A better me

I am a slacker.

Well, no, not really, I’m constantly busy doing a million different things, but typically those things are for other people.

I am a slacker when it comes to taking care of me.

I think, as moms, wives, shucks, just as WOMEN, we do this a lot to ourselves. We put so many other things in front of doing what we could to be good to ourselves.

My area of weakness? Personal health. Eating well, physical activity, generally taking care of myself physically.

I’m somewhat spoiled, because I’ve always been slender, and always been able to essentially eat what I want without gaining weight. That holds true for the most part now, as well, but what I’m noticing? Softness where I’d rather be firm. Weakness where I once was strong. Getting tired faster, where I was previously able to just keep going.

Part of this ties back to a back injury I had a few years ago. I had been in a really good place physically before that, but when I ruptured a disk, my whole world changed. Now, my core is weak (although better than it was), my upper body strength has faded, and I’m generally feeling pretty wimpy.

I don’t like it. I also have to recognize that it will not correct itself. 3 Musketeers bars and Cherry Cokes to survive a bad day won’t help. *DO NOT BE ALARMED. THIS IS NOT ABOUT TO BECOME A CRAZY FITNESS BLOG.* Why not? Because I’m realistic. Because I’m not a crazy fitness person. Because I’m a person who has days where a 3 Musketeers and a Cherry Coke may be my only lifeline to sanity. I don’t like to work out. I see people running, and I’m one of the ones who think “Only if I am being chased, and am certain that being caught will end up really bad.”  I don’t mind eating healthy, and that’s easier for me in the summer as fresh foods abound, but I love me some potato chips.

I also love being able to keep up with my kids, and going non-stop at the amusement park. I love feeling ok in a pair of shorts. I don’t love looking in the mirror and realizing that I have a muffin top. So, time to fix it. It’s time to work on being a better, healthier me. Not fixated on health, but refocused. Making choices based on what’s right, not what’s easy, and taking some time for me.

Triple Chocolate Cookies

A few years back, I was a contributing writer on another site, and shared this recipe there. I’ve typically pointed folks back there to grab the recipe (and headed there to look for it myself!) however, it appears that the site is now defunct. As such, I have decided to repost it here!

Sometimes, we just need chocolate.

Occasionally, we need it in large quantities.

Allow me to introduce the Triple Chocolate Cookie.

We start out just like any good chocolate chip cookie, by creaming some butter and sugar.

Combine with that an egg and some vanilla. Then mix in your flour, salt, baking soda & powder, and cocoa powder. Finally, the all important baking chips.

Spoon out onto a foil or parchment lined baking sheet,

and bake at 350* for about 12 minutes.

If you make cookies in that miniscule, cute little size that means they are a “recommended serving”, you should get about 30. I think I got 22 in Real Women Cookies. (We started eating before I thought to count them. Sorry!)

The Details

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

½ cup white baking chips

*(I’ve also done these with milk chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, candy-covered chocolates, etc. Mix it up! I’ve not tried them yet, but my son mentioned mint chips, which you could use as well!)

Preheat your oven to 350⁰ F.

Cream the butter and sugars in a large bowl using an electric mixer on high speed. Lower the speed to medium and add the egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, incorporate the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Fold in the chocolate/baking chips.

Form the dough into balls and place approximately 2 inches apart on a foil or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until centers are set. Let rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a wire cooling rack.

Be sure to have ample amounts of milk on hand for these chocolatey faves!

Printable Recipe Page

30 Day Challenge : In the Beginning

So, I almost bailed before I even started.

And then I remembered I posted a whole post about it.

There’s that accountability thing.

As such, I have just shared these things with Julia, as we kick off for real tomorrow, and I’m sharing them with you all as well.

      

Please disregard the chaos that is the front of our refrigerator. We were looking for a better place to take the pic, but frankly, we didn’t have one.

