Cocanana Powerhouse Smoothie.

I bought a small blender last night from Kohls. It cost around $30. It was half the price of a Magic Bullet and the online reviews were positive, so I went all in.**

This morning, I whipped up a smoothie for the hubs and I. It was fabulous. I'm not sure if it will be as filling as my morning oatmeal, but I think it will help curb my chocolate craving.

Here is the recipe:
1/2 banana
1 Tbs cocoa powder-unsweetened
1 c coconut milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1 scoop whey protein powder
1/2 cup spinach no stems (didn't want Matt to see floaters. Ha.)
1 raw egg. Can't taste this and I use eggs from farm raised chickens.

350 calories total- we split it. You could always freeze the other half. He guessed the cinnamon and banana, but that was it.

Double fisting a smoothie and his coffee. 

As you can see Matt finished and this is the most healthy thing he has consumed this year. Maybe we can add smoothies to a short list of what we have in common. :). Happy Sunday.

**After using it and the easy clean up, I <3 this blender, too.  Much smaller than my other glass blender.  It has several accessories and cups, just like its higher priced partner!



Sometimes You Have To Listen

To others. Yourself. The universe.

It's hard, right? To do what you wish so desperately others around you would do. To listen. To hear. To understand.

I think sometimes others around you know better. In knowing "better" they also may know what's best for you even when you think you're in charge.

I've been having crazy night sweats lately. I'm talking wring out my t shirt and wash the sheets kind of sweats. I chalked it up to poor eating and low blood sugar. Others around me- not so much. No worries blogosphere I am seeking medical attention, but in the mean time it's time for me to listen to my body and clean things up.

My SIL Cindy recently sent me a video.  It was my A HA! moment.  In short it confirmed what I already knew.  That I need to clean up my diet.  Dr. Wals was diagnosed with MS and through eating a Paleo Diet, cured her disease. If through eating certain foods, I can up my chances to not get certain diseases, then sign me up. 

With that being said, I probably eat this way 50% of the time. It's the other 50% I need to work on.  I learned about it when I had Toby on a gluten free diet. So I've started to follow this philosophy of eating since last week. So, this week I took out all breads, most starches and am weening off the dairy...I love Greek yogurt and pepper jack cheese, so this may be tough.  

Here are 2 recipes I tried:

"Creamy" Chicken Fiesta Soup- Made with chicken broth, coconut milk, tomatoes, garlic, chicken and seasoning.
I made adjustments to a recipe by adding other veggies and seasoning to it. I made enough to freeze for my school lunches.

Handmade Flax tortilla...I guess I should have used a circular cutter to make it more authentic. :)
I ate it as a wrap with turkey, lettuce, peppers and guacamole...I loved it.
You could cook them longer so they were crispy and use as chips.

So as I muddle my way through life and learn and grow, it's time I just stop and listen...or STOP collaborate and LISTEN... had to throw in an 80's reference. 

Thank You

for showing me that independence matters.
for teaching me a college education matters and will help with Independence, when you never had one.
for pushing me forward when I so wanted to stay where I was safe and comfortable.

for getting me out of my comfort zone.
for making me strong.
for working hard and the even harder when the weight of the world came crashing down.
for never giving up on me.
for wrapping your arms around me tightly and crying with me when I thought the weight of the world was coming crashing down on me.
for caring and even caring more than I do sometimes.
for believing in a high power and forcing me at times to believe, too, then backing off and letting me find my way.
for teaching me that everyone is carrying around something, they don't always show it on the outside.
for being kind to strangers.
for reading to me when I was little and continuing to share that love with me 34 years later.
for helping those in need.
for never judging me, even when my house is a disaster and my bathtub looks like it hasn't been scrubbed in 5 years.
for teaching me that the greatest things in life cannot be seen or touched, borrowed or bought...they are within us.

Grandma and Toby

Kicking Bad Habits in the Arse

It's tough- breaking bad habits. Poor Toby kicked the pacy habit's butt last week. Then he came walking out of his bedroom with this today. Here we go again.

I've fallen back on a few bad habits lately. Habits that I find to be mentally comforting at that time. Valentine's Day is a tough holiday for yours truly. It's a candy lovers dream come true. I take comfort in eating candy- always have. When I'm lonely or tired I grab a bag. Last night it was a bag of conversation hearts.

Yes I know, those chalky Pepto Bismol tasting nuggets-o-love. I sit here with morning after remorse shaking my head because I'm mad I did that to myself. What's the difference between that and drinking too much or even self mutilation.

Nothing really. That's just it-feeding my loneliness, stress or whatever emotion I'm afraid to face has got to stop. I have to start treating myself better. What I am doing is the same as Toby here. Relying on something to soothe my discomfort. I'm sticking a plug in whatever hole has dug itself in my surface, remove the plug and the hole is still there.

