Monday, February 18, 2013

Tell Me About Your Husband, But Don't Touch Mine!

In honor of this being a post-Valentine's Day post, I'm going to talk about my honey-bun, my sugar snap, my lover boy. I don't call him any of those things. Barf! But yes, I am referring to my husband.

First, however, in honor of it being President's Day, I must channel my inner George Washington and admit that I chopped down the cherry tree. I've heard that may not even be true, but I'm using the analogy anyway.

Without being too enigmatic, I'm trying to say that I told a lie. I didn't mean to. Blogger made me do it., I swear! I told you in my last post it was number 100, but it wasn't. I didn't look closely enough and Blogger combined my drafts and my published posts, which equaled 100. I'm actually only on number 90. My bad. I'm sorry and I'm sure you forgive me and could care less. Moving on...

I talk a lot on this blog about myself. Okay, fairly incessantly. Okay, incessantly. Don't get me wrong. Other people are important to my daily life and I need them to exist - like my husband, my kids, my mom, my dogs. Today, I want to introduce you to my husband because he's honestly the most awesome man... ever.

Hands off. He's mine. Finders, keepers. Losers, weepers. Wah, wah, wah. I got him and you didn't. Phhhhht! So there. He's awesome, I tell you. He not only has provided me with a good life and works very hard as a Union Boilermaker, I can give you a long list of his awesomeness.

  1. He let me quit working to take care of him, the kids, the house, and all things he cannot accomplish whilst working insane hours. He works so hard, I feel bad that he has to do anything at home. But alas, I cannot cook. Therefore:
  2. He cooks. If he were not a Boilermaker, he'd be a chef, and a good one. He loves to cook and does so unless he is super exhausted. Then we eat microwaved boxed food that I cook. Or spaghetti, which is a meal I manage to cook and not make fire alarms sound.
  3. He has hobbies he's passionate about, like beekeeping and raising sheep. He supports my hobbies as well.
  4. He's artistic. He paints. He draws. He sings. He plays guitar. He writes. He even juggles, like throwing it behind his back and over his head and under his leg and crap. He's good!
  5. And my favorite... he carves. Just look at these beautiful pieces he's done...

 
 

 


 



Last but not least, he's just hot! I love him more than words can say. We're perfect for each other. Our strengths complement each other and so do our weaknesses. We learn from each other. We're a rock for each other. He's my spiritual rock. We rock as a couple. It will be ten years this summer and we are still happy as clams together, however happy that is ??? I hope they're happy. Hmmm. Suddenly, I wonder how happy clams really are... note to self: investigate the validity of clam happiness.

We're goofy together, smart together, stupid together, and committed to each other fully. We trust each other and support each other. He's my biggest fan and he doesn't have to read my work very often to believe in it completely. He tells me every day how much he loves me and how wonderful I am. That right there covers a multitude of sins.

We met on a blind date. It wasn't our date. You see, he... oh, never mind. I'll tell you all about it on our ten year anniversary this summer. It's a cute story :0)

Everybody, meet my husband, Neil Brown.

Now, tell me in the comments a little bit about what's so great about your mate!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Carolyn Fallon on Diabetes - guest posts today!

Dear Readers,
I was recently acknowledged by my peers for supporting and promoting new bloggers; fresh new faces, all pink and rosy and full of wonder about this whole blogging adventure, eager for advice, exposure, and a shove in the right direction (a nice shove!) This means a lot to me and I am flattered to be seen in this way. How timely it was to be distinguished in this manner. Today, on my 100th post, I am presenting to you a blogger who deserves a shout-out and a heck of a lot more following, Carolyn Fallon. Normally, this wouldn't be something I would address on my blog, but I am on a bit of a health jag right now and her health-based blog is quite good - good enough that I want you to take a look at her writing and give her a follow if you are health-minded as well. I was pleased to be contacted by someone with a site worth sharing. Trust me, if you contact me about guest posting and your site is crap, I won't do it. Hers isn't crap, it's great! Please give her the exposure she deserves.   -- Cindy Brown


Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Tips for Kids
Not too long ago, one of my younger cousins was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This was a complete shock to my entire family. Although I knew she was struggling with her weight for quite some time, I didn’t think that she could actually develop type 2 diabetes. I was wrong.

