Fail Whale

I just ran across my bucket list for 2012 and you know how many items I can cross off?! Z.E.R.O. Zip. Zilch. None. It's already June, so I only have 6 months left! Something tells me I'm going to have a lot of carry-over items for 2013. I guess that's ok, because I do have some big projects in the works over here, but I was still a bit saddened by the fact that I haven't accomplished any of my goals I set out to at the beginning of the year. Onward and upward from here I guess!

What We're Eating-Jan 30th Edition

I almost didn't have time to post this!! I am getting slammed with school work, baby work, work, and menu planning/cooking! I need to reevaluate and make some time in all of that somewhere!

Anyways, here is what we're eating this week:

Breakfast: Paleo Breakfast Casserole from Health Bent
Lunch: Leftovers or Salad

Dinner:
Monday: Chicken piccata and roasted broccoli and cauliflower
Tuesday: Steak Fajitas
Wednesday: Chorizo Mini Meatloaves from Health Bent (I love Health Bent!) and green beans and maybe a salad
Thursday: Hot plate
Friday: Orance Chicken with broccoli
Saturday: Eat out in Cincinnati!
Sunday: Shop and crock pot?

On to reading my 6 different history books. Degree, why must you be so elusive?!

Day 19

So I've been eating "lacto-paleo" more or less since January 1. I've planned out my meals and have been cooking every meal except for a rare treat out, in which I still had approved foods. My clothes are fitting better, and I have a pair of pants on today that I haven't worn for 4 years. I feel better, I feel like I have more energy, my stomach hardly ever complains anymore and my face and skin feel better. I know this is going to be a slow process, and I've been weighing myself and the weight isn't dropping off as fast as I thought it would.

I think since i've been doing so good for this much time now and the days are flying by, I'm going to make some new goals.

1. Start a Whole 30 on February 1st. (Feb 1-Mar 2nd) which works out perfectly b/c I'm going out with the girls on March 3rd.
2. Implement an exercise plan. I am going to do 10 burpees, 10 pushups, and 10 situps everyday. Add in physical activity whenever possible.
3. Quit weighing myself!! (which is a part of the Whole30 anyways)

Wish me luck!

Wow, another week of food.

I can't believe that a whole week has passed! Having a baby in the house really makes time fly by. I feel like it's Monday and I have the whole week ahead of me and then all of a sudden it's Friday and I haven't done my homework or made a meal plan or well much of anything! I must admit though, that I do spend plenty of time just "being" with the baby and so at least I am valuing my time even though it is flying past.

Here is the meal plan for the week of 1/23. It is a bit uninspired.
Breakfasts: Egg muffins
Lunches: Leftovers or salad
Dinner:
Monday: Hot plate
Tuesday: Chile Relenos from Health Bent
Wednesday: Chicken Piccata and broccoli
Thursday: Hot plate
Friday: Chicken fingers and salad
Saturday: Steak and baked potatoes (sweet potato for me) and green beans
Sunday: Crockpot?

Sidenote: I have like 3 blog posts composed in my head, but they haven't made it out yet. Hopefully soon!

What We're Eating Week of 1/16/12

Breakfast this week is going to be Ham and Egg Cups from Paleo Comfort Foods and frittatas

Lunches will be leftovers or salads which sounds less that exciting but I love it. Easy, fast, and tasty!

Dinners:
Monday: Gyro salad-we had this last week but the gyro meat is so darn tasty that I am still craving it!
Tuesday: Mini-Pizza Meatloaf and green beans and maybe salad?
Wednesday: Paleo Orange Chicken with broccoli and carrots
Thursday: Hot Plate from Well Fed
Friday: Shrimp and sweet potato fries
Saturday: eat out!
Sunday: Shop and cook and ?

School/work are keeping me busy this week so hopefully this menu will give me more time to blog! :)

Meal Plan for week of 1/9/12

All week for the most part for breakfast is Egg Muffins, lunches will be either leftovers or salads or a combination of both. I found this week that I had a lot of extra food and I mainly like hot lunches.

So here's the Dinner Menu:
I should note Monday/Thursday are Shawn's bowling nights, so usually these meals need to be make ahead, crockpot, or extremely fast because Elie doesn't usually let me cook for very long and she's mobile now! Holy heck!

