Category Archives: Family

Random Flavors

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Without a thing planned today, and after a little breakfast and mint green tea, my mom and I decided that we would make a spontaneous Girls Day Out happen!

Our first stop was the 10:00 AM viewing of “The Guilt Trip,” starring Seth Rogen and the amazing Barbara Streisand.

Guilt-Trip

It was a very cute movie, and I noticed some similarities between their relationship and my own with the various mother figures in my life =)  One might not see Seth Rogen and Barbara Streisand as being a natural mix, what with the somewhat raunchy and in-your-face comedy style, and Babs’ more traditional and, well…mother-friendly reputation.  However, it worked and was quite believable; great on-screen chemistry.

Afterwards, Mom and I had a wonderfully delicious lunch at Bravo!  We decided to order and split a pizza and a lunch salad.  I got to choose the pizza; Mom the salad.

Mom chose the Grilled Chicken Chopped Salad: thinly sliced chicken, Gorgonzola, spicy pecans, mixed greens and crispy pasta tossed in a Tuscan Italian dressing:

Notice those damn tempting breadsticks in the background? Jerks.

Notice those damn tempting breadsticks in the background? Jerks.

Delicious!  The contrasting flavors of the savory, creamy Gorgonzola against the walnuts was amazingly delightful.

Chicken Salad 2

I wanted something a little non traditional for our toppings since I’ve been so spoiled with Mom’s ability to make homemade pizza.  I chose the Verduta Pizza, which was topped with roasted asparagus, portobellos, tomatoes and red onions with Fontina and Boursin cheeses finished with fresh basil.

Pizza 1

Pizza 2

Stomaches full, chuckles and Girl Talk thoroughly enjoyed, Mom and I headed off to pick out some tea lights from Yankee Candle.  I have to admit that I’m not much of a candle burner, but instead use plug-in diffusers from Bath and Body Works.  I’m usually a vanilla or cinnamon fan, so choosing from so many different Christmas-style scents was a bit overwhelming.  My overall assessment was that there are only 4 flavors that I really liked, many smelled artificially outdoorsy, and some just gave me that Vicks Vapor Rub feeling.

Mom and I chose on Sugared Apple:

FH_sugared_apple

While Mom was checking out, I continued to browse, coming across some of the more creative flavor concoctions.

Favorite Things 2 Favorite Things

Notice the names?  All of these candles are named after the favorite things in the song, “Favorite Things” sung in the musical, “The Sound of Music.”

P.S. – I’ve never had schnitzel that tasted like mild vanilla and cookie dough, and I’m seriously concerned about where they got kitten whiskers to smell-test to make the right flavor.

Pinecone and Lime

FINALLY!  I cannot tell you how many emails I have sent to the Yankee Candle Customer Service department, begging them to combine the most obvious of holiday scents!  When the Scentologists revealed the Pinecone and Lime candle to the world, it must have been as powerful as the first time that Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Will Smith were in the same room together.

Since Last We Spoke

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The very first thing that I have to address before getting to anything of a frivolous nature is how absolutely and totally devastated I am about the events that occurred last week on Friday in Newtonwn, Connecticut.  My heart absolutely breaks…it literally aches every time I think about what has happened.  I don’t want to get political or talk about gun control, safety precautions, or how the media has been handling the event.  This is not where we should be focusing right now.  Right now there is an entire town who need our love, our support, and encouragement through prayer, outreach, and love.

Friday was our last day of school before the break, and we were so full of life and excitement with our students.  At lunch time, I was asked by a student who was leaving early to drop off a gift to another teacher for him.  When I walked into Ms. C’s classroom, she was sobbing at her desk.  I thought something had happened to her son, or who knew what.  She told me what happened in Connecticut, and said, “We’re just having such a good time, enjoying ourselves and then something like this happens…it’s just so…it just makes you think.”

I believe what happened in Connecticut was pure evil, not an adjective but the noun evil.  The same way that, pardon my reliance on my English background, Grendel from Beowulf was Evil reincarnated in the physical and living form of a monster.  In my heart, Evil can only be combatted with love, kindness, and faith.  I don’t know why such things happen, but when they do the only thing to do is not to question our faith; faith in humanity, the system, or our faith.  It is the time to rely on it further to strengthen us to do our best for those who need it most in this time of darkness.

SandyHookKids

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Saturday was a complete blur as my mini family and I headed north, making pretty good time.  We stopped occasionally to let the little princess out for fresh air and other “business.”  Sophie did a really great job of just hanging out in the backseat and keeping an eye on traffic from time to time.  Being so vigilant for a 17 hour car ride really tires a doggy out, so she slept the majority of Sunday, but what’s new?

Sleepy Dog

A belated birthday celebration was the theme of Sunday at my parents’ house, and it was wonderful!  My mom made Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup (recipe), grilled Salmon Salads, and we even took a timeout to make some homemade granola (recipe).

