Quick and Easy Broccoli Soup

1 can Campbell's 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
Leftover broccoli (I used about 1 cup from a steamer's bag that was leftover from dinner the night before)
3/4 a can of milk

Dash of sea salt and pepper

Microwave for 3 1/2 minutes.

Yum!

Firsts

This is the first day of my life that I have ever woken up early to exercise. I didn't even need coffee this morning.

I'm down only 7lbs, but it's a start.

I thought it was going to be a lot harder than it actually was. I know when people say that you automatically roll your eyes...but listen to me now.

IT WAS AMAZING.

Then I screwed up and ate a cupcake tonight that my boss bought me for my birthday. Still, better than not doing anything!

Learning Lessons the hard way!

I really wish I could put a "do not authorize" payment prohibitor on fast food purchases via my debit card.

I did really well today, and then was starving by the hour drive home from volleyball practice tonight at 9:50pm.

Needless to say, the best option I had was Jack n the Box at that point. The only food at home being unable to be cooked because my parents were in bed (aka means kitchen is closed because I'm too noisy-another disaster of living with the parents).

I just killed any and all activity I did today by scarfing down those damn eggrolls...

I went with good intentions- their chicken terriyaki has vegetables in it at least that are real...and it isn't fried.

Needless to say they were "out of rice."

And my stomach gained control over my brain and said, "eggrolls, Damn you! EGGROLLLLLLS."
And I foolishly listened.

That just means I'll have to be extra good tomorrow. 

Diets aren't ruined by messing up. Diets are ruined when you don't learn from your mistakes and let Mr. Tum-Tum decide 24/7.

PS for your reference they're approximately 133 calories per eggroll (AND FLIPPING DELICIOUS).

My fajitas bring all the dieters to the yard & they're like....This is low carb!

So we all know about the HCG diet, where some miracle drug helps you stay on 500 calories a day for like 30 days or something.

YEAH. Like that doesn't want to make you laugh in the face of everyone on the planet who tries it.

First of all, you can't drink on it. Strike one.
Second of all, you only eat 500 calories a day. Can we say exemplifying the definition of "hangry" people x10 here?
Third of all, rumor has it that it messes up the baby-maker. So if you're already through menopause, no big whoop.

But for those of us who someday unfortunately wish to spread the genetic code of our ancestors further- there is no way in hell we are doing this. Not to mention even if you don't- it's just insanely unhealthy.

So what's the purpose of this rant?

I am really glad they have seasoning and salad dressings to use on the diet because they don't contain salt or sugar.



I'm testing them out on some boneless, skinless chicken breast strips tonight. I'll let you know the outcome.
I figure either way I'm going to make me some fajitas!

Fajitas a la Haley
boneless, skinless, chicken breast-baked @350 degrees Fahrenheit (seasoning optional)
Veggies in your drawer, chopped into strips (I'm using green peppers, mushrooms, and red onion)
Put veggies in hot skillet, the key to good fajitas is the TOMATOES! Are you thinking what tomatoes?

I'm talking about the tomatoes I'm telling you to use instead of oil for the fajita stir-fry.
Cut up some fresh ones, squeeze them & throw them in.
You can also use stewed or whatever you have on hand (but fresh is best, and canned is getting into high sodium territory).

Cook it up, slap it on some tortilla shells, and call it a day!

Voila. Easy as pie.

Garnish with lots of lettuce or avocado slices.

Update: I found a salad dressing

Okay, so practically putting my foot in my mouth on this one but I found a salad dressing I do enjoy.

It's called "Simply Dressed; Champagne"

 

Check out their line of salad dressings, and if anyone has tried their other flavors, leave a comment and let me know how they are!

Haley's Awesome Tuna Salad Salad

So I started healthy eating this week- and so far I've lost 7lbs since my weigh in at the doctor last Monday. Mostly I've just been calorie counting so I can still eat what I want, but it's more like portion control, fillers that have zero calories, and not eating past 7:30PM if I can help it. (Currently on medicine requiring food when taking it and you have to take it before bedtime...so I save a few calories for a  little something).

I've always had a thing of hating most salad dressings so I thought I would share what I enjoy. I eat tuna salad on top of a big plate of lettuce. Sounds gross, but it's really good. So below I've shared the recipe and an approximate calorie count.

Haley's Awesome Tuna Salad Salad
1 Can Tuna, drained
1 tbsp sweet pickle relish
Celery, chopped
Red Onion, chopped
3 tbsp. Reduced Fat Olive Oil Mayo
Mrs. Dash and Crushed Red Pepper to Taste!

