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Monthly Archives: January 2012
So today I was reflecting on how much in my life I have to look forward to. I thought about this as I had a celebration at the kitchen sink today as I dumped all of Leah’s heart medications down the drain. I am not sure what I felt at that exact moment, I do know I was fighting back the tears. I wanted to thank God, thank Jesus, thank the doctors, and hold my baby girl close. I was hanging onto these bottles of medicines, I am not sure why exactly. She has been off all medications for a couple of months now, so I thought it was definitely time to get rid of them, when something becomes such a constant in your life it is hard to let it go I guess, the constant what ifs, what if she needs the medicine, don’t throw it away yet. The words of the cardiologist were echoing in my head as I watched the orange liquid swirl down the drain, “your baby’s heart is perfect, she has no restrictions, treat her like a regular baby with a regular heart now.” She seems to be doing so well and I am so thrilled that all the modern medicine in our world today saved her life. Time to move ahead, looking forward to making more memories with her and not letting the negativity in my life bring me down or at least try not to.
I made this recipe for the first time this week and it was so delicious and good for you too.
BBQ Chicken Tortilla Pizza
1 bottle of BBQ sauce whatever kind you like
1 cup of chicken stock
1-2 lbs chicken breasts no bone
Bell peppers at least 3 (orange, yellow, green or red whatever you like)
1 Large onion
Reduced Fat Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Whole Grain Tortillas
Pour chicken stock and bottle of BBQ sauce in large pot, put chicken in and cover with lid cook on medium heat until liquid boils- reduce heat to low and let simmer for 1-2 hrs.
Remove chicken and pull it apart with 2 forks
Put back into BBQ chicken stock mixture
Saute onions in olive oil move onions into a dish
Saute peppers in same pot
Put chicken, peppers, onions on Tortilla and top with cheese
Put in the oven on cookie sheet on 350 until cheese melts
Yum!
So I completely missed yesterday’s blog entry, I was super busy all day, so I am back today with Family and Friends Friday. I am slowly but surely becoming a sleep deprived mother again, baby girl decided that 2:30 was a good time to wake up today, so we were up until 4:45 ughhhhh. Yesterday I started looking at some old pictures and was reminiscing, some pictures made me smile, some made me really sad.
Well this weight loss thing is going okay. I am down about 7 lbs with a LONG way to go, but I am trying to take my one day at a time theory I use with my daughter and apply it to my weight loss. I didn’t gain all this weight overnight so it is not going to be gone overnight, it is going to take time and if it’s half a pound or 5 pounds at least it’s a loss.
I have been slacking in the exercise department, I am just so tired. I know that if I committed to doing it everyday maybe I wouldn’t be so tired. I just have to commit to myself that I will do at least 30 minutes a day.
I am a bit intimidated by the gym, I take the ZUMBA calsses and that’s about it. The equipment, all the people who look like athletes intimidate me, I don’t even know where to start with the weight lifting equipment, they have a lot of other classes there but I haven’t tried them yet. Well I am trying, I am doing Weight Watchers online, I may sign up for the meetings as well for the extra support. We shall see what happens, but good news is I no longer have the desire to eat crap because of how awful it makes me feel. Hopefully by this time next month I am down another 10 lbs. Wish me luck!!!
Dieting and exercise can be daunting, it can seem like such a chore especially when you have a lot to lose. I was reading this article this morning, that said “If the caveman didn’t eat it you shouldn’t eat it.” So we should be eating, fruit, vegetables, meat and nuts basically, nothing packaged, nothing in a can, only pure, fresh ingredients and I think it is true, whenever I eat this way I feel fabulous, try it I bet you will feel great. But it is so easy to pop something in the microwave, so easy to grab a snack that is packaged, with life, responsibilities, kids, cooking, cleaning time is not something I have a lot of.
So my tip for this week is to try and eat clean for just a week. I am going to buy myself and insulated lunch box and prepare all my snacks and meals for next week. Wish me luck. Oh and as for exercise, do something that is FUN or you will never stick to it. I havefound myself loving ZUMBA it is great exercise and lots of fun.
In other news, my daughter is starting her physical therapy and she is well on her way to catching up to all her little baby friends. She is my light, she keeps me focused, she keeps me striving for better, she keeps my outlook on life clear, she’s is my inspiration. Her brother just adores her and is such a great kid, I asked him if he wanted to share a birthday party with Leah this summer and he said “Mom I don’t need a big party, my sister has been through a lot she deserves to have her own party.” I just love that kid. (he will definitely be having his own birthday party, just for making my heart melt) Have to start the planning, now I have 2 parties to plan. Happy Tuesday everyone.
I was a teacher before I had kids, I was a good teacher, a creative teacher, a teacher who went the extra step, made the extra effort, made things fun, at least I think I did. I taught 5th grade and I absolutely loved my job, I looked forward to going to work every day. I look back on that time and I miss it, I miss being that good at something.
Do I want to go back to teaching in the classroom, probably not. I want to be be here for my kids, I do know that I want to do something creative with my life. I want to use my talents to do something in this world but I am not sure that teaching is it. I love crafts, I love to write, I love to take pictures, I love to create in the kitchen, I love being with my kids. I hope that someday I will do something that I love and look forward to each day that utilizes all my skills. Any ideas? What do you really want to do in your life?
