In your own skin

As a woman who often does not feel comfortable in her own skin and has battled with her weight for years now... I truly appreciated this article and enjoyed reading it. Thought I would share. :)

http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2009/08/on-the-cl-the-picture-you-cant.html

Put on your big girl shoes

School has began.. again. Fall semester. It feels like I have been going to school my whole life.. oh wait! I have! ;) This is the first week of class and already I am overwhelmed with projects, homework, presentations, interviews, and lots more! Today, on what is supposed to be my lunch break from work... I left class feeling a little blah. Some days I just feel like throwing my hot pink school binder in the trash can and running these Mary Jane's as far away from this campus as I possibly can and then I remember why I am here and how far I have come to get here. I have always worked and gone to school. Never have I had the luxury of going to school throughout the week whenever I pleased. I always have to squeeze school in and pray for dear life that I make good grades. Last semester I was sick and big pregnant and every mon, wed, and friday I walked up what seemed like the biggest hill I have ever seen to get to the Chemistry building, I sat in the teacher's chair after I no longer could breathe in my desk anymore (Judson was getting really big in there), and I had him on Spring Break and went back to school the next week and somehow I managed to pass two other courses and make the Dean's List. I have worked too hard to give up now. I can do this!! YES I CAN! I just need to put on my big girl shoes and press on!!!

Judson's 4 month Update

Judson Bailey went to see Dr. Mobley yesterday and he is a whopping 17 lbs. 2 oz. 24.5 inches. What a BIG boy! That's how I like babies though.. little chunky monkeys! So cute.

Anyway- Dr. Mobley (who's name always reminds me of Mogley in the Jungle Book) measured the growing hemangioma (strawberry) on Judson Bailey's back. They are keeping an eye on it to make sure it does not grow too rapidly. She advised me that it will start going down in 1-2 years and to not have it lasered or messed with what so ever. My problem with this birth mark is not cosmetic wise.. it's that he seems to be uncomfortable with it. He won't lay to that side of his body, he will not roll over on that side.. I just want to make sure it is not bothering him. I for sure want nature to take it's course and not have it lasered or surgically altered unless absolutely necessary. He was so excited to see the doctor.. he giggled and cooed.. and then he got his shots!! 5 of them!! Poor baby. I almost cried. Poor me.

They tested his vision, hearing, etc. everything is great! Thank you God. He is running a low grade fever today and being slightly quiet, but hopefully he will be feeling hisself tonight when we get home.

Salmon Sistarita :)

Over the past few years, I have acquired the taste for Salmon. Seems like everywhere I go I long for the salmon on the menu. My friends and family pick on me because they can always guess what I am going to order.... SALMON! It is just so yummy, filling, and wonderfully full of nutrients for your body. I leave dinner filling nice, not overstuffed. I told my friend Maranda that it would be so much fun to travel around the world and document my Salmon findings, lol but realistacally I will have to start with here. Below is a list of the places that I have tried Salmon and I have put them in the order of my favorite being #1 down to my not so favorite. You get the picture! Here goes-

1. Harbor Room Resteraunt located in Riverview Plaza Hotel, Mobile, Ala.- Pan seared Salmon with Whipped Cream Potatoes and Lemon infused Olive Oil. Absolutely superb!!!

2. Ruby Tuesday's Asian Glazed Salmon glazed with Peanut-Barbeque sauce and served with steamed broccoli and brown rice pilaf. This sauce is delicious!! I was surprised they were my 2nd favorite! :)

3. Green Street Cafe, Miami, FL- Salmon Penne, Light Cream and Vodka Sauce over Smoked Salmon. Very different BUT very good!

4. The Cheesecake Factory- Herb Crusted Fillet of Salmon with Lemon Sauce and Mashed Potatoes. Such a delight- even though I was sick pregnant with Judson at the time I tried it.

5. Logan's Roadhouse Grilled Salmon served with Garlic-dill sauce. Wonderful, but could do without the dill sauce.

6. Mikato Japanese Steak House, Mobile, Ala.- Hibachi style Salmon with fried rice and veggies. I get this with a side of terriyaki chicken. Love it!!

7. Atlanta Bread Company- Wild Alaskan Salmon Fillet served on your choice of bread or salad greens. Nice change!

8. Longhorn Steakhouse- Salmon in secret Bourbon marinade served over seasoned rice. I did not care for this "secret" marinade at all. :(

9. NEXT UP- Olive Garden- Herb Grilled Salmon Filley brushed with Italian Herbs and Extra Virgin Olive oil. Will let you know how it turns out.. you know just in case you love Salmon as much as I do :)

Pacifiers for Chocolate

I had dinner with my good friends Amber and Ms. Kathy last night and we got on the discussion about pacifiers. Although Judson is only 4 months and is a long ways from being winged from his paci... we were talking about how to get kids to stop using their much desired friend. At my house we call it a pap.. so I'm just going to start calling it a pap on here.. lol
Alot of you have probably already heard of this, but I had not and thought it was the cutest idea.
Ms. Kathy told me her neighbor was trying to get her kids to stop taking a pap so she told them that they could trade their paps for chocolate at the store. So, the kids decided they would rather have chocolate than their paps and she took them up to the Counry Corner (yes.. we have a local gas station called that) and informed the cashier of what she was doing without the kids knowing. They picked out their chocolate candy and placed them and their paps on the counter. The cashier said, "Oh, are you buying chocolate with your paps today?" lol and they answered yes and the mom paid her while the kids walked out the door. So cute! I think I may use lollipops for Judson when the time comes!

