Food

Good morning, Iowa folks. Now that the sun shines here (several days in a row- I forgot that was even possible) I feel like maybe, just maybe, I can write again. It's been a long, hard winter, which we all know isn't over yet.....but at least the end is in sight. I've used that whole "It's been a long, hard winter" phrase as an excuse for LOTS of things. You know, to explain mysterious atrocities- how none of my pants fit except for my sweatpants. Whelp. It's been a long, hard winter. What can I say?

I am happy to say that with the sunshine, one day of crash-dieting meltdown, and a little pep-talk from my husband, I'm at least back on the road to wearing pants again. We had a little get-together for the other lieutenants Ted works with (more on that later) and I definitely wanted to be able to stuff my face then (it's a PARTY!) so I decided to start a diet on Sunday, the day after the party. I had checked out a new diet book from the library, and to this day (yeah, a whole week later) I don't know how I got sucked in to thinking this was a good idea. The book promised it was not a fad diet- that it was a sustainable way to get to your healthy weight and remain there. LIES! ALL LIES! You were supposed to kick-start your diet by eating 5 superfoods for five days. And nothing else. So, I went shopping, bought my five foods, and Sunday morning rolled around. Ted made our houseguest some biscuits and gravy, but I was so pumped up about "losing up to eight pounds in five days" that I didn't even find it hard to say no. I cooked up my ONE egg with spinach and had some unsweetened raspberries (gag). I should also mention that on this diet you were only supposed to eat every 3.5-5 hours. I know my body, and I've always been a grazer.....Even at my skinniest I eat SOMETHING consistently throughout the day. By the time lunch time came around I was SO hungry but I was only supposed to eat six ounces of plain yogurt, a cup of raspberries, and some almonds. I gagged down the berries and yogurt. I still thought I could do this. All afternoon I couldn't concentrate on anything but being hungry. Somewhere around three I vomited and let me tell you, it was mean and angry. I've always felt nauseous if I haven't eaten, ever since I was little. I remember one time my mom was taking me shopping, and I didn't feel well at ALL but she got me a hamburger and life was good again! Ever since then, I always have some sort of snack around (ask Ted about the console in our car--it's sort of like a cupboard for me and makes him a little angry). Anyway, I'm quite sure I was sick because my stomach was literally empty. I still held on, because I'm famous for quitting things I start, even when I swear I'm not going to. I wanted to prove to Ted I WOULD do it, and I also wanted to wear my jeans again. Within the next five days. When supper-time finally came, I made up a bowl of spinach with raspberries and almonds and a cut-up hard boiled egg ( I was so hungry I was even eating the yolk part, which is a huge deal). Ted was having leftover pulled pork sandwiches from the party (my favorite meal). We sat down to supper, and I took one bite and started crying. I went to the kitchen, warmed up some pulled pork and baked beans, and ate a real dinner. I felt like such a loser for quitting on the first day, but it felt SO good to eat. My mood improved instantly. I was sobbing through the first few bites but my husband is wise and told me basically all I have to do is stop eating so many chips and candy and start exercising more (which of course everyone knows but it's SO hard). There was no reason to be making myself miserable. So, since Sunday, I have not eaten chips or chocolate. It may not sound like much of a sacrifice, but for me it really is. Over the winter I have gotten in a terrible habit of eating WHATEVER sounded good....out of boredom mostly. My favorite part of the afternoon was mindlessly eating M&M's or BBQ Lays while reading a good book. I knew how harmful it was, but I just didn't care.