It snowed yesterday, I kind of like it when it snows on the weekend, when my husband doesn’t have to drive in it. It is nice to spend the day together. My son got to play in it for a few hours with Daddy and I spent time with my little munchkin. She is doing better and better everyday, she just amazes me, she went to the cardiologist last week and he said he didn’t have to see her again for another 6 months, this was the best news ever. He said her heart was perfect, she could be treated just like a regular baby no limitations, my husbnd and I were thrilled beyond belief leaving the doctor’s office that day, so hard to believe where we are now, compared to where we are now. I remember a very wise friend telling me, months from now you are going to wonder how the hell did I ever get through that. We did get throught it, but we did it together as a family, we held on to each other, and never let go and here we are today. Amazing how things happen in life, just when you think you’ve hit bottom there is a life preserver floating at arms length for you to grab on to, I guess if you don’t lose focus, don’t lose your grip you will pull through, if you lose sight of what is important you will lose, your grasp, lose your way.I am happy that I held on tight, held on to the hope that she’d be okay, because today she is better than okay, she is fabulous and if we got through heart surgery we can get through anything. Through all of this I can not forget how wonderful my son has been through it all. He amazes me with his strengths and talents each and everyday. I know how hard all of this must have been for him to go through, but he was such a trooper and I am so proud of him.
We’ve come such a long way and there’s no looking back now, onward and upward. I am looking forward to doing all the things we can as a family, together.
I love to cook it relaxes me, soothes me, calms me. I like to create things that will make people happy, I am a people pleaser. I can’t wait until my daughter gets big enough to help me cook and bake in the kitchen. I make an AWSOME chili, so here is the recipe that I use. I make a big pot and I cook it in a big sauce pot or a pot you would make macaroni in. I like to use turkey in this recipe but you can also use beef and it tastes just as delicious.
Beth’s Turkey Chili
1 medium onion
1 clove of garlic
2 big can crushed tomatoes
2 cans kindney beans
1 package Ground Turkey
1 package Hot Turkey Sausage(you can use sweet if you don’t want it too spicy)
1 package of chil seasoning, I use Old El Paso
1. Chop onion and garlic saute in 2 tbsp olive oil
2. Take the sausage out of the casings put in pot and break up with wooden spoon and cook until brown
3. Add ground turkey cook until brown
4.Drain and rinse kidney beans and add to pot
5. Add chili seasoning and mix until meat and beans are coated
6. Add 2 cans of crushed tomatoes
7. I usually cook on low with a top on the pot for 3-6 hrs, the longer you cook it the better it tastes.
Top with shredded cheddar and sour cream, and serve with crusty bread, YUMMMY.
I had a hard time with this blog, trying to figure out what exactly to write about, Friends? Family? or both? So I decided to write about the one person in my life who is both my friend and my family, my husband. Kevin and I met when I was 21, just finishing up college, just out of a not so good for me reltionship and there he was. We met in an AOL chat room, we talked on the phone for about a week and then we decided to meet. At the time I was attending college in Manhattan, so I was thinking about where we could meet, well you couldn’t get any more “public” than Manhattan so we agreed to meet in front of the Disney Store on 5th avenune, I almost chickened out, almost didn’t show up. Anyway I am thankful that I did show up, he was so soft spoken, so kind, so nice. He had never been to the city before and I could tell he was a little overwhelmed. We went to the bookstore to get the rest of my books for that semester, and found a little diner to have lunch in, it was so nice I felt like I had known him all my life. We hugged each other goodbye that day and made a date for the next day, from that moment on we spent every moment we could together.
He asked me to marry him on Christmas Eve 4 years later. On March 16 we got married surrounded by all our friends and family, it was a wonderful day and the best wedding I have ever been to.
Kevin is my best friend I can’t imagine what my life would have been like without him, he works so hard for us and our family and I appreciate each and everything he does. He is the best father to our children and I couldn’t have asked for a better man. He plays with our son, his weekends are devoted to both kids, he is just wonderful. When we had our daughter he was my rock, my shoulder to cry on and he was there for me and I so couldn’t have done it without him. Our life has not been all daisies and roses, we have had some heartache and hardships, but through it all we have been there for each other and have loved one another. So thanks Kev for giving me a family I adore and being the friend that I need, I love you.
“When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.” Dalai Lama
It’s Thoughtful Thursday and today I would like to focus on being kind. If we all could just focus for a moment on being kind to one another, maybe there wouldn’t be such hate and unhappiness in the world. Is it really that hard to just smile at someone, to say something nice, to do something nice for someone. Be a shoulder to cry on, give someone a card or a gift that lets them know they mean something to you, that you matter to them. It can be as simple as holding a door for someone, saying thank you, telling someone to have a nice day, it doesn’t take that much time, and it could totally make someone’s day.
I want to teach my children to be kind, because I feel like it is something that is lacking in our society today, it’s all about me, me, me and never about what you can do for someone else. I want other’s to be kind to my children, I want people to smile at them, I want people to treat them with the respect they deserve. I feel like as a society people are more rude, and more obnoxious than ever. So here is my challenge to you. What can you do today to make someone’s day? What random act of kindness can you do that will make someone else smile? Do it go ahead, I know you can. Be mindful of someone else today, say hello, smile, hold the door for someone, hold the elevator, say goodmorning or have a nice day and mean it. Just think of living in a world where everyone puts someone else’s feeling before there own.
