Happy Halloween

From the Hopper's! Please excuse my newlywedness totally just made that word up in the fact that I want to say this is our first Halloween together being hitched!

OK moment over and moving along..

We didn't dress up as anything this year but check out our costume a couple years ago--

Yup.. Snookie and Pauly D. 

Thank you again Coach for being such a good sport! 

Tonight we continued our pumpkin carving tradition right in the middle of our living room. I had saved our carving kit from last year and was trying to decide on what stencil to follow but wasn't really liking any of them. SOOO Coach encouraged me to be original and creative and to get to carving!! Well I'm not sure just how creative it is but here is our pumpkin!

I felt so loved with our assistants.

Coach wants to roast the seeds!

I've enjoyed seeing everyones costumes this year! 

Don't eat too much candy!

A Christmas Bazaar is Near

It is 56 days until Christmas. Can you believe that? It seems like yesterday it was JUST here. Does already having one gift technically count as officially starting my shopping? 

I mentioned in this post that me, Connie, and Judy were hosting a Christmas Bazaar at the salon. (The owner LOVES stuff like this.) Everything has started coming together! A couple of months ago, we all started putting some fall items out and a good, few many things have sold! 

Over the last few weeks, the salon has been "updated" with new items and in a couple of weeks it will really start looking like Christmas!

The bazaar will be held on Sunday, November 10th from 1-5. 

It will be a great time of fellowship filled with the Christmas spirit! And, you may even find something special for a loved one. 

I have seen more of the Christmas items and they are absolutely adorable.

If you are near the area we would love to have you! 

Check out some of what we have. Not everything is posted here. Please excuse the poor quality of the photos. These were taken with my phone for uploading to Instagram. I promise the next round will be much better! 

All the items are hand made with love.

SOLD

A couple ornaments SOLD.

SOLD

More to come soon!

My Food Prep Routine

On Sunday or Monday nights I spend a couple of hours food prepping for the week. I have become quite the Jamie Eason fan as you have read in this post and this one too and I'm really trying to follow her Live Fit Trainer  diet. She suggests you eat every 3 hours and five or six times a day to get your metabolism going. I can speak from experience that when I started eating these small meals and following her plan I could DEFINITELY tell a difference in mine(metabolism)! When I really stick to it and be ON TIME every 3 hours consistently, there are times when I feel like I am waiting on that 3 hour mark to eat. 

When I shop at the grocery store, I try and shop on the OUTSIDE of the store, not in the aisles where you are going to find mostly foods packed with preservatives. I also try and buy organic as much as I can and yes it can be pricey, but I don't mind paying for the extra AT ALL. I actually get really irritated when I can't find the organic foods I want. I will have to take a moment and brag on the Ingle's produce section because they have really stepped it up with more organic foods! 

If I could recommend one thing it would probably be to invest in a Biggest Loser Steamer. You can cook fish, chicken, veggies, eggs, steel cut oats, rice, and more. I have had mine for 5+ years and whenever it bites the dust I will be purchasing another one! 

The following is what I cooked last night for this week. I love Coach to grill my chicken for the week but when it's baseball season he is MIA so I just steam it. Since the chicken can get blah towards the end of the week I will only cook a couple of pieces if I know I will have time to cook us dinner in the middle of the week. Then I double up on it for the rest of the week (chicken or fish).

LOTS OF CONTAINERS READY! 

Jamie Eason recommends that you have 5 egg whites for breakfast. I am gagging by the 5th one so I stick to 4. It's just what works for me and I am full. Eggs take about 12-13 minutes to get done. 

I cut up everything...

... and then season it with Mrs. Dash Salt-Free Garlic and Herb (my favorite right now!), cook..

... then pack it up in your containers. 

I love blackberries and raspberries right now. Amber taught me to soak berries in distilled vinegar because it gets all the dirt off! Just running them under water doesn't do and don't worry.. your fruit will NOT taste like vinegar. I promise. Drain the vinegar, rinse them with water...

... separate and pack those up too! 

I also made the Jamie Eason Chocolate Protein Bars again and baked my sweet potatoes...

I SEPARATE THOSE INTO ZIPLOCK BAGS..

SWEET POTATOES WITHOUT THE SKIN. (just how I prefer it)

And I steamed my chicken and seasoned it with Old Bay. I love spicy foods.

I'll be honest and say there are times when I do slip up and make bad choices with food. I have a hard time saying 'no' to anything chocolate, (especially Reese's Cups), and carbs-- fresh breads, pastas, you name it. I can honestly say tho I have come a LONG way and these slip ups are fewer now than they have been in the past. 

I am always looking for new recipes and thanks to Danielle, she has introduced me to--

 Mix this up in a protein shake for a sweet treat.. It tastes JUST like a Butterfinger! Try it for yourself!! 

She has also introduced me to Peanut Butter Bites. LOVE THESE and they are great for a healthy dessert. The only problem I have with them is I cannot eat just one! I seriously have to control myself when I make these. 

I try and eat fruits before 3PM because of the sugar..

I eat a medium banana before I work out. Check out this article for explanation..

I try my best to eat within 30 minutes of waking up..

Drink LOTS of water!! (I am still working on this.)..

I have never fully understood the importance of food prep until I started doing it myself. You have prepared all the healthy foods for you to have during the week to help keep you on track and NOT reach for those bad foods. There are times when I dread being in the kitchen because it's not one of my favorite places to be for a long period of time.. but I make myself do it, because when I have these good foods for my body and make better choices I FEEL THE BEST!! 

It is a COMMITMENT and I have had to learn that on my own. 

Like I said earlier, there are times when I slip up.. I am human after all, but I pick back up on the next snack/meal!

Sunday Funday with Trio

Who could let this sweet boy almost starve to death before doing anything about it? That's how he was found in our pasture.. starved, ribs showing, and face sunken in. You can read more about it here. I don't know what his story was before he got with us but I am so happy Trio is with us! He is the most docile, sweet thing and he already came trained when it comes to commands and riding. What a blessing!

Yesterday we spent some time together and took a stroll around the pasture. It was so peaceful and relaxing if I do say so myself. 

How did you spend your Sunday?