Quiet Time

Yesterday I was looking in our church bulletin and saw that a women's group was reading, How Big Is Your God.  I decided to buy it and attend the February discussion.  I ordered it YESTERDAY and it was on my doorstep TODAY!  What service!

It's written by an Indian (from India) Jesuit Priest and I want to slowly read through it so I can journal and think through it  more.  The introduction talked about knowing your God.  After thinking, I decided that my God is loving, constantly there for me, and extremely patient.  The first chapter talked about experiencing God and viewing ourselves as a child of God.

I think I feel closest to God when I make time for quiet time in nature.  I enjoy reading the Bible and other spiritual books, praying, journaling and just thinking.  Maybe this summer I can find  a nice quiet and safe place for me to go for some solo time.  My favorite place in the ENTIRE world for solo time is on the hill at Spring Hill camp in Evart, MI.  I cannot express how beautiful it is to be sitting on a hill surrounded by long grasses and an occasional tree for shade.  It's breathtaking!

The pics below are from Kalamazoo, MI, but remind me of "the hill" at Spring Hill <3

 

I think seeing myself as a child of God is difficult at times.  I went through a lot as a kid that makes that part difficult but I think that being a child of God means 1) that you are loved no matter what and 2) that you are need to act like it to show people Jesus.  People often hate Christians because they think they are fake when really we are all trying our best to act like Jesus, but it's SO incredibly difficult.

Sometimes it's nice to just have quiet time to think and journal <3  My cat seemed to like it too!

LUV her!

Love you all!  Have a wonderful day tomorrow!

Date Night!

Awesome date  night last night!  We went to see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close which everyone MUST see!  It's about a boy with Aspergers whose dad dies in the World Trade Center on 9/11.  INCREDIBLE!

Then we went to Rock Bottom for dinner.  I had a wedge salad that was super tasty and one of their beers that they brew there.

Now off to enjoy my Sunday.  I have to go to church, clean the apartment, plan lessons, and write papers  AHHHH!

Snowy Saturday and an INCREDIBLE LUNCH!!!

Last night I went home and stayed there!  The roads were not getting plowed and it was snowing hard!  The after school program I teach was canceled so I got to enjoy a long evening at home getting organized to sell Scentsy and getting more hints from other direct sellers on Youtube :)

Today I slept in, bought a super cute ring online (in silver), made my goals for the week, and got some things done before deciding to dig out my car and run some errands.  I did not get stuck thanks to the help of my building maintenance man, who happens to be the BEST!

Pangea Handmade <3

First stop, Office Max!  I saw a cute idea for organizing hostess packets.  I'll post pics of the finished product later :)  I have four pending parties but don't want to set dates until I actually work for Scentsy!

Next stop, Target!  I needed a belt b/c my jeans are WAY too huge and the next size down is WAY too small.  I was beginning to get worried that they would fall off my bum in public!  AE is weird with sizes I guess.  Luckily the belt was on sale!!!

Final stop, Jewel!  I added some more smoothie packs to my collection for my daily green smoothie.  They are expensive so whenever I see them on sale I grab a few.  They are on sale almost every time I run to the store, but it's always a different brand.  Jamba Juice ones are my favorite but I add so much to them that it doesn't really matter that much which one I buy.

They also had the pasta that I've been wanting to try!  It's made from quinoa AND it was on sale!  Qunioa is super high protein and super high fiber.  I love quinoa so why not quinoa pasta?!

After Jewel I came home to make an amazing lunch!  Enchillada Pasta!  Click here for the recipe.  The only things I changed were leaving out chicken and replacing Greek Yogurt for sour cream!  I would eat this every day if I could.  INCREDIBLE!!!

• 8 points plus per serving if you split the dish up into 8 and use Barilla Penne Plus pasta, reduced fat cheese, and no sour cream. 
• 321 calories, 15g protein, 38g carbs, 5g fiber, 13g fat

I hope everyone has a great Saturday!!!

Happy MONDAY!

Today I'm off from work!  Wahooo!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE my job, but it's nice to have a day to catch up on things.  Looks like a lot of the people in my building must be teachers or have the day off too!  Everyone's cars are still around.

This morning, I slept in and completed Body Rock workout #1 which kicked my butt!  Then, I went off on a walk around my neighborhood which was a bit treacherous due to snow and ice everywhere!  I only walked about a mile loop.

This is not me- in case you were wondering ;)

After a great workout, I finally got around to have my green smoothie for breakfast- even though it was actually closer to lunch time!

Spinach, 1 cup juice, 2 teas. fiber, 1/2 cup kefir, 1 smoothie pack <3

YUMMMMM!!!!!!

The rest of the day I cleaned, worked on school work, ran errands, worked on grad school, and got organized to sell Scentsy in 2 weeks.  Busy day!  I could stay at home every day and still be crazy busy I'm sure :)

Hope everyone had a nice MLK day!!!

SCENTSY!!!

I'm so excited to start selling Scentsy on Feb 1 (waiting for the new spring testers).  Below is a link of what Scentsy is if you have not heard of it before :)

What is Scentsy?
Like Me On Facebook! 

My favorite warmer (Jane) and scent (Lucky in Love)

First package ready to be sent out <3  I'm so excited for the person to open it!

15 Min and Dinner is Served!

Step 1: Make some qunioa (1 1/2 cup water: 1 cup quinoa.  Boil on stove for 15 min)
Step 2: Bake some chicken nuggets in oven at 425.
Step 3: Microwave some frozen veggies.
Step 4: Mix all ingredients in a bowl with some BBQ sauce and serve :)

Protein Shake

Ingredients:
1/8 cup oats
1 cup almond milk
1 scoop protein powder
2 T. Peanut Butter Co. PB
2 Ice Cubes

Directions:
Blend oats in blender.  Add remaining ingredients and blend again.  Enjoy :)

Buckle Up!

