"Flashback Friday" 2002

Rewind to 2002...
*Click on picture to see it bigger*

This picture was taken in the airport when Travis and all his "boys" took a legendary trip to Las Vegas for Halloween in 2002! (I realize 2002 was not all that long ago but I'm still limited to pics already on my computer until the scanner is unpacked, and I know some of these guys wives check the blog!) All I have ever been told about this trip is "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!" But I know that they had a great time and still get giddy when they reminisce about it! This was probably one of the last times these boys got to have an all boys time like this considering most of them got married in the next year or so. There are a couple that are still single though, ladies! I thought it would be fun for some of their wives to be reminded of what they were like then and how much they have changed in a short 6 years (for better or worse)! Funny to think that most of these guys are now fathers!

In keeping with the spirit of 2002, notice the background music. Just a couple of top hit songs that year!

Looking back at 2002...

~The average price for a gallon of gasoline is $1.31.
~The biggest movie was Lord of the Rings: Two Towers
~Lance Armstrong wins the Tour de France for the 4th consecutive time.
~The New England Patriots beat the Saint Louis Rams to win Superbowl
XXXVI, 20-17.
~The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
~In Houston, Texas, Andrea Yates is found guilty of drowning her 5 children on June 20, 2001. She is later sentenced to life in prison.
~Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother dies in her sleep at the Royal lodge, aged 101
~The Beltway sniper attacks begin with 5 shootings in Montgomery County, Maryland.
~U.S. President George W. Bush signs the Homeland Security Act into law, establishing the Department of Homeland Security, in the largest U.S. government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947
~Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes is killed in a tragic car accident
~Laci Peterson is killed by her husband
~Priests Indiscretion uncovered when files show major cover up for priests accused of abuse

"Tasty Tuesday"

"Tasty Tuesday" is another of Trav's ideas for me, I wanted "Foodie Friday" but it seems like everything went with friday so I had to compromise a little! "Tasty Tuesday" isn't about recipes though, that's what my other blog is for, it is just about all things yummy!

*Side Note: For any of you that don't know about my 'Good Food' blog it is just a place for everyone to share favorite recipes with eachother. I keep the blog set up as private only for copyright reasons, but would love to have as many people as possible participating. If you are interested in using the blog to share your recipes and tips and to find great new recipes from other people email me at whitney@myproalarm.com or whitneylnh@gmail.com and I'll add you as a user!*

Back to Tasty Tuesday...

"There can be an almost ecstatic enjoyment in a single piece of fine dark chocolate that a dozen snickers bars can never give you." ~Mireille Guiliano

I am a true believer in this quote! I am a chocolate lover for sure, but not your average chocoholic! I take chocolate seriously, and I'm very picky about it! None of this milk chocolate crap for me, I want the real stuff! The darker the better! So my mother-in-law knew she had a treat for me when she offered me a new candy she found. The funny part is she thought it was disgusting (she's a milk chocolate girl!) but I thought it was to die for! Ever since my first taste I have been hooked! My niece has even started calling it "Aunt Whitney's medicine" and she has to feed it to me when she comes over (which I don't mind at all)! So what is this new delicious treat? They are called "sweetriot peaces" and everyone who truly loves chocolate must try it.





Check out their website www.sweetriot.com. It is so fun. It tells you all about the product, how to order, has a really fun section on the history of chocolate, recipes, and all kinds of other vital chocolate information.

For any of you that don't like dark chocolate yet, give these a try. It may take a little time but I promise eventually you will be converted to the real chocolate and you will never again be tempted by the inferior milk chocolate!

