Menu Monday 12/26

Well it’s Monday again!  Time to plan the week.  Normally on Menu Monday I go through my weight loss goals etc…  But starting this week I’ll be moving that to Wednesday….  I weigh on Mondays, so it only makes sense to move it, so I can blog more about where I am NOW instead of last week….  I’ll tell you, though, this week ain’t going to be pretty.

Anyway, here’s the menu:

Monday:  Ham and Potato Soup

Tuesday:  Date Night, Kids eat Mac and Cheese and Pizza

Wednesday:  Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff, Green Beans

Thursday:  Eating Out- Spending some good quality family time

Friday:  Homemade pizzas on biscuit dough

Saturday:  (New Year’s Eve)  Pinwheels, Chips and Spinach and Artichoke Dip, Awesome Ham Salad, Fruit Salad, Trifle, Chocolate Fountain

Sunday:  (New Year’s Day)  Black Eyed Peas, Corn Bread, Collard Greens

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

It’s Christmas Eve!  It’s Christmas Eve!  Santa comes tonight!!!  I can hardly wait!  For the first time ever we’re going to the Christmas pageant at our church (we’re usually in Conroe at the Mother in Law’s, but my husband had to work all night last night and has to work this morning too, so it wasn’t possible this year) and I’m pretty excited!  I have to be, because I am determined not to be frustrated that my husband is working so much this weekend…..  He’ll be at the bank this morning, and then he’s going to bed.  I’ll wake him up in time to go to church with us and then we’ll come home, read “Twas the Night Before Christmas”, let the kids open their PJ’s present and get them on- take a picture of them ready for Santa and then send them to BED!  While the husband is sleeping/working today I’ll be baking cookies with the kids, and watching Christmas movies, and tidying up the house…  You KNOW Santa doesn’t come to a messy house……

I wish for each of you who read my blog and/or are part of our lives that you will find the wonder and the magic of Christmas.  As much as I LOVE LOVE LOVE Santa, and y’all know I do…..  the magic is in the gift of Christ and the He is the Light of the World.  I pray your heart will be transformed this Christmas by the absurd love that our God and our Savior have for us!

Coming up next week- I’m planning some changes for the blog for 2012, and I’ll have my annual recap of the year and resolutions/goals for 2012 post

GratiTuesday- Stained Glass Hearts, A Book Review

Don’t you just love when you pick up a book and can’t put it down?  Or when you can literally hear the author’s voice as you read along?  It really doesn’t happen that often for me, but it sure did when I read Stained Glass Hearts, by Pasty Clairmont.Patsy was the key note speaker at Women of Faith when I attended in October.  I absolutely loved listening to her talk!  She has a wit about her that I can really relate to, and I want to be just like her when I grow up .  She’s been through some stuff- haven’t we all?- and she is using it to glorify God and bring others closer to Him. 

From the first page of this book I was hooked.  It is hilariously funny, brutally honest, heart-wrenchingly raw, and just what the doctor ordered.  She moves through different pieces of life, and relates to them each as broken pieces, that when put together, become a beautiful patchwork of stained glass.  She encourages us to take the brokenness of our lives and see the beauty in it that God sees.  She reminisces about her own brokenness and how it consumed her at one time.

Not a chapter went by that I couldn’t relate to.  Each one brought a new piece of my own broken life to the light so that I could inspect it, and shape in a new way. 

At the end of each chapter she has the “Art Gallery” where she gives you other places to look to deepen the message of that particular chapter.  These stretched me to find new appreciation for things I hadn’t taken the time to look at before.

I can not recommend this book enough.  It is a must have for every woman if you ask me.  I rarely rarely read a book more than once, but this will be one I will do so with.  I only got the E-book, so now I feel the need to buy the hard cover too, to lay by my bedside for when I need a minute to regroup.

Take a look around her website- I think you’ll fall in love with her as I did

I hope you’ll consider this for your reading in 2012.

 

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

WATCH THIS RIGHT NOW!

THIS is the meaning of it all.  Watch it to the end.  It made me cry.  Don’t wait.  Just watch it now.

May this week before Christmas be about Christ. 

