In Search of Me

>> Friday, February 19, 2010

Priority \Pri*or"i*ty\, n. [Cf. F. priorit['e]. See Prior, a.]

1. The quality or state of being prior or antecedent in time, or of preceding something else; as, priority of application.

2. Precedence; superior rank. --Shak.

Priority of debts, a superior claim to payment, or a claim to payment before others.

Syn: Antecedence; precedence; pre["e]minence.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
I've been absent from my blog this week because priorities have been on my mind.  Mostly the lack of putting myself as a priority. This is going to be a very hard post for me to write. I'm going to be admitting some things that are very difficult for me to admit.

I've been skipping out on Menu Plan Monday posts because I (once again) have had to stop raw eating.  I know that this way of eating is what is good for me.  It is what will work for me to lose weight and be healthy.  I've had glimpses of this during the periods of time that I have been able to stick with it.  This time it isn't a lack of will power or determination that has stopped me, but a lack of funds.  It is really expensive to eat raw. Even though I'm the only one of the five us eating raw it would add up enough extra to our budget that grocery shopping was costing over 200 dollars a week. Yes, you read that right - a week! I just can't justify that right now.  Not when I am a stay at home mom and we are relying solely on my husband's pay check.  So for the time being I am putting raw eating on the back burner.

For the last 2-3 weeks since I stopped buying all the stuff for my own special meals I haven't even payed attention to what I have been putting in my body. This is not good. Not good for weight loss, not good for my physical health, and not good for my mental health.  I shouldn't say I haven't been paying attention, because oh how I have. But I eat whatever and then I beat myself up mentally for it. I know all the right things to do, all the right ways to eat but I still choose to eat junk or way too much. I eat to deal with emotions, stress, boredom and lastly hunger. I'm also good for putting off eating until I'm so hungry that I will just eat whatever is ready to eat right now. 


And let's talk about exercise. Yeah, I've decided I'm just lazy. Well, that's not entirely true but when it comes to exercise it is true. I will do anything to not exercise.  I will make up excuses (that may or may not be valid), I will be so busy (this is true - partially) that I just don't have time to exercise.  I bought the Just Dance Wii game and told myself that I would use that for exercise over the winter.  I've used it a grand total of one time. wow. pathetic.  What is true is that I won't give up time I spend playing with Little E during the day to exercise. I could be taking him for a walk in the stroller though, and I'm sure the fresh air would do him good. What is true is I won't live in a messy house to make time for exercise.  A messy house stresses me out - seriously. What is true is I spend time on the computer that I could be exercising but I want to have "down time".  Why don't I consider exercising, something that is good for me to be down time? Oh, well because exercise is work.  All that said, I know that if I really want to lose weight (especially if I'm not going to be eating raw) then I need to add in exercise.  I know that if I add in exercise I will start to have more energy.  I do want those things.  I do.

What all this boils down to is I am not on my priority list.  And if I happen to show up on it, I show up at the very bottom. I know that this week I've spent some time crying and thinking about myself and what changes I want.  I just don't know how to do it. I don't know how to make myself a priority. I don't know how to get it through my thick head that I must exercise and eat properly - whatever that is. At this point I'm going to say I don't know how to eat properly.  I've got it in my mind that they only way I can lose weight is by eating raw foods because I know it works and I'm not left feeling hungry like when I try to diet.  So what do I do? I mean I can't possibly be the only person out there that has felt this way.  Someone must have some words of wisdom or great advice.  How do you make time to take care of yourself if you're a stay at home mom?  A mom that is involved with her kids, likes a tidy house, likes to cook; how do I make this work for me.  I need a teacher.

I look in the mirror and I hate what I see (this is even worse since I had E and I have that c-section tummy now).  I am uncomfortable in my own skin.  I want to feel good about myself, I want to feel sexy, I want to be healthy and fit. How do I find my way there? At this point I am at a loss.  I'm going to try spending some time this weekend thinking about this, searching for answers and hoping that maybe someone out there can help me.


