I Cheated on my ALLI

Well, I have been dieting, like most people, since the first of the year. I took up running again and have been watching what I eat. I am down about 12 pound so far...not bad for 3 weeks.

A few days ago, I started an over the counter, FDA approved aid called ALLI, that is supposed to help you lose 50% more fat than dieting alone. I carefully read all the little books they provided, and the possible side effects and their unpleasantries. How lucky I felt to not have any negative experiences...

...until today that is.

I think the reason I did not have any problems with ALLI is because I was eating really healthy: whole grains, fruits, veggies, fish,etc. Last night however, we picked up take-out....Fried Chicken and potatoe salad. It was oh-so good!

Apparently my stomach betrayed me, and told my ALLI that I cheated and today I am in trouble. ALLI has become my enemy! It is right up there with the stomach flu. All I want to say is, make sure you do NOT eat more than 7 grams of fat in one sitting.

More Company on the Way

In two weeks we will be hosting our friends Barb (Baer) & Kyra Johnson from the Detroit area. Also, we just learned that their nephew/cousin Philip may be joining them from Ohio as well. On their last night of staying Austin Huber has made plans to join us too!

I always did want a BIG family, so I guess I just have to borrow other people's kids for a week at a time! We can't wait to meet Philip and spend some time with Austin, Barb & Kyra whom we've known for about 18 years. The group plans to spend a full week of fellowship and skiing at Copper Mtn. and we can hardly wait! FUN!!!!!

Coming Along

Today was Whitley's first day back to her old, neighborhood school. She was received warmly and is happy to be back. She felt a little lost jumping into some of the classes midstream, but hopefully will adjust soon.

Tonight, I thought I would snap a picture of her working on her science project. This evening she completed her otline and penned 4 paragraphs to her first draft. She has one little section left to finish on her display board, and her paper to finish. I hope she does well!

Our weekend thus far....

Last night we went clothes shopping for our growing Whitley, who needed some more street clothes, now that she will no longer be going to a charter school. We did okay but did not find as many pieces as I hoped for; she is VERY particular. Her most fave purchase was a pair of .....SKINNY JEANS!! We told her that for the price they should be called 24/7 jeans, because they may be the only pair we can afford for her to wear all week!!!

Today we spent over 7 hours working intently on her Science Project and display. Whitley had incredible focus today! The only thing she has left is her report to write. She plans to do that tomorrow, but she still has 2 weeks to complete it, so no pressure there.

Tomorrow, I think she wants to get her hair highlighted and try the mall scene again. We also need to go to Walgreens to get our passport pictures taken. Other than that, I was assigned 670 Math problems on Wednesday that are due Monday and I'm not even to the halfway mark yet.

Hope your weekend is great!

CONQUEST

con*quest (kon'kwest) n.

The 1.) Act or process of conquering

2.) One that has captivated or overcome

3.) A person whose affections have been won

The new year has presented many challenges and changes for everyone in the Samuels family. There have been many questions that needed answering and and many situations that needed revision. In a way, we have been on a conquest, and as a result, we have conquered!!!!

This past week, we have moved Whitley back to her neighborhood school. This takes my communting down from about 450 miles a week to only 45 miles. We also have the option of bus service now, and in the years ahead. Whitley is really excited to see her old friends more often, but understands that many will go different ways for Middle School next year. It is a chance she is willing to take.

I have cut down on my schedule and will be graduating next Spring instead of next Christmas, w/out losing my scholarship.

John has agreed to pick up Whitley when she needs to stay over for after-school activities and cook a few nights a week. We have also agreed to rent a place during my 21 months of clinicals so that we do not have to move from our main house in the near future.

Closing on a high note, we have booked a 10 day vacation and cruise that we will embark upon when school is out. Passports are applied for, our room is booked and now we just need to work on scheduling our excursions! Now that's more like it!

And one more thing...the name of the ship we are sailing on, which is pictured above, is you guessed.....

The Carnival Conquest!!!

