Several thoughts

Several thoughts have been running through my head. I finished 5 Bikram classes. A friend asked me at bootcamp yesterday if the Bikram yoga is fun...As I was doing sideways frog hops suicide style, I said, no way is it fun but it is fabulous. I cannot even put my finger on why it is fabulous and why I am so looking forward to my next class. It is hot and terribly sweaty and I am putting my body and mind in uncomfortable situations but I always want to go back. I always want to bend more, bend to where it hurts and then come out and feel wonderful. I can already feel my neck coming into alignment I can turn from side to side and it doesn't hurt. It always used to hurt. If everyone did Bikram, chiropractors and massage therapists would be out of business. I will be eager to get to class Friday morning. To go beyond where I went last week. To work on my right hip as it holds so much stress and I'm not sure why. Eventually, it will bend right.

I sat down last night and worked on some bible study homework. I am loving learning about James. Beth Moore is fabulous as always and she certainly has a way of explaining what James was telling the scattered tribes. James was a non believer which is so interesting as he grew up with Jesus. He said, if you are really the son of God then go, go out and show us. Well Jesus did just that and then appeared to James while he was alone after Jesus had died. Whoa! Well, James believed and as Jewish as he was, became a believer in Christ. Last night, I studied the first 8 verses of James. I've always known I can ask God for anything. The trick with this is I'm not sure I always believed He would follow through. James says, ask, ask away but never lack in anything. God knows what we need but He wants us to ask and He wants us to believe  that he will provide.

On a lighter note. We are almost out of the month of January. Jack is 15 and I have his proof of enrollment in my car so we are going to get his permit this week. He needs to study the little book so he can pass! He is doing so great and he is really maturing. Kate worked on stuffing 8,000 Mercedes marathon packets on Sunday, completing the last of her belle's hours. Seems like yesterday we were designing her fabulous dress! She is the proud owner of two prom dresses. We bought a bcbg one but we didn't realize it couldn't be returned and of course she found a different one so she is trying to sell the other one. Both are beautfiul. Rick told her to try and sell it but its not the end of the world if she keeps it. I'm sure she can wear it to a formal next year. Joe needs to get out and practice football. Spring training is just around the corner and with 115 boys going out, he has to look good! No jogging and goofing off!

Ahh, The harder of the two

Forgiveness has an emotional quality. But there's one a little higher, and that's called forgetting. When you've truly forgiven somebody, you forget it. Too many of us have said, "I've forgiven my mother and father for beating me almost to death when I was three years old." No, you haven't. "Yes, I have forgiven them. I remember the stick they used." Forget it. "No, no way am I going to forget that." There's no real forgiveness until there is forgetting.




- John-Roger

Paleolithic diet, cave man diet, hunter gatherer diet...I get it! But I'm not doing it!

I've been seeing a lot of recipes and people's statuses on facebook refer to the Paleo diet. Ugh! really? Why are they doing this diet? I am not a fan of diets, I am a fan of lean meat, fruits, veggies, nuts, whole grains and low fat dairy. This diet is low in carbs and our body needs carbs especially if you're exercising or a busy person. I think some people need a certain diet to get on track and to stay focused, I get that. But seeing the word Paleo  all over the social net works is slightly disturbing. Just eat healthy. It isn't that hard. Its all about choices and you do not need a celebrity diet to tell you that!

Pranayama

Headed to my 3rd Bikram yoga class this morning. I'm excited to see how my body changes with these classes. AFter a week of working with toddlers and babies and bootcamps and spinning and jogging, Bikram will feel fabulous! The one part of the class that I'm not so sure about is the first breathing exercise. I'm just a little conservative for it yet but eventually I will let it all out. I'm envious of the people who can do that.



 Pranayama (Sanskrit: प्राणायाम prāṇāyāma) is a Sanskrit word meaning "extension of the prana or breath" or more accurately, "extension of the life force". The word is composed of two Sanskrit words, Prāna, life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, and "āyāma", to extend, draw out, restrain, or control.

