Party Potatoes

This is my mother-in-law's recipe.  It is tradition to have these every Thanksgiving when we are together.  I also decided that we should have them on Memorial Day because my brother-in-law, who was in Afghanistan last Thanksgiving, was in town with my mother-in-law.  Pretty much it's tradition to have Party Potatoes and/or Rigatoni when more than one branch of the clan is gathered.  So here is the yummy, calorie filled recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:
Instant Potatoes for 12 servings
-also need milk, water, butter, salt as directed on box
8 ounces of sour cream
6 ounces of cream cheese (thawed is helpful for mixing)
Garlic powder to taste
1 or 2 tablespoons of butter for the top

Directions:
Make Instant potatoes as directed on the box.
Then add sour cream, cream cheese, and a heap of garlic powder.
Mix thoroughly (you can use a mixer for this).
Pour into one or two casserole dishes.  If you spread it in two dishes, you get two crispy tops... which this family likes.
Top with butter.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Reshaping It All... Hoodie Pics and More

I really wasn't sure how much difference working on the Reshaping It All Challenge was going to make for my body, but I was all for "motivation for physical and spiritual fitness"!  I had already gotten down to my "fighting weight" about the time the Challenge started.  My "fighting weight" is just a comfortable weight for me, but since I've found this weight after having both kids, I still easily gain 5 lbs, lose 5 lbs (the terrible yo-yo).  This last year I gained like 8 or 10 lbs onto that weight.  Ugh!  That is just way too much for my small frame.  Although I am 5 foot 6 inches tall (or 7 inches, depending on who's measuring me) and I feel like a giant next to my 5'2" cousins, I am small boned.  That much weight on this frame is just too much.  My clothes were all getting tight...some of them just didn't even fit anymore.

Well, here comes the exciting news.  After getting down to my comfortable weight again.  I can pretty much wear all my clothes and feel comfortable.  I don't think I've gone below that weight since I lost all my baby weight after Ellie was a year old.  Yesterday I had to tuck in my shirt and put a belt on with my shorts.  Today I stepped on the scales and I am 2 lbs below the comfortable weight!  I was not and am not trying to lose weight.  I just want to be healthy and fit.  I've been excercising so much more consistantly that I was really encouraged to see that I was losing inches when I put on my clothes.  I put on a pair of denim capri pants that I've saved, but haven't really been comfortable in (even at the "comfortable" weight) for years.  Today, they were comfortable!  Here's a picture of me wearing them:

And here are the pictures of me in the Union28 My Husband Rocks Hoodie that I won from one of the giveaways on the Reshaping It All Challenge site:

Reshaping It All Update

One of my goals for the Reshaping It All Challenge is for my clothes to fit better.  Well, last Sunday I wore a pair of capri pants to work.  I wasn't thinking, but they were already clean again, and I wore the same pair of capri pants to church this Sunday.  Well, I did start thinking when I realized those same pants were lose this weekend, where last weekend they just fit.  I have to say that is progress and that feels good!

Also, this last Saturday at work, a co-worker's 16 year son told her that I was "hot".  She had to burst his bubble and tell him that I am only a couple years younger than her (his mother!).  LOL!  Anyway, I did get a kick out of that, being almost old enough to be his mother!  We are literally two years apart in age.

I got my Union 28 hoodie today!  I love it!  I'll post a picture of me "modeling" the hoodie soon.  :)

P.S.- I just had to note that I am not trying to be attractive to a 16 year old, or anyone for that matter, besides my husband.  Also, I was not wearing anything provacative.  I have wore things in the past that I am now embarassed to say I've worn.  I didn't realize at the time what I was doing to the poor males I put myself on view in front of.  My Mom grew up in the era of mini-skirts, hip hugger bell bottom pants, and body suits... and pretty much all of those things came back in style by the time I was a teenager. 