Buckle up for a healthy day tomorrow... 

Breakfast: Green Smoothie

Snack: Lara Bar with a banana

Lunch: Chinese!

Snack: Veggies, hummus, and naan bread

Dinner: Green Smoothie

Happy Wednesday Everyone :)

Veggie BBQ Salad!!!

This salad was AMAZING!!!  I made it veggie style though b/c I'm weird about chicken.

Get the recipe HERE!

Perfect Sunday!

What a Sunday!  I finally finished the grad class that I had been putting off FOREVER and decided to celebrate by spending the rest of my Sunday eating an awesome dinner and watching a movie.

THE DINNER
Arabian Lentil and Rice Soup with Cheesy Bread

Ingredients:
2 T. EVOO
1 medium onion
6 cloves garlic
black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 T. cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 cup dried lentils
1/2 cup brown rice
6 cups of veggie brother (I used 4 c. broth and 2 c. water)
1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat pot on the stove.  Pour in 2 T. EVOO and 1 medium chopped onion.
When the onion is translucent, add in garlic, pepper, and salt.  Then add the rest of the spices.
Add carrots, lentils, rice, and broth.  Cover the pot and bring to a boil.  Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 40 min or so.  Add 1/4 cup lemon juice and serve :)  This was pretty lemony so if you don't like that then add less lemon juice.

The bread was to die for but I'd make a 1/2 batch next time for 1 loaf of bread.  You also have to make sure you serve it with a VERY healthy dinner b/c it is not so much healthy itself!

THE MOVIE

Back to work tomorrow... this has been an awesome winter break :)

Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro

Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro ~Amanda Skrip

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 cup quinoa, rinsed, drained

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups water

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed, drained

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided

Juice of ½ lime

Procedure:

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and red pepper; sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.

Add chili powder and cumin, stir to toast.  Then stir in quinoa. Add water and salt; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until quinoa is almost tender, about 14 minutes.

 Add beans and 1/4 cup cilantro; cook uncovered until heated through and liquid is fully absorbed, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with remaining cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Easy Pasta

Sometimes you just don't have all the ingredients :(  I wanted to try a new recipe from Pinterest and thought I had all the ingredients on hand, which is why I picked it, but I guess not!  So... I ended up making another amazing and crazy easy pasta.

Boil some noodles.
Roast some asparagus at 400 with evoo and salt.
Mix noodles with asparagus, light Italian dressing, and Parmesan cheese.  YUMM!

Super Sunday :)

12pm Breakfast
I had a late breakfast today!  I  woke up, did some blog reading, and ran some errands.  Because I waited so late to eat, I figured it would be acceptable to have a big breakfast.  Thus, 11 point + pancakes are what I enjoyed!  The fiber one pancakes are 5 points per giant pancake plus 1 for syrup.

3pm Snack
Sweet treat mid-day.  Can you tell I'm craving sugar?!  Holiday grapes and some pudding. 2+.  I still have 14 points left for dinner.

5pm Workout
I did the 30 Day Shred Level One and Earned 2+.  According to the changes to the plan, I only use these points if I run out of my other 49 extra points.  With 45 bonus points left AND 4 activity points now, I can't see myself going over my goal this week.


6pm Dinner
For dinner I tried a new recipe... Cilantro-Lime Chicken Tacos cooked in the crockpot and served with a bean salad.  I thought I would cut WAY back on the seasoning if I made them again and ended up only eating one taco.  The bean salad was amazing though with chips and Greek yogurt.  I used up 10 points for dinner and topped things off with a popsicle for one point <3 

3 points left today, but don't want to eat if I'm not hungry :)  Have a great start to your week!

This Woman is on Weight Watchers!

8:30am Breakfast
Started off the day with 27 points.
Peanut Butter and Banana Toast with Lemon Water to drink 4+

11:00 Gym
10 minutes speed walking on the treadmill, lifted heavy upper and lower body, and did 10 minutes speed walking on the treadmill.  I earned 2 activity points to add to my weekly cushion of 45 points :)


1:00pm Lunch
Black Bean Burrito with Popcorn and Green Tea 9+

5:30 Dinner
Out to dinner and an awesome concert with my boyfriend!  3 slices of toast with spinach artichoke dip, 2 slices of Giordanos Super Veggie Pizza (minus olives) with a glass of water with lemon 18+ (If that.  The pizza slices were small and loaded with veggies!).  I used 4 points from my weekly allowance too since I went a bit over.  I have 45 left to use up between now and Friday if I want extra treats :)

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Yesterday was a perfect day for movie watching and soup making!  Below is the recipe for an amazing soup I made from Appetite for Reduction.  The image of the soup was borrowed though...

http://lewdfood.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/roasted-red-pepper-soup.jpg?w=640&h=392&crop=1

Ingredients:

2 large red bell peppers

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons dried rosemary

½ teaspoon salt

3 tomatoes

1 teaspoon ground coriander

3 cups vegetable broth

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375.  Cut the stems off the red peppers and scoop out the seeds.  Stand the peppers in a backing dish.  Bake for 35 minutes until they are soft.  Chop them up.

Sauté onion in oil on a skillet.  Add garlic, rosemary, and salt.  Add in the tomatoes.  Add the coriander, vegetable broth, and chickpeas. Stir and cover for about 15 minutes.  Add the roasted peppers.  Use a blender to blend the soup

Enjoy!