My Day Off

We had decided that Saturday would be our day off from dieting but for some reason I went ahead and stuck with it anyway...sort of. I did sneak in some nachos (gotta love those) earlier but worked out twice today (the second time out of anger) so I think it went rather well. LOL Nothing beats a stepper and some angry metal when you're mad.

I am really feeling great even though I have been up for now more than 16hrs! This has been one heck of a day and I'm SO ready to hit the hay. My eyes are barely open as I type and I still have at least 5 more hours to go...do you think I'll make it? Probably not! LMAO! Well, at least I'm getting used to routine and working out instead of drinking my issues away. I'm thinking I may have a beer or two before bed but I may just pass out before that happens anyway.

Ridin High

We REALLY need a new car...make that two. LOL! DH's car is just WAY too small for us. It's so hard to pack everything we need in it, let alone go grocery shopping. The parents have a ford expedition which is WAY better but they weren't thinking very well and didn't get the extended version. So, we have plenty of seating but no room in the back to put stuff if we need to. Shopping is such a bear when we have like six people with us. My uncle really likes his audi tt and swears by it, although he likes his VW too. He just likes German cars period I think, so his opinion might be a bit biased.

Ever since I was young I always wanted a jeep grand cherokee. There's something about the jeep that I liked when I drove them. I couldn't stand our ford and felt awful when I turned down an offer from my friend's parents to get their ford taurus for cheap. It wasn't really a good fit for me anyway. I'm trying to get DH to read all these car reviews that I found on this site in hopes that he'll lean towards an SUV. He's a regular car kind of person and it drives me nuts. LOL There's just too many of us now to be trying to squeeze into a little car whether it has four doors or not. I know they aren't the greatest on gas and the enviornment but now that there are hybrids at least there's hope something will be better. The reviews are really good and thorough so I've got my fingers crossed!

Are You Covered?

We are just some of the millions of people in this country that are living uninsured. Sure we have some but not nearly all that we need in case anything were to happen to us. It's kind of scary if you think about it and I am praying that Obama will make good on his promise to bring our care back up to where it should be. Nothing is affordable for all and so many of us have to live without it that it's mind blowing.

DH really wants to get some free insurance quotes and he's due to check for auto insurance quotes since he's not happy with what he has and it's time for a change anyway. We've been searching all over and found a place to get all this and all kinds of other insurance quotes too. Thank goodness they are all in one spot. It saves SO much time, which is something we always seem to be short on. You can get everything from health to home insurance quotes there. It's fantastic. I'm so glad for the internet now a days. ;o)

Kindred Spirits

One of my favorite movies when I was little was (and still is) Anne of Green Gables. The whole idea of Anne being a misfit with life testing her and overcoming it all with grace and dignity was such a inspiration to me. I always wondered what it would be like to be like her and have a "Diana" in my life that I knew right away was someone I was meant to be friends with. No backstabbing, lying, or self consciousness just the purity of friendship at it's finest. I wasn't sure if I'd ever truly have such a relationship and left it at that.

Last year during my blogging endeavor I met someone and right away we knew. She was the friend who was the "me" living another life some where else in the world. The longer we talked the more we found out exactly how similar our lives have been. It actually is SO much so that it freaked us out for a while. Everything from the way we behave right down to the crappy parenting that resulted in us raising ourselves. We have differences but they are few in comparison.

I haven't really said this before but I am SO relieved and thankful to finally have a true kindred spirit in my life. She's someone I know that I can call and she'll know exactly what I'm talking about and how I'm feeling. More times then not, we are on the same wavelength and we hardly have to explain in detail what's going on. We've been friends for almost a year now and it seems like we've known each other our entire lives. I just wanted to take this moment to say "thank you" and let everyone know not to take people for granted. They are there for a reason.

Vacation Wanted

We're always dreaming about taking a vacation and trying to find all kinds of places to add to our list. DH found a really interesting one (because he's always looking for places to fish). Who would have ever thought that there is now a Gettysburg camping ground? It's probably the most creative pa rv camping ground that I've seen yet. They are located right around and next to all sorts of historical places to visit so that would be really interesting for DS. The cabins that they have look fantastic...who knew that Gettysburg camping could be so confortable?

