Monday, January 30, 2012
Are You Ready For A New Look This New Year?
It's hard not to think about weight loss in the month of January. It seems like everyone I know is constantly talking about the weight that they have lost, the new thing they are trying or the food that they are missing while dieting.
One of my favorite ways of saving calories and still feeling full is soup and salad. And thanks to Progresso I have a ton of great new soups to try out. While I usually just grab something to eat at the restaurant that I work at for lunch...I know that it would be way less calories if I came home and heated up some soup and threw together a simple salad.
Thanks to Progresso through My Blog Spark I am able to offer one of you the chance to win a Progresso “Souper You” prize pack:
(2) VIP Coupons for Progresso Soup
(1) copy of “The Biggest Loser” Workout DVD
Just tell me your favorite kind of soup.
Bonus Entries:
1. Follow me somehow: e-mail subscriber, Instagram, Pinterest Twitter or Facebook. +1 entry. Leave a comment telling me how you follow.
2. Share this giveaway: Through Twitter or FB. +1 entry. Leave me a permalink to your twitter or FB status by clicking on the time stamp on it and commenting with the url of your share.
This giveaway is open to U.S. Residents only and will close FEB 12th. Winner will be drawn using random.org, contacted through e-mail and have 24 hours to get back to me with shipping information of a new winner will be drawn.
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One of my favorite ways of saving calories and still feeling full is soup and salad. And thanks to Progresso I have a ton of great new soups to try out. While I usually just grab something to eat at the restaurant that I work at for lunch...I know that it would be way less calories if I came home and heated up some soup and threw together a simple salad.
Now that the ball has dropped and the confetti has settled, it’s time to consider how you will stick to your resolution for the New Year and maintain your weight management plan, without sacrificing on variety or the taste of foods you love. Thanks to Progresso®, you can have your soup and eat it too! With 40 delicious soups with 100 calories or less per serving, Progresso Soup has a variety of offerings that help you beat diet boredom and satisfy your taste cravings, while helping you stick to your weight management calorie goals. Progresso soups are packed with hearty ingredients like pasta, beans, rice, meat and vegetables that suit your taste buds and make you feel good about including it in your meal choices. This year, the Souper You® Contest will provide three lucky winners with an ultimate makeover experience in Hollywood; this includes a trip for 2 to Los Angeles, California where the winner will receive a head-to-toe makeover including hair and makeup, guided shopping spree with a $1,000 fashion retailer gift card, $1,000 spending money and 2 tickets to this season’s live finale of NBC’s The Biggest Loser Progresso is asking fans to visit www.SouperYou.com and submit their photo with a brief essay about why they love Progresso soups and why they deserve a makeover, by no later than February 22nd Fans can check back on March 12th for the announcement of the top ten finalists, and to vote for their favorite finalist until March 25th In addition, visit http://bit.ly/ProgressoCoup to download a printable coupon for $1.25 off the purchase of four (4) cans of Progresso Soup today. Also, tune into The Biggest Loser on NBC Tuesdays at 8/7c Click here to watch this amazing video of the 2011 winner experience. |
Thanks to Progresso through My Blog Spark I am able to offer one of you the chance to win a Progresso “Souper You” prize pack:
(2) VIP Coupons for Progresso Soup
(1) copy of “The Biggest Loser” Workout DVD
Just tell me your favorite kind of soup.
Bonus Entries:
1. Follow me somehow: e-mail subscriber, Instagram, Pinterest Twitter or Facebook. +1 entry. Leave a comment telling me how you follow.
2. Share this giveaway: Through Twitter or FB. +1 entry. Leave me a permalink to your twitter or FB status by clicking on the time stamp on it and commenting with the url of your share.
This giveaway is open to U.S. Residents only and will close FEB 12th. Winner will be drawn using random.org, contacted through e-mail and have 24 hours to get back to me with shipping information of a new winner will be drawn.
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5 Nights of Soup Suppers - Homemade Tomato w/ Cheeto Toppers
I have no trouble sticking to my list while shopping for groceries...that is until I get to the register. It never fails that I have to wait. The impulse shopper inside me loves it. All those shiny magazines are the worst...just waiting for me to discover a recipe that I have to try or a new use for an old thing. One of the most recent magazines that I have bought is SOUPS by Better Homes and Gardens. This week we are having soup for supper every night. I am crossing my fingers that this will cause snow to fall but at least the plumber has finally shown up so that I can light a fire and pretend that it's snowing outside.
