Sunday, November 6, 2011

Gratitude Day 6- Clouds on Daylight Savings Day

Day 6: Apparently today is Daylight Savings... (whatever happened to it being in October??) Now, while Riker and I eagerly looked forward to "fall back" and the extra hour of sleep we would get last night, we were apprehensive about how the children would handle it.

Most of our kids sleep when it is dark, no matter what time it is (which DOES make for interesting mornings in the winter where the sun doesn't come up until 9). However, Yar has her internal clock set for some ungodly hour, regardless of the day, or amount of sunlight (her idea of "sleeping in" is 6:30 am). This is also regardless of how much sleep she's had. She can go to bed at 1 in the morning and STILL be up before everyone else...

Thankfully, the weather was blissfully overcast this morning, and so it was relatively dark even at 7:30. I have no idea what time Yar got up, but she didn't wander out of her room until 8:45 this morning, which was a welcome change, and Data and Worf slept until 9.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Gratitude Day 3- Unselfish Children

Day 3: As you know, Halloween was just a couple of days ago, and like many other parents (mine included), I levied a hefty parent tax on Data and Worf's candy stash while they were sleeping (Yar was with her mother for Halloween and, like everything else, wasn't even allowed to bring any candy home with her). At least I THOUGHT it was hefty...

Data and Worf asked if they could sort their candy (Data is just as neurotic as me and Work wants to do everything the way Data does. It's cute really) and I was fine with that. Eventually however, one of them discovered that they only had one Almond Joy when they knew that they had received two. They came to me and asked if I knew what had happened to it. I explained the tax to them and they said "oh, ok" and went back to sorting.

Next thing I knew, they were both bringing me candy, explaining that, even though I had some already, they had so much that they felt I should have more (awww...). I gratefully accepted it, but they kept doing it. Eventually, I had to tell them to stop! I had quite the pile going on now (sad thing is that my pile had barely made a dent in the 15 lb combined total).

While I definitely don't need copious amounts of candy (and, honestly, neither do they), I am very grateful that my children are learning to think of others and not just themselves. It's nice to see lessons you have taught finally start to sink in.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Gratitude Day 2- Teething and Sleep

Day 2: So Geordi has been having a very rough time with teething lately. His tooth/teeth will get right up to the surface, but not break through. Then they will receed for several days only to do it again in a few weeks. Worf and Data went through this as well, but only once or twice with their first tooth. Poor Geordi has been through this 3 times already in the last 2 months.

We have tried teething toys, frozen rags, frozen food, orajel, you name it. We finally got him some teething tablets and those seemed to work pretty well. Long story short, Geordi's first tooth came in yesterday (yea!) and he was a much more sociable little guy all afternoon.

This brings me to my point of gratitude for today: Because Geordi has been so miserable for so long (with a nasty cold on top of it), he has also had a rough time sleeping and no amount of sleep training was cutting down on the number of times he was getting up (seriously... it was ridiculous). Which also meant that I was having a rough time sleeping. However, last night, just because he wasn't teething anymore (at least on that tooth), he only woke up TWICE last night. It is strange how grateful you can be that something simply stopped, or for something as seemingly terrible as a mere 4 hours of sleep (do you have ANY idea how long it has been since I have slept for a 4 hour stretch?!?).

So there's my point of the day: Be grateful for sleep :)

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Tasty Tuesday- Pumpkin Muffins

Hallelujah it is November! I have been looking toward to this month for weeks now. Mainly because I thought my court stuff would be finished by now (bah ha ha. I should have known better by now), but also because The Weather Channel said that it would finally start looking like it was actually Autumn this month. Guess what? They were right? It is AMAZING! Leaves are falling off the trees like snow over Donner's Pass and the wind today ripped them off and flung them everywhere. Love it!

The absolute best thing about November 1st? Roasting the pumpkins from the night before. Now, you can do this with pumpkins any time of the year, but I do it after Halloween for a couple of reasons. 1) it just seems like such a waste to carve up half a dozen pumpkins and then watch them rot and 2) it is way too much work to gut the pumpkins twice. So, every year, we pick out our pumpkins some time in October and then wait until a day or two before Halloween to carve them. Then, once we finish our designs, we soak them in water overnight. This helps keep them from rotting so quickly. Then, the morning after Halloween, I chop them into quarters and roast them.

