mom

so i love mom sooooo much. she has loved me through everything. i have worn the most rediculous things sometimes and all she does is look at me and smile.

the last few months have been hard with joe leaving and the last few weeks she has been awesome. she has listened to all of my blubbering at 11:30 at night when she was about to go to bed but she would stay up and talk to me. she usaed to stay up with me to finish book reports the night before they were due but now we stay up to talk. if i get home at 10pm she is dead tired but will stay up for a while to talk about how my day went and how i was doing. i love her a ton for that.

i dont know what i would do with out mom in my life. she has done so much for all of us and i know there is no way to thank her. all we can do is love her as much as we can back!!

i love you mom!! you are truly the best! love your little naomi

Well I have a second while Kayla babbles an intense conversation on the phone she has pressed up to her ear. (which is actually the iPod)

I just wanted to share that I have been keeping a food log again for three days now. I could tell I was really off track and decided I needed to get focused again. Yesterday I ate too much but today I have kept it to a minimum so I can indulge a little bit for dinner!

Life is too short too stress out about it, but it feels great when you feel like you are on track huh?

Love you all

Returning from the Wild...

hey, i'm not a slacker. i love you guys and am dropping a post just to let you know i love you all and haven't abondoned healthiness...although it may have abondoned me. But we're all working on it.

Mostly Stuff

Well I think we know who the slackers are in the family... (N, R, and M).

I wanted to say hallo to all the Medley girls. And say that I am officially in pig out mode again. I can't help it. I'm hungry all the time. It's nursing, I know, of course, but I do need to exercise some self control. On the brighter side, I think I've lost five pounds. I've been more active lately and just getting up and doing more. I would have lost a lot more if I would have been eating better!!

One of my favorite late night snacks is steamed edamame, so that has really helped! I bought a double stroller finally and plan to really use it this coming fall and winter. These seasons are the more 'active' seasons in Florida since the summers are too hot to do anything.

All of my love and keep posting! I miss you all in my Florida exile! :)

Mom as wife

Hey, I remember meeting her when she was a young woman. Literally. She was a senior in High School and I was a freshman at HSU. We dated. Once we decided to get married - we kept pushing up the date. We were excited to do all that cool stuff that goes with marriage. You know. The stuff you dream about - washing clothes together, going to Church together. All the stuff marrried couples enjoy. Ah, the passion of youth. She was what today is termed 'real'. No makeup. No funky hairdo. Just a down to earth, righteous hippy type. That was about 35 years ago. We still enjoy married life. You know. Washing clothes together, going to Church together. All the stuff marrried couples enjoy. Some things never change... Dad

Spotlight on Mom

I am totally in on this idea, Hannah, it's perfect!!

Mom is friendly. She can talk to anyone, anywhere. She never holds back, acts shy or acts too cool for anyone. We have followed her example. She lifts up the broken hearted, sad, and lonely everywhere.

Mom is thorough. This is something I appreciate now that I'm older and don't have any chores for her to inspect! When someone asks her to "plan a treasure hunt" or "be in charge of Women's Conference", you better believe it's going to be the most well-thought-out, most prepared task you will ever witness. The same goes for everything in her life.

Mom is thrifty. I haven't been back to Eureka in over a year, but I bet money she's still using the same tupperware containers for baking soda and salt that she did 20 years ago.

Mom is complimentary. This is something that as a mother is so important! She was constantly telling us that we as her children were the greatest piano players and were gifted in so many ways. It was such a confidence builder and has really carried over into my confidence as an adult. I can honestly say that I have no manic issues associated with my mother at all. Which is more than some can say!

Mom is loyal. She sticks with you. Especially the scouting program. She still, at the age of 50, involves herself and her whole heart into the small ward scouting program in Eureka. She had us attend and support the small youth program in our ward. No excuses. She's been Grama Dotty's support even when times got tough. She's got friends that she's had for a thousand years. Because people love her and she sticks with people, even if she's sick of it.

Mom, you've got amazing qualities and I'm so thankful the Lord has given us to you.

Love.
Sarie

A Fun Idea.

Okay guys, so i was thinking that it would be really fun to do a spotlight on someone and keep it going so everyone gets a chance.
I think that we should name a reason or two or three about each person in our sister blog group (could be a memory, quality, etc).
We will start with Mom then go Oldest to Youngest. The last person that posts about Mom will start the next circulation with Rachel, hope that makes sense.

