I finally did it!

I joined a gym!! So proud of myself. I joined 24 Hr Fitness near our house. I got a personal trainer for 5 sessions so I'm excited to finally start and lose this weight! I have till June to slim down for my hubby and for myself, aint no way I'm putting this body into a swimsuit anytime soon! lol Wish me luck!

Say goodbye to Daisy and Hello to Skinny

The new ice cream I mean!!

Ok so I have less than 4 months to lose this weight before I see Luis again AND before summer is here. So I am watching what I eat, eating less and soon will be working out once I can find a good gym. but I still crave something sweet after dinner and I heard about Skinny Cow products on Oprah and so I bought some today at Target and Loved it!! I bought the mini fudge bars.

97% Fat Free, 50 Calories per bar* 0g trans fat, Low Fat,

*100 calories per serving Two bar facts and 9 carbs for each bar!

And they have so many more kinds to chose from!

Can you tell I'm a bit excited, I can still have my ice cream and lose weight too! Woo hoo!

To My Valentine

Valentines Day usually is when Luis is deployed,

like this year so it usually sucks for me,

but I thought I Would at least brag

about my Valentine, here or away.

I think I am so blessed to have such a

wonderful husband who loves me more than

anyone ever has. He is so good to me and he's a

wonderful daddy at the same time. He works so hard at

his job to provide for us and makes many sacrifices for us in

order to take care of us. I dont know what I would do without him.

Years ago I thought I knew what true love was,

but that was not the case until I met and fell in love

with Luis. No other guy has loved me as much as he does.
I couldnt ask for a better , more loving and devoted husband.

(Luis just called me and wished me a Happy Valentines Day and

said how much he loves me and is so happy I am his wife.
He said he really wanted to send me flowers or something

but their internet isnt hooked up yet so they didnt have

the capabilities to do so.) which is fine by me, at least he called!

Gotta give him something for remembering! lol

Well here's to my valentine, the love of my life.

We have been through so much together, and yet are stronger than ever.

I love you baby!

The Silent Ranks

The Silent Ranks
Author: Unknown

I wear no uniforms, no blues or army greens

But I am in the Army in the ranks rarely seen

I have no rank upon my shoulders - salutes I do not give

But the military world is the place where I live

I'm not in the chain of command, orders I do not get

But my husband is the one who does, this I can not forget

I'm not the one who fires the weapon, who puts my life on the line

But my job is just as tough. I'm the one that's left behind

My husband is a patriot, a brave and prideful man

And the call to serve his country not all can understand

Behind the lines I see the things needed to keep this country free

My husband makes the sacrifice, but so do our kids and me

I love the man I married, Soldiering is his life

But I stand among the silent ranks known as the Army Wife

50th Grammy's

So a little recap from the Grammy's. I recorded it so I could fast forward thru the boring parts but I loved several of the performances. My favorites were Beyonce and Tina Turner, that woman still has it and Beyonce looked fabulous! The other was Alicia Keys and then John Mayer joined her, that was a great performance. I love Kanye West's song "Mama" and his first song performance was very cool! Carrie Underwood did awesome too, she is just a hottie.
But who is this new girl Amy Winehouse? She is just so weird to me. But she won several Grammy's.
Anyways, just thought I'd share my opionions on the awards this year.

Pictures

My little pig tail girl

Playing at the park

I caught you little girl!

Yum, cookie dough is yummy!

Mexican Chicken casserole

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Serves/Yields: Prep. Time: 1 hour

1 lb Chicken- boneless strips
1 bell pepper
1/2 onion
1 can enchilada sauce (6-8oz)
1/2 jalapeno or one green chile
salt & pepper to taste
water
3 tbsp sour cream
2 cups shredded Monterey jack
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 tbsp chili powder
1/8 tbsp cayenne pepper
1-2 tbsp butter
tomatoes (omit or add to recipe as desired)

Directions
Boil chicken strips until done (I cook for a long time 30 minutes or so). While they are cooking, chop the onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno, tomatoes and set aside. When the chicken is done, cool slightly and shred with a fork. Add the onions and peppers with the shredded chicken into a skillet and add butter and about 5 tbsp of water. Salt and Pepper to taste! Saute for about 10 minutes, (Adjust water to keep mix moist long enough to soften veggies) Add enchilada sauce, chili powder, and cayenne. Simmer 5-10 minutes.
If the mix isn't juicy enough just add some water till you get a good texture. Or if there is a lot of excess juice you can drain it off/ or keep it if you wish. Stir in sour cream and mix well.

In an 8x8 casserole dish, put the chicken mix in the bottom, Dice tomatoes and put on top, Mix cheeses and spread on top (I use LOTS of cheese). Bake in oven at 350 for about 15-30 min. (Until cheese is melted) Everything is optional and adjustable.

This is a recipe I found online and it's low carb!. It is WONDERFUL! It's also good to shred some lettuce on the plate and put the casserole on top. If you have non/low carb-ers in your house, you could get tortilla's to make a chicken burrito, or some chips for a nacho like meal. I always serve guacamole on the side. yum yum..enjoy!

Tortilla Soup

This is my dad's recipe, I have always used a different one , but according to him and my mom this one is better :)

INGREDIENTS:
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 corn tortillas, chopped (I used 10)
6 cloves garlic, minced (I used 10)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I used the whole bunch)
1 medium onion, chopped (I used a large onion)
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 to 6 cooked chicken breast halves, shredded or cubed (I used 4 large split breast)
Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
avocado, pitted, peeled, and cubed
sour cream
2 corn tortillas, sliced and fried crisp

TO PREPARE: Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add tortillas, garlic, cilantro, and onion. Saute 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes. Bring to a boil and add cumin, chili powder, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Return to a boil. Reduce heat. Add salt and cayenne. Simmer 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves and stir in chicken. Reheat. Garnish with Monterey Jack, avocado, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

SERVES: 6

Lipstick Jungle

Since Grey's and all those shows aren't new and not on right now I thought I'd watch the new show "Lipstick Jungle" It was pretty good. A new version of Sex in the City a little bit, although I never watched that show, but this one is pretty good since nothing else is on. Did anyone else watch it?

Recipe Exchange anyone?

So I thought we could post recipes every now and then if interested. If we try news ones or have old ones that are good. I love to cook so I have several and if not I'll just post anyway if you want :) Just an idea.

Missing Him

Luis called me this morning, he usually does about every 3 days or so if not emails me. It's always so good to hear his voice but I feel so helpless knowing he's over there and hating it and he's sick. It's so frustrating having no control over your own job. Most jobs you can just quit and get another job but with the Army you are stuck and it sucks. I just want him out of the Army already and home with us. Granted there are some perks that I'll miss about the Army life and the Army family you stick to but I'm so ready for the separation part of it to be over with. I hate that he has to be there and knowing that he's miserable is so hard.
I already have a care package boxed up and ready to send to him for Valentines and little pieces of home helps boost his morale. I'm counting down the days until June, that will be when he gets his 2 weeks leave to come home so 4 more months.
Please keep him in your prayers.

Kina Grannis

So the Super Bowl turned out just how I wanted it to! Go Giants!
And the commercials were pretty good. My favorite was the squirrel one! But if you watched they aired a new singer, Kina Grannis who happens to be from Austin and I LOVE her voice and music! A new fav for sure. I have one of her songs on my myspace page. Just wanted to share!