You're having a hysterectomy - Getting to the hospital

This may be your most stressful time.  It wasn't for me.  I couldn't wait to get these painful units out of my body!!

You should have been instructed by your hospital where to go to check in.

Even though you have given the hospital, and probably about 8 other people along the way, but make sure to take your ID and your insurance card as well.  Also, get used to giving your name and birth date numerous times throughout your stay.

Once you are called in and given a room, get ready to be a lab rat and talk to more people than you probably see at Christmas time!!  I quit counting after 10 people were in an out of my room.

You have your doctor, which will probably be one of the last people in the parade. You have to have a urine test to make sure you're not pregnant (if you're still of child bearing age), blood pressure, temperature, and all the usual tests. You'll change into your fun gown and be given some socks to wear.

You will have your IV put in.  I have issues with this because my veins roll.  I always make sure to tell the nurse this so they don't use me a pin cushion. I usually have great veins that are easy to find, but since I did my cleanse the day before, it was difficult to get the IV port in.  2 nurses, 3 sticks and 3 ugly bruises later, it was in.  If you have difficulty giving blood, make sure you tell them this ahead of time.

The anesthesiologist and the assistant will come in, along with a slew of other people.  Reminder, you're going to give your name and birth date to all of these people.

Finally you're going to be taken into the operating room.  Truthfully, I remember very little about this.  I remember being transferred from the gurney onto the table, being asked my name and birthdate, again, the IV getting hooked up, and the mask going over my face.

The next thing I knew, I woke up in recovery.  I remember waking up in recovery and asking what time it was.  When they told me it was 11:00 AM, I knew something had gone wrong during surgery. I was scheduled for surgery at 7:30 AM, but it was after that before I went into the OR.  It was supposed to be a 3 hour surgery, which would have put me at 10:30 into recovery.  The fact that I was waking up this early in recovery told me that things did not go as planned.  Apparently I was told at some point in recovery that I had to have the traditional surgery, but I have no memory of this at all.

The other thing I remember is being transferred to go back to my room.  The nurse or tech or whoever asked me if I thought I could transfer to the gurney myself or if I wanted them to slide me.  LET THEM SLIDE YOU!!!

Once you get back to your room, it will be mayhem and you'll be poked, prodded, blood pressure, temperature and a repeat.  No pregnancy test this time though.  :)

Next installment... what happens during recovery.

You're Having a Hysterectomy - What to Expect

I AM NOT A DOCTOR!!  If you doctor tells you something different, listen to your doctor!!

This is my personal journey and what I'm leaning along the way.  Hopefully this will help to prepare you for what you are facing.

First and foremost, talk to your doctor about what TYPE of hysterectomy you'll be having.  There are 4 different variations, and talking with your doctor is the best way to decide which procedure to have.  That is not to say that things can't change.  I was scheduled for a robotic laproscopic hysterectomy, but due to complications, I had to have to the old fashioned one.  That means a much larger incision and longer healing.  If your doctor doesn't do the robotic or the laproscopic, ask for a referral!!  The healing time is shorter and the incisions are much smaller, so you want that to be an option.

The best advice I can give you is ask questions.  Keep a notebook with all your questions.  No question is dumb.  This is YOUR surgery, your fears and your body.  If you start to talk to your friends, you may find that quite a few of them have had the procedure.  However, medical advances change quickly.  Even though I had the "traditional" surgery, the advancements are making my healing go better.

It's best to bring someone with you when you talk to your doctor.  While it may be a "routine" surgery, if you're nervous, you may not hear everything, or you may forget to get answers.  Another set of ears of thinks of question that you don't.  Anytime you're talking surgery, take a friend, spouse, parent, or someone else with you.

You may plan to work up until the day of surgery...DON'T!  Because all the parts that they will be working with are close to your colon and bowel, they will usually have you do a "cleanse" the day before surgery.  Trust me, you do not want to do this at work!! It involves laxatives and Gatorade or something similar mixed with two week's worth of a different kind of laxative.  You just really don't want to be sprinting to the bathroom at the office.  And it will stink.  Set up your bathroom with a book or your tablet, and a candle!!  You'll thank me later.

You will also have to do a clear liquid diet the day before.  If you've every had a colonoscopy, this will be familiar to you.  If you haven't, I've heard the prep for that procedure is much worse.  Oh joy.  You are very limited on what you can eat, but quite honestly, I was so bloated from the prep, that I didn't feel like eating.  I was also told that tequila, vodka and rum do not count as clear liquids.  They weren't much fun.  :)  In fact, there is no alcohol and no intercourse for 48 hours before your surgery.

In addition, you will have some kind of antibiotic before the surgery.  There is the normal oral kind, or a vaginal kind, similar to a yeast infection treatment.  Your doctor will tell you which one he/she prefers.

And then there's your body.  Nair those legs before you go in.  You're not going to be bending over to shave them for a while after the surgery.  If it's winter, eh, who cares.  In addition, think about the other hair on your body.  My husband is an EMT and at his part time job he works with various surgery techs.  He was discussing my surgery and his partner of the day gave him/me one word bit advice.  "Ladies, tidy up."  You don't have to get rid of all hair, but it will make your clean up easier afterward, and depending on where your incisions are... You don't want the adhesive tape ripping THAT hair off!!  Do a close trim to make things easier on you and your surgeon.

In most cases, you will be kept overnight, so pack a bag.  You don't really need to take much, because they'll give you most of what you need, but here are some things that I forgot, or that were very helpful.

Pack some granny panties a couple sizes larger than you normally wear.  Your stomach will be very distended after the surgery and you don't want anything tight on your body.  You may not wear them for long, but trust me, they'll be a Godsend.  They do have special undies for you to wear while in the hospital.

