Waves

I learned a long time ago that I have a sanguin personality. It kind of means I am a little flighty and have a hard time concentrating on one thing at a time. It means I never remember where I park the car because I never look to begin with. But it also means I am fun to be with and am usually great at parties!
Anyway, the reason I say this is becasuse I have found another part of this personality that I am not found of. I do things in waves. I clean, clean clean then don't for several weeks. I cook, cook, cook for several weeks then may eat out for a week. I am passionate about reading my bible then fizzle out on that too. I always come back to these things but for some reason I have a hard time sticking with them. That goes for dieting, and balancing my checkbook and just about everything else in my life.
The thing that I think bothers me the most about it is that I know if I keep these things up it will be a lot easier to handle them then let them go and pick up the pieces later. But it still doesn't motivate me to do it any better! I want a clean house, and a balanced checkbook everyday but I would rather read a book or color with Izzy.
So if any of you out there are better at the balance of adulthood then I am, I would love a few tips.
Ha! I even go in waves when it comes to blogging! Oh well I guess I have the "fun to invite to a party" going for me!:)

Cleaning

I truly hate cleaning! I don't like laundry, mopping, bathrooms, dishes, dusting, vacuuming among other things. It gives me very little satisfaction mostly because I know that once my family comes home it will get messy again! In fact I believe if there was a Olympic sport for messing up the house the fastest, my family would win all the gold for EVERY country!!!

But I have found a few things that make cleaning a little more tolerable. My favorite is a website that shows you how clean anything. It is great and also serves as a great distraction when you aren't wanting to clean. Hope it helps!

www.howtocleanstuff.net

The art of substituting

I used to be afraid of recipes. I was worried that if I didn't have a certain spice or pot or gadget then I wouldn't be able to do it right. So I didn't make it. I missed out on a lot of yummy food because I didn't now how to substitute. As time went on I decided that I surely could figure out how to make some of these recipes work for me. So here are two meals I am preparing this week and changing it up a little.

The first is a Lo Mein recipe. It has several kinds of meat and I am only using pork. In the sauce it calls for Dark Soy sauce and I am going to use regular and omit the hot sauce it calls for. Also some of the spices are supposed to be fresh and I am using dry. This was an item that always scared me. I found that if you use 1/2 as much dried as it calls for in fresh it is about the right amount. Also, some of the veggies we don't like so I added broccoli, carrots, and zucchini in place of the cabbage, chestnuts, and bean sprouts. Also, I will probably double the sauce recipe. Sometimes if you get a recipe online they will have reviews of the recipe. This is a good resource because it gives you the good and the bad of the recipe. Many of the reviews said to make more sauce.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/everything-lo-mein-recipe/index.html

The second recipe I am making is a Chicken Cacciatore! The recipe itself I am keeping the same but I don't have a dutch oven so I am going to change the way I cook the chicken. I will start everything on the stove top but when it is supposed to go in the oven I will transfer the chicken and veggies into a 13x9 inch man and cover it with foil.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/10/chicken-cacciatore/

So even if you think a recipe isn't going to work for you spend a little time trying to make a few adjustments. It will be worth it when you sit down to dinner!

P.S. If you are looking for the actual recipe on the pioneer woman recipes you have to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page to find it! Just a little heads up!

Cooking and the Blizzard

The snow is driving me crazy and I have a case of cabin fever and so do the kids. I am secretly hoping school is in tomorrow just so we can get back to our regular schedule. I haven't eaten the best this week and I am sure the scale will show it this week but I am okay with that. I have tried to do the best I can and even exercised. We got a fun new dancing game for the Wii and it has helped burn some of those cinnamon roll calories. Turns out even in a blizzard cinnamon rolls are fattening! Who knew!?

Anyway, I have tried out a few new recipes this week and thought I would but up there links.

Here is to staying warm and not going crazy!

Leslie

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/01/chicken-tortilla-soup/

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/crescent-pizza-pockets/12e72fb4-088a-4e51-856e-44db932fa8f5/

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/prt/recipe.aspx?Type=1&RecipeID=50593

Cake!!!

I love cake and brownies probably more then any other kind of dessert. So of course I have been searching high and low for recipes so I literally could have my cake and eat it too! Then I remembered a friend of mine making a diet coke cake years ago. So I googled it and what do you know they have a bunch! So It thought I would share it with you. I did the chocolate cake mix and one can of diet coke. Bake it according to the boxes instructions and after it is cooled spread cool whip and strawberries on it. YUM-O!! You can also do strawberry cake mix and diet sprite or for that matter any flavor of cake with a diet soda. You don't taste the soda in the cake so any kind will do! It is really good and gives you that treat that you don't have to feel guilty about.

Looking forward

I have really enjoyed and done well with my weight loss so far. My family has been really helpful. My girls have helped me exercise and Chris is willing to eat things that maybe he wouldn't have before. AND, he actually is liking it! I have come across a lot of websites and blogs that have low fat recipes but some of them cook with things I am not going to find in my local store or if found it I wouldn't want to pay for it! But one site I found that I like is called www.skinnytaste.com. She takes favorites and lightens them up and many of the recipes are easy and family friendly. I will be trying some of these recipes and posting them soon so stay tuned.

I have a few goals I am looking at setting. I think I would like to train for a 5k. I am walking 2 miles a day so 3.10 miles wouldn't be too much further. But then I might like to try and run/walk it! I haven't EVER run anything before except the mile run in high school ( which I walked the whole thing and got a C-!) I think one of my issues with weight loss in the past has been boredom. I would eat the same things and exercise the same way and get bored and quit. So this time I am really trying hard to mix up my diet and workouts and make it fun! So here is to looking forward and setting new goals and hopefully even buying some new clothes!

By the way, if you have any new websites of blogs for me to try, let me know!

Wake up call

About a week ago I decided to join weight watchers....again. I think this is the 4th time in my life that I have done this program not to mention all the other programs I have tried. I lose about 30 lbs. each time and then get lazy and quit. But this time I really wanted to get past that 30 lbs. and see some real results! So I was determined. All this was happening in the mist of not feeling very well. For about 3 weeks I have had several bouts of what seemed like the never ending stomach flu. It would come on, then get better, then go away again. So I finally had had enough of it and went to the doctor. She told me is was most likely my gall bladder. I was going to need an ultra sound and was going to need to be on a very bland, very low fat diet.

I hadn't felt like eating much lately anyway but I wasn't looking forward to going even lower fat and BLAND? AHHHHHH! But the I realized this might be a good way to get this weight loss kicked off. I could get through those 1st couple of weeks of a diet that suck because you are withdrawing from everything. But most of all it had been a HUGE wake up call. I have learned that your body can't go on forever taking abuse and if you don't take care of it you will get sick or have gall bladder problems or diabetes or other issues. So for all those years I have used food as entertainment, comfort and everything else but nourishment, I am going to have to totally change my way of thinking, cooking, dealing with emotions and in general eating!! Oh my this is going to be a lot of work but why shouldn't I want to do this? This will help me become the healthy person I have always desired to be. I can go outside and run around with my kids, take those dancing lessons with my husband, buy clothes that I actually like and look good in, feel good about myself and truly be healthy for the 1st time in my life! Now this is easier said then done. I know this because I have tried many times before. But for some reason this gall bladder issue has really made me think and see how fragile your health is and how critical it is to take care of myself. So here I am trying this....again. But my prayer is that I won't be here next writing this again but I will be so proud of all my hard work and it will have paid off and maybe I might even have a cute little black dress to boot! Take care of yourselves!