If you have read my blog for any length of time you know that I love to cook and bake. Well I also love to read food blogs and get inspiration, recipes and ideas from them. Here are a few of my favorites.
1. Confessions Of A Cookbook Queen. I love Kristan's sense of humor and mad skills. She combines humor with some pretty kick butt recipes! She makes her food look and sound delicious and always has some story to tell.
5. I am Baker What can I say about Amanda the brains behind this site? Well she is crazy talented and such a sweet lady. I can tell from her site and interacting with her on twitter that she is one amazing lady.
6. Skinnytaste This has been a go to site for low fat dinners during my weight loss journey. Not only are they fairly easy to prepare but they taste good too. I love how she includes calorie content and portion sizes.
Day Two is about the TV shows that I like to watch. This was a hard one for me to narrow down to just 10. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to do my all time favorite shows or the current shows or what so I just did a mixture of shows I watched now and shows I watched back in the day.
1. Gilmore Girls is my top number 1 all time favorite show EVER. I love love LOVE this show! I was so sad to see it end. I watch the episodes on DVD repeatedly!!
3. Grey's Anatomy. This has been a favorite of mine since it very first started. I love that my second husband, Patrick Dempsey, is one of the main characters!
4. Parenthood. This is a new favorite of mine. It is a fairly new show and I started watching it solely because Lauren Graham from Gilmore Girls is in it, so I was very pleased that I actually like watching the show!
8. America’s Next Top Model. Brian and I have been watching this show since the very beginning. I remember sitting in our very first apartment together glued to the TV! Don’t judge. This show makes me laugh and I love the photography aspect and just watching the crazy girl drama that there is EVERY season.
Erin over at Bless This Nest did this series called 10 Day You Challenge and I thought it was a wonferful idea so I wanted to do it too. I decided to change it up a bit though. Instead of a countdown I will pick a topic each day for 10 days and list 10 things about that topic. I have been crazy busy lately and in kind of a blogging rut. Well not exactly a rut. I have tons of things I want to blog about just no time to actually write a post. My birthday is coming up so I thought no better time than now to do this!
Alrighty so day 1 is about secrets. This is a tough one for me. If I tell you 10 of my secrets then...well they won't be secrets anymore. Oh well here it goes!
1. I hate getting my hands dirty, wet or really anything on them. I cannot stand getting any sort of liquid on my hands whether it is hot, cold, wet, sticky, you name it...it gives me the willies. I wash my hands a ton! But here is the weird thing...Lotion doesn't bother me and in fact I have to use alot of it because of all the hand washing.
2. I like to rock out to the song "Pocket Full of Sunshine" Easy A style. I know it's embarassing right?!?!?!
3. As much as I hate playing second fiddle to my husband I find it completely endearing the way that Lauren loves him so much. I am so glad that they have that father/daughter relationship that so many young girls get deprived of. She is the apple of his eye as he is hers.
4. Sometimes I feel like I have no direction for my life at all. I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up! I have worked for the same company for 9 years and have moved around and up a little bit but I know that it is not what I want to spend my life doing.
5. I really love photography but I don't think that it will ever be more than a hobby. I do not have the luxury of extra time to take classes and hone my skills. I have had to cut back on the number of photoshoots that I can do because editing the pictures takes too much time from my family. Also if I were a professional I am not willing to give up my nights and weekends to photoshoots and I know that it is a big part of the business. Every once in a while is one thing but all the time is completely another. But maybe one day.
6. I LOVE Oreos. If you follow me on Pinterest I have a board dedicated just to them. So many recipes to try, too many calories to consume!
7. I wish that I had learned to sew and crochet or knit. My mom tried to teach me several times and I never could get the hang of it so I didn't keep on trying. I should have been more persistent and I am really kicking myself now!
8. Despite my lack of sewing abilities I know how to cross stitch.
9. I used to play the piano and the trumpet. I however am not very musically inclined so I was pretty awful at both!
10. 4 of my front teeth are fake. They got knocked out in a bicycle accident when I was just starting my 6th grade year. I was riding a bike, hit some gravel and went flying over the handle bars. I broke off parts of the 4 top front teeth and had gravel lodged in my gums. I had to have surgery to repair my gums not once but twice and had to have porcelain composites done on my teeth to fix them.
