I’ll be honest; my files were already pretty well organized, and this Bite was a project I’d worked on, completed, and have been maintaining for the past four years.

During that time I downgraded us from hundreds of pounds of paper, a four drawer filing cabinet and a two-drawer cabinet to just the latter.  We retain paper copies of our tax returns, medical documents, and other important paperwork, and everything else gets scanned into our computer.

Last fall {and let me tell you it just took me half an hour to figure out when I did this; I thought it was last January} I bought an accordion file which I use to store all bills and paperwork that come my way for each calendar year.

I’d love to tell you that each month after paying the bills I dutifully scan and shred the paper bills, but I don’t.  It’s really more something I can only handle once a year, and as long as I maintain this system – which works really well – I’m keeping my head above water.

Over the past several weeks I’ve been devoting myself to scanning and filing (and shredding) all my papers and bills from 2011.  It took me a couple hours each day, but now they’re done and I can begin saving 2012′s in the same manner.

This past week, while working on all this I pulled together all our tax documents and realized I had everything I needed to file our taxes.  So I did, on Monday, and both our federal and state returns have since been accepted and we’re waiting on our refunds to be deposited.  Ironically I wrote an annoyed post on Monday morning that one company that owed us tax documents hadn’t yet sent them to us and that I’d discovered they didn’t have to until the 15th of this month… but then those documents were delivered to our mailbox that afternoon.  {I’m glad I still have the ability to not hit the ‘publish’ button.}

After doing all the financial documents I reached into my filing cabinet and pulled out our medical files.  While I retained all vaccination records and physical sheets (and actual medical records that we have instead of my doctor’s office) I went ahead and scanned – and then shredded – all statements of claims that had been paid by our insurance to non-military providers.  Then I went through everything else I had in there and shredded everything we no longer need.  My filing cabinet is MUCH lighter now.  It’s incredibly liberating to have everything so organized!

Switching to an electronic filing system was the best thing I’ve ever done for our paperwork, especially considering how frequently we move.  It’s made my life exponentially easier.

About my 52 Bites Project

Follow My Progress

Disclaimer: Affiliate links in this post will allow me to earn a small percentage from Simple Mom if you buy the book.

Tony and I are on the third (and final!) day of a shake cleanse.  I’ll post about it tomorrow.

I’ve been chipping away at this week’s Bite and have been more successful than I expected.  I’ll post about it tomorrow.

Brenna was in a concert with her fellow second-graders on Tuesday night, performing six songs about lesser-known-but-still-important historical African Americans.  Although she was one of a hundred, we learned she does NOT like to perform in front of crowds.  She gets this from me.

Yesterday I registered Anthony for next year’s pre-k program at his current preschool.  They have just the one class with fifteen students and because I got in line half an hour after registration began (and on the first day of registration because he’s currently attending this school) I was able to get him a spot in this four-afternoons-a-week program.  I’m really at peace with this decision, even despite the significant cost, though he’s upset with me.  He mentioned something about taking next year off of school altogether because he needs a break.  It’s very taxing, going to school for two-and-a-half hours three mornings a week, don’t you know.

We bought a Roku a couple weekends ago.  This was the end result of thinking that in order to still get a good rate for our internet we’d have to bundle it with satellite, but that thankfully turned out to be false.  While also looking at TV options for our camper one thing led to another and we decided to get this, which is a bit redundant considering we have a PS3 that streams our Netflix and Hulu for us.  BUT this enables us to watch our shows without also turning on the energy-sucking game console and surround sound systems, plus we have access to more channels… and Pandora.  We can also bring it with us to use in our camper, at campgrounds that provide WiFi. (Whether it’ll be fast enough to stream video is as yet unknown.)

The only downside to this is our remote has a strap on it, much like Wii controllers, and Anthony likes to carry it around the house with him, swinging it and banging it against every surface that’s within his range.  Thank goodness I can use an app from my phone to control the system if need be.

