Yummy Food!

Last night, I tried an AMAZING new recipe! With better eating, unfortunately comes getting really bored with eating the same food over and over. So, I have been searching for new ideas for some good for us food that my kids will eat without complaint. Now, if you have kids, you know that sometimes getting them to eat food that is good for them is like pulling teeth.  Luckily my kids are really pretty good eaters. They love salad, veggies, and fruit. But, like so many other kids, they absolutely prefer pizza and ice cream. Now, we are a pizza eating family and I am okay with that, but sometimes we just need to eat the healthy foods!

So, I have been scouring Pinterest (oh, Pinterest, you are such an awesome invention!). Thankfully I have been able to find some good, yummy, healthy recipes! I will share them as we try them. This one, I think you will like. There was some prep work involved, but it was pretty simple. Let me tell you, all 5 of us ate and LOVED it. All three of the kids raved about it.

It is called a Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet. You can find the recipe HERE.

 I think it would maybe be even better with a little Siracha or hot sauce on it instead of the chili pepper. I only used about 1 T. of EVOO to cook the turkey and added about 2 T. of water to the skillet to steam the sweet potatoes. I DO highly suggest that you stir this quite often. I also did not put the skillet in the oven to melt the cheese. I just took the skillet off of the burner, sprinkled my cheese on it and covered it back up for just a second or two to melt the cheese. I also used green pepper, red onion, and dried parsley instead, but only because that is what I had on hand.

This will be something I will be making again. I highly suggest it! Give it a try. Let me know what you thought. What changes did you or would you make?

Oh, yummy food! I love yummy food! Yum Yum Yum!

Blessings!

Randomness of Life

Random thoughts for a rainy Wednesday! (At least it is rainy here. But, it is Indiana. I will give it 5 minutes, it could change!) These kind of blog posts are my favorites. Yes, they are simple to do, but they are fun for me. I hope you enjoy them. I need to come up with a fancy name for these kinds of posts. Feel free to give me any suggestions!

1) My best friend, Carli, has talked me into joining a new app called "Periscope". It is an extension of Twitter and is essentially a video post that you can comment live on. You can watch other people's videos or make your own. Each video is kept up only for 24 hours then it is taken down. You can go back through and watch people's videos if you follow them (just like Twitter). I got to watch Michael Rosenbaum's Scope (that is the lingo, kind of like a "tweet") earlier. It is kind of funny. I did my first Scope last night. I am still not sure what I think, but I will try it a little longer.  How about you? Have you checked this new form of social media out? What did you think?

2) Have you ever found a TV show that you really didn't think you were going to like and then just HAVE to watch every single episode? I have found that in the show "Supernatural". Seriously people, I thought it would be a total corny, and at times it really is, but it is a really good show. Now, do not worry, I am fully aware that it is NOT real. That said, it is pretty cool that the show pulls in scripture. I have looked up a lot of what I have heard on there in the Bible. Obviously, big time liberties are taken, but it is still really interesting and I have learned quite a bit about my own faith just from watching a TV show. Huh, who would have thought.

3) Speaking of TV shows, a fellow cycling instructor told me about a show called "Hollywood Cycle" and it is about a gym in Los Angeles called Cycle House. It is a reality show, which normally I do not watch. But, it is about cycling, so I thought I would try it. Ugh. So much stupid, non-sense drama. I can't see any redeeming qualities to this show. Even they way they were cycling goes against everything I have been taught. I am sure there was a rhyme to the reason, but it looked ridiculous! And the women! Oh. My. Goodness. They were showing these women in full makeup and in teeny tiny clothes.  Now, I realize it is LA and life is different there than in good ol' Indiana, but I guarantee you if you came to my class dressed like that in full make up and shaking your butt for all they boys to see, well, I would be working your butt off even more!  Craziness! I do not think I will be watching it again.

4) I have been trying to decide if I am ready for school to start.  I am not really ready to go back to the school schedule, but let me tell you, my kids are driving me CRAZY!! Anyone else in this boat?

5) I am obsessed with Skinny Pop Popcorn! Have you tried this? Oh my goodness, it is so amazing!!  Go, try it. I promise you will not be disappointed.

