And the SCALES SAID SO!

Today was the day.  After finally getting my act together last August, today I finally officially hit my goal weight!!  I'm so stoked I can't even TELL you!!  It's pretty surreal honestly, because for the first time ever I'm not the over-weight kid.  I wasn't ever REALLY over weight, but ever since I can remember I've been the slightly chunky kid who falls into the "over-weight" category on the BMI charts.  Can I tell you how amazing it feels to say my weight out loud and not feel embarrassed?  To know that I now fall SMACK in the middle of the "normal" category of the BMI charts?   I can't really remember when I was this weight...well, maybe it was back as a freshman in high school...?  Who  knows, and who cares.  I am there now.

I credit the actual weight loss to my changed eating habits mostly.  I read and reread Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman and as much as I hated the idea of changing my eating that much - to go "that healthy" - I realized I wasn't after just weight-loss, I was after better health and better long term health.  And I knew what Fuhrman recommended was the best way for me to go about achieving short term health, long term health and weight-loss.  It's amazing what having a child will do for your desire to live as long and as healthily as possible.  The thought of leaving this earth before seeing all of my grandkids and even great-grandkids, makes me want to really take care of and cherish this body that God gave me.  And lets face it, the number of deaths in America from weight related diseases is just escalating.  Everyone knows it.  No one wants to admit that they might be eating in a manner that will send them down that path in 15 years, or 10 or even just a few short years.  I find that people often joke about the bad food they consume, I think to lessen the consequences and seriousness of the situation in their mind.  Unfortunately joking about a food pyramid of cheese, chocolate and pasta doesn't change the actual consequences that will one day catch up with you.

I'd like to sit here today and tell you that healthy people really DO come in all different shapes and sizes, but unfortunately, I'd be lying if I said that.  Healthy people do come in A LOT of different shapes and sizes, but not ALL shapes and sizes.  There is no way around the fact that the more excess fat you contain on your body, the more strain you put on your body and organs to function daily and the higher risk you are at for certain diseases.

So if you are struggling with your weight or health, I cannot encourage you enough to go pick up Eat to Live and read it.  Even if you don't like it after the first couple chapters, read it till the end and then evaluate.  It just made sense.  I can't tell you how good it feels to know that I am putting truly good food in my body; to know that I am taking care of my God given body the best I can; and to know that I am doing everything in my power to be around for my loved ones as long as I can.

So what is the magical weight-loss goal I achieved?  Well, I lost 35lbs, my height is 5' 3", and I am square in the middle of the 'normal' BMI chart now.  Can you figure it out?  You should be able to figure out my starting and ending weight with those numbers, just go find a BMI calculator online.  And while you're there, check your own to see if you need to make adjustments in your diet.

I don't have great before and after shots, but hopefully you can see the difference in my face in these.

2008-2010

2011

That represents a 35lb difference, baby!

Please feel free to ask me any questions you like.  Make today be the day that you change your health for the better!

Cute Cousins!

While I was rifling through my pictures looking for something, I stumbled upon THESE ADORABLE THINGS! Charlie and his cousin Conal are about 7 weeks apart, and both just monstrously cute.  These were taken at a restaurant about a month ago, during an effort to get them to show a little cousin love with a hug.

How about a hug boys?

"Uh, I don't think so.  That stinky kid?"

"Get away!"  (Conal knows how to handle himself with two big brothers.)

Finally they relented, but this was their idea of a hug - posing for different cameras.

Hugs at last!  Yay for cousins!

Little faces.  Little hugs.  Little grins.  Little tiny humans that are everyday learning how to be like adults.  Incredible and terrifying all at the same time.

Music to my ears..

My piano just got tuned this morning and I cannot tell you what a world of difference that makes!  I'm glad I finally got it into my noggin, that tight as the budget may be, I can either spend a little over $100 on a semi-yearly basis to keep it in tip top shape, or I can let it sit in it's own cacophony and out-of-tune-ness for too long, ruin my teaching instrument (and source of income), and then spend several thousand to replace it.  Hmm...which one's the better idea.

Yea....

You go to school for music, you hate practicing on out of tune pianos, you have it drilled into your head about maintaining your instrument so it continues to function well, and yet out in real life, when the pinch comes and you are trying to cut corners places, how easy it can be to forget priorities!

Thank you Mr. Frye for your excellent work as always, and charming personality to boot.  May you continue to live long and tune pianos long. :)

Charlie and his cousin Conal happily dueting away.

Rustic Sun-dried Tomato White Bean Dip is complete!

