New House

We are finalizing an offer on this house in Sioux Falls, SD. It's a twin home, brand new and very cute. I have to admit I'm excited to have something brand new. I was really pushing for an older home with a lot of character but the idea of everything being new is really appealing to me right now. We haven't sold our place yet but we have had a lot of interest so I'm hopeful it will go soon. We need to contact our moving company and see how soon they can move us. My guess is about 3 weeks. I'm really excited to move but I'm starting to get really sad about leaving Utah where I've lived the last 18 years (half my life). It will be a fun adventure and I'll have my little family with me so it will be all good.

Selling our house

We are selling our house in Pleasant Grove, UT. It is definitely bitter sweet. It's been a long week getting everything ready to put it on the market. We still have some things to finish up but it's just about ready to go. The sign is out front and a photographer came to take some shots for the listing. I decided to take a few of my own while it was looking nice, so take a peak and if you know anyone who might be interested let us know.
Our cute little bungalow

Front Porch

Living room

Dining Room

Downstairs office

Downstairs guest room

Kitchen

The Kitchen

The boys room

Master Bedroom

The sports den.

Sioux Falls, SD

If you haven't heard already, we will be moving to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ryan landed his dream job with American Honda and I couldn't be more proud of him. He started 2 weeks ago and is loving it so far. It is taking him away from his family more than I would like but we get him on the weekends and I get to live vicariously through him.
I'm not exactly sure when we will be moving. My guess at the moment is end of June or early July. We have to sell our house and find a new place to live but Honda is really taking care of us in that regard. We will have packers and movers so thank you for all the offers of help but luckily we won't have to do much.
We are very blessed to be a part of a great company now that really takes care of it's people. And since Ryan's boss keeps introducing him as 'The Future of Honda' I think we will be with them for a long time. But hopefully not in Sioux Falls forever, although I'm sure it's very nice.

Once upon a time

I've had reason to look into the history of my house recently and came across this picture. I'm not sure when it was taken but the truck in the driveway is definitely old.

Our house was built in 1918 so it has a lot of history. I was informed a couple weeks ago that perhaps Ted Bundy may have lived in my house. It just so happened that I was told on the Friday that Ryan was going out of town for the weekend. Unsettling a little. Of coarse I found out about a half an hour after Ryan got home that he Did Not live here.

However, it was then mentioned that maybe Gary Gilmore lived in my house. That's a little better I'll take Cold Blooded Killer over Serial Killer any day. So finally I went to Girls Night Out and talked to a neighbor who knew the truth, which is...

Nicole Baker, Gary Gilmore's girlfriend who lived here. So I'm sure Gilmore was in my house from time to time. Norman Mailer wrote a book about him called The Executioner's song, and there was a made for TV movie with Tommy Lee Jones and Rosanna Arquette. My neighbor said they wanted to film at our house but whoever lived here at the time wouldn't let them. I watched the movie that was kind of long and slow but it had great shots of the area in the 80's and we were pretty sure there were a few shots on our street.

So our little house has some interesting history, I'm just glad it wasn't Ted Bundy.

Whitey's House of Chicken'n Waffles

We celebrated my Ryan's birthday tonight with his family. He's commented a few times that he's wanted to eat at Roscoe's Chicken'n Waffles and since I couldn't fly him out to LA I decided to get some KFC and make my Buttermilk waffles and syrup. My friend Dan illustrated this cute book called Chicken Dance with a character named Elvis Chicken so I had to use some printouts from that book for decorations. Ryan was pleasantly surprised by it all and said it was his new favorite meal. I just wish I has some real macaroni and cheese and Collard Greens to go on the side. Maybe next year.

Happy Birthday (Aug. 22nd) Sweetheart! I love you.

1953

I've been scanning in a bunch of Ryan's dad's slides from back in the day. I got done with my first year and thought I would test out some different ways to make a slide show. I've used Slide.com which is fast but I want one that gives you a little more control and that I can burn CD's from easily. Maybe this one does, I'm not sure. This isn't the perfect song but it's one I can listen to over and over without ripping my hair out so it works for now. If anyone has any hints to making movies easy please let me know.

