Eating Right...

So...we have been on a serious 'change your eating habits' at our home...and when I say change...I mean...I have not had any type of bread for the last month and a half...nor had any starchy foods come near...that includes potatoes people! The only sugar I have eaten has been from fruit. And can I tell you??? My happiness at times directly relates to the food that enters my mouth...and every category I have just listed are those that make me the happiest! Which is the scary truth of it all!

There was a time several years ago that I actually got too skinny...I look at pictures of myself and think that was just not very attractive as you can see below and not to mention...I was very unhealthy in my obsession with it all. It ruled my life! And that is also not a happy place to be...



But in my struggle to let that go...as well as blowing out 2 disc in my lower back due to my obsession with exercise and weight... I have swung back the other way where I don't take as much time to care about what goes into my mouth. So I have gained weight. And that is not a happy place to be either.

Don't get me wrong...I still love to run and exercise! That is not where the problem lies. The problem is the food that goes in my mouth. My body does not process breads and starches well. I can eat a 1000-1200 calorie diet and still gain weight. It is no lie...but the minute I cut out bread/sugar/starches...the weight comes off.

I know this but yet I don't want to live by it. Know what I mean...we know things are not good for us but we want it anyway. When I was diagnosed with Graves disease, there was a period of time when they killed my thyroid that I gained 30 pounds in about a 2 month time frame...what did I do?...cut out the above and guess what...I had lost all the weight in about a month and a half. So as I continued to see the scale rise again in the last couple of years...I have been forced to look at my lifestyle and know that if I want to be thinner...I have to choose.

I love to cook and that is the hardest part of trying to be healthy. But I know that at some point once I get back to where I need to be, I will be able to reintroduce "some" of those foods into my life but at the same time, I also know that I just can't eat those things. For me...it is just easier to cut them out completely.

The good news is...you do get past the point that you crave those carbs the way you use to. The harder part is to get my kids to eat that way. That is the hardest thing for me...I want my kids to want to eat healthy but at the same time, it is on me as to why they don't. They did not take themselves to the grocery store and buy all the processed foods and sweets they have been use to their whole lives. Of course I would always make sure they had some fruit and veggies along side their pizza rolls or lunchables. (??!!) So funny! that it actually made me feel better about the awful stuff they were eating by throwing in a few slices of apples. What are we doing to our kids when we teach them that all this stuff is alright to eat? Please don't get me wrong...I am not Mrs Organic...I would love to be able to say that I am but I am just gonna be honest...it is hard to pay 2 and 3 times the cost for organic food. I also am setting here with a diet a&w cream soda sitting next to me. No...I am by no means close to where I want to be. But that is the point! I want to be better! And I want my family to want to be better. Even if that means taking it a step at a time.

Maybe it is age...maybe it is because I want to help my children understand that taking care of our bodies is so important because we only get one. Maybe it is because I don't want to continue to take for granted that I am always going to have my health and flippantly treat my health as something that is a God-given right. Maybe because it is important! So I strive to try to change some of our habits and in the process have also embarked on a mission to try to be creative and use my love for cooking to find recipes and invent some new healthy favorites for our household. It is not easy! But we are going to keep going. As we keep going, I will try to post some recipes we find along the way.

Dave has been playing tons of raquetball and has also commited to this change in habits...he is down 25lbs and guess what...so am I :o) It is worth it. It may not seem like it at first but I refuse to be a slave to food!! Its purpose is to provide nourishment to our body...not fill our spirit! I want my spirit to be filled by the One who provides everlasting nourishment!

Spring!

Spring is very busy! I have spent a lot of it at basketball and baseball games but a large part of springtime is always devoted to the garden. And can I just tell ya? I am worn out! My shoulders all the way down to be fingers were aching so badly when I got out of bed yesterday morning! Oh well…much needed exercise for tank top season!

This year I think I have gone a little crazy in the pepper department…probably 8 jalapeno plants and countless types of bell peppers…I planted yellow ones, red ones, green ones and even purple ones this year! Even trying some poblano peppers as well. We’ll see how all the different types do in the Oklahoma weather. I haven’t really experienced too many problems growing peppers.