Anna's Aprons

So I ran across an old friend of mine's page and she has started her own business called

"Anna's Aprons" and they are absolutely adorable just like I remember Anna! They are only $25 and are hand sewn aprons and get this... the inside of them is a dish towel!! Awesome!

She hand sews all of them and can customize them to whatever you want. My favorite is the one in the picture-too cute! I will for sure be ordering this. Take a look at her site- I could not figure out the link so just put Anna's Aprons in the search box on facebook and it comes up.

Fiber 35 Diet

Hey Ladies,
Here is the diet I am on.. or I like to call it my new Challenge lol.... Its called the fiber 35 diet.. basically the rules are:You get 1500 calories a day to use however you like... BUT within those calories you have to get 35 grams of fiber! I did it before my wedding and lost 13lbs in 3 weeks! I will sware by this diet.
Okay so I found the diet online at www.fiber35diet.com which is completely free. You can sign up and go to meal tracking I believe and print you off some pages to keep up with what you are eating and to see the formula the diet uses for the end of the day. Once you get it down pat, you may be able to do it in your head instead of using the journal, but I like keeping up with it personally.
I usually buy the Fiber One bars... I like the Oats and Chocolate and they just came out with a new one that I like.. Oats and Apple Streusel. Delicious! They have several other flavors too. They also make cereals, pop-tarts, muffins, pancake batter, and yogurt. I buy this because their bars alone have 9 grams of fiber in them!
You basically look for stuff that has lots of fiber... a medium apple has 5 grams, 1 cup of cooked broccoli has 4.5 g, plain baked potato with skin has 4.8 g, 1 slice of whole wheat bread has 2 g. brown rice has up to 8 g for 1 cup. There are endless possibilities out there.
If I know I am going to eat out on my lunch break or on the weekends I usually would look up the nutrition facts online of the restaurant we are going to and find whatever has the most fiber in it.
I like that you can eat anything you want. Also, you can take fiber pills. I buy the Wal-mart brand Fiber Therapy and get some of my fiber grams from there if need be. Just so you know 6 of those pills=3 g. 10c. and the bottle says you can only take 15 a day.
Here is a sample of one of my days:
Breakfast: Frosted Shredded Wheat (1 serving) 217.5 c / 4.5 fiber
Snack: Fiber One Bar 130 c / 9 fiber
Lunch: Banquet Frozen Chicken Parmesan w/penne and broccoli meal 350c. / 8 fiber
Dinner: Bertolli brand Stuffed shells with scampi sauce 590c / 9 fiber
green beans (2 cups) 80c. / 8 fiber
TOTAL: 1367.5 calories and 38.5 fiber
Fiber Flush Formula (multiply daily total fiber x 7) = 269.5
Net Calories (subtract daily total calories - fiber flush)= 1098
A good site to check calories on is www.calorieking.com if you are unsure. If you have any questions let me know! :) BTW- sometimes I do not get all my fiber but I still lose weight. At least try to get in the 20's.

My Sweet Daddy

My daddy has been many things to me over the years...

My super hero saving me after skint knees trying to learn how to ride my bike at the campground without training wheels, the greatest friend I could have on the park playground (he taught me how to play on the monkey bars at Fairhope Pier), the best swimmer and sand castle builder at the beach (he would play in the water for hours with my brother and I).... time passed and he became a great tutor to help me with my homework, a Lego-block master!, someone I felt safest with and a daddy who would pray for me every night.... time passed and he became the biggest pain in my butt! Grounding me for every little thing, thinking I did not love him anymore because I was a teenager lol, and forbidding me to hang out with the boys... time passed and he became the person I came to when I needed advice about those boys, a shoulder to cry on when my heart was broken, to get advice about what I should go to college for, and needing him to be there with me when I purchased my first car on my own. NOW... he's one of my best friends, a wonderful father-in-law to my husband, and the greatest Papa I could ever imagine my son having. I love him and appreciate him more than he will ever know. Happy Father's Day Daddy. I love you.

One of my Favorite Places to GO!

SO.. I have this PLACE I like to visit daily. I guess you could call it my secret haven I like it so much :) I must talk about it to my husband every night before we go to bed and I find myself aspiring to be more like the creator of this place. So, where and what is it you ask? Well, over a year ago I somehow stumbled across a blog that a woman wrote. The more I read, the more intrigued I became and the more I found myself visiting the site to see what she wrote next. This mother... Stephanie Nielson, is everything I've always wanted to be as a mother. I get so excited every time she posts a new entry! The name of her blog is the "The NieNie Dialogues"... how clever! After a few months of reading her blogs, I logged on and read that on Saturday, August 16, 2008 Stephenie and her husband Christian (whom she calls Mr. Nielson in her entries) were in a near fatal plane crash and were severely burned. I was so sad to read the updates her family posted while they watched over poor Nienie's children. I prayed for them to get better. This world was too blessed to have a mother like her and then lose her. For what seems like forever I have been printing off her delicious recipes she has shared and wondering what it must be like to be her friend.

Her and her husband are now home, but they are scarred. She cannot do all the things that she used to do and can not be in the sun for two years, but she is strong and beautiful. She is special. To me and to so many others so I wanted to share her story with you. Her humor, sadness, quirkiness, and loveliness captivate me. Go check it out.

http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/

Jell-O Beach

In addition to my Beach Bear cupcakes, I found another cute idea on kraftfoods.com today! It's called Jell-O Beach and not only is it adorable, but it sounds pretty tasty too! Will have to have Jell-O day with Hartleigh now! Check the site out- there are so many cute projects to do with your kids this summer :)

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/jell-o-beach-dessert-53500.aspx?cm_re=1-_-1-_-RecipeAlsoEnjoy