It's all good.

Last week we had a fabulous time enjoying the beautiful weather. True, somedays were prettier than others, but we enjoyed being outside nonetheless.
Precious Pretty #1 had her first soccer practice, as well as her first game. She did incredibly well at her first game by scoring seven goals! BBUUTTTT, the opposing team had two little girls who bawled the entire game and refused to play because Pretty #1's team wouldn't share the ball.....Basically it was three on one soccer.




Little sister can't wait to play. Fortunately, she has two more years before I'm shuttling them both to different practices, games, etc..


Saturday PP#1 and I went to Grayson County college to watch the play, "The Jungle Book", with some friends from school.




Sunday was Tim's brother's birthday, so we drove to Keller to go to Mass & lunch with the family. We also were able to see my beautiful cousin & her precious family so we were surrounded by family & LOVED it.

After lunch, we went to Academy to get the girls some new shoes before my nephew's soccer game. All was great until we were leaving and realized pretty #2 wasn't with us. As she followed Tim back to the register so he could pay for some drinks, she kept on walking. I was in a panic mode, couldn't catch my breath, and then they announced a Code Adam. I
thought I was about lose my lunch. No one could find her and I couldn't see straight. Then, by the grace of God, my niece Hannah came walking up with her. She had gone to the men's section and found pretty #2 showing some guy how cute some shorts were. My family was back together, but I have never been so scared in my entire life.

After the soccer game, Tim
surprised us with a stop at the DFW Airport Observation area, and we got out to watch plane after plane after plane land or takeoff. Watching our pretties run around like
airplanes, play with the statues, and get excited when "a big one!" was landing was a lovely way to end our day & week.






God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. It's all good.

xoxo
sbf

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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