Happy late Thanks-giving!

An AMAZING four day weekend has just wrapped up and I am in such a great mood because of it, I can't seem to make myself go to bed!

I know I am late in doing so, but I wanted to share with you some of the many things I am thankful for.

My friends that are family~ these people make my world turn. A cup of tea and dominoes or a brisk evening stroll would not be the same without them.

My wonderfully amazing man~ Who teaches me every day what it is to love and be loved. Who brings a smile to my face by just being himself. Who lets me steal bites of things I shouldn't eat off of his plate and covers me up while I am sleeping.

Working for a great company~ It is so refreshing to work somewhere (and for someone) who values their employees, and that I don't dread entering to earn my paycheck.

The mindfulness of being aware of my health~ There are few things better than the gift of health. I am glad that I found such an amazing doctor that isn't just a drug pusher with a doctorate, that she made me aware of what my body is doing and what I need to do to take care of it.

Nablopomo.... aaakk! Maybe next year...

Ok.. the last few days have been nuts.. so.... even though I was close, I didn't quite make it my 30 days. :( sad.. I know..

So.. onto the M&M deal....
I had a great prolonged conversation after I told someone how I felt about the pumpkin patch (as mentioned in my previous post) and she couldn't stop laughing at me. (grr!) So I went on to explain "it's like M&M's" to which she said ... "HUH?!?!?"

Me: "Yea.. you know... you open the bag of M&M's and sort out their colors. I always feel bad if there is only one of one color in a bag. He had NO friends! So I put him with another odd colored M&M group. Then I eat out of the pile with the most of one color until all the piles are even. But when it comes time to eat the lonely M&M.. I will eat him with a bunch of different colors so he doesn't feel alone when he dies. Everyone else gets eaten in pairs and 3's if there is an odd number at the end."

Her:

...


...

Yea.. she wouldn't.stop.laughing.

*sigh*

Question of they day

My question of the day to you is:

How do you eat your M&M's and/or Skittles?

My answer shall be revealed tomorrow.. but I want to hear how everyone else does it :)

Anxiety

I am having some severe anxiety this week and I can't pinpoint the exact source other than to say that everywhere I turn is Chaos.

So.. my goal for tomorrow is to wake up with my man (since he is crashing down here to go see Twilight with me... talk about taking one for the team! I knew I loved him!) and after he heads home... clean my room... sip ungodly amounts of green tea, lock myself into my calm room with wonderful green walls and blast the most calming music you can imagine.
Lit Candles.
The new edition of Yoga Journal
Some books I've been meaning to get to
More Green tea
and my yoga mat

I will only come out when I am back to loving the world and my heartbeat returns to a regular pace (or until I have to pee! I am thinking that will happen first) Either way... I need a minute to breathe.

By the way.. things are looking better for my friend's father-in-law. Not out of the woods yet but hope is growing...

in 24 hours....

I am going to see the Twilight movie!!!!
Yes! Me.. Miracle!
The one who makes fun of the millions in Utah who stand in line for Harry Potter tickets three days before they go on sale.....
The one who didn't see Titanic until it has been out for well over a month, when there were actually empty seats in the theaters.....
The person who rolls their eyes and the people who come in with bags under their eyes because they stayed up waiting for a book release....

I am part of the Twilight fever, and you are JEALOUS... oh yes you are... :)

Back on the bandwagon

About 4 months ago my doctor revealed some disturbing news.
All my blood tests (A1C, Insulin, Blood pressure, Cholesterol, Triglycerides etc..) are out of control.

Considering my father had a heart attack when he was 32.. this pretty much scared the CRAPOLA out of me! She said that at the rate I was going I was set to have a heart attack within the next five years or so.

So... she instructed me to
- Cut out all refined carbs.
- No Dairy
- Lots of veggies
- Lots of lean meat
- No Alcohol
- Only whole grains like Quinoa, brown rice, etc.
- Increase my protein especially with the help of protein shakes like Jarrow Brand (none of that artificial sweeteners, dyes, etc in it)

She put me on
Blood Sugar support
D-Pinitol (the most amazing stuff EVER if you have PCOS and worth the price tag.. trust me)
Magnesium
Multivitamin
Vitamin D
And .. fish oil.

In the first month and 1/2 I went from 208 to 181.6 and then I lost my job so I got stuck because I fell off the wagon. I went in and had follow up blood work done and things are much better. So better, in fact, that the doc asked me to write a testimonial for her about both their services as well as taking D-Pinitol. I am finally back on the correct eating bandwagon again...
And I am down to 175 or so since Saturday. (YAY!)

