Mrs. Furious ... Recipes, Rants, and Reviews

More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About The Amish

2008-08-21T15:05:00.002-04:00

Eventually You Will Rest...

2008-08-21T13:14:00.005-04:00

And when you do I will kill you.

The Dark Side

2008-08-20T11:01:00.004-04:00

Well I did it. I crossed over.

First things first... Walmart had the biggest shopping carts I had ever seen! I had no problem fitting my huge purse, Kid, and all the stuff I could ever want to buy in there. Clever Walmart very clever... but I'm not falling for it!

Overall I will say that aesthetically Walmart has nothing on Target. It's akin to Meijer or Kmart. This SuperCenter had almost no organic foods so I wasn't able to do a price comparison there... but I can say that the prices on a whole are very similar to Target's. You are not saving more by shopping there. While somethings were a bit cheaper others (like $3 more for diapers!) were a bit more expensive.

One thing I found to be hilarious was the staging of this nightstand in the furniture department. What's wrong with this picture?

I don't think I've ever even seen an ashtray at Target... much less one used in an alluring bedside tablescape!

Kid Cooks

2008-08-19T14:48:00.006-04:00

"Magical Peanut Butter Cookies"
adapted from Paula Dean

1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 beaten egg
1/2 t vanilla

Mix peanut butter & sugar together with wooden spoon.
Add egg & vanilla and mix thoroughly.
Roll tablespoonfuls of dough by hand and place on a cookie sheet.
Dip fork in flour or sugar and press tops.
Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
Cool on sheets and sprinkle tops with sugar.

Make 9 cookies at 140 calories each.

Sneaky Chef

2008-08-19T10:09:00.002-04:00

This Week The Plan

2008-08-18T14:53:00.005-04:00

Okay so last week went straight in the crapper. I did not do a weekly plan and I ended up totally sabotaging myself and gaining back the 2 pounds I had lost the week before! How many times do I need to go through this before I just suck it up and get back on board? The truth is I just HATE having to do one more thing. And I hate that I can't succeed without it. And I hate being told what to do... even by myself... and I just resist doing it.... even though I know I'm hurting myself in the process.

This week will be different... right?! Yes. I'm serious now. I'm pissed at myself and I'm going to channel it back into my weight loss efforts. Plus I finally got my treadmill hooked up last night and was already able to get a workout in. Now to break the peanut butter cookie habit I've picked up the last few weeks...

Menu:

Monday - Pasta (back to the GI portion control!), turkey meatballs, sauteed squash & peppers

Tuesday - Cornflake Crusted Tilapia, garlic & sherry steamed carrots

Wednesday - Brown Sugar & Ginger Salmon, spring rolls, veggie stirfry

Thursday - pork tenderloin, green beans & rice

Friday - pancake night

Saturday - pizza

Sunday - Tomato & Basil Quiche, salad

Diet & Exercise:
Still calorie counting on the food diary blog. Now that I've got the treadmill I'm going for 6 - 30 minute hill interval walks. I haven't worked out in nearly 3 months so I'm starting with 30 minutes and hopefully by next week I'll get that back up to 60 minutes.

So Here's What's Going On...

2008-08-17T14:45:00.008-04:00

Moving is stressful. More stressful than I had remembered. Made all the worse by the fact that I have no local support system. Yes I know in time that will change... but that is "in time" as in not any help to me NOW when I am in fact in need of support.
Add to all that that the house is chaotic and in various states of unpacked/packed/and just plain filthy since who's going to bother cleaning a toilet when you haven't even found a place to store your toilet paper?!

On top of all that is the fact that Mr F's job is a bit more time consuming than I had thought it would be. At his old job he would actually call me... to chat no less... he was a constant presence on the blog. In many ways our marriage was better than ever lately because he was able to stay up to date on all my homebound on goings. Now he's got a glass office... and... um... he can't exactly hang out on the wife's blog all day. Fine I get that. I do. The problem with all this is that we went from best friends to mere acquaintances practically over night... and during the time when I need a friend most. He's the only person I know and he doesn't have time to talk to me. See? Well Mr F didn't... and that's creating some extra tension on the home front ;) He wasn't really getting that while he got a new job with fun people and locations to scout... I lost my whole social network... and with his busier hours I felt like he wasn't being my friend anymore either.

I realize a lot of families live a life like this. One where one parent comes home in time to tuck their kids in bed and then works some more. I get that not everyone has time to "chat" at work... but this is like a 180 out of nowhere for us. And I was feeling very isolated before Mr F decided to go all antisocial on me. It's made me really regret moving here and I'm not sure the job is worth the loss of family time. I'm not sure Mr F would have thought so either if he'd had time to process everything before we just up and came down here. I'm regretting enrolling Kid in the private school and wishing I'd invested the same amount in a camper so I could travel with the kids instead of being stuck here... alone.

