End of Boot Camp One Mile Run

Well, today was the end run for this round of boot camp which means we do a one mile run test. We do it at the beginning and end to see how far we have come.

I am not a runner....never have been....so and usually the thought of a one mile run scares the beejebees out of me! I have been thinking about this run for a while now and doing some positive self thought and trying to psyche myself up for it. I even wore my favorite workout outfit and had the timer on my watch ready to go so I could watch my time...I even went early so I could stretch more and my arches have been bothering me so the trainer gave me some tips on getting them more stretched so I did that too. I was ready!

So, we started out and once you get going, those negative thoughts start coming in....for me, its hard in the beginning and hard to get going....I first told myself I was going to try to run the whole mile....then I said that I was just trying to beat my time, so if I walked a little, it was okay....and then my stubborn side said NO, WE ARE RUNNING THE ENTIRE TIME!

So, I keep going and I am doing well....I get to the .6 mark and that is where the walkers end their time....so that is tempting because you think "Hey, I can stop right here and be just groovy!" but no, I kept going....when you work out enough, you notice that at some mid-point, you hit a wall and then if you push it and keep going, just give it 1% more and keep going, you break down the wall and then it actually gets easier....you get in your stride and you can even push harder....so at this point I was looking for the wall, in fact I was welcoming the wall because I knew I could bust through it and keep going and it would get easier.....so I kept going and going and then I am around that last turn and I can see the finish line...one of the trainers came and ran with me and encouraged me and another boot camper came and ran behind me and said "I will get behind you and push you!" (Not literally push me, but mentally) and I picked up the pace and I am now running, pretty much all out running....and I keep going and going and going and I am there.....I finished and I RAN the WHOLE WAY!

This is a big deal...this is humongous....this is awesome!

And to beat all that, I shaved 40 seconds off my last time and finished just a hair over 11 minutes! 40 seconds is a long time when you are running!!!!!

So, I was totally stoked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then, we had to do the push up test....we have 1 minute to do as many push ups as we can. I used to do the girly push ups on my knees but this boot camp I decided I was going to do the real full out push ups. My first push up test I did 22 in a minute....and this time I did 36! While that is not that impressive, its still a great improvement!!!


So, I am on a total endorphin high today and feeling like I accomplished something major! And, I went and weighed in yesterday and I have lost 10 pounds during this boot camp, so in one month.

I am feeling GREAT! and STRONG! and AWESOME!

So, the moral of this story is this....I would have never thought that I would be exercising as much as I am now....I never would have thought that I could be this strong.....I never would have thought that I can eat healthy and like it...I never would have thought that I could walk away from a dessert and not be tempted....I never would have thought that I could do this and I have!

Don't tell yourself you can't do something....don't tell youself that you are not worth the effort....don't think that you are weak because we all hit those walls in life and its now time to bust it down....run harder...be stronger...defy the odds....and prove to yourself that you are worth every bit of it!

Love ya all! Happy Friday!

H

Scrapbook Week Day 5--Memorial Layout

Scrapbook Layout--A Memorial to my Grandmother

Here is another scrapbook layout. This one is a memorial to my grandmother. Some people think its weird to scrapbook things from her funeral, but I wanted to remember her for who she was and the things she loves. I included the program from her funeral but the other items will all be about her. I have a picture of her when she was little and I need to find a picture of her they way I remember her. She was lively and fun and so vibrant! She loves birds and raised them, hence the birds nest and bird house. She also played in a ukulele band so I may try to incorporate that. I also want to write some of our memories on here. this page is not finished, but the basic layout is done and I wanted to share. I love the Spring colors on these pages and I love that it is all about the things she loved.

I miss you Maw Maw!

Heather

BLOG CANDY!

Howdy all---I hope you are ready for a Scrapbook tool give a way!

In honor of scrap booking week....I decided I would give away a few simple tools that I really like. So, this prize will include 1)a Stampin' Up Adhesive Remover (that I highlighted as a great tool earlier this week), 2)some Stampin' Up Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue Adhesive, and 3)a Stampin' Up Journaler marker (its has a fine tip end and a larger end...I use mine all the time!), plus a few more goodies that I will throw in!

There will be 2 lucky winners! To enter, just comment on this thread and tell me your name, favorite thing to scrapbook or papercraft, and where you are from! This contest will close at 5pm Sunday Central Daylight Time and winners will be announced Monday! (Winners will be randomly drawn! Only one entry per person please!)

Good luck!

Heather

Book Club: Sundays at Tiffany's

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

I just read this book and thought it was a fast read, really imaginative, and fun. There are times when you are dying to turn the pages to see what will happen yet and also at the same time, afraid that the story will end too soon or something terrible will happen. It does have a few scenes with some adult content, but not too much where I didn't recommend the book to my mother and she is reading it and loving it....so it must be okay!

The story is about a young girl and her imaginary friend and how this friend effects the rest of her life. It made me think about this question.....What if....when we get to Heaven....we find out that imaginary friends really do exist its just that no one else can see them?

I hope you enjoy it!

Heather

Scrap book Week:Day 2--Garden Page

Here is another layout that I did at my Spring Scrap booking retreat a few weeks ago. This one was showcasing the making of our garden (click on the pictures to enlarge). We worked on it pretty steadily for about 2 weeks and it was documented with lots of pictures so I chose this layout so that I could have quite a few pictures plus some squares to journal in. I love the flower overlay to make it pop.

