I Am Nacho Mama

The Southern Plate Challenge To Change Your Life

2011-06-08T08:00:00.002-05:00

If you don't know this already, I love Christy Jordan from Southern Plate. She is such a positive, uplifting, good ol' girl from Alabama.

She posted something a long time ago about how being positive is something you have to work at - it's not something that just happens naturally. That was a serious light bulb moment for me. For some reason I always kind of thought that being positive was something that you were born with and somehow or another I'd missed out on those genes. I just want to take a minute to say thank you, Christy Jordan, for making me realize I could be just as positive as Zig Ziglar if I wanted to be - it's up to me how positive I'll be!

And on that note, Christy has come up with a challenge to change your life and I, for one, am up for it. Go here to read more about it.

My positive thought for today that I posted on Facebook is:

Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy. ~Cynthia Nelms

And I have a little bit of wisdom from my 5 1/2 year-old daughter who never ceases to amaze me: Sometimes when you talk too much you forget what you're saying.

Y'all have a great day!

Negativity

2011-03-03T16:26:00.002-06:00

I realized something today - thanks to a comment from a reader who is irked at me, to say the least.

I thought I was a positive person. I really did. There are lots and lots of negative people in this world and I really thought I was doing my best to not be one of them - but apparently I'm not doing a very good job.

From now on I will only have positive, uplifting things to say.

Weight Watchers Update

2011-01-26T12:54:00.004-06:00

I was right. I gained weight that week. Pissed me off...I mean really irritated me. There was no reason for it other than the fact that I ate less than what I should have. I exercised the same amount of time as normal - which is 4 days a week. And yet I still gained weight. Have we learned anything from that, people? EAT YOUR FRIGGIN POINTS!

I'm off my soap box now. Here's my Weight Watcher update:
January 7 - January 13 = Gained 0.8
January 14-January 20 = Lost 2.2

I've eaten pretty bad this week. My husband's birthday was the 20th, and we went out to eat at Chuy's. It's a Mexican restaurant here in Fort Worth. I had a margarita - a big frozen one. I had some frozen sangria (yummy) and I ate a couple of homemade flour tortillas with butter! - Yes, real butter! And I ate a cheese enchilada and rice and beans. And of course I had to have some tortilla chips and salsa! Oh, I also had a beer.

The next day, my family went to the stock show. I had about 4 big beers. (You've got to have some beer while at the stock show - that's a given!) And then afterwards, I had Taco Casa! Taco Casa, people! I love me some Taco Casa. I ate two tacos and...yes, I said and...and frijoles and cheese! And if you know about Taco Casa, you know they don't skimp on the cheese! (My use of exclamation points is really irritating, isn't it!!??!!!!)

I think I went over my points a couple of times this last week - lol! Seriously, I only used up -- heck, I don't know what I used up. I just know I have 38 weekly remaining - whatever that means. And I have 11 activity points remaining. I have never, ever, not even once had to use any of my weekly allowance points - I have now!

The reason I'm saying all this is because I think I'll find out Thursday that I've lost quite a bit this week. Crazy, I know! We shall see.

(Also, I'm making a promise to myself to try and update this blog every day...after I get a laptop! Ever since I got an Iphone, I hardly ever turn on this big, clunky computer. We plan on getting a laptop in the next month or so.)

Weight Watchers Hint #4 - Eat All Your Points

2011-01-13T12:44:00.003-06:00

I think I'm going to find out tonight what happens when you don't eat all your points. I've done this a few times and each time I do it, I think I'm going to lose more weight if I don't eat all my points - WRONG!

I've been sick this week and I've been retaining water (yes, I said that). I have been exercising like normal, but I haven't been eating all my points. Night before last, I had 9 points left over. Crazy, I know.

I bet when I weigh in tonight, I'll have either stayed the same weight or even possibly gained some - Lord, I hope not!

Now, if I could only get it through my thick skull that eating less points does not mean I'll lose more weight! Your body needs that food for fuel! Food=fuel, food=fuel. I've got to keep reminding myself of that!

We'll see what happens tonight.

Weight Watchers Hint #3

2011-01-08T19:10:00.004-06:00

I keep a Sharpie in my kitchen. I figure up the PointsPlus value for things like butter or the light sour cream or bread or whatever food you might eat on a regular basis and I write on the package how many PointsPlus value each food is. It comes in handy and it helps me make better decisions I think.

