I think there may be no better time to start a weightloss program then immediately following a sickness like the flu. And the best time would be after a really bad stomach flu…the kind that involves losing 5-lbs in 3 days. Symptoms may include all those with feeling completely miserable, especially those that deal mainly with inability to retain…um…bodily fluids.

As you may have deduced, we have been sick this week. I believe some disease carrying child infected Adelle at church. Adelle then hugged and kissed me goodnight and then I took Tuesday, part of Wednesday, and part of Thursday off work to recover. Karen, using the power of green (i.e. smells like dirt) smoothies, stayed the virus from knocking her down until Wednesday night.

There are many excellent places to start an Illness Based Weightloss Program (IBWP – google-ing this brings no hits, so this is original and I have just coined this phrase and now own it!…that may turn out to be a bad thing…) The local church primary and/or nursery is one such place and may be conveniently visited while dropping your child off. This may seem like a radical approach to weightloss and it is exactly that. This system is for people genuinely committed…committed to shedding pounds that is. A quick 5-lbs weightloss is just what many people need to get started.

For those that are more ambitious and energetic, I recommend visiting hospitals to start this plan…emergency rooms are especially good during the winter months for finding willing suppliers of infectious diseases and viruses. Illnesses from hospitals can greatly increase that initial loss from 5-lbs to 25-lbs and maybe 50-lbs if you hit the jackpot.

I woke up this morning and shuffled into the bathroom and turned on the shower.  After taking a long, hot shower, I dried off and checked the clock to see how much time until I needed to leave…1:30 AM.  What!?  1:30 AM.  So…I shuffled back to bed.  Luckily I fall asleep quickly.  This is the 2nd or 3rd time I’ve done it in the past 4 years.  Ugh.

Topic Change…after 2 years, I finally completed my first wood working project and it came out significantly better than I would have thought, though not perfect.  I built a puzzle holder for Adelle.  I started working on it in California and scrapped my work since I couldn’t make straight cuts.  However, I’ve upgraded to a 2.5-hp router that cuts wood like a hot knife through butter…it’s a LOT of fun.  I did learn a lot during the project.  One tip I picked up from my brother-in-law is the use of wood filler…it makes the project look a lot better than it would have otherwise.  However, none of the pictures are closeups for a reason…the box looks better from a distance…but then again, so does the Mona Lisa…so this is actually a work of art!

My birthday was several weeks ago, and Rich and Adelle took me out to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner (which was excellent).  Rich also brought me home a dozen red roses which were beautiful, and Adelle asked to smell them almost every day.  Well, we definitely don’t splurge like this every year, but Rich also purchased tickets to the Michael Buble concert here in Denver.  Rich and I have seen him once before in concert a few years back (we went with Jen & Scott).  The concert here was at the end of March, and it was excellent!  Definitely a treat – we only go to concerts about once every three years…

She’s been saying it ever since she knew she was going to have another sibling.  She was always convinced she’d have a sister.  Well, she was right!  According to my doctor appointment just this week, it is definitely a girl.  And when I told Adelle that she will have a sister soon, she didn’t seem too impressed.   To her it was “mom, I already knew that!”.

I gave Adelle her first haircut a couple weeks ago (Mar 23rd).  She was very good and stayed relatively still.  I think little girls look really cute with longer hair, and I have been putting this off for a while (obviously – she’s over three!).  The bottoms of her hair were starting to get pretty tangled, so  I decided it was time.  Rich has offered numerous times to cut her hair (starting before she was even a year old), but I would never let him.  I’ve seen how he cuts hair, and I didn’t want Adelle to be bald…  During the haircut she told me, “don’t cut my hair like daddy’s”.

Hope you all had an enjoyable Easter.  We enjoyed watching general conference, and then had a small family dinner.

I’ve never posted a recipe before, but I came up with a pretty tasty asparagus recipe (with some ideas from the internet of course).  Here goes:
1 – 2 bunches asparagus (I used 2 bunches)
2 Tbsp olive oil (I use extra virgin cold-pressed)
2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp lemon zest, freshly grated
Salt & pepper to taste
1 – Rinse asparagus, snap off & discard tough bottoms, & cut into 1 – 2 inch sections.
2 – Steam asparagus, or boil in saucepan (I chose to steam it).  Steam to taste – I like mine a little crunchy, probably about 5 – 7 min.  While the asparagus is still hot, toss in serving bowl with olive oil, lemon zest, and Parmesan.  Salt & pepper to taste.

I knew this recipe was a keeper when Adelle actually ate the serving we put on her plate.  Rich even had seconds!

We also had spiral-sliced ham (8.5-lbs is a LOT of ham) and whole-wheat butterhorns.  I also meant to saute some sweet potatoes, but I forgot…

My brother recommended that I visit the Navy Safety Center Photo of the Week website.  Most photos show ridiculous and crazy photos similar to the one at the beginning of this post.  Throughout their posts, they state, “shoulda used a truck” to describe photos and situations where people are using cars for things they were never meant to be used for.  For instance, strapping a king sized mattress on top of a Smart Car.  There have been many instances in my life where I have participated in activities where I really should have used a truck.  I have fit a king sized memory foam mattress inside my little compact Saturn car (it was tightly rolled and compressed, but did create several very large blind spots…luckily most of the windshield was visible).  I did not catalog that experience, but I did photograph the times I fit a “portable” air conditioner, dishwasher tub, and 21 pieces of 2? x 4? x 8.5' lumber into my car.

The lumber was for my latest (and 2nd) wood working project. I have made shelving before, but those were UGLY. Even paint didn’t help much. However, these shelves look good…if I do say so myself…even without painting them. These are similar to those my brother-in-law installed in his home and I have been jealous of him since I first saw them. I learned a few lessons during this project…cutting wood creates a LOT of dust. Also, I need a real dust mask ’cause I inhaled a LOT and my mucous afterward indicated that it isn’t “healthy.” Also, I need a table saw and a router table and a larger garage or maybe even a wood shop and…of course…a truck to haul stuff. Most men probably agree to those statements and most women have probably heard those “needs.”

Speaking of hauling things, I’ve been contemplating purchasing a trailer for some time now.  A trailer would be much safer than either of my compact cars when hauling stuff…especially since we need to purchase some furniture (probably used) and I would have no other way of getting it home other than mounting it on top of a car.  However, I would need to get a trailer hitch for the Toyota Corolla.  Can you imagine a compact car with a trailer attached hauling a love seat or even a large sofa.  That would be ridiculous…so ridiculous that I think I should get a truck.

We always read a verse or two from the scriptures as a family each night before Adelle goes to bed, but lately she has been wanting to read a book before bed.  A few nights ago I told her I’d read the book she picked out, “Curious George at the Parade”.  Well, I apparently forgot, and Rich and I both said good night to her and headed downstairs.  Rich also had purposely moved the book out of Adelle’s eyesight to the other side of her dresser.  About an hour later, I heard some shrieking and steps down the stairs.  “You forgot to read me ‘Curious George at the Parade’”, shouts Adelle.  She was adamant (although she didn’t even know where the book was), so Rich went upstairs with her to her room, read her the book, then said good night (again).  And she was fine – she slept till morning.  Wow – did she just wake up and think about reading the book or was she lying awake in her room for an hour hoping we’d remember to come back up and read her the book…