Great time with the fam....

Anyone that has kids knows how hard it is to get a great shot.

These two are big cutups and when they get together...watch out!

Funny, silly words we all called out helped to get this keeper

(Plus Sissy's hand at the camera)...

Oh how we love our Leah and Sam!

Dick got this shot with his Blackberry...they were turning over stones to look for bugs and messing up my Creeping Jenny something awful! ;-)

Kate was not sure about it, but very interested!

Looks like they found one!

Leah and Sam did capture a spider in the house...no fear!

Sis got some great shots I want to share...

Sam

Kate

Leah

Love this one of Cheri and Sam

Our daughter-in-law Cheri..wow!

Brad

Sweet shot of Cheri and Brad

It was a busy crazy weekend full of laughter and fun...

and oh so many memories.

I love the way Sam and Kate call me Re-Re...grabs my heart!

Leah always takes my hand and tries to steal away

some alone time we both adore.

I know these are fleeting precious moments...

I must savor each and every one...

Love my family

~Missed you all bunches~

New!! BBQ Chicken Salad...Panera does it again!

Here's Panera's website..the salad is on the front page...they drizzle BBQ sauce cover the chicken...yum! They have a new nutrition page that allows you to add items..awesome!


Described as... All-natural pepper-mustard chicken, romaine lettuce, roasted corn, black beans, tortilla strips & BBQ ranch dressing, drizzled with BBQ sauce... 490 calories.




I like to get pick two ... 1/2 salad (240 calories) and a cup of summer corn soup (170 calories) or veggie soup (70 calories). Total meal with a baguette is around 475 to 565 calories.

The family is descending.....grand kids and family fun. Our son Brad is volunteering for the Ironman Louisville this year instead of running in it. They will be in from Virginia tonight! Sam, Leah and Kate all have the best time playing together, I know I will have great photo's (thanks to Sissy)to share next week. The balls, bubbles and treats are all set! Let the fun begin!! ;-)

The Gratitude Campaign

Here's the Gratitude Campaign website

I love my town!

One of our favorite restaurants Toast on Market is a splurge place, especially for Dick. I love to go in, grab a hot cup of coffee while we wait to be seated. The host there makes you feel right at home. Kids love him too and even color pictures to present to him, which he graciously accepts.

Toast on Market has exposed brick walls, dramatic overhead trusses, bright,

oversized artworks and a great sound track that plays

music like Ella Fitzgerald.