I am a firm believer in getting off all that crap the regular docs put you on like prescription meds, birth control pills, and all that other crap. Find a doctor that listens and gets to the root of the problem. It is worth its weight in gold. :)

So.. now you know I am a total wack job that doesn't believe in conventional medicine unless my arm is falling off or someone took a hack saw to my stomach or something... LOL!
(There is a time and place for everything, but prescriptions are way WAY over used in this day in age)

Ok all.. now ya know!

My long day

I have lots to say but my head hurts so bad right now that I think it will have to wait for tomorrow. Except for one thing..

My best friend/sister/wonderwoman all wrapped into one and her kind hearted alway meaning well husband need all the prayers/ happy thoughts/ well wishes they can get. Kind hearted husband's dad had a heart attack today. It doesn't look good and everyone is at the hospital. They are currently running a CAT scan to see what kind of brain activity is left. They have been at the hosptial since this morning and I have been at home with their little 1 1/2 year old all afternoon and evening. Any happy thoughts you could send their way would be such a blessing.

More to come soon.. but now that I finally got my niece to go to sleep, I am going to pass out until they get home. ((HUGS AND LOVE TO ALL)))

Things I would like to do this holiday season

In an effort to make the holidays more enjoyable for me... I am compiling a list of things I want to do to maximize the smiles, minimize the tears.

~ Go Ice Skating (Ideally I would love to go to my hometown which is about 5 hours away and ice skate in the middle of the night with big fluffy snowflakes on the public rink with no one around and a big thermos of hot cocoa. But I can settle for a public skate at an indoor rink for a couple of hours)

~Go Sledding

~Actually send my Christmas cards this year

~ Have all my Christmas shopping done by Dec 5th.

~ Keep my room smelling like Apple-Cinnamon :)

~ Take Trax down to Temple Square, bundle up and see all the lights at Temple Square

~ Watch the following movies with great Christmas scenes: Miracle on 34th, Little Women, The Holiday, You've Got Mail

~ Completely avoid all movies that involve leg lamps and bunny suits. (Am I the only one that can't stand that movie?)



What is on your list of things to do to enjoy the holidays? What makes you smile?

My recipe adventure of the day...

Happy Sunday All!
In an effort to improve myself... I have taken a new interest in cooking. So I have been trying one new recipe a week (usually revolving around veggies)

Tonight I took the base of a recipe and improvised so much that it turned into another recipe and it turned out AMAZING.

So I will attempt to share with you the recipe.. Miracle-style!

Roasted butternut squash and carrot soup
2 Butternut squash
2 TBSP canola oil ( plus a bit extra for coating the skin of the squash)
1 Medium yellow onion, diced
1 big-ass carrot, diced (or 3-4 regular sized ones)
grated zest of about 3/4 a lemon
1TBSP white wine
3 Cups water
1/2 C vanilla soy milk
1/2 C unsweetened soy milk
sea salt & pepper
Fresh garlic & garlic powder
crushed bay leaf


Half and seed butternut squash. Place them face down in the baking dish and brush with canola oil, sprinkle in a bit of sea salt. Fill the cooking pan with about 1/8 inch of water. Cover loosely with foil. Bake for 45 min at 375 degrees. When it is done.. let it cool or stick it in the freezer for about an hour.

While that is baking...
Dice your onion. put that with 2TBSP canola oil in a soup pan. When the onion starts sizzling, add pinch of salt and saute for about 2 minutes. Dice your carrots and add those in after about two mintues of the onions sauteing. Add lemon zest and white wine. Add a few cloves of fresh garlic and/or garlic powder, approx 1 tsp of bay leaves and let that continue to saute for about 2-3 mintues more.

Scoop squash out of the skins and add the squash into the pot with everything else that is already in there. Add water and soy milk. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook soup on low until carrots are very soft (about half an hour)

Transfer soup, by ladle fulls, to a blender and puree until smooth. Thin soup with water and/ or soy milk until it is the desired consistency. Return all to the pot and place on low heat. When soup is all warmed up, taste test. Add salt and pepper to taste and maybe even a little more garlic...

Enjoy!

Just in time for Holiday Shopping!

I have some fabulous shopping resources for you! (Can you tell I am working on my holiday shopping?!)

Sam Moon Trading

Silver Jewelry Club (their stuff is real and you can't beat the prices! No catch!)

And for those of you watching your budget this year.... check out THIS FORUM

Check em out and let me know what you think!!

Future perverts of America..

I was in one of my favorite shopping spots after work today.

