CHRISTMAS ALL YEAR LONG

I love Christmas! It's a time with family, friends and giving hearts. I love that we celebrate Christ's birth in the month of December because it's a good reminder of where our focus should be at the end of the year, at the beginning of a new year and all year long. May Christ's birth, life, death and resurrection be a never ending celebration in our lives. I LOVE IT...CHRISTMAS ALL YEAR LONG!!!

The Tripputi's 2008 Christmas Celebration

                 candlelight service at Houston's First Baptist Church

The Tripputi Men

three men and a lady

mother and daughter

father and daughter

roses for a wonderful mother

THE TRIPPUTI CLAN

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Eat These, Weigh Less?

Maybe they’re called "magical fruit" in children’s rhymes for a reason . . . 

Just not for the flatulence-producing reasons kids obsess about. What really makes beans magical is their potential effect on your waistline: Bean eaters weigh less on average than non-bean-imbibing folks do. 

Bean Counting
In fact, bean eaters weigh as much as 6.6 pounds less, according to RealAge expert John La Puma, MD, author of ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine. (Browse the book online.) Makes sense when you consider beans are full of fiber and protein but low in fat, which means a serving will keep you going far beyond the need-to-munch hour but only make a minor dent in your calorie intake. (Find out which kind of bean packs the biggest antioxidant punch.) 

Recipe Corner
Beans are anything but boring if you try these tasty, bean-filled recipes from EatingWell:

• Turkey & Bean Enchiladas
• Taco Salad
• Smoky Corn and Black Bean Pizza

Video: Learn how to make your own white bean hummus.

RealAge Benefit: Maintaining a constant desirable weight can make your RealAge 6 years younger. 

I love pizza! I will definitely be trying the Smoky Corn and Black Bean Pizza.

The secret to a grilled pizza is having all your ingredients ready to go before you head out to the grill. Make it a meal: Toss the extra black beans, diced tomato and some avocado with prewashed salad greens and Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette and dinner is on the table in no time.

Makes 6 servings

ACTIVE TIME: 30 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

1 plum tomato, diced
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed
1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 pound prepared whole-wheat pizza dough
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella, preferably smoked mozzarella

1. Preheat grill to medium.
2. Combine tomato, beans and corn in a medium bowl. Sprinkle cornmeal onto a large baking sheet. Stretch the dough into about a 12-inch circle and lay it on top of the cornmeal, coating the entire underside of the dough.
3. Transfer the crust from the baking sheet to the grill. Close the lid and cook until the crust is puffed and lightly browned on the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes. 
4. Using a large spatula, flip the crust. Spread barbecue sauce on it and quickly sprinkle with the tomato mixture and cheese. Close the lid; grill until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the crust is browned, 4 to 5 minutes.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 316 calories; 6 g fat (3 g sat, 0 g mono); 13 mg cholesterol; 48 g carbohydrate; 14 g protein; 4 g fiber; 530 mg sodium; 94 mg potassium. 
Nutrition bonus: Calcium (15% dv).
Exchanges: 3 starch, 3 medium-fat meat; 3 Carbohydrate Servings.

Article found on realage.com

Not it!

Okay, so I wasn't really tagged, but I got the idea from my roommate's blog...

1. Go to the 4th folder in your computer where you store your pictures.

2. Pick the 4th picture in that folder.

3. Explain the picture.

4. Tag 4 people to do the same!

Well, I went to my pictures on my computer and got the first picture, but then when I browsed on blogger another picture was the 4th of the 4th...hence 2 pics

Bec, Katie and I at an Arbonne event. The Mercedes Benz is the company car that you earn.

My brothers and I celebrating Father's Day at Papas seafood restaurant. Aren't they cute? Ladies, any takers? Oh wait, only two are currently available.

Yum Yum in My Tum

I felt great after working out tonight and thought that I should cook something healthy. Most of you know that I'm not a chef by any means, but that I love to eat-especially pizza. Well, it started this Thanksgiving when my dad gave me props on being ahead of the game. He told me that when my mom and him got married my mom didn't know how to cook anything. Their meals consisted of toast, tea, and soup. I'm thrilled that I'm ahead of the game because that means that I will win eventually. Right?

