The Saturday Post

Happy Weekend everybody! I am pleased to say no one is sick at the moment in our house. It is so nice to start focusing on other things other than tissues, medicine and getting some sleep.

I received a Dutch oven for Christmas and I have to say I Love that thing. Mine is a 7qt oval cast iron. It is really heavy. I have already used it every week. My new obsession is making soups. I made a broccoli cheese soup a week ago and even Chloe could not get enough of it. I think this might be a way for me to get Chloe to eat more veggies. This weekend I have a butternut squash and Ham recipe I plan to try, and next week I will try a split pea soup recipe. So if you use a Dutch oven and have a great recipe feel free to pass it along to me. I am still new to the one pot cooking and any advice you have would be appreciated. I did try a chicken and rice recipe that bombed badly. It had no flavor and the rice was partly over done and partly crunchy.

Day Care
I might have mentioned Chloe starting daycare at the beginning of the month. I did not want to start her until she was a year old and mostly just for socializing her. I was forced to start her early due to being summoned for jury duty for the term of January 1 thru March 31st. Three months can you believe it? Anyway fortunately I have only been on call the first 6 weeks of the term and will start my scheduled jury duty the last 6 weeks of the term. That is another story and I am sure once I get started with that I will tell you all about it. Back to Daycare, I went to about 6 daycares to check them out and it was a little depressing as to what I found. I finally found one that I liked and they had only one opening in her age group. So I signed Chloe up for part-time.

Chloe really likes daycare. She is such a sponge. The first week she was there she learned to crawl the more standard way. She also learned how to put herself in a sit. This month she has been pulling her self up and standing against things like the couch. Several of the kids in her class are already walking, so I don’t think it will be long before she gives it a go. I think that being in daycare and by watching the other kids she has advanced faster than she would have at home. I am very happy with it so far, except for all the germs she brought home making us all sick for the majority of the month. Right now she goes twice a week.

Baby Knits
  This winter I have seen a ton of cute hats that just inspire me to spend my time knitting them. The one on the left I spotted at thecutekid.com website. The one on the right is Happy Knit Hat from Coats and Clark. So adorable.
  I did purchase some of Lion Brand’s new yarn called “Amazing” in color #200. I plan to make Chloe the “Sweet Sweater Dress” pattern is free by Lion Brand. I am hoping in February I will have more time to get back to crafting. Chloe’s birthday is in 2 months and I have a bunch of things I would like to make for her. Only time will tell how much I will have time for.

I will leave you with photos taken from my front porch. We were pummeled with another winter storm. So I hope you all have a cozy and warm weekend.

The Friday Fats

Well I made it through a month of dieting and it is time to face the scale.
Drum Roll Please. . . .

I have lost a total of 7 lbs since January 2nd.

Not bad, I think that is a healthy amount to loose in 4 weeks. I still have 2 more months on my resolution so we will see what kind of results I can do in that time frame. I can certainly step up my game on this. All I am doing is eating less. I need to start some kind of cardio workout, but still trying to figure out when to add that into my day. With Chloe on the move, she does not stick to any activity for very long, plus she prefers my attention the majority of the time. I could try during her nap times but usually I am running around trying to get things done. I am thinking I will probably need to work it in either early in the morning before anyone gets up or at night after she has gone to bed. I really don’t have any good excuse other than not liking to work out. I have a great treadmill that is right in the living room facing the television, HELLO! I just need to start doing it.

One thing I am going to try is to eat a little something every couple of hours, just by eating little meals through out the day instead of 3 big ones. I have read that this will help keep your metabolism up. Because when you diet you tend to eat less and if you go for long periods with out eating this will just slow your metabolism down, making it even harder for your body to loose weight.

Quote from Hubby
One evening I was particularly hungry and was anticipating dinner, I mentioned to my husband that I was very hungry. He replies by saying “Hunger is a natural state to be in” Then I said yea, maybe back in the time of the depression. He tries but seriously we all know that it is very hard for someone to say the right thing and be the support you need when it is something only you can do for your self.