Recipe:Cinnamon Rolls

I made these Cinnamon Rolls this weekend for Easter Brunch and they were super yummy and a big hit!


Use 1/2 recipe basic bread rolls found here
http://thebeautifulbasics.blogspot.com/2009/04/homemade-rolls.html

and roll 1/4" thick. Spread all over with softened butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture consisting of:
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 T. cinnamon.

Roll up and cut into 1/2" thick slices with serrated knife. Let rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Bake at 350 for 18-25 minutes. Can drizzle with water/powdered sugar glaze.

Homemade Rolls

This is a homemade roll recipe from my friends the Stratons. They make a great roll dough!

Instead of using all purpose flour, I used half whole wheat pastry flour and half all purpose flour.

Ingredients and Instructions:

Part 1
3/4 c. warm water
2 T. yeast (2 pkgs)
1/2 tsp sugar

Stir until dissolved and let rise in small bowl

Part 2
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. melted butter
1 c. water
Mix in large bowl
3 eggs

Beat and add to above mixture. Add yeast mixture to large bowl.

Part 3
2 tsp salt
7 cups flour (or half whole wheat pastry flour and half white)
Mix all together for 7 minutes in bread mixer at high speed. Let rise 1 hour; punch down. Cover and refrigerate overnight. {Does not have to be refrigerated but is best that way.} Divide dough into 2 equal parts.

Roll out each part into a circle. Use a pizza cutter to cut into 16 equal pieces. Roll up from larger end to shorter end. Place in pan seam side down. Let rise 3 hours, until double in size. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Brush with butter.

You can also only raise/cook half the batch and put the other half straight into the freezer on the baking sheet for 4 hours. When frozen, take rolls and put into ziploc bag in the freezer. Voila!

Scrap booking Week Day 2--Road Trip Layout

Our first road trip scrap book page!

This layout does not have many pictures, it really just has information. This is the first page of a series of pictures from the first road trip my husband and I took together a few years ago. We drove from Texas to South Dakota and back and had a really fun time and saw much of the middle of this beautiful country of ours. I was amazed at how each state had their very own distinct personality. So, on this page, I took pictures of state signs and other items and just made an information page about where we had gone on our trip, then the following pages will have more specific information about our destinations.

Not all scrap book pages have to contain tons of pictures, I will show you some throughout this week that are packed with pages and others that have none....so stay tuned for some ideas!

For this page, I used some die cuts, some photo cut outs, like the state signs, and an actual old atlas for the map of the US. Then I put some blocks so I could journal about our trip. Remember to journal your thoughts and feelings, because in 10 years, you may not remember where that picture was taken or which states you visited on that trip!

Stay tuned for some BLOG CANDY later on this week! I will be giving away some fun stuff!

Have a good one!

Heather

Scrapbooking Week Day 1-Cool Tool: Adhesive Remover

I am going to start of Scrap booking week with a new tool that I just got and have used it a lot since I got it. It doesn't look like much but its an adhesive remover....to me it looks like the rubber sole of shoes back in the 70's....which is probably exactly what it is...but you use it to remove excess adhesive. I have used it on numerous scrap booking pages but I have also used it on new books that have stickers on the front....why do they do that? My son received a beautiful book from my mother and it had a big sticker on the front touting some award it received or something of that nature...when I removed the sticker, I was left with all this sticky stuff catching dust and looking ugly on this beautiful cover....so I put this to the test and it removed it all! It took some time and I was very careful, but the results were great!

I also use it on scrap booking pages when I have used too much adhesive or it has gone over the edge. Just rub it on like an eraser and it gets rid of it. When the edge or corner gets soft or crumbly, you just cut it off and keep going until its all gone, which I believe will take a long while.

So, I hope you find this tool endorsement helpful!

Good luck and Happy Scrapping!

Heather

Forgive me for being LAME LAME LAME

Yes, please forgive me for being LAME LAME LAME! My scrap booking extravaganza and puttered out quite quickly! A dead camera battery is to blame....and me being lame doesn't help!

I will try to remedy this situation "toute suite"!

In the meantime....here is something RANDOM....

I bought some Greek Yogurt the other day because my cousins said it was from the Gods. Well, now that I think about it, he probably didn't say that since he claims he is anti-theist....or atheist....so he probably just said something like "this stuff is unbearable delicious." But anyway, I digress....I bought some....and to me, it got a thicker consistency than your plain old yogurt, to me its like a good sour cream...not the low fat kind, the real stuff. So, I looked at the label and it seems like it has less fat that the same amount of sour cream....so I think this would be a great substitute for it.

I used it in a 7 layered dip....which now that I think about it was probably more like 8 layers....this weekend and it worked out just groovy.

I love lower calorie things that are good for you and closely mimicker the real thing!

Now, I have to warn you that this stuff is more expensive than the regular stuff...I think this big old tub was around $4, which is pricey...but it is a good low cal sub for sour cream....so there you go!

I think I will postpone SCRAP BOOKING WEEK to NEXT WEEK so I Can be sure to get my camera all in order and functioning again. (Sorry people)

For now...be good....be good to yourself....eat healthy stuff....and go burn some calories!

