Wordless Wednesday ~ A Pool, A Kid and a Happy Meal

Grace loves our neighbor's dog!  Sammy still isn't sure how she feels about Grace.  She barks to get Grace's attention so that she will run over to visit, but as soon as Grace gets there, Sammy runs away.  I think she's torn between being afraid of Grace and liking Grace to chase her around the yard! 

A couple of weeks ago, Grace discovered that Sammy has a pool.  It doesn't matter that Grace and Remmy each have a pool in our yard, she needs to swim in Sammy's pool and runs over any chance she gets!  Last week, Sammy jumped in with her! 

After swimming with Sammy, Grace had visitors.  Her Uncle Chris and Aunt Barb stopped by to see her and they brought her lunch, too!  A McDonald's Happy Meal!  Lucky girl! 

Doesn't she look like such a big girl eating her lunch at the picnic table?  Where did my baby go? 


I'll be linking this post to the following blog carnivals and linky parties: 

• Wordless Wednesday
• It's a Blog Party
• Outdoor Wednesday

Menu Plan Monday ~ Week of June 27th

I apologize for posting this week's menu plan so late today.  I'm still recovering from a busy weekend.  Also, I was having a tough time figuring out what I want to eat this week. 

Grace and I have some fun things scheduled for this week.  We're going to Sesame Place again this week!  (I'm not sure which one of us likes it more!)  Also, we're visiting with friends on Friday.  With such a busy week, I need to make sure I have some easy meals or leftovers planned. 


Here's what we'll be eating this week: 

• Monday:  Salmon Patties (recipe to be posted soon), salad, baby carrots
• Tuesday:  Meat Loaf, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, salad
• Wednesday:  Leftovers
• Thursday:  Chicken Fajitas, rice, salad
• Friday:  Hot dogs with chili sauce, oven baked fries, baby carrots, celery sticks
• Saturday:  undecided
• Sunday:  undecided

I'm not sure what we'll be doing for the holiday weekend.  Joe will be working on Saturday and on-call for the rest of the weekend.  So, we'll be close to home for Saturday and Sunday.  Hopefully, we can go out to dinner one night and maybe cook out for the other. 

What are your plans for the holiday weekend? 

I'll be linking this post to Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie. 

Simply Tomato Sauce

Spaghetti was not on the menu plan for last week, but I could see that Grace was getting bored with her usual chicken with mac 'n' cheese and spaghetti is always a good change for her.  She just loves slurping the noodles! 

I wasn't in the mood for a heavy meat sauce, so I looked over some recipes that I've been wanting to try for a while now and came across an easy tomato sauce recipe that I could hande without having to run send Joe to the store. 

Since I was wanting to keep things simple, I didn't make too many changes to the original recipe.  I added a green bell pepper since I needed to use it up.  And, since I never have fresh herbs in the refrigerator and haven't gotten around to planting that herb garden I wanted, so I had to use a few of the many dried herbs and spices that I can't seem to keep organized in my pantry. 

Here's what I used: 

Simply Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 cans (28oz each) Tuttorosso Italian-Style Plum Shaped Tomatoes
• 1/4 cup extra light Olive Oil
• 6 tsp. bottled minced garlic
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
• salt and pepper, to taste
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Directions:

• Cook diced onions and peppers in hot olive oil, until onions are translucent. 
• Add garlic and cook until fragrant.  (Be careful not to burn garlic or it will taste bitter.)
• Add the tomatoes.  Use a potato masher to crush the tomatoes as they cook. 
• Stir the ingredients together, until well combined. 
• Add the Italian Seasoning, along with the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. 
• Bring to boil. 
• Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for about an hour. 
• Serve over your favorite pasta. 

When I first tasted the sauce, I wasn't sure how much I liked it.  By the end of dinner, I realized that I really enjoyed it.  It was just so different than our normal, meaty sauce.  After eating the leftovers for lunch today, I realize that this sauce is soooo much better the next day!  So, from now on, I'll be making a batch of this sauce the day before I plan to serve it for dinner. 

I served 1/2 cup of sauce over 1 cup of cooked spaghetti.  I also made a side salad and garlic breadsticks. 
By the time I finished my spaghetti and bread stick, I was too full to eat my salad. 

This made 7 cups of sauce.

