Fitness Challenge... and more!

I know that some people are getting tired of hearing about it... so I won't dedicate my whole post to it... but I am really striving for some big goals here... so I need all the support I can get!!... and yes, I am obsessing, just a bit... but that's ok... big goals... remember!
So a couple weeks ago I started a fitness challenge (and if this bores you I'm sorry... this blog is my attempt at journaling too). A six week challenge, but I intend on continuing it to May when my sister in law gets married and we'll be seeing lots of family... not to mention summer will be just around the corner from there and... well... we ALL know what that means!
The challenge includes keeping a daily food journal and working out 5-6 days a week. You get points for daily accomplishments and working out (which I go Mon, Wed, and Fri at 5:30! AM!... but am LOVING it... as well as a couple Wii workouts during the week and kickboxing on Saturday mornings).
So... goals...
I'm just gonna get this one out of the way... so maybe you'll forget about it... but since this IS MY journal... here goes: I'm turning 25 this year... oh... whoops... 35... yes... 35. So by my 35th birthday my goal is to lose the control tops!!! Pantyhose that is. Sorry guys... but CJ didnt even know what they were so maybe I'm good here??? I figure after 3 kids, and 2 abdominal surgeries, PLUS the ever loved "diabetic waist tire" it'll be difficult, but I think I'm up for it.
In addition to the "waist tire" I had a goal to reduce my insulin by HALF in the 6 weeks of the challenge... I CAN CROSS THAT ONE OFF! Its really amazing what a little dedication can do. Just 2 weeks into a diet and exercise plan and my insulin is already down... HALF!!!! That's pretty exciting!

My other 6 week goals include:
ChangED eating HABITS
Daily fitness routine HABIT
Loss of INCHES (nope... not gonna even mention how many)
and all of my "tight" pants will no longer be tight.

I'm getting close... I can do it! I'm working really hard on a low glycemic diet, and I REALLY know that its helping. It been a little difficult with a daughter who wont eat beans and a son who wont eat cooked tomatoes... but they'll get it. They have to!
My May goals include everything previous PLUS a loss of AT LEAST 20 pounds! I really hate numbers... but.. I am giving one, hey everyone needs something to strive for right?!!
Mom WAS on board with me when they were here in December but she has TOTALLY slacked and... I am SO WINNING. It was a challenge between the 2 of us... but its not much of a challenge when SOMEBODY doesn't participate!!!!! (Hows that for a push??? Love you more than you know Momma!!!) I cant remember what our challenge deal was for sure... I'm sure it had something to do with her giving me money... ???

Ok, I said I wouldn't devote the entire post to the fitness challenge, so here's some fun stuff...

CJ got to go hunting again. A few times.

(such a handsome guy I have)

One of the guys he took out actually didn't want the elk, so he gave it to CJ. Another he split and he got to keep a yearling for himself (yep Bambi... in elk form ).

Needless to say we have a chest FREEZER full of elk meat.

I would love to hear some tried and true recipes. If you know me at all you know I love too cook, and so far the elk meat has worked just fine will all my beef recipes... but ALREADY we're getting a little tired of red meat so I think this will last well into the year, and maybe the next.

Canyon River has loved the elk hunting too. Not going, but enjoying the after-fun. He especially LOVES the legs. Each and EVERY elk he has claimed the legs.

(ya ya, gross I know)

He was making tracks in the snow.

After Daddy got home from the last hunt he just fell into bed (this is one of the times I am thankful he has his hospital bed). I went into the bedroom a few times and made sure he knew that he STANK! When he woke up and was sitting with Canyon in his lap Canyon's little sniffer started working... he finally detected the smell was DADDY. He response was "mmmmmmmmm" ... and continued sniffing Daddy until Daddy couldn't stand himself anymore and had to take a shower. I probably don't need to tell you how proud Daddy was!
Their most favorite thing to do together is to take the carcass up to the mountain behind our house and feed the wolves. Then they go back up and look at the tracks of all the animals who went and ate.

on their way up

coming back down

a trophy from the adventure

And the girls....
(I just wanted to get more Polar Express pictures in.)





On a side note....
Here are a couple of recipes that I have enjoyed eating that are pretty low glycemic... just in case anyone wants to try.
These are pretty much my lunch staples every day...

