Day 1

I'm reading 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker with some girlfriends. In short, a woman decided to cut the excess from her life one catagory and one month at a time on her spiritual journey. We decided to take the fasts along with the book, and I felt like this was the perfect time in my life since I'd basically already started.

The very first chapter really opened my eyes to what the transformations in my life recently have been - to prove to myself that I "am enough" for me, as she says in the book. The author's point was to realize that Jesus was enough for her. Time will tell how spiritual (or not) this experiment will be for me personally. I haven't decided whether it's personal growth or spiritual growth that I hope and expect to gain the most over the next few months, but I do know I'm just going to take it one day and one chapter at a time.

The first chapter is about cutting out all but seven foods, and for me this was an excellent place to start. I'm so dependent on food, and not for nutrition. I've been working to steer my entertainment and hobbies away from eating and into a more fulfulling and active lifestyle. So we began. Yesterday, month 1 day 1 started a month of eating from just the following seven food catagories:

1. Yogurt with granola and honey
2. Fruits
3. Vegetables
4. Whole wheat bread/corn tortillas/brown rice
5. Beans
6. Chicken
7. Turkey

I think that's a realistic list that will help detox me from sweets and snacks. Also allowed is BBQ sauce, salsa, and mustard to top off these foods. By eating practically the same thing every day, I'm hoping I'll relearn to eat because I'm hungry and not because I'm board. My waiste and my pocket book are already appreciating the difference!

Day 1 included:

Yogurt for breakfast and yogurt for lunch. I had a banana for a snack, and pulled chicken (made with salsa, water, and minimal olive oil) tacos on corn tortillas. No cheese. That one may kill me!

Swim, Swim, Swim

This is Texas, and it is hot. So yes, we swim a lot. She was so excited to go to a big pool.

She just swam her little heart out. My brave girl jumps off the side, blows bubbles in the water, and is just generally a fish. She did not want to leave.

First Slumber Party

My cousins' kids are in town while my cousins pack up in Louisiana to move back to Austin. The girls came down one day last week for a play date with Liv, which resulted in Liv's first slumber party! Emmy and Aubrey are several years older than Liv, and just act like little mothers to her. The three of them play together so well. Usually Liv is shy around other children, but these two girls were her instant BFFs. Olivia stayed up waaay past her bedtime, and there was a lot of girly giggles going on in my house. When Olivia woke up the next morning and saw the girls come in the room, she lit up and thought that was just about the funnest thing ever.

Amelia (Emmy) and I share a birthday!

A little impromptu backyard swimming!

Sweet little Aubrey (on the left) cuddled up and slept with Liv's lamb chair all night. I think it was bigger than her (yes, there's a little girl under than lamb)!

Wordless Wednesday

"All done, Mom!"

 

Sloppy, Sloppy Joe

I have bestowed my sweet tooth on Olivia. As vegetables go, she'll eat green beans and that's usually it. I always offer her vegetables, but I'm trying to find ways to get them in her even when she refuses to eat them. I heard a rumor that Sloppy Joes masked vegetable well, so we tried it.

My first thought was that I did not want to be eating Sloppy Joes regularly. However, after making this meal, the whole family is obsessed with them! We've had sloppy joes three times this week.

Our recipe was basically adapted from Pioneer Woman's Sloppy Joes recipe, but I changed it up to be healthier and more to our taste.

• 1 1/4 pound of ground turkey (Jennie-O's is my favorite)
• 1/2 onion diced
• 1 green bell pepper
• 2 1/2 cloves of garlic (I'm lazy and use the minced refrigerated garlic)
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (I've used regular mustard in a pinch)
• 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce (I've been using Cattleman's Memphis Sweet)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Whole wheat hamburger buns
• 1 pat butter

Brown the turkey with the onion (drain fat if there is any, but I use the leanest turkey I can find), then mix in bell pepper, garlic, ketchup, water, brown sugar, chili powder, mustard, BBQ sauce, and salt & pepper. Simmer about 15 minutes to cook down the water. 1 pat of butter (less than a tablespoon) melted and brushed onto the buns was plenty to toast 4 buns on the stove top. Yes, my picture is of my Dad's white bun. The rest of us ate whole wheat.

