the without sugar diaries

Day 1- hey everyone! As promised here is an update on my very first day NO SUGAR.
- I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't easy by any means. Do you know how much sugar is in... everything! Seriously, trying to find something for breakfast was the worst. Every kind of cereal we have, even the whole grain, tastes like card board stuff I normally eat because I think its better for me has it in the ingredients list! So I ended up with plain oatmeal with skim milk, but then it curdled...what?! How did that happen? so it went into the trash. Next up pineapple... there is a sweet fix right there! Delicious but so not filling.... no I ended up munching on some dry bran... yum :( I did pretty good though. My sister and her kids were coming over for awhile so I made them some cookies and didn't even eat one! yay me :) Then tonight again I made cookies and guess what I didn't do.... not have a cookie that's what! woo me! But I must confess... I had meatloaf, my meatloaf and my meatloaf has a brown sugar and ketchup glaze... yum! I wasn't even thinking about the no sugar thing at the time, granted my piece was pretty tiny but still it was sugar so it counts :( gosh I didn't even make it past day 1 haha oh well...tomorrow is another day with no mistakes in it. I love Anne of Green Gables <3

some random thoughts...

1. I have an addiction. An addiction to Pinterest. Have you tried it? It's a site where you can pin photos to a board of foods you want to make, to a new style of clothes you want to try out, diy projects your interested in to places you want to visit. I love it. So much fun!

2. It's officially fall. Though the past few days, its not feeling so much like fall as it is July. Wow the humidity!

3. This past weekend my husband and I ( who are youth leaders at our church ) took the Youth Group on a day trip to a theme park. It was a lot of fun and the teens all seem to have a great time. I am not a big roller coaster fan, used to be until I got pregnant, now they scare me, it's weird. I did go on the cork screw rollercoaster. I will admit, I cried before it took off, but once going through it, I actually wanted to go again. It was fun. My husband was right. He most usually is. ;)

4. My family and I have a fall bucket list I found online and printed off. It has things to do from a photoshoot in the leaves to carving pumpkins... starting in October we are going to do a few things from the list each weekend....I can't wait!

5. I am wondering how well I will do on this no sugar diet for the next two weeks... I heard it will give me energy... I hope so, I NEED IT!

the no sugar challenge dun dun dun

For the next two weeks I will be doing something I am dreading, something I know will require me to use all my will-power, something I know will NOT be easy.... I will be be doing the NO SUGAR challenge. Dun Dun Dun! What does this mean exactly? well, it means for two long weeks I will NOT being putting into my body any drinks with added sugar, sweets or anything with sugar as an ingredient. What's the reason behind this you ask? well, there are many health benefits to doing this. You can also lose weight, and gain more energy.... sounds good to me! So starting tomorrow morning I will go about this experiment and journal daily my thoughts, frustrations ( its inevitable there will be some) and my results. Wish me luck!

legend of the Super Mom

Some times I feel like I have it all put together. I am completely organized and everything is just going so smoothly. My son is on his best behavior, all is right with the world.

Then there are other days when I just feel like I have no clue what I am doing! I get stressed easily. I am sure every Mom has felt this at one point, if not many times throughout the week like me. With a toddler to care for, trying to be a good wife for my husband, with church duties and family I feel pulled in many different directions at times. Times like today. Times when I need to sit, breathe and pray. With God all things are possible!

Those days that seem to go so wonderfully are a gift from God and possible by His grace, it is nothing I am doing, because I am NOT perfect. When those rough, hard to deal with days come, we need to praise God for those good days and truly even on my worst day it could be A LOT worse!

Menu Plan ( for the next 2 weeks )

Fall is officially almost here, although here at home it has looked like fall for the past 2 weeks ;)

It is starting to get cooler which means....SOUPS! yum. We are still on a very small budget, so I am having to get super creative and find meats I can get a few meals out of. I still want to feed my family the healthiest and less processed stuff though so it does get very challenging but I really want and need to stick to my budget. Here is what I am planning:

Dinners:

Garden Vegetable Soup ( will make a big batch and freeze the rest for later, which will save money another week)

Pepperoni Calzones (made with homemade sauce, and homemade dough with whole wheat flour)

Ham and Potato soup ( does not freeze well but will make yummy leftovers and for a husband who hates veggies this is perfect!)

Tacos ( made with homemade shells and taco seasoning)

Chicken Legs w/Mashed Potato and Veggies

Oven Roasted Chicken ( going to use the meat leftover for soup and Burritos)

Buffalo Subs ( going to make up 2 of these to freeze for a quick meal later)

BBQ Subs ( going to make 2 of these as well for later, so easy for a Sunday afternoon)

Meatloaf w/ Mashed Potato and Veggies

Snacks:

Homemade microwave popcorn

Apples w/ homemade peanut butter

Homemade Applesauce

Veggies with homemade ranch dip

Breakfasts:

Pumpkin Muffins

Homemade English Muffin Bread egg sandwiches

Chocolate Muffins

Desserts:

Apple Pie

Vanilla Icecream with homemade fudge sauce

a cleaning schedule that works! yes!

