First snow of the year!

I woke up this morning and there was a small blanket of snow on the ground. I LOVE snow - the pretty, fluffy, clean snow. I HATE the heavy, accident-causing snow (although I do love the Snow Day snow!).

Last year, Jazz didn't have much of a chance to see snow, so I thought it would be interesting to watch them. Of course, I took the camera. Allie hid under the deck after she did her business - she is not a fan of the snow - but everybody else loved it!


Chewy ate snow! It's sideways - Blogger won't rotate it for some reason.


Sam found her toy and beat it up, snow and all!


Max was sniffing around, trying to decide if the snow was "okay" or not.


Toby sniffing, then eating, the snow!


Jazz wondering around, trying to figure out if this is "her" yard still!

And with our business done, we can play:

Fun gift!

David and I decided that Christmas should come a little early. Thanksgiving night, he made a bunch of call-back time at work, so we decided to get the Wii that we've been dreaming about for a few weeks.

We both thought it was stupid, that we would never use it.... But, then the WiiFIT came out, and I thought what a great workout! We won't need to renew the gym membership in March if we get that and some other equipment in the basement!

Then, David played Guitar Hero at work yesterday afternoon. He told me that if I could find the Wii on sale that I could get it. Well, it took driving 1 1/2 hrs (and then stopping to see him at work), but I got it!!!!

I hooked it up tonight, and, man is that a workout! I played bowling (fun, but boring), tennis, and boxing. Super fun, and I definitely felt my heart rate increasing! I can't wait to get more games and keep working out! David comes home tomorrow, so I know we will get absolutely nothing done!

How's this for a random post?

We finally closed!

That's right - we've lived in the house for just over 2 months and we finally signed the paperwork tonight!

The good thing about all of this is that when the roof leaked, the owner fixed it. And when the septic tank needed some work, he split the cost with us. We're not having to move in 30 degree weather, and I can just sit back and relax now that it's done. Well, I do need to clean, but that's because I've been lazy, not because we just moved.

Here are some pics of the house, and here are a couple more:


Our living room. I'd love to get a bigger TV since we have the space now! And our Christmas tree is going in front of the bay window, much to the puppies' annoyance. I'd rather put it in the corner by th small window, but that's not what David wants. So, we'll see....


The kitchen - well part of it. There's more cabinet space and a big pantry to the left of the camera. It's a little smaller than most people would like, but with all the cabinet space, we can't complain!


The formal dining room. It's still empty and no curtains up. When we have kids, we're thinking about turning it into our office and then we have all 3 bedrooms as bedrooms.


Our eat-in kitchen with the table mom bought for us as a house warming gift. Now we have our wine cabinet in the corner by the sliding glass door.

More pics to come of the bedrooms after I clean! The house is officially ours! YAY!!!!!!

Meatloaf with Barley

It's been a while since I gave you all a new recipe! I made this meatloaf last night and served it with a baked sweet potato, steamed mixed veggies, and a glass of wine (only 3 points!). This meatloaf was super easy and really yummy!

Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 60 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
2 tsp canola oil
1 medium green pepper, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup cooked barley, quick-cooking suggested
2/3 cups ketchup, divided
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 tsp dried oregano, crushed
20 oz lean ground turkey
2 sprays cooking spray

Instructions
** Preheat oven to 350 degrees

** Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add green pepper and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until pepper is tender (about 7 minutes)
** Spoon vegetables into a large bowl; add egg, barley (cooked), 1/4 cup of ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and oregano. Mix well.
** Crumble turkey into vegetable mixture; gently mix to combine (kneading will make the meatloaf tough).

**Coat a 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Spoon turkey mixture into prepared pan in an even layer. Spread remaining ketchup over meatloaf. Bake until center of meatloaf is thoroughly cooked; 50-60 minutes.

** Remove meatloaf from oven and let stnd t room temperature for 10 minutes to absorb juices in pan.
** Slice into 6 pieces and serve.

For Weight Watchers People: POINTS® Value: 5

Personal Challenge

Now that I know I am graduating, I have given myself a personal challenge. Right now, I am in between a 14 and a 12 - closer to a 14, but the jeans I have are baggy. For graduation on December 19th, I want to be a solid size 12 - not a tight 12 - a good fitting, comfortable size 12.

When I graduated with my undergrad, I was going through a rough time. I hadn't met David yet, and I had packed on some pounds since High School. I'm far below where I was then, but I want to be lower. I want to be HOT. Even though nobody can see what I'm wearing underneath, I want to KNOW that the outfit I find for Graduation makes me look and feel great about myself and my accomplishments.

So, no more excuses. I have 1 month and 2 days to pull this goal off. I know I can do it ~ and I have motivation!

Chock Full of Veggies Chili

I have to write a review of this chili because it was SO awesome! My mom gave me the recipe, and now that it's a good "chili" night, I made it! David has an aversion to no meat though, so I added meat and a little cheese because that's healthier than sour cream! I can't wait for David to come home from work and try it!!!!! Super super yummy!

~ Ingredients ~
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 bell peppers - any color - chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 15-oz cans pinto beans (with juices)
1 14.5 oz can no salt added diced tomatoes (with juices) ~~ We used diced tomatoes with chili peppers in it and it had salt, so I cut the other salt in half
(Optional - 2 lbs lean turkey) ~ We used 1 lb lean turkey and 1 lb lean beef because I forgot to get a second pack of turkey so had to use what I had!

~ Directions ~
In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add peppers, mushrooms, onion, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until veggies begin to soften (about 7 minutes). Add chili powder, oregano, cumin, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Add beans and tomatoes with their juices (and meat if you use it). Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until chili is fragrant and slightly thickened (25-30 minutes). Serve warm. (I threw a little low-fat cheese on the top)

The original recipe makes 4 2cup servings. With the meat added, 1/2 a cup filled me up, plus added to the bulk, so it can feed more than 4!

~ Nutritional Facts ~
Per 2-cup serving (no meat): 229 calories, 5 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 11 grams protein, 35 g carbohydrate, 12 g fiber, 501 mg sodium

Comp Results are in.....

I PASSED!!!!!!!!!

I had a really shitty day today, so I thought I would check to see if they were up yet. Granted, I knew one of the instructors hadn't even started reading as of Wednesday, so I wasn't expecting much. But, they were in!

I got really good comments on all 3 - good connections, adaptations, community involvement..... everything was great!

So, this week, I'm officially going to go order my cap and gown. I wanted to wait to make sure because the deadline to receive a refund was BEFORE the day I was expecting my comps back, but the deadline to ORDER was after. So, I was just playing it safe so I didn't waste $75 and not get to graduate until May!

Graduation is December 19th (yes, a Friday). I already have a Personal Day approved (it's the last day before Winter Break), so I'm set there also! David made sure he requested the day of and the day after off also so that he can throw me a party! I'll have to work on Saturday since it's the Saturday before Christmas, but we'll either have the party Friday night or Saturday night after work. SO excited!!!

Thanks for all the prayers! Now I have one thing checked off my list ~ wonder what will be next!