1/2 cup sauce = 82 calories
1 cup spaghetti = 197 calories
1 garlic bread stick = 170 calories

Total meal = 449 calories


I'm linking this recipe to the following blog carnivals and linky parties: 

• Your Recipe, My Kitchen
• Just Another Meatless Monday
• Homemaker Mondays
• MMMmonday
• My Meatless Monday
• Mangia Mondays
• Tip Me Tuesdays
• Tuesdays Tasty Tidbits
• Delectable Tuesday
• Made From Scratch Tuesday
• Delicious Dishes

Slimmer this Summer ~ Week 4

After last week's tiny (almost non-existent) loss, I was a bit nervous to step on the scale on Sunday morning.  Especially, since I didn't do so good with my water intake throughout the week.  But I counted my calories and journaled my food.  I didn't feel burned out with my journaling and tracking at all like I did last week.  I guess I was just in a mood last week. 

As reluctant as I was, I did weigh in before breakfast on Sunday.  I hopped on the scale and was very pleased to see a 2.4 loss!  Over 2 lbs.!  Woohoo!  I'm doing the happy dance!  (Does the happy dance burn calories?) 

Here's where the confession comes in:  I went over my calories on Friday and I didn't count calories or journal on Saturday.  I'll explain. 

On Friday, I went to lunch with a friend.  The restaurant we chose (since it was near the mall) didn't have any healthy or lower calorie options.  At least not anything I liked.  I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich.  The sandwich on th menu was LOADED with toppings.  Cheese, onion straws, bacon, etc.  I asked our server to hold everything except the bacon and put the onion straws and pickles on the side.  I ate both slices of bacon.  It's been forever since I've eaten bacon.  It was gooood!  I ended up eating all of the pickles too.  I only ate half of the sandwich and about 3/4 of the fries.  I didn't touch the onion straws at all. 

After walking the mall, we stopped in the candy shop.  I bought 2 chunks of fudge and some jellied fruit slices.  Normally, I would have bought a pound of fudge and a bunch of other chocolate goodies.  But decided that the chunks of fudge wouldn't do too much damage. 

I skipped breakfast on Friday to save calories and also because I was running around all morning getting us ready to go out.  After such a busy day (and big lunch), I wasn't hungry for dinner.  Later, while watching TV, I ate a piece of fudge and a couple pieces of the fruit slice candy. 

On Saturday, Joe took us out to breakfast.  It has been over a year since we went out for breakfast.  Of course, we had to hit our favorite breakfast buffet.  I started with a huge plate of fruit, shared a powdered donut with Grace, had a slice of french toast, some eggs, some fried potatoes, a slice of bacon, scrapple and some corn fritters.  Mmmmm!  I dreaded trying to figure the calories, so I didn't.  But in reality, I may have been over, but I don't think I did too badly.  The plates at the buffet aren't big dinner plates, but small salad-size plates.  I had my plate over-flowing, but didn't finish everything.  I skipped lunch but ate the other piece of fudge for a snack along with some fruit slices.  Joe picked up fried chicken for dinner, I picked the white meat from the chicken breast and ate it with a huge bowl of iceberg lettuce with some lite honey mustard dressing.  Dessert was a cone of frozen yogurt. 

So, two bad days, but not nearly as bad as they would have been before starting this challenge. 

Although, I am thrilled with my loss this week, I still feel as though I don't really deserve it.  I didn't meet all of my goals that I set up at the start of the challenge.  But I do feel like I am back on track with calorie counting and journaling (with the exception of Saturday) and now can focus on drinking my water.  Also, I am still waiting for Joe to carry the exercise bike up from the basement.  Since it seems as though I will have to wait until the end of the challenge, I decided today to get my butt moving by walking around the perimeter of our back yard with Grace following me.  After I did that last night for about 15 minutes (Grace wouldn't walk anymore), I raked up some grass clippings from when my nephew mowed the grass that morning.  I only raked for about 9 minutes, but it's 9 minutes of activity that I wasn't doing the day before.

Slimmer this Summer ~ Week 3

 
Today begins Week 3 of the Slimmer this Summer Challenge.  I'm looking forward to this new week.  A new beginning.  A clean slate. 

Week 2 was not a successful week for me.  I blame myself.  I mean, really, who/what else can I pin the blame on? 