Mix ingredients and add to a plateful of lettuce (Romaine mixed with red cabbage was used in the calorie count) and VOILA! Magnifico filling and tasty salad without nasty dressing.

Approximately 300 or less calories!
(I rounded up because I didn't measure the lettuce and red onion by ounce)

Hosting a Work Meeting

Aside from the everyday Carlson Blue button downs and the almost obsessive need to have a coffee maker in the room, what does the art of hosting a work meeting entail?

If it is before 11:00AM you better have a breakfast option, the same goes for lunch from 11:30-12:30.

But what it certainly does not entail is having to rely on only yourself to produce a well maintained meeting. If you are part of a team of co-workers they should be there helping set up and definitely helping clean up and take down.

Also? Do not ever think of just leaving any space a mess for the janitor to clean up. I don't care if you are Bill Gates or Barack Obama...okay, they probably hire people for that....but it is still rude as can be.

But mainly I shouldn't have to ask you three times to get up from your cubicle to come help me clean up a pigsty that resulted from a two hour morning meeting.

The end.

(Conference Room Pictured Not Actual Conference Room)

Foodie Friday

Currently I await the results of my first attempt ever at making my sister-in-law's broccoli cheese casserole. Unfortunately I altered it a lot due to my inability to prepare for last minute cooking.

Normally the recipe calls for the following (and is delicious, I promise)!

Kathy Blume's Broccoli Cheese Casserole (sister-in-law's Aunt)
8oz Cheese Whiz
1.5 C Minute Rice
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
10oz package of frozen broccoli (cooked)
1/2 an onion (white or yellow) sautéed in 1 stick of butter
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup milk
Salt & Pepper to taste

You cook the broccoli according to the package. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Saute the onion in the stick of butter, add the rest of the ingredients. Do not add the rice until ready to put in the oven. Cook 30-40 minutes.

Haley's Off-Brand Messed Up Version (yet to be tasted)
8-10oz Light Grocery Store Brand Velveeta knock-off
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
1.5 tbsp minced garlic sautéed in 1 stick of baking margarine
1.5 cups brown rice
10 oz frozen organic broccoli florets boiled about 3 minutes in hot water
Sea Salt, Pepper, and Onion powder to taste

New life lesson? Always have every kind of onion and always have instant rice.

Theories of Decorating

The inverted proportionality of the penniless decorator theory:

The more I want to decorate, the less money I have.

The more I want to decorate, the less time I find to spend on decorating.

So perhaps I need to test the theory out and see if a reversal of me wanting to decorate results in more money and more time? I'd be happy to sit on the floor if it meant more and money and time.....so that I can decorate! (This might be a challenge to test out).

Seating Woes

Currently my place is a black hole of emptiness. I literally can sit in a computer chair or on my bed as an alternative to the floor. I have been looking religiously on sites like craigslist and eBay for cheap seating- couch, love seat, chairs, etc.

So far? Nada.

To the right you see my pitiful excuse for my dining room. Excuse the beach bag and empty boxes I've been meaning to get rid of.

Ideally I would like it to be a warm buttercup color with the white trim and tons of plants. Insert a cute white wicker dinette set or settee and voila! Instant sun room.

I've seen multiple examples of what other renters do with this room and honestly I have no intention of actually eating in there. I just want a nice place to sit with a book, maybe some storage for extra kitchen items, and my dog crate.

Here, also pitiful, is my living room. Can we say sad? However! I shall not get discouraged dear readers. This place is going to have seating, color, and a certain panache reserved for quality entertainers like myself. So, depending on the find, I'm aiming to reach the goal of seating for either one of these rooms. I think once I actually find something to sit on I will be able to design better, no? Now if I only had more than $4.78 in my bank account and $11.50 in savings I might actually get this accomplished.

A New Quest!

If you are looking for a place to express yourself there is no better place than Austin, TX. I could fall in love over and over again with the use of color in this town. Upcycling is the new black...and while that is all fine and dandy, it does make finding key pieces difficult or pricey. The market demands for vintage, kitchy, or practically anything outside the parameters of 'normal' styling can put a serious drain on the pocketbook. As I am seeking to decorate my new apartment I have serious qualms over spending money on it. I can not even find a bed frame for under $60! I have taken it upon myself to set out on a new blogging (and consequently decorating) quest. The Chronicles of the Penniless Decorator. Simply put-I'm going to try and find free to very cheap items and DIY projects to make my home fabulous. I'm going to give myself until the first of July.

