My New Year's Resolution

Holy smokes! Just three more days until 2010 officially begins! How are you doing on those New Years resolutions? Did you know that only one in four people actually make resolutions? Worse -- only six percent actually manage to keep them. I'm happy to report that for the last three years I've been part of that six percent and I'm hoping not to break my streak in 2010.

I have three resolutions this year. Two of them are rather personal, so I'm just going to keep them between my husband and myself. If I accomplish them, I'll let you know! The third is where I need your help.

Last year my resolution was to reach my goal weight. I did this in March! 51 pounds gone forever. Now I'm struggling to maintain the weight loss. I haven't regained anything back, but I have my weeks. So I decided my New Year's resolution is to steal a page from the movie Julia & Julie (if you haven't seen it, I highly suggest it!). I'm going to keep a blog hoping to inspire all of you to make easy healthy lifestyle changes. I'll be posting the information here (my blogspot blog) and on my Facebook page as well as my PNN blog . (Don't worry, it will all be the same information so if you find it in one place no need to go check out the others... unless you're a comment junkie like me!) I hope you enjoy and I invite you to please please please give me feedback and ideas. I need your help to keep this going!

A [very] belated Merry Christmas

Hope you had a great holiday! Our boys had a great time opening gifts and spending time with their grandparents. One more family visit coming up this week (my parents)! I'm so ready to ring out 2009 and start fresh with a new year. How about you?

Happy Birthday to my grandparents!

My family is celebrating my grandparent's 75th birthdays this year at Christmastime... and of course, because of the new job, we weren't able to make the trip back east to join the party. So we made a little video for them. Grandma & Larry -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :) Hope you enjoy the day and the party!

Make Your Own Holiday Gift Boxes

Every year I make a homemade gift for my family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc. Last year, I hit it big with some fudge that apparently was so good I've already had friends asking when it was coming this year. So, alas, I've started (and finished!) the project. This year, dealing with cutbacks like most of us, I've had to make twice as much fudge with the same budget. My compromise was to make my own boxes instead of paying a dollar a piece at the dollar store. Here's how I did it.

What You'll Need:
2 - 8"x8" piece of card stock
1- 7.5"x7.5" piece of holiday paper
Ruler
Pencil (optional)
X-Acto knife
Scotch tape

How To Make It:

1. Glue the holiday paper into the middle of one of the pieces of cardstock.
2. Trim 1/4 inch off the width and length of the other piece of cardstock.


3. Use the ruler and pencil to draw a 1 inch line (or width of your choice) across all four sides of both pieces cardstock. Then score it very lightly with the X-Acto knife. Then in each corner you will have a box. In each of these boxes, draw a diagonal line from the outer corner of the card stock to the inside corner of the drawn box (see picture). Score those lines as well




4. Fold along each of the scored lines, folding in the corners to make a triangle "tab" inside the box. Tape the corner in place on the outside of the box. Repeat for all four corners.



5. Tape the four inside corner "tabs" to the inside walls of box. At this point you will have a lid and a bottom!

Because I was dealing with fudge, I also made little "boxes" to line the bottom of the box with wax paper. I cut the wax paper into 7.75" squares and then drew the same 1" line around all four sides and folded it up into a liner.



Then I placed the liner inside the bottom of the box.






Filled it with fudge.








Put the lid on the box and tied a ribbon around it for a finishing touch. A quick and easy gift (unless you're making 30 of them, like I did, and it turns into a two day project!)

And since I know I'll get emails on it. Here are the recipes for the fudge.

Mint Layer Fudge

• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 ounces white confectioners coating* or premium white chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon peppermint extract
• Green or red food coloring (optional)

1. In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt chocolate chips with 1 cup sweetened condensed milk; add vanilla. Spread half the mixture into wax-paper-lined 8- or 9-inch square pan; chill 10 minutes or until firm. Hold remaining chocolate mixture at room temperature.
2. In heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt white confectioners coating with remaining sweetened condensed milk (mixture will be thick). Add peppermint extract and food coloring (optional).
3. Spread on chilled chocolate layer; chill 10 minutes longer or until firm.
4. Spread reserved chocolate mixture on mint layer. Chill 2 hours or until firm. Turn onto cutting board; peel off paper and cut into squares. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Peanut Butter Marshmallow Fudge

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 cup marshmallow creme
• 1 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Boil sugar and milk to soft ball stage*. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into a buttered 8-inch square pan. Cut into squares when firm.

*To Test for Soft Ball Stage
A small amount of syrup dropped into chilled water forms a ball, but flattens when picked up with fingers.

it's that time of year again...

I am reminded daily that Christmas is almost here. I took the boys to go see Santa last weekend. But, I've barely begun my shopping and annual gift-making efforts. I turned my kitchen into a fudge-making factory this morning. Only the peanut butter fudge is done (chocolate mint fudge is on tap for tomorrow!) but it tastes delicious. I'm envious of the coworkers, friends and neighbors that we're giving it to!

