Telling the Truth

Well, I went to the dreaded weigh-in today (for my monthly Weight Watchers).  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I did have to pay, BUT, I was only 1/2 pound over my allowed weight.  As a Lifetime member, I have to weigh in once a month. If I'm more than 2 pounds over my lifetime goal, I have to pay the weekly fee.  I had weighed on my scales at home and they were showing me to be 1 1/2 pounds over, so, for once, I was loving those scales at the meeting!!! 

Of course, after the weigh-in, I had a Soup Kitchen Volunteer meeting at .... Panera Bread!!  So, just decided to have lunch there while I was at it.  My sandwich selection was probably not recommended by WW (tomato-mozzarella panini) but I didn't get the chips and got an apple instead for my side!!! 

I had a few errands to run after the meeting and had plans on going to the "Y" - even had my work-out clothes with me.  Sonny & I had a Red Cross Volunteer meeting at 7 pm, so I'd decided to just stay in Mooresville till the meeting.  Best laid plans and all .... Sonny called me around 4 and said he was debating on going to the "Y" or going somewhere for a beer & appetizers.  You know, it doesn't take much to talk me into temptation!!  So, Beef O Brady's was our choice!!  I did have a salad for dinner though!  And they had our Steeler's on TV.  Today was media day in Tampa and the reporters were interviewing the different players, so I figured we made the right choice??!!!!

I found out today that someone (hi, Jackie!) actually made the Tropical Smoothies that I had in my blog a few days ago and she said they were very good.  So, thought I'd give you another good recipe to try that's also WW approved!   These are Yummy Muffins - really moist.  I make a batch & freeze them.  Good for a snack with a cup of tea or coffee!

• One Chocoate OR Carrot OR Spice Cake Mix
• One can Pumpkin (pumpkin - NOT pie filling)
• Mix all together.  The batter will be lumpy - that's ok.  Line muffin tin w/paper cupcake liners or spray w/Pam.  Fill the muffin cups & bake for 18 minutes at 350.
• If you use an 18 cup muffin tin, it is 2 points each; if you use a 12 cup tin, they are 3 points.

ENJOY!

Speaking of cupcakes, check out this cool blog about .... CUPCAKES!!

I have a new look!

How do you like the new look???? I've been playing around with it this evening and decided I really like it!! Hope you do too. Well, as you can see, it's pretty late - need to get my shower & get to bed.

Keep your fingers crossed for me tomorrow ... I have to weigh in and I don't think it's going to be pretty!! I've got to get myself back in gear and QUIT EATING!! (I only have a few Moravian cookies left!)

Swap Cards

I recently participated in a Swap with my Splitcoast friend from California.  Jamie always has excellent artists in her group and I love the cards I get from them, plus we only have to make 7-8 cards.  This time, I entered two categories - in one, we made a card from our Sneak Preview Hostess sets (Level 2 and 3) and the other round was based on use of the following colors: Real Red, Rose Red, Cameo Coral, Pretty in Pink, Pixie Pink, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Black, Chocolate, White, Vanilla, or Raspberry Tart DSP to make a Valentine card.

Here are the cards I received:

These cards use these sets (from top to bottom):  Always; Love You Much; Many Happy Returns & Fresh Cuts; and Wild About You.  Gives you some good ideas on using some stamps other than hearts for Valentines.

These cards use: A Happy Heart; Crazy for Cupcakes; Goody Goody Gumdrops; and Priceless & Itty Bitty Buds.  (I did the Cupcake one & the Priceless one.)  Just noticed the last one is upside down in the picture!  It says "Wonderful Friend", but you get the idea!

These cards use:  A Little Somethin'; Dream A Little; and Just Jawing.

These card use:  Echoes of Kindness & Always in my Thoughts; Rustic Rooster; and Hand Drawn Bundle.

Just Buzzin' By

I got this stamp set a couple of weeks ago and just haven't had time to use it.  Yesterday I got my copy of Paper Crafts Magazine and there were a few cards and an article in it about saying "YES" to yellow and gray.  Supposedly, these colors are straight from the runway and are "daring and sophisticated."  I don't know about that, but I knew I had the perfect stamp set for those colors.  What do you think?

