Well, I certainly need to eliminate fast food from my diet, and maybe this is a resolution I can make last for more than one month. You may have noticed that this resolution is in the shortest month of the year, so 29 days to go and hopefully I won't slip up!

I am considering fast food to be any of the major franchises and pizza delivery. Make at home pizza will be on the white list should I decide to make it. Also on the white list are normal restaurants. Mostly, I want to eliminate all the preservatives and mystery ingredients that have come to light in recent months in fast food items. If you want to ditch fast food, a google search for "McDonalds pink slime burgers" may help. Gah!

There's a photo circulating on the internet right now of a fast food burger that has been left to sit on the counter in a doctor's office for over six months. No mold or bacterial growth. No breakdown of the meat. It looks the same as it did when it came through the window and that's what I'm trying to use as inspiration right now.

Fast food is also addictive. Your body begins to crave the high amounts of saturated fat and perservatives after a while. Maybe if I can get through this month I won't have to worry about this addiction in the future. 

Wish me luck!

As I mentioned a while back in the month, I will be sticking to one resolution per month this year, and January's resolution was to try new food. Specifically, I resolved to try something new each week. I would not say that I am not an adventurous eater, but I can't try things that just sound inherently dangerous or outright gross. So puffer fish and chocoate covered ants were just out. This was a bit of a cheat for me because I had voluntarily tried brussel sprouts within the first week of the month, before I put together my resolutions for the year, but I hope you will just forget that.

Each week I considered what my food adventure would be. I did not limit myself to just produce - although that is where my failings lie - but I did try a bit of this and a bit of that.

Week 1 - Brussel Sprouts - brush with a bit of olive oil and roast; I will try these again.

Week 2 - Cinnamon Chicken - ever since I saw a Little House on the Prarie episode where Laura switched out the cinnamon for cayenne pepper before Nellie Olson made cinnamon chicken for Almanzo Wilder, I have wanted to try this dish. I posted on Facebook for food ideas and my friend Brianna sent me the recipe. It was quite good! More savory than sweet because there is no sugar.

I served it with brown rice and green beans and it was a nice change to our regular fare of "chicken something" and veggies. It takes two tablespoons of cinnamon, so poor Almanzo having to politely eat chicken with two tablespoons of cayenne pepper on it!!

Week 3 - Pineapple Melon - I have seen these in the grocery store and wondered about them. Since it was something I doubted I would ever try unless under duress, I purchased one and Melody and I tried it a day or so later.

I sliced it, not knowing what the inside would be like, but somehow not expecting what I found:

This thing is seedy and around the seeds is a gelantanous goo. This wasn't looking good. I pried out a small piece and put it in my mouth...and immediately spat it out! This thing is horrid! I can only liken this fruit to the consistency of the inside of a tomato (and you all know how I feel about THAT) and bitter, sour, unpleasant. Yuck! Melody tasted a bit and enjoyed pulling the seeds out more than eating it. I threw the whole thing in the trash and shudder when I recall the taste.

Week 4 - Graham Cracker Cake - In an attempt to redeem my tasting tribulation of the previous week, I made a vintage recipe called graham cracker cake, except I didn't have graham crackers, so I crushed Nilla Wafers. This cake was very good though I think I might have not baked it long enough. It acted a bit like a sponge or angel cake at first, but soon fell while it was cooling. The recipe card didn't indicate how long to bake it, so next time I'll try it for longer. It's worth a second attemp and yes, we did eat it all even if it was a bit messed up.

With a bit of whipped cream, it redeemed the new foods resolution completely! I didn't mind trying the new foods and I will continue to try to work more foods into our dietary routine. I've got a turnip or two in my fridge right now and I'm actively looking for preparations, plus I'll be trying some new recipes for my sister site Gram's Recipe Box as the months progress. All in all, I'd call January's resolution of new foods a success!

I remember probably from the 80s a Weight Watchers commercial starring Lynn Redgrave. She wore this frumpy muumuu and talked about her dieting success, then at the end of the commercial she declared "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!" as she whipped off the muumuu and showed off her newly trim body. As far as marketing campaigns went, this was a good one considering I still remember it twenty years later. Lots of women responded to the slogan and spat out mouthfulls of chocolate, cookies, cake and donuts in the quest for what skinny feels like.

As someone who has never as an adult been anything close to resembling "skinny" I have never been able to identify with this slogan. Certainly, I have been thin and maybe when I was 10 I could have been considered skinny. However, my body type and genetics provided me with curves long before my straight framed peers had them, leading me to believe I was never thin enough. Anyway, looking back on my life, I have come to realize that I quite often was in a state of "not fat" meaning I was attractive, healthy and happy. Maybe I could have lost 5 pounds or so to drop a dress size, but at some of my happiest moments in life, I was healthy and looked good.

So, I plan to take this well worn slogan and adapt it to mean something for me: nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.