Things will change. I know. But that isn't immediate. It takes a long time to establish roots somewhere. I've been out exploring and doing the things "you're supposed to do" around here... and it's something to do... but it isn't fulfilling. I'm still alone. I still have no one to talk to. I might as well be in a foreign land where I don't speak the language. And I'm not just saying that... I really feel out of my element here. It is the weirdest feeling.

Breaking The Cycle

2008-08-16T11:41:00.005-04:00

So this week has been bad on a number of fronts.
Most of them I can't control... but the diet and exercise I can. I'm getting back on board. I'm going to focus on that as the place in my life that I can see improvements. By next week I can feel better about something. I can be proud of myself again.

When Things Get Tough...

2008-08-15T11:25:00.002-04:00

I want to go to Disney.

Full On Breakdown

2008-08-14T23:14:00.001-04:00

The Fury Returns

2008-08-14T14:18:00.002-04:00

Okay here is the deal Canine has been shitting all over the damn house this week. Today is the third day I've come home to his soft serve explosions. I spent at least half an hour yesterday trying to get it out of our shag type rug (that used to be in the basement... for fear of this very thing).

When we moved I had gotten him on some new food that was especially firming. Things were going great and he hadn't had any accidents. Then I went out of town and Mr F replaced the food with something "better". Now we've got soft serving coming out the ying yang and Mr F claims it is not the food. Well what else would it be jack ass?! (and of course I say that lovingly... no, no, I don't... remember I am cleaning this shit up) Mr F seems to have conveniently forgotten that it takes a couple of weeks for dogs to switch over to a new food.

Anyway after taking the kids out and coming home AT naptime, hungry, etc and then opening the door to Canine's pooptacular soft serve emporium I was PISSED. I needed to get these kids food ASAP but of course that had to wait while I picked poop out of the rugs. As if it couldn't get any worse Kid calls me to the kitchen and points to the floor... where I see my favorite butter dish smashed to pieces with a huge glob of soften butter all over the floor. That goddamn asshole! It was all I could do not to go corporal punishment style on his ass! Seriously I was shaking with fury.

Now when I called Mr F for a little compassion and commiseration he answered with his usual put upon tone that he has taken to with his new job. Which if you're assuming I call him multiple times a day to whine about my life... you are wrong!!!... I usually call one time to find out when he's coming home (believe it). There is no call for his rudeness. Especially when I have given up everything I had worked 7 years to create in Ann Arbor so he can have this freaking job. It is totally disrespectful and pisses me off even more than the shit factory.

The Best Thing About Reading Cheesy Amish Romance Novels...

2008-08-14T09:54:00.002-04:00

Is that you dream about the Amish.

Inquiring Minds Want To Know...

2008-08-13T14:32:00.006-04:00

What exactly do Baptists believe?
I'm pretty sure I can say this without offending anyone (right?)... there are a LOT of Baptist churches down here. I mean A LOT. There are literally 5 in a row down the street from us. Five in a row... not kind of near each other... literally next door to each other. What is the deal? Obviously I realize it is a Christian denomination. In Michigan there were a couple Baptist churches in Ann Arbor but not more than any other denomination. I looked up the churches in Asheville... and I'm not exaggerating... there are 53 Baptist churches in Asheville (there are 6 Episcopalian in case you were wondering ;). Fifty-freaking-three! I just don't understand how that can be necessary... or possible.
Seeing as two of our "elderly" neighbors have invited us to attend the one around the block (and I'm totally going to go... you know how I feel about religion!) I'm curious to know what I should expect.

Sorry

2008-08-13T14:11:00.003-04:00

Baby fell off a rock wall straight onto her face. I'm pretty sure she's fine and mostly just bruised & scraped up.
But she's in need of attention....

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

2008-08-12T15:50:00.004-04:00

"Why are there two lunch bags?" Kid asked

"I'm not sure if you can have the Hello Kitty one it might be poisonous, I need to check." I replied

Kid asks "Why would someone put something poisonous in a lunch bag?"

And I reply "I don't know honey, I don't know" shaking my head.

"Who are they some freaking assholes that don't like kids?" Kid retorts

Something like that....