I took a time out from the kitchen this afternoon to watch the movie Julie & Julia (which came highly recommended by my parents). Now I'm completely reinspired and hoping to use the newfound inspiration to shape my 2010 News Years Resolutions. I've had a lot of luck the last few years in actually achieving my goals so the pressure is on. What will I come up with next? I'll let you know when it's finalized!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The boys and I had ourselves a merry little Thanksgiving this year... by effectively skipping the holiday and moving on to the next one! We decked the halls and put up our Christmas tree -- ornaments and all. The only thing missing was Santa!


It's the first year that Hunter has been able to participate in the decorating and he had an absolute ball with it! Check out the video!





We are all so thankful for our family this holiday season and can't wait for all of our visitors next month.

Lose-A-Palooza - Helping to fight hunger in America

For all my social networking guru friends, please please please check out the Lose-A-Palooza website to find out how you can use your social media savviness to raise money for food banks via Weight Watcher's Lose for Good program.

No money required, just a computer and the willingness to click your mouse a few times.

For every accepted mention or acknowledgment of “Lose For Good” made on September 15 via blogs, Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, Weight Watchers will make an additional donation - up to $25,000* - for just one day of social media activity. This donation is on top of the $1 million** Weight Watchers is hoping to donate to Share Our Strength and Action Against Hunger as part of the 2009 Lose For Good campaign!

Here's how it works (I copied and pasted the info from their website):

ON FACEBOOK

• Become a fan of the NEW and official Weight Watchers page! And don’t forget our Weight Watchers Supermarket Foods page.
• If you’re already a fan, just post a “Lose For Good” related comment OR “Like” the updates that we'll post throughout the day.
• Become a fan of our awesome charitable partners – Share Our Strength and Action Against Hunger!
• It’s that easy. Join fan pages, comment on our statuses and walls, or simply ‘Like’ updates to our fan pages and you’ll be participating in Lose-a-Palooza and helping fight hunger!

ON MYSPACE:

• Participate on the selected pages by posting a comment including “Lose For Good” or become our ‘friend.’ Simple ways to help Weight Watchers contribute $1!*

ON TWITTER:

• Tweet #LoseForGood: Share how you are supporting the good with all your Twitter followers. Tweet about the way you’re helping the fight against hunger and be sure to include #LoseForGood.
• Multiply the good: Follow @sharestrength or @acfusa to fill your Twitter stream with good, and then retweet.
• That’s right, each #LoseForGood Tweet and follow to @sharestrength and @acfusa on September 15 provides $1!*

VIA BLOGS:

• Write a blog post about Lose For Good, including the phrase “Lose For Good” and encourage your readers to get involved by visiting www.LoseForGood.com.
• Comment on a blog post about Lose For Good! Be sure to have your friends show their support by commenting on your post – every comment relating to “Lose For Good” helps Weight Watchers donate $1*!
• In our new Weight Watchers Community, write a blog post about Lose for Good and we’ll make a contribution to the fight against hunger. Remember to use the words “Lose for Good!”

Soooo.... start by commenting on my blog :) and then hit up the social media sites. It's all for a great cause and I appreciate your support!

An Ode to the Internet... Happy 40th Birthday!

In honor of the Internet's 40th Birthday today, I put together a little poem in its honor:
An Ode to the Internet

Oh wonderful Internet, how do I love thee?
Just let me count the ways...
I fear I could not live without you
For, with you, I start my days

Bright and early every morning
I log on to read the news
I check the weather forecast
And bluefly.com for sales on shoes

I mapquest all the places I'll go
I google my old boyfriend from high school
Then I update my status on Facebook
"Nicole is going to hang out by the pool"

I pay my bills through online bill pay
Plan a phantom vacation on Travelocity
I imagine myself an Amazon(.com) goddess
How I'd rule with such ferocity

I tweet out to my peeps on Twitter
And upload a cool video to YouTube
Update my bids on eBay
I so hope I win that antique Rubik's Cube.

I click through my friend's photos on Shutterfly
Hulu's my hero for reruns of The View
I download the latest version of iTunes
My "running" playlist could use something new

By now my coffee cup is empty
And my kids are demanding some food
So I shut down my laptop, just temporary
I know I'll be back before noon

Back by popular demand....

Andrew's Awesome Pet Show has returned from its summer hiatus (thanks to some good grades earned by our new first grader!). Check out the newest episode at the Andrew's Awesome Pet Show blog.... and rest easy tonight knowing another full-redhead episode is coming your way again next week (provided the grades stay decent). Enjoy!

