Birthday day!

Happy Birthday Mackenna! My oldest turns 15 today! Hard to believe she's that old. I still remember when we called her "goo goo baby!"

She isn't getting a pretty, shiny bell like the LOLcat on the left. No, Mackenna is getting an iPhone. She actually got it yesterday when we took her to the phone store to pick out what she wanted. Given the monthly fees we told her that's all she's getting. I said I'd wrap it up for her to open. She wanted it right then. Made my life easy!

But no worries about a lack of gifts, she's been receiving envelopes and stuff from family members so she'll have stuff to open today!

I woke up this morning thinking about one of the story ideas I've been brainstorming and tinkering with. That was a good feeling!

I should be able to write a little before kidlets wake up, but then it's time to finish cleaning the downstairs. I must admit it feels so nice to walk into a house that isn't cluttered! I have a bad habit of letting stuff pile up while on deadline. We'll be heading to Costco this morning to. Mackenna has asked for a special dinner tonight:

Appetizer: Cheese fondue from Gustav's (a German restaurant that I'll get take-out from)
Salad: Caesar Salad (from Costco - her fave)
Veggie: Roasted Asparagas
Main Entree: Grilled Salmon and Steak
Bread: Artisan loaf
Dessert: Chocolate Fondue (Chocolate sauce recipe from Joy of Cooking)

A pretty easy meal!

Then she wants to watch Les Mis. We bought the Blu Ray yesterday.

That'll be my day. What about you?

Cooking

Hubby is in charge of cooking around here when he's home, but when he's gone or busy I do try to help out. I'll be honest, I haven't cooked anything in a while, a long while due to being sick then on deadline. I also hadn't used my ATM card in weeks since I didn't go shopping so forgot the password and can't for the life of me remember it. Not good.

I don't complain about what hubby cooks because, well, he's doing it and I'm not. If there's something I don't feel like eating, I'll say so when he asks what I want, but pretty much whatever hubby puts in front of me I eat.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday morning, I was starving. I couldn't believe how hungry I was so hubby offered to make me an omelet. TA couple eggs, some spinach and mushrooms. I skip the cheese after Whole 30. Easy-peasy, right?

I took a bite.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

What the... I spit it out.

Omelets shouldn't crunch when you chew. At least none I've had.

I studied what was on my plate. It looked like an omelet but it sure didn't taste like one.

I faced a big dilemma. Here I was with breakfast in bed that my wonderful hubby had cooked. Except I had no idea what those crunching granules were. My "no complaining" rule was mocking me.

I decided to try another bite.

Same thing.

At this point I'm dying to eat. The kids Halloween candy was looking like a healthy breakfast option. I told my youngest to ask dad if he put anything crunching into the omelet because this one tasted funny.

A minute later, hubby appeared bedside with a very contrite look on his face. He told me "some" of the egg shell "may have" fallen in to the omelet.

That explained the crunchies.

Day 26

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I feel like this kitty! My big climb, if you want to call it that, is nearing the end. I'm on Day 26 of Whole 30 and feel awesome. It's been twenty-six days of healthy eating—meat, veggies, fruit and nuts. So what If I haven't had any dairy, grains (not even gluten-free ones), sugar, alcohol and legumes? I've survived a deadline with no chocolate. Revisions, too! If you're a long-time reader of this blog, you know how huge that is for me.

The funny thing is eating healthy hasn't been as tough as I thought it would be. Just writing that makes me shake my head, but face it. Eating healthy wasn't the norm around here. It was all about convenience and what tasted good. Rather what I thought tasted good.

But the Whole 30 program is so strict you can't say you didn't know what you could or couldn't eat. It's hard to fail unless you have zero willpower. As long as I read the labels, I'm fine. I'm much better at that now. It's amazing what they add sugar to these days. It was even in the minced ginger I'd purchased at New Seasons that remains unopened in the pantry.

I've realized how easy it is for food habits to form. Whole 30 stresses real food over convenience food. I was worried about the time preparing meals, but it hasn't been bad at all. The kids have liked all but one of the meals (and that was one someone had posted on their Facebook page when they asked for slow-cooker recipes rather than one the program provided.)

The best part is how good I feel. I really meant what I wrote above...I do feel awesome. My mood, my energy and no pain in my knee or my shoulder. I haven't taken any ibuprofen this entire time. (It's suggested not to take any NSAIDs and use plain old aspirin if need be.) But I haven't used any which is pretty incredible given the last couple of years! I just sucked it up through the headaches the first couple of days. They call it "Carb flu." I call it sugar withdrawal.

At the end of the thirty days, you start reintroducing foods back into your diet one at a time. It'll be interesting to see what happens. I have a feeling dairy might be the big one for me. Does that mean I'll never have ice cream again if that turns out to be the case? Nope. But it means I'll be choosy about when I do eat it and save ice cream for special splurges.

