tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-184478342024-03-12T23:45:07.315-05:00Rants by RebaBoldly going where many women have gone beforeRebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-88346887296016410322011-04-05T16:13:00.002-05:002011-04-05T16:22:59.047-05:00Crabby CrabsterCan I complain for a couple minutes???<br /><br />Ok, thanks. :-)<br /><br />I get phone calls ALL THE TIME from numbers I don't recognize. I no longer pick up, because it wastes my minutes to always have to tell these people that they have the wrong number...and then when they don't believe me, I have to waste my minutes convincing them that I'm not Jose, Salvador, or their caseworker.<br /><br />You might think I'm joking, but <span style="font-style: italic;">I'm not</span>.<br /><br />What happens when I don't pick up is a situation that I have now determined is even worse. <br /><br />People just call <span style="font-style: italic;">over and over</span>, sometimes as many as 10 times. Seriously, <span style="font-style: italic;">what possesses people to do this???!!!</span> Voice mail was invented for this purpose, wasn't it? Leave a message, I'll call you back.<br /><br />Sometimes I just can't get to the phone - example, maybe I'm <span style="font-style: italic;">at work</span>...you know, a job...maybe you've heard of this. Sometimes it prevents people from answering the phone.<br /><br />Or maybe I'm babysitting, and the baby is screaming...and then in the background I hear Poker Face (hell yeah that's my ring tone) playing over and over again!!! Well, looking on the bright side, the kids love the song, so they start dancing every time they hear it.<br /><br />The poor idiot who did this to me this afternoon caught me in a very crabby mood. So after his 3rd try I picked up. Here's the convo:<br /><br />Idiot: "Hey What's Up??"<br /><br />Me: "Who is this?"<br /><br />Idiot, trying to be cute: "Who's this??"<br /><br />Me, in my angry voice: "Um, no. Who is this."<br /><br />Idiot finally gets it and hangs up. If that's me being mean, then I'm a pretty nice person eh?<br /><br />So please, in the words of the great No Doubt, if you call & I do not pick up: "Sorry I'm not home right now, I'm walking into spiderwebs, leave a message and I'll call you back."<br /><br />Thank God for Caller ID.Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-45678073134894092682011-04-04T20:19:00.004-05:002011-04-04T20:35:07.513-05:00Can I have the negatives please?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlkWYJ3GnmxZxMnz9SzfEzVwLhMhFYwwc0MLgzNs9iiBWmuXh-2eNmpB0DCeLrJjaVcqovdefeBX2s_KnEJbZh3BxG6Dj7BzNCSkF8Ma7959ev3Ruw_CmmxyBGH824Zny73CJ/s1600/grandma.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 167px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRlkWYJ3GnmxZxMnz9SzfEzVwLhMhFYwwc0MLgzNs9iiBWmuXh-2eNmpB0DCeLrJjaVcqovdefeBX2s_KnEJbZh3BxG6Dj7BzNCSkF8Ma7959ev3Ruw_CmmxyBGH824Zny73CJ/s320/grandma.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591904499411634754" border="0" /></a><br />My dear grandmother, <a href="http://www.journaltimes.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/article_5dd85f50-5c90-11e0-981d-001cc4c03286.html">Ms. Georgia Rapaelian</a>, turned 90 last week! Doesn't she look amazing?!<br /><br />She wouldn't let us throw a big party ("When I turn 100, THEN we can have a big party!)...so the family went out to dinner at the very fancy Olive Garden. We asked the servers what they could do since it was the old lady's birthday and they gave us two options:<br /><br />1. buy a personal size cake for $6 (ummm...heck no. I spent the day making 2 desserts!)<br /><br />2. they told us WE could sing to her, and if they were around, they'd join in. Apparently "corporate" has told them they can't sing "their song" anymore...whatever that means.<br /><br />So, we sang our hearts out, and the whole restaurant laughed at us, and then we went home and ate my desserts.<br /><br />Dessert was pineapple cheesecake squares (Grams told me that pineapple was her fave fruit so that's how I chose that one), and I made a vegan chocolate bundt cake (shhh I didn't tell anyone it was vegan haha!!!).<br /><br />Grandma wanted to do a photo shoot of the grandkids since hers are all from when we were in high school. My brother and I are single. My 2 cousins are partnered. So the shoot went like this:<br /><br />G: "Ok, Becky, go stand over there, alone."<br /><br />Me: "What? Why do I have to go alone? Can't my brother and I be in a pic together?"<br /><br />G: "No! I have 4 photo frames...what am I supposed to do with the 4th frame if you and your brother are in the same pic?"<br /><br />So my brother and I stood alone for our pics...my brother held his arms around an imaginary girlfriend, and I pretended to sit on an imaginary man's lap. That way, it's easy enough to photoshop someone in? :-)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">But...the BEST part of the night...after we took the pics, Grandma asked if we could give her the negatives so she could get copies made! Poor thing...didn't realize we don't use negatives anymore. So about 10 minutes after we told her this, Grandma bursts out with, "Wait...so if we don't use negatives anymore, does that mean that Kodak has gone out of business??" She was so sad for Kodak.</span><br /><br />I reallllly love my grandma.Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-35965076079367975122011-03-29T07:07:00.009-05:002011-03-29T07:37:38.502-05:00The One Where I Try To Take My Mind Off Icky ThingsI haven't been home much in the past several days, but when I was, I was usually cooking or baking. I decided this would be a great way to take my mind off recent events (car accident-bleh). And since I can walk to a grocery store and get anything I need (thank you Chicago!), there's no excuse for me not to cook for myself. In fact, I am thankful for being able to do so!<br /><br />On my recent road trip, I purchased this cookbook because it was on the bargain shelf and looked like it had good recipes (p.s. I'm a sucker for good marketing in cookbooks - if it has glossy beautiful pictures of food, then I want it!) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cook-Yourself-Thin-Faster-Recipes/dp/1401341381/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301400761&sr=8-1"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cook Yourself Thin Faster</span></a>. It's small-ish, with...you guessed it, lovely pictures :-)<br /><br />I decided to make the Chopped Taco Salad. Pretty obvious and could've come up with it myself. But there was a recipe with it for homemade dressing and I wanted to try it. It's kinda like ranch dressing, with cilantro in it. Not the prettiest dressing ever, but it sure was yummy:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5G0-r9Rjuch_BERYZHQpneanJpwIfdI-qMHb0GQ4DbrynPovZfPiiWoRyleaS5lWO93KEuKT4ifnaXgGlyfLisT6oTbh1CgTScOMXgX0ndpGRTQ5-Ep6uwPjREFEasXCGQdUm/s1600/IMG_4814.