pass the butter

my mom sent this to me ... i LOVE butter. and here are more reasons why you should too!

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"This is interesting"

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Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back. It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavorings.

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DO YOU KNOW.. The difference between margarine and butter?

• Both have the same amount of calories.
• Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams.
• Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.
• Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.
• Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few ... Only because they are added!
• Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.
• Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

And now, for Margarine...

• Very high in Trans fatty acids.
• Triple risk of coronary heart disease.
• Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)
• Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold.
• Lowers quality of breast milk.
• Decreases immune response.
• Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact.... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!

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Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC.. This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

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You can try this yourself: Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things: * no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something) * it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

sneak peek

here is a sneak peak of one of my new designs that will (someday) be available at http://www.jocole.net/. i love it!! it's comfortable (not too tight and not too loose) and extra long (as all jocole shirts are) and long sleeved. oh how i love me some long sleeves when it's cold outside. i can't wait to play with this pattern and make some more changes!! overall, i'm really pleased with how it turned out. it will be perfect starting point to change the neckline into anything, and change the sleeves. a perfect basic pattern. i LOVE it. here is betty modeling it ... i haven't been able to teach aidan to take pictures ... YET ... so none of me!

i took one of my own patterns, converted it into a pdf and uploaded it onto burdastyle.com just to see how it would turn out back in january. i love the idea of offering some of my own patterns on my website, so stay tuned. i'll be working on some more, i'm sure. but for now, check out the square bottom bag, currently available for download over at burdastyle.com

happy birthday mom!!

it was my mom's birthday last week, and i had to wait until i gave her present to her to blog about it (ya know, since she reads my blog). here it all is, i hope she's happy with it. i told her i was making her tyvek stuff, but didn't tell her what. and the pattern was a surprise as well. enjoy mom! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

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scripture covers, one for her bible and one for her triple combination.

a new coin pouch and wallet

the coin pouch features a zipper change pocket in the back ... oooooo fancy!!

a new makeup bag with matching mirror (she's been needing one of these, her old one was one of the first ones i ever made ... the design was hand drawn on with permanent markers and it wasn't lined) this was her one request. all the others were surprises.

babylock price

ok, i finally found a website with a price for my new babylock, although its in pounds not dollars.
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http://www.sewingmachinesdirect.co.uk/baby_imagine_info.htm
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according to dollars2pounds 649 pounds is equal to $1,276.71 ... but i'm still not selling it. oh how i LOVE it.

recipe wednesday - brownies

brownies
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ingredients:
2 cubes butter (softened)
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 large eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup walnuts (optional)
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directions:
cream butter, sugar and cocoa in a medium bowl. in a small bowl, beat eggs, add flour and blend mixture. add the eggs mixture to the butter mixture and blend. stir in walnuts, pour into a greased 9x12 baking pan, bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

aidan loves dora

dora is my parent's dog. she's a german shepherd-labrador retriever mix. and she's perfect, she's mild mannered, almost never barks and in all the years of being around kids has never lost her temper while the kids poked and pulled on her.

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aidan LOVES her. he doesn't say very many people's names, but he says dora (well, his version of the name dora). he follows her around my parent's house trying to hug her and kiss her.

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yesterday while we were at my parent's house he was playing with his uncle tj and lost his balance and he accidentally gave dora a prostate exam (yup, stuck his finger up her ...) EWWWWWW!!!!!

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needless to say neither dora nor aidan were very happy about this. dora headed for the back door and aidan cried. robby quickly snatched up aidan and washed his hand like 20 times.

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later on when aidan needed a diaper change i asked robby if he would do it, and he responded "i already changed his finger today!" HAHA!! needless to say i changed his diaper, i figured rob had earned it.

aidan loves mashed potatoes

we were eating mashed potatoes (and roast and carrots) at my parent's house the other day, and we let aidan feed himself. he was LOVING the mashed potatoes ... and found a better way to get them to his mouth than the spoon that 'ama gave him.

after dinner, and he was all cleaned up, he decided that he wanted to cuddle with great-grandma hendrickson and see what she was doing. it was really sweet.

aidan loves playing in the blinds

aidan loves to climb on our window seat and play in the blinds. the other day he climbed up there and slid between the window and the blinds. i sternly asked him to stop and get down. he froze and acted like if he stayed still i couldn't see him. it was the cutest thing ever, so i grabbed the camera and snapped some pictures. then i pulled him out.

aidan's hair cut

on monday, june 16th, i was at my mom's house and we were talking about how aidan needs a haircut. and i said i've been planning on it, but just haven't had the time. next thing i know amanda is holding him and my mom has sissors in her hands and i run to get my camera. all his curls are now gone!! here it is all short ... no more curls. he looks so much older!!here he is with my mom ('ama) ... while she was cuddling with him after he bashed his eye on saturday. this is one of my last pictures of his curls.here is the best picture i could get of his black eye. poor little guy!!

