So, I have been MIA the last couple weeks. I just haven't felt like blogging...honestly really haven't felt the need to blog. This is what happened last time...no one reads the blog so it's like what's the point. I shared the link on my facebook when I first started...but maybe I'm just not writing interesting posts, I don't know. Kinda hard to write something interesting when I don't have any followers. So, I think for the time being I'm going to disable the blog. Idon't think I'm going to delete like last time. I am working on some craft projects that I hope I can start selling. If that's the case, then I will get it back up and running. And hopefully, draw in more readers.
So, until then....
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
A little about me
So I figured that it would be best if I did a little introduction about myself. I think most people that read know me but in case I happen to get any new readers (which is my goal).
My name is Carol, I am wife to Jason and mom to three beautiful boys-Schyler, Andrew, Samuel. While I am originally from Georgia, I currently reside in Eastern North Carolina. I am a stay at home mommy and wouldn't trade it for anything. I love being able to get up with my boys and get their breakfast and lunches. And I love being here when they get off the bus to help with homework. I do think I want to get back into the working world one day but right now I am enjoying my time at home.
I love reading and being outdoors with my family either walking or taking them to the park. The last couple of years we have gotten into kayaking. The last time we went I was about 4 months pregnant. And since the baby is only 10 weeks old, I'm not going to be kayaking for a while. But, we also like to fish. There's a nice little spot down from our house that we were going fishing at practically every weekend and sometimes a couple times a week after the boys homework was done.
I hope to learn how to knit and crochet. I got some instruction booklets for Christmas but having a newborn kinda makes it hard to get anything done when it comes to that. I also trying my hand at cross stitch. I did it when I was much younger and want to get back into again. I also want to learn to sew better. So, I have quite a bit I want to learn to do! We'll see how it goes.
So that's a little about me...I'll have another post on how the title The Life of Five came about!
My name is Carol, I am wife to Jason and mom to three beautiful boys-Schyler, Andrew, Samuel. While I am originally from Georgia, I currently reside in Eastern North Carolina. I am a stay at home mommy and wouldn't trade it for anything. I love being able to get up with my boys and get their breakfast and lunches. And I love being here when they get off the bus to help with homework. I do think I want to get back into the working world one day but right now I am enjoying my time at home.
I love reading and being outdoors with my family either walking or taking them to the park. The last couple of years we have gotten into kayaking. The last time we went I was about 4 months pregnant. And since the baby is only 10 weeks old, I'm not going to be kayaking for a while. But, we also like to fish. There's a nice little spot down from our house that we were going fishing at practically every weekend and sometimes a couple times a week after the boys homework was done.
I hope to learn how to knit and crochet. I got some instruction booklets for Christmas but having a newborn kinda makes it hard to get anything done when it comes to that. I also trying my hand at cross stitch. I did it when I was much younger and want to get back into again. I also want to learn to sew better. So, I have quite a bit I want to learn to do! We'll see how it goes.
So that's a little about me...I'll have another post on how the title The Life of Five came about!
Monday, February 10, 2014
Trying Something New
There is a local dance studio in our town and they offer a couple workout classes for adults...Zumba and PiYo. Now, I have done Zumba before a couple years ago and I loved it. I loved it so much I got Zumba for the Wii but I was a little disappointed as the Zumba in class wasn't truly authentic. The instructor incorporated newer dance music and dance moves with traditional Zumba moves. And the Wii Zumba was more traditional moves and music. It was still fun though. I have not ever taken a PiYo class--which is a mixture of Pilates and Yoga and there's some cardio thrown in.
What I like is that the first class you go to is free to see if it's something you are going to like or not. And then if you come back, then it's only $5 per class. I would only be able to go to the evening classes which would be 2 evenings a week. I'm hoping they work out for me becuase it's something that I can do for myself. Even though I will miss being at home it's only for an hour and it's going to benefit myself.
As much as I love classes, I always hate the first couple. I am always self conscious and super shy. When I did Zumba before I always hoped I didn't look stupid doing the moves. And I never really talked to anyone. I'm hoping I don't make a fool of myself at these classes especially since it's been a couple years since I've been to a class.
The Zumba class is tonight and due to having other plans, I doubt I'll be able to make it to tonight's class. We are expecting some snow/ice Tuesday so I don't know if I'll be able to do PiYo Tuesday or not. If not, then I'll start next week. Either way, I'll be sure to check back in and tell how my experience was.
