AAAAAGGGG

No I haven't fallen away! I really wanted to do cooking videos! The set up took forever! I was stressed. I really wanted to write everyday. I was stressed....thus.....aaaggg. You see I homeschool our 5 children.....2nd,4th,7th,8th.11th grades....need I say more??? My husband is full time faith based ministry....what exactly does that mean..for us it means that he speaks mainly at 2 places...at schools early in the mornings before school starts for an organization called FCA most school districts across the country have them....and also he works as the chaplain for a local Christian athletic group. He tells these kids about his life with drugs.....coccain and steriods before he became a Christian. He loves what he does and he is making an impact on their lives.



Neither of these organizations pay him....thus the faith part!So how do we eat....I'm not sure???? If you could see what we have in the bank at any given moment you would be shocked! We have about 15 people who believe in what we are doing and they support us monthly...we are a non-profit......then there are others who send a one time gift and we always have enough....it really is amazing to watch as this all unfolds and we are able to see how the Lord provides to the ministry that He called us to. This to can be stressful. So on top of home schooling and normal house stuff...I do all the "secretary" stuff for the ministry. I have another blog that I have been keeping for about a year and I just can't do 2 of them. So you are welcome to check out my other blog. I love to read all of my favorite WLS blogs and keep up with so many of you who are doing so well.



I will tell you that my weight is good...not where I want it to be...but good. 155 I would love to weigh 135...but 20 pounds seems like a very long way off. I would have to exercise to reach that goal as my eating is good. I can hardly find the time to go to the bathroom alone during the day...I don't see myself finding time to exercise. Yes, yes I know I need to make time to take care of myself...it is every mothers dilemma!

Please come over and join me here. Happy at Home

Doctors visit

Well I went to my doctor visit and I was the same weight as I was last time I went...she was very pleased. This was my GYN visit so she doesn't see weight loss patients exclusively but she sees quite a few. She told me that in her practice...I would be in the minority of patients who lost the weight and have not gained a significant amount back at the 3 year mark. Oh that is so sad. I wonder what the key is there...I could speculate but I will not. I am thankful that it has been a success for me but I must say that I have to work really hard for it to be this way. Harder than I imagined before I had the surgery.

Now for the bathing suit season...I can hide gross loose skin in the layers of winter but summers comming!!

GAS!!!????

OK......Lets be honest.....does anyone else plan when they eat certain foods based on what they have to do the next day? I LOVE Wendy's chili.....or my own homemade but you really do not want to spend much time with me the day after...:) This is a side effect of surgery that I can live with...I just need to plan. My poor family!!! I need to try a product called.....Beano. I have tried eating those gas ex strips but they do not help that little problem. Have you tried anything with success?

If you only knew??

I can not tell you how difficult this has been to get a video up and running!!?? I would pull my hair out but I don't have as much as I did 3 years ago so I will leave it alone!! :) I really, really had grand plans of "making" a decent quality video at least once a week however.....it is a lot of work to set everything up....and get it on the site...more than I had imagined.

I school our 5 children and run the daily stuff for our ministry. It is a lot and I love it...wouldn't trade it!....but it is overwhelming time wise...so I decided that I need to make a simpler video off of our lap top. I have made 5 videos and I couldn't get any of them to work. UUGGG

I finally did a quick capture on you tube...it is terrible quality...the sound and the lips do not match...I hate that! But is is there none the less...You may have to close your eyes and just listen to the words.

How is my goal to lose a few pounds..10 to be exact...pretty good but I made an appointment to see my Gynecologist in 3 weeks...this is very motivating...I do not know why...she doesn't care...she is thrilled that I have lost the weight and for the most part kept it off but I for some reason care...Call me crazy!

Anyway here is the link to the video...enjoy or not!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsRgVNobF0E

video faliure???

I finally took the time tonight to make another video. I made it on my web cam on the lap top. It is on my desk top but it will not download onto blogger or youtube....:( I am so frustrated!!! I could scream but I will not! I will try to look at it again tomorrow when my brain isn't fried!

I will tell you that I made one of the simplest meals ever today and it was wonderful. I love to make a meal that I can use more than once and I don't just mean leftovers. This morning I put 8 boneless chicken breasts and one bottle of barbecue sauce in the crock pot on low. It cooked all day and tonight I made mashed potatoes, green beans and steamed mixed veggies to go along with it. It was so yummy! I cut up the left over chicken and tomorrow we will have barbecue chicken sandwiches. I will serve cut up apples and pretzels with it. Maybe you can invision it since I can't seem to get a video together?????

