Wherefore Art Thou?

I know that's what you've been asking. :)

I guess the holiday season took me hostage.  I've been busy cooking (as usual), making gifts with my kiddos, trying new recipes for sharing with friends and family, joining my family in some caroling, visiting, and making some great memories. In short, it's been a lovely Advent Season. :)

 

I'll post some specifics on new recipes and fun things we've done over the last couple of weeks. I've also been reading a fantastic book by Dr. Scot Stoll, titled Alive! that I can't wait to share with you.  The scale has been stubborn and holding itself still.  However, I haven't helped matters much with avoiding the workouts I was planning to get started on during this break from school. Please pray for me to commit and do what's right in that area.

 

I'm pretty sure I should have asked for some extra hours in my day on my Christmas list. ;)

Nutritarian Thanksgiving!

Yep.  That's the ONLY picture of the food we made for the whole day.  Can you BELIEVE that????

I wanted to get pictures of all the great food we made. All the recipes I tried were fantastic! It looked beautiful and tasted so good! 

Our turkey turned out lovely.  The cornbread stuffing and green bean casserole were delicious.  The sweet potato pie was VERY sweet, but a good flavor on the plate as long as you didn't have too much. 

The mashed potatoes were too runny, though.  Warming them in the crockpot all day was probably my downfall on that one.  I made up for it with my mushroom gravy, though, as David told me he loved it so much he could cover the plate with it. (at least, I HOPE that was a good thing ;) )

My il's brought a gorgeous and delicious salad that was devoured.  And, my sweet 11yo boy made that adorable "turkey" vegetable platter while my 14yo boy made a batch of home made hummus. 

The biggest hit of the meal, though, had to be the apple crisp ala mode.  A nutritarian apple crisp topped with vanilla Nice Cream.  We really wowed everyone, including ourselves!!  I'll get that recipe typed up and on the blog soon. You will DEFINITELY want to make it. :)

And, a little extra to be thankful for this year, I started the day .4 pounds down on the scale! That puts me at a 2 pound loss for this week already.  Wow!!

However, I really pigged out on the food at dinner today, so I'm thinking I may not like the story the scale tells me tomorrow morning.  For now, I'll just be happy, though.

Thanksgiving Menu

We spent the afternoon prepping food for our Nutritarian Thanksgiving Feast!  We've still got a few things to assemble and cook, including a cage-free, no antibiotics, vegetarian fed (is there any other kind of feed for them?) turkey. 

And, yes, I declare, by all of the powers vested in me, that serving the healthiest and highest quality turkey our budget can afford for Thanksgiving dinner qualifies as a Nutritarian meal.  I'm not sure we're all planning to eat it, but I'm grateful to serve it to our guests on this special day.

Here's our menu plan with links:

Vegetable Tray
Hummus (I'll post this recipe if it turns out)
Savory Bean and Spinach Soup
Turkey
Cornbread Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole (I altered this recipe; I mixed almonds and bread in the food processor and then mixed in dried, minced onion for the topping with some extra slivered almonds)
Sweet Potato Casserole (I altered this recipe; half the maple syrup, no sugar or butter for topping. I mixed pecans, dates, and flour in the food processor for the topping)
Green Salad (brought my guests)
Dinner rolls (brought by guests)
Apple Crisp (we made this recipe up. If it turns out, I'll post the recipe soon.)

Some pics of our hard work today

Thursday, July 4, 2013 - Independence Day!

Today's Good Things:
Had a fun day celebrating the Fourth of July
Stayed away from the meats from the grill, didn't even mind it
Made great choices for my celebration feast
Enjoyed my afternoon blogging
Got in 20 minutes on Wii Fit and a few games with the boys on Wii Wipeout (I don't count that one as exercise, though)
As a rare treat, I have the house to myself this evening. The little girls are asleep and David and the older children went for a drive. Lovely. :)

Today's Not So Good Things:
I overate at lunch. I didn't over eat calorie-wise, but I didn't eat slow enough or take smaller portions like I should have. I left the table feeling over-full.
This evening I am feeling SO snacky! It must be because the day has been rather lazy. Or, maybe it has to do with this dreaded poison ivy that is making me INSANE!!!  Whatever it is, I gave in and had an evening snack. Sigh.
I've been battling irritability all day.