A Green Clean

I'll start by saying that I wish I had known a lot sooner how much easier it is to clean "green". I've posted before that I attempted to clean my kitchen and floors with green products, but that was just the beginning. After some research, my husband and I decided we were going to eliminate all of our household cleaning products and exchange them for homemade green products. We found an awesome recipe book thanks to the Clean Calgary Association in Canada and put the recipes to the test this past week. Granted, the key ingredient in green cleaning is elbow grease, but today our house is sparkling clean and chemical free! (To be fair, the credit goes mostly to my husband who spent two of his days off last week scrubbing and cleaning.)

Our favorite "recipe" so far has been the laundry detergent. We were pretty skeptical about if it would work as well as the store-bought products, but actually, it works better! Our clothes are cleaner and softer than they were before. We also eliminated the use of our dryer and put up a clothes line in the backyard. The first time I put on a line-dried shirt I had a flashback to childhood when my parents had a clothes line. My only complaint is that my ironing pile has grown a little with the line drying. (and my neighbor probably thinks I'm nuts after coming over to pick up his daughters and finding me ironing my sheets... but now they are oh-so-soft-and-silky, I don't want to get out of bed in the morning!).

Our other favorite thing about the products we made is the cost. The 2 gallon tub of laundry detergent cost about a dollar (maybe 2) to make and the rest of the cleaning products were less than a dollar each. I'm sure we'll save a few bucks from not using the dryer as well. Not bad. Eco-conscious and economical. Just the way we like it!

Happy 30th Birthday!

I made it through my 30 Days to 30 adventure! Here are the highlights...

Day 30: Making the final leg

Fitting for the last day of my 30 days to 30 adventure... we rode the last leg on bikes! Jason and I took an 11 mile bike ride along the Eastern Canal from US 60 to Crossroads Park. Jason is the bike rider, I'm the runner. So this was an interesting trip. I definitely slowed down his pace and at times I was dead certain I was not going to make it. But in the end, it was me who knew the back way into Crossroads Park, not him and it turned out to be a really great ride! Way to end this on a high note. Of course, my legs felt like Jello for the rest of the day and I don't even want to go near explaining what it feels like to sit down right now.

Day 29: The Lazy River

Jason and I went tubing with our friend Chris on the Salt River today. The three of us were a little more accustomed to white water so the more relaxing pace of the water was actually kind of disappointing. The last few minutes of rapids were the best! All in all, it probably would have been better if we'd known the No Glass Bottle rule and brought a 6 pack of Bud Light instead of Corona (which stayed in the car getting nice and warm, yick, while we floated for two hours on the river). It was our first time experiencing the river so we learned a lot about what we're going to do next time -- like bring bigger towels, hats, more sunblock and most importantly rope. We were also pretty enthralled by the inflatable cooler that another group was toting around. Might make a great investment for our backyard pool! (Hint hint... birthday present, anyone?).

Day 28: Hiking!

When I originally planned this 30 day adventure, I had actually scheduled 4 separate hikes at different hikes around the Phoenix valley that I haven't actually done yet. When it came down to it, last night's was the first hike I made and it was a trail that I've done several times before. But, it's all in good measure. My friend Tobey and I climbed the hills on the Wind Caves trail at Usery Mountain. As always, our goal was to make it to the top in 45 minutes or less, but the 109 degree weather got in our way. We only made it about a mile up the trail before realizing we weren't going to make it by sundown and turned around. Oh well, there's always next week to try again, right?

Day 27: Daughtry concert, errrrr, The Ugly Truth

Today's adventure was supposed to be the highlight of my 30 days to 30 years: Daughtry concert! Even better, two of my friends (who are also celebrating their birthdays this month) were coming with me. Imagine my disappointment when my favorite singer came down with viral laryngitis and canceled the concert at last minute. So instead, we headed to the movies to check out The Ugly Truth.... which incidentally comes nowhere close to the truth about working in television news. As predictable as most romantic comedies, it had its moments. Would have much preferred Daughtry though.

Day 26: Tattoos!

For our birthday presents this year, Jason and I decided to get his and her tattoos. Neither one of us has ever gotten a tattoo before so it was a big step for both of us. I'm a strong believer in NOT getting names tattooed (bad karma, jinxing, etc..) so we decided to get a moon. Of course, we couldn't decide on a tattoo that we both wanted to get so we each started with the same moon design and went from there. Mine is on my lower back and Jason's is on his arm. We went to Black Lotus Tattooers in Gilbert. The artist is a guy named Billy. He did a great job, in my opinion, but then again, I 'm a tattoo virgin so maybe this is actually horrible (though I doubt it).
PS. Jason's birthday is Thursday! So wish him a happy birthday as well :)

Day 25: Riding the Light Rail

The boys and I went to another Diamondback's game (against the LA Dodgers) yesterday and to shake things up a little, we rode the new Metro Light Rail in from Mesa to downtown Phoenix. Hunter really liked the ride in (he kept calling it a "choo-choo"). It was clean and there were a bunch of other D-backs fans riding with us so Andrew and I sat together counting the red shirts (18) and the blue shirts (3). The ride back was a little more eventful with a tired two-year old and standing room only. But we made it and we will definitely be riding the light rail again to future games. It basically cut our parking costs in half for the same amount of commute time (and a ride that the boys thought was "super cool!").

