Hello Summer 2014! Goodbye Las Vegas!

Finally Summer is here and in full swing!! Yesterday Chad and I worked on cleaning off the front and back porches, spreading new Cypress mulch and finalizing plants in the yard! Flowers and bushes are in full bloom and the yard looks beautiful!
Today we are heading to the Wurmnest family yearly reunion in Deer Creek for some good old fashioned family fun! Since it's a potluck picnic I got up early this morning to make a yummy lemon pasta salad and cherry brownies! YUM! Here is the Lemon Pasta Salad recipe.....

Lemon Pasta (made a day in advance and served cold)

 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken broth
1-2 lemons (juice and zest)
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 pound pasta
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
-  ½-1 bag of baby arugula
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 10 oz package of frozen peas, thawed

Cook pasta: Boil water and start to cook pasta according to package directions.
Saute garlic: Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Cook the garlic briefly (less than 1 minute or so, careful not to burn).
Cook and reduce: Add the heavy cream, lemon juice and zest, chicken broth and salt/pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower heat. Simmer sauce for about 15 minutes. It will reduce and start to thicken.
Combine: Add the sauce to the cooked pasta. Add the vegetables. Add the cheese at the end.
Serve: Serve with extra cheese, if you like.

 Posted compliments of : http://jamiekrell.com/food/food-fix-bbq/

A lot has happened around here lately. Chad and I went to Las Vegas for the first time two weeks ago for a friend's wedding. Neither of us had been to Vegas before so it was a new experience. I could take it or leave it. I was so glad to go celebrate Josh and Perla's big day but not sure I would go back to Vegas for vacation. There are so many other places I would rather see - granted I am glad I got to see it once at least.

Chad and I in Las Vegas 2014.

 

The food, shopping, and shows were amazing, but I had a hard time with all of the "worldly" sites and sounds. I am not a big drinker or gambler so it wasn't the most comfortable atmosphere for me. The whole city actually made me sad for the world we live in and what is acceptable to most people. The entire time I was out in Vegas I was constantly reminded of why I was feeling so out of step with the town and other people..... Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." The trip just reconfirmed I am not of this world, but just a visitor in it until I go home to Jesus. Honestly as horrible as I was feeling at times out there, I felt great knowing that I was "out of place" because I was not meant to fit in there because it was not what God desires for me.
The most disturbing part for me was how many women perceive and portrayed themselves. I'm not even talking about the showgirls and girls on the street. I was referring to the tourists and visitors to Las Vegas. I am all about the bling, sequins, and glamor side of things... but I am not about to compromise my modesty and reveal a ton of skin (even if I were in shape and could pull it off).  I told Chad I was sorry I wasn't going out with a short skirt and reveling top, but I wasn't about to compromise my beliefs. He actually told me I was beautiful the way I was and he was proud of the way I dressed! What a great man God gave me! I also felt good about myself because I dressed classy and timeless.

Anyways as the summer progresses I will continue to update my blog to show the fun happenings at the Wurmnest household. Until then my friends.....

It's not fair!!!

How many times have we ever said that to ourselves?! It's not fair that she can eat all that greasy, delicious food and not gain and ounce and I smell a cupcake a gain a pound! It's not fair that my cousin wore her pre-pregnancy jeans out of the hospital two days after giving birth! Its's not fair that she doesn't struggle with lustful thoughts! It's not fair that they can afford a bigger, more luxurious house and they do the same work we do! The "it's not fair" list can go on and on and on.....that's how we as humans think. 

However after reading chapter 10 of the Made to Crave study this week my eyes were opened to something that is going to tame those not fair thoughts. One of the authors friends had an insight that I thought spoke directly the heart of this issue. 

