Friday, January 30, 2009

I'm back!

Oh my heavens, I feel like I dropped off the side of the world (blog-wise anyway). I have been really busy this week with work and after being on the computer all day, I haven't wanted to at night.
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Other than being tired, I've had a good week, though. Weight wise, I'm finally back in my range! Yeah, it took almost a month to get myself straight after the holidays, but I am there, now. And I am staying there.
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Son is home sick again today. I swear, he could get a virus in his left pinkie toe and it would make him puke! I can't send him to school puking, so he stays home.
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Daughter is looking forward to her birthday. Her birthday dress, leggings, and hat were delivered today (she picked them out from the Hanna Andersson catalog). I think she'll look cute. Plus, as a bonus, I think the leggings will match her other Hanna dress so she can still wear it even though it's starting to get too short for her.
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Hubby might be home early today--he had to work a while last night and then had to go in an hour early this morning, so he might get off early. If he does, we'll go grocery shopping before music lessons (son is seeming to be fine now so I'm not sure if I'm going to cancel his violin lesson or not).
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I made some of Ani Phyo's Almond yogurt and froze it in little Dixie cups with Popsicle handles and now I have almond freezer pops. Yummy! Son didn't like them, he said they were "too almondy" (duh, what did you expect?).
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An Asian food market moved from the dingy little building they were in to a new building so hubby and I went in while kiddos were at piano lessons on Monday. I bought some miso paste and some yellow curry paste and some noodles. Tuesday we had home-made miso soup--so good. I wasn't aware that a lot of the curry pastes have "shrimp paste" in them--the yellow curry paste was the only vegan one they had. Also, some of their miso pastes had monato (fish) in them. I had to look for a vegan one of those, too. Now I wonder if I am getting fish when I get miso soup at Japanese restaurants.
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I was going to make curry last night, but we had a couple of errands to do before hubby went back to work so we grabbed a burrito on the run--rice and bean burrito with added lettuce and green salsa.
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Well, how's that for a whole week in a hurry. I'll try to get on more regularly, I think I'm about done with the end of year work rush. (I hope, I hope, I hope.)
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I don't know what's going on this weekend yet, I hope it includes a lot of sleep.
Ciao for now.

Friday, January 23, 2009

I made it to Friday

Yesterday's food-coffee and oatmeal for breakfast; salad and rice & beans for lunch; 3 graham crackers, an apple, and a cup of brewed chocolate for snack; rice & beans and broccoli for dinner; 1 banana and one graham cracker dipped in chocolate sauce for snack. Pretty good day.
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Let me start by saying that my rice & beans were a hit. Daughter picked out the beans and at them but not the rice (she said the rice tasted like the beans--well, yeah, they were cooked together), but other than that..... Son had two servings as a matter of fact.
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I started out today by e-mailing everyone I know trying to get them to buy Girl Scout cookies. Daughter is selling them and we were supposed to have turned the pre-orders in last night; silly us, we hadn't even sold one single box, yet. Her goal is 100 boxes! I mean really, give me a break! How is a little girl supposed to sell 100 boxes of cookies? Answer--she's not; mommy and daddy will sell 100 boxes of cookies so she will feel like she made her goal.
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May I just say that I HATE having to pester people to get them to buy whatever crap the organization decides it will sell for a fundraiser. I would rather just give the organization a check than run around trying to get people to buy crap food or crap trinkets or crap whatever. I won't eat them, why should I try to sell them? It's the same way when my kids were selling cookie dough for their school--we didn't sell a single tub this year. Oh well, enough complaining. (Yes, I do have an attitude about that. I am an introvert and do not do "selling" well. Although hubby points it out when, every once in a while, I do a great job selling something I believe in--like my vegan lifestyle, or my Vita-mix, or whatever.)
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So I lose one kid tonight and gain another. Son is going up camping with scouts (I am so uptight about that!) And daughter is having a friend sleep over (I am not excited that). I'm going to get hubby and the girls a pizza and I'll have the rest of my rice & beans and whatever else I see in the fridge that looks good.
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Today had been (food-wise) coffee and oatmeal for breakfast, and a babaganoush pita sandwich with lots of veggies.
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Well, I had better get back to work. Have a great weekend.
Ciao for now.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Beans and Rice

Just real quick here--I was looking at CCV's blog and saw her pasta and decided I'd do pasta for dinner. So I figured I go put on the beans and rice (one of the advantages to working from home) and I'd have them for lunch. Well, they came out so good that we are having beans and rice for dinner. Here's my recipe: Beans and Rice (6 good size servings)
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2 and 1/2 cups water
1 cup brown rice
1 can of beans of your choice-liquid and all (choose a firm sort like kidneys)
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1/4 cup dried onion pieces
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt to taste
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add all of the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. reduce the heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes (until the rice is done and it is as soupy or dry as you want it).
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Note--I use the liquid off the canned beans and then less salt. If you drain and rinse your beans you will need to increase the amount of water you use and the amount of salt. Also, I had a tiny bit of tomato sauce in the fridge (like less than a quarter of one of those little bitty cans) so I just poured that in, too.
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Well, I'm off again.
Ciao for now.

