Clean Fresh Mommy

It's been awhile...

2011-02-04T14:26:00.000-06:00

...since I last posted to this blog. In my defense, I do have another blog that I work on and while I've been a little better about updating that one, it too has been a bit neglected.

Recently I've found myself considering starting yet another blog, even going so far as to create both Blogger and Wordpress accounts for these new blogs. I've wasted a lot of time coming up with clever names and interesting layouts, but nary a word has been written, let alone posted. Sometimes the thought of starting new, while appealing, is also exhausting.

So I pulled up this "old" blog, took a look back at some of what I've done and decided maybe I should just resume life here. I want an everyday blog, a place I can (over) share about what's going on at our house, what's cooking in our kitchen and ruminate on how a soon to be five year old seems to be the head of our household. But beyond all that, this will be my place to chronicle our efforts to get our finances under control (can we all say "budget?"), lament on, er discuss, my ongoing attempts to maintain a fitness regime, and talk honestly about how Clean Fresh Hubby and I try to keep our marriage happy and healthy.

And that's another thing. The aliases... they gotta go. It's annoying to me to keep writing "my daughter" and "Clean Fresh Hubby." So let's be adults and just call everyone by their given names. I'm Laura, married to Brian, mother to Ava. Nice to meet ya!

Texas sheet cake

2010-06-11T07:13:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite food blogs is Homesick Texan. While I haven’t tried many of the actual recipes, I love reading about all the foods I remember from my childhood. Growing up, just about every birthday celebration we had featured a Texas Sheet Cake. Baked right on a cookie sheet, it was a hybrid of chocolate cake and brownie, not too sweet and oh so delicious. So when Homesick Texan posted a recipe for a Strawberry Sheet Cake, I knew I had to try it. And I had the perfect occasion to give it a test run, a family barbeque last weekend to celebrate our June birthdays – mine and my mom’s.

I was a little surprised that the recipe had you bake the cake in a 9 x 13 baking dish, not the traditional cookie sheet. And while I was tempted to use the cookie sheet, I didn’t want to take a chance of screwing it up with guests scheduled to arrive that afternoon. So I followed the directions to the letter.

So how did it turn out?

Well, it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. The cake was a little denser than your traditional boxed variety, almost more of a banana bread consistency than cake. Still, the overall reviews from my family were extremely positive (except from my sister, who halfway through wolfing down a piece learned there was cream cheese in the frosting and who then decided she didn’t like it). Next time I would bake it on the cookie sheet, which would make the cake thinner and help balance the cake/frosting ratio.

Speaking of frosting that had to be the absolute best part of this recipe… the fresh strawberry frosting. So good in fact, we were scooping extra frosting on the side of each serving!

If you’re looking for something different to serve at your next gathering, I’d say give this one a try… but bust out the cookie sheet so you are serving an authentic Texas sheet cake!

Exercise 1, Diet 0

2010-06-10T09:59:00.001-05:00

For the past 45 days, Clean Fresh Hubby and I have been sweating our way through Tony Horton’s P90X program. Maybe you’ve seen the infomercial – I hadn’t before we started the program, but now I notice it is on just about every night! It is an intensive, six day a week fitness regime with each day’s workout ranging from 75 to 90 minutes. It hasn’t been easy, but we are seeing results and are resolved to finish the entire 90 day program. And while our overall fitness has greatly improved in just 45 days, what has suffered is our diet.

What I’ve realized is how difficult it is to manage both diet AND exercise. Before P90X, I would squeeze in a 30 minute workout four days a week and most evenings I had dinner on the table at 6 p.m. Now, we begin the workout after our daughter goes to bed (around 7:15 p.m.) which means we aren’t finished until close to 9 p.m. And since we don’t want to eat before the workout, we are now sitting down to dinner after 9. And since I don’t want to eat a heavy dinner right before bed, we are usually eating small, quick dinners (like nuked vegetables or pita chips and hummus). I honestly can’t tell you the last weeknight dinner I’ve prepared.

Between work, family, food and exercise, it is hard to balance it all, and historically at our house, it is usually exercising that falters. Never has it been food that falls by the wayside! Therefore, my goal over the next few weeks is to figure out a way for food and exercise to coexist peacefully. I’ll be on the prowl for (quick) recipes that are light, healthy and suitable for a 9 p.m. dinner hour. If I find anything good, I’ll be sure to share them here. And if anyone has any suggestions on how to balance it all, please let me know!

Vegas vacation

2010-05-19T08:14:00.007-05:00

I just pulled the trigger and booked our family vacation. To Vegas. No, not exactly the destination one would think when planning a trip with a four year old, but Clean Fresh Hubby's sister is getting married there in July and while we debated leaving the child with my parents, it felt strange to think that all of his family would be at the wedding (kids too) and our daughter would be the only one missing. So, off to Vegas we will all go.

Clean Fresh Hubby and I used to go to Vegas every summer back in our early "pre-kid" days. Of course, it's been about eight years since we were last there, and this time we have our little traveling companion, so it really will be like seeing the city for the first time. I'm sure our daughter will get a kick out of seeing all the themed hotels.

And this will be her first ride on an airplane, so that ought to be fun (or a nightmare, not sure how that's going to play out!).

I know the city has changed a lot over the years, encompassing more family-friendly activities, so my goal over the next two months is to come up with an itinerary that we will all enjoy. Of course, the hotel pool will likely be where we spend the majority of our time, but given we're going in July and the temperature will be about 100 degrees, I figure we'd better have some other options!

I'm sure we'll log some time here:

And what's that I see next door? Margaritas by the foot? Well what kind of tourists would we be if we didn't check that out as well?

If you have any suggestions on planning a kid-friendly Vegas vacation, I'd love to hear 'em!

Herbs and Pepe

2010-05-17T11:38:00.004-05:00

I wrote last Wednesday about the nasty cold I was battling. Adding insult to injury, our entire household came down with the stomach flu last week as well. So needless to say, there wasn't a whole lot to write about that would've been fit to read without a super strong stomach.

But, we're all on the mend and I had an opportunity to get out in the yard this weekend and plant my pots of herbs.

Last year I bought a pre-planted herb mix and we found that the basil couldn't grow fast enough for us... we were going through leaves like crazy! So this year, I made my own pots, planting four basils and two dill weeds, which seem to be the herbs we use the most. I also planted a humble little jalapeno plant (affectionately named "Pepe") in hopes of having some fresh jalapenos for salsa this summer. The marigolds are included in the mix in hopes of warding off nibblers.

I would love to have a larger garden and grow things like cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes and carrots, but for now, with our schedule, a few simple herbs is about all we can handle!

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday: Cold edition

2010-05-12T08:39:00.006-05:00

Bouncing back from my annual spring cold, so thought I'd share a few things that are helping me make it through.

Mucinex DM

This stuff knocks out a cough like nobody's business. It is also great for loosening up all the heavy, thick snot that can clog up your chest. Thankfully, this cold hasn't gotten to that point (which for me, then turns to bronchitis), but I am suffering from an annoying cough that keeps me up at night. This stuff quiets the cough better than any Robitussin or Vicks product I've tried.

Halls Sugar Free Cough Drops - Kiwi Apple

I am not a fan of cough drops, but when I have a cold, I usually need one as I go to bed to get past the dry air and give the Mucinex time to kick in. I stumbled across this Kiwi Apple flavor at Walgreens a year or so ago and now am never without them. They're harder to find than your average cough drop, so when I do spot them, I typically by a few bags just to keep them in stock.

Kiehl's Lip Balm - Coconut

One of the side effects of blowing your nose constantly and breathing out of your mouth at night is extremely chapped lips. We have several tubes of Chapstick floating around the house, and while it provides momentary relief, it doesn't do much to alleviate the problem. Within minutes of applying Kiehl's lip balm, my lips feel soft and smooth again. This stuff is a miracle in a tube and the coconut flavor is like a little vacation for your lips. (It comes in a variety of other flavors if you're not a tropical fan.)

Hopefully all in our household will be happy and healthy again in the next few days and I can share with you some more exciting things instead of cold products!

Veganizing Paula Deen

2010-04-22T07:26:00.001-05:00

A few months ago, pre-vegan days, we went to dinner at a friend's house where she introduced us to a "my arteries are probably clogging just writing this" recipe by Paula Deen. It was a big bowl of love... pasta, cream cheese and bacon. I would've licked the bowl had it not been socially inappropriate, the pasta was that good.

I saved the recipe, but never had a chance to make it before I changed my eating habits. Then it dawned on me that perhaps I could "veganize" this recipe. I figured it was worth a shot, right?

So here it is, my attempt to take a Paula Deen recipe and turn it into something healthy.

Smoky Tomato Bacon Pasta

1/2 box Morning Star "bacon" (about 6 slices)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
salt and pepper
4 ounces Tofutti cream cheese, cut into pieces
1 box uncooked Quinoa pasta shells

In a large skillet, cook the bacon according to package instructions, approximately 10 minutes. Transfer it to a plate.

Using the same skillet, melt a pat of Earth Balance butter and a tablespoon of vegetable oil then add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes, then crumble in the bacon. Season with salt and pepper; simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and chunky, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cream cheese until melted.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with the sauce and serve immediately.

The result?

Actually, I was skeptical going in to this as the original pasta is just so darn good. I was pleasantly surprised with this modified recipe. I used a little too much onion and would definitely reduce the amount the next time I made it (I adjusted the recipe above to reflect my preferred taste... I used a large onion whereas a medium onion would probably be better).

Both Clean Fresh Hubby and I ate a full plate, and while I didn't have that "lick the plate" feeling, I did have a sense of satisfaction in converting the recipe to something I didn't have to feel guilty eating.

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday... Trader Joe's edition

2010-04-21T08:06:00.008-05:00

Back with another edition of "What I'm Lovin' Wednesday" and today I'm focusing on some Trader Joe's goodies that I am currently hooked on.

Low Fat French Toast

My daughter is hooked on frozen breakfast foods. It isn't a morning if she doesn't have a frozen waffle or pancake to throw in the toaster oven. I've been attempting to steer her tastes towards healthier, organic options and so far, the only substitute I've found are vanilla waffles from Whole Foods. Given it takes about 30 minutes to get to our local WF, I needed to find another alternative. We've tried the frozen waffles at Trader Joe's, but even I have to admit, they weren't that great. And my daughter turned her nose up at them immediately.

Thankfully, she was open to trying french toast. And I have to say, this french toast from Trader Joe's is absolutely delicious! I found myself toasting up a slice for me while preparing her breakfast. It is made with a four-grain bread and there is nothing scary or unpronouncable in the ingredient list. I will be adding this to the shopping cart every week I'm sure.

Organic, Fair Trade Breakfast Blend Coffee

Continuing on with breakfast, nothing goes better with french toast than a cup of delicious coffee. Trader Joe's has quite a variety to choose from and we've sampled several. So far, this is the coffee I keep going back to. Organic and fair trade are a bonus, but what it boils down to is this is just a great cup of joe. A little stronger than Dunkin' Donuts, but not so strong that it'll put hair on your chest (like Starbucks).

Bruschetta topping

Need a fast, quick and yummy appetizer? Look no further than this bruschetta topping. Paired with a crusty loaf of bread, this is some of the best bruschetta out of a jar I've ever had. It also works well as a pizza sauce; I use it to top a Boboli pizza crust, add a little mozarella and voila, a quick and easy dinner.

Panda All Natural Raspberry Licorice

Trying to eat healthy all the time can be a challenge and there are days when that nagging sweet tooth just won't give it up. Standing in the checkout a few weeks ago, I saw this display of raspberry licorice. I didn't pay it too much attention, but of course my daughter was enraptured by the panda bear on the box and begged me to get one. Being the total pushover that I am, we threw a box in the basket. Probably one of the best things she's suckered me into buying! It's all natural, only seven ingredients, and is sweetened with molasses. This licorice is perfect for those instances where you just need a little something sweet.

So there you have this week's edition of what I'm lovin'. Of course, this is just a handful of the products that bring me back to TJoe's week after week... perhaps I'll have to do a second edition in the coming weeks. If you have a TJoe's product that you adore, let me know and I'll add it to my shopping list!