Facials and Perfume

It was a nice long weekend.

Friday, we went to the mall and John was on a quest for a bottle of perfume for Jamie. The scent qualifications were: it has to be mysterious, has to take him away, can't go sour, not over-bearing and doesn't scream a particular fragrance, like roses or spice. After nearly 4 hours of being swabbed with scents, cleansing our noses into coffee beans we found a cologne....Christian Dior's "J'dore". We even found one for Whit, but she is not getting it until Valentine's day. It is by Haraku, called "Love".

Instead of hanging out with us, Whitley received her first facial from a lady at the Estee' Lauder counter. She has come a long way from her first experience at the age of two with make-up. (see picture).

Saturday, our mouths had their first encounter with Indian food. Our friends Grant & Christi gave us the nudge with an agreeable meal of Tandoori Chicken and rice, Chuteny, Naan, and Pompadouns. Chardonnay wine accented the palette of spices and it was very good indeed! Whitley also enjoyed a sleepover at Izzy's.

Sunday, Izzy stayed at our house and the playdate continued well into the day. It was such a beautiful, warm day and hour by hour we peeled another layer of clothing off until we were down to short sleeves and jeans. I took the girls to a great sledding hilll (north-facing) and the moisture made for slick conditions and great snowman building. I finished the day, by heading to the gym at 7pm for an evening run!

Yes, a facial and perfume, never hurt a girl's long weekend!

Heart, Teeth & Heatstroke

I know it's a silly title but it quickly covers the latest happenings here in the Rocky Mountains.

HEART: Whitley was checked out by Children's Hospital of Denver and was given a clean bill of health. Everything is A-OK and she can proceed with the meds! Thank the Lord!

TEETH: Whitley's sceince experiment proved several things: 1) Never suck on lemons; the lemon juice (acid) was highly corrosive to the teeth compared to sugar. 2) Mouthwash only freshens breath; it is not a subsitute for brushing and the teeth rotted! 3) Flouride toothpaste was the best all around. Because the enamel was spared, the tooth was whiter, healthier and cavity free! 3) Stay away from tartar control toothpaste; results may prevent tartar, but the rest of the tooth decayed and rotted anyway 4) Baking soda didn't do a bad job, but there were still many "spots" (starts of cavities), so this applies to the "natural/organic" toothpastes.

The bottom line is, everyday your teeth and bones break down and repair themselves, leaving microscopic holes. Left unbrushed, malnourished and uncared for the breaking down process would exceed osteogenesis, or bone building. The neat thing about fluoride is is contians PO 34 which is phosphorous. It bonds easily to teeth and fills in those microscopic holes that would otherwise lead to cavities. Always, look for fluoride toothpaste. However, too much of a good thing can be just as harmful. Check to make sure that fluoride levels are adequate, neither too high or too low if you have a natural well for drinking water. Happy Brushing!!!!

HEATSTROKE: Here in Colorado, we are experiencing a heat wave! it is supposed to be close to 70 by Tuesday!!! I know that seems hard to believe because many of you in the Midwest have been in subzero temps. for most of the week. How us Coloradans wished we were getting that cold as that is what is needed to kill the Lodgepole Pine Beetle that is said to have destroyed another 400,000 acres of our forests in 2008!!! Research shows that for nature to kill the beetle, we need -30 to -50 degrees weather sustained for 3-5 days, while the beetle is in the pupa or larva stage.

Back to you in the Midwest: Fear not, Winter Solstice is over, which means our days are now getting longer and summer will be here before we know it. Only 17 weeks of school left in the year!!! If we are lucky enough, we can squeeze a trip to somewhere warm and welcome summer a little sooner. Before you know it, summer will once again return! Think warm!!!!

Here are some things to keep in mind about HEATSTROKE (also known as hyperthermia):

A heat stroke is when the body's internal temperature exceeds 106 degrees. The body has tried to sweat profusely to cool itself; this is why being hydrated is so important. Dehydration means there is no water left to sweat, and therefore, this natural evaporative cooler begins to break down, causing other organs to shut down to conserve energy. No organs, no heart, no life!!!