Monday: Gyro Salads. Yum.
Tuesday: Chicken and artichoke with garlic sauce (from the Mark Sisson's book) with zucchini noodles
Wednesday: Arroz con Pollo (same book)
Thursday:  Hot plate (I was not enthused with the hot plate I made this week, but it turned out GOOD. I made beef with tomatoes, bell peppers, and pizza seasonings over green beans.)
Friday: Meatza (from Well Fed)
Saturday: Unstuffed cabbage (MS)
Sunday: Breakfast: Paleo Biscuits and Gravy from Paleo Comfort Foods and shop!

Nothing Asian! Sounds delicious!

Product Review: Cuisinart Food Processor

I have a long, horrid history with food processors. It all began with a mini chopper I got as a gift from my mother. The mini chopper and I got along just fine and I will still whip it out occassionally for a quick garlic chop or the like. The next chapter begins with a small Black and Decker one that I got as a gift. The chopping blades never quite worked properly and it had so many pieces and parts that I'm sure I lost some of it when I moved. It was white and ugly and smelled like smoke when I used it. That is when I decided I needed a new one! I researched them online a bit (apparently not enough) and decided on the Food Network model.

 

Exhibit A. POS

I liked this model because it had a handy drawer to keep all of the chopping blades in and it was black, which matched my kitchen. I also was able to purchase it at Kohls with a coupon so that made the price not so bad. I brought it home and took it out of the box and then promptly cut myself on the slicing wheel. I didn't lose a finger but it was a pretty deep cut that took a few weeks to heal. Strike 1. Then, the second time I ever used it the goofy handle piece that has to be locked or else it won't work (the part that is spring loaded) cracked off and so from then on to use it i had to hold the spring load down so it would turn on. I googled Food Network to see if I could order a replacement part, but apparently Food Network items sold through Kohls come from a mysterious manufacturer who doesn't do replacements or returns. Or at least that I could find without researching enough for a dissertation. Strike 2. Then one day I decided to chop some cauliflower to make cauli-rice and the bowl part got stuck on the locking mechanism and I could NOT GET IT OFF. The food processor and I had a fight that day, and I won (or lost, depending) and it ended up in the trash can, and then I once again ended up with no food processor.Strike 3, you're OUT. IN THE TRASH!

I went without one for several months. I then decided to hop on the paleo bandwagon and in my quest for the perfect paleo salad dressing, I tried to make mayonaisse in my blender. After going deaf from listening to the blender for the time it took to drip in the olive oil, my emulsion broke and I was left with divorced egg and oil. I needed a new processor. So, I went back to Google and did (more) research and decided that the Cuisinart DFP-7BC 7-Cup Food Processor was going to be my best bet.

Exhibit B: Ooooh. Ahhh.

I did end up getting it from Kohls with another coupon and I ended up getting some Kohls cash back so it was a pretty good deal. Let me tell you I LOVE it! It is a simple machine and I know it's not made as sturdy as the older models of this same type, but i think with some gentle handling it will last me just fine. There aren't too many parts, I like the way the top of the bowl comes off to insert the vegetables or whatnot for chopping and it is pretty darn quiet! And the best part? I made homemade mayo on Sunday and it is delicious! I definitley would recommend this processor and if I ever have to buy another I will buy the same model but with a bigger cup bowl!

Mid Week Update

Just wanted to stop by and write something and give an update on how things were going since going paleo/primal. I'm going to use paleo for sake of terminology I think, but I am eating a slight amount of dairy and I do consume butter. I may eventually switch to ghee and elimnate dairy but baby steps on that one. In reviewing my meal plan for the week, I noticed that almost every single dinner meal is Asian inspired! Shawn said that it is probably because Asian food is easy to make, yet flavorful. Maybe next week we will go Mexican. So far, I've stuck to my meal plan, the only exception being the chicken fajita salad. We had salad with chicken on it, but I would necessairly call it a fajita. Then again, maybe Mexican is out. :) I am struggling with the salad dressing though. I am a ranch girl, and so far haven't found a substitute. I'm meh about vinagrettes. Perhaps I just haven't found the right one yet. I should just make my own caesar. That I do like.

