Home Sweet Home

Wow I can't believe it's 10pm and I am wide awake!!! I should be dead tired sense my body is still on TN time. O well I am glad that I have all this energy because I got so much accomplished. Here is a little recap of how half of the day went:

WE TRAVELED BACK IN TIME

We left TN this morning at 7 am, those Early flights always kill me. By the time we got through the security line, and were about to board my tummy starting growling. We were about to get on a 4 hour flight and I had an EMPTY stomach, tragic! So hubby was kind of enough to help me find the nearest Sbux( this week I learned that I am kinda of a Sbux addict on vacations, better then an alcoholic lol). I ordered a Perfect Bowl of Oatmeal, and a tall coffee with two pumps of peppermint my favorite holiday beverage of choice.

We had a very pleasant flight, I got my scarf done, read almost my entire book (which Nichols Sparks might be one of my favorite authors now) and I was able to organize my pictures on my laptop, something I have been meaning to do the whole trip. I forgot that I had a protein bar that the SIL gave me to try so I had that about half way into our flight, it wasn't too bad and kept me full until we landed.

aww he looks so peaceful:)


On our one hour layover, we ate at this nice restaurant in the Phoenix airport can't remember the name it's famous for it's whiskey ( something I DO NOT enjoy, a bad college experience). I had a Lobster Salad, loved it..and I snuck a few of hubby's fries of course. There was a lot of egg on it, I only ate one half because the egg was also shopped up all over the salad.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

My wonderful mother picked us up from the airport, and I was hoping we could just hang out at her place and have leftovers, sadly they had NONE!!! Four boys and a father will do that to you.

I snacked on a 1/4 of a Cherry Pretzel PROBAR ( it was dinner time for us even though it was onnly 3pm), this one was good but a little too salty for me. When we got home, Bosco was so thrilled to see us, or should I say we were so THRILLED to see him! The minuet we opend the front door I was suprised with several boxes on the porch, goodies for the POTM challenge!

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS

We settled in and hubby already got to the laundry, that's right he's a little OCD like that, but that's why I love him;) Like hubby like wifey the minuet we walked in, I started cleaning out the fridge and the pantry to make a grocery list for the week. There is something about a clean fridge that is invigorating. Call me crazy but I love to clean out my fridge, what makes you feel invigorated? After the fridge and pantry were done, I started putting away all the fall decorations and hubby brought out the SIX boxes of Christmas decorations, what can I say I LOVE CHRISTMAS! When I was a kid we would all get to decorate the tree while drinking hot coco and watching White Christmas. Did you, or do you have decorating family traditions? I got everything up, and when we get our tree tomorrow I will take pics so you can see how festive it all looks!

ACCOMPLISHED

Not only did I clean, and decorate, I also made our first home made meal in a WEEK ( Thanksgiving was homemade just not our home). I didn't have a lot to work with so I just kept it simple, I am going shopping in the morning. For hubby it was turkey sloppy joes and mac and cheese, and for me a sweet potato sloppy joe. After dinner I sipped on a hot cup of cider and started major planning the MONTH of December. With all the wonderful Holiday traditions it's hard to keep track sometimes of what all is happening. There are no women's studies this month which leaves Wednesday nights FREE, which means more time to bake and to write my Christmas cards. I think I got everything on the calender from, work parties, to work outs, to cookie exchanges! This year my bff is having a cookie exchange at her house, I have always wanted to go to one of these and now I get to!!! Any cookies suggestions?

POTM

Everyone is doing so awesome with the POTM challenge! I am so glad that we did this together is felt good to be encouraged by you all and even you readers that aren't participating that are still cheering us on. THANK YOU! I loved that I didn't Pile on the POUNDS this Thanksgiving, just miles!

Here is the fun workout schedule for the week:

Work outs:
Saturday: AKB
Sunday: Last time to run for POTM, 4-5miles
Monday: Teach AKB
Tuesday: AM Spin & weights PM AKB
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Going to try AKB in the AM
Friday: Run 4 miles
Saturday: AKB/ Softball
Sunday: Loma Linda Holiday Classic 15 k!

Lets hope I stick to the plan.

PARTY PARTY

This week I already have two Christmas parties and a couples study at my house !!! MAN I am already pooped thinking about it, but once again I WILL not BE stressed! I WILL NOT! I plan on having a lot of quite time this week to be ready to take on whatever the day has layed out for me:) God is good!

Sweet Potato Soufflé

As promised here is the recipe for the wonderful healthy Sweet Potato Soufflé I made for Thanksgiving.

I got this from foodfit.com

Sweet Potato Soufflé

This recipe serves: 10

4 large sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup frozen orange juice from concentrate
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 pinch salt
4 large egg whites
2 tablespoons sugar
2 oranges cut in thin slices

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a large pot, cover the sweet potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Boil until tender.
3. Drain and peel the potatoes and place in a large mixing bowl. Mash well.
4. Add the olive oil, milk, sherry, brown sugar, orange juice, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and salt. Beat well with a mixer.
5. Spoon mixture into an oiled ,ovenproof gratin dish.
6. Bake until the potatoes are hot, about 25 minutes.
7. While the soufflé is cooking, make the meringue. In a clean bowl, whip egg whites until almost stiff. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until soft peaks form.
8. During the last five minutes of cooking the soufflé, top with the meringue mixture.
9. Return to oven and remove when the meringue is lightly browned. Garnish with the sliced oranges.

Serving Size: 1/10 Number of Servings: 10

Per Serving
Calories95
Carbohydrate18 g
Fat 2 g
Fiber 2 g
Protein 3 g
Saturated Fat 0 g
Sodium 25 mg

SEE ALL THE FACTS

COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY

Alright folks time for me to hit the hay! I am getting up early for AKB, and then going SHOPPING by myself ( I like going alone, because then I can take my time and get the perfect gift). So Check back in the AM for the most creative giveaway, you don't want to miss it!