21 day fix. day 8. peanut butter yogurt.

today was an epic day. it has been a non-stop test of stamina since 9am this morning getting ready for our camping trip. half of the car is packed, all the laundry is done and the badger cleaned the house like it's going on the market. it's 8pm and we just collapsed on the couch. the children were intermittently helpful and superbly needy, so that made for an interesting day. but i fit in a work out and i stuck to my eating plan, save for the beer i'm currently having for "dinner."

6:00am. "mom. mom. mom. mom..." (ad infinitum) "are we going camping today?". "no, zeke. we leave tomorrrow. go back to bed." "okay mom."

somehow children know the precise moment when you just start to fall back asleep after they've woken you from your slumber, and they decide to come back into your room to give it another go. "mom. mom. mom. mom. let's go camping today! i can pack my own suitcase. i already started..." this got me up as i imagined the entirety of our toilet paper reserves and a bucket of cheez-its in one of my suitcases. so i got up and took on kid duty while the badger got some much needed sleep.

7:00am. i made breakfast for myself, but the children weren't interested. i did squeak some oatmeal into them, but not without a lot of milk and some honey.

i am in love with my morning eggs.

i've got this kind of ritual with my morning eggs, now 8 days into this new eating plan. here's what i do:

recipe: my morning jacket
you will need:
a saute pan with a lid
some coconut or olive oil
leafy greens (kale, spinach, chard), washed and trimmed and whatnot
2 eggs, preferably local/organic
seasonings of your choice

get/find/wash the aforementioned saute pan and get 'er nice and hot.
add just a scant amount of coconut or olive oil and swirl it around.
throw two big handfuls of leafy greens into the pan (spinach, kale, chard, etc.). it'll sizzle. that's good!
get/find/wash your kitchen tongs and toss the spinach around to wilt it. only do this for about 20 seconds. if you go past 20 seconds, it's gonna get soggy and gross and then you're gonna be sad. and that's no way to start your day.
crack two eggs into the pan. don't scramble them first. scrambling your eggs in a separate bowl is reserved for those with the luxury of spare time. why bother? just do it in the pan!
once the eggs are cracked in there, use a spatula to break them up, then toss some pepper, oregano (or other spice of your choice) and a teensy bit of sea salt. turn the heat down to low and put a lid on it so the eggs can steam and cook.
totally f*cking yum.

8:00am. after breakfast, i prepped some food for our camping trip (froze some homemade swedish beef stew, washed and trimmed berries and freggies, made homemade black bean and cheese burritos and froze 'em, etc.) and tried to keep the kids happy. i probably answered the question "are we going camping today?" with a firm and exhausting "no! we're leaving tomorrow!" approximately 1,068 times today.

9:00am. the badger got up and i promptly excused myself to get in my workout (who am i?). it only took 30 minutes but i was dripping with sweat and felt amazing afterwards. taking that 30 minutes was so worth it.

any mother of twins who doesn't look this sh*tty in the morning cannot be my friend.

after the workout, i got the kids out of the house so the badger could start his beautiful and efficient cleaning. he seriously is amazing. he cleans our entire house every other week so that it literally shines - dusts all manner of things, including fan blades and wood work and picture frames, waxes the floors, polishes the stainless steel appliances, washes the windows... this in addition to the regular cleaning of dishes, laundry, picking up after twin 4-year-old's, etc., that he already does. i know, right? husband jackpot.

protein powder. 1/2 a frozen banana. 1 cup frozen berries. nutmeg. ice and water.
fuel for facing the red abyss of target with the twins for the 2nd day in a row.
i'm almost out of my protein powder and wondering if i should
get some SHAKEOLOGY-OMG-SHAKEOLOGY!!!

10am. target time. it was way less stressful today than on saturday. i prefer running my errands during the week because the stores are empty and i run very little risk of running into anyone i know. but so far i haven't figured out a way to do that and still show up for my job.

12:30. home for lunch! 

nitrate-free turkey on a sandwich thin with spicy mustard, lettuce and freggies.

1:00. more packing in the 80 degree heat and 70% humidity. more responses to the question "are we leaving today?".

3:00. snack time! my word, was this delicious!

plain greek yogurt swirled with 1 tsp peanut butter.
and a pink lady apple because all other apples suck.

5:00pm. everyone except for me was hangry (hungry+angry) so i warmed up some homemade meat sauce and spaghetti. i wasn't hungry at all, so i stole this time to go and pack the kids' suitcases before they could intervene.

and here we are at 8pm, and this is my "dinner" -

i've made poorer choices.

okay. so i freely acknowledge that the beer isn't a great choice. but i'm not going to beat myself up about it because it was delicious and the rest of my day was perfect as far as eating goes. i didn't get into the snacks or cheese or olives or self-loathing or anything.

whelp, i'll be "off the grid" until friday when we check into the lodge and hopefully get some internet access and join the real world again (read: wifi, a hot shower, shaving my legs and someone else cooking). i have my menu and workout plans ready to go for our trip. hoping for some decent weather in ely this weekend.

until friday,

ashley "i'll make it up to you at the penny arcade" rebekah