I discovered yesterday that the first six seasons of the CW show Supernatural is now streaming on Netflix.  Tony and I have both been wanting to watch this show as we each have friends who rave about it.  We crawled into bed at 7:30 last night and watched the first three episodes on his laptop, and now we’re hooked.  As we turned out the lights to go to sleep he hugged me and said, “Please don’t watch any episodes without me during the day.”  Done.

I recently realized I use far too many emoticons on Facebook.  I end nearly every sentence I write with a smiley and I need to find a way to wean myself of this habit.  I suppose it’s better than tacking an inappropriate LOL or LMAO onto every single status update, no matter the subject or how non-LOL it may be.

Our Bettas both died over the weekend.  At first I was patting myself on the back for having kept them alive for over eighteen months, but then I did a bit of research.  Turns out each one should have been living in its own five-gallon tank, rather than the half-gallon tanks we had, and that for the size container they were in I should have been replacing their water at least twice a week.  It seems my every-three-months average was far from adequate in helping them reach a potential six years of age.

No matter how much work it is I do like having at least one fish in the house, and we somehow have a surplus of pet funds at the moment.  I think I may take The Critters to get a single Betta and a larger tank with a bubbler and filter to try again (maybe two if I can find an affordable tank that has a divider to keep them separate*).

*The only biology class I took in college counted toward my psych minor and was Animal Behavior.  I did an experiment that showed me exactly what will happen if two males are put into the same tank; I won’t be repeating that experiment here at home. And I have no interest in getting a non-attractive female, sexist as that may sound.

I want to change my hair, but I have no clue what style might interest me.  All I know is I need a change from anything I’ve had over the past decade.  My hair is currently shoulder length and I’ve been wearing it straight.  I don’t use any product in it whatsoever and can’t wear it curly unless I use a ton of mousse or gel to keep it from frizzing.

I have never permanently dyed it and have no interest in highlights or lowlights that I have to maintain because getting a haircut is a twice-a-year occurrence for me (plus I really like my hair color and have just one grey hair that I pluck every four or five months when I notice that it’s grown in). Tony does not like short hair on women my age, so that’s out.  I’m thinking of continuing to let it grow out, but getting a trim to get rid of split ends with some long layers, and also maybe side swept bangs.  Any thoughts or suggestions?

Amazon.com Description: “Determined to find out what happened to her former deputy chief, Jack Fielding, murdered six months earlier, Kay Scarpetta travels to the Georgia Prison for Women, where an inmate has information not only on Fielding, but also on a string of grisly killings. The murder of an Atlanta family years ago, a young woman on death row, and the inexplicable deaths of homeless people as far away as California seem unrelated. But Scarpetta discovers connections that compel her to conclude that what she thought ended with Fielding’s death and an attempt on her own life is only the beginning of something far more destructive: a terrifying terrain of conspiracy and potential terrorism on an international scale. And she is the only one who can stop it.”

My Thoughts:

Let me start with what I liked about this book:

- Well written, as always.
- Told from the first person perspective, that of Kay Scarpetta, the protagonist around whom this nineteen-book series is written.

What I disliked: everything else.

Unless you are a long-time reader of the series you will not understand this book, as it relies heavily on its predecessors; Cornwell assumes you are familiar with all its characters and their back-stories.  No character development takes place whatsoever.  On that line of thinking, as much as I’ve liked Kay as a character throughout the books, my feeling was that in this book she was the only character, and a self-important, smug, and – to be honest – rather dull one at that.  All other characters that we’ve gotten to know and love (or hate) over the series’ progression were a blip on her radar and mentioned due to nececssity, rather than because the author took a genuine interest in them.

Nothing of import happened in the first half of the book, and I’d venture to say that 85% of its pages are sheer dialogue, both internal and with other characters.  I went into the reading hoping for the grisly murder scene and autopsy investigations that used to be the hallmark of this character’s life as a medical examiner.  There’s but two of the former and one of the latter in this book, and if this were consistent with the original content of the series I wouldn’t take issue with this.  It’s a far departure, though, and as one who has read every book (some of the earlier books many times over) it was nothing short of disappointing.

