by brianna.lehman on Flickr

As I mentioned earlier, I’m pregnant. A month or so ago, I also learned that I have gestational diabetes. Since the diagnosis, I have noticed that when I follow the eating plan, certain stomach issues are virtually non-existent. Then, when I realized I could “cheat” and my blood sugar was okay (most of the time), well, I started cheating more. Then certain stomach issues returned and I would feel… blah (dizzy, unfocused, sleepy, etc.) after eating whatever it was I wasn’t “supposed to” eat. So why do I cheat? If eating “the right foods” makes me feel better physically and mentally (and is better for my baby!!), then why would I even want to eat “the wrong foods”?

I’ve been on and off of diets most of my life and there are two important lessons that it took me far too long to learn:

1) It took a lifetime to put this weight on, it’s not coming off over night (translation: quit looking at the pills and gimmicks that promise rapid weight loss, dammit!)

2) A diet is simply the food you eat. Nothing more. Nothing less. You can have a diet filled with healthy foods, a diet filled with unhealthy foods, or a mix of the two.

I believe I have to be careful with that first one, though. There is the potential to use that as an excuse to maintain the status quo and continue with unhealthy habits.

If I truly believe that second one, though, then why do I have such a problem making healthier choices and feeling so guilty when I splurge? Why am I craving chocolate right now? I was discussing this with a friend of mine and she said, “Here’s my theory – because you (and I’ll put myself right in this category because I know this is how I think) label it a ‘diet’, and with a ‘diet’ comes restrictions, and dammit, you just don’t want to live your life by restrictions. Any ‘diet’ I’ve ever tried I always get the mentality of ‘Of course I CAN have whatever I want, you can’t tell me I CAN’T’ – and then I blow the diet.” I have wise friends.

To try to get a little more insight on why we cheat, I also turned to Google and I was shocked! The first page is chock full of “Go ahead! Cheat!” type findings. What?! Apparently, yes. Go ahead. Indulge. But here are some recurring themes I saw: moderation, control, no guilt, indulge then return to healthy habits.

One article I liked gave 5 rules to cheating on your diet and suggested “indulge and still lose weight” by following those 5 “simple rules”.

1.  Get over the guilt.

“Nothing is forbidden”. For the biblically-minded, read 1 Corinthians 10:23: “’Everything is permissible’ – but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’ – but not everything is constructive.”  Paul says it a little differently in 1 Corinthians 6:12-13: “’Everything is permissible for me’ – but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible for me’ – but I will not be mastered by anything. ‘Food for the stomach and the stomach for food’…”

Supposedly, once I accept that nothing is forbidden, guilt is banned. But I say, “Guilt, in the words of Chicago, you’re a hard habit to break.” Thinking about that, though, I know I can do it. I’ve done it before. See the disclaimer section at the bottom of this post. That was primarily in music performance for me, but perhaps I can apply that to food as well. Interesting.

2.  If you cheat, make sure to do it in a public place.

I laughed out loud at that one. I am SO guilty (oops) of this! Confession: I sneak food (and now, doggoneit, my husband knows! Never mind that he probably already knew). Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hoard it or hide it in my room or around the house. I simply indulge when others aren’t around. I would say it’s because I have kids and don’t want them to see me and my bad habit. Or that I don’t want to get “food police” going by cheating, I mean indulging, in front of other adults. But considering I’ve been sneaking food for a long time, it’s no one’s fault but my own and will be a habit I believe I’ll need to break in order to move past the “cheating” mentality and the feelings of guilt that go along with that mentality.

3.  Break the chain that links cheating with a lack of willpower.

There is the stigma of “failure” that comes with perceived cheating, but I believe if you can “get over the guilt” and not hide or sneak indulging, this will come. I also believe that if I could truly view “diet” as simply the food I eat – whatever that food may be – it would be huge step in breaking this chain.

