So what did we do with ourselves today you’re surely wondering?

Why we took up the offer of a fellow homeschooling mama to blow this pop stand in favor of the YMCA and burn off some energy this afternoon.

Not me, mind you. I burned off a bunch of energy at 6 AM with my new running friends. These kids though? Yeah. They’ve got a ton energy to burn and let’s call a spade a spade: They are driving me nuts.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love them – but let’s face it. It’s winter. They’re kids. Our new yard is small and sort of boring. We miss our friends. It was time to herd some sheep and get the flock out of this house for a little while.

After some time in the padded room, I decided to write a children’s book.

I’m going to call it: The Monkey and the Snorkeler Go Swimming

Is it possible we burned off a little too much energy? After I accepted my Children’s Lit award, we hit up Goodwill and the monkey fell asleep while we waited in the donation drop off line of 100 cars. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who had the idea to donate stuff today. It’s all about the tax breaks, baby. Well not for me it’s not! I just moved, peeps! I need to get this stuff out of my house! Here, you can have my receipt if you let me cut to the front of the line!

Oh great. Now she’s going to be raring to ring in the new year. Quick, someone set the clock ahead 3 hours! That’s the only way I’m going to stay up until “midnight”. I’m celebrating with my pillows and a little bit of drool tonight.

After sheep herding fun we came back to the sheep pen (do sheep live in pens? Or is that pigs? Bah. Details.) and I did my best to avoid cooking once again.

Not only am I not cooking, I’m not even making hummus! Blasphemy! Good thing Sabra hummus is so damn creamy and good. I’m jealous actually – what the heck do those Sabra scientists do to make it so flocking creamy?

I bought the roasted garlic variety (because you know, vampires) and holy garlic breath batman we loved this. In fact, “we” loved this so much “we” barely left me a tablespoon for faux-cooking tonight.

My sad little layer of hummus on my slice of toasted sesame Ezekiel bread.

Light on the hummus, heavy on the spinach. Isn’t that how that saying goes?

Wow. My last post of 2009. Do I know how to ring in the blog new year or what?

• Whensday?
• Thanksgiving is Officially Over
• Rest Day

So admittedly, I’ve been doing very little cooking in recent weeks, this last week in particular. I feel like I’m just now getting my bearings in this new kitchen. I’ve been busy finding a place for everything, trying to figure out what’s going to work, what’s not, what I need and what I don’t, what can be donated, thrown away or put into storage to be dug out as needed all while wondering where the hell all this crap came from in the first place.

This would be why I haven’t been writing much about new recipes or foods I’m trying lately – there are no new recipes or foods to speak of. I beg for forgiveness as I veer wildly off course for a short while here.

Ready to veer?

While packing and unpacking, Zak uncovered the fish bowl – the same fish bowl we used to house our monarch caterpillar this summer actually. Thinking back on how that ended and the fate of our poor little caterpillar, we probably should have seen this coming.

Take note, this is a bit of very obvious foreshadowing.

At one point after Christmas, a conversation went down between Zak and the girls that ended with the promise of some fish to fill the aforementioned fish bowl. I absolutely would have vetoed this decision had I been there to cast my vote. In my mind fish = a dirty fish bowl = one more thing I have to clean. The only way he got me to agree to fish before they walked out the door to the pet store was by signing an affidavit stating that I would never have to clean a fish bowl and that he and the girls would take care of everything.

Fine. Sign here and then you can go get your fish.

Did you know that at Petco fish come with a 15 day warranty? True story. Just bring back your dead fish and a sample of the water and they’ll scoop another one out of the tank for you, no questions asked.

(More foreshadowing.)

So on Sunday they got fish. Two fish to be exact, one for each of them. And then on Monday morning when I was on the phone with the phone company trying to figure out why our internet is still not working (this post would be brought to you by some neighbor we’ve yet to meet named “Ruth” who very fortunately has her wireless network wide open. Thank you Ruth for unknowingly keeping me sane until the phone company gets their act in gear) and at that exact same time as luck with have it (or unlucky, if you are a fish) Zak was on a work call – therefore leaving the girls relatively unattended with new fish and a brand new container of fish food.

