Eight Week Check Up

Eli survived his first doctor's appointment! Dr. Anna's nurse was very good and quick so the torture didn't drag on.His little band aids after all the work is done.

All done! Wrapped and ready to leave!

Eli is 7 Weeks Old!!!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Back in the Saddle Again

When we lived in Fort Worth I started "running." I use the term loosely because when someone like me (not exactly trim and lean) tells someone they run they get the look of, "Really?" following by a, "mmmm." But when someone like my friend, SEB, tells someone she runs she gets the look of, "I wonder how many miles she ran." I decided to start "running" for a couple reasons: 1. it's cheap (all you need is shoes...and a good sports bra), 2. you can do it anywhere, and 3. you can go as hard or as easy as you want (if you're sore you don't have to have a long and/or hard run). Clearly, I'm not hard core about it or you would be able to tell by the way I look, but I do enjoy it. Am I running marathons? No. Can I run a super fast mile? No. Do I care? Not particularly.

The first time I "ran" I went by the couch to 5k plan (www.coolrunning.com) just to get me started and it was pretty successful. I didn't run a 5k but I was getting close to being able to run almost the entire time without dying at the end. My knees were also starting to get used to "running." Having had two knee surgeries me and Advil became very good friends the first couple of weeks of my "running." I didn't really advertise the fact that I started "running" because I didn't really care for the, "Are you serious?!" looks I just knew I would get. But apparently, having a baby gives you this, "I've had a baby so I can do anything," empowerment. so I've started "running" again. I know...you have the look of shock of dismay on your face right now.

Eli turned 6 weeks old this week so that means I'm in the clear to exercise again. Let's remember--I haven't exercised since I was about 5 months pregnant; that's about when the temperature around here got to be comfortable for Satan and I didn't feel like doing much of anything especially exercising! So I started pretty easy today. If you go by the couch to 5k plan you run 60 seconds and walk 90 seconds for 20 minutes but seeing as I was not in the mood for a heart attack I ran 30 seconds and walked 60 seconds (I did have Parson with me so occasionally the walking was longer than 60 seconds so his old bones could catch up).

We'll see...

The Brown Serpent? Really?

I love caffiene. All forms of caffiene--Diet Dr. Pepper, coffee, tea, Red Bull, etc. While I was pregnant I did decrease my caffiene intake drastically and it was so sad. The week Eli was born one of the first places I went was Starbucks and ordered my pre-pregnancy regular: Grande Caramel Light Frappacino. It was so good! It was like the clouds opened up and angels smiled down.

I wouldn't consider myself an expert on coffee but I would consider myself a fan of coffee. While watching 30 Rock recently Kenneth referred to coffee as a hot liquid that he didn't drink because it was the Devil's temperature. Well, because my son was sleeping I decided to see what other names there were for coffee (yes, I'm a dork). The other names are: Joe, Java, The Brown Serpent, Bean Juice, and my favorite Go Juice.

The following is a recipe for Mocha Milkshake Shooters for all fans of coffee!

4 Scoops Coffee Ice Cream

1/4 Cup Whipping Cream

1/4 Cup Coffee

Place all ingredients in a blender and mix until well blended. This recipe was drastically altered from a recipe I saw in a Rachel Ray magazine last year. Her recipe called for two different types of alcohol so of course, I substituted whipping cream and coffee for the alcohol. When I've made this in the past I served it in sugar lined glasses! Yummy!!

Oh Lottie...

Anyone that has been around me during Christmas knows what a fan I am of Miss Lottie Moon. Those of you that did not grow up in a Southern Baptist Church perhaps don't know about her. Besides being the namesake of the International Mission Boards Christmas Offering she had quite a life.

I am intrigued my her because she was one of the first single female missionaries overseas. She used her gift of hospitality to reach the Chinese people by baking basic tea cookies for children and their mother's (I included her recipe below). I believe there were so many doors that were opened simply because of her bravery and her following God's call on her life. Lottie passed away on her way back to America on Christmas Eve in 1912. She had been very ill and was begged to come back home to Virginia. When she was put on a boat to come back home she was 72 years old and weighed only 50 lbs. It is documented that her final words were, "We are weak, but He is strong."

There are very few books on Lottie Moon; my favorite are:
The New Lottie Moon Story, by Catherine B. Allen
The Lottie Moon Cookbook, by Claude Rhea

There is a video from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary about Lottie:
Forum on the Life and Legacy of Lottie Moon

Rumor has it Southern also has Lottie's belongings that were on the boat on her way home. If I'm ever around Southern Seminary I might just have to drop by and see it!

Lottie's Plain Tea Cakes (exactly as Lottie wrote it):
3 teacups of dry sugar
1 teacup of butter
1 teacup of sour milk
4 pints of flour
3 eggs
Well beaten; half tsp of soda. Flavor to taste; roll thin, and bake in quick oven

Lottie's Plain Tea Cakes (adapted to modern measurements):
2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter
1 heaping cup of sugar
1 well beaten egg
1 tbsp cream
Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and mix well. Add the four and cream. Dust a board with flour. Roll the dough very thin. Cut cookies with a round cookie cutter. Place on a nonstick cookie sheet. Bake at 475 for 5 minutes.
Thank you, IMB for converting the recipe

I can say that I have made these cookies and they are super easy and pretty tasty too. If you ever get the opportunity to read about Lottie Moon do it!