Fringies

Moving It Monday - Tuesday Edition

2012-01-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

Sorry I missed last week and then yesterday also. Writing blog posts hasn't become habit yet, and therefore, gets set aside at times. Exercising, however, has become habit and I did do that even if I didn't blog about it.

My weight went down 0.6# and body fat % went up 2.4% over the last two weeks.

Over that same amount of time I went from deciding to run SoCal's Ragnar and beginning training for that to realizing that that was not something doable with my family's schedule. And my beloved treadmill went for it's last run also. I've put a lot of miles on it. Some part that makes the treadmill incline has broken; turning on the treadmill one can hear that motor running trying to move the 'mill up, but it goes nowhere.

So, I'm taking my running to the streets. Which is great actually. I get it done in a timely manner with no interruptions from the fam and with no interruptions from the littles, it truly is the Mommy Break I need.

We hear all the time about how weight loss is more about the food you eat than anything. I try to remind myself that my goal is to run Utah Valley Marathon in under 4 hours. To do so, I really need to work on fueling my body appropriately. Black licorice and Skittles, while tasty and fat-free, does not give my body the fuel it needs. And, just because I ran a few miles, it doesn't give me free reign of the food in the kitchen. Mindful eating is what I need to remember.

'Til next week...

Moving It Monday

2012-01-02T23:40:00.001-08:00

As I was tucking the kids into bed tonight, I realized I had yet to write out today's post.

So, here's a quick post for you.

I'm up 0.2 pounds (139#), but I'm down 2% in my body fat. After posting the scale pic on facebook last week, I was reminded of the fact that as I gain muscle, the scale won't go down, in fact, it may go up. Even if I feel like I still have 20# I could easily lose.

In light of this, I've decided to track my body fat percentage. I don't know how accurate my scale is, but I imagine the increase or decrease is accurate-ish. I'm just barely into the "acceptable" range and would like to decrease about 10% into the fitness range and maybe even athletic range.

(Holy cow, there is some annoying frog-thing croaking outside! Please, for the love, stop!)

I did miss one day of strength training due to a migraine. But, overall, I'd call last week a success. I registered for the Utah Valley Marathon. So I'm official there now. Yay! And I ran 10 miles in 90 minutes for my long run on Saturday. I'm trying to keep a 9-min pace even as my mileage increases. So far, so good.

Here's to a new week, a new month, and a new year!!

(Urgh! I wonder if closing the windows will be enough to keep from hearing that animal/frog that sounds like it's dying a slow, croaking death...)

Moving It Monday

2011-12-26T16:14:00.000-08:00

Jay Jacobs has inspired me to start (or at least TRY!) to be better about recording this healthy-living journey I'm on. He's posting a weekly pic of his weight on facebook.

I posted mine this morning on facebook and now here it is again:

I'm up one pound from last week. I did good with my exercising, but I splurged on sweets and sodium-rich meat on Christmas so I'm not too surprised. As I go back to a regular diet this week I hope to bring that down.

Here's my routine for the next 7 weeks: Jillian Michael's Ultimate Dumbbell Program 4x/week and 2 runs. As a runner, that is hard for me to do. I'm hoping the strength training will help me burn up some of this fat I'm looking to rid myself of and once the 8 week program is up, I'll be stronger, fitter, and less prone to running injuries. About that time is when I'll need to start my marathon training so it should work perfectly, right?

I'll sign off with my latest ASTRTOTD (Awesome Song To Run To of the Day). Enjoy!

Must. Think. Positive!

2011-12-22T20:05:00.001-08:00

I wish I could say that I absolutely love Christmas.

Ebeneezer pic from allmoviephoto.com (For the record, I don't have hair growing from the top of my nose. Just periodically from my chin...)

But, I don't. It's just too stressful for me sometimes. I need to concentrate more on it being CHRISTmas. I know it's an attitude problem on my part. That I need to concentrate on the positive and stop thinking of all the stressful things in my life. My children and my husband deserve that.

I came across a blog the other day where at the end of every day the author found one good thing that happened that day. (I wish I could remember the blog now...) I love that idea. I need that idea! I need to find the happiness that is surrounding me in the midst of what feels like incredible stress and chaos.

Today Sissy had her first basketball practice. She loved it! She wanted to practice dribbling after dinner tonight. We need to get her a smaller basketball though because a regular one is just a tad too big for her 5 year-old hands.

And she cleaned half of her room (Missy is supposed to clean up the other half)! It took a lot of crying and persuading, but Brad finally told me to put on my big girl panties and do it. Juuuuuust kidding. Sissy did not think it was something she could do on her own. I'm so proud of her that despite the whining and crying she actually did it. I think she was truly proud of herself too! Tonight when I thanked her for doing it she told me it was my Christmas present. Love that!

Yes, there were frustrating points to my day. Mainly they involved Buddy's never-ending messes of milk and pretzels and peanut butter sandwiches and poop. Really I love that he is potty-trained, but if he continues going #2 without telling me and without wiping himself, I might insist on him wearing a pull-up!! Okay, not really. It's just that Brad and I are getting tired of constantly finding pee all over the bathroom floor. Is it really that hard to aim?!?!