Last Monday, we spent the day at Sesame Place.  I thought it would be a challenge to stay within my daily calories while at an amusement park.  But really, I didn't do badly at all.  I shared a Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap with Joe, shared some fries with Grace and ate a chocolate chip cookie.  Not bad at all.  I came home, added the calories to my food diary on MyFitnessPal.com, and was proud of the fact that I did so well when there was so much junk food tempting me! 

Tuesday and Wednesday, things were back to normal.  Measuring, weighing, counting, journaling.  All things neccessary for counting and keeping track of my daily calories. 

By Thursday, I was burned out.  I was sick of reading labels.  Sick of measuring.  Sick of weighing.  Sick of journaling.  I was tired of the pile of dirty measuring cups in my sink.  I was just fed up to the point that I was really emotional about it.  Thursday, I decided to give myself the day off from counting calories.  My guess is that I went over calories, but still not as many as I would have eaten before the challenge began.

Friday, I planned on getting back on track.  I hosted a mini high school reunion at my house and had an idea of what/how much I was going to eat that day.  I planned on sneaking into the house (we had lunch outside) to weigh the deli meat and put it on a 100 calorie Sandwich Thin.  After so many trips inside to get a salad bowl, a serving spoon, show someone to the bathroom, etc.  I just caved when it was time to prepare my sandwich.  I didn't weigh the meat and I used a full calorie kaiser roll!  There were a few other bad points of the day (where calories are concerned) but I won't bore you with all of the details.

After two days of not counting, it was just too easy to decide to skip on Saturday, too.  Really, I just couldn't get myself to even care about the challenge.  I didn't care that weigh in was Sunday morning.  I didn't care that I knew I would have to sit down and type out all of my failures for the week.  I just didn't care.  Sigh.  Not a good attitude at all.

On Sunday, I stepped on the scale.  I dreaded seeing the number, just knowing in my gut that it would be a gain.  I was surprised when I saw a tiny loss.  A very tiny loss.  .4 lbs.  No that's not another FOUR pound loss.  That's POINT 4.  Not even a half of a pound.  But you know what?  I'll take it!  I know I don't even deserve that much, but I'll take it!

I had a difficult time on Sunday.  I still had no desire to count calories or keep track of portion size.  But I forced myself to do it.  Knowing that there was no way I could start off the new week with another failure.  That if I didn't begin the week on there would be no chance of me staying on track for the rest of the week. 

I was so hungry for most of the day.  Really hungry.  I realized I was very tired.  I also realized that I was tired for most of the week.  That just had to be the reason I was so hungry on Sunday and also the reason why I felt burned out and deprived on Thursday, causing me to lose sight of my goals and just not care if I failed or not. 

We have another busy week planned, so my goal will be to get to bed early as often as I can or nap while Grace naps if I start to feel over-tired.  I don't want a repeat of last week. 

I'm still waiting on Joe to get the exercise bike up from the basement.  (It's too heavy for me to get up the stairs.)  So, exercise was a fail again last week.  But looking back, I don't think I would have exercised ayway.  Not with the miserable attitude I had last week.

So, there's my update for Week 2!  Moving on to Week 3 and a better attitude! 

Menu Plan Monday ~ Week of June 20th

I have no idea why I even bothered with a menu plan last week.  I sure didn't stick to it!  And not sticking to my menu plan made sticking to my diet more difficult too!  We'll save that for another post though! 

Grace and I have a couple for things planned for this week, so during naptime today, I'm hoping to get a head start on some of my dinners so that they are ready in the fridge.  I already have my veggies chopped and in the fridge, just waiting to be tossed into a yummy recipe! 

Here's what's on the plan for this week: 

• Monday:  Taco Rice, quesadillas (sour cream and salsa on the side).  Joe loves rice dishes.  We both do.  So, as soon as I saw this recipe posted over at Around My Family Table, I knew we had to try it!  Wendy serves this rice as the main dish, using it as a soft taco filling.  I decided to pair it with some quesadillas.  I'm sure it will be great either way!  I'll let you know! 

• Tuesday:  Macaroni Salad, hot dogs, iceberg wedge.  I don't have a true recipe for Macaroni Salad.  I love the my Mom's macaroni salad and I love the way my friend Barb makes hers, so I like to combine the two recipes!  I'll try to measure so I can share it with you later. 

