Category: Life Happens

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Freshly Ground Wheat Success

I’ve been interested in grinding my own whole wheat fresh (especially for bread) for months now.  I wasn’t willing to invest in a NutriMill that *only* grinds wheat — because I just wasn’t sure how likely I’d actually stick with it.  I mean, I adore adore adore homemade bread.  Dangerously adore.

I could eat the whole loaf right out of the pan. No joke.

But after reading about all the nutrients in freshly ground wheat I was determined to try.  That’s one of the reasons I settled on investing in a VitaMix.  With the dry blade, I’m supposed to be able to grind any grain.

Yet after several disappointing attempts (tortillas that were more like frisbees, a brick loaf) I’d kind of given up.  It didn’t taste all that great.  I wasn’t able to get the flour fine enough.  I was sick of wasting all those ingredients!

My SIL gave me a recipe months ago that she swore would make the best whole wheat bread.  She’d taken a class through her church (which I plan to take too, next class!!) and learned all the tricks to getting whole wheat to rise.

Then of course I lost the recipe.

I finally found it last week and set out to try again.  I dragged out the dry blade container and my wheat berries.  This time, I refused to be afraid of burning the VitaMix up.  I’ve watched youtube videos of people grinding for minutes on high without any issue.  So I ground my wheat up really good, going longer than I ever had before.  (Deep down, I think I was afraid of making flour paste or something.)  One small batch was maybe a little too coarse but the rest was fine.

And the bread.  *dies*  It’s soooo good.  Lots of honey make it sweet.  The grains are incredible.  I used coconut oil too, along with an egg to help make it smooth.  It’s not only the best whole wheat bread I’ve ever made…it’s the best BREAD.  Period.  And so healthy!  (Sorry, I don’t have permission to share the recipe online or I would!)

Of course I overate the first loaf (Middle loved it so much she also ate 3 pieces the first day), but I’ve still got half of the second loaf in the fridge.

With that victory, I ground more flour over the weekend and used up all the ripe bananas to make a batch of banana bread and 2 dozen banana chocolate chip muffins for the kids’ lunches.  There’s only 2 left… so I think they went over okay.

Of course it’s a little tricky to count all these whole grains on WW.  I can do the math, sure, but it’s crazy to see the number of points.  Honey is more points than artificial sweetener.  I didn’t want to cut the coconut oil out — but it is pointy.  However I know it’s healthy all the way.  Could I find “cheaper” (less points) diet bread at the store?  Sure.  But I’m not eating that crap with all the preservatives and fillers when I can have freshly ground wheat at my fingertips.

I just have to figure out how to only eat one small piece…

Do you have a favorite whole wheat recipe that I can add to my list?

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Back to School Tradition

This is one tradition I can definitely do without.

Every single year, there’s ONE item that is a pain in the backside to procure.  I end up hitting several different stores to find this item.  It’s different every year, so I can’t “prepare” by stocking up on the missing item months in advance.  Did that the year I couldn’t find Expo markers and there were buckets of them everywhere the following year.  Naturally.

What peeves me off is that the school supply list is never a huge shock.  I mean, every year, I have to buy generally the same basic things, plus one or two extras (like this year, Princess needed a flash drive).  So why is it always a very basic thing that’s impossible to find?  Why do I have to roam the entire store looking for the items on the list?  I mean, would it be so difficult to have everything I need in one or two aisles?

Seems to make sense to me.  But whatever.

This year, it was paper folders with brads.  Yep, you know, those 20 cent folders in rainbow colors.  How hard is that?

They had plastic ones (no brads).  Paper ones (no brads).  Decorated ones with holes (no brads).

I went to Wal-Mart.  Target.  Struck out.  Luckily my GROCERY STORE had them.  Yes, my grocery store.  How sad is that?

Don’t even get me started on how much it cost to send three girls back to school.

($118, not including any shoes, clothes, or even backpacks.  This was ONLY supplies.)

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My MN Week

I can’t believe my week is almost over already.  I’ve been in the home office this past week, training for two days and then visiting all my coworkers, going to meetings (instead of just the voice on the phone), and generally having a blast.

Tuesday night, I got to meet my friend’s son for the first time and see her little girl I hadn’t seen since she was a baby.  Last night my area had a happy hour after work.  The book that shall not be named (50S) was a hot topic, and all the guys had to quiz me about it after the ladies were gone.  Then I hooked up with Barbara Longley for some incredible Thai food and great biz talk.

