Happy New Year!!!!

Welcome 2012 and all the new and fresh opportunites you bring us!!!

I started my day off with a nice cup of Chai tea as I headed out the door to be installed as a council member at our church.  When I got home, I set myself up on myfitnesspal.com.  I really like this already!    All items I've eaten so far were in the database!!  Seems easy to use and it's free!  So I'm ditching my thick year calendar as a food journal and getting all techy!  ha ha ha

I also found this little ditty at Wal-mart:

I read an article on starting a slow detox - for 2-3 days only fruits and veggies.  I think I can handle that.  So I stocked up on fresh fruit and veggies and frozen fruits and veggies.  Then I found this detox tea when I was grabbing my Chai and I thought this would a good companion.  It says right on the box "Because it has no harsh laxatives or diuretics, DeTox is mild enough to be used every day for up to 30 days."  It tastes pretty good.  So we'll see how it goes.

Today I decided to try some of the New Year's Good Luck foods.  I know a popular item is Hoppin John but I didn't think the kids would go for that.  So I found this Southwest Hopping John and it turned out pretty good!
I had to soak the black eyed peas over night.  Today I sauteed garlic and onion in some butter, added chicken broth, the juice of a large can of Rotell, cumin, brown rice and ham. 

After about 30 minutes I added the beans the rest of the rotell, and let is cook til is soaked up the juices. I think I had too much juice so I would not add the Rotell juice, just drain it and add the tomatoes.   

Although the Southwest Hopping John has ham in it, being unsure if the kids would eat it or not, I also warmed up the Christmas ham, made green beans and mashed up the last of the potatoes in the pantry.

 Now with all those carbs, hubby thought he could give me a good workout!  He asked me to help him move the nativity set he and our son built.  Notice those are 2x4's, fence planks, and deck 2x2's.  That thing weighed a freaking ton!!!!!  I made sure to have our daughter take photos, in case I was crushed or my knee gave out.

Look at that straight back!  Using my forearms.  

And last but not least for today, our labrador retriever, Max, turned 2 today!  We're pretty excited about this because everyone keeps telling us this is the age where they start  to calm down and relax and not be so hyperactive.  We could see in the past month or so, he is a bit calmer, so we have hope.  Happy Birthday Max!!!  Love the tongue shot!