Disturbing

I just got this email from my mother-in-law Kim about the difference between butter and margarine... it's disturbing.

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back. It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter.

DO YOU KNOW...the difference between margarine and butter? Read on to the end, it gets very interesting!

-Both have the same amount of calories.

-Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams.
-Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

-Eating Butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.

-Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few only because they are added!

-Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.

-Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

And now, for Margarine...

-Very high in trans fatty acids.

-Triple risk of coronary heart disease.

-Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

-Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold.

-Lowers quality of breast milk

-Decreases immune response.

-Decreases insulin response.

AND HERE IS THE MOST DISTURBING FACT AND THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC... This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance). You can try this yourself: Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things:

-No flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go nearit (that should tell you something) -It does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value.

-Nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weenie microorganisms will not find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

Share This With Your Friends..... (If you want to "butter them up")!

I also just read on a random blog called "FancyPantsMom" where it said this about softening cold butter for a recipe:

"....When you need cold butter to be softened, stick it down your shirt (still in the wrapper people!) and let it rest for a little bit between your skin and your bra. It will quickly warm up to the perfect temperature!"

Interesting huh? I know I hate waiting for butter to soften, but it seems like it would be cold.

Chinese Proverb: When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others."

Holy Cow!

I was cleaning my house today and when it came to my shower I was a little perplexed on what to do with the hard water stains. I sprayed Lime Away in the shower and just about killed myself with the toxic smell. I read the warnings on the label and it said it was highly toxic and I should not breathe it in or let it touch my skin. How am I supposed to spray it all over my walk in shower, scrub it around, and rinse it without breathing or letting it touch me?!? Well, I went to Fry's grocery store today and saw a product I have never seen before. It is called "Holy Cow". There is a series of cleaners such as an all purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, and degreaser. I bought the degreaser with the idea that I would use it to clean my stove and oven. I had the idea to use it on my shower again when I got home. I did just that and I am quite amazed! It is non-toxic, safe for the environment, safe around animals and kids, all natural, AND IT WORKS! What could be any better?!? Anyway, I wanted to share these awesome products with you and I am now a Holy Cow kinda girl! For more information, click here to check out the Holy Cow website.

Jack-O-Lantern

Here is a great link to make your own Jack-o-Lantern. You take then pen and draw your pumpkins face and once you hit the "Done" button, it will light up for you! It's pretty fun and gets me into the pumpkin carving mood!
Carve My Pumpkin!

Free to Give

I was checking out some of the Breast Cancer Awareness websites on Sara & Jeremy's blog and found a new favorite! The Breast Cancer Site is a website that you can donate, IT'S FREE, to help several different causes. Once you go to this website, you click on the "Click Here to Give- It's Free" button and the sponsors of the site donate money. On the top of the web page, there are different tabs for different causes including: Hunger, Breast Cancer, Child Health, Literacy, Rain Forests, and Animal Rescue. After you donate, you can scroll down and see how much towards each charity was donated. It's pretty amazing how many people have been donating, and it can always be more so I challenge you to click and donate daily to all of these causes. Just like Sara, I have signed up for the daily email reminder so I can click on all of these tabs and donate everyday. What a great site Sara!

Stitches

Today is Day 3, which means that Nico's foot can be unwrapped. It can also stay unwrapped as long as he can keep it clean. Today was the first time I was able to see his stitches and they look pretty good. He's being a good boy and not licking them either. We'll see how long that lasts.

Sara Was Right

My good friend Sara blogged about a Pumpkin Butter that she made. It is delicious! I made it today and Sara was right! If you want recipe for it check out Jeremy & Sara's blog. There is a link to it on my sidebar. Thanks Sara!

Quick & Easy Dinner

Last night, I was trying to think of what to make for dinner. I was tired and really didn't want to do a lot. I looked online for some ideas and came across an amazing recipe! It was on www.recipezaar.com and it is a Chicken and Rice Casserole. It was so easy and tasted so good! I used 98% fat free cream of chicken soup and cream of potato soup (Jake and I don't care for mushrooms). I used 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of measuring 2 cups, and I added some broccoli which gave it a great color. I topped it with some shreadded cheddar cheese and it was done in an hour! It tasted great, was healthy, and simple! Give this one a try, it will become a favorite!
Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
-2 cups cubed cooked chicken
-1 cup rice
-1 cup milk
-1 can cream of chicken soup
-1 can cream of mushroom soup
-salt and pepper

Directions
-Mix all ingredients.
-Bake at 325 degrees for one hour.

