Wishing and Hoping and Thinking and Praying

I really am not a high maintenance girl *giggle*...
Since my 31st birthday is coming up on the 22nd and for some reason I am having a hard time with this one.
My boyfriend thinks my bday wish list is pretty extreme.lol
The first thing on my list is a nice beautiful.... RING!
Not necessarily an "engagement ring", but that would be nice *wink* (Im just sayin)
I have one all picked out in my head.lol

Next would be a White 2009 Chevy Tahoe!

Ready to trade in the Jeep and Suburban for this pretty sweet ride.

I am on a mission to make sure we get this SUV or one just like it.

My one final wish to add to my list is a new camera...

Imagine all the pic's I would be taking? Watch out paparazzi.lol

I tell T my bday wish list.... He kinda freaked out about and asked "why are you wanting pricey stuff for your birthday?"
My answer was... um cause deserve a pricey gift :)

What do you think am I asking to much? The Tahoe is the most needed at this moment and I would be making all the payments, I just need help from my BF of over four years.
Truth is I want them all *giggle* Hey I can dream can't I?

Cookin with Zie~Pork Stew~

Zie chopping carrots her favorite, I think she ate a whole carrots as "I" cut the bite size pieces.

Zie loves to be in the kitchen. Makes me smile with my heart.

She took this onion on like a champ, and I think having glasses helped protect her eyes.lol

Yum pork stew *See recipe link below*

She had a story to tell about celery, peanut butter and raisins. ANTS on a LOG! I remember having those when I was her age.

Making biscuits... and Zie insists on doing it all on her own.

Pouring the milk...

And kneading the dough... She is a pro!

Rolling out the dough... I am so blessed to have a side kick in the kitchen.

Cutting each biscuit out perfectly.

Wallah... Zie's first home cooked Stew and Biscuits.

Of course left overs are packed up for T's meal to go.

Here is the recipe I kinda sorta followed beef/pork stew. One thing about me as I cook and teach Zie as well, is that we just do our own thing as we go along and use the recipe as a reference (prep times).  I pretty much "followed" this link here and used cubed pork instead of beef.

School Dayz

Its the beginning of another school year... So far the kids have started the year off great! Ryder is now in the 4th grade. He hasn't said much about his teacher, but we know she means business.lol

I have to remind him that 4th grade is no joke, and there is much more expected this year. He seems to be fine with having more challenges.

My boy on his first day of 4th grade. 9/7/11

On his first day of school (9/7/11) he insisted on wearing ALL his new Vans gear... He had the sweatshirt, t-shirt, shorts, belt, socks and of course the kicks. My son is a huge fan of the brand and prefers to only sport the Vans shoes. I love how kids start having their own individual styles and preferences....

Got my Vans on but they look like sneakers! And ready to take on the world.

The weekend before school started I finally took my boy to get his hair cut at a real barber shop... When it was his turn in the chair I stayed back and let him tell his barber exactly how he wanted his hair cut. He was such a lil man about it too. I gave him 5 bucks to tip, and he took such pride in doing so.

Mazie waiting for the bus on her first day of school. 9/12/11

My cute awesome daughter started ALL day Kindergarten on September 12th. It was a very exciting day! Mazie insisted on riding the bus... I noticed every time my daughter does something new and different she acts as though she has done it millions of times before. She is my lil risk taker for sure.lol

Super excited for All day Kindergarten!

Mazie has her own sense of style too... She calls it AWESOME! It totally fits her personality too... Her first day attire was a monster high t-shirt, to match her monster high back pack and of course she has to have the kicks and socks like her big bro... Yep, she is a fan of Vans as well...
Over the summer I noticed how much she wants to have a say in her wardrobe... She has begun not to like any of the cute clothes I pick out for her... That is a whole other blog right there, so I will get more into that another day. *wink*

Momma waiting at the bus stop with her baby big kindergartner.

I did pretty good considering my baby was starting Kindergarten. I must confess I did cry at home that morning before I left my house to go pick the kids up from their dad's. I am glad I got it all out prior, because while I said good bye and watched my brave baby get on the big school bus (like she owned it) I just had a huge smile on my face and my heart. The girl didn't even look out the window and wave to me and Gramma... Just goes to show how independent my girl is...

*I am a proud mother of a 4th grader and Kindergartner*

Happy 1st day of Autumn!!!

Four Eyes...

