What I Read: July and August 2015

Astonish Me

A look inside the life of professional ballerinas. The competition, the lifestyle, and what happens when you don't make it in that world. I found it to be slow paced (but enjoyable!) at first, and then towards the end I was riveted. It took a turn I wasn't expecting and I really enjoyed the complexities of the story. 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

This is a check off the classics challenge for me! And I LOVED IT! I'm not going to say what this book was about, but I finally sort of get the world of you Potter lovers and I think I can see myself getting into this series finally! 

Inside the O'Briens

One of the best books I've read in a while! A man is diagnosed with Huntington's disease and his four children must decide whether to get the test that tells them whether or not they will get this disease later in life. All while they watch their father deteriorate and their mother try to keep it together through it all. Dark, sad, moving, and ultimately it still felt triumphant. I LOVED this book. 

Reading Challenge Part 2

I want to keep up this momentum! I really loved having a reading goal last year BUT I also felt like I needed to pick quick reads and books that wouldn't really challenge me or take time because I was trying to read SO many books. This year I wanted to take the opposite approach. I've chosen to read classics, books that are always on the "must read before you die" lists. Books that are talked about in literary circles and books that I feel like EVERYONE else has read but me. These books also happen to be books I've been putting off forever. For this reason, I gave myself one book per month. 12 classics to get through for the year. I won't go in any order, I'll just choose what I feel like for that month. Here is the list:

1. To Kill A Mockingbird
2. Anne of Green Gables
3. Little Women
4. Harry Potter
5. The Stand
6. The Poisonwood Bible
7. Kite Runner
8. 1984
9. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
10. The Book Thief
11. The Diary of Anne Frank
12. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Many might think this is an easy list or challenge. For them, it might be! My comfort in reading really lies in a story that is gripping and pulls you through and often involves romance. Some of these might be that! I have no idea. But I think most of them will be a challenge for me. I know for at least 6 of them (half!) I've already tried reading them and couldn't finish. So, yes... this will be hard for me.

I'm looking forward to it!

My Top 10 Challenge Reads

I read some awesome books in the challenge and have even added a few to my ALL TIME favorite list. Below are my top 10 and a little bit about why I loved them:

(These are not ordered from least to greatest or whichever, but rather in the order that I read them within the challenge) 

The Rosie Project 

A love story about a man with asperger's trying to find his ideal mate. Instead, he befriends the wild and daring Rosie, who does not at all fit his profile of an ideal mate. This book was a feel good book and I love those. I love a good love story and this one delivers. 

Me Before You

I ALWAYS recommend this book to people. And I've never had anyone come back and say they hated it. Just be warned.... you will need tissues and a whole lot of them. This is NOT a feel good story. This is a gut wrenching tear jerker that will leave you wishing you were still reading it, as odd as that sounds. You will LOVE it. It's controversial but still a love story at its core. Just... read it. 

Still Alice

Many people watched this movie and liked it. Well, as usual, the book is SO much better. I didn't even like the movie because I didn't think it did the emotions in the book justice. This book portrays Alice, who is diagnosed with early onset alzheimer's disease. Her and her family's emotions are raw and tangible in the story. As you can imagine, it's another tear jerker. I like to FEEL things when I read. I have another Lisa Genova book on hold for me at library and I can't wait to check that out soon! 

The Sea of Tranquility

Oh this book. I LOVED this book so very much. I think it's the only teen fiction on my top 10 list, which makes me feel a little bit better. Honestly, I think I've hyped this book up in my mind too much to really talk about it fairly. I fear people will read this book after hearing me talk about it and think, "why does she love this book so much?" But, I did love it. It's another love story, but it just had a weird impact on me. I loved the characters and was rooting for them and on the edge of my seat the whole time. 

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Okay, this one is NOT a love story or a feel good story in any way, shape or form. But, this book spoke to me in so many ways. It's the story of a woman writing letters to her husband trying to make sense of her life and the events leading up to her son killing several students and a teacher at his high school. With all of the school violence in today's world, this book is a bit like a punch to the gut and hits very close to home. I wanted to begin homeschooling immediately after reading this, but that's not a new idea of mine (I won't, because I recognize that fear is a terrible reason to homeschool). Anyway, this book is devastating but still important and VERY well done. 

Everything I Never Told You

This was the first book I had ever really listened to and enjoyed. It's a slow story, but so REAL and I felt like it quietly snuck up on me. It's the story of a family whose daughter goes missing and they both go back in time and reevaluate their parenting and life prior to her disappearance and try to put themselves back together afterwards. It's just a beautiful story of what you make of your life and how to pick up the pieces after tragedy strikes. This book made my all time favorite list. 