Thoughtful Thursday- Why I Still Believe in Santa Claus

Christians have many, many opinions on Santa Claus, from he’s of the Devil, to he’s a big lie, to he’s ok, and more.  These different opinions honestly make me sad.  I grew up in a house where Santa was very loved, and brought much excitement to Christmas.  As I began my own family there was no question in my mind of whether we would “do Santa” for our kids at all.  Frankly, I had no idea of the extremely negative views people had about Santa until I began talking in Christian online groups. 

The tradition of Santa began with St. Nicholas, a Saint who gave up his wealth to help those in need- specifically poor children.  When he would help them, he would often give them presents in a bag, anonymously.  He didn’t do it for the show, and didn’t do it for what he would get in return.

To me, the spirit of St. Nicholas lives on through the persona of Santa Claus- through the gifts we give to our children, and the way we present Santa to them.  I think it is very important to remember the spirit.  When we chose the gift for Santa to bring, at our house it is the biggest gift.  There are two reasons- one, it’s the one that is the hardest to wrap, or needs the most work to set up, that way it’s done, but also because we, as parents, are not taking credit for the big gift.  I think this is an important lesson for our children as they get older and learn that we are the people behind Santa.  They learn that we don’t have to get credit for the joy they have, that we just want to give them joy   To me this is big.  We don’t always need to get credit for the things we do.  Ultimately, God knows what we do, and if we can take our focus off of man’s appreciation and focus on God we will be more at peace in our souls.

The Spirit of St. Nicholas lives on through Secret Santa programs, and giving to the poor.  This was a BIG part of who St. Nicholas was, and we should make sure his legacy lives on through giving to the poor as well.  Now that my older boys are old enough to know the true meaning of Santa we include them in our giving at Christmas time.  We have a couple of places that we give anonymously every year, and we don’t expect anything in return, we don’t put it on our tax return, we just do it because it’s what's right.  Even as we don’t have a whole lot of money ourselves for Christmas, we make sure to give to others.  There’s always someone more in need than we are

So, I still believe in Santa because as a child I was touched by love and giving without any expectation of anything in return, and I learned the value of that.  Now as an adult I have learned that the true gift of Christmas comes when WE give.  And, isn’t that what God did?  The real gift of Christmas is that God gave his ONLY son- without expecting anything in return- just because He loves us.  It’s a legacy.  And we’re responsible for continuing the legacy to our children.

Book Review- Merry Christmas Stories

Recently I was given the opportunity to review the book, Merry Christmas Stories, by Jeff Spalsbury.  I was very excited to start reading this book, because Christmas is one of my favorite times.  Probably my favorite thing about the book is that it has 25 stories, perfect to read with your sweetheart every night in December.  The book has a wide collection, including love stories, ghost stories, science fiction and more. 

The first story in the book is “Santa’s Missing”.  I really enjoyed this story, even though I found a lot of it to be predictable, and somewhat unrealistic.  The idea behind the story was nice.  This was my favorite story in the book. 

Excerpt of Santa’s Missing

As I continued reading, my first problem was that I had to read more than one story a day, because I had a deadline for this review.  I think I would have enjoyed the stories more if they were spread out.  Reading them so close together made it obvious to me that the majority of the stories had the same underlying theme- someone is lonely, or depressed on Christmas, they find love and everything is good.  Honestly, after a while it bored me.  However, a lot of people really enjoy the feel good love story type, so I can definitely see where people would enjoy this book….. just don’t read it all at once

I also felt that my teen agers might like it, although the emphasis on having to have love to be happy is a little heavy.  I’d have to talk with them before letting them read it to get clear the source of real love- God.

All in all, it’s a good book to have to pull out at Christmas time, maybe leave it by the toilet to read, or on the coffee table- but please don’t move it back and forth!  LOL

Jeff R. Spalsbury also writes science fiction and western novels. Avalon Press published his western novel, Hunt the Hunter, in December 2010 and the second novel in his Hunt series, The Hunted Return is scheduled to be published in July 2012, also by Avalon.  His science fiction novel, SPACE DREAM ONE: That Other’s May Live will be published as an eBook in October 2011.

Spalsbury taught a class on the importance of using humor in the classroom at California State University in Fresno. He is also a former library director and professor at Porterville College, Porterville, CA.

To learn more about Spalsbury’s books, visit his website at www.JeffRSpalsbury.com. His books can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Black Rose Writing or various online  eBook sellers, including the Apple iPad, Sony Nook, etc.

I would like to thank TLC Book Tours for allowing me to be part of this blog tour .

