Please Pass the Veggies

New blog

2010-09-04T20:33:00.002-04:00

I have started a new blog and will be discontinuing this blog address. I'd love for you to visit my new blog and become a followe

Dontwannamissathang.blogspot.com

Where does the time go?!?!?

2010-02-14T09:24:00.002-05:00

I'm Baaaaaack!

I've been away for way too long, but I'm back. It's Valentines Day, February 14th, 2010. Happy Valentines Day!!

Well, let's see what's been happening since I last posted in OCTOBER!!! What? Where did all those months go? The Holidays were great, my laptop died in December and I had major withdrawal symptoms for weeks, January was snowy and so is February so far, I'm ready for Spring, I'm changing jobs, I joined Weight Watchers and the gym and I'm losing weight, I'm feeling great, I've made lots of changes in my personal life, still getting use to those changes, still mommy to 5 mini schnauzers and I melted when I saw a cute schnauzer on News2 this morning that's up for adoption, I'm thinking of going back to school for a Medical administrator degree, my music tastes are changing and I'm not sure why, I'm still a very simple, laid back, easy going person and I cherish my family and friends!!

Now what's going on with you? I'm catching up on your blogs. Loving your layouts and your posts!

I'm working on revamping my blog.

Taste buds are working again........

2009-10-29T20:07:00.003-04:00

I have had such respiratory problems for weeks now that nothing tasted good to me. I think my taste buds are trying to make up for lost time now. As of today I am feeling better and I can taste and smell again.

I wanted to share this with you. I picked up an oriental dinner kit at W.a.l.m.a.r.t recently and decided to make it tonight. It was so yummy I just had to tell someone. The kit was Wanchai Ferry Kung Pao Chicken. It was very easy to make, only takes about 20 minutes from the time you open the box til it's ready to eat. It was really tasty. Almost as good as P.F.C.h.a.n.g.s. Did I just say that??? They have several different dinners available. I googled the reviews for them and the Kung Pao seems to be the favorite. I followed the directions on the box and I also added a handful of cashews and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. I added them at the same time it says add the packet of peanuts that came with the kit. I love toasted nuts in my Chinese food. Yummo! I will be making this often!

Not sure why their website doesn't show the Kung Pao. Maybe it's new. There's also a link for $1.50 off a kit on the website. I got it at W.a.l.m.a.r.t for $3.88. Give it a try!!

http://www.wanchaiferry.com/Default.aspx

Lovin Autumn, but Hatin these allergies!

2009-10-15T17:28:00.005-04:00

I am so tired of sniffing, sneezing, blowing, dripping, swollen eyes, coughing.......you get the picture!

The Autumn allergy fairy has visited our home and I'm so ready for her to leave!

Thought I'd share this recipe with you. If you are my friend on Facebook then you've seen it already. A friend shared some of these muffins with us last weekend when we went to Rocky Mount, NC to see The Isaacs. We loved them so much I asked for the recipe and I've made them twice this week.

Pecan Pie Muffins

1 Cup Chopped Pecans
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 eggs
1 stick Melted Butter

Mix first three ingredients. Whisk together eggs and butter and add to dry mixture. Mix together, put in muffin tins sprayed with Baker's Joy and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. ( I bake for 20. I like them moist.) This recipe also doubles well.

**Don't have pecans? Use Walnuts! I also added a tsp. of vanilla flavoring just because my mama taught me it makes almost all baked goodies even better. These are so yummy!

Sweet Music

2009-10-10T10:09:00.005-04:00

Last weekend at Gaither Fest in Myrtle Beach I picked up Jeff & Sheri Easter's new cd. I wanted to share this beautiful song with you..........it's called "Hear My Heart"

Lovin this........

2009-09-27T19:02:00.002-04:00

I am sooooo lovin this new song by The Isaacs.......have a listen.

Blessings,

Lisa

Autumn

2009-09-27T16:34:00.002-04:00

I took a break from blogging!! Did you notice? Probably not. I've just been so darn busy lately. I have been checking in on all your blogs though and keeping track of you. I have, really I have.

One of my most favorite times of the year is here. I love Autumn. I love the colors of orange and gold and red and all the in-betweens. I love the smells of pumpkin and cinnamon and spiced cider and ginger and nutmeg. I love the foods like pumpkin bread and gingerbread and hot soups with crusty bread and croutons. I love weiner roasts and marshmallow roasts. I absolutely love the cool mornings and the cool evenings when it's just right to snuggle with a quilt and popcorn and a hot drink to watch a good movie. I love the Starbucks flavors - pumpkin spice latte is my fave!!! I love all the memories of Autumns past. I love photographing the changing leaves, trips to Amish country in PA, pumpkin patches shining bright with orange and gold jewels. I can't think of anything I dislike about this season except for allergies that come with the falling leaves and raking leaves of course. What's your favorite season?

I had a great time on my cruise to Alaska. The weather wasn't the best but I still had a great time. I saw some beautiful scenery, heard lots of great music, sold lots of CDs and spent some fun time with my friends The Isaacs. I appreciate so much the opportunity to travel with them from time to time.

Last weekend we made another trip to Kentucky. I wrote about it on The Isaacs blog. We had a great time. This weekend we've been lounging and resting. Next weekend I'll be at Myrtle Beach, SC for Gaither Fest, but not before a Thursday night Isaacs concert near our home. We're excited about that because a lot of our friends and family will get to attend with us. If you anywhere near the Greensboro, NC area come on out. The concert is 10-1 at 7:00pm at Tabernacle United Methodist Church in Greensboro. Visit their website for the address and directions. Would love to see you there.

I'll be back again soon. I'm in the blogging mood again.

Blessings,

Photos from Alaskan Cruise

2009-08-27T21:27:00.002-04:00

Want to see some photos from my Alaska cruise???? Click this link. I've posted over 100 on Facebook. I plan to write a post here soon, but for now if you want to see my photos you can see them on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=144074&id=830908985&l=14d19215c7

Packing for Vacation

2009-08-08T13:31:00.003-04:00

Hi blogger buddies! Long time, no communication!

Like so many of you have said recently (See, I have been reading your blogs!) I've been in a non-blogging funk. I just haven't been in the mood. I haven't felt like I had anything interesting to say. I have been lurking though. I stop in every few days to see what you have going on in your lives.

I started packing today for my Alaska cruise. I'm getting more and more excited each day. I'm having some issues with the packing. I was trying to take only one bag, but it's almost impossible. I have most of my clothes packed now, but no shoes, toiletries, small electrical appliances, books or underwear. See the problem? I decided against taking my laptop but I do want to take my trusty Canon Rebel. I thought about purchasing a small digital camera that I could carry in my purse, but this may be my only time to Alaska and I want to capture it the best way I can. My Canon takes great pictures and I have a huge zoom lens for it. Of course that is an extra bag because all that stuff fits into a pretty large camera bag. I'll figure it all out though. I'm just really proud of myself that I've started packing before the night before leaving!!

I will be driving to LaFollette, TN on Thursday morning early. We fly out of Knoxville that afternoon and will spend the night in Seattle. The ship departs at 4:00pm on Friday the 14th. Saturday will be a day at Sea. Sunday will be a tour of Steven's Passage and Juneau. Monday we'll be in Skagway. Tuesday - Scenic cruising Tracy Arm and Wednesday we'll be in Ketchikan. Thursday we'll stop in Victoria, British Columbia Canada. Friday we'll be back in Seattle. From there we'll fly to Lebanon, Pennsylvania where the Isaacs have a concert on Sunday night. I'll be driving back home on Monday the 24th and on Tuesday the 25th I'll be back at work!! Phew! Makes me tired just typing it. I know it will be a wonderful trip though. I'm really looking forward to it. We'll be cruising on Holland America's Ms. Zaandam.

I'll be twittering along the way so if you don't follow me and want to hear about my cruise be sure to Follow Me or just check in on my blog and my twitters are on the left hand side. Say a prayer for safe travels if you will and also for a motion sickness free trip.

RIP

2009-07-17T21:11:00.000-04:00

RIP Walter Cronkite

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/17/walter.cronkite.dead/index.html

Summer Fare

2009-07-14T19:35:00.002-04:00

We are sooooo enjoying the summertime garden fare. We have 29 tomato plants of several varieties and they've just started blessing us with a few ripe tomatoes. We have a couple of crooked neck squash plants and one cucumber plant. We have a favorite place that we like to buy stuff every summer. It's called The Berry Patch. Today the hubby was late getting home from work and I was thinking, hmmmm, I hope he's stopping for some veggies. I was right. He came home with beautiful tomatoes, okra, yellow squash and both green and yellow zuchinni squash. He no more than got in the door and I had the stuff washed up, sliced up and in a pan. I couldn't decide whether to fry okra or squash so I just mixed up a little of each and fried it up. It was delicious. I had planned to go to the mall but I wanted fried okra more. Can you believe that? Shopping and food are two of my favorite things.

Yikes it's HOT and DRY

2009-07-12T16:00:00.005-04:00

It is sooooo hot here today. The thermometer right now reads 91. Wouldn't surprise me if it's not hotter than that. We had a fun morning meeting up with Hannah, Geoff and Ethan. We met at a local park and took some photos of their little family. Then we all went to eat at Pancho Villas for some great mexican food. We were wilted after about 5 minutes in the heat. So HOT. We're home now in the cool air conditioning. We're getting the Miata out to clean it up and I think we're going to try and sell it. Too many vehicles at our house and we hardly ever drive it so I'm going to see there's anyone else out there that might enjoy having it. I'll post some pics when it's all shined up.

Meanwhile here are a few pics I took this morning......

Hannah & Geoff

Geoff, Ethan & Hannah on the

bridge over the little stream

Having fun walking the bike path

Such a sweet family

Ethan

Ethan & Mommy

MIA

2009-07-12T08:30:00.005-04:00

I know, I've been MIA again.......well, I've been busy. Thought I would try and put my thoughts down while I have a few minutes this beautiful Sunday morning.

We had a great 4th of July weekend. My hubby and I were off on Friday. We met my cuz Tina and her family on Friday at noon for a little photo shoot. I'm not a pro, but I love taking photos with my Canon Rebel and editing them with Photoshop. It was a lot of fun. Tina and her husband Robert have 3 sweet boys. It was a joy to see them. We had lunch at Wendy's (which we never do. Had not been to Wendy's in years to sit down and eat) We pretty much relaxed around the house the rest of Friday. I watched a lot of Lifetime movies. It felt good to just be at home and not really have to do anything if I didn't want to. I did make another huge pan of Peanut butter bars with blackberry jam. MMMMM so good.

On Saturday I got up with a little headache. It grew and grew and grew throughout the day and by night fall I had a full blown migraine. My family got together at my sister's house for a cookout in the evening. We had some yummy hotdogs and hamburgers. I wasn't feeling much like eating, but I enjoyed being with my family. We didn't get home til around midnight. My hubby insisting staying there until the race was over. I hit the bed when we got home and tried to sleep off the headache. No such luck. Sunday morning arrived and it was still present. I ended up staying in a dark room, wrapped in a throw with the tv playing low all day long. The headache finally subsided late in the evening. It was horrendous. I hate it when that happens.