Taking a Trip

Hello guys...I am so sorry that I have not written a new post lately. I ahve been out of town speaking for the past week. I am sure that I could not travel for any length of time and do well eating. I would have to make some major adjustments if I traveled. I was bored driving and food seemed like a good thing to munch on while I was away. I did make good choices but it was so much harder thatn when I was in my controlled enviroment at home! I would have to come up with a serious plan! I had a great time...I took my 11 year old daughter with me. I was fun to have her one on one! I am very internional about that time since I have 5 children!

I will try to get the video made soon about my favorite dish to make with left over grilled chicken!

Grilled Chicken

Ok....I am a computer...techie.....IDIOT! I do not know why I can't upload videos right onto Blogger...if the are 3 - 4 min. it takes about 2 hours, if they are 4 -5 min they take almost 5 hours...and if they are 1 second over 5 min they will not upload at all! I have tried this on both our computers...old and new???!!!:) I do not know what to do? Anyway here is the link to the new video on you tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe3-k7cK-hg&feature=channel_page


Here is my basic recipe for the marinade.

1 plastic bag
6 chicken breast
1 cup Italian dressing
1/2 cup either soy or teriyaki sauce...I prefer teriyaki
2 tablespoons of any kind of spicy seasoning...I use Montreal Seasoning
Soak for 3 hours or as long as all night.
Grill

YUMMY!

Embarassing Moment

I am a mother to 5 amazing children. I love being a mom! My husband is in full time Christian service. He is really wonderful....I'll tell you more about him later. I speak 1 or 2 times a month to women's groups on a variety of subjects. Well this past week I went to speak at a gathering and I was feeling pretty good about myself. My hair worked, my outfit was fine. Now I am that person that if you drop by my house on any given day you will not find me with any makeup and if I didn't know you were coming..I probably won't have my bra on. I like comfortable! But when I speak to a group I certainly want to look nice. I thought I had achieved that????

I had to tape it for a video that our church is getting together and when I got home I watched the video. You should never watch yourself! My hair....flat, my pants way, way, way too short!and I look like I am pregnant! When am I not going to look like that? While I look so much better than I once did...... and I am grateful for that!!!....I still look pregnant. I am going to have to start some sort of fund raising campaign to pay for a tummy tuck....because god knows that is not in the budget for a minister's family. Well not this minister anyway! You can check out a clip of that video on my other blog...here.

We all Scream for Icecream!

I have a couple of things on my mind......It has been over 3 years since my surgery and I pretty much know what triggers a dumping episode. I avoid these things...I do not like dumping! For me....it may last 10 min. but more often it lasts for about 45 min.....I do not have 45 min to spare in my day therefore I do not tempt fate! SOOOOOO. Friday night is family night here at the Helms. We watch a movie...play board games...order pizza...drink soda...and eat ice cream. I do not feed my kids junk all week....they get enough of that everywhere else...they are not deprived! I have always felt like junk aught to be the exception and not the rule...unfortunately many families are the total opposite. If you give your baby soda in a sippy cup.....STOP!!!

Anyway we all enjoy this night very much....kids love traditions and we have been doing this one for about 8 years. I of course skip the soda, icecream and usually eat the topping off of the pizza....which I enjoy very much! This Friday night I made myself a little baby..baby cup of icecream....maybe two tablespoons. Now one of my worst dumping episodes happened about 3 months after surgery with...icecream. Why might you ask am I trying it again???? I DO NOT KNOW!!! I wanted a little??? :) I have skim milk with my cereal, I even eat some soups that have heavy cream.....I use 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar in my tea.......what else is in icecream....maybe the first time was just because it was too soon after surgery??

It was HORRIBLE!!! 10 min. after I ate it..I was on the hopper...where I stayed through half of the movie! My kids kept coming upstairs to see if I was OK. Yes we are pretty free here:) It was not worth it...I will not be trying that again! Not a problem because I can assure you that the ability to bend over and tie my shoes is worth so much more to me than icecream!

Protein Shake

Today I am going to share a few tips on making a pouch and family friendly protein smoothie. These are the backbone for many WLS patients. Let me know what you think. I want to give a huge THANK-YOU to BariatricTV. You guys are amazing!!

My very favorite smoothie is:
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup frozen strawberries
1/4 sliced frozen banana (this is not a cup but 1/4 of the whole)
3 semi sweet chocolate morsels
2 scoops Shaklee soy protein
5 ice cubes