Stops on the TLC tour:

Monday, November 21st:  The Road to Here

Tuesday, November 22nd:  Reviews from the Heart

Wednesday, November 23rd:  Peeking Between the Pages

Friday, November 25th:  A Chick Who Reads

Monday, November 28th:  I Am A Reader, Not A Writer - Q&A/giveaway

Wednesday, November 30th:  Cheryl’s Book Nook

Thursday, December 1st:  Life in Review

Friday, December 2nd:  2 Kids and Tired

Monday, December 5th:  Laura’s Reviews

Wednesday, December 7th:  My Bookshelf

Thursday, December 8th:  Deb’s Book Bag

Friday, December 9th:  Living Outside the Stacks

Monday, December 12th:  Along the Way

Tuesday, December 13th:  By the Book

Wednesday, December 14th:  Nailing Jello to a Tree

Thursday, December 15th:  Book Reviews by Molly

TBD:  Book Maven’s Blog

(I received Merry Christmas Stories from TLC and the author in return for a review.  The opinions expressed are mine alone.)

Menu Monday- 12/12

Well, my first week on Points Plus 2012 has been interesting.  I left my target at 26 for the week, and at weeks end I was over my points again by a bit.  It’s very difficult right now because of the parties.  We had THREE parties this week, and I’m pretty convinced it’s kind of impossible to stay within range with that many.  If I had only one party this week I would have been fine.  Also working against me was the fact that I got the flu or a really bad cold at the beginning of the week, so very little exercise happened.  But, one thing we talked a little about in our meeting last week was figuring out your goal for December, and mine is basically to maintain.  If I lose a little I’ll be happy, but I am trying to be realistic.  I’m trying to focus on doing good the days I DON’T have parties.

This week I did try a new recipe off the WW site, Chicken and Crab Gumbo, and it was SO good!  It was super easy, and I highly recommend it!

This week is a lot better, the main problems WW wise for me are baking 42 cupcakes for the boys’ class parties, and our trip to the Polar Express.  Things will start to wind down after this week, and I am very much looking forward to it.  This momma has been on overdrive for too long!

So, with all of that said, here’s the menu for this week:

Monday:  Chicken with Scallion Sauce, Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Tuesday:  Taco Soup 

Wednesday:  Snack Dinner

Thursday:  Polar Express

Friday:  Pizza

Saturday:  Beef Enchiladas, Fruit

Sunday:  Fish Tacos

Menu Monday- 12/5

Ok, so last week they changed to the 2012 points plus.  Except not until Friday…  Our leader warned us, but while she was talking it was like on Charlie Brown when the parents speak…..  Waw Waw Waw Waw Waw Waw Waw….  I assumed it was going to happen on Sunday.  I did catch the part where I would likely have less points to use each day…..  I have mixed feelings on this.  When I really think about it, the weeks that I have shown a loss I have had at least 20 points left over.  I have known this for a while now.  And, generally speaking that’s my goal, but since I HAVE those other points, when I eat every last point and don’t show a loss I get really really frustrated.  So, for me, I probably actually NEED this change.  I’ll get used to it.  And in the general scheme of WW changes, this is MINOR.  We also all need a kick in the pants every once in the while, and change, while uncomfortable, is GOOD.  Oh- so my point about it happening on Friday instead of Sunday was…..  I went to put my food in on Sunday and I suddenly had MINUS 27 POINTS!!!  It took me almost all day to realize why…  I know, I’m quick, huh?  I guess while she was talking I didn’t realize they would take them out of the weekly points.  Which, of course they did, since I had ALREADY EATEN THEM ALL….  LOL…  Obviously, I didn’t stay within range last week to begin with, and with the additional points taken it looked pretty bad.  I honestly don’t think it was THAT bad, just looks that way   We’ll see how this week goes.  It’s going to take some adjusting for me.

So, my goals for this week are:

• Stay within my points range
• Figure out what the Activity point goal is that they are talking about online and purpose to hit it.
• Fruits and veggies, veggies and fruits
• Water (it’s hard for me to get my water and fruits and veggies in when it’s cold because I REALLY don’t like to be cold.  I could be happy drinking coffee ALL DAY to stay warm…..)

