Hot diggity doggity!

"Bike Log" 2012:  I got my Exerpeutic Foldable Semi-Recumbant Bike set up and my first workout in!  This is a REALLY cool exercise bike as it puts the work on the quads intead of the side hip muscles and bursa - which is where I got inflammation because of not conditioning up for real bike riding last year.  I LOVE it! 

I went 12 minutes, 2.5 miles, on setting 1 as I am trying not to be stupid again and do too much too soon!  AND I did it in the comfort of my own living room watching TV this morning!  It kept my heart rate around 130 which is good for starting after 9 months off from riding!  YAY!  Btw, did I mention it takes up a tiny amount of space and collapses down to roll into a closet when guests come?  WooHOO!!!

P.S.  Here's the website for it...I must have gotten one of the last ones at Walmart online as they are now out of stock online.  You can get it elsewhere, however.  Don't be put off by Amazon's one review.  This is a GREAT bike...so far!
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Exerpeutic-Space-Saver-Semi-Recumbent-Bike-with-Pulse/15657479

Ringing in 2012 RIGHT!

I wanted to start this year off  HEALTHY....so I invited friends over to an old-fashioned (but healthily cooked with turkey broth) vegetable supper of...


Mustard greens, green beans, black-eyed peas, carrots with nutmeg,
okra, corn with peppers and onions, sauteed squash and onions,
sliced 'maters, roasted chicken and roasted boneless pork...

and Healthy Cherry Crisp for dessert!

After supper,  we played Carcasonne (one of my new games I got for Christmas)...a GREAT time!

I don't believe in setting New Year's Resolutions.  However, I do believe that setting reasonable goals can be very helpful - regardless of the time of year.  After carefully and prayerfully considering potential goals, they should be reevaluated often for efficacy with subsequent readjustment if needed.  :>D  Can you guess that eating more veggies is one of my newest goals?
 
Healthy Cherry Crisp

Recipe By     :  Robin Ferguson
Serving Size  : 4    

NOTE: Be SURE to use "No Sugar Added" cherry pie filling
rather than "Lite" as the calories are twice as much in the "Lite"!  
I used Comstock brand bought at Kroger.
Amount     Measure              Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------        ------------             --------------------------------
  20           ounces                cherry pie filing, sugar free -- 1 can, Comstock  
  12           chunks                canned pineapple chunks in juice
  2             tablespoons        Brummel & Brown, diet margerine
  4             tablespoons        splenda

  2             tablespoons        old-fashioned rolled oats
  2 1/2       tablespoons        Baking Mix, Whole Wheat, Hodgson Mill
  1             tablespoon          splenda
  2             tablespoons        Brummel & Brown, diet margerine  

1. Divide cherry pie filling equally between 4 small, 2 cup baking dishes;
    Place 3 chunks pineapple into each serving;
    Put 1/2 T Brummel & Brown in center of each;
    Sprinkle 1 T Splenda over top.

2. Mix oats, baking mix, and splenda;
    Mash in B & B and knead into small roll (2 inches long);
    Divide into 4 equal pieces;
    Divide individual pieces into thumbnail sized dollops and place on top.

3. Bake at 350 for approx. 20-30 minutes until bubbly and slightly browned.
                                     - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 154 Calories; 6g Fat (33.2% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 24g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 152mg Sodium. 

Exchanges: 
1 Fruit, 
1 Fat, 
1/2 Starch or 40 opt. cal.  
(You can double the amount of topping to increase this to 1 starch.)

       
       

Lolly Belle Rose and the Candles

Last year, tired of all the mess and allergies, I decided to start burning candles in my fireplace instead of wood.  One evening while relaxing in my favorite chair, I noticed that Lolly was sitting in front of the fireplace gazing at the candles for a long time.  I wondered what was going through her sweet little mind but didn’t think too much more about it until the next evening. 

I was working on the computer and had not yet lit the candles when she came over, sat down beside me, looked up and started barking at me.  I asked her what she wanted.  She stared at me.  So, I went back to work at the computer.  Again, she started barking but this time in what I call her “bossy bark”.  You know the kind of bark I mean?  The kind of bark you just can’t ignore that seems to go straight through your brain like a lightning bolt!  As my ears were still ringing from the volume of her vocalization, I looked at her and impatiently inquired, “What do you want?”   She very pointedly looked back over her shoulder to the fireplace.  Perplexed, I questioned, “Lolly, do you want me to light the candles?”  She started grinning from ear to ear, jumped up and ran over to the fireplace to wait.  I retrieved the lighter and began to kindle the candles one by one.  When I had finished and closed the protective screen, she peacefully settled down for a stint of doggy contemplation!   Needless to say, when the weather gets cold or rainy, candle-gazing has become one of our favorite new traditions!