Of course, I have until Friday still to go with the initial program. I can't wait to step on the scale. (You aren't supposed to do that for the 30 days.) People say I've lost weight. I'm curious to see if I have! I definitely don't feel as bloated. (Weight loss isn't a goal for this program. They believe by eating healthier and making better food choices you'll naturally lose the weight.)

If you want a better explanation about what I've been doing these past 26 days, here's Whole 30's 60 second elevator pitch from the Whole9 blog about their nutrition program:

I eat real food – fresh, natural food like meat, vegetables and fruit. I choose foods that are nutrient-dense, with lots of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals, over foods that have more calories but less nutrition. And food quality is important – I’m careful about where my meat, seafood and eggs come from, and buy organic local produce as often as possible.

This is not a “diet” – I eat as much as I need to maintain strength, energy, activity levels and a healthy body weight. I aim for well-balanced nutrition, so I eat both animals and a significant amount of plants. I’m not lacking carbohydrates – I just get them from vegetables and fruits instead of bread, cereal or pasta. And my meals are probably higher in fat than you’d imagine, but fat is a healthy source of energy when it comes from high-quality foods like avocado, coconut and grass-fed beef.

Eating like this is ideal for maintaining a healthy metabolism and reducing inflammation within the body. It’s good for body composition, energy levels, sleep quality, mental attitude and quality of life. It helps eliminate sugar cravings and reestablishes a healthy relationship with food. It also works to minimize your risk for a whole host of lifestyle diseases and conditions, like diabetes, heart attack, stroke and autoimmune.

Hope you enjoy your Monday!

Cupcakes

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I love cupcakes. My cat Spirit loves them, too. The popularity of cupcakes keeps increasing. I've lost count of the number of cupcake shops in the Portland area.

Saint Cupcake was where we went after seeing a show at the Northwest Children's Theater. Great cupcakes. So tasty we'd have to take a box home with us. Too bad for us the bakery moved to bigger digs in downtown Portland. I've heard it's nice with an expanded menu, but I haven't been to the new store yet. I don't get to that part of town much.

One fun thing we've been doing is making our own cupcakes. The kids love to bake. I bought one of those mini-muffin pans in December so they could start making the bite-sized size ones. Usually the frosting is pretty basic, maybe some sprinkles, colored sugar or mini-M&Ms. I'm waiting for the day they want to start getting more creative with them.

Have you seen the cupcake decorating books and blogs that are out there? All I can say is wow!

A few years ago, a friend used Hello Cupcake, a cookbook, to make Wizard of Oz themed cupcakes for a birthday party. I was amazed at what you could do with fondant and some other things. I watched her make a Ruby Slipper. Talk about a time commitment!

This morning on one of my writing loops a link to a blog with Harlequin Romance Novel Cupcakes appeared. Very cute! The blog called The Decorated Cookie is run by Meaghan Mountford, the author of the book Sugarlicious. The book is published by my publisher Harlequin so that's where the romance covers came in. I was thinking it would be a neat promo to use my titles of books on cupcakes like this, but then again the time it would take would probably outweigh the benefit. (This was the lesson I took away from my various promo efforts in 2011.)

I love looking at all the amazing cupcakes in books and on blogs. All of the creative combination of flavors is interesting, but I'll be honest. When it comes to cupcakes, I much prefer eating regular type ones. My fave is chocolate cake with either a white or chocolate buttercream icing.

What about you? What's your fave type of cupcake? And have you seen any amazing designs that blew you away?

Husband Material

I noticed a spike in my blog traffic yesterday, so I checked my referrals. The typical ones for Crossfit (Elizabeth, Filthy Fifty) and "Ben Barnes smoking" were there. But I was surprised to see "Husband Material by Melissa McClone" there, too.

My first thought was hmmm, I never wrote a book by that title, and then I remembered! Not a book. An online serial read! But that had been a few years ago. Why would it be coming up now?

So I went to my beloved google. Turns out Mills & Boon has re-released the story on their website! Though I'm wondering why my google alerts never picked it up. Click here if you never caught Husband Material the first time around. Only chapter one is out right now. If I remember correctly, there are eight chapters.

Anyway, I'm so glad the story is out there again. The setting is New York City. It's a boss-assistant romance and my heroine is, well, not exactly thin. She enjoys food, especially chocolate-iced donuts with sprinkles for breakfast! The hero prefers maple bars. Needless to say, I had fun writing the story and eating lots of donuts for research.

What's your favorite kind of donut? Bet you can guess mine!

You are what you eat

I put on a few pounds (not sure how many, but my waist band is tighter) during deadline time so my Crossfit trainer Nichole is helping me to eat healthier. I came across this video on one of my lists and thought it was really cool.



Better make sure all of these are on my grocery list!

How are you doing diet wise? Eating whatever you want or are you trying to watch what you eat?

