Running

     First of all Happy Leap Day everyone! OK so I'm not really into the whole leap year thing so let's move on.

      I have been thinking about starting a 10 week fitness program recently but have been hesitant since it includes a dreadful thing, running. I have always admired runners and wished I could enjoy running but frankly running hates me.

     I have tried to pick up running  jogging before but all I get are hurt shins and lungs that feel on fire! Not only that, I'm the slowest runner I know.

     A friend told me about the Couch to 5K program that lasts 10 weeks and by the end of it you would be able to finish a 5K (without walking the entire time). I viewed the schedule and it intimidates me at about week 5. Jogging for 10 minutes sounds like torture, I mean I couldn't even run the mile in high school under 10 minutes (can you see now that I'm super slow).

     I really want to sign up for a 5K and make it a goal to do one by the end of the year but truthfully I'm nervous. Has anyone done a program like the Couch to 5K? Do you think it works/will work? Any runners out there with advice?

Source: fromcouchto5k.com



House fever?

     This weekend was a mix of relaxation and fun. Friday I made a delicious (if I do say so myself) chicken dinner for me and the hubs, cooked brownies for funeral :-( and helped some friends move. Phew, that was a long night.

     Saturday I had my partner in crime Ian (my nephew) to keep me on my toes. We ended up going shopping with my mom which was so fun, I love mother daughter dates. Mid-day I found out we were going to have company stop by the house and then we were going out to dinner.

     Of course I practically panicked since our house wasn't clean, I was out shopping and cleaning with my nephew around is an impossible task. Luckly my mom offered to watch him the rest of the afternoon so that I could get it all done.

     When the hubby's mom and uncle arrived at the house all was clean and I am glad I got it all done since his uncle wanted a tour of the house. We ate dinner at Macayo's Mexican Restaurant, which I'm not sure I like, but the company was great.

     Sunday we relaxed until church and afterwards I decided we should go look at some models homes that were by our house. We pulled up and they had two model homes to show which looked super nice so I was excited to see them.

     We slipped passed the sales people and wondered to the houses. We walked into the first house and I fell in love. The house was big and the kitchen was to die for! The loft was like the size of my living room and the master bedroom closet was like the size of my kitchen! I could so get used to living in a house like that. The second house was nice but not really my style.

     I couldn't believe how much I loved that first house! It of course wasn't even close to want we needed, with 4 bedrooms and all, but I would live there any day. Below are a few pictures but they really dont do the house justice.

This is the first house

Below is the second house

Easy Chili Dinner

     I love quick and easy meals for dinner and this is one of my favorites. Most days I forget to take stuff out for dinner before I leave for work so I am always on the hunt for meals that don't have a long prep or cook time.

     Chili was on last night's menu and it was delicious. Here is what you need:

                     1 bag of Bear Creek Darn Good Chili

                     1 6oz can of tomato paste

                     1lb of ground beef (or turkey)

     Optional:

                     1 can black beans

                     1 can kidney beans

                     Brown sugar

     First, get all your ingredients together.

     In a large saucepan, cook your meat thoroughly.

     Add 7 cups of water, as stated on package, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium or low then add chili mix, tomato paste and beans (if applicable).

I should have used less water since I added the beans

     Simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes. Add brown sugar to taste (I like mine with a bit of sweetness). Serve with cheese and sour cream.

     Enjoy! 

Spices

     I am happy to share with you my first craft project that I did with my Cricut and it just so happens to be a great DIY project too. 

     My mom mentioned to me on Sunday that she was making 'spice jars' as a wedding gift for my cousin that just got married. She showed me all the stuff she got and said she was going to order some labels online for the jars in order to know what spices were in what jar. I spoke right up and said that I could bring my Cricut over and we could make the labels out of vinyl. 

     We made a night of it and let me tell you there is definitely a learning curve with this machine. Since they were small jars we made the letters 1/4" in size and I think that was the big problem. After we cut out all the words she wanted and started to pull off the negative vinyl we found that the letters wanted to come off and certain letters, like the O, kept getting ruined.

     After about a hour or so getting all the negative vinyl off it was time, finally, to get the words onto the jars with the transfer tape. We got all the words transferred and filled them up with the various spices. They came out so cute and I give big props to my mom for thinking of doing this as a wedding gift cause I never would have. So much better than a store bought spice rack.

     Before:

     After: 

They turned out fabulously!

Banana Nut Bread

     Since I was feeling all domesticated yesterday I decided it was baking time. Hmm but what to bake. I didn't want to make brownies, cookies or cake since we are trying to watch what we eat. So I rummaged around the kitchen, looking at what ingredients I had thinking of things I could bake.

     Then I opened my freezer and there it was, my inspiration for what to cook, bananas. We have bananas that often times get a little too ripe at our house so instead of wasting food I freeze them so that when I have enough, I can make banana nut bread.

