Week 2 Woes

I wrote this to a friend of mine, and realized it would make a good posting.  "Week 2" of any change in my life, be it diet, fitness, or school, is my downfall. I soar through the first week, jump in with both feet, gung-hu, and with guns a'blazing. But then suddenly week 2 rolls around, or even the end of week 1, and I realize that it's no longer comfortable. I start to realize that this feels like WORK. I didn't sign up for something requiring me to DO something. Skinny people in magazines are smiling, splashing in the waves at the beach, or lounging in an outdoor oasis their designer made for them, while sipping wine with their skinny friends. THAT'S what I want.  None of this weigh my food crap, and don't use oil or salt bologna. (Uummm... Bologna) I mean really, where am I going to hide my digital weight watchers scale in the strappy skin-tight sun dress while I entertain 75 of my closest friends during sunset on the deck of my fabulous yacht? 

So, due to the fun challenge group I'm in, I'm sticking with it through week 2. I didn't allow my self-sabotage to completely derail me. Yes, I pigged out and splurged (too much), and regained the 4 pounds i quickly lost in week 1, but I jumped right back on the proverbial horse, and find myself happily settled into the middle of week 2. And I'm losing again. Haven't lost the 4 I found again after my 2-days of ridiculous food choices, but I'm happy. I'm excited to see what lies ahead of me. 

There are only 6 weeks left in our game. I wonder if the group would like to jump right into another round immediately following this one so we don't get too off track over the holidays...

72 Butterflies

Genna brings me a tiny daisy off of a massive wild flower that is growing by the deck. Every day, she sings, "Mommy... I have a surprise for you." And every day I close my eyes and hold out my hand and wait for her to place the tiny flower in my hand and tell me to open my eyes. And every day, I tell her how pretty it is and how much I love it.

I posted that story on Facebook the other day, and a friend told me it was a sign from my Mama telling me I'm doing things right. I thought that was perfect, and I love our daily routine of my surprise even more now, knowing Mama is there with us each time.

I have long believed that she stops by to see me, and the family she never got to meet, via butterflies. The other night, while preparing supper, a black and blue monarch landed on the table on the patio and spread her wings. She then walked around with her wings out flat, and I pointed her out to Patrick and the kids. 

Yesterday, while outside doing science day, my daisy surprise was two daisies. When GG told me it was time to open my eyes, the two daisies were in my hand, and there was a beautiful black and blue monarch butterfly on the leaf right by my shoulder. When I turned my head to see her, she flew down to Genna's head, then flew off. 

Just then. Conner came running over asking if we wanted to see the beautiful butterfly he had found. I asked him if it was the black one and he excitedly said it was, but it had flown off and he couldn't find it. I told him that was his grand mommy. He asked how his grand mommy was turned into a butterfly, and I laughed and told him I'd tell him later. Now, you have to realize that Conner has to know everything about everything, but this time, he took that answer as enough, and ran off to find something else to discover.

Today would be Mama's 72 birthday. Cancer took her from us in 1996. She was 55.

Happy Birthday, Mama. Yeah, we're doing ok. Thanks for checking in. I love you.

Square One... It's like I never left you.

Those of you that follow along regularly know that I have been battling my weight for a long time. I started a "Game On" challenge with friends via Facebook, and found a wonderful circle of people who help motivate me, encourage me, and support me. That being said, they can't physically be with me 24/7 to both monitor and control what I eat and do. I exercised 180 minutes last week, I counted every calorie, and every carbohydrate. I was below calories and carbs for the first half of the week, and lost 4 pounds like THAT (snap of fingers of emphasis). Then I had enough calories left over after a long workout and not eating very high caloric foods during the day to eat gluten free pizza for supper. It was dreamy. Warm, crunchy, salty, tangy, cheesy. Oh, man, was it just awesome. 

But... The next day, I was in agony. Must have gotten cross contaminated, because I was dreaming of trying to find a restroom, then woke up before 6:00am with terrible tummy troubles.  I spend 90% of the next day (Saturday) in bed. But I got up to eat. I mean, I am ad addict. I needed that food fix, needed to see if eating would make me feel better. Nope. Not even a little bit. 

