My dread? Oh yes. I’m talking about soccer. Both kids start in April. Ada is gung-ho. Jay, not so much, but I’m being really one of those moms and making him try it at least once. My kids do not get to gripe about things they have never done. Ada, I’m hoping will be able to balance both tennis and soccer. She doesn’t want to stop her tennis lessons, but they interfered with her getting on an indoor team because her team couldn’t change practice days which they happend to schedule at the last minute at the same time as her tennis lesson. Ada is on a U7 recreation league team and Jay is on … well, a side note first…

Jay is going to be a ring bearer in May. We started joking around with him and calling him Frodo. Then he saw parts of The Return of The King and freaked out. He now vehemently does not want to be the ring bearer. This included tears. I think that there is nothing more memorable for a wedding than watching the ring bearer being pushed down the aisle while he is crying and yelling that he doesn’t want to walk into Mordor. I realize that other people don’t think the same as me, so I didn’t order a Frodo costume and tell Jay his ring bearer suit was here as a joke. I also apologized ahead of time to the bride and groom, so they both know what is going on.

Back to soccer–Jay is on a team called “Hobbits.” We are not telling him this. It is hard enough for me to get him outside for activities.

Ada is starting art classes this month as well. Their school added some additional classes for elementary students during late PM thanks to help from our wonderful community. The Spencer Art Museum at KU will start teaching art classes on Tuesday/Thursday. Ada took a couple of their It Starts With Art classes they offered for kids on Saturday and enjoyed it, so I signed her up. The upper elementary is getting Spanish, French and Latin classes thanks to KU’s department of Spanish, I forget who is doing French, and a retired Bishop Seabury Latin teacher. I know the art class filled up enough that the original plan just for Tuesday was expanded for an additional class on Thursday. I hope the language classes are just as popular so they are there when Ada/Jay gets into upper elementary. I hope I can manage to keep them in their school through their 6th grade year. I love it there.

I am the one that schedules these activities as well as hauls them there. It is tiring at times being the chauffer, but I bring my Kindle and get to read uninterrupted for about an hour, which is really nice, except I guess during games. I suppose I should watch and cheer and such instead of reading.

Today I’m back on paleo with dairy. I still have leftover Whole30 food, so I haven’t eaten any meals with it beyond last night’s cheat. I did replace my broken wave strainer. I just need to buy yogurt.

I’m not that far into my regular run schedule, but so far, so good. I’m running tonight, and looking forward to it. I might run in Brew to Brew^** on April 1st, so that goal is keeping me strictly on track.

*It was a gnocchi with roast pork shoulder which ended up tasting just like a pot roast — some odd tomato sauce with green beans were mixed in with it. It didn’t taste bad, but it wasn’t delicious and I should have read it better because I did not read that it was going to be pot roast. My expectation that it was going to be something else left me disappointed. Good thing I had the creme brulee. That was an awesome way to spend a cheat. The artichokes where really good too.

**Brew to Brew is a 44.4 mile race from Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City, MO to FreeState in Lawrence, KS. “Might” as in the team hasn’t been registered yet, but if there are enough people, I will. FreeState rewards you with gumbo and beer at the finish line–another moment of cheating.

But.

I did this morning because the way my pants now fit me perfect for those few hours right out of the dryer, but are a tad baggy thereafter, and they don’t feel like they are suffocating my thighs and they aren’t leaving marks in my waist where the band was digging in during the day, I was too curious. I didn’t resist.

The verdict–I have lost 14 lbs even. That’s right. FOURTEEN. I’ve exercised once the entire time. I’ve lost that by eating just like this.

I’m going to stick with it until Tuesday, probably breaking it Tuesday night when I go out with friends for our Fifth Tuesday Dinner Guild. Then I’m going right back on paleo where I belong. With dairy. Sorry, Whole30, I want my cheese back in the worst possible way. I did paleo the first time with it, and had the same success I’m feeling now.