On Monday I went back to work tired and trembly which I always am after a migraine. It's like it drains all your inner strength and it takes a couple of days to get your systems all working right again. After lunch on Monday I moved my office to it's new location. I had started moving a few things the previous Thursday. I like to move a little at a time and put everything in it's place as I go and that way there isn't so much at one time. I was settled in my new place by 3 on Monday. I love it so far. It's quiet and roomy and I think it will work out very well for me. I miss my friend Missy who was my next door neighbor over in the hospital, but we can still email and meet for lunch whenever we want to.

I'm not sure where the rest of this week went! I was busy at work and it seemed we had something to do at home every evening. We had been doing a little car shopping now and then for a couple of months. The week before the 4th we found one we really liked. We thought about it, prayed about it, looked at it and drove it several times. Finally on Thursday this week we made the decision to purchase it. It's such a big decision. A car, with what they cost these days, is a big investment. It's not a decision to be made lightly. We're loving it so far. I hope it lasts a really long time.

Yesterday we took a long ride through the country. It was a beautiful day. Last night I caught up on reading blogs, spent some time on Facebook, watched the race with the Hubby and caught a good nights sleep. Today I am meeting up with a my friend Hannah and her family at a local park. She asked me to take some photos of her little family.

Here's wishing good things for each of you! Make every day a wonderful day!

Have a Wonderful, Fun, Safe Day

2009-07-04T10:00:00.000-04:00

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY 2009!!!

Let's go to the Blog Hop

2009-07-04T09:41:00.004-04:00

I'm joining the Blog Hop this week. This should be fun, give it a try. This week's theme is describe your blog in one paragraph. Here we go......and then I'm going to hop on all these blogs and see what it's all about!!

Hmmmm describing my blog in one paragraph should be easy.......Please pass the Veggies was born out of my love for food, cooking, almost vegetarianism, trying to eat a halfway healthy diet - some of the time Ha! It's usually a rambling mess of scattered thoughts and prayer requests and useless information. Most of all, it's my way of keeping up with my bloggy friends and if for no other reason at all, I enjoy messing around with it and changing my theme weekly. How's that?

Praying - - - - -

2009-07-03T10:43:00.003-04:00

Join me in praying for Kate - her surgery is happening now - July 3rd, 2009 -

The Absolute Best.....

2009-06-30T21:25:00.002-04:00

Chicken Salad that I have ever had!

Just as I promised in my previous post I'm back to give you the recipe for the awesome Curried Chicken Salad that Ina Garten made on Barefoot Contessa yesterday. It's the best chicken salad ever!! You've got to give it a try. I even made a second batch for the hubby using vegetarian FriChick and he loves it too.

Curried Chicken Wraps

Ingredients

3 split chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
Olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good mayo
1/3 cup dry white wine (Note: I didn't have any wine so I used a dash or two of apple juice just to thin the mayo and I think the flavor goes great with the rest of the ingredients)
1/4 cup chutney ( recommended: Major Gray's) **I found this at Lowes Food - on the aisle with the pickles/chow-chow/etc. It's made with mango.
3 TBLS curry powder
1 cup diced celery
1/4 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts
1/4 cup raisins
1 cup whole roasted, salted cashews, chopped
6 tortillas ( plain flour, whole wheat, roasted red pepper or spinach would be good )

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub the skin with olive oil. (Note: cover pan with a sheet of heavy duty foil and clean up is easy)
Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked thoroughly. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, shredding with a fork. Discard skin and bones.
For the dressing....combine mayo, wine, chutney, curry powder and 1 1/2 tsp. salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. You can just use a whisk, I did!
Combine the chicken with enough dressing to moisten well. Add the celery, scallions and raisins and mix well. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Add the cashews.

Fill the center of a tortilla with the chicken mixture and roll like a buritto. Cut in half diagonally and serve. The chicken salad would also be great with crackers or the little puff pastry shells you can find in the frozen food section at the grocery.

You can certainly use low fat mayo with this recipe as all the other flavors would really perk it up. I'll definitely be making this again. It's really yummy!

P B & J

2009-06-30T14:19:00.004-04:00

UPDATED!!!!

I used an 8 inch square cake pan because that's what I had and baked them in two batches. The first batch, I followed the directions completely using the parchment paper in the pan. The jam oozes out a little and the parchment paper stuck to the edges a little. The parchment paper definitely makes it easy to lift the bars out of the pan. BUT I didn't like the jam sticking so the 2nd pan that I just now took out of the oven, I didn't use the paper. I just greased and floured my non stick pan and they did much better. I baked the first pan this afternoon while I was home from work on a split shift and put the rest of the dough in the fridge. When I got home tonight I baked the 2nd batch. I think the dough was easier to work with after being refrigerated. I used Smuckers Red Raspberry jam. It's really good and I think a lot of other flavors would be too. Grape or Strawberry or even apple would work. Give em a try. Really easy and really tasty!

Original Post:

Working a split shift today. I am home for a few hours and will go back and work tonight. I wanted to make a treat this week for the hubby to share with his buddies at work. I might even share with a few of mine. I had been thinking about something I could make. Yesterday while watching the Food Network Ina Garten made these fabulous looking bars. I hit up the grocery today for all the ingredients and the bars are in the oven as I type. Thought I would share the recipe with you all. It's an all time favorite combo of Peanut Butter & Jelly made into cookie bars......Yummy

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

Ingredients

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 extra large eggs

2 cups (18 ounces) creamy peanut butter

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) raspberry jam or other jam

2/3 cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat over to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9 x 13 x 2 inch cake pan. Line it with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan

Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed with electric mixer until light yellow. Add the vanilla, eggs and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.

Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared pan and spread over the bottom. I used my hands to pat it out. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don't worry if all the jam isn't covered; it will spread in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.

The dough tasted great and the bars are cooking up nicely. I think they are going to be a hit.

On the same show Ina made Curried Chicken Wraps. I got the ingredients for those also and I will share that recipe with you later today or tomorrow.

What's cooking in your kitchen???

What a Lazy Day!

2009-06-27T17:40:00.002-04:00

I wanted to go to the pool today but shortly after I got up it started to get partly cloudy and who wants to go to the pool only to have it come up a storm and have to pack it all up and take it back home. I told the hubby it would make things much simpler if we just installed our own pool. We tossed around the idea last summer and never did anything about it. We're tossing it again, but I don't know if we'll do anything about it this summer either. It's terribly hot here in NC today. In the 90's and it's humid. Plus my face is still peeling from last weekend at the pool. I thought I had a good enough tan to not get burned but I was wrong. My face looks nasty. It's flaking this dark brown skin and even using exfoliating gloves daily is not helping much. Sooooooo me and the pups have been lounging around the house today.....eating cheez-its and reading blogs and facebooking. Well, me, not the pups, you know.

What are your plans for the 4th of July? I will be off of work on Friday July 3rd. My sister is hosting our annual 4th of July cookout at her house on Saturday evening. The Isaacs are in NC on Saturday but it's a good long drive. I think we may head up to Bedford, VA on Sunday the 5th to see them. It's only about 140 miles, so not a bad road trip.

I am looking forward to my move at work. The orders were put in to IT on Friday to move me so I should be moved on Monday or Tuesday. I will have a nice private office. I'm trying to get a few decorating items together to dress it up. It's a large room and it will be difficult to make it cozy. I spend so much time at work, I want it to be a nice place to spend 8 hours or more a day. I will try to take a few pictures when I get moved in.

What are your thoughts about the death of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson this week? I loved Farrah in Charlie's Angels and I have loved the movies she's done like Extremeties and The Burning Bed. I remember the hair and the beautiful smile and she always had a killer tan. I know that Michael Jackson was weird and I certainly don't agree with the lifestyle that he chose but I did enjoy his music. I grew up with Michael. He was only a few years older than me. No matter what his lifestyle turned out to be his was still an amazing story from that cute little kid to the icon that he became. One of my favorite songs of his remains Billie Jean. I must not be the only one that likes it as the video has received over 14 million views on You Tube. And lastly it's not my duty to judge Michael or anyone else. HE will take care of that.

I hope each of you has a great week. If you're vacationing or working or just staying around the house....make it a great week and be safe.

Blessings,

RIP

2009-06-25T18:42:00.001-04:00

June 25, 2009

RIP Farrah Fawcett & Michael Jackson

Two in One

2009-06-23T20:17:00.003-04:00

This is a two in one post......

First of all my Director at work asked to meet with me today. She sent me a meeting invite last week and I had no idea why I was being met with. You know how that is....had to think about it and wonder and worry a little over the weekend. The meeting went very well and I found out that I'm actually being moved again! This will be my 5th move in 14 months. This time I'm moving to a different building all together and I'll be taking on some new duties. I'm really excited about it and looking forward to it. I'll be making the move next week. I love to learn new things and I'm not afraid of change at all.

Secondly I let you in on a little travel news this morning. Well, sort of. I didn't have all the details and I had not asked off at work so I hated to say much until I cleared it all. I've been invited to go on the Gaither cruise in August to Alaska. I've never been on a cruise and I've never been to Alaska so I'm really excited. Have you been? Got any helpful info for me? I will take all I can get. I do know that the average temperature in August is in the 30's and 40's so it will not be a sunbathing cruise. You'll probably be hearing about this a lot over the next two months so just tune me out if you get tired of it.

Back to my Lifetime movie now and my bag of Orange Milanos. No, they aren't healthy, but they are soooooo good.

The Voice of Publishers Clearing House......

2009-06-23T10:27:00.003-04:00

Ed McMahon passed way early this morning. The voice of "Heeeeeere's Johnny" and the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes. RIP in Mr. McMahon.

Travel Plans in my future.......

2009-06-23T10:15:00.002-04:00

I just found out yesterday that I'm probably going on a long trip. More details to come.......Hint - there is water involved : > )

Yum - a cool summer recipe

2009-06-19T16:35:00.004-04:00

I'm joining my friend and cuz Christina over at we-5-kings for Friday Foodie. Those of you that know me know that I'm all about some good food. Christina's green pea salad looks so good. That recipe made me think about this one and I decided I'd share with you all.

Corn Salad

2 cans of your favorite Niblet corn - mix it up with yellow and white corn for prettiness! - Drain it!

1/2 of a medium green pepper - diced fine

1/4 cup onion - diced fine - red, yellow, white or green will work just fine

1 small ripe tomato diced

1 small ripe avocado diced

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 hard boiled eggs - diced

salt & pepper to taste

enough mayonnaise to thoroughly coat everything. I don't measure it. Start with 2 tablespoons and add more if needed.

dash of yellow mustard

Mix everything well and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!!

Praying for Stellan

2009-06-18T21:03:00.004-04:00

I'm sure you've all heard by now that MckMama has taken Stellan back to the hospital. Join me in praying that they get his SVT problem under control quickly. That sweet child has sure had a rocky adventure so far. I pray the Dr can find a solution soon. Bless his heart!