• Wednesday:  Salmon Patties, iceberg wedge, carrots and dip.  I've been wanting to try this recipe for a while.  I was supposed to make the salmon patties last week, but didn't get to it.  So, I'm carrying them over for this week. 

• Thursday:  Macaroni Hot Dish, steamed veggies.  I found the recipe for Macaroni Hot Dish on the box of elbow macaroni.  I know we just had Hamburger Macaroni in recent weeks (just finished the leftovers last week), but I know I'll forget to make the recipe if I don't do it soon.  Besides, it's an easy dish and great for reheating.  I'll share the recipe with you, once I make it! 

• Friday:  leftovers

• Saturday: out to dinner.  I'm not sure where we'll go, but somewhere family-friendly and not a drive-thru!  Don't get me wrong, I love fast food places, but I'm in the mood to have a sit down dinner with a waiter!  We usually hit Red Robin.  Great food and kid-friendly!  

• Sunday:  Greek Chicken and Potatoes.  Grace loves chicken.  It's pretty much the only thing she eats (besides mac 'n' cheese), so I'm always looking for new ways to prepare it.  I can't wait to try this! 

So, there you have it!  That's what we'll be eating at out house this week (hopefully)!  Be sure to check out Menu Plan Monday for great recipes and menu planning inspiration! 


 

hugs,

Crunchy Tuna Salad with Egg

I'm in the mood for a tuna sandwich today.  When I looked back at old posts, I realized I haven't shared this recipe for Tuna Salad here.  (I have shared this on my other blog, but not here.)

When I was a kid, I hated Tuna Salad.  I really, really hated it.  It wasn't the tuna itself that I didn't like, it was the chunks of onions that my mom added to it!  I remember asking my mom to just take the tuna out of the can and put it on some bread for me.  She did that occasionally.  But most of the time I was stuck with picking out the chunks! 

Now, as an adult, I love to add not only onions, but also celery and carrots.  Mmmm!  I love all the crunchy veggies mixed with my tuna!  I also add hard boiled eggs to my tuna.  All those added items really makes a hearty sandwich and helps to stretch a can of tuna! 

I make it pretty much the same way each time except I don't measure.  Here's a rough idea of how I made it the last time (you can adjust the add-ins according to your tastes): 

Crunchy Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 cans Albacore Tuna packed in water (drained)
• 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1/4 cup celery, diced
• 1/4 cup carrot, diced
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise
• pepper, to taste (optional)

Directions:  

• Place the chopped eggs in a mixing bowl along with the tuna.  Mash with a fork to separate the tuna chunks a bit. 
• Add vegetables, stir until well mixed. 
• Stir in the mayo. 
• Add pepper (optional)

Notes: 

• Crisp-cooked bacon or the bacon sold in the salad dressing aisle is also a good addition to this salad. 
• I like to serve this on toast, crackers, or in a wrap with some lettuce.  

I used to get tuna salad similar to this from a deli in Philly on my lunch break. I've never been able to duplicate it exactly, but that's okay, I like this one too! 

It's so much cheaper to make this tuna salad than it was to buy a single serving at the deli every day.  And it's a great way to use up some fresh vegetables.  I try to plan tuna salad whenever I buy celery for a recipe since we never seem to be able to use up the celery before it turns to mush in the veggie bin. 

This tuna salad makes a great meal on a hot summer day. 

Pair it with a garden salad or some fruit (with dip) for a complete and simple summer dinner! 









I'll be linking this recipe to the following blog hops and linky parties: 

• Turning the Table Thursday
• Ultimate Recipe Swap
• Pennywise Platter Thursday
• Full Plate Thursday
• Frugal Food Thursday

hugs,

Wordless Wednesday: Sesame Place

Last Halloween, instead of going Trick-or-Treating, we took Grace to Sesame Place.  At the time, she didn't really like to watch Sesame Street, so I wasn't sure how she was going to like the characters.  She had a great time running around the park and watching the characters sing and dance in the shows. 

So far this summer, we've gone to Sesame Place twice and had a really great time!  We're hoping to try the water rides on our next visit.  It wasn't very hot on our last two trips. 

Since Father's Day is this weekend, I thought I'd share this picture of Joe and Grace with my favorite furry monster:

I'm really amazed that she's not afraid of the characters! 

