A Task I Love

Some moms might think that doing this is a big pain or they might make their kids do this for themselves, but this little task is how I have chosen to serve my kids every school morning.


And I love it.

My kids have typically not liked school lunch. (thank goodness) Well, except for J-Man in middle school. But this year, all three of them eat lunch from home every day. I make each of them just what they want. Luckily, it is pretty simple.

Chelsea has eaten the same sandwich at school for years. Peanut butter and jam. Yep. She is as basic as you can get. She likes turkey sandwiches but doesn't like them after they have been sitting around in her locker for several hours. And you know that it is NOT cool to have an insulated lunchbox from 6th grade and beyond. I wonder how many pb&js she has eaten in her life?

Josh is into turkey sandwiches on toasted bread. No mayo please. Just a little butter spread on there. (yuck). Add some provolone and some shredded lettuce and he is good to go.

Emma alternates between a half turkey sandwich (with some american cheese) and pb&j.

I throw in some sort of fruit (banana, grapes, apple slices, Cutie oranges) and a bag of chips (real healthy, I know) or sometimes pretzels, and then a drink. Don't forget the napkin.

Here's another tidbit... Josh likes his paper lunch sack stapled together at the top. Maybe he had an embarrassing moment at school where he spilled out his lunch. I don't know. I don't ask. It's just something I do.

My kids probably don't realize it now, but their lunches are filled with all kinds of LOVE.

Aren't you glad you know this now?

The Ugly Room

Here is my ugly room. My laundry room/entryway into my misplaced pantry (the area under my stairs).



I am thankful to have a separate area for my laundry... it isn't in my kitchen or hallway like I've had before. But I have got to do something about it. FIrst off, the paint color is what was here when I moved in. I have never liked it. That same color is all over my walls upstairs except for the kids' rooms. I gotta paint it... soon!

I have let this all-important room go to pot. It's cluttered with scrapbooking supplies, my ironing pile, my unused sewing machine, and old home decor items that I need to throw away. Why have I held onto them? If they were anywhere else in my house, they would have been tossed long ago. See that dusty sunflower plant in the corner? I bought that in Cape Girardeau, Missouri about 13 years ago. It was pretty at one time, but it has since fulfilled its purpose. And those pictures hanging on my walls. What the heck? That americana drawing that I colored (or did I paint it?) is the OLDEST picture in my house. I made that with my sister 16 years ago! Why do I still have that hanging up? Why is it still even in my possession?



This other beauty is from Jamesport, Missouri, the largest Amish community in the state. It was near Kirksville, where Matt went to medical school. I really liked this serene picture.... 15 years ago. It's pretty ugly now. Time to let go off it.



I have high hopes for this laundry room of mine. Besides fresh paint, I would love to rip out the cupboards and have new ones put in. I'd like them to be more attractive, but mostly I'd love them to help me be more organized. Everything needs its own place. That empty wall with the Amish picture is just begging to be better utilized! I need a good shelf for my scrapbook stuff. I'd like to have a tall, skinny closet for my broom, mop, and my huge (but oh so nice) ironing board. I'd love to have the cupboards be really deep so that I can put some of my 10# food storage cans in them. I'm tired of crawling down into The Pit (our crawl space under the stairs) to get more cans of flour or sugar, etc.

But, I think I will just have to be patient with fixing this ugly room. I can't afford the custom cabinetry right now. So I guess I will just have to paint and call it good. Choosing paint... that's another dilemma.

I'm Up For the Challenge

Due to matters I won't discuss here on my blog, Matt is trying to omit certain foods from his diet. This is creating a challenge for me when it comes to meal planning. Many of the recipes that have been staples in our house aren't in the line-up anymore. No more french dips. No more hot teriyaki sandwiches. No more shepherd's pie. No more swedish meatballs. So long red meat of any kind:( We've been eating a lot more chicken and pork lately. We like chicken and pork, but it does get old. Thank goodness for ground turkey breast. It's a little on the expensive side, but I've been able to adapt a few of our stand-by recipes that call for ground beef. Last week, I found this recipe and ooohhh was it good. Very flavorful and quite healthy. Try it. You won't be sorry.



Here is a soup recipe that doesn't have any meat in it. Wow. Was it easy to make tonight! Super quick and so good. My kids like fresh spinach in salads, but they were a little put off by the look of spinach leaves swimming in their soup. Josh called it "foliage". But they ate it with just a little bit of coaxing, and they liked it. We will be making it again for sure. One little, but very important, change I made to this recipe is that I pureed the whole tomatoes. Nobody but me would be eating it if I didn't do that.

"The Shoes Can Pop"

That is a quote from Clinton on "What Not To Wear", another fav show of mine. I love shoe shopping, and that is what I got to do today. But it wasn't shopping for me. Nope. Today was all about looking for the right shoes for Chelsea. She is going to the Sweethearts dance at school next month, and she is in need of some super cute shoes that "pop". Chelsea bought a basic black dress at Dillards last weekend. Gotta love a classy yet youthful looking dress. And here's a shout out to Dillards for the handful of modest dresses that we could choose from! And we even got it on sale for $64! So... she is in need of finding some fun shoes that she can afford to buy with her own money. The second challenge is that she wears size 5 1/2. And third, they have to be cute, a fun color, AND they can't be "hoochy" shoes. We went to Famous Footwear and found some royal blue pumps on sale for $40. Of course they were size 6, but they can order 5 1/2s for her. But she wasn't ready to commit. We drove across the street and went to the mall. Didn't find much in fun colors except for some really hoochy shoes at Bakers and some expensive ones at Dillards. Then onto Target. They actually carry her size in the store. But the only fancy shoes they had were gold platform 4 1/2 inchers. They certainly don't pass the "Dad Test". After being unsuccessful at Ross, we went home. Here is a possibility for Chels. Purple, hip, and only $10. I think she should order these from Target.
I love my Chelsea. And I really like that she likes shoes too.