Heather

High Heels--The Epiphany

I had an epiphany today....it was cold this morning at 5:20 as I went outside to wait for Angie to pick me up for my workout. I actually stood there in the cold wind and thought "if Angie slept in today, it won't be so bad....I could go get back in bed!" But low and behold, she did not and she picked me up like always and we trudged on to boot camp. Mondays at boot camp are always hard, although I think Fridays are the hardest, followed closely by Thursdays......come to think of it, Tuesdays and Wednesdays can be boogers too! Oh Lawdy, what's a girl to do?!

Anyway....as we started our cold runs and skips and such up and down the hill (that is our warm up), I thought to myself (the same as I do on Thursdays and Fridays and sometimes the other days) to just get through it....just keep moving and keep going and you will have accomplished something....I can at least say I worked out and was there...if not mind then at least body and maybe half a spirit.

But as we were moving on to the hard stuff, I thought to myself "just get thorough it" again and then the other part of my brain said( or actually kind of yelled) this to me "YOU GOT UP AT 4:45 THIS MORNING!!!!! WHY ARE YOU DOING A HALF WAY JOB, you dork, YOU MIGHT AS WELL BURN LOTS OF CALORIES, otherwise you could have just STAYED IN BED! You cheat yourself if you give it a half cracked effort!"

So, I said back to my self...."Self, you are darn right....lets burn some calories and get stronger!"

So, I did and I feel all the better for it! It was a great workout and my friend Diane even said I get the "hustle" of the day award for working hard....she didn't even know I had had this whole conversation with myself in my head.

So, there you go...my thought for the day....if you are going to do a half cracked job, you might as well go back to bed! So , do your best and have NO REGRETS!

Love ya,
Heather

Scrap book Week: Day 1

Howdy Folks....

This is the last picture I took before my camera battery died, so I am recharging them as we speak so I can post scrap booking ideas all week long.

This is a fun cover page that I am using for Landry's scrapbook. This actually started out as a name plate that goes in a frame and you hang on the wall but we ended up not using it for that so I glued it to the black and white polka dotted paper and made it the title scrap booking page for a scrapbook.

But look how cute just the red part was...it made a super cute little name plate for a door, just pop it in an inexpensive frame and its a fun gift for someone.

So...this is the beginning of scrapbook week...so stay tuned! I hope those batteries get charged so I can show you much much more!

Good night!

Heather

Gardening: Update

It was a beautiful weekend here in Texas and I spent a lot of the day Saturday out in the wonderful weather working on my garden. I see how so many people love gardening, its so addictive!

Here are a few pictures of my weekend work...forgive the fuzziness, my real camera's batteries are dead.





Above is my front planting area in my front yard. We had added the stones, pulled out numerous ugly spiky bushes and replaced them with....starting at the top at 12 o'clock....dahlias (they are still small), a peony (can't see it, planted it yesterday), a pink rose bush, a yellow miniature rose bush, some Salvia, some marigolds (also planted yesterday and can't see), and I transplanted some of Maw Maw's Iris's. There are also some Sweet Peas and Bells of Ireland in the back but those were also seeds planted yesterday. I have also added black mulch, which I love, I thin kit matches the shudders and gives it definition...plus it helps keep weeds out!

This picture is of my garden...Top right is my Bibb Lettuce....I could make a salad! that makes me really excited! When I first planted them, they would have gotten the "most pathetic looking lettuce" award (if it existed), below that is a marigold plant, to the left is one of 2 of my strawberry plants.

Above is a close up of the lettuce, marigold and in the back are some sweet pepper plants.

The are some small onions.

And this is one of my tomato plants....I have 3 that are looking great and one that plum died on me....oh well! I didn't want a Mr. Stripey tomato anyway...I haven't had success with those yet!

Anyway--it was so fun to be outside and see the growth of my little plants!

Happy gardening!

High Heels--Get your deck of cards!

Howdy all,

I love Fridays....they are the best....especially knowing that I can sleep in past 5:00am tomorrow is especially wonderful to my brain!

For this high heels workout, you need a deck of cards, your body, a mat, and some hand weights (if you choose an exercise like lateral lifts or something that requires weights, otherwise, you don't need the weights).

First assign each suit of cards to a specific task, for instance....
Clubs (or puppy dogs feet as we called them) could be sit ups
Hearts could be squats
Diamonds could be push ups
Spades could be lunges

Then assign something hard to the Jokers, like 10 burpees, or 30 mountain climbers....

Then do a normal 5 minute workout and then take a short jog to get you warmed up....

Then you go with the deck of cards....shuffle them....then start at the top....Whatever you draw, you have to do, so if you draw a 5 of hearts, do 5 squats. If you draw a king, queen, or Jack, then you do 15 or 20 of that item. After every 5 cards, go jog (or speed walk or run) another lap. Do that until the deck of cards is done!

Its a booger....but its a good workout!

And write down what you assign to each suit and put it where you can see it, because about half way you may forget what you assigned where.

Be good, eat healthy, splurge a little, and have a beautiful weekend!!!!

