2010, Mario, Food and a Cat.

Griffin:  "SAMMY!!!!  YOU KILLED ME!!!!!!!  Now you have to POP me and I'm not the FREEZE guy anymore!!!  Hey, watch OUT for that MUSHROOM!!!!!!"

Sammy: "Oh... okay."

And thus has been much of the conversation at our house lately.  If you have ever played Super Mario as a kid, or your children are...

Okay, I had to take a break, the boys needed me to beat The Water Level for them.

What was I saying?  Oh yes.  Mario.  It's a whole other world.  It is also quite the aerobic activity.  What?  You didn't know that?  Oh, yes.  It helps if you jump up and down while you play.  And kick every so often.  And run back and forth in front of the TV.  Yeah.  Those things can make you work up quite a sweat.  Just ask Griffin.

So I sat down and wrote out my resolutions a couple of days ago.  Drink lots of water.  Eat at home more.  Spend less.  You know, the usual.  I was actually a lot more specific than that, and I wrote out my specific plan, but that is for only me to know.

I don't like people to know what my resolutions are because if no one else knows them, I am only accountable to myself and I don't disappoint anyone but me -- and it's okay if I disappoint myself.  I am a middle child, and I hate to disappoint other people, so I just won't tell anyone what I want to change.  Not exactly, anyway.  You just get the Cliff's Notes.

I have lost 5 pounds so far.  Yay for me!  Now I just have to keep it up.

My ultimate goal?  To be a healthier person.  I don't have a weight loss goal, or really any specific goals in mind.  I just want to be healthy again.  Or maybe for the first time in my adult life.  I have always gone for convenience; fast, easy food is what I have mostly been feeding my family.  Now, I am shopping at Whole Foods at least once a month, and probably will replace my former grocery store with Whole Foods.  It is farther away from my house, so I have to drive a bit, but it is worth it to feed my family well.

I have been making a weekly menu plan for the last month, and it has worked out well for me.  I love being able to look at the menu and see what is for breakfast, lunch and dinner and not coming up to mealtime and not knowing exactly what to cook.  I also write reminders for myself to "take chicken out of freezer," etc. so that I am not tempted to skip meals on the menu because I am not prepared.  Oh yeah.  It saves us money, too.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am an impulse shopper.  Well, not anymore!  Okay, maybe sometimes.  But a lot less often.

I love to cook, I really do, and having quality ingredients just makes it that much more fun.  Here are a couple of the scrumptious things we've eaten this week.

Homemade Bagel Pizzas

Chimi-Ritos (crispy baked burritos)

We are also going to have this.

I didn't take any pictures, but another favorite was the sandwiches I made yesterday.  I toasted bread, then layered Miracle Whip, sliced ham, turkey and pepperoni on one side, then on the other side I put a couple of slices of fresh sliced provolone.  I made the sandwiches on a baking sheet so that I could pop it into the oven (open-faced), and the provolone melted like a dream!  I popped some alfalfa sprouts on the sandwiches, put the tops on, cut them in half, and they were so delicious... I will definitely do that again! 

Also on the menu for the week are Beef Stroganoff, and Chicken and Noodles over mashed potatoes (Great-Grandma Style).

Oh, and before I forget, here is a picture of our dejected kitty Cleo (glowing alien eyes and all) as Mike was taking down the Christmas tree.  She was so disappointed!  She and Miles will go and lay down on the floor where the tree used to be, dreaming of the days when they chased each other around under its branches and played with ornaments that had been knocked off by Gordon's tail.