Brandi's salad:
(cilantro & jalapenoss)
Black beans
Corn
Avocado
Tomato
Purple onions
Seeds of Change Italian Dressing..
Garlic powder
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Fitness Update
My weight has been moving around alot and after family reunion; I am, currently, afraid to look. Tomorrow, I begin swimming lessons with my husband. We went to Wal-Mart tonight to buy me a pair of fancy black goggles. I will weigh myself tomorrow at the gym. Ugh.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Funny
Last weekend, we were in St. Louis for the Robinson Family Reunion (Mom Liz's family). On Saturday, I suggested we go to the Gateway Arch because Lewis and Lawrence had never been there. We waited in line for almost an hour just to get inside. When we got inside, Lawrence asked the security guard, "Do you live here?"
Tonight we went to Wal-Mart to purchase some swim goggles for me. As we walked past the bicycle aisle, Lawrence noticed that there we bikes hanging from the ceiling to which he informed us, "The ceiling is collecting bikes."
I love this kid!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Yogalates - Week 2
I am happy to say that I attended Yogalates (Yoga/Pilates) class again this weekend. It was good. I was late again and oddly, the instructor, Christina, had not arrived. After about 25 minutes of waiting, two ladies went to use the treadmill and the remaining four of us decided to wing it. One lady in particular stepped up and lead us in the moves. It was great! One lady told me that she had lost 12 lbs doing this and some other things. Another lady told me that she had lost 10lbs. I'm sooo glad I joined the Y. It's a great experience and I'm thrilled to be in a very multicultural group and multi-age group of women with whom I exercise. I'm inspired. At some point I should probably do my measurements and track my progress...not sure if I'll publish them but I should, at least, track them.
Regarding this class, I remember the 1st week that my back ached a bit while I was doing it. I got kind of tense trying to balance myself and compensate for my artificial leg. I must say that the ache melted away in good time after class while I was out running errands. This week, I don't recall having that experience. It definitely inspires me to keep it up.
There is something great about this class...I get to hang out with new people. A bunch of women - young, old, different culture - with same goal to be healthy and fit. I'm so thrilled that we joined the gym.
Regarding this class, I remember the 1st week that my back ached a bit while I was doing it. I got kind of tense trying to balance myself and compensate for my artificial leg. I must say that the ache melted away in good time after class while I was out running errands. This week, I don't recall having that experience. It definitely inspires me to keep it up.
There is something great about this class...I get to hang out with new people. A bunch of women - young, old, different culture - with same goal to be healthy and fit. I'm so thrilled that we joined the gym.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Cabbage Soup: The Prequel
The economy, Lew's recent layoff, a Depression Era cook and my brother Kendal have inspired me to create hearty soups that contain inexpensive ingredients. I want to make soups that are healthy, lower-in-fat and full of vegetables.
I asked Lew to procure some particular soup ingredients on his last grocery trip. I'm pretty excited. The ingredients which I am currently considering are a head of cabbage, carrots, celery, chicken breasts, small potatoes, onion, corn, tomatoes, garlic, bell pepper, green beans and ground turkey. I'm considering either Italian or Cajun seasoning. I'll let you know how it goes and post the recipe later.
I've found several recipes on the web for inspiration and technique. These are the ones that really strike me:
Lower Fat Chicken Vegetable Soup by Pam Oliphant
Wedding Soup by SALLIEIS60
Country Cabbage Soup by Vicky Catullo
Fat-Free Vegetable Soup
Chicken and Sausage Stew by Diana Rattray
I also think that once I've developed a soup or stew, I'll be able to create a lot of different variations. Oh, the fun! I'll let you know what the guys say about it too. More to come!
Love,
I asked Lew to procure some particular soup ingredients on his last grocery trip. I'm pretty excited. The ingredients which I am currently considering are a head of cabbage, carrots, celery, chicken breasts, small potatoes, onion, corn, tomatoes, garlic, bell pepper, green beans and ground turkey. I'm considering either Italian or Cajun seasoning. I'll let you know how it goes and post the recipe later.
