Valentines Day Chocolate

Just heard about a great event taking place this Saturday, February 14th near Union Square in Manhattan, organized by a newly formed network called the Global Giving Circle. They support innovative solutions to alleviate poverty. Cool, huh?

It is a Valentine’s Day chocolate tasting fundraiser benefiting Project Hope & Fairness, an organization which supports African cocoa farmers and their families. The event funds will specifically go towards helping the farmers purchase weighing scales, as well as towards building a well in their village. I’m really excited about this because, of course, I LOVE Project Hope & Fairness, and I really love when people realize the extreme poverty that chocolate farmers are in AND care to do something about it. The poverty is one reason why there is slavery and human trafficking in the chocolate industry. This has to be stopped people!

It sounds like a cool event, so if you are in NYC, please GO! You won’t miss out on your sweet Valentine’s dinner because it’s from 3-5pm in the afternoon. Good planning, Global Giving Circle.

It’s being sponsored by some great chocolatiers, including Seattle’s own Theo Chocolate. To see more sponsors, details, and buy tickets, click here.

So, since Valentine’s Day is coming up, and if this wasn’t enough of a reminder, PLEASE buy fair-trade certified chocolate, or at the very least, organic, to ensure that it is slave-free. If you need some help on which companies are good, (and bad), click here. There is a list at the bottom of the post. (Keep in mind, the list is not all inclusive.)

For my info on WHY THIS MATTERS, please visit my friend Amy's blog.

A Few Great Recipes!

Yes, I am still on Weight Watchers. I am one of those people that LOVE food (is there anyone that doesn't) and have been on a quest to find low fat, high fiber, veggie rich foods these past 5 weeks. Here's what I've been enjoying...

• I've been loving salads! Here is what I hate about salads... 1) I don't like all the chopping. 2) I don't like eating the same salad over and over again. 3) Sometimes salads seem too much like I'm eating a bush. So here is what I've done to help myself...
  

I have been food processing my salads to a chop (not a mush) so that it is roughly the texture of a chunky salsa. I throw all the veggies (minus the lettuce) in the processor so that I don't have to do much cutting. I throw lunch meat or chicken in there after the veggies. I throw berries or apples in there. Whatever I have in the house goes in the salad. I put the lettuce on a plate and pour the veggies and meat over the top and voila! It's delish and you hardly need any dressing because of the texture of the veggies. These salads haven't ever topped 3.5 points and I get at least 3 servings of veggies in one sitting!

• I LOVE the following recipe for Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies from WW.

2 tbsp butter, melted 2 tsp canola oil 1/2 cup(s) packed brown sugar, dark-variety 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/8 tsp table salt 1 large egg white(s) 3/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp baking soda 3 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips (make sure that they are organic to ensure that they are "slave free", about 1/2 cup or cut up dark chocolate pieces. Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, oil and sugar. Add vanilla, salt and egg white; mix thoroughly to combine. In a small bowl, mix together flour and baking soda; stir into batter. Add chocolate chips to batter; stir to distribute evenly throughout. Drop rounded half-teaspoons of dough onto one or two large nonstick baking sheets, leaving a small amount of space between each cookie. Bake cookies until golden around edges, about 4 to 6 minutes (I do 4); cool on a wire rack. Yields 2 cookies per serving. YES!! Two mini cookies for 1 point!!! Glorious!! I have a total sweet tooth and feel deprived if I don't have something for dessert so here comes another GREAT recipe for a "Peanut Butter Cup Milkshake" from "The Hungry Girl Cookbook." It is REALLY good and totally satisfied my ice cream/sweet craving. Plus, it took me 2 minutes to make it. It is 4 pts. per serving but worth every point. 1/2 cup light chocolate soymilk 1 Jello Sugar Free Chocolate Pudding Snack 2 teaspoons reduced-fat peanut butter 3 no-calorie sweetener packets 11 ice cubes or 1 cup crushed ice Optional: Fat Free Reddi-Wip (note: totally worth it and 5 calories for every 2 tablespoons) Place all ingredients in a blender and blend at high speed for 45 to 60 seconds (until smooth). Pour into a tall glass and enjoy! (MAKES 1 SERVING) So there it is. I have more faves... but not enough time to post them! Enjoy!

Awake 2009!!

It's that time again! I would like to personally invite you to be a part of OCC's 2nd Annual Women's Event, AWAKE 2009, "Dangerous Faith!" Mark your calendars for March 6th and 7th!

Come get connected to the OCC community and learn how to begin living out a Dangerous Faith. If you have been a follower of Jesus for a long time or are just beginning the process of investigating faith, this is the event for you!

Although we are all women, we are a diverse bunch! Single, married, divorced, widowed, mother, career focused, young, old, strong, quiet, hurting. There is amazing strength in our diversity and when we come together to celebrate our uniqueness, amazing things happen!