Chang’s Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
3 teaspoons oil
2.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (or pieces of)
8 oz. water chestnuts – finely chopped
2/3 cup mushrooms – finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
iceberg lettuce leaves

Special Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

Stir Fry Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions:
Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl.
Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.
Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve.

Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.
Saute chicken breasts until done.
Remove chicken from the pan and cool.

Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.
When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are (or chop in a food processor).
Heat the pan to high.
Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.
Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"tortillas".

Top with"Special Sauce".

I basically use an entire bag of frozen chicken and this lasts me the entire week!


Honey Walnut Bread
2 Loaves

Ingredients
2 C. Water
2 pkg. Yeast
3/4 C Honey
1/4 C. Applesauce
1 T. Salt
6 C. Whole Wheat Flour
2 T. Flax Seed
1 C. Walnuts, chopped
2 T. Milk Powder

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in warm water.
In a large bowl, combine applesauce, honey and salt and mix well.
Add walnuts; Add yeast mixture and then gradually add milk, flour and flax seed.
Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth.
Place in buttered bowl and let rise until double.
Punch down and let rest for a few minutes.
Divide dough into 2 parts and shape into loaves.
Place in greased pans and let rise for about an hour.
Bake at 375* for 35 to 40 minutes.

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This is REALLY REALLY yummy bread. Especially when I need a "bread fix". Its low fat, high fiber and 100% whole wheat!

Dance competition season is beginning in about exactly a month now. I am the team mom for Ashlyn's team and am really looking forward to it. I cant wait to start posting about the dance adventures of 2010! This year not only are we going to St. George but to Pocatello, ID... and to Lagoon. It should be fun!!!

JANUARY 2010!!!!

Why not twice in a row?! I guess working on the computer now as much as I do... makes me neglect something I actually enjoy doing!! Yes, yes I do spend some time on Facebook, what with high scores to challenge and Scrabble games to win... my journal-ing seems to be put on the back-burner. Its really sad when I think about it though because so many memories happen each and every day.. then by the time I am sitting down to write, some of them have slipped away. Sad, I know... and I am going to be better at it... again... I hope!!!
It has, in fact, been so long that I am having to shuffle through my pictures to remember some important dates and fun events...

#1 - Grammy and Papas visit! EARLY Christmas! Thanks goodness Santa gets things done... and thank goodness Kailey wrote him a note letting him know that it would be very nice if we could have Christmas early while Grammy and Papa were here... he obviously DOES watch because he came through! He showed up early.. and with my new camera... I don't know where the pictures are :( We did manage to get some pics of the girls dance though. The studio did a dance production of the Polar Express... and it was FANTASTIC. The girls did GREAT and Ashlyn was on top her game even though she STILL had her cast.



Canyon river has become absolutely obsessed with hunting... and thanks to a gift from Uncle D last year... spends most of his time hunting the mounts that are already on our wall... acting out being hunted (and the actual hunters who have watched him are amazed at the actual characteristics of each animal he has picked up)... watching hunting videos, and playing "the hunting game" on the Wii we got for Christmas from Grammy and Papa. Needless to say daddy is per-retty proud... but even HE admits, after hours where Canyon wont talk to us because he is an animal, that maybe our little man is becoming a little obsessIVE!
Although this is one of the rarer moments when he did find something else to do... I mean seriously... who can resist a snowman!?

Then we had Christmas... ON Christmas!!! Daddy hid beneath the stairs and snuck a shot of the big guy. We were pretty luck he didnt notcie and high tail it outta here... although the presents were already under the tree so I guess we would have been safe anyway... I wonder what would have happened next year though????

Glad we dont have to find out!

I wish I had something a little more to document! Somehow my dear husband deleted all the Christmas pics of our family Christmas off the camera too. Although we did have a one day surprise visit from Aunt Jess.

and this is Jessie's... friend...???... Spencer. We are looking forward to getting to spend more time and get to know him much better over the next... many... many years.



So anyway... Merry Christmas and Happy New year (just a little late). We are dreaming of, and praying for a wonderful... HEALTHY year.

November

This post is going to be FULL of randomness... how many times have I done this???
Eventually, I guess, I will start keeping up again!!! So here has been our November...
First of all Kandis came to visit... then she left... for a LOOOONNNNG LOOOONNNNG time (I'll get over it eventually)... but she came back and we had SO MUCH fun!!!

