Oatmeal in my Blueberries

It was a foggy sunday morning and the oatmeal was calling. I know from experience exactly what to do when this happens. So I made one serving,  and \while it was cooking I heated up about 1.5 cups of frozen blueberries, chopped a handful of pecans, and got down the brown sugar. Once the oatmeal was done I stirred in the nuts, berries & sugar then added a scoop of ground flax meal. This combination will hold up better and I won't have the old energy crash straight oatmeal instigates. In my defense I added less sugar than I normally might have and no maple syrup.

My friend Cindy has a sugar free challenge going on out there, and I keep trying but it's hard when I forget more often than I try. On a positive note I naturally used less sugar so at some subconscious level I was aware of the sugar = poison equation that is floating around in my head.

After reading Sean's post this morning I am more determined than ever to quit the poison. I want to feel the difference, I want to expunge the cravings. He also mentioned in a response to my comment on his post yesterday that we each need to find the things that keep us accountable and stick to them. One of the things he does is post every day; like me he is a writer and this is a strong tool. But I need to be more consistent; no goals or demands, just doing what I love every single day in order to stay motivated. Sean and I are very different in our methods, but we share words, and I know I do better when blogging every day - which is why there were so many November posts - so for December I'll keep up with the trend. More writing and movement incorporated with less sugar and salt sounds like the ingredients for a successful recipe!

Today I am pulling all the lights out of the garage, and the kids will be bringing home the Christmas Tree. Maybe this evening we will put up our wall of trees too. Here is a sampling of the 2007 Christmas Tree forest.

And the tree that started it all is below in the middle behind a reindeer.

Yikes, time to get to work before the sad sets in!

Wrap up:

Lunch was the last of my homemade veggie stew and dinner a large chopped salad of romaine, kale, cauliflower, chick peas, raw sprouted pumpkin seeds, kalamata olives, parmesan and oil & vinegar dressing.  3/4 of a large honey crisp apple was an afternoon snack.

The Christmas Tree is up and bejeweled, there are outside lights burning bright and merry and adding to the neighborhood's cheer, and a filthy but good natured six year old soaking in a warm bath.  And Kaylee even got a bath this morning and the house got a good vacuuming. A good day.