This is going to be a rant and rave session so get ready.
First off, this weather stinks. It's October, I know, it rains in VA. Whatever. The mugginess is what gets me. Today was actually a bit cooler, mid 60s so it felt more appropriate. It's been gray and rainy for three days now and it's done nothing positive for my mood.
On a good note, I made that vegetable soup I mentioned a couple days ago. :-) Baby lima beans, carrots, leeks, potatoes, garlic, celery, tomato paste w/italian herbs, chicken broth, crushed red pepper, my house seasoning (salt, black pepper, granulated garlic) and I think that's about it. The recipe says to add orzo but since I'm trying to cut down on excess carbs, I just left it out. I only put in one small potato. Came out pretty good. You're supposed to puree after you've simmered it for 45 minutes, which I did. Then to serve you can add a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. I'm a bit immature when it comes to eating enough veggies but this soup really "hides" everything. I think next time I'll add the usual but I'll add in turnips instead of the potato, maybe some spinach....and I have some turkey kielbasa...maybe I can throw that in for some protein. I'm not a huge fan of soups in general but a thick hearty soup I can do. I'm a meat and potatoes girl but I'm trying to eat healthy and satisfy the hunger while taking it easy on the overall calories. I've been good about desserts and liquid calories, my biggest problems. If I crave some soda, I'll get some if we eat out. If I have it at home, forget it. lol Same with desserts. I buy the kids stuff only they like and if I do get something I like, I share it with them so I consume less. ;-)
This winter I would like to improve on what my children eat. The majority of it is processed junk. The foods I do make are iffy. If my son likes it, my daughter doesn't...or vice versa. It's bad enough that I have to figure out what to make for myself but then picking winners to serve the children...sigh. I got a new cookbook in my Amazon order and it's by Anne Burrell, from the Food Network. I love her, she's awesome. She knows her stuff and she uses crushed red pepper! I've tried a few of her dishes so far and she delivers. She has a recipe for mac&cheese w/bacon in her book....since my kids are hooked on boxed macaroni and cheese I figure I'll try it. They better eat it!! It has bacon in it..what's not to love? ;-)
They eat scrambled eggs, pancakes, my son will eat most meats, my daughter prefers not to. She can eat my roast beef and horseradish with lettuce, tomato on wheat with a side of olives and peppers but yeah...something like chicken and green bean casserole and she says it's disgusting. She definitely likes the stronger flavors. My son likes the more simple options. Both will eat fish thank goodness. I make a salmon with mashed potatoes and I make a dijon cream sauce with a little bit of chicken broth, the kids have no idea they're eating salmon. The sauce takes the fishiness out of the salmon. It's heaven with the mashed potatoes. Oh yeah, did I mention the mashed potatoes are from Country Crock? I add milk, butter and my house seasoning to it when I heat it up on the stove, gotta tweak it a bit but yeah, it's yet another processed easy fix. It's just not worth me standing over the stove for an hour or two when I'm already dying for bedtime and all I want to do is get the kids fed and in bed.
I haven't done much yesterday or today in the way of exercise. Some inner thigh work on the Leg Magic, some arm weights and ab moves but that's about it. Nothing to cause a sweat.
Okay, now for the crazy people. I had a little debate on Facebook last night with someone I know only a little bit. I had a status update followed by an additional comment I made on the thread and next thing I know she's defending her decision to put her children in preschool. What got on my nerves was that I never said anything about anyone's personal choices nor was I starting a debate on preschool vs homeschooling. She went the personal route right off the cuff....and then she kept draaaagggging it. I deleted the whole thread because I didn't want anyone posting anymore. I had had enough.
The majority of my Facebook friends are non-homeschoolers. A couple of girls I went to high school with are now parents and they teach public school elementary grades. A lot of my relatives think I'm nuts. Whatever. I'm not trying to convert anyone nor do I ever have a status that says "Hey, public schoolers....I feel sorry for your children!" I'm opinionated and I'm proud of my decision to educate my own children but I'm not a moron. Here's what I don't understand: The non-homeschoolers that I know are the first to get defensive and the first to feel the need to "prove" their decision. They are also uneducated on the subject of education in this country, both from their public school perspective as well as alternative choices such as homeschooling. When someone gets defensive, there's usually a seed of self-doubt or insecurity there. (I made the mistake of saying that to the loco from last night who inevitably got even huffier.) If I post something on Facebook it is because Facebook is an outlet for me. I find articles online that are interesting and I post them. I find cartoons or pictures that are amusing or inspiring and I post them. I quote books I read or people who say something funny. If I say something about homeschooling, why don't they take it for what it is? Why is it automatically implied that if I say something about homeschooling, it must mean I'm putting down the public schoolers in the same breath (when I don't say a WORD that has anything to do with someone's personal choices!)? Anyway, the loco from last night decided she wasn't interested in my Facebook posts anymore and deleted me. One less person I need to worry about.
Lastly, I'm on an Ellen Barrett kick. Fusion Flow, Fat Burning Pilates, and Fat Burning Fusion were delivered today. Her Yogini workout should be coming soon. She just came out with a Power Fusion workout in September and she has two sculpting workouts I'm interested in. There are two 10 Minute Solution dvds I like too with Amy Bento. When the next box from Amazon comes I'll let you know what I got. ;-) Thank goodness I can preview dvds on Youtube so I can see if the moves are what I'm looking for!
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