Roller Coasters and Leftovers

So, I have had one emotional month! For those of you who have not read previous posts, I'm an emotional eater. It's not a good thing when I have stress. I usually gain weight. This time was not the case. Maybe because it's a different kind of stress all together. I mean, over the course of my life, I've had stress. But it's been the "how am I going to pay that bill?" or "what can I do to fix this" variety. This month, I had the kind of stress I've never known in my practically perfect existence. The kind of stress that turns your world upside down. You see, I lost a parent. He fought hard the battle against cancer, but he did not win.

I know that he accomplished what he set out to do in this life, and he did it well. God called him home. I believe that with every fiber of my being. At the same time, I can't help but wonder how much of this terrible illness was brought on by his diet. It wasn't just any cancer. It was colon cancer. My dad, the lover of all things yummy, had a long life of Creole food. Lots of fat, meat and rice. Very little else. He liked vegetables, but would turn them away because then he could eat more rice and gravy. He also had a bad soda habit for years. There's got to be a connection with the way we treat our bodies through our diet. How else do you explain a man who had (quoting the MD here) "absolutely NO risk factors for cancer" getting cancer? It's one of the reasons I'm on a crusade to get my family on a healthier diet. Maybe if we treat our bodies better they won't be so quick to rebel against us!

After nearly a month of no Meatless Monday (I was staying with my mom and eating everything in sight probably out of rebellion) I got home and thought "I just don't have the energy to come up with something new and fun and tasty". Then I remembered. Leftovers. I made a ton of butternut squash sauce last month and froze the leftovers! Yay! Of course the children don't like butternut squash sauce. I still haven't figured out why. So they got peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Probably their favorite meal. They were happy. I was happy, and I didn't have to take time away from much needed housework. Hopefully I'll be back in full health food mode soon.

On a side note, my oldest made me proud at a church fellowship. He went to get a cupcake for himself and his sister. The lady tried to give him two. He said that the cupcakes were big and he and his sister could share. He said "too much sugar isn't good for you and that's a big cupcake so my sister and I can share." I was so impressed when the food server came and found me to tell me of his wise choice! It's what I've been striving to teach them!

Keep on the lookout for new recipes posted on my recipe page. I'll post some as soon as I can catch up on all this housework! Hmm. I may never get there....

Busy Butternut

I was so amped about this week's Meatless Monday because I had already decided what I wanted! It took me way longer than I thought to find my main ingredient though.

The world as I know it is in full Halloween mode. Everywhere I turn there are miles of pumpkins to be had. It seems though, that in all the flurry over having enough pumpkins, the produce managers of all the grocery stores in the land have neglected their supply of all other squash and gourd like vegetables.

My locally owned small guy grocery had two very pitiful looking butternut squash for a ridiculous price. I laughed, and I went to a slightly larger, but still locally owned (however farther away from my home) store. Here there were also only two butternut squash. The price was right though and they were monstrous, healthy looking specimens that I grabbed in a hurry before someone else did. (Because we all know that there's a rush on butternut these days...)

I got those butternuts back to my house as quickly as I could. It takes forever to prepare a butternut, just because they're so hard. Now, I have heard of a method involving microwaving the squash for a few minutes that is supposed to make the squash easier to peel. Maybe I'll actually think to try this with the other big guy that's stashed in my fridge right now. As for this one, I just dove right in and started cutting and peeling the squash. Now, I know that you can buy already prepared, frozen butternut squash. I am not a fan of doing so because I'm a nerd and like my ingredients to be as fresh as possible. Of course, even before I was stricken with this nerdiness I was never able to find frozen butternut squash where I live.

So after I got my squash peeled and diced and ready to go I steamed it until it was very tender, then added rice milk, cornstarch, sautéed onions and garlic, rosemary and basil to it. I pureed it with a blender and what resulted was a creamy, delicious butternut squash sauce perfect for pouring over pasta.

