Sofa Dreaming

This is what our sofa currently looks like:




In case you didn't notice:



Lovely, I know. I'm trying not to be too bothered about it considering, like Martha said yesterday, that there are people in the world who don't even have a house to live in.

But nonetheless, it has got me dreaming of sofas. Justin's mom's cousin (or something like that) has a business selling leather restoration kits. I wrote her to see what it would cost to restore ours and she said that what we'd have to do is remove the cushion that is ripped, have them put on a whole new cushion and then restore the rest of the leather to match the new cushion. We'd also eventually have to have several of the other cushions on the couch and love seat replaced since they are so worn and will probably rip soon as well. Bummer.

I've always loved our couch and love seat. We got them for a super good deal at one of those stores that sells Costco returns and overstocks. Sometimes I feel like they're a little dark and heavy looking but for the most part I really like them. Not to mention that the leather has made cleaning spit-up, puke, poo, pee, you-name-it when you have small children - a breeze. I highly recommend leather. But now, now that we have beautiful Bedford Gray walls and a whole new living room arrangement (pictures to come soon) I am dreaming of couches like these: (I've only listed the affordable ones here.... a $3000 couch is not in my future anytime soon. I'm not sure I would want it to ever be in my future, actually)

Carmen Sofa - Pier 1


Morgan Sofa - Cost Plus World Market



Lenny Sofa in Granite - Macy's


Martha Stewart Tufted Sofa -Macy's

Of course, my favorite one is the Martha Stewart one. But it is about 4 times the price of what it what it would cost to replace the cushion rather than twice the price. What do you think?

I should also note here that Justin and I have not agreed to either a) buy a new sofa or b) even think about paying to repair the old one. What we have discussed is taking some gorilla glue and putting a big old patch over the hole in the current one. But like I said.... dreaming....

Stepping Down

As some of you know, since I mentioned it on facebook, I didn't fall off the wagon but rather, I gracefully stepped down.

Last weekend we went down to my sister-in-law's house to celebrate Adia's 3rd birthday and my niece Taylor's 1st birthday. I grabbed as much food as I could before I left but was discussing with Justin on the way down how difficult it was going to be to stay on the diet while away. He and I talked it over and I came up with a plan which included me discontinuing the strict part of the diet but continuing to not eat the things I know my body doesn't do well with. Mainly, gluten, a lot of dairy and sugar. I have continued gluten-free very easily. I don't eat a lot of dairy to begin with - mainly a bit of cheese here and there and a little bit of creamer in my coffee (which I've also limited). The sugar is sometimes more challenging - but for now I'm steering clear of most desserts. Last night I made myself a gf brownie mix I've had in the cupboard for ages and you know what I found? Without white sugar and white flower I don't crave them. In the past, those brownies on the counter would have been calling my name every time I walked by but last night I had just a tiny square and then went to bed. This morning, a little bit with my coffee and I don't want more.

So my conclusion and recommendation for the elimination diet? Do it. You won't be sorry. Even if it's just for a couple of weeks. I feel leaner and healthier. It was a great kick-off to eating better and I lost about 7 lbs. Not too shabby. I'm sure I'll try it again in the nearer rather than farther future.

As I mentioned, our little Adia Moon celebrated her 3rd birthday this past week. We had a wonderful day celebrating her and thanking God for bringing her into our family. She had very specific requests for her big day which included sweeties (Swedish Pancakes), pink cupcakes (which baked up great once I realized I needed to turn the oven back on), Polar Express music and McDonald's. Justin and I also purchased her a stuffed Abby. I generally don't like to buy my kids character dolls - but little Abby is pretty darn cute and Adia was thrilled. And if you know any thing about our Adia, she's not unlike Abby Cadabby with her big vocabulary.

Hangin' Tough

I haven't given up yet!

It's been a challenging few days but I've been making some yummy recipes and that has helped a tremendous amount.

It's 2:29 am and I just finished up a sewing project for my niece, Taylor. We're heading south tomorrow to celebrate her and Adia'a birthdays. (1st and 3rd, respectively) I'll try and catch up a bit more when we get home on Sunday.

Just wanted to let you all know I haven't fallen off the wagon. I haven't thrown myself off either.

We've also been doing some work on the living room...
I know you're just anxious with anticipation now.

Days 6,7,8

Alternate Title: Frustrated but Encouraged

Ok... so tonight I went to the Whole Life Nutrition/Elimination diet class offered by the authors of Whole Life Nutrition at our local co-op.

