Aaron is a stud. Just so you know.

It's what happens when you wear all of your favorite clothes at the same time.




In all fairness, he did a pretty good job.

I mean, the hat is from Singapore and the boots have Godzilla on them, and we all know Godzilla attacked Tokyo or something... somewhere in Asia anyway, and Singapore, is like, a part of Asia.

The whale tail necklace is probably from Hawaii or something, and usually to get to Hawaii you have to fly in a plane... wait... it's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman's wrist band.

The shorts and the shirt, actually match, and were probably both made in Asia.

Lots of Asians visit Hawaii.

So, you see, it's all connected. Ma'halo. Ma'halo very much.

For those not in the know, Ma'halo means Thank you in Hawaiian.

You are very welcome.

UPDATE

I am feeling quite a bit better. Things are looking better. I'm still waking up early and stressed every morning, because it take a while for my body to catch up and stop stressing quite so much.

I think it's important to note that my make believe friend TAMN is having her make believe twins today. Seriously.

Oh, and we're selling our Van.



It's a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan. I know... minivan. It just screams mom-mobile.

But really, if you need the space, and don't want to have to deal with the gas mileage of a SUV, well then, the Dodge Grand Caravan is the best option out there.

We did our research when we bought it. Compared to the other 2005 mini vans, the Dodge Grand Caravan has the best safety rating, best reliability rating, and best leg and cargo room for the best price. Sure, the Honda Od.. van is comparable, but cost about 40% more...

Our van does not have the power doors, which is a really good thing, because the biggest problem this van had was in the power doors failing... If the power doors failed then you had to climb everyone in threw the front seats, or pay out the wazoo to have the doors repaired. We specifically looked for a van without power doors.



It also has the built in 5 point child safety seats in the middle bench. I can't begin express how convenient that little feature has been! No big, bulky, dirty, child car seats. Easy to store away, easy to use, easy to adjust the fit, AND comfortable seats for an adult when the child seat is not in use.


The van has 54k miles on it and has been well maintained. The oil was changed about 2 months ago, the tired have good tread, the brakes have been changed when needed, the windshield wipers are in excellent condition.

The dodge Grand Caravan even has a programmable garage door remote button build into the dash so you can program your garage door, and you never have to worry about your remote being stolen, or misplaced.


The 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan has tons of cargo space. It's difficult to really get a feel for how much room there is in the back of the van, but I'll try and give you an idea. Our family of 5 took a two week road trip from Idaho to Texas, and fit ALL of our luggage, camping equipment (tents, sleeping bags, etc) AND a port a crib and pillows, and fit it ALL (YES, ALL) in the back of the van. And with young kids, we really don't pack light. And no, we did not take out the back seat.

We're asking $7800

Why are we selling it?
Well, back when gas was up to $4.00/gal and my husband was driving his full size pick to work everyday and bleeding us dry, we decided to get a car, and sell his truck. His truck is great, but it has a little higher miles. While we've had a lot of interest, we haven't been able to sell it. In the mean time, my husband has been working away on me, trying to convince me that we should keep his truck, which seats 6 comfortably, and sell the van.

We bought the van because we were going to be expanding our family. Now that we're not going to be having any more children, it isn't really necessary for us to have it anymore.


Click here if you'd like to check out the craigs listing.

Okay, so my post just turned into a used car ad. Hope you enjoyed it anyway.

Coping

So the Anxiety isn't gone. The problem that created the anxiety in the first place is pretty much not an issue anymore, but now a new problem has cropped up in it's place. It could end up being no big deal, or it could end up being very bad. Anyway, I'm tired of waking up hours earlier than I need to because the anxiety is so bad I can't sleep. I'm still not going to medicate. I'm afraid if I start I will never be able to get off it.

Anyway, I have found some ways to cope and most of the time I'm doing pretty well.

My friend Ann mentioned she was reading this really great love story so I went and checked it out. It's so awesome and well written. I think everyone should totally read it.... just don't try and read it all at once. I would highly recommend reading it now before the author realizes what she's got and removes it for publication. It's called Black Heels to Tractor Wheels By Ree Drummond. Start at the bottom and work your way up.

It's good. I promise.

@!%$$* Anxiety!

Hi,
My name is Camille.
And I have anxiety problems.

I try not to complain about it to much because I know so many people who have it so much worse than I do. At this point I don't need to be medicated, well most of the time, I don't need to be medicated. Most of the time I can handle life without any problem.

But every once in a while something will happen that triggers an "anxiety control meltdown" and I pretty much lose it. I can't handle anything, and I feel my anxiety completely take over every aspect of my life. It's like that feeling you have right after someone has jumped out and scared you, where you know you're okay, but your heart is still racing and you feel really jumpy and skiddish, and you can't really function because you thoughts keep returning to the memory of when you were first scared. It's like that... only it lasts for weeks sometimes. I have a hard time falling asleep, I wake up during the night, I wake up feeling that way in the morning.