Each time I read I see that a new Scarpetta book has been published I get excited; with the past ten books, however, I’ve finished their pages feeling let down and wanting more.  Considering that at this point this makes up more than half of the books in the entire series, I think I’m ready to call Patricia Cornwell – and Kay Scarpetta – quits.

My Bottom Line, for what it’s worth:
Does it make my ‘Favorites’ list? No
Was reading this book worth my time? No
Would I read it again? No
On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give it: 5.5

Like last week, this Bite was unintentional.  I was fully expecting to finish up the two tasks I had planned a couple weeks ago and then this crept up on me.  I’m not unhappy about this.

I’m really focused in regards to my self-care right now, particularly in the health and wellness arena, and even more particularly in regards to exercise and weight loss.  I’m achieving the former in ways that I haven’t touched since the summer of 2006, but the latter doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.  I’ve lost one pound since I actively started tracking myself, and that was in November.

This past week, though, I wanted to get serious.  And – in the vein of full disclosure – I’ll give you my stats:

I’m 5’5″, currently weigh 141 lbs, and wear size 8 pants with medium tops.  My BMI is at the upper end of the “normal” limits and when I had my bloodwork drawn this past fall it all came back as being 100% perfect, and in fact my LDL was below what’s considered the normal range, though my HDL was exactly where it needed to be.  I have no health problems whatsoever and do not consider myself to be overweight.  Just at a higher weight and size than where I can comfortably fit into my pre-children clothes.

I don’t want to be supermodel thin.  I just want to feel comfortable in my own skin again.

I already eat what I consider to be healthy food.  My downfall lies in not knowing how much of it to consume.  This is where the drinking more water has come in.

I’ve been tracking my calories this past week with My Fitness Pal.  There is nothing quite so tedious to me as keeping track of how much I eat, and I suspect if I were the type to eat a lot of prepared foods this wouldn’t be difficult.  I make at least 90% of our meals from scratch, though, which means I need to enter the quantities and ingredients into a meal calculator and then figure out how much I ate.  But on the upside, I now know how many calories foods contain (pasta has a lot!) and I consider EVERYTHING before I put it in my mouth.

And I’m paying attention to how much I’m drinking.

I’m down to just one cup of coffee first thing in the morning*.  The rest of the day I drink water, and lots more of it than I was before.  Now that I’m keeping track of what I’m eating, I’m also tracking water consumption.  I’ve been aiming for – and hitting – the standard eight cups a day, or 64 ounces when I’m not exercising.  I aim for that plus more on days when I’ve worked out.

*Except this morning, when I had a second cup in honor of our snow day and the two extra children I had keeping us company for a couple hours.

Our drinking glasses help more than I expected.  While stationed in Germany we collected a good number of beer glasses from various restaurants, but they were always for display.  They remained behind with 75% of our household goods when we were in Okinawa, but upon our return we decided to put them to use.  Each one has a different style and decorations, but the one thing they have in common is the half-liter marker.  It’s great to pour myself a glass full and know that I’m a quarter of the way to my goal each day.  Given that I drink a full glass with lunch and dinner, fitting in those other two glasses in between is not difficult.

So far I don’t notice a difference, other than the fact that I’m visiting the bathroom far more frequently.  I have been more tired this week, but I’ve also worked out pretty hard: I ran four miles on Saturday, five miles on Monday, did a two-hour workout on Tuesday (one hour of conditioning and an hour of step), and a 45-minute circuit training workout yesterday.

My skin did break out a bit more this week, though I can’t be sure if this is a flushing of toxins from the added hydration or just due to a hormone cycle.  I can say, though, that I had a cold last weekend that I made sure to keep watered.  The cold passed fairly quickly and though my nose was peeling and chapped from wiping it so much, it healed very quickly afterward.  I can’t if this was due to the water or my skincare regimen, but either way I’ll take it.

This is a Bite that is meant to be a continuous project.  I doubt that I’ll remember each and every day to drink a full 64 ounces, but I am comfortable in this place where the only beverages I consume are a modest amount of coffee and lots of water.  No soda.  No juice.  No milk.  (Okay, my smoothies too, but that’s a meal, not a beverage.  And the occasional glass of wine – an average of one every two months.)