Weight Watchers Hint #2

2011-01-07T11:19:00.003-06:00

Best thing to eat at Sonic that's not a salad with no dressing and isn't a side item like small fries...you'll never guess what it is! I couldn't believe it when I saw it. Are you ready for it?

It's a CORN DOG! Coming in at 6 PointsPlus value.

Small tater tots are 6 PointsPlus
Small french fries are 5 PointsPlus

Or you can do like me and order a small tots with cheese for 5 PointsPlus.

Why is the small tater tots with cheese less PointsPlus value than just the plain old taters tots? I have no earthly idea, but I'll take it!

Weight Watchers Update

2011-01-07T11:13:00.002-06:00

So I weighed in last night.

December 31 - January 6 = lost 2.8

I've lost 29.4 pounds total since October 21! Yay!

I think I lost a little more this week because I did the medium intensity workouts on the EA Sports Active. I didn't eat the healthiest this week. I never go over on my points - never dip into that 49 point reserve unless it's a holiday - never use the activity points I've earned.

But I did eat cheese enchiladas and rice and beans at a mexican restaurant. I looked that up before I went and the PointsPlus value for that meal was 9 points! So that's what I tracked - 9 points. It felt a lot more than that though!

Oh, well. I think you deserve a meal like that every now and then. There was not a lot of food on the plate and it was a smaller-size plate, so I ate it. I did give most of one of the enchiladas to my husband though. It was delicious!

Weight Watchers Hints

2011-01-04T16:30:00.004-06:00

I've come up with the idea to share what I call my Weight Watchers Hints. They are little things I've figured out about the new Weight Watchers plan - the PointsPlus. You may already know some of them. If you don't, then maybe you can use them.

My first hint is what we're having for supper tonight. It's quick, it's easy, and it feeds the whole family. It's Stouffer's Family Size 38 oz. Lasagna with Meat Sauce.

Fiber = 3
Fat = 9
Carbs = 30
Protein = 23
____________
PointsPlus = 7

Serving size is 1 cup
There are 5 servings in the whole package.

I think this lasagna is yummy. What makes it really yummy is the fact that its super duper easy! I couldn't believe it when I found out it was only 7 points.

Stay tuned for more Weight Watchers Hints.

Weight Watchers Update

2011-01-04T12:11:00.003-06:00

So it's now January 4 and so far I've been horrible about updating this blog like I said I would. Well, I've got a pretty good excuse. My husband was off work for the holidays and I enjoyed spending time with him and my girls. But now it's nose to the grindstone time.

Here's an update on my weight loss.

December 17 - 23 = lost 1.8
December 24 - 29 = lost 0.8

Slowly but surely I'm getting there. I lost .8 pounds over Christmas, people! I'm happy. I ate two days of food without tracking! Shhh! Don't tell anyone that! We had Christmas @ our house on Christmas Eve for my husband's family and then Christmas for my family at my nephew's house on Christmas day. I did not track one point on either of those days. I did keep an eye on how much I was eating and drinking- hiccup!

I've been doing the EA Sports Active 2 workouts on the Wii. I did the 9-week program on easy intensity. I finished that and I started the 21-week program, but I upped the intensity to medium. Bad move on my part. It is sooooooo hard. My heart rate got up to 198 today! It's so hard it makes me not want to do it. So I lowered the intensity down to easy. We'll see how that works!

I've thought about putting on here what I ate every day. I don't know if that would be helpful or not. I saw this lady on the news who videotapes herself cooking lowfat meals and then uploading them to You Tube. Would that be interesting to people?

I've lost 26.6 pounds since October 21st and I have about 40 or more pounds to go. We'll see what I can come up with to make my weight loss and this blog interesting. Stay tuned! My goal is to help whoever I can.

Weight Watchers

2010-12-17T11:13:00.003-06:00

I started Weight Watchers back on October 21 - the day after my oldest daughter's 5th birthday. I went to a meeting and sat there and cried like a little girl when the meeting leader or team leader (you'd think I'd know what her title is by now, but I don't) asked me why I was there. All I could really get out of my mouth was, "It's time."

I have never been more determined to do something in my life...well, besides passing the court reporting exam and trying to make sure my family is happy. That making sure my family is happy part has a ton to do with why I've decided to lose weight.

As of last night, I've lost 24 pounds. Yeah, I've got about 60 more pounds to go, but it's a start. I feel so much better now - especially my knees.

