Lose it Right

Losing weight is not an easy thing and it can be very frustrating and cause feelings of failure when it doesn't work. However, it does not need to be that way. There are many natural ways to kick start your metabolism. Coconut oil for instance, when used at a rate of 3 tablespoons per day, it is said to speed up your metabolism greatly. And there are many drugs on the market to help you out, but even the best fat burner can't compete with a poor diet. Chocolate cake for breakfast, McDonald's for lunch and a salad for dinner followed by ice cream is just not going to cut it!

Choose healthy meals and healthy snacks. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables as fillers with small amounts of protein and carbs for the energy you need to get through the day and not feel hungry. An apple and peanut butter make a great snack. A piece of toast, a banana and a cup of low-fat yogurt is a yummy and healthy breakfast and go easy on dinner. Then that piece of chocolate cake once in awhile is a necessity for everyone, but daily it is nothing more that a sand trap for even the best dieter.

So take a minute to look through your cupboards. Are they stocked with healthy, quick grab snacks, or are they filled with high calorie, high sugar, fill you up fast but leave you hungry in 10 minutes treats? Now is a great time to make the effort to clean out your cupboards and stock them appropriately. You be very glad you did next time the mid-day munchies sneak up on you.

Free Summer Fun Activities

Here is a great way to kick up your fun this summer. The R.A.M.P. program in Weber County has opened up a world of opportunities for families finding themselves on suddenly tight budgets and in these dire economic times, that is more than a few of us. They are opening various facilities in Weber County every Saturday free of charge. I am really excited to be able to take my family on some of these outings.

Link to http://www.co.weber.ut.us/ramp/PDFs/summer%20schedule%202009.pdf and you can see a listing of all the available facilities and the dates for free admission. There are some really exciting ones like the Roy Aquatic Center, BSA Ropes Challenge Course and The Ice Sheet to name just a few. Spend your summer having fun, get out and go!

Sharing Embarrassing Moments

I had a friend tell me the other day that she had heard that sharing embarrassing moments with friends was a great way to make them less embarrassing to you. So over lunch at our favorite hang out (McDonald's, of course!) she shared with me the details of her most recent date. Lets just say it didn't go very well at all. This wonderful guy she had just met had invited her to a party in which everyone was supposed to dress as the opposite sex and go to the "prom". I guess it was really alot of fun, men in prom dresses and women in tux's.

As the night wore on, it got hot and stuffy so she took off her jacket. Well, part of the party involved water balloon volleyball. (If you have never played before, it's alot of fun. It involved a volleyball net and passing water balloons back and forth using towels.) They enjoyed a lovely game of water volleyball until it happened! She got hit, square on with a huge water balloon. She was soaked and it was at that time that she, and her date, realized that under her white tuxedo shirt she had made the mistake of wearing a black bra and she had left her jacket across the yard and inside the house. She was very embarrassed, but said that her date handled it like a true gentleman. He wrapped the towel they had been using to play around her and quickly ushered her inside and waited until she had dried herself off and was presentable again.

He then decided that he had had enough of the Prom dress as well and he took her home to change before taking her out to a lovely dinner.


I don't know if she feels any less embarrassed about the situation for having confided it in me, but I feel a whole lot better now that my sides have stopped hurting from laughing so hard. Hopefully soon, she'll stop rejecting my phone calls and talk to me again.

Summer is Here, Electronics are In

Summer is upon us and with that comes lots of children with lots of time on their hands. So that leads me to this particular post.

In this day and age, electronics rule our world. They are every where we go, involved in everything we do and they occupy our every waking moment. However, that does not mean that they need to be our constant source of entertainment.

Now, I'm not saying that you should hide the Nintendo Wii or lock up the computer. Actually the opposite. Make time each day for your children (and yourself) to spend time playing video games and working or playing on the computer. The video games are a great way to build hand-eye coordination and the computer is a necessity of daily life. But set time limits. One hour each day and then it's outside to play.


And finding yourself outside doesn't mean that the electronics get left behind either. Bring along your ipod when you go for a walk, especially in the city. The music will be a beautiful distraction to the noise of city life. On a nature walk, bring your blackberry or PDA and record what you are seeing and doing. It will be a wonderful memory during the cold dreary months.

Take pictures and upload them to your computer as a screen saver or on your digital photo frame. Record the sounds of nature and upload them to your ipod to listen to as you are falling asleep.

Getting outside doesn't mean leaving the electronic behind, but in our world it means incorporating them. So take your electronics and get those kids outside! Enjoy your summer!