Wordless Wednesday...a day late

PANTRY!

I just found this post saved as a draft today.  Click HERE to see the before pictures of the pantry. 

Located just across from the kitchen is our pantry.  There is a pocket door to close if I need to keep certain 2-legged kids or 4-legged kids out occasionally. 

At the end of the pantry is the remains of a closet from the bathroom that we took the space from to create the pantry.  I removed the louvered door and put up the curtain so when I need to, I can pull the curtain to the left and use the hook to allow me to get in there and get what I need.  This space is good for bigger appliances, paper products, canning supplies, casserole dishes, odd shaped pans and the bigger recycle bins.

There are 2 sets of adjustable shelves that go from the floor almost to the ceiling.  I keep all my staples on these shelves.  These are great to stock on up everyday items.

I use baskets to organize packets other small items.  Cardboard flats, great for storing canned goods. 

 I purchased half gallon mason jars to hold pastas, rice, and other dry goods.

 My husband put in these hooks to hold items such as aprons, potatoes, onions, etc.

 This spice rack is probably my favorite thing about the pantry.  My husband cut out the drywall between the studs and framed up this spice rack.  Staggered shelves hold various sizes of spice jars.

 We also purchased a small deep freeze.  Having a side by side refrigerator, our freezer space was very minimal.  This allows me to stock up on meats and vegetables.  Shelves above the freezer are adjustable as well.  Cook books, dog items (first aid kit is within reach) and cookie tins are kept here.

 Another favorite storage item are these canisters from Sistema.  These canisters come with their own measuring cup.  No digging through the drawer to find a cup and no dirtying a bunch of measuring cups when baking.  I always find these at Marshalls or TJMaxx.

 I hope you enjoyed the tour of my pantry.

Switching Gears

Some of my longtime followers may remember my weight loss journey back in 2009.  Click HERE to read the beginning of the story.  Well, needless to say, I didn't continue and have done a bit of back sliding.  So, I am going to switch gears here and try to focus on my weight loss again and healthy recipes.

I'm going to put my weight numbers out here, because I think making it known will help me with this adventure, AGAIN.  I started out in 2009 weighing 221 pounds.  Yikes, I hate even thinking that number!  After 14 months of Weight Watchers, I lost 71 pounds and got to my goal weight of 150.  Weight Watchers is kind of unrealistic with their goal weights, so my doctor and I had a meeting of the minds and decided 150 was a very realistic number for me.

Fast forward to January 3, 2015.  I weighed in at home on that day and weighed 185.6.  How in the world did 35 pounds creep back on my body?!  I was so aggravated with myself as the weight just kept piling back on the past 4 years.  So, time to do something before I gain the entire 71 pounds back!

While I am a lifetime Weight Watcher member, I decided to try a different approach this time around. I am using the My Fitness Pal app on my iphone.  Based on my information, the app has allowed me 1200 calories a day.  Which seems realistic for me.  I am finding the app very user friendly
as well.  Also, a friend of mine through facebook started a little group for a few of us greyhound lovers.  Mostly, it is a support group, diet hints, and recipes.

When I started this adventure, I decided I would give myself 30 days to see how it went.  I am happy to report that as of January 30, 2015 I weighed in at 175 pounds.  Down 10.6 since I started this re-adventure.

Today, I leave you with this quote from my dad...