If you are following along and are trying to loose weight keep it up. Time is your friend, the longer you stick to it the more results you will get.

Tip for the week:
Keep a food journal. Take a week and write down everything you eat each day. Calculate the calorie intake; it is an eye opening experience. You are the only one that needs to see it so be honest, write everything down. It takes 3500 calories to make a pound. So if you wanted to loose a pound a week you would need to eat 500 less calories a day then what your body’s natural caloric intake is. If you exercise and burn 200 calories a day that means you would only need to eat 300 less calories a day.

TGIF

What a tough week we had. Chloe is getting better but she has a lot of liquids coming out of her nose and eyes and of course now I am going through whatever she had. She is sleeping though the night but now I am not due to coughing and the aches and pains of being sick. What a cycle of germ nightmares. For those of you that have followed me through out the years you know this is my least favorite time of year due to tax season. So yes I have been up to my elbows in receipts and what not from 2008’s year of our dental office and our alpaca business. Got to get those W-2’s done for the employees, or I don’t know what Uncle Sam gets a big stick and wraps you across the knuckles. My goal was to get it all done by the end of January, but with Chloe being sick and now myself it is really putting holes in my plan. Looks like when I need the most rest is when I have the most work. Anyway on a happier note lets go through a few Friday Questionnaires.

Five Question Friday

1) What is better, growing old with out money or dying young and wealthy?
I would have to say that both options suck. I wouldn’t pick either one. I believe we choose our own destiny by the choices we make. I definitely choose to live a long and healthy life. If I had no money I would be working towards making some.

2) Who takes out the garbage at your house?
Sunday afternoon Chris will drag the large trash can to the end of our very long country driveway and place it out for the trash pick up on Monday morning. On our country road there is only us and one other household that has set up trash pick up. Everyone else just either burns their trash or takes it to the dump themselves. We are not on the city grid for trash pick up. We also do not have mail delivery in our village, we all have to drag our butts to the post office to pick up our mail.

3) Have you ever had the same dream many times?
Yes, or shall I say the same kind of dream. I have a couple different types that I have all the time for many years. One is the dream where I am out in the middle of the ocean at night and I am just swimming around hanging out with different sea life. This dream I like. It is very peaceful. The other reoccurring dream I have is where I am lost or I have lost something. Like I will be leaving a store and will wonder for hours in a parking lot trying to find my car. Or if I am back in school and I am wondering the halls because I can not figure out where my class is. The worst dream I have started to have since Chloe was born is that she has been kidnapped. It is the worst possible nightmare and I often end up screaming at people and sobbing uncontrollably. I am relived when I wake up to find it was just a bad dream.

4) Can you play a musical instrument?
Yes. Although I have not played in awhile I can play the trumpet and the French horn. The trumpet I am sure I could pick right back up, but the French horn is a little more delicate I would probably need to practice a bit. The instrument I would like to learn to play is the cello. I just love the music it produces.

5) If you owned your own store, what would you sell?
I would sell coffee, books & yarn. It would have a large seating area with comfortable couches and chairs. So you could sit and read with your coffee. On certain days of the week we would have different gatherings of people. Like have a book club one night and possibly a knit group another night. Maybe even do a story time on Saturday for the little kiddies. It would have to be the most wonderful place, a place I would want to spend a lot of time at, because there is no money in such a shop and I would have to be there all the time just to keep a float financially.

Fill in the Blank Friday

The Movie I would watch over and over again is _________.
There are probably at least 100 movies I would watch over and over again. The one I am stuck on for the last couple of years is Pride and Prejudice. The one made in 2005 with Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet. I love this story. I even gave my daughter the middle name Elizabeth named after the character in Jane Austen’s novel. I just love the way the director envisioned this story and put it all together with wonderful music and picturesque landscaping all surrounding beautiful people.

