I Survived Without My Camera Barely

Ok, I'll just tell you straight out that this morning is not a good morning for me. I really feel extra crappy today, but hopefully it will pass. If not, I'll just go back to bed. 

This is post one of two I will hopefully get done today. The photos in this post are from 2 days ago, when I left my camera at Lindsay's house and couldn't upload or take photos ( not decent ones anyway).

This photo was taken with my camera before I left it. It's my breakfast/ brunch, whatever.  I had an egg sandwich on a Nature's Own Multi Grain Sandwich Round. 

I scrambled my egg with green pepper and onion and placed it on the bun along with a hash brown patty, muenster cheese, spinach and taco sauce. 

I've eaten this before with different cheese and no spinach. I like it better with the spinach and cheddar probably would have been better and maybe a big slice of tomato.

My snack before going to Lindsay.

My trip to Lindsay's was a little unexpected. She had a minor emergency and I went to stay with the girls while they napped. In my rush to get home to get ready for Zumba I forgot my purse (including camera). Luckily (or not so luckily) my phone was in my jacket pocket, which I had on. I do not have a smart phone, it just a notch above stupid and the camera is really crappy. To make matters worse, my phone would not send the phones to email because my sd card needed formated, so I had to take the card out of the phone, put it in my card reader and transfer the photos to the computer before formating; a lot more trouble than with my camera, but not so bad, now that I have the card straightened out. 

The next photo was taken with my phone. It's not as bad as I'd expected, but I won't be using my phone's camera for the blog anymore unless there's a crisis.  This is my quickly thrown together dinner before Zumba, which I wasn't sure I would be able to get to on time. 

I had a tuna sandwich on a sandwich round with mustard, mayo, and spinach. I also had some broccoli, carrots, grape tomatoes and ranch on the side along with a dill pickle spear.

Setting the stage.

(Sirens going off now, I have 25 dogs howling at once as I type.)

I was so tired after zumba and even though I'd eaten before zumba, I was still up for a snack, so I had a yogurt and cereal parfait, another fine photo from my phone. I had planned to run by Lindsay's to pic up my purse and my camera, on the way home, but being the person I am, I totally forgot, so to avoid another trip out, I did without.

My parfait included, gala apple chunks, bran flakes, vanilla yogurt, cinnamon, walnuts, and warm peanut butter. Yummy!!!

Oh, well, I tried. Hopefully you get the idea anyway.

So this is one post down and another to follow. It will post to twitter when I get the next one up. I'd like to get a FB page for the blog, but I'm not sure I need one yet. I could use some more subscribers, Twitter followers as well. Happy Thursday and thanks for taking a look at my ADD blog!!!

Using Up The Last Of This And That

Totally sidetracked this morning. I need a computer that will only access what I need to blog. Having access to the rest of the internet is really distracting for me, plus the fact that I usually watch America Now & Rachael Ray while I blog isn't necessarily helpful.

For breakfast yesterday, I decided to have French toast with syrup.

 

It was pretty good, but I prefer light syrup and I'm more of a waffle person. What's your pick, waffles, pancakes, or French toast?

I had pasta with vodka sauce sprinkled with shredded Italian blend cheese, mixed vegetables, and a Nature's Own multigrain sandwich round from the freezer, toasted for lunch. The pasta was a mixture of cheese tortellini and penne pasta. The mixed vegetables were picked from a stir fry variety with added Caesar dressing and Parmesan cheese.

You've gotta be creative with what you have sometimes. Hopefully it works out and this time it did.

Afternoon coffee was good. Allergies have my sinus' sort messed especially yesterday. I find that something hot and slightly caffeinated brings some relief. I had 1 cup with just a little powdered cream and the last of my coconut sugar and another 1/2 cup with powdered creamer, a little mint syrup, and a bit of mint flavored cocoa mix, just to finish off the last in a package of the cocoa mix. Waste not, want not, right?

Before Zumba I had tomato soup and peanut butter on a toasted Arnold's 100% whole wheat sandwich thin from the freezer.

The thin sandwich breads are so good, even after being frozen. I individually wrapped them in waxed paper before freezing and place them in freezer bags, so that I can grab one from the bag anytime I want. They thaw really quickly or you can defrost in the microwave or toast in the toaster. The crust is my favorite part of bread and with these you get more.

.....and yes tomato soup and a peanut butter sandwiches are a preferred combo.