The good news is, I have worked out for an hour every single day, and twice this week I went to yoga class so that was two hours on those days. I haven't lost any pounds to speak of, but I feel much better and Wednesday I got back into a pair of jeans to go shopping with a friend. :) I'm learning (after about four or five years) that I just can't do the moderation thing yet- you know, just have a piece of chocolate. Just eat a couple of chips. I have to avoid them COMPLETELY, at least for now, because I don't have the will to stop. Even with 100-calorie packs...if they are in the house, after a while I won't stop at one 100-calorie pack. I will rip open another, and in an hour or two another...you get the idea. I think once I stop using food as SUCH a reward- such a feel-good treat....I will be able to enjoy a Reece's or some BBQ Lays without going out of control. In the mean time, I did find some really great fudgecicles that Ted and I both think taste great, and they are fat free and only 100 calories. It's a really nice dessert, and ice cream has always been the one thing I CAN control myself on. I do not like to feel deprived, and when I do I tend to rebel and find my way to Taco Bell. ;)

Anyway, here's to Spring (it really IS on the way--look at your calendar, it's on THIS page!!), and taking a look at your own relationship with food. Whether it's eating too little or too much, everyone has been down that path. Have you tried "fad" diets? What works for you? Writing this down has helped me realize I know myself better than I thought I did.

Some of the new (and greatly improved) foods in my life this week

I intended to talk about our party last Saturday night and post some pictures, especially since not all of you have facebook. Maybe I'll save that for another day. Everyone dust off your crockpots in the meantime, because trust me. You want pulled pork sandwiches. You do.

Oh, and here's a pic Ted took that I just came across.... I started feeding two swans on my daily walks. They are gone now that it has occasionally started to warm up, but if I had a little longer I would have had Papa Swan eating right out of my hand! It got to the point where as soon as they saw me coming down the road, they started swarming to me. Made me smile! :P

Fool me once....

Father winter got me good. We had two solid weeks of forty-degree weather, and I think there were even two days of mostly sunshine....and I soaked it up. I tried not to think about the fact that it was only the beginning of January and winter was faaar from over here in Bavaria. It was pretty easy to forget, because the grass stayed green under that 38 inches of snow we got in December. I felt like running barefoot through the soggy fields. This winter has been the hardest one of my whole life I think. Cabin (attic?) fever has really taken a hold on me. Even so, when that snow started to melt away I was resistant because I would rather see pretty white than drab mud. I was totally blown away by how "Spring" everything looked! I'm definitely thanking God for that little break. Then I guess he decided I could handle more winter, because Monday morning I woke up to this:

Back to reality.
NOTE: that is not my heavy breathing...it's cars on the highway. I'm pretty sure anyway...


I have to admit, it makes for decent scenery.

Last weekend we sold Ted's 4-wheeler. It is German, and we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to sell it before moving. If we ended up having to bring it back to the states it would be kind of hard to get parts for it. We ended up delivering it a to a family a couple of hours away.

Hi Ted! My fearless autobahn driver. Who hasn't had tobacco in two weeks! I'm sooo proud of him- going cold turkey is a big deal! He eats sunflower seeds like they are going out of style, but that I can handle.

The day we delivered the quad was the transition from spring back to winter. This was in the afternoon- I have never seen such thick fog stick around through a whole day.

It was actually a sunny, beautiful day as soon as we got about 40 minutes away from home....We live in what I call the doldrums. Others call it a hole. Both seem to fit.

Anyway, we're doing okay over here. Trudging through the winter, same as everyone else. :)

time on my hands

I had drill this weekend. It was busy. Jam-packed. No time to think or breathe (but always time to eat- for me anyway). On Monday I had a very nice, relaxing day reading, grocery shopping, and picking up the house. Not to mention a really great workout with my friend Michaela. Tuesday morning I woke before the alarm clock feeling energized and already planning my day. By 10 am...my list was done and I had time on my hands.

I decided to pick up a new hobby. We'll see if this lasts more than one day. Or two. Turns out, it's harder than it looks, considering I have absolutely no musical experience and very little rhythm (although my Wii claims I have improved).

In this picture I'm not actually doing anything. Those of you that actually PLAY the guitar, keep your comments to yourself. I'm self-teaching here. Along with a really scratchy DVD that makes me want to crush it into a million pieces because it keeps stuttering.