Do you see where this is going? Let’s just say that on Tuesday, Goldie wasn’t looking too hot. She was spending an awful lot of time at the top of the fish bowl last night. I think we better just jump right to the punch here and reveal what we woke up to first thing this morning, shall we?

As Maxine pointed out in the video, we don’t have nets. So I went down to the kitchen to scrounge around and came back upstairs with the best thing I could to find to scoop out our poor little fish.

A 1/3 c measure.

Ava showed Maxine and suddenly it started to sink in.

Uh oh.

Oh no.

Oh no oh no oh no no no no no put the camera down you stupid woman and comfort your child!

What to do? What to do?? Wait! I know!

Who wants left over chocolate cheese cake for breakfast?!

OK – let’s not go there. Cheesecake for comfort! Are you sad? Here! Feel better! Eat something sweet!

Why is that the first thing that comes to mind? Although come to think of it, how many times did I whip out my boob to nurse this child when she was sad or hurt or frustrated or bored? Is it any wonder we use food to make ourselves feel better? It’s practically built in and ingrained into us from Day 1!

Comfort food musings aside, after putting the camera down and saying good bye, we skipped the visit to the fridge and headed for the couch instead to spend 20 minutes crying about fish and talking about what we believe happens after someone dies. These things happen. It’s OK to be sad and mourn the loss of our little friend. He was a good fish and he was probably sick before he even came home to us (back peddle! back peddle! I didn’t expect her to be so sad! Quick QUICK turn this ship around QUICK!) and he’s not sick or suffering anymore.

Why don’t these kids come with a manual? Did yours come with a manual? Check the index for me, is there a section on Dead Fish?

A few more tears and lots of hugs instead of rich desserts, I think we’ve all recovered from our fishy incident that greeted us with the rising sun this morning.

And no, we are not going to take Petco up on their offer for a replacement fish. Obviously. Goldie is in a better place now and therefore long gone. Instead we’ll allow what’s left of the fish food to last 50% longer than it would have otherwise.

Now… who wants cheesecake for dinner?

• One Armed Carrot Jokes
• Can't You Read the Signs?
• Whensday?

Tonight I had a welcome distraction and was able to escape for a few hours from the boxes and unpacking and kids-going-stir-crazy madness. With a girlfriend in from out of town for the holidays, my three best girls and I left men and children behind and to head out and paint the town red. Or something. Really we just went out to eat but that doesn’t sound nearly as exciting.

We hit up the tea bar at the fancy schmancy Wegmans on the east side of town where our friend Tara works, to wait for her while she finished her shift. Tara gave us a little tea demonstration and sampling of a few of the wide assortments of teas they offer including a white tea, green tea and herbal tea.

Plus a couple of tea-inspired chai and green cookies!

Tara hooked us up!

After tea sampling, it was time for dinner at an Asian restaurant that would suit meat eaters and vegetarians alike.

We ordered edamame pods for an appetizer.

And a Thai cucumber salad that made it’s way around the table for sampling as well.

Plus a little Riesling too, because, well, yeah. Because.

Lots of chatting and girl talk was to be had.

I ordered a Japanese miso soup that was just ok.

Obligatory group shot!

Our third and final destination would have been to The Cheesecake Factory for a little dessert.

A Snicker’s cheesecake, a Godiva chocolate cheesecake (my pick!) and a warm apple crisp served with ice cream.

All three desserts were out of this world! So rich, we couldn’t even finish them and I brought what was left over home to share with the family that I deserted for the evening.

Why does a night out with your best gal pals make life feel so much easier for a little while? I totally needed this tonight. Another bite of that cheesecake wouldn’t hurt right about now either – good thing it’s in my fridge.

• No related posts.

One of the nicest perks of our new house would be the regular running group that came built right in to our neighborhood. They run Monday, Thursday and Saturday mornings and as luck would have it, today is Monday!

I found out about the group from a friend who lives in this neighborhood. He’s been running with them for a while and invited me to join them on a Saturday morning run back in October. I accepted the invite and by the end of the run I was already contemplating what it might take to get our closing date bumped up to that very afternoon.