So I've decided to make a switch to feel a shift. If I'm feeling lonely because my husband is to busy and stressed then I will do something kind for him or someone else. If I'm feeling angry because it's 0 degrees out and the boys have been yelling and whining all day, I won't yell and whine with them. I will take a deep breath, exhale, then show them extra love and attention by making valentine's or giving "airplane rides". Since I've been feeling overwhelmed with life, I am going to volunteer to help in James' classroom on Valentine's Day.  Sure, I give up my own classroom for the day, but it will be worth it.

I'm going to try this for a week and see how my thinking shifts. Maybe it will, maybe it won't but I have to keep trying because I'm really sick of feeling sick of myself. I also signed up for a race.  The Schaumburg Egg Shell Shuffle.  So excited! It's over Easter Break so I can plan a trip to the farm and have something in the near future to look forward to.  Plus, it focuses me on a training plan and right now I could use a little focus!

Things to look forward to

Yes I mean the Super Bowl.
1 Tom Brady trimmed his mullet
2 Another helmet catch thrown by Manning
3 Doritos commercials. They always make me laugh and remind me of fond memories.
4 Madonna's half time show. Seriously she's in her 50s -has a new album coming out with titles like I F'd Up & Girls Gone Wild. May be more of a comedy show.
5 finding out if Elissis' total yards rushing is higher than Romney's total votes in the Nevada Primary.
6 Whatever happened to the Darth Vadar kid?
7 seeing if james sticks with the Pats.
8 Hot wing dip or anything I can slop onto a Tostito
9 Peyton Manning pouting in the corner.
10 shutting the tv off by 7am because I'm bored outta my mind

A Cartoon and a Quote

''And that brings us to tonight's word: Truthiness. Now I'm sure some of the word-police, the 'wordanistas' over at Websters, are gonna say, 'Hey, that's not a word!' Well, anybody who knows me knows that I am no fan of dictionaries or reference books. They're elitist. Constantly telling us what is or isn't true, what did or didn't happen...'' —Stephen Colbert



Anyone who knows me, knows I am a huge fan of Colbert and Jon Stewart.  Well, actually I've never been asked, but someone may realize that when they are brought up in conversation (which rarely happens) I usually mumble, "I love them."  Sometimes I even mumble this out loud.  The reason I love them so much is that they really break it down for your average Joe.  Or Julie in my case. I am a reasonable person.  Like most of the world. 

Case in point: My school district recently sent out a memo saying that while on duty I am NOT allowed to tell anyone parent, teacher or child who I am voting for in this year's election.  So if I am asked, I shrug my shoulders and say, "Sorry, I am not allowed to tell you right now, but meet me across the street and 3:36pm and I will tickle your ear with anything political or spiritual that you want to hear..." Really?!  Is this what our world has come to? Sometimes I feel like I am in the middle of a movie and John Quinones is about to pop out.  Maybe that's why my guard is always up.  For fear that I will make an arse out of myself in front of the world.  Really, it's not, I am shameless.    

You see, IronMom Nation- I have NO time for Politics and Protests.  Really.  None.  So when I get 30 minutes of P&Q you may find me watching an online reRUN of on of their shows.  I laugh out loud and at times double over because they are hilarious.  Really, Newt populate the moon?  WTF. Shows do not need writers with politicians like these.

They say what I'm thinking, except it's so much funnier.  So this Sunday when people ask me which team I'm rooting for, I check the clock peak around corners and answer in a hushed whisper, "The Cubs of course! Chh!"

February 2nd and 62 Degrees

That meant time outside...Oh how we needed that.  I had taken the day off due to an appointment, so that left me with some Tank Time...That is Toby the Tank Time.

 I love the outdoors.  I run outside most of the winter, without music.  I love hearing my feet slap slap slap the pavement.  I love hearing my breath and the wind whistle through the trees.  I love the opportunity to THINK.  I don't get much of that up in here, so I take advantage of it.  

Since I was around more than usual, Toby and I went on a wagon walk- it's been way too long my friend.  We did a lap around our local University and I came across a precious gem I thought I lost on a run 4 weeks ago.  Bonus.  We poop scooped the backyard- gah...then picked up #1 from school.  Where did we head after that, you ask? The park.  I love the playground- when it's empty.  Which it was for the first 10 minutes.

If you've never been on a playground with your child before, you are missing out.  It's a dance. What type of dance?  It's the mother vs. mother dance.  That mother over there could be a hoverer, an I'm better than you  mom, or a hands off watch my child mom.  You never know what you're going to get.  Most of the time, life is good on the playground, but once in a while it's time for me to pull the plug before my mouth gets me in trouble.  Like yesterday, when I was playing with my boys, minding my own business before Momma Bear #2 told James to get off the toddler equipment because he was too old.  Really?  It's just us and your 5 year old son?

"How old are you," she asks.
"7," James replies. 
"You can only be younger than 6.  You need to leave," she says. 
"So do you," he says. Chalk one up for James not using his think time...
Someone was a little grumpy about this whole shadow business, I guess. So, with tensions rising, the Beaver's pulled back and left, it was too pretty out and we had other things to do. 

This included riding scooters, trying out James' new bat and Toby pulling me for a ride in a wagon.  This is so much better than what we were doing a year ago!

Get ready for some football

Because I can- I did.