The Friday Fats
I am still doing well with my resolution to loose weight. I will give an up date next week with a tally of the weight I have lost in the month of January. For inspiration head over to: Crystal’s weight loss blog or Toni’s New Beginnings

Post it Note Tuesday

If you would like to make your own Post it notes and join in the fun head on over to Adventures of a Wanna-Be Supah Mommy

Macro Monday - Through the Window

If you want to check out more Macro photos head on over to Lisa's Chaos

Friday Among the Blogs

Five Question Friday hosted by My Little Life


1. Worst Trouble you ever got into as a teenager?
For most of my teenage years my parents were not present or even aware of anything I was doing. They were amongst their own divorce and drama. Fortunately for me I was a good kid and most of the things I did were not too terribly bad. I skipped school a lot.

2. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Definitely morning, I love to watch the sun rise. There is something about that sun rising that makes it all new and makes me believe that there is endless possibilities because today is a brand new day. There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift that is why it is called present.

3. Are you a one-handed or two-handed texter?
Umm, well I haven’t started texting yet. I live out in no mans country town and unfortunately I don’t get cell service at my house. I will say that I can type on my key board with one hand. Something I learned while I was in college, while my cat was constantly sitting on my lap.

4 Democrat, Republican, or Independent.. or maybe even Green Party (whatever that is).
I am registered Republican. I tend to vote with whomever I like and don’t stick to any particular party. Politics are a closed conversation in our family. Too much drama and frankly I don’t care to spend time in it.

5 Are you a pet person?
YES! Give me a four legged critter with fur to pet and I am in hog heaven. I am a sucker for all things animal.


Fill in the blank Friday hosted by The (un)Experienced Mom


This week the question was:

If I had to choose only one modern technology to have (i.e, tv, phone, microwave, computer/internet, etc) it would be ________.

My first thought was my kitchen aid mixer. I love that thing. I have even had thoughts of if there was a fire It might be one of the things I grab. Of course my answer would be computer/internet. It is like a life line. There are a few technologies I am still waiting for. One being the replicator on Star Trek. I would love to go into my kitchen and say cup of tea with a cranberry scone, and a few seconds later a bread box opens and there is what I wanted. The second thing I so am waiting for is to be beamed to any destination I want. To be able to pack my bags and stand on a circle and with a beam of light be transported instantly to my destination would be my top pick.

The Friday Fats

Please pass me the cup of chocolate. There is one thing for sure and that is I can not go for very long with out chocolate in my life. Fortunately for me it is good for you in small quantities.

I am doing well with my resolution and I have found that treating myself to a little bit of chocolate once or twice during the week helps to keep me from going crazy and possibly eating an entire chocolate cake. I feel you need some kind of reward system for sticking to your goals and getting results.

Temptation-
There are many temptations all around me. There is a stock pile of treats and sweets in my kitchen left over from the holidays. You would be so proud of me I have not even thought about diving into them. Of course the easiest thing would be to toss it all in the trash. Unfortunately I have a husband that is not on my plan, and there is no living with him if he does not have a little something sweet each day.

Another temptation is the office. I normally do my office work from home on my computer. Recently we have lost our office manager so I have had to go into the office a few days a week to pick up the ball she dropped. Anyway my Second day back at the office it was an employees birthday and there was cake and tons of snack foods and what not laid out all over the break room table. GREAT! I had brought my lunch shake and a 90 calorie snack bar. Again you would be proud of me. At lunch time I sat at the table with my shake and scanned the table for something that I could possibly eat. I found a fruit tray and put a few pieces of fresh cut fruit on my plate. I quickly ate and went back to my office. I did not have one piece of that birthday cake. I told myself it probably wasn’t good anyway.

What is Working
Drinking lots of water I feel is helping to keep me full. After the first few days I started to take fewer trips to the bathroom. If you are going to increase your water intake I would recommend starting it on the weekend due to the frequent trips to the bathroom.

Having something you can have that you look forward too. For me it is a hot cup of tea. I have found having a large warm cup of tea through out the day is comforting and I look forward to it. I just ordered a few more boxes of varies flavored teas from The Republic of Tea. I ordered Apricot Honey, Pomegranate Vanilla, & Ceylon Breakfast. I prefer the flavored teas when I am not adding any sugar, or milk.

