Flip Flops and Muffins

My life has been extremely uneventful this week. My typical schedule has been work, come home, eat, sit outside with the dogs for a bit, sleep. What can I say, Im living the high life! However on Wednesday I did manage to break my routine and go out after work for a drink with a few people from work. We went to a place in shadyside that has an awesome rooftop deck. It was beautiful! We went out and walked around Shadyside and window shopped since thats the only shopping in Shadyside that fits my price range. We went into Ann Taylor and I found the most beautiful flip flops that I have ever seen. They were heavenly. I almost cried when I saw the $69 dollar price tag. Who pays 70 bucks for flip flops? I may keep my eyes on them though and if they drop below 40 they're mine! I also found this adorable top which I feel like would make my shoulders look like a line backer but is adorable. I also found a cute dress at Gap which I feel would be perfect for this cook out I am going to on Saturday. Its even on sale for $34 but I passed because I feel like I can find something cheaper at TJ Max. Why am I so cheap? I often see things I love but don't buy them because I feel like I could find it somewhere else for less. Ultimately I never find it and end up with something I just like but don't love. The only plus is that I have a few extra dollars left in my pocket at the end of the day. Ive been thinking lately about buying less items but spending more on quality pieces. This is something I struggle with because I love clothes and I love shopping. Maybe this is just my subconcious telling me to go buy those $69 flip flops. Hmm...

Anyway here's a recipe for some awesome pumpkin muffins that are low fat. These are SO easy to make and they are only 2 weight watchers points per muffin, which means they are about 100 calories per muffin.

Low Fat Pumpkin Muffins

1 vanilla cake mix

1 16 oz can of pumpkin

3 tbsp of ground flax seed (This is optional but it adds more fiber and makes the muffins very moist)

Combine all ingredients thoroughly, however be careful not to over mix. Fill muffin pan 3/4 full with batter and bake according to directions on cake mix for cupcakes. NOTE: I have a hard time finding a 16 oz can of pumpkin so I usually end up buying the big 32 oz can and making a double batch. These muffins freeze really well!

This is why I'm fat

So this week/weekend pretty much flew by. Last week I was in Harrisburg for a training. We stayed at a Hilton and to my demise they had warm chocolate chip cookies every single night. I dont even like chocolate chip cookies that much, until they are stairing at my every single night. But I did manage to resist the muffins and danish's every morning for breakfast. Instead I ate a ton of fruit and tea. So when I got on the scale this week I wasnt really looking for a loss. In fact I had already made up my mind that I was going to be 1-3 pounds heavier. As it turns out resisting those muffins did me some justice and I only gained .4 pound. Had I taken off my shoes, completely dried my hair before leaving the house, and/or not taken that sip of crystal light before weighing in I feel that I would have been the exact same weight as last week. This weekend I got my new dishwasher installed, YAY! It amazing to not have to stand in front of the sink and scrub dishes for 20 minutes.

For lunch today I tried a new vegetarian restaurant by work. It was so good to have an ENTIRE menu of food to pick from. Not just a veggie burger or fettucini alfredo. It was called the quiet storm and if you are ever in Pittsburgh I highly suggest that you check it out. The prices were amazing as well. For 8 dollars I got a huge seitan sandwhich with onion jam and cheese, tortilla chips, and some amazing cold potatoes with vinegrette dressing. It was a great meal. And it will probably contribute to another week of my not losing weight. But I am going to try and be good for the rest of the week. We'll see how that goes...

Being sick is awesome!

So on Friday I finally broke down and made a visit to the med express. I figured that breathing probably shouldnt be as taxing as it was. So 35 dollars later, they told me I had a respiratory infection and sent me home with some antibiotics. I took the first dose on Friday night and woke up Saturday feel SO much better! Ah the miracles of modern medicine. So Saturday I went to weight watchers and weighted in... Thanks to a liquid diet for the past week I lost 3.4 pounds!

This week I am going to Harrisburg, Pa for work. Woo hoo the big metropolis! But I am looking forward to making the week fly by. After I get back from my trip I only have 1 more week and then Jason will be home! We decided to wait until he gets home to do the garden. I really wanted us to plant it together since its our first time. So far we have decided to plant- Brussel Sprouts, tomatos, green peppers, hot peppers, cabbage, zucchini, and some herbs like basil and chives. I'm really excited to grown our own food and hopefully be able to save money on produce for the rest of the year!


I probably wouln't be posting much this week since I will be away. But I am leaving you with a dose of cuteness!