A better day

Hey CCV! Little Girl says thanks for the compliment on her eyes. (Now you've given her a big head--I'll probably never hear the end of it. Oh well.)
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So yesterday went better:
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Coffee and Almond Butter/jelly sandwich for breakfast
tofu scramble and salad for lunch
oatmeal for a snack (I was starving by 2:30)
Tofurkey sausage, broccoli, and salad for dinner
still hungry after dinner so had a banana
Salad, 3 graham crackers and 1/2 cup of soy milk for snack.
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I am also feeling happier again. I really think it's my cycle--Monday's snack attack, Tuesday's really bad mood, Wednesday's sort of bad mood, today feeling back to myself. Yeah, I think I'm cycling.
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This morning, daughter and I had a good old game of "Yankee Doodle". In case you don't know how to play, the first person sings "Yankee Doodle went to town, riding on a (fill in the blank--the stranger, the better)". And the next person has to complete the song. Our last round was "Yankee Doodle went to town; riding on a tree stump; It didn't go very fast or far, so Yankee had to ju-ump." I'm really good at that game.
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Yeah, I'm a weird mom. But we have fun.
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I think we're going to have rice and beans for dinner tonight. We have leftover steamed broccoli from last night so If I make some rice and beans, we'll have a good old meal.
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Well I've got to get to work. By the way, we are under an inversion and have been for the last week or more. Our skies are grey and our temps are cold. It's supposed to rain today--I'm hoping it does so we'll get this washed out. I always feel better when the weather at least "looks" pretty outside.
Ciao for now.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

I made it to Wednesday


Puppy had a play date this morning. Well, not really. I have a friend who has a grooming shop so I took Little Girl in this morning to get her sharp puppy claws trimmed. After that ordeal (she cried like we were killing her at one point), I let her down to play with my friend's business partner's dog (did that make sense?). Anyway, this other dog is like half her size and just as much energy. She had a ball and it was so fun to watch. She may even want to get her toenails trimmed just so she can go play.
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So yesterday continued to be bit of a sucky day. I felt bad and just worthless. I had oatmeal and coffee for breakfast, sauteed veggies and a pb-agave-banana sandwich for lunch, a wedge of purple cabbage for snack, a huge salad with homemade vinaigrette and tofu scramble for dinner, and an apple before bed. I also exercised a little bit.
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Last night, hubby was helping with dinner. I turned to put my dressing on my salad and he hadn't dished me one up--he had three bowls out, one for son, one for daughter, and one for him. He completely forgot about me. How's that for a loved one making you feel invisible?
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I still feel a little down today, but visiting with my friend helped. I had a Almond Butter and jelly sandwich and coffee for breakfast; and salad and tofu scramble for lunch. I'll try to get a bit more exercise in today, as well.
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I also got on the scale today. I wanted to lose a pound this last week, right? Well, I gained one instead. Between the binge on Monday and the extra snacking over the weekend, I gained. I am resolved to get those 3 pounds back off--I know three pounds is not the end of the world, but I am NOT going to have worked so hard to lose all that weight only to gain it back; and 3 pounds is the start of that road.
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So yesterday I mentioned that I was uptight about son going camping. I talked to the scoutmaster's wife--she said that if it weren't for her hubby going, she probably wouldn't let her son go. She's a worry wart like me. But she said that she knows how her hubby is with all of the kids and knows he'll watch over them really closely. They will have suburbans up there so they can get in and get warm if needed and they will have hand/foot warmers and heaters, too. I know I have to let him go sometime. I'm just afraid that if I let go, something will happen and I won't have him or he'll be hurt.
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Son accused me of trying to scare him out of not wanting to go. I told him that I was just a worry wart and I wasn't going to smile and pretend I was fine with it when I wasn't. I told him that if he didn't want me fussing, he should quit talking about it. I also told him that I would be fine Saturday afternoon when he walked through our door.
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UPS came and brought daughter's B-day present today! An American Girl doll! I unpacked the box to check the contents and wanted to play with her. Alas, I can't. I put it back in the box and put it away. I can't wait to play with it after she opens, it though ;-)
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Well, I guess I ought to go and at least pretend to do something constructive. (Yeah, that's the kind of day it is--better than yesterday, though.)
Ciao for now.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A rough day