Not finishing my plate when I feel full or it just isn’t doing it for me. Several times this week I have been eating and I have stopped and looked down at my plate and decided I was full and did not need to finish the rest on the plate. Or if I am eating something that is mediocre I will stop, why bother shoveling food down that I don’t even like.

What is not Working
I would sum this up to say my husband is not making this easy for me. How much easier this would be if it was just me. Last weekend my husband got up and made us both waffles with cherry pie filling and whip cream. I will never discourage him from cooking. If I could get him to do it more often I would love it, but it probably was not the best choice for my resolution. I ate it and enjoyed it. I just was more careful the rest of the day.

Article in January’s O magazine by Dr. Oz
Dr. Oz lists 5 secrets of “waist loss”
#1 Spoil your dinner –he recommends eating a 100 calorie snake about a half hour before dinner (like a handful of nuts).

#2 Nix soft drinks with meals –quench your thirst with water instead.

#3 Fill up on fiber- a high fiber breakfast will keep you full until lunch.

#4 Eat with awareness – no zoning out in front of the tv.

#5 Build more muscle – Dr. Oz says you may have heard that muscle burns more calories than fat but did you know that it burns a dozen times more?

Well that is about it for my weekly resolution check in. I am feeling the results so far in that my jeans are a little looser. Maybe by the end of the month I will be able to throw them in the dryer after washing with out the fear of them shrinking.

A few followers:

Mrs Muffins - Healthy Mom's Pledge

Crystal - My Weightloss Blog

Toni - New Beginnings

Feel free to link your blog in the comments if you are working on your own Resolution and I will put you in next weeks post.

Wednesday Matinee

Since Chloe is still getting better. I thought I would share a video of her playing when she was not sick. Made me feel better, and can't wait for her to be herself again.

Chloe's First Cold

Unfortunately, Chloe got her first cold this past weekend. What a nightmare. She made it through nine months with out any illness or fever. Last week was her first time at daycare so we know where she caught the bug. So this is the first time she was exposed to new germs and other babies. Finally yesterday she was able to sleep most of the night and woke up with no fever. Today she is doing much better we are just dealing with all the goop coming from her nose, and she is very congested. Her being sick was about as tough as it was the few days after delivery. Being up all night with a sick baby is probably worse than being up all night with a newborn. The good news is she is getting better.

The Friday Fats

Go ahead and add me to the list of all the people whom New Years resolution was to loose weight and become a happier healthier member of society. I know I had a baby last year and it was a perfectly good excuse to pack on the pounds. I just don’t want to be that person that several years later still carrying around all that extra pregnancy baggage. I don’t’ want to be the Mom missing from all the photos because she is too ashamed of what she looks like. Blah Blah Blah I could go on and on about how I feel and what my motives are, they are all the same as yours.

Here is my plan. I started at the beginning of the year officially on the 2nd of January and I am continuing this resolution until the end of March. This gives me a solid 3 months. Chloe’s 1st birthday is on March 25th so I think that will be good timing. Once the kid starts running around you really can’t keep saying I just had a baby.

As far as dieting what I am doing at the moment is not having any sweets, no alcohol, and watching my meal portions. I am trying to drink water through out the day. I cut out any sweetener in my morning tea or coffee. I am drinking one of those shake meal things (Special K) for lunch and eating what ever for dinner just making sure to just put about half on my plate than I would normally eat for dinner. I am about a foot shorter than my husband; I don’t know why I think I can eat as much as him. It seems to be working so far. I am sure I will need to work in exercise some where down the line. I plan to give a tally of weight loss at the end of each month.

I am going to try to post once a week of my progress and what is working what is not, and anything else related. If you want to join me with your own New Years Resolution (could be anything does not have to be about weight loss)and posting your progress weekly feel free to put your link below. If you are interested in reading about more Moms’ and their progress on loosing weight head over to Mama Notes she is doing a weekly Body After Baby post.

Wordless Wednesday