Has it really been almost a month?

I can't believe that it has been almost a month since my last blog post.  I've been so busy taking care of my plants and keeping up with the housework that I haven't had a chance to even touch my laptop!  I wish I could say that my veggies were faring better, but after a weekend out of town and no rain, they are looking a little wilty.  I definitely need to give them some water.

I also took some, what I consider to be amazing pictures of my kids at a skate park in Columbia Mo.  They have the most amazing facility there.  In Des Moines we are blessed to have many parks that all offer different activities, but in Columbia they have one giant park that offers full soccer fields, softball/baseball diamonds, roller hockey, skate park, golf, trails and so much more.  Not only that but it's also beautiful!

So we went to a graduation and party yesterday for my niece, Jessica, and boy did I eat like crap.  I had cake and then we went to a buffet for dinner, this morning at the hotel I pigged out on our "continental breakfast" and then we journeyed to  BD's  Mongolian BBQ in Kansas City since we don't have one  in Des Moines.  This weekend has not been good to me!  At least I have tomorrow to redeem myself.  I can hang out at the church with my friends and hopefully enjoy some healthier munchies!  Oh yeah, and we took our dogs with us on our trip.  I think we were half asleep when we made that decision.  It was 93 degrees in KC so when we ate lunch we parked by a window and left the van running with the air on and the dogs inside then requested a seat by the window.  Our dogs were well behaved even though they have insane separation anxiety.

Okay, so you probably want an update on my exercise and weight loss.  I have still been losing weight, but it has slowed down.  I need to try to work harder and focus more if I want to make my goal before vacation.  That being said, slowing down beats putting it all back on!

not losing is not losing

It's been a rough week.  Coming off of a week of overtime, this nasty cold weather and being all around exhausted has put me into a funk that I can't seem to overcome.  Fast food Monday night, fast food Tuesday night, slept all night Wednesday, Mac-n-cheese with Spam Thursday, Quizno's Friday and then Tasty Tacos for lunch today.  It's no wonder that when I stepped on the scale at the Y this morning it went up 4 tenths of a pound.  All that junk combined with not eating a complete breakfast really has done a number on me.

It's these kind of weeks that serve as unpleasant reminders that just because I didn't lose anything doesn't mean that this is a losing battle.  It simply means that I had a bad week.  At least I can look back and recognize where I went wrong.  So many factors!!  I'm pretty sure the combination of stress at work, fast food and the cold just wore me down.  I only worked out twice this week which is only half of my normal routine.

I've always told one of the girls at work that when it comes to my weight, thanks to genetics (yes, I do believe in the "fat gene") I have to work twice as hard as a normal person to lose weight and keep it off.  Take a look at my family:  My grandma is a short round German lady who has had 2 heart attacks, a serious stroke and is diabetic.  My uncle is diabetic.  My mom is short and not small (she reads this so I have to watch it!) has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and has to watch her sugar.  My dad has high cholesterol and pre-diabetes.  My sister and I both are built about the same and right now are both fighting the same battle.  The cards were stacked against me from day one.

This week shows me how disciplined I need to be in my approach to food and fitness.  If I relax too much, the bulge gains ground.  I need to step back, review the weeks activities (or inactivity as it may be) and reexamine my battle plan.

This week I will be kicking it into high gear.  No excuses about going to the Y, no extra nibbles while preparing a meal and I will eat all of my breakfast including the fruit!  Plus, I will need all of the extra prayer and encouragement you can offer me.  I can't do this on my own, of that much I am sure.  With God and my family and friends on my side I know I can win the battle!

putting on the info filters

There is so much information available to us anymore that it is hard to discern what is truth from what isn't.  What is fact from what is opinion.  What has been spun to one perspective and what is spun the other.  I have been doing so much reading, trying to make sure that I am as informed as I can possibly be in order to make the best decisions that will benefit not only myself but my whole family.  I have been reading lots of blogs that are filled with very good information and a lot of it is, in my opinion, trustworthy based on the sources that were cited.

