Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Shocking News!

Before I tell you the shocking news, I had to share this photo of this cute little vintage style wagon that Kristi brought over - she put some pots of flowers (that we need to plant) in it and I thought it looked charming sitting in front of the chicken yard.  :-)
NOW, to the news... I went to Fabric Depot here in SE Portland after swimming on Monday and found what I thought would be a perfect pink for Caleb - the color name is.. "Shocking Pink"!  I texted this photo to Kristi to show Caleb.. and he liked it!  And his Dad likes it!  I like it!  We all like it.. maybe even love it. HA!  Now what am I going to do with 2 skeins of too bulky orange yarn?  Maybe make some pumpkins in the fall.  What do you think of this color? :-)
While I was off swimming, Dayle made strawberry freezer jam!
These are actually the last berries of our local growers, so I'm glad he got them.
Freezer jam is our favorite, as it tastes WAY fresher, as you don't cook the berries.  You mash the berries, mix sugar, a little lemon juice and pectin with it, stir and ta-dah!
You put it in freezer containers and let it sit out for 24 hours, then pop it into the freezer for fresh berry jam in the winter.  Our next jam will be raspberry, our favorite.  Kristi and Travis brought all 4 boys over yesterday and we gave them lunch of peanut butter and fresh jam sandwiches.  :-)
I got some neat metal buttons at Fabric Depot, too.. and sewed them on the bear's overalls... then Kristi thought he needed a pocket on the front, which I made and sewed on, then I made a little hanky and stuck it in there.  :-)  A side note - guess what else was at Fabric Depot?  This green yarn!!!  
My super hero grandson, Hayden and his bear.  I had a solemn conversation with him on the care of his bear.  No hitting anyone with it.  Don't let the dogs play with it.  Take good care of it.  And I made it with love for him.  I hoped he would sleep with it tonight.  
Kristi is doing a "home summer school" with all 4 boys.  They did their work and then grandpa gave them each a bowl of strawberry shortcake!  This is Michael, left, and Gabe on the right. 
Hayden and Caleb enjoy theirs.  I'm not sure why Caleb is looking at Hayden like this.. :-) 
Caleb with the beginnings of his bear.. and a mouth full of strawberry shortcake! 
A few people asked how I've lost 25 lbs.  Well.. we started out with a well-known program that uses famous people as spokespeople... they sent us large boxes of prepared foods.  I thought we needed something to jump-start us.  It worked by showing us small serving sizes and what kinds of things we could eat.  We supplemented it with fresh salads and cooked fresh veggies.  We used small amounts of dressing on the salads and Molly McButter sprinkled on the veggies.  A sample of our daily meals is:  Breakfast - one of their granola type bars which actually taste pretty good.  We're allowed a mid-morning snack, but we never eat it.  Lunch is one of their entrees with a veg or salad.  Afternoon snack - a bar or non-fat yogurt.  Dinner now is a smaller serving of something healthy that we make - like BBQ chicken in small amounts with a 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes and a bit of gravy (chicken gravy from a packet) - and either a salad or cooked veg.  In the evening we even have a "Skinny Cow" ice cream bar.  It's slow but we're both losing, not going up!  I can't wait to get all the prepared stuff consumed so we can have healthier and tastier and SMALLER meals that we make ourselves.  But the stuff we got really helped us get started.  ... ok.. I head off swimming soon.  On Friday I'm hosting a Girl's Lunch on my deck and Dayle is BBQing us chicken.. they are bringing orange baked beans and potato salad!  Have a great weekend!!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

24 comments:

  1. The yarn is perfect! I am sure he'll love his new bear. Dayle's jam looks delicious and the boys look like they loved their strawberry shortcake. I would have loved it too! :)

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  2. The kids are so sweet..I am glad your making your own meals. Dont waste you money you can do this on your own. My daughter in law is going to home school my grandchildren I am so glad. Strawberry jam looks amazing. Love your bear.

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  3. I think you are both terrific, losing weight and getting healthy for yourselves and your family. Love the shocking pink, it is perfect for a bear. And love all the photos of your handsome grandsons. Hugs to you and Dayle,
    Meredith

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  4. Lovely post Teresa! Congratulations : ) on your weight loss. I'm proud of you and you will probably have more energy ""NOT"" that you need it! Have a great weekend, xoRobin

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  5. Love that bear, cant wait to see the next one!

    Have a lovely weekend, Helenxx

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  6. New follower via my new blog...I love that little bear you made for your grandson and that freezer jam looks oh so good. Congrats on your weight loss program. Stick with it. You are an inspiration to me and others!
    http://dayinthelife2013.blogspot.com/

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  7. Your girls' lunch will be fun, and how good you are losing weight in a healthy way. The bear and your grandsons are cute.

