A Little Bit of Everything...and then some!

So I totally forgot to do a follow-up post once we completed the Special K challenge. (And honestly I am not one bit surprised that I forgot! lol) Well, we both made it through just fine and we did see results! Not as drastic as some may experience but when you are in your late 20s it is very exciting when your jeans fit just a little looser.

The downside is that I am pretty sure that over the next few weeks we gained back whatever we lost during those two weeks on the challenge. So, we decided to try something else and make it a little more challenging. We are currently doing a diet (I'd prefer to say we changed our eating routine; it's not so much that we are doing a diet as that we have changed our habits) that involves replacing breakfast and lunch with protein shakes.  Basically our days look like this: shake, snack, shake, snack, normal healthy dinner. Also, plenty of water! I've been told that you should drink half your weight in ounces per day. (Ex: If you weigh 150lbs, then you need to consume 75oz of H20 each day.)

So our new eating habit is going well; we are about one and a half weeks in and feeling good! We will do this for at least a month, re-evaluate and then go from there. We may continue this for a bit longer since we both have a few pounds to lose. Bottom line, it is about changing our habits and doing this shake routine is definitely helping!

I am going to jump right in to the next topic, which is Robert's surgery. (**WARNING, I will be going to in a little bit of detail so please continue reading at your own discretion.) As most of you may know, he has been going through an interesting season medically and it is culminating in shoulder surgery this coming Monday, April 1st. Yes, he really is having surgery; it is not a joke! ;) Basically, after 2 MRIs (one an arthrogram where they injected dye into the shoulder cavity), a few x-rays, and some pain meds later, it was confirmed that he has a tear in his right shoulder. It is called a Type II SLAP Tear and that is what the doctor will be repairing on Monday.  This means that he has a horizontal tear in his labrum, which is a cartilage that goes around the shoulder socket.  The cartilage makes the socket deeper to help keep your shoulder in place.

A regular SLAP Tear is a vertical tear in the labrum and can usually be fixed by shaving off/down the injured tissue.  With a Type II, the labrum is torn horizontally and is actually partially detached from the shoulder socket. Essentially the surgeon will be doing an arthroscopic surgery to reattach the labrum. From what we have learned, this is done by inserting anchors into the bone that have surgical thread attached and then using that thread to stitch the labrum back down onto the bone. The bone will grow over the anchors eventually and the thread will just be there...forever. Weird, huh? Anyway, I suppose we are grateful that medicine has come so far. I mean, even though this is a major surgery, they will only have to make two small incisions AND it's an out-patient procedure. 

This has been an interesting experience thus far and it is far from over. The hassle of trying to comprehend how the insurance works (and who will be billing for what) has been a challenge by itself, let alone going through the process of figuring out what was wrong and what the best course of action was/is.  Add that stress to the regular stresses of everyday life and it makes for an interesting experience. I know I already said that but it really is lol!

This morning I have been reflecting on the fact that stressful life events are quite eye-opening. What better way to be awakened to the fears you didn't realize you had, the lack of faith of which we are so often guilty, and our deep need to let go and truly, fully acknowledge that God is in control. Why do we worry? Why do we fear? Why don't we trust more? While I don't have the answers for everyone, I can speak for myself in saying that certain seasons in life are more humbling and convicting than others. It's as though God realizes my need to be reminded every so often of His Truth.

Instead of worrying this morning, I choose to be grateful for my blessings, no matter how seemingly small!

• food to eat
• cars to drive
• roof over our head
• Remi (she is a comfort to us both when we are tired and stressed)
• medical insurance (better than not having it at all even though it doesn't seem to be very helpful at times)
• weddings and babies that give us an opportunity to go visit family
• a church home here in FL where we feel loved and want to serve God
• my husband (I know, he should be higher on the list but this list is not in any specific order!)
• and so much more!

My last thought...joy is a choice, not always an emotion. I can choose to be joyful even though my emotions may not match.

Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzyckxqXoZ4  (Very simple version that reminds me of learning this when I was little!)

It Has Begun...

What's this you say? A second blog post in less than a week? Why yes, yes it is!

I wanted to share one way that we are trying to get healthy this year...today is Day 1 of the Special K Challenge.  (Side note: Robert is being a super-supportive husband and doing the challenge with me, although we are both not quite convinced that he won't be starving every day lol.) 

You can read about the Special K Challenge on the back of the Special K cereals or you can go online and research it.  They have a website where you can sign up and then it generates a two week meal plan for you.  Basically, during this challenge, we will be eating our regular dinners but breakfast, lunch, and two snacks will be Special K items.  They have an incredible variety to choose from for their snack bars, meal bars, crackers, etc.  Add some fruit or a veggie with certain meals, and voila! Keep with it and we should "drop a pant size in two weeks." I really just wanted to change things up and hopefully lose a couple of pounds to get me started for the year.