Heather

Work Through the Pain

Well, I am a week and a half into this round of boot camp workouts. This is the first time I have done the full throttle program of 5 days a week for an hour at 5:30am. I can't say that it is easy by any stretch, but I do love the way I feel and my clothes are fitting better and I have lost about 7 pounds in the last 3 weeks or so....I wanted to lose 10 pounds before my family pictures next Saturday, so that is totally do-able....I hope!

Anyway, this morning we did running intervals mixed in with arm thrashers. Basically we would run about 250 meters up hill then walk down, then run it again. After that, we did 30 seconds of push ups, 1 minute of band work with forward punches, 1 minute with butterflies with bands (like giving a big hug), then 30 seconds more of push ups. We did that set 3 times, so 6 sprints, and 3 rounds of arm thrashers....then after all that fun....we still had 30 minutes of torture left so we went up to the normal area and did a bunch of other stuff...which my brain has conveniently blocked out right now....it must have been that bad, I seriously cannot remember what all we did! Anyway, I do remember at one point we were doing sit up crunches....and we had already done a round or two....and it was hurting! So, as I was sitting there putting myself through this, I thought of the phrase the other boot camp trainer used all the time....

"It's mind over matter!" (pause) "If you don't mind, it doesn't matter!"

Meaning that it is just pain...work through it, meet it head on, go to it, and keep going....make yourself stronger! Basically to do it even if it hurts.

So, as I was doing this and probably trying not to think about how much my abs were hurting at this point, I started to think about that phrase and realized he is right. If you don't mind the pain, then it really doesn't matter if it hurts, you just keep going. I think there are a lot of things in life that are the same way...we may shy away from it because it may cause us pain...emotional or physical. But those are also pains that we have to work through....and we get stronger when we do.

I have kind of always had a paranoia about people I love dying...and although I know that there is a Heaven and that Families can be together forever and that I know that Jesus Christ was my Savior and that through Him, we can all be in Heaven together again someday...I still fear that pain. Even with knowing all that, its still hard to imagine the pain...and heartbreaking to go through....and even hard to fathom. However, if you realize that the pain can make you stronger and you rely on your faith and you persevere to not let it beat you...you will be stronger and it won't matter that there was pain, it will matter that you didn't let it stop you. I am not saying to not mourn or to feel bad if you are sore or depressed....just push through it, keep going, and overcome it.

We all hit walls in our life....even in a workout there are times when you feel like you are worn out....but when you push through it, it gets easier and you hit your stride and realize you are going faster or stronger than you were before.

So remember....it IS mind over matter....if you don't mind, it doesn't matter!

Push through the hard stuff...I know its hard and I know it hurts...but think of the strength you will glean from it when it is over.

Be Beautiful, People!

Who loves ya? I do!

Heather

P.S. Next week is SCRAPBOOKING WEEK! I am going to feature different things we did at the Scrapbooking retreat to hopefully inspire you to document your life!

P.P. S. For those who have lost loved ones...and if we haven't yet, we know we all will, my heart goes out to you. Its hard to get used to them not being around, we miss them terribly, we want them back...but I always try to focus on the big WELCOME HOME party that is going on in Heaven with all their loved ones who went before them....that has to be one fun party!

Conference References

For those who are LDS, its conference weekend and here are a couple of links to some good resources for entertaining those kids during the 2 hour meetings for church! This is compliments of my super talented and awesome friend Robyn! Thanks girl!


downloads.sugardoodle.net

http://d.scribd.com/docs/1y8qkrk113z9gvo5cbsu.pdf

Recession Gardening

Howdy all,

I hope this Monday morning is treating you all well. Mine started at 5:00am with another boot camp workout....I need to post another workout soon, and I will....I promise!

I heard on the radio the other day that Gardening is growing in popularity because of the financial recession that the US is in. People are trying to save money and be a little more self reliant so they are planting gardens. One figure even showed that you could spend as little as $50 on gardening supplies and your yield could be as much as $1200 worth of produce! WOW! That is a lot!

My garden is coming along nicely and I have found that I really enjoy being outside and working in it and my yard. We have done some work on our front yard too and I can't wait for the roses and other flowers to start growing and blooming so that they fill up their little spaces. Right now they are just twigs coming out of the ground....but soon they will be shrubs and beautiful, I am sure!

So, even if it is just planting a tomato plant because you like them....and they are so much better when you grow them....then just try it and see how it goes. I used to not like tomatoes....until one year someone brought me some small yellow pear tomatoes and I loved them....they are firm and tasty! I have one of those growing in my garden now and I hope that it booms with those yummy things, they make an excellent Tomato Vinaigrette Salad....I should post that recipe as well....will do. (Do you like how I talk to myself as I write?)

Anyway...if you think you have a brown thumb...then just get something that is hardy and needs very little care....just try it....you might like it....and its good to stretch and grow and learn new things, right?

Have a beautiful day...make your day beautiful, even if the odds are against ya!

Heather

Recipe: Basic Meatballs

This is a basic recipe for meatballs using ground beef. My husband and I both liked them so I thought I would post....I love a good meatball! This is from The Pioneer Woman (one of my favorite food blogger) website.

BBQ Meatballs - Comfort Food to the Max

Meatballs
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup oats
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons very finely minced onion
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
plenty of ground black pepper

Sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
4 to 6 tablespoons onion
Dash of Tabasco

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes.

Remove from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour.

Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish.
Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or crusty french bread.