Chocolate Quotes

~"The divine drink which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits man to walk for a whole day without food."
- reported by a soldier from the army of Hernando Cortes,1519

~"If you are not feeling well, if you have not slept, chocolate will revive you. But you have no chocolate! I think of that again and again! My dear, how will you ever manage?"
- Marquise de Sevigne (French writer and lady of fashion: Feb, 1677)

~"'Twill make old women young and fresh, create new motions of the flesh. And cause them to long for 'you know what', if they but taste of chocolate."
- James Wadworth (1768-1844; A History of the Nature and Quality of Chocolate)

~"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...chocolate...."
- Homer Simpson

~"All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!"
- Lucy Van Pelt, "Peanuts"

~"All we'll have to do is give him a triple dosage of my wonderful Supervitamin Chocolate. Supervitamin Chocolate contains huge amounts of vitamin A and vitamin B...and, believe it or not, vitamin Z! The only two vitamins it DOESN'T have in it are vitamin S, because it makes you sick, and vitamin H, because it makes you grow horns on the top of your head, like a bull. But it does have a very small amount of the rarest and most magical vitamin of them all - vitamin Wonka... It's most useful. He'll be able to play the piano with his feet." - Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Chocolate Fun Facts

~Chocolate was once used as a form of payment and bartering. A good turkey hen would cost you 100 cacao beans, a jackrabbit is also 100 beans, a small rabbit for 30 beans, an avocado for 3 beans, a tamale for one bean, and so on.

~Antioxidants have the power to reduce the risks of cancer and heart disease. It is amazing to note the abundance of antioxidants present in chocolate in comparison to other well-known antioxidant rich foods. Among these are teas, red wines, fruits, legumes and vegetables. Blueberries, which have recently been publicized for their high antioxidants, contain 2,400 ORAC (units per 100 grams). Dark chocolate? 13,120 ORAC!!!

~The mineral properties of cacao include copper, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, and calcium. Of these, magnesium is reportedly the most deficient mineral of the modern diet. Along with seeds, nuts and seaweeds, cacao is a major source for this much needed mineral. Traditionally, we associate chocolate with love, valentine's day, passion... It is interesting to note that the heart muscle contains and demands high concentrations of magnesium. Truly, as valentine's day suggests, chocolate could be considered good for our hearts. Additionally, magnesium serves to support strong bones, relaxed muscles and is a natural laxative. Nice.

~Phenylethylamine (PEA) is found in chocolate.
Try it like this - fennal - EH - thal - a - mean Never mind - PEA. PEA is a chemical associated with adrenal health. It is created within the brain and released when we are in love. Supposedly, chocolate has the ability to create a mild version of the "warm fuzzies" you experience when you are in love. It's so true that this food is a love potion! And you thought it was all Godiva hype. PEA is one of the reasons why love and chocolate have a deep correlation. PEA also plays a role in increasing focus and alertness, which can certainly help if you're in love.

~Anandamide, also known as the "bliss chemical", is released by the brain when we are feeling great. This "bliss chemical" is also found in the properties of chocolate, which could explain why we consider chocolate to be a natural mood enhancer. As an additional bonus, chocolate contains enzyme inhibitors that decrease the body's ability to metabolize anandamide prolonging feelings of bliss. If bliss lasts longer than 4 hours consult your doctor immediately. Talk about getting all the bang for your buck.

*For more info check out sweetriot.com

In Loving Memory

President Gordon B Hinckley
1910-2008

"In all of living have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."
~Gordon B. Hinckley

"Make Me Laugh Monday"

I have been trying to think of a fun way to do my posts and I decided it would be fun to have certain days dedicated to certain things. We'll see how long that lasts! But, anyway, I got Travis to help me come up with some ideas, so we'll see how they go. Our first one is "Make me laugh Monday."

I always love getting the random funny pictures or videos that people email because they always seem to brighten my day. I didn't have much time to look for a good clip to post today, so I'm posting an old favorite. Anyone that knows me well has already seen it, but I watched it today for probably the 800th time and I still cracked up, so hopefully you'll get a kick out of it too! This is a clip that Jimmy sent to me awhile back and we are in love with it. It is just too perfect! Not everyone seems to always find mine and Jimmy's humor quite as funny as we do, but oh well, we have fun!

So, without further ado..."Fosse, Walk it out!"

Guilt Post

Apparently my husband has a softer heart than I do. He told me I need to post a real picture of my sister for those of you that looked at my last post and don't know what she really looks like. So this is my apology post!

Happy Birthday Again!