We've been having it with a side of sliced up Texas peaches. You can never have enough Texas peaches when they're in season!

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I've had to reinvent our lives lately. I was scared in the beginning, but it has turned into quite the journey.

I couldn't afford to eat the way I had been. Neither my health nor my bank account could afford drive throughs, rich restaurant meals, and frozen food. I really love to cook, but hadn't taken the time in quite a while. After my divorce and significantly lowered income, though, things had to change. Around that same time, I caught up with an old friend who told me all about her new way of eating. She's always been gorgeous and healthy, but her new lifestyle showed from her head to her toes. I saw the quote above literally the next day. Now when I'm meal planning, I ask myself, "Medicine or Poison?"  Liv and I (and my parents, since we often cook together so Liv can have family dinners each night) have been having delicious, home-made healthy meals. So much so, that when I try to eat out or eat fast food, it literally makes me sick. I feel SO much better on a daily basis as well. I still struggle with the serving sizes of the food I'm eating, but at least I know I'm not poisoning myself or my daughter.

While I don't like to use the D word with regards to our food, it's safe to say I'm on a financial diet. You know what? It feels as good as eating healthy. I was so used to being able to buy whatever we needed or wanted, that living on just my income has been a serious adjustment. Since I no longer have money to burn, my house has been cleaner, more projects are being completed, and I've had more time to spend with Olivia. I'm trying to simplify as many aspects of my life as possible, and just enjoy the things we have. Having less "stuff" around the house has somehow lifted such a burden off my shoulders! Less stress + more baby time = a happy Momma. :-)


*I left both my camera and my phone at home today. I have a slew of new Olivia pictures coming soon! The girl has been having a fun summer!

Starting Again

This blog does not feel very personal lately, or representative of myself. A large part of that is there is only so much I'm willing to share on the Internet, especially when a lot of what is going on is primarily in other people's lives.

Lately, it's also in part due to my avoiding my feelings. Between losing Bandit, being sick off and on for several weeks, and life being incredibly busy, I just didn't know what or when to share.

So ... let's do snapshots, shall we?

WTF is this hole in the ground?! We decided some kind of animal made it, and have the bright idea to flush him out with a hose. Nope, it's just a giant hole in the ground. We put the hose in there, and the water just ran, and ran, and ran, and ran some more. So now we're just waiting for my parents' house to collapse into the cavern they are apparently sitting on.

4th of July side dishes = super tasty fruit. If only summer could last forever...

(Yes, that's easy to say when it's raining and a high of 85)

 This is a pretty accurate picture of my child lately. She's as sweet as ever, but man can she start a ruckus.

 Bandit died in the middle of my Mom having the crud. She promptly shared it with Liv and I and between us, we were sick for almost 2 weeks. It wasn't "OMG I'm DYING" sick, but it was still not any fun, can't get out of bed, super tired sick.

The refi on my house is not going well. I can hardly keep up with my bills, let alone have any extra money. I need this refi to come through, but I'm getting nervous it's not going to happen. Money problems are THE most stressful. I can handle just about anything else, but I don't like being broke. I know this is temporary, and I know we'll come out okay in the end, but for whatever reason that never helps undo my stress over money.

I get to have a root canal today! YAY! On the tail end of being sick, I got a toothache. I spent the 4th of July doped up and trying to keep the pain at bay.


Worst of all, as a friend put it recently, I have a green-eyed monster on my back. I'm not usually a jealous person. I've had a very blessed life, and usually have no problems feeling genuinely happy for other people and know that everyone has some pain in their life. This week,  I've found myself being jealous of other people that I know for a variety of reasons. I'm HAPPY right now, I just didn't obtain that happiness the way I thought I would. That's life, 'eh? I've just been wishing things were easier/pending issues were resolved/I knew where my life would be a year from now.

So that's about that. Here's to this post getting this blog rolling again!

Our Furst Baby

Bandit is demanding!

Bandit in the "Snow"