Wednesday, December 7, 2011

A True Story

This blog is way too serious.  Not that I get around to writing very often.  Maybe it needs a light and humorous post to get me in the mood to be more consistent.  My currently super-glue stained fingers will give it a try.

One of my magi had a broken hand, and it was the one holding his gift.  This would never do - standing near my manger scene gazing at the baby Jesus with no present.  Yes, I know the magi did not visit the manger, but let's not quibble over details at this point.  Usually my husband is the fixer around here.  I am more often the breaker.  This morning however, I decided to give it a whirl.  I got the super glue out of the drawer, wrestled the cap off, and stared at the almost invisible liquid within.  As I held on to the wise man, his hand, and the glue, I carefully let a drop or two fall onto his severed wrist.  I quickly and deftly attempted to put the glue down and pick up the hand.  I felt liquid flowing onto my thumb and finger and knew this was not good.  Frantically thrusting the hand towards his arm I attempted to continue my surgery.  The hand fell.  As I felt my left hand's digits sticking together and saw a little film of gold left by  my visitor from the east, I tried again.  I succeeded in getting the glue on the kitchen counter this time, as well as the thumb and forefinger of my right hand.  I tenderly laid the little man on his back and hoped his hand would stay attached as I went off in search of nail polish remover.

As I entered the bathroom I glanced in the mirror and thought, "Hmm, my hair doesn't look half bad today.  If I don't look at the brassy haircolor I got by trying yet another job myself best left to professionals."  This was indeed a rare occasion, a good hair day.  I glanced as well at my cream sweater, brown pants, and chunky brown necklace and was a little amazed at how put together I was for a day at home cleaning up after an army of children and doing paperwork.  I digress, but my vanity was about to be the pride that went before my fall.

I grabbed my brand new bottle of remover, so happy I had finally remembered to get some yesterday so I could remove the lime green polish accented with red polka dots I had festively (and regrettably) decided on for my in-law's tree trimming party..  I moistened a tissue and got to work on my fingers.  Nothing, nada, zilch, they were just as coated as before.  I wondered if the remover was non-acetone, and decided to take a look at the label.  In a stunning maneuver, I turned the bottle and simultaneously dropped it into the sink.  In the process the blue liquid rushed from it's captivity in the bottle to land all over my cream sweater - that is the part that didn't rush down the drain, leaving me with about 1/3 of a bottle of the magic liquid.  My fingers are still coated in glue.  My lovely sweater will never be the same.  My toes are still wearing their way too young for me polish.

The only bright spots in my adventure are that the magi's hand and gift appear to be securely attached to his arm, my bathroom sink is VERY clean, and instead of getting busy going through mail and bills I am sitting here blogging, with a piece for chocolate cake to soothe my jagged nerves.  I had to leave the MyFitnessPal website in order to come over to my blog.  I think that means the cake doesn't count.  :-)

Monday, June 27, 2011

Why Work Out

I have never been a person who enjoys exercise.  I like to go for walks, especially if I get to soak in the beauty God made in this world.   I like to be in the pool, floating on an air mattress with a good book.  I prefer a game of Scrabble or Yahtzee to an athletic competition; although I have had a good time with tennis when I was younger.  I enjoy good food; both preparing it and consuming it.  I have had the pleasure of giving birth 7 times along with the extra padding that comes along with pregnancy.  It isn't a big surprise to find myself in my mid-40's overweight and out of shape.  What is astonishing me; however, is how hard I am having to work for little to no results in doing anything about it.


I have been blessed with genetics that allow me to carry more weight that it appears to most people.  These same genetics have produced many a round belly in my family  tree.  As the numbers on the scale crept up little by little over the years, I didn't like it, but I didn't worry about it.  I didn't (and still don't) want my life to be consumed by keeping track of what I eat, working out, and obsessing over numbers on a scale or clothes tag.  There was a magic number I feared going over - as if it was a land of no return.  With my 2nd to last pregnancy I pushed that envelope.  True to my fears - or perhaps because of them - it has turned into a line in the sand.  I have worked my way close to it, but have never gotten back under it.  


Currently I am 15 pounds over that line, and 65 pounds over a healthy weight, 70-75 pounds over what I would prefer.  My waistline is non-existent.  I have a very difficult time finding clothes to fit.   I am, in truth, obese.  I lack energy.  I am so unhappy with the way I look.  I am discouraged and frustrated.  I know people that never exercise, eat whatever they feel like, and are blessed with genes that leave them thin and full of energy.  I am jealous.


At the beginning of 2011 I started to really watch what I ate, and workout regularly.  Over the course of about 6 weeks I lost about 7 pounds, bringing me within 5 pounds of the magic number.    Life happened, I stopped working at it so hard, and I found myself having those 7 back plus 3 or 4.  


About 6 weeks ago I started the Couch to 5K program.  I have not stuck with it exactly as prescribed, but I have been getting out there and walking/running several times a week.  I have worked harder than ever before at physical exercise.  The result?  Nothing.   The number on the scale is still shocking.  I am still ABOVE what I was in January.  I don't feel like I am gaining any speed.  I do think I must be stronger, but I am discouraged as can be.