First we made Rice Krispy sculptures


My sculpture!



this was all Kandis' idea... I think mostly because she felt guilty for leaving for so long... then having to go back to work, or some sort of weird thing like that.. and wanted to make her few days especially fun (I am sure that eventually I WILL get over it).

Then we ate them.... Canyon, of course, enjoyed his the most!!!



Then we had an EARLY Thanksgiving dinner... who can NOT have fun when there is SO MUCH food!!!


Then THIS happened...


Seriously though... she's in 5th grade... doesn't actually bother her a bit (She rather enjoys all the attention to be quite honest). She was at dance... but not actually dancing... and slipped on the hardwood floor. Thankfully she was never in too much pain and should be getting her cast off before Christmas.


Kailey had a Thanksgiving pie feast in her class...



there were about 10 pies... 5 varieties. These first graders were in HEAVEN!!!

And today we spent preparing for Thanksgiving!

We made some little turkeys...


Kailey tends to be our VERY most emotional child... this was her reaction when she got in a little trouble for licking a candy corn!! Yep... tears... we love our little Lou!

THEN we made THE MOST adorable little turkey basket to take rolls to Aunt Cindy's in. The kids decorated the feathers and I seriously think they had the most fun of any project we have ever done. In the several hours it took to make it... I don't think we had a moment of contention!! This is a moms dream!!! I sure have good kids!!!



lunch break, on the floor... because the table was COVERED
The finished feathers
annnnd.... the mess
it was SO worth it though!


I will get another picture of the basket filled with rolls for Thanksgiving!! Its kinda hard to get a good picture of it in this picture.



I am so grateful and recognize many of the blessings I enjoy each and every day. CJ is closer to a diagnosis with part 1 of of one test completed today, a lumbar puncture (to check the pressure in his brain next week) and a "tilt table test" hopefully next week as well. We should have a good direction as to where he stands on the 8th of December when he meets with the specialist again. Thank you for all your prayers, I know they have blessed us in many, many ways.

So for now, thats all folks!

Ashlyn got jipped!!

First of all, I don't think its any big mystery how proud I am of Ashlyn and how much I adore her and how totally in love with her I am. That being said... I am a slacker!
Ashlyn had her 11th birthday... and I am just now finally blogging! In my defense though, she did have one of the best birthday parties EVER!! Starting with....

5 of her closest friends.

truth...


or dare!!!



FOOD!!!


Cake...


Presents and... did I mention 5 of her closest friends!!

We sure love you Ash!!!

Ducks and Doctors

This is pretty random, but I figured I should get a post in before the month is up - if not just for my own entertainment I know that our parents like them as well!! :)

So... ducks and doctors!! I'm laughing just thinking of all the directions I can go with this! But I will stick with the honest to goodness truth! Those who know us know that our reality is often far fetched enough... why make anything up!! Anyone who knows us also know that CJ is an AVID hunter. In the past 3 years he hasn't hunted much so we have taken on a few trophies of others. At one point we had an elk, but he sold it... then a couple of weeks ago we got a moose.

He is pretty cute, and I get the moose, he didn't take too much getting used to.

Then the other night I got in the car to run down the street to borrow some books from a friend (just as a sidenote: Kailey is reading the SPIDERWICK series!! 3 weeks into first grade and she's reading SPIDERWICK... crazy!!!). I will just say that I think our street is the darkest street in our whole neighborhood, and our porch light wasn't working... so it was really dark! I have always been the kind of person who never looks in the back seat... just in case somebody is hiding in there (we all have or issues don't we?). As I am backing out of our driveway I hear something rustle in the back seat... it kind of sounded like paper. My first thought was "what the heck?", my second thought was "I have to figure out what is back there before I get too far away from the house"... so a few houses down from ours is a streetlamp. I could see before I got to the streetlamp that there was something in the seat behind mine (thankfully not a person).. and CJ borrowed my car that day so... what the heck was in my car?? Mind you, this WHOLE thought process lasts about 10 seconds... not enough time to really let any rational thought soak into my head. When I get under the streetlamp... "HOLY CRAP THERE ARE DUCKS IN MY BACKSEAT!!!" No, they weren't live ducks, they were stuffed ducks... stuffed trophy ducks. Somebody else's stuffed trophy ducks! So, in the minute that it takes me to get down to my friends house I am already reeling as to what my dear darling husband is planning to do with these stuffed ducks... stuffed trophy ducks. Somebody else's stuffed trophy ducks!
In the 5 minutes I'm gone I have come to terms with the fact that CJ wouldn't possibly think of keeping... stuffed ducks... stuffed trophy ducks. Somebody else's stuffed trophy ducks! Ya... you see where I am going with this... don't like the ducks much. When I do get home I ask CJ about the ducks and he reassures me that he did, in fact, like the ducks... but that he was planning on selling them... PHEW!!! Crisis averted! Riiiiiiight!!!! CJ goes to basketball, I go to bed, CJ comes home, maybe goes and plays a game of chess with a friend... heck, I don't know I'M ASLEEP! The next morning I wake up and there are DUCKS ON MY WALL!!! Stuffed ducks... stuffed trophy ducks. Somebody else's stuffed trophy ducks! ON SKEWERS... ON! MY! WALL!!! Have I mentioned I DO NOT LIKE THE DUCKS???!! Here are the lovely ducks....