I am unwinding from this long week and picking up many many clothes to try on. I have to try EVERYTHING on because 1 in 10 things might look good on me, and then out of those 1 in 10 there may be 1 in 3 of those that I actually buy because its comfortable and what I am looking for. So... shopping is a process for me. I am ok with that though. I would rather buy something I absolutely love that 10 things that are "OK" in the name of buying more clothes to wear.

I hang everything in the dressing room and slowly start trying things on. The "door" to the dressing stall is really just a curtain that slides back and forth.. like a shower curtain. About three shirts into this clothes extravaganza I pull one off and start putting it on the hanger when the curtain moves and a little boy pokes his head in. I first saw his reflection in the mirror. As fast as he move the curtain, he was gone again. It made me jump, but I figured he was looking for him mother, thought she was in the stall I was in, and as soon as he realized.. he moved on. So I shrug it off, tug the curtain as closed as I could get it (so there wasn't that little 1/2 inch gap.. or so I tried)... and keep trying on clothes.

Then I hear about four or five kids running around. You can tell they are chasing one another around and doing all the stuff kids do liking hiding in the clothes rounders, yelling across the stores, etc. I strongly consider beating them within an inch of their life am starting to get agitated just a bit.

I continue trying on clothes and I see a pair of eyes in the mirror. I am standing there in my freakin' bra and underwear and this boy is watching me dress through the little 1/2 inch of daylight at the edge of the curtain. As soon as I see him, he runs. Now I am getting riled.

It takes alot to get me upset.
Especially to the point of saying anything.
I do not normally have a short or even a medium fuse.
I take a deep breath and still chalk it up to "kids being kids"

Until...
This male spawn of satan dear, sweet, innocent child opens the curtain and STARES at me. I turned around, grabbed a dress off the hanger, threw it over my head and started out of the dressing room loudly demanding "WHO DOES THIS CHILD BELONG TO" (I am still a bit shocked that I even did that much)

Nothing.

"EXCUSE ME BUT WHOSE CHILD IS THIS!??!" (Louder)

A lady at the other end of the store said "oh. He's mine"
Me: "He has been watching me in the dressing room and flipping the curtain open!"

The mom says to the boy in a very non-chalant voice "come here and stay by me"
No apologies, no nothing.

I am finally at the last round of trying things on and hear her come into the dressing room and tell her children to "be good" and stay near her curtain. Not even five seconds later... same pair of eyes ... looking into the mirror at me. I threw my clothes on and left. PISSED.

Now... I am not a mom. I don't have kids. And I can imagine how hard it is to keep them in check in a store and all.... I know that kids do not always behave and that sometimes you have errands to run and clothes to buy and life to live. I get it.

However, if you can't not teach your child to respect other people, if you cannot explain crucial learning points to your child, if your child can not behave in public... DO NOT BRING THEM WITH YOU. There are some things that are just not acceptable and facilitating your child into become a future stalker, pervert, or voyeur of America is on that list.

/soapbox.

TGI(A)F!

Thank Goodness its Almost Friday! I am ready for my weekend.

Anyone else?

*cheers*

Man Tag

Here is my Man Tag from the wonderful Chelbear... you can find her at www.lovelivesinhappyhearts.blogspot.com Stop by and give this wonderful mommy blogger some love!!
(OK.. I had to modify it a bit cause I am not married)

What is your husbands (Boyfriend's) name? Brice
How long have you been married(dating)? this time.. about a year now.
How long did you date? The first time for about a month. This time for about a year.
How old is he? 33
Who eats more sweets? Him. But I always steal bites of his ice cream
Who is taller? Brice
Who said "I love you" first? Me
Who can sing the best?I don't think either one of us would win awards for our vocal talent.
Who is smarter? Brice by far. He understands human nature better than anyone I know!
Who pays the bills? Since we are dating.. we both pay our own bills :)
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Brice in his bed.
Who mows the lawn? Luckily we both rent, so neither.
Who cooks dinner? Me. Brice is a bachelor through and through. But he did cook hamburgers a couple of weeks ago!
Who drives? Depends on where we are going. Lately it has been me.
Who kissed who first? I think it was pretty mutual. If I remember correctly I think I made a joke about kissing and we both went from there...
Who asked who out first? Brice asked me out first.. it just took him a bit to work up the courage. After meeting him and then running into him in a very random fashion.. he finally got enough courage to find out my number so he could call and ask me out.
Who wears the pants? LOL... I think we take turns in that one. We are both pretty headstrong and stubborn.

I tag Everybody that reads my blog! I would love to hear your Man Tags!

Poor Little Pumpkins...