I emailed my neighborly friend last night to confirm the days and times were still the same and that they were still meeting over the holiday week. When I got the thumbs up that running this morning would be a go, I got my running stuff all set out and ready. The group meets at 6 AM and while I am no stranger to getting up in the 5 o’clock hour – getting OUT before the clock strikes 6 is a whole new ball game.

Yesterday’s journey through my neighborhood streets, to the campus of a large university, through the cemetery and back over the river to make my way home again was great. It was sunny, not too cold and almost all the snow was gone. But when I peeled myself out of bed at 5:40 this morning, I found 6 inches of the white stuff on the ground. The street in front of my house was not plowed and there was one set of tire tracks through the road that showed me just how deep the snow was.

Ankle deep. And it’s still snowing.

So now what? Are they still going to run this morning in this crazy mess? If I was at at the old house, today would definitely be a treadmill day. Do I change out of my toasty purple socks and sexy sweat pants and get in to cold running tights and an adorable pink hat that I knit myself only to find that I’m the only fool that came out this morning? If that were the case, the next step would be to turn around and go home because I’m not running alone in the dark through city streets. Even though the roads are well lit, I don’t know the area well enough to head off by myself when the sky is still black. Well, orange-ish yellowy is more accurate than black really. We’re in the city now after all.

But I digress.

OK, fine. It’s worth the risk. I suited up and off I went, into the orange-ish yellowy snow filled sky, down a tire carved path on the otherwise empty and silent street to make the trek to the meeting location two blocks over. Sure enough, I was greeted by three smiling faces and we were joined by three more folks shortly there after.

Wait. A group of happy, smiling people wearing sneakers and face masks at 6 AM on a cold and snowy Monday morning? Really? Is this a drug run?

I don’t know what it is about running with a group of people, especially considering I barely know anyone besides my friend – but this morning’s cold, wet, orange, snowy and blowy run that was filled with conversation and laughs made today’s run just as good as any sunny and dry Monday morning solo run through my suburban streets or a random treadmill run at an old decrepit gym.

I kept coming back to the fact that if I hadn’t had plans to meet with this group today, I never would have run this morning. I’ve no longer got a gym membership to speak of, so without these plans I surely would have been home this morning wondering what I could do to avoid unpacking or putting away more stuff. There’s no doubt that making plans with a work out buddy can be a powerful tool to keep you on track and motivated and will get your butt out the door when you would otherwise eschew your pink hat in lieu of sweat pants with a large hole in the crotch. (I told you they were sexy.)

Our run took about 45 minutes and when all was said and done I was gone about an hour. Given our somewhat leisurely pace through the ankle deep snow I’m guessing we went about 4 and a half or 5 miles this morning.

My post run breakfast would be an old favorite, fruit cereal.

1 diced banana and 1 diced gala apple tossed and coated in ground flax seed and unsweetened cocoa powder, topped with sliced almonds and chocolate unsweetened almond milk. Who needs grains when there’s fruit to eat?

I enjoyed my fruit cereal while Maxine and her toys enjoyed our generously sized forced air ducts and the big blast of hot air from it this morning.

Looks like I’m not the only one who has found some fun perks that came with our new house.

• Scary Spoon
• A Day of Calorie Counting
• When the Garmin Strikes Midnight

Remember me??

It’s hard to believe that 48 hours ago we were opening presents

Playing with new Slinky’s on the stairs at Grandfather’s house

Eating too many Christmas treats and not nearly enough fruits or vegetables

Trying to take pictures of Christmas spiders

I said trying to take pictures of Christmas spiders

Chillaxing by a faux fire watching A Christmas Story at Great Granny’s house

All while there was serious work to do at home.

I need to give a huge shout out to all my family and friends who jumped right in and got more work done in the last 24 hours than I ever believed was possible.

With the help of many, we loaded a 26 foot moving truck

With all our precious cargo

And hauled all our worldly possessions from Suburbia to The City.

