It’s December 1st! And I must say I am feeling pretty
slick. My goal was to have all my
presents and cards purchased, wrapped, and set to go for the start of the
month. And, aside from a couple of
costume pieces left to make for Jesse, I got ‘er all done! I wanted
to be able to take December to just enjoy the season! No running around to do,
just festivities and fun. So, the house
is decorated, the gifts are set, and I have all my baking supplies purchased
and ready to tackle this week.
I’m doing 5 different sweets this year. Four tried and trues from the past years, and
one new one. You just never know with
these gluten free recipes, so my new cookie attempt will be an icing topped
sugar melt away. Jesse is going to be
helping me bake everything this year. I
am committed to having all of my kids trained in the kitchen! They don’t have to love it, or be amazing at
it, but they WILL learn how to do some cooking and baking. I do hope they progress beyond mere competence,
and enjoy it. We’ll see. If genetics play any factor in this, they
have a 50/50 chance as Dave despises all things kitchen related.
I’m not sure if all this baking was the best idea.? We did our first batch on Friday night, and
it was a simple-straight forward 5 minute fudge recipe I have made several
times. I let Jesse help with the
measuring and stirring, and I was also watching Robyn at the same time... And I
wonder if he tossed in a little extra of something while I wasn’t looking. Because, they fudge didn’t set! This morning, while Jesse is at Sunday
school, I poured the goo back into the
pot, and tried again – thinking maybe letting him do some of the stirring was what
threw it off. So, it’s back in the freezer now, and we’ll
see how if it works! Poor Jesse keeps
asking when it will be ready, and I haven’t had the heart to tell him it
flopped! Hoping it will work itself out
in the next few hours.
I’m also not sure about all this baking, for the sake of the
waistline. One month ago, after hearing
some good reviews, by a few people, of a free AP called fitnesspal, I started on
my goal to lose 15-20 pounds. Robyn is a year now, and NO I am not pregnant
again yet, and so I just felt ready to shed this baby weight. The program just tracks your food intake (it
even scans barcodes of packaged foods!) and it tracks your cardio and strength activities
over the day. Based on your age and
gender and activity level, it gives you a calorie intake goal each day, based
on how quick and how much weight you want to lose. It recommends one pound per week, and that is
what I am working on.
I have really liked
it, because I haven’t had to change much of what I do or eat! The biggest thing has been my supper portion
has been a bit smaller than usual, and I usually only have healthy snacks in
the evening with the calories I have left.
So, I still have my huge
breakfasts, and snacks with the kids, and coffee and tea and chocolate treat
every afternoon. I haven’t altered the
sort of meals I make or anything like that.
I have, also, found myself exercising a couple of times a week: usually
just a brisk walk to balance out the numbers.
Which is good! The first week
felt hard in the evenings when I usually like to snack, but now I don’t miss it
at all. Anyways, I have lost 8 pounds in
a month of doing this! It only takes me
about 15 minutes a day to enter all my data, and my organized heart has fun
with that part. Anyways, back to the
baking.... Hokey calories! My pan of
fudge was 6000 cals! I think my December
goal, with all the treats and parties, will simply be to maintain my current
weight, and then I’ll hope to start losing again in the new year. I know the first 5 or 10 pounds are usually
the easiest. So, we’ll see.
Speaking of parties, we had our FIRST Christmas party last
night with our small groups. It was a
big potluck, with games and songs and a gift exchange, and a lot of fun. Dave and I felt so strange getting to bed
after midnight. I didn’t think the excitement of the Christmas
season could ever be trumped from being a child, but now, having kids, I think
I am even more excited!
The reason for being such a keener on all of the prep, is so
that I can just enjoy this lovely month with my family, and better focus on the
reason for the season. With that, I am
taking a break from social media for a while.
SO, if you are wondering if I am dead or depressed or angry because of
my lack of blog or FB posts, fear not. I
am, likely, alive and VERY well. Give me
a call if you want to touch base!
Thanks for reading. I’m
out!
Chrissy
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