As far as mood/how my body feels, I'm doing surprisingly better than I thought I would be. I haven't had any "real" cravings and I am not suffering from the dreaded carb withdrawl flu like symptoms. I started my class this quarter that is a 15 each way brisk walk for me twice a week, so that will at least get me some exercise until I can get a handle on the meal planning/cooking/sticking to this. I will then try to implement more regular exercise. I feel this is just one of those instances where I have to do one thing at a time.

The only problem I've really encountered was Shawn complaining about the cost. I think that if we added up what we were spending on food/eating out before, he would see we're actually saving money. Hopefully progress will prove him wrong, although he isn't totally on the bandwagon of this whole thing yet. He eats what I cook, but still is having some meals outside the house and some snacks in the house. At least sweets are my downfall and salty are his, because he can still have them in the house and I dont' ever want them.

New Year means Meal Planning!

I even made myself a fancy binder, got myself a wipeoff board, and armed myself with some new recipes to try. We are going to smash this year out of the park!

I used this template to create a plan so I can cross stuff out we don't like and circle stuff we do and hopefully reuse weeks when I'm lazy and don't meal plan.

Shawn doensn't like most vegetables so where there is a veggie he doesn't like, I'm going to insert Salad, because he doesn't mind repeats.

Here's our first meal-plan of the new year:
Monday:
Breakfast-Multi colored pepper and spinach frittata
Lunch-Fajita Chicken Salad
Dinner-Chinese BBQ Pork and cabbage and "noodles" (zucchini-making this one up we'll see how it goes)

Tuesday:
Breakfast-same as Monday
Lunch-Leftovers
Dinner-Lettuce Wraps

Wednesday:
Breakfast-a new frittata of undetermined origin
Lunch-Salad of some sort
Dinner-Hot plate from Well Fed

Thursday:
Breakfast-frittata again we love our frittatas
Lunch-Leftovers from hot plate..possibly on lettuce as a salad
Dinner-"Spaghetti" with Roasted Marinara

Friday:
Breakfast-Guess!
Lunch-Leftover Spaghetti
Dinner-Chicken Fried Cauliflower "rice"

Saturday:
Breakfast-Eggs and Bacon
Lunch-Leftovers-use up whatever is going bad
Dinner-Pizza Chili (will post recipe soon!)

Sunday:
Breakfast: Eggs and sausage?
Lunch-Leftovers-use up!! Shop-Meal plan
Dinner: TBD!

I plan on cooking up most of this on Sunday and seeing how it goes to influence next week's plan.

2012 Bucket List

This is the beginning of my 2012 bucket list. I may end up actually splitting this into smaller bits, but it's the end of the year, and I'm ready to start anew! I wanted to put these down as a good starting place.
Food/Fitness

• Eat real food (paleo/primal)
• Complete a Whole30
• Take a cooking class
• Take a knife skills class (learn to chop like an iron chef!)
• Sign up for a CSA
• Sign up for a meat share
• Make homemade vanilla
• Make stuffing that doesn't suck
• Run a 5K
• Learn to jump rope
• Learn to ride a bike (no i don't know how)
• Try Crossfit

Home

• Plan and execute a garden
• Landscape the front yard and keep it maintained!
• Can garden bounty
• Paint and decopage toy box
• Refinish hutch
• Adhere to weekly cleaning schedule

Personal/Family/Creative

• Go on vacation
• Visit a winery
• Make a junk journal
• Scrapbook Elie's portraits/artwork
• Read at least 25 books (non school related)
• Start a college fund for Elie
• Revamp blog and actually blog (hey look I'm off to a good start on this one!)
• Go on at least one baby free date night a month

Out with the Old!

Currently, it is the end of 2011 and I am about to embark on a new journey. Oh, and btw that is the last time you will ever hear me use that term. I loathe when people use the expression "journey". Especially on the biggest loser. There has got to be a better expression to use people, really. I have been reading paleo/primal blogs for over a year now and have tried (unsucessfully) to switch over my eating habits to real food. I think this time is different though, because I have armed myself with the proper tools (a knife, cutting board, empty meal plan, recipe collection binder, and some good old mean motivation). I think that having a place to put down all of the thoughts mulling around in my head is going to help me stay on track and so what better place to do it? The old, trusty, faithful, albeit neglected, blog. And, obviously, I have not followed through with my plan to use this space as a creative/marketing outlet for my scrabooking habit business. SO! as they say, onward! Here's to 2012, and if it's the end of the world, I want to go out happy, healthy, and with no regrets!