About my 52 Bites Project

Follow My Progress

Disclaimer: Affiliate links in this post will allow me to earn a small percentage from Simple Mom if you buy the book.

It. Was. Delicious.  I was floored by how tasty this recipe was, given that it’s very simple to make.  This recipe is proof that healthy can equal yummy.

I halved the recipe when making it for myself and The Critters, but I’ve altered the ingredients below to reflect how I’ll make it for our family of four next time.  Because I still had a bit of roasted chicken leftover and waiting to be used up I chopped it up and tossed it in, which was delicious.  I also have a pretty big stockpile of turkey and chicken broth in my freezer and felt this recipe would benefit from that versus vegetable stock, but feel free to use whatever cooking base you like.

In the end this was flavorful with a touch of heat, but not so much that The Critters couldn’t eat it.  I warmed up some flour tortillas, spread a dab of sour cream down the center, and plopped this mixture inside, which was delicious.  Next time I’ll try to remember to pull guacamole out of the freezer to use instead of the sour cream, as that would be a delicious flavor to mix in.

Served warm or cold, for dinner or lunch, this recipe is one that will most certainly be making its way to our family’s table again and again.  Give it a try.

And enjoy.

Spiced Quinoa and Black Beans

adapted from this recipe

click here for printable recipe
INGREDIENTS
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with stock. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Serving Suggestions:

• Stir in 1/2 cup of chopped or shredded cooked chicken with the black beans if desired.
• Add in other veggies: bell pepper, zucchini or yellow squash, mushrooms
• Swap in vegetable broth for the chicken stock if you want this to be a vegetarian meal
• Serve with warmed tortillas and various taco toppings: chopped tomatoes or salsa, avocado or guacamole, shredded cheese

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yields: 10-12 side dish portions or 4-6 main dish servings

So far it’s worked out, though I’ve been *this close* to throwing in the towel and letting us go out more than once.  The good news is, Tony’s been encouraging in the Sure, Honey – leftovers sound GREAT! department, and I tried out two new recipes that I’ll be adding to my archives next week.

What we’ve eaten so far:

Monday: Hamburger Soup.  This was surprisingly yummy, if very simple.  I also warmed up a load of mozzarella garlic bread that I had in the freezer to go with it.

Tuesday: Leftover hamburger soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  This was a perfect combo, if you like the traditional  tomato soup combo.  We all gobbled it up, and were able to use up the leftovers quickly.

Wednesday: White Bean and Chicken Chili.  I don’t have a link for this one because I pulled it from my Everything Beans Book.  Made with white northern beans, shredded chicken breast, an onion, some garlic, a can of mild fire-roasted green chilis and a can of diced tomatoes, chicken stock, and spices, it was relatively quick, very easy, and had enough flavor without the usual heat that all four of us ate it.  I cooked up a batch of white rice and my homemade corn bread to go along with it, and this was a good winter evening meal.

Tonight:  Pasta with pineapple bacon chicken sausage, onions, and peppers, with a salad on the side.  Brenna has gymnastics this evening which means we need to eat and be out the door by 6:15.  This fast meal is normally one I make at least twice a month on busy nights.

Friday:  Scrambled eggs or Omeletes and toast. This is another busy evening for us, and I like to reserve fast meals like this for when we’re in a time crunch.

Saturday: Homemade pizza and salad.

Sunday: Tony has invited friends over to watch the Super Bowl, and informed me that I’ll be preparing a bunch of finger foods.  I think this includes slow cooker wings, pigs-in-a-blanket, and bacon-wrapped chicken bites.  My friend will be bringing some healthier foods, I believe, to balance this out for us a bit.

For the record, I think communication between parents and teachers is incredibly important and should never be underestimated.  But I’ve never needed these conferences before because Brenna has been an exemplary student all along, at the top of her class and excelling in every arena, and never giving me more than a few moments’ concern.