Some pics of our Independence Day Feast:

 

And here's a pic of what was on my plate. All good stuff!!

 

And, guess what I learned today. Go ahead...GUESSSSS. :) 

 

I like Brussels sprouts!! All these years I thought of them as stinky, soggy, yucky cabbages.  But, today, with the yummy marinade my daughter made, they were divine!! And, with just a brief bit of reading, I can see that Brussels Sprouts are definitely going on my weekly list of vegies. Yum.

 

My snack tonight was a rice cake topped with natural peanut butter and all fruit. Good choices as far as food goes. Just not a great choice as far as timing and intent.  However, it's a holiday, I'm still under on calories for the day, and I did give myself permission to loosen up for the day.  With all that, I can give thanks to the Lord and enjoy my pb&j happily.

Daniel Fast - Day Seven

June 16, 2013

Amazing day.

The sermon preached today was excellent, as usual. So fitting, though, with our fast and all I'm learning.  Even better, my 11yo son was fully engaged for the first time ever in the preaching. I watched him leaning forward, fully intent on every words spoken.

Then, after the sermon, I watched and listened as he approached our pastor to thank him for preaching on the person of Samuel. He told him how much it meant to him, how he relates to the message of obedience in his life, how he longs to obey and do better at home.  Preacher Gabe was fully of reassurance, courage, and hope for my boy.  Oh, how my heart wanted to dance!!!

I came home and had several great conversations with him.  For one of the first times ever, I cannot wait to wake up to a Monday morning because I get to work with my wonderful boy!!  Thank you, Lord!  Thank you for helping me tune out the wrong voices so I can tune in to the right ones.  I am so very grateful.

We had lunch with David's parents to celebrate Father's Day.  My sister in law was gracious and generous in preparing many foods that fit our Daniel Fast. They have done the fast before, so she knew the ropes.  Such a blessing.

We prepped a week's worth of food for David and Joshua tonight. They are going to be away for the week on a job.  I'm hoping everything we sent will keep them well fed and content.

I'm feeling better and better. Still some soreness in my lower back, but even with all the sitting today in the van and at church, I'm doing well.  David bought me some new shoes to wear at home and they feel so great. I'm noticing that I'm carrying myself more confidently. I have more energy. I'm definitely doing better with my temper and not so irritable.  I am THRILLED that I'm making some strong connections with my children right now. THRILLED.  Including the social networking in my fast has been hugely effective in my relationships.

This week being a single parent will be challenging, but I'm looking forward to it in a strange way.  I little more relaxed. A little less stress. A little more time to get things done.  I'm definitely planning to pace myself so I don't wear out quickly.

Got in all my water today. Easy peasy. :)

Holiday week- July 4th

Lots of friends and cookouts and activity.  It made it hard to be wise with my choices and I saw an embarrassing lack of will power on my part. It's like will power is a muscle. Once you haven't used it for a while it grows very weak.

I'm feeling bloated and sluggish. My nights with baby have been very difficult, so I keep thinking its the lack of sleep. But, my food choices have been rather lazy and I think that's a big factor as well.  The last two days have been better. I'm focusing on fruits and vegies to clean my system out a bit. I'm also learning and trying to make some kind of plan for eating to get my gall bladder healthy.  It's still creating some pain and issues so I guess the Lord finally found the perfect way to get me to let go of the pizza, chips, and ice cream that I've always enjoyed with my husband.  So far, I've found that my greek yogurt with frozen fruit replaces the ice cream well. Peanuts and even carrot sticks give me something to crunch in place of the chips.  But, my pizza. I'm just going to miss pizza so much.

Slept in long today, thanks to my wonderful husband.  Had a large apple for breakfast. I'm still getting used to the fact that I can eat so much fruit now and first thing in the day.  The GD diet had my brain wired a different direction, so when I reach for a piece of fruit, I tend to feel like it's a bad choice. Reprogramming.