But, around 4:00pm, I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, so I joined the family and planned a "comfort meal" of mild chicken and rice and peas for supper. Made it, it was fabulous, ate it, and enjoyed some time with the family. The kids eagerly and sweetly exclaimed that this was the best meal ever, lifting my spirits higher and higher. 

Then I noticed the next morning that 2 of my lost 4 pounds had found its way back home. I hadn't lost them, but merely misplaced them. 

Sunday was my official "cheat day" and we had a full day of relaxing and fun planned. A day-trip to a winery with friends, and a baseball game that night. Cheese and crackers with the wine, then gluten free hotdogs and gluten free beer at the game. It really was a great day!

Monday morning, today, this morning, I got on the scale to see what was going on, and the other 2 lost pounds had rejoined their comrades on my thighs. It's a good thing too, because one side was horribly lopsided with those 2 extra pounds. I was way off balance, walking almost in circles, it was a little embarrassing. It's a blessing really that the other 2 came back.

The blessing is this. I know that I can not eat carbohydrates that do not come from leafy green vegetables. The ONLY carbohydrate that my body can process and not immediately store as fat is leafy greens.  

So here we are, back to a Monday morning start of a week. I'm thinking no cheats, other than perhaps a gigantic steak. But as far as cheats... I'm only cheating myself. I'm not sneaking something by the diet police, looking over my shoulder and laughing at the fact that I got away with it. "Ha Ha! You SUCKER!  I just ate a plate of brown rice, and you didn't catch me! Fools!"  Yeah... Um... They did catch me. Well, the scale caught me, and I'm feeling like the fool. 

Time to wake up Chica. You know what to do, and it's way past time to stop being so hard headed about all this. There is no magic bullet, no easy way out, no miracle "plan" that will fix all of this. You ate your way here, you can eat your way out. Just do it and shut up, already.

Game on, y'all.

Restaurant Review: Mimi's Cafe Gainesville

I've been to Mimi's Cafe in Gainesville twice, with two VERY different experiences. The first time I went to Mimi's was for a lunch meeting with a good friend. I arrived a little early and waited in the lobby/entry for a few minutes. I saw several people come in to pickup their to-go orders. There is a special alcove for to-go ordering and pickup, which was a nice touch. There is a small bar area which looked inviting, but I did not go through it carefully. I saw two dining rooms. One looked like a diner and the other looked like an inviting cabin. When my lunch date arrived, she was greeted very sweetly, the staff knew her by name, and she asked to sit on the cabin-side because its quieter.  Here are my thoughts on lunch.

Service - Fantastic. Not hovering, nor did I feel like I would have to waive anyone down. 

Staff - Very sweet and warm. While I waited in the front for my friend, I wasn't pestered or asked over and over if I was waiting for something. On that same note, I also did not feel ignored. 

Decor - The lobby and the cabin-like dining rooms are beautiful. Very warm and inviting. The dining room has a huge ceiling with wooden beams, private booths, and a very pleasant decor overall.

Restroom - Didn't visit the restroom on this visit.

Food Quality - Very fresh. We both ordered salads, and everything was beautiful.

Food Prep - Excellent. I asked for no croutons on my chicken Caesar, and there wasn't as much as a crumb on my plate. I felt very safe. The lettuce was dried properly, so it didn't water down the dressing.

Food Taste - Wonderful! Fresh, light, creamy, rich, and crisp. 

Overall, I was very impressed with Mimi's Cafe, and couldn't wait to go back. I sang its praise to my husband so often, that we decided to go for dinner a few nights ago.  And it was like stepping into an alternate universe in some aspects. Things could not have been more different with the food and decor.

Service - Again, this was first rate. Our server asked our names, then spoke to us, using our names as if he had known us for ever. He had great things to say about what we ordered. My husband mentioned his Celiac Disease, and asked for a dish to be prepared without the breading, which the kitchen did graciously. He had chicken cordon blueI, with steamed broccoli. I ordered a steak, scalloped potatoes, and a grilled shrimp skewer with a glass of Chardonnay. 

Staff - The staff was very nice, but in the background I could see them goofing off in a separate section of the dining room separated by a curtain. 

Decor - This time, we sat in the "other" dining room. And I now know why my friend requested the cabin-like dining room on my first visit. Ugh! The dining room to the right is like a bad diner or cafeteria. God-awful pleather booths, partial dividers between booths made of glass with strange brass accents, at least one was broken, and the glass dividers did nothing for sound control. I was very aware of the conversation of the ladies 3 booths down on the opposite side of us.

