Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Coconut Pound Cake

I tried another Paleo recipe.  This one is not from Paleo Comfort Foods.  I actually found it on Pinterest (pinned here) and thought it sounded easy and yummy.  I saw the word cake though and got a certain texture in my head.  This was def more like bread and not the traditional pound cake I was used to.  But it tastes very yummy. I had a slice this morning for breakfast with some strawberries and blueberries on top - I felt like I was having dessert for breakfast!! 

{Coconut Pound Cake}

I varied the recipe slightly because I didn't have cocnut extract - I used butter and almond extract.  Everything else I did as the recipe called for.  Oh but I did add a LOT of cinnamon to the top.  I love how cinnamon tastes when it's all crunchy like on top of bread. 

Monday, February 27, 2012

2012 SONC Polar Plunge

This past Saturday was my third jump into freezing cold water for Special Olympics.  I must say this year seemed to have been the coldest of all.  Although the water temperature itself (43 degrees) was warmer than last year, so I'm not really sure how that works.  It was super cold and VERY windy on Saturday.  The sun was warm but as soon as the wind blew that warmth was gone.  Let's just say this year was FRIGID!  The HPPD group went as 'That 70's Squad' - some costumes were better than others (mine was one of the not.so.great).  Here's a few pics!  (no I didn't jump in my fluffy boots - I just wore those to get there and keep my feetsies warm while we waited.  I wore some jelly sandals into the water.  The same ones that I wore last year.  And the same ones I need to remember NOT to wear next year - NO traction on the bottom of the pool which hindered me getting out of the water as fast as I could!!)

{That 70's Squad}

{3-2-1 JUMP!}

{oh.my.goodness.  it's FREEZING in here}

{gotta get out, gotta get out, gotta get out}

{i see the exit, i think, FINALLY!}

{Buggy braving the cold to support Mommy -  she still even this morning has been talking about 'Mommyu jumping in the cold water.'  :O)}

Oh yea, and it's Monday. ICK! but only 3-1/2 more work days for ME!!!
 

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Paleo Comfort Foods - Fourth Recipe Try

Last night I made some 'fried' chicken.  Paleo style.  It was oh-so-yummy.  Pretty easy too.  I used a combo of chicken breasts and a few wings we had left over from last week's recipe try.  Both were very good.  There is a lot of seasoning that goes along with the almond meal and then you 'fry' them using coconut oil so there are lots of flavor combinations! 

{Paleo 'fried' chicken}

I also tried another recipe that I had found on Pinterest for German Chocolate Fudge.  Which really isn't fudge at all and uses very little chocolate - and NO sugar or flour!  Very good.  Kinda odd the way it all comes together, but really good.  It uses dates, cocoa, vanilla extract and some pecans.  (The recipe also calls for coconut but I left that out since I think it tastes like paper).  You just blend it all up in a food processor and then form it into balls.  I think it'd be really good to use as a crust for something - I'm just not really sure what!  The only bad thing is it really didn't make a whole lot - or maybe I just made my balls too big.  Hehehe.  Ok yea but this recipe doesn't yield a lot.  Next time maybe I'll double it. 

{German Chocolate 'Fudge' - approved by all family members} 

It's Thursday.  Almost Friday.  And I have only 6 more working days until the cruise!  yahoooooooooooooo! 

Locals - don't forget this Saturday is the North Carolina Special Olympics Polar Plunge at Wet N' Wild Emerald Pointe!  Please come out and show your support.  I'll be there freezin' for a reason!  Check out some pictures from last year's jump!  Hope to see you there! :O)




Tuesday, February 21, 2012

One Less Member at the 'Zoo'

Ok so I think I’m ok now to talk about the icky thing I had to do this past weekend.   This is hard for me to write so I hope I make sense as I do write it.  As many of you already know I have had 3 dogs and various other pets at what I call my ‘zoo.’  My zoo now has one less member.  Here's the story: 

Apollo and Gixxer (the boys) have gotten into numerous fights – three of them were all out brawls that resulted in MANY trips to the vet and emergency vet (and one trip to the ER for Shawn) and thousands of dollars spent.  These fights first started about a year and a half ago or so.  That was the occurance of the first really bad one.  We have deduced (is that a word?) that Apollo was the one who ‘started’ it and Gixxer reacted in self defense and because Gix is the stronger of the two, Apollo just didn’t fare well.  That little guy (Apollo) has been near death twice.  In fact, the second fight resulted in a wound so large on his chest we could see all his innards and what not.  I have a picture but I will spare you those details.  Our regular vet – who saw him every other day for about two weeks after the fight – said it was amazing he was still alive.