Here's a picture of Grace enjoying herself in Big Bird's Court. 

She really would have been happy spending the entire day right there.  She loves running around the mat and stacking the soft blocks. 

We're looking forward to a couple more trips to Sesame Place this summer! 

I'm sharing this post with the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Say Cheese
• Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom
• Outdoor Wednesday
• Wordless Wednesday at Linda's Lunacy

hugs,

Giveaway Winners! Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ

Hey, Friends! 

Just a quick post to announce the THREE winners of the Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ winners! 

Here they are:

• Janetfaye said:  I follow @TheBigOakTree on Twitter - Janetfaye 

• Athena said:  I'm a fan of yours on FB.  

• diehard247 said:  I learned Butch beat Bobby Flay in a BBQ throwdown. 

Emails have been sent to all three winners and have 48 hours to contact me to claim their prizes. 

Thanks to everyone that entered and of course, a big THANK YOU to our sponsor, Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ!


Dislosure:

• I was not compensated in any way to do this review. Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ provided me with 2 non-returnable products for my family to sample and review as well as the products provided for this giveaway. The opinions stated in this review are honest and my own.

Slimmer this Summer ~ Week 2

I'm so excited to be starting week 2 of the Slimmer this Summer challenge!  I sure hope all of you had a great week! 

This week was a bit easier than I thought it was going to be.  Don't get me wrong, it had it's challenges.  But the temptation to pig out just wasn't there! 

I started off this week posting daily updates but missed a few.  I knew right away that I wouldn't be able to keep up with posting every day!  Plus the days started to sound the same since I didn't do a lot of cooking last week.  I made 2 big meals and that's what we ate for most of the week.  It made things a lot easier on myself for this first week of my new lifestyle! 

Sunday, I decided will be my weigh-in day.  I've always done it on Mondays in the past, but lately that hasn't been working for me.  So, yesterday I woke up and hopped on the scale.  I was very pleased to see a 4 lb loss.  I'm sure that has everything to do with drinking less diet soda and drinking more water! 

I didn't cut out soda completely this week.  I allowed myself a small (kid's size) cup of soda each night while watching TV and eating a snack.  ONLY if I completed my goal of 8 glasses of water.  Sunday, I skipped the Diet Pepsi completely. 

All week, I achieved my water goal of a minimum of 8 glasses.  6 days this week, I took my vitamins.  I forgot on Sunday.  I usually take them with dinner, but on Sunday we were rushing through dinner to get to the park for an evening concert (which we missed anyway).  I only managed exercising one day this week.  I'll be working on ways to make it easier for me to get the exercise in this week.

I've been paying more attention to eating breakfast and lunch this past week.  Normally I snack during those mealtimes rather than eat real food.  This week, I ate a lot of cereal, yogurt and fruit salads for breakfasts and Clif Bars really saved me at lunch time!

This week will be a pretty big challenge for me.  Today is our 8th wedding anniversary.  Since Joe has off from work today, we'll be taking Grace to Sesame Place for the day.  Since I'll be carrying a bunch of stuff already (bathing suits, sippy cups, diapers, etc) I really don't want to pack a lunch.  I'll really have to think before I order and be sure to choose the healthiest options.

Also this week, I'll be having some friends over for a visit.  Everyone is bringing/making something.  Again, I'll have to be sure to fill up on some healthier options so the "good stuff" won't be so much of a temptation. 

Gotta run!  I've got to get ready to go see Bert, Ernie and Grover today!  Hope everyone has a great week!  I'll be stopping by and visiting your blogs soon! 


hugs,

Menu Plan Monday ~ Week of June 13th

I didn't get the chance to link up to Menu Plan Monday last week.  I got so wrapped up in the Slimmer this Summer challenge that started last week, that menu planning was put on the back burner. 

Being a little rusty where dieting is concerned, I decided to keep it easy on myself and only cook a few meals.  Meals that offer leftovers for meals throughout the week.  Lucky for me Joe doesn't mind eating the same 2 or 3 things all week. 

Last week, I made a big batch of BBQ Chicken Enchiladas.  They turned out great!  We just finished them up on Saturday.  I also made a big pot of Hamburger Macaroni (loaded with veggies).  There's still enough leftover for another night this week! 

Here's what else we'll be eating this week: 

• Hamburger Macaroni, salad, corn.  We'll be out for most of today, so this will be the perfect day to finish up those leftovers!

