Surprise!

Throwing a surprise party for someone that lives in your house is not an easy thing to do...but we did it. Thanks to all Patti's friends and family that helped we were able to pull it off. It was a great afternoon of friends, eating, drinking, and celebrating. Happy Birthday to mom, mom-in-law, grandma, and Patti!!

Fit Tip Thursday's

Week #10 Tip - Stick With It

Well my biggest loser contest has come to an end. Hopefully you learned a little about your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to healthy choices and losing weight. The trick now is to play on your strengths but always be aware of your weaknesses. Don't let the things that constantly bring you down be your focus. For example if you hate exercising, then don't...not yet anyway; focus on food and making other healthy choices; exercise will come in time. We've talked about water, food, exercise, simple changes to an already busy life. If you stick with the changes you've made you will continue to lose weight and be a healthier, happier you!! Good luck with your new choices and your new you!

The Tornado

Gavin's new nickname!! It applies to lots of aspects of Gavin's day-to-day routine. We've documented just a few. He is going, going, going all the time. It's super speed or sleep speed - those are the only 2 speeds he knows.

Our future chef. Loves to help in the kitchen whenever he can - typically his helping is pulling things out of the cupboard and spreading them throughout the house.

Anything becomes a toy. If you don't want him to have it, it better not be in his reach. This bucket has been a boat, a stool, a stage, a cowboy hat - he really does have a great imagination.

The maniac pool boy! Gavin loves the water so much!! Sprinklers, fountains, pools - if there is water he wants to play in it. A couple weeks ago he was jumping and playing with noodles at the pool. One jump came a little too close to the edge of the pool and turned into a face plant into the cement. That cute little smile now just has a little more character with a chunk missing :)

The calm after the storm. He loves to take his toys and kitchen and just throw them all over the living room floor. He will pick up a box of legos and throw it on the floor and then say "uh-oh!" or "oh-no!". Not quite sure why he likes this, but he does all the time. We can't help but laugh. He's learning how to help clean up after himself.

Vertuccio Farms

U-Pick peach season is here in Phoenix. Thanks to a recommendation from Samara, we decided to try Vertuccio Farms right down the street from our house. WOW! This hidden gem is right off of Power Road between Warner & Elliot. Who knew it was so close and so awesome! We went to pick peaches and we found our very own local famers market, open 7 days a week! Love this place. They will be seeing a lot more of the Hendricks'.

Scrumptious Sundays

Stuffed Portabello's

No meat here! It really isn't much to the recipe and it seems hard to believe this would fill you up. But even Jason gets full on just veggies. It really has great flavor!

Saute garlic in olive oil for 3 minutes. Add 1 can of diced tomatoes (with juice), and one small eggplant (diced and peeled). Cook down for about 20 minutes until most of the juice is gone.

Prepare mushrooms: clean, scrape out centers, sprinkle with salt & pepper and drizzle with Balsamic Vinegar. Cook mushrooms: 5 minutes each side on the BBQ/grill. Just to soften them up enough that they are cooked rather than raw.

You need probably 2 bags of fresh spinach (depends on how many mushrooms you are making). 1 bag cooks down to about enough spinach for 4 mushrooms. It looks like a lot of spinach, but once you saute it, it really, really shrinks down.

Assemble your masterpiece. Place mushrooms on a baking sheet top side down. Fill the shroom with the tomato/eggplant mixture, then a layer of sauteed spinach. Top with a slice or two of fresh mozzarella.

Bake in the oven at 350 for 5 minutes, just enough to get the cheese to melt.

We serve with a side of pasta and more veggies. Pasta is tossed with olive oil and parmesan cheese.

Simple and delicious!!

Marathon Man Turns Triathlon Terminator

As you may remember Jason completed a full marathon in January here in Phoenix. With no urgency to complete a full marathon again, he decided to take on a new challenge...a triathlon. He doesn't take on new challenges lightly. Jason doesn't own a bike, but he borrowed one from our friend Jeff and tried to get in as many practice rides as he could. He would go to the pool twice a week and get in a swim. And then of course on all the other days he continued his running. Sunday May 15th he competed in the Seville Sports Club Maxi Sprint Triathlon: 300 yard swim, 15 mile bike, and 2 mile run. Sure it may not seem like much compared to running 26.2 miles...but you try getting in the pool and swimming 300 yards - holy cow!! Then you follow that with a ride and run.

His first triathlon ever and he came out on top - we all knew he would. Jason actually placed first in his age division. FIRST PLACE in his FIRST RACE. What a superstar!! We are all so proud of him. He is an amazing swimmer and really stepped up his pace in the run. He is, of course, now hooked and looking forward to entering many more triathlons in the future.

Next goal - working on that tan!!

He was a little too nice during some portions of the swim; he got caught behind a few female swimmers and didn't push them out of the way...what a gentleman.

Determined and focused. (it was so hot as a spectator, Gavin and Barb got sunburned...forgot the sunscreen)

The final leg, finishing strong.

And a first place metal to go home with. GREAT JOB JASON!!

Fit Tip Thursday's

Week #8 Tip - Accountability

We all know the benefits of exercise, we can't escape the constant reminders. But...how do we get motivated to move? Change in anything we do is challenging, but life would be boring without challenges. I find when I can't motivate myself to find someone to help hold me accountable. Find an accountability partner - a neighbor to go for a walk with, a friend to meet you at the gym, a personal trainer to whip you into shape, a spouse or child to do physical activity with. Someone, somewhere can help hold you accountable and you can do the same for them. There are plenty of mornings that skipping your workout and staying in bed sounds much more appealing - but if you have someone counting on you to be there, you will most likely roll out of bed and stick to your plan...and guaranteed you'll be glad you did.

At our house we are all each other's accountability partners. Gavin keeps us moving all the time!! But even he has days that he wants to watch "Mickey", that's when it's time for us to step up. We offer to go to the park, go outside and play baseball, or go to the pool. It's a win-win for all of us. Whenever we can we try to work out together, it really keeps us motivated, especially when one of the two of us is wanting to sleep a little longer.

Probably the single most motivator for us is races. If you sign up for an athletic event (doesn't have to be running) it really helps keep you focused. You have a goal, and it cost you money. Find a local walk, run, jog, bike, or swim competition - there are tons out there, just Google it! Good Luck!!

Cute As A Button Update

Progress!

I've made progress, slowly but surely. Check out my Facebook Page, my Etsy site, and my new BLOG on Blogger.

http://hendricks-cuteasabutton.blogspot.com/