Do you ever have one of those days? I'm in one. There are several things going on and with everything, I feel like I just can't win.
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First of all, I know I shouldn't obsess about my weight, but I do. I lost the weight and I am NOT going back to being fat. It's just not happening. That being said, I had a really bad afternoon yesterday--eating wise. I was craving chocolate and I've found that if I don't give in to my cravings in some form, then I go overboard at some point. So anyway, I made a little bit of chocolate sauce (cocoa powder and agave nectar) and dipped a banana it in. (ok so far) I had just a little bit of sauce left over so I dipped some crackers in it to finish off the chocolate. (still ok cuz I only had a few crackers.
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Then, I went back to work and thought I was doing ok until it hit me--I finished off daughter's leftover french fries in the fridge, the rest of the ice cream in the freezer (only about 1/2 cup left, thank goodness) and a rice crispy treat. I felt just gross--the fries weren't very good; the ice cream was was real and it tends to give me a stomach ache; and rice crispy treats are made with marshmallow which is made with gelatin from animal bones which makes me nauseous. And the worst part is that I kept eating even though I felt sick.
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I wonder if it had to do with my cycle (a friend once suggested it might and I don't have my TOM thanks to the Mirena IUD but I probably still do cycle). I do know that that kind of out of control eating is what got me fat in the first place.
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After I got through that, I did better. Veggie Delight (mixed sauteed veggies and tofu w/ steamed rice) at a restaurant for dinner (I was feeling bad and didn't want to cook) and an apple for bedtime snack.
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I really need to get a handle on this. I hate that I get in these eating binges and can't seem to stop myself.
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Second, I was going through son's agenda book last night and see an assignment on which he really didn't get a very good grade. He had missed only one point on the rest of it, but then hadn't even done a whole section (it was a research paper). I ask him what's going on and get that he didn't know it was part of the paper because he was gone when it was assigned--he's been sick, he has been out for ortho appointments, and he leaves the classroom for GT.
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So I e-mailed his teacher. After getting his teacher's response, I think it's a bit of both of their faults. Son needs to take the initiative and ASK what he missed when he gets back, not just assume that nothing was missed. Teacher needs to make sure son is understanding all parts of the assignment.
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I don't want my son to get any special attention, but he does have aspergers and all too often, he gets to focusing on one thing to the exclusion of all else. I think the teacher should have son paraphrase or even write things back to be sure he got everything.
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I just hate my son not doing well because of not getting all of the information. And don't get me wrong--I am more proud of a C that was worked for than I am of an A that was handed out. I try to let my kids know that I expect them to do the best they can. And if they have done their best, I'm on top of the world.
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I had to go in and talk to one teacher regarding reading. Son was reading all the time--catalogs, encyclopedias, non-fiction books. He was supposed to be taking AR tests on fiction books for a grade. I told his teacher that as long as he was reading, I was happy. That I didn't think reading should be turned into a chore by forcing it--I think forced reading as children is why a lot of adults dislike reading now. I told her that since I knew he was reading and knew that he could read, I would support him even if he got a bad reading grade. He ended up getting enough points to get a good grade, that's not the point.
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I guess I'm just saying that as long as my kids are doing their best and trying and learning, I will back them up 100% no matter what.
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Third, some issues with work. Don't really want to go into them.
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Anyway, everything has me feeling really low today.
I've had coffee and oatmeal to eat so far. I have left over stir-fried veggies that I plan on having for lunch; probably with a sandwich. I'll have fruit for a snack. I'll figure out something good for dinner. And I'll drink lots of water. For right now, I'm going to get back to work and put on some music, and try to be positive.
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Wish me luck.
Ciao for now.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Weekend, camping concerns, money woes, etc.

Well, I guess I'll start with the food. Friday night was a tofu scramble (heavy on the sweet potato, light on the tofu) and steamed broccoli. That's it below. Then on Saturday, we ended up going to Boise. I had the leftover tofu scramble and coffee for breakfast. A half nectarine and some pumpkin seeds on the way up. A salad (no cheese, no croutons) with vinaigrette and sweet potato fries for lunch (did the best I could at the restaurant). An apple and Almond butter/jelly sandwich for snack, and a Subway veggie delite sandwich for dinner. Late, when we got home, I had some Almond yogurt (from Ani's Raw Kitchen).
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Sunday, I had oatmeal and coffee for breakfast. A zucchini salad with Tahini vinaigrette (home made) and a Seitan, veganaise, on whole wheat sandwich. I had ww tortilla and tangelo for a snack. Had teriyaki stir fried veggies and teriyaki tofu for dinner. Had almond yogurt and pumpkin bread for a snack.
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Today I've had coffee and oatmeal for breakfast ,and zucchini salad and almond butter/jelly on ww tortilla for lunch.
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Whew. Looking back, I did more snacking that usual. I need to start watching that better. Or make sure I truly am hungry when I snack. I have a habit of snacking out of boredom or habit--not good.
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So anyway, we went to Boise on Saturday. Kids needed pants and we wanted to go ice-skating. Ice Skating was a blast! I have to say, though that it's a good thing my daughter doesn't skate very good because it gives me an excuse to hug the wall too--I have to stay close to help her, don't you know.
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When we went to the Boise mall to get clothes for the kids, I was amazed at the state of the stores. We saw discounts of up to 90% off. And stores that usually don't show much in the way of recession signs, were a lot emptier than usual. Then, yesterday, we went to the mall here, I saw the same thing. It's getting a little scary. (Although at one store that was going out of business, I got two pair of jeans--one cost $3.30, the other $3.50.)
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Son is going camping this weekend with scouts. I'm really a bit uptight about it. It's going to be in the teens, temperature wise and it's just 12 and 13 year-old boys and the scout leaders. We ended up shelling out $80 bucks to get son a good sleeping bag and mat to try to avoid hypothermia. What do kids do that can't afford to do that? (We couldn't afford to do that, but did it anyway.) I think I'll call the scout leader's wife and ask her if she would let her son go if his dad wasn't going to be there with him.
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I have to take the big puppies in for shots this afternoon. Another thing that has to be done that we can't afford.
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I keep telling myself that we will get through all of this.
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Well, I had better get back to work, I actually have quite a bit to get accomplished this afternoon.
Ciao for now.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Too many words, not enough pics

Daughter and hubby at Old Faithful last summer--waiting for it to erupt
Son at Old Faithful last summer--playing "Karate Kid" while waiting for it to erupt