Restroom - Beautiful! One stall was out of order, but the overall cleanliness was excellent, and the brass sink was beautiful. I'm always happy to see a clean restroom in a restaurant!

Food Quality - Horrible. Simply horrible. I'm not convinced there was a fresh ingredient on either of our plates. My husbands broccoli had old, dried, brown stems and some florets were brown and soggy as well. His chicken was dry, and he wasn't impressed. My steak was ok. I asked for a sauce on the side that had have been jarred and microwaved, and was NOT gluten free, we discovered later that night. My grilled shrimp skewer was frozen shrimp that had been thawed and then warmed on the flat-top. My scalloped potatoes were from a box, they were pasty, gross, overly salty, mushy, and overall yucky. I feel they weren't GF either. (We were not told there was a GF menu until after we had ordered. Our fault for not asking.)

Food Prep - I'm fairly certain everything was microwaved and came either frozen or prepackaged. My steak was cooked wonderfully, but the sauce was salty, jarred, and barely warm. In fact, all of the food on my plate was moderately cold when it came to the table.

Food Taste - My steak was nicely seasoned. My potatoes were salty, from a package, and had been microwaved. The sauce was salty and tasted like the can it came from. My Chardonnay wasn't. I'm not sure what that substance was, but it was as far from a Chardonnay as I think I've had. It was sour and bitter.

Overall, this second experience was horrible. Our server was wonderful, but the food and decor were just awful, and you go out to eat for food and ambiance. Otherwise, you eat your own food at home.  I was embarrassed because I had been telling my husband how spectacular it had been the other time. This supper was the ending to our anniversary day spent kid-free, and we were both very disappointed. Due to our gluten reactions, we both felt pretty yucky after, and since one of my reactions is irritability and grumpiness, I huffed on up to bed and went to sleep instead of watching a movie as we had planned.

Based on this, we won't be going back to Mimi's Cafe in Gainesville. But, if I ever find myself there, ill be sure to order a salad only.

Sweetness

What's a girl to do? White sugar, sugar in the raw, sugar substitute, zero calorie "all natural", honey, agave, aspartame, saccharin, equal, nutra sweet, sweet-n-low, truvia, stevia, stevia in the raw, pure cane, coconut, high fructose corn syrup, JESUS, make it stop. 

Remember when the major world controversy was simply between which beverage had more "sugar"... Coke or Kool-Aid? Moms across America were turning their noses up at one another for making the wrong choice. Oh, the horror!

So what do I offer my friends and family on the rare occasion when a sweet substance is requested as an additive to a food or beverage? Do I designate an entire closet in my home as a sweetener of choice? Of course I know this is silly and ridiculous, and I'm not doing it, but being a southern woman, we're trained from birth to be fabulous hostesses, serve only the best, and to accommodate EVERYONE, so yeah, there is a teeny part of me saying, "You know you need to have all options available. What if one of your friends is unhappy at one of your parties?"

Do I regulate with an iron fist what my own family consumes? Yes, I do 97.3% of the shopping, and 99.7% of the cooking, but I also want my Honey to enjoy his sweet tea, and I myself love a sweet and creamy mug of coffee (or 5) in the morning. 

Next, how do I "know" which report to believe? One day "all natural" is best, one day the zero calorie substitutes are best, one day "sugar is sugar, your body can't tell the difference", one day "this" plant's derivative is better than yesterday's plant derivative. Understandably this is a nerve racking topic. 

I read, I asked friends and family, and I thought I had it narrowed down. Honey, sugar in the raw, and truvia in the raw. I've tried them all in my coffee (not at once, mind you) and I don't like any of them. The one I've heard good things about, and have not yet tried is coconut crystals. I bet Wegmans has them so I'll have to check them out this weekend. Think my Honey will give me a morning kid-free to wander the isles of Wegmans alone?  Here's hoping!  

Painting for Funny Grand Daddy

Here is the painting the kids and I made for my father for Fathers Day. 

The red feet and hands are mine. The black ones are my 4.5 year old son, and the purple ones are those of my 3 year old daughter. 

The technique was exactly like the ones we made for my husband that I wrote about in the earlier post.