But tonight…  Ah.  The BEST time.  I meet up with my dear friend Wanda (you’ve seen me dedicate several books to her!) for a long, leisurely dinner.  I ate a delicious, healthy salad with wild rice, cranberries, almonds, and chicken.  A weird (to my MO sensibilities) mix, but it was so yummy.  Then we decided to take a walk.

We walked.  And walked.  And talked books.  And walked.  She thinks we probably walked a good three miles!

A year ago, I wouldn’t have been able to make it that far.

There are some people that it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since you’ve seen them, you can talk and laugh just like you saw them yesterday.  That’s how it is with Wanda.  I’m so blessed to have you as my friend!  Plus I got some great activity points for my team’s challenge.  :mrgreen:

Now I’m back at the hotel packing up and nearly in tears because I’ll miss everyone so much.

The funniest comment this week when a friend/coworker saw me for the first time:  “DUDE, you’ve lost half yourself!”  Ha, not quite, but I nearly will by the time I hit goal!

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WW Update: NSV

NSV = Non Scale Victories.

Let’s face it – we can do everything right all week.  Track our food.  Stay in our points.  Exercise.  And the scale doesn’t cooperate.  It’s especially important to have other victories to celebrate that have absolutely nothing to do with the scale.

I admit the NSVs have been pretty few and far between lately.  I’m not losing quickly enough to jet down into a new clothes size.  I’ve been hard at Power 90 for a good 30 days now, but I haven’t seen any huge changes in measurements.  (In the last round, I saw the most changes in the 60-90 day range.)

I’ve been playing the up and down game since RT in April, with very little consistently downward trends.  Today, I’m up a total of 3 pounds.  I’m not sure why.  It could be because I missed a few days of exercise last week.  I hurt my foot a little, so I was scared to work out too hard for fear plantar fasciitis would come back.  (It didn’t.)  We had lots of errands this weekend preparing for school to start, so we ate out more than usual.  Plus I was under the gun at the Evil Day Job on a late project, while I’ve got a business trip next week AND a release.

When I’m stressed out, I don’t typically see good numbers on the scale, even if I’m within my points.

Plus I’m having a problem sticking to my new daily points.  I typically eat 4-6 points over each day.  I have weeklies and activity points to use, so I’m still technically “within my points”, but I don’t always lose well when I eat over, especially when I’m missing a few days of exercise.

But in the end, the whys don’t really matter.  It is what it is.  I’m in this for the long haul, and I can’t lose every week.  I can’t concentrate on the number.  It’s just a number, after all.

Instead, I’m going to celebrate a victory that I’m still pretty pumped up about.  Many years ago when I was on Atkins for the first time (about 8 years ago I’m guessing), I was working out fairly regularly (for me) at a local fitness place.  I got tired of the treadmill, so I tried an elliptical machine.  Imagine my shame when I could only make it 5 minutes.

Yep.  5 minutes.  I thought, wow, how sad that I’m THAT out of shape!

Because it was so physically hard, I only rarely did it.  Much better to plod on that hateful treadmill than face my inability daily.  Then of course I quit going all together.

A few weeks ago, That Man started a workout routine at our local community center.  The kids swim, while he works out.  Now usually I’d leap at the chance to stay home and get some writing done, but I need to keep working out and I was curious.  I wanted to see if my fitness level was any better now that I’ve been doing Power 90, not to mention that I’m down 80+ pounds.

The ellipticals were all taken, so I tried a cross trainer machine that was more like a stair climber.  I was shocked at how hard it was.  My legs were burning in 5 minutes.  The intensity was much harder than I anticipated, and I was like, uh oh.  No good.  I haven’t improved at all.  Sigh.  Pretty bummed, it took me a few more days to decide to go back.

This time, an elliptical was free.  Filled with trepidation, I hopped on.  I took it easy the first 5 minutes, afraid the intensity would get too much too quickly, but hey, I made it.  Then I made it 10.  15.  I was sweating and definitely feeling the workout, but it wasn’t the same killer thigh intensity that the other machine had been.  That first time, I made it 25 minutes.  I was pretty proud of that!

Yesterday, we went again and I jumped on that elliptical.  I’m getting the hang of it, trusting my body and the rhythm.  I pushed a little harder this time.  And I realized I LOVED IT.

It feels like I’m running like I always wished I could, but couldn’t.  I’ve never been a runner, even in high school at much lower weights.  I tried.  But the pounding was too hard on my knees even then.  I hated that sick feeling I’d get from pushing too hard.  (I once threatened to throw up on the coach’s shoes.)

The elliptical gives me that flying freedom of a fast run that my body can’t really physically pull off.  It cushions my knees wonderfully.  My calves and achilles do begin to tighten up, but even after two times, the tightness is much better/bearable (plus I concentrated on arching my foot more, stretching that area out when it starts to ache).