     I had about 7 bananas in the freezer which was the perfect amount but how was I going to make banana nut bread diet friendly?  Skinnytaste.com that's how. They post amazing recipes with ingredient variations to make them low fat. This is one of my new favorite blogs and you can see the full Low Fat Banana Nut Bread recipe here.

     My banana nut bread turned out great and everyone loved it. I can't wait to try out more recipes from this amazing site!

Product Review

     I have several hair and beauty products that I use on a daily basis that I would like to share with you. This is a hair product, CHI Silk Infusion, that I use after I take a shower just before I blow dry my hair. I love this product because it makes my hair feel silky and helps keep my 'fly aways' under control. 


     I use about a dime to nickel size amount each night and I can't believe the difference I have noticed in my hair. Since I dye my hair a lot and I am always getting a different cut I wanted a product that gave me the softness I wanted while helping keep my short layers manageable. 


     I would recommend this to anyone who has problems with 'fly aways' or someone who is looking for silky smooth hair. It smells good too!

     *This was an independent review and is not promoted or acknowledged by any company or website. I did not receive any products or services for this review nor was I paid. This review is entirely my own opinion. 

New Toy

     There is nothing better than getting something new after a stressful few days at work. In the true spirit of trying to be more crafty, I started to look into a Cricut machine. I will admit that when I used one for the first time a few months ago I didn't see what the big deal was. Granted we used it for a youth project and the projects weren't that elaborate but I just didn't get all the hype I had heard all the ladies talk about.

     Now after I watched some videos, different cards and projects that had been made with a Cricut, I was hooked. So last night I pulled up Craigslist and searched for a Cricut to see if I could find any a bit cheaper then a brand new one... Low and behold I found one that was practically brand new with two cartridges so I picked it up and couldn't wait to try it.

     I am now a happy Cricut owner! I of course didn't wait to use it and I cut our last name with some of the vinyl that came with the machine and I just might be addicted. I love it, I see a lot more homemade cards and crafts in my future.

Love

     I thought this would be the perfect time to share our story on how I became a Sisson with love being in the air this week.

     It all started in 2009, on a cold Monday night in February, after a church activity we both attended. We had both noticed each other previously at other functions and since we had mutual friends we had been at some of the same gatherings. Well this particular evening I stayed to clean up after the activity when one of our mutual friends came in and invited the few of us left to join everyone to hang out and get some food.

     I was tempted to say no... I had worked all day, planned, setup and cleaned up the activity and I had already been asked to get some food with other friends which I wasn't planning on going to. But I resisted the temptation to say no and followed him to the restaurant as I didn't want to seem like the old lady that had a bedtime.

     Sure enough when we walked in there was a huge row of tables in the middle of the restaurant with about 30 people chatting and enjoying themselves. Of course the only seats open were at the end of this long row so we sat down and started a conversation. Little did I know that I just sat across from my future husband.

     We talked, we ordered some food, we laughed, we flirted and we exchanged numbers. Before officially meeting that night I thought he was a few years younger than me and to be truthful I thought that he was going to be some stuck-up or weird goofy kid. Oh how we can be so wrong about people. When the checks came around they had combined mine with my future hubby Justin's on accident and since he is so sweet he insisted on buying my dinner (it was meant to be). I protested but in the end he won and I left thinking I had just met a crazy and sweet New York boy. 

     The next morning, at 7:45am, while I was on my way to work I get a text message from Justin saying how much fun he had at dinner the night before and would like to do it again. I was a little taken aback I must say...I mean it was 7:45 in the morning! I thought he was going to be one of those guys that wouldn't leave me alone and now that he had my phone number he was going to text me constantly.

     Needless to say we did start texting constantly but it was mutual. We dated for almost a year, on and off, before he proposed in December 2009. I never would have thought that would be the night I met my husband but here we stand, happily married. We got married April 2010 and are excited to celebrate our two year anniversary in two months. Geez time flies.

     That is really just the overview of our story. I will post details about his proposal and our wedding in the near future.

(my feet hurt so bad!)

Movie and weekend review

     My weekend fun started Friday about 15 minutes after I got off work. I got home, changed and headed to a nearby chapel. Saturday was my cousin's (the groom) wedding so I was helping setup the chapel for the luncheon. My family is definitely a DIY family so you can bet that they cooked all the food and setup everything for this luncheon, even the mother of the groom! I didn't stay for too long as the bride invited me to see The Vow with the girls for her last night as a single lady. 

     Here is the movie review and if you are planning to see this movie, skip this as it might possibly contain spoilers. Now going into this movie I was expecting a super sappy chick flick that would make me go home and tell my husband all the things I saw in the movie that he should do. This was not the case. 

     I enjoyed the movie, don't get me wrong, it just didn't live up to my expectations. Spoiler alert: I really disliked when Paige decided to go back home with her father and Leo didn't fight for her to stay or anything. Then when they divorced and again Leo didn't fight I just wanted to cry. The end of the movie was quite abrupt for me and I really wanted to see Paige start to fall in love with Leo again. 

     In the end I enjoyed the movie but wanted more. Since it was based on a true story I might google the story and see if that has the romance I was expecting. 