Holidazzle

Between moving and beginning a new career I don't think I have stopped to take a breath! Naturally I am going into the holidays full blast and am trying to do my best to make it work on the Americorps punitive pay scale. I figured it out to $1.09 per hour, with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for one year. Considering we cannot legally take on any other work (yet people are allowed to attend school full time?!) in order to be considered fully dedicated to our position, this whole $1.09 an hour thing sucks.

However, nothing will diminish my Christmas cheer.

So for this entry, bear with me, I am attempting to introduce ideas for gift giving when all you have is practically lint in your pocketbook.

There are a ton of ways to save during the holidays- and not just by going out linebacker style on Black Friday. Websites specializing in half price items, special sales, etc. can save you tons of mulah. One of my favorites this season has been http://www.overstock.com/ . While not essentially a great web platform to search for items with, this site has serious deals to offer. Shipping and handling usually comes at a low price to free depending as well. I am truly in love with their home decor and jewelry departments. In fact, my brother and sister-in-law will be getting a very nice mod wood vase in which to decorate their home with!

If you are prone to anxiety when it comes to online shopping-hacker phobias or intense stress over the pitfall of the nation I like to call USPS, there are some great ideas out there for DIY gifts. In years past I have purchased clear wine glasses, some acrylic paint, and gone to town on making holiday or fun and flirty goblets.

Two years ago I believe I indulged family members with homemade truffles from an easy Kraft recipe involving cream cheese and dipping chocolates. I've also done homemade acrylic painted boxes lined with felt, personalized Christmas ornaments, and handcrafted jewelry (I'm not crafty at all-seriously). I honestly believe you can do a family of four for under $20 if you put in enough thought or time.

As always, just remember that as long as you put your heart into gift giving- no matter the price, taste, or (hopefully not) hideousness of a gift they will appreciate and recognize the effort put in.

Avoiding the call of Duty

Do you sometimes feel the need to wait until the last minute for a big decision or project? Sometimes in certain situations (naturally outside of the professional world but more in reference to taking jobs, decorating, packing, etc.) I find myself needing to wait until things are down to the wire. Why do I put myself under this stress? I've been thinking about this and realize I think about doing things, how they're going to get done, all the intricate details of what's needing to be done- and then when that is all fed up with and the deadline needs to be met it all works out perfectly.

For instance, this move to Texas!~ I have random things thrown in a room, know where things are, and have sort of packed up some clothes but not really. I leave this Monday at 8:30am for the long drive. Why am I sitting on my couch watching jeopardy? Well. I know where everything is, what needs to be done, and generally how I want to do it.

Is this just laziness or am I gifted? I think it depends on my ability to pull it off. Slightly worried- but who likes packing? No one.

Also I'd just like to add that when I went to take out some clothes to cut down on baggage I ended up with three more bags than I started with.

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

Sticky Situation!

This past week I have fallen in love with easy decorating all over again. Whether it's for my new apartment or a kid's room to that theory of the perfect man pad also known as the "Garage Mahal" in my dad's case I'm just craving those stick on wall decals.

At target you can find a plethora of over priced wall decals including a chandelier shadow with mini crystals to stick to a wall for added spice. The problem is the price. Phrases to make rooms homey and filled with cherishing thoughts go for as much as $22.00! I found the chandelier on clearance for $15.00.

For those of you with the pocketbook quick cash to blow that's great. But after some research I've found that decals can come in many different price packages. At http://www.tradingphrases.com/?gclid=CK_OsMSP4qQCFQgKKgodIXNpKA you can find them as high as $200. These are giant stickers people!~

Definitely do your research instead of just plopping down and forking over money no matter what the design. http://www.roommatespeelandstick.com/ has a very large selection and while it still boasts some prices close to those at Target's clearance aisle, I feel like there are much better selections and complex images that are set to the same price range.

You can even get chalkboard decals and mirror peel and stick decals for affordable insta-decorating. While I may stray towards some nerdy designs myself there are all sorts of choices and options for any sort of decorating and design you are looking for.

Easy Elegance

I found a great tip while re-reading an old Halloween decorating magazine that can actually work in a quick situation for any added elegance. Any four to six (depending on table size) matching clean pillow cases will do. Preferably I would choose white or black cases.

Pick up some thicker ribbon coordinating with your decor, or in a contrasting color (making white and black for instance). Pin the ribbon around the pillow case just below halfway down the chair back.

