diet update and the power of a good friend!

Well I am sorry that I have not blogged this last week - the kiddo's have all had back to school parties, field trips etc..... Well back to the diet update - I was on the HCG diet - that I had cleared with my doctor, and was on along with 7 other women - I alone had side effects - scary ones! I fainted at Walmart last week, and had to come off that diet - ugh! Much to my frustration. So I took the last week off - I have gained 3 pounds in that time. and was very blue - sob!!!!

However I have a wonderful girlfriend named Amy (I am on the left side, Amy is in the middle, and our good friend Jayna is on the right!) Amy's is a blogger to by the way- you can check out her fab blog here. Amy is my opposite in allot of ways, she is Green I only recycle at the whining of my children, I love chemicals: bleach, acid cleaner for grout (Funny story behind that one!) Amy also cleans with natural cleaners she is wonderful, funny, creative, and a great encourager. Amy called me, picked me up from the floor (not literally I would not want to hurt her back!) and told me I could do this! I just needed to watch my calories, exercise and almost, (emphasis on almost) every lady struggles with her weight or watches her weight- and I could to.

Having friends like Amy sure makes life more bearable - I encourage everyone to invite a friend like Amy over when you are having a pity party - she is great guest to have at one!!!! Thanks Amy! Does anyone else have a special friend that they call when they are feeling blue or does any other lady out there struggle or watch her weight? What tips do you have?

Family Reunion

What a blessing! We had a family reunion this weekend on Brent's side of the family. It was so much fun! (and I am just an in-law! and I am saying this!)

The family reunion was held in Arkansas (my favorite state! I fell like an Arkansas girl at heart, and do pray that one day God will allow us to live there)

Our host and hostess were so kind, friendly and nice- they just welcomed us into their home, and we felt so at ease because they were so gracious!

Our hostess had a drink center set up on a serving table, then had the meat, and side dishes on the counters in the kitchen. Our hostess had a beautiful dessert table set up by the kitchen area. Food was plentiful-and different family members had brought old recipes, old pictures, and stories, as well as copies of the family tree to pass out to everyone as well as a cd burned with a sound recording from a past reunion that held some precious voices that have since gone to heaven and are no longer with us! How dear and touching to us all that this Aunt Jane and Bryan had burned a copy of the CD for us all to have!!!! Thanks Aunt Jane and Bryan!!!
Brent's family has some musical talent - It was so much fun, We had guitar playing and beautiful signing!!! (The above couple works in missions and you should of heard some of the arrangements for praise music - set to Jazz!!!! Beautiful - The guitarist also plays the piano)
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2 of the musicians in Brent's family are from the band 3 penny acres - voted best new band for 2009 in Northwest Arkansas Music Awards -so you can only imagine what a good time we had listening to music, and they even included Mckenzie a new musician and let her play - she is a very new talented musican!

Here are some pictures- of some of the family visiting:looking at old pictures, and the family tree that had been printed out:
Clapping and dancing with the music:

The kiddos were dancing and eating cookies, and playing with their cousins!
And a good time was had by all!!! So we loaded back up and came home - with a more sense of our family heritage and the wonderful people who make up our family! (I wish my side of the family would do this - it was fun!)

Well here is a family favorite on Brent's side of the family, his Grandma Johnniie Blalock Rader's Best Refrigerator Rolls:

1 c shortening
1 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 c boiling water
2 eggs, beaten
2 pkgs. dry yeast
1 c warm water
6 c unsifted flour

Pour boiling water over shortening, sugar, and salt; blend and cool. Add eggs. Sprinkle with yeast into warm water and stir until dissolved and add to first mixture. Add flour; blend well. cover and place in refrigerator at least 4 hours. Dough must be in large bowl as it will rises slightly in refrigerator.
**This may be kept up to 10 days in refrigerator and used as needed. About 3 hours, depending on room temp. before using rolls, roll into desired shapes. (I roll into rectangle about 1/2 inch thick and cut with biscuit cutter) place in a greased pan and allow to rise at room temperature to double in size. Bake at 425 degrees for approx 12-15 minutes. (I place rolls close together and let rise)

This is a favorite that my mother in law makes (just like her mom did) every holiday! Yumm!!!! Enjoy!

Gracie's bday

Well last week was my baby's birthday. Gracie turned 6 years old! Wow! I can't believe it. Gracie is growing into a beautiful, fun, smart girl! We celebrated by waking her up on her birthday and having a pancake breakfast. The birthday girl wanted her pancakes in a mouse shape. (Mickey mouse looking) which we were glad to provide her. I used kiwi's, chocolate chips and bananas to make the eyes, nose and mouth.