Bring loose clothing.  I found these awesome pants at Walmart for $10.  They come in both capris and full length pants.  Pajama pants work great too.  Again, you belly will be distended.  You want loose clothing.  You'll want clothes that are easy to put on for awhile after your home, and these types of pants will work great. One friend told me to use pregnancy pants, but using the loose ones that I bought have worked fine.

Lip balm - yes, this sounds stupid but I didn't bring my full purse, because, well, I didn't need it.  I didn't have any lip balm and my lips were horribly dry.  You will have a tube in your throat and the rooms are dry, which will make your lips dry out.

Bring a pillow - I had several friends tell me this and it was a life saver.  Not a pillow for your bed.  A pillow for your belly.  Use it to support your belly when they get you up to walk, an they will.  Here is the one I took.

As you can see, it's not much larger than the span of my hand, but that's really the size you need.  The other key is that it's firm.  You don't want a soft, squishy pillow.  You want support.  I make these pillows and sell them on my Etsy store, so I could make it exactly as firm as I wanted.  You can also place this pillow between your belly and the seat belt when you're driving home.

Whether or not you bring a nightgown is up to you.  They won't let you put it on until you're off all forms of IVs, so depending on how long you're in, you might not have time to change.  I just brought one that covered my butt, so when I was walking the halls, yes, you walk the halls, I wouldn't be hanging out the back.

I wasn't at all nervous going in.  I had so much pain from a 5 cm fibroid that was twisted, I couldn't wait to get the part removed.  However, my doctor did tell my husband that I was tense during the surgery.  Must have been  subconscious reaction.

The last thing I'm going to say is to talk to your doctor about any medications you take.  You will be told to go off all your medications, even over the counter, for the week before surgery.  This is because they don't want you on blood thinners and many over the counter meds are blood thinners.  I have severe allergies, which can also lead to severe migraines.  Not having any of these meds for  a week would have made me miserable.  We went through what I take, and what would be safe, and what dosages.  However, do NOT take meds without consulting with your doctor first.

Don't be afraid to ask.  You will hear horror stories from people.  Ignore them.  Just because they had a bad experience, doesn't mean you will, and who knows how long ago they had their procedure and what type of procedure it was.  You can't directly compare it to you.

A friend of mine referred me to a website called Hyster Sisters.  It does have plenty of forums to ask questions and get recent information.  Always take the advice of your doctor first!!

Salad ingredients

I have some stuff going on right now and need to get my behind moving and lose some of this behind.

Naturally, salads are a 'diet food" but they can get boring.  If you have a good list of ingredients you can add, you can mix things up a bit.

I actually like to mix fruit into my salads.  I have a sweet tooth, so this a way to get some of that sweet, without adding a bunch of calories.

Here's a list of ingredients you can add.  Mix and match to fit your tastes.

Protein
Chicken
Beef
Ham
Turkey
Tuna
Salmon
Shrimp
Egg
Chickpeas
Bacon - sparingly - unfortunately
Cheese - Try feta or sharp cheddar or other strong cheeses so you get flavor and don't use as much
Tofu - I don't like it, but other people do
Beans
Nuts


Vegetables
For the "base" I like to mix spinach with spring greens.  Spinach has so many more vitamins in it.  YOu can do straight spinach if you want.  I just like the mix of textures and tastes.
Cucumber
Carrot
Peppers
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Tomatoes
Avocado
Asparagus
Corn
Onion
Celery
Radishes
Mushrooms
Okra
Zucchini

Fruit
Berries - blueberry, strawberry, blackberry, raspberry
Apples
Dried cranberries
Grapes
Mango
Citruses - Orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime
Pomegranate
Pineapple

You can add some grains if you like.  A nice couscous or a whole wheat pasta.  Quinoa if you're gluten free.  Add some crunch with baked tortilla chips.

If you're still not inspired, check out Pinterest.  There are great recipes for making a week's worth of salad in a mason jar.

If your kids are picky eaters, set up a salad bar and allow them to pick toppings for a salad.  You might be surprised by what they choose and what they'll try.  My daughter actually likes asparagus!!  We love a salmon, asparagus and feta salad with a hot bacon dressing.  I had this in a restaurant and loved it, so we make it at home now.

What's your favorite salad topping?

Foot Smart

I may have found my new favorite catalog.  I have very bad knees and high arches.  I need to pay good money for shoes.  However the kind of shoes that are available in a retail store are usually ugly and expensive.

A co-worker turned me on to the FootSmart catalog.  They have CUTE shoes that are good for your feet.

The best part is, the listings show what shoes are good for arch support, cushion, bunions, etc.  They also carry things besides shoes.  There are circulatory socks, bunion cushions, arthritis products, braces for knees and ankles and much more.

Yes, these things are pricey, but I have found that I cannot buy inexpensive shoes and not have problems.

If you have foot, knee or arthritis issues, check this out.

Meals on a budget

I went grocery shopping today for the next 2 weeks. I spent $106.  Here are my purchases.

As you can see, there is produce, meats and pasta.  Being frugal does not mean you have to eat junk.  In fact, I am renewing my commitment to get healthy, so health was a large decision in my shopping.

If you know me, or follow this blog, you know I despise grocery shopping and cooking.  The nearest grocery store is 15 miles away, so I must plan meals.  There is no quick running for a missing ingredient.  I have ingredients for breakfast, lunch and dinner here.

This is our menu for the next couple of weeks.  Maybe a little bit longer because there will be leftovers.

One of my keys, which I have blogged about before, is my slow cooker.  Several of my meals will be bagged up to go in the slow cooker.  But I do all the prep in one day, so my cooking time is minimal each night.  In fact, I set up that my husband can actually have dinner on the table when I get home.

