Basic Vinaigrette II

This recipe is great for a veggie dip, and you can add different herbs and spices to change the flavor.  Recipe is found in the Dukan Diet book.

Basic Vinaigrette II

1 t. vegetable oil

1 T. mineral water

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1 T. dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Herbs and spices to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well blended. Makes approximately 1/4 cup.

Basic Vinaigrette

Here is a great recipe I got from the Dukan Diet book.  A great replacement for salad dressings.

Basic Vinaigrette

1 T. mustard (Dijon, or French whole grain)

5 T. balsamic vinegar

1 t. vegetable oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Optional:

1 large garlic clove

7-8 basil leaves

In a clean jar, add the mustard, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.  Add a large clove of garlic and/or basil leaves to marinate if desired.  Cover the jar and shake well.  Keep refrigerated.

Consolidation Phase

The Consolidation Phase is actually the third phase of the "diet", but we are starting with this because it is recommended for children who are needing to eat healthy.  Below are the basic tenets the Consolidation Phase, as found starting on page 87 of The Dukan Diet.

Proteins and Vegetables - unlimited from 100 Healthy Foods list, adding lamb and pork
Water - 1 1/2 quarts a day
Fruits - 1 serving per day, excluding bananas, grapes, cherries, dried fruits, and nuts
Breads - 2 slices of 100% whole grain bread per day
Cheese - 1 serving per day
"Starchy" Foods - 1 serving per week (1st half) and 2 servings per week (2nd half)
Celebration Meals - 2 a week, just not in the same day
Pure Proteins - one day a week, only proteins
Oat Bran - 2 tablespoons a day (cookie or Galette)

Exercise: 25 minutes of walking a day, EVERY DAY

Wish us luck!

The Dukan Diet vs. Weston A Price Foundation

After doing research on several different diets and eating plans, we have narrowed our choices down to two.  The Dukan Diet, which comes highly recommended, and the practices of the Weston A. Price Foundation.  Both seem to emphasize the healthy components of "clean eating", and we are excited to try them out.  I will be blogging about our experiences, and let you know what we think!  I am excited to have found two eating plans that could be helpful in managing Rese's autoimmune disorder, so I will let you know how it all goes.

Happy 2011, people! :)

We ushered in 2011 with our favorite people, at our favorite hangout, Stratos Greek Taverna.  We were lucky enough to snag a last minute babysitter and so we headed out with the Paradas, the Wares and Rachelle to get our Greek on!  The prices on the food and drinks were severely inflated, one of the waitresses made a fool of herself, but we had friends and fun and it was definitely a great night.

With the new year comes the traditional making of new resolutions, but I tried to keep my list short and sweet in hopes of actually accomplishing something on it.  For those of you interested, here are a few of my favorites so far:

* To blog more often:  I set a goal to blog once a week on this blog and 3 times a week on my The Timer Went Off blog.  If you aren't following me, you should be!  I plan of having a few giveaways and really trying to expand my blog into something epic.

* To run the United States Marine Corps Marathon on October 30, 2011.  This is a lofty goal for me, considering my present physical shape, but I have said I wanted to run a marathon before I die, so I figured this is the year to do it!  And in case you are like my dear husband, NO, I am not dying next year, but thanks for asking! :)

* To take an amazing vacation: I want to go somewhere great this summer, and preferably somewhere I get a great deal to go there!  I sure wish I had a summer job as a hotel tryer-outer, that would be awesome!

* To do one thing, every day, for a year.  Granted, I already shower, brush my teeth, check email, post a status on Facebook every day, but I want to do something meaningful daily.  So far it is Day #3 and I have accomplished the task, only 362 days to go!

So as you can see, I have a few good goals for myself this year, and a lot of ambition to accomplish them!  Hope that 2011 is turning out to be a great year for you and yours so far, it hasn't been too shabby for the Smith household!

Keep it classy, Vanesssa

Happy Holidays from the Smith household :)

Hope everyone has a great holiday season, and that 2011 is even better than 2010!  Stay tuned for great things next year on our blog.  Thanks to all who keep up with our biannual postings! :)

6 Months Later....

I really need to make more of an effort to keep the adoring public up to date on our exciting lives!  Our biggest news to report is...

WE GOT MARRIED!