Lady Luck

It seems Lady Luck is on Nico's side and his foot isn't broken, not even fractured. He did need stitches in his toe to close up a large gash. $250 later, he has another pretty scar.

We're home

The wedding in CA was very nice. It was a very short stay for us after a very long drive, but it was worth it. Jake was able to see all of his college buddies. It was a lot of fun.

We come home to news that Nico had his foot stepped on by Reno. I guess Reno ran out of his stall and Nico wanted to head him off and they seem to have met in the middle and Nico's foot was squished. I just took him to the vet today where they will x-ray it and maybe stitch up a pretty deep cut that is between his toes. I'll let you know how it goes. I've included some pictures of horse's feet so you can see how much damage they can cause. I've been stepped on... it hurts.

Running On Empty

Jake and I are going to CA tomorrow for one of Jake's friend's wedding. We are both working the mid-shift (10pm-6:30am) tonight and then leaving right away to head west. We will go to the wedding tomorrow evening and then head back Sunday. I luckily got out of my mid-shift Sunday night and we both have to be at work at 5am Monday morning.

I have this really cute dress to wear to the wedding. I originally bought it to wear to Sara & Jeremy's wedding last year (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT'S BEEN A YEAR ALREADY?!?). Jake and I found FABULOUS shoes to wear with it. They are brown slingbacks with rhinestones and sparklies on the toe! ADORABLE! These pictures don't show how sparkly they really are. But they are topaz colored rhinestones that catch the light as I walk. They are so fun!

Trophy!

I'm so excited! I woke up this morning and as I was putting on my heart rate monitor before I went running I noticed a little envelope on the screen. My watch/heart rate monitor sends me a little note each week with a summary of last weeks workouts. This week was a little different because now instead of a swirl on the time screen I have a little trophy! I know it is something small but it is inspiring! I've never gotten a trophy for working out before!

Surprise!

Jake and I were at home Saturday night moving some furniture around, when we got a call from my parent's neighbor, Fred. He told me that one of our horses was out and walking around the street. I knew for sure it was Reno, since he is the mischievous escape artist. I drove over there as quick as I could and I was shocked to see it was Buster out! Buster was the last of the three horses I expected it to be! He walked up to me and practically begged me to put him back in. Poor guy. He had some cuts and scrapes all over his legs and his left side. The fence had been bent in half. I'm not sure what happened, but I think he somehow fell over the top, probably got stuck, and had to fight his way out and ended up on the wrong side. I don't know. I really wish I had video on my animals at all times. I think I'd be amazed! This is a picture of Buster at the vet after having his teeth floated (filed flat). He is trying to wake up enough to go home. He isn't eating, he is literally resting his face on the ground.

Pumpkin!

Well, I promised pictures and here they are. Nico decided to help to show exactly the size of this monster. We will end up carving a design on 3 sides and putting it out for all of the trick-or-treaters to enjoy, but for now it is safely on display until later in the month. We are still thinking of an appropriate name for it. Last year's was "Humphrey". Humphrey had a big smiley face as the main carving because he was a huge, big, fat, happy man. It only seemed appropriate to be smiling. Once we carve him, I'll post more pics.

Last Minute

Jake is on his way home from California. I am going to clean the bathrooms really quick so that the whole house is clean once he gets home. Jake bought us a big pumpkin for Halloween. Each year we buy a giant pumpkin and carve 3-4 different images on it. I can't wait to carve this one, but I think we'll wait until a little later so it doesn't go bad too early. I'll post pictures of it tomorrow! Prepare to be amazed!

Dummy Book

Well, I'm about half way through the Personal Finance for Dummies book and I have to say it is pretty good. There is a lot of good advice in there. I feel that a lot of it I already knew. I'm at the chapter on how to increase savings and decrease debt. It's getting good now!

Too Much to Do!

After reading Sara's latest blog entry, I was inspired to go pink and as you can see, I changed our blog to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And as my cute little sign says, don't forget to "Feel Your Boobies."

Jake left for California today to help his folks bring some furniture out here to AZ this weekend. He left early so he could get an oil change in the truck before the long drive. I woke up as he left and started my chores. I vaccumed and dusted and did a little laundry. I still need to mop the tile (if you've been to our house you know that is almost the entire place!) and clean the bathrooms and then go grocery shopping.

I went running this morning as well. Starting October off well, I went about 2 miles today. Mr. Nico went with me. I think 2 miles is about his max. It was starting go get a little warm and he was pooped. Maybe I'll give him a bath later.

I also need to go and pick up some hay for the horses. We're almost out and that would be a bad thing.

Wow, I sure have a lot of stuff to do! Bummer.