Right now my slow cooker is working with a whole chicken.  Part of it will be used in salads for me for lunch.  The rest will go in

Moroccan Couscous Salad - I am not a fan of chick peas, so I take them out and put in chicken instead to keep my protein.  I also change out the raisins for dried cranberries.  I like the tart taste with the chicken.

Chili - Fall is approaching and that means chili around here.  The recipe is not hard.  1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, 1 6 oz can tomato paste a can of kidney beans and some ground meat.  I use ground turkey for the health benefits, but you can use whatever you want.  In our area, we are known for putting pasta in our chili.  Try it some time.  It's quite good.  This is all bagged up and will go in the slow cooker.  A nice slow cooker all day brings the flavors together.

Spaghetti-  Since I made the ground turkey for the chili, I made all of my ground meat at one time.  I bagged the cooked meat with the spaghetti sauce.  It just needs to be thawed and combined with the hot cooked pasta.  Add a salad and we're ready to go.

Pork chop, veggie and rice bowls- This recipe is just for a veggie and rice bowl, but my husband doesn't do vegetarian, and I struggle with keeping my protein up, so I'm adding pork chops to this.  The boneless chops were the cheapest this week, so that's what we got. They will go in the slow cooker with a little bit of apple cider vinegar and some soy sauce.  This will tenderize them enough to be stirred into the rice and veggies and just break apart. The soy sauce will work well with the rice.  I use a quick cooking brown rice, again for the health aspect.

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak - My husband is a beef man.  This recipe works for him.  I bought a bag of mini peppers.  They were around $3.  If you have ever tried to buy colored peppers, you know they are expensive.  This bag of peppers is affordable and has enough for this dish and the couscous salad above, plus a few left over to top a salad.  Served over rice, this is a meal in itself.

Chicken Alfredo - This is often requested at home and it's a quick dish.  I know jarred Alfredo sauce is loaded with fat, but I don't have time to make it from scratch.  What I do is buy a small jar, and add one half to a full jar of skim milk to it.  It stretches the sauce, and reduces the calories because you're not getting as much sauce.  I cooked a 3 pound bag of chicken breast.  Some of it is diced for this dish, and the rest will be used in another dish to come.  Cook the pasta of your choice, and steam some broccoli.  Mix together and you're good to go.

Chubby Chicken and Cream Cheese Taquitos - My husband loves "messy food" so this one is for him.  This is where the rest of the chicken breast will go.  It has spinach in it, so it helps with the veggies, and it will use low fat cream cheese.  Again, add a salad and we're good to go.

Fish tacos - I eat these when I go out to lunch with my friends from work. I love them and our daughter loves fish, but hubby, not so much.  I have tilapia in the freezer so we're using that and we have fresh veggies from my trip to the farmer's market.  Tortillas will be used for this and the taquitos.  I bought an extra package, which I'll explain in the breakfasts.  Corn tortillas make this a great gluten free meal.

Grilled Kielbasa and Pesto Penne - I cooked this tonight and put it in a bag.  It will just need to be reheated.  We're going to have Roasted Okra along with this.

There's one recipe that's going to be an experiment to see if it goes over.  Hopefully my husband has quit reading by now and doesn't see this.  It's Pasta with Eggplant Sauce.  I bought an eggplant at the farmer's market, so I'm trying this.  I like eggplant, the child has never eaten it and hubby says he hates it.  I'm wondering if he'll notice it in this sauce.  It's loaded with veggies and when I add a salad, even more veggies.

OK, that's the dinners. Yes, this is from the $106 that I spent, and I still have more to go.

For lunches I can eat things that I know my husband won't eat.

A great fall lunch is a Stuffed Acorn Squash, which also happens to be gluten free.  I made the ground turkey for this when I made the rest for my dinner dishes.  

I found this Tuna and Asparagus Salad.  It calls for being made in a bread bowl, but I'm just doing it as a salad.  Who needs the extra carbs?

We have a toaster oven at work so this Baked Avocado Dish is a quick lunch.  I also got some artichokes to add to this.

And my dinner tonight after a couple of hours in the kitchen is a grown up version of grilled cheese.  It's a Tomato, Avocado and Mozzarella Grilled Cheese.  Here I'm using up the leftover avocado from the recipe above.

I'm still on the same $106.  And remember, I have leftover chicken to make salads or sandwiches.  And I can have leftovers from other meals for lunches.  I did buy 2 frozen dinners in case I run out of stuff, but that's still in my $106.

Now for breakfast.  You may have noticed that I bought fresh berries.  I also have a couple of bags of pears from a friend that had an abundance.

I have the extra tortillas and some English Muffins.  I'll put peanut butter and fresh berries on the English Muffins, or rolled up in the tortillas.

I can also roll up the tortillas with peanut butter and some of the pears, thinly sliced and some granola.

I also have a quick breakfast from my childhood.  My grandparents had a farm so we grew up with fresh dairy products.  One of my grandfather's things was to put sliced cheese on buttered toast.  Very simple, but very good. You don't melt the cheese.  Try it sometime.  I'll eat it on the English Muffins.

And all this on $106.  

Whole chicken in a slow cooker

One of the easiest, and most economical, things is to cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker.  There really isn't a fancy recipe.  Buy a whole chicken, add the seasoning of your choice, about half a cup of stock/broth, plop the top on and away you go.  8 hours on low will produce a juicy chicken that falls apart.

My favorite seasoning is from Costco.  It's an organic no-salt seasoning.  It has a bunch of different spices in it and works in everything.  I just sprinkle some of that on top.  If you don't have a Costco nearby or don't want to get a membership, you can order it on Amazon as well.

