Whole30, again... Now on Day 7.

Where does time go?  I think if I were more serious about using this as an online journal, and if I decided to write as much as I need to, and if I decided to be totally real here, I would explode the interwebs.  So I'll keep running things through the filter.  Just in case my thoughts are NSFW...

I started a Whole30 on Monday, 9/6.  It's going well.  Largely out of preparation and the commitment I have to not being a slave to pain and fatigue.  I'm getting too old to keep playing around with junk like dairy and gluten.  And I'm way to old not to be mindful about recovery times after workouts and adequate sleep.  So I Whole30...

I already know what I'll be eating today.  In a few minutes, I'll have a scotch egg with ghee hollandaise sauce from Stupid Easy Paleo's blog and some salad greens.  Lunch will be pork chops, brussel sprouts, mini potatoes and more greens.  Dinner will be compliant sausage, sauerkraut and more greens.  The greens keep me sane.  Oh and I add Tessamae's lemon dressing to them.  Yum...

Yesterday, I was able to complete the first solid kettlebell class in months.  My adrenal glands didn't tell me to put things down.  I didn't push it after and stick around for the krav maga class, which lasts 90 minutes.  I went to restorative yoga, which is awesome, and kind of like a nap class.

Here's a recap of some of what I ate in week one!  Hopefully it will help inspire someone else to eat real food and keep on their own Whole30!

I'm so over co-sleeping

I co-slept with both of my kids.

It wasn't because I wanted to bond with them. It was because their father was a non-participating parent in their infancy.

My older, S, managed to break the habit quite well at about 11 months.

My younger, E, still crawls into bed with me, even after lots of discussions about why he shouldn't, the purchase of a plastic race car bed, and despite threats and bribery.

I'm over it. I just want to sleep without anyone putting their feet on my face.

Here is a helpful chart for everyone, to determine whether you can sleep in my bed.

I cannot craft. Sometimes I don't have to.

I get most of my good ideas from Pinterest.  This is not a confession; this is just a sad fact.
95% of the time, if they're about pretty-fying or decorating, I give up and go buy something similar.  Usually at Hobby Lobby.
Hobby Lobby is how the Craft Impaired,  such as me, make their homes look all cozy and cute. {If you don't like Hobby Lobby because they conflict with your politics,  I am sad for you. You cannot get this stuff other places.}
Anyway, I needed a place to put jewelry that wasn't in my sock drawer. So I found cute ideas on how to make them.  Ug. They all involved a hammer or a glue gun or something.  So I went to Hobby Lobby, conceding this was going to be a time I'd have to DIM. (Do it myself! Like a toddler, with crying, I promise.)
After bypassing the jewelry stand thingies,  since they would be too obvious and I might have to fight my 8 year old to keep it, I meandered toward the metal wall decor.
And that's when I saw this:

http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/blue-denim-iron-wall-d-cor-964700/

I knew right then I wouldn't have to craft that night. I left my beloved Hobby Lobby, even more grateful than I was before, because a potentially embarrassing burden had been lifted.

On Sweet Potato Casserole

I’m sure you’ve heard there are two kinds of people:

Those who are love bacon and those who are wrong. 

Right?

When it comes to sweet potato casseroles, there are also two kinds of people:

Those who love pecans and those who are wrong [marshmallow lovers!]

Because I come from a large, super diverse family, I made both for Thanksgiving last year, and I used these two recipes:

#TeamPecan

http://addapinch.com/cooking/2010/10/08/sweet-potato-casserole-pecan-topping/

#TeamMarshmallow

http://www.copykat.com/2011/12/13/boston-market-sweet-potato-casserole-2/

I guarantee if you make one (or both of them,) your team will love you.  I think there was weeping involved.  I'm not gonna lie: I liked it.

This year, however, I’m going to paleo-fy the righteous version.  Oh yeah.  I’m gonna.  And I’ll post the recipe Sunday.

Just give me more time...

That's really all I'm asking for.  More time.  More time every day.
More time to spend being a mom to my little ones.  More time at home.  More time with my friends.
Even more time to get our little home cleaned and organized.
More time to prepare for the future.
More time to be in the now, instead of trying to clean up pieces of the past I've otherwise left behind.
More time to practice a recently discovered super fun hobby.
More time to cook nutritious meals.
Instead, what I do is spend time rushing my kids in the morning after we haven't spent enough time sleeping the night before.
I spend time sitting in traffic, attempting to listen to the previous day's recording of a radio talk show.
I spend time trying to figure out how to prevent a rapid meltdown of my two year old and/or my seven year on my return home from the 30 mile commute after they've been in school & daycare for the past 10+ hours.
None of this sounds like good times.  But it's the time I have right now.
I know have options.
If only I didn't need sleep! I could do so much with those hours!
I'm so grateful for the many opportunities I have in my life.
I will analyze what I can cut out.
I'm guessing that's going to me more shopping online instead of at stores, more meals made with freeze dried veggies (such a God send!) and more personal & home organization. Thank goodness I have at least a clue where and how to find this stuff. 
I can do this!  I will do this!  I will FIND more time!