The verdict? Don't decide to do this on a busy day like I did. Running around like a chicken with my head cut off then starting late and barely getting it to the table on time! It took me about an hour and a half from start to finish, but this sauce is always worth my time! One squash yielded me more than my recipe made. I had to double it so I'll freeze the leftovers to pull out on days when I want something fast and healthy.

Of course, when I have those frozen leftovers I'll have to count on fixing the kids a PB&J. Neither one of them liked this recipe although Dad and I think it's yummy! It's also great with some spicy grilled shrimp on not meatless Tuesday!

Be on the lookout for me to post this recipe and others soon on my new recipes page!

Manicotti....Sort of.

Another Monday has come and gone....meatlessly. I got into an Italian food mood this week. Of course, Italian food is awesome any time...especially when loaded down with cheese. Hence, the idea in my head of cheese and spinach manicotti.

I do not just keep manicotti shells lying around the house, so this means I need to make a trip to the store. I can not afford to go waaaaaaaay into town for noodles. Yes, I live that far away; yes, my vehicle burns THAT much fuel. I went to my locally owned small town market. It's less than two miles away so I only burned like a gallon of gas. My locally owned small town market does not feel the need to stock manicotti shells. It's a small town of Cajuns. Not a high demand for pasta it seems. I was able to get some lasagna though. And an idea was born. PRETEND they're manicotti shells!

I made my filling of ricotta, cottage cheese, shredded mozzarella, shredded Romano, parsley and spinach. Yum! I broke my lasagna noodles in half and soaked them in hot water until they were pliable enough to roll. Then, I put a spoon full of cheese filling on the noodle and rolled it up. Does this make it an Italian enchilada?

I made a tomato sauce of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, onion, bell pepper and spices. I put this over the top of my lasagna rolls and baked them for about 20 minutes. I saved calories by not putting cheese all over the top. I served this with a really diverse salad and home made balsamic vinaigrette. Most people don't realize all the stuff you can put on a salad! Mine had beets, carrots, a dark green lettuce (not iceberg!) mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatillos, and Romano cheese.

The verdict? Everyone but my youngest loved the lasagna rolls. She decided she wanted nothing to do with it and just ate salad, but I'm okay with that. Salad is good.


I've managed to keep off the weight I lost during the family emergency a couple of weeks ago. I am proud to say I'm under 200 pounds for the first time in a looooong time. My clothes are too big, which I can live with. In a few more pounds maybe I'll buy myself some new clothes. In the meantime, I'll just keep working at it, and PRAY I have enough willpower to resist the cake I'm going to bake for my sister-in-love. Her birthday is coming. Help me Lord to not have too much of a celebratory spirit!

Lentils and Causes

What a week I have had! I did manage to pull off Meatless Monday with a little help from a bag of lentils I was gifted. I had only made lentils once before, and I didn't do a marvelous job of it. This time, though, I had the advice of an older, wiser cook to follow.

Lentils are very small and cook much faster than other dry legumes, so it didn't take long for them to be tender and ready to eat. I flavored the lentils with a pork bone and some chicken base. I felt like a depression era housewife making every little bit stretch. They came out great though! My brother wasn't feeling as inclined to go meatless as I so he managed to scrape a little meat off of those pork bones. I really enjoyed the lentils, and my kids did too. So much that I will add this to my growing list of meatless recipes. And lentils are easy on my grocery budget. Always a plus!


I managed to lose a few more pounds this past week, simply because I was too busy and stressed to eat properly. I usually eat when I'm stressed so it's weird I went the opposite way. I guess because busyness came with the stress. I'm afraid that, because those few pounds were lost in an unhealthy way, they'll come right back. I guess time will tell. For now, it's to try and get myself back to where I need to be.

I don't make a habit of plugging things on my blog, but bear with me, there are a couple of things I want to plug today.

1) The Kitchenaid giveaway at All The Weigh. I really want to win!

2) The Wesley Fitch Healing Fund. Click on the name to bring you to the website where you can find out more about this story and donate electronically. We'd appreciate any help we can get.