Anthony, though.  I’ll be honest: I wish we’d waited another month or two to conceive him*, because then there never would have been the question of Is he ready?  Is he too young or at the right age?  Can we send him now?  He’d have missed the age cut-off and then starting him in kindergarten right after turning five wouldn’t even be a question but a non-possibility.

His teachers’ verdicts: academically he’s ready.  Socially he’s ready.  The speed with which he attends to tasks and completes his work and stays focused: not so much.

Remember how I said he’s sloooooooooow?  It’s not just when he’s home; it’s when he’s at school, or anywhere for that matter.  And while this isn’t a deal-breaker when it comes to beginning kindergarten, his teachers – with their combined 60+ years of experience in teaching preschoolers – are recommending that we wait a year to have him begin kindergarten.

This comes as both a sigh of relief and with a sense of disappointment.  Remember how at this time last year I discussed the different possibilities regarding how to send him to school and for how long?  Part of that concern was over whether to send him to half-day free kindergarten or pay to have him attend full-day.  Last week I received notice that the latter was no longer a concern; Brenna’s school has decided it has enough funding to make full-day kindergarten free. FREE!  As in, we’d have one fewer $300/month payment hanging over us.

Well, with putting him in preschool for a third year we’ll continue to pay tuition.  Not at the same rate as the previous kindergarten fee but still significant.  And all my “free time” just disappeared.

I know it was only a three-week window in which we were prepared to send this child to kindergarten next year, but I got a bit attached to the notion.  I’ll get unattached just as quickly.

But we’re back to a school-age difference between The Critters that I like, five years (she’ll begin fourth grade when he starts kindy; they will only attend the same school for two years of their entire academic careers).  And we won’t be paying college tuition for two kids at the same time**.  Hooray for that.

I’m really grateful for his teachers, who approached what I’m sure is not a pleasant topic to have with a parent with honesty, and with a sense of what’s best for my child.  And I’m even more grateful that Tony and I have the resources to worry, and debate, and do what’s best for our child.  I know not every family has the luxury of holding an of-age child back for a year, or paying for that child to attend a third year of preschool on a very part-time basis.  I know that I live among the privileged here, and I’m thankful each day to have choices to agonize over.

*This is such a silly statement.  If we’d waited another month or two to conceive child #2 we’d have another great kid on our hands, but it wouldn’t be this Anthony.   I very much believe that every person is the specific result of two specific components meshing together at a specific moment in time.  This does not change my pro-choice stance.  And as frustrating as our experience with raising this “moment in time” child can be, I wouldn’t trade him in.

**Actually, I don’t know how much college tuition we plan to pay.  At every annual meeting with our financial adviser we say No more than half but honestly? I doubt we’ll even pay that much.  We’ve got scholarship expectations and Tony’s GI Bill that we can roll over for one of them, and we’re kinda sorta expecting the other one to get an ROTC scholarship to either Tony’s alma mater or another university that allows for such an opportunity.  That’s as far as we’ve gotten with “college planning”.

New On My Nightstand:

Finished Reading:

Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell.  I wish I hadn’t wasted $25 on this book.  Absolutely NOTHING happened in the first half, and little of note took place in the second half.  This was not the best way to kick off a year of successful reading.  Review to come, soon.

Currently Reading:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  This is my third (fourth?) time reading this book.  I like to take a week or so to read it annually, because it gets me (back) into the ‘locavore’ mindset when I’m beginning to stray, or am tempted to buy a pint of blueberries when it’s six months past the end of their growing season.  Plus it’s my plan to create a small vegetable garden this year, and this book makes me feel as though this is something I can achieve.

Bossypants by Tina Fey.  This is actually an audiobook that I downloaded for free from Audible during a free trial of that program.  I don’t know that I’ll keep the subscription, but I’m thoroughly enjoying this book so far.  Except that I can’t listen to it when my kids are around because it’s not kid-appropriate.

This Month’s Boob Tube Lineup:

America’s Funniest Videos.  I’ve always enjoyed this show, and now The Critters do, too.  This is our family staple on Sunday nights..