We had an awesome workout at Zumba. We usually alternate between songs with weights and songs without, but last night we did 4 or 5 songs in a row with weights. The room was chilly when we got there, but the weights really took the chill off. Unfortunately we won't be having Zumba class for the next two weeks due to BBQ sales and other church events, which is one small disadvantage to free or cheap classes which are not held in a gym, studio, etc., but it is nice that there are classes offered for those who can't afford the extra expense of regular classes.

My after Zumba snack(s) were a cup of Chobani Greek Pineapple Yogurt....

....and popcorn. I was extremely hungry after Zumba. I guess the soup & sandwich were enough to stay with me. I found a couple of packages of popcorn in the back of my cabinet which had been forgotten. I decided to have one. I didn't eat the whole bag, but I think I could have. I just wish popcorn was hull-less(?). I love it, but hate the hulls.

Getting sidetrack has caused me to be late again. Sorry. Now I'm off to get ready for an unexpected GDO. Happy Friday and also Happy Veterans Day!!!

Zumba Glow Party

Rushing around this morning, trying to get ready for the girls, who are suppose to be here later. I like to get everything out of the way, so that it's baby proof and I have nothing that needs done while they are here. I've also gotten sidetracked repeatedly.

Yesterday I had the other half of my trail mix bagel spread with light cream cheese and topped with Raspberry Supreme Nut mix and half a Gala apple on the side. I promise I didn't have a bagel this morning, so you won't have to look at one tomorrow.

Lucas and I planned to go and get my glow bracelets, necklace, etc. for the Zumba glow party yesterday, so I grabbed a bite to eat before leaving. I had the other half of my GV vegetarian vegetable soup with a slice of hot cornbread, buttered. Ya know everything's better with Blue Bonnet on it.

Yummy!!

I found my glow accessories at the Dollar Tree, just $1 per pack, good deal! For just $5 I got the kids eat a glow wand for Halloween and another pack to share with a necklace, earrings, and 2 bracelets, plus a similar pack for myself and two hoop necklaces. I may go back and get them some hoop necklaces. They also had masks that glow which might be nice.

When I got back I had a yogurt cereal parfait with Dannon Peach yogurt and some Kellogg's Fiber Plus Berry Yogurt Crunch cereal. What a mouthful, I mean the name. This cereal tastes rather sweet and really holds it's crunch. Great for topping yogurt.

BTW this is a juice glass. It looks huge in the photo next to that small spoon. I also need to practice my parfait making. As you can tell, I'm not that good at it.

I was running late after running for glow stuff. I still had to make dinner, eat and get ready for Zumba. I made a recipe I found for Easy Mexican Rice, which was pretty easy, but somewhat time consuming, in that the rice had to cook for 45 minutes first. I would have used instant brown rice, but I had some regular brown rice, I needed to use up anyway.

It turned out pretty good and was fairly simple to make with just rice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and beans, which could be any kind you like. I used kidney beans and had a few tortilla chips on the side.

I also topped it with a little finely shredded sharp white cheddar. After eating I was off to our Zumba glow party. Yay!!!

We had a ball at Zumba, everyone wearing their glow jewelry. We had some black lights and some red lights. Our white clothes didn't show up as well due to lack of enough black lights, but we did have a good time dancin' in the dark. I didn't get any pictures at the zumba glow party because it was rather dark and I assumed the pictures wouldn't be good, but I did find a video that sort of shows what it was like. It was really fun and a great idea for partying at Halloween or anytime really. I think kids would really love it.


After zumba I had another little cup of my rice & beans.

I'm late getting this posted with all that's been going on. I really need to figure out some short cuts. Anyone with blogging tips, I'd love to hear them. Thanks. Happy Wednesday!!!

WW Smart Ones Three Cheese Ziti Marinara Review

I did not consider Tuesday a great day. It was not the worst, but it definitely could have been better. 

It was one of those days, when nothing seemed to go right, one thing after another went wrong. I really needed coffee this morning, but the kids showed up before I'd even gotten breakfast. They were running late and so was I. I am so out of practice with little ones. I always felt more in control when it came to taking care of my own children. I had routines, I still do. They are what keep me focused. I'm very unorganized when I don't have a routine and lately my routines have been out the window.

Since Lindsay was running late, I had to get the kids some breakfast. When I finally got around to getting breakfast for myself, I was too scatterbrained to think about getting a photo. I did think about it right after I ate. That was a bit late though.

I had a bagel with cream cheese, dates, raisins, and sunflower seeds. I also had half a red delicious apple. The cream cheese was a nice change.