I'm back

2009-06-15T09:39:00.008-04:00

I started this post 3 days ago. I think I finally have it ready to post. I hope it makes sense. I've rambled I know.

I took a hiatus from blogging. Well, not really, because I've been blogging on The Mommy's blog and The Isaacs blog, but, you know, a hiatus from my own blog. I guess I just really haven't had anything to say that I thought would be interesting enough to write about. I've been in a funk of sorts. Hopefully I'm on my way out. Sometimes life just beats a person down and it's hard to see the sun through the rain. You know what I mean, right?

Since I've been gone I've made two trips to the Smoky Mtns. of TN, a trip to the hills of KY and I've gained a new family member....my beautifuly new baby niece Ellie Grace. Memorial Day weekend my friend Shelly and I drove to Gatlinburg and spent the weekend working at Gaither Family Fest for the Isaacs. We had a grand time. We heard lots of great music, had some fantastic food and spent hours laughing and just enjoying ourselves. This is our 3rd trip together and each year we have a good time. This year we didn't walk ourselves to death like we have the years before. We usually come back so tired that we need a week off to recover.

The Isaacs singing at Family Fest

in Gatlinburg

Last weekend the hubby and I made a trip to Berea, KY. We had the best time. I wrote about it HERE. I'm still thinking about it. It just amazes me that people still live like Aunt Edna with no electricity or running water. She wants for nothing though and she seemed to be the happiest person I've run across in a long time.

Edna Isaacs showing us around the farm

My niece The Mommy had asked me a few weeks ago if I would like to be in the delivery room with her when she birthed her baby girl. Of course I didn't have to think twice about that one. I have been with each of my great nieces and nephews except for The Muffin. I wasn't invited that time and my feelings were injured. No, not really, it just didn't work out that I could attend. So I was really excited to be invited this time and I told my Director that I wanted to be there and I might just have to run out at some unexpected moment from work so as not to miss the event. The Mommy was planning to have the baby in a nearby county that would take me at least an hour to get there so I was kind of glad when she called me on Thursday to say they were going to induce her on Friday. My sister and The Muffin and I got to the hospital around 9:00 on Friday morning and we found her walking the halls in her hospital gown and dragging her IV pole behind her. She walked and walked and walked some more. We got settled in her room and spent the day there. They would come in every once in a while to check her and to get the baby monitor positioned on her belly where they could monitor the baby properly and we would wait some more. By 4:30 she just wasn't making any progress and they couldn't up the dosage of pitocin anymore so they came in and told us it didn't look like there would be a baby that day after all. I was so disappointed! I can't even tell you how much. You see we had planned this trip to KY and we were leaving very early on Saturday morning so if there wouldn't be a baby that day then that meant I wasn't going to be present for the event. I could hardly believe what they were telling us. They said that they wanted to stop the pitocin and let her uterus have a rest and would start it again early on Saturday morning. She wanted so much to have the baby without having a c-section and they said this would be the best chance to make that happen. So my sister and I packed up the camera and the laptop and the Muffin's toys and books and we headed home. We hardly said a word on the long drive home. We were tired and it was as if someone had let the air out of a balloon. Anyway, The Mommy ended up not having the little girl til 10:30 on Saturday night. I was getting so worried. I had text'd with them all most of the day and they kept me updated with what was happening (or not happening) and at 10:00 that night I was starting to get worried. I couldn't believe she had not had the baby yet. She gave birth to a beautiful little girl. She gets more beautiful with every photo I see of her and I've visited with her twice now and she is changing daily. Her name is Ellie Grace.

Sweet Baby Ellie

Work has been crazy for the last few weeks. I work on a team of about 5 people and somehow I became the "fill in/do their job when they're out" person. For the last 6 to 8 weeks we have not had a full team but maybe 2 days. There has been medical problems, deaths, vacations, you name it! Hopefully next week we'll have a full team again and things will get back to normal. Whatever normal is!

It sounds like we're going to have 95 degree weather coming up this weekend. Sigh! The rain last night was so hard that a lot of our mulch is on our sidewalk this morning. I think we've had enough rain to last a while. Not that what I think matters though! No huge plans this weekend except a short trip to Weaverville, near Asheville. For an Isaacs concert, what else! I wish a good weekend for each of you! Keep blogging. I sneak in and read your posts every single day.

Sending love your way........

Thought this was pretty cool.......

2009-05-17T20:43:00.003-04:00

I picked up my new FREE background layout from scrappinblogs.blogspot.com. When you are looking through their layouts they give you the link where the kit was purchased to make the background. I found the purple and green layout that I really liked and then followed the link and purchased the kit and made my own header to match. Pretty cool huh?

Rain Rain Go Away and other random thoughts

2009-05-17T18:14:00.005-04:00

Getting just a tad tired of cloudy, gloomy days. I'm ready to see some beautiful spring weather. I soooo wanted to spend some time outside this weekend to soak up some sun and to get some outside work done. Today has been so dark and windy and pretty cool too. We have our windows cracked open a little and it's beginning to feel a little chilly. I know that in a few weeks it will be HOT and we'll be wishing for a few days like this. I just wish we didn't have so many in a row.

The hubby and I took a little trip to Raleigh and visited the state Farmer's Market. They had so many lovely plants and flowers and strawberries galore. We came away with nothing except a fig tree. My in-laws had a great fig tree at their house and the hubby has wanted one for a long

time. I wish we'd planted it years ago when we first moved here, but we didn't. He's also been planting grape vines which we also should have started years ago. Hopefully they will live and we'll both be able to harvest fruit from them. The hubby has also planted several different kinds of tomato plants, squash and cucumbers. I love planting things and watching them grow and start to produce. While in Raleigh we visited North Hills and ate a small Italian restaurant called Cinnelli's it was really good. I picked up a great buy at the Wolfe Camera store that is going out of business......a flash for my Canon Rebel digital camera. I got it for 80% off.

Friday evening I drove over to my sister's house. They were getting ready to have a yard sale on Saturday. They were starting to put their things out under the carport. Of course I found a few things I needed at my house. My niece had this cute table and I thought it would fit perfectly at one end of the loveseat so I brought it home.

the little table with the red lamp

That's about all I've been up to this weekend. Soon it will be time to return to work. The weekends always go by so fast. I do look forward to the end of this week because I will be taking a road trip to Gatlinburg to spend the weekend with my friends The Isaacs. They are in Zambia Africa right now but they will be returning home on Wednesday this week. I can't wait to hear all about their trip. I know it's been a life changing experience for them.

I hope each of you has a great week! Blessings!

2009-05-17T17:41:00.002-04:00

Trying out my new signature to see how it looks with my new layout.......

Want to learn to Strike through a word or phrase?

2009-05-16T20:38:00.005-04:00

It's Easy Peasy.....all you have to do is insert a short code before and after the word or phrase you want to strike through.

1. Type your words

2. Insert the following code before the word or phrase you want to strike through.

3. Insert the following code after the word or phrase you want to strike through.

Getting Excited

2009-05-12T19:56:00.004-04:00

I'm getting so excited about my new niece/nephew "Baby E". Baby E is due on June 7th. The mommy went to the Dr. today and had her last ultrasound. She found out the sex of the baby but I'm not going to spoil her fun in telling you about it. She called me a little while ago with a very interesting update. She'll be along on her blog to tell you about it soon. As soon, that is, as Big Daddy gets home to fix the laptop.

Honoring my mother on Mother's Day

2009-05-10T07:00:00.004-04:00

I never called my mama "mother" it was always mama.

She was born in 1925 right before the depression. She was the oldest of four children. My grandma Foust died in her mid thirties leaving my mother to look after her 3 siblings. My pawpaw loved his children but he wasn't always there for them. She was barely 16 herself and of course was unable to do it all. Her siblings were sent to a children's home in Thomasville, NC. My mama worked hard and mostly lived with friends and relatives and later she met my daddy. After she and my daddy married they would go to the children's home and get my aunts and uncle and bring them to their house. My mama lost her first baby. It was a boy and he was almost full term when mama could no longer feel him move. They induced her labor and she gave birth to a perfectly formed, stillborn baby boy. They named him Michael. A couple of years later my sister Kathy was born and two years after that my sister Sharon came along. My daddy always wanted a son but it was not meant to be. Their little family was complete. My mama worked in upholstery furniture and my daddy was a painter. They bought and sold several homes in Randolph County and they and my sisters moved around a lot. In 1964 they built their last home in Sophia. 6 months after that they decided to build on a family room to that house and have it bricked. During that time they received a surprise. My mama, now 40 years old and "going through the change" found out she was expecting. (They didn't publicly say "pregnant" back then). What a surprise. I remember sitting around and talking and I would ask my mama questions about her pregnancy and my being born and she would tell me stories. She said at first she was embarrassed. I guess back then 40 year old women didn't have babies that much. She said she didn't gain a lot of weight with me and when she went to the hospital to give birth the nurses asked her if she was sure it was time? My sister's stayed home that day and after I was born my daddy went home and told them they had a red headed brother named Roscoe. I guess secretly my daddy was still hoping for that son. He also told his friend's the same thing and one of his best friends named Dewey Brown called me Roscoe until the day he died.

Even though my parents were much older than my friend's parents I was very comfortable with the situation. I loved them both very much. My daddy called me "Babe" and one of my favorite things to do was sit on his lap and bump his noggin. He would lean forward and I would lean forward and we would bump and he would say Bumpy, Bumpy! My mama was the best cook in the whole world. She could go to the grocery and spend $20.00 and have enough food to last the whole week and she cooked us the best meals. Meat, potatoes, veggies, homemade biscuits and dessert. She didn't use recipes. She added a little of this and a pinch of that. She told me that she would sit me on the counter in my carrier while she cooked. Later as I got older I would hop up on the counter and sit for hours just watching her and asking questions about what she was doing. That's how I learned to cook and I have a love for it like she did. Nothing pleased her more than to have you come to her house and eat. She always had something good and everything tasted better at her house. She kept the neatest, cleanest house ever! She had the prettiest flowers. She loved to plant things and watch them grow. She always had the greenest house plants. Sometimes I would take one to my house but it would be dead in a matter of weeks.

One Monday evening in September 1975 my daddy came home from work sick and later that evening he passed away in our den. My mama and me were with him. A massive heart attack took him from us at the age of 55. Five days before his 56th birthday. I was 10 years old. My mama was so sad. I thought I would die from sorrow. But we picked up the pieces and our lives resumed. A week later I went back to school and my mama went back to work and she made a great life for us. My sisters were already married and had little girls of their own and my sister Kathy was 7 months pregnant with my nephew when my daddy left us. My daddy loved my little 2 year old neices and I can still see him sitting in his chair with one of them on each knee. There were some really hard days after he died. Many times my mama told me she was glad that she had me late in life because she would have been completely alone.

Mama worked every day and saved her money. I don't know how she did it but we always had everything we needed and more and when I turned 16 she bought me a car. I had to work and buy my own gas and pay my insurance. I didn't like it, but little did I know that she was teaching me life lessons that would be valuable to me in the future. She raised me in a Christian home and taught me right from wrong. Things I'm so thankful for today.

