Welcome home Alan!

My brother is home from his Middle East deployment. You can watch the video below. I watched it many times over today. I only wish I could have been there waving him in. Thank you Alan for serving our country. We love you and miss you so much!

Carded

I've been "carded" by my Dad.

I'm to list five New Year gifts I would like for 2008:

1. To truly be excited about at least one thing every day.

2. Not take my family and friends for granted.

3. A new home that we love.

4. To grow closer to God.

5. To complain less.

Christmas

Merry Christmas! It's a little late, but we've been busy celebrating. Luke, Mia, and I headed up to Papa and Gramma Rachel's house last Friday (22nd). Alan, Elonda, and Ashton were there too. Ashton was anxiously awaiting for us to arrive so we could open presents. It was a such a wonderful visit.

We headed back home on Christmas Eve to get ready for our guests the next day. I made a mad dash to the grocery stores before they closed, and made it back home for the evening to relax with Luke and Mia.

Christmas day we opened presents, and around 2 p.m. Mark, Linda, Andy, and Kris came over. We had so much fun, opening presents, eating lots of food, and spending time together.

Here's some pictures of all the celebrating...

This is the calm before the storm...
soon after "Ashton the Tornado" was whipping
through presents and no one could stop him.

New cross country skis from Gramma and Papa

Look at this mess Mia!

Snake scarf. It's the new look for winter.

This is Alan's new look for winter.

"Why are you laughing? Do I have something on my lip?"

Mia wowed us and our company with some Christmas songs.

I made Endive and Frisee Salad with Oranges (Giada De Laurentis recipe). They were out of endive and frisee at the grocery store, so I substituted with a bag of Italian lettuce that had frisee in it and a European mix that had mache and other assortments of fancy lettuce. Also, no blood oranges at the store, so I used regular. It was still so yummy though. Here's the recipe, and it's so easy to make.

Here's the rest of the meal: Salmon with pesto cream sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, and roasted garlic; homemade pasta (thank you Luke) with a very light cream sauce, prosciutto, pine nuts, and fresh basil; roasted veg (zucchini, yellow squash, and fennel); and Italian bread. Everything was delicious.

And dessert: Honey Ricotta Cheesecake (Giada recipe). It was so yummy... creamy, sweet, and tasted like oranges and honey. Here's the recipe.

Kris, Andy, Linda, and Luke.
The boys (including Jason that's not pictured) surprised
Mark and Linda with new bikes for Christmas.

Mark and Linda

Andy, Kris, and I

Luke, trying on his new boxers.
I'm not sure why Kris and Andy aren't participating.

Watching a little celebrity jeopardy from SNL.

Christmas Competition

We had a Christmas decorating contest at work, and we (the graphic design department) won. Here are some pictures of our winning decor:

We made handmade stencils and sprayed fake snow
to create snowflakes and Christmas themed words.

Lots of silver, light pink and light teal, plus black
and white family photos gave our decor a nostalgic feel.

Bribes... I mean, treats, for the judges. We even
redesigned the Starbucks packaging to match our decor.

Hand-sewn stockings for each of us.

My desk

Christmas quiz

This quiz was on my friend's blog and I thought it would be fun to post it too.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Egg nog once or twice, hot chocolate the rest of the time.

2. Does "Santa" wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

Huh? This question doesn't make sense. What kind of person would just put the presents under the tree without wrapping them? Wrap, then put them under the tree.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

White lights

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

Yes

5. When do you put your decorations up?

Usually the weekend right after Thanksgiving. This year, we started a week after Thanksgiving, and then it took until the following weekend or so to finish. Next year, I'm definitely starting right after Thanksgiving. The Christmas season goes by too fast when you work full time.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?

My mom's bleu cheese ball.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:

Playing Christmas records... yes, records, not CDs, like Johnny Mathis, while we decorated for Christmas.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

December, 2nd grade, playground, Luke Dusek (my husband)... told me there was no such thing as Santa Claus. I told him he wasn't going to get any presents for Christmas.

Later that year, I think my mom gave me the scoop on Santa and the Easter Bunny. I had been suspecting neither were real.

9. Do you open presents on Christmas eve?

When I was younger, we did open one present on Christmas eve, which was fun. Now, I'm mean and make my family wait.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?

Fake tree, white lights, silver glitter snowflakes, silver garland, silver and gold bulbs, and antique looking ornaments, a few red bulbs, black & white photo ornaments of family, and "puffy" -our white, fluffy bird ornament that Mia adores.

