Liliana's Letter

On a recent trip to the mailbox Liliana mailed a letter to a strapping young fella named Thomas.  About a week later, she was elated to receive a reply.  It's too cute not to share.  Thomas wrote this himself (which impressed and shamed me at the same time).  I just LOVE his career ambition.  Think I may adopt it myself.  :)  

Told ya it was cute!!!   His mom told me that he's changed his aspirations and now intends to be a Superhero Doctor.  After all, they need medical care, too!  

Write a letter...  make someone's day.  

facial SCARS and hair CUTS

Earlier this year my dermatologist discovered yet another skin cancer on my forehead.  And one on my backside.  Yep.  He covers all the bases at my annual skin check.  As far as skin cancer goes, I tend to get the very best kind: basal cell.  It won't kill you for a very long time, but doctors don't take chances. They cut and carve to their hearts content.  

Having light red hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, I'm pretty much a poster child for sunscreen, umbrellas, and hats.  My father has had several skin cancers removed and has urged me for years to start going for a yearly skin check.  So a few years ago, I took the plunge.  

Going to the dermatologist is just plain awful!  I'll take the gynecologist any day-- there's way more dignity in that.  At a skin check, you strip down to your delicates and stand in the middle of 4 to 8 people.  The doctor shines a super bright light on you and proceeds to look at every inch of your body.  Since I'm WAY more confident with my clothes on than I am with them off, I tend to get nervous during this part of the appointment.  My nerves, coupled with the super bright light, make me sweat.  And while I sweat, the doctor has his face about 6 inches from my skin.  At this moment I pray the deodorant does its job.  The only thing that would increase the humiliation would be if I forgot to wear underwear that day.  

So if you've never had a skin check, call and make your appointment today.  Seriously.  Call today! It's awful-- absolutely awful-- but it could save your life.  And wear a hat.  And sunscreen.  And whatever you do, stay out of tanning beds.  They look like coffins for a reason.  


I'll share some pictures to make this post a bit more interesting.  There is a really gross one so if blood makes you woozy, don't scroll down much farther.  Seriously.  

Here’s a shot of my pre-latest-cancer hairstyle.  The swoop bangs cover the scar from last year’s surgery.  I really liked this style.  The swoop is really hot right now.  

Here's a lovely picture of the hole they cut in my head nearly two weeks ago, making me not so much a fan of above hairstyle.  

Here’s my forehead.  I now joke that I have Frankenstein eyebrows way high up on my forehead.  I'll go big so you can get the full effect.  

And here’s a picture of my newest hairstyle.  It conveniently covers the scars on both sides of my forehead.  I told my stylist I wanted a built in visor.

So that’s what’s been happening ‘round here the last week or so.  That and gymnastics and baseball and piano and swimming lessons and church and school and laundry and speaking engagements and… 


Thanks for dropping by!

My First Ever Tutorial!

All of my favorite blogs have tutorials; and seeing that I desperately want I'm Really Not that Smart to be on my list of personal favorites, I figure I should have at least one.  Who doesn't love a good lesson every now and again, right?

I'm pretty awesome at eating chocolate covered donuts, I'm not gonna lie; but is this skill-o-mine blog worthy?  Probably not.  Gotta keep it interesting, you know?  Truthfully, I'm one of those, "Jack of all trades, master of none" kinda gals.  There's a lot I do, but nothing that I'm just awesome at (except the donuts, and I totally rock in that arena).  I had an Ahah! moment when I was eating breakfast and was reminded of my latest "act of learning."

On a recent road trip, I visited a great friend who gave me a sample of her spinach and fruit smoothie.  She blended it up the night before and it was ready and waiting bright and early the next morning.  I took her idea, built on it a bit, and wha-do-ya-know? I found a great way to eat a quick and healthy breakfast.  So, here it is, my first tutorial ever...

How to Make

The Easiest, Fastest, Okay Tasting 

Smoothie of ALL Time!

Prep Work:

Step 1:  Go to Sam's or Costco and buy all the frozen fruit you like.  I bought Pineapple, Blueberry and Strawberry.  Buy A TON of fresh bananas, spinach, and apples. Look for Flax seed and buy it if they have it.  I'll include a shopping list at the end of the tutorial.

Step 2:  Count your bananas.  Get out that many quart size freezer bags.  Each bag is going to have layers of smoothie ingredients.  It will take you about 20 minutes longer to make 15 smoothies than it will to make just 1, so make as many as you can (which is usually how many bananas you have).  

Step 3:  My smoothie bags make 2 smoothies per bag.  If you want yours to make just 1, then 1/2 the ingredients!!  I end up with 4 cups according to my blender dashes-- 2 cups for me and 2 for my husband (who is happy that for the first time ever I'm making him breakfast!).  

Put about 1/2 cup of each frozen fruit into each bag.  Add one cored, chopped apple and one sliced banana to each bag.  If using apple sauce, use 1/2 cup.  Add 2-4 tablespoons of Flax, and then a handful (a big handful) of fresh spinach leaves.  The picture above is about what I put into each bag.  

Step 4:  Seal bags, flatten, and freeze.  The hard part of smoothie making is done.  Whew!  

Making the Smoothie

Step 1:  Let the frozen bag thaw for about 20 minutes.  Put it into your blender with 1 cup of water and blend.  My blender works best if I mix it for about 20 seconds, then puree, and then liquify.

Step 2:  Pour and enjoy, or put it directly in the fridge (which I do, because I make mine the night before.  My blender is glass, so I don't even pour it into cups, but you could do that to save one more step in the morning).

If you like a sweeter smoothie, you could always use orange juice instead of water.  Protein or yogurt could be added as well (both of which can go in the zip-lock bag).  

Fast, easy, healthy, and mmm mmm good!

Sam's Shopping List:  

• Bananas and Apples (same amount- each smoothie needs one of each)
• Frozen Pineapples ($8.28 for 5lbs)
• Frozen Sliced Strawberries ($8.28 for 5lbs)
• Frozen Blueberries ($7.28 for 3lbs)
• Organic Spinach ($3.97 for huge clear tub)
• Organic Milled Flax Seed
• Quart size freezer bags  

I have a ton of frozen blackberries, so I add them in.  And my apples didn't come from Sam's.  I used the smaller, cheaper  apples that come in the bags.  Although it seems like a LOT of money, you can get a LOT of smoothies out of this amount of frozen fruit.  I'll try to figure out roughly how much each smoothie costs and get back with you, but I'm thinking it might add up to about $1.50-- if that.

Hope this post inspires you to both eat a healthy breakfast and add a tutorial to your own blog!