Last night, I made it 40 minutes.  AFTER I’d already done Power 90 strength over my lunch.  I was dripping sweat but the closest to “pumped up” I’ve ever been from exercising.  Now THAT is a NSV!  Me, Queen Couch Potato, pumped up from exercise!

Starting next month, I’m participating in an exercise competition at the Evil Day Job, where my team gets points for exercising.  I figured I’d need the help to stay on track with the business trip next week.  Now I have no excuse whatsoever not to take my Power 90 cd.  I just hope the hotel also has an elliptical!

Who knows.  I might even look at buying one for the house.  I liked it that much.

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Summer’s Flying By

I can’t believe the kids are going back to school in 3 weeks.  (I haven’t even started school supply shopping.)

I have a release in two weeks.

I have an Evil Day Job business trip the SAME WEEK.

I’ve got to put my promo together before I go, because I’ll be so busy that week, eating dinner out with friends, getting up early to get ready (after years of working from home, I have to remember how to fix my hair and makeup!).

I *must* get my mailings done before I go.  I promised RT goodies to people months ago!  *hangs head in shame*

Two of the monsters are away at church camp this week – a first for them.  I hope they have a wonderful time, but I also plan to use my evenings to get caught up on all my admin-type tasks.  I hope they don’t get hurt.  Middle was given a third-tier top bunk.  I can only imagine how many new wounds she’ll come home with.

Speaking of which, I’d better get cracking on her story.  If I don’t get at least a few more pages done, she’ll send me to time out when she gets home.

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Weight Watcher Update

I had a HUGE weigh in today:  -4.6!  On paper that looks great.  In reality, I’m only down .4 from my last low.  I’m hugely thankful though — those two weeks of gains are off much quicker than I expected.

The key has been Power 90.  I made it 4 times the first week, 5 times last week, and I’m on track to make it 6 times this week (assuming I make it every weekday).  Power 90 saved my sanity on Friday.  I was stressed out to the max and I had a KILLER workout.  I think it was the hardest, most exhilerating workout to date.

I’m also trying a new protein mix (Syntha 6) that I’m finding very satisfying, recommended to me on Twitter by Isabelle.  I’m not 100% happy with the ingredients (it contains Splenda) but it tastes great and I don’t feel ravenous an hour after drinking it like with BioChem + Weight Watcher Smoothie (my concoction before).  It’s pointy – 6 if I make it with 1 c. of unsweetened almond milk – but it really does a nice job of making me feel like my gas tank is pleasantly replenished after a hard workout.

What I learned this time around is to keep trying things until I find what works for me.  That Man ordered a drink mix a few months ago.  I tried it one time and felt shaky afterward, like I was having a sugar crash.  BioChem didn’t make me feel bad, but it tasted so terrible that I had to mix it with WW smoothie mixes to gag it down.  Then I still needed to eat a small meal within an hour.

No gagging at all with Syntha.  Mixed with 1 c. fresh spinach and 1 c. frozen fruit, it makes an incredibly rich and tasty drink that sticks with me for 2-3 hours.

Princess has decided she wants to be a vegetarian, so we’ve been trying a few new dishes.  I’m happy to eat the same dishes with her, and then add a chicken breast, etc. if I need a little more protein.  If you have a favorite vegetarian recipe, we’d love to have it!  She’s going to get real tired of Boca burgers pretty fast.

She did Power 90 Sweat with me today and it was so much fun.  She kept saying there was something wrong with Tony for making us work so hard, and then swore there was no way he could be 42 (at the time Power 90 was taped).  He definitely worked us both out hard today!  I had to take some pauses and catch my breath.  I think I was working out harder with company.  Or maybe that was just from laughing as she tried to pick up all the moves with her hilarious commentary.  Anyway, I was pretty darned proud that I was able to hang with my 13 year old daughter and even out-do her at times (I ought to, I’ve been doing Power 90 a lot longer!).  A year ago, I would have keeled over dead at the thought of working out that hard!

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Sounds

I’ve always written to music.  From the very beginning, it was Everything I Do by Bryan Adams.  Lady Blackmyre loved NIN’s Closer.  I swear that when the *right* song comes up for the story, I can write faster and deeper.  The whole mood wraps around and inside my head with every musical word.

But I’ve never really used nature sounds or other “peaceful” tracks without words.  Someone mentioned beaches and rain on Twitter the other day, and I was like, oh wow, there’s an app for that?  Ha.  Of course there is.