Off to enjoy lunch with the fam and hopefully get a house project done for the day.

Quick Update

I haven't journaled for a bit. My numbers have all been amazingly low.  So much so, that I have even gotten a little lax on how I round out each meal. I'm still being cautious on portions and amounts of protein. Actually, what I've been lax about is not eating enough most of the time.  I don't leave the table hungry, and with all these snacks, I guess it's just feeling hard to make my meals as large as the menu says they should be.

That said, I had 2 slices of Sam's pizza over the weekend while we were out shopping.  I thought for sure it was going to do me in.  Not so! My numbers were perfect! I don't get it because pizza before, especially 2 slices, would have sent me way over. Could be the meter. Could be insulin, I guess, even though I'm still only taking 10 units at bedtime.  Could have been all the activity I had that day with shopping and such.  Whatever it was, I'll take it!

I haven't been doing any official exercise.  We have, however, been doing a lot of cleaning, purging, and moving as we are rearranging most every room in our house right now.  My husband finished his last exam this past weekend (woohoo!) so we emptied his office and that leads to an avalanche of "newness". ;) 

His new "thing", he declared, now that this year of studying and testing is over, is Diet and Exercise. I'm excited! First my daughter, now my hubby!  It's amazing to watch everyone get excited about health and strength and want to do it together!  A little weird it is happening now that I can't fully join in, but I'm so thankful.  And, to be fair, I *am* working hard on my health, just not on weight loss, so I guess I am still part of the team. ;)  Just need to focus a bit more on strength than I have been.

The last two days I've worked hard at rearranging shelves, books, toys, furniture, you name it.  Today is going to be a rest day while I catch up on grading and school stuff.  I'm hoping to get out for a walk after lunch, though.  I have one here who has been super hard to love and I think a walk for the two of us would be a good thing.

My daughter and husband have been planning a family celebration for Valentine's day.  She's planning to make some mini-muffins for our dessert so we have something more "healthy". Love that girl.  I'm feeling a little bad that I'm not real involved in the planning and prep. But, honestly, I'm feeling swamped right now with duties and I just can't keep up.  So, I'm choosing to be blessed and enjoy their efforts. :)

Blessings to you all this Valentine's day!  Enjoy your treats, but remember to strive for balance as well as grace!!

New Year 2012

We celebrated the New Year with friends. Lots of food, lots of treats, lots of not so good food.

I did pretty well. I allowed myself some treats, but balanced it with adequate protein and worked to keep my portions appropriate. I ate in a somewhat timely manner and didn't suffer one bit by skipping the sweets.  :)

I feel good about having enjoyed our celebration with friends, even when it did revolved a bit around food. They were super supportive and I didn't feel deprived at all. Eating well can also be enjoyable and I'm glad I'm learning that.

The new year brings the challenge to leave the old behind and embrace the new challenges, promises, and goals ahead of me.  I'm praying the Lord helps me work on my activity level, making exercise enjoyable instead of the chore that it always is in my mind.  I know that my mind can be renewed in this way, and I even saw it happening last year as I worked so hard. So many new things happening, starting tomorrow with our schedule, budget, and lifestyle. I pray I can stay focused on including those things that are most beneficial to our family physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. They are all connected, so one can't really be done without the other.

" but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14

Saturday December 24, 2011

Today's Good Things:
Lovely morning opening gifts with our family
Made wise choices for dinner, avoiding the unhealthy carbs.
Controlled myself to take one small bite of "petz" which had enough sugar in it to last. ;)
Enjoyed a mid-morning nap

Today's Not So Good Things:
Still not getting my exercise in
House is pretty trashed, but I'm letting it be okay.

I feel pretty good about how my day went today. I did well with my choices at dinner at my il's as well as eating at home. I haven't been keeping up with my snacks as well as I should, but I'm still working to be careful. And, I'm applauding myself for that considering we're smack in the middle of the Season of Indulgence.