6) We have been getting ready for 4H the past couple of weeks. We have a ton of sugar cookies in my freezer. I am trying to avoid them as much as possible. I have been really doing well the past 2 1/2 days. I only had 1 yesterday to test the recipe (promise!). The balanced food plan is going well. I feel better and my system seems to be running better, even after only a couple of days.  Yay for healthy choices!!

Ok, I think that is all I have for today! Have a great day!!
Blessings!

The Time Is Now

I have obviously been very lax in writing in my new blog here as I think it has been about a month and a half since I have written anything.  It isn't for lack of trying, I just haven't really had much to write about and my family has been extremely busy.  The busyness is normal. Three kids involved in things means mom is running everywhere. Mom involved in things means that life is just nuts. Time being nuts in our family is my normal. It doesn't bother me too much.

The not much to write about however is a different story.  My motivation in all things that I would want to report to you has been pretty much zilch. In a previous post (which you can read HERE), I discussed that I was going to start following what was essentially a macro-nutrient approach to eating. I had all the good intentions of starting this, I really did. Unfortunately as you probably know, intentions mean SQUAT if you don't have the motivation to back it up.  Part of me REALLY wanted to burn off the fat and the other part of me knew I was working really hard and just wanted to eat (and we aren't talking the good choices either!!).  Guess which part of the brain won? My motivation, my stamina, and my energy took a huge dive.  Now, I have classes on my schedule to teach, I have kids that have to be taken to their activities, I had VBS weeks that I had to work for.  I was busy.  Do you know what happens when you are super busy, trying to do it all, and you are feeding your body crap food? You hit a huge brick wall.

That point was last week. I was barely pushing through. Now, I have gotten pretty good over the years of putting on a motivated face and sucking it up and doing it anyway, but eventually even that will catch up with you.  Yesterday, I was almost in tears as I tried on some skirts that fit me just a couple of months ago and when I tried to put them on for church, they were too tight.  Now, I am NOWHERE near back where I started. Honestly, everything else fits me fine, but not being able to put those two skirts on was a HUGE wake up call.  All my hard work and I was back sliding.  I stood there and told myself NO.  No, Theresa. You are NOT going back to that point in your life. You are going to take CONTROL and you are in charge. YOU are the only one who can make the decisions needed to make better choices.

I also realized that not only was I making REALLY bad choices and decisions in my kitchen, but I have also been taking the biggest part of my life out of this journey. When I started, I prayed every morning for God to be with me and to help me stay motivated. I prayed that He would help me make good decisions that were the best for my body, my mind, my spirit, and my family. I prayed before, after, and during every single workout. I FELT Him with me because He was there and I was inviting Him to come along. I realized yesterday I have not been doing that.  Well, geesh, no wonder I have felt so alone and unmotivated in all this! I knew I had to go back to where I started. I had to do what worked for me before. I had to ask Him to come with me. Not for my own glory, but for HIS GLORY. This is His temple and I need His help to make and keep it strong. I had forgotten that.

So, I knew I needed to make a change.  And that is what I am going to do. You heard me. Obviously, I have said this before. But, today just feels different. Today my head is in the same place it was when I started this journey to be the best me that God put on this planet. Maybe it is coincidence that today is exactly 1 1/2 years to the day that I started this journey, but I do not think so. I don't believe in that much of a coincidence. January 6, 2014 was a huge turning point in my life and even though, I have been pretty stagnant lately, July 6, 2015 is going to be another turn.

I have this. My 36th birthday is August 12th. I plan on hitting that birthday in the absolute 100% best shape of my life.  I am going to know that I did everything possible to be the best me that God wants me to be.  If I seem a little obsessed between now and then, well, perhaps I will be. But, I know that this journey is between me and Him and I know that He has my back. This is one temple that will not be torn down, especially not by my own thoughts, words, or actions.

My prayer that I will say constantly is this:

"Jesus, help make me the woman YOU want me to be."

If and when you hear me say that, just know that I know I am not alone and that He is my assistant chef, my lifting spotter, and my coach. He is going to get me through. He knows what He wants me to be, and He is going to help me get there. Oh yeah, WE'VE got this.