Day 24: Star Wars marathon

I must be the only person in my generation who has not seen the original (or even the most recent) Star Wars movies. Honestly, I can say I've never really had much of a desire to do that, but in the interest of making sure I'm not missing out on something major, Andrew and I hogged the couch last night to watch the original three movies. We made it through the first movie with no problem, but fell asleep half-way through the second one (because it was late, not because it wasn't entertaining). I can see now why people raved about these movies for generations. The cinematography was amazing for a 70s movie! The story line was good as well. I'm not big on scifi so I'm probably never going to be a gung-ho fan of this series, but I'll definitely finish watching it and will watch it again.

Day 23: Parent and Tot Yoga

Hunter and I joined some friends to attend a Parent and Tot Yoga class today at the Gilbert Yoga studio. It was a fun 45 minute class focused mostly on the children (all of our kids were 3 and younger). I was really impressed with the class overall. The instructor somehow managed to slip in a lot of physical activity for the kids, while still keeping the basic yoga poses, like up dog, down dog and sun salutations. Hunter especially liked getting to pretend to be a dog and fish. He really liked acting like a surfer (using the warrior pose) -- cue the Beach Boys music! I would definitely do this class again! Too cute!

Day 22: The Bead Museum

I probably have to preface this in saying that my newest hobby is beading (you can check out some of my pieces for sale here). So today we used our Culture Pass to explore the Bead Museum in Glendale. While small, the museum gave a great overview of the history of beads and how they are used in cultures all around the world. I absolutely fell in love with the gift shop! Great prices on some wonderful beads (yes, I filled a bag to take home). Afterwards, we explored the historic Catlin Court District and grabbed a 25 cent ice cream cone (I'm not kidding!) at Papa Ed's Ice Cream.

Day 21: Casual Book Club for Women

This week's 30 Day to 30 activities seem to be centered on relaxing and returning to routine. Last night I went to my monthly book club and joined the fabulous ladies of the Casual Book Club for Women to discuss the book The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. As a club, we graded the book between an A and a C - some enjoying it immensely and others finding it rather blah. I really like this very diverse group of women because of our extremely different opinions and tastes in books.

Day 20: Face to Face with Facebook

How's this for an icebreaker question: Sooo.... what social network convinced you to come out here tonight? That was the question of the night at the AZIMA (Arizona Interactive Marketing Association) event in Tempe. For me, it was Facebook. For the man sitting next to me, LinkedIn. The topic of the evening was how to effectively engage others in social networking and true to the point the speaker (Kristen from Facebook) was, well, engaging. Some interesting tidbits... 73% of all internet users are on social networks. And watch out kids, 47% of all moms are on Facebook (and they spend an average of 8 hours a week on the site!). The presentation delved into many of the tools and programs Facebook offers to businesses and brands to raise awareness including ads and fan pages. It also allowed for Q&A., but there were many who were already experts in the house because while the event was going on, some of the lucky ones who actually had cell phone service went mobile, chatting away on Twitter.

Day 19: Staying Cool

After a busy weekend, we took it easy today with plans to eat up some yummy frozen yogurt with our friends in the Arizona Mountain Mamas group. I had originally thought we'd go to our favorite local yogurt haunt Ocean Blue Frozen Yogurt. But at some point between the time I planned the meeting and this morning, the store changed its hours and wasn't open early enough. So, we went and enjoyed a yummy ice cream treat at Dairy Queen at Superstition Springs Mall instead. Sometimes you just need to relax!

Day 17 & 18: Family Camping Trip

Like most families this year, our vacation budget was pretty much killed by the recession, so we decided instead to take our first family camping trip. Oddly enough, we've had most of the gear sitting in our garage for years and once we got all the dust and grime off, it was decent enough condition. We left yesterday at lunch time (I had to work in the morning), then headed north of Payson, AZ to the Ponderosa Campground which was supposedly very kid-friendly (and we agree!). It was only one night of camping, but we jammed in as much fun as we could, including a walk, a hike, fishing and even a trip to town. I built my very own solo campfire (many thanks to Dad and Mark for years of expert coaching!), then we roasted marshmellows and told "scary stories". I've learned my 6 year old has a penchance for scary stories that involve someone's "brains getting eaten". Yum-o! Anyway, we packed up and headed for home after lunch today and we are pretty exhausted, but we all keep asking ourselves why we hadn't done this earlier. There are a bunch of pictures of this trip posted to my Facebook page (anyone can see them, even if you don't have a Facebook account).