Close to My Heart in July!

 

http://jpetty.myctmh.com

Click on this link and go shopping!  Until July 31st, if you spend $50 you will get a favorite paper product for $1!!  Can't beat that!

Close to My Heart has just released their new Autumn/Winter Catalog, and boy, you are not going to want to miss it!  Comment or email me for details on how you can get a copy!

Fast Forward

It's been a LONG time since I've blogged, in my world anyways, but by far not the longest stretch that I've ever gone. I am now 25.5 weeks pregnant and things are moving right along swimmingly.  The first of my two baby shower's is a month away and I'm starting to get some ideas together about how I want to decorate baby's room.  The room is basically empty, just need to move the dog out and paint and then it will be a blank canvas for baby stuff! I am having a good pregnancy so far, but suffice to say I am not one of those people who LOVES being pregnant.  I miss alcohol.  I miss being able to sleep comfortably.  I miss not waking up in the middle of the night to pee.  I miss being able to do normal activities without getting tired.  I know that I haven't even reached the worst of these feelings, but bah, I'll take being not pregnant any day.

I signed up to be an independent Close To My Heart consultant back in August the week before I found out I was pregnant.  Somehow I hope that I can find enough time to creat things and gain some new customers so that I can continue on.  I will have a lot more to scrapbook!  I think that I'm probably going to start posting pictures of some of my artwork here so that I can get the "word out" so to speak.  Catch yinz all soon!

8 weeks

Today is 8 weeks preggo!  That means, in crazy pregnancy calculations, that 2 months are down, only 8 to go!  I am still not really suffering from morning sickness and for that I am greatful. I still don't feel GOOD, but it definitely could be WAY worse.  This past week I go between feeling immensely thankful, happy, and excited about this, and why in the hell did we do this again?  I'm sure those feelings will continue for the rest of the childs life right?  :)  Wednesday, school starts again.  I would be looking forward to it but, honestly, the thought of giving up my naps after work twice a week just makes me want to crawl into a hole and not come out until November.  In a few weeks I will be heading to Atlanta for a conference for work.  I hope the trip goes smoothly and I'm more looking forward to getting HOME than I am the trip.  Sad I know.  Our next doctor's appointment is a week from today, and so I'm excited about the next check up to make sure everything is ok.  I think we will probably get to see more of a "baby" this time than a tiny little blob. 

7 weeks

Well, I said there was some new stuff and changes coming, I wasn't kidding!  I broke my promise to blog on a more regular basis, because what I wanted to blog about, I couldn't say!

Today, I am seven weeks pregnant.  When you're trying to conceive, with infertility, you know WAY sooner than normal if it worked or not.  So, I've known for the past 3 weeks.  I know people try and keep it a secret for the whole first trimester, but when people know you are trying, they tend to ask you more, so I only kept it a secret until I had my first ultrasound at 6 weeks 1 day. 

So far, I haven't been sick.  I get a little queasy or woozy if I don't eat enough or on time, but no praying to the porcelain god.  I do however feel like someone beat me up.  I'm so exhausted, I don't think of myself as being pregnant, I feel like...the "host" of some crazy parasite sucking the life energy out of me.

It is hard to not be worried that something bad will happen, because I've waited for so long for this test to be positive and it doesn't quite seem real yet.  When the doc called with my test results, I totally expected to hear the your test was negative, I'm sorry response that I always get, but instead she said my beta was 103! congrats!  My second beta was 314 two days later so I didn't have too much of a reason to worry.  I go for my next appointment on 9/27 at 9 weeks.  It's exciting and scary to be planning this huge change in our lives. 

Changes!

I know it's been a few weeks since I've posted, but I've been pretty busy!  I've signed up to be a Close to My Heart Independent Consultant!  Close to My Heart is a great company that sells awesome scrapbooking and stamping products and I am excited about this new venture.  Check out my website at http://jpetty.myctmh.com!

Introducing...Izzy.