Her sauce is a ketchup tasting sauce, similar to what I have had on meatloaf. If you don't want that kind of sauce, you could just use your favorite barbecue sauce or use a can or two of Cream of Mushroom Soup and it would be more like Swedish meatballs.

Healthy Living

There are a few things you can go....just little changes...that can help you to eat better and healthier. Here are a few suggestions.....please note....if you made a New Year's Resolution to eat better, it almost April! If you haven't started, then there is no time like the present!

This is what I would suggest.....

• Eat 3 small meals a day (like breakfast, lunch, and dinner) plus 2 snacks, one in the mid morning and one in the mid afternoon (which I like to call my after school snack even though I am not in school and am sitting at my desk).
• Include at least one fruit or vegetable with every meal and snack....French fries and the like do not count, even if they are the best thing since sliced bread.
• Speaking of sliced bread...eat whole grain breads, the white stuff sure is gooey and yummy but its just fluff and you body needs more!
• If you aren't big into eating fruits or veggies, then try to mix them in a smoothie. Carrots, Kale, and spinach are great add ons to a fruit smoothie and I hardly even notice they are there. Kale is a super food with lots of good stuff in it, so just throw it in an feel better. I have a fact sheet on kale I will have to post because it has lots of good stuff.
• For potatoes, substitute white ones with sweet potatoes....you will be surprised how easy it is to use them instead and they are packed with all sorts of goodness....and better for you...they even make great French fries, in fact I prefer them as french fries over white potatoes. I should probably post that recipe, I will sometime soon.
• Organic versus regular old produce. My husband read an article the other day from a nutritionist that asked him the question about which was better. He said most Americans get 7% of their nutrition from sodas....so really....just eat produce! While organic may have some benefits, its better to eat produce than drink a coke!
• If you are going out to eat to your favorite Mexican food restaurant.....eat something healthy and nutritious before you go....fill the void in your stomach so you don't eat as much. And, when they deliver your food, immediately ask for a "to go" container and take at least half and put it away. You are less likely to eat it if you cannot see it on your plate.
• Try to eat at home as much as you can, generally you will eat healthier there.
• Fill your home with nutritious and healthy foods, you are less likely to eat that bag of Cheetos if they are not there!
• My neighbor said his wife won't let him eat anything that ends with "i-to" and I think that is pretty funny, not Doritos, Cheetos, etc. Its pretty good advice. I love Cheetos but they are so calorie and fat full.
• Get forced exercise....park a little farther away, take the long way at the store, park on the other side of the mall from the place you are going (although that may cost you some money as you pass a sale.). Every step counts, so walk a little further.
• Find someone to get together with and cut up and prepare all your produce. I think its a fun idea to go buy everything and then get together and cut up all your veggies and wash everything so its ready to go! It will make your meal prep go quicker and you will actually use your produce more.
• Green bags--Get green bags or Tupperware or something that prolongs the life of your produce so that you aren't throwing away wilting lettuce.
• Buy groceries from a list that you prepared with your meals planned. It takes the hassle out of getting home and figuring out what to make for dinner.
• Try new things! Don't get in a recipe rut, branch out and look for healthier alternatives!

These are just a few suggestions but I hope they can inspire you or kick start you into some nutritional eating!

Stay dry, don't get blown away, or stay inside if its snowing...weird weather going on all over the place!

Love ya!

H

Book Club: The Last Lecture

Howdy Folks--

I am back from my retreat and back to the grind at work....sorry I have not been around to post lately but I will strive to be better about it!

Tonight I am recommending the book "The Last Lecture" by Paul Rausch. you may have heard of it, it is a best seller. It is about this man (true story) that is a professor at Carnegie-Mellon and he is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. At the school, they have a tradition of having a "last lecture" for people who are retiring or leaving and they gave him this opportunity since he was only given 3-6 months to live. He talks about life lessons and things he learned from others. Its a great book, a fast read, and I found it really inspiring in a non-depressing I am going to die kind of way. He faces his disease head on, does what he can to fight it, and is frank with his feelings and what legacy he was trying to leave his 3 very young children who may not remember him.

This is a great bedtime book, one of those books you can read before you go to bed and just read a little or a lot, it doesn't matter. All the "chapters" are his life lessons so its okay if you skip for a few days and then pick up reading again. His courage and grit I found inspiring....and I hope you will too!

Be beautiful people!

Heather

FHE: Food Storage Scavenger Hunt

I was talking to my friend Diane at boot camp this morning and she said for their Family night that they did a Food Storage Scavenger Hunt. She said the kids had to go find and figure out what foods they had and then report back and then they cooked with some of the food to make sure it was still good and should stay in the pantry/storage some more. She said the kids loved it and it was fun for all, plus she made dessert with some of the flour they had! YUM!

So, I thought I would pass along this idea to others because I thought it was creative and fun....who knows what I would find in my pantry!?!?

Love ya!
Heather

Recipe: Brie Mushroom Burgers

I experimented with the recipe last night and it turned out quite good. The mushrooms and onions in the burgers kept it moist and tasty and the brie was subtle but added a nice richness to it. This is how I did it. Since this was an experiment, I didn't take any pictures...so forgive me...but I had many requests for the recipe so here goes...

This is enough to make 3 decent hamburgers.