I finally finished experimentation on this dip!  It took me a good 4 tries to get it right.  But finally it is MMM-mmm tasty!!  You like my fancy little piece of garnish in the picture?  It helps to offset the fact that the picture is taken in a less than desirably lit location, on a white sheet of paper, rather than a fancy square dinner plate.  (Although maybe I should consider getting a square white plate just for food pictures, as I LOVE the square look.)


So as promised, here is the recipe.

Rustic Sun-dried Tomato White Bean Dip

Rustic Sun-dried Tomato White Bean Dip

2 cans (or 3 cups cooked) white beans - my preferred choice is Great Northern Bean
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp tahini
1-2 medium cloves garlic (depending on love for garlic)
1/2tsp agave nectar
1 1/4 tsp salt
heaping 1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp dried parsley
3/4-1c dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes*
1/4 tsp paprika

Follow directions on package to soak dehydrated sundried tomato strips in hot water.  Blend first 9 ingredients in the food processor until nice and creamy.  Add paprika and rehydrated tomatoes to processor and blend till desired texture.

*Notes: I have started using the dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes (which can generally be found in the produce section in a little baggy), instead of the oil-packed tomatoes because it is just one more easy way to cut back on some fat.  I found that the oil-packed tomatoes were just too difficult to wipe free of oil (duh - seems like a no brainer), and while I am careful to make sure that my family does consume daily amounts of fat, there are much healthier fats to consume than the oil packed around sun-dried tomatoes.  Also, the typical diet generally contains too much fat, so this is just an easy way to get rid of a little bit.  But do note that the dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes must be rehydrated in boiling water first!

Also note that I threw the paprika and tomatoes in at the end because I wanted to keep a little chunk to the sun-dried tomatoes instead of totally pureeing them, and the more the paprika gets processed, the more the dips starts to look just like a bowl of refried beans.  So those two ingredients I process less for texture appeal and visual appeal.

Let me know what you think!

Have you been experimenting with any tasty recipes lately you want to share?

Jilted

I just tucked Charlie in for his morning nap, and normally we have a night-night ritual of a couple high fives before bed.  Today I let Charlie have two books in bed with him for night-night - one of which he promptly opened and started reading while lying on his back.  I asked him for a high five and without missing a beat, he held up his right hand, though still thoroughly engrossed in the book, let me do the high fiving, and then retracted it quickly to hold his book again.

I felt a little cheated.  Cheated out of my enthusiastic high five, for instead an absent minded passing nod of "oh yea, I guess we have this high five thing we do, but it's an inconvenience to me while reading, but I'll humor Mom anyway".

Oh the little things here and there of motherhood.  I'm sure if this bookwormishness of his continues, this will be just the first of many other such moments.

Reading a favorite Pigeon book

But oh how glad I am that he loves books so much.  :-)

The Charlie-Tube

We are finally getting rid of the monster entertainment center that we have (which didn't even really work with what we had, but was free - so who can complain).  So we cleaned it out, took pictures and posted it on craigslist.  Although who are we kidding?  Who wants an amoire sized thing that's made to house those really huge, back-in-the-day, boxy TVs?  We didn't, and we even had it for free!  So we bought a very cheap, short little dresser to put our TV on and out went the monster.  Except by "out" I mean it's still in the middle of our den floor waiting, fingers crossed, for someone to buy it.  And so in the mean time Charlie decided he wanted to be the entertainment for the night.

Enter, Charlie-vision, for our viewing pleasure:

Hey guys, I'm your new TV!

This big box is kind of in my way.

Hahaha, I'm so funny!

What IS this thing?  I can't share the stage!

It's so heavy, I can't move it!!

Whoa, that's a long way down....

Yes, unfortunately this trend has continued with him wanting to get back up in the entertainment center at various intervals.  I will be glad when it has left our den floor.  

But it was SO cute to watch.  He was pleased as punch to be up there for us to stare and laugh at. :-D

Birthday Dinner!

Here was William's birthday dinner request:

 Look sort of familiar?

But not quite?

We had Mediterranean Hummus Pizza for William's birthday dinner!  Truthfully, he found the idea for it and he requested it!  And MMMmmm it was SO good!  (Good call on the birthday dinner, honey.)   I made up my special homemade garlic pizza crust (per husband's request), slathered on fresh, homemade hummus (which came from this large and in charge batch of hummus), threw on spices and herbs, and added fresh basil, tomato, red onion, and bell pepper of the red and green variety.  We baked it up and it was delicious!  Quite a nice flavor sensation and different from normal pizza.  I added a slurry of balsamic vinegar to some bites of my pizza when I was eating it and that added a nice depth of flavor!  I think perhaps some chopped up broccoli and zucchini would be nice next time, along with sun dried tomatoes.  Mmmm!

So that's how hubby got to celebrate his birthday.  Beer and (hummus) pizza!

Happy Birthday again, to the best man ever!