January 17th, 2012

CookBook Heaven

by Dena

My husband and mother share a love of cookbooks. It is almost an overwhelming hobby if you looked at the stacks of them around our house and garage. Our house is where old cookbooks go to die.Sometimes, I see a few that catch my eye.

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I'm offended.

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This is an old Junior League Cookbook. I'll have to look and see if Minny has a chocolate pie recipe in it.

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Very. Simple

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I have nothing to say about this. Make up your own caption.

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Nice.

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I don't get it.

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In case you don't like MEAT.

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We have more. Lots more. I like to read Stephen King, but somedays a good cookbook can be just as entertaining.

January 15th, 2012

What is your Cause?

by Dena

Last night I was watching the Miss America Pageant and took notice as the young women mentioned the causes the support. I started thinking about what I would support if I had a year to travel and speak, or unlimited funds.

I already work to try to help the local children in foster care. I work with a group that provides items for caseworkers to use in emergency situations where a child has nothing at the moment of removal. We stock diapers, clothes, ect. We do other things and also work to plan child abuse prevention activities in April.

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Boo and a friend at last year's event.

When Boo gets a chance, she helps out at the local animal shelter. Her dream is to buy land and build a no kill shelter for the animals in our town. Sometimes she goes to the shelter and takes pictures of the pets who need a home.

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I’m certainly not bragging about what we do because heaven knows we could do more. I would like to help with the domestic violence center because I see the children who live it daily. I would like to see an after school tutoring program in our area, one that could even be mission based such as our Beach Club meetings on Tuesdays. I would like to see more done for Alzheimers research and care.

If I had one to choose, I know it would be one that involved the safe and appropriate care of children. What would yours be?

January 11th, 2012

Wordless Wednesday

by Dena

baby 043Wordless Wednesday is a fun dose of baby.

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January 9th, 2012

IHeartFaces: Best of 2011

by Dena

I thought I had the picture in my mind that I wanted to use for the best shot of 2011. But then I remembered this. The focus is on the face.

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January 4th, 2012

I like to share

by Dena

Not always, but do like to share my birthday. We have a total of FIVE birthdays among family and friends on January 4. Sadly, some have passed and we aren’t able to celebrate with them anymore. I think of each one though, whether they are here or not.

We’ve had my birthday dinner, and I got a new purse and wallet.  If I ever needed a 12 step program it would be for my purse addiction.

The only downside to today is that my mom and her sister are both really sick. One year they made the cakes with the Barbie dolls in them and the cake looked like a dress for me and my cousin, Robin. Her birthday is the 3rd so she was a little too early for the J4 club. I still count her most of the time though!

So, Happy Birthday to all the ones who celebrate today and those who are thinking of the ones who did.
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January 2nd, 2012

Motherly Paranoia

by LanaJoy

Ok let me start out by saying that anorexia is NOT funny.  10% of all patients with it will die as a result of it, and it’s very serious. If you know somebody that you think may have it, get them to a doctor ASAP even if it’s against their will.  Ok now, that I have that out of the way, let me relate to you a funny story in which my mother vented her fears that I may in fact, be on the road to becoming anorexic.

 

Within the last two years, I have very slowly lost about 50 pounds.  I’m doing anything drastic, just trying to control my portions, get a little cardio when I can, and not punish myself or  feel guilty if I eat a decent tasting meal now and then.  So it hasn’t been a “she was fat then BAM she’s thin” process.  It’s really only been recently that people are like wow, you seem thinner. 

 

Mom saw me a couple of months ago when she was in the hospital.  I was the exact same weight I am now.  I’ve hit a plateau and have stayed stable, and honestly I’m not ready to start eating lettuce and working out like a maniac obsessive lesbian trainer  to get past it.  (I’m looking at you over there Jillian Micheals, I see you judging me for eating a Dorito every now and then) I’m going to blame all the drugs she was on at the hospital for the fact that somehow, she doesn’t remember me being the EXACT same size.  My only explanation is that even though the pounds were gone, maybe I was still puffy and didn’t look thinner, and now the fat cells have finally shrunk to where I don’t look like quite as cow-ish.  Hey I was way fat, I can say cow-ish.

 

So flash forward to Christmas day, and remember I am the same size.  And let me also take this opportunity to tell that according to the BMI chart, I’m still 30 lbs overweight.  3-0.  And 30 lbs will just get me to the VERY top of the healthy range.  Hell I did a little jig at being out of the obese range.  Not too big of a jig though being that I am still overweight and don’t want to hurt myself.  Jigging makes me out of breath, which is like kryptonite to a fatty.

 

We spend all day with mom, it goes great, nothing of note happens.  Then later in the evening, Dena calls mom on speakerphone.  Dena neglects to tell mom that she is on speakerphone, and the call goes something like this:

 

Dena:  Hey what are you doing?

 

Mom:  Nothing.  *dramatic sigh* Joy looks terrible.

 

Dena:  Mom……..

 

Mom:  She does Dena.  She looks so thin and pale, I’m scared she’s going to become anorexic or something.

 

Dena:  Mom………..

 

Mom:  I’m just worried sick about her…

 

Dena:  Mom, you’re on speakerphone and she can hear every word you’re saying.

 

Mom: *pause*  well you DO look awful Joy.

 

And so I went on to explain that I have more weight to lose, and she argued that I’m just insane and she doesn’t believe in any chart on the wall at the doctor’s office because, “who knows who even WROTE THAT JOY!!!”  I pointed out to Dena that I was way thinner than this in high school and Mom never said a word about it.  Dena replied, “yeah she thought you looked sick then too.”  Good to know.  But rest assured I am in no way going to ever be too thin, and just to make sure I made cinnamon roll pancakes again this weekend.