Heat Strokes are preceeded by heat exhaustion which includes the following: nausea, vomiting, fatigue, headache, weakness, muscle cramps and dizziness. The next symptoms give warning that the body is in dire straights: high body temp., loss of sweating, confusion, disorientated, agitation, hallucinations, rapid pulse, difficulty breathing and last, seizures and coma.

Infants, small children and the elderly are most susceptible to these dangers as their body processes and protein synthesis work more slowly and are not able to rapidly correct situations that throw the body out of homeostasis. These age groups, coupled by their inability to care for themselves also explains how easily it is to get behind on life-saving fluids.

We hope today's blog on the heart, teeth and heatstroke were helpful!!!

Another Medical Prayer for Whtiley is Needed

Real quick.... I'll fill you in.

Whitley recently had an EKG before starting some medication. At first the regular pediatrician, (whom is brand new to us as our ped. since birth has recently retired) was a little uncertain about the EKG. She agreed to start the med. on the lowest dose and said she'd like to send the EKG to a cardiologist. The night before last, the new Pediatrician calls and said the cardiologist noticed some right atrial branching and to stop the meds. immediately! This is all we know at this time as they passed the EKG on to Children's Hospital here in Denver. For now, no meds and be patient as we wait to hear from them. They feel she is okay so long as the meds. are stopped, until they can figure out what is going on.

We are very thankful to have such good care and are hopeful for a good outcome! As always, we pray for healing if it God's will. Irregardless, we pray for acceptance, whatever the outcome may be. We thank you in advance for your prayers.

Fairy Tales Do Come True

The Disney World castle lit up for Christmas at night.

The icing on the cake: Beautiful fireworks implode in the background!

You may have heard us speak of our friends, Karen and Norm, whom we met on our cruise several years ago. If you were really lucky, you may have also seen two of the beautiful videos they have put together for us: One from the cruise and another from all the cathedrals in Europe.

Recently, Karen sent me the photos above, from their recent travels to Florida. (They have a daughter there who is studying to be a nurse anesthetist.) As you can see, the photos are really spectacular.....and trust me, it wasn't just a "lucky" shot. These two have been developing a video production company over the last several years. Norm is a computer guru and Karen recently "retired" from working at a school. The business became sort of a hobby turned moonlighting business.

I'm recently told that they purchased new gadgets and hardware for Christmas, including video in high definition! Anyway, I really wanted to share these two photos with you and I asked them if it was okay to share a little bit about them on my blog, to which they agreed.

So, if you are in the Detroit area, and you are in need of a photographer or videographers these are the people to see. The couple are fun, talented and people of integrity and I think you will love their work!!! If you would like a contact for them, please let me know and I'll be happy to connect you to them!

Amish Heritage Figurines

About 2 years ago, I started this collection while rummaging through all the for sale items on E-bay. I instantly fell in love with each unique quilt square, the adorable children's faces and the mixed media. These adorable figurines were crafted by a lady named Anne Dezendorf in early 1990's. Most items go for $30-75, but some of the rarer, larger pieces are over $1,000!!! Needless to say, I do not own any in the latter price range!

The top piece photographed up above is entitled Jacob & Toby

This figurine feature an older sister teaching the younger how to ice skate. To physically view the piece, one can see the blade of the skates and the scoring of the ice. All parts are done in resin, except the scarves are knitted with yarn; that is the mixed media portion I love!

This is called "Winter Fun" - Martha & Lizzie

To date I have collected 10 pieces, two if which are Whitley's as she payed for them with her own money. Like mother, like daughter!

Double Shootout With a Doxie!

Saturday night card playing at the Samuels can be a challenge. Look out for "Goosebumps", the Dacshund, and her sly right handed game!

Goosebumps lays down her hand. She's a "WEINER"!!!!!

