Starting Goals.... Again

This summer has been a bit of a challenge for me to do any of my "Me" goals. 

Go to the gym?  Nope.  I have four kids at home that all need my attention.

Eat healthily?  Nope.  It's too fricken hot to cook and I'd rather just heat up some corn dogs for the kids and call it good.

Take a quick walk or run around the block?  Yeah, HECK NO.  If it's too hot to cook from my air conditioned house, there's no way I'm going out in the 110*+ heat.

So what do I do?

I've decided to get the kids back on schedule and routine to practice for school starting in a week and a half.  And that has afforded me the opportunity to get my own routine back in line. 

Here I am starting my goals.... again.

But it hit me pretty hard today.  I start my goals again every day. 

Do I succeed every day?  No.  Does that frustrate me?  Yes.  But should I try again anyway?  Of course.

Here's to a new day and a new resolve to succeed.

Meal Plan Mun-dee

It is Pioneer Day at my house.  A state holiday to remember the pioneers who came to Utah and settled the valley.  I have pioneer roots, so I've always enjoyed the day. 

Can I make a meal plan of just desserts?  A week of desserts only.  That's all I feel like eating.  I have a leftover piece of the pineapple upside-down cake just tempting me in my fridge.  I've also just started using Pinterest.  My main reason was to clean up my bookmarks and as I'm "pinning" all these yummy desserts I've bookmarked over the years, my mouth is watering!

Alas, a girl can't live on "Knock You Naked Brownies" alone, so I make my meal plan ...

MONDAY:  Fish sticks and frozen fries

TUESDAY:  Tacos

WEDNESDAY:  Chicken and veggies with pasta

THURSDAY:  Waffles and ice cream (we had French Toast last week)

FRIDAY:  Fast Food Friday

SATURDAY:  Grilled pizza

SUNDAY:  Hot dogs on the BBQ

We're linked up to a party at Organizing Junkie!

Reflect on Success

It's time to reflect on success.

This is hard to do sometimes.  But it is necessary to remember that we are working hard and doing good things.

We have less than 3 weeks until school starts.  It's gone by way too fast!  One of my summer goals was to lose 5 lbs a month.  That was a bit ambitious.  A more realistic goal would have been to maintain my weight.  Especially since I gained 10 lbs last summer. 

That's one goal I won't accomplish.  So let's look at a more positive side.

We were out at the mall the other day and stopped at Old Navy because I wanted a few new shirts and had heard a radio ad about clearance prices.  I bought 4 shirts for about $20 (yay, me!).  I got home, put one on, looked in the mirror and was happy, and even a little impressed, with what I saw.

Of course, the camera tried to tell me differently.

Luckily, I married the greatest man ever and he helped me look at the reality of what I have truly accomplished.  I have only lost a few pounds this summer, but in the grand scheme, I'm doing pretty good.

Me in 2006 at my biggest weight:

Me in 2009 after I had reached my pre-pregnancy weight which was about 25 or 30 lbs less than I was in 2006:

Me today, another 20 lbs lighter:

So where I was originally upset that my picture didn't look as good as the mirror did, Josh helped me realize that I've come a long way. 

This is my reflection on success.  I didn't accomplish my original summer goal, but I'm accomplishing my overall goal.  A few pounds at a time.

Now it's your turn.  Reflect on your success.

Meal Plan Monday

I can play my own game.  What did we really eat last week?

Monday - BBQ Beef a'la Mom
Tuesday - Pancakes
Wednesday - Grilled Fish and Brown Rice
Thursday - Baked Oatmeal with Raspberries
Friday - Panda Express Chinese
Saturday - Homemade pizza
Sunday - Beef Brisket, green salad, baked beans, rolls

So I kept to my menu somewhat.  I didn't get to the store until Saturday, so I was pretty pleased with myself for doing as well as I did.  Oh, and for what it's worth, Sam's Club has the best price on beef brisket where I live ... but you have to buy 25+ pounds of it at once.

This week feels very summer-ish.  I think the wadding pool will be used (maybe even by me) and I might even break out the slip-n-slide!  I am thinking we'll eat most meals outside, so I'm okay with the few messy options I have planned.

