On outings, updates, and pasta

I wasn't able to post this past week due to sickness in our home, but we're definitely on the mend now, all feeling much better. Here's a quick update on some of the things we've done:
We did have a nice weekend trip to Park City, which we enjoyed, as well as a little outing to Vivian Park- the weather was beautiful. I will include some pictures from that. We also enjoyed having my brother Tayler come visit us two weeks ago for the weekend. I have continued to work two afternoons a week seeing patients at the county clinic. Work has gotten steadily better for me as I receive more training, get more experience, and become more comfortable doing it all in Spanish. I really like the people I work with, which is an added bonus. Gabriel has become interested in playing in his baby gym, wanting to sit up ALL the time (with help), smiling and laughing (especially if you laugh at him), playing pat-a-cake, and sucking on his fingers all the time. He is NOT interested in laying on his tummy to play, drinking from a bottle (although we are working on this one, and hopefully he will take it a little bit easier for his wonderful sitters!), or sleeping through the night. :( BJ has been busy as usual at work, but he takes time to help cook, take out the garbage, and do other chores around the house to help me out- he is also awesome at getting Gabe to fall asleep at night and calming him when he is upset.



I meant to make a post this week from the Holidays for Everyday site (which is now one of the links included on my blog- scroll down on the right side). It is National Pasta Month. So, in honor of that, I am going to post one of my very favorite pasta recipes, that I never make because BJ makes it sooooooooo good- why would I want to change such a great thing? Anyway, he made it for me for the first time on Valentine's Day a few years ago, and several times since (and he just bought the ingredients to make it again this weekend- Yes!). It is from a Gooseberry Patch "Meals in Minutes" cookbook that we love. It is tasty as well as pretty to look at once it is made. Here it is!

Chicken Primavera

1. 1 onion, chopped
2. 1 c. sliced mushrooms
3. 1 green pepper, chopped
4. 2 Tbsp. butter
5. 1 to 2 c. Italian salad dressing, divided
6. 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
7. 1 tomato, chopped
8. 16 oz. pkg. angel hair pasta, cooked

Instructions:
Saute onion, mushrooms and green pepper in butter with 2 tablespoons dressing until vegetables are tender; reduce heat. Add chicken and tomato; heat until thoroughly warmed. Add to pasta and stir in remaining dressing (to taste). Serve warm. Serves 4-6.

YUM!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Many of you know that I am a nurse, and that I work in a clinic where I do- among other things- breast cancer screenings and education. Consequently, this is something that I have come to feel strongly about. Since I care about you all, please read this and try to make changes in your life if you are not doing all you can to prevent or detect breast cancer early.

Breast Cancer is a frightening disease. Most women fear that they or someone they love will get it. Our fears may or may not be well- founded, but they are made worse when we hear things like:
Every 2 minutes, there is a new breast cancer diagnosis.
Every 14 minutes, a life is lost to the disease.
Over 40,000 people will die this year; about 400 of them will be men.
85% of all diagnoses have no family history.
1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women between ages 40 and 55.
(source: http://www.breastcancerawareness.com/facts.php )

Please read a few things that I have listed that can help you lower some risk factors for breast cancer:
Exercise and make healthy food choices.
Limit alcohol intake.
Know your family history. Talk to your doctor if breast cancer is in your family. This may affect the recommendations your doctor has for you. (Source: http://www.cdc.gov/)

In addition, set aside a few minutes each month to do a breast self- exam. Women, if you are at least 20 years old, you should be doing this (as well as getting an exam at the doctor’s office once a year)! I know you may feel uncomfortable, or it may be difficult to remember, but do whatever you have to do to remind yourself! Put a note or sticker somewhere you will see it, or choose to do it on your birthday- date each month. If you are at least 40 years old, you need a mammogram every 1-2 years (ever year after age 50). Men, please encourage the women in your lives to do this- it may save their life, because almost 70 % of all breast cancers are found when women do their self- exams. When breast cancers are detected early, women have an excellent chance of survival- the 5- year survival rate is 96%. If you find a lump, call your doctor ASAP, but know that 8 out of 10 lumps are non- cancerous. If you need a reminder on how to do a self- exam, check out this link that has step- by- step instructions: http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/About-Breast-Cancer/What-Is-Breast-Cancer/Breast-Self-Exam.aspx

A great resource for people who need a little extra reminder is this Early detection plan you can sign up for- for free- and it will send you email or text message reminders.
http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/edp/

There are programs that offer free or low cost mammograms to women over 40 each year if you meet certain income requirements. The clinic I work at is one of these programs, and there are programs like this all over the U.S. You can check out the CDC’s website to find out if you qualify.

Well, we need to say "Happy Birthday" to Charles (a bit late tho' we are) and wish him the best of years! Hope you had a fun time celebrating!

This picture was taken just a few days ago, and my first thought was that BJ and Charles look almost like brothers, right down to their semi- matching outfits! Haha.

We also need to post an update of Gabe's cuteness! So here are the most recent pics:

October is SIDS Awareness Month

Not the typical light and cheery post... yet I think the subject is very important. Most people have heard about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, but while there is a lot of fear out there, maybe not enough is known or understood about it. Here are two important points about SIDS:

• SIDS claims the lives of almost 2,500 infants in the US each year (nearly 7 babies every day).
• Twenty percent of SIDS deaths occur in a day care setting, emphasizing the need for safe sleep practices to be universally understood and practiced.