(on skewers)
SO.. the next day I had a hair appointment... and I picked myself up some "ducks"!!


Yep... this was my "ducks"! I had been wanting to do it for a long time, but CJ had always asked me to keep my long hair. I was tired of my long hair... MY long hair... not somebody else's long hair MY long hair!! Now I LOVE my short hair!! MY short hair! (OK, JoJo... it wasn't all about the ducks... and I wasn't THAT mad.. but I still don't like the ducks !!) And I do realize its a matter of loving nature.. so that's what I am thinking of these particular trophies of CJ's as... trophies of nature.

NOW... onto doctors!! YAY!!! CJ had been waiting for close to a year to see a headache specialist at the U of U (University of Utah).. and the day finally came! I was really trying to stay positive. Things hadn't been so great in our home (seriously.. you know that! We have ducks...stuffed ducks... stuffed trophy ducks. Somebody else's stuffed trophy ducks!).
CJ had been really miserable lately.. .bad headache... dizzy most of the time. We all had a bout with a severe flu which caused lots of throwing up... by each of us. The problem with that is when CJ gets sick like that he passes out. So on Labor day he passed out at least a half a dozen times. In addition to that he always takes way longer than anybody else to fully recover (as you can probably imagine), so we had really been looking forward to this appointment. It didn't take too long to realize that CJ was the only appointment the doctor had scheduled. Not for 15 or 30 minutes.. but for 2 HOURS!!! This doctor was awesome. Not once did she shake her head or seem to doubt what CJ was telling her his symptoms were. She had plenty of time to look over his MRI's and make ... A HYPOTHESIS!!! Her hypothesis is this:
CJ has a "condition" called low pressure headaches. When your brain doesn't have enough pressure lots of crazy things can happen including the brain descending down into the spinal column appearing to be the condition he had brain surgery for!!! Also, it can (and usually does) affect the pituitary gland... which can affect the adrenal gland (which he is currently taking supplements to try to heal)... it can cause dizzy spells and passing out... it can cause narcolepsy symptoms and it can cause dementia (yep... that explains a lot doesn't it!! haha!). SO basically CJ may have (possibly) never needed brain surgery... his adrenal gland may end up being ok, and this condition is probably treatable.
One of the first things the doctor asked for is his MRI's from before his surgery. She is hoping to be able to come up with a full diagnosis through these. What she will be looking for is a "leaky valve". When he first started getting headaches he was lifting weights and heard and felt a pop in the back of his head... so it could have been something bursting and he may have had a "leak" all along. If she can locate it on the MRI's she can fix it. If she can't find in on the MRI's he will have to try a few more tests to see if she can find what she is looking for!!
CJ took the MRI's to her the day we went in, and he is also supposed to get an abdominal binder... basically a girdle (don't tell him I said that) to force pressure up into his brain. If that works we'll know that her hypothesis is more probably correct (is more probably even a term... I don't know.. but you get my drift).
So we have more hope... again (hope + faith). This also explains why last September he had that month of feeling so good.. .and now he doesn't anymore. So if you could keep sending prayers his way (I know, I really don't have to even ask). I know that prayers have carried us both through many of our difficult times!
I'll keep everyone updated the best I can!