I am sticking to my weight goal ....

What do you think? Can I do it? :)

I've lost 5 lbs, typical! That is my yo-yo number. But, I am going to stay positive, I walk 1.75 miles in 30 min. on the treadmill. I usually stare at the clock on the treadmill, but I saw someone covering theirs up with a towel, so I tried it and watched the TV. It worked!! I went past the 1 mile mark! My goal is to do 5 miles!! I had really bad shin splints this last summer from running and walking at a boot camp, I did pretty good. But ouch!! So since that time this is the first I've been able to walk a distance with out my shins hurting. And I went back to the Gym at night and did the glider/elliptical (whatever it's called) for 20 min and some sit-ups and free weights. I am feeling a lot better getting back into the active body again.
I have an elliptical at home, but the gym's is a better quality. At home I feel like I'm walking down a steep hill. I guess something is better than nothing.

Shredded Beef Burritos, Enchilada Style~ From Scratch!

I am having fun with the pre-cooked meat!! I used 1/3 of the shredded beef I cooked tues. night and put that on flour tortillas with cream cheese (reduce fat) & enchilada sauce, and rolled them. placed in a baking dish with my homemade enchilada sauce (below) drizzled over the top and topped with shredded cheese (used 1 cup instead of 2 cups). Baked until cheese melted and warmed through.

De-lish!!!!! Served with a basic salad, of course.

O'kay, I didn't cheat my 12 day cleanse, I did taste the enchilada sauce. My family loved dinner! And we didn't even have sour cream~less fat! I just can't believe where you can eliminate the extra calories and still enjoy a favorite meal!

I Love Cooking!!~ Homemade Enchilada Sauce!

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup chili powder
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water

1 T. Cocoa powder~ makes a good rich flavor!
2 teaspoon taco seasoning or 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 C. dried onions
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in flour and chili powder, reduce heat to medium, and cook until lightly brown, stirring constantly to prevent burning flour.
Gradually stir in tomato sauce, water, cumin, garlic powder, and onion salt into the flour and chili powder until smooth, and continue cooking over medium heat approximately 10 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt.

Daily Cooking for Seven.....

One of my goals this year is to bake and cook more, rather than eating out as much as we did last year. Yesterday I baked 3 loaves of homemade Whole Wheat Bread and they turned out great!!
I use to cook in advance for meals through out the week, well I am at it again. Last night I threw a roast on in my crock pot and now I have shredded beef for: salads, chimichangas, tacos, BBQ, sandwiches, enchiladas, etc... I cooked 5lbs of ground hamburger and now I have enough for: spaghetti, Stroganoff, Shepards Pie, etc..... I just store the meats divided in small freezer bags and freeze until ready to cook. It saves a lot of time in the moments. With five kids and three that do homework daily plus extra activities, this is a big deal in my house to be able to make a meal quickly. I love buying fish too. It cooks fast and we love rice (or pasta) and veggies with our fish. Eating healthy and getting the right nutrition is important. So, Choosing lean meats and adding extra veggies are definately in mind during these meals. And you don't have to fry your chimichangas, bake them with butter drizzled over them~Oh~ a friend of mine uses spray butter, that would work too. It's less fat that way and you can also just bake them without any butter, Just turn them mid way through and you will have a dry crisp. I'm serving up more salads too. I think we lacked on fiber as well, so I'm adding more this year too.
You might be thinking about the baking part...it's O'kay to eat treats too! Notice my cupcakes link? We love cinnamon rolls, I learned how to make healthier ones just by using less filling and I make an orange glaze with splenda. Every little bit helps. Applesauce cookies are great too!! Use Carob Chips instead of Chacolate chips, or buy pure chocolate chips instead of the ones w/ wax. Chocolate is Not bad for you!! The darker the better! I love a handful of dark Chocolate with Almonds. (not chocolate covered ones.)
Well, I think that just by writing this is making me want to stay on track. And the more I cook the less I eat! It might be because I'm tired by the time I'm done....LOL :)
I am always looking for ideas so share your ideas with me!!

Hapy New Year!!

I just wanted to say Happy New Year to everyone!!!

(I have been having fun designing my Blog, I learned how

to do my own layout and background stuff.)

O'kay....Resolutions~ I don't have any new ones!!

I still have to finish the ones I made five years ago!!