MONDAY:  Sloppy Joes, green salad, chips, and watermelon

TUESDAY:  Grilled tostados

WEDNESDAY:  Spaghetti and garlic bread, green beans, and probably more watermelon

THURSDAY:  Waffles and ice cream

FRIDAY:  Fast Food Friday

SATURDAY:  My mom's birthday - we often get her KFC

SUNDAY:  BBQ Chicken in the crock-pot and maybe some cobbler in the dutch oven

What are you eating?

Just for kicks, I linked up to the party at Finding Joy in My Kitchen this week.

Perfection

Is there something in your life that you don't do because you can't do it perfectly? 

My sister had a rodent problem in her pantry a few years ago.  The rodent was gone but the food was still being piled outside the pantry.  She knew she needed to thoroughly clean the shelves and everything but since she didn't have time to do it perfectly, it just never got done.  (It did eventually and I'm sure her pantry is lovely now and that she is so thankful I shared this with you all.)

Is this something that plagues you?  It does me.  Daily I have to remind myself that good enough is usually good enough.  My kitchen isn't spic and span, but the dishwasher is running.  My laundry isn't all done, but the linens are folded and put away.  I didn't exercise for an hour, but I did go for a 45 minute walk. 

In college, I had a quote that I repeated often as motivation.  It came from Calvin and Hobbes (you know, the literary greats of the 1990s).


I've quit trying to be perfect.  I'm just trying to be good.

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned all of this on here before.  It is something I struggle with and that is hard to face in a weight loss journey.  It is hard to not get the perfect number on the scale.  It is easy to get down on yourself because your calorie intake wasn't perfect.  The reflection in the mirror does NOT look perfect!

I've brought this subject up in social circles and it, generally, isn't received well.  We've been conditioned to think of "good enough" to be settling.  If we aren't striving for more, we are failing to thrive.  This constant battle for perfection isn't healthy.  It isn't satisfying.  It doesn't make us joyful people. 

There comes a time when doing our best is really good enough.  If we can only clean one shelf in our pantry today, that is good enough.  We'll get to the rest later.  No time for an hour at the gym, but you can squeeze in a 20 minute walk - great!!  Remember, doing a little something right is better than doing nothing right at all.

I've recently had an experience in my life where being perfect caused a lot of needless pain and grief and my willingness to admit my imperfection brought a lot of joy to another.   This article by Single Dad Laughing expresses my feelings much more beautifully than I ever could. 

I pray that each of us can know that being ourselves is good enough.  That the good we do is good enough.  That the baby steps we take each day to be good people is pretty darn great. 

Hey!  Did you know someone thinks you're cool?  Well, I do.

Meal Plan, er ... Tuesday?

I'm back and getting really close to resuming life.  We had a fabulous time at our reunion and the food was delish, if I do say so myself.

It is time to get serious about feeding just my own little family again.  As I worked on my July menu, I tried to pull in meals that could be done on the grill as much as possible.  Our home is only cooled by an evaporative cooler and ceiling fans, so I avoid the oven as much as possible in July and August.

I'm also trying to vary our meat a bit.  I'm a chicken girl.  I like my chicken.  I'll throw in hamburger and beef occasionally.  I am also a fan of meatless meals.  But, I am raising a family of boys who need the experience of eating other meats.  Enter pork and more fish.  We'll see how well they go over.

Here's my week:

MONDAY:  (just for the record)  Pulled beef sandwiches a'la my mom

TUESDAY:  Grilled tilapia and rice

WEDNESDAY:  Steak kabobs

THURSDAY:  Baked oatmeal with strawberries (I love this stuff)

FRIDAY:  Possibly Fast Food Friday, Chinese sounds good right now

SATURDAY:  Homemade pizza

SUNDAY:  Beef Brisket Sandwiches (we are hosting a family dinner)

What are you cooking?

Just to get some more inspiration going, feel free to do a "Did Do List."  Sometimes when I don't feel like I got anything on my "To Do List" done, I create a "Did Do List."  I list off all the things I actually accomplished during the day and I feel much more productive - even if my original list has very few things checked off. 

So, go ahead - join the fun!  Tell us what you ate last week.