Eat Lots of Fat

Not a problem, right?

I had some ladies over last week and while I served some traditional foods (empanadas anyone?) I wanted to have some selections for those of us watching our sugar.

This wasn't the crowd for my efforts I have to say. But I sure enjoyed this particular treat the rest of the week and that's okay with me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Clouds

1 stick butter

1 brick cream cheese

both brought to room temp

mix with 1 cup of your choice sugar sub

Drop onto sheet in small dollops. Place in freezer. When frozen, place in zip lock bag for storing in freezer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Couldn't be easier!

I've had this recipe for quite a while. I found it on a low-carb board I used to hang out on a few years back. Bunches of good recipes from all of those people. I learned so much.

My husband, Pup, isn't an eater. Not to say he doesn't eat, but he only eats four things (no exaggeration) so I hardly cook anymore which is kinda sad.

So when I do cook I make colossal messes in my kitchen. I'm unorganized and chaotic. I've lost my cooking mojo. That's okay; it all gets done.

But the pets are not used to me hanging out in the kitchen too much so the cat perched in his favorite spot to watch what the hell I was up to.

First I have to pick utensils. What is in here? Look at all the stuff I used to use! I'm amazed at my former skills. Did you hear that? I think I just threw out something patting myself on the back. Bad girl.

Yeah . . . it actually got worse than this, but I discovered it's really hard to take photos of your efforts while in the middle of them. Cuz I looked much the same as this kitchen.

Then there was this thing I had to pull out and figure out again. I'm half joking. Although when I pull out my food processor I do have to get out the instruction sheet to figure out the shredder attachments. Yeah.

Bring your cream cheese and butter to room temperature.

Whip these two ingredients until creamy. Then add your sugar sub.

Yep, Calvin has already lost interest.

I made a 2nd batch of clouds, but added cocoa powder and cinnamon to taste. Mmmm! That cinnamon is awesome! I dumped in lots to tell the truth. I like to call these Evil Clouds.

Dollop up a cookie sheet or anything flat and place them in the freezer. Freeze into delicious nuggets and then place in a baggie for frozen storage.

Seriously delicious. And incredibly rich. You won't need very many to feel as if heaven is calling your name.

Leptin Reset

I'm a fan of Jack Kruse and have been following his confusing and confounding posts for several months.

I first found him on Paleo Hacks (a great resource for Primal/Paleo information) and now am a devotee. I might not always totally understand how he says what he says, but the more I read and study his stuff, the more it's sinking in. I hope.

I can't explain it all, but he has a protocol I've tried in the past, but gave up way too quickly. Today I am giving it another try.

One of the steps is eating a large protein-filled breakfast within 30 minutes of getting out of bed.

So, of course, I'm having my beloved scrambles with sausage and spinach. Mmmmm!

Thrifting a Go-Go

Ooooooh the excitement of it all. The dusty places. The things hidden "just" out of view. Spotting an owl before he spots me. Yes, yes, yes. I'm a thrifter.

I think I have been a thrifter since my family moved to "the cities" when I was about 15 or 16. The hidden joy of hole in the wall shops with dirty windows lured me in even then! My first furniture buy was an old secretary desk that I found in a tiny shop, hidden under a bunch of . . . well . . . junk! I still have it although Bella has custody of it these days.

Aaaaaaah! The 70s! I found him on a wall in a fun, fun shop. The young hipster dude manning the register said, "Sure! You can have it. Let me call the boss." He came back with a good price and now this little guy is MINE. Love him.

I kinda remember where I found this crazy thing. This must be the way you brought home memories in the 60s. The friend I was with when I bought this thought me crazy. I do believe she's right.

Whoooo hooooo! This little guy is marble! MARBLE! I love him. He's so regal. He's so cold. He's mine.

Okay, okay. I did not need another globe. I like globes. Yes, I am painfully aware I'm a little odd.

My BFF found this somewhere. Could you die? I squealed just like an owl. Or would that be a piggy? Let's stay with owl.

I have no idea why this guy appealed. Reminded me of something my momma had when I was a kid. I'm sure it was full of those weird little pink and green mints people used to eat in the 60s. Remember them? They were weird! Chalky and soft. Now I'm thinking about those weird mints. No, I don't want any, thank you.

This guy is just plain odd. Why on his end? Why the mouth open? Why is he in my big room?

Okay, I realize this is getting a little out of hand.

I threw in this random piece of McCoy pottery (I used to collect it) just to throw you off the scent of my obsessions.

Check this guy out! I was so excited to find this I nearly peed. I found him poking around on eBay of all places only to find that the seller lives about 1.5 miles from me and I've bought stuff from him before. He's a weird dude, but who cares. He had THIS! Oh the love, oh the joy. Did any of you guys crewel in the 70s? I did. I wish I had all that stuff I made back then. Given to relatives and such I guess. I was quite crafty in my youth. No more I'm happy to report.

I'd love to promise that I'll stay out of dusty shops, but I'd only be lying. And my new owl-friends wouldn't like that one bit.