I have around 15 tomato plants this year which is pretty close to what I usually do…and is way too much for my family of four but I love it!! I really wanted to start canning last year but I get too overwhelmed by it and then don’t do it. How I wished my grandma were still here so she could show me how. I have read about it and I know that it all sounds fairly straight forward but to then go and buy what I need to get started…well, I simply sit there in the store and stare at all the stuff on the aisle and think…I totally have no clue what I am doing!

This year I am also trying eggplants, which is a whole new thing for me. I bought two different varieties so we will see which one does better. Of course I put in two more raised beds in addition to my garden space, which I cannot say my husband is thrilled about, but he will be happier once there is produce…maybe:o) I have to say in his defense, the beds are at the side of our house which is the side for mower access to the rest of the back yard. I did leave enough space for the mower to get through…but let me tell you…it just fits through! Less space wasted means more veggies for us…[ :O / ] that’s Dave’s…do what you want, you’re going to anyway face… They are totally dedicated to cantaloupe and cucumbers…and speaking of cucumbers…I just took this pic last night. It is the first of the cucumber plants that just popped through.

I so get a kick out of seeing these plants start from just a little seed and then grow and grow and actually produce food that we use to nourish our bodies with! Such a God thing! No other way for me to look at it!

Here are my precious strawberry plants that come back year after year…I think that is why they are so special to me :o)

And this is the first little bell pepper emerging to meet the world! Hello little pepper!

And here are the first flowers on my beloved tomato plants…didn’t even see the spider there until I looked at the pic on the computer with it enlarged. Fun or ewww! I love spiders outside eating all the other bugs but I hate them crawling on me...just can't deal, sorry~ it's my girl side that I let out every once in awhile.

Ok – here is quick run down of the rest…Radishes, 3 different types of lettuce, squash, zucchini, also cherry tomatoes as well as a variety called jelly bean tomatoes…suppose to be little bitty but sweet, sweet, sweet. I have never even heard of them before so we will see how it goes… basil, oregano, cilantro, lavender, dill, sage, parsley, tarragon, chives (which also came back from last year) and I know there are a couple more spices but I’ll remember you when you start growing :o) and also some green beans (those didn’t do too hot last year but I think I planted them too late for the spring planting and too early for that late summer planting so we’ll see what happens.

Now to attack the rest of the flower plantings…much work on the front end but so much pleasure in the months to come. Also – I will try to do another blog here pretty quick about Ruby’s. It is the greatest nursery! And their prices are so reasonable…I mean like .50 to.99 cents a plant on most veggies and single qt flowers!!! (Walmart and Lowes were selling veggies from $4-$6 a plant!!! Are you kidding me??) If you live close to the City and you still haven’t got your seeds in the ground, they are excellent to buy from!

Happy Spring All!!

Peaceful Easy Feelin

Don't you just love when it snows and you have no where to be and nothing to do? The fire is lit and the entire family is home with no plans. And that is something that doesn't happen too often around here anymore.

I love just listening to everyone as they watch an episode of The Office...love listening to my son belly laugh because he doesn't do that near enough anymore...you know...being a man and all now. It really is just the small things and I am thankful for the day we get to spend together...

But snow??? really??? It was like 75 degrees yesterday...and then...snow. It is no wonder my sinuses are whacked out to the extreme right now. But I did get both my raised beds built, the grass removed and the rest of the garden tilled. I can't tell you that Dave is thrilled about the raised beds...but he is his ever easy-going self and lets me do pretty much whatever I want :o) We really were made for each other...have I ever said that? I think I have :O)

Ashtyn's room is a different story! I really wanted to have it done by the time my vacation was over but with working outside, ball games and just everything else that gets in the way...her room just didn't fit. Because of that, I have decided that we are going to have one of Dave's friend do the texturing and painting. It's what he does for a living and he is giving us an unbelievable deal on the labor. So much so that it just isn't worth the pain and suffering of doing it myself :o) (thanks Steph for substantiating that fact for me and I am sending good thoughts your way for a speedy finish to your bathroom project!! I know it will be great!)