What I found out is that I've been eating stuff I shouldn't be.

I don't know why this was so confusing to me. I think some of the resources are not altogether clear - I also think maybe I didn't read thoroughly enough.

In any case, I was highly discouraged when I found out tonight that I am not supposed to be eating oats. I explained to the author/nutritionist that I had misunderstood and asked what I should do at this point. He was present via phone as he was away on a business trip - earlier in the class I had asked his wife the same question and she suggested that I might need to add 5 extra days to Phase 1. Noooooo!!!! I was so disappointed - especially since I am really looking forward to adding in citrus on Wednesday. Anyway, the guy - Tom - said that I shouldn't worry about it too much and that I probably didn't need to add any extra days. Phew.

So then I come home and decide I'd better read over the literature more carefully (I really thought I had) and come to find out - I have also been eating Pinto beans and kiwi which are also not on the Phase 1 food list.

So please, if you're doing this or thinking about doing it, learn from me and print out this list (which everyone in the class seemed to know about but me) and don't stray from it. Allowed foods on the left, prohibited foods on the right.

So now that I've found this information out I'm really not sure what I should do. I feel like I should perhaps add a few more days on, or maybe do another day or two of smoothies only.

The only encouragement is that the guy didn't make me feel like a complete dork - if anything, he made us all feel like we were making great choices and on the right track. He was a fantastic cheer leader. Also, at least now I know. The BEST part of the night was that I was very well fed. We got to eat a lot of amazing Phase 1 recipes - it was more than I had eaten in days. I've been getting so bored food-wise that I was eating less and less. It was good to get filled up again.

The Phase 1 recipes Ali (one of the authors) made for us tonight were:

Grated Beet and Carrot Salad with Miso Dressing (this one is amazing but is copyrighted - so if you want it I don't think I can post it here but I think I'm safe to share it with you if you contact me)

Sunflower Pate (make it without lemon juice for Phase 1. I think this one is in the cookbook) This was so good with some other veggies in blanched collard greens as a wrap. It felt more substantial than some of the stuff I've been eating lately.

Red Lentil Dal - awesome (from the cookbook)

Sweet Rice Cereal - basically sweet brown rice, ground and cooked kind of like cream of wheat. I'm not a huge cream of wheat fan but it wasn't that bad. Great with cinnamon, berries and maple syrup.

I cooked up some pumpkin earlier in the week so tomorrow I'm going to make myself some Spiced Pumpkin Soup. The woman sitting next to me in the class also raved about these Cinnamon Sunflower Truffles so I'm definitely going to have to give those a try.

Whew! This certainly is a bit of an adventure. Again, aside from the first two days, I've been feeling great. Still a bit bloated feeling in the evenings sometimes - which I'm now thinking might be due to the beans and oats. I haven't been exercising for fear I'll get too hungry but I am considering hopping on the treadmill tomorrow. I just cannot afford to be more hungry and spend more time focusing on what to eat.

I promise I'll post about something exciting soon..... like maybe the awesome Martha Stewart Bedford Gray that we're painting our living room....

I was going to post this picture titled: What to Eat

But I guess now it has to be:

Don't Eat the Beans

Trying and Day 5

Steele (age 4.5) tonight as he was hugging his sister goodnight: I'll try not to be so grumpy to you tomorrow, Adia.

Hey, at least he's trying! I tell ya, that boy melts my heart - especially when he tells me I'm such a cutie-pie.



Not much new on the elimination diet front.

Breakfast: oatmeal, blueberries, cinnamon and agave nectar again.

An apple somewhere in here.

Lunch: Ethiopian cabbage again

Herbal tea and another apple somewhere in here.

Dinner: sautéed asparagus and an avocado.

Awfully boring and sparse, I know. I was really busy today though and we were at my mom's around dinner time so I went and got everyone a Costco pizza and churros. I just needed to eat something fast before I inhaled that dairy-covered, gluten-loaded pepperoni pie. I had really odd feelings after dinner - I told my mom that even though I hadn't touched a bit of pizza or churro I felt like I had just overeaten. I'm hoping to eat something a bit more interesting tomorrow. I also promised my friend and fellow high school alum, Denise, that I'd post my dinner plans for the next two weeks.

Day 4

Breakfast: GF oatmeal with blueberries, cinnamon and agave nectar. It was the best d*%# oatmeal I've ever had in my life. I'm finding that when you can't eat much, you really appreciate what you can eat. Super antioxidant smoothie again.