In 1998 my mama became sick and after many tests was diagnosed with the "C" word. She had a mass in her colon and she had surgery to have 12 inches of her colon removed, followed by 6 months of chemotherapy. My sister's and I were devestated, but my mama was a rock. She never ever complained. She lost some hair, had terrible sores in her mouth, lost 35 or more pounds, completely lost her appetite but she rallied and after that 6 months she was stronger than ever and she was our mama once again. We loved her all the more.

5 years later in 2003, in the spring, mama had allergy symptoms. The Dr. prescribed medication but mama didn't get better. More tests revealed a problem and she went into the hospital to have a bronchoscopy which revealed a mass in her lung. A few days later she was admitted to the hospital with a collapsed lung, pnuemonia and once again the diagnosis was the "C" word. Once again we were devestated. Mama never returned to her home after the day she was admitted to the hospital. She spent 31 days in the hospital and then went to my sister Sharon's house to live. A month later after many, many tests her Dr. decided she was eligible for surgery because the cancer was not found anywhere else in her body. She had surgery to remove her lung and she seemed to be getting stronger but on August 24th, 2003 she aspirated and later that day was put on the vent and about 3 am on Sunday morning she passed away. Our sweet mama was gone.

My sister's and I have so many wonderful memories of our mama. She loved her girls and her grandchildren and loved to have them come and visit. She never drove a car, never had her license, was a quiet soul with the biggest heart. She loved her church and her church friends like Miss Self and Betty Johnson and loved to visit with my aunt Clara and aunt Martha. We miss her like crazy....every day and especially today.

Today is set aside for honoring mothers and remembering those that have passed on. I would like to encourage those of you that still have your mama here on earth. Don't let a day pass without telling them you love them. Don't let an opportunity pass by that you don't take the time to spend time with them. Make memories! They will be so important to you one day. Without those wonderful memories I don't know where I'd be. I would give anything to be able to spend time with my mama today. It hurts me so to see people that still have their mama be angry with them and say spiteful things about them and some don't even acknowledge that it's Mother's Day. You only have one chance, don't let it pass you by.

Happy Mama's Day to each of you!

I look forward to the day when I can embrace my mama and daddy again where there will be no more sorrow, no more tears. Come Lord Jesus!

Listen, Lord,

a mother’s praying

low and quiet:

listen, please.

Listen what her tears

are saying,

see her heart

upon its knees;

lift the load

from her bowed shoulders

till she sees

and understands,

You, Who hold

the worlds together,

hold her problems

in Your hands.

-Ruth Bell Graham

What I've Been Doing.......

2009-05-09T18:11:00.005-04:00

I've gotten so interested in using herbs in my

cooking that I decided to start a small herb

garden. I also put some in pots. Here is marjoram,

oregano, basil and thyme. They love the sun.

I can't believe how much they've grown already!

Fresh new hanging baskets from the

Piedmont Triad Farmers Market!

A sign from our road trip last weekend.....

and one of the buggies we met on that road

A sparrow's eggs in Mrs Trivette's fern on

her porch...... click on the photo to enlarge and

look at the edges of the nest......birds absolutely

amaze me when it comes to nest building. Note

the difference in this sparrow's nest and the

mockingbird nest below.

Put out a spring flag - a schnauzer of course

Looks just like my Levi......

A purple martin on a wire

My hubby is trying desperately to attract some

to our gourds!

Purple martin gourds with purple martins working

their nests. We stopped on our trip last weekend to

Amish country and visited with some nice strangers

"The Trivettes". They had many purple martins.

The hubby was cleaning out some brush yesterday and

was about to cut this thicket with honeysuckle vines

when a mockingbird dove at him and she was angry...

this is the reason. Guess that thicket will stay there

for a while longer. Aren't they beautiful?

My ivy has grown nicely this year around our

lamp post. Planted a pot of African daisies and

petunias last weekend and the ivy has already

covered the sides of the pot. And of course

"Every Birdy is Welcome"

Rainy Day blues.......

2009-05-07T09:19:00.004-04:00

Yeah we need rain around here, but dang it, I'm so ready for some sunshiny spring days. I can't take much more of this dreariness.

I love being outside in the spring. Love planting flowers and watching them grow. This past weekend the hubby and I cleaned out some flower beds, put out a mountain sized pile of mulch, planted some pretty flowers, sowed some seed (zinnias & cosmos), bought tomato plants and squash plants and cucumber plants, got ferns for the porch and two other hanging baskets. Things are looking better. I also put out a spring flag and wreath on my door (last year's wreath because I haven't gotten my energy together to make a new one yet). We did this between rain showers. I hate it when it rains on the weekends when I want to be soaking up some sun. I am thankful for the rain though because I know we needed it bad.

We set out on a trip to the mountains to do some walking and enjoy the sunshine. About 5 miles from home the sunshine turned to gray skies and it started to drizzle. It just got worse the farther we drove so we took a detour. We detoured to Walnut Grove off of 421 to the Amish settlement there. We saw a few buggies out on the road, lots of Amish and mennonites working in their gardens and flowers and we visited the Shiloh store that is run by Mennonites and bought a few goodies. The store offers fresh baked breads and pastries, bulk items like flour, dried fruits, raw nuts, jams, jellies, pickled everything, books, quilts, etc. etc. etc. We bought some crunch soy bean nuts and some dried fruits to snack on. We love dried pineapple and cranberries and stuff like that. They had, of all things, dried canteloupe. I'd never had that before and had to try some. It's pretty tasty. Also got a small bag of dried kiwi. Pretty interesting. It was a fun, short trip. Our favorite vacation is to Lancaster County Pennsylvania. We love to go there and spend a week among the Amish. Their way of life just calms my soul. We love to visit in the early fall when they are harvesting pumpkins and the fields are orange with them. It's so beautiful there.

Where is your favorite place to vacation and why?

Things I'm looking forward to:

blooming flowers
trip to Gatlinburg with my friend Shelly in two weeks
the birth of my new great niece Ellie (due in 5 weeks, but may not be that long!!)
the weekend! (I do love my job and I am so thankful for it but I need a weekend!!!)
my babies having fresh spring hair cuts so they look like schnauzers again

I'm Alive but I'm discouraged

2009-05-03T18:41:00.003-04:00

Greetings Bloggy buddies.......

I am still here, still trying to get healthy. Today I am slightly bored and discouraged. I had been doing so good with my eating. Still no soft drinks, no snacking, etc. The scales just won't move! I don't weigh every day, just a couple times a week. It's so disheartening to feel like you've been so good and step on the scales and What? Still weigh the same as a week ago! Bummer!! Now don't get me wrong I have had a couple of bad days. One being last Sunday. I went to The Mommy's house for my little niece's birthday and I did have cake. Well, OK, 1 slice of homemade pound cake and 1 yummy cupcake, but I had hardly had anything else the rest of the day. AND I did get a major migraine that evening and lost it all several times if you know what I mean. I have been getting more exercise too. Mostly in the form of manual labor in the yard. I just need something to majorly shock my system. If you have any suggestions, spill the beans please. Unless something happens soon I'm going to drink a 64 oz Dr. Pepper, go to Sir Pizza and order a Large pizza with extra cheese, have some cheesecake and buy me a big ol bag of Rolos!!

HELP!

2009-04-30T14:25:00.001-04:00

Does anyone know how to un-jam a pair of digital scales? Mine seem to be stuck! I declare they have not moved in 1 week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RIP Coach Gregory

2009-04-26T10:59:00.003-04:00

Rest in Peace Coach Gregory.....thank you for some wonderful football times in '81, '82 & '83. You will be missed.

http://courier-tribune.com/articles/2009/04/25/obituaries/250obits042609.txt

2009-04-25T10:23:00.001-04:00

Saw this advertised on Facebook. It's a five day course (online) to learn to bling out your blog. Sounds kind of interesting and fun. Just might give it a try.......

http://www.sistvboutique.com/product_p/sis_boyb2.htm

Another Good Recipe

2009-04-20T19:27:00.003-04:00

I didn't have much to eat today and I was getting really hungry at work so I went to the lobby and found some magazines. I thumbed through them hoping something would catch my eye that I could fix for dinner. Well, something did and I fixed it and it was yum!

This was really light and mild in flavor. We had two servings and we have 2 servings left over for lunch tomorrow. After we finished dinner I cooked the rest of the bag of spinach in a little vegetable broth and added it to the pasta. Tomorrow it will be a little more spinachy.

Sorry no pictures.
It didn't stay on the plate long enough : > (

Found this in the Ladies Home Journal March 2009 edition.

Farfalle with Mushrooms & Spinach

Work: 10 minutes / Total: 20 minutes

6 oz dried farfalle (bow tie pasta)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 cup sliced portobello or other fresh mushroom

2 cloves garlic minced

4 cups spinach thinly sliced

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves chopped

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp shredded Parmesan

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion/mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in spinach, thyme and pepper and cook until spinach is slightly wilted, about 1 min.

Toss mushroom and spinach mixture with pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 servings

Per serving: 225 calories, 5.5 g total fat

Hannah Montana? Sonya Isaacs?

2009-04-19T21:38:00.004-04:00

Sonya Isaacs in the new Hannah Montana movie.......here's the scene. She's the blonde to Miley's right, singing back up. Go to the Isaacs blog to read when Sonya had to say about the experience. There's pics there too.

Oh My Goodness!

2009-04-19T11:19:00.003-04:00

Tried a new recipe.....had to share.

I bought some zucchini at the grocery this past week. Almost forgot til I saw them in the fridge. Searched for a healthy zucchini recipe and found this.....from Cooking Light.

These turned out soooooo good and yummy. I was craving something crunchy and "fried like" and this satisfied the craving.

Zucchini Oven Chips

Yield

4 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup)

Ingredients

1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese ( I had shredded parm and I actually prefer the bigger pieces over the grated )
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt ( I was out of seasoning salt and I just used reg. table salt )
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fat-free milk ( I used vegetable broth instead )
2 1/2 cups (1/4-inch-thick) slices zucchini (about 2 small)
Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place milk in a shallow bowl. Dip zucchini slices in milk, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place coated slices on an ovenproof wire rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp. Serve immediately.

I used my cookie cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet to catch the crumbs. Worked great!

Nutritional Information

Calories:: 61 (28% from fat)
Fat:: 1.9g (sat 1g,mono 0.5g,poly 0.2g)
Protein:: 3.8g
Carbohydrate:: 7.6g
Fiber:: 1g
Cholesterol:: 5mg
Iron:: 0.6mg
Sodium:: 231mg
Calcium:: 87mg

Fennel Anyone?

2009-04-18T20:59:00.003-04:00

Have you ever used fennel? I saw this recipe on food network when I was at home sick this week and I got the ingredients to try it. It just looked so fresh and good. I've never tried fennel before that I'm aware of. Can't wait to make it tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out. Any suggestion on what to serve with this?

Grapefruit-Fennel Salad

Ingredients

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
1 head fennel, fronds removed and sliced
1 grapefruit, segmented
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A few sprigs fresh parsley

Directions

Add the avocado, fennel, and grapefruit segments to a large bowl. Toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place onto platter and top with parsley.