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Friday's Feast ~ Cool Runnings

>> Friday, February 12, 2010


This week for our dinner and a movie night I decided to do the movie Cool Runnings.  I thought it would be a great movie to get everyone excited about the 2010 Winter Olympics that are going to start tonight.  Daddy was the only one of us that has seen the movie before, so we were all pretty excited to watch the movie.


When the big kids got home from school we set to work getting decorations made.  We made paper chains to hang in the living room, using the colors of the Olympic rings, we made some paper torches for the table and the entertainment center and I cut out some Olympic Rings to use as part of our table centerpiece.


On the menu:

  • Jamaican Jerk Burgers {recipe from Relish! Relish!}on homemade burger buns
  • Bobsled Twice Baked Potatoes {Just a regular twice baked potato topped with cheddar & sour cream}
  • “Junior” Mint Brownies {I used my brownie recipe, put half the batter in the pan sprinkled Junior Mints on top, then covered with remaining batter, and baked as usual}

I think everyone had a great evening and I'm looking forward to doing this again.  The kids even tried the burgers and loved them even though they weren't just ordinary burgers.  We had a great time making the decorations and chatting together. 

*Next movie - Ice Age*


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Last Minute Valentine's Treats

Yesterday Miss Bean brought home her class list with the announcement the Valentine's part would be happening on Monday. Okay, no problem I thought, that gives us all weekend to get something together. haha Yeah right! She ends up calling home this morning about 15 minutes into the school day; "Mom, I need Valentines for today". Yeah, that's my life.

So I started with making a batch of my chocolate chip cookies. Rather than using my cookie scoop i used a 1/8 cup measuring cup to make bigger cookies. If you want bakery size cookies I'd even go up too the 1/4 cup. I think the 1/8th cup made a big enough size for the kids though. Oh, I also baked them for the full 12 minutes.


While the cookies were baking I took a package of paper CD covers and used a heart stamp on the corners. On the back flap I wrote "From: Miss. Bean" (not really those words, but you get the idea) and I put the cooled cookie inside and closed the flap with a heart sticker.


The only thing I should have done was put the cookie on a square of waxed paper before sliding it into the package because you could see grease marks bleeding through the back by the time I took them to the school.  Oh well, we can't all be perfect ;) At least she has something cute to pass out to her classmates and the parents won't have to fight with their children about finally letting go of the valentine card 6 months from now. ;)


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Wordless Wednesday - Best Friends

>> Wednesday, February 10, 2010


Wordless Wednesday is sponsored by GeneaBloggers,
but the main site for WW entries is here.


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Crafty Tuesday - Kissing Heart

>> Tuesday, February 9, 2010



This weekend is Valentine's Day have you made any decorations or crafts with your kidlets yet?  This is a great craft to do with the children.  If you have more than one child you can divide the steps up between them so that everyone can help or they can all make their own to hang in their bedroom door way.

What you will need:

  • Three 12" x 12" sheets of coordinating scrapbook paper
  • Paper cutter
  • Scissors
  • Adhesive (I used a glue stick & Tombow runner)
  • Ribbon
What you will need to do:
  1. Cut each of your papers to 6" x 6" {You'll end up with 12 pieces of paper}
  2. Fold each of the paper squares in half, with the patterned side of your paper inside.
  3. Trace a half of a heart onto one of the folded pieces and cut out. {Use the first heart as a template to trace & cut the rest of the hearts. All of the hearts need to be the same size.}
  4. Using your glue stick start gluing the heats together. {You want to leave the patterned side inside so don't unfold anything yet.}
  5. Glue 6 hearts together first then stop and attach your ribbon to this batch of hearts.
  6. Start gluing the next 6 hearts together and then attach them to the set with the ribbon.
Happy Valentine's Day!  If you'd like to see another kissing heart please visit Molly at the Creative Maven; her's was the inspiration for my kissing heart.

For more Crafty Tuesday ideas visit Diane at DianeDenmark.