Roasting pumpkins is relatively simple. You gut and clean the pumpkin (save those seeds for my yummy roasted seed recipe!). Cut the pumpkin into quarters (I have done it in halves before, but if the pumpkin is too large, it won't cook evenly) and pop them in the oven. I don't use a rack and I put them in cut side up. Cook them at about 350° F until the flesh is soft and scoopable (usually around an hour). Remove them from the oven and let them cool. scoop out the flesh and puree in the blender (some water typically needs to be added, but not too much!). Now you have fresh (or frozen in freezer bags if you wish) pumpkin pureĆ© to use for all sorts of goodies, like my favorite pumpkin muffins:


Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
By: Barb
Servings: 18




Ingredients:
Filling:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Streusel:
4 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons white sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons chopped pecans

Muffin:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin
1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 18 muffin cups, or use paper liners.

To make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, then set aside.

For the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.

For the muffin batter: In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, olive oil and vanilla. Beat together until smooth.

Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 1/2 full. Then add one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter. Try to keep cream cheese from touching the paper cup.

Sprinkle on the streusel topping.

Bake at 375 degrees F (195 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.

Miscellaneous Monday- Gratitude

It is November and FINALLY starting to feel like Autumn. As with most people, as November rolls around and the sugar high wears off from Halloween, my mind starts to wander towards Thanksgiving.

I feel that this holiday is terribly underrated, shoved between two highly commercialized popular holidays. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas (and yes, I start wanting to decorate as soon as Halloween is over), but I think that most people are too quick to focus on getting costumes ready and presents purchased and don't stop to think about Thanksgiving apart from how big of a dinner to plan.
I, on the other hand, have come to love this month and the holiday associated. I have been through a lot over the past few years and it has made me incredibly grateful for what I have, no matter how small. And the best part? The more you are thankful for the small things, the more you start to notice significant things that you may have not realized were that wonderful.

In addition, I really feel that spending an entire month focusing so much on gratitude helps me prepare for Christmas even more and really zero in on what Christmas is about. So, to go along with what several of my friends do every year, I will be posting one thing every day that I am grateful for.

Day 1: Today I am grateful for good friends. I have been sick the past couple of days, only to have Riker and Geordi come down with something as well. This morning, Worf started feeling icky too. Just a quick hello from a friend turned into a full blown dinner to help take care of my family. It is amazing to have friends that are willing to help you out even when they are dealing with their own sick kiddos.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Project Thursday- A Different Project (Tara's Thursday)

At this point in my life, I do not have the time to start any new projects, even if they are an amazing idea. I just have too many other things going on in my life. So, the project idea that I had is taking a back burner. Instead, I am confiscating this day's meme and making it all about me (kind of like a second Monday. We all want more Mondays right? lol). I think I need an additional day each week to just blurb out whatever I feel like. Maybe I should just make the whole blog that way... Meh, maybe not.
Anyway, at this point, I am in cram mode for my upcoming court battle and I am mentally exhausted. There is just so much to do and so many not-so-positive memories to go through. While I am ok with where I am at now, that doesn't mean that I really WANT to go poking around through the muck you know?

To top it off, I had to get a psychiatric evaluation done as part of this whole thing. I was actually kind of excited about this as I felt that it would be a good opportunity to find out just how far I had come since my divorce. I got my report back today and I am not happy with it. For the most part, everything was about what I had expected, and in some cases, significantly better than I had hoped. However, the psychiatrist repeatedly left out some things, which leads the reader to misinterpret things slightly. That would be something that would be easily fixed by discussing with the reader (ie Judge).

The problem is that the psychiatrist's conclusions do not appear to be based on the testing as a whole, but rather one specific test, which, mind you, was done improperly. It is pretty much the only test who's results stated a particularly negative trait, which I struggled with many many years ago. The recommendation is that, due to this negative trait, I have a propensity to engage in abusive and improper behaviors and should seek therapy  to deal with my lack of control. Excuse me? Did you miss the part where I mentioned the fact that I had an issue with this nearly 15 years ago and have already seen a therapist about it? Apparently...