Mrs F's Quest For Green Continues

2008-08-12T09:35:00.007-04:00

Kid will be starting school here shortly. We just got our list of supplies (kind of assumed the 8K covered that... silly me) and the lunch/food rules. You know I'm pretty serious about feeding the kids a healthy diet (okay Kid... not Baby her diet is admittedly 50% "cook cook"). I make most of our food from scratch. I'm at 100% organic food. And still these rules made me nervous and feel like I might look like the "bad mom". This is a private school and they don't provide any food (or water for the Kindergarten room... what?!... the 8 grand cannot fund a drinking fountain or a box of dixie cups?!!!). So we need to send in a snack and a lunch with drink and a water bottle. They need reusable silverware & cloth napkins (fine we've got that covered). Reusable containers... fine....but what I've got are glass and VERY hard for me to open let alone Kid. Obviously I'd like to use a "safe" container. And I've got to fit it all into something. Their food needs to be at the temperature they'll be eating it no heating it up.

Last year at Kid's preschool she went for "Lunch Bunch" once a week before her program started. I dropped her off so I was able to set up her lunch and open her containers. We came right from home so hot things were still hot and cold things were still cold. they were all about the lunch dessert and I felt like crap the first day when I hadn't sent one. Kid's new school?... yeah not big on the lunch dessert. In fact you can send no chocolate or cookies or refined products of any kind. What about a homemade cookie?... NO (I think this will be harder on me then her).

Okay but I digress... the real issue I'm having is what to pack her food in. So while strolling the aisles of Earth Fare (think local Whole Foods) I stumble upon this: Lunchopolois. Hmm... could it be perfect? Cute? check. Big? check. Made of lead free & PVC free plastic? check. Comes with reusable containers? check. Comes with a reusable bottle? check. But why is it made of hard plastic? Why is it in a health food store with the Sigg bottles when it is clearly made of polycarbonate plastic (even the label says so)? Now Whole Foods does not sell any plastic with BPA so I was kind of thinking Earth Fare would be similar. Is there something I don't know? Have they made a "new" kind of BPA free polycarbonate? I rushed home to research.

NO. They do not make a "new" food safe form of polycarbonate. While it would be great to buy the lead-free/PVC free lunch "box" what the hell difference does it make if you are packing your actual food in BPA laden plastic? This is the terrible plastic people! The kind that does in fact leech chemicals into your food and drinks. Why is this being sold as a "green" choice? It appears the fact that you can reuse the containers is what qualifies them as "green". The marketing of environmentally "friendly" products is about to send me over the edge. There are no clear labeling standards or regulations. This product isn't "green" it's factually toxic! And what's worse is it is being actively marketed as the thoughtful parent's lunch box of choice for their child.

So I'm back to the drawing board. If you have any ideas... and I mean really legitimately "green" products... let me know. I will need to send hot food some of the time (obviously not sending that in polycarbonate thank you very much!). Are there divided hot & cold lunch boxes? What about the badass construction crew style?

Getting Back To My Roots

2008-08-11T00:05:00.003-04:00

Today is August 11th. I almost let it slip by and then I remembered that today is the day my best friend is going to start her diet plan. What's exciting about that is that she wanted little old me to come up with her meal plan... like I'm her very own personal Jenny Craig! Now truth be told we've tried this arrangement before and it hasn't worked... but this time I do believe she's ready. And I'm very excited because I would love for her to have the same success that I have... and I believe anyone can when they are ready to stop sabotaging themselves and really, really, take accountability for their choices.

Curious what I've laid out for her? Well here is some important background info... she has Celiac disease (no gluten) which of course has been a huge stumbling block for her in the past, she works full time with a significant commute into the city, she doesn't like to "handle" meat, due to her health issues she tends to eat separate meals from her boyfriend... which is nice in this circumstance since she really can have an individualized meal plan.

I'm a big believer in eating small meals through out the day. She typically pushes back food (since she's busy) until she is ravenous and then that spills over into all night eating. Sound familiar? I find, for myself, if I get too hungry I become like a bottomless pit and I never feel like I can get full enough. So I favor eating 6 times day with one of those being a straight up treat. I'm pretty consistent with my meal times (kids will do that to you) and I always have an afternoon snack between 4-5 pm so that I don't pick the whole time I'm making dinner (or get so hungry I freak out and tell Mr F to bring home pizza). One thing that held her back from succeeding in the past was her old job position, her hours were crazy and random and it really was impossible for her to be consistent. She has a much more consistent schedule and she's ready to commit to a food plan but she doesn't want to calorie count and meal plan.

So here is where I come in. I want her to succeed. I understand her particular hang ups. While I think food journaling and calorie counting are surefire methods for consistent weight loss... they'll only work if you'll do them. So since she can't dial up Nutrisystem or something else I've made a fairly inflexible plan. Inflexible on purpose. When she gets bored we'll change it up... but the hard weight loss portion is what it is and I don't know that having tons of choices makes it any easier. I actually think the more you run on autopilot food-wise the better. This isn't permanent but for now she's going to be eating the same types of food everyday. Think about your own diet... don't we all sort of do that anyway?