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5G0-r9Rjuch_BERYZHQpneanJpwIfdI-qMHb0GQ4DbrynPovZfPiiWoRyleaS5lWO93KEuKT4ifnaXgGlyfLisT6oTbh1CgTScOMXgX0ndpGRTQ5-Ep6uwPjREFEasXCGQdUm/s200/IMG_4814.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589474859389505186" border="0" /></a>Because I was making taco salad, I got all Mexican-focused and decided to attempt my own salsa for the first time. I used a recipe from the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Americas-Test-Kitchen-Cookbook/dp/1933615710/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1301401150&sr=8-2">America's Test Kitchen cookbook</a> that I have (awesome/massive cookbook). I think I pulsed it too many times in the food processor, cuz it looked a little mushy:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDM5LVidMGAvLrOLZmp9lcFomtHm2rU05YZNkeAMcLnw5GmGuR_wWTMGZqJCWwANmb8rZYbeT3d_6NYRcPEBW2ZQU-O6WOHwwOWME73noA6trsqg3KOQKcq3Tt-u4DnxexaBMx/s1600/IMG_4808.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDM5LVidMGAvLrOLZmp9lcFomtHm2rU05YZNkeAMcLnw5GmGuR_wWTMGZqJCWwANmb8rZYbeT3d_6NYRcPEBW2ZQU-O6WOHwwOWME73noA6trsqg3KOQKcq3Tt-u4DnxexaBMx/s200/IMG_4808.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589476270354131442" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7SOtWicFjOzipL9dmg_TbWszl2C5ysBNJ4xQ36UBCM3tiGfB9hO1fNYZp_5fekx5YBHg-8k9azhV4VyzhlwxX9TKdS58q8OOtwBQb1NjcjHTA9maM1sxkoeDfT8SSp5lXvi3/s1600/IMG_4813.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7SOtWicFjOzipL9dmg_TbWszl2C5ysBNJ4xQ36UBCM3tiGfB9hO1fNYZp_5fekx5YBHg-8k9azhV4VyzhlwxX9TKdS58q8OOtwBQb1NjcjHTA9maM1sxkoeDfT8SSp5lXvi3/s200/IMG_4813.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589476964603779762" border="0" /></a>And then, I thought, how about some guacamole also? I make an awesome guac if I do say so myself (if there's anything I learned in my previous relationship, and there were many things, one of them was definitely how to make delicious guac!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNO74dmWEhXqOUtVJk3voDdWSgeqKZGUx6H12osHkkv1Cb55PyWoalRpahkw7VhOGKA3Hx_UlO-breOjPh-M2pgCXDMfjDoTD2R8gEsgRN__kDh2dPPrj5lfpeMp5KCS-M3Gkx/s1600/IMG_4816.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNO74dmWEhXqOUtVJk3voDdWSgeqKZGUx6H12osHkkv1Cb55PyWoalRpahkw7VhOGKA3Hx_UlO-breOjPh-M2pgCXDMfjDoTD2R8gEsgRN__kDh2dPPrj5lfpeMp5KCS-M3Gkx/s200/IMG_4816.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589477711555699906" border="0" /></a><br />A pic of the finished salad...mmmm....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ2Q2yMtH-odQT-vlP3yrFSOXQH3n051yw-s_QiqVK352LwkyVH1jFJkT74O0XbL9If12HJyDEk2UkVoS3RQUj-KefU4xkxoQAI7A2Pp2vaVzzqw2wIO_eGWn3-yt4dm5hNHYE/s1600/IMG_4824.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ2Q2yMtH-odQT-vlP3yrFSOXQH3n051yw-s_QiqVK352LwkyVH1jFJkT74O0XbL9If12HJyDEk2UkVoS3RQUj-KefU4xkxoQAI7A2Pp2vaVzzqw2wIO_eGWn3-yt4dm5hNHYE/s200/IMG_4824.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589478991504764962" border="0" /></a>And the best part was enjoying the food with my dear friend who came over for dinner :-)<br /><br />2 questions:<br />*Does anyone recommend a good salsa recipe? I'd like to try one with fruit - pineapple or mango maybe?<br /><br />*Does anyone want to come over for dinner?Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-79478720258105929122011-03-23T21:53:00.003-05:002011-03-27T15:01:12.861-05:0014/40 Days<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> 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{mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Fourteen days ago I started my Lenten practices. Here’s an update on how they’re going so far…<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="font-family:arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:11pt;" >I will not be spending ridiculous amounts of money on fancy coffee drinks when I can easily make my own.<span style=""> </span></span></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:arial;font-size:11pt;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">This one is going amazingly well so far, for my wallet, my waistline, and my peace of mind.<span style=""> </span>Since I’ve been traveling for the past couple weeks, I would drink coffee that my friends had made, or I’d heat up some water and have my Starbucks Via.<span style=""> </span>While I was in South Carolina, I bought a coffeemaker on sale at Target. My friends taught me how to use it. Today I bought fair trade coffee to make in it. I came home and unpacked the coffeemaker, set up a nice spot for it on the counter…and then realized I had never bought filters! That’s okay…I have several packets of Via and de-lish caramel macchiato flavored creamer.</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:arial;font-size:11pt;" ></span></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> 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mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> </div><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in; text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>The only sweets I will eat are those that I made myself, or that someone close to me has made themselves.<span style=""> </span></b><span style="">Also going fabulously! I LOVE this rule for myself!<span style=""> </span>It makes me think a lot more about what I’m putting in my body, and where it comes from.<span style=""> </span>You can read about my spinach brownie experiment <a href="http://rebaso.blogspot.com/2011/03/afternoon-of-not-so-deceptive.html">here</a>.<span style=""> </span>Last weekend, when I was with friends in DC we made “Monster” cookies…delicious oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate goodness.<span style=""> </span>Not sure what I’m going to try next!<span style=""> </span>But I’m definitely eating much less sweets because of this rule. One thing that makes me feel like I’m cheating is that my morning granola has chocolate in it. I blame this on Virginia for buying the granola (although I can’t blame her for the fact that I bought it at the grocery store upon returning to Chicago!). But I figure, I’m eating ½ cup for breakfast. 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mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="font-family:arial;"><span style=""><span style=""><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-size:7pt;" ></span></span></span></b><b style="font-family:arial;">I won't be using plastic bags at all.