Monday, April 25, 2011

The Corner Count!

Last meeting I got at 3-month food journal where you actually write down what you ate (instead of on iPhone like I did)! It worked! I wrote everything that I at this past week (except Easter)! I am so proud that I kept up with it all week, now on to the next week.

I didn’t get to go to the gym at all this week due to my mom being out of town. She went to Florida and left me here, oh well I guess that’s what happens when you grow up.

Recipe of the Week:

Cheesy Chicken

6 Servings, 5 PointsPlus per serving

2 cans fat-free cream of chicken soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
garlic powder, season salt, salt and pepper to taste
6 (4 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Place chicken in a crockpot sprayed with non-stick spray. Mix soups and spices. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on Low six to eight hours.

Good over baked potato, noodles, or rice (be sure to count extra PointsPlus for these!)

So now its time for the weekly weigh in. This week I lost -2 lbs. for a total of 9.8lbs. AND…. I HIT 5% WEIGHT LOSS SINCE I STARTED JAN 31!


Check back next week to see how I do!

Happy Crafting,
Alley Cat

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Eggs

Happy Easter Everyone!

A few days ago I went to my cousin's house and I took her kids to eat and then we dyed Easter eggs. It was fun for me because I had not dyed eggs in many years.

 
Hope you enjoy.

Happy Crafting,
Alley Cat

Saturday, April 23, 2011

The Perfect Pair

I made a couples shower cake for a friend the other day. I was not very pleased with it but they all loved it. I thought it was to plain.

The little feet/flip flops on the side of the cake are chocolate mints.



(Yes, the flip flops were new. Not from a shoe store that had been tramped all over the store. I pulled them out of there plastic bag.)

Hope you enjoy!

Happy Crafting,
Alley Cat

Friday, April 22, 2011

Teacher of the Year!

So my crafting buddy just got Teacher of the Year! I made this card to congratulate her.

It was all made from Create a Critter.


I really enjoyed this card! I hope you all did as well!

Happy Crafting,
Alley Cat

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Easter Towel

I have been working on my Easter towels for this Easter. I am not going to be getting them out as soon as I had hoped but oh well.


Hope you enjoy!

Happy Crafting,
Alley Cat

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Happy Birthday To You

This is a birthday card I made for a friend yesterday; it will be late because her birthday was yesterday. Oops! But I am sure she will like it eve if it’s late.

It was made completely with Create a Critter. It was all cut out at 3.5 inches. I did some welding on my Gypsy to make the card as well. The glitter is Elmer’s 3D Classic Glitter I found that was mine as a child! It was not dried up I was really surprised so I have a rainbow of colors now.


Hope you enjoy!

Happy Crafting,
Alley Cat

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A Lovely Easter To You

Here is this years Easter card!


Hope that you all enjoy it and have a lovely Easter!

Happy Crafting,

Alley Cat

Like No Udder

I have not made to many cards lately or I have not uploaded them. So I thought I would upload this one for everyone to see.

I used Create a Critter and Plantin SchoolBook Circuit Cartridges. The Cow was cut out at 3 inches and the barn at 2 inches. The grass was a scrap and I don’t remember what I cut it out at. Sorry! Forgive me!

Hope you enjoy!


Happy Crafting,
Alley Cat

Monday, April 18, 2011

The Corner Count

Tracking has been better but not perfect. I have tracked everything today! We will see if I can keep it up. This week’s lesson was on tracking, so I got some good tips. Also, I got the 3 month tracker so I can actually write it down instead of putting it in my phone. My plan is to leave it on the counter with a pen so I can track as I eat.

I went to the gym three days last week. Then one day I babysat three boys for 8.5 hours so I did some moving then, and Saturday I went to an art festival in my town. It was so much fun, very cold but so much fun. I got lots of exercise in this last week, hope to keep it up this week.