Day 16: Castles 'N Coasters

I haven't been on a roller coaster since the New York New York coaster in Vegas about seven or eight years ago. So I think I'm long overdue. Tonight's 30 in 30 adventure took Jason and I to Castles 'N Coasters in Peoria. It was a fun date night for the two of us (something we haven't had much opportunity to do in a while). We only went on the roller coaster once (darn that motion sickness crap) and then played a fierce game of mini-golf where I blew Jason out of the water. But he still loves me! I think :)

Day 15: Phoenix Art Museum

Thanks to the Phoenix Culture Pass the family and I explored the Phoenix Art Museum today. I can't BELIEVE what people are passing as art these days! Really, a piece of gold painted wood? Wow! Anyway, the boys were a little rowdy so we didn't get to see everything as in-depth as I would have liked, but I was suprisingly drawn to the Native American art section. There were some very beautiful pieces highlighted. Andrew was also enthralled with a couple of the more "robotic" pieces and came home vowing to make something similar. He and Dad have since then constructed an "Iron Man" costume out of moving boxes. Not bad!

Day 14: Water Park Fun (sort of)

No, you're not missing anything. Day 13 of my 30 Days to 30 was a bomb. I woke up with some sort of tummy bug and then we spent the evening in the ER with Hunter getting stitches on his foot (he had a run-in with the garage door, ugh!).

Since Hunter couldn't get his stitches wet, it was just Andrew and I headed out to the Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center this morning. We got there a little after opening so the lines weren't too long. Andrew actually convinced me to go down the water slides! I don't think I've been down a water slide since high school. It was a little scary. Then we went in the "whirlpool" until we got dizzy and took a break. We were about to head back to the slides when Andy had an accident and instead we headed to the doctors office where he had a small (but deep) cut glued together. We're planning to take it easy for the rest of the day!

Day 12: Crochet 101

Monday night's 30 Days to 30 adventure took me across town to a Crochet 101 class at JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts.

I've never crocheted before, however, I have knitted (not very well, I must add). I'd love to be able to crochet a baby blanket for my new nephew this fall. But something tells me I'll have to fall back on some of my other creative talents to come up with a unique gift for him.

I did pick up the skill of crocheting very quickly. I can now chain stitch, single crochet and double crochet. If I feel like paying another $40 for the next class I can learn how to ripple and a few other stitches. I think I might just call on a few of my more yarn-talented friends instead!

If nothing else, the class got me off the hook for the kids bedtime (no pun intended, ha ha).

Day 11: Guided Bird Walk through the Riperian Preserve

Sticking to our unintentional outdoorsy/nature theme this weekend, Andrew and I got up super early this morning to head out for a guided bird walk through the Riperian Preserve in Gilbert. There were a couple of other kids from a Boy Scout group on the tour so it was fun, even though Andrew didn't make it for the entire walk. We saw a whole bunch of cool, colorful birds. Our guide, Kathe, was extremely knowledgeable and spent much of the tour talking about about how the preserves work, where the animals come from and how its ecosystem survives in its urban setting. All in all, we saw about 30 different species of birds on the walk. However, note to self: next time bring binoculars!

Day 10: An Impromptu Nature Walk

Since me and Hunter weren't feeling all that great today, our plans to take a family hike at Usery Mountain this evening were changed to enjoying a fun impromptu nature walk at Red Mountain Park in Mesa instead. Hey, most of parenting is flexibility, right? The park has a .8 mile loop (we did it twice) that goes through a park area and then around a little lake and nature area. Typical of boys, Hunter and Andrew decided to seek out every creature living and at last tally we had found: rabbits, ducks, spiders, dragonflies, lizards (even a really big one that Daddy identified as Bearded Dragon lizard), ants of all sizes and a handful of other animals and bugs that are beyond my species identification skills. All in all, it was a fun night out with the family :)

As for our original plans, I'm sure we'll head out to Usery Mountain at some point in the next 30 days. There is a method to the 30 in 30 madness, even if it doesn't always seem that way!

Day 9: A Starry Safari

At last-minute, we decided to head out to the Starry Safari at the Phoenix Zoo tonight for my 30 Days to 30 Years adventure. We were going to go tomorrow, but my plans for tonight fell through and it seemed like a good idea. It was really cute. The zoo had put up some bounce houses and a climbing wall for the kids and still had a few sections open to explore and see the animals. Unfortunately, we got there a little late so we only got to see a handful of animals... including the outcast elephant (the zoo staff said she is a "bully" and isn't able to sleep inside with the others, that's why she was outside for the kids to see), some sleeping orangutans, some goofy tree swinging monkeys, dizzy camels and a couple of hungry zebras. We brought our neighbor Alyssa with us so after the small journey to see the animals, the kids spent some time in the bounce houses and we headed home. It definitely was a fun way to spend a Friday night with the family. (Side note: I admit the picture I posted is from a different trip to the zoo earlier this year. All of the ones I took tonight were too dark or blurry for posting.)

