Reorganizing for the New Year! UPDATED 01/01/10

As some of you know, I am a little bit of an organization freak especially when it comes to my kitchen and pantry.  I try to simplify things in my life, save time, and save money.

Many have asked about my shopping habits, so I thought I would share what I do each month to keep our family organized.  It is much more cost effective to shop this way as well!

1. I take a couple of hours close to the end of the month to make out my meal calendar for the upcoming month. I use a 12 month calendar template I found on Word. I search for new recipes online during the month when I have some extra time and save them for the upcoming month.  Here is my calendar for the month of January. Click on the calendar to make it larger.

2. I make it easy on myself by designating Mondays as a Mexican meal, Tuesdays is a Chicken meal, Wednesday is an Italian meal, Thursday is a beef meal, Friday is homemade pizza or calzone night, Saturday is usually something cooked on the grill, and Sunday is a crockpot meal. if we plan on being out or going out to eat, I will put that on the calendar.

3. If we have enough leftovers on a certain night for a full meal, I freeze it and put it on the menu for next month on one of the designated nights. I make sure I put frozen in parenthesis, so I know it is already prepared.

4. I make my grocery list by using my meal calendar, but I first go through my freezer and take stock of what I have....how much hamburger, chicken, etc.

5. I make my grocery list online at http://www.workingmom.com/grocery_list/ and print the list and my meal calendar to take with me to the store. I make sure I write down exactly how many lbs of hamburger I need, chicken, etc. The more specific you can be on your list, the more money you save because you are not purchasing extra stuff while you are shopping. Don't forget to add your cleaning supplies, snacks, school lunch stuff, etc. Also, put down only the produce you need for the week or even 2 weeks depending on what you will be using because you will just waste money trying to purchase it for the whole month.

6. I then go to www.afullcup.com and look under the coupon tab and print coupons from redplum, smartsource, coupons.com, and cellfire. Since I already have my meals planned, I will know what coupons I need. I also can search for certain coupons under the printable coupon section. I also cut coupons that I think I might need from Sunday paper each week. Don't forget to look for coupons at the store or search their sale ads as well. If you find it cheaper at one store than another, ask to see if they will match the price. If not, it really isn't worth driving to another store due to gas prices and time unless it a difference of appx $3. I use that number as my gage because it is the appx. cost of a gallon of gas.

7. I purchase my produce weekly at the farmer's market or go and pick it each week. I also purchase dairy products bi-monthly to keep those items fresh.

8. Last thing is, purchase in bulk if you can. I am a Costco fanatic, and I cannot do without it. It will definitely save you money in the long run! Most houses in Hawaii are very small and have no storage, but I transfer things in to sealed containers and tubs, and that makes it much easier.

 

Since I bake my own breads and pizza dough, I buy white sugar, all purpose flour, and bread flour in 25 lb bags as well. It is SO MUCH cheaper that way I even use my mail scale that I purchased off of Ebay to weigh out my hamburger that I buy in bulk. I separate it in to 1 lbs bags, so I know exactly how much I am using.

I hope this helps at least one of you to get organized in 2010,  Good luck and Happy Organizing!

I made it without losing it!

I cannot believe it, but I made it through Christmas Eve without losing it.  Christmas Eve is a bitter sweet day for us because it is our oldest son's birthday and the anniversary of his death.  Beckam would be 6 years old if he was still on this earth, but he was just to small to live.  He was Monkey Doodle's twin that I delivered at 21 weeks 5 days on Christmas Eve 2003.  It is a definitely a rare occurrence that I delivered my twins almost 6 weeks apart, and we have less than a 3% chance of having Monkey Doodle to make it to viability.