Summer would be even more fun would be if we could do a rv camping Gettysburg trip I think. We've never done rv camping before and since the DD is still so young it might be really nice to have our own accomidations and not bother so many other happy campers. Boy that would make some sort of trip, huh? We'd never be welcomed back. LOL!

Digital Dilemma

So, I know that we can't possibly be the only people in America that can't really use those oh so fabulous digital converter boxes that have been put out. We have one hooked up to our old rooftop antenna but otherwise we can't pick up any sort of signal at all. It's a nightmare.

After much trial and a whole lotta error we have settled on the idea that we will have to order a service. We've been avoiding it because we really don't have the money to spend continually but now it's time for sure. The great part is that they are all offering fantastic deals and I'm very pleased with the ones DirecTV has. I was really impressed with the variety that they put into all their packages so that there's something for everyone to watch. Another thing DirecTV offers is the no equipment fee thing. I love that too! We'd better order ours soon before the DirecTV specials end and we're stuck with somethin that we won't be happy with.

O M G!

Okay, So I was up early enough to watch my Saturday run of cooking shows on PBS and O M G. WHAT IS THAT ON HIS HEAD?!?!?! I cannot believe that he thinks this hair-do is something that he wants to show the entire world. All I can keep thinking is "I wonder what his wife thinks?!" I feel SO awful for her. LMAO! I really do like watching Ming Tsai do his thing with his creative fusian cooking but I really couldn't do much more than laugh with this show. Some one PLEASE tell him to chop the mop!

Market Money

One thing that I've always wanted to do is learn about day trading. I know that it can be risky and since I know nothing about stock trading it doesn't help at all. I am such an uninformed person when it comes to this kind of stuff. I don't even know what an online broker does. It's pretty sad. LOL

I started looking into it all again and ended up finding a really helpful site that explains a lot of what trading and stocks is all about. Anything explaining anything is really useful to me. They also explain just about everything they do for you as well, so there are no hidden fees and thing that could take your money away from you. Transparency is very nice to see when it comes to money. I'm sure if I read up enough I'll eventually become comfortable with online trading and start testing the waters a bit. Of course, some money would help too. LOL!

Learning How to Budget

Growing up I was really bad with my money. In my family we didn't talk about how much we had, any debt, or anything like that at all. All I was taught was "to save, save, save". Well, a lot of good that did. I wound up in big time debt and haven't ever been able to bring myself out of it. I'm just glad that if something comes out of it at all it's that I can teach my kids what to do to keep them out of trouble, which isn't what was taught to me.

One thing that would help anyone is having a prepaid debit card. By having one of these it can teach you how to budget, manage what you do have, and not become over zealous and just keep charging away if you can get one that stops at your limit. I have found a good one that doesn't have high monthly fees and does stop at your limit so that you don't end up with all kinds of over-limit fees and such. That's probably one of the things that got me into trouble when I was younger. I wasn't thinking and would just charge like nothing without paying attention to my budget. If I would have had one of these cards and not regular credit cards, I think that it would have saved me a lot of money and helped to teach me about managing my finances. At least I know now and can pass it along.

Pork-The Other White Meat

I'm really not a big fan of pork. When you take away all of the fat, it's just not all that tasty and it ends up drying out. Of course frying it solves all that but then you do add fat to it. The best way to do it is to fry it at a high heat so that the meat has less time to absorb any extra grease. This has to be my absolute favorite pork recipe because it's SO easy, SO fast, and is SO yummy. We serve ours with steamed rice and veggies so it helps to offset the fat. LOL Hope you like it!

Fried Pork Chop Recipe

Ingredients:

• Pork chops (bone in or out)
• Bisquick mix
• Ranch salad dressing mix
• Oil
• Ziploc or plastic zipper bag

Rinse pork chops (do not dry) and put in a large Ziploc bag. Combine Bisquick with ranch mix in a shallow large shallow bowl. Place porkchop in mix and press, flip, and press again. Cover it in mix and let sit while the oil heats. Repeat this with the rest of the meat as you cook. Fry until golden and you're done!

Fitness Tools

Okay, I promise this is my last live healthy, fitness post for a little while. LOL But, I had to throw in how much I really want an elliptical machine! I have a treadmill (desperately needs to be replaced), a mini stepper (that I love), and a ton of random stuff (that I hardly ever use). I came seriously close to getting an elliptical machine for free but I came across it too late. Such a bummer!

