tea party wrap up

Yes, my darling little Chloe is now on the eve of turning eight. She has been counting down to her baptism for a good year (possibly more but my memory just doesn't go back that far any more.) and had her heart set on a tea party. I tried my hardest, in a discrete manipulative mother way to persuade her to have a pioneer party, but she was set in her ways. (which is not normal as she is pretty indecisive and malleable but worked out for me this time as the tea party was so much easier!)

there were the cupcakes, which were super duper easy peasy. I even used store bought frosting. (audience: gasp!)

There were the ice cream balls that came as the result of a special request from the birthday girl. They would have been extra easy if it weren't for the first batch getting ruined because the freezer wasn't shut all the way. (we won't mention any names, but she sure was lucky that it was for her own stinking party!)

Beyond that, all of the food was store bought after a kitchen epiphany that reminded me that eight year olds don't care and that it just wasn't really worth it. The biggest hit? Hot cocoa with endless marshmallows and whip cream. (thanks, Shana!) We made some felted strawberries during the party and beaded some necklaces towards the end. All in all, a success. Why? I simplified. I spent less than $50 on the whole thing and didn't do anything for it until Thursday. And it went quite well (if I do say so myself), Chloe loved it and...it is over. Yeah! 1 down. 3 to go.

Oh. These were the favor boxes. (Thanks, Kylene for the inspiration.) They are made from cups and topped with these flower barrettes that we made from an old white t-shirt. The total for 10 boxes? $6 flat, $5 of which went towards candy to fill them. As if the price didn't make them cool enough, the flowers look like icing on little cupcakes and look absolutely gorgeous in hair. Muy bueno.

The bad news? Although I didn't succeed at convincing Chloe to have a pioneer party, Autumn was eavesdropping and now has her heart set on one. I think I should start sewing now. See how I make my life difficult?

LDS Humanitarian Services: Haiti Relief Widget

goals shmoals.

Out of the four not so lofty goals that I made for myself this year, I have been successful at one. Yikes. And it is the hardest of the four that I have actually been doing. Silly me. I figure I want to be successful at these goals by the end of the year, which gives me a lot of time to screw it up and get back on the straight and narrow again. The car is still filthy, I have definitely not been staying off the internet until school is done (thanks to working on my website and other, less important endeavors such as cough...ahem...facebook...clearing throat.) and I am only in chapter 12 of 1 Nephi. And I didn't even dare put weight oriented goals on there! I will pick myself up and get my rear in gear. Pinky promise.

On another note, birthday season has begun at the Kang abode. We have 5 birthdays from here until April. Plan A, which included combining 3 of the 5 into one big shindig, has been thrown to the wayside after realizing that it might lead to some bad birthday memories and many hours in therapy. Plan B includes 2 rather low key parties (when it comes to my time commitment, that is), one overly ambitious party that includes many hours at the sewing machine and a search for a barn and a combo party for the youngest two, who I am pretty sure won't give a darn. And then will come my day of rest. I am sure pictures will follow. or maybe not. (you know me better than that by now, right? You could see them if you are lucky or you might see them 5 months post-partym) Until then, I have a tea to put on this Saturday and invitations to get made for the next birthday in the line up. So goes the poor planning of a mother who did not have the foresight to have her children's birthdays spread out throughout the year. Next Kang baby? You will have June. June hasn't been taken yet. (wink. wink. that was just to see if Chris reads this. NO, I am not pregnant.)

Side note: I do not think it is a coincidence that most of my blogs are categorized under Kang Craziness. That's my life summed up in two words for you.

blah blah blog

Gee...I don't know what my deal is but I just haven't been feeling the blogging love lately. I am *making* myself blog right now. I'll get over it. Promise.

Check it out: Every time Chris has gone to the temple since his stroke, he gets some new movement back. (That night. Seriously, folks.) It is right up there with Jesus healing the blind miraculous, although it appears that there is some desire for Chris and I to form a habit of it. Last week he was able to straighten out his fingers (which is amazing!) and last night he was able to move his fingers together horizontally. Our new ritual? We now get out of the temple and figure out what new trick he has. Thank you, Heavenly Father. In short, physical therapy and spiritual therapy, all in one.

finally...

Well, I finally have my website up in a decent form. Change your bookmarks and I hope you enjoy!

quote of the day

Elise: Oreo pooped on the table! (a minute later) Oh. It's pie.