Here’s my menu plan:

Monday: Chili to Warm You, Fritos, Cheese

Tuesday:  Mostaccioli Hot Dish, Garden Vegetable Soup

Wednesday:  Snack Dinner

Thursday:  Chicken and Crab Gumbo

Friday:  Chicken with Scallion Sauce, Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Saturday:  Kids Eat Pizza, Me and the hubs for a date night

Sunday:  Taco Soup 

Family Time Friday- Advent Devotional

It’s Advent!  Do you know what that means?  If not, you should really look it up.  Many churches completely miss this rich rich time in the church year.  It’s a great time of reflection and preparation.  It’s a time to reflect on what Christmas is really supposed to be about.  Here’s a hint:  It’s not about who spends the most

If you’re looking for a way to get back to the real meaning of Christmas, might I recommend an Advent Devotional?  There are many out there, so find the one that fits your family.  Here’s a place to start:

From not through December 31 you can download Women of Faith’s Family Advent Ebook for free.  Go check it out!  Even if you’re not going to use it this  year, download it for a future year

Thoughtful Thursday-Cop’s Lives and Wives

Occupy.  It’s a word that can invoke anger in a person.  Anger for many different reasons.  And, I’m no different.  At this point I am no supporter of Occupy.  Not because I don’t believe our financial system is messed up.  Not because I don’t believe that there are REAL problems.  But because, from my perspective Occupy isn’t even about that anymore.  Occupy has become a movement against authority, specifically the police officers who are called to control the camps, or move them.

Recently there has been a lot of buzz amidst the internet about the pepper spray incident at UC Davis.  From the beginning the feel of this buzz has bothered me, because the video is shot from a very skewed view.  It leaves much of the story untold, and spins it to make these officers look like terrible people, specifically one officer.  Because of the nature of the reporting on this matter, I do not know whether this officer was doing the right thing or the wrong thing by pepper spraying those students.  There is a lot that our officers have to take into account every single day in every single situation to provide for the safety of those they serve, and for themselves.  Do cops make mistakes?  Yes they do.  Do Firemen? Yes.  Do McDonald’s workers?  Yes.  Do Taxi Drivers?  Yes.  EVERYONE makes mistakes.  But when a cop makes a mistake it is often national news.  I’m not saying their mistakes should be excused, even forgiven sin has consequences.  But really, let’s be honest.  I made a mistake yesterday in my profession….  I yelled at my kids and hurt their feelings.  Should I no longer be a parent?  I love my kids with everything in me, but I make mistakes too.  Again, I don’t know that the pepper spray incident WAS a mistake, from my take there was a lot of yelling and screaming in the video, and it seemed like a volatile situation where the officers had to find the best way to subdue it before someone got seriously hurt. 

These officers are called in to move these camps.  Some of the officers believe in the mission of Occupy, and some do not.  But that doesn’t affect what they are called in to do.  These protestors are refusing to leave, and that leaves the officers little choice on how to proceed.  I heard on the news this morning that one camp that was moved was so bad that they had to call in HazMat crews to clean it up.  The cost of this is huge, and a waste of our money.  I would say one thing- if you’re going to camp out, at least keep it clean!!!!  Maybe if these camps weren’t unsanitary they wouldn’t be so interested in making them move!  But that isn’t what this post is about.

Shortly after that incident one of the Occupy Groups created a poster that had a picture of the pepper spraying, and a candid picture of the officer with his name and personal information, urging people to call the various offices to complain about him.  I can not put into words how hurt I was seeing this poster on a facebook page.  You see, I’ve been on the other side of that.  My husband was called “One of the Three Stooges” on the news at one time.  He was vilified and made fun of.  For doing his job.  For caring enough about people to risk his life DAILY.  He took someone off the streets who was in no condition to drive, and did the right thing.  He knew as he arrested this person that it would make the news, because it was a high profile person.  But, instead of taking the easy way out, he did the unpopular thing and did his job.  No one likes to be the bad guy……Not even our officers.

I remember after 9/11 how people were so thankful to ALL of our first responders.  It was so nice to have my husband finally be treated with dignity and respect by the people.  I was so proud of our country during that time. We have a joke in our house, where we often say, “Everyone loves a fireman”….  It’s often said in jest, but it’s true.  They are ALL first responders and deserve even a kind smile.

