I Loved My Weekend

So here's a list of a few things I LOVE LOVE LOVE:

1) Family
2 )Friends
3 )HOME
4) Weddings
5) Great Weather
6) Dressing up and feeling girly
7) Reading
8) Pedicures
9) Sleeping in

I got to have a fat dose of ALL these things this past weekend! How lucky am I?

Brienne's wedding was STUNNING. The weather was perfect for her happy day and she looked amazing. As soon as I see her wedding pictures I'll post some up. For now I'm stuck posting iphone pics because we forgot our proper camera.



I got to, do my hair, dress up all weekend, hang out with family and celebrate Mothers Day with my moms! The weather was to die for and before we left I got a pedicure!

I love coming back to Utah. I have so much fun that going back to Colorado is sometimes really hard for me. If you can imagine a Mother rigorously trying to pull her Child off the play set at a playground while the Child, who desperately doesn't want to leave because he's having WAY too much fun, firmly grasps his hands around the swing set, that's exactly how I feel. Except I am the Pulling-Mother AND the Reluctant-Child in that instance.

This is the closest thing I could find to my scenario I had in my head. Replace the door for a swing set and an outdoor playground and you have what I imagined.

You MUST be joking!

I'm not normally a pessimist but I'm pretty sure life has played a very VERY cruel trick on me. Maybe Colorado just doesn't like me, I don't know, but right now I really DON'T like Colorado... at all.

After an AMAZING weekend of beautiful weddings, great food, family time, and a little bit of R&R, we flew into Denver airport to be met with this:



Yes folks, that IS SNOW and 40 degree weather! It snowed Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Isn't it suppose to be May!?

Hmm....Life is definitely playing tricks on me.

Using Nonstandard Typefaces in Your Blog

Tristin here. I haven't posted anything in a long, long time. Unfortunately for all of you, now that I am posting it is going to be pretty much useless. See, I like to solve problems, and I tend to obsess over them until I have a satisfactory answer. For the last few hours I have been obsessing over a particular problem, and now that I have figured it out I can't help but force it on the intertubes. So here goes:

The Problem

The Internet allows for approximately 10 different typefaces to be used, which is not cool. Not that there is anything wrong with Arial, Times New Roman, and Verdana--they are great--but it seems that blogs could be a lot more interesting if they were able to use more variety.

Granted, there are solutions for this. One is to use pre-rendered text (in the form of picture files). This allows for a huge range of stylistic modifications. However, it can get messy when you try to upload the file to your blog. You cannot make quick modifications without having to reopen your original picture file, editing it, re-saving it, and re-uploading it. Blah!

Another option is to use flash. It allows for lots of customization right in the webpage. However, you have to have programming skills, it doesn't work in mobile browsers, and it really doesn't work that well in any browsers. So I'm not a fan.

The Solution

The best solution I have come across is a little javascript code called Cufon. It allows you to use any typeface you like without having to make major changes to the way you already blog. You just assign a tag (such as "< h 10 >") to the font and insert the tag whenever you want to use your custom font. This post, for example, is done in a Didot typeface, which is not available to browsers normally. Here's how to do your own:

The Instructions

1. Go to the Cufon font generator and fill out all the boxes using your font of choice (you do need to have the file on your computer and know where to find it). Pay special attention to the hints by the boxes and don't worry about filling out all the optional things unless you feel comfortable doing so.

2. Click on "Let's do this!" at the bottom of the page and save the generated .js file to your computer.

3. Find a good place to upload the .js file online. I recommend Google Docs, Microsoft SkyDrive, or DropBox. If you don't have any of them I recommend getting at least one of them, as they are invaluable to have.

4. Once you have uploaded your .js file, find its new web address (click on the file, then choose "Share this" or the equivalent). Copy this address.

5. On your blog's website, go to the settings, choose Layout, and then choose Edit HTML (I'm assuming most people use Blogger, but the steps are similar for Wordpress).