Visualization

I saw this great idea the other day either on Pinterest or Tumblr (can't find it now!).

The road to getting fit can at times seem lonely and demotivating.

The results can seem far far away when you're at the beginning. Small progress isn't always measurable in the beginning.

That's why I LOVED the photo of the little stones in jars. A simple idea that appeals to the visually inspired. I need to see something at this, the stuttering-start of the journey.

There is also the little kick I might get when I get to move some rocks from one jar to the other.

Love it.

Soup for You!

I totally have the image of the Soup Nazi emblazoned in my brain whenever I think of soup.

I really love soup. When I was a SAHM a million years ago we were always on a small budget and I would make huge pots of soup at least once a week. Sooooo good yes?

So yesterday I made myself a delicious tomato soup

So warming and totally reminds me of being a kid and my momma would make Campbell's tomato soup and I'd break about a million saltines into my soup.

Since I'm trying like a maniac to not eat grains I have skipped the crackers, but I did add some sausages into my serving.

I could eat this every day and just might have to until it's all gone.

Simple Tomato Soup

1 tbl butter

2 garlic cloves, split

1 cup diced celery

1 large onion, chopped

4 lb tomatoes, cut into quarters

10 oz heavy cream

6 basil leaves

1 tsp sea salt

ground white pepper to taste

Over medium heat, in a large pan, melt butter. Add garlic, celery, and onion, and cook until glassy. Add tomatoes, cover, and simmer 40 minutes. Puree in food processor or pass through food mill and discard tomato skins (or just use canned chopped tomatoes like I usually do). Return soup to pan. Add cream and basil. Simmer until texturally to your liking. Season with sea salt and ground white pepper. Serves 4-6.

Come On - Tell Me!

Where do you find your fitness inspiration? Come on and tell me over at Grok and Roll. I need to build an inspiration wall for me to read every day.

I Find My Inspiration

Where do you find it? Do you post photos of yourself at a smaller size? Do you post photos of yourself heavier? Do you post photos of others that inspire you?

Here is a woman with a body I think is great. Just a natural body. No huge, fake boobies, no crazy muscles; just a strong and lean look that I aspire to.

Link me with inspiration you are finding!

Breakfast of Champions

All my fellow paleo-peeps will be angrily trembling in their Vibram's, but some days you just gotta do what you gotta do. (Paleos bitch slap you when you eat peanuts and peanut butter cuz it's not a nut but a legume and legumes are BAD.)

I choose my battles, and this is working today.

Yesterday I had sockeye salmon and coconut oil sauteed-cabbage and, of course, neglected to take one of my fabulous BlackBerry shots. Sad girl! Lame girl!

The week was great regarding staying on plan and I'm looking forward to the weekend where I'll be grokking with some move-slow-and-constant times and a visit to the dungeon (workout room).

Onward and downward!

Hot Men Friday

Josh Duhamel

So pretty.

I love how he works out right where he is. No fancy-pants equipment needed. I once saw a photo of he and Fergie doing ab work right in a park. Brilliant PR I must say!

I do get a douchebaggery feeling about him, but who cares? I'm only lookin' after all. We'll let Fergie handle his douchbaggeryness.

In fact, she may be the reason I have him on Hot Men Friday. smooches!

Things Said to Me

I worked yesterday at my little consignment store. I worked the middle shift, which is noon until 7 p.m., so I worked with both Shelly-Belly, who was in a GREAT mood, and Nicolina, who was in a TERRIBLE mood.

I was thinking how, even though I'm having a devil of a time regulating my new bio structure with my compounding pharmacist and having hot flashes that throw me into stripper-mode and then right into frozen-pop mode, I'm rarely crabby.

I didn't even realize it. I'm certain anyone around me realized it. THEY realized I haven't had any irrational spouts of anger followed by pouting.

I realized I've been feeling simply happy. Not dance around a maypole happy, but just kinda happy. Plain happy. I should search out a new word. A more descriptive word? Content? That's not it. Calm? Maybe . . . hmm maybe.

Rambling!

So while at the store, in the evening, close to the time I would be leaving, a woman came in with her two sons. Their ages were most likely 3 and 6.

She was trying to shop and the boys were in their moods. They were tired, probably a little hungry, and not loving the consignment store experience.

While they were checking out, the patient mother (she was the gold-standard for patient; a real doll of a girl) was dealing with the youngest that was, in this moment, being a handful. A real handful!

She had a huge pile of stuff and was trying to help me extract hangers and give her stash one last look-over. The youngest was being a little boy. My attention, however, was on the older boy.

He stood there very patiently, on his best behavior, watching me take off tags, fold the clothes, put them in bags.

I leaned over and said, "What are you going to have for supper? What are you in the mood for?"

He thought carefully and said, "I don't know! I'll have to think about it more!"

I winked at him and said, "I think you are the cutest boy I have seen in months. How is it being so darn cute and smart?"

He grinned at me and said nothing.

While talking to the older boy the younger boy was watching me intently. The attention had redirected from him and his badish behavior and he was puzzled by it a tad. He was used to the focus being all on him when in the midst of a mini-tantrum.