Ode to Alexis! Happy 29th Birthday!

I had planned to post an old picture of Lexi in her awesome pink glasses and huge bangs today in honor of her birthday, but to my dissapointment I realized that I couldn't do that because my scanner is packed for the move! I searched my computer to see what I already had on here and I came across these lovely photos from this past summer that I felt really showcased all the sides of my wonderful older sister Alexis! Happy Birthday Lex, we love you!

Swimming Lessons

Since we haven't had our own kids yet, Travis & I have spent the last few years living vicariously through our siblings and their children. Being aunts and uncles is the best! You get to do all of the fun stuff and then send them home to their parents afterwards. It makes it even more fun when you have the cutest niece and nephews in the entire world! Tonight, on our way to dinner, we stopped by the aquatics center to catch Reese's last swimming lesson. She had finally warmed up to her male teachers (she wanted girls) and was in a great mood. She had a blast jumping in, kicking, and throwing toys to dive for. She was adorable and even posed for the camera. We have so much fun with her and our nephews, we can't wait until this summer when there will be even more for us to play with.

I'm New!

Okay, so as you can see I'm still learning this whole blogging thing! I'm trying to get it to look the way I want it but I haven't had enough time to really play around with it yet. I needed to change the background so it didn't show through the pictures, but when I did that it also deleted the polls about the baby names. I'll probably end up doing that a few more times, so I just wanted everyone to know that I took note of the votes before I did it, and I'll do that each time. So if you already voted I have it recorded even though it doesn't show them. Basically, my point is that you don't have to vote over and over (MOM!!).

It's A Girl!!!

No, not our baby...my sister's! Lexi and her husband Keith have the two most beautiful boys in the whole world, but in my opinion she deserves some lace and bows in her life and definately a little more pink! We got the news this week that she is finally going to have her chance to buy some dresses this June! It is a good thing too, because when we asked her four year old, Ty, what the baby was going to be (before the ultrasound) he answered "a girl, cuz that's what I prayed for. Duh!" I'm glad to see his prayers were heard, that would have been a tough conversation if it wasn't. I am so freakin excited, in fact, I think I was more anxious to find out what she was having than I am to find out what I'm having. I guess that is because it really doesn't matter to me what I have this time, and for those of you who haven't heard yet...Travis and I are going to torture you all! It's true, we aren't going to find out what we are having until the baby is born! Sorry, I know we are going to make a few of you crazy, but I just think it will be more fun this way.

Holiday Recap

We had way too much fun over the holidays to try and write about it all now! Instead I decided to just post a few pictures from our trip home to Cleveland to catch everyone up on how we spent most of December:


Cousins at brunch.

Travis & Carter decorating cookies (mostly eating them)!


Some of our favorites from the white elephant gift exchange!



Christmas Eve pj's, carols, and wrestling!

I think Trav had more fun on Christmas morning with the kids toys than they did!





One of our Christmas gifts from my parents this year was taking the whole family (+Jimmy) to Kalahari, the biggest indoor water park in the country! It was so much fun. All the kids and adults had a blast! We are thinking it might have to become an annual trip. The older boys even tried surfing, without much luck!









If you can't tell, New Year's Eve was mostly about the food for us! But we also found some time to fit in a little wii bowling before mom and dad passed out for the night!

This is so not my thing, but here it goes...

So, I have known for awhile that the day was going to come that I would finally have to start a blog. I haven't done it before because I had the very good excuse that Travis and I don't do anything very exciting and that no one would want to read about our boring lives! Although that is still definately the case, I'm trying to get used to the idea now because I know that when the baby comes my family will not be happy if I don't keep them updated. Living so far from home and family, reading other people's blogs has gotten me through many homesick days (especially my sister's), so I know that for the sake of my child this is something I need to do! But, I want to start it off with a warning: I don't like to write! Anyone that knows me knows I'm way to wordy and I would much rather just talk to you in person than try to write down all of my rambling and story telling! So I'm apologizing now. Not to mention that this is all going to be really boring until the baby comes! But oh well, here it goes...