Breakfast: 1 brown rice cake w/ 1 T peanut butter
1 flavored yogurt
300

Snack: 1 piece of fruit
Tea w/skim
90

Lunch: frozen Amy's meal in the 300-400 calories range
400

Snack: Nectar bar
Tea w/ skim
190

Dinner: huge salad w/ unlimited veggies (except corn)
3 oz meat or 3 oz tuna or 2 hard boiled eggs or 1/2 c beans
1/2 c shredded cheese (or 1/4 avocado)
2 T lite dressing
300
1 piece of wheat free toast 100
400 total

Dessert: 1 Sherbetter popsicle or pudding cup 120
120

Total for day: 1500 calories

Now we worked this plan out of food she already likes and eats often. Obviously due to her Celiac disease she can't have many prepared or conventional foods. While she's eating basically the same thing everyday she can vary the flavors of her yogurt, snack bar and dessert as well as choose different frozen meals and completely change the taste and texture of her salad every night. I'm excited and she is too. This is a doable plan for her which doesn't require a lot of cooking (any really). We're going to let this plan work its magic over the next few weeks and add in exercise when she feels she has gotten this part down.

After working all that out for her I was so excited that I got recommitted to streamlining my own diet and getting back on a daily schedule. I really find that sticking with a routine helps keep me within in my calorie range.

Rejoice Rejoice

2008-08-10T10:48:00.003-04:00

It's not perfect, people...

BUT it is a hell of a lot better than it had been. Remember the crazy bomb shelter look? With the bed broken apart and strewn around the very small room? Yeah that was a nightmare.

So in the end I did lay down our old dining room rug (which just fit) and hung the velvet curtains (also from the dining room) over the bed. The white bedside tables I had been using in our old house looked WRONG in here so I'm using a little dark stained sewing cabinet from my grandmother (will search Target for something for the other side). I'm resisting the urge to fill this space with furniture. I've got a beautiful antique cherry secretary, that had been my great grandmothers opposite the bed, that functions as my dresser. Still to come... a new paint job (thinking a pale pewter color) and some kind of subtle window treatment for the other set of windows which over look the screened in porch.

And The Winner Is...

2008-08-09T13:31:00.007-04:00

Quiche!

I made one spinach & onion and one tomato & basil. They were a HUGE hit. Thanks for everyone's suggestions... this is clearly a potluck heavy group so I'll have many opportunities to try them out.
At the end of the day I guess I couldn't pass up the opportunity to showcase my beautiful pie basket:
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It's old fashioned charm cannot be denied!

sorry don't know why those pics are sideways!!!

Important Updates (Of All Sorts)

2008-08-08T10:52:00.004-04:00

First things first:

Remember the crystal? I think I can safely say I've put this baby to the test over the past 2 months of moving & packing & heat & whatnot. It works people. It works better than the name brand deodorant/anti-perspirant that I had been using. And YES in both departments. Totally badass. Totally smell free. Totally not killing you slowly.

Secondly:
After my breakdown with Kid the other night I realized I needed to get some "me time" ASAP. So I managed to get in to get my haircut last night. On the way there I went to good old Barnes & Noble and got myself a new Amish romance novel. Believe it.

Added bonus of the night is that the hairdresser and I got along famously. I counseled her on her relationship issues... she warned me about the nighttime rapists of Asheville (great!). I think we sat around talking for a good hour after my cut and then she asked me out on a friend date! Excellent.

Third and final photo of the day:

Kid lost her second tooth. Check out that cute toothless grin!

HELP!

2008-08-07T23:08:00.003-04:00

We've got a Brunch Potluck for Kid's new school on Saturday. We're supposed to bring a dish to share. I don't want to bring fruit salad (as I assume many will) and I'd like to take something that is more of a main course. Any suggestions? It is going to be outside at a park.

You Know What They Say About Measuring Twice...

2008-08-07T15:26:00.006-04:00

If you're going to drill 4 holes in my hardwood floors is there a reason you couldn't have done it behind the TV armoire?!?!

Mr F will probably be pissed... but then again he did do this last night:

Move Over Joan Crawford

2008-08-07T09:30:00.008-04:00

Last night I lost my temper. I yelled at Kid. I said things that weren't nice. I regretted it, even while I was doing it, but was too immature in the moment to stop. We all have this inside of us. I'm not putting this out there so someone will try and make me feel better about it. I putting it out there so someone might feel better about themselves.
We all mess up sometimes. It's what you do about it that makes the difference.

Oh NO... No...No...NO!

2008-08-06T19:52:00.004-04:00

I just saw a RAT

well at least some things are going well...

2008-08-06T17:59:00.000-04:00