The rest of the recommendation is based off of single instances or statements that have been extrapolated to make it appear that they are significant issues in my life. For instance, I mention that, someday, I look forward to retiring and my kids moving away and being able to do things with just my husband. That was repeatedly stated throughout the report in a manner that insinuated that I am in a hurry for my kids to get out of the house. Totally NOT what I said!! Or that I said that my husband and I had some minor difficulties communicating with each other (mind you, we are both on our second marriage and our previous spouses handled conversations COMPLETELY differently than our current spouses, so we are having to learn new methods of communicating). This was twisted to say that I have anxiety about my difficulties with my husband and am having a difficult time with him.

The fact that my ex's report is full of things that I know are not true, and his conclusion is that he is just stressed about our current situation, is such crap. It leads me to believe that there is some buddy-buddy stuff happening here...

Overall, I am severely disappointed with this stupid evaluation. It just seems to solidify my ex's case against me, despite the fact that I have proof otherwise. Part of me wishes that I had the time and money to get a second opinion, but that isn't gonna happen before this goes to court. (sigh...) Let's just hope that my attorneys can do something with this. In the meantime, I've got to get back to it and get all of my evidence sorted through (I have so much on so many different topics, it's just a matter of whittling it down) and prepping for court. I feel like a little kid right before a shot, or ripping off a band aid. That pent up anticipation of something that you think is going to hurt, but you don't know and you think you know what will happen next, but you aren't sure. (Ugh.)

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Weighty Wednesday- What Just Happened?

I have had so many people I know come up and ask me what I am doing to get so thin and commenting on how great I look. As you may have noticed from the sporadic posts, the answer to that question is basically "Nothing."

I walk to and from the school several times a day, totalling near 3 miles, but that is the extent of my exercise. I eat pretty much whatever I feel like eating and NEVER skip dessert whenever it is offered (seriously, it's a disease). So, why on earth do people keep commenting that I look great?

After noticing that my favorite pair of jeans was constantly loose and the zipper was always falling down, I started to believe them and pulled out my box of clothes that has been hiding and gathering dust in the back of my closet (seriously, I forgot some of those clothes still existed it has been back there for so long) and guess what?? They FIT! I have a little muffin top in the front on a few pairs of jeans and my boobs are still bigger than ever before, but I am a size-freaking-SIX! What?!? (should I really be complaining?)

I have come to the conclusion that this is my blessing from Heavenly Father that my body bounces back after childbirth. It happened with Worf and Data as well, but since I was 30 pounds heavier with Geordi, I assumed that I would just go back to that. Not all the way back to "tiny."

Since my clothes magically fit (including my old high school Prom dresses. Nice huh?) I figured I should probably weigh in and find out where I am on my goals. So, here we are:

Waist: 27.5
Hips: 38.5
Weight: 132
Body Fat: 29%

Looks like I have lost 2.5 inches on my waist (only 1.5 left to go!), maintained my hips (2.5 inches left there), lost 8 lbs (12 lbs to goal weight!!) and dropped 3% fat. Since ideal is somewhere between 21 and 24%, I think I will shoot for losing another 5% (I like my curves) but will hold off at 29% because I am still nursing.

So yea! It's progress. I can't even imagine what I'd look like if I had kept up with the P90X routine for the last 5 months. I think I will still pick it up, but AFTER I done nursing Geordi. :)

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Tasty Tuesday- Grilling Fruit

I'm wondering if I should have labeled today Temper Tuesday... I have been really ornery today and I have no idea why (and no, it is not that time of the month...). It hasn't helped that it is the middle of vacation and Yar always tries to test (bad!) her boundaries when it is just the two of us for any period of time. For heaven's sake, I found out that she had wiped boogers all over her bedroom wall! Eww! (as we speak, she is currently scrubbing the porch to help "take care of our house")
Today hasn't been the best for breaking out the cookware and whipping up something amazing, but I couldn't leave the blog hanging AGAIN.

So, I'm breaking out my new found love: Grilled fruit

Why had I never thought to put fruit on the grill?!? It is simply amazing! Riker had a Bobby Flay cook book when we first got married (I think it may have been his ONLY cookbook) and it had a section dedicated solely for fruit. I always breezed past it to get to the meat and potato recipes for dinners.