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground beef (leaner is better for your health but Chuck sure is good)
1/2 Large Portabella cap, finely chopped
1/2 large onion, minced
Whole Wheat Hamburger buns (or whatever your preference)
Hamburger fixins of your choice
salt and pepper--to taste
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash
1 tablespoon of olive oil
6 slices of brie


I took the pound of ground beef and put it in a bowl and seasoning it with salt, pepper, and Mrs. Dash. I use Kosher salt, and probably used about a teaspoon of each. Mix it up really good, you may have to use your hands.

Then I took the onion and mushroom and shopped them up to a fine chop or close to a mince. I wanted the pieces to be small so that they would evenly distribute throughout each hamburger patty and give flavor throughout. I then took the onion and mushrooms and sauteed them in some olive oil until they were golden brown on the edges and translucent....and you house smells wonderful! I then took those off the burner and let them cool a little.

Now its time to mix the beef and the mushroom/onion mixture. Mix it so that it is all evenly distributed and each bite gets a little of everything.

Now, lets form the patties! You will need to make 2 really thin patties to make one hamburger. Take one of the patties and place 2 slices of brie on it and then top with the other patty. pick up the patties and go around the edge and seal them up so that you cannot see the brie from any angle. Its like a secret pocket of yum on the inside. Form all the patties.

When its time to cook, I sprayed the pan with Pam and got the pan hot so that it would make a nice sear on the patty (because that is the way I like them). You don't want to turn them too much because they are kind of delicate with the brie in the middle. Place them in the pan and wait. When the bottom is nice and seared, it will release from the pan.....flip it over and wait. At this point I turned the stove top down to about middle heat. The leftover heat will sear this side and the lower heat will help cook it through. I left it on this side a few minutes longer to make sure it cooks through, then I covered the pan with foil and just set it aside so that the meat can rest and the ambient heat will continue to cook and keep it warm.

At this point I toasted the buns. Its also great to put the buns in the pan and kind of grill them in the pan with a little butter....but I was trying to cut a few calories so I just toasted them.

Then I fixed them up like a normal burger and we ate. I really like how juicy they were and you really don't notice the brie since it melts throughout the burger, its just the heightened flavor that rounds it out. If you love mushrooms and onions, you could top them with more sauteed ones and eat up!

Enjoy!

Heather

I have my hands full

Howdy all,

Sorry for abandoning the blog a little this week, its been a busy week. My husband has to work the late shift at work 2 weeks out of every semester and that has been this week! I have a great appreciation for military spouses and single parents because by last night, my little boy was just driving me crazy. So, we went to bed early so I could relax a little and have some quiet. I should clarify that we were in bed but my little one certainly wasn't to sleep early, he rolled around and sat up and was generally just restless, but he finally conked out! It doesn't help that this week I started to get up at 5:00 a m so that I could start my boot camp workouts, so after coming home from work, making dinner, and eating....I was spent! Its 8:00pm and I am thinking it would be lovely to take a nice long hot bath and tuck in for the night....but no....needless to say my kitchen is a mess. I at least got the dishwasher empty, but the dirty dishes are still on the counter. I hope I don't win the Publisher's Clearinghouse tonight and they come surprise me with a big check and film me walking in my kitchen!!!! (Okay, I might take the humiliation for a large amount of cash.....or even just an awesome pair of shoes.)

My accomplishment last night was that the living room was fairly decent because we did get the toys picked up....it seems like it only took about 12 hours for that to happen....I said the phrase "put the letters in the bag" about 87 times as he would get distracted while "cleaning up". Poor little guy was probably thinking "but mom, this is the letter R and I REALLY like this letter." and I was thinking "I think he has put 2 letters in that bag in the last 5 minutes." Oh well, I slept well and got to sleep in until 6:00 a m since I didn't have normal boot camp today.

Today my goal is going to be to not get sick! My throat has been sore for 2 days so I am trying to drink warm liquids, take my meds, and heal! Its probably allergies that were blown in with this cold front....did I mention it went from 70 to 50 within a few hours on Wednesday and its been rainy and in the 40s since. We needed the rain, but the cold with the rain sure does make it miserable....unless you are one of those people who gets to stay inside, snuggle in your PJs and read a good book with some liquid chocolate in an amazingly cute mug....if you are one of those people....I am envious...green with it!

So, I leave next week for my scrap booking retreat so I will have some ideas and new crafts from that. I will also try to post some fun things before I go!

Stay Safe and be good! Remember to do something beautiful for yourself today!

Heather

High Heels Workout--You just need to bring your body

I know many of you are saying that you can't really workout because you don't have a gym membership...or weights....or an eliptical machine.....etc, etc, etc.

My answer to this statement.......OH YES YOU CAN!

You don't really need all that stuff....a small set of 5 pound weights are hand and a yoga mat for sit ups and push ups is nice...but you can also use a towel or the carpet if you have to and bottles of water or canned goods can work as weights.

They key is to use your body as your weight. I have rejoined my Adventure Bootcamp group and it has been so motivational for me and I feel so great when I workout....I want you to feel that way too. I have started to get up at 5:30am and go workout for an hour...that is 5:30 in the morning....I know, I know, its EARLY but its worth it and you are worth it and you will sleep better and need less of it....so just stop your complaining and GO!

