I am not a restaurant!!!

Is it just me or does having to come up with a meal idea everyday really suck. Sometimes, not often, I have the urge to cook and go at it with wild abandon. OK, that's exaggerating just a little. Sometimes I hate cooking less than other times - there, that's closer to the truth. Figuring out what to make for supper occupies my mind way more than I would like it to. I am disinclined to prepare a week's worth of menus every Sunday night - even though it would probably make my life easier. I just don't wanna do it. I have tried affirmations such as "I love to cook" "I create great meals everyday" yeah, right. It's like there are two of me. Me #1 wants to prepare nutritious homemade meals with fresh veggies out of the garden for my child and my husband, Mephistopheles. Me #2 doesn't want to have to deal with all that when there are so many other things (like blogging) that I would prefer to do. Anyhoo, there's my rant...venting is good.

Eating well

Bok Choy, flax seeds, bran, spinach, romaine lettuce, fruits, I've been eating it all and decreasing my consumption of meats. Decreasing, not totally eliminating, baby steps you know. And I've got to say, I feel better. Not a whole lot better because I still eat stuff like cheesecake, perogies, mashed potatoes with butter, but the healthy food consumption is definitely increasing. Now if I could only make myself exercise I'm sure I would be in even better shape. It's a little depressing that I am out of breath after carrying an armful of laundry up two flights of stairs.

Skinny Bitch book

Just got done reading "Skinny Bitch" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. The title led me to believe this was just another "go on a diet so you can be as skinny as a model" piece of crap. I was wrong. This is an in-your-face, informational book on eating the right foods vs eating what all of us non-vegan eat all the time. These ladies do not mince words when it comes to telling it like it is: "Coffee is for pussies. Think about how widely accepted it has become that people need coffee to wake up. You should not need anything to wake up, if you can't wake up without it, it's because you are either addicted to caffeine, sleep deprived, or a generally unhealthy slob." (excerpt from pg 15 "Skinny Bitch"). They then list what caffeine can do to you, not a pretty picture. The book then goes on to describe how meat and dairy products are not good for you. Scary facts. Then Rory and Kim describe the conditions which cows, pigs and chickens live in, and what happens in slaughterhouses...for those of us who get queasy easily, and in this case even not so easily, Chapter 4, Chapter 6 and parts of Chapter 9 are definitely chapters you may want to avoid reading. Very disturbing. The rest of the book gives good information on the nutrients we need and what foods contain them, and there is even a month's worth of 3 meals a day menu examples for our use. As I am writing this blog, I am guzzling a can of pop, but now I'm not enjoying it as much as I used to. Damn.
Note: This is not a book to read if you don't like swear words. To me, it just adds to the charm.

Learning to Network

Networking is something I haven't done much. Being a shy person, networking seems to be harder than climbing Mount Everest. However, I own a small retail business and online store and I've been told that I need to get my name out there.
Attended my first networking seminar and actually enjoyed it. Still, when it comes to the thought of attending these functions, I can feel my heart beat faster (and not in happy anticipation), and all my self-esteem issues that I thought I had buried in the back-forty of my mind resurface with a vengeance. However, it's time to go beyond my comfort zone and get on with it. I love my business and I want to see it flourish, so if I have to go out and network, so be it. If anybody has any ideas how to attend such functions without breaking out in a clammy nerve-racked sweat, please let me know. By the way, check out my website: http://www.moonstonepath.com I also have a blog there, that relates to the products I sell.

A Humbling Experience

Visited the in-laws tonight. Both are in their 80's and still going pretty strong, though Dad had a nasty virus that knocked him for a loop. Anyway, we were there and they were commenting that the screen on their new computer (state-of-the-art flat screen, unlike my old clunker) was too bright and it bothered their eyes. So I said that they could adjust the brightness, and adjusted it for them. Felt pretty much like a genius, showing the in-laws how to "make that nasty screen easier on the eyes", awwww they're so cute, didn't know about the brightness button. How clever I was, how righteously smarter-than-smart!

Ego still inflated, I went into the spare bedroom with mom-in-law to check out the food cabinet and there, in it's full outstanding blazing glory was my pater-in-law's model train set that he is working on. "Model train set" are not words that justify this amazing work of art and technology. It's a small village, a reproduction of Wallsend in England of past, complete with houses, fire house, churches, schools (all painstakenly put together) 5 or 6 railroad tracks, a tunnel through a mountain, working trains, landscaping (a winter scene), and that's just for starters. Look underneath the table (easily 8 x 8 feet) and you see a mass of electronic wiring to rival something at NASA (ok I may be exaggerating, but you get my meaning). This is not a model train set this is a MODEL TRAIN SET. I cannot imagine the amount of planning and hours that went into the construction of this work of genius - I tell you, my jaw dropped. Ego is now deflated.

Leopards and spots...

My husband, Mephostopheles, has shaved his beard and he doesn't look quite so devilish anymore. Doesn't LOOK devilish anymore. That British cynical sense of humour hasn't disappeared with the face fuzz (thank goodness).

Things I need to make my day more comfortable

Metamucil. How sad. Though I must say, the orange flavoured Metamucil doesn't taste too bad. Gotta go!