YOGA LETTERS

This past week we have been doing a lot of traveling. We took a short trip to visit with my family in Florida. Then we headed to Baton Rouge to see my daughter and her husband.

While visiting with my daughter, we did a little photo shoot. I have not had the time to do much editing, but this is what we worked on:

Isn't this cool?! Ashley is a certified yoga instructor. I thought it would be fun to do the letters in different poses. I think they came out pretty nicely. Don't know when I am going to have time to edit, but sometime after the first of the year, I will clean them up a bit. We couldn't wait to see what it looked like. What do you think?

Foto Friday

This week's theme.....
                chairs and benches.

When I saw what this week's challenge was, I knew exactly what I was going to take a picture of. 

Several years ago, I was on a kick...painting chairs. I liked to get old beat up chairs and paint them. This is one of two that I have left. The others I gave away.

As you can see...I like bright colors.

Car Exercise

I have found a love for exercise recently. I remember when I was younger, like up until I hit my 30's and had small children at home, I  enjoyed being fit and the process to stay that way. As the years went on, and our family grew, I couldn't find the time or energy to exercise. I had my moments. There were times I threw the kids in the stroller and walked the neighborhood, that is until I practically got attacked by stray dogs. After that experience  I quite walking the neighborhood.

Then I started exercising at home,  you know, all those exercise tapes? Well, that came to a halt too once I had another baby. I really needed my sleep more. When baby was asleep, mom went to bed to nap too, otherwise, mom would not get ANY sleep. Seemed I was a walking zombie for a number of years.

Once the kids were old enough for me to exercise again, I always found an excuse to get out of it. For example, when we were in Indiana I walked for a while, then it got too cold...brrrrrr!

Finally, when we moved to Louisiana, I found a group of ladies in the neighborhood that would walk most everyday; Monday through Friday...three to four miles in one hour. It was not only physically good for me, but mentally too. I got to know a lot of very nice ladies, got myself outside, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  We did this for several years, until age started catching up with us. Between a number of hospital stays, broken bones, gal bladder issues, etc, we ladies had to cool it a bit. 

Now that we moved to Kentucky, I have found another place to exercise. Our local YMCA is wonderful! During the week, I take two hours of Pilates, two water aerobic classes, two water walking classes, 30 minutes of Spinning and I swim four days a week. I feel GREAT! My metabolism has sped up, I have lost some L. B.'s, I sleep better, and I enjoy going. 

Today at Pilates, our instructor mentioned something that interested me. Starting January ONE, they are going to have a sign up for a New Year's Resolution. You have to commit to several things for two months. First, NO sugar drinks. Not a problem for me. Second, you must get in three fruits a day. Ok, no problem. Three...exercise an hour EVERY DAY. hmmmm problem....

Here is one problem with that last one. You see, the weekends I don't really do much exercising. Saturday, I can probably find an hour to exercise, but Sunday! Well that is a problem. For me, Sunday is the Lord's day. We don't shop, eat out, or nothing like that. It is a "Day of Rest." Not sure how I feel about actually exercising on Sunday. 

Another small problem I have is that the first of the year, we will be taking a loooooooooooooong trip to Idaho. Many hours in the car. I am not going to have the time to get our and walk around for an hour. So, what do I do? I Google searched "car exercise." Did you know there are numerous sites on this?

Traveling Mom is a really good site that talks about how you can use your filled water bottles as weights and how you can DO Head Shoulders Knees and toes for exercise. She has some other good hints for traveling with kids.

Ehow also has some good tips. Mostly isometric exercises like tightening your glutes (your BEhind),  thighs, abs (tummy), etc. I think I like this sight the best and will probably be doing these on the way to Idaho and back. While in Idaho, there won't be much of a problem, since we will be doing A LOT of walking....in the snow. Anyway, back to the car exercising. I don't think I am expected to do these all in one, one hour's time. I think I will probably be breaking it up; you know like ten minutes here and there. I know, too, I will be getting out of the car each time we stop to get gas and stretch....toe touches, leg stretches, etc. 

So, next time you find yourself in the car for awhile, you might want to try some Car Exercising.  Sounds like a lot of fun and something to pass the time. 

S'mores Anyone?

During Thanksgiving, it was mostly warm, but it did cool off a bit at night. My husband built a fire pit at his parents house, and so he built a fire, and we roasted marshmallows.

I love roasted marshmallows, I also love s'mores! AND....

I love this man!

We had a nice time getting cozy by the fire and filling our faces with yummy stuff!

COOPERATION, PLEASE!

Have I mentioned I like to take pictures? LOL well of course I have. Even when I was in high school and college, before digital, I loved to take pictures and scrapbook. Yes, scrapbook. Wished I'd of know what it was called and that it was going to be so popular. I could have been a millionaire by now. Oh well...

When the kids were little, I really got into the picture taking mode. But, there were problems. First off, digital was not around yet, so taking lots of pictures (that you weren't sure were going to be good...or not) could get pretty pricey. Second, the nice cameras (which we did have one) were too complicated for me. 

As the kids got older another problem arose.......

lack of cooperation!

Scott is just goofy, the other two like to look like zombies.

I tell them it will only take a second if they would cooperate.

But instead they have to act silly and so I take zillions of photos none of which come out.