It's Friday again

So last night for dinner we had left-overs. There was rice, curry veggies, biscuits, and gravy. And then for a snack I had a wedge of purple cabbage (weird, I know, but I really like it) and a nectarine.
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Today, I had my cup of coffee with soy milk and a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast and then went to a Mexican place for lunch where I had a bean burrito, rice, and a salad.
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I went out to lunch today because hubby is home and he took me. He's home because he has to work the night shift tonight (not really night shift, just 6 pm until 2 am--unless they get done quicker). The kids have half a day of school today (end of the semester) so he's off picking them up right now and then he'll be taking a nap.
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Fortunately, I'm pretty much done with work for today. It would be awfully hard to keep them quiet so he could sleep and still work. It seems like, even though they are big enough to take care of themselves, if mom or dad are around, they need to keep us involved. I mean, it's really a good thing--just frustrating when I'm trying to concentrate.
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Wednesday, I took a video out to the hospital to a gal I used to work with there. We did it right after son's ortho appointment so it was just him and me. She works on the 5th floor. I asked son if he was up to taking the stairs; he was. So we did stairs up to the 5th floor, down to the basement, and back up to the first floor. I wasn't nearly as winded as I thought I would be. I forget that I'm in a lot better shape than I used to be.
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I'm really concerned about daughter. I doubt she'd have been able to do the stairs. I talked to hubby today at lunch about how we needed to be good examples to her. He just doesn't understand that his eating, his inactivity, and his attitude toward his health is rubbing off on her. His response was to tell me that he's not drinking as much milk as he used to (he used to go through almost a gallon a day by himself) and that he only had 3 spoons of sugar in his coffee today instead of 8. (Oh my gosh! I had no idea he usually put 8 spoons of sugar in. And he was completely serious--he wasn't pulling my leg!)
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I'm afraid that it's going to take a heart attack or something before he gets the idea that his health is his responsibility. His daughter's health is our responsibility, but I can't do it alone.
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Son put his pants on today and I noticed a hole in the butt--not really a hole, but it was threadbare under the pocket. He has another pair that I've already patched there. And all of his pants are getting to be high waters. Daughter needs new pants, too. I think we need to go shopping this weekend. Can't send my kids to school naked, now can I?
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Since I'll have the kids at lessons (son-violin, daughter-trumpet) when hubby has to go to work tonight, I'll have to figure out something for dinner for the three of us. I was thinking maybe a tofu scramble and zucchini. Son would like it, but daughter wouldn't.
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Well, I think I'm going to quit typing now and look through some blogs. I haven't been able to keep up very good lately--I've been too busy with work.
Ciao for now.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Comfort food.and ramblings on becoming vegan

Hi, all.
I've got just a couple of minutes to post here. Tuesday's biscuits left me wanting more so last night I made more. I also made "sausage" gravy out of Gimme Lean Sausage, olive oil, flour, and soy milk. So we had biscuits and gravy--the ultimate in comfort food. Yum, Yum.
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I had meetings all day at work--three in a row. I think we got a bit accomplished. Now I need to type up notes and get them to the office manager so we can review them together.
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I was reading another blog where a commenter posted about maybe being vegan came about as a result of an eating disorder. I feel that totally applied to me. My (self-diagnosed) eating disorder, though, is overeating--sometimes uncontrollably. It was through attempting to control a lifetime of binge eating and eating crap that I came to eating vegan--a friend recommended Skinny Bitch, and then I did some more research, and I changed.
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So basically what I'm saying is: Who cares how one comes to being a vegan. The point is that it is a good, healthy, sustainable lifestyle. It's good for health. It's good for our planet. And it's good for all of the other living creatures on the planet. The fact that some of us may have come to it in ways that others don't think should have led us there does not negate the fact that now we are here. And now we are (or are on our way to being) healthy and compassionate members of this planet.
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Like I said, I only had a few minutes. Now they're up.
Ciao for now.
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disclaimer--the views represented on this blog do not necessarily represent the views of the world at large. But they are my views.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Still running like crazy

"Bat Dog...na-na na-na na-na na-na.....Bat Dog!" (anyone remember the batman theme?)
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Hey, I'm still here. I have been so busy these last couple of weeks; it's just crazy. I thought I'd have time to write at lunch-time, like usual, but it hasn't been working out that way.
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Part of it is usual end-of year accounting stuff, part of it is "people" issues, part of it is family issues.
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I'll start with my weight since it is so much on my mind right now. I stayed the same last week. And since I didn't really eat or exercise well enough to lose weight and I had "brownie issues" over the weekend, I can't really complain. I am only 2 pounds over my range, so It's not a huge deal. But I do have to deal with it now before it's 5 pounds and then 10 pounds and then 130 pounds. So I am going to do better this week. I promise. One pound a week is good with me and that's what I'm shooting for.
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I'll go back to food now. Sunday night, I made the kids eat the rest of the brownies--no more of those nasty things in the house.
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So Monday was good. I had lunch at a Thai place with a friend--nothing like a good spicy tofu curry. And then for dinner, I made VegNews' baked macaroni and cheese. It was so good. Who'd have thought that potatoes, onion, carrots, almonds (I subbed those for the cashews), mustard, salt, and paprika (I think that was all) would make such a cheesy tasting sauce. Even hubby ate it and liked it. (Daughter didn't like it because it wasn't Kraft but she ate 2 big servings of broccoli to make up for not eating the macaroni so I was totally good with it.) We will defiantly do that recipe again.
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Yesterday, I had oatmeal for breakfast; broccoli and left over mac & cheese for lunch; and I did a pea and potato curry for dinner. I was rather surprised that hubby said he liked that one, too. Daughter picked out the potatoes and dipped them in ketchup. Son didn't eat much, but he had been home sick with a stomach ache (puking all night Monday night/Tuesday morning) so I didn't worry about him.
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And speaking of oatmeal, I found a cool, quick way to make it. I like the steel-cut oats but then take too long to cook and I don't like cooking them over the stove. So here is what I did (three mornings in a row now, so it can't be too bad):
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quick Steel-cut oats

