Fiesta de Paella

The wonderful Bevedly, did it again.
She transformed our home for a magical paella dinner party. In true Spanish fashion we ate late and laughed lots. Thank you Mic and Pic for the masterful culinary skills.

The safest place for the two of us... Twilight

It's officially, I was one of the many on Thursday night waiting semi-patiently to see the the movie interpretation of the super fantastic book, Twilight, at midnight. I may have giggle, or even squealed with anticipation as the credits started. Actually, I didn't do that but a few around me did. Could you really picture me squeal? If you can, then I'm concerned about my public persona, because I wouldn't consider my self a squealer.

In the lobby of the theater before the movie started there were "actors" standing by the Twilight movie poster ready to have photo ops with the adoring fans. There were people who apparently resembled Edward, Bella and Jacob. I use the word resemble rather loosely because mostly they were posers, never comparable to the actual characters in my head, or in the movie. None the less I needed a picture to prove where I was and so I snapped this one.

Kirstin and I went together and I have her to thank for the fabulous night and sweet hook-up so we could see the movie opening night and not have to wait forever in an atrocious line.

Of course you have to have movie treats, but what's a girl to do when she no longer eats sugar (see below). With such a plight, Kirstin came to the rescue and brought us super good popcorn and this fantastic cookie made with no white refined sugar. Thanks again for taking care of your health nut newbie. I even denied my self a starburst. I won it when I answered a Twilight trivia question correctly before the movie started.

Overall I really enjoyed the movie. I don't want to be the blogger that gives out too much information, so if you want to know what it was like, go watch it. I have my opinions and they are positive but I'm going to keep them to myself for awhile. In a nutshell, I heart Edward, Bella's great and Forks for some strange reason reminds me of home...

Livin' Clean

No it's not cocaine. It's white refined sugar. Some may say they are similar in addictiveness, and some may say this stuff is harmless. I'd like to disagree to the latter. For the past 5 weeks I have been living sugar free and have never felt better in my entire life.

In this 5 week time I have gotten to know a lot of about myself and my previous eating habits. I used to eat random things just because they were there, never really paying attention to what I was putting in my body. Sure, I pretended to be healthy 50% of the time but that other 50% I indulged because I thought, "I deserve this extra cookie or one more small scoop of ice cream won't hurt or salad dressing isn't that bad." What I didn't realize was that my body has a strong dislike towards white refined sugar. All of these said items contain large of amounts of that white stuff. Now I know why I would get sick after eating Chinese food or eating a piece of pie or drinking a milkshake.

I've also learned, that too many items in our daily diets contain this seemingly benign powdered substance and/or it's evil cohort high fructose corn syrup. For example, have you thought to look on the label of your box of Cheezits, your jar of Miracle Whip or even your healthy box of Wheat Chex. It's true, they all contain these evil doers.

When I told a friend that I was no longer eating white refined sugar he said, "Sugar is in everything." That's a pretty true statement when it comes to pre-packaged, processed items at the grocery store. He's correct, I don't eat most cereals found on those shelves or soda or regular yogurt but there are so many better options out there that are way more fabulous and way better for you. Beyond the basics of fresh fruits and vegetables and lean protein. Here's a list of a few of my favorites:

They really are just grapes and sunshine!

I love raw almonds as an easy snack to ward of desperation sugar eating, especially when coworkers bring homemade chocolate chip cookies.

This yogurt could be my new found obsession. Not only does it not contain white refined sugar like all other regular grocery store brands but it tastes absolutely amazing and they come in really interesting and unique flavors, ie. maple, bartlett pear, strawberry guava and orange passion fruit. Instead of regular sugar it contains organic evaporated cane juice.

A healthy alternative to so many of those sugary cereals, and this cereal actually tastes good.

Whole wheat bread, not to be confused with its impostor wheat bread which is just white bread with brown coloring and usually contains sugar or high fructose corn syrup. WARNING: even some whole wheat breads contain high fructose corn syrup, so read labels carefully, choose honey instead.

Last of all I want to share with you the wonderful world of organic chocolate made with organic raw cane sugar. Surely I'm not going to go without some sort of chocolate in my life. Gone are the days of cheap chocolate m&m's, snickers and hershey bars, but in it's place lies the beauty of super fantastic, very adult, creamier than you can ever imagine, chocolate. I only need a small piece every once in a while and I'm satisfied.

I'm not abstaining from sugar because it's my new diet where I hope to lose a million pounds, I'm doing this because I feel good and if losing weight is its side effect (which it is) then so be it. Maybe you don't want to give up on sugar in your lifestyle completely like me , but maybe eliminating one sugar item and replacing it with a healthier option is a good place to start. I don't know exactly how much weight I've lost but I'm prettier sure I have lost some, my clothes are getting loose and people are asking me my secret to losing weight.

This is my secret.

Fun Had By All

Audrey Hepburn, 80's Chick/Tiffany/Girl from "Teen Witch", Sarah Palin and African Ham Lady.

Yes, I did the hair or hair accessories for the entire group. Who knew my skills would come in so handy. Sarah Palin was so perfect that people at the parties took double takes and wanted their picture taken with her. Audrey was perfect as well, even down to the crown and earrings. She was easily recognized by most but there were a few 18 year olds who thought she was a beauty queen princess. Oh dear, they have so much to learn. You may wonder why my friend dressed up as an African ham lady. I will explain. Someone we know was in the Macey's parking lot and saw this women walking to her car hunched over and shuffling very slowly. She soon saw a ham drop from between the lady's legs and roll across the parking lot. To the friend's surprise and dismay the African lady yelled out, "Who threw a ham at me! Who threw that ham at me!" After the lady realized no one was paying attention to her she picked up the ham threw it in her car and drove off. So of course my friend had to dress up like the ham lady. Hence the strange expression on her face, it takes a lot of concentration to hold a ham between your legs.

Moral of the story:
Watch out for flying hams!

Skool is Kool

Pet Peeve #1:

Names of businesses spelled incorrectly on purpose.

For Example:

Skool Days
a pre-school and day care center
Hmm, maybe we should teach the kids how to spell the word that describes their learning location for the next 13 years, correctly.

Have you any examples of my Pet Peeve #1?

It's good to be even.

Monday was a BIG day. Not only was it the 18th of August, it was my BIRTHDAY! It's true, I am now closer to 30 than the long ago faded age of 20. A lot goes through your mind when you reach the point of 26 years, for example, "should I be worried about feeling old, because I don't, do I need to be concerned about sagging body parts, or is it still o.k. that I sing along to Hannah Montana?" The shear volume of questions about life's mysteries at the age of 26 are staggering.

A few years ago when I was 19, I was once mistaken for a 26 year old. The shock, oh the horror of being thought of that Old! Now that I am that Old, I don't feel old, I just feel cooler, smarter and a way better dresser than that 19 year old. She should have looked forward and been excited about her future and being 26, because with every year, life got better.

26 is good, life is good and I can't wait to conquer more of it.



Thanks to everyone that made my Birthday awesome! Thank you for the calls, texts, facebook posts and of course much appreciation to those who spent the day and evening with me. I love you all.

Speedy Spaniard

I just completed my 2nd 10k Race today, which started at 6:30 a.m. I was able to take off 5 minutes from my last race time. Which was the result of having my secret weapon, Kirstin dragging me along. Thanks Kirst!

Fun Had By All

Monday Night Family Home Evening
Hike Stewart Falls

Loads of fun! For some strange reason the trail was really dusty and I attracted all of the dirt, as shown in photo. Strange that a hiking trail was dirty... maybe I've drifted too far from my small town, rural roots. (Does that make me a city girl now?)