(sigh)

Certain things just make me happy...like my powder room...that's all...just wanted to share...

BBBB 2011

My adoptive family all have their birthdays during the summer with the exception of one who has his in April like me. So each summer I do the Quadruple B - otherwise known as the BBBB which stand for "The Bolen Beaudoin Birthday Bash". It is one of the most fun things I do every summer!

I LOVE (with a capital L, O, V, and E) setting a beautiful table and making up recipes for a special meal. I spend weeks designing the look I want and then adapting or creating recipes to meet the desires and needs of these loved ones. Each year we rotate who gets to choose the theme. This year's theme chosen by Margaret was Mexican/Pasta.

This year, I wanted a clean, crisp look to the table. So I found a blue and white pinstripe twin sheet at a thrift shop that looked just right with my dishes. Instead of layering colors as I have done in the past, I went with simple white accents, white roses, white napkins. It looked so pretty with my dishes and for a luncheon turned out nicely.

I then developed the menu keeping in mind my dietary needs as well as theirs. While it was not a low-calorie meal, it was definitely MUCH lower calorie than what the "full-leaded" versions of these dishes would be! For example, instead of the standard 586 calories in regular chocolate cheesecake, my version that used non-fat creme cheese had only about 300. Still a bit high but it IS a birthday dessert after all! The texture was more a nice thick, gooey mousse-yness rather than cakey and the flavor was EXCEEDINGLY intense chocolate! So rich. My secret was at the end of mixing it, I decided to throw another bit of DARK chocolate powder in...made all the difference!

Mexican Three Cheese Pasta Bake was our main dish entree accompanied by a Corn Pico de Gallo and a spinach salad with dragon fruit and a blackberry balsalmic dressing.

 

I am a contented homemaker. (SIGH) I sent all the leftovers home with the birthday crowd except for one serving of pasta which I already put in the freezer for another special day for me and one, ONLY one, serving of cheesecake which I may or may not save for later (grin). I saved a lot of the Corn Pico de Gallo as that is something I can have every day...a WONDERFUL summer accompaniment to almost any meal. If you would like any of the recipes, just pop me an email and I will send them to you.

Bike Log 2010, December...a most perfect day!

I awoke this morning feeling pretty yucky. I was cold, it looked dreary and every fiber within me wanted to just crawl back into bed and sleep it off. But I knew that if I did, I would feel even yuckier. So, I thought, "Hmmm...it's the last day of the Piedmont Park Green Market and I haven't ridden in weeks due to the cold and the strep. I wonder how cold it is outside?" So I stuck my head out and, lo and behold, it was in the mild 50's. I knew that a cold front was headed our way that is supposed to make the weather pretty miserable over the next few days but at that moment, it was ridin' weather. So I came in, got a shower, packed my bike and off to Piedmont Park I went! I remembered on the way that I needed to buy some soap at the Trader Joe's across the way from PP and I needed to check on an orchid for a friend for Christmas at the Atlanta Botanical Garden which is right beside the park. So I had a plan. I got my soap at TJ's, mounted up and went on down to the park. It felt so GOOD to ride!

I stopped in at the Green Market for a few more bags of Papperdelle's Pasta (check them out...absolutely AMAZING pasta and lower in calories and carbs than normal store bought stuff... http://www.pappardellesonline.com/servlet/StoreFront) a few bars of organic, good-smellin' soap and then pedaled up to the Botanical Garden gift shop. Sure enough, the had just the right orchid for my friend! I paid for it and asked them to hold it until I brought my car around. Then headed down to the dog park area to check on the status of the new path they will be opening, hopefully soon (not open yet, though), and then back to my car at Trader Joe's. 3.53 wonderful miles. I was absolutely zonkered and by that time, FROZEN. The cold weather really makes a difference to my endurance and half-way through the ride, the sky started clouding up and the temp started to drop. I knew I had gotten my ride in just in time!