A month ago I took my kiddos in to have their Well Child Checks at their pediatrician. Its a yearly thing we get to do every August. At this visit Mazie didn't do so well on the eye chart test. You know the one where they just have shapes for a 5yr old to read off to the nurse. Yup! My daughter was squinting one of her eyes (right) to read the chart. Mazie was then referred to a ophthalmologist who specializes in wee ones.

Still super cute.... I mean AWESOME!

Mazie and I went to see Dr. Rice (awesome lady). Mazie had a real eye exam and was diagnosed with Amblyopia...Meaning-UNEQUAL FOCUS/REFRACTION ERROR: Retractive errors are eye conditions that are corrected by wearing glasses. Amblyopia occurs when one eye is out of focus because it is more nearsighted, farsighted, or astigmatic than the other.

Showing off her muscles.

In Mazie's case her Left eye is way more farsighted then her Right. Dr. Rice says she will need to wear glasses at all times to hopefully correct the Right eye in due time. Mazie's first response was... I want Iron Man glasses! What a shocker.lol Dr. Rice already saw my daughter's kick ass personality and said she didn't have to wear the glasses when she was being "rambunctious".
That weekend I took Mazie for her very first glasses fitting/shopping. She picked out these AWESOME frames... Around here we don't use the word "cute". I think they fit her personality perfect. It took a few days for her to get use to wearing them. The first day she had them I caught her chewing on the ear part thingy's and touching the lenses so much she kept telling me "mommy its foggy". Typical Mazie.lol She did pick out a 2nd pair and they should be here in a few weeks. With a busy five year old like mine you need a back up pair. :)

Glasses or no glasses she still has her SWAG!

Here she is my glasses wearing awesome girl... She got her glasses a week before she started kindergarten. Perfect!

8th Annual Bed Race Rally-2011

The themes were groovy, the costumes were slick, and the music was electrifying!


This year's Bed Race Rally was a nail-biter. Good Samaritan, roared their way to victory and took home the Golden Bed Pan Trophy. Dressed as the Lion King, they proved themselves as the fastest team with lion-like speed and determination.

 Mary Bridge, clicked their ruby-red slippers as theWizard of Oz and took home second place. While last year's champtions, MMA, dressed as the Book of Mormon, came in third place.

 Each team raced their Broadway-themed gurney with one main character riding on board through three different obstacles: The crowd favorite Hula Hoop challenge, the MultiCare Values Puzzle and the extreme Bean Bag Toss.


The following teams also took home prizes for:

                                           Best Costume Design - Gig Harbor as Spider Man

That's me doing my spidey pose in the front.

                                         
                                           Best Performance - Fawcett as Hairspray

 Best Broadway Pizzaz - Good Samaritan Physical Medicine/Rehab as Rocky Horror Picture Show

                                            Best Gurney Decorations - Allenmore as Grease

 All of our teams deserve a round of applause for providing Tony Award winning entertainment:

                                           Environmental Services as Saturday Night Fever

                                          
                                            Good Samaritan Cardiac Care as Cats

                                             Information Services as Little Shop of Horrors

                                               Materials Management as Mary Poppins

                                             MHS Leadership as the Phantom of the Opera

                                                         South King County as Annie

I am so glad I got to be apart of the rally. We cannot wait to find out what next year's theme will be. By the way our team made it to the smei-finals and we took 4th place. Not bad for the only ALL female team. GIRLS ROCK!

Its time to give Plan B a whirl...

Oh yeah about the detox "lemonade" Diet (Master Cleanse) I lasted a day (24hrs). Yup! I have come to the conclusion that I have MUST have food in my life. Why did I ever think drinking a nothing but  fresh squeezed lemon juice, Organic maple syrup and cayenne pepper... I couldn't stand the taste of it! Have you ever drank cayenne pepper mixed with sweet lemonade? Try it and then get back to me on that one... To think that my master plan was to consume nothing but that for 10 days straight?
Fact of the matter is I FAILED that one big time.
Today my co-worker gave me another detox diet that sounds more like my style... Cause there is actual FOOD involved.
Plan B: The CABBAGE SOUP detox "diet"
So many things I already like about it and I haven't even started... So I figured I would share the recipe and my experience in making it all happen this evening.

