BLOG CHALLENGE #12: A TREAT FOR MY FAMILY

We are a family of blueberry nuts. We all love them and it doesn't matter if they are raw or part of a fruit salad, blueberry pancakes or whatever. We all just really like blueberries. So this morning I made my family a special treat. I made them our favorite Blueberry Cake. It is a recipe I got from my sister-in-law, Cindi, before Keith and I ever got married. It's quite yummy and very easy to make.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 c. granulated sugar
• 1/4 c. oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. milk
• 2 c. flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 c. blueberries, rinsed, sorted and & well-drained

TOPPING:*

• 1/4 c. butter or margarine
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

*Melt butter. Stir in sugar, flour, cinnamon. Crumble over cake batter.

DIRECTIONS FOR CAKE: Cream together sugar, oil & egg. Stir in milk. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into creamed mixture. Gently fold in blueberries. Spread batter into a greased & floured 9x9 baking dish. Sprinkle with topping. Bake 45-50 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve warm.

BLOG CHALLENGE #11: PIECES OF ME

In follow-up to yesterday's blog: I actually CAN walk today, but I'm pretty sore. ; )


So my challenge today is to write about ME and add a photo of myself. I can do that. I'll try to get a decent photo to post (I'm not very photogenic) and I'll try not to write a book, just the basics - some bits 'n pieces:
*Age: 39
*DOB: April 19th
*Birthplace: Beaufort, SC
*Siblings: three sisters - Casey (deceased), Bethanne (32), Julie (26) & one brother - Michael (6, I think - don't ask). All of my siblings are half-siblings, but I don't consider my sisters half-sisters. We lived together during all of my childhood so basically I had/have the best and worst of both worlds. I am the oldest sibling in one family and an only child in my other family.
*Married to Keith for almost 15 years. Married him 6 months after we met. Still in love!
*Children: Caitlyn (14), Claire (almost 10) & Garrett (4) who you've been introduced to somewhat in previous blog posts.
*Education & employment: B.S. in Political Science & Legal Administration (minors: Spanish & Criminal Justice) from Ball State University, 1991. Paralegal in civil practice for 3 years, paralegal for Howard Co. Drug Task Force and to Chief Deputy Prosecutor for 7 years. Child Development Associate from Ivy Tech Community College, 2003. Employed at First Presbyterian Church Little School (preK) since 2000.
*Sorority/Honor Society Memberships: Sigma Kappa (Gamma Eta Chapter) Social Sorority; Pi Sigma Alpha (Zeta Iota Chapter) Political Science Honor Society
*Pets: none at this time. Used to share our yard with Keith's police dog for 10 years but he is deceased. Not really an animal lover - can live without pets. Don't hate them, but I'm allergic to things with dander plus, I just don't really want any animals to take care of. I've got 3 kids and a husband. That's enough.
*Hobbies & Interests: scrapbooking, taking photos, Internet browsing, blogging, vacationing, cooking, music, shopping, high school sports (watching, not participating obviously)
*Favorite colors: brown & red
*Favorite candy: lifesavers gummies wildberry sours
*Things that bother me/Things I don't like: drivers who don't use turn signals; judgmental attitudes; messy beds; earwigs; potholes; body odor "masked" by perfume/cologne; humidity; racial prejudice; cynicism; being too cold; pets on furniture; rude restaurant servers; selfishness; talking on the phone; vomit & poo - human & animal; beets; most reality TV shows; sea foam green; birds, including chickens; dirty feet; dirty fingernails; whining
*My Book of Me
*Friends who are dear to me: Susan A., Sharon H., Patty (in HI), all the gals I work with - you're the best, and all the Cropulators - you continue to rock my world with your wit, charm and compassion!

Some of you who read this will already know many of these things but I bet there is no one who reads this that will be able to say they knew everything I've revealed about myself.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

Today was the day that I stopped talking about getting off my butt and moving toward a more active lifestyle and finally did it. I have been planning to start the Couch to 5K running program for about 3 months but have been plagued by such severe back pain that I kept putting it off.

A little background: I ruptured a disk in my back in 2005 and since then have another disk that has herniated. I got another epidural injection last January but the pain has continued to get worse. Last Tuesday I took my newest MRI films and had another appointment with Dr. Macadaeg. He said the disk degeneration is definitely progressing and that he now sees significant arthritis in the L4 and L5 joints (I'm only 39). He injected more meds directly into the joints this time (ouch!) and said if the pain is due to the arthritis I would feel almost immediate relief. No such luck which means that, in Dr. Macadaeg's opinion, I need disk replacement surgery. Bummer.

In light of this I decided my back is going to hurt whether I'm active or not so I started the program this morning. The good news is I didn't have a stroke. The bad news is I felt like I was going to! OMGosh, I haven't even done any walking since last summer and it's been um, like THIRTY YEARS since I've done any running. Wow. Fortunately, the program is an interval program where you walk then run then walk then run. Let's just say I walked then ran then walked then walked then ran... In other words I skipped every other running interval. But then again, considering I've gained 30 lbs. in the past two years, have a jacked-up back and haven't exercised in forever, I don't think I did half bad. Keith says I won't be able to walk tomorrow, but so far I don't feel any serious ill-effects from the workout.