I do not want my life to revolve around my weight or my looks.  I have more important things to do.  Spending an hour a day on fitness is very frustrating to me if there is going to be no result.  I have decided to give in one more month.  As of this week, I am changing my training.  Instead of 3-4 thirty to fifty minutes workouts concentrating on increasing speed, I am planning to complete 6 workouts of at least 45 minutes.  Only 3 of them will be focused on running, and the other 3 will be pursuing fat burning.  I will go back to MyFitnessPal.com and log my food intake.  


If, by July 31, I have not made progress I am just going to accept that this is the body God gave me and apparently I am going to be fat.  I know I need to define the progress.  I want to say if I am not under the "magic number" but that would be 16 pounds.    I know that isn't reasonable in 5 weeks.    I am going to settle on 7 pounds, even though still being 8 pounds above that number after all those weeks will be discouraging.  I can't continue to put so much time and effort into something that isn't working for me.  I don't want to do drops, pills, etc. as they just don't seem like healthy alternatives.  In the meantime, I will try to persevere with a good attitude.  It is getting harder by the day.

Friday, February 11, 2011

What's For Dinner?

We've been trying hard to get our spending under control, and be intentional with our budget.  It's tough to provide healthy, homemade food and not break the bank!  I am continually surprised at how much more expensive it is to eat fresh, nutritious meals.  I've been asked many times what it takes to feed a family of nine.  I think many people assume I'm cooking gigantic amounts - a meal fit for the Duggar family.  In truth, our meals don't seem that enormous to me.  I thought I'd give you a peek into mealtime at our house.

My first step is to make a list of meals for the week.  Sometimes I'll even plan two weeks at a time.  For me, trying to figure out what I need at the store without knowing what I plan to cook just doesn't work.  I sit down with the calendar, so I know what kind of craziness will be going on around here, and start writing.  A typical week might look something like this:

Monday:                        Roast Beef in the crock pot
                                     with Potatoes & Carrots 
                                      Salad           Bread                                      

Tuesday:                       Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps 
                                     Baked Brown Rice      
                                     Mandarin Oranges

Wednesday:                  BBQ Beef sandwiches
                                    (made with leftover roast)
                                     French Fries        
                                    Carrots & Dip

Thursday:                     Pork Enchiladas
                                   (one pork tenderloin will make enough
                                       for a second "freezer" meal)                                                        Chips and Salsa         Melon            

Friday:                         Homemade Pizza
                                    (one recipe makes 2 pizzas,
                                    enough left for lunch Sat.)
                                    Salad (if I'm feeling energetic)

Saturday:                     Chicken Noodle Soup
                                 (the chicken will make 2-3 meals)
                                    Salad             Bread

Sunday:                       Leftovers/Snack night


My shopping list would look something like this:

apples                           romaine lettuce          5 lbs potatoes                      small seedless watermelon
bananas                        baby spinach                big bag baby carrots            red bell pepper
oranges                        iceberg lettuce               green onions                        celery

 We are going to assume I have plenty of onions this week, as well as egg noodles,  tortilla chips, and the various seasonings I would need as well as baking needs.  I would also have some lunch and breakfast items
stocked in my pantry.  I would likely need to pick up some items like dog food, Pull Ups (grrrr), and toothpaste, as household items do come out of this part of the budget.

I would expect to spend about $200.00 on this trip.   On a future week I will have a little less because I will have a pan of enchiladas in the freezer, as well as some cooked chicken for a meal.  I would plan some less expensive meals such as ham & beans and spaghetti to balance it out.  My budget is $600.00 per month for groceries and household items.  I do have many things stocked in my pantry, so I would not typically have to get as many items as I listed to get to the $200.00 estimate, but I do have to re-stock as things run out.  It is still a tight stretch to make it with that kind of a budget.

I feel like we eat very well.  We do have snacks and sweets, primarily homemade.  I would like to add more vegetables and fruits to our menus, but fresh produce is very expensive in the winter months.  I do go to more than one store to get the very best prices I can.  Many items I will pick up at Aldi, and most others I will shop for at WalMart.  Only specialty items I can't get at those stores will come from the regular grocery store.  I try and stock up at Sam's Club when I can as well.  Many times we have an abundance at the beginning of the month but the pickings are much slimmer towards the end.  That being said, we do not go hungry and the pantry is never bare.  Right now there are enough packages of egg noodles and cans of diced tomatoes for us to live on some sort of pasta for a week straight, or longer, if we had to.  With the giant container of feta in my fridge to add to it, it would be just fine. 

I often wonder if we are still spending too much on food.  I consider that so many people in the world go to sleep hungry, and don't have a variety in their diet.  I think that we are a little (or a lot) spoiled and selfish.  It is a difficult thing to find the balance in.

I'd love for you to post a comment and share how you feed your family.  If you have tips for saving money or eating healthy please share.  I want to be the very best steward I can of the money my husband works so hard for and the Lord generously provides.  I'm looking forward to getting some great ideas!

D

 







         

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