My daily routine now involves exercise, for a bare minimum of 30mins everyday. I make sure I stretch before and after each workout and drink plenty of water through out the day too. It feels SO good knowing that I'm moving and not just sitting on my butt all day. Being at home makes it really easy to do that. I am still looking for ways to make it a little more fun. Of course I have my music on but that only takes me so far because I really love working out on machines, which is much easier to do at the gym than at home. I found a great site that has some decently sized (and priced) ellipticals, so hopefully I can get one from there soon. Sometimes they can be super huge and a compact one is much better for our house. I can't wait to get one!

Heart Healthy

There has been SO much positive attention on heart disease in women lately with the Go Red for Women campaign, and I'm really glad about that. Heart disease is the #1 killer of women and it's about time that someone is focusing on it. Women just don't take as much care of themselves as they should. We put so much into our families and even work and hardly anything for ourselves. Since I'm going through this whole life change, I have such a new outlook on things and being healthy is one of them.

The best part is that a couple of companies have joined in the fight and are donating $.10 from every specially marked product to the American Heart Association. You also earn points towards each purchase which you can choose to donate, bid in auctions, and earn prizes. All you have to do is purchase marked products from Fresh Express and Chiquita. We all need a change in how we eat and this is a fantasic way to help a cause at the same time. I know I'm in, how about you? I encourage everyone to go to www.freshpromise.net and sign up to help fight something that effects us all everyday!

Yay Me!

I'm really excited! I've lost 4lbs this week...woohoo! I've finally been exercising and eating right in hopes to reach my goal of 28lbs lighter by May. I know I can do it!

It definitely helps to have my friends doing it with me. I know that I'm not alone and that I can complain, whine, share experiences, and celebrate with someone that is doing it too. Having support has been a huge part of ever day life for me in the last year. I make sure to surround myself with people and everything ends up going well. It's amazing what a few words of encouragement can do for you.

Tax Time

Well, it's that time of year again. This year I have started working for myself so taxes aren't going to be as easy as they used to be. I have a friend who is going to school to become an accountant but I have no idea which kind so I'm not sure how much help she's going to be for me but she's gotta know SOMETHING.

I may need to find myself an accounting firm or something to help me out this year to maximize my deductions. Thank goodness for he internet because I have no idea what kind of accountant I need and I can look up all the goods on an accounting firm. It can be so hard to find one that is looking out for you and not themselves. I found a cool website that has lots of FAQs that are helpful and you can find the right person for you too. Anyway, I'm so bad with this stuff that I don't even know what a chartered accountant is and what they do. It would be helpful if I knew what I wa looking for. LOL!

Dessert Dilema

I have finally realized exactly how bad my habit of dessert eating is. One thing that my friends and I are doing is creating a weekly goal for ourselves and this week mine is baked goods. Not one cookie, piece of cake, pie, brownie...nothing.

It's only been a day or two and I've already gone into withdrawal. I didn't know how much this was going to actually affect me. I'm really glad that I have decided to do this because now I'm discovering a host of things that I was never really aware of. I knew I would have a cookie or two for dessert every other night or so but I didn't realize that my mental state was SO attached to the idea of it. I realize, but never thought too hard about it, that you can be in denial without "being in denial". If you aren't consciously aware of something, you can't truly deny it. I think this time I'm not dieting, I'm changing my life for the better.

Women's Issues

Now that I'm going for a lifestyle makeover I'm trying to rid myself of the bad habits and things that I have. Doing that involves going a little deeper than just the problem to see what's really going on. Sometimes things like this can be so deeply rooted that it's better to have a professional help you.

Research has shown that women have different reasons for bad habits and addictions then men do so many times general treatments don't have the same positive results. For example...I had a grandfather and a grandmother (from different families) that were both alcoholics. If you were to find out what their reasons were for needing alcohol rehab, I'm sure they would end up being polar opposites. There are now alcohol treatment centers that are specifically for women which is such a huge step for that area! I can't believe that it has taken this long to figure this out. I hope that with a more focused treatment regimen women will finally be able to get the right type of help.

Clothing Craziness

One of the things I have the most of is clothes. My problem with it? I can't fit any of it anymore. I have spent a small fortune on my wardrobe over the years so needless to say, I still have almost everything. Being short is a challenge all in itself so the clothes I have weren't always easy to find. I think everyday I was searching like crazy for petite womens clothes, especially when I was working and needed to dress a certain way. The one thing that I was thankful for was that I didn't have to wear a suit. It did come close though and I was always on the lookout for a womens suit that fit well.