Join me (Jodie), author/speaker Linda Vujnov, OCC's Lynne Ellis, and the AWAKE Worship Band (led by me - scary, I know) for a weekend of fun and challenge as we take a look at what living a life fully awake and completely tuned in to God's call looks like! We have 3 main sessions, a beautiful (non boxed) luncheon and six different workshops to choose from!

Here is a list of the workshops...

SEX in Sixty Minutes
Life Hurts, God Heals
Discovering my Purpose – Exploring and Developing Spiritual Gifts
Practical Compassion: How can I change the world?
Learning to Live Dangerously
Parenting under Pressure

Invite a friend or neighbor! Register online today and you will receive the Early Bird discount Price ($45) Regular price is $65 so hurry and save $20! www.occfamily.org/events/events.asp

Looking for Help!!

I am putting this out to the blog world because you just never know who is reading your blog and how they might be able to help.

Eastside Women of Purpose is putting on their 2nd Annual Charity Golf Tournament, "Tee Off Against Trafficking" on Saturday, April 25th and we need your help.

Here is a little bit about what we are raising money for...

For every one child rescued from a brothel, there are thousands of kids waiting to take their place.

This form of modern day slavery called Human Trafficking, continues to grow. An estimated 600,000-800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year (some international and non-governmental organizations place the number far higher), and the trade is growing. Victims of sex trafficking can be women or men, girls or boys, but the majority are women and girls.

Determined to be a part of the solution, our goal is to help raise funds to STOP trafficking in SE Asia through education and prevention. In doing so, we are working with World Concern (worldconcern.org) and The San Jai Network (Of One Heart) based in Bangkok, Thailand. We will be funding the duplication and translation of materials proven to be effective in the prevention of trafficking. Our financial support will also be used to raise up a new generation of highly trained workers. We will provide them with the tools and knowledge of how to help the smallest victims of trafficking that have been severely sexually abused and traumatized.

World Concern estimates that for each worker The San Jai Network educates, a hundred children will be saved from being trafficked. The far-reaching effect is that this information will be passed down from person to person and village to village and be multiplied to save the many whom are vulnerable.

Here is the help that we need...

1) Do you own or work for a company that would like to help through sponsorship? Does your company have a product or service that you would like to donate to our Silent Auction? Every dollar donated in a tax deduction.

2) Do you golf? Would you like to sign up to play in our tournament? The player fee minus $60 is a tax deduction.

For more info, check out our website at www.TeeOffAgainstTrafficking.com. It hasn't been updated for this year's tournament yet, but the info is very similar.

If you would like to help, please shoot me and email at EastsideWOP@gmail.com.

Sweet Lord

I was just tagged on facebook in maybe the MOST unflattering shot ever. I almost cried. I am sure that you can see why. No, I'm not 8 months pregnant. I swear that I was just twisted into some strange "super fat" position.

I am laughing now, thanks to my Liam.

I was looking at the shot and my ever inquistive 4 year old comes up to see what I'm gasping about. He points at me and says,

"Mama. Who is that?"

"That's Mama."

"No. That's your head, but who's body is that?"

Awesome. I am deciding to take that to mean that I don't normally look that HORRIBLE! If I do, please don't tell me. I am all for a healthy little lie like, "Oh my gosh, you totally look way thinner than that normally."

I am very thankful for another "before" picture. And don't worry, I've untagged myself on facebook already. I'm hoping that people will have the same reaction as Liam did.

Gosh, how did Marisa's head get on that pregnant woman's body? Must be that darn computer magic again!

Do You Know What Today Is?

On the way to school this morning, Jesse asked Liam if he knew what today was.

Nope.

Jesse explained that today we have a new President.

Liam looked at Jesse like he was an idiot (how did he become a teenage girl all the sudden - hopefully a phase) and said,

"Yeah, I know. Rock Obama is our President now."

Duh.

My BEFORE Shot...

My BEFORE Shot - oh sweet Lord...

I have been at war with my weight for the last nine years. I won, it won, I won, it won, it won, it won. Let's just say that it's been winning for a while. I figure that I am due for a win now. I've had two kids and don't plan on having any more (the natural way at least) and therefore have no discouragement/excuse in my way. I am tired of not being able to wear clothes that I like. Some people say that they want to be healthy... I'm not going to lie. I want to be SKINNIER!

I'm not sure why I have decided to make my battle public. I guess I want encouragement and want to provide some encouragement to anyone else out there trying to shed some poundage. So I will share with you a little bit of my journey as I try for a win.

So... I joined Weight Watchers two weeks ago with my supportive husband and a good friend and I have to say (knock on wood) that it hasn't been too horrific. It is great to have the support and have someone to call when I want to stress eat. It is so nice to share in the tiny victories that come along the way.

I would love any helpful hints to leading the thinner life!