Happy Anniversary!

This month, my parents celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary.  Their love has been a wonderful example to me through the years.  We actually gave them a cruise for their anniversary…a 90 minute cruise on the SEAL tour! 

It was very grandparent-esque.  The SEAL boat is a “Hydra-Terra” that acts as a bus on land and a boat on sea.  We had so much fun touring San Diego together on their special day.  Even though my daughter isn’t smiling (she looks more seasick doesn’t she?), she did have a lot of fun. 

As I think of a happy marriage that can stand the test of time, I think an important ingredient is always considering your spouse’s needs.  For my husband, I know it’s important to him for me to look my best and be at a healthy weight.  While I’m pregnant, he understands when “there’s more of me to love everyday.”   

Do you need some extra motivation to lose those baby pounds?  How about thinking of your 39th wedding anniversary.  How much do you want to weight at that time?  Today is the day to work towards your health goals.   Don’t procrastinate anymore.  The great habits you build today will bless you and your spouse in the decades ahead! 

If you need some extra help, MAY can be your breakthrough month.  Give yourself a great Mother’s Day present and order my audio program Losing Weight After Baby: 31 Days to a New You today.   

The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

For Mother’s Day, how would you like to look in a full length mirror and see yourself at your pre-pregnancy weight?  No more maternity clothes, elastic waists, or sizes that once were too big for you.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to slip into your skinny jeans without having to use a crowbar to get into them?

Well, this can happen to you!  It may not happen before May 10th, but the month of May can be a breakthrough month for you.  Here are 5 reasons you will love my audio course, Losing Weight After Baby: 31 Days to a New You:

1.  It takes 5 minutes or less a day to complete my weight loss audio program.

2.  You will have a cheerleader in your corner for 31 consecutive days.

3.  You can listen to the daily motivational points and action steps while checking emails, on your iPod, totally at your convenience!

4.  No false hype, diet pills or magic bullets.  Just pure common sense steps that are proven effective. 

5.  Hope!  Hope!  Hope!  You don’t have to give up and settle for second best. 

If you sign up before the end of the month, you’ll begin this encouraging, effective program on May 1st.  Wouldn’t it be nice to celebrate Mother’s Day, knowing you have done something positive for your own health and happiness? 

Try it risk free for 7 days.  If you don’t like the program, you can get your money back and the first week of the audio program is yours to keep for free. 

The program is only $29.95.  Just skip the fast food lane and Starbucks a few times in one month and you’ll have that money in no time, PLUS you’ll be losing weight in the process!   

Happy Mother’s Day – hope you’ll celebrate with this gift for yourself or another mom in your life that you love!

Baked Chicken with Peaches

My husband loves the combination of cooking with fruit, so I thought this would be a fun one to try from allrecipes.com!  Enjoy this easy and quick dish that could be the type of thing you can serve to guests.  Peachy keen! 

Ingredients:

8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 cup brown sugar

4 fresh peaches – peeled, pitted and sliced

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
2. Place chicken in the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Place peach slices over chicken, then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar, ginger, cloves, and lemon juice.
3. Bake for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven, basting often with juices, until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear

Always Look Up Like Michael J. Fox

Call me a Costco fanatic, but I always enjoy reading their magazine, The Costco Connection.  This month, Michael J. Fox is on the cover.  The article talks about his unshakable optimism in the face of Parkinson’s and his new book “Always Looking Up:  The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist.”    

I grew up watching “Family Ties,” Fox’s first big television role.  After 19 years of living with Parkinson’s, Fox is as vibrant as ever.  “I have plans to do things, and on a big level nothing much slows me down.  A lot of that has to do with attitude,” he says in the article. 

With his beautiful wife Tracy Pollan, they have 4 kids, ages 7 to 19.  I love how he answered the question, “What do you want your legacy to be?”  He said, “I hope it’s as a parent.”

May that be our legacy too!  If Michael J. Fox can overcome the difficulties of Parkinson’s disease on a daily basis, certainly we can catch some of his optimism and overcome the difficulties that  may face us.

Don’t give up…whether it’s about losing weight after baby or parenting a frustrating toddler or trying to comfort a crying baby in the middle of the night.  Always look up…

How to Explain a Miscarriage to Your Young Child

I am 13 weeks along and baby is doing just fine, so I’m happy that this post isn’t about my current pregnancy.  But my 4 year old son said something to me that I just had to share with you.

He said, “Mom, I hope our baby pops.”

Last fall, I miscarried at about 8 weeks.  I wasn’t sure how to explain this to my 4 year old.  We were sitting at the breakfast table and I breathed a prayer to God.  “Give me wisdom and show me how to tell my son.”  At that moment, I looked at the microwave popcorn we had been snacking on.  That was it!

I told my son, “Look at this popcorn.  See how most of the kernels become popcorn, but some of it just stays as kernels?  I don’t really know why some kernels pop and some don’t.  There’s not really a good reason.  Well, you know how mommy has a baby inside?  Well, my baby didn’t pop.  We didn’t do anything wrong, it’s just the way it turned out.”

My son thought about it for a moment.  I showed him the kernels again, comparing the popped corn to the unpopped corn.  The explanation was good enough for him.  From time to time afterwards, he would ask me, “Why didn’t our baby pop?”  To which I replied something like, “I don’t know.  Some things pop and others don’t.” 

So if you ever need a way to explain miscarriage to a young child, think of this popcorn story.  I hope it helps you share your sad news with your little one.  And remember, there are some things we don’t understand (like why DON’T all those kernels pop in the bag?) but God will give us the grace we need when we need it.