MOM:
Mom's personality is full of charismatic qualities.
Mom loves us even when we are not showing perfection in our lives.
I know that Mom loves me individually and also loves each of her children individually.
Mom is the perfect example of patience and long suffering (she suffered long with all of us)
I feel like Mom always supports my decisions.
Mom is always so happy to share ideas, insights and listen to my stories.
Mom, thank you for teaching all of us to love eachother and love life.

Love you MOM!


****Now every one takes a turn in posting a spotlight blog for Mom! Have fun!

itsa me! anaomi!!

ok so here is a little bit about my health and happiness at the present time. my health has been great until wednesday when my face decided to break out into this weird rash. we thought that it might be herpes or something but i went to doctor craigs and he said it looked more like a reaction to something. so i have had to deal with this on my face for the last half of the week.

this is something that i have done to contribute to my happiness. i was down cuz of the thing on my face, i got up friday morning and made myself a "feel-good breakfast." eggs with some 'meatless meat' that rachel got when she was here, toast with blackberry jam and a glass of milk. my friday got off to a great start.

so this is my first blog post. short and sweet. i've gotta get used to it!

10 Reasons I Love This Blog

1. It is a place I can talk freely because my girls and I think alike, we laugh at the same things and value each other's differences.
2. I don't have to maintain a blog of my own and worry that no one is reading it.
3. It movitates me to do something worthy of writing about, which is always a good step for me.
4. I am not alone in my weight loss and general health and happiness issues.
5. I can laugh at myself safely, and have plenty of giggling company.
6. I love trying new recipes, sharing ones of my own and giving advice.
7. The name of the blog is perfect because it reminds me that we are not about weight loss in this family, but truly our health and happiness.
8. I know all of you are reading this.
9. It is a connection for all of us, my closest friends and most beautiful people in the world.
10. We can blow our horn or bear our souls and the love just deepens.

Lose for Good

"Lose for Good" is a current drive Weight Watchers is doing for the next six weeks. Each member's weight loss is recorded for each of the six weeks and then we sent them in to corporate, where they add it to all the weight lost in the world through WW. Then WW will donate the equivalent of one pound of food for every pound lost by the members during the drive, up to one million dollars.

Let's have fun and do that amongst us girls (and the guy(s) who can afford to join us). You call (or email) your loss for the week, or whatever, then I will put on the counter a pound of food for each pound lost by us in the next six weeks and then I will take a picture of it, post it on this blog and then I will take it to the St.VDP soup kitchen or the Food For People. It can be our little monument to something more than just our own weight loss. Starting a week or so from now, either email or call in your weight loss and I will post the total here. No more than 1-2 lbs each is healthy, but I will take whatever you give me and add mine in too. I am needing this way more than all of you! Be sure to weigh yourself today (unless you went to WW and weighed in this week already). Very important.

Questions, just call me.
In 2000, 1.1 billion people were underfed in the world. And 1.1 billion people were overweight.

Back from the Dead...and left a little behind...

Hey wonderful sisterhood of the thinning-pants...I'm back.

I realized how much I've been out of the loop when I got on and there is a slew of posts that I haven't even ever seen for scrolls on end! But school now starting and having my own apartment, my life might be a little more even paced...but then again, maybe not. 

Meanwhile here is a good success story that I didn't even see coming. 

So, a few days back Aaron and I both bet each other a foot massage (don't be alarmed mom) that we weighed more than the other. The kid is a beanpole like Jared so I was quite confident that I would win. We finally came across a scale in Sports Authority today and jumped on to determine the case. Aaron weighed in at 138.8. Oooh, it was in the bad, I thought. Last weigh in at weight watchers was 145-ish and having eaten terribly lately I though there was only one wat it could go. So, I hopped on for my turn...140.1....uh, I was rather shocked. Granted, I weighed more than him, but only by 1.3 pounds! So, I won the bet AND I've lost weight. I couldn't believe it. 

So, there you have my unexpected success story. And this is good news since I'm working towards running a 5K next friday night. My first...and maybe my last. No, I'm excited. It's one of my life aspirations. I'll give a report. 

A Very Happy Wednesday

So... I was feeling a little less than up beat today after work and knew I needed a little therapy. I decided that I was going to search the pantry and throw together a healthy meal. Here is what I found:
5 frozen chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Zesty Italian Dressing
Garlic powder with parsley
course ground pepper

Frozen bag of edemame (Rachel bought it when she was here and I forgot it was still there!)
salt

half a bag of red potatoes
canola spread
milk


First, I made the sauce for the chicken by mixing the cream o muchroom, a bit of zesty italian dressing, garlic/parsley powder, black pepper and a little water.
Then, I thawed and trimmed the chicken.
Next, I placed the chicken in a casserol dish and poured the sauce on top. I baked that at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

I boiled the potatoes, cut up. Then I drained them and added the milk and canola spread to taste and texture. Then I added black pepper and garlic powder.

Next, I boiled the edamame for a few minutes, drained and salted the heck out of it.

I really don't know why but this was so theraputic. I have been spending so much time studying anatomy and physiology with sean and so much time worrying about school and money that I have been forgetting to do little things like that for myself. It was fun and it made a Wonderful dinner!

Lean times are the best times!

Being on a budget, tight or loose is the lot of many and brings tears and frustration as well as enterprise and adventure. I am afraid I have succumbed to the former way too often, missing out on the adventures. Working full or part time and being a mom adds a lot of stress as well.

Humbly I suggest a fun exercise that has helped pull me out of a few slumps in my attitude:

Take a piece of regular paper and fold it in half to make two columns. Write on the top of one column "lower cost" and the other "expensive". Now I know that there are times in our lives when EVERYTHING is expensive, but just work with me here and even pray about it if you need to.

Now for a week or two, carefully fill out the paper during trips to the store, or looking at newspaper ads. Write only healthy items, placing them in the appropriate column. Write it in pencil so you can change things around if you need to. Write approximate prices as this will help as the list gets longer. You will face a long list of expensive things, believe me, but make finding less expensive things a mission of yours. Be sure to avoid the one trip/complete the list technique. This can lead to losses of findings that take several forays.

When the list begins to speak to you, start making notes on the meals, recipes and menus that can be created for your family. Letting go of the treats that cost a lot is the biggest challenge, but with herbs, spices and determination, it can be done. Remember that someday it won't be so hard (I am still awaiting that day!). When family helps financially sometimes, be sure to write thank you notes and then resist the urge to satisfy the spurge urge. Wise use of these generous offerings brings strength and trust.

Hope this helps. I think it is time for me to do it again. My paper is sitting right here folded and ready to go. Let's share our insights as we go. Being rich is never this much fun! Of course, how would I know?

By the Way, do any of you remember the month that I served the exact same dinner every night? Turkey, steamed rice, vegetable medley, and salad. It was so inexpensive, nutritous, simple and I appreciated what much of the struggling world doesn't have (and what we do have). I bought one turkey which lasted the whole week, a bag of rice lasted the whole month, vegis I bought every few days. It took you all about a week and a half to notice we were eating the same thing every night!

Good luck, girls.
Love you all so much. Mom

Seeking Ideas, Please Help!

I need a little help and I know there are good ideas floating out there!
So this semester and for the next about 6 months we are super duper poor, like poorer than we have ever been since we have been married. (this is due to a few factors such as, school books, hospital bill for surgery, tutor for Sean and other various things). Since I have been all about the health, I have been able to afford things like fresh fruit, All Bran crackers, almond thins from Costco AND I just ran out of all the one and two point bars that I got in Eureka.. sad! So now that I am fresh out of sweet tooth satisfiers and have very very little to buy food, what do I do? I am lost without my fresh fruit, all bran crackers and Weight Watchers treats! So since we have all experienced "shopping within a budget" in our lives, I know that you all must have some great ideas. Please help! Love you all:)

One Point Bran Muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix in bowl:
2 cups Kellogs All-Bran Cereal
1½ cups cups skim milk
Set aside for 15 minutes.

Then add:
1¼ cups flour
¼ cup sugar
1TBS+1tsp baking powder
1½ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup no-sugar applesauce
¼ cup egg substitute
½ raisins

Mix together until just blended. Pour into 12 muffin cups and bake 20 minutes.
Served hot is best.
You can substitute for the applesauce ¼ cup apple butter or ½ cup chopped fresh apple or .
And instead of the raisins, you can use ½ cup blueberries or ¼ cup dried cranberries, although the cranberries will raise the point value, I'm afraid.

They are very satisfying and delish. I got it from a friend who had found it a few years ago in a Weight Watchers Cookbook. It is not on Core, but for a low point breakfast using one of your 35 point allowance, it is great.