Meatless Mondays and....Golden Arches

Well, this Monday was far from meatless. We had a family emergency that put us on the road at supper time. Now, for those of you who are not my husband, you probably do not know that I am very much an emotional eater. I was upset when we pulled into a place that we haven't gone in ages. You know, the place where the meals make kids happy. Because I was upset, I told my husband to order me the "Giant Meat O' Sandwich". He asked me if I wanted just the sandwich or the meal. I shamefully mumbled "meal" and ate the whole thing. Well, that's only partially true. I left a few crispy fries. I hate crispy fries.

So I ate it. The Giant Meat O' Sandwich. The medium french fries. And I drank the soda too. And you know what? It wasn't as good as I remember it being. And I was still as upset as I was before I ate the 7 trillion calories. And now my IBS is kicking my behind because I made bad choices. Will I ever be able to control my emotional eating? I don't know. I do know my kids were over the moon about getting to eat fast food. They thought it must be a special occasion! My poor, deprived, healthy, nutritionally balanced children. My oldest picked up his first fry and, before eating it with relish, said, "too much of this food isn't good for my body, but it sure does taste yummy!"

Cheese Enchiladas...Part Dos!

Dance for joy with me, oh readers, for I have moved farther into the realm of blogging. I HAVE UPLOADED PICTURE!

Picture Mighty Blogger has uploaded.

 I decided that, this week I would take a picture of my yummy cheese enchiladas. I modified the recipe to add flavor and nutrition. I added a cup of cauliflower purée into the cheese filling. This made the filling spread farther and added to my peace of mind...I fed them veggies! I also added more diced chiles for a little kick. The best part is that, had I not said anything, my family wouldn't have known there was cauliflower in it. Which is the nature of cauliflower I suppose.

The cheese enchiladas were everything you would expect them to be. Cheesy, creamy, a little spicy and all for around 130 calories per enchilada!

I also took the easy way out with sides. I made rice and warmed up some Ranch Style beans.

My oldest child loved it so much he asked for it for lunch today. Of course he is his father's child, which means an ingrained love of Mexican food.

My youngest ate the enchilada when I fed it to her, but she preferred the rice and beans. Of course she is her mother's child...

My husband seemed pleasantly surprised by the changes. He really enjoyed it. I think he'll shed a tear if he doesn't get to eat the leftovers.

My brother ate with his usual gusto last night, but chose to eat enchiladas again for lunch today. This is a sure indicator that he liked it as well. My sister-in-law hasn't tried the enchiladas since she has been working a lot at our local sandwich shop. She eats lots of sandwiches. Poor her. I hate sandwiches.

I didn't lose any weight last week. I didn't gain any weight last week. I take this as a victory. Meatless Monday was a rousing success. Victory number....Dos! I'm piling them up. Let's see what else I can do.

Creamy Rock Soup?

Meatless Monday, the challenges you bring to me. I had it all together this week. I was set. I knew what I was making when I woke up Monday morning. I went to the store and grabbed what I needed to make Slow Cooker Healthy Potato Soup. I decided that, since I have such a crowd to feed, I should double my recipe. My slow cooker is not nearly big enough for that, so I pulled out my trusty soup pot and got to cooking. I put the soup to simmer at 12:30. I stirred it periodically and at 4:00 I checked the doneness of my potatoes. Not even CLOSE to done! I thought that was odd. So I cranked up the heat to a rolling boil. At 6:00 they still weren't soft! I don't know if it was something I did, or if I have a bag of mutant potatoes. My husband's exact words were, "they're done, because they don't have that raw potato dirt taste, but they're not soft." Weird. He also said it was too "carroty". Everyone ate it and smiled. There's a bunch in the fridge. It's probably not going to be touched again. It's frustrating because it's such a great low calorie meal. Maybe I'll tackle it again one day. Teenage Mutant Ninja Potatoes vs. Daisy.

