Week 4!

So today is the 4 week mark since I began a goal towards a healthier me. I'm happy say I'm down 17.2 pounds!

This week I lost 3.2 pounds. I'm pretty excited about that. I know this is gross, but look at what 3 pounds looks like. 

My ultimate goal is to lose 100 pounds this year.... my target date being Christmas day. So that leaves me with 82.8 to go. And whew, does that sound like a huge number.  I'm just taking it one day at a time though for now. 

I actually dusted off the elliptical and worked out three times this week as well. That is progress in itself. I'm not one of those that are particularly fond of exercise. Hopefully that will change as I go forward. I always feel better after. 

I found a great blog that has been so inspiring for me. It's called Runs for Cookies. I'm about the same age as her, have 2 kids like her, and have 100 to lose as well. I've loved reading all about her weight loss journey, and it gets me even more pumped about mine. She accomplished her goals through plain ole diet and exercise as well. She looks absolutely beautiful! 

And we both share a similar philosophy it seems:

Anyway, I'll keep you updated on my progress throughout. Still have a long way to go, but I'm super excited about how it's beginning.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Sweet Caroline, er.. Bella Grace

Had to share this! This is Bella singing her rendition of "Sweet Caroline" that I taught her ;) (With Audrey's  help, of course.)

I'm Back!

So you may have noticed that I haven't updated since November. It wasn't my intention to quit blogging and never update.. but as we all know, life happens, and it's been a very trying couple of months since then. My father is very sick, and has been in the hospital on and off since Thanksgiving day. So my first priority was to make sure he was taken care of, and always knew we we're there for him. He still isn't out of the woods, so any of you that believe in prayer, please send one up for him!

I've actually learned a lot about myself throughout these past few months. I've dealt with about every emotion out there. It doesn't feel right to be in your late 20's with two small children, and be worrying about losing your own parent. I didn't feel like it was my time to be dealing with something so heavy. There's never really a good age for this though, in truth.
There were days when we thought he wasn't going to make it through the night, followed by days of extreme hope. Up and down roller coaster of emotions. But they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and I believe that has been the case with me. I've learned to take things one day at a time, enjoy the small things, to always keep hope, and most of all to believe in myself. I didn't realize how strong I really was. And now I have a whole new clarity on things.. life in general. But as Forrest Gump says, "That's all I have to say about that."

To lighten things up a bit, and to play a little catch-up, there were lots of fun times the past month as well. Christmas was such a joy this year. The girls are at a good age, and they were really into everything. My mother & stepdad were up for a while, and we enjoyed spending lots of time with them. We had a really fun birthday party for my mom, complete with an ice cream sundae bar, a taco salad bar, and a band! I took my first painting class with 3 of my best friends, which was a blast.

And!! I'm happy to report that I've decided this is going to be the year that I really try and focus on my own health. No more waiting.. no more excuses.. I've got things to live for!! And even though life is tough sometimes, I'm once again excited about mine! I feel like I have a spark again & that nothing is impossible. So I'll keep you all updated on my "journey-to-healthy" as I go along. My goal is to lose 100lbs. There, I've said it, and it's out there! I'm happy to report I've already lost 14lbs since I started January 1st. I've got the big 30th birthday coming up this year, and I know most people dread the 30's, but I think these are some of the best times of my life. So to that I say.. BRING IT ON 30!!!

Loving this:


Now that we are, mostly, caught up, let's get to the pictures!

Here are the sweet pictures we used for our Christmas Card this year.












The baby girls.. so ready for Christmas this year!


My sweet Isabella is growing so much! *tear*




Mom's birthday party!




Ice cream Sundae Bar


Taco Salad Bar


Family :)


Me & my sweeties


Painting class! Such fun


And the sweetest picture I think I've ever seen! Though, I may be partial ;)


Glad to be back to blogging! Hope everyone's New Year is starting off good :)

Thanksgiving Banner

Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I took down all my Halloween things today and then I remembered that I made a banner for our mantle for Thanksgiving last year. Still love it! The links still work for you to download it yourself if you like... just click here for the post.



Hope everyone is having a good week!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the cutest little garden gnome and witch I've ever seen! :)

Candy Corn Cupcakes

Both of my girls are having fall parties in their little classes this year. I volunteered to make cupcakes, and wanted to make something cute. I remembered that last year I made "Candy Corn" Cupcakes for the first time. They were super cute and super easy! (Click here for my link on how to make them.)



