pins and needles

well, it's friday and the nursing school office informed us that our acceptance letters or wait list letters or the you-suck-don't-even-think-about-nursing-school letters would be mailed out this week. none of us have gotten them yet, so maybe today? i'm sitting here, waiting. i'm too anxious to do much of anything, so i've been playing tetris like a crazy woman. i just need to know, one way or the other. the mail comes b/t 3 and 5, so hopefully in a couple of hours i'll know what the heck is going on. till then, i'll keep listening intently for our mail lady's truck to stop out front...

heavy heart

as scary as the storms were here yesterday, it is nothing like what our neighbors to the south endured. i can't even imagine what they must be going through down in alabama and my heart is so sad for them. if we lost our home i really have no idea what we would do. we don't have family here and we have a little one to care for. your home is your home. your safe place. often i think i take it for granted. i complain about all the things i don't like about it. i forget to remember what a blessing it is to have a little space to call our own. but it's not something to be taken for granted. safety from the storms is not something to be taken for granted either. as we speak there are thousands without power and shelter all over the south from yesterdays deadly storms. and i am counting my blessings and not taking for granted that we slept in our warm beds last night. i hope that there are many stories of amazing protection that come out of the events of yesterday.

one long night

well, we've officially been initiated into the world of parenting... we made the middle of the night trip to the ER. sweet nuggie had a colossal meltdown. she's a fussy baby, but this was an all time record screaming fit, even for her. and we couldn't console her. i tried. bub tried. we bounced. we tried bottles. we used baby tylenol. we rocked. and walked. and listened to music. nothing. nothing would calm her down. so i thought something was seriously wrong. we loaded her up and headed to the children's hospital. she cried all the way there and cried all through triage. and then we settled into the waiting area and the little stinker calmed right down. we were there about two hours and she was calm as can be. so we asked if we could take her home. a doctor came out and gave her a quick check over and couldn't find anything wrong with her. nothing. thank the Lord for this, but she sure did scare us. i was sure something was seriously wrong. she had to go see her pediatrician this morning, just to make sure all is well and he confirmed it. she's healthy as can be. i just wish i knew what upset her so much last night. she was hysterical. cried so much her little eyes were bloodshot and she threw up. my sweet little angel. she's resting now. hope she can get some good sleep.

trip to the dentist

i had a dentist appointment this afternoon. i really don't like going to the dentist, but then again, who does? i always seem to have a new cavity or find i'm in need of a crown or i've got a cracked tooth - ick! i spent my childhood without a single cavity and then hit my 20's and bam - my teeth started literally falling apart. today i met our new dentist since he took over the practice when my old dentist went off to have her second bambino. and he looked like he was our age. it's weird when your doctor or dentist starts to be your age. it always make me think - what have i done with my life? here's this guy who's gone off to dental school and now has his own practice and i'm this shmuck with a music business degree that did me no good at all. anyhow - it was just weird. he was soooo young and when i called him "sir" he like for real got feisty and exlaimed that i should NOT call him sir. uhhhh, he's my dentist. what am i supposed to call him? buddy? pal? dental dude? sir just seems appropriate.

i had sort of the reverse situation yesterday. we had a new pest company come by to offer us an estimate b/c they use more natural products and now with nuggie and izzy in the house i'd love to use less chemicals. anyhow, long story short this guy kept calling me "young lady"... it sorta irked me. and he talked down to me, like young lady, now are you SURE you've got a problem with brown recluse spiders? and little lady, you done ever hear about what we like to call - gnats??? ugh! it's my house buddy. i'm a momma. former working professional. wife. NOT a little lady. i'm almost 30 for crying out loud. i'm not too keen on "ma'am" but talking down to me and calling me little lady isn't quite right either!

weighn' in

hello monday. i still have a few hours left of it to blog my fatty mcfatterson entry... UGH. i am sooooo ready to lose this silly weight. but alas it plagues me. it is so hard to find the time and/or energy to work out and eat right when you've got a crabby 6 month old, school (and now finals) to fret over and an added bundle of joy with our 8 week old puppy. ugh. ok, that's out of my system. this isn't all whines and complains. this last week i was sick. icky sick with an awful headcold, so i didn't work out at all. i took nuggie on a couple of walks, but that was it. i couldn't breath through my nose at all, so working out just didn't seem like a good idea. i had no appetite though, so that helped :-) i know i've lost another pound! woot! and i'm just about fitting back into my old capris. which will be great since it's now stinky hot hot hot here! i also made a wonderful tofu spinach lasagna that was super yummy and low cal.

