Monday, July 15, 2013

24 years...2 Dozen...

2 dozen eggs in a carton, 24 hours in a day. I am celebrating the number 24 today! 24 years of marriage to my dear Shane. 24 years of walking in faith together, even when we weren't sure what that looked lik. 24 years of loving each other through thick and thin. (poundage and life!) 24 years of romantic juxtaposed with mundane... 24 years of getting to know each others' families. 24 years of dreaming about our own little family that will, quite possibly never happen...24 years of deaths, weddings, and births for people we dearly love...24 years of cooking together, sleeping together, working together, praying together...as I have watched so many marriages fall apart, it makes me value even more the blessings we have and the life we have created together...yes, there have been truly rough spots...places where I didn't know if this marriage would survive. We don't often use the D word, but it has crossed my mind on more than one occasion. You don't go through this crazy life together without there being some very real, very serious issues. But we have stood by each other even when one or the other of us was being incredibly selfish, even when we lost our temper, even when one of us hurt the other one so badly there are no words. We have loved each other through 3 miscarriages, remodeling an old house, a bi-polar bio dad, money struggles, 2 masters' programs, 2national board certifications, working together, living apart, moving over and over and over. We have struggled...more than some couples, less than others...the fact is...our love is as strong as we choose to make it! And we choose to make ours strong. It's not an exciting anniversary. We are hanging out at home. I'm writing songs and blogs, and Shane is writing for his doctoral program. We have our regular workouts scheduled for later, but we are together...today, and every day in this life we live. Today I celebrate 24 with two dozen eggs-cell lent reasons I love him and a gift of 24 hours...curious? I'll tell you more tomorrow...don't want to ruin the surprise! We are getting ready to eat crock pot lasagna I made earlier in the week, so I thought I'd share the recipe today. Crock Pot Lasagna I made sauce from scratch, but you can use your favorite jar. Sauce About 10 large tomatoes 2good handfuls of fresh basil 2-3 garlic cloves, pressed A palmful of dried oregano, rubbed 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary 1 onion, chopped 1lb ground beef, browned Sauté garlic and onion. Add tomatoes and cook down to a sauce. Add herbs, salt and pepper. Add ground beef Cheese mixture 1pkg Italian shredded cheese 1small container ricotta cheese Mix together In crock pot, layer sauce first, Then lasagna noodles, broken to fit crock pot(ready bake) Then, layer some of the cheese mixture. Repeat until you are out of room. Cook on low 4 hours. (I used gluten free noodles. If you use traditional, it might take a bit longer. Make sure your sauce is juicy, as much of the liquid will be absorbed by the noodles!) Happy eating, and happy anniversary to my hubby!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

One Down

Ok, so today, finally down one lb...I surely am hoping I can keep it off. I think every time you gain it back, it sticks harder...the message in that is...don't gain it back! Hopefully I'll take that advice if I can get rid of it this time. Zumba workout tomorrow at Barefoot Church. I had a couple of new ladies join me last Thursday! It is so much more encouraging when you can hang with a group! We laugh...at each other sometimes, but usually with each other... Sometimes at ourselves! Gangs can be a bad thing, but they can be a good thing to, when we motivate each other for good! I am ready for some Faith and Fitness at Five! I need to find some fun physical activities for the other days now. How about you? How are you doing with your fitness goals? I'm on my way...slow and steady wins the race! Today, I'll share a new recipe my husband and I created together. My idea, but he actually put it together, and it was quite delicious... Breakfast stuffed Poblanos 2 poblano peppers, halved and seeded 1 lb. of your favorite loose sausage 1/2 onion, chopped 1-2 garlic cloves, chopped 4 eggs 1cup (or more if you prefer it really cheesy) shredded cheese (we used Mexican blend, but you can sub your face) Sauté sausage. Drain and set aside. In sausage pan, sauté onion and garlic. Add eggs. Cook until almost set. Add sausage back to pan. Add cheese. Spoon mixture into each half of a poblano pepper. Sprinkle with additional cheese, if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until desired level of doneness. We served ours with buttery grits, but you can serve them alone if you are watching carbs. Or have some yogurt and fruit parfait on the side. Some watermelon chunks are a nice balance to the heat point as well. I hope you enjoy them. We sure did!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Habits