This is Ciffty's Breakfast.... Dick's favorite
Of course Dick calls these healthy pancakes...no crusty edges.
~~~~~
Then the place I'm called back to almost every day...Cherokee Park

The last hill we climb at the end of our walk...

This is what we saw this morning and we had to stop and take a picture.

It reminded me that God is here with us.

This fountain was a backdrop to a picnic Sunday

Dick had the great idea to walk our walk both frontwards and backwards

with a picnic in the middle....8.64 miles...my achy, achy feet!

Finally....our bench.

Wonder how many people call this "their" bench

We sit here and recover from that last hill...chill and drink in the view.

I'm thankful today for my town.

Dancing with the Stars...this is going to be a good one!

I'm sure the fact I'm a baptist preachers daughter, (PK) prepared me to love dancing and the movies...a lot. We weren't allowed to dance or go to movies. Sis says her dad and I will go to any movie anywhere...almost true...Dick and I will not knowingly go to scary movies.

I didn't learn to dance until I was in my twenties...I finally felt the beat to the Doobie Brothers and got over being shy on the dance floor.

It blows my mind how fast these dancers dance...they are amazing. It's so much fun to see "stars" that go from 0-60 during the show. Cloris Leachman was a favorite...no fear, loved George Hamilton and John O'Hurley. This year I'll be watching Kelly Osborne...huh? Kathy Ireland..love her lamps and rugs, but can she dance??? Macy Gray...she will be fun to watch and listen to. They did it again...got a great line up!

September 21, 2009 8pm.......I'll be watching!

Mya, singer, and Dmitri Chaplin

Melissa Joan Hart, actress, and reigning DWTS champ Mark Ballas

Michael Irvin, former Dallas Cowboy, and Anna Demidova

Ashley Hamilton, actor, comedian, singer-songwriter, and Edyta Sliwinska

Aaron Carter, singer, and Karina Smirnoff

Kathy Ireland, former supermodel-turned-businesswoman, and Tony Dovolani

Debi Mazar, actress, and Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Natalie Coughlin, U.S. Olympic swimmer, and season 1 champ Alec Mazo

Louie Vito, snowboarder, and Chesie Hightower

Chuck Liddell, ultimate fighting champ, and Anna Trebunskaya

Donny Osmond, singer, and Kym Johnson

Tom DeLay, former congressman, and two-time Dancing champ Cheryl Burke

Macy Gray, singer, and Jonathan Roberts

Joanna Krupa, model and actress, and season 7 champ Derek Hough

Mark Dacascos, Iron Chef personality, and Lacey Schwimmer

Kelly Osbourne, reality star, and Louis Van Amstel –Monica Rizzo

God You Reign

Lincoln Brewster


Isaiah 42:5

This is what God the LORD says—

he who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,

who gives breath to its people,

and life to those who walk on it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unfailing God

Though my eyes may fail me,
I will follow after You.
Though Your promise seems forsaken,
I'll remember the world's in Your hands.
You'll find me singing

You are unfailing God, Your love's unending.
And Your Word is eternal, firm in the heavens it stands.

Though sorrow's my condition,
And pain holds back no blow.
Though this be my darkest hour,
Your lamp is leading me home,
And You'll find me singing

You are unfailing God, Your love's unending.
And Your Word is eternal, firm in the heavens it stands.

Eyes can't see, but I feel You near.
I know You're working through my tears.
I trust You Lord. I trust You, for You never walk away.
You are unfailing God, Your love's unending.
And Your Word is eternal, firm in the heavens it stands.

~Mitchell Schiff & Michael Rossback

Pressed Cubano with Bacon...

These sandwiches are yet another reason for Dick and I to use our

Panini Press. Quick easy and different.

I think using the Hawaiian Rolls is genius!

Delish!

You can print the recipe here

For a look at 20 yummy low-fat sandwiches from Cooking Light

Sorry I think the lens has a finger print on it...sigh

We LOVE these sandwiches ...

I don't usually like yellow mustard or pickles on a sandwich...

Together all the ingredients just work

Cubans can cook!!

Mikey Likes!

This would be great with those Sweet and Spicy Cucumbers I posted last year

To print the recipe for Sweet and Spicy Cucumbers over Tomatoes

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Determination...

Our family moved to Virginia in 1989.

Sis was entering her sophomore year of High School.

Tough.


Rumor was that there was a girl Sissy's age living in our new subdivision the same age and drum roll....not only did she play tennis, her family had a

tennis court in their back yard!


Not long after that, I noticed Sis was walking quickly from room to room

in our home repeating over and over,

"I can do this, I can do this, I can do this!"

"What", I inquired, "can you do?"

"I'm going to go meet the girl that lives two streets over!", Sis exclaimed.

That's when I saw a determined girl charge out the door

down the street to make a new friend.

Impressed and proud I waited to see what happened.

Well, at first nothing much. Seems Sissy's new "friend" Ruth was the type of person that was slow to warm up...really slow.

Sis did not give up and went over to Ruth's from time to time. I'd see them walking in the neighborhood,

I guess she was too shy to come in our house.....

then one day it happened.

I looked out the back door and all I saw in the backyard pool was two sets of legs hanging like this girl on the edge of the pool....

only both their heads were under water..all I saw was legs.....

they were thinking alike!

My heart leaped!

Sis has a new friend!

From that time on they were two peas in a pod...Sis and Ruth had much in common and became very good friends. Ruth helped Sis start a new school and they both were on the Great Bridge High School tennis team. They stayed friends even though we moved back to Kentucky the next year. We laugh about it from time to time that Sis and Ruth even started to look alike....