 After this fight we knew we had to do SOMETHING about this.   But of course we were big talk and no action.  Well not NO action.  I did call several rescue groups, spoke with the animal control officer at the PD and also asked many, many people for some help. Then we got really lax about keeping them apart and a few days before Christmas they had another fight while Shawn was home alone.   So again I made calls with no results.  We got VERY diligent with keeping the boys apart but it caused lots of stress within the house.  Our plan was to build some dog houses and separate fenced areas in the backyard for some relief.  We just needed to save up the money to do that.  In the meantime we were stressed.

Randomly through a picture post on Facebook and some text messages, I found out that our friends for many years, Heather and Dwayne, who live in Ohio, were willing to adopt one of the boys!  Yay!  Excellent news.  The hard part was which boy to adopt to them.  I knew Apollo was already somewhat of a loner and would really enjoy being stress free and away from Gixxer – it had gotten to the point where he would hide under the kitchen table if GIxxer was anywhere around.  Gixxer and Addison are pretty much ‘butt buddies’ and I worried that Gixxer wouldn’t do well on his own away from Addison.  And because Apollo had had such a rough life for such a long time I felt that he deserved to be in a single dog family for more attention and love. 

They came down this past weekend to get Apollo.  I knew it was coming and was sad and depressed for the week and a half leading up to it.  One night I even cried my eyes out while cuddling with him.  But Saturday night before they left I completely lost it.  I didn’t know how hard it would really hit me.  I was losing a member of my family.  A member who had been there since before Bug.  Bug doesn’t know a life without Apollo.  And Apollo was SO good with her.  He let her ride him like a horse, pull on his tail, brush his hair and dress him up!  A family member who I’d had such great memories with.  All kinds of crazy fun memories.  He’s been a part of the family since 2007 when we handpicked him from Save Them All Animal Rescue (STAAR). 

On Sunday after they left I just kind of sat most of the day in a daze.  Something was missing.  And still is.  And always will be.  I know it will get easier with time but a piece of me went with my Apollo Man.  I know he is better off I just can’t help feeling a little bit like I have abandoned him.  I know that is not the case and in reality I have given him a better life in which he will be so much happier!  I just need to remember that and not let the sad feelings over come me anymore.   

Buggy is doing ok with the change too.  Although, she likes to give Addison and Apollo ice cubes when she fills her cup with them (Gixxer doesn’t like them) and Sunday when she filled her cup she gave one to Addie and then started looking for Apollo.  This of course made me cry.  Then when putting them into their cages when we left the house she counted out 3 biscuits and we had to tell her again that Apollo was gone and living with a new family.  I’ve been trying to explain to her that he is living with a new family so he can be happier and she seems to understand and hasn’t been upset about it.  I’m doing all the ‘upset’ for everyone!!

Even though he doesn’t live with us anymore he’s always a part of our family and he’ll always have a special place in my heart!!

{here's Apollo with Heather & Dwayne at our house Saturday}

{this is Apollo Sunday night at his new home in Ohio - just down the street from my mom! so when I go home I can visit him very easily!}

