Princess Pretties

We went to Dub Falls this past weekend & all we did was spend time with our family & friends. We needed a great weekend & we got
a fabulous one. Just wish we could have seen everyone while we were there!

Saturday we went to see Cinderella at the Wichita Theatre, and we are very thankful to our sweet friends for bringing us princess dresses to wear!

These princess pretties are downright giddy!


Pretty #1 was so elated to see her Miss P! She misses her sweet friend! I miss her sweet friend & her mama, too!


The pretties & Miss P before we go in the show. We were missing PP#2's friend Lizzie who was in the concession line with her mama.


Until next time, WF. Until next time.

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Yummy art

Last night I went to one my most favorite places ever - How Great Thou Art art studio! Plus, I got to see some of my dear friends that I haven't seen in a long time, which made this yummy painting night even sweeter!

The theme for the night was cupcakes, and it was a contemporary take on one of the most classic, but trendiest desserts right now. Rachel, the owner/instructor, is just darling, and I must admit I really miss hearing her voice. She's got the sweetest southern twang I've ever heard, and I can listen to her talk all day. Those southern belles in Savannah, Georgia, have got nothing on her!

Here is the example she gave us. I wish I could have taken it at a better angle, but it will just give you the idea of what we were going for.




Lauren's:



Kendra's:




Mine:




I wished I would have taken more pictures of other works of art, because there yummy cupcakes everywhere that looked good enough to eat!

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Love is in the air....

The girls and I were busy in this Valentine's Eve. I went to Mass this morning, and headed out to Wally World to get a couple of things to before the mass chaos erupted. I have no idea how I left there spending less than $30 bucks, but I did. This "thing" called a budget I've been working on is obviously kicking in.

I came home and the girls and I had a blast in the kitchen today!  

We made chocolate dipped strawberries for Precious Pretty #1's Valentine's day party at school tomorrow.

Made white chocolate covered Oreos for Precious Pretty #2's party tomorrow.  She wanted them to be fancy so we just HAD to add pink and red sprinkles.

We were don't with the making of the chocolate covered strawberries.  We "dipped" over six pounds of strawberries!  

These cookies, or cakies are fantastic.  I posted the recipe before, but here is the link for them again.  Stephanie at Plain Chicken has easy, brilliant ideas for recipes that are not so good for the waist line but are no doubt finger lickin' good.  

PP#1 wanted to sit in fancy chairs for V-Day tomorrow, so she grabbed some scotch tape and away to work she went!

Sister got one, too.

Pretty #2 took a hiatus from the V-Day Sweets operation going on in the kitchen this afternoon and was ready to get back to work after her two hour power nap.  They pretties were reunited and it felt so good.

Also, my darling friend Kathleen in WF is selling her beautiful home on Weeks Park Lane. Check it out, and if you know someone who is looking in Wichita Falls then send them this link.  It's priced to sell!

One final note:  As you celebrate Valentine's Day tomorrow, don't forget to let our Heavenly Father know how much you love him too.

Luke 10: 27

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all you soul, and all your strength, and all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself."

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mission accomplished....sort of

So this morning I read my blog to see what I completed from my Big Ideas yesterday.

I did clean the house from top to bottom with the exception of my dining room which is my Casino Night HQ.  I didn't fold all the laundry, only 25% of it actually.

We didn't get to have the picnic.  Pretty #1 wanted to go to the office with Tim, and Pretty #2 took a four hour nap yesterday afternoon.  Homegirl was tired, and mama got to clean the house.  Even the playroom!

I didn't get to go workout, because by the time T got home I didn't want to get out.  So I worked out double hard today.  One hour spin class for the tri-training, and a 20 minute jog as well.  Tomorrow will be a jog/swim day.

I DID get to start the new blog!  I appreciate all of my friends and family who sent me texts & emails stating that I wasn't fat and inundated me with nice compliments.  Ya made me blush!  ;)
Fact of the matter is, the BMI calculator is telling me something different, and so did my doctor.  I'm  overwhelmed that you all love me just the way I am, but for my own personal reasons I need to get this off.  So, since Fat Mama Slim was already taken, I am now Fat Mama Slim Again.  There's not a lot on it, and I really don't know what direction I want to go on with this, but it's there.  Let the accountability begin!

www.fatmamaslimagain.blogspot.com

Because many moons ago, I was a slim chick.  And I will be again.

Big Idea

I was awakened at 5:30 this morning by the automated phone system at Kate's school stating that school was cancelled today.  I breathed a huge sigh of relief.  Honestly!  We have been going and going and going from having two special friends in our house all last week, to going to visit Uncle Michael & Aunt Cyndi for the Super Bowl, to spending at lot of time up at Kate's school the last two days consumed with Casino Night stuff, that I needed this day at home.  The girls are happy little clams when they are at home, so it's good all away around.  It's 9:30 in the morning, and I am still in pajamas paired with my favorite shoes, my Uggs.  I'm sipping my fourth cup of coffee, I've studied some scripture, and I am listening to my girls giggle while chasing each other around the house.  I'm definitely blessed.