When I started Weight Watchers, it was the old momentum plan. I had no idea that Weight Watchers was about to go through a major change. If I had known they were about to change the plan, I wouldn't have started when I did. If that was the case, I would have missed out on losing 18.4 pounds.

Here's how much I've lost each week since the beginning (I realize this might be boring for some people, but I'm more or less writing all this down so I can remember it on down the line)

Momentum Plan
October 21 - October 28 = lost 8.0
October28 - November 4 = lost 0.4
November 4- November 11 = lost 6.0
November 11 - November 18 = lost 1.2
November 18 - November 24 = lost 0.6
November 25 - December 2 = lost 2.2

PointsPlus
December 2 - December 9 = lost 1.4
December 9 - December 16 = lost 4.2

I started exercising every day, but realized when I wasn't dropping the pounds that maybe I should exercise every other day. Also I had the craziest revelation ever. And that was I don't think I was eating enough food every day. No, I'm not talking about before Weight Watchers. But my second week on WW, I thought if I didn't eat all my points, I'd lose weight faster - wrong! As you can tell from the list above, I only lost .4 pounds that week. When I saw that not eating all my points hindered my weight lost, I started eating all my points and I lost 6 pounds that next week. I know it fluctuates like crazy, but the best part is I've lost some every week.

I plan on keeping up with this blog. I've decided instead of playing Frontierville on Facebook when my youngest is taking a nap every day, I'm going to update this blog. Let's see if I'm as determined to do that as I am at losing weight :)

Local Fort Worth Blogs

2010-09-28T13:06:00.005-05:00

I've been navigating my way through the new NBC 5 website - new to me anyway. It's kind of hard to find your way around it, but I'm figuring it out slowly but surely.

Anyway, I came across one of their blogs. It's called Worth The Drive. They post something that's worth driving a short distance from DFW. Pretty neat.

There's also one called Shells of our City. It talks about old abandoned buildings around town.

There's a Penny Pinching blog.

And also one called Gourmet Yourself, where you can learn recipes, tips and tricks from local chefs.

Go check them out. You might learn something new!

Book Pig

2010-09-24T14:06:00.003-05:00

Have y'all ever heard of Book Pig? I hadn't till the other day. It seems like a neat concept.

From their website:

"Children read more with Book Pig and it's easy to see why. We deliver great books to your doorstep in a fun package. Books are tailored to your children's taste and reading level. Take a look and see why Book Pig is a great way for your children to read more. "

I think it's kind of like Netflix but with kids' books.

Just checked the price and it seems kind of high to me. Would be a lot cheaper to go to the library and check out the books.

The Smell of Cabelas

2010-09-20T10:34:00.003-05:00

Does anyone else get grossed out from the smell in Cabelas? I don't know why, but it makes me sick to my stomach whenever I go in there. It smells like burnt cinnamon or something - blah!!

How Do They Remember The Recipes?

2010-09-16T11:40:00.004-05:00

I watch a lot of cooking competition shows like Top Chef and Masterchef. I've always wondered...how do they remember the recipes? I think I can only remember one or two recipes and that's for mashed potatoes and the other is my grandma's goulash! Are they able to use written recipes they brought with them? I'm just curious.

Review: Five Guys

2010-09-15T16:03:00.002-05:00

What's the big deal with Five Guys Burgers & Fries? It was supposedly one of Fort Worth's 10 best new places to go eat. We went there yesterday for lunch and I was not that impressed. The fries were overdone and the burger was --- well, just a burger. Nothing much to write home about. Just my opinion.

Review: Young Chefs Academy of Fort Worth

2010-09-15T09:34:00.002-05:00

So I bought the Groupon for the Young Chefs Academy of Fort Worth. I finally got Maddie enrolled in a class. I had never heard of it before and thought it would be really neat for my four (almost five)-year-old to do because it's all about cooking and she loves to help me in the kitchen.

It was a little hard to get her registered, only because they seem to never answer the phone at the Young Chefs Academy. I guess they're too busy "cooking up fun in the kitchen." But they did return my calls every time I called, albeit the next day or two after I called and left a message. Would have loved to have been able to register her through their website, but you can't do that if you're using a Groupon

Anyway, I was finally able to register her and my mother and I took her to the KinderCooks class yesterday. The place looked really neat. All the cabinets were painted different bright colors. Everything looked neat and clean. They looked well-prepared because they had all their ingredients ready to go. Chef Jeff was all set to go when the other 9 or 10 kids came piling into the class.