I have to say thank you to Mom, Dave, Ellen, Dan, Pat, Kyle, Shawn, Kath, Sharon, Nick, Kate and Tara for all your help with watching children, packing, moving, taking doors off hinges, picking up miscellaneous socks and pennies, taking things apart, packing up my bathroom and telling me you learn a lot about a person when you go through their medicine cabinet, wrapping my dishes in bed sheets, cleaning, loading trucks and cars, driving, unloading, unpacking, cracking jokes to keep us laughing, putting things back together, ordering food, making beds, agreeing to be kidnapped and making another run, carrying cats on laps and coming over late last night to give me a second wind to get rooms in order and give us some semblance of a house.

They aren’t kidding that moving is right up there with changing jobs, getting married and having a baby for one of life’s most stressful times.

I’ve moved a lot of times in my life. From home to college residence halls (x3) to off campus apartments, to home, to Ireland, to home again, to a village apartment, to a house in the country, to a house in the suburbs and finally, to a big old house in the city. Never before have we moved as a family of four, and never before have I attempted to move with So. Much. Stuff. But we did it! We’re here! And I sure hope we like it here because the only way I’ll move again is with the shoes on my feet and everything I can fit into back pack.

And now here I am on Sunday morning, overwhelmed with love and gratitude for all the amazing people in my life, trying to remember what it’s like to be a food blogger and eating an orange on something that sort of resembles my desk in a place that we started looking for more than 2 months ago and is some how already starting to feel like home.

And a big thanks to everyone else for your warm wishes, phone calls, emails and comments over the last couple of weeks. I am so grateful for all of you too! Thanks for sticking with me through this crazy time.

Now it’s time to hit Publish and get ready to give my running sneaks a tour of the new neighborhood. This is assuming I can find my sneakers, of course.

• No related posts.

This post is a figment of your imagination. Or is it?

I didn’t expect to have a chance to run or post this morning. But here I am, having unexpectedly run and now unexpectedly posting. How unexpected.

When an opportunity to run this morning presented itself, I jumped at it. Zak worked from home, the kids slept late, so off I went for a healthy dose of endorphins and some fresh air and sunshine. The real reason I went was to wax nostalgic because unless I get to sneak out tomorrow morning (Merry Christmas to me?) this will be my last run through these neighborhood streets as well as my last chance to avoid running into Mr. Miyagi.

And now here I am, 33 minutes later, covered in sweat, smelling like the outside and managed to miss any and all encounters with overly friendly Asian men. I’m even feeling slightly less stressed and dare I say it, normal.

And that, my friends, is how we got to this blog post today that I didn’t expect to write.

My last post at this house! I got in one last run here, I’m going to get one last post in here too. Thank goodness running makes me happy because being happy makes me do ridiculous things and doing ridiculous things makes me write ridiculous posts.

Like I said, normal.

Today’s ridiculousness would be trying to give my kids spinach for breakfast.

Thank you Mama Pea for the idea to make them chocolate green smoothies and serve them in opaque cups!

I hope you are taking this opportunity to wax nostalgic over my red counter tops – I know you love them. This is the last time! Unless of course you dig through the archives, in which case never mind.

So where was I? Oh yes. Chocolate unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened cocoa powder, a banana and a couple big handfuls of spinach – pureed and poured into fun cups with fun straws and fun lids.

Quick, hide the spinach! Cue sing-songy Disney princess voice!

ACTION!

Oh Guuurlllss! Who wants chocolate for breakfast?

Try it! You’ll like it!

Fail.

Maxine: Mom! It’s GREEN!

Crap. How did she know?? Am I even going to be able to pull off this Santa stunt tonight?

Ava: It’s not that bad.

Nice.

Ava drank hers, I drank Maxine’s. Good thing mom likes drinking chocolate green smoothies out of a yellow butterfly cup with a straw. In fact, I liked it so much I made one for myself. (Don’t look at me like that – yes I drank Maxine’s but that butterfly cup might as well have been a shot glass!)

I’m even brave enough to use a clear glass, I don’t care that it looks like pond scum. Did you say chocolate? Hand it over. That’s what eyelids are for.

OK blog friends – I’m out of here! Catch ya on the flip side! Have a great holiday and I’ll be coming at you live from the new house sometime over the weekend.

Peace!

• When the Garmin Strikes Midnight
• Life Goes On
• Chocolate Smoothies Built for Two

Dear Blog,

Hi. How are you? I am fine.