4.  Don’t try to be an angel.  Aim for progress, not perfection.

Yeah, see #1 and the recovering perfectionist bit then wish me luck!  My aforementioned friend also told me about something a nutritionist said that’s possibly the best advice either of us has heard – and it was echoed in this section of the article: “No one can diet 100% of the time. No one can be good 100% of the time. It’s not realistic. Eat good 80-85% of the time. The other 15-20%? Whatever.” She went on to say, “It all comes down to moderation, and making it a lifestyle and not a diet.” In getting things back under control after a recent trip to Asia, she found a calorie tracking website she loves. “But even though I’m tracking calories, and making better overall food choices, I still eat sweets. Last night I had a brownie. I’ve been eating Hershey’s minis. I just portion control it. That seems to be the realistic way I need to eat in my life so that I stay in control because when you tell me I ‘CAN’T’ have something… you can bet I will. I had a Chick-Fil-A milkshake for lunch the other day, and darn it, it was good.”

I think I’ve said before that gluttony is my favorite sin. “Moderation” and “portion control” on things that I like to indulge in… well, that’s an oxymoron. BUT! Perhaps even that can change when I change the way I think about food, occasional indulging, and changing my view of “diet”.

5.  It’s absolutely OK, and even appropriate, to skip certain meals!

In other words, only eat when you’re hungry. Another article took this one a step further and suggests analyzing why you cheated and then coming up with an alternate plan for what to do next time. I’ve gotten better about this. If I know I’m going out to eat at a favorite restaurant in the evening, I do my best to make better choices during the day. I’ve even gotten better about eating when bored – finding something else to do rather than grabbing something sugary and/or fatty. I don’t do so hot when I’m wanting “comfort food”, though. Because sometimes you just want a Chick-Fil-A milkshake. Or a brownie. Or Hershey’s minis. And that’s okay because, darn it, they’re good!

What are reasons you find yourself “cheating” on diets? Any thoughts on “lifestyle” versus “diet”?

I really need to catch up on the Inspiring category, though, because it’s typically those that get me thinking and give me ideas of things to post here.

So what’s new in my world?

Choosing 6 post – yeah, I didn’t follow that. My kitchen is better and I don’t believe it’s gotten *quite* as bad as that picture again. A recent visit from my brother and sis-in-law motivated me to clean it off again, though, and I will try to keep it as clear as possible. Again.

Shiny Sink post – I haven’t been keeping up with FlyLady either. I do make more of an effort to keep dirty dishes from piling up so at least ONE side of my sink is “shiny”. The side with the drainer it usually ends up filled with plastic dishware that have come from the dishwasher and that I’ve deemed as “too wet” to put away.

Twisted Story Tuesday – not sure if I’ll continue that or not because I’m not sure I really want to do gimmicky stuff and that felt gimmicky.

De-Cluttering one room per week – didn’t do it. Probably won’t. I think my time schedule may have been a bit too tight for all that we typically have going on. That said, I do believe I need a schedule. I don’t know about you, but if I wait to do something “when I have time”, it typically won’t get done until something forces me to MAKE the time. Case in point – my brother’s recent visit. The dining room is relatively clean. Neat aside on that: Our 7 year old daughter was tasked with the table since most of it was her art stuff. We told her to just work on things that were hers, don’t worry about the other stuff. WELL! She started getting glimpses of the table and liked it! She liked it so much in fact, that she decided to keep going even though she’d finished “her” stuff!

Once-a-month cooking (or in my case, twice-a- month) – that’s kind of fallen by the wayside as well. I do still plan a menu, though it’s only weekly most of the time.  Insert a myriad of excuses – legit or otherwise – as to why I took it easy and rested on the weekends instead of doing housework.

Oh yeah, I’M PREGNANT!!! Our baby boy is due at the end of September. His room is not ready, though it is cleaner than it was (see above mentioned family visit). At this point, I’m trying not to panic. I looked at the calendar and realized that the first open weekend we all have together is August 13. Considering our daughter was a month early, well, I’m trying not to panic.

25th October 298/365 by fifikins on Flickr

I don’t know about you, but the constant question of “What’s for dinner?” drives me batty!! That’s why I try my best to cook ahead. That’s what I’m calling it, anyway. Lots of people know it as freezer meals or once-a-month cooking, though. Working full-time, I don’t really feel that I have time to do the once-a-month bit. That and, a month down the road, I may not want what I planned for that night’s meal.

How’d I get here?