Paleo Comfort Foods - Third Recipe Try

Yesterday I was having a HUGE craving for some bread.  I'm not sure why but all I wanted all day was bread.  I've been really trying to limit my intake of gluten.  Over the weekend I had some - not a TON but def more than my body was used to after Whole30 - and it wrecked my tummy.  So yesterday my tummy was all icky and gurgly and I was craving more bread.  I was trying to just get over those cravings but then I remembered there was a recipe for 'bread' in the Paleo Comfort Foods book so I tried it.  It was realy easy to throw together and only took a little while to bake.  The recipe calls for almond flour and I only had almond meal so I used that.  I also didn't have any honey which the recipe called for so I left that out.  I did put some cinnamon in the batter itself and I did a small mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon for the top.  I only used a very small amount of  brown sugar just to give it a little sweetness but accidentally poured a TON of cinnamon on it!  Luckily I am a cinnamon fan.  It turned out really good and the wole family enjoyed it.  I want to try the recipe again only actually follow the recipe and use it for a side along with dinner.  I wasn't sure if almond meal would 'rise' like regular bread and I wasn't sure what to look for.  But the recipe said 45 minutes and that is what I did and it came out perfect.  Just a little 'rising' though, not what I'm used to!  This recipe definetly satisfied my bread craving!

{basic bread loaf - with minor alterations}

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Paleo Comfort Foods - Second Recipe Try

Last night I tried another recipe from my new Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook - spicy chicken wings.  They turned out REALLY good and were really easy to make.  I didn't hav cayenne pepper at the house so I had to leave that out of the recipe so they weren't quite as spicy as what the recipe called for.  But they had really good flavor and even Buggy ate them up - after we pulled the meat off the b one of course!!  I'd say recipe success!!

{spicy chicken wings} 

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

I like it, I like it not!

In the new house I have a great, big garden tub in the master bathroom.  The tub I hate.  Loath.  Despise.  It does NOT stay clean and I have to clean it out before every bath.  Even if only a day goes by.  It's lilke one big dust and dirt collector.  Grosses me out and makes me mad.  But I do enjoy a nice soak in the thing AFTER it's been scrubbed.

Ok so now on to the reason for my post.  Above the large dust and dirt collector tub, is a big oddly sized window.  The previous owners had left some cheap-o mini blinds hung there and that was all.  I left them up for a while but they just kept irritating me so I had to take them down a few weeks ago.  They were really gross and really hard to get to for cleaning.  So for a few weeks it was just a large, open window.  Now this bathroom is on the second floor and it's not like you could really see in or anything but something about a large, uncovered, blahdy blah window just isn't fun.  I have a box full of curtains and curtain rods from the old house just sitting in the garage.  So I figured I would just use something from that to cover this window.  Once I chose something (the bathroom will eventually be painted and the colors will be dark brown and light blue) and hung it up.  Because the curtain is for a normal sized window it looks a bit weird acorss the top.  I'm ok with the knot - I mean it will due rather than spending money on something new.  But I feel like the top looks over worked or something.  R-e-a-l-l-y stretched.  Either way it will do for now.  But check it out, lemme know what you think!  PLEASE BE  HONEST!! :O)

{before}

{after}

Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

My Funny Little Valentine

I like to take any excuse to spoil my little Buggy and V-Day is one of those excuses.  I found an adorable little owl bag in the Target $1 spot and filled it with some goodies.  This morning when I woke her up I gave it to her and it made her day!  She had to have her owl the rest of the morning.  Oh and she MAY have eaten the little box of Hershey Kisses that I put in it for breakfast.  OK, so yea she did.  Luckily there were only like 5 kisses in there and it made her morning so how could I deny her! :O) 

Miss Laura sent her an adorable outfit for Valentine's Day and she was super excited to wear it this morning.  She was posing like crazy!

{showing off her owl bag & just waking up}

{little miss model}

{she wanted to pose on her pink stool!}

{at school}

She's also started saying 'I can't want to' if we ask her to do something and she doesn't want to.  It thouroughly cracks me up.  I'm working on teaching her to day 'don't' instead of 'can't' in that particular sentence but until she gets it I will continue to chuckle every time she says it!