You can serve the chicken for dinner, or I use it for various meals.  It works perfect on salads, mixed with rice and vegetables, or one of my favorites, a Moroccan Couscous Salad.  I've changed up the ingredients using whatever happens to be in the pantry.  I throw in chicken breasts and it makes a full meal.

You can use the chicken in soup, sandwiches, kids meals.  All kinds of things.

Experiment with different seasonings and see what you like.

Getting Healthy

Yes, I need to get healthy.  I've seen this simple "solution."

Really, how much simpler can it get?

A few days ago, we got an extended lunch hour (actually 2 hours) to go to the farmer's market.  I actually LOVE fruits and vegetables.  The farmer's market was a plethora of wonderful finds.

I got green beans, beautiful red tomatoes, assorted lettuce (which my husband actually liked), eggplant (which my husband does not like), okra and a bouquet of flowers for myself.  And I spent under $20.  I could have bought a lot more, but the 1 mile walk back to my office with arms laden with produce did not sound appealing.  Hitting the farmer's market tomorrow, does.

I'm also trying to set a good example for my daughter of making healthy choices and setting new habits for our family.

I'm making a commitment to get back in shape, so I'm looking for some good, healthy recipes.  What's your favorite?

Product Review - Immaculate Baking

I discovered this brand purely by accident.  My family loves carbs.

I needed a quick breakfast items.  While I was checking out the canned cinnamon rolls (yes, I know they're unhealthy) I found these.  The brand is Immaculate Baking.

I happily bought them when I saw the label.  No bleached flour, no high fructose corn syrup, organic and non GMO (genetically modified).  A convenience food that I could feel good about serving to my daughter.  Double bonus, she LOVED them.  We also blueberry and cinnamon rolls.

Triple bonus, I found out they have gluten free products as well.

I found this cookie dough when I was picking up some more breakfast food for the kiddo.  They had this Fudge Brownie and Chocolate chip.  The chocolate chip is OK, but these are just fantastic.  There is no way to tell they are gluten free.

It's so rare to find a brand that is healthy, convenient, and better yet, affordable.  Yes, they are pricier than other brands, but I'll pay the little bit extra to feed my family some healthy food.

Most of the time I do my own baking, but when I don't have time.  It's nice to know I have an alternative.

I found these in the refrigerator section at a Super Walmart.  I haven't really looked other places for them.  You can also like them on Facebook.

Dinner for the next 2 weeks

Whenever I post on Facebook that I'm doing my 2 week batch cooking, people ask what's for dinner.  Here's what we're having.  My total on checkout at Aldi was $120 and that included snacks and lunch items as well.  Some of the leftovers will be used for lunches as well.

So here's the menu

Mexican chicken - I traded kidney beans and used black beans instead

Cheesy Chicken & Rice - A family favorite.  However, if you're GF, you know that cream soup has gluten in it, and face it, it's really not all that good for you.

I found this homemade substitute online.  It has just a few simple ingredients.  I call it "Cream of No Crap Soup."  This is the first time I'm using it, so we'll see how it does.

Sausage and baked beans - Again, I made some substitutions.  I bought turkey polish sausage and used canned baked beans.  I don't really like beans, but I can suffer through baked beans.  The black beans in the Mexican Chicken is a stretch for me.  But you can use whatever beans you want.

Bacon Quiche - This is a versatile dish.  You can throw in any veggies you want.  Add ham or leave out the meat altogether if you want vegetarian.

Pork Chop Meal - A simple one dish meal.

Peach Pork Chops - Pork Chops, a bag of frozen peaches, some seasoning and a little bit of chicken broth to keep the moisture content correct.

I even got the 11 year old involved this time.  She enjoyed bagging up our meals and she did some chopping.

Our last slow cooker dish is Beef Stew.

I used a pound of stew meat, but I checked prices on other cuts.  Since it cooks long and slow, you can use different cuts.  Round steak, top sirloin or cube steaks work well.  Stew meat was the cheapest per pound this time, so that's what we're using.  Since there are three of us, we cubed three potatoes and sliced a bunch of carrots.  Add some seasoning and  some beef broth or bouillon and water and you're good to go.  

I make my own gravy.  I'll use the juice from the stew after it's done cooking.  Bring it to a boil, and add a slurry of corn starch and water.  No, I don't have measurements. I have done it this way for so long I just know by looking.  This also keeps it gluten free and doesn't lump like using flour does.  

My "just in case" meals, (in case we forget to put something in the slow cooker) are Ravioli and Poor Man's Stroganoff.  That's one pound ground turkey, the Cream of No Crap Soup mix and some rice. I also have a pizza for the hubby and kiddo when I'm not home.  

I have several containers of already cooked rice in the freezer.  I can thaw them as needed.  I'll mix them into the Mexican Chicken and the Chicken & Rice as well.  

We will also have leftovers, and some of the leftovers become lunch as well.  I use them for my lunches quite often.  

I love Pinterest for my recipes. I find things that are good and healthy and I can "keep" them all in one place and not have to dig for recipes.  

Happy Eating!!

Product review - Enjoy Life not nuts!

I found this product at a local Festival Foods in the gluten free and health food section.

I don't like nuts, except peanut butter.  I don't like the taste or the texture.  So many trail mix blends contain nuts.  I don't want to pay for trail mix when I'm not going to eat half of it, and I don't want anything with carbs.

I was delighted when I found this, even more delighted when it tasted good!

For any of you out there with allergens, this product is free of wheat, tree nuts, fish, dairy, egg, shellfish, peanuts, soy, casein, potato, sesame and sulfites!  Even better it is made in a gluten free and nut free facility, so there is no cross contamination.

Here is the nutrition information.  6 oz bag contains 6 servings.  8 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat.  13 grams of carbs with 2 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein.  Not too bad.

There are two varieties of the seed and fruit mix.  You can view them here.

