I'm going grocery shopping today and I thought I'd post my dinners I planned. I ALWAYS make a dinner plan and then a grocery list to go with it, without it I know I would spend a million bucks month on food that would go bad.
Thursday (tonight's dinner)- Chicken Spaghetti from the POW Cookbook subbing spaghetti squash and Dream Fields pasta for the spaghetti, green salad with cranberry vinaigrette (P.S. I graduated with a BA in English from BYU and I STILL cannot spell vinaigrette without spell check. Sad, but true.)
Friday- Simple Perfect Chili from POW Cookbook subbing ground chicken breast for the beef, POW Homemade Ranch with iceberg Wedges
Saturday- Tofu and Veggie Noodles with Peanut Sauce
Sunday- Cajun Spiced Cod, with two on-sale veggies (TBA)
Monday- Leftover Night (No Cooking for me!)
Tuesday- Simple, Perfect Enchiladas from the POW Cookbook, subbing pinto beans for the beef and cabbage leaves instead of tortillas
Wednesday- POW Lasagna with zucchini slices instead of noodles, and green salad
Thursday- Leftover night
Friday- Spicy Lemon Grilled Shrimp and veggie stir fry with avocado slices and ranch dressing
Saturday- Grocery Shopping Day!
Whew! That seems like a lot, since it's 1 1/2 weeks worth of food. It sounds SO GOOD TO ME! Maybe I'm just hungry.
Ciao!
Thursday, December 2
Updates and Whatnot
So, somehow in the stress of being pregnant and moving to and from California, I completely forgot I even I HAD a blog. So, quick update:
1. I had a sweet little baby girl (thanks to the help of my husband, my birthing coach and my super great doctor) last November 17. Yeah I know she's a year old now. But hey, I seriously just remembered about this blog.
2. My husband graduated from grad school at BYU and we moved to Phoenix, AZ. We live as DOWNTOWN as it gets and I do. not. like. living in the city. therefore, we plan to move to the suburbs sometime in the spring or early summer when our lease expires.
3. Overall, life is REALLY good, but (you knew there had to be a "but") I have not lost a single pound of baby weight. :(
Honestly, I know why I haven't lost the weight, even though I sometimes pretend I don't. It's because I don't move enough. Plain and simple, though I'm sure eating a little healthier would help too, though I don't do too terribly at that. Anyways, my clothes don't fit me and I just don't feel good at all, so today I'm starting the South Beach Diet and I'll be doing a series of posts called SBD to LBD (LBD as in Little Black Dress).
I'll still be doing other posts, and hopefully get Leiah to do some more as well, but health and fitness do play a huge role in becoming the Leading Lady of your life. When you feel confident in the way you look and in your own health you walk taller and with more confidence in other areas in your life. I used to have that and I have just let it go. SBD to LBD is my way of getting it back.
In other news, my mother in law just bought me The Pioneer Woman Cookbook and I'm thrilled! I'm making a few recipes from it for my meal plan next week (SBD-ing them a bit of course) and I think they'll be great.
1. I had a sweet little baby girl (thanks to the help of my husband, my birthing coach and my super great doctor) last November 17. Yeah I know she's a year old now. But hey, I seriously just remembered about this blog.
2. My husband graduated from grad school at BYU and we moved to Phoenix, AZ. We live as DOWNTOWN as it gets and I do. not. like. living in the city. therefore, we plan to move to the suburbs sometime in the spring or early summer when our lease expires.
3. Overall, life is REALLY good, but (you knew there had to be a "but") I have not lost a single pound of baby weight. :(
Honestly, I know why I haven't lost the weight, even though I sometimes pretend I don't. It's because I don't move enough. Plain and simple, though I'm sure eating a little healthier would help too, though I don't do too terribly at that. Anyways, my clothes don't fit me and I just don't feel good at all, so today I'm starting the South Beach Diet and I'll be doing a series of posts called SBD to LBD (LBD as in Little Black Dress).
I'll still be doing other posts, and hopefully get Leiah to do some more as well, but health and fitness do play a huge role in becoming the Leading Lady of your life. When you feel confident in the way you look and in your own health you walk taller and with more confidence in other areas in your life. I used to have that and I have just let it go. SBD to LBD is my way of getting it back.