Whoops, going to end this post on a positive note. I love me some Buddy cuddling. He is a Master Snuggler. And when I kiss him he says, "Ewww Mom, that's lucky (yucky)!"

Tasty Tuesday

2011-12-13T15:26:00.001-08:00

Growing up, one of the highlights of going to the health food store with my Mom was when we'd get a treat: kefir, sesame seed honey bites , and Panda black licorice. So very good!

You can understand then why I was excited when a friend recently posted on facebook that she had some kefir grains that she wanted to share. I've never made homemade kefir, but I knew there are many health benefits to the homemade version versus the store bought.

I've been drinking about a cup a day for a week now. I was fermenting it in 2% milk at first and I found that using it with my daily protein smoothie really helped to curb my appetite for some time after drinking it. Also, I noticed a decrease in my desire for sugary sweets.

For a few months now, I had actually been substituting coconut water for milk in my protein smoothies. I figured that the protein powder, greek yogurt, and peanut butter offered enough fat and protein and that the potassium in the coconut water would be really beneficial to me, especially running as much as I am.

After drinking the kefir for a few days, I began to wonder if I could ferment my grains in coconut water instead of milk. I did a little research online and found that the grains need sugar to ferment so as long as the liquid they were placed in had sugar, the resulting liquid would be kefir.

With a little more research I came across this page about Tula, a young girl whose parents saw improvement in her autistic symptoms when she drank young coconut kefir. In fact, googling "coconut kefir autism" brings up a lot of results.

During Missy's NICU stay, she battled pneumonia and many different infections. She was on antibiotics nearly her entire time there. Then when she left the hospital she had ear infection after ear infection. In fact, she had ear tubes placed twice. I've often wondered if she has an gastrointestinal candida overgrowth.

Here's what my coconut water kefir looks like.

Then, I separate the grains from the liquid...

and am left with coconut water kefir!!

To my quart jar I return my grains and add 2 cups of fresh coconut water. I place plastic wrap over the top and put it in my pantry for another 24 hours. Easy peasy!!

The hard part is convincing the kidlets to drink this. I'm fine having 8oz in a smoothie. I prefer it with berries and bananas. It has a tart, sour taste with the first drink, but then I become accustomed to it and can drink the rest fine.

I took the advice of Tula's parents and decided to try just a half teaspoon for the kids. When they asked for something to drink I put their tiny serving in their cup with about 2oz of their preferred drink without them knowing. For Missy it was Trader Joe's Dixie Peach juice, Sissy and Buddy had theirs in 2% milk. No one noticed! Or said anything anyway. In fact, when Missy requested more juice, I put 1 teaspoon of the kefir in about 3 oz of juice. She drank it!!

Missy normally has a bowel movement once a week. I hate to think how bad that is for her. I'm hoping this will really help her. Tonight, ahead of her weekly schedule, she had a BM. Woohoo!!

Silly Saturday

2011-11-19T15:26:00.000-08:00

Sissy: What's ravioli?

Me: Small pockets of pasta with meat or cheese inside.

Buddy: Or MnM's inside.

Mmmm, my kind of ravioli!

Baby Brezza

2011-11-16T12:11:00.001-08:00

When Missy was a baby, my Mom gave me the old hand crank baby food grinder she used when my sisters and I were babies. It was awesome to be able to grind up what the rest of us were having for dinner. We saved buckets not buying baby food at the store.

Except when the Bedlamites were much smaller and couldn't eat what we were eating. I still used the baby food grinder, but first I had to cook up carrots or peas or squash, etc. Also, did I cook up a huge batch and freeze it to save time later or if I was short on time, maybe just do a small amount quick? A pain, right?

What a breeze it would have been if I had a Baby Brezza back then. With a push of a few buttons it not only cooks the food, but purees it also. What sold me is that you can even add raw meat and it will cook it all together. All while you do other things like ~~browse Pinterest while eating a Simply Carmel Milky Way~~ the laundry, dishes, and dusting.

So, after you get a Baby Brezza, what's the next thing you need? Why food, of course! Right now Baby Brezza is having a sweepstakes for a year of fresh produce (awarded in the form of gift cards). All you need to do is add a Baby Brezza One Step Baby Food Maker to your registry and then let Baby Brezza know. All the details can be found on their website.

P.S. If you're not expecting in the traditional sense (a.k.a. You're Trying To Adopt), please create a registry and enter the sweepstakes. Your family deserves to win just as much as the next one. :)

Disclosure: I was entered for a chance to win a Baby Brezza prize package in exchange for this post. No monetary exchange took place.

My Weekly Menu

2011-11-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be the latest Tasty Tuesday installment but I didn't get it finished yesterday. So instead it is... well, shoot I can't think of any alliteration cuz you know, you NEED alliteration... Weekly menu Wednesday... Riiiight. Let's just skip that part...

Look at all the yummy produce we received in our small box this week from Abundant Harvest Organics.

We have persimmons, pomegranates, green beans, lettuce, bok choy, bell peppers, summer squash, mint, tokyo turnips, kohlrabi, and tuscan kale. The persimmons are the hachiya variety. I have them sitting in a paper bag with a banana in an attempt to ripen them. After trying an unripe one, I'm afraid to use them in anything unless I'm totally certain they're ripe.

