My Wrestling Boys

Luc hiding behind Cash.


Luc's throwing signs.


In action.

Age Gracefully?

Here is another piece I wrote back in June of 2007. I dont think many had a chance to read it on MySpace, so here ya go...

I know this may sound a little absurd, but I don't think of myself as "old" or "older." Does anyone think of themselves that way? I guess, at a certain age you begin to realize on a more physical level that your body is slowly deteriorating, heading towards death, but…it hadn't happened to me. When I turned thirty, I wasn't really bothered by it. When I turned thirty-one, it didn't cross my mind that I was leaving "twenty-something" so far behind. It wasn't until just the other day that I actually began to think about the fact that I will soon be (dun dun DUNNNNNNN) thirty-two!

Thirty-two, as in eight years from FORTY seems really out there. Maybe because most of my friends that I spend time with on a daily basis are younger than me. Most of my friends range from twenty-three to twenty-eight years old. There might be a twenty-nine thrown in the mix here or there, but it's rare. I don't even know how I ended up the matriarch of a group like this. I didn't search out a "younger crowd." I suppose most of it just goes back to good 'ole time/place/situation. In any case, talking about having pups as friends is not my purpose here.

I am sitting on the floor of my child's room with a friend, she's younger of course, and both of our boys are playing. We are talking about another couple we know, and the fact is brought up that the wife looks older than the husband. "Well, she is THIRTY!" my friend cries out. I am appalled. I am shocked. I am THIRTY-ONE. "Stop right there!" I shout back. We then begin to discuss my age, and she is now the shocked one to realize that I am SO OLD.

This got me thinking, about age, numbers, wrinkles, cellulite, all sorts of things. I had an epiphany. It's been a long time a COM' in, but I made it. Here it is world, listen up…I am thirty-one years old and loving it. I wouldn't go back to twenty-something for anything in the world. Seriously. Let me clarify, those days weren't awful, but truth be told, I am much happier now than then. There is a wisdom that comes with age, and with making stupid choices and having to rectify them. I think maybe I have picked up a little of that, I dare say. Then there is the whole self-esteem bit. Ok, so I realize I am still a little obsessive about "keeping the package together", but here's the difference. Back then I could never figure out when I had it together and when I didn't. What I am saying is that, without trying to sound full of myself because that isn't it, I finally see myself for what I truly am. I am a freaking good catch! I am not flawless, by no means, but hell if I don't look damn good compared to some…most. ? I don't say that to look down on anyone else, I say that to appreciate myself, which is something I never could have done in my twenties.

In my twenties, I moved around, traveled, and met tons of new friends. I met my husband. I married my husband, and bought my first home. That was an amazing time. However, it's just now that we have really focused on our spiritual, financial, and family goals. We are happier and healthier now than we have ever been, and so much of that I am able to contribute because I am ok with me. Maybe this isn't the same for everyone. Surely there are people out there that don't wait until their thirties to feel comfortable within themselves, but this is how it worked for me.

Come November, I will take another step closer to forty and that's cool with me. I feel good, I am healthy, and I love my husband, son, friends, and family. This is a place that I am ok being; so don't cry for me all you twenty-somethings. There won't be weeping, or gnashing of teeth in my honor. It will be just another reason to throw a party, and watch my young friends break it down on the dance floor.

Low-Fat Berry Squares

I promised some recipes for yummy brain food. This one looks pretty tasty, easy to make, and is low-fat. PERFECT, right? I think I am going to try it out this weekend.

Prep Time:

15 min

Total Time:

1 hr 15 min

Makes:

15 servings, 1 square each

What You Need

1 pkg. (13.6 oz.) prepared fat-free pound cake, cut into 10 slices

3 Tbsp. orange juice

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 cup blueberries

1 cup raspberries

2-1/2 cups cold fat-free milk

2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Fat Free Sugar Free Instant Pudding

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP FREE Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

Make It

ARRANGE cake slices on bottom of 13x9-inch dish, cutting to fit if necessary; drizzle evenly with juice. Top with berries.

