I know I haven't been posting and I have to apologize to my few followers (thanks by the way) for my lapse. It all boils down to me not understanding or having the time to try to understand how this new version of blogger works! haha. Basically my old version of Internet Explorer is causing trouble. And my Mac version of Safari wasn't doing very well either. So needless to say, I've been gone.
However, in light of the end of a year of challenges and the opportunities in front of us for 2013, I felt a post was necessary. Please forgive me if my formatting and such is completely out of whack. Forgive the utter stream of consciousness that this post is going to follow. I promise and resolve to figure this out sometime in the next 3 months. Along with lose weight, eat healthy, exercise, be nicer to my kids and husband, and generally kick butt at work ;).
I've never really experienced a true attitude problem. Of course, I have atittude challenges during a certain time of the month but I've grown accustomed to that and am self-aware. 2012 brought me attitude troubles almost every day of the month. I admit I felt beat down and broken. I feared I'd never climb out of the dark hole.
I realize now that I was suffering from post partum depression, as well as dealing with some bad luck health wise and relationship wise. I didn't recognize myself! Angry, mean, negative, sad, lacking self-esteem! Who is this person? The depression put pressure on all areas of my life. Work was a struggle for me to care enough to get done what had to be done (which I did get done, but not easily). My husband didn't recognize me either and so we fought a lot more than ever. My children had to deal with a mom who was no fun and seemed to get frustrated far too easily. My health was possibly a reflection of my attitude but I spent a solid 2 months in the spring dealing with repeat sinus infections and the awful pain of plueresy.... which I was sure meant I was dying of some strange and horrible disease. Or had broken a rib. Something was NOT right with my lungs.
Finally my husband and I took our long awaited anniversary trip to Europe. I went with 4 prescription drugs for all my issues, including the depression. I came home with one. The wonder and joy of that trip and the reconnection with my husband served me well. I came home rested and whole.
It hasn't been all roses since that time. The second half of the year has been a struggle as well, with health issues that continue to pile up. I went on a weight loss journey and started to exercise. The stress of the holiday season with extra busy work time made me reverse direction and gain back a good bit of weight.
I feared that all of these troubles and my attitude issues (my complete inability to drag myself back into the light of positive thinking that I've had for my entire life before this)... were just a lead up to the end of the world. In some ways, the apolocalypse would be a relief. If we all died, we'd be in that better place with no more worldly concerns. But it was the possibility of living in the dark that was concerning.
The horror and tragedy of the Sandy Hook shootings hit me very hard. I still cannot imagine a world or a mind that would think it's ok to kill or hurt innocent children. I cried. I hugged my kids tighter. I still tear up when I think about it. And I'm angry. I know logicially that there's no value in my anger. This was the act of a person who was mentally ill and not right. Logically I know that there are few people who would ever do anything this awful. But in my heart, I hurt and I'm angry and I want someone to undo it. Or since it can't be undone, I want someone to guarantee it will never happen again.
No one can make guarantees. But we need to make changes to ensure that mental illness is properly diagnosed and treated and recognized AS an illness. We need to change the laws so that background checks include some kind of flag for mental instability, or a personality quiz to pick up on threat type mindsets. These are done for employment, why not gun ownership? There should be education for gun owners on care and storage of their weapons so that a child cannot make a horrible decision in the heat of the moment. There needs to be serious (and God willing, not political) discussion on the best way to execute these kinds of safeguards while still maintaining the freedoms we are accustomed to and require. I am not willing to sacrifice my right to bear arms and I for damn sure want to be able to defend my home if some crazy person tries to hurt my children. There must be a balance between these two goals. There must be a REAL SOLUTION that will actually help the PROBLEM and not just make a good soundbite. I'm sure that I haven't considered all the angles yet but I think we can all agree that some change is warranted and a discussion must be started.
Coming back off my soapbox, 2013 is looking bright. We didn't all end on December 21st or at the end of 2012. We've made it to 2013!!! Hurray! This means that we can start planning for tomorrow, and looking to our future. We can do anything in 2013. It all starts with our good intentions and us doing something to move forward. I spent 2012 afraid to step for fear of being wrong or too sad to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 2013 is going to be a year of running forward to meet my goals and get into the light. I refuse to let the negative attitude return. There will be challenges and things won't always go the way I want. But I will meet 2013 with hope and a smile and know that it's all possible. I choose happy. I hope you do too. Happy New Year!
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Friday, January 4, 2013
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
You know you're a working mom...