I don't remember the exact price, but I want to say it was around $3.  I used this as a snack on my way home from work.  I eat lunch at noon and don't get home until almost 6 PM.  This allows me a healthy snack that won't fill me up before dinner.

I think I'll be stocking up on these.

Gluten Free Lunches

I brown bag it, because I'm frugal.  My office is just a few blocks from a wonderful public market with gluten free and organic food, but I can't afford to eat there every day.  I wish I could.

Here are some things I pack for lunch.  If you are trying to cut carbs, these will help you since they are all gluten free.  I avoid using gluten free replacements.  They are expensive and quite frankly, most of them don't taste very good.  There are some good ones, but it takes a lot of trial and error, or the recommendation of friends, to find them.  So most of my lunches are naturally gluten free.

I found these great lunch containers at Wal-Mart. They were $4 each for a set of two and come with the  fork, and knife in the rectangular containers.  The salad containers have a separate cup for the dressing, so you can make salads up ahead of time.  These containers allow me to make lunch at one time instead of every day.

Salads - I buy the bagged lettuce and spinach and mix them together.  You can add whatever vegetables you want.  For protein I use chicken breast, tuna, salmon, whatever I happen to have on hand.

Quesadillas - Corn tortillas, cheese and your choice of other ingredients.  Chicken, beef, spinach, beans, whatever you want.

Portabella mushrooms - Flip a mushroom cap upside down.  Top with spinach, marinara sauce, sliced tomato and mozzarella or provolone cheese.  Bake at 350 until the cheese is lightly brown.

Veggie lasagna - I made this veggie lasagna last week.  It makes a 9x13 pan and I'm the only one who will eat it, so I cut it into single serving pieces and froze it.  I can just take out a single serving and put it in my lunch container.

Breakfast - Eggs are good protein.  Scrambled with some veggies and you're good to go.

Egg salad is a good option.  Mix in a half of an avocado for extra protein.  Spread it on sandwich bread, put it in a lettuce wrap, or eat it plain.  Here I added some cottage cheese and I'll grab a pear for my fiber filled fruit.

Last week I experimented with a recipe.  I made a spaghetti squash. (If you want to save time, pierce the squash a bunch of times, then microwave it for about 15 minutes. )  I mixed the squash with some parmesan cheese, a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese and some canned salmon.

Wraps - Just because you're gluten free doesn't mean you can't do wraps.  Use corn tortillas or lettuce instead of bread.

Get creative with your meals.

Frugal Living - Gluten free batch cooking

I've been absent for several months.  Life has been just plain crazy.  I think things are getting back to normal, so I have several blogs planned.

In the last few weeks I have gone gluten free.  No, I have not been diagnosed with Celiac, but I am doing it because of arthritis in my knees.  When I talked to my wonderful friend, Ruth, she explained to me how going gluten free had helped her Rheumatoid Arthritis.  I suffer from arthritis in both knees, no cartilage in either knee, and my knee caps slide, bone on bone.  I am in pain on a regular basis.  So, I decided to give it a shot.  Within about a week, a lump on my left knee disappeared!

If you are gluten free, you know how expensive some of the products can be. I cook so that we are naturally gluten free, not adding expensive items to our budget.

Today I did my grocery shopping for the next two weeks.  I still use my slow cooker, especially since from the time I get up in the morning, until I get home, it's 12 hours.  I'm too tired to cook.

Here is what I bagged and froze for the next two weeks.  Just click on the title of the recipe to be directed to the recipe website.  These are not my creations, so I want to give credit where credit is due.  All of my meals come straight from the freezer and get dumped into the slow cooker.  They usually cook for about 8 hours on low.

BBQ Pork Chops - This one doesn't need a recipe.  Take some pork chops, put them in a plastic bag and pour on your favorite BBQ sauce.  Our family favorite is Sweet Baby Rays.

Pork Chops Cacciatore

Peach Chicken - I ditched the fresh peaches and used a bag of frozen peaches.  I'm all about saving time.

Cube Steak with Gravy - I ditched the packaged gravy mix and just added beef broth.  I'll add a little slurry of water and cornstarch to thicken it up.

Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps - This is not a slow cooker recipe, so I don't know how it will turn out.  However, my husband is thrilled with recipe.  It has bacon, brown sugar and chili powder.  It is a bit messy to put together, but it sounds good.

Beef and Broccoli- This is a family favorite. I alternate between stew meat, sirloin, or top round steak.  Depending on what is on sale. They all work out fine.  Go with the cheapest.

Applesauce BBQ Chicken - I used chicken leg quarters because they were cheaper.

Crockpot Mexican Lasagna - I put this together in a dish lined with foil.  When it's frozen, I'll put in a bag, still in the foil.  Then it can be easily transferred to the crock pot.  My husband will put it in when he comes for lunch, since this one doesn't need to cook as long.

Edit:  I discovered if you are cooking this from frozen, it does need to cook for 8 hours.  If you're not freezing it, 4 hours is fine.  

I have some meetings this week and won't be home for dinner, so I have ingredients for spaghetti and pizza since the rest of the family doesn't have to be gluten free.

There are some things that I do to save time.  It doesn't affect my budget very much and the time savings is SO worth it to me.

1) I use slow cooker liners.  They are from Reynolds and they can be found in the aisle where you'd find bags and foil.  They are awesome.

2) I don't measure seasoning.  I have a blend from Costco that I love.  It's an organic no salt seasoning and I use it on everything.  The link is to Amazon if you don't have a Costco near you.  It's a little pricer than Costco, but it is so worth it.

3) I buy pre-sliced when I can, if it's not that much more.  At my favorite Aldi store, the pre-sliced mushrooms are reasonable and save me a bunch of time.  There is also a jar of chopped garlic.  It's only a couple of dollars and worth every bit of it.

