T.M.I.

That's Too Much Information for the non teenager, non texter and occasional alien in this world :)

I have been bombarded with information about eating, nutrition, cleanses, health, wellness, weight, you name it! If it has anything to do with the body and food, I have either read it, watched it, listened to a health care provider lecture about it or sought the advice of nutrition experts. And what I have discovered is...
it is all just TOO much information!

I like food, in all it's varieties, flavors and origins. I like looking at it & eating it...
I like scouring for new recipes or obsessing over finding the best of the best...
I like preparing it,

serving it

and planning it...

But this recent influx of information is getting a bit out of control for me.
In a nutshell,
or a seashell,
or a tortoise shell...

here is a lowdown of what I have stirring in the brain cells recently,

This kind of food...

 makes me sick,
it makes my joints ache,
it gives me a horrible rash on my body,
and it causes mouth ulcers that make even breathing painful.

This kind of food...

 makes me feel strong, limber and alive with energy,
but I end up not eating enough calories to maintain a healthy metabolism,
let alone enough calories for daily exercise,
and strange as it seems,
I had some weight that came on,
that wouldn't go away,
and that just wouldn't do.

I graduated from several cleanses according to my doctors advice,
but I realized that though they worked, I couldn't maintain that pattern of eating
long term, and I knew what I was missing,
and I truly did miss it,
so in the end,
I ALWAYS found myself over indulging on
hamburgers, steak, ice cream, cakes, cookies, pizza, bread...
well you get the idea,
at the end of the cleanse.
I'm just really not all that self disciplined with food.
Have I mentioned,
food makes me happy in many different ways.
I discovered that I need to eat enough of these...

for optimal nutrition and balance,
but because I can't eat this...

really, this is supposed to be bread- but I didn't take a picture...

I wasn't getting enough carbohydrates to sustain the energy I needed.

So when I am eating a lot of this...

to keep my joints from hurting,
I don't make room for enough of this either,

 AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!
Okay,
deep breath in
deep breath out
okay, maybe I need another
deep breath in.

Last year, my son implored me with his insightful wisdom,
"Mom, wouldn't you rather enjoy life, but live a few years less,
than be a slave to all this information for the rest of your life,
even if it means getting a few years extra out of life?"

This coming from an 18 year old,
healthy,
active and
muscular boy,

I didn't pay it much heed at the time.

But now I am rethinking his advice,
and coming up with an alternative.
His thoughts might be more applicable
if I didn't have a noticeable, tangible and
immediate health effect to my eating.

So in an effort to make sense of all that I have learned,
all that I think I have learned
and to stay true to my heart, my mind and my soul,
I think I've decided on a meal plan that is best for me.

I've been at it for a few weeks,
and it is helping,
so I have hope that it is what is right for me.

But maybe I will have an obligation to my body,
to my heart,
and to my soul,
to be more diligent than most with my food choices.
To treat my body well,
Because one thing I have learned over the past few years,
is that this body,

this wonderful body,
is a gift to me,
and it's the best gift I've got that is unique only to me,
and maybe I want to enjoy this

once in awhile,

but for the most part, I will choose this,

because I have a lot of years that I want to enjoy this...

and I intend to do just that

Cookin' With Kids

I'm thinkin' that compared to most of the people I know,
I don't think I have a ton of talent...

I think I'm ok, but I don't radiate talent like some people do.
I'm a little bit of a simpleton,
and a lot a bit pretty average.

But last week, I decided to take something that I love,
something that I think I'm pretty good at
and share it with some amazing kids that I know

or didn't know...
and for three days we cooked together.

We made cakes the first day,

cupcakes, sheet cakes and devil dogs!!

The Second day,
we made bread!

a lot of kneading

Yup!! I said bread.
And I wanted the girls to make it the good old fashioned way,

kneading the dough

using what they would most likely have access to in their homes,
or any home they might find themselves in.

making orange rolls with our dough

 Just for the record,
they blew me away with their abilities.

zesting an orange

On day three,

it's a team effort

we made cookies,

in bars, in drops, and no bake and

dipping, decorating & devouring

we definitely did some dipping.

Everyone gets some action

I literally had the greatest three days.

"injecting" our cupcakes with mint filling

I enjoyed each girl and boy that came into my kitchen.

prepping for oreo mint cupcakes

After the classes were done,

game face for frosting

and the kitchen was cleaned,

Dipping our "cupkies"

and the floors were mopped,

Frosting like a pro

I sat down and reflected on what made this three days so amazing.

Can you see all the cake pops in the background??

It was definitely the kids,
and the time sharing something that I love,

And I decided that so much of the joy we have in this life,
comes from sharing what we have been given,
enjoying what others have to share,
and seeing how wonderful we all work together.

The real value in this life is not the quantity that can be put on it,
but the quality that comes from it.
And the quality of my life,
the highest value I can find,
is the smile on someone's face,
when together we have shared what we have to offer.

Here's to
Your Talent,
My Talent,

A smile is worth a thousand words :)

Our Talents!!

To Some it is Given

I headed back to the mat last week after several weeks. I have been sore, tired and consumed with another work out program, so Yoga took the back burner for a while.
I don't know why I can't remember that I actually get far more out of Yoga than I give to it. But I guess it's like a lot of things- when something feeds us so much that we become stronger and better for it, we tend to abandon the very thing that gives us strength. Than we wonder why all of a sudden we feel so weak.