<span style=""> </span></b><span style=""><span style="font-family:arial;">I stopped to get some groceries in South Carolina and forgot to bring reusable bags. The groceries were: a baguette, Brie, ½ gallon of milk, bag of spinach, turkey meat from the deli, and creamer. I can tell you that I must’ve looked pretty ridiculous trying to carry these awkwardly shaped items to my car. I can also tell you that I don’t mind looking ridiculous.</span></span></span></div><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /><span style=""></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style=""><br /></span></p>Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-37643799244120921512011-03-23T21:26:00.003-05:002011-03-23T21:39:12.262-05:00Bookworm BeckyI've recently re-discovered reading for fun again. <br /><br />Reading for fun. That giddy feeling you get when you can't wait to start reading again so you can find out what happened. When you accidentally stay up all night so you can finish a book (ok, let's be honest. I've never been able to stay up ALL night, and in my ripe age of 30, well...no all-nighters for me!).<br /><br />When I was a kid, I used to plot ways to move my bedside light around so that my parents could not tell that my light was on. And I'd stay up til the wee hours of the morning reading book after book, usually RL Stine, or Babysitters Club (omg, I LOVED these!!!).<br /><br />I haven't felt that excited about reading in a good decade, at least. Let's face it. When it takes 3 months to read a measly fiction book, because you're too busy reading the loads of work for school...well, a book just isn't the same. And no matter how often I tried to continue to read for fun during my undergrad and graduate years....it just wasn't fun. I'd fall asleep after a couple pages (well, that still happens sometimes, but now I blame old age.) :-) Or I'd have to go for a week without picking up the book, and by then I'd forgotten everything I'd already read!<br /><br />Fast forward to the past month or so. OHMYGOSH reading is so back! I joined <a href="http://www.goodreads.com">goodreads.com</a> - kinda like social networking for book nerds. Well, not kinda like...it IS. So you can keep track of the books you've read, books you are currently reading, and ones that you want to read in the future. You can write reviews, and see your friends reviews.<br /><br />My rediscovering happened when I decided to re-read the 7th (& Final - sad face) Harry Potter book. I wanted to be fully prepared for the movie to come out this summer. Wow, that book starts out sorta slow, setting up what is to come. And then I just couldn't put it down. I'd be excited to get home so I could read some more. I'd turn off the tv (or never turn it on) so that I could see what else Hermione would pull out of her magical bag. Aaahhhh<br /><br />Then I picked up Lord of the Rings. I've never read those. And started making lists of all the classics that I never read that I think I should read. And before you know it, I was in the midst of 4 books at the same time. See above comments about my old age and forgetfulness, and you can maybe guess that this was a problem. Too many books!<br /><br />I'm trying to tone it down a bit. But not too much. I'm soooo happy to have rediscovered my love of reading. I wasn't sure it would ever return. But return it has. <br /><br />What good books have you read recently?Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-14587103995461385682011-03-13T23:34:00.010-05:002011-03-14T00:47:56.811-05:00An afternoon of not-so-deceptive domesticityVirginny Lee & I were feeling quite domestic on Friday, and attempting to be <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Radical-Homemakers-Reclaiming-Domesticity-Consumer/dp/0979439116/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1300081563&sr=1-1"><span style="font-style: italic;">radical homemakers</span></a>. We started updating our old blog, which is now new-ish...but I won't unveil it quite yet. I'm just getting the hang of this again, prolly too soon to commit fully to a second blog, eh?!<br /><br />VA has the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Deceptively-Delicious-Simple-Secrets-Eating/dp/006176793X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300081533&sr=8-1">"Deceptively Delicious"</a> by Jessica Seinfeld - yeah, THAT guy's wife. The whole concept of the cookbook is that you can puree various fruits & veggies, stick them in random foods that you wouldn't normally, and voila! You will have successfully deceived your kids and fed them healthy food without them even realizing it!<br /><br />Now, I don't have kids...and I'm not so into the deception part....but I AM all about figuring out more ways for ME to get more produce in my diet - especially veggies. So when we found a recipe adding veggies to one of my FAVORITE desserts (BROWNIES!!), I thought, why not?!<br /><br />So here is a story about VA & Reba making low-fat spinach brownies :-)<br /><br />The first thing you need to do is puree some veggies. This particular recipe called for pureed carrots and pureed spinach. Pureeing requires steaming the veggies, then blending in a food processor or blender. Here's some pics:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDkI9lHss4PO_kQMeL0RcMAk-TbIfTIGelVaxV9xEP6CYgnkcVUASYX4xFW2ajKeClIZRBojxSlbdY8HqNL774NCrFP_vvgR73jMdd1d7jCSSyqBrLFe2cXBLDSwpsN05UzkV/s1600/IMG_4614.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDkI9lHss4PO_kQMeL0RcMAk-TbIfTIGelVaxV9xEP6CYgnkcVUASYX4xFW2ajKeClIZRBojxSlbdY8HqNL774NCrFP_vvgR73jMdd1d7jCSSyqBrLFe2cXBLDSwpsN05UzkV/s200/IMG_4614.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583804278761040498" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFZ3376jE5Thfe8uw0A-MFu86SKTjmdSSVqLwQkw0uezwh5lBWHYPox_s8J36cX_f2gtLS57LLnqSEaGQdx82Ry1VzQjwCUwWHe-Ws1yPrZ4bm3ZA_WQDV9oTyKv_J4KMiOnK/s1600/IMG_0172.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFZ3376jE5Thfe8uw0A-MFu86SKTjmdSSVqLwQkw0uezwh5lBWHYPox_s8J36cX_f2gtLS57LLnqSEaGQdx82Ry1VzQjwCUwWHe-Ws1yPrZ4bm3ZA_WQDV9oTyKv_J4KMiOnK/s200/IMG_0172.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583805663037989874" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx88KaGAlH3BqZjKxFDUwlP1dD2Jc2pDGqf7EXl1wyN1Ghqy11Rwbwe0ahkykM8YzF8w3xSQrMg1A6baS-czXYo1ysHHXirEDtOnQBBxXyMgItHwPRt4f0DSRsxoHvFILV-yrF/s1600/IMG_4631.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx88KaGAlH3BqZjKxFDUwlP1dD2Jc2pDGqf7EXl1wyN1Ghqy11Rwbwe0ahkykM8YzF8w3xSQrMg1A6baS-czXYo1ysHHXirEDtOnQBBxXyMgItHwPRt4f0DSRsxoHvFILV-yrF/s200/IMG_4631.