ThanksgivingX3 and Rule #58

Yes, I got stuffed. We had 3 Thanksgiving dinners (my family, Ryan's mom's family and Ryan's dad's family). Delicious, fun, and exhausting (Turkey and a puppy make you very tired). I think Rio had the most fun. He got to explore Ryan's mom's farm and meet his Uncle Rondo at Ryan's dad's house.

Here are some thanksgiving pictures:

Beautiful dessert table set with my Grandma's china:


Rio and his Uncle Rondo:


Turkey:





Pie made from foraged huckleberries:


We ate at no gas stations. And not letting my clients eat from gas stations only brought about minor issues (the kid settled for Wendy's and I even convinced him not to order any sugary drink or fries. Yay for a small victory).


This week we are moving on to Rule #58: Do all your eating at a table. Okay, I have only been at this rule ONE day and I have broken it so many times. For example, a handful of pretzels for the road....a few tastes of dinner as you cook.....some gummy bears as you lay around on the couch and watch tv. Goodness, I need this rule. I hope I get better throughout the week.

Soup Week & Rule #57

Snacking on fruit, veggies, and nuts this past week has been difficult with hypoglycemia. For some reason, these foods do not help me when I am really feeling like I need a snack. Instead, I need/crave carbs and finding carbs that are not processed is difficult. Does anyone else have this issue?

At the beginning of the week I ate a lot of apples, kiwis, and nuts. Towards the end of the week I was in soup heaven. Ryan went crazy with our recipe book of one pot meals. He made a spooned beef recipe, a stew, split pea, and butternut squash soup. I also made some pumpkin bread. Perfect unprocessed foods/snack for the cold winter weather.


split pea cooking in the slow cooker


baby Rio curled up in his new bed, wishing he could eat people food

This week we are on Rule #27: Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does. This will be a perfect rule for Thanksgiving week because we are doing several road trips and it will force us to plan ahead instead of eating anything at a gas station stop. This rule also got me thinking to when I do purchase food from gas stations. Aside from road trips I buy a lot of incentive treats for my clients (yes, I bribe my kids sometimes with junk). One time I tried taking one of my clients to a local coffee shop and he wanted to order a gatorade. When I explained that they don't have gatorade at coffee shops he asked for a frappachino. Oh Starbucks, what have you done to a generation of kids who are now unable to have an appreciation for a simple hot cocoa on a cold wet day? This week I will also refrain from allowing my clients to eat from the same place my car does.

Let's Finish this Thing!

Wow. It's been a while and there have been so many changes. The most interesting part of all of this is that we took a long hiatus from our blog this exact same time last year--September through November. What is it about this time of year?!?! Last year I rafted the Colorado river for a month, lost my dad, lost my childhood dog, and got a new job. This year I got married, traveled to Spain, and became a momma to a little Rio pup.

While I write all of those changes in list form I have to recognize that losing my dad definitely has affected me the most. I miss him everyday. More than I can explain in a blog.

Everyone made it seem like marriage would be a life changing experience, but for me, the relationship I have with Ryan does not seem all that different. I think the fact that I have lived with him for so long and already felt very committed made marriage more just a fun way to celebrate it all (don't get me wrong though, I do take the vows I made seriously!).

So with that being said, we are back, to finish what we started! This upcoming Monday we will forge ahead with Rule #56: Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods. I think this one will be challenging because with work and puppy-parenting I have been eating a lot of junk on the go.

We only have 8 rules to go! I will now leave you all with a pic of our growing boy. He insists sleeping on our lap even though he now barely fits. I don't know what we are going to do in another few weeks!