Columbus Day Pancake Genius

Isabel is out of school this week for her fall break.  She and I are going to use the time to work together on an exciting craft project.  I'll post more about that soon.

Otherwise we are relaxing, eating fun food and taking a walk or two to the park with Luci.  We plan to watch some TV this evening.

Esteban cooked a pancake for me with a sausage face.  It really made me smile and is one of the best things I've ever eaten.  He cooks the sausage first and then puts it in the pancake right after he pours it in the pan.  He does it just right so the pancake is perfect around the sausage, not soggy.  I was not able to help myself, this was my second pancake.

 I got a quick photo in so you could witness the pancake genius.  I was so full I had to rest before completing this post;).

Esteban and I plan to catch up on Once Upon a Time on Hulu Plus tonight, we've missed the last two episodes.  I am excited to see what happens.

Luci is enjoying the cooler weather.  Isn't she sweet?

Have a super fun Columbus Day.

October Breast Cancer Awareness-Get Your Check Ups!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  I have breast cancer.  I am a private person, but I share my story to raise awareness and to remind about exams and follow ups.

Whew.  It is still hard to type out that I have breast cancer.  I was first diagnosed when I was 28 years old, I put up a strong fight and won, or I thought I did.  In late 2010 I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, meaning that breast cancer spread to my liver and bones. I began Chemo right away and after about 15 months of treatments every two weeks, my doctor stopped the sessions to give me a recovery break, that was February 2012.  You can read a post here where I share about my situation.  I also mention my battle on the About Me page at the top of my blog.

Luci is giving me love when I was resting after having chemo last year.

I am still on break from chemo treatments but Doc says it is likely I will have to start again in the next few months, my tests indicate that the cancer may be growing again.  I am hoping it can wait til January, but Doc wants to be careful and take a look at my upcoming scans and go from there.  The medication I take to keep the cancer from growing is usually effective for breast cancer patients for six months and then the cancer grows again.  I have been on the medication for about eight months.  Pretty good.
Right now I am in sort of a holding pattern.  I have been warned to take care of my back, the cancer in two vertebrae make them very fragile. I take a lot of medication, get regular check ups and try my best to make the most of every day.
I do not want to go on chemo again, but I love my children and husband and want to spend as much time with them as possible, even if I become more sick.  A small price as far as I'm concerned.  And who knows, a cure or more effective treatment could be right around the corner.  I have asked my Doctor about new treatments and she says she thinks some may be on the way next year.

I look better now, here I am with my Dad about a month ago.  My break has been great, I've gained 15 pounds and had a wonderful visit from my family that lives far away.  It was like a giant injection of love and good will from them.  I now feel like I can handle any old ugly chemo they throw at me.
Enough about me.  Let's go over a few facts and ways that you can manage your breast cancer risk.

Breast cancer can be diagnosed and treated early with regular self exams and doctor visits. 

 Please read the article from the American Cancer Society Breast Cancer:  Early Detection.  The article goes over the details for managing risk for different groups.

I found my initial lump in the shower and went to the doctor to have it checked.  Self exams are so important for women in their 20s and 30s.

Let's go over the American Cancer Society ages for the check ups you should have if you are generally healthy.

• Women age 40 and older should have a mammogram every year and should continue to do so for as long as they are in good health

• Women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam (CBE) as part of a periodic (regular) health exam by a health professional preferably every 3 years. Starting at age 40, women should have a CBE by a health professional every year

• Breast self-examination (BSE) is an option for women starting in their 20s. Women should be told about the benefits and limitations of BSE. Women should report any breast changes to their health professional right away.

I would rather craft than talk or type about cancer, but I know how important it is to share so other women are reminded to take the best care of themselves.

Please do your exams each year to minimize your risk for breast cancer.

Please also remind the women in your life to get their check ups too.

Have a lovely first day of October.  