This is Where I Leave You

Lest you think I only read tear jerkers or love stories, this book is neither. It was hilarious though and a bit misogynistic, which for some reason, didn't bother me one bit. A man is called to sit shiva with his family that he rarely sees in his childhood home which he never visits immediately after he discovers his wife is having an affair with his boss. And, it does get worse. Or better if you enjoy reading about a train wreck as much as I do. I just love a sarcastic book that says things I think but don't think I'm allowed to actually say. This book was that. Plus, the scene where he actually FINDS his wife sleeping with his boss is truly worth reading the whole book. I laughed so hard, I cried. Damn! I guess this book did make me cry. 

Tattoos on the Heart

A non fiction on my list! I also listened to this one and would highly recommend listening to it over reading it. The author is also the narrator and, in this case, I think that makes all of the difference. It's the author, Gregory Boyle's, experience working with gang members in LA. He's the pioneer of "Homeboy Industries" which is a company that hires ex gang members and helps keep them off of the streets and employed. His heart and love for this community is admirable and I left this book wanting to be a better person. It made me both laugh and cry. A winner. 

Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?

This is a graphic novel, which basically means it's a comic book. But, it's a comic book about the author's experience with her parents aging, being put into a home, and eventually passing away. You wouldn't think it would be so funny, but it really is. It's also REAL. Another example of saying the things you don't think you should say, but everyone is thinking it. It also made me have a conversation about aging and health care and our household belongings and my own parents' aging and so many other important topics that just aren't that fun to talk about. Roz Chast does talk about all of these issues in a relatable and even comical way. Very well done and easily one of my top 5 reads of this year. 

The Light Between Oceans

Grab the tissues for this one, too! Never mind, tissues won't help. Maybe just be prepared to change your clothes and might as well hop in the shower because you're going to need to just let the tears flow down the drain while you wash your sorrow away. And then you'll want to make sure to talk about this book with someone who's read it. Because it's SO freaking good. You'll want to talk to random strangers about how good this book was. You won't, for fear that you'll start uncontrollably sobbing in front of a STRANGER, but you'll want to. The story of a couple who is unable to have children when a baby washes up on the shore of their tiny island. The story plays out the consequences of their decision of what to do about this little girl and also tell the story of a marriage at odds and the pain and longing for children in the life of a couple who cannot bear them. If you struggle with infertility or reading about pregnancy loss (both early in pregnancy AND later) is a trigger for you, you might want to avoid this story. Overall, though, it's haunting and beautiful and tragic all at once. One of my top books of all time. 

That's it!! Happy reading :) I'll be back soon to talk about my goals for the next 52 weeks. I also promise to blog about other stuff at some point. I have big thoughts about foster care/adoption and my kids deserve an update as well - they're growing and changing SO much! Thanks for reading and following my challenge. I felt cheered on the whole year! 

Challenge Completed!

I finished my challenge!! I'm SO freaking excited. Especially because I felt like it was quite the undertaking and I'm not known for finishing challenges. But, I really did it. I read a book a week for an entire year. And, in that year, we've bought a house, moved, painted every room in that house, and completed all of the requirements for a foster care license. Yes, I'm patting my own back.  I wish I had a cookie I could give myself.

My goal was really just to READ again. I used to read, a little bit. Maybe a book a month or so... sometimes less, never more. But I wanted to fall in love with reading and really become a READER. I've realized what type of book really grabs me, which types challenge me and when to give up and just put a book down never to pick it up again. But mostly, I just love reading now. I love talking about books and planning my next library trips and getting lost in a great story. I definitely watch less TV now (although TV watching is still a very large part of my life, not going to lie...) and I find I feel more relaxed because I take the time to SIT or be in the bathtub and just be present with a book and not have my phone nearby or anyone else around to talk to. It's peaceful.

I'm still thinking about my goals for this upcoming year. I think rather than a number, I'll make a specific list that I make sure I complete because my one complaint with this challenge was that I often didn't push myself to read something out of my comfort zone because the goal was to just READ and completing one book a week didn't lend to many slower paced books. I still haven't read the Harry Potter series (I can't get through book one - what is my problem? What am I missing? I'm stuck on page 100 or so...) and I've never read "Anne of Green Gables" or "Little Women" and I'd like to reread "To Kill A Mockingbird" (I think maybe I read it in high school?). Anyway, I'll have to come up with something to keep the momentum going!

Here is the list of all 52 books I read during this challenge in order:

1. Where’d You Go Bernadette?
2. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
3. The Rosie Project
4. We Were Liars
5. Me Before You 
6. Wonder
7. Eleanor & Park
8. Insurgent
9. Room
10. Attachments
11. Still Alice
12. Delancey 
13. The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion 
14. The Farm 
15. The Husband’s Secret 
16. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime 
17. Sea of Tranquility 
18. Station Eleven 
19. Bossypants 
20. The Fever 
21. We Need to Talk About Kevin 
22. Christmas Jars
23. Christmas Jars: A Reunion 
24. The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells 
25. Everything I Never Told You 
26. Outlander
27. The Children Act 
28. The Book of Unknown Americans 
29. Not That Kind of Girl 
30. Big Little Lies 
31. I’ll Give You the Sun 
32. All the Light We Cannot See 
33. Defending Jacob 
34. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
35. This is Where I Leave You 
36. Tattoos on the Heart 
37. Reconstructing Amelia 
38. Leaving Time 
39. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry 
40. A Little Life 
41. Brain on Fire
42. A Child Called It
43. Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? 
44. The Lost Boy 
45. The Light Between Oceans 
46. The Silent Wife 
47. Dark Places 
48. The Selection 
49. The Elite 
50. The One 
51. Our Souls at Night 
52. Food 

Tomorrow I'll come back and tell you my top 10 favorite books from the challenge!