Here's our menu plan this week, using our amazing fresh, organic produce.

Wed: Curried Pumpkin Soup with green beans (uses garlic and onion from a previous week and the green beans)

Thurs: Wonton Soup (uses peas I've frozen from a previous week and the bok choy -I'll be subbing ground turkey seasoned with sage for the ground pork)

Fri: Baked Chicken Breasts with Tuscan Kale and Beans (uses previous week's garlic and onions and this week's kale

Sat: Turkey patties with Kohlrabi (okay this one is just obvious... We're fans of turkey/beef patties lightly seasoned with steak seasoning - no buns needed)

Sun: Chicken and ravioli pesto (uses summer squash and green peppers)

Mon: Turkey patties with Roasted Veggies and Roasted Garlic Sauce (uses squash and turnips)

The salad will be eaten for lunches throughout the week.

You can also get add-ons through Abundant Harvest and this week we bought popping corn.

Brad and I tried it out last night and it was SO COOL!! We just put an ear of corn in a paper bag, rolled it up and put it in the microwave. Then pop it similar to microwave popcorn. We ate it plain while watching The Biggest Loser last night.

On a Halloween candy note, I made a rule this year that every piece of candy that the kids eat they have to eat a similar size piece of fruit or vegetable before they have more candy. It worked well yesterday; a couple pears, apples and a stalk of celery was consumed along with their candy. They're starting to get bored with the candy and that's just fine with me.

What's on your menu this week and do you have rules with your Halloween candy consumption?

Don't knock yourself down

2011-10-23T21:29:00.000-07:00

What a fun weekend we've had!

Hercules and Athena

Friday night Brad and I were able to go to a Halloween party. In our 10 years together, we've never attended a Halloween party and it's been forever and a day since we've had a date night (thanks Grandpa and Grandma for having the kids over!). It was a lot of fun to spend time with other adults, just enjoying each other's company and being silly. There are so many creative and talented people in our Ward!

Saturday night was the Trunk or Treat for our Ward. We've got a witch, ladybug, and Optimus Prime. We got a black wig for Missy, but decided to go with black hairspray for Sissy. I forgot how gross that stuff is!!!

The kids had a blast with the different activities: fish pond, cupcake walk, and tissue ghost. Oh, and of course, seeing all their friends dressed up!!

Then it was time for the candy! Unfortunately, Brad had to work so there was no one to man our car while I took the kids around. Thanks Bishop & Natalie for handing out our candy for us!

Afterwards we brought Brad dinner at work. The kids loved being there at night with him. We were hoping to see the raccoon families that live there, scavenging in the garbage cans for leftover organic goodness. But, no such luck. (ETA: The raccoon families scavenge the garbage cans; we don't. Just realized it sounded kind of weird... haha!)

Brad and I have started watching the t.v. series Parenthood streaming through Netflix. I've wanted to watch the series for a while, but Brad doesn't like to watch a series unless he's seen it from the beginning. We're on the second season now.

While it's obviously been really interesting to watch how the Braverman family deals with Max's Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis, the other aspects of the show are great too. There is a quote that Adam said to his niece Amber that I've really been thinking about the last few days.

"Life will knock you down more times than you can possibly imagine. Don't knock yourself down."

How many times do I not try something because I'm afraid of failure? More than I care to admit. It also makes me think of what my Mom used to say to me all the times growing up. Quoting Great Grandma Hoke, she'd say, "It doesn't hurt to ask. All they can say is no."

How ridiculous for me to tell myself no before I even try. Or to sabotage myself because I'm afraid of failing. This week at our Body Back class Alyssa asked us to work on combating the gremlin that sits on our shoulder telling us that we can't (or as Pete Cohen says, "Shutting the Duck up!" ).

I'm tired of giving up before I try. Of deciding the answer is no before I ask. Time to change! Time to change!!

Silly Saturday

2011-10-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

My kids are at the age that the way they pronounce words or the words that they think are the lyrics of a song is cute, possibly even amusing so I'm including them on Silly Saturday. Also, it's my blog so I pretty much do what I want. Case in point: Remember when I changed Buddy's secret blog name from Little Man to Buddy? No? Oh, that's right, if you're reading this chances are you're not my one regular reader from Massachusetts. Anyway, sorry, tangents are what happen as I write while listening to They Might Be Giants. They're like one big ADD-fest...

Soooooo.

Buddy came up to me last week, pencil in hand, asking me to help him be "Hammy Hammy". I tried and tried to figure out what he meant. Fortunately, before he became incredibly frustrated with me, I made the connection between a pencil behind the ear and Hammy Hammy, a.k.a. Handy Manny. Phew... Tantrum averted!

A few days ago I had the opportunity to go to a Launch Party that Real California Milk (there are coupons on that site!!) put on for their new Seal Collection program to benefit schools. Before we got started on the activities for the night we had a photo scavenger hunt. One of the items was "Dance with a California Cow." I think this photo explains it all...

Happy Silly Saturday to you! I hope as the weekend is here you can look back through the week and find something to smile about.

