Improving My Health

For the last few years, I have not felt great. When I was pregnant with Halle, I was put on bedrest for 2 1/2 months for pre-term labor. On top of that, we discovered I had gestational diabetes--which increases my chances of getting type 2 diabetes :(

Two Christmases ago, I went to the hospital with diverticulitis- small pouches that form in the colon. One of the pouches had ruptured just a little, but luckily I didn't have to have surgery. The doctor put me on a high fiber diet (30 g. a day) and told me to drink lots of water.

Also over the last couple of years, I have been getting migraines almost monthly- hormones! I have also had other issues along those monthly regards that I will spare you of.

Needless to say, it's time to improve my health-all of it! Last year, I lost 25 lbs. on Weight Watchers. For the life of me, I don't know why I dwindled off of it, but gradually I did. I not only looked better, but I felt SO much better.

This Health Improvement Plan of mine is going to involve a couple of procedures with the doctor (I'll spare you those details, too), going back on Weight Watchers and tracking more carefully my fiber intake.

With Weight Watchers, they have 8 "Tools for Living." The first tool is to have winning outcomes. It's kind of like a goal or mission statement. I'm going to divide this goal into small achievable chunks that are in short periods of time.

MY WINNING OUTCOME:
I will achieve a wieghtloss goal of 20 lbs. by Mar. 14. I will do this by making healthy food choices (that include high fiber), keeping track of the food I eat, and I will include 2 hrs. of physical activity each week.

I will:
-Lose 2 lbs. each week
-I will weigh myself daily--not to make myself crazy--but to make myself aware of the fluctuations that occur during this process.
-Make healthy choices when purchasing groceries
-Do strength training for 1/2 hour, 2 times each week
-Do yoga for 1/2 hour, 2 times each week
-Keep healthy munchies at school
-Be cautious in my food choices if we eat out
-Keep myself focused and busy after school until dinner time. I will find something productive to do and will make healthy snack choices during those times.

I am doing this:
For myself. I deserve to feel good. I want to be up and going and doing instead of feeling tired and yucky.
For my children. They deserve a mom who is able to take care of them and keep up with them. They deserve a chance to learn how to make healthy food choices for themselves.

So, here's to Improving My Health!!! There are a couple more things I'm going to try to improve in 2009- stay tuned.

What are you trying to improve on in 2009?

Merry Christmas From Our Family

I love Christmas. I love the sights, the smells, the feelings, the songs. The only problem is that it is over way too fast. These are my favorite things from the holidays:

THE TREE

I love Christmas Trees. I love to sit in the quietness of their light and relax. My tree has been a project for many years. It used to be just gold, but a couple of years ago I added red. Red is my favorite color and I love this tree.


This year, I added something new to the tree. I bought these little berries on clearance last year and totally forgot about them until I pulled out the Christmas stuff. I was thinking about going and buying something like this and was so excited when they were already in the box!



But, my favorite thing on the tree has to be these ornaments. They used to be my grandmother's. About 10 years ago, she was going to give them to the DI and asked if I wanted them. I didn't use them until I put red on the tree, but they are awesome. They still have the original box. And only a couple of them are missing. They are very fragile and very beautiful.




THE PRESENTS

This is the best gift I gave this year. I was so excited for my nephew Hunter to open it. He loves to read books. He will listen to anyone who will read to him. I created this book at snapfish.com with the help of my sisters. It is Hunter's ABC book. It took some creativity, but there is a picture and entry for every letter of the alphabet. I love that it is just like a regular picture book. They come beautifully bound and printed. I also created one for Halle and one for Whitney. They love them very much as well, but I knew Hunter would really love it- and he did. He walked around the room asking aunts and uncles to read it to him. I think everyone at the party read it before they left. Happy reading, Hunter. I hope you read it a "Zillion" times!



