What am I listening to right now? Why, Coldplay's latest album, Mylo Xyloto, of course! It's fantastic, as I find all of their music to be. It's a great mix of fast, upbeat music and slower, more relaxed melodies - all of which are full in thought and prose. I was at their concert last week and I was, once again, amazed by their energy, namely Chris Martin's. My word... he is amazing! He gives 110% every single minute of their show. The way he moves his body (and I mean that in a very pure and innocent way) with all the jumping, dancing - all the while singing... it's truly so much fun to watch and I'm thankful that I got to experience the energy at the concert last week! I just read that at the concert that was 2 days before our show, he found his beautiful wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, in the audience and kissed her. Here is the You Tube clip:
Makes my heart go thump thump. I think he's awesome and she is just about as near perfect as one can get (have you checked out her blog? www.goop.com)
I was at one of our baseball team's "Sip N Shares" a few weeks ago. These were held during Tuesday practices or scrimmages during the Summer baseball season, and we all brought food and drink and enjoyed hanging out with each other. The table was always filled with appetizers ranging from chips and dip to salads to other yummy foods. I can't remember now what kind of dip it was, but I was thinking to myself, all I really want is the dip - not the cracker or chip...
You see, being diagnosed with gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with Brooke changed my outlook on the foods I eat. I had to watch my carbs and keep them below a certain number of servings at every meal and snack. I didn't totally cut them out because that does harmful things to your body, but I was very careful with how much I consumed. And as the pregnancy progressed (after being diagnosed about 2/3 the way through), my stomach got bigger, but I never gained another pound. I didn't have the typical swollen pregnant face; in fact, I had almost no swelling at all. I ate TONS of salads and fresh vegetables - a little fruit - some lean protein... Aside from being pregnant in the heat of the Summer, I have never felt better!
I told myself back then that I would continue to eat like that because I just felt so good. Well, fast forward to the hospital a few hours after she was born an my friends, Debbie and Jessica, brought me a box of 4 Gigi's cupcakes. Have you ever had one? They are amazing as the cake part is soft and moist and they are uber generous with their creamy frosting. If you eat an entire cupcake, chances are, you'll feel slightly ill afterwards. Let me just tell you that I was so excited to eat something sweet, I dug into that box and within about 24 hours (I shared...a little bit), it was empty. And so began the not so gradual introduction of carbs back into my diet. Well, as a nursing mom, I was ravenous for almost a year so I chalk it all up to hormones and sleep deprivation....
Here I am now really trying to make good and healthy choices. Whenever I do eat with reckless abandon, it sure tastes good going down... but I feel gross afterwards and sometimes my clothes feel tight. I feel tired and worn down, and I don't like it. So, back to the dip at the Sip N Share. I was wishing for a cracker or chip that was low in carbs - one that merely served as a vehicle for the dip itself. I didn't want celery or carrots - I wanted a chip or cracker.
I found it!! When we were at the lake last weekend, Tasha served that yummy Jarlsberg cheese dip with these wonderfully thin crackers - light, thin, and non-competitive so the full taste of the dip is what you tasted - not the chip. One serving is 19 crackers which totals to only about 130 calories and 25 grams of carbs. It has minimal ingredients which I love!
I am a huge fan of these crackers, and my friends with toddlers (yes, that's you Margaret and Kerri!), they are great for their little mouths. I found these at Kroger but I'm sure any major grocery store carries them. They work great with creamy spreads and anything that has a nice strong taste because the cracker won't compete with it.
Instead of using my favorite Tostitos Multigrain chips (seriously, once I get started, I eat one after the other because they're so good. In fact, the multigrain chips taste better than the regular but something about them makes me want to eat the whole bag - so I try to steer clear. Isn't that called a "trigger food"?),
I used the crackers to dip into my guacamole...
That was quite a long dissertation leading up to the crackers. Hope you enjoyed it as rambling is what I like to do sometimes...
I found a new t-shirt at TJ Maxx that I just love! It's the perfect weight, texture, fit... by none other than Valerie Bertinelli! I didn't know she made clothes, but I'm beginning to think that every person on the tv/movie screen also makes clothes in some form or fashion. I don't know about you but I am a sucker for white shirts. We can all use more white shirts because they stain and get dirty so easily. I can wear one with just about anything - jeans, shorts, skirts... at work and at play. I picked up a white short sleeve v-neck at TJ Maxx and then about a week later, I spotted a purple one while I was in the store, so I grabbed that one as well! The price? $7.99!! How great is that?
Next time you're at TJ Maxx (and probably Marshall's), try to find them!
And lastly, here is my favorite photo of the week. Champ (in his nose cast) and Brooke hanging out on the front porch sharing a sweet little moment of affection:
I'm so proud of both my boys for what wonderful big brothers they are. They impress me every single day!
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