Who's in? 'Cause I need someone to help with the cooking...

Okay, so all the goodies we received this week are all packed up and ready to be shared with the office staff (don't worry, nothing is laced with arsenic...yet). Now I'm simply trying to work out what the rules are going to be for my cooking experiment. For example:
1. Do I eat only from Devin's cookbook, or do I layer in additional "healthy" options? Here, I think in order to succeed I have to be willing to cut myself slack. I will use Devin's "Most Decadent Diet Ever" as my map (it has great guidelines and information about healthy cooking in it).
2. How much do I let exercise figure in? I would LOVE to be able to exercise every day for an hour and a half, like I did when I was staying home, but that's not really feasible any more...this is the toughest part for me, because I don't lose weight unless I exercise, but between work, PSO work, and the family, I just haven't found a great answer here. I need to figure this out before the beginning of the year (less than a week...)
3. Who's going to keep me motivated to cook when I don't feel like it? Who's going to keep me motivated not to munch on sweets at work? I need my support group here, and I'm going to be recruiting...
4. I think I have to be really honest with everyone in order to be successful. I have put on 30 pounds in the last three years since going back to work and every last one of them needs to come back off. If in the coming year I don't manage to lose the weight but I manage to find a healthier attitude about food, then so be it, it will be worth it.
Wish me luck, kids...

New Years Resolution 2010

So I'm considering a New Years Resolution for the coming year a la "Julie and Julia." Only instead of eating Julia Childs' food (which, while tasty, is NOT in any way good for me), I'm thinking Devin Alexander's. I love food, a lot, and it has shown in the last couple of years as I have put weight back on. I feel more tired than I did; I have higher blood pressure than I did (admittedly, mine was quite low, but even so, I don't think it's a good sign when I can hear my heartbeat in my own ear). The time has come to fix the issue.

Devin has written four cookbooks, all of which focus on foods that taste good but have greater health benefits than some of those "butter, butter, and more butter" recipes. I'm not sure that I can do this, particularly with the schedule we keep right now, but I feel like I need a drastic change. Having tried some of these recipes, they definitely have good taste going for them.

If I do this, I will also be reviewing more healthy restaurants/restaurant alternatives on my Examiner page. Who knows, maybe I could write about the experience for Examiner. We'll have to see...in the meantime, send positive thoughts my way. I will need it!

I really DON'T beat my child...

So Eli lost his tooth last night.  It's been loose for quite some time and I have been ITCHING to remove it.  With an unwilling victim, that hasn't been close to happening.

Last night I reached out to wiggle the tooth (and in a casually threatening manner, make him think I was going to remove it)...what I don't understand is why, when a child wants to get AWAY from his parent, he jerks his head TOWARD her hand...

His face hit my hand and the tooth popped out into my hand.  His response?  "Mom, you knocked my tooth out."  The other tooth is already coming in through the gums, but the smile is kind of cute in the meantime!