Happy New Year!

Well, I'm a few days late, but happy New Year anyway.  We're at the end of the first semi-normal, no sickness, almost non-holiday week we've had in a while.  The kids started back at school, and hubs worked more than 40 hours, so we're starting to drift back into our routine.  I realized after a week of Jubee being sick, then a week of Sam and me being sick, then Cam being sick, on top of travelling to Missouri for a quick, whirlwind Christmas visit, we really needed our real routine.  A routine that didn't involve watching cartoons all day long (like we did when we had the plague) or punching one another (which the kids seem to have gotten in the bad habit of doing) or eating incredible amounts of sugar and processed grains.

Today, I turned off the tv.  It's been going better than anticipated.  Usually, when I realize that too-much-tv watching has snuck up on us and I turn it off, we spend a week in the throws of withdraw, whiny kids begging to watch cartoons every five minutes, until they get used to it.  Today, though, they are playing happily together.  Which is awesome because...

Jan 2nd, I started a Whole30.  I do need to lose some weight, but I'm actually doing it not primarily to lose weight, rather, to detox a bit off of sugar and bread and beer so I can lose weight.  I actually eat pretty well generally and I move around quite a bit, so I think that my extra weight is a consequence of eating horribly from the age of 15-25 and hormones, plus I'm a 30-year old woman who had two kids 14 months apart, which, as you probably know, isn't very good for your gut. 

This is the picture of myself from Christmas present opening at my sister's house that convinced me that I needed to do something.  I normally wouldn't put a picture of myself online like this, but this is the motivation I need.  When, in a week or two, this becomes hard and I want a brownie or an IPA, I have something to deter me.  Haha.

So, I'm about 2.5 days into eating nothing but meat, eggs, veggies, fruits, good fats and oils, and nuts.  I can have coffee, which makes it a whole lot easier, nay, possible.  I haven't even had any food cravings or urges to speak of yet, and I'm not lethargic or stressed, which is what usually happens by the first afternoon when I restrict my diet in any way.

Cam's job is going really well, too.  His supervisors like him, he likes his work, and we are really blessed financially because of it.  That's pretty much the best you can hope for less than a year into a new career.

That's our beginning of 2013.  We're starting it happy, healthy and hopeful, which is means it can only go downhill from here.  Haha, I'm totally kidding.  If there's one thing that's been pretty consistent my whole adult life, it's that just when I think things can't get better, they do.  That doesn't mean that rough things don't happen, it's just that they don't seem so bad in the broad scheme o' things.

Today

Today marks two milestones in the history of me.  First, this is my 100th blog post right here.  Second, today is my 8th wedding anniversary (and my husband's, but I guess that goes without saying).  There is a .2% chance my husband will read this blog post, but I thought I'd write a few things about him anyway.

You know those old song lyrics that go "I love you more today than yesterday?"  I've heard a million different versions of that, but I'm not sure I believe it.  I look at this picture, and realize that on that day 8 years ago my heart was so full of love for that man that I don't think what I feel today is in excess of that.

What I do know is that after 8 years of marriage, the love I feel for him is deeper, stronger, and more grounded in a respect for his character.  I don't think I love him more, but I think I love him better.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm extremely blessed.  We got married 5 months to the day after we met, and for many people that would've been disastrous.  I wouldn't suggest it, generally.  If he had been anyone other than who he is, if his unwavering love for family and God had been less that what it is, if his work ethic had been more typical of his generation, if his character had been less what what I expected, after the wedding would have been a terrible time to discover those things.  Instead, I've found that he is so much more than what I expected.

His primary goal is to make the best possible home for our family, to protect us and take care of us and to be the best man, husband, and father he can be.  No amount of nagging, fighting, cajoling or ignoring could've have turned him into that, it's just how he is.  I think I may have had an inkling of that 8 years ago today, but I didn't know the depth of it.

I think marriage should be a partnership in which both parties look out for the well being of the other 100%, reserving nothing and holding nothing back for themselves.  Sometimes we take each other for granted, it's easy to do that when you know the other person has your best interest at heart no matter what, but today, at least, I'm not taking it for granted.  I'm letting the world (or at least the 20 people who read my blog) know that my husband loves me and I love him.  And I don't expect that will ever change.