I wish that I had all the websites that are out there now to make my searching easier. There are so many great shopping comparison sites that you can just wiz through for exactly what you are looking for. Now, when everyone needs the lowest price they can get, these sites are more than welcome.

Clearing Up Clutter

I'm a woman on a mission. You know when you watch a TV show (Oprah namely) and the people's houses are total disaster areas? That would be me. LOL I have lived like this as long as I can remember. It's REALLY disgusting and a pain to deal with. Usually I can find whatever it is I'm looking for because everything will have its general area but I always have to dig through a pile to find anything.

Well, with my new diet comes a host of changes and this is one of them. No longer will I tolerate being in a mess. They always make the point on Oprah that it is a metaphor for your life. I totally agree. There is nothing serene about the way my life is and it shows through the crap laying out all around me. On top of the other 10 projects I have going, I will be clearing out the house and purging like crazy. I REALLY want to be able to live in a peaceful space and have some calm...finally

New Age Therapy

There is this commercial that I see at least once a day for a drug rehab a couple hours away from here. It's kind of funny how they tout themselves almost as if it was a resort or something and hardly focusing on their different areas of expertise. Before that's all you'd hear about but now with all of the celebrity stuff, I guess that people want to make sure they are going to a really nice place to seek treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.

I am kind of curious what the numbers are now as to how many people go for what. Is drinking as big of a problem as it was years ago still? Are more people being treated for drugs than alcohol? I wonder how much research is being done on this if any. There must be something for statistical purposes though I would assume. Well, at any rate, at least there are options on where to go and they aren't just some ugly building somewhere. Places that have beautiful surroundings and are more secluded in nature must be good to help treatment.

Diet - Day 1

Well, day one of my diet is going semi-decently. I had to go out and run a bunch of errands so my exercise session was non-existent and my eating was off but at least I had a great salad for dinner with a bit of whole grain bread. I made sure to wear my pedometer once I got moving and it turned out that I have walked almost 4 miles today, so that was good. Tomorrow will be MUCH better since one of my errands was to go and get a whole bunch of veggies and stuff to eat and I will be home cleaning and able to do my exercises. At least I won't be relying on diet pills like Lipovox or something. I know I can do this with only a little bit of help.

Clutter Bugs

Did anyone watch Oprah yesterday? I SO miss her makeover shows. I love seeing how other people live (knowing that I'm not alone) and seeing how I can change things. If you missed it, Oprah had Peter Walsh making random house calls to people that had sever clutter in their homes that was hindering their life. I swear they were talking about me. LOL

It is SO neat to see how they transform the spaces into something clean and livable. I really wish they would come here and do our house. I have SERIOUS issues because my mom is in denial with the way things are. She hates the mess and wants a change but will not do anything about it and makes excuses when ever I make a suggestion. For example...our mail. It's COVERING the dining room table and there's all kinds of junk all over it. I told her that we should get some small baskets to keep there so that our mail is contained and when people come over we can take them and put them in our rooms or something so it's not left there. What does she say back? There's no where to put any baskets. UH, excuse me?! There's mail all over the place and she wants to worry about it being IN something?! Good God. See what I'm up against?! I'm gonna go ahead and get myself what I need to make it better for me no matter what she says. Another thing is our kitchen. We have snack foods and bread all over the counter because she won't get rid of any of the TONS of dishes that she has (that we NEVER use) filling up our cabinets. There's no where to put the food! Then she says that the food is SUPPOSED to go in these two metal drawers in our lower cabinetry. It doesn't fit there to begin with and we're always in the upper cabinets. You are SUPPOSED to make your house work for you, you DON'T work with IT. ARGH! She drives me nuts. I swear...I'm SO tired of her excuses, whining, and complaining that I'm just going to take pictures and email Oprah myself. We seriously need help getting her to do things we need to to function here. BTW: There's TONS more that I could tell you about this but then this post would be a mile long.

I really wish I had the money to buy all new containers and prganizing things but I don't. At least Oprah had a coupon for 20% off at The Container Store on her website that's good until March 1, 2009. If you are interested, the print coupon (for in-store) is here and the coupon code for online purchases is CLUTTERCREW. I suggest going to the store because I have yet to be able to get on the website. I think the servers have jammed and broke down after all the traffic. Don't they know any better? Geesh. LOL!

