Feeling Fabulous

I wrote in a previous post how this past summer had been a stressful one.  I think most of the time we don’t realize how detrimental stress is to our health.

I spent the summer (starting in May, actually) working a part-time job away from home.  I had worked this same job from home for three years.  The company I worked for was sold, and the new owners would not allow me to work from home.  This meant a lot of changes for our household.

Just being absent from home two days out of the week meant that I had seven days of home management to cram into five.  I came up with a schedule of how to get everything done.  It was tough and often meant running late at night.

Still, there were some things that were unavoidable with my absence.  The biggest of these was missing family time with my children and grandchildren.

And then, there was my health.  I spent the summer losing two pounds, gaining two pounds, losing two pounds, and gaining two pounds.  I was not able to exercise as often or at optimal times.  Often, I was running later at night which meant trouble sleeping that night.  There were times that I just didn’t feel up to par or felt that I was not getting the nutrients my body needed.  My last visit to the dentist started out with, “Have you been clenching your teeth again?”

However, it was not a total loss.  I was forced to find more efficient ways to do things around the house.  I found an awesome system for our homeschool that is working fabulously for us.  I also had to figure out how to prepare salads in a jar and other snacks that I could take on the run.

I had absolutely no complaints about my job or the people I worked with.  In fact, it was easy money.  Still, I had to let it go.  It was not something I wanted to do.  The extra income was nice.  I loved the people and the industry I worked in.  However, it was not worth the stress it was causing at home and the time I was missing with my family.

My last day of work was November 26, and I’m already enjoying the benefits.  My home is more relaxed and less stressful, I’m spending more time with my children and grandchildren, I’m running or going to the gym six days a week, I’m drinking lots of juice, the needle on the scale is steadily going down, and I feel fabulous!

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Less Than Palatable

There’s nothing like food and family.  That seems to be what Thanksgiving is all about for most of us in America.  It is the biggest travel time of the year–people traveling to be with family.  I am fortunate enough that all of my immediate family is close by.  We can all be together for every holiday.

This year was no different in that there was more than enough food for everyone.  We had the traditional Thanksgiving fare of turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and rolls, as well as various casseroles, salads, and desserts.  It seems like every family dinner we end up with more food as if we’ve lived through a famine and are afraid there won’t be enough.  This year we had so much food that there was no place to put it all.  Our solution was to stack the desserts on top of each other.  It brought a whole new meaning to the words ‘food pyramid.’

As I do every year, I looked forward to this meal.  Not only to the time with family, but to the food itself.  Most of the dishes that were served I only fix twice a year (Thanksgiving and Christmas) simply because we’ve changed our eating habits.  When dinner was served, I fixed my plate.  I took a little of everything and filled my plate with turkey, potatoes, stuffing, a roll, and a few more dishes–all loaded with carbs.

I had spent three weeks planning this meal, shopping for groceries, and then actually preparing the food.  That was three weeks of thinking about what was to come.  How delicious it was all going to be.  Then, I took my first bite and another and then another.  Let’s just say that I was severely disappointed.  This salt and carb-laden food which I had spent three weeks looking forward to consuming no longer tasted good to me.

Overall I thought this to be a good thing and thought how I would make different choices for Christmas dinner especially since I will not be hosting it and fixing the main courses.  What frightened me were the things that DID taste good–the chocolate brownies and the cheesecake.  I also remember taking a swig of Coke a few weeks ago and for the first time in over two years it actually tasted good.  I felt like a back-slidden sinner.  It scared me to death.  Evidently, my palate still needs some work.

Looking on the positive side, I did manage to get in a run Thursday night.  It did make me feel a lot better after having a heavy dinner.  And, I was pleasantly surprised to find Friday morning that the scale had not moved.

Sweet Tea and Cornbread: Creamy Pork Chop Casserole!

This is what we had for dinner last night.  It was very good and very easy.  Add a salad to this, and you have a complete meal!

6-8 boneless loin chops

oil for browning chops

1 large onion, sliced thin or 2 medium onions

4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced

4-5 carrots, peeled and sliced or 1 bag baby carrots

1 can cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup

2 cups milk

seasoned salt and black pepper to taste

via Sweet Tea and Cornbread: Creamy Pork Chop Casserole!.