Our Latest Adventure

I am a frequent reader of several blogs. Two of them, The Frugal Girl and Simply Being Mum, are chronicling their efforts to reduce and/or eliminate food waste in their households. I have read their posts with increasing discomfort for months now. I want to do the same, but I don't care much for change. I'm also bizarrely defensive about my grocery shopping habits. I get a little hostile if Doug tries to suggest that I should get a different brand of vegetable broth or buy a few less apples.
 

Well, I'm finally going for it! I am putting my own boundaries around it (naturally - since when do i ever do exactly what i'm told?), but I think it will be revolutionary around here. Once I have the routine figured out and the fridge cleared of all current crap, I will begin taking photos of any food that I end up throwing away. I will post those photos here and use my readers as my priests as I confess my wastefulness. (For the record, these Candy Corn Cookies are not being thrown out. They are just cute.)

Step 1: I am only buying the ingredients for one meal at a time. Too often have I bought produce several days ahead of a planned meal, only to find it rotted by the time I was ready to cook.

Step 2: I will not cook a new meal until the leftovers from the previous meal have been consumed. Too often have I found fuzzy leftovers in the fridge that I don't even remember cooking!

Step 3: I will not cook food that I do not intend to eat. This one is actually a bit difficult for me because there are (quite) a few things that I don't eat, but I know that Doug loves them. However, this leaves Doug in the position of having to eat all of the leftovers by himself. Too often have I thrown away food that only went bad because one person could not consume it quickly enough. I do recognize that I could just cook small portions of those items and I might do so from time to time.

Step 4: The children will be served leftovers. This one might seem like a no-brainer (ew. i just remembered how much i hate that phrase...), but here's what Leftover Night looked like in the Peeler house prior to this week: Doug - leftovers; Angela - maybe leftovers; Eli - frozen pizza; Lila - frozen burrito. The kids didn't eat the food when I served it the first time, so I didn't make them sit in front of it a second time. Well, that rationale is breeding poor eating habits and a (greater) sense of entitlement. Too often have I allowed my children to eat processed and non-nutritious food because I wanted to avoid an argument.

This may seem excessive or fanatical, but I'm not kidding when I say that one person (or maybe two people) could be sustained by the food that we throw away in this house. I can't stand it anymore. I will not throw out food that another person would literally kill for! I welcome anyone who wants to join me in this journey...

Food

 I have really been enjoying my time in the kitchen lately. I have taken pleasure in cooking for quite some time, but my endeavours have gradually turned toward baking (which i used to avoid) and vegan cooking. Okay, the Sauerbraten (pictured below) is neither baked nor vegan, but it was an adventure all its own. I was terrified that I was putting a great deal of cost and effort into a dish that no one was going to eat, but people liked it! They liked it!

 

I can't say that my husband is particularly enjoying my newfound love of vegan food. He would rather have a hunk of meat on his plate. I don't have a great deal of sympathy for him, however, as I know how often he goes to Chuy's for lunch with his co-workers. Chuy's, which I can no longer eat. Curse you, Doug Peeler! It's a good thing I like you... Anyway, I figure I'm doing him a favor by giving his body a break from the animal products when we eat at home.

 

The kids could not care less. Really. It's not like they ate the food that I cooked before anyway! And, as it turns out, Lila loves brown rice and quinoa. That's fabulously healthy! As for Eli, we are ecstatic if he eats one bite of food at dinner. I truly don't know how he maintains that delightful plumpness. BUT... it seems that a batch of homemade cookies can erase a lot of bad memories. Who can complain about Roasted Tomatoes Stuffed with Yellow Rice when there is a bucket of Candy Corn cookies in the pantry?

 

Well, okay, the kids can. But they forget quickly!

A Fish Funeral

Our family had a little fishie funeral tonight. Lila's dear beta, Snowflake, finally succumbed to whatever was ailing her. Many tears were shed. We laid her to rest in a small jewelry box, tied up with a golden ribbon. We gathered around the hole (lovingly dug by Dad, right next to Hurley's resting place) and said our last good-byes by the light of a camping lantern. This priceless conversation followed:

Doug: "Lila, do you want to say anything about Snowflake? That's what people sometimes do... when they bury a pet."