Jason and I made it official on June 26th, and fun was had by all.  If only it would have been about 20 degrees cooler, it would have been even more perfect!  We were really thankful for all our friends and family who braved the heat and remote location to share the day with us.

Jason is currently working assessing roofs for hail damage, and is in Oklahoma/West Texas most week days.  Rese had her first cheerleading practice yesterday, Isaiah is working on a Texas patch for Boy Scouts, and Peyton is getting ready to start at a new school next month.  I have applied for a job with Irving ISD at Nimitz High School, and had a pretty good interview today.  I should hear about it by the end of the week, and am super excited!

Other than that, we are just spending our days reading comics, swimming and hanging out.  We are heading on vacation this weekend, and then the kids start school the following week.

Take care!

January 2010 Recap

Grad school has started again and I haven't been very diligent in blogging, my apologies!  This month has been crazy busy as usual, with swimming, soccer, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, driving to Denton two nights a week..... the list goes on and on. 

Theresa and Sal threw us a great engagement party on the 16th, which was attended by about 40 of our nearest and dearest friends and relatives.  Funny story of the night: my grandma walked her check!!  There was some confusion over if my mom or aunt was paying, so she just left without figuring it out!  The conversation went a little like this.....

Waitress: Did you know that old lady sitting right there?
Mom: Yes.
Waitress: She left without paying her check.
Mom: Better call the police.
Waitress: Excuse me?
Mom: I said, better call the police.

The waitress was so flustered, it was funny.... Of course we had to host the after party at our house, which was fun because the majority of the people who came over were Jason's friends, who we never see.  Good times were had by all, it was an eventful night.

In wedding news, we have booked the reception site (Off the Grid), got a cake (Jenn Garcia with Cucalu), scored an amazing photographer (Celina Gomez/Captivating Simplicity), and bought the table linens ($800 worth for $91...score!).  I also bought the most amazing dress (well, my dad bought it) along with a rockin veil and hairpiece.  The bridesmaids have picked their dresses (gorgeous) and we found some super cute dresses this weekend for Rese and Grace.  We were having some issues finding some little girl dresses vs. adult-woman-dress-in-child-size dresses, but Theresa hunted them down.

I did have a little health scare last weekend, but what we thought was appendicitis actually turned out to be a ruptured ovarian cyst, which while it hurt like heck, I was pain free in a matter of days.  I am about 18% done with acheiving my weight loss goals, and have amazingly stayed committed to eating healthier and working out.  It's amazing what having to wear a white dress in June will do to motivate you!

My sweet, sweet FEAHNSAY Jason bought me a BodyBugg!!!  After finally winning him over, he bought one for me and one for himself.  I must say, it is the most fantastical thing I have ever used and we are enjoying the friendly competition in trying to beat each other's caloric defecit each day.
We ended the month last night celebrating my awesome brother-in-law Sal's birthday with dinner and karaoke.  I am not a fan of singing in front of complete strangers, but the place we went to, Family Karaoke, was beyond amazing.  While is wasn't in the lightest and brightest of neighborhoods, it was clean, smoke free, and you could rent a karaoke room so you only embarrassed yourself in front of your friends.  The room came decked out with FOUR flat screens, three walls of couches, two microphones and a great bartender (that was rather 12 Days of Christmas-y).  Half the songs were in Japanese, Japanese videos played in the background with the lyrics running like subtitles, and after you sang the song it scored you in Japanese.  Fun was had by all, and it was a great first time experience.

***HAPPY 28TH (wink, wink) BIRTHDAY TO JASON'S SWEET SISTER, CHRISTI!!!***

Hope you all had a fantastic January, and can't wait to see what February has in store for us!

bodybugg, I <3 you. even if you aren't mine...

As a brand new fan of Biggest Loser, I was curious about the bodybugg they are using on the show.  I also have a friend on Facebook who is using one, and burning a ridiculous amount of calories! :)  Of course, having set big goals for myself this year, I want whatever is going to help me burn, baby burn!

Here is the equipment (photo from http://www.bodybugg.com/)

I have heard great feedback from this product, and from the people who have used it.  It is a great weight loss tool, and I REALLLLLLLYYYY want one! :)  Here is what the website http://www.24hourfitness.com/training/bodybugg has to say about the bodybugg....