He helped them all wash their hands and put on their cutesy little aprons. And then the class started. It was off to a good start. He explained to them about measuring a cup of flour and how you have to tap, tap, tap and scrape it off to get an even cup. Each kid had to measure and dump the flour into the bowl.

Then, unfortunately, that's where the informative part went bye-bye. When the not-so-happy-to-be "cooking up fun in the kitchen" employee came into the room to help Chef Jeff. For some reason or another, it didn't seem so fun anymore. She took the bowls and the measuring cup and went around to each table and had them do the same thing again. But she wasn't very nice about it. It was more like, Here, kid...you do it and then pass the tools to the next kid. And so it went for about an hour or so. Each time they started at the table to their right. The poor kids at the table to their left got to do hardly anything - they tore up bacon - whoop whoop!

I was sitting there thinking, I'm glad I did not pay full price for this, when one of the other mother's said, Is anybody else underwhelmed at this point? I thought, OMG, this lady is like Sookie from True Blood...she can read my mind. So all of us moms started talking about how we thought it would be more informative...that they would teach the kids more things about cooking - not just have them dump ingredients into a bowl. Maybe they would say, This is cinnamon, kids; cinnamon is a spice; it comes from trees (or wherever it comes from). Not just dump and pass.

Then...get this...one of the little girls kept standing up on her barstool to kind of look in the bowl so she could stir it. The "teachers" asked her a few times to sit down. Her mother went in and whispered something in her ear (which I'm sure was to have her sit down). The little girl was not disruptive - she was not interfering with the class at all. The sourpuss employee goes around the table, picks the girl up, moves her to the side and then grabs her barstool and takes it away...makes the kid stand the rest of the time!! I couldn't believe it. Totally embarrassed the little girl - her demeanor totally changed.

Listen, I'm all for people getting onto kids when they're doing something wrong. There's a right way and a wrong way to do it. That was the WRONG way. Young Chefs Academy is not the place to discipline other people's children.

The mom didn't see all this go down. She asked me, Did she just take her stool away? I said, Yes. After a few minutes the mom went in there and gave her daughter her stool back and told the sourpuss that she could have gone about that whole ordeal in a nicer way. The mom then proceeded to have a talk with the owner of the place...thank goodness.

At this point, that's when the owner took over the class. She saved it. Made it fun. Was very informative. Explained things to the kids. Made it worth the $15 or so I paid.

My suggestion to the owner of Young Chefs Academy of Fort Worth: use recipes that have way, way, way, way less ingredients than French Toast Cupcakes; have smaller classes if possible; fire the sourpuss. Your classes will never be enjoyable for little kids if you have an employee working there who absolutely does not want to be there.

My suggestion for parents taking their kids to Young Chefs Academy of Fort Worth: stay while the class is going on and sit in that little area that you're supposed to sit in and watch the class. If things aren't going like you think they should, go find the owner.

As for me and my kids, I don't think we'll be back.

This young chefs idea is a great concept. It could be so fun for little kids. You've got to have people working there that want to be there, that want the little kids to have fun and to learn something in the process.

Maddie Asks

2010-09-10T11:20:00.002-05:00

Maddie: How many does seven big ones make?

Mama: $1.75

Chicken Enchiladas

2010-09-02T12:14:00.003-05:00

Last night I made Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas - another recipe taken out of one of the Kraft magazines my mother-in-law gave me. They were pretty good... a little too spicy for my taste. I don't know why they were because I bought the mild salsa. Here's the recipe:

First you've got to cook some chicken breasts. I used the frozen chicken breast tenderloins. I cooked about 12 or more of them because I wanted to save some for another recipe. Here's the recipe for that:

1 cup Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing
8 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2 lbs)

Pour everything in Ziplock bag and put in fridge for 5 minutes to marinate. Line baking sheet with foil and then put chicken on baking sheet and throw away marinade. Pop in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through (165 degrees). (It drives me up a wall every time I hear someone on a cooking show say pop -- like pop it in the oven! I'm a weirdo, I know!)