In other news, my mother in law just bought me The Pioneer Woman Cookbook and I'm thrilled! I'm making a few recipes from it for my meal plan next week (SBD-ing them a bit of course) and I think they'll be great.
Wednesday, November 11
my not so humble opinion...
I truly hate to rant, to stand on a soap box and spout my thoughts, (i save those moments for my mom, my sister, and my dearest friend), however on this day I'm fed up with the lazy world. I did a post on time management before. Did it motivate you at all? I write today about the need for people to clean up their houses and their yards! I am tired of going to peoples messy houses! They apparently have no time to clean - but plenty of time to surf the internet, watch TV, read, and dawdle. Get your acts together and get moving. A clean house makes you more productive and therefore happier! Begin today! So, unless you are sick, have sick kids, or have a baby under 4 months....okay, maybe 6 months, you have no excuse to have a messy house! (well, there might be a few other reasons out there) but for the most part you get the idea...quit being lazy!
Tuesday, October 27
Self-Talk
There's someone living in your head. Did you know?
The voice that you have in your head, whether it's negative or positive, as a very definite impact on your life, health, and happiness.
The voice in your head has the power to make any good thing seem bad and, surprisingly, can turn any bad situation into a positive one. As I wrote in my last post, positive self-talk has helped me to feel happy and really good throughout what has been a physically demanding and difficult pregnancy. Hopefully it will help me in labor and when I become a mom, too!
The trick to positive self-talk is PRACTICE! It's definitely something that takes a little effort and time for most people. Even when you feel you've got it down pat, there will still be moments of weakness where you let negative thoughts have their affect on you. The trick is to always try and get back on the wagon of speaking positively to yourself.
I like to use trigger words such as: bad, failure, hopeless, lonely, depressed, etc. Man just writing those words makes me feel yucky! When I hear my inner voice using words like that, I stop what I'm doing, take a deep breath and come up with 3 positive things that are going on in my life. Then I try and turn around my negative thought and make it a positive one.
Example:
Negative Thought: "I'm so lonely, my husband never has time for me."
Positive thoughts: 1) "I am healthy," 2) :I am intelligent," 3) :My husband loves me so much and is such a good man" (okay that one was two, but going overboard is perfectly acceptable!)
Turned around negative thought: "I am so lucky to have such a dedicated, intelligent and hard working husband! What can I do to make my time with him more meaningful and show my love and appreciation for him more?"
It's good to end with some idea for pro-activity! Your happiness is in your own hands! Go do something about it and stop the negative self-talk. The impact it will have on your life and stress levels will be huge, I promise you!
Love, Lis
The voice that you have in your head, whether it's negative or positive, as a very definite impact on your life, health, and happiness.
The voice in your head has the power to make any good thing seem bad and, surprisingly, can turn any bad situation into a positive one. As I wrote in my last post, positive self-talk has helped me to feel happy and really good throughout what has been a physically demanding and difficult pregnancy. Hopefully it will help me in labor and when I become a mom, too!
The trick to positive self-talk is PRACTICE! It's definitely something that takes a little effort and time for most people. Even when you feel you've got it down pat, there will still be moments of weakness where you let negative thoughts have their affect on you. The trick is to always try and get back on the wagon of speaking positively to yourself.
I like to use trigger words such as: bad, failure, hopeless, lonely, depressed, etc. Man just writing those words makes me feel yucky! When I hear my inner voice using words like that, I stop what I'm doing, take a deep breath and come up with 3 positive things that are going on in my life. Then I try and turn around my negative thought and make it a positive one.
Example:
Negative Thought: "I'm so lonely, my husband never has time for me."
Positive thoughts: 1) "I am healthy," 2) :I am intelligent," 3) :My husband loves me so much and is such a good man" (okay that one was two, but going overboard is perfectly acceptable!)
Turned around negative thought: "I am so lucky to have such a dedicated, intelligent and hard working husband! What can I do to make my time with him more meaningful and show my love and appreciation for him more?"
