Sunday June 16th

Father's Day is an interesting day emotion-wise for me.

I have an amazing father who has always supported me in good times and bad. Due to his job as a firefighter, he wasn't always there so my sister and I relied a lot on our mom for emotional support, but he was there if needed and his love was something I never doubted was there. I cherished our one-on-one time no matter how few and far between it was. I knew that as long as I tried my best then there was nothing I could do wrong in his eyes.

A few years ago, my dad almost died while in surgery. His heart stopped and they had to shock his heart and perform CPR to bring him back. And then he almost died again a few weeks later with a blood infection and pneumonia.

That was a very difficult time in my life, and if I'm being honest, I don't think I've ever dealt properly with his near death experience...

I can't say that I don't take him for granted since this incident, but I do know that I tell him that I love him more often and I do take the time to spend more time with him.

Another reason that today is interesting for me is because of Isabel. All I want to say about that is, any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad. I couldn't have asked for a better dad for Isabel and I am so glad that Patrick is in our lives. His love and support through some of the most trying times in my life has been greatly appreciated. Watching Patrick with the kids is an amazing sight and I can only hope that these children all grow up realizing what an amazing man they have in their lives.

We celebrated Father's Day the only way we know how... With food! Delicious food. Which of course means that I couldn't control myself and went back for seconds. Tri-tip, homemade mac and cheese, corn bread... Mmmmmm. It was all sooooo yummy!

 

And of course I wouldn't be me if I didn't feel guilty about going back for more. But like I mentioned yesterday, this is just one week on this long journey and if I gain tomorrow then I gain. I need to remember that when I'm on the scale, and I'm not sure if I'll feel this positive about it all then.

 

I did indulge in half a cupcake because I had to know how they tasted.. I believe they turned out really well and I got a lot of compliments on them. I have a sneaky suspicion that the candy in the middle cupcakes will be making another appearance soon! Possibly with Rolo's next time.

 

 

It did take a bit of a push to get myself out the door tonight for my 1 mile run. But I knew that I had to do it because today marks the 3 week mark. And I ran right past the halfway mark in this Runner's World Running Streak two days ago without even realizing it. I can see the end in sight, but again I think I might have to run right past it and just make it a habit of going daily. I should have just gone for the run this morning after finishing day 9 of my squat challenge, but I started baking instead and, well the rest is just excuses.

Sunday June 16th:
Goal: 1540
Food: 1843
Exercise: -118
Net: 1725

Breakfast:
Whole wheat waffles, peanut butter, banana
Calories: 360

Lunch:
Apple blue pecan salad, buffalo chicken breast bites
Calories: 483

Dinner:
Quick Add Calories
Calories: 1000

Exercise:
1 mile run, squats
Calories: -118

Positive: I ended the week 258 net calories under goal. I think this is great progress after ending last week in the red by 246 calories. No matter what the scale says, I am making huge changes and I feel good, which is so much more important than a number.

Father's Day Cupcakes

I highly enjoy baking cupcakes. Especially since receiving my mixer for Christmas from my amazing in-laws.



I've made cupcakes for all different occasions:

I have made Cinco de Mayo tie dye cupcakes



















I have made pink lemonade cupcakes for the summer



















I have made Funfetti birthday cupcakes for Isabel's pre-k class

 

I have made Mothers Day peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate frosting

 I have made Memorial Day cupcakes

 

 

And Graduation cupcakes, to name a few...

It has come to the point where people request that I bring desserts to events. I don't think my cupcakes are THAT good, but they're not bad and I really do enjoy experimenting in the kitchen with cupcakes. I hope to take a cupcake/cake decorating class in the near future to improve my skills.

 

With Father's Day coming up this weekend I was asked to be in charge of desserts, with a special request for root beer floats and cupcakes. My sister is hosting the event at her house and put in the request for s'mores cupcakes. I have never attempted this recipe and after looking through my cupcake books I realized that this may be the chance to experiment the way I want to.

 

The recipes I found were either a little too advanced for me, or needed to be served immediately. Short of bringing my mixer and ingredients to my sisters I decided that I would try my own recipe and attempt for the first time of making cupcakes with chocolate in the middle.

 

I received some baking supplies at my bridal shower and I have yet to use one of the cupcake baking pans. This is a specialty pan that allows you to bake cupcakes with candy in the middle. It's the pan that I plan on using for my Father's Day S'mores cupcakes.

Since the recipes were a little too advanced I decided to try something new. The plan is to put two small pieces of Hershey's chocolate in the middle of a white cupcake. I then plan on using a marshmallow frosting and graham crackers for the topping.

The cupcake recipe I use for white cupcakes is from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella. I have used this recipe two previous times and both times the cupcakes have turned out really well.

White Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, separated at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350* F. Insert liners into a medium cupcake pan.
2. In a large bowl beat the butter with an electric  mixer on medium speed until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until combined.
3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk until combined.
5. In a small bowl with clean beaters beat the egg whites on high speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. With a rubber spatula, stir a little of the whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites until combined. Do not over mix.
6. Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bale for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

I found the frosting recipe online on Every Day with Rachael Ray. I wanted to make my own frosting from scratch, but the recipes I found in my baking books all involved a lot of steps with a double broiler. So I found an easier recipe that is manageable for me.

Marshmallow Frosting
Ingredients:
4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
1 16 ounce tub marshmallow cream (such as Marshmallow Fluff brand)

Directions:
1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy.
2. Beat in one-fourth of the sugar until fluffy, then repeat with the remaining sugar.
3. Beat in the vanilla, then stir in the marshmallow cream until well blended.

I really hope the cupcakes turn out well. I will be posting about them on Sunday including pictures and a review of how they taste.

Tuesday June 4th

Just for today I hate running. Hate it! To the point that I never want to do it again.

Obviously I will continue running. I will continue the streak. I will continue to improve. But right now I want nothing to do with it. And I'm going to allow myself to feel those feelings tonight.

I hate being out of breath.

I hate feeling everything jiggle with every step.

I hate how difficult it seems to be now when it came so easy before.

I hate my heavy feet.

I hate my sore calves and shins.

I hate my knee and the pain I feel.

I hate how tired my lungs feel. 

I hate!

And now I'm letting go of that hate so that I can go out and run again tomorrow. 

In regards to food I feel as though I did pretty well today. I ate under my calorie goal again and I made good choices and allowed myself a cupcake (no frosting) tonight. 

I had to bake cupcakes for Isabel's graduation tomorrow. I made decorations for the top that are supposed to be graduation caps. I hope they're a hit, even if they didn't turn out the way I had hoped.



Tuesday June 4th:
Goal: 1540
Food: 1860
Exercise: -328
Net: 1532

Breakfast:
Whole wheat English muffin, 1 Tbsp creamy peanut butter, 1 cup soy milk
Calories: 255

Snack:
Red Bull Zero, Trenta green iced tea, assorted hard candies
Calories: 111

Lunch:
Carl's Jr BBQ Chicken Sandwich low carb
Calories: 180

Snack:
Apple, Strawberries with whipped cream
Calories: 207

Dinner:
Baby back ribs, rice, green beans, bagel thin with melted cheese
Calories: 828

Dessert:
Homemade vanilla cupcake no frosting
Calories: 209

Exercise:
1 mile interval run/walk, 1 mile run, 1 mile walk
Calories: -328

Positive: I really did not want to run the whole mile tonight, but I didn't allow myself to stop. I just kept going. I also was tempted to cut my workout short by just heading home, but I kept walking to get over 3 miles in for the day.