End of the 4th week...

So tomorrow is the last day of my 4th week. I start my WW weeks on Saturdays because it tends to work the best for me. I used to start each week on a Monday, but I noticed that staying within my points is easiest for me during the week and when the weekend would come, I would think that I had lots of flex points so I could eat whatever I wanted on the weekend. Usually I would just let loose and not count points, which led to me grossly UNDERestimating how many points I actually ate. So now when I start on a Saturday, I try to use as little flex points as possible during the weekend so I have some left for the week- just in case I need them. I always like to have flex points available just in case so I'm less likely to blow them if I start counting on a Saturday.

As of this morning, I've lost another pound. However, I shouldn't know this yet because I should only be weighing myself once a week, not everyday like I have been :( So I need to work on this. I get frustrated pretty easily if I don't lose anything after a few days, but if I only weighed once a week, I would see consistent weight loss. I have to admit that I was a little discouraged at only losing 1 pound since I've been working out consistently and I have hardly used any flex points this week. But I was encouraged when I read part of Joyce Meyer's book "Look Great, Feel Greet" (which everyone should totally read by the way if you haven't already!). She was talking about focusing on our journey and not just our destination and she was speaking in context of a journey to be more healthy. Here are a couple of quotes from the book that encouraged me:

"Time does not go by any faster if we are frustrated about i, so we should learn to 'wait well'. On your own journey toward looking great and feeling great, you also need to enjoy the ride. What matters is not where you are, or how far away your destination is, but the direction you are headed."

"Even reading this book is a step in the right direction, so go ahead and feel good about it. The important thing is not what you weigh today, or how far you can run, but that you are improving. If your goal is to lose fifty pounds and you lose two pounds the first week, should you get discouraged because you are forty-eight pounds heavier than you want to be? No. You say, 'Hallelujah, what a great week!' and continue with your plan. Be proud of today. Don't go beyond that. Don't look at how far you have to go, look at how far you have come."

"Think about your successes rather than your failures. Maybe you ate a little too much today, but the good news is you didn't eat as much as you used to before beginning your new journey toward lifetime health and wholeness. Perhaps you intended to walk thirty minutes but got started late and could only do twenty minutes. Don't feel that you are a failure and should have done better; remember when you did not exercise at all and be happy for your progress. Keeping this positive attitude about your progress will breed more progress. Let your days be filled with good choices, healthy food, lots of activity and good thoughts. Then your body and soul will be healthy, fit and virtuous. Don't focus on your body, focus on the day."

This book is so encouraging for my journey! Anyone who is trying to lose weight or want to lose weight and/or be more healthy should definitely read this book!

4th week...

So I'm on my 4th week of doing Weight Watchers to lose all the weight I gained from foolish summer eating :( I've found that fall time is the easiest time for me to make a lifestyle change because the busyness of summer dies down and it's easier to get into a healthy routine. My husband Jason is also doing Weight Watchers with me this time so that helps me tremendously as I have a live-in accountability partner!

In the past 3 weeks, I 've lost 4 pounds and 2 inches. Although honestly, I'm not very good at measuring my waist because I don't know exactly where to measure and I can't remember if I measure at the same place every week! And do I suck in or push out- hold my breath or let it all out? I don't know, so I focus on the scale instead. I've been told not to focus on the scale numbers, but for me it's the most accurate representation because it is free from human error. I know that pounds can fluctuate from water weight and such, but eventually the numbers will go down. I'm excited about my 4 pounds, even though it doesn't sound like a lot. My ultimate goal is to lose 22 pounds, so 4 pounds is actually a good percentage. I know that my body doesn't lose weight very quickly so I am usually happy with around 1 pound a week.

I have a few short term goals on the way to my final goal as well. Right now, my short term goal is to lose 3 pounds to get under the current 10 pound weight zone I'm in right now (to change the first two numbers of my weight). 3 pounds is easy to focus on because it's not too much. I hope to get there by the end of September. My next short term goal is to lose 5.5 pounds after that, which will bring me to a healthy BMI for my height. After that, I will only have 10 pounds left until my goal weight!

