Keep in your thoughts

Another weekly update on people I am thinking of today, I'd love it if ya'll would join me!

Nancy: My bloggy mom friend, roller derby girl, independent woman, and soon to be mother of a little boy named Karl. She is having some pregnancy issues and in the next 8 days there will be a lovely little man joining the world! Please be thinking of her for the next few weeks, she will need some good energy!

Dad (Ray): My ex-husband and I are best friends. We were not right for one another as a couple, however, as friends, I couldn't ask for a better one. His family became mine very quickly and I was close with his mother who passed away 6 years ago. I've always loved his father very much, so when I found out he had colon cancer today, it hit me a little hard. I am not scared of him going to be with Mom, I am scared of the ordeal he is about to go through, please keep him in your thoughts. He's a wonderful man!

Jim Lewin and his family: This is a selfless man who had a severe accident (though I am sure he would repeat it 10x over), he needs your thoughts as well! He is doing so much better, better than any of us imagined would be possible. Thank you for the thoughts you have given for this family.

That is who I have for now... or at least who is on my mind.

Have a great week :)

Get it write here Journal (#1)

Get it right here- Journal Blog

I found this great new blog the other day. She puts up Journal Questions, some simple, some complex however all of them will help you think about where you are, what you appreciate and look a little deeper inside yourself.

What can you find at home and nowhere else?

~Comfortable noise: With six kids, 5 of them who are around and making noise most of the time, there is a comfort in it. Even when they are watching a movie or playing online, there are creaks of chairs, the furnace, dish washer and draining water, even music coming from under the teenagers door.

~Smells: The scent of freshly washed laundry (someone is ALWAYS doing laundry), shower gel, hairspray, perfume, something cooking and a lingering of makeup, usually because the two year old is playing in someone’s purse.

~Clutter: There is clutter at work; however, nothing matches the clutter in your house. All those socks that the washing machine eats… it actually ends up in the couch! Yep… they magically appear in between the cushions… unwashed! It’s magic… damn sock fairies!

~Safety: No other place in the world do I feel so safe! I get home out of the cold and the wind, usually carrying a child and 3+ bags, I close the door behind me and I’m happy. Nothing else seems to matter, though I dislike the location of my home, it is where I live and I make the best of it. I can not imagine coming home to a house that I wasn’t comfortable at. I know that I am loved there, I can let go of most of my issues and stress and just… be myself.

What about you? What can you find at home and nowhere else?

Day three- Inspiration

I am on day three of my working out, dieting and healthier lifestyle.

What have I learned?

*Working out at night creates a ton of energy. I don’t get done with everything until 11pm, however I’m in bed and unconscious by 11:30, I sleep MUCH better.

*I love my crockpot! It’s one of the best ways to create home cooked healthy meals!

*My friends are wonderful motivators! They are supportive, funny and a wealth of information.

Tim and I have been bantering back and forth about weight loss, I do this every so often and I’m sure he just laughs at me when I get on this whole new kick, however, he never mocks me… at least openly…about it.

Today he sent me a post from an amazing blogger. It has to be one of the best personal motivation pieces I’ve read in a long time. It hit me pretty hard and has changed my thought process on this whole thing.

Here are some key points that I found to be the most poignant.

“Stop waiting for happiness. Happiness is right here, right now.”

“Feel free to pursue goals and desires … but don’t make your happiness dependent on them. Don’t think of happiness as something you’ll have once X happens (whatever X is right now for you).”

“Remember that, always: the journey is the most important thing. Not the goal. Not the ending point.”

“Losing weight. Will you only be happy after you’ve lost weight and are slim and trim? When you have the perfect body? Screw that! Make it an enjoyable journey — exercise can be a lot of fun! Eating clean, healthy food can also be incredible, once you learn to enjoy it! Enjoy the journey to health and the great body will only be a side benefit.”

If you would like to read the whole article, visit Zen Habits (I just bookmarked it!)

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How could I never have thought of this? I am in love with life, in love with the idea of new things, experiences and changes in my mind.

It never occurred to me to love what I am eating now, just as much as I loved eating before. To know that each ache of my muscles and heavy breath means I’m doing something for myself. I did a 20 minute boot camp workout with Nikki last night; I should have enjoyed every laugh and moment we got to spend together. How could I have missed that special moment with my teenage daughter?

What have I learned? Appreciate the facilities I have, it could be much harder if I was without my ability to experience the world as a whole. Love every taste, every exertion and every moment when I take the day off of it, and indulge in the delicacies I’ve been craving! Instead of looking forward to April 5th, when I see if I lost all the weight I desired, I am going to look forward to the next day, the new ways to workout, the new foods I can eat and the extra energy.

How are you all doing on your resolutions? Have you gotten to “organize” like you desired? How about saving money or quitting smoking? Let me know how things are going! Oh… and go read the article…!

