More photos of my babies

I am still loving my new camera, so that means you get to see more pictures of my pets. 

Here's Jasper, the eldest of our babies.

A very pregnant - and feral - cat wandered onto the outdoor weather set of the t.v. station where Ryan and I worked together back in 2002. She had kittens and we took one of the boys home. It turned out a few months later that Jasper was actually a girl.

Despite her feral roots (of which Ryan likes to remind her), she's an elegant cat. She's very thin, nearly underweight. She's also the alpha animal of our house, so her size is not due to her inability to get to the food dish. She could have as much as she wants because she is in charge.

Despite our constant love and affection, she is ornary, to say the least, and cries ALL...THE...TIME. As we like to tell her, we know she has it bad. Really bad. We are mean, horrible parents who don't even let her go outside, except for a stretch of several months where we used to live (until she got lost and almost didn't make it back in time to join us on our move down south). 

She lives each day longing to be an outdoors cat, but, believe it or not, she even cries when we let her out - supervised, of course - so we're not quite sure what she's trying to tell us, other than that she likes to complain. You'd think that perhaps something is wrong with her, but she's fine. She is just a cry baby. 

The other day when we heard her muffled cry, I frantically checked all the closets, where she's been known to fall asleep and then get trapped inside. She was no where to be found, and then it hit me - she was outside. She must have escaped when we were going in or out (it is a constant battle; we never open the door very wide because she WILL outsmart you) and when she realized we weren't right behind her to yell her name and chase her all over the yard, she came crying at the door. It was also raining, but she would have come home anyways because she loves us.

She's also super smart and I even taught her sign language. She waves her hand when she wants some of my food. And she is very picky - she only does this once in a great while. That's how I know when she really wants something I have. She loves rotisserie chicken.

Then there's Sophie...

But you know all about her. When we picked her up, the breeder told us she'd never be a show dog because of her pink nose. And her lazy eye. Oh, darn. We had big plans.

Don't you just love that face?

This isn't one of our pets, but it's on my mind right now...

Low-fat, low G.I. cheesecake bars I made last night, and it tastes even better than it looks. I'm about to go get one. I love my diet. 

Don't worry, I'll post the recipe tomorrow, complete with a picture tutorial. 

My week in pictures

This past week was a busy one! We went to my in-laws in Raleigh for New Year's Eve/my father-in-law's birthday and I have lots of pictures to show for it...

Here's my sister-in-law and my mother-in-law beautifully modeling the aprons I gave them for Christmas. Don't they look like the perfect homemakers? (We thought the rolling pin was a nice addition.)

This is our nephew, who turned one in November. Isn't he adorable?

He was opening his grandfather's birthday present while we were eating dinner!

We played Family Feud on the computer and Ryan and I were a force to be reckoned with.

My low G.I. ice cream birthday cake my brother-in-law made for me. Isn't that sweet? Actually, it was artificially sweet, and very good!

Sophie taking a nap before ringing in the new year. She always looks for a pillow to put her head on. 

Here's Abigail!! We stopped at Lifehope's beautiful home on our way back to Richmond and our dogs were able to meet. Sophie and little Abby got along great. And I say that because Sophie gave her the time of day. She usually prefers humans.

It helped that Abby was totally submissive to Sophie. Abby spent most of the time on her back like this!

But she also gave Sophie a run for her money, which Sophie needs!

And if the pictures weren't enough, here's some video of them playing:

And, last but not least, my birthday dinner at the Cheesecake Factory:

I had built up in my mind what I was going to order for a long time now, and while I still had a ton of fun eating out, the meal actually turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. I've come to the conclusion that fattening food just doesn't do it for me anymore! Perhaps God has blessed me with the grace to not be tempted and let nothing get in the way of this diet! But we did share a piece of low-carb cheesecake that was just amazing.

Ryan was actually sick with a cold yesterday (he worked on Friday so we celebrated on Saturday) but he still let me drag him all around Richmond as I searched for a comforter set for the guest bedroom we are doing over. Isn't he the best? Thanks for a great birthday, sweetie!

Cycle update and Thanksgiving pictures

Just a quick cycle update before I get into my pictures of Thanksgiving...It's cycle day 25 and today is nine days past ovulation. My temp was up nice and high until two days ago it dropped to 97.7. This happened last month as well, dropping at about the same time for one day, then rising again. I'm not exactly sure why, but when I googled it I found stuff that said it can be due to an estrogen surge that doesn't necessarily mean you're pregnant (hence, me last month). It probably was back up today, but I got up way too early for it to be accurate.