I think it's going to be good for me to get out and learn to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. I urge everyone to try something new and something for yourself...even if you are out of your comfort zone!
What I like is that the first class you go to is free to see if it's something you are going to like or not. And then if you come back, then it's only $5 per class. I would only be able to go to the evening classes which would be 2 evenings a week. I'm hoping they work out for me becuase it's something that I can do for myself. Even though I will miss being at home it's only for an hour and it's going to benefit myself.
As much as I love classes, I always hate the first couple. I am always self conscious and super shy. When I did Zumba before I always hoped I didn't look stupid doing the moves. And I never really talked to anyone. I'm hoping I don't make a fool of myself at these classes especially since it's been a couple years since I've been to a class.
The Zumba class is tonight and due to having other plans, I doubt I'll be able to make it to tonight's class. We are expecting some snow/ice Tuesday so I don't know if I'll be able to do PiYo Tuesday or not. If not, then I'll start next week. Either way, I'll be sure to check back in and tell how my experience was.
I think it's going to be good for me to get out and learn to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. I urge everyone to try something new and something for yourself...even if you are out of your comfort zone!
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Success!
Sunday night was the final night of our 21 day sugar detox. We had slip ups here and there but overall we stuck to it. Over the 21 days, I lost a little over 3 lbs and Jason lost a little over 4 lbs. While weightloss was not the goal of this, it certainly doesn't hurt to lose a few pounds either!
We both feel better and can definitely tell a difference in our taste buds. Yesterday, I had a cupcake--if you remember that was one of my vices. Well, it was way too sweet-like sick on your stomach sweet. When we eat store bought ketchup, we can taste the sugar in that. It truly is amazing how much sugar is in products. These past three weeks have definitely been an eye opener for us. We are not really continuing the detox but we are. This weeks meals are completely out of the detox book and detox cookbook. We are going to be very careful about the foods we add back in. As we were telling our kids this is not a diet, it's a lifestyle.
This past weekend we went to Whole Foods. Let me just say I love that store! If I could max out a credit card without having to pay it back, I totally think it would be there. Crazy right?! It's just so expensive to shop there and we have to drive over an hour just to get to one. It's definitely not somewhere we'll shop every week becasue it doesn't fit into our budget. But, I think it's something we can do at least once a month to get items we'll need. This trip we got a few things that we needed so I could make a paleo dessert and a few things just to have on hand to ue in other recipes.
During our shopping trip, we also picked up some kale chips. Now, I tried making kale chips not long ago and it was a disaster. Something that is supposed to be completely easy to do, I somehow screwed it up. My one inlaws said they'd show us how they do it when they visit next. I didn't really care for the kale chips...maybe it was the flavor, I don't know. But our middle son absolutely loves them (he's taking them in his lunch today). One thing we picked up that we all liked were some cookies from Go Raw. They're dehydrated and considered a raw food which is supposed to be much better for you because cooking doesn't destroy all the important enzymes and nutrients. I got a raw foods cookbook one year from my husband. I don't think he realized until I started going through it that we needed a dehydrator to be able to do those recipes. So, we really need to get one or need to start using our oven to dehydrate the foods so we can try some of the recipes. In the mean time though, I would be interested in getting some of the stuff from Go Raw. If their other items are anything like the gingersnap cookies we got, we'll be happy for sure.
While in Whole Foods, Jason decided he would get a kombuch tea. His parents make it and I believe he tried it at their house before. I am not going to start drinking it just yet since I'm nursing. I probably could drink it but several sites I've read said if I had been drinking it all along then it would be ok but probably don't want to start if I haven't been drinking it. So, I think I'll just wait for the time being. When his parents come for a visit, they said they would show us how to make the kombucha. I guess that will be cool to be able to do your own flavors. And I'm sure much cheaper too!
**I know some people receive compensation for trying products, etc and giving their opinion. That is not the case with the sugar detox or the Go Raw food products. My opinions are simply that...something I tried, liked and wanted to share.