I had no idea that tomato soup was this easy to make. In less than 20 minutes I had this delicious soup on the table along with an easy side salad. Not only did it taste way better than the canned variety that we are used to having but it was way healthier! I was able to control the amount of all ingredients since I was the one preparing it. I used 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery and went easy on the salt.
Easy Tomato Soup with Crispy Cheese Puffs
Ingredients:
1 Tbs butter
1/2 cup carrot chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes, undrained
2/3 cup vegetable juice
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup of water
Cheetos for topping
In a medium sauce pan heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add carrot, onion and celery; cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until tender. Stir in tomatoes, vegetable juice, sugar Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes; cool slightly.
Transfer tomato mixture, half at a time, to a blender or food processor. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Return pureed mixture to saucepan. Stir in enough water to reach desired consistency; heat through.
Top each serving with Cheetos.
I had no idea that tomato soup was this easy to make. In less than 20 minutes I had this delicious soup on the table along with an easy side salad. Not only did it taste way better than the canned variety that we are used to having but it was way healthier! I was able to control the amount of all ingredients since I was the one preparing it. I used 2 carrots, 2 stalks celery and went easy on the salt.
Easy Tomato Soup with Crispy Cheese Puffs
Ingredients:
1 Tbs butter
1/2 cup carrot chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes, undrained
2/3 cup vegetable juice
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup of water
Cheetos for topping
In a medium sauce pan heat butter over medium heat until melted. Add carrot, onion and celery; cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until tender. Stir in tomatoes, vegetable juice, sugar Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes; cool slightly.
Transfer tomato mixture, half at a time, to a blender or food processor. Cover and blend or process until smooth. Return pureed mixture to saucepan. Stir in enough water to reach desired consistency; heat through.
Top each serving with Cheetos.
Learning To Use My Canon - Week 4
While looking for something to do, I found myself on the Travel OK site. It's amazing the resources, activities and events that are happening right here in OK. This weekend at Sequoya State Park they were doing eagle watching tours. We went for the tour but stayed to play tourist in the park.
We were told that the Audubon Society would be set up at a local nesting tree with telescopes and binoculars. After a quick google search we learned that Audubon society are groups of people who want to help preserve eco systems and focus mainly on birds.
All of the society members were so helpful and encouraging. They loaned each of my kids binoculars and moved the telescopes up and down as my kids stopped for their first look at a bald eagle.
They also told us about other resources that are available and great for kids. Local nature centers and hikes, along with a LIVE eagle cam:
http://www.suttoncenter.org/pages/live_eagle_camera
Not only does taking my kids out on outings like this give me the chance to take lots of pictures, but it's fun to pass on this love of learning that I have. I can't wait until spring comes, I am ready to shoot more than these dreary backgrounds and I am looking for field guides so that my kids can learn about the plants and animals as we are exploring.
Any tips, critiques or ideas for photo shoots? Got a great pin on Pinterest for photography? I would love to see it!
We were told that the Audubon Society would be set up at a local nesting tree with telescopes and binoculars. After a quick google search we learned that Audubon society are groups of people who want to help preserve eco systems and focus mainly on birds.
All of the society members were so helpful and encouraging. They loaned each of my kids binoculars and moved the telescopes up and down as my kids stopped for their first look at a bald eagle.
They also told us about other resources that are available and great for kids. Local nature centers and hikes, along with a LIVE eagle cam:
http://www.suttoncenter.org/pages/live_eagle_camera
Not only does taking my kids out on outings like this give me the chance to take lots of pictures, but it's fun to pass on this love of learning that I have. I can't wait until spring comes, I am ready to shoot more than these dreary backgrounds and I am looking for field guides so that my kids can learn about the plants and animals as we are exploring.
Any tips, critiques or ideas for photo shoots? Got a great pin on Pinterest for photography? I would love to see it!
Friday, January 20, 2012
She Reminds Me...
I love this little girl.
She reminds me to be gentle, kind, apathetic and to put sugar in my voice.
She reminds me that mistakes happen. You can't stop them but you can control your reaction to them.
She reminds me to look on the bright side, to search for the light in every dark day and to share it with others.