I spent my day yesterday an emotional wreck. I felt I had ruined Christmas by not working hard enough to make it special. I know I could have worked harder, but I am so grateful to the Lord for His patience with me.  He is gentle and His burden is light. If only I would truly learn to carry His burden rather than the one I strap on myself.  Today was a precious day with our children and again, with David's family. I believe our most meaningful Christmas Eve we've ever spent with them.  I'm humbled to see the Lord continuing to work and build our lives up and closer to Him. 

Tomorrow we spend our day focusing on your word.  Please help me to press forward with a heart eager to serve and obey.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

So, my OB appointment went fine. I wasn't overly thrilled with the doc, but he didn't chase us away either. ;)  After looking over my numbers for the past week, he decided they weren't high enough to diagnose GD at this point. He wants to go the routine path of taking the 1 hour glucose test, which I will more than likely fail. I have for the last 5 babies.  Then I'll move on to the 3 hour test, which I failed last time, giving me the official GD diagnosis.  I was a little frustrated with this plan, since I sorta figure it's a waste of time and money. But, if that's the information that will help him give us the best care, then I'm going to follow my husband's lead and Go With The Flow.

I figure that these steps are going to buy me some time. Since my numbers weren't alarming him, which was great news to me, then I am going to relax and stop all this fussing.  I can now set aside the testing meter, which helps the pocketbook.  I can enjoy the Christmas season without the rigidity of my meal plan and timing my meals and tests.  I will still work to follow the plan as best I can, but when I don't have to watch the clock or take a test, I can enjoy a special Christmas cookie or nibble a piece of fruit without the worry that it will mess up my numbers. 

I'm also buying time by way of the GD diagnosis. Since my numbers aren't high enough to warrant immediate action, I can go in for the 1 hour test in a week or so.  Wait for those results, and mosey in for the 3 hour at a relaxed pace. Again, if I'm not causing the docs alarm, then I guess I needn't alarm myself either. This way, if I do end up on the insulin (very likely), then at least I won't have to be on it for as long as I originally thought.

So, for now I work on keeping care of myself as best I can.  I work at relaxing about the fears and issues that don't seem to be as disconcerting to the docs as they were to me.  And, most of all, I work at enjoying this precious season with my family.  Including the season of growing a sweet, precious baby that we will get to SEE on January 12th during our ultrasound.  Now, THAT'S something to look forward to. ;)

Tuesday December 1, 2011

Today's Good Things:
Devotions
Followed menu plan well
Made progress on some schooling issues
Worked at and applied the verses I read this morning
Baby Flutters!!!
Great meeting with homeschool group tonight

Today's Not So Good Things:
No exercise
A lot of sitting at my desk to get schooling and notes prepared for meeting tonight
Choices for protein and grains are limited so I've gone back to eat some bread

I haven't been journaling here, but I have been doing pretty well following my menu plan.  Thanksgiving was hard and I did set aside the portions and even allowed myself dessert.  But, I was able to get back on track fairly well and I've been doing well so far.  I still don't have any test strips, so I'm not sure how my body is processing the sugars, but I'm building good habits, so I'm thankful.

I still need to work at getting in that exercise. I have to just push myself, otherwise I give in to the tiredness and the lagging nausea that threatens throughout the day still. The "fog" has lifted, though. So we made this past week a "work week" and have been busy getting the house and my paperwork in order.  It feels good to have some projects done and a plan developing for school next week. Now that I'm feeling a little better, I'm eager to get our schooling more organized and effective. Tomorrow I'll keep working on that as well as do some reorganizing to move a piece of furniture to our room in prep for baby's clothes and items. It's a little soon for that, but I want to do it now since we are setting aside time to get projects done.

David took his 3rd test this week, so life changes again for a bit.  Not even sure how so right now, but this whole year has felt like a constant state of unknown.  Thankfully, the Lord remains faithful and strong.  A security in the midst of the craziness of our days.