So stay tuned for delicious recipes and snack ideas that I will be posting soon!! :)

My Weight Watchers/Healthy Living Journey

Hello all,
Since I haven't used this blog in over a year, I decided to start blogging about my current weight loss/healthy living journey that I am on. I am doing Weight Watchers and I wanted to share some of the things I'm doing, what I'm eating and how my weight loss is going. It's my hope that I can share some good ideas/recipes/food choices with some others on the same journey, but even if no one reads this, it will help me by writing every thing out. Here are the 4 main things I want to cover in this blog:

• Meal Plans- I will often post what I've eaten in a particular day. Hopefully this will give others ideas on what they can eat, but it also make me more accountable for poor food choices I make. I can't guarantee everything on this list will be the most healthy, but I will note which items weren't the best choice.
• Recipes- I like to try new recipes and I like to share those recipes with others. I will only post recipes that I have made and that I like.
• Favorites- There are certain low point snacks/food items that I can not live without and I will share what those are for those who haven't discovered them yet!
• Habits- This is where I will talk about bad habits I am overcoming and good habits I am picking up. This is more the emotional side of my healthy journey and will keep me accountable to improve certain areas of my life.

I hope this will help some people on the healthy living journey and I hope you will interact and give your input as well. Well, here we go!

My writing

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am no longer writing for the personal finance savingadvice.com. I am still interested in writing about personal finance and will be persuing other opportunities, but lately there have been a few articles from other authors on savingadvice that I would consider innapropriate. After writing for that site for almost year, I opted to stop because I don't want my writing associated with some of the content on their site. I knew that the site wasn’t a Christian site in any way, but it used to be pretty neutral in regards to the morality of their postings, until recently. I understand that they are looking to get more readers with unconventional articles, and thus I have no hard feelings or anything, but I just am heading in a different direction with my writing.

I really believe God has called me to write pieces that will help others grow, whether that be financially, spiritually, in their health, etc. I am going to continue to write for crosswalk.com because I really believe in that site and the message they send and I’ve been able reach a lot people through my few articles I’ve written so far.

I would like to focus on writing on the following subjects (because I feel like I could actually produce a lot of material out them): personal finance, spirituality, eating healthy/losing weight. These are areas I have experience in, thus I feel like I can share some of what I’ve learned.

In a few weeks I’ll be transitioning from working full time in an office to working at home and freelancing my skills. I believe this is the next step for me, as it would be a great transition to being able to work from home as a stay at home mom. Hopefully I’ll be able to incorporate some writing into my paid at-home work :). I’ll keep you posted on any new writing ventures I begin.

Thanks for all your support!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins- Only 1 Point Each!

I found this recipe on SparkPeople.com and it is actually pretty tasty and low in points. I love pumpkin and it's such a fall staple food! So whip up a batch of these muffins for a low point, healthy and tasty snack.

Ingredients

1/4 c. Egg Beaters
2/3 c. Splenda
1 can (15 oz.) Pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix
1 t. Vanilla Extract
2/3 c. Nonfat Milk
1 c. Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 c. Oat Flour (or Quaker Old-Fashioned Oats)*
1 t. Baking Soda
1 t. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Salt
1-1/2 t. Cinnamon
1-1/2 t. Pumpkin Pie Spice

*Note: If you don't have oat flour, run the Oats through a blender until they are a flour consistency.

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper baking cups.In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, Egg Beaters, Splenda, vanilla and milk; stir well. Sift in both flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Fill the muffin cups equally and sprinkle more cinnamon over the tops. Bake 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Makes 12 muffins.

Recipe notes: When you make 12 muffins from this mix, they are actually only .8 points each. If you want bigger muffins, you can make 9 muffins from the mix for a full point each, or if you want smaller muffins for a 1/2 point, you can make 18 of them.

I blended the oats instead of using oat flour and I didn't sift the ingredients (I don't have a sifter) and they turned out fine.

The Latte Effect: When Financial Changes May Be a Little Late

My article posted on savingadvice on 7/28/08:

It was recently announced in the news that Starbucks will be closing over 600 stores due to a phenomenon nicknamed “The Latte Effect.” This basically describes the actions people often take when economic times are tough and money is tight, which includes cutting back on extra expenses like coffee, manicures and hair treatments. While some people may be able to relate to this new trend, I personally don’t relate to it at this point in time. This is because I’ve been cutting back on these things for years and tough economic times have really not had an effect on me in this area.