Now Ellie and have conversations when we pick out clothes:  "Is that modest?".  I'll even ask her about something I own, if I'm not sure I should wear it in public... "Is this modest on me?".  Some things that are still in the closet, sadly, I need to get rid of.

So, just to clarify, for anyone reading this, you don't have to dress like you're "advertising"  (looking for love, or trying to attract men) to be attractive.  I was wearing a dress that goes just past my knees, with cotton leggings that covered my calves, and ballet flats... with my lab coat that snaps up to my neck and ends past my bottom.  I was dressed to go to my father-in-law's for a cook out after work, but also have to dress nice for work.

Reshaping It All

I am currently reading Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure and Darlene Schacht.  I've been following along with the 65 Day Reshaping It All Challenge.  I subscribed to the posts so that I have them delivered to my e-mail in-box, that way I don't miss out on anything.  Today is day 26 of the Challenge, so there is plenty of time to check it out and join in.  If I remember correctly, it only takes 21 days to make or break a habit.  The Challenge ends on July 4, Independence Day (my 12th wedding anniversary).

The site is great!  Full of inspiration, much like the book itself, "motivation for physical and spiritual fitness".  Posts have included yummy, healthy recipes (there are some of those in the book, too... from Candace's own kitchen) shared.  There have also been videos from guest contributors and interviews with Candace.

Other blog authors are following along and contributing have been giving away copies of the book.  Darlene has also had sponsors that are giving away things on the Reshaping It All Challenge site.  I recently got in on one of those giveaways.  The way to enter was to send in a picture of yourself with your copy of the Reshaping It All book.  My son/personal photographer, Wyatt, took many pictures of me before we got the one I sent in.  I had the book turned around backwards in a bunch of them.  I didn't realize it until I loaded them on the computer; he thought I meant to have it backwards, because "There was still a picture of her on the back."  Gotta love him.  So, here's the one I sent in:

There is a story behind that blue shirt.  It is just a Danskin shirt from Walmart.  I bought it on clearance for $3.  Actually, I bought two of them, one in a size large and the other a size small.  I would have preferred to  buy a medium, but they were on clearance, and those were my choices.  When I bought them, I would not wear the small out of the house, but Thomas said I should keep it.  It is my favorite color of blue, soft and comfy cotton, and a great price!  I bought them more than six months ago.  I didn't take the tag off the small until the date you see on the photo.  And I actually wore the shirt out of the house that day! 

So, the giveaway was a hoodie from Union28, an online marriage apparel store.  Oh, they have some really cool clothes!  I highly recommend checking them out.  I will be shopping there in the future!  Then  Darlene made the giveaway even sweeter, she added a copy of the book to give to a friend. 

There were lots of giveaways for people who didn't have a book, and some comments to send you to the site even said to sign up and win one for a friend, if you already had a copy.  I have a least a dozen friends I'd like to give the book to, so I did sign up for at least one, maybe two giveaways.  Then I went to sign up to win other copies of the book and I couldn't enter to win.  There were all these comments from ladies who didn't have a copy and so badly wanted one.  So, I couldn't bring myself to enter anymore of those book giveaways, but this was a "My Husband Rocks" hoodie AND a copy of the book specifically to give to a friend!  And I won!!!  Thank you Darlene and Union28!!!

So, some of you may be wondering... have you lost weight, or did you just get brave wearing the size small shirt?  Well, I did Cinch! earlier this year.  My Mom saw the book on the Rachel  Ray Show, I think, and then bought the book.  She and Dad did the 30 day diet.  Then she loaned me the book.  Thomas was doing his "Fat Boy Challenge" at work (the guys all gain weight over the holidays and then try to lose the most percentage of weight in 2 or 3 months).  So, we did the Cinch Kick Off, and we both enjoyed the food and I read the book.   We both lost weight, and I continued to use the main ideas in the book to judge when I should eat and how to balance what I was eating. 