Little Eyes Are Watching

Yesterday, Emma came home from school and said that she didn't get something. "What?" I asked. She said that she had health class and wondered how it was that her health teacher could be "chubby" and still teach health. She saw the disconnect between what her teacher does in her own life and what she was telling the kids about healthy living. I told her that sometimes grown ups have a hard time doing what they tell others to do.

Little eyes are watching us. Children get to an age where they notice if we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. They try to make sense of the world around them, and sometimes they just don't get it. I hope that I can be a good example to my kids. I want them to remember me as someone who practiced what I preached even when I thought nobody was watching.

In For the Long Haul

I'm one month into wearing braces. Seventeen more months to go! But I can see a difference in my teeth. Can you? (The left pic is the day I got my braces.)

Say good-bye to my "beaver teeth"! For those of you that don't know this... and I'm laying my insecurity out there for all to see... I have been self-conscious of my front teeth for twenty years. All the credit goes to some dumb-headed jerk in my Communications class my freshman year at Ricks College. We were sitting in a small group working on whatever and he told me I had "beaver teeth". How nice was that? There began my obsession with my front teeth. I don't even think the guy was trying to be mean. He obviously didn't know how to communicate with a girl!

So, when the dentist told me I should take Emma in for a consultation with the orthodontist for her cross bite, I found the guts to make myself an appointment with him at the same time as Emma's. I told him of my concerns, and he felt confident that he could help me and that I will be happy with the results. So far, so good!

I'm getting used to having bumpy, sore teeth. Eating is getting easier. I don't notice the braces as much. They are becoming apart of me. Everyone said that would happen. Most importantly, I can kiss Matt now without being so conscious of them in my mouth. He's pretty happy about that, too!

Getting Fit For the Race

Yesterday I ran five miles with Matt. I have a love-hate relationship with running. Yesterday, I loved it. I loved it because I didn't have to get up before 6 am. It was light outside, so I didn't have to put on my reflective belt thingy with blinking light on the back and my headlamp. The other reason I loved it was because it was a foggy morning. That was an added bonus to my run. It was beautiful. I hadn't run 5 miles since August 14th. I can't believe it's been that long. I've been consistent at running 3 1/2 miles about 3 or four times a week. Time to increase the mileage.

We are starting our official training this coming week for our second half marathon. We are running the Ogden Half in May. It will be fun to see if I can run it faster than I ran the SLC Half last spring. This time I will be running it pretty much by myself. Matt has set a faster goal pace than me. It will be just me and my music and the majesty of the mountains. Good alliteration, huh? I'm hoping for some nice spring weather. Most likely it won't be snowing in May, but it certainly could be a chilly, rainy day. I've run quite a bit in the rain. I know I can handle that. Wind. I hate wind. That would be a big downer.

Tomorrow morning I will start my day with an early morning run with my hubby. I get to run in my new shoes for the first time. Check these out! They are pretty wild for me. I totally went out of my comfort zone when I bought them. I'll let you know if they make me run faster!

The Starting Line

One of my biggest wishes in life is to be able to travel more. Domestic and overseas. I LOVE to go to new places. I love learning about other cultures, eating interesting foods, visiting the unique sights of each destination. It's been a long time since I've been able to travel to another country. Being in the Navy spoiled me. I left the country for the first time at age 15 and traveled with my dad and sister to Germany and France. But mostly, it was living on Guam that spoiled me. I really caught the travel bug while I was there. Since coming back to the States seven years ago (has it really been that long?), we have not made it a priority to spend our money and time on traveling outside of the country. We have been to some cool places in our beautiful America, but I'm just dying to get out of here and see something different again.

My heart pulls me to a tropical place. I'm right in the middle of cold winter, so that is what I can't stop thinking about. Today, thanks to HGTV, I imagined myself in Fiji. I see myself in a beautiful bungalow right on a private beach. There is a steady breeze, and I'm watching the palm trees sway. I'm listening to the waves crash on the reef. Oh, to feel that enveloping heat of the tropics. Love it. Love it.

Back to reality, Kim. (This pic was my reality a few years back. It was taken in Saipan.)

So, you ask, "Why Kim's Amazing Race?" Well, I LOVE the show on CBS, The Amazing Race. I can't get enough. I'm sad when each season ends and I have to wait a couple of months for the next one to start. I live vicariously through the travels of the contestants. What a super cool experience it would be to be on the show! Intense but fun. I must admit that I have never missed a season of the show (there's been 17!). I watched the very first season of it even before most people ever heard of the show. I've been with Phil (the host) for the whole ride. Please, CBS, don't cancel my show, ever!

MY amazing race is my life. No, I'm not trying to hurry through life or make it go faster. No way. I'm taking my time and sucking it all in. Making it last. My travels aren't too exotic or too out of the ordinary these days. But I am going where I'm supposed to be going. I'm confident that I'm doing it in the way I'm suppose to be doing it.

Let me share with you my daily travels, my roadblocks, my detours, my u-turns, my pitstops, my tasks, and my teammates. I'm not sure exactly how this will all play out, but I do know where my final destination is. And the finishing prize is no million dollars. It's priceless.