Meal Plan #9

I'm excited for this week's meal plan. I found some recipes that should be real winners with everyone in the house. Also, my mom is visiting this week so I should get a little help in the kitchen ;)

MONDAY: Chicken & Broccoli Pasta
Any meal that only requires one pot is one I'm willing to try!

TUESDAY: Salvatori's
It's J's birthday so she picked our favorite Italian restaurant for her birthday dinner

WEDNESDAY: Pulled Pork Tacos
Easiest recipe ever. Put pork loin in crock pot, dump in 1 jar of salsa. Cook all day, then shred. Assemble tacos with your favorite toppings.

THURSDAY: Veggie Chili
I'm hoping nobody will notice that this chili is missing the meat :) Peas & Crayons recipes never disappoint so I think this will go over well.

FRIDAY: Pita Pizzas
We've got pitas left over from last week so we'll use them as our crust so everyone can make their own individual pizza.

Happy Meal Planning!

5 on Friday

1. I'm looking forward to a couple hours of kid-free time tonight. The girls have movie night at school. Hopefully the husband and I can run out and buy J's birthday presents while they are there.

2. Feeling pretty impressed with myself that it's 2 full months into the year and I've already read 8 books. My goal for the year is 30 so I think I'm on track to hit that! You can follow my progress over there to the right ----> or on Goodreads.

3. Working out and eating properly is still a constant struggle for me. I thought this work challenge would help me get on the right track, but oh the temptations! I am very proud that I've managed to stay away from Diet Coke which is my kryptonite.

I've already downed 2 cups of water and did #jillianmichaels30dayshred - all before 9:30! #getfit #gethealthy #nikeshoes #abmlifeiscolorful #workinonmyfitness

A photo posted by Allison (@amazingmommy) on Feb 20, 2016 at 6:20am PST

4. I need to step up my outfit game for work and for play. I always love the trends, but never feel like I can pull them off. Instead I pin anything and everything that I like. I would live in jeans and yoga pants if that was acceptable. But I have client meetings during the week that I need to look nice for and on the weekends I don't want to look like a total slob. I see a shopping trip in my future.

5. After complaining last Friday that I still had Christmas wrapping paper laying around the spare bedroom I actually did something about it. I spent almost an hour cleaning out our spare bedroom which also acts as my craft/sewing room. I'm sure my Mom will appreciate it when she comes to visit next week. 

Happy Friday!

Meal Plan #8

Somehow this week's meal plan came together rather quickly. I saw a few new recipes that looked too good to pass up and everyone pitched in a few ideas. Some weeks I feel like I spend over an hour on the meal plan and nobody has any suggestions. It's nice to make up my grocery list quickly and everyone seems rather excited for the week ahead.
I'm hoping for a better week of eating for me, as I gained weight last week. Which doesn't work out so well for my competition at work. I'll be adding a side salad to each of my meals this week to help up my veggie intake. Wish me luck!

MONDAY: Meatloaf & Broccoli
I made the meatloaf on Sunday while doing some housework so all I need to do is cook the broccoli and reheat the meatloaf. Easy!

TUESDAY: Black Bean Quesadillas
I stumbled upon a new (to me) blog Budget Bytes and these quesadillas looked too good to pass up. Bonus: they are meat free!

WEDNESDAY: Daddy's Choice
I have an event at work until 6 so it's up to the husband to feed everyone dinner and take A to swim lessons.

THURSDAY: Greek Chicken Pitas
I wanted something easy but a shake up from a normal sandwich. Hopefully the kids find these pitas fun and delicious.

FRIDAY: Brinner
What's better than breakfast for dinner. The girls requested this one :)

Any exciting ideas I should add to next week's meal plan? I'm on the lookout for kid-friendly meat free meals.

Five on Friday

1. I'm actually on top of things this time around and already have the invites out for J's 6th birthday party which will take place the first weekend of March. This year we are doing a cookie themed party. The kids will get to decorate cookies and there will be a variety of cookies to eat. I am loving all the cute ideas I've found ... take a look.

2. Yesterday was National Drink Wine Day. It was necessary to celebrate with the girls in the office, especially since we added a new girl to the office.

I came to work prepared today for #nationaldrinkwineday

A photo posted by Allison (@amazingmommy) on Feb 18, 2016 at 8:47am PST

3. I still have a bunch of random Christmas and wrapping paper stuff lying around my spare bedroom. I should really get this cleaned up because I'm not ready to think about Christmas again.

4. It is going to be almost 60* today and that is just awesome. This weekend will be in the mid-50s as well. Yeah for Spring!

5. This weight loss challenge at work is really challenging. I ended up gaining a pound this week. :( I want to eat all the food. But I really am trying, heck I even worked out :)

Tomorrow is my 2nd weigh-in for my work weight loss challenge so I decided it was time to work out. #dontmindmycarpetlines #iworkout #jillianmichaels30dayshred

A photo posted by Allison (@amazingmommy) on Feb 11, 2016 at 4:20pm PST

Happy Friday everyone!