Only this wasn't the first time one of my front teeth had gotten knocked out. When I was in fourth grade we were doing our tumbling section in gym glass. I was running on the gym floor with just my socks on, slipped, fell and hit my mouth knocking out one of my front teeth. My dentist loves the work I give him!
Sorry for my lack of posting lately. I have been busy and uninspired. So I am reposting this recipe. Fall is in the air! I love all things soups, chilis, chowders. :) This recipe really should be chowder because it is so lick and DELICIOUS!!
In a large pot, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat: saute the onions until clear.
Add the carrots and the meat
Stir in basil and parsley. Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are tender.
Melt the remainder of butter and stir in flour. Add the milk, stirring until smooth.
Gradually add milk mixture to the soup, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Stir in cheese. When cheese is melted, add sour cream and heat through. Do not boil.
I finally got to check out Something Borrowed from the library after being on the waiting list forever! I refuse to see the movie until I have read the book even though I am sure that I will be disappointed by the movie since books are usually always better! But I am going to watch it anyways. I like Kate Hudson so I know it will be worth it.
Anyways if you remember I have already read Something Blue that is the sequel/sister book of Something Borrowed.
Something Borrowed is told from Rachel's perspective. {Something Blue is from Darcy's} She is a lawyer in New York, a self sacrificing friend who suddenly finds herself in love with her best friend's finance and to make matters worse he reciprocates those feelings! Parts of the book had me shaking my head, other parts had me biting my nails in suspense. In some ways I see alot of myself in Rachel, not the cheating with my best friend's soon to be husband part, but the part about her turning 30, always being the good girl and always doing the right thing. Even though Darcy was Rachel's best friend she was always living in her shadow. They are always competing with one another and Darcy always has to upstage Rachel so I found myself cheering for her when she finally stood up for herself in numerous instances but I was a little sad that it took having an affair to bring that out in her. But I do think that Emily Giffin brought this very sensitive subject to a whole new light, makes you think that sometimes people really aren't who you thought they were. I love how the two books together explore the unique relationship between two women who have known each other their entire lives and how growing up together can sometimes give people different notion of who each other are. You still see them as how they were when you were younger in middle school or high school and not for who they have become.
I will say though that I think I like Something Blue better and I am not 100% sure as to why that is. Maybe because Something Borrowed delves more into the infedelity than Something Blue does and Darcy really turns her life around in Something Blue. In the end I did enjoy this book as I have all of Emily Giffin's.
Along this road to a healthy weight I am learning so many things.
How many calories are in what food.
How many calories can I burn doing which exercises.
When I eat better I FEEL better.
And so on and so on. I try one thing, it doesn't work as well as I would like, so I try something else and I lose weight so I stick to that. Sometimes I get bored and like to change it up but overall what I have found is that
- Exercise is key
- Counting my calories is key.
- Cutting portion size is key
- Limiting sweets, potatoes, cheese and all the stuff that I love to bake and therefore love to eat is key.
The main thing is that along this journey I am learning things about myself. When I first started out to lose weight I made excuses. I hated....HATED to exercise. Sometimes even the thought of going on a walk with the kids was too much for me. So when I now am able to say that I am exercising and AH! I ENJOY IT!!! I can hardly believe that I am the same person. When I exercise I can almost feel the weight melting off. I don't know how to explain it. I wake up in the morning feeling lighter and relieved. I can tell when I have slacked off on the new healthy eating habits that I have adapted and when I haven't exercised. I feel sluggish, tired and well just plain fat, then I get back to the exercising routine, eat better and I feel amazing. I have more energy, I feel more confident and better about myself.
As I mentioned above it is not all sunshine and roses. I have days that I want to eat everything in sight. Days that I can't say no to the most random foods that are calling my name. Chex Mix...seriously...why do I want to eat you? Red Velvet Cake Donuts in the store bakery, you are killing me!
The last week or so was very hard for me. I had several of the days where I wanted to eat everything and I didn't do as well on my calorie goal as I should have. I went over several days and was disappointed in myself. However this past week I had an epiphany or two and this has led me to my plan of attack!!
