Merry Christmas!

WOW! What a busy Christmas vacation we have had! I have enjoyed every minute of it. First my daughter flew in from Utah, the next day my oldest son drove down from Tennessee, and the next day, my mom and dad drove in from Florida. It was so nice to have everyone together again.

Yesterday, my mom and dad left, and my son went back to Tennessee because he had to work today. I miss having all the family together, but am sure grateful for the week we had. In less than a week, my daughter will be back out at school, and my two younger sons will be back in high school, and all will be back to normal around here :(

Acai Juice

In August my husband and I were at Sam's and I noticed in the refrigerated section Acai juice. I quickly opened the door and started examining it. I noticed the price and slowly started to put it back until these words caught my eye, "Supports Healthy: energy levels, weight control, skin, hair and nails, antioxidant levels." I had heard about this juice from Doctor Oz, and wondered where I could get it...and here it was--at Sams! But also at a very high price. Then I got to thinking, this is not like a juice, but more like a vitamin, and so decided to try it. I mainly bought it for the antioxidants and hair health. Now that I've been walking, my energy levels are great, and as far as weight control goes, nothing has ever worked, and so I was not getting my hopes up on this.

Each day with my breakfast I pour me about 1/2 to 1 cup of the juice and sip it throughout the day. It is pretty strong and not sweet at all. At first, I just thought it was ok. I started to drink it with crushed ice which mellowed the flavor a bit. In a couple of days, the flavor was actually good--I had aquired a taste to it. Within about 4 weeks or so, I had lost 7 lbs!

I mentioned the juice to my walking buddies and everyone seemed interested. The next day one of the Walker's told me that her son had called about the juice and wanted to try it. He heard it was very healthy, and he is one of those health nuts. He too thought it was pricey, but bought it anyway. He noticed within a few days that his energy levels had increased and was hooked.

A few weeks after I had lost the 7 lbs, my walking buddies and I were at a party. A mutual friend of ours who is a nutritionist was also at the party. One of the Walker's had told her about my Acai story and the weight loss. She did not agree with the claim, and said it was just probably coincidence. She went on to say that just good old fashioned "not eating so much and exercise" was the only way to loose any weight. I agree to a point, but I've done that, and the only way I've been able to loose weight and keep it off it to not eat at all...and this is not healthy.

When Thanksgiving vacation rolled around, we headed off to Tennessee to visit my in-laws. I decided not to drink it since there were going to be a lot of people there and I know a lot of the kids really like juice. I figured it would get drunk up in a matter of seconds. When we got back from TN, I had my annual physical and a bunch of lab work coming up and was told not to take any vitamins, etc. and that included the Acai juice. So, for about 3 weeks or so I did not drink any of the juice. My eating habits did not change--even with the Thanksgiving--I pretty much ate as normal. I noticed I had gain much of the weight back...ugggg!

Well, as of last week, my lab work was complete, and I was back on the Acai juice. Guess what? I am loosing again. And again, my eating habits are pretty much the same...maybe a little more holiday stuff, but I'm not going that crazy. I'm trying to be careful. Also, it has been so cold and the Walker's so busy with Christmas and family, that we have not been able to walk everyday...and the weight is dropping. So, coincidence or is there actually something to this Acai juice?

Copyright Laws

Laws are for our protection. We have traffic and seat belt laws to keep us safe in case of a wreck. We have laws against armed robbery or breaking and entering to keep our families and possessions safe. There are also silly laws like one in Indiana: "Baths may not be taken between the months of October and March," or in Louisiana, "You may not tie an alligator to a fire hydrant." I can't tell you why these are on the books, but I suppose when they were passed, there was a good reason.

I grew up with two sisters. The three of us danced pretty much our whole lives--up through college years, and two of us continue to be a little involved as adults. My daughter, who is away at a major university has also grown up dancing. In fact, she is majoring in dance, and is on a team that I was on while majoring in dance at this same university. Twenty-seven years ago, when I was dancing on this same team, there were no video cameras to tape the shows we did so that we could reminisce in future years. I've always been sadden by this. I have many pictures, but no video of any of my dancing years. My daughter, on the other hand, has her own video camera, and has taped many of the pieces she has been in. Now that she is many miles away, I am so happy that I am able to see her dances through video. I may not be able to be there, but eventually I can see her talent growing.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of a show that her dance group has done through the years. They have invited all alumni to be a part of the show. Since I am an alumni of the team, I entertained the thought of going--but, with responsibilities at home, it was just not possible. I figured, well, I know I can't be there, but she will have a video of it, and I can enjoy the show when she brings it to me over the Christmas holidays (like she did last year with last year's show). Well, this is not going to happen. I just found out last night, that they will not be filming at all. Usually, they film, and broadcast it on the university's TV station (which through satellite I am able to watch). I was really looking forward to that.

So, why, you may be asking yourself, are they not taping the show? It is because of the copyright laws. Now, don't get the wrong idea. I do believe in copyright laws. I do believe that when one tapes a movie to avoid buying it, it is stealing. I also believe that when one downloads or copies a song without paying for it, it is also stealing. One other thing that has always irritated me, is when one writes a report for school and actually copies it from someone's work...this is also stealing. The laws have really gotten out of hand, though. It is getting to a point, that our little girls will not be able to be in a dance recital to any music because of these same copyright laws.