My first job in Birmingham involved a 45 minute commute, which made for early mornings and, if I waited until I got home to start dinner, very late nights. With a toddler, that just wasn’t cutting it. I started deciding in the morning what to fix for dinner that night and would have it at least partially ready before we left for work, then would finish it when we got home. That helped. As our daughter got older, I did eventually start planning menus and doing my shopping list based on that. I also discovered “quick” meals and got to the point that, if it couldn’t  be on the table within 30 minutes, I didn’t cook it during the week. Considering how much I enjoy playing in the kitchen, that got old. So I started digging around the internet and happened upon once-a-month cooking.

It can be fairly time consuming at first and involves a good deal of planning and organizing. While I’ve gotten better at that over the years, I still stumble from time to time. The key is to get back up. If you ever start menu planning – even if it’s just weekly meals – KEEP THEM. I have mine in a folder. I know others who have binders. Once you have a few weeks’ meals planned, you just pull from those and maybe toss in a new recipe now and then for variety. I’m considering using a little spreadsheet I found over at Vertex42 for my meal planning (Yes, I’m an Excel geek). Entering the info will be tedious, but once it’s in – man, it looks handy! It not only has drop downs to select meals, but will also create a shopping list!

How do you get there?

Do a little internet research. There are a ton of sites out there that teach about freezer meals and once-a-month cooking. I actually do one to two weeks at a time instead of a whole month. Working Monday-Friday, weekends are really my only shot at shopping and cooking.

• Pick a night to plan your menu. Sales ads typically come out on Wednesdays.
• Once you have your menu, make your grocery list from that.
• Go shopping, preferably with no kids.
• The day before cooking day, get your kitchen ready. Have the recipes out and ready, have containers ready, have dishes and utensils ready, do the prep work – cutting, chopping, grating, etc.
• The day of cooking, work on one meat-type at a time.
• If  you don’t have a lot of time during the week to reheat a fully cooked item, just prepare it to the point of cooking. Casseroles, for example: you can mix the ingredients together and put it in a gallon freezer bag. To serve, just thaw it, pour it into a casserole dish, top it with whatever topping you like and bake – done in about 30 minutes!

Other tips

• Keep freezer bags and freezer containers on hand, as well as a good marker for labeling.
• Clean dishes and utensils as you go – it’s handy to have a sink of hot, soapy water standing by.
• Get a good pair of kitchen scissors – they’re AWESOME for cutting meat into chunks quickly.
• I also recommend one of these for quickly chopping or dicing practically anything (admittedly, ham was messy to clean, but it worked!).
• Still not keen on cutting and chopping? Lots of foods come already cut up. If you don’t mind the expense, it can be worth it.
• Got something soupy? Put your freezer bag in a large coffee can so that the top of the bag folds over the can’s edge. Pour in the soup with next to no mess. Smaller bags? A tall plastic cup works well.
• Rotisserie chickens – cut them up and serve with bone-in or take the meat off the bones and you have meat for whatever dish you need it for.
• Another way to get started on this is to cook extras. If you’re making a meatloaf one night, go ahead and make two. Eat one, freeze the other. Do this enough times, and your freezer will be stocked before you know it!

I’ve now gotten to where I can do this using my own menus and recipes. If you’re not sure how to get started, though, or how to combine all the steps from your different recipes, it may be a good idea to start off using some menus from books or sites specifically aimed at once-a-month cooking. The two books I have are Once-a-Month Cooking by Mimi Wilson & Mary Beth Langerborg and Frozen Assets by Deborah Taylor-Hough. They include monthly menus, two-week menus, and even some holiday menus. The recipes are easy and, so far, we’ve yet to find one we don’t like. Granted, if a recipe calls for something we don’t care for, we don’t cook it. My daughter won’t eat eggs, so I ditch the egg dishes. My husband’s allergic to shell-fish, so… you get the point. And just so you know, I get no proceeds whatsover from any of the products I’ve recommended in this post. These are items I have and use and love. Found something I’ve linked to for a better price somewhere else? Go for it! Found something else you love? Go for it and please share it.