Eating (and enjoying) our greens

2010-04-19T09:35:00.001-05:00

Back on track with cooking this week and first off will be one of our absolute most favorite salads:

Mixed greens with strawberries, carmelized onions and pecans

I start by chopping up a red onion, then add it to a pan with some butter, cooking it for about 30 minutes until it carmelizes. Then I toss the onions and chopped strawberries with some mixed greens and candied pecans and what is probably the best salad dressing ever, Nordstrom's Dark Cherry Balasamic Vinaigrette.

This recipe was actually born from lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe. Their version is served with grilled chicken and goat cheese, which was my favorite thing on their menu until I gave up the meat and dairy. So I modified at home and the result is just as tasty. I served it at quite a few family functions over the past month and it always gets rave reviews.

This salad is one of Clean Fresh Hubby and I's favorite meals, so it is definitely on the menu this week. Healthy and delicious, it doesn't get much better than that!

I dusted the stove this week

2010-04-17T08:19:00.002-05:00

I have a confession to make. Are you ready?

I did not cook a single meal all week.

I know, crazy, right? I'm not proud of it. I did scrape together dinners for my daughter (at least one of us has to be well-nourished!), but for Clean Fresh Hubby and I, not a one. Let's see, I believe we had cheese and crackers one night, I had an apple and a granola bar another night, and as for the rest of the evenings, it was pretty much "fend for yourself." It was just one of those weeks where things were hectic and sadly, our diet paid the price.

So, now the weekend is here and my plan is to get back on track. Friends are having us over for dinner tonight (no, they are not taking pity on us due to our lack of formal meals!) and then tomorrow night it is off to the in-laws to celebrate Clean Fresh Hubby's birthday. But starting Monday, I'm back in the kitchen. Cooking, not just dusting the stove!

What I'm Lovin' Wednesday

2010-04-13T07:00:00.002-05:00

Wednesdays are typically reserved for a wine review, but if you can believe it, nary a drop of wine passed these lips over the weekend! Wine, no. Pomegranate martinis, yes.

So today, in lieu of wine, I thought I'd share with you the things I'm loving right now... the things that are making my no meat or cheese existence a little easier.

Steel Cut Oats
Probably one of my most favorite breakfasts ever and so easy to make because there is no cooking involved. I cover 1/4 cup of steel cut oats with water and refrigerate it overnight. The next morning, the water is all but gone, absorbed into the oats. I add in some agave syrup, cinnamon, a diced apple, and the best part of all, some candied pecans (from Trader Joe's). It is so quick to pull together in the morning and since you eat it cold, I can bring it to work and eat it at my desk. Yummy!

Trader Joe's Steamed Lentils

Lentils are a great source of protein, and now that I've discovered Trader Joe's Steamed Lentils, they are working their way into quite a few recipes as a meat substitute (remember my post on lentil taco meat? Yep, Trader Joe's Lentils).

One of my favorite "quick and easy" dinners is to heat up a pack of lentils with a can of stewed tomatoes, 5-6 cloves of garlic (minced), some shredded carrots and a handful of spinach. Let it cook until heated through. Fast, fast, fast. This tastes divine with goat cheese sprinkled on it (if you haven't given up cheese).

And last but not least:

Subway Kids Meal
My go-to "fast food" lunch is a veggie sandwich from Subway. It wasn't until this weekend though that I picked up a kids meal for my daughter while I was in there (usually she picks at mine).

For about $3.50 (cheaper than a Happy Meal from McD's), she got a 3" sub, a chocolate milk and a bag of apples. And it came in a small reusable bag or "purse" as she calls it. I love that the bag is something she can play with versus a cardboard box that finds it's way to the recycle bin before we even hit the house.

So there you have it. What I'm loving this Wednesday (and pretty much every other day of the week!).

Wine Wednesday: Another New Zealander

2010-04-07T09:23:00.004-05:00

It's party season at our house... between birthdays, holidays and anniversaries, it seems there is always some sort of planning going on.

This past weekend, we hosted my family for dinner on Saturday night - "preEaster" as Clean Fresh Hubby deemed it. This dinner was thrown together at the last minute, so I didn't have a chance to hit Costco for my Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. I instead perused the selection of New Zealand wines at our local supermarket and decided to give this one a go:

Starborough Sauvignon Blanc

At $8.99 for a bottle (on sale), I figured it was a worthy experiment. Plus, it is from the same region of New Zealand (Marlborough) that my Kim Crawford is from, so it had to be pretty close, right?

Well....

The Starborough had hints of what I love about the KC... a fruity, almost grapefruity, undertone and a nice crispness, but it was a little sharper than what I'm used to with KC. The best way I can describe it is that this tasted like an under $10 bottle of wine. In a pinch, or for a party where you're serving lots of guests and budget is an issue, this wine would be serviceable. But for sitting around on the weekend, relaxing, I will make sure my wine rack is stocked with the good stuff!

Satisfying a sweet tooth, and still healthy!

2010-04-06T08:32:00.001-05:00

Continuing on with our at-home "cooking" school, my daughter and I made a pan of vegan rice crispy treats (recipe from "The Kind Life Diet" cookbook by Alicia Silverstone). These were super easy to make (but come to think of it, so are regular rice crispy treats) and actually very tasty.

Crispy Peanut Butter Treats with Chocolate Chips
1 box brown rice crisps cereal
1 3/4 cups brown rice syrup
Fine sea salt
3/4 cup all-peanut, natural variety of peanut butter
1/2 cup grain-sweetened chocolate chips (get at health store, or
substitute carob chips)

Pour the rice cereal into a large bowl. Heat the rice syrup with a
pinch of salt in a saucepan over low heat. When rice syrup liquefies,
add the peanut butter and stir until well combined. Pour over the rice
cereal. Mix well with wooden spoon.

Once thoroughly mixed and cooled to room temperature, stir in the
chocolate chips. Makes sure the mixture is cool, or you will
end up with melted chocolate instead of chocolate chips in your treats.

Turn the mixture into an 8x8 or 9x13 baking dish. Wet your wood spoon
lightly and press the mixture evenly into the pan. Let cool for 1 hour before
cutting into squares or bars.

How a shopaholic is born

2010-04-05T15:22:00.004-05:00

My daughter raked in some cash over the Easter weekend (growing up, our eggs never had money in them... gotta love grandparents!). Usually any money my daughter receives goes right into her bank, but today, I took her to Target and let her pick out any toy she wanted... that of course fit in her "budget" of ten dollars! We wandered the two main toy aisles of interest to young girls: Barbie and the Disney Princesses. Back and forth we went, seriously contemplating all the options, until she finally struck upon this:

Up we trotted to the checkout, me with my laundry soap, her with the latest batch of Princesses to invade our house. I let her go first, so she carefully placed the box on the conveyor, then stood patiently holding out her $10 bill. The total came to $10.74, so I quickly fished out $.75 from her bag of coins and she gave them to the cashier, who in turn gave my daughter the receipt and her penny change. The look of pride on my daughter's face was absolutely priceless!

As we walked out of the store, she turned to me and said "Mom, that was really fun. I want to do that again!" And so, another shopaholic is born!

A big bowl of YUM!

2010-03-31T21:18:00.002-05:00

Dinner at our house last night was super simple: a big bowl of guacamole.

Our favorite mexican restaurant always plays around with their guacamole, adding in fresh fruit for a different twist. I decided to do my own experimenting last night, with excellent results! Here's the recipe I used:

Strawberry Guacamole
3 ripe avocados
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 plum tomatoes, diced
5-6 ripe strawberries, diced
dash of salt
splash of lime juice

Throw everything in a bowl and stir until the avocados are creamy. Add a dash of salt and a splash of lime juice (to your taste).

I've made this with pomegranate seeds instead of strawberries, which was also excellent (Trader Joe's sells a convenient pack of just the seeds so you can avoid having to mess with the entire fruit). We've also used red grapes, another tasty version, as well as blood orange chunks. All delicious!

I absolutely adore El Milagro tortilla chips. They're super tasty and remind me of the chips we enjoy every time we're in Mexico. In fact, eating this for dinner last night made me a little giddy for our upcoming trip this June! Since I don't eat seafood (and most of the restaurants where we go are seafood-oriented), I tend to indulge in a lot of guacamole when I'm on vacation. I come back tan, with a slight tint of green! (Kidding, of course!)

The food revolution at our house

2010-03-30T20:30:00.007-05:00

I've really been enjoying Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" that begin Friday night on ABC. And I was inspired to teach my daughter to cook as a result. Granted, she's only four, so we're starting slowly. I am hoping that by giving her more responsibility in the preparation of our meals, she will be more apt to try new things and be excited about things like... vegetables!

Last night's dinner was veggie pad thai, so I had her help me chop the vegetables. Cabbage, green onions, carrots... she chopped like a pro! (Granted, I oversaw this one very carefully and for the cabbage, I assisted her with my "mommy" knife!)

Once all the veggies were prepped, we cooked the rice noodles, then combined everything in the wok. I gave her the very important job of adding all the chopped veggies into the mix and stirring the sauce in. We dished up servings for the three of us, then set the table so everything was ready when Clean Fresh Hubby got home from work.

It took a little longer to pull dinner together with the help of my "assistant," but she was so proud of herself that it was worth the extra time. And this morning, when she woke up, the first thing she asked was if she could cook again. So I let her make the breakfast smoothies. Literally running down the stairs, she added the fruit, protein powder, honey and OJ to the blender, then mixed it to perfection.

I'm happy to see her excited about all the possibilities cooking offers, and the fact that she ate several bites of the pad thai felt like significant progress from her usual fare of Morningstar chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and PB&J. Best of all, she actually wanted to do the dishes, so I gave her the soapy sponge and let her go to town.

Who am I to stand between a girl and a sink of dirty dishes?

Gumbo a la Disney

2010-03-26T08:29:00.009-05:00

Like most parents of four year old girls, I went out last week and picked up a copy of Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" for our little princess. I've lost count of how many times we've actually seen it since then, along with how many times we've read the book before bed. These repeat viewings and readings caused my daughter to suddenly become obsessed with the idea of making gumbo. It's all she's talked about in recent days and one night, unbeknownst to me, Clean Fresh Hubby told her we would make gumbo for dinner. So the next morning, she was on fire talking about gumbo, gumbo, gumbo and how daddy told her we'd make it.

Thank heavens for the Whole Foods recipe app on my iPhone! I did a quick search for "gumbo" and found a recipe for a vegetarian version. Off to Trader Joe's to pick up the necessary ingredients and we were set to make our own version of "The Princess and the Frog" Gumbo.

Here's the recipe I used as my starting point, with a few of our additions included:

Quick Vegetarian Gumbo

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 (16-ounce) package frozen bell pepper strips (I did not include these... personal preference)
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 to 1 tablespoon blackened cajun spice
1/2 pound vegetarian sausage links, Cajun or spicy variety, cut into 1-inch slices
3/4 cup rice (white or quick-cooking brown)
1 box (1 qt) creamy tomato soup
8 ounces frozen cut okra
Hot sauce to taste

Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot until warm. Add garlic and sauté briefly. Stir in peppers (if using). Cook another 4 minutes then add tomatoes, tomato soup, beans, seasoning and sausage. Bring to a boil and add rice. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add okra and simmer another 10 minutes or until rice is cooked. Serve with hot sauce on the side.

This turned out really good, though quite a bit spicier than I expected. When making it again, I would use less of the cajon seasoning (I used 1/2 T for this batch; would cut it to 1 tsp). I also used the Morningstar Hot and Zesty Sausage, so I would substitute plain Morningstar Sausage. The original recipe did not call for the box of soup, but it was very thick and my daughter wanted it to look "more like the movie gumbo," so thankfully, I had a box of soup on hand. I think the extra liquid helped the rice cook up and I liked the consistency the soup added. The biscuits are Alexia brand... this company makes some of the best frozen baked goods I've ever had and the biscuits were no exception! While not exactly "healthy," they are made with all natural ingredients and no trans fats, so not as bad as the ones you buy in the tube.

If you have a little princess in your house, this is a fun and easy recipe to make together (just go easy on the spice or your princess could be like mine and get upset that it is too spicy, refuse to eat it, and instead opt for a bowl of plain tomato soup!).

The party dress

2010-03-24T09:13:00.005-05:00

For her birthday, one of the things my parents got my daughter was a party dress. Black and white gingham with a big pink bow and layer upon layer of pink tulle underneath to give the skirt a full effect. When she opened it, I thought "cute, but really not practical." Then she opened the rest of her gifts where she received several cute ensembles perfect for school and play.

