Primal journal : Coll page 46

[Judg]

Glad the cloud has lifted. These things happen sometimes.

[Coll]

Okay, I am back. It has been absolutely hectic here and we have been away for a few days to celebrate our 12th anniversary The kids came with us - we have never had anyone to leave them with and when someone asked them what we were celebrating - they said that we are all celebrating our anniversary. Rather cute I thought. I have done plenty feasting the last few weeks and not much of anything else! Good thing that I had kept my old stretch jeans that were so big as they are not so big anymore! I can still get them on and off without unbuttoning them - but they are not nearly as loose as they were. Time to get back down to business again - tossing the fat off my body kind of business. I figure I could pretend I was eating seasonally, aren't you supposed to fatten up in the fall after all Now it is time to shock my body with low carb and throw in some exercise too. We are supposed to get snow in the next day and I need to head out tomorrow and shovel some dirt before it gets all wet and obnoxious again! If I could get it all moved I could throw the grass seed out and it would be wonderful for starting the grass off. But I think that might be more than I can do in one day. Especially when I add in school and unpacking and tidying after being away for a few days.

We went up to Rocky Mountain National Park the last couple of days. I got to take a bunch of pictures of the glorious scenery and was blessed to be able to get some really close up shots of some birds, some elk and some big horn sheep (I think!) We had a lovely picnic today and the kids were in heaven traipsing around next to the stream and getting to see some magpies, jays and chipmunks really close up! Despite all the notifications about not feeding the animals it was pretty obvious that they were used to being fed and we actually saw some people leave a number of food items on their picnic table for the critters Sad...

I could share a few pics if anyone would like to see where we were... I have missed being on here lately and am looking forward to getting caught up with everyone's news and how you are all doing. I am also looking forward to getting back on the wagon again. It is not so much that I have eaten anything unprimal - just too much and in the wrong proportions. Doesn't take much to throw me off I am afraid. We went out for dinner yesterday after driving around RMNP and it was interesting how the food affected the family. DH insisted he wanted to have corn bread, and then offered some to DS - not a good idea! I stopped it at one bite - but within about 10 minutes DS wasn't feeling good and ended up not eating much at all. DD had a heap of a wild rice/ regular rice mix with her meal (which I admittedly thought she would tolerate) and she had a nasty reaction today! DH also had a tummy upset. Both of the kids have stated they are not going to risk the side effects again and are determined to avoid grains. They were shocked that DH would eat corn bread! Guess I am doing a good job of brain washing them huh?! We all chugged some kefir after the tummy upsets and all is well again.

I have been having a lot of fun painting river rocks! I would never have thought... but it is a blast. I find myself looking around everywhere I go to see if there are any nice little rocks just begging for a coat or two of paint! We have a homeschoolers craft fair coming up in December and I thought that kids would enjoy a little rock with a picture of an owl or bird painted on. Our kids think they are great and are itching to be allowed to pick one out. But aside from whether I can sell them, it is very relaxing and I am enjoying it. Also trying my hand at whittling which is quite a bit more demanding, but just as much fun. Have made a letter opener so far and am working on a walking stick for myself. I have wanted one for a long time and there is something really fun about making your own. DD is making friendship bracelets and I have yet to come up with something that DS can make...

We did not sleep well the last few days while away - I am sure that part of that was the high carbs and the alcohol. I just don't tolerate alcohol late in the day and we had Irish cream as a treat. Not only super sweet but also pretty high alcohol content! So, I am off to have a shower and hit the hay and hopefully will get a good nights sleep in. Here's to the next leg of the journey! I am so happy to be lighter by far than I was last year this time! But I need to keep going as there is still a lot to lose. Will weigh in the morning to get the reality check out of the way and then time to go for it again! Will let you all know what the damage is - but not going to freak out. Just dust off and move on! See you all tomorrow and sleep tight!

[Sabine]

Hey, Coll. Your crafting sounds like fun. Working with your hands is so satisfying. Throw up some pictures of those rocks when you do the scenery: I'd love to see them. Owls, who can resist owls?!?

[Coll]

Okay, here come a few pics...

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[Coll]

And for you Sabine, here are a few of the rocks

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[Coll]

Mmmm, for some reason the rocks did not show. It is a primal activity afterall I mean the people from way back have painted and decorated rocks haven't they? Lets try again...

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[Coll]

Did multiple loads of laundry, dishes and tidying up today. Then spent time painting more rocks. The rain is coming down and should turn to snow in a while. I have eaten way too many nuts today, couple mugs of black tea with cream and stevia, more nuts, chocolate for breakfast (about 9 pieces!), a boiled egg, an apple and chunk of cheese, and then some Carolan's Irish Cream while cooking dinner! Are you surprised I have gained about 5 pounds?! Dinner was cauliflower rice and stew. Yummy but not really enough meat. DH bought the stew meat and I assumed it was an amount that I would have bought, not really enough for the family but 'fortunately' DS doesn't eat stew or cauliflower rice and so it made a sufficient amount. Just put more 'rice' under the stew to extend it. Pretty pathetic as far as my foods went today. On the bright side I had a fantastic nights sleep last night and am looking forward to another especially as it is going to be snowing.... nothing like the hush of fresh fallen snow, the sound of the snow plow going by, the splashy sound of the tires on the wet autumn snow. Something so peaceful and calm about the snow - just love it.

I hope to be a bit more focused and disciplined about my foods tomorrow. Definitely limping along right now ...

[Sabine]

Ahh, they're adorable!
And that deer/elk is magnificent.

[Coll]

Thanks Sabine, they are a lot of fun. I have never done much craft type stuff so this is a learning curve - fun one though. Yes, he's a bull elk. It looked as though he had recently been in a big fight as he was really lame and one of his antlers is snapped off!

I was reading Ecks' journal last night and thought it would be a good idea to do the leptin reset! I have been eating pretty high carb and I remember, when I started primal, I began by doing the leptin reset. Just need a reset in more ways than one and I think this will be a good way to start over. Only thing is I had that nasty reaction to the coconut oil before so I am taking grass fed butter instead to start off and just a 1/4 teaspoon of CO and will gradually build that up too. I have to say though that I just LOVE nibbling on a piece of butter! Yum! The CO does not do much for me as far as taste goes, but I know it is good for me so down it goes. Sipping on a cup of black tea with cream and stevia while the snow falls outside, listening to my favourite BBC bagpiping program, lovely!

So, breakfast was 3 fried eggs and a tin of sardines. Feel pretty stuffed and that is only 33.9g of protein! I can't imagine eating 50g of protein in one sitting and I love eating protein! Only about half an inch of snow so far - temp is sitting around 31F so not bad at all. Need to go grocery shopping after school today - the roads should be good unless it rains!