Happy Valentine's Day!  Hope you get a little nibble from Cupid! :O)

Monday, February 13, 2012

Paleo Comfort Foods - First Recipe Try, A Buggy Playdate & a Mommy Day

I finally got my copy of Paleo Comfort Foods in the mail last week.  I took some time to look through it and picked out a few things I wanted to try right away.  My first attempt came out really well.  I made some Coconut Flour Tortillas.  Although they were a bit time consuming for my first go-around (I learned how to make it quicker for next time) they were really good and well worth the effort.  I really enjoy tacos and especially flour tortillas so that is one of the things have really missed.  These are the perfect replacement.  They taste more egg-y than regular tortillas but all in all they will do when I'm craving something floury and tortilla-y! :O)

{Cocount Flour Tortillas}

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with my friend Deondra doing some last minute shopping for our upcoming cruise (19 days!!).  We had a great time, shopping, eating, enjoying a Sangria with lunch, and hitting up the outlets in Mebane.  While we were out having some Mommy time (much needed by the both of us!) Shawn was home with Emma and Sophia while they had a best friends play date.  This was the first time Sophia has been at our house to play becuase she is was very afraid of dogs.  She made strides yesterday.  We only let Apollo upstairs and had the other two in the man room so she wasn't too overwhelmed but by the end of the day she was hugging on and kissing Apollo!  Yay Sophie!!  Here are a few pics Shawn snapped of the girls during thier day.  So cute.  And yea we probably owe Shawn BIG TIME for taking on 2 little girls all by himself while we went out and about. 

{tea time, yes Buggy is a bit of a ham!}

{movie time - Shawn said this only lasted about 5 minutes}

{more tea time}

{snuggle time in the chair}

In other Bug news - we now have a sleeper-in-her-own-bedder!!!  I'm so proud of her.  Last Monday night was her first night sleeping in her own room and own bed since her nightmare many, many months ago.  We had a few rough nights but now she is doing really well and in the mornings doesn't want to get out of her bed or her bedroom.  I think it helped that we made such a big deal about her 'big girl room and new big girl paint.'  She is also washing her face, combing her hair, and brushing her teeth on her own.  She needs a little help but she always likes to try to do them herself first.  AND yesterday while Sophie was at the house (she is fully potty trained and goes to the bathroom on her own) Bug also wanted to go potty like a big girl and once out of the numerous times she tried SHE WENT IN THE POTTY!!!  :O)  Yay Buggy!! 

Boo for Mondays.  I also have some other things 'weighing' me down, aside from it being Monday, and making me a little sad right now.  I will post about that soon. 

Friday, February 10, 2012

The Days After Whole30

The past 4 days since my last day of Whole30 I have slowly eaten things that are non-Paleo.  Not a TON, but def some.  Pizza, creamer in my coffee, hot tamales, 2 pieces of naan with hummus, a piece of cake and a brownie.  It's beyond amazing to me how that little amount of non-Paleo food has made me feel like total crap. And my belly feels puffy again.  Enough so that I absolutely hate that I even had that little amount of stuff.  I really feel that it is the gluten more so than anything else.  I feel grossly bloated and just plain disqusting.  So today I am back following a lot more strict.  I finally got the Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook in the mail and I'm looking forward to sitting down and planning out meals for next week.  I know that when I have things planned out and something to look forward to I do much better.

But really, really amazing to me how little amount and how quick those things made me feel bad.  It's not even worth it.  Not even a little bit!

On a more positive note - I made a new salad dressing last night to go with my favorite salad of spinach, pecans, apples and sometimes baby tomatos.  Very few ingredients and it's YUMMY.  So yummy that I was craving it all morning knowing it was on my menu for lunch.  That's the thing about the Whole30 I love the most - it's really broken me out of my fear of cooking shell.  I'm a lot more willing to try new things as well as cook new things!  Since I got that cookbook I'll try to start posting about all the recipes I try from the book to let you know if they are worth it or not.  I'm very anxious to make some Paleo mayo too.  I've been a little scared to try but I'm throwing caution to the wind and just gonna do it!

Oh and I have 21 days until our cruise where I will have to wear a bathing suit.  Operation slim the belly start IMMEDIATELY!

Happy Friday Y'all!! 

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Time For Some Music

It's been a while since I've posted what I'm listening to.  So here goes.  Yup a random mix of everything.  That's how I like it.  There are quite a few this time.  Enjoy!