This is one of our two cats, Izzy.  He's will be 4 years old at Christmas time.  Shawn and I picked him out as Shawn's Christmas present in 2006.  That year he spent most of his kittyhood half way up the Christmas tree and would stare out at you from in between branches and ornaments.  He's part mainecoon and so he's huge now, but he also eats alot so he's just plain fat.  When we first got him, I had a cat, Oreo, and he used to torment her by chasing her around the house.  She had irritable bowel syndrome and we had to put her to sleep last year.  Izzy now lives on the dining room table, hutch (where his food is), and my dresser because if the dog sees him move from those three spots, she will herd him back to the table.  I think this is why he looks grumpy.  He sleeps at the foot of my side of the bed every night.  He also likes to burrow into my neck and has done this ever since we brought him home as a 6-7 week old kitten.  He is a good cat and likes to be near us even though he isn't necessairly a lap cat.  I think that he is one of those cats that will live to be 20+ years old.

Hooked.

Update on my 101 in 1001 Days

So considering I only have 11 months to get these all done, I thought I'd update you all on my progress of my 101 in 1001 days list. Items in red are completed.  Items in blue are just a missed opportunity.

Joann’s 101 Things in 1001 Days
October 1, 2008 to June 29th, 2011 (8 days past my 30th bday)
July 30, 2010

1. Organize and clean out every closet in my house. 3/5
2. Paint the bathroom (next weekend) and kitchen.
3. Finish my wedding/honeymoon scrapbooks.
4. Make at least 3 pieces of beaded jewelry.
5. Establish a savings account of at least $3000. 2000/3000
6. Celebrate my 3 year anniversary. 2/3
7. Pay off at least one student loan.
8. Visit Pittsburgh at least once a year. 3/3
9. Go to my 10 year high school reunion.
10. Take a midnight walk on the beach with Shawn.
11. Be 75% complete towards graduation.
12. Keep my front yard with flowers and weeded for an entire summer. (does half count?  we didn't plant until July)
13. Pay off my credit card.
14. Lose at least 50 pounds.
15. Participate in a walk for a cause.
16. Go see two Dave Matthews’ concerts in different cities on the same tour. (Columbus and Pittsburgh)
17. Visit at least 3 states I have not yet been to. (1/3)
18. Send out Christmas cards.
19. Take at least 25 photos of Shawn and I.
20. Get braces. Invisalign November 2009
21. Get Lasix eye surgery.
22. Go to a restaurant and order a merlot.
23. Get a massage. (I have a gift card for one I just haven't gone yet!)
24. Go on vacation with my mom.
25. Visit my aunt and cousin in FL.
26. Party with my cousins in Pittsburgh.
27. Get the rest of stuff out of my dad’s house.
28. Finish the garage.
29. Finish one badge album on Pogo.
30. Buy an expensive pair of shoes.
31. Try one new recipe a month.
32. Eat an entirely vegetarian meal.
33. Eat at a gourmet restaurant. I'm counting the Burgandy Room.
34. Go see a show in Vegas. Beatles Love!
35. Go to NY to see a broadway play.
36. Visit Lake Erie and actually see the lake.
37. Go whale watching.
38. Go to Washington DC and see all the monuments.
39. Take a tour of Europe.
40. Have a baby. Definitely working on this one!
41. Refinish the hutch
42. Learn how to sew again.
43. Cook dinner for Shawn’s parents.
44. Have a picnic at our house
45. Get a deck and fence.
46. Cook a turkey and all the fixin’s by myself.
47. Bake Christmas cookies for everyone.
48. Start Christmas shopping in July once.
49. Go on a hike at a park.
50. Eat dinner with the good china.
51. Get Shawn drunk.
52. Let things go more easily. I'm counting therapy!
53. Hang up more pictures in my house.
54. Stay off the internet for an entire week at home.
55. Read at least 4 non-school books a year, each year. (2/3)
56. Spend less $$ on groceries.
57. Buy an antique. Depression glass!
58. Spend more time outside.
59. Go get my makeup done for a special occasion.
60. Write a letter to a friend.
61. Go an entire month with no pop.
62. Write a poem.
63. Take a class that has nothing to do with my major, just for fun.
64. Volunteer for something.
65. Go on a girls only roadtrip.
66. Be on tv.
67. Watch a black and white movie.
68. Go golfing.
69. Go to a Steeler Game.
70. Have Matt over for a visit.
71. Post a video on You Tube.
72. Get in shape.
73. Kiss in the rain.
74. Throw someone a surprise party.
75. Have a Halloween party.
76. Go on a picnic.
77. Drink ale at an Irish Pub.
78. Write an entire notebook for one class in blue ink. Guys, I'm wierd ok, I only use black ink.
79. Visit a factory and take a tour.
80. Have dinner in the Short North.
81. Go to an Amish restaurant.
82. Go an entire day without speaking.
83. Go three different churches that are different denominations.
84. Establish a cleaning regimen (change sheets @ exactly one week, etc). Almost there on this one!
85. Read a financial blog every day for a week.
86. Buy stock in something.
87. Do yoga once.
88. Go on a wine tasting. (gonna be cutting these two close with breastfeeding)
89. Go on a beer tasting.
90. Drink a flavored coffee.
91. Pack my lunch for an entire month. No fast food.
92. Go to three festivals (ren fest, pumpkin fest, etc).
93. Drink hot apple cidar around a camp fire.
94. Build a snowman in my yard.
95. Take Shawn to Wrigley Field.
96. Learn how to use a camera properly.  This weekend!
97. Maintain at least a 3.0 average.
98. Update my blog regularly.
99. Get a facial.
100. Make Shawn breakfast in bed.
101. Watch all the Best Picture winning movies since I was born. (18/21)
1981 - Chariots of Fire
1982 - Gandhi
1983 - Terms of Endearment
1984 - Amadeus
1985 - Out of Africa
1986 - Platoon
1987 - The Last Emperor
1988 - Rain Man
1989 - Driving Miss Daisy
1990 - Dances With Wolves
1991 - Silence of the Lambs
1992 - Unforgiven
1993 - Schindler's List
1994 - Forrest Gump
1995 - Braveheart
1996 - The English Patient
1997 - Titanic
1998 - Shakespeare in Love
1999 - American Beauty
2000 - Gladiator
2001 - A Beautiful Mind
2002 - Chicago
2003 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2004 - Million Dollar Baby
2005 - Crash
2006 - The Departed
2007 - No Country For Old Men
2008 - Slumdog Millionaire
2009 - The Hurt Locker

