Today's Pro-Smoking Campaign

I wasn't alive back in the early years of smoking popularity. But, I'm pretty sure if I saw these ads, I would have dropped all my morals, standards, and common sense to light one up. I mean, after all, more doctors smoked Camels. If doctors are doing it.....

and clearly they make you stay younger. Forget the premature wrinkles and ugly teeth...I wouldn't get a double chin if I started smoking. When tempted, just reach for a lucky. Furthermore, it'll protect your throat against coughing!

....and Good 'ole St. Nick smokes, just to keep his throat from feeling all scratchy in that bitter cold winter air.

and let's not forget Betty Grable and Micky Mantle. I mean, there's some weight behind those advertisements.

All sarcasm aside, this is completely silly and ridiculous, right? I'm not sure the reason behind these ads. I don't know if it was because it was popular, or if there were those saying smoking was bad, and these ads came out to try to convince the public that there are benefits to smoking...other than looking cool, you stay thinner, younger, and don't get bothersome troubles like itchy scratchy throats. Now, tell that to someone who's been smoking for 25 years and has had cancer or is speaking through a hole in their throat. Now, we look at these and see how plainly ridiculous this is. There are very few people who would now say that there are any worthwhile benefits to smoking. Most people who smoke say "I know I shouldn't."

Recently I saw these 2 ads on tv. And I immediately thought of the smoking ads of old. As a way to defend the products "safety" and the backlash on high fructose corn syrup, the Corn Refiners Association has felt the need to come up with these commercials. Oh CRA. This, to me, just makes you look worse. Perhaps it's true, that in moderation it's ok. But can we honestly say that the American diet is one that does a great job of being moderate? When it's in everything, it's hard to eat it moderately. High Fructose Corn Syrup has been associated with obesity and diabetes. And I hardly think at this point that billions of dollars are being lost because people want to eat less high fructose corn syrup...however, if that's the case, we Americans will be healthier for it.

Running Laps

For some time, we have been more than a little concerned over Callie's seeming inability to gain any weight. We feel we have tried lots of things, but to no avail. A few nghts ago, we had decided that we would next try an IV filled with butter, and laid Callie down for the night. That night, however, we discovered why Callie was having so many problems gaining weight. At around 3 in the morning, we heard some noise in the front room. I ran out and turned the lights on to find Callie "running laps" around our living room. Jenny quickly pulled out a video camera and caught some of it on tape.



I asked Callie what she was up to, and she told me that she has been training for a local triathlon, and was working on her mile time (206 times around the family room). She's hoping to get it down to the 4 and one-half minute range. Other nights, she told me, she makes her way down to a local stream and swims a little and sometimes takes my bike out for a nighttime ride. All of this burns a lot of calories and has prevented any substantial weight gain. She was afraid to tell us for fear that we would not allow her compete. More impressed, really, than upset, we agreed that if she placed in the top ten for her age group during the competition, there would be no disciplinary action. We spent much of the next day today looking for a wet suit and good running shoes for a 13 month old.

Another Celebrity Mormon

That's right. Did any of you watching The Biggest Loser last night notice that the picture of Filipe and his wife has the Salt Lake Temple in the background? Yep. Marcus and my suspicions were confirmed...or at least we think we're 99.9% sure...that Sione and Filipe are members of the church. Wahoo! We're rootin' for you Filipe! You gotta get Sione back!

So Much Fun

A long time ago, my mom bought me a yoga ball, with the intention that I'd use it for exercise. Good intentions. But though I don't regularly use this ball for yoga, we have found many other uses: I use it for therapy exercises for Samantha, it's our computer chair, and it has become a much beloved game of our kiddos. The laughing goes on and on when Daddy hits this ball with all his force! Who would have known that this ball could bring so much joy to our family?

Super Yummy Santa Fe Chicken Sandwiches

So, several of you asked for this earlier, so I took a picture of the meal to put up with the recipe...then I kept forgetting. In my picture, the peppers and onions are falling off the sandwich, but oh well. Here you go...Santa Fe Chicken Sandwiches. It's a bit spicy, but not too bad. Marcus doesn't like spice but loves these -- so the heat is definitely manageable. And as far as I can tell, this is a healthy option for dinner. Protein, good fats with the olive oil, peppers and onions, mmmmmmm.

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large green pepper thinly sliced
1 large onion thinly sliced
olive oil to saute the peppers and onion

Marinade:

2 T. chili pepper
1 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/3- 1/2 c. olive oil
1/3 c. vinegar
4 oz. French dressing (1,000 Island)
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
juice of 2 limes

Directions:
Marinate the chkn. breasts for at least 3 hours in the marinade ingredients. (I just make it up in the morning and let it suck in those fabulous flavors all day.)

Either preheat the grill or oven to 425. Saute the peppers and onions in the oil. Bake chkn for 20-25 minutes, turning frequently and basting with the marinade. (I just leave it in the oven and baste periodically -- no turning over for me. That's too much work.)

When chkn is thoroughly cooked (no longer pink) serve with warm, toasted onion rolls or the roll of your choice. (We used whole wheat or multi-grain buns.)

I topped the chicken with a bit of shredded cheese, then the peppers and onions. mmm mmm good. Some other good toppings for this type of sandwich may be tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, red, yellow, and green peppers, red onions.

Enjoy!

As You See Fit

Thanks to Courtney Mangum's creativity (she came up with the name), we now have As You See Fit, a blog for all of us to help each other become better at getting and/or staying healthy. Please, those who are interested, openly comment on the blog. I'm really hoping that it will be a forum to share a lot of great tips as we glean wisdom from each other. I will be issuing challenges. Try them out. See if they work for you. If not, at least you've tried it out.

I will be updating it every Monday.

Who's With Me?

Friends, I have a proposal for you all. I've been consumed, since last night, thinking about what I can do to help myself and my fellow trying-to-get-healthier family and friends. Yesterday I stumbled across a blog of an old friend of mine. It was set aside specifically for those who wanted to join her in slimming down in a healthy way, and staying healthy. Unfortunately, the blog wasn't kept up. It started, it was a family goal, and when the date came, I think the blog went. I was really disappointed because I really wanted to join in on the challenges. That's when I decided to do it myself. But, I need to know if there is anyone else out there interested in joining me on a mission to healthy life. Because not only do I want to lose some weight, but I want to be healthy. Sincerely, I want to live a healthier life, avoiding a lot of disease and illness that we have control of -- I want to have more energy -- and come on, I want to look good, great in fact. And, I don't want to do it alone.

Here's what I want:

* A support group. We all join together, push each other, encourage each other, and share our goals, challenges, and successes. I decided I need at least 5 others who want to do it with me.
* Commit to change. When a challenge is issued, you commit to it.
* As this will be a committed support group, we all vow to comment so it's not just me on this thing. Mostly I'm interested in comments that reflect your week in regards to health. Have you lost weight? Have you gained weight? Are you at a stand still? Do you have a good tip? A good recipe that you discovered? This is good because we all hear each other's successes and challenges, but it also gives each of us some kind of accountability as we need to report. I doesn't have to be as personal as your weight, but you get the idea. (This was taken from Lesley's blog. I just think it's a really good idea.)

These are some of the thoughts I had last night...as well as some challenges for us to try through the weeks to come. But I need to know, who's with me? Who wants to change their lives for the better and do it with friends? As far as I can tell, most of us are doing this alone right now anyway. Why not join forces and do it together?

Comment if you are interested.