Tasty Tuesday

2011-09-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

It's Pineapple Day here. I've become a bit of a Fresh Pineapple Snob. It just tastes so much better than canned. I do use canned in baking recipes and Frog-Eyed Salad. Just so you know... :)

I thought I'd show you how I cut a pineapple. Oh, first you'll have to choose a pineapple at the store. I've heard of different ways to pick a good pineapple. The one I use is smelling the bottom. It should have a sweet, pineapple-y smell though I try to avoid the ones with signs of mold - that's probably too ripe. Okay, on to slicing up your pineapple. First, you need one of these awesome little plastic tools.

Last week I saw them in the produce section at Vons. I bought mine several years back at a kitchen supply store. Cut off the top of the pineapple, line up the serrated end of the tool with the small circle you see on the pineapple. That's the core and is tough and nasty to eat.

Your goal is to avoid that area. As you turn the tool, apply downward pressure. The more pressure you apply, the thicker the chunks will be.

Once it feels like you've made it to the bottom, pull the tool out of the core.

I then use a knife and slice through the pineapple creating chunks.

Yum!!

Then slice the pineapple "shell" in half. Now we're going to harvest our crushed pineapple. Waste not, want not, right?

Using a large kitchen spoon, scrape the sides of each half.

Now do the same for the top of the pineapple, circling the core (yeah, my parents taught me to be frugal!).

Now, you're all set.

Enjoy!!

Pin It

Moving It Monday

2011-09-26T16:14:00.000-07:00

A quick update for you because I'm short on time (surprise!).

This past week I didn't exercise like I would have liked. I didn't do too bad, but I developed a tendonitis-like symptom in my shoulder. It felt like tendonitis, but it wasn't a consistent pain. My shoulder would periodically seize up and the pain was excruciating so after Wednesday I only did running workouts.

I must have done my eating and running right though because I lost 1.7 pounds (137#). Yay!

At the Final Assessment I was able to knock a minute off my mile run.

I'm looking forward to seeing how I can improve in this next session coming up in October. I love getting stronger!

Plus, these ladies are fun to spend time with!

How are you going to move this week?

Moving It Monday

2011-09-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

It's been an incredibly long time since I've wrote a Moving It Monday. I promise I've still been moving, moving even though I haven't been posting here.

Wow, it looks like June 7th, right before the marathon, was my last MIM. Hey, I never reported back on that! I loved it! I think a marathon is kind of like child birth because I'm sure Brad would say, "Afterward you barely made it to the car and on the way home you nearly vomited 4 times, yet you loved it?!?!" And I would say, "Yep!"

I had my music in one ear. I usually run a mile in about 3 songs so my game plan was to just go at my forever pace for two songs, then pick it up for the third song, pass at least 5 runners and then go at a moderate pace for the rest of the mile. It worked great and I finished in 4:36.

The highlight was seeing my family near the finish line. I saw them and realized that I still had something left in my reserves. I didn't want to finish without giving it my all. They spurred me into a sprint at a time when I would never have thought a sprint would be possible.

I later learned that Sissy had offered the breakfast prayer that morning. Her prayer included, "Please help Mommy to not give up." Oh, how I love my family!!

Ok, so since I reported my weight March 14th (MARCH?!?!) I've lost 5 pounds (I'm at 138.4). Most of those have been in the last 8 weeks as I've had Alyssa and Dina working me hard at Body Back. Seriously, they have pushed me harder than I would ever push myself. Plus, it's been a lot of fun to work out with other women. Tomorrow night is our final assessment and I'll see how much weight I've lost, how many inches, and see if my mile run time has improved and my ability to do push-ups, etc...

I still struggle with what I eat. Body Back has a menu plan that I should be following. It's a great plan and really easy to do. My problem is that I'm addicted to sugar. I've decided to try to break that... AGAIN! Many moons ago I did the New Beverly Hills Diet. I don't completely subscribe to everything in that book, but I think that it works really well to cleanse your body from the inside out. Why take those colon cleanse pills with strange, unknown ingredients when you can clean out your body using real food?

Anyway, I've decided to try it again. (You can see a short run-down of the plan here.) Critics of the diet say it is not enough calories. The author of the book, Judy Mazel, recommends not exercising for at least the first few weeks. I believe it's important to continue exercising. Yes, the weight may not come off as fast because you are building muscle, but the pros of exercising outweigh the cons.

Back to the idea that there isn't enough calories-- I agree, if you're exercising, it isn't enough calories. So, I plan to track my calories each day and if I find that by the end of the day I'm lacking calories by a significant amount, I will eat something sensible. For example, today was a pineapple/papaya day. I didn't feel like that was enough (it was only about 700 calories) so for dinner I had a tomato and avocado sandwich on toasted whole grain bread. Instead of mayo, I used a laughing cow cheese wedge (YUM!)

Sunday is my rest day so I felt that calorie count was fine for a no-exercise day. Lately I've been exercising at night so I plan to make these Little Bites of Awesomeness to use before I exercise if I feel like I need some extra calories to fuel my workout. I made some sans coconut flakes (does anybody else think coconut has the greatest taste, yet is so disgusting flaked?!?) last night and they didn't last long. They are incredibly good! I'm getting some dried stevia in my produce box this week so I might try that out in some recipes to try to cut my dependence on sugar.