Now, for the statistics.

I've only completed 28.5 items.  I have two items that can never be completed now.  That's 28.5/99 which is roughly 29%.  I suck.  I'm going to have to attack this full force in the next 11 months.  I should at least be able to get to 50%, don't you think?

Therapy

Therapy. File this one under #thingsthatscaretheshitoutofme. Heh, try to tweet that hashtag.

The reason I'm afraid of therapy is at the ripe young age of 18, when I was a freshman in college the first time, I was depressed. I was commuting to school, which meant that already shy me made NO friends what-so-ever. My friends that I did have were all spread out and "away" at college or living in the dorms at my school and I totally did not fit in. I started failing my classes and just being generally miserable all around. I went to my academic advisor and spoke with her about not doing well in any of my classes and she said that I should go to the counseling center and speak with one of the counselors there and that I should withdraw from all of my classes that semester.

I went to the counseling center, met the counselor, she gave me the suicide test (I guess I passed ), poured my heart out to this woman, told her everything that had been bothering me and she looked at me and said, “What do you want from me?” and I said, “I guess I need to to sign a form so I can withdraw” and she said, “You don’t need my signature for that you can do it at the registrar.”

So for the past 10 years, I’ve faced battling with depression a few times, un-medicated and untreated. It’s probably caused me some trouble that I didn’t need, but hey everything is a learning experience right?

However, faced with all of these infertility issues, as well as some other stuff that I haven’t ever dealt with properly, I finally bit the bullet and faced my fears and went to the faculty and staff assistance counselor.

She listened to me and was caring, and asked what I wanted to get out of our session. I wanted to get over my fear of therapy. She said I should see someone just to bounce ideas off of. Translation: yep, you’re crazy, go seek help. So I am. I have my first session tonight and I’m a little nervous. I hope I don’t end up locked up.