Just down the street from my house there is a large pumpkin patch. A real honest-to-goodness pumpkin patch. It is on about an acre of land and when it is in full swing there is a little booth towards the front of the land parcel that handles money transactions, sell things like bags of onions and other in season fruits and veggies. Just behind the tables there are wagons lined up for mom and dad to take their children through the pumpkin patch to pick out their "perfect" pumpkin. Close to Halloween you would seen tons of people walking through and buying their pumpkins. Little children, and those that are big kids at heart were wondering though all day long.

I drove by the patch today and I got really depressed. The booth is gone, Halloween is over, we have seen snow and all these poor little homeless pumpkins are still ALL OVER the field. I felt horrible. All of these pumpkins wanted to be someone's pumpkin and to celebrate the holidays with a family and here they all are.. rotting in the field. Like kittens left in a shelter.

Logically, I know it isn't a big deal. Logically I know that the seeds will end up growing again next year for another pumpkin patch. Logically, I know that they are just pumpkins and they don't have feelings.

But I couldn't help the feeling that I wanted to somehow scoop them all up and bring them home and stack them in my yard, my porch, my living room, my kitchen, so they all felt loved and to take away the less-than-perfect not-good-enough feeling those poor little pumpkins have. I am still a bit sad even thinking about it now.

Yea.. I am a strange one... I know.... but I can't stop thinking about those poor, cold, lonely pumpkins.

Holiday Meme!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

I do a bit of both but I prefer to wrap em up in paper!

2. Real tree or Artificial?

Real, but that isn't always practical so I usually go with artificial.

3. When do you put up the tree?

no sooner than after Thanksgiving

4. When do you take the tree down?

No later than a day or two after Christmas

5. Do you like eggnog?

Yes, but I can make myself sick from drinking it so I usually mix it with milk.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

I don't remember most of the things I got for Christmas growing up.

7. Hardest person to buy for?

I am actually pretty lucky this year... I know what I would like to get for everyone.

8. Easiest person to buy for?

My best friend

9. Do you have a nativity scene?

No. I used to .. but not anymore.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?

Mail when I actually succeed in sending them out

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

crap load of stuffed animals from my parents when I was a senior in HS getting ready for College...

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?

Miracle on 34th Street

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

just depends. This year I will probably start at the beginning of December.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

Nope. My old roomie did this and it drives me NUTS

15.Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

Almond Toffee and My best friend's lace cookies

16. Lights on the tree?

yes ( I didn't know that people didn't put lights on their trees?!?!)

17. Favorite Christmas song?

Oh Holy Night

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home?

I will probably stay home this year.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's?

Dasher, Dancer, Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Vixen, Prancer, and RUDOLF! :)

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?

I like the star the most but always end up putting the Angel on...

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?

Missing traditions from growing up...

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?

Do not really have one. The blue and white and silver looks cool though.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?

Turkey, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, etc

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?

For everyone around me to have a great Holiday

Go Into Umipal

My longest time friend wrote this for me.. Interesting. It took me a while to figure out the connection and how I knew it was for me. I'll give you super brownie points if you figure it out cause it took me a while.


By Logan Dziedzic

Go Into Umipal

Just another fantasy that
everyone doesn't want.
Nothing isn't nice,
neither is everything.
If you had one wish
for the rest of your existence,
everything was yours. . .
Revenge would find you.
Revenge that eats at you.
I can not help that.
Change is unavoidable,
holding on like a child
avoiding to leave.
Right or wrong
deception is there
salivating everywhere.
Open your eyes and glimpse. . .
Nothing is everything.

Everything....

This just reminds me of so many things to trust in when it comes to my life. If you believe in "God" or if you believe in yourself.... It is touching.

aak!

I missed a blog :( I had no internet access yesterday.

So I will post an extra one today.


I had such a wonderful weekend. I will have to admit to you all... I take pleasure in racing video games :) Especially when I play them with my boyfriend.

The thing I love is that I can do pretty much absolutely nothing with him and still have a blast. I am so so blessed. I also got to sleep in and just.. be. It was just sinfully wonderful! You should try it sometime!

Ok.. that is about it for the moment. I have to contemplate on another blog to post :) Cheers!

Happy Friday!

Well now my arm is nice and colorful (black and blue.. pretty!)
But at least it doesn't hurt so much today. :)

Has anyone see the new sweetener Truvia? It looks like a combo of stevia and sugar alcohol. I tried it. I think I like straight Sweet Leaf Stevia better... but it isn't half bad. And at least it is not artificial sweetener. It looks as though it is being distributed by the CocaCola company and is used overseas in some of the diet drinks like diet coke. I commend them for the effort. Now, if they could only make it organically. But this IS a step in the right direciton. I took myself off of artificial sweetener just about a year ago and you would be shocked at what it can do for your mental clarity. The alternative natural sweeteners you can find are just awesome! Artificial sweeteners are just not good for you for so many reasons. Studies show that in some studies it causes cancer in rats. Why on Earth would you want to put that in your body? So.. instead of using splenda (which is chlorinated sugar ew!) or equal or any other aspertame type stuff... try one of these!