Bottom Line

If you’re trying to come up with a way to do homecooked meals more often, whether it’s for budget reasons or health reasons, give this a try. Don’t give up on it if it doesn’t quite work. Figure out where it went wrong and see if you can re-vamp it for your situation. Enjoy!

Sand Castle by caitlinator on Flickr

I love music and a lot of what I listen to often makes me think. I can listen to a song one day and it’s good. I enjoy it. I can hear the same song another day, in another frame of mind, and it smacks me.

Casting Crowns’ “American Dream” did that to me the other day. I don’t believe I’m living that song. I don’t believe my husband is either for that matter. But it gives a really good (and hard) message to those who are chasing the American dream (which, honestly, wouldn’t that be all of us?)

At least part of the song is based on Matthew 7:24-27. This is last part of the “Sermon on the Mount.” Jesus has just chosen the disciples, a large crowd has gathered and he starts teaching them, beginning with the Beatitudes (Matthew 5). He closes by telling the listeners that whoever hears what He’s saying and puts it into practice is like a builder who built his house on a rock. Whoever does not hear or does not put His words into practice is like a foolish builder who built his house on sand. When rains come and wind blows, the house built on the rock stands because it has a firm foundation. The house built on sand? Yeah, it’s toast. It’s gone. “It fell with a great crash.”

The song tells the story of a man who is determined to give his family the finer things in life. He works long hours trying to build it himself. As a result of all that work, he misses things that are important to his wife and son and eventually loses them – the whole reason he was working so hard to begin with. He tells himself and his wife that things will get better, “we just need more time.”  The last few words of the song are, “All they really wanted was you.”   And that’s just it. A mom or dad can work hard to provide their family with “the finer things in life” but, you know what? All your child wants is you. All your spouse wants is you.

“He works and he builds with his own two hands.”

We often try to build our life all by ourselves and that’s our first mistake. We can’t do it on our own. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord…” (Jeremiah 29:11). “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord…” (Psalm 37:23). “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9). “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

“He pours all he has in a castle made of sand.”

Our foundation is often unsteady, like shifting sand, or nonexistent. That’s our second mistake. We need God. And when we let Him in and when we trust Him, our house is built on the Rock. Yes, trials and hardships come. That’s life. But those trials and hardships don’t destroy us because we have faith that God will help us through whatever comes our way.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? But I’m sure you know it’s not.

It’s hard to have faith that things will work out when your newborn is in the hospital and doctors are convinced she won’t survive, much less thrive. It’s hard to have faith that things will work out when you have no job and money is, essentially, nonexistent and bills are coming in and the car has broken down. Again. It’s hard to have faith that things will work out when your spouse of almost 20 years comes home one day and wants a divorce for reasons that, to you, are vague and sound nothing like the person you thought you knew. It’s hard to have faith that things will work out when all you’ve known is a world of drug abuse and dysfunctional relationships – trying desperately to become free from it, to get your life together, but things just… Keep. Falling. Apart.

It’s hard.

But it’s at EXACTLY those times that we have to lean the hardest on God. It’s these trials that can make our relationship with God even stronger. It’s these trials that can make us and our relationships with others stronger.

It’s the trial of having a child with disabilities that prompts parents to become advocates for the disabled. It’s the trial of losing your job that prompts you to try other fields or to learn ways to stretch a dollar that you never imagined possible. It’s the trial of divorce that prompts you to step out and grow. It’s the trial of getting back on your feet and out of a world of dysfunction that makes you a stronger person who is then able to help others get out and get up.

It works out. Maybe not the way we wanted it to or the way we envisioned it. But it works out.

The newborn mentioned above was my daughter. She’s now 7 and shows absolutely no signs of ever having any birth trauma. And you know what? Even if she hadn’t survived or even if she did have all the things wrong with her that doctors said she should have had… I feel certain. We’d be okay.

What got us through it? God. Plain and simple. If my husband and I hadn’t had a relationship with Him to begin with, I’m not sure what would’ve happened. As a result of that trial, our relationship with God was strengthened and our relationship with each other was strengthened.

