Go Red Luncheon

Today I am going red! I am attending the Michiana Go Red For Women Luncheon. I am very excited that the keynote speaker is the First Lady of Indiana, Cheri Daniels. Over 250 women will be attending and getting valuable information on how to live heart healthy. The American Heart Association, of course, puts on the event, and there will be many booths for women to browse and learn how to prevent heart disease.

They are also fundraising in a fun way...with "purse" alities. They are purses filled with different items to bid on. Very cute!

Check back and I'll post some more information after the event!


Here are some facts from the AHA website:

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) ranks first among all disease categories in hospital discharges for women.

Nearly 37 percent of all female deaths in America occur from CVD, which includes coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.

CVD is a particularly important problem among minority women. The death rate due to CVD is substantially higher in black women than in white women.

In 2005, CVD claimed the lives of 454,613 females; cancer (all forms combined) 268,890.

In 2005, coronary heart disease claimed the lives of 213,572 females compared with 41,116 lives from breast cancer and 67,894 from lung cancer.

At age 40 and older, 23 percent of women compared with 18 percent of men will die within one year after a heart attack.

Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability; an estimated 15 percent to 30 percent of stroke survivors are permanently disabled.

Misperceptions still exist that CVD is not a real problem for women.

More Earth Day News

Disney is releasing its new film titled "Earth" today! The movie follows three sets of animal families for the course of a year and is the first film in Disney's nature series. The film follows polar bears, African elephants, and humpback whales. If you make sure you see the film in its opening week, Disney plans to plant a tree in Brazil for every ticket sold!

I know that my little animal lover will enjoy seeing this, so it is on our list!

Earth Friendly Painting

Happy Earth Day!


I have to admit, that I am not ga ga over going green....but I have been very conscience of my environment and for years have been doing things that now seem to be "chic." Like recycling, for instance and replacing my light bulbs with more friendly versions of the typical light bulb(even though I really don't care for the light they give off.)


I recently repainted my living room and decided to go with an environmentally friendly paint, but was a little leery on whether or not it would really be good paint. I am now ga ga over Pittsburgh Paint!

I purchased this paint at Menard's and went with their "pure performance" line. It was on sale and they were offering a rebate, which made my environmental journey a little easier on my wallet...in fact it ended up being cheaper than most of the other paint lines. I used the "egg shell" type of paint vs. flat or glossy and am so happy with that choice! It has a little shine too it, but doesn't not glare when the sun comes shining through my wall of windows.

What I love the most about this paint is that it is low odor!!!! I can't stand having the house smell like paint for days when doing a painting project...and I love that paint is an easy way to update a look of any room, so I tend to paint often. I didn't even really smell a paint odor. There was a slight smell...but not an obnoxious odor at all!

I will definitely use Pittsburgh Paint's pure performance line again, and would recommend it to anyone....even those that are not so ga ga over going green...which, by the way, is the color I decided to paint. Pictures are on the way!

Spring Break?

My husband is a teacher and was on Spring Break this week, so we thought it was a good opportunity for him and our son to have some quality time together...but we didn't expect to wake up to a good couple of inches of snow on Monday morning.....but when life gives you snow, you make a snowman!

And since we are at it...might as well take time out to make a snow angel!




I hope he remembers this when he gets older!

Broccoli Turkey Casserole

I had some leftover turkey breast and wanted to try something different, and this casserole turned out wonderfully! The whole family enjoyed it and I will definitely be making this again!

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1/2 cup bell pepper

1/4 cup green onions

1 TB butter or margarine

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 1/2 cups chopped turkey

1 pk of frozen broccoli cuts

1 cup cooked wild or long grain rice (I used long grain)

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup milk

In a large skillet, cook carrot, bell pepper, and green onions in hot margarine until a crispy tender. Remove from heat and stir in soup, broccoli, turkey
rice, moz cheese, and milk. Transfer to a a 2-quart baking dish and sprinkle with extra moz cheese.

Bake, covered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Then uncover the dish and bake for another 20 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

You could also use chicken instead of turkey...like a rotisserie chicken from the deli, and you could replace broccoli with artichoke. Since it is hard enough to get my crew to eat broccoli...I will have to use artichoke when the folks come over!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My very own pot of gold! Since I am a busy momma on a schedule...and budget..I whipped up these cookies to share at Jonathan's preschool by using premade cookie dough. Using my coupons, I was able to purchase the dough at a discount. I had stockpiled some icing, so I simply added some green food coloring to add to the tops and then sprinkled on some green sugar I had left over from Christmas. I then placed my little treasures in a gold container, ready for little ones to hunt and find! It only took me about a half-an-hour to complete this project from beginning to end!

Sleep Tight!

This week, I have been implementing the "sleep rules" after learning about them from Amy Clark on momadvice.com last week. Jonathan had always been a great sleeper...until he went into a "big boy" bed about a year ago. The constant drinks of water, potty breaks, and ONE more stories have been driving me crazy, and sometimes can last over an hour! It was time for my 4-year-old to go to bed, stay there, and GO TO SLEEP! Dr. Weissbluth was Amy's guest last week on her podcast and I learned a lot! I guess I really knew it all...but I need the easy steps to put it all together. Here are the four simple rules that I tell Jonathan at bed time:

1. Stay in bed
2. Close your eyes
3. Stay very quiet
4. Go to sleep

The good Dr. suggests making a poster of these rules with your child so that your child can see them and feel like a part in the rule making. Since Jonathan cannot read and I cannot draw...I opted to skip this step. The Dr. also suggests giving your child a reward immediately in the morning after following all of the sleep rules.

MOST importantly is the silent return! I have seen this on the Nanny, but I have been horrible at doing it. It only took ONE time for me not to talk to my son when he wandered out of bed the first night and gently put him back in bed. Of course, it helped that I explained to him beforehand that mommy was not going to talk to him if he got out of bed...which I think he was checking to see if I was going to follow through. This time, I did!

The week as been great, so far! Jonathan really likes the rules and likes the small rewards he has been getting surprised with when he wakes up. Since I am already at work when he gets up in the morning, the little notes from me congratulating him on a good job have been holding the most value to him. A hot wheel was also a big hit.

Let's hope he can keep it up when the rewards stop!