Also, I have not had a single migraine this entire month. I was getting one every 1-2 weeks starting in late October. With this, I’m introducing dairy back, but no alcohol. I know that Santa brought me that wonderful gift of wine, but I hate migraine’s more than I love Santa. I’ll introduce that back on March. One thing at a time.

I’m also about to go run. Now that I’ve pulled myself out of my funk, my brain has been going back to it. I’ve even read a book on it recently, but what good is reading about it rather than actually doing it. I know people like to especially pick on runners and running, but the therapeutic relief you get is better than drug. It makes you feel tired and clear-headed and tired and strong and tired and like a conquerer. All at the same time. I want that back.

ETA: And I did run tonight! And I loved it, although I can tell that it has been awhile. But I’ll catch up. I did it once, I’ll do it again, except it will be easier because I already know I can.

The dishwasher starts fine, pumping out all water, but when it comes time to start the wash cycle, it quits, gives an error code, and pumps no water in.

The dishwasher is out of warranty, so we called around some local placed to get it looked at, and surprisingly found that nobody we called will work on LGs.

We finally gave in and called Sears, which said they did. The first scheduled repairman, which said he’d be here anytime between 8-5 didn’t show up for the first appointment or call about the no-show until way later. We reschedule, which left me at home for another day from 8-5. This time he showed, told me the code meant that it wasn’t getting water, looked at a few things on the dishwasher but did not pull the dishwasher out to disconnect the line in the back, but not until after he talked on his cell phone for about 10 minutes to a friend, and then declared that it was the plumbing. He won’t look at the pipe that is connecting the dishwasher to the sink. Then he charges me money.

We finally get a plumber here because Mac tried to replace that pipe, but it is soldered on or gorilla glued or something. It will not come off. The plumber gets it off and replaces it for us. Guess what? The dishwasher is doing the same thing. It isn’t the plumbing, it’s the dishwasher.

The plumber doesn’t work on dishwashers — which actually doesn’t bother me at all compared to a dishwasher repairman that can’t replace one pipe that connects the dishwasher to the sink. The appliance guy who installed the dishwasher also installed the pipe that goes to the sink. However, he says that they have employees that do, so he’s going to ask if they can fix an LG.

In the meantime, my evenings are spent washing dishes by hand. It is cheaper, but given all the other things we are expected to do during a day when you have young children, I am getting to the point where I want the convenience back.

We’ve had to fix this dishwasher a couple of times already, and we’ve only had it a little over 6 years. One time, my brother fixed what the Big Box warranty repairman couldn’t figure out. And given some past bad experiences with Sears, I’m never shopping there again, which will be easy since the Lawrence store is one that is being shut down.

The thing that makes me really nervous is our refrigerator is making a strange rattling noise. I’ve investigated the stuff on top, and it isn’t that, so it is probably the refrigerator itself. And it’s an LG as well.

I don’t care how much they try to smarten up their appliances, I’m never buying an LG again.

Today was one of them. I am dangerously low on Whole30 food in my house, and I went to work empty handed. Big oops. Because I wore my boots with heels and because I felt cold inside and didn’t want to go outside, I just picked a handful of almonds for early afternoon snack. And then someone warmed up their lunch. Mexican, a burrito I think. It made me want enchiladas. Very Badly. And Kansas City, well, it isn’t hurting for places to get good Mexican food. I mean, it was getting *grumpy* because I wanted enchiladas. Right now.

I didn’t get them, but I didn’t stop being slightly grumpy. And I came home hungry. Real tummy growling hunger. Thankfully, Mac made an entire dinner that I could eat–as long as I passed on the cottage cheese, which I did. A hamburger patty and a big plate of fresh veges later, and my enchilada craving is gone. Slightly.

I am going to the store tonight, and on my list is stuff to make slow cooker carnitas. I’m doing that tonight. I’m going to check out Frontera to see if there is a premade sauce that is appropriate because unfortunately the ones I have at home would work if it wasn’t for the added starch. If not, I’ll go ahead and make some hogao. Tomorrow there will be eggs. With some carnitas on top.

