Challenge Complete

Our meatless month challenge is officially over, but we're not jumping right back into a burger.  Our plan is to work it in slowly so we don't feel terrible after eating (although Steve already plans to feel terrible because he is planning to dive into some chicken wings in the next few days).  I don't have similar aspirations. However, we agreed last night that meat will likely end up being more of a "once in a while" thing for us, rather than an everyday go-to.

As it turns out, our challenge was a lot easier than we were expecting it to be.  Although I don't have any weight loss to show for it (Steve does), I feel good.  I think we were able to maintain our protein intake, and we definitely ended up adding a lot more fresh vegetables to our diet.  Even when we ran into meat-heavy menus here and there, we were able to find good, satisfying options.  Additionally, Kroger has a large selection of vegetarian items, which has made grocery shopping pretty easy.  Like I said before, we did continue to eat eggs and other animal by-products.

A couple people have asked about the girls; we didn't include them in our challenge.  They eat well, but don't try enough new items to leave me feeling confident that they would be getting the appropriate nutrients.  I do think we could have given them some meatless products without them really knowing the difference, but the undertaking was large enough for just the two of us ... adding growing kids would have been overwhelming, I think.

Tonight for dinner I'm making a recipe for Mexican Quinoa that my sister shared.  See what I mean about tasty meatless alternatives?

As for my own self-inflicted Diet Coke challenge, that's gone well, too.  Right after I made the promise to myself to drink less of it, I went for a handful of days without any DC.  I had a can with my lunch one day, and then went without for another couple of days.  Then it was Wedding Weekend in MN, and I knew if there was a time that would call for large amounts of DC, that would be it - and I was right.  I didn't kick myself for it, either.  I last drank a DC on the day after the wedding, June 22, and haven't had one since.  Pretty good, don't you think?  I was really craving one on the plane ride home yesterday evening, but luckily I was 1:2 with the girls and wouldn't have been able to keep it from spilling, so I had to decline when the cart came through.  Besides that, I haven't missed it.  I think it will be another item that is an occasional treat, as I don't plan to buy any more of it at the grocery store.  This challenge will continue to be a work in progress ... as most challenges are!

Wedding Week Wordless Wednesday

meatless month update

I can't lie: Steve and I are both missing meat to some degree.  He is especially craving an order of buffalo wings.  But besides that, we're doing well.  Lunch has been easy for me because I typically eat a frozen meal along with a veggie and fruit.  For dinner we've had salads, soups, and many of our regular selections, simply without meat - pasta, pizza, burritos, sandwiches, etc.  We've incorporated beans and hummus for protein, and overall we're eating a lot more fresh vegetables (and adding news ones, such as green tomatoes, into the rotation).  Steve has already lost a few pounds.  I, of course, have not ... but I'm paying more attention to what I eat and that's a big deal.  And I have to think my cholesterol is thanking me.

Over the past week, two different friends mentioned their sugar-free diets to me.  I was intrigued and did some research, and then quickly decided I am not ready to make that leap.  It's not that I have a big sweet tooth, because I don't.  But sugar is in everything.  For starters, I'd have to quit bread.  Not gonna happen.  There ended my research.

However, I have decided to consciously cut back on my Diet Coke intake.  Some of you who've known me for a while are probably incredibly skeptical of my ability to commit to this ... there was a point when I might as well have been hooked up to a DC IV, but now I really am ready to move forward with this. I'm not giving up caffeine (I haven't gone completely off the deep end).  Instead of downing DCs all day, though, I'm going to work on drinking more water with unsweetened iced tea for a flavorful pick-me-up.  Now is a good time for me to test this because I tend to drink a lot more water and iced tea in the summer anyway.  There are two DCs left in my fridge, and once those are gone, I don't plan to buy any more for now (do you know how much money I could save this way!?!?!).  I realize that just drinking water would be best for me, but I have to take baby steps here.  And there is water in tea, so it's totally justifiable if you ask me.  This is a worthwhile challenge, so we'll see how I do.

I'm still waiting to wake up with a six pack thanks to my new eating habits, but even if that doesn't happen, we're feeling good and that's important.  Quality vs. quantity is always worth weighing (no pun intended).

Book Talk

Wonder is a Young Adult Novel, but if you've heard me talk about YA novels before, you know I believe that they are some of the best books on the market.  They appeal to all ages and so eloquently and relevantly teach - or remind - us of the lessons in life that are the very most important.  Coincidentally, a couple of days after Wonder was selected for our book club, an old friend and teaching partner texted to ask whether I'd read it yet, telling me I HAD to do so.  She also said it made her want to teach again, because we would have rocked this novel in the classroom.  It's true.  We would have created the most amazing unit ever around this book.  We would have had 7th graders knocking down the doors to come to our class over this novel.  Reading about Auggie, his birth defect, and how brave he was as he headed to "real" school for the first time made me want to head straight back to the classroom.  But even if that's not your desire, you have to read Wonder.  Sometimes I think adults have the most to learn by reading about the true struggles of a child who feels, and knows, that he doesn't belong.

