I can always remember how to spell that word from my long ago cheerleading days. S-U-C-C-E-S-S…we are. the BEST! Please don’t hate me for breaking that out.

Another Sunday greets us, with another Monday just around the corner. I’m okay with that though. Success describes this weekend. No other word will fit. I last left you on Friday night about to do a quick yoga session for a nice stretch. I quickly discovered that yoga does not work too well with a toddler in the same room. It still felt fantastic though and got the job done.

Saturday morning I woke up refreshed and reenergized. From yoga or the news I received Friday afternoon? Whatever it was, it had me skipping off to the gym for a morning Power workout and a 20 minute incline walk on the treadmill. After my sweat session I showered up for my date with my sister. Our day would entail a lot of shopping in search of the perfect dress, so we decided consuming fuel came first. And what would be on the menu? Just another Which ‘Wich sandwich! Obsession comes to my mind when describing my new love for this sandwich shop.

This is a reused photo because I forgot my camera, but my lunch yesterday was just as scrumptious looking. I had turkey on whole wheat with pepper-jack cheese, pesto, avocado, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives, lettuce, tomato, and pickles. I couldn’t finish it all it was so filled with veggie goodness!

That glorious sandwich didn’t end my day’s successes though. Not even close. My sister and I hit up the mall for a few hours of shopping. I desperately needed to find some nice dresses for the wedding I am attending in a few weeks. A stop in Macy’s solved everything. I discovered two fabulous dresses perfect for a wedding or rehearsal dinner and actually flattering for my little bump.

They didn’t even break the bank! $70 total. Ohhh, yeah. Um, let me pause right here to say that composing a post is near impossible when your husband is watching some insane movie next to you. Anyone ever heard of Slither? Terrible. Just terrible.

Now back to my day. That night, after modeling my dresses for the hubs, my other obsession called my name. Cheeky Mexican food! We met up with friends for my pregnancy craving meal. One fish taco, one crab cake taco, some refried beans, and my weight in chips + salsa.

Sharing a night with friends and good laughs cannot be beat. Spending time together never gets old.

Excuse the waiter’s photography skills. LOL I bet he couldn’t even make this look good.

A Pecan Pie Blizzard brings the essence of the South to dance on your taste buds. Each bite bursts with crunchy, caramel-y goodness. The fact that it will be gone come August has me seriously considering going back sooner than I otherwise would. What evil forces work behind those DQ minds. I’m sad I gave Peter the last 1/3 of mine instead of stashing it in the freezer. Hold for a moment while I shed a tear at that mistake.

Alright, I’m back. I got over it quickly enough. I couldn’t stay sad. Not after receiving another great email upon arriving home last night. Two out of three positive responses in less than 48 hours is pretty amazing. Certainly puts a smile on my face. And shows me how God is at work in my life.

I contemplated all this over today’s lunch while brainstorming writing ideas. Cheese, cantaloupe, and natural PB + 100% fruit spread on whole wheat.

I truly believe that it is He who gave me the capability, focus, determination, and passion that led me to pursuing these avenues and bringing them success. After all, life is about God’s abilities and not man’s abilities. And thank goodness for that! I couldn’t imagine trying to be patient, kind, and loving enough to all without Him behind me. I couldn’t imagine trying to love myself enough to consistently respect myself without Him helping me. I couldn’t imagine trying to be strong enough to overcome the trials I face without His grace to trust in.

I will share exactly what the good news is sometime this week! Keep an eye out!!

• If you haven’t already, please click HERE!!!
• What was successful about your weekend?
• Does your significant other, friend, roommate ever watch something that makes you go “What in the WORLD?!” Peter = all. the. time.

Dang hump day! Get out of the way please so we can be closer to Friday. I’m ready for the weekend and a semblance of a break around here. How about you?

You know what? You all bring lots of insight to calorie counting and why or why not it works for you. I agree with the many of you who decided to forego counting and focus on other things in your eating habits. But on the other hand I completely understand the need some of you have to count, such as needing to be more diligent for health purposes, to break past a plateau and using it as a temporary tool, or to be certain of eating enough food. I certainly agree with what a few of you mentioned about being aware of calories in the sense of watching portions or choosing how to ‘spend’ your food wisely, but without needing to count every single one. When I thought about it, I discovered that I eat similarly to that approach.

After years of counting and measuring things to the gram, my brain is a wellspring of useless calorie knowledge. So even though I don’t tally up what I’ve eaten through the day I am still aware of what a proper portion is and how to be sure I have a balanced meal that leaves me satisfied for an appropriate length of time and isn’t more than my body needs. For example, if I serve up a small breakfast and recognize it probably isn’t more than the 300 cal range, I will know I need to add more or be prepared for an extra snack. Or another example would be how during that rough 6-8 weeks of early pregnancy (when I only wanted to eat bland, carby, heavy, greasy foods) didn’t end with me gaining an exorbitant amount of weight because I was still aware of portions and keeping things reasonable. I don’t count, but it’s still there to help me gauge how I set up my meals if that makes sense. Obviously this can be a hot topic for me which I can discuss without end. So I will end with saying if you haven’t weighed in on the topic yet and have something to add, please do so.

Yesterday was a rough day for me. Sweet little M turned into a terrorizing M for the majority of the day. My buttons were in a tailspin from all the pushing she did to them. I like to consider myself a fairly calm and patient mother…not person because I can easily get wound up on other things…but being loving and doting to Ms. Sweetcheeks I can do. Not yesterday! By 1 pm I was calling my sister in tears begging her to come over asap for our weekly get together. Yes, I cried. No, M does not comprehend sympathy yet. So, yes, I cried some more. Hormones, fatigue, and no naps are a recipe for disaster. I’m telling you so you don’t have to learn the hard way.

My sisterly knight in shining armor arrived armed with laughter and great ideas to calm me down. One would be a couple rounds of Friends Scene It! play and the other would be an hour of hilarity watching people join a competition that can only end in needing your jaw reset. <— ABC’s Wipeout

Another knight in shining armor, by the name of Frontier Soups, saved the day. More precisely, dinner. I did NOT want to take the time to cook. Luckily I had on hand an easy to prep soup mix courtesy of the kind people at Frontier Soups. I pulled out the Tortilla Soup Mix for a healthy dinner in 30 minutes.

Very few ingredients, very little prep work, and fast cooking sound perfect to me. Here’s just how easy it was.

Ingredients

• 1 package Frontier Soups Tortilla soup mix
• 2 cups shredded COOKED chicken
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup salsa

How-To

1. Pour chicken broth and water into a 4-6 quart pot and boil.

2. Once boiling, add the shredded chicken and the soup mix to the pot. Stir well. Lower temperature and simmer for 20 minutes.

3.  Add the salsa and stir until evenly combined. Simmer another 10 minutes. Then, you’re done!

Perfect for this Mexican food/taste craving preggo! Filling and healthy. The soup mix even contains all natural ingredients! Who can argue with that?

• What convenience food do you find yourself choosing when necessary? I love having options like these on hand or will do a quick cook all veggie meal if we have good options available, but frozen items will make their appearance as well. Check out my post for quickie meal ideas.
• I’ve been offered a $60 credit to review a CSN Stores product as a thank you for the giveaway I did awhile ago. I have no clue what I want to use it for. What are your favorite kitchen gadgets or other useful household item that you think would be great for me to have? What would you choose? I need ideas!