It's good to end with some idea for pro-activity! Your happiness is in your own hands! Go do something about it and stop the negative self-talk. The impact it will have on your life and stress levels will be huge, I promise you!
Love, Lis
Pregnancy is hard work!
My pregnancy has definitely not been an easy one physically. I won't go into all the details, because it's boring and not very fun or productive to talk about them, but it really has been a struggle these past nine months.
That being said, if you were to come up to me (9months pregnant) right now and as me how I feel what do you think I would say? Huge. Bloated. In Pain. Fat. *insert any and all negative responses here*
My honest answer to the question "How do you feel?" is "Pretty darn good!".
Wait a minute, what? How can you be huge, bloated, in pain and suffering from constant acid reflux and say that you feel 'pretty darn good'?
I have my parents to thank for it. Since I was a teenager (or maybe earlier, but that's when I have my first solid memories of learning this) my parents taught me that every person is in charge of his or her own feelings, attitudes, actions and reactions.
How does this apply to pregnancy? The same way it applies to any person suffering from any physical ailment. Knowing this has enabled me to look past my immediate discomfort (or downright pain, lets be honest!) and see that a) if there's something I can do to help myself I need to quit moaning and do it, b) there may be nothing I can do for myself, physically, right now and c) even if there is nothing I can do to help myself, I can choose to be happy in spite of my troubles.
Sometimes when I read that it sounds kind of depressing (the whole "there's nothing you can do so just be happy") but I promise that when you put it into practice you will notice the most humongous change for the better in your life and in your happiness levels!!!
How do you put it into practice? Positive self-talk...but that's a topic for another post. Until then, think about a) proactivity b) acceptance and c) choosing happiness.
Sorry for the long post and lack of pictures- I've got a new cool camera coming in the mail though, so there should soon be lots of awesome photos (of my big belly!) and maybe even some videos soon!
Love, Lis
That being said, if you were to come up to me (9months pregnant) right now and as me how I feel what do you think I would say? Huge. Bloated. In Pain. Fat. *insert any and all negative responses here*
My honest answer to the question "How do you feel?" is "Pretty darn good!".
Wait a minute, what? How can you be huge, bloated, in pain and suffering from constant acid reflux and say that you feel 'pretty darn good'?
I have my parents to thank for it. Since I was a teenager (or maybe earlier, but that's when I have my first solid memories of learning this) my parents taught me that every person is in charge of his or her own feelings, attitudes, actions and reactions.
How does this apply to pregnancy? The same way it applies to any person suffering from any physical ailment. Knowing this has enabled me to look past my immediate discomfort (or downright pain, lets be honest!) and see that a) if there's something I can do to help myself I need to quit moaning and do it, b) there may be nothing I can do for myself, physically, right now and c) even if there is nothing I can do to help myself, I can choose to be happy in spite of my troubles.
Sometimes when I read that it sounds kind of depressing (the whole "there's nothing you can do so just be happy") but I promise that when you put it into practice you will notice the most humongous change for the better in your life and in your happiness levels!!!
How do you put it into practice? Positive self-talk...but that's a topic for another post. Until then, think about a) proactivity b) acceptance and c) choosing happiness.
Sorry for the long post and lack of pictures- I've got a new cool camera coming in the mail though, so there should soon be lots of awesome photos (of my big belly!) and maybe even some videos soon!
Love, Lis
Sunday, July 12
Time
I recently read a post on another blog by the enlightened homemaker, www.enlightenedhomaker.blogspot.com, that said everything I am always thinking. Her post was called Time. Her is a small excerpt from her post, "Time is one of the few things that is limited in this life. Almost anything else we can get more of to some degree. We don't know how much time we have. There is only a certain amount of hours in everyday for everyone. No one gets more, no one gets less. It is up to us how we use it. I love this quote by H. Jackson Brown Jr.
'Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Theresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein.' As mothers, wives, employees, etc., we may not have the time to paint a masterpiece or invent something new and amazing, however, there is always ways we can use our time more wisely. Do we find ourselves sleeping in a little longer than we need to? Do we use our precious time given on this earth as we should? I remember one talk that I heard years ago that stuck with me. The speaker asked us to ask ourselves when doing an activity, "how is this benefiting my life or those around me?"