"When I get caught up I how unfair it is that My friend is skinny and does t have to work at it, how she can eat what she wants when she wants, and how much it stinks that I can't be like her, I remind myself that God didn't make me to be her. You see, He knew even before I was born that I could easily allow food to be an idol in my life, that I would go to food instead of to Him, to fulfill my needs. And in His great wisdom, He created my body so that it would experience the consequences of sucha choice, so that I would emotionally be drawn back into His arms. He wants me to come to Him for fulfillment,emotional healing, comfort----and if I could go to food for that and never gain and ounce, well then, what would I need God for??"

Boy was this truth spoken directly to my heart! God knew my struggles before I was even born!!! He created me and allowed these struggles so it would draw me back to Him, not to be unfair to me. His is because he loves me so much. How awesome is that?!

So the next time I want to say "that isn't fair!" I will reflect on it as God's amazing love for me and His love call back to His heart and arms! 

Delighting in Obedience

It was the spring of 2010 and now was the moment of truth.....had the last 6 months of hard worth on Weight watchers paid off???? As I stepped on the scale I saw a number I hadn't seen since high school when I was an active-involved teenager with a relatively low stress level. I had actually gone beyond my goal weight!!!! I got off the scale and did a happy little dance resembling a clumsy version of Riverdance! I quickly texted my husband and posted my news to the world of Facebook. I was so proud in that moment and felt like I could conquer the world. That summer I was able to fit into sizes I had only dreamed of before and was so elated when trying on clothes on the annual girls shopping trip in Chicago. I felt beautiful and on top of the world. 

Then the numbers weren't coming off anymore. I was following my Weigh Watchers plan but I was plateauing. The all of a sudden I began gaining back some of the weight I had lost. What was going on? It turns out I began rewarding myself more often than not because I thought since I was finally at my goal weight I could relax off the plan for a while. This didn't pay off in the long run however. I had also begun a regiment of infertility medicine that also increased my weight gain again. So what did I do??? I gave up and the weight returned bringing a few extra pounds with it. 

So here I am in the winter of 2014 committing myself to discipline with food. I began Weight watchers again and so far have lost a few pounds. However this time the intentions are different. This time I want to discipline myself for a different reason.....because it will be pleasing to God! God calls us to crave Him above all and to follow His desire for us! He wants me to control my cravings and eat things that are healthy and good. 

As I was reading chapter 8 of the Made to Crave bible study I was challenged to ask myself these questions before I get on the scale each week....

Did I overreact this week on any day?

Did I move more and exercise regularly?

Do I feel lighter than I did last week?

Did I eat I secret or out of anger or frustation?

Did I feel that at any time I ran to food instead of to God?

Before hopping on this scale do I think I had a successful god-pleasing week?? 

These are the questions I need to worry about instead of the number. I need to define myself by obidience and not by a number on the scale (or size of my clothes for that matter)! 

I need a scale like this....

I think I should do this to my scale as a reminder - along with some scripture!

I have to remember God gave me this body as a gift and He does not make junk! I will never look like the models and celebrities on the covers of People and Vogue. There is no magical airbrush artist following me around so I have to make peace with my body. I want to treat my body as a temple and place only that which is good into it. I went to be beautiful on the inside and out. But the inside really is what shines through making the outside glow and sparkle! So to define myself and challenge myself I am going to go for obeying God, not just with food but other areas in my life, As I go through the rest of this week and the rest of my journey through this study I want to put my mind and heart in God's hands because he truly sees the important things in me..... Starting with obidience to Him! 

#Empowered by 1 Corinthians 10:23

This is week 1 of the Made to Crave Bible study through Proverbs 31 ministries online bible study by Lysa Terkuerst. This study is already speaking to my heart and is a perfect tool in my life right now! I love how God takes care of that for me - He always knows just what I need. I am hoping to get so much out of this study. Primarily a focus on how to become healthier and make healthier choices for myself regarding food and exercise, but more than that I want to crave God above all else because that is how we were intended to be.

As I am going through the "Made to Crave" study I am in love with the 1st week's word of the week --- #Empowered! I have always loved this word because it truly empowers me just to think about the meaning of the word. Here is the definition from Mr. Webster himself....