Sissy's determination to make a new friend was inspiring to me
She has continued to inspire...over and over.
Since making the decision to adopt our beautiful Kate

Sis has shown pure determination to give Kate a wonderful life

Kate will need about 4 surgeries, three for her hands and one for her inverted eye lashes. We have decided fingers are overrated...

watching her play..

watching Kate's determination to figure things out inspires.... over and over.

See how God works?

He saw a determined momma and matched her beautifully with a

determined daughter....Perfect!

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will."

Vincent T. Lombardi

Were there is a will there is a way....

Walking The Wrong Way....

Dick and I have walked the Cherokee Park Loop since spring....always the same way. We have talked about walking the opposite direction....this morning, after much ado, we finally did it! We soon found out though we evidently were walking ....the wrong way.

We must have passed 20 signs saying... wrong way, wrong way!

We got slap happy after awhile..

These bikers actually said hello when they passed us..

the ones with the cool outfits usually don't.

Our favorite house err..mansion. The front yard has cascading ponds and all sorts of plantings that change daily...lillies, roses, black eyed susans...gorgeous! Smells great too.

These cell phone pictures do not do these houses justice...they are lovely

A few houses on our walk are For Sale... if you love houses...

these are beautiful...

1446 Cherokee Road

This one just went on the market this week...

1434 Cherokee Road

The last turn..the golf course is on the left.

That's were I saw the deer in the mist..gorgeous!

This is the end of our walk in Cherokee Park every day, The Scenic Loop

Since starting to walk in the park we have increased from 3 miles a day

to 4.32 miles..

Sure doesn't feel like the wrong way....it feels right!

Baby has on his rock, paper, scissors shirt Cheri gave him...used to be too tight to wear...so proud of him. Walking with Dick up hills and down in this park is heaven to me. I'm forever grateful to have the second chance to get out and walk....never for one minute do I ever take it for granted....it feels so right!

Grilled Chicken With Green Beans and Tomatoes Recipe

For the recipe and calorie info from Real Simple.....

Grilled Chicken With Green Beans and Tomatoes Recipe

Ours looks a little different...I apologize for the shot...we were starving by the time dinner was ready and I threw the food on the plate...

Tasted divine!

This recipe was so similar to our grilled chicken....

pat on olive oil with salt and pepper...

we use Kosher salt and ground pepper

the cilantro lime vinaigrette is what sparked my attention in this recipe.

Wow! This vinaigrette puts this dish above the rest!

Simple, quick and tasty

what more could you ask?

We grilled zucinni instead of the beans,

since I'm not a fan of cooked tomatoes, I fixed

black beans and rice.....Moros Y Christianos

Nueva Cocina

The website for Nueva Cocina

Where to buy Nueva Cocina

How do you say no to this sweet little face...

I knew we were in trouble this weekend when the new Five Guys was due to open here in Louisville...I knew a little bird would tell Dick ...

I was ready for it!

Dick went to see Julie & Julia with me....it was only fair that afterwards we did a "guy" thing

Give and take

The "little cheeseburger" is a little over 525 calories

We shared a regular fries...310 calories

It was so hot in the newly opened restaurant we ate on the patio

in 90 degree weather...he didn't care..look at the picture..

Dick was a happy boy!

His cheeseburger was a regular with everything on it....840+ Calories

I should probably post the picture he took of me...

but it's my blog and I don't have to...

Dick said I didn't look happy in it....

understatement. ;-)

I've been back logging into www.thedailyplate.com for over a month

holding my calories

around 1400-1500 and have lost 6 more pounds.

The majority of the time I eat well....so when I do eat something like a 525 calorie little cheeseburger from Five Guys I try not to beat myself up ....

deep down I'd rather not temp myself like that.

I feel one burrito away from a size 16!

Maybe that's a good thing...

~~~~~~~~~
Yoplait Delights

www.hungry-girl.com had this advertised in an e-mail they sent to me....

YUMMY...smooth, creamy 100 calories

The Lemon Torte Parfait was DivineHere's a dollar off coupon

Inspired By Julia...maybe Julie too...

What a fun, fun movie! When I was a child, My mom and I would watch Julia Child's show in awe....French cooking....wow. Mom was a very good cook, however, I don't remember her ever having Julia Child's cookbook or making any "French" dishes.

Until this movie...I'd never thought of it either.

That is going to change! Thanks Julie...not sure if this delightful movie with Julia Child in it would have ever been made if you hadn't started your blog about leaning to cook like Julia.

If you can do it...maybe I can too!

Since we started eating healthier, I've had to throw out most of my old standby meals and either recreate them or get new healthier recipes. I'm out of the box! So....

Julie Powell's blog

Great video about Julia Child's life done by the Food Network

Thanks to this fun, witty..(I love you Nora Ephron!!)...inspiring movie I'm going to try something new .... French Cooking.

Oh yeah, in the preview, Meryl has a new movie that looks like fun coming out, I think Christmas....called "It's Complicated". Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are in it..Alec leaves Meryl for another women and then wants her back. Comedy/Romance...love em!