Here's the recipe for the chicken enchiladas:

Vegetable oil - just enough to cook onions
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cooked small chicken breasts, shredded (I used about 8 of the tenderloin thingies from recipe above)
1 cup salsa - divided
4 oz. can diced green chilies (optional)
4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 Tbsp cilantro (I used dried - just eyeballed it)
1 tsp cumin
1 cup (or more) Colby Jack cheese (or whatever you want)
8 flour tortillas (I used seven, but who really cares?)

Preheat oven to 350. Put small amount of vegetable oil in skillet. Cook onions and garlic about two minutes. Add chicken, 1/4 cup of the salsa, cream cheese, green chilies (if you want them), cilantro and cumin. Mix well. Cook until heated through - stirring occasionally. Add 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese. Mix well.

Spoon about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture onto each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in 9x13 baking dish which has been sprayed with cooking spray. Top with remaining 3/4 cup salsa and remaining shredded cheese.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through. Makes 4 servings, 2 enchiladas each.

(I thought this might taste better with a sauce on top of it of some kind - something juicier than just salsa - Kelly liked it as is though.)

Spaghetti Bolognese

2010-09-01T11:37:00.005-05:00

My mother-in-law brought me a bunch of her old Kraft magazines and I've been having a heyday going through them. I made this last night and it was scrumptious. I modified it a little bit, so I'll give you my recipe.

Super Easy Spaghetti Bolognese

12 oz. thin spaghetti
1 lb. ground beef
2 cups chopped onions (Yes you really need that much!)
4 cloves minced garlic (I put about 3 or 4 teaspoons of the already minced jar kind)
1 (14 1/2 oz) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes undrained
4 Tbsp. tomato paste (I used the kind with garlic in it)
4 Tbsp Zesty Italian dressing
Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Cook pasta. While that's cooking, combine meat, onions and garlic in skillet. Cook until meat is not pink and onions are tender. Stir frequently. Drain (if necessary) but don't rinse (if that's what you normally do).

Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste and dressing. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 5 minutes or until heated through.

Drain pasta. Place in large serving bowl. Add 1/2 the meat sauce - mix lightly and sprinkle with cheese if you want.

Here's where it got a little screwed up. I mixed the pasta with 1/2 of the meat mixture. I planned on saving 1/2 the meat mixture to make Zesty Beef Chili (see recipe below) the next day, but SOMEBODY (I'm not going to name names) but SOMEBODY spooned the extra meat mixture into their bowl. They thought I had it separated like that because Maddie probably wouldn't eat it with all that meat in it. Excuses, excuses!! LOL!!

Anyway, if you can keep yourself from eating the extra 1/2 of the meat mixture, then make this:

Zesty Beef Chili

Leftover Bolognese sauce (from up there)
1 (15 oz.) Can kidney beans, drained
1/2 Cup Salsa
1 Tbsp chili powder
Any kind of shredded cheese you like (and please shred your own -cheese tastes so much better when you shred it yourself, plus I think it has less additives in it! I'm just saying!)

Spoon leftover meat sauce into saucepan. Stir in drained beans, salsa and chili powder. Cook and stir until heated through. Top with cheese of your choice if you want. Makes 2 servings, 2 cups each.

(Does anybody know how to make a link to where y'all can print out the recipes easier without having to cut and paste them? I can't figure out how to do that!)

Ballon Time Put a Face on Fun Contest

2010-08-25T13:50:00.003-05:00

Go here to vote for my adorable daughter Maddie. You can vote up to five times a day if you're so inclined. Thank you!!

Corn Chowder

2010-08-20T11:35:00.004-05:00

Nothing like a steaming bowl of corn chowder to make you even hotter on a hundred degree day here in hotter than hell Texas! What was I thinking making this stuff? I don't know, but I'm glad I did because it was pretty dang good. My husband Kelly rated it about a 9 and kept raving about how good it was. I don't know if he was just trying to kiss up or if he really meant it. I think he really meant it.

Y'all want the recipe?

Here it is:

Corn Chowder

6 ears fresh corn (you could probably use canned or frozen corn in the winter)
1 cup water at first then 2 Tbs. later
7 slices bacon chopped (really wound up with 5 because I kept eating it!)
1 onion chopped
4 cups milk
1 Tbs. cornstarch
Salt & Pepper to taste (which to me means a lot of both)

Optional ingredients:
Green onions chopped
Colby Jack cheese (or whatever cheese you want)

Shuck the corn and scrape the kernels off.