aidan loves to splash (part 2)

(i don't know when i originally wrote this post, but it was FOREVER ago. this video was done on november 2, 2007) aidan has finally decided that he likes bathtime. he used to hate it, but instead he's discovered the wonders of splashing. i think he's outgrown his baby bath, and much prefers the big boy bathtub -- i don't have any videos of him in the big tub, but it's just as funny! (well i found a video of him in his big tub, but it was sort of indecent and i figure you've seen enough of my son or one day!! but splashing is still very much a part of bathtime.)

aidan loves to splash

yesterday instead of going to the park we decided to go to victoria gardens and play in the water fountain. aidan was LOVING it and was much braver than i would have thought. he was being really cute, he would play then turn around and wave at me, then play, then turn around and wave at me. he had a blast running around and getting soaked.

oh, and on sunday (06/08) my mom discovered that aidan was getting more teeth. she noticed something white peeking through his gums on his upper right side. so we did some more investigating and discovered that he's working on getting 4 teeth. so far, only 1 has broken through, but the other three and really close. poor little guy!

MY new toy

look at what my husband let me buy ... it's a babylock imagine ... which features air-jet technology ... meaning it basically threads itself (which if you've ever used a serger know what a hassle threading is!!) i haven't had a chance to REALLY play with it (and i've had it since the sturday before mother's day!!) i need to go cut some fabric and make me some shirts. maybe i'll have some free time next week.

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i got a GREAT deal on it ... $400. now that might seem like a LOT to you, but they retail for somewhere around $2,300 and the buy-it-now price for used ones on e-bay were $1,200. (i tried getting some links, but there weren't any on e-bay right now, and all the sewing supply places said "call for pricing") sheesh!! robby said i should sell it and get the profit ... but i want to use this baby!! now i can start pumping our some sample designs for jocole. HUZZAH!!

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i'll show ya some new designs when i have a chance to sit down a play!!

aidan loves to play (part 2)

(more older pictures) aidan also likes playing with the rest of his toys. especially right after i've cleaned them all up ... it's much more fun to throw them out of the container on the floor!!! it's also fun to throw all the toys out of the container, and then climb into the container!

aidan's been laying down whenever i take his picture lately ... i think it's adorable!

aidan loves the piano

aidan loves to play the piano!!! he's figured out how to open the lid and climb up on the bench and tickle those ivory keys to his hearts content. at least when he's playing i know where he is, and not trying to get into trouble. he also thinks it's fun to play the piano while at church ... ya know while someone is up front giving the lesson. i have to watch him, because he used to not know how to lift the lid ... but that doesn't stop him anymore. trying to pay attention in class is a joke, so we usually end up going to nursrey and i hang with wendy! 11 more weeks until i can officially just drop him off there! (not like i'm counting down or anything!)

introducing elliott faine

my good friend rachel (ya know, the chick who cut my hair!!) had her baby girl today.

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elliott faine arrived at 3:19 p.m. and weighed in at 8 pounds 2 ounces. we're so glad that she's here! and rachel did it all without an epidural (not by choice!) ... you go girl!! i just know elliott and our #2 are gonna be buds. oh ... and we're setting up elliott and aidan, how many cows do you think she's worth??

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seriously, these pictures do not do elliott any justice. she is sooooooo beautiful!!!

(sorry no pictures of rachel, she wouldn't let me ... which is understandable, but she looked great too!!)

aidan loves to play

(more older pictures) aidan loves to play with this wooden bead roller coaster from his great-grandma.

my sister's keeper, by jodi picoult

i just finished reading "my sister's keeper" by jodi picoult. it was the book chosen for our book club last month (yes, i realize i'm a slacker and i should have finished it a month ago!!). i really liked it actually and would recommend it to anyone interested in reading.

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here is the synopsis from the back of the book: "anna is not sick, but she might as well be. by age thriteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. the product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for kate - a life and a rold that she has never challenged ... until now. like most teenagers, anna is beginning to question who she truly is. but unlike more teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. a provocative novel that raises some important ethical issues, "my sister's keeper" is the story of one family's struggle for survival at all human costs and a stunning moral parable for all time"

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it does say the f-word more times that i would have wished, and there is a lesbian character, and i HATED how the book ended (although, now that i think about it, i cannot think any other ending would have been better). having said all that, i would read it again, and i thoroughly enjoyed it (c'mon i read it all in 2 days!!)