Speaking of battles, my battle with weight has been going much better than my battle with root vegetables. I stepped on the scale. More out of curiosity than anything. I've lost eight pounds. I had to do a double take. I wasn't even trying that hard! I walked on the treadmill a couple of times last week. I watched what I put in my mouth. Amazing that doing what one is supposed to actually produces results!

My husband has requested the cheese enchiladas again, and what hubby wants hubby gets. So stay tuned to see if I figure out how to beef up the nutrition in that yummy dish!

And, if you're looking to be inspired by an amazing weight loss journey check out All The Weigh. What she's been able to do is amazing!

New Resolve and....Veggie Chili

I've come to a conclusion. My body is older than I am. I have two bad knees, and a bad hip. When I get up from a sitting position I must do that old person hobble because my joints hurt. I knew my legs were messed up, but this week I realized just how messed up they are. My hip has been causing me so much pain that I've let it hinder my housework. I just don't want to get down on the ground and polish the pedestal on the dining room table. It will hurt way too much! So yeah, I'm old. Older than I should be at my age. (Does that even make sense?)

While lying in bed with my husband last week I said into the darkness, "I've GOT to do something about my weight. My legs are killing me. I've got to start walking again." My very mild mannered and supportive husband just said, "if you want to wait until I get home from work I'll watch the kids while you're on the treadmill." That's all. Not "It's about time you realized this lady," or "Duh!" He's just been waiting patiently for me to get to the point where I WANTED to help myself so that he could help me too. What a guy I've been blessed with.

Well, I walked last night. My hip killed me the entire time, but I managed to make it a mile and a half before I waved the white flag. Maybe I'll make it farther today. I need a good book to read to take my mind off the distance. I saved my four daily devotionals for my walk. They were over way too soon so then all I had to think about was my hip saying 'OW! OW!' for a half mile. Then my mom texted me. Perfect. I huffed, puffed and texted my way to a mile and a half. By they way, texting and walking? Harder than it sounds. I wouldn't recommend it on a crowded city street.

As for Meatless Monday? I made something I've made before. Veggie chili. When my hubby started taking better care of himself a couple of years ago, I found this recipe in my Joy of Cooking cookbook. Thank you mother in law! This chili has onions, bell peppers, garlic, carrots, jalapenos, tons of beans, tomatoes and lots of yummy spices. My husband loves this chili. My kids love it. (When the hubby doesn't get hold of it with extra spice.) My sister in law said, "there's no meat in this?" It really is delicious. It's just not what my mind associates with chili. Chili means greasy meaty goodness. This is not that chili, but it is filling and yummy with the little tang of the tomatoes and all the cumin and chili powder. Three different kinds of beans give it that chunky yumminess. Delicious. And what luck! I've got enough for leftovers today!

A Taste of The Good Old Days

This week's Meatless Monday has become a little nostalgic for me. I was struggling with what to cook since I can't just run to the store and grab ingredients. (I blew my grocery budget this week on ingredients for my hubby's totally worth it turkey sausage lasagna.) I was searching my fridge and pantries. Thinking of what might go together and make something coherent. Since not everyone is home to eat this time I don't have to make a big bunch of something. Just enough to satisfy the kids and myself. And there it was at the back of my freezer: shredded cheddar! (Yes, you can freeze cheese.) It came to me on a memory. Something my mother did rarely. Make mac and cheese.

I loved it when we got mac and cheese. It was a rare "Dad's not home for supper" treat. My dad eats rice...only. It is apparently the only starch that exists in his world. So every now and again my mom would make us mac and cheese. Sure it was from a box, but oh the joy! Now to take that memory and turn it into a semi nutritious meal.