Farewell Hannah

I love when someone takes cool pictures of my family for me. Even if it means we go to a party to say goodbye to a good friend.

I tried to delete this one after I posted it but I guess I have to face the fact that I'm fat. I am however working on remedying it so stay tuned for the after picture.

This is my favorite picture, don't I have a handsome husband. Thanks John McKenzie for all the photo's.

Because of Hannah I've made friends with some really great women. I joined her bookclub which is the highlight of my month now. Although I didn't get to hang out with her as much as I would have liked, I've known she's always been there, in Pleasant Grove, to help out. But now she's moved all the way to Austin, TX. Luckily in this day and age I can still keep up on all her goings ons with her blog and facebook.

Hannah, you will be missed, and I know not just by me, but all your friends who you inspire and helped out here in Utah. Come visit us soon.

My Ike is 3

I have been a mom for 3 years now. I can hardly remember my life before my Ike. He became my everything the minute he came into this world. I mean look at what an adorable new born he was. He makes me laugh and makes me happy every day. Some days he drives me nuts and frays my nerves but he's always quick with a hug and a kiss. Now he can tell me that he loves me and sometimes that he loves my hair, which he is still obsessed with. He's my doodlebug and I can't live without him.

Happy Birthday Ikers!

6-7-07

Homemade Fullbar (bags)

I'm trying to get back on the diet kick. Awhile back I bought a Fullbar to try it out. You've probably seen the commercial. It's developed by a doctor that performs bypass surgeries. It's suppose to act the same way, byeating a bar and a glass of water 30 mins before a meal, it's suppose to fill you up so you don't eat as much. Well I'm a sceptic especially after I read the ingredients. Basically it's Puffed Wheat, Sugar and Soy Protein. I had the chocolate one so it had Dark Chocolate in it too. Sounded simple enough so I decided to make some of my own.

I'm the type of cook that just throws stuff together so I'll try to guess on just how much I used. When ever I see the commercial I want to call it a Fu Bar, and since I put them in bags I made up a new name. I think it has a ring to it.

FuBar Bags

1/4 butter

3/4 cups Dark Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup Almond butter (or peanut butter)

1/3 cup ground Flax seed

2-3 scoops Chocolate Protein Powder

Half bag of mini Marshmallows

Bag of unsweetened, unsalted Puffed Wheat. (I got mine at Sunflower market for about 1.50)

Like Rice Crispy Treats, heat everything in a large sauce pan. When melted add Puffed Wheat, stir and empty out onto a buttered pan or wax paper lined sheet pan.

It didn't mix as well as I would have liked which is why I bagged it instead of making it into bars. I think it would take a lot more marshmallows or adding corn syrup to it to make it stick which I didn't want to do. They actually taste really good, according to me. Having just eaten a chocolate Fullbar yesterday and making these today, I think it's a pretty good match actually. Plus mine has almonds and flaxseed.

I haven't decided whether they really do what they claim. I feel like I still eat about the same amount of food. But if I'm going to experiment with a gimmick I'd rather spend less than $5.00 than the estimated over $100 for a months supply. My recipe made about 14 snack size bags.

I'm a Winners!

This is Ike's 'Rock On' pose

Our Prize arrived today! I followed the Knuckleheads Blog and won their giveaway. I've never won anything from a blog before so I was pretty excited. Especially since I think Knuckleheads clothes are about the cutest thing out there for boys. If I had the means I would dress my boys in nothing but Knuckleheads clothes. They sent me 2 matching t-shirts for my boys. Guess I'm going to have to do a cute photo shoot now with them matching and looking all cute. I saw a guy with his two boys at the store the other day all wearing black skater clothes looking super cute and thought I need to get more black clothes for my boys. Now I just need to get some cute long shorts and they will be stylin'.
Thanks Knuckleheads!

4 years

4 years ago today I married my sweetheart and the subsequent 4 years have been the best of my life. Ryan has made me the happiest women in the world. I can't wait to see what the next 50 years will bring.

