School and Jobs

School is upon us. Less than a month away. My kids are ready, but for me, not so much. It will be my sons first year at a new pre-school and my daughter will be in 1st grade. And I, well I will be in year 3 of 5 working on my degree in computer science.

Lately, with the heat of this wicked summer that is bearing down on us, I have been thinking about all the cooler places that I would rather live. If truth be known, we live here because my parents, the only grandparents my kids have, live here. Now don't get me wrong, Oklahoma is not a bad place to live, not really. But, the summers are very humid and nasty, we have tornadoes in the spring and we have ice in the winter. It is relatively cheap to live here, well, really cheap to live here as opposed to my native state of California. But when it comes to jobs, Houston, we have a problem.

Jobs are slim to none around these parts. I'm sure the same could be said for many states with the current financial situation our country seems to be in. So I had a talk with my mom and she understands that once I graduate, wherever the jobs are is where I will need to move my family. Will it suck to be away from my folks? Sure it will. My kids love, love, love the grandparents as do I. But love does not pay the bills and that's where we will be.  I have 3 years to plan and save, because once I graduate that's it. Ideally, I could find something around OKC or Tulsa, but who knows. To say I am worried is probably a fair assumption. We will see what life throws at us..

WhoNu!?

I happened upon a coupon for a "nu" kind of cookies and thought I would give it a try. But first, let me tell you what attracted me to this "nu" cookie...

The website explains that each 3 cookie serving contains:

• As much fiber as compared to a bowl of oatmeal
• As much calcium and Vitamin D as compared to an 8oz glass of milk
• As much Vitamin C as as compared to cup of blueberries 
• As much iron as compared to a cup of cooked spinach
• As much Vitamin B12 as compared to a cup of cottage cheese with fruit
• As much Vitamin A as compared to an 8 oz glass of tomato juice
• As much Vitamin E as compared to two cups (16oz) of carrot juice

Well, I found that attractive! So with coupon in hand I headed to the store. At walmart, they retail for 2.78. I had a coupon for $1.00 off, so I paid 1.78! The website http://whonucookies.com/ shows 4 different types of cookies, however I only located 2. I chose the crispy. I was thinking they would probably not taste all that hot, but with the nutrients suggested I couldn't help but try it.

Yum! Yes, YUM! These little cookies are wonderful! For a 3 cookie serving it is 150 calories, Fat 7g, Carb 22g, Fiber 3g, Protein 2g.  A nice snack with healthy rewards!

After years of research, testing, (and gallons of milk), the ingenious people at Suncore Products arrived at four scrumptious cookies, based on classic cookie flavors – only these are rich with calcium, iron and vitamins A, B, C, D and E. They also have 3 grams of fiber and a total of 20 essential vitamins and minerals. “Who knew a cookie could be so delicious and nutritious?” Someone wondered aloud. “Who knew? Hey, I kinda like the sound of that.” So they changed the spelling a bit, and the rest as they say, is cookie history.  -www.whonucookies.com

Postcrossing!

I don't know why it's taken me so long to blog about postcrossing. It is just as much a part of my life as the air I breathe. Have you heard of it? Allow me to share it with you...

Postcrossing.com is a website that was created to allow people from all over the world to send and receive postcards.   "The goal of this project is to allow people to receive postcards from all over the world, for free. Well, almost free! The main idea is that: if you send a postcard, you will receive at least one back from a random Postcrosser from somewhere in the world." -postcrossing.com

Some people are attracted to this simply because they collect postcards, others because they collect stamps. Me, well I just think its awesome to interact with people from all over the world. I send a postcard and usually within a week I have one in return from some other country.

Why not give it a try? The only way someone gets your address is once their postcard is registered as received by the person on the other end. Totally safe! And you can even do what is called a direct swap. Say you are yearning for a postcard from say Ireland (as was my case) and you just can seem to get one from there. You can search for users in said country and narrow your search to those who are interested in direct swaps. Message the user, ask if they want to do a direct swap and you are on your way.

Its a pretty cool thing they have going on over there! You should check it out. =)

Below I have posted just a few of the many beautiful postcards I have received from all over. In a later blog I will try to add more. What a joy!

Ireland

Netherlands

Italy

Japan

Russia

I Heart Bacon

Ever daydream about bacon? Ever think "what is the deal with bacon" that makes me love it so much? Is it the aroma that fills the room whilst it cooks? Is it the crunchy feel between your teeth when you bite down on it? What is it?  Whatever it is, I love bacon! 

Today I was thinking of all the ways you could serve bacon. I think one of my favorite ways to have bacon is on a BBQ cheeseburger. Seems odd when you think about it, pork on top of beef; pig on top of cow..ok, thinking too much there. I just know that when I smell bacon cooking I must have some. I think it should be mom, baseball and bacon. What do you think? Do you like it soft or crispy? What do you absolutely have to have bacon on? 

Wk 1 = -10.8 POUNDS!

Well, its my first weigh in after being AWOL for a bit, and I am proud to say I did very well. My weight loss for my 1st week back on Atkins = -10.8 pounds! Woo Hoo! Now I know what the Biggest Loser Contestant's feel like when they hit those big weeks. You can't imagine how big the smile was on my face when I looked at the scale!

I've stuck to it all week. No cheating. (Not like me!) And did my best to put away as much Dasani as humanly possible. I still had my Diet Coke, but matched it equally or more with water. For those of you who may not be familiar with Atkins or Low Carb plans,  protein keeps you fuller for a longer time than carbs. So if I have a bun less bacon cheeseburger and salad for lunch, I am set til dinner. Being that I am a major grazer/snacker, this is helpful for me. I'm just not hungry between meals.

I'm ecstatic that I am 1/3 of my way to the 30 pounds challenge!! Go me, go!