I have been taking pictures along the way of all these projects and will be posting as they progress...but for now I am just gonna sit here under my comfy blanket and finish watching Dwight and Michael throw trash at each other :oP

Chewy Granola Bars

Well I have a new love! Chewy granola bars. The recipe is here and I just have to tell you...it is delish! My son even loves it!


The only thing I really did different was add about 3 or 4 tbs of honey too. I used the Karo syrup version and used all it called for plus the honey. And...I only baked it for around 27-28 minutes....35 minutes was way too long in my oven and dries it out.

I even mixed extra for the next time round...so good!

Practice Makes Perfect

Okay...so I have read about 43 books on digital photography lately because I want to get better at using my camera and capturing really fun pics. And so far...I feel like I have learned so much! I definitely have a lot more to learn but the biggest problem I have right now is finding time to practice taking pictures and working on what I have learned. Sooo...we just went driving around taking pics this last weekend of just whatever we came upon.

The weird thing was where we turned up...

In OKC...there has been problems with gangs (I know....just like everywhere else nowadays) and one gang in particular was just "showcased" on the tv show "Gangland". This gang known as the "Southside Locos" has become a large problem for the southwest side of OKC and tagging is a very popular thing among their members. And don't you just know that this is what I chose to be my "practice"! :o)

So I wanted to share some of the pics I snapped as we quickly drove by these not so nice looking places. Please picture in your mind...my 14 year old daughter in the back floorboard with her head between her knees and arms wrapped over her head chanting..."we are gonna die...we are gonna die...we are gonna die!" :O) Good times!! Never say we don't have adventure in our lives...

On the "Gangland" program, they have Southside Loco members talking about how they "diss" their rival gang by calling them cornbreads or other terms they consider derogatory. It was pretty weird to actually see that displayed in their tags...

This is what Ashtyn now wants to use as her profile pic on her facebook/myspace page...she is such a gangsta!

Speedie showed up in a lot of places...his spray paint can gets around.

It is pretty depressing to see how it really has infiltrated this whole area of the city.

I really love the next one..."Keep it clean OKC"

GBC's and MRC's are some of the big rival gangs of the Locos...I don't know if they are one in the same gang and just use the different letters but I know the interviews with the Locos members all talked about the GBC's being their biggest opposition. There are also a lot of GBC tags around the southside but in this area...it seemed like the MRC tags were represented more.

187 is used all over in the Locos tags...don't really know the number significance but all of them use numbers in their tags.

Here is "Speed" again...it is sad that a lot of the houses have been tagged.

sad...

Black skull flags are another thing I started noticing a lot in the area...

For those of you who have eaten at Chelinos - this was just a tortilla factory...pretty fun...of course I am snapping pics as we are driving by so as not to be shot per listening to instructions from the daughter. :o)

What's really weird to me was that not too far removed from this area are the next pictures of a private (i.e., expensive) catholic school...it is just really weird to me that I would be paying high dollar for my kids to go to school around the corner from very notorious gang activity. The building really is old and beautiful though. Ash had provided info to us that she had heard that the fourth floor of the building is haunted...maybe that is why the Locos stay away.

The rest are just more random pics that we took on our tour of the southside...

This was some kind of factory but I loved the yellow and back and forth look of the stairs...

I just loved this old house for some reason...

This was my second favorite pic of day...just love the contrast of colors...this is to pay homage to all the photo books I have read and how they just make doorways seem so cool. This is my practice doorway :o)

This was my favorite of the day! Thank you for letting me share my practice with you as well as my gang education :o) Maybe I will get real good at taking photos and become the gang photo person for OKC :o) I try to have wild side dreams however displaced they may seem...ps...my husband would put a stop to gang photographer aspirations...but one can dream.

Lost

Well today I enrolled my baby into high school...I just finished helping my firstborn enroll for his Senior year and my husband is traipsing around in another country...I am a little lost. I think I might spend too much time worrying about the future (ya think?) Like what happens when there are no basketball games/meets or arctic baseball games to attend? Ok - so I know it isn't arctic but it is dang cold people!! Baseball really should not be allowed to start until mid-April...I am just sayin!



