At Home with Maree

Just a little refining and shining up.......

2009-12-08T09:38:00.012-05:00

I heard Dehlia tell this story to a guy the other night on her radio show .....

he had been going through really hard times and

wanted to dedicate a song to his wife

who had been a wonderful support to him.

There is comfort in knowing the hard times we go through are not in vain....

Romans 8:28

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,

who have been called according to his purpose. "

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

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

A silversmith explained that in refining silver,

one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire

where the flames were hottest

as to burn away all the impurities.

Ever been in the hot spot...I have.

Why does God allow it?

The silversmith said that he had to sit

and hold the silver in front of the fire all the time,

and his eyes had to be on the silver all the time.

If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames,

it would be destroyed.

But how does the silver smith know when the silver is fully refined?

The silversmith answered this,

"Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it."

Packin my bags.....

2009-12-10T12:50:00.007-05:00

Here we come.....
Destin awaits!

~~~~~~~~~~~Home will be waiting too~~~~~~~~

Fom My Home to yours....

Merry Christmas!!

Cleaning House 2009

2009-12-10T16:49:00.010-05:00

Just received this from my friend Nancy....

Last Week I threw out worrying,

it was getting old and in the way.

It kept me from being me;

I couldn't do things God's way.

I threw out a book on MY PAST

(Didn't have time to read it anyway).

Replaced it with NEW GOALS,

started reading it today.

I threw out hate and bad memories,

(Remember how I treasured them so)?

Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too,

threw out the one from long ago.

Brought in some new books too,

called I CAN, I WILL, and I MUST.

Threw out I might, I think and I ought.

WOW, you should've seen the dust.

I ran across an OLD FRIEND,

I hadn't talked to in a while.

His name is GOD the Father,

and I really like His style.

He helped me to do some cleaning

and added some things Himself.

Like PRAYER, HOPE, FAITH and LOVE,

Yes... I placed them right on the shelf.

I picked up this special thing

and placed it at the front door..

I FOUND IT-

it's called PEACE..

Nothing gets me down anymore.

Yes, I've got my house looking nice.

Looks good around the place.

For things like Worry and Trouble

there just isn't any space.

It's good to do a little house cleaning,

Get rid of the things on the shelf.

It sure makes things brighter;

maybe you should

TRY IT YOURSELF..
BE BLESSED AND BE A BLESSING TO SOMEONE ELSE!!!!

May the Lord open the windows

of heaven and pour
out a blessing

that you will not have room enough to receive it all.

May the Lord bless you

exceedingly abundantly

above all you could ever hope for.

Give This Christmas away...

2009-12-06T20:57:00.009-05:00

Amy Grant & Matthew West

Samaritans Purse

Big Idea

Seems like I'm the video queen lately....

I've had so much to say and no time to say it!

I believe in Christmas....

I see it in my grand children's eyes

Warm hugs from friends

Handel's Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah

Silent Nights....

A store clerk looking me in the eye and saying "Merry Christmas!" with feeling

Familiar ornaments and decorations...the Creche...baby Jesus

I believe in Christmas

Christ birth...

The Angel

The Virgin

The Stable

The Star

The Shepherds

The Wise Men

I Believe!

Forgiven

2009-12-05T21:53:00.003-05:00

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation;

the old has gone,

the new has come!

A Strange Way to Save The World...

2009-12-02T22:32:00.002-05:00

Our God is a God who saves....Psalm 68:20

Thanksgiving Memories...

2009-11-30T09:04:00.015-05:00

Sis took this shot of our Thanksgiving table...

The red polka dot fork would be our new

Pottery Barn kids silverware...adorable.

Also adorable were three of my grandchildren

around the table.

Leah is an old hat at Thanksgiving....

Kate and Jack celebrated for the first time....

After the food, fun and dishes were done I settled in the kids bedroom

for some one on one with my Kate....we were listening to

Somewhere over the rainbow and having tea.

The photo on the little chest is of Leah and the little prayer books are her favorites

Happy and content is how one facebook friend said I looked.....I was

Love spending precious time with my family!

~~~~~~

This is the third Thanksgiving we have celebrated since we all started counting calories on http://www.thedailyplate.com/

We have all changed in so many ways for the good

during these past couple of years

At Talbot's the other day, a clerk that knew me during the fat years,

made mention how much happier I seem,

carry myself differently, hair, attitude all better.