1. When you can power clean your house in 2-3 hours on a weekend (or evening or holiday) because you can't waste more time that that.
2. When your crockpot is your best friend.
3. When you have to hide (and sneak to the bathroom!) to actually get work done at home, so the kids believe you've gone to work and will leave you alone.
4. When you typically spend at least a few minutes of your lunch break planning something else (meal plan, grocery list, birthday party, calendar etc).
5. When you only have one speed, and that speed is RUSH.
6. When you can dry your hair, entertain your baby, and eat breakfast all at the same time.
7. When you reach into your purse for a pen during a meeting and pull out a toy car, play phone, golf ball (!)...
8. When Your dogs go crazy as soon as you put on your sneakers because it MUST mean they are going for a walk. Mom doesn't wear sneakers for anything else. ;)
9. When you keep your dress shoes at work (to save your feet) and thus have nothing appropriate to wear for special occasions on the weekend.
10. When your most common phrase to the doctor's office is, "Do you have anything early in the morning or late in the evening?"
11. When a good part of your life revolves around keeping your calendar updated and accurate, so that you can fit everything in.
12. When your able to successfully ask sacrifices of your husband just by uttering the phrase, "I WORK TOO!"
13. When you find it perfectly natural to be cleaning breast pump parts in the ladies restroom, using hand soap and paper towels.
14. When you store your breast milk in the public refrigerator.
15. When you have at least once, had to have an awkward conversation with your (male) boss about your time spent pumping.
16. When you've taken a conference call, in the mothers room, WHILE pumping.
17. When you won't even entertain the idea of working for a company that doesn't have flexible work options.
18. When you've done work from home on many occasions after the kids are in bed or before they wake up, so you can "do it all"
19. When YOU are the go-to person in the office anyone who needs a bandaid, tylenol, antacid, feminine product, toy car, golf ball etc
20. When you pretty much are never expected to drive your coworkers to lunch, because your car has car seats, sticky seat belts, random goldfish, crayons and toys all over.
2. When your crockpot is your best friend.
3. When you have to hide (and sneak to the bathroom!) to actually get work done at home, so the kids believe you've gone to work and will leave you alone.
4. When you typically spend at least a few minutes of your lunch break planning something else (meal plan, grocery list, birthday party, calendar etc).
5. When you only have one speed, and that speed is RUSH.
6. When you can dry your hair, entertain your baby, and eat breakfast all at the same time.
7. When you reach into your purse for a pen during a meeting and pull out a toy car, play phone, golf ball (!)...
8. When Your dogs go crazy as soon as you put on your sneakers because it MUST mean they are going for a walk. Mom doesn't wear sneakers for anything else. ;)
9. When you keep your dress shoes at work (to save your feet) and thus have nothing appropriate to wear for special occasions on the weekend.
10. When your most common phrase to the doctor's office is, "Do you have anything early in the morning or late in the evening?"
11. When a good part of your life revolves around keeping your calendar updated and accurate, so that you can fit everything in.
12. When your able to successfully ask sacrifices of your husband just by uttering the phrase, "I WORK TOO!"
13. When you find it perfectly natural to be cleaning breast pump parts in the ladies restroom, using hand soap and paper towels.
14. When you store your breast milk in the public refrigerator.
15. When you have at least once, had to have an awkward conversation with your (male) boss about your time spent pumping.
16. When you've taken a conference call, in the mothers room, WHILE pumping.
17. When you won't even entertain the idea of working for a company that doesn't have flexible work options.
18. When you've done work from home on many occasions after the kids are in bed or before they wake up, so you can "do it all"
19. When YOU are the go-to person in the office anyone who needs a bandaid, tylenol, antacid, feminine product, toy car, golf ball etc
20. When you pretty much are never expected to drive your coworkers to lunch, because your car has car seats, sticky seat belts, random goldfish, crayons and toys all over.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Homemade Vegetable Soup
I watched a random Rachel Ray episode in late fall or early winter, that was directions for making a spur of the moment vegetable soup with whatever veggies you have on hand. The premise of this struck me - I can experiment with making soups! I kind of enjoy having recipes. It's a predictable outcome if you follow directions :) But I have tried the soup idea a few times and I always enjoy my result so I think I'll share with you. Maybe you will feel inspired to give it a shot and adjust it to your tastes.
I begin with a little oil in the bottom of my heavy soup pan. I heat the oil over medium heat.
