I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Yesterday, we invited our friends, the Olers over to play outside. It was an incredibly beautiful day and the kids bounced on the trampoline for a really long time. I had this excellent idea that I would make homemade ice cream for everyone. Jen graciously stopped at Kroger and picked up heavy whipping cream and headed over for the afternoon.

Problem #1: I could not find the ice cream maker booklet that gave directions and recipes.

Solution to Problem #1: I called Jen and asked her to bring over the recipe book from her ice cream maker.

Problem #2: I forgot to premix the ingredients in the blender. Instead I dumped them straight into the frozen bowl.

Solution to Problem #2: I just poured the stuff out of the frozen bowl and into the blender (which led directly to Problem #3).

Problem #3: I had forgotten to check the blender to be sure the spout was in the closed position. It was not. The cream began pouring out all over the counter top and down the front of the cabinet and onto the floor.

Solution to Problem #3: I quickly closed the spout and used a cloth to clean up the mess everywhere.

Problem #4: While I was busy cleaning up my mess, the remaining ingredients in the frozen bowl began to freeze. So, after I mixed the ingredients in the blender, poured them back into the frozen bowl, and tried to put the mixing piece in, I realized that it wouldn't fit.

Solution to Problem #4: I determined that the reason the mixing paddle would not fit in the bowl was that I had inserted it upside down, so I removed it and put it in the other way.

Problem #5: It still wouldn't fit. And I didn't have my instruction manual to look at.

Solution to Problem #5: Jen suggested looking at the picture ion her ice cream maker manual for a clue at to how to assemble mine correctly. Hmmmm. Turns out I was right the first time. So, why didn't it fit?

Problem #6: Apparently the ingredients that had frozen on the bottom of the bowl were preventing the mixing paddle from sitting correctly in the bowl.

Solution to Problem #6: I used a spoon to scrape some of the frozen stuff out of the way.

Problem #7: When I placed the lid on top of the ice cream maker, the mixer would turn partway and then get stuck.

Solution to Problem #7: Leave the top off.

Problem #8: With the top off, the paddle would not turn to mix the ice cream.

Solution to Problem #8: I decided to just hold the mixing paddle by hand and try to mix the ingredients that way. So much for an automatic ice cream maker.

Problem #9: OK, can you actually picture me standing there mixing for an hour by hand? Me either.

Solution to Problem #9: I poured the ingredients out into a container and used hot water to clean out the frozen bowl.

Problem #10: Using hot water on something that is supposed to be frozen melts it. Gee, what a surprise. So the frozen bowl was no longer completely frozen and the ice cream would not harden correctly.

Solution to Problem #10: Give the kids Popsicles instead of ice cream. Put the ingredients in the freezer and hope it sets up before dinner.

So much for a quick and easy treat.

I'm just glad Jen is such a sweetie that she didn't get annoyed at me for messing everything up!

short and sweet

I have always tried to allow the kids some say in how they wear their hair. I figure that if they want a way to express their own style and personality, they could be doing it in much worse ways than with their hairstyles.

So, when Jonathan decided to have spikes coming out all over his head, I was supportive. Nad when he switched to a more "soft" look with much longer hair, I let him do it. And when Sammy continued to insist that she wanted "only a little trim" each time I suggested a haircut, I tried to be positive.

The problem is that with long hair comes massive tangles that lead to serious tantrums and tears. This time she finally let me cut it shorter.

Check it out! Doesn't it look so cute on her?

Who needs boy scouts?!?

Today was an absolutely lovely day!
While the kids and I were jumping on the trampoline, I thought to myself, "I wish Mike was home so that we could cook hot dogs and marshmallows over a fire!" Then I realized that there really was no reason that I couldn't just build a fire myself. So I did!

I followed all the directions that Jonathan's boy scout leader had given him the night he taught him to start a fire with only one match.

But...
I had to keep using more matches.

In my defense, it was pretty windy out. But I also didn't do as good of a job finding the perfect tinder. I was so hungry that I kept putting larger
pieces of wood on the fire (ultimately smothering it a couple times - ooops). Luckily I was able to get it going pretty well, and we had a great time cooking our dinner and roasting the perfect marshmallows. We even used the fire to defrost/toast our hot dog buns. Talk about resourceful!

Halfway there

Well, as I climbed onto the scale this morning for my "weekly weigh-in", I was thrilled to see that I have officially made it halfway to my goal (by the way, that's actually 3/4 of the way to my birthday goal). So, in honor of this amazing accomplishment - and because I loved this idea so much when I saw it on Natalie's blog - I am posting half of an "after" picture. (NOTE: I took my "30-day pictures" this week and can actually see the progress in some of my trouble areas. And there is no way that I will be posting those pictures!)

And for the remainder of the year, this will be my guiding theme:
You can be fit at any size, age or time of life. That's the good news.
And there are only two rules to achieving fitness.
1. Begin
2. Continue

Those of you who know me well know that I have struggled with my weight for what seems like forever. I have tried so many different diets (no sugar, reduced calories, high fiber, low carbs, etc). I have even dared to take diet supplements (which ended up messing up my liver functioning for a couple months - learned my lesson the hard way). And once - in desperation - I had my doctor prescribe appetite suppressants (I know, I know. But you have no idea how discouraged I was at the time).

At the beginning of the year, I made a list of resolutions.
One of my goals was to lose 30 pounds (at least 20 by my birthday).
And the part I did not specify publicly was that I had to do it "the right way". No crazy diets that I can't stick to. No herbal or medicinal aids. No starvation. Just good old fashioned exercise and healthy eating. (Yeah, Dad. It finally sunk in.)

January went pretty well. I ate better, only cheating on the weekends. I exercised regularly at the YMCA. And I lost 4 pounds - a decent beginning.

February was tougher. My life got busier (if that's even possible) and so did the kids'. I found myself having less time for exercise and less motivation for preparing healthy meals. I also found myself snacking late at night while I tried to get things done. Not the best way to lose weight. By the end of the month, I had gained back 2 of the pounds I had worked so hard to lose. Frustrating!

Then March came along. Spring break for those of us in Bloomington. Warmer weather. Less layers of clothing to hide the unsightly bulges. I was still hovering around my beginning of the year weight, and I was getting really depressed about it. The hardest part for me was the fact that I usually worked out for an hour at least five days a week. I taught intense fitness classes at the YMCA. I lifted weights. I ran. But I seemed unable to curb my eating habits. I started to feel like I had no willpower or self-control whatsoever!


This magnet hangs on my refrigerator.
I usually laugh at it.
Come on, it's pretty funny!
But I also feel sad.
Sometimes it describes me so well.


I found myself sitting at the computer late one night looking for a "quick fix" again. Shouldn't there be a pill you can take to make your body lose the extra weight? Or some combination of prayer, hope, and magic? Couldn't a genie grant me this wish? Isn't there some easier alternative to eating right and exercising? Hmmmm. Guess not.

What I did end up finding was a home exercise program (yeah, I had to give up the YMCA for a while) that included several boot camp style work-out videos and a guide to eating right (including "easy" and delicious recipes - ok, I read these but promptly put them at the bottom of the pile of things to do later).

Here's the thing. It wasn't so much the videos or the eating plan that helped get me over the first hill. It was the pictures. Not of other people, but of myself. The first thing I had to do for this exercise program was weigh myself, measure myself, and take "before pictures" of myself. The theory was that then I would really be able to see how far I had come by the end of the 90-day program. The reality is that it shocked me to see what I really looked like in a bathing suit! (When I told my therapist about the pictures, she said, "Kim, that's really more like torture, isn't it?" She's right, but I guess that's what it took for me.)