Ymmm....

a riddle of sorts

On Sunday, our church now starts at 11:30, which means that Lilly is absolutely exhausted by the time church ends three hours later. Add in a 30 minute choir practice and she has had it. While checking my e-mail after laying her down, I glanced at the clock and thought "Oh, I guess the power went out a mere 56 minutes ago." Fast forward to Tuesday night. The clock still hasn't been changed (probably because I've been trying to hammer out a website or something) and I look at the clock again. This time I think "Cool. Since I haven't changed the clock, it says it is only 11:54. Sweet." What time did I *really* finally roll into bed last night?

my sodium soapbox

If you have or know someone with high blood pressure, please pay close attention. Chris' stroke was said to be because of high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Before his stroke, he was told to lose weight to help his blood pressure. It didn't work. After his stroke, he was told to eat less than 1500 mg of sodium a day and lose weight. (But only in passing....their main solution was for him to pop a pill to solve all of his woes.) While Chris was in therapy, I was reading up on how to cook for this man with health problems common to a 60 year old. It kept coming back to sodium and saturated fat. At his first appt. after getting out of the hospital with a heart specialist, we asked the doctor if he thought his blood pressure could immediately be affected by food. He said that it could be, but continued to suggest us doubling Chris' meds to bring his bp from 140 to 130. Chris took on the challenge to lower his blood pressure through diet and refused the additional meds, but dedicating himself to eating low/no sodium.

•He eats around 100 mg of sodium a day

•His blood pressure hovers around 120/80

•He is completely off of bp meds

•Yes, he has lost weight. Still, if he eats too much sodium (more than 100 mg), his bp sky rockets.

•when you are on bp meds, they tell you to avoid eating too many potatoes or bananas since they naturally lower your blood pressure...and we'd hate to do THAT, now wouldn't we?

Why don't doctors focus on sodium in blood pressure patients? I don't know. Do you know how much sodium is in most of the food you eat? A freaking ton. His dining out options are sushi, mongolian grill or...a salad with nothing on it. At home, just about everything is made from scratch. And it has paid off.

On to cholesterol.

After Chris' stroke, we met with a doctor and pointed out the strict diet Chris was on (no more whole milk and butter, plus grassfed beef and lots of fish) and asked if it might be possible to eventually get off of cholesterol meds. Mind you, we brought this up and might not have heard the next bit of info if we hadn't. Replies the doctor: Yes. And it might be a good idea since cholesterol meds cause liver failure. YIKES. So Chris has been slowly getting of his cholesterol meds while testing his cholesterol regularly to make sure all is a.o.k. For the last year he has suffered MAJOR back pains. We attributed it to the way he compensated for his right side and he dealt with it. He would come home early from work and sit in bed (the only comfy position) until bedtime. It was horrible times ten. Ok...I'll cut to the chase. He's off his cholesterol meds and his back hasn't bothered him since. Yep. Who would have thunk? We were thinking more physical therapy would fix it. Nope.

The moral? In general (I am sure there are exceptions), look at your diet before looking to a magic pill. Yes, it is easier to pop a pill, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is best for you. Blood pressure is this great epidimic in the US, but if you go check out the nutritional info on most food in the grocery store, you would know why. We don't even bother eating chicken since it is injected with so much stinking saline. Are things a little blander at the Kang abode? Yep, but we have adjusted. When we splurge, you can hear everyone complaining about the saltiness. (They say it takes 3 weeks to adjust)

The end. My novel is complete. Eat less sodium. Amen.

better late than never

oh, dear sweet Anthropologie....I am sorry that it took me so long to visit. You see, normally when I pass you by, I have 6 girls on my arm. 4 of them would love you just as much as I do, but I am pretty sure the other 2 would rip you to shreds and then some.

I finally made it in your magical doors while my cool lil' sis was visiting and immediately fell in love. Yes, most of your wares were well about my price range. I have six little darlings and I am certain that I would get angry if they broke a $200 ____________. So I have a little rule about buying such things. But I can handle a few $4 mugs to help my peppermint tea look a little better. And your amazing measuring spoons? I don't think they can break those! All in all, a fabulous visit. Thanks for having us...and I will try to sneak over for a visit more often. I just have to find a babysitter so I can bring my regular babysitter with me. I am pretty sure she is going to fall head over heals in love with you. Now that is a crush I can handle!

oh, you poor neglected blog

Meet Oreo. He prefers yarn to dog toys, hasn't quite grasped the where and when of pooping and is always on the lookout for left overs. He is proving to be good therapy as Chris runs around the house with him and Chris swears that he has lowered his blood pressure.

How did this all come about? It all started with a fish. Yep. We went to the farm store in Forest Grove because the girls thought there needed to be a fish in Chris' stocking. There was sweet little Oreo, being the perfect small dog that I wanted in a nice little no-shedding package and being exactly what the girls wanted (a dog of any sorts) and kind of being what Chris wanted. (he did want A dog, but he was aiming for a chihuahua of a yippy, not child friendly sort) Since I didn't really want a dog at all, I kind of got to call the shots on breed. Sounds fair, right?

It worked out quite perfectly as the kids had been debating on what they wanted to do for Halmoni and Halapoji's present and here we are, 2 weeks later, being full fledged dog owners. Yikes.