Fast forward three weeks and I am here to report that the birthday present that has gotten the most use is that black and white party dress. She wears the dress EVERYWHERE. To the grocery store. To a dive pizza place for dinner last weekend. To school. To the park. The dress has gotten some serious mileage. In fact, there have been several instances where I feel a bit sheepish about my own outfit when we're out in public. At Trader Joe's last week we looked a bit mismatched... an adorable four year old in her party dress, jewelry and sparkly shoes, and her mother, fresh from a workout, just running out for a few last minute groceries in her exercise attire!

We're into the sixth straight day of wearing nothing but that dress. My goal is to sneak it out of her room tonight so I can get it in the laundry before she wakes up in the morning (and fingers are crossed that it washes well... I can just see the tulle being a problem!).

I'm sure the fascination with the dress will pass and we'll be able to bust into some of the other cute outfits she received. But for now, if you see us out and about, I'm the gal standing behind the little girl in the party dress.

Random food thoughts and another great recipe

2010-03-18T07:07:00.002-05:00

Day 18 of the 21 day vegan challenge, so thought I'd just ramble a little about various food thoughts I've had over the past two and half weeks.

It has been very easy to give up the meat, particularly the prep and cooking of it. Prepping chicken has always grossed me out and I tend to worry about it being cooked long enough. So to eliminate it from the diet has been nice. Our dinners have been revolving around veggies and some sort of grain or bean, with some pretty tasty results. Clean Fresh Hubby didn't exactly signed up for this challenge with me, but he is eating the dinners I make, so that's encouraging. And he is making healthier choices at lunch, so maybe I'm rubbing off on him a little!

Dairy has been the harder of the two to eliminate completely from my diet. I've had a few slips (a slice or two of cheese pizza), but overall I'm doing good about not eating cheese. I've been limiting my coffee intake to one day over the weekend since I do like to drink it with cream. I have been able to substitute agave nectar in place of sugar with good results, so this morning I decided I would try adding vanilla almond milk to my coffee to see if I could get away with that. No luck. Didn't have the same consistency as cream, so it really did nothing in my coffee. So I will continue to just drink coffee over the weekend, with cream, and consider it a treat. If a little cream is the worst I do, that's not that bad!

For breakfast, I've been alternating between carrot juice on the days I don't have to work and fruit smoothies on the days we're scooting out the door to work and school. Lunch is typically a salad, leftovers from whatever we had for dinner the night before, or a veggie sandwich from Subway on days I work. Dinner has been the time to experiment with new recipes; I'm finding quite a few good ones in Alicia Silverstone's "The Kind Diet" book I've been reading.

Like this one, for pinto bean stew:

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups Imagine creamy tomato soup
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 tsp dried basil (or 2 tsp fresh)
dash of dried oregano
dash of red pepper flakes
salt to taste

Combine the soup, 1 cup of water, soy sauce and oil in a large soup pot. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Add the beans. When the liquid returns to a boil, reduce the heat and add the onion, garlic, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes. If the stew seems to thick, add more tomato soup or water. Place cover slightly askew over the pot and simmer 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

This was super easy to throw together and quite delicious. I served it with a salad made of watercress, beets and tomatoes drizzed with a little olive oil and lemon juice (decided I'm not a fan of watercress, so next time I'll just use mixed greens and I think it will be much tastier).

I'm experimenting with quinoa too with good results. I made my favorite dinner (angel hair with tomatoes and garlic) and substituted quinoa for the pasta. I made the sauce as usual, then added 1/2 cup of quinoa to the pan, covered it, and let it cook for 20 minutes. It was excellent!

So overall, it hasn't been too difficult to find tasty foods to eat in place of meat and made without dairy. My plan is to continue on with this even after the last day of the 21 day challenge, but not be so rigid that I can't enjoy a dinner out with friends or a little creamer in my coffee (or a cappucino here and there!).

Wine Wednesday: Going organic... again

2010-03-17T08:55:00.007-05:00

Friday night, Clean Fresh Hubby and I went to see a show in the city, one that was billed as BYOB (Bring Your Own Beverage). We had two bottles of red in our rack, so we packed them in a bag and were off. One was our old stand by (Layer Cake), the other was a new one I had picked up at Whole Foods, an organic, no sulfites added Cabernet.

Stellar Organics Cabernet Sauvignon

Compared to the other no sulfite wine I reviewed a few months ago (Our Daily Red), I quite preferred the Stellar Organics Cabernet. Very smooth, no obnoxious bite and it went down easy.

Since we also drank a bottle of regular, sulfite added wine beforehand, I can't speak to whether or not drinking the Stellar Organics would've prevented that foggy brain headache I usually wake up with. Guess I'll have to pick up another bottle and try drinking it on its own to see what happens. As it was, I did have that groggy feel in the middle of the night, likely caused by the amount of wine consumed that evening!

Anyway, if you're in the market for an organic wine with no added sulfites, I would recommend Stellar Organics. It cost about $11.99 for a bottle at Whole Foods.

Keen on quinoa

2010-03-12T08:33:00.003-06:00

I've seen quite a few recipes that use quinoa (pronouced "keen-wah"), so I decided to give it a try. Quinoa is very high in protein, which makes it a perfect addition to a veggie dish... this particular recipe from Whole Foods was not only a nice, balanced meal, but super easy to boot!

Zesty Quinoa with Broccoli and Cashews

Here is the recipe if you are intrigued enough to try it:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
Salt to taste
1 cup small broccoli florets
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup roasted cashew pieces
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Heat oil over medium heat in a medium pot. Add onions and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth, wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Stir in quinoa and salt. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Arrange broccoli on top of quinoa, cover and simmer for an additional 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and toss gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to plates and serve garnished with cashews and green onions.

Really, this was a very tasty dish. Quinoa seems to be something you could use in place of rice, so perhaps try substituting it here and there to up your protein.

In other news, Clean Fresh Hubby and I have a date tonight... dropping our daughter off at grandma's and heading to the city. We are going to eat dinner at an all-vegetarian restaurant, so I am excited to see what's on the menu. I'm even more excited that Clean Fresh Hubby has agreed to give it a whirl. He saw a picture of a "rib" sandwich on their website (made from seitan) and thought it actually looked good.

After dinner we're going to see a show that is BYOB, so I have a new bottle of wine to try this evening (Stellar Organics Cabernet) that I'll review this coming Wine Wednesday.

A weekend with good food and wine, doesn't get much better than that!

Wine Wednesday: Partying with old favorites

2010-03-10T08:30:00.001-06:00

This past Saturday, we celebrated our daughter's 4th birthday by hosting a big bash for family and friends - about 30 guests total. In years past, I've made a big dinner from scratch, but in the interest of my sanity, this year we decided to keep it simple and just order some pizzas (and because I couldn't just let it be, I did whip up some pasta, salad and appetizers... I have a problem, really, I do!).

As for beverages, we decided to keep that simple as well and go with our tried and true favorites: Layer Cake Shiraz and Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc.

I've featured both of these wines as part of previous Wine Wednesdays, so I won't repeat what I said originally. I will just add that both were BIG hits with our family and friends. My sister, who is more of a foofy drink drinker, helped me plow through the Kim Crawford, while a girlfriend, who typically prefers a pinot noir, was quite taken with the Layer Cake Shiraz. And one of Clean Fresh Hubby's guy friends forsake beer in favor of the shiraz. How often does that happen?

Anyway, the party was a success thanks to good food, good friends and good wine. And if you haven't tried either of these wines yet, please do. You won't be disappointed!

21 Day Vegan Kickstart - week 2

2010-03-08T09:44:00.009-06:00

So last week I started the 21 day vegan kickstart. For the most part, I did pretty good all week. A minor slip up over the weekend, but we were celebrating our daughter's 4th birthday (which is today), so I had a piece of cheese pizza and some cake and ice cream. But no meat for the past week, so I count that as an accomplishment. Especially since Clean Fresh Hubby fried up some bacon for breakfast yesterday. It was killing me not to just reach over and break off a little piece to savor. But I was strong.

I think being a week in helped. Two days into this challenge, I was already figuring how I would live after this was over. Meat, no problem, I can give that up forever. But cheese and dairy? I told Clean Fresh Hubby I may have to cave on those.

But now, one week later, I'm feeling more resolved about the whole thing. I just started reading Alicia Silverstone's "The Kind Diet" and it is giving me the inspiration and motivation I need to continue on with this journey.

And I've found a few recipes that are so darn tasty I don't even miss the meat or cheese. Like this one:

Angel Hair Pasta with Garlic, Tomatoes and Basil

1/2 box of Barilla Plus angel hair (or you could use whole wheat, but I like the Barilla Plus because it has the added protein and tastes more like "normal" pasta)
1 can organic diced tomatoes
6 cloves minced garlic (we like a lot of garlic in our house, so adjust as necessary!)
4t olive oil
1 bunch fresh basil, diced (or 1t of dried basil)
salt to taste

I boil up the pasta first and then set it aside while I prepare the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and once hot, add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the can of diced tomatoes, stir and salt to taste. If you are using dried basil, I add that at this point as well (if you are using fresh basil, add it at the end). Once the tomato mixture is heated, add the pasta to the pan, stir and heat through.

Normally I would serve this with grated parmesan (which is how Clean Fresh Hubby enjoyed it last night), but honestly, it tastes just as good without the cheese, so I didn't feel like I was missing out. I made this pasta for our daughter's birthday party over the weekend and it was a hit with the family as well.

So I'm starting week 2 with a strong resolve to see this through. It's hard to be perfect, so I will not berate myself for little slipups along the way. I figure it is the end result that is important and if it means I feel better and am healthier, than that is what really counts.

And did I mention I lost two pounds last week? Woo hoo! Just an added bonus!

A tale of two corns

2010-03-05T06:49:00.006-06:00

Laying in bed this morning with my daughter, I told her we had a busy day ahead of us. Her birthday party with the family is tomorrow, so I was telling her how we needed to get the house cleaned up, go to the grocery store, go get cake decorations and make a stop at Costco. I started pulling together a grocery list and asked her if there was anything else we needed. She said:

Daughter: I want popcorn. The kind in a red box.

(pause)

Daughter: With the guy on the front.

(pause)

Daughter, singing: Ya know, the popcorn guy.

Even at age four, brand loyalty appears to have kicked in. Obviously she has not been loving the organic microwave popcorn I've been buying as much as loves Mr. Redenbacher! I guess you can't win 'em all!

Tacos without meat and cheese?

2010-03-03T20:33:00.005-06:00

Yes, it can be done! And quite tastily too!

I found this recipe online quite awhile ago, but never had a reason to try it, since before this vegan challenge, I would load my taco with shredded chicken or whatever other meat was prepared.

So last night, I decided to give this recipe a try:

Lentil Taco "Meat"
3/4 cup of lentils (rinsed)
1/2 medium onion diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of taco seasoning
2 teaspoons of cumin
4 cups of water

Saute garlic and onion in a little olive oil. Add lentils and seasonings, stir. Add water simmer until lentils are tender (adding more water as needed) about 30-40 minutes. Serve in a tortilla with your favorite toppings. Serves 6+.

It smelled divine while simmering on the stove for the 40 minutes. Once cooked, I mashed it up a bit just to give it a more refried bean texture. Then I fried up some corn tortillas (I figured if I was going to eat a taco without cheese, then doggone it, I could enjoy a fried shell at least!). Sprinkled the shells with a little garlic salt, then loaded them up with the lentils, some lettuce, olives and salsa. All in all, not too bad! Even Clean Fresh Hubby ate them without complaint, saying the flavor was good. He's a tough cookie to pass vegan foods off too, so I took that as high praise coming from him!

So if you're looking for a way to do Mexican food a little healthier, give these a try!

21 Day Vegan Kickstart - Day 1

2010-03-01T09:20:00.006-06:00

Today is day 1 in the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart challenge sponsored by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. And because I love a challenge, I decided to give it a go.

So...

Good bye cheese. Good bye meat. Good bye coffee creamer (which I guess means good bye coffee since I'm not sure I can drink it without my beloved creamer). Good bye eggs. Good bye processed foods, white flour and white sugar.

Basically, good bye to all that is good and holy in my life.

Alright, I'm being a bit melodramatic, but that didn't stop me from gorging on this yesterday as sort of a last supper:

Lou Malnati's thin crust cheese pizza. Sigh.