 

• BBQ Chicken Salad sandwiches.  Sunday night, I made barbecue chicken for dinner.  This chicken salad will be great to mix up and keep in the fridge for quick lunches.  

• Stuffed Peppers.  Giant had a decent sale on peppers last week, I figure stuffed peppers would be the easiest/best way to use them all up before they spoil. 

• Salmon patties and green salad.  I love salmon patties and I've been wanting to try a new recipe for a while now.  (I misplaced the link, hopefully I will find it soon.  If not, I'll use my stand-by recipe.)

Since I've been dieting and counting calories, I've been making it a point to think more about breakfasts and lunches during the week.  Breakfast will be fruit with yogurt, cereal with skim milk or bagel thins.  Lunches will mostly be Clif Bars since they are easy to grab and really filling!

For more menu planning ideas and recipes, follow me over to I'm an Organizing Junkie and check out Menu Plan Monday. 

Check out these Giveaways!

Everyone loves to win some great prizes! 
So, this morning, I thought I'd share a few giveaways with you! 






Don't forget to enter my giveaway for Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ products!  3 winners will be selected on Monday (6/13 @ 10:00 pm EST)!  Many ways to enter! 

For any of my Gluten Free readers, check out Lisa's current giveaway!  You could win a Betty Crocker Gluten Free Prize Pack!  (Giveaway ends 6/17)

Wedding Type Blog is hosting a WeddingInviteLove giveaway with a prize worth over $250!!! This giveaway ends on 6/10, so hurry and enter! 
Also, you don't want to miss the Cascade 24 Hour Dirty Dish Challenge and $15 Wal-Mart Gift Card Giveaway over at Colie's Kitchen! (Giveaway ends 7/8)

Good Luck! 

Slimmer this Summer: Daily Update ~ Day 3

Can I just tell you how very pleased I am with myself?  Really, if I could pat myself on the back, I would!  I only felt hungry a few times today and it was mostly just before mealtime.  Not that constant hunger (or was that really boredom or force of habit) from before.  I know it's just day 3, but I'm feeling really great and motivated. 

We enjoyed some time outside.  Even this morning, it was very warm.  So much so, that Remmy wanted the pool filled.  Normally, my puppy hides when the hose comes out, today she was climbing into the empty pool and giving me sad puppy eyes!  Of course, Grace didn't object when I filled the pool! 

Me, I enjoyed the shade of the big oak tree while the two of them played and splashed. 

Total calories for the day:  1380 (exactly what MyFitnessPal.com suggests for me)

Breakfast (34 calories): 

• grapes.  That's it.  For breakfast, I ate grapes.  Then Grace dragged me outside to play, next thing I knew it was lunch time! 

Lunch (361 calories):

• Blueberry Crisp Clif Bar.  This was awesome!  I loved the chunks of almond that were in this bar.  Great texture. 
• 1/2 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt with 1/4 fresh blueberries

Dinner (549 calories):

• 12 grain sandwich thin roll, with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray
• Hamburger Macaroni (I adapted my recipe to save some calories)
• Grapes

Snacks/Dessert (436):

• Chocolate Brownie Clif Bar
• Milano 100 calorie pack
• Grapes
• Veggie Straws
• Diet Pepsi

Water:

• 8 glasses.  Again, I had to force myself to finish those last two glasses of water.  I enjoyed a glass of Diet Pepsi at the end of the day while watching TV. 

Other:

• I am so bad with taking meds/vitamins.  It's not that I have a problem with swallowing pills or anything I just don't remember to take them.  So I am really proud of myself that for three days in a row, I've remembered to take my  multi-vitamin and vitamin D supplement! 

Sleep/Exercise: 

• Bad on both counts.  I was up late on Tuesday night working on journaling my food/water and also doing some blog stuff.  It was near 3 am by the time I logged off and went to bed.  Amazingly, I felt great by morning!  Soon after breakfast, Grace wanted to play outside.  After an hour or so out in the heat, we had some lunch and Grace took a really good nap!  I used that time to SHOWER, make dinner, empty the dishwasher and then re-loaded the dishwasher.  By the time I finished all of that, Grace was up and wanted dinner....it's a never-ending cycle.  I will fit it in soon!  I promise!