The Cheesy Cheese Cake and The Real McCoys

"I will have a cheesecake" I declared emphatically as I got into the Suburban. My husband looked at me skeptically. "Have you gotten me anything for my birthday yet?" I reminded him menacingly. "Not yet" he replied in defeat as we drove over the the grocery store. I had just gotten off working my last and gizillionth shift for the stretch and it would be our last time in town before our big trip out east. We would be driving all day on my birthday and I was determined that I would be having cheesecake for my birthday cake this year.
When we got to the store, I knew already that getting myself a cheesecake for my birthday was a big mistake. The freezer section cheese cakes looked expensive and freezer burnt. We were trying to save all our money for the trip and buying a prepared cheesecake suddenly seemed like a waste of calories and money. I couldn't bring myself to buy the $10 one, already feeling the burden of guilt. Eventually, I settled on a $6 Sarah Lee job. The cheesecake already seemed eerie lurking in that cardboard box, but I willed myself over to the check out line anyway.
The night of the "party", I took the cheesy old cheesecake out of the box. It didn't feel very festive. It was still a little bit frozen on top and appeared lopsided, kind of like it was leering at me or maybe scowling. When I took my first bite, I was quite disappointed. It didn't even taste like a cheesecake. I suppose it's as much of a cheese cake as you can get for $6. The next day, I fed the rest of it to my husband and daughter.
********************************************************************************************
I wrote that for a blog post that I never made. I just didn't feel inspired to continue on, but I saved it anyway. I don't know why. Part of the journey to fitness and healthy eating for me is learning to balance a variety of foods into my diet without me say.... eating half the cheese cake. No worries on that one written about above!
So when I got to my sisters, I hadn't said (or blogged) a word about the cheesy cheesecake. My whole attitude in buying it was wrong and I knew it. Her husband, who cooks in an upscale restaurant and goes to college, made me a home made cheese cake from scratch. It was unforgettable for 2 reasons. 1. He took time out of his full time college and work schedule to make me a cheese cake. Very thoughtful. 2. Because God knew I wanted some good cheese cake and put it on somebodies heart to make me one. I am humbled on both accounts. Consequently, every bite of it was out of this world incredible.
Last night at my mother in laws, she asked me "want some cheese cake?" I almost couldn't believe it. This time it was a turtle cheese cake with chocolate and carmel in it. Call me a weirdo, but its just the kind of thing that God does to prove a point to me that He is up there and cares about me. I start out with this attitude that I'm going to have to "take care of myself" in some manner. Then I do a lousy job of it. Then a little miracle comes on the scene to remind me just how Big He is and how much better a job He can do for me when I chose to trust in Him.
One of my last favorite "little miracles" is from back when we were moving to MT. I was home schooling the kids even back then and I wanted to switch math curriculums. The Archer wasn't doing so well with Abecka and I wanted to try Saxton. I insisted to my husband that we had to buy a Saxton text book. He said "no" because we were just getting ready to move and the money was real tight. He told me to "trust God for one". I laughed and scoffed loudly and said "God is going to bring me a Saxton Math book?!" in an incredibly sarcastic and antagonistic tone. Boy was I ashamed later on. That last visit over to my moms before the move, a woman from her church came over. She brought with her a Saxton Math book and the test and quiz booklets that went with it. Honestly, it scared me and I have never taken on a sarcastic attitude toward miraculous provision again. About 6 years ago, I was also given close to the entire Saxton Math curriculum for about fourth grade through Sr. High.
Anybody else out there have any little miracles to share?

Above Photos : Cheese Cakes I have known. After all that sugar, Moonbeam gets her teeth brushed. Uhh... the kids are trying to send you a message about my age. You will not want to reverse the kids hands and figure it out!

My Perfect 10 Update (A Day Late)

Well, here we are in another state (literally) and I'm reflecting back on my goals from the living room of my in laws :-) I must say, yesterday as I was running down the icy highway with spikes on, I felt glad for this challenge. I may not always meet every goal perfectly, but I am trying and so I'm doing better than I would be had I not made these goals to begin with. There is something to be said for all of that! Thanks South Beach Steve, for the challenge.

1. Some form of exercise 6 days a week. Pretty much, yes!

2. Sit ups/planks 5x week. Maybe 3-4 this week.

3. Instill healthy ideas in my kids. Honestly, I hardly have to think about it. Just my doing healthy things causes them to. Today I sat down with an apple and only got 2 slices of it.