This morning, I purged the refrigerator and pantry of temptations (bye 1/2 eaten Ghiradelli chocolate bar, bye Oreos, bye Hint of Lime tostitos). And then I broke out my juicer, which hasn't seen much action in the past, oh, six years or so.

Back when Clean Fresh Hubby and I were engaged (about 11 years ago), I was completely vegan. I made fresh carrot juice two times a day. Fruits, vegetables and grains made up the bulk of my diet. Then we got married and over time, I started introducing various foods back into my diet. I discovered a love of cheese I never knew existed. And from then on, all bets were off. And over the past six years, I have gained about 30 pounds as a result. Now no one would look at me and say I'm overweight, but more of what I'd call "skinny fat." And no matter how much exercise I do, I seem to plateau and am unable to lose the last 15 pounds I need to shed.

So here I am, attempting to get back on the vegan bandwagon, at least for the next three weeks. I can handle 21 days. And, combined with my current exercise regime, if I can start seeing some movement on the scale, then perhaps I'll extend it another 21 days. We'll see what happens.

If you're interested in learning more about the kickstart and want to join me on this crazy adventure, check out the Web site. I'm going to try to post daily on this challenge and will be sure to include any recipes, products and tips that help lessen the pain of a cheese-free existence!

L'amour for Flor

2010-02-25T07:08:00.002-06:00

I got an email from Flor today and instantly fell in love with their newest pattern:

Ooohh, paisley!

My brain is turning trying to figure out where I can incorporate that into our house. The master bathroom? A new runner for the front hall? That's about all I can come up with since we have used Flor carpet tiles in several rooms already...

In the kitchen:

In my daughter's bathroom:

And last year, we used Flor tiles to completely cover up the ugly tile floor in Clean Fresh Hubby's music studio:

(I am not accountable for the state of this room... I was just thankful to actually be able to SEE the floor in order to get a picture of it!)

What I love about the Flor product is how easy they are to maintain. Stains clean up super easy (given I have cream tiles in the kitchen by the sink and they still look decent, even after two years, is a big testament to their durability!). They are easy to vacuum. And in the case of the studio project, they are super easy to install. I covered that entire floor myself in about two hours.

Best of all, they are made from recycled materials and if you get tired of them or want to mix it up a bit, you can send the tiles back to Flor for recycling. Great design and eco-friendly to boot... it doesn't get much better than that!

If you want to drool over the gazillion patterns available, check out the Flor Web site.

Wine Wednesday: Layer Cake Shiraz

2010-02-24T08:44:00.001-06:00

I was a bad girl this weekend. Too much alcohol, too many bad-for-me foods, too many late nights.

It started Thursday night, when some girlfriends and I met up for a much-needed Girls Night Out. We hadn't gotten together in awhile, so there was a lot for us to catch up on. About three margaritas and a beer's worth of catching up. Probably didn't get to bed till midnight, only to be awakened by my daughter at 6 a.m. Cost for this evening: a raging headache and case of heartburn from too many margaritas.

Friday night hubby and I parked it on the couch, ordered Thai food and watched "Couples Retreat." I had very low expectations for this movie, so was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be decent. One particular scene actually had us both in tears it was so funny! Still recovering from my Thursday night, I konked out right after the movie.

Saturday night was dinner at our friends' house. I alone consumed a beer, almost an entire bottle of wine and two chocolate martinis. Dinner was a recipe out of the Paula Deen cookbook, so I don't even need to go into any other detail as the woman isn't known for her health food! Left their house around 11 p.m., drunk as a skunk. Cost for this evening: another splitting headache and an even worse case of heartburn thanks to the booze and rich foods.

Pretty worthless all day Sunday, as one might expect. Which pisses me off since I did it to myself. I'm getting too old to suffer a hangover, especially when I have a toddler that does not relent, even when mommy's head feels like it might explode.

Needless to say, I have been back on track this week. But I would remiss if I didn’t talk about one of the wines I enjoyed over the weekend. I mean heck, if it was good enough to down a bottle, it has to be good, right?

Layer Cake Shiraz

My apologies that I don’t have a personal picture – since we were at friend’s house, I felt a little weird whipping out the camera so I could have documentation for my blog. But let me just say, this wine was phenomenal! Very rich, very smooth, it went down (a little too) easy.

This particular wine is from Australia, so given how much I enjoyed it and how much I have been enjoying my New Zealand varietals, I think I might have a new favorite region for wine producers. This area is definitely on my radar now when I’m in the wine department shopping!

Cost was about $17.99 for a bottle and worth every penny. And with such a cute label, this would also be a great wine to bring to a party or give as a hostess gift.

Success!

2010-02-21T14:32:00.005-06:00

Many thanks to Veronica at Another Suburban Mom for sending me a different recipe to try in my quest for the perfect candied pecan. Today's nuts taste worlds better than the ones I made earlier this week!

They look better too. See:

Of course, I made a full batch. The picture above is my afternoon snack... yum! These are by no means healthy, but I figure if putting them on a salad helps me to enjoy greens that much more, than they are worth the few extra calories!

Here's the recipe I used:

1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1 pound pecan halves
1 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1.Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Grease one baking sheet.

2.In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

3.Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.

4.Bake at 250 degrees F for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.

I recommend letting them cool a bit before popping one in your mouth. Someone was a bit overexcited to try them and scalded the roof of her mouth. It was worth it though!

Enjoy!

Various ramblings on a Friday

2010-02-19T15:32:00.003-06:00

My daughter has a friend from school over today and the distraction has been heaven. I now understand why my friends are always so eager to invite my daughter over for play dates… it is amazing how much you get done when there isn’t a toddler pulling on your leg! I’ve gotten the entire house cleaned (bathrooms included) with absolutely no interruption, and now I actually have time to sit down at the computer and do a little work and web surfing. I told Clean Fresh Hubby to forget having a baby; I think we just need to adopt another four-year-old girl!

We are in dire of need of groceries, so pulling together lunch for the girls (one that I wouldn’t cringe about if the other little girl told her mom what she ate!) was tough. Thankfully there was a box of mac and cheese lurking in the back of the pantry. And for dessert, a couple of Thin Mint cookies that hubby hid in the freezer. My daughter of course wolfed these right down; the other girl didn’t like them, so I had to eat them for her. Darn! One lone applesauce in the fridge was a welcome substitute treat for her, so everyone is back upstairs playing happily.

Time now to make a grocery list and start thinking about my daughter’s fourth birthday party, which is fast approaching. I’m usually more on the ball about parties; for some reason this year, it has snuck up on me!

Her party is in two weeks and no invitations have gone out, no gifts bought, no planning done. We keep it to a family party, so at least I won’t be monkeying with goody bags, games and all that, but this year, the invite list has grown now that my family from Ohio will be making the trek over. That adds four people, plus we’ve invited some close friends as well, so I’m looking at dinner for 30 people. Yikes!

Usually I make all the food from scratch (last year was lasagna and homemade pizzas). But this year, I think I’m gonna have to phone it in and order pizzas or some other sort of takeout. I’m not sure my tiny kitchen (or me) can pull off a large-scale dinner party this year. Caving to takeout goes against the grain of me, but I’m woman enough to admit defeat!

Next weekend we will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary, then her party is the following weekend, which means this weekend is my time to get all the party planning logistics figured out and under way. Wish me luck!

Awww, nuts!

2010-02-18T09:58:00.001-06:00

I am totally addicted to these:

Love, love, love them on a salad, but I have found myself dipping into the bag for an afternoon snack as well. And at $3.99 a bag, they're a little pricey considering the amount you get, so I am on a mission to recreate their yumminess at home.

First off, I bought an 8-lb bag of pecan halves at Costco for about $7.50. Already loving the cost savings! Then a quick internet search trying to find a decent sounding recipe for candy-coated nuts.

Found a recipe that seemed simple enough, so I decided to give it a go.

Basically, all it involved was combining a cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of water, 1/4 teaspoon of milk and one teaspoon cinnamon in a sauce pan, bring to a boil, then remove from heat and add in one teaspoon vanilla extract and two cups of pecans.

I followed the directions and layed the finished product out on a sheet of wax paper to cool. I sprinkled a little kosher salt on one half just to experiment, since I do love me some salty and sweet...

Once cooled, I did the taste test. No good, dang it! The flavor was good, but the nuts were still chewy. Trader Joe's nuts (hee, hee!) are crispy. So I decided to throw them in the oven for a few minutes to see if I could toast them. Bad idea!

Now I have a big block of nuts, all glued together by the sugar. And while they are a little crispier, they are still not what I was hoping for.

So back to the drawing board on this one. If anyone has a tried and true recipe for candied nuts, I'd sure love to hear it. In the meantime, I will continue to pay my $3.99 for a bag of tasty nuts!

Wine Wednesday: Monogamy is bad

2010-02-17T09:13:00.006-06:00

Shopping at Target last week, I noticed this wine near the Valentine's display:

Okay, so I'm a sucker for a cute label and an obvious marketing ploy. And speaking of things that suck... wow, this wine.

I'm not dissing "monogamy" the concept, but let me tell you, Monogamy the wine? Awful. Seriously, stay away from Monogamy. It is bad.

I've got my eye out at the liquor store for a bottle of Polygamy. I'll keep you posted.

Super easy dinner

2010-02-15T19:47:00.004-06:00

Tonight was one of those nights where a salad just wasn't going to cut it for dinner. I needed something along the lines of, well, junk. After all, a girl can't exist on healthy food alone, right? Right?

Trader Joe's to the rescue. While shopping there last week, they did a demo of a quick and easy Enchilada Bake, so I pulled out the recipe card and decided to give it a whirl.

I believe it took me all of five minutes to throw this dinner together. Served up with some tortilla chips and it totally satisfied my need for some bad girl food. Ooey gooey and mexican. Doesn't get much better than that.

Basically, all you do is heat up a jar of enchilada sauce, mix in a can of white chicken chunks (break them up with a spoon), and a can of sliced olives. Heat this up and once bubbling, add in half a bag of tortilla chips. Break up the chips with your spoon and stir them into the enchilada sauce mix. Once everything is coated, top it with several handfuls of cheddar cheese, then cover the pan to allow the cheese to melt and the chips to soften (about three minutes).

Done.

I served it up with some tortilla chips on the side to give it some crunch. I think next time I might add in a can of Rotel tomatoes, but other than that, this was a super quick and easy dinner with ingredients I already had on hand. Gotta love that!

Diet? What diet?

2010-02-12T18:27:00.006-06:00

Clean Fresh Hubby took the day off of work today so that he could spend some quality time with our little peanut. After he made breakfast this morning (I could soooo get used to that!), they took off to visit his grandmother, then went shopping for Valentine's Day. She was appropriately spoiled with a trip to Disney Store, while I was appropriately spoiled with this:

Godiva.

Yes, the presentation is impressive, but what's inside the box is even better:

That little bag behind the box? Chocolate-covered strawberries. My absolute favorite. I would've taken a picture of them, but there was only one left. I was busy this afternoon (smile!).

All diets are off when it comes to chocolate.

Happy early Valentine's Day!

Not feeling the love

2010-02-11T10:10:00.008-06:00

I spent last night frantically assembling a slew of valentines for my daughter to bring to her class party today. My daughter cannot write her name yet, so I had to sign each one, insert the little tattoo into the ridiculously small slots on each card, and then seal them with the heart stickers provided.

And the whole time I was doing this, I wondered: when did Valentine’s Day become such a big deal for the four and under crowd?

* Here’s where I need to interject before continuing on with this post. I am participating in the “Thanks, Not Cranks” challenge (which you can read about on Another Suburban Mom’s blog). I’ve done fairly well, but will blow all progress with the rest of this post. You’ve been warned. Major crank fest will now continue…

In no particular order, here are my other beefs:

• While perusing the myriad of valentine card choices at Target, I noticed that they come in boxes of 16 or 32. I needed 20. And of course, my daughter chose a pattern that only came in a box of 16, which meant I had to buy two boxes. What a racket, Disney!

• My daughter was so excited with her “Wizards of Waverly Place” valentines, believing they were all for her. So trying to explain to her that “no, these are for your kids at school” just about sent her over the edge. Note to self: work on concepts of sharing, giving, etc.