All I know is..... I sure feel great!

~~~~~~~

Liz Curtis Higgs said this moring on facebook,

"Ready for some good news?

The Lord offers grace instead of condemnation.

Life instead of law.

Freedom instead of bondage.

Hope instead of despair.

Oh, happy day!"

Amen!

Healer..

2009-11-28T19:03:00.013-05:00

1 Peter 2:24

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,

so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;

by his wounds you have been healed.
.

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

I like your Christ,
I do not like your Christians.
Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
- -- Mahatma Gandhi

Kyle Idleman our teaching pastor at church really hit the nail on the head this past weekend.
So many people have been judged and abused by our church's.

Podcast from last weekend at church

Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY

We Gather together....soon

2009-11-25T16:32:00.011-05:00

We Gather Together

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;

He chastens and hastens his will to make known;

The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,

Sing praises to his name:

He forgets not his own.

Beside us to guide us,

our God with us joining,

Ordaining,

maintaining his kingdom divine;

So from the beginning the fight we were winning;

Thou, Lord, wast at our side,

All glory be thine!

We all do extol thee,

thou leader triumphant,

And pray that thou still our defender wilt be.

Let thy congregation escape tribulation;

Thy name be ever praised!

O Lord, make us free!

Amen

---Traditional Thanksgiving Hymn---

(A translation by Theodore Baker: 1851-1934)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Love, Maree

What Faith Can do....

2009-11-21T16:54:00.004-05:00

Kutless

1 Peter 1:6-9

In this you greatly rejoice,

though now for a little while

you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

These have come so that your faith—

of greater worth than gold,

which perishes even though refined by fire—

may be proved genuine and may result in praise,

glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Though you have not seen him,

you love him;

and even though you do not see him now,

you believe in him

and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

for you are receiving the goal of your faith,

the salvation of your souls.

Let's see, if I tweak a few things I can look five years younger....

2009-11-20T10:56:00.015-05:00

When My dad was in the service during World War 11 he was stationed in Jacksonville Florida, dad was a flight instructor. My mom desperately wanted to be a WAVE but my dad said no to that, so she worked on base selling shoes. They loved living in Jacksonville and made friends there for life.

We traveled to Jacksonville one summer when I was quite small to visit friends they had made during their time in the service. My mom was happy about that, but could not hide her excitement about going to visit the Fountain of Youth to get a drink from it. I picked up on that excitement and was intrigued to say the least. "Why did momma think that was gonna work?" I thought to myself. When I was 6 or 7 the fountain was huge and important looking.

Years later we took the kids to visit the Fountain of Youth and as an adult I was taken back how very small the fountain was and really unimpressive...once again I thought, " Why did momma think that was going to work?"....

Can we really get our youth back again or even stay youthful?

Maybe a sip from the fountain can't hurt but...

I believe yes, we can if we work at it!

Here's an article copied from Vibrant Nation about ways to look 5 years younger, I liked it..

I'm always eager to learn ways to look younger. That's why I was keenly interested in the beauty feature in this month's InStyle magazine on "10 Ways to Look 5 Years Younger." So, what did the 10 beauty tips say?

1. Brighten Up with Concealer - According to the makeup artist Mally Roncal, who is quoted in the story, if you use concealer "People will start asking who your surgeon was." (Yes, I do use concealer under my eyes every day. However, no one has ever asked me who my surgeon was...which is good because I don't have one.)

2. Be Careful With Color - By color, they mean hair color. According to New York colorist Louis Licari, who is quoted in the story, "If you over-highlight your blond hair, you lose the golden tones that keep it looking youthful and pretty. And hair that is dyed too dark is unnatural." (I am careful with my hair color. I have a fabulous colorist who puts just the right amount of highlights in my hair and doesn't dye my hair too dark either. Ah, glad I am complying with Lou's suggestions.I agree with you Lou. I do. I do.)

3. Perk Up A Saggy Butt - This tip says that 'our bottoms tend to be less buoyant as we age...gravity pulls them down.' Susie Crippen of J Brand, says to "check the label of every pair of jeans before buying to make sure they have at least 2 percent stretch, like Lycra. Pants with more than 98 percent cotton can stretch out as soon as you wear them." (Wait, J Brand is the brand of jeans that my daughter A raves about. I should listen to Susie, she must be smart when it comes to perking up saggy butts. I do love my Not Your Daughter's Jeans which also perk up my butt.)