Here is some more info on how we are doing this: We are still drinking our regular morning coffee, because there was NO way that was gonna go.  From breakfast through afternoon, we are following the plan, and then dinner is a normal dinner, which for us lately is mostly salads. 

One thing I did change up is in the selection of products I purchased.  I checked out the two week meal plan and it listed pretty much EVERY SINGLE cereal flavor they make. Really? There was no way I was going to buy 7 or 8 different kinds of cereal just so we could follow the plan to the T, eating some flavors only once.  So, I went by the type of food that we were to eat for each meal or snack and bought enough of a couple of flavors to get us both through the two weeks. This was probably the most challenging part of the Challenge thus far...figuring out how many boxes to buy of each thing; protein snack bars, protein meal bars, cracker chips, protein shakes, cereal, etc. I won't go in to any more detail here, but let's just say it took a bit of tallying and counting and then counting some more.

Anywho, I will do an update once we have completed the challenge. Wish us luck!

Slow Cooking My Way Through 2013

I am NOT a person to set "New Year's Resolutions" for the main reason that they generally set a person up for failure.  There is so much hype and expectation that things will be drastically changed or altered...and then there is that feeling of failure or disappointment when it does not happen.  SO....instead I contemplate what small changes would be feasible and set goals for myself.  Nothing official, nothing on paper, just goals I set mentally. 

One of the goals I have recently set for myself is to utilize my crock pot at least once a week.  After discovering yesterday that 9 hours in the crock pot is a little too long for chicken, even though it went in frozen, I think I will end up using the slow cooker on Saturdays so that I can better control how long everything cooks.  Most recipes suggest 8 hours at the most and some as little as 4-6.  So, using it on a workday may not be the best idea for our household, although I am sure it works fine for others.  (Honestly, we are just a little picky when it comes to chicken being overcooked; ok, and maybe a few other thing when it comes to food!)

Last Saturday was my first attempt at a crock pot meal in QUITE a while and I tackled Chicken and Corn Chili.  It was awesome! I have recently discovered that I can make decent beef chili on the stove but I think I may prefer this chicken chili.  Maybe I can try making my regular chili in the crock pot; oh, the possibilities! Here's the recipe for the chili and for last night's dinner of Creamy Crock Pot Chicken:

Chicken and Corn Chili:      http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-and-corn-chili/  

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (16 ounce) jar salsa

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

 salt to taste

 ground black pepper to taste

1 (11 ounce) can Mexican-style corn

1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans

The recipe says to cook the chicken, seasonings, and the salsa first (6-8 hours) and then add the beans and corn later.  You could add it all at the same time really, but I did follow the recipe in that aspect.  Ok, here is how I changed it up: I used 2 chicken breast halves, can of regular corn (unsalted), 1 can pinto beans, 1 can black beans, and 1 can petite diced tomatoes.  Ok, and I kind of laugh when I see recipes that call for a teaspoon or two of garlic powder...really? If you are going to use it, then USE it. Anyway, the seasonings don't have to be exact. I never measure, instead eyeballing it, and through practice and LOTS of cooking I have become pretty decent at seasoning things properly. Remember, it takes time.  I think I ended up adding additional seasoning (all of them) after adding the canned items as those are typically bland. Also, I do try to buy the unsalted canned veggies (like the corn and tomatoes) as that allows me to have more control over the saltiness of my dish.

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken:      http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-12458

3 lbs chicken pieces

1 (2/3 ounce) package Italian salad dressing mix
4 tablespoons melted butter (divided)
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup chicken broth

You can check out the actual recipe at the above link, but here's how I did it because I let it cook while I was at work:
1. Spray the crock pot with Pam and put two frozen chicken breast halves in.

2. Season the chicken with the Italian dressing mix, salt, and pepper on both sides and then dump half a chopped onion over the top.

3. Glob the soup over top of all that and then pour in the broth. Here I also added a tablespoon of jarred diced garlic. (We don't always have fresh on hand so we keep a jar of it handy.)

4. Cook on low 8 hours

5. Add half a block of cream cheese, chunks, and a few dabs of butter. (If you have a microwave, I would suggest warming these slightly so you can mix it in; we don't have one and the cream cheese did not melt completely in the crockpot.)

6. Toss in some sliced carrots and cauliflower and continue cooking one more hour.

I made some rice on the stove during the last 15 minutes of the crock pot cook time and we ate the meal over rice. It was yummy! Oh, and the veggies were perfectly cooked; they were done but still a tiny bit crunchy, which is better than mushy!  

Some ideas for February:

Ranch House Chicken

Cheesy Chicken and Rice