- if I am hungry I will eat so that I am not so completely starving that I eat things that I shouldn't because they are easily accessible.
- Breakfast is important and I should eat it BEFORE I leave the house. It is far too easy for me to want to pick up breakfast on my way to work and I may not always make the wisest choice. However if I eat before I leave the house or at least grab something to eat on the way I am less tempted to get something else and I for sure will not eat anything extra if I have already eaten breakfast.
- I have stocked a few low calorie meals in the freezer for those days when I don't have left overs. I take those to work with me so that I will not be tempted to eat out.
- Some sort of daily exercise for me is important. It keeps me in the routine. It is so easy to slack off for one day and then the next and the next. If I am consistent about doing something on a daily basis I have been more likely to stick with it. Plus it is easier for me to do it day after day rather than start back up after missing a few days.
Even though last week I had some not so good days I stuck with it and got back on the horse even though I didn't exercise as much as I should have. So when I stepped on the scale yesterday and was just TWO pounds shy of having lost 40 pounds I was least to say ecstatic. What made it even better was putting on a pair of pants this morning that are two sizes smaller than what I have been wearing and I have room to spare! I haven't worn these pants since before I was pregnant with Lauren. I love being able to sit down in a pair of pants and not see my stomach bulge or fear that I am going to bust the button off!
I still have a long way to go but I am over HALF WAY to my total weight loss goal and with the way that I feel mentally and physically right now I know that I can make it!
I am no longer drowning in the sea of wedding photos! That’s right I am done editing and the CD has been delivered!
I think I did pretty good. The wedding was three weeks ago today and I was done on Wednesday. That is definitely the fastest I have ever turned out a wedding.
Last week we went on our annual visit to the pumpkin patch. It was 80 degrees the day we went! That just doesn’t seem right. We may have to go back once more during some real Fall weather.
We fed some goats and other animals.
I shot this picture of Colton and I think it is my new favorite.
Something Blue is the second book in the Darcy and Rachel saga. I like to be a rebel so I read it first. No actually I checked it out from the library and it became available before Something Borrowed.
Anyways its another book that I have read by Emily Giffin. Can I tell you again how much I love her writing? LOVE IT! I am sad that once I read Something Borrowed I will have read all of her books.
Ok so back to Something Blue it is a story about 2 best friends, Rachel and Darcy, who suddenly find themselves not best friends anymore. The main character for this book, Darcy, sets out on a journey of self discovery and learns so much and grows as a person over the course of the book.
I couldn't wait to get to the end to find out how it all worked out for her. But the main thing that I liked about the book is that I could relate to the characters. Giffin tells the story so wonderfully that you are almost able to transport yourself right there into the situation. I said that once before when I read Love The One You're With that I felt like I was chatting with a girlfriend instead of reading a book; I felt the same way about this one. They are such easy reads but they always make me take a step back and think about things in my own life. I love how her writing does that without me really noticing. I am really looking forward to reading Something Borrowed that is told from Rachel's perspective. It has also been made into a movie but I am waiting to watch it until after I have read the book!
My name is Sonya and I am married to a wonderful man who is truly my best friend. I am the proud mommy of Lauren and our newest addition Colton! I love to cook, bake, read, scrapbook and I am a photography enthusiast. I also love to be around my large extended family. I have 4 nieces and 5 nephews.
Brian, is my wonderful loving husband. My best friend and the father of my children. He loves being a daddy, boxing, Muay Thai and working out.
Lauren is our 4 year old daughter. She loves her Daddy, running and being outside. She also is a big fan of "neighs" (horses). She amazes me everyday at all the new words that she can say and the new things she is learning. It blows my mind the things that she comes up with. She is such a great kid!
Colton, AKA, Little Man, is our newest addition to the family. He has brought us so much joy. Right now he loves to eat, sleep and is learning to walk. Colton was diagnosed with hip dysplasia at 6 weeks old and has been wearing a Pavlik Harness since 7 weeks. He wore the harness full time for 8 weeks and then part time for 6 weeks for a total of 14 weeks. Having hip dysplasia hasn't slowed him down one bit. He can crawl and has recently started walking
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