Crash

Okay, stay with me now...my BFF's, fiance's, brother was just in a bad accident in SoCal. Hey, that wasn't as long and confusing as I thought it would be. LOL Anyway, it doesn't look very good and that is not at all a good thing since they are getting married this fall. I hope he doesn't have a whole lot of damage. Right now they don't know a whole lot. All they do know is that it wasn't his fault. Of course they're calling the best motorcycle accident lawyers Los Angeles has. God knows there must be a ton of attorneys down there. LOL I don't know him I just know of him so I don't really have a whole lot to say about the matter but I am sad for them and hope he gets better. This is why not many women want their men to get a bike...you just never know when something out of control will happen.

Look Great for Less

I am SO happy that there is such a variety of choices for fashion. It wasn't that long ago that for some semi decent clothing you would go to Nordstrom but then it would cost you a pretty penny. The alternative was to go to Mervyn's or Sears and get something semi similar but not exactly what you wanted, made from super cheap material, and it wouldn't last through many washes. But hey, it was cheaper right? Now I can go to Target and get something affordable, made with more quality, and it will actually last me a decent amount of time. So many of the styles that we buy are for one season only so it's great that we can buy them at a lower price and they will actually last longer than that. With all the celebrity junk that's SO ultra trendy (*eye roll*) that everyone HAS to have it, it is nice to know that you can get something like replica watches to save you money. All the look without all the price. Count me in! ;o)

It's Official!

Today is the day! I am on the road to losing weight. I really can't be more excited. Well, ok...it's really only 1:35am right now so I have to go to bed and start when I wake up, so I hope that I can keep up this enthusiasm.

I have been a yo-yo for years. Mainly it's because I had DS and instead of losing weight I gained...and gained. A few years later I lost 20lbs by exercising a lot and barely eating. It wasn't a great way but at least I was moving a whole lot. I ate quite well also, salads for lunch and fruit for snacks, so it wasn't like I totally went anorexic. I just found a way to kind of cancel out the calories that I ate as I moved.

Of course it didn't last long though. I gained back about 5lbs and stayed there for a few years. Then I again ended up losing a ton of weight at a new job that made me move a whole lot more than I had in years. I ended up finding out, by wearing a pedometer, that I was walking about 20 miles a day. That was totally insane to me. I had no idea how active I was and the best part was that I was waking up WAY early and going to bed WAY earlier than normal. I would get up around 4:30am to be at work at 7am be home by 4 or 5pm and be in bed by 7-8pm, 9 at the very latest. That was an awesome schedule.

The common issue that I always have is that I have absolutely NO energy at ALL. Even during a full day of movement at work I wouldn't fully be "there". My solution? Caffiene. I'm more than positive that my issue is a deeper medical issue (I know that my hormones have never been balanced for one) so my energy level, sleep habits, and so on all need to be enduced by something. When I lost the 20lbs...coffee and lots of it. During the period of heavy physical movement...caffiene pills, coffee, and soda. And now the way I help jumpstart my energy is by taking one diet pill. I found that if I take just the one, I won't end up getting "burn out" or something like that. It is very rare that I take more than one or I won't be able to sleep at all that night. I definitely have to see a doctor about all this soon.

Anyway...here we go! I have entered into a challenge with two of my good friends and we all are in it together for a minimum of three months. Of course we each have an weight goal but really any weight that we lose is going to make us happy I think. ;o)

In Your Head

With brain diseases on the rise and Alzheimer's growing steadily, brain health has become a huge discussion topic. I myself have watched a number of seminars on PBS and have touched on learning more about what I can do to help my neglected brain. By taking the right vitamins, doing mental exercises, and getting enough sleep I can significantly help my brain out. Of course there are a lot more things I can do and that's when I refer to books and other resources. There is a really interesting seminar that I did see on PBS from Dr. Amen who heads The Amen Clinic which is one of the foremost authorities on the brain and brain health. I definitely recommend watching it. He also has a number of books out that are good reading and great aide in optimizing your brain's potential. Below is a bit of information about Dr. Amen.

An authority in cures for ailments and neuroimaging, The Amen Clinic aims to help individuals live a healthy life. Find more information about this through Dr. Daniel Amen's profile.

