Williamsburg & Jamestown

I went to Williamsburg this weekend for a ward weekend getaway. It was a fast trip - we left Friday after work and came back Saturday night - but it is always good to get away!

Friday night we met up with a bunch of people from our ward at Cracker Barrel for dinner (not my choice, but I was just along for the ride). For the record, they had the best biscuits I think I have ever tasted. Then we all went back to the lovely Days Inn (yes we travel in style) ... once we actually made it to the right Days Inn (there were 4 in Williamsburg) we found our room and then made our way to the Conference room for the rest of the night ... where they had all kinds of games. Sometimes I wonder about these single's ward events......goodness!!!

Saturday morning after the "deluxe continental breakfast," most of us went to Jamestown Settlement. Jamestown was the first settlement in the United States to survive. We toured around the historical sites there and saw a few intersting things there ... like this picture. Now I understand that she (yes, it is a she) does this for work ... but when she isn't at work, how does she explain that hair to people?!?

They had some boats there that looked old, but you couldn't tell if they were really authentic or just made to look that way. We found out that one of them had actually sailed from here to England and back though, so they were pretty authentic! They had some women sewing together these straw beds - which were, amazingly enough, pretty comfortable. Kind of like the first rendition of memory foam! We sort of lost track of our tour guide after the boats since we had a little too much fun exploring ... so we kind of wandered around aimlessly through the rest of the village before we left and went to a BBQ joint for lunch with most of our ward.

We spent the afternoon in Colonial Williamsburg. We didn't do the tours, so we just did our own walking tour of the main drag there, which had cute little Colonial homes and shops. Good old Colonial downtown - complete with the bakery shop, the cheese shop, churches, pubs, taverns, pottery shops, the old post office, etc. Of course we had to take our picture with the characters that were dressed in period clothing. It was a gorgeous day - about 60 degrees there - so it was perfect weather to be strolling down the streets.

Oh, and, of course, they had some of the old torture methods out in the open for us to try our hands (and feet) at ...










I can't believe that in the four and a half years that I have lived in Virginia, I have never been to Williamsburg. Its only about two hours away. I guess that's what happens when life gets busy. I'll have to go another time and go to Busch Gardens. And, I hear that it is fabulous at Christmas time! But, this weekend was a good taste of things to come this year - lots of fun travels with friends!

T-A-S-T-E-Y

Well, at least that's how Fergie spells 'tastey' in 'Fergilicious' :)

I'm always on the lookout for new recipes ... so when I got my Wegman's magazine last weekend, I perused through it to figure out what new recipe I wanted to try this week. Since its been freezing here and I'm all about easy meals, I jumped at the chance to try a new crockpot recipe. I really think crockpots are about the best thing invented! Anyway, this sounded interesting to me so I decided to give it a whirl.

Slow-Cooked Pineapple Chili

1 lb Extra Lean Ground Beef
16 oz frozen Diced Green Peppers & Onions (or you can use fresh)
1 1/2 cups Matchstix Carrots (about 5 oz)
1 pkg (8 oz) sliced mushrooms (ewww - I left these out!!)
1 can (28 oz) Italian Classics Crushed Tomatoes with Herbs
2 cans (15.5 oz each) dark kidney beans, drained
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
2 Tbsp chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef in skillet on MEDIUM, breaking up meat with spoon as it cooks. Drain off excess drippings. Add beef, peppers and onions, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, pineapple, and chili powder to slow cooker. Stir and cover. Cook 4 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on LOW. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Nutrition Info: Each serving (1 cup) contains 220 calories, 25g carbohydrate (3g fiber), 15g protein, 6g fat (3g saturated fat), 30mg cholesterol and 420mg sodium.

So I threw it all together before work yesterday morning, and let the crock pot do the work. Oh how I love coming home from a day at work and dinner is already ready for me!! Quite honestly, I couldn't really taste the pineapple, but in those few bites that I did, it was a great pop of flavor. I think next time I will actually use twice the amount of pineapple (and maybe actually buy the right kind this time, rather than crushing up my ownslices of pineapple)! The only thing I'm not so sure about were the carrots - but they were sliced up so small (like slivered carrots) that after cooking all day, you really couldn't taste them. It looked a little weird to me at first, but carrots are good for you right?!? :) Anyway, this is just a fun (and healthy - until you add chips, sour cream, and cheese to it!) variation on a chili that you can whip up in about 10 minutes (plus the cooking time of course).