6. Insert the following code somewhere after the < "head" > tag and before the < /head > tag:

< src="http://cufon.shoqolate.com/js/cufon-yui.js" type="text/javascript">
< src="'http://your.js.address.here/your.js.file.here.font.js'" type="'text/javascript'/">
< type="'text/javascript'">
Cufon.replace('h10');
< /script>

7. Make sure you have replace the address in the second line with the address of your typeface's .js file. Also get rid of the spaces following each "<". Finally, note that you can change the "h10" in the second-to-last line with any tag name you would like. To avoid problems I recommend leaving it at something similar, such as "h1," "h2," etc.

8. That's it, you should be set now. When you want to use your new font, just add the tag "< h 10 >" (or whichever you chose) to the front of it and remember to close it with "< /h10 >" (or whichever you chose).

The Conclusion

I have only just got this method working for me, so I'm sure there is a lot about it I still don't understand. However, it seems to be working well for me so far. There is one minor problem with it that I have noticed, and that is that the text is not highlightable in the new font, which means you couldn't copy it and search engines may not be able to index it (I'm not at all sure about this last part). Also, the Blogger Preview button may no longer work for text in the new typeface--I'm getting mixed results. This could be somewhat frustrating.

One great advantage is that once you have it set up you really don't have to worry about it ever again, as long as you remember which tag you assigned it to. Plus, you don't have to use the new typeface unless you want to, so you won't get frustrated with irreversible changes. Overall, I highly recommend it for anyone that wants to add some variety to their blog and break out of the frustrating limitations of the Internet.

Yes, I looked after a few kids and they lived

This weekend was dedicated to keeping 4 children alive, happy and healthy. I think I did pretty okay. They're all still alive and breathing so I consider that a job well done.

Rebecca was out of town for 3 days and asked if I could look after her kids while her and her husband were gone. I've babysat these kids quite a few times. I know them pretty much inside and out. This was SERIOUSLY the thought that went through my mind when she asked me: "Oh sure, that'll be a piece of cake".

Full Time Moms-I take my hat off to you! Kids are anything but a piece of cake when you have them full time.

So babysitting started after work on Friday, I was able to get a menu plan for the kids for the entire weekend, shop for those items and then start preparing them. This was probably one of THE hardest parts mainly because everything I bought for them to eat, I couldn't eat myself. Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to prepare food you cant touch? Not fun BUT I endured it :)

Alas, the hard work really only started Saturday. During that day I cooked, clean and learned karate (yes, I did seriously learn karate). Jordan had to learn his karate steps (after about an hour of convincing him to and trying to find his karate clothes) for class via a video online. I found out that he didn't want to go to karate because he didn't feel prepared. So we were going to get him prepared then! I must have watched that video with him 20 times and memorized it so that I could go over it with him. Needless to say he was uber-confident and TOTALLY prepared for his karate class. I watched him during his class and I think he did a SPLENDID job.

After lunch I took the kids to the Rec Center to swim. On the way there Parker, who is 4, and I had this conversation:

"Juanique?"

"Yes, Parker."

"why do you live in such a small house?"

~suppressing a laugh I replied thus~

"Because, Parker, I don't have kids so I don't need a big house. When I have kids I will get a big house for them to play in."

"Oh, Ok, that makes sense. Juanique?"

"yes, Parker."

"I want to play at your house soon. Maybe we can play on the Wii"

Rachel and Aubrey helped me prepare the food throughout the day. Rachel asked me to tell her a bit about my childhood in South Africa, so I did. I told her about my best friends, growing up and about the schools, school uniforms and stuff I used to do for fun. Aubrey helped me SO much with absolutely everything. I'm pretty sure she could have tackled the kids on her own. She's the epitome of a perfect older sister!

SUNDAY:

Finding church shoes is really hard! If Aubrey wasn't helping me I would have been lost!! I walked into church (late) holding Parker,who wore no shoes, in one arm and his shoes in the other. I'm pretty sure my cheeks were bright red from embarrassment.