Chicken fajitas the easy way!

Here is the recipe for chicken fajitas which can be put in the slow cooker or used in your handy dandy Pampered Chef baker. Seriously, this recipe is so easy it's embarrassing but all mom's need to share easy recipes! I do not like to cook but I do like to eat! The avocados are used in the salsa! I love the salsa, I eat it with a spoon!!!

I used chicken breasts for this meal. But you can use whatever piece of chicken you like.

chicken breasts
Taco Bell store bought fajita kit
peppers,
onions,
can of diced tomatoes

Salsa
avocado
two tomatoes
cilantro
onion
lime juice
salt, pepper and garlic salt ( I rarely measure so just shake a little bit in there and taste)


Take the seasoning packet out of the fajita kit and put it in a gallon baggie. add some olive oil and a little water and put your chicken breasts in there, coat them good then put them in the cooker. cut your veggies how you like them, pour the canned tomatoes in the c.p. and add the rest of the seasoning that is the bag. I cooked this batch on high for 4.5 hours.

for the salsa, put all your fabulous veggie ingredients in a little choppper or food processor, I have the one from Pampered Chef and I love it. chop and chop and chop and ten you're done. Everyone will love this!! do your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Loving this beautiful weather

I know that along with this gorgeous warm weather in January comes terrible storms. I hate the storms and I hate the devastation they cause. Mother nature sure can be mean. But, thankfully, my family and friends are all safe and sound and we've been able to enjoy the warm days especially at work. Vonnie and I got our babies outside today for a little while. They are all walking now and they were so cute to watch outside. The feel of the grass on their hands is so new to them, they weren't quite sure what to think and its a lot easier walking inside even manueuvering around and through toys than it is on the uneven play ground. None the less, we had fun with them and the other teachers enjoyed them too. Hopefully, the storms will stay away until after 1 tomorrow so I can get my fabulous two's outside! I ran about 4.5 miles yesterday in Trace Crossings. I added about a half a mile to my run as it was so nice and I loved being outside in the sunshine! Today was bootcamp and even though I really didn't eat much at all, I was going through some calories. Tatum always has great things for us to do and she is always challenging us. I'll be ready for some hot yoga on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'm going to use my unlimited as much as I can because I"m not sure I can afford it next month. I'm getting to be high maintenance in my 40's! Kate has been doing yoga too which I love. I have always encouraged her to exercise as I've been an exerciser since forever. I danced when I was young and then I enjoyed cheerleading for a while and in the 80's I got into the aerobics scene and pretty much never left it. But, yoga is  has been my little safe haven since Jack was a baby, 15 years ago. I'm glad she is enjoying it and she is good at it, not that anyone is compairing, Lord knows we aren't supposed to do that but I have to admit it always makes me a little happy when I can hold a pose longer than my neighbor but karma always comes back to bite my pride in the butt when I fall out of a pose before he/she does! just sayin. Kate was asked along with two other peer helpers to meet and greet city people tomorrow. She has truly enjoyed her time as a peer helper and she has found a replacement for her for next year to be with her sweet girl at BGI. Morgan, will do a great job and Kate has already met with Morgan to talk about it. It's important for Kate to leave Emily with someone like Kate and someone who is compassionate and caring and fun and smart and sweet and kind. Morgan is all of those things and will do a great job. I want Jack to be a peer helper when he is a junior. It's been a nice experience for Kate and she is excited to put it on her college/sorority resume. We've been chatting about who all is doing beauty walk. Kate isn't, so I am loving that I can just go and enjoy and have fun and not worry about Kate falling! Kate said she doesn't care who wins, she has a couple of friends whom she'd love to see win but other than that she doesn't care. I told her that I want a nice girl to win and there are a lot of nice girls competing so that is good! Jack had a good birthday. Rick will be home tomorrow so we'll officially celebrate this weekend. Kate baked Jack a yummy cake and I picked up Subway for dinner. Easy Breezy!

Happy Birthday!

