Category Archives: diets

Mundane Monday Musings

I like alliteration . . . can you tell?

This is going to be stream of consciousness, so be prepared.

Word of the week — myopic:

Myopic — lacking foresight or scope; “a short view of the problem”;

Why myopic?  I have just been struck by how we all live in our own little bubbles, and we seem to think that what happens in our bubble is the most important thing in the world.  Dwelling on life in the bubble keeps us from thinking about the big picture, keeps us from reaching out, keeps us from being kind and charitable to people outside our bubble.

New Diet

No.  I am not going on one and telling you all my weight-loss goals again.  But a friend told me about a diet her sister is on, and she said it is working.  Here’s a link.  My friend is thinking of trying it.  It is interesting to consider.

Book Recommendation

I haven’t read this yet, but the same friend with the dieting sister recommended it, and it is now on my list of books I would like to read this summer.   Him Her Him Again The End of Him is a clever title, and I love the cover.  So why wouldn’t I read it?

Easter

Easter was good this year in many ways.  We attended a lovely Maundy Thursday meal/service at the church where I work.  I spent the day Friday hanging out with the kids, and we attended the Good Friday service at our church in the evening.  Saturday was busy with Breakfast with Bunny at the church where I work and then a few hours of relaxing and egg dying before going to a bonfire for the evening with church friends.  For Easter Sunday, after worship we had just our family at home for a traditional Easter meal.  It was much less stressful than cooking for company or even going to someone else’s house (though I want to do one of these most years).  We then went to a park for a bit in the afternoon, and just hung out at home in the evening.  I am so thankful for the Hope of Resurrection in my life, and I am reminded that I really didn’t understand how significant this hope is until I was an adult. Sure, I knew about Christ rising from the dead, but I didn’t really get how important His resurrection is to my life, to my salvation, to my eternity. Christ is risen, indeed!

Some pictures to close . . .

Tasty Tuesday

 (I am sure this won’t be a regular thing, but I could resist the opportunity to alliterate.)

Jennifer’s Scrumptious Spaghetti Squash

1 medium spaghetti squash
1 medium onion
3 small zuchini
1 8 oz . pckg. mushrooms
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 lb. ground turkey or beef, browned
30 oz. spaghetti sauce

Cut spaghetti squash in half, scoop out seed, and place meat side down on baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Brown 1 pound ground put aside.

Chop vegetables while meat is browning and squash is baking.  Big chunks are fine.  In a large frying pan, sautee onion, mushrooms, and zuchinni in 1/4 cup olive oil until soft  (your preferred consistency).  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add other italian seasonings like garlic, oregeno, and basil as you like them.  Drain extra excess liquid from the vegetables, then add diced tomatoes and spaghetti sauce and heat for a few minutes.

When the spaghetti squash is finished baking, scrape meat of the squash from the outside peeling.  It will come off in clumpy shreds.  Mix the spaghetti squash thoroughly with the vegetables and browned meat.

If you are a cheese lover, this dish is tasty topped with shredded cheddar.

This is a great low-carb alternative to pasta.  It gives you the flavors of an Italian dish without the carbohydrates.  The consistency of this dish also sort of reminds me of ratatouille.

True Confession

I am a bit disappointed that my MIL was the only one who commented on the lovely photos on my last post.  Despite the fact that this indicates no one is reading my blog, I press on and post again! (Though I appreciate the kind words from my MIL 🙂

So, what I am going to confess?  Well, remember my big plans to walk and eventually run everyday starting back in April?  I did great in April and May, and then school got out and Mark started working nearly 50 hours a week, so my life changed and I didn’t adjust well.  I also started working more, so I just let things slide.  This means, I didn’t reach my goal of hiking with my children without being winded on my birthday in July.

But, never fear.  I am coming up with more goals that I will hopefully meet.  If I don’t set any goals, I know nothing will happen.   If I keep setting goals and working toward them, change is going to happen–at least eventually.

So with the incredible heat of July, I am not starting to walk again outside, but I am going to start using the treadmill 5 times a week for at least 30 minutes.  I have also just finished week 1 of my own low carb diet–sort of an amalgamation of South Beach and Atkins.  Not as much fat as Atkins and not allowing as many carbs at South Beach.  Week 1 went well.  I was really crabby for the first three days as my body adjusted to the new way of eating.  But by Thursday, I was not getting hungry, and I was nicer 🙂

I am not weighing myself at this point because, well, I just don’t want to focus on numbers until I feel some results in clothes fitting, etc.  So I’ll report more about those kind of results after more time passes.

Dieting is really frustrating for me.  I have gained weight in my last 4+ years of living in St Louis.  Stress is a definite factor in weight gain for me, and we have been stressed!  Before we moved back to St Louis, I had been pretty faithfully watching my diet for 4 years, and I exercised a lot.  In the last year, I exercised at least 5 times a week.  In those 4 years, I lost a total of 12 pounds.  But, I did feel a lot better than I have of late.  So, I am trying to just eat better and feel better before I get too serious about numbers.

Positive news is breaking in the Horne household.   Mark has more writing work on the horizon, and it seems God is blessing us in ways we haven’t experienced in a long time.  Feeling a bit optimistic makes the idea of dieting a bit more doable.  But if the circumstances of life change negatively, I want to not allow that to change my resolve.

At this point, all I can say is, pray for my success.