The diet is 35 days so I'll let you know how it's going over the next month. As a side note, if you're interested in the diet I highly recommend the book. I don't agree with everything she says, but it is really helpful to get her info day-to-day and she also has some nutritional supplements that she recommends. You can get a used one on Amazon for a pretty good price. Heck, even the new ones aren't too bad.

I'll check in once a week with my weight, but I'm not going to be too surprised if it doesn't move as quickly as I'd like considering I'm really trying to increase my strength training along with running. I came across an interesting diet calculator here. I think it actually has some merit to it and will be checking it once a month. I checked it on August 30th and these were my numbers:

BMI: 24.5

Waist to Hip Ratio: 0.53 (less than 0.5 is recommended)

Body Fat %: 35.5 (sigh... Ultimately, I'd really like to get this into the Fitness range, but for now I'm going to work on getting into the acceptable range, the high end of which is 31%.)

Happy Moving this week! Remember the most important step is that first step!

The "I pledge to be better about blogging post" #5837

2011-09-17T23:48:00.000-07:00

I've been reading back over the course of this blog and I want to be better about blogging. I love reading about things the kids have done, places we've been, memories that have been made. So, I'm just going to jump in with both feet and give it a go.

Brad's brother and his family have been visiting and today was the day we went to the clubhouse pool to play. It was a lot of fun to see the kids enjoying themselves so much. I really wish I had signed the kids up for swim lessons this past Summer. I promised Sissy we would next year for sure.

Even Buddy is getting more relaxed and enjoying the water more. He's doing so good with potty training too. Twice he told me he needed to go and actually used the "big" potty there.

Sissy is loving Kindergarten.

Pictured here on the first day of school with her Fairy lunch box.

They just finished the alphabet this week. She brought home her first book order a few weeks ago. I think Brad and I were as excited about it as she was. We both look back very fondly on book orders.

We've all been quite busy with our continuing training of Lacy out at DogWish. We've learned so much and love seeing how our family has changed over the last few months since Lacy came to live with us as McKenzie's Life Dog (Autism Service Dog). No, life isn't perfect now, but McKenzie's general behavior has greatly improved.

I remember how after each one of my children were born, Brad and I would sit and think how even though the new child had only been alive a few months, we couldn't imagine life without them. That's how I feel about Lacy. She's such a part of the family that I can't imagine life without her.

I've been loving my Body Back classes that I won from the Joggermom virtual marathon in May. It was an 8-week program. The final assessments are on Monday and I'm so excited to see how I've done. My weight loss will probably only be a few pounds, unfortunately, but I think I've lost some in the measurement department.

I've got to head to bed, but please take a moment and head over to Aspiring Mama. She's trying really hard to do something nice for a family in need and no one has donated for the raffle that I donated to the cause. It's for a $25 Scentsy gift card. I imagine if you donate at least $5 there is a pretty good chance the gift card will be yours. If no one does, I'm just going to tell her to keep it for herself...

Silly Saturday

2011-08-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

On Thursday morning, Buddy came to me to complain he was cold. I could see the goosebumps forming on his arm as he exclaimed, "I have a headache on my arms!" I tried explaining goosebumps and shivers to him, but he just laughed me off, "You so funny Mommy..."

Thoughts

2011-08-04T10:58:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Sissy's last day and performance at Kinder-Theater. She's had a blast and it's been so fun for her. It is sad to realize it's done though because that means the start of school is right around the corner. Next week, in fact.

She is so excited to start Kindergarten. And she'll be so good at it. Everyone enjoys being around her and playing with her. Yet, she's so nervous that she won't have any friends. It is so important to her that she is liked. I don't understand how someone so young can have such concerns. Yet, I do.

I worry too much what others think. A few days ago in an online forum (warning: that link contains some foul language) a man went into great detail on all the ways I'm spending my money wrong. I realize that putting myself out there and asking for donations opens me up for that. But, his rant kinda threw me for a loop for a few days. He was wrong on the most part and misconstrued.

Brad described it this way: One could easily say that Brad goes to the spa 5 days a week and spends many hours there. It would be a completely true statement. Yet, they're leaving out the part that he is employed by the spa. How I love my Hubby, he totally understands me.

And, I know that those that know me IRL know I'm not the way the man put me out there. You pretty much have to twist my arm to get me to spend money on myself. I try to be frugal in everything I do. That's the way I was raised. So, I'm trying to put his comments behind me and push on, look at the positive.

The reddit.com community completely surprised me with their generosity, especially considering the fact that they are all strangers to me. Even the man who went to great lengths to "expose" me donated to our cause. The crafty ladies in my Ward will be spending this month creating for a fundraiser to be held in September for McKenzie and Lacy. They are so many wonderful and generous people out there.

If you need a good laugh today, I suggest heading over to Notes to My Children's Therapist. He's always good for a laugh!

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Review and Giveaway: Darcyannie Bits and Pieces Boutique

2011-08-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen such cuteness as this?

Hmmm, maybe this?