What's to Eat?

2009-04-18T19:10:00.007-04:00

Four Weeks!!

That's how long we've been on our lifestyle change diet. I haven't had a soft drink in 4 weeks!!!! I almost don't think about it anymore except when I'm real hot, then I want a Dr. Pepper. I was addicted folks!

I have one more day to take Prednisone and then I hope to be outta this "I'm Hungry all the time" mood. Today for lunch I roasted organic carrots and asparagus in the oven, made Uncle Ben's wild rice cooked in vegetable broth with some fresh parsley, portobello mushrooms and toasted pecans added in at the end and we had the BBQ meatballs from last night's post. For dessert was fat free Strawberry sorbet. Yum!

Another Week has come and gone.......

2009-04-17T21:58:00.004-04:00

Yay for Fridays!!! Can I get an Amen?

I love my job but I sure am glad when Friday gets here. Especially when Friday is as beautiful as today and even more when the weekend forecast sounds good like this weekend! Love the 70's! What's your plans for the weekend?

The hubby bought a new toy today. Well, I call it a toy but we really did need it.....a fancy new lawn mower. I tried it out this afternoon and I like it pretty good too. Sure does make mowing 2 acres a whole lot faster! We're really behind on getting our yard ready for spring and summer. Gotta get busy and get some flowers in some soil.

We had a good week this week with our lifestyle change. Time to weigh again tomorrow! It's a little slower than I hoped but I'm gonna blame mine on Prednisone. Only two more days to take it!! I'm feeling so much better from the bronchitis. I still have a cough and I think it's going to hang around a while, but I'm feeling much, much better.

Just made Vegetarian BBQ meatballs. My first time using this recipe. They turned out great. LOL, I took pictures, but umm, there was no memory card in my camera. Maybe I'll take one of the finished product before we dive in tomorrow. Here's the recipe. If you've ever been tempted to try tofu but were scared to, just try this recipe. You'd never know it was in there!

Vegetarian Meatballs with BBQ sauce

Ingredients:

1½ c. bread crumbs (I used Progresso Italian crumbs)

2 t. parsley flakes (freshly chopped or dried flakes will do)

½ t. sage

½ t. Italian seasoning

1/8 t. black pepper

½ c. raw almonds

½ c. raw walnuts

1 pkg. Mori Nu tofu, firm (I happened to have extra firm on hand and used that)

1½ c. onion

½ t. garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, stir bread crumbs and parsley flakes.

In a blender or food processor, combine the sage, Italian seasoning, black pepper and nuts; chop finely.

Add the ground nuts to the bread crumbs and parsley flakes.

Into the same blender or food processor, add the Mori Nu tofu, onions and garlic powder to the blender or food processor; blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture into the dry mix and mix well.

Scoop or form the mixture into balls.

Place meatballs on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until slightly browned.

The meatballs will be a little dry on the outside, but will absorb a sauce nicely.

Makes about 36 balls.

After the meatballs baked I moved them to a 9 x 13 casserole dish, poured on about 1/2 bottle of my favorite smoky bottled BBQ sauce and returned to the oven, covered with foil. I heated for about 15 minutes until hot and bubbly. You could also use your favorite brown gravy instead of BBQ sauce or make a Swedish style meatball sauce. YUM!

2009-04-15T22:56:00.002-04:00

I know I've said this a lot lately, but remember Stellan and his whole family in your prayers tonight. It looks like they will be going to Boston or may already be there. Little Stellan will be having a very risky heart procedure. I pray that God will wrap his loving arms around that sweet little guy and that HIS will will be done.

Praising My Jesus

2009-04-14T23:00:00.005-04:00

I know, I know, two posts in one day! What's the world coming to?

I just have to share this with my bloggy buddies.

Today I received a message on myspace from a long lost friend. She invited me to be her friend and I accepted. Her message to me was something along the lines of "can we still be friends?". Of course I said Yes. I had not seen or spoken with her in years. We were friends back before I really gave my life to Jesus and that's all I'll say about that. We messaged back and forth a few times today on Myspace and exchanged email addresses. Later today I got an email from her and she said: Lisa, don't fall out of your chair but I wanted to tell you that both K and I are in church and we both know Jesus as our Saviour. I have never felt so much joy and peace in my life, ever!

I shouted right in my living room, all alone, just me and Jesus!! Praise the Lord!! He is Good!! All the Time!!

I have D & K in my prayers tonight! Amen!

I am Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

2009-04-14T22:52:00.007-04:00

If you haven't seen this please take a few moments to read this and watch the video. It blows my mind! I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE AND WE ARE HELD TOGETHER BY THE CROSS!

Colossians 1:15-17 (King James Version)

15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Laminin is a protein found in the extracellular matrix, the sheets of protein that form the substrate of all internal organs also called the basement membrane. It is the major non-collagenous component of the basal lamina, such as those on which cells of an epithelium sit.[1] It has four arms that can bind to four other molecules. The three shorter arms are particularly good at binding to other laminin molecules, which is what makes it so great at forming sheets. The long arm is capable of binding to cells, which helps anchor the actual organs to the membrane.
The laminin protein is made up of three polypeptide chains - α, β and γ, giving it a total of six "ends", accounting for a lot of its flexibility in connecting various molecules. Because of this, scientists who create biomaterials are extremely interested in the whole family of laminins[citation needed]. They are a family of glycoproteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding in almost every animal tissue. Laminins are secreted and incorporated into cell-associated extracellular matrices.
Laminin is vital to making sure overall body structures hold together.

LAMININ

2009-04-12T19:09:00.002-04:00

Check out this new blog I just made for my sister-n-law BJ. BJ and her hubby are just in the beginning stages of building a house here in NC. I used some recent photos from the land clearing and the burn to make her blog. She'll be getting started soon. Be sure to check her out and welcome her to bloggy land. Tell her I sent you!

A Serious Craving

2009-04-12T17:41:00.005-04:00

for something sweet!!! I mean sweet!!! Real sweet!!!

There was nothing in the house but fresh fruit sooooooooo. I whipped up a banana smoothie and it seriously tastes like homemade banana ice cream.

3 frozen bananas

3/4 cup light soy milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tblsp. low fat vanilla yogurt

2 packets sweetener ( I used natural Stevia )

Whiz everything together in a blender and serve in a pretty dish with a spoon. Yum!

Oh and I don't want anything sweet anymore : > )

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T14:27:00.004-04:00

Happy Easter to all my blogging buddies.

Thanks to all of you that have sent Get Well wishes. I'm not feeling much better today, but I'm sure I'll get there soon. Hopefully by going to work time tomorrow!!! :> (

The hubby and I didn't get to go to the family lunch today at my sister's house. I will miss my niece Jamie's baby shower this afternoon too, but I sure wouldn't want to spread these germs around. We just enjoyed a nice lunch at home. The hubby is watching the Masters on tv and I'm settled in to a Hallmark channel movie. Watched 3 of them last night. Great movies this weekend!!

A New Favorite
One of my new favorite foods is roasted asparagus. All of these years I've turned up my nose and said I didn't like asparagus and I don't think I ever really tasted it. I've discovered that I love it. Especially when it's on sale because it can be quite pricey. L.o.w.e.s Foods had it on sale this week for 1.29 a pound. I bought two big bundles. All I do is trim the big ends off, rinse it good, place it on a cookie sheet covered in foil, drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven at 400 until it's tender and starting to get a little crispy on the outside. I turned it every once in a while with the tongs to make sure it cooks evenly. Yummy with some wild rice and toasted almonds.

The Doctor, the Diagnosis

2009-04-11T16:34:00.003-04:00

As the day wore on today I kept getting worse so I decided to go to the Dr. By the time I got there I could barely get any air into my lungs. My chest hurt, my back hurt and my head hurt from lack of oxygen. Each breath sounded worse! I told the girl at the desk I couldn't breathe and she proceeded to get together a bunch of forms for me to fill out. I couldn't even tell you what I wrote or if it's ledgible. I just wanted some help! After about 30 minutes of rasping for breath in the waiting room I finally got to go back. 3 1/2 hours later I am back home. My oxygen levels were low. Duh! I had two nebulizer breathing treatments, a steroid shot and came home with 4 prescriptions. Diagnosis - Bronchitis, sinus infection, respiratory distress. If my oxygen levels had not come up after the treatments I would have been going to the hospital. But thankfully they really helped and I'm feeling better except that I still have a croupy cough, my nose is dripping, my head hurts, my heart is racing from the treatments and I'm shaking like a leaf. But at least I can breathe. Going to rest now.

Who You Are - add it to your blog posts

2009-04-11T11:57:00.004-04:00

Found this great site to create a personal signature for your posts. AND this great site with easy- peasy instructions for posting it on your blog.

3 weeks and counting

2009-04-11T10:35:00.007-04:00

Today is the end of 3 weeks on our lifestyle change. I'm down between 8-9 pounds. I still haven't been exercising much. This past week was so busy and I got home late about every night. This week I'm determined to get in some walking and exercise.

Some positive notes:

*no heartburn - no acid control medication needed at night

*less headaches

*more color in my face (this could be due to the bright orange carrot juice I've been consuming)

*no soft drinks in 21 days (nothing but water, orange juice - not from concentrate, fresh carrot juice, warm ginger herbal tea - for the sinus problem but mostly just water, water, water)

Some not so positive notes:

*suffering from sinusitis - this could still be a body cleansing thing

*the breakout of psoriasis is still present, but not quite as bad as 3 weeks ago

*I STILL CRAVE A BIG COLD DR. PEPPER!!!!! GET BEHIND ME SATAN!!

What's new on the menu today???

Fruit smoothies

*I tossed some fresh peeled bananas in a zip lock bag into the freezer last night

*frozen pineapple

*frozen peaches

*frozen strawberries

*soy milk

*vanilla yogurt

*dash of vanilla extract

*drizzle of honey

All whizzed up in the blender - yummy!

Makeover!

2009-04-11T10:33:00.001-04:00

Yes I love to change my blog look! I'm learning to do my own backgrounds. I like the layered look. Today I learned how to put a border around my posts. So what do you think? I'm working on a new header too!

Spring! Allergies!! Sinus Infection!!!

2009-04-10T20:30:00.003-04:00

I love Spring. I love cool mornings, warm days, cool evenings, spring rain showers, fresh budding trees and flowers. It's all so beautiful. But with all that comes my spring allergies. They are in full force today. Wednesday night I began to sneeze and sneeze and sneeze. I woke up on Thursday morning with crusty, yucky stuff all around my eyes and nose. I felt horrible at work on Thursday....more sneezing, blowing, eyes watering, etc. etc. etc. You get the picture! By the time I left work and got home I was worse and feeling really terrible. I slept for about 18 hours and I soooo hoped I would feel better today, but no such luck. I think I have a full blown sinus infection. I haven't felt like doing anything today but holding the sofa down. One of the ladies that I work with mentioned to me yesterday after hearning me sneeze about 25 times and seeing me walk around with a kleenex permanently fixed under my nostrils that I needed to try a Neti Pot. A what???? She proceeded to tell me that one of the nurses there told her about it. I ventured out to Walmart this afternoon and picked up one. If you haven't heard of them and you suffer from allergies then go right now and google it or click on my link and read all about it. Just using it one time has already made a difference. At least I can get some air through my nostrils right now.