What I Read: June

The Selection

The Elite 

The One

Holy cow, I was talking to my friend Sharlie who is an avid reader and trying to get ideas for books I could read QUICKLY because I had 4 weeks to read 5 books to finish my challenge. She mentioned the Selection series and so I began.... 5 days and 3 books later I came up for air. I swear, I didn't look up from these books for a solid 5 days. Ridiculous. It's the Bachelor meets The Hunger Games. Fabulous. Teen fiction, so don't expect something extraordinarily well written and you're golden. Also, don't expect to be productive for one full week. 

Our Souls at Night 

I listened to this book while cleaning for a preschool party I threw. It's SUPER short. 3.5 hours, I think? Perfect when you're reading in a rush. In all seriousness, this book was lovely. It's a bit slow paced but well written and full of life. An elderly woman asks her neighbor to come and sleep with her at night. Not sex, but talking and hand holding and companionship. They're both widowed and living in a small town and the story is both the result of this proposition as well as the intertwining of their pasts. I thought it was really well done. 

Food

As of about 10 minutes ago, I finished this book and therefore completed my year long challenge of reading 52 books in 52 weeks. This was book number 52. We're seeing Jim Gaffigan live in a few weeks and I've been wanting to read this book. It was great. I laughed out loud a lot and my kids always would find me laughing and join in because I was reading "the book about the man who married a hot dog".  Definitely worth a read! 

AND I'M DONE!! I have so much more to say about this challenge, including my top 10 books that I read in the past year as well as what I gained from reading so much. 

What I Read: May

Brain on Fire

This is a memoir written by a girl who began having extreme symptoms that led people to believe she was losing her mind. She writes about her experience going through this and how she found her way out of it by reviewing her father's journals, notes from the doctors, discussions with others and her own chicken scratch writing during this time. It was a quick read and sort of interesting... I didn't appreciate the writing style and ultimately I got tired of the same things being repeated (not that that's the writer's fault - it was just that her symptoms kept repeating themselves). Anyway, not my favorite. 

A Child Called It

This was a re-read for me (I read it probably 10 years ago) and an important one as we enter the foster care world. Heartbreaking and maddening and overwhelming. This book has always stuck with me, and will continue to do so. A must read for everyone. 

The Lost Boy

The sequel to "A Child Called It" about Dave Pelzer's experience in foster care. This gave me some wonderful insight into a child's perspective within the system. There are some really amazing homes and people out there doing some wonderful work with kids like Dave. It's inspiring. 

Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?

This was the book club selection for May and I have to say I didn't know it was a comic book. Apparently that's what a graphic novel is? I had no idea. You learn something new every day, I tell you! Anyway, I LOVED this book. I would say it's one of my favorites from this year so far for sure. It's Roz Chast's experience with her parents growing old and ultimately passing, but told in such a relatable and funny way. In a way that makes it OK to talk about this very hard topic. I loved it and would recommend it to anyone! 

The Light Between Oceans

I picked up this book months ago and couldn't get past page 18 or so... but my BFF kept telling me that I HAD to fight through the first 50 pages so I did. And HOLY MOLY I loved this book. It's one of my all time favorites now. The story of a woman and her husband who have suffered many miscarriages and are unable to have a baby and what they do when a baby washes up on their tiny island with nobody to claim her. Such a huge moral debate with this story and I can't wait to discuss it with my book club in a few months! 

The Silent Wife

A woman who is in a long term relationship (20 plus years - so common law marriage) who's husband is a chronic cheater and ultimately leaves the marriage and how she copes and gets revenge. I sort of hated this book. It just fell short for me, but I know that many people like it so I think it might just be me! 

Dark Places

I sort of hated this book. It was just too dark. I don't know what I was expecting with Gillian Flynn being the author and DARK being in the title. I knew it wouldn't be bunnies and unicorns. But did it have to be so twisted, Gillian?? Anyway, if you like super dark and twisted, then go right ahead with this one! 

I'm down to 3 weeks left in the challenge and 5 books left!! UGH! Be prepared for many fluff books in June so I can get through this! 

What I Read: April

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Ritchie and I listened to this on the way to CA in the car. Such a cute story! Not one of my favorite books of all time, but definitely a cute read (or listen! We loved the narrator). 