Add
2-3 cloves of garlic (I love garlic but not everyone does so if you don't maybe stay on the lower end of this one).
a few shakes of crushed red pepper (to give it a little zing and clear out your nose if you have a cold)
Heat for a few minutes until the garlic "speaks" in the oil (sizzles)
Add a chopped onion and cook until onion becomes translucent.
From here - it's really your own tastes.
Personally I like:
A can of diced tomatoes
sliced and peeled carrots (about 2)
sliced celery (about 2 stalks)
about 2 cups of chicken broth or more to your taste
a few shakes of dried basil
a shake of black pepper
I let this simmer for about 10-15 minutes on medium-low.
Then I add:
sliced and peeled zucchini (1 big or two smaller)
maybe some frozen or canned green beans or any other veggies you like :)
Cook for another 5-10 minutes, taste testing and adjusting the flavors as needed.
Yesterday I made the above soup and cooked some small frozen tortellini in there with the zucchini step. The tortellini adds something special and makes this a stand-alone meal. I also cheated yesterday and used the canned carrots to speed up the whole process. It still tastes good to me!
You can add white beans, Broccoli, cauliflower or any other veggies you like. To make this all vegetarian, you could use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth. Take the plunge and experiment! It's worth it to have a homemade veggie soup. Enjoy
Monday, June 11, 2012
Chore Charts
I've recently implemented a chore chart in our household to try to keep the kids accountable, and also bring some order to the chaos. It seems lots of people have interest in chore charts so here's mine :)
Note - all the clipart was randomly found on the Internet or part of my excel program. Please use for personal use only.
I was attempting to upload the excel version of the file so you could use it as a template... but I can't seem to. So if you need it, leave me a comment with your email address (I suggest using a phonetic version of your email to avoid spam like "susie at yahoo dot com") and I can find a way to email to you. :)
Here's an attempt to paste the table, in a format you can hopefully copy!
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8rZrAJUjsvVSUc2YmNiOWZlUVU
Note - all the clipart was randomly found on the Internet or part of my excel program. Please use for personal use only.
I was attempting to upload the excel version of the file so you could use it as a template... but I can't seem to. So if you need it, leave me a comment with your email address (I suggest using a phonetic version of your email to avoid spam like "susie at yahoo dot com") and I can find a way to email to you. :)
Here's an attempt to paste the table, in a format you can hopefully copy!
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8rZrAJUjsvVSUc2YmNiOWZlUVU
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole
I'm sorry I've been missing in action lately. Life got away from me and I did take a wonderful trip with my husband as well :)
I'm seeking comfort lately, and this week I'm not worried about carbs or calories :). So here's another old standby recipe. In my opinion, this SHOULD work better than it does for getting kids to eat veggies. My mother never mixed my veggies with cheese and hamburger or there would have been way fewer dinner time battles! :) Instead I was forced to eat things like beef stroganoff (WITH mushrooms) and the like. Apparently I'm just too nice of a mom in terms of my cooking. So my kids don't appreciate really yummy recipes like this. There's a lesson there I guess. Unfortunately my middle son won't eat this because he doesn't like tater tots (or veggies LOL). The younger son will usually eat most of it and my oldest daughter, husband and I clear our plates and get seconds. YUM.
Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole
2lbs ground beef
onion powder, garlic powder to taste (~ 1tsp)
salt & pepper to taste
2 cans of Campbells Cheddar cheese soup
a bag of frozen mixed vegetables
a bag of frozen tater tots
Brown the hamburger and season with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. You may also add chopped onion if you wish - we aren't big onion people so we don't add it. Drain the excess fat. Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with non stick spray. Layer hamburger, veggies, and soup and stir lightly together to combine. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Top with tater tots and bake at 350 for additional 45 minutes or everything is melted / bubbly and the tater tots look lightly browned. I like to make this recipe a few hours ahead and keep in the fridge until it's time to bake for dinner. It will usually cook in 45 minutes or less coming from the fridge instead of the freezer. Leftovers are equally satisfying :)
I'm seeking comfort lately, and this week I'm not worried about carbs or calories :). So here's another old standby recipe. In my opinion, this SHOULD work better than it does for getting kids to eat veggies. My mother never mixed my veggies with cheese and hamburger or there would have been way fewer dinner time battles! :) Instead I was forced to eat things like beef stroganoff (WITH mushrooms) and the like. Apparently I'm just too nice of a mom in terms of my cooking. So my kids don't appreciate really yummy recipes like this. There's a lesson there I guess. Unfortunately my middle son won't eat this because he doesn't like tater tots (or veggies LOL). The younger son will usually eat most of it and my oldest daughter, husband and I clear our plates and get seconds. YUM.
Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole
2lbs ground beef
onion powder, garlic powder to taste (~ 1tsp)
salt & pepper to taste
2 cans of Campbells Cheddar cheese soup
a bag of frozen mixed vegetables
a bag of frozen tater tots
Brown the hamburger and season with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. You may also add chopped onion if you wish - we aren't big onion people so we don't add it. Drain the excess fat. Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with non stick spray. Layer hamburger, veggies, and soup and stir lightly together to combine. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Top with tater tots and bake at 350 for additional 45 minutes or everything is melted / bubbly and the tater tots look lightly browned. I like to make this recipe a few hours ahead and keep in the fridge until it's time to bake for dinner. It will usually cook in 45 minutes or less coming from the fridge instead of the freezer. Leftovers are equally satisfying :)
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Hope, life, love and sweet baby cuteness
I went with my girls to visit my sister and her family this past weekend. My sister was 38 weeks pregnant and my young neice is just under 2 years old. Add in me and my two girls and you have a recipe for chaos :). Fortunately the weekend moved smoothly. I was impressed with how well my neice and baby daughter got along. They are only 1 year apart but I guess I expected a bigger gap in their interests and abilities. It was so fun and exciting to see them fascinated with each other. I took them for a walk in the 'new to them' double stroller and my neice was patting the baby's head and telling her, It's ok baby. Adorable. My older daughter was patient and fun for the two younger girls. I had special time with each. Happy mommy / aunt weekend. My older daughter even told me it was fun - score!
My sister is wonderful. Caring, loving, smart, a great companion and my oldest and best friend. Yet any woman at 9 months pregnant, is bound to be slightly cranky, haha. We did not fight or get upset but I'm sure we each had our moments. Nevertheless, I left for the airport on Monday wishing we lived closer and could spend more time together. I especially wished that our children could play more regularly as I remember my cousins and I did.
Monday afternoon brought news that my sister's blood pressure was too high and she was to be induced the following morning. The next 12 hours were fraught with anxiety, information gathering, and yes, prayer. Thankfully the labor was relatively uneventful and baby nephew arrived safely. He is absolutely adorable; tiny and perfect.
As I gaze at his picture, I am reminded of the hope, joy and love that such new life brings. Tiny babies are a blessing and a wake up call rolled up into one. This tiny person will learn everything from scratch. We (the community or the parents) are influencing how he views the world. As parents, this concept is not new. We know we have tremendous responsibility and influence to the little people. And we bemoan the fact that we no longer have such influence during those wonderful teenage years. And of course we worry at least a little about how our actions will appear to the therapist some day!
Yet my message today is for the community. Teachers, coaches, neighbors, family, friends, grocery store clerk, photographer, bus driver, policeman, fireman, professional athlete, nurse, doctor, dentist, stranger on the street, stranger waiting behind us in a long line, stranger on the airplane... you have influence too! This tiny boy (and all the kids really) are watching you. They see how you say please or thank you (or how you don't). They hear your tone and learn to read your body language. They see how we interact with each other and with them. They are looking to us to learn what's right and what's wrong; what's good and what's bad; what's success and what's failure.
So I respectfully ask you to use this influence for the benefit of the child and the world. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Smile at that small baby on the plane, even if you may be having a less relaxing flight than you hoped. Give a word of encouragement to that mother or father dealing with a temper tantrum. Or at least walk away before criticizing their choices. Be polite to people as much as you can. Use decent language, or at least bad language quietly ;). Remember who's watching and learning so often, even when you aren't aware.
I for one, would like to leave our children in a better place than I had. I want them to be BETTER than me. Common decency and respect for each other is something we do have to practice, in order to teach. This generation is growing up in a vastly different world than we did. But they are our hope and our future. They may grow to be the next president, CEO, church pastor, healer, scientist, bus driver. We need them to care about the world, themselves and each other.
"I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be."
Whitney Houston, The Greatest Love of All lyrics
My sister is wonderful. Caring, loving, smart, a great companion and my oldest and best friend. Yet any woman at 9 months pregnant, is bound to be slightly cranky, haha. We did not fight or get upset but I'm sure we each had our moments. Nevertheless, I left for the airport on Monday wishing we lived closer and could spend more time together. I especially wished that our children could play more regularly as I remember my cousins and I did.