4. Shine On - This tip says that years of blow-drying and styling our hair can leave it lackluster...that adding conditioning gloss or a shine serum can help hair sparkle. (I'll have to try the conditioning gloss. As for the shine serum, I already have that product in my repertoire of haircare products and it seems to weigh my hair down rather than sparkle it up.)

5. Find the Perfect Bra - According to New York stylist Annabel Tollman, "A good bra elevates your chest to a higher altitude, giving you a longer, slimmer-looking waist." (Hmm, hmm, maybe I will have to listen to Annabel and go to Victoria's Secret and buy one of those new Miraculous bras.)

6. Give Some Lip Service - This tip says that our lips lose volume as we get older and that dark matte lipsticks accentuate our aging lips. It says to switch to pink gloss to look younger. (Okay, after I go to Victoria's Secret to get my new perfect bra, I'm going to go to MAC and buy some 'pink gloss' for my lips.)

7. Fake An Eye Lift - Ooh, ooh, I think I am practicing this tip already. Yes, I am. I put my eye makeup on just like the tip that N.Y.C. makeup artist Paula Dorf says. Sorry Paula, I learned this tip from the MAC makeup lady when she did my colors several years ago. I think it was when I was 5 years younger and I'm still practicing this tip. I do 'use a light-colored shadow near my lash line and a deeper shade in an arc above the crease where my lid is dropping.'

8. Get A Little Cheeky - The Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Gabriel Chiu says that "as we age the fat pads in our cheeks fall" and that to defy nature you can either get a filler or you can use a bright pink blush, which illuminates the cheekbone and draws the eye upward." (No fillers for me. I'm not putting any fillers in my cheekbones. And I've tried bright pink blush once before and it doesn't look good on my cheeks. Guess I won't be practicing this tip. I wonder, if each tip is worth .5 years and I practice all the other nine tips, will I look 4.5 years younger? You think?)

9. Lose the Powder Makeup - Paula Dorf says that "As you get older and your skin produces less oil, dewy makeup is more flattering." (No wonder why the makeup artist at Bobbie Brown recommended that I start using an oil based foundation when I had my 50th birthday makeover. It's been almost two years since I had my 50th birthday makeover and I've been practicing this tip ever since.)

10. Mix Things Up - This final tip says to "always throw in something unexpected, like messy hair, a casual jacket, or flats with a fancy dress." (I can do messy hair, I have several casual jackets in my closet. I don't like flats with a fancy dress, they tend to make my pear-shaped body look more hippy. Personally, I like pumps with a fancy dress or a sandal.)

My yoga teacher N, also had a few yogi cures for aging that she shared with us during tonight's yoga class:

Yogi cure #1 - The first yogi cure for aging is to do a 10 minute inversion every day. An inversion can be a head stand, or a hand stand, or the dead bug pose (which is my favorite. I look like an upside down dead cockroach when I do this pose.)

Yogi cure #2 - Massage your face outward every night. Start at the top or bottom of your face and stimulate your skin and then put your moisturizer on your face. Stretch out your neck too by pulling your face forward. (This will add an extra step to my evening skincare ritual, but I'll try it if it will help me stay forever young.)

If I can find 10 more beauty tips to help me look younger, I wonder if I can look 10 years younger? Wait a minute...wait a minute. How does the chorus in the "Forever Young" song go? Think I need to stop, breathe, and sing...

Forever young,
I wanna be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever and ever
Forever young I wanna be
Forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever

I'm so very grateful...

2009-11-19T10:15:00.006-05:00

I am on my knees grateful today.

My Lord loves me with unfailing love

He's crazy about me...

you too.

How can I not be grateful for that?

Psalm 36:7

How priceless is your unfailing love!

Both high and low among men

find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

My favorite workout pants....

2009-11-03T08:56:00.015-05:00

When you first start out on an exercise path finding comfortable clothes is sometimes an issue. I don't like clingy fabrics that show off things I'd rather not share with the general public. These everyday pants from Lucy rock! I like the vital pant too.

Right now these pants and everything at Lucy are 20% off (expires Nov 16, 2009) if you enter 1009EWORKOUT when you checkout. Lucy always has free shipping and if they don't have a store in your state you won't be charged sales tax. Note..revision: Now extended until Dec. 7, 2009 code 1009EGLITTER

