Check out the New Blog. . .

Please check out my new home on the Web.

laxmom.net

Check Me Out. . .

Check me out, I have moved.  In case you did not see the last post please check out my new home of my new blog. 

laxmom.net

Moving, Moving, Moving. . . .

My Blog is moving to a new location,  please check me out at

http://laxmom.net

I decided to move my blog to a Word Press platform.  Please check it out and leave a comment to let me know you found me. 
There will be lots going on in these coming months:  Lacrosse season is gearing up for both boys and the hubbs and I will be traveling to see Sprat play in Maine. 

More Smoker Foods and a Hair Cut. . .

Maybe I should devote an entire blog to "the smoker?"  We tried salmon on the smoker recently and the hubbs and I liked it, the kids not so much.  I love salmon baked or broiled in the oven with lemon, butter, and dill.  I could eat that all day long.  There was something about the smoker salmon, it did not have the good lemon dill flavor that you get in the oven.  Shhh, please do not tell my hubby I said that.
He did steak on the smoker the other day for Sprat as a last hurah! before going back to school.  It was good and very juicy and tender.  I am not a big steak eater either.  He is going to fix a druken turkey this weekend.  That is when you cook the turkey sitting on a can of beer.  My sister makes an amazing smoked turkey on her smoker, I hope ours will be good.
Sprat is making his way back to school, he spent the night in Pennsylvania and he drove the rest of the way to Massachusetts the next day.  He did run in to a little snow but thankfully no accumulation and roads were fine.  It snowed a little this weekend in Massachusetts but, he was safe at the dorm by that time.
Big T went to the salon for a trim.  I have been trying to get him to get his hair shaped up and he always fusses at me and thinks I am trying to drastically cut it.  I am not trying to CUT his hair I just want it shaped up and for it to look nice.   A few people that do not know my sweet Big T ask why I let him have his hair so long.  I always respond with;  he is a straight A student dual enrolled in college and high school and is playing varsity lacrosse. . . if he wants long hair that is his choice.  This mama chooses her battles and his hair is not one of them.  He enjoyed his visit to the salon, my hair dresser and dear friend washed his hair and trimmed it up and told him what product to use and how to take care of his hair.   He also talked to her about donating his hair to Wigs 4 Kids, they talked about how long it would have to be to donate and they made a plan to cultivate his beautiful curls. 
A few pictures to round out the post. . .

Before the fish hits the grill

Taking the fish off the grill, yummmm. . . . 

The Before and a little shaggy

Don't you just love that sweet smile???  

Tidbits. . This, That, and the Other. . .

Some days. . . are just hard. . .  Whether you just do not get enough sleep or you hit unbelievable traffic trying to get to work, or the pesky migraine that makes the most mundane task next to impossible.  Yes, it was one of those days last night.  I worked night shift last night and it was a busy night shift.  When I woke up this afternoon Sprat was just coming in, he had been to work out at the gym and gone to get his hair cut.  He looked so handsome, he came in the kitchen where I was trying to find caffeine for the migraine that followed me home from work, he said, "you up now?"  I nodded groggily.  He sat on the couch shopping for his text books for next semester.  He is home for a few more days and then back to school.  He has a busy semester, with lacrosse season and his classes he will be taking in his major and a new "girlfriend."  See how I used quotes around the girlfriend, they just realized that they liked each other three days before leaving for Christmas break, she is now in England doing a week abroad for school.  He is not calling her a girlfriend at this point or at least that is the story I am told.
Every now and then you see glimpses through your kids that you did a good job raising them.  Remember I said every now and then sometimes it takes longer to see.  I got to go to breakfast with Sprat the other day, that is kind of our thing.  We go to breakfast and talk about whatever is going on with him.  I found out the story behind the last girl that he was interested in, it turns out there was an old boyfriend that she had feelings for.  When the old boyfriend finally gave her the brush off she came back to my sweet Sprat to say she could go out with him now.  This was a proud mama moment, when the hussy came crawling back because the old boyfriend did not want her, my very sweet boy told her he was nobody's second choice.   My heart was a little broken for him but at the same time I was so very proud that he stood up for his heart that he was confident enough in himself to tell her to keep walking.   The new girl has been in a few of his classes this past semester so they have been hanging out as friends. I am a firm believer in being friends first and everything else will fall in to place, that is how the hubbs and I got together.  We worked together and hung out as friends before we started dating. 
Made our plans to go visit Sprat later in the Lax season, I am so excited to see him play in his first real college lacrosse game.  He did not get a true season last year and in fact since his school closed last year they gave him his year of eligibility back so he could play in his year of his Masters if he wants to. 