I learned something the other day while watching 5 Ingredient Fix. Sometimes I like that show, sometimes I don't. I like recipes made from stuff I can find at the grocery store - a grocery store like Kroger or Albertson's - not Whole Foods or Central Market. And sometimes the recipes on 5 Ingredient Fix might have an ingredient say like fuzzy kumquat shavings or something (yes, I made that up). Anyway, back from my tangent...

Claire from 5 Ingredient Fix said to only cut half the kernel off the cob, meaning don't dig the knife down into the cob to get every single last drop of corn because that's where all the starch is - which really doesn't make any sense because you have to add cornstarch to this recipe - but just go with me, people.

So shuck the corn and scrape the kernels off. Set the kernels aside. Put the cobs in 1 cup water - add some salt and pepper. I put them all in a 5-quart pot - what I call my dutch oven. I have no idea if it's a dutch oven or not - I just like to be all fancy and call it my dutch oven. I had to stack the cobs on top of each other because they wouldn't all spread out in the pan...I mean, my dutch oven.

Anyway, bring that to a boil and then turn it to low and cover - cook that for 20 minutes. The whole reason for doing this is to make a better broth or stock.

While that's cooking, cut up your bacon in 1/4" pieces or however big you want them and cook that in a skillet until it starts to brown. Add the chopped onion and cook until you think it's done. There's going to be lots of grease, so when your bacon/onion mixture is done, drain it all on some paper towels.

Remove the cobs from the stock and chunk them. Add the milk, corn kernels, bacon/onion mixture to the dutch oven so they can swim around with the broth you've already got in there. Bring all that to a boil - and watch out because I kept waiting and waiting for mine to boil and it kept taking forever, so I decided to walk outside and chunk the cobs down in the creek for the critters to eat and when I came back in, everything had boiled over and it smelled like burnt you-know-what! So bring it to a boil and then lower heat so the soup bubbles a little bit. Cook uncovered stirring quite a bit until the corn is tender - about 15 minutes or so.

Whisk the cornstarch in a small bowl with 2 Tbs. water until smooth. Add to the soup and stir until the soup thickens. Mine didn't thicken that much, so don't expect it to congeal like jello or anything. Taste it and then add more salt and pepper if you need to - garnish with scallions and cheese if you want. The green onions really add a great flavor. I think you could also add a baked potato or boiled potatoes to this if you felt so inclined.

Yummy, yummy.

Since I went on and on and on about stuff I didn't really need to, here's a recipe you can print out:

Corn Chowder

6 ears fresh corn (you could probably use canned or frozen corn in the winter)
1 cup water at first then 2 Tbs. later
7 slices bacon chopped (really wound up with 5 because I kept eating it!)
1 onion chopped
4 cups milk
1 Tbs. cornstarch
Salt & Pepper to taste (which to me means a lot of both)

Optional ingredients:
Green onions chopped
Colby Jack cheese (or whatever cheese you want)

Shuck the corn and scrape the kernels off. Set kernels aside. Put all naked cobs in pot or dutch oven or whatever you got. Add 1 cup of water and some salt. Bring to a boil, then turn to low and cover and cook for 20 minutes.

While that's cooking, cut bacon in 1/4" pieces and cook in skillet until it starts to brown. Add onions. Cook until onions are soft and transparent. Drain bacon and onion mixture on paper towels.

Remove cobs from stock and throw away. Add the milk, corn kernels, bacon/onion mixture to the stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat so the soup bubbles a little bit. Cook uncovered, stirring every now and then until the corn is tender which is about 15 minutes or so.

Whisk the cornstarch in a small bowl with the 2 Tbs. water until smooth. Add that to the soup and stir until the soup thickens or until you get tired of stirring (lol). Taste and add more salt and pepper if you want. Garnish with green onions and cheese if you want.

That's Abby!

2010-08-18T08:39:00.003-05:00

I've entered Abby in a cutest baby contest put on by the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Look over there to the right. Isn't she adorable? Go vote for her! Thank you!!

(In case you can't see her picture, click here to vote for her. Thanks again!!)

Remember Me?

2010-06-24T21:32:00.002-05:00

I've been horrible about updating this blog. Life has just taken over and I'm loving every second of it - savoring all those giggles and smiles I've been getting from my two girls - love it, love it, love it.

I got an email from this nice person, and I thought I'd post this. Go check out their website...they might save you some money. It's Savebrite. I'm all about saving money! Joined The Grocery Game and now I hardly buy anything without using a coupon! Anyway, here's the post that Chesca from Savebrite sent me. Good info.

