Marvelous Monday- Sorta

My hubby is back home where he belongs!  The kids and I drove up to the airport yesterday to pick him up after an unplanned visit to his parents.  His father went into the hospital for a possible stroke, he felt an obligation and his heart strings pulling him to make a visit.  I'm glad he went and I'm even happier he's back.  Yeah back to normal.  Last week was an intersting journey for me with lots of mixed emotions.  I want to share but I'm still processing how to share without sounding totally unreasonable and bitchy. Hahaha, it might not be possible but until I'm ready to share what I learned through this process I will hold on to it.  That's why I didn't mention it last week.  By the way I want to mention I am married to the most amazing man!  He's more of a man than I can handle sometimes.  I am blessed.

Now on to more important things!!!Like my relationship with the scale!  It's not even hate any more.  I think it's more like a totally disgust, physical repulsion and a total feeling of wanting to attack it like it's a walker from the Walking Dead! (Love that show and can't wait for Feb. 12)  I just want to smash it's head in with some kind of blunt tool!  The reality is I weighed 143.2!  Yes another pound up!!! I worked my ass off last week with my hubby gone.  I went to the gym twice on Wed and I'm in full fledged ketosis!  My ketone stick has been dark red to even purple.  For those of you who don't know about the pee sticks, they tell you if your body is using its own fat for energy.  Ketones are put off when fat is used for energy meaning I'm burn fat for fuel! (This is a very juvenile description but straight to the point.) I love those little sticks!  So I'm going to stay where I'm at and I've decided to continue to stick with the strict diet and up my cardio and lower my weight training for now.

I did take my measurements, another rude awakening!  But I know on low carb sometimes the scale refuses to move but the measurements don't.  So even though I should have done this in the beginning, it again gives me another form of measurement to keep me going.  I'm not going to share those numbers but I will tell you about my changes.

Loved this and wish I could give credit to who posted it.

And I won't be giving up!  I don't know where my balance is yet but I will find it.  I want to adjust to the middle ground.

Have a wonderful Tuesday.  I'm going to be posting about some sorta yummy low-carb breakfast danishes. LOL!

Hugs,

Deanna

"Just Dinner" My rant for today, I will post something yummy in my next one.

Ok so one of the topics that I want to be able to share about on here is very sensitive and dear to me, my family.  My hubby and I met 10 years ago and have been married 9yrs this Feb.  We have had many ups and downs with our children’s other parents and this is what I want to share about today.  Today is my wonderful hubby’s 35^th b-day.  I hope we have many more to share together!  And yes I married a guy 5yrs younger than me.  Any way we don’t do much and usually don’t request our children’s presence unless there is a “to do”.  There isn’t one today.  However over the weekend my step son made it clear he was going to ask about riding the bus to our home after school so he could have dinner with his dad.  I made no attempt to ask, suggest or speak to his mom (for future reference I will call her JM) about it.  Basically left it up to him to handle.  He’s 12 and some things have been changing so I just let things be.  Let me back track before I go on.  JM and I became friends a few years back and then do to the sensitive nature of our relationship some misunderstandings happened and we discontinued the relationship.  I never felt right about it but we proceeded to fight and things got ugly.  But last summer I decided enough was enough and offered the olive branch one more time.  She accepted and since last August we have been trying to mend our friendship and trying to do this shared parenting thing differently. 

  Soooooo here we are.  Joe (my stepson) took the initiative to be where he wants to be.  No adult discussions took place, we didn’t ask her, or encourage him to do what he did.  But this morning I received a text that made me cringe.  I hope it was nothing but seriously I have to address it with her.  So here’s the conversation in text

Me last night:

Hey I will see you in the morning but its Francis' birthday so no lunch tomorrow either! Sorry I'm such a flake

JM this morning:
Joe said he is riding the bus to ya’lls house today for his bday. For dinner, just dinner. Thats okay about lunch, peyton has hearing test today, I forgot.

Me:
Oh ok :) r u coming to Zumba?

JM:
Not sure, body pump kicked my butt really bad yesterday, I'm so sore!

 Me:
Ok but the moving will help with the lactic acid ;)

No more responses from her and I called to check in after class (we Zumba together) and see if I was reading more into it.  No response on cell and still no return call an hour later.  I’m sorry but really in this day in age, cell phones are attached to folks all the time!  No I don’t believe all relationships have to have an immediate response but this is a very sensitive and personal relationship. It deserves attention.  But that’s me and how I handle things.

Ok so in that conversation do you know what irked me?

This:  For dinner, just dinner. 

REALLY!!!!! Have I just missed something?  We didn’t even ask for this!  I’m not a child, never assumed anything else was happening and why the F. does she feel she needs to reiterate that to me? (Sorry Jesus for cursing!)  See it even makes me loose my sense for a second.   Ok so I’ve just exploded.   I’m done.   Thanks for listening.  I’m sure it’s nothing but a couple of years ago I would have been pissed for days about it and probably not spoken to her about it.  I will though this time, that is if she ever calls me back.  I don’t know what’s going on with her, I do know that she has some big issues she is dealing with but this kind of communication will only hurt our relationship if I don’t say anything or if she really is trying to take a punch at us.  I really hate passive aggressiveness.  I know it too well; I’m pretty good at it so I recognize it right away! Hahaha at least I know it. That’s half the battle. So any way that’s my deal.