A few years ago when the economy was strong and people seemed to be spending money like crazy, my husband and I got serious about paying off our debt. While doing so, we decided that extra expenses (like coffee and beauty treatments) would be a once in a while treat rather than a regular occasion. Once we paid off all our debt, we decided to continue our way of spending, as in spend less than we make so we could save and invest. With an extra $1000 a month of income that exceeded our bills, we decided to save that money rather than spend it.

You can read the rest at http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2008/07/29/102222_the-latte-effect-when-financial-changes-may-be-a-little-late.html.

Amazing (& Easy) Fried Rice Recipe

I found this recipe on recipetips.com when I was looking for something to do with all our leftover Easter ham. The original recipe calls for ham, but you can use chicken, pork, turkey, or my favorite, shrimp.

Container: large skillet or wok, small fry pan, small bowl
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serving Size: 1 cup
Servings: 6
WW Points per serving: 4

Ingredients:
· 2 eggs
· 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
· ¼ cup soy sauce
· 1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
· Salt and pepper - to taste
· ½ onion – chopped
· 1 ½ cups ham, chicken or turkey - cooked and diced (or whole peeled shrimp)
· 2 green onions – chopped
· 3 cups rice - cooked (I use brown rice)
· 1 can pineapple tidbits (8 oz.)
· 2 teaspoons garlic or 2 cloves garlic, chopped

Directions:

In small skillet, heat butter or margarine over medium-high heat.

Whisk eggs in small bowl. Pour into pan, and scramble until soft cooked. Remove from heat, set aside.

In large skillet, heat 1 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil. Over medium-high heat add onion, ham and rice. Stir fry 5-10 minutes until rice is crisped brown.

Add garlic, soy sauce and teriyaki sauce. Continue stirring another 2-3 minutes.

Add in green onions and pineapple, salt and pepper to taste, and scrambled eggs. Heat through, stirring to combine.

This is a great way to use leftover cooked meat and this rice is absolutely delicious! The recipe is 4 WW Points when made with brown rice so that figure not be accurate if made with white rice.

Original recipe posted at http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--3803/fried-rice-with-ham.asp

Summer Fun on a Budget

This article of mine was posted on savingadvice on 8/1/08:

Summer is already half way over, but you still have at least one more month of fun in the sun to enjoy (depending on where you live). So whether you’ve already maxed out your summer budget, or are simply looking for some inexpensive activities to fill the rest of your summer with, here are some ideas to get you started.

Camping
Camping is a summer staple for many families because it remains an inexpensive alternative to an expensive vacation spent in a hotel. By camping somewhere relatively close to your home and sleeping in a good old fashioned tent instead of an RV, you can take your family camping while keeping the costs to a minimum (mainly camping fee, food and gas). If you don’t have camping gear, borrow some from a friend!

Picnics
Especially when children are home from school all summer, eating at home can be boring. Make the inexpensive option of eating food from the fridge vs. eating out more fun by taking your food from home to a park and eating it there. All you need is a blanket and some plastic silverware (or even regular silverware if you don’t mind doing the dishes). Add a Frisbee or some kind of outdoor game and you have a fun date with your kids- or your spouse even! Even if you don’t have kids it can be fun to spend some quality time with your spouse and get back to your childhood roots by playing Frisbee. I have a friend who keeps a blanket and a Frisbee in the trunk of her car for impromptu picnics anytime!

You can view the rest of the article at http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2008/08/01/102223_summer-fun-on-a-budget.html

Financial Goals

The following is an article I wrote for crosswalk.com about having financial goals:

Setting and Achieving Financial Goals

The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. Proverbs 21:5

To “profit” simply means you still have money left after all your expenses are paid. We’d all like to be profitable, but why is it so hard to get there sometimes? Many of us seem to be perpetually behind financially. And when our troubles result from poor choices we’ve made, we may not know how to fix our situation or prevent it from happening again.