I’ve been needing some significant stress busters.  While I sweat my backside off doing Power 90, I thought I might try something new too.  There’s nothing quite like the sound of a thunderstorm, for example.  I’m not so big on happily tweeting birds.  Too much river and trickling water sounds make me have to pee.  But the beach, yeah, that’s pretty nice.  The nighttime sounds at the lake and forest are pretty cool too.

Then there was this one shamanic one I picked up and whoa, it’s so cool.  It’s drums and crows, some eerie whispers in the background.  I can’t wait to find the book that works for that music.

And yeah, I’m more peaceful.  I listened to it so much today that my phone is almost dead.  (Unless the monsters get a hold of it, my phone will usually last all day/night without needing a charge.)

Do you use white noise, nature sounds, etc.?  Curious minds want to know!

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Happy (Late) 4th of July

I hope all my American friends have enjoyed their day of Independence.

I slept in — really needed it! — while That Man smoked a massive brisket and a huge family pack of chicken breasts.  I wasn’t sure how the chicken would come out (skinless, boneless), and it was a bit dry, but very tasty.  I marinated it in fresh orange juice, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil prior to smoking.

I wasn’t a big fan of the brisket.  Just too fatty and tough for me.  I like my brisket to fall apart, or to be so tender I can easily cut it with my fork.  Not so much today.

Our sides were all healthy.  I made spinach salad with a nonfat Greek yogurt/light Mayo dressing.  I skipped the hardboiled eggs and used just a fraction of the cheese I normally would — still tasted phenominal because it was extra sharp! — shredding it instead of dicing it so it’d go further.  I made mashed potatoes (their request) for the monsters, but grabbed some boiled potatoes for salad made with a similar light dressing.

I even got my Power 90 workout in today!   I’m in really good shape on points today.

I also worked on my website pages, getting ready for Tecun next month.  Ack, I just realized that I’ll be in MN at the home office the same week The Bloodgate Warrior releases, which will be craaazy.  I’m usually worthless on release days.  At least I’ll be stuck in training — where I’ll hopefully be forced into concentration!

You know what a trip to the home office means….

More shopping!  I have jeans and dresses (from RT in April), but absolutely no business casual other than a few skirts.  I really don’t want to wear panty hose unless I can’t help it.  I’m going to wait until the end of July, though, in hopes I might lose a bit more.

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Brave

We finally went to see Brave with two of the monsters last night.  (Princess is at Grandma’s house, and booooy did we hear about her displeasure that we went to see a movie without her!  Especially Brave.)

We all enjoyed it, but it seemed to be lacking that little something to take it from good to fabulous.  For me, it was all about Merida.

On one hand, I loved her.  I loved her hair.  I could understand her frustration with her mother and all the plans for her betrothal.  I mean, the three idiots fighting for her hand were truly laughable.  Even her father thought so.  If they were such a loving family, how could I honestly believe that they’d just hand her over one of these worthless suitors?  Seriously?

The only remotely interesting male character was Mor’Du, the cursed prince/bear.  Why couldn’t she have found a way to save him?  Love could have redeemed him.  Sure he ate her father’s leg and he’d killed countless warriors…

But THAT is my kind of story!

It was cute and funny and tearful.  I laughed when the men all used their kilts to climb down from the tower.  I cried at the end when Merida thought she’d lost her mother.  But it could have been so much more.  Merida didn’t make a big enough change for me.  She wasn’t instrumental in changing her fate, not really.  Her archery skills weren’t the answer to saving anyone in the end.  In fact, it was her mother that stopped Mor’Du.

The movie itself was beautifully done.  But I wanted more.

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Three Days Down

I’ve made it three days in a row for Power 90.  Man I’m soooooore.  I even took it easy on the weight lifting day (yesterday) and skipped round 4 with all the max sets.  And I can hardly make it up and down the stairs tonight.  My left quad and achilles and my right butt cheek are killing me.  I guess I’m uneven.

I’m still having a hard time sticking to my daily points, but I’m only going over 3-6 or so, and I have the activity points to cover it now.  I’m still up 2 pounds, but I know it’ll come off in a few days when the soreness is better.

Plus we had really good news on the homefront today.  That Man has a shiny new CDL license!  Now he’s going through his options, but he should have a job in the next week or two.  That will take some of my stress off and I can hopefully settle into some kind of routine for the rest of the summer.

Sig still isn’t cooperating yet, but I’ve been so tired and stressed with That Man’s test (this morning) that I haven’t really been in the right frame of mind to write at night (and too tired to get up early).  I also have a few scenes I want to add to Lady Blackmyre so I can kick her to the curb and get her submitted.

July should be a busy month!