Christmas Care-Packages

It's the most wonderful time of the year.....(are you now singing the song?? Good that's where I was going with that).  Anyways, the Christmas season is upon us once again and I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering where on earth this year has gone??  Seems like I was just in Hawaii bringing in the new year.  The good part about this year going by so fast is that means we are nearing the end of this deployment!

Speaking of deployment, this blog is dedicated to Ricky's Christmas presents!! (He already knows pretty much everything in there since he requested it, so this is no surprise to him).  When Ricky was home in October on his R&R (& Part 2), he told me not to send out any more mail because there was a change he would be switching bases and he didn't want lost mail out there.  So I've been waiting very patiently for his new address and was a little saddened that it took so long.  Mainly because he now won't have his boxes until after Christmas, and I know he appreciates them whenever he gets them, but who doesn't like to open a present on Christmas day? Especially a soldier that won't have many presents to open.  But anyways, I have his new address, and his list of requests and here is the final product!

Of course I went with a Christmas theme! I added some of our most recent engagement pictures so he could hang them up on his wall.  

Christmas candy! The only thing he requested out of all this were the sugar coated fruit slices at the bottom and the Life Savers.  The rest is just stuff that I added to make it more festive.  Notice the little camo stocking on the left? Saw that at Reasor's and HAD to have it :) I got a matching one for myself.

More yummy snacks.  He requested all of these things, even the Easy Cheese. Oh and the Oreo's had to be double stuffed :) 

Some essentials. Some of this was still from when people donated stuff for his boxes.

Here is box #1 filled to the top

And I had to make a box #2 because all the stuff wouldn't fit into one.  This one got some shiny garland in it too :) 

All ready to go!  

He still isn't at his new base yet but will be within a couple weeks.  And hopefully the boxes won't be too far behind him!

Baked Zucchini Chips

Do you love crunchy flavored things but are trying to watch your carb and fat intake? Give these a try! I found this wonderful little recipe on Pinterest and remembered I had a zucchini in my fridge that I needed to cook, so I decided to give this recipe a whirl.  They really met my expectations, of course they don't taste like potato chips, but they are still really good.  


Next time I would leave them in the oven a bit longer to make them even crunchier.  


Ingredients:

• 3 Zucchinis, rinsed
• 1/4 cup Parmesan, shredded
• 1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder
• 1 tsp. Dried Parsley
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Paprika
• 2 Egg Whites

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees

2.  Slice zucchini as thinly and uniform as possible

3.  Place on a paper towel for at least 10 minutes to let excess moisture drain. 

4.  Mix together all the dry ingredients. 

5.  In a bowl whisk the egg whites until frothy.

6.  Place the zucchini in the egg mixture, then coat in the bread crumb mixture.

7.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.

8.  Pull out the baking sheet and flip over the zucchini chips.

9.  Return to the oven for another 7 minutes. 

6 months to go!

Can you believe it? I sure can't! It doesn't seem like long ago we just got engaged and I had 14 months to plan a wedding...and now we are down to 6.  The good news is I believe all of our vendors are booked.  In the last 8 months I (with some long distance help from Ricky) have:

*Booked the venue
*Booked the photographer
*Booked the DJ
*Booked the florist
*Ordered the cakes
*Booked a videographer
*Booked the photobooth (can't wait for this!)
*Picked out tuxes (Ricky did this wish his best man while he was home for R&R)
*Ordered and received my wedding dress!!
*Taken engagement pics, twice haha
*Booked the minister
*Booked the honeymoon!!! (Also done while Ricky was home)
*Save the Dates and Invitations are in the works

I think that's it....that's all I can think of off the top of my head.  All that's really left is the odds and ends and cute stuff that I would really like to add to showcase Ricky and I's personalities.  Most of it is crafty stuff, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE! My mom and I did some while I was home for Thanksgiving.

Fabric flowers

Paper flowers

I can't wait to do more things! Luckily I have 6 months to just complete the fun stuff.