That’s a big fat liiiiieeeee I ammmm insssssaaaaannnneeeee!!!

*ahem*

My Dearest Blog, I’m terribly sorry that I’ve been neglecting you in recent days – please know that I am here and still love you. We’ll be moving into a new house together in just a few days so please hold tight and know that I still love to run, eat healthy food, write crazy posts and return library books late. My daily insanity will return when real life insanity subsides – I promise.

So Blog, the very least I can do is fill you in on some of things I’ve been up to when I’m not packing, carrying all our worldly possessions out to the car in boxes or wiping cobwebs from the basement out of my eyebrows.

First, we’re still doing our homeschooling thing.

Yesterday we hit a park that just so happens to be right down the street from our house. This would be the same park where I ran trails this fall and found a big wad of cash on the ground. Remember that, Blog? Good times.

We had a lesson on gravity, potential energy, kinetic energy and selected a sacrifice to be an example and show the rest how a catapult works.

Another lie. Well, really – a joke. They just played. They’re kindergartners and preschoolers for crying out loud.

Maxine actually did pretty well at the start of our trail walk, but before long was cranky and into the sling she went. I considered signing her up to be the next catapult sacrifice but we moved on to other things before the sign up sheet came around to us.

Right after I took this picture she cried “Don’t take my picture! Did you take my picture??”

No honey, I definitely did not take your picture.

I’m up for mother of the year, did you hear?

Our trail walk ended with a little ice skating booting in the woods – fun for kids and adults a like.

As far as food goes, all you’ve been missing out on Blog is lots of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel toast with almond butter and bananas and giant salads too. When the going gets tough, the tough make a salad.

I did buy a green Kombucha today though.

A 10 day course of antibiotics (thank you infected tooth) is my excuse to spend $3.49 on a bottle of this stuff thanks to it’s probiotic magic.

I also like the Multi-Green variety because of all the B vitamins it’s got from the blue green algae and other sea shrubbery. Given my quasi-vegan lifestyle I like to believe drinking seaweed helps out with some essential B vitamins I am otherwise missing out on.

I should probably be taking a supplement but I hate supplements. I’d rather get it from food. I’m happily living in the dark and hoping my b12 stores are holding strong. What can I say, Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt. Or wherever the hell the Nile river is.

That’s right I am HOMESKOOLING ! I am totaly kwalified to teatch these kids.

I can’t forget about the vegan-minded man in my life either! I had a little one-on-one time with my boyfriend Brendan today too.

This Whole Food Energy Bar came from Vega and was one of many that was sent a while ago. It’s been in hanging out in my stash of the bars and I snagged it as I ran out the door today to make my 174th trip to the new house in the last 13 days.

Oh Brendan, you still rock. Thanks for everything you’ve taught me, I still think about your advice daily!

Sorry about the glare on your face, bro.

I do like these bars and they definitely do a good job of quelling hunger pangs on the run.

I’ve been eating a ton of oranges lately too (just one today though), much like the rest of the produce loving world. It is winter after all.

So Blog, that’s what’s been happening around here. We are slipping ever closer to the brink of insanity as our moving day continues to inch ever closer.

Wait, what do you mean Friday is CHRISTMAS?? All I’m thinking about is Saturday!

And to all my fellow blogs out there in blogland that I know and love – I miss you and will be around again soon.

Yours truly,
Alison

• Sweet Tooth Fairy
• Our Sunday Best
• Like a School Girl

Today we celebrated the winter solstice with my mom and step dad at our house. After the laziest morning ever (read: I didn’t get in any exercise) I make a quick trip to Wegmans like a complete fool. I needed a few things for our little party and ended up fighting my way through what can only be described as the the biggest, craziest crowd of the year. The phrase “what the hell was I thinking” comes to mind.

A while ago I received a coupon in the mail from Foodbuzz to review the Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastries. It was my choice to opt in for this product review and although this isn’t something I would typically buy, I figured I’d go ahead this time knowing I’d probably use it for a party – and that’s exactly what I did.

The pastry sheets are simple sheets of dough that you can use for good or for evil… I mean, sweet or savory. I opted for the savory route today. I had no motivation to come up with any sort of original recipe and I therefore need to give major props to the recipe on the back of the box for helping me out today.