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583806458404789602" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7cNMWQZqE_A2sY_72pp0Zvsc0JV2bsypDfislarvk1SO3-Wiwo_HOUHSwtPVCJuyku0sQvX0THI1ile_kSpqDJnGMaLyLTasn7psu2y5SZbr57l1k02XyHyi-pdxjIIAUOwm/s1600/IMG_0177.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7cNMWQZqE_A2sY_72pp0Zvsc0JV2bsypDfislarvk1SO3-Wiwo_HOUHSwtPVCJuyku0sQvX0THI1ile_kSpqDJnGMaLyLTasn7psu2y5SZbr57l1k02XyHyi-pdxjIIAUOwm/s200/IMG_0177.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583806783844084722" border="0" /></a><br />After the pureeing, it was time to make the brownies!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3KlqYE3DN0cqtLetsopwmb2Xl87GyJccjF5ATesdB1LA8Wvy4yj3DMySQubrjdJehgnSlOXFsPrzu7JrLVQlOyRla-ngC3yfea6LQ3t6O4XsizwF582FTwuJPKLpmFl9A1_R/s1600/IMG_0180.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3KlqYE3DN0cqtLetsopwmb2Xl87GyJccjF5ATesdB1LA8Wvy4yj3DMySQubrjdJehgnSlOXFsPrzu7JrLVQlOyRla-ngC3yfea6LQ3t6O4XsizwF582FTwuJPKLpmFl9A1_R/s200/IMG_0180.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583807167802773778" border="0" /></a>And I just realized I totally forgot to take a pic of the actual brownies!! It's okay, I want to try making them again sometime with a few tweaks of my own. They tasted...spinach-y. haha. I'll try and post the recipe for y'all (I've been down South too long!) when it's not 2 am...Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-82306995365321167662011-03-10T12:51:00.002-06:002011-03-10T13:42:19.410-06:0040 DaysLent.<br /><br />Commonly a time where self-indulgent people everywhere choose to give something up....we often hear about people giving up a certain food (chocolate, anyone?), or soda (mmm, bubbles), and these days there are crazy people everywhere even giving up Facebook (crazy I tell you!).<br /><br />Forty days without chocolate, Dr. Pepper, or putzing around on Facebook when I should be writing cover letters & applying for jobs? EEK.<br /><br />Try forty days without running water, or 40 days on minimum wage, or 40 days without any internet whatsoever (gasp!).<br /><br />Ok, that last one is a joke. Hopefully if you're reading this you know me well enough to know that every once in awhile I throw a little sarcasm in to spice things up. But only a bit. :-)<br /><br />But seriously. It's ONLY 40 days. And maybe it would do well for all of us, church goers or not, to try a measly 40 days without something. However, I would argue that it's not just about giving something up. For me, it's about what I mentioned above - honoring the things I eat, and the products I use, and all the things I take for granted - honoring where they came from; honoring the hands that contributed to their production; acknowledging my own privilege in being able to CHOOSE to give something up. There are plenty more people in the world who have no choice, who don't even know when their next meal is, and here I am choosing to give up (gasp!) chocolate. What a sacrifice.<br /><br />These are things I will reflect on for the next 40 days. In the midst of the various things people choose to reflect on during this time of year, this is where my heart lies right now. And, as a method of accountability, here are the things I'm going to be intentional about these coming days....<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. I will not be spending ridiculous amounts of money on fancy coffee drinks when I can easily make my own. </span> No, I'm not quitting coffee. This would be unwise and detrimental to myself and all those who come in contact with me (my therapist agrees with me). But let's talk about the many reasons I should NOT be frequenting Starbucks every day...I'm spending crazy amounts of money!! Why is this bad? Well, there's the obvious reason of I don't have a real job and can't even afford health insurance so what the hell am I doing spending $$ at Starbucks?!! Ultimately, though, there are much better places and things I could spend my hard-earned part-time money on, and Sbux is not it. And when I make my coffee myself, I can choose fair-trade options, I can know where it came from, and I can know what I'm putting in it (instead of all those fatty delicious calorie-laden syrups that Sbux adds). Overall, I think this should be healthier for both my wallet and my waistline.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. The only sweets I will eat are those that I made myself, or that someone close to me has made themselves. </span> I'm smart, you see - I'm not doing the typical "I'm giving up sweets for Lent!" That's just crazy. And I've done it before. It doesn't work for me. Easter comes and I gorge myself on ice cream and chocolate, and then think constantly about these things pretty much everyday thereafter. (Yes, I'm admitting this to the whole world right here - please don't judge).<br /><br />My reasoning for this one comes from reading in the last several months all of <a href="http://michaelpollan.com/">Michael Pollan's</a> books about the US food system. In <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Food-Rules-Eaters-Michael-Pollan/dp/014311638X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299785886&sr=8-1">Food Rules</a>, </span>Pollan talks about how readily available and cheap so much processed food is in the US. Back in the good ole days, if someone wanted fried chicken, or french fries (or you name it), they couldn't just run to McD's or KFC and pick up a box. They had to spend the day cutting and peeling and battering and frying, which takes awhile! Not to mention all the cleanup that comes with it. Ick. So...in an effort to honor where my food comes from and what goes into them, I'm going to make my sweets myself - that way I know exactly what's going in them, and reducing my intake of processed foods...which is a long-term goal of mine. This will ultimately be healthier for me as well because it will cut down on the number of sweets I eat. Plus, I can't wait to see how homemade ice cream turns out! And I'm also on the lookout for a Nutella recipe. :-)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. I won't be using plastic bags at all. </span> If I go to a store and forget my reusable bags - well, I'd better not buy more than I can carry in my own 2 arms. When I need to clean up cat poop, well, I'd better figure out a more environmentally friendly way to dispose of it. Need I say more?<br /><br />What practices are you giving up or adding for Lent this year? <br /><br />Check back next week for an update on my Lenten practices :-)Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-38111299539217434012011-03-09T14:45:00.003-06:002011-03-09T15:17:19.112-06:00I'm Baaaack!I last wrote an entry in the blog in May 2009. And by "wrote" I of course mean, I posted a picture of me with my shiny new purple iPod. Clearly, I had my priorities!