I have really just been hangdog lately about the fact of how fast life goes by and that I can't stop it. It is good though to think about it because it means that you don't take as much for granted and also hopefully try to make more lasting memories. That is what I want most...memories that my kids will always have and be able to hold dear...that is why I am really trying to promote a hike up Pikes Peak (maybe this summer.) Wouldn't that just be the funnest trip and an awesome memory for our family to share? Well unless we get mauled by a bear...then that's maybe not such a good memory :o)



So to all my friends who have young ones...I know I sound like a broken record... but ... don't miss "it" whatever "it" might be today. And for all my friends who have older kids that told me over and over not to stress the little things because you will miss them before you know it...I concede!!...you were so wise!!



And finally to my Canadian defected husband...I miss my best friend and am ready for him to come home now!

Baby Boy~

It has almost been seventeen years ago that this sweet sweet boy took his first breaths of life and fully helped me realize the greatest reason I was put on this planet. Which just happened to be substantiated once again when his sister was born several years later. You know I always wanted babies. It was in my makeup...and while I just thought that was what all girls thought about...that and meeting their Prince Charming (who is also pictured below...how lucky can one girl get?) ...I know now that it was more than just what was suppose to come next in life.

I was born to be a mom! Don't get me wrong, I have not always appreciated that fact 100% of the time...and I have been distracted by things such as work and school and just stuff along the way but I just have to tell you...there is so much joy that comes from being a mom!

Caleb is my firstborn and to listen to his sister, has a definite advantage when it comes to discipline....he sees it the other way around. I seem to think that it is more because he fits the first born mold in every way. He is my worrier and follows the rules to the letter. There is little gray in Caleb's world. In elementary, if his teacher told him to read with his mother...on the couch...with the tv off...for 20 minutes a night... well, let me just tell you there was no getting by with reading for 19 and a half minutes...and we would be seated on the couch with the tv off! Sometimes I seriously considered calling or emailing his teachers and begging them to help me by keeping in mind how literal he would always take their instructions. "Mom...she said it had to be the 8 oz bottle!"..."Okay Caleb, but this one has 8.8 oz...so that is better because it has more." ...little brown eyes blinking...then as he walks away muttering..."Okay...but she said the 8 oz one...she specifically said 8oz and that we had better get the right one...I'll probably get in trouble because she said it like three times." ... I can not tell you how many of these conversations I have had over the years!

Caleb is super-smart and it is funny because I don't...nor have I ever had to ride him about his homework...he is harder on himself than his dad, teachers, coaches or myself could ever be. He is a perfectionist and while you would think as a parent that would be the best thing to have in a child, I will tell you that at times my heart aches deeply for him. Sometimes I just wish I could better impart my wisdom of my past "many" years on this earth so that he would be able to understand that you don't have to please every person and do everything 150% to be considered a success. It is a hard struggle with him because on one hand, he makes me the most proud a mom could be but on the other hand, I simply worry that he misses out on too much joy because it is being overshadowed by the stress he has surrounding him while trying to always be the best...

He is and will always be my little man, even though he looks down at me now which just isn't right! He has the biggest heart imaginable...and the compassion he has for others, especially children is just a blessing to be able to watch. Kids are always drawn to him mainly because he doesn't just blow them off as many teenagers would but has no problem getting down on the ground and wrestling with them until giggles are abundant! What a wonderful father and husband he will make someday!!

And coupled with the fact that I have now an almost 17 year old child, I also am having to face the dark reality that he will in just the span of a quick spring and summer be a Senior in high school and let me tell you...I...am...not...ready!! I am not ready for the year that will most assuredly fly by in no time and I can't even fathom him beginning college...it just isn't right...he should be climbing up on my lap and putting his arms around my neck...or pulling at my legs saying "up momma, up!"

His dad and I have always said we just want to order them to stop growing and even though it is exciting to see where the road will take them and what an awesome man he is and will continue to become...I know my days are numbered as far as having him come home to me every night and just knowing he is still tucked beneath my wing and in my nest. I really didn't want this to be a sad happy birthday wish but I am just not ready to let my baby grow up and yet that is just what he is doing :o)

I love you baby boy more than you can ever know and I am so proud of the man you are becoming!!! Happy birthday Leb!!!

"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be."