I still have my bad days, but it has gotten better over the last 6 years.  We still miss his terribly and hang a picture ornament of him on our tree every year at the time of his birth, 6:44 PM eastern time.  He blessed us on this earth for 2 1/2 hours while Chief read him The Christmas Story, and I held him in my arms and studied his little face, hands, and feet.  He was perfect, but just tiny.  I put the phone up to his ear so my family could tell him that they loved him and would miss him since they could not be there when he was born.  I remember every detail of that night, every little wimper, and every little sound as painful and sweet as they are.  I would do anything to see my sweet Beckam just one more time.  I know I will see him in heaven one day, and I take comfort that he is with our Father, enjoying the wondrous place I long to see after I am no longer on this earth.

My favorite saying is this.....

Hug your children a little closer, play with them a little longer, let the little things slide, and celebrate life with them a little more because it can all change in the blink of an eye.

1 Corinthians 15:52:
⁵² It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.

Requested Recipes

I have a request for a few recipes, so I thought I would post them.

Beer Dip

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup light colored beer

Directions

1. In a medium bowl(I use my food processor), combine cream cheese and dressing mix. Stir in Cheddar cheese, and then beer. The mixture will appear mushy. Cover bowl, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, overnight if possible.

Sugar overload!

I have spent the last couple of days making all kinds of Christmas goodies, but I am trying to be good and not eat them! I may have a small sample, but I am keeping that to a minimum. I have made cranberry chex mix, 5 dozen sugar cookies and gingerbread men, cheeseroll (minimal carbs!), puppy chow, and ranch oyster crackers. I have to say that it hasn't been that hard to be around all of it and not eat it. It is really strange!!! Anyway, me, Chief, and some very good friends of ours spent the day icing 5 dozen sugar cookies and gingerbread men.

REPOST! Reasons why I chose Dr Sauceda

I have had so many people ask me why I chose Dr Sauceda, and I thought this would be a good time to repost this.

1. He uses the Hampton Inn to house his patients. The link to the hotel is http://hamptoninn.hilton.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml;jsessionid=XSQGHGCOAUOHWCSGBJF3MQQ?ctyhocn=MTYGAHX If you have the all inclusive package, he takes care of the hotel reservations for you.

2. He performs his surgeries in a clinic that is very close to his office and the hotel. Here is a link to pictures of the clinic and to another blogger that has already had her surgery. http://www.mymexicopsjourney.com/clinic-rooms.htm

3. The clinic does have WIFI internet access now and so does the hotel. You would need to bring an Ethernet cord if you want access in your hotel room, but they also have access downstairs as well.

4. You can request to have a recliner be placed in your room and a mini fridge as well.

5.Dr Sauceda has a seat riser for the bathroom that you can request if you think you are going to need one.

6. The Hampton Inn has a free full breakfast buffet every morning and free happy hour on Tues, Wed, and Thursday with free appetizers.

7. From my own experience, it was all in a very safe area. I even walked to the HEB at night and felt completely safe.

8. The hotel has an Applebee’s next door, and they will deliver to the hotel. There is a Starbucks, McDonalds, H.E.B., an Italian Restaurant, and other shops. There is a big mall less than a $2 cab ride away called Gallerias Monterrey with every kind of shop & amenities and is very similar to an American mall. The food court at the mall includes a KFC, Pizza Hut, and a Chili’s. The hotel also has a shuttle service that will take you around for free within 10 miles of the hotel. ( I would still give a tip.)

9. Dr. Sauceda has told me that he only performs 1 surgery per day.

10. His wife is his anesthesiologist, and she is known for making patients have very minimal pain after surgery. I was off my IV and IV drugs by day 2 and on Ibuprofen by day 4.

11. He performs the surgery under something called twilight sedation, not general anesthesia. It is regional anesthesia with sedation, and that allows him to perform multiple surgeries without the risk of being under general for many hours. After I researched it, I found that it is much safer and there is no need to recover from the anesthesia like someone would from general anesthesia. I was talking to my husband on the phone before I was even out of the operating room.

12. If you are not completely 100% satisfied with his work, he will offer free revisions if warranted. The patient might have to pay for your flight/ and or hotel, but his fees are free.