11. Snow - love it or hate it?

LOVE IT! It isn't Christmas without snow. I hope we get some soon.

12. Can you ice skate?

Yes.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

There are so many. From my parents: my acoustic guitar, my Canon camera, my Crayola art set, me and my brother's walkie talkies... I could keep going. From my husband: a Chinese tea set, the first gift he gave me when we were dating.

14. What's the most exciting thing about the Holidays for you?

Being with family and enjoying Christmas together.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

Pizzelles

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Going to the Holidazzle Parade downtown with Luke and Mia and stopping at Starbucks for a treat.

17. What tops your tree?

A white metal snowflake.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?

Giving

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?

This year it's "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" -U2

20. Candy Canes?

Not so much anymore... I do enjoy the crushed candy canes on top of the Ho Ho Mint Mocha at Caribou and I did buy some dark chocolate dipped candy cane sticks this year that I totally forgot about. I think I'll go open up those right now...

"PC Christmas"

Remember this? Alec Baldwin's "Belated Season's Greetings" skit on Saturday Night Live? (Many years ago...)

I hope you don't find it offensive. I think it's funny, and a true reflection of our society today. Enjoy!

During the Christmas season, I received many Christmas cards. Unfortunately, because I was so busy, I didn't have time to send out any myself. So, if I could, I'd like to use this as my Christmas card to everyone who was kind enough to send one to me.

[ puts Santa hat on his head and begins ]

"Dear Friend, or Relative, or Business Associate. Merry Christmas, or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or Solstice, or Voodoo Day.

Boy, what a year it's been - me, with my acting, and, you doing whatever it is that you do. Thanks for the Christmas card, it was very beautiful, or humorous. I enjoyed the photo of your kid, or kids. Boy, he, or she, or they are really getting big. Have you seen our mutual friend, if we have one? Can you believe what he or she is up to? Boy, some people! Has your son, or daughter, or sister, or brother, or husband, or wife still have that drug problem? All you can do is trust in God, or, if you prefer, voodoo.

How is Granny, or Nana, or Mimi, or Yaya? So so? Hey, how about the professional sports team that we both root for? They should fire, or rehire that manager of theirs. He's a character!

Well, gotta go. By the way, sorry about throwing up on your carpet that time, or times. I hope you receive many presents from Santa, or Hanukkah Guy, or the Voodoo Man.. and that the coming year is as good as, or better than, or nothing like the last year.

Love, Alec.

Random picture time

A caprese salad I made back in September? Maybe? Who knows...

Caprese salad: fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, kosher salt and cracked black pepper.

Very cute picture of Luke and Mia.

Geisha Mia for Halloween.

So serious. So cute.

Thanksgiving dinner at my Mom and Dad's.

Luke being his normal self.

Mia and other "Little Leaders" performing at the girls' varsity basketball game. This was the only picture that didn't turn out blurry.

She did an awesome job!

My rant (Part 2)

So, what's the deal with trans fat? Why is partially hydrogenated oil bad for me? What is it?

I've been hearing a lot of questions and discussion lately regarding trans fat. It seems a lot of people know that trans fat is bad for them, but yet they continue to eat it every day. And there are others that know nothing about it. So, in trying to find explanations on the internet as to why trans fat is bad, for inquisitive friends of mine, I finally found a simple, understandable guide to trans fat. The following is from Leeann Chin's website, which you can download as a pdf:

How much trans fat is safe?

Answer: Zero

Trans Fat is a dangerous, artificial compound, much more harmful than saturated fat. There are two forms of Trans Fat – natural and artificial. The first form is found at very low levels in dairy and meats– and it’s not a health concern.

Trans Fat is One Molecule Away From Plastic

The artificial form is in hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. This form of Trans Fat is created by hydrogenation – bubbling hydrogen gas through heated oil. This distorts some of the molecules to the point where they are one molecule away from the molecular structure of plastic.

If you think it's just in McDonald's fries, read on: artificial Trans Fat is prevalent in everyday foods. It is in more than 40% of grocery store products, and in nearly every fast-food, quick-casual, and casual restaurant.

Trans Fat Hides in Most Restaurant and Packaged Foods

Many food preparers use it because it gives foods a longer shelf life and is cheaper than natural vegetable oil. Wondering about a Burger King chicken sandwich? Yup – it's in there. But how about a sandwich at Subway? Or a muffin at Starbucks? Yes, and oh yes.

Since all types of fat have 9 calories per gram, you might be skeptical that artificial Trans Fat could cause more weight gain than natural fat. But it does.