Once Upon A Time.  This is actually Brenna’s favorite show; I don’t care all that much about it.

Desperate Housewives. I’ve been watching this show since it began in 2004, and while a part of me is sad that this is its final season, I’m also glad.  It’s time to wrap this series up.

The Bachelor.  I don’t know if it’s me or the season, but it is So. Overly. Dramatic.  I don’t even bother watching most of this one, and I hardly ever watch it live as it comes on during my evening routine and The Critters’ bedtime.  Mostly I skip ahead to the end to see who doesn’t get a rose and then watch her cry about it.

Biggest Loser.  I’m not fully engrossed in this season’s contestants yet, but I have a feeling I’ll get there as the season progresses.  I do still love watching people change their lives for the better.

Celebrity Wife Swap. This is one of those shows that I put on while I’m doing work in the background, as it provides noise and not much else.  But it’s still nice to see that there are some “celebrities” who actually live somewhat normal lives.

Parenthood. Tony still despises this show.  I still love it.  So I don’t watch this one when he’s around.  It’s made me cry several times over just this month, and I really like it.

Are You There, Chelsea?  I don’t like the comedienne upon whom this series is based, but the first few episodes were amusing.  I can’t say that this one will end up on my “must watch” list, but it’s a fun addition to the Wednesday line-up.

Modern Family.  This is my favorite show right now.  I just can’t get enough of it.

Wipeout.  Confession: this show is really for The Critters and Tony to watch.  I don’t really care about it too much.

Grey’s Anatomy.  Okay, I lied.  THIS is my favorite show.  Well, maybe it’s tied with Modern Family.

The Office.  I continue to watch because it used to me my favorite, but this season has just been disappointing. We don’t have Michael OR Pam right now, and they’re two of my favorites.  I don’t know whether it’s because Steve Carrell is gone or because the writers have given up, but I don’t rush to watch to anymore.  So sad.

Up All Night. This is another one of those ‘background’ shows that I turn on while I’m doing other stuff.

Private Practice.  Even though I stopped watching this show for a couple of years, I’m glad to have it back in my rotation.

The Finder.  This one’s new, and funny!  I really like it, and I’m not normally a FOX network watcher.

Shark Tank.  Love, Love, LOVE this show.  Even though I have no business experience at all, I really enjoy this one, and I have no explanation as to why.

Kitchen Nightmares.  I don’t love this show, but I think I watch it because it’s a substitute for Top Chef, which I have no access to at all.

What Would You Do?  Do you watch this show?  It’s pretty great, and makes me re-evaluate my responses in public situations.  Tony and I often turn to each other and ask ourselves, “What Would YOU DO?”

New Online Finds:

Momastery.  I read this post from a friend’s link of Facebook and now I’m a complete convert.

Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips.  I already consider myself to be pretty well-versed in grammar matters, but I find this site to be full of good tips regarding some of the more confusing aspects of our language.

Sheppard Software Geography.  I mentioned on Facebook last year that I was hoping to increase my world geography knowledge this year, and a friend directed me to this site.  I LOVE IT.  I’ve mostly mastered all the continents at Level 1 (of a potential 9) except for Africa and Antarctica (the latter being because… well, it should be pretty obvious). I still have a long way to go before I can consider myself an expert at geography but the first day I sat down to learn I was so excited by my progress that I made Tony watch me play.  He didn’t think anything of it until I wowed him with my new knowledge of Caribbean and Oceania islands.  Try it out – it’s addictive in a really good way.

New Movies I Saw:

• Bad Teacher.  Bad movie.
• Never Say Never: The Justin Bieber Story.  I KNOW, okay?  I know.  But it was actually pretty interesting, and I have to say, I have a certain level of respect for someone who knows from such a young age what he wants, and to have the talent, drive, and guts to make it happen.

In My Ears:

Kelly Clarkson’s latest album, Stronger.  Her songs are good, as usual; catchy and full of power.  But MAN that lady (or her writers) has (have) got some past bad relationship issues that she’s (they’re) working through.  I don’t just want to listen to love songs, but I also don’t always want to listen to how terrible men are.