  I’m so excited that I have a stepson who is taking the initiative to really be in his dad’s life not just based on what the courts gave his parents. He is a rock star in my eyes and I hope that his parents (all of us) can live up to being the rock stars we all can be!  Our kids are all amazing and have such sticky situations to deal with and so many times I feel like we the adults act like we’re the kids.  I hope we have made some major strides in changing how we deal with these sticky situations.  I know it’s a process.

Hugs,

Deanna

After reading this my sweet level headed hubby says “I think it’s nothing.  Probably just how Joe put it.”  Well isn’t that just like a man!  I gotta laugh and say that yes that did cross my mind.  That’s why I’m not mad but want to at least double check.  Love my man!

SCORE!!!!!!!

Yes I'm dancing the happy dance because not only did I go to the gym and do a new workout that was fabulous, I also made a menu for the rest of the week, and made a dinner my amazing, sweeter than candy hubby said was the best dinner I have ever made!
   SSSCCCOOORRRRRRRRRRRE! 

It's about time after 10years!

 Hahahaha! Whoohoo!!!Yeah Me!!! I did use recipes (all low-carb) But I also put love in and it was really good!  Sorry I didn't take pictures accept of the dirty pans.
 So what was this dinner you ask.  Well it was a marinated fillet of mignon(that was in the freezer). Here's the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-steak-marinade
I pan seared it on high heat.  Then moved the steaks to the oven to cook at 400 degrees for 30-45min.  I then put the marinade in the pan and deglazed it and cooked it down. Served the meat with sauce on it.
The next thing was the side and we were going to have broccoli and I needed it to be WOW! Cause we've eaten more broccoli then we care to think about.  I came across this recipe on one of my favorite low-carb sites Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes
http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/mushroom_sauce.html
She had suggested serving this over the broccoli.  It sounded perfect minus the mushrooms (hubby calls them slugs).  It was soooo yummy!  He loved the sauce and couldn't guess what all was in it!  I was so excited!
  So all in all it was a great day!!! I even found a simple bag I think I will try my hand at sewing with.  I will post about that when I get to it.
One more thing.  I mentioned I haven't been on the scale(it's evil).  I think I will on Monday.  That gives me this week to try and cut some water weight and see what the reality is.  I really hope that it's within the 2-3lbs instead of 7-10. And then I will post my weight and the goal I will set for my birthday.  I've been maintaining my weight in my middle range but feel heavy after the holidays.  We will see.
Good night and Hugs
Deanna

Already lied

OK so I've already made one promise I couldn't keep or didn't (reality is I just didn't do it).  I was going to post about making my first laundry detergent yesterday and didn't.  But I did make it.  Yeah me!  I had fun doing it too.  Even had two little helpers to stir for me.

Joe

And Noah our littlest character.

But I'm getting ahead of my self. 

Not pictured is the Fels-Naptha that I had already shaved into pieces.

So on Jan. 1st, 2012 I did make it.  We gathered the ingredients and started the process.  We watched football and walkers(huge Walking Dead fans) and stirred our little creation.  Fun together.  I was glad to have little hands to stir because I tend to be a little on the strict side of reading directions and rereading directions.  So I could keep researching and rechecking what we were doing as they stirred.  I have to laugh at that because my sweet hubby likes to poke fun at my being a rules girl.  I don't like to "cook" because the recipes seem so intense or tedious where as he likes to create in the kitchen.  I do love to bake however and you pretty much have to follow directions to get the results you hoped for.  Pretty safe I think.  But it's also what got me to 200lbs, more about that on another post.

  So anyways following directions for creating a science experiment is right up my alley.  Really enjoyed it and can't wait to actually use it.  It's just sitting in the tub and I'm thinking I'm going to look for some kind of yummy, clean smelling essential oil to add to it. But as far as I know it looks good.

What do you think?  It has the consistency of snot and no separating.

  I followed a combination of recipes and I ended up using 1C. of the soda, 1C. of the Borax and a whole bar of the Fels-Naptha.  The five gallon bucket isn't filled so I'm thinking it's pretty concentrated.  I will probably be able to use less than 1/2C per load.  I will just have to see.

  OK so on to another note, today the kids went back to school which means I have to get back to my routine. Urghhhhh! I've been working on my health since forever but committed to it almost 3 yrs ago.  So back to the gym I went.  For my favorite class, Zumba, but I just wasn't excited.  But I did it and I was glad I did.  I haven't gotten on the scale since before the Christmas break but I know I haven't eaten well.  To be totally honest I've eaten pretty much every sweet thing in the house without abandon.  And enjoyed every minute of it. But I also didn't go to the gym once during the break.  All progress I made during my return this fall (I had a rough summer)I feel like is hanging on by a thread.  If at all.  So as with my resolution to be more frugal financially, I feel eating less and using my body more will help me be less all the way around. The whole less is more theory.  My hubby has also decided to join me on the new year eat less journey.  So we have set a two month goal (my 40th is in two months) to drop the weight.  I need to lose 10lbs at least and he wants to lose 20lbs. 

  Today we ate low-carb as that is the way he and I both have seen the best results.  He made a wonderful(without a recipe) chicken dinner with a cabbage side.  I wish I could just pull that out my hat.  But that's also why I fell in love with him.  He can pull dinner together from nothing or so I believe.  And we will just leave it at that.  It makes me smile just thinking about the first time he did cook for me.

  I hope you have a fond memory that keeps you connected to your spouse that hasn't changed over the years and still warms your heart.

  Tomorrow I will go back to the gym and try my hand at menu planning for a frugal low carb diet.  Hmmm not sure if the two will go together.  Any suggestions?

Hugs,

Deanna