New Years Eve Tree

To take the tree down or leave it up? Some take it down right away after Christmas is over, some keep it up until January. Last year we started a new tradition in our home. Ornaments come off the tree and balloons, hats, and streamers go on! 

Make this a new tradition for your home!

My Surgery

I had my surgery 1 week ago on Jully 11. I am not quite ready to publically admit my weight at time of surgery but I know at some point I will be. I had my surgery at Rex Hospital in Raleigh, NC at the hands of the amazing Dr. Enochs. I was scheduled for 3:05pm and couldn't believe the day had finally come. 

The process to get me to that point was not an easy one. I first had to have the ok from my primary care manager (PCM) and have them submit a referral (Hubby (Dan) is military and we have TriCare Prime). From there I set up an appointment with the bariatric clinic and we discuss surgery possibilities. I chose to have a full gastric bypass versus a sleeve or a lapband. From there it took over a year worth of tests, blood work, X-rays, EKG, endoscopy, ultrasounds, and more! This is major surgery and they want to make sure your body is up for it. 

Going through all the steps is very time consuming and very stressful. I had many breakdowns along the way from dealing with Dr appointments or arguing with insurance companies. I'm sure there are people out there that had it much easier and I'm sure people had it worse. But, I will tell you that I literally cried tears of joy when my surgery was finally scheduled! I felt such an accomplishment of all I had done to get myself to that point. 

My surgery took around 2 hours, after which Dr. Enochs came and told Dan how it went. I spent about 2 hours in a recovery room and then finally to my hospital room where Dan was finally able to see me. I don't remember most of this.  The only pain I could sense when I finally came to was gas pains in my chest which is normal but painful. Burping helped a lot as did walking once I was able to a couple hours later. They do not waste time getting you up and walking! I will suggest bringing flip flops or easy to slip on shoes for this as you will not be able to bend down! 

I will have another post soon(ish) so watch out for it and thank you for joining me on my journey!

My Gastric Bypass Journey

I am scheduled to have gastric bypass surgery on July 11, 2014. I decided I am going to blog about my journey. I was going to start an entire new blog but then realized there was no need. This surgery will be a fresh start and change how I eat, therefore changing how I cook. 

This is me. Of course not my everyday look, this was after a local stage performance that I was a part of. I'm part of a local theatre group and it is something I love very deeply. I started acting, dancing, and singing at a young age and have just started with my current theatre group last year after taking many years off due to us being stationed where there weren't local opportunities. 

I currently weigh in the mid-200's, am 5'4", and am 32 years old. I have struggled with weight most of my life but it got much harder after I had my children (now aged 9 and almost 8), and even worse after my hysterectomy in January 2013. It was a long process getting approved for the surgery but now it's right around the corner and I couldn't be more excited!

I invite you to join me on my journey as I get a fresh start on my life and my health. I am asking for no negativity on my blog and any poor behavior will not be put up with. 

All Natural Orange Cleaner

I had heard about this and wanted to try it but always threw my orange peels out before I remembered to do it! We have a bag of mini oranges we bought last week so I decided now was the time! I peeled the oranges and put them into individual snack baggies, took the peels and placed them in a canning jar, then filled the jar with vinegar. In 2 weeks I will have an all natural, non-toxic cleaner for my home! So excited, I can't wait to start using it!

White Chicken Enchiladas (My 2012 Christmas Enchiladas)

We don't do a "traditional" Christmas dinner here. We decided a few years ago that we wanted to eat something we really enjoyed on Christmas and since we are a military family, many years it has just been the 4 of us for holiday meals. Enchiladas are one of our favorite meals and I have a few recipes I like to go between. This year I decided to try a new one that I had found on Pinterest. I was extremely happy with this recipe and will be adding it to our list of go-to enchiladas!

10 soft taco shells

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (add spices of your choice when cooking your chicken)

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

3 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan

2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese.  Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.

3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Add broth and whisk until smooth.  Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  

4. Stir in sour cream and chilies.  Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.

5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.

6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.

Oven Baked Tacos

So, I've been on a really big Pinterest kick for quite some time now and I don't see it coming to an end any time soon! I love trying new recipes, I try to make at least one new thing per week. That's how I've always been since my husband and I got married 10 years ago and Pinterest in just feeding my addiction! A lot of my recipes I'll be posting are ones I have tried from Pinterest. I don't know protocol for giving props to the original poster so I'm just gonna say Pinterest is where I got it from and now here it is on my blog! Boom, done!


I will usually always try any recipe that has to do with Mexican food. I don't know if it's from growing up in Southern California or just my love for carb filled, cheesy goodness but I just love it. I had to try this recipe out because it looked amazing and is a fairly easy recipe! I was right on both counts and this is something I will be making again!

Oven Baked Taco Shells

Working with 6 tortillas at a time, wrap in a barely damp cloth or paper towel and microwave on High until steamed, about 30 seconds. Lay the tortillas on a clean work surface and coat both sides with cooking spray. Then carefully drape each tortilla over two bars of the oven rack. Bake at 375°F until crispy, 7 to 10 minutes.

These turned out better than any premade taco shell I have EVER eaten! I will be making all of my hard taco shells from now on!

Baked Tacos

• 2 lbs ground beef (I prefer turkey)
• 1 can refried beans (low fat to make it slightly easier on the thighs)
• 15 ounce tomato sauce
• 1 pkg taco seasoning or 2-3 Tablespoons of your own concoction
• 2 cups shredded cheese 
• 18-20 hard taco shells 
• Your favorite taco toppings (Guacamole is always a must for us)

Brown ground beef. Drain off any fat and add refried beans, tomato sauce, and seasoning.
Spoon mixture into taco shells.
Place filled shells into a sprayed 9×13 pan, standing up. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until heated through.

Done. Easy. Amazing. You're welcome.

Knock-off Frappuccino

I found this recipe and decided to try it out since I am pretty much a coffee addict. It tastes just like a certain brand name that comes in a glass bottle! ;) Change it up with different flavored coffee and creamers!

10 cups of coffee
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup creamer of your preference