My Advice

I don't give a lot of advice here.  I figure, it took me 30 years to figure a few things out, and I'll probably realize in another 10 that the thing I thought today was actually a bit idiotic anyway.  Besides, even if I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that something is true, the best way to convince people isn't yelling at them about it, generally.  Beyond that, even if I have hit upon an important and life-changing truth, the internet is hardly the place I'm going to go to share it.

But, I do have one piece of advice that I'm willing to share.  This may be the last advice I ever give online, besides the vague "don't worry so much, moms" statements I occasionally make.  Here it goes.  Are you ready for this?

Use Cast Iron.

Yup, that's it.  Use cast iron.  I guess I should give a few reasons, huh?

1.  Food tastes better.  It's actually true.  The problem with using non-stick is that because you can't use very high heat and because you don't have to use fat/oil to keep your food from sticking, you don't get a good sear on meat, or good browning on anything, and your food tastes bo-rang.  It's also nice to have a pan that goes from the stove to the oven, for browning and then roasting.  It makes life easy and food tasty.

2.  It's cheap.  Seriously, this pan is the pan I use, the Lodge Logic,  it's $20 at Walmart or Target or Amazon or anywhere.  Most pans you buy, in fact, pretty much everything you buy, you use with the understanding that they will eventually fall apart and you will have to buy a new one at some point.  This is one of the only things I know of that will actually improve the more you use it.  You won't ever have to buy a new one, and your food will just keep tasting better and better, and the "seasoning" on the bottom will get smoother and more non-stick over time.

3.  It's better for you.  I know, I know, the use of Teflon is controversial, and many people believe it's safe or the jury is still out, and I'm not here to argue, so I'm going to take this from the most non-argumentative stand-point I can.   Let's say that Teflon is 100% safe with proper use, don't go above "medium" heat, throw away if/when the non-stick coating starts to flake off into your food, etc.  Firstly, not everyone's stove heats the same...are you positive you're never going too hot?  I'm not.  Secondly, do you toss your pan every time it starts to get weird on the bottom?  I didn't, in the past I've cooked with it for quite a while until I could budget in a new pan.  Even if there's just a small chance of getting cancer from PFOA, wouldn't it be better to skip it than take that chance?

There are some things about cast iron that make people reluctant to use it.  Cleaning, for one.  My skillet almost never sticks (and with proper use, yours won't either), so it's very rare I have to scrub at it, or do more than rub it with salt for a few seconds, most often, all I have to do is run some hot water over it.  

The use of fat/oil in cooking is another problem people have, but with cast iron you actually use much less than you would with any other kind of non-nonstick pan.  Plus, I don't think the fat/oil we eat is the problem with our diets, but that's another story for another day.  All I'm saying is, embrace the butter, baby.

The other issue is that you really do have to do a little bit of research.  You have to know how to wash and dry and season your pan and what tools to use, and it does take a bit of prep work.  I don't think it adds much to my actual work at all, but I did have to learn how to do it in the first place.

The last issue I can think of is the weight...a cast iron skillet is heavy, it's true.  But, with that heaviness comes an amazingly even heat distribution and good food, so, it's worth it.  Plus, it's like a work out without having to work out, you know?  I'd rather incorporate things that make me stronger in my day-to-day life than to spend time doing nothing but working out.  I'd rather have more heavy household items, more stairs, more resistance.  I guess that makes me weird, though, most people would rather have a 2lb vacuum cleaner and a grocery cart that floats and work out for an hour a day.  There's nothing that I can do about that, except to say, in this case it's worth it.

Alright, I'm gonna wrap this up by making my first point again...food tastes better!  Better food makes for a better life.  A better life, well, is better.  So, get a cheap cast iron skillet.  Or, get an expensive cast iron skillet.  Either way.

Having good tools means that you'll be able to enjoy the process of cooking as much as the food that results.  You'll eat better and enjoy a greater variety of food.  Your kids still won't, and you'll sort of resent them for hating the thing that you spent hours working on, but that's a story for another time.