• Walking into school today, her eyes grew huge, while my heart sank. What kid wouldn’t be excited to see a spread of cupcakes, cookies, candy and fruit punch? And what mom isn’t thinking about the price that will be paid for such an incredible sugar high? Can I pick her up after she’s crashed?

I’m sure she’ll have a blast at the party this afternoon. And I’m sure for the teachers, having a Valentine’s Day party helps break up the monotony of a regular school day. But other than all the sweets, my daughter could care less about the valentine cards, didn’t quite understand the concept of why we were doing this, and doesn’t want to give away “her” cards.

Perhaps age four is a little too young to introduce all the nuances of Valentine’s Day?

My last gripe and then I’m done, I promise.

I remember being in grade school and handing out valentines. Back in those days, we didn’t just sign our name on the “from” line and give one to every person in the class. Oh no. We gave valentines to the kids we wanted to give valentines to. So there was always that slight feeling of anticipation mixed with dread to see how many cards would end up in your box. With that aspect eliminated by giving one to everybody in the class, what is the point of handing the cards out in the first place?

So there are my cranks for the day. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for a holiday celebrating romance, and I plan to do it up right with Clean Fresh Hubby. Because I love him. And isn’t that the whole point behind this holiday?

I will now switch my “Cranks, Not Thanks” bracelet to the other wrist and begin again.

Wine Wednesday: Meet my friend, Kim

2010-02-10T09:30:00.002-06:00

Up until recently (this summer to be exact), I have been a strict red wine drinker. Since the only white I had ever tried was a chardonnay, I believed I did not like any white wine (I know, a terrible over generalization!).

Then last June, we went to a BBQ at a friend's house and I was introduced to my new love, Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc.

Oh my god.

This wine has the best grapefruit undertone, is so refreshing and goes down a little too smoothly. Seriously. I was hooked immediately and was happy to find it at my local Costco for a reasonable $12.99 per bottle (at the grocery store, this bad boy runs at $19.99).

Perhaps I would be better off if it was a little more pricey. Then I wouldn't go through it like it was water. And that is my problem. This stuff goes down so easily that I can plow through a bottle like it is no one's business. I've actually had to wean myself off of it (this wine was the reason why I established my New Year's resolution of no more drinking during the week!).

I'm better now... when at Costco, I limit myself to buying one bottle at a time (previously, I'd walk out with at least three). And I limit myself to two glasses in one sitting. I know, ridiculous, but try it. I guarantee you'll be hooked as well.

And then you'll want to join me in my 12-step Kim Crawford recovery program!

If we're being honest...

2010-02-08T08:15:00.002-06:00

This weekend, after a couple bottles of wine, Clean Fresh Hubby and I started talking about kids and the possibility of having another. Perhaps it was the alcohol, but we both admitted that if we were being 100% honest, the only driving factor to having another child would be because our daughter talks so frequently about wanting a baby brother or baby sister.

As a parent, you want to be able to give your child everything. And if we choose not to have another baby, there is a small part of me that will feel like a failure, that we could've given her everything, but chose not to.

It is something I have been struggling with and I was relieved last night to hear hubby talk about the same struggle.

If we have another baby, I know we'll get through. And I know I'd love that baby just as much as I love my daughter. But the thought of going through it all again, of putting my life back on hold for another two years, scares me.

Sigh. To be continued, I'm sure.

Me versus the playroom

2010-02-05T14:11:00.013-06:00

For the past several weeks, I have dedicated my Friday mornings to getting the house cleaned up. Even the bathrooms. Shocking, I know! But I've found (and most of you smart people probably already know this) that by cleaning every week, the house isn't as much a disaster as it is if I wait, oh say, a month.

But there is one room in our house that no matter how frequently I clean it, it almost immediately reverts back to its "natural" state.

Behold, my daughter's playroom:

Do not adjust your screen. That is indeed an image of a room in utter disarray. And you might not believe it, but I spared you the worst of it. The Barbie side of the room, which in its current state, might make you weep openly at your computer. No matter how many times I clean it - or ask her to - it promptly becomes an unorganized black hole in a matter of hours.

I don't even know how she can stand to be in there when it is in that state. I have to wear shoes when I walk in (which goes against our "no shoes in the house" policy) because you never know what you might step on. Many a foot has been impailed by princess jewelry, stray Barbie attire and miscellaneous Polly Pocket crap.

As you can see, my daughter is not lacking for things to play with. This room is the very reason I will be begging family NOT to buy a single toy for her birthday next month. Clothes, yes. Shoes, please. Barbie paraphenalia, not unless you want to see my head start rotating before the cake is even served.

Personally, I would prefer to play in a room that looks like this:

Organized, tidy, everything in its place and easy to find. Lovely...

As I type, I can hear the walls heaving and I sense that the room is revolting from its recent cleaning.

Sigh, it is a daily battle and one I fear I am losing.

National Wear Red Day

2010-02-04T14:11:00.000-06:00

Today is National Wear Red Day, something established by the American Heart Association to raise awareness about heart disease in women. I’ll admit that heart disease is something I’ve thought very little about in the past. But in January, my mom suffered a series of strokes.

Ironically, my mom doesn’t fit the “typical” profile of a woman with heart disease. She’s a vegetarian (been so for 20 years). Not overweight. Not a smoker. Exercises regularly. In our family, she’s the one who is always dispensing healthy lifestyle advice. Always up on the latest health information. So for her to be the one lying in a hospital bed, looking frail and vulnerable, was quite a shock for our family.

The cause of her strokes was related to undiagnosed high blood pressure. She is now on a host of medications and thankfully the prognosis for her recovery is good. Mobility is slowly returning and her attitude toward the process has not only been amazing, but inspiring. She has made such strides in just one month that her blood pressure medication dosage has already been reduced and her therapy sessions reduced from twice a week to just once a week.

If you have a family history of heart disease, I strongly urge you to establish a relationship with a doctor you feel comfortable with. My mom never went to the doctor because she felt she was leading a healthy lifestyle, so she didn't see the point. Of course, out of necessity, she now has a doctor that she is seeing regularly, but had she been going in for a yearly checkup prior to her strokes, her high blood pressure could've been detected early and the strokes possibly prevented.

Consider these statistics:

• Heart disease is the # 1 killer of American women.
• 1 in every 3 women dies of heart disease.
• Nearly two-thirds of American women who die suddenly of a heart attack had no prior symptoms.
• Americans can lower their risk of heart disease by as much as 82% just by leading a healthy lifestyle.
• 1 in 5 females in the U.S. have some form of heart disease.
• A woman dies from heart disease every 34 seconds.
• Heart disease claims more women’s lives than the next 8 causes of deaths combined . . . including breast cancer.

There is much we can do to take control of our health. The AHA lays it out in 7 simple steps:

1. Get active
2. Eat better
3. Lose weight
4. Control cholesterol
5. Manage blood pressure
6. Reduce blood sugar
7. Stop smoking

For some people, this list might seem intimidating, but even starting with one and working your way through over time is a start.

This is a very serious topic and one most women - especially those of us in our 30's who might feel we're invincible - should take note of. For more information on heart disease, the warning signs and steps you can take to reduce your risk, please visit the American Heart Association's Web site.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to wear red today!

Oxycontin, washed down with Jack D

2010-02-03T09:07:00.005-06:00

A girlfriend (and fellow mom) sent this to me last night and lord, did it crack me up! The timing was perfect since I had just had a crazy day at work, gotten home and the child was nagging, err, asking me for a zillion things all at once, the dog was whining to go out and a sink full of dishes was about to take over the kitchen. My head was literally on the verge of exploding, so it was the perfect time to be introduced to the "mother's cure."

Enjoy!

Independence

2010-02-02T12:07:00.003-06:00

Lately my daughter has taken it upon herself to get dressed in the morning, picking out every detail of what she will wear, right on down to the underwear. Which is fine by me as it does help to shave some time off our morning routine. No more holding up various dresses and asking “how about this?” to which I am usually greeted with a loud and resounding “nooooo.”

While most everything she owns pretty much goes together, there are times when her fashion choices are a bit, how shall I say? Unique.

Take this morning’s outfit for school:

• Kelly green T-shirt with sequined shamrock
• Silver and cream tutu skirt
• Brown tights with pink polka dots
• Princess socks over the brown tights
• Hot pink hoodie sweatshirt

I really should’ve taken a picture. I’m sure her teachers will be looking at her today wondering what the heck I was thinking dressing my daughter this way. I hope she proudly tells them that she picked out this ensemble herself!

At the office, I was mentioning this latest burst of independence to some women in the elevator and they both looked at me and said, “Well you don’t let her go out like that, do you?”

Um, yes? What’s the saying? “Pick your battles wisely?”

I am dealing with a very headstrong (almost) four year old. We’ve got the mother/daughter role down pretty pat. Daddy is the hero, mommy is the boss. And she and I butt heads. A lot. So why would I choose to fight her over something as simple as the clothes she picks out when I know we’ll have bigger fish to fry in the evening over more important things like eating dinner, going potty and brushing her teeth?

In my opinion, as long as she is dressed suitably for the weather (I did make her pick out tights this morning), why should I start arguing with her over whether or not everything matches? Doing so would take away the sense of accomplishment and pride she so visibly feels in “doing it myself” and I most certainly do not want to quell her growing independence and self-sufficiency.

Granted, I will most assuredly have an opinion on what she wears out the door when she is in high school!

Tis the season and other ramblings

2010-02-01T08:19:00.006-06:00

Last week, it was double ear infections for my daughter. Good times! Then this morning I awoke expecting to see an elephant sitting on my chest, because what else could be causing this horrible constriction? No elephant, just a lot of snot. If I could hock a really great loogie right now, I'd probably feel 100 times better. But I never mastered the art of loogie-hocking, so instead I choose to lay in the bed with my laptop, daughter and a cup of tea.

On a positive note, I did get a full nights sleep last night... no interruptions from the peanut, which is a huge relief. We're going through a "scared of the dark" phase, so for the past week or so, I get a 1 a.m. visit from a little robed munchkin who is talking about crazy shadows in her room. No matter how many times we demonstrate what a shadow is and how there is nothing to be afraid of, it doesn't seem to matter. I am going to have to blame Disney for this new-found fear... it appears to have developed shortly after we went to see "The Princess and The Frog." Damn shadow man in that movie! He sends shadows out to capture the frogs, so I'm sure that is where this originated.

In other news (since this is shaping up to be a rambling post), we had to go to a birthday party yesterday for the 3 year old daughter of relatively new friends. It was especially strange that they invited us, since it was a family party and we were the only non-family members there. Plus we've known these friends for less than a year, but have been invited to parties for both of their kids. But, the food was good and I enjoyed a couple glasses of wine, so I really can't complain.

My daughter, who has been pretty much potty-trained for the past year, decided to have an accident at this party (I believe she was enjoying the festivities too much to take the time to potty). She did make it to the bathroom, but the floodgates opened before she could get the undies and tights off. Thankfully the giant turd made it into the bowl in time. I was called on the scene for damage control, so after flushing above-mentioned turd down the drain, I proceeded to use handfuls of toilet paper to wipe up the pee puddle on the floor. I don't like cleaning the floor around my own toilet at home, so to be doing so at someone else's house is pure disgusting. Especially when a short and curly floated by. Ewwwwww.

Moving on...

A quick stop at grandma's since they live close to where the party was, and we were home for the night. Settled in and watched "The Grammy's." I haven't watched a music awards show in quite some time as I am very out of touch with what is current musically. But I did enjoy several performances last night, notably Lady Antebellum, Dave Matthews Band, and the Black-Eyed Peas. I'm not sure who decided to pair Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks together, but lord it was horrible. Taylor Swift's voice cannot compete with the grittiness of Steve Nicks (really, who could? Other than Lindsay Buckingham of course!). And I'm not a fan of rap, but I did find myself laughing out loud during the Eminem performance (I don't know the names of the other performers)... it was pretty much silence because the censors were having a field day muting out the obscenities. Didn't leave much for the at-home audience to listen to!

Well, time to check my work email, since I'm technically "working from home" today, then pull together breakfast for the peanut (yes, I blogged before feeding my child. I am a sick individual!). Wish me luck with the elephant.

Tisk, tisk Corner Bakery!

2010-01-29T12:30:00.002-06:00

After a visit to the doctor this morning, I promised my daughter we would have lunch out, so we stopped by our local Corner Bakery cafe. This is our favorite place to eat as we are both able to get something we enjoy (mac and cheese with fruit for her, a trio salad for me).