Lila: "No."
Me: "We could tell stories about her. Like the other day when she tried to jump out of her tank!"
[silence, then]
Lila: "She used to like to play hide-and-seek with us."
[Renee had to bury her face here, to hide a laugh.]
Eli: "Yeah, but now she can't. 'Cause she died."
Lila: "Yeah. . . . Can I get a beta baby now?"
Me: "Let's finish saying good-bye to Snowflake before we start planning her replacement."

Later, after we had come back inside, I was getting some pre-bed snuggles from Eli. He was thoughtfully twisting my hair when he said, quietly, "It's actuwy kinda sad."

Yes, baby. Death is kinda sad. Even when it's only a fish.

CraigO's

We just returned from eating at CraigO's pizza for the first time. (We visited the Mopac and 290 location.) Doug's evaluation of the regular pepperoni pizza wasn't stellar. He said there was too much sauce and the pepperoni wasn't very flavorful. I would guess that his evaluation of the atmosphere wasn't too stellar either. Our table had a serious wobble, the pizza perch was precarious, and we had two nutty children bouncing around it all.

However, it is my new favorite place because they serve gluten-free pizza. And it was actually quite good! I thought pizza was a thing of the past for me. I had put it on a shelf, with flour tortillas and Texadelphia. I experienced a glimmer of hope when I saw GF pizza on their menu, but after my first experience with gluten-free bread, I was dubious (to put it mildly).

It far exceeded my expectations. The crust had sort of the texture of a potato cake or something. I know that sounds strange, but it was tasty! Hooray!

P.S. - I still haven't checked to see whether or not Chuy's Deluxe Tomatillo Sauce is GF. I fear that the disappointment of a "no" might send me into a spiral of despair.

Back to Normal

Whew! With Doug being gone for the past two weeks, I couldn't even think about updating my blog. That uses more brain power than I had at the end of each day! But now he is back and all is well at the Peeler House.

I'm very (very) excited to announce that the kids and I will all be going to BSF next year. I signed us up a couple of weeks ago and I can't wait for September! I love BSF for my own spiritual growth and I remember Lila learning so much the one year that she was in it before. Now, for one year only, we will all three be able to go to the same class and we'll all be studying the book of Isaiah!

The daytime women's classes have kids' classes for 2-year-olds through Kindergarten. Once Lila hits 6 years old, I'll have to beg Doug or Irene to go to an evening class because that's where they have classes for school-aged kids... Meh. I'll deal with that when the time comes!

I keep thinking this weekend is over, but it's not. We'll have Doug home with us tomorrow too! He and Lila are planning to paint the playroom. They bought the paint today and it's a color somewhere between burnt orange and brick red. I'll take photos.

No More Little Peelers

For those who haven't heard, we have officially decided that we are done with having children. It was, for me at least, a difficult decision. I mean, when I'm pregnant and right after my babies are born, I'm certain that I never want to go through that again. (and i question why the heck i went through it the first time!) After several months, however, the amnesia sets in and I start thinking longingly of pregnancy. [shudder]

This last time that I started to feel that way, I took it to God for an answer. I fully expected Him to tell me it was time to pop out another hit, but I was in for a surprise. The clear message was that we should have no more children. I couldn't figure why He would give me that answer, so I kep questioning Him and myself. (Is that reeeaaally what He said? . . . Yeah, it really was.)

Then I had an amazing time of communion with God during a church service where He spoke clearly to me on a few different topics, one of them being this one. The message (given by the Always Inspiring Ted Beasley) was on quitting - when you should, when you shouldn't, and stop complaining either way. He mentioned that one time when it's appropriate to quit an endeavor is when the end result does not justify the pain caused in the process.

And then it hit me: This was why God didn't want me to have any more children. Lila and Eli are well worth the pain that the pregnancies and depression caused. But God does not want me (us) to willingly, knowingly engage in that kind of difficulty again. It's not just my own pain that must be considered (that i can more easily overlook). There is also pain for Doug and those members of my family and friends who are so sacrificial and helpful during difficult times. And if we had another child, this time Lila would be old enough to really be impacted by my depression.

It was both a humbling and a warm feeling. Humbling to think that so much pain could be caused by my actions (getting pregnant, i mean - i know that i can't control the depression 'cause BOY have i tried). And it made me feel warm and loved to know that God cares for us and does not desire pain for us. I have two amazing children and my responsibility now is to raise them and teach them to love God and and pursue their passions.

