Solution to Kids who Get Up Early on Saturday

WARNING: This will not work for Sundays...

Tell your kids Friday night they DO have school tomorrow.
I know you have all noticed that the days the Little Ones have school they do not want to wake up and once they know its Friday and the next day is no school their tiny asses are up at the crack of friggin dawn and its SO wrong! SO the ones that are under 6 you can lie to...

The BEST Calorie Website By FAR

click on me!

or you could try this:

My trainer recommended this site to start my weight loss program.  Its FREE and easy to use.  You only NEED to be diligent and enter in every bite of food that crosses your hungry lips and DONT forget to give yourself credit for ALL exercise - this site helps you choose simple things like folding laundry or dusting to add for burned calories which to me = MORE FOOD lol  If you have trouble using the site email me but I love it - you can find me and we can be caloriecount.about friends <3

Bootcamp

If you live in San Diego and you do not attend the Bootcamp I do on Saturdays you are a CHUMP!

Its every Saturday @ Mission Bay 9am $40 for the MONTH

It has changed my LIFE and my BODY just a ONCE a week commitment and DON'T  you whores and asses, even try and tell me you cannot afford to try it for $40 a month when you have I Phones and Cable at home because I have NEITHER!

Cant you just try something for once a week for $10 a week that will change your life? No? Whatever!

The rest of you email me erikaho@ricketmail.com

I did not go to any of my bootcamp classes last week and I was eating like a piggy so tired and crabby it really has an amazingly positive impact on my whole attitude for the week!

Trying to Eat Healthier

I do love this Quinoa from Trader Joes its already prepared in the freezer section made with chopped veggies you just heat it up in a frying pan (I AM ANTI MICRO WAVES FYI) I add ample soy sauce to mine and YUM! It has great Protein, Fiber and low fat & carbs!

Quinoa

Although not a common item in most kitchens today, quinoa is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. Quinoa is available in your local health food stores throughout the year.  Most commonly considered a grain, quinoa is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. It is a recently rediscovered ancient "grain" once considered "the gold of the Incas."

Quinoa from the Andes

by Karen Railey
Author of the popular "How to" guide, How to Improve Fading Memory and Thinking Skills with Nutrition.


Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) is an ancient food that is not yet well known in North America. It has been cultivated in South American Andes since at least 3,000 B.C. and has been a staple food of millions of native inhabitants. The ancient Incas called quinoa the "mother grain" and revered it as sacred. Each year at planting time it was traditional for the Inca leader to plant the first quinoa seed using a solid gold shovel! Quinoa was used to sustain Incan armies, which frequently marched for many days eating a mixture of quinoa and fat, known as "war balls." Beginning with the Spanish conquest in the 1500s, there was a 400-year decline in the production of quinoa. It became a minor crop at that time and was grown only by peasants in remote areas for local consumption.
In Peru, Chile and Bolivia, quinoa is now widely cultivated for its nutritious seeds, and they are referred to as "little rice." The seeds are used in creating various soups and bread, and also fermented with millet to make a beer-like beverage. A sweetened decoction of the fruit is used medicinally, as an application for sores and bruises. Quinoa has been grown outside of South America for a relatively short time. It is grown in Canada and has been grown in the U.S., in Colorado since the 1980's by two entrepreneurs who learned of the food from a Bolivian. They developed test plots in high arid fields in the central Rockies and began test marketing in 1985. Quinoa can be found in most natural food stores in the U.S.
Technically quinoa is not a true grain, but is the seed of the Chenopodium or Goosefoot plant. It is used as a grain and substituted for grains because of it's cooking characteristics. The name comes from the Greek words, chen (a goose) and pous (a foot). This is due to a resemblance of the leaves of the plant to the webbed foot of a goose. The leaves are lobed or toothed and often triangular in shape. The succulent like plant grows from 4 to 6 feet high and has many angular branches. The flower heads are branched and when in seed looks much like millet, with large clusters of seeds at the end of a stalk. The plant will grow in a variety of conditions but favors a cool, arid climate and higher elevations. Beets, spinach, Swiss chard, and lamb's quarters are all relatives of quinoa.
Quinoa grains range in color from ivory to pinks, brown to reds, or almost black depending on the variety. There are over 120 species of Chenopodium, but only three main varieties are cultivated; one producing very pale seeds, called the white or sweet variety; a dark red fruited variety called red quinoa; and a black quinoa. The seeds are similar in size to millet but are flat with a pointed oval shape and look like a cross between a sesame seed and millet. Quinoa has a delightful characteristic that is all it's own: as it cooks, the outer germ around each grain twists outward forming a little white, spiral tail, which is attached to the kernel. The grain itself is soft and delicate and the tail is crunchy which creates and interesting texture combination and pleasant "crunch" when eating the grain. Quinoa has a fluffy consistency and a mild, delicate, slightly nutty flavor that borders on bland. The leaves of the Goosefoot (quinoa) plant are also edible and make a pleasant vegetable, like spinach. A quinoa leaf salad is generally more nutritious that most green salads.
Before cooking, the seeds must be rinsed to remove their bitter resin-like coating, which is called saponin. Quinoa is rinsed before it is packaged and sold, but it is best to rinse again at home before use to remove any of the powdery residue that may remain on the seeds. The presence of saponin is obvious by the production of a soapy looking "suds" when the seeds are swished in water. Placing quinoa in a strainer and rinsing thoroughly with water easily washes the saponin from the seeds. In South America the saponin which is removed from the quinoa is used as detergent for washing clothes and as an antiseptic to promote healing of skin injuries.
The quinoa seed is high in protein, calcium and iron, a relatively good source of vitamin E and several of the B vitamins. It contains an almost perfect balance of all eight essential amino acids needed for tissue development in humans. It is exceptionally high in lysine, cystine and methionine-amino acids typically low in other grains. It is a good complement for legumes, which are often low in methionine and cystine. The protein in quinoa is considered to be a complete protein due to the presence of all 8 essential amino acids. Some types of wheat come close to matching quinoa's protein content, but grains such as barley, corn, and rice generally have less than half the protein of quinoa. Quinoa is 12% to 18% protein and four ounces a day, about 1/2-cup, will provide a childs protein needs for one day. The 6-7% fat of quinoa is relatively high when compared to other grains, but it boasts a low sodium content and also provides valuable starch and fiber. Quinoa also contains albumen, a protein that is found in egg whites, blood serum, and many plant and animal tissues. The seeds are gluten-free which makes this a nutritious and flavorful alternative grain for those with gluten sensitivity. Quinoa would be a worthy addition to anyone's diet, supplying variety as well as good nutrition. The seed is also excellent feed for birds and poultry and the plant itself is good forage for cattle.
Cooked quinoa is excellent in hot casseroles and soups, stews, in stir-fries, or cold in salads. The seeds cook very quickly, in only 15 minutes. Uncooked seeds may be added to soups and stews as you would barley or rice and quinoa is often substituted for rice in rice dishes. Dry roasting quinoa in a pan or in the oven, before cooking will give a toasted flavor, and it can be cooked in fruit juice to add character to the flavor for use as a breakfast cereal or in desserts. Cold salads consisting of quinoa and chopped vegetables or cooked beans make a quick, easy, and nutritious dish. Quinoa flour is used in making pasta and a variety of baked goods such as pancakes, bread, muffins, and crackers. Quinoa seeds can be sprouted and eaten as raw, live food for snacks or in salads and sandwiches. To sprout the seeds, soak about 1/3 cup seeds in a jar for 2 to 4 hours, then drain and rinse the seeds twice a day for 2 to 4 days. When the sprouts are about 1 inch long, place them near a window for chlorophyll to develop, which will give them a vibrant green color. Another fascinating way of using quinoa is to "pop" the seeds in a dry skillet and eat them as a dry cereal.

Guilt - But This Time Good -

I yelled today at my 6 yr old yesterday in the evening.  /:(


I promptly apologized with loads of hugs & kisses but did not feel right about it.


When we talked about it @ bed time, snuggling in her bed, I called myself a poop head and said everyone can be a poop head one time or another. She responded with: "I'm a poophead too".  Then out of the blue her 4 yr old sister, who we thought was asleep says (from under the covers) "I'm a poophead too mommy" and we all start laughing belly laughs!


I really did feel bad when I yelled at her and when I say yelled I mean I YELLED and made her cry and I felt like such a SHIT afterwards so my "good mommy-ing" sometimes stems from guilt.


GUILT - I FINALLY I FOUND a good use for my guilt. It led me to help us laugh about it! YAY for us MOMS!!!!