This week I read about the pros and cons of sprouting your own grain and found compelling arguments on both sides.  I read a blog about "salad in a jar" which was super interesting and I can't wait to try it.  I found an easy Tiramisu recipe from Jamie Oliver (via Twitter).  

I went ahead and decided to try the sprouting thing.  Wheat berries themselves are pretty inexpensive and if you have a jar handy, then you're ready to go.  One thing to keep in mind is that they swell while soaking!  I did not think of this and filled my jar probably too full so hopefully they don't get any larger.  They are on 48hrs now and if I have time tomorrow night I will dry them out in the oven (just be careful not to burn them).  I guess after that I will just keep them in the fridge because I don't have a mill to crush them in.  So much for fresh flour!  I'm not even so sure after reading arguments on both sides if sprouting my own grain is worth the wait.  Given the time that sprouting requires, I am not sure it is something I will continue in the future.

Now the whole salad in a jar thing had me interested from day one.  I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was.  It was literally just that, salad in a jar.  If you vacuum pack your lettuce in jars, it will keep for much longer than those bags from the store and the cut edges will not turn brown.  It seems that oxygen is the culprit.  I do not have a vacuum sealer or jars and at this moment, I do not have lettuce either!  The start up costs for me don't fit my budget at this time.  I guess this is one thing that can wait a little bit but I will definitely give it a try.

I have been reading about raw milk vs store milk.  I'm not so sure that the government had our best interests in mind when they instituted the whole process that brings us our milk at the store today.  Fresh, in my opinion, is truly best in this case.  One day soon, I do hope to try raw milk.

If I have a spare moment while sifting through blogs and get a chance to make fresh homemade bread (this is a whole other story in itself!) this weekend I will definitely take pictures to share.  I'll share anything else I have time to come up with.  I still have asparagus in the fridge and spinach, vying for my attention every time I open the door!

Best day ever

Today had to be the best day ever this spring.  It was jam packed with activites with friends and family and some by myself doing my own thing.

The day began at 6am and anyone that knows me know that I am barely up that early on a work day but I didn't want to be late to the first day of the farmer's market!  I met my friend, Diana (http://spaininiowa.blogspot.com) at 7 so she could show me the ropes and help me learn how to use some of the fresh seasonal veggies that I had previously overlooked.  Honestly, I had never thought of using spinach or asparagus in normal day to day cooking.  Now that I am cooking using whole foods I find that variety is the spice of life.  No one wants to eat the same thing every day.  We went down and then back and made our way out by 8!  The crowd was just beginning to swell, we left just in time.

Off to the Y for my Saturday ritual.  This week I only lost one pound, but I weigh in at one pound less than I did last week so that is a victory!  Praise the Lord!

I was so hungry from smelling all of the good eats at the farmer's market that I could hardly stand it!  I met up with my awesome hubby for lunch and we went to a little greek place by Drake called Gazali's for gyros (yum!!).  I couldn't wait to get home and start getting some of my planting done.

Today I planted peas, green beans, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, carrots and eggplant.  Earlier this week I planted some leaf lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cilantro and strawberries.  If everything grows as planned, I should reap quite the harvest in about 2 months!  I will definitely keep you posted.  I may be needing tips on canning!!

My daughter, Elizabeth, has a friend over for the night so we took them to Gray's Lake to run off some energy.  The girls took off on their scooters and the hubby and I walked with one of our dogs, Sophie.  I ended up running about 1/4 of the way around the lake (about 1/2 mile) with Sophie.  It was actually pretty refreshing.

Now, my milk is cooling on the stove top, waiting to be at about 115 degrees before I add my start to make homemade yogurt.  This is a first attempt, so I won't be terribly heartbroken if it doesn't turn out perfect, but hopefully it will at least be edible!

All in all, I would say it was a full day and we will all sleep very well today knowing that we accomplished everything we set out to do!  Now hopefully tomorrow I get those morrels in my grasp!!