Eating Cookies

My oldest daughter turned 12 at the end of last summer, and it comes with all kinds of adventures.  But one things that perhaps is labeled more accurately as a lack of adventure is that her playtime looks more and more like sitting around reading or using her DS and less and less activity.  So, ever the vigilant parent, I knew I had to do something about that.  That something was initiate her into the glorious world of the workout video.

I will have to go into detail on that later because this isn't really about that process.  I simply mention it to say that I work out on a regular basis.  And in fact, I'm a pretty darn healthy person.  We eat multiple servings of fruits and vegetables every day, and we typically limit our meat to poultry.  )I realize that fish would be better, but I just can't stand most of it.)  We eat whole grains and a good balance of dairy and trail mix.

But man... I tell you what.  Lately (read: for the last 2 days), I've been on such a comfort food kick, it's unbelievable.  Yesterday was rainy, and instantly I want to stay in my PJs, brew some coffee and watch educational programs on historychannel.com.  Okay, fine..... Ellen videos on YouTube.

So, my eating - as evidenced by recent status updates confessing my streak of 5 breakfast meals in a row - has been less than balanced.  Even still, I tried to be healthy when eating my 1st lunch of breakfast, which consisted of toast, eggs, and turkey sausage.  After that, I pretty much gave in to the carb fiend within.

Tonight, I had the sudden urge to make cookies to compliment the coffee that I will be drinking later with my friend Rebeca, one of the few people that visits me while I'm tied down at home by children.  And by that, I mean... well, you can figure out what it means to be tied down at home by children.

But rest assured, as if you were spending your emotional energy worrying about my food intake, that these cookies are healthy, too.  After all, they're packed to the brim with wheat flour, old-fashioned oats and chocolate chips (semi-sweet... I mean, it's practically an herbal supplement.)

Does it make a difference that after I ate a few spoonfuls of the batter that I almost forgot I was supposed to actually bake them?

Relationships and Consumerism

So, sometime in November, I started writing for a blog called 100 Thing Challenge.  I was so excited (still am) to join in with this because the creator of the 100TC is someone who I've respected for quite a while, as I've followed his blog for several years.  Only a couple of bloggers can claim that honorable distinction.

The 100TC was started when Dave Bruno decided to challenge himself to live with just 100 personal items for a year... including clothes (although he did lump all undergarments together as 1 item... whew!)

But the purpose was to find ways to enjoy life without relying on excessive consumerism.   So, it's right up my alley, since I'm always trying to get by with less.

I've been posting there once a week or so, and it's been fun.  It's given me some focus of what to write about, and it's also given me some things to really think about in my own life, too.  Since December, when I wrote there about the story of Advent, I've really been thinking a lot about relationships and how our attitudes towards consumption infiltrate our attitudes toward people.

So, I guess this post is really just a post to ask you to go read my other recent post and then post a comment over there letting me know what you think. 

Date Night

I don't feel like I'm too hard to impress when it comes to date night, and for all the other intricacies I have, my husband can at least be grateful that he doesn't need to do much to show me a good time.

I used to read this blog called The Dating Divas that I saw from Pinterest.  I think I got there from a picture of popsicle sticks that had different date activities on them.  But as I read it, I quickly realized that it was not for me.  The time planning and the money invested just wasn't something for my energy or financial budgets.  (Not to say that the site has nothing to offer.  I mean, if you're the kind of person who likes gimmicks like movie-themed dates and dates that require supplies you don't typically keep around the house, then by all means, it's a great place for ideas.  I'm just not into that.)

But I am into coffee.  Mmmmmm..... yum.

I also like a good Chinese meal... as in, not a yucky, greasy buffet meal. 

And I'm a sucker for a good deal.

So, on Thursday, while my mother-in-law was in town, Billy and I hit the town and used coupons and a refillable mug and had an amazing time together.

We hit up Mei Wei, which of course, if fast food Chinese, but not greasy like the one in the mall.  Billy bought me a meal and got his own for free, which then made me think we needed to add egg rolls since we saved so much money.  This was actually probably the lowlight of the night.  Mei Wei egg rolls are not really worth it.  But everything else was yummy.

So, we had a great time.  BUT if that wasn't enough... we hit up Atlanta Bread afterward for their coffee.  Their coffee is right on par with the famous Donut Bank of Evansville.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Anyone who has not had donuts from the Donut Bank has no idea what donuts are meant to be.  They are incredible.  Unfortunately, they are also very focused in one city in the middle America.  So, I'm glad to have ABC where I can at least get an incredibly yummy cup of coffee.

True to form, ABC started their closing procedures at 8:30, so by 9:05, we were pretty much being escorted out the door.  Even still, it was probably the longest date we've been on in .... ever.  Usually we rely on Awana for babysitting, so our dates are all of 90 minutes.  But this week, we got to enjoy 4 hours together.  It was a quality time lover's dream come true.

Then we watched 3 episodes of Battlestar Galactica because after all, I love my husband.