We grabbed a table and while waiting for our food to be delivered, I noticed the new tablecard hugging the salt/pepper stand: "100 Corner Combos Under 600 Calories."

Intrigued and more than a little excited, I started reading the list. (Here's the full list if you're interested.)

As I read, I was almost giddy with all the choices and in awe that I could enjoy so many yummy things for under 600 calories.

Then I got to the fine print at the bottom: "Side items not included in calorie count."

Huh??

So I went on their web site to see what the average calorie count was for the sides they suggested. Basically, you would have to add an extra 140 calories for a cup of chicken noodle soup, 320 calories for a cup of broccoli cheddar soup, 160 calories for a small side salad, and so on. That means these lunches realistically run between 750 - 950 calories.

For a woman trying to lose weight, the recommended calorie intake is between 1,200 - 1,500 calories a day. Ordering one of these special meals at Corner Bakery could cost almost half your calorie intake if you didn't read the fine print. Eek!

Eating out is hard when you're trying to make healthy choices and I've learned that educating yourself beforehand is critical. Even ordering a salad, which seems so healthy, can be a diet saboteur depending on the dressing!

Thankfully, most restaurants are publishing their nutritional information online these days, which makes it easy to reference and plan ahead. For restaurants I frequent regularly, I've printed out the nutritional info and keep it in my purse for quick reference. There are even iPhone apps that allow you to look up this information for restaurants in your area, which is super handy and helpful!

As for today's lunch, I enjoyed a bowl of Roasted Tomato Basil soup with spicy croutons for a mere 320 calories. And on a cold, blustery day like today, it was exactly what I needed!

Sustainability

2010-01-28T08:40:00.002-06:00

While I don't usually get a chance to watch Oprah (I believe Jack's Big Music Show conflicts with the scheduling!), I do like to scope out upcoming episodes so I can set the tivo to catch it. When I scrolled through the listings for this week, I was thrilled to see that yesterday's episode would focus on food, where we get, how it is farmed, and how we should be eating. Right up my alley!

When I sat down last night to watch it, I was even more tickled to see Michael Pollan, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and contributor to the brilliant documentary "Food Inc." was her featured guest. If you have not seen "Food Inc." I can't recommend it enough. That documentary, along with Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation," will definitely give you food for thought on what you should (and should not) be eating!

What I love about Michael Pollan is that he is so realistic in discussing food. He knows that Americans are not going to give up their processed and fast foods cold turkey. So he offers the simple, but genius, credo of "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Fruits, vegetables and whole grains should make up the bulk of one's diet. But he's not saying to give up meat and go vegan. Not at all.

Instead, he encourages us to buy grass-fed beef (meat from cows that have been allowed to graze on grass, their God-intended diet). Organic, free-range chickens (birds that have not been pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones to produce larger breasts). He even condones getting your junk food fix on every once in awhile - with the caveat to fix it yourself. That way you know what is going into it, and in the case of french fries, you know what a hassle they are to make!

It is all about sustainable eating. Sustaining not only your own personal health and wellness, but the health and wellness of the planet.

I am happy to see Oprah doing a show dedicated to this topic because she is definitely a powerhouse. Her involvement and endorsement of sustainable eating will likely be a boon for organic farmers and producers, who do not receive the subsidies from the government and who's livelihood depends on consumers like you and I making the conscious choice to buy organic. Our shopping habits can and do influence what is produced.

Thankfully, it is getting easier to buy organic. At our local grocery store, I've seen the organic selection expand from a few shelves to now a few aisles. And as I wrote a few weeks ago, buying organic was not as cost-prohibitive as I feared given I was not purchasing all the processed and packaged foods. Regardless, if good health means I need to spend a few extra dollars, I'll do it, because as they pointed out yesterday, would you rather pay yourself now or pay a doctor down the road? Um, me please!

There were so many interesting statistics and facts presented in this episode that I couldn't even begin to put them all in this post. But if you're interested, rent "Food Inc." or pick up some of Michael's books at the library. Quick reads and so insightful.

Here's a reading list that might be helpful:

By Michael Pollan
"Food Rules: An Eater's Manual"
"In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto"
"The Omnivore's Dilemma"

By Eric Schlosser
"Fast Food Nation"

By Frances Moore Lappe
"Diet for a Small Planet"

By Terry Walters
"Clean Food" (a great cookbook, though no meat recipes)

Wine Wednesday: Nashville state of mind

2010-01-27T08:01:00.001-06:00

Being raised a southern girl (Texas and Florida) these northern winters are probably going to be the death of me. I have thin skin, what can I say?

So when the weather started turning colder, I found myself getting depressed and anxious about what was heading our way. And so I started my campaign to convince Clean Fresh Hubby that we needed to move somewhere warmer. Like Mexico. Or Hawaii. Or Nashville.

We figured that Nashville was far enough south that we would still have seasons, albeit hopefully a much milder winter. And even if it did snow or ice, southern cities are typically ill-prepared for such weather, so things pretty much shut down. Fine by me. And given it was only an eight hour drive from Chicago, we figured our families couldn’t be too angry with us since technically we were just a car ride away. It also didn’t hurt that Nashville is “Music City” and Clean Fresh Hubby plays guitar and has his degree in music. I thought this might be a selling point when presenting the idea to him!

Since neither of us had actually ever been to Nashville, we decided to take a road trip. So last October, we dropped the child off at grandma’s house and hit the road bright and early on a Friday morning for our quick in-and-out visit to Tennessee.

It was an absolutely fantastic weekend.

Nashville is the perfect blend of big city and southern charm. It is urban but not overwhelming (as Chicago can be). Bars open early and you could hear live music over lunch. East Nashville (our targeted area) is hip and trendy, but still has a neighborhood feel. Everyone we met was warm and welcoming. And the southern cooking, lord, I could write an entire post just on what we ate that weekend. In short, we loved it.

Over cocktails at The Patterson House (an amazing, amazing bar), we agreed that we needed to figure out how to make this move work. A job for Clean Fresh Hubby was of course the main concern. So we trudged back to Chicago, our heads filled with thoughts of the south.

I was fired up and couldn’t scan the real estate ads quickly enough. Or the job boards looking for something that might work for Clean Fresh Hubby. I was ready to plant a “For Sale” sign in front of our house come spring. Hubby, well he was a little slower about it all, a bit more cautious (which is why we balance each other out so well!).

Then, right after the holidays, my mom had a series of strokes. Suddenly, the five minute drive to the hospital seemed too long and I was thankful not to be an eight hour car ride away. I instantly saw my dreams of moving south dashed by the need to stay close to family.

Thankfully my mom is doing better now and life is slowly returning to normal. I still dream about Nashville, though wonder if we will ever really get there. Clean Fresh Hubby says not to rule it out just yet. So I guess we’ll just wait and see, huh?

In the meantime, I stumbled across this wine at the grocery store and it made me think of our fun-filled afternoon on Music Row, when we visited the Hatch Show Print shop.

I kick myself for not wanting to wait in the long line to purchase a print, so for now, I will just have to enjoy this little bit of Nashville (the label… the wine is from California, not Tennessee!).

At $10.99, I figure this is a wine I can enjoy anytime I’m hankering for a little Nashville. And how cool is this label? I love the look of the letterpress and the cowboy graphic speaks to the Texan in me. Of course, cool looks aside, the wine itself is pretty decent, good enough that I’d recommend it, even gift it to a friend.

If you can’t get to the Hatch Show Print shop, pick up a bottle of The Show and drink in the fun artwork and a nice glass of vino!

Going bananas for smoothies

2010-01-26T09:30:00.001-06:00

So we're just about one month in to our new "healthy eating" regime, and I thought I'd share with you one of the secret weapons that is helping us get our daily dose of fruits: smoothies.

What I love about smoothies - aside from how simple they are to make - is that I can whip one up in the morning and my daughter can sip it on her way to school. And she loves to help make them, so it is a fun thing for us to do together. They are also great to make for a mid-afternoon snack because you can drink it and not feel too full to work out.

We're making so many smoothies at our house that my little Magic Bullet is practically smoking! I love that gadget - not only does it keep me from having to pull out the big, clunky blender (which is a nuisance to clean), it whips up a smoothie in seconds flat and plows through frozen fruit like nobody's business.

Here's our favorite so far:

(Ingredient quantities are eyeballed based on the Magic Bullet canister - you may have to adjust based on your blender)

Berry Banana Smoothie
1/2 C frozen berries (we alternate between strawberries and mixed berries)
1/2 frozen banana, cut into chunks (I break the bananas in half before freezing, which makes it easier to portion out)
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 T honey
1 C orange juice (again, this is an approximate measurement; I typically add enough orange juice to cover everything, then add more if it seems like it is too thick)

Put all the ingredients into the blender, process, and enjoy the fact that you’re getting three servings of fruit in something so tasty!

I was talking smoothies with my mom this morning and she gave me the following recipe, claiming it was fantastic. I’m a little nervous to try it given the green ingredients, but she swears it tastes like a citrus smoothie, not some weird vegetable muck. Maybe someone in cyberworld is brave enough to give this a go… if so, shoot me a note and let me know what you think!

Green Smoothie
1 frozen banana, cut in chunks
1/2 C frozen fruit (mango, strawberries, whatever you prefer)
Handful of spinach or lettuce, whatever you have on hand
1 celery stalk, diced
1/3 cucumber, sliced
1/3 C orange juice
1-2 T honey
1 T lemon juice
1 C water

Put all the ingredients into the blender and process. Allegedly this makes enough to fill a quart-sized canning jar, which my mom says she divides up for three servings during the day.

I may try making this one with a few modifications – leave out the celery (just not a fan) and up the amount of frozen fruit to further camouflage the green stuff. I’ll keep you posted, but in the meantime, if anyone has any good smoothie recipes to share, please let me know!

My trip to Nirvana

2010-01-25T08:34:00.013-06:00

Yesterday, my sister, niece, daughter and I decided to make a girl's day of it and head north to Woodfield Mall. If you've never heard of Woodfield, it is a ridiculously large mall located in Schaumburg and every store you could possibly imagine has an outpost here. It is also a total tourist destination, so we locals tend to avoid it like the plague.

Typically I would only make the trek to Woodfield if I was under a situation of extreme duress. Such as swimsuit shopping (seriously, if you can't find a swimsuit at Woodfield, then it doesn't exist!). What dragged me there in the dead of winter? Nirvana:

I discovered Kiehl's products right after Christmas, during a shopping date with a girlfriend at Oakbrook Mall (another mecca of shopping, but much closer to home). We spent the afternoon at Nordstrom's hopping between beauty counters, testing products, getting our makeup done, and snagging as many samples as we could. Our last stop was the Kiehl's counter, where I brought home samples of their Ultra Facial line of products.

According to the packaging, the Ultra Facial Cream was recently used by explorers during an artic expedition of Greenland's ice peaks, so I figure if it worked for them, it should work in a Chicago winter. And low and behold, it has! Bye bye dry skin... this stuff is a miracle in a bottle! Combined with the gel cleanser, toner and the avocado eye cream, I feel like my skin has never looked better. Sadly (because I love nothing more than a nice smelling facial product), everything in this line is fragrance free, but on the flipside, I'm wondering if part of my redness issue was caused by the perfumes. Maybe?

If you have the luxury of a Kiehl's store near you, I highly recommend a visit. Their staff is so helpful and they are happy to give you samples of just about everything in the store. I walked out yesterday with six different samples for Clean Fresh Hubby to try (shaving cream, toner and a moisturizer) as well as samples for me of their various hair products. My sister purchased several products for oily skin (we're opposite in so many ways!), and called this morning to report extreme happiness with her new skincare regime.

You can also shop online at Kiehls.com, which is what I was doing until I discovered they had a location at Woodfield (there is also a shop downtown in Lincoln Park, but I hardly ever make the trek to the big city). You also get free samples with your online order, so if you're a product junkie like me who gets excited about trying new things, rejoice!

And, if I haven't convinced you to check out Kiehl's yet, I'll close by saying everything is made with all natural ingredients and the packaging is recyclable. Great skin and eco-friendly to boot... how great is that?

Seriously, how old am I?