1 part steel cut oats

4 parts liquid (I use 1 part soy milk and 3 parts water)

3 dates
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put the above in the vitamix and blend. Pour into a microwave safe bowl and nuke for 90 seconds-stirring at 30 and 60 seconds. Stir and eat!
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The texture is different--you don't have the distinguishable oats in it, but it sure tastes yummy and it's so easy.
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Today, I had oatmeal for breakfast, and left-over curry for lunch. I'm not sure what snack and dinner will bring--probably fruit for a snack and I don't know what for dinner.
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Also, last night, I was reading my book (Terry Goodkind-Chainfire. I love the Sword of Truth series!) and Zedd had stew and biscuits. I got a hankering for a good baking powder biscuit and it wouldn't go away! So I made up a batch and they were so good. I hadn't made them in so long that I had to look up how hot to cook them. (I've made them so often that I just do it by feel more than by recipe, actually.)
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Biscuits

flour

coconut oil (always used Crisco before but changed to coconut cuz it's not hydrogenated--it's solid at room temperature naturally)

salt

turbinado

soy milk


Add flour (2 cups, maybe?), a pinch of salt, approximately 1 heaped tablespoon of baking powder and 1 tablespoon of sugar to a bowl, cut in enough coconut oil to make coarse crumbles--don't over mix. Add in soy milk slowly, stirring as you go just until it comes together as a dough--DON'T OVER MIX. Shape into biscuits with your hands and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 18-20 minutes.
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These are crumbly so I usually put the fillings on top instead of trying to break it open and put fillings inside. They are so good with jelly. and good in soup. And if you like English scones, add more sugar with the flour and top by brushing with soy milk and putting sugar sprinkles on before baking. In fact, I have an "Eggnog Scone" recipe that is just about this except it has Cinnamon and eggnog--I need to make it with Cinnamon and soynog. Oh gosh. I want more biscuits!
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The puppy has a new game--it's hilarious to watch! She gets a toy in her mouth and then bats a ball around with her paws. And she is a fetching fool. Right now, she's asleep--a good way to have her.
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Well, I've got to go now. Back to work.
Ciao for now.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Wrap Up

Well, I've been away for a few days. I guess I had better do a wrap up to get caught up. First of all, I'm typing on my kid's laptop instead of the big machine that I usually use. This is easier--I can sit in the comfy chair with it on my lap. But the problem is that the keyboard isn't as sensitive as my regular one so I tend to miss spaces or capital letter here and there. Forgive the errors if I don't catch them.
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Thursday, like I said last time, I had to go up to the office--2 hours away. The gals up there seem to think that I'm difficult and can only eat at the one place in town that has tofu on the menu--a Chinese place. So we eat there every time I go up. It's good, don't get me wrong, I'd just like to do something different once in a while. (I'd love to go to the raw vegan cafe up there, but they say they won't eat there.) I did get a lot done--year end closing went smoothly this year.
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Friday, had not much to note. I can't remember much of note to write about so I guess I'll leave it there.
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Saturday--we did a bunch (and I mean a bunch) of shopping--over $200 worth. We were out of absolutely everything! And we hadn't had money to re-stock so, since I got paid, we stocked up. I hate shopping with my husband, but what was I to do? I didn't feel very good, either. I was dizzy, had a sore throat and a headache. I took a nap--it didn't help.
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OK, now we are to today. We had to clean the house--yuck. My aunt cleans my house for me every other week, usually, but my uncle had surgery on his knee so she hasn't been doing it for a couple of times. My house really needed cleaning. I had daughter vacuum, son dust, hubby sweep and mop, and I did the bathroom. (Then I went around and touched up anything that I knew would drive me nuts later.) I paid each of the kids $3.
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My uncle has surgery, like I said. I am making a pot of butternut squash soup to take over to them for supper tonight. Apparently, he had trouble with his blood sugars while he was in the hospital. My aunt said that since I was on my "Diet", I'd know what kind of stuff I could make that would be OK for him. OK--I'm not on a DIET. This is how I eat.
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But speaking of that, I have been really bad lately. Hubby bought a big tub of brownies that I can't seem to keep my hands off of. (They have egg and even though I know I'm eating baby chicken embryos--or at the very least blighted chicken ovum from cruelly abused hens--I can't seem to keep my hands off of them. GROSS) I got on my hubby earlier today saying that none of us in this house need that sh*# and that if he feels he absolutely has to have some, he needs to get one serving's worth so they will be gone. He replied that he thought they were disappearing OK. I replied with telling him that was the point--his fat A*# wife was eating them and that I didn't need them or want them.
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I feel like he sabotages me. He wants me to be fat and miserable so I'll be in the same sorry state as he is. He doesn't seem to care that our daughter is heading for the same fat, sorry state as well. I really think that I need to make an appointment with a nutritionist and talk to her about daughter. I grew up fat and miserable. I don't want the same for her.
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Oh, one thing from Friday that I just remembered. I had lunch with the gals that I used to work with at the hospital. One of them is the one that recommended the book that led to me going vegan. Anyway, one of the other gals asked if we were still on our "diet". We both said, it's not so much a diet as just how we are now. And she started talking about how her and her new hubby started doing soy and cutting out all dairy because she's allergic. So anyway, she said that now she's just like us except that they eat meat. News Flash! That's not anything like us. We don't kill animals.
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Sorry. Little rant there. I guess I've been doing that a lot this post. I guess I had better give it up and do some more tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be in a better mood. My throat still hurts a bit so maybe I'm still off due to a bug. And, more likely, I'm off because of all the crap brownies I've been eating. I'll try to shape up here.
Ciao for now.
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(Just did a spell-check; I sure used "OK" a lot in this post. Sorry if that bugs anyone. I say that because hubby says "you know" about 25 time per minute and it drives me bats. I don't want to be the cause of anybody else's bats being on loose.)