Can You Hear Me Now?

I never thought I'd see the day that those big bulky headphones would be a good thing again. Growing up the thing to have was always tiny earbuds that you could hardly see in your ears after a huge boot of those big muff like things. I think it's funny how the trends tend to go backwards before you have a chance to feel old on your own.

DS is talking to me about getting a pair of discount noise canceling headphones. I told him that he's going to have to pay for them himself since I don't really think he needs them. Aren't teenage boys deaf enough? LOL!!! Anyway, he was directed to a tie with a huge selection and great prices so I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he finds a pair that he wants and we have to order them. At least he's not over spoiled or anything like that.

Want Sum Dim?

So, I'm going on a diet tomorrow. Well, okay...a life change. LOL I'm SO going to miss all my favorite foods! The details are coming out tomorrow but I will have a day to eat how I need to since everyone needs a day off.

One of my all time favorite things is dim sum. I swear I could just about eat this stuff forever! I can only count the times that I've gotten tired of it on one hand so that's seriously saying something. I haven't been out to a restaurant where they push the carts around the room in a long time...that's always fun. Trying to guess what everything is through the broken English of the waitresses. LOL! It's always an adventure. Mmmm...I can just picture a plate full of deep fried shrimp rolls right now (like spring or egg rolls but 20x better). I don't think there's any other way to eat shrimp but in dim sum.

So for now I'll say so long to all my yummies and go on to eating blah and blech. I am really looking forward to losing all this yuckiness on my body so there's a good trade off there. Wish me luck!

Rich & Famous

Celebrity status is such a huge thing now...it's almost mind boggling. I always thought that it was a funny thing when a little kid would say they wanted to be a star when they grew up. Now, that's almost possible for so many with the up rise of the internet, file sharing, and all the other stuff. One place that is up and coming is San Diego. Normally people would just associate it with beaches, surfers, and sun but now it's almost like a second Hollywood and there are quite a few San Diego PR firms popping up to help with the demand from all the businesses.

There's SO much to do down there now that it really helps to use a directory site to navigate your way during a visit. It's really helpful even if you live there. There are some really great ones listing everything from casinos to schools in the area. I really had no idea that it was that large. LOL Living where I do makes me feel so "small town".

Italian at Heart

I could swear that DS is a reincarnation of an Italian. How many kids do you know that actually asked to have a spread of different foods (not pizza) for their birthday? Whenever we go out to eat, he always spits out that he wants Italian before anything else. It's a sure way to get him to eat meat since he's not fond of that at all.

He was seriously jealous of my cousin when he spoke of all the great Italian restaurants in La Jolla California. Apparently we never spent enough time down there to find out how many fantastic restaurants there are. There's one in particular that sounded more than scrumptious with a fantastic view and it's a must when we get back down there again. The best part is that you can make reservations online. That makes things SO convenient. Hopefully that day comes soon as we all could use a vacation!

...and Presto! You've Got Pesto!

When spring rolls around, all I end up thinking about is fresh tasting food. Pesto is truly one of my all time favorite things to have on hand since it's SO versatile. You can make endless varieties of pastas, use it as pizza sauce or for foccacia, crustini, dips for veggies, marinades...it's endless! The best part is that you really don't have anything to cook when using pesto and it's healthy because the fat is in the nuts and olive oil! A helpful note on that...did you know that nuts and healthy oils are only healthy when they haven't been exposed to high heats? When I make pesto, I make a huge batch, since I despise cleaning, and put it in ice cube trays to freeze. Once frozen I will eventually vaccum store the cubes so they don't freezer burn. Then I can take cubes out and add them to my tomato sauces for a deeper flavor or whatever dinner is that night. It's fantastic!

Here's a quick and easy pesto recipe (notice there aren't exact measurements...do whatever you'd like)...

About 5-6 handfuls of clean basil leaves (can mix with spinach too)
About 1/2-1 cup of untoasted nuts (any will do...pecans, pine, walnuts, etc)
About 2 tablespoons of white vinegar (I've found this is better than lemon juice. The taste isn't as sour since you use quite a bit less to keep your pesto green)
Roughly a teaspoon of salt, same with pepper if desired
About 1/2-3/4 cup of parmesan cheese (can use Kraft in a pinch, works out well)
Enough olive oil to turn it into a runny paste

Put all the ingrediants into a food processor and pulse till just more than roughly chopped. Turn it on blend and drizzle the oil in as it spins until it forms a semi runny paste. And that's it!