At the same time, it was a difficult decision for me to accept. Part of me felt as though I were rejecting a child and telling him/her that they weren't worth it. I had to remind myself that I was not rejecting a child, I was just choosing not to create a child. It's a subtle, but profound, difference that's difficult to explain.

And now I'm at peace with that decision and Doug and I are trying to decide which one of us is getting "fixed".

I really get tired of trying to come up with titles for my posts.

Doug has started doing The Master Cleanse now and is also having a hard time with it. My hard time had to do with cravings and then getting physically ill. His hard time has to do with feeling actual hunger. Doug is the type of person who can't go to sleep if he's hungry. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, and is awake long enough to start feeling hunger, he'll get up and eat a piece of bread. If I wake up and feel hungry, I roll over and go back to sleep. This is not fun for him and is leading to some crankiness, but I think the practice of self control will help him to grow. Nonetheless, please pray that his hunger will abate, so that he can enjoy this experience.

We watched a movie with The Houston Peelers this weekend called 'Night Train'. I had never heard of it before we watched it, but it had some big (or at least, recognizable) actors. It had an intriguing premise and a style reminiscent of movies from 50 years ago, but it didn't quite deliver. The violence was also a bit gratuitous. I think it was trying to be sort of comic, but it was mostly just gratuitous. I give it a 6 out of 10 rating.

Brief

So, Doug is contemplating (really, nothing more than that at this point) getting back onto the music team at church. Now that we're at the south campus, there is a greater need for musicians and we like the style and feel of the music much more there. Even though it means I'll lose more of his time to song-learning and band practice, I think it would be great! I haven't seen rock 'n' roll Doug in a long time!

Was too distracted by my new kitten to post for a week...

Soo... is it Fall yet? I saw someone describe this year's weather as "inhumane". I think that's a very fitting description! I mean, seriously, 51 days of 100+ degree weather?!? And it's only August 10th, so you know there's more to come! It never fails. Every August, I find myself wondering why the heck we live in Austin. And then fall arrives and the weather cools down and things get green again and I remember. It's an awesome place to live... for 9 months out of the year.

In a topic having nothing to do with weather, Doug and I have decided to do The Master Cleanse, as described in the books The Master Cleanser, by Stanley Burroughs, and Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days, by Peter Glickman. It sounds and feels like total madness, but we have friends who have done it and recommend it. It also makes sense once you read the book. I'll keep you updated.

I think our house has gotten just about as unpacked and organized as it's going to get for a while. I was spending so much time focusing on unpacking that I was letting the clutter and laundry pile up behind me. I have now turned from unpacking and started in on more pressing matters, like laundry and vacuuming. (Have I already told you this?) As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to go vacuum the guest room as soon as I finish typing this. . . . Now I'm finished typing. . . . So I'm going. . . . Why are you still here?!?

Long Overdue

It has been far too long since I updated this blog. I've been spending more time on other sites and I really must put a stop to that! Things have been completely insane around here.

Doug is in Japan right now on a business trip. He's been gone for just under a week and won't be back until Thursday. Our whole stinkin' family fell apart after he left, but I'll go into that more later. He's working hard at his new job with IDT, but finding it somewhat stressful. He's responsible for creating the roadmap for a whole new product line and that's not easy! He's been fairly stressed over all this buying and selling of houses too. We've already closed on the new house, we close on our current house July 6th, and we will all be glad once the Forsythe house is gone and done with too.

Lila is just getting over strep throat, but is nearly back to normal. She's having a bit of a tough time adjusting to all these changes, but she's a resilient girl and will be back to herself within a few months, I expect. She had her last gymnastics class today and handled it rather well. She's already talking about finding a new gymnastics school and a new teacher near our new house. The girl LOVES gymnastics. She also loves little tiny women (named Cinderella and Belle) and Pet Society on Facebook. I finally had to create my own pet on Doug's login because I got tired of sharing with her!