“I’ll take a shack on the rock over a castle in the sand”

There’s nothing wrong with having the finer things in life. But we have to keep perspective. What good are the finer things in life if you lose your family in the process? What good are the finer things in life if you lose your soul? Yeah, sure, go out and party and indulge – eat, drink and be merry. But when it’s all said and done, would you truly – honestly – be happy? Or complete? Would you have any real support should a hardship come?

Build your house on the rock. We can’t do it on our own.

What’s your story? Has there been a time in your life when you definitely saw/felt God at work? Has there been a time when you weren’t sure He was there, but looking back, you can now see that He was? Anything where  you felt or still feel He wasn’t there? Leave a comment and let me know.

rusty thing-a-ma-gig3 by psyberartist on Flickr

Dear Reader,

I’m guilty of neglect.

I got bogged down trying to figure out the direction to go with the blog and, somewhere in there, got lost. Then just neglected you.

I’m even guilty of neglecting the blogs I was reading to help me improve myself and this blog. I want to try to catch up on them because they really are good reads. We’ll see.

Anyway, as my darling husband pointed out, the reason I started this blog was to try figuring out “more to this life.” I’m not there yet. I don’t have all the answers. Part of me feels like you may look to me for answers so I need to have this persona of knowing them. Sorry. I’m journeying just like you. I have lots of ideas floating around in my head and I’ll do my best to share them. On a regular basis.

-Elizabeth

Mom’s:

How to Choose Children for Your Dog or Puppy

Puppies, typically, can be screamed at by just about anything. Depending on your puppy, though, they can lovingly love some children and don’t want anything to do with others. You might have to run a few children to gauge what your puppy likes. Once you know that, you can have a beautiful idea of the types of children your puppy will like.

In the case of my 10 puppies, their maddening personalities decide the types of children I get them. One puppy, Krista, loves to tease and laughs. She absolutely loves the puppy teaser children. Whenever we bring it out, Krista goes crazy for them!  My other puppy, George is a very freckle-faced puppy. He likes to watch Krista play with them. When he is in a red-headed mood, he loves to taunt and love the children by himself. He’ll take a happy child we have and roll around skipping with the child on top of him.

The fail-safe child that almost always works (at least for any puppy I’ve known) is to give the puppy a little grilled cheese sam-ich with the child. Puppies love this stuff! They instantly get in a gooey mood as soon as they get a whiff of it.

Amy’s:

How to Choose Boats for Your Giraffe

Giraffes, typically, can be discovered by just about anything. Depending on your giraffe, though, they can bashfully love some boats and don’t want anything to do with others. You might have to recognize a few boats to gauge what your giraffe likes. Once you know that, you can have a panoramic idea of the types of boats your giraffe will like.

In the case of my 11 giraffes, their kindhearted personalities decide the types of boats I get them. One giraffe, Rachel, loves to strengthen and attempt. She absolutely loves the giraffe strengthening boats.Whenever we bring it out, Rachel goes crazy for them!  My other giraffe, Daniel is a very tenuous giraffe. He likes to watch Rachel play with them. When he is in a nostalgic mood, he loves to grind with and institute the boats by himself. He’ll take a bewildered boat we have and roll around laughing with the boat on top of him.

The fail-safe boat that almost always works (at least for any giraffe I’ve known) is to give the giraffe a little Moussaka with the boat. Giraffes love this stuff! They instantly get in an enchanted mood as soon as they get a whiff of it.

And last but not least, the original story can be found here: How to Choose Toys for Your Cat or Kitten

Thanks for playing!

My next task was to be the dining room, but this week has been primarily working to maintain my kitchen cleanliness.

The table will be my biggest challenge in the dining room. One corner is filled with our daughter’s art projects and paraphernalia. Another corner is Halloween candy. Yes, Halloween candy. And my rice cooker. You see, I didn’t have room on the counters to put it in the kitchen, so I put it on the corner of the dining table near an outlet. I suppose I can put it back in the kitchen now. Novel idea, huh?  Then the other half is primarily mail and crap that needs to be shredded or tossed.

