Vanity Sizes

Has anyone noticed over the past couple of years how clothes are getting bigger? Or, maybe I should reword this...has anyone noticed how you can now fit into a size medium? No, we're not all magically getting skinnier and can fit into smaller sizes-it's this new "idea" that the clothing industry came up with to make bigger people feel better about fitting into a size 10 instead of 12 and buying more clothes.

I mentioned bigger people. I'm not calling anyone fat because vanity sizing is throughout all sizes. Maybe you wore a size 5 in jeans and can now fit into a size 3. I'm saying "bigger" than what the lie on the tag is saying we are. Please don't think I'm coming off rude...I hope you all know what I'm trying to say.

Is vanity sizes bad?

I'll be honest, when I see that I can fit into a size 8 instead of my usual size 10...I'm pretty happy. But then reality sets in, and when I try a size 8 on in another store and it won't fit over my hips...I'm depressed.

We all know that the majority of Americans are overweight, so why do we need to lie about our true size?

You can't just walk into a store and buy something anymore, you're always going to have to try it on now. I wish all stores came together and decided on what sizing they're going to use. Wouldn't it be nice to wear a medium in every store? (One way to actually know the size you're getting is to buy a pair of pants that are measured by waist/inseam. I wear a size 30/32).

So, is it bad? I don't know, you be the judge.

Vanity sizing doesn't stop with clothing-have you noticed your feet can fit into a smaller sized shoe?Mine do. Since high school I've always worn a size 10 (huge right?). Yes, I have survived all the name calling and joking around. Wearing a big shoe size never bothered me (okay, maybe bigger shoe sizes doesn't have as many options as say a size 8). A couple of years ago, when I was shoe shopping I was very surprised that a size 10 was HUGE for my feet. I can now fit into a 9-9.5. Weird. Are we really that vain about shoe sizes?

What are your thoughts about vanity sizes?

Yummy Sandwich of the Month

Lunch is my least favorite meal of the day. I usually end up eating leftovers...that's no fun!

Once again our fridge and cabinets are bare (I'm getting read to make a trip back to Illinois for a week) so coming up with something new and exciting to eat is getting really hard, but....

I had a can of chickpeas and I found a recipe on allrecipes.com that I could create with minimal ingredients.

Looks like a tuna salad sandwich, huh? It's not!

It's called Vegetarian Sandwich Filling, and it was surprisingly freaking awesome!

All you need is a can of chickpeas drained and rinsed, mash them with a fork. Add some chopped onion and celery, a dash or two of hot sauce, a squirt of lemon juice and a couple shakes of salt and pepper, and a few spoonfuls of mayo to the chickpeas; give it a stir and you have yourself a yummy filling for sandwiches or a good dip for chips and veggies.

This recipe makes 3 overly stuffed sandwiches! Try it, you'll be glad you did! Replace your usual tuna salad sandwich with this one and you'll never have to have your kitchen smell like dead fish again :)

Chocolate Crinkles

Nathan went back to work on Tuesday and he asked me to bake some cookies for his squad. I'm all about baking cookies (that means you can lick the bowl) and there was a new recipe I wanted to try out as well.





I ended up baking a batch of Chocolate Crinkles, they must have been good because there was only half of one left!
Okay, maybe I tried one...ya know, to make sure they weren't disgusting or anything!

Here's the recipe for Chocolate Crinkles:

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar

In a bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill in the freezer for 45 minutes (or in fridge for 4 hours).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your cookie sheets. Roll dough into one inch balls, coat each ball in the powdered sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes.

I thought these were really good. I think I baked mine 2 minutes too long (I like more of a soft cookie instead of crisp cookie, although these weren't crisp). They had a nice fudge taste to them too. I'll be baking more of these in the future! Another nice thing about these cookies...very few dishes!

What's your favorite cookie to bake?

Positve Thinking

I've been a Debbie Downer lately, so on Sunday I decided to try this whole crazy concept of "Positive Thinking" to see if it really works.

So far yeah, it does!

I can't be sure if it was just the positive thinking that's making me feel and look great, but I'm sure it's playing a part.

Here's some issues I was "struggling" with for the past couple of weeks.

• Gaining a few extra pounds
• I thought my stomach looked rather bloated
• Acne
• Feeling like a lazy loner

Here are my results just 3 days into my new way of thinking.