I've found several recipes on the web for inspiration and technique. These are the ones that really strike me:
Lower Fat Chicken Vegetable Soup by Pam Oliphant
Wedding Soup by SALLIEIS60
Country Cabbage Soup by Vicky Catullo
Fat-Free Vegetable Soup
Chicken and Sausage Stew by Diana Rattray
I also think that once I've developed a soup or stew, I'll be able to create a lot of different variations. Oh, the fun! I'll let you know what the guys say about it too. More to come!
Love,
Deie
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Fitness
Okay, kids. It's time! We are finally joining a gym. I'm so excited. We are joining a YMCA in a suburb that has soooo much going on. A pool, exercise classes, yoga, soccer, dance classes. I am really looking forward to getting in shape. I want to get strong again, get my abs back and get my arms tight again. It's going to feel so good! I hope to chronicle my progress and review the classes. I'll be interested to see if the instructors are accomodating and if they offer modified moves for me in the more active classes.
To jumpstart things, I'm going to try to do something physical everyday. Drink more water. The idea of it is exciting. I just want to take better care of myself and feel better about my body. It's going to be fun.
To jumpstart things, I'm going to try to do something physical everyday. Drink more water. The idea of it is exciting. I just want to take better care of myself and feel better about my body. It's going to be fun.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
No Pow, Pow
Did you know what the letter 'L' and children's blocks that are shaped with a 90 degree angle have in common? If turned the right (or wrong) way, they both look like guns. Yep, guns. The Captain and I were practicing cutting and were having quite the fun time cutting out shapes and letters the other day when he realized (again) that if you turn an 'L' the other way and hold it in your fist, it looks like a gun. Darn it!
I'm from Iowa. I was raised, at least to some extent, around guns. Grandpa hunted. Aunt Kris owns a few guns. They both, for very different reasons, went shooting in the woods. One for hunting, the other for ummm, target practice, yeah that's it. Oh, and there was never a gun in my mother's house at anytime during my childhood. I did, however, courtesy of Aunt Kris, have toy guns. I loved my toy guns but eventually I grew out of them. I always liked guns on a theoretical level. Guns were cool. Guns were pretty. If I wanted to see one I could request a look at Aunt Kris's collection, read one of her gun magazines or go to a gun shop. They have those in Des Moines, IA. I had hoped at one point or another to join a shooting range and practice shooting and keep one there, in a locker, at the range. Not at my house. Too scary, too dangerous for children and clumbsy adults.
My husband is from the Southside of Chicago. But he was a Boy Scout. He learned the proper use of guns but only at camp. No guns at home. If I can stereotype for a minute here, as far as I know, guns on the Southside of Chicago are rarely for hunting dinner or game. They are protection or unfortunately, a different kind of hunting. Guns are not a good thing, in my opinion, on the south side of Chicago. It seems that the wrong people have the guns.
For our honeymoon, we went to Orlando, FL. I never realized it before but if it weren't for Mickey Mouse and multi-million dollar subdivisions, Orlando would pretty much be a country town. So, it's really no surprise that there were a lot of gun ranges. We know that because they were advertised on several big billboards around town. I suggested to Lew that we go to one. He was thrilled and made it his mission to call them all and find the cheapest rates. And he found the cheapest one, it was right by the prison. Still not sure how to think about that. We had fun that night shooting cheap ammunition at our paper targets.
We now live in the South Suburbs of Chicago. And I have a huge insecurity about guns and raising my black son in Chicago. Here, black boys with guns get shot down in the street or they shoot other black boys. I would like to get my boy in Boy Scouts so he can learn survival tactics, gun safety, honor, perseverance, organization, teamwork, etc. I want him to know how to build things, swim, row, build a fire, save a life, pitch a tent and whatever the heck else Boy Scouts learn. I'd love for him to follow in his father and uncle's footsteps and rise to the level of Order of the Eagle. I really look forward to being a den mother. I will look fly in that uniform and I really want to learn all that stuff too.
I do not, on the other other hand, look forward to explaining to him that the children down the street may not understand gun safety, they may not have been taught much about guns at all. The children down the street and the adults in uniform may not recognize that he is a well-prepared, brave, honest and honorable boy when they see him walking down the street.