I know I've posted this video before but this song makes me think of Ryan every time I hear it.

Utah Food Co-op

I went to the Utah Food Co-op today in Murray. They only have one location now, the one on Redwood Rd. is closed. At first I wasn't that impressed. It's pretty small with not a lot of selection. Until I went in the cooler in the back. They had a bunch of different gourmet cheeses and spreads and fun stuff all for a dollar each. After further inspection of the outside area I found a few different marinades and dressing that are Organic (some Annie's) which retail for around $3 at the health food store were all just $1. Also they had canned goods for a $1 each which I wasn't impressed until I read the sign that said 10 for $7. which is not bad. So I got all of this plus 10 cans of tuna and soup (+1 Cars chicken noodle soup Ike wouldn't let go of that the lady gave me) for under $30. Then gave them a donation also, which they didn't ask for.
The address again is 4892 S. Commerce (300 W.) They have odd hours so check the schedule.

Food Co-ops

I've been researching Food Co-ops recently and thought I would share my findings. I haven't used any of these yet but am interested in checking them out.
Utah Food C0-0p this is a store with a location in Murray. There new location in Murray 4892 S. Commerce (300 W.) and the other location at 1899 S. Redwood Rd is closed now. They are only open Thurs, Fri and Sat. and they only take cash. I'm planning on checking out the one in Murray today. My Father-in-Law volunteered there last month to get a free pass to Disneyland and was impressed by the food they had and the prices.
Crossroad Urban Center from what I can tell this is a once a month plan. They have several different pick up areas, I think mine would be in Lehi. They ask you to volunteer at least 2 hours (with any charity or church organization) per month. They had a pretty good food offering including a $15 meat share that included a lot of meat. I think it's mostly local but not all organic.
Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op This is a once a week program. I think it's all produce and bread (tortillas and crackers). There are a lot of different pick up points. A friend on Facebook said it's gotten so popular it's hard to get an order in. I'm thinking of trying this out although from what I could tell the pick up time was like 6:45 am which doesn't work for me but we'll see.
Alpine Food Storage This is one my Mother-in-law mentioned to me. It seems to be based mostly on food storage items but they do sell items in smaller quantities also. They are based in Highland and may have a store you can just go to. I'll have to check it out.
This is just the beginning of my research so I'll try to keep interested parties informed. My interest is that I want to start buying more local products and I'd much rather support a local non profit than my local Walmart. Also I'm trying to eat healthy and want to include more produce and whole grains into my diet. If you are interested in trying any of these let me know and maybe we can figure them out together.

Natural Cures

I got an iPhone app a while ago that gives natural cures for common ailments. I found the website that has the same information as the app. www.endfatigue.com then if you go to the Health A-Z there is a list of things that you can look more into. Then you can read about the Conditions and Treatments that go along with it. I just think this is a great resource for anyone wanting to find out if there is a simpler or more natural way of curing things.
He has a new book out that I want. Beat Sugar Addiction Now! You can read a chapter of it here. I need to figure out which kind of addict I am, because I know that is one of my weaknesses.
My friend Jacqui posted this interesting article about sugar in Vogue. It talks about in interesting experiment with feeding Rats artificial sweeteners and found that they gain much more weight than those on regular sugar (I'm paraphrasing of coarse).

Food Revolution

If you haven't been watching this show you should, and if you have been watching it then you know what I'm talking about. You can go here to sign the petition. Jamie Oliver is trying to teach people to cook and bring real food back into the school lunch program. His first experience of American elementary schools they were feeding kids pizza for breakfast. He created a flash mob to promote his cause . Why do I love flash mobs. If you haven't seen one check it out. Check out the show and sign the petition, it takes 30 seconds.

Food Rules by Michael Pollan

I finally got a copy of Food Rules by Michael Pollan. They have it on amazon.com for $5.00. Here are a list of the rules. In the book he goes into more detail with each but if you can't get a hold of the book at least have a read through the list. Hopefully it make you think about a few things. It has for me.

