Oh hi...

I had a blog, didn't I? Way to commit to something. Ha. Try again? The theme is still similar. I'm still in the country, but back in Michigan. I'm no longer a stay-at-home mom. I work at a flower shop now. Best of all, my husband doesn't travel for work anymore! Long hours, but home every night. A properly written post is forthcoming.

ABBA, Farmville and a great breakfast

I've been in a bit of a funk and haven't felt like writing. Not abandoning this, though. I guess I just needed the weather to warm and the sun to come back out.

There are days that it can be terribly isolating to be a stay-at home mom. To feel defined only by "wife and mom". I mean, I know NO ONE ELSE HAS EVER STRUGGLED WITH THAT. Ha ha. Add to that being relocated to "Farmville, IL". And this is coming from someone who lived in rural Wisconsin for 2 years! lol In Wisconsin, there were tons of moms groups and a definite online presence of other people with children. Not so much here. In fact, I am driving 45 minutes to a playdate tomorrow with the only moms group anywhere close to me.

I think that should help a lot. Simply thinking of driving to Waterloo tomorrow starts a chorus of ABBA in my head for hours.

~~~

I've been eating a modified version of Paleo/Slow Carb since the beginning of the year, losing 12 lbs so far. (Nearly 20 lbs down since last summer).

I hate to name it or call it a diet, it's really a permanent lifestyle change. 6 days a week I eat mostly protein, fat and vegetables. I use a teaspoon of sugar in my coffee, but besides that I avoid it. I rarely eat fruit and I don't have fruit juice or pop/soda. I avoid bread but I eat some potatoes. One day a week I eat anything I want as long as it's after a high protein breakfast.

It can get boring without bread and pasta, but I found a great breakfast recipe this morning that I modified to work for me.

Eggs, Roasted Tomatoes and Sausage (serves 1)

Tomatoes: 1 handful cherry tomatoes, drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and tossed with salt, pepper and dried thyme. Roast in baking dish in a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Scrape into a bowl and allow to cool a little.

Sausages: While tomatoes are roasting, cook some store-bought link sausages in a pan according to package directions (typically 15 minutes on medium-low heat). Remove sausage and drain on a paper towel.

Eggs: You can either poach your eggs until the white is set and the yolk is still loose or fry them in the sausage pan, which is what I did (because eating fat makes me lose weight!)

Serve tomatoes on top of cooked eggs with sausage on the side.

The tomatoes burst open and are super sweet like a tomato sauce. With a cup of coffee it was fantastic.

Blueberry Pancakes

Due to the 30 mile round trip to get to a grocery store, no blueberries were consumed in the making of these pancakes

My 3rd shift workin' husband gets up in the mid afternoon which makes for some unusual cooking in my house. I make and pack his lunch in the morning (which he eats at midnight) and cook breakfast in the afternoon.

3 year old Henry eats breakfast with me in the morning, but then I end up making breakfast again in the afternoon for Gary. After a few days of scrambled eggs and bacon, he asked for pancakes. Sounded easy and I was tired of scrambling eggs, too.

Before you are appalled by the fact that I cooked whatever he asks for...he works 60-70 hours per week...I like to make him good food during the short period he is neither working or sleeping.

I thought since it was such a coincidence he asked for pancakes and the book I just bought on learning some old-fashioned skills had a first chapter on pancakes...

The pancakes were nothing fancy. I guess there are people who have never made pancakes from scratch before and this beginning was meant for them! Makes me sound like a food snob...yeah, I probably am. ;-)

We tried to think of some ways to cut down on all the sugar Henry would get dousing his pancakes in syrup. Mix a little syrup with greek yogurt...Maple Yogurt topping. The kid loved it.

Good, easy pancakes for those without a box of Bisquick.