I want him to love God and respect human life. Especially his own. I don't want him to ever get near a gun, touch a gun or even look at a gun if he isn't at Boy Scout camp. Too much TV, too many 'cool' looking guys on TV holding their guns sideways and looking hard, too many news stories about the little boy who accidentally shot his friend, too many stories about big boys who shot each other on purpose, too many stories about officers who shot a boy down in the street because they thought he had a gun...
But right now he's only 3.5 years old so today we talked about being polite and how its not polite to play pow, pow because real pow, pow hurts people. No guns, not even for pretend and no pointing the letter 'L' or the 90 degree angled block at anyone, ever. There are many lessons to come and I hope we do a good job of teaching them and I hope we can join a scout troop soon.
I'm from Iowa. I was raised, at least to some extent, around guns. Grandpa hunted. Aunt Kris owns a few guns. They both, for very different reasons, went shooting in the woods. One for hunting, the other for ummm, target practice, yeah that's it. Oh, and there was never a gun in my mother's house at anytime during my childhood. I did, however, courtesy of Aunt Kris, have toy guns. I loved my toy guns but eventually I grew out of them. I always liked guns on a theoretical level. Guns were cool. Guns were pretty. If I wanted to see one I could request a look at Aunt Kris's collection, read one of her gun magazines or go to a gun shop. They have those in Des Moines, IA. I had hoped at one point or another to join a shooting range and practice shooting and keep one there, in a locker, at the range. Not at my house. Too scary, too dangerous for children and clumbsy adults.
My husband is from the Southside of Chicago. But he was a Boy Scout. He learned the proper use of guns but only at camp. No guns at home. If I can stereotype for a minute here, as far as I know, guns on the Southside of Chicago are rarely for hunting dinner or game. They are protection or unfortunately, a different kind of hunting. Guns are not a good thing, in my opinion, on the south side of Chicago. It seems that the wrong people have the guns.
For our honeymoon, we went to Orlando, FL. I never realized it before but if it weren't for Mickey Mouse and multi-million dollar subdivisions, Orlando would pretty much be a country town. So, it's really no surprise that there were a lot of gun ranges. We know that because they were advertised on several big billboards around town. I suggested to Lew that we go to one. He was thrilled and made it his mission to call them all and find the cheapest rates. And he found the cheapest one, it was right by the prison. Still not sure how to think about that. We had fun that night shooting cheap ammunition at our paper targets.
We now live in the South Suburbs of Chicago. And I have a huge insecurity about guns and raising my black son in Chicago. Here, black boys with guns get shot down in the street or they shoot other black boys. I would like to get my boy in Boy Scouts so he can learn survival tactics, gun safety, honor, perseverance, organization, teamwork, etc. I want him to know how to build things, swim, row, build a fire, save a life, pitch a tent and whatever the heck else Boy Scouts learn. I'd love for him to follow in his father and uncle's footsteps and rise to the level of Order of the Eagle. I really look forward to being a den mother. I will look fly in that uniform and I really want to learn all that stuff too.
I do not, on the other other hand, look forward to explaining to him that the children down the street may not understand gun safety, they may not have been taught much about guns at all. The children down the street and the adults in uniform may not recognize that he is a well-prepared, brave, honest and honorable boy when they see him walking down the street.
I want him to love God and respect human life. Especially his own. I don't want him to ever get near a gun, touch a gun or even look at a gun if he isn't at Boy Scout camp. Too much TV, too many 'cool' looking guys on TV holding their guns sideways and looking hard, too many news stories about the little boy who accidentally shot his friend, too many stories about big boys who shot each other on purpose, too many stories about officers who shot a boy down in the street because they thought he had a gun...
But right now he's only 3.5 years old so today we talked about being polite and how its not polite to play pow, pow because real pow, pow hurts people. No guns, not even for pretend and no pointing the letter 'L' or the 90 degree angled block at anyone, ever. There are many lessons to come and I hope we do a good job of teaching them and I hope we can join a scout troop soon.
Friday, January 30, 2009
The Followers Gadget - Follow Us!
How cool, an update to the blog. I now have a gadget that shows who my followers are. It's just to the right => I think it will be useful! I think I'll invite more people to view my blog.
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