Recipe Day. .. .

The smoked meatloaf was good, I do not think I seasoned it enough though, it was a little bland.  Next time I will go  a little heavier on the seasonings, I was afraid I would over season.  The boys do not eat my meatloaf so more for the hubbs and I.   We have a pork shoulder for the weekend, I will have to let you know how that one goes. 
I took some mac and cheese to my sister's for Christmas, I tried a new recipe and when I went to buy my macaroni they did not have any left.  There must have been an awful lot of mac and cheese around the tables for Christmas this year.  I am curious to know how many of my readers served the old faithful carb delight this year?  Along with my new recipe I used a different pasta with it.  I used a small penne pasta, I though it was good, the hubbs complained because it was not the traditional elbows.  I always can adapt and overcome when it comes to my recipes. 
Adjusted Mac and Cheese:

1 box of pasta (elbows, mini penne, )
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk (suggest whole but I used 2%)
1 cup heavy cream
1 block shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 Parmesan cheese
smoked paprika

Boil your pasta one minute shy of being done, drain and drizzle with olive oil to coat and set aside,  grease your baking dish and pre heat oven to 350, ( I never preheat) melt your butter in a deep sauce pan, whisk in your flour making a rue, it should be bubbly and golden, gradually add milk and cream whisking so as not to lump your flour mixture, continue whisking once all incorporated add your shredded cheese a little at a time and whisk till smooth.  Save about 2 cups of cheese to top your dish. When your sauce is nice and thick stir in your pasta and coat. 
Pour into your casserole dish and sprinkle bread crumbs and extra cheese this is where I added the Parmesan cheese, I did not do the bread crumbs for mine.  I sprinkled some paprika over the top and baked 30 minutes. 
This was really good. 

Stay tuned the hubbs has a whole lot of smoking recipes to try and we will share our successes and failures.  So far I give this one 2 thumbs up. 

Cooking with the Man. .. . The Hubbs . . . .

The hubbs got a pellet grill for Christmas this year and he has driven me crazy about it.  This was one of those gifts that he wanted and researched and picked out what he thought would be the very best one.  He has done nothing but talk about it for two and half weeks prior to Christmas.  I do not begrudge my sweet hubby something that he wants, he works very hard and we have the cash to buy it and he does do his research on the best brand, type and what company has the best deal.  I am so thankful that the best deal on this grill was local, otherwise we would have been trecking all over to find one. 
It was delivered on Friday and he did the initial burn and then on Saturday he smoked a ham.  Neither of the boys like ham very much but they both raved over the one the hubbs smoked.  I must say it was a pretty good ham.  We went shopping today and I have fixed a meatloaf and it is currently resting with the smoker.   I will share with ya later how it was.  We also bought a pork butt to smoke this weekend.  Hanging out with the family tonight, very low key New Years in our house.  Spending some quality time with the boys. 
This smoker grill thing is pretty high tech, you can sync it with your wifi and your phone and it will send alerts when your food has reached optimal temperature.  I have to admit that is very cool. 
Here are a few pictures of this very tech savy pellet grill and my boys.

My Loves

The Hubbs new love 

The meatloaf  cooking  

I will share later how the loaf was.  I have had smoked meatloaf before at one of our local BBQ restaurants and it was really good.   I hope mine will be good too.  

Stay tuned as we prepare for 2020:  Sprat will have his first official college lacrosse season, Big T will start his junior year lacrosse season,  and I might get to go to Maine and see Sprat play.  

Merry Christmas to All. . .

