Warning: Your fingers will turn pink!

I was reading the latest issue of WebMD magazine when I found something interesting... click on the picture of the article if you want to see the coolness of beets


I used to love beets as a kid, because I loved everything my mom loved... I was her little shadow, you know (she also loved the end piece of the loaf of bread and that's the one I like too)

The only problem with the beets of my youth was that we ate them from a can (which equals very high sodium)...

So today I decided that I would try roasting the beets myself and covering them with a homemade dressing that is low in sodium. And the fun begins...

I found beets from the produce section of Kroger. Because the bunch was still fresh from the ground, it didn't look red on the outside, but after I washed them, they looked dark red on the skin...



But I have to warn you, when I washed and cut this beautiful produce, my fingers turned pink, so I washed my hands afterward so that I wouldn't stain my clothes or the counter.

I placed them in a baking dish, covered them and cooked them on 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. Aren't they pretty?
Then I made the dressing: 2 Tbs. orange juice, 2 Tbs. olive oil, 2 Tbs. dijon mustard, 2 Tbs. honey and pepper to taste (since the honey didn't want to mix well, I microwaved the mixture for about 10 seconds).





After the beets are done roasting, pour the dressing over them and enjoy!!

yum, yum, yum!

Changes Are In Order

Here is my prayer as I go, reminding myself that I deserve to LIVE fully (not live to be full) ....

God grant me the serenity
To make good food choices;
Courage to turn away from baked goods;
And energy to exercise daily.
Living healthy one day at a time;
Enjoying my journey;
Accepting that the road to wellness can be hard;
Taking the tools of better eating out into the world
As I should, free from the bad habits of the past;
Trusting that making wise decisions today will pay off tomorrow;
If I surrender to my will
I will not beat myself up in this life and the next
But I will remember that this is a life long journey;
A journey that is well worth every pound lost.

Good things come to those who wait!

YES, it took 9 hours to make Apple Butter this past weekend! But it was sooooo worth it.

My mom was here for a visit and we cut up 25 Stayman Winesap Apples from Carver's Orchard. The Stayman Winesap Apple has a smooth, waxy finish and a firm, crisp flesh and a delightfully sweet flavor with just a hint of tartness.


We simmered the apple pieces in a large pot on the stove along with 3 tbs. pure vanilla extract, 3 tbs. finely ground cinnamon, 1 tsp. ground nutmeg, and 1.5 cups of granulated white sugar, stirring often with a wooden spoon.

There is no need to "mash" the apples at any time, since over the course of the day, they will begin to mix on their own and turn into an applesauce texture with the stirring. We kept the lid on during the first 8 hours in order to keep the mixture from sticking to the bottom.

The last hour or so, the lid needs to stay off, since you'll be stirring practically constantly since the apple butter will be thickening.









Make sure to sterilize your Mason jars and lid in boiling water or in the dishwasher (dry lids quickly so they don't rust).

Blast From the Past !

OMG, I just spoke with Val... after all these years!! Val was my partner in crime in high school. I have missed her soooo much... there have been a million times I just wanted to hear her voice! Iiece of freedom. At the time, we thought school was such a prison and now, I wish I could go back just for one day (and have my old body back too) !! And our bud, Jon D. would ride around with us making us laugh.. I remember Spring Break and paper bunny ears !!!



It has been probably 18 years since I have seen Val... our freshmen year of college we wrote tons of letters back and forth, she was at mercer and I was at montevallo at the time. I still have those letters and read them occassionally...

Today is a good, NO, AWESOME day! I cannot wait to catch up with her and hear all about her life and babies and yada yada.. we will have to have timers so w want to jump up and down ! This girl could make me laugh so hard...

Val was so goofy sometimes, we would act silly and people would think we were crazy... Val had a beautiful navy blue/ white top convertible restored bug in high school... Senior Year, we occassionally left during lunch and took a joy ride to taco bell or mickeyD's, or wherever just to get a small pe can take turns talking (we both like to talk) lol.. tears of joy, I tell ya

Sistering Across the Miles

I miss my brother Brian. fishing with him. laughing with him. just being around him. He lives about 6 hours away and it has been over a year since I have hugged him. This distance is so hard for me to deal with, but I do. We fought like cats and dogs growing up, but as adults we are amazing friends. I feel unconditional love when I am with him and I can be me - bad mood me, fun me, sad me, giddy me, silly me.

I just learned via my mom that Brian had an accident at work that has interrupted his life. While working on a grinder, his left index finger was injured and although it has healed, it has not regained feeling in his finger. He is left-handed, so this injury has made a huge difference in his daily regimen. He used to joke about being the only one in his "right" mind. I wish I could be there to help him through this. And I am not sure how it will affect his golf game, which is one of his favorite hobbies. Brian is an amazing golfer!

I am praying that I can visit him soon. It is my duty as a sister and it would lift my spirits to see him. We can laugh like old times :)

Dates for Judy's Upcoming Dance Performances...