My bbs have been sore this week, which is good, I guess, since they haven't been for as long as I can remember. The only other thing to report is that on Monday and Tuesday I had a stabbing pain that lasted less than 30 seconds. It happened once each day. The pain was very low, in the middle. I'm not sure what that was, unless it might have been gas related. Everything with me is either related to my cycle or gas. Take your pick.

So I started out Thankgiving morning with some good news - I stepped on the scale to discover I had finally hit the forty pound mark. I knew it wouldn't last long, though, with a big meal just hours away. Speaking of which, my low G.I. Thanksgiving was delicious. Low fat it was not. I used four sticks of butter total in the meal, but the good news is there were a lot of leftovers, so it's not like Ryan and I ate two sticks of butter each. But we probably will over the next three days. 

I took this picture to show you that I wasn't kidding about using butter...real butter:

(And, let's be honest - this was only a portion of the butter that went in with the onion and celery for the stuffing!) It's my motto in action: Cheat with fat, not with the "white stuff" (white flour, sugar, etc., etc.). While the author of the low G.I. book encourages the low-fat part of the diet as well, that's not crucial for my hormones. So when I want to cheat, that's how I do it. Plus, I should really be maintaining at this point, anyways.

More butter, and the big slab of cheese is 2% milk Velveeta. They are melting for my broccoli casserole. Mmmmm.

Here's me putting in the turkey, glad that the worst of it was over. And, no, I was not in a house full of family and friends who took this picture. It was just me and the self-timer on the camera (I know, very dorky). I'm glad no one was around, actually, so they didn't have to hear me wimper in fear as I prepped the bird.

The spread. My sweet potato casserole (with Splenda) is on the left. It overflowed in the oven, as you can see (and, if I do say so myself, it was delicious and should make appearances on more than just holidays! I'll post the recipe in the future). Next, my mashed potatoes made with new potatoes (not necessarily low G.I. because they are mashed, but a better option than regular). Stuffing made with wheat bread is above and next to the potatoes. Above the big stuffing is the broccoli casserole (the topping is made with wheat crackers). And above the turkey is the gravy made with white wheat flour. 

Poor Ryan had horrible back pain as we ate, and I'm sure he wasn't letting on to just how bad it really was (the back pain, not the food). We both got full really fast, since our stomachs are not what they used to be!

We had a great night (thanks to pain pills for him), and then today I got up early for some black Friday shopping. Believe it or not, it was my first-ever black Friday experience, at least as far as I can remember. And now I see the attraction - I got some good deals! Although I was seriously loopy by 2 p.m. (and I should also point out I got up at 6:20; I didn't exactly do any "door busting"). 

Then my in-laws stopped at our house tonight to pick up the dogs. I don't know if I mentioned it on here before, but my sister-in-law just discovered my blog and it has been a huge blessing. She has stepped up her prayers for us and we couldn't appreciate it more. So tonight before she left, she was SO sweet and prayed with me for us to have a baby. Let's hope her increased prayers lately will be what puts us over the top!!

I'm exhausted so I'm going to go rest now, with a new fancy Pott.ery Barn throw I bought today with a gift card I've been hoarding for almost a year. Before I do, though, I'm going to go raid the leftovers. Writing about them got me hungry!

P.S. Could you please say some prayers for my mother? She has c-dif.f (period added by me, not part of the name, in case you're curious), which is a type of superbug (wikipedia describes it as follows:  It is a severe infection of the colon, often happening after normal gut flora is eradicated by use of antibiotics). She contracted it while on heavy antibiotics for an absessed tooth. Well, after being sick for a couple weeks earlier this month, she thought it was under control, but she's sick again. Any prayers you could say on her behalf would be much appreciated!

Artwork

Jeremiah 29:11 asked about the paintings I have around my house, so I decided to post some pictures here. I haven't talked too much about painting on here, probably because I haven't really done it in two years! I am a total temperamental artist and I can go for very long periods of time without doing it. I don't doubt that this current dry spell probably has something to do with infertility, now that I think about it. 

So I just went around my house and took these pictures, and I realized that I don't have a lot here. My parents' house probably has the marjority in one spot. I used to have pictures of all that I've sold, but they're all on a computer hard drive in our attic. I guess I should probably get those off of there before they're lost forever!

