I am done....

So, I woke up this morning and I said to myself…..okay, I am done.
I tried to keep on track by eating healthy this holiday season but I also tried to be realistic too. I hit the Gym a handful of times. I could have gone a few more times, but then again, I could have not gone at all….so it’s all good. I also eliminated a few holiday foods that I was never a big fan of anyway, for example that Green Bean Casserole. All that stuff combined together is just nasty. This year I made fresh steamed green beans and I eliminated the candied sweet potatoes too. Plus, we had homemade bread (my favorite). I also made three organic pies…One Apple and two pumpkins.

I had the hardest time with the Christmas cookies. I feel like the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street. I just couldn’t get enough Christmas cookies. But, I am done with them now and NO, not because I ate them all…
I stuck with my game plan of only eating homemade foods and I didn’t eat any processed foods (at least that I know of). With all that said and done, I feel like I may have gain a few pounds back……but no biggie.
I know we still have this week left but the worst of the food eating for me is behind me. Thank god.

I am off to have a Subway Sandwich and fruit for Lunch and then hitting the GYM tonight.

Ya gotta love the Holidays…

The Birth of a Baby Boy!

While Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit, as foretold to her by the angel.
Joseph too must have wondered in awe as he remembered the words found in Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
At that time, Caesar Augustus decreed that a census be taken, and every person in the entire Roman world had to go to his own town to register. Joseph, being of the line of David, was required to go to Bethlehem to register with Mary. While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Probably due to the census, the inn was too crowded, and Mary gave birth in a crude stable. She wrapped the baby in cloths and placed him in a manger.
Out in the fields, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were tending their flocks of sheep by night. The angel announced that the Savior had been born in the town of David. Suddenly a great host of heavenly beings appeared with the angels and began singing praises to God. As the angelic beings departed, the shepherds decided to travel to Bethlehem and see the Christ-child.
There they found Mary, Joseph and the baby, in the stable. After their visit, they began to spread the word about this amazing child and everything the angel had said about him. They went on their way still praising and glorifying God. But Mary kept quiet, treasuring their words and pondering them in her heart. It must have been beyond her ability to grasp, that sleeping in her arms—the tender child she had just borne—was the Savior of the world.

This is from "The Birth of Jesus" paraphrased from the Bible, The Book of Matthew.

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Here are my thoughts on being politically correct and making sure we don’t insult some group or other religion or belief by saying “Merry Christmas”.  Why do we have to make sure we say, “Happy Holiday”…or some other type greeting?  Well, you know what? I am a Christian, Roman Catholic woman. I am by far a holy roller, but I do believe that night in Bethlehem the Christ child was born from Mary. The Celebration of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. So, please don’t be insulted if I wish you a Merry Christmas, after all that is what we are celebrating. This is what Christmas is all about.....everything else is secondary.  This is how I feel..This is what I believe.. : )

From My Little Blog to Your Home, I Wish Everyone A Blessed and Very Merry Christmas.

My Favorite Childhood Christmas Memories

First I want to emphasize “FAVORITE”, because like most families, I could tell you some crazy stories too. But I want to focus on the positive stories instead. The negative stories can just stay in a big pile of negativity with Scrooge.

When I was a child, Santa put up the Christmas tree, so in the morning we were not only surprised by the toys and presents but by the beautiful tree too. We always received 17 presents every year. I remember my father getting on top of the roof making the sounds of the reindeer. He told us if we didn’t fall asleep Santa wasn’t coming in. I remember my younger brother getting a set of drums one year. What was Santa thinking when he delivered those? Of course the noise of Christmas is a big part of it all. Living in a house with 6 children, things were hectic to say the least…… but exciting too.

When I was a teenager, I remember having a lot of people over on Christmas Eve. Lots of friends and family came over and the sounds and the smells were so exciting. Food and drinks were flowing and we even got to open a few gifts. I remember my sister giving me a maroon jacket with faux fur around the collar. She was working at the time, so she had her own money and I just thought that was so cool. I LOVED the jacket and I wore it to midnight mass and just felt so good wearing it.