A case in point: An episode of a recent talk show featured a family that was about $80,000 in debt. They met with a financial counselor, refinanced their house and were able to take $50,000 from their house and pay off quite a bit of debt. Unfortunately, when they came back on the show a year later, they returned with an additional $37,000 on top of their original debt. The financial counselor said that based on these results, this family didn’t really want to be debt free - they just wanted to relieve a little pressure. Once some of the pressure was relieved, they were “done” in their minds and went back to spending money.

This scenario plays out in so many people’s lives. Yet, I’ve never heard anyone actually say, “I want to get out of debt - and after that I want to rack up more debt!” Sounds crazy, right?
I believe one of the best remedies for financial stress and yo-yo budgeting (getting in debt, getting out of debt, getting back in debt, getting back out of debt, etc.) is rooted in Proverbs 21: setting financial goals. With goals you are no longer wandering aimlessly but know where you are going and know exactly how far you have to go before arriving.

Before my husband and I paid off our credit cards, we had goals for what we wanted to do with the extra credit card payment money when we no longer had to make those payments. And before that goal was reached, we planned for another goal to shoot for after that one. I believe this practice is what’s kept us from going back into debt. We have clear plans for what we want to do with our money and while we may get sidetracked from time to time, we still have our goals to guide us.

If you don’t have any financial goals yet, I encourage you set aside some time to pray about what goals you want to set and then sit down and write them out. You’ll want to evaluate your current financial situation as well as what you want your financial future to look like and figure out what steps will get you there. When writing down your financial goals it’s a good idea to include specific time frames for reaching your goals. You may or may not meet those time frames, but at least you’ll be able to see how you are doing along the way and adjust as necessary.

If you are married, goal-setting is a great opportunity to sit down with your spouse and communicate about your money and your future dreams and plans. You’ll want to make sure you are on the same page or can at least arrive on the same page because if you and your spouse have different goals for the money you share, I promise you there will be trouble ahead.

Since everyone’s financial situation is different, everyone’s goals will be different too. As you pray about this, God will direct you to what areas of your finances need improvement, but to help you get started, let me offer a few ideas:

Create an Emergency Fund: The first thing my husband and I started saving for was our emergency savings fund. This is important because it can help save you from going into debt when the unexpected occurs. Many Christians sadly assume that God will prevent any catastrophes from occurring in their finances and are very surprised when they do occur. God often gives us the means to set aside money now to take care of future needs. Proverbs 6:6-8 talks about how an ant stores up food in the summer so he will have enough food in the winter when the supply is non-existent.

If you currently live paycheck to paycheck and maybe have to “float” bills once in a while, I would suggest this as your first step. This can give you a much-needed cushion. Just remember that this should be kept stocked so if you take money out of it, be sure to replenish it or you’ll end up in the same situation.

I’ve heard many experts suggest somewhere between 3-6 months of living expenses for your emergency fund. That can be quite the chunk of change, especially if you are struggling to pay your bills. If this is the case, start with a smaller amount, like 1 month or even 2 weeks. Something is better than nothing.

Eliminate (or at least reduce) debt: An ultimate goal should be to pay off all debt. For some, this might take only a few months, but for others it could be a longer and more painful process. If you have a smaller amount of debt, you can make separate goals to pay off specific accounts (credit cards, car loans, etc.) and an overall goal to be debt free. If you have a larger amount of debt, you might want to set some goals based on a certain percentage or amount of your total debt. For instance, one of your goals may be “I/We will pay our student loan debt down $5000 this year” or “I/We will pay off 50% of our current car loan by XX date.” Reaching your smaller goals will help give you the motivation to continue onto the larger goals.

Retirement Contributions: If you are not contributing to any kind of retirement plan, your first goal may be to start doing so. If you are already contributing, perhaps you can set a goal to increase your contributions by X amount a month or to contribute a total of X amount in one year. I suggest you try and stretch yourself a little here. If you are currently saving $100 a month to retirement, maybe make a goal of $1500 for the entire year. That way you’ll be looking for ways to add an additional $300. It’s amazing how creative you can be and where you can find money when you are motivated to reach a goal.

