December 31, 2008, Last Day in the Year

Can you believe we are 8 years past the millennium? Do you remember all that Y2K hype? Doesn't seem that long ago. Ok, good start to the day, I've already had 2 of the 8 foods, I had oats & tomatoes. (not together)
Here are 5 of the twenty Worst Foods in America:

Chicken Selects from Mickey Dee's - 1,710 calories, 55 fat grams

Jamba Juiced Chocolate Moo'd Power Smoothie - 900 calories, 183 carbs (wow!)

Pepperidge Farm Roasted Chicken Pot Pie - 1,020 calories, 64 fat grams

Ruby Tuesday Bella Turkey Burger - 1,145 calories, 71 fat grams

Venti Strawberry & Creme Frappuchino from Starbucks - 750 calories, 120 sugar grams (more sugar than 3 cans of soda!)

Oh that is so gross! This is from the book "Eat This Not That" by David Zinczenko.

"Paint" on the Package

Tried to mail a package today but the (mystery) recipient will have to wait. The box was used for paint previously and the USPS won't sent a box if the word "paint" is on the outside. I will have to re-box the stuff.
Updates:
My sister (Marlene has been without power for 3 days. Yuck! Is it starting to be an adventure?
Karen (my niece) is due to have her baby boy any minute.
We are getting snow again tonight - 2 to 5 inches. Oh boy!
We will have Phoebe (Bailey's sistopher) for new years eve - PARTAY!



Carrots & yogurt. Maybe I will have some blueberries, later. 3 out of 8. better. (See yesterday's post)

8 Foods You Should Eat Every Day

Spinach
Yogurt
Tomatoes
Carrots
Blueberries
Black Beans
Walnuts
Oats
How many of these did you eat today? I had yogurt & walnuts. 2 out of 8, not so good I guess. Can you imagine eating spinach or black beans every day?
Here is a great recipe using black beans tomatoes:
dice 4 tomatoes, 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 yellow pepper, and 1 mango. Mix in a can of black beans and garnish with 1/2 chop chopped cilantro & juice from a lime.
I have all the above mentioned ingredients, I just may make some of that tomorrow.

WII Fit

Found the WII Fit at Target this morning. Now I have no excuse not to exercise. It should be "fun" right? Wow, how about that wind this morning? Woke me up. I don't remember ever having such a sustained wind like that before. Some houses in our neighborhood lost their shingles. Crazy. How about the near 60 degree temperature yesterday? Crazy when just a week ago I froze my bootie off on that train ride at Huckleberry RR. Can't believe the snow is gone, there was so much!!
Well, everything has calmed down some and I will be back to regular schedule. Except I still have gifts to find spots for and still takin down holiday decorations and such.

You Know You're Getting Old When...

You need a 22 inch computer monitor! (so you can see stuff)
Your exercise machine is a Wii.
Your idea of an awesome Christmas gift is a set of pans.
Your favorite Wii game is Iron Chef.
You don't know any of the songs on the 90's hits Sing Star game.
You ask for lots of lotion for your pruny dried up skin.
You need to practice texting.
You need a phone with a full keyboard so you can text.

It's Christmas Eve

And these are the last minute things I still have to do:
make lasagna
make a salad
make some more buckeye's (by request)
wrap a few last minute gifts
pick up a prescription at Kroger
get my haircut (why oh why did I make an appointment for today?)
make tomorrow's breakfast casserole
oh, well that's not too bad I guess.
Merry Christmas Everyone!

Old Man Winter is NOT So Old

Winter arrived fierce and furious yesterday. Many of you probably stayed in your PJ's and just snuggled into your blankies, right? Well we had the "Rush" family Christmas. Sarah's mom's family. I made "Buckeyes" in honor of Grandma, who passed away earlier this year. They were a big hit - we didn't have any to bring back home. This year the plan was to do something "fun." We all had tickets to Crossroads Village & the Huckleberry railroad. We arrived about 6:00 p.m. after fighting the wind and drifts across the roads. We jumped out of the car and ran into the village. It was so deserted there was no one to even take the tickets. We quickly ran to the first building that provided shelter from the wind. It was still whipping around like crazy. After everyone arrived we headed over to the train station to board the train. We jumped, danced and sang to keep warm while waiting for the train to turn around! We quickly boarded and soon found out the windows were iced over. How were we going to see the lights? Everyone did their own method. Breathing, scraping, rubbing, thank goodness no one decided to stick their tongue to the window. The train was quite warm, at least for the first little while. We had our own train car, with 20 some people. I think all the body heat kept us warm. We sang along with the "canned" Christmas music. After we got back to the station someone decided that we should all head over to the building with the Reindeer. After taking pictures we ran back to the closest building to warm again. That was it! I was done for. We left soon after. When we got home I soaked in a hot tub for a bit. That was probably the coldest experience I've ever had.

Pouring Snow and Nowhere to Go

It's 9:30 a.m. and it's really coming down now and the wind is something fierce. I will NOT be going out. Too bad I did not stock up on baking ingredients, video's, etc. Here are some things I thought I could do:
wrap Christmas gifts
scan online recipes for new & tasty treats for Christmas day
laundry (?) why?
pick up the mess in the house (?) again, why? oh because the Renee's are coming over for pizza tonight, that's why.
read my new Rachel Ray cookbook! (thanks Jan)
make prank phone calls
make snow angels - oh no it's too windy!

