So a little more info...

So every marriage goes through its ups and downs. This happens to be a down time for us...probably the lowest we have ever had. So in hopes of getting us back on track I am doing The Love Dare. For those who saw Fireproof know what I am talking about for those who have not seen it I would suggest it. Yes, some of the acting and action is a bit cheesy but the message is a very good one. The Love Dare is a 40 day dare to improve your marriage. It is intense but I think will be worth it in the end. So I started the dare a few days ago, tomorrow will be day 5 but I decided that wasn't enough, I needed to do a bit more for myself. I have started, what I am calling the 40/140's challenge. While I am completing The Love Dare I am also going to get my weight back into the 140's.

So I took the dare....

So I took the dare in hopes to make things better. As of day 3.....I see why people quit. No matter what others think, my heart is completely in it. He may not see it now but hopefully in the end he will.

What's holding you back......

So I have fallen off the wagon lately, actually it has been more like the last month and a half. I have been thinking over the last couple of days what exactly has been holding me back. People can come up with all kinds of excuses for why they don't stick to a healthy eating plan or workout plan. So I had to figure out what was holding me back so I could address it. First I think it is some body image issues. I know I am much better off than many but it could be a lot better. I think it finally hit me when I was trying to get ready to go to Phantom of the Opera with hubby. The weather was much cooler than I had hoped it would be so the outfit I was comfortable with wasn't going to work. I stressed for the afternoon about what to wear and was generally unhappy...that was until hubby said something...he told me I was too hard on myself, it had only been 8 months since having Georgia and that I looked so much better than I give myself credit for. We had a great evening...but I really need to keep his comments in mind. I can only loose weight for myself and no one else. Second thing holding me back is a loss. Since the weather started to cool off last fall my sister in law and I had talked about looking forward to Spring so we could walk/run together. We had planned to do a 5K, I was still working on convincing her to run it, but we were going to do it together. Well..at the end of February I learned that my sister in law was no longer going to be that. Her and my brother we splitting up. I think this affected me more than I have wanted to admit. We had a very good relationship and she was the closest I had ever had to having a sister. I was hurt and sad. I think I have needed time to heal. Again the lesson learned losing weight and getting healthy has to be about yourself and no one else.

Crazy Weekend/Week

So we have made it to Friday again. It seems as though the week has flown by. Monday my baby boy turned 3, I can't believe it has been three years already. We had a party for him on Sunday. Also on Sunday we had our little girl baptized. The crazy weather on Saturday prevented some family from making it but overall it was a great day. We spent the rest of the week hanging out with the family. My frozen meals really came in handy this week. We used some the meals for quick easy meals! My mom was very impressed! So we have spent the last two days getting back on track and organized again. I getting ready to plan my next cooking day in the next week or two.

Kudos to the Hubby!

So about 6 months ago or so I started the adventure of cloth diapering. It has been a learning process that my husband was not interested in at all. I was fine with that since I am home with the kids most of the time. I do not have much of a "stash" actually I have to do diaper laundry every night right now. I am ok with that because I love the cloth and it is so much better on my daughter's sensitive skin. So last night I pulled the pail out my daughter's room when she went to bed with the intention of starting laundry right away. I got distracted and forgot. By 11pm I was very tired but then realized I didn't have my diapers washing. I was bummed but went to put them in for their first soak. Then surprisingly hubby asked what else needed to be done. He was going to stay up so he offered to finish the diapers for me!! I gave him the instructions and woke up to nice clean diapers. That is a big step for him! He also "changed" a cloth diaper last night. He took the cloth off and put a disposable on for night time. He left the cloth for me to take care of but I was happy with that! I might convert him yet!

Finished the Cooking

So last night hubby gets home from work and really wanted to try the Jamabyla. So an hour later we sat down to eat. The taste was awesome. I think I will use different rice, the rice I used didn't cook as well as I wanted. Overall the dish was really tasty and fairly healthy. It will be on the menu again. I had lots of leftovers too.

Budget Inspirations

So I am not sure where my inspiration started but hubby and I have started to really try to stick to our food budget. It has been a good challenge for us. It has forced me to look at what we have on hand before shopping and really stick to a menu plan. We have also done this in an attempt to eat better, less processed and packaged food, and more homemade food. My friend Emily at Little Home introduced me to menu planning and she inspired me to eat better foods. So my idea I had been thinking about for a couple of weeks was to have a "cooking day" where I made a bunch of freezer friendly meals so I didn't have to cook as much. I am a decent cook and was taught to cook early on in life but honestly I don't enjoy it that much. Cooking is one of those things that is part of my job now. Then a couple of weeks ago our church announced it was going to host a cost saving workshop led by my friend Emily and her Husband. So I got really inspired to do my "cooking day."

This week I have been looking for good, freezer friendly meals that were fairly simple to cook, ie simple ingredients. I found the website Recipezaar which had a lot of ideas. I saved a bunch to the cookbook option on the website, had hubby pick a few he wanted to try. I then used the grocery shopping list option, checked my pantry for the items I already had on hand and finished my list. I had five recipes I was going to make: Sangria Chicken, Baked Ziti, One Dish Chicken and Bows, Baked Mac and Cheese, and Jambalaya. I set out with my list in hand yesterday afternoon to get my groceries. I hit Aldi with the goal to get most of my shopping done there. $89 later I had purchased a majority of my items needed plus a few extras, including a new reusable shopping bag. I then needed a few more items so I went to Price Chopper and spent another $39. I had everything to make these 5 recipes, most of which can be divided in two so I actually get 2 meals out of each recipe. I returned home proud of myself and proud of my full pantry.

This morning I attended the cost saving workshop, which energized me for my day. I started cooking at about 11:45 am. For those wondering, yes both my kids were at home, Georgia had gone down for a nap and Tristan had puzzles and coloring books at the kitchen table. By 1:30pm I had two dishes down for a total of 4 meals. I took a break to put Tristan down for his nap and feed Georgia. I was back on the cooking by 2pm. I was able to get 2 more recipes done by about 4pm. I stopped because I needed to get dinner done for tonight and the kids were ready for some mommy time. I left the Jambalaya for tomorrow. I have a total of 7 meals, one of which is going to a friend who is going to have her second baby this week. I figure I didn't do too bad for and afternoon at work. Now I will get a break from cooking, all I have to do is get a meal out of the freezer the evening before and pop it in the oven.

So this was my first adventure in make ahead cooking. If you want more info on my shopping list, what I had on hand and where my money was spent leave me a comment. I will be glad to give you all of the info.