Here is what I want you to do....here is a workout with just you, yourself, and I. You can do it in close proximity to your home, I promise!

To warm up....start at one end of your driveway and go to the other end
(if your driveway is 5 feet long, you will need to go longer, more like at least 40 feet and if your driveway is a mile long...then shoot for an area that is close to 40-50 feet long.

Start at one end and go to the other end and then turn around and come back...doing this as a warm up....

• High knee steps....walking, not too fast, just stretch out those muscles
• Hurdler steps....do one leg down and the other leg back, just pretend like the one leg is the back leg going over a hurdle.
• Mummies-arms out straight and straigh-ish legs
• Hiney kickers--a quick jog where you kick your hiney as you run
• arch touch walk00with each step you touch the opposite hand to the opposite arch on your foot
• High knees Fast-jog this time getting those knees up
• Giant steps-basically a walking lunge
• Grapevine--turn sideways and walk sideways alternating feet in front and back

Okay--Now that you have done that, you are a little warmed up....so go run a little loop...it might just be to your neighbors house 2-3 doors down but jog down there and jog back.

**Back at your home base, now do 10 push ups...then run another little lap....

Back at home base, now do 10 sit ups, run/jog/fast walk to the end of the drive and back to home base.

Do 10 squats and 10 lunges, and run/jog to the end of the drive and back to home base.

Now run another little loop.

And then do it all again starting at the **

Now...be sure to stay hydrated and drink lots of water....it does a body good!

Okay, now lets work on some arms....go to a wall on your house on the outside and do 20 wall push ups. Then, hold your arms out so your body makes a T shape and do small arm circles for 20 seconds and then big arm circles for 20 seconds. then repeat starting with the wall push ups.

Now get you a yoga mat or a towel and lay down for sit ups. Do 20 standard sit ups, then put your feet in the air and do 30 crunches (10 in the center and 10 to the left and right). Now get up and go run another little loop.

Come back and lay back down for sit ups and do that rotation again but cut everything in half, so start with 10 standard sit ups instead of 20. Try to do them faster than you did last time.

Now, roll over and do push ups....for 30 seconds, just do as many as you can. Roll over and do 10 crunches, then roll back over and do 30 seconds more of push ups. You can do it!

Okay, now lets stretch out those muscles we just used....

Sit on the ground with your legs out straight and bed forward and hold for 15 seconds, then come up and do it again, this time going farther down. Don't forget to breath!

Now, pull bend your right leg and cross it over your left straight leg and pull it in (hug it). Do the other side. Hold those about 20 seconds.

Roll over on your tummy and go up into cobra, which is laying down flat and then pushing your shoulders up...just go up to your elbows if that is all you can do, if you can go on your hands, so that and stretch out that back. Now get on your hands and knees and stretch that back into an arch like a cat.

Take some deep breathes and feel good! You may be sore tomorrow, but that is a good sign because it shows your body that you are moving and using muscles that may have been a little dormant! Stay hydrated and eat a fruit or veggie with every meal or snack.

Be fine in 09!

Heather

Daylight Savings Reminder

For those who live in areas with Daylight Savings....its tonight...ugh....I hate loosing an hour of sleep, I don' get enough as it is! Maybe I should just go to bed now and compensate for it!

So, 2:00am becomes 3:00am....blek!

Gardening: A tree Planter

Purple Petunia's in a tree planter area!

This is one of the projects we worked on today and I was surprised at how quickly it went. I went to Home Depot (since it was the kid's free workshop day) and bought these gray edging pieces. They are somewhere between $1.33-$1.43 each, depending on whether you want the curved ones or the straight ones. I bought 12 thinking that would be enough and actually had 2 left over, but if we had tweaked the circle a little, we could have made it bigger and used all of them. I bought 2 bags of soil, one was a gardening mix that was less than $4 and one was a topsoil that was less than $2. The flowers are purple Petunia's that were just beautiful and vibrant and I got a flat of 18 of them for $11. So, for somewhere around $30-$35, I put in this planter and planted the flowers and it looks so much better than it did before. I took the 2 bags of soil and put one on one side of the circle and the other on the other side and then mixed them before I planted them. I put the edging stones around first and then filled with the soil and planted, then watered. They are so pretty and it really took no time at all.

So, do something to spruce up your environment! Add a planter or a edge row and put in some color. Just be sure to buy a flower that can take whatever kind of sun you get there. This part gets full sun for us because the tree is still young but a bigger tree would offer more shade and you could go with a partial shade flower.

Make your world beautiful!

Just a reminder:Home Depot Kid's Workshop is tomorrow!

Remember that tomorrow is the FREE Home Depot Kid's Workshop from 9am-12 pm. They are doing a little race thing for cars but I bet the girls would love it too!

Random thoughts:Where in the world have I been?

I am sorry that I have been a MIA blogger this pas couple of weeks. The only explanation is that I have been BIT...BIT, I say by the gardening bug and I have been working on getting my raised beds in. I thought I would chronicle a little of it so you can see why I have been away from the old computer and blog.

First, we talked and discussed where we should put our beds....we analyzed the light, because morning sun is better than blazing hot afternoon sun for most things, so its better to plant on the east side of a north facing house. Plus, there are parts of our yard that will get just full out sun all the time, and that would probably kill many a plant.