Now Mom and Dad are doing the Food Lovers Diet.  I think they were both in place that they thought there was nothing more they could do, but the inches just seem to be melting off them.  My great-grandpa (Dad's grandpa) had a belly, and Dad was just sure his was inherited.  Well, he's losing that belly now!  I almost can't believe how lose their clothes are getting!  They haven't lost hug amounts of weight on the scales, but they are losing inches.  Mom keeps going shopping for new clothes, and keeps trying to get rid of Dad's that are falling off of him.  He had a pair of jeans on last week that looked like they were pleated, but the look was just because he had to tighten his belt so much to keep them up.  They've shared some of what they've learned from Food Lovers, too.  Anyway, to make a long story shorter, the keys are much what Candace shares with her readers in Reshaping It All, eating in moderation... and treats/desserts are okay in moderation, eating a balanced diet (plenty of fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean protein, and just making sure you're eating real food... the stuff that God created),  and exercise! 

My parents have really inspired me to get moving again.  I know I need to be a good example to my kids, but I honestly get lazy sometimes. Seeing my Mom and Dad shape up and have more energy... oh!  I want that, too!  I know I feel better and get more done when I eat right and exercise.  I really just want my clothes to fit well, to be healthy, and have lots of energy.  I'm not concerned with what my scale says... unless those numbers go back to where they were at the end of 2010, which was the heaviest I'd been since having kids!

I am loving how Candace keys in turning to God, and loving His word more than sweets.  I actually used that on lunch at work the other day.  The store was having a cook out for us, so that meant free burgers, hot dogs, chips, etc.  And my manager was saying how great the burgers were, much better than usual.  So, I'm thinking, free food, I should take advantage of that, right?!   But I had carefully packed a yummy, healthy lunch of baby spinach leaves with balsamic vinaigrette, my special recipe herbed chicken salad, and a serving of Kashi Heart to Heart whole grain crackers.  I could eat that later though....  So, I picked up a burger, no bun, topped it with a slice of tomato, grabbed some All Natural Lays Barbecue chips (cuz I'd been wanting to try them for weeks... and I didn't get a bun!).  I put another plate on top and headed out to my suv to enjoy the sunshine and some contemporary Christian music while I ate, and charge my cell phone. 

I ate the free food, (I passed on the soda, too... I had some cold homemade herbal tea in my lunch box, mmm) but I wasn't satisfied.  So, I ate my spinach "salad" and vinaigrette.  Then I wanted something sweet.  I try to keep a square of Ghirardelli dark chocolate in my purse for sweet cravings or just when you need a chocolate fix (only one per day! remember... moderation).  I don't actually have chocolate everyday anymore, but that's something I learned from Cinch!. 

I started to go for the chocolate, then I thought, do I really want, or need, that chocolate right now.  The answer was no, so I reached for the Bible I keep in the basket with my cds and dvds and enjoyed some honey from my Lord.  I had a book mark in Romans from something I was looking up and just opened up there are started reading.  When I was done, I didn't care about the chocolate anymore, nor any other food.  I wasn't sure if Reshaping It All was going to be all I hoped the book would be, but the further I read, the more I glean from the stories and wisdom.  I am really enjoying and learning from this book.

The King Will Make A Way

I'm so excited to share about the book, The King Will Make A Way: a story for the last days saint!  I got a PDF copy from the author, Lee Giles, before the book was published.  The kids and I read the book in two days in the beginning of this school year!  We didn't read the book so fast because the book is short (it's 187 pages), but because the story was so good we couldn't put the book/computer down.  We probably would have stayed up late and finished reading the book all in one day, but Daddy came home and wanted to use his laptop.  I knew when I skimmed the book, that we would not want to stop reading, so I waited until I knew we had time to read the book at our own pace (I didn't figure in the Daddy factor though....).

The King Will Make A Way is the story of a boy, Gabe, and his relationship with the true King of the land.  The place where he lives, they have all but forgotten the King, his rules, and the words he shared with them.  Although the story is set in an historic village, the society reminds me much of today's society, and how so many people have forgotten our true King.  The book is an allegory of the book of Revelation, so that shouldn't surprise me.