Slip Slidin' Away

Bailey and I took a slidin' ride to the bank and the post office this morning. The roads were not to good. Semi-plowed. Come guys, it really wasn't that much snow. Couple O' Inches. Well, anyway the Christmas packages are mailed.
Tonight is the first annual Christmas party (dinner) for KNS Remodeling & Repairs. That is because we actually have employes. Should be fun.
Back to work.

Not Feelin' So Good

I haven't been feeling so well. Especially at night. I take several naps to get through the day. My head is achy and my stomach has a pain. My daily schedule:
get up - do a little
take a nap
get up - do a little
take a nap
ok, you get the gist.

Snug As A Bug In A Rug

OR

Snug As A Dog In A Bed

This is a dog who likes to sleep and be toasty warm!

He's got a bad habit.

Today is our annual outing to Frankenmuth. Chicken dinner here I come. We are leaving early to go either to Bronner's or the River Walk Mall.

Cranergize

I'm trying to

boost my energy

get stuff done

energize healthly

etc... I'm drinking Cranergy!

Eat nutritiouslyYou’ll function much better if you’re on a balanced diet rather than your child’s leftover macaroni and cheese.
Seek out foods that help you stay healthy Foods high in vitamin C and antioxidants, as well as foods with B vitamins are great choices, as they all support healthy energy production.
Stay hydrated Dehydration of as little as 2% loss of body weight can result in decreased focus and performance.
Get movingWorking out, taking the stairs and walking can all give you more energy and makes you feel healthier.
Create an energizing spaceCitrus scents, such as grapefruit, can enliven any room of your house. Buy a citrus scene or spray.

Blah, Blah, Blog

Quoth Solomon, "there is nothing new under the sun". Can you tell I have the holiday blues? Or maybe it's just hormones, or should I say lack there of. ha ha Well, anyway yesterday I took my new Lil Sis to the mall. We picked a tag off the Angel Tree. Girl 9 - 12 years of age. We went to Sears and bought a High School Musical outfit. It helps when you have a 9 year old girl pick the stuff out, let me tell you. Then we went up to the food court and dinned at the Hibatchi Grill. Not my pick. Didn't feel so good afterward. Felicity is a real talker. She talked non-stop. We had a pretty good time. Her mom works long days and goes to school, I think that might be why she wants a big sister. Kind of fun being a big sister to a girl. I've only ever been a big sister to a boy, my brother Rob. It was fun to beat on him! Today's agenda includes:
laundry
entering apps for the Mentors job
picking up the messy house
Invoicing for KNS
addressing the Christmas cards

I Don't Need Any Christmas Gifts

I already got the best gift. Airline tickets to Anna Maria Island in February! Tickets are fairly cheap right now to buy. We will get to see the cousin babies who are growing like weeds. Mya will be 2 in December and Rylee is 3 I think.

New List.

The 10 Best Things I Like About Florida.

The Sun - warmth & brightness

The feel of the sand and water

The smell of the ocean

The Seafood

Visiting the friends (play cousins)

Beautiful sunsets

Looking for Dolphins in the water

Driving along the ocean

Pancakes on the beach

Going to Beal's

List O' Jobs

My sister wrote a blog listing all her jobs, so I thought it would be fun to do the same. Let's see if I can get them all....


Cleaner - Mason Dental Lab (1976)
Laborer - Screw Factory
House Cleaner - Fancy rich lady in Oak Park, IL
Temp - Manpower Services
File Clerk - AAA
Office Clerk -AAA
Member Service - AAA
Missionary - His Mansion (1986)
Nanny - Pam Rumley
Accounts Receivable Clerk - Pam's Company
Camp Manager - Living Science
Office Manager - Living Science
Computer Teacher - Curriculum Services
Program Director - Curriculum Services
3rd Grade Teacher - LCA
Assistant Principal - LCA
"Fake" Principal - LCA (2004-05)
Realtor Assistant/Realtor - Bush Realty
Long Term Sub - Center Academy
4th Grade Teacher - Center Academy
Tutor - Center Academy
Clerk - Kohl's
Naturalist - Genesee Co. Parks
Mentor Recruiter - Flint Com. Schools
Mentor Recruiter Supervisor - Flint Com. Schools (2008 -09)
I think that just about covers it. Wow, I wouldn't have thought I had that many jobs...

Holiday Travel

Is not for me! Especially in winter weather. Yesterday we encountered snow, freezing rain, and rain on the way to Cleveland. The snow started 2 hours before dear weather man said it would. So we had pouring snow all the way to the Ohio border. Then kind of a freezing rain, then in Cleveland pouring buckets of rain. The only good thing about traveling in Ohio is that they have Panera and Starbucks at their rest-areas! We did get out of the training session several hours early today so that was a nice surprise! I got home at about 5 p.m. and Sarah got home a little later after picking up the truck with the new plow in place. Now she is out with Robbie plowing driveways. It's 8:30 p.m. I'm snuggled on the couch watching the Grinch and catching up on laundry. There was no school today in the county - 5 -6 inches of snow. In fact it's still snowing.