Empower: to give power or authority to; authorize, especially by legal or official means;

to enable or permit

It means that if I am empowered someone is giving/or has given me the ability and is enabling me to do something! I used to become empowered by the strangest things and probably still am. For example: A few years ago when I was a full time special education teacher I was also the Response to Intervention internal coach (RtI coach)! I had the responsibility of tracking all the student's reading and math data, as well as figuring out ways and means to intervene when they weren't succeeding in either area. We had a little over 400 students in our building and this was no small task. I loved the idea of RtI and was very excited to take on the role which no one else wanted. After several meetings with my committee I soon realized no one else was excited and passionate about this and it was very disheartening to me. I didn't know why I couldn't become a light for them in this process. I felt like a failure and wanted to give up. Then I went one evening to see Legally Blonde the musical with my parents (this is where the strange place to get empowered comes into play). It was empowering to me to watch the story of Elle Woods a girl who was destined to fail at Harvard according to the world because she was a beautiful blonde from LA. But she decided to empower herself to become not only a good lawyer but a leader in the midst of it all.  I walked into my meeting the next day ready to go and the meeting was a huge success. Somehow someone else's story (in this case a fictional blonde in a musical) was my means to become empowered. I still get motivated and empowered by that movie because I know I can do anything I put my mind to with a little willpower and a lot of work!

After I had read Chapter 1, I decided to post the sign EMPOWERED on the fridge along with the following verse: 1 Corinthians 10:23
²³ “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.

 No sooner had I printed off the empowered sign, as I was walking through the kitchen to post it on the fridge there on the counter was a fluffy white frosted cupcake from my son's 2nd birthday party. It was calling my name.... literally I could hear it even when I wasn't looking at it.  However, I posted my sign and said out loud "I could eat that cupcake and that's not a sin, but what will the benefits of it be? Do I really need it for fuel or just to satisfy my craving?" I couldn't answer myself with anything other than momentary satisfaction for my sweet tooth - and I could almost feel the impending regret 5 minutes later as I had experienced so many other times if I chose to eat it.
It was at that moment I could feel God's empowering spirit around me and I grabbed a Greek yogurt from the fridge instead. Much better choice and I was happier with myself for the choice I had made. I also had more energy when my toddlers woke up from their nap!  *By the way - that cupcake continued to look at me every time I went into the kitchen for the rest of the evening... So I ended up throwing it away to avoid the temptation! {Temptation:0 God:1}

 

 

In Chapter 1 Lysa talks about eating as permissible, but then asks the question just because it's permissible does that make it beneficial?? Eating is something we need to do - food is an essential to keep us alive. However we as a society take food for granted because we have it at our fingertips all of the time. Food itself is not the enemy... it's the choices we make when choosing the food and how much of it we eat at a time. While carrots and celery sticks are not my go-to food, they probably should be because they will fulfill a momentary need of a snack and are loaded with vitamins and minerals that are not provided in my chocolate chip cookies that I am always craving! My goal for the week has been to become empowered by 1 Corinthians 10:23 and to use it as my tool against cravings for this week. Another verse will come into play I am sure on this journey but for now that is my focus! It's been a rough week but I have found myself snacking less on sugary/salty things and choosing beneficial fruits and veggies instead! I am also proud to say I am down 1.6 lbs in 5 days! WHOO HOO!

I hope you continue to join me on my weight loss journey as well as my journey to a more empowered Emily!

Jack's Birthday - Winnie the Pooh and Turning 2!

After a successful "one-derland" party for Lucy Sue, it was now Jack's turn for a birthday party (one week later)! So we had everything ready to go and I switched out decorations the Monday after Lucy's party! We had a quite a good turnout for Jack's party and the food was delish! Here are some pictures of Jack's 2nd birthday party featuring Winnie-the Pooh!

First of all the CAKE!!! I sent a picture from Pinterest to my friend Jaime who owns Grandma's Goodies Bakery out of her home! She went above and beyond what I thought would come out of it! Sooo simple yet so adorable! (and it was delish too!)