We both feel better and can definitely tell a difference in our taste buds. Yesterday, I had a cupcake--if you remember that was one of my vices. Well, it was way too sweet-like sick on your stomach sweet. When we eat store bought ketchup, we can taste the sugar in that. It truly is amazing how much sugar is in products. These past three weeks have definitely been an eye opener for us. We are not really continuing the detox but we are. This weeks meals are completely out of the detox book and detox cookbook. We are going to be very careful about the foods we add back in. As we were telling our kids this is not a diet, it's a lifestyle.
This past weekend we went to Whole Foods. Let me just say I love that store! If I could max out a credit card without having to pay it back, I totally think it would be there. Crazy right?! It's just so expensive to shop there and we have to drive over an hour just to get to one. It's definitely not somewhere we'll shop every week becasue it doesn't fit into our budget. But, I think it's something we can do at least once a month to get items we'll need. This trip we got a few things that we needed so I could make a paleo dessert and a few things just to have on hand to ue in other recipes.
During our shopping trip, we also picked up some kale chips. Now, I tried making kale chips not long ago and it was a disaster. Something that is supposed to be completely easy to do, I somehow screwed it up. My one inlaws said they'd show us how they do it when they visit next. I didn't really care for the kale chips...maybe it was the flavor, I don't know. But our middle son absolutely loves them (he's taking them in his lunch today). One thing we picked up that we all liked were some cookies from Go Raw. They're dehydrated and considered a raw food which is supposed to be much better for you because cooking doesn't destroy all the important enzymes and nutrients. I got a raw foods cookbook one year from my husband. I don't think he realized until I started going through it that we needed a dehydrator to be able to do those recipes. So, we really need to get one or need to start using our oven to dehydrate the foods so we can try some of the recipes. In the mean time though, I would be interested in getting some of the stuff from Go Raw. If their other items are anything like the gingersnap cookies we got, we'll be happy for sure.
While in Whole Foods, Jason decided he would get a kombuch tea. His parents make it and I believe he tried it at their house before. I am not going to start drinking it just yet since I'm nursing. I probably could drink it but several sites I've read said if I had been drinking it all along then it would be ok but probably don't want to start if I haven't been drinking it. So, I think I'll just wait for the time being. When his parents come for a visit, they said they would show us how to make the kombucha. I guess that will be cool to be able to do your own flavors. And I'm sure much cheaper too!
**I know some people receive compensation for trying products, etc and giving their opinion. That is not the case with the sugar detox or the Go Raw food products. My opinions are simply that...something I tried, liked and wanted to share.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Finally Outta the House
Today is the first day since Monday that I've been able to get out of the house since we got hit with the snow storm on Tuesday. I was so excited to get snow because it's been a few years since we have had any. Living in east North Carolina, we don't get snow that often so I always enjoy it when it snows. I don't however enjoy the ice that comes along with it at times. Overall we got about 1 inch of ice and then 4 inches of snow on top of the ice. My boys had a blast playing and throwing snowballs at each other and of course being out of school all week is a plus too. I had a blast taking pictures of them and watching them have fun in the snow. But, as much fun as the snow is, I am glad that it has decided to leave. It's no fun being cooped up in the house days on end.
We were a little "bad" during this week and didn't stick to a strict sugar detox meal plan. But overall, we still ate very well. I do know what triggers my bad eating habits--the ones where I want bad carbs and overload of sweets. It's boredom...I have noticed during this week and being stuck inside that I have wanted to snack and munch on the bad stuff. On my normal days I am at home with just the baby and so busy with him and house stuff and it's easier to stay on track. Weekends aren't as bad because we are out and have things to do. So I can keep my munchies in check. But during this week it was bad. So, I'm goin to have to figure out how to redirect my attention during these times. Once we're officially done with the 21 days, I will have a follow up post on the whole experience.
I have plenty of things I can do to redirect my attention, it's just getting it out and doing. For Christmas, I got a learning to knit, learning to crochet, and two cross stitch patterns. I also had a friend send a pattern for making baby bit patterns. I'm not big on sewing and actually haven't sewn much in my life. But, I'm hoping I can practice and eventually turn it in to something I can do for extra cash. It doesn't hurt to try right!