Sept. 19 at 11am -
"Beautiful Dreams"
Roselawn Arts Festival
Cartersville, GA

Dec. 13 (Sunday) at 3pm - The Nativity Ballet
Rome, GA


Dec. 19/20 (Saturday at 2pm and 7pm /Sunday at 3pm) - The Nativity Ballet
The Grand Theatre
Cartersville, GA

May 15, 2010 at 7:30pm - Spring Concert (Recital)
The Grand Theatre
Cartersville, GA

UPDATES: lots to tell ya

Time got away from me in the past few weeks!! So here's a quick wrapup...

1) Cole did awesome at the State Swim Meet in July!!! He placed 9th in the Sate for Butterfly, yippppeeeeee... very fun day hanging watching all of the competitions...






2) The kids started school... Judy in 6th and Cole in 8th... should be an awesome year! They have great teachers :) YAY






















3) We have had fun the last few weeks swimming with friends!!!

Carver's Apple House Orchard and Restaurant

Visiting my mom in Dandridge, TN and we drove over to Carver's Apple House in Cosby today for lunch... for the BEST Apple Fritters, Apple Butter and Chicken Pot Pie Ever!! My daughter grabbed the Pickled Okra right away of course... My son loves the Apple Cider BBQ sandwich... They only had a few apple varieties available... we will come back in October to get our favorite variety -Stayman Winesap! But today, we bought fresh "Paula Red" apples (tart, turning sweet after a few bites)

I can see clearly now

Took Cole today to pick up his new glasses and they look so sharp on him!! And he said it made a huge difference, YAY! This time we decided to go with the transition lenses so we'll see how he likes them... Ain't my baby good looking??!!!!!!! :) We picked the frames without a rim on the bottom so it doesn't box his face in as much.... and we got the Crizal again so he won't get fingerprints, scratches, glare...

We ♥ REAL Mountain Water!

Today we made another trip about 7.4 miles from our house down a beautiful wooded curvy road to a place called "Potts Spring" where we fill our jugs with Cool and Real Mountain Water! Of course we had to take our dog Rusty for alittle ride in the back of the truck too...

This fresh sparkling water is flowing out of the mountain and very close to the road, so it is easy to find, but most people pass right by without noticing it.... The water is so cold that it makes the jug break out into a cold sweat with condensation

This is the BEST tasting water we've ever had!

Surprise Letter from Ghana

Last Christmas we participated in Operation Christmas Child, which is a program that brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes and the Good News of God’s love.

As a family we filled three shoeboxes with items we thought the kids would need or want, such as bandaids, tissues, pencils, little toys, etc. We didn't know where the boxed gifts would go and/or who would get them. Judy wanted to include some stationary and her address just in case we were lucky enough to hear back from one of the children who received a shoebox.

This past week, when checking our mailbox, I pulled out a letter stamped By Air, and it was addressed to Judy!


The letter was from a little girl named Gifty that lived in Agogo, Ghana. Judy was soooo excited. In the letter, Gifty mentioned she liked reading and singing, so we plan on buying some books to send back to Ghana for her.

Right now, I am searching for Ghana stamps so we can send them to Gifty, so it will be easier for her to write back and not have to buy stamps herself.

It would be very cool if Judy and Gifty were pen pals and we could go on a mission trip to Ghana one day to meet Gifty!


I highly urge you to participate in Operation Christmas Child this year! We plan to fill about five boxes to send this Christmas.

My Big Fish is going to state!

It is customary for swimmers to have sharpie graffiti somewhere on the body for swim competitions... I had fun drawing the team logo on Cole's back!

Cole won first place at the District Swim Meet yesterday in the 50Fly! He was brilliant!
He also won 3 other medals for top spots inlcuding first place in the Team Medley Relay, second place in the Individual Relay, and third place in the Team Freestyle Relay.






It was a long day and it was hot, but we kept moving our chairs into the shade... but we had fun just hanging out waiting to watch him swim in those four events.

My brother Duane and Sis-in-law Ruthie were part of the on location cheering squad :) It meant alot to us that they were able to come and cheer him on!

We are excited about going in two weeks to see him compete in the STATE meet!!

Thanks to Duane for this awesome video...

Night Owl

First new blog entry......................

Nocturnal ... who give s hoot? LOL

Yes, I am a night owl. I am tired, my eyes are burning and bloodshot, I really need my beauty sleep, so why do I stay up so late? I have always been like this, even as a child. But now I am in a really horrible routine of staying up until 3 or 4 am!
I guess it's the quiet that I like, or being able to work on the computer without interruption, or catching up on all of the shows I have DVR'd...
Everyday, I tell myself that this is the day that I will go to bed at a decent hour!
I KNOW that I would feel great in the morning... ugh
maybe tomorrow I will buy a new pillow and that will help... so here goes... hoping I can get some sleep tonight!