Now you can know how many calories you’re burning with the revolutionary bodybugg calorie management system. Combined with a user-friendly web-based program*, the bodybugg makes it easy to manage the calories you consume and burn so that you can stay in control of your weight.

*Uses specialized sensors to monitor calories burned with over 90% accuracy.

*Manages calorie consumption through a web-based program free for 6 months.

*Tracks steps with a built-in pedometer.

*Includes a phone coaching session to help get you started.

*PC and Mac compatible.

*Runs on a rechargeable battery.

I wish the money tree I started growing in the backyard would hurry up and produce some cash money, but until then I can just hope and pray and beg and plead to get one of these.  Is it too early to have Jason do some early Christmas shopping?  Until then, I will just live vicariously through the Biggest Loser! :)

Lose It, my newest addiction! :)

For those of you who haven't heard, Jason and I are tying the proverbial know on June 26th, 2010, which is only 5 months, 15 days, 20 hours and 15 minutes away.... not that I am counting or anything! :)

Having recently been a little ill the past few months, taking tons of medications, being banned from the gym by the doctor, and general laziness, I have put on a few L-Bs I could do away with.  Enter Celina Gomez, my wonderfully talented photographer friend who came up with the GENIUS idea to start a New Year, New You contest.  This is a friendly (so far) competition between friends who are trying to spend the first 12 weeks of the new year getting back into shape.  We meet once a week on Mondays with Celina to weigh in, work out, and discuss what is going well (and not so well).  We also have a Facebook group page where we try to keep ourselves accountable to each other.

Enter the best app of 2010, (I'm starting a petition)..... LOSE IT!!!  I love it so much, it is on the front page of my iPhone screen (note the orange scale, bottom right corner).

This app lets you enter your current weight, goal weight, and the time frame you want to do it in.  I set mine for 50 pounds by June 30, 2010, exactly six months after my 31st birthday.  At this rate I would need to lose a sensible 2 pounds per week, and the Lose It app sets my caloric intake for me.

All I have to do is record the food I eat, the exercise I do, and TADA, it tells you what you have left.

I can even check out my friends' progress who are also using the Lose it app.

Here is how I have done for the first week, with 11 weeks to go until the end of the contest.  I plan on winning the big prize, a professional photo shoot with hair and makeup, and a beautiful album for the pictures.  Celina is one of the hottest photographers in the DFW area, so how lucky would I be to win?? :)  Keep your fingers, eyes, and toes crossed for me, I am so motivated it hurts! :)

Party at the Park

To start the new year off right, Jason and I took the kiddos to the park down the street to play with all their cool new toys.  Peyton took his new rollerblades, Zay was cruising on the skateboard, and Rese was rollin' on her bike.  Peyton has decided he is now a professional "blader", and Zay is ready for the half pipes.  We DEFINITELY need to get these kids some wrist pads, Santa forgot to bring them when he dropped off the skateboards and helmets. :) I took my camera that Jason got me for Christmas and decided to test it out.  The kids had NO problem hamming it up for the camera, and had a fantastic time.  Here a few shots from that day.

The kids on the baby rockers! :)

From the other side of the playground....

A little Brady Bunch action....

Isaiah :)

Peyton :)

Rese :)

Fat Camp.... Day 1

A friend of mine has decided to go on a diet, and thought it would be a great idea to round up 20 of her closest friends to jump on the bandwagon.  This is usually everyone's New Year's resolution, so with the serious need to look amazing in a white dress on June 26th, I decided to join.... and drag Theresa in it with me.

Theresa and I arrived at Celina's house at 6:32 (Theresa drove so of course we were late) to find about 18 women of various sizes waiting.  We were each handed a very professional looking folder, with our names on the tab (TYPED!) and everything.  I knew this chick meant business and started filling in the information sheet.  Over the next hour, we were weighed, had our front and side photo taken and discussed how the program would work.  The program is 12 weeks, and we will be meeting every Monday to be weighed, work out, etc.  Celina is serious about holding us accountable and this could get very interesting.

My favorite part of the evening is finding out I weigh TWENTY SEVEN POINT FOUR pounds more than my lovely twin sister, and only weighed about a pound more than her at birth! :(  I knew things had gotten bad, but I didn't think it was that bad!  Jason did manage to lift my spirits by telling me that he weighed 8 pounds less than an airplane.... I laughed so hard I was crying!  Regardless, those three inches I have on her in height don't justify the extra tubbiness, so it is on! :)

The top three ladies who lose the highest % of body weight will get a photo shoot for FREE (did I mention Celina is a professional photographer?) and the top place finisher will get professional hair and makeup, and a gorgeous photo album. Can anyone say Happy Wedding Day To Me??? :)  We also decided to make it a little more interesting and have put $10 a person into the pot for the winner.

