Oh, boy! I am beat today. Last night was a late night. We had a meeting at church to discuss some new leadership roles for small groups in our congregation. It went from 7:00 until 9:30 and then we had to make the 30 minute drive home. Somehow it was after 11 by the time I hit the sack. The meeting discussed a lot of important issues. It was a reality check to how much more our church can do to help foster relationships among the members. I know I could not imagine my life without the friendships that started inside those four walls. I will be happy to serve however I can to extend that same support and community to others. Just as I love to share friendship and support with my fellow bloggers! Hi everybody! Are you making your day the best it can be? Only you have the power to do that ya know!

Today has been a good one around these parts. It did not go 100% as expected though. The reality check that started last night continued on throughout today. Despite my late night I still managed to wake up early enough to accomplish some tasks. I decided tackling my email folder was a good one for the early morning. Reality check = replying to emails is a huge time suck! My morning time flashed in the blink of an eye. Likely because I was replying to reader questions, which is something I truly enjoy doing. Remember? One of the best compliments in my mind is when someone trusts you enough to turn to you for help.

Another reality check came quickly after that. My body aches. The TurboJam Cardio Party DVD I did yesterday kicked my butt in a way that hasn’t happened in awhile. My shoulders, legs, and back are all sore. At first I thought this worked out perfectly because Thursdays are my rest days. Reality check. Today is only Wednesday.

I wonder if anyone ever called her “Hump Day”? Anyhoo. I spent the morning honing my coloring and dancing skills with Makenzie. I also took a quick break to send in a query for a women’s health site freelance writing job.  Yet another reality check. It doesn’t hurt to try. The only certain way to fail is not to try. I decided to give it a shot. I have no expectations (other than God is in control), but I can live freely knowing I took a step forward in something I love to do. A sad reality check came at the end of this 30 minutes. Makenzie’s favorite show ended…and Barney came on. Is that hideous purple dinosaur still on TV? Oh, heck no!!

Eventually, lunch rolled around. A veritable gold mines of reality checks. Including the following:

• As Heather says, sometimes a Lean Cuisine pizza is necessary.
• Eating such doesn’t mean you can’t have room for fresh produce. Cherries, strawberries, and fresh from the sis-in-law’s garden cucumber slices.
• Garden fresh is better!
• Cherries stain your fingertips purple.
• I just may have to disown my daughter. She HATED the mushroom lover’s veggie burger I gave her.

This veggie burger tops my list. It has so much delicious flavor and mushroom chunks. Mushrooms are on the top of my veggie (fungi?) list and it saddens me she does not feel the same. 

Then she went and did this. Took her consignment clothes I bought her out of the box and laid them out neatly.

So, she is my daughter. Whew. That was a close one!

My final reality check came mid-afternoon. My previous computer setup – chilling on the couch with the laptop – was not ideal. So I made the executive decision to turn one tiny corner of our living room into my “office” now that I have to spend time writing.

So amazing what a good chair and desk tv tray can do for the back! Now onto tonight’s reality check. Will stuffed peppers be as easy to tackle for this culinary fool as I think they are? I sure hope so!

• Do you believe you have the power to make your day the best it can possibly be?
• Where do you do your “computering” (as a friend calls it) from?
• Anything else you got for me…. 

You know the familiar saying that once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget how and it is always easy. Well, some things I thought would be like that…aren’t. This morning for breakfast I was craving a bowl of oats. It has been at least two months since that last happened because cold breakfasts of whole wheat bagels + fruit served me as my go-to meal. I went for what my body asked for and prepared some oats. Errr, tried to. I totally screwed up the first bowl and had to start from scratch. Who forgets how to make oats for goodness sake? I do, apparently. Success finally came in the form of oats + cinnamon + honey pb + banana + coconut.

I’m glad my body went for the oats breakfast. It helped tide me over until lunch, which I needed. In between breakfast and lunch I was out and about nabbing bargains for new toys and fall/winter clothes for Makenzie. I scored 7 shirts, 7 pants, 2 pajamas, 1 Christmas dress, 1 pair of shoes, 11 books, an Elmo guitar, and a puzzle for $60. Now if only shopping like that could happen for me. Just switch out the Elmo guitar and puzzle for a Tofu Xpress and Vitamix.

Even though the oats lasted well, I was a starving Marvin by lunch. Breakfast continued to call my name. Along with tomato. Mmm, tomato. Fresh from my sis-in-law’s garden.

Lunch consisted of a monster breakfast sandwich. A whole wheat sandwich thin topped with laughing cow, 1 egg + 1 egg white scrambled, tomato slice, and crumbled Morningstar Farms sausage. Grapes and baby carrots for the accoutrement.

My stomach began singing “Oh, Happy Day” on the spot. I still managed to remember that just because something tastes amazing doesn’t mean you HAVE to eat it all though. I devoured most of it, but was amply satisfied by this point.

Intuitive eating never gets old. Which brings me to my next intuitive eating discussion. It has been a long time coming, I know. And I think we all know intuitive eating is NOT like riding a bike. We were able to do it growing up, but someone it became difficult and before we knew it we weren’t able to cruise easily through eating and food relationships. A lot of those changes may have something to do with our use of food to cope with emotions.

Many of us have been there. Having some ice cream thanks to the sadness heartbreak brought us. Diving into chocolate after an unbearably stressful day. Gorging on pizza at a party with friends. Celebrating a new job with a huge dinner out on the town. That is not to say any of these things are bad. It is not to say that you can’t do these things if you eat intuitively and have a healthy relationship with food. The difference comes in the control of the situation. 

Can you pause and ask yourself some vital questions before diving in? Can you determine if you are truly hungry and could you choose something to eat more beneficial to your body? Can you recognize you are enjoying food for a celebration, out of boredom, or from anger? It is always best to try to manage emotions in an alternative way, but the truth is we will still turn to food at times and that is okay if we understand the cause and aren’t always turning to food. Be sure to remember that if you do reach for the cookie jar in a time of emotional need, don’t punish yourself. That will only cause a never ending cycle of emotion surrounded by wrappers of Twix, KitKat, and Butterfinger.

• What is your favorite “breakfast for lunch (or dinner)” creation?
• What emotions cause you to reach for food? Boredom, excitement, soothing, frustration, stress, friendship?
• How do you try to cope with emotions instead of food? I love reading a book, getting online to chat with my favorite blog friends, get in a workout, talk to Peter or a friend, and play with Makenzie. Or cry. Because big girls DO cry.