Fun with our Son

It sure feels good getting back to my blog, if you remember I had told you that I was taking a little time off from my blog as our son (Dave) was coming in to visit and we wanted to spend all of our time with him.

As soon as we picked him up from the airport we drove to Branson and went directly to Silver Dollar City (SDC), that's our local version of Disneyland.  Dave had asked me earlier if I would go on the rides (roller coasters) with him and since I wanted to spend time with him I told him I would.  Now I'm not a fan of roller coasters as the last one I was on was probably 40 years ago or so at the Long Beach Pike in California, so what did Dave do? he bought Trailblazer passes so we could go to the front of the line on all 8 roller coasters.

Yeah! I did all eight

Here's a quick rundown on those rides:

Outlaw Run features the world’s first and only double barrel roll on a wood coaster, with a 720-degree (double) barrel roll. In addition it is the only wood coaster to twist upside down three times, is the world’s steepest wood coaster with a first drop of 162 feet (more than 16 stories) at an 81 degree drop and is the second fastest wood coaster in the world reaching a top speed of 68 mph.

Powder Keg launches from 0 to 53 miles per hour in just 2.8 seconds! it combines the shocking speed of the compressed air-launch with spiraling turns, negative gravitational or "G" forces, and "floater" hills at speeds up to 64 miles per hour! After the initial blast of speed, and 110-foot drop, riders soar through the trees over six acres on 3,500 feet of track for a truly wild ride experience.

Thunderation riders will experience heights up to 80 feet, sharp turns and drops, sudden stops and speeds up to 50 mph.

Lost River of the Ozarks riders will experience numerous twists, turns and drops. Sections of this ride are in the dark

American Plunge riders will experience a steep 50-foot drop splashing into the water reaching speeds of 35 mph.

Fire-in-The-Hole riders will experience a dark environment with sharp turns and sudden drops.

WildFire is a high-flying, multi-looping, cobra-rolling coaster that will leave you breathless! Traveling at speeds up to 66 miles per hour, WildFire features a vertical drop of 15 stories, followed by five inversions including a full loop, cobra roll, corkscrew and high-speed spiral.

The GIANT Barn Swing riders will experience a high-speed launch, heights of 75 feet, speeds of 45 mph, and back-to-back positive and negative G-forces.

Outlaw Run, I couldn't keep my glasses on!

Powder Keg take off, WHOA Nellie!

Believe it or not, I had a great time and would do them all again.  So while Dave and I were busy Jan went to the Midwest Living Culinary School that is inside Silver Dollar City (SDC) and attended a cooking class, we had done that before and it is always fun and educational.  Underneath SDC is Marvel Cave, SDC was created many years ago, food and a general store, to keep those in line to tour Marvel Cave busy and now it is an amazing theme and amusement park.  Later that day the three of us toured Marvel Cave, but did a special tour carrying and only using lanterns to see, that gave us the full experience of what the early explorers saw.  Here is a little info on Marvel Cave, it is a wet limestone cave, complete with formations that are still alive and growing! To begin, you will travel 300 feet below the surface (700 steps) and enter the Cathedral Room. The breathtakingly beautiful Cathedral Room is the largest cave entrance room in the United States.

The next day we saw a couple of shows, Clay Cooper's Country Music Express and the Cat's Pajamas, check out the Branson Here We Come post on April 16th for info on those.  Dave kept bugging us about the shows being for old people or cowboys, but every time I looked over at him he was smiling, laughing and applauding.  Who's he kidding, he had a great time!  We also stopped at Dick's Five and Dime in old downtown Branson.  It's an old fashioned five and dime, if there's something your looking for you most likely will be able to find it there.  We then headed over to Ripley's Believe it or Not, We've been to one before but Dave wanted to go, we did have a good time goofing off at the photo area and couldn't pass up the opportunity to bring one home with us.

Oh no, they shrunk my head!

The  following day we headed home but not until we made a stop at the outlet mall, it had been raining off and on ever since Dave came in but as soon as we park at the mall it came down in buckets full.  That didn't stop us though and it gave me a real thrill to see the sparkle in Jan and Dave's eyes as he spoiled his  mother rotten.  Guess what, no matter what you hear, they do grow up!.

Monday was a tough day for Jan as she needed to stay home and recuperate so Dave and I went to the Wild Animal Park in Springfield, Jan and I hadn't been there yet but I'm definitely going to have to get back there with her.  We had a blast, you can drive your own car through it or take a tour bus, we decided to take the bus and had a great time,  We bought some food to feed the animals as they would come right up to you and stick their heads through the open windows to get fed.

This Camel was looking for food

and he found it, Dave had a great time

He wouldn't eat out of our hand so we just threw him some food

I couldn't get subs for my Weight Watchers meetings so while was at them Jan and Dave went to Springfield for the movies, zoo and shopping.  We had scheduled golf on Thursday and even though it wasn't raining that day the golf course was closed due to the last nine days of rain and it was flooded, oh well hopefully we can play golf the next time he comes out.  We had a great time with him and look forward to his next visit.