I'm too cheap to go to the doctor but not to make Key Lime Pie

Thanks to a wonderful sinus infection I really don't have anything interesting to post. For the past week my life has involved 5 boxes of kleenex, nasal spray, vicks vapor rub, and sugar free jello. Ahh, the life of a 80 year old man. It takes alot for me to break down and go to the doctor. I havent been to the doctor since I was probably 18 or 19- Im 23 now. So I decided that maybe this time I needed a little antibiotic boost. So I call my doctor and low and behold he can't fit me in until next week. So I call the Med Express clinic which can take me whenever. The catch- its a $20 doctors visit not including any procedure or additional fee's and not including my $20 perscription fee. I've decided my sinus's are not worth $40 or more dollars. So I will be trying some homeopathic remedies and taking a bunch of vitamins. If all else fails I will go to the doctor next week. But enough about sinus infections how about an amazing pie recipe!

Easiest ever Low Fat Key Lime Pie

1 container Fat free cool whip

1 container fat free lime yogurt

1 package sugar free lime Jell-O

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add Jell-O mix. Once jello is disolved add yogurt and mix thoroughly. Next fold in cool whip to Jell-O/yogurt mixture. Let mixture cool in refridgerator for 10-15 minutes then add to a graham cracker crust. Return pie to refrigerator for about 2 hours.

This pie is amazing and does not taste fat free! I have also done this with lemon Jell-O/yogurt. The possibilities are endless! I think I may try this with strawberry Jell-O/Yogurt and top it with some fresh strawberries- make it look like I actually have culinary abilities. This recipe costs about 4 dollars for the entire pie. To make it even more frugal and entirely fat free exclude the pie crust and put it in a pretty bowl or casserole dish and it will be a great key lime mousse!

Why I hate my life right now

Why I hate my life right now:

1. Saturday I went to weight watchers and lost .6 of a pound. Not even a full pound. I shouldn’t be surprised though since I ate Einstein’s the day before I weighed in!

2. Sunday I dropped my phone in a puddle of water- that’s the second phone in 5 months that has succumbed to my abuse. But to my defense neither or these incidences were my fault. Really, they weren’t!

3. Monday Jason left for San Diego… and he will be gone for 3 weeks. 3 whole weeks. Insert saddest face ever here.

So my plan for while he is gone is to eat really healthy, follow weight watchers religiously, and lose 10-15 pounds. This sounds pretty far fetched but one can only hope.

Today is the first day of my new plan and today’s lunch is… stir fry broccoli and mushrooms, roasted potatoes, and grilled brussel sprouts. Yum! Its only about 3 points for the whole meal. I find it really helps to keep me on track if I plan out my meals so here they are (feel free to skip over/quit reading this mundane-ness at any time)(and yes I totally just made up the word mundane-ness)

Monday:
Lunch- roasted potatoes, grilled brussel sprouts, stir fry broccoli and mushrooms.
Dinner- Lean cuisine and salad

Tuesday:
Lunch- Salad with tomatoes, potatoes, and broccoli and yogurt
Dinner- Vegetarian Chili

Wednesday:
Lunch- Left over chili
Dinner- More chili and some salad

Thursday:
Lunch- Salad and yogurt
Dinner- Pasta with tomatoes and basil

Friday:
Lunch- Left over pasta
Dinner- Lean cuisine

Saturday is my weigh in day. Hopefully I see more results today then I did last week!

Homemade laundry detergent and frugal fashion finds

Yesterday on my way home from work I was going through the list of thing I needed to accomplish when I actually made it home from my 1 hour commute… 1. devour the first food item I see. 2. make sure my DVR recorded the newest episode of The Real Housewives of NY 3. Attempt to throw random foods together to pass as dinner 4. do laundry. Then it occurred to me that I was out of my beloved drops. This normally wouldnt be a big deal, I would just stop by walmart and get some. But Walmart has apparently decided to punish me for budgeting my grocery bill by refusing to sell drops. So I decided to man up and make my own laundry detergent to save money and have a ton of it on hand. So here is the "recipe",

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Water

1 cup Borax

2/3 bar of Fells Napa Soap

1 cup Washing soda (which I couldnt find so I used generic Oxy Clean)

Bring 12 cups of water to boil. While water is boiling shred the fells napa soup (I used my cheese grater) and dump it in your bucket. Pour the boiling water in your bucket over the fells napa. Once the soap is disolved add the boraz and washing soda (or generic oxy clean, or if your RICH real oxy clean). Once all of the ingrediants are disolved add 44 (yes 44) cups of water to your bucket and voila laundry soap! After it sits for a day or so it congeals on top but word on the street it that its all the same and you can use the congealed parts or the liguid without mixing the 2 every time you do laundry.

Speak of me being a tightwad... While i was at walmart picking up the supplies I took a detour through the clothes on my way to the checkout. What I found both shocked and alarmed me.

* Warning: if you are adverse to buying clothes at walmart don't read any further because the stylishness of these clothes will compell you to buy them.

I found some really cute and stylish clothes. I was shocked because in the past when I think of walmart clothes I think of graphic tee's with phrases like Baby girl and sweet thang. But these clothes were very trendy and good looking.

I didn't buy anything yesterday because it was still full price and like all thing at walmart, if you give it 2 weeks it will be cheaper. But these cute walmart clothes has opened by eye to a whole new world of clothing!