oak ridge christmas

We spent three days in Oak Ridge with my family and had a wonderful time of family, food, gifts, and puzzle-working.  =)

Actin' silly with hubby

Kat and me

Natalie, me, and Katherine

Granny June, Uncle Ray and Tanya digging in!

Me and Topher by the tree...

but you can't see it because he covers the whole thing up!

Stockings- my favorite part of Christmas morning

displaying our amazing handmade gift-basket from Kat

Momma and Nat, looking beautiful

Momma and Daddy

(and Avery on pursuit of crumpled paper)

cute name placetags for Christmas dinner (Luke 2:10)

Granny and Avery- he loves her

Papaw and Avery- pals

puzzle-working madness

a 1000-piece snowman and tree with a solid blue sky

Granny and Papaw with the grandkids

whole-wheat veggie pizza

Chris and I love to make (and EAT!!) this pizza.  It is an essential staple in our diet, especially to avoid the "nastiness" of Papa John's yet still satisfy the craving for pizza.  We make the whole-wheat crust from scratch, but you can buy a pre-made one of course if you don't want to fool with all that.  So delicious.  I could eat this thing at least once a week.

Ingredients:
Spread olive oil and sprinkle pizza seasoning (combo of like oregano, basil, garlic, marjoram etc.) on the crust
Thin layer of mozarella cheese
Thick layer of fresh spinach leaves, stems cut off (we buy a bag of leaves- Dole or Popeye brand)
Fresh mushrooms (sliced to desired thickness)
Fresh roma tomatoes (in slices or diced up)
Fresh green bell peppers, diced
Goat cheese or Feta cheese crumbles
Sprinkle a little bit of parmesan cheese and more pizza seasoning on top

Only takes like 10 minutes to cook it at about 350 degrees.  Read the instructions for the crust you choose- you may have to pre-bake for a few minutes before adding the toppings and baking.  And you can make your own variation by adding whatever veggies you like!  (onions, other bell peppers, jalapenos, etc)

blog post #100

I feel like I’ve posted more than a hundred blogs on this thing since I started, but I guess I have not. This is #100! :)

I was trying to think of clever things to write on my 100th post, but I’ve got nothin.’ I could list 100 things I am grateful for… or 100 things I love... or 100 pet peeves of mine (should I actually have 100 pet peeves?? I hope I don't...)

Anyway, I AM 100% grateful to God for my beautiful life, my family, my friends, my job, my house, my pets… I have been so blessed beyond countable ways.


Bible-Reading:
Last night I started reading about the suffering of Job. Poor guy- Satan really picked on him bad. I’ve read Job’s story many times before, but until you have gone through at least a piece of what he experienced, you can’t fully understand the magnitude of his faith in God. I imagine it is quite hard to continue trusting in the Lord when your money, your family, your friends, and your health are all stripped away. If you’re having a hard time- read Job. You’ll be grateful. Remember that it is not God who causes pain and suffering. He only allows it to bring glory to His name.

“Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."
-Job 2:3

one-year-chronological-bible

Mom and Dad bought me this One-Year Chronological Bible last year for Christmas and I started out reading it daily... then as most things go, I got more and more lazy until I eventually kept forgetting to even open the thing.  So the Bible sat on my bookshelf, gathering dust.

Well, I'm starting over.  In my 20+ years of knowing the Lord, I have never read the entire Bible all the way through.  It's about time I got on that.  I love the idea of reading it chronologically instead of just page by page, so that you get the whole story in order and events make sense.

I began reading last night.  I read about creation, the fall of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and the great flood of Noah.

Something new I learned was that God gave man permission to eat animals after the flood.  Never knew that.  (see Gen. 9:2-4)

I absolutely love rainbows, which is another thing I got to read about last night.  Next time you see one in the sky, remember God's promise and His love for mankind:

"I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the convenant between me and the earth.  Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind.  Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.  Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."
-Genesis 9:13-16

I hope to continue writing faithfully this year about new things I learn about God and Biblical history.  I'm really excited about this.

vanilla oatmeal baby lotion

I recently discovered Johnson's Vanilla Oatmeal baby lotion.  This is the best lotion I have ever used- it is not greasy, it has a wonderful light scent, it absorbs nicely, and it actually moisturizes my dry skin.

