Saturday, September 26, 2009

we wear teal for our grandma...


lisa, mom, paige & i completed a 2mile 'fun walk' for gynecological cancer. it was sponsored by notre dame took place on campus starting near the stadium. after a poorly organized beginning which made the entire event start late and, come to find out, because no one gave the walkers our time strips, the top walkers probably won't recieve their prizes which sucks for them. we did get free teal bracelets, pretty nice 'domer run 2009' shirts and a breakfast afterward and all of the participants registration fees went to benefit gynecological cancer.before the race began we were given tags and balloons to tie to the arch where we could write the name of someone who struggled with cancer so for this, being a gynecological cancer benefit, we wrote the name of my maternal grandmother who lost her battle with ovarian cancer over a decade ago.

Friday, September 25, 2009

really...

so, i found this clip online and had to share it with ya'll... if you are one of the many that think the song is overplayed just watch the first 10-20 seconds to see his 'dance steps' and then to about 38 seconds and watch him wave his hand around, it's too cute!

i got 'em...

my tom's shoes that is

love them!!!

thanks pat & denise :)

Saturday, September 19, 2009

shoes are made for walkin...

the salmon chase was today in downtown south bend and lisa, casi, paige and i did the 5k 'fitness walk' and it was our best 5k thus far. we finished in 56.5 minutes which is nearly 2 minutes off our last walk and this time we had paige's stroller and dealt with her getting in and out of it, along with pushing it (and her) up and down some hills i had no idea were even near downtownand the walk, which started around 8am was a rare moment for us to get a glimpse of the next generation of seestersand then paige did the 'guppy run' which was a short course for kids (ages 2-7) with each age group running in their own 'heats' she did great and got a ribbon for participating which made her so proud of herself. you know it's funny, even though i had been up until 2:30 this morning prepping for the september birthday bash (party for all of our friends and family with september birthdays) i wasn't really exhausted, my feet are sore but i don't feel like i am going to die so to that's awesome! for now i'm off to bed so i can get some sleep before making a big breakfast then going to our family reunion tomorrow, g'nite

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

biggest losers...

season 8 started tonight and for the first time i don't weigh more than some of the contestants, i actually don't weigh more than any of the contestants. i realize that this season's contestants are the heaviest that there have ever been but still, that's a first for me and i'm proud of it.

here's where the contestants started this week

shay - 476, daniel - 312, amanda - 250, rebecca - 279
rudy - 442, dina - 253, antoine - 367, sean - 444
danny - 430, liz - 267, allen - 325, abby - 247, julio - 407
alexandra - 309, mo - 355

i know that they'll be loosing double digits some weeks and that it's not healthy for me to loose that much that fast but watching them work hard makes me want to work harder.

p.s. another first - we didn't watch the season opener of biggest loser while eating dairy queen, thank you philly swirl!!

Monday, September 14, 2009

finally a word to the wise...

from an iVillage article entiteld 'what do your shoes say about you':

In the world of shoe fashion emergencies that have nothing to do with a broken heel, there is the Croc. “Unless you are a chef or a 5-year-old child on the beach, please do not wear these,” begs Luciani. And, heaven help those who wear them in the winter with socks! While the appeal is their comfort, there are other better comfortable choices available. Luciani suggests opting for men's style oxfords, which are flat, rounded at the toe and super comfortable. You’ll be in style, comfy, and most important, Croc-less!

thank you iVillage for speaking my mind! you can read the rest of the article here:

http://beauty.ivillage.com/slideshow/beauty-style/what-do-your-shoes-say-about-you/babe_booties.html

Sunday, September 13, 2009

family dinner...

i know that i grew up with a fairly set family dinner ritual which meant that every night around the same time we would all gather around the table for dinner, and sometimes it would include friends too. when josh and i were dating we had dinner with his parents almost every night but now if we do eat dinner together it's in front of the tv and i know many families that don't have a set meal together daily even if the whole family is home. what has happened to the family dinner?

you all know that for several months we have had cfs (chinese food sunday) with the ayo-raders and even though we occasionally part from chinese we usually end up doing dinner with them on sunday nights. sometimes we invite other people to our dinner and tonight was no different. i roasted chicken and potatoes and made noodles, mom and dad brought a salad and denise made a delicious blueberry pie. it was a great time to socialize, relax and enjoy a delicious dinner. i know that we will continue our 'family' dinner tradition as long as possible but i'm wondering what family dinner traditions all of you out there have?