A Little Life 

The rest of the month of April was spent on this beast. This 700 some odd page book didn't feel as long as it was. It's not a quick read, but the story definitely pulls you through. This book is FULL of possible triggers. If sexual abuse, trauma, cutting, suicide or just general fucked up ness bothers you, then DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. It's heavy on ALL of these topics. That's all I'm going to say because too much more would give it all away. It's moving and thought provoking and is a true testament to love and strength under the most impossible of circumstances. 

I Have the Secret to Living to 100 (Hint: It's NOT Paleo)

Okay, this is all going to come out very unorganized and seemingly irrational. Just go with it.

So, Paleo? One of the biggest arguments against Paleo (in my very limited research) is that our cave-people ancestors didn't live very long, so can't we fault their eating style for some of that? At first I thought, well, they were dealing with so many other elements, what with limited shelter and dinosaurs and what not.

THEN, I figured out what really killed them. There was no Starbucks. People these days are living past 100 years old. You know why? STARBUCKS. They are happy, they are fueled, they are caffeinated, less crabby and therefore less likely to club their neighbor over the head. Or their husbands. Or their three year old.

Okay, so I've been missing Starbucks the most. OH, and quick little interruption of this obviously important blog post to say that one should NEVER, I repeat NEVER begin a food challenge at the beginning of Fall or Winter. That is when Starbucks peaks with all its new drinks and goodies and pinterest is flooded with pictures of them passing on to all the secret to a long and happy life.

So, I've started Paleo at the wrong time of the year. Also, since beginning I've been very VERY moody. I will say it's gotten better. Day 2 was the worst. Day 4 is manageable. I even went TO Starbucks all determined to get my damn Salted Caramel Mocha and then I backed out at the last minute and got hot tea. Who the HELL goes to Starbucks for hot tea? I hope they let me come back.

Anyway. I hate Paleo. If my husband will let me out of it, I will for sure bail. That's not to say I want to go back to having Starbucks 4 times a week and eating pizza for dinner with brownie and cookie chasers. However, I do believe in grains. Whole grains. And cheese. I definitely believe in cheese.

As of right now I'm trying to convince Ritchie that 10 days is plenty. Honestly, if I can go from eating the way I was, to eating NOTHING but meat, veggies, fruit, nuts and eggs for a whole 10 days, I would consider that a success. That would take us right up until next Friday. That's still a hell of a long time away.

I've been enjoying most of the meals I prepare. I haven't even been missing Diet Coke that much. But, Starbucks. I think I could even manage Paleo for the whole 30 days IF every 3rd day I could have a Starbucks. I don't even need the scone or muffin, but I NEED the latte or mocha.

Do I sound like a total pansy? Will you all hate me if I quit? Do ANY of you even care, or am I just thinking that I will be horrifically judged but really nobody really thinks about me all that much to give two shits?

Please, do tell.

Paleo 30 Day Challenge

When we first moved to Colorado, I was in search of something that would put myself out there and help me meet other mommas. Enter Stroller Strides. We have a Stapleton branch of Stroller Strides at a park that's walking distance from the house. Perfect. Then, I went a few times and realized that it blissfully helped me pass the morning with both boys until Max would start preschool. Bonus! Before I knew it, I was going 5 days a week for almost a month solid. I felt GREAT! I was getting stronger, faster, and had more energy. My body was changing, too. I had more muscle definition and my face looked thinner. However, the scale did not reflect how I felt or the changes my body was making. The scale showed a measly 3 pound drop in over a month.

I know, it's not all about the scale. But, it's SOMEWHAT about the scale, yes? If I'm being honest, I've got a solid 35 pounds to lose before I'm at a healthy weight for my body. I haven't been that size since (early) college, but I didn't look sickly thin - I looked healthy. I carry weight fairly decently and most people are shocked to hear what I actually weigh, but none of this erases the fact that I NEED to lose some LBs.

THEN, Ritchie comes home and mentions that he's entered some sort of percentage of body fat loss competition at work and will win money if he wins. BUT, he's already starting with the lowest percentage of body fat PLUS he gained a pound the first week of the competition. Ritchie runs and works out regularly, but that alone wasn't showing results.

We had company for a week straight and indulged very heavily in foods and we both realized (for the umpteenth time) that if our bodies (and health) were TRULY going to change it had to start with what we put into our bodies.

Enter Paleo.

When I first heard about Paleo, I totally bunked it. I actually DO believe that you need grains (the right ones) and dairy to have a healthy, balanced diet. I still believe that. However, I'm not opposed to trying anything for a period of time. And, the Lincolns LOVE a challenge. So, we signed on to start Paleo tomorrow for a full 30 days.

This will not be easy. Paleo is a very restricted diet. No grains of any sort. No dairy of any kind. No sugar, Starbucks, cake, pizza, ANYTHING. Plus, we'll be trying to maintain this through Max's birthday (we'll let him have cake, we'll skip it) and two separate strings of out of town guests (hope ya'll are okay with meat and veggies).