Everyone home for Christmas.  I have struggled this holiday season, with Mom breaking her hip and having surgery at the day before Thanksgiving and all of the rehab she had to do, plus my insane work schedule.  I must give kudos to my manager she really worked with me over Thanksgiving so that I could be there for my Mom.  We have been short staffed for a year now and we now have two in training so I will be back to my regular part time schedule soon.  

With all that has been going on I have not really been in the Christmas/Holiday spirit, it has been a struggle for me.  I did get a little bit of it back when someone put out a plea for Christmas lights for a local nursing facility.  The hubbs and I went to the store and bought a bunch of lights to donate for their outdoor Winter Wonderland they were going to have for their residents.  They also had an angel tree for their residents and I decided to adopt two for Christmas.  The hubs and I shopped for them and delivered the lights and gifts not too long after Thanksgiving.  That really perked me up but I was not 100 % in that Christmas spirit just yet.  My very sweet hubby has worked so hard to get me in the spirit and on Christmas morning Santa had delivered a few very cool Christmas CDs.  Yes, I still listen to CD's on my drive to work.  Bing Crosby and Elvis Christmas albums,  the Eagles greatest hits,  ABBA greatest hits, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1, and Ray Stevens greatest hits.   Bing can really put you in the Christmas spirit.  

My fellas saw to it that I had a comfort Christmas this year:  Socks (big fluffy comfy), blankets,  gloves and scarves.  Big T, my little hypochondriac, gave me a first aid kit filled with an assortment of bandaids, neosporin, and gauze pads.  He said he was just getting me ready for lacrosse season.  

Photo upload:

 

Sprat Sporting his new ECD Lax Christmas Sweater

The Hubbs being goofy 

The Cousins 

Bad Luck and Thanksgiving. .. .

My family has decided to do away with the actual holiday of Thanksgiving, we have decided to for go the November stipulation of the holiday and just have it as a surprise every year.  Do not misunderstand we are extremely thankful for all things, it just seems over the last few years that the actual holiday of Thanksgiving has been a disaster. Two or three years ago Thanksgiving, the year escapes me at this point, my dad flipped over the recliner and broke his collar bone and he was in a terrible fix for almost a year.  This year the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Mom and Dad's power went out in the wee hours of the morning.  Mom jumped up and realized it was out and was going to get up and get a flash light so Dad did not get up and possibly trip in the dark.  Mom jumped up and she tripped and fell and broke her hip, this was at 0330 in the AM.  The ambulance came and took her to the hospital and she had hip replacement surgery before lunch that day.  She is at a rehab facility now to get her hip back in shape.  I will not divulge her age but we will say eighty ish, my mother and father both are very healthy and nobody can seem to wrap their heads around that.  If she was asked one time she was asked one million, "You only take one medication????"   It was almost like they thought she was telling a fib.  My mother is the strongest person you could ever meet and beautiful both inside and out.  I know in my heart of hearts mom will recover she will not be in softball shape but she will be back on her feet.  Yes, my mom played softball up till she was sixty-five, Dad made her quit because she broke her nose in a double header.  Mom  played second base and was awesome.  She also played  basketball in high school and played semi- pro basketball for a year or two after high school, she is an amazing woman. 
I feel very fortunate to still have my parents to talk with and to ask advice about things.  I also feel very fortunate that my kids have their grandparents to talk with and learn from.  I only knew my maternal grandmother and she passed away when I was very young.  I do remember going to her house for Thanksgiving and Christmas and getting to see our cousins, aunts, and uncles. 
We are very thankful but, next year we may celebrate our thankfulness in July and it will be a surprise to us all. 
Sprat was ushered back to school via a snow storm, he made it safely and it is still snowing.  Classes were canceled yesterday and he and a couple friends were out playing in the snow. I had been begging him to send me pictures of the snow and he finally did.  I love the snow, I do not like driving in it but I love to watch it fall and to see the snow covered landscape.  It seems so peaceful and calm and it reminds me of a cleansing of all the pollen and pollution out of the air.
Stay tuned for more winter updates from Massachusetts, and updates on Mom's rehab progress. 

Shopping with the Hubby. . . and Other Things . . .