Lucas made coffee. The filter basket wasn't pushed down complete, which kept the water from draining properly. The coffee pot filled with water and coffee grounds. The grounds clogged the opening completely, which let water and grounds fill the basket and run over a little. It was quite a mess. I pushed the filter basket down to let it finish draining, then refiltered the coffee to keep it from going to waste and save having to make another pot. Despite all that, I managed to get a shot of my cup of coffee. 

I had a spoonful of Ghirardelli Peppermint Cocoa Mix with my coffee plus a little extra peppermint syrup.

The rest of the day sort of went the same way, one problem after the other. The kids weren't too bad, but they definitely didn't make things go any smoother. Lexi seems to show her jealousy of Mary more and it's hard to give her the undivided attention she wants when I'm constantly chasing Mary. Hopefully Lexi will adjust eventually. It will be even harder once the new baby arrives. I just hope I can adjust as well.

I had planned to have my other mushroom and egg noodles today, but somehow the container was left out on the counter and I didn't notice it until this morning. I really hate wasting food and this rarely happens. It was a sign that the day would not go smoothly. 

Instead of stuffed mushroom and noodles, I had leftover broccoli soup and cheese toast. Cheese toast was so much easier than grilled cheese, but less preferred. 

I wasn't really in the mood for the broccoli soup, but it did fill the void.

Mom & Lynda brought a pan of unbaked angel biscuit for me to bake for the kids. All the goodness, without all the mess, right? I definitely needed things like that today. 

They also brought Dutch Apple Jam from Yoder's(?). It tastes like apple pie.

 

I had some of the jam with butter on one of the biscuits.

By the time the Lindsay came to get the girls and I got ready for Zumba I sort of ran out of time for and early dinner, instead I had a handful of Cajun Snack mix, which I wasn't in the mood for, so this changed to a couple more handfuls of plain sesame sticks last minute which I didn't get a photo of.

Needless to say, when I got back from Zumba, I was not only exhausted, but starved. Babysitting and exercising together in one day really kicked my butt. It makes me feel so out of shape. I think I was not only physically tired, but mentally as well. 

I grabbed dinner from the freezer, a Smart Ones Three Cheese Ziti Marinara.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 255g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 300
Calories from Fat 70
                                                  % Daily Value *
Total Fat                        8g                  12%
Saturated Fat             3.5g                  17%
Monosaturated Fat        2g     
Polyunsaturated Fat      2g     
Cholesterol                 10mg                  4%
Sodium                     580mg                25%
Total Carbohydrates   44g                   16%
Dietary Fiber                4g                   15%
Sugars                          3g     
Protein                        14g     
Vitamin A                                             10%
Vitamin C                                               4%
Calcium                                               15%
Iron                                                     15%
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

 I thought I'd eaten this before, but after fixing it, I'm thinking maybe I haven't.  The sauce had a good flavor, nothing all that fancy, but still good. There was some cheese on top, but after stirring between cooking, you can't see it as well. I did tastes some bits of onion in the sauce which were a little under cooked, but not enough to bother me.

For no particular reason, I liked that the ziti was longer than the usual. It's one of the reasons, that I realized I hadn't eaten it before.

I added Parmesan cheese to the ziti, but it didn't really need it. It was pretty good even without it. After I was finished, I made sure to get every last bit out of the tray. I suppose this could have been because I was so hungry, but if it weren't good I would have found something else to eat. I'm giving the Ziti 4 stars.

Now, it's late and I'm tired. I've finished the post early. I'm putting it out tonight and sleeping in tomorrow. Have a great night/day!!!

It's Difficult To Make Changes

Up a little early this morning, but I'm still sleepy. I've already manage to get sidetracked this morning. It doesn't take much.

As you can see I had another smoothie for breakfast, a strawberry banana smoothie. I finished off the last of my strawberries. I almost forgot I had them. My breakfast photos alway seem pretty boring, but I can't help it. I've been trying to change things up little with some cereal bowls thrown in here and there. At least you can tell it's a different photo with those. Maybe eventually, I can do something to make the smoothie photos more interesting. Any ideas?