Today Jack is 15! I can't believe my baby boy is 15. It truly amazing watching the transformation from boy to man. I'm not sure I find it so amazing because I'm a girl and I didn't have any brothers so watching Jack go through all the boy changes is so intriguing. His voice is so deep now, he is getting big and taller. The day he was born it was so cold and snowy. I remember our power bill was like 500.00. That would be distressing today and we make 7x more money than we did then. I am looking forward to watching Jack grow physically and spiritually and hopefully Rick and I are raising a responsible boy! He sure is cute!

I made it through my first Bikram yoga class!!

Bikram Yoga is the original hot yoga that has been featured in the press and on television. Also famous for its miraculous healing ability, it is a very specific 90 minute series of 26 yoga postures and breathing exercises taught in 105′ heat and 40% humidity. Each pose is a challenge that provides powerful health benefits. The class is designed for beginners as well as for those students who have a regular practice. Every class is open to first time students.




The postures are done in the safe environment of a heated room so that deep penetration of the heat can relieve muscle resistance without risking injury. The postures are a copyrighted sequence of poses created by Bikram Choudhury. They are done in specific order, preparing the body for the next posture, resulting in powerful healing and miraculous results.



In each Bikram Yoga class, you will work every muscle, tendon, joint, ligament, internal organ, and gland while systematically moving fresh, oxygenated blood to 100% of the body. These postures work synergistically and cumulatively to put the body back on track and in balance.



Bikram Yoga builds strength, balance and flexibility by gently stretching and massaging the spine, muscles, tendons, joints, and all internal organs of the body. Lung capacity is expanded, leading to greater vitality. Bones are strengthened. Joints are opened and lubricated. Muscles are strengthened, toned, and made more flexible. Regular practice of this series of postures results in the healing of injuries and illnesses, weight loss, stress reduction and peace of mind.


I drove to my first hot yoga class in a major January thunderstorm that only Alabama could produce! I was determined to go. I had my bag packed with my pink mat, my beach towel to put over it, my ice water and a change of clothes for when I was finally finished with the class. I was happy to see that the studio was easy to find and I pulled right up to the front. The turquoise walls and shot gun metal floors are beautiful and the front lobby is welcoming. I promptly put my flip flops in the shoe cabinet which is a really cool dark wood antique! I love that! I signed my life away saying that I would be responsible for all injuries occurring during class. I made my way down the hall to the ladies locker room, making sure to peek in the yoga room on the way. I texted my family and told them to pray for me and that I would be putting my phone away for 90 min. I then made my way to the hot hot hot room and put my mat out, put my towel on it and sat there. I stretched for a bit and then just sat quietly. Next time, I won't get there so early and sit in there so long but it was good for today. I wasn't sweating at first but I noticed when we stood up to do the first of the 26 poses which is really 52 because we do them twice that I had sweat dripping off my arms. I was happy that I could do all the poses, all but one that is. I was so focused on my form in the mirror that I didn't even pay attention to anyone else. The instructor did a great job talking us through the poses and she encouraged us to take a break if we needed it. I was noticing about half way through that the class is really hard! My heart was beating very fast and my legs were shaking. My clothes were soaked by this point. I finally got a glimpse of the girls watch who was next to me and I was so relieved to see it said 10:55...Yay, almost done! I usually enjoy savanyasa pose and I tried to relax but I was ready to get out into the cooler air. It was a great experience. I will definitely go back and I know that yoga is fabulous for me! There are a lot of poses that I enjoy doing that aren't a part of the 26 so I will have to do them on my own time. But, Bikram will be a wonderful compliment to spin and bootcamp, and running. I'm so happy that Birmingham has such a wonderful studio!!