I'm pretty miserable but I still love Spring!!!

Thankful

2009-04-10T15:29:00.001-04:00

Today is Good Friday......

I am so thankful for a loving God who sent his son to die for ME and that son is not dead but is Alive and is preparing a home for me.

Thank you Jesus!

Busy Week, no time for blogging

2009-04-10T13:04:00.012-04:00

Wow! It's Friday already? Where'd the week go?

I was busy as a bee this week. Didn't have much time for blogging. It takes a lot of time to fix healthy food! We've had a great week though. Still eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies.

Last night we had a craving for pizza. We made one at home and it turned out great. The hubby was wishing this morning that he had some leftover, but there was none.

Mediterranean Veggie Pizza

1 thin Boboli crust.

1 turn around the crust from the EVOO bottle (rub it around with a paper towel).

2 tblsp. of pizza sauce and spread it all over.

We added sliced portobella mushrooms, fresh sweet onion, a few roasted red peppers chopped up, some sun dried tomatoes chopped, sliced black olives, sliced fresh roma tomato, torn fresh basil and some broken goat cheese sprinkled around, sprinkle with italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

Baked it for 12 minutes at 400 and it was yummmmmeeeeee!!! You can't get one with this much topping on it in a restaurant! Who wants to have to hunt for the toppings?? Not me!

Here it is ready to go into the oven

Here it is all baked up nice and crispy

Note: I'm really liking goat cheese. It's creamy, rich and so much easier to digest than cow's milk cheese. We've only had a smidgen of it. It does have a lot of calories and fat so it's a delicasy to be enjoyed just once in a while.

Today I've baked a pan of sweet potatoes and made a pot of Split pea soup. I forgot how much I love Split pea soup.

Split Pea Soup

Started with a bag of Goya dried split peas - looked and rinsed several times.

Put in a big pot and cover with water. I added a can of Swanson Vegetable Broth and some salt and pepper and a couple turns around the pot of EVOO.

added a big handful of julienned carrots

a couple ribs of celery sliced thin

a medium onion diced

Cook on medium heat until peas start to break down and soup is thickened. Stir often. Taste test for amount of salt and add more if needed. We like a dash of cayenne pepper added, but that's totally up to you.

It was yummy for lunch with some Ciabatta bread baked crisp and broken up and added to the bowl like huge croutons. The hubby had seconds!!

Some Yummy, Healthy Cookies.......

2009-04-05T17:43:00.008-04:00

Man have I felt good today! Got lots of stuff around the house done! Grocery shopping is done for the week. Made more Mediterranean Tuna Salad and now I'm making healthy Fruit bars. They are supposed to be cookies but I prefer cooking them bar style. I've made these many times and I change them up almost every time with different fruits and nuts. They take quite a few ingredients but you can find almost all of them at Walmart. Notice there is no flour, no butter, no sugar! Healthy!! AND they are delicious. In fact the mix is so good before it's baked I think I could eat it for breakfast out of a bowl with some soy milk on top.

Putting the ingredients together....

Banana Date Bars

3 ripe bananas mashed
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
1 cup chopped packed dates
1 cup chopped dried fruit ( I used dried pineapple and dried cranberries this time )
1 cup raisins or dried currants
1/2 cup chopped nuts ( I used a mixture of raw pecans, raw walnuts and raw brazil nuts)
1 cup rolled oats ( don't use the quick kind )

Stir vanilla and salt into mashed banana. Add remaining ingredients, except oats and mix together. Stir in oats. Press into a 9 x 9 non stick pan. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes.

Here they are just out of the oven, crunchy

around the edges just the way I love them!!

Now if I can just wait until they are

cool to cut them.

And Oh how good the house smells!!

Woot Woot

2009-04-05T09:50:00.002-04:00

Down another 1 1/2 pounds this morning! Yay! If that's what walking will do then I'll be out there everyday. Especially if the weather is as beautiful as it is this morning!! I had too much bread yesterday too! Oh well, maybe that's what my body needed.

Weight Loss = 7 1/2 pounds
Goal = 22 1/2 pounds more by the end of June.

Bread Bread Bread

2009-04-04T14:36:00.001-04:00

ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT TODAY IS I WANT BREAD!!!!!

Beginning Week 3

2009-04-04T11:54:00.002-04:00

Today is the beginning of Week 3. I've lost a total of 6 pounds in two weeks. I'm pretty pleased with that. The hubby has lost about 8 pounds. I could tell this morning that he was a little disappointed but I think 8 pounds is great for 2 weeks for a man. Our bodies are still getting use to the change and there was that birthday dinner out that didn't help matters any.

I've just finished reading about 3 chapters in the Hallelujah diet book. It's still wowing me with the information and the testimonies of people. The book makes it all so clear!

The hubby just finished juicing two big containers of fresh carrot juice. It's a beautiful day here and we're getting ready to take a long walk. When we get back I'm planning to try a couple more raw recipes.

Enjoy your day! Eat Healthy! Be happy!

Ahh two weeks......and tomorrow is weigh in

2009-04-03T15:01:00.007-04:00

Today is the end of our 2nd week on our lifestyle change. It's still going well. Today is also my 44th birthday. We did go out last night to celebrate and I did go a little bit overboard!!! BUT I'm back on track today. My middle sis is having us over for dinner tonight and it will be healthy. I took the day off work today and I've been a busy girl. I got my house all cleaned up this morning and for the last couple of hours I've been in the kitchen. Thought I'd share with you a few things I made.

We've rediscovered WASA crisp bread. I had eaten this years ago and I don't remember really liking it, but we bought some last week and both the hubby and I love it. Hubby went back to Earth Fare today and he bought lots of it. They have a website and there are lots of great sounding healthy recipes. I tried one of them today. We had this for lunch.

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

1 can (6 ounces) tuna in water

1 tablespoon kalamata olives, chopped

2 tsp. sundried tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp. parsley, chopped fine

1 tablespoon roasted red peppers, chopped fine

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp fresh basil, chopped fine (I was out of fresh so I used dried and it worked fine)

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt to taste

freshly ground black pepper

Mix all together and serve on WASA crisp bread

I also made Taboule Salad

Something else that's really simple to make and is really good on the WASA bread is chopped fresh tomato, diced sweet onion and a handful of chopped fresh cilantro, salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Mix together and serve on WASA bread. The tomato mixture is better after an hour or two. The salt will bring out the juice of the tomato. I drain that off before serving. Yum!

Day 12 and I'm a Fool in April

2009-04-01T10:00:00.002-04:00

Today is Day 12 in Vegland and I'm a veggin April Fool!!!

We're still doing great. I haven't had the Lettuce wraps in almost 48 hours! I think I might be ready for them again about tomorrow though. Yum they're good.

Monday night I went out with my sisters for my middle sis's birthday. We went to a local pizza joint where they have a great salad bar and we had salad and a couple slices of pizza. Yep! I had pizza. I don't feel so bad tho. I did really good the rest of the day with just a couple hundred calories of raw veggies so it wasn't so bad.

I don't get very creative during the week with recipes. I just don't have time. We're mostly eating fresh fruit, yogurt, salads, a little whole grain pasta, brown rice, baked potatoes (white and sweet) and just a lot of healthy stuff. Hopefully this weekend I'll get a little more creative.

If you have any healthy food ideas and recipes I'd love to hear them!!! Please share.

Happy April Fools Day!!

Day 9 - A Happy Day

2009-03-29T13:42:00.003-04:00

Today is Day 9 of our lifestyle change.

Nothing new on the menu today except for baked sweet potatoes. I baked a pan in the oven this morning early. Hubby had one for his lunch without butter and sugar and the stuff that makes them taste so good but so bad for you. I had more lettuce wraps. I'm hung up on them now I think. I'm already thinking about packing some for my lunch tomorrow. I did add some almond slivers today to the veggies when I was stir frying them in a bit of olive oil. The added crunch was great. I'm about to go make a batch of the asian sesame dressing to have on hand. I just made a very small amount of it yesterday. I love just a tiny drizzle of it on my salad too. The sesame oil in it gives it such a wonderful nutty flavor. We also had a large raw salad for lunch with fresh avocado dressing.

I have so much more energy today. I got up early and we've been working on the kitchen all morning. We've organized cabinets, drawers, the pantry, got rid of stuff we aren't going to eat or use and rid of old spices that are no longer tasty. The hubby is now working outside a bit. We haven't even started getting our yard ready for spring. We need mulch and ferns for the porch and so much more. There's always so much work to do.

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend. It will be over soon. Enjoy it to the mostest!!!

Blessings

Day 8 a Weigh In and Good News!!

2009-03-28T20:23:00.011-04:00

I couldn't wait to get out of bed this morning to weigh! It was dark and rainy here and both of us slept a little later than usual. Hubby is usually up at 5 no matter what day of the week. This morning at 7:30 he was still sleeping away. I got up first to take out the dogs and then came back in and stripped off my PJs and jumped on the scales. I lost 4 pounds!!! I'm so glad. Had I not, I would have been so disappointed. That's why I decided we were only going to weigh once a week.It's easy to become discouraged because your weight fluctuates a little bit each day. I'm pleased with 4 pounds for my first week. I know I won't lose that much every week and I'd rather lose it slowly anyway. Pretty exciting though. OH! and the hubby lost 5 1/2. I knew he'd lose more. He's much more active than me plus men just lose faster. Sigh!

Today I made us parfaits for breakfast. Glasses filled with layers of vanilla lowfat yogurt, fresh sliced strawberries and crunchy gingersnap granola. It was yummy. Would be very good with most any fresh fruit. While I was making it I thought about fresh sweet peaches this summer and how good that will be. The granola I found at Harris Teeter. We both love granola anyway and this is flavored with ginger which has a little bit of a burny bite to it. The cereal is really good.

We also made hummus today. It's one of our favorite snacks. We love it on crackers, to dip veggies in, spread on a tortilla or in a pita pocket with some raw veggies. I'll post the recipe at the bottom of this post. For lunch we had hard toasted ciabata bread spread with hummus and a few carrot sticks and celery sticks. It was so filling.

Tonight I made one of the best things I've had all week.....Lettuce wraps. Earlier today I cooked a pot of Uncle Ben's brown rice. I always cook my rice in broth or stock, not water. It gives it so much more flavor. I cooked 1 1/2 cups brown rice in 2 cans of Vegetable broth. I grated in a small carrot while it was cooking. When it was done I added the juice of 1/2 lemon and big handful of fresh chopped flat leaf parsley. I put the lid back on tight and let the parsley steam in.So good. I'll be making it this way often. It made a big pot so I can do different things with it.

