Revelations at the Stove

I did something I swore I wasn't going to do this year.  I joined Weight Watchers.  Again.  I think I was prompted by this dedication to eating better--and I don't mean that as a health-conscious thing.  I mean eating better--better food, a more enjoyable process, things that taste good.

In the last three weeks or so, I've realized there is a long list of foods that I don't really like, but eat anyway.  Anything from McDonald's, for example.  Or steamed broccoli.  (LOVE it roasted.  But steamed vegetables are usually a little soggy and kinda gross.)  Or pizza rolls.  Or grilled chicken.  ::shivers::  I'm not sure why I spent so much time eating those things, but I know thinking about it disgusts me--mostly because of the sheer quantities I've put in my body.

(Disclaimer:  I am not a photographer.  I am especially not a food photographer.  I don't much care to be a photographer, either.  I put pictures up for my pleasure and as proof that something did actually take place in my kitchen.)

This is Sweet and Spicy Stuffed Chicken with Potato/Turnip/Cauliflower Mash and Roasted Broccoli.  According to to the meal plan, I was supposed to eat the chicken with orange glazed sugar snap peas and carrots, but I got a real craving for broccoli tonight.  So I changed the plan.

And you know what?  It was fantastic.  The whole meal was 19 points of amazing.  And I refuse to be upset that the meal cost that many points.  Instead, I've learned that this particular meal should only be paired with zero points vegetables instead of another recipe that adds points to the mix.  (The potato and butter in the mash actually up the point value quite a bit.  In the future, I'll add more cauliflower and turnip so it serves more with fewer added points.)

But I feel a sense of accomplishment here.  Not because I've spent one day on a program, but because I'm taking back something I love and learning to own it in a way that keeps me from constantly looking over my shoulder. 

The idea of "taking back" has had me thinking about the schedule that ticks in my head.  You know--the one that tells me I'm behind on so many things.  As long as we get there, does it really matter how long the journey takes?

I know.  Rocket science.  It's the reason you come here, isn't it?

I'll try to slow down on my revelations so everyone can keep up :)

Menu Planning--1/7/2012 thru 1/19/2012

One of my New Year resolutions is to cook more so I thought menu planning would be  a good way to make that happen.  Here's the plan for the next two weeks:

Monday, 1/9/2012--Sweet and Spicy Stuffed Chicken with orange-glazed carrots and sugar snap peas (and likely potato/cauliflower/turnip mash or even roasted broccoli as I'm trying to work more veggies into my diet)

Tuesday, 1/10/2012--Chicken and Dumplings (recipe from All You magazine)--includes pearl onions, carrots, celery and peas with parmesan-butternut squash gratin

Wednesday, 1/11/2012--Slow Cooker Lentil Stew with Cornbread Dumplings (plan to eat this meal with roasted broccoli)

Thursdays and Fridays are days with Favorite.  We will either eat at home or eat out, but I don't want to plan for those days so we can spend time together.

Monday, 1/15/2012--Mushroom-Quinoa Burgers with Roasted broccoli and Potato/Cauliflower/Turnip Mash

Tuesday, 1/16/2012--Sunny Mediterranean Chicken with roasted broccoli

Wednesday, 1/17/2012--Salmon with Lemon Butter and Pineapple Salsa, roasted broccoli and  grilled Asparagus

I may post pictures of the recipes, but I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to make that happen.  I'm also willing to share recipes if any of these sound good to you.

A Break in the Hiatus

It's Friday so I'm typically on a blogging hiatus until Sunday, but there are a couple of things you must know because I feel it's my life duty to help you avoid missing all the things I think are important.

I have internet at home, but we are working on buying a new router.  #makingmylifeeasier

Click this link and read what Amy has to say.  This afternoon, a missionary came to speak to the Girls Bible Study group that meets in my classroom on Fridays.  The last thing she said was "Don't avoid the struggle, and don't give up.  You don't know what God has for you there."  Then, I read Amy's post.  I believe Him.  There is a destination and a purpose for the struggle.  It's coming.  I can almost see the runway lights.