<br /><br />Here it is March 2o11. Nearly 2 years later. I'm all graduated. I'm 30 years old. I'm still running (both literally & figuratively - ha)...and listening to that same iPod.<br /><br />But why does May 2009 seem like a million years ago?<br /><br />I've been toying with the idea of becoming a more serious blogger for about a year now (which equals about a half million years in my time-warped brain). It all started with my idea to have a blog solely about Chicago drivers. You see, I have a plethora of tips & tricks, not to mention some common sense, that I'd LOVE to teach my fellow drivers in Chicago. And, considering that I'm obviously an excellent driver....who better to teach others...than me, right?!<br /><br />But that felt pretty limiting as I thought it through. I'll be sharing those here, along with the other random, yet relevant thoughts that pop into my head. <br /><br />Yep - relevant random rants by Reba. How can you resist my rambling?<br /><br />Who knew I was so skilled at alliteration.<br /><br />By the way...if you find yourself thinking, haha this is funny, or haha this chick is crazy, or haha I don't get what this girl is sayin but for some reason I kinda like it....well, fell free to spread the love. You should know that after many years of school and thousands of dollars spent, I've realized that my true calling was not to be a member of the traditional work force. Nope! My true calling is to write a random ass blog that hits it big and makes me a billionaire. True story!<br /><br />But I'm starting from scratch here and will need all the help I can get. If there's a topic you want me to write about - please let me know! I welcome your thoughts. And if you've read this far, well, shucks. You're amazing.Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-44355212591932909832009-05-07T15:34:00.000-05:002009-05-07T15:35:42.486-05:00my new shiny purple iPod<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJVAwu4-lMbuhQGgf7ZUkRcg6y8vIPnEO9T2DRXAdjh-FWXRkSz8Ui4zH9vuvb5tFhTa0kGPyFKE-ILS4LQqRy4FjmHvq1SgwXkS7op8jQgUq6owIzjo5tOM0Oybw01KMSpKp4/s1600-h/002.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJVAwu4-lMbuhQGgf7ZUkRcg6y8vIPnEO9T2DRXAdjh-FWXRkSz8Ui4zH9vuvb5tFhTa0kGPyFKE-ILS4LQqRy4FjmHvq1SgwXkS7op8jQgUq6owIzjo5tOM0Oybw01KMSpKp4/s200/002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333183385899183714" border="0" /></a><br />Yes, I'm excited :)Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-49699096153808004732009-04-30T09:40:00.001-05:002009-04-30T09:40:28.708-05:00Swine what?I'm not concerned about swine flu.<br /><br />Just wanted to put that out there.Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-722777352858135682009-04-27T22:22:00.000-05:002009-04-27T22:23:13.724-05:00Soul Mates a la Sex and the Citycarrie: i don't even know if i believe in soul mates.<br /><br />charlotte: don't laugh at me but maybe we could be each other's soul mates. and then we could let men be just these great nice guys to have fun with.<br /><br />samantha: that sounds fabulous!Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-18353060883379944192009-04-27T14:38:00.001-05:002009-04-27T14:38:35.580-05:0038:31 - The previously posted time WAS wrong!Imagine me screaming with excitement....turns out the time for the 5K was wrong, and they had only posted my "gun time," and not my "chip time." Sooooo the stopwatch was RIGHT!!!! I ran the 5K in 38:31!!!!! 38 just sounds so much better than 39.Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-33216437696416217062009-04-26T22:41:00.002-05:002009-04-26T22:42:09.207-05:00I am finally getting an iPodPlease read this post and more at the blog I share with 2 lovely ladies trying to get fit and healthy just like me! <a href="http://vbkweightlossjourney.blogspot.com/">http://vbkweightlossjourney.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />On Saturday, I officially ran for an entire 3.1 miles!!! Although most runners would probably shudder to hear that I call what I do "running"....more like shuffling. hehehe I set out to run it, and I didn't care how fast (um, slow) I was, just that I was in the act of running.<br /><br />What I learned is this - while it does take a certain level of physical fitness to be able to run for more than a couple minutes at a time, so so soooo much of it is mental. If you set out to run for 5 minutes, that's how much you'll run, and most likely, you'll think it was a lonnngggg 5 minutes. If you set out to run for 3 miles, and you don't let anything stop you, you WILL run 3 miles. Seriously people - it's in your head! Ya just gotta psych yourself up!<br /><br />In addition, it certainly helps to have some extra motivators...for example, knowing that bunches and bunches of people believe in you, and believe you can do this. If I ever felt the temptation to walk (which, surprisingly, was not often at all), I would say to myself "think of all the people who wished you luck before the race, who said they knew you could do this. don't let them down. I can TOTALLY DO THIS!!!" <br /><br />Ok, so there's more that motivated me. I've said for over a year that I would finally join the 21st century and buy my first Ipod if I could run a 5K without any walking. So I would actually say all the stuff before, and that would kinda help, and then I'd just chant <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Apple-iPod-nano-Purple-Generation/dp/B001FA1NF0/ref=br_lf_m_1000274311_1_5_ttl?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=electronics&pf_rd_p=471618271&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_i=1000274311&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0Q2G0H5M7A3ZKE1M0XS1">"purple Ipod, purple Ipod."</a> Wow, a reward is incredible motivation people!!! Click the link to check out what I plan to purchase.... :)<br /><br />I'm not done. I am convinced my official time is wrong (39:56) as I was wearing my own reliable stopwatch that said 38:30. And believe me, I busted my ass those last .3 miles so that I would beat last year's time of 39:07. And I mean busted. It was reallllly windy, blowing right against my whole tired body, AND the last part was uphill. Freaking uphill! In Chicago!! Seriously people!!! The race clock said 1:22 when I crossed the starting line, and 39 something when I crossed the finish line. So, clearly their chips were wrong. Please don't tell me otherwise, and let me believe I completed it quicker than last year when I actually walked for a bit....Or even better, tell me stories of races you've completed that you believe were timed wrong as well. That would really make my day.