The profile picture was the one that was important to me – that squishy part just above my waistband? THAT is my target as far as working on my overall shape. My core. I’d like to tighten that up a bit, strengthen the core muscles and know that it’s also helping my back. (Because it will!)

Here are the other details:

Weight : 115 lbs

(Height, although not requested, is 5'4")

Biceps : 10.5"

Waist : 29.25"

Hips : 37.5"

Thighs : 19.75" (left) 19.0" (right)

Chest : 31.5"

Pushups : 28 (16 military, next 12 needed knees down)

Situps : 19

(The pushups and situps were what I could do in one minute.)

Ok, Julia. Bring.It.On. My squishy stuff is ready for you!

Are you in!?

You know how sometimes, you’re just feeling blah?

You’re tired, cranky, not eating well, not getting enough exercise or movement into your day. Not drinking enough water, drinking TOO MUCH coffee/tea/soda.

I’m there.

And I’m feeling it. And seeing it!

My skin looks awful, the circles under my eyes are vicious, I’m tired, I spent much of last night bursting into tears over absolutely nothing. My husband and kids are having to tip-toe around me because I’m some sort of physical, mental and emotional wreck.

And I *HATE* it.

Here’s the deal – I’m not overweight, but I am out of shape. My eating habits stink, because I’m that girl that can eat anything and not gain weight, so I do. And then I want to be all surprised that I don’t feel like a million bucks! Duh, Megan! You’re fueling your body with junk, you don’t exercise regularly, you are going to get from it what you put into it.

I was going to the gym for a while a couple of years ago, and it was great. Except for the part where I had to get up at some ridonkulous hour of the morning to go so that I could be home to get everyone up for work/school. That was fine until the busiest part of tax season hit, and I wasn’t leaving work until midnight (or later) and sleep won. Then, I blew a disk in my back and was scared to do anything.

Now? My back is feeling pretty good, I know I need to do this, and so, you all are gonna be my “gym buddies” – holding me accountable for sticking with this over the 30 days.

And maybe even joining me, if you so choose! (You don’t have to share all of it with us if you don’t want to!)

I’m going to join my blogging friend Julia in her 30 Day Challenge, which will be kicking off soon. Sign up with me right over here at her Mom Workout of the Day blog (and give it a follow – she posts quick, easy at home workouts each day to help you feel better, even without doing the challenge!)

So – who’s in!?

Cookies for the Crew!

I made a promise to the Mario Marathon guys last year that I would bake them cookies. I’m behind the schedule that I wanted to be on, but I finished the last bit of decoration just as they were kicking off the event!

Now, I’m semi-local, so at this point, I’m considering a personal delivery of said cookies because otherwise, we have a Sunday in there and that’s a big ugly extra day.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the cookies.

 

 

 

StarGet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EpicFail?

 

 

Wanna donate to Child’s Play via the Mario Marathon? Click that Donate button in my sidebar!

Five Question (Not on) Friday

Ok,

First of all, I don’t know who thought that taking a holiday that’s a holiday in one city that happens to house most of the federal government, placing that holiday just adjacent to a filing deadline, and then observing it in such a way as to make tax season take an extra three days was a good idea..

But they were wrong.

So, I’m still trying to recover, and I decided I wanted to play along with 5QF. Only, it was almost a week ago.

And I don’t care. I’m going to do it anyway.

I haven’t in a while, so to review, Five Question Friday comes from Mama M. and is pretty straight forward – she shares five questions, we share our answers and link up over at her place! Then we all pop around to see what other’s had to say. It’s a great way to discover new blogs, new friends, and have fun!

Today’s Last week’s questions are were:

1. What is your favorite sign of spring?

2. What was your best birthday ever?

3. What is your favorite dessert?

4. What is the best excuse you've ever used to get out of a ticket?

5. Do you wake up before your alarm, with your alarm, or after hitting snooze several times?

 

1. My favorite sign of spring? Easy. The end of tax season. It’s not really allowed to be spring until we’re allowed to come out and play! I know we’re getting close, though, when my tulips and crocuses begin to emerge.