Right now I am waiting on resolution to a particularly troublesome and anxiety inducing problem. I am hoping and praying the result will be favorable, and that it might be an end to the anxiety. I should have an answer in one week. Then, hopefully, I will be in control again. I don't even want to consider the answer not being favorable... I can't handle thinking about that.

So that's why I haven't been updating.

So I'm trying to catch up a bit today.

A cople week ends ago I was at Home Depot and I picked up the "do it yourself" kits for the kids.

Seriously, despite the overwhelming enthusiasm they have on their faces, they really did have a great time putting them together.

Noah made a football goal post, Jennica- a leaf press, and Aaron made an easel.


Thanks to one of my favorite new blogs I have started to try couponing. Couponing is the art of combining manufacturer coupons, with in store coupons, with sale prices, to get products for next to nothing or free. This was my first attempt. I can't remember the exact retail price of all of these items... it was around $75.00

I paid $23.00, and I got back $3.00 in instant "save on your next visit" store credits and a mail in rebate for $5.00... So in reality I spent $15.00. Not bad for my first try.

My second try didn't go quite as well. It was at Albertsons.. I was suppose to get a $10.00 instant discount for buying $25 in Nabisco/Kraft products, but I didn't get the rebate, even thought I spent over $30 in those products, and then I was suppose to get some register coupons for future discounts and I didn't get those. My kids were getting out of school and I was totally rushed so I didn't have time to get it figured out. Total bummer.

On Friday, I had a surprise slumber party for my niece and a couple of her best friends. She had no idea. It turned out great, and I enjoyed getting to know my niece's friends a bit. They are such lovely young women.

Anyway. That's all for now.

Herb Chicken in a Creamy Tofu Sauce Over Spinach

Herb Chicken in a Creamy Tofu Sauce over Spinach

Yeah, It really is good. Really good.

To start heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large non stick skillet over medium high heat.

Once the oil is sizzling hot, add thawed chicken in a single layer.

Season with finely chopped herbs. Fresh are best, but right now I only have fresh rosemary.

I use Rosemary, Basil, and Dill.

Lightly salt and pepper.


In the mean time, add about 3/4 cup soft tofu, 1/2 cup of water, and 1 tablespoon (more or less depending on how thick you like your sauce) to the blender and blend till smooth.

Once the first side of the chicken is golden brown, flip it over, and season the other side.

Next, take about 3-4 tablespoons of sliced almonds, and crush them with your fingers and sprinkle over the chicken while it's cooking.


Once the chicken is golden brown, and cooked through, remove it to a serving dish.

Reduce heat. Reserve all of the drippings and oil, and pour the tofu/corn starch mixture straight into the skillet.

Stir with a wire wisk. Once it starts to boil stir for one minute and remove from heat.

Stir in about 1/2 cup of parmasean cheese.



Pour over chicken.


Serve with lightly buttered cooked spinach.



I started making this dish last summer and my whole family likes it so much that I make it three or four times a month.

Enjoy!

My Famous Peach Tofu Smoothie Recipe

Tofu??

I know.

I was scared at first too.

I've heard over and over how good tofu and soy products are, but every time I thought of it I remembered the time my mom tried to feed us tofu when we were kids, and hating it.

But then again... there were a lot of foods I hated as a kid that I really enjoy now. So about 6 months ago I bought some tofu. A package of each kind to try out.

I'm referring to soft and firm tofu. Firm tofu is the kind you see in stir fry. It's usually cut up into cubes, and cooked into dishes.

I tried the firm kind first and added it to stir fry. I still hated it. The flavor was fine, but the texture... ugh. I had to gag down each bite. I'm just not use to it. My kids however LOVED it. Really loved it.

Next soft tofu... hmmm. The box says "great for smoothies, dips and sauces". That could be good.

Yum. I love it. I use it to make smoothies and cream sauces. It looks the same as a cream sauce, acts the same as a cream sauce, and tastes the same as a cream sauce. Just put it in the blender first and make it smooth before adding it to recipes, otherwise it stays a little chunky like cottage cheese.

I have a really good "chicken in a tofu sauce over spinach" recipe that I'll try posting some time. It's very good and my kids love it.

You should understand that my kids are VERY picky eaters. Aaron's favorite meal is Macaroni and Cheese with hot dogs. It's hard to get him to eat anything else..

Anyway, back to the smoothies:


You will need:
2-3 cups peaches (canned, fresh or partially frozen)

about 1 cup ice cubes (if your blender can't handle ice try using partially frozen peaches and add some water.)

Honey or sugar to taste (I prefer honey because it's a bit better for you than grandulated sugar.

about 3/4 cup or 6 oz (half package) Soft Tofu

1 tbsp lime juice

Cinnamon to taste.