After church I got their lunches ready. I made sure they had at least a few veggies on their plates that they had to eat. Parker, who detests vegetables, thought he was being sneaky by taking his plate of cucumbers and carrots and dumping them in the draw in the lounge while I wasn't look. That probably explains why I kept finding random items of food throughout the house. However, I was looking....I was watching the entire thing. As soon as he looked up to see he had been caught I gave him my serious face (which was hiding my "I-want-to-crack-up-laughing" face) and asked, "Gee Parker, That wasn't very cleaver. You know you're in trouble, don't you?"

"Yes,"

"So do you think trying to hide your food from me in the draw is going to make matters better or worse for you?"

"Worse."

"Okay, so what do you think you should do right now so we can make this better?"

He picked up his carrots and cucumber, put them on his plate and walked back to the table. We came to an agreement that he only had to eat 3 carrots instead of 5. Kids are SO funny!

Lastly, Parker and I had this conversation in the car:

"Juanique?"

"yes, Parker."

"I wish you were a part of our family."

I almost cried right there in the car.

I loved babysitting this weekend. It was definitely an adventure but those 4 kids were just so fun to be with! It's hard but its worth it when you love the little critters! I sure do love them, even though I make them help clean up when they don't want to :)

My Healthy Recipes. Because I'm a Terrible Friend

You see, my best friend, Thobeka, has be asking me for WEEKS to post some of my favorite recipes and healthy desserts that I make. I've told her since February that I'd put it up for her. But because I didn't write that down on my To-Do list, it slipped my mind over and over as other daily things occupied my attention.

So Thobs, THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!!

These 3 recipes are my FAVORITES right now.
1) because I have a very sweet tooth so eating health AND getting my sugar fix is a definite plus and
2) I've been looking for ways to get my daily serving of vegetables in but I wanted to make something I'd actually enjoy eating and not think to myself "UGH, I'm eating this because I have to, not because I want to."

Healthy food CAN be SOOOOOOO Delicious! So here we go:

Recipe 1:

RAW CASHEW CREAM:

Just an FYI: I prefer my cream to be a lot thicker than this but this consistency (in the pic) would probably work as well

-4 cups raw organic cashews

-between 4-6 tbs organic agave (measurement may change according to how sweet you want your cream to be)

-1.5 tsp vanilla essence

-1.5-3 cups water (depending on how thick or thin you want your cream to be)

Toss all ingredients into a blender. Blend until you get a creamy substance. Eat with your favorite fruits. It's great for snacks and desserts and any company that may come by is sure to LOVE it!

some fruit recommendations to go with your cream are: strawberries, blueberries, mangoes and peaches.

RECIPE #2:

SWEET BUTTERNUT SQUASH DESSERT::

-1 Medium to large sized organic butternut squash

-1/2 cup of organic raisins

-about 6 tbsp Organic agave or honey (measurement will change according to how sweet you want your squash to be)

-1/2 cup of cut of organic walnuts (how big all small you want your walnut chunks is up to you)

-.1/2 tbsp of organic cinnamon

-1 tbsp organic coconut butter/oil

Cut your squash in half, take the seeds out and bake it on a flat sheet (face down) at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Scrape the squash into a bowl (preferably glass. Plastic heated up can leech harmful chemicals into your food) and mix it until its mushy.

Add the rest of the ingredients in and mix. You are welcome to add more or less of the other ingredients to suit your preference. Tristin loves raisins so I typically add more raisins. Those measurements will also change according to how big your squash it.

Eat and enjoy as you get a large serving of a delicious vegetable for dessert!! Your kids will never know any different (unless you tell them it's a vegetable) :)

And Last but not least.....Recipe 3

MIXED VEGETABLE AND CHICKEN SOUP:

