30 Before 30: Update #1

It's just over six months until I turn 30! It seems to be getting here faster and faster. The other day while driving around, my mother said something to me about people my age, "You know, in their 30s." I shrieked! "I'm not in my 30s! I'm in my 20s!" It was a big "AHA!" moment. I'm about to be in my 30s. It's not that I really have a problem with that. It's just a bit weird to actually say it out loud.

So I've started checking things off the 30 Before 30 List and I've realized that I need to kick it into high gear if I want to get this stuff done.

Here are the things accomplished on the list so far:

#2. So far I have lost 20 of the 40 pounds! Yea! So excited about that.

#6. We have been trying about one new recipe a week. Some of them are listed in the Recipe Roundup.

#7. I'm getting better at making tutorials. It's a work in progress but you can check out the latest one to see how it's going.

#26. I just watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest this last week. It was a strange but good movie and not at all what I expected. Definitely need to get on to watching more!

#30. I've read two small Kindle books so far this month.

The first was How to Save Money Every Month by A.C. Jones. It's a fast read with lots of basic tips on saving around the house.

The second was The Coupon Diet by Beth Jones. This was a much faster read. It covers a lot of basic couponing tips. I already knew a lot of what was covered because I have been couponing for quite some time now but I would highly suggest it for someone who is just getting started.

It's time to get the ball rolling on this list and get things checked off!

December Recipe Roundup or Goal #6

I have been working on trying at least one new recipe a week as a goal in my 30 Before 30 project. I've done pretty well so far but I figured to keep accountable, I should share some of the recipes
I have tried with the rest of you.

Here is the progress so far:

Week of December 1st: The Hungry Girl Crunchwrap 

If you love the Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme as much as I do, this is a must have. It is such a healthier option and is amazingly delicious! I have now made it a regular on the menu.

Week of December 5th: Weight Watcher's Quinoa and Apple Breakfast Cereal

This was my first time trying and cooking quinoa. It smells very weird when it's cooking but the cereal was really pretty good. I refrigerated the leftovers since it made several servings and it reheated very nicely the next day.

Week of December 11th: Chocolate Covered Katie's Genius Blondies

This blog is absolutely wonderful. She makes delicious and healthy desserts. If you have a sweet tooth, you can't beat that. I made these blondies. You might look at the recipe and think that there is no way that it would taste good but believe me, everyone that tried them could not believe that they were actually good for you. They are beyond delicious!

Week of December 19th: Pillsbury Reindeer Cookies

My grandma and I made these to take to put in neighbor baskets and to take to family Christmas. They are so easy and turned out really cute. I couldn't find peanut butter or gingerbread dough (probably because they were sold out), so we just used sugar cookie dough and they still looked great!

I also made A Busy Mom of Two's Holiday Traditions Breakfast Casserole. We decided to do breakfast for dinner on Christmas Eve when we got together with my in-laws. The casserole was the perfect thing to make before heading to church and have ready to pop in the oven when we got back. It was DELICIOUS! There weren't any leftovers to take home. I guess I'll be making that again soon, since it was such a big hit!

Cupcakes for 2!

I love cupcakes but sometimes I don't want to go through the hassle and MESS of making a big ol' batch of them for just the two of us. Plus then I end up eating most of them. So you can imagine how excited I was when I found this tutorial at How Sweet It Is for making "Cupcakes for Two." My favorite part - it only uses ONE bowl.

 

We doubled the recipe and cooked them for about 20 minutes. We also added toffee pieces. They were so delicious, there wasn't any need to frost them. I may be making these a lot more often!