It makes me sad that people are so quick to jump on the “We hate the pigs” bandwagon.  Listen, these officers are more than that.  My husband has been called a “Stooge”, a Pig, a Jerk, and many other words that I care not to repeat.  He’s been yelled at, complained on, and hated.  And I can tell you with absolute confidence that every single day when he goes to work, he goes with the intention of helping those around him.  He’s often tired, he works long hours, and he works (at the current time) THREE jobs just to support his family.  We are NOT part of the 1%.  Let me just say that.  We live in a very modest house, and struggle to pay for life, just like everyone else.  But one thing is for sure.  My husband is an officer because he is a protector and loves people.  I know that he would lay down his life to protect someone if it was necessary.  I hope it never happens, but I know that he does what he loves, and it is an extension of who he is.  When he has to get ugly with someone on the street, let me assure you, he doesn’t want to.  And, being an officer’s wife, I know that to be true for the majority of them.

So the next time you see an officer, either on a professional basis or not, please be kind.  Know that their job is hard.  Know that they spend a huge amount of time away from their family to do this job.  And know that their wives, children, mothers, brothers, sisters, and other friends and family worry about them constantly.

If you’re a reader and would like to make a blog post in support of our officers, please link to it in in the comments..  I think it’s high time the other part of the the 99% stood up and said something.

Dora and Diego Cake I made for Will’s B-Day :)

GratiTuesday- Faith Journeys

It’s been a bit since I visited this section of the blog.  Not because I haven’t been grateful, I am ever grateful, but because all of the things I am so grateful for have been consuming my time!  So, over the next few weeks as we enter the holiday season I can’t promise I’ll be diligent and blog every day like normal, but I’ll definitely do my best to post as often as possible.

Today I want to touch on how thankful I am for faith journeys.  Isn’t it special that God puts us each in different parts of our faith journeys at the same time so that, in the end we need each other?  It isn’t that He is punishing us, or abandoning us, but that He’s teaching us.  Sometimes it’s so difficult to get outside of our own mess to see the wonderful family we have in other Christians. 

Do we get hurt by our church family?  Of course we do.  We get hurt by our birth family, or our adopted family, or our chosen family too.  It doesn’t mean there isn’t love there.  Sometimes having the truth spoken in love to you by someone in your Christian family is hurtful…. but necessary.  It’s when we take the pieces of our lives, the different people, the different backgrounds, and *gasp* the different denominations and let them fit together like the beautiful puzzle God is creating in our lives that we get to see the true beauty of a life in Christ, and realize what others who don’t have that are missing out on. 

I have many people in my life who are not Christians.  I have some in my life who claim to be Christians, but they are either not walking in their faith, or it is so weak it is not really helping them.  I know some people look upon those outside our faith with judgment and disgust.  I do not.  I hate to say I feel sorry for them, because I don’t really feel sorry for them – this is a choice THEY are making after all – but I do wish better for them.  I wish for them to be touched by the love of God, not hurt by sinning Christians.  I wish for them to see the magic, not the misery.  I wish for them to experience the acceptance, not the judgment. 

It’s not that I think we as Christians shouldn’t call sin sin.  It’s that we need to acknowledge that WE as Christians are ALSO sinners, and that ultimately, GOD will judge us ALL.  And, for the record…..  From someone who is currently in an in depth study of Revelation…. most of the people in our lives who have wronged us, hurt us, are not Christians, etc have not done nearly enough to us for us to want God’s judgment upon them.  It’s nothing to squabble with. 

But here’s the thing.  God judges ALL sin.  Did you hear that?  God judges ALL sin.  Equally.  He loves us ALL.  Equally.  We chose to become part of His family by accepting Jesus as our savior, but that doesn’t mean that we are now without sin, nor are we allowed to sin.  It doesn’t make my sin any cleaner than yours.  You may be in an adulterous affair, and I may be practicing a bit of gluttony with the pan of brownies.  Both are sin.  There is no greater or lesser sin.  They are both sin and we both have to answer to God for our sins.

Anywho, I didn’t mean to go into that detail, but I guess that’s what God wanted me to say today, because these words just flew out of me.  I want to encourage you today to not feel like you have to have all together.  I want to encourage you to not feel like you have to be perfect.  I want to encourage you today that you are not the judge of others.  I want to encourage you today that other humans are not the judge of you.  Sure, you may suffer some consequences on earth for your actions, and sometimes, even forgiven sin has consequences, but ultimately who we answer to is our maker.

