Growth...

Wow, sometimes, I focus too much on all the things I'm not. Like soulemama.com...have you seen this gal? She is AMAZING. I check out her website/blog & stand in awe. She is pretty much the total package of everything I'm not. Seriously. I am in awe of her.

Then, I either start to feel guilty that I am not doing almost ANY of the things that she does...I am so ruining my children. OR I shake my head and say "you go Soule mama" and celebrate the things that I DO do.

Last month I finally made black beans in the crock pot for the first time. Like from dried beans. Sometimes I amaze myself. :-)

Now, to some - that may not seem like much of a feat, but where I come from - that is kind of a big deal! I mean, I love my family, but I do not come from a family of cooks by any means. I grew up on a steady diet of hamburger helper & various other such types of food. My mom had a handful of meals in her bag of tricks - spaghetti, pot roast & ham...and she can make some pretty delish mashed potatoes too! But, that's pretty close to the end of the list of food that she makes. So, needless to say - when I got married I was not exactly a cook. We ate a lot of cheap crap in fact. Though, my husband did draw the line at hamburger helper. It's really no wonder that we both gained weight like crazy in the first couple of years. *scary*

Anywhoo...thankfully, over the last 5 years or so, I have gotten progressively better in the cooking department. This is partly thanks to Food Network and to many many friends over the years. So, now - I cook REAL food! Yay me!

I heard someone say once that one gauge of real food is food that our great grandparents would recognize as food...sorry Hamburger Helper - I don't think you and your package of flavorings qualify.

Please know that me saying this does NOT mean that we never have mac & cheese or hot dogs or crystal light in the house. In fact - I'm kind of a food hypocrite of sorts, because as much as I want the majority of what my family eats to be real food that is healthy & good for our bodies. I also don't want to be 300 lbs. So, I also use things like Splenda and drink Diet soda. Oh well!

So, I continue to try to focus on the things that I DO and try not to obsess about those things that I don't do. Join me won't you?! It is so much more enjoyable that way!