Mid-Year Resolutions

I've never really been one for making new year resolutions . . . not sure if I just don't see the point, or what. Perhaps it's because I don't have anyone to keep me terribly accountable - and that might be where you guys come in! If I have to admit to the whole world (read: the half dozen or so of you) that I've been slacking, perhaps that will give me better motivation.

Before I go on, let me show you what spurred these ponderings. Laura at Heavenly Homemakers is doing a challenge to eat more fruits and vegetables. (She has an adorable button that is giving me some html troubles.) I think I had just started reading her blog this time last year when she did a similar challenge and thought "hmmm..." then went on my merry way.

Not this year.

Here are the things that I would like to accomplish over the summer and build into long-term habit:
1) Eat a good breakfast every day.
2) Cut down on eating between meals by eating *healthier* meals. Make healthier snacks when we need them.
3) Plan out a menu and shop for groceries less frequently.
4) Walk over to the farm (Goose in a borrowed jogging stroller thanks to Hubs's sweet cousin) to feed the kitties at least 4 times a week.
5) Go to bed earlier and get up earlier.
6) Lose about 25-30 pounds. I add this as an afterthought - I'm hoping that if I'm successful with the above, this will fall into place on its own.

You know how everything ties up into a big snarl sometimes? If I got more sleep, I'd wake up more rested and not be so cranky about making breakfast vs. pouring a bowl of cereal and popping a pop tart. If I ate a better breakfast, I'd be more in the mood for a walk rather than staying home to eat a snack. If I got some exercise, I'd sleep better. And on it goes.

Menu planning has been a struggle for me. Since I'm so picky, I don't have a lot of meals that I *really* like. And I don't want to wear out the handful I have that I do like. In typical two-year-old fashion, Goose has a narrow, random, and ever-changing list of items she will eat. I try not to cater to her whims and she can eat it or go without, although I may allow a snack later. I probably don't stick to that as much as I should . . . she actually dropped off the bottom of the growth chart for a while and although her doctor and I weren't worried, I didn't like it very much.

The final struggle is that I don't know what meals Hubs will be able to be here for, and what meals he wants us to bring him something. And sometimes he comes home late and is not hungry at all! If it rains, he'll almost certainly be home - unless they're working cattle and then he'll be late and covered in mud and other substances to boot. See how that makes it a bit difficult to plan?

For the past several years, I have been amassing a huge recipe collection. I had it sorted by category in index card boxes, but it wasn't working very well. A bit before Goose was born, I began trying to put them into a spreadsheet so I could do some sort of searching (i.e. I want a recipe for soup that uses ham and broccoli) but that didn't seemt to be working, either. And then I had a baby and that was the end of that.

I've been putting in a bit of time here and there on it again - the main difference is that this time, I'm pulling out the ones I know I won't make. For one, I've learned more about Hubs's tastes over five years of marriage and something that I thought he might like I now know that it won't impress him much. This reorganizing is helping remind me what I have and would like to try, and clearing out the rest so I can find what's left.

Side note, Amy at The Finer Things has a good system. When she finds a recipe she'd like to try, she plugs it into her next menu rotation RIGHT THEN. I like that idea a lot!

Another thing that has been nagging at me like a toothache is food addiction. Jennifer at Conversion Diary has posted about her struggles with food a number of times. She came up with something called The Saint Diet and has cut out sugar and flour. To be honest, that blows my mind. I love my cinnamon rolls and bread and chocolate and cookies and I could go on forever. To be realistic, when I did the yeast elimination diet that cut those out, my excess weight fell off. So, it boils down to whether I want to be healthy or whether I want to eat what I want. I know which one would be best, but am I ready to commit? I think it's about time I do. Wish me luck - and I'm off to re-read those posts of Jennifer's and then get to work on the recipe sorting.