     Now to Saturday.... I headed to my cousin Mike and Brooke's wedding with my mom around 9:45. The sealing ceremony was beautiful and they both had that glowing love look in their eyes. After a few pictures we headed to finish the preparations for the luncheon.

     After getting the buns, pulled pork, coleslaw, pasta salad, meatballs and desserts out we served the guests and had little time to enjoy the food ourselves. Then after cleaning it all up I grabbed my nephew and headed home to change, since my feet were killing, so I could get some groceries before heading to the reception. (sigh)

     The hubs got home just in time to take a quick shower while I wrapped the wedding present and changed my nephew into some pants before heading to Costco. Got all our groceries in our basket just as the store was closing and we were off to the reception.

     Although it was chilly and it was an outdoor reception it turned out beautifully! They had a huge wait to get through the line but once through that we enjoyed the catered food and delicious desserts. 

     Today, Sunday, was my day of relaxation and rejuvenation. I looked at our budget and bills, talked with the hubby about our future and attended church. Then we headed to my moms to enjoy some lasagna and cupcakes. Mmmmm... I will be sharing my moms lasagna recipe soon.

     Now it's time to get ready for the upcoming week.....

     But first lets enjoy some pictures from the wedding...

Me and my nephew, Ian

The kids

The happy couple

The desserts

My brother, Kurt, and Sheila

Me and the hubby

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

    New recipe... yes please. Since we are trying to stick with healthy foods this year I looked up some different recipes and the first one was a winner! And the best part was that is was super easy to make.

     I found this recipe via Pinterest and you can see the full recipe here. I didn't follow the recipe exactly but mine still turned out delicious. Here is what I used:

                    4 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
                    1 container of Fresh and Easy medium salsa
                    1 container of Fresh and Easy Pico de Gallo
                    Seasonal salt and garlic salt to taste

     I threw the frozen chicken with the salsa and pico in the crock pot, turned it on low for about 8 hours and ta dah, dinner is served. I omitted the taco seasoning because of all the sodium in the packets but I think it still came out fabulous without it.

     I was afraid my husband wasn't going to approve since he is not a big salsa/spicy food eater but he surprised me when he turned to me and said "This is great!" If the hubby approves, its going into the recipe box.

     We served it over lettuce with bit of sour cream and guacamole instead of using tortillas to save on carbs. I had quite a bit of left overs since it is only the two of us so I will cut back the recipe next time but I froze some of it and the rest I might just use for a soup or fajitas...

Oh the weekend....

   It was a busy two days off for me. First off, Friday we had another date night! I love when my husband gets off early cause not only did we get date night, he also brought me frozen yogurt at work! Love that guy... Anywho, we decided a movie was in order since we haven't been to one in months. He wanted to see Man on a Ledge but I chose Chronicle and you can guess which one we saw...

     We caught an early showing at Green Valley Ranch, I love the seating there, but we were disappointed. The movie was far from great in my book and I would recommend that people save their money and wait for it on to come out on Redbox or not see it at all. The filming of it was my least favorite as it was documentary style, if that's even what they call it. That was just one of many dislikes so lets just say I suggest you see another flick.

     Saturday went by fast watching my nephew and getting shopping done. I was so excited that my grandma came to visit from California this weekend that I spent most of my afternoon visiting with her. I love her and wish we could visit more often.

     Sunday was the big game. We picked up the house a bit, relaxed and went over a friend's house to watch the Superbowl. I was of course rooting for the Giants and our host was going for the Patriots which always is entertaining. It was such a great game and I'm glad the Giants came out on top, I'm not a Tom Brady fan so I'm glad he didn't win.

     Now back to the usual routine. I will be trying a Pinterest recipe later this week so check back to find out how it turns out.

Quick and Healthy

     Keeping with my goal to eat healthy, I am always trying to find quick healthy meals to put together since I don't always have a lot of time to get them together. Recently while browsing Costco, which is dangerous for my wallet, I found myself strolling down the breakfast isle. 

     Normally I would head towards the name brand cereal or one of many breakfast shakes that tastes oh so delicious. But as I neared the end of the isle, without putting anything in my basket amazingly, a bag of oatmeal caught my eye.

    Now, I despise plain oatmeal, as in I would rather eat rocks, so it must have been the golden bag that got my attention. After reviewing the nutritional facts and scanning it with my Fooducate app I put it in my basket.

     After it sat in my pantry for about a week, I opened the bag of Coaches Oat and made a bowl for the smaller appetite. I just about spit out the first bite I took! It was so plain and awful. I immediately thought that it was going to be just another bag that ended up in the trash and money down the drain. 

      About another week passed and I couldn't stand throwing out a full bag of oatmeal so I looked up variations to spice up my bland oatmeal. Now this probably sounds like a no brainer for most of you but adding some strawberries, blueberries, bananas and a bit of honey was my answer. This has become my new go to, quick healthy breakfast meal and I love that I don't feel guilty about it.