A few other of my favorite healthy 'tastey treats' lately include ...

• Jello sugar-free pudding snacks (the new chocolate mint fudge is awesome - it totally solves my chocolate cravings)
• celery with natural peanut butter
• hummus (roasted red pepper is my favorite) with celery or whole-wheat pita bread
• Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop - Kettle Corn flavor
• whole wheat tortilla spread w/1 tsp light cream cheese, a slice of smoked turkey breast sandwich meat, and fresh spinach leaves rolled up into a wrap
• Dannon Light 'n Fit Yogurt mixed with a little bit of Nature's Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola (that's a mouthful! buy it at Costco), 1/2 banana, and some berries (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, or strawberries)
• cottage cheese mixed with a little bit of ranch dressing dip (the powdered stuff) - it makes a fabulous dip, without the extra calories and fat of sour cream and/or mayo ... eat it with carrots, celery, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, baked pita chips, etc.
• edamame (in the shells - totally hits the spot when you're craving something salty!)

Here's a link to a newsletter that my mom just sent me - "10 things you should add to your grocery list NOW" ...

http://www.hungry-girl.com/fridaypreview.php?newsletterid=1012

Some of my thoughts on this list ...

1. Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedges. It is REALLY good!! They sell it at Costco. Sometimes they have the original kind and sometimes they have an herb one - I have tried both and they are great. I've also had it with with wheat thins - the baked kind that come in a bag (thanks Courtney & Kirk!), and it was really good. Its good with crackers (maybe those Wasa crackers) but I also really like it with celery. It stays good forever since its cheese, so you don't really have to worry about it going bad or whatever.

2. Nature Valley Fruit Crisps, Cinnamon Apple. Looks good to me! I'll have to try them. They have good granola bars - my boss' favorite thing is to eat a cinnamon granola bar with an apple - he says it tastes like apple pie.

3. Egg Beaters. Lillywhites don't buy egg beaters...

4. 94% Fat-free popcorn. YES I love popcorn :)

5. FiberOne. hmmm - FiberOne. I have a recipe for bran muffins awhile ago that used that in it - I need to try it sometime.

6. Light Vanilla Soymilk. 8th Continent is my favorite brand of soy milk. I used to drink it but I haven't for a couple years. I don't like it plain, and I don't really eat cereal anymore, but...it is good with Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal though.

7. JELL-O Sugar-Free Pudding Snacks. My favorite treat - JELL-O Pudding Snacks! YUM.

8. Smucker's Sugar-Free Preserves. Haven't tried Smucker's - but I just bought some at Trader Joe's the other day - I don't eat a ton of jelly, but it is good on a whole wheat pita with natural peanut butter...

9. Gerber Fruit Puffs & Veggie Puffs. Gerber fruit & veggie puffs?? Hmm - that's an interesting one that I'll have to try...never would have though about that! Maybe some of you with kids can shed some light on this one!

10. Hellman's Dijonnaise. I will definitely get that - and try mixing it in with white albacore tuna fish for pita sandwiches or tuna and fresh spinach salads- I bet that would be really good - and way fewer calories than low-fat mayo. I bet its also good in wraps.

Thank goodness there are lots of healthy options out there that still taste good!

Swimming ... it looks so much easier on tv!

Swimming. Kids love it. Me? I love the pool, don't get me wrong, but I don't remember the last time that I used it for a workout. Last week I had two swimming lessons. Ok, not actual I am taking a swimming class or anything (though that's not a bad idea...) but I did feel like I was five years old again having to ask a couple great friends to give me some pointers in the pool. Disclaimer: I do know how to swim, but the Cherry Hills Swim Team in St. Louis was a LONG time ago ... and little did I remember that swimming is a dang hard workout! I thought I was in good shape, I mean I go to the gym 5 or 6 times a week, I run, I bike, I lift weights, but put me in a pool and a couple laps later I am out of breath! Give me a kickboard and I have this amazing talent of almost staying stagnant in the pool. I suddenly have a much greater awe (if that is possible) for the summer Olympic swimmers that I have always loved. Ok, let's be honest - really anyone who swims on a regular basis is someone that I respect and admire greatly!

Why the sudden interest in swimming? No, I'm not just looking for ways to spice up my workouts, though it is a nice bonus (except for the unfortunate fact that my gym doesn't have a pool). A few friends and I decided to train for a triathlon in June and I figure if I have to swim a half mile, there isn't any time to waste. As my trainer at the gym said to me last week ... 'have you ever done that before?' Um, nope. 'have you done other races like a half-marathon or something?' Again, nope, but I did do a 10k once (like 10 years ago). 'do you have a bike?' Yet another nope, but I do spinning classes at the gym. 'Wow you're off to a great start aren't you?' ha ha ha ... 'you don't mess around, do you, you're just going for it all at once? I like it!' That's the answer that I wanted ...

So, I'm really hoping that I can figure it all out. This is a whole new world for me but I really enjoy it. Its fun to learn new things, especially ones that involve physical activity. There is something just innately fulfilling in it. I know it'll take many hours of hard work - but it will all be worth it in the end when I can cross that finish line (even if I'm last)! Now I just have to figure out a schedule for myself so I can swim a couple times a week along with everything else I've got going on. Then I'll have to think about getting a bike when the weather gets a little nicer outside. For now, I'll stick with spinning classes at the gym. And, running on a treadmill works for these winter months as well. I'll just have to add some new songs to my ipod so I don't get bored! Any suggestions for some catchy running/workout tunes? I'll need some with all the time I'm planning on spending at the gym in the next few months :)

100 Random Things About Me

I've seen this on so many other blogs that I decided to do it myself. So, without further ado, I give you my 100 Random things.

1. One of my very favorite things in the world is going to the Monuments in DC at night.
2. I can sing "I Am a Child of God" in Japanese.
3. I didn't have a passport until I was 25 years old.
4. I am the oldest of 4 kids - and the only girl.
5. I have never broken a bone.
6. I never had braces.
7. The only time I shared a room was when I was at BYU.
8. I have never mowed a lawn in my life.
9. I have 75 first cousins.
10. I cannot drive a stick shift.
11. I always make wishes at 11:11.
12. I played the violin in 4th and 5th grade.
13. I played the flute in Jr. High, then thought I was too cool for band in high school, so I joined the choir.
14. I was in a community show choir in high school.
15. I love Fall.
16. I was born in Oklahoma.
17. I have lived in 6 states (OK, TX, GA, MO, UT, & VA).
18. I learned to talk while we lived in Texas - and had quite the Texan accent!

19. I went to 2 Keith Urban concerts in one week (yes, the same concert - first in VA and then in Atlantic City).

20. I can (and do) send text messages without ever looking down at my phone.

21. I love to talk. I use anywhere from 2500 - 3500 cell phone minutes a month.

22. I don't have a middle name.
23. I have been to baseball games at 21 Major League ballparks (14 more to go - until they build more).

24. My favorite baseball team is the Atlanta Braves (I travel to watch them play sometimes).

25. I procrastinate just about everything that I possibly can.
26. I know every word to "Ice Ice Baby."
27. I could eat at Cafe Rio every day for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy.
28. I have had 24 roommates since I graduated from high school.
29. I haven't 'had a tv show' in years until last summer when I became addicted to LOST and The Office.
30. I sleep with an electric blanket every night.
31. When I was a little girl I wanted to be a BYU cheerleader 'when I grew up.'
32. I am definitely a night owl.
33. I love living so close to Washington DC and being able to do all the cool things that I can (this pic was at Pres. Bush's Inauguration).

34. I eat oatmeal every morning for breakfast.

35. My gmail inbox is 81% full ... so much for never having to delete anything!

36. I have crazy dreams - and remember them - almost every night. Just ask anyone who's ever lived with me!

37. I do not move when I sleep.

38. I make my bed every morning.

39. I am a control freak.

40. I can't stay mad at someone for more than a day.

41. I was there when Apolo Ohno win the gold medal in short track speed skating at the SLC 2002 Olympics.

42. I have only seen one of the Star Wars movies.
43. I can't whistle.
44. The only cavity I've ever had was in a baby tooth.
45. If I would have been a boy, my name would have been Spencer.
46. I love having friends come to visit - and making them get up early so we can cram in all the good sights (this is the Shenendoah valley when the leaves were changing).

47. I will only write on my calendar with a fine point Sharpie pen.

48. I graduated from BYU with a degree in Business Management, Financial Services emphasis.
49. My grandma's chicken ranch is in the movie "Napoleon Dynamite."

50. I rarely drink anything other than water.

51. I won 2nd place in the Utah State Fair Organ Competition when I was a junior in high school (the competition was at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square - very cool to play that organ).

52. Two years ago I spent Thanksgiving in Ireland.
53. I was rear-ended twice in 4 days.
54. I hate mushrooms.
55. I love jewelry!
56. I LOVE having my hair done (every 7 weeks)!
57. I am not an animal person at all.
58. I hate mice.
59. I have the first 100 Babysitters Club Books, 7 Super Specials, and many Mystery specials.
60. I only have one living grandparent.

61. I have only been pulled over once in my life (and didn't get a ticket).

62. I can't stand to have a dirty kitchen (and have been known to do my roommates dishes just to get them out of my sight).

63. I love chocolate milk from the BYU Creamery.

64. I love to see the temple (and to go there).

65. I bought my first car after I graduated from BYU - a 1998 Honda Accord.

66. My Easter shoes when I was in 4th grade were a size 4 ... and in 5th grade they were a size 7. My feet have pretty much stayed the same size ever since.

67. Because my feet are the same size, my roller skates - which are white with hot pink laces and wheels - still fit me :)

68. I love General Conference.

69. I hate pumpkin pie.

70. I love pumpkin chip muffins.

71. Peanut M&M's are my favorite treat in the world. I

once ate an entire Costco size bag by myself (not in one sitting of course).
72. My favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor is Everything But The...

73. People used to tell me I look like Candace Cameron aka DJ on 'Full House.' (once a security checkpoint person at the Orlando airport checked my driver's license again to make sure I wasn't her ... ok I don't think its THAT close of a resemblance!!)

74. I saw the Beach Boys perform at BYU's Stadium of Fire and John Stamos aka Uncle Jesse was the drummer.

75. I made fake credit cards when I was little (with my mom's help) and put the name 'Lori Laughlin' on them (aka Aunt Becky).

76. I can be obsessive about things.

77. I don't really have a favorite color.

78. I like filling out forms. Maybe its because I like to be organized. Or because I'm just weird.

79. I am 5'3" and my whole family is short (my dad is the tallest at 5'8").

80. I love spending time with my family.

81. I didn't own anything green in my wardrobe until a year ago. Now its everywhere.

82. I named my first Cabbage Patch doll (the one that my mom made for me) "Patchy." How creative am I?!?

83. I love to laugh.

84. Last year I spent Easter in Rome.

85. I was dubbed the 'vestil virgin' by our crazy tour guide Roberto on our Colosseum tour in Italy.

86. I love throwing parties and entertaining.

87. I love decorating my house.

88. It is considered a failure to have fewer than 35 pies at grandma's house for Thanksgiving - each year has to outdo the previous year. Last year's grand total: 42.
89. I am really good at spending money!

90. I also save money.

91. I can't do accents or impersonations.

92. I have kissed the Blarney Stone.

93. I remember every detail about everything - for better or for worse!

94. I love going to BYU Football games.
95. I love cooking and baking and trying new recipes.
96. I love shopping of all kinds.
97. I got two of those red light photo tickets within a week of each other!
98. I love keeping in touch with old friends.
99. I love CHOCOLATE in any way, shape, form, or size!
100. I like to think that I am creative but coming up with this list was mighty tricky!

THE END. :)

'What Not To Wear' - the rest of the story...

Ok - since people keep asking me, I might as well tell what happened with the whole 'What Not to Wear' bit ...

I love the show, tune in when I can, and one night I heard an advertisement for their upcoming 'mall tour.' So, I checked out their website and found out where they were going to be, and discovered that they'd be at the Montgomery Mall in Maryland in just a few weeks. Well, I had no idea what would be going on there but thought it would be a good chance to get some fashion tips from the stylists that surely they'd have there, etc. So when the day arrived, I stopped there on my way home from the temple to check it out. I was talking on my cell phone and therefore not paying attention to what was going on, and went to the center court of the mall, where they had a stage set up, and a fashion stylist was doing a mini show where they'd chosen someone at the mall and given them $100 to go find a new outfit with another stylist. I went straight to the long line that I saw, competely oblivious to what it really was...

It still didn't strike me as odd when the guy in charge of the whole thing had me fill out a form with my contact information, references, and signing a waiver form ... I just figured it was all part of the deal. So and it was almost an hour later that I realized that I wasn't just in the lame find out what clothes are good for your body (which, by the way, was short skirts and halter tops!) but in the 'self nomination' line. At that point I figured I'd already invested the time into it so I may as well go through with it ... I guess I should have clued in when I noticed that everyone around me was wearing hideous clothes and looked like they should have been on the show. All my roommates asked me if I hadn't noticed that I was the only cute one there, wearing normal clothes?!? They also laughed when I told them that the fashion stylist they had running the show on stage came up to me and told me he loved my shoes. Anyway, when it was my turn, I went into the 360 degree mirror, held up the sign with my number on it, and said "hi my name is Shanna Lillywhite and I am nominating myself to be on 'What Not To Wear' because ..." I honestly can't remember what I said but something about being short and wanting to learn how to play that up or something really lame like that - and then I just kind of stood there looking around like an idiot until they opened the door and told me that they were finished taping me.

Well that was all fun and good and we had a few good laughs about it. Until about two or three months later, my roommate Jenny called me and said "guess who I just got a phone call from?" Someone from TLC in New York who was asking questions about you. Then a couple weeks later I got a phone call from them as well and asked if I could come to a 'special taping of a segment within the show' in DC that week. Well of course I wasn't going to pass up that opportunity - a chance to do who knows what and actually meet Stacey & Clinton! So, I went downtown to the Josephine Butler Parks Center mansion (http://www.washingtonparks.net/parkscenter.html) with about 50 other women who didn't know what was going on either. Unfortunately, it was a bunch of hype over what ended up being the beginning of an on-location shoot ... basically they had us there as extras before they announced which one of the women they'd been 'secretly taping for a week' and was chosen for the show - and she happened to be practially right in front of me so I had a couple good face shots on the camera during the first few minutes. The whole thing was incredibly CHEESY but kind of fun to see it all 'live' and in action. Stacey & Clinton were hilarious, just like they are on the show. After the taping was done, we had a 'meet & greet' with Stacey & Clinton (that's where the picture in my earlier post is from).

The taping was last November (2005) and I think the first time the episode aired was in March. I'd kind of forgotten about it until I received a voicemail informing me that I was on tv. That was followed by a few other phone calls with people seeing me, as well as comments at church and work, for months to follow about people seeing the episode and recognizing me - all of them asking me how in the world I ended up on that show. I just have to laugh about the whole thing because it is funny though still embarrassing that just because of my ignorance I ended up there!! So ... all of that to say that if you see someone that you think looks like me on TLC, well, it probably is! Its just too bad that I don't have the new $5,000 wardrobe to prove it :)

Is it really 2007?!?

Hard to believe another year has gone by and I am amazingly not any older! ;)

New Year's Eve was pretty low-key this year since it was Sunday, but we all crashed at Katie's parent's house and rang in the new year with a bunch of friends.

So on the vein of new year's resolutions ... I guess I should say that I am going to update this new blog thing that I've got going on here "regularly" (whatever that means)! As for now though, a few pictures will have to suffice since one of my other goals is to go to bed "early" - which means right now!!