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." -Jim Rohn This is such a true quote! For over two years, my eating habits were in a good place, but as soon as I let them get out of control and give up the habits, all the good, hard work I had done was gone. And can I just tell you that getting those habits back are certainly not easy? For two years, and a bit more, I ate almost exclusively gluten-free and refined-sugar-free. I didn't eat at staff parties unless there was something that fit the bill. I only ate at restaurants that had foods that worked within my plan. I was on a roll, and it got less and less hard and more and more normal. I've always been an emotional eater, so when I had the first miscarriage and D&E, I had a pretty major pity party, and before I could finish with one pity party, I found myself in the midst of another. I gave myself permission to eat off my plan "just until I feel better.". But then I didn't feel better. The first miscarriage was in late August. The second came in February (between Valentines Day and my 45th birthday...):-( The third came in September of last year, so I left many of my good habits behind. As a consequence, I have gained back 40 lbs of the 62 I had lost. It makes me angry with myself, and sad, and frustrated, but it was my choice. I gave into my sadness, and now, I am reaping sad consequences. Now I find myself back at a starting over point...creating new habits. Not an easy task, but the good news is...I know I can, because I did. I came further last time than I need to this time. Last time I came from drinking lots of soda, and eating fast food regularly and eating lots of sweets. While my habits are not quite what they were, I haven't totally reverted back, so in theory, it shouldn't be as hard. Already I have re-established my habit of exercise three times a week, and because of that, I'm drinking more water. Also, since I'm working out, I'm more aware of what I put into my body. So the chain reaction, while a lot slower than I'd like, has begun. I am thankful, humbled, and excited! I hope soon I will begin to see progress on the scales, in my clothes, and in my body. However long it takes, it feels really good to be moving forward again. If you find yourself on one of those backward spirals, just put on the brakes, and start over. It's not easy, but it beats the alternative! For today's recipe, I want to share with you a beautiful, healthy salad I made when a friend shared some peaches with me. Peach and Blackberry Salad One peach, sliced A handful of blackberries 1/4 - 1/2 cup plain yogurt Generous drizzle of honey Small handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped Slice peach and arrange on a small plate. Sprinkle blackberries among peach slices. Drizzle yogurt over fruit. Drizzle honey over all. Sprinkle mint over salad and enjoy!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

A Long Journey...A Long Time

I am so humbled, and not a little depressed after going back and reading all my posts. It has been a long journey, and a long time since I've posted. I'm still on the journey, but it has suffered some major setbacks along the way! Over the last two years since I posted, the good news is that this eating plan worked beautifully for my infertility, resulting in three pregnancies in that amount of time! The bad news is, that because of my age, all three pregnancies ended in a miscarriage at 8 1/2 - 9 weeks. I'd love to tell you that I stood firm through it all and continued progressing and persevered. . . . but that would be a lie. It has been a hellacious two years, full of ups and downs and depression...and lots of other life-stuff -- roller coasters. . . .Consequently, I have regained so much of what was lost -- and not in a good way! I picked up those 4 ten-lb bags of potatoes again, and am facing all the consequences of that. It's harder to move, joints and muscles aren't working nearly as well. At 46 now, I realize that the chances of a full-term pregnancy lessen each day and probably will not happen. I also know how much better I feel when I'm eating gluten-free and exercising regularly and weighing less. So I am really trying to pull myself up by my bootstraps and start all over. It's not easy. I've let so many of my healthy habits go...but I am working out again regularly -- doing at least 45 minutes of zumba three times a week. I need to get more active daily, need to drink more water, need to cut back portion sizes, need to get rid of some very tempting foods that I've let creep back into my life. It is depressing to think that I'm only 25ish lbs shy of where I started this journey, but at least I am not back at square 1. I am still on the journey. I know it works. I just have to move forward. I've been going backward for far too long. As was my tradition, I'll share with you a fun, healthy meal I'm currently enjoying. Shepherd's Pie was for dinner last night, and lunch today. It's a lovely Irish dish -- comforting and delicious, and full of yummy veggies! Shepherd's Pie 1 - 2 lbs of fresh ground beef 1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables 1 onion, chopped 1/2 package of fresh mushrooms, chopped 4 large potatoes Shredded cheese 1 -2 cloves of garlic Brown ground beef in a skillet, and drain. Add in chopped onions, garlic, and mushrooms Saute until mushrooms are soft and browned Add in mixed vegetables and desired spices Meantime, Boil potatoes in water When fork tender, mash with a little butter and milk. Add in shredded cheese. Top beef/veggie mixture with mashed potatoes mixture and bake for 30 mins or so at 350 degrees. Enjoy!