My "Mom Guilt" is hitting hard this week since my upcoming trip to Spain was extended by a week. I leave on Saturday for 2 weeks so I am trying hard to give everyone lots of 1:1 attention before I leave. Last night Nathaniel and I had a fun night just the 2 of us, we went to the bookstore and then the arcade, along with dinner at his favorite place. Tonight I am surprising Penelope with tickets to go see the Broadway touring production of Wicked (she is going to FREAK out).
My job has been pretty stressful this week for a lot of reasons, partly just the last minute scramble that happens before a conference. I definitely feel like I'm being pulled in a million and failing at all of them. I joked yesterday that "I wish I was someone that couldn't eat when I was stressed" because EVERYTHING in me just wants to eat non-stop when I am feeling overwhelmed. Also all my normal coping mechanisms of going to the sauna and tanning etc. I still can't do yet.
I did take about 15 mins a couple times yesterday between meetings and just went outside and laid in the sun, it helped a lot. It kept me away from the kitchen, reminded me to close my eyes and breathe deep, and just let me take a mental break without turning to food.
What are some ways you cope with stress without "eating your feelings."
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Cheese is good! I ate a block of chipotle oven baked cheese with lunch yesterday and it was divine. I love it, but know that it halts any progress I'm making, and will even trigger eating in excess to where I'll gain weight. It's sad but I have accepted it. If I eat it in small quantities with a meal, it's ok, but I really have to work to keep it in check.
What's your favorite cheese? How do you incorporate it? Do you see negative results when eating it?
Happy Sunday! Sharing a video today from our week, one of the highlights. This was Wednesday evening church, normally they have a more casual prayer meeting where someone plays the guitar, but they were doing some construction in the fellowship hall so they had their prayer meeting in the sanctuary. No one was there to play the piano so my my Grandma did it, she's been playing the piano in church for probably 80 years.
For context, she's 88, she had a really bad fall 5 years ago now and hit her head and ended up with a lot setbacks, similar to having a stroke. She has a lot of dementia like symptoms also (I am sure related to her Type 2 diabetes), she really can't read music anymore, and she has trouble seeing well, and she needs to wear hearing aids to hear but hates wearing them, so on this night she didn't want to wear them. My 93 (almost 94) year old grandpa takes care of both of them on their farm. Anyway, on this night she sat down on the piano and led worship as people called ...
Happy Saturday! I hope you are all doing well. I know some people in the group have had some recent tough news for themselves or family members. It really puts the day to day issues we face into perspective, and reminds me to just focus on doing the best I can to be as healthy as possible. To those who are having a hard time, we are all here for you and sending you some prayers and support. 🙏🏼🙏🏼 Just focus today on doing the best you can and remember that food isn't going to bring you the comfort you are looking for.
Here is a little video of Penelopes performance from her piano recital l last night, she's been taking lessons for about a year and a half. 🎹🤍🖤
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Happy Friday! I made it back from Calgary with no issues yesterday, I even got an earlier connection so I got home earlier than planned. I didn't get much sleep on this trip so definitely early to bed the next few nights to make up for it. My vertigo was a a lot better the last few days also, so I think those exercises I was doing helped. Thank you for your prayers.
How has your week been? Any temptations this weekend that you are nervous about?
Last weekend we had a young elk buck hanging outside our cabin. It was amazing being so close to such a huge wild animal. Ironically a buddy of mine shot an elk this week and brought me a bunch of meat for my freezer. Full circle. I've never been much of a fan of game meat due to the gamey flavor. I think the ground meat and sausage will be fine but there's also a chuck roast.
What tips do any of you have for preparing it? Are you a fan of deer/elk?