You can find it on the baby aisle at Walmart or wherever.  Try it out! :)

white chocolate-covered pretzels

A Christmas treat favorite :)  I learned to make these from mom- a yearly tradition.  So yummy!  Watch out- they are extremely addictive.  And they are definitely not approved for my current diet.  Oh well.

Ingredients

One pound bag- Tiny Pretzel Twists

Two packages- White Almond Bark

Sprinkles of your choice (I use the little multicolored ball sprinkles b/c they are cute, but green and red ones are pretty too for Christmas)

  

Side Note: I buy the Kroger brand of everything- makes no difference in taste to me.

Directions

Melt the almond bark in the top of a double boiler over medium or med-high heat. Stir constantly until smooth. Once completely melted, you can turn the temp down to med-low.

Dump some pretzels in the pot and completely cover them with the chocolate.  Using tongs or a fork (tongs are easier), fish out each pretzel and shake off extra chocolate.
(I like a thin layer of chocolate… but some people prefer thickly coated ones, so do whatever you want here)

Lay pretzels on wax paper or parchment paper. (I put the paper on the counter-top, but if you want to slide them in the fridge to harden quicker, put the paper on a cookie sheet first)

Shake the sprinkles onto the top of the pretzels before the chocolate hardens.

You can put the pretzels in the fridge to harden quicker, but they’ll do it at room temp in about 15 minutes.

ENJOY!

oh man, these cookies are awesome!

I really don’t think there is such thing as a “healthy” cookie, but these are definitely a good choice for the health-conscious who really want a cookie. :)

Whole-Wheat-Honey-Oatmeal-PB-Chocolate-Chip cookies!

Recipe:
Preheat oven to 375˚ F

½ c. (1 stick) real butter, softened
½ c. unsweetened applesauce
1 c. honey
¼ c. natural peanut butter
2 large eggs
1½ c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 c. rolled oats
1 to 2 c. chocolate chips (I used two of couse!)

Cream together the butter, applesauce, PB, honey and eggs.

Add flour, baking soda, salt, oats and choc chips. Mix well.

Drop by tablespoon onto cookie sheet. (Use a teaspoon for smaller cookies)
     I recommend putting parchment paper on the cookie sheet first. You don’t have to grease anything and the cookies slide right off!

Bake at 375˚ for 10 to 12 minutes.

YUMMY!

p.s.  This a recipe for cakey-type cookies.  They are light and kinda fluffy.  :)

christmas party extravaganza

Christopher and I have attended several parties this last month, which has been both fun and hectic.

Somehow I managed NOT to take one single photograph at any of these events. Sad =(

Our Pathfinders Sunday school party was on December 5 at our teachers’ home. They have a lovely home and everyone brought a dish to share. Unfortunately, I couldn’t eat any of the delicious contributions due to my dietary restrictions. I think I ate a few raw spinach leaves and some green beans, which actually had bacon in them, but I picked it out since I’m not eating pork. When I got home, I cooked some Cream of Wheat and ate that for supper. Anyway, we had a fun evening of fellowship with friends and watching Florida lose to Alabama. (Although, I was rooting for FL...)


Monday Dec. 12th, Chris and I had some friends over for a “Thanksmas” party. We roasted a turkey, made pumpkin pie, carrots, homemade eggnog and homemade whipped cream for the pie. Our six friends who came over brought the other sides, which we all gladly chowed down on! Chris and I set up our dining room table with a pretty red tablecloth along with our china and crystal glasses. It was really nice to use all of that stuff- it’s been boxed up since the move! Avery had a field day with our friend’s 14 month old son. Every time Jack screeched, Avery would screech… cute, but annoying. Eventually we had to lock Avery up in the bedroom because his barking was getting beyond obnoxious.

