of course the ones that really have caught my eye online are:

decisions, decisions.  I want a colors that work together, but can stand alone as well without looking flat. 

Live to Eat  

and

Eat to Live

Due to various circumstances and contributing factors, I can safely say that Jeff and I are in the category of the former.  We LIKE to eat a VARIETY of yummy food.  Jeff doesn’t go for fish—which limits his choices, and I don’t go for spicy—which means less antacids for me (), but on a whole, we like food. 

Good Food.

Jeff has justified his weight issues in the past with the phrase “It’s not my fault if you cook really good food”

Yeah—love how he turns that right back around on me.  And I admit, I like to experiment, try out new things, use sauces, butter, cream, BACON—and then there’s the baking….

Now the problem lies in the fact that our 4 beautiful children are more of the latter—eating is something they do in order to stave off the pains of hunger that inhibit their time on the computer (or reading, etc.)  Experimentation with food is a terrible crime around here—they are the definition of picky (or have been at one time or another) and routinely look at me as if I am trying to slowly poison them with good food. 
Case in point—the banana pancakes.  I should’ve just marched them over to Carli’s house at 7:00 in the morning where they would’ve been appreciated.

As a last attempt in establishing a menu that the kids would at least consider, I finally went basic.  We now have a master menu—the same thing every day every week. 

Sunday:  Soup or Crockpot, w/homemade bread, rolls, etc.

Monday:  Baked Chicken

Tuesday: Fish Sticks

Wednesday: Stir Fry

Thursday: Spaghetti

Friday: Tacos

Saturday:  Pizza (usually homemade)

Now, this gives me a bit of wiggle-room.  Sunday is a great day to try out new soups or crockpot dishes.  Monday is pretty easy to play around with when it comes to seasonings, or I might try pork-chops.  Tuesday we have gone crazy and had popcorn shrimp (aka chicken shrimp), which Ryan is surprisingly fond of.  Wednesday can be any sort of asian or indian food—but usually it turns into a kitchen sink type of fry up of whatever veggies we have in the fridge, some meat, and rice.  Thursday I have tried to do different things, like pasta alfredo—and the crusty looks I got b/c of that one—we won’t be changing that often.  Friday we vary between tacos, burritos and the occasional nacho night.  Saturdays everyone loves because they get to make their own pizza.  The same-ness of it all was hard to face at the start, but I have discovered some great benefits:

1.  No questions of “What’s for dinner?”  I usually hear more of “have you started dinner yet?”

2.  Reduced whining about what has been offered.

3.  Cheaper shopping trips—I know exactly what I need to get

4.  Easier food storage opportunities—since we have the same thing every week, I know what sales to look for and what to stock up on.

5.   Better eating for me.  Since I have chosen relatively easy meals to make, I can take some time and tweak things for me.  Such as making a taco salad, having saute’d shrimp instead of fish sticks, cooking myself some sweet potato fries when everyone else is having regular fries. 

6.  Kids helping in the meal prep.  Now that we are making basic menu items, I am trying to get the kids more involved in cooking.  Katie is super at Spaghetti—she has the basic skills of boiling noodles, browning the meat, and opening up cans of sauce down pat.  We try to get the boys involved in more than putting pepperoni on a pizza, but that is slow in coming.  Someday…

For now, this is our master menu—and I think we will be keeping it for a while. 

“Welcome to the club” I responded.

Then I listened to her rant a bit about thanks to some grandmother she’s never met—she will have big hips. 

According to my aunts, this phenomenon was known to them as the “Herker-curse” until they went to a family reunion from G-Gma Herker’s side—the Wamsher side.  Now it’s known as the “Wamsher-a$$”.  Ah, family history come to life. 

I know it’s from this side of the family that I have the build that I do.  My maternal grandmother is more apple-shape (tendency towards large middle but still have killer legs), and her husband’s family (which my mother takes after) are tall and straight, like a long rectangle. 

So, K will just have to put up with the fact that she will be a pear with little feet—because that’s the other part of her genetic inheritance.  Already Ryan  has outpaced her in shoes—as we just discovered last night. 

**and I am bound and DETERMINED that she will find a man who likes her body and appreciates her figure, not one who is constantly whining about what she doesn’t have.  I have seen too many women with a man who is trying to change their physical structure.**