However, one night I had some nectarines lying around and I wanted to make something sweet, but relatively healthy for the kiddos as a treat. On a whim, I pulled out the book (FYI, I really hate Bobby Flay, but he DOES have some decent recipes). In it, I found a recipe for grilled apricots with yogurt. I figured I would just switch out the fruit. The first time I made it, I didn't want to go through all the trouble of heating up the gigantic grill for 3 nectarines, so I pulled out the Foreman.

Grilling nectarines on the Foreman was a decent idea if you don't have any other option, but cleaning up was a nightmare (I have an older model that doesn't have removable plates). So, the next night, we were grilling hamburgers and I decided to try again. Boy was I surprised!!

The nectarines became nice and soft and had a subtle smoky flavor with a nice carmel from the charred sugar naturally found in fruit. I topped each half with a big dollop of vanilla Greek yogurt, a slight drizzle of orange blossom honey and a sprinkle of walnuts. Sooo yummy!

Luckily, the kids liked it! Now I am all about finding fruits to toss on the grill when Riker gets the urge to light something on fire :)

Try it out, I promise you won't be disappointed!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Miscellaneous Monday- I'm going crazy

I have had an absolutely CRAZY August and September and I am SO glad it is over. I have been dealing with a lot of court stuff regarding a custody dispute over Data and Worf. My ex husband tried to claim that I was mentally unstable and shouldn't see my kids anymore, despite the fact that they have lived with me since we got divorced. I had to go through a full-blown psychiatric evaluation (surprise surprise, I'm NOT crazy) and a custody evaluation to determine what would be in our children's best interest (another shocker: they should stay here). On top of that, Data broke his arm while on summer vacation with his father and wound up needing surgery to repair it once he got home.

You notice the nice bend in his forearm?? Yeah, that's NOT supposed to be there. That was after being set and casted for THREE WEEKS by the idiots that his father took him to... Not a happy Mama Bear >:( Then, we had our "normal" craziness of school starting and numerous birthday parites (4 birthdays in one month!!).

September didn't get any better with Riker working a ridiculous number of hours in order to pay for our attorney in the aforementioned court nastiness as well as the rest of our bills. Then, we decided it would be best for our family to move to another house (a whole mini-saga in itself). I am super excited about the new place and all of the promise it has, but it was a rough move. Just a mere week later, Riker's sister got married and wanted Yar to be the flower girl (which I had to make a dress for)

AND wanted me to make her cake (4 tiers of yummy, stress-filled goodness), so yeah... Oh, and then Worf got a bad ear infection the day before he was supposed to go to his father's and I had to deal with the headache that came with trying to convince the man that it wasn't really best for Worf to be going on vacation to 6000 feet from sea level with serious fluid built up in his ears... (common sense apparently isn't all that common)

Yeah... I think I'm doing pretty well to still have my wits about me at this point.

So, now I am taking the day off. I haven't done a single routine thing all day today, apart from heating up leftovers and giving Geordi a bath. I have been pretty laid back and read a book, played with playdough (fyi, real playdough is SO much more fun to play with than the cheapy stuff), and updated my blog. I probably should make something for dinner, but I have no desire to be productive. Especially sitting on my couch surrounded by boxes that need to be unpacked, a yard that needs cleaning and decorations that need to be put up. I really am excited about doing those things, just not today. It doesn't help that it is wonderfully overcast today and I have an even stronger desire to curl up with Riker, my fuzzy leopard blanket and a cup of cocoa and call it a day. Too bad it isn't cold enough for me to convince Riker to light up the fireplace...

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Weighty Wednesday-Facing the music

As you may have noticed, the postings are few and far between and there hasn't been much of anything regarding exercise. That's because there isn't any exercising going on. :/

I have been wearing my new shoes that I posted about last month, and while they definitely give my calves a workout, I'm not sure they are doing much else (they are still cute though!) and neither am I. I have been an absolute mess this month. Between 3 birthday parties, school starting, cub scouts, and court craziness, I'm lucky to still have hair.

On the walk home from school today, Yar turns to me and, out of the blue, says "Mom, when are you going to start exercising again?" I honestly didn't have an answer to that question... I keep thinking that I will start after the court stuff is sorted out, but that keeps getting pushed farther and farther away. In reality, if I say I'm not going to start until after court is settled, then I might as well say that I am not going to exercise until Worf turns 18. That is a REALLY long time...