Below is my niece with her dad. I told her I brought some bananas over so she could pretend to be a monkey. As you can see, she really got into the part. We also drew interesting pictures on each of the bananas. There were 3 bunches on the counter one day. The next there were only a few left!!

4. pic - current

5. Drink more water - yes, I have been. The one day I didn't, I noticed in my eating log how much more I ate. Wow!

6. Burn calories rather than binge - not perfect, but definitely in check.

7. Hair - apt scheduled (wooohooo!)

8. Biggest Loser Contest (will find out results in Feb)

9. Work out with a Buddie weekly - Enjoyed a nice Nordic hike with The Dolphin Goddess a few days before our trip. It was a great catch up with her and I could tell I'd really worked!

10. Try clothes on/shopping - none of that lately, but should get a chance this week.

I always forget the "something about myself" part! I like to joke that I am "domestically challenged!" I don't know how to sew, knit, crochet or do anything that resembles a craft (and I fear trying). I'm also not much of a house keeper. When I left home I didn't even know how to brown hamburger!! As I have had more children, of course, I've learned lots, (because I had to). Here I am today sprouting and rendering bear fat! It's all a work in progress and I have fun making fun of myself on my blog as I learn!

Onward Eastern Time Travelers

I was feeling possibly precocious and maybe even a little unprepared for the journey that lay ahead. It was 3:30 am and my husband had just said "I can't sleep anyway. Lets just get up and get started." It had been a long night. The kids and I had decided to stay up so we could sleep in the car on the way there. Since Super Catman had fallen asleep, in an underhanded way, mind you, we decided to watch the movies too scary to put on when he was awake. The first one was a suspenseful, action packed movie. The next was a creepy thriller. Finally, Sock Fashion Expert and I were the only ones still interested in movies and we watched a romantic chick flick. By then, Moonbeam had decided she wasn't interested in sleep anymore and I had to try and keep her quiet. The boys, feeling slightly jilted from the possibility of their PlayStation, took off on a middle of the night hike. Perhaps it was just for the sake of worrying me (as guilty culprit in keeping the television), but more likely the realism that we'd be driving for 24 hours straight in just a few passing hours.
By 5:30 am on my birthday, we embarked on our journey. My hope to sleep worked for the first 6 hours, as did all the other kids and my husband was left to man the captain's chair alone. I don't think he minded the silence at all. The next 6 hours, I lost myself in reading my first ever Louis L'Amour novel "The Broken Gun". It was a suggested reading by Sock Fashion Expert. Once I picked it up, I no longer wanted to put it down and I was transported to another place and another time. It seemed an appropriate novel to read, riding through untold miles of wheat fields, stretched across the plains of Montana. Traces of the stalks could be seen, still golden, bending low under the cover of white. The snow on the flat farm country reminded me of blank pages in a novel, yet to be etched upon, and the highway on we were driving was that which bound its pages.
Sock Fashion Expert had brought along a large cardboard roll containing large "Pillar - On Tour Now" posters. It was her intent to pepper Montana and North Dakota with the advertisements. She takes her responsibility as an "Underground Army" fan to heart. She also helped with Moonbeam a lot. Moonbeam actually did quite well considering that she was strapped in a car seat for 20 some hours. She slept a lot. She sang along with the songs resonating from the Suburbans old tape deck. She really was a trooper.
The Archer and Artdog took up the rear seats in the Suburban. They were pretty quiet other than to complain about having to listen to 80's type Dallas Holm. Archer wanted to hear White Cross, but by the time I played it, he had fallen asleep. They, too, brought along some Louis L'Amour as did The Sock Fashion Expert. Ever since rediscovering Louis L'Amour writings, all too often, on any given winter evening, you can find my husband or one of my children snuggled up on the living room floor captivated by his story telling. Archer had also brought "Swiss Family Robinson". He and Sock Fashion Expert had just recently watched the newest spin off of it on Satellite.
Super Catman exhausted his share of cookies and crackers and watched some Veggie Tales on the DVD player that his grandma had wisely purchased. Moonbeam, sitting next to him liked that too. Though I tried to convince them to watch the 15 fun filled hours of "Rin Tin Tin" that I purchased, none of them seemed all that excited about the prospect and poo pooed the pup. Well, fooey on them. I'll watch it myself.
Much of the trip was uneventful with the exception of my imagination. I drove for about 8 hours across the plains of North Dakota, mostly. My husband was supposed to sleep, but wasn't all that successful. He claimed that I needed "instruction" and deemed it his duty to remind me to "slow down". I kidded about blogging on man back seat drivers. Then he instructed me to stop at McDonalds. This threw me into a tizzy because I do not like eating at McDonalds. Especially the dollar menu, I don't relish, and that's always what we end up eating from. If I had a dollar for every McChicken my family has consumed, I could probably own a small island off the coast of Guam. The idea of eating a McChicken on my birthday was too much and I pouted profusely. He didn't know where anything else was in that city and as you know, men don't like to ask for directions. I suppose if eating at McDonald's was my biggest complaint for the trip, I do not have allot to be complaining about, hence I should silence myself before you deduce my juvenile side that I try so desperately to keep veiled.
When we finally reached the City my sister lives in, everyone, especially Moonbeam was ready to escape the confines of our old Suburban. A pile of cracker crumbs had collected on the bottom of Moonbeam's new car seat and left a trail through the vehicle as they unstuck themselves from her bottom. Silent concern passed among the passengers as we remembered last winter at my Sister, Heathers. She lives in a spacious, tidy basement apartment with her husband and two adorable little girls. Her sewage system backed up, creating a gruesome tale to spin. Those were "Terrible Toilet Troubles" indeed. Anyhoo, we arrived here safely and I'm sure that I'll have ample blogging material to entertain you all for some time to come.