Spinach-Cheese Swirls? I’m fairly sure that’s my middle name.

I set the pastry sheets out to thaw for about 40 minutes, as directed.

I shredded some pepper jack cheese and mixed with a little parm, kosher salt and garlic salt.

When my sheets had thawed I brushed them with raw egg. (That’s a fun sentence to take out of context. Try it.)

I sprinkled the pastry sheet with the cheese mixture, topped the cheese with fresh spinach and then things really got rolling.

By the time I got to the second sheet I was feeling warmed up and ready to strike out on my own. I left the recipe on the back of the box behind and scrounged the fridge for ideas.

I smeared some spicy vegetarian re-fried beans on the second pastry sheet, topped it with a little pepper jack cheese and finally, some of the Pace Picante salsa that showed up earlier in the week also for our review.

Product placement at it’s finest.

I’ll be honest that I’m not crazy about the ingredient list of the pastry sheets – but for an occasional meal I’m not going to sweat enriched flour, monoglycerides, palm oil and high fructose corn syrup. No big deal here for a once and a while thing.

Now please note that the recipe said to cut the rolls into slices and bake them that way, but for a variety of reasons I decided to throw caution to the wind and cook them whole. Due to the fact that I used fresh spinach instead of thawed frozen spinach, I was afraid the fresh spinach leaves would get dragged out by the knife as I sliced through the uncooked roll.

I brushed the tops of the rolls with more egg and into the oven they went at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Pretty, no?

Well don’t get too excited because they weren’t cooked in the middle. I guess those people who wrote that recipe actually knew what they were talking about.

But never fear, I sliced them up and put them back in the oven for another 10 minutes and they puffed right up like they were supposed to. Crisis averted.

These turned out great – both the spinach and bean versions were awesome and we couldn’t decide which ones we liked better. We made a spinach roll and bean roll play tic tac toe to determine a winner but it was a Cats game so we still don’t know which roll was victorious.

The little health inspectors did their duties when my parents arrived with more snacks, plus dessert too.

We only made them ask 15 times if we could open presents before we finally caved.

American Girl dolls for Ava and Maxine. Huge hits. Huge.

Gotta love gifts for foodies. A Mandolin! Oh man, it’s gonna be a veggie blood bath here tomorrow – just you wait and see!

And a new salad plate too.

Plus gifts for new home owners – given I fried my last cordless drill with my mad picture hanging skillz.

The rule here is that you’ve got to have messy hair and a crazy look in your eye when you hold a drill. I’m taking my new drill with me to Wegmans next time I go – I’ll fit right in.

• Like a School Girl
• There’s Always a Silver Lining
• The Reasons I Had Kids

It’s not Thanksgiving, but that doesn’t mean I can’t give some thought to all the things I’m thankful for these days.

I’m thankful for kids that are too big to fit down the laundry chute.

I’m grateful that the little one who I worry COULD possibly fit down there played at the downstairs laundry chute location that is three feet off the floor.

I’d like to give thanks for salad and what a portable meal it can be. Thank you Gladware for making lunch possible at my new home away from home, while taking a little unpacking break before heading home to get ready for an evening out.

I’m appreciative for holiday office parties that give me the night off from having to figure out what I’m going to make for dinner.

I’m especially thankful for small companies and trendy young business owners who do a great job of throwing parties at crazy art galleries.

I’m also grateful for open bar and more specifically, white wine.

Mama could really use a drink. It’s been a long week.

I’d like to give thanks for grazing stations full of dishes for omnivores and herbivores alike.

I am grateful for art gallery tours and the opportunity to do a little snickering over awkward art.

Today I am the most grateful for the best nights sleep I’ve had in well over a week, as well the abundance of time and energy available for a run this morning.

I’d like to give a BIG THANKS and shout out to my memory for remembering everything I learned from winter running last year. Thank you, Brain, for not making me spend the whole winter getting it figured out again this year.

Two layers YO! One layer on the bottom to wick away moisture and sweat, a lighter layer on top to keep some heat in and some cold air out.

Keep your iPod toasty warm by wearing it inside your coat.

