Healthy foods

It seems like I have been on a serious healthy food kick since the first of the year. Probably has something to do with the fact that I would like to loose 5-10 lbs. The scale is inching down with regular workouts & watching my intake(sigh).

Two healthy things we do consistently.

1. Bake things from scratch. Bread(honey wheat), hamburger buns, biscuits, pie crusts & yes cookies. I feel so much better about what we put in our mouths when I know how it has been made.

2. Eat greens. We have a salad most evenings & some lunches. Ours are made with a combo of green leaf, romaine & spinach. Everyone gets a helping--no ifs ands or buts. We also usually have at least one if not more fresh vegies on the table. Carrots, peppers, cauliflower, cucumbers, etc.


I know there are a lot of other things we could be doing but these work for us. I'd like to see us eating more unprocessed foods and less processed. One habit at a time. We do make most of our meals from scratch but some days for the sake of convenience we use a mix or something not homemade.

Somethings I buy that are processed & I am not willing to make.

Animal cookies, yogurt, chips, cottage cheese & cereal. None of these things are reasonable for us to undertake making at home. I think the biggest area I use store bought food is in snacks. We eat a lot of fruit but also lots of vanilla wafers, rice cakes, & crackers. Maybe finding time to bake more & use that as our snacks will be our next habit to work on in the area of healthy foods.

Blessings

Some days I am just blessed. Good friends, great family, health, and so many others!

I enjoyed lunch yesterday with ladies from church. We got to talk, laugh & share for an hour. That was a great blessing but the reason I got to do that was my daughter was WILLING to babysit her siblings. She also was willing to watch a friend's little boy so she could go too.


I came home and they were building a fort(making a pit of the basement--oh well) & were playing together. I love that. I love knowing that my kids are friends and enjoy hanging out together.

Blessings everywhere . . . . .

#1

I had to put off my oldest until this week. It just got too crazy for me to do him justice so I will just jump in where I am at.

How do you describe someone who is growing and changing right before your very eyes? I seem to remember this little red hair imp who used to follow me around everywhere and talk my ears off. Now I have a quiet young man who is thoughtful about everything and is considering where he will be next year and what he will be doing.

At 18, Michael is a senior and will graduate in May. He has been taking college courses at Columbia College as a dual enrolled student. It is rather satisfying to know that this homeschooling thing works. Right now he's been accepted at 4 colleges/universities & now is waiting to hear back about financial aid packages. He is carefully weighing the positives and negatives so that he can follow God's leading on where his life will go next.

Somethings that Michael does well.


Play the piano--I don't want to think about how many years I have paid for lessons but well . . . it has paid off. Right now he accompanies his dad once a month at church for the song service. I was listening to him play on Sunday when he didn't know I was there & it just struck me how much I enjoy listening to him. When he moves out I know that is one thing I will miss the most.

Memorize scripture--he's been a Bible Quizzer for 8 years and is getting ready for Nationals right now. The question is will he be on the top team this year? Does he want to be? Regardless we will travel to Pittsburgh to watch him one more time.

Make friends--I wouldn't call Michael a social butterfly but he has been choosing to interact more with people his own age lately. He is really close to his quiz team(6 girls LOL) and they have been hanging out a lot. And NO there is no one special girl in his life right now.

Also he's gone to a couple of scout meetings as they have started back up and is enjoying interacting with the younger scouts. He wants to help and teach now that he has achieved Eagle rank even though it isn't required.

Also the other seniors/graduates have been interacting on a regular basis & it is good to see him want to join in even though he isn't close to any of them besides those he knows from quizzing.

There is something absolutely bizarre about your oldest being grown and ready to move out. I totally trust Michael to handle whatever comes his way in the years to come. He is responsible, trustworthy, and kind. Many of those Scout characteristics showing through. I know he feels slightly overwhelmed and unsure but that is natural. His trust in God & love for his family will always ground him in whatever circumstances arise. While the teenage years haven't been without their rocky moments I would say that I have had one of the best times watching him grow and become who he is. It is such a process and I know it isn't over yet . . . I dread and anticipate the coming changes.

Menu Monday

It is the beginning of a new month! I am craving fruit and vegies right now--of course in the middle of winter. LOL! Right now just trying to eat as healthy as we can so I can continue to whittle away at those extra few lbs that I am carrying around. I can feel my stamina improving as I walk longer & faster each time I am on the tread mill.

Here is the plan for the week! Lots of eating out it looks like--YIKES! Need to have a plan on what to eat at each place and consistent workouts this week.

Monday

Muffins, Eggs & Sausage, Beans & Rice, Baked Orange Pork Chops

Tuesday

Yogurt, Broccoli & Cheese Potatoes, Stir fry w/ Steak

Wednesday

Eggs & Toast, Lunch out w/ Church ladies, Chicken and Noodles

Thursday

Oatmeal, Italian Hotdish, Broccoli Cheese Soup

Friday

Yogurt, Lunch out w/ kids, Beef Stew

Saturday

Oatmeal, Sack lunches, Traveling

Sunday

Cereal, Sloppy joes, Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

Distractions

Well I obviously didn't get #1 post for Michael done yesterday. Various reasons--mainly because it was our anniversary yesterday and I just ran out of time. So I will work on getting it out tomorrow or Friday. Don't want to leave Michael out!
The other reason I didn't do it today was we tackled the shower tile today!!!!!

Our plan was to use one kind of tile from tub to ceiling. Boring & easy. Well when Steve went to the store to purchase the rest of the tile we needed he discovered that they didn't have all the tile we needed in the color we planned to use. So we revamped the plan--changed colors of tile & added an idea made it a little more complicated. So we had to lay it out on the living room floor to make sure it looked right and the pattern worked--this took the rest of the morning.

We didn't actually start placing the tile on the wall until after 2 so considering that we did really well. The small tile that is in our border takes more time & thought to put up so that slowed progress down considerably. When we reached the top row, we realized that we were not going to come up flush with the ceiling but be short by about an inch--revise the plan again. We didn't go to the ceiling and we were done for the day. It looks really good but the end walls will need to wait until Sunday or Monday. I am happy we worked today but progress can be slow at times.


I admit I REALLY wanted to have the tile done today. It was hard not to be disappointed after supper when it was decided we needed to stop because we were to tired to continue. Having a second toilet in the house shouldn't be such a priority but some how it is. Friday I will seal the grout on the floor, primer the rest of the walls. Maybe the "colored" paint can go up Wednesday next week--then a toilet and vanity. I guess my problem is that we are so close that I can taste having it done. Patience--only way to learn it is to wait a little more.