I used my Prismacolor Pencils for the beehive with Gamsol.  I stamped the "hive sweet hive" in YoYo Yellow and cut it out & popped it on.  The bees are colored with YoYo Yellow.  On their wings, I used a Gelly Roll Glitter pen.  I used the Ticket Punch on the corners.  I used my watercolor pencil for the shadow under their feet.

Blog Candy Up for Grabs

My friend, Jackie, over at Just Stamp It is giving away blog candy!! If you want a chance to win it, check her out.

Monday Mailer that I sent out this week

 

I just realized I didn't share the Monday Mailer I mailed to Lynn this week.  This is one of my all time favorite stamp sets and I hope it never retires!!  It is Lovely As A Tree.  There is just so much you can do with this set.  I stamped the trees in black on the Big Note Sizzix die and backed it with another die in black.  I used my clouds template for the sky and made snow with Chunky Glitter.  It really sparkles.  I used Basic Gray paper for the card, layering Pacific Point Patterns Designer Paper (say that 3 times fast!) on the bottom.  I punched a double circle to tie the gray ribbon through.

Proud Peacock

I've been working on this card for a couple of days now & just couldn't get it right. Finally got it today though! I just love this peacock stamp. It is from last month's Stamp of the Month by Great Impressions. I love it because you can make it so colorful! It goes great with SU's Raspberry Tart designer paper, don't you think? I did the card for the Sketch Challenge on Splitcoast this week. I used Radiant Pearls, Twinkling H2O's and stickers to make him shine and sparkle!!

Good for you snacks

When you are hungry and need to snack, here are some good snacks that are better than the "100 calorie packs"

¼ of an avocado
1¾ cups apple slices
1 medium banana
1 cup grapes
2 cups berries
1½ cups sliced peaches
1¼ cups orange sections
1¼ cups blueberries
2 cups diced watermelon
1 cup sliced pears
1¹/₃ cup diced pineapple
1½ cups raspberries
1 cup cherries
2 large kiwifruit
3 clementines
4 cups cherry tomatoes or 10 plum tomatoes or 3 large beefsteak tomatoes
1 medium baked sweet potato
1 small baked white potato
2 cups carrot strips or slices
12 cups torn lettuce
10 large broccoli spears
8 cups sliced cucumbers
5½ cups sliced bell or sweet peppers
5 cups whole raw mushrooms
32 spears cooked asparagus
2½ cups cooked green beans
80 snow or sugar snap pea pods
4½ cups mixed vegetable salad (without dressing)
½ cup cooked grain/rice/pasta (most, bulgur is ¾ cup)
1 jumbo hard-boiled egg
20 large boiled or steamed shrimp
2 oz chicken breast meat (a little more than 2 oz)
2 oz sirloin steak (a little less than 2 oz)
¾ cup plain fatfree yogurt
3 cups air-popped popcorn

Compared to:

less than an ounce of some kind of packaged cookie crispy thing

Tropical Smoothie

For a low cal snack, try these Tropical Smoothies

Serves 4

Recipe Ingredients
1 (15-0z) can pineapple tidbits in juice, undrained
2 bananas, sliced and chilled
1 cup vanilla fat-free frozen yogurt

Directions

Place opened can of pineapple tidbits in freezer 10 minutes.

Combine pineapple tidbits, banana, and frozen yogurt in a blender; process until smooth.

Nutritional Info Per Serving, 1 Cup
163 Cal, 0.4g Fat, 2.3g Fiber, 38.1g Carbs, 41mg Sodium, 3g Protein *3 points

~Cooking Light Superfast Suppers

My Monday Mailer this week

I got a great Monday Mailer card this week from my friend, Brenda.  She used Kraft cardstock which she tore and put it on Burgundy which is layered on Green.  The stamp set is "To You and Yours" which you will not find in the catalog.  BUT ... it is on the Dormant list which you can see HERE.  These sets can be ordered just like the ones in the catalog, but you just won't see them listed in the main catalog.  Some of the stamp sets listed on the Dormant list surprised me - like Inspired by Nature, Polka Dot background, Full of Life, and Bella Blossoms.