So, the goal for tomorrow is to get in my 15 minutes of moving after each meal.  Now that my sweetie isn't dealing with the pressure of the exam, I may just have a handsome escort on my walks. That's the best motivation right there. :)

The happy news is that I've been feeling baby flutters already. I haven't even heard a heartbeat yet, so this is really exciting. Still waiting on our decision of whether we will move forward with a homebirth or switch over to an OB and hospital birth this time around. That also means I haven't really had much by way of prenatal care right now. It's still early, and so far it appears that baby is doing well. I can't help but be excited that it's all becoming more real, that's for sure!

Another Birthday....

What can I say?  I started out the day decent.  Skipped the high carb snacks while we played at the park. However, lunch was nothing even close to decent. Well, I did make sure I got in some fresh vegies with my Mcd's. Then came the birthday dinner and it was all over. Well, I guess I did make some choices that were good, considering what I was choosing from. Skipped the chips and ketchup on my hot dog. I also skipped the birthday cake. So, while I didn't eat particularly healthy, I did avoid and chose to skip some things, so I was thinking.

Still managed to devour an ooey-gooey s'more around the campfire. I didn't want my newly turned 3yo to think I was happy about her special day. ;-)

Tuesday February 15, 2011 Valentine's Day - Part 2

Today's Good Things:
Prepped the breakfast table before bed for a special breakfast
Got a little extra sleep after baby was up in the night
Made a lovely Valentines breakfast for the children
Organized the Brainery a bit
Good meal choices
Enjoyed a valentine's day party with the children
Workout with dh for date night

Today's Not So Good Things:
Slow start this morning
Still am not getting in my Morning/Afternoon 15's
Munchie run this afternoon
A few too many chocolates from my valentine's bag ;-)

Since Valentine's Day fell on a Monday it didn't go over so well at our house. I'm not sure what happened, but everyone had a hard time yesterday. So, I decided to try again today, hoping that my efforts would warm the hearts of my family. We still had some bumps along the road, but in the end, we had a lovely day. I was thrilled to see the children's faces as they decorated and made valentines for each other.

After a yummy dinner of baked buffalo chicken and a large garden salad, my hubby and I decided to get in a workout together for our date night. We were both so tired, but figured we'd push to get it in before relaxing together.  Let me tell you, we both got smoked with that workout! Add these factors together:

No workout in over 2 weeks + First workout of Phase 2 in the 9 week challenge + a 28 minute workout with 53% of it working the lower body = 200 calories burned and my legs are already hurting!!

Note to self: You WILL have to start over building muscle if you let that much time lapse between workouts. DO NOT do that again!!

Monday February 14, 2011 Valentine's day

No time to post! Off to enjoy my evening with my Sweetie.

I was high on carbs today. Ate to deal with stress at a few points. Not smart.

My meals were healthy. Dh took us to Subway for dinner which was a quick save from the pizza we had originally decided on. (it's so cheap so that makes it easy to choose) I was good and saved half my foot long for lunch tomorrow and picked the baked chips so I got the prize for the lowest calorie chips tonite. :D (yes, we had a contest..heehee)

After that great meal, no one minded stopping for some ice cream on the way home. It was a fun way to celebrate a special day and the whole time I ate it I could honestly say I was eating to honor the Lord. No guilt, just happiness at enjoying a special evening with my family. :D

Tomorrow I need to get my body MOVING!! It's time to get back on track with my exercise and activity. The week promises to be a meltdown, so I'm excited to get out and do some walking. Yay!

Friday, February 11, 2011 Oh, My Aching Feet!

Today's Good Things:
Lots of great time baking with my littles and preparing for the tea party
A houseful of new and old friends :-)
I resisted the goodies!!!