Treats for the Troops

(Love my alliteration in my title?? haha)

My future mother-in-law, Cindi, is constantly thinking of ways to help or contribute to other people.  And this last weekend was just a small token of our thanks to the troops and to have a little taste of home for the holidays.  Cindi had collaborated with a couple different groups of people to get goodies donated for the cause.  I think a sorority at OU donated candy and such and another store embroidered stockings for the men.  So we set out Friday night to add to the list and make 50 dozen cookies.  Ricky has his own personal favorite sugar cookie that Cindi makes a lot so we set out to make a lot of those.

Ellie is all ready to cut out the cookies!

Working hard cutting out all those cookies

Our little cook showing some attitude

Very messy hands!!!!

Don't get it on me!!!!

She doesn't mess around when she's making cookies for  her Bubbie

That's not even all of the ones we baked in one night.

And the decorating begins!!

The finished product (after more work on Saturday)

So even though loved ones won't be able to be home for Christmas this year, maybe this will give them each a little comfort.

Protein Pumpkin Pancakes

I decided to be adventurous this week and try these protein packed pancakes.

Nutritional Infomation:
Serving Size: 2 pancakes
Servings: not completely sure, a lot 
Calories: 255
Fat: 15g
Carbs: 11g
Fiber: 5g
Protein 19 g

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs
• 3/4 cup egg whites
• 1 can of pumpkin
• 1 cup almond meal (I used whole wheat flour instead)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• dash of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• cooking spray

Method:

1.  In a medium bowl, mix all of the ingredients together.

2. Heat pancake griddle to medium heat and coat with cooking spray.

3. Cook each side about 3 minutes until brown, then flip and cook remaining side

These were....alright.  I loved the pumpkin flavor in them, but the consistency was a bit too thick for me.  It made me really just want some real pancakes.  So maybe I'll experiment with these a bit to make them more fluffy.  

Weekly Grocery Shopping

Hello readers!!!

It's been about 3 weeks since Ricky has been gone and I'm finally getting back into my routine.  I have been attending this amazing bootcamp called Fit Body Boot Camp.  It is seriously amazing!  Everyday is a completely different workout.  Some days are full out cardio, some focus on arms or abs or lower body.  This way you never get bored! On top of all these wonderful workouts, the owner, Stephanie, serves as your personal trainer and takes your measurements once a month and will help you with your nutrition.  Today I met with her to set down and talk about some great fat burning meals.

So thanks so this meeting (and today being payday), I made a much needed trip to the grocery store.  While there I found some great new finds that I'm really excited to try out (thanks to the advise of my Stephanie).

I always have trouble with salad dressing, so she suggested this Maple Grove brand.  I put it on my salad tonight and it was very very good!

Greek yogurt with truvia.  I've tried Greek yogurt before but have only had flavored varieties.  So I'm going to try the plain (has much less sugar) and just add a packet of Truvia. 

Pure Almond Unsweetened Milk.  I've been drinking this for a couple months now.  It's lower calories than even skim/fat free milk, plus it has more calcium.  Try it! 

All that being said, this was my dinner tonight.  Fresh  grilled chicken, romaine lettuce with shredded carrots and the dressing, and then roasted green beans.

For the green beans (my current favorite) pre-heat the oven to 375 and toss the green beans in about 2 tsp of olive oil and then sprinkle with garlic salt.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Delicious!!!!

 On top of finding healthy options, I've also been trying my best to save as much money as possible.  So tonight I loaded up on the coupons (for what I needed) and walked out saving 10% of my grocery purchase and 24% of my toiletries! On top of the coupons, I looked for in-store savings.  Buying "store-brand" items is another way I save money.  So tonight I saved $15!!! I sure love those savings.

Financial Peace University

My church started a class this fall called Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey.  Taking this class was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  I wanted to learn more about money and how to manage it, for myself and for Ricky and I's future marriage.  Really, YOU should take this class if you haven't.  He has baby steps, and baby step #1 is to save up $1000 for an emergency fund, that is to be used only for EMERGENCIES.  So since I had baby step #1 taken care of, I made a really bold move. I cut up both of my credit cards!  Yep cut them in half! I was tired of feeling controlled by them and using them as a crutch.  So here's the proof, plus Ricky was there as my witness :)

tadaaaaaaa!!!

I actually feel so much better! Please don't go out and cut up all your credit cards unless you have saved up an emergency fund and have an established budget.  I would hate to be the reason anyone had money issues because of me.  I'm just simply sharing this huge step in my life :)