He is risen!

I love this song-- Christ is Risen-- by Matt Maher.

Wishing all of you a very blessed Easter!

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links.  You can read my policy here. I always provide my honest opinions.

Recent Reads: Mysteries of the Virgin Mary

I've had "Mysteries of the Virgin Mary: Living Our Lady's Graces" from The Catholic Company sitting in my to-read pile for a while now.  I started it a couple of times but found it so... serious.  It's not written in the kind of conversational tone that I usually prefer in a religious book, so it was a little harder to get into it. Once I did, though, I found it full of detailed, interesting information about Our Lady and the church's special place for her.

Have you ever had that argument discussion with non-Catholic Christian friends about whether or not Catholics "worship" Mary?  This book will arm you to explain the truth.  The very first chapter covers "Seven Reasons for Marian Devotion" and includes Bible quotes that clearly illustrate God's special affection for Mary.  From there, this comprehensive book goes on to explain Marian feast days  mysteries of Mary's life, and anything else you can think of related to Mary and the church. 

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Mysteries of the Virgin Mary. They are also a great source for a Catechism of the Catholic Church or a Catholic Bible.

I received my copy of this book free in return for my honest review.  If reviewing Catholic books sounds like something you'd like to do, they are currently accepting new applications-- check it out HERE. You can read my other book reviews here. 

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links.  You can read my policy here. I always provide my honest opinions.

Menu Plan- week of 4/19

Whoops, I worked on our menu plan on Sunday but then forgot to hit "publish" on this post!  So here it is, a day late.  :)

I don't have the WW points calculated for these meals yet, but I usually watch my portion sizes and stay around 8-10 points for supper... these meals should all fall in that range.

• MONDAY: DD's request: roasted chicken wings tossed in buffalo sauce, ranch potato wedges, salad 
• TUESDAY: DH's request:  my mom's recipe for crockpot BBQ Ribs, corn

Mom's BBQ Ribs:
3-5 lbs boneless spare ribs
1 bottle favorite BBQ sauce (we actually prefer a store brand sauce)
salt & pepper, to taste
Place ribs in crockpot, season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook on low all day (do not add any liquids). About an hour before serving time, drain liquid that has accumulated, and pour in BBQ sauce to coat ribs.  Allow to cook while sauce thickens and you prepare the rest of the meal.

• WEDNESDAY: crockpot ravioli (I add diced tomatoes), garlic bread, tossed salad, broccoli
• THURSDAY:  frozen Chinese sweeet/sour chicken dinner, mixed vegetables
• FRIDAY:  bean burritos, mexicorn, salad
• SATURDAY:  homemade pizza & tossed salad  

Check out lots of others' menus and post your own at Menu Plan Monday!

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links.  You can read my policy here. I always provide my honest opinions.

Watching My Weight Wednesday

I've been doing Weight Watchers online since the middle of January, and I've lost 14.6 pounds so far.  I have lost something every week except for two-- one week (funeral week, where I lived on funeral casseroles at my parents' house for five days and didn't care about points) I gained four pounds, and another week I gained 6 ounces.   Every other week, I've lost, usually between 1-2lbs. each time.  I'm happy with that... slower than I'd like, but steadily losing, so that's what really matters.

What's working for me: 

1. Making my daily points a game.  I'm already carb counting everything we eat due to my daughter's Type I Diabetes.  So, adding in the "challenge" of counting my points really is a game in my head.  
2. Tracking everything.  I keep track of what I eat in my online food diary at the WW site, using either my home computer or my phone.   I know I could do this for free by just writing it on paper, but I am a tech-oriented person... using the computer or my phone makes it fun, which makes me stay with it.  So, I'm still shelling out my monthly fee- at least for the time being.  (My DH and I have already discussed this budget-wise... it's one of the first things we'll cut if needed, but for now DH wants me to keep it up since I enjoy using it so much.) 

One of the best ways for me to play my "game" is by using several different sites for recipe ideas and WW tips.   Here are some of my favorite WW-related sites:

•  "Point-less" Meals
•  Danica's Daily
•  My Kitchen Adventures
•  Friends for Weight Loss (WW support group)

If you know of others I should check out, please let me know in the comments.

Check in with others who are watching their weight each Wednesday over at Angie's Healthy Living Blog.

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with WW, I'm just sharing my personal experience with their online program here. 

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links.  
You can read my policy here. I always provide my honest opinions.

Ham, ham, and more ham.

I didn't post a menu plan this week because it would have looked like this:

MONDAY: ham and cake

TUESDAY: ham and cake

WEDNESDAY: ham and cake

THURSDAY: ham.... but we'll probably be out of cake

FRIDAY: ham

LOL!  Why so much ham and cake?  Well, Sunday was my daughter's First Communion.  I had bought a whole ham and half a sheet cake.... and then the guest list kept dwindling.  In the end there were just eight of us here.  I was able to cut down the side dishes (7 layer salad, jello with oranges, deviled eggs, ranch potatoes, hummus and pepper strips) to better suit that sized crowd, but I opted to go ahead and fix the whole ham.   And the cake, well.... it had already been ordered from the bakery that we use for special occasions, so, it had to stay as it was.   

Last night we had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and various leftovers from the party.  I figure we'll have ham omelettes one night, and maybe my crockpot ham, green beans, and potatoes another night.   We've been packing ham sandwiches and roll-ups in our lunches.  I might whip up some of my own recipe for ham salad.   And when we are sick of eating ham, I'll freeze whatever is left.

In the meantime, though.... what is YOUR favorite way to use up leftover ham? I'd love to find some new ham recipes to try!

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links.  You can read my policy here. I always provide my honest opinions.