I make mac and cheese from scratch. That's how I roll. It's actually quite simple and takes no longer than making it from the box. This time, I paired my homemade cheese sauce with garden rotini. Shh. Don't tell my kids that it has veggies hidden in it. =) I also took some leftover broccoli and chopped it and threw it in the pot. With every bite they ate broccoli. Wrapped in cheesy goodness, yes, but they ate broccoli. My son doesn't like the heads of the broccoli. Only the stems. I have discovered that when I smother the broccoli in cheesy noodles he could care less which part of the broccoli he's eating. I also served canned green beans with the meal. This is, hands down, my kids' favorite vegetable, AND their favorite way to eat it. They don't want me to do anything fancy with it. They don't even want me to heat it up. They want it straight from the can to their plates.

So my Meatless Monday this week was simple, ready in less than 30 minutes and down right delicious. I savored every bite (along with some tummy friendly peppermint tea) and thought about how much I miss my Momma....and how I wish SHE was the one with dish duty instead of me! =)

Migraines and Minestrone

I feel yesterday's Meatless Monday was much more successful. Veggies veggies everywhere! Plus, it was super easy to make. I was originally intending to make something entirely different this week. I ended up in town running errands ALL DAY! So in came plan b. I was wracking my brain trying to figure out how in the world I could have Meatless Monday when I had no time for prep. I mean I could have set out a salad and veggie tray and said, "sorry people it's all I got." I wanted a meal. A real meal. Then a recipe that I usually save for winter popped into my head. Minestrone!

My husband loves Olive Garden's "Soup, Salad and Breadsticks". So we had minestrone, salad with some beautiful lettuces I picked up at Sam's and rolls. Since the day was shot running errands, and I had a migraine, the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was cook. But, because this soup is so easy to make that's exactly what I did.

After unloading the groceries I immediately put my apron on and got to work. Yes, I wear an apron...what?! My recipe usually calls for one third of the broth I use to be chicken, but since this is MEATLESS Monday I used all vegetable broth. FYI, it is much easier on the budget to use bouillon cubes, granules, or base to make soups stews and gumbos. Buying all those cans and boxes of broth gets expensive! My family never noticed that the chicken broth was missing. I have strange children that love vegetables and salads. They were thrilled to see salad and a soup that had corn, carrots, celery, zucchini, summer squash and green beans! I am a carb lover so I was kind of excited by the bread.

So I threw the whole soup together in about 30 minutes. It took me ten to heat the brown and serve rolls and put the salad together. I had a filling, healthy meal for my family despite a busy day and a splitting headache. I ate a bowl of yummy minestrone and a roll then crashed and left my poor hubby with dish duty. From what I heard the family loved it. My five year old asked for soup for breakfast so I would say this Meatless Monday was a success. Thank you Lord for giving me children who eat their vegetables!

Mission Accomplished? Maybe Not.

So, Meatless Monday was both a success and a failure this week. Yes, we had a meal without meat and it was delicious. Success! Was it nutritionally balanced? Not really. Long ago I came to the realization that cutting out a particular food group does not magically make you healthier. Yesterday's meal reiterated that fact for me.

I made No Guilt Cheese Enchiladas: SparkRecipes Un-Chained Recipe Contest Finalist. The recipe sounded a little bland so I added some taco seasoning to the cheese filling mixture. It was awesome. But what's in it? Cheese and tortilla. A few (very few) chiles. So no veggies. Delicious, but how far can you ride nutritionally on cheese? Yes, cheese has calcium and some protein. What it doesn't have is all those vitamins and minerals we get from the vast array of fruits and veggies available.

The verdict: it's good, it's meatless AND it's only 241 calories per serving. Now to figure out how to cram some nutrition in there. Maybe I could hide some spinach in the enchiladas. Do you think the kids would notice?

I did make brown rice; replacing some of the water with tomato sauce. I added onions and corn. Does that at least count for veggies? What else could I add to rice? Poor rice. I'm putting the weight of our balanced nutrition on its shoulders. It must be feeling the pressure as I type.  I had Meatless Monday, but I do not feel that I have eaten my veggies. Have I failed? Not technically. :)

I still have visitors in my home, and it looks as if they may be here a while. I am fine with that. What I AM having a hard time with is their love of junk food. It's making old monsters rise up in me urging me to scratch itches that haven't itched in a while. There it is. Staring at me. The yummedness (I should totally trademark that word.) I know it's not good for me, but is that enough to keep me away? So far so good, but only time will tell. Now excuse me while I go to the kitchen and get a mid afternoon snack that does NOT include chocolate....