We were a little "bad" during this week and didn't stick to a strict sugar detox meal plan. But overall, we still ate very well. I do know what triggers my bad eating habits--the ones where I want bad carbs and overload of sweets. It's boredom...I have noticed during this week and being stuck inside that I have wanted to snack and munch on the bad stuff. On my normal days I am at home with just the baby and so busy with him and house stuff and it's easier to stay on track. Weekends aren't as bad because we are out and have things to do. So I can keep my munchies in check. But during this week it was bad. So, I'm goin to have to figure out how to redirect my attention during these times. Once we're officially done with the 21 days, I will have a follow up post on the whole experience.
I have plenty of things I can do to redirect my attention, it's just getting it out and doing. For Christmas, I got a learning to knit, learning to crochet, and two cross stitch patterns. I also had a friend send a pattern for making baby bit patterns. I'm not big on sewing and actually haven't sewn much in my life. But, I'm hoping I can practice and eventually turn it in to something I can do for extra cash. It doesn't hurt to try right!
Saturday, January 25, 2014
A Whole Lotta Updates
Been MIA for the past week and I do apologize...life got busy and I wasn't feeling the best this week and I have been playing catchup on dishes. I hate doing dishes. I try to cram as much as possible in the dishwasher and then what's left over gets washed by hand. But I find that I'm using dishes almost as fast as they're being washed. Chopping and prepping all the foods and then cooking and my kitchen is a disaster area. So, that gets cleaned up and kitchen is all nice and clean and it starts all over again (usually just breakfast and/or dinner) since lunch is typically leftovers. But I think I'm all caught up...at least until tomorrow!
Jason and I made it the whole week on the detox. We had 2 slip ups and I can say that I can totally tell a difference when we did. I'm not going to go into detail about everything that we ate this week but it was good food...except our slip up days. On Thursday, I was not feeling good. I had a headache and throat just was feeling a little weird like I might be coming down with a cold. Totally caved and we ate McDonald's. That was a horrible idea. It didn't taste good at all--in the past, it would have been great. I got a sprite to drink and yuck, it tasted like syrup! Friday morning, got back on track with breakfast and lunch. I was in bed almost the whole day just with a headache and still feeling like crap. Schyler and Andrew were awesome and helped me out alot. Thankfully they are old enough to fend for themself when I'm not feeling well and do spend alot of time in bed. Samuel of course depends on me for food so he hung out in bed with me. When Jason got in from work, we talked about dinner and it was supposed to be this cabbage wraps with pork and shrimp and veggies. But, I just was not up to getting in there to help him prep. So, we ordered Mexican and I wound up eating a taco salad with grill chicken, peppers, onions, cheese, lettuce, sour cream. Which would have been fine but I ate the shell. So today, day 13 of the detox, we got back on track. I didn't eat breakfast because I didn't get a chance to cook but I did eat a sweet potato. Then finally about 1:30, we got in the kitchen and did the cabbage wraps. They were great except the shrimp--I'll get into that. Dinner tonight is going to be breakfast--think we're going to do some kind of Mexican frittata.
So, shrimp...I love shrimp. Maybe I should say loved because I don't know if I'll be able to eat it anymore. Several months into my pregnancy we ate Mexican and Jason got shrimp fajitas. The waiter came around the corner and I could smell it and started gagging...it was gross. Ok, no big deal, I'm pregnant and this will pass. Nope, it hasn't. I'm only 7 weeks postpartum so hopefully it will all get better. If it was going to happen, why couldn't it have been something I didn't like or didn't need to eat?!
Jason and I made it the whole week on the detox. We had 2 slip ups and I can say that I can totally tell a difference when we did. I'm not going to go into detail about everything that we ate this week but it was good food...except our slip up days. On Thursday, I was not feeling good. I had a headache and throat just was feeling a little weird like I might be coming down with a cold. Totally caved and we ate McDonald's. That was a horrible idea. It didn't taste good at all--in the past, it would have been great. I got a sprite to drink and yuck, it tasted like syrup! Friday morning, got back on track with breakfast and lunch. I was in bed almost the whole day just with a headache and still feeling like crap. Schyler and Andrew were awesome and helped me out alot. Thankfully they are old enough to fend for themself when I'm not feeling well and do spend alot of time in bed. Samuel of course depends on me for food so he hung out in bed with me. When Jason got in from work, we talked about dinner and it was supposed to be this cabbage wraps with pork and shrimp and veggies. But, I just was not up to getting in there to help him prep. So, we ordered Mexican and I wound up eating a taco salad with grill chicken, peppers, onions, cheese, lettuce, sour cream. Which would have been fine but I ate the shell. So today, day 13 of the detox, we got back on track. I didn't eat breakfast because I didn't get a chance to cook but I did eat a sweet potato. Then finally about 1:30, we got in the kitchen and did the cabbage wraps. They were great except the shrimp--I'll get into that. Dinner tonight is going to be breakfast--think we're going to do some kind of Mexican frittata.
