http://denver.yourhub.comThe latest blog posts in The Denver Newspaper Agency YourHub.comen-usnews@yourhub.com(c) 2009, YourHub.com5Every morning, two things are likely to happen. One: I curse gravity; and Two: I wake to the current weather conditions, scrawled in bright, dry erase marker on the 4' X 6' white board in my formal dining room ( Better Homes and Gardens isn't coming to my home anytime soon). The eight...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~660560.aspx9/29/2009 7:58:02 AMJamie VanEaton These days, my son spends an inordinate amount of time playing Animal Crossing for the Wii. He fishes, picks up odd knick knacks from the locals (one, a potted plant, looks like a marijuana bush-not that I'd know what that looks like), and shakes trees for fruit to sell at Tom Nook's store. (If o...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~624900.aspx6/9/2009 2:32:49 PMJamie VanEaton Nursery owners who know their plants told me never to start the garden before Mother's Day because of the propensity for snow or frost until about that time. I wasn't going to have any of that. I saw strawberries for sale, pansies for sale, and roses for sale, and I knew that in Dallas, redbuds w...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~546592.aspx11/11/2008 8:29:36 AMJamie VanEaton Sometimes friends ask me for advice regarding different situations they happen to be encountering in their lives. Not long ago, my friend Rita was embroiled in an interesting situation regarding when to keep something hush-hush, and when fingers should never do the talking. Her neighbor and...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~521066.aspx9/14/2008 10:48:37 PMJamie VanEaton My husband just returned home from a week long Scout Camp. Whenever he came across one of the teenage camp counselors, he would find some way to remember their names coupled with something humorous. Upon seeing the sandy-haired teenager, he would say, "Austin..." and then point to a pile ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~496247.aspx7/15/2008 8:17:46 PMJamie VanEaton As gas prices continue to rise alongside mercury in poolside thermometers this summer, desperate consumers are looking to hybrid vehicles as an answer to the growing fuel crisis and the environmental concerns regarding greenhouse emissions. Still, questions loom ever nearer due to the high co...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~495029.aspx7/12/2008 11:13:12 AMJamie VanEaton It Takes a Spillage The great flood of 2008 in Iowa sent tumultuous and non-filtered waters through many large cities. As the banks of several rivers spilled itself like DNA over a blue dress, homes, lives, and many cultural attractions were destroyed. The devastating natural disaster cost th...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~489575.aspx6/27/2008 12:35:18 PMJamie VanEaton Need I say more? OK, I will-- but just because you asked me, and you sound like the little voice in my head that speaks like Ricardo Montelbahn. These small cakes are coated with chocolate and layered ( **or left as... well, stay tuned later for the filled donut version--oh yes. I did say fill...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~484935.aspx6/17/2008 12:49:00 PMJamie VanEaton My husband has decided he wants to buy a new laptop computer for me. More specifically, he told me I needed one which had a screen I could see (and has all of the letters), and with keys large enough that I didn't commit the heinous number of typos I tend to make my own. As my informal editor (a...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~483973.aspx6/14/2008 7:39:02 AMJamie VanEaton I am sometimes puzzled at how my son, who is 6'1" and a burly Scotsman can be so difficult to figure. Whereas his ancestors were the stock of Highland as well as lowland Scots, with heads of hair as big as their shoulders spilling out of their hard heads, how there could be a fear of anything a...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~480672.aspx6/6/2008 11:07:57 AMJamie VanEaton I am nervous about a Mother's Day Breakfast my littlest has invited me to attend next week at school. While my friends are excited about attending the event, I'm already in a panic, inventing phantom reasons I can't attend. I have to admit that I am not good in crowds. Bad in malls, worse at...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~462174.aspx4/25/2008 10:30:16 PMJamie VanEaton Very recently, I received an email from none other than the Amber Johnson, of "Mile High Mamas", a Denver Post - supported blogging, resource and message board for moms, dads and families in the Denver area (and beyond). (I call her "The Amber" but "the Donald" told me he is the only "the"--an...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~453779.aspx4/10/2008 7:49:48 AMJamie VanEaton To speak to the difficulty in raising kids in a high-gluten, high-carbohydrate world is an understatement. An even greater challenge lies especially when they tend to share the same sugar issues/cravings/crashes we parents experience. As we find we are increasingly gluten intolerant (and so are ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~452156.aspx4/6/2008 2:41:09 PMJamie VanEaton Weight loss in America is big business. For about $40,000 you can have parts of your stomach and intestines removed (or you could just eat vindaloo and get the same quick results non-surgically). Other patients looking for less drastic solutions might turn to lap banding, which limits food in...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~448374.aspx3/28/2008 5:26:55 PMJamie VanEaton Aside from my obvious reversion to being, like, 8, Easter is a difficult holiday for those folks who either like corn syrups, corn syrup solids, chocolate with their con syrups or corn syrup solids, or who likes Peeps (nobody knows what the heck those are). Easter is filled with colorful conf...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~444904.aspx3/21/2008 8:35:31 AMJamie VanEaton How many times is the mantra on any way of eating to be prepared? Notice I admit willingly I dropped out of Girl Scouts at an early age (the beanies of the 70's made my butt look big), and preparation has been my way of life only rarely. I tend to fly by the seat of my extra big jumpers, but ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~443762.aspx3/18/2008 6:46:01 PMJamie VanEaton I have only two things to say. On second thought, some things are best left unsaid.http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~440565.aspx3/12/2008 8:29:27 AMJamie VanEaton I was born in Wisconsin. I came out of my mom waving a foam finger that said, "Eat Cheese or Die". (As you can well imagine, the doctor was extremely impressed by my spirit.) Real Wisconsin kids are nursed on cheese curds, and we remember Laverne and Shirley. I'm sure Shirley's hubba hubba hi...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~438406.aspx3/7/2008 8:44:06 AMJamie VanEaton If the title line were longer, I'd have titled this "Pizza Lasagna and Bread Sticks even your doctor would approve of, but would never be willing to admit he'd try because it sounds really pretty gross". Right now the tastiest dish out there is David Archuleta from American Idol, and ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~435499.aspx3/1/2008 9:05:10 AMJamie VanEaton It's exceedingly rare, but there are those triumphant moments stolen during the day occasionally when the kids finally scatter and you have an entire floor to yourself. It's only natural that in these moments of quiet, you grab the bottle of Nair and decide it's time to deforest some of the old g...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~432851.aspx2/24/2008 10:45:03 AMJamie VanEaton (I always come up with the mature titles) I don't know about you (if I did, I might comment on those socks, but this is me, refraining), but clutter is something I've had to work on with time. Being a mother, one ends up saving more of the kids' assignments than necessary (that spleen-shaped ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~432360.aspx2/22/2008 8:38:33 AMJamie VanEaton Valentine's Day can be an easy day to celebrate, especially with a little bit of cleverness, and even for those folks out there either watching their sugar/refined foods intakes. And think about it-- isn't there just something very exciting about cutting the cheese (into heart shapes! S...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~428925.aspx2/14/2008 11:12:29 AMJamie VanEaton We just finished with Super Tuesday here in Colorado, and a lot of folks just finished voting in other elections, too. This brings me to voting for elections locally. Chances are, you didn't have any idea who you were voting for in the last election. Someone named Macy Gray . Or she sings...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~426733.aspx2/8/2008 4:11:09 PMJamie VanEaton In the world of weight loss, there are so many success stories that folks tend to get lost in them like Imelda Marcos in her shoe closet. Some stand out, like Jared, of Subway, but slowly go stale like yesterday's Italian bread. Due to the temporary nature of fame in public opinion, it's easy to...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~423117.aspx2/1/2008 1:30:09 PMJamie VanEaton Dear son; You stand before me, at the tender age of 15, with your new driver's permit not so much as creased in your hand, I see you eagerly hoping for my keys as you bend down on one knee. "Oh mother," you rhapsodize gallantly, "Wouldst thou take me driving such that I might-unworthy as I am-...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~421665.aspx1/29/2008 11:10:48 PMJamie VanEaton So one day my husband called me from work. The man loves to eat Hostess products, and the Ding Dongs are his favorite. That chocolaty confection wrapping itself so generously around its white, frothy middle is just more than he can handle. During one such Ding Dong store run, he jus...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~419782.aspx1/25/2008 12:42:30 PMJamie VanEaton I went to a weight loss support group yesterday. I knew the loss was going to be huge, but I didn't want to go in there with a 8 pound loss the very first time I weighed in. I mean, it's not easy to claim you lost a Butterball turkey in water weight in just one week. So, before the meeting, I...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~415197.aspx1/15/2008 7:15:02 AMJamie VanEaton One of my weaknesses is the Wendy's Baconator Sandwich. Still, at more carbs than I care to admit to, the bun is an ultimate evil; and, unfortunately, I just don't like my Wendy's burger without a bun. Thanks to a mistake I made when making Dr Atkins Revolution Rolls, I don't have to deal wit...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~411342.aspx1/5/2008 9:49:17 AMJamie VanEaton You all think I'm quiet and cute up here in Longmont, sipping my Diet Coke. You never knew that beneath this amazing hair beats the brain of a football genius. You saw a mother of four, and you thought of me here, with my Jazz hands, baking my challah and sticking Barbie shoes up my nostrils....http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~407506.aspx12/24/2007 11:16:06 AMJamie VanEaton The spirit of Santa is probably the most sacred of all childhood truths, welled up in thehearts and souls of the young-at-heart everywhere. In this age of cynicism and our quickly-aging youngsters, in order to keep this alive in our house, we have a simple rule which passes the lips and nothing ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Longmont/Blogs/Archive/Blog~404223.aspx12/14/2007 12:23:33 PMJamie VanEaton