We need to ask ourselves this question on a day to day basis as we sit for hours on facebook, watch prolonged periods of TV, blog hop and other unwise use of media. Do we spend too much time worrying? Do we use our time too selfishly instead of thinking of others or using our time to develop talents?
I remember being a senior in high school and writing in my yearbook many of the things I wanted to accomplish in my life before I died. At that time in my life, It seemed I had nothing but time ahead of me. It was a blank slate. What I have learned is that time goes so quickly and that we have to grab it up. We have to be extremely organized and value each minute.
I am so not perfect with this. I do not use every minute like I should and I recognize that sometimes time is spent perfectly well sitting at a pool relaxing or reading a good book. We all need down time. But, I want my children to learn to seize the moments. To get up, get exercise to get their bodies and minds going. I want them to make plans, to plan their time, to use it up and enjoy life. I want them to develop all of their wonderful talents that they have been given in this life."
I know that I feel better when I use my time wisely. I wake early and use my morning hours for the tasks that must get done but I also use it as my time without children to exercise and shower for the day. When those things are done early it leaves me happier and feeling good to spend the rest of my day on other matters. Don't waste away your time, seize the day and make the most of yourself! You will be a happier and better person because of it!
'Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Theresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein.' As mothers, wives, employees, etc., we may not have the time to paint a masterpiece or invent something new and amazing, however, there is always ways we can use our time more wisely. Do we find ourselves sleeping in a little longer than we need to? Do we use our precious time given on this earth as we should? I remember one talk that I heard years ago that stuck with me. The speaker asked us to ask ourselves when doing an activity, "how is this benefiting my life or those around me?"
We need to ask ourselves this question on a day to day basis as we sit for hours on facebook, watch prolonged periods of TV, blog hop and other unwise use of media. Do we spend too much time worrying? Do we use our time too selfishly instead of thinking of others or using our time to develop talents?
I remember being a senior in high school and writing in my yearbook many of the things I wanted to accomplish in my life before I died. At that time in my life, It seemed I had nothing but time ahead of me. It was a blank slate. What I have learned is that time goes so quickly and that we have to grab it up. We have to be extremely organized and value each minute.
I am so not perfect with this. I do not use every minute like I should and I recognize that sometimes time is spent perfectly well sitting at a pool relaxing or reading a good book. We all need down time. But, I want my children to learn to seize the moments. To get up, get exercise to get their bodies and minds going. I want them to make plans, to plan their time, to use it up and enjoy life. I want them to develop all of their wonderful talents that they have been given in this life."
I know that I feel better when I use my time wisely. I wake early and use my morning hours for the tasks that must get done but I also use it as my time without children to exercise and shower for the day. When those things are done early it leaves me happier and feeling good to spend the rest of my day on other matters. Don't waste away your time, seize the day and make the most of yourself! You will be a happier and better person because of it!
Thursday, July 9
We're back!
Hey Lis and Leiah are coming back from the Twilight Zone! Life has been happening at a rapid pace even if we haven't been posting about it, but we are both getting re-dedicated to becoming Leading Ladies.
The biggest news so far is that I (Lis) am PREGNANT! Woo hoo!
I found out that my leading man and I will welcome our first little bundle of joy into our family around Thanksgiving and I am SO excited!
Pregnancy has been very uncomfortable with plenty of nausea, aches, pains and complaints, but it's all worth it when I feel my little baby move and think about raising a little boy or girl. Sorry, I know that sounds mushy, but I gotta focus on the positive things!
That's my little update for now! It's good to be back and I'll write again soon!
Love, Lis
The biggest news so far is that I (Lis) am PREGNANT! Woo hoo!
I found out that my leading man and I will welcome our first little bundle of joy into our family around Thanksgiving and I am SO excited!
Pregnancy has been very uncomfortable with plenty of nausea, aches, pains and complaints, but it's all worth it when I feel my little baby move and think about raising a little boy or girl. Sorry, I know that sounds mushy, but I gotta focus on the positive things!
That's my little update for now! It's good to be back and I'll write again soon!
Love, Lis
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