His big eyes followed every move I was making.

I handed one of the bags of clothes to the older boy and said, "You have good muscles, I bet you can help your momma carry her purchases out to your car. How does this feel?

He said, "I can carry it! I am strong!"

The momma was smiling at me, thanking me with her eyes.

When they left, the older boy said to his momma, "Please let's come back here, she said I was cute!"

His little 6 year-old face was just beaming. His little body wriggling with pleasure as he held the bag of clothes to help his momma.

Such a little exchange and such a huge reward for me. I was totally emotional the rest of the evening whenever I saw his little face in my mind.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to say today. Maybe how I need to pay attention to moments like that. I'm so glad I did pay attention to that moment. And that children only want us to pay attention. Not just to the bad behavior, which always gets attention, but to the good behavior.

I want him to come back in to the store as well.

smooches my hooches

Dirty Little Secrets

I've had the secret-things-girls-do conversation with friends and family in the past. The weird little things we do that we may or may not want anyone else (read - men) to know about us.

Of course, most of that flies out of the window once you're married. At least when you're married to a man. It's hard to keep the veil of mystery intact after the first time your husband sees you peeing. ahem. Not that I would know anything about this. ahem

• I don't shower every day.
• I eat an entire bag of Doritos. Every time I eat Doritos
• I daydream. A lot.
• I like my alone time. A lot.
• I sing along with my iPod. A lot.

What's your secret? Come on; tell me! No one is listening.

Mother's Little Helper

Well, not really, but maybe? Not just mothers though. Even though I'm a mother. I think I just lost my train of thought. I really hate it when that darn train leaves me on the platform all alone and thoughtless. Ha!

I am struggling with cravings. Hugely struggling. Following lots of advice:

• eat more fat
• eat more protein
• eat within 30 minutes of getting up
• eat more carbs
• eat less carbs
• get more sleep (yeah, right - heh!)
• take magnesium
• no - that's the wrong kind of magnesium! 
• take this kind instead
• no, that's wrong! this kind!
• eat more often
• eat less often

oy to the vey I say

But, this little piece of advice I did see over and over.

I'll report back.

Oh and btw - I made Pup take that damn box of Nut Goodies with him to work. He bought it at Costco last night. I nearly stole one for "later," but didn't. Why do I have to live with a sugar-maniac? {whining}.

What's on My Blackberry?

I've been thumb-deep into learning more about social-networking and I have to tell you it's a bit overwhelming out there! Hashtags! Twitter chats! Promotion! Website launching! Editing! Figuring out . . . well . . . figuring out EVERYTHING!

In addition to my new position with FitFluential.com Pup and I are expanding the family biz so I've been designing logos, creating and editing the website, making temporary biz cards for the Pup, doing some acquisition, garnering new clients (I've brought in quite a few! I am totally patting myself of the back - see how limber I am?).

When I come up for air I stumble into the Big Room (still in love), turn on that 60 inch monstrosity that I have grown to love so much, and watch me some trashy TV (I am in love with Storage Wars right now - LOVE!).

In the past couple of days I have learned the art of the nap. I've NEVER been a napper and I've had a few now with varying degrees of success. Insomnia seems to be creeping up to the better range. Yay!

Maybe my split-decisioned mind is sleeping better in self-defense! I've said it a million times; older brains can learn, but they need extra fat and flourish to get there. At least mine does.

It's amazing I can still learn. It's amazing when I do learn. I can't believe what I'm learning right now! Kinda exciting. I'm hanging on for dear life and kinda giggling while terrified. Overstate much?

Meanwhile, I was perusing my photo folder on my BlackBerry and have discovered that I mostly take photos of meals. We eat out a lot. And I eat eggs a lot. I love taking photos of my eggs. WTH??

I was out to eat at The Bad Waitress (love!) and saw this guy. I love Minneapolis.

Little DK helping me study.

A Kong toy. A Kong toy after George had at it for about 45 minutes. No lie. I should send it right back to the company, but hey - who was I trying to kid? That dog is a machine.

Pup with Calvin. Calvin lays his arse down on Pup's keyboard every night. Kinda hard to earn the bacon when there's a pork-arse laying right on you.

This shot is more for my Bella. I think one of her white squirrels has moved into my neighborhood. I've seen his little scampering body all over! Every day!

New shoes for my retail job. Holy Hannah - why is comfort so darn ugly?? I had Shelley-Belly in stitches cuz I kept referring to my feet as 'little platypuses.' I don't even think I know what a platypus looks like, but this has to be close. She said it was the fuzzy socks. I feel 12. Which is okay because sometimes I act that way.

Owl sighting! I don't want to carry this bag necessarily, but how spiff is that?

Soup and tea. Trust me, this is one of dozens of food shots. Who wants to see my food? Oh wait! Look at my arse. That's where it is.

Daisy! In a pin! We were selling bunches of pins like this. All different. So cool. I bought a bunch and used them as bows on some presents. Pin Love.

That was my week!

What were you all doing?