Here's what I have:

This was our wedding painting, which means that a detail of one of the flowers was on our save-the-date and the invitations, and prints of this painting were given away as favors to all the women.


This is a print of a painting (notice the reflection throughout - that bright spot in the sky is neither the sun nor a UFO, but actually a light in my kitchen. You can also see me taking the picture if you look closely). The original is hanging in my father's office. And it's actually a painting of the building my father's office is located in (his is the door and windows on the far right side, first floor). 


I did this painting really quickly one day to decorate my kitchen.


This painting - of my great-grandmother on her wedding day, I believe - is actually one of my first, from high school. It matches our bedroom now, so up it went (I look at it every day and think about how the proportion is wrong).


I did this painting the night before my wisdom teeth were removed because I was panicking and needed something to concentrate on! I probably should have painted something before my two endometriosis surgeries!



I was looking for something to paint one day, and the famous painting that this is a replica of was actually printed on the wrapping that the canvas came in, so I just copied it. I guess I'm pretty lazy when it comes to ideas!

Speaking of that, I should point out that I can ONLY paint from photographs, or other paintings. It's a curse and a blessing. Everyone tries to convince me I could probably paint out of my head if I tried, but my mind just doesn't work that way. I HAVE to be looking at something. Here's another example of that:



This one is actually a detail of one of my favorite paintings, On The Beach, by Winslow Homer (and it's a little banged up, I just noticed). The original is hanging in an art museum just a few miles from where I grew up (if you click on the link, you can see how the part I used for my painting is actually in the lower left corner of the original). 


Well, I guess this has inspired me to get going on painting. Hopefully I'll post some pictures of new paintings in the near future!

Happy Thanksgiving...and photos of my low G.I. meal are also coming soon!

A G.I. Thanksgiving

Due to the wonderful schedule of a t.v. news anchor, we're not going anywhere for Thanksgiving. It's not all bad - my husband does get Christmas off (it's always one holiday or the other, and we always pick Christmas) and we'll be visiting my family for five days. But for now, we're at home and it's just the two of us for dinner tomorrow.

Last year we ate Thanksgiving dinner with everyone working at his station that night, but this year he's working a day shift so he doesn't have to eat there. Plus, if we ate at his station, I wouldn't be able to actually eat anything other than dry turkey. So we decided (or I actually insisted) that I make dinner just for us.

So in case you're wondering, no, I will not be going off of my diet tomorrow. I just don't see the need or the value in it. I don't want to negatively affect my hormones after getting them all in line and since I can make everything on the menu low G.I. anyways, I just don't see the point.

I know I am lucky in that it's just the two of us, so there's no one else to complain about my use of Splenda in the sweet potato casserole. So I'm taking advantage of that!

And while I'm keeping the menu G.I.-friendly, I am also going by my motto: cheat with fat not with the bad stuff (i.e. white flour, sugar, corn products, etc.). So my version of "cheating" will be by using lots of real butter in everything! That way, it won't affect my hormones, but will still be really yummy.

Here's my menu, and how I'm altering the recipes:

Stuffing - my favorite! I am using wheat bread, of course, and the "good" eggs (with omega-3). Also, did you know that the Pepperidge Farm bread crumb stuff is actually a mix of white and 100% whole wheat? And that the "white" part of it is actually enriched wheat flour? Enriched wheat isn't ideal, but it's also not "white" and it's a great compromise. I also "splurged" and will be using a loaf of whole grain white bread, which is also not really white and actually enriched wheat flour as well.

Gravy - made with white wheat flour

Mashed potatoes - made with red new potatoes (even though these are allowed on the diet, I haven't had any just because they are pretty high in carbs still, so I'm looking forward to this!)

Sweet potato casserole - made with Splenda brown sugar blend

Broccoli casserole - made with 2% milk Velveeta cheese and much less butter than the orginal recipe calls for. Also, I'll use whole wheat Ritz crackers for the topping.

I'll also make peas, and the turkey, of course! I feel like I'm forgetting something. Hmmm, I think that's it. I don't know if I'll make a dessert yet, which seems kind of sacreligious, doesn't it? I just am not a big splenda-dessert person, so I'd rather go without than make something like that. I might make a low G.I. apple crisp if my husband wants it. I recently found a great no-sugar-added ice cream bar, so I'll be having one of those.