So how did our weigh-ins go, after 2 weeks of going all the time we both gained just a little over a pound and we are very happy with that.  I earned a lot of activity points and was glad to have the ActiveLink with me to calculate them, I earned 29 points the day I rode all of the roller coasters and ate everyone of them.  I read a great article on Hella Wella and wanted to share it with you.

Not getting enough sleep leads to more junk food cravings

Previous research has shown links between sleep deprivation and increased appetites, but a recent UC Berkeley study now illuminates how poor sleep affects our food cravings — and the brain mechanisms behind it all. 

Using fMRI scans, researchers analyzed the brain activity of 23 healthy young adults — initially after a normal night's sleep and then after a night of no sleep. Participants were more likely to crave junk food like burgers, pizza and doughnuts following the sleepless night, and the brain scans indicated two important changes in brain activity: Activity in the sleep-deprived brain's frontal lobe — the part of the brain responsible for complex decision-making — was impaired, but researchers noticed there was increased activity in deeper brain centers that respond to rewards.
“What we have discovered is that high-level brain regions required for complex judgments and decisions become blunted by a lack of sleep, while more primal brain structures that control motivation and desire are amplified,” said Matthew Walker, a UC Berkeley professor of psychology and neuroscience and senior author of the study.

In the study, which was published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, participants viewed a series of 80 food images illustrating everything from healthy options — such as strawberries, apples and carrots — to high-calorie junk food, such as burgers and pizza. They rated their cravings for each food and were provided with the food they craved the most after the brain scan. 

They were significantly less likely to choose whole grains and leafy vegetables after the sleepless night, instead craving the less healthy snacks and junk food. 

“These results shed light on how the brain becomes impaired by sleep deprivation, leading to the selection of more unhealthy foods and, ultimately, higher rates of obesity,” said Stephanie Greer, a doctoral student in Walker’s Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory and lead author of the paper. 

This weeks food food find as a good one if your'e looking for more protein at breakfast and great taste.

Sorry, no recipe this week, but will have one next week.

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Pioneer Day Celebration

July 24th is a very special day in our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it is Pioneer Day.  That is the date that the pioneers who traveled across America to find their new home, to worship their religion in peace, pushing and pulling their handcarts with all of their worldly belongings, first saw the valley of Salt Lake. It is celebrated all over the world and our Ward did just that this past week.  There were well over 100 of us that went to one of our members farms and had a barbecue, everyone brought something which made it difficult to decide what to eat, there was so much I couldn't even try a little of everything.  There was a pie eating contest, horseshoes, bean bag toss and games with animals to name a few.  So what are games with animals?  One was a team effort, you had to saddle a horse then both team members get on that horse ride it to the end of the arena and back and the fastest time wins. Another one was with the cows, ribbons were tied onto their tails and the kids in different age groups went into the arena and chase the cows to get the ribbon off of their tails.  Both of these events were hysterical and everyone had a great time.

Lots of food

and more food

Watching the games in the arena

Horses of Hope, the organization that Jan and  I volunteer at is having a night at the ballpark to raise a few bucks.  The ballpark here is the Triple A Cardinals, a pretty good team with a devoted following.  We will be down on the field with some of the horses and our riders.  The first ball will be thrown out by one of our riders from his wheelchair.  While I was going around town attempting to sell tickets to the merchants I went into a pet store and just had to share this picture with you.

Overeating can make you very sleepy!

Our son David is coming in to visit us tomorrow for a week, we are really excited to see him and have all kinds of things planned.  So on that note I will be taking a week off from my blog but will be back the following week with all kinds of good stuff.

I was up .4 at weigh-in this week, now if I can just stay there and not lose any weight this coming week.  Jan stayed the same and was really happy with that.  She has committed to tracking everyday this week and it will be interesting to see how that works out for her.

This weeks food find is something that we take for granted sometimes, lets not forget all of the great aspects of this one.

I think you'll love this weeks recipe, enjoy.

Roasted Strawberry Banana Bread

Servings: 16 • Size: 1 slice • Calories: 88 • Fat: 2 g • Carb: 19 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 2

Ingredients:

·         1-1/4 cups strawberries, diced

·         3 ripe medium bananas, mashed

·         2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce

·         1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour

·         3/4 tsp baking soda

·         1/4 tsp salt

·         2 tbsp butter, softened

·         1/2 cup light brown sugar (not packed)

·         2 large egg whites

·         1 tsp vanilla extract

·         baking spray

·        
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a loaf pan with baking spray. Place the strawberries on a baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes, remove and set aside

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, apple sauce and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

Add flour mixture and blend at low speed until combined, do not over mix. Fold in strawberries and pour batter into the prepared loaf pans; bake in the center rack for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the pan cool at least 20 minutes, bread should be room temperature before slicing.

Talk to you all in two weeks!

If you received this post by email subscription and you want to see previous posts click on Choosing to be healthy at the top of this post or go to http://choosingtobehealthynow.blogspot.com

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