Even worse are the additional consequences that can result. According to information from Syracuse’s St. Joseph’s Cardiac Hospital, if diabetes is left untreated, it can lead to such issues as blindness, heart disease, and even neurological problems! After learning all of this, my family made it a resolution to work together this year to get my cousin back on track and prevent anyone else from developing this terrible disease.
 
The first thing my aunts and uncles did was get rid of all the junk food in their houses. Instead of throwing all of it away, we gathered it all together and donated it to the local food shelter. I don’t mean to make it sound like we gave the “bad food” to the food shelter, but we felt better about donating it and letting people decide if they wanted it or not instead of just throwing it all away.

4 Nutrition Tips for Type 2 Diabetes Prevention
When it comes to prevention, one of the main factors of prevention is a healthy and nutritional diet. Below are a few tips we have used ourselves through this process of fighting type 2:
  • Make a list of different fruits and vegetables that your family likes and tape it to the fridge as a reminder to eat at least three things from the list every day.
  • Rather than choosing junk food as a snack, freeze grapes and serve as a healthy frosty treat that will satisfy that craving for something sweet! Here’s a great site with more healthy snack ideas for your kids.
  • Stay away from foods that contain high amounts of sugar, trans fats and saturated fats.
  • Eat organic whole grain foods that do not come from genetically modified crops.

Getting Kids to Eat More Fruit: Make a Delicious Smoothie!

Making fruit and yogurt smoothies has to be one of the best ideas ever to get kids to eat healthier. Smoothies not only introduce more fruit into their diets, but the live cultures that are found in yogurt give them their daily dose of friendly bacteria to help regulate their digestive systems. It also serves as a great breakfast, snack, or even a delicious dessert!

In my smoothies, I prefer to use a  flavored yogurt such as blueberry, vanilla, or strawberry. For juices, I use a variety of orange, pineapple, apple, or grape juice. Depending on which flavor of yogurt I use, I will add in different fresh and frozen fruits such as strawberries, peaches, pineapple, apples, pears, red grapes, green grapes, blueberries, kiwi, star fruit, or mango.

Here's a favorite recipe we enjoy:
     1 cup blueberry yogurt
     Handful of small frozen strawberries
     1 fresh kiwi fruit
     1/2 cup apple juice
 
Mix it all together on high speed in your blender and you'll have an icy fruit smoothie that will give kids an extra boost of vitamins and energy.

4 Exercise Tips/Activities That Families Can Do Together
Getting regular exercise another important factor when it comes to type 2 prevention and management. Here are a couple of our tips:
  • Take a leisurely bike ride to the park with the family. Pack a healthy picnic and spend the day running around and playing games together.
  • Get a bunch of the neighborhood kids together and play dodge ball, kickball, soccer, capture-the-flag, tag, etc.
  • Go swimming together at the lake, the river, or the local pool club.
  • Take a hike into the forest and see how many edible plants, animals, and types of trees your family can identify. Take a reference book along to see if you're right and remember to never eat anything you can't clearly identify.

Carolyn is a 20-something year old with a passion for life, fitness and overall well-being. She is an avid cyclist, golfer and has been known to bust some serious moves on the dance floor. Check out Carolyn’s blog at Full-On Fit! or connect with her on Twitter @CarolynFallon.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Hip Hop Abs - Everyday Underwear Style

Go ahead. Laugh. That's why I filmed it ;0) My husband said if I put it on YouTube, it might go viral and Ellen DeGeneres would have me on her show to dance and laugh with me. Or more likely, at me, which would be great. You know, perhaps I could entertain her for a change.