I need to do SOMETHING. This is getting ridiculous. I just don't know where to start. I keep thinking that if I have a schedule, then it would be easier to fit exercise in regularly (along with housework, kids, and other commitments), but my schedule never seems to last for more than a few days. My willpower to get out of bed early is minimal at best. *sigh* I HAVE to change.

SO, I am starting over. New measurements, new goals.

Waist: 30 in
Hips: 38.5 in (holy crap! when did I lose that??)
Weight: 140 lbs
Body Fat: 32%

Goal: exercise at least twice this week.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Scrappy Saturday- Girl's bed canopy

Yar is currently obsessed with Tinkerbell and fairies. However, I don't want to succumb to the craziness that comes with buying decorations from a certain conglomerate company. You buy the comforter, the girl wants the sheets. You buy the sheets, she wants the wall decals. You buy the wall decals... you get the idea. So, I decided to go more with a floral theme, since Tink is always flying around in the flowers right? Needless to say, Yar was not happy with the fact that I wasn't going to go out and buy every single Tinkerbell thing ever made (yes, she even threw out the "my MOTHER decorated my room with Tinkerbell." Well, great. Now you already have a Tinkerbell room, so you can explore other options...). Even after seeing all the hard work I put into her room and how cute it turned out, she's still not entirely convinced (I'm sure that has to do with her void issues, which is a whole other story).

Anyway, I made these cute tissue paper flowers that I think were supposed to be dahlias, but turned out more like peonies. I hung them from the ceiling with fishing wire and thumb tacks. The bedding was from my younger sister, who is now married and has more "marriage friendly" bedding (what guy in their right mind would sleep on multi-colored floral bedding? Willingly mind you), and was kind enough to donate to the cause. I also put up a cute curtain that has multi-colored polka dots (yes there are a lot of colors and shapes in this room!) and some vinyl stickers in pink and green circles. It still seemed to be missing something. I figured that a canopy over the bed would add a touch of whimsy. Besides, I had wanted one for years as a kid (truth be told, I still want one...). Here's what I came up with:



So, I grabbed 4 old sheer curtains that I wasn't using anymore, but didn't have the heart to toss and started brainstorming. It wound up being SO simple. Before my husband tossed it out, I pulled the front frame off of our oscillating fan that died last week. I could have used a wreath form, and probably should have just due to the time it took to remove the stupid fan frame, but it was late at night and I was in craft mode (must... complete... craft...). I snipped the wire to allow for threading the curtains on and then wrapped the frame in ribbon to help the curtains not catch on anything. I put the curtains on and hot glued the ends of the frame back together. I then put two ribbons across the frame in a cross (between each curtain) and hung it up! Easy peasy! Aside from the fan frame, I think this project took all of 15 minutes. 20 if you count the ribbon wrapping. You could easily buy fabric instead. I just wanted to use up what I already had on hand.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Tasty Tuesday - Rhubarb Pie

It's days like today that I really miss my great grandma. Her birthday is just a few days before mine and I think of her often on my birthday (not to mention her birthday would have been yesterday). She died just a few weeks after my 15th birthday from cancer and I took it really hard. She was an amazing woman who I thought could take on anything. She had a strength and determination (some would call it sheer stuborness) in her that I have never been able to match. I have admired her (or the rose colored memory of her) for years, and know that she is watching over me and urging me on as I go through my life and try to live up to the great qualities she had.

So what does my great granma have to do with pie? Well, for my birthday each year, I make a rhubarb pie from her recipe. There are a number of reasons for this. 1) I make a lot of cakes for other people, so I am pretty tired of making cake by the time my birthday rolls around 2) with the sheer number of birthdays, anniversaries, and reunions in my family during August, I am sick of EATING cake and 3) my grandma's birthday is the day before mine, and we are the only people who really like rhubarb in our family, so we make a pie to share. (my grandma was her daughter. I'm not sharing a pie with a dead lady. I'm not THAT crazy...)

This year, I wasn't able to visit with my grandma, so I had to eat my pie by myself (and, yes, I ate the majority of it by myself... so much for losing weight!). It turned out so amazing this year, that I have to admit that it was probably the best pie I have ever made. Therefore I thought I would share it with you so you can have an aweome birthday (or any day) pie!