{Lady Antebellum - Dancing Away With My Heart}

{Pistol Annie's - Hell on Heels}

{Adele - Set Fire to the Rain}

{Kelly Clarkson - Mr. Know It All}

{David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj - Turn Me On}


{International Love - Pitbull ft. Chris Brown}


{I don't Want This Night To End - Luke Bryan}

{Drink In My Hand - Eric Church}

{Let It Rain - David Nail}

And what Buggy is listening to! :O)

{Elmo and I Know It - Ridiculously Cute}

Happy Hump Day!  2 days until Friday!

Whole30 Wrap Up

Yesterday was the first day off of Whole30. The only thing I did that is totally non-Paleo is I had a quarters worth of Hot Tamales from the machine at work.  Silly hot tamales just suck me in.  Everything else I stuck to Paleo.  I had some vanilla almond milk in my coffee.  It’s not great.  Kinda left a weird after taste.  I may have to go back to regular flavored creamer.  Since I never use a lot of it I hope it won’t mess with my system too badly.  Last night I had my first bite of the Coconut Almond Bark.  Yes it’s heavenly.  I love the combo of the sweet chocolate and the salt on top.  I’m pretty sure I could eat a whole batch at once.  I didn’t, and I won’t, but I certainly could.  I also made some chocolate covered bananas.  I found the idea (although not rocket science) on Pinterest, but they add peanut butter to the melted chocolate.  I left that part out.  Those things are darn good, yes I may have had one this morning with my eggs and almonds.  Just one piece – they taste like ice cream.  You can’t even tell it’s a banana.  I’ll definitely be making more of those.  A good healthy snack that also satisfies the sweet tooth!

Ok so lemme get on with the Whole30 wrap up and go into more details of my personal results.  My starting weight was 132.  Ending weight is 127.  But like I said my goal was not weight loss.  I was hoping for more energy, better sleep, less headaches, clearer skin and a flatter tummy.  Some of these I got. 

More energy = yes.  Not tons but enough that I could feel myself working harder, longer and stronger in my workouts as well as feeling more able to get the things I needed to get done, done. 

Better sleep = no.  At least not better.  I think I got more sleep, more consistent anyways because I didn’t wake up near as much as I usually do, but only about 50% of the time did I wake up in the morning feeling truly rested.  A lot of times I woke up feeling great only to feel not so great by the time I got to work.  (and being at work may be to blame for that, not so much sleep or lack thereof).

Less headaches = yes.  Make that NO headaches!  Aside from the initial sugar withdrawal headache, I haven’t had one since.  Well I have had one.  But I could tell it was an ‘I’m not feeling so good headache’ and not just a headache that shows up simply because it wanted to and decides to take up residence. 

Clearer skin = no.  Not at all.  My skin is still terrible and worse than it’s ever been.  Any suggestions on that I’ll take ‘em!  PLEASE!  I’m willing to try anything.  And I’ve already tried a LOT!

Flatter Tummy = yes.  Although it’s not as flat as I would like, it’s definitely flatter.  I don’t have near as much of the ‘pooch’ that I felt prior to starting.  I think I posted during the challenge that one day I just felt like my stomach had deflated.  That is a good feeling.  So that I for sure want to keep up.  I have a feeling that is the elimination of gluten/grain.  If I do decide to have some of that I will be sure to keep an eye out for the tummy ‘pooch’ and make sure I don’t eat a lot if that is indeed the culprit. 

I think overall I have learned how important it is to look at labels on the foods I put in my (and my family’s) bodies.  There isn’t any need for a lot of the ingredients that are in foods.  As much as I can eliminate those unneeded things I will.  And if I can find healthier alternatives to the things I like, those will most def be permanent changes. 

So, overall this experience was very much worth it.  I have learned a lot about myself and my self-discipline.   It has also allowed me to try many new foods that before I wouldn’t have given a second thought.   Steak, pork, butternut squash and coconut are some of the few.  Another positive from this experience is all the wonderful support, encouragement and help from friends, both old and new, that I have received.  As well as the inquiries from a few people who are interested in trying Paleo for themselves.  I would love to be able to help people on their own journey with Paleo and/or Whole30.  I have really enjoyed sharing what I have learned with people who are interested or intrigued.  And I hope that continues.  I also hope I continue learning more and more.  I’m currently waiting for my copy of Paleo Confort Foods to arrive.  It’s taking a lot longer than I wanted it to.  I want to start using it already! 