Save for a Large Purchase: Maybe you want to buy a car in the near future. Instead of going out and obtaining a loan for a brand new one, maybe your goal can be to save up and pay cash for a car. If that goal is a little far-fetched for you, maybe you can save for a down payment of 25% or 50% of the purchase price. It will be harder than getting a loan for the whole thing, but you will have the satisfaction of knowing you saved for your car, plus you can use the money you save in monthly payments to help meet another financial goal.

Give More: For those already giving, set a goal to increase your giving by a certain amount or a higher percentage of your income. Or seek out another worthy organization beyond your church or even a person or family within your church that you can give to. If you aren’t currently giving, make a goal to start - even if it’s only $10 a month. It may seem like a small amount, but it can make a difference.

Increase Your Net Worth: Your financial net worth is your bottom line for your finances. For those who don’t know, your net worth is how much you have in assets (savings, retirement, home equity, etc.) minus how much you owe - giving you the amount you really own. If you owe more money that you have in assets, you have a negative net worth. If you have more than you owe, you have a positive net worth.

Setting a goal to increase your net worth can help you stay focused on your bottom line. For instance if you pay off one bill but take out more debt somewhere else, that affects your net worth. If you have a negative net worth, you can set a goal to at least get in the positive. If you already have a positive net worth, set a realistic goal of where you want to be in a year or two or five.

For all your goals, I encourage you to write them down somewhere where you can review them regularly. You can post them on your refrigerator, on your nightstand, in your PDA, or wherever is easiest and most convenient for you. When you see your goals often, you are reminded of why you are being disciplined and what your future reward is. And don’t worry about choosing the perfect goal. At your goal date you may be just shy or way ahead of your goal. The point is that you are moving in the right direction and you’ll eventually get there. Just remember Proverbs 16:3: “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

Original article posted at http://www.crosswalk.com/finances/11575565/

Delicious Zucchini Pasta

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and made it for dinner the other night and it was pretty good! Here's the recipe (substitutions I made are marked with a *)

INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package uncooked pasta shells *
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped *
3 cloves garlic, sliced *
1 zucchini, chopped *
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes *
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped cooked chicken
1 ounce diced roasted red peppers *
2 tablespoons light cream cheese *
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves *
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese *


DIRECTIONS
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place pasta shells in the pot, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion and garlic until tender. Mix in the zucchini, and season with oregano, salt and pepper, and red pepper. Cook 10 minutes, until tender.
3. Stir the chicken broth into the skillet, and cook 5 minutes, until heated through. Mix in the chicken, roasted red peppers, and cream cheese, and continue cooking 5 minutes. Serve over the cooked pasta, and top with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 servings, approximately 6 WW Points per serving for original recipe.

I slightly altered the recipe when I made it- here are the changes I made:
*used bow-tie pasta instead of shells
*used frozen chopped onion instead of fresh
*used diced garlic from a jar
*used frozen sliced zucchini instead of fresh and added sliced yellow squash
*omitted red pepper flakes (becuase I don't like spice)
*omitted roasted red peppers (because I didn't have them)
*added another tablespoon of cream cheese to thicken the sauce
*used a smalled amount of dried basil
*used parmesan cheese from a can

The only cooking change I had to make was I had to turn the stove on high when cooking the zucchini to boil all the excess water from them being frozen. I also added white cooking wine at this time to give it more flavor.

This recipe was very delicious for dinner and equally good as leftovers for lunch the next day. I like the fact that I could use frozen ingredients and it still tasted good.

Here is the link for the original recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Zucchini-Pasta-II/Detail.aspx

Let me know if you try it and like it!

My Introductory Post

Welcome all to my first post on my own official blog! I've been meaning to create one of these for a while and finally just got around to actually doing it. I've been writing for 3 different websites lately and I wanted to create a place where I can post all my latest articles and writings so those who are interested in my writing can keep up! I also plan to post on other topics that people often ask me about, like healthy recipes, money saving ideas and fun things to do. I hope that my blog will help people and bless them as well. Please feel free to comment and offer suggestions on how I can improve my site and other things you'd like to see on here as well! (Sorry but this first post won't have a picture until I can figure out how to do that!) :)
Hope you have a great day!