Koula’s Best Ever Chicken Gyros

This is an unusual version that you can make at home.  You can prepare it advance and then just stick it in the oven before dinnertime.  It’s best served inside whole wheat pita bread.   This recipe from allrecipes.com just takes 10 minutes to prep. 

Ingredients:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into 1/2 inch strips

2 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder, or to taste

4 pita breads, cut in half

2 cups mixed salad greens

1 cup plain yogurt

Directions:

1. Place the chicken strips side by side in a broiling pan. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the ketchup, olive oil, white wine vinegar, oregano, mustard powder and curry powder. Pour over the chicken. Allow the chicken to marinate while you preheat the oven’s broiler.
2. Broil uncovered for 15 minutes with the meat about 6 inches from the heat. Just until the chicken is cooked through, but not browned. If left too long, it will turn stringy and dry.
3. Place hot chicken into pita pockets and spoon some of the juices from the pan over it. Top with salad greens and plain yogurt.

Help! I Can’t Zip Up My Pants!

My belly is growing with my little growing baby at 13 weeks and I’m extremely grateful.  After having 2 miscarriages, having a healthy baby at this point is something I don’t take for granted.  And I suppose that should help me feel better when I walk into my closet – a source of great frustration these days.  I’m not yet ready to put on the maternity clothes but I’m too big to zip most of my pants.  Two pairs of elastic waist, yoga type pants have become my wardrobe of late. 

I know many of you reading this blog can relate.  You have pants hanging in your closet that you would love to wear but you can’t quite zip them up.  I mean you can, but if you want to be halfway comfortable and to be able to sit down ever in your life while wearing them, you have to lose a few inches first. 

Here are a few tips from my audio course, Losing Weight After Baby: 31 Days to a New You: 

1.  Take out a pair of pants that are your next size down.  These may not be your “ultimate skinny jeans” but they are your next step. 

2.  Try these pants on once a week.  Pick a day of the week like Sunday where you will make it a ritual to put these on.

3.  Chart your progress mentally.  Are they getting easier to put on?  Great!  Are they the same each week?  Then you need to change something up in your eating or exercise to lose some weight.  Is it getting harder to put them on?  Then it’s definitely time to buy my course!  

4.  Celebrate when you can put them on and wear them in public! 

DON’T GIVE UP!!!  If you keep this ritual up and you’re proactive about losing the weight, you will be wearing those pants in a matter of weeks.  That victory will encourage you and fuel your desire to lose even more weight!

So when you can’t zip up your pants, don’t just buy new pants in a bigger size.  Work hard to get back into those pants and enjoy the sweet happiness of success!

Pregnancy Appetite!

Too bad I’m not one of those women who feel sick and can’t eat during the first trimester.  I’m the woman who eats every 2 hours.  The things that sounds good?  In-n-Out cheeseburgers with grilled onions, cookies, Sun chips, cookies, and did I say cookies? 

Since I’m pregnant, I have an “excuse” to eat for a while, but I am trying to eat as healthy as possible knowing (1) fruits are much better for my baby than chocolate chip cookies, and (2) when I’m trying to lose this baby weight afterwards, it’s going to be a lot harder to skip all these treats if I overdo it now. 

Whether we’re pregnant or not, we often give ourselves license to eat.  You’ve had a stressful day in the office or with the kids.  You worked out so hard so you deserve that bowl of ice cream.  It’s that time of the month so let’s head to See’s Candies.  Sound familiar?

In that moment, let’s (me included) remember this picture:

Okay, I’m pregnant, so at first I thought, “Cool!” 

But after looking again, I say, “Yuck!”   

Don’t let your appetite get the best of you or else you’ll regret eating a skyscraper of a sandwich.  Whenever you want a good visual picture of why you shouldn’t overeat or visit fast food places too much, just look at this picture and think of how you would feel after eating all that.  Pass the Mylanta.

Ham and Cheese Frittata

Hope you had a wonderful Easter!  Did you eat a chocolate bunny, creme egg, or other Easter treat?  Probably so!  Well, that’s why you have this new week ahead of you to exercise.

And you probably have some leftover ham to make this easy recipe.  Enjoy this Monday’s Meal – Ham and Cheese Frittata - courtesy of allrecipes.com.   By the way, your kids may eat this frittata, simply because it’s fun to say – FREE-TA-TA!

Ingredients:

1 cup diced fully cooked ham

1/2 cup diced sweet red pepper or green pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

6 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup cottage cheese

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 plum tomatoes, sliced

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. In a large ovenproof skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, saute the ham, red pepper and onion until ham is lightly browned and vegetables are tender.
2. In a bowl, combine the eggs, cottage cheese and pepper; pour over ham mixture. As eggs set, lift edges, letting uncooked portion flow underneath. When the eggs are almost set, broil 4-6 in. from the heat for 1 minute or until top is set. Top with tomatoes and cheddar cheese. Broil 1 minute longer or until cheese is melted

Happy Easter!

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there. – John 20:6

We’re moms so we’re used to seeing clothes lying around right?  Ah…but imagine seeing the clothes of a dead man, lying there, with no dead man inside! 

What a crazy sight.  A stone that should be sealing the tomb.  A tomb that should be occupied.  A body that should be wrapped up.  The facts didn’t add up and that’s because a MIRACLE had happened!

We like to say that ”Jesus rose up like a rocketship!” because that’s something our 4 year old can relate to instead of the word “resurrection.”  No matter how you communicate it, it’s good news whether you’re 4 or 44 or 104!

Have a wonderful Easter with your family.  May the love of the risen Christ touch your heart today in a special way.