Case of the Mondays

Peter: Let me ask you something. When you come in on Monday, and you're not feelin' real well, does anyone ever say to you, 'Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays'?

Lawrence: No. No, man. ... I believe you'd get your ass kicked sayin' something like that, man.

Talk about a case of the Mondays for me.  Phew.  I am GLAD that this one is over.  I've been struggling with balance in my life lately, and today, I finally had an epiphany...it's time to let some things go.  I can't do everything.  I know, I know, sounds pretty cryptic, right?  I don't even know for sure what it is that I am going to let go of, but I do know that it's definitely time to re-prioritize.


One of the shocking things about this particular challenge for me though, is that while this would SEEM like it's adding one more thing to my life, in actuality it's forcing me to make time for myself, everyday, to do something that I love to do.  While I am cooking dinner, I can actually feel stress leaving my body. It's therapeutic, in that cooking forces me to NOT think about the rest of the day...and when I can look back on the day, after I've had that step away, the things that I thought were so pressing seem less important.  The little faces and hands that helped me make the dinner come back into the forefront, where they are supposed to be.

When my husband, kids, family, and friends enjoy eating what I've prepared, I feel proud, and accomplished.  I can't tell you how good it makes me feel to KNOW what my kids are eating, but to see them getting involved too.  Since I've started this, we've tried lots of different recipes, and they've tried every single one of them like little troopers.  Not only are we becoming more well-rounded and focused on what we are eating, they are as well.  We constantly talk about what food is healthy, and what kinds of foods are okay to eat only in little amounts. 

Then there are my friends that read this everyday, and post words of encouragement, or send me emails, or stop me in the halls at work or in the grocery store and tell me that I've inspired them.  Wow.  That's an incredible compliment, and it means so much to me that you are willing to give a small portion of your day to read about how mine went.  I now have people sending me recipes to try, as well!!  Believe me, I will be trying them, and taking pictures of them, and giving you props!   (PS- I totally have eight official followers of my blog.  You guys rock.)

Holy cow that was some serious stuff.  Heavy, man.  While I joke around and do my best to spread my narcissism and sarcasm as far as it will go (which is pretty damn far), this challenge really has changed a lot of things in my world, so I thought it only fair to share as much.

On to the main events...today's meals!!  I received an email last night from my friend Nicole with another suggestion for me on how to eat oatmeal, and I have to say, I was instantly intrigued.  I actually wanted to go to the kitchen right after I read her email and make this for myself, but I refrained so that I could have the tasty treat in the morning as breakfast.  Do you like No-Bake Cookies?  They are one of my faves...and if you like them, you will LOVE this:

That's right.  No-Bake Cookie Oatmeal.  Boom.  How, you ask?  SO EASY!!  I still used my Trader Joe's steel cut oats (still got the texture complex), but per Nicole's recipe, I added a packet of Sugar Free Hot Chocolate Mix, and a tablespoon of peanut butter (hooray for extra protein!).  AAAAAHHHHHHHHH! (This is my equivalent of the heavens opening up, God coming down and placing my breakfast plate in front of me, and telling me "Yes, Kylie, you may eat cookies every day for breakfast for the rest of your life and you will never gain weight from them again.")  Nicole, I owe you big time for this one.  I can't wait to let my kids try this!

I didn't actually eat lunch today, as some of the earlier musings from the blog weighed pretty heavily on my mind...but by three I was ready to start thinking about dinner!!  I wanted something a little lighter.  I remembered a recipe that I had seen on SkinnyTaste.com for a lighter Chicken Parmesan, so I used that as my inspiration as to what to have for dinner, even thought I didn't actually follow the recipe very well.  Here is my adaptation. (Instead of typing all my recipes on here for you to have to read through, I started a little side blog just to post my own recipes I make up, or recipes that I've used from others that I can't find an electronic link to post.)

This was REALLY good, and REALLY healthy as well.  Another score for a full day of healthy meals!  Tayler started to get excited as it was cooking, because she thought it smelled like pizza.  She told me tonight that anything that had red sauce on it like pizza was just "so delicious".  Totally agree, kid. 

So, that's the day.  Not a bad one by any means, but definitely one that got me thinking, and left me grateful.  Tomorrow night is class night, so I guess I had better go and see what I can whip up! Until tomorrow night...

Cheers!