It's the little things in life

Sometimes in life its the little things that make it great. It was such a good day. This morning Cassie had her final competition for the year, her team placed 2nd. My eldest niece came with me to watch the competition, then the 3 of us had lunch and ended with the girls getting their hair done. They had a blast and we all were able to enjoy the 80 degree day we had.

Enjoying our weather

Yesterday was one of the best days Cassie and I have had in a while. We went to the science museum. We saw Under the Sea at the Omnitheater, the Pirates exhibit and had lunch. After the science Museum since it was 63 outside and sunny, we went for a walk and antiquing downtown St. Paul and had Italian soda's. Went towards home to run some errands and then Cassie was able to play with some friends.


Today is day 4 of my 90 days till summer and again the scale is up more from yesterday. I know it's my diet that is causing the issue. According to the scale this morning I now weigh what I did at the start. I'm hoping its wrong

mid week weigh in

My weigh in day is Friday, but I normally will step on the scale daily. Well today I stepped on it and it showed a 1.6 lb gain. This is discouraging. I know mid week weigh ins are not accurate, but still I doubt the scale is going to be very nice come Friday. I started out good this morning and had Greek yogurt with granola (110 calories) but then I blew it and had too many calories for lunch. Ok so I don't know exactly how many my lunch was, but I'm sure 4 fluffy biscuits with gravy is not calorie friendly. So now I need to make up that and either skip my snack, have a 90 cal fiber one bar or fruit, plus have a very calorie friendly dinner. Hmm salad ??
**Edit. Lunch was 650 calories.. OUCH!**

Jillian's Jumpstart Menu

This meal plan came with my latest Jillian Michaels workout DVD. I love how she has Vegan options as well
Day 1:

Breakfast: Greek yogurt - (1 c plain nonfat Greek yogurt, 1-2 tsp ground cinnamon, 3 tbs roasted almonds)

Lunch: Salmon Salad (2 tbs olive oil, 2 tbs lemon juice, 4 6oz wild salmon steaks, 8 cups mixed greens, 2 tomatoes, 1 yellow or orange pepper, 1 medium cucumber---makes 4 servings)

Snack: Hummus & Veggies (1/4 c hummus, 8 baby carrots, 1 red pepper)

Dinner: Steak ( 1 4oz steak, ground pepper, 1 c baby spinach leaves, 1 plum tomato, 4 black olives, 1/4 of a red onion, 2 tbs olive oil, 1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar)

Day 2:

Breakfast: Poached eggs (1 plum tomato, 1/4 avocado, 2 medium eggs, 2 slices Canadian style bacon)

Lunch: Chef Salad (1 hard boiled egg, 3 oz tuna, 1 red pepper, 1 c steamed broccoli, 1/2 c tomatoes, 2 c lettuce greens, 1-2 tbs low fat ranch dressing)

Snack: Yogurt Crunch ( 1 c Greek style yogurt, dash of vanilla, 1 tbs chopped pecans)

Dinner: Tilapia (1 5-7oz tilapia or other white fish, 2 tsp olive oil, 1-2 tbs lemon juice, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1 tbs capers, 2 c arugula or other salad green, 1 tomato, 1 tbs low fat vinaigrette dressing)

Day 3:

Breakfast: Spinach Lox, Eggs & Onions (1 tbs olive oil, 5 large eggs, 1/4 tsp pepper, 5 oz smoked salmon, 1/4 of a red onion, 1 c baby spinach leaves, 1 tbs chives chopped--makes 3 servings)

Lunch: Chicken/veggie soup (3 tbs olive oil, 1 c onion, 1 tsp oregano, 2 cloves garlic, 4 c zucchini, 1 c carrots, 14 oz tomatoes, 32 oz vegetable broth, 1 1/2 c lima beans, 4 c baby spinach leaves--makes 4 servings)

Snack: Celery (2 celery stalks, 1 1/2 tbs almond butter)

Dinner: Turkey Burgers ( 1 pound ground turkey, 1/3 c black bean and corn salsa from a jar, 1 egg (mix the first 3 ingredients into patties, serve with tomato and avocado), 1 tomato, 1 avocado, 2-3 c brussel sprouts, 2 c baby carrots, 2 tbs olive oil (mix oil, sprouts and carrots together, roast on a cookie sheet @ 400 for 20 mins)-- makes 4 servings)