The hubbs took the day off and we went shopping today, this is the third day he has taken me shopping.  We have almost knocked out our Christmas shopping.  I love Christmas, it is probably my favorite holiday.  I love shopping for presents, looking for that extra special gift for that extra special person.  Our families have gotten older and we do not do gifts anymore, it kind of makes me depressed.  I do still get to buy my boys and my very sweet husband gifts.  My company is helping a family in need this year so I will get to buy gifts for two little boys and a special Mom.   I am looking forward to shopping for them.
My very sweet husband has taken me shopping three days now and bless him he is a trooper.  This is what true love looks like people, in case you have any doubt about your person.  This very sweet man has trucked me all over to find gifts for the boys and shoes (not Christmas gifts) for me.   Today we did the Mall yes, he took me to the Mall.  He did not complain once and I was trying on shoes and everything.   This is the best man on the planet, he is mine and there is no other like him. 
This has been an interesting look in to what our empty nester life would look like, I think I kinda like it. 
We went to Big T's exhibition at school last night, he did a great job and we enjoyed seeing him present and watching the other kids present.  It is exciting to meet these kids and see all of the cool things they are learning and hearing about what they want to do when they grow up.  These kids are taking  high school classes and college classes at the same time.  One of the kids Sprat's age that went to this school has gone in to the military and because he graduated high school with an associates degree he went in to the Army at a higher level than someone just out of high school and he is now studying to be a registered nurse.  This school opens up so many doors for these kids and gives them opportunities to try things out with job shadow and internships.  Big T was invited to go to the middle school to talk about his school along with the principal.  They are doing that next week, he is kind of excited about it.  They will be sharing what all they get to do and the fun things they are learning.
Stay tuned for tells from MA and tells from NC. 

Checking the Pmail. . . .

My sweet hubbs gets up with me most mornings at 0445, that is when I have to get up to get ready for work.  The hubbs does not have to get up that early to get ready for work, our sweet Basil gets up with me too.  That may be the real reason my sweet hubby gets up with "me" at 0445 in the morning. The B has a way about making sure he is up and getting her breakfast.  My hubby absolutely hates the cold weather, so these last few days since our temps have dipped down in the teens, he has been all dressed up like Nanook of the North to take the B out.   There is a route that she takes every morning, the hubbs says she is checking the P mail instead of gmail.  She walks up and down the street checking to see who else has been up and down the street.  She checks all the P spots of every other dog in the neighborhood.  I had to laugh when the hubbs told me of his travels with the B and checking the Pmail.  Not only does the hubbs tell me about checking the Pmail but he has also discussed this with our neighbor that has a delightful little corgi.  Evidently the corgi, little M, also checks her Pmail the same way the B does.  The hubbs says they are getting all the neighborhood gossip.
My hubby has the oddest sense of humor and that is one of the many reasons I love him so.  He knows how to make me laugh when I have had a bad day or even when I am a little down missing my sweet college boy.  On an up note my sweet college boy will be home in a week and I cannot wait.
They have already had a couple days of snow flurries in MA, he sent me a video of it flurrying the other day.  I love that he shares silly things like that with me.  I have always loved the snow, ever since I was a little girl.  I cannot wait till we get some snow this year. 

Sweet Basil 

Beautiful Snow 

Blessings Come from Weird Places. . .

My kids are closed mouthed of late about stuff going on in their lives but, every now and then they open up and let me know what is going on.  I love those little moments, Big T went through a very moody teenager phase a year or so ago but, lately he is sharing more about what is going on.  It took Sprat going off to college before he opened up and actually wanted to talk to his mom.  Sprat text me and his dad these days to update us on what is going on at school and gives a call on the weekends if things are not too busy. It does this mom good to hear all the things he is getting to do at school.
My work schedule has been a little crazy and I feel like I have not been the best mom.  Last night Big T had a panic attack while the hubbs and I were on our way home.  He called when we were on the way home and said he could not breath and that his heart was racing.  Now he is a little over dramatic sometimes but, I could hear the fear in his voice.  You do not know stress until you have been in a car with your husband driving soooo slow while you are trying to reach your child that thinks they are suffocating.  We finally got home to find Big T sitting on the porch almost hyperventilating.   We did some deep breathing to slow everything down and when he seemed more calm, Big T and I went to the store.  He has been congested so I thought we could pick up so OJ and a few other things I needed.  We had a wonderful talk, I always learn new things when we talk.  He has grown so much since his freshman year of high school and his interests have changed.  It is funny how things work out and how something as stressful as your child having a panic attack turning out to be a blessing in disguise. 