Eli is doing something new every day. He is SO close to walking. He just got his fifth tooth this week (my theory: it was the cause of the ear infection that he also had). He's starting to say a few words. His version of Mommy: Ama (AH-mah). It's way too cute! He also meows at the cats and says Lila, all done, night-night, and probably a few other things, but he refuses to repeat them for me. He's still got the biggest smile in the world and he still makes that awful raptor/predatory bird noise when he's angry or frustrated. He loves to put one toy inside another and has been very helpful with packing and putting things in drawers. In fact, there is one drawer that we've learned to check anytime something goes missing.

I would say that I've been great, but that wouldn't really be true. A couple of weeks ago, I had a nasty bladder infection that had me in bed with a high fever for two or three days. This week, I got the flu for the first time I can remember. Headache, fever, cough, sore throat, chills, sweats, body aches, you name it. I was completely incapacitated for four days, but I'm starting to recover now. I still sound terrible, but I feel well enough to take care of my kids again. Many thanks to Grammie and Papa Joe for coming up and helping while we were all puny. When I have NOT been laid up in bed with a fever, I have been trying to prepare for our move to the new house, which takes place... in four days!!!

So, to put it all together, Doug left for his business trip, and the next day I started coughing and Eli came down with a fever. Enter the flu and Eli's ear infection. The day after that, Lila developed a fever. That would be the strep. Ack! Crazy!

I know this wasn't the most eloquent post, but I'm still really not feeling well, so it's the best I can do for now.

San Antonio and a New Job

We spent this past weekend (Thursday to Sunday) in San Antonio and had LOTS of fun! As you can see from this photo, our biggest adventure was a trip to Sea World. I have always wanted to go myself and there was no question about whether Lila would love it. Animals and water - what more could she ask for? Well... princesses, maybe... Nonetheless, we had a blast!

We saw shows (watching Shamu and the other killer whales gave me goosebumps!) and rode rides and Lila even got to play in the little kiddie water park. All three of us have pink faces and poor Lila has burned shoulders because the one thing we forgot to bring was sunscreen. Oops! I figured Eli was young enough that he'd be oblivious to the animal shows, but he was just as transfixed as Lila (though he had no idea what he was seeing). He even laughed at the sea lions!

And now we are entering real life again. Today is Doug's first day at IDT! I spoke with him earlier and got the update on his day so far. It's not that exciting, really. He's been filling out paperwork and doing all sorts of other first-day-of-work things. Here's the part that is exciting: After spending 12 years in Cube Land, he has his own office! Woo Hoo!

Easter Weekend

We had a fun Easter weekend here at the Peeler house. On Saturday morning, we went out and looked at a few houses with our realtor. We found out that the one we were most interested in, the one that looked to be nearly perfect, had just gone under contract and was no longer an option. I was SO disappointed! We looked at another one that just wasn't very exciting and smelled vaguely of natural gas.

Then we looked at one that is just amazing! We aren't completely settled on it yet because we need to see what else is out there, but we definitely like it. It's large and has a great yard and amazing curb appeal. The inside is quirky, but in a good way. I don't expect us to find anything we like better, but you just never know...

On Sunday, we started the day off wonderfully - Doug let me have a solid hour to clean the house with no interruptions. Unheard of! It was a beautiful experience. Truly.

We went to church after lunch where Eli took a tumble off a low step and got severe rug burn on his nose. It even bled a tiny bit! That day, it was just very red and we made lots of Rudolph jokes. Sadly, it has looked worse every day since then. The whole end of his nose is now a big dark scab. Add to that the slight shiner that he has from being "accidentally" kicked in the face by Lila and he looks like he's been in the boxing ring! Eli the Bruiser. I'll have to take a photo for posterity.

Oh, and speaking of photos, this one was taken during the egg hunt in our backyard...

If it's not one thing...

Well, I finally got my email inbox under control and today I managed to get through my whole daily cleaning routine... but I haven't touched my blog in a week. [sigh] Oh well!

I'm currently typing this post (obviously), playing Internet Backgammon, and waiting for Doug to finish his Quiet Time so that we can watch last night's episode of LOST. My head feels better than it has in days, thanks to acupuncture, and I'm feeling surprisingly perky given the trouble that the kids have given me/us today. I guess it's just been an all-around good day (notwithstanding the grumpy children)!