Day 4:

Breakfast: Poached eggs (1 plum tomato, 1/4 avocado, 2 medium eggs, 2 slices Canadian style bacon)

Lunch: Salmon Salad (2 tbs olive oil, 2 tbs lemon juice, 4 6oz wild salmon steaks, 8 cups mixed greens, 2 tomatoes, 1 yellow or orange pepper, 1 medium cucumber---makes 4 servings)

Snack: Hummus & Veggies (1/4 c hummus, 8 baby carrots, 1 red pepper)

Dinner: Steak ( 1 4oz steak, ground pepper, 1 c baby spinach leaves, 1 plum tomato, 4 black olives, 1/4 of a red onion, 2 tbs olive oil, 1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar)

Day 5:

Breakfast: Greek Yogurt (1 c plain nonfat Greek yogurt, 1-2 tsp ground cinnamon, 3 tbs roasted almonds)

Lunch: Chicken/ veggie soup (3 tbs olive oil, 1 c onion, 1 tsp oregano, 2 cloves garlic, 4 c zucchini, 1 c carrots, 14 oz tomatoes, 32 oz vegetable broth, 1 1/2 c lima beans, 4 c baby spinach leaves--makes 4 servings)

Snack: Hummus & veggies (1/4 c hummus, 8 baby carrots, 1 red pepper)

Dinner: Tilapia (1 5-7oz tilapia or other white fish, 2 tsp olive oil, 1-2 tbs lemon juice, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1 tbs capers, 2 c arugula or other salad green, 1 tomato, 1 tbs low fat vinaigrette dressing)

Day 6:

Breakfast: Spinach Lox, Eggs & Onions (1 tbs olive oil, 5 large eggs, 1/4 tsp pepper, 5 oz smoked salmon, 1/4 of a red onion, 1 c baby spinach leaves, 1 tbs chives chopped--makes 3 servings)

Lunch: Chef Salad (1 hard boiled egg, 3 oz tuna, 1 red pepper, 1 c steamed broccoli, 1/2 c tomatoes, 2 c lettuce greens, 1-2 tbs low fat ranch dressing)

Snack: Celery (2 celery stalks, 1 1/2 tbs almond butter)

Dinner: Turkey Burgers ( 1 pound ground turkey, 1/3 c black bean and corn salsa from a jar, 1 egg (mix the first 3 ingredients into patties, serve with tomato and avocado), 1 tomato, 1 avocado, 2-3 c brussel sprouts, 2 c baby carrots, 2 tbs olive oil (mix oil, sprouts and carrots together, roast on a cookie sheet @ 400 for 20 mins)-- makes 4 servings)

Day 7:

Breakfast: Poached eggs (1 plum tomato, 1/4 avocado, 2 medium eggs, 2 slices Canadian style bacon)

Lunch: Chef salad (1 hard boiled egg, 3 oz tuna, 1 red pepper, 1 c steamed broccoli, 1/2 c tomatoes, 2 c lettuce greens, 1-2 tbs low fat ranch dressing)

Snack: Yogurt crunch ( 1 c Greek style yogurt, dash of vanilla, 1 tbs chopped pecans)

Dinner: Tilapia (1 5-7oz tilapia or other white fish, 2 tsp olive oil, 1-2 tbs lemon juice, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1 tbs capers, 2 c arugula or other salad green, 1 tomato, 1 tbs low fat vinaigrette dressing)

Homemade Edible Fingerpaint

Homemade Edible Finger paint! Here are the instructions to make your own edible, homemade version with ingredients you already have at home.

Supplies:

• Flour
• Sugar
• Salt
• Food coloring
• Plastic cups

Add 2 T of sugar into a sauce pan.

Add 1/3 cup of flour to the saucepan as well

Mix with 2 cups of water and whisk until smooth. Turn on the heat and stir continually until the mixture thickens

Pour into your plastic cups equally. You'll need one cup for every color of paint you'd like to make.

Mix in a couple drops of food coloring and stir until completely dissolved. Let cool completely before using.