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Family Portrait Special



I know Christmas is coming up and that is the traditional time to get family photos done. I am running a special from now through November 30th.
Book a sitting with me and get a CD of your best shots all for $75.00! Contact me soon for an appointment! rwattson@rachelwattsonphotography.com

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Kids say the darndest things...

Some of the gems I have heard from my two little rascals lately...


Ollie: "Do you have a boo boo?"
me: "What?"
Ollie: "Is that a band-aid?" pointing to a panty liner in my hand.
(it kind of looks like one.)

Frank: "Give me the plates of grass."

Frank crying "I want the lifesaver!!!" as his friend Donnie takes away his toy light saber.

Frank: " My bike only has two wheels.." like there is something wrong with it and it needs to be fixed.

Ollie: "Daddy has to go to work honey." I guess he was trying to console me.

Frank and Ollie are two different kinds of funny. Frank pronounces things wrong because he is too busy to pay attention or be bothered with the right way. His way is good enough.
Ollie articulates everything with such perfection it makes almost anything sound cute and funny. If you ever get the chance ask each of my sons the same question. Frankie will give you an elaborate explaination and story. Ollie, on the other hand, will repeat your question back to you because he loves to speak for the sake of the words rolling off of his tounge. Or, he might just say "I don't know."

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Hand-me-ups?

One phrase: Hand-me-downs.

If any of you have siblings you know what I am talking about. The older sister usually gets all the new stuff and you get to wear it when she has grown out of it and is on to more new things. This was the story of my life as a kid growing up in a family of four sisters... and it still is. I have always been the "plump" or "curvaceous" one in the family. Up until recently I would get stuff from my older sister because she had lost weight. The whole "they are too big for me. Do you want them?" line was so common. When you are poor you take what you can right? Still, it bothered me that even though I was a health instructor I could not look the way I felt. I felt healthy and trim but I didn't look how I felt I should. Fast forward to today after a summer "hanging out with Suzanne Sommers" and twenty pounds lighter. New dilemma: None of my clothes fit! They are all too big. A new wardrobe costs a lot of money. What is a girl to do??
I have two younger sisters. Erin and Heidi. Erin recently increased her bust size so many of her shirts and bras no longer fit. I got to sift through two bags of clothes with labels like Hollister, Juicy, and Victoria Secret. My other sister Heidi is seventeen. That means growing and changing and growing out of things too. I dove into her DI bag before it got carted off and snagged some stuff that I wanted. If I am getting clothes from my little sisters should they be called hand-me-ups? So here I sit, decked out in everyone elses clothes, thinking: "It pays to be the little guy sometimes."

For those of you who want to know: Yes, I am still on the Suzanne Sommers food combinations. Yes, I love it. The great thing is you get to tailor the plan to you. Maybe I'll write about that adventure next time.

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Mean Girls

Girls never change. No matter how old you get there will be some girl to make you feel insecure. I am a confident person but sometimes...


Thursday morning I went to Ralphs with Frankie to do some much needed shopping. I was wearing fitted jean shorts that came below the knee, a purple scoop neck top, and a waist-length fitted tan jacket. I had on gold flats and a multi colored scarf with a purple base. I felt I was well put together... for once. I tell you that to tell you this.
I was standing in front of all the cheese when I heard giggling behind me. Out of the corner of my eye I see two girls, mid twenties, walking by. As they walk by I hear," I wouldn't rock those..."
As I turned back to my cart I see both girls look back at me and continue snickering to each other. All of a sudden I feel like I am in a high school hallway. My confidence wavers as I see them continue to walk away. Then I take note of what they are wearing. Messy buns, t-shirts, pajama bottoms, and Ugges. Umm, ladies, frump city belongs to the hours of 11pm to 6am. I didn't judge too harshly because I remember my single days but if you're going to make fun of me you better be sporting something decent. So I silently breathed a curse of de javu on their future. One day, they too will be feeling like they actually have it together and then they will experience what they did to me.
Mean girls: Grow up!

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Moderation in all things

We have been commanded to exercise moderation in all things. What we spend, what we let consume our time and what we consume. The last was my problem tonight. Our family went out to a buffet for dinner for FREE.