Bikram Yoga aka Hot Yoga

Tomorrow is my first Bikram yoga class. Bikram yoga, also known as hot yoga is a 90 min. yoga session made up of 26 poses done twice in 105 degree heat/humidity! I've been wanting to try this for some time and I finally signed up for the introductory rate. I think it will be a wonderful way to end my week of work outs, stretch everything and sweat everything out! I did a yoga class last night at the Y. The new Y is really nice and we really need something like that here for our community. The intsructor was good, I liked her and I loved going with my friend. I had a good class and enjoyed it. It was crowded but it was an evening class and there are definitely some kinks that need to be worked out with the room theyre in. Hopefully they can fix the sound issue, and really they need to make a room just for yoga so people can get their zen on. I've loved yoga for years, I think my first experience with it was when Jack was a baby and I did a vhs tape my mom recommended. I forget the the instructors name, it will come to me eventually. I loved it and since then, I've done it off and on. Pilates came on the scene when I lived in INdy. I didn't like it as much as yoga, so I continued to stick with the yoga dvds. I hadn't tried a yoga class until we moved to Hoover. I loved being part of a class and learning from a live teacher. Yoga is not a competition which is hard to remember sometimes. I am not really competitive per say but I can be with the poses. Sometimes it's hard to remember we are all at different places and where you go with your pose is only about you. I'm hoping the hot yoga is everything its cracked up to be. Everyone I talked to says its really hard, thats fine, I like hard yoga and its really really good.

For everything there is a season

Saw on facebook last night that one of the teachers from Joe's elementary school passed away. We never had her for a teacher and I can honestly say I had never met her. But even though we didn't know her, we know a lot of people who did and it is heart breaking to hear that she has left this world. She leaves three children and a husband. From what I've read she was a very faithful person and held tight to her belief in God and Jesus. I'm sure she has gone to heaven and I know her family will miss her greatly but she most likely passed on the legacy of faith to them which they'll certainly need as her children go on with out their mother.

We're making our way through in my opinion the toughest month of the year! It hasn't been too cold which is great, we are due for a mild winter. Joe has sent his football forms in and Jack has been on the golf course practicing. Kate has signed up for 6 more belle's hours so she will only have 8 to finish. She went shopping with one of her friends for beauty walk dresses. It'll be fun to see who wears what and who makes top 30 and of course top 10. I'm glad I can go and just have fun and not stress. And I'm really glad we don't have to spend money on another dress even it is a rental! The prom dress is enough.

Saturday in January

The older I get the more I'm able to tolerate the winter. Now, I know I live in the south where winter is more tolerable than the midwest but in central Alabama we still don't have leaves on the trees and our grass is brown and it still frosts over night so it is still winter like. But, I'm more content to just be and enjoy the time at home with the family. Kate and I snuggled on the sofa today and watched cupcake wars before she left to work out. Joe has been up the street most of the day playing and I think he and Connor went to the Y which I love! We aren't joining as I can't pay to do bootcamp and for the Y but when the kids get to go with friends, it's so great. Jack and I were up early this morning, like really early, 6am early for his golf lesson down town. He loves golf so much and he is really trying to get the fundamentals. I don't mind going to the Highland golf club. Its so old and historic over there and I always believe that its good for me to learn new areas of Birmingham. I think UAB is somewhere where Jack might consider going for college. One of Kate's friends signed a golf scholorship there recently and that has kind of peeked Jack's interest. The committees have been set for the big senior party. I still need to send the money in for Kate. I keep forgetting. I've made spring break reservations. We'll have quite the crew this year but I know we'll have fun!

The prom dress has arrived and guess what?!! it's perfect. Perfect everywhere even the length is great. We might have to have it taken in a little bit on the sides but other than that, it's the one! I love that we didn't have to set foot in one store to buy it either. It's silk taffeta and absolutely gorgeous. I guess after all the years of tears and shopping for dresses has paid off and now Kate can just order and poof, it works.