So, what WILL we eat? Lean meats, tons of veggies, fruit (in moderation and mostly berries), nuts (not peanuts) and seeds, and eggs and good fats (coconut oil, avocado, etc).

Here's our first 4 days of Paleo dinner menu:

I've decided for this challenge not to weigh myself until the challenge is over. The goal really isn't weight loss so much as a body cleanse and getting on the right track with diet to add to the exercise. I'll check in with a weekly menu plan and if anything is amazing, I'll share with you all.

My friend from the bay area, Daphne has an awesome blog that shares Paleo recipes, as does her cousin. They can be found here and here. Check them out! It's where I'm getting most of my recipes from.

Also, I started C25K (couch to 5K) and am trying to gear up to run a 4 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. ALSO? I'm going to Stroller Strides 5 days a week again (I took a week + off when company was in town and BOY did I pay for it when I went back. OUCH.). Yeah, so let's hope that after 30 days you'll be seeing a lot healthier (and, okay - I want to be leaner) Jamie.

Oh, yes. And just to keep it real - I'm going INTO Paleo with a bang:

Days 9 and 10 - AKA Real Foods While You Feel Like You're DYING From Mastitis

So, the challenge has technically ended. I should be celebrating a victorious 10 days of eating real foods. I wanted this post to be about how I was going to incorporate all I learned in the real food challenge into my daily life and which goodies I've chosen to allow back in in moderation.

But, we didn't make it the 10 days. We made it 5 full days before the day of eating out. Then came the day of MASTITIS. Ugh. It should really be a four letter word. While I've had it MUCH better than some I know who come down with this, it has still been no picnic. I've also had to go it alone during the day while Ritchie works and mastitis, two kids AND real food just doesn't mesh.

Let's just say there was Starbucks. TWICE.

I'm not going to write down what I ate. When I was home I grabbed a real food item like crackers and cheese or a sandwich. I was too down and out to make any decent dinners and Ritchie gets home too late to cook so we ate dinner from Whole Foods (my OB refers to Whole Foods as Whole Paycheck which I think is kind of hilarious - like IN a sentence she'll say, dead serious, "Oh, you can pick up some echinacea from Whole Paycheck" - I love her).

So, our challenge ends on a sad note. That said we WILL continue eating well. I REALLY want to add Diet Coke back in, but I haven't had a craving for it since I had it on Sunday, so maybe I don't "need" it in my life on a daily basis the way I used to have it. I would also like to incorporate Starbucks once a week at least until January. To ask me to forgo peppermint mochas and cranberry bliss bars during the holiday season should be illegal. Like, with jail time involved. Also, during the holidays I enjoy baking. I will strive to limit the baking so that we don't ALWAYS have some sugary treat around, but I'm gonna be needing to bake come November.

I WILL NOT keep Halloween candy in the house and all meals at home (which at this point is over 90% - a HUGE improvement from life before Ben- two kids will do that to you) will be mostly, if not ALL natural food. We'll continue to buy the products with less than 5 ingredients and that are made with all real food.

I have definitely reaped the benefit I sought out with this challenge as I've been as regular as can be since day one now. I also lost 4 pounds in the process - which was not the goal but it never hurts.

Thanks for reading! I know there were a few people following along and I hope I didn't disappoint.

Day 7 and 8 - AKA The Real Food for 5 Day Challenge?

Ugh. I decided to bundle together these two miserable days and I'm going to do it quickly and just know I DO feel guilty.

Day 7

We went out on day 7 for ALL THREE MEALS. Yikes. Here was the outcome.

Breakfast: Whole wheat toast, swiss, avocado and mushroom omelet with hash browns

Lunch: Pizza (I know, I know) and a greek salad with (oh, boy) diet coke (which I thought was INSANELY delicious - sorry)

Dinner: Chicken and a spinach salad with veggies and no dressing

So, two out of three that followed the basic rules. Not bad I guess. I blame lunch on Gilroy. We had Togos, In-n-out and pizza to choose from. We only chose pizza because we weren't sure what the kids would eat from the other two.

Day 8

Today. It was great until I got sick at 5pm out of nowhere. Chills, body aches, sore throat and tongue (what the heck?). So my making dinner was out of the question.

Breakfast: Banana and almonds

Snack: Triscuit like cracker and peanut butter

Lunch: Chicken with apple and cheese

Snack: Energy bites

Dinner: Peanut butter and jelly (rule broken with the jelly only) and tomato soup (Progresso - rules broken all over the place)

I needed comfort food and Ritchie was cooking up something quick after Max went to bed for me since I was soaking my sore body while they ate dinner. Ugh.

So, this is quickly becoming a 5 day challenge since that's how many days I made it without breaking rules. I'll still finish, but if I'm sick like this tomorrow I make no promises. Healthy food isn't the easiest to prepare. But I WILL try and do everything in my power to stick with this.