Something that Mary Clare says when she wants to do something is, "Hey, Mom!  I've got a big idea!"  I love it.  It makes me smile every time she says it.  So here are my "big ideas."

Big Idea #1: I'll clean the house top to bottom, fold the four loads of laundry waiting for me, and get dinner started in the crockpot.  (I'll post the recipe at the bottom.)

Big Idea #2: The girls and I have discussed having a picnic in the living room, so I'll need to get ready for that.  And I am going to ask Tim to bring home some M&Ms and a box of yellow cake mix so I can bake some cakies that Stephanie at Plain Chicken posted.  (Another favorite blog, and I'll post that recipe at the bottom as well.)

Big Idea #3:  Tim told me that he would also come home early today so I can head off to the gym to do some marathon/triathalon training.  This year is going to be a big year for me.  I can feel it in my bones.  I am training for a marathon to help raise money for Alzheimer's in honor of my Grandmother Bindel.  I was also invited by some fellow mommies at St. Mary's to join their Iron Girl group and train for a triathalon.  My thoughts were, "Why not?".  My resolution for this year is, "Just DO It", so let's do it.

Really Big Idea #4:  I am thinking about starting a blog called Fat Mama Slim.  I wanted to use Fat Girl Slim, but that is a brand of cellulite creams offered by one of my favorite spas, Bliss Spa.  Fat Lady Slim or Fat Gal Slim didn't really have a ring to it, but Fat Mama Slim does.  I have noticed that when I document each thing that I put in my mouth, the weight melts off.  When I fall off the wagon, which I have a tendency to do ALOT, (as in almost everyday), the adipose comes back with a vengeance.  It's a vicious cycle that I unintentionally continue to sabotage myself with, and I have become very aware of this pattern within the last year.  I thought if I blogged about my triumphs, my lows, and my in betweens, then my fit for life journey may be a little bit more successful.  Then maybe, just maybe, other women out there who have been on the same crazy weight loss train as I have, will read the blog and we can support each other in our efforts.

I hope you have some Big Ideas!   I hope you are enjoying this beautiful snow!  It's God's blessing of giving us an opportunity to sssslllooowwww dddooowwwnnnn......


Crockpot Enchiladas
1-1/2 lb. ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
6 corn tortillas

2 C. fresh or frozen corn (or 15-oz can)
1 19-oz can enchilada sauce
2 C. (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 2-1/2 oz. can sliced ripe olives, drained
sour cream for garnish
Brown ground beef and drain. Add onion and garlic; cook over medium heat until tender and transparent. Add salt and pepper. Place 2 tortillas in bottom of crockpot. Place a third of the following in layers over the tortillas: meat, corn, sauce, cheese and olives. Repeat tortillas and other layers two times. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.  Serve with sour cream.

M&M Cakies (found at www.plainchicken.blogspot.com)
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups M&M or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix and baking powder. Add eggs and oil, then mix until well blended. Stir in M&Ms or chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. (I used a medium Pampered Chef cookie scoop)

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 


Voila!
xoxo,
sf

Stressed spelled backwards spells Desserts......

......and since I am trying to stay on the eat-healthy-so-exercise-is-effective-weight-loss-train for the 489th time, I can't have desserts.  Well, ones that I would actually want to eat.  The rich, indulgent, calorie laden desserts.  So, in an effort to relieve some stress I went to the gym this afternoon.  Today while I walking into my spin class, the instructor told me to drop my shoulders before I stepped foot on the bike.  As I slowly dropped my shoulders, I realized that they had been up in that position all day.  It's likely that I have been wearing my shoulders as earrings for quite some time - maybe couple of weeks or more.  It felt good to let them down.  Kind of awkward, because they had been up there for so long, but good.  What felt even better was to take off those HUGE earrings while burning 735 calories in the one hour spin/weight training class.  I love my heart rate monitor.

I should be doing a number of other things tonight since the girls are in bed after a go-to-bed battle that lasted one hour and twenty minutes.  Laundry, Casino Night stuff, mopping kitchen floor, or catching up on sleep to name a few.  However I needed some mindless entertainment, and unfortunately since I only caught the last seven minutes of The Bachelor, I needed something else to do.

I started catching up on my friends blogs, and after reading one, I was inspired to google my name.  I was surprised to see what came up!

Meet Stephanie Foley the Bodybuilder!!

She is a WNBF Professional Body Builder, whatever that means.  She is also a software developer and has a 13 year old and 10 year old.  Who ever said that software developers were nerds were way off the mark with this chick.