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Friday's Feast ~ Bedtime Stories

>> Friday, February 5, 2010


I don't know about your family, but as my children get older they are spending less and less time at home.  This makes me sad as I love having my kids home with me - ahhh the trials of children growing up. At Christmas time I planned a dinner & themed movie night for part of our advent.  We watched A Christmas Story and it was a lot of fun.  Shortly before or just after that I won a subscription from A Hen's Nest to Relish! Relish! and they have a whole list of dinner and movie ideas. This got me thinking that since we had so much fun with the one I planned that we would try the ideas on Relish! Relish!; and it would be a great way to ensure that we would spend sometime once a week (hopefully) together as a family doing something fun.

For this week's dinner and a movie we watched the movie Bedtime Stories and enjoyed a themed dinner to go along with it.  I had the kids use a couple of my circle punches and punch out some colorful gumballs to decorate the table. For our centerpiece we used a big bowl of real gumballs.

On the menu:
All recipes can be found on Relish! Relish!
  • Bugsy Bacon Burgers on Homemade Buns (also did a garden burger for the vegetarians)
  • Friday Night Fries
  • Nottingham Nosh with Creamy Lemon Dill Dip
  • Sleepytime S’mores
*Next weeks dinner & a movie in honor of the Olympics - Cool Runnings*


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Wordless Wednesday - Six More Weeks

>> Wednesday, February 3, 2010


Wordless Wednesday is sponsored by GeneaBloggers,


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Menu Plan Monday - January 30 - February 5

>> Monday, February 1, 2010


I know I am late getting this week's menu up, sorry about that if you have been waiting for it. Better late than never though right? ;) Monday was so busy - trying to get caught up from the weekend, putting up a contest post on my organization blog and running the little one to the doctor to check on a rash he has - there just wasn't enough hours in my day. I planned to do it yesterday but well, I got busy totally spring cleaning the living room then remembered last minute about my LLL meeting. Since I missed the last 2 meetings I really wanted to go to that. Finally here I am. :)

This week I am using the same raw food menu I did earlier this month, based on what I currently have in the fridge. Easier on the budget that way sometimes.

Raw Vegan Menu {Sunday - Saturday}

Breakfast:
Lunch:
Supper:
Toddler Menu {Monday - Friday}

Lunch:
Snacks:
  • Monkey Platter
  • Orange wedge & Almond milk
  • Yogurt and Graham crackers
  • Banana bread and Almond Milk
  • Bread sticks & Avocado Dip 
Regular Cooked Menu {Monday - Friday}
Please note - I use organic, local ingredients when possible. Also the recipes usually call for all- purpose flour. I usually use a mix of 1/2 whole wheat & 1/2 white or just all whole wheat. Remember a recipe is just something to go by, feel free to change them up for health/your family's tastes.

  Breakfast:
  • Monday - Oatmeal, juice or milk
  • Tuesday - Pancakes, juice or milk
  • Wednesday - Homemade fruit bread, yogurt, juice or milk
  • Thursday - Oatmeal, juice or milk
  • Friday -  Scrambled egg sandwich, juice or milk
Lunch: 
  • Monday - Tuna sandwich, crackers and cheese, Clementine, popcorn, juice & water
  • Tuesday - Salad, strawberries, yogurt, juice & water
  • Wednesday - Egg salad sandwich, apple slices, celery with cream cheese, juice & water
  • Thursday - Salad, orange wedges, pretzels, fruit bread, juice & water
  • Friday -  Bagel with cream cheese, yogurt, veggie sticks & pieces of fruit, juice & water
Supper:
  • Sunday - Movie (Bedtime Stories)& Themed dinner (post to follow later this week)
  • Monday - Omelettes and toast
  • Tuesday -  Spaghetti & Salad
  • Wednesday - Baked ham, Au Gratin Potatoes & Steamed Broccoli
  • Thursday - Ham & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Crudités
  • Friday -  Take-out (likely pizza)
Need more menu planning ideas? Then head over to Laura's @ I'm an Organizing Junkie. Also if your interested in more vegetarian, flexitarian or whole foods menus please check out Jenna's Mindful Menus.


Organizing JunkieMindful Menus


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