Friday is their 10th birthday and if you make an order on Nov 6th you will get 30% off. When you checkout on Friday use the code HAPPYBIRTHDAY.

I could live in their clothes, the quality is there, love their socks too. Here's their website Lucy.

Answered Prayers

2009-02-24T03:25:00.005-05:00

The time was 1974...don't you just love my rose colored glasses and feathered hair? I'd taken Brad and Melissa to have their pictures made and the photographer sat me down too....thank goodness, since we have very few pictures of the three of us. When times are stressful or hard...the last thing on people's minds are to get a picture taken.

I was a single mom, juggling running a plant store I owned with my dad, going to college part time and day to day life with two little ones.....it really helped they were awesome little guys...so good. You can't tell by looking at this picture, my self esteem was really in the gutter....I'd been told a lot I was stupid, fat and ugly...no one would ever want me. So overwhelmingly I'd believed it true. It wasn't, sadly enough, until I'd taken a Human Development Class at UofL that I'd started to realize that I was nice and people liked me!!

The feelings of self loathing and doubt would take over however, when I would sit in church with my kids and see all the loving families together...moms, dads, children. "Oh Lord", I'd pray, "I know I'm worthless and don't deserve anything, but Lord, could you send me a christian husband, please?"

I wish now I could sit down with that person that was me

and give her a big ole hug.

I'd tell her

Jesus loves you and you are so precious to Him.

He's not looking for you to be perfect.....no one is perfect

Jesus would tell her....

All these people you see here looking so fine here in MY house..

It's not always what it seems

no one, no not one of them have perfect lives

They all need ME.

God was listening and He had a plan for my life and Dick's.

We like to say we picked each other up out of the gutter and brushed each other off.

Together we were better.

Dick is my prince on a white horse, my rock of Gilbratar, and he makes me laugh til the cows come home. More importantly....he loves me....a really nice christian guy loves..... me!

Thank you Lord for answered prayers!

Dick adopted Brad and Melissa several years after we got married...and then along came Rich ....he's about 6 weeks old here.

February 24, 1978
We are blessed over and over

we look forward to many more years together

full of laughter and

LOVE!!

Angel Time....

2009-11-15T21:40:00.007-05:00

It's production time at my house...

promised my friend Cindy I would make 30 angels for her patients...

she's a nurse and really cares for each and everyone of her aging patients

Cindy gives a big part of herself each day she is with them

I wanted to do something to help her cheer their day.

They are made of paper ribbon

At one time I had a craft business

made dried flower wreaths, hats, baskets and such.

I prayed one night for God to give me just one thing I could make because

I needed to simplify

Sat down the next day and started forming these little girls...

I've made hundreds

It's my prayer that these little angels will bring joy

they are made with love.

Promised I"d have them done by this Wednesday...

gotta get busy! ;-)

Our family Sugar Cookies & Gingerbread Men.....

2008-12-12T09:40:00.002-05:00

This recipe is from the

Sesame Street Library Volume 1

Featuring the letters A and B

and the number 1

We bought them in the 70's I'm guessing.

Over the years I've made this recipe over 100 times...always doubled it.

This is from my homemade recipe book...it's full of wonderful recipes that have been a hit in the past. I need to go through them and lighten them up. But this recipe, I will never change. So many memories wrapped up in one little sugar cookie recipe!

Years ago I watched the Bob Braun TV Show. It was a variety show and they always had a cooking section with Beverly Nye. I saved many of her recipes....she was famous for her pie crust recipe..you HAD to use ice water. Beverly loved this Gingerbread man recipe because there was no molasses in them, making them softer for the little ones. Not only are they softer.....they are delicious! Guess I'm made 100's of these too. Always doubled the recipe. Beverly taught us to flour the board you are going to roll the cookies onto and then cover the dough with plastic wrap and then roll out.....makes it so easy to make these cookies.

I'm going to post Melissa's Buttermilk Chess Pie....
I'll just put it at 500 calories a slice! ;-) Who knows, who cares!!

These are some of our very favorite Christmas recipes....I wanted to share them with you!

Merry Christmas!!

He Is....

2009-11-14T19:50:00.006-05:00

Revelations 1: 7-8

Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.

So shall it be! Amen.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega,"

says the Lord God,

"who is, and who was, and who is to come,

the Almighty."
~~~~~~~~~~~