Forgiveness

I have forgiven someone...
who backstabbed/gossiped involving me 8 years ago and what is CRAZY is I have basically just ignored her for those 8 years despite the fact we have mutual friends and end up at the same engagements.

I was walking along and seeing that beam of light shine through some clouds and feeling some serenity and  peacefulness that one feels in the presence of a power greater than themselves and WHAM I realized I am a TERRIBLE gossip and I have been working on this character defect for YEARS and who am I to hold that against her stupid ass when I do it and don't mean to.

So here you are girl I forgive you and in return I get a little forgiveness towards MYSELF too!

YAY!
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Feelings

I avoid them like the plague.


If I do allow myself to feel anything other than anger I feel relief afterwards usually then very tired.


It is scary to feel the deeper feelings BUT I have learned the feelings do not define ME.


The feelings come and then they PASS.


Today I will feel past the anger and let it go.

Ice Cream

When I don't buy it I am fine.


When I do buy it I go night after night with no desire then...


WHAM it hits me .... I NEED TO EAT THAT ICE CREAM AND A LOT OF IT.....and forget portion control I get 3 scoops, eat it to fast, feel like I didn't enjoy it, I am not full so I do 3 MORE scoops YES 6 scoops ARG.  But have you tried the ALL Natural Breyers Ice Cream called "Overload" Waffle Cone?  It has vanilla ice cream , with caramel swirl and fudge covered waffle cone pieces that crunch...need I say any more? I think not.  Ack, Blaaaaaaa....

Teacher Appreciation

What I did for my children's teachers. I find this not too time consuming or worrisome and it seems to have a good affect.  I do 2 things, the first one is easiest and definitely enough for an amazing teacher and will be appreciated the second thing is, if you have the time...

1) Make a letter to send home with each parent, hopefully you have access to the kids folders or cubbies or something, if you do not, fold your letter over and staple it and ask the teacher to hand out and tell her its a surprise and NO peeking.

My letter looks like this:

Dear parents, I am Erika, ____'s mom. I am looking to collect money for an end of year gift for our children's teacher. We all know how important our children are and how much time their teacher spends with them each day all school year and I would love to give a nice thank you. While homemade gifts are preferred and cherished by our teachers lets be realistic about how many ceramic apples, coffee mugs and pencil holders one teacher can use, times that by 20 kids for every year they teach. I was thinking a gift card specifically for our teacher to spend on her/himself would be lovely. If we all could give (you will know you area and the parents best and $3 may be appropriate maybe $5 maybe even $10) $__ each it would make a fabulous gesture. I will gather the money, purchase a gift card and buy a card for ALL the children to sign.  If you choose not to participate thats ok too! ALL children will sign the card. If you have any ideas or would like to help me please feel free to call or email me at _____________.  I have attached an empty envelope addressed to me for your convenience. Just turn the envelope in to the teacher, she doesn't know what it is for but she can make sure I get it.  Thank you for letting me be of service to the class.  Erika

So, you collect the money for as long as you see fit then go purchase a card with the $ and a gift card KEEP the receipts in case a parent wishes to see what you bought (do not be offended by this request).  Bring the card in one morning and have the kids sign it.  ***If you can, you can make a bigger card and trace the kids hands and write their names by it especially if the kids are too young to write their own name. I have gotten a piece of poster board and had the kids paint their hands and one at a time place their hand print on the board with a big THANK YOU in the middle as the card. This the teacher obviously had to know about but she had NO idea about the $100 VISA card we gave her the last day!

2) If you have time and funds you can go to Michaels or Arron Brothers and purchase a memory book.  Bring in the memory book with the teachers permission) and either trace or hand paint each child's hand on their own page on the top or bottom NOT the middle. The easiest way is to ask the kids what they liked about their teacher or class this year, either you write it if they are younger or have them write their names its so cute when a Kindergardener writes their name :).  If you want to take it further I have gone in and taken a digital photo of the face of each child, had them printed out and glued or taped them above or below the hand print.  Or you could just do the picture and something they loved about class or their teacher, mix it up.

Try this or your own version of this BUT REMEMBER THIS your child spends 4-8 hours a day, 5 days a week 180 days a year with this person ***NO GUILT *** JUST LOVE people LOVE for the people who help us raise the MOST important people in the world OUR CHILDREN!

