Meatloaf .... It's what's for dinner!

 I'm not talking about your regular run of the mill meatloaf either. I am so blessed that as an independent Pampered Chef consultant I have a wealth of information and time saving tools at my fingertips. Tonight I decided to use my fancy tools to make mini meatloaves. They were so yummy and the kids ate them up. Here's how I did it.
 INGREDIENTS
1 lb lean ground beef
2 eggs
1 whole hamburger bun
1 T Pampered Cheff 3 Onion Rub
1T Pampered Chef Green Pepper and Herb Rub

Preheat your oven to 350

Place hamburger bun inside this handy dandy tool aka ... Manual food processor and pump the handle until you have bread crumbs. Dump the remainder of the incredients into the Classic Batter bowl

Use the mix n Chop with a twist of the wrist to thoroughly blend all the ingredients. 

 

Once the mixture is thoroughly blending use the medium
scoop to portion enough meat for each mini meatloaf.
Place one heaping scoop into the mini brownie pan and
the mini mix and scrapper to flatten the top of each loaf.

Place the brownie pan in the oven and cook for 12 min. Remove from oven, garnish with ketchup and place back in the oven for another 8 minutes. Remove from oven allow to sit for about 5 minutes and enjoy! 

42 things I know about me.

As my weight loss journey continues I am learning way more about me than I ever really wanted to know. :) Here are just a few facts. Of coarse this is all in addition tot he fact that I love Jesus and my family. I picked 42 because that is also my age :)
1. I work best under pressure
2. I need a schedule
3. Developing a routine is imperative to my daily success.
4. Developing a daily TO DO list is imperative to my daily efficiency
5. I am an eternal optimist, always looking for the best in any situation and the best in every person.
6. My drive to loose weight is NOT greater than my love of food
7. I keep most people including myself at arms length so none of us have to see the "ugly"
8. I am a procrastinator
9. I am more like my dad than I would like to admit.
10. I wish I had more of my mom's qualities.
11. I am a dreamer
12. I hate rules and regulations and feel like they leave no room for creativity and self expressing despite the fact that I DO recognize the need for them.
13. I would love to be able to call myself a dancer, designer, or artist.
14. I taught myself to sew but haven't done it now for several years despite the fact that I love it.
15. I love to worship my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
16. I am often working out money making ideas in my head.
17. I love my children fiercely but often don't know how to tell them or show them.
18. I fear rejection by people in general.
19. My fear of rejection often keeps my creativity squelched
20. Add writer to the titles I would like to have.
21. I fear getting myself into a situation/conversation in which I have no idea of how to respond.
22. Being or giving hugs makes me feel uncomfortable and awkward.
23. I dream of making an unforgettable mark on this world.
24. Sometimes I feel like a foreigner in my everyday life.
25. I dream of visiting Africa or Haiti and loving on children who have never known love and of bringing hope to another single mother. First by introducing her to Jesus Christ and then teaching her a money making skill so she can support her children.
26. I love to know about the real world lives or others
27. Knowing about the real world lives of others often makes me feel incomplete and inadequate.
28. I want to homeschool my children
29. I have a fresh bread baking, home made cookie making, dinner on the table every night kind of heart.
30  As organized as I try to be ..... I am a mess
31. Many days I feel like I missed the life I was supposed to have due to my own disobedience. Read #12
32. One of my lifes greatest sadnesses is not knowing my extended family very well on both my mom's    and dad's side.
33. I hope that before my father died he knew how much I loved him and was never able to really tell him.
34. I wish I had been wiser in my early adult years and understood the impact of financial decisions, credit score and future options.
35. I wish I had a better handle of finances period.
36 I wish I taught my children how to make smart financial decisions.
37. Sometimes I feel like I haven't taught them anything they need to know to be independent adults.
38. I miss those days before they all knew how to make their own pb and j.
39. Somedays I wonder how life would be different if I weren't single.
40. I love to entertain. Give me a dinner party to plan and I am in hog heaven.
41. When speaking of my children I will take spiritual growth and maturity over academic success any day.
42.When listening to music I can often visualize a dance to go with it.

YOU make all things new.

Prior to the RNY Gastric Bypass surgery I lived my life seeking peace - or perhaps I should say ... avoiding conflict. The two are not the same. One creates peace and the other creates great war and conflict within you while the illusion of peace may surround you. I spent years trying to rid myself of any negative emotions by feeding it. I guess I figured the more I fed it the quieter I could keep it. I was easily swayed by others into thinking I was someone I was not. Some good qualities they saw in me, some not so good. I made every move looking for the approval of others, looking to be accepted and loved and cared aibout. Hoping just hoping someone would validate me. I picked up causes and callings that were not mine to pick up and repeatedly let those that were mine fall away. I spun my wheels trying to progress others jobs, relationships, lives and the worst part about it ... I was teaching my children to do the same - to think with the thoughts of others instead of their own. I was teaching them to keep peace at all costs, even when you know someone else is wrong or something they were being asked to do is wrong .... just keep the peace. Keep your mouth shut, perform so they will like you, even when all your efforts are never enough.

The Gastric Bypass stripped away my "shut-up" tool. I could no longer use food to keep my feelings/thoughts stuffed down and my vocal folds paralized. I could no longer use food as a numbing agent to ignore what I was feeling or thinking and over the last several months I am learning to love the woman God has created me to be. In this process what I have found is this.... In Christ I am much stronger than I ever thought was possible. I have come to know God's relationship with me is far more important than my relationship with any human being and with him and in Him I have enough. Second to only that relationship is the one I have with my children. He has blessed me with incredible treasures. Being a mother to Zoe Claire, Ethan and Madison is the most important mission I will ever be assigned. Loving others does not entail forsaking my God, my children, my family or myself. Living this life God has set me here for includes putting into action the vision He has placed in my heart for my family and our home not tagging onto the vision He has for someone else.

I have learned I like that I care about health and fitness now. I like that I am in control of my daily caloric intake and what I expend through exercise. Not at all from a vain perspective but as a way to challenge this human body God created for me to live this earthly life in and I like that the concern I have for my bodies condition is allowing me to do more for HIM - more and more for HIM. He is showing me that instead of being a selfish act (as I had once thought), taking care of myself is a way to glorify and honor HIM.

I like that instead of feeling foggy all the time I am now clear in my thoughts. I am confident in my actions and though I have made mistakes I can quickly recognize them, ask for forgiveness and live this life free of regret and guilt, those are tools from the enemy that I no longer have to carry around. I like that I can sit on the floor and play with Zoe Claire or walk to the mailbox without getting winded. I like that in all this stripping away of weight He is also working to strip away habits and personality traits that do not glorify HIM or serve a purpose as a child of the KING. I like the new relationship He has developed between myself and my family. He places the lowly in family and I hit the jackpot when He placed me! I like that I feel like a butterfly about to explode out of my cocoon! I am a new creation. The old has gone the new has come. My wings are fighting to fly.