POUR milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Gently stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping. Spoon over berries; cover with remaining whipped topping.

REFRIGERATE at least 1 hour. Cut into 15 squares to serve.

Calories per serving

140
Fat per serving
1.5 g

So Long, My Sweet Friend

I actually wrote this Aug. 9, 2007, but I figured I would pull it out of the old archives of myspace for your reading enjoyment. It fits pretty well for right now.... ;)

Here we go...school starts on Monday. MONDAY. As in three days from now, MONDAY. Where did the sweet days of sunshine and cool breezes go? The current sweltering heat, that is killing my impatiens because I cant stand over them with a watering can all day long, seems to be foreshadowing the end of a good thing. Summer. It's as if Mother Earth knows that I will be locked up in a brick box for the next 10 months, so she is trying to be kind. She is releasing the seventh level of hell, so that the brick box will, in turn, seem...inviting.
It's not that I hate my job, not at all. In fact, I have high hopes for this coming school year. I feel good about it. I am excited about beginning anew. There are new folders with crisp edges that haven't been torn, stacks of unused paper, sharpened pencils waiting to be used for good, clean composition books yearning for small hands to write their lives in them...oh the expectations! It's just that there wasn't enough summer. I hadn't had my fill just yet. My son's scrapbook hasn't been completed, and my tan is no where near "golden." The floor in my kitchen is still screaming to be redone, and for the love of God, I haven't finished Harry Potter. I want more time. I need more time.
It doesn't look like I am getting any more time. Three days. That is all I have, folks. Guess where I will be spending all of those days, save one? In the box, getting ready for the big day. Ahhhh, such is life.

This Makes Me Feel Better

Julie sent me this link and I found it to be pretty interesting...

I can burn calories without really doing much. (Not that this alone is going to get those last baby pounds off of me, but I am thinking that EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS!)

Here are the highlights:

*Fidgeting, tapping feet, gesturing with hands, or twirling hair for 150 minutes a day can burn 350 calories a day.
*Standing burns %50 more calories than sitting.
*Pacing burns %90 more calories than sitting.
*Having 250 milligrams of caffeine with a meal can increase the calories spent metabolizing the meal by 10%. Drink Green Tea, black coffee, or unsweetened tea instead of soda, so you dont get the calories!
*Eat more veggies to help burn more calories after you eat.
*Add 5g of Tabasco sauce to your meal to raise your metabolism by 12-20 percent for up to two hours after eating.
*Drink ice cold water, rather than room temp. water. Your body burns more calories to warm the water up.
* Shivering burns calories!

Happy Birthday SHAD!!

I am a day late...typical Tracy fashion...but I still wanted to give a shout out to my big brother, Shad. My brother has been the best brother in the world! We don't always agree, and we butt heads a lot with our conflicting views on just about everything....HOWEVER, he has always always always been there when I needed him the most with love in his heart and without judgment. I am so proud of the man he is, the husband, and the father that he has become.

I love my bubba. Thanks for all you have done for me.

Everyone Must Get This Book!

Andre brought this book home from work yesterday. It's called Supermarket Survival Guide: Eat This, Not That by David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding. Andre had told me about it previously, but this was the first time I actually got to flip through it. It's awesome! Just to get your curiousity going, I'm going to give you the book's 20 worst packaged foods in America.

Worst Crunch Snack- #20 Gardetto's Special Request Roasted Garlic Rye Chips
fat equivalent- 3 strips of bacon
Eat instead- Snyder's of Hanover Sourdough Nibblers

Worst cookie- #19 Pillsbury Big Deluxe Classic White Chunk Macadamia Nut
Fat E.- 5 "fun" size 3 musketeers bars
E. I.- Toll House Chocolate Chip

Worst Yogurt- #18 Stonyfield Farm Whole Milk Chocolate Underground
Sugar Equivalent- 4 cherry popsicles
E.I.- Breyer's Cookies n'Cream YoCrunch Lowfat with Oreo Pieces