By the way, I don't care how bad Diet Coke is for you, I'm adding one a day back in starting Thursday - day 11.

Day 6

Today is the day that I broke the pledge (hangs head in shame). I do feel like I had a legitimate reason though and I'll explain after I tell you what I ate today. I'm not going to even try to separate it into meal categories because it was all so random. Here is the order though:

Hard boiled egg
oatmeal
energy bites (must have had at least 6 of these throughout the day)
crackers (ak-mak)
cheese
cut raw veggies
left over chicken nuggets from last night
chocolate ice cream bar (about 3 bites before Max had such a tremendous meltdown that I just surrendered it to him)
Chipotle steak bowl (with white rice)
Maybe 3 sips of Ginger Ale
and orange

*sigh* So, notice I was doing just fine until the latter part of the day. I didn't have a real meals today - but rather just sort of snacked all day. Then, around 3, I napped and woke and went grocery shopping with my family. I hadn't eaten enough, I had nursed a lot, I probably hadn't had enough water and I am SEVERELY sleep deprived (despite the nap). Anyway, I think that combo of things in what led to my nearly passing out in the grocery store. I just all the sudden got so lightheaded that I couldn't stand anymore and had to grab Ritchie for support. Then, of course, I panicked which made me feel even worse. Ritchie picked out some ice cream bars (shooting for easy, some protein and some sugar) and I took a few bites on the way to go get Chipotle (high protein and quick - there was no way I was waiting until I got home, unloaded groceries and cooked dinner). I got the rice to make sure to have some carbs as well as proteins. I was still feeling a tad off after dinner so I had a few sips of some ginger ale we had around to get a burst of sugar in me. I must have had low blood sugar because that is what finally made me feel more normal. Ugh. So... I need to up the calories throughout the day and make sure to not go long periods of time without eating, drink more water and TRY to sleep more (Ben, are you reading this?!)

The semi good news is that the Chipotle tasted insanely salty to me and the ginger ale was grossly sweet. I think I'm losing my taste for unhealthy foods! Yay! That said, I'm bummed I didn't make it the full 10 days. I will definitely continue on (we're eating out tomorrow so that will be a challenge!) for the rest of the challenge and make the best of it. I do feel like today was an extreme circumstance and I hope to not "have" to break any of the challenge rules again. 4 more days!

Day 5- AKA Partaking in Fall pleasures with real food

Half way done! Woo-hoo!! Although I say that like it's something we'll drop after the 10 days. We discussed tonight how much we've been enjoying this! Yes, the first few days were hard (for me) but now we're both feeling great and really figuring out how to incorporate our favorite dishes by using real food to make them.

Breakfast: Shredded wheat biscuits with milk

Lunch: Whole wheat pita with hummus and veggies

Snack: 2 energy bites

Dinner: Chicken nuggets (Yes! They were actually really good! Homemade, of course.) green beans and baked sweet potato fries (Thanks, Daphne!)

Dessert: Baked apples

Dinner was SUCH a success with the wee one tonight. He LOVED those sweet potato fries despite my poor job at baking them. I WILL perfect them though because it will be worth it. He also really liked the chicken nuggets.

Here's the verdict on the apples - they're okay. Not great. The oats that I added in lieu of the brown sugar really made it a bit dry for my liking. I'll continue to work on it. For now, NO RECIPE FOR YOU (please tell me that you used the Seinfeld soup Nazi voice for that).

Besides the baked apples, Max and I made whole wheat pumpkin bread. It was sweetened with honey and I JUST tried it along with Ritchie to test it out. Um, not so good. It's definitely not sweet enough and was a tad salty. I know I need to retrain my overly sweet taste buds, but I do think this particular recipe is lacking. So, I guess to sum up, Fall pleasures are definitely lacking for me in the real food department. I can keep working on it, or I can decide (after the 10 days) to just partake in non real food Fall pleasures in moderation. Or I can do a little of both ;)

5 days left!!

Day 4 - AKA Real food with real kids

A little late on getting day 4 to you. I was having a monumentally bad day. Being a stay at home mom of two kids ages two and under is HARD. Anyway - we powered through and I even managed to have dinner on the table by 7pm. How very June Cleaver of me.

Breakfast: Whole wheat french toast with 100& pure maple syrup and honeydew melon

Snack: Some bar thing (might have broken the rules - we were out and it was all I had in my bag - both the kid and I were starved!) It actually had mostly natural ingredients. I was so hungry I didn't care.

Lunch: Mozzarella and tomato salad with whole wheat pita topped with melted cheese

Snack: Ak-Mak crackers (so yummy!) with cheese and strawberries

Dinner: Salmon, green beans and mashed red potatoes

Dessert: No bake energy bites

More than 1 of you (okay only 2 of you - that's still more than 1) asked for the recipe for the "powerballs" I was talking about. I called them the wrong thing, but they ARE yummy so there you are! Enjoy! Please use all natural ingredients (including UNsweetened coconut) and dark chocolate chips, mkay?