Yeah, it's hard to pick a favorite at Darcyannie Bits and Pieces Boutique.

When Darcy contacted me about doing a review and giveaway for her shop, I was so excited. Now you can see why! She sent us two of her cabled newsboy hats and one of her flowered headbands to review.

I love how soft and comfy her creations are; we often forget we're wearing them! My kids love playing and being silly in them.

With it being so atrociously hot out right now, I especially love the flower headbands. They go with so many different outfits. It's easy to spruce up jeans or a light summery dress when wearing one of her headbands.

Do you want your own creation from Darcyannie Bits and Pieces Boutique? For the month of August you can enter coupon code "backtoschool" and receive 10% off your order. Yeah, as hot as it is, school is right around the corner and with it the chilly autumn nights. Time to prepare people!! :)

You can also enter this giveaway for a $25 credit to her etsy shop. Double Yay! Here's how:

MANDATORY INITIAL ENTRY: Go take a gander at Darcyannie Bits and Pieces Boutique. Come back here and tell me in a comment what you might want if you won the $25 shop credit. Please be sure to leave a way for me to contact you (email, twitter, G+, etc...).

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES: (please leave a separate comment for each)

**Make a purchase at Darcy's shop. Every $5 equals one additional entry.
**Follow Darcyannie Bits and Pieces Boutique on twitter. Leave your twitter handle in the comment here.
**Tweet: "Get ready for school with a #giveaway from @darcyyoungblood and @fringies http://bit.ly/pkujzT" (limit one tweet a day)
**Like Darcyannie Bits and Pieces Boutique on facebook.
**Like Fringies - Knitting With One Needle on facebook.
**Follow Fringies through Google Friend Connect. (in the left sidebar)
**Follow Darcy's blog through Google Friend Connect.

This giveaway ends August 12th at midnight PST.

P.S. I received the hats and flower headband at no charge in exchange for reviewing and hosting the giveaway. My opinions weren't influenced by this fact. Just in case you thought differently...

McKenzie & Lacy

2011-07-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

Last week I sent the following email out to my family and friends. I also posted it on facebook.

Hi Family and Friends,

I hope this finds you all doing well!

As some of you may know, Brad and I feel that a Service Dog would be something that would benefit McKenzie. We have contacted a few organizations in the hopes that they could provide a dog that would help McKenzie with her Autism characteristics and also provide the services necessary for someone who is Deaf. We have recently discovered Bob Taylor of DogWish, Inc. and feel that a dog trained by him will be exactly what McKenzie needs.

We were able to spend some time at DogWish in Colton, CA yesterday. After we met several dogs we realized that the dog that McKenzie has a connection with is Lacy, a beautiful 1-year old German Shepherd. She has been well-trained and has a relaxed demeanor. Bob was willing to let us bring Lacy home with us. We will continue our training at DogWish with her so that she will not only be an Autism Service Dog, but a Protection Dog for McKenzie.

As you can imagine, it is costly to purchase and train a dog with her abilities. Bob Taylor is asking for $6,000. We feel this is a value considering the benefits and blessings that McKenzie (and by extension, the rest of our community) will receive through her companionship with Lacy. We are writing to ask for your sponsorship of McKenzie and Lacy as we continue to pay for her training. We have set up a PayPal account for this using our jgsjensen@hotmail.com email. We understand that times are hard all around. We are grateful for any amount with which you would be able to help us. Also, all of my commissions from selling Scentsy will be going to paying for Lacy and her training. You can find my Scentsy page here: http://fringies.scentsy.us

We appreciate all of your love and help in the past and future.

Lots of Love,

The Fringie Family - Brad, Jessica, McKenzie "Missy", "Sissy", "Buddy", and Lacy

Update: Since sending out that email and posting that note last week, we've been able to raise just under $400 from some of our family and friends. I also appreciate the donations that come in forms other than monetary. Last week my car started to over heat. We had problems with it last year, requiring the $600 replacement of parts and I was frustrated to think things had started up in that department once again. My Bishop (the leader of my church congregation) offered to come take a look and was able to help Brad fix it - it was pretty simple, but that saved us a diagnostic fee. Earlier in the day, his son baby-sat my kids and refused payment.

Tomorrow my Mom and one of my sisters are having a yard/garage sale to benefit McKenzie and Lacy. If you live in Utah, here is the link. I'm sure it will be full of some great things, knowing my Mom and Natalie!

I appreciate all that is done for us, every little bit makes a big difference!

Book Review & Giveaway: (dis)Abilities and the Gospel

2011-07-12T22:42:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to have the opportunity to read and review (dis)Abilities and the Gospel: How to Bring People with Special Needs Closer to Christ. It was written by Danyelle Ferguson and Lynn Parsons, M.S.

Each day, parents and church leaders struggle to teach individuals with special needs. Using helpful information, real-life stories, and a touch of humor, (dis)Abilities and the Gospel provides ways for you to effectively teach people of all ages with autism, Down syndrome, bipolar disorder, memory loss, and other disabilities.Inside this useful guide, you’ll find
• Guidance for building strong family relationships• Steps to teaching prayer and scripture study• Practical and creative teaching tips• Programs to help with transitions, communication barriers, and behaviors• Techniques to help others feel welcome and valued
Find the answers you need and overcome the challenges of teaching the gospel. (dis)Abilities and the Gospel will help you develop each person’s ability to learn and grow as you build peace in your home or classroom.