Day 8: Read to Me

Thus far my 30 Days to 30 Years adventure has centered around new activities and relaxation. But my reasons for doing this aren't entirely selfish. Tonight I switched gears to give back to my community. Through an organization called Hands On Phoenix I had an opportunity to participate in a program called Read to Me at a Phoenix area Salvation Army Homeless Shelter. The crux of the program is for volunteers to come and read to the children who live at the shelter. I was one of five or six volunteers tonight for about eight children. I was paired with a little three year old girl named Lilly. She was the most adorable little thing I've ever met. She wasn't really all that interested in reading, so we colored some pictures, then we practiced skipping down the hallway and then some of the other kids joined us for a game of roll the ball. It was fun to meet the kids. Such bright little stars! It's heartbreaking to think of their family situations and I hope they will be able to overcome these obstacles before them.

Day 7: A Chick Flick with, well, the chicks!

I can't remember the last time I got to go to the movies with "just the girls"... or even to see a chick flick at the theater (and I probably wouldn't even get to see them at home if it wasn't for $1 rentals at RedBox). So tonight, I defied the norms and met up with a group of friends to go see The Proposal with Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock. I had a great time even if the movie was a little predictable. Think of it as Just Friends meets Two Weeks Notice (to keep the movie choices limited to other work done by Reynolds and Bullock). It definitely had a lot of good laughs and there were times when we were all rolling out of our seats. I also appreciate that Sandra Bullock went *almost* naked in the film and that her body was more "normal woman" than movie-star-esque.

Day 6: Arizona Diamondbacks Game

Hunter and I headed to downtown Phoenix this evening for a fun night at Chase Field to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Philadelphia Phillies. We had a good time exploring the stadium. Hunter especially liked the kids arcade area. Our seats were in the "Redhead" section for die hard fans which was really cool. Hunter thought the guy sitting in front of us with completely painted red skin was pretty funny and kept giving him high-fives all night. We also made a cameo on Fox Sports Arizona's coverage of the game (thanks to Daddy!) where Hunter put his souvenir hat (that had previously been filled with popcorn) on his head and hid. Wonder where I can get a tape of that. It might be a fun blackmail piece when he gets a little older.

Day 5: Healthy Shopping Tour

Yesterday's 30 Days to 30 activity ran a little late so, thanks to a strong cup of coffee, I'm just posting this morning. It was a Healthy Shopping Tour put on at the Tempe Whole Foods Store. The host was a local chef/nutritionist, Chef Rachel. You can read more about her at her website: http://thegardenofeatingdiet.com

The purpose of the tour, apparently, was to help people with allergies (most specifically, gluten and diary) shop for healthy foods without those specific ingredients. So while I didn't get a whole lot out of that information since no one in our family has wheat or dairy allergies, I did learn a few things pertaining to Andrew's nut allergies.

As for the "healthy shopping" part of the tour, she basically made a shopping trip through each aisle of the store, telling us what could be bought, why it was good for us and some examples of how to cook it. My family better watch out since I am now half tempted to try out some bok choy and parsnips.

However, most of the information I received (outside of the allergy info) I already knew and if you don't feel like following someone around a grocery store for two and half hours, you can glean the majority of the information from reading Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels, The Skinny Bitch by Rory Friedman or In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (or any combination of the three). You can probably pick up any of those books on Amazon for half the cost that it took to attend last night's class.

Day 4: Taste of Summer Cooking Technique Class

Today's "30 Days to 30" adventure was a cooking technique class offered at Williams-Sonoma. The store offers technique classes every Sunday morning for free. To my delight, this week's class theme was the Taste of Summer - focused on new ways to make summer vegetables. I ended up having to bring Hunter along with me to the class and with him tucked away in his stroller with a portable DVD player (yes, watching Curious George, AGAIN!) I was able to catch most of the class.

I can't decide if I should be disappointed or feel complimented because I really didn't learn anything new from the class. We learned how to make guacamole and how to sautee veggies in a skillet. Both of these are regular menu items at our house but seeing the interest of the others attending the class, I'm guessing they were "fresh ideas" to many others. I did learn about a bunch of overpriced cooking gadgets that if I had the biggest kitchen on earth, I'd probably want to buy :)

Day 3: Farmer's Market

Hunter, Jason and I explored the Road Runners Farmer's Market in north east Phoenix this morning. I have been rather disappointed with the farmer's markets that I've been able to find here in Arizona so far, but this one gave me a little faith. I think the Sparks' Hometown Farmer's Market has spoiled me for life. This morning's market included several different farms selling produce as well as other booths with bakery items, spices, salsas, crafts, etc. Anyway, Hunter and I were on a mission today... to find a watermelon! We ended up with a whopping 13lb organic one. Can't wait to dig into it for dessert tonight.