a sweet friend lent me a book called "made to crave". i'm only on chapter 2, but it's already very interesting. it's a different spin on our sugar cravings and what exactly we're trying to fill when we give in to them. i'll let you know how it goes when i'm done.

well, another spring week in nashville and two days ahead of us filled with death storms... i'm so not a fan. let's hope they're not too bad.

oh and it's my last full week of classes. next week are finals and then i'm done with my first semester!

i just realized...

ok, so i just realized that my title of the last post made absolutely no sense. i had this whole post planned in my head about about how there should be a witness protection type program for mommas. wouldn't it be nice to dial them up and get whisked away with the promise that your babes and hubby would be looked after, but off momma goes to an undisclosed location. a quiet place with a big soft bed, a hot shower and a nice meal that you didn't have to cook. oh and yea - no one can bug you. no phone calls. no bills to fuss over. no crying babes or hubby. just 24 hours peace and quiet... and that all would have made more sense if i hadn't gotten distracted by coupons and khol's and luggage! just had to explain :-)

mom witness protection program

oh. my. goodness. i can't seem to shake this cold/sinus infection/plague. i feel like poo. thankfully bub and nuggie are both feeling better. i took a nice big dose of nyquil last night and slept till almost 8 this morning. that hasn't happened in a LONG time. thanks to bub for getting up with the babes and the pup and letting me sleep in :-) i feel much more rested, but i still can't hear much out of my left ear. add that to my already terrible hearing and i'm all - what??? say again??? huh??? i didn't hear you??? i think bub is gonna kill me. poor hubby has to repeat everything 16 times before i catch it.

we have a fun day planned... ok, well not so much fun, it's all errands - but  for sure lots of family time. we are heading down to cool springs to hit up khols. we need new luggage. badly. ours is in awful shape and falling apart and since bub is about to head out of the country and we're taking our first plane ride with the nugster - we need something a little bigger and well, not broken. i've got a good coupon... oh dear, hold on. am i for real blogging about khols, coupons and new luggage??? what have i turned in to???

i need to start thinking about what we need to pack for our trip to portland. nuggie is a bit high maintenance as you all know and i want her to feel as comfy as possible in her new surroundings. i think all her daily stuff though - diapers, formula, baby food we'll just grab when we get out there, that'll save on some room in our suitcase. but she'll need her sound machines, nightlight, music, clothes, meds, toys, blankies, baby towel... oh goodness. i'm tired just thinking about all of this. it'll be fun to see my sweet little nephew G though and my momma and sis. we're taking the kiddos to the beach one day and the rose gardens. it will be a nice trip. just uh, an adventure getting there and back.

heading off to the grocery store shortly as well - we have coconut tofu curry, moroccan chicken and bean quessedillas on the menu for the week - yum! and i'm also hoping to run by a lowe's today - i hear they're giving away free trees in honor of earth day!

mom-cation

i'm sick. nuggie is sick with her first cold. so the two of us are very whiny. izzy the pup is also whiny, but just b/c she's a puppy and that's what they do. today she decided she needed to dig up my basil i was trying to grow. then she peed on the kitchen floor right in front of me. i don't think she likes me very much. we're having sort of a crappy day over here. BUT - i want to count our blessings and know that this sicky icky whiny phase will pass...
- it's Easter weekend. a time to remember what a gift we've all been given by God.  it's also a wonderful time to spend with those close to you.

- the weather is beautiful and sunny today. chilly, but gorgeous. nuggie and i will bundle up and venture out for a walk. the fresh air will do us both some good.

- my summer financial aid finally got all taken care of. so now i can take my classes! still watching the mailbox anxiously every day for that nursing letter.

- i spent the evening last night with a sweet friend. she distracted nuggie wonderfully when the nugster got fussy. it gave me a great little mental break and i got to spend time with miss k!