13. If you travel alone, Dr. Sauceda may offer to let you stay at the clinic the entire time or stay longer than normal if you like. He doesn’t want you to get lonely in the hotel. He offered to me already, but I would rather go back to the hotel where the beds are much more comfy!

14. He also comes to your hotel room everyday at least once to check on you, change your bandages, etc. Amazing to have a Dr. that actually makes house calls! If for some reason he cannot make it, he does have an assistant or a nurse that comes in his place. I saw him everyday and also a nurse everyday to help me dress, bathe, and get my garments on.

15. He uses the brand Veronique for his compression garments, and they get great reviews.

16. If your surgery totals over $6000, he currently offers an all inclusive price. That includes hotel, medical clearance tests, all medical expenses, fees, implants (if any), required post-op garments(I believe 2 sets of garments, but it might be on a case by case basis), required hospitalization, post-op medication, follow up, refund of airfare up to $600, and local transportation (airport-clinic-hotel-airport.)

17. Dr. Sauceda will try to pick you up personally from the airport if he is available to do so. He picked me up, but could not take me back to the airport. He did already have a cab arranged for me and paid for when I had to leave.

18. The best is that he truly is an artist! He is so good at what he does and gave me an amazing new body! I cannot thank him enough for giving me a new and improved me!

More post op pictures

I had a better swelling day Sunday morning since I wore my garment to bed, so I thought I would take advantage and have Chief take some more post op pictures of me.

Then, we needed to run some errands in town, and it was cool enough to wear jeans!  I think the temperature was about 75 degrees this afternoon, so it was very pleasant.  I liked my outfit, and it made me feel pretty!

My Cooking Calendar for Christmas Week

I had to make a list of dishes that I am cooking and baking for Christmas to keep everything straight and not forget anything! I thought it was pretty funny, so I thought I would share.  I have already made puppy chow, the sugar cookie dough, and gingerbread men. I still have dough left to make more though.

Monday

Ranch oyster crackers

Cranberry Chex Mix

Cheeseroll

Tuesday

Sugar Cookies (dough already mixed and in the fridge)

Gingerbread Cookies (dough already mixed and in the fridge)

Divinity

Wednesday

New York Cheesecake

Baby Green Chili Wonton Quiches

Beer Dip

Strawberry Topping for Cheesecake

Pimento Cheese Spread

Christmas Eve

Corn Bread for the dressing

Pecan Pies

Pie Crusts

Sausage Balls

Chili con queso

4 dozen Clover Leaf Potato Rolls

Twice Baked Potatoes

Christmas day

Corn Bread Dressing

Turkey Gravy

Green Bean casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

Broccoli & Rice Casserole

Cranberry Dressing

Whipped cream

I am making all of this along with still preparing lunch and dinner for our family.  Thankfully, our friends fed us dinner, and we will have Chicken n Dumplings Monday night that I prepared for Sunday's dinner.   I think I will be in the kitchen a lot this week! I am ready to have a bigger kitchen because my small kitchen is for the birds!!!!

What's for dinner?

Many of you know that I LOVE to cook, and I like to experiment in the kitchen.  I may not get to eat much of it, but I take pleasure in making it for my family and friends. 

Well, my husband was craving a dish from a restaurant that we do not have in Hawaii, Skilletini from Johnny Carinos.  So, I decided to try and duplicate it, and I was completely successful!!  I thought I would share it with everyone because it was so so so so good!

Italian Sausage Skilletini

INGREDIENTS

* 1 package of Link Italian Sausage
* 1 tablespoon olive oil for sausage
* 1 small package of thin spaghetti
* 1 tablespoons olive oil for spaghetti
* 4 cloves of fresh garlic, thinly sliced
* 1 green bell pepper chopped in to hunks
* 1 red pepper chopped in to hunks
* 1 medium sweet onion
* 1 teaspoon of oregano
* 1 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1 tablespoon olive oil for end
* grated parmesan to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and cook linked sausage thoroughly for approximately 10 minutes.