Gracie's bday fell on a school day so Daddy went up to school and brought her subway for lunch and ate with her in the school cafeteria. I brought cookies to hand out to her class for snack. That evening she had Daisy's (girl scouts) and we brought a birthday cake for snack, - then we went to dinner to our favorite Mexican restaurant - Los Cabos. Which had a live band playing, and tons of salsa - Gracie was in hog heaven! She and her sister (Kaylee) even got up and danced! Fun! Fun! Fun!

Here is my families favorite Pancake recipe (They like it better than Bisquick)

2 eggs

4 tablespoons butter/margarine, melted

1 1/2 cups milk

2 tablespoon sugar

2 cups of flour

6 teaspoons of baking soda

1 teaspoon of salt

beat eggs, add milk and margarine - stir until fully mixed. Add dry ingredients mix well. Heat griddle -spray with Pam, then pour batter onto griddle, flip when pancake top is full of bubbles, let cook on other side briefly - then remove. Serve hot with syrup!

I hope you enjoy your family enjoys this recipe as much as mine does!!!

Day 23 of my diet

Well I thought I would post an update on my diet today. It is now day 23 of my diet, and I have officially lost 17 pounds! WooHoo! I am down 1 dress size - yeah! I am very excited. This has been the best diet I have ever tried.

I have been trying some of the recipes that are on the HCG website - some have been good, some have been ugh! (The mock onion rings - not so good) but they have given me more variety and flavor in my diet - which is nice. When you are on a 500 calorie diet (no fats allowed) you really want what food you do eat to be flavorful. I have been having a hard time with eating all my protein it just seems like I get full half way thru but I have been making myself eat most of it.

My diet group met the other night it was so informative, they told me some things about the support website that I had not figured out on my own. Also it was encouraging - I am the newest newbie, and I am in the round 1 of my diet - so I am just beginning to see weight loss, but these other ladies have all lost 30+ which is encouraging to stay the course. Keep on, keeping on.

I hope I have more news to share with you all next week. You can follow my weight loss if you are curious even when I am not posting about my diet(because I love blogging about everything not just my diet) You can follow my progress because I installed this little handy weight loss tracker on the right side of my blog - I will update it daily if there is any change.

Decorative Picture Frames

I love to blog, but not only do I love to blog - I love to stalk! Yes, all my friends I have made in blog land, are so creative, and talented and share "how" they make or decorate a room! It's like running into your best friend and loving something she done and she is willing to show you how! One of the blogs I love to stalk is the happy homebody blog. If you have time you must go and view all her older post- she is amazing! The project I am about to tell you about I learned from her blog.
You first need to go to Michael's and look for the $1.00 picture frames (yes, isn't that cheap!) Then you need to paint the edges of the frame (inside and outer edge) Then you buy some pretty scrap booking paper (of your choice - to match any room- this is fun shopping!) Then you trace the frame onto the back to the paper that you want to cover your pretty little picture frames. Then cut out the pattern you have just traced onto the paper.
Then all that is left is to modge podge on the pretty paper that you have picked out to the front of the frame. It does not need to be perfectly lining up. (I usually bring a little paint from around the edges to the front just in case this happens!) Then once the modge podge dries it is ready to be used (You can glue a cute accessory on it if you would like!)

I hope you are as inspired as I was - I do believe I will be making these to coordinate with about ever room in my home (and no, I am not exaggerating!)

Warning: this is cheap and fun, and can be addictive - try at your own risk!

Happy Mother's Day

The above picture is of me and my mom (several years ago, okay 1990 it is my favorite picture of us together it was taken on a mom and daughter luncheon). The first thing you might notice is that my mom is very short, at least compared to me. I have been about this height (minus 1/2 inch since 6th grade) You should of seen the teachers face when my little momma showed up for parents conference - not only did she not have red hair she was shorter than me. (My father is 6'3inches - that explains allot). I do have my mom's nose, and her voice, and hopefully many of her other traits and character that you can't see in this picture. You see my mom was my role model.

My mom taught me how to give to other people, by bringing food to other people when they were ill and had deaths in the family. My mother taught me to be a good wife by loving my father and she kept dating him thru out there marriage (they are about to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary this year and they are still dating, by doing so she showed me the importance of keeping romance in a marriage. My mom also was a stay at home mom, and would always "freshen" up before my dad arrived home at night - a little lip gloss, hair combed and a squirt of perfume. I still do that for my husband today.

My mother taught me how to be respectful by being respectful to her parents and her in laws. I remember my mom taught me how to be a hostess - while I was growing up my parents always had friends over for an evening. As well as I remember my mom made a dessert for the weekend. (A habit I still keep for my family) I remember her making chocolate cake for when her mother in-law came over to visit.

My mom taught me how to be a parent from being a loving, caring parent to me. My mom taught me how to be a home maker teaching me how to cook, clean, do laundry and the value of a clean home and how it does not take allot of money to make a home a haven for your family.

