Whit's Wisdom

Humpty had all the King's horses and all the King's men....and he still couldn't get unscrambled in one day!!

I was fine when I woke up....until I remembered that I had two tons of laundry to do (got behind last week and still refuse to do laundry on the weekends), a house with no food in it, an a computer room that had been totally demolished yesterday and needed to be put back together again.   Oh, and it's time to pay bills too.  

Once I got the crying and screaming stopped so I could think (yeah, it was me) I realized this:  It doesn't ALL HAVE TO BE DONE TODAY.  In this house if my family has dinner, a pair of clean jeans and internet access they are happy.  They don't care if they have to step over a couple of totes or if the laundry room looks like it exploded.  And I schedule bill paying early so I have a few days leeway.  Since I'm not having Oprah or Queen Elizabeth over for tea at noon - I don't really think this mess is going to hurt anyone, is it?

So, I'm creating my to-do list, breaking it down in small segments, and going to tackle it a little bit at a time.  And I'm going to reward myself after each segment.  A piece of dark chocolate here, and coffee break there....even some sunshine time!  And what doesn't get done today can just wait until tomorrow!

Morale of the story - stop putting so much unnecessary pressure on yourself.  Don't sweat the small stuff.  Stop and smell the roses.  Rome wasn't built in a day!  

Whit's Wit

I'm always trying to teach my Family life lessons.  It's great to stockpile food when you find a fantastic sale, but it's also important to learn not to run to the grocery store when you are out of your convenience foods.  So last week I taught them the art of "eating from the cupboards" (fixing meals from food we already have).

This week I guess I'll have to teach them the art of "eating from the dumpsters"....

Wait....WHAT?

Mama says I can be whatever I want to be!

....and obviously, if you have a video camera and can write a really, REALLY bad song - you can become a STAR!  At least that seems to have happened to Rebecca Black, new youtube.com Super Star.  The teen's song "Friday" has gotten over 16 million hits on youtube (according to TMZ this FRIDAY).  She also appeared on GMA today (FRIDAY).  I have a feeling that by SATURDAY her 15 minutes of fame will be over. 

If you have been under a rock this week and unable to hear this song - I strongly suggest you pop on over to this site http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/videogaga/71429/is-youtube-sensation-rebecca-blacks-friday-the-worst-song-ever/ and check it out.  It will make your own child's trumpet/violin/singing/guitar playing seem not quite so bad anymore.

Who Knew?

I absolutely LOVE Hungry Girl! http://www.hungrygirl.com/  She is just a regular person (not a nutritionist) who loves to eat but wants to maintain a healthy weight.  So she has taken everyday REAL FOODS (and tons of restaurant foods) and re-created them with healthier, lower calorie alternatives.

I have tried tons of her recipes and, so far, I haven't found one that I didn't like.  Tonight I hit the JACKPOT of HG recipes though.  Hungry Girl Magical Low Calorie Margarita!  It truly tastes like a yummy mexican restaurant margarita!  Not only is it tasty but look at this!

PER SERVING (entire recipe, 1 margarita): 115 calories, 0g fat, 55mg sodium, 2g carbs, 0g fiber, <0.5g sugars, 0g protein -- PointsPlus™ value 4*

I personally think it is much better than those store bought mixes and it has tons less calories and sugars.  It was super simple to make too (recipe below).  I made them 'on the rocks' but my next batch I will try some frozen ones.  If I only had a fancy margarita maker I think they would be perfect!  I highly recommend your signing up for Hungry Girl's daily email AND check out her cookbooks!  I own four of them!

I have definitely found my new Summer drink!  CHEERS!

HG's Magical Low-Calorie Margarita

Ingredients: 3/4 cup Sierra Mist Free (or Diet Sprite Zero, or your other fave no-cal lemon-lime soda) *1.5 oz. tequila 1 packet (two 5-calorie servings) sugar-free powdered drink mix, lemonade (like the one by Crystal Light) 2 tbsp. lime juice Optional: lime slice for garnish and salt or no-calorie sweetener for rim of glass Directions: If desired, run some lime juice along the rim of the glass and dip into a dish of salt or sweetener. Mix all ingredients together. Pour over 1 cup of crushed ice. Optional: Garnish with lime slice. Enjoy. Serves 1! *You can also make your margaritas alcohol-free. Each recipe, without tequila, contains around 20 calories!

Whit's Wisdom

Constant case of the sniffles or congestion?  Try checking under your bed.  I've admitted that I am not a great housekeeper, but I do vacuum once a week (twice during dog shedding season).  And I move things around when I vacuum - picking up the rugs, vacuuming behind the tv's and under the chairs and even swiping off the air vents.

You should have seen my face, though, when I accidentally sucked up a sock from under my bed and stooped down to retrieve it.  YEEIKES at the dust bunnies hiding under there!!  I thought I had so much stored under my bed that a bunny couldn't fit!  But there they were.  No wonder my husband snores - he's sleeping on top of pet hair and dust and probably pollen from having the windows open.

So if you can't seem to find what's making you ill - try looking under the bed - you might find something worse than monsters hiding out!  

Whit's Wit

FAMILY FRIDAY!!!  Since my oh-so-talented niece, Casey, created such an adorable avatar for my blog, I figured I needed to feature her today!

Casey did EVERYTHING earlier than most babies - she came out talking, walked at 8 months and I truly believe she took drama lessons in the womb!  One afternoon at my Mom's house, little two year old Casey fell and hit her head quite hard on the table.  Within seconds a lump began to form on her forehead.  My Mom is old school - no ice bags for us - we've always used the side of a metal butter knife to rub across a lump to make it go away.  (I don't know - something cool about the metal maybe?)  Regardless, Casey is crying and my Mom yells "Whitney, run get a butter knife!!"

To Casey's dramatic reply:  "NOOOOOOOOO - you're going to cut me to pieces!!!!"

Who Knew?

In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.


Well.....he/she is supposed to be impartial and thereby not solicit any opinions.  However, their job is to make sure that order is maintained (no name calling) and they do run the meetings, so there is some speaking involved.