I have felt generally more at-ease since Doug accepted a new job. It's still not 100% official, so I'm not sure if I'm allowed to give the name of the company yet... Seeing some return to the familiar in our future has been good for my mental state. I genuinely love adventure in life, but it's routine that gives me a sense of security. That, and knowing that God is ultimately in control and I don't have to be!

Well, Doug appears to be ready to watch LOST, so I'm off...

Lila Tales

Lila and I just did a fun little St. Patrick's Day activity: handprint rainbows. Honestly, I'm not sure what makes that a St. Patrick's Day craft, except that we talked about St. Patrick before and during the activity. At any rate, it was fun. I decided to put some music on while we worked and Lila requested The Wiggles. I agreed that The Wiggles would be a good choice, and so we painted and listened.

This CD has the Wiggly version of 'Music Box Dancer' on it. When that track came on, Lila said, "This is a very quiet song and a lovely song to go to sleep."

Indeed. Lovely. :)

We also put messages to Daddy/Doug on our rainbow paintings. He left for his trip to Taiwan this morning and Lila was quite sad. My message was: We miss you, Daddy! Lila's message was: Don't be sad! Now, is that a message for Daddy or for herself...?

Oh, and this photo is one I took of Lila last night during her post-bath insanity. Something strange happens to that girl when she's in the bathtub and she always comes out a little crazy! Clean... but crazy.

At the Library, earlier today...

I'm typing this at the Austin Public Library and I have a headache. The reason that I am able to sit and type out a blog post at the library is that Eli is not here with me. Just Lila. Eli does not allow us to enjoy trips to the library because he thinks it's boring. Thankfully, Doug came home right around the time I was thinking of loading us up to com here. We decided on a gender split. The men went to the home store to get supplies for fixing up the old house and the women came to the library for new books.

The reason I have a headache is... pollen, I suppose. Spring has sprung in Austin, which means it's the time of year when I have frequent dull headaches and don't sleep well because I'm having so many vivid and bizarre dreams. I do love some things about spring though. Like how all the plants and trees suddenly have little green leaves on them or beautiful purple or pink blossoms. It's happening so early this year that we didn't have a chance to prune in our yard!

Doug spent a few hours at the old house yesterday, cleaning and doing yard work. The kids and I stopped by there after lunch, to say hello and take a peek. Doug had told me what a mess the place was after our tenants moved out, but I wanted to see it for myself. I kind of wish I hadn't because what I saw just made me angry! I don't think those guys cleaned anything, the entire time they lived there. It is repulsively dirty, things are broken, and there is an infestation of Evil Beasts in the kitchen.

Mmm... I think I'd better stop talking about it because I'm getting upset again...

Doug Update

I figure it's about time for me to give an update on Doug and his job transition. In case you missed it, he left Dell in December, after nearly 12 years. He'd been contemplating a job change for some time when Dell announced that they were offering a very generous Voluntary Separation Package. What's that? You'll pay me to go and do something that I'd already been considering doing for free. Okay!

So he left Dell and entered the world of Lots of Free Time. The first month that he was off was like a big vacation. Par-tay! After Christmas, we started to grate on each other's nerves pretty severely. We've settled into a good routine now, though, and are both enjoying the rare opportunity. Doug disappears in the morning to some location with wireless Internet access, while the kids and I do school or go to the gym. He might or might not be around for lunch, depending on his schedule. Then he comes home and the afternoons are either spent together as a family or I flee the children for a little while. Nice.

During this time, we've still had the part-time Community Leader job at Gateway that we used to share. Since Doug has had so much more time and motivation, he's taken it over completely. I'm pretty sure he's doing a better job at it than I ever did, but I'm choosing not to notice. We've also had income from the renters in our old house, but they, theoretically, moved out at the end of February and we are thinking it might be time to sell that house anyway. It has, as expected, increased in value quite a bit in the past 1.5 years.

Now, the things that are on the horizon... there are a lot, but nothing is firm, so I'm going to be vague. There are a couple of in-town positions that Doug is considering, as well as one that is out-of-town. He's also been working on proposals for several contract jobs with various companies and is looking into a job doing financial planning for people. I really don't know what the end result of all this will be. Could be that he'll take a full-time position right away. Or he might do contract work for a year or so, until a full-time position that really sounds interesting comes along. Or he might do some combination of jobs.