The Internet Is Ruining My Life

I don't want to be all My Life Is Going To End because my internet won't work, but my life is going to end.    Since one of my resolutions was to cook more often, access to the internet has become crucial in my house.  How else do you look up recipes for the three ingredients you have left before you actually go to the grocery store?  (And I would like to submit that onions, peppers, and chicken are not a bad combination in theory, but actual ingestion means one probably shouldn't spend time in the company of others for a while.  Just sayin'.)

Unfortunately, it's still. not. working.  At this stage in the game, it's probably the router, but ruling out all the other possibilities requires *ahem* internet access.  So each time I encounter a new issue, I have to wait until my planning period the next day at work.  And don't give me that garbage about running water and hot showers.  I need the internet.  ::sobs::

I did sign up for a class next semester at the prompting of Favorite.  He thinks since I received an A in the previous class, I was blowing my experience out of proportion.  (I wasn't.  But I did probably whine excessively.)  This semester, due to schedule navigation, my class is on Wednesday nights--American Literature after 1900.  We'll apparently cover Post-Apocalyptic Fiction, Serial Verse and Graphic Novels.  I'm only aiming to survive and learn something in the process. 

I had to navigate a new schedule, because I was asked to teach an after school tutoring session on Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of February.  The program is something through Sylvan, so while the students are completing a personalized, online, tutoring session, I can stay caught up on grading.  Maybe it will be less of a problem this semester.

I swear I had something more interesting to say, and I probably had pictures to contribute, but since I can't blog at home, when I have time to think, on my laptop, my creativity is stifled.  STIFLED I TELL YOU!

Maybe today's fix-it routine actually did.

Midweek Confessions: 1/4/12

 

*  I am addicted to The Good Wife.  I rarely get addicted to televisions shows, but when I do?  It's sick.  I haven't loved anything this much since Judging Amy went off the air.  But now I have The Good Wife and Once Upon a Time.  I hope grad school doesn't get in the way of my watching schedule.

*  I have to go to Verizon today.  I am not looking forward to it, but I really like having working internet at home.

*  I love Shakespeare, and I get really passionate when I talk about him.  The students think I'm a little unhinged, but there's something about the St. Crispin's Day speech that moves me.  And I love the scene in Renaissance Man.

*  I have no idea what recipe I'm going to try this evening, but I'm pretty pumped about trying something.  Cooking is something I really enjoy.

*  I have a bit of an after school job until the end of February.  The extra money will be nice, but it will also be an opportunity to focus on things at school for a couple of days a week.  If I have to be here, I might as well accomplish something.

*  I signed up for my class.  It's not the one I intended to take, but it sounds interesting so we'll see ;)

And those are my confessions :)

Resolutions 2012

Last year's resolutions--this year's thoughts in bold.

1. I want to learn more about Jesus. I don't know what form this resolution will take. I know that I will probably facilitate another women's Bible study some time this year. I know that Favorite and I have committed to doing morning devotions together since we don't see each other for the rest of the day. I'm looking forward to it so far.  We didn't manage to stick through morning devotions.  Truthfully, our schedules are so opposite, it got a little ridiculous.  He'd be falling asleep during morning time, and I would be asleep when he came home.  But I do think I managed to learn quite a bit about Jesus during 2011--just not in the ways I had previously pictured.

2. I'm going to take PCOS more seriously. I may talk about it a little more on here and what it has meant for my life. I'm setting a small weight loss goal of 20 lbs for the entire year, because this syndrome makes it difficult to lose weight. However, I do know that losing even 10% of body weight can restore normal hormonal function (per information I've read). So I'm going to set small goals and work toward getting there without getting absolutely crazy in the process.  I didn't lose much weight, but I did take the syndrome more seriously.  More on that later.