Thursday, September 10, 2009

22 & 27 pounds...

so my seester and i have been doing weight watchers together for the last few months and it's been crazy good. she's down 27 pounds, i'm down 22 and no, we didn't buy a membership, we don't go to meetings with a bunch of strangers or eat strictly ww foods (way too complicated). we do weigh in at least once a week, share whatever tips or healthified recipes we find and generally keep each other in check. our version of a meeting is walking 1.5 miles, 3-4 days a week but with a 4 year old and either a dobe or jack russell in tow it doesn't always work out that way. i know these aren't the best before and after pics but it'll work for now:i'll have to get a pic of us together sometime this week... it's good

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

a birthday and a blueberry...

matt's 30th birthday party was this weekend and it was luau themed so we dressed in our luau besteven mcgee had his hawaiian shirt on
lauren's dad roasted a pig, and was kind enough to keep the head for displayand we ate him, and the amazing egg rolls that matt's mom made and i did the cake... which turned out pretty darn well if i do say so myself (and yes, i made those flower candies for the cupcakes too)
and matt opened his presentsthen, on sunday lisa and i made a spur of the moment trip to the blueberry festival and had a great time. paige decided it was a good place for a photo-op
and for her to practice swingingand lisa and i decided it was a great place for people watching, please stacey & clinton, come to northern indiana and feature some of these people that obviously don't know what not to wear. her outfit may not look bad but what you don't see are the giant gold earrings and sunglasses to add to the black and gold outfitthis is self explanatoryand i think you all know i love plaid but this is just wrong but not as bad as this halloween outfit, yes folks, those are black socks with black slip-on tennis shoes and an orange and black purse to match!
all in all, a busy weekend but great picture taking and a fabulous time spent with family!
this week i'm going to be doing a lot of finishing touches at sue's and then i'll post the final photos. if you know anyone looking for some design help please pass my name along, i think i picked up a couple of prospective clients tonight at sue & sara's lia sophia party which is promissing but i can always use more!!!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

i want...

anyone willing to go in on some custom business card printing fees? i may just make some of these up on the business card forms you can buy at staples... it's just that worth it for me :)

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

recipe time...

so i was supposed to start working my way through the biggest loser cookbook this week but i had a slight detour when my mother in law gave me a huge loaf of french bread and i got a sudden craving for a meatball sub. i found a super easy meatball recipe online then modified it to be healthier and made josh a turkey sub instead because he doesn't like meatballs... crazy i tell ya! so here's the recipe with my modifications:

1lb. ground sirloin
1/2 lb. ground turkey breast
1 egg
3T worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 C italian bread crumbs

mix well, scoop into balls, i used a cookie dough scoop to make balls about an inch in diameter and ended up with 52 meatballs which fit just about perfectly onto a single cookie sheet. bake at 350F until done (approx 20 minutes).
i cut the bread into sub buns and put them in the oven with mozzarella cheese so that it got melty and toasty and then added pasta sauce to the meatballs and scooped them onto the cheesy bread. chip said the sandwich filled him up, brian and i had salad on the side and josh ate turkey instead since he doesn't like meatballs but we had a good dinner and i have enough meatballs left over to put with pasta tomorrow night!

btw...for those that care, 6 meatballs are about 4 points.

change in layout...

it only took me 56 minutes but i figured out how to add the new nifty background you see. why did it take me 56 minutes you ask... because my live-in tech support (aka josh) doesn't blog or have any idea how to :(