Celebration. . . Love. . . Family. . . .

Celebrated the hubbs birthday this weekend, he got the full pampered treatment.  We had homemade meatball subs, black bean quinoa salad, and beer cheese dip with corn chips, and key lime pie for dessert.  Everything homemade except the key lime pie, it was frozen.  He also got to watch football all day uninterrupted and Miami won, he is a big kid at heart.  It was a great day for all and the food was a BIG hit.
I got to talk with Sprat for a little bit, he was filling me in on that was going on at school.  They have a therapy dog named Cooper that comes to the school periodically that the kids can go by and visit and play with.  Sprat said he had visited with Cooper once before when he was on campus. Sprat is enjoying his time at school and has made some new friends.
Big T is spreading his wings and trying to decide what he wants to do in school, Big T had stellar grades this session and I am looking forward to what he will decide. There are a lot of what if's floating around our house right now and they are in complete opposite directions of each other. I hope his school will give him some opportunities to try out some of these new interests. 
I love watching my kids grow and change, both of their interests have changed over the years. Big T's have changed just in the last few months. Life just keeps getting interesting around our house.
Stay tuned, never a dull moment. .. .

Drivers, Cars, Kids, School. . . Updates. . . .

Big T finally got his driver's license.   Between my schedule and his classes we had a hard time getting everything together.  He had his license for several days before he even wanted to drive anywhere.  He did talk to the school about his parking pass so, he will be able to drive to school and then ride the bus to his school and that will save us on gas.
I was chomping at the bit to get my license when I was sixteen but, neither of my boys have been very excited about it.  Big T did get his license before Sprat though, Sprat was seventeen before he got his license.  My kids are not the only ones that have not gotten their license as soon as they turned sixteen.  I have heard many of my friends  talk about their kids not getting their license right at sixteen either.
You all know Sprat took my little raspberry to Boston so, Big T will be getting Sprat's little blackberry to drive.  I took it and washed it and tried to clean it up a little before we headed out to the DMV.  I was a little embarrassed at how dirty the car was, it really needs a deep clean.  I may take it somewhere and have it detailed later.
Now that we have another driver, it seems we are getting closer to an empty nest.  The boys do not depend on us to take them here and there and they are becoming more and more independent, like young adults.  I am excited to think about an empty nest, the hubbs and I spending quality time together and traveling.  Planning the college tour to Florida and all of our little side trips we took sort of got me excited at the fact that we would be able to do this just the two of us if a few years. 
I really enjoyed our trip to St Lucia, WI that was also a little glimpse at what empty nesting might look like for us. I have always wanted to go to Italy and I would love to go back to Germany and Switzerland.  The hubbs is not that keen on traveling but I think I could talk him in to those trips.
Stay tuned as our College  tours are just beginning and Lax season is getting started.

College Visit and a Little History Tour. . .

It is good to be home!  We made a whirlwind trip to Florida to visit University of Tampa for Big T.  He loved it and it was a very pretty campus with lots to offer.  The admission office is on Tampa's haunted destinations.  I overheard a student talking with the family of a prospective student and telling about the fact that the building is haunted.  That might be a draw back to some but certainly not to Big T, he loves ghost stories especially places that he can visit.   We ate in the school food court and that was really good. 

This is the admissions office that was a hotel back in the day and the train depot was right outside.

This is the haunted admissions office.

Big T and the hubbs outside the admissions office 

The backside of the admissions office and the quad.

The front porch of the admissions office 

The best Key Lime Pie Ever!!!  located in Ft Pierce Fla. 

Navy Seal Museum of Ft Pierce Fla 

Amazing place with lots of history 

The Yorktown 

Beautiful scenery we got to enjoy. 