Story behind the song

~~~~~~~~~~~

Well...I'm Shrinking...In More Ways Than One.

2009-11-13T05:10:00.019-05:00

All my adult life I've been 5' 7 1/4......

more than 40 years I'd say.

Just found out yesterday at the doctors office

I'm 5' 6 1/2...

made the poor assistant measure me twice,

but there it was,

five six and one half...sigh.
Oh yeah...I weighed 10 pounds less than I thought! JOY!!

Hopefully, this will help me with my plea to Dick to join a gym. We walk about 4.5 miles a day, but that is it....we really need to be doing more strength training. He has resisted I believe because for years we paid good money to a gym, used it, but never lost a pound. Now I have proof I need strength resistance training or I'm going to end up like Edith Ann! ;-)

All in all though, I found out I'm in good health...

it's been a very stressful year ....

the state of my life

could have been so much worse

than loosing three quarters of an inch.
Trusting God, eating right, exercising and loving life has paid off.
I'm a happy girl!
Speaking of being a happy girl,
check out these photo's of my girls!

Over the Moon about these new photos Sis captured of Jackson....

2009-11-09T19:40:00.020-05:00

Well, she did it again....topped herself.

Sis and her family traveled to Tennessee

this past weekend to visit Jack, Rachel and Rich.

I knew Sis would be taking pictures...that's a given,

all I can say is wow!

Jackson Wyatt will be 5 months on the 20th...

he's got the best little personality!

Be still my beating heart is this cute or what!

When Rich was a little guy he loved Chucks...

had a pair of orange ones...sweet memories

We are having so much fun watching this little guy learn and grow.

Jack, Pop Pop and Gramma Re love you so very much!

If you'd like to check out Sis's professional website it's

Over The Moon Photography

Click on the rss feed next to the facebook feed to see some amazing photo's

Also here on facebook

Starbucks Holiday Coffee .....purely a dessert, even if it's low-fat or non-fat

2009-11-08T19:12:00.023-05:00

(These are Grande facts)
1.Gingerbread Non-Fat Latte

Guess this is the best of the three...

calories, 270 with whipped cream, 200 without

fat calories 70

37grams of sugar

40 grams carbs

2.Peppermint Non- Fat Mocha

calories, 480 with whipped cream, 400 without

fat calories 120

75 grams sugar

78 grams carbs

3.Eggnog Latte ...
sadly my personal favorite

calories, 470

fat calories, 190

48 grams sugar

53 grams of carbs

Silly me thinking I could waltz to a Starbucks...
order a low-fat Eggnog Latte,
drink it
and worry about the calories later.
The girl in the box at the drive up window announced
(after I had ordered a low-fat eggnog latte,)
"oh, you don't have to order non-fat...
that's the only way eggnog latte come"

How thoughtful of Starbucks I thought,
just like them to think of the calorie conscious ...ha!

I could not believe my eyes when I checked the Starbucks web-site later that day to get the true calorie count....
470 CALORIES...for coffee!!??
sinking feeling
It was good..very good
However, not worth almost 1/3 of my daily allotted calories.
Buyer beware....it's the Holiday season..traps are everywhere.
To tell you the truth
the grande skinny vanilla latte for a mere 130 calories
has enough holiday in it for me!

Salvation Is Here!..& From The Inside Out..

2009-11-07T15:23:00.010-05:00

Hillsong United

Psalm 64:10

Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD

and take refuge in him;

let all the upright in heart praise him

From The Inside Out....

Psalm 139:23-24

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Get out there and celebrate life!

2009-11-05T17:50:00.004-05:00

We took these photo's this past weekend while hiking in the Jefferson Forrest ...let me repeat that...while hiking. Sure sounds good to my ears... never thought the words hiking and me would ever go together.

Life is short...

make the most of it...

My heart and prayers are

with the families of those killed and wounded at Ft Hood.

God Bless them.

William Sonoma has their Panini Press on sale...

2009-11-05T10:35:00.006-05:00

William Sonoma has their awesome panini press discounted another $20...$79.95, check it out here. We use this press so much...we cook bacon on it, sandwiches, chicken, pork and salmon. Use any kind of bread, low fat cheese, chicken, turkey or ham with mustard....a toasty warm sandwich makes a meal special. Restaurant quality and taste...you control the calorie content by knowing exactly what is in the sandwich. Time saver.