5 Savings Tips for Losing Weight

Dieting is big business! Watch only a few moments of late night television and you’ll be barraged with ads for fat burning creams, diet pills and the latest craze in exercise gimmickry. Don’t be fooled! You can successfully slim down this summer without spending money on needless items with our 5 savings tips for weight loss.

1. Skip the gym, hit the pavement.

Gym memberships are expensive and they can be almost impossible to cancel without having to pay a large early cancellation fee. Skip the gym, throw open the front door and get outside! During the warmth of summer, your exercise activities are nearly endless. You can walk, run, bike, play badminton, throw a Frisbee around, swim, play croquet, garden, mow the lawn, or take a hike. All of these activities are free! Playing tag with your kids in the backyard burns up to 200 calories an hour. The only thing you have to lose is a little of you. Get moving!

If you feel you must join a gym, watch for free membership trial periods offered by local gyms and specials on memberships. Also, check out your local YMCA and YWCA.

2. Join an online fitness support group.

Research has shown than some people are more inclined to lose weight using the buddy system. Online fitness support groups will help you log daily food intake, make exercise goals and connect with other people who are also trying to shed pounds. Check out these free online support groups Spark People, Daily Burn, and My Fitness Pal.

3. Buy used fitness equipment.

Exercise machines don’t have to be expensive. Shop Goodwill, yard sales, Craigslist and Freecycle for used weight benches and free weights, bicycles, trampolines, stair climbers, and more. Even better, swap equipment with friends and family members! Do you have an old bike that someone in your family has outgrown? Trade it for an exercise bike.

4. Buy in season.

Buy vegetables and other produce items only when in season. Produce will be cheaper, fresher and more nutrient rich. Visit your local Farmer’s Market for weekly sales, join a food co-op or meet a local farmer who will deliver items right to your door. When you must buy out of season, always purchase frozen fruits and vegetables instead of canned goods. Frozen vegetables retain their nutrients, have no added salt or preservatives and can be kept for long periods of time in the freezer without spoiling.

5. Use your library.

Take a trip to your local library for exercises DVDs and videos, healthy cookbooks and weight loss magazines and books. If you find a DVD or cookbook you like, you can always buy it later. Sample for free!

Now, what are you waiting for? Get moving!

5 Savings Tips for Losing Weight was originally posted on the Savebrite.com blog.

Changing My Outlook On Things - Part Two

2010-01-27T15:33:00.008-06:00

(The date up there says it's the 27th, but it's really the 2nd. The 27th is when I started writing this.)

Wow, was that a gripe session or what? I didn't mean for it to be. Let me start off by telling you a little bit about what happened. I started noticing my 4-year-old, Maddie, was starting to get a little pooch in her belly. I've sworn up and down her whole life that I was never going to have a fat kid, and I'm not. I had been eating Little Debbies and all kinds of snacks at any time during the day. Every time I ate something, Maddie wanted one of whatever I was eating. After I noticed the pooch in her belly, I stopped buying sweets. Her "pooch" went away...mine, however did not.

Also, I've been breastfeeding since Abby was born back on October 16th of 2009. We had to start supplementing with formula because she wasn't gaining weight. She couldn't tolerate the milk-based formulas so we switched to soy. She still was pretty fussy quite a bit of the time, so I stopped eating any and all dairy products which means no cheese and no butter - two of the most beautiful things on the face of this earth!

I figured the weight would just fall off me - not! So after being pissed for a few weeks, I decided to change the way I ate. At breakfast I'll eat two slices of toast with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and some strawberry jelly - or a bowl of oatmeal (one packet of instant oatmeal) with no butter. Lunch I'll usually have a sandwich on wheat bread with mustard on one slice of bread, ketchup on the other and four slices of turkey breast. Supper, we've been having chicken so much lately I think I'm beginning to cluck.

But I think the most important thing I'm doing is exercising every day (I didn't exercise Sunday or Monday because I have some kind of virus that Maddie had). Yeah, I'm only doing the Wii Fit, but something is better than nothing, right? I do it for 30 minutes every day - the hula hoop for six minutes kicks my butt!

From the time I had Abby to before I started exercising, I had managed to lose 27 pounds. Since I started eating better and exercising (which in actuality has been about 8 days) I've lost 9 pounds.