Initially, I was freaked out by the uncertainty of contract work, but then I realized that I trust Doug and, more importantly, I trust God. So now I'm not worried. Just waiting to see what comes next in our adventure.

Stuff

It seems like at least yesterday that I wrote that last post. Was it really just late this morning?!?

Doug has put our Christmas tree up and it's got lights and a skirt, but no ornaments so far. To be honest, I like the way trees look with just lights and no ornaments. Especially when 85% of your ornaments are Peanuts characters. Cute, but not classy. (Sorry, Irene. I know that's a traitorous statement.)

We went to Rudy's BBQ for lunch today and rediscovered a fabulous baby toy: butcher paper! I had completely forgotten, but we used to go there occasionally when Lila was a baby and she loved playing with that stuff. We'd just tear off a piece of paper for her and she'd let us eat our dinner in peace. Eli felt the same way about it. In fact, we had a bit of a hard time keeping him from stealing the paper out from under nearby diners' food.

I got a haircut this week, in case I haven't mentioned it, and I love it! It's cute and easy and I actually feel like a girl again. I'll have to update my little profile photo now. Especially since I haven't had that orange hair for about... a year and a half!

Warning: Potty Talk

So, Lila went to the bathroom this morning and made a poopie. When she was done, she wanted to look at it, as always. She was so proud of her poopie that she wanted me to look at it next. She then enthusiastically proclaimed, "It's biiig and strooong and looong!" I did question how so much poop could come out of such a small person...

Tonight Lila is trying out 'sleep panties' for the first time. She's been daytime potty trained for some time now and rarely has an accident anymore. She also consistently wakes up with a very dry diaper, so I figured it's time to take the next step. We borrowed these panties from a friend and she was excited about them until the first time she tried them on. She says they are too poofy and does not want to wear them.

They are plasticy on the outside and padded on the inside. So if she does have an accident, they will feel wet, but hopefully not get the bed too messy. We just had a long conversation about them and why it's a good idea. We even prayed that God would help her be brave as she wears the new panties. I think that, if we can get past this first night or two, she'll be fine with them. We'll see...

Today was Doug's last day of work at Dell. He had to turn in his badge and his computer and sign things. As a parting gift, they gave him a cheap plastic pen. Oh yes, they are also giving him a very generous separation package. Doug is now officially unemployed!

Update

Lila, Eli, and I went to a rescue ranch yesterday with some other friends and their kids. We chose this particular place because they have one male turkey [see photo] and I wanted Lila to see one. She claims that seeing the "big ol' turkey" was her favorite part, but I disagree. She was completely infatuated with the baby guinea pigs they had and spent a long time picking each one up and talking to them.

Eli, who I haven't mentioned much lately, is doing wonderfully. He gets really excited before bed and that's the best time to get chuckles out of him. His neck and ribs are ticklish, of course, and nibbling an ear is often a good way to make him laugh too. The funny part is that, for me at least, he seems to be ticklish only on his right ear, not his left.

Oh, and let me not forget our real news. Doug is leaving Dell!!! They recently offered up a Voluntary Separation Package to those who were interested and we were. After much discussion and prayer, we decided to go for it and they accepted Doug's request. His last day is December 2nd and, truly, only God knows what will happen after that. Whatever happens, I believe it will be very exciting!

I don't WANNA come up with a title!

My plan for tomorrow is as follows: Vote in the morning. Avoid all media outlets until the day is over because I JUST DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! I'm not going to share my opinions on the presidential race or who I'm going to vote for because there's enough of that going around lately. Also, my head hurts and I'm a bit grumpy.

I found a new addictive habit today. Twitter. I really don't need another reason to be drawn to my computer like a metal shaving to a magnet. I need to renew my habit of turning the monitor off when I'm not sitting down and doing something. That way I'm much less likely to be sucked in as I pass through the room.

Yeah - my head really hurts. Every noise seems amplified and grating. I told Doug I have a hangover - too many kids today. The time change has thrown everything out of whack. The children used to lose their minds precisely at 5 p.m. For the past couple of days it's happened at 4 p.m. That means that instead of dealing with two maniacs for a little while until Doug got home, I was dealing with them for what seemed a very long time until Doug got home.

Now I'm getting a wonderfully relaxing massage from my wonderfully wonderful husband, so I'm going to go.