The Holidays...they are a coming...

2009-11-04T10:26:00.009-05:00

These are the kind of buffets/pot lucks that really get to you...

how do you decide what to eat and avoid temptation.

It was about a year ago I stopped logging into http://www.thedailyplate.com/ on a daily bases. After about 8 months of faithfully logging in every speck of food I ate (Dick too), I wanted to see if I could manage in the world of dinner parties, restaurants, bakeries, ice cream parlors and such alone. At the end of the holidays last year I had only gained 2 pounds...not too bad! From time to time I log back in to see how I'm doing....bottom line, you can teach an old dog new tricks. I'm a changed person...forever!

My friend Deborah teased me yesterday that I know how many calories are in everything....not quite...but almost! Practice makes perfect! ;-)

Getting control of the food you eat is key. So...

1. Plan Ahead.

Without thinking about what is likely to be served, the best intentions fall by the wayside faster than you can shake a drumstick. If you absolutely cannot pass up the cornbread or cinnamon buns warm from the oven or Aunt Fay’s amazing apple cake, then you need to decide what and how much you will eat so someone does not have to roll you out. If you’re going to eat the apple cake that’s fine, but remember to eat fewer quiche and pastry puff appetizers when you arrive and to pace yourself throughout the meal.

2. Strategize. So if you’re not eating puff pastry appetizers, what are you going to eat? If you’re going to someone’s house for the holidays or if it’s in your home, serve something that is good to eat like a salad, lots of vegetables and maybe shrimp cocktails and take larger portions of those and smaller portions of the rest of the meal. Eat your vegetables first. They’ll fill you up, leaving less room for the more calorie-packed stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie.

3. Relationships first, food second. Yes, the holidays have wonderful foods – everywhere. But the reason you’re gathered together with relatives and friends, rather than eating alone is to be in contact with people. Focus on the people and what you’re doing instead of strategizing how to get those last potato puffs before Aunt Harriet does. Let Aunt Harriet have it. Besides, if her mouth is full, it will keep her from gossiping and give you the opportunity to connect with people you care about.

4. Eat small meals throughout the day. Do not make the mistake many people do of eating virtually nothing during the day to “save” extra calories for the big meal. You’ll end up hungry and eat things you don’t particularly like. Eat high-fiber mini meals for breakfast and lunch with snack (think whole fruit) in between to prevent an all-out binge.

5. Slow down. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to register fullness. Put down your fork and talk to your neighbor.

6. Water, Water, Water. We often eat, when we are really thirsty. Drink water before, during and after the meal so you are well hydrated.

7. Go for a walk. Instead of watching football on the couch all afternoon – eating the chips and dips during time outs – why don’t you gather everyone for a long walk? Taking a 45-minute walk could use up almost 250 calories. This is a wonderful holiday tradition you could start. If nothing else, you’re not home eating the leftovers.

8. Talk kindly to yourself. Banish the mantra, “I always gain weight over the holidays.” Instead say to yourself, “I am giving myself the gift of health. I can eat and enjoy any food I want in moderation.”

9. Enjoy the season of celebration. Remember the holidays are about coming from a place of gratitude. Now especially this year, we have a lot to be grateful for. Treat yourself well with friends, with loved ones and yes, with foods.

There are more good tips here from this article from http://www.letdiet.blogspot.com/

Excuse me while I brag a little....

2009-11-02T10:26:00.015-05:00

Sis's neighborhood rocks Halloween....

we had so much fun!

Kate caught on quickly to the fact

that you march up to the door,

say "Trick or Treat", then

they give you candy!

Gramma Re and her girls...

When Leah returned from Trick or Treating,
she rushed in the door with her pumpkin full of candy

and excitedly announced,
"Let's dump it and look at all of it!"

I've always taken a picture of Sis, Shawn and Leah at the end of their driveway heading off to Trick or Treat....
Seems complete with our precious Kate in the wagon too!

The end ;-)