FAVORITE GIFT RECEIVED

I know this may sound weird, and nothing against all of the gifts we were given this year. But, I love this gift. Halle got it from her Nursery Teacher and she plays with it ALL the time. She makes us put on the puppets and pretend to be the baby Jesus or Mary. She doesn't exactly have the story down yet, but she has had so much fun playing with these puppets. They are available from Oriental Trading and, they are on clearance-$2.49 for 4 sets of them!!





THE TREATS

I love treats at Christmas. My favorite is the candy that my Aunt Sarah used to make. She would make fudge, boston cream, and pinoche. It is so creamy and rich. I went to her house to learn how to make it. It is more than a recipe- it is a process. I've made it a couple of times since, it's just not the same as her's. Since she's not with us anymore, I'm glad that my sister accquired the ability to make this candy. However, I DID NOT GET ANY THIS YEAR!!!!! No, I'm not bitter, really--- ok, maybe a little. I would give you the recipe, but since it involves a lot more than a recipe, it would be useless. So, here are the recipes for 3 of my 'other' favorite treats.

I love this sugar cookie recipe. They are fun to make and very yummy. I also love to eat the dough!!! These are a favorite at Valentine's and Halloween, too. Heck, you should just make them year round. Who needs a reason?
Sugar Cookies


3 c. sugar
2 c. IMO (fat free sour cream)
3/4 c. shortening
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
7-8 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix and refrigerate till dough is cold (several hours or over night). Roll 1/3 inch thick and cut with cookie cutters.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes--DO NOT OVERBAKE!!!

Cool and frost with Buttercream Frosting

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening
powdered sugar
milk
vanilla

(I don't use a recipe for the frosting, I just add lots of powdered sugar and then thin it out with a little milk.)




The 2 things that we had every year at home when I was little was a basket of mixed nuts (I always picked out the almonds) and Chex Party Mix. My mom still has to make party mix every year.

Chex Mix (original)

In a large bowl, mix:
1 box corn chex
1 box rice chex
1 box wheat chex
pretzels
mixed nuts
cheese crackers

Melt together:
3/4 c butter
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tsp seasoned salt
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder



Pour butter mixture over cereal and stir until evenly coated. Pour in large roasting pan and bake at 250 for 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes. (I usually don't bake it for a full hour)

I accidentally left the oven on the temp. for the cookies and now have BURNT chex mix. Luckily, the 2nd half turned out yummy!




My mom got this recipe last year and I've been addicted ever since. I made it to take to school as well as Scott's work party. I had to e-mail the recipe out because I had so many requests for it. I know it may sound weird at first, but once people try it, they sit and eat and eat and eat. It is soooo yummy!
Cranberry Salsa
1 package fresh cranberries
fresh cilantro (to taste- I just throw in a handful, stems and all)
3 green onions
1 jalepeno (you will have to judge how hot you want it. I usually add one jalepeno with the seeds removed)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2-3/4 c. sugar (to taste)

Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not mushy. Pour over 2 bricks of cream cheese and serve with crackers. I like Wheat Thins the best with this dip, but I usually serve a variety.


THE PEOPLE

Need I say more?

I hope your holiday was as wonderful as ours was and we wish you and your family the very best for 2009!

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful

I love snowy days as long as I don't have to go anywhere and can just enjoy it from the comfort of home. Wow, what a storm. We have about 10-12 inches of new snow today. We had to take advantage of it and go outside and play. I don't remember ever having better snow to make snowmen. It's very wet and heavy- not so good for shoveling. (Come on back Mary. You could play outside with us. Aren't you tired of 65 degree weather?)

Sugar Bowl

Today, Whitney and Halle had a dance recital. I love their dance recitals because Teacher "Auberry" (as Halle calls her) keeps them nice and short. They each danced 2 songs in their expensive costumes. Enjoy the video. It should pop up in a new window or tab.

