Oh the weather outside is frightful...

Hello everyone. I've finally had a minute to catch my breath and catch up on blogs and write a post of my own. I have been playing catch up since everyone left Sunday afternoon. For those of you that still have your children at home,  and can't believe what it will be like without them, I am here to tell you that they do come back....alot....and they bring laundry, friends, pet fish, and noise...lots of noise! As the mother of three sons, I have become used to the level of energy that a house full of testosterone can bring. However,  after they are gone for awhile, you do  get used to the quiet, having a fridge with food and less laundry. I am still stripping beds, catching up on work stuff that I put on hold for 5 days, and getting my house back in order. I am a bit of a neat freak, and as my kids will tell you, I can't stand visual chaos!! I'm happy to report that I spent today working on work stuff, paying bills, doing laundry and there is no visual chaos to be found in this house!!

We have been having glorious weather here in Pennsylvania. the days are warm and the temps are in the 60's. Yesterday my car temp reading was 72 degrees. I am loving it and pretending that I am living in northern California, my dream place to live. Although today, my weather gadget on my computer desktop said St. Helena, Ca was 40 and rainy. So I guess I should be happy with 68 and sunny which was what we had all week. Today, however is a different story. It's rainy and dark and I can feel the temperature dropping.  It's 4:30 here and so dark out. I know we are in for some story weather and I just got the dogs walk done in time.

My kitchen decked out for the holidays.

Hot tea and coconut bread.

It's the kind of weather that begs for a cup of hot tea. I just made a cup and pulled a piece of lemon coconut bread out of the freezer. I decided I had to lay off of it for a bit, as I was getting alittle obsessed with it. I know many of you are as well, but you are at or close to goal, and I am nowhere near that. But it is a tasty snack, and filling too. I tend to overdo cheeses and nuts for my snacks, so I thought it might be good if I had a piece a day with a cup of tea. I tried some of the Bigelow holiday teas, Eggnog and Ginger Snappish. I still prefer the Celestial Seasonings holiday teas, so I'll go back to those when I finish these up. I like the intensity of the flavors more. So I am sipping my tea, and enjoying my coconut bread. I have a fire going in my kitchen and it's warm and christmasy.

I survived the Thanksgiving holiday without too much trouble. I did have a very small portion of stuffing, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. Maybe about two or three small bites of each. It really satisfied me. I filled up on the dip and celery and the deviled eggs that I brought for appetizers. It wasn't a perfect weekend by any  means, but I would say compared to last year, it was a success. We'll see how I do when I weigh in tomorrow. I have been checking my weight and I'm about the same. I'm hoping for a little loss though. I need some to catch up with all of you!

Cooking for a group is always a challenge, but I did as many of you recommended and tried to make what I was cooking fit into the BFC guidelines. Here in the Philadelphia area, we are famous for our philly cheesesteaks. I made some for lunch one day, and put my portion on a new Flatout product that I found. It was very good, and I didn't miss that chewy, doughy roll. I really like this new product, as it fold nicely and makes a great paninni type sandwich if you grill it in the pan or use a paninni maker.

Philly Cheesesteak the BFC way.

New foldable flat outs

These Flatout Foldit's have 15g carbs, and less than 1gm sugar for one flatbread. In the ingredients, it states they contain less than 2% of the following: malitol, sugar, molasses. They also have 7 gm of protein and 7 gms of fiber. They are soft and have a great taste. The ones that I tried are the 5 grain flax. That was all they had except the white. I really liked them, and will buy them again. They made a great "roll" for my cheeseteak.

Me at the Christmas tree farm.

So back to a normal routine this week, and back to eating healthy, getting in a few workouts,  and keeping up with all of you on your blogs. We are all decked out for Christmas and got our real tree on Saturday. I used to get four real trees of varying sizes, but over the years we have bought some nice artificial ones. I have those in the living room, basement and kitchen. It makes it easier on me, and I don't have to keep them all watered! I'll share some photos in the coming days. Please share yours too. I love to see how everyone decorates for the holidays.

P.S. For those of you who are on Pinterest, I am obsessed with it! I have to limit it because there is so much information and I can't stop looking at it.

Thought for the day: There comes a time in life when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh and forget the bad, focus on the good. So love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is part of life and getting back up is living - author unknown