Lunch: Ethiopian cabbage dish As soon as I can eat a couple more things I am ordering a full meal from Ambo Ethiopian Cuisine. She caters. Most of it is elimination diet safe. I can't wait.

Snack: two kiwis

Dinner: Variation on my Great Grandma Ercy's chinese noodles with vegetable broth, veggies and rice noodles. It was really bland. (drat! Was looking for the chinese noodles recipe I posted. Must not have labeled it) Side salad based on the one Sarah at In Praise of Leftovers posted here. I used the green apple salad dressing I made yesterday.

Dessert: Cherries and mango that our friends who came for dinner brought over - topped with coconut milk and agave nectar. (Don't worry, I didn't feed them the bland soup. They got the real thing)

I'm feeling: Pretty darn good. Surprisingly, again, not hungry. Feeling a little bloated all day and last night (sorry, is that too personal?) so I'm concerned that something I'm eating isn't agreeing with me. Oats? I don't think it could be the rice or quinoa, but perhaps. Hard to know. Or maybe I accidentally ate something I shouldn't have?

Titled: Chicken in fluorescent heels with a shotgun

Day 3

Wow! I come over to write a new post and to my happy surprise I see that Kaleigha has put up my new blog header. Super fun. And a big thanks to Kaleigha because this has been months in the making. 1. because I am kinda picky and 2. because the holidays distracted me and 3. because I am kinda picky. But I think she did a great job, don't you? I think I might have her fix up a little sum sum for the rest of the blog too. Look for that in April..... Kidding! Now that we have a theme I think I'll be able to make up my mind faster.

Back to this whole cleanse/elimination diet thing. I still have an underlying headache but it is nowhere near what I experienced on day 1. Surprisingly, I didn't feel hungry when I woke up this morning. I put a pot of pinto beans out to soak last night and cooked them when I got up. For breakfast I had quinoa, pinto beans and avocado with cilantro and green onions. For lunch I ate sweet potato and quinoa again.... a lot of it. In the afternoon I made another super antioxidant smoothie and then headed over to the neighbors for dinner. My neighbor was so kind to include brown rice, fruit and a salad with the meal - she reserved some on the side for me and I ate the rice with pinto beans and avocado again and had my salad with the green apple salad dressing from the Whole Life Nutrition recipe blog. I didn't have a green apple so I used a pear instead. I can't say that I would use it regularly to top my salads, but for this phase of the elimination diet it was much appreciated.

So other than the headache how am I feeling? This afternoon I was SO hungry and I felt a little light-headed because of it. I mean, seriously, my calorie intake is so low I could probably be eating all day long. But I just can't. I have other things to do and I certainly can't be spending the whole day making myself food (because eating this way is a little more labor intensive). Not to mention that eating is a little boring for me right now. When I felt the most hungry I made myself a smoothie and that seemed to help. I'm also trying to drink as much water as possible which helps keeps the hunger at bay.

I'm also kind of surprised at how easy this has been for me. Not physically necessarily, but mentally. I haven't really thought twice about the things I can't eat - even at our neighbors house tonight when everyone else was eating salmon, chicken with peanut sauce, ice cream and brownies - I felt ok. Not that I don't want to try some of that peanut sauce when I'm off this thing, but for tonight it was really ok.

So there you have it. Day 3. Nothing too interesting.

I apologize if these posts start to get boring for you. We're supposed to keep a log of how we're feeling during the diet so I figured - what better way than to keep updates on my blog? I don't know if I'll make it through the entire 28 days. I hope to, but for now I'm just taking it one day at a time.

Christmas Dinner at the fire station

Day 2

If you haven't visited for a while, basically I'm doing a 28 day cleanse/elimination diet found here from Whole Life Nutrition. I'm on Day 2 which you might have gathered from the post title.

I was planning on writing a bit about why I decided to do this but I'm feeling pretty crummy and exhausted so I'll just keep it brief tonight.

Basically, I've felt like crap for the last two days.

I'm pretty surprised actually. I didn't think I ate too poorly (except if I'm honest, in December I pretty much did) and I've cut out gluten, sugar and caffeine before (right before Steele was born I cut out dairy, gluten, oats, soy and sugar for 3 or 4 months) and I NEVER felt this terrible. I want to be careful to not blame it immediately on the cleanse - I certainly don't want to scare any of you away from it - and I did take a little fall down the stairs Sunday night. I hit pretty hard, skinned my elbow up and immediately had a headache. I may have tweaked my back pretty well. But by any means, I haven't felt at all well.