Worst candy- #17 Twix
Saturated Fat Equivalent- 11 strips of bacon
E.I.- 100 Grand

Worst ice cream- #16 Haagen-Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter
Fat E.- 1 McDonalds Double Cheeseburger
E.I.- Edy's Slow Churned Peanut Butter Cup

Worst "Healthy" Pantry item- #15 Pop-Tarts Whole Grain Brown Sugar Cinnamon
Sug. E.- 1 Snickers Bar
E.I.- Sun-Maid Raisin English Muffins with Cinnamon

Worst Condiment- #14 Eggo Original Syrup
Sug. E.- Two Haagen-Dazs Vanilla & Almond ice cream bars
E.I.- Smucker's Sugar Free Breakfast Syrup

Worst Drink- #13 Arizona Kiwi Strawberry
Sug. E.- 4 original fudgsicle bars
D.I.- Tropicana Lime Raspberry Fruit Squeeze

Worst Frozen "Healthy" entree- #12 Healthy Choice Complete Selections Sweet & Sour Chicken
Sug. E.- 2 scoops Breyers Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream
E.I.- Kashi Southwest Style Chicken

Worst Cereal- #11 Quaker 100% Natural Granola, Oats, Honey & Rasin
Calorie E.- 8 chicken wings
E.I.- Kashi GOLEAN

Worst Packaged Side- #10 Pasta Roni Fettuccine Alfredo
Sodium E.- 4 medium orders of McDonalds french fries
E.I.- Pasta Roni Nature's Way Olive Oil & Italian Herb

Worst Baked Goods- #9 Otis Spunkmeyer Banana Nut Muffins
Sug. E.- 3 1/2 Rice Krispies Treats
E.I.- Vitalicious Apple Berry Muffin

Worst Frozen Treat- #8 Toll House Ice Cream Chocolate Chip Cookie Sandwhich
Cal. E.- two slices of hand-tossed pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut
E.I.- Skinny Cow Low Fat Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwhich

Worst Individual Snack-#7 Hostess Chocoalte Puddie Pie
Saturated Fat E.- 2 McDonald's Quarter Pounders
E.I.- Chocolatey Drizzle Rice Krispies Treats

Worst Packaged Lunch- #6 Oscar Mayer Maxed Out Turkey & Cheddar Cracker Combo Lunchables
Cal. E.- 15 chicken nuggets
E.I. - Oscar Mayer Deli Creations Fajita Beef & Salsa Flatbread

Worst Stir-Fry -#5 Bertolli Grilled Chicken Alfredo & Fettuccine Complete Skillet Meal for Two
Sat. Fat E.- 22 Strips of bacon
E.I.- Birds Eye Steamfresh Meals for Two Grilled Chicken in Roasted Garlic Sauce

Worst Frozen Breakfast-- #4 Jimmy Dean Pancake and Sausage Links Breakfast Bowls
Cal. E.- 6 bowls of Fruit Loops
E.I.- Jimmy Dean D-lights Breakfast Bowls turkey sausage

Worst Frozen Pizza- #3 DiGiorno for One Garlic Bread Crust Supreme Pizza
Cal. E.- 6 Slices Domino's Thin n Crispy Cheese Pizza
E. I.- South Beach Diet Deluxe Pizza

Worst Frozen Entree- #2 Hungry-Man Classic Fried Chicken
Cal. E.- 5 Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnuts
E.I.- Banquest Select Chicken Parmesan

Worst Packaged Food in America- #1 Marie Callender's Creamy Parmesan Chicken Pot Pie
Sodium E.- 8 small bags of potato chips
Fat E.- 23 strips of bacon
Cal. E.- 7 Taco Bell Fresco Beef Tacos
E.I.- Marie Callender's Oven Baked Chicken

Are you shocked? Appalled?? I was. This is just the beginning! I love that this book gives you a better alternative to the crap food. Anyway, I can't stop looking at this book, and decided all of you should know about it. They also have a book just for kids foods. I gotta get that one. Happy Reading!!