Once we decided that, I drew up plans for the back yard....all those years as a landscape architecture major (2 years before I switched) paid off in that I can draw up some fairly decent garden plans...plus I had grid paper, which always helps!

So, I drew up plans and then figured out the height, width, and length of beds and then calculated how much dirt I would need for each one and bla bla blah blah blah....I really did all that and have done it numerous times since the first time I drew it up when I changed my mind. So then, we decided we would have 5 cubic yards of dirt delivered to our driveway...it arrived a little over a week ago on Monday afternoon. At first I thought it wasn't as much dirt as I thought it would be...and then as we started moving it shovel full by shovel full...we realized that every grain of that 5 cubic yards was there.

(For those who need to know how to figure cubic yards, take your weight times your height times your length of your bed and divide it by 27...that is how you figure cubic yards...or at least that is what I was told...if I am wrong let me knoiw but it worked pretty well for us.)

So, we started on Monday night and worked from the time we got home and changed clothes until it was dark, so from an hour and a half to 2 hours. We did the same thing Tuesday, and Wednesday...and we got 2/3 of the dirt moved into place.

After all my measuring and planning, this is what we did. We just picked kind of scientifically, kind of randomly...5 cubic yards to be delivered and figured we would just use it until it was gone and then order more if we needed it. We also didn't want to order so much that we couldn't park in our driveway for weeks.

This picture below was taken when we only had about 1/3 of the dirt left...so you can imagine how much it was when it was all there....



This picture kind of shows you what we were doing. We had the dirt delivered to the back of our driveway and then we would shovel it into the wheel barrow ($30 at Wal Mart for the wheel barrow), and take it to the fence where the beds would go, and then dump it. Our beds are about 4 feet wide, 12 inches deep, and probably 50-55 feet long.

Here is one a little closer up (and probably actually taken before the one above).
We just dumped the dirt in the general area where it would go. now most people would probably make their beds first, but this is the way my husband wanted to do it so I just went along. I probably would have made the beds like the link I will post at the bottom, but his way worked just fine and I am happy with it...see, sometimes you have to compromise in a marriage and just let the man win or at least let him think he was right. :)

Then, once the dirt was placed, we took untreated cedar planks that are 6 feet long and laid them next to it.

Then he pounded wooden stakes to keep them upright and then went through and put stakes on the other side. Notice in the above picture the large sledge hammer....my husband paid a lot of money for that...its an 8 pound sledge....he said its something he always wanted....men....

Then we went through and evened out the dirt and finished it all off. It was really easy to do it his way, plus he wants to eventually replace the wood with stone, so he said this is an easy way to do that. If you come to my house in 5 years and there is still wood there, don't be too surprised, but we can dream that we will have stone there someday.

And now it is late and here was the last shot of the night as the sun went down!

Finito!

I should explain that the beds do not look 12 inches deep from here...our side yard is sloped down, so the edge where the cedar is will only be about 6 inches deep but it quickly drops to 12.

So, we finished all that on Saturday and tonight we started to transplant some plants and to get things ready to plant. We have been hardening off some of the other plants so they can go out this weekend. The last average frost/freeze date of the year for us is March 3rd, so we can plant our tomatoes on Saturday!

More pictures to come as we go along....really, its been so fun. The exercise has been good...the family time has been great...and being outdoors in the lovely weather we have had has been really nice. On Saturday, it was 50 and really windy, but we just bundled up in our sweatshirts and went about our business.

Now...its planting time! More to come....

...and for those of you who could't give a hoot about gardening, don't worry, I have other things I will talk about soon...like RETREAT is in 2.5 weeks and I will have my 3 days of scrpabooking with my sisters and friends and I can't wait!

If you want a step by step instructions with pictures on how to make really nice free standing beds, here http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/2009/02/build-your-own-raised-flowervegetable-bed/

PW does a great job of telling you how to do it.

Now plant something...its the green thing to do!

Love ya!

H

Recipe: Blueberry Pound Cake

This recipe is from my friends the Strattons. I made it last night for our monthly birthday celebration at work and received lots of compliments and it was almost gone by the time I left. Its a nice cake because it tastes like it could even be a breakfast cake....similar to a blueberry muffin but still cake like...very yummy!

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-cup butter, softened
1-tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 eggs
3 cups flour, divided
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thaw if frozen
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (I leave them out)

Preheat oven to 325.

In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time until well blended.

Mix 2 cups flour and baking powder; gradually beat into creamed mixture until smooth.

Mix blueberries, pecans and remaining flour until coated. Carefully fold into batter.




Sprinkle 1 tablespoon granulated sugar into bottom of a bundt cake pan, then pour in batter.

Bake 1 hour 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Invert on cooling rack; cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when serving.

Silly me, I forgot to take a picture of it once I turned it out...sorry! But its really a lovely cake. I suppose you could also drizzle it with a little mixture of powdered sugar and milk...but I was trying to save some calories.

Enjoy!

Hmmm, that is interesting

My sister just called to tell my that the words on my blog were not shoing up....so I checked and sure enough...she is right! So, I went into the settings and everything was set correctly so I reset a few things and the words are back. I don't know how long that was going on...but I apologize!

I will hopefully post some more tonight...I spent the weekend working on my garden beds and I have pictures!