Trans Fat Causes More Weight Gain Than Normal Fats

Trans Fat molecules alter the membranes of cells, making them resistant to insulin. When you have resistance to insulin, you have weight gain and possibly obesity. Natural fat does not affect cells’ interaction with insulin.

Most people know that saturated fat can clog arteries and lead to heart disease. What most people don’t know is that Trans Fat not only clogs arteries in the same way as saturated fat, it also stiffens the membranes of blood vessels, reducing cardiovascular efficiency by approximately 30%.

Trans Fat Causes Heart Disease

In the ongoing Nurses' Health Study of 80,000 women, conducted by Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Massachusetts, for each 2 percent increase in the amount of calories from Trans Fat, a woman's coronary risk jumps by 93 percent. Ouch.

You don't hear much about cancer of the lymph glands – lymphoma – but you may soon be hearing more. Lymphoma rates are rising, and researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have found one possible culprit – high intakes of Trans Fat.

Trans Fat is Linked to Lymphoma

In a study of 88,410 women, those who ate about 5.7g/day of Trans Fat had twice the risk of developing lymphoma as those who ate about 2.4 g/day. “Cutting out Trans Fat may be one of the best ways to avoid lymphoma,” concluded researcher Shumin Zhang, MD.

Here’s the good news: you don’t have to abandon every food you love. You just have to insist on it being prepared differently. Chocolate chip cookies don’t need Trans Fat to taste wonderful.

Stand Up For Yourself! Ban Trans Fat From Your Food.

Simply insist on buying a brand without Trans Fat (try Newman’s Own instead of Chips Ahoy). If the label contains the words hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated, or shortening, don’t buy the product.

Trans Fat Hides Here (As of 2004)

Arby’s
Burger King
Chili’s
Cinnabon
Domino’s Pizza
Hardee’s
KFC
Krispy Kreme
Long John Silvers
Macaroni Grill
McDonald’s
Olive Garden
Outback
Panera
Red Lobster
Starbucks
Subway
Taco Bell
TGI Fridays
Wendy’s

Trans Fat Free (As of 2004)

Chin’s Asia Fresh
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Leeann Chin
Ruby Tuesday’s

How Much Trans Fat is Safe?

Answer: Zero

(I emailed Leeann Chin and asked them if they used High Fructose Corn Syrup in any of their food, and here is their response: Thank you for your inquiry, we do not use HFCS in any of our sauces. We use cane sugar as a sweetener. If you have any other ingredient questions please let me know. Jason Erickson Manager of Food Development 952-820-1234)

To be continued...

My rant (Part 1)

The more you read and learn about any controversial subject, the more you become fired up and want to tell the world about it. It starts to boil inside you, just waiting to burst open on the next unfornunate person that comes across your path. The more you educate yourself on the subject, the more you want to educate everyone around you. And you might even start to think everyone is stupid for not knowing what you know, or think people are stupid for not agreeing with you. This can't be healthy, so you need to accept that you were once one of those stupid, uneducated people, and that not everyone is as intelligent as you are and open to new ideas.

I'm only kidding, of course. I am boiling though, and I thought maybe it would healthly to spew it out on my blog, here for anyone to read, so they have the choice to read it or not. So, proceed at your own risk, or for your own health.

I just finished reading "Fat Land-How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World" by Greg Critser about a week ago, and I was so excited to blog about it, but couldn't find the time...until now. This book is a must read for every American. If you can't find the time to read the entire book at least read the first two chapters and the last two chapters.

The book reveals, well, exactly what the subtitle says, how Americans became the fattest people in the world. It explains in detail of how and where all of "this" started. It was definitely a wake up call for me, and would be for people who care less about thinking about what they put in their mouths.

This book isn't about bashing people for being fat. And it's not promoting Americans to become skinny. It is about the truths of the food industry, and it's about the effects food and laziness can have on our health. HEALTH! Not about losing weight, or the quick way out. I'm tired of people thinking there is some quick, magical thing that will help them lose weight. I'm tired of all those fad diets that are doing more harm than good. It's simple people! Eat natural foods, limit your portions, and move your butt...excercise! It's a way of life. And it's something that I even have to remind myself.

And it doesn't take much to be overweight or even obese. I will admit openly, that according to health standards, I am overweight. By calculating my Body Mass Index, I found out I'm overweight. If I only lost 5 pounds, this would put me in the normal weight range. I also figured out that if I gained 25 pounds, I would be considered obese. Not a huge range, is it? You can figure your BMI here.