We had such a great time and saw some beautiful scenery.  We did visit two other colleges that did not make the cut.  We drove around and spent some time in and around Tampa and it is a beautiful area.  We used to vacation in Ft Lauderdale  when I was little, I had never been to a NC or SC beach until I was a senior in high school.  This trip brought back some great memories, we did not get to go as far as Ft Lauderdale this trip but it was wonderful to be back in Florida.  I am excited that Big T is thinking about going to UT.  

We toured the Navy Seal museum in Ft Pierce and it was very interesting.  Lots of history and the hubbs and Big T loved it.  We had the best seafood there also and did a little visit to the beach there.

New Recipe. . . . It's a Winner!

I tried one of my new recipes over the weekend, Mexican casserole, it was a big hit with the hubbs.  I used a recipe off of Pinterest but I tweaked it and made it my own.  I always like to tweak recipes to fit my taste and of course fit what I have in my cabinets.  No sense making extra trips to the grocery store.  This recipe is quite versatile and could be a dip, casserole or even used as a filling in an enchilada.  I have some left overs so I think I may try the enchilada option for work this next week.
Here is what I used to make Mexican Casserole:
2 cans black beans
1 can Mexican corn
1 can sweet yellow corn
1 cup rice (I used basamati brown rice) cooked
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can enchilada sauce
1 lime juiced and zested
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 small sweet orange peppers chopped
2 sweet red peppers chopped
1 jalapeno seeded and chopped
1/2 block cream cheese,
3 tsp cumin
1 tsp caynne
2tbsp cilantro

cheese and sour cream to serve

Put olive oil in bottom of dutch oven and saute garlic, then add peppers and saute,  6 minutes then add corn and black beans, rotel tomatoes, enchilada sauce, and stir and cook on medium 10-15 minutes, add your seasonings, rice and lime juice, then add your cream cheese and cover.   I add my lime zest last stir and serve with cheese sour cream and chips or use it for enchilada filling.

This is the middle of the process of cooking this casserole 

This is the end result and it was yummy

We will have this again. 

Upside Down Week and True Love. . .

It has been a horrendous week and a half, I had a migraine for four days straight and then got a stomach virus when I was finally getting over the migraine.  In all of that I was trying to work and maintain my family.  I could use a couple of days off here.  I am very thankful for my dear husband and son, bless them for taking care of themselves during my week of craziness.  I soaked in a milk bath last night and I feel somewhat human this morning. My very sweet husband came home from work the other night and I was still not feeling well and he fixed me pancakes so I could get ready for work.  I love this man to the moon and back.  The Lord truly blessed me when he lead me to my dear hubby.  I only hope that my boys turn out half as good as their daddy and they will be a blessing to their mates as well.
With my stomach and my head being so out of whack, I decided I would revisit my 100 days of real food adventure and clean my diet up.  I am looking at more recipes for real food and options for packed lunches for work and school.  I try not to use plastic when packing lunches for myself especially if it is something that I have to reheat at the office.  Big T has been eating the hubbs chicken and rice soup almost everyday for dinner and that is a change up from sandwiches for a lunch option.  I just need to find a way he can take his soup and I had rather not use glass.  I will be searching hot food transportation options in the next few weeks for Big T's lunch. 
I will be trying some new recipes in the next few weeks and I will share my triumphs and fails because, let's face it, there will be fails. 
Stay tuned for Massachusetts updates and college visit updates. . . . 

My Youngest is an Adult. . . . What?? No Way??