Above : My two neices excited to awaken Artdog, My two neices singing "Happy Birthday" to me.

The Inherent Evils of Cookie Dough

There is an evil lurking in my kitchen..... Its fierce talons beckon to me. It's allure has entrapped me in its spell. It needs not call with sound, the very fibers of my being feel compelled to stay entrapped by its ghastly vice. This evil is none other than chocolate chip cookie dough. You may laugh, but its true. Chocolate chip cookie dough, innocent and inanimate as it may seem, even now, plots to destroy me one bite at a time.
I thought that if, perhaps, I blogged about its seductive ways, it would not yell so loudly from the storage container. If only I could maintain a heinous mental picture of that, like I do with Philbert, I would be a much happier individual.
Yesterday, I enjoyed a nice Nordic Hike with The Dolphin Goddess. She is the same age as I am, but substantially buffer. I always can expect that I will have to put some work into my workout when I am with her. Of course, I must put on that I am doing just fine. Perhaps a yawn, or maybe a seemingly bored smile or some such drivel will decoy her into thinking that I can keep up with her just fine. Little does she know that I am huffing and puffing and that I will later dramatically collapse on the couch as if I have preformed some superhuman feat when its all over.
As we hiked, commentary on Nordic Walking began to unfold. She confided that her husband is not keen on the activity. Deep in the forest, where no one was around to see, he did try it, but made her promise not to tell anybody. Come out of the closet, bloggers, there are other Nordic Walkers out there. Don't be ashamed. It is just a misunderstood sport. Maybe if we all band together, someday, someone will think its cool.
As you can see, I am not doing anything very productive right now other than to try and avoid eating any more cookie dough. Hmmm.............. Yesterday, a very happy thing happened to me and it didn't have anything to do with being a pioneer of a the New Nordic Hiking Craze. I'd been struggling with forgiving for a long time. Even though I'd made the mental decision to forgive, I still avoided this person as if they'd been sprayed by a skunk. Yesterday, I felt peaceful about the idea of hanging out with them some time. I feel a lot lighter even though I only lost 1lb this week.

Above Photos are more of my new cousin Baby Maxton

Philbert McHottie

"Oh he's suuuuuch a hottie" said Lila in a wistful tone. "Don't you think so?" she asked. I paused for a moment, before I spoke. Not because I thought he was a hottie, but because I wondered if I should really tell her what I thought. Throwing caution to the wind, I decided to speak my mind. "Every time everybody talks about what a hottie he is, the first thing that comes to my mind is Venereal Disease. Then it totally grosses me out and I want to start gagging. I'm not saying he has a social disease, I'm just saying that's the first thing that comes to my mind." For a moment, I encountered a blank stare. "Maybe I shouldn't tell people what I am thinking." I thought to myself. Just then, Philbert McHottie strutted in. The room became strangely silent for a moment. Suddenly drool began to form on some of the girls chins. I decided that my overactive imagination wasn't so bad after all and I abruptly escaped with my mental vision of genital warts intact.
For some reason, the conversation stayed with me and I began to ponder another person I knew. Once a beautiful girl, Lizzie could turn anybodies head. She possessed incredible charisma and charm. She had a curvy youthful figure and a cute impish face. In her day, any guy would have done almost anything to go out with her and she knew it. What Lizzie carried in physical appeal, she sadly lacked in character. After time's harsh ways, she'd become an alcoholic and lost some of that physical appeal. Oh, she was pretty alright, but her magnetism had some how metabolized along with all the booze. Her heart probably looked quite a bit like her liver. I watched Lizzie flirting with someone not all that long ago and I felt really sorry for her. She'd lost her family. She'd traded motherhood for vanity, leaving her kids to fend for themselves. I didn't see a good future in sight for any of them and it grieved me hard. I began to wonder if physical beauty was more of a handicap than a help.
All this thinking is becoming taxing on my brain so I will leave you with a verse. I'm off to prepare for my fitness adventure with Dolphin Goddess...... Toodles
Proverbs 31:29-31 (New King James Version)
29 " Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all." 30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.