I remember when my daughter would find out what song they were going to be learning their new dance for recital or competitions. Many times, we had never heard of the song, and upon inquiring who the artist was, more times than not, we would go and purchase the CD. My daughter not only likes to dance, but she likes to put together montages of pictures and videos. She put one together for my 50th birthday. Many of her dance pieces and video montages are on youtube. Because of the copyright laws, they have taken many videos off, or like in the case of my 50th birthday video, changed the song. The song they put on does not even make since. My daughter always puts things together with the song. She also gives credit to the artist in her credits. In some of her work, she has used songs that are not popular, and many have made positive comments on the song and wanted to know who it was, so that they too could purchase the CD. To me, using these songs for dances in recitals, competitions, shows, etc. is like free advertisement for many artists.

In closing, I would like to say that I hope that many of these artists realize how important their music is to the dance world. How are the dancers suppose to express themselves without music? Music is so much a part of all of our lives, and I feel that the copyright laws need to be changed. There needs to be a compromise...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Now that the holidays have kicked in full swing, I am busy as ever. I've been trying to put together a couple of open houses for my jewelry, and am hoping to have a decent turn out for them. I've also been trying to get ready for family to come at Christmas, Youth activities at church, and book club coming to my house in about a week.

One main thing I look forward to during the holidays is family. Each Thanksgiving, we always go to Tennessee to visit with my in laws. This year is going to be a little different. We are still going to TN, but usually we have a whole slew of people over. This year will be much smaller, but we will still be having quite a few over for dinner. My husband came from a very large family, and, for the most part, all of us have had pretty good size families of our own. Even though it will only be our family, and my brother in law and their family (each of us missing some kids who are out to college), we will still have a minimum of 14 over for dinner...so that's still a pretty good sized crew.

We traveled up to TN yesterday, and had a pretty nice trip. My in laws live out in the country, so before we headed out to the boonies, we met with our eldest son (who lives in town), and then followed him out to the Carter Home. As we were following our son, I thought how I can't believe how our children have gotten so big. Seems like just yesterday they were all little bitty. Now here we were following our son, who has been on his own for a couple of years, down the road. How time flies.

Well, I just want to leave you all with a few thoughts of how grateful I am for family, and especially my Father in heaven. Our family has so much to be thankful for, and I hope that we can always show our gratitude to our Heavenly Father, by keeping him #1 in our lives. I hope that each one of you that read this have a happy Thanksgiving!

Healthy Holiday Cooking

A few weeks ago, my walking buddies and I discovered some adult classes offered at our local library. The first class we went to was about Julia Child. I never really knew much about her, but after that class, I think I would have really liked the woman. I look forward to the movie Julie and Julia coming out on DVD.

The next class we went to was container gardening. Another very good class. I've always wanted to do some container gardening, especially with some herbs. Once the cool weather is gone, I think I might have to try some container herb gardening.

Today, we went to another class--Healthy Holiday Cooking. We got to eat at this one. Most of the stuff I already knew, and incorporate into my cooking; but I was glad to get some new recipes. One dish we had that I was surprised about was a hot fruit salad made in a crock pot. I don't usually like warm fruit, but this was DIVINE! It makes a bunch, so I'm planning on making it at Christmas when my family is here. It is not only very simple, but a great food storage recipe. It also makes your house smell really, really good!!!

Hot Fruit Salad Recipe
serves 16

16 ounces chunky applesauce
30 ounces sliced canned peaches, drained
30 ounces sliced canned pears, drained
20 ounces canned mandarin oranges, drained
30 ounces canned pineapple chunks, drained
21 ounces cherry pie filling
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Add first five ingredients to slow cooker, gently stir to combine. Pour cherry pie filling over fruit mixture. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over top. Cover and cook on low in slow cooker 3 to 4 hours. Serve warm.

calories 188
fat .01g
carbohydrates 45.8 g
protein 1 g
saturated fat 0
fiber 3.5 g
sodium 12mg

Oh! What A Beautiful Day!

For the past several weeks, Northern Louisiana has had more than its share of rain. All the lakes and rivers are way above flood stage, in fact, they are putting up flood walls and filling up some of the gaps in other parts of the flood wall. People have been sandbagging around their homes and preparing for the worse. Even though our neighborhood is surround by a bayou, we live in an area where we do not have to worry. Even if the levees were to fail, we would be fine. But for those who live in town, they need to keep a watchful eye.

One thing that all of us need to have, is our 72 hour emergency kit. For many years, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has counseled its members to have this ready, so that at a moments notice we will be able to evacuate. We have lived in many different places of the country where we have possibly needed an emergency kit. We have been very lucky, that we have never had to evacuate. Even through hurricanes, we were able to stay put, but I was very thankful that we were prepared. We have had several times when we were without electricity because of hurricanes or ice storms, and because we were prepared, we were able to have the necessities of life.

The past couple of days have been absolutely gorgeous! The temperatures have been in the mid 70's to low 80's and the skies, sunny! My type of weather! The lakes and rivers continue to rise, and will probably crest sometime Wednesday, but, fortunately, we should not see any more rain til sometime the beginning of next week.

Redneck City

Can't believe it is already the first of November! Yesterday was Halloween, and you would not have believed the crowd we had down our street. I had to laugh! Even though I grew up in the South, I still could not believe what I saw...It was REDNECK City! There were dozens of four-wheelers and even a couple of Monster Trucks. There were several kiddy Halloween parties, which kind of became one big party. When it started to get dark, the kids piled onto the one of the many trailers that were being pulled by a four-wheeler and headed off for Trick-or-Treat. You see, no one walks anymore, they ride. Of course, it would be much more fun riding on a trailer full of hay and your best buds, pulled by a four-wheeler. Kinda makes me wish I was a kid again, or at least that my children were small again. I sure miss those days. Anyway, if I hadn't of seen it with my own two eyes, I would not have believed the Redneck town that was up and down our street last night.