We served giant pretzel rods to represent Eeyore, who we all remember had a hard time keeping his house from falling down. So Eeyore's house sticks it was!

Pooh's Hunny Grahams were simply teddy grahams that were honey flavored! I also put them in little yellow oversized ketchup cups labeled HUNNY!

Owl Pellets were made from the Skinny Cow Creamy Clusters (which are made from my husbands Nestle plant!)

Tiger tails were a bag of Cheetos - and who doesn't love Cheetos?!

Kanga and Roo were difficult to correlate to food. So I decided to name the Raspberry Iced Tea after them!

For Piglet we had mini "piglets in a blanket)

This was my attempt at Bumble bee Cupcakes - not as good-looking as I hoped but they worked. I should have used yellow frosting but instead used white frosting from Lucy's party sprinkled with yellow sugar crystals - not the same effect. :(

Here is the happy birthday boy himself!

Jack LOVES his frozen yogurt!

Lucy's "One-Derland" Birthday Party!

I can't believe it's been a year since Lucy was born! How fast did that go?! I love that we share a birthday so I can have fun birthday parties again too! LOL This year I decided to do a "One-derland" Party for Lucy. We got snowed out on the actual date, but one week later it was absolutely beautiful outside and the party was able to commence. Here are some pictures of the details that made her party a true "one-derland" Alice would even be proud of!

White Rabbit Vanilla Cupcakes (some cupcakes had "Eat me" flags and some had chocolate bunnies I molded myself)

Queen of Hearts Red Velvet Cupcakes with pearls and pink sprinkles and "Eat Me" signs

Candy/Snack Bar - My husband works for Nestle so we decided to feature some of their new products as well as the tried and true favorites!

I printed several Alice in Wonderland quote prints with art on them as well as pictures of Lucy over the past year and attached them to the cabinets.

Pink Flamingo Lemonade with Drink Me straws!

Mad Hatter Meatballs of course!

Veggie trays are a must at any party so why not vegetables from Alice's Garden where the flowers sing and talk all day!

The Cheshire Cat has a cheese and crackers tray because his grin is a bit cheesy and since everyone in Wonderland is mad he is a bit "cracked" up!

A Large teapot balloon greeted guests as they entered the living room

I found this Happy Birthday banner on Pinterest and ran it through white
lace ribbon.

Welcome sign at the coat closet

The fabulous cake made by my friend Jaime Goodman - owner of Grandma's Goodies Bakery in Heyworth , IL!

Lucy likes the candle and the cake! YUM!

Another year is coming to an end....

Christmas was amazing....busy but truly a blessed time for us! Jack and Lucy both had a blast at all of the family's gatherings and christmas happenings. Here are a few pictures of our events.

This year has been a great year indeed. We became a family of 4, I finished my master's degree, and Chad got a new job at Nestle! We are truly blessed! As we get ready to venture into the new year I am taking time to pause and reflect on what resolutions I really want to keep. I used to call them New Year's intentions because I didn't want to resolve anything. Talk about a lack of commitment! This year I want to make resolutions..... And actually keep them!!!! 

This year I am resolving to lose weight (minimum 10 lbs)! I still have some baby weight hanging around that goes away but wants to come back. It's time to kick it to the curb for good. I just want to feel healthier and look a little better as well. I also resolve to continue my journey as a Christian woman of faith - Bible studies and quiet time with God on a daily basis. I also want to continue my domestic diva journey of learning to cook like a master chef and keep my house continually more organized. :) 

As the cooking resolution I would like you to join me on my journey of cooking like a master chef and losing weight on this blog. I cooked one of my last amazingly non-healthy meals last night and it was well worth it. I made White Cheese Chicken Spinach lasagna....yum! This dish wasn't light on butter or cheese but that's what made it so amazing. So much for meals like that in the new year.... Maybe once In a blue moon. Here is a picture of the amazing dish....

Here is the recipe...

Ingredients
1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.

2.In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.

3.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

4.Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.