Okay, so here is how my little concoction came to be: I bought mushrooms the other day just because I felt like something different in my salad. Well, it turns out that I don't really enjoy them in my salad all that much, so I have been thinking of other ways to eat them (they were about to expire). I tossed some mushrooms in a pan, cooked some rice, tossed in some leftover Thanksgiving green beans and stirred it all together with some chicken. My first thought was I like mushrooms, I like rice, I like chicken, I like green beans...it must make a great combination. It turned out that I was right, the combo works! I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I'm really excited about lunch tomorrow.

Do you have a favorite concoction that you would like to share?

I believe

Belief. What does this really mean? According to Webster belief means, "a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing."

As you probably know... I teach Middle School in a low income community where all 130 of my students are English Language Learners and hormonal teenagers. Most of my students have a harsh home life and many cultural obstacles to overcome. So with all of that said, you can imagine the challange I face daily as a teacher. (I know there are other jobs out there that are tough and I have no idea what difficult is, but in my little world it's pretty hard.)

I was reading my entrance essay that I wrote to transfer to HBU the other day. I was 21 years old seeking education at HBU and wrote, "I want to be a teacher that gives to the children the love and acceptance that they need and deserve. Teaching is a career that I would like to pursue because it is a rewarding experience that enables me to influence the children’s lives."

I'm so thankful for that reminder. I need this reminder daily. I want to remember the reason I chose this profession. I know it can become blurred when you have a student that decides to ruin his life by bringing drugs to school, or takes part in an arson, or kicks a hole in the bathroom wall, or has a makeout session in my classroom. I can go on and on listing several reasons as to why I should not keep this job, but one thing still remains-I have a purpose. The Lord has called me to this place in time for such a time as this. I must remain faithful. In the midst of adversity, with my God, I will prevail...for the sake of these children's lives I must.

This YouTube clip really opened my eyes and also reminded me why I'm teaching.

I BELIEVE! I believe in the potential of my students, but do they believe in themselves? How can I help them believe? How can I empower and inspire these young minds to make a difference? How can I show them the love of Christ? Please pray that the Lord will grant me wisdom and direction.

"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world."

You Snooze You Lose

This school year has been really hard for me. I received a Bachelor's Degree in Bilingual Education PK-4th grade in 2005 and I'm teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, Social Studies-World, Texas, American History and Vocabulary. Crazy, uh?!?! I have about 130 students with 4 subjects to prep for each day. So, if you are wondering where I have been or what hole I crawled into...you now know. Please understand me when I say that I love what I do. It has just been a real difficult adjustment. This season of my life has taught me that I have to sacrifice some things and to prioritize.

I have been talking to my best friend Becky about how I'm so exhausted and the covers seem to weigh a 1,ooo pounds in the morning. My eyelids feel like they have been glued shut and I'm in a coma. I can't get up for the life of me. I pray every night for the Lord to wake me so that I can spend time in His word and yet nothing has changed. I have tried just about everything...prayer, 2 alarms, setting my Bible on my alarm clock, setting my alarm clock away from my night stand, and including a faithful roommate. I just couldn't seem to escape the SNOOZE button. In the past 2 years I have acquired about 1 full hour of snooze time each morning. I use to snooze about 5 minutes or less. What's the deal?

I have prayed about this for a while and it finally dawned on me. I can pray about it until I'm blue in the face, but it's not until I put some action into it that I will see results. I mean, if you pray for a job and you don't write a resume or fill out job applications, the likelihood of you finding a job is really slim. If you pray for friends, but don't get involved in new activities at Church, the gym, dance classes, cooking classes...will you find them? Bottom line, you must pray and put forth action.

Bec and I talked about different ways to get me to snap out of it. I think the best thing we came up with is to give my future husband the "So Long Snooze Button" Christmas gift. I'm sure it's a terrible habit to have when you are married. I can't imagine trying to sleep while my husband's alarm is going off for an entire hour and a half and he won't get up. Why should I make him suffer? I also believe it will help me and my future marriage if I have an established routine that allows me to grow in an intimate relationship with our Lord. So for Christmas, I will be giving up my snooze...from here on out I will no longer be a snoozer.

I mean, if you snooze you lose, right?

Bailout Plan

“It’s extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can’t find $25 billion dollars to save 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.” –Bono.

http://blog.compassion.com/bailout-plan-for-the-poor/