But I have more to add to my list.... :)

Cheers to a Great Year with friends and family!!

Durango Here We Come!

We went with some friends to Durango the weekend before Christmas and came home Christmas Eve. We had a great time and loved every bit of it !!! We had some awesome homemade Hot Cocoa and Canned Cinnimon Rolls, Mmmmm... We walked down by the Train and got pictures (on my friends camera) and we walked up and down Main street. There are some neat little shops there. Kayla and I loved the Fur Coats!! We went back the next night just to see them again and we went to a movie, nothing was open other than that Fur shop. We won't tell the guys what else we did................J/K
So, here are some pictures......

I can't believe that we are driving into those clouds....

Here's Jason and Corey @ The Elk Farm...

Behind the barn are some Elk...

Zachary in front of the Mueseum....

Corey in The Museum...

Some Dwellings in the clif of the mountain...

I was only 10 ft. or so from this Deer...

The Sun Setting...

The Moon Rising...The end of play day #1...and I missed

the snow sledding, the mom's stayed back at the cars with

the youngest kids, while the dad's sledded with the older

ones. We forgot to send the cameras~dang it!



PLAY DAY # 2...We drove to Silverton and through

Telluride back to Durango (Big Loop). The Snow was

amazing...

It was actually snowing on us in areas...

Beautiful drive...

I got out of the car to get an Ice Cicle, but the snow came

up to my knee and I decided not to go further...

This was an amazing small Canyon, can you find the

2 (TWO)

Ice Climbers? (below) Jason calls it "finding Waldo"

my clue: they are both towards the bottom of the

picture and about 3 inches from each other.

Corey and Westin....

The guys and the kids, Moms taking pictures...

The drive home was warming up...this is near Ship Rock...

Just In..."Sneaky little boys rob the cupboard"....

So, as I was posting the last post, my two little angels (Zach and Westin) were running out of the kitchen (I never saw them go in, they were in their room playing.) Anyway, I went to check on them because they were running out with a bowl in hand. They are both little climbers and quiet. So, when I went into the room Westin(2) was telling Zach(3) to hide as they were climbing to the top bunk with the bowl. Well, the bowl had marshmellows in it already, so that was what I thought that they had grabbed, but they added another treat... cough drops from the upper cupboard. Yummmmmmmmm!? Westin was eating a cough drop already when I took the bowl and I had to laugh because he actually liked it. It's an original flavor of menthol and no sugar. Well, I will have to hide them in my room now. He was very angry that I took them away. LOL

Wow! Can we be more creative?

I found this web site and I love it! I was actually looking to make my own laundry soap because I do so much laundry everday! I found this website http://www.instructables.com and it has some great tips for a whole lot of things. I wanted to share it with everyone.... have fun!!

Enjoy your Reflection...

O'kay.... I was asked this question at a church activity last night,

"What is your favorite room in the house?"

.. I said "Kitchen" LOL, I love to eat ~ dang it! Most of the ladies said their Bedroom, to escape into a comfort zone. Sure, I like to escape, I'd rather say "my time to play" and that would be out with friends on "girls night out". Another question was

"Who would you like to hang out with if you could hang out with anyone in the world?"

I heard a lot of answers like, Jesus, the President, various movie stars, BUT I said "My husband". I know if you asked Jason if that were true he would back me up on that. I tell him every day that I want to hang out with him. I'll share one more...I actually love this one because I think this is what helps me through the day...

"When is the last time you laughed at yourself?"

I said " Every day!" even when it's tough, I end up laughing about myself and how I may have reacted about things that day. It's a great way to learn about yourself when you reflect on your daily doings.

I am so glad that I have great people in my life that help me see potential and I can learn from others examples. I am who I am because of you... You are all wonderful! When these questions are asked, to know a person better, you realize that we all have common grounds with different outcomes and by that we learn from each other. It made me reflect on the different answers that were given.

Enjoy your reflection.

~ Natalie

My Sisters Wedding....

She Married Mr. Wright!!!!!!!



The luncheon was Fabulous!
(Waffles,ham,eggs,biscuit & gravy..)

We loved being with our California cousins!!
They are such a great family.


My sister is a beautiful Bride!
She is posing with our beautiful cousin. :)


Time to Dance and have fun...

Congratulations Sis!! You will
have a happy and beautiful journey
with your sincere husband. You
two are such a perfect match.
Love ya!!!