This is what they came out like this year. (I wish I had been able to swirl the frosting cuter like last year, but for the life of me, I cannot seem to find my frosting tips/supplies, and my flimsy ziploc bag kept busting!) I made some cupcake toppers and put each child's name on them and then tied a little ribbon around each stick.

Have you got a cute Halloween cupcake idea? Link up here!

Chocolate Chess Pie

Last weekend, I made a stop at a favorite local bakery and had the first piece of chocolate chess pie I had eaten in a long time. It was delicious. The only problem was that it left me craving it. So I called up my mom, who in my opinion is the best cook I know (love ya Mom!), and got the recipe so I could bake one of my own.

It's easy, chocolatey, silky, flaky Yumminess. Here's the recipe:


Chocolate Chess Pie

-4 eggs, beaten

-4 TBSP Hershey cocoa powder
-2 TBSP all purpose flour

 Mix together with electric mixer/blender.

 Then add:
-2 cups sugar
-Stick of melted butter/margarine
-tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 cup of milk

 Mix together until well blended. Pour into frozen deep dish pie shell. Bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees.
(If you do not like the edges of your crust to get really brown, you can wrap small strips of aluminum foil around the crust to prevent it from over-browning.)

Easy as that.

And this is totally unrelated, but check out my sister's pumpkin. We call it "A Starry Pumpkin" :)

I heart Fall!

Fall is my favorite season. I love everything about it! Colors, foods, leaves, football.. you name it. Last weekend we took the girls on a trip to the pumpkin patch. Audrey remembered going last year and was so excited to go again. They spent 20 minutes going back and forth over which pumpkins they liked best. And what a better setting for some super cute fall pics!

My sweetie pies!


Love Audrey's little smirk in this one!


The pumpkins they decided they liked best.


My sweet Isabella.. who still insists on being called "Isabetta" these days. (She came up with that herself.)




Sweet kisses




Love this old barn!


And what's Fall without some yummy baking? Does this not look way sinful?


Another thanks to Pinterest, for bringing this little recipe into my life. So good! Here's the link.


And since I'm feeling all "Fall-y & Festive", I decided to paint a pumpkin.
So I present to you....


Happy Friday everyone!!!

Share your weekly pics at Life. rearranged.

Pinterest... How I love thee

Hi, I'm Leslie, and I'm addicted to Pinterest...

I love having one place to see all the great ideas I've come accross. Plus I no longer have a million bookmarks in my favorites. Thank You Pinterest.

Today I thought I would share a few of the recipes I've actually tried that I found via Pinterest.

#1 Cheesy Bacon Biscuits - My husband actually made these for us for breakfast last weekend. Super simple, super tasty. We scrambled a few eggs and poured some OJ - Viola! Breakfast.


#2 Cinnamon Roll Cake - There are no words to describe how delicious this is.. it's just sinful. One of those cakes you should probably only eat about once a year because it's in no way good for the waistline. But it's good to be bad once in a while, right?


#3 Macaroni with Beef and Cheese - This was comfort food at it's best. This made a huge casserole though - so I might freeze half of it next time. We had so much left. Cheesy, hearty, and has a hint of sweet from the tomatoes.


#4 Poptarts - I love how easy these are. I literally made them in a few minutes. And they tasted so good. The store bought poptarts do not even compare. Fun to make with the kiddos.


#5 Honey Beer Bread - This baby is actually in the oven right now - so the verdict is still out. I'm not a beer drinker myself, but I've heard beer bread is actually really good. And the picture sure looked good! So we shall see :)


And next time I was thinking about sharing some of my favorite crafts/projects that I've came accross on Pinterest. Feel free to share some of your favorites! But until then...

Happy Birthday Isabella!

Can't believe my sweet girl is 2! But since this could easily turn into a tear-jerking, "Where has the time gone?", "please stay a baby for a little longer", kinda post... I'm going to keep it short and sweet.

Mommy loves you more than words can express. You are beautiful inside & out, you suprise us everyday with new things you have learned, and we are beyond blessed that you became a part of our lives. I can't imagine a world without you in it! Happy Birthday our sweet Isabella.


Pics from the party:

Birthday Banner


The Birthday Girl!



Happy Big Sister!


Seeing her cake for the first time. She was so excited it was Mickey Mouse.


Cute cake for a little beach party :)


The hubby working on the food


We are singing "Happy Birthday" to her in this pic...


Blowing out the candles


Opening gifts