There is a photographer Stephanie Foley that takes pictures of food.  Just what I need.  Check out her website.

www.stephaniefoleyphoto.com

This is my kind of girl.  Stephanie Foley the Soprano.  Not in any relation to Tony Soprano, but opera Soprano.

She's a young lass.  I wish her the best of luck with her operatic career.  Here is an excerpt of her singing Pie Jesu.
http://www.stephaniefoley.ie/usercontent/pie-jesu-short.mp3

There is also Stephanie Foley the Model in California, Stephanie Foley the Insurance Agent, Stephanie Foley the part-time Counselor at a college, and Stephanie Foley that is a Staffing Consultant at MyStaf (or at least used to be - I need to update my Linked In page).

I also searched to see how many Stephanie Foley's were on Facebook.  I stopped counting at 60.

I honestly don't know if this helped relieve my stress any.  Makes me wonder if  I am doing everything I need to be doing to protect my identity.  My family.  My safety.  I am making a mental note to keep my shoulders down right now.  On another note, there are a lot of Stephanie Foley's in this world.  Not as many as there are John Black's, Sarah Smith's, or Amy Jones', but there is a lot.  However, there is only one me.  Only one.  So even though my mindless search might have stressed me out a little bit, it did reinforce the fact that there I need to embrace THIS Stephanie Foley's life even more than I already do.  I need to give thanks to our Heavenly Father for THIS Stephanie Foley's life that He blesses me with daily.  THIS Stephanie Foley's life was meant to shine.  And so is yours.  Every moment is a chance to let your light shine.  So just do it.

xoxo,
sf

Big Time in the Big Easy

Things have been moving so fast around here that I haven't had a chance to post some of our pictures from New Orleans.  Tim's sister Colleen got married there on January 22, and needless to say a fun time was had by all.  Even though I suffered through one of the most devastating sinus infections I have ever had, Precious Pretty #2 came home with a cold and horrible ear infection, and Tim came home with pneumonia, we still managed to have a really good time.  I think it's near impossible to have a bad time in NOLA!

We are preparing to fly to the Big Easy!  Notice the red, swollen nose?  Little did I know what was about to hit me!

Lunch at Gallatoire's.  Really nice place, and from what I could taste of it, really, REALLY good food.  The rest of the party seemed to love it!

The precious pretties on their way to Bourbon Street!  Just kidding!  We were about to head out the door to The Rib Room for the Rehearsal Dinner.  I really lucked out finding these cute dresses on clearance at Hanna Andersson.  They were perfect NOLA attire!

A dear family friend saw this quartet singing on the streets in the French Quarter, and he paid them to come surprise the bride & groom at the rehearsal dinner.  They were so good!  I couldn't stop dancing in my seat!

After a 15 hour stint in bed to sleep off what I could of the sinus infection, I quickly rebounded Friday night so that I could have some fun with my two fabulous friends Sarah & Beth!  I refused to let it bring me down!  Rudolph nose & all!

Beautiful mother of the bride.  I'm extremely blessed to have this lovely lady as my mother in law.  She's got a heart as big as Tony Bindel's.  And that's pretty big.

Precious Pretty #1 watching the band.  This girl is obsessed with weddings now.

Precious Pretty #2 ate a couple of bites of food at the reception and was ready to crash.  Her favorite Uncle Jim made her a little pallet of coats underneath the table and she passed out in about .2 seconds.  Funny thing is, PP#1 and my nephew didn't think it was a bad idea, and they both crawled underneath the table to sleep through the last half of the reception.

So the Foley family is complete.....well, except for the extra grandchildren that will eventually come along.........(hint, hint nudge, nudge)

Welcome to the family Trevor!  You are the man that we have all been praying for God to bless Colleen with, and we are so grateful that our prayers were answered.  You have married one of the most kind, thoughtful, loving and classy ladies I know, and I love her so much!  I am so glad that you are a part of our family now!  I am even more glad that my pretties have such a beautiful, smart, and sweet young lady to look up to with Libby as their cousin.

So long, NOLA!  See you next time!

xoxo,
sbf

Operation Cabin Fever Relief: Mission Complete

We did it.  We made it out of the house. We looked like little pigs wrestling under a blanket on Christmas Eve trying to get out of the house, but we did it.  My ultimate goal today was to completely wear the kids out, but I think it pretty much backfired on me.  I am toast.  Not because of alcohol consumption because unfortunately there hasn't been any, but because I am beyond tired.
  