After packing my bike into my trunk, I stumbled into the Starbuck's at the other end of the parking lot and managed to gasp, "coffee. now." She said, "What kind?" and I replied, "BIG!" ....ahhhhhhh..... After thawing a bit, I got in my car and drove down to the Botanical Garden and picked up the orchid. I then headed over to my friend's house for a surprise "Merry Christmas" to her.

There is so much JOY in giving! My friend, who is in her late 80's and not able to get out very much, was absolutely delighted! She always loved gardening and still loves to watch blooming things go through their transitions. I was overwhelmed with that warm, glowing feeling you only get from giving to someone, watching their reaction, knowing that you "hit the spot". I was so glad to be alive and to be a human being, caring, loving and living outside of self. Living only to please my Maker. Loving to see Him love through me.



I then ran the other errands I needed. Scored BIG time at the thrift shop...for a pittance, a whole box of used candles with which to make ice candles next week! Also, some old, unused Christmas cards for a project I'm planning for TOPS. After then going to Walmart for my items I needed from there, I was once again totally overwhelmed by God's goodness to us.



This time of year, it is so easy to lose sight of how much He loves us and wants the best for us. I have felt His love and blessing "pressed down and running over" the past few days. How it must hurt His heart when the children He created don't understand just how much He does love us. Right now Narnia is playing on tv and Aslan has just accepted the punishment that rightfully should have gone to Edmund. In real life, Jesus did that for us. Do I really, REALLY live worthy of that sacrifice each and every breath I take? I hope so. How He cried over Jerusalem. We are Jerusalem. He loves us so much and I know it breaks His heart when we don't let His love flow through us to those about us. He LOVES. Therefore, we can love. And the joy, the joy, the JOY that ensues! Let's DO it! Let's let His light shine to the whole world through us!

Biking, Carrots, and Waxing...

Waxing as in "waxing nostalgic". There are leaves falling. Now, I know they are not falling because it is becoming Fall. The poor little brown things just can't take the 'lanta heat anymore! BUT, as I rode today it was overcast (they say we'll have thunder storms this pm) and so humid that I was breathing in large particles (baby droplets) of water from the air. Then I noticed leaves were falling and so I decided to go to the place in my mind of F-A-L-L and just enjoy!

I wanted to ride down to Return to Eden Health Food store today to get RealSalt sea salt. It is about 2 miles there and then 2 miles back, passing Whole Foods at the halfway mark. So I did. What a LOVELY ride! Cool, wind in my face, sweating like a....hmm...what's the worst kind of sweatin' thing you can think of? That was me. BUT I've said it before and I'll repeat, why do I not mind sweating when I ride my bike? I HATE sweating at any other time. But biking? Man, I just don't CARE!

There are only two things I hate about starting back to teaching school:

1. I can't ride in the mornings and it is just too hot in the afternoons or even early evenings. But that will change as Fall comes and I will be able to ride after school...Lord willing.

2. I'm so tired when I get home that I find myself going to that emotional place of just wanting to eat everything in sight in order to comfort myself and "feel better" which it NEVER does. While I know it won't make me feel better with my logical brain, my emotional brain is screaming, "FEED ME!!!" I'm hoping that this will get better as I get more used to saying NO to my bratty, emotional self. If you would pray for me about that, I would really appreciate and benefit from it. :>D

Now, carrots. I have decided that "baby" carrots, be them organic or not, are evil. In order to keep my innards processing, I have to eat about a cup of raw carrots every day. No other vegetable I have found does the trick. But that handful, works pretty good. So...I decided for the sake of convenience to buy the "baby" ones. In BOTH bags (one organic and one not) that I bought at different times, there were rotten carrots. Spoils the taste of the whole bag, let me tell you. I know my carrots and they just don't taste as good once they have been snuggled up to a rotten one. And no it is NOT all in my mind. Like I said, I know my carrots! So today, I went back to organic WHOLE ones (no tops) that I will just have to "wash up" as I need. We pay such a high price for convenience, don't we? We pay our very health.

Back to waxing...I haven't said it much lately but I love my sister. She is the catalyst for so many good things in my life. The Lord uses her to "grow" me over and over again. Most of the time she's not even aware of how the Lord is using her...:

Just cut some fresh basil from my garden...the smell is still on my hands as I type. One of the most wonderful smells in the entire world!

Have a great weekend!