I know what healthy feels like. I know that when my body feels healthy it does not fit onto the BMI charts that were put together in the late 60s. I will never be considered skinny, and if you find me in a state of being skinny get me to a doctor quick because it's not a healthy weight for me. I can be trim, healthy, comfortable, fit. Never skinny. I have also come to realize that trying to live up to someone else's expectation of what skinny looks like will never work for me! Skinny to me means narrow frame, flat chest, no butt, no curves. Unless I plan to lop off a couple pieces, that will never happen to my body.

So, friends go forth and remember that nothing tastes as good as healthy feels. Be healthy, eat right, exercise. Do not deprive yourself for something unattainable.

Unless you are one of those skinny bitches who populate the pages of fashion magazines. Then can you just eat a couple cheeseburgers after midnight please? You are giving the rest of us a complex.

Here we go folks!

I don't have a very good memory for certain things. I freely admit it! In the past I have made resolutions for the new year, only to forget within the first two weeks that I had promised myself to drink less or exercise more. Let's face it, if something isn't enormously important to me, I put it out of my mind and move on, which is why I rarely make New Year's Resolutions. Resolutions, with a capital R, sound so final, so set in stone, and if you break (or even bend) a Resolution the flying monkeys will swoop down and castigate you and fling their poo and all sorts of awful things will happen! Not for me, nope, thanks for playing, take your Jiffy Pop and leave.

However a few years ago, a woman who's blog I read did a monthly resolution (note the lower case r, by the way, no flying monkeys here). Each month she would do something new to work on improving herself, her life, her marriage or her home. Being that I have a pretty good chance at remembering a resolution for thirty days, I have decided to give this a whirl. I just hope that in two months I will remember that need to change to the next resolution. I hope to blog at the beginning and end of each month about the designated action, once with a plan and once with the result. Wish me luck!

January: try a new food each week

February: no fast food

March: walking more, 20-60 minutes per day, 3-5 times per week

April: read to Melody at least 3 times per week

May: no TV 4 nights a week

June: make dinner 6 nights per week

July: migrate this website to Wordpress

August: no more than 1 soda per day

September: blog every day on all three sites (omg!)

October: no candy or cookies

November: write a short story

December: get to work on time

I figure a lot of these are stretch goals and there will of course be circumstances beyond my control that prevent me from being 100% perfect. Heck, 90% is still an A in college, so I will even allow myself to slip up from time to time. Besides, I am in no way close to perfect, I'm just a perfectionist. Frustrated much? Yes. I just want to try to improve my well being and happiness, and these seem like areas where I could use improvement, and also, areas where I feel like I can let go of old habits.

So, January's resolution is to try a new food each week. I chose this for January because in a bit of a cheat, I have already tried a new food this month. At my big family dinner last week, my cousin Diana brought roasted brussel sprouts. In the past, these miniature cabbages were either bitter, slimy or mushy, all of which are unappealing in food, so I thought I didn't like them. But, I took my "no thank you" helping and actually enjoyed them. Diana told me the secret is in roasting them with a bit of olive oil to bring out the deeper flavors. She claimed there is a sweet flavor but I don't buy that. Let us say that they were not bitter, slimy or mushy, and actually were quite good! I must figure out what my next three to four foods for January will be. I'm pretty much an omnivore when it comes to food with the exception of veggies, so the foods may all be produce. I also plan to consider "rerun" foods, e.g. foods I didn't like as a kid, as new foods since I'm the type that if I didn't like it when I was six, there's a good chance I never touched it again. 

Wish me luck!

It was suggested to me that I might like to do an annual recap of 2011 for ths blog. I have done this in the past and it always felt like a canned post. A recap doesn't always tell you something new because of course it rehashes what has already happened (and was hopefully blogged about). But, I saw this post from Kristin at Rage Against the Mini Van and I liked the idea of questions leading me through the recap. They are someone else's questions, but my answers will be uniquely tailored to me and my life. Plus, I didn't blog as much as I would like in 2011 so there is a lot of new info (to you) going into the recap of 2011.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

Taken a ride in the back of an ambulence to an ER. No lights and sirens, but still, it is not something I want to do again. Looking out that back window kinda gave me vertigo.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

In 2011 I resolved to not make any resolutions, so in a way I kept my resolution. I am terrible with making resolutions because I rarely remember them six weeks later, let alone six months to a year later! However, I have a different idea for 2012 which might work: the monthly resolution. In the next few days I will post my 12 resolutions, one for each month of the year. I can probably stick with something for thirty days.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Not a direct family member but several friends had babies in the past year.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, thank goodness!

5. What countries did you visit?

Is Pittsburg a country? It sure felt foreign to me!

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

A daughter who goes to bed without screaming, crying, making bargains and trying to blackmail us by withholding hugs and kisses.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

April 28th: I fell at work and tore three ligaments in my foot. This was the cause of the ambulence ride. And the surgery. And the long recovery.