Monday I drank nothing but water and green smoothies as outlined in the diet. In the morning I made the winter green smoothie. It really doesn't taste badly so this must have been psychological, because I could barely stomach it by the end of the glass. I was feeling fine throughout the morning until about lunch time when I started to get a headache. The headache got worse and worse until I started feeling nauseous and had to go lay down around 3 pm. I slept from 3 until 8, got up for 2 hours and went back to bed at 10. In the afternoon after I had done some more reading, I realized I could also add other fruits to my smoothies and made myself the Super Antioxidant Smoothie. It was much easier to get down. (and this coming from a woman who takes cod liver oil regularly) Like I said, I really think it was psychological - or the fact that I was feeling nauseous from the headache.

This morning when I woke up I still had a raging headache. I got up at 7, stayed up for about an hour and then went back to bed until 11. I'm so thankful Justin has been home and am praying this all pays off in the end. I also took some advil which I'm really not certain I should have done but I sure was happy to have some relief. I continued with the antioxidant smoothie and water throughout the rest of the day and I am thankful to report that my headache has pretty much subsided. I still feel pretty low-energy though.

My grandma had invited us over for dinner tonight and I felt so bad telling her I couldn't eat - so I actually broke my smoothie fast about 4 hours early and brought over some quinoa and sweet potato to eat while we were there. Man, it tasted good. I'm hoping the early break has little, if any, effect on my overall results. I should also mention that I've been drinking an herbal digestion tea which is allowed. I was so cold! Especially yesterday - and the tea really helped.

So tomorrow I'll start in on a more regular diet - still no dairy, meat, citrus, gluten, sugar or nightshade produce - but much more than smoothies and water. I can't believe how excited I am! As usual, I planned meals for the next two weeks - it was a little challenging as I'm trying really hard to circumvent making two completely separate meals for myself and my family. I tried my best to plan meals that I could easily add meat or an additional sauce to for them.

Stay tuned!

Thank You!

A kind and thoughtful Secret Santa left a most surprising and special gift for me in our mailbox at church. I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened it! Remember this book? The Little Fir Tree with illustrations by Barbara Cooney? I also mentioned it here.

I now have my very own copy! And I couldn't be happier!

So, whoever you are (and I think I have an idea.... she might be a dear friend who has a special place in her heart *and job...ahem* for children and childrens books herself. I'm not sure, just sayin...).... thank you so much! It was such a thoughtful gift - one that I will always remember and treasure for many Christmases to come.


Stay tuned until later this evening when I'll report on how Day 2 is going.

Cleansing

*Be sure to check out the update at the end*

That's my new theme.

Deep cleansing breath. Deep Cleansing Smoothie.

Ok. That was sort of meant as a joke but it's true nonetheless.

Today I started Day 1 of the 28 day elimination diet from Whole Life Nutrition. I think my body is feeling a little bogged down after the holidays. I've always been curious about trying a cleanse but have never wanted to do anything too extreme or too "fad-ish." This one starts with a two day fast/cleanse and then you start adding other foods back in, observing how your body reacts to them. I'm guessing the hardest part will be these first two days - but hey, it's only 2 days right? Anything seems tolerable for only 2 days.

The most difficult aspect for me this morning is that I realized I must spend a lot of my time snacking because I'm feeling a little bored and not quite sure what to do. I considered starting in on a big project - but the absence of caffeine has left me with a slight headache and a little low energy. So, instead, I think I'll just lay low today. Justin's on his way home from work - it's been a long few days and I will be so glad to have my mate home for a while.

I'll let you know how things are going. If you're interested in more information about the elimination diet you can find it on their web site here. I also bought the cookbook which has some great recipes but really, you don't need it to do the diet. The authors have very generously outlined it on-line.

the moon rising over the hills on our way home from skiing one day

*For those of you who were asking about some more info. I knew I had seen it somewhere so I searched a bit further and found the page with more detailed guidelines. You can check it out here. They also include some further links for more information. As my friend Colleen mentioned in the comments, the authors of the book are teaching an elimination diet class at the Bellingham Food Co-op next week if you're in the area and would like to attend.

From A Reader

From the comments section of my blog post titled "Wrangling Kids and Chasing Vans in the Rain."