Monday afternoon brought news that my sister's blood pressure was too high and she was to be induced the following morning. The next 12 hours were fraught with anxiety, information gathering, and yes, prayer. Thankfully the labor was relatively uneventful and baby nephew arrived safely. He is absolutely adorable; tiny and perfect.
As I gaze at his picture, I am reminded of the hope, joy and love that such new life brings. Tiny babies are a blessing and a wake up call rolled up into one. This tiny person will learn everything from scratch. We (the community or the parents) are influencing how he views the world. As parents, this concept is not new. We know we have tremendous responsibility and influence to the little people. And we bemoan the fact that we no longer have such influence during those wonderful teenage years. And of course we worry at least a little about how our actions will appear to the therapist some day!
Yet my message today is for the community. Teachers, coaches, neighbors, family, friends, grocery store clerk, photographer, bus driver, policeman, fireman, professional athlete, nurse, doctor, dentist, stranger on the street, stranger waiting behind us in a long line, stranger on the airplane... you have influence too! This tiny boy (and all the kids really) are watching you. They see how you say please or thank you (or how you don't). They hear your tone and learn to read your body language. They see how we interact with each other and with them. They are looking to us to learn what's right and what's wrong; what's good and what's bad; what's success and what's failure.
So I respectfully ask you to use this influence for the benefit of the child and the world. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Smile at that small baby on the plane, even if you may be having a less relaxing flight than you hoped. Give a word of encouragement to that mother or father dealing with a temper tantrum. Or at least walk away before criticizing their choices. Be polite to people as much as you can. Use decent language, or at least bad language quietly ;). Remember who's watching and learning so often, even when you aren't aware.
I for one, would like to leave our children in a better place than I had. I want them to be BETTER than me. Common decency and respect for each other is something we do have to practice, in order to teach. This generation is growing up in a vastly different world than we did. But they are our hope and our future. They may grow to be the next president, CEO, church pastor, healer, scientist, bus driver. We need them to care about the world, themselves and each other.
"I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be."
Whitney Houston, The Greatest Love of All lyrics
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Dijon Chicken - another low carb meal idea
Another low carb dinner - suitable for induction period of Atkins or the first two weeks of South Beach or anytime you want to reduce carbohydrates!
Dijon Chicken
One of my personal favorites and super simple and rather fast.
4 Chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise and opened up to cook quickly
8 slices of Canadian bacon or ham
4 slices of the cheese of your choice (I like Swiss best but my kids eat American better. It works w/ cheddar too!)
Dijon butter sauce
3/4 cup of light (or regular) butter
1-2 tbsp of dijon mustard (to taste - I use 2 because I like it stronger)
Spray a broiler pan with cooking spray. Salt and pepper your chicken lightly and put on the broiler pan under the broiler for approximately 5-7 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
While the chicken is cooking, melt butter in a small saucepan. Once butter is completely melted, mix in the dijon mustard to taste.
When the chicken looks like it's cooked through, add the two slices of canadian bacon or ham and top with a slice of cheese. Broil for an additional 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.
Serve with dijon butter sauce! Yum. Approximately 3 net carbs per serving. Serve with other low carb veggies such as cauliflower, some asparagus, a little broccoli or as much salad (lettuce and cucumbers and celery) as you like. Watch your dressings! Some dressings with low carbs are caesar, oil and vinegar, blue cheese and certain brands of ranch.
Dijon Chicken
One of my personal favorites and super simple and rather fast.
4 Chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise and opened up to cook quickly
8 slices of Canadian bacon or ham
4 slices of the cheese of your choice (I like Swiss best but my kids eat American better. It works w/ cheddar too!)
Dijon butter sauce
3/4 cup of light (or regular) butter
1-2 tbsp of dijon mustard (to taste - I use 2 because I like it stronger)
Spray a broiler pan with cooking spray. Salt and pepper your chicken lightly and put on the broiler pan under the broiler for approximately 5-7 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
While the chicken is cooking, melt butter in a small saucepan. Once butter is completely melted, mix in the dijon mustard to taste.
When the chicken looks like it's cooked through, add the two slices of canadian bacon or ham and top with a slice of cheese. Broil for an additional 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.
Serve with dijon butter sauce! Yum. Approximately 3 net carbs per serving. Serve with other low carb veggies such as cauliflower, some asparagus, a little broccoli or as much salad (lettuce and cucumbers and celery) as you like. Watch your dressings! Some dressings with low carbs are caesar, oil and vinegar, blue cheese and certain brands of ranch.
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