Give a kind smile to those around you and I hope today you are as grateful for our faith journeys as I am

Menu Monday 11/28

Ok, so apparently the business of the holiday season has the ability to throw me off track in just about EVERY area of my life!    I’m sorry I haven’t been blogging, finding time to get in front of the computer for more than a minute at a time has been a challenge. 

Anywho- last week on WW I lost .8 pounds, but I’m still up from my lowest weight…  My plan, so to speak for the holiday season is to stay as focused as possible on days/weeks that aren’t filled with extracurricular activities and food, and enjoy the days that are in moderation.    I’d like to say I did a good job of that last week, but I didn’t do the best…. I wasn’t completely without abandon, I allowed myself ONE piece of pumpkin pie with the crust, and the other 2 or 3 (can’t remember) I didn’t eat the crust.  I’m speaking about the whole weekend, not just Thanksgiving LOL…  So, while I didn’t journal this past week at all, and I’ll most likely show a gain today, I still feel like that was a non-scale victory!

This week I’m journaling EVERYTHING.  I’m also going to have some fruits and vegetables that aren’t covered in sugar or oil.  Crazy.  I know.  And, I’m committing to 5 workouts this week.

It is time to get back to real life….. until the next string of holidays

Monday:  I’m going to give Turkey and Dumplings a go…  Based on my Chicken and Dumplings recipe

Tuesday:  “Cheap but good” Burritos

Wednesday:  Snack Dinner (Kids and hubby at EYC)

Thursday:  Kids eat Pizza, Hubby and I for a Date night

Friday:  Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries, Pea Salad

Saturday:  Chicken with Scallion Sauce, Cauliflower Cheese Soup 

Sunday:  Parade of Lights- get to watch my hubby in action   We’ll eat out so we get a good spot!

Have a great week!

Menu Monday- 11/14

Have you missed me?  I’ve been so busy, I’ve hardly had a second to think! It’s been a weird couple of weeks on WW for me, because I’ve been doing the T-Tapp Boot Camp, and she doesn’t recommend that you diet during that.  So, I’ve eaten whatever and haven’t counted points.  It’s been weird.  I have gained weight, but she also says that will happen- between 5-7 pounds of muscle the first 2 weeks.  I’m not concerned.  Know why?  Because she tells you to take measurements and focus on the inches lost instead of the scale.  And, while I’m watching the scale…… go up….  I’m focused on the inches, and I also went down a size this week in my jeans------ TO A SIZE 12!!!!  Yeah…  Speaking of focusing on the inches, I measure again tomorrow, but the first week (which was actually only 4 days because I didn’t measure until 3 days in) I lost a total of 8 1/2 inches!  Curious where they came from?

Area to Measure	Starting Measurement	Week One	Inches Lost
Bust/Chest	40	39	1
Pecs	36.5	36	.5
Ribs	33	32	1
Waist	35.5	34	1.5
Abdomen	39	39	-
Hips	46	45	1
Up Thigh -R	28	28	-
Up Thigh –L	28	28	-
Low Thigh -R	21	21	-
Low Thigh –L	21.5	21	.5
Calves -R	16	16	-
Calves – L	17	16	1
Upper Arm R	14.5	13	1.5
Upper Arm L	14.5	14	.5

 

I’m eager to measure again tomorrow!  I finish up the boot camp Wednesday (missed a day this weekend because I was sick) and then I move to every other day on the work out.  It will actually be weird to not do it everyday!  I mean, really, it’s only 15 minutes, so it isn’t really a big deal to do   I’ll also resume counting points on Thursday, having finished the boot camp.  I’m staying focused on the inches right now, so I’m not real concerned with the scale….  I do, however, believe that I still need to watch what I eat, because I know I am a person who responds negatively to too much sugar/starch and who has some problems with mindless and/or emotional eating.  I need to deal with this as well as getting my body in healthy shape. 

Enough rambling…  Here’s the menu:

Monday:  Taco Soup, Churros

Tuesday:  Date Night/ Totinos for the kids

Wednesday:  Italian Cream Cheese Chicken

Thursday:  Clam Chowder/ Rolls

Friday:  Hot Dogs and Mac and Cheese for the Birthday boy!

Saturday:  The Great Turkey Experiment at a friend’s house

Sunday:  Snack Dinner because we’re up at the church for the Advent Conspiracy