2. Best birthday ever… My 22nd. We had found out just about a month prior that we were expecting, and I had my 1st prenatal appointment. We learned we were having a boy! (Yes. At the first appointment. I talk a little about that adventure here..) We also closed on our first home that day. Just a very positive, life-changing, holy cow I’m a grown-up sort of day.

3. My favorite dessert? I have to pick ONE? Maaaan. I have some serious sweet tooth issues, that’s hard. I love cherry cheesecake. And chocolate, but cherry cheesecake wins. At least today! Or cherry pie… Or, oh heaven help me, turtle cheesecake.

4. Honestly, I don’t guess I’ve ever done that. I have only ever gotten one ticket, and I’ve gotten a few warnings. I certainly thought I was going straight to jail one time, though, and got only a warning, and truth? I have NO idea why I didn’t get a ticket. I was 17 and a punk. My hair was green, my nose was pierced, and I was in Tennessee, driving my step-sister’s car WAY to fast. (Had recently split with a boy, and Alanis Morrissette’s “You Oughta Know” was on. I was on a roll.) So, I get nailed for speeding, and I’m digging for the registration and I can’t find it. I have at least 3 cans of Rave hairspray, a ton of photos, and a Sam’s Club case of tampons falling out of the glove box, but girl didn’t bother to put a registration in there anywhere. Yup. Convinced I was going to jail. Oh yeah – don’t forget my out of state driver’s license. Which, thankfully, had the same last name as that which the car was registered to when he ran the plates. And he just let me off with a VERBAL warning. I may never understand it.

5. I have a real hate-hate relationship with my alarm clock. As in I hate it, and it hates me back. It makes weird noises when I use my phone near it. It randomly decides to not go off on the worst possible mornings. And so, I beat it. Mercilessly. I am the master of the snooze button. I dislike mornings rather intensely, so waking up is about a 45 minute procedure for me.

Ok! That’s it. Stopping there so I can go try to catch up some more on blogs that I’ve been missing these last 4 months!

Through the Looking Glass

While other’s write their Year in Review posts, I’m thinking I’m not so crazy about looking back.

Instead, I’m looking forward.

I’m looking forward to spending more time with the people I love, and being glad they are with me.

I’m looking forward to reading more, relaxing more, enjoying more.

I’m looking forward to summer vacations, swimming pools, trampolines, swing sets, and bike rides.

I’m looking forward to enjoying life with my children and my husband.

I want to live more, love more, learn more. I want to create beautiful things. I want to paint the walls, replace the carpet, plant a garden.

I want to be ok with who I am, and raise my kids to be ok  with who they are, while pushing them to be the best “them” they can be.

I want to lay in the grass, in the sunshine, and smile.

I want to catch fireflies. I want to cook something new. I want to spend a day on the lake. I want to go fishing, and tubing, and lounge on a float.

I want to camp, and hike, and drink wine by a fire.

To teach, to encourage, to lift up.

To bow down, to kneel, to surrender.

To live.

Like Dessert

The kids have headed off to bed, the fire is crackling in the fireplace. Dishes are washed up, leftovers tucked into the fridge for snacking on tomorrow.

I’m exhausted, but it’s a good exhausted. The one where you know you’ve run 100 miles an  hour all day long, but every bit of it’s been joyful.

Sadly, for the second year in a row, my dad wasn’t able to be here. The saddest part of all is the reason he couldn’t come. A tragic auto accident has left one person dead, two people hospitalized, and my father is helping pull other family members together from across the country. I’m so proud and touched that he’s there for these people in their time of need, but sad that he couldn’t be here for Christmas with his grandchildren. Please, please, remember to buckle your seatbelts – it could have made all the difference in the world to that family.