First off, I loved this book. It's just what I needed to read at this time.

Missy wasn't diagnosed with autism until she was 5 years old. At that time we were attending a Deaf Branch of the LDS Church. She was one of usually 4 kids. It was easy for her to get the one-on-one help we knew she needed. Her teachers had experience with children with special needs.

The next year we decided to begin attending the Hearing Ward in our area. No one else in the Ward knows sign language so I've been Missy's one-on-one helper. Even though she is my own daughter, there is still so much for me to learn.

This book is great to help you help those you have a responsibility for no matter if you're the parent or the teacher. Or both, in my case.

Starting with the youngest and continuing on up, Danyelle and Lynn give concrete ways to help children, and eventually adults, learn more about Christ and the gospel whatever their abilities. The LDS Church runs on volunteer help. The person teaching may be a plumber, a lawyer, an accountant, etc in their "day" job. They may have no experience whatsoever in dealing with Special Needs. This book is written in such a way that anyone can understand and benefit.

While the book deals with the LDS Church specifically, I feel that it could be used within any denomination that has children and adults with Special Needs within their congregation.

I highly recommend reading this book even if you don't spend time with Special Needs Adults and Children. The ideas taught will help increase understanding and patience for all of God's children, no matter their (dis)Abilities.

This book can be purchased at:

Blog Tour Giveaways:

Enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card and a free 20 minute consultation with Danyelle! You can ask her about parenting, church surivival, adapting lessons - or even about writing and publishing. Two names will be drawn on July 22nd. The drawing will include 1 winner of a $25 Amazon gift card and free consultation and a second winner of a free consultation. Winners will be announced on www.QueenOfTheClan.com There are many ways to enter. You must leave a comment on the reviewer’s blog letting us know what you’ve done. Please include your email address.

1 Point Each:

- Leave a thoughtful comment about the blogger’s review.

- Add the book to your “to-read” list on GoodReads

- Follow the reviewer’s blog

- Follow Danyelle’s blog

- Follow Lynn’s blog

- Follow Danyelle on FB

- Follow Lynn on FB

- Follow Danyelle on Twitter @DanyelleTweets

- Follow Lynn on Twitter @ParsonsLynn

2 Points Each:

- Tell your friends about (dis)Abilities and the Gospel on Facebook with a person links to Danyelle Ferguson & Lynn Parsons

- Tell your friends about (dis)Abilities and the Gospel on Twitter with links to @DanyelleTweets

5 Points:

- Interview Danyelle or Lynn for your blog or write a blog post about why you’re excited about (dis)Abilities and the Gospel. Be sure to leave a direct link to your post in your comment so we can visit and say hello!

Blog Tour Schedule

June 2nd - Christine Bryant @ Day Dreamer

June 7th - Tristi Pinkston

June 9th - Tamera @ 3 Boys & a Dog

June 14th - Ashlee @ Topsy Turvy Cakes

June 17th - Heather Justesen

June 23rd - Rebecca Talley

June 27th - Don Carey

July 6th - Danette @ Everyday Adventures

July 8th - Sheila Staley @ LDS Women's Book Review

July 11th - Kathy @ I Am a Reader, Not a Writer

July 13th - Jessica @ Fringies

July 15th - Heather @ Fire and Ice by Little Red Reads

July 18th - Nichole Giles @ Star Crossed Book Reviews

The book was provided to me for review by the authors. My opinion was not influenced by this fact and I received no compensation.

Silly Saturday!

2011-06-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Some of the silliest things that go on here in the Fringie Family are things mis-said and/or misheard.

This morning Sissy told me, "The bad girls on Jem and the Holograms are called The Biscuits." Thanks to the Hub she has been watching the old Jem and the Holograms shows. I tried not to giggle and told her that actually they're called The Misfits...

Buddy likes to copy what Sissy says. My favorite mis-interpretation of his right now is when he loudly sighs and proclaims, "I'm boring!"

While we're on the subject of boredom, do you know the ASL sign for "bored"? It's one of my faves and you can learn it right here.

Happy Silly Saturday! Hope you have a non-boring weekend!

Moving It Monday

2011-06-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

pic from My First 5k and More

(Please forgive my stream of consciousness on this belated Moving It Monday)

T-minus 94 hours and counting...

I officially have the pre-race jitters.

The idea of only running 3 miles today (as per my taper) seems tiny and insignificant. I understand the idea that I don't want to risk injuring myself, but 3 miles??? Thursday is only supposed to be 2 miles...

Training has affected my children in ways I'm sure I have yet to understand. Instead of saying "just two more minutes" when Buddy wants more time he says "just two more miles". Good grief, how often have I said that...

I worry that "just two more miles" hasn't been enough yet I ran 99.9 miles in the month of May ( I totally would have ran that extra tenth of a mile if I had realized I was that close to a hundred miles during my run on the 31st. Adrian Monk would be so frustrated and disappointed with me...)