I used to have a pretty long list of everything I thought I needed to get done all in one day, which left me upset when I couldn't accomplish it or too tired and stressed if I did. I was trying to put too much into 24 hours... being the best Mom I could, a good Wife to my Husband when he returned home from work, did a lot for church, cooked and baked daily. It has just gotten all so overwhelming!

So this past Monday I sat down and came up with a list that I had hoped would work better. Following this has been easier then I thought and harder at the same time. It is hard for me not to do all the major housework every day but you know what, having that free time in the evenings after dinner is wonderful!!

Here is what's working for me and hopefully if there are those out there like I once was you will get some inspiration to redo your own cleaning schedule.

MONDAY

Big Laundry Day

(such as all bedding, rugs etc.)

Big Vacuuming day ( I try to do a light vacuum daily)

(I don't vacuum on the weekends so once Monday comes around it is most definitely needed!)

TUESDAY

Mopping all floors

Deep Clean Kitchen

( things such as clean out frig, a really good sweeping, comet on the sink that sort of thing)

WEDNESDAY

Deep Clean Bathroom

( Flush, Tub)

THURSDAY

Grocery Shopping Day if needed

Freezer Baking Day

FRIDAY

Laundry Day

( anything that needs to be washed for the weekend and Church on Sunday)

Dusting Day

Company Day

( prepare for dinner guests if applies)

SATURDAY

Fix up day around home

Church paperwork printing

Clean Car

EACH DAY I HAVE MY DAILY CHORES TOP 6

Dishes

Make Beds

Trash out

Bathroom Wipe Down

Sweep floors and quick vacuum

Quick kitchen wipe down

I do this early morning and whatever is on the weekly schedule for that day and then I am done! :)

An expert at sewing I am NOT

Last night my Hubby, our baby and me went to Mardens to just look around. Well I immediently got side tracked in the fabric department. I have been wanting to redo our bulletin board and some living room throw pillows. After about an hour of trying to decide what looks good with what and pricing it all, I ended up with 2 different fabrics. One for 1.99 the other for 1.29. Both are funky and cozy, just my style :) So today I went to my parents in laws house, to use my mother in laws sewing machine and to get some help with this project. ( I am clueless when it comes to sewing anything, even buttons. Though I can manage to get one on but it doesnt stay there very long :( .... ) Well after about 1 1/2 hours, this is what they look like.... not the best sewing job out there but I think they look beautiful :)

thoughts and ramblings...

1. I have taken out the fall decorations. Is it too early? I don't care if it is, I adore autumn! Setting out the pumpkins and hanging the leaf garland, it all just makes my home look so cozy!

2. I have been having such a fun time looking through cookbooks and searching online for cool weather meals ( soups, casseroles etc. )

3. I am in the process of training for a marathon. Two of my neices, my husband and I are going to register for one in the end of October. I havent ran since before getting pregnant, over 2 years ago! Wish me luck!

4. I am getting nervous about the thought of potty training. My son just turned two and has showed some interest but I still don't think he is ready yet.

ok well this is all I have to say for now...

something new

Today I picked up some fabric at Mardens for only 1.29 and re did the bulletin board over the desk and tomorrow will use the rest to cover and old pillow :) LOVE this fabric, so funky! What do you think?

I heart Chocolate Cobbler

This Cobbler...oh what wonderful goodness on plate! This is such an easy, throw together dessert. I make it for church dinners, it is very often requested.

Make this today please! You will be so happy you did :) oh and....YOUR WELCOME ;)

Chocolate Cobbler

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoons salt
• 7 tablespoons cocoa powder, divided
• 1 ¼ cup sugar, divided
• ½ cup milk
• ⅓ cup melted butter
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1-½ cup hot tap water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

First stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 3 tablespoons of the cocoa, and 3/4 cup of the white sugar. Reserve the remaining cocoa and sugar.

Stir in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Pour the mixture into an ungreased 8-inch baking dish.

In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining white sugar (1/2 cup), the brown sugar, and remaining 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the batter.

Pour the hot tap water over all. Do not stir!

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is set.

Let stand for a few minutes. Serve with homemade ice cream using the gooey sauce to spoon over all.

Homemade but oh so very easy TOMATO SOUP

Over Labor Day weekend my family and I went on a little vacation to Vermont. My husband is from there and still has a lot of family that still live in Vermont, so we stayed with his Grandparents. They are seriously the sweetest folks, so funny and loving. Grampy sent me home with some goodies from the garden ( yum!) Lots and lots of tomatoes and red and green peppers. He also gave me a 25 pound bag of bread flour because I love to bake :) See I told you, SO loving.

So, today since I have been blessed so abundently with lovely straight from the garden tomatoes, I decided to make some homemade tomato soup. Confession, I was a little nervous. I have never made tomato soup and after searching the internet for recipes it just seemed so difficult. So, by taking inspiration from many different recipes I came up with my own.

This uses minimal ingredients, patience to wait the three hrs while it simmers, and a blender.

Here is the recipe:

6 large tomatoes, chopped

1 tbl. Onion Powder

1/2 tsp and 1/4 tsp sea salt.

let it come to a boil then simmer for about 3 hrs.

after cooked put into blender and blend until smooth.

add:

1/2 cup cream cheese

1 cup milk

dash of pepper

1 tbl. sour cream

blend together.

ENJOY!!