Today's Not So Good Things:
Slept late and missed bible time

I didn't get in any "exercise" today, but I think I walked a couple miles in my kitchen today! Whew!  We were busy as ever preparing for and enjoying my oldest's annual Valentine's Day Tea.  I baked tarts with my girlies, helped cut out hearts with my oldest and friends, decorated, set tables, prepped lunch, tidied, swept, and vaccumed, prepped food, greeted guests, taxied guests, served drinks, helped with crafts, cleaned up messes, loaded and unloaded dishwashers, and a few other odds and ends. ;-)  It was a very full day and my feet are hurting! So, I can't log it, but I know I walked A LOT today. I should get one of those pedometers for days when I know I'll be up and running like that. It would be neat to see just what mileage I get. ::giggle::

I did so great eating today. I resisted all the treats and enjoyed a lovely, healthy blueberry muffin for an afternoon snack. Dinner was simple and easy, which was such a blessing after our busy day. I would have been so tempted to get some easy burgers or something, but we were smart and loaded the crock pot with potatoes so we could enjoy a healthy meal at the end of a hard day. Baked potatoes topped with broccoli, turkey-ham, and cheese.

I totaled my day and still have enough calories to enjoy a piece of peanut butter and jelly toast and still be under my max eat to lose goal by about 100 calories. I'm excited. I've been trying to stay under the 1800 mark by 100-200 calories now that Baby isn't nursing as often. And, I REALLY like peanut butter and jelly toast. We only have jelly when camping or when we make tarts. So, there's a little jelly at the bottom of the jar and I'm claiming it. I resisted the jelly tarts today, so I don't mind if I do. :D

Tomorrow is weigh-in day. I didn't look this morning, so it will be a surprise however it goes. I did not get in much water today, so I could be in trouble with that. We'll just have to see.

I'm looking forward to a nice weekend. Busy tomorrow shopping and prepping food. We are going to a baby shower on Sunday at our new church, so excited! I haven't been to a baby shower in YEARS!!

ETA:  I decided against the pb&j, reminding myself that I am avoiding the yeast breads, even if my dear husband brought some home from the store. :-P  Enjoyed a decaf coffee with chocolate creamer and another healthy muffin instead. Put me higher for calories, but it's a better choice overall. :-)

The Birthday Weekend

It's been crazy busy making me crazy tired and I just haven't had time to post.

This was a birthday weekend. My sweet boy turned 9 years old. We had a great time. Lots of treats, but also spent the afternoon at the pool working some of it off. It was such a lovely time. We needed that time together to reconnect, de-stress, and shake off the winter blahs.  I loved seeing the children play and wrestle with Daddy in the pool. I also enjoyed getting in 25 minutes of treading water. Good way to burn some calories while playing "Fish" with my sweeties.  ;-)

I didn't meet any of my weekend goals. I actually lost sleep, ate poorly, missed my workouts again, and didn't get anything prepped for the weekend.

I'm not feeling bad about that, however. It was a special weekend and I was busy making precious memories. :-)

Thursday January 27, 2011

Today's Good Things:
Bible time
Dh was home studying, so joined us for breakfast and lunch
Got our lessons & chores done early so we could go run errands together
Dinner out :)
Workout

Not So Good Things:
Over a bit on calories, due to eating out. But, I did make some good choices, considering
Didn't get in my Morning or Afternoon 15, trying to get our day done early
Baby is struggling to settle in to sleep, may be a rough night for us both

Today was good. It was nice to have my husband home and available to join us for meals and a quick hello during his study breaks. We had fun on our errands, though we didn't have enough time to get them all in. I'm heading out tomorrow to finish up, so that will be a fun day. Dh is sending me out with the girlies (6 and under crowd), so I'm sure to get in a lot of activity. :)

I'm so tired. My eyes are very heavy. Baby is gassy, though, so sleep may be a ways off for me, yet.

We have a birthday this weekend, so it will be a bit of a challenge with the extra treats. However, we have skating and sledding planned for the celebration, so we can work off those Necessary Indulgences. ;-)

My boys made chocolate chip muffins using the recipe from the Moody books this morning. Boy, were they good. I haven't had that much sugar in a long while. I couldn't resist a treat made by my sweet sons, but YOUCH! the calories on those babies were huge! Definitely not low-carb, either. ::snort::  I enjoyed them, though, and the blessing of having my boys so eager to make something special for the family.