January 5th… the day of my resolution.

I need to lose 20 pounds by April 5^th.

Why? Because I said so… Because my pants demand it, because I need to make sure to keep up with my kids, my friends and my lovely boyfriend and I need to know that I am in the best shape of my life. My parents started in their 30’s and they are still young at heart.

My nemesis… food, Oh.. and my stomach. See. I love food. I love to cook, I love to eat, I love to feed people and I really like the feel of a full tummy, my computer chair… and my cooshy buttocks on the padded seat.

… Clothing. See… my jeans don’t like the full tummy, that tummy likes to hang over my sexy girl jeans! So.. I must make it go away, because it is not so sexy to have the muffin top!

I must start with my food and I must plan out my meals to keep myself from faltering:

Here is my menu for the week:

Monday: Chicken Caesar Pitas

Tuesday: Bacon Wrapped Apple BBQ Chicken

Wednesday: Little Dipper Pizza Fondue Recipe (This is for the kids)

Thursday: CrockPot Salsa Chicken Recipe

Friday: Free day, everyone eats whatever they want!

Saturday: Grilled Chicken, Broccoli, Fruit and Rolls

Sunday: Chicken Tacos, Spanish rice and beans

I’ll try to put up pictures as much as I can, I am also going to get advice from one of the National Body Challenge competitors, Chef Amy on how to get the recipes more low fat. She offered her help yesterday and has lost a lot of weight already!

On Wednesday and Friday I will be at Dave’s house for dinner, so I’ll let you know what he spoiled me with.

Thank you to A Year of Crockpotting and $5 dinners for my recipe ideas for the week!

Chicken, and it's uses!

I found this blog called $5 dinners, and I got this recipe and many other ideas from the site! Go and check it out, it looks like a feasible idea and plan, and with a family of 8, I need it.

While I was at the museum with my friends... I had a whole chicken cooking in the crockpot.

Some water, chicken rub over the top and it was on high. I left fairly confident of the outcome.

It came out even better than I thought. Juicy, wonderful. I took all the meat off, and fed three of my kids chicken, broccoli and rolls for dinner.

I had over two cups of chicken left over, so I took another idea from the blog. I decided to make Homemade Chicken noodle soup. Here is the recipe, and I added a few twists.


Chicken Noodle Soup

1 tablespoon butter ($.10)
2/3 cup chopped onion ($.25)
2/3 cup chopped celery ($.25)
3 cups chicken broth (free, if you save it from the chicken you cooked)
water
2 cups chopped chicken ($2)
3 cups egg noodles ($.30) (I used some Fideo Cortado, awesome!!)
1-1/3 cups sliced carrots ($.40)
1 teaspoon dried basil ($.05)
1 teaspoon dried oregano ($.05)
salt and pepper to taste ($.05)

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion and celery in butter until just tender, 5 minutes. Pour in broth and stir in chicken, noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Add water until all the ingredients are covered with liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes before serving. Serve with a loaf of crusty bread.

Now.. I forgot the basil and oregano, because I'm a dork!
I also used a different kind of noodle (Fideo Cortado- Fino) , something smaller that I dished into the bottom of the bowl before I put the soup over the top of it, that worked out REALLY well!

I also had leftover broccoli that I added to the recipe. I had lightly steamed them the night before and they really mixed into the soup very well (It was also $1 a pound for florets, so I couldn't pass it up!)

I made Grilled cheese sandwiches with it, and rounded out the meal quite nicely!

I also have enough left over for two lunches! One for me, and one for my roommate!

Denver Art Museum X2

LaLa playing with the bubbles.

The first Saturday of every month is free for Colorado residents at the Denver Art Museum, and I am all about free! I love to take the kids there, and so I invited Dave and his son yesterday, as well as my two friends Dan and Gretchen.

Mr. Grady Bear, almost 6 months old and a cutie pie!

We had a WONDERFUL time, though, my Issa had a meltdown around naptime, it turned out very well and no one was left... as an exhibit piece, though, I did consider leaving her with the African artifacts!

Dave and Gretchen outside talking.

Dave, watching his son.. isn't that a great look on his face?

Quotable Sunday 1/4/2009

First Quotable Sunday of 2009.

The rules (for newbies)
~Go to your blog and post one or more of your favorite quotes.
~Go to A Daily Dose of Toni and sign mister linky with the link to your post and then go visit the other participants and leave some comment love.
~Spread the word of course...we want lots of Quotes to read :)

That means a new beginning, whether very little will change for you this year, we all need to do something different.

Save more money? Lose weight? Buy your significant other the gift that will light up their eyes (a new truck or that piece of art they have always wanted? Something that lingers in our mind all the time that we say, "I will do that one day". Why not this year? Why not start now?

No motivation?
Well that is what my quotes are about this week. Motivation!