Science Experiment

Whitley's Science journal filled with research and observations

Abstracted teeth specimens line the counters in various cups. One row is filled with lemon juice (an acid) and the other pop (sugar).

HELP!!!! My kitchen has turned into a science lab. For over a week now, abstracted teeth have lined my counter in little cups; EEEeeewwww!!!

Daily, my little scientist dons safety glasses and rubber gloves and scours each labeled tooth with a particular cleaner ranging from fluoridated toothpaste to baking soda. Two teeth serve as controls and are washed with water only. The goal is to see which type of toothpaste works best on acids or sugars.

In our research however, we predicted some problems that may obscure our data. For example, the teeth come from various donors at an oral surgeon's office and each of those donors may have varying degrees of healthy enamel on their teeth. As a result, some teeth may hold up better in certain conditions than others. We tried to atleast match the same donor one per acid and sugar to alleviate some of the variables.

Another problem is that my kitchen is going to be a mess for almost a month and requires extra sanitizing after each and every brushing. I have thought intensely about what led up to this experiment and about how to ensure this never happens again. My solution????

Never EVER buy your child the Playdough DR. DRILL N FILL unless they have promised to go to dental school!!!!!

I'll close with one last informative message: Brush daily and floss only the ones you want to keep!

New Year's Resolution

This blog entry is alot like the days follwing Christmas. Merchants deeply discount their wares and offer as much as 75% off. Not to be outdone, I am calling this blog entry my 2 for 1 special as I'm about to post another fabuous read and share my New Year's resolution with you. In reality, the two go hand in hand, thus the 2 for 1 deal.

The book I am suggesting is called: THE SHACK -Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity, by Wm. Paul Young. (sorry, picture would not upload)

The story is about a man named Mackenzie Allen Phillips. His youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently form God, inviting him back to the shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgement he arrives back at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change his world forever.


The book is profound and has caused me consider a new perception in the way I view God. It has caused some wrestling and unrest as I had to admit to myself that I really did not fully trust God with my life, or I would not be so controlling and fearful with my life and those who I love. As I type, I am still evaluating, but one thing I know is that this year, I resolve to trust God more with my life. Of course there is always a few pounds I could shed, and to get good grades, but allowing myself to trust God more is the clencher.

If you should pick up this book, I hope you will be blessed by it as well! Happy New Year & Welcome 2009!

Hittin the Slopes!

Okay, I finally got up the courage to go skiing with my family. 17 winters have come and went and I decided it was time to give up my title, "Lodgegirl". I will admit, I kept of couple of good reads in the car just in case I chickened out.

John is a beautiful skiier and really good instructor because I feel that I did really well, thanks to his coaching and patience.

Whitley's Norwegian genes are definately expressed the most when she is on the slopes. Today was her first time to ski on her new snowboard. It is a difficult sport, but she did extremely well and had a lot of fun!



This is my cousin Karen and her husband Scott. They are visiting from the "Show-me-State" and so we decided to show them a fun day on the slopes. Scott is originally from Montana and has skiied before so he did really well. Karen, was determined to get it and by her second day, she did GREAT! They have two girls, Paige & Payton, who also skiied. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of them as they were in ski school all day and my camera froze up at the end of the day.

This is Whitley coming down on her new Burton Snowboard. I never could skateboard, much less come down the side of a mountain on a banana peel, so I am impressed!

There is a little story behind this picture. You see while John was teaching me to ski, he was also chomping into Whitley's first day of snowboarding. She had asked him several times, "Dad, when are you going to take me on the lift?"

Unfortunately, her Mother was not a quick learner, so Whitley took it upon herself to go on her own. All the sudden we looked up and her she is going up the chair lift! If you will notice, snowboarders go up with one foot out of the board and then have to pop it in as they get off the lift! (scary) Anyway, we gasp as we see her and say, no yell, "Whitley!!! Why are you going up there alone????"

She just smiles, gives us two thumbs up and says, "Chill out; it's my second time and I did great!"