Blessed

I took a walk tonight, in between the swimming and the playing, the eating of delicious food and the lazing around with my family.  I walked around my neighborhood, taking care to walk the sidewalks of every cul-de-sac as I went.

It was an impromptu walk.  I only decided to do it about five minutes before I set my feet on the pavement.  I wasn't wearing the proper walking shoes; I'm paying for that a bit now...poor tootsies.  I didn't have my headphones, either, so I wasn't listening to music as I usually do when I go out for a walk.  Because of the latter, I was truly blessed by my walk.

As I made my way around my neighborhood, my ears were tickled with the sounds of conversations, children playing, adults telling stories, laughter coming from all ages.  I heard the sound of warm bodies cannon-balling into backyard pools.  I heard the sound of families, neighbors meeting together and enjoying one another's company.  I heard even heard a little girl singing a love song to her father, in Spanish, as she twirled around him as he rocked in a hammock.  I'm so thankful that I didn't have my headphones tonight.

I felt so content listening to the happy sounds of my neighbors as they celebrated Independence Day, each in their own way.  I couldn't help but think, as I walked, how blessed I am to live in this neighborhood, and to live in this country.

Summer Fun

I've been missing 'round these parts for a bit.  Summer always seems to wake up my desire to blog.  I think the school year just gets so crazy, I don't give myself the space to write until the long lazy days of summer stretch before me.

So what have I been up to?

For me, summer is always a time to get my life back in shape.  I do this in a couple of ways.  I take an inventory of what I am depleted of.  Have I been getting enough sleep?  How are my eating habits?  Have I gotten enough quiet time?  Have I been missing out on connecting with others?  When I've determined what I need to adjust, I do it, and begin to feel more in tune with myself in no time!

So I've been catching up on sleep, trying new recipes so that my family and I are eating healthier, and I've been taking really great walks. I've also joined a Bible Study/Book Study with some other moms.  We are currently reading Desperate. I'm loving the conversations that we've been having as we go through each chapter.

Next, I usually use the summer as a time to do a bit of deep cleaning around the house.  I know that most people do Spring Cleaning.  As a teacher, I do a big winter cleaning {coinciding with Christmas Break} and a big summer cleaning.  I just found an awesome organization specialist online, and her videos are giving me a ton of ideas.  I've already reorganized my linen closet, revamped my kitchen, and I've got plans to reorganize my bathroom soon!

Then, I start gearing up my brain for the upcoming school year.  I think back on what I liked about the previous school year, and I determine what I'd like to do a little differently.  I spend time cruising the web and finding ideas to make my classroom fun.  I've found LOTS of great ideas on Pinterest.

One more thing that I've gotten into this summer has been Influenster.com.  I recently made a profile, and I'm hoping to get the opportunity to try out some products soon.  Influenster has you take surveys to find out what you are interested in, and then they match you up with products to try and give feedback on.  As soon as I get wind of any products coming my way, I will be sure to share what I think about them right here.



That's about all I've got right now.  It's time to head to bed to rest up before tomorrow's Independence Day festivities!

Heaven on Earth

I recently started reading a new blog: 

Whenever I start reading a new blog, I get voracious.  I read as much as I can before I have to close my laptop and drag myself up to bed.  

One of the posts that really got me thinking, was Casey's post on Heaven.  I admit that the whole idea that we are not in Heaven does have a bit of a "duh" factor to it, but I've found that when you allow a thought to marinate in your brain a bit, you start to see things in a whole new way.

A week or so after reading her post, I suddenly had my own Heaven moment.  I was in my car, headed to the store, when I was overwhelmed with how beautiful the sky was.  Driving down the street, I saw kids playing and a couple walking their dog.  The weather was gorgeous, and I couldn't help thinking that the moment was just perfect. 

Suddenly, I felt a little zing.  It hit me that although that moment may have looked perfect, it really wasn't.  

We may have seemingly perfects days, hours, or minutes, but that period of time is just a tiny glimpse of what true perfection will be.

It kind of takes your breath away when you realize that it's only a peek of what forever will be like.

Hershey Fun

We are fresh off of our annual Hershey trip.  It's nice to have a place to go that is just far enough away from home to make it feel like a vacation.

As always, we stayed at The Suites at Hershey. It's just a stone's throw away from Hershey Park.  The rooms are big, the pools are fun, and we always have a blast.  

This time, my family tried out the grill in the gazebo.  My mother brought homemade cheeseburgers,and my dad grilled them up.  I have to say, dinner that night was divine.  Sitting around the table, laughing with my husband, parents, sister, and kids, I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else in the world.

Crunchy Chicken Wrap

I started my Weight Watchers journey this past January, and I've been doing quite well (down 32 lbs!).  One of the things that I've learned over the past few months is that I really can eat anything in moderation.  Still, it's sometimes a pain to budget my points so that I can enjoy a restaurant meal, only to come away feeling like it was a waste of points.  

One of the meals that I really enjoyed, pre-WW was Friendly's Crispy Chicken Wrap.  It's a yummy wrap made with breaded chicken tenders, salad-type fixins and a not-so-healthy-helping of honey mustard dressing.  I loved the way the flavors melded together.  Upon starting WW, however, I discovered that this wrap calculates out to a whopping 30 points plus!  Now, I'll tell you the truth; I never eat an entire restaurant meal in one sitting.  I always save half for the next day.  Still, 15 points for half of a wrap is a lot, especially when that number doesn't even include a side dish!

So I have to tell you how excited I was to have created a meal that tastes just like my favorite Friendly's meal, but at a bargain number of points!  You can eat the entire wrap, if you'd like, and it will only cost you 14 points plus!  Me?  I told you that I never can eat that much in one sitting, so I enjoyed half of the wrap for just 7 points!  That left me more than enough points for a helping of my favorite crunchy snack (Popchips) and coconut cupcake that my hubby had made, following this recipe on Skinnytaste.com.

So without further adieu..on to the recipe!

• 1 ¼ lb Chicken Breast Tenderloins
• 2 egg whites
• 4 Wegmans Whole Wheat Multigrain tortillas (10 inches)
• ½ c Wegmans Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
• 3/4 cup Kellogg's Corn Flake Crumbs
• 4 T Ken's Lite Honey Mustard
• 1 c boston lettuce
• 1 c fresh tomatoes 

Preheat oven to 425 . Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick spray. Whisk egg whites in a bowl. Dip tenders, one piece at a time, into egg whites and then into the crumbs.  Press the crumbs onto the tenders to make the crumbs stick. Place chicken in a single layer on baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Let them cool for 3-5 minutes.  Chop up the tenders, and divide them equally among the warmed tortillas. Top each with lettuce, tomato, 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese, and a tablespoon of lite honey mustard. Roll up the tortilla and serve.  Enjoy!

My wrap and my daughter's wrap (sans honey mustard) displayed for your enjoyment.