My mom taught me how to laugh with family game nights, movies, and creative dinners from different cultures. My mother is a very talented person she writes, and is very creative, crafty, she has been a leader in church and among her peer group. My mother taught me the "value" of a friend, and the important lesson that you can never have too many friends.

My mom showed me how to love my in laws thru loving her in laws, my grandparents, or by loving and accepting my husband, and my brothers wives. My mom showed me how to love God, by taking us to church, VBS, and making sure we did not skip! By praying in front of me, and talking to me about God.

Now my mom is not perfect, she hates going to the Dr, she always adds 1 inch to her height (she thinks we won't notice), she has told me before "because I am your mom" and now I say that occasionally to my daughters. (Even though I still roll my eyes as I turn around). For all these things that my mom is and what she has helped me to become (As well as being my encourager, confidant, and willing to tell me honestly how it is) I am so blessed to have a mom like mine! Thank you Mom - I love you!!!! Amy

diet - ahhhhhh!!!!!

Well I have many labels: honey, wife, mom, sister, daughter, friend, those labels I love - however I also have a label I am not crazy about - "plus size". Yes, I know it is depressing to think about yourself like this and even harder to do something about it. (Now before people email me all upset I know that I am loved by may family, and by God, I am the sum total of who I am-however I would like the physical part to be a little bit smaller) I met a girlfriend for lunch 2 months ago - who looked fab! (Mind you our oldest children are the same age - and we have both struggled with weight gain and loss at each pregnancy) yet she had mastered the weight loss - of course I did what any red blooded woman would do I asked "how did you do it?"

Well she told me she was on a diet called "HCG" diet and that it had worked for her and it was a little radical but I should do my own research about it, and pray about it. My girlfriend gave me a website to go look out http://www.happilythinnerafter.com/ as well as gave me info to go to utube to find some videos of others who had done this diet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0cA91mSkFU, you can also go to utube and enter "HCG" in the search area and find tons of other people who are on the diet.

I have been on the diet for 17 days now and I have lost 12 pounds - ahhh!!! Now I have 80 I think I need to loose and you can only be on the hormone HCG for 33 days then you have to go off onto a maintenance period for approx 20 some odd days before you can go back to living your life or do another round if you have more weight to loose. Now, I have had some problems with keeping my blood sugar normal - not bad but I had to arrange when I eat the food allowed on the diet. However there are 6 ladies on this diet where I live and I am the only one out of 6 that has struggled with this issue at all. You can take the hormone HCG thru injections - but I am the Worlds Biggest Wimp so I take it sub lingual - and no I am not hungry all the time. I do get a little hungry but once I eat what I am allowed to I am satisfied. I am not sure if on my second round I will do sub lingual (under the tongue- oral) or do the injections - it might be nice to say I have tried it both ways.
I am not sure if anyone would like this information, I am not a doctor, nor am I trying to sale you anything. It just seems that this diet is working for me - quickly which is nice when you have over 20 pounds to loose and thought someone out there might find the information interesting. I will keep you posted on my weight loss - I am only 1/2 way done with this first round.

P.S. Did I mention that you are not supposed to exercise while on this diet. *giggle, giggle!

chalk labeled flower pots made durable

I love the "look" of cute chalk labeled flower pots for all my herbs - however I realized with all the "help" I receive with watering these cute labels would soon be washed off and I would not know what was basil and what was cilantro (okay, I could probably guess on some- but who wants the cook "guessing" which herbs she is using! Can you imagine coming to my house for some sweet tea with mint, and find out that I put cilantro instead in your tea)

So what is a mom to do - I went to Walmart and bought just plain black craft acrylic paint, and a white paint pen and "imitated" the look. I have 7 herb flower pots in an iron flower pot on the front porch easy to use when I need to cut some mint or cilantro - but now I can have peace of mind that I really will know what herb I am using. Hope someone might find this helpful!

Dance Recital

This last weekend was princess #1, and princess #3 dance recital. We had soo much fun (now that was after princess # 3 who is 5 lost her dance shoes the very week of recital! I looked everywhere and could not find it, sob! yes, I had to go buy new shoes for her (that will not fit next year) but Whew! The dance studio resales donated shoes so I was able to pick up a pair for $5.00 - saved her life!

The girls did great - and princess #2 who is our basketball player showed maturity - she complimented her sisters afterwards and seemed real proud of their accomplishments. I was so proud - I had a mommy moment! I believe God blesses us with these little moments to encourage us to keep up being a role model for our daughters and not to be discouraged as moms that these children he has entrusted to us, will turn into the beautiful, kind, loving girls that he wants them to be. Thank you for letting me post about my children.