And don’t forget that even if it’s 20 degrees outside…

dry pavement is the biggest factor in what it takes to have an enjoyable its-almost-winter morning run.

Thank you Running for the healthy dose of feel good hormones and allowing me to get totally lost in my thoughts for a full 35 minutes and 21 seconds.

I’m also thankful we’re out of coffee because it meant the man of the house would make juice instead of a pot of caffeine.

And lastly, I’m thankful for juice delivery services that allow me to get upstairs and sit at my desk while I get caught up on my virtual life.

When I asked him what was in it, he said “Everything”. From the looks and tastes of it (and from what I observed going into the juicer as I stood there taking pictures) it would be Tomato Carrot Beet Garlic Ginger Juice this morning – and it was awesome.

Have you put garlic in your juicer yet? Get on it! You can thank me later.

• More Adventures With Three
• Whensday?
• There’s Always a Silver Lining

After what seems like the 100th day in a row of packing and hauling toys and household items to the new house, I found myself blanking once again when it was time to figure out what on earth I was going to make for dinner tonight. I think I made 6 trips back and forth between the cupboards and the fridge with one hand glued to my cheek due to pure puzzlement. I finally waved the white flag and made giant salads of green leaf lettuce, the last of the spinach that expired two days ago, grape tomatoes, carrots, red bell pepper slices, hemp seeds and Annie’s Goddess Dressing.

After a much needed run on the indoor track first thing this morning, followed by new house related tasks, I had a root canal this afternoon on a tooth that I injured when I was a kid. Oh the timing of these sorts of things. It’s like the tooth knew I needed one more thing on my plate right now (not to mention my debit card) and has been poised and ready, waiting to become infected until just the right moment.

My appointment was with a new dentist so I had to fill out some paperwork, including a brief medical history. One of the questions I had to answer was:

Have you lost more than 10 lbs in the last year?

I was about to check the YES box before hesitating for a moment as I thought about what I weighed last December and realized that no, I haven’t lost more than 10 lbs in the last year! Yes, I lost nearly 40 lbs in 2008 – but I had reached my happy weight by the summer of 2008 and at this time last year I weighed what I do today.

These two stories tie together because of what my fall back, fast, go-to meal is these days. If you were to visit Alison of Decembers past… say December 2006 or even December 2007, my fall back meal would have been a grilled cheese sandwich and baked french fries for my “vegetable”. Not that I’m above eating grilled cheese sandwiches and white potatoes, but I know that I’ve been able to maintain my weight loss because I majorly overhauled my approach to what I once believed was healthy eating. I had to form new habits and get them to stick.

So how do you make these habits stick? We can change just about anything if we truly believe that it’s worth the effort. Knowledge is power and educating yourself is the first step toward understanding why something is worth the effort, or as the case may sometimes be, to clear up a misconception you have that is holding you back from making any progress.

These musings are pretty timely considering I’ve got guest post up on Love Veggies and Yoga today about my journey to reaching my healthy weight. Head over to Averie’s blog if out if you missed reading two posts from me today or if you just want to see some groovy pictures of Mama Averie living large in Aruba!

After I put my salad together, I spent some time with a certain 5 year old girl who relentlessly requested I play War with her until I found my white flag again and begged for mercy!

Uh oh – here we go! Dueling Kings!

This means WAR kiddo.

But awww yeah Mom and The Fallback Salad cleaned up for this round!

I was in the mood for something sweet tonight and opted for the healthiest version of a cookie I can come up with. Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel Toast topped with almond butter and a little shaved Green and Black 70% Dark Chocolate.

Little shavings get melty pretty fast!

Did you know that shaving chocolate can be a great way to save calories?

One might say you save calories because shaving chocolate is a great way to make a little go a long way. But tonight as it turns out I ate the remainder of the 6 small blocks of chocolate I broke off to do the shaving and thus saved NO chocolate calories. It turns out that you save calories shaving chocolate because you only use a little bit and (note to self:) you don’t need to break off 6 squares of chocolate for a few little shavings. Or – for crying out loud woman – put the rest of the 5 blocks of chocolate back in the fridge!

Ah well. It’s water under the bridge now! At least I won War tonight. I’ve got that going for me.

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