Recipe of the week:

Crescent Cheese Dogs


8 servings, 4 points plus per serving

1 (8 oz.) tube Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls
1 (14 oz.) package Fat Free Hotdogs
4 slices 2% cheese in flavor of your choice (I used American)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the hotdogs to within ½ inch of the ends. Cut each slice of cheese in half, and then fold each piece in half lengthwise (you should have 8 slices of doubled cheese). Place the cheese into the center of each hotdog. Wrap 1 crescent dough triangle around each hotdog. Place on an un-greased cookie sheet (make sure the cheese side is up) and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

So now its time for the weekly weigh in. This week I lost -1 lbs. for a total of -7.8lbs.

Check back next week to see how this week goes.

Happy Crafting,
Alley Cat

Friday, April 15, 2011

The Corner Count

I have had an ok week this week. Still working on the tracking but over all ok.

I only went to the gym once but did go on some long walks and runs around my house.

Recipe of the Week:

Sweet Brown Bread

12 pieces, 2 points plus per slice

1 and ¼ cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp grated orange or lemon zest
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
½ cup low-fat buttermilk
1 egg
3 tablespoons molasses
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Spray loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, orange zest, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, molasses, and brown sugar. Pour over the flour mixture, mixing quickly to blend (do not over mix).

Transfer to the pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Cool completely on a rack.

So now time for the weekly weight in! This week I stayed the same for a total loss of -6.8lbs.

We will see how next week goes!

Happy Crafting,
Alley Cat

Coke Can Earrings

My new creation is coke can earrings! They are a bit dangerous. You have to make sure you are cutting them and they are not cutting you. After you get everything cut out they are very quick to put together and you can put them in any combo you would like.


I am now on the hunt for unusual cans. That way I can have lots of new color combos and fun stuff.

Happy Crafting,
Alley Cat

Friday, April 8, 2011

The Corner Count!

I promise that I have not left you; it has just been a bit of a mess around here lately. My grandmother fell and had to have surgery (she has 16 staples in her knee) and so I had to go out of state to take care of her for a week. She was taking care of my aunt who had a freak accident not to long ago. She was walking outside her house and fell on some ice and her Velcro watch slit her wrist. She has already had to have two surgeries and is facing more. She has no use of her hand right now; we are hoping that she will regain use of her hand soon.

Now back to it!

I did try the wagon wheel beef soup. It was SO good! I did it a little different then the recipe said to, I made mine completely in the crock pot, frozen beef and all! I also put a whole onion in, it was to much for me so I will be cutting that back. Overall I give it two thumbs up.

I had my first week of gain since starting weight watchers the week after I came home from my grandmothers. I took my food and cooked it there but I just took a lot of the same thing. I really felt like I was going to gain just because I was eating the same thing every day just about and I also put away a pound cake by myself over the week. (It was small!) I kind of feel like I am going to have another gain this week as I have been a little distracted and not tracking like I should have been. We will see!

This week’s recipe is Sausage and Been Casserole:

Yield: 8 Servings (serving size: 1 cup), 5 PointsPlus per cup

1 cup chopped onion
1 (16-oz) package light smoked turkey sausage, cut into ¼ inch-thick slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14-oz) can Fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 (16-oz) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 375.

Heat a Dutch oven or other large pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and turkey sausage to pan; sauté for 5 minutes or until browned. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in 2 tablespoons brown sugar, dried thyme, black pepper, cannelloni beans, and bay leaf. Add ground red pepper, if desired. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over bean mixture, and lightly coat with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until browned. Discard bay leaf. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.

*NOTE: I got this recipe from my leader and I realize that there are no breadcrumbs in the ingredients so I will ask her Monday how much breadcrumbs there should be.

Ok so time for the (multiple) weekly weight in!
3-21 I lost .2 lbs for a total of -7.8 lbs.
3-28 I gained 1.6 lbs for a total of -6.2 lbs.
4-4 I lost .6 lbs for a total of -6.8 lbs.

Goodness that was long but now I am caught up!

Happy Crafting,
Alley Cat