Soup

After filling our bellies, my family FINALLY!!!! let me open my birthday gifts from my parents.  I am such a lucky lady! My mom knew that I had been looking for a Coach purse for quite some time, saving up my extra dimes and nickels for  awhile, but never able to fully commit.  Knowing me better than anybody else, she was able to take my tastes and found the most beautiful purse.


 Purse
I love it because I’ll be able to use it all year round, not feeling like it’s too dark for summer (which is a legit worry that I have with my bags).  In addition to this, my dad spent the time and energy to clean up his old toolbox that he used for his 30 year career as a machine toolmaker.  
ToolboxHe worked for a company called Olofsson, which was just one piece of the entire car manufacturing puzzle.  He used this toolbox on a daily basis, and you can tell that the beautiful oak wood was cared for despite being used in a factory setting.

Toolbox 2

It’s no secret that I love little drawers and organizational tools, so this was an absolutely perfect gift for me.

Toolbox Collage

Between my thoughtful gifts from my students, in-laws and sister, the tickets to “The Book of Mormon” from my husband, and these two treasures, I am so incredibly fortunate and know that I am loved.

Purse Collage

A New December Challenge

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This may not exactly be the best time of the year to attempt my next goal; the only other time of the year that would tempt the living daylights out of me would be Halloween.  Got any guesses as to what habit I’m going to try and quit?

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I’ve got a real sweet tooth going on lately.  It’s not out of hand, it’s just there…and I have not been able to compartmentalize my sweet treats to that: a treat.  It all sounds so simple and innocent.

“I”m just going to make some Country Apples in my crockpot“

“An oatmeal raisin cookie while we go out and grab some Subway, sure!”

“I’ve got to use up these apples so, how about cake?!?!”

I realized it might be time to make a lifestyle change when it got to the point last night I was feeling a little twitchy when I wasn’t getting enough sweets.

NOT a photo of me...yet.

NOT a photo of me…yet.

I’ve done a processed sugar purge before, and it was not easy so I am really not happy with myself that I let my eating habits get to this point again.  I’m doing a pretty darn good job of sticking to my stricter workouts, but I’m not seeing enough results, and I’m crediting that to my eating habits.

abs-are-made-in-the-kitchen

So how does one go about breaking the sugar addiction cycle?  Here are the things that have worked for me, so maybe they’ll work for you too if you need some help stepping away from the M&Ms and baked goods.

Steps to Breaking the Sugar Addiction Cycle

  1. Get rid of all of the sugar-triggers in your house.  Out of sight, out of mind!  For me, that will include the processed sugar junk: M&Ms, Hershey Kisses, & sweeteners for my coffee.  In addition, I will not be adding more to the stockpile by baking things that just aren’t necessary.  
  2. Find an alternative – for me, I know that I’ll continue to say to myself, “Gee, something sweet would be quite delightful right now.”  I’m a lady and deserve to be talked to like one, so don’t judge my self-talk.  Anyways, what works for me as a replacement is fruit and yogurt.  I know that it’s not nearly as sweet (and in some opinions as satisfying) as chocolate or pastries.  However, once you get done eating it, your brain will NOT know the difference! Some of the flavors of yogurts are so damn convincing as well!  I didn’t believe that I’d be tricked into enjoying some of the cake-flavored yogurts, but my hat’s off to you, Publix.  The Black Forest Cake and Carrot Cake flavors are AMAZE-BALLS!505CF36E-CC76-D3C3-4F68-9DB7A7A5B7914EE8717B-1BDF-2071-422F-A7CEE9A21126
  3. Change your sugary routine - I typically only eat the sweets at a certain time of the day: NIGHT.  So I’m going to have to find an alternative activity to keep my mind and hands busy when I want to get up and go digging around in the pantry after dinner.  Here are some suggestions: 30 Things You can Do Instead of Snacking
  4. Make a visual tracking chart  - This suggestion goes hand-in-hand for those people, like me, who get motivated by seeing their daily workout written down in their planners.  Seeing a chart or graph that tracks all of the consecutive days of being sugar-free will only motivate you to keep the streak going.
  5. Practice saying, “No thank you.” – I mentioned at the beginning of this post that this may not be the best time of the year to begin a sugar-purge with the holiday season in full swing.  There will be a lot of family parties, and if you have a family like mine, there’s always at least one major baker whose treats you’ve been lusting after all year.  Our family’s friend makes Buckeyes.  My aunt Susie is an old-school baker who makes pies that are to DIE FOR!  So how in the heck am I going to navigate my way through our social gatherings and not fall into a sugar quicksand trap?  It won’t be easy, but this is the best advice that I can give you to not offend your hostess or make you feel awkward:
  • “Oh no thank you!  I am so full I could not eat another bite.”

For me, sugar is a slippery slope, and I know that it will not be an easily accomplished goal.  However, I will give it my best, forgive myself when I slip up, and reward myself for a job well done.