Plus, I’m grabbing lots more appropriate food to take to work with me. I can’t run out of that again.

I must be needing more protein because that’s all that sounds good for my grocery list: carnitas, roasted chicken, kefta, smoked salmon.

And later that night…
Groceries have been purchased and put away, dishes are all clean, carnitas are in the slow cooker for overnight cooking. Next a shower and then bed. Probably yet another night I’m not asleep until midnight or later^*

My skin cleared up and is back to its normal badness. Awesome.

My jeans fit best right out of the dryer, and I’m about ready to wear a belt to keep them were they belong.

I fit into a smaller pair of jeans that I had set aside because I outgrew them. I found this out this morning after I spilled coffee all over the only pair of jeans I had that wasn’t in the big pile of laundry that I needed to do. I was debating on whether I was going to overdress for work and wear a dress or underdress and wear running clothes.

Now, I need to clean coffee off my boots and get to work.

One of our shower heads^* has been half broken, and when I took a shower on Sunday, something snapped and it became three-fourths broken and the fourth that was still working was doing so at about half capacity. On my way out of that sad shower, I mentioned to Mac that I was going to go buy a new one, and he said to me, “Don’t buy a new one.” I replied, “But, it is broken but even worse.” with the look that Mac has probably learned means “I’m doing it anyhow because I’ve made up my mind and people just telling me ‘No’ will not change it.” So Mac says, “I bought you a new one for Valentine’s Day.”

He went to his present stash, and showed it to me before he installed it. Tonight I discovered that both heads have a mist setting, and it was fabulous! With each shower head pointed in slightly different directions, it fills the entire shower with hot mist.

I think it is one of those low-flow shower heads, but when there is two and you just want to stay in the shower until you run out of hot water, the point is moot. I’m about to lose the water savings I’ve gained recently by washing dishes by hand^**.

*We have two in our shower. And a shower stick.

**Our dishwasher is still broken^***, and while it takes more time, I’ve discovered that my water bill goes down by $14-ish dollars a month just by doing the dishes by hand, and I even run the dishwasher on the quick wash setting. I didn’t own my first dishwasher until 2003, so I’ve had lots of practice doing it. Maybe I need to do two birds and put my dishes in the shower with me.

***If you live in this town, don’t buy an LG. After the warranty has expired, you’ll be stuck with a bunch of local repair shops that don’t work on LGs. Then you’ll give up and call Big Box, which will require you to be home 8-5 only to stand you up, then reschedule for you to be home 8-5 another day, show up, talk on their cell to their friend instead of working on your dishwasher, tell you that it isn’t the dishwasher but rather the pipe supplying the water and they won’t work on that, and charge you money anyhow.

My differences so far? I did not have any mid-afternoon energy drops at work like usual. My jeans are no longer trying to suffocate my thighs–one of the reasons I stepped on the scale and decided I needed to get back on the Correct Eating Train. And, in the months of November and December, I suffered a terrible acne breakout on my face. It was bad enough that Mac even stopped to ask me if I was okay because my face had broken out so badly. I tried some different face washes and vitamins, but it persisted for almost two months. In one week of ditching sugar and dairy, it has almost completely cleared up.

Here is a list for an idea of what we have eaten for dinners for those who think I’m crazy and can’t possible get away without eating a SAD diet (lunches usually being leftovers or just random bits of quick food–I braised Brussels Sprouts for lunch for Ada and I yesterday, for example.):

• Skillet cooked grass-fed ribeye, served over spinach with strawberries
• Hamburger patties (no bun or cheese for me) with sweet potato fries
• Mac’s Epic Chili, which made tons so we are eating quite a bit of leftovers with this — no beans, just meat and extra bell peppers and lots of garlic. Lots. I couldn’t convince him to add shredded carrots.
• Egg scramble with shallots, garlic and swiss chard

– again, no cheese, but I would have used gruyere in it otherwise.

• Braised Brussels Sprouts
• Hard boiled eggs
• Tiny bits of fruit — still eating it, but keeping it small
• Some whole almonds — the only clean thing on the snack shelf at work that I can eat. I had one small handful each day when I started feeling hungry.