I would like to agree with Heidi on one of her points from her second comment - it's true, none of us really knows what another person is feeling or thinking or what their motivation is for doing what they do. One thing I know for sure though, this job of parenting is a hard one and the Lord is daily refining me through it. We're all just doing the best we can, and sometimes it's nice to have a little help. I know I was thankful for it with my own screaming toddler just this morning. (More on that later....)


From her comment posted January 2, 2010:

Heidi (Unick... Gretchen's sister) from Whatcom County here... small town girl living in the "big city" (Bellevue) since 1998. Saw you on Thrifty Decor Chick's blog and dropped in. It's worth noting that Bellevue Square does not represent most of Bellevue. It represents developer Kemper Freeman and any of the idiots willing to give him their hardearned money, which I am not. He's made it clear in the media he doesn't want the "Factoria Mall types" at his properties so I just don't go there anymore... it's called Free Will. It's also worth noting that how you feel about yourself and your appearance when visiting Bellevue Square is on you, not on the other shoppers/visitors. I go out & about in Bellevue, including Bellevue & Lincoln Square, with no makeup on and dressed like a homeless person and I'm just fine with that. Nobody has the power to make me feel bad about myself unless I hand that power over to them. Helping that other mom out was nice... I just wish you didn't judge her & her parenting skills so harshly before making the offer. In reading your blog it made your offer of help seem a little less about genuinely helping a fellow mom and more about making yourself seem like the better parent.


My response:

Heidi - Yes, I suppose we all wish we could be more understanding, compassionate and gracious sometimes. I know I do. Ultimately though, I think it's how we act in the end that matters rather than what we think in the beginning. It sounds as though you have some pretty critical evaluations of others yourself sometimes. It's not always a bad thing to evaluate things honestly.



Her response on January 3, 2010:

LOL! Cutzi, as someone who has been reading your "honesty" (read: self-righteousness) on Dave's (last name removed to protect the innocent) FHS board for quite a while I can tell you... I did evaluate your blog posting with honesty but you didn't like what I had to say. I'm always amazed at how (according to you) you're so much "smarter" than everyone else, how everyone else's way of living is "wrong" compared to yours, and how your method of "mothering" is so much more better than others' methods. I kept my feelings to myself on the FHS board for my sister's sake but since you posted this publicly in blogland you were asking for comment... which you got. Sometimes it doesn't hurt to turn that high-powered scope of judgment and critique upon yourself because when someone tells you they repeatedly see these kinds of behaviors in you... maybe, just maybe, it's true. Your other blog readers tried (very kindly) to point out to you that you had no idea about that poor mother's situation: what her day had been like or whether or not that was her usual method of parenting. And I have to ask: so what if it was? How did it negatively impact you? Why was it that you felt the need to judge her? What you chose to do in the end seems nice on the surface but it was really a gift with strings attached when you read your thoughts leading up to it (basically "I have to save the day for this woman who lacks my awesome parenting skills"). Have you ever considered the reason she avoided eye contact with you in the elevator was because she could sense your judgment and superior attitude? If not, consider it. People who truly want to help don't judge, they just help. This was also an example of why so many women I know have a hard time trusting other women... our gender is known for smiling into each other's faces and then tearing each other down. Yuck. As for the DINKs who populate Bellevue Square, they're people just like you & me, no less worthy of our respect. Before I moved from Bellingham to Bellevue I used to have that same smalltown defensive attitude that you displayed and I, too, used to make fun of the Bell Square types (now I just aim my ire at Kemper Freeman because he's a jerk who deserves it). Maybe you don't realize there's also a rather unflattering Whatcom County stereotype *you* fit into. I call it the "I'm a more natural mother than Mother Nature, poops crafts and farts homemade organic granola bars, drives a Volvo/Subaru/Prius, owns only 'comfort clothes' and makes fun of anyone who doesn't" type. Honestly, there's nothing wrong with fitting into this stereotype (except the last part), just as there's really nothing wrong with being a "DINK". Having lived in both communities, I can tell you that I'd rather live amongst the DINKs because their false pretention is nothing compared to the Whatcom County "natural" types with their defensiveness and self-righteousness. Just about the time that I really start missing home I remember how much I hated all of that and I get over my homesickness pretty quick. I'm pretty sure you'll either delete this without reading or else you will just poo-poo what I've written, which is too bad. Like I said, Cutzi, I've been silently observing you for a while now and maybe some of what I've said should be taken into consideration. That's up to you. Best wishes, Heidi