Here I'm actually playing a chord. The very second one I know: D7. Yes, I know I'm only supposed to be strumming the first four strings...but I was using the self timer on the camera, and that's almost harder than learning to play the guitar.

Anyway, you get the idea. Maybe when I get back I'll play you all "happy birthday." Or we can all sing the "Happy Birthday" lyrics along to the two chords I know. I'm sure it'll be the best thing you ever heard, either way.

punch! Interior Design Suite

For Christmas this year, one of the stocking stuffers I got from Ted was the Interior Design Suite. I've been addicted since Christmas, but it's slow going for me. This program allows you to build your own house plans from the ground up- and then decorate EVERYTHING. Landscaping, siding, roofing, and all of the interior. It's so fun!! The first house I made was super small because I have no real feel for the realistic dimensions of things. So I used one of the sample floor plans they have to decorate. I actually really like this floor plan, but it wouldn't be big enough for my dream home... ;0) I thought I'd post the sceenshots of what I've been up to- ignore some of the ugly colors- I was just messing around.

First-floor plan (click each photo to enlarge):

Second-floor plan:

Front Exterior (I didn't do flowers or trees here):

Entryway:

Living:

Kitchen:

Master Bedroom:

Bedroom 1:

Bedroom 2:

See how much fun you can have? You can design EVERYTHING, all they way down to custom-drawing the trim. It took me a full day to figure this program out, and even now I think I only have a grasp on the basics. It's very addicting though- Stay tuned for my dream house, once I get this whole shebang figured out!

Merry Christmas!

First of all, I want to say Merry Christmas to everyone, especially those we didn't get a chance to see or talk to yesterday!

Speaking of holiday spirit, I had a bit of a Christmas card fiasco this year. On the 21st (at least three weeks after I ordered them) my Christmas cards from Snapfish finally arrived. I was so excited because I really love writing Christmas cards and addressing envelopes. When I opened the package, the cards looked terrible! Not at all like it did on my computer. Ted's face was really dark- too dark to even see that he was almost smiling. And I looked a sickly shade of yellow. Doesn't that just say Merry Christmas! Come to find out, I'm a bit of a perfectionist about Christmas cards. I got a refund from Snapfish and ordered another batch with in-store pickup at Mom's local Wal-Mart. I don't know if they are any better since I haven't seen them- but it's probably best that way. I'll stick with Shutterfly from here on out. So, if you received a card with my mom's return address on it, that's because she and my sister kindly sat down and did them all for me. Love them!!

We started off the holiday weekend right with a gorgeous sunrise and I just have to share pics. The sun doesn't shine very often in the winter months, so this was kind of a Christmas gift:




Christmas morning Ted and I woke up had a delicious breakfast of steak and eggs (ribeye, no less!). Don't let anyone tell you men can't cook- Ted is always showing me up in the kitchen! On Christmas Eve he made tuna steaks and for me, shrimp sauteed in butter- with garlic breadsticks. SO delicious!
While we ate or breakfast of champions, we watched Rudolph. Then we opened our stockings from each other. Ted did a great job picking out gifts for me this year, and even though I said I was going to clean the house today, my Christmas gifts are begging to be used!

Here's me on Christmas morning by our "tree". Next year we'll have our first Christmas tree... I hope.

We spent Christmas afternoon with all our friends at the Oradat home. We had ham and a turkey roast, salad, pumpkin casserole, homemade bread (thanks Jak!), and sweet potato casserole. Oh, and I brought whiskey-glazed carrots and cinnamon rolls. Michaela made delicious mint-fudge ice cream cake for dessert! We had a good time, and we played "dirty santa" before going home. For that game everyone brings a gift (it can be a gag gift) and as each person opens a gift, the next person can "steal" that gift. I got some lovely puppy slippers. Let me show you:


No one stole them.