Day 2: Peddle Boats

My husband took Hunter and I out for a peddle boat ride on Tempe Town Lake this morning! We only lasted about 30 minutes (of our hour rental time) before Hunter got antsy and wanted to get out of the boat... and boy, that peddling was quite a workout! While we floated, we played a toddler version of I-spy and found ducks, swallows, fish, fishers, fish bubbles, trains, trucks, bikers, walkers and lots of airplanes. All-in-all it was a great way to spend the morning together.

Day 1: Get Your Zumba on!

First up in my 30 days to 30 journey: ZUMBA! I've been saying I'm going to try this out for a few months now and since they don't offer a class at my gym location, I actually had to step out of my comfort zone and travel to Tempe for the class. The room was packed and the teacher was sometimes hard to see and follow, but I definitely enjoyed the beat and the dancing. I don't think I've danced like that since high school or college. Some steps were even reminiscent of my days in the Sunshine Generation. While typically, Zumba mixes the styles of Salsa, Meranga and Cha Cha Cha... I think tonight's instructor included a little hip hop, belly dancing and even country line dancing (ha ha!) in her interpretation. Needless to say, I'm going to hurt in the morning!

30 Days to 30... let the fun begin!

It's official! In 30 days, I will be 30 years old. As previously blogged, I'm not entirely thrilled about this idea. But thanks to a surprise birthday party last weekend during my trip to Michigan (my family is the best!), I'm coming around to it. Hey, 30 is the new 20, right?

In honor of the big 3-0, I'm spending the next 30 days doing something fun and unique every day. As I get through the month, I'll be posting updates and pictures *hopefully* (had some camera problems on vacation, should be fixed soon though). Some of these are things I've never done before (like getting a tattoo!), others are just things in the Phoenix area that I've been dying to do.

I hope you enjoy my posts.

swap til you drop

The woman to my right had her strategy mapped out. She and both of her children had trash bags and were positioned next to the tables heaping with the clothing sizes most likely to have what they needed.

When the magic words: “Let’s swap,” rang out, they were ready to dig.

Out of the corner of my eye, I was marking a sparkly green halter top across the table and a pair of boys sweatpants that nearly exactly matched the pair my son managed to rip at school last month.

The woman to my left started searching through the pile in front of us, stuffed with the remainder of my younger son’s too-small rompers that I had brought to swap.

The Swap Phoenix Clothing Swap group is run through the meetup.com website and meets once a month at different locations around the valley to swap clothing of all sizes. The idea is simple: bring what you don’t want or use and trade it for clothing you want or need.

It was started by a woman in Phoenix with a family of 7 kids (yeah, I know). Her name is Katherine and every swap she brings her kids along as involuntary helpers to sort the clothes and help out those that come.

In the end, I wasn’t able to score the green halter top, but I did go home with a great pair of embroidered jeans.

clean and green

I'm probably the last person on earth to do this but I decided to go green with my cleaning products. Okay, I'm probably not the last person or S.C. Johnson and P&G would be making hundreds of thousands of dollars off sales of cleaning supplies every year. (Really, who DOESN'T want the Scrubbing Bubbles to do all the work for you?)

By green, I mean I went back to basics and cheap: baking soda, vinegar and water. The inspiration came from reading Jillian Michael's book "Master Your Metabolism" that explains how chemicals used for cleaning affect our endocrine system and in the end, are making us fat. Not that I consider myself fat anymore (I finally did the follow-up measurements at the gym last week, and I'm at last back in the NORMAL range for BMI and body fat!). But I don't want the chemicals in my life to bring that fat back. If you're interested in this subject, I highly suggest the book. If you can get past some of the extremism (she pretty much calls for you to empty out your pantry and start over) the underlying information and tips are great!

It's baby steps... and the first one was scrubbing and cleaning. I used vinegar water on the kitchen and bathroom surfaces and floors; baking soda on the toilets, sinks and showers; water and a cotton rag for dusting. It took a little extra elbow grease (I guess I probably burned a few extra calories doing it this way too!) and I wasn't able to get all the streaks off the mirrors (but I couldn't even do that with Windex), BUT my house is on its way to becoming clean and green. Next step, replacing my soaps (dish soap, dishwasher soap, laundry soap, etc) with the green alternatives. But I think I'll wait for my current supply of stuff to run out first.

don't sweat the little things? are computers considered little things?

I am back behind my own keyboard tonight. It's like getting to drive your own car again after going on vacation. Nice feeling of familiarity.

I was able to pick up my MacBook from the Apple Store this afternoon after a 17 day "repair" visit. What happened? My two year old decided I was paying too much attention to the computer screen and not him, so he poured a soda on the keys. Not so coincidentally, I gave up drinking soda two days later (but that's another story, for another time).

My first reaction to what he did was to freak out (someone call CPS, I yelled at my two year old using my outdoor voice!). Then I mimicked him and threw a Terrible Twos tantrum (behind the closed doors of my bedroom). Not very "adult" of me, I know. But I don't think he realized the implications of what he did. My LIFE is on this computer. Next time (if there ever is one) I'll try my best to retain my composure.

