A Dedication

Yesterday, B sent me my 2010 hororscope which included some interesting predictions:
*As a whole the 2010 year of white Tiger is a favorable time for exchanging experience, ideas and plans.
*The relations with your friends will be affable and stable.
*This year Leos may start an affair with a person senior than you and/or public, authoritative, even with a famous one.  (huh???)

Aside from the last one, I don't think this horoscope could be any more appropriate for what we have embarked on this year.  I came up with the idea of this blog a couple of months ago as a personal journey I wanted to take and document in the new year.  As I started working out the particulars, I realized that this was a project way better suited for a group of friends.  When I moved to NYC over 10 years ago, I was blessed to befriend an amazing group of talented girls.  Over the years some of us have moved away, gotten married, had kids, etc, BUT we have still remained very close.  I thought this would be the perfect outlet for us to unite despite our distance.  I am so grateful for having these girls in my life.  They are the inspiration of this Blog and are a huge part of making it a reality.  Since leaving NY and moving back to Austin, I have made some new friends and reconnected with old ones that I find inspiring.  Friendship between women is not something to be taken for granted and I am so fortunate to have made these new friends and I wanted them to be a part of this project as well.  So here we are: 1 month, 1 change.  Just from the posts that have gone up in the last few days, I can tell this is going to exceed everything I had hoped it would achieve.  I am beyond insprired.  I am rethinking and revamping my own goals for this month, as I think we all are. 
We have an exciting road ahead of us...

Dedicated to:
MBM, Jen*, Shelly, Jen, Liz and (not pictured) LA

So Fresh & So Clean Clean

As I sit here with my nightcap (crap it’s only Tuesday) and start to blog about my detox of choice, alcohol does not top the list (however negativity should – good one Traci!) I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl just 11 and a half weeks ago and am nursing now so alcohol is more of a “do” than a “don’t.” Or at lest a “try to.” She is finally sleeping through the night (sort of, 4am – I’ll take it) so after bedtime I’m allowed one. Now if only I could get her to take a bottle I’d be allowed two…or three . So for my detox I’ll go with a junk food ban - fast food, frozen food, food in small packages, quick, easy, on the go, garbage food - goodbye!

Typically it wouldn’t be that hard – I LOVE healthy food. I would choose the healthier option every time given the chance. The problem is I’m never given the chance. I live in the fattest state in America, sorry Texas but it’s so true, tortillas are one of the food groups here! Our house is in the middle of nowhere so I’m constantly driving an extra hour just to get to and from town and the healthy food stores are all the way on the other side of town. Within a 15-mile radius of my house are a gas station, taco stand and a McDonalds. I hate McDonalds – prior to my Texas move it was a dirty word in my vocab but now, being the only option, I get a large fry to split with my son, Hunter, at least once a week. It killed me the other day when we passed McDs and he said "mmmm McDonas." I try to cook a well-balanced meal every night but the hubs thinks the lettuce on his taco takes care of his vegetable category and Hunter wants macaroni and cheese every night (he doesn’t get it) so my support system is lacking.

As soon as I decided on my topic I went straight to the market and not the computer – so my entry is a little late but I’ve been working on it all day – in the kitchen! I have to seize the moment when I can; seriously I do not know where the time goes. So I’ve had a little time today and I’m making big batches of things to eat throughout the week. If I happen to get some of it into my son, who is two, and my husband, who acts like he’s two (did I mention a negativity cleanse would be good too?), well then that’s an added bonus. The week’s menu includes a lemon, rosemary pasta salad, black bean and corn salad, fruit salad for breakfast and I grabbed some raw almonds for snacks. I’ll be scouring the cooking sites for more of these types of things for the rest of the month.

This month I vow to make all my meals fresh – no drive through, no micro meals and no snack packs. I’m thrilled!