Meal Plan #7

Some weeks are so easy to put together and everyone has ideas of what should be for dinner. Other weeks, like this one, I struggle to find 5 things for us to eat. I'm continuing to try and find a healthy option for me out of a normal plan for the rest of the family. Week 2 of my work weight loss challenge put me down 1%. I'm just happy to see the number going down :)  So let's get to it ... the weekly meal plan!

MONDAY: Baked Potato & Salad Bar
All the fixin's for baked potatoes and to make your own salad. That means less work for me!

TUESDAY: Southwest Pasta
We're trying something new for Taco Tuesday, a southwest inspired dish. Don't tell my family but's it's meat free :)

WEDNESDAY: Chicken & Tomato Soup
As I was searching my crock pot board for something to eat, I let A scroll through and pick one that looked good. This was her selection. I do plan to halve this recipe as 8 chicken breasts is an awful lot for soup!

THURSDAY: Burgers & Fries
I wish I could grill out, but not in this weather. I'll make these burgers on the stove top instead.

FRIDAY: Leftovers
The pasta and soup will make enough for leftovers at the end of the week.

What's for dinner at your house?

Meal Plan #6

As I've been trying to eat healthier, we started a Biggest Loser competition at work. For week 1 I'm down 2.1% - wahoo! I'm always on the look out for ways to sneak healthy options into our meal plan. Here's this week's meal plan ...

MONDAY: Creamy Spinach Tomato Tortellini
This is our meat free meal this week - ravioli was requested by the girls, but I'm switching it up with tortellini instead.

TUESDAY: Mexican Lasagna
I haven't made this since the first time we tried this recipe. Everyone liked it, not sure why it took me so long to put it back on the meal plan!

WEDNESDAY: Make Your Own Wraps & Veggies
We usually do a crock pot meal for swim night, but we're switching it up this week! Everyone can make their own wrap and we'll have a variety of veggies with dip to go with it.

THURSDAY: Grilled Cheese Pizza Sandwiches
We've made these a few times and everyone is always happy at the end of dinner. Think pizza inside a grilled cheese.

FRIDAY: Tacos in a Bag
The girls have requested these every week for the past couple of months and I keep putting it off. I guess they get their way this week :)

What's for dinner at your house? Any new recipes I should try?

Currently #9

loving. that I have a massage, facial and manicure scheduled for next week
smelling. crock pot meals - I love coming home to dinner that is ready to go
writing. some blog posts here and there
reading. nothing. looking for my next book to read, any suggestions?
watching. old episodes of Hawaii 5-0 on Netflix - yes I'm lame.
craving. chocolate, why is it always chocolate?
obsessing. over Spring clothes - I can't wait to go shopping!
wishing. for warmer weather
needing. to deep clean my house - things are a hot mess from me being sick
wanting. to do some crafting, I haven't sewn in months
trying. to lose some weight - I entered the Biggest Loser competition at work, wish me luck!
eating. lots of veggies - it's a struggle to get excited about veggies
drinking. water and iced coffee - at least one of them is good for me
feeling. better but still not 100% me yet
hoping. this cough will go away soon
clicking. on all the blog posts - I love all the creativity out there

2016 Travel Bucket List

One of my favorite things about working is being able to take a vacation - is that wrong? But seriously, I love to travel and see new places. Last year we made it to every location on our list which was awesome. Lots of good memories! I feel like last year we had a good idea of what we wanted to do, this year ... well I'm struggling to plan our fun adventures.

Anniversary Trip to St. Lucia
Our 10 year anniversary is this June so we are celebrating in style with a mom and dad only trip to Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. I mean how gorgeous is this island?!

Gatlinburg, TN
I'd like visit Gatlinburg this year over Labor Day weekend. Get a nice little cabin ... enjoy the sights.

Cedar Point
The girls are both finally big enough to make a trip to Cedar Point worth while. J is tall enough to ride the big kid rides and won't be bummed out that she can't do what everyone else is doing. The best part is, we can do this over any weekend since we are so close.

Any other ideas? I think we'll probably do a lot of weekend adventures this year, so any place we can get to for the weekend isn't out of the picture yet!

Meal Plan #5

I'm not quite 100% feeling better, but I am at least 85% which is a huge improvement. This virus kicked my booty and then some. Making 5 meals this week seems like a huge undertaking since the last 2 weeks I was lucky to make 1 or 2. So with that in mind, I'm keeping things pretty simple.

MONDAY: Spaghetti and Salad
J has been requesting spaghetti for weeks so it's finally making it's way onto the meal plan

TUESDAY: Tacos
Nothing easier than Taco Tuesday

WEDNESDAY: Chicken a la King
Swim night means crock pot night - I hope everyone likes this Mix & Match Mama recipe

THURSDAY: Chili
I've been wanting to make chili for awhile now and my easy recipe means I can whip it up in under 20 minutes. If I'm feeling extra fancy I'll make some cheese toasties for dipping or maybe I'll put the kids in charge of that!

FRIDAY: Pancakes, Bacon & Eggs
I swear we don't eat breakfast for dinner every week, but the last 2 times I had it on the meal plan things fell apart. And who doesn't love a good brinner?!

I'm still sticking with the once a week meat free meal, this week it is Monday night. Happy Meal Planning!