Friends for Dinner

Veggie Lasagna has made another appearance in our home. I was a little apprehensive about carrying on with Meatless Monday this week when I discovered my brother (the junk food junkie) and his wife were coming to visit. I finally told myself (yes, I talk to myself often) that I'd go ahead with Meatless Monday and, if they weren't game, I'd offer them something else I had laying around. I was still uneasy with the decision. Does this make me a bad hostess? So instead of saying, 'we're having veggie lasagna tonight', I kind of left the 'veggie' word out. My husband got home and spilled the beans though. I think my sister-in-law may have been a little concerned about it, but my brother dug in with gusto (as he does with all things involving food). He liked it! And I think she did too. So a win for Meatless Monday! Hooray!

As for the rest of the week, my oldest has just started 1st grade. Being a home schooler, that means I have also started 1st grade. I'm learning to read and write, and to have good manners. I'm singing ridiculous songs, and making silly voices as I read animal stories. I'm having fun! I am not, however, exercising. In any way, shape or form. I'm teaching, keeping my house clean and cooking. My choices are better, I watch to make sure I don't eat too many calories. I haven't weighed myself in a while though. I think, for now, I'm content to try to make sure I keep my eating under control. It's my biggest stumbling block. My second biggest is finding a form of exercise I love and that keeps me entertained. I'll just trip over one at a time, thanks.

Zucchini, My Nemesis.

Zucchini. The gassiest vegetable - eVER! I've had lots of zucchini this past week. I like it. It does not, however, like me. Leftover vegetable lasagna from last week's Meatless Monday has been on the lunch menu all week. My kid's love that lasagna. My husband asked for it again this week! I wanted something new and interesting for my blog though so veggie lasagna will be made later in the week.

This Meatless Monday was a cheat. We had seafood. Something we so rarely do anymore! Being a bayou girl I CRAVE seafood. Living where I do, it's readily available if one is willing to pay the price. I'm not used to this. I come from a magical land where a neighbor will leave you an ice chest of shrimp just because they have too much. It hurts me to actually pay the ridiculous prices that most others must pay. So, shrimp were on sale at my local grocery, boy were they beautiful! I gave in and bought a couple of pounds. They participated in my Meatless Monday this week.

Again, I recognize this is not really meatless. I have decided that this week we play using "South Louisiana" rules. Around here you can "give up" meat for Lent and gorge yourself on crawfish every Friday. So I made rotini Alfredo with garden rotini. It was yum. The kid's loved it. I paired it with sauteed squash and zucchini. Mom and Dad thought it was yum. The kids wouldn't go near it. And then there were the spiced pan seared shrimp. I loved them! My kids do not eat shrimp. For this I am thinking of selling them to a nice northern family...

So, what do you think? Shrimp...meat or no?

Meatless Mondays and Bandwagons

Well, Last week I fell off the bandwagon. Ok, that's only partially true. I dangled my legs from the back of the bandwagon and dragged my feet in the dirt. I ate things I shouldn't have, but logged every bite. Except for maybe that one piece of cake... But I quickly pulled my legs back into the wagon after I stepped on the scale. Two pounds down. Most probably water that I'll gain back at "that time of the month" but I care not. Two pounds is two pounds.