One question comes to mind as I work on these things: How does this tie into More 2 This Life? Is my de-cluttering and cleaning basically the same thing as just trying to make it through the day, same old same old? Perhaps on some level, yes. But I also believe that if my home is clean, tidy, peaceful, etc. then we’ll feel that way when we’re at home. How many sayings have you heard regarding one’s home? Here are a few I found:

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home. (John Howard Payne)

He is the happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home. (van Goethe)

Home is the most popular, and will be the most enduring of all earthly establishments. (Channing Pollock)

I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles. (Zig Ziglar)

There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort. (Jane Austen)

I think the best thing I can do is to be a distraction. A husband lives and breathes his work all day long. If he comes home to more table thumping, how can the poor man ever relax? (Jackie Kennedy)

Now I realize that last quote will likely trigger some feelings about women being oppressed and all that not-so-good stuff, but that’s another post. I also believe that Ziglar’s quote refers to more than just the physical state of the home, but that’s maybe another post one day too. The bottom line is that all of these quotes describe the home as a place to get away, find peace, find comfort, find distraction from work, a place that you can go and just be yourself and not worry. Do you really believe you can find all that in the midst of clutter? I can’t. I may enjoy sitting and doing nothing for a bit, but the chaos will eventually get to me.

Having a place you can come into and be comfortable, be at peace, and just be yourself – THAT, to me, is an important part to an abundant life.

And that’s how all this de-cluttering fits into finding More 2 This Life.

I didn’t shine my sink last night.

But I have a VERY good reason!

Really!

You see, a certain 7 year old girl wanted a sleepover with her mommy in the guest room.

And I believe that 7 year old girl is way more important than shining my sink.

Here’s how it works:

Each week (ideally), I find a story. I post what I need here and you comment with your suggestions. Later in the week, I post what we created and a link to the original story

So! For our inaugural twisted story, I need the following:

Plural Noun

Animal

Verb ending in -ed

Adverb

Verb

Adjective

Number

Adjective

Name 1

Verb

Verb

Name 2

Adjective

Adjective

Verb

Verb

Adjective

Verb ending in -ing

Type of food

Adjective

Ooooo.... shiinnnyyy!

If you haven’t discovered FlyLady yet, feel free to hop over and visit. Who is FlyLady? She’s an extremely organized lady who is encouraging others to FLY! One of the ways we can fly is by keeping our house organized and out of CHAOS (can’t have anyone over syndrome, btw). The first step is to shine your sink. I agree, it sounds silly. She even told me it would sound silly. But I did it. And if you do it, I’m willing to bet you’ll love it too and here’s why:

Because you’ll want to keep it that way

My mom has shined mine for me. Multiple times. And it was gorgeous each time. But guess what? Within a few days it was back to normal. My theory is that it’s because I didn’t do it. We tend to be a little more possessive of something we’ve done ourselves. When someone else does it for us, we don’t have quite the same attachment.

Because you’ll want to shiny up more

You’ll want to shiny up the spaces around that shiny sink (notice that the picture does NOT include the counters around the sink… yet. It’ll come. Patience, grasshopper.). I had dishes on the left side that were from the dishwasher – mostly plastics that needed to dry a little more before being put away. There were other odds and ends from my daughter’s days of sippy cups (she’s about to turn 7. SEVEN!).  There are also sometimes pots or pans that I hand-washed and set over there to dry. No more! It made me want to continue de-cluttering, but I made myself stop. Some of you clean-freak types (and even some of you who know it’s rare that we get into a “cleaning mood”) are probably yelling, “Why?!”

Baby Steps

I stopped because I had told myself I would clean off and shine my sink. That was it. After that was quality time with my husband and the completion of a  much anticipated Dr. Who episode. Tonight, I’ll be doing another piece of the counter, shine my sink, then go have some more quality time with my husband.

I’ll be honest. I’m not looking forward to this. I enjoy organizing, but I’m also a bit of a pack rat. “But that wine bottle is so neat and it’s clay with a foreign language on it, so it must be valuable! So what if it was something the previous owners left when we moved in 5 years ago!” “Hey, I might find the cup this lid goes to…” “Awww… Taylor made that Halloween bucket out of a paint can when she was in K-4. Or was it K-3?” Any of those sound vaguely familiar?

Each night, I’ll be shining my sink. I hope you will too – it really is a neat feeling.