My need for motivation?
* To lose 50 pounds, I have the six kids, I don't need a reminder every time I look in the mirror.
* Get my finances in order, I don't have much to do, but enough that keeps me from getting what I want.

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."
Roger Bannister

~No one said that life will be easy nor will our paths be easy, however, we must continue on to win, against ourselves!~

"Self-determination is fine but needs to be tempered with self-control."Anonymous

~Do not go overboard on your endeavors! Take it in stride, and one day at a time, you will get there~

"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." Friedrich Nietzsche

~You must remember everyday WHY you are on the path you are on. Honestly, the best reason of all.. for yourself~

I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacation with better care than they do their lives.Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change.
Jim Rohn

~My boyfriend taught me this. He had an.. "attack plan" for his life, and he's stuck with most of it. I never did, I've always lived by the seat of my pants... perhaps there is some validity to his way of thinking~

"If you raise your children to feel that they can accomplish any goal or task they decide upon, you will have succeeded as a parent and you will have given your children the greatest of all blessings."
Brian Tracy

~This is very important, they need to know they can succeed at anything they attempt, even if it seems impossible. This doesn't mean do it for them, however give them the foundation to do it for themselves!~

Freaky Friday- A Creative Journal

I forget to look at things in another person's eyes. I try, very hard. I try to remember what it felt like when my heart was broken, or when I felt horrible because the crud came over my body, or even when I was rushed with children and not paying attention to the world around me.
I also forget to thank those people who try to take care of me, even when I am not looking after myself.

Brad: For giving me "the look" when I reach for the salt, or soy sauce, knowing full well that I've been paying for the holiday's the past week, with increased pain and ringing in my ears, and hearing loss consistently everyday.

My son: When I walk by sniffling or sneezing, reaching out and rubbing my arm. I don't think he knows how cool that is to have a son that is so in tuned to the feelings of others, at 13.

My ex: Who took care of me for years, bringing me meds, giving me soup and enough liquid to drowned my sick sorrows. He left the path open for my faith and expectation in people when I am sick.

The chicken: (This is a weird one) Being there for me to toss into a crockpot, remove the meat, use the broth and chicken for homemade chicken noodle soup tomorrow. Which will be sipped from a cup enjoyed while I am trying to get better.

My boyfriend: Who despite spending the whole day with me, kissing me, and risking his own sickness, offered to come over and bring me meds and gatorade. Oh, and not taking oodles of glee in how I got my sickness, knowing I brought it on myself and am getting punished for a "deed" that might be minor, however only strengthens my resolve in our future. Thanks for not "hitting me in the stomach with a raquetball", even if I deserve it.

I am sure that to many of them, I seem a little whiney and demanding, perhaps even a bit weaker in comparision to the girl they see when I'm fully healed up.

I only hope to remember, that when they are sick, when they need the homemade chicken noodle soup, that I am by their side, dealing with their curses and whining and in ability to make a coherent thought.

I'm off, to try and heal my poor body up a little, and wander the blogosphere!

Who takes care of you when you are sick? If you had to thank anyone for that... who would it be?

Please visit A Creative Journal for more wonderful ideas for your own journaling. I am pretty sure this journaling is supposed to be private, however, what fun is that???

New Year's Eve!

New Years eve was busy during the day, and very relaxing at night!


I finally got to Dave's around 4:30pm and we slowly got into gear.

Grocery store
Chinese dinner
Shower
Got dressed

-Dave relaxing in the loft-

We were late... ~blush~ ... Got to Gretchen's around 9:30ish. After Dave dumped the dessert tray upside down on the cement. Yep... those eclairs STILL tasted good a little smooshed!

-Dave and Dan talking-

We drank, talked to a few people and had a nice night with everyone.

-The Baker's-

-Gretchen and I being silly-

There was alcohol, fireworks, a New Year's kiss and a wonderful breakfast the next morning.

He made me eggs, potatoes, Belgium waffles and coffee (Yep... he must love me!).

It was a great way to bring in the New Year! I couldn't have asked for more!

-Dave and I-

Concert: Flogging Molly

The concert was AMAZING!

Tons of people at the Filmore, in fact, I've never seen it so busy. I am used to going to different concerts there. Not so silent night, Disturbed, Mudvayne, the people are different at those concerts than this one. The things I noticed.

*People my age
*Everyone smelled better
*People were less tolerant of stupidity
*Less alcohol around

The music? Amazing, the energy was great, the band is funny, and I would LOVE to have them as friends.

Sounds like one of the band members is going to be a Daddy soon, probably around the time that Nancy has her little man!

I would definitely go back! I really like the sound and the story behind much of the music. Less screaming into the microphone and more understanding on my part :)

Gretchen and I had a blast, it had been a while since we had been out, and it was good to get away from the kids, and to get that little bit of youth back into our step!

Thanks again to Nancy from The New Life of Nancy. Hope you had fun going on the 31st!

Much love!