CABBAGE SOUP RECIPE goes a little something like this-
 Shopping list:
*6 large green onions
*2 green peppers
*1 or 2 cans/jars of tomatoes (diced or whole)
*3 carrots
*1 container (10oz. or so) mushrooms 
*1 bunch of celery
*half a head of cabbage
*1 package spice only soup mix (liptons is a good choice)
*Season to taste with pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc. (Little to NO SALT)


Directions:
Slice green onions, put in a HUGE pot on medium heat and start to saute' with cooking  spray. Do this until the onions are whiter/clearer in color (about 4-6 minutes).

Saute' green onions... Yum!

Cut the green pepper into bite size pieces.

Green Bell Peppers fresh from my local Albertsons.lol

and add to pot.

Saute' onions and peppers.

 As you can see I used a whole cabbage... I heart cabbage, so I wanted extra in my soup.

I used a whole cabbage fresh from the produce at Albertsons too.

Take the outer leafs layers off the cabbage, cut into bite size pieces, add to pot.

Cabbage added... Yum!

Clean carrots (duh), mushrooms, and celery, cut into bite size pieces and toss them in.  Add tomatoes now, too.

Added carrots,mushrooms, celery and canned tomatoes.

If you would like a spicy soup, add a small amount of curry or cayenne pepper now. *I like a lil spice in my food life so I totally added the cayenne pepper*

Add the package spice only soup mix (liptons)

Use about 12 cups of water, cover and put heat on low. Let soup simmer for a long time- about 2 hours or until veggies are tender.

Cabbage soup smelling wonderful as it simmers.

I put the soup in containers so I can just grab and go in the mornings... This will be what I plan to eat for the next 7 days.

My lunch/dinner for the next 7 days.

I am way more excited and ready for this detox diet then the other one I attempted. I am still drinking the lemonade (minus the cayenne pepper) and drinking my "special" tea. Plan to drink these between eating the soups.

My beverages for the my everyday life.

Wish me luck ya'll, but I am thinking this is thee one I will stick with and I am excited to see the results.

Click here for more details on the cabbage-soup-diet

Starting over=New begininnings

I feel like I haven't blogged in a while... wait I haven't! I went one whole week with out blogging and I have numerous excuses why. Last week a lot of changes in my life happened... T started working the night shift last Monday, so I had tons of alone time since my kiddo's were with their dad for the week.   I have kept myself busy packing up the house and preparing to move. I also finally had sometime to catch up with a few friends.
This week won't be as lonely since I have my babes with me... Now I have little helpers to get the downstairs room cleaned and packed up and get stuff ready for a garage sale. I don't plan to take the junk awesome stuff that I can and have been living with out the past few years.
To top it off soccer started for Ryder two weeks ago, he has practices every Monday and Wednesday evenings. Mazie is playing soccer too, she hasn't started yet and I am a bit nervous to see what her practice schedule is. I am praying its on the opposite day as Ryder's or at least the same field on the same day. *Fingers crossed*

Okay enough rambling about some of the "changes" in my life. Lets get to what this post is really about...
A few months back I mentioned in a few posts that I was going to be doing the P90Z program. Welp I tried and I failed! I hate the way failure feels and I really wanted to stick with the 90day plan, but it became to time consuming and didn't work well with my schedule at the time.

The past 6 months I have been having some health issues (I had mentioned some in past posts), but one I wasn't bringing up was my tummy issues. I noticed back in June that I was getting a belly... Not just a little one either, I look as if I am 4 months pregnant. I even started to question how well my Merna (IUD) was working. After every meal my belly would get big and I would feel major discomfort. No matter what I ate or how much I cut back on eating I just can't get the nice tummy I use to have back in my 20's. Is it my age? Is it my metabolism? Either way my healthy way of life took a turn for the worse in the last 3 years. I am ready and willing to fight back and get healthy again.... So I discovered I should try a detox diet. I think if I detox all the crud I have been putting in my body I could just start all over again, eating better, feeling better and working out more often. Getting rid of all the bad toxins in my almost 31 year body sounds like a great plan to boost my health. I found one called the "lemonade Diet" or the "Master Cleanse".  Its basically a detox diet where you drink nothing but this special lemonade drink everyday for 10 days strait. Today was my first day giving it a go...
All day at work I was completely fine drinking my liquid "food". It was when I got off work and had to feed my children.... real food, yummy good smelling food. My mouth was literally watering as I watched my 5 year old devour her huge slice of pizza... It was complete torture...One day down and 9 more to go.
Do I even have the will power to go on with this? Is it going to be well worth it in the end? Will I break down and have some real food? Ugh! The self discipline I use to rock at when it came to my health has dwindled away and I am trying my best to get it back. I am ready to feel healthy again and start over by eating and cooking all the wright foods that will help me and my family all around.
Here goes nothing people... The only thing I ask from you dear  friends and family is a little support.
I can do this and its going to be well worth part of my "new beginning".
Wish me luck!
Btw... I am trying to avoid all food blogs until I can get my discipline back in action. Unless they are super healthy ones. ;)
To be continued....