Illness kept other familiar faces from our holiday celebration as well, so my dinner for up to 25 only had to serve 14. (LOTS of leftovers! Did I say “tucked” earlier? I meant wedged. Maybe jammed. It’s kind of puzzle-like.) All the traditional goodies- turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, some green bean casserole. Add to that a pork roast, some chicken & noodles, rolls, and a pile of desserts destined to destroy even the most diligent weight watcher, and it doesn’t get any better.

A few quiet hours with my husband tonight, after a great day of teamwork. In the kitchen, with the gifts, with clean up, just a great partnership today. Just a good, good day.

I love good, good days.

MY KIDS ATE EGGPLANT!

I am seriously jumping up and down. If you follow me on twitter, you have seen the series of tweets where, be still my heart, my oldest, my picky eater, my refuses to put anything that isn’t slathered in marinara sauce and cheese in his mouth ate TWO of these.

I thought I would die.

It was amazing. I was validated. Dear heavens, the children ate, and enjoyed, eggplant.

Ok, some background. We are part of a CSA – Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, in early spring, we signed up and wrote a check, and for 25 weeks, we are getting a portion of the crops from the farms that participate. Ours is very affordable (about $15/week) and we’re getting local organic produce that was harvested a day or so before I get it. If you have access to one, I highly recommend them. (Check the local farmer’s market!)

Ok, so we had eggplants from our CSA. I like eggplant. Most of my crew, husband included, not so much. I don’t know that I like eggplant enough to eat four of them before they go bad. So, I was on the hunt to find something I could do with them that everyone might like.

Here’s what I found. (As with other recipes, I’ve linked to a printable recipe at the end of this post, but I’ll just tell you, it’s “general guidelines” more than it is a recipe. This one can easily be altered to meet your needs and tastes without harm!)

I peeled and cubed 4 medium eggplants. Eggplant discolors quickly once peeled, but that is not an issue, so don’t be afraid of it!

Throw those cubes into a bowl and then into the microwave – cook on high 2-3 minutes, stir, and cook another 2-3 minutes until the cubes are super-tender.

While those cook, I threw some garlic and basil into my food processor. I meant to throw in some onion, but I forgot. You should do that. If you don’t have a food processor, I’m sorry you want to fine chop each of these ingredients.

You’re also going to need some bread or cracker crumbs to act as a binder. Personally, I used herbed stuffing mix that I crushed.

Now, mash the eggplant to a paste, mix in the garlic, onion and basil, and let sit a few minutes to cool slightly. Then add some grated cheddar cheese, a couple of eggs and mix well. Add the bread crumbs until the mixture forms a dough-like ball.

Shape mixture into patties and fry over medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes per side until browned.  Serve piping hot!

My kids ate theirs with some marinara for dipping. I ate mine plain. Delish!

Printable Recipe Card

Zucchini Bread

So I had a pretty blah sorta day the other day. Then, I sang a little song…

Nothing like a little Phil Collins to bring things back into focus. :)

Well, and food!

So, I made zucchini bread. Only I looked at my recipe, stolen borrowed from my mother, and saw “1 cup of oil” and thought "That’s kind of a lot of oil. Yuck.”

(The fabulous old recipe card I stole borrowed from my mom.)

Now, I’ve made this bread dozens of times, and never once have I encountered that thought. Not sure why I did this time. But I figured it was as good a time as any to try the applesauce replacement method.

As has become my custom, at the bottom of this post is a proper, printable recipe, so I won’t bore you with the details, but here’s the rundown.

I use my food processor to shred my zucchini – I have a fabulous grating blade that means it takes about 30 seconds to get 2 cups of zucchini, and no finger grating.

This is a dense, cake-like batter bread, and along those line, you want to use a couple of mixing bowls – one for dry, one for wet. Flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda are mixed together in the larger of the bowls. In the second bowl, combine eggs, applesauce and vanilla, then pour into the mixed dry ingredients. Mix until well moistened, then fold in zucchini.

 

Once blended, pour out into loaf pans. I did one large loaf and three mini-loaves. Bake at 350 until the sides just pull away from the pan and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and allow to cool. Well, if you can. I usually let it rest 15 minutes or so, and then cut off a hunk, slather it with butter and eat it warm.