• Down 2.5 pounds
• I think my body looks really good and I keep touching my hips and noticing how my usual love handles aren't there and I can see some muscle definition in my arms and I feel my legs look amazing
• My acne is clearing up and I have no new zits to stress over
• I'm getting things done on my to-do list and not spending so much time watching TV or on Facebook (although I still have an unhealthy relationship with it)

Not bad right?

How am I introducing positive thinking in my life? Well, I've been reading a daily devotion and the book "The Power of a Positive Mom" (it's a weekly devotional) and that's helping me start my day with being more positive and setting the mood for the rest of the day. I then do my usual workout (Leslie Sansone DVD) and then it's off to take a shower. Maybe I'm just weird, but after I get out of the shower I always examine my body. Up until Sunday I was being negative telling myself I'm fat or jiggling my arms or counting all the freaking zits on my face and then feeling ugly. Not anymore, I tell myself I look good and then focus on the parts of my body I like and then somehow (maybe magic, I don't know) I end up liking everything about me. I put makeup on and actual clothes (no old, holy sweats) and feel like a thriving person.

You are your worst enemy, so let's stomp that Debbie Downer in all of us and replace her with Peppy Penelope!

Pizza Pockets

I'll be honest, this meal looks pretty gross. In no way is it gourmet...but it is cheap and tastes good!

I like to make pizza pockets because 1) I always have the ingredients on hand 2) it takes 10 minutes to make 3) it's cheap 4) the whole family likes them.

On this particular night I cooked up some green beans and sliced potatoes for a side dish. REEAAALL fancy, right?


Pizza Pockets

• Crescent Rolls
• Pizza Sauce (or spaghetti sauce or diced tomatoes)
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• Pepperoni (or any other pizza topping)

Preheat oven to whatever temperature the crescent roll package tells you (usually 375). On a cookie sheet, unroll the crescent rolls into 4 rectangles. Press together the seams. On one half put a spoonful of pizza sauce, pizza topping, and mozzarella cheese then fold over. Take a fork and squish down all sides of your pizza pocket. Cook for 10-15 minutes.

You really can't mess this up. Sometimes I jazz mine up and add pizza seasoning, mushrooms, green peppers and diced tomatoes. Just remember not to pile on the ingredients too high because it's going to be a pain in the butt to fold over and not have everything spew out.

For easy clean up, I line my cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with some non-stick cooking spray.

Like I said, not gourmet...

But if you're pinching pennies and need to feed your family, give these a try.

Fruit & Maple Oatmeal

Has anyone seen this advertised lately?

Making the move from New York to North Carolina was long and we obviously had to eat (we were on the road for a few days). We spent the night outside of the DC area and stopped at a McDonald's for breakfast. That's when I first discovered their new fruit and maple oatmeal.

I was so excited...over oatmeal! If you've read my blog before you'll know how much I love oatmeal and try to get everyone to eat it for breakfast (I'm actually eating a bowl right now).

If you ever find yourself inside a McDonald's during breakfast hours, you HAVE to try the oatmeal. It's so yummy with little bits of fruit and the right sweetness, the perfect consistency, and it fills you up!

It's also probably the healthiest item on their menu totaling in with 290 calories (40 from fat). Compared to my old favorite the bacon, egg & cheese biscuit which has 420 calories (210 from fat), choosing the oatmeal is a no-brainer!

What's your favorite fast food breakfast item? I hope it's oatmeal :)

Random Ponderings

I always think of random things...and then I make the mistake of speaking them out loud. People think I'm crazy, but they love me for it because this is who I am.

Random pondering of the day:

Why do people ask other people how they're doing????

Example 1: I happen to walk into a store just to look around and a store worker will come up to me and ask, "Hi, how are you?"

She doesn't know me, why would she care how I'm doing? And then I always answer "Fantastic!" I could be having the worst day of my life and I always answer with a fantastic. Why is that?

Example 2: I'm out on a walk and I see another walker (people I don't know) and I'll say, "Hi, how are ya?"

They always answer with a, "Good, how are you?"

Maybe you're thinking that people are polite, or people were taught as young children to say this as a greeting, or that we're all a bunch of liars and like to tell people the opposite of how we're really feeling, or pretend to care how other people feel...I don't know!

Yes, these are the type of things that fill up my mind. What randomness do you think of?