This is the picture I took of all the ingredients that go in my pot

-Organic Chicken Broth (64 oz). So two boxes of broth, like the one you see in the picture.
-1 and 1/2 cup rice noodles (or normal noodles, the rice has no gluten in but is YUMMMMMMMY!!)
-1 or 2 cans of beans (beans of your choice. I LOVE black beans. Great protein and great energy source)
-2 cans of diced organic tomatoes (like the one in the pic. Don't get the tomatoes that or preserved with sugar or have high fructose corn syrup -HFCS). HFCS is CRAP and makes you put on weight a lot quicker than other sugars.
-1 1/2 cups finely sliced celery
-1 1/2 cups of sliced carrots
2-3 cups of broccoli (I get the frozen organic broccoli from costco. YUM)
-1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
-2 cups mixed veggies (A frozen corn, carrot, green beans mix is what I get from costco. You can see the bag of veggies in my pic. Again, you don't have to have this exact combination. You could do just frozen corn or frozen corn and green beans.)
-about 2 thawed chicken breast diced to the size you want int
-1/8th Braggs liquid aminos or soy sauce or namashoyu


So here's the process. It may seem complicated but it's not. I promise. And I think the end product is worth it. Make sure to have a VERY LARGE pot. This makes a lot of soup. It will last Tristin and I 3-5 days.

Pour broth in pot. Put the heat just a little bit above medium. Add the chicken and pasta and let it cook. The broth will take a while to start boiling. let it boil for about 20-25 mins. Add the lid and start to prepare the veggies.

Start to slice the celery, mushrooms, chop the carrots, open the cans of beans and tomatoe, etc. Wash the beans but dont let the juice out from the tomatoes. You want to keep that.
Put the carrots and frozen broccoli in a blender. Add some of heated up broth to the blender. blend until you get a vibrant green, watery substance. Put that aside for later.

Once the noodles and chicken are cooked add the celery and sliced mushrooms and let cook for a few minutes. add the Braggs liquid amino (or soy sauce or namashoyu). Add the mixed frozen veggies (the corn, green beans and carrot mixture) and let it sit for a few minutes. Add the the tomatoes, beans and blended broccoli and carrot. Mix and let it sit and heat up to your desired temperature.

And now you're done! Serve, add some salt if you like or more sauce, add your favorite seasonings if you like. You can do what ever.

**********************************************************************

I hope this help anyone looking for a few healthy food ideas. If you try any of these let me know what you think. Again, all these recipes I've never really measured, I just mix the ingredients to the consistency or sweetness I want it, so feel free to mix up the measurement.

Love to all, Especially to you Thobbies!

He's a Babe

FACT: I did NOT know my husband was legally blind until a few months ago. I knew his eye sight was bad, but not that bad.

FACT: I LOVE his glasses. I think he looks cute in them *ahem* I mean sexy. He looks sexy in them :)

I really do love the glasses though. I was always a sucker for smart, nerdy guys. And of course I think he's hot as well so the nerdy-cute look I'm really REALLY liking.

BUT I want our kids to inherit my eyes. I do have perfect vision and never had to wear braces. So I guess I want them to have my teeth as well...but his brains. Actually, scratch that, I'll love them no matter what (and will plan on having good health coverage).

FYI: Still not planning on the kiddos yet so I hope this post doesn't mislead anyone.

Drastic Food Changes

Once again, our diet has being modified...for the better of course. We've been eating this way for some time but we have slips ups now and then. But no more...

Tristin and I are now GLUTEN AND DAIRY FREE!! It's been a little hard but we feel a lot better when we cut these things out. also, I realize that there are a TON of really good foods out there that are really healthy for us and still really tasty.

In the past 6 months or so I've said good bye to my beloved sweets (goodbye Chocolate, my love. May you rest in peace), my beloved whole wheat home-made bread, my beloved cereals and now my beloved cheeses and milks. With our change in diet over the past months Tristin has lost almost 10 lbs and I've....well kind of stayed the same. I'm now trying to put some weight on (muscle of course) but this is proving to be harder than I thought. As soon as we get my thyroid to start working like it's suppose to then the weight gain will come too (cross fingers)

So bring out the greens and veggies and gluten free foods!

I'll have to post some recipes of some of the stuff I've made that's really healthy and still really tasty.

Anywho, this post isn't all that exciting but it's fun to keep everyone updated I guess.

PS:Aly, my mouth still always waters whenever I read your blog. I think I'm going to have to ban myself from reading it. those Rolo cookies look AMAZING!!!