To store it, once it cools, wrap the loaves tightly with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature.

I love the mini loaves as gifts – these went to work with my husband to share at work. The big loaf? That was mine. Except the kids keep eating it. Turkeys.

Printable recipe card here!

Enjoy!

Sadly Magical?

So, we’re kidless.
It’s a little strange, we don’t usually go a week without any kids, but every once in a while, it happens.
They were whisked off to Tennessee on Saturday where they have enjoyed days by the pool, hanging out with their Mamall (Mamaw, as spelled by a young child. E wrote it that way once, and it has stuck. We love it.), Papaw and Uncle J. There’s been some shopping (so far, that girl child of mine has scored at LEAST 3 new pairs of shoes), a little video game playing, movie nights, and chocolate chip pancakes with whupped cream every morning.
As much fun as that’s been, Wednesday begins a whole new adventure for them, as they head out for Orlando and the magic that is held there for children.
Part of me is a little sad that they are going to get to experience that without me there. The sparkle in their eyes as they explore the parks, the silly laughter and smiling faces. The Disney parks, and so much more, truly are magical when you’re a child, and my mothering heart wants to get to share those moments with them.
A whole different part of me is proud. Of them, of me, of my Dad. Of them, because I know that they are going to have a fabulous time, and they will probably behave better than they have ever behaved in their lives. Of me, because I am able to let them have this experience without hovering over them, because I can share these moments of magic with others who love my children as much as I do, and want a small piece of that joy as well. Of my Dad, because, well, he is taking 3 young children plus his wife on this grand adventure. I don’t say that to be mean in any way, I just can’t help but giggle at my stepmother, who has been as giddy, if not more so, than my children about this adventure!
I’m sure there will be a million pictures, I can’t wait to see them, and share them with you all.  In the meantime, I’m enjoying the peace and quiet in the house, and some great quality time with my husband. We spent time with friends, new and old, on Saturday. I spent Sunday relaxing, Monday was work and then hanging out at home, Tuesday was work then date night at the fair. I love me some fair food. Shared this image on twitter while we were there:

Love me some funnel cake. I should weigh something like 600 pounds. This was dessert, though – for me, it was the finishing touch to a grilled tenderloin and fresh lemonade. For hubs, it was preceded by some pulled pork barbeque and a lemonade. Yum on all fronts. Because, and yep, I’m going to say it again, I LOVE me some fair food.
So, I’m going to take my fair-food bloated self on off to bed, and I’ll keep you all posted on the adventures of J, E & M (and the survival of Papaw and Mamall!)

Blueberry Muffins

Over the weekend, a customer where my husband works brought in fresh blueberries.

Ahhh, the joys of fresh blueberries! As we stood over our container, snacking away, we pondered what to do with them – another jam? Pie? Nope. There is little in life that is more classic than the Blueberry Muffin.

Sunday morning, before church, I whipped up a dozen muffins from scratch. I’m usually a muffin box mix kind of gal. They’re fast and easy, and taste good.

I’m not sure I can do that anymore. Because these? They were fast, and easy, and tasted even better.

I’m going to take a quick second to mention that I again used self-rising flour. Mostly because we have it. We have it because my husband uses it to make pizza dough. It’s easy, and basically just includes a leavening agent. If you don’t have self-rising flour, don’t let that stop you! There are lots of online resources to guide you in replacing my self-rising with all-purpose flour.

You’ll need 2 mixing bowls, a lightly greased or lined muffin pan, and 6 ingredients – self-rising flour, sugar, milk, vegetable oil, eggs and of course, blueberries!

Dry ingredients go into one bowl – 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of sugar. Wet goes into the second bowl – 1 cup of milk, 1/4 cup oil, and two eggs. Add the wet to the dry.

Mix until moistened, then fold in 1 cup of blueberries. Spoon batter into muffin cups.

