paleo and oklahoma... and now you are up to speed

this week started swim lessons.  i purposefully signed up at 10:00... but am quasi-regretting that decision.  it is smack in the middle of the best part of the day with the kids.  no morning zoo.  or museum.  or playdates.  the kids work really hard at the lesson, then we change clothes, maybe run a quick errand and then we have to get home so that they can have their exhausted meltdowns in the privacy of our home and then savannah can nap.

i have seen ethan give me some tired fits several times this week.  but all is worth it when i see him swimming.  all by himself.  making it look easy peasy and NO TEARS THIS YEAR.  wozzers.  that is a treat.

savannah gets a little hesitant at times, but really, she loves it.  the teacher tells me she has great breath control and she likes to float on her back.   different children, indeed.

the "everyday-ness" of it wears on me, but oh well.  small price to pay to turn your kids into swimmers.  {well, i wouldn't really say, small price, literally.  you get the idea.  arm. leg.}

and we celebrated the first day with ice cream from braum's.  i'm a briber.  and the saddest part of that bribe:  i couldn't participate in the ice cream treat.

because on monday, i went paleo for a month.  no grains.  no legumes.  no sugar of any kind, even artificial.  no dairy.  no alcohol.

i know.  its super trendy.  and super restrictive.  and just not much fun at all.  so far, i am cranky.  i can't put cream and sugar in my coffee.  so instead i drink unsweet tea.  i am dying for cheese or yogurt of some sort.

i would kill for some bread and butter.  and a pizza from mama's

why so restrictive?  well... i don't do well with limiting myself.  i don't do well with the whole i'll-eat-healthy-mostly-but-cheat-occasionally.

i end up cheating all the time.

and limits?  nah, not me.  i could eat a whole pizza if i let myself.

now luckily, this hasn't really caught up with me yet.  i still fit in my clothes.  i just... need to get a handle on how i eat.  what i eat.

because when you know better, you do better.  and i know better. 

so what prompted my diet?  a week of a well stocked kitchen on vacation.  and probably adding on a few extra pounds.

and the story of stocking the kitchen begins with a bit of a life lesson for me.  the weekend before we left, while the boys were camping, my MIL and i were going to go to the store to buy food for the trip.  costco and central market.  and then, i also needed to stop by target and get cat food.

what do you know but my plans got a bit wonky on saturday night when we went to costco and they closed at 6:00.  6:00!  i mean, the audacity!  we arrived at 5 past 6 o'clock.  i was irritated.  all was not lost however.  we went to central market, did our shopping.  sampled the fare.  grabbed to-go.

food bliss.

then the next morning we finished up at costco.  however, we wanted to buy some adult beverages.  and it was sunday.  and here in texas, no one can sell alcohol before noon on sunday.  i again was majorly irritated that costco closed at 6:00 the night before... the whole reason for our inefficiency!  we decided to run next door to target... i did have to get cat food, and then we could circle back to costco and i could just quickly run in and finish our purchase.

remember, i am learning the lesson that god's plan is beautiful. 

well, sue was driving through target's parking lot, and said to me -- "stephanie, jump out and see if that piece of paper is a dollar bill."

well, that piece of paper was a hundred dollar bill.  and then there was another one.  and no one in the parking lot, looking, searching.  just 2 crisp, folded, $100 bills.  finders keepers when there is cash involved in a big empty space and not a single soul around to stake claim.  it wasn't even near a car.  they were both on two separate aisles of the parking lot.  in the very center.  set out for us. 

perhaps one could say this was a coincidence.  but i see the lord's hand.  his path.  not my own.  especially when i feel like i was so damn headstrong about my plans.  my plans are no good.

but on to vacation.  we went to broken bow, oklahoma.  or okiehoma as savannah says.  it was a good time for us.  faustino could fly-fish.  we could do light nature walks.  observe the wildlife.  fight the bugs.  enjoy our cabin.  go out on the lake...

i certainly enjoyed our cabin.  a tempurpedic, king sized matress. {vs. our 15+ year old, full size one} beautiful sunlight streaming in the main room, and a large porch.  ahhh....

and a place for a campfire.  and s'mores for the kids.  s'mores are not my thing.  but these four days of paleo have my mouth watering for a s'more.

and nature... my personal highlight was watching my husband fly-fish for trout and then out comes a river otter, who catches a few trout and then swims back to his home.  and the dragon flies.  and the noise the water makes against the rocks.  truly beautiful.

i wish we could go up there and stay all summer.  but i would be more vigilant with my use of bug spray.  my body is healing 60 chigger bites.  and i would take more pictures.  and i would have sabrina come take our family photos... since i am dreaming and everything :)

xoxo, s