Make a Smilebox greeting

Make a Smilebox greeting

Guess who else showed up? Only the best 2nd grade teacher Whitney has ever had. OK, she's the only 2nd grade teacher Whitney's ever had. Chelcie, I can't believe you took time out of your holiday break to come see Whitney dance. It meant the world to Whitney, and me, too!

And The Winner Is.........

Angie Rawlings. Congratulations. You won a long sleeve, sparkly vampire t-shirt. I'm not sure what your husband will say about it, but you'll look cute in it. Thanks to all of you who did this. And, to all of you who ordered. There were quite a few orders.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Birthday, Kyrie

FOURTEEN???!!!! How did this happen? I don't understand. One day, they hand you a sweet little baby and the next day its a teenager!!!

Kyrie's Favorites:

Color: GREEN (ever since she started watching the Wizard of Oz at age 2, green has been her favorite color)

Music: WICKED (probably because Elphaba is GREEN)

Class at school: BAND!!

Favorite pass-time: COMPUTER GAMES (especially Nancy Drew)

Favorite Book: Uglies/Pretties/Specials/Extras (but don't tell her friends, they all think she likes TWILIGHT better)

Favorite Movie: TWILIGHT (don't forget about the Twilight T-shirts on the next post down!!!)

Favorite food: SPAGHETTI (I had to stop stripping her down to eat it, though. Now the mess just gets on her clothes.)

Favorite Desert: today it is RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE from the OLIVE GARDEN because that's where we went to eat SPAGHETTI for her birthday!

I love you, Kyrie. I hope you had a great birthday. I hope the next year is a wonderful year for you. Continue to make good choices, keep good friends, get good grades and stay close to your Heavenly Father. You are a great sister, a loyal friend and an incredible daughter!

Love,
Mom

Attention All Twilight Fans

My sister runs a graphic design company. They are AMAZING!!! They have done my choir shirts, our school shirts and some other fabulous things that my family has. Well, here is their latest masterpiece. The great news is THESE SHIRTS ARE AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE!

The 'sparkley vampire' is done in a sparkley ink.
The side says Team Edward. (I didn't do that picture just so you could see her skinny back-side!)
If you would like to purchase one, you can e-mail them at gbg@qwestoffice.net

If you order one by Wed., Dec. 10, you should have it in time for Christmas.
Prices are as follows:
$12 for long sleeve T-Shirt
$20 for unisex Hoodie (team Edward is also on the top of the hood)
They are available only in black and you need to let them know what size you want.
You will need to pay for shipping, but we're not sure how much the shipping will be.

So, e-mail my cute sister and help a girl out.
gbg@qwestoffice.net
She will contact you for payment, etc.

ONE LAST SURPRISE
YOU COULD WIN A FREE T-SHIRT!!!
Here's how:
1. Put a post on your blog, that includes the pictures, e-mail address and pricing information.
2. Leave a comment on my blog (by midnight Tues. Dec. 9) under THIS POST that you have a post and I will check it out.
(I must be able to get into your blog!)
3. Wait until Wed. Dec. 10 to see if you win.

Thanksgiving Break

We had such a nice Thanksgiving. We left for Clarkston on Wednesday. We had dinner on Thursday with Scott's family. The kids had so much fun playing with cousins, especially the Wii. There were over 30 of us!

On Friday, there was a freak accident involving a farm trailer and Scott's sister's camp trailer. The farm trailer with 3 huge bails of straw came off the tractor. The tongue of that trailer ran into the jack of the camp trailer. It could've been so much worse. The trailer barely missed a utility pole and the straw didn't even budge.

On Saturday, my sister brought her baby to visit. She is so sweet. We took some cute pictures of her. (Thanks, Karen for the letter idea! I had to buy a B for Brooklyn after seeing Paige's cute photos!)

Of course we did a little shopping, a lot of eating, and a ton of visiting. Sadly, it's back to work tomorrow!

To: Dan and Ryan

We were looking through old photos and came across these. These three "ladies" showed up at a Pampered Chef party. I don't think they even bought anything!

Love,

Cindi