Final thought – if you are remotely entertaining the idea of trying Paleo – DO IT.  It’s always worth a try.  If you discover you don’t like it or it’s not for you, that’s fine.  Just stop.  But think of what you may gain from just trying.  And when you do try please let me know how it goes!!      

Monday, February 6, 2012

Room Makeover for Buggy

I finally got some pictures of Bug's room after the new paint is complete.  I still have some things I want to hang on the walls, as well as purchase to finish the room - like some shelves for the walls and a bookcase for books and other nice things.  But for now you can get the idea of what it looks like.  The stripes were definitely labor intensive.   Had they not already been there thanks to the prior owners I don't think I would have attempted them on my own.  I guess altogether the room took about 2 weekends to get all painted.  Not horrible in the grand scheme of things.  And it feels so nice to paint over all the 'leftovers' from the previous owners and make it all Buggy!  Again I took these pics with the panorama app on my phone and it's super hard to get them lined up perfect.  But you get the general idea!


 {before - not bad colors but a little more baby than what i wanted for Bug.  plus if you looked really close there were lots of coloring marks, nicks and cracks in the paint that needed fixed}

Here are 2 of the 'inspiration pieces' that led me to decide owls would be the theme. Not totally owls, some butterflies and dragonflies too, but mostly owls.  I have so many more owl things to get - I just have yet to find what I'm looking for!  

 {personalized owl pillow from the Rye's for Buggy for Christmas - i ADORE it!  Bug does too - she frequently carries it around hugging on it}

 {owl print from Ikea, $10 - yep ridiculously cute & affordable}

Now for the after.  Not completely finished but very much an improvement on the before! I did a little furniture re-arrangement too. Not sure if I'll keep it this way but I do like this better than how I had it before.  (Minus the ugly print fabric on the glider rocker - but I'm working on that!)


 {after}

The only portion of her room that was not even touched was the closet.  And let's not even go there for now.  She's got a great closet - I wish mine was this big! - but it's the same color and the walls used to be and there are TONS of holes in there from a shelf that for some reason was taken down and never replaced.  She likes to go in there and play and I'm thinking of re-hanging the animal net in there more at her height for easy storage and hanging some floating shelves I have from Ikea for toy storage at her level.  But for now it is this.  Thank heavens there is a door that can be closed!!

 {closet - colossal mess.  pretty much all the time.  she plays in here more than she's in her playroom, go figure!}

Bug's room is still a work in progress but my next painting project I'm thinking will be the playroom.  I have a vision with orange and safari animals that I hope I can bring to fruition!



Whole 30 Day 30

LAST DAY!  I made it with only one slip up.  Pretty good I must say, I'm impressed with myself.  I wasn't sure I could do it.  But here I am.  Today I was home with a sick Buggy and didn't have an opportunity to eat much.  Just coffee for breakfast - with the last bit of my coconut milk.  Bun-less turkey burger with mustard and a tomato along with some fruit for lunch - although it was closer to dinner time than lunch.  I did manage to get a Fit & Active strawberry fruit leather in for a snack.  Yum!  For dinner I made some more of the pecan crusted chicken and green beans.  I didn't eat much for dinner since lunch really wasn't that long ago but I made extras to pack for lunch tomorrow.  Which I have lunch for tomorrow all packed - and there is zilch of non-Paleo items.  I do plan on having some of the Coconut Almond Bark I made the other day tomorrow but other than that no junk food for me.  I know for a fact I will make coffee in the morning and use some vanilla almond milk.  The kind with a bit of preservatives (I grabbed some at the store this past weekend).  But I won't use a lot and I could do worse!  So we'll see how that goes.  I plan on posting tomorrow about all I've learned through my Whole30 and some of the changes, both positive and negative that my body endured. 