Exercise Pill?

I was watching Oprah last week and there was a question for Dr. Oz about something called the exercise pill. I haven't heard about this and thought it was really interesting. Apparently, this new weight loss pill would do something that would help give people the hormone or whatever it is that pro athletes have that makes them go faster and endure longer periods of energy. That would be super cool but I doubt that it's going to go anywhere. It's still in "rat stage" so no one knows if it's even going to work in humans at all yet. Oh well, here's hoping!

Surfing the Net

I think I have just about the worst luck when I'm trying to do internet searches. Even when I try to do them the way I'm told, nothing comes up that I'm looking for. It's gotta be one of THE most frustrating things there is. Sometimes I just end up searching through our local yellowpages if it's something nearby.

One site that I have found to be extremely helpful though is Local.com. It's great for when I need to do a local search or when we want to see what new local restaurants there are too. Things are always coming and going and when we want to go out it's helpful to know what there is before we go out and find that where we wanted to go is gone and closed up. I hate that. And...why is it that when that does end up happening, it's always a higher priced place that goes in?! Then we can't even settle for what is now there.

Fudge!

There are SO many recipes out there for chocolate fudge that it's really hard to know which one to make. Fudge has a really bad reputation of being quite finicky and difficult to make. This can be true but only if you aren't paying the kind of attention needed while making it. Here's a fudge recipe that is sure to please and is easy to make too. The best part about fudge is that you can use different chocolates and get really creative with your combinations. I have become quite partial to dried cherries, marshmallows, and nuts but the possibilities are endless!

• 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line an 8x8 inch pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine marshmallow cream, sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt. Bring to a full boil, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and pour in semisweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours, or until firm.

Do You have the Time?

I had lost my watch for MONTHS and finally found it again but now I'm really irritated with it and want to get something new. What idiot decided to make the pins that hold the band in place spring loaded?! UGH. If I get it caught in the wrong way, the band falls off and I come really close to losing the pin. I've thought about trying to see if I can get this switched but in the meantime I have no idea what time it is. It's so frustrating for a watch that wasn't all that cheap. DS is a geek and thinks I should get one of those Nooka watches. They're pretty funky but kinda cool. I don't know if I'm up to wearing plastic like I did when I was little though. LOL

Cheating the Scale

Here's a quick semi-random thought...do you think it's cheating if someone takes weight loss pills? Why do I ask? Because I am. I know that I have a severe hormone imbalance, if I even have any left, and this is almost always the only way that I can jump start my metabolism. I know I need ot get to the doctor to see what my levels are but until then I have to make do.

I know a lot of girls that abused pills when we were younger and wanted to get themselves down to unimaginably low weights. That's not me...thank God.I just can't wait to get this fat off my body. It's all veggies for me for the next few months. Not sure how excited I am about that. LOL!

Fat Burner

So, I've got the fat bug. I had realized a short time ago that the only real time I physically move is when I need to eat. That about says it all. LMAO I have totally lost all ability to do anything physical so here I am...finally off my butt and exercising. I have found out exactly how bad things really are. :o{

The side effect of all this...except for an ever aching body? I have a whole new outlook and source of motivation. So that's the cool part. The bad part is that I don't have as much time as I'd like to have to get everything done. Sleep can be such a waste of time. LOL

Bed Rest

Does it seem like people are getting sick WAY more often than usual right now? In my opinion, it's either because our immune systems have lowered due to malnutrition or the viruses are becoming stronger strains. Either way it stinks and no matter how many vitamins we seem to take it isn't enough. So that brings up an interesting question...how many people actually have health insurance now? With job losses at an all time high, I can't even begin to imagine what all these poor people are going through.

We haven't had any real insurance in YEARS. I myself haven't been to the doctor in forever. The only one that does go is DD since she really needs to. I seriously need to get myself to a doctor but the worry of anything that would cost us is always over my head and then I end up not going. Yeah, I know...stupid. I'll get there eventually. If you are without insurance, here are a few resources that may help you out. The first one is a cool directory that will help you find affordable insurance of all types, the second is a resource covering the United States with lots of helpful information by state, and the last is the US census...just in case you're curious what the numbers are of covered Americans. All are very helpful and very interesting. ;o)