Add the ice to the blender. During the summer, when it's hot, I use more ice. Just add some water or the smoothie becomes to thick and won't blend properly.


Drain most of the juice, and add peaches so the blender is about 1/2 full.



Add the Tofu. Yeah, I know, it looks really unappetizing.
Add the Cinnamon
Add the Lime Juice


Cover and blend for about 1-2 minutes till the smoothie is smooth.


With the blender still on, add warm honey into the middle of the smoothie. The honey gets hard when it cools. If you add it when the blender is not spinning it tends to just stick to the sides of the blender and doesn't get mixed in. I usually use about a 1/4 cup of honey, but the amount used will depend on the sweetness of the fruit, and your personal preference.



A banana can also be added to sweeten the smoothie and make it creamy.


Continue blending. I usually just leave the blender on while I put all the ingredents away so it's really smooth.


Serve.

Enjoy.


No, he didn't spill it, but it was close. Aaron had two glasses for his lunch. That's about 6-8 grams of protein.

I've also made it with strawberries. Really yummy, but omit the cinammon.

Yum.

What's On My Camera

Alright. I've been having a hard time coming up with things to blog about.

So here's what's been going on in our lives that I actually managed to take some pictures of.

Last Saturday a good friend of ours threw a surprise birthday party for his wife... at the bowling alley. My kids love the idea of bowling, but they can hardly handle the bowling ball. Even the 6 -8 lb balls are a bit much for them to swing with one hand and release at just the right time. The result... a lot of loud bangs as the ball is dropped on the lane and then a full two minutes of exciting anxiety watching the ball make the LONG journey to the pins and seeing if any get knocked over.

Seriously, a couple times the ball actually came to rest leaning against the pins. That takes talent. Don't believe me? Try it sometime.



Yes, Jennica's ball really is moving...
Her game which consisted of 5 little girls under 6 years old only made it half way through the 5th frame before we had to go.



Check out Noah's sweet form:


This picture didn't actually come from my camera. That's Sara, the birthday girl, right next to me. She looks AMAZING considering she just had twins. She is so sweet. I really admire her.

On Sunday after church Aaron brings me a little hair bow and wants to put it in my hair. I told him I was going to put it into his hair... then the following ensued with Andy, Noah and Aaron.




Then Jennica "held" daddy still so Noah could get him back. Daddy wasn't much of a good sport about it... always yanking his head out of the way before they could get the bow clasped.


On Monday we had a family get together to celebrate birthdays and just be together.

My nephew, Cruzer turned 1 in January. (I know.. we're a bit late.) He got his shirt wet while drinking during dinner so he's cruzing around topless. He is so cute and always smiling!



This was suppose to be a picture of my parents... but seriously who can ignore the Cruz mans fantastic physic? Down to his little designer skinny jeans and all.

We also celebrated My niece Sariah's birthday, and my brother Al's birthday, but I didn't get a single picture of them. :( sorry guys.


Seriously, when the cat started to climb into the box, I actually considered taping it closed, and mailing her somewhere. Now that would have made a GREAT blog contest prize.

(Now really Folks, I don't torture animals. I would never actually do this, and I do not condone animal abuse or cruelty. I would miss the cat and my kids would REALLY miss the cat. Andy wouldn't but, well, that's that. And if you only knew how annoying this cat can be sometimes you'd have fleeting thoughts of boxing her up too... please don't post hateful comments about what a horrid person I am. If you're truely offended, please just leave and don't come back becase my blog is not going to be your happy place. You might try this blog instead..)


Right as I was down loading my pictures to post this entry, suddenly out of nowhere it started hailing and raining the thunder and lightning..



Now as I finish up, it's already bright and sunny and there is no sign of the hail or rain.. I'm tempted to take a picture, but I'm afraid the weather might change again before I can get it posted, and then I would be caught in a never ending cycle of taking weather pictures.

Yes, I know, boring post.. What makes me sad? Not only does the cat blog have way more followers than I do, but all the followers are CATS. What the heck?

I won!

Well okay so I won second prize.

That Amanda girl won first prize. (Just kidding Amanda, If someone other than me had to win, I'm glad it was you, cause you're the most likely of all the other entries to actually invite me over for slammers.)

Check out my winnings. This is WAY better that a trip to Hawaii or any crappy prize like that.

I'm getting Mighty Putty! I can hardly wait to repair something. It says it holds 350 lbs so I'm thinking of using it to mount a pull up bar to the ceiling and test it out.

I've already broken all the handles off my mugs.

I am raring to go.

I can't wait.

MIGHTY PUTTY!!!!
Thank you Emi! You are so awesome. This contest was seriously the most fun contest I have ever entered.

Maybe... to show my appreciation, and you know, to give back to the community, I should do a blog drawing too... But what will the prize be???