Took Jack to his regular endo check up yesterday. He's grown 2" since September and lost one lb. Dr. Mick wanted an ultra sound of his thyroid as we've never had one done. She was so sweet to call over to imaging and get us in yesterday morning. It is so hard to take a day off of school and work and get down there so we headed over to Childrens imaging and had it done. The ultra sound tech was very sweet and she was able to find her dr. to show him the results. They did find two nodules on Jack's thyroid and Dr. Mick called yesterday letting me know that she'd like him to go to another specialist at UAB to have it looked at again and maybe even a possible needle biopsy done on one of the nodules. It's not uncommon to have nodules on the thyroid but its best to have them checked out to rule out anything serious. My thoughts are let's just take out the Jack's thyroid as it really doesn't work anyway and I'm not one to just "watch" something and see if it changes. Ugh. I won't watch moles, just take it off. I have too many other things to do. So, we'll see. In the mean time, Dr. Mick raised his dose a little bit. One day, he'll just level off and we won't have to go as much but right now, his pituitary gland is sending all kinds of hormones out and we need to keep up with it so he will grow properly. I'm so glad we live in an area that has wonderful drs.

Kate and I started a Beth Moore bible study last night. It's the study of James. I'm so excited to get into this one. Beth is so great at talking to us girls and I just love her. I'm happy Kate is going too. How cool for her to be exposed to such a great lesson so young. I was involved with the TEC program when I was her age which was great but this Beth's lessons are so easy to follow and she does a wonderful job of including so many pieces of scripture to help us see how Jesus really worked. Did you know that James, Jesus' half brother was one of his biggest skeptics? At one point James said to Jesus, go on, get out of here if you want to be a public figure, show everyone what you can do. James was mocking him and not a believer until Jesus appeared to him after he had died. Jesus went back to his natural family and fetched them as Beth said. Perfect example of reconnecting with your flesh and blood even when things aren't quite as tidy as you'd like.

Well, January 9th is finally here. We are excited for the big game tonight. I hope its a more exciting game than the first one between LSU and Bama. Its been fun looking at everyones pictures from NOLA.  We had a nice weekend. We didn't do much, which was nice. Kate found a prom dress, its a little early so hopefully she'll like it as time goes on. Its very similar to one she tried on in the fall and she loved it so I think it was a good choice. The new bootcamp session starts today. I'm sure there will be lots of people there. Always a good time seeing everyone excited about working out.

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala Recipe




Ingredients

2 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup all purpose flour or corn starch for gluten-free

up to 1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil

8 ounces container of mushroom, sliced and cleaned

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup sherry or dry white wine

Optional: 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Garnish with chopped parsley or oregano

*I found the marsala wine at Target



Directions:

Split each chicken breast through the middle to make 2 pieces. Place plastic wrap over them and pound each one flat using a meat tenderizer/mallet until they are about a quarter inch thick. Season a good amount of salt and pepper on both sides of each piece. Place some flour on a plate and and dredge each piece of chicken in it.



Heat the oil over medium-high heat and when the oil is hot fry each piece of chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side until they are golden brown (this may require you to do this in 2 batches). Remove chicken and place them on your serving platter covering them with foil.



Reduce the heat to medium and add butter and mushrooms. Saute mushrooms for 4-5 minutes making sure to season them with salt and pepper lightly. Add marsala wine, sherry, cream, and chicken stock allowing the liquid to reduce slightly – approx. 3 minutes. Pour mushrooms and sauce over chicken and serve. Enjoy!

There is lots of scenery on the way to God. Take care that you are keeping your focus and involvements toward the highest good of all concerned.




You will likely then realize much of what you see is not your level of concern but more something for you to observe and learn from as best you can without much involvement other than to radiate Light and love to all.



- John Morton

Healthy French Toast!

Have to share this fabulous french toast recipe. I've always loved french toast and I've made this recipe with cream cheese but the Greek yogurt is healthier and yummy. Also, I recently read that maple syrup can help with inflammation, the darker the syrup the better...That being said, I don't think Aunt Jemima counts, you have to use the real stuff!
You know if I'm willing to make this, it's yummy and it is super easy and not time consuming!