Bake at 400 F for 16- 20 minutes – I spun my pan at about 12 minutes in to help ensure even cooking. When  they’re a light golden, pull ‘em out, let them rest in the pan for a few more minutes, then serve warm and buttered!

Full printable recipe here!

See- really just as easy as those box mixes, and so much tastier. 

Enjoy!

Bunnies in Chicago

I spent a fair amount of this past week in Chicago. I was there for work, attending the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum, but we managed to sneak a little enjoyment into our week.

For as close as I am to Chicago, I rarely go, and it’s usually for work, so exploration is limited. This time, we spent an evening checking out an area we’d not wandered before.

We didn’t get to see lots, but we did wander about a bit. I was surprised at how many rabbits I saw! They were bold little buggers.

I got the chance to see a beautiful building – which only made me wish I’d wandered more and taken more pictures!

Sadly, the sun was setting on our evening, so that wasn’t really possible.

 

 

 

 

 

We had a lovely time, though! And we ate at one of the most amazing pizza places EVER. They’ve even got a really cool history. If you’re ever in the area, check out Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder. (Quick note- they are cash only, so hit the ATM first!)

I’m no Suzy Homemaker

There are tons of things around the house that I hate to do.

However, there are lots I love to do.

I love to mow the grass. (We have a rider, so it’s not like it’s real work.) I love to cook. (I hate the cleanup.) I don’t mind doing laundry. (Folding and putting away is another story.)

Today I took domesticity to a new level. After a Saturday afternoon with my family picking blackberries from the tangled, prickly mess along our roadside, we ended up with about 2 quarts of berries. Plump, ripe, juicy. Deep purple in color.

With our fingers (and mouths) stained, we took our bounty home, and I began rummaging through an assortment of recipes, trying to decide what to do with this bucket of fruit.

I finally landed on cobbler and jam – cobbler I’ve done before, but jam? That was a whole new adventure. And I didn’t have any pectin. Would it work? Or would I have sweet berry juice in a jar? A little internet research said I should be able to pull it off, so I went for it.

First I whipped up the cobbler. I used a 2.8 liter Corningware casserole dish, and while I macerated a quart and a half of berries in 3/4 cup of sugar, I melted 6 tbsp of butter in the bottom of the casserole dish. The fruit and sugar was poured over the butter, and then I mixed up the topping.

I used a self-rising flour – if you only have all purpose on hand, you’ll need to add baking powder and salt to your batter. (Appropriate conversions are included in the “formal” recipe for convenience!) I needed a cup and a half of flour, and 3/4 cup of sugar, along with about a half tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg. To my dry ingredients I added a cup and a half of milk, and whisked until smooth. This was poured out over top the berries.

I popped the whole thing into a 350 degree oven for about an hour (I covered it with foil for the last 15 minutes or so, as the top was brown but there were a few areas that were still pretty doughy. Start checking it at about 45 minutes!) 

Ok: Here are the specifics!

6 cups whole blackberries, rinsed (1 and ½ quarts)

6 tablespoons butter (3/4 of a stick)

1 and ½ cups sugar

1 and ½ cups self-rising flour

To substitute all-purpose flour, use 1 and ½ cups all purpose flour, 2 and ¼ teaspoons baking powder, and ¾ teaspoon salt

1 and ½ cups milk

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350◦. Melt butter in large baking dish. Mix berries with ¾ cup of sugar, pour over melted butter.

Combine flour, remaining sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add milk, whisk until smooth. Pour batter over berries. Bake 45 minutes until golden brown and batter is cooked. (May increase cook time by up to 15 additional minutes. To prevent over-browning, cover with foil.)

Served above with vanilla ice cream.

A printable version of my recipe is available here!

Ok, the jam is equally fabulous, but I think it’s going to have to be a separate post. Those kids are mumbling things about dinner, and this is getting REALLY long. Stick with me, I promise to have that recipe up soon!