I am using a podcast program I was turned on to by my friend, Julie (senora_x) and I really like it. The music is great, there are verbal prompts that tell you when to switch gears and the time seems to pass quickly (even if you do feel half dead) - no need to look at a watch which helps a lot. I'm hoping this program will really allow me to see my progress which will definitely keep me motivated. I want to lose the weight I've gained, but I have three other goals that are actually more important to me:

• increase my stamina and resistance
• strengthen my heart
• strengthen and tone my body
  

Now if I just happen to lose weight while I'm doing this that would be an added bonus for sure. So I'm just going to take this one day at a time and see where I go. I'm not sure I can work up to running 3 miles in 9 weeks like the program says, but if I am ever running 3 consecutive miles I will consider that a huge accomplishment. In fact, if I ever run 1 mile without stopping or passing out, I will consider myself successful. Did I mention I have always hated running?

SUMMER IS... FRESH-PICKED STRAWBERRIES

One thing my kids and I have in common each summer is our anticipation of fresh strawberries picked from my Mom's strawberry patch. Nothing tastes better than a just-picked-warm-from-the-sun sweet strawberry. It's funny because the kids and I will actually race each other to the patch because, well... finders keepers, losers weepers! When it comes to picking and eating those berries we show no mercy. So yesterday my mom dropped by the house with a huge bowl full of fresh strawberries that had already been cleaned and hulled (yay for Mom!) as well as a fresh lemon pound cake. What a wonderful treat that was. It tasted delicious. But I have to admit that huge bowl of strawberries was empty by 10:00 this morning.

BLOG CHALLENGE #8: PHOTO OF WATER

Although it is nearly summer and I do have numerous photos of the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Michigan, as well as a bazillion photos of my kids playing in pools, indoor water parks, and rain puddles, I am going to post a couple of my favorite Fall water photos. We have so many beautiful State Parks in Indiana and Keith and the kids and I visit them often during the fall. The kids get a 4-day weekend in October as a Fall Break which also typically falls right around Keith's and my wedding anniversary. So we like to take the kids and head to southern Indiana to relax for a few days. The fall foliage is absolutely gorgeous. Of course, everyone else in the state thinks so too so October weekends at the State Parks can be quite crowded.

These first two photos were taken on one of our hikes through Clifty Falls State Park. Clifty Falls is located in Madison, IN. In college I had a sorority sister/housemate/best friend who was from Madison. I used to go home with her some weekends and fell in love with the town and the State Park. Madison is a small but beautiful river town that has a rich history. To view more of my photos from our trip click HERE.


























These next photos were taken at McCormick's Creek State Park. These are from a trip we took in October 2001. We stayed at the Inn at McCormick's Creek this time. It was beautiful. The atmosphere was very homey and we really enjoyed it. As I recall, it was stinking COLD that year. Very atypical for October in Indiana. We had to drive 20 minutes to a Walmart and buy long underwear, gloves, and ear bands so we could even hike. Luckily, I had taken the girls' winter coats. Even though it was cold, the girls had a great time hiking and horseback riding. Funny thing, we were the ONLY ones at the horse stable that weekend and believe me when I say those horses were not too cooperative. Even they thought it was too cold! In fact, the stable hand couldn't coax any of them into allowing riders. The girls ended up having to settle for a pony instead and even that pony had quite an attitude! It was pretty funny. For more photos of this trip click HERE.

BLOG CHALLENGE #7: GREAT SUMMER MEMORY

A couple of years ago we spent the 4th of July weekend with Keith's mom and dad at his sister's house. Keith's dad's birthday is on July 4th so we decided to make a weekend of it and celebrate Dick's birthday and Independence Day. The kids had a blast! Actually, we all did. We spent the weekend swimming, grilling out and playing. We also took the pontoon out to Heritage Lake for a day of cruising to summertime tunes by Kenny Chesney and a little fishing. I mostly just like cruising around on the lake listening to tunes. It was a beautiful day. The highlight was seeing all the boats out on the water after the sun went down. Even though Heritage Lake is a private lake there were at least a hundred boats on the water and it was an amazing site to see them all out there with everyone watching a spectacular display of fireworks (my photos don't begin to do it justice). I think the fireworks show lasted at least 40 minutes. A lot of planning and work went into that display. It was one of the best ones I've ever seen. Memories of times spent with family are the best and I'm lucky to have married into a wonderful family.



A few of the
cool fireworks we saw.




















Garrett totally ejoys
being on the boat.
He likes to think
he's "driving."




Grace & Claire just
enjoyed being together
& waiting for it to get
dark enough for the
fireworks to start.



Caitlyn likes fishing
as long as she's
catching something!

BLOG CHALLENGE #6: SUMMER MENU

From my house to yours... a few of our favorite summer dishes begining with a beverage and ending with sweet treats:

SUMMER FARE FROM THE MYERS' PATIO

Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade
Freshly Brewed Iced Tea
Laura's Famous Muenster Burgers
Cheesy Potatoes on the Grill
Fried Green Tomatoes
Corn on the Cob
Honey Lime Fruit Toss
Grandma Wilson's Mayonnaise Cake

I didn't want to post all the recipes here since it would take up quite a bit of space, but you can find them HERE. If you try any of the recipes, let me know how you liked them (or didn't).