Change is Coming

Hey all, it's Jeremy here. The blog is normally Jessica's arena, but I'm gonna make an entry tonight. Here goes nothing.......

Changing something - whether it be a routine you get into, a physical feature, habits, etc. - is often tough to do. It's easy to say "I would love for 'this' or 'that' to be different", but taking the necessary steps to make the change is sometimes tough to do. Eventually a catalyst for change comes along.

As you know, I've always been a "bigger" person. I've always been that person described in the paragraph above. I always wanted to lose weight and be in better shape, but for whatever reason I could not find the motivation to make it happen. I'm working on changing that now. I guess I got tired of clothes not fitting right and shopping for clothes bordering on not being enjoyable. Closing in on 30 has also added some motivation as well. Point is, these things have now motivated me to get me off the couch.

My short-term goal is to get in good enough shape to run in a 5K run by the end of this summer or in the fall. I have been jogging in the evenings and watching what I eat through the day. At this point I don't time my runs, but my personal best distance is 2.8 miles. Last week, I sustained an injury at softball practice. I tried fielding a ball with my shin instead of my glove. I've had a knot on my shin all week and it has been pretty swollen. I've taken a break from running this week, but to stay active I've been riding my bike. Tonight I rode 6 miles. Not a tremendous distance, but a good way to stay active. As of this entry, 4/30/09, I have lost 6 lbs. I welcome anyone that wants to "train" and run w/me this fall. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

- Jeremy

Oven Fried Chicken Tenders!

Ingredients:

3 bonless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1/2 inch strips)
2/3 cup bisquick mix
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt or garlic salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tbsp butter, melted

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Line cookie sheet with foil and non-stick spray. In a one gallon resealable food storage bag, combine bisquick, cheese, salt, paprika. Dip 1/2 the chicken strips into the egg and place in the bag and shake. Place on cookie sheet and repeat with the other half. Drizzle the butter over the chicken tenders before you cook them. Bake 12-14 minutes, turning them over half way through.

Here comes Peter Cottontail!

My mom and Ann
Jeremy and I

A few babies in my family strike a pose. Zayne (on the left) is the youngest and I believe he is the biggest of them!

Ann with the boys

Me and Mamma snuggling on Easter

Me and my sista's!

Zayne and Jeremy chilling after their bellies were full

My little bunny!

Zayne and Kenna with the Easter Bunny at the mall!

My Korean Sister!

This is Hae-ahn Kwon (we call her Ann), and she is my Korean sister. My family had her as a foreign exchange student back in 2002 and she flew back for a few days to visit us. She is currently an art student at Cooper Union in NYC, and she did one semester at Columbia. Her dad owns an art institute in South Korea, so she comes by her work very naturally. We missed her so much! While we kept in close contact with her, most of us had not seen her since we took her back home to Korea in the summer of 2002. My mom and I managed to arrange her arrival and keep it a secret from everyone else. We said my mom had a dentist appointment and then told my sister we would meet her at the mall after the dentist appointment and then the whole family was going out for supper at 5. The look on all of their faces were priceless when they saw her. Even after seven years, she is still the Ann that belongs to our family, even if not biologically. We all feel very blessed and grateful to have her as part of our lives. We had some very busy days with her here and I am very ready to sleep in tomorrow!