Then, I rushed both boys into the car and paraded them to two different Apple Stores on different ends of town until I found one that could get me in see a "genius" that afternoon. I admit, I was in a bad mood and told the boys pretty much to keep their mouths shut until I had taken care of the computer.

The diagnosis: DOA. I kind of figured that when the soda hit the keyboard and I heard a fizz and the whole thing shut off. The remedy: Send it into the Apple Repair Depot for repairs (read: $$$$$$). While sitting down at the genius bar discussing options, I broke down in tears. I needed to find a way to get the computer fixed and it just wasn't an optimistic situation all around.

Andrew sat next to me watching me cry. He took my hand and said, "Mom, I have an idea. I've been trying to tell you all afternoon but you keep telling me to be quiet." So I asked him what was his idea. He said, "You can call up Santa Claus and see if he'll give you a new computer for Christmas."

We did figure out a way to get the computer fixed, but I was truly touched by Andrew's suggestion. Too bad we really can't put Santa on speed dial.

to be a kid again

When you were a kid, what did you like to do the most? Do you still do it anymore? I know I loved to read and write when I was younger. I don't do either as much as I would like these days.

My six year old, Andrew, LOVES to draw, especially drawing robots and (you guessed it!) Transformers. He has been obsessed with Transformers since he was three (and that's an understatement). We have every Transformer made in the last three years... and then some. So as I was surfing the web the other day, I found that USA Today is having a contest to design your own Transformer contest. I showed it to Andrew and explained the rules. You have to create a brand new Tranformer and draw it both in robot form and it's untransformed state.

Andrew has spent the last few days roaming around the house looking for the PERFECT thing to turn into his new Transformer. He settled on a few of his brother's Matchbox cars that work like the Constructicons to form both their own individual Transformers and also one big Transformer. He only drew the one big united Transformer for the contest.



His Transformer's name is Crush Monster and it's made out of five cars named Beater Thunder, Crush, Signal and one that he couldn't come up with a name for so he called it No-Namer. He made a video explaining it as well... which I will post as soon as I can get it uploaded!

meeting the Biggest Loser blue team

I had the opportunity to go see the Biggest Loser Blue Team, Sione and Filipe, last night. The two of them put on a nutrition seminar with their personal trainer (not Bob, Ryan, their trainer here in Phoenix).

I brought a pen and paper and took some notes! So if you're interested in weight loss, here are some tips from two (really funny) guys who have been through it recently.

Five Essentials to Weight Loss from Ryan, the trainer

1. FOOD! Don't forget to eat. 60-70% of your success will come from the food you eat. You must eat at least 1000 calories a day and don't forget carbs. 50% of the carbs you eat go to your brain. Eat carbs in the morning not the evening and eat carbs 2-3 hours before working out.

2. Supplementation: some suggestions were a multivitamin, a workout recovery pill (with amino acids), glucosamine (for joint health) and an antioxidant pill.

3. Resistance Training: builds muscle, increases metabolism For women it helps maintain bone density and prevent osteoporosis.

4. Cardio: Not THE answer to weight loss, but still necessary. Do this 3-6 times a week, after your resistance training. Good for the heart, lungs and circulatory systems.

5. Professional Help (of course he's going to say this, he's a trainer!). Trainers have to undergo rigorous training to understand how the body works. They can help you get further, faster.


"Do the Opposite of Easy"

When working out -- push yourself

Sione's nutrition tips

Watch nutrition labels
-- serving sizes can be misleading
-- make sure you aren't getting more than 25% of calories from fat
-- keep sugar to less than 5% per serving

Give yourself a "cheat" meal. They were given one meal a week on the Biggest Loser ranch where they could eat an extra 1000 calories.

Oh, and Sione's "crave" foods are pizza, Doritos and ice cream.

Motivational words from Filipe

Trivia: Filipe wanted to be a motivational speaker since he was 16, when he attended a motivation speaking seminar with a friend.

Write it down -- your goals (for start) and why you want to lose weight. For him, it was his wife and kids. Then keep writing, your food intake, that is. Keeping a food journal is a proven technique for weight loss.




They will have more information on their website (which doesn't go live until Monday, so don't try it yet!) www.tongancousins.com. They are also kicking off a multi-city tour and the schedule will be on the website too.


That's all I had from my notes. They shared many experiences from the Biggest Loser ranch which were fun to hear about. I didn't realize how little we actually see when we watch the show. They ended the seminar with their Tongan dance and then a meet and greet so we could take pictures with them and ask questions. Yes, that's me in the pic with them. Sorry it's kinda blurry.

Thanks to Sione and Filipe for doing this. It was really fun to see them in person and take away some of the lessons they had learned.