Well, Good ole' Billy Boy!! To the rescue once again he comes. There is a reason he was the first class I took on my road back to the mat.

As we were working through our various poses, he says that many years ago he read a quote from an old YOGI,
"Poses are Given, and Poses are Taken Away"

I took from this a very common lesson often referred to in my circles as
There is a Time and a Season for All Things,

But for some reason, when it comes from Billy
in Yoga terms
the message hits home.

At this particular workout, I had many poses taken away.

My lupus is flared worse than I have ever experienced,
I am having trouble understanding why, what and how
to recover my previous level of strength, health and wellness.

As Billy continued talking, I couldn't help but think of all
the beautiful, amazing and talented women, men and children I know
who don't fully appreciate what has been given to them each and every day.

How it is so easy to always be searching for more,
or better,
or different than what we currently have in life.

And than when it is taken away,
we sadly wish it could come back,
or we try to remember why we didn't enjoy it more while it lasted.

I do this a lot.

And today,
when I had a problem getting into my all time favorite pose,
because my arm simply hurt too bad,
and my shoulder blade was on fire,
and I realized that today,
this pose was taken away,

I was grateful that Billy was there,
he stood behind me,
held my arm up for me,
and let me rely on his strength where mine was lacking
so that I could enjoy the benefits of the pose.

Try to remember that "Poses are Given, and Poses are Taken Away"
and while you have,
whatever it is you have,
ENJOY IT FOR WHAT IT IS-
A Gift,
A Blessing,
A Privilege,

Because when it is gone,
you want to remember it with gratitude.

How Did I Get Here AGAIN

Is it any wonder I haven't been feeling too well lately??
I mean take a walk through time with me,
to the not to distant past,
where you will see why I call myself an addict!
It really started when I hosted a BABY SHOWER for my little sister.
I tried to eat healthy,
I really did!
I served this...

 and two other delicious salads.
But I also served the Yummiest Banana Cake EVER!
Which I promised myself I wouldn't eat...
and than I did anyway.
And than for Mother's Day,
I made Lemon Cake for Mi Familia,
and I'm sorry to say,
I did partake :(

I think I would have been okay if I could have stopped,

 but I couldn't

 and I didn't.

So than I turned to this yummy goodness,
I'm afraid it was all down hill from there.
In two months, I had all manner of treats
& gooey goodnesses
& delectable joy!

I couldn't really help it,
the beginning of summer is chock full of holidays at our house.
And it all starts with Mother's Day, end of the school year (which we celebrate as a holiday)
continues on for two birthdays, a wedding anniversary
Father's Day, the 4th of July and this year was culminated
by my son's departure for a two year mission.

What was a mom to do??
I should have hidden! I should have RUN for my LIFE!

I have been in a full on lupus tail spin for about three weeks,
I couldn't even keep track of the symptoms that were piling back into my life!
Until one morning, it was obvious to everyone that this was BAD,
which finally led to me deciding to forgo all that I had learned,
all that I have experienced
and all that I have lived by for the past two years.
I decided to call my old doctor,
beg for forgiveness from straying from the medical route,
and go back on all my medication.

And than I thought about it,
and I thought about what I had been eating,
and decided I was going to GO BIG or GO HOME!
So Monday morning,
when my husband reminded me to call the doctor,
I gave him a deal...
or an option!
I was going to clean up my food intake,
I was going to back to the bedtime routine that serves me best
and I was going to WAIT to call the doctor for 7 days.
If this failed, I promised I would call the doctor,
get back on my meds
and be grateful for what I have.
But by Monday night-
no lie, not even 24 hours into it,
I was leaps and bounds better.

I'm definitely not where I want to be,
I totally can't believe that I have gone on this up & down
Roller Coaster this many times
and yet I keep reaching for the sugar/butter/flour combination.

Here I am, feeling good, having hope, and moving my fingers :)
and I'm wondering "Can it really be this simple? Can what I eat make this big of a difference
in how I feel? Can I really do this without medicine?"
and I am Promising myself that this is the last time I will follow this trend.

So why do I keep looking for delicious dessert recipes????????

I Love Me a Good Block Party

We were always the hosts of the major parties in our old lives in Minnesota!
Oh how I miss those days,
Pig Roasts,

Father's Day Picnic's,

Human Foosball- So much FUN!

Church Celebrations,

and Gingerbread Decorating Parties!

So when it was announced that our neighborhood was going to host a
4th of July Block Party-
I was EXCITED! So EXCITED!!
Did I already say EXCITED??
And my wheels started turning for a BIG, PETERSON style dessert option.
I first decided on our Famous Chocolate Covered Popcorn,

But I knew I wanted something even more PETERSON style...
After much deliberation, I chose a S'MORES BAR-
and it was a hit!

For starters we had,
Three flavors of Graham Crackers, Fudge Stripe Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookies,
and so much more...

than we had several different types of chocolate,
white chocolate, chocolate with almonds, mint wafers to name a few,
and the creme de la creme,
three different flavors of marshmallows,
regular, strawberry and coconut-
Ooooohhhhh, so deliciouso!

Our neighbor Lennox

It was an Oooey Goooey Messy Mess,

But oh so yummy! It was the hit of the night,
if I do say so myself :)