The other thing that I love about Aldi is that they carry their own brand of food and most of it is naturally gluten free.  If you're gluten free, you know about hidden gluten.  Aldi's brands don't have it in the places you have been looking.  Not in the Teriyaki sauce, or the chicken broth, or the other hidden places.  It's such a treat to find a naturally gluten free item that you can afford!

4) I make a big batch of rice at one time.  I use long grain rice, so it has to cook for 45 minutes.  I make the entire package at one time, so I'm not spending 45 minutes each night making a small batch.  All I have to do is spice it up.  Some nights I add some diced garlic and a little bit of olive oil, other nights I add veggies, and some nights it goes into the dish I'm making.

I spent a good bit of time making breakfasts and lunches for the next week as well, and those will be coming in future posts.  Enjoy your meals.

If you're on Pinterest, follow me and you'll see some of the recipes I use.  Not all are gluten free.

Frugal Living - Slow Cooker & Batch Prep

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to bake, but I despise cooking.  The drudgery of deciding what to make every night is draining to me.  The nearest grocery store is 15 miles away so there isn't a "wing it" dinner.  Meals need to be planned to make sure we have all the ingredients.

Since I hate cooking, I love my slow cooker.  Throw some food in and let it go.  It's done when I get home.  How can it get any better?  Well, if I had a personal chef it would be better, but I don't, so I do this.

After work today, I did the drudgery of shopping.  I had my meals planned and my list in hand when I hit my Aldi store to get all my groceries.

When I got home, I prepped everything and put it in labeled bags with any additional instructions.  For my Tortellini Soup, I need to add the tortellini about an hour before serving, so that instruction is on the bag.

All my veggies were cut at one time and nothing needed to be cooked ahead, so there are no dishes.  Another benefit of slow cooker or crock pot cooking.  Usually the only thing you need to wash is your crock pot.  It took me an hour to get everything together and I have 12 meals prepped.  All I have to do is pop them in the crock pot before I leave in the morning.

I do have ingredients for spaghetti as a back up in case I forget to dump something in the slow cooker before I leave in the morning.

On our menu for the next couple of weeks.....

Swiss Steak
Tortellini soup
Chicken & Dumplings
Cheesy chicken & rice
Soup pork chops  (pork chops with a can of chicken & rice soup)
Beef stew
Chicken leg quarters (add a packet of onion soup mix and some water) and I am making extra so I have leftover chicken to make a stir fry.
Balsamic vinegar chicken (this is a regular oven recipe that I'm making in the slow cooker instead)
BBQ Pork Chops
BBQ Chicken breast

If you're on Pinterest, you can find most the recipes on there.  I make life as easy as I can.

The great thing is that most of these recipes are naturally gluten free for those that need to follow a special diet, and they are pretty healthy so I can keep on track with my weight loss program.

Now I can settle in for the night and get my other chores done, knowing that cooking won't be on my agenda for the coming weeks.

Cleaning Make Up Brushes

Yes, this post is labeled under health.  After what I just witnessed, you'll agree with me when you get done reading.

Your face is clean when you put your make up on, right?  Therefor, your make up brushes shouldn't get gunked up, right?  So very wrong.

Like most women I've read about cleaning my make up brushes, but I didn't put much thought into it.  I haven't dropped them in the toilet or anything, so they should be pretty clean.  Yeah, no.

Today I was avoiding other chores had some spare time, so I decided to give it a shot.

1) Run your brushes under lukewarm water.

2) Put a little bit of gentle soap into your hand (baby soap or other similar soap) and swirl your brush in your hand.

3) Don't gross out by what you see.  OK, that's not in the formal directions, but when you see what comes out, you will be grossed out.

4) Rinse under running water until water runs clear.

5) Lightly brush your now clean brushes on some paper towel.

6) Lay your brushes on a clean towel to air dry.

It doesn't take much time and I really recommend doing this.  My blush brush was the worse.  Clumps of things came out.  No matter how clean your face is, you still have natural oils and things on your face, and they get into your brush.

You're supposed to do this weekly, but well, you probably aren't going to.  Do it as often as you can.  It really is healthier for your body.  You wouldn't put a dirty toothbrush in your mouth. Don't use dirty brushes on your face either.

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

Do you want a healthy version of an oatmeal cookie that you can serve your kids for breakfast?  Or need a breakfast that you can eat on the run?  This is what happens in my house.  I'm lucky if I roll out of bed and am awake, much less eating a healthy breakfast.  I developed this recipe.

These are a little bit denser than a regular muffin.  Kind of a cross between a muffin and oatmeal.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1/3 C butter - melted
1/2 C sugar
1 egg
1/2 C milk
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 C quick cooking oatmeal (not the instant packets)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon (or more if you like cinnamon)
1 C raisins (or other dried fruit)

Mix together the butter, sugar, and egg.  Slowly add in dry ingredients, adding milk to keep the mixture moist.  Still until just combined.  Stir in raisins.

Scoop into muffin liners with an ice cream scoop.  This should make 12 nice sized muffins. They're not going to rise a bunch, so you can fill them almost to the top.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.

If you like, you can sprinkle the muffins with a cinnamon and sugar mix before baking.  The oatmeal adds bulk and fiber to help keep your child full longer.  They also make a great after school snack when they want something sweet.

Frugal Living - Batch Cooking

I have an 11 year old girl with a fabulous metabolism.  A bowl of cereal will not keep this kiddo full for any length of time.  She eats big breakfasts.  Once a month or so, I will spend a couple of hours making up breakfasts for her.  Good, healthy, filling breakfasts.