2. In another skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute green pepper, red pepper, onion and sliced garlic until a little brown.

3.Boil water and place 1 tablespoon oil in water. Cook spaghetti on high for until about 3/4 done.

4. After sausage is cooked, pasta is cooked,and veggies are done, pour veggies, stewed tomatoes, and drained spaghetti in to large skillet with the sausage. Add 1 teaspoon garlic salt, oregano, and 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Saute on high for 5 minutes. Place smaller skillet lid on top of the spaghetti that has gathered in the middle and push down to compress it to the skillet. Hold for 30 seconds, mix up the spaghetti, and compress for 30 seconds again. Repeat this 2 more times.

5. Sprinkle grated Parmesan on top and serve.

Enjoy!

10 weeks post op

I know it has been awhile since I updated my blog, but life got in the way! We have been super busy with Monkey Doodle's school stuff, Christmas shopping, looking for new houses, and everyday things as well.

Well, I am 10 weeks post op, and I am still battling some swelling. I have it mostly in my belly and some in my back. Overall, I am pretty pleased! I am wishing my thighs were a little tighter, and I am going to talk to him about that. I still have some wrinkling down my my knees, but I also need to build more muscle back in to my legs. I cannot wait to start swimming in the ocean again, but I am trying to stay out of the sun because of the scars.

The scar on my right breast is still really bright red.  My body rejected quite a few dissolvable stitches, but that was not a surprise to me since it has happened before on a few occasions.

Jeremy took these this morning even though I am not having a good swelling day.  I do not have to wear my garment anymore, but I still wear it sometimes at night.  If I do, I usually have a much better swelling day.  I just get tired of wearing it!  

I am still wearing a solid size 6, size small dresses, small or medium tops, and I do have 1 pair of jeans that are 4's. 

Now for some before and after pictures.

These 2 were taken in April 2009.

These were taken this morning, 10 weeks post op wearing the same suit, but 1 size smaller in bottoms.  You can see a pretty significant difference!  I still have 15 lbs that I would like to lose, but I will do it gradually so I don't get loose skin. 

 

 

What's for Dinner??

Just for the record, this is NOT low calorie and NOT low fat, but I thought I would share a family favorite with all of you.



BakedZiti

* 1 pound dry ziti or the tube looking pasta
* 1 onion, chopped
* 2 cloves of minced garlic
* 1 pound lean ground beef
* 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce or make your own ( I make my own)
* 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
* 1 1/2 cups sour cream
* 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
* 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

 

 

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown onion, garlic, and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish or spray with Pam.
4. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, 1/2 sauce mixture, Provolone cheese, sour cream, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and mozzarella!
5. Bake for 30 minutes or so in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

This is by far my husband and kids favorite recipe. If you like your meals cheesier, meatier or saucier, than you can add a little more, but that's strictly on your preference. Oh yeah.......keep in mind that this meal does make a huge dish so you might want to have a smaller baking dish on the side for any extra that doesn't fit in the first one. Better safe than sorry.....and trust...YOU WON'T BE SORRY FOR MAKING THIS AT ALL!!!!

Surf's Up!!!

I couldn't stand it any longer after seeing how flat the surf was on Wednesday, so after volunteering at Monkey Doodle's school Wednesday morning, Miss Priss and I went to soak up some vitamin D at 3 tables.  I knew the surf was about to get monstrous over the next few days, so I knew this would be the only chance for her to play in the water.  After applying gobs of 50 SPF, we got almost 2 hours of relaxing on the beach.  It was the first time I had worn a bikini out in public, and I didn't care how swollen I was!!!  You can tell by the picture(taken with my phone, so poor quality) that we are pretty pasty white compared to what we usually are.  It has been months since we had beach time since was unable to go because of surgery.

