Two Days until Vacation (and Day 8 of Health)

I'm drinking my coffee with soy milk right now. I'm going to cook a roast in the crock pot today but will also make a really nice raw squash and zucchini salad I found in a Cooking magazine. I'll try to take pictures because it truly is beautiful. I just hope my kids will eat it. But I have learned that my youngest daughter will eat broccoli slaw! Woo Hoo! We called it "veggie sticks" and she was chowing down (this is my no vegetable child). When she asked for some on day 2, I told her I'd tell her what it was and she's like "ok." When I told her she was eating broccoli, cabbage and carrots, she was like "hmm . . . well it's good!" So we're learning to eat our vegetables together.

Yesterday I attended a baby shower at the girls' gym (the coach is very pregnant) and I did not get my own piece of cake. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I know it sounds like a no-brainer, but I did it and it was difficult. I allowed myself a couple bites from my daughter's plate, but that was all. I watched as only 1 or 2 of the other moms took cake so I tried to let the peer pressure of NOT eating cake get to me. It helped. I drank water at coffee hour at church instead of punch but I did drink punch at the shower (made with sherbert). Considering the challenges of the day, I think I made some pretty good choices. I found myself really in my stress-eating mode so I grabbed a spoonful of peanutbutter with some soy milk and it was enough to placate my munchies. I now know that I eat when I have nervous energy. I suppose I could use that energy to scrub the bathroom or do the dishes or mop the floor. I definitely need to rechannel that. And I also know I get that stress-eating thing when I'm tired. (I've noticed the same thing with my kids -- when they're tired they are hungry. It's like we all want some sort of stimulus to keep us running on empty.) And I was tired yesterday. I got to see my husband over the weekend, but that meant traveling which, even at under 2 hours totally saps my energy.

I got a great workout on Friday and Saturday, however, in the pool. My mom got dumbells for the water and let me tell you doing laps with dumbells is a cardiovascular experience! I loved it! I also did "water push ups" with the dumbells (or are they barbells?) and it was awesome. Swimming is definitely my favorite sport, but I hate always relying on someone else's pool to get me going. It's also hard to find good-sized pools here. Everyone has these dinky things in their backyards. I want to swim LAPS, not do jumps!

Well, I leave for vacation tomorrow evening. I'll finally get to see my newborn nephew who is now 4 months old, though he was a preemie so he should be about the size of a 6 week old. Then my family is going to the beach -- to see the dolphins, and to take in Thomas Edison's summer house. We're saving Disney for next year, when we have more than "$0" saved.

So that's the news from Arbuckle Creek, where the whir of the lawn mowers wake you up before the sun's up (because it's too hot to mow during the sunlight hours), the pool is closed for the summer (?!), and the kids are out of school with "nothing" to do.