No breaking the rules now.

I just wanted to touch a bit on how this real food dealy is working out with my two year old. I wish I could say that he miraculously no longer walks around asking for cookies, but that is just not the case. In fact, I think the poor lad is feeling rather deprived because he repeatedly asks for Elmo cake and pizza (which is what we had for his birthday last Saturday) no matter what we place in front of him. I will say that I'm not all crazy -lady- who- packs- her- child- an- all- natural- lunch- for- daycare so two days a week he has breakfast and lunch that is not all natural. I don't care that much. At home, ONCE I busted out the goldfish crackers because Max refused every other snack and was crying and I was feeling very guilty about how little time I spend one on one with him now that Ben is here. The goldfish totally didn't cure him (or me) of this but it made him stop crying and he ate something. So, I caved. But, just ONCE! All the other times he's with us he eats what we're eating. So every meal that I post he is eating. He LOVES the energy bites so that's a great little treat for him and he's been doing really well at eating everything we've put in front of him. I'm proud to have accomplished that much with my cookie lover (wonder where he gets that?!)

I'm testing out a JAMIE ORIGINAL (I've NEVER done this before - I always follow a recipe) recipe for baked apples in the crock pot tonight that I'm hoping turn out wonderfully! If they do, I'll be sure to share the love! I'll hopefully post tonight.

P.S. I'm feeling really good about this now and have even lost an additional 2.5 pounds. That's 4.5 pounds total in 4 days. Not too shabby. Oh, and my 1 month old is 11 pounds and 11 ounces so maybe I just shouldn't worry about losing weight affecting my milk - he seems to be eating just fine ;)

Day 3

I'm happy to report that I'm feeling SO much better today about this challenge than I did the first two days! Today I felt pumped up to stay on track and make it work! I CAN find yummy substitutes for desserts and satiate my sweet tooth while eating real foods and avoiding sugar. Go me! haha!

Okay - here's the breakdown:

Breakfast: shredded wheat biscuits and banana with milk

Snack: wheat crackers and peanut butter

Lunch: Mozzarella, basil and tomato salad with oil and vinegar and whole wheat pita with hummus

Snack: Greek yogurt with homemade berry sauce

Dinner: Lentil soup with grilled cheese

Snack: Bite sized energy balls (I'm sticking with the philosophy that some dark chocolate is okay)

The bite sized energy balls may challenge the rules a tad, though I can't figure out if they do or not. The ingredients appear to be natural (no high fructose corn syrup, etc) and there was less than 5 ingredients so I think it follows the rules? But the rule maker talks a lot about missing chocolate so I feel like it's not allowed in any form? But then she uses a homemade chocolate sauce? Are you tired of me talking in all questions?

So there you have it! A better attitude. Good night!

Day 2 - AKA Calorie counting and eating real foods IS not the same thing

Yesterday I conquered day 2 of the 10 Days of Real Food Challenge. Here's what I ate:

Breakfast: plain yogurt with banana, peach and sweetened with honey and cinnamon

Snack: Shredded wheat biscuit with milk and prunes (for the regularity, you know)

Lunch: Whole wheat pitta with hummus and veggies

Snack: peanut butter with triscuit-like wheat crackers (the salt from the cracker totally made the peanut butter edible!)

Dinner - Big spinach salad with lots of veggies, cheese and sunflower seeds and two hard boiled eggs

I ate a lot more yesterday because from one day of this challenge I lost 1.5 pounds. That would be GREAT but I'm nursing and want to make sure to keep my calories up enough.

Which totally brings me to my next point. Calorie counting and this real food business is not one and the same. Eating real foods is MUCH more restrictive. Easier in one respect since I don't have to tally up points or add calories on my iphone, but much more challenging because there is zero room for indulgence.

Like last night. I really wanted something sweet that stayed within the rules. I researched online a bit and NOTHING fit the bill! Like, I can never have dessert if I eat like this?! I wanted to make these no bake power ball things (I refuse to add a link - if I can't eat them neither can you. Talk to me in 7 days. I'll be much less crabby) that had oats, peanut butter, unsweetened coconut, flax seed, etc... but I couldn't make them because they contained chocolate chips. No sugar, and some actual GOOD ingredients PLUS they're sweet. They sounded great! But those damn chocolate chips make the rules broken. And who wants a healthy power ball thing that's supposed to be sweet WITHOUT the chocolate chips?! I mean, seriously.

So.. day two has come and gone. I've done breakfast on day three following the rules despite my overwhelming desire for a salted caramel mocha from Starbucks.

Just keepin' it real. I'm not loving this.

Day 1

Day one of the ten day challenge.