Jason and I are going to be hitting the Wii Fit hard the next few months, so I will keep you posted on our progress!  I can't wait to brag on my GINORMOUS loss and to show you how fit I get (hey that rhymes!) before the wedding.

Fingers crossed, Ness

100 Things To Do In 2010

Here is my rough list of goals to accomplish... check back to see when I cross some stuff off!!! :)

Things To Do In 2010 - Vanessa's List

1. Marry Jason.
2. Take a weekend trip with just Jason.
3. Go camping at least three times.
4. Take each kid on a date once every three months.
5. Get our garage organized.
6. Buy a house.
7. Redecorate the kids’ bedrooms.
8. Organize my kitchen.
9. Take a road trip.
10. Organize my spoon collection.
11. Blog at least once a week.
12. Take a camera class.
13. Plan a KA party, AKA my wedding.
14. Do something charitable once a month.
15. Go to the dentist, twice.
16. Use my gym membership once a week.
17. Get my will in order.
18. Use my planner/calendar.
19. Stay on top of my school work.
20. Take the kids on a great vacation.
21. Visit the Grand Canyon.
22. Get a summer job.
23. Attend church at least twice a month.
24. Get in shape.
25. Have more patience with the kids.
26. Don’t eat any fast food.
27. Wash my car once a month.
28. Get my oil changed every three months.
29. Pay my car off.
30. Build my credit score.
31. Make a budget.
32. Keep my checkbook balanced.
33. Save one month’s salary.
34. Straighten my hair once a week.
35. Go on a date with Jason twice a month.
36. Have a movie/family night once a week.
37. Spend an hour of quality time with each kid once a week.
38. Get a pedicure with Rese once a month.
39. Get my eyebrows done once a month.
40. Run a 5K.
41. Run a 10K.
42. Have a hotel campout with the kids.
43. Go to an outdoor concert.
44. Go on a boat.
45. Organize our mail/paperwork.
46. Watch some fireworks.
47. Visit Galveston.
48. Do something special with my sister.
49. Write my grandma a letter/send pictures to my grandma once a month.
50. Spend time with my goddaughter once a week.
51. Have a Wii tournament.
52. Have a top 3 placing fantasy football team.
53. Fold the socks once a month.
54. Visit Taste of Addison.
55. Wear an amazing swimsuit.
56. Buy some Reebok shape up shoes.
57. Load up my iPod.
58. Use a personal trainer.
59. Start a workout/diet plan and stick with it.
60. Cook dinner 3 times a week.
61. Go to a wine tasting.
62. Visit a casino.
63. Go to the horse races.
64. Go to a drive in.
65. Attend a group exercise class with my sister at least once a month.
66. Get dressed up once a week.
67. Have a chore chart for the kids.
68. Pay the kids an allowance.
69. Mow the yard, once.
70. Clean my car out (on the outside) once a month.
71. Put money in the kids’ savings account.
72. Get my child support in order.
73. Work on catering/event planning business.
74. Get the house cleaned once a week by a “professional”.
75. Clean out the closets and donate clothes to charity.
76. Visit the Farmers Market.
77. Ride a DART bus or train.
78. Visit a museum.
79. Teach the kids Spanish.
80. Plant a garden.
81. Have a picnic.
82. Take the kids on an adventure.
83. Buy myself something nice.
84. Do something special for Jason’s birthday.
85. Get a PO Box for the business.
86. Get my Food Service Manager license.
87. Have holiday decorations for each holiday.
88. Buy a snazzy coat.
89. Buy a new TV.
90. Kiss the kids goodnight every night we are together.
91. Volunteer at the kids’ school.
92. Do a home improvement project with Jason.
93. Do a craft project with the kids.
94. Use my photo albums.
95. Try a new recipe once a week, and blog about it.
96. Work on my recipe book.
97. Stay in a nice hotel.
98. Tell the kids one thing they did well, every day.
99. Tell Jason one reason I love him, every day.
100. Get my class binders/lesson plans organized.