2010-01-23T10:26:00.004-06:00

I just finished reading Jillian Michael’s latest book “Master Your Metabolism” and in it, she talks about a lot about hormones and their effect not only on the body, but also on weight loss and their link to many of health problems people have. It was a quick read and seemed to make a lot of sense to me.

When I read the chapter on estrogen and saw the list of issues a person can experience if they have too much or too little estrogen, I saw myself all over the list. I have been on The Pill for the past 16 years – one year off for the conception and birth of my daughter, but other than that, I pop that little orange pill every morning like a good girl.

At the tender age of 33, I had to go in for a mammogram and ultrasound when I found a lump in my breast. Both tests confirmed there was nothing there other than the normal little “cyst-lettes” that most women have, so we deemed it was hormonal since cancerous tumors aren’t something that come and go (which is what my lump was doing). Add to this a decreasing libido and a host of other complaints, and I have decided it is time to toss the pill pack in the trash and go about birth control the old-fashioned way: condoms.

So last night, on my way home from my work outing, I stopped at Target to pick up a few things. I wandered by the pharmacy department and glancing down the aisles, I saw the mammoth display of condoms.

And here is where I revert back to a blushing high school girl.

I had no idea that there were so many options when it came to condoms! I thought I’d just grab a box and throw it in my cart (hidden of course, under my other purchases). No such luck.

Being the immature 34-year-old I am, I decided to hide my interest in contraception by picking up a blood pressure monitor from the shelf next to the condom display. As I pretended to read the monitor box, I carefully studied the multitude of boxes available. I’ve never bought a box of condoms. And now, given the feelings I was having, I can only imagine the anxiety a high school boy must have when contemplating protection.

It was at this time that someone else decided to invade my aisle. Hello? Can’t you tell I’m reading about blood pressure monitors here and might need some privacy? I continued to try to read the condom boxes but was at a loss as to which box to pick. Then I saw the words “contains spermicide” and ding, ding, ding, we had a winner. I figured I’d take all the help I could get since I’m not quite ready to welcome child number two any time soon.

I quickly grabbed the box, shoved it under the princess nightgown I was buying for my daughter and scurried out of the aisle, my face three shades of red.

Seriously, what is it about buying condoms that brings out that embarrassment? I have a kid for Christ’s sake, so obviously I’ve had sex before! And what the heck is the difference between all those boxes? The majority were all Trojans, so I decided to check out their web site to educate myself before I have to make the trip back for more. 48 different options. Seriously, 48! And that is just ONE brand. Ecstasy, Her Pleasure, Ultra-Thin, Magnum… apparently Clean Fresh Hubby and I will be doing a bit of research on this topic.

If anyone has any recommendations, comment or shoot me an email. I’ll gladly take them! Especially if it cuts my time in the blood pressure monitor aisle in half! (And, if you need any recommendations on monitors, I might be able to make one!)

A pat on the back

2010-01-22T18:30:00.001-06:00

I work part-time, an arrangement established after the birth of my daughter, and I go into the office twice a week. This afternoon, my boss took our department out for drinks and appetizers as a sort of "thank you for your hard work in 2009, let's keep it going in 2010," so I gladly made the commute in on my day off.

I realized today I have a love/hate relationship with work. Even though I work part-time, I have full-time job responsibilities. Add to this the full-time responsibilities of being a mom and wife, and sometimes I just don't know if I can hack it all. There are many days I want to say "screw it" and just stay home. But today I discovered the one thing that work gives me that I often miss at home: a pat on the back.

Any mom out there will agree that the job is often thankless. You know what you're doing is making a difference, you know it is important, you feel a sense of pride in what you're doing (raising a human being for heaven's sake!), but there aren't awards for it. There aren't "thank you for your hard work in 2009, let's keep it going in 2010" drink outings. (Though maybe when my daughter is older, she'll take me out for a cocktail to say "thanks!")

Even though work can drive me a crazy, what it is good for is a pat on the back. It is a great feeling to have people acknowledge what you're doing and thank you for all your efforts.

Now excuse me, I have to get back to my real boss, who is demanding chocolate milk and who I will have to remind to say "thank you."

A case of the Mondays... on Thursday

2010-01-21T14:01:00.003-06:00

Work today is just that: work. My mind is not engaged, which is really a problem since I have back to back meetings all afternoon. And I actually just dozed off during a webinar. (This I will blame on the child since she has been visiting our room at 2 a.m. for the past several nights.)

I have a sweet gig, I realize that and do appreciate it. I work part time – one day at home, two days in the office – and I get to do “fun” projects like plan our corporate volunteer events, so I really have nothing to complain about. However, some days just seem to go smoother than others.

In addition to falling asleep over the phone, I ran into our corporate CEO in the cafeteria lunch line today. Always good for some awkward conversation. I started thinking how weird it must be to be the head of a large company and come downstairs to the cafeteria and have to mingle with the masses. I wonder if he would prefer to just grab his lunch and not have to talk to the sleepy volunteer coordinator who rambled on about miscellaneous stuff for a few minutes (much like this post, I’m realizing!). At least I gave him some distance down the hall so we didn’t have to ride up in the elevator together…

It is also review time at our office. Time to start working on goals for 2010, which made me realize I had no recollection of what my 2009 goals were. Whatever I wrote last year was probably preempted by another project, another request, another distraction. I know I accomplished things, but just not sure if they are the things I set out to accomplish! Isn’t that always the way of it?

Guess I’d better get these gripes off my chest now before my “Thanks, Not Cranks” bracelet arrives (read more on this interesting challenge at Another Suburban Mom). I fear it’ll be pretty impossible for me not to bitch about the weather (today is cold, rainy and icy), so I’m anticipating moving that bracelet between wrists quite a bit. This challenge would’ve been far easier for me in the spring!

In the meantime, must get ready for conference call number two of the day. I’ve had lunch and am feeling full, so I might have to resort to pinching myself to keep from nodding off again!

Wine Wednesday: an oldie and a newbie

2010-01-20T08:25:00.002-06:00

I was tickled when the highly entertaining Hair Bows and Guitar Picks invited me to do a co-review for this week’s Wine Wednesday. As someone who is new to this whole blogging thing, I’ve not only enjoyed reading her blog, but also appreciated her taking the time to read and comment on some of my posts.

We’re doing a joint review of Hess Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that Clean Fresh Hubby and I have enjoyed for several years now. Having spent most of the summer and fall deep in the throws of a love affair with Kim Crawford’s Sauvignon Blanc (which I will get around to reviewing), it was nice to pop the cork on an old favorite.

Hess Cabernet Sauvignon

I stumbled across Hess wines inadvertently, when a girlfriend brought a bottle of Hess Sauvignon Blanc to a dinner party. I found that wine to be fantastic, so I went in search of it at our local liquor store. Finding the Sauvignon Blanc proved impossible (not sure why no one carries this), but I did come across the Cabernet and am just as happy with it. This is a solid Cab, smooth, without a harsh after bite. It goes great with a nice steak, but pairs just as well with pizza!

Hess runs about $16 at our local grocery and liquor stores, though our grocery store will run it on sale occasionally for $14.

As for the newbie, I have been on the prowl for an organic red that contains no added sulfites (sulfites are additives used in wine to extend shelf life and fight bacteria growth and can trigger asthma/allergic reactions in some people). I had no idea how hard it would be to find this! Organic wines are slowly appearing on the shelves at our local grocery and liquor stores, but I’ve had trouble finding ones without sulfites.

So, I drove to the mecca of organic foods – Whole Foods. They have a pretty extensive wine department, so I thought surely I’d find a selection of organic/no sulfites. I found ONE bottle: Our Daily Red.

Our Daily Red

At first sip, I wasn’t wildly impressed. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but given the challenge of find this and all the hype I’ve been reading about organic/no sulfite wine, I had it built up pretty high in my head. The first sip was a bit harsh, but I will say that the rest of the glass (and second glass) seemed to go down much easier.

Where I did notice a difference was overnight. Usually, 2-3 glasses of wine cause me to wake up in the middle of the night with a groggy, slightly stuffy feeling. I will say that I did not have this feeling with the Our Daily Red.

I would buy this wine again since it is the only organic/no-sulfite wine I’ve found (and at $10, the price is right), but I can’t say the difference between a no sulfite and a sulfite added wine was great enough for me to stop drinking every other wine I enjoy!

The room IKEA built...

2010-01-19T18:13:00.002-06:00

That’s what Clean Fresh Hubby calls it, but I call it our wonderful new family room!

I wish I had some better “before” pictures to share, but the room was so hideous, I couldn’t bear to waste film on it! So, I have scanned in the picture from the real estate brochure we received when we came to look at the house 3.5 years ago.

Yes, it has a lodge feel to it. Yes, those are plywood beams running along the ceiling and down the walls. Yes, that is some pretty ugly paneling. And yes, that wallpaper is from the 1970s. (I’m actually surprised we could look past all this and still buy the house!)

Anyway, for the past 3.5 years, this room has been pretty useless. We live in a tri-level home and there is a large staircase leading from our living room down to this family room, so we were never quite sure what to do with it. Do we treat it like an extension of the living room? Make it its own space?

We didn’t know what to do, so basically, this room served as a holding ground for an extra couch, a piano and a china cabinet. We did add the French door to close this room off from the exercise room and office in the back, as well as removed the wood beams, wallpaper (hideous project, much cursing) and replaced the paneling with more updated wainscoting, but that was about it for the past few years.

Then this spring, I got a steal on a chocolate brown sectional sofa at a department store’s furniture outlet. I mean STEAL. So we had this big sofa delivered and it sat down there, unused for another few months until we could figure out what the heck the purpose of this room was going to be.

With a big comfy sectional, it just screamed out to be our new TV room. But I was also feeling that I needed to have my own work space… Clean Fresh Hubby has an office in the back of the house for all his work and music stuff, while my laptop and I migrate around the house. So we added “mommy desk area” to the list of priorities for the room.

I spent time sketching out layouts for the room and kept hitting stumbling blocks, the piano being the biggest. With the strange ledges we have along the wall due to the split level design, there was only one wall that it would fit on, and that was the wall where we wanted to put the soon-to-be purchased big TV. So we moved the piano to the exercise room, which I’m beginning to refer to as the “room for things we don’t use that much!” With that behemoth out of the way, it was easier to visualize the layout.

Since the walls were relatively unobstructed with the piano gone, I painted the room for the third time since we’ve lived there, but this time I got it right. I chose Sherwin Williams Status Bronze, which at first I worried would be too dark for a basement family room, but with the crisp white wainscoting, it worked perfectly. And I felt that white furniture would pop against the color.

Enter the IKEA catalog.

Seriously, I love this store. We are fortunate to have two locations within 30 minutes of our house so many a day was spent wandering the displays, trying to figure out what would work best for our room and our budget. (And their cafeteria serves the best Swedish meatballs with Lingonberry sauce, which was a total bonus!)

With catalog and sketches in hand, I made three trips to the store to purchase a media stand (Lack $49.99), coffee table (Expedit $69.99), book shelf (Expedit $69.99), desk extension (Expedit, $50), and two single book shelves (Expedit $59.99/ea).

I am usually wary of put-it-together-yourself furniture, but I have to say, this was easy-peasy. Most definitely required two people, but the directions were clear, all the holes were where they were supposed to be, and we had everything assembled and in place within two hours. Not bad!

The rug I got on clearance at Target for $35 and it really helped pull the whole room together. I’m still fussing with the bookshelves by the TV, trying to figure out the best arrangement, but it will get there.

I absolutely love my desk area… my laptop now has a permanent home, I can keep all my decorating/cooking/fitness magazines close at hand, as well as all my various fitness/health books, and it is totally just MY space. And how fun is my little yellow office chair? (Another IKEA steal at $24!)

In the meantime, it has become our favorite room in the house, a totally comfy, cozy space to snuggle up and watch TV during this miserably cold winter!

Deals to be had

2010-01-19T09:23:00.001-06:00

Last week I talked about my new love of Method cleaning products. Since then, I've come across some deals that I thought I'd share in case you too are an addict:

1. Whole Foods - their current in-store flyer (Jan/Feb) contains a $1 off coupon. The nice thing about this is you can grab a handful of flyers on your way out and then use a coupon every time you shop during January and February.

2. Target - this week's circular indicated that all Method products are 20% off, so I will be heading there to stock up. (Really this deal is the best of both worlds, since it combines my Target addiction with my Method addiction!)