And while probably not Whole30 approved because of where I bought it, tonight’s dinner is going to be Pork Parcels with roasted cauliflower and broccoli. I do need to get out to Steve’s Meats and buy a pig. I’ve never gone to the open air Saturday market either. When (or if) we get a work bonus or I have any tax refund money, I’m using some to stock up on meat. In other non-food news:

Kids

I got sick of Jay’s hair in his eyes, and because of his constant fit throwing about getting his hair cut, even by Charity, he had to suffer the ultimate consequence today and get his hair cut by me. And it looks like it too. And he still threw a small fit, even yelling at me accusing me of trying to cut his brain. My son is so emotional and overly dramatic which is so different from me, who is so not at all dramatic nor do I tolerate people who are that sometimes we are at odds. It was hard to get him to hold his head still, even with Mac bear hugging him. He bangs are all screwy. Oh well, they will grow out, hopefully enough in 4 weeks to fix it a bit for photos for his 5th birthday.

House

My living room without the television is glorious. I’d love to do some painting and a little redecorating in my house, but my energy desires and financial desires are saying, “No.” Maybe that will be something I will feel all gung-ho to do in Spring.

I scrubbed down my kitchen today. It needed it. Badly. I also did something big, for me. I put my Cuisinart drip coffee maker downstairs in the storage closet. I purchased a few extra devices for various ways to brew my beans, and I once I realized how long that drip coffee maker has been unplugged, I cleaned it and removed it from my kitchen. It will come in nice in guest situations for larger amounts of quick coffee, and it is easy to get to when I need it. I’ll use my French Press or percolator–when I have time to actually monitor my coffee–for me.

The Internets

And lastly, this site, I almost deleted it. It is so much easier to post small things on Facebook and Google+. I hate writing. I decided to keep it, but if this site disappears in the future, do not be surprised.

And instead of proof-reading this post, I’m just going to post it so I can start dinner.

Yes, I am. I am — oh wait, was — a paleo eater. And it was fabulous. I felt much more energetic, my sugar cravings which I have fought my entire life went away. And I leaned up, really quickly, without keeping track of anything. It was awesome.

And then 2011 happened. And I succumbed to pressure and cheated “here” and “there.” After all, people say to me, it is ridiculous to give up entire types of food. And surely the government can’t be lying to you about eating whole grains. And yadda, yadda, yadda… And everything came back–the cravings, the tiredness which pushed me to crave more quick energy spiking foods, and bloating and weight, which piled back on and didn’t come off despite keeping track of how much I ate.

I’m going to go through withdrawal again, and dumping it all cold turkey, including dairy for this one month. It also means I’ll be dumping caffeine if I can’t find clean almond milk. I don’t know if I’ll get used to black coffee. I never have in the past. I like my coffee creamy. And I hate tea, so please people, stop suggesting it. The only tea that didn’t make me gag had copious amounts of cream and sugar in it, and I still couldn’t even drink the entire thing because it still tasted like tea. Seriously, tea is so disgusting to my body that it invokes a gag reflex to get it the hell out.

It is going to be difficult–kind of like starting AA meetings in a bar–because my husband keeps buying crap food, so it will be everywhere in my house when I get a craving. Same with the office. They stock the kitchen with tons of junk food.

So, today will have to be about counter-stocking my kitchen with stuff I can eat. And hopefully at the end of this month, I won’t care about what is in my kitchen as much as I do right now.

The reason I picked Whole30 was to eliminate as much as possible that could be contributing in the spike in the number of migraines I’ve had these last few months of 2011. I’ve gone from getting 1 every 2-3 months to getting 1 about every 2 weeks.

For the record, this stuffing substitute^* is fabulous, and really can be a meal on its own. My only differences were the addition of a large, minced clove of garlic and french thyme instead of sage. Also, next time, I might try toasting the nuts and throwing them on after cooking or putting them on top at the end of baking time. I think I’d like the crunch over chewy.

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