Gabe goes to see the King, and the King makes a way for him to pass by the guard and visit him.  The boy and the King develop a loving relationship, such that like friends we have, Gabe becomes like the King.  I didn't actually realize until this last year that our purpose in life is to know God.  I would have said our purpose was to share the good news, but that is only a result of knowing God.  I love that knowing the King is a theme throughout this book.

Not very far into the story, the King must not be visible or tangible for a while, but Gabe is able to continue learning about the King by reading his words on the old scrolls saved by his grandfather, and kept by his father.  Gabe can't help but share the truth and the wonderful relationship with his family and others.  Gabe grows into a young man during the course of the novel.

Gabe and the others who desire to follow the true King call themselves "servants".  I don't know many books that I've read where a group calls themselves servants, but I like that they use that name.  Gabe and his friends truly are servants, they remind me of descriptions of the early church:  serving, sharing, and spreading the good news.

There is so much excitement in this book!  There are natural disasters, evil guys, bad guys who don't want to be bad, arrests, and so much more.  I don't want to spoil someone else's reading by sharing too much.  I really like to figure out what's happening next when I read a book, and most of the time I can figure out what will happen next... not with this book!  I was constantly surprised by the turn of events.  There was a particular scene that struck me during the persecution of the servants.  I was waiting for a certain happy ending, but the King made a different way.  This in not a fairy tale, there is a lot of reality in this story.

This book had just the right amount of description.  I can't stand books that have so much detail of surroundings, or people, that I have to skim past them to move on to the actual story.  The King Will Make A Way gives just the right amount of information so that I get the basic picture of scenery and characters to know what the author had in mind, but leaves me enough room to put the finishing touches on with my own imagination.  Having the right amount of details helps the story to move along at a nice pace.

The King Will Make A Way is a book rich with vocabulary, similes, and metaphors.  Since the author is a homeschool mom herself, she has created FREE downloadable lessons to go along with the book including a Language Arts Lesson, Comprehension and Vocabulary, Unit Study Lessons, and Bible Lessons for Students.   I have only skimmed and downloaded these, but I am very excited to use them.  I purchased the paperback book after Christmas (hurray for Christmas money!) and we are going to use the book again this coming school year.

Gabe's story is one that will inspire you, make you think, and is both timely and timeless.  Wyatt was heard commenting "God will make a way" many times after reading the book.  I have to say that although this may sound like a "boy book", since the main character is a young boy who becomes a young man, Ellie loved this book, too.  We used the book as a family read aloud (though we didn't wait for Daddy, he was playing tennis).  If you are someone whose children are not exposed to death and war types of things yet, I would wait to read this book, as the author recommends the novel for teens and adults.  I highly recommend The King Will Make A Way, by Lee Giles.   I do love to read books again, but there are not many that I want to read again so soon.

You can purchase the book through The King Will Make A Way website, or Amazon.com.  You can read more reviews here.

Nice Homeschool Comments

The kids and I ran errands yesterday.  I wore my shirt that says "My Children Are Homeschooled And So Were..."; below the caption are pictures of famous people who were homeschooled.  At one stop, there was an older lady, probably younger than my grandmother, but closer to her age than my mom's age.  Anyway, the lady said, "You homeschool!".  The kids turned and looked at me.  I confirmed, "Yes, I'm wearing the shirt.", because none of us had said anything to her.  Then she said, "I think that's great.  There are a couple of families at our church who homeschool, and I can really see the benefits of homeschooling."  Wow!  I don't even think that I've heard such a nice comment from a stranger.  We often get the "My cousin homeschools her kids.", or "My neighbor's sister-in-law homeschools."  I do find it interesting that people need to tell you who they know that homeschools, however far reaching that might be.  I do prefer that response to some comments we get though, you know, the rude or strange ones.  I was so surprised by the older lady's sweet comment, I hope I thanked her properly for her kind words.

