Real Help for Haiti!

By Kristy Nuttall | January 25, 2010

Life has been a little hectic lately.  I’m sure you all can relate to that though - I am not telling you anything you don’t already know.  Sometimes, even when we are the MOST busy … something happens that brings your world to a crystal clear picture of what is truly important.

For the past couple of years - I have been reading the story of an awesome family (now in Houston) that have been going through the process of adopting two children from Haiti.  They brought their daughter Story home the end of 2009 and were still waiting to bring their son Amos home when the earthquake hit.  As soon as I saw the news coverage of the earthquake,  I immediately thought of Jamie and Aaron Ivey.  How hard it must have been to not know if your son was ok.

Aaron is a musician and this is a music video that he did about the process of waiting for their children - it’s very touching … especially once you hear what I have to tell you next … wait … don’t go anywhere before you watch the video first.

… are you done tearing up yet? Ok then I can continue sharing this amazing story. Last week, they finally got to bring Amos home. You can read about that on Jamie’s blog. Such an awesome post!!  I was crying as I read it - especially being an adoptive mother myself.

Amos and Story are lucky that they got to come home to their family - there are a lot of other children who are still there and need help.

I know that there is a lot of speculation on which charities that you can and cannot give to in order to be sure that the money is going to those who truly need it.  There is a link on Aaron’s blog to purchase Help Haiti t-shirts and 100% of the profits are going to two VERY worthwhile organizations Real Hope for Haiti and Heartline.  They are organizations that are there in Haiti and are directly working with the people that need help the most.  They are running low on resources and truly need the help.  I urge you to take a minute and order a Help Haiti tshirt for each member of your family (I am doing the same).

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Together Time in 2010

By Cathy | January 21, 2010

Hubby and I were chatting the whole Resolution thing and since neither of us really like that word per say we decided that this year we would try something new.  We committed to what we are calling “together time in 2010″ !  We thought it might be a nice change to in addition working on our individual intentions / goals for the year to make a list of things that “WE” wanted to do together this year.  I must say it was a lot of fun coming up with this list and after all was said and done we are very much aware that many of the things will be “carryovers” for a few years to come.  I am sure that making this list over a few margarita’s helped the process along :)

Here are a few of our “Together Time in 2010″ goals!

Re-start evening walks a couple times a week - I know it seems simple but bottom line is we have slacked off over the last year and have not done them

One weekend a quarter getaway or as we decided to call them “we-treats” instead of retreats

Volunteer to do more  service projects together

Game Night a couple times a month or we should really call it ”turn off the tube night”

Fireside Chats.. That goes along with turn off the tube.  This will apply more in the winter months, turn off the TV and just sit by the fire,  play couple catch up and chat (with a bottle of wine of course)

Bike ride.. We are so lucky to live in an area with incredible bike trails… so basically it is high time to get off our backsides and use them!!

Play more golf together as a couple.  Now that Lexi AKA yummy puppy therapist is bigger it is easier to leave her alone for a few hours.

If you have together time goals… Do share :)

My DAMN questions for you are: Have you done these with your honey? What were some of the things on your list?

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Fun Wine Sayings

By Cathy | January 18, 2010

I know just about every industry has their thing - Here are some fun and funny “WINE” sayings that I have run across either in print or on T-Shirts:

Will trade Husband for Wine

Life is to short to Drink Bad Wine

How “Merlot” can you go.

In this house we only serve “fine wines” Did you bring any???

Make Me Wine

I’m Aging like Fine Wine … I’m getting Complex and Fruity!”

Wine a bit - You’ll feel better

Wine is the answer. What was the question??

I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.

Wine is the most civilized thing in the world. - Ernest Heminway

Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance - Benjamin Franklin

What is better than to sit at the end of a day and drink wine with friends, or substitute for friends.

And Noah he often said to his wife when he sat down to dine, ‘I don’t care where the water goes if it doesn’t get into the wine’.

“Men are like wine - some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age” - Pope John XXIII

God made Cabernet Sauvignon, whereas the Devil made Pinot Noir.

Drinks Well With others

Check out this great web site http://www.chrisstuff.com/ - He sells fun and playful “wine saying T- shirts and accessories.

Cheers

Cathy

Posted in Check This Out, WMD Wine Review | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments | Leave a DAMN Comment here

Where’s my DAMN tip?

By Kristy Nuttall | January 15, 2010

questionmarks

You guessed it .. we have come up with a new feature for Where’s My DAMN Answer?

Where’s my DAMN tip? will be a monthly feature where we get a handful of “tips” from people that “know a thing or two” … or maybe from people who “don’t know a thing or two”.  Basically - think of it as that little section in “Real Simple” magazine … but more REAL and more SIMPLE ;-)

Our first handful of tips is of course fitness related because it’s the first of the year and OMG we all need to work off that Christmas dinner.  After all … it’s a new year … so why not make it a new YOU too?

It’s a New Year - Time for a New you … again? - by Tami Lindahl (certified personal trainer)

Well, it’s 2010 and a new year, it must be time for a new year’s resolution, right? Time to take that extra weight off….ARRHH… not again…didn’t we do this weight loss thing last year? Why is it that we vow to eat right and exercise in January but by mid February, we are back to out old ways? I would guess that it’s because we don’t really know exactly what we should be doing, or how to change the way we eat in such a way that we are satisfied so that we stick to it. We’ve also been told things through the years about how to lose weight, true or false, we’ve believed them. I thought, in the spirit or new years resolutions, I’d dispel a few myths…

  1. Eating a low fat diet or omitting fat from your diet will help us lose fat. Bzzzt, (that’s my buzzer sound)… wrong. Eating fat can actually aid you in your weight loss efforts. Yes, I said it …help you in your weight loss efforts. First of all, eating fat helps your absorb nutrients; which is important because if you are lacking nutrients your body thinks you are starving and you crave more food. Second, starting your meals with a little fat helps you feel full sooner. The key here is choosing the right fats. I’m not talking about fried foods or donuts; I’m talking about healthy fats like olive oil, nuts and avocado.
  2. Cardio is the best form of exercise for fast weight loss...Bzzzt, wrong again.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely important, but you absolutely need to include resistance or weight bearing exercises. Why? Muscle dictates your metabolism. The more lean muscle you have, the more revved up your calorie burning abilities are. Don’t panic, as a woman, you won’t bulk up (that’s another myth). You should do both, and don’t forget to stretch when your done!
  3. Eating fewer calories will take the weight off. Bzzzt, not for long… Yes, eating few calories will take weight off initially, but, the minute you begin to eat again the weight comes back, with company. The reason is that when you starve yourself, you lose muscle and not fat. You go into a fat storage mode and you body “eats” the muscle. Losing muscle is the last thing you want to see go because lean muscles are what keep your metabolism working most efficiently. Eat the foods that keep you in a fat burning zone so you never have to starve again.
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