soapy chicken, but I shall try again!

1. I have a new obsession on the web, and that is Kalyn's Kitchen.  Basically a whole slewwww of South Beach friendly recipes, and tried-and-true deliciousness all at my fingertips with pictures, even!I tried a new recipe last night, a "tester" if you will for the South Beach Diet path I'm seriously considering.  I made Baked Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, Basil and Goat Cheese, along with Garlic Roasted Green Beans.  And I learned that I am not as crazy about basil as I thought I was...well, not fresh basil anyway.  It almost had a soapy taste to it, for me....so while this recipe is definitely a keeper, I think next time, I will try to substitute the basil for parsley.  That should do it...or even use sweet basil flakes rather than fresh.  We'll see.  The green beans were FAAAAAAAABULOUS, though undercooked...I just didn't have the heart to make the boys wait another 5-8 minutes when they had been so patient already.  But dudes...you really should try this dinner.  It was delish!  Served a little salad on the side...and yummO!

Kalyn's Kitchen

Kalyn's Kitchen

Thanks, Kalyn!!!

2.  It is finally time for me to refocus.  I've decided to take the plunge and subscribe to the online South Beach program.  With a real-life friend who has had success on the plan, promises of reduced cravings and actually shrinking my ridiculous-amounts-of-belly-fat-first, I'm just flat out sold.  I think that the menu planner and shopping list tools alone will be worth $5 a week...at least for a few months.  (Dave Ramsey said it was okay!)  But without some serious planning, I don't think I will make it through the vital Phase 1, and lawsie knows I need all the help I can get for that phase.  The biggest challenge I see?  Labor Day Weekend.  Yep...another weekend away, and a long one at that!  So, I'm tempted to just wait until we get home to dive in.  I can squeeze 2 weeks at home in afterward to make it through the strictest phase of the diet plan.

3. David and I are butting heads a little bit over this whole change in our diets.  His focus is all about "is it low-fat?", to the point that I think he is going to turn into a grilled chicken salad.  So with South Beach, you're not counting calories or points, or necessarily fat intake (though, obviously, it is something to be aware of)...but it is more about the right kinds of fats and the right kinds of carbs/grains, so it's almost a point of contention to balance what will work on the SBD for me, and still fit in to David's rigid views of "healthy".   But can I just tell you, he has easily already dropped a pant size with his conscientious eating and religious bike riding?  I am very verrrry proud of him.  His pants that he had to buy for court (which he originally boasted for their elastic component in the waist) looked ridiculously big on him this morning as he got dressed.  Good job, honey...I am hopefully right behind you!

4.  The exercise mojo is revving back up.  I voluntarily got up at 6:15 this morning with grand plans of sending David to court with a belly full of eggs with bell peppers and onions, maybe a little cheese...but he had already eaten by the time I rolled out of bed. :(  It was alright though...maybe I will try again tomorrow.  But waking up at 6:15 was NOT difficult....much to my shock!  So I told David that I would like to do that on his "riding" mornings, and I will do my work-out DVD and then hopefully have a good breakfast waiting for him by the time he rolls in as well.  All that in time to wake up the bear and get ready for school and work and all the glorious things that each day will hold for us.  (Susie Sunshine, much?)  But seriously....if David can do it, and I'm seeing such great results with him, why can't I do the same?  It would be a great way to start the day, and heaven knows I'm not keeping up with it at lunchtime...so let's give that a whirl, shall we?  Tomorrow is day 1....(insert dramatic tone here).  Wish me luck...and hold me accountable!

for you, my sheep

It has been brought to my attention that I have left my sheep unattended for 23 days!  So sorry, little lambs.  Mama still loves you.  Let's go over what's new with me...which is abysmal, but we'll go there.

How's the diet going?  Ehh, it's kinda nahhhht.  I have "Healthified ADD", it's a real diagnosis.  I am a college graduate, so I'm allowed to self-diagnose.  It's the rules.  But yeah, so I'll be doing alright for a day or um, a meal, and then I'll slip.  Or I'll be away from home and, well, we've already been over being away from home being a huge hurdle that I have not successfully cleared yet.  I am holding steady at around 8 lbs down, but I need to kick it in gear again...I knowwww.   I'm still looking in to the South Beach Diet, but man it seems like a lot of work for those first two weeks.  Honestly, that's what is holding my horses on that front.  I know if I just sit down and plan it out and stick. to. it. then I'll be good.  Phase 2 seems more manageable on a day-to-day basis, but just getting through that bitch Phase 1 is what I'm focused on tackling right now.  Just give me a minute!

What else?  The new area of self-improvement that I'm venturing on right now is Financial Peace University.  Dave Ramsey is kind of my hero, but he gives me mixed signals.  I swear I know he wants me to have Grey's Anatomy on DVD....he wants me to be okay with buying that kyoooooooootsie backpack for Boo.  But his words don't match what I know he truly wants me to do.  So I'm kind of torn on which Dave to follow.  For now, I'm following the words that come out of his mouth as opposed to those that I'm receiving telepathically.  I figure that's the safer plan for now, but I don't know how long I can resist the overwhelming brainwaves he's sending out my way.  Just sayin.

I have checked another item off of my Day Zero (Zero Day?..whatever) Project...I went and donated blood at a Red Cross blood drive a week or two ago, and no kidding yall, a lady fainted!  I've never seen that happen to someone before, it was always just urban legend in my mind.  It was pretty crazy.  But I totally rocked it.  I gave blood like nobody's business and felt pretty awesome about it. I really like doing it, but we don't have a regular donation place down here, so I just have to wait for blood drives and hope that I catch an announcement for it on the radio or see a flyer or something.  But that's alright.  Anyway, you're welcome, person in need who receives my blood.  Glad I could help you out.

I'm currently listening to my Colbie Callait station on Pandora...and any song that she sings in the "iTunes Sessions"...uncut, broken down, acoustic....pretty much makes my skirt fly up.  Swoon.

That's just about all for now...hopefully more to come in a more timely fashion next time, eh?

I'd like to take a moment to give a celebrity endorsement...

The Hunger Games...read it.  Read it now.  Now.  It's a trilogy...I'm 2/3 into the first book and am HOOKED.  Go.  Natalie, not one word out of you about Harry Potter....thankyouverymuch.  Suzanne Collins...young adult section of your local bookstore.  And go.  Read. It. Do it.  Do it now!