30 down, 0 to go!!  Yippee yahoooooo, I completed 30 days!!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Music to my Ears


I find comfort in music.  Certain lyrics dance through my head and find a way to make themselves a part of my life.  This song is pretty.  And the message is also pretty darn powerful.  It's slightly religious but not so much that a non-religious person cannot see the message.  When I first listened to it I found myself immediately thinking of love being that of 2 people in a romantic relationship.  But the more I listened to it the more I realized this song speaks of love in general.  All love.  And then I turned to the love of friends, mothers, sisters, brothers, etc. Anyways, take a few minutes to listen and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Owl Phone? Well yes please!

You all know I have an owl obsession.  Not brand new but fairly new.  So much so that I chose it for Bug's new room decor - pics to come once I get some things hung.  I was perusing Instagram today (another obsession I'll admit) and came across this RIDICULOUSLY adorable owl iPhone case.  AND they even make it in my favorite bright green color.  Only bad thing is it's for the iPhone 4, which sadly I do not have.  I hope to soon.  Well, sooner than later.  So in the meantime I will post a pic of the case I want, for the phone I do not have.   Come on, you can't tell me it's not SERIOUSLY cute!! :O)

 {iPhone 4 owl case via Ebay}

Whole30 Day 29

I didn't eat much today at all.  Every time I tried Buggy needed something.  Or took whatever it was I was trying to eat to have for herself.  And since being sick she hasn't eaten much in the last few days, I was just glad she was eating.  I also spent a lot of time finishing up the paint in her room.  I really wanted to get it done this weekend so I kept going in between cuddling and being there for the sick Bug.  She went from being clingy and whiny to happy and cheerful all day.  With no warning of anything - it just happened.  So I had some fruit and also some wings.  I thought the wings would not be Whole30 approved but I ended up doing them plain so they were!  Other than that there is nothing more to report.  Kind of a boring food day. 

Tomorrow is the last day of my Whole30.  But I also feel like it is the beginning of something else too.  Not sure what to call it.  I know I won't be so strict after tomorrow, but I also know I won't be going back to my old habits either.  I'm thinking of maybe making some rules about the "bad" non-Paleo foods.  Something like, only on the weekends, or only when out or for special occasions.  I know for a fact I feel A LOT better since eliminating these foods and although I do enjoy them I feel like feelings better out weighs the liking of the "bad" stuff.  So extreme moderation will be necessary.  I'm just not sure how exactly I'll be doing that yet.  But I'll continue to post and keep everyone updated!   


29 days done, 1 to go!!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Whole30 Day 27 & 28

Yesterday I ate pizza for lunch.  I said I would be brutally honest and I will.  I ate pizza, regular pizza, for lunch.  I ate is out of necessity and the fact that it was free.  I had planned on getting some lunch but when pizza was offered for free I took it out of both hunger and monetary necessity.  I won't even go into detail - because it's all excuses I know no one wants to hear - especially myself.  I'm a little po'd at myself about it anyways.  Ok so.  With that being said I'm moving on.

I won't let one slip up stop me from continuing this journey.  I've learned so much and rather than getting down on myself and letting that cause me to slip back into bad habits, I am moving forward.  Yesterday breakfast was eggs and almonds.  Lunch, well.  Moving on.  Only snacked a little for dinner because I really wasn't hungry.  (I'm sure the bloat and guilt from my slip up both played a factor in that).  

On to today.  Breakfast was the usual.  I'm probably in a rut.  I really want to try and make some primal oatmeal - it's just more expensive to buy all the nuts involved than to get lots of eggs.  So eggs it is for now!  No real lunch because Buggy is sick and clingy and it was easier to sit with her today than to try and do well, anything.  Dinner was another bun-less turkey burger with garlic cauliflower.  Yea those things are so good I wanted them again already! :O)

 {dinner - bun-less turkey burger with mustard & tomato & garlic cauliflower}

I said I did nothing today.  Bug took about a 30 minute snooze which allowed me to have a few minutes ko male some coconut almond bark from the Easy Paleo website - it seriously only took like 5 minutes to make.  This treat is for Tuesday - no cocoa on the Whole30.  So I made them up while I did have some extra minutes and will try them out on Tuesday.  I'll report on the taste verdict then.  I'm hoping they will satisfy my sweet tooth enough after Whole30 to keep me from binging on the not so good sweet stuff.