3. Lowes - their bi-monthly magazine "Creative Ideas" includes a 20% off coupon for Method products. You can subscribe to the print edition of the magazine online or pick up a copy in-store.

Lastly, I have heard that Bed Bath and Beyond also sells Method products. While I haven't been in there lately to know for sure, the next time one of their 20% off coupons lands in my mailbox, you can bet I'll be there investigating.

Happy shopping (and cleaning)!

Peas don't tell!

2010-01-18T08:50:00.008-06:00

So I have a secret, one that I've only confessed to my sister, who to my relief, admitted she has done the same thing. And I only bring it up now because I feel I've had a break through and it feels great.

But first...

Yesterday I sat down and made out menus for the coming week, then I went grocery shopping, armed with a list that was 90% produce, 5% frozen vegetables and 5% miscellaneous (bread, milk, etc.).

I was in and out of the grocery store in record time, despite the madhouse environment, which I attribute to the fact that the bulk of my shopping was done in the produce department and along the perimeter of the store. I stuck with my intention to buy as many organic products as I could, even when the price sometimes caused me to draw in a quick breath*.

When I got home, I found that our small produce drawer in the fridge could hardly hold all the goodies I had purchased. This is a problem I have NEVER encountered, which brings me back to my secret.

Over the years, I often found myself standing in the grocery check out line, looking at everything on the conveyor belt and many times would notice that I must've "missed" the produce department. Actually, I didn't miss it, I just blew straight past it. Unless I needed onions or garlic, then I'd make a quick pit stop.

I started to feel slightly embarrassed that there was not a single bit of produce in my basket, so I would swing through produce and pick up a bag of lettuce, or a bag of snap peas, or a bag of baby carrots, just so I had a well-rounded assortment on the conveyor belt. And week after week, these items would likely find themselves in the garbage can, rotten from their time spent in the unopened produce drawer.

It is embarrassing to admit that because I didn't want to look like a totally unhealthy eater, I would stage some produce in my basket so the teenage cashier wouldn't think bad of me.

I wondered if anyone else was this pathetic, which is why I confessed my secret to my sister, who admitted that she too had done this. Ironic that we both do this, given the fact that we were raised by a vegetarian mother and you would think veggies would be a staple in our diets as a result! Maybe we're acting out against our upbringing, but that is a topic for another day (and maybe a psychiatrist!).

Anyway, last night for dinner I made us a big salad, a bowl of vegetable stew and some multi-grain french bread. Delicious, and very filling. And, having worked out for a solid hour yesterday, I went to bed feeling satisfied that I've overcome a hurdle and am heading in the right direction.

* A note about the price of organics: while I did experience some sticker shock on a few items, I maintained my decision to purchase as many organic foods as I could. I was pleasantly surprised at checkout to learn that I actually spent LESS than I normally do and I had all the fixin's for five nights of dinner, breakfasts and lunch. I attribute this to the fact that I avoided the middle aisles of the grocery store and therefore was not sucked into a) junk and b) sale items I didn't need.

Making margaritas

2010-01-15T08:01:00.001-06:00

There is a little Mexican restaurant near our house that serves the absolute best margaritas, but since they cost $10 a pop, I’ve been on a mission to recreate their fabulousness at home (and for a fraction of the cost!).

The fact I’m even doing this is funny because I’m not usually a margarita fan – since most places tend to go heavy on the sour mix, light on the tequila, I tend to steer clear in favor of a Corona. However, this restaurant used fresh fruit “muddled” in their margaritas (they even have a cucumber margarita, how crazy is that?) and higher quality ingredients, which definitely makes the difference.

After some trial and error (hiccup!) and experimentation with different fruits, I believe I’ve struck upon a fabulous margarita recipe. So bust out your sombrero, mix up the guacamole and come south of the border with this, a blood orange margarita:

Blood Orange Margarita (one serving)

Take one blood orange and cut it in half (you will use one half per margarita). I then quarter the half to make it easier to squeeze.

Squeeze the orange quarters into a martini shaker, along with 3 lime wedges.

Add to this:

¾ oz. triple sec
¾ oz. lime juice
1 ½ oz. silver tequila (I used Sauza Blanca)
1 ½ oz. sweet/sour mix

Shake well. Serve over ice and enjoy!

I have also modified this recipe using strawberries instead of the blood oranges. All the other ingredients/steps remain the same, just substitute about ½ cup of frozen strawberries (I nuke them for a few seconds until they are soft) and squeeze them between your fingers into the martini shaker. Messy, but definitely worth it!

Cheers and happy Friday!

A year of living well

2010-01-14T10:02:00.002-06:00

I saw this on our cafeteria’s intranet site this morning and thought it laid out some good guidelines to follow during the year. Sometimes breaking these healthy habits down into "chunks" makes it easier to adopt and incorporate into daily life. At least it does for me!

JANUARY - Resolve to Reach a Healthier Weight in the New Year

FEBRUARY - Discover Heart Healthy Fats during American Heart Month

MARCH - Snack Smart during National Nutrition Month

APRIL - Seek the Benefits of Whole Grains

MAY - Be good to your bones in honor of Osteoporosis Education Month

JUNE - Be Wise, Exercise

JULY - Healthy hydration for hot steamy days of summer

AUGUST - Healthy eating on the run

SEPTEMBER - Enjoy More Fruits & Veggies every day

OCTOBER- Make the Most of Super Foods

NOVEMBER- Rise and Revive with Breakfast

DECEMBER- Aim to Maintain Throughout the Holidays

January is a gimme - "Resolve to reach a healthy weight in the New Year." Duh. Who doesn't have that on their list of New Year's resolutions? This was also my resolution last year, when I was still trying to lose the last of my baby weight (albeit three years after baby, so not sure if it still qualifies as baby weight!).

Anyway, last January I joined Weight Watchers and within three months, I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. Which was great, but even before I had my daughter, I felt I needed to lose about 10 pounds. Add to this the recent holidays, where three pounds crept back on, and I'm starting out 2010 with the goal of losing 13 pounds. Doing so will put me well within the weight range for my age and height, not to mention make me feel that much better about putting on a swimsuit during our trip to Mexico this coming June!

Swimsuit or not, I established my 2010 New Year's resolutions with the intent of living a healthier lifestyle and by doing so, I expect the weight will take care of itself. My goal for the year is not to stress about the scale, but to instead focus my energy on positive changes I can make that will keep me healthier and happier in the long run.

As for the list above, I’ll plan to post something the first of every month pertaining to the theme – whether it is information I’ve read in a book, found online, seen on Oprah, or heard around the water cooler, I figure it is all food for thought, right?

Breakfast in bed

2010-01-14T09:42:00.003-06:00

I have tried repeatedly to declare our bedroom a toy-free zone. Our daughter has a playroom and a bedroom, both overrun with toys, so I figured this was a reasonable request. For the most part, she is good about observing this rule, but every once in awhile, I find evidence that she’s been playing in mommy and daddy’s room.

Here's a close-up of the breakfast in bed she left for us:

* Sorry for the grainy quality of these pictures. I took it with my iphone last night because I was too lazy to run downstairs for the real camera.

Polar prison

2010-01-13T17:38:00.008-06:00

Have I mentioned how much I hate winter? I am a bit more tolerant during the holidays, the whole white Christmas thing and all, but by January, I'm done. Spring please!

So as I stare out my kitchen window at this polar prison we are now stuck in, I'm longing for all the joys of summer:

* Runs along the river
* Bike rides that end at the ice cream shop
* Barbeque and cold beers
* Sun-kissed skin instead of wind-burned
* Shorts and tank tops instead of heavy coats, scarfs and gloves
* Walks to the park
* Dinner on the patio
* Naps in the sun
* Afternoons at the pool

For now I'll have to settle for snuggling under a blanket with my peanut. Which is about the only positive thing I have to say about winter!

Cleaning green

2010-01-12T07:28:00.001-06:00

I’ve never been a big fan of housekeeping. Sure I do what needs to be done, but on the scale of things I have to do and things I want to do, it ranks pretty low. I do enough to keep up appearances, saving the “big” cleaning for special events when we will have people over (birthdays, holidays, dinner parties, etc.). I've told Clean Fresh Hubby that we need to have at least one party per month just to get the house clean (and I mean every room, clean at the same time!).

Until now.

I am a full-pledged addict. My vice: Method cleaning products.

It all started in my quest to stop using harmful chemicals. Plus, I have an almost four year old who constantly asks if she can “help” me clean. Not anxious to give her a rag loaded with cleaning products whose bottles have scary warning labels and ingredients I can’t even pronounce, I decided to start investigating all natural cleaners.

I’ve always noticed the Method display at Target; the bottles are unique, the product names catchy, but other than that, I never really thought much more about them. Until the other day, when I picked up some of their bathroom cleaners:

And then I cleaned all the toilets in our house. The smell of the eucalpytus mint cleaner was heavenly, and seriously made me consider cleaning the toilet after every use. And the after shower spray (scent is ylang ylang) is way better than the humid, musty shower smell we had grown accustomed to.

So I went back to Target and picked up a few additional cleaners for the bathroom since I loved the smell so much:

Then I happened to be shopping at Whole Foods and found the Method display there, so I picked up some kitchen cleaner, dish soap, hand soap and glass cleaner:

Of course, I have to do laundry, clean the wood floors and dust the furniture, so back to Target I tromped, adding these to my collection:

And, since I had all these cool new cleaning products, I felt I needed a caddy to keep them all nice and shiny:

So yes, I am now officially addicted to Method cleaning products. I love that I can clean the bathroom and not feel my lungs burning at the same time. I love that my daughter can take a dust rag coated in the almond cleaner and dust to her little heart’s content. And I love that I have a newfound zest for keeping the house clean. But most importantly, I love that using these products means my family is not being exposed to harmful chemicals and in some small way, we are doing our part for the environment.

* To clarify for anyone who might think I'm crazy to go out and buy all new cleaning products: we were out of laundry soap, toilet bowl cleaner, shower spray, tile cleaner and floor cleaner. I did end up replacing a relatively brand new bottle of Pledge, Soft Scrub with Bleach, and a half-used bottle of Windex. I am still using the mega-sized canister of Clorox wipes that I got at Costco...

Waiting is the hardest part

2010-01-11T13:53:00.006-06:00

While looking out at this:

I found myself dreaming about this:

Clean Fresh Hubby and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary next month and to celebrate, we're planning a trip to Mexico in June. Sigh... I don't want to wish away time, but I could so be done with winter.

New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-11T10:25:00.001-06:00

Like most everyone in America, I came up with a list of New Year's resolutions.

1. Stop biting my nails. I do this when I'm stressed, and December was a particularly stressful month for me, which meant my nails were down to the nubs. Even though January has started out on a stressful note (my mom had a stroke), I am pleased to report the nails are starting to grow out and actually don't look half bad.

2. Stop leaving dirty dishes in the sink overnight. So far so good with this one and it is so nice to come downstairs to a clean kitchen in the morning.

3. Limit alcohol intake to weekends only. I found myself drinking a little too much vino during the week (one glass often led to two). While this isn't a huge deal, when you are trying to lose that last 10 lbs (and who isn't?), I figured reducing my alcohol intake during the week might help me win this battle.

4. Eat vegan at least one day per week. Health and environmental benefits with this one and really not that hard.

5. Track my eating. Harkening back to my Weight Watchers days, I do find I am much better about my eating if I actually write it down. And while I don't plan to really count points a la WW, the log helps me identify deficiencies in my diet (did I really not eat an entire fruit or vegetable today??).

6. Exercise 4 times per week. Started out with the best of intentions with this one, but when my mom went into the hospital after her stroke, it kind of flew by the wayside. Now that she is home and recovering, I will get back on track with this resolution pronto.

This was my initial list I jotted down in December, but as the year has gotten underway, I've added a few more goals for the coming year:

Goal 1: Complete a marathon or triathlon
I turn 35 this June, so I'm feeling the need to challenge myself physically. Not sure what that will be yet, but am kicking around the idea of participating in the Batavia Triathlon in June (on my birthday no less) or running the Chicago Marathon in October.

Goal 2: Live a cleaner life
In a nutshell, I'm removing toxins where I can (cleaning supplies, personal care products, etc.) and buying organic as well as cleaning up my eating. More to come on this...

I'm confident 2010 is going to be a great year!