Xylitol- not my fave, but not bad.

Stevia- love this in my tea, I prefer the powdered instead of the liquid :)

Agave Nectar From my understanding Agave is also what tequilla is made from. No wonder I like it :) I also like this in my tea in small doses.

My challenge to you is to trade out little things for these great sweeteners and see if you feel a difference, I think you will :) Let me know what ya think!

NaBloPoMo

You all may have noticed my increase in posts lately. This is for two reasons.
1. I can do this now that I have a laptop again :)
2. This month I have joined the ranks of NaBloPoMo (30 blogs in 30 days) so you will see a blog everyday this month. I am already worried that I will run out of things to blog about. hehe.

Tonight is one such night. So instead of blogging about how the doctor missed my vein 3 times (3 FREAKIN' TIMES! That means 4 POKES!!! GRRRR!!!) and left me to look like heroin is my new favorite thing... you get to hear about NaBloPoMo. If you have a blog, go sign up. It is great fun! :)

A Couple of Random Subjects

I don't really have one specific thing to blog about, so I shall just ramble a bit today.

Today was the first official snow of the season.. and MAN! It already feels like Christmas! I can't complain because business has been so slow and this will help things right along. However the hour and 1/2 long commute (that normally takes about 20 minutes) was a bit much for me this morning. Especially after I had sucked down four cups a green tea before I walked out the door and two more when I was in the car. All those people on I-15 who was curious as to what I was doing in the car?? yea... that was the Miracle-inthecar-pottydance! Hope you enjoyed! Luckily, I hear it is supposed to be in the 50's by the end of the week. I am A-OK with that.

However all this snow really did remind me of Christmas and I am no closer to having my Christmas shopping done than I was the day after Christmas of 2007. Can anyone recommend some good, inexpensive, and nifty online stores so that I don't have to deal with all the "fun" people out in the stores of whom I would like to run over with a cart, repeatedly that are just as stressed as I am with lack of funds and too many people in an enclosed area? If I can't figure something clever out, everyone may end up with ITunes giftcards :)

And in other news.. it is time to get my bum to a yoga class... my body is screaming for it!

Blogger?

Instead of talking about voting, the election, Obama and McCain, the economy, or any other topic that people have talked about EVERYWHERE I went today.... I will choose to blog about something else. It isn't that I don't think that it is important, I am just tired of talking about it (and yes... for the record I voted! :) )

So....
I am driving down the freeway today and see a vanity plate on a car that said "Blogger" the whole time I was behind this person I wondered what their blog was.

Dear Mr. Blogger vanity plate person:
If you are going to advertise you are a blogger on your car, you should reference how I can read your blog like the blog-whore I am! Otherwise, I will spend way way too much time driving down the freeway contemplating if I should follow you to your destination to ask.
Best Wishes
-Miracle. Aka.. the gal who really needs to get a life!

New things

I did it! I finally cooked my kale and LOVED it! Just a bit of canola oil, garlic and onions.... Sautee it and serve it up. I liked it much more than I thought I would!
I think I am going to work on trying to add one new healthy recipe in per week. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear it. I am especially interested in ones that use those weird veggies that I always walk by cause I didn't grow up with them in my dishes and I have no idea how to cook them. So.. onto a discovery journey for new foods :) What adventures are everyone else up to?

Star Light, Star Bright, First Star I See Tonight

Friday night I made a jaunt to Idaho (I am still here and returning later today) and most of my drive was completed in the dark. I saw quite a few falling stars in the sky and made a wish on all of them.
Do you know what I wished for?

I wished to save my wish. I have done that for as long as I remember. I have saved up so many wishes that I think subconsciously I am hoping that once I know of something I desperately want in life, that if I make it clear to the world and God, that I can use all my saved up wishes and get it!

I don't even know how and where I came up with this idea at such a young age. But I hope it works. Maybe over my lifetime I will acquire enough to wish for world peace on my death bed! Or maybe I should just cash in now and wish for something more attainable... how about a pedicure? hehe...

What do you wish for on falling stars?

I never ever knew you could do this!!!

Mountain Dew Glow Sticks!!

Like the nerd I am, I am SOOO trying this when I get home! :)