True Confessions

I sometimes forget to feed my family.

Here’s the scene a couple days ago:

Ta is picking Heaven up from daycare which means she won’t be home tonight.  It is 5:00 p.m., and Phil is picking me up from work in my car because we had to take his to a mechanic that day.  I get in the car, and, before I even tell Phil hello, I say, “crud!”  (Seriously, I use that word a lot.  It is a word isn’t it?)  “Crud, I don’t have the slightest idea what you guys are eating for dinner,” I say to Phil.  He doesn’t say much about it as he pulls off because he’s totally used to and unfazed by these situations.

See, a few things are going on here:
1) I already knew Heaven wouldn’t be home, so my whole evening routine was screwed up as in I had too many extra hours and didn’t know what to do with them.

2) Adrian and Phil can fend for themselves, so I seriously sometimes forget about those two having to eat.

3) My meal planning routine went down the toilet so long ago I don’t even remember when I last did it.  Now I do make a little list of meal options to aid in grocery shopping because I do not go into a store without a shopping list, but lately I don’t know what’s for dinner until the day before rather than planning meals in advance for the entire week.

So what did I do?  This particular evening Phil had a salad, I had leftovers, and Adrian had what we call brdinner or breakfast for dinner.  In all actuality, Adrian would have brdinner every single day if it were up to him.

I personally know women who don’t even know how to turn on their stoves let alone cook a meal, so surely there are other mothers out there who sometimes forget that their family needs a real meal.  Yes?

Health Update

My weight hasn't changed, so let's talk about some other numbers.

Every year I get a health screening, and the results I look at first are those for cholesterol and triglycerides.  This year I also added HA1c.

Last year my total cholesterol was 251; this year it was 200.

Last year my HDL cholesterol was 61; this year it was 57.

Last year my LDL cholesterol was 166; this year it was 125.

Last year my triglycerides were 121; this year they were 92.

I didn't get my hemoglobin checked last year, but this year it was at 6.0 which means I'm at increased risk for diabetes.  I wonder if it was higher this time last year.

Prior to switching to a plant-based diet, I thought I was eating right by avoiding beef, fried foods and other "bad" foods, but I still ate my fair share of baked goods which is what my doctor said, in addition to a lack of exercise, caused my cholesterol to be high year after year.

It was just two months after I eliminated all meat, eggs and dairy and began a consistent workout routine that I had the screening done, and you can see in the numbers above that I'm now doing something right.

I still have work to do, but it feels good to know that my risk of heart disease and stroke is lower than it was just a few months ago.

Monday Quiz About Me - 6

Here are this week's questions from Acting Balanced.  Feel free to join in by answering the questions on your blog and adding your link to Acting Balanced.

1. What did you do for Mother's Day?
I baked this cake because my sister, Tonya, asked me to, and I love her to pieces.  Then we had dinner with Tonya’s family.

My brother-in-law grilled chicken and made the best fruit salad.  They also prepared lima beans, cabbage, mashed potatoes and dinner rolls.  AND because they are the best hosts and hostesses ever, they made a vegan dish just for me.  I don’t know what it’s called, and, because it’s been more than 24 hours, neither does my sister.  It was just the right amount of spicy with fresh green chiles and mushrooms.  It was tasty!

After dinner we went to church.

2. What was the best advice your mother (or a mother figure) gave you?
I honestly can’t remember any advice my mother has given me.  Sad but true.  The best advice I’ve received from my grandmother is “put it in God’s hands.”

3. Are you gardening this year? What have you/will you plant?
I will not be gardening this year, but I am very interested in container gardening since I don’t have a yard and would like to try some tomatoes next year.

4. What is the first song that comes to mind today?
Sidewalk Prophets – The Words I Would Say

My question: What makes your family special?
I have a rather large family.  I have 9 siblings, and we have 42 children and grandchildren between us.  That's a whole lot of love.

Your turn.

Fifty Fifty Friday

I've been reading more lately.  I like it.  It helps when you have a book like Let's Pretend This Never Happened, and you're laughing so hard you just might pee in your pants, but you can't wait to see what happens next.  I hope the next books on my list are just as good even if they aren't as funny.

Here's what's going on in my reading and watching world:

Books
Beautiful Creatures - Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Bloom - Kelle Hampton
Bossypants - Tina Fey
Carried in Our Hearts - Dr. Jane Aronson
Easy Guide to Sewing Skirts - Marcy Tilton
Eat to Live - Joel Fuhrman
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
Grace for the Good Girl - Emily P. Freeman
Happier at Home - Gretchin Rubin
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Let's Pretend This Never Happened - Jenny Lawson
Mansfield Park - Jane Austen
Motherhood Comes Naturally - Jill Smokler
Red Sea Rules - Robert J. Morgan
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy - Sarah Ban Breathnach
The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth - John Maxwell
The 30 Day Vegan Challenge – Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
The Gifts of Imperfection – Brene Brown
The History of Us - Leah Stewart
The Marriage Plot - Jeffrey Eugenides
The Romanovs: The Final Chapter - Robert K. Massie
Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher
This Won't Hurt a Bit - Michelle Au
Those We Love Most - Lee Woodruff
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Unlimited - Jillian Michaels
Where We Belong - Emily Griffin
Wild - Cheryl Strayed
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

I will show the book(s) I am currently reading in red text and will strike through the books I’ve read.