As a young married adult we would go over my mom and dad’s house for dinner, my mom would go all out on the meal and decorations. She was obsessed with having a perfect Christmas. My kids got excited because they were allowed to open their gifts from my mom and dad. They loved and appreciated everything they received.

Then a few years later my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer as well as a few other medical issues and hosting Christmas became too much. This is when the history of Christmas began to change for me.

So, the next year I took over hosting the Christmas Eve dinner. It was nice and I tried to keep my family traditions. It’s funny because I remember we always had oyster stew (yuck). I loved watching my children open up their gifts, like most mothers it’s like watching something magical happening and you just want to freeze time.

Of course we can't forget going to mid Night Mass at St. Paul's.  The parish became so big that at one point we had to get tickets to go to Mid Night Mass.  I believe at that point we started going to the Vigil mass.  (I haven't been faithful about going to mass lately but I really do want to get back to going.  I need to make this a priority.)

Now my children are adults and it will be fun watching them start their own traditions as well as keep some of the older traditions too. It’s going to be fun to see the magic of Christmas in the eyes of my granddaughter this year.

Christmas day isn’t even here yet and we already made so many new memories…….Tis the Season to Be Jolly.

A Fun Filled Cookie Baking Day!

This past Sunday was Christmas cookie baking day in my house. It was so much fun......we had flour and batter flying everywhere.  Literally Everywhere.  My kitchen was a mess and I loved it. We must have made at least 8 different types of cookies and it was fun because my sister Debbie made us tye dye shirts and socks to match....so our pictures were fun to take too. My baby Granddaughter Tessa, got to stir her first Christmas cookie batter and we have pictures to catch that memory.
I have to be honest, my sister Debbie ended up making most of the cookies. I premade my batters so it was easy to just bake mine, but Debbie made a lot of special and fun cookies and chocolate covered pretzels. Every ingredient was fresh and natural and you could taste it in the yummy cookies. I love Christmas cookies. I love them so much, that Sunday night I went to bed with a tummy full of warm cookies and I slept like a baby. Of course Monday, I was back at the Gym to balance out those scrumptious baked goods. I am posting some pictures of our fun Cookie day.  Did I say how much I love to make and eat Christmas Cookies?   Ha, Ha !

Enjoy the Pureness of Real Butter and Real Sugar !

My motto for this "Holiday Season" is to enjoy everything from family and friends to good cheer and good food.  One major change is, I am only going to eat homemade foods and baked goods.  No processed foods......Only the best for me, such as pure butter and real sugar, fresh eggs and real fresh milk.  Our bodies are made to break down natural and pure foods. No more artificial sugars and sweeteners, either I will use the real thing or nothing at all.  We just have to remember everything in moderation. See, that's where my problem has always been.  I want to eat it all.  Not just a few.  I still have to work on that.
 
If you're trying to eat healthy like I am, perhaps you have heard to stay away from processed foods. While that's great advice, it seems many people are confused about what exactly constitutes processed food. Remember - processed foods are foods that have been altered from their natural state. Such as trans fats,
Trans fats are really like plastic, and when we eat them they incorporate in our cells and the cells cannot communicate or talk to one another. In turn, hormones are disturbed, weight gain follows but more troubling, the risk for heart disease, cancer, stroke go up.  
 





I am not going to go on forever on this, but I know that once this junk is in your body and your about my age, it hard to get it out of your body. It clings to your cells and your intestines and just makes you feel awful.......that's one of the reasons I went through my two week detox.
Well, the reason I am bringing this topic up is because this Sunday is our holiday cookie baking day. My sister, daughter, myself and this year my granddaughter will get together and bake cookies for our family party. I will make sure we use all natural ingredients because it's just good for us, no more fake stuff.  It's just not worth it.
 I can't wait and I hope we have lots of fun and make plenty of memories....and enjoy the pureness of a few homemade butter and sugar cookies.  

 I will post some pictures next week.