She reminds me to laugh, love and hug everyday.
She reminds me to be prepared, but also to remember that things will not always go as planned and that's OK.
She reminds me to give my life the gusto that it deserves, to take the time to play and make time for the small things because they really are the big things.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
3 Pinteresting Ideas for Kids
I am crushing on Pinterest! My favorite board is Have Fun With My Kids. I have been pinning ideas left and right and actually putting them to good use every weekend.
1. Make a sorting basket for nature walks - this idea helped us to avoid a ton of arguments as the cups we used were labeled with initials. Thankfully the kids took turns helping to carry the basket since they found a ton of interesting stuff.
2. Use Ivory soap to practice whittling - the boys were given pocket knives when they were younger and since we have been spending a lot of time outdoors hiking, I thought it would be a great time to break them out. We tried whittling but it was a lot harder to explain with sticks. So thankful for the power of Google:
http://www.ehow.com/how_10012758_whittle-soap.html
3. Microwave Ivory soap - We did this. It's amazing what happens. It was also a great way to introduce my kids to the idea of a science experiment. I asked them what they thought would happen and they were very surprised at just how wrong they really were.
1. Make a sorting basket for nature walks - this idea helped us to avoid a ton of arguments as the cups we used were labeled with initials. Thankfully the kids took turns helping to carry the basket since they found a ton of interesting stuff.
2. Use Ivory soap to practice whittling - the boys were given pocket knives when they were younger and since we have been spending a lot of time outdoors hiking, I thought it would be a great time to break them out. We tried whittling but it was a lot harder to explain with sticks. So thankful for the power of Google:
http://www.ehow.com/how_10012758_whittle-soap.html
3. Microwave Ivory soap - We did this. It's amazing what happens. It was also a great way to introduce my kids to the idea of a science experiment. I asked them what they thought would happen and they were very surprised at just how wrong they really were.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Learning To Use My Canon: Week 3
This week I promised myself that I would try my hardest not to pose my kids. I would just follow along with them and capture what they were doing. That's a hard habit to give up. We took our kids fishing, metal detecting and down to the exposed bottoms of the lake.
I love that the lady who my Aunt bought worms from included some gold fish after finding out that this was our first time fishing as a family. The kids were pretty patient but it was windy, cold and nothing seemed to be biting.
Since we haven't had a lot of rain since last summer a lot of the lake bottoms are exposed in our area. It was so much fun to watch the kids reaction when they were set free to explore, discover and play along the banks.
This also brings up a great point...be prepared. Madilyn and I were wearing rubber boots but the boys were just in their regular shoes. I could have gotten a lot more shots if I had made sure they were prepared. Instead I spent the time that I could have been taking pictures shooing them out of the water.
These were the most posed of all my pictures. I really want one of all my kids from every adventure that I can put into a scrapbook that we can look back on throughout the year. The thing that I realized though...it took me 14 photos to get to these. Once I get the kids where I want to get a shot, I have to give them some time to relax so that they are really smiling and not faking it for the photo. Thankfully Hubby has taken to standing right behind me and acting goofy in order to get the kids to laugh at him.
Any tips, critiques or ideas for photo shoots? Got a great pin on Pinterest for photography? I would love to see it!
I love that the lady who my Aunt bought worms from included some gold fish after finding out that this was our first time fishing as a family. The kids were pretty patient but it was windy, cold and nothing seemed to be biting.
Since we haven't had a lot of rain since last summer a lot of the lake bottoms are exposed in our area. It was so much fun to watch the kids reaction when they were set free to explore, discover and play along the banks.
This also brings up a great point...be prepared. Madilyn and I were wearing rubber boots but the boys were just in their regular shoes. I could have gotten a lot more shots if I had made sure they were prepared. Instead I spent the time that I could have been taking pictures shooing them out of the water.
These were the most posed of all my pictures. I really want one of all my kids from every adventure that I can put into a scrapbook that we can look back on throughout the year. The thing that I realized though...it took me 14 photos to get to these. Once I get the kids where I want to get a shot, I have to give them some time to relax so that they are really smiling and not faking it for the photo. Thankfully Hubby has taken to standing right behind me and acting goofy in order to get the kids to laugh at him.
Any tips, critiques or ideas for photo shoots? Got a great pin on Pinterest for photography? I would love to see it!
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