<br /><br />Ahh...so after all this, my friend has convinced me to sign up for a 10K at the end of May. Which I believe to be absolute insanity. And I don't think there's any way I'd be able to run it. 6.2 miles. See? I told you it's all mental. I have 5 weeks to tell myself I CAN DO THIS! And so can you!Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-72207509643413915922009-03-03T20:46:00.001-06:002009-03-03T20:48:05.254-06:00Chocolate RehabThis post is also on my "health blog" that I share with my good friends...check it out: <a href="http://vbkweightlossjourney.blogspot.com/">http://vbkweightlossjourney.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />I gave up chocolate for Lent. I don't always jump on the whole "giving something up for Lent" bandwagon, mostly because I want it to actually be meaningful and not just for the heck of it. However, these past few months, as I have really been focusing on my health, I'm realizing that I have an addiction to chocolate. Oh, I've used every excuse in the book, including "it's good for me!" But let's be honest, it's not like I'm only eating the "healthy" dark chocolate. I like all kinds of chocolate, especially M&M's. When I lived in France, I was eating practically a whole chocolate bar per day. That's not a French diet that gets you skinny!!! Duh.<br /><br />So I thought what better time to test myself than now. I don't <span style="font-style: italic;">need</span> chocolate....right? My pastor also quit chocolate. She told me when she really wants some, she stops to pray and thank God for all she has, instead of wanting more, more, more. And to pray for the people who don't even have a reliable source of food every day. Wow, shouldn't we all do this more often anyway?!<br /><br />I lost 2 pounds this week. Is it because I gave up chocolate? We'll see if the trend continues...In the meantime, I will try my best to be thankful for all that I have.Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-5446684832689058182009-01-21T21:32:00.002-06:002009-01-21T21:34:47.511-06:00Obama joys & Gym woesI just wrote this post on my other blog - the we're getting healthy blog that my friends and I started...check it out: http://vbkweightlossjourney.blogspot.com/ and I thought it would make for a good post here as well...<br /><br />:) I have been on a high since all of the inauguration festivities yesterday. I won't make this post too "political" (although anyone who knows the 3 of us knows where we stand...), but I must say the fact that I can now say "President Obama" will quickly contribute to me being healthier. I am now proud to say that I am American, and Americans voted for Barack Obama.<br /><br />Even though it's been a great week, I've also had some challenges. I was quite frustrated much of last week - It was VERY cold here in Chicago, so I was forced to do all my running at the gym, sometimes at very crowded times. I would either wait forever (an hour = forever at the gym in my book!), or I would wait and the machine I'd been waiting for would be broken (are people seriously so selfish that they cannot go report the machine??? or at least cross it out on the sign-in sheet?? Seriously, people.)...or I would be on some stupid treadmill in which the emergency stop would keep slipping and causing me to almost fly off the treadmill.<br /><br />Sorry, I'm a little bitter!<br /><br />Yet - proud of myself for keeping it up, and not leaving after each of these things happened. And tonight, I had a fabulous time at the gym. Well, fabulous is pushing it, but it was pretty great! I even got to watch last night's Daily Show on Comedy Central so I was quite entertained as I ran.<br /><br />Which, by the way, I am now walking 5 minutes, running 5 minutes, alternating for about 40 minutes. Even thinking about running in the infamous Shamrock Shuffle at the end of March...Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-46679562409760843872009-01-05T22:49:00.002-06:002009-01-05T22:51:23.897-06:00Snooze Blues(this is a recent post I wrote for my other blog with 2 friends of mine who are trying to take care of themselves as much I am) - check it out! <a href="http://vbkweightlossjourney.blogspot.com/">http://vbkweightlossjourney.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />Every evening I set my alarm for the next morning, and I tell myself that I won't hit the snooze button when it starts to go off.<br /><br />And every morning, I hit the snooze button. Many times. Way too many times.<br /><br />I love being up in the morning, but I have a terrible time getting out of bed. It's like as soon as the alarm rings, this wave of extra sleepiness falls over me! And my snooze goes off every 5 minutes, so it's not as if the "extra" sleep I get is at all restful. In fact, I think it's a total waste of my time to hit the snooze! Plus, I hate sleeping in too late and then having to rush to class or work. I feel flustered when that happens.<br /><br />I want to make a habit of getting up earlier each day and working out in the mornings because I find that it helps me have a better day.<br /><br />Please advise me! I need to figure out how to be able to wake up in the mornings!!Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-48799779453319604142009-01-01T21:13:00.003-06:002009-01-01T21:39:39.541-06:002009 - My year to shine2009 - How can it be possible? I remember thinking it was a pretty big deal when it turned 2000, and how would I get used to writing the year with a 0 in front? (1/1/09)...turns out it's not so hard to get used to, and all of a sudden a whole decade has passed. Wow.<br /><br />And what a year it has been. My biggest highlight would be getting back together with Richard, although the election of Barack Obama follows at a close second (sorry, honey) :) hehe We spent a quiet New Years Eve together, and discovered how really awful all the tv programming is these days on NYE. Oh well ;)<br /><br />This is gonna be a great year - I'll be graduating from at least one of my 2 masters programs if all goes as planned. I'm also totally committed to improving my health this year. I'm excited because me and 2 friends, Virginia and Kat, are all going to be writing a blog about our journey together. Check it out: http://vbkweightlossjourney.blogspot.com/. We have many individual goals, but we also want to all become runners (for real this time-haha). One of our hopes is to run in a 8K or 10K together by 2010 (and of course, start running 5K's on our own this year). Specifically, I will be running in the same race as last year, to support the American Brain Tumor Association. It's on April 25, and I have started training for it this week!!!