All posts tagged: eating

Simple Living and Pesto

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“For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity” -2 Corinthians 1 Recently, my son performed well in a football game but immediately started berating himself on not meeting his personal goals right when he got in the car to go home. I said to him, “Come on! Enjoy your good game for at least 10 minutes before looking to your next goal.” And, then, it hit me like a strong winter wind that howls around the corners of the house all night long and blows patio furniture into the neighbors yard, he gets this relentless drive, in part, from you, Laurie. Some days, my brain works on overdrive, like a 16 year old in his 80s, beaten up Ford Thunderbird, who drives with his foot flat down around girls who wear a half can of Aquanet on their hair, his t-shirt off, a giant S for superman painted in green on his chest and a mullet of clown hair, that badly needs some one-on-one time with …

My Health Story and Mexican Bibb Lettuce Wraps 

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My journey towards a healthier physical lifestyle started 9 years ago. Before that, I made reasonably healthy choices but had a very American diet. One evening, my husband, Daniel, and I were on a date, completely unaware of what the evening would hold. We drove through Starbucks and, as we pulled away, my eyes crossed and I couldn’t straighten them for half a minute. That doesn’t sound like long but, believe me, when your body won’t function right, your life seems to move in “SLOW MO,” like a bad video editing job from the 80’s classic, The Bionic Man. Daniel rushed me to the ER where they conducted a CAT scan. They had no explanation. This continued and other symptoms ranging from the feeling I was blacking out to being so cold I couldn’t tolerate it. That season of life was about as fun as wrestling with a stingy toilet paper dispenser in a public restroom. I mean, who mounts those puppies so low you can’t pull any down and out without it breaking off …

Birthday Cake!

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Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Romans 12:10 So, I turned 28 last week. What? It’s believable! Ok Ok Ok, I’m in my 40s. My birthday week blew me away with the realization of the quality of my friends and family. I was given TWO surprise parties and my husband whisked me away like a princess in a castle, to the Broadmoor Hotel, with a giant, glorious moat between me and my kids, otherwise known as Interstate 25. Is it bad that I waved goodbye and never looked back? No early wakeup squeals, no meals to cook, no late night dance party rocking my floor from below, no laundry, enough for a small nation, and no school driving in which I burn a deep groove into the Powers Corridor. Of course, I LOVE being a mom but this was a much needed break. I was completely pampered this year and it made me think….I’ve never had so many people in my life who meaningfully care about me. One major factor is that I …

Boy Worthy BBQ

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“What are little boys made of, made of? Snips and snails and puppy-dog tails… What are young men made of? Sighs and leers and crocodile tears… What are all folks made of? Fighting a spot and loving a lot.” -Southey Daniel and I have 7 children. You read that right- 7! Yes, we know how they are made, for those of you who have asked that cheeky question, thinking we’ve somehow blundered into this, like a whale in a plastic blow up pool in the front garden. No, we didn’t calculate what it would cost to raise them. No, we had no clue about the amount of laundry or the driving I would have to do. And, yes, it is a glorious disaster most of the time, with a schedule that a military general would struggle to maintain, details and needs roughly 3.5 times the average American family, crazy conflicts and messes, that can happen faster than you can say Spicey Molasses BBQ Sauce, BUT a whole lot of love, meaning, and joy too! This week, I want …

Soul Food

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I love to laugh. If someone asked about my hobbies, I would say law, laughing, politics, laughing, reading, laughing, interior design, laughing, etc. It makes my list more than once! But, honestly, friends, today I am having trouble writing with my usual spunk and cheer. Why? Life can just be hard sometimes, even when there isn’t some huge reason. Some of the best wisdom I was given years ago was – “When life is hard, get up, light candles and make tea.” This was from an older woman and what was her point? When life is tough, get up, keep going, do the things that comfort you and take life beyond function to beauty and enjoyment, even when you don’t feel like it. My version would read more like go out to dinner and have a glass of excellent Argentinian Malbec with my husband and friends. As I think about one of my recent bouts of laughter, which often involves nerdy historical jokes that nobody gets but me, I think of the look of perplexed amusement on my …

Love is in the Air and a Pink Smoothy

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“Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken.” -Shakespeare This warm February in Colorado is making me dream of Maui. And, Maui is where Daniel and I finally took our honeymoon after 18 years of marriage! Shall I tell you my love stories? It’s rather scandalous but I met three of the greatest loves of my life at the same time! I mean, bear with the sap a little bit, it IS Valentine’s week after all! In December 1991, Daniel and I saw each other across the ham and cream cheese rolls at a New Year’s party. We didn’t talk until two years later but had that  pause in time where we noticed each other. Not a primal “he’s hot” moment, although I’m sure that was present in my single, 22 year old self somewhere… But, just noticed. It was Hollywood all the way, folks. The air stopped moving, the music became a low jazzy din in the background …

And Then There’s This Guy… Counting Calories 101

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So, that hulk in the picture above is my eldest, football playing son, Joab. Boy, was he aptly named! His goal is just a wee bit different than ours. How? He aims to eat 4,500 calories a day to bulk up for football. 4,500! That is a male concept that I will never understand. 1. I have never in my life eaten like an absolute hog (I mean, don’t get me wrong, I can down pizza like nobody’s business but I mean eating when you feel like you’re going to puke already) and 2. I would never ever be willing to gain weight for a sport. But, our family has always been comprised of very masculine men and exceptionally feminine women. There are many days where the girls and boys almost face off, giving each other that quizical, deer in the headlights look that says, “What planet are you from again?!” I gently (because I am always a total lamb), sat my boys and husband down this week and told them God made the female gender too …