I had my greys colored yesterday (we have family pictures on Thursday & I have to look 33 in my post-race pics, not 83). I guess all that's left to do is watch Run, Fatboy, Run.

Do you have any pre-race traditions?

Tasty Tuesday

2011-05-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

When you get a couple of varieties of lettuce with your Abundant Harvest box, a salad is pretty much in order. Last night I paired it with homemade poppy seed dressing (2/3 c. rice vinegar, 1 c. canola oil, 1/4 c. sugar, 2 T. dry onion dip mix, 1 T. poppy seeds). We then topped this with sliced strawberries that are on sale at Vons for $1/#. Delicious!!

Next up is peas. Scores and scores of peas! These are scrumptious eaten raw, freshly shelled from the pod. We got so many peas though that we had to come up with additional ways to eat them. Enter Chicken Fettucine with Peas. (It's actually Thin Spaghetti, but Chicken Thin Spaghetti with Peas just doesn't carry the same appeal... )

The same night we had our Chicken and Peas Pasta we had some Summer Squash (pictured is zucchini, yellow squash, and patty pan squash.) I put them in a microwave-safe dish, covered with plastic wrap and cooked in the microwave for a few minutes. After cooking, I sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Very good!!

This week I cooked fresh peas for the first time. They taste so much better than frozen or canned peas! Did you try any new food this week? Or do you have some new food in the line-up for this week?

Moving It Monday

2011-05-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

Even though I haven't been posting, I've still been moving, moving. My first marathon will be in less than three weeks. I had an 18 mile run on Saturday. I started out too fast and was completely worn out by the end. I think part of my problem was that I started out a little dehydrated, having been at an outdoor faire for a few hours before my run.

I've begun my taper before the race so I've started thinking what am I going to do after the race? How will my workouts change?

I've decided I need to concentrate on lowering my body fat. My scale does measure body fat percentage, but I don't know how accurate it is. Instead I'll be tracking the measurements of my waist, hips, and left thigh.

To start off:
waist: 34.75"
hips: 41"
thigh: 22"

I plan to get at least an hour of exercise in 6 days/week. It most likely will be either running or lifting weights. Today I got in 36 minutes of running and 24 minutes of weight lifting; I'm off to a great start!

Who's your Farmer?

2011-05-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

I've recently become acquainted with my local farmers through Abundant Harvest Organics. I am loving it!!

One of the pros of living in California is the weather that allows us to have awesome produce nearly year-round. I have started a garden:

Unfortunately it's a bit meager right now. So, while I hope to one day provide more produce for the family through our little garden, I also love trying the produce through the local farmers. Also, I don't have any mature fruit trees at the moment so getting strawberries, apriums, and cherries are a real treat.

It's been fun to find recipes to use the veggies. It's embarrassing to say I'd never cooked cauliflower for my family. It's just not something I preferred so I really wasn't going to try to convince my kidlets to try it. This past week we got artichokes in our box and I'm searching the web to learn how to prepare it and recipes to use it in. Brad and I really enjoyed Chef Bill Wavrin's Vegetable Pizza so I think I'll use our summer squash (haha, I almost typed squarsh - that's for you Grams and Grandad!) and artichokes on a Veggie Pizza.

It has also been fun finding uses for the veggies beyond dinner. I have loved adding the rainbow chard to my smoothies: banana, frozen blueberries, whatever fruit is around (mandarins, oranges, strawberries, apriums), ground flaxseed, chard, and milk/water). If it's after a workout I also add protein powder. Delicious!!

Anyway, I just want to give you a gentle push into searching out a CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) in your area. You can find out more by going to the Local Harvest site and/or the USDA's site.

This menu plan for this week is:

Chicken Linguine w/ Parmesan Squash

Veggie Pizza

Shredded Beef Sandwiches w/ Summer Poppyseed Salad

Baked Chicken w/ Cauliflower Bake

Chicken Salad

If I'm a good lil' blogger there will be pics come Tuesday for the next installment of Tasty Tuesday...

Marathon Fundraiser

2011-05-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, I have been training for my first marathon. I'm becoming more and more excited; it's just around the corner!

Recently I mentioned on facebook that with fuel costs being so atrocious it was going to be quite the cost to drive the family to Utah for the Marathon and visiting with the extended family for a few days. It was suggested that I have a bake sale. While I love baking, I also love Scentsy and decided that a Scentsy fundraiser was the best route.

A few months ago I became acquainted with Scentsy. I love it! I love the safety of the wickless candle (flameless, smokeless, and sootless) and the diverse and large selection of warmer and scent options. If home fragrance is not for you, they also have other wonderful products. The Scent Paks are a great option for gym bags, lockers, or can be used with a Scentsy Buddy, a cuddly animal toy for children. The Fragrance Foam (an antibacterial hand sanitizer) is a favorite of mine and my kids. There is an option to host a party if you'd like the opportunity to earn free product.

I would love for your help in my Marathon Fundraiser. If you're in Southern California, you can take advantage of free shipping by calling or emailing me your order. I also can arrange a time for you and I to meet and let you smell the 82 scent testers and see a warmer in action.

Please contact me if you have any questions and please share this with others you feel would be interested.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration!