Day One

My pics aren’t the best so don’t laugh! I was supposed to start the meal plan I purchased on Sunday…….. leave it to me to start all late and stuff BUT in my defense I didn’t go grocery shopping until today….. So for dinner we ate Tuesday’s meal, Wings with Apple Celery Slaw. It was surprisingly good. I was a little worried about the slaw, but it was pretty good too. My only complaint is my hands still smell like celery! LOL!!!! The girl loved the wings she told me “these are great mom! I can’t stop eating them.” The hubs seemed to enjoy them as well. The boy is in this picky eater stage so he ate a PB&J.

Tomorrow’s menu consists of porkchops topped with an apple and onion chutney served with basmati rice. I have the chops in the fridge in a brine and I need to go turn them over before I turn in for the night. Stay tuned…

I’m going to try something new, even if it kills me…

Lately I’ve been thinking…….no I’m not about to bust out a rendition of the Stevie Wonder classic or the Jodeci remake for that matter… I need to be more serious about my health. The first thing I would like to do is to lose about 5-8 pounds …….10 if I get lucky. To some folks my goal is easy and they probably could do it with their eyes closed and one hand tied behind their back, but let’s be real we are talking about me. I have the attention span of a baby gnat so getting me to commit to some sort of diet/exercise plan will be the hardest thing I’ve probably ever done in my life. I usually start out with good intentions and I will exercise for about a day or two… and then something always comes up and I am back to square one. I think the biggest challenge for me is the changing the way I eat. I have been eating smaller portions, but my biggest beef, no pun intended, with dieting or changing my eating is that it seems so restrictive. I don’t want to cut out everything I love. If I can find ways to still enjoy my favorite foods (in moderation of course) then I am down for the cause. When I watch fanatics like Jillian and Jackie (who both scare  me by the way) and they are throwing away food or making people run up and down stairs with two cookies in hand to prove a point I get a little twitchy.

I recently purchased a few meal plans from my Soror Erika (aka the Weight Loss Guru and hater of all things bacon) and next week I’m going to try it her way. By week’s end I will either be singing her praises or cursing the ground she walks on for making me eat oatmeal and Greek yogurt….I am very funny about food textures so me and squishy do not get along. I haven’t eaten a banana in about 28 years so that should tell you my food aversions run DEEP! I didn’t realize how much so until a few minutes ago while in the grocery store trying to pick out a yogurt to try (I’ve never eaten any besides frozen) and I was talking to my friend and she was making suggestions that I was shooting down left and right because they contained fruit pieces/bits and I HATE fruit in my food…. I do not like fruit pies, cobblers, etc, but let me digress… before I take a trip to Crazy Town! This is is definitely going to be a struggle I am gonna have to pray for strength…. HELP!!!!!

 

Playtime is OVER!!!!!

My mother, being the saint that she is, kept my children ALL summer. The last day of school was June 3rd and Nana got the kids June 4th. Not only did she have my 2 rugrats she also kept my niece and nephew because my brother was preparing to deploy (7/5) and their mother was already in Iraq. Again she’s a saint…

I would be a liar if I said I didn’t enjoy every minute of my freedom. My name has been Mommy so long I’d forgotten what it felt like to just be “B.” I didn’t do anything major during this childless summer, but that in itself was priceless. An uninterrupted nap is a rare gem, especially with a 5 and a 2 year old, so I treated myself to several. I plowed through my to-be-read list and caught up on some of my favorite television shows.

Like all good things my vacation came to an end yesterday. I am once again Mommy! Life was somewhat normal that is until bedtime. The Boy was crying for no apparent reason and The Girl supposedly now is afraid of the dark so she was also wailing like a wounded animal. They finally cried themselves to sleep….. well until 3:45 am when The Boy woke in a panic and came into my bedroom. Interestingly enough once he was in my bed he went RIGHT back to sleep. The Girl, who so kindly escorted her brother to my room at this ungodly hour then decides she doesn’t like sleeping alone and cries as she tells me about her new fear. All I could think about how close it was to 6.
I’m praying we can all get on a schedule and soon, because TG goes back to school next week. There will be no room to play around. Well folks looks like “me time” was a huge success, but its time to get back to work.

My Uneducated Palate…

So my new favorite reality series is Top Chef. How I didn’t get in on the first three seasons I don’t know, but now I am on board and sad that it is almost coming to an end. My favorite chef, Dale was eliminated about 2 shows ago so now I am torn between Richard and Stephanie..

Watching this show I’ve learned just how sheltered I am when it comes to food. I guess we all have our comfort zones and foods. Being raised in the south I am used to “soul” food and as I’ve gotten older I’ve discovered a love of Italian food…which may not be truly authentic Italian but all the same I do love to try those deliciously rich cheese filled dishes!

So! I’ve made a decision that I am going to branch out and educate my poor uneducated palate, now that’s not to say I am going to be dining on seared tuna and jicama but I am on my way to trying new things! My “tape worm” that my friend Maritza says I have, is going to be very excited!