However, there are some things you can do to help prevent SIDS in your infant under the age of 12 months. Here are some points that I think are key:

DON’T:
• Let your baby sleep on soft, loosely filled surfaces (including comforters, pillows, water beds, couches, adult beds, etc.) because these can interfere with breathing.
• Allow hanging crib toys or thin plastic wrapping materials within your baby’s reach.
• Allow your baby’s head to become covered during sleep.
• Smoke during pregnancy or around infants.
• Dress babies too warmly- this may cause them to overheat. They can sleep comfortably in light clothing.

DO:
• Always place your infant on his or her back to sleep.
• Place infants in their own sleeping environment to sleep: a firm crib mattress covered by a sheet is the recommended sleeping surface.
• Keep all soft objects and loose bedding out of the crib.
• Consider offering your infant a pacifier after breast feeding has been established.

Some good news: Since the “Back to Sleep” Campaign began in 1994, the SIDS rate in the United States has declined by more than 50 percent. So these tips are definitely worth following!

Sources: http://nisa-sids.org/view/581/23192/Risk-Reduction.html
https://kr.ihc.com/ext/Dcmnt?ncid=51062836

Holidays For Everyday... a blogging mini- series! Part 2

See previous post for background on "Holidays for Everyday" and a great website resource. I'm on a roll with food; here is a recipe in celebration of "National Cookie Month"!

Last week my sister Marissa came to my house and brought with her some cookie dough she had made. We baked the dough, and I enjoyed the best home-made cookies I have had in a long time! I asked her for the recipe, and she said that she just used the recipe from the JIF peanut butter canister. Here is the awesome recipe:

Irresistable JIF Peanut Butter Cookies
¾ cup Creamy PB
½ cup Crisco All- vegetable shortening
1- ¼ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 TBSP milk
1 TBSP vanilla
1 egg
1- ¾ cups All- purpose flour
¾ tsp salt
¾ tsp baking soda

1. Heat oven to 375*F. Place sheets of foil on countertop for cooling cookies.
2. Combine PB, Crisco, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at med. speed with mixer until well- blended. Add egg and beat just until blended.
3. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Flatten slightly in crisscross pattern with tines of fork.
4. Bake at 375*F for 7-8 min. or until set and just beginning to brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet then move to foil to cool completely.

Marissa actually used crunchy PB, and although I’m not usually a fan, I really liked it in this recipe. She also put in chocolate chips- a girl after my own heart. Seriously the best PB (and choc. chip!) cookies ever! I think I’m going to make them again tonight!

Also, in response to the request for more pictures of Gabe, I will make sure to post more photos as we take them. I actually have some that were taken last week and a couple from this week and today. Here they are:

Holidays For Everyday... a blogging mini- series! Part 1

One of my favorite websites that I check periodically is www.holidaysforeveryday.com. It is actually a website created by a preschool teacher and is a compilation of interesting and unusual holidays. There are many holidays to choose from each day, and it is a great resource if ever you would like a reason to celebrate or learn about something. I noticed that this month, October, is the National Month for_____ (like 80 different things- I’m not exaggerating!) Some of the things were just downright strange, but others were really interesting and exciting to me. So I chose the best ones (to me of course) and decided to share them with you, along with my two cents on each topic.

National Pizza Month
My two cents on pizza:
Pizza pizza pizza! I love pizza! There are so many great options for yummy pizza. If you live in Utah, you may have tried Pier 49 Pizza… a higher end sourdough pizza restaurant. This restaurant is a personal favorite of BJ’s and mine. In fact, we bought a pizza there this evening, and enjoyed it very much! We love their Barbeque Chicken pizza, their Alfredo pizza, and their Little Italy pizza. The pizzas are a little pricey, so we enjoy them as often as we can, otherwise, we occasionally go for a greasy $5 Little Caesar’s pizza, or we try other local pizza places, such as Two Jack Pizza, or the classic Brick Oven Restaurant, which has much more to offer than just pizza.
We also enjoy putting together our own pizzas. One very easy and quick option is to use slices of sourdough English muffins, topped with tomato paste, garlic salt, oregano, grated cheese, and your choice of pepperoni, ham, pineapple, or anything really. We put them in our toaster oven or on a cookie sheet in the regular oven, and they are ready to eat in just minutes!
We love homemade pizza, although we don’t make it often. Here’s a link to a great healthy-cooking-on-a-budget blog a friend of mine writes, which has a pizza dough recipe. Home- baked pizza has a great texture and gets baked so evenly if you bake it on a pizza stone. We got one for our wedding from Pampered Chef, and we love it!
I ate a lot of pizza in Argentina. The “pizza experience” there is so different from here… it is all about aesthetics- meaning the pizzas are works of art, with everything arranged just so! Also, they put very different things on their pizzas. I actually had one very tasty pizza that had nothing but grilled vegetables on it (including squash and carrots), and another that was just a cheese and garlic pizza (bad for the breath, but great for the taste buds)!