"I get by with a little help from my friends...I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends"

Real friendship is shown in times of trouble; prosperity is full of friends. 

                                                                                                                                                    Euripides

My mother always told me "if one has only a few true friends in one's lifetime, one is lucky."  At the time, I did not quite understand what she was trying to explain. Now that I am older and wiser, the meaning is loud and clear!

"My People" have seen me through "thick and thin," literally. They have been there through every conflict and crisis, diet - fad or legitimate, death of loved ones - human or four legged, depression and sadness, layoff and promotion, and celebration and marriage. They are privi to my deepest darkest secrets, my wishes and my wildest dreams; I can be my true, raw, naked self with them and they are still by my side. I think that Ralph Waldo Emerson sums it up nicely "A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud." "It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."

Celebrate good times, come on!

There's a party goin' on right here

A celebration to last throughout the years

So bring your good times, and your laughter too

We gonna celebrate your party with you

Come on now

Celebration
Let's all celebrate and have a good time
Celebration
We gonna celebrate and have a good time

It's time to come together
It's up to you, what's your pleasure

Everyone around the world

Come on!

The Magical Fruit

Beans, beans the musical fruit

The more you eat, 

the more you toot

The more  you toot, 

the better you feel

So eat beans for every meal

Most everyone should know this silly little tune and most everyone probably finds the subject of flatulence humorous, even if you do not laugh out loud. Growing up, this  topic usually came up during dinner and resulted in tear filled laughter.

Up until recently, I have hardly paid attention nor have I eaten legumes of any sort. However, my thoughts began to change on January 12, 2011, when I watched Stephanie O'Dea do a crock pot cooking demonstration on Good Morning America: Stephanie made Chicken Enchilada Chili that included beans.

Immediately, I set out to make the recipe. Surprisingly, I had everything on hand to prepare this dish except for the beans, or so I thought. Then I remembered that I received a gourmet gift box for Christmas from the Women's Bean Project.

Stack Attack!

Fresh Ink Card by Hallmark sent from Daryl

For all of you stackers out there, 

this one's for you!

I did not realize April marks the 17th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide that claimed over 1 million lives. Barbara Walters reminded her viewers of that fact yesterday on The View by discussing Same Sky and introducing their beautiful line of bracelets.  

That's Amore

When the moon hits your eye 

Like a big pizza pie

That's Amore

When the world seems to shine 

Like you've had too much wine 

That's Amore

First made famous by Dean Martin in 1952, That's Amore still has meaning today. I definitely find pizza and wine to be "Amore." I think that one of the most romantic things in life is to share a pizza and a nice bottle of red with the one that you love in a small, intimate restaurant; better yet, if the restaurant happens to be in Italy during truffle season. 

Unfortunately, pizza and wine are two things not on the top of the "what to eat while on a diet" list. So, what do you do when that craving for pizza and wine envelope you? Do you ignore it and hope that the yearning fades away? Do you go to your favorite pizza parlor and "pig out" on your favorite pie and promise to get back on your diet track tomorrow? 

Tool Time

Life is much easier if one has the correct tools to complete the job successfully. A surgeon needs a scalpel, a dentist needs a drill, a jeweler needs an anvil, a hairstylist needs a scissors, a painter needs a brush and Tim needs tools for Home Improvement. What about the dieter? 

                                                              

One of my friends lost 15 pounds recently after many unsuccessful attempts over the years. She claims that one of the reasons for her success was the food log she faithfully kept; her trainer recommended that she record everything that she ate and drank daily. Over time, this became not only a habit for her, but also an awareness; an awareness of portion size and calories.

Tracking your food intake is part of many formal diet programs. Two that I have followed during the course of my life, The Diet Center and Weight Watchers both suggested recording what you eat. Once even, I went to a nutritionist; she too requested that I keep a food diary. Of course during the beginning of any program when the excitement and motivation of losing weight was a buzz, recording was a motivator.  When the excitement wore off and weight loss was slow, the tracking element fizzled away and so did the diet plan; hence, weight loss goals were never achieved.

I want my MBTs

Masai Barefoot Technology; yes, I am talking about those funky, chunky and clunky creations of this Swiss based company. Originally introduced in 1996, this unique, revolutionary shoe was developed after studying the walking patterns of the Masai tribes of Africa. MBT set out to create a shoe that would "mimic walking on soft, uneven ground."

After reading and hearing about these shoes for a long time, "curiosity killed this cat." I purchased a pair of Fora Black. I went to Shuz of Los Gatos, a European walking store. They had a large selection of styles to choose from; in fact, they had several styles that were less "chunky and clunky" than the original. There are less expensive "knock offs" out there, but like the fact that I don't like to "waste calories" on anything bad, I don't want to waste money on the "wannabes" either. I wanted to try the product developed by the company that put this shoe technology on the map.