Tonight for dinner I took big Romaine lettuce leaves and washed and dried them and then sauteed some julienned veggies. I made an asian dressing with a few ingredients to put on the rollups. Topped the lettuce leaf with some rice, veggies and drizzled on some dressing. They were amazing. I'll post the recipe below. I think I could eat these every day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lisa's Hummus

This is the main hummus mixture - you can eat like this or add in other items.

2 cans chick peas (also called garbanzo beans)

drain one can and don't drain the other - you will need some of the liquid

2 heaping tblsp. nutritional yeast (this is not bakers yeast)

2 tblsp. cumin

2 tblsp. tahini (sesame seed paste)

the juice of one lemon

2 tblsp. olive oil

dash of cayenne pepper

Mix well in food processor adding liquid from chick peas as needed to get the smooth consistency you desire.

Add ins

12-15 black olives

1/4 cup onion (can add more if you like)

handful of fresh cilantro

I mix my chickpea mixture first, remove from food processor and then chop the add ins. Mix in the add ins with the chickpea mixture. You can eat right away but the longer it's made, the better it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lettuce Wraps

Cooked brown rice (can use white rice but brown is more healthy)

fine strips of carrot

strips of sweet onion

strips of red bell pepper

fresh asparagus cut in 1 inch pieces

handful of brocolli slaw

romaine lettuce leaves

Cook the carrot, onion, pepper, asparagus and broccoli slaw in a tblsp. olive oil until starting to get tender. You want the veggies to still have some crunch.

Take a romaine lettuce leaf and trim off the hard stem part

Top with a spoonful of rice and then top with the veggies

Drizzle with Asian dressing

Enjoy as a hand held food

You really could use any veggies you like. Next time I'll add in some zuchinni and mushrooms and maybe a sprinkle of finely chopped cashews for some crunch

Yummy!

Asian Sesame Dressing - THIS IS WHAT MADE IT SO YUMMY!!!!

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegetable oil ( I used half vegetable oil and half extra virgin olive oil)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I had plain white vinegar and it worked fine)
1 tablespoon soy sauce (I used Tamari - an unfermented soy sauce)
2 teaspoons sugar (I used a packet of stevia)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil (I had the toasted sesame oil and it worked fine)
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper (the kind like you sprinkle on pizza)

Preparation

Whisk together all ingredients

And Here is the Finished Product - So Good!!

Day 7

2009-03-27T20:17:00.000-04:00

We've almost made it a week! One more day and we can weigh!

Today is Friday and Day 7. At 8:00 this morning we had to be at the hospital to see the Employee Health Director for our yearly health assessment. They pricked our finger to check cholesterol, triglycerides, sugar, etc. Then they measure your height and weight. I really couldn't tell from weighing about my weight loss because of course all scales are different and I was fully clothed including lab coat, etc. We have to keep our BMI below 30 in order to receive the lowest insurance premiums available to employees. We both passed, but that doesn't mean we aren't over weight!

Trudge on........

Nothing new with our diet today. Just ready and waiting for the weekend.

Day 6

2009-03-26T20:02:00.000-04:00

Today is Day 6 of our Lifestyle Change.

Nothing very interesting happened today. Fruit for breakfast, raw veggie salad from the hospital cafeteria salad bar. It was tough because it was Taco Bar day and it's one of my very favorite meals the cafeteria serves. I went with my co-workers and got raw veggies from the salad bar along with a few black olives, some sunflower seeds and raisins. They didn't have any healthy salad dressing that I like so I snitched a little guacamole from the taco bar. They make the best guacamole. (I'm very picky about salad dressing...not many commercial bottle dressings that I'll eat...they just taste yuck to me!) I've been making avocado dressings this week anyway so it was fine. I enjoyed my lunch and watching my friends with taco salads.

We needed to grocery shop again as we were started to run out of fresh veggies and fruits. We didn't go to the specialty health food grocery store this time but we hit up a big Harris Teeter in Greensboro. Man, what a store. We loved it. They had many of the same organic fruits and veggies that Earth Fare has. But before we went to the grocery store we needed some dinner.We were both pretty filled to the gills with raw so we did have some bread and orzo pasta. We ordered an appetizer of bruschetta. Crunchy toasted bread topped with chopped fresh tomato, fresh basil, diced garlic, olive oil and shaved parmesan cheese. It was yummy and pretty healthy I think. It was a nice switch.

We were surprised while sitting in the restaurant, just about to order and someone came up beside us and said excuse me sir, but what would you like to order? We looked up to find my nephew Braxton and his girl Vanessa. They were celebrating their 1 year anniversary as a couple. They were seated in the booth behind us. We secretly paid for their dinner before we left as an anniversary gift. They are a sweet couple. He text'd me while we were in the grocery store and was so surprised and thankful for the gift.

That's about it for Day 6. Tomorrow morning we have our health assessment at the hospital. My insurance company requires it each year. Fun! I'm thinking I should have started this lifestyle change long before now. : > )

Time for Confession

2009-03-25T06:59:00.004-04:00

Updated at bottom of post

Today is Day 5 of our lifestyle change.

I have a confession to make. Late yesterday afternoon both the hubby and myself were having dizzy spells and just overall fatigue. We decided that maybe we should have something cooked and starchy so we did. We're not out to make ourselves sick with this and it is a huge change and shock to our bodies so we did what we thought would be best. I felt a little guilty that I wasn't sticking to my plan but I felt much better after I ate. We didn't do bad. We had baked potatoes and dry toast with a huge salad. Our plan was to have nothing but RAW foods for the first two weeks. I don't think what we had was bad, just not what I had commited myself to do.

I don't know why but I feel so much more awake in the mornings. I mean early mornings. I don't feel lazy and like I need to sleep a couple more hours. I have been trying to get in the bed earlier at night though. Maybe that is helping also. My brain just feels lighter! I don't know if I've lost any weight or not, but I am starting to feel better.

Basically during the work week we've been doing fresh fruit bowls with a sprinkle of raw nuts and seeds and a drizzle of raw honey in the mornings and raw veggies and salads for lunch. The hubby has enjoyed the corn salad and raw sweet potato salad in his lunches. I've been doing celery and carrot sticks and red and yellow pepper strips with homemade fresh avocado dip and black olives. We're drinking lots of distilled water and carrot juice.

Remember all those fresh veggies and fruits we bought last Friday? Well they are dwindling. We are out of the grape tomatoes, apples and green onions and we have one more serving of bananas, lettuce, grapes, blood orange, strawberries and blueberries. I'm thinking that we may need to go to Earth Fare again tomorrow night. We can find a few organic veggies and fruits at Walmart, but Earth Fare has such beautiful produce and you can find anything you need there. Whole Foods is also great but a little farther for us to drive.

This weekend will be interesting as I have plans to meet up with my sisters for a birthday outing on Sunday. They are coming to my house and then we will go out to eat and maybe somewhere shopping. I know I can make good choices in a restaurant though. I just have to be strong.

Happy Wednesday if you are reading this!!

P.S. I have failed to mention that the heartburn and acid reflux that I was having every single night has been gone since the 2nd day. I have not had to take the daily dosage of acid control. Praise Jesus!!

Day 4

2009-03-24T08:48:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I didn't get back here to blog last night. I got home late and I just didn't have the energy.

Today, however, is a new day and I feel so much better. My head is no longer spinning and my sinusitis is much, much better. I have to admit though, yesterday was a tough day. I knew going back to work would be a different hurdle. As soon as I walked into the hospital lobby (my office is located in this area ) the entire place smelled like fresh baked bread. I hurried to my office and closed the door tightly. I made it through the day and I slept so good last night. I hopped up at 5am to fix the hubby's breakfast and lunch to go and I've been pouring over my daily blogs and catching up on them and spending time thinking and praying for sweet baby Stellan. I so wish she would give us an update. I'm so worried about that baby.

Today will be a good day. I can tell. I'm going now to have some fresh fruit, nuts and seeds for breakfast and before I go to work I'll have a tall glass of fresh carrot juice. The hubby juiced again last night.

Have a great day today!

Oh and one more thing.....as I was reading my blogs this morning someething caught my attention on TV. On the Today show this morning they did a piece on meat eating and the health risks involved. Just makes me think that I'm really doing the right thing here.

Here's a link to the article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29840448/

Day 3

2009-03-23T09:24:00.003-04:00

Not much time for posting this morning. I'm still suffering with major sinusitis, headache and over all just achy. I'm sticking with the food change though. Just don't have a lot of energy right now. I got up to fix the hubby's fruity breakfast and went back to bed for a couple of hours. I'm really not hungry at all but I did just have half an apple cut into wedges and smeared with a little almond butter. That's a pretty good breakfast. I need to get busy now and get the house straightened up. Soon it will be time to head to work. That's where it will be hard! I'm taking plenty of water to drink and a big salad to have later today with homemade dressing.

I promise to come back tonight and let you know how my day went.

Blessings to all! Please pray for baby Stellan today. He's in ICU.

Day 2

2009-03-22T10:42:00.009-04:00

Ok, so yesterday I had the most miz headache ever!! It lasted the entire day. After the celery with almond butter I had to go to bed. We didn't make it to the movie: >( That was probably best anyway now that I think back on it. The smell of freshly popped buttered popcorn would have been too much. The hubby loves him some popcorn. Today I feel a little better but I'm sneezing like crazy. I really hope I'm not coming down with a cold. I'm not hungry at all.

I'm not a breakfast person at all and YES I do know it's the most important meal of the day. I just usually don't feel like eating til I've been up a couple of hours. This morning we had a filling breakfast which consisted of sliced banana topped with pecans, walnuts, flax seed and drizzled with honey. It was yummy! The hubby had the same but with two bananas. He's gone to the grocery now to locate some fresh corn for a raw corn salad and some dates. Many of the dressing recipes that I have call for a date or two for sweetening and I forgot to pick those up when we were at Earth Fare. Raw honey is also used for sweetening, but dates also help to thicken stuff. I've been devouring every vegetarian blog I can find and I've come up with some great recipes and ideas to try. I'm honestly having fun with this!!

More later today. I have house work to do!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scratch the house cleaning, this is too important!

Hubby found fresh corn at the grocery and now I've created two new dishes and everything is RAW. OK, I didn't come up with the recipes. I just tweaked them a little. Both recipes came from the Hallelujah Diet book.

Raw Corn Salad

4 ears fresh corn cut from cob - I know this will be much better in the summer with fresh corn straight from the field, but this is surprisingly very sweet and tender

Red bell pepper - diced small

3 scallions - green onions diced small

About 8 grape tomotoes diced up

2-3 tblsp. fresh basil torn up

1/2 of a fresh avocado diced

Mix all this together and cover with plastic - then mix the following dressing

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic minced

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

I put it all in one of those dressing mixer thingys and shook it up good. Instead of putting it all on the salad in the bowl we're going to add it as we serve it.

Holiday Sweet Potato Slaw

1 large sweet potato peeled and grated on a hand grater

1 small sweet apple peeled and grated ( I used fuji )

1/2 cup fresh pineapple tidbits

1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1/4 cup raisins

Mix together and cover with plastic - then mix the following dressing.