2 slices of whole wheat bread

2egg whites

.25 cup skim milk

a dash of vanilla

tsp extra virgin coconut oil

1 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt

1tsp brown sugar (sometimes I use 2tsp)

1tsp maple syrup

1cup berries

whisk egg whites, milk and vanilla together, soak bread slices one at a time. melt coconut oil in the skillet and spread around. place bread on skillet, cook as usual. Now comes the yummy part. mix together the Greek yogurt, and brown sugar. cut up strawberries. When french toast is done place on plate, spread the yogurt on top, place some berries there too and a tsp of maple syrup. Do the same with the other slice of bread and enjoy!! I figured there are about 300 calories in this and you'll definitely stay full all morning!

Back to school

The kids are all back to school! Kate is starting her last semester at HHS with straight A's! Jack worked super hard to bring a couple of his grades up from the firs quarter and I know he'll' continue to work hard. Joe is not thrilled about heading back, I hope he perks up as the day goes on.  He is entering the 12 year old boy funk. Blah. Middle school girls aren't fun and let me just tell ya, neither are middle school boys and all for different reasons.


Almost forgot to mention that Alex asked Kate to prom last night. She doesn't want to go to Sadies, she said she's been there done that and honestly, the past sadies haven't been so fun. So, we've skipped right over Sadies and on to prom. Let the dress shopping begin in a few weeks. Its still a little early even though we've received several prom magazines in the mail which Kate quickly deemed as too promish! I asked Jack if he was on the radar for sadies. He laughed and said no. hahaha. Oh Big Pop!!

backwards steps

I'm going about this a little backwards as I've already posted about new years day and not Christmas '11. We had a really nice holiday, it was busy but it was good. I was a little sad this year as the kids all got big items or not so big but big price tags so there really wasn't much to open. :( I loved it when there were toys everywhere, ha, I say that now but I don't know if I loved it then. I think I did though. We had Lucia's for the 2nd year in a row on Christmas eve. The house looked really pretty and the dinner was yummy. I made Tom and Jerry's, Rick did not like them but I enjoyed one. We watched elf in the man cave and went to bed by 11. The kids slept until 9am and like I said, it was a quiet morning. Everyone was happy and breakfast was yummy and we packed our bags to head to Peoria the next day. Our trip up north was great. We invaded the Shorts house right on time and we had a lot of fun. We saw Mom and Dad adn JJ and Abbie and Lauren and JoJo and old friends here and there. We didn't have snow but I wasn't sad about that. Kate was sad to leave, she always sheds a few tears. She and HOlly really had fun this year.

Kids are back to school tomorrow, I went back today and it was cold outside, too cold to take the little ones out. Hopefully it'll warm up a little bit by Thursday. Most of my Christmas is down, I'm leaving the tree in the front window up through the 6th, for epiphany. We'll settle into our January weekends, they'll be quiet for awhile. I'm in the process of planning sb'12 and booking our condo. the email came about the senior party and what money is owed for it. Kate is saving websites for dorm bedding, prom magazines are coming in the mail, and I need to get with Karen A about graduation announcements. May will be here before we know it!

Good Luck!

In the United States, the first Sephardi Jews arrived in Georgia in the 1730s, and have lived there continuously since. The Jewish practice was apparently adopted by non-Jews around the time of the American Civil War.




In the Southern United States,[5] the peas are typically cooked with a pork product for flavoring (such as bacon, ham bones, fatback, or hog jowl), diced onion, and served with a hot chili sauce or a pepper-flavored vinegar.



The traditional meal also features collard, turnip, or mustard greens, and ham. The peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion.[6] Cornbread also often accompanies this meal.



Another suggested origin of the tradition dates back to the Civil War, when Union troops, especially in areas targeted by General William Tecumseh Sherman, typically stripped the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock, and destroyed whatever they could not carry away. At that time, Northerners considered "field peas" and field corn suitable only for animal fodder, and did not steal or destroy these humble foods.[7]

The Best Broom For Sweeping Sand

The Best Broom For Sweeping Sand

I received this broom as a gift! OMG! Seriously it is awesome!!! Love love love...Everyone should have one!