I promise, I CAN take good pictures...

SEE...?

I just need some cooperation.

Fall is here and Old Man Winter is just around the corner.....

My favorite time of year is summer. I have always loved the warm, sunny weather. I even like humidity. I know most of you think I have lost my marbles because of this, but right now I could use a bit of humid weather. You see, my skin is becoming VERY, very DRY! And I don't like it.

We had a hot summer and a nice a mild fall. I enjoyed the mild temperatures and the beauty in the leaves.

Here in Kentucky, there are many trees, and along with these type trees you get some gorgeous colors.

Growing up in the part of Florida I lived in, you don't get any change of seasons.

The first time I remember seeing the change of seasons was when I had gone out to school in Idaho. I was 19. 

I had left Sunny Florida in January and arrived in the cold "tundra" of Idaho. Winter had long made it's arrival, and there was well over a foot of snow on the ground. I can remember walking to the grocery store with my roommates and noticing all the dead bushes and trees. After a while, I made the comment about how sad it was that all the plants were dead. One of my roommates looked at me quite funny. She informed me that they weren't dead, just dormant. Both of us had a learning experience. I had learned that many of the plants go dormant during the winter...not die, and she learned that there are parts of the country that are always green.

That winter, I didn't see the pavement until April! You see, in Idaho, once it starts snowing (usually in October), you don't see the pavement for MONTHS!

Another funny story I'd like to share was one time we were headed to town and it was sooooooo cold. I had NEVER been so cold. As we passed the bank the temperature was reading 48. "48!!!?" I yelled. "It sure seems A LOT colder than any 48!" My roommate then turned to me with a chuckle and replied, "Terry, that is 48 below!" wow, I was in shock! I had never seen anything colder than 18. No wonder I was so cold! A lot of my friends and roommates got a good laugh at me quite often. But you know, if they had been in my territory (Florida) I'm sure I'd get a kick out of some of their reactions to things.

The first time I saw leaves changing was just after I had turned 20, my first fall that I could remember not living in Florida. It was actually quite pleasant to see all the color.

Even though I detest the coming of cold, I still see joy in the changes of the seasons. The beauty of the trees during all times of the year. 

So even though I am NOT enjoying all this cold that has recently visited our state, I do enjoy looking at the trees do their thing. 

I just wish it could snow and be warm. I may not like the cold, but the snow brings back so many fun memories of Idaho and Utah. Skiing, snowmobiling and tubing are all fun things to do, and you gotta have snow to do then in. So, I guess I should just look forward to that first snowfall and sit back and cuddle up with a blanket and some hot chocolate.

THANKSGIVING 2012

We had a lovely Thanksgiving. Warmest one in a looooong time. I believe it was in the 70's! The little ones got to eat outside. We had some tasty food too.

I made some Jambalaya which everyone loved. Even got to share the recipe to a couple. I did make it a wee bit spicy for the little ones though. Next time I need to leave the Tabasco and red pepper out. I've posted the recipe on one of my posts. So just click here to see it. I sure hope ya'll try it. I not only left the hot stuff out but also the shrimp. We have family who can't eat it and besides, it is getting a bit pricey.

I also made some macaroni and cheese. It's best to make it then eat it right out of the oven. I made it ahead of time. It was still good, but like I said, not as good. Here's the recipe...

Macaroni and Cheese

Elbow noodles

Large can of can milk

Stick of butter

Cheese (I like sharp cheddar)

Tony's Creole seasoning (optional)

Cook your noodles and drain. Put into a cake pan (or other casserole dish). Throw the butter into the noodles to melt, add the cheese (as much or as little as you want. I like a lot). Stir all that around til it starts to melt, then slowly add the milk; all around the pan, stirring. Once all that is mixed together you can add some Tony's. If you are from Louisiana or lived there anytime, you learn to put that on EVERYTHING!!! It is really yummy. After everything is mixed well, you can add some cheese to the top and toss the pan into the oven and cook for about 20 minutes )or until cheese is melted) at 350. This is really a yummy dish.

The next thing I made is something that has been in our family for many, many generations. Not sure where it came from, but my mom and her mom both have made it for years. We have always made it at Thanksgiving and Christmas, not sure why we don't make it other times of the year, because it is REALLY good. I introduced it to my in laws, and now I am expected to make it every Thanksgiving and Christmas if I am there. If not, they always call and get the recipe. Here is what is in it...

Apple Salad

About three apples, NOT peeled, just cut up

About three bananas, sliced

Large can of chunk pineapple, drained and save the juice for later

Marshmallows

About two ribs of celery

Chopped walnuts

Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip (whatever you have on hand)

Toss everything except the Mayonnaise and pineapple juice into a large bowl. Then take some of the pineapple juice and mayonnaise and mix in a small bowl until the consistency of milk or maybe a little thicker, but not much thicker. Pour over the fruit mixture and toss. Sometimes I have to add a little more. This is not much of a recipe, you just have to eyeball it. But it sure is good!

Of course we had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, dressing, and PIES!!!!

I'm sure I am leaving something out. We had a lot of food. All of which was delicious! I am grateful for my family, and thankful for the fun times and memories we have made over the years, having Carter Thanksgiving, the food and company is always nice!