A Mother's Love

I jumped out of bed this morning ready to rock this day. First things first, I dressed for the cool, crisp air outside and laced up the shoes. Out to the pavement I trotted for a solo 3 miles...just me and the road ahead. I felt like I needed to start the day with the energy boost that walk/running outdoors provides for me since I had a lot on my agenda...housekeeping and preparing Mother's Day dinner for the family. I ended up walking most of the 3 miles and just enjoying the iPod tracks. Funny how sometimes just being alone to think and get the blood pumping is one of the best gifts that a mother can receive. :)

Right after I made it back to the house, I jumped in to tackle the housework. Dishes, dusting, laundry, clean bathrooms, vacuuming, and so on....yes, I was thankful to have Katie's and David's help for sure today. Dannah had been at work since 6:30am so that she could enjoy dinner with me and the family in the late afternoon. She is such a hard worker even at 16 years old; work ethic A+. About 10:30am, I realized that I had not stopped to eat breakfast. I blended a chocolate mocha meal replacement drink with a little PB2 and kept working as I sucked it down in record time. The family was set to arrive by about 3pm so I was amazingly productive since it was crunch time.

Today's menu: Roast, mashed potatoes, sweet potato wedges, creamed corn, seasoned green beans, caramelized carrots, and beer bread. As you can see, I skipped the beer bread and limited the other carbs as well. However, I did choose to take a couple of Carb Ease to help block the carb absorption since I figured every little bit of help I could get would be great. Day 7 of the 24 day Challenge seemed to be successful despite all the food options at the family gathering. That in itself is living proof that you can still be reasonable with your food intake during special occasions.

Of course, I was super excited that I had burned about 300 calories this AM when my sister-in law showed up with a fantastic dessert. She also brought along rice crispy treats made with peanut butter and pecan pie. Both of those were easy to pass up when I saw the perks of the fruity option. She used fat-free sugar free whipped topping, frozen unsweetened fruit, angel food cake and almond slivers. I did enjoy about 1/2 cup of it, and it was simply yummy!

My mom and step-dad hadn't been over in a long time for dinner and even longer for my brother and sister-in-law. It's not that I am opposed to having dinner guests; it is just that all of our schedules rarely allow for gatherings as a whole family. The primary reason that I wanted to cook at home was so that we could spend time chatting without lots of distractions, limited seating arrangements, and loud crowds. Pretty cool that my intentions for good quality family time were successful. Everyone decided to leave out about 645pm so we made our way to the couch for a little R&R before bedtime. As I plugged my UP band in to sync it for the 2nd time today, I was blown away by the results...19,120 steps today. No wonder my feet are aching! Later all...

Your little taste of goodness for today...
Meet our babies:  Gretchen...the only child that my sweetheart and I have together :) She is about 8 years old (as of mid-April) and loves me best...hehehe.  Gracie...our adopted feline about the same age. She loves David best but she is definitely one of the best kitties that I have ever had. These 2 bonded from the beginning even though they weren't raised together. We have had Gracie for about 3 years now but it seems like we have had her a lifetime. Mommas love their furry babies, too.