More Please

"Portion size" is a relative term. In the United States, where portions greatly outsize European counterparts, 


the sizes of meals have grown both at home and in restaurants.  Anyone who has actually measured out a half cup of ice cream knows it looks rather meager. Eyeballing a portion size is hard—unless, of course, there's a visual guide to stop you from going overboard. Think of your stomach like carry-on luggage: when something doesn't fit in your suitcase, you think more about what to put in there, and are a little more judicious about what you really need. Sure, you might ultimately opt for your bulky faux fur jacket over the ever-practical, easily folded raincoat—but at least you thought about it.In 2003, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and CNRS in Paris attempted to explain the paradox that the French are known both for their waif-like physiques and for downing fatty bries and pastries. According to Paul Rozin, professor of psychology at Penn and lead author of a paper in the September issue of the journal Psychological Science, it's not a paradox at all—unless you consider fat content the only variable in weight gain. Despite their tendency to eat fatty food, the French often eat much smaller amounts; their serving sizes are, on average, 25 percent smaller than those in the U.S. In fact, the researchers found that "a candy bar sold in Philadelphia was 41 percent larger than the same product in Paris, a soft drink was 52 percent larger, a hot dog was 63 percent larger and a carton of yoghurt was 82 per cent larger."

Excerpt from: Take Part article by Megan Bedard titled: The Wheel of Nutrition: Keeping Portions in Check 

I recommend watching FOOD INC and Super Size me.






Proper Portions: from 
Circle of Responsibility

In the 1950s an average meal of a cheeseburger, French fries and soda pop would be about 600 calories, slightly under one third of the total calories an average person needs in one day.  If you eat that same meal today, you’re likely to consume more than 1,200 calories in one sitting - over half of your daily needs!  Why such a significant calorie difference for the same meal?  The answer: portion distortion.

Compare the difference in serving size (and calories) of some food and drinks 20 years ago versus today:

Without a doubt, larger food and drink portions significantly affect our eating habits. While common sense may tell you that you simply eat until you feel “full” regardless of how much or little you are served, in fact research studies show that when people are given more food, they tend to eat more of it, even past the point of feeling full.

Satiety (the sense of feeling “full”) is not only a result of the actual amount of food we eat but is also affected by other visual and psychological factors. For example, sometimes it’s not about how much food is on our plate but how filled the plate looks. Studies have shown that people who ate a meal that fills up a small plate reported feeling more “full” compared to those who ate the exact same meal on a large plate (it looked like less food).

Of course, satiety also depends on the food itself since some foods fill you up more than others.  Just think about how much oatmeal you can eat compared to popcorn.  In general, foods that are high in fiber (like whole grains, fresh vegetables and fruits) increase satiety.  Also, because it takes your body longer to digest and absorb protein and fat compared to refined carbohydrates (white bread, white rice), high-protein and high-fat foods keep you feeling full.     

So, what exactly are the proper portions?  How do I know what’s too much or too little?  In order to provide a frame of reference for food portions, standard serving sizes have been developed by the USDA as part of their Dietary Guidelines for Americans.  For example, one carbohydrate serving refers to one slice of bread, ½ cup of cooked rice or ½ cup of cooked pasta.  One fruit serving is one medium-size apple or banana. Proper portions of some foods are easier to visualize than others.  For example, what exactly does a three-ounce serving of meat look like?  Associating portions with common objects may help:

3 ounces = 1 deck of cards or the palm of your hand, 1 cup = 1 tennis ball, 1 ounce or 2 tablespoons = 1 golf ball.  However, it’s still hard to picture how much spinach is considered one cup.  Browse our portion gallery (from the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans) and see standard serving sizes for various foods including fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, meats, nuts and beans.

To Sleep or Not To Sleep

SO I am tired from 5pm on and would love to take a nap - this is obviously not an option now that the "baby" is 4 yrs old and refuses to nap.
So the idea in my head next would be YES go to bed when the kids go to bed at 8pm right?

Wrong.


That is the time I get to: BLOG, FB, emails, phone calls, SKYPE, do the dishes, read, sex.....

So I aim for 10ish and truly get to bed at like midnight.

Then I think "ok, I will get up early so I have time to myself". Then I can go to bed earlier.

This doesn't work either. I sneak downstairs to make some coffee and get on the computer about a half hour before I need to get the kids up and LOW and BEHOLD they get up. WTF

Or I get up early do my work and STILL end up staying up late :(

Plus, I DONT really want to get up early because I stayed up until midnight I really need the extra half hour.

Catch 22 right?


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