I'm going to take pictures tomorrow, so I'll post them in the coming days. And eventually I'll also post the recipes for all this stuff as well. It's too late for Thanksgiving, but perhaps some of you will be inspired to make some of it for Christmas.

So before when I said it was just the two of us, I wasn't being entirely truthful. We actually have quite a full house. Sophie's cousins are visiting us for Thanksgiving:

Meet Winston...



...and Sammie.

Technically, Sam is Sophie's aunt, but you get the picture. Winston's mommy just started reading this blog, so now she'll get to see her little guy on here. And speaking of Winston's mom and since I just came across some old pictures on my phone while uploading the ones of the doggies...

A couple weeks ago I posted about visiting my in-laws in NC. The reason we were going there that particular time was because we were having a "girls' night in" at her home. We spent the night painting a painting (or, rather, three paintings in one) for her bedroom:




I was supposed to be teaching her and my other sister-in-law to paint, but since I'm not a natural teacher (unlike everyone else in both my and Ryan's families), I kind of took over. Although Winston's mom did contribute a lot, including some of the detail on the petals.

I'm usually a nightmare to be around when I'm painting (the words, "we are to never speak of me painting EVER again," have been known to be spoken at times), so I told my sister-in-laws that I'll need to do all my paintings in front of them, apparently, because I did this one in about three hours with no complaints!

Here it is in her room (we took great care to match it to her bedding!):

Doesn't she arrange her bed beautifully? It looks just like a catalog picture or something!

Anyways - back to Thanksgiving - I hope you all have safe travels, great food, fun times with your families, and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Where I was one year ago this week...

A year ago today we were in Italy. I can't believe it's been a whole year!

The trip was a blast. We went for free, believe it or not, because it was a tour and we were the "hosts." A t.v. station in the city where we used to live used us to promote the trip (since we were former news anchors there) and let us go for free. How lucky were we? We had joked about doing something like that when we were old and retired, but young people are rarely asked to do it. And we're talking airfare, hotels, and two meals a day all included. The blessing was it allowed us to take video of the Vatican for my movie, and so I believe it was an answer to prayer.

Since it was a tour, it was mainly retired couples, with a couple people in their forties, and a few in their fifties. Most, though, were in their 60's, 70's, and 80's! But don't let their ages fool you, they were awesome! It's amazing how much older people act exactly like young people - they formed clicks and there were even some tense moments when some of the group was upset at the rowdier members! (Not surprisingly, we were among the rowdier ones, although most of our little circle were in their seventies!).

Sadly, it might be the last trip I take abroad, because I had enormous anxiety over the flight and I don't think I can go through that again. And, yes, I took Xanax, but I would seriously have to be heavily medicated the entire month before we go to make it worth it.

So allow me to take a little trip down memory lane from one year ago this week:

Us in Verona, where we spent the first couple nights. While it's a good location to take day trips from, Verona itself was awesome. (By the way, I can't believe how much heavier we both are here!)

More Verona, and its marble pedestrian streets.

I think we're in Florence here. I'm holding someone else's wine, since I don't drink. You're probably thinking, what a waste! (At least that's what my husband was thinking the whole time!)

Our best friends on the trip, and we had never met them before we went. Please say a quick prayer for the woman in the middle, Lou. She suffered a stroke not long after returning and then they discovered cancer, so she spent many months in the hospital.

St. Mark's Square in Venice. I love Venice!

This woman was nuts, in a good way! There was never a dull moment.

The group. The woman in the forefront with her back to the camera was our tour guide for the week (thankfully, that wasn't the job of the hosts. Our position was entirely ceremonial!). She was Irish and quite liberal, and vocal, and even told the group that the Vatican once had a side business manufacturing birth control. What?

Barb, the crazy one, again.

Lou's husband, attempting to steal a decoration from a restaurant. I told you these people were rowdy, despite their age!

Our table always managed to acquire everyone else's leftover wine at dinner.

One of our many live performances at dinner.


Our first night at the Vatican. They wanted to baptise him, since he wasn't Catholic, despite the fact that he was actually baptised Catholic as an infant. I hope this isn't sacreligious! It's what happens after all that free wine.


Awaiting the Pope at a Wednesday audience. We didn't know at this point if Pope Benedict would make his way by us.


And he did!

We were so close! I even made eye contact!

Trevi Fountain, Rome, with our new BFFs.

We had such a great time! It almost makes me want to fly again! Almost. Okay, not really. But it was an amazing trip and I'm so thankful we were given this opportunity!