Staying Cool

It is super hot right now here in Arizona.  Yesterday's temperatures don't even sound real:  106 degrees as a high and 87 degrees as the low.  Yes, the overnight low was 87 degrees, Yikes.   Arizona has very low humidity so most people find it more bearable than tropical heat.  But 106 is the kind of hot that can't be denied.  You may not be as hot, but some of the things we do may help you have a more comfortable summer.

 Tips to stay cool:

-Drink water every few hours.  Here in the desert we run the risk of dehydrating very quickly; drinking water every few hours ensures that even a light dehydration does not occur.

-Avoid using the oven.  We toast or use our crock pot most of the time.  We have a kitchen that is open to our living room and when the oven is used it heats both rooms and causes the air conditioner to work even harder.

-Eat and drink cool things.  Esteban regularly makes frozen fruit smoothies.  We also eat a lot of salads or cool sandwiches.  To order great cool sandwiches try Jimmy Johns, they have delicious food.  You can find a decent variety of No-Oven summer recipes at family.go.com.  Family.com is a Disney family blog that has fun content and a whole section of recipes.

-Schedule outings.  We schedule our fun in the cooler early morning hours or late in the evening when the sun goes down.  It is still really hot in the evenings but without the sun it does not feel like you are burning alive;).

-Wear breathable clothes.  Cotton is what we choose most often, but there are great poly cotton blends available now.  100% polyester is to be avoided.  Run away from black polyester.

-Go to the shade.  If caught in the sun try to get in the shade as soon as possible.  Esteban and Sebastian use this when they walk Luci during the hottest part of the day.  The sun here seems to burn the skin quickly, even when wearing sun screen you can feel your skin burning.

-Don't waste cold.  When anyone goes in or out we close our front door right away so we don't let the cold out.  We also check the windows regularly to make sure we are not leaking cold air.  When your house gets hot here it can take forever to get the temperate cool again.

-Have plenty of inside entertainment.  Books, games, crafts and B.O.B. keep us busy and happy, as well as movies and music.


I know these are all common sense, but they can serve as good reminders to be mindful of the heat.

It is hot here but we are having a very fun summer so far.

I hope your summer is off to a great start.  Stay cool.

Courtesy of Graphics Fairy

Crock Pot Tips

I know if you go by my recent focus on french fries you would think that I eat junk food all the time.  The truth is that I only have fast food once or twice a week.  The rest of the time my handsome husband cooks up a storm.  My favorite thing to eat right now are his Crock Pot creations; he has no recipes and no two ever taste the same.  I wanted to share a few of his techniques that really work to make each meal special.

• Spice and then sear the chicken/meat before adding it to the crock.  You should not cook it, just sear in the spices on the outside.  If you do not have a go to spice mix then you can sprinkle on a bit of rosemary, paprika, crushed garlic, salt and pepper.  This helps the meat have it's own flavor.
• Use canned soup or broth as a flavor base, there are many great low sodium options.  We like cream of mushroom best right now.
• Don't add too much water.  I like a stew consistency so we don't add much water, usually only about 1/2 cup is added to the cream of mushroom or other condensed soup.
• Cook meat and root vegetables for a few hours then add the more delicate vegetables for the last hour or two. Try new vegetables that you would not normally add to the crock pot, like snow peas, broccoli crowns and spinach.  Adding them in last also allows for them to taste fresh instead of too mushy.
• Pour the finished stew over brown rice to give additional texture and fiber;)  I LOVE a brown and long grain wild rice mix.

I whipped up a nice PicMonkey college to show some of the ingredients of a recent creation.  The carrot pictures show the root vegetable covering the meat.  The picture with white sauce over the root vegetables is our cream of mushroom soup.  Esteban cooked that root vegetable mix for a few hours then added the green mix you see with snow peas.  This one had a sweet note with the carrots and sweet potatoes, that was balanced by just a bit of heat with Cayenne pepper.  It smelled so wonderful and tasted even better!

Have a terrific Tuesday!!

Do you like the new look?