 {Coconut Almond Bark - looks yummy!}

28 days down, 2 to go!


Thursday, February 2, 2012

Whole30 Day 26

So day 25 was the last day for my partner in Paleo, Anna.  I'm still pushing through - at least until Sunday.  I may let myself eat a little treat since it's the Super Bowl and I know there will be goodies around.  We will see.  I'm so proud of both of us for all we have learned and gone through in this journey.  I have most definitely gained a TON of knowledge on how to eat healthier for both me and my family.  Gotta love that!

No pics today - I was super busy at work and was only really at my desk a total of maybe an hour or so.  Much back and forth again today.  Breakfast was the norm - as if you expected anything different right?!  No time for a mid-morning snack as usual.  Lunch was a left over bun-less turkey burger.  Dang were those things yummy!  I'm ready to make some more very soon.  Not sure why these particular ones were so much tastier - nothing was different, aside from no bun, no cheese and no mayo.  And I liked them even more!  I also had a big bowl of strawberries and pineapple.  What's so funny to me is how sweet fruit tastes to me now.  I used to sprinkle sugar on fruit.  And now it tastes like it has sugar on it on it's own.  Blows my mind.

Not much for dinner.  Mostly just snacking.

On to some Buggy's room news.  I finally changed out the knobs on the dresser in her room.  Amazing what a difference just changing the knobs makes. Don't mind the mess on top - and yes we were already missing a knob - so just having all 8 makes a difference!

     {before}

{after}


26 days down, 4 days to go!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Whole30 Day 25

Very good day overall.  I was pretty busy with lots of up and down from my desk today so I didn't have a lot of time to think about eating and all that which can sometime lead to cravings I'd rather avoid.  Breakfast was the usual with an apple for a mid-morning snack.  Lunch was an avocado with olive oil, salt and pepper and some leftover sweet potato chips from yesterday. 

For dinner I had a turkey 'burger' with no bun of course.  Just a tomato and some mustard.  It was so good.   I hate 1 and a 1/2.  I never eat that much of a burger, I'm usually doing good to finish one!  Luckily there was a little one left over so I'm planning on that for lunch tomorrow.


{dinner - bun-less turkey burger}

A super nice friend gave me a Barnes & Noble gift card for Christmas, so yesterday I ordered "Paleo Comfort Foods."  I'm really excited to get it and try some new recipes.  And for the ketchup recipe in it.  I can't even bring myself to eat ketchup anymore and that won't change after Whole30.  No added sugar condiments will be a staple in this house!  There is no need for it!  I hate to put it on Bug's plate - I hope she likes the Paleo version a lot better.  I also want to try the "bread" recipe in there.  I know soon I will be needing to make another trip to Trader Joe's for more supplies.  And I'm not complaining - that grocery store just makes me happy!  **Keeping fingers crossed that Greensboro gets one VERY soon!**

25 down, 5 to go!!

A Quick Thank you

I need to take a minute and say thank you to my iPhone.  Yes to my phone.  Buggy loves the iPhone.  And the past few mornings she has asked to have it while driving in to school. What I find amazing is that she knows how to find the 'folder' on there with all the 'Emma Apps.'  All kinds of flashcards, games, learning to count, learning the alphabet, learning animals and the sounds they make apps.  I've had these apps since she was born - you know eager parent wanting my kid to be super smart.  But she just recently has been able to use them for their true intent. 

So this morning she was learning animals and the sounds they make.  As I drove I heard her repeating what the voice on the app would say.  Then she would say "Mommy, look a (insert animal name here) it goes (insert animal sounds here).    So although at first I didn't want her messing with the phone and being one of 'those kids' that is always attached to some form of electronic device, I feel better knowing that she is learning in those 25 minute drives into HP.  She won't be allowed to be 'attached' to it, but I can feel good about occupying her in the morning when neither of us want to be awake and therefore are better off with her learning (rather than fussing at me) and me listening to her sweetness (rather than getting frustrated at her fussing!)


       {thanks for looking out iPhone!}