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

The Snow's gone

By the way, I forgot to mention it. All that snow we had on Monday is gone! It was warm and melty yesterday, and it rained some. The it's warm again today. No Snow!
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So I spent all that time moving snow on Monday for nothing.
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I'm glad it's getting nice though. Tomorrow I have to go up to the company office--about 2 hours up the road. I hate driving on bad roads so I'm glad we've got the melting going on.
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Ciao for now (again)

Last night's dinner and ramblings about my weight

There is a picture of last night's dinner--doesn't look to appetizing, but it was good. Fried eggplant and mushroom gravy over mashed potatoes. Here's what I did:
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Eggplant:
slice an eggplant into rounds (I left the skin on). Dip each slice in a cornstarch-soy milk slurry and then dredge in flour. Fry in a little olive oil--a few minutes on each side.
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Mashed potatoes:
Come on, you can figure that one out.
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Mushroom Gravy:
saute sliced mushrooms in a little bit of vegan margarine until they are as done as you'd like them (do this in a sauce pan so you don't have to change pans). Add 3 cups (about) of vegetable broth and bring back to a boil. Mix 3 tablespoons (about) of cornstarch and 1 cup of water in a shaker jar. Slowly stir the cornstarch/water mixture into the boiling mushroom/broth mixture and stir until it comes back to a boil and then thickens.
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Assembly:
Put the potatoes on a plate, put a couple of slices of eggplant on the potatoes, put gravy over the whole mess.
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For breakfast today, I had crock pot oatmeal and put some date-almond-soy milk on it. For lunch I'll have a Almond butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat and a piece of baked sweet potato (the only fresh veggie I have left in the house). For a snack, I'll probably do a pumpkin and strawberry smoothie since I have both of those in the freezer. And for dinner, I got out some sweet potato mash (frozen leftovers from Thanksgiving) and some green beans (frozen leftovers from summer) and then I'll warm up the leftover gravy (from last night) and the leftover bean loaf (from Monday). How's that for a leftover meal?
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Weight
I know I shouldn't obsess over this but I do. I have lost 130 pounds and i don't want to blow it. I've lost the weight twice before in my life and both times it came back. But also, both times, I lost the weight for a specific purpose so of course when that purpose was fulfilled, I quit being vigilant and went back to my old habits. Of course the weight came back. The first time, I lost the weight for high school--I got out of high school and gained. The second time, I lost the weight because we were having trouble getting pregnant--I got pregnant and gained.
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This time I lost the weight for more permanent reasons--my health, my life, my children. I have to be vigilant! Admittedly, it's a lot easier to maintain when I eat vegan (although I have found I can make some pretty naughty vegan treats) and put an emphasis on "healthy".
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As of last Wednesday (12-31-08) I had gained 6.5 pounds over the holiday season. As of this morning, I am only up 2 pounds from the top of my range. (I know I didn't lose 4.5 pounds in one week--I didn't eat that sparingly and I didn't exercise that much--so I'm guessing I was retaining water, too.) Only 2 more pounds to get back to my range.
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By the way, I decided on my "range" because I know how wildly my weight fluctuates from day to day--a range is easier to watch than a set number. I think I'd really obsess over a set number because I would be off from it more often than I'd be on. My range is actually a little below my goal weight, but I've found it pretty easy to maintain (thus far, anyway) within that range. My BMI is withing "normal" but a little bit above "optimal". I feel good when I'm in that range and like I said, it's pretty easy to maintain there, so that's where I want to stay.
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We watched "biggest loser" last night. I am so glad I'm not there anymore. I don't want to ever go back there again.
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Well, I really need to get back to work now,
Ciao for now