I struggle with rebellion. Fighting constraints at every turn. Some people are free spirited; apparently I'm a free eater. I despise logging every bite that goes into my mouth. It's not just mildly annoying to me, it's loathsome! As is jumping all over my living room huffing and puffing while some way too perky person does the same with the greatest of ease in TV land. This is why I have yet to find a form of exercise that suits me. I must feel I'm accomplishing something. Not obscure results miles down the road. Something tangible, which today happened to be polishing my living room furniture to within an inch of its life. I really need to take up gardening.
I buck against restrictions, but I'm trying to remember why I'm doing this: for my family; for myself. I'm eating a little better than I used to. The flatbread pizza I made myself for lunch today was phenomenal. Food I can get into. If only I could get into exercise! One of these days I'll find something that inspires me.

Meatless Monday got derailed this week and was picked back up tonight. (Totally Veggie Tuesday? Not nearly as catchy.) I followed a recipe I found at Foodnetwork.com. Paula Deen's "Garden Full Of Goodness Lasagna" was a hit! My 5 year old helped me make it. He thought it was "delicious!". My 2 year old said "sketties!" and ate like someone might take it from her if it stayed there too long. My hubby, who is not a squash fan, was very impressed. I used whole grain lasagna noodles instead of the no boil ones the recipe calls for, and I soaked them in hot water for 20 minutes before I used them. It just came out perfectly! I'm adding that one to the recipe box!

So, all in all, not a bad week. I could have made better choices sometimes, but there's no use beating myself up over it now. Time to move on and try my very best TODAY. And that's how I'll make it. One step; one good choice at a time.

Meatless Monday

So, today I'm feeling pretty good. Yesterday, we tried our first "Meatless Monday". We started simple, taking textured vegetable protein and seasoning it like taco meat. I also made Spanish rice with brown rice instead of white.

My husband thought that you can't really tell the difference between the TVP and meat (other than a slight texture difference). If he was impressed that's pretty darn good because he's a foodie like I am. My kids (who are 5 years and 2 years) ate it like it was going out of style. They had no idea Mom had done anything differently! So that's one for the keeper pile.

Now I'm trying to brainstorm for next week. I like eggplant. I wonder if the children could be tricked into eating an eggplant lasagna. I love lasagna.

So I'm sitting here, eating a nectarine, drenched in sweat and rain. And I'm feeling quite accomplished. I was trying to be nice to my husband and get the lawn mowed before the (inevitable) afternoon rain showers. It's 10 am and the rain came a little early. I DID get the back yard mowed all by myself! And I burned a few calories in the process. So now I'm going to take a shower and see what the rest of this week will bring. Hopefully lots more good choices...and a veggie lasagna.

Oh my, I'm Blogging

I'm in my late twenties (help me Lord), I've been married for 9 years, and we have two children. I was active and fit as a teenager raised in the bayous of South Louisiana. I met my love. We got married and grew fat together.

I went from tons of activity in my parents' household (yard work, swimming, boat rowing) to working retail 60 to 70 hours a week. I worked, I ate, I slept. I gained weight. We both gained weight.

About a year and a half ago, my husband went to the MD for a well visit. He was 100 pounds overweight, his cholesterol was out of whack, and his blood pressure was borderline hypertensive. This was his wake up call. We determined we'd eat better, and exercise. And one of us did.

I just couldn't seem to stay motivated. I'd do well for a week, then fall off. I'd have a 'stomach bout' with my IBS. Then, the kids and I come down with swine flu. I certainly couldn't get up at 5 a.m and exercise then! The routine was forever ruined. The laziness crept back in. Then I had my gallbladder removed. Another wonderful excuse why I just couldn't diet and exercise.

So, slowly but surely, I was left behind. My husband lost his hundred pounds, finished a 5K and a 10K, and here I am still with 80 extra pounds. I find myself at turns happy for him and resentful of his success.

And here I go, once again. I refuse to give up on myself because I know how important it is for me to take care of myself. If something happens to me, my kids will have to go to school when I want so much for them to have the home school advantage. My husband would have to go it alone, all because I was too selfish to put down that cookie.

So I'm dieting, homeschooling, and keeping our home. Trying to find the balance between them all.

I've got 80 pounds to lose, and if he could lose 100, 80 should be a walk in the park....or something like that...