Then we went to Sam's Club and the young cashier asked me, "Do you like homeschooling?"  I responded with an enthusiastic, "Yes!".  Then she went on to say, "I wouldn't have like homeschooling, except I got to do it with my cousin."  She explained, and I asked at the same time, that she was an only child.  She went on to explain that she was taught by her aunt who was a teacher.  I asked if she had always been homeschooled.  She said that the first two years, she went to private school.  Then she was homeschooled until she graduated.  She started going to college at age sixteen, and finished high school with dual credits for high school and college.  I asked if she enjoyed homeschooling, where she responded with an enthusiastic, "Yes!".  She loved learning at her own pace and starting with her college at just sixteen.

Attending the Local Homeschool Conference: Why and How

Why should you attend your local homeschool conference?
1.  For information
2.  For inspiration
3.  To recharge
4.  To plan and buy for the next school year

What to bring:
1.  A friend (one who has been before, if it's your first time OR just because you want to)
1.  OR your hubby, and/or kids...  I've heard a homeschool conference makes a great weekend getaway (not joking!... this is from veteran homeschool moms).
2.  Backpack, messenger bag, or "cart"  (this includes rolling suitcases... tried that last year and it worked awesome!)
3.  Lunch, or lunch money (but I don't not advise going out to eat and leaving the site... I've tried it both ways), snack and water bottle
4.  Planner, clipboard, and/or notebook for taking notes
5.  A list of what you want to buy, how much you want to spend, and be sure to allot some money for "goodies" or surprises.  If you can, make a price list ahead of time so that you can compare and make sure you're getting a good deal.  This is also a good time for those of you cool people who have phones like my hubby with technology to check prices online by scanning the bar code.
--My advice here is to only things on you list, besides that allotted for "goodies".  Be especially conservative the first day (if you're going both days).  This way, if you find something you think you want, you can go home and compare prices online before deciding if you really want/need the "impulse" purchase.
6.  Sweater or long-sleeved shirt for differences in temperature from rooms, etc. (this is especially important for someone who runs cold like me). One year one of the workshops was outside in a tent, on a cold morning, after raining!
7. Another cool item to take (if you have room in your bag) is a small folding footstool.  It's great in a workshop to prop up your legs for taking notes!

What to expect/What you will receive:
1.  Lots of vendors-this may be overwhelming for a 1st timer
2.  Lots of workshops to inform, inspire and recharge
  --the ability to buy recorded workshops on cd
3.  Bag at the front door with freebies, discount coupons, etc.
4.  At booths:  discounts, free shipping, contests, time to look before you buy and ask questions

Things to do ahead of time:
1.  Pack a meal (or meals), snack and water bottles
2.  Plan a comfortable outfit with comfortable walking shoes
3.  Review catalogs and online for what you want to check out at the vendors and those curriculum presenters that will be doing workshops
4.  Print the conference schedule of workshops and highlight the classes you want to attend
5.  Pray for God to lead you and give you direction
6.  Decide who will be coming with you.  For our local conference, children 13 and older can attend workshops... younger children can join the children's program for ages 5-12 (but this is an extra expense). Nursing babies are allowed in workshops, others need a sitter... which could mean Dad takes the day off from work  (what my hubby has done for the past 4 years... and this year), or you hire someone, or maybe grandparents, or older children can watch the younger ones.
7.  Plan meals and get chores done ahead of time

A few of these ideas are added from a veteran homeschool mom and friend, Beth.  Though most are from my notes on the talk that Beth and I were supposed to give at the March 2009 meeting at a local homeschool support group.  I got sick, so Beth had to give it by herself.

Another veteran homeschool mom and friend recently asked me about an e-mail I'd sent out a while back about not being overwhelmed... I couldn't find it and share a couple of other articles with her, but I'd been meaning to write a post like this for a couple of years, so short and simple this is, but I finally got it on here.