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

My Dad Fell Moving Snow

I mentioned yesterday that it had been snowing all day. Well, I wasn't the only one having to move snow (I moved snow so I could take kids to school and again before I could pick them up). My dad went out to move the snow at his place and fell on some ice. He landed on his backside and put his left hand down so hit it hard too. He fell the same way about a week ago. His wrist is probably broken, but he won't go get it checked out. (A retired doctor is the worst patient.)
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So anyway, he fell yesterday morning, so I told Mom that after we dropped the kids off at piano lessons, hubby and I would come clean up their snow.
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The kids were wanting to go to the Y to play after piano so we had dinner at 4:15. Were at piano at 5:00. Cleaned snow from my folk's place from 5:15 - 6. Got home from piano at 6:30, and were at the Y at 7:00. The kids played in the kid's room--I love that they exercise in the guise of playing games. Hubby and I did the circuit room, the I did the abs machine and the stationary bike while he did the treadmill. So the whole family got about 50 minutes worth of exercise in. Yeah, us!
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I was making my bean loaf last night and opened a can of navy beans and there was a big piece of meat on top of the beans--yuck. The last time we were buying beans, hubby asked if we could do navy beans (I like garbanzos, kidneys, and black). I told him sure so he threw a couple of cans in the cart. He picked them out and I didn't look at the label--it said "flavored with slab bacon"--GROSS. So I put the beans in a container and told them they were his lunch today; he didn't take them with him so I guess he'll have to eat them tomorrow.
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So anyway, I used my new Christmas present for the first time last night--my food processor. I didn't like the way it chopped the veggies, but that's probably because I'm old fashioned. It would probably be good if I had 25 zucchinis to do or something. I did like the way it mixed everything together for the bean loaf, though. And the next time I get around to making date balls, I'll really put it through it's paces.
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We are out of basically everything (including money--that's why we're out of everything else) so I need to figure out what I can do for dinner with one eggplant and some mushrooms. I was thinking about either an eggplant "stoganoff" or fried eggplant with mushroom gravy. Probably either way, it will be with rice or over bread because I don't have any pasta.
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I'll probably do the fried eggplant with mushroom gravy and do it over bread. Hubby likes the "hot -insert your meat here- sandwiches" that are served at diners, so he would probably like that.
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Well, I had better go and get back to work. It's 36 degrees out today and there has been a little rain. A lot of the snow that fell yesterday has melted leaving a slushy mess again. Such is life.
Ciao for now.

Monday, January 5, 2009

A cold Monday morning


It's 19 degrees and snowing outside right now! Above is a picture out my front door. Today is also the kids first day back after the Christmas holidays. A few schools nearby were closed due to weather (they are in more rural areas than ours); I think I might have had to scream if our schools were closed. I love my babies, but two weeks with them home is enough.
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I'm wondering what I'm going to do this summer when school is out. Last summer they figured out how to entertain themselves so I could work--I guess they will figure it out again. They were probably annoying this break because of the excitement of the holidays.
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Son asked this morning if we could go to the Y after piano lessons tonight. I love that they want to go exercise! I told him we could.
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I had leftover chowder for breakfast again (weird, huh?) There is still a tiny bit left so I'll have a small bowl and a sandwich for lunch. I think I'll do a bean-loaf and broccoli for dinner. (Unless something else takes my fancy by then.)
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Right now, "Fetch Monster" (Little Girl) is trying to get me to play with her and I need to get back to work. I'd better get to the working part--the fetch part doesn't pay too well.
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Ciao for now.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Tofu Scramble and ramblings

My dinner was really good. As a 'good ole boy', hubby wanted to have fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy--yuck! So I contributed steamed carrots and cauliflower and made myself a Tofu Scramble. I have seen them all over the blogs and seen recipes that all look easy, so I just put it together, seasoned it how I liked and served it over spinach. Here is my recipe:
Curry Tofu Scramble
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1/3 of a package of extra firm silken tofu-mashed
1/2 of a sweet potato spiral sliced
curry powder
ginger
turmeric
salt
pepper
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I mushed up the tofu, spiral sliced the sweet potato, added the curry, ginger, and turmeric. I then sauteed in a little bit of coconut oil and added a bit of salt and pepper.
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Serve over spinach leaves.
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I thought it was really good. I think I will definitely do this again. I had leftover chowder for both breakfast and lunch. I got thinking about the chowder (the recipe is on yesterday's post)--the recipe originally came from a lady at my mom's church when I was a kid. Then, it was made with butter, cream and clams and had no corn, garlic, or cabbage.
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When I got married, I started making it occasionally with milk (instead of cream), sometimes bacon or no meat (instead of clams), and margarine (instead of butter). Then I got a recipe for col cannon--basically a potato and cabbage soup--and liked it so well that I started adding the cabbage. I started adding corn when hubby raved over some corn chowder he had.
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Now I've veganized it and it's the best ever. Hubby even likes it!
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Speaking of hubby, I sometimes get a little frustrated about my family. I read VeganDad's blog and his family likes the way they eat. Mine hates my food for the most part. The problem, in large part, is that hubby is a old farm boy and thinks of meals of as "meat and potatoes"--fried is better. That is the way I ate for the first 23 years of our marriage and that is what made me 276 pounds of fat, unhealthy misery.
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Now that I've changed and feel so much better, I'd really like to get the family to change. The problem is that kids look to whichever parent is to their liking at the moment. Hubby used to smoke and then he had a bloody nose that wouldn't stop--he ended up having to have surgery and he really thought he was going to die. The doc gave him a lecture about how it probably wouldn't have happened if he wasn't a smoker. That scared him out of smoking.
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I'd rather it not have to be a heart attack that scares him into getting healthy. To often people don't get a second chance to get healthy after one of those. He's overweight, pretty lazy, and resists changes to his diet. He's teaching daughter to be just like him.
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On a better note, after spending all that time at the Y exercising yesterday, the kids wanted to go back again today. The Y is closed on Sunday so instead they did over an hour on Wii fit and Wii sport. So they did get moving. That's really good.
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Well, I'm off.
Ciao for now.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Chowder and the YMCA

