Moving shop

Hey all,

i've started a new blog at .....

http://foodepiphany.wordpress.com/

come visit me!

Food: Part II

Okay, so back to mid-December. After reading the pro-vegan "Skinny Bitch" I thought to myself, I can commit to this for a minimum of four months right? My first hurdle was to give us coffee. I admit I had been thinking of doing that for a least a month prior anyway. I never drank a lot of coffee anyway, I mostly had half a cup which would be reheated over and over until late morning when I would finally dump it down the drain. But just giving up that small amount gave me a dull throbbing headache for nearly three days. Once I realized that even that small amount of coffee was affecting my body so strongly, I realized that a lot of the food I was eating was in fact toxic.

I optimistically gave up meat, all meat, even chicken. And then not so optimistically, dairy, which was pretty hard for me. Actually, for most people giving up dairy is hard. I tried some of the replacement products that the book recommended, but it was disgusting. Of course, I made Alec try it too, and he said, "This may be the most disgusting thing I've eaten in years." So, I wasn't able to completely rid myself of dairy, but I cut way way back. No more huge glasses of milk or snacking on slices of cheese. Rather than replace what I had been eating with soy products that had been processed to resemble that food, I wanted to really change what I ate and cooked. So the vegetables were in. Vegetables have never been popular with me. In fact, I think there were actual YEARS of my life when I barely ate any. I never bought them (they only rotted in the bottom of my fridge). When I was pregnant with Nora was the first time in my adult life I remember eating veggies regularly (thanks Alec!). Once I decided to eat more veggies, I was on the search for fresh local, organic produce. I also wanted to be forced to try new vegetables that were outside my usual (limited) range. This led me to Fairview Gardens and their fantastic CSA program.

As I started cooking vegetables instead of meat-centered meals I was completely impressed by how Good the food tasted. I am now convinced that cooking meat is difficult (that is why restaurants are so much better at it than home cooks, ie Me). Whenever I cooked meat it was so all-consuming that I rarely made a side dish and it was a miracle if it was ready at the same time as the meat. Consequently, we often had a meat-only dinner and that meat was never really cooked well. Once my focus shifted to veggies, I'd make three or four different kinds and they were amazingly good. Even Alec agreed, though he mourned the loss of his kielbasa and tri-tip. I started making more and more complex vegetarian meals, lasagnes and galletes. The cooking took longer and without Alec keeping the kids busy I could not have done it. But, we all started feeling healthier and I started to lose a lot of weight.

Food, part I

My own Garden
Originally uploaded by jegoffin.

I've always been pretty excited about food, especially the eating of it. Pregnancy is famous for allowing a woman to indulge food in a guilt-free, unselfconscious way. I had my fair share of McDonald's chicken sandwiches with Nora. But with Benjamin it was all about the chicken nuggets from Wendys, chocolate malts, and Mountain Dews. But, I've never been what you would call a confident cook. Recently, my relationship with food has undergone a major change.

It all started in December, on a scale at the YMCA. As the indicator sifted all the way to the right and stopped, my heart began to beat just a little faster. Slyly, looking to see if anyone was looking I gently urged the large bottom pointer to the "150" marker and slid the smaller indicator all the way back to the left. Carefully, I began urging the metal slowly to the right, more and more, and more until it began to balance revealing a number that made me break out into a cold sweat: 158. Huh. How did this happen. My face was red as I quickly hopped off the scale and swatted the indicator aside to erase the evidence of my...my... my actual weight. What I saw that day awakened in me a strong desire...to get thin and stay thin.

Later that day or maybe it was even later that week I strolled into Borders to buy some Christmas presents and spied a book called "Skinny Bitch". I began to flip through it and read a few portions. The abundant use of profanity immediately appealed to me, but more than that it made me think about my assumptions about food and health, as in "I can't give up milk. Can I?" I quickly added it to my stash and headed home. This book, while I don't agree with everything it espouses awakened me. Things I knew, deep down, were elucidated and I decided to completely change what I ate for four months, just to see.

Priorities

After I
Originally uploaded by jegoffin.

Last week we actually paid someone to do some work around our house. We have actually not done this before, ever, and I think I may become addicted. When the house was being built, both Alec and I spent countless hours DIYing all over the place. I painted till I had tendonitis and Alec is still finishing up the baseboards and woodwork here and there. So, it was with unprecedented pleasure that I hired out a job involving home improvement. One day about a month ago I decided to put up wallpaper in my office. I had been thinking about wallpaper for awhile and then I saw some great patterns over at design public. So, after thinking about how hard it would be to do ourselves (and the roughly two hours per weekend day we have child-free) got two estimates. Then I simply ordered the paper (found it cheaper than design public) and hired someone to do the job. I left for work on Thursday and by the time I got home, Viola! the room looked fabulous. I love to sit in this room and just look at the wallpaper, love it, love it, love it!

Now I want more! We've already done a great flying bird installation from Blik (I'll post photos later). So, I'm thinking either the laundry room needs a little TLC, we buy a couple of accent chairs for the living room, or buy some bedside sconces for our bedroom. I think I have already spent our stimulus check about four times over. And I was actually planning on just saving it!

I want to write a separate entry for each of the things that has been keeping me busy over the last several months but here's a preview: Food (as in what I eat and what my family eats), Weight loss (obviously connected to the first), paying off debt, living with less, and reading more. Oh yeah, and raising two willful, beautiful children.

Back?

Beach Boy
Originally uploaded by jegoffin.

So, I thought I was all through with blogging. But maybe it was just a really long break. I was reading some of my really old posts this weekend and I was quite amused and had forgotten a lot of the little things that went on. So, I want to have that kind of record of my life, but I also want to write entertaining entries, which can be hard when your life is monotony incarnate. How can I possibly be interesting when I think a good weekend consists of finishing four loads of laundry and getting at least one nap in? I mean really who am I? I guess for a while there I had to completely surrender to motherhood in all it's isolating grandness. But now that Benjamin is getting older I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Early childhood is a labor-intensive time in a parent's life and some days all you can do is get the dishes put away and watch an episode of the Daily Show and call it a day.
So, I can't make any promises, but I will try to keep up the blogging as long as you don't mind the occasional (usual) parenting crap, because I am knee-deep folks, knee-deep!

Early in the Morning

I am up before anyone in the house right now. I should really wake up Alec before he is late for work, but to be awake and doing something before anyone is stirring is quie addicting. I heard some rustling in the brush by the ravine at around 6:30. Something heavy walking slowly and so bleary-eyed I peered through the window to try and see what it was. I already knew it was a coyote, but I wanted to see it. Then it walked up from the ravine and into our yard, right past the table and chairs as if it was the family dog. Knowing that one of my kitties was still outside I darted upstairs and looked out the back door fully expecting to be about three feet from the coyote, but it was nowhere. I quickly ran uot to the deck and scooped up Ruby, who was lying very still on the bench by the door, and ran back inside.

Nora's door just oppened: time to start another day!

Up and sputtering

So, I am off and not quite running.
I have made a quickie web presence at www.babyjanedesign.com and am still focusing on finishing and photographing miss nora's room and soon will turn my attention to sir benjamin. I also had a friend call me today to ask if I would help her do an invitation to her son's birthday....I love doing invites and parties so I am super excited. Perhaps I should add this to my list of services....