- i finally got on the scale today. being sick and having no appetite can sure help your waistline! i've lost another pound!

- i'm alive and healthy (aside from this dumb cold) and i have an amazing wonderful hubby and a beautiful baby girl. we have our safe little home, two cars to drive and a fridge full of food. our bills are paid and we are blessed by many amazing friends and family. it is a great day! happy thursday everyone!

strainer, drainer, what???

well, i'm still fighting the crud... my throat is so sore - bleck. we had an insane morning. i overslept. had to run nuggie to hang out with daddy while i went to class and then rushed to have lunch with my super sweet TMG girlies. it was all nutty, but a great morning still!

so i'm sitting in class this morning and as an illustration our prof was comparing the capillaries in the kidneys to a colander. and several of the blondies in the class were like, say what?? and so he explained - you know the thing you'd dump hot pasta into to drain it. and blondie one says - oh a drainer? and blondie two says - no a strainer. and the prof says - you don't call them a colander? uh no they say - in a tone of - you are soooo dumb you OLD man. ok - be honest - does everyone else not call them a colander? that's what i was always told they were called. thoughts??

and sweet shannon shared a recipe for funfetti cakies for her sweet daughter's birthday this week. well, they sounded so yummy i rushed to my pantry to see if i could whip up something similar. all i had was a white cake mix and cinnamon chips - i'm baking them now, i'll let you know how it turns out!

short and sweet - weighn' in addition

we had a crazy weekend. there was theology homework to complete, a ladies prayer group, bub hung out with his "little brother" from big brother big sisters, cleaning house, grocery shopping, helping some friends, oh and yeah - we got a puppy. the last two nights have been like when we first brought nuggie home all over again. we're crate training her, so she's whiny. bub's been very attentive to her, but she's still not a fan of sleeping in her own little space and nuggie isn't used to the added noise, so she's getting up 3 or 4 times a night again... little izzy came to live with us on saturday. she's sweet as can be and i'll put some pics up soon, but it has added a whole new level of chaos to already crazy life. to top it all off i seem to be coming down with a nasty head cold. i was so lucky to not get sick once during my whole pregnancy, which is such a blessing since you basically can't take anything, but now i'm sick full force. i'm whiny (as if you couldn't tell!), tired, feeling icky and totally overwhelmed with caring for nuggie, then running to izzy and trying to do my normal monday chores. oh well! it's all worth it :-)

so quickly - weighn' in for the week. i haven't stepped on a scale yet... i'm avoiding it, bleck. it's just every week - nothing. i have noticed several pair of pants are continuing to feel looser and looser and i started doing - jillian michaels, 30 day shred. uh - tough! which is good - but ooh, it is hard.

both the pup and nuggie are asleep so i'm gonna run now. happy monday everyone.

cupcakes - take 2

raspberry cupcakes - yum!

 continuing on my mission to make every cupcake in my betty crocker cupcake cookbook i made recipe number two - lemon cupcakes with a raspberry filling. these were delightful. the recipe called for a boxed mix and i know after my last cupcake creations i swore off boxed mixes, but i wanted to follow the directions. ugh - wish i hadn't. i will for sure go back to a homemade mix. these were tasty, but just not the same. and i'm thinking rather than using lemon zest i may just use lemon juice? the zest was a little chewy and bitter. but really overall these were super yummy and super easy. i'm making mimossa cupcakes for a ladies brunch tomorrow morning!

 i'm not sure why blogger is putting this pic on its side, oh well. so anyhow, at bub's work they were hosting a fellow employee from guam last week and he brought them this special kit kat. look closely - it's in japanese. and do you see the color of the kit kat on the box? it's green! they were green tea kit kats and they were amazing! i shared them with bub, i did not devour the whole package, though i would have if given the chance. when bub goes off to guam next month he has orders to bring some of these home.

here's the back of the box. look at all those characters - crazy!

it's friday - woohoo! i survived two exams yesterday, feeling pretty confident about them both. nuggie turns officially six months old today (how is that possible???), and she has her 6 month shots/dr appt today. if you think of it please send a little prayer up for her. we're going to be discussing the possible hearing loss in her right ear and where we go from here as far as further testing.