Thursday Dec. 17th, we went to two parties in one night. My work had their company party starting at 5:30. We went for about 30 minutes, grabbed some coffee, Chris snagged a few snacks, then we had to jet over to Versailles, KY for the CMDA Christmas Party at Dr. Randall’s home. We did not know a single person there, but we went to try and make some connections with the medical students and hopefully recruit some members for Side by Side. We had a great time, but I couldn’t eat any of the food there either. Ha! I cheated and had a roll, but it obviously didn’t kill me. Unfortunately, all of the women there were actually medical students already involved in Bible study, so none of them would really want to be part of Side by Side. But at least we had a wonderful time of Christian fellowship! Plus, we played Dirty Santa and I won a $10 giftcard to Kroger. Sweet! I used it to pay for my prednisone prescription. Nice.

Friday Dec. 18th we drove out to Bellewood Presbyterian Home for Children and helped serve food at their Christmas party. My friend, Martha, prepared the meal (she was the one who invited us out). This center is for moms and children who have no place to live. What a wonderful ministry. Anyway, Santa showed up and let all the kids sit on his lap, we served everyone supper, then handed out door prizes for the moms and cookie tins for the kids. It was a loud, crazy evening, but such a blessing to spend the evening with new people.

Tomorrow is not a party, but everyone at work is bringing goodies to share. I made whole-wheat-honey-oatmeal-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip cookies. Whew, hahaha. And I’m bringing a veggie tray. =)


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

visit from a bff

Daniel Lee had an interview last week at UK, and lucky me, he brought his cute wife with him who just happens to be one of my closest friends.  We had a fabulous time.

Dan is deathly allergic to animals, so Chris and I cleaned our house as best we could and locked Avery up in the bedroom so that the Lees could actually come over and visit with us on Sunday evening.  Within an hour, poor Dan was already getting itchy.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  Avery is even hypoallergenic!  Poor Dan.  Eventually, I got the vibe that we needed to leave and go drive around and eat supper out somewhere.

So we drove them around the horse farms and ended up at Ramsey's Diner for supper- a famous diner in Lexington.  For those of you in Memphis, it is very similar to Dale's.  It's delicious home cookin', which means they basically ruin all the healthy menu items with butter, sugar, fat, and/or salt.  :)
I ordered a chicken breast, plain baked sweet potato, and a house salad.  Chris, Dan, and Jen chowed down on some yummy bits of everything from the menu.  It was all delicious.

On Monday, I worked until noon, then spent the afternoon with Jen.  We got sushi at Good Foods Cafe because they actually have rolls made with organic brown rice!!  We then headed down to Berea, KY to check out the little craft shops:

Jen is really excited about her delicious pumpkin ice cream.

I was really excited about her ice cream too, so I ate one tiny bite.

Oh it was good.

The cute fat black cat who came to see us was excited too,

but we did not give him ice cream.

Jen, me love you long time. =)

On Tuesday, she came to my work and ate lunch with me, then she was off to Nashville and eventually back to Memphis.  :(  All I know is that it better not be another 6½ months before I see you again.

BURGER!!!

I finally ate a burger.  Oh my, it was so delicious. 

After finding out the bad news on Friday, Chris and I went shopping on Saturday morning.  Naturally we got hungry around noon and the only place I had a restaurant.com gift certificate to in the area was Ted's Montana Grill.  (A delicious place if you've never been)

I ordered the Bison burger on their Oatie Wheat Bun with lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and mustard.  And a side of steamed broccoli.

I have not had a humburger in about 2 months and this is one of my favorite things to eat.  I have never had a Bison burger.

Oh my word, it was sooooo good.

And the best part was that I learned my stomach can tolerate bison!  Absolutely no problems.

That night, we made chili with very lean ground beef and I ate that too just fine!!

What a blessing.

not-so-happy-news

Yesterday I had a CT scan done before seeing the lung doctor.  This was supposed to be a baseline CT since I've been off steroids for a month and feeling great.

Unfortunately, we did not get a happy face from Dr. B.

I have two new inflammatory nodules in my lungs, which means I am back on 60 mg of prednisone. 

Oh sucky day.