3. I'm going to simplify. I need some order and consistency in my life and that may mean giving up some things. I don't know what those things are or even if I'm expected to give up actual activities at this very second, but I'm open to what God has planned for me.  Whoo.  I had no idea that simplification would mean saying goodbye to my church, members of my family and people I had known for years.  2011 was definitely the year of letting go--of dreams, relationships, expectations, people who used to live in close proximity, and fruitless commitments.  You can't hang in there just because it's what you've always done, nor can you hope and hope and hope that things will get better when it's clear that is anything but true.  Sometimes the kindest action really is waving goodbye and meaning it.

Now, on to 2012...

1.  In continuation of taking PCOS more seriously, I plan to cook on a regular basis.

I used to love to cook.  I loved being in the kitchen.  I loved planning meals.  I loved flavors and textures and color on my plate. But when I focus on weight loss, I only focus on getting as much as I can for as few calories as I can as quickly as I can.  Which, I think, is sad.  My resolution to cook more often has more to do with enjoying something again than it does with weight loss.

Would I like to lose weight?  Sure.  But I'm finally coming to the point where I can embrace myself so I can move past this stupid mentality that has kept me stuck in a rut.  The facts are as follows:  my cholesterol is good.  My blood pressure is low.  I generally consume under 2000 calories a day (often under 1500 calories a day).  Most of those calories are not from a fatty resource.  I rarely eat fast food.

What I want to do instead is focus on creating a meal that I can actually enjoy.  I want to look at food differently.  Basically, I want to live my life differently.  Instead of valuing thinness, I want to value good living.  And part of that includes my vision of food.  How can I possibly view food in a positive manner when I generally come home and eat the first convenient item in sight?  Oh, and that's another part of cooking more regularly--finding a way to eliminate the majority of convenience foods in my life.  Not all, but some.

2.  I plan to be--let go when necessary and move on when possible.

Things were difficult in 2011--good, but difficult.  Like I said earlier, letting go is never an easy part of living, and I'm worse at it than most.  I hold grudges, get my feelings hurt and can't move on because I continue to play events in my head.  I need to remember some relationships aren't forever, and that's not always a bad thing.  Part of this resolution may also include spending less time with people who create ill will (purposefully or not).  Who needs more jealousy, selfishness or anger in life?  Not this girl. 

3.  I plan to watch my mouth.

Out of all the things I've struggled with (and the list is long and distinguished), language sits at the top of the list.  I'm not just talking specific words, though that is a consideration here.  I'm also talking purposeful speech.  It doesn't mean I'll never tell a joke again, but I want to be careful about belittling others--particularly those with strong feelings about personal situations.  It's happened to me, and it hurts when people are flippant with your life.

4.  Simplification continues.


For the first time in 6 years or so, I will not be leading a Bible study.  I'm still sad about it, but I really believe it's by God's design for this season of my life.  My church does offer small groups, and I will be attending one of those, and my mom and SILSheena and I are going to complete James:  Mercy Triumphs over the next twelve weeks.  I am also retired from singing, which is a sad blessing. 

I also plan to stay at work until four or four thirty every day to cut down on the grading hassle.  Since I have an extra class of sophomores, my grading load last semester was horrendous.  I graded until the very last day of school, and I need to commit myself to doing something 

My house is becoming clutter-free and organized so I don't have to spend every weekend doing a massive cleaning overhaul.  I'm working on the laundry problem.

I really just plan to spend less time on what doesn't matter and focus more on the things that make a difference in the end.  Oh, and reading--on my Nook.  Which is simplification at its best :)

Nothing revolutionary.  But I'm looking forward to 2012--without constantly looking behind me.  I remember where I've been.  Now it's time to move on.

internet issues

Sorry for my lack of update. I'm having internet issues, but I will update with a recap of last year's resolutions and my resolutions for 2012 tomorrow. Stay tuned.