One Project- Complete (and a ‘diet’ recipe)

I worked on the list I made yesterday and got one thing totally checked off!  It was the shelves I had taken down the other day.  They were nice before, but they just needed….something.  So I took them to the basement, measured them up and started cutting some wood.  Now I have to tell you, I absolutely STINK at measuring!  I always hated math in school, so reading a measuring tape is just something I never picked up on.  My Hubs is a machinist, so he deals with it every day and is very precise about it.  I wanted to show him that I could do something by myself without having to ask him ‘what’s the line right before the half-inch mark?’  lol  He’s explained all those lines to me before (a hundred times), and I THINK I know what they are, but I am never sure if it’s 1/16th or 3/8ths or whatever.  lol  He can say them spot on with just a glance where I have to count.  So when I am measuring, I have to remember it by ‘it’s 2 little lines past 11 1/2…” lol  So anyway, with that being said,  I DID get this project complete!  I know I just showed the shelves yesterday, but I will go ahead and post befores and afters…

Before

After

Before

After

What do you think?  (Sandy also sent me the cute angel bust that I hung on this shelf) I wasn’t as concerned about the large shelf because it is above our humungous T.V. and it seemed to fit that space pretty well, but the smaller shelf  just kept bugging me.  It just seemed to be out there on it’s own and needed a little something more.  That corner/wall is a pain for me- I’ll have to get a better picture of it later.  I began the project by cutting the backing boards, and when I went to drill the holes for the pegs, I discovered that #1- I couldn’t find the needed bits for the drill no matter how much I dug through his toolboxes.  and #2- when I found something that I thought would work, do you think I could get the darn bit that was already in the drill out?  Nope.  Not when ‘Hulk Man Don’ puts one in there.  And I’m not kidding.  When he came home at lunch I was very irritated about it and he just laughed.  He said he did the same thing to his friends drill the other day when he was helping him.  Not funny to us weak people.  I showed him the bits that I found and he proceeded to tell me that they wouldn’t work-one wasn’t the right size, and one wasn’t for that kind of drill.  He said he thought he had a half inch wood bit somewhere….never mind.  I headed out to Walmart to buy ME some wood bits.  I got a whole set for $11 so I have them and won’t have to search for them.

So the rest of the afternoon was shot with that trip to Wally-world.  It’s only 10 minutes away, but I did need some other things while I was there.  With my delay in being able to drill that morning, I was able to cut some more boards to get a jump on my next project- which I needed the half inch bit for, so I’m glad that I actually went and got the proper bits after all.  That second project took a bit more measuring, and I made a few ‘oops’s’ along the way, so it was a good thing we had some extra boards (now I have pieces to make some signs later, lol).  It’s for my kitchen, and when I am done with my morning workout, I will be drilling holes and painting so I hope to get it done today.  If it works out okay, I will be doing the same thing in my dining room…soon.

One more thing.  I HAVE to show you what I made for lunch yesterday!  I was so proud of myself that I made it again for dinner! lol

Now you tell me…does that look like diet food?  And that is a dinner sized plate, BTW- not a salad plate.  It was delicious!  And very filling too for something was came out to around 350-400 calories!  I layered it like this:

1 Multi-grain wrap ( I buy the Aldi’s Fit & Active wraps)

I spread a few drops of olive oil on a baking sheet, rubbed one side of the wrap on it, flipped it over and put it under a low broil setting in my oven for a few minutes to crisp it a little.  Then I took it out, turned it back over and layered:

2 spoonfuls of tomato sauce

season that with with a bit of oregano, basil, thyme, majoram (I don’t have measurements for these, just kind of dusted them on after the tomato sauce was spread on the wrap)

3-4 ounces of cooked shredded chicken breast

1/2 c. of heated frozen spinach

3 black olives, sliced (for good fat calories)

3 fresh mushrooms, sliced

6 very thin tomato slices

1/4 c. mozzarella cheese (I just used the regular cheese I always buy. It came out to 75 calories for the low moisture part skim- there may be lighter cheese out there if you want to cut a few more calories)

I then put the whole thing back under the broiler checking it every few minutes till the cheese was melted and started to brown a bit.  I didn’t really need them, but I also had a serving of beets b/c I had already planned to, and they are really good for you anyway.  My kids laughed at me for taking a picture of it, but I was so proud of it, I had to share!  I cut a piece for Hubs (a.k.a Mr. Anti-Diet/ Mr. Meat and Potatoes) to try and he was pretty impressed with it also.  I’ve discovered that I am really loving this new way I am cooking for myself, and I hope to be able to keep it up.  I am trying my hardest to incorporate some of these healthier versions into our family meals ( I made turkey meatloaf  the other day and although they didn’t LOVE it b/c it wasn’t slathered with the brown sugar and ketchup coating I usually put on meatloaf- they liked it), but I live with all guys, and I can’t expect them to eat like rabbits- I’m not even eating like a rabbit.  They require more calories than I do, so I have to take that into consideration.  It is seeming to rub off on them a little.  I bought 2 of the big tubs of yogurt last week, and they were both gone the other day!  Hubs said he likes that better than ice cream (which we’ve had a carton of that in the freezer for a week now and no one has even asked for it!), so I am going to experiment with yogurt making today if I have the ingredients.  I saw an easy method using canning jars and a cooler, so I will try that if I have the right stuff.  If it doesn’t work, then I will have to look into getting a yogurt maker.

I’m sorry if I am boring you with my ‘diet talk’.  I’m trying really hard not to :-)  I promise, this blog will not turn into that.  I will be sharing as many prim goodies that I have before, and if the food part interests you, then great!  If not, just skip it! lol

Thanks for stopping by!