I've managed to make myself think that when I want to eat some french fries, if I eat more than a couple, then I'm only cheating myself and I cannot stand cheaters. I will actually chant "you're only cheating yourself, Shelley - you're only cheating yourself" out loud as I'm putting the french fry or whatever it is in my mouth. I've always wondered why people cheat at games. What's the thrill in winning if you cheated? I've tried to apply that to eating. Why is it so wonderful if I eat the whole bag of french fries versus eating a couple? It's not wonderful at all.

What I miss the most? The sweets, the salty, the buttery, the cheesy, the starchy, the creamy, the chocalatey, the...I just keep telling myself, I'll be able to eat any and all that in moderation after I get all this weight off my bo-bo.

(I'm sorry if this post is hard to read. I've been trying to write it for a week now and I'm trying to cram all my thoughts into it before the baby wakes up. )

Forgot to mention something funny Maddie said this morning. I hadn't done the Wii Fit in two days because I've been sick. I thought I'd get on it and it would tell me I'd lost at least 3 pounds - NOT! I gained 0.2 pounds! What the heck? I can't remember exactly what I said, but Maddie knew I was disappointed. After doing the second or third exercise, I ranked like 10th place. Maddie says, You stop being mean to my, Mama, you man! She's so funny.

Trying To Change The Way I Look @ Things

2010-01-27T12:20:00.005-06:00

So I'm on about week 1 of trying to eat better. I'm trying to totally change my way of thinking, and I actually think it might be working.

This year I'm hoping to attend my 20th high school reunion. But there's no way in hell I'll be going with the way I look now.

You see, I gained exactly 50 pounds with my last pregnancy. Lovely, I know. The worst part about that is I was already 75 pounds overweight! Why the hell am I saying all this out loud? Why am I being so honest? Other than the fact that I might have completely lost my mind, I thought that me documenting this might actually help somebody else. Although I don't know if it will or not because if you're anything like me, you don't want to hear anybody's wonderful advice about how they think you should eat or what they think you should do. So you can follow on this journey with me - you can laugh with me or at me, I don't really care just as long as you laugh.

I've tried diets before - I was on Nutrisystems when I was in high school, people! I was only, like 10 pounds "overweight" - and I wasn't even overweight. Did they like change the guidelines of what they considered fat was? I think I weighed 140 something and I'm 5'8". Anyway, that's a crazy memory I just remembered.

I also was on Jenny Craig for a while...think that was a few years after I graduated from high school. Back then I was only maybe 20 pounds overweight. Ahhh, those were the days.

I have never followed an exercise routine. The reason why I don't run is because my boobs would be like huge atomic bombs exploding in my eyeballs every time I took a step. My boobs are huge - always have been. Back in high school, I have some not-so-fond memories of hearing "Hey Dairy Queen!" or "Milk it does your body good, pass it on" being yelled at me through the halls.

Excuses, excuses, excuses.

Well, I'm tired of my own excuses and I've decided to do something about it. What am I doing you say? Well, I'm getting up off my ass is what I'm doing. I'm tired of being a fat ass, large Marge, two-ton Tessy - I'm flat out tired of it and I'm in the process of doing everything I can to change it.

I'll post more later. Right now I'm tired of typing and the 3-month-old wants some attention! More later, promise.

I Am Nacho Mama

The Southern Plate Challenge To Change Your Life

Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy. ~Cynthia NelmsAnd I have a little bit of wisdom from my 5 1/2 year-old daughter who never ceases to amaze me: Sometimes when you talk too much you forget what you're saying.

Negativity

Weight Watchers Update

Weight Watchers Hint #4 - Eat All Your Points

Weight Watchers Hint #3

Weight Watchers Hint #2

Weight Watchers Update

Weight Watchers Hints

Weight Watchers Update

Weight Watchers

Local Fort Worth Blogs

Book Pig

The Smell of Cabelas

How Do They Remember The Recipes?

Review: Five Guys

Review: Young Chefs Academy of Fort Worth

Maddie Asks

Chicken Enchiladas

Spaghetti Bolognese

Ballon Time Put a Face on Fun Contest

Corn Chowder

That's Abby!

Remember Me?

Changing My Outlook On Things - Part Two

Trying To Change The Way I Look @ Things

Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy. ~Cynthia Nelms

And I have a little bit of wisdom from my 5 1/2 year-old daughter who never ceases to amaze me: Sometimes when you talk too much you forget what you're saying.