October 28th: I was rear-ended on the freeway and my car was totaled. This was a surreal experience. One moment I was listening to my ipod and sitting in traffic; the next heartbeat I was looking up at the ceiling of my car and trying to figure out what the hell had happened!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Melody performed on stage in her first ever dance recital. That's not really my accomplishment, but I was so proud of her! She was not afraid to be on stage with everyone looking at her. Personally it took me years to stand up in front of a group without feeling light headed and tongue tied. So, somehow we have taught her confidence, and that perhaps is partly my accomplishment.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I lost my patience and yelled pretty often. The terrible 2s were fine and we didn't get more than one tantrum then. The Effing Fours have kicked my ass around the block and back again. Melody had a complete meltdown/tantrum over putting her shoes away that lasted more than 10 minutes and included her pounding her fists on the floor and bawling, shreaking, and kicking. There has been a lot of whining and complaining about going to bed, brushing teeth, putting dirty clothes in the hamper and taking showers. Basically, everything that is good for her she did not want to do. Conversely, everything bad for her she wanted to do in spades. Sigh. I felt like Mommy No No for a good portion of the year.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Yes, yes I did. The foot was a real problem. I wound up having surgery on July 1st, and then spending the summer on disability in various stages of hard cast, walking cast and brace. Although I am discharged from physical therapy (the worker's comp won't provide any more) I still have pain and discomfort quite often and my left foot is much weaker than my right. I will likely be in some stage of recovery for several more months.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

A Ford Escape Limited

12. Where did most of your money go?

See #11. Or Target.

13. What did you get really excited about?

There were several highlights in 2011 even with the surgery and car wreck. In April, my reenacting group was named "Best Civilian Camp" at the Prado Civil War event. This is huge for us and I am very proud of our efforts to portray history as accurately as possible. In June/July our home construction/repair/remodel work was finally finished. After the water leak in September 2010, it took ages to first get the project started; then once started it took forever to finish! But, now that it's done I am very happy about it. In August, I went to Pittsburg to meet/see 15 of my closest friends who I had never before met in person. That was fabulous and then dovetailed into a too-short visit with my bestie in Tennesee. The end of the year brought a visit from my cousin and her family, plus a great family dinner with her parents and mine. We had our first kids table!

14. What song will always remind you of 2011?

Tonight, Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

– happier or sadder? I feel happier somehow. Sort of like, "I got through all that so I can take on whatever comes my way in 2012." Plus Melody will turn 5 next month and I am looking forward to that.
– thinner or fatter? The same.
– richer or poorer? Richer I think but John is in charge of that.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Sleep. Read. Bake. Make friends. I have difficulty making friends, and I'm honestly not all that good at keeping the few friends I do have. So, add maintain friendships.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Saying no and shouting. I gave a spanking one night that made me cry more than Melody. I felt like an absolute jerk. Parents are not supposed to hurt their children right? But we have to provide discipline and punish them when they misbehave, otherwise we wind up with entitled little a-hole children who have no personal accountability for their actions. If I could go back and change things, I would not have given that spanking, lost my patience and my temper, or allowed things to get out of control in the first place.

18. How did you spend Christmas?

Wonderful morning with my little family, then my folks and sister came over for Christmas dinner. I do so love entertaining!

19. What was your favorite TV program?

I record nearly everything these days, but while I was on leave, I mowed through Netflix. I watched seven seasons of Emergency! I don't really know why. Dexter of course; True Blood OF COURSE; Criminal Minds. I try to make time for First 48 occasionally too.

20. What were your favorite books of the year?

You can read my book reviews here on the site but I haven't written one about every book I read. I'd have to say my favorite book of the year, the one which sticks with me the most, was Saving CeCe Honeycutt. It was a lovely and fullfilling book with a happy ending.

21. What was your favorite music from this year?

I discovered Mumford & Sons and my guilty pleasure/secret love for Korean pop groups. I continued to enjoy old favorites like P!nk and Lady Gaga, Weezer and Robbie Fulks.

22. What were your favorite films of the year?

I don't think we made it to the theater more than two or three times. Once was for Cars 2 with Melody which was cute but not as good as the original. The other was for Twilight: Breaking Dawn, about which I will say no more. Oh, we might also have seen Tangled in the theater, which was super cute. Our most recent favorite (mine and Melody's) is the 2003 Peter Pan. It is very close to the original book Peter & Wendy by J. M. Barrie, at times verbatim. So far we have watched it six or seven times.

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

Oh, my birthday, yes thank yo for reminding me. I turned 43 on December 9th. We stayed home and had Italian, then a week later went out for brunch with the rest of my family.

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Wow, this is difficult. I think a longer visit with Tara might have made my shitty summer more worth it. Two and a half days per year just isn't enough and we both cried after we said goodbye.

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

American Middle Class Working Mom, e.g. slacks, blouses and sensible shoes.

26. What kept you sane?

I don't think I started out sane, so perhaps this isn't the best question for me. What kept me from losing the rest of my mind? John, Melody, getting the remodel in my house completed after 10 months of destruction, good insurance, my mom's group, Tara.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

Be careful wearing new heels to walk on linoleum. There will surely be one wet spot on the floor for you to slip in.