Nonie’s Rhubarb Pie

4 c rhubarb, chopped
1 ½ c sugar (I typically cut this amount in half because I like mine tart)
6 T flour
½ tsp salt
2 T butter
½ tsp orange zest
Double pie crust

Brush pastry w/ butter and chill
Mix sugar, orange zest, flour, salt. Mix in rhubarb.
Put in shell & dot w/ butter
Cover w/ top crust, crimp edges, vent
Bake at 450 F for 10 min
Lower to 350 F, cover edges of crust and bake for 45 min.

Enjoy!


Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Weighty Wednesday - I'm a slacker

So I am sorry to say that I did not exercise a single minute this week. I have been so overwhelmed with the crap I have been dealing with lately and the frantic scramble to get my house back in order before all of the kids come home from summer vacation. I have made some progress so far, but I am still falling behind in other areas, namely exercise. The worst thing? I didn't even eat healthy this week. I put on weight instead :(

My small silver lining: I had to buy new shoes this week and I found some shoes by Danskin that are supposed to help tone while you walk. I figured, what the heck. They were the same price as the regular tennis shoes, so why not? Since I walk the kids to and from school every day (total of 2 miles a day), maybe it will help. We'll see.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Scrappy Saturday - Dress Form

I have a confession to make: I am obsessed with upcycling right now. My poor husband probably thinks that I have gone crazy. I have dug through our closet I for anything that is outdated, ill-fitting, or otherwise shoved into the back of the closet. (I have a huge box of "supplies" now)

The only problem is that I don't always have the time or ability (I wear Geordi in a Moby wrap most of the time I am crafting) to fit my new creations on myself. So, during my obsessive hunting of DIY blogs, I came across a tutorial for making a custom dress form of duct tape. (Hooray for cheap alternatives!!) So I convinced Riker to let me go crazy and buy tons of duct tape, and then talked him into being my helper (lots of bribing him with back rubs).

I went the route of using cellophane and, as a piece of advice for anyone who chooses to do it, make sure the room is COLD. I wrapped myself up in the middle of the night when it was 73° and had the fan on and I was DRENCHED in sweat by the time I cut the thing off. But it was well worth it. For a minimal cost, I have an awesome dress form made just for me! Check it out:

That's right my friends. That bad boy is made out of DUCT TAPE! I bought a bunch of cheap tape because the tutorial didn't really specify how much to get. I wound up using 3 rolls of 40 yard grey tape and wrapped myself in 4 layers (I still think I should have done 5, but it was late) and 3 rolls of decorative tape to cover the finished product (totally optional as it is much pricier than grey, but looks SO much better! Plus, it helped keep the cheapy grey tape taped together, as it was having difficulty along the back seam once it was stuffed). I also used 3 old pillows to stuff it. Total cost? $15 including tax. WAY more affordable than the $100 adjustable form my sister bought years ago. (Another note: when the directions say wrap the mid-section snugly, they mean SNUG. I didn't do it tight enough and it shows. My belly doesnt really poke out that much).

So now I have a second me (if only it could clean the house too...) and, I have to admit, it is a little weird to see exactly how my body looks. Riker, on the other hand, says it looks really good and is begging me to make a leopard print bodysuit. Hmm...

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Weighty Wednesday-Healthy Me

Since I had a new baby nearly 5 months ago (has it really been 5 months already??) I have been like most other new moms and concerned with getting back in shape. Although I only put on 19 lbs when I was pregnant and then delivered a baby that was nearly 10 pounds (lucky me!), I was actually overweight when this all started. Now, while I am actually considerably lighter that when I got pregnant, (I actually weigh nearly 15 lbs less!!) I am still considered overweight for my size.

Don't get me wrong, I am not at all depressed by my weight and/or overall health. I actually have reached the point where I honestly don't care what my weight is. I care about being and feeling healthy and I am not there.

As soon as my dr cleared me to exercise again, I started doing P90X, which I got from my sister for Christmas. I LOVE it. The only problem that I have encountered is that it is an hour of my day EVERY day, which is sometimes hard to do with a newborn (you want me to do an hour of cardio at 5 am after going to bed at 11:30 and waking up 3 times to nurse?!? Forget it!)