Kidz Bop 21.  Brenna earned $8 for her allowance one week so I bought this newest album for her.  Judge if you want, but I maintain the following:

1. These albums were compiled and adapted for children.  As such the songs are not sung by the original artists, nor are all the words the same.  If this isn’t to your liking, don’t buy or listen to the album.
2. The intent of these albums are to bring mainstream songs that kids and their parents are already listening to into a more appropriate format for children. So yes, words are omitted or changed, and themes of songs take on tones of friendship rather than romance.  That’s why I choose to buy these for my kids.  And my kids like them.  So I will continue to buy them and support the company. Feel free to un-friend me now, if you insist.

In the Kitchen:

I’m back to baking my own sandwich bread, now that we’ve used up the stockpiles of frozen sprouted, organic whole grain bread that I’d been buying for the past 8 or 9 months.  We’ll see how long this phase lasts, but I’m glad to be back into it.  It’ll take me awhile to get my groove though; my first attempt at soaked-overnight whole wheat bread resulted in me forgetting to combine all the dough ingredients before putting them into the bread machine and therefore it wasn’t actually soaked, and I should have added another full cup of flour as it was much too moist.  I’m glad I’d decided to bake it in a loaf pan rather than the machine, as it all would have been lost.

Smoothies.  I mentioned before that I’ve been replacing one meal a day with a fruit and veggie smoothie, and I really am happy with this.  I had bought some kale awhile back that I lightly steamed, then blended with coconut water and froze into cubes.  I use two of those cubes, plus two cubes of whole-fat, plain yogurt that I mixed with honey and froze, as well as a cup of frozen fruits (this month it’s been mixed organic berries), a whole banana, a teaspoon of almond butter, and a couple teaspoons of chia seeds.  I blend it all together with some water and a splash of organic cherry juice and it’s enough to sustain me – keeps me from feeling hungry for several hours and gives me plenty of energy – as a complete meal.

At The Gym:

With the exception of a few days when one or the other of The Critters has been sick this month, I’ve made working out a priority.  I went to the gym at least once a week but usually twice, and still enjoy my Ultimate Conditioning and Step classes.  In fact, in yesterday’s class step class I finally mastered a very easy transition step from one side of the riser to the other that had eluded me all month, and I even attempted a much more complex move that I did NOT get completely, but which I added because this was the final day of this routine.  On Thursday we begin a new one.

This past Saturday I ran in my second running race of the year, a four-miler.  My friend and I kept pace with one another the entire time, and did really well: 4 miles in 46 minutes and 9 seconds, for a total average pace of 11:31.  I didn’t stop to walk even once.  Then on Monday she and I scoped out the trail for the five-mile race coming up in a week and a half.  It was a run-walk rather than a full run, and our pace was considerably slower.  But I’m so proud of starting up and keeping with it.  My January total for miles run was 32.  I imagine February’s total may be a bit higher.

What I’m Looking Forward to in February:

Some sort of weight loss.  I’ve held steady at my current weight despite the increase in exercise, and hope to see some sort of results from all my efforts soon.  I’d love to be down five pounds by the end of the month.  This will hopefully be aided by the help of my new FitBit, which I ordered yesterday and should arrive tomorrow.  I’ve already been using RunKeeper and My FitnessPal and this device will sync with both of those applications/websites and help me to keep track of how much I’m moving along with how much I’m eating.  I’m interested to see how well they all integrate and work together.

What were YOU into last month?

As Brenna pulled on her backpack to head out the door I presented him with a pair of shoes.  “I don’t want to wear shoes,” he told me.  “I’ll wear socks.”

He didn’t have time to go get socks, I explained; we needed to leave then.  He could wear the shoes sans socks.

“I’ll go barefoot,” he said resolutely.  He’d have to walk by himself, I warned.  I wouldn’t carry him on the fifty feet of cold sidewalk and driveway between front door and car.  Did he understand that?