Movies
42
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Argo
Beautiful Creatures
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Brave
Breaking Dawn: Part 1
Breaking Dawn: Part 2
Catching Fire
Dark Shadows
Django Unchained
Dolphin Tale
Eclipse
Expendables 2
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Hansel and Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
Here Comes the Boom
Hit and Run
Hope Springs
House at the End of the Street
Identity Theft
Iron Man 3
Jack the Giant Slayer
Les Miserables
Lincoln
New Moon
People Like Us
Pitch Perfect
Safe Haven
Seven Days in Utopia
Silver Linings Playbook
Skyfall
Speak
The Backup Plan
The Blind Side
The Bourne Legacy
The Hobbit
The Host
The Impossible
The Intouchables
The Lake House
The Lucky One
The Mighty Macs
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Preacher's Wife
This is 40
Twilight
Unconditional
Waiting to Exhale
Zero Dark Thirty

You can learn more about the challenge at the 50/50 Challenge site.  There is still time to join in the fun.

True Confessions

(Source)

Sometimes I think bad things about bad people.

I remember watching the news coverage of the disappearance of Amanda Berry.  She was the same age as my oldest son, Charles, and I had three other little ones.  A missing child is every parent's nightmare.

I was as overjoyed as the next person at the news that Amanda, her daughter and two other women were rescued Monday after being held captive all these years, but I've had some nasty thoughts about the man who kidnapped them.

I know it is not my place to judge.  I know the best thing to do in situations such as this is pray for everyone involved including the bad guy, but. it. is. so. hard.

Wednesday Weigh In

HW: 195
CW: 177 (up)
GW: 135

Okay...there is obviously something wrong here.  I won't talk about my lack of movement because, well, there's not much to tell except there hasn't been much movement of my body going on besides the regular household chores, packing and work.

I've been sluggish lately, and I think it's from the large amounts of sugar I've consumed in the form of Dr. Pepper and Cap'n Crunch.  Adrian and Heaven rarely eats cereal let alone sweetened cereal unless my mother buys it.  She bought Cap'n Crunch a few weeks ago, and I had a bowl with soy milk.  And I had another.  And I bought another box.  And another, and it's like all of my common sense is locked away in a part of my brain that I can't access.

I should probably go back to the basics and keep a food journal, but that's not going to happen right now.  I do make an effort each and every day to do better than the previous day.

Next week we'll see how that's working for me.

Ten on Tuesday

1. We had a pretty low-key Cinco de Mayo.

I made Chicken Fajitas (mine didn't have chicken, cheese or sour cream) and Adrian made Mexican Rice.  He adapted Brown Eyed Baker's recipe.

I also made a Tres Leches cake.

 

I forgot all about the photo props I wanted to print but did get a few photos of my babies.

 

Of course Adrian gave me a hard time.

2. Every year for the last eight years, Adrian has developed bronchitis and/or pneumonia in February or March.  We don't know what was different this year, but he has remained totally healthy so far.

3. I've mentioned before how much I enjoy receiving Notes from the Universe.  Here's one I received recently:

Sometimes, Flora, when circumstances or disappointments bump you off track, it's the beginning of an even bigger dream coming true, that could not have come true on the track you were on.

Love it!

4. One of my Postcrossing pals turned 16 today.  Happy Birthday Busra in Turkey.  You will probably be asleep by the time this posts, but I hope you enjoyed your special day.

5. I washed, dried, folded and hung six loads of laundry in less than 48 hours.  That rarely happens.  Usually I wash and dry clothes and they sit in baskets for several days before I put them away.

6. Have I mentioned how much I don't like packing?  I've packed six boxes of books, and there are still books on my shelf.  I'm seriously considering moving these last two shelves with the books on them.

7. My mother is going to Oklahoma for a few weeks, so she's going to miss all the moving fun.

8. I learned today that our move date has been pushed back one week.  I think they should just make it a month to be sure everything is in perfect working order.

9. I have a few pieces of furniture I'm going to sell on Craigslist, but I haven't placed the ads.

10.  This is a short work week for me because here in the good ol' state of South Carolina we celebrate Confederate Memorial Day and by celebrate I mean it's a holiday for state employees, so I get to sleep late which means instead of getting up at 5:00 a.m. I'll get up at 6:30 a.m.