Food and Personal Goals of the Month - October

Fall is definitely here. It's crazy how it can go from about 80 degrees to 50 degrees in one day in MI. I'd like a happy medium :P A new month, new goals. I just started thinking about my new goals a few days ago, so they are a little scattered.

Food...this month I'm going to experiment...with breakfast! And I mean for breakfast, not for dinner :P (although there may be some of that too...I love breakfast for dinner) I HAVE to eat breakfast. I could eat the instant I get up in the morning :) And I LOVE cereal. I eat it every day. But reading some cookbooks over the past couple months I've looked at a lot of breakfast recipes and thought I should try some of them. So that is my goal. To make different things for breakfast. This won't happen every day. There will still be plenty of cereal :) But hopefully I'll experiment with some new stuff at least a few times. It will mostly be prep ahead stuff, like muffins, breads, fresh fruit, yogurt, etc. I'm not big on eggs, bacon, etc. in the morning. And Justin doesn't have a huge appetite in the morning. So I'm not going to make a feast for breakfast. My hope is to give us a little variety, some new tastes, and more nutrition :)

For extra food work I'll be working on more pears and applesauce. I'll be getting a lot of apples soon to start stocking my pantry. Rebecca eats applesauce almost every day. So I need to make a lot to last the year. And I'm going to try drying pear and apple slices. I might get around to more baking now that the weather is cooler. Definitely some apple pies and crisps :) But hopefully some breads and other baked goods as well. I want to experiment with freezing my own pie crust too. That would be a handy thing to have on hand! I always make pie crust from scratch. But it does take time to make it and roll it out. It would be nice to have some already made in the freezer.

In terms of healthy food, I bought some organic milk this week. I buy a lot of organic food. But up to this point I have not switched to organic milk. Why? It's so expensive! Over $5 a gallon. When regular is less than $2. I read a little about organic milk recently and thought I would at least see how much different it tastes since it was on sale. Justin and I can both tell a difference. It does taste better. But he says it's not worth the money. I still have to do more research. For now maybe I'll compromise and buy organic for Rebecca and use regular for us. I wish I could find a local place to buy milk. It's tempting to just go with raw milk. I have to do more research.

I have to order chicken still. I'm hoping to get a chance to call about that today or tomorrow.

On the OCD front...still plugging along. I am really learning to listen to my body. I don't think about my compulsive behavior very much. Some days are better and some are worse. But in general I have much less focus on it. And I can handle the bad days a lot better. I still have a ways to go, but I have already made a lot of progress. One day at a time. One step at a time. I'm getting there. I go back to my Dr. in about a month. And I have to get my thyroid retested mid-Oct. to see if my med dose is correct now. Considering that I'm approaching a 10 lb. weight gain (yikes!) I'd say it's probably more balanced now.

I'm still focusing on getting out more and doing more creative stuff. Today I am visiting my grandparents. They haven't seen Rebecca in a while. I am bringing a meal and some pictures. Tomorrow MOPS starts. I am very excited about that. My parents are coming on Sunday to go to church with us and have lunch. Next week Monday I'm getting together with a friend for a playdate. And of course Kindermusik every Wed. I am still trying to do something fun every Thursday with Rebecca. This week we went to the library (on Tuesday). She LOVED it. She could have stayed for hours. They have lots of neat toys (play kitchen and food, puppets, magnetic letters, doll house,...). So that will definitely be on our list of to-dos once in a while. Especially since we'll have to return some books. It's a good excuse to get back there and pick out some new ones. Next week I think we are going shopping...not too thrilling for her. But it needs to be done. And maybe she can help me pick out some gifts. My sister is having a baby next week. So we'll be heading to Grand Blanc to see them sometime this month. I start teaching BLAST again at church this month. And the last week in Oct. I have jury duty! That totally freaks me out. As someone that has an overactive bladder and somewhat unpredictable bowels being in a setting where you don't know when/if you'll be able to use the bathroom scares me. I'm praying I won't get put on a case. Pray for me :) This will be a real challenge and a test of how well I'm doing with the OCD/anxiety stuff. I also want to start working on projects with Rebecca. Last week we made a drum out of an old oat container. Once we get some pretty leaves dropping I'd like to do some fun projects with those. Bring out her creative side. And I always like to have her help in the kitchen. Yesterday we made graham crackers. And I let her use her little cookie cutters to make some into hearts, stars and circles. Then she gets to eat her "special cookies" :) If time allows this month maybe I'll try some sewing. Figure out how my machine works :)

Well, I'd better wrap this up. Rebecca is waking. Here's the recap

~New breakfasts
~Apples and pears
~Baking
~Organic milk research
~Order chicken
~Be creative - sewing, projects with Rebecca
~Get out - MOPS, Kindermusik, BLAST, Nursery cmt., friends, family
~Jury duty