to tattoo or to not tattoo - oh what a question

our trip to portland is quickly approaching - only 4 weeks away (which means bub's trip to guam is only 5 weeks away...boo). and while there bub and i are considering adding to our tattoo collections. he has something he for sure wants, i on the other hand do not. my other two have alot of meaning to me and i picked them both for very specific reasons. i'd like to continue that, but am having some creative block... hmmm... everyone says they're addictive and whoever said that was right!

i'm a little nuts about our bird feeders... i'm so totally going to be that old lady with bird seed in my pocket sitting on a bench in the park some day. somehow to me buying $10 worth of bird seed each week seems totally necessary and i often send sweet bub to home depot to get me some. i've recently added to my collection with a suet feeder as well as a hummingbird feeder. ok, why am i admitting my hugely nerdy bird love? well, i guess our house has become a little bird paradise and we've got oodles of them now. one, i'm not sure which kind, sings and sounds sort of like a baby fussing. every time i hear that bird i look to nuggie expecting to find a fussy munchkin, but always find my sweet happy babes. it's driving me a little bonkers. i need to get some bird books so i can try to identify the little culprit.

modern family last night was amazing! if you haven't seen it yet - you must. did anyone happen to watch the new show - happy endings - after it? thoughts? i enjoyed it, not sure i loved it, but it was sort of cute.

rant retract

i'm sorry lovelies for the rant last night. it was late, i was tired and really bugged that anyone would hate on someone in that way. let's all love on mommas - however they come. working, not working, one or five kids, co-sleepers or not. homemade baby food or gerber all the way... whatever. if we all love our babies and are doing the very best we can let's support each other. ok, i'm done. for real now.

on to lighter topics! it's wednesday - the best day of the week :-) and i hear, that for real this week, there is a new modern family on tonight. woot!

have i told you this week how much i love our new washing machine. oh no? well, i do! it's wonderful and amazing and makes washing clothes so nice. it spins them so well they're practically dry when you take them out. i'm probably a huge nerd for loving it as much as i do, but whatever.

i got up early this morning... and knocked over my phone (as i use it for an alarm clock) while it was still in the docking station. which then made a terrible clattering as it hit the floor, waking up nugg bright and early. i wanted to say poo on you workout, the babes is up. but i didn't. i laid her on a blankie next to me with some toys and she was my little cheerleader as i tried a new workout this morning. jillian michael's 30 day shred. oooh, it was tough. which is good :-) and i made for dinner last night tuna salad with lots of veggies and herbs and only a little light mayo. i hate tuna, i hate how it smells and i hate how that smell lingers in your house - but it's low fat, high protein so it's what we had last night. i put it on a big pile of lettuce and walaa - din din! i had a night class after that, so i took two cuties (which are so sweet and delightful!) and that was my snack. i really wanted to go to the vending machine and get oreos - but, i resisted.

well nugg is up from her nap - i best be off

should be sleeping, but...

i should be sleeping, but i'm wide awake. that's what several large caffeinated beverages will do to me. i'll try to hit the hay shortly, but figured i'd go ahead and blog a bit.

school is getting set to wind down for the semester. i'm anxiously awaiting my letter to see if i made it into the nursing program for the fall. rumor has it they won't be sent out till the end of the month... why are they dragging this out so long? it's not like it's a big stack of applications they have to sort through. it's a teeny tiny school! another reason i'm anxious about it is that it will determine my summer/fall plans. if i didn't get in i'll take the summer off and take microbiology and ethics in the fall. if i did get in then i'll be cramming summer school into my schedule.

i recently read on this super cool chicky's blog about her trials and adventures of being a new stay at home momma. and some hateful comments popped up on one of her entries. everyone is allowed to have their opinions, but why do you have to hate on a newly created stay at home momma? aren't all new moms frazzled enough? aren't we all sort of wondering - what the frap happened to my old life and will i EVER fit back into my old jeans? and oh, by the way, you're now totally responsible for the care and rearing of a tiny, helpless human being?? and it's a job that lasts 20 years!?! to think what we do isn't a "legit" life calling or whatever - all i have to say is bull crap. just as someone commented on her blog, i'll agree totally - you work 24 hours a day for no pay and for a boss who's a little tyrant. no one says thank you. you don't have coworkers to chat with, you get a drooly toothless baldy baby. you don't get an hour lunch break to yourself - you get to think - oh crap, it's 2pm and i still haven't brushed my teeth, or peed, or eaten anything more than handfuls of fruit loops. a full nights sleep is a distant memory. praise from anyone is out the door. an excuse to wear nice shoes or a skirt??? yeah, that'll just get spit up and poop all over it. better go with the old standby - yoga pants and an old tshirt.

BUT

it is without a doubt the most rewarding, amazing, wonderful "job" i've ever had. am i worn out all the time, yes. but i wouldn't trade it for a second of any of those "legit" jobs i had before nuggie came into the picture. is it for everyone, no. can everyone afford to stay at home with their kids, no. we are extremely blessed that i can. does every woman even WANT to stay at home, no to that too. and that's ok. let's all just love on each other and our life choices. but let's not also think that the life of a stay at home momma is sitting on the couch watching dr. phil and painting our toenails.

whew - ok, i'll stop ranting now. it just really got me riled up that she was hated on for writing about the "real" side of being a SAHM. why does everyone think we all must fit into the perfect june cleaver ideal? that we all must be wearing our sweet little apron with a perfectly clean baby and a pot roast and martini waiting for the husband when he gets home? can't i vent a little about the hard days? can't i be honest about what i struggle with? can't we all say, yeah - being a mommy sort of sucks sometimes, but. oh. my. goodness. it is SOOO worth it! nuggie grabbed at a flowers in a vase last night. she was sitting in her bumbo near them and it didn't occur to me to move them, she's never shown an interest in anything like that before. when she had those flowers in her sweet little fist though i couldn't have been happier! she is learning and growing and being curious and i LOVED seeing her try something new... it's the little moments like that when you think Oh My, i am the luckiest girl in the world. and today i did brush my teeth before 7am, so it really was a good day :-)

weighn' in

happy monday everyone! it's another stormy one here in nashville. i'm hoping it's not as bad as last monday's storms. hiding in our coat closet with nuggie isn't a fun way to spend our time.

it's weighn' in confession time. no weight lost this week :-( but none gained! i got three good workouts in and lots of walks with nuggie. i had two episodes of really low blood sugar and was out and hadn't planned well (ok, or at all) and so i didn't have my normal granola bar or apple juice, so i ended up eating a snickers bar one day and a large bag of peanut m&m's the other. you think after struggling with hypoglycemia for years now i'd always have a little something stashed in my purse, but ugh, these days, it's just one more thing to remember. plus, we really don't leave the house a whole lot, so it hasn't been something i've had to deal with in a while.

i've got a super healthy, super yummy recipe to share with everyone! i made these friday night and it made a ton. so we've been enjoying them the last couple of days.

sweet potato burritos

i know, they sound weird. but trust me - they are delicious. we enjoyed dinner with our sweet neighbors a few weeks ago and she made sweet potato enchiladas, and ooooh, they were good. so i wanted to try something similar for us. a few things i'll do different for next time. first, i'll use a low carb or low fat tortilla. i sent bub out for tortillas and he got traditional flour ones which is what we normally buy, but since i'm trying to lose this baby weight, any way to cut some calories is good :-) also, i'd add some of the seasoning to the sweet potatoes. they're a little bland while the beans are really full of flavor. i just added a big salad on the side and done - a healthy, vegetarian dinner!

no naps for me please

this post may be a bit touchy for some. please know these are all just my opinions and thoughts. every momma must parent the best that she can. i'm not judging anyone, so please don't judge me.

so before we had sweet nuggie i was sure i would be a "baby-wise" momma. i've seen it work on other kiddos and was sure it was the route i wanted to take. when our babes joined our home though, i couldn't do it. it literally hurt my heart to hear her cry. it was just something i couldn't do. eventually we did do a modified cry it out method when it was time for her to start sleeping in her crib. we had first tried to transition her from our room to her own room in her crib gradually and with no tears, but that just wasn't happening. so over the course of 3 days we would let her fuss (but not get hysterical) and go to her and calm her and then, well, anyhow - you know how it works. after just three days of some fussy nights she was sleeping like a champ in her crib in her own room. it was amazing for bub and i to get better rest in our room alone and it was what we all three needed. but now - the little lady won't nap in there. i'd say maybe three times a week i can get her to take a 20 min nap in her crib, but that's it. i know she needs naps. she's a little baby and she's obviously sleepy. we have a mini nap routine - dry diaper, small bottle and rock in the rocking chair then i lay her down with her music playing or her the mobile going. and it hardly ever works. she cries and cries and cries. i go to her every 10-15 min, pat her and calm her and talk to her a little and then quietly leave the room. and she cries. and you may say, let her cry it out. i'm telling you, the girl will cry for forever. well, ok, maybe not. after an hour of the crying, patting, calming routine i will get her up and put her in the swing and she'll sleep there because i just hate hearing her upset. i know it's ok that she'll sleep in the swing, but i really would like to get her on a better nap routine so that we can plan our days a little better and so when others watch her she's on a little schedule and could sleep in a pack n play or something. what should i do??? let her cry more? just keep trying a little every day and hope she'll eventually get it? the girl sleeps like a champ at night. half the time i can lay her down awake and she'll talk a little and then it's lights out, the other half i just rock her to sleep and lay her down. but naps are a struggle. will she eventually outgrow this? do i need to be more strict? i'm at a total loss. she's our first, so i think i'm stressing a little, ok, ALOT about this. i don't want to raise a child who is disobedient all the time and who thinks she can always get her way... but she's just a little baby right now. what is a momma to do??

6 months!

sweet nuggie had her 6 month photos taken this past saturday. our super amazing friend and totally amazing photographer - Allison Wicker - drove all the way down from bowling green to snap some pics of our nearly 1/2 year old!

sweet nuggie and her papabear

nuggie in her bloomies

oh that smile melts my heart

if you live in the middle tennessee or southern kentucky area and are looking for some wonderful photos of your family or baby or whatever, i highly encourage you to check out miss allison! she's amazing and so sweet with the babes.

double take

two posts in one day - watch out!!!

i just got this pic of our sweet izzy pup who will come home to live with us in about two weeks and i HAD to share it! these were taken a couple of weeks ago, so she's running around and playing now - but oh goodness look at that sweet little face!

and on a side note, modern family is NOT new tonight after all :-( i'm sitting here on the couch pouting...

rollie pollie

sweet nuggie is officially on the move! she can roll over!!! i'm so proud of her and so happy to see her growing and changing every day. it's such a joy to be her mommy :-)

since we now have a somewhat mobile little lady, our icky old coffee table has got to go. we have such a small living room that we're opting to get rid of it and replace it with a couple of little faux leather storage ottomans. that way we have a little place to hide some of her toys, my magazines or the tv remotes, but it will also be soft so she won't bonk her noggin and moveable, so if we push them to the side she can have a little more space to play.

we dissected our cats again today in lab... ick, ick, ick. i've had a pretty strong stomach with these dissections until today. i really thought i was going to toss my cookies. we're working on the digestive system this week and so we had to cut open the cat's stomach and intestines and our cat had apparently been snacking before, well, you know, he ended up in a lab. G-R-O-S-S!!!

wait, wait, don't tell me is coming to town in june! woot!!! i can't tell you how excited i am by this. we had always hoped to go to a taping up in chicago, but just never got around to it. now it's coming to us!!! i hope mo rocca is on the panel!

happy wednesday everyone. it's modern family tonight - woot!

duck and cover!

whew - yesterday ended up being quite a stormy day. in the words of my sweet friend claire - i don't do storms. i hate them! i always have. and down here in the south we don't normally have basements, so you're left to find a safe place in the lowest level of your home and hope for the best.

it got really bad. normally i'd just fret and stress and stare out the windows. but it got so black out, the tornado sirens kept going off and the lights were flickering so nuggie and i hid out. i've heard to get into the bathtub, but we have a window in the bathroom, so we took cover in our coat closet. she was such a trooper. it's not the most pleasant little space... it's where olive's cat box lives. i pulled that out, set the radio in the hall so i could hear it and hugged onto my sweet babes. i've never heard wind like that. it was really scary for a bit. thankfully it didn't last long. they said the storms moved through at like 70 mph! bub called me while he and his coworkers sought shelter in the starewells at work. ugh, i was so so scared. all i kept thinking was don't let nuggie get hurt. we prayed and thank the Lord we were safe.

when we climbed out of our hiding place i saw this

it's really nothing serious, but still a sign of how strong the winds were...

weighn' in

happy monday my lovelies! i hope everyone had a most wonderful weekend. i know we did! the weather finally turned nice again and so we spent lots of time outside. nuggie loved sitting outside under a giant umbrella and i was able to get some yard work done. today we are of course forecast to have raging death storms - what would a week during a tennessee spring NOT be without the potential of blowing away? praying for safety for everyone, the weather people really seem to be freaking out about this one.

so - here i am - another monday, another chubby confessional. let's see. this last week was pretty good. nothing too embarrassing to report. no binges, no fast food. just a pretty standard week. bub and i went out friday night with some of his work associates. one of the new guys from guam is in town and they wanted to show him the nashville nightlife i guess. i did have 4 adult beverages that evening - so i'm sure that equalled lots of extra calories. but the rest of the weekend was great - we got a couple of walks in. the weather was sort of crappy the beginning of the week, but nugg and i ventured out a few days. a sweet friend of mine got me up off my hiney and into the Y on saturday. it's been at least a month since i was last there. it felt good to get back into the gym, but i have to admit being 20 pounds overweight and in a room full of mirrors.... eh, i didn't walk out of there feeling all that great about myself. BUT, i'm committed to getting back.

weight loss... i'm happy to report i'm back to my original 4 pounds lost. it's monday, i've already been up for three hours - worked out, showered, had breakfast, ordered nugg's formula, paid some bills and put away laundry. i'm going to make smart choices this week - i hope!

nuggie and i are venturing out to the grocery store this morning. we've got some yummy healthy meals on the menu for the week. big salads, oven roasted veggies and a new recipe for sweet potato burritos. i'll let you know how that one turns out :-)

stay safe today my sweets.

what are we eating???

bub and i finally sat down last night to watch Food Inc. we've heard from several friends that watching it will inspire a total change of what you're buying at the grocery store and what food you put in your body. so we drug our feet watching it - we knew a change was in store. i'd like to think we already eat fairly healthy. we put extra money into our food budget so that we can eat fresh foods. BUT, it's expensive. we can't afford to eat organically, we can't afford to buy all the produce i'd like to, ground turkey is a whole lot cheaper than a real cut of meat ... i mean, a gallon of regular milk costs what, about $3? a gallon of organic milk?? $6. that's craziness. avocados last week were $2 each. however, after last night, i'm convinced we don't have a choice. i'm not gonna go all nutty mcnutty on you guys - but just a few things i have to share. first of all, our meat that we buy in the store or at a fast food place --- washed in amonia. AMONIA???? to wash away ecoli. all the good people that run our FDA and EPA. they have worked in the past as lobbyists for companies that make geneticaly altered foods and run the nations meat packing plants. and all the chemicals in our food - ugh, it literally makes me sick.

so for us, we're making some changes. as i've said, i'm not going all nutty. i love mcdonald's french fries and when you're in a hurry or low on $$$ hamburger helper is amazing! but to the very best of our ability, we're going to start eating in a more local and organic way.

first of all, we're finally joining a CSA. we were directed to this one by several friends who have already joined. we'll get 3-4 portions of meat, eggs and a 1/2 bushell of produce each week. all grown locally and as naturally as possible.

from there i'll take our remaining grocery budget, create a menu for the week with the goodies we got in our farm box and try to buy what we need for the rest of the week.

for us, the biggies will be produce, meat and milk. we'll see how this goes! nuggie will motivate me to try really hard to stick to this. she deserves healthy foods and i want to provide the best that things we can for her to eat. some weeks our budget just won't allow us to go all organic, but i'm gonna try.

i think in an early blog i mentioned a garden and chickens for us in our back yard. it just wasn't realistic... the chickens wouldn't get the attention they deserve and the garden would get filled with our awful neighbors cat poopies. but, the nice thing about living here in the city - we are lucky enough to have lots of other options available to us!

watch Food Inc. it's important.