Down the toilette

We have been blessed this Fall with gorgeous blue sky and pleasing temperatures - what a treat!

Matthew had football practice at a team member's home Friday night.  The beautiful house had a VERY large backyard flanked on one side by what I think is Peachtree Creek.  It was a gorgeous setting and fun for the boys to practice somewhere different.  After practice, we had dinner with good friends at their new and beautiful home - steak, mashed potatoes, salad, lima beans and peach crisp - mmmm - delicious!  Thank you, Linda and JP!

Brooke and I left at 9:00 as she was past the point of being able to handle being up that late - do you remember those times with your little ones?  So, I ran into our house, put my iPhone in my back pocket, grabbed her sippy cup and went upstairs to get her ready for bed.  After I said goodnight and put Brooke in her crib, I needed to go to the bathroom. 

Well, when I stood up to pull up my jeans, my iPhone fell into the toilette.  It was like slow motion after that - I felt like throwing my arms up towards the sky and falling down on my knees yelling, "Noooo!!!"  Instead, I got down to business and thrusted my hand into the toilette (yes, it was the dirtly toilette) and grabbed it - took the cover off and started furiously wiping off my phone.  It proceeded to vibrate constantly for 20 minutes and then just stopped.  My iPhone is no more.


Dead iPhone



So, after laying my defeated iPhone to rest, I scrubbed my hands and lay in my bed feeling lonely - - - I mean, Matt was there, but my iPhone wasn't.  Could it be that I had really become THAT dependent on this device?  I had terrible dreams that night - the kind where you know you're late to something and the faster you try to get there, the longer it takes... all the while not able to be reached... 

I quickly came to realize how much I use my phone - not only for phone calls but for the MANY updates via email and text, Words with Friends, my Weather Channel app, Safari, Zillow, etc.  It was almost as if it had become a third arm or something - I DEPENDED on this thing beyond that for which it was intended - a phone to reach people or be reached.  How would I survive any amount of time without it?

I ended up inheriting Matt's old phone late Saturday morning.  But for those few hours I was without it, I must say that it felt GREAT!  I felt FREE in a way!  I didn't have to keep up with it and I found myself very PRESENT in the moment.  It made me realize how much I use that little thing.  So, I'm vowing today to use it less from now on and be more present in the moment.  I'll let you know how it goes...



New iPhone (with a fancy pink cover - thank you, Matthew and Champ!)

Matthew's football team, the Seminoles, beat the opposition.  I took some pictures but honestly just held down the picture taking button and listened while my camera did all the work.  This one is my favorite.  I just love boys and football is such a BOYS' sport - it's rough and tumble - it's the quintessential TEAM sport.  I have come to love the sounds of football - the whistles blowing, the kids helmets and pads crashing into one another.  I love the smell of the grass first thing in the morning when it's still wet from dew.  I have really come to love watching my kids play football.  Before the season started, I had a lot of anxiety about the risk of injury.  But I realized after the first game got underway, that I could either continue being scared and living in fear, or I could just GO WITH IT and hope for and expect the best.  I chose the latter and am having so much fun at their games (even with Champ's hand in a cast).
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You may or may not know that I had gestational diabetes during my last pregnancy.  As bummed as I was not to be able to enjoy cakes, ice creams, donuts during the last half of my pregnancy, I learned so much about good eating.  I had to take a 1/2 day course on diabetes, and the first thing I learned was the importance of managing your food intake by carb servings.  One carb serving is 15 grams of carbohydrates.  So, there were certain things that have no carbs that I enjoyed like all vegetables, cheeses, meats, etc.  (I ate more salads than I had eaten in my entire life).  I'll explore some of my findings in future blogs, but I wanted to share with you a little something that satisfied my sweet tooth but didn't raise my blood sugar (because it is pretty low carb compared to most other sweet treats).  Dark Chocolate.  I would buy a bar and keep it in the freezer and when I had a sweet craving, I would break off a small bite and the sharpness and richness of it really satisfied my sweet cravings.  Fast forward many months and we were at our friends' house, the Penn's, when Jennifer introduced me to

Sea Salt Soiree....

Oh.... let me just tell you that this stuff is amazing!  It is dark chocolate with almonds and a little sea salt.  I have one, maybe two blocks and it completely satiates my sweet tooth!  I feel better afterwards than if I had eaten a big bowl of ice cream (my pre gestational diabetes go-to dessert).  Dark Chocolate is full of antioxidants and is actually great for your heart!  It lowers cholesterol and blood pressure.  You can buy this bar at Publix for less than $3.00.  I keep it in my pantry and often eat a square or two after lunch and dinner.  I do hope that my kids one day develop the taste for dark chocolate, but the good news for me now is that they don't - so I don't have to ever worry about it disappearing. 

It is Sunday afternoon and incredibly gorgeous outside and so I'm on my way to throw the ball with my boys while Brooke sleeps. 

Tonight for dinner, we are grilling skirt steak (that has been marinating overnight in a little soy sauce, garlic, freshly grated ginger) and enjoying that with wild rice, and roasted vegetables - and I'll be drinking an ice cold Hoegarden with it.  I love my Hefeweizens!

I'll be back later this week with some delicious and easy recipes!