 

I had the girls (Lexi & Mary) yesterday. I really wasn't expecting them. I totally forgot that Lindsay had ask me to watch them. Now that was interesting. Lexi is always a ball of energy and Miss Mary is getting to be quite a character herself. I am forever laughing at her. I tried to get some videos of her being cute, but then she just sat there and didn't do anything. I didn't get any photos. Those two keep me hoppin'. I barely got lunch. I fixed them grilled cheese sandwiches and I had Amy's spinach lasagna. Lexi ate a few bites of my lasagna. She liked it. She wanted her own, but I only had the one. Maybe next time, if I remember their coming, I can make one and see how she likes it.

 

Amy's is very good, but I bet homemade would be even better. Anyone have a good recipe for spinach lasagna? I'll have to do a search, I guess.

After lunch, Mary and I had a few Honey Nut Cheerios. Nibbling hardly ever gets photographed. I did get a shot of my coconut creamsicle, but that was after the girls left. Mary fell off to sleep right before Lindsay got her and Lexi was in desperate need of a nap. She just needed to be still for 5 minutes. She usually gets hers on the way home.

We made a run to the store before dinner. I picked up breakfast supplies and 5gum, then it was back home to fix dinner, which didn't take long. I had leftover chili beans with a few black beans thrown in. I'd planned on having my chili beans with the last piece of cornbread, but someone, who shall remain nameless, beat me to it, so I got stuck with some less desirable Spicy Dorito pieces.

I toasted the Doritos for a couple of minutes and added some shredded cheddar to my beans. Warm Doritos are better and we all know chili and cheese go together.

No nap yesterday. I did have a cup of green tea which escaped the camera, as a pick me up, as well as a few peanut butter pretzels. The tea came as soon as I realized I would have the girls and the pretzels came later. I was super tired, still didn't get to bed any earlier. I'm trying, but apparently not hard enough. I guess I really need to buckle down, if I'm going to get back on schedule. Well, slightly sidetracked again. I'd better get this up before it's too late. Happy Thursday!!

Hey Mambo

Another sunny morning. All I've done is sneeze since I opened my eyes. I'm not sure what that's about, but something is definitely in the air. I've been checking out the weather this morning to see if it will be good for a walk and so far it's looking good.

Usually I have breakfast, blog, and then walk on the days we walk. Yesterday's breakfast was another Banana Pudding Smoothie. It was super thick because of the ice and frozen banana. I love when I can use frozen banana. We didn't walk yesterday because our Zumba schedule was changed and we were having Zumba yesterday instead of Thurs. Hopefully we can squeeze a walk in this morning. Mornings are best for walking because summer evenings in the south are too unpredictable, with pop up showers and thunderstorms.

 

Smoothies would be perfect after a walk, if only I could get up walk first, have breakfast and then blog. I suppose I could but that would put my post out even later. It already feels weird writing about the day before. It's sort of like telling old news.

 

For lunch I had Michelina's Fettuccine Alfredo.

I added some broccoli to the noodles and sprinkled it with Parmesan cheese. It also needed a pinch of salt. I suppose because I had added the broccoli. Normally frozen dinners are plenty salty enough.

 

Some garlic and oregano would have been even better, but I was hungry and lazy and just did without.

I had a crumbled piece of apple cake from the freezer. I'm finding lots of things in there lately. I can finally see the light in the back. I haven't ever gotten around to cleaning out the fridge either, something I really need to do.

 

Yesterday, I procrastinated the day away and waited until the last minute to fix dinner. I'd forgotten that the dinner I had planned to fix was more elaborate than usual and would require more time. It was also rather hot since our a/c only works when it wants to. It seems to think the house stays at 55 degrees and doesn't need to be on. 

I was limited for quick choices, so I threw together some tomato soup, using diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, basil, garlic, sugar and a little salt. It turned out well. I also had a grilled cheese sandwich to go with the soup.

 

I'd thought about adding a little milk to the soup, but wasn't sure if I'd like it that way, so I passed. Dale always puts milk in tomato soup, but we both eat different things most of the time.

I had a lovely time at Zumba yesterday. Tuesday's workout felt very short for some reason and last night seemed extremely long. I suppose because neither Lindsay or my sister in law, Angie went. My two partners in crime left me hanging. I still had fun, but it did seem longer. 

While I was at Zumba, Lucas and Dale went to Cathy and Eddie's. They brought back some pizza Cathy sent with them. I had a couple of slices of the cheese with peppers and onions. The thin crust made 2 slices just enough for an after Zumba snack. It was good, sort of like pizza on crackers.

 Now for a little fun. This is what the day brought to mind. Yes I know, my mind wanders, but it was late, I was tired and this is what came to mind. Hope you like it. Happy Thursday!!