<br /><br />If you haven't looked at sparkpeople.com yet, you should check that out too. A free way to keep track of your food and exercise, and find all kinds of info on health of the body, mind, and spirit. Please let me know if you join so we can be buddies!<br /><br />And please, do take care of yourselves as well. Hold me accountable, and if you need motivation, you know where to come to!!<br /><br />On another note, go see Slumdog Millionaire if you haven't. A fabulous movie! You'll get angry, you'll cry, you'll laugh...and you'll leave feeling like awwwwwww. That's my best explanation. :)<br /><br />Here's to a new year. Thank you to each of you for being a part of my life.Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-7022593608221176492008-12-30T09:10:00.003-06:002008-12-30T09:13:00.507-06:00cutenessLast night I was babysitting Will and Grace (yep, that's their names!)....I had just helped the 4 year old wipe his bottom, when he looked at me and said: "Becky? (giggle) I think....I think that I love you!"<br /><br />Quite possibly the cutest thing ever. The boy appreciates a good bottom-wiping...Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-55914299533004022432008-12-16T17:27:00.002-06:002008-12-16T17:37:07.158-06:00shoe-throwing"President" Bush had a pair of size 10 shoes thrown at him this weekend in Iraq. Is he really all that surprised?<br /><br />*34 days til Barack Obama is inaugurated.<br />*34 days more that Bush has to smile his dumbfounded look and pretend like he gives a shit what happens to our country.<br /><br />And check this out - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnkMCvzjWJs<br /><br />2 soldiers are practically pushed by Bush for him to stand between them and take a picture. That's our president folks, and even soldiers don't want a pic with him.<br /><br />And don't get me started on our lovely governor....sheesh!<br /><br />Barack - you give us hope. Thank you for being you. Please don't let this new power you have alienate you from the people of the world.Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-76838424980691001912008-12-08T20:32:00.002-06:002008-12-08T20:41:00.892-06:00I just discovered my dear friend Virginia's weight loss blog. I was thinking, hmm, maybe that's a good idea. She heard that if you blog about your weight loss journey, you're more likely to stick with it. I'm worried if I did I'd just end up embarrassing myself.... haha.<br /><br />I've been really wanting to get healthy, and so is Richard. I always seem to do really well for a limited amount of time, and then something happens that makes it all go away - and makes it so hard to start up again. Right now, I finally have less stress since I'm on break from school, but now I'm sick with a mysterious stomach illness that strikes suddenly, and keeps me feeling quite fatigued. I'm hoping the doctor will give me some good drugs soon so I can beat this thing!<br /><br />Any of my other blog friends struggling to lose weight/be healthy? Let's all be buddies and motivators. Send me an email or give me a call. I think power in numbers is a huge support system. Also, if you haven't heard of it or checked it out before, please look at sparkpeople.com. It's a great free site where you can log your calories/exercise, etc, plus there's lots of info and support for you. It also sets up a plan for you to get healthy and you can opt to get regular emails as well. Let me know if you join and we can be "friends." :) (Thanks to Virginia for introducing me to this site!)<br /><br />I don't believe in "diets" by the way, especially anything that tells you not to eat a certain type of food. Depriving oneself will inevitably lead to failure, as you will most likely burst and binge on that food you haven't been eating! It's all about integrating this into your lifestyle. I've heard it takes 3 months to make something a habit. Sooooo let's set some short-term goals and accomplish them in 3 months, and after that it should be a piece of cake right?!Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-36222139407070139462008-11-04T07:38:00.000-06:002008-11-04T07:40:03.921-06:00Anxious Excitement!You may or may not be aware that I am heading to South Africa TOMORROW, November 5, for two weeks. This is well-timed, as I will either be extremely joyous and wanting to celebrate, or I will be in a deep depression and needing to take my mind off the election.....Oh please US citizens everywhere, do the right thing and vote for CHANGE, HOPE, PEACE - VOTE FOR OBAMA!!!<br /><br />The trip is a global seminar for young women in the US and various countries in Africa. Please follow our blog at <a href="http://wbgc2008southafrica.blogspot.com/" onmousedown="'UntrustedLink.bootstrap($(this)," target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span>http://wbgc2008southafrica</span><wbr><span class="word_break"></span>.blogspot.com</a>. It already has a couple posts on it. I'll also try to download pics while we are there.<br /><br />I'm soooo excited for this trip!!! But unfortunately, I have so much schoolwork to do today, plus I am so anxious about the election, that it almost doesn't seem real that I am leaving tomorrow. I'm sure that will change at some point on my 16 hour flight from DC to Johannesburg tomorrow... haha...but until then, I think I just have to accept that my stomach will be in knots for the rest of the day so I just need to deal with it!<br /><br />Please keep our group in your thoughts and/or prayers!!Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-78988000316078514892008-10-21T09:58:00.001-05:002008-10-21T10:01:19.313-05:00OBAMA!Well, regardless of who you are voting for, get on out there and vote! Many states have Early Voting, which I plan to take advantage of in the next week. I have yet to volunteer by calling swing states and such, which I really hope I don't regret, but if you happen to have 20 minutes of spare time it is easy to click on the site below and call up some potential supporters of Obama! It's no secret who I'm supporting, eh? Anyway, please read on...<br /><br />From MoveOn.org...<br /><br /><p style="margin-left: 40px;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">TOP 5 REASONS OBAMA SUPPORTERS SHOULDN'T REST EASY<br /></span></p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">1. The polls may be wrong. </span>This is an unprecedented election. No one knows how racism may affect what voters tell pollsters—or what they do in the voting booth. And the polls are narrowing anyway. In the last few days, John McCain has gained ground in most national polls, as his campaign has gone even more negative.