Big Changes in 2010

It has been a long while since I have posted a blog, but my new year's resolution is to be more committed to blogging about our amazing life!  For those of you who don't know, Jason and I are ENGAGED! :)  We are super excited to get married on June 26, 2010 and have started planning the wedding, slowly but surely.  I am getting ready for Semester #2 of grad school, and we will be buying a house here in the next few months.  I will be linking this blog to http://www.jasonandvanessasmith.com/, as soon as my new check card comes in the mail, so you will have a different address but same sweet blog!  Our business website is up and running, although it isn't completed, but you can check it out at http://www.bownanzabows.com/.  Last but not least I will have one more blog going on, and it is currently linked to http://www.timerwentoff.blogspot.com/, and will soon be moving to http://www.timerwentoff.com/.  This will be the link to find recipes, catering information, and more stories about the trials and tribulations that occur in my kitchen. :)  Thanks for supporting my blog this year, and look forward to bigger and better blogging this year!  I want to be a mommy blogger when I grow up! :)

Follow us through Facebook!

You can now use Networked Blogs, an app on Facebook to follow us!  Check the link I posted on FB, or click the Networked Blogs tab on the right column and it will give you directions to follow us through Facebook. Please and thank you! :)

P.S. Please follow The Lifestyles of Sevi on Networked Blogs while you are at it, she is one of the coolest blogger chicks I know!!!  Add her quick, fast and in a hurry!! :)
XOXO, Vanessa and Jason

Texas Football 2009

Working in a Texas high school, football is big business around here, even if we don't have a winning record... Every thing is bigger in Texas as well, and the mums are no exception... it was a push to the finish, but we made 1,234,567,890 mums, in like a week!  The whole family pitched in to help me, and try and grow our Bownanza Bows business.  Next year will be even bigger and better, but here are a few pictures from the season, Homecoming Week and a few satisfied customers!

XOXO, Vanessa

The supplies for the "Epic 09" mum..

Every mum needs a feather boa, right?

My niece, the assistant...

Rese, my other assistant...

Jason is a great crafter...

Tada..... :)

She loved it, total surprise...

More satisfied customers...

Our favorite soccer guy!

My bestest freshman student ever... (she made me say "bestest")

My glowstick glasses for the Blackout Pep Rally...

Soccer boys with propeller hats...

Me and Little Keva...

Rese doing Future Lionettes for Homecoming with her fave, Brisa!

Rese and the mascot...

I made this cookie tin for my Adopt A Player....

Me and my favorite Bulgarian, Vasil...

Texas State Fair

You all know we do it bigger and better in Texas, and the State Fair is no exception!  After parking in our favorite parking spot, next to Two Podners BBQ, and entrusting our car to good old Ray Ray, we were off for some food, fun and mayhem.  It was DISD Secondary Fair Day, which made it a little sketchy, but the cops were out in full force and we had a good time.  We got some snazzy 1/2 price ride bracelets using a coupon from the radio station, so the kids got to ride a TON of rides.  Overall very enjoyable experience, and I swear... either I'm getting older or that Love Bug ride's horn gets louder each year... or maybe both! :)

XOXO, Vanessa

We took a rather large group of kids to the fair...

Rese and Zay on a gravity ride...

Jason with some fried Coca Cola! :)

The Ford cowboy and the kids...

Theresa throwing away the trash... these were on the table we were eating at! :)

Rese and Isaiah with the famous Fletcher's corny dog... no clue why Zay looks scared!

Rese and Zay as flowers...

Isaiah on the kid's version of the Love Bug

Rese on the same ride...

Isaiah and Peyton almost died... they had a MJ ride...

Fried Oreos and Fried Nutter Butter...

California Pictures

As promised, here are a few pictures of our vacation... taken with my handy dandy iPhone.... because I forgot the camera! :)  Enjoy!

XOXO, Vanessa

We didn't get to stop, but really wanted to visit the RARD SALE!!

Saw this star, and a million others in Hollywood!

Monster sized flower... beautiful!

Of all the characters to pose with, we choose Elmo!

Visited the Famous Pink's Hot Dogs Stand...

But the hot dogs weren't all that great... rubbery and had a cheese slice on them!

Greatest burger place around... In-N-Out!!

In Old Town San Diego, Jason made a friend...