I'm also a mean mom.  I don't buy Pop Tarts or Toaster Strudel or any of the other things that kids WANT to eat.  It's just not healthy.  As a general rule, I use as little processed food as possible.  That's not to say it's 100% processed free, but I cook from scratch as much as possible.  I'm trying to teach her better eating habits that I have developed.

This is what I made today.  Starting in the center and going left... Stone Fruit Pancakes (peaches, nectarines, and plums), peanut butter and banana oatmeal squares, pumpkin scones, ham/egg/cheese biscuits, blueberry muffins and oatmeal raisin muffins.  This will last about six weeks.

Peanut butter oatmeal bars

My daughter has taken an interest in cooking, so she has started helping in the preparations.  The only processed food is the biscuits.

Press some canned biscuits into the bottom of a muffin tin, top with scrambled eggs, ham and cheese and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

All of  these things will be frozen and she will just microwave them in the coming weeks.  These are all things she likes, and they're easy to make.  They are certainly healthier than many other options, and gives her servings of fruit she might not eat otherwise.  They are much higher in protein than cold cereal and have nutrients that aren't high in other foods.

Pumpkin Scones

And because I cook with the seasonal ingredients, I can save money.  The cost per serving is significantly lower than pre-made things, especially when you have a child who eats larger quantities.

The best thing is, you cook once and clean up once.  I'm not the June Cleaver type who is going to get up every morning and cook a hot breakfast and I certainly don't run a short order kitchen!!  My daughter can choose what she wants, and she gets some input into what I make. She also takes great pride when she eats something she helped prepare.  If she wants to help cook, I'm not going to turn down help.  What do you think I am?  Crazy?

What I Did this Summer

Many kids start school with the "What I Did this Summer" assignment, so I'll share mine.

This was a crazy summer for me.  I did A LOT of traveling.  Between Memorial Day and Labor Day I was on five different trips.  Let me say, this is highly unusual for me.  I don't travel this much in two years, much less in one summer.

I started with a trip to Houston to see my best friend and to watch her daughter graduate high school.

The graduate isn't in the picture because she was off getting ready for graduation, and she'd probably kill me anyway.

I was home until mid-July, which began my insanity.  My friend, Katrina, and I went to visit my friend, Nancy.  She had lost her mother a few weeks prior and we went to spend some time with our friend.  Nancy is the founder of the Attachment & Trauma Network.  I met her in 2004 when we first got a diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder.

It is because of Nancy that our daughter is in our home, but it's a bit of a long story.  I will forever be grateful for the gift that she gave us, and the gifts she has given to so many families.

After a week at home, it was time to leave again.  I set off to Pennsylvania with four other adults and seven youth from our church.  We went to do a week long service trip with Week of Hope.  It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.  It was my first time doing prolonged mission work.  I'd never done anything more than a day or a weekend, so it was a new experience.  We spent a long time traveling (14 hours each way) and with each other, but it was worth it.

The friends we made and the lessons we learned were amazing.

We returned home for, literally, two days before we set off again.  This time we left as a family.  We went to Colorado with my in-laws for a trip that my husband took often as a child and teen.  It was the first time our whole family was together in over ten years.  The chance to be together again and for us to experience things that my husband did was extraordinary.

For a girl who doesn't like heights, I did OK with being up at 13,000 feet on the top of a mountain.  A little hint - don't look down!!

After that it was home for a couple weeks, ending my summer with a quick trip to Atlanta.  This was the most "work" oriented trip.  ATN was proud to host the Southern premier of a movie called "The Boarder", about a child with attachment disorder and how it affects the family.  It was a very worthwhile weekend.  I love the chance to connect with my fellow ATN staff and Board Members, as well as meeting the families that we work with.

In this picture are Executive Director, Julie Beem along with Board Members and staff, Tanya Bowers-Dean, Stephanie Garde and myself.  Along with the movie, we hosted a resource expo for families to find services and to meet other families.  After the evening showing, we hosted a small appetizer and cocktail reception.  After 12 hours on our feet, we were ready to sit down, but spent a couple of hours staying up and talking.

And now I am home and will be for the next several months.  Every one of these trips was worth it!  I am paying for it now in weight gain and fatigue, but I will get back on my feet.  The memories are ones I will carry with me for years to come and will certain bring light on dark days.

Thank you to everyone who was a part of these memories.

It's Hard to Care

Back in January I blogged about my need to lose weight.  Yeah, well, that didn't happen.

Today I had to shop for a size larger jeans.  I hate the way I feel.  I hate the way I look.  I hate how much effort it takes to keep weight off.  I hate exercise.  I hate cooking.

I've lost the weight before and I know how hard it is to do.  It's so much easier to put it on. We all want the magic pill that will take the weight off with no effort.  Unfortunately, that's not an option.

I'm in a bad spot right now where I hate how I look, but getting up the energy to care and do something about it.  I'm physically and emotionally exhausted.  This summer was crazy with five trips over the summer.  I don't travel that much in two years, much less in one summer.  It threw everything off with my body.

I'm also dealing with the hormonal changes of aging, and the fact that the meds that I take to help with my allergies and migraines also cause weight gain.

I know I'm not the only person that feels this way.  If there was an exercise that I liked, it would be much easier.  Earlier this week I went to a Zumba class with my friend and co-worker, Carol.  She has been doing Zumba regularly, and she looks fabulous!! She really loves it.  I did enjoy the class, but my knee did not.  It locked up several times and caused some pretty severe pain.  Because of my knee issues, anything high impact is out.  I wish I could swim, but there are no pools easily available where I live.  The only pools are in schools, so the schedules are very difficult to manage.

I did "enjoy" an aerobic yoga when I did my big weight loss.  I was ready to start that back up again, but couldn't find the DVD.  I bought a new one today and I will force myself to get up early and get back at it.