Our local Y has been remodeling lately and had their open house today. We went to "look around" and ended up staying for almost 2 hours! They have all new weight equipment, they got new cardio equipment, they now have a circuit room that takes a half hour for a full body work-out, and they have a kids room.
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The kids room has a dance floor-type game where the kids can play games that are like dodge-ball, squash the bug, tennis, etc. It also has WII-type boxing and bowling. It has Marshall arts-type 'hit the target' game, and a sit-up basketball game. It is so cool. the kids were in there for about an hour and still not ready to leave.
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Hubby and I did the circuit room and then he went and walked on a treadmill, while I did the grown-up's sit-up basketball thing and then rode the stationary bike. Their stationary bikes have computer screens and you choose your track and then ride on the track you choose. Or you can do a "chase the dragons"game on them. They were so cool. I almost enjoyed sweating.
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Daughter took our guitar to her trumpet lesson this morning (this was before lunch and the Y--I'm just typing out of sequence.) Her teacher spent time with her to do some basic guitar stuff. that was really nice of him.
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After the Y, we came home and I started dinner. We had Chowder--my own recipe. Here it is:
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1 head cabbage-chopped
1 onion-diced
3 stalks celery-diced
garlic to taste-chopped
6 potatoes-cubed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp allspice
1 can corn
1/2 stick of vegan margarine
1/4-ish cup flour
2 cups soy milk
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Saute the onion, celery and garlic for a few minutes in just a little olive oil. Add the cabbage and potatoes and just enough water to cover them and then boil until tender (25 minutes or so). Add the seasonings and the corn.
In a separate pan, melt the margarine and stir in the flour to make a stiff paste. On high heat, whisk in the soy milk to make a gravy. It will get thick fast so watch it. Put the gravy in the pan with the veggies and stir it in.
The water in with the veggies mixes with the thick gravy to make a nice creamy soup. I had to add more salt, but I didn't add it to the recipe above because not everyone likes things salty.
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I don't have a picture, but it was really good. The recipe makes a lot, though. We have enough left over for another couple of meals. Daughter picked the potatoes out and dipped them in ketchup--go figure.
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Then, just a little bit ago, I made vanilla almond ice cream and added a tablespoon of dark cocoa powder--yum yum. I could have eaten the whole batch by myself.
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Well, I ought to go. It's getting on toward bedtime. Son should be home soon (they are doing a scouting fundraiser) and he'll want some of MY ice cream and then we can all crash.
Ciao for now.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! My Daughter decided to get her hair cut short on New Year's Eve. She had never had a real hair-cut up until August of 07. Her hair was all one length and went half way down her butt. Then she cut it to like the middle of her shoulder blades. Then in December of 07, she cut it to just touching her shoulders. Then in August of 08, she cut it to a chin-length bob with bangs (her first bangs). And now she decided to do short all over. It is so cute. (I keep saying "she cut it"--actually we had a stylist cut it.) The picture is her outside the mall right after she got it done.
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For new years eve, we had my folks over and had sparkling juices (grape, blueberry, and strawberry), veggies with a red pepper nut cheese for dipping an chocolate fondue with brownies, graham crackers, marshmallows, bananas, and strawberries for dipping (only the marshmallows and brownies weren't vegan--I didn't eat those). I know it's hard to imagine, but the veggies hardly got touched while the chocolate and goodies disappeared in minutes.
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I didn't have cocoa butter so I used coconut oil for the chocolate--here is what I did:
coconut oil (melted to a liquid in the microwave)
maple syrup
cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder)
Whisked them all together (adding first more syrup and then more cocoa powder until it tasted good).
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I put it in the fridge until we were ready for it and was surprised at how hard it got. It melted nicely over a candle, though (my fondue pot can use a candle for just melting or has an alcohol burner for actually cooking--I learned the hard way that the alcohol burner is not for melting chocolate.) I'm thinking I could have put soy or coconut milk in for more of a milk chocolate.
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Then the folks went home, hubby and I went to bed, and the kids stayed up to watch the new year in the central time zone. (that put them to bed at 11-ish in our time zone.)
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On new year's day, we were just lazy for a while and then took a drive to look for the deer. They winter around our area.

This is a deer that was by a pond right next to some people's house.
These were some rock people and a rock cat that someone had built up on the side of the canyon. I had never seen them before even though we had been on that road before so I think they were new. Pretty Cool!
Here's the sunset. It was pretty overcast so the sun made beautiful colors on the bottoms of the clouds.

We had a really nice drive and the kids made the most of their new cameras. I would guess that we saw a total of like 30 deer--some were nice bucks, but we couldn't get close enough to get really good pictures of them. The kids each took probably like a hundred or so. Good thing they are digital cameras so I don't have to buy that much film or pay for that much developing.
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Today's going pretty good, so far. I've gotten lots of work done, I ate the left-over veggies from Wednesday for my lunch, the kids aren't fighting too awfully much, and hubby is at work.
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Well, I had better go and get back to doing something.
Ciao for now.