So, shrimp...I love shrimp. Maybe I should say loved because I don't know if I'll be able to eat it anymore. Several months into my pregnancy we ate Mexican and Jason got shrimp fajitas. The waiter came around the corner and I could smell it and started gagging...it was gross. Ok, no big deal, I'm pregnant and this will pass. Nope, it hasn't. I'm only 7 weeks postpartum so hopefully it will all get better. If it was going to happen, why couldn't it have been something I didn't like or didn't need to eat?!
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Made it 7 Days!
I wasn't sure if I could make it this far but I did...Jason did too. We went shopping earlier to get ready for our second week of this. I'm loving trying all the recipes. But, they do take a lot of prep work. I'm not really craving too many sweets...of course I could always eat a slice of cake or a cupcake but it's not taunting me like at the beginning. The only thing I am craving is something to drink besides water. I tried a couple smoothie drinks but they just didn't taste good. I was told that since it was still in my first week they probably wouldn't and to try it later on in the detox. But, I think we'll stick to our own smoothies...we're thinking almond milk, banana and almond butter.
So, here's what we had to eat for Friday, Saturday and today.
For breakfast Friday, Jason fixed some scrambled eggs and tossed in the leftover sausage and rice. We ate breakfast so late that we just snacked for lunch. For dinner, we had the dish that was like a shepherd's pie only the topping was butternut squash. We had 1/2 cup of rice with it as well as a salad with green apples, beets, carrots, and cucumbers with a lemon type dressing. The salad was pretty good.
Saturday for breakfast was a hash with bacon, carrots, and parsnips. I was a little iffy on this but of course we wanted to try it. We had it with some scrambled eggs and I have to say, it was pretty good. Andrew loved the hash which surprised us. This was also a meal that it was so late when we ate that we just snacked for lunch. Dinner was some Asian style meatballs with some rice. These were good and definitely a keeper.
Today's breakfast was some fresh sausage, rice and scrambled eggs (we are going through eggs like crazy). Again this was a meal we ate late so lunch was just snacks of nuts/cheese/jerky. Dinner was supposed to be some burgers with this cauliflower recipe I found. But, we got a late start on grocery shopping so we picked up some burritos in the organic/gluten free section. We checked the ingredients as best we could...it probably was a little bit of a slip but for the most part it wasn't bad.
I'm looking forward to trying even more recipes this week. We are going on a trip with the boys tomorrow, so I'm interested in seeing how well we'll do because I'm sure we're going to have to grab something out to eat.
So, here's what we had to eat for Friday, Saturday and today.
For breakfast Friday, Jason fixed some scrambled eggs and tossed in the leftover sausage and rice. We ate breakfast so late that we just snacked for lunch. For dinner, we had the dish that was like a shepherd's pie only the topping was butternut squash. We had 1/2 cup of rice with it as well as a salad with green apples, beets, carrots, and cucumbers with a lemon type dressing. The salad was pretty good.
Saturday for breakfast was a hash with bacon, carrots, and parsnips. I was a little iffy on this but of course we wanted to try it. We had it with some scrambled eggs and I have to say, it was pretty good. Andrew loved the hash which surprised us. This was also a meal that it was so late when we ate that we just snacked for lunch. Dinner was some Asian style meatballs with some rice. These were good and definitely a keeper.
Today's breakfast was some fresh sausage, rice and scrambled eggs (we are going through eggs like crazy). Again this was a meal we ate late so lunch was just snacks of nuts/cheese/jerky. Dinner was supposed to be some burgers with this cauliflower recipe I found. But, we got a late start on grocery shopping so we picked up some burritos in the organic/gluten free section. We checked the ingredients as best we could...it probably was a little bit of a slip but for the most part it wasn't bad.
I'm looking forward to trying even more recipes this week. We are going on a trip with the boys tomorrow, so I'm interested in seeing how well we'll do because I'm sure we're going to have to grab something out to eat.
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