I know that weight loss and emotional issues go hand in hand.  Losing weight will help my emotional health.

I need motivation.  Does anyone have any extra laying around??  Does anyone want to "buddy up" and hold each other accountable?

Support System

One of the most important things when you are parenting a child with any kind of special needs is to have a great support system behind you.  I am so incredibly blessed to have that.

As I blogged about here I spent several days in Houston visiting my best friend.  I attended the graduation of her daughter while I was there, and it was the reason for the timing of the trip.

Sonya has been a staunch supporter of our parenting as long as we've had children.  There were times where she saw behaviors in my kids that I didn't see.  Having her support me has been one of the greatest gifts of my life.  While I was in Houston we talked about my kids, but it wasn't the constant theme of the vacation.  In fact, the time spent discussing kids was minimal.  We both needed the time to just relax and that's what we did.  Kids were still involved since I was staying at their house, but I love her children and we have a great time together, but we did not linger on the problems I am facing.

I am blessed with three additional amazing supporters.  We have all been friends for nearly 30 years.  I'm trying to figure out how that can be since we're all only 29 ourselves.

Deb, Mel and Shel have been my friends since high school.  Actually, Mel has been in my life far longer.  Our mothers were friends in high school and we met for the first time when we were in elementary school.

These amazing friends have seen every part of my life.  They saw the abuse I suffered and the "relationship" with my mother.  They know that what I lived is real.  They watched as things progressed with our son, and supported us when the decision was made that he had to enter residential treatment.  They may not have always agreed with our choices, but they have supported us, held us up, prayed for us, loved us and have been the best friends we could ever ask for.  Having a support system that has known you most of your life is beyond amazing.

There is a saying that I've heard for years and I believe very strongly.  "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."  I believe this with all my heart and these ladies are pure gold.

Our final big support system is my in-laws.  Notice I didn't say my family.  My parents have not been a support system at all and have doubted us every step of the way.  My in-laws are a completely different story.

We may be over 1000 miles apart, but we are as close as can be.  We have had a great relationship, even prior to children entering the picture.  My mother-in-law and I used to have season tickets to theater events together when we both lived in the Dallas area.

My in-laws saw things with our son when he went to stay with them for a week when he was about eight.  Things did not go smoothly and he let some of his behaviors show.  That was a first for him.  He was usually sweet and charming to everyone he met.

They began to see what we dealt with and really got it when we explained things.  When the violence began, they were worried about my safety.  They understood the need for out of home placement and didn't doubt what we were doing and what the court decided.

They completely adore our daughter, but we are blessed that my mother-in-law has been a teacher in various grades and understands child development.  She knows what is "normal" and what behaviors come out at what ages.  We are now dealing with puberty and I can vent about the hormones and other issues are experiencing.  Yes, it's age appropriate behavior, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

I have other support systems.  I have met other moms through the Attachment & Trauma Network, our church is amazing, and other friends I have made along the way all are people I can lean on when I need to.  I wish every family dealing with special needs had the support I have.  Sadly, I know that's not the case for everyone.

Thank you to all the wonderful people in my life, and thank you for your support! - That almost sounded like a campaign speech. :)

Mommy Time

In about 24 hours I will be leaving for some mommy time.  I am heading to my best friend's house and will be there for 5 days.  This is 5 days of relaxation for me.  It won't exactly look like this, but it will feel like this for me.

My friend lives on a private lake, in a beautiful home, and by the way, she loves me and supports me.  That last part in the most important.  We haven't seen each other in 18 months, and the last time we did I spent a week with her while her brother lay dying in hospice.  It wasn't exactly a vacation.

Taking care of ourselves and spending time relaxing are so very important when you parent children with special needs, especially when you deal with emotionally disturbed children.

This afternoon I discovered that my son has been calling me.  He has a new phone number so it took me awhile to put it together.  I will not let his calls deter me or interrupt my relaxation time.

Part of the reason for this trip is that my "niece," Haley, is graduating high school.  Sonya and I met when Haley was only six months old, so being there for her graduation is important to me.  She is six months younger than my son, but worlds apart in maturity.  About four hours away will be another graduation that I will miss.  Another young woman whom we have known since birth.  Again, similar age to my son, but worlds apart in maturity. It is hard to not dwell on the success these young women will make of their lives, while he decides to trash his life, but celebrating with them is far more important.

Both of these young women give me unconditional love, and have for years.  If there was a way I could make both graduations, I would do it in a heartbeat, but Texas is a little large.

This may not be your idea of a good time, but it is for me.  Sonya and I might as well be sisters.  We have been best friends since we met 18 years ago.  We share everything, laugh until it hurts, cry until we can't anymore, and again, she has my back.  Her support during everything we have been through has never wavered.

We will also get together with our friend, Mary, whom I haven't seen in eight years, and my friend over on the Two Men and a Little Farm blog.  The last time I saw him was the end of 1995, a day or two before I left Houston.  I have no doubt we will pick up right where we left off.  Friends like that are more precious than gold.

As parents, we many times make excuses as to why we can't do things like this.  We tell ourselves our kids come first, and deny ourselves vacations or other "luxuries."  It took a long time for me to figure out that I have to put my mental health first in order to be a good mother.  Lately, the stress has been getting very bad.  One of the muscles in my jaw has tightened up so badly I can only eat soft food, or food you can barely chew.  I have been clenching my jaw and grinding my teeth.  Sure signs I am stressed.  I owe it to myself and my family to take this time off.

And besides, having my husband do the things that I always do is good for him too.  It gives him a new appreciation of what I do.  He will get a little time off while I'm gone as well.  A friend of ours is getting married.  He will attend the wedding and have time with friends.  It's good for him too.

The moral of this story is....give your family a gift.  Do something for yourself!!!