I drove home from the Oradats (which took about 45 minutes to an hour because I drive like a granny in the snow) and we called our families to wish them Merry Christmas. We had a great holiday weekend, and hope yours was just as wonderful. Of course we miss our families and can't wait to see them!

Merry (day after) Christmas!

Christmas Card Photo: The outtakes

Last year I did a photo card and it was quite a hit. I think it's fun to receive photo cards as well, so I had my heart set on doing another one this year.

Those of you with husbands know how hard it can be to have a "photo shoot;" the smart ones among you probably don't even attempt it. I had almost given up on doing one this year, because Ted comes home after dark, and starting this weekend I will be in class all day...so that left no daylight hours that we would be together. Somehow a photo taken in the dark with just our white eyes shining doesn't quite convey the message I intend to send: holiday cheer, good tidings, good will towards men, etc...

Then, it snowed. You all know it. I haven't stopped talking about it. I can't decide if I'm excited or elated or full of dread at having to drive my car to work in it....Maybe all three. It snowed enough to give Ted a day off work, and the first thing on his mind was getting out of his sweats and braving the cold to smile for the camera.

Not.

He'd rather do anything else. Even clean the toilet. Which he did. But when he saw how much it meant to me, he got dressed and followed me down the road to give it a shot. And I'm still grateful (for both the photo shoot and the toilet cleaning I don't have to do now).

So we ventured out into the cold (cold, Cold, COLD!) in search of a good backdrop. I kind of had in my mind an area I wanted to go, but it was a bit of a long walk through deep snow, and I was terrified that at any second Ted might give up and walk back to the house. So I located the first evergreens with some snow on them and set up the tripod. Now I will present you with outtake number 1:

Eww. What a terrible angle. Do I look nervous? Ted turned out nicely, though.

We'll try again.

Crap. Eyes closed. The green snow fence isn't too scenic either. Honestly at this point I wasn't sure what to do. It was getting REALLY cold. Then my hubby saved the day, and pointed out the most beautiful landscape I could have hoped for. It turned out really well, and you'll have to wait to see it until you get your card in the mail! On the way back to the house, Ted noticed a little trail... and we got ANOTHER contender for the card. Two good ones, both thanks to Ted's good eye! :0)

Isn't that beautiful? Then, we even got to try once more.

I wouldn't call it fun, exactly. I'm still glad we did it, because we got a couple of great pics! Thanks again to my husband for trudging through the snow with me. Now all of you go drag your husbands outside...I wanna see some holiday pics! :0)

Swan Butts

So, the other morning it started snowing. And snowing, and snowing, and snowing. By 10 am we had quite a pile, so I decided to take a snowy little stroll to see what I could see.

Me, on a snowy little stroll

It wasn't long before I came upon a lovely little pond; just the little pond I was looking for, in fact. Last year two lovely swans inhabited this lovely little pond, and to my delight, they moved back in for the winter. They are the same two swans, of course. Don't ask me how I know.

Lovely little swans on a lovely little pond, floating around and enjoying life

As I was standing there with snow packed all the way up the legs of my jeans (boots. when it snows, wear boots.), a flock of ducks or some other large white bird (but not swans) started circling the lovely little pond. They made huge laps, and every minute or so they would circle again, looking for the lovliest of lovely ponds to land on, I'm sure. Mr. and Mrs. Swammy Swan were none too pleased at the prospect of sharing their lovely anything.

Every time the birds flew near, these ruffle butts got their feathers all in a dander. I think they are looking at each other saying, "What the heck!?! This will not do!"

I stuck around long enough to see if the lovlies would be invaded. They were not, and all was lovely again.

Don't you think the one in the back is the male, and the one in the front is female? He's saying, "Come along now, wifey. Get a move on."

That's the end of that lovely story. See the pic below for the scene outside my window right now. They have forecasted 10 inches of snow by morning, and shut down the entire post for tomrrow! Snow Day! :0)