</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Dirty tricks.</span> Republicans are already illegally purging voters from the rolls in some states. They're whipping up hysteria over ACORN to justify more challenges to new voters. Misleading flyers about the voting process have started appearing in black neighborhoods. And of course, many counties still use unsecure voting machines.</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">3. October surprise.</span> In politics, 15 days is a long time. The next McCain smear could dominate the news for a week. There could be a crisis with Iran, or Bin Laden could release another tape, or worse.</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Those who forget history...</span> In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote after trailing by seven points in the final days of the race. In 1980, Reagan was eight points down in the polls in late October and came back to win. Races can shift—fast!</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;"> 5. Landslide. </span> Even with Barack Obama in the White House, passing universal health care and a new clean-energy policy is going to be hard. Insurance, drug and oil companies will fight us every step of the way. We need the kind of landslide that will give Barack a huge mandate.</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">If you agree that we shouldn't rest easy, please sign up to volunteer at your local Obama office by clicking here:<br /><br /></span><a href="http://pol.moveon.org/obama/office.html?source=blog&id=14534-2659530-vweqxmx&t=1" target="_blank">http://pol.moveon.org/obama/<wbr>office.html?source=blog&id=<wbr>14534-2659530-vweqxmx&t=1</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></p>Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-48647455959146062312008-08-20T20:06:00.002-05:002008-08-20T20:21:18.232-05:00Times of transitionThis summer has been a summer of transitions (as usual?).......<br /><br />*I moved...just down the street. To a fabulous new apt - my room is huge, and my rent went down because I have 2 roommates instead of 1.<br /><br />*I saw my roomie off as she moved to Baltimore for her year-long internship in a Lutheran church. Krista is going to be amazing there, and Richard and I can't wait to go visit her and eat some crabcakes! Hopefully sometime in the spring we'll get out there, and visit Jennifer and Dave and their new pup, Thula, in DC too!<br /><br />*I have 2 new roommates - Elizabeth and Rebecca, and they are both friends of mine that I've gotten to know the past couple years. We're all so busy - since I moved in a month ago, the 3 of us have all been here at the same time only twice!<br /><br />*I got a new cat. Simba is a 4-month-old kitten that I picked up off the street. Richard and I were at a block party "in the hood" as he would say...and this little kitty just came up to me and fell asleep on my lap. The neighborhood said his owners moved and left him there, so he was homeless. Soooo needless to say I couldn't just leave him there. :) He's adorable, and verrrrry playful. The vet also diagnosed him with ADD...which seems to be true so far. He also has a bit of an aggressive side, and keeps missing the litter box, so we're working on all that... :) We also found out he has a parasite so he's been on meds as well. Nala has been dealing with all the transition very well, but she's not the happiest kitty at the moment. I think she would prefer to be back in our old place with Krista and no other kitties, haha. But fortunately, my roommates have been awesome and very helpful with both cats, so I'm sure we'll all be settled soon...<br /><br />Yeah, go ahead and say it - I've turned into a cat lady. I know I know<br /><br />*School transitions - finished my not-so-great internship in early June...worked a busy but good job this summer (still working) helping the orientations for all the missionaries run smoothly. My last event is this week, and all the participants leave on Monday. Oh, and my internship for next year starts on Monday. eek. Seminary classes start the following week, and U of C classes start in a month. Whew!<br /><br />*I bought a new car. I got a great trade-in deal on my Corolla, so I went for it. I have no business buying a new car, nor do I have any money, but somehow it all worked out and that's what happened...so I'm now the owner of a silver 2009 Toyota Camry. Wow!<br /><br />What I'm most excited for in the next couple months is the 2 trips I have planned - somewhere I've found time/money to do that! I figure I need to do it to keep my own sanity. Soooo I'm going to visit Virginia and Michael in Philly over Labor Day weekend, and then helping Danielle and Bill and their 2 babies move from San Diego, CA, to Pensacola, FL, the 2nd week in September. The next month (and more) are gonna be craaaaaaaaaaazy!!!<br /><br />Thank goodness for all my awesome family and friends (and oh yeah, that wonderful boyfriend!)Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-72835707090293851342008-07-10T22:31:00.002-05:002008-07-10T22:36:19.780-05:00so this is freedom?I was just thinkin' about how long it's been since I've updated my blog...and then I see my last posts were about my upcoming "freedom" from school, homework, etc....alas, I didn't have a break and jumped right into my summer job and here I find myself with the summer half gone. Yikes! Where has the time gone? The world is a whole different place now - Sex and the City has come and gone (?) from movie theaters. We are a changed people. <br /><br />But seriously...<br /><br />Speaking of movies...DO NOT go see "The Happening." Do whatever you can to stay far away from that movie. Seriously.<br /><br />Thanks to Jennifer for making me think of blogs and movies :)<br /><br />Some may think this blog entry has been completely pointless...well...you just may be right. Peace!Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18447834.post-28210507876647097652008-05-27T17:10:00.002-05:002008-05-27T17:15:07.444-05:00UpdateUpdate:<br /><br />How many days til June 5th? NINE!!! June 5th is when I will be fully done with my first year of working on my social work masters. I CAN'T WAIT. SERIOUSLY. READY TO BE DONE. FOR REAL!!!!<br /><br />How many days til this frickin' weather will warm up? Yesterday, 80. Today, 45. Seriously.<br /><br />As much as we could all find to complain about (school, work, weather, gas prices, idiot presidents, etc...), I'm going to say that really, I can't complain (except for that weather complaint above...ha). Life is good. Real good.Rebahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09062214474660889901noreply@blogger.com0