I ate:

Breakfast: Whole wheat toast (with less than 5 ingredients, all that I recognized) with peanut butter (whole foods has this grinder that just takes peanuts and grinds them down into peanut butter - no Jif here! Although I'm very sad because I love my sugary peanut butter. This ground up real peanut crap is garbage. Just sayin') and a banana and milk.

Lunch: Whole wheat pita (Farmer's Market and really delicious!! I think like maybe 4 ingredients?) with hummus (again, FM and very fresh whole ingredients) and lots of veggies. Peppers, cucumber, mushrooms, spinach and tomato. YUM.

Snack: Triscuit type cracker from whole foods (only made with whole wheat and salt) with cheese and strawberries.

Dinner: Chicken, broccoli and quinoa. (um... boring).

I MAY see about some popcorn for a snack tonight.

I'm already wondering if I would reap the regularity benefits (okay, and all the other health benefits) if I went back to Jif, and was able to add in some yummy stuff. Like M&Ms. Or the occasional cookie. I mean, if I eat healthy for ALL of my meals can't I have the crap just as a nighttime treat without doing too much damage?

So there. There are my true feelings about day 1. Damn you day 1. Lunch - you rocked. Snack - you were okay. The rest of you sucked though.

10 Day Real Food Challenge

Another food challenge for the Lincolns!

We've signed up over at the 100 Days of Real Food Challenge blog for their 10 days of real food challenge.

It starts today. The rules are basically to eat whole, real foods. No white flower or sugar. Nothing artificial. Nothing we can't pronounce and nothing packaged can have more than 5 (real) ingredients. The challenge also encourages you to buy meats, eggs and all produce from your local growers at the Farmer's Market.

We went shopping yesterday. We bought produce, eggs, hummus and pita from the Farmer's Market. At whole foods we bought everything else. It's very true that eating healthy is more expensive. And since this is day one and I've only had breakfast I cannot yet attest to how worth it the extra cost is. We'll see. One day at a time. I will admit to you that we spent $130 for Mon-Wed of this week. We decided with so much fresh food we shouldn't try to plan for an entire week because things will go bad before we can use them. The plan is to have one of us do an additional shop on Wednesday night for Thurs - Sat's meals and then we'll shop each Sunday (farmer's market day).

We're definitely committed to the full 10 days and we'll see how we feel after that. I've run into an issue with my healing from birth that basically requires that I'm extremely (ahem) regular - if you know what I mean. Ritchie's been having some issues in this area as well (what a lovely topic for blogging this fine Monday morning!) so we really want (and/or need!) to change our eating habits to help keep things in that area on track. I'm all for moderation and tend not to like a philosophy that doesn't allow any room for treats or rule breaking because I think that sets you up to fail. However, 10 days I can do. We'll just see where to go from there.

And, of course I'll be blogging daily about it! I'll post what I eat and how I feel and maybe even a daily check in on my regularity issue (I kid, I won't do that). Follow along and feel free to join in on the challenge as well! I'd love to hear your experiences and if you have any wonderful recipes using only real foods I'd love them!!

The End of the LLCC

I know I totally left ya'll hangin'. Sorry 'bout that. The last week and a half of the LLCC was a mixture of good days and bad. In the end I ended up losing a total of 8.5 pounds in about 3 weeks and then gained 1 pound back in the last week. So a total of 7.5 pounds weight loss for the month. I've never lost that much weight before so it was a really great experience for me! I'll check in each month as I continue down this path. I'm still having a mixture of good and bad days and am trying to make the good outweigh the bad, but I'm having a hard time jumping back in with both feet. The good news is I've maintained the 7.5 pound weight loss from September and am hoping to soon have the motivation and will power to start up strong again and lose some more.

Thanks for being a part of the journey! Blogging about it helped a lot. Hope you enjoyed :)

LLCC Day 21 & 22

Yesterday was the last day of the 3rd week. It was a perfect day and I stayed under 1150 calories. I didn't get the chance to exercise because it was such a busy day with errands and such, but I ate really well and it felt really good! I could write exactly what I ate, but I'm getting really tired of doing that and I'm feeling lazy, so I won't. It was all good though :)

Today I had a weigh in and I am down 1 more pound. Incredible considering how crappy the weekend was for me. Today was good all day but dinner killed my calories. We had Ritchie's cousin and her husband over for dinner. She's due with her first baby in a month and we wanted to celebrate with her. Now, you don't invite a pregnant woman over and feed her a 300 calorie dinner. No, no. We went all out with a yummy pesto shrimp pasta and a chocolate brownie mouse dessert. So, good day, bad night. Tomorrow it's back on track for 2 days until another 2 day break. Then I'll go strong until the end of the month! It's feeling less and less torturous, but I think that's because I've had some breaks. That might be the key to overall success. We'll see where October leads me with this, but I can't believe I've basically stuck this out and am continuing to lose weight this month!! I'm down 8.5 pounds! It feels really good :)