I am 8 weeks post op and still battling my swelling,  I am up 8 lbs from swelling, and I am so fed up with it!!  I start out about 5 lbs up in the morning, but I swell to the 8 lb mark by the evening.  It is getting so old, and I was hoping it would be a little better by now.  These pictures were taken this morning after not sleeping with my garment on.

I feel like a marshmallow!

 

 

I laid around all day yesterday until yesterday evening when we decided to walk over to the Eddie Aikau surf competition opening ceremonies.  We were surrounded by so many pro surfers and local celebrities, and we had no clue who they were.

It was such a neat experience, and you can read all about the competition here.  

http://live.quiksilver.com/2009/eddie/history.php?btn_history=_over

 

It is a big wave competition, and they have not been able to have it in 5 years because the surf hasn't been high enough.  We are so excited to see the huge waves and surf, and it will happen either on the 7th, 8th, or 9th!!

Goodbye Oregon, Aloha Hawaii

We made it home safe and sound last night from Oregon, but none of us are too happy to be home.  Monkey Doodle had a breakdown Friday night when he found out we were leaving, and he said that he did not want to leave his family and go back to Hawaii.  As soon as we landed Saturday night, he started crying again and said that he wanted to fly back to Oregon because he did not want to live in Hawaii anymore.  I have to say that I am right there with him, and I am ready to move.  Hawaii is great and we have amazing friends here, but our hearts are in Oregon.  We love everything about it and are ready to move there permanently. Chief could retire from the Army right now, but that isn't best for us financially at the moment.  Hopefully we will be ready to do that in 2 years from now!  Here are some pictures of our amazing trip with our amazing family!

Monkey Doodle and Miss Priss ready to go fishing with Uncle Bob

Monkeying around

Miss Priss and Grandma

 

Our kids with the Grandparents

Our family with Chief's parents

I am thinking Christmas card??

 

Me and my beautiful Mookie

 

1 Year Ago Today

On November 24, 2008, I was revised from the Lapband to the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy.  It was one of the best decisions in my life!  I am so thankful that Dr Rehrig believed in me and helped me in making this decision.  Life with the sleeve is so much better and so much more fullfilling because there is little to no maintenance, I can eat pretty much what I want, and I only eat in very small quantities.  It has given me my life back, and I would never change a thing! 

My life has changed in so many ways in the past year!  We have moved to Hawaii, Monkey Doodle started Kindergarten, I am a stay at home mommy, I wear a bikini when I go to the beach, I had plastic surgery to get rid of the excess skin, and most important....I AM HEALTHY AND HAVE A NORMAL BMI!  That is just crazy to me to think that I am considered normal now. I still have 15 lbs that I would like to lose, and I cannot wait to get back in to the gym and work on that. 

I just have to say that I love my life and so thankful that I had weight loss surgery!

Oregon vacation part 1

We are having a blast here in Oregon! We have seen old friends, spent some fabulous time with family, and spent the day at the Coast. Tomorrow, Monkey Doodle is going fly fishing with his Uncle Bob, and both kids HAD to sleep out in the camper tonight with the aunt and uncle. Mookie is having so much fun wrestling and playing with her younger siblings, and we are loving having her around. Tomorrow is cooking and baking day, but we are taking time out to have lunch with more friends again.

We are so in love with Oregon and have no desire to go back to Hawaii. This will definitely be out retirement place, and we cannot wait for that day to arrive.

6 weeks post op

I made it to 6 weeks post op, and I am looking better and better every day.  I still have a lot of swelling, and I hope it goes away soon.  I took some pictures last night, but they are not great since I didn't have a photographer.  I am also up about 3 lbs of swelling from yesterday morning too, but I still wanted to take a few pictures! 

Preop markings appt

 

 

These were taken last night, and I have on the exact same bikini bottoms

 

 

Pretty amazing, huh?  I cannot wait to see what I look like at the 6 month mark!