He said Yes ma’am, he did and out the door into the 35-degree, end-of-January Colorado morning he walked, wearing Batman jammies, a warm jacket, and nothing on his feet.

He cried, of course.  It was cold.  Carry me, he pleaded.  I stood resolute, offering that perhaps more haste and fewer tears would get him out of this predicament more efficiently.

The journey back into the house, after, was much the same, with the added complaint of an imaginary bleeding thumb.  Again I did not relent, despite his howls that carried through the neighborhood and down the cul de sac. When he came in the door he pulled a small thorny weed from the bottom of his left foot.

Did he understand why it’s important to wear shoes when we leave the house? I asked.  He nodded.  Did he understand that when I said it’s time to get ready to leave I didn’t mean he could begin the process when we’re supposed to be heading out the door, but when I give the notice?  He nodded, though I wasn’t – and still am not – convinced that particular lesson has sunk in.

Call me mean, if you will.  I call it parenting through natural consequences.  I assessed the situation: no snow or ice on the path he’d be walking; the ground was cold but not freezing; he would not suffer from hypothermia or frostbite during the fifty-foot trek from warm house to warm car.

But he would learn a valuable lesson that had not previously sunk in despite our many repetitious warnings: It’s too cold to go outside without shoes and then our assistance to him in putting them on.  He’s four-and-a-half, and has been donning his own shoes without assistance for three-quarters of his life.  If learning through the experience of having cold feet is how this particular lesson needed to be learned, then I was going to provide him with the opportunity.

I’m a believer in allowing my children to fail.  I believe in letting them try something new, and discovering that it’s not a good choice, after all.  I believe that the best way to learn is through trial and error, and so I have no  intention of protecting them from themselves when I see that their failure in a situation will provide them with the chance to learn and grow, so that in the future they look back and remember I tried this once and it wasn’t a good idea rather than My mom said it didn’t work, so I’m going to trust that she knows everything.

They shouldn’t trust me blindly.  I don’t know everything, and though I have a lifetime of experience that they do not yet possess, I don’t know everything.  No one does.  I’m fallible; I make mistakes.  I will continue to do so throughout the rest of my life, though my hope is the more mistakes I make the more I learn not to repeat them again, so that only new mistakes are to be made as I encounter them freshly.

Not protecting my children from themselves in every situation is my gift to them.  I hope they choose to see it that way, rather than fearing that I haven’t done enough.  I hope others looking in on the situation do the same, though I care less about how others view my parenting than I do about believing that I’m doing the right thing for my children in the long run, if not short term.

His feet were cold this morning.  He put on his socks and shoes of his own accord when we left the house again an hour later.  Lesson: learned.

I didn’t give in entirely though.  Rather than making a shepherd’s pie for dinner that night I threw together a “Chinese inspired” New Year’s feast at home, with vegetable fried rice, wonton soup, and these sesame noodles.  (And also avocado-cucumber rolls, which are Japanese but which make my heart happy when seeing my children eat this decidedly non-American food.)

I am not Asian, nor am I a chef. In fact, this is the most recent cuisine that I have attempted to make at home, mostly because my earliest attempts did not go over well with my newlywed husband.  So when I say this feast was “Asian inspired” it means it really didn’t taste anything like take-out.  But it was tasty, and certainly MUCH healthier than what I’d have paid three times as much for at any one of the local Chinese restaurants.  Faster too, even.

Wearing red for good luck

These noodles were a hit.  The original recipe calls for using a spicy chili oil but I knew that wouldn’t go over well with The Critters.  Instead I bought a sweet chili sauce, which lent the dish the heat it needed without overpowering my children’s delicate palates.  Overall they were a great addition to this meal, and one that I know I’ll be making the next time we’re craving Chinese.

Give them a try.

And enjoy.

Sesame Noodles

adapted from this recipe

click here for printable recipe

INGREDIENTS
12 ounces thin spaghetti, cooked to just under al dente and drained
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp honey
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp pure sesame oil
1/2 tsp sweet chili sauce
3 Tbsp olive or canola oil
4 whole green onions, sliced thin
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS