Day 28: Boring

While I was taking a shower, the boys pushed a chair to the freezer, got the bag of chocolate chips (only 1/4 bag left), and ate the rest of them. Joey was caught with a brown goatee:

Meal 1: I don't remember! Hamburger maybe?
Meal 2: Hamburger with riced cauliflower. I got the recipe from Amber!
Meal 3: I don't remember, hamburger or chicken?

It did all consist of either hamburger or chicken, riced cauliflower or spaghetti squash, spaghetti sauce or salad.

The end.

{Recipe here}

Doesn't it look yummy!? It tasted yummy! I cooked mine in coconut oil and left out the spice.

Yes, I took that picture... I did a fantastic job! :)

Day 18: Good Day!

Meal 1: I believe I had Kalua Pork with some lettuce? I am stopping rice again. Makes me bloated, so I should probably add that in later. Ha--if only I would just stick to the Whole30, eh?
Meal 2: Curry chicken from the freezer that Bonnie made.
Meal 3: More Kalua Pork with Romaine lettuce and kale, tomato, balsamic vinaigrette I made (thanks to Amber's giving me the idea), and some sauteed carrots and onions in coconut oil.

Man. I love coconut oil! So good! I will eventually get to have more baked goods and this stuff is so yummy melted on top!

I took the boys outside today. Just on some playground equipment around our apartment. The first one we went to was just some steps to a slide that NEITHER boy went down. :|  Then we walked a little further to another playground and the boys went down the open slide. For some reason they don't like the tube slides.

I did laundry and should probably finish folding it and write my Thank You cards. I have pictures to post, but I don't know where I put my camera. I'll post them tomorrow!

Day 12: Another Amazing Day

I can't believe how {awesome} I have been feeling today! My arms were weak today, but at least they weren't tingling! Nothing bothering my legs (until later today from using the Heel-Toe Express), I had a slight headache, but I think that was from sleeping with my hair in a ponytail and the hair elastic was hurting my neck. I hopped out of bed at 7 (not really; still takes me a minute to actually work my way out of bed) and cooked up breakfast for everyone. I'm awesome, I know. I was doing dishes, getting Joey dressed, I read 20+ books to Jae that we got from the library, and by 10am I had it. Naptime was totally needed.

After a nap I had Jimmy make the boys lunch since I did breakfast. :)  I made my own lunch, though. I should write down what I have in order to blog it. >.<

Meal 1: Steak, salad something or other?
Meal 2: Hamburger and some salad and whatever?
Meal 3: I had a soup that was made by a sweet Sister and friend in my ward. She even made a dessert-like muffin for me! I'm saving those for breakfast tomorrow! It had raisins and dried apples in it and it was SO, so sweet! It tasted awesome, though! She made some rice and brown rice for the boys; so thoughtful! I wish I could eat that. It's the #1 food on my list to add back in. March 23, but who's keeping track? ;) I also made me a salad and some green beans sauteed with ghee and garlic. Yeah, I decided to put tomatoes and ghee back into my diet. I figured it wouldn't hurt since I've been feeling so {fabuloso}!

Some of you wanted the paleo mayonnaise recipe I had talked about on FB. I also heard of this blogger from Whole9's website: nomnompaleo.com. (I'm going to try this when I get some cauliflower. Or, maybe I still have some. IDK, ever since this diet my fridge has been stuffed full of fruits and veggies. Not a bad thing, right?) Anyway, the nomnompaleo chica has a bunch of different recipes and different twists to do to mayo to zest it up.

With this recipe, you can make ranch and an avocado dressing. I'm excited to make those tomorrow!

{mayonnaise--paleo style}

1 large egg
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 cup + 1 cup light-tasting olive oil

Put the egg and lemon yuice into a blender or food processor and let it sit for 30 minutes to get to room temp. Add dry mustard, salt, and 1/4 c. oil and mix it. Once it's smooth, slowly add the remaining oil as it blends.

 (sorry for the lame pictures; I'm not a food photographer. Oh, I'm not a photographer in general.)

So, I just realized I used Olive Oil, not light-tasting and I forgot 1/4 cup of it in the process. Ha ha! Well, it tastes great to say the least! I'm pretty dang proud of myself. I used a Magic Bullet, so I couldn't slowly pour the rest of the oil in. I had to stop it, pour 1/4 cup in at a time and mix. But, it actually tastes pretty good!

{family outing}

We got a check from our electric company for a refund for conserving energy last month. A whole $2.08. Don't spend it all in one place!

  Jimmy's first though was to buy a pizza slice at Costco (which he did). Yeah, he's not quite on this diet, but like I said... we're getting there. He says he can't stand the almond flour, but he'll get used to it. :)  I told him that if he grew up on almond flour he may think regular flour was gross. >.<

We drove out to Boiling Springs. We've never been there before and Jimmy has been itching to take us there and check it out. It was FREEZING so I didn't last very long. The water boils. Something, sulfur, something. Jimmy was explaining it to me; obviously I listen real well.

Children's Lake, PA

 Jimmy was excited to see a swan:

 Jae requested going to a park. So, we did.

Me, feelin' awesome:

We showed Amber and Chad around Costco and got some groceries for ourselves. They boys didn't want to sit in the cart anymore, so they helped push it:

We finally got home and I was able to eat some yummy soup as mentioned previously:

A good day had by all! It's already late and I need to get to bed. I hope I can continue to have this energy I have and to feel good. Right now I still get tired mid-morning and afternoon. I fell asleep in the car on the way to Costco. It's a 25 minute drive. >.<

Tomorrow is a snow day (5-8 inches), so I think I will be making some Thank You cards with my boys! Thank you all for your support!

Jimmy would totally think I'm awesome for posting this. Ha ha! We watch an anime called "Fairy Tail" and it can get really cheesy. Lines about strength coming from friends. But, I found this one:

"Weaklings will stay weak forever. But weakness is not evil, since human beings are weak creatures to begin with. Alone, you feel nothing but insecurity; that's why we form guilds, that's why we have friends. We walk together in order to live a strong life. The clumsy ones will walk into more walls than the others, and it may also take them longer to get there. If you believe in tomorrow and put yourself out there, you can naturally obtain your strength. That's how you will be able to smile and live strong."

Makarov Dreyar, Fairy Tail

Day 9: Carrot Cake

So, I missed that part on how to plate the meals correctly. Ha ha! Glad I have Amber to keep me on track. Put the protein on the plate, fill the rest with veggies. In my defense, I didn't have my book handy. ;) I forget easily, but I guess the worse thing was not eating enough veggies.

Meal 1: Sausage link, almond/coconut flour biscuits (they. were. nasty.)
Meal 2: Hamburger (lol) with Romaine lettuce, kale, & tomatoes.
Meal 3: Chicken curry kabobs (red & green peppers and onions) with nectarines and kiwis.

I am completely exhausted again. Mornings are very, very difficult for me. I have noticed a pattern the past couple of days when I wake and do the b-fast thang I am ready for a nap after that. I'm sluggish, sore, and tired until about early afternoon; after I've had lunch.

I baked a gluten-free/almond flour carrot cake for Jae, but then I decided not to make coconut cream frosting and sent Jimmy to the store to get heavy whipping cream for a paleo cream cheese frosting. Recipe for the carrot cake and cream cheese frosting is here, if you're interested. They really aren't kidding when they say, "carrot" cake! I had to have Jimmy grate all the carrots for me. (My arms have been starting to be really weak lately and I managed to grate half of one before giving up.)

imagae from elanaspantry.com

We don't have round cake pans, so I made a 9" square cake and a bunch of muffins. I didn't even have a bite; is that control or what?! Heh, it's all good, if I were to cheat, I'd cheat on a bite of sticky rice. I know, I'm rad.

Amber stopped by to pick up and drop off some food. We were saying, "I have this you can have." "I have that you can have" when we were going grocery shopping. So, we just shared some food to save money and time.

Then I cut up some nectarines and kiwis to take to our friend's house for dinner. And we brought the carrot cake, too! They were so thoughtful to make a meal that I could eat! It was delicious! Chicken curry kabobs! I ate all but 2 of Jimmy's peppers lol. It was the tastiest kabob I think I've ever had! The kids played and we got to visit and get to know them a bit better. Wonderful, wonderful family! Thank you!

I got home and was feeling alive and so full of energy that I... put Joey to bed, did the dishes, was going to put Jae to bed after I finished the dishes, but he fell asleep on my bed after playing on the LeapPad2, I cooked Jimmy some dinner (since he only had a couple of chicken pieces), cleaned Jimmy's closet out, and started to clean my side of the bed, and watched an episode of "Robotics;Notes" with Jimmy. Guys, that's like.. amazing. :)  I crashed after that for about an hour and forced myself to write this post and my 29 Gift post.

Hope you all had a fabulous Saturday!

Day 8: Support for Whole30

I am thrilled that I now have a friend doing Whole30 with me! It's been so awesome to eat healthy {expensive} food! Amber and I just went grocery shopping at Wegman's and Walmart in Mbg. Basically I'm going to fall asleep while I type this. I need to stop abusing my body and let it rest! I was walking so slow in the stores, but picked up the pace when Amber was haulin' lol. She probably wanted to get home, too! Neither of us had eaten dinner. My legs are aching and my arms are starting to hurt and I am beyond tired. It was fun, though, actually going out to find these random things for this diet. I'm glad we were able to go together because I don't know if I'd ever end up finding good foods to switch things up. She was getting sausage and peppers and tomatoes... (I thought we couldn't have the latter two lol.) I would text Bonnie and ask her where this and that were located. She was totally awesome! Pretty sure I called her 5x and texted her just as much. Thank you, Bonnie! So, so awesome of you to help us n00bs out! I'm so proud of Amber for doing this diet because she wants to. It will be great to have a little support system and do meals together! We were a little disappointed to find NO bacon we could eat! They all had sugar in them! (Let me remind you that Whole30 is stricter than Paleo.)

{meals}

Meal 1: Leftover pork loin (I finally bought coconut flour to make some coconut tortillas; at least some form of bread-like substance I can have with my meals! I saw a recipe in a cookbook Bonnie let me borrow and then my friend was looking for coconut wraps, but the store didn't sell them.)
Meal 2: I don't even think I ate! I had a late lunch. Maybe some mac nuts and almonds. Oops! You have to understand that mornings are really tough to get up and make breakfast. I'm hoping with these new ingredients I can make some awesome "muppins" to eat with some broth and sausage!!
Meal 3: Another hamburger! I love this organic, grass-fed beef! I would eat a hamburger for every meal if I could! I didn't have it like a hamburger, though.. just put it over lettuce w/ tomato, with sauteed onions & mushrooms (cooked with ghee! oh my yummy; I will be sooooo embarrassed if that jar is gone before I'm done with the 30 days!), with a side of nectarine! I had a picture, but I realize all my food photos don't look the least bit appetizing. I think sea salt adds TONS of flavor to it and that ghee is heavenly LOL!

{oot and aboot}

I am exhausted! For my 29 Gifts, I made this cute card (with my Silhouette Cameo..that took forevs), then ran out to the store to grab a treat, and then to drop it off. Then I got home and wanted to nap, but knew I was going to be going out again shortly.

It was an exhausting time at Wegman's and Walmart. I am trying so hard to keep my eyes opened as I type this. I got home, put groceries away, made my yummy dinner, and relaxed in bed. I really hope I can fall asleep early tonight! It's already almost 10 and I am SO ready to sleep. Last night I tried going to bed at 10:30; ended up being 10:45, then 11:30, then midnight, then before you know it, it's 1am and I'm finally out. Anyway, after I much exhausting day (why, why do I do this to myself??), I came into the kitchen and found this:

What!? Flowers for ME!? Oh, it was so, so sweet to come home to this surprise! I asked Jimmy (skeptical, of course) if he got those for me and he told me who they were really from LOL! Beautiful, and THANK YOU! I'm so bummed I wasn't home for it and to greet who gave these to me, but I love them!

It is Spring Break for Jimmy, so I'm glad he will get to help me out more around here. Hopefully we can venture out and do something fun. Maybe Gettysburg. I need to find a wheelchair. I can't even handle grocery shopping. Mostly I want to do some Spring Cleaning. I am so tired of this mess. We need to bag up toys to sell at the Consignment Shop next month and hide them so the kids don't make messes with them. Wait, I'm rambling. I'm totally going to bed now! Mmm, after I write about Gift 3.