My oldest is turning twenty this week, it does not seem real, could I really have  a twenty year old child.  Wow!!  Who let that happen??  I am so excited for my son.  As a parent you want to tell them everything you know so that they do not make the same mistakes you made or could have made when you were their age.  Of course he is bull headed, he would not be mine if he was not, and does not want to take any advice from dear old mom or dad for that matter.  My hubby and I made our share of mistakes when we were teenagers but we survived, the only difference is that there was no internet or social media when we were growing up.  Thank the good Lord for that one. Whew !!!  Catastrophe escaped!! 
I am very excited for my son and all of the things he is going to get to do and for the things he has already done.  The world is open for him and I pray every day that he will take advantage of all of the opportunities that are offered.  He text me the other day to tell me how much he likes it at this new school.  He said his classes are very interesting and that his professors are good.  I have not heard how the food is, so it must be good also.  They have a Dunkin Doughnuts right on campus, thank goodness he does not like sweets that much.  The lacrosse team had their first community event on Saturday.  They helped set up for a fundraiser 5K Stary Night run to help raise money for pediatric brain tumor research.  I do not know what the set up consisted of but they worked most of the afternoon to get it ready.  I love that the lacrosse team does things for the community and is involved in community out reach but, it is not just the lacrosse team, all of the teams at his school do these things.  I think it makes the kids see they have an investment in the community they live.   They had their first player lead workout on Sunday afternoon and poor Sprat text me to tell me how sore he was.  I told him to take a hot shower and rest. 
Stay tuned more updates from Massachusetts to come and Big T' first true college visit. . . . 

Inflammation, Diet, Food, Smoothie . . .

I have been drinking smoothies or a protein drink for breakfast since I was in high school.  My mom used to sell Shakley vitamins when I was little and that is where it all started.  They had a protein powder and mom always had some on hand.  As a child I hated eating breakfast, my mom tried everything to get me to eat something anything for breakfast.  I just could not do it, it was all about texture.  When mom brought home the protein powder I gave it a try, and that I could handle.  That was the start of my new breakfast routine. 
My routine has since shifted to smoothies with protein powder.  Over the years I have noticed some inflammation and joint pain in my knees and hands.  I researched what I could do, without medicine, to help relieve my inflammation.  There is  a great deal of information on the web about this subject and  I read most of it.  I found there are many fruits and veggies that aid in reducing inflammation.  I found pineapple, cherries, and blueberries to be the most flavorful for a smoothie.  I know this all sounds "witch doctory" but, I can really see and most importantly feel a difference in my knees and hands when I drink my smoothies. 
Here is my recipe for my breakfast smoothie:

1 cup coconut water
1/4 cup frozen or fresh blueberries
1/4 cup frozen cherries
1/2 fresh banana sliced
4 pieces fresh pineapple
1 tbs chi flax mix


blend in mixer or nuribullet and drink up.
They sell these little cans of pineapple juice and I work them in late in the afternoon.  I know it sounds like crockery that changing eating habits or adding something as simple as a smoothie would make  difference in how you feel but in my case it has.  Maybe it is all in my head and if that is true please keep that to yourself  because right now it works for me.   I also eat my fresh pineapple and blueberries when I want something sweet. 

Boys, Cell Phones, Destruction. . .

These days every child starting in elementary school has a cell phone.  I have never been a fan of  children having cell phones. Not only do they have cell phones but they have the newest iphone or whatever.   I think it is silly to start with and I do not think it is good for their eye development.  My oldest did not get a phone until he was a Sophomore in high school.  I am reminded of this fact quite frequently by him.  The only reason he got one then was because he was going to be driving and should something happen I wanted him to be able to get in touch with me.  Big T got a phone when he was in seventh grade but, only because I had started working and I could get called in and would have to communicate to him how he would be getting home. I am reminded of this one too, by Sprat.

I share all of that to say this:  Sprat has gone through 4 phones since his Sophomore year of high school.  I am sick of buying phones.  This last one he complained about not working and he wanted a new one and I put my foot down!!  He worked this Summer and I told him if he wanted a new phone he would pay for it him self.  So he did.  I also made him change phone providers because his bill was more than mine and Big T's put together.  He bought his new phone and I am paying for his service and I made him go with my service that is much less than what I was paying. 

With that my phone bills are going to go down dramatically.  Wheww!!!!

If anyone is reading this that is techie, I will give you something that desperately needs to be developed.  Someone needs to develop a teenage boy proof cell phone.  This phone should be indestructible, now there are phones out there that claim to be sturdy and durable but I am seriously talking about indestructible.   

Bless Big T he has had the same phone since seventh grade and has never had problem one with his.  Sprat is like that gorilla you used to see on the Samsonite commercials banging the luggage around showing how durable it is.  The only difference is that with Sprat he destroys all the phones. 

Teenager proof phone, the most needed tech item ever.