P90X is an extreme workout when looked at as a whole, but when broken down into daily workouts, they are actually manageable. Riker used to be in the Marine Corps (he got out 2 years ago) and started the Classic routine. It whipped him pretty bad. So, I started on the Lean routine instead (besides I want to lose inches, not look like the govenator).

I will be honest, the first two weeks were awful. I didn't do every video, I was incredibly sore in places I didn't know existed, and I was worn out. I got discouraged and quit. After a few days, I noticed that I felt worse and I still wanted to get back in shape, so I started over. This time I managed 3 weeks. By the end of the 3rd week, I felt amazing. I was making it through every video and was actually able to do things I hadn't before (barely, but I could do it). However, life got in the way again and I wound up missing a few days. That turned into a week (it's amazing how much your body turns on you when you stop exercising), which turned into two...

Now, I feel icky again and not just because I am disappointed when I look at my body in the mirror. I feel lethargic and dull and I hate that feeling. So, I am going to start over. It will be interesting to see how this works with school starting next month (could be good, could be bad), but I will deal with that when I get to it. For now, I am just taking it one day at a time.

As a disclaimer, I am NOT one of those die-hard fitness gurus who hits the gym all the time. I am an average mom who has NEVER been considered "skinny" (or tall for that matter. Dang 5' 2"...) and has always been several steps behind the gurus. Just to prove it, I will be posting my measurements each week. Maybe I will even post a picture or two. (Ack! That's scary to see those... Hopefully it will get better!)

Today's measurements:
Waist: 31 in
Hips: 40 in
Weight: 142 lbs
Body Fat: 34%

Goal:
Waist: 28 in
Hips: 38 in
Weight: 125 lbs
Body Fat: 30%

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Tasty Tuesday- Tofu Cheesecake

Two posts in one day... Guess I'm off to a good start! (really, it's just that everybody is gone, the baby is sleeping, and I am avoiding housework)

Some of you may see the title of today's post and go running for the hills. Trust me, at one time I would have been there with you. However, this is one you may want to sit still for. :)

Last night, Riker and I went out to try a new restaurant. One of our favorite Japanese places, Mikuni's, opened a new location, and since we have been to many of their other locations, we figured we would go try it out. Instead of being our traditional sushi bar with a few amazing appetizers, their new location is more family based and their menu reflects that. Instead of pages of amazing rolls and nigiri, they focused on tapas and traditional Japanese entrees to be shared among a group. There were so many to choose from that we honestly sat there debating our order for nearly 20 minutes! We finally settled on Curried Rice, Salmon Carpaccio, and our regular order of Flaming Shrooms (absolutely amazing if you ask me).

Now, I am not one for curry, so Riker ate most of it, although I was pleasantly surprised by it. I was mildly disappointed with the salmon only because it lacked the WOW factor I have come to expect from Mikuni's. However, the dessert more than made up for it. We ordered a slice of the Tofu Cheesecake (we tend to order something way off in left field every time we go, just to keep things interesting). Now, I am a huge fan of cheesecake, but often tend to be disappointed when I order it at restaurants. They always seem to taste full of preservatives, almost fake. This was different. It came with a scoop of green tea ice cream that melded with the flavor of the cheesecake beautifully, and it was obviously fresh (not shipped in frozen). It had a pleasantly mild earthy taste. It did NOT taste like a plain cheesecake, but more like it was flavored with something. If I had not ordered it, I would have NEVER guessed that it was made out of TOFU! I was so impressed by it that after I got home, I promptly went searching for a recipe to try to make it myself. I have found two that seem promising. I am going to try one this week and see how it turns out (I can't talk myself into making two full cheesecakes in a week). Here's hoping!

Topic Headlines

Okay, here we go...

I am planning on trying to post on a daily basis, although with 4 kids, our busy schedules, and all of the court nonsense we are juggling, that may not always prove to be possible. We shall see how it goes. Thanks to Blogger putting out an app for my phone, it may be a little more reasonable, but who knows.