Holiday Slaw Dressing

1/2 cup vegenaise (vegetarian mayo)

2 tbsp. raw honey

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

dash of cinnamon

Whisk dressing ingredients together until mixed well and add to salad. Cover and let marinate a while before serving to marry all the flavors.

Note: After eating this we decided it's a lot like carrot/raisin salad. Was very good. Almost like dessert.

Now I'm thinking about what I can pack us for lunch tomorrow. Oh! and I'll have to get up early to prepare hubby's breakfast before he goes to work. I might make fruit salad tonight or he could even do the banana thing by himself. I don't go in to work til 12 on Mondays and I usually sleep in, but maybe not anymore!

Day 1

2009-03-21T12:07:00.014-04:00

Updated:

It's Day 1 of our new adventure. We're so excited! We got up and weighed (naked). We have had our first meal with no cooked food and we've made our first batch of healthy juice. We're on our way........

Breakfast
Fruit salad consisting of
diced fuji apples, sliced strawberries, fresh blueberries, blood orange segments, sliced red seedless grapes, sprinkle of pecans and sprinkle of unsweetened shaved coconut

I whisked up a tablespoon of wildberry preserves (all natural) with a splash of raw apple cider vinegar, a splash of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt and tossed the fruit in the dressing. Served it up in a bowl with the pecans and coconut on top. It was delicious.

After breakfast we made our first batch of fresh carrot juice. The hubby juices quite often so this was nothing new to him, but I've never drank much of it. I just had my first glass and it was so sweet and good. I took a few pictures of the process.

This is our Norwalk juicer. It first grinds up the carrots and
then presses them to extract the juice

The huge carrots have been washed, scrubbed with a brush, ends cut off
and scraped with a vegetable peeler. We used 10 large carrots.

The first juice being squeezed out. The juicer has a hydraulic press
and it gets every drop of juice out of the carrots

This is what the carrot looks like after it's pressed.
It almost feels like wood shavings it's so dry.

Liquid Gold- We got 36 ounces of juice from the 10 carrots

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Lunch

A Huge salad consisting of

Baby romaine lettuce, yellow pepper, red pepper, red onion, green onion, cucumber, sprouts, handful of broccoli slaw, tomatoes, fresh cubes of avocado, celery and a sprinkle of flax seeds.

I made dressing from avocado, lemon juice, a splash of extra virgin olive oil, cumin, sea salt, dash of turmeric and a little water - all whizzed up in the blender. (Note to self: this would make a great dip for carrot and celery sticks or a great spread for pita pockets or veggie wraps)

It was delicious. One of the things that I've re-learned is that the digestion of our food starts in the mouth and eating slowly and chewing your food well aids in digestion. Believe me, with all these crunchy veggies, you have to chew and chew and chew. It takes a while to eat and it seems more satisfying and filling. We also don't drink with our meals. We drink water 30 minutes before and/or after, but not while eating. Your saliva starts digestion and of course drinking, even if it's water, dilutes the saliva.

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This evening we had a snack (might be dinner, because I am not hungry!) of celery sticks smeared with a little almond butter with a few raisins pressed in and drizzled with honey. Yummy! Again a lot of chewing!

Water! Water! Water! and More Carrot Juice.

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Today was pretty easy. The food was delicious. The hubby has talked a little about cooked food.I think he'll miss cooked food in the morning more than any other time. Remember! I'm only aiming for total raw fruits and veggies for the first two weeks. After that we will add back healthy cooked foods.

I have had a major headache today but it's not anything to do with the diet. I got up with it. I slept a little too long last night and I always get headaches when I do that. I do expect to have withdrawal headaches in the days to come. Just coming off soft drinks will do that to me. I was a soft drink junkie!!

Now we're off to see Madea Goes to Jail!

Bountiful Goodness

2009-03-20T20:23:00.010-04:00

We did it! We made our grocery store run (Earth Fare) this evening!

Wanna See?

It took a while, but it was fun. It wasn't cheap, but it's so colorful and pretty. Is food pretty?

We didn't buy one thing that isn't healthy. No chips, no cookies, no pasta, no dairy products. We spent $122.22 and I really feel good about it.

Here's what we got!

*Natural Raw almond butter. (have you ever had it? yum! they grind it right in the store. it has nothing in it except almonds. it's better than peanut butter)

*Raw sliced almonds

*Raw whole almonds

*Raw broken cashews

*Raw Sourwood honey

*Raw pecan pieces

*Brown flax seed

*Raw walnut pieces

*Vegenaise Grapeseed oil (this is vegetarian mayonnaise. it's really good. i can't tell the difference. no eggs and it's made with oil from grape seeds. very healthy)

*Gala apples

*Hass avocadoes

*Organic bananas

*Fresh blueberries

*Fresh strawberries (they smell heavenly)

*Broccoli slaw

*25 pounds of organic carrots for juicing

*organic celery

*organic cilantro

*one seedless european cucumber

*garlic

*red flame seedless grapes

*fresh living basil ( oh my gosh! you would not believe how this smells. i love basil! )

*organic kiwi

*organic lemons

*organic limes

*blood oranges

*organic green onions

*organic red onion

*organic flat leaf parsley

*red bell peppers

*yellow bell peppers

*baby romain salad mix

*alfalfa sprouts ( we grow our own sprouts but it will take a few days )

*organic grape tomatoes

*toasted sesame oil

*organic wildberry fruit spread (nothing but fruit, no added sugars )

*organic flaked coconut ( not the sweetened stuff you buy in a can or bag )

Now aren't you anticipating what I'm going to create with all this stuff? I am! I can't wait to get started.

Oh! we changed our starting day to Saturday instead of Sunday. We're that anxious to begin.

Moving Forward.......

2009-03-19T20:54:00.004-04:00

I know you probably think I'm crazy...........but I am really having to prepare myself mentally for this change. It's not going to be easy, I know that. My bestest friend at work said to me at lunch today "you are gonna be one ill heifer next week". LOL I hope not, but I'm not making any promises! I'm still reading the Hallelujah Diet and making notes both on paper and mental notes. The hubby took the book to work today and read some. We've been reading it together too. He had lots to say about it when he got home. He's trying to prepare his mind too. I think I have a plan now.

* My goal is to lose 30 pounds by the end of June. The hubby wants to lose 24 pounds. I need to lose more, but that's my first goal.

* I'm starting the food change on Sunday March 22nd.

* We will take "before" pictures.

* We will keep daily food diaries, even when we cheat, and we will cheat!

* My plan is to eat nothing but raw fruits and veggies and fresh fruit and veggie juice and water for the first two weeks. This will aid in cleansing the colon and digestive system.

* I do plan to exercise, but probably will not start for the first couple of weeks until my body and my mind starts to adjust and gets use to less carbs.

* We will weigh on Sunday only, every week. The scales will be put away at all other times.

* Probably most importantly I will begin the day with prayer and end the day with prayer.

AND I will cling to this promise found in Psalm 103:2-5

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

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Things I'm thankful for today:

Plans.....

Sunshine

My schnauzer children (even though I've been very short tempered with them this evening)

Forgiveness

Team work!

Sending up prayers today for:

Jamie & cupcake and Mike and Maggie too

Jonah

Nicole's surgery tomorrow

My friends in Ireland (as I typed this I received word that their first concert tonight went great!!!)

Hallelujah for my Health

2009-03-18T18:58:00.002-04:00

Have you ever heard of the "Hallelujah Diet"? I heard about it several years ago when there was a crisis in the life of someone I am very close to. I began to search the internet for health information and for information on healthy foods that could reduce cholesterol and clear plaque from arteries.Did you know you can actually do that? I know a person who had blocked carotid arteries who amazingly cleared them with this diet. The author of this diet (well, kind of, actually God is the author) has many testimonials including that of himself where people have been cured of cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, athritis and many digestive disorders. It's really not a crazy fad diet, it's actually the original plan for our lives that began in the Garden of Eden.

My hubby is a vegetarian. He has been for many years. I, though, am far from it. I was raised on fried chicken and country fried steak and gravy and mama's meatloaf. I don't buy and cook meat very much because it usually goes to waste before I can finish it. My diet does include many veggies and fruits but I'm afraid they aren't prepared in a healthy way usually. My plan is to change that. I plan, as close as possible, to follow the Hallelujah Diet. If you haven't heard of it or don't know much about it, I invite you visit their website or to get the book. That is, if you're interested in getting healthy, living a long life free of pain and disease and developing a closer relationship with the Heavenly father.

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Some of the reasons that I made this decision:

I have suffered from horrendous headaches for much of my adult life. Lately they have been more frequent and worse as far as the pain and length. I am ready to be rid of them without medicating.

In two weeks I will be 44 years old and I am already dealing with aching joints, knee pain, back pain and I do not want to lose my mobility to athritis.

I have endured terrible, painful episodes of psoriasis on the soles of my feet for the last 7 years. There have been times that I have not been able to wear shoes and bearly able to walk. Although I have enjoyed almost a full year of soft, smooth feet, free of pain and icky scales, the monster is returning. Just in time for sandal weather too. I'm not sure that I can endure it again. It's very straining on not only my outer body but also my emotional state. It's embarrassing, almost debilitating at times and I do not want to deal with it again.

I deal almost constantly with depression. Many of you will be surprised at that admission, but it's true. I have dealt with it for almost 6 years and there are many things that I could blame for it but I won't bore you with those details. I am working on those things, all those things that is that I can control and I will beat it!

I lost my father when I was 10 years old and he was only 55 to a massive heart attack. I lost my mother 6 years ago to lung cancer. She also went through colon cancer surgery and chemo treatments. She never smoked a day in her life. Why lung cancer? Why colon cancer? Could it be environment related? Could it be food related? Could it be lifestyle related?

I don't have the answers to all those questions, but I keep thinking.......if I can do something as simple as change the way I eat and become healthier and happier.......why would I not want to do that?

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Things that I'm thankful for today:

A good job

A great, supportive spouse

The original diet plan

Sense enough (I hope) to figure it all out

Will power (I hope) to stick with it

supportive friends

Oh! and sunshine for the first time in a week!

A Confession of sorts........

2009-03-18T07:18:00.001-04:00

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body,"

(1 Cor. 6:19-20).

The hubby and I made a decision this past weekend to make a big change in our lives and that change is the way that we eat and how we take care of our bodies. We are working towards getting our house in order and that includes the temple. I must admit that this is not the easiest decision I've ever made. In fact, this is one of the toughest things I've ever attempted.

I'm starting this blog as a diary of our lifestyle change. I'm not calling this a diet but a lifestyle change. Diets may come and go but when you learn to make lifestyle changes, even though we are sure to fall off the wagon now and then, they will be things learned that we will never forget.

My plans are to share our daily menus and recipes that we learn and try along the way, what works for us and what doesn't work so well.

Our goal is of course weight loss but also to have healthier bodies so we might live longer, healthier, more satisfying lives. I don't feel comfortable sharing my beginning weight at this time. Maybe later, after I'm feeling better about my body.

It will be a couple more days before we are equipped to begin but we are already preparing our minds and our hearts for a new adventure.

Encouragement and Cheering is welcome!!!