I've gathered some quotes from "Fat Land" that I thought might (hopefully) persuade you into reading the book:

Invention of High Fructose Corn Syrup:

"But in 1971 food scientists in Japan found a way to economically produce a cheaper sweetener. They called it high-fructose corn syrup, or HFSC. It was six times sweeter than cane sugar and, as its name implied, it could be made from corn. That meant that the cost of producing any high-sugar product could be slashed. HFCS had other chemical attributes as well. Using it in frozen foods protected the product against freezer burn. Using it in long-shelf-life products--like those in vending machines--kept the product fresh-tasting. Using it in bakery products (even in rolls and biscuits that normally contained no sugar) made those products look "more natural"--as if they had just been browned in the oven."

Effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup:

"HFCS also had one attribute that posed a potentially troubling question to those in the food industry. Fructose, unlike sucrose or dextrose, took a decidedly different route into the human metabolism. Where the latter would go through a complex breakdown process before arriving in the human liver, the former, for some reason, bypassed that breakdown and arrived almost completely intact in the liver, whereupon the organ set upon it as it would anything else."

"Eventually, cell biologists figured out that fructose was being used in the liver as a building block of triglycerides. This it did by mimicking insulin's ability to cause the liver to release fatty acids into the bloodstream...Bombarded by fatty acids, muscle tissue develops insulin resistance."

""Long-term absorption of fructose," Mayes concluded, "causes enzyme adaptations that increase lipogenesis [fat formation] and VLDL [bad cholesterol] formation, leading to triglyceridemia [too many triglycerides in the blood], decreased glucose tolerance, and hyperinsulinemia [too much insulin in the blood.].""

Food industry's idea of building sales while making you eat more:

"We started talking about how we could build sales--how we could do it and be profitable...And we realized we could do one of three things. We could cut costs, but there's a limit to that. We could cut prices, but that too has its limits. Then we could raise sales profitably--sales, after all, could be limitless when you think about it. We realized we could do that by taking the high-profit drink and fry and then packaging it with the low-profit burger. We realized that if you could get them to buy three items for what they perceived as less, you could substantially drive up the number of walk-ins. Sales would follow." (Max Cooper, a Birmingham McDonald's franchisee talking about how to raise sales in 1975)

Do you really want that Soda?

"Soda is, ninety-nine out of a hundred times, nothing but high-fructose corn syrup and carbonated water, with a few flavoring agents thrown in for brand distinction. The researchers tracked 548 ethnically diverse Massachusetts schoolchildren (average age eleven) for nineteen months, looking at the association between their weight at the beginning of the study, intake of soda, and weight at the end of the study period. THe results were revealing. For one thing, 57 percent increased their intake over the nineteen-month period. The calories from just one extra soft drink a day gave a child a 60 percent greater chance of becoming obese. One could even link specific amounts of soda to specific amounts of weight gain. Each daily drink added .18 points to a child's BMI. This, the researchers noted, was regardless of what else they ate or how much they exercised. "consumption of sugar[HFCS]-sweetened drinks," they concluded, "is associated with obesity in children."

All this food is killing us:

"As a recent RAND/University of Chicago report noted, "more Americans are obese than smoke, use illegal drugs, or suffer from ailments unrelated to obesity.""

Obesity puts you at risk for:

"coronary heart disease, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, gall bladder disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis of the knee, and endometrial cancer."

Possible effects of diabetes besides the obvious of not being able to control sugar/insulin levels:

"foot problems...numbness in hands, arms, and legs...blurred vision, leading to double vision and eventually blindness...darkened skin...painful gallstones...hair sprouting from embarrassing places."

To be continued...

Ben Stein

I thought I'd share this commentary written by Ben Stein and was recited by him on the CBS Sunday Morning show on 12/18/05. You may have already see this through email, which is how I got it, but I researched it only to find half of it was actually written by him. (Don't believe everything you hear/read... and that includes the media, but that's a whole other story.) Anyway, here is the correct version, that Ben Stein wrote, from his website:

Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart:

I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is, either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?

I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

Hello to all

Wow... almost 2 months since my last post. That's just wrong. We have just been so busy I haven't had time to even say a quick "hello." But today, I got my wisdom teeth (all four) removed, so what a perfect time to say hello to all of you. All went well, and I've just been taking it easy in bed today. Luke has been wonderful, taking extra good care of me, and taking care of Mia. He's such a sweetheart. So hopefully, the next few days you'll hear some more from me, since I have the chance to sit back and relax!