Since I have just a wide variety of things rolling around in my brain right now, and since this blog is an attempt to maintain my sanity, I figured that I would attempt to organize a few of those things into weekly topics. That way, I can spend some time on each thing that interests me without getting stuck in any one thing for too long. Good idea right? I sure hope so :)

So, my idea for topic headlines is as follows:

Monday- Miscellaneous Monday
As the name suggest, I can post about whatever I want without having to categorize it. That way, if I feel that I should spend more time on a topic this week, I have an extra day. Or if I feel like writing about something totally off topic, I can do that too.

Tuesday- Tasty Tuesday
I LOVE cooking, but don't always have a chance to do something fun every day (yes, my kids eat mac and cheese out of a box on occasion). This will be my chance post about all the fun and tasty things I have tried in the last week (or will try).

Wednesday-Weighty Wednesday
I am trying to get my health on track and need a weekly accountability day (weigh in, update, confession :O, etc). Also an opportunity to share things I have learned and struggle with.

Thursday-The Project (I tried to find a title that started with a T, but this was the best I could come up with)
A week-by-week project of loving an individual on purpose and with a plan (I will explain more on my first Project post)

Friday- Family Friday
I believe that my family is THE most important thing in my life, even if it is not the easiest. I want to be able to share what I have learned about building relationships within my family as I have an interesting family dynamic. Look forward to posts about spouses, ex-spouses, biological children, step children, siblings, parents, in-laws, all kinds of fun things!

Saturday-Scrappy Saturday
I love crafts (almost as much as cooking). I love working with my hands and having the satisfaction of creating something myself (part of the reason I love having babies). This is my day to post about any project I am working on from sewing, knitting and crochet, to scrapbooking and home improvement.

Sunday-Spiritual Sunday
I put Sunday as the last day because I want this day to be a relaxation from the rest of the week of craziness. This is the day I am most looking forward to. Watch for posts regarding my study and learning of the gospel and my testimony of my Savior and how it all fits into my everyday life.

Well, if any of you are reading (and I ever wind up keeping up with this schedule), I hope that you find a topic that interests you. I know that I am looking forward to next year when I can go back and read through my own posts and reminisce about what I've done this year.

So, on to posting!!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Introduction

Hello my Internet friends! I know this blog is just one of many in the blogsphere, but it is MY blog and it is the only way, as a stay-at-home mom of 4 crazy kiddos, to maintain my sanity and sense of self. Choose to read it or don't. For now, I write this blog solely for myself.

For those that ARE reading (covertly or otherwise), allow me to explain a few things about my blog:

First, the name of my blog: I Am 8 Cows. Many of you may know the story of Johnny Lingo and his eight cow wife. For those of you that don't, there are many renditions on the Internet, but my favorite is published as a video here.

My husband believes that I am an eight cow wife, if not ten or more. I repeatedly wish that I believed that as firmly as he does. This blog will, hopefully, track my progression in becoming the wife, mother, and woman that he believes me to be. Don't get me wrong, I know I have the potential to be of great worth, but I do not believe that I am there yet. Blame it on self-doubt, blame it on low self-esteem, blame it on whatever you choose. I choose to believe that I am just starting to recognize my potential and am just starting my journey to fulfill it.

Second, I might as well get it out in the open now, since it is bound to come up in subsequent posts) I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (better known as a "Mormon" although I do not care for that term as it is not accurate). I am not ashamed of my religion or my beliefs. I have come a very long way in acquiring my testimony and am still growing and learning. My religion is a large part of my life and family, so it stands to reason that it will reflect in my posts. I hope to get it out of the way now for those of you who choose to not read this blog due to my beliefs. Also, I'd like to get out a disclaimer that, although I thoroughly appreciate other people's beliefs and respect their agency, I will not tolerate attacks on my beliefs (nor those against anyone who include their beliefs in their comments). Such comments will be deleted.

Finally, some of you may have noticed that the pictures of my family on the sidebar are accompanied by some unsual names. Perhaps you have realized that they are names of Star Trek characters. Perhaps not. Regardless, there are a number of reasons for this. One, I am all for protecting the identity of my children from people who do not know my family personally (no offense to my readers). Two, I always disliked the "dh, dd, ds" abbreviations most people use. And three, I am a HUGE Star Trek fan (yes, I have dressed up as characters for Halloween and other occasions, and yes, I wanted to get married on the bridge of the Enterprise in Vegas). Besides, my kids have a lot in common with the characters I chose to name them after :)