 

I loved This is Where I Leave You.  It's the story of a highly dysfunctional family (which one isn't?) that comes together when the father dies to sit shiva for seven days.  Just before his father's death, Judd, who tells the story, found his wife in bed with his boss.  Each of his three siblings has his or her own personal crisis in progress, and their seven days together turns out to be entirely unbearable and cleansing all at once.  If a lot of profanity isn't your thing, this book may offend you.  But it's equal parts tragedy and comedy, and entertaining until the end ... at which point you won't want it to end.

Up next: I'm determined to finally finish the Harry Potter series.  I haven't read a single one since I finished #4 in 2003, which is more than a little embarrassing.  Steve read all of them in a summer a few years back, and they are just sitting on the shelf begging me to finish what I started.  I'm behind the times, I know, but I plan to be caught up by the end of the summer.  Wish me luck!

"Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him."

Maya Angelou

Five on Friday

1. Steve and I watched "Gravity" the other night.  It was good.  I wouldn't rank it up there with the best movies I've ever seen, but it had the right amount of suspense and action to keep us entertained.  And I have to give us props for two things: actually watching a semi-recent new release and staying awake through the whole thing (all 90 minutes of it).

2. I despise making the top bunk.  Sara went through a phase this winter where she slept in her sleeping bag on top of the covers, which was excellent, but now she's recently back to using the bedding.  As luck would have it, though, she decided just this week that she wanted to make her bottom bunk into a tent, so she's been sleeping there.  She has created a little nest in her tent, complete with toys, flashlights, books, notepads ... you name it.  I'm hoping the tent lasts for a little while at least, because I'm already dreading the next time I have to wash and reassemble the top bunk bedding. 

3. Emma has recently started showing interest in the big girl potty.  She's gotten good about telling us when she needs a new diaper, and just within the last week or so, has wanted to sit on the potty.  She hasn't actually gone on it, but she knows what it's for.  She'll say, "potty", and then run into the bathroom and start undressing.  The thought of not having to buy diapers in the near-ish future is almost too exciting for me to think about right now.

4. The other evening I was picking up a few groceries and adult bevs.  When the teenage cashier scanned my beer, the screen came up that says, "Is the customer over 40?"  He quickly tapped "yes" on the screen and went about checking me out.  To make conversation, I said, "You know, I am under 40."  And then he did this little yeah-right-you-could-be-my-mom-chuckle that totally made me pause.  As I walked out of the store, I thought to myself, I don't look anywhere close to 40.  And then it hit me that, no matter how old I think I look, I am closer to 40 than I am to 21.  By a lot.  I'm sorry, but where was I when this happened?

5. It's Bachelorette Weekend for my sister!  I'm headed to MN in the morning to partake in the festivities.  We're starting with a Pedal Pub tour of North East Minneapolis, and following it up with dinner at Psycho Suzi's.  I can't believe the big day is only a couple weeks away ... so excited to celebrate the bride!

Wordless Wednesday

weekend ramble

After what turned out to be a draining week, this weekend has been a much needed reprieve.  On my way home on Friday evening, I called my sister and, upon hearing her voice, almost immediately started crying. There wasn't really anything particularly wrong at that point, but it was like all my stress had finally pushed open the flood gates and I had a listening ear on the other end of the line.  I'm sure you know what I mean.

I'm not sure what's in the air (or, really, what isn't), but Emma's breathing has been labored since Thursday evening.  We've been doing a lot of breathing treatments and keeping her off dairy.  Her demeanor has been a little off, an although she's not 100%, she's better today, by far.

So as you can imagine, our weekend has been spent relaxing at home.  I got my usual weekend cleaning done, of course, but other than that, we've enjoyed not having any place to be or anything we have to do (except swim).

In case you are interested, neither Steve nor I have cheated yet on our meatless month.  It's really amazing how many options are out there if you just look.  We did get sucked into "Food Paradise: BBQ" on the Travel Channel the other night, and quickly decided that watching such shows would not be helpful to us on this journey.  Still, we didn't turn it off.  Will power, people.

This week is the last week of school for the kids.  It's crazy how quickly this year has flown by, but then, I say that every year.  I experienced my first field day a couple weeks ago ... it was a blast!  I think I made a name for myself on the inflatable obstacle course.  A year ago I had no idea what I had gotten myself into by asking to move to elementary, and while I do miss my former life in middle school, I think I'm pretty happy where I'm at now.  My contract goes through June, though I'm taking off the last week for Melissa's wedding, so the countdown to our summer is definitely on.  For the moment, though, I'm thinking roughly a week at a time ... and hoping this will be a good one.