still worked.  We made 8 pastries that in the future I will use for breakfast sandwiches, muffins, anything we would want bread for and a cake. And I divided the pan into 9 servings.

Custard filling-

Beat soften 8oz. cream cheese

Add 1 1/2 cups of whipping cream 

and 1cup of water mix till blended

Add 1lrg. box of sugar free vanilla pudding

Beat 1minute and let stand for 15min.

Spoon on to crust and top with whipped topping.

I didn't use all the custard on the cake.  I just use enough to cover it and estimated that each serving has 1/4c.

Here's the nutrition facts I came up with:

1/4 C. of custard is

119.5 cal.

21  fat

2.44 carbs

less than a gram of protein

17 servings of pastry-

per serv.-

75.29 Cal.

6.5g. fat

1.88g. carbs

(1.17countable carbs)

2.35g. protein

If you would like the totals for each recipe so then you can divide it up as you wish please let me know and I will send you that information.

I highly recommend this dessert.  You can also drizzle Magic Shell Chocolate and let it set up in the refrigerator.  And if you don't want low carb just use all purpose flour instead of the soy and use milk for the whipping cream/water.

You will be a hit with this dessert!

Let me know if you try it.

Hugs,

Deanna

Marvelous Monday- Sorta

My hubby is back home where he belongs!  The kids and I drove up to the airport yesterday to pick him up after an unplanned visit to his parents.  His father went into the hospital for a possible stroke, he felt an obligation and his heart strings pulling him to make a visit.  I'm glad he went and I'm even happier he's back.  Yeah back to normal.  Last week was an intersting journey for me with lots of mixed emotions.  I want to share but I'm still processing how to share without sounding totally unreasonable and bitchy. Hahaha, it might not be possible but until I'm ready to share what I learned through this process I will hold on to it.  That's why I didn't mention it last week.  By the way I want to mention I am married to the most amazing man!  He's more of a man than I can handle sometimes.  I am blessed.

Now on to more important things!!!Like my relationship with the scale!  It's not even hate any more.  I think it's more like a totally disgust, physical repulsion and a total feeling of wanting to attack it like it's a walker from the Walking Dead! (Love that show and can't wait for Feb. 12)  I just want to smash it's head in with some kind of blunt tool!  The reality is I weighed 143.2!  Yes another pound up!!! I worked my ass off last week with my hubby gone.  I went to the gym twice on Wed and I'm in full fledged ketosis!  My ketone stick has been dark red to even purple.  For those of you who don't know about the pee sticks, they tell you if your body is using its own fat for energy.  Ketones are put off when fat is used for energy meaning I'm burn fat for fuel! (This is a very juvenile description but straight to the point.) I love those little sticks!  So I'm going to stay where I'm at and I've decided to continue to stick with the strict diet and up my cardio and lower my weight training for now.

I did take my measurements, another rude awakening!  But I know on low carb sometimes the scale refuses to move but the measurements don't.  So even though I should have done this in the beginning, it again gives me another form of measurement to keep me going.  I'm not going to share those numbers but I will tell you about my changes.

Loved this and wish I could give credit to who posted it.

And I won't be giving up!  I don't know where my balance is yet but I will find it.  I want to adjust to the middle ground.

Have a wonderful Tuesday.  I'm going to be posting about some sorta yummy low-carb breakfast danishes. LOL!

Hugs,

Deanna

Unexpected friendship

So I finished out the week with two great classes at the gym along with spending the afternoon with JM(my stepson Joe's mom).  I haven't been to her house in awhile and it was nice just to spend time talking about girl stuff and playing with her baby.  He's one of the cutest baby's ever! And so happy all the time.  Anyway she and I have been trying to encourage each other at the gym.  Since I worked so hard to lose all my weight in the first place I don't want to ever go back.  But this leads me to having to always think about my lifestyle choices.  She on the other hand is very petite and having had a baby a year ago is trying to lose that baby weight.  She's decided to join a competition at the gym and I decided to opt out.  I lost it all on my own and I just can't justify spending a hundred dollars to lose 10lbs. Oh and I am still trying to be frugal.  Hahahaha. But what I will be doing is using all her new knowledge and excitement to help motivate me even more. 

Sometimes spending that much time with her feels odd.  We were enemies just over a year ago.  I put up the white flag last Christmas but she wasn't ready.  I totally understand.  This friendship is odd but is comfortable when I don't worry about who I am or who she is.  Just be me and accept her too.  God is on my side and I know that I have only the best of intentions in seeking a friendship with her.  I like her company.  It's unique.  I feel blessed to have a heart that is willing to be open to trying something considered radical in this drama filled world.  We are both trying and I give her credit as well. 

I hope in sharing my journey I will provoke a feeling of good in you.  I know we all have tough relationships that we can't just disappear from.  Some might be closer to home and others only on a small scale but if they cause emotions to stir in you then they are worth the efforts to find out why.  I pray that you will be open to what God might have for you in some tough relationships.

Hugs,
Deanna