Pretty Princess

Thank goodness Taylor is a girlie girl! Her new favorite thing is a tutu! At a birthday party last weekend all the girls got tutus and as soon as she put hers on she said, "look mommy, I princess." And then she does a princess turn! It's so cute!

Chasing the birthday girl!

Girls are so fun!

12 Week Countdown

Hello blog readers... if any of you are still out there!

It's been a while, yes, and i know I said that last time. I'm hoping to re-connect with my blog and share with you an exciting adventure I'm embarking on! Some of you already know, but for those who don't, I have decided to compete in a fitness competition. Sounds crazy... I know. But a girl needs some goals, right? 

I promised some of you that I would keep you updated on my workouts and diet, so I'm going to PROMISE to update my blog weekly with this information, and hopefully blog about everything else going on in my life... like this cute thing!

She was saying "cheese" and bouncing off the walls in this picture!

So, back to the fitness competition. I'm doing the bikini portion of the competition which requires an overall lean toned look, not big huge body builder muscles. The hardest thing for me will be walking across stage in a bikini. But I'm sure once this is over and I transform my body I will have no problem doing so.

Ok, so here it is... the dreaded "before pic." I can't believe I'm posting it, but I want everyone to see where I started, and where I end. I will have 12 weeks to complete my transformation, so I'll post progress pics along the way as well. 

Current Weight: 134 (I'm 5'7")

Body Fat: 15.7%

Right now, my diet looks as follows:

1600 calories

18g fat

140 g carbs

220 g protein

Here's what a typical day for me looks like

a.m. 1 scoop protein powder w/water

brast: 6 egg whites, 1/2 c oatmeal w/cinnamon, black coffee

post workout: 2 scoops protein powder, apple

lunch one: 3 oz chicken, 1/2 c brown rice, 3 oz asparagus

snack: 1 scoop protein powder

lunch 2: 3 oz chicken, 1/2 c brown rice

dinner: 4 oz fish or shrimp, 1 c broccoli, 5 strawberries

snack: 1 scoop protein, or 5 egg whites

It seems like a lot right now, but I will be pulling things out along the way, which my trainer will instruct me on.

Workouts right now are 5 days a week, typically 1 hour/day. One day of legs, a day of back & biceps, a day of shoulders, chest, & triceps, a day of total body, and a day of cardio. This will change throughout the process as well. 

Ok. Now that that's over, I'm off to bed! Leave me a comment of encouragement... PLEASE!!!!!

Time

Has it really been a month since I've blogged?

Sorry for my absence... if there is anyone out there still reading. 

I've been caught up in life and just haven't felt like jotting any of it down. Some of it has been captured on camera, others are just memories, equally special none the less. 

These two have been spending LOTS of time together.

Maybe too much! Taylor seems to "enjoy" beating up on Jackson. I feel like every 5 seconds I'm saying, "Taylor, don't hit Jackson," "Taylor, say sorry," "Taylor, do you want to go to time-out?" Ugh! I feel like a broken record! Then she just smiles, it melts your heart, and who could stay mad at that?

Paul's mom flew in from Florida and stayed for a week before heading to Poland to visit her family. We had a great time (although I didn't take many pictures). I just wish his parent's still lived close by. I hate that they miss so much of Taylor growing up!

And lastly, Taylor is really developing some major personality. She's so funny! And so smart! She loves being with me, singing, dancing, and talking. I swear, she never stops! Every week it seems like her language skills get better and better. She is putting more and more words together at a time, and really starting to pronounce syllables. I'm always so amazed and feel so blessed to call her mine!

Sweet Treats

We are heading to Lake Somerville tomorrow to go camping with my sister and some of their friends for Memorial Day weekend. I just HAD to make something sweet to share with the fellow campers, and what better then a cookie my mom used to make for us when we went camping as a child. Her famous, No Bake Cookies. Seriously, these are sooo easy and the BEST cookie in the entire world, that is if you are a chocolate lover! And who isn't?



*Please excuse my iphone pictures. Didn't feel like getting out the big camera.*

I also decided to make Cowgirl Cookies, which is the cookies I made as party favors for Taylor's 1st birthday. Here's the recipe for both!

Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend! I know we will!

Chocolate No-Bake Cookies
1 stick of butter
2 c sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 c milk (any kind)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
5 c minute oatmeal

In a small bowl combine sugar and cocoa powder. Set aside.
In a pot, melt butter over high heat. Add sugar/cocoa mixture and milk. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil. Once mixture is boiling, let it boil for about 30 seconds and KEEP STIRRING!
Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Mixture will thicken. Spoon onto wax paper and allow to dry. Voila! No-Bake Cookies!

Cowgirl Cookies
(recipe from Bakerella)

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup m&ms
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 – 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional, I didn't use)

1 slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup butter (melted slightly in the microwave)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350. Mix first set of ingredients in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Spoon onto baking sheet (I use a silpat mat which keeps cookies from burning). I make about 1 1/2" balls. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool on a rack and enjoy!

Missing My Baby

Last weekend we attended a wedding in Galveston, so we dropped Taylor off at my parent's house on the way. As hard as it was saying goodbye to my baby, I needed a weekend getaway. 

Obviously by the looks of this picture, she had a great time!

And when we got home to Austin, Taylor did something amazing! She counted to 10! Literally! I'm not kidding! I started to count her toy cookies and I said one and she immediately followed with two, three, four, and so on! Paul happened to walk in the room at that very moment and we were both so proud of our girl!

Taylor is getting so big and becoming a little lady. She always says please and thank you. If she hits you she will say, I'm sorry mommy, or daddy, or Max, or whoever she just hit. Sometimes I think she likes to hit just so she can say sorry!

She is always saying, "Daddy, are you?" (where are you), "Max, are you?" It's so cute! My heart melts every time she opens her mouth. She loves to put more than one word together at a time and I'm sure she'll be speaking sentences by the time she's 2!

Ok, enough bragging about my girl (but what mother doesn't!). I just LOVE my Tay Tay to pieces!

Bachelorette Cake

A few weekends ago I made a cake for a bachelorette party my sister was attending. I had ideas in my head of this tiered cake with cascading hearts. BIG ideas. None of which got executed. There were hearts, but none cascading. Tiers? Does one count? I mean, it is a double layer. 

So it may not have been the prettiest cake, but it got rave reviews. And that's all that matters, right?!?

White Cake

Lemon Curd Filling

Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend with Paul and Taylor.  We ended up celebrating on Saturday instead of Sunday. Our day started with a nice workout at the gym, a nap for Taylor, then we all headed out to Driftwood for some food and wine. Taylor was pretty good, except when it was time to eat. She lasted about 30 minutes at the table before she wanted down. We decided to eat in shifts and let her play outside. Not the most enjoyable, but it worked. Next time we will order pizzas and sit outside with our wine and eat. Lesson learned. 

Taylor and I before heading out

Walking up to Driftwood Winery

Playing in the fountain at Duchman Winery (formerly Mandola's)

Picking flowers

Walking through Duchman Winery

OUTSIDE PLEASE!!!

Sitting at the table at Trattorina Lisina. Almost had enough!