Beautiful Blogger Award (Blush...Giggle....)

Three people honored me with this award!! I am almost speechless.......... ok, just almost. An amazing and huge thank you Paula Rodriguez, Baili and Foodie Girl! You women are such an inspiration to me.
The rules for this award are that I am supposed to tell 7 things others don't know about myself and I am supposed to pass this on to 7 other bloggers.

1. I grew up in a house full of women and thought men were strange! Really, I thought there wasn't much use for them (until I hit teens that is). People would say "oh poor thing with no father". I thought "men are worthless and smelly, who needs them?!" When I was in kindergarten this trauma propagated this thought in my mind : a little boy with green 11's between his nares and oral orifice used to always say to me "hey baby lets smooch". I was so horrified by the green snot visualization that I have not forgotten the goofy kid to this day! His memory still haunts me. I now have a great husband and 3 fabulous sons and don't entertain that thought any more ;-)
2. I was afraid to try ketchup until I was 14.
3. In front of my entire 4th grade class, I fainted at the sight of my own blood being drawn when we were on a field trip to the hospital (and now I am an emergency room nurse).
4. I am fearful of crafts. Crafts really do creep me out!
5. My grandmother made me carry a brief case to grade school so I would look studious. It was very embarrassing. I finally got to retire the horrid case when a big 6th grade delinquent kid slashed it with his pocket knife.
6. I constructed elaborate lies to one of the kids in school about having my own arcade room. She couldn't wait to come and visit me and was rather disappointed to find out that I only had a lousy mini pack man game.
7. I was known as "The Mad Reader" in grade school because I could not quit reading (ever). I read from the time I got up in the morning, to night (with a flash light under the covers). I read on the school bus. I hid books under my text books so I could read during classes. I took my books every where I went! I read lots of Dana Girls, Judy Bolton type mystery books. Now I don't dare try to read because I know I will neglect something else to finish a good novel.

*************************************************************************

Here's My Seven Beautiful Bloggers :

1. Blessed Mom's Simple Home
Marcia's home is lovely. Her style is impressive. She is sweet, kind and has a beautiful, virtuous spirit.
2. A Deliberate Life
Chris is such an incredible inspiration to me. She reminds me so much of myself. She puts a lot of heart and soul into her blog and she is faithful to those she calls "friends".
3. Walking on Sunshine
Lois is an army wife. Her husband, "The Colonel", just left after Christmas to go overseas for a year. Her blog always inspires me. She introduced me to finding out who Irena Sendler was, now a huge inspiration to me. I loved learning about her contributions so much that I had to buy the movie and share about it to my whole church. Lois's blog enriches others and changes peoples lives for the better.
4. A Day in the Life of...
Caroline has a neat blog. She lives far away, but her heart is big. I think I'd get a long good with her if we lived on the same continent.
5. Fangmans Fun Follies
Toni has a great blog. She loves her kids boatloads! She is always doing neat stuff with them and blogging about it.
6. NanaNor
Has a lovely blog. She has a lot of depth. Her words are not always a lot, but there is a lot in her words.
7. Toytrkman
He's the inspiration for this post! Yep, he's my husband and I'm very proud of him.

My New Favorite Song

This is my new favorite song. We got this CD for Sock Fashion Expert at Christmas time. I was experiencing a lot of sad things going on around me and the burden seemed too big for one to bear. When she had this song on, it was just what I needed to hear. I've loved it ever since. I hope you enjoy it too! We saw Disciple in concert at the Gorge this past summer. They rock!