These can definitely be updated in other crafty ways for different holidays, but I thought it was a great way to update a room from everyday to special occasion worthy in a matter of minutes and for a pretty cheap price.

We used to do something similar to this for recruitment in my sorority- but it involved about thirty girls ironing, folding, pinning, and one hot mess of work to make it as beautiful as it became. This can easily be stored, washed, and whipped out at the last minute if needed.

Microsoft Magic!

Sometimes my faith is restored in the pc and Microsoft's ability to win everything-even in the face of google and Mac awesomeness.

While reading the newest Women's Day magazine (a must have for any person wishing to make a house into a home in my opinion!) they introduced Microsoft WD to me. Previously I had only been seeing items like this working with the iPhone...and only in Cosmo.

Microsoft WD is an application which allows any web accessible smart phone (with a camera!) to access hidden information from advertisements, pictures, etc. In the most recent Women's Day they outlined how to find them (a little square with polka dots a little larger than a postage stamp and a big WD in the middle). I downloaded the app at http://gettag.mobi and once you have that you simply find the WD on pages or ads- access the app-take a picture- and it automatically uploads and sends you the mysterious hidden surprise!

So is it that easy? It is once you get the hang of how to actually take a picture the app will recognize. It took me about 5 times so don't give up! Other than that it is a very straightforward process. So far I have been registered to win a full laundry "solutions set" from Wisk (first prize) or a free bottle at least for one of five hundred second prizes.

I only had time to go through one before it was time to throw the laundry around. However! In one magazine alone there are about 15 other items to either enter to win on or to receive free stuff from. Exciting, no?

So check it out-and let me know what magazines you like to use this with!

Preparing for the Worst

As I am preparing to move to Austin, Texas, I am going through all of my belongings and trying desperately to figure out how to minimize to the point of one small saturn ion as transportation.

Luckily a gal pal of mine is deciding to move with me and we are sharing a two bedroom apartment. She's able to bring a car as well as a truck full of her things and furniture. So I do know that things could definitely be worse. She is able to bring some things that I would want to bring but do not have room for, extra furniture, etc.

However- one small car, one small little saturn ion- and someone who loves clothes, shoes, and kitchen appliances. I don't know how I am going to do it.

Fruity Fun Fact

Did you know that you should eat fruit on an empty stomach in the morning because it takes a long time to digest? Eating fruit later in the day or with other foods actually creates a toxic acidity increase and it is more likely to rot than be digested while still having quality nutrients.

You can read up on more nutritiously shocking facts in the book Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin.

Third Degree Glass Factory

I'm kind of bummed out about this next fact but while visiting St. Louis I found out about this amazing little place and didn't get to visit it. Third Degree Glass Factory has classes on glass blowing, kiln working, and more, its own gallery, and also holds events (some free) each month with bands, food, and fun for all ages. You can even bring in a bottle of your favorite drink and have them melt it down into a plate for 10$.

While I was down there they had a free event at night with a bluegrass band, bbq, and glass blowing artists for entertainment. Children and adults could make? or have made? a paperweight or give 10$ for a plate.

I really wish I had had the time to go to this event or at least check out the factory. You can sign up for classes or rent space to practice your art for a practical and reasonable fee. I wish I could find a place in Minnesota like this. I might have to put in the time to hunt down some glass artists and see if there is a factory or studio where I could begin learning the art.

Summer Savings

Growing up I remember piling into the van, jeep, and assortment of cars throughout the years with my family and heading to a good movie. If you are looking for something to do with friends, family, or a significant other an automatic idea (to me anyways) is to do just that. These days it's an easy 10.50$ in the Midwest just for one ticket and once you add popcorn or any other sort of treats- you're beyond most 'casual' date or outing pay range.

Keep in mind that summer nights are great to be out in and if you are looking for a pocket saving way to view some new flix search around for your local area Drive In! For instance in the Minneapolis area there are a few, the same goes for the St. Louis metro. It might be a bit of a drive out of the city or to another town but they are guaranteed to start at dusk and most play THREE films. More often than not you can get 3 films for the price of one-if not cheaper!

Some other perks to this great little outing are the ability to bring your own coolers, snacks, and all the fixings to get cozy with the people with you. The early films usually play kid friendly flicks while the later play a range from family friendly to adult only. Additionally you can pile up to save on gas, double date, or bring multiple cars for a more convenient hangout with a large group. Between the movies activities range from grilling to drinking to blaring music that someone brought on an old school boom box or tricked out car.

Take a blast from the past, get your money's worth, and enjoy a great summer night out on a budget with this great idea!