Speaking of tired, I knew that G was getting tired of being the "Ladies Man", so I asked a friend and her two year old son to meet us at Chick-Fil-A.  As we drove to Chick-Fil-A I noticed the lights on at Chuck E Cheese.  I called and they were open!  We quickly - well, as quickly as you can on six inches of ice - scurried like mice into the Rat Palace and there was literally one other family there.  NO joke!  I lost all concept of time after the first 24 hours in the house and I was amazed when I realized that we were there for four hours!!!! An hour and a half birthday party at Chuck E Cheese is long enough, but the four hours today flew by.  My sweet friend came with her son and niece and joined our party so that probably had a lot to do with the time passing quickly.   Little Red was with boys all day, and he was as happy as a red headed lark.

After we wore out our stay at Chuckie's, we decided that we wanted to get a cookie at the Great American Cookie Place.  We left to head over to the mall, if you want to even call it that.  I'm not kidding when I say this, but the Midway Mall in Sherman makes Sikes Senter Mall in WF look like Stonebriar Mall in Frisco.  No joke.  The mall here is, well, a joke.  So we left and headed back to CHICK-FIL-A!

We arrived at Chick-Fil-A at 4 pm, and the informed us they were closing at 5 pm.  So after a round of juice and ice cream cones for the kiddos, and 45 minutes on the playscape then we were DONE-ZO.  Surprisingly, Tim made it home early so we were able to meet him for dinner before we headed home.

So, OPERATION CABIN FEVER RELIEF is MISSION COMPLETE!  We are planning to CFA tomorrow to meet some friends for lunch but that will be about it.  My ambitious I-will-not-be-confined-cup is dry.  I will say the crisp, cool air, interaction with other friends and just being out of the house was good for our souls!  Thank you Jesus for getting us to and from safely!

xoxo,
sbf

I WILL Leave the house tomorrow

Hello, February!  Quite a mood swing Mother Nature decided to throw yesterday, huh?  I wonder if it's her time of the month........

Things are hoppin' at the Foley house.  Things are always hoppin' over here, but I have an extra five year old girl & a two year old boy in my house this week, as I am watching them for some friends of ours in Fort Worth.  The precious pretties were anxiously awaiting their arrival on Sunday, and were elated when E & G finally walked through our front door Sunday evening.  After a nice visit with their dad, Tim and I lassoed the kiddos into bed once Big C left to go back to Cowtown.

Monday was a great day!  I took Pretty #1 to school so she could participate in Catholic Schools Week activities, and dropped Pretty #2 off at her school so she could have some much needed time with her friends!  E, G, & I made a trip to the gym, post office and grocery store and went to pick up the pretties so that we could be home by nap time.  By 1 pm on Monday, we were all snug as a bug in our house, and I was ready for whatever weather we were to receive.  Or at least I thought I was.

I didn't have lazy day fever Tuesday.  I had, Let's-See-How-Much-I-Can-Cram-In-A-Day Fever.  I cooked all three of our meals for the day (that's right - all 3), got myself, the three pretties & little red dressed, cleaned the house top to bottom, washed & put away 9 (count 'em - n-i-n-e) loads of laundry, made chicken salad sandwiches for an event at school that was eventually cancelled, paid bills & balanced the checkbook, shopped online, and embarked on Pretty #2's long over due potty training journey.  All while the children played together! Not a quarrel or a toy-tug-of-war to break up at all!
In fact, Tuesday went so well that I felt like I needed to pray to God to bless me with twins to fill my house once E & G left.  Then I came down off of my cloud and decided that I would just settle for a blue ribbon.  Or a cookie since I didn't have any blue ribbon in my craft drawer.  I was such in a zone on Tuesday that I didn't even notice this going on in front of my house.

A friend in Sherman sent me a text stating that our house was on the Herald Democrat's (local newspaper) website.  Apparently, I missed all of the excitement.  Poor postman.  Glad to know that wasn't my cousin Jacob.

Today was a totally different story.  Today kicked my you-know-what.  Thank goodness for The Little Mermaid & Toy Story 3 to bring some peace to this casa because this house was hell on wheels today. Little red and the three pretties were OVERLY sensitive children today.  An over abundance of estrogen.   So much of it that Little Red jumped on the estrogen train by default.  If the pretties weren't crying over who got to use the broom to help me sweep, then they were crying because the crayon broke, or the  socks made their feet feel funny, or they couldn't look outside at the snow because the window made their hands cold when they touched it....  & Little Red cried through all of it because the pretties were crying.  It's all about perspective though.  By the end of this decade, PP#1 will be crying over boys rather than spilled milk.  Time is going by so fast, and I am trying with every ounce of patience that I have to embrace every cry, whine, scream, and sniffle because these days will be gone oh-so-fast.  

Thursday we will absolutely, positively, most definitely venture out of the house.  The pretties and Little Red need it. I need it.  I don't care if we go do donuts in the school parking lot, or go sit in a stall at Sonic.  We will get out of the house...if we know what's good for us!

xoxo,
sbf