First Communion Recap

What can I say? The evening was fantastic. The Mass started with a lovely procession. All the children in the church, whether making their First Communion or not, were invited to bring flowers up to the front of the church where they were put in vases below the statue of Mary. The First Communion kids followed these and added their flowers. Finn was the final child in the procession. He had the honor of carrying a wreath made of flowers that would be placed on Mary's head. He was so excited to do that. Especially since Mackenna carried the wreath when she made her First Communion two years ago.

The Mass was it's usual wonderfulness. Father did a great homily and asked the kids four questions. Three which St. Leo asked many years ago and a new one that he added. He surprised them by asking a fifth. Luckily the kids knew the answers. Father had drilled them for a couple of weeks! Finn answered the fourth question: Where else does Jesus tell us about the Eucharist? Answer: John Chapter Six The Bread of Life Discourse.

After Mass, we went back into the church for photos. There were no pictures allowed during the Mass itself. Father then pretended to give the host and then posed with each child so parents could get a picture for their scrapbooks! Once that was over we headed down to the Parish Hall to pick up the certificates, have a piece of cake and a gift. Then it was off to the dinner.

This is my friend Karen who is a chef extraordinaire. She makes the most delicious food and can put on an event like no other. She did Mackenna's First Communion at our house two years ago, but I took advantage of her having a place of her own and had Finn's party there. The best decision ever. No work on my part required. I just had to drop off the cake, favors and a container of toys for the kids to play with before hand. Definitely the way to go! She is a true blessing in my life!

A table of appetizers were set-up at the front. The kids loved the cheese pizza, but the adults were more partial to the smoked salmon lollipops. Everything, however, was very tasty.

Here's the dinner buffet with the menu I wrote about yesterday. Talk about yummy!

Finn's favorites were a big hit with guests young and old. Kids even went back for seconds which tells you how delicious and absolutely perfect the food was. My sister couldn't believe how much her kids were eating. Usually at family gatherings they eat a couple of bites then want to play. Not last night!

We got to bring home the leftovers and will have them today!

This was the sweetest part of the evening. Dessert! There was chocolate fondue with lots of yummy goodies to dip. Karen surprised us by making rice krispie treats on sticks. I love those things and had my share both dipped in chocolate and not. She also had sprinkles you could add which was such an nice touch and the kids loved. We also had a cake so lots and lots of chocolate! Sigh...

This is the First Communion cake. I was planning to have the same person who made Mackenna's cake make Finn's, but that didn't work out. So last weekend, while trying to write my proposal, I was scrambling to find a place that could do a short-notice First Communion cake. I was googling and calling and getting frustrated. It was too late for any cake makers to do it, but I found a couple of places that would do a cake with a cross on it. And then I stumbled across a local grocery store actually had a special decoration kit for First Communion. I drove over there to see the sample and ordered it. This is how it came out. Not back for Freddies! That's what we call Fred Meyers around here. Finn loved it. We ended up spending a lot less than we would have had we gone with the original person, too!

A wonderful evening filled with faith, family, friends and food. It doesn't get much better than that!

How was your night?

A Progressive Dinner

Last night hubby and I attended a progressive dinner we'd purchased at a fundraiser in Janaury. I'd heard about that type of dinner party before, where you go to different houses for different courses of a dinner, and was curious to see how it worked. Three families who lived in the neighborhood were the hosts. Of course, I forgot my camera. Sorry!

Nine of us started at the first house a little after six. Cocktails (Cosmopolitans, sangria, beer and wine) and appetizers were on the menu. My fave were the meatballs. So yummy! The table was decorated in pink with gerber daisies and a pretty piece of fabric artfully put under and around the dishes. She also set votive candles among the food. I decided to stick with the pink theme and had a Cosmo.

We walked to the next house where we'd be eating the main course. The dining room table was all set with lovely china and flickering votive candles. The salads were already on gold chargers. Each place setting had a glass of water with a lemon slice and a glass of champagne with a strawberry floating inside. The meal was delicious. This house served: beef dish with mushrooms and gravy, mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans. Red wine was also served.

As we made our way to the last house, I appreciated the exercise after all that tasty food! The temperature had dropped, but it wasn't too cold. At least it was dry. Not a rain cloud in sight.

At the final house, the dining room table was set with a lovely white damask table cloth that must have taken hours to iron, her grandmother's china and gold candlesticks. The traditionally set table was so lovely. Coffee was served along with a mouthwatering cheesecake with strawberries. A selection of chocolates (truffles, toffee, etc) was also brought out. A perfect way to cap off the evening.

All through the night, I kept thinking they'd set the bar high for those still putting on dinners (that would be hubby and I!) One of the host couples as well as one of the guest couples will be attending ours at the end of May. It's a Texas BBQ so won't be nearly as fancy, but still I felt the pressure building up after the wonderful food and good time last night! I also realized we should have had asked another couple to host us rather than doing it ourselves. That had never crossed my mind.

We mainly do family type dinners (pizza, steaks, think easy kid-friendly food) when we have people over. Which isn't often! What about you? Do you entertain much? If yes, what's your favorite thing to serve?