because it was cooler today...

I made a whopper of a dinner: roast beef, potatoes, gravy, peach pie. I should have made carrots too, but I ran out of time. I have been really down lately, but I was pleasantly reminded why I love to cook. It gives me such joy. I feel like what an artist feels like when they finish a beautiful painting. Beautiful, yummy goodness to eat and enjoy, because I labored in the kitchen... It's so fruitful (pardon the pun) and so rewarding to see my little brood smile with full drippy mouths.

If you're at all interested, I found a really yummy way to make roast beef. Buy a bottom round roast or a top sirloin roast (less fat) and put it in a crock pot. Pour a can of beer on it. Then top it with cracked pepper, sea salt, garlic powder, and onions. Let it slow cook all day (hi-4 or 5 hours/low-8 hours). When it's done it should be very tender. You can take the broth and shake 2T of it up in a small jar with 2T of flour. Then put it in a small pan and add more broth. Stir over low heat until thick and add salt and pepper to taste. Voila! You have easy delicious gravy. It's not so scary after all.

Oh, and here's a little, very uninteresting Curves update...
I haven't lost a pound yet, and maybe I never will. As long as I feel healthier, I won't worry about that. I do think my posture is much improved and my insomnia is almost non-existant. My clothes are fitting better and they don't feel so uncomfortable, which is a huge relief. It's hard to be chipper when your pants are riding up, know what I mean? ;) I'm also really starting to love the little high I get after a workout. I come back home ready to work and pumped about my life--funny, huh?

General update...
I'm on the warpath with discipline. Ooo that sounded so bad. I mean I'm on the offensive. I made up a bad @#! behavior chart and the kids are getting stickers for all kinds of things that I have to nag them to do: brushing teeth, washing hands, putting dishes in the sink, picking up toys, using manners, making beds, etc. They get stickers for everything on the chart, when they do it, which has been very motivating. At the end of the week, if they have "Lots of Stickers" (which is enough for them now), they get 10 pennies for allowance. One penny goes in the offering plate (which they're excited about) and 9 pennies go into their piggy banks. So far, they're really excited and in two days the behavior is much better than it was before. Way less whining, very few spankings... All in all, it feels like a whole lot of progress.