PS. Getting old is hard work... I embraced 30, but as 31 is approaching real soon I am taking it hard.

1st Bed Race Rally!

This year I was asked to join the Gig Harbor Multicare Bed Race team. I was honored to except, and happy to help win the Golden Bed Pan and make my fellow co-workers proud. Plus its always fun to dress-up, play a character, run and WIN.

Get ready to wave your rally fan and cheer for your favorite team at MultiCare’s eighth annual Bed Race Rally on Friday, Aug. 12, at MMC’s 5th Street Garage, lower level.

On the morning of the Bed Race, click the link below. The Bed Race will be streaming live from the 5th Street Parking Garage. Watch the Bed Race Live

Schedule of Events
11:30am – Raffle ticket sales begin
Noon – Parade of Gurneys
12:15pm – Race begins
1pm Awards Ceremony

The Bed Race Rally teams have released their Broadway themes and are now in full-on training mode for this week’s big race. This year’s teams include:

*Allenmore as Grease


*Environmental Services as Saturday Night Fever


*Fawcett as Hairspray


**Gig Harbor as Spiderman (my team)


*Good Samaritan as Lion King


*Good Samaritan Cardiac Care as Cats


*Good Samaritan Physical Medicine and Rehab as Rocky Horror Picture Show


*Information Services as Little Shop of Horrors


*Mary Bridge as Wizard of Oz


*Materials Management as Mary Poppins


*MHS Leadership as the Phantom of the Opera


*South King County as Annie


*MMA as the Book of Mormon


*Tacoma General as West Side Story


“Gig Harbor is ready for these bed races,” said Dorothy Cozakos, Gig Harbor (Spiderman) team captain. “We are wrapping that bedpan trophy up in our web and bringing it back across the bridge, so watch out!”

“It will be a jolly holiday when Materials Management takes the prize home,” said Alex Walters, Materials Management (Mary Poppins) team member. “They’re going to need a spoon full of sugar to make their loss go down.”

Each team will race their Broadway-themed hospital gurney with one main character riding on board through three different obstacles: The crowd favorite Hula Hoop challenge, the extreme Bean Bag Toss, and a secret event that will be revealed to the teams on race day.

Supporters can purchase raffle tickets for their favorite team for $5 each. The winning team’s raffle tickets will be drawn for a prize – two tickets to any show in the 2011-2012 season at the Broadway Center for Performing Arts in Tacoma. All the proceeds will go towards the MultiCare Gives fund.



***Hope ya'll can tune in and watch the race and see all the costume and just how much fun it is to work for Multicare.***

Africa....

My baby brother Greg set off last Sunday (7/24/11) on a trip of a lifetime to Accra, Ghana Africa. He is with a group from his school (University of Washington). I plan to write more in the near future, but I just had to share some pictures and just say a little about how much this man means to me.

My brother and his group of UW peeps at the beach~Ghana, Africa

 My brother just celebrated his 22nd birthday on Monday (8/1). I can't even begin to describe how proud I am of him. The bond we share as siblings and friends is one of the best relationships I have ever had with anyone. We are so much a like in so many ways and yes we look very much a like too. So I am sure just by looking at the pictures you can tell which one is my brother... Hint I am tall girl so its a given my bro is the tall boy. *wink*


Gregory in Ghana, Africa~8/2011

  He is spending a month in Africa and will be back to Washington the end of this month. I did get a chance to spend time with him before he left on his big journey... Him, Mazie and I went out for dinner and had a great time.

 I am so glad my brother is living his life to the fullest.... Not only does he get to travel and go on exciting adventures, (this time last year he was in Argentina for a month) but he is also going into his senior year at UW and is going for his MBA. He is a smarty pants!lol

My handsome bro living the good life in Africa

Happy 22nd belated birthday to my brother... Its so exciting to see you fulfill your dreams!

More pictures and interviews from the traveler to come! stay tuned my people....