Our summer so far.

It's been over 6 months since I last posted. Lot of changes have taken place in 6 months! Most of you know that Mom passed away in January. We are all still adjusting to that. She was such an integral part of our family. Dad's home base is still Amarillo. He has a street legal golf cart to drive on the backroads and alleys. (translation: he can go to Sonic and get his own cherry limeade!).


As usual, Coy is working hard in the summer. I know he's been working on the budget and grants and all kinds of stuff I can barely comprehend. Since Eustace now has a sonic (I know, 2 stop lights AND a Sonic), I'm spoiling him by taking him a Route 44 diet coke every day. He's going to miss that when school starts! :)


Grace is visiting colleges, still pretty much in limbo as to what she wants to do and where she wants to go. She has several options, so it's a matter of prayer and following God's lead. She's been to Girls State this summer and loved it. She is driving with confidence now. Tomorrow she is driving me to Tyler, so we will see how that goes! She's been doing the summer workouts and working on her volleyball skills. She just found out she scored high enough on the AP English test to get another 3 hours of college credit. She's taking online classes through the local community college as well. She volunteers at a local library as well.


JoGail is busy with church. She love going to church, absolutely loves it. She is planning on playing volleyball and being in the band. We will see how that works out! She probably won't march this season, but will be in 'the pit' because she is a freshman. She loves music and is going to help with the VBS music class next week. She, too has been doing summer workouts. She's had a basketball camp and volleyball camp as well. She's been working diligently on her Pre Ap English assignment.


I have probably had the biggest changes this summer. I has a gastric sleeve surgery on May 12. I barely made the weight cut off, but since I had diabetes and high blood pressure, I was approved. I can honestly say my life has changed fro the better and that most of the battle is mental. I'm up to walking 2.5 miles (at least) every day. I've started wogging (combination of jogging and walking this week).  It's easy to fit in the exercise in the summer, I'm still talking to God about how to get it in in the school year and when it gets colder. I'm keeping a journal and it is truly amazing to see how far I have come. Yes, I will never have another Coke or carbonated beverage. Yes, I will always have to exercise. Yes, I eat very little. I'm learning how to order when we have to eat out....I beg and steal of the girls' plates and usually just order a side if there's one that interests me. Salads are typically too big for me. My main nutrition goal is to eat 60 grams of protein a day. Sounds like a lot, but when add it up it happens rather quickly. I used to laugh at Coy for using myfitnesspal, but now I use it, too.


Well, that pretty much sums up our summer so far....I'll try to update more regularly! :)


Laurie

JoGail's punch

Being the second sister, she likes to do things a little different than Grace. So she wanted me to make her a different punch recipe than Grace and her friends like. (Grace likes Almost Champagne Punch.)  So after souring pinterest, I came across this and it was really, really easy and good!


Lemonade Punch
2 cups lemonade ready made mix
 4 cups water
2 regular size jugs pineapple juice
1 2liter sprite

Mix and serve!

 One of the best things I have purchased is a drink dispenser. It works great when more than just us are here and I don't want o serve soft drinks. Mine has a an ice core thingy that even keeps it cold, so I put the ingredients in the fridge, mix and it stays cold for a long time.


We made cinnamon rolls for supper tonight. I think we might have just started a New ew Year's Day tradition! Nice after eating all those peas at lunch!

Black Eyed Peas

1 bag peas, presoaked for about 8-12 hours
2 cups chopped leftover ham
2-3 stalks celery (leftover from Coy's salad), diced and sauted in a little butter
thyme seasoning
greek seasoning

Put in crockpot, cover with water and cook on high for 4-6 hours.

I kind of tweaked Emeril's hopping john recipe for this one. We really liked it. Some ate it over rice, some ate it over cornbread!