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  8. Perfect pink!!!Love it. The boys are gorgeous. Really like the 'wagon'. Congrats on weight loss. I am trying but it s not easy. Hugs Anne x

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  9. I have a BIG smile on my face right now--first because I LOVE that color of pink (gorgeous) and secondly because everyone liked it!! The finished bear is wonderful--cute pocket on the overalls! And that wagon is totally, totally awesome!! SO happy for you:)
    Blessings,
    Aimee

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  10. The pink is a grand color and face it, no matter where your little munchkin grandson puts his bear it will never be hard to find. I am so glad everyone loves the color. Things work out so much better when everyone is happy. Dale's strawberry freezer jam is good, I know cause I have made that freezer jam in the past and you are right, it does taste much fresher. I'm a firm believer that you can eat anything you want as long as it is portion controlled. Those package meals are just that. I know it gets tiresome measuring and weighing food portions, but hey honey, look at you! You go girl, you are doing a fantastic job and should be proud. Every pound lost is just one more you need not fret over. I always said too that it didn't take overnight to gain the weight and so it won't be lost overnight. Slow is better, you'll get to your goal before you know it. {{{GREAT BIG HUG TO YOU}}}
    As always,
    Susanne :)

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  11. I wish Fabric Depot had a better web site! They usually have most everything I need but it would be nice to order it sometimes as Fabric Depot is half-hour the wrong way for me. I cant ever get the search function on the web site to cough up stuff I know they carry.

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  12. Yeah! The pink passed the Dad test! I'm so glad. The jam looks amazing. Strawberry is my favorite jam. You are one lucky lady to have Dayle and his cooking talent.
    You are both doing so well with your diet. You're an inspiration. :-)
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  13. I love so much to see your homely pictures, your happy family:) God bless you all!
    That cart looks really pretty this way! may be you could think of making such flower bed? a mobile one too - whenever you need, you can shift to another place for a pleasant view :)
    Shocking pink indeed! :) Can't wait to see what you make with it!
    Have a wonderful day, Teresa!

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  14. Hi Teresa,Love the pink!!!!It is warm,bright and absolutely gorgeous!!!!And what a charming little bear!!!Enjoy your lunch with your friends!!!I am sure the BBQ chicken is going to be great!!!!
    Love
    AMarie

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  15. The bears are so cute! And I love the hot pink yarn! Fall is just around the corner, and you can whip up some pumpkins with that bulky orange yarn.
    Have a fun girls lunch...and way to go on the Weight loss!!! Jenny Craig is a good program. Greg's Aunt owns several in the Central Coast area.
    XO Kris

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  16. Yup, I agree, you found the perfect pink, Teresa :-) I really love how Hayden's bear turned out, too! And Kristi's garden wagon is neat...you got me thinking about a red wagon for my grand girls with your post where you showed the one you found for your grand boys.
    Carolyn and I conquered the tangle!!! Woohoo!!! I finally got to add some new stitches to the shawl today :-) We have been trying to do some general sorting around here and set up an art studio painting area for Carolyn in her extra bedroom. Huff puff work-fun :-)
    xx,
    Gracie
    ps I think strawberry freezer jam is the best, too...but haven't tried making freezer blackberry jam yet.

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  17. Look forward to seeing PINK teddy ! Those strawberries look absolutely delicious and I've never heard of making jam like that. Does it set like regular jam? Your posts are always so interesting and cheerful - thanks for the effort you put into your blog. xoxox

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  18. I'm so glad Caleb going to get his pink bear :) Now I have to go get strawberries..yum!

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  19. Congratulations! I am very proud of you. Losing weight is never easy. Great job.

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  20. Hello Teresa, Love the PINK yarn.. it will make a lovely teddy. Your freezer jam looks so very tasty... I must make some too.. Have a lovely weekend. Hugs Judy

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  21. Yay! So glad everyone is on board with the pink! I love that shade. Denim or blue colored yarn would look really nice then for the overhauls. The bear is just darling! I love that little vintage wagon too! Thanks for the jam recipe. Sounds way easier than heating up the kitchen with all that cooking of berries. I'm definitely going to give it a try when our raspberries are ready this year.

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  22. Love the bear and those grandsons are handsome/cute.
    Congrats on the weight losses, same happening here, slowly but
    getting there ☺

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  23. Hayden's bear is so sweet Teresa and a perfect yarn choice for little pink bear to be...Caleb looks very happy about it too!
    Your strawberry shortcake looks delicious and well done on 25lbs lost..that's amazing!
    Happy Weekend,
    Susan x

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