1. Eat food
2. Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food
3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry
4. Avoid food products that contain high-fructose corn syrup
5. Avoid food products that have some form of sugar (or sweetener listed among) the top three ingredients
6. Avoid food products that have more than 5 ingredients
7. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce
8. Avoid food products that make health claims
9. Avoid food products with the wordoid “lite” or the terms “low fat” or “nonfat” in their names
10. Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not
11. Avoid foods you see advertised on television
12. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle
13. Eat only foods that will eventually rot
14. Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature
15. Get out of the supermarket whenever you can
16. Buy your snacks at the farmers market
17. Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans
18. Don’t ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap
19. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.
20. It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car
21. It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language (Think Big Mac, Cheetos or Pringles)
22. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves
23. Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food
24. Eating what stands on one leg [mushrooms and plant foods] is better than eating what stands on two legs [fowl], which is better than eating what stands on four legs [cows, pigs and other mammals].
25. Eat your colors
26. Drink the spinach water
27. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well
28. If you have space, buy a freezer
29. Eat like an omnivore
30. Eat well-grown food from healthy soil
31. Eat wild foods when you can
32. Don’t overlook the oily little fishes
33. Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacterial or fungi
34. Sweeten and salt your food yourself
35. Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature
36. Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk
37. The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead
38. Favor the kinds of oils and grains that have traditionally been stone-ground
39. Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself
40. Be the kind of person who takes supplements – then skip the supplements
41. Eat more lie the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.
42. Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism
43. Have a glass of wine with dinner
44. Pay more, eat less
45. Eat less
46. Stop eating before you’re full
47. Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored
48. Consult your gut
49. Eat slowly
50. The banquet is in the first bite
51. Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it
52. Buy smaller plates and glasses
53. Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds
54. Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like pauper
55. Eat meals
56. Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods
57. Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does
58. Do all your eating at a table
59. Try not to eat alone
60. Treat treats as treats
61. Leave something on your plate
62. Plant a vegetable garden if you have space, a window box if you don’t
63. Cook
64. Break the rules once in a while

I have a problem with rule #39 I'm more than willing to make junk food every day. I get his theory, I just find a flaw in it.

My Girls

I know I'm a little slow on this, but here's the pic from my birthday lunch at The Pub (my favorite hangout). I've been trying to remember when I started the tradition. Sometime after my 25th birthday I'm guessing. I tell my friends the time and place and hope they show up. I've had bigger and smaller gathering over the years. But these have been My Girls for the last two years. We don't hang out nearly enough but I'm glad they could all come together from all over Utah, Davis and Salt Lake county to be with me on my day. I'd love to do this once every month or so but I'll take once a year for now. Each of these girls mean the world to me and I would do anything for them and I know they would do the same for me. That's my definition of a friend. Love you girls.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I've reached the big 35! How did that happen?
My 25th year was one of my best. 30 was pretty great too. So I'm looking forward to what this year brings me.

Yet another blog

I've started a diet, which hopefully won't consume my every thought, like it has lately. I thought it would be useful to start a blog for it so I can track my progress and what I'm eating. I thought about making it private, but who are we kidding. On the first day I already mentioned it on Facebook so I might as well mention it here too.
It's not that exciting, especially since it's day 2 of my diet now. But I plan on posting recipes and maybe inspiration. What you really need is a 2 year old trainer. Ike was great yesterday when I was on my stair stepper. Every time I stopped Ike would say. 'One more time momma' or 'Try it again', although my favorite was when he'd say 'Don't fall off momma'. It really did motivate me.
So here it is, www.largemarjdiet.blogspot.com hop over if you feel like it, leave some words of encouragement if you feel like, and wish me luck. I think I'm going to need it.

New Favorite

I picked one of this fabulous little stair steppers at Walmart the other day. $45 bucks! not bad. And it's small so I can keep it upstairs where I can pull it out and use it when I get the urge. I just got it so I haven't used it alot but it gives you a good work out. Plus it has the arm bands for resistance training. It's part of my plan to start loosing weight. Hopefully it will get me in shape so when it gets nice out I can take long walks with the boys.