Very Busy Week

I got my computer back yesterday afternoon. I guess it's a little faster, not that much though. Apparently dumb McAffe is making it slow but I just renewed with them so I have to wait a year to get rid of it.

Anyway, I was so busy this week I don't think I would have had time to blog anyway. Monday was nice because Ricky had off from work because of the snow. He drove us all to the store so I could do grocery shopping and it was so nice because there was no one else there! He likes to go driving around in his truck when it snows so that gave him an excuse to do it. I started a "new" diet/fitness plan on Monday, so I had to get supplies for the meals for the week. There have been some interesting dinners so far. We've had salmon with cucumber-dill salad (yummy), 5-factor lasagna made with eggplant and tomatoes instead of pasta and meat (um-interesting- I think if I make that again it would be better to peal the eggplant), venison chili, and a surprisingly tasty Indian-style chicken with curried yogurt sauce which was so easy to make and really good. Sorry to all you "foodies" out there but I didn't take any pictures. Basically the diet is a no-flour, no sugar, high protein and lots of veggies, fruits and low-glycymic carbs. It's all from the book Five Factor Diet by Harley Pasternack. I really love this book, not only does he tell you how to read food labels and good choices to make, he gives you an exercise routine that is easy to follow and very effective. My arms and abs are so sore but I've lost 5 lbs this week. So I'm officially waging war against that last 15 lbs that has been plaguing me.

Here is a video of Joanna climbing the stairs. Sorry about your neck. I couldn't figure out how to rotate it.

Tuesday I had a ton of things to do, it was like a Monday for me since Ricky had off the day before. I was able to get my house in a little bit of order in the morning so that was good. In the afternoon I took Genny back to the shelter that we had gotten her from:( It just wasn't working out with her. I felt so bad because I really liked her a lot and she was such a nice dog but it was proving to be too much for me. The reason we got her was for Ricky to have a dog and he didn't really care for her so all the responsibility was falling onto me and I was having a hard time with it. So even though I was really sad to give her back, I was cleaning the house in the afternoon and feeling a little relieved that I wouldn't have that extra work anymore. We've decided to retire Mishti from breeding and have her live inside. So now she is going to be our house pet. That is a little more bearable than a really big hairy dog. Ricky really likes Mishti too so that is good.

Wednesday I drove over to see my sister, Christy. I was feeling like I hadn't seen her in a while so I went for a little visit. It was really nice to see her again and of course Chase had a lot of fun playing with his cousins, although I think he might have had more fun playing with their train set:) He is so funny. I left a little after 2:00. Oh, I had to put an ad in the paper for the one puppy and it came out on Wednesday and all day I was getting a ton of calls. Well shortly after I got home a man called "desperate" for a Yorkie and wanted to come look at them. So I brought in Penny and her two puppies and gave them baths. I also kept Dominic a little in the afternoon. The man and his wife came over at 7:00pm and picked out a puppy and gave me a deposit, so they were sold in one day! So much for the 6 day ad I paid for.

Thursday morning I had to go to the dentist for a cleaning/checkup. I HATE going to the dentist and start shaking as soon as I walk in the door. I get so mad at myself too, it's so dumb. After the cleaning was over I was like, "you've got to be kidding me, that wasn't bad." I have to go back though, I have 3 cavities and I need to get the rest of my wisdom teeth out:( Not looking forward to that one. I'm definitely getting the Nitrous for that.

I don't remember what I did yesterday. In the evening We all went to walmart and got Ricky a bicycle. I told him that I was going to name it "Harley", he thought that was a good idea. Also here is more proof that Walmart is awesome: I haven't had matching glasses since we were first married but I broke them all because I am a klutz, so I wanted to throw away all the mismatched glasses that we had and get new ones and went to look at what they had at walmart and got a set of 16 for $9!

Aren't they beautiful!

Speaking of beautiful... the last couple days have been so nice. I love it. Today we were outside all day. I pruned back the vine on the side of the yard and the grapevine and the butterfly bush and roses. I kept Dominic again this morning. Chase and Dominic were playing outside for about an hour and then they came inside and were acting all bored so I made them walk to the park with me. We got back a little after 11:00 ate lunch and then I took him to Ricky's parents so I could give my kids naps (and maybe take one myself). Here are some recent signs that spring is soon here:

These are the neighbor kids and Chase. All of them love riding their bikes on this old shuffleboard court behind our house.

You should really try this recipe:

Indian-Style Chicken with Curried Yogurt Sauce and Brown Rice:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1 teaspoon curry powder

8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, thinly pounded

2 cups cooked brown rice

2 1/2 cups mixed veggies (I used broccoli, cauliflower and carrots)

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/8 tsp ground paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Combine the yogurt, curry powder, coriander, paprika, salt and pepper. Pour 3/4 of the mixture into a Ziploc bag.

2. Add the chicken, seal, and refrigerate for 20 minutes. drain the chicken and discard the marinade.

3. Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat the skillet. Add the chicken and sear on each side until golden brown. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 1 minute more and remove from the heat.

To serve: place the chicken and brown rice on plates top the chicken with the remaining yogurt sauce and the mixed veggies.

Serves: 2