Hello, who doesn't love free?! We went to the Barona Buffet. Jesse works as a fire fighter on the reservation. Every once in a while he will get a free pass and we'll take the kids out to eat. And, sometimes, when something is free you want to take full advantage of it. I did, to say the least. So much so, that after we were done eating I was in physical pain.
I have only eaten to that point twice in my life. Once when I was 19 at Claim Jumpers with my family and tonight. When I was 19 my stomach hurt, it was hard to walk and my pants almost ripped as I got into the car with my sisters. That led to the worst/best laughing fit of the year that almost made me pee my almost ripped pants. After that night I swore I would never eat like that again. I have been true to my word until tonight. I seriously could NOT breath on the way home. I was having pains in my chest so bad! My body is not use to this kind of abuse and it really took it out on me. So, through my own sad experience, I wish to share some knowledge with you all.
1) Stick to what you know is right! I usually get a helping of salad first. Filling up with the good stuff leaves less room for the "good" stuff.
2) Get water to drink. Refills are ok and water doesn't weigh you down: did I? Milk sounded good so I got a glass, a 20 oz glass.... x2. Milk needs to be processed like food not liquid so bad idea Rach!
3) If you like it going back for more isn't a crime.... unless you go back for more of what you want and then some other stuff too.
4) Dessert: 1 is a good number.
I am not a over indulger. I don't like the way it makes me feel. I really don't know what came over me tonight but what I do know is constant bad decisions lead to weight gain. Weight gain leads to unhappiness. Unhappiness leads to comfort foods. Comfort foods leads to bad decisions.... do you see where I am going with this???
Tomorrow I shall cleanse: Water, exercise, fruit, and veggies. Hopefully all that ruffage will clear out all that grease and junk!

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Healthy Sweets

I am all about sweetness. That is my weakness. So I alter what I can to get similar results. I do NOT use artificial sweeteners most on the market have a horrible after taste and are not good for your body. I use natural, unprocessed sweeteners. Agave Nectar is what I use the most.


Now I can eat without the guilt, sugar hang over and general nasty feeling I have after I eat something LOADED. Don't get me wrong, when I go to the Cheesecake Factory I get cheesecake! I am just coming to realize as I get older my body can't handle what it use to. When I was 16 I worked at Cold Stone Creamery. An amazing ice cream shop. I got so creative and made so many wonderful things! I ate that 100% creamy goodness 2-3 times a week without even blinking! Now??? I got the smallest size they had one night and I felt sick half way through. SO, for all of you who can't eat like you are 16 any more here are some sweet treats that might perk up your day.

Warning: if you do NOT like dark chocolate tone down the cocoa to 2/3 cup and vanilla down to 1 tsp. If you like the kind of chocolate that leaves a wonderful bitter bite of cocoa after taste in your mouth after the sweetness is gone this recipe is for you.

Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
(Lactose free, sugar free)
4 3/4 cups Rice Dream or any rice milk
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup agave nectar (look for it at any health food store)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

whisk it all together in a bowl and pour it into an ice cream maker. Make according to directions. The finished product will have the consistency of frozen yogurt so put it in the freezer for a few hours to firm it up.
(My mom also makes a killer fresh peach ice cream that is sugar free. I can't remember that one off the top of my head.)

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(reduced fat, sugar, gluten)

1/2 c butter substitute of your choice (make sure you can use it for baking first)
2/3 c brown sugar
1/2 c agave nectar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 2/3 c spelt flour ( reserve 2/3 c) (spelt flour is processed differently and is easier on the stomach to digest. It is a lighter flour and you will need to use more than a normal cookie recipe. You can find it at a health foods store)
1 1/4 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 bag chocolate chips
I think the chocolate chips I used were called "The good life" They were gluten free, dairy free, and sugar free. I thought for sure they would taste like bits of wax. Not at all! They are mini chocolate chips too, perfect to dump in banana bread... I digress.


Mix all wet ingredients until creamed. Mixture will be slightly liquidy. Add dry ingredients save the last 2/3 cup of flour till the end. Slowly mix in the last bit of flour until your dough is a solid consistency. NOT gooey. If it is still gooey after the 2/3 c add a little more flour at a time. The 2/3 (or less) should be enough. Drop small spoonful onto the pan and bake @ 375 for 7-10 minutes.

This recipe is still in perfecting stage. If it doesn't come out right (too cakey) don't worry it happened to me too. Whenever you start substituting things you have to adjust others. Any cookies made with agave nectar will tend to be like a very soft cookie, slighty cakey, but still darn delicious. Baking is an art in chemisty and I love chemistry. I am trying this one again next week.

These are a couple to get you started... enjoy!

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