It certainly was not the conversation we expected to have with the doc.  We just knew he would come in the room, tell us my CT looked great minus some residual scarring from the thoracotomy and old nodules, but that everything was fine and he'd see us later!  Or hopefully not see us later.  But no.  He broke the news and my tear ducts immediately became leaky.  :( 

BUT.  At least I'm not in pain and we caught them early.  Lord knows I do NOT want to end back up in the hospital.  So I have to do steroids again.  I don't know for how long.  My prescription currently is 60 mg for 2 weeks then 40 mg for 4 weeks.  Then I see the doc again and we'll talk about the next step.

I'm mad because I have finally lost all that extra weight from being on steroids the first time, my chipmunk face is gone, I can sleep at night, and I don't have 'roid rage.  Now I have to go through all that again.  Hopefully my healthy diet will help curb some of the weight gain.  My food cravings are going to make me go insane, though... 

Lord help me.

I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me.  -Philp 4:13

Probably a good idea to steer clear of me during the first few weeks.  It is likely that I will bite your head off.

diet update

I have been on my healthy eating plan since November 1, 2009. I have never felt better.

#1) I have no Crohn’s symptoms. Zero.
#2) I have lost pretty much all the excess weight gained from the 3-month regimen of steroids. (yippee!)

How I’m eating:
Extremely limited sugar (basically none)
No high fructose corn syrup or other syrups
No “white” foods: I’ve switched to 100% whole wheat flour (bread and pasta) and brown rice
No preservatives/artificial flavors/artificial colors

       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_food_additives

No hydrogenated oils (i.e. margarine)
No soda of any kind
No deep-fried food
No pork or shellfish (Although I don’t think these meats are sinful to eat, I do believe Leviticus 11 holds true for them being unclean.)
No cow’s milk (excluding yogurt, cheese, and butter)

I was having a serious craving for chocolate earlier this month, so Christopher bought me some 90% Dark Cocoa chocolate. It was awesome, but I love dark chocolate anyway. It had like 3 grams of sugar in four whole squares. =)

This way of eating is such an improvement in quality of life, especially the healthy body weight. I definitely recommend this “diet” for anyone who has an illness like Crohn’s, UC, MS, IBS, etc. I don’t have any credentials and certainly cannot make any promises about miraculous healing. However, I am a perfect example of 100% improvement just by changing the way I eat.

I understand that if you have no “real” reason to change the way you eat, it would be really hard to stay motivated in your avoidance of potato chips, ice cream, cookies, fried food and other such junk. But perhaps you could severely limit the intake of these foods instead of cutting them out completely. Plus, once you get used to eating fruit instead of sugar, it’s much easier to resist the donuts that people insist on bringing to the office on a weekly basis.  :)

I wish more people would eat their veggies and fruits… we’d save so much money on healthcare costs… but that’s another story…

dairy goat

Since I don’t drink cow’s milk anymore, I now buy goat’s milk. It is actually very tasty, but is a little pricey. I didn’t realize exactly how much I was paying for it until my mom asked if the milk came in ½ gallons or quarts. I naturally assumed it was a ½ gallon.

I was wrong.

I am paying ~$3.69 for one quart at a time.

Do the math and that is about $14.50 a gallon. EEEK!

Can someone please give me a dairy goat for Christmas?!?!

Ha.

Anyway, it’s worth it… I LOVE milk and cow’s milk is very bad on my stomach, so goat milk is the perfect solution. Because of my new diet, Chris and I rarely eat out, which has saved us a ton of money. And the best part is that I am still medicine-free (thanks be to God!), so that is money saved as well!

One day I will have my farm with my horses and my dairy goats.

Aren't they so cute?!

delicious fruit smoothie

Part of my new diet- oh so yummy!

Makes one serving:

½ c. plain (unflavored) yogurt
½ c. frozen blueberries
~5 frozen strawberries
1 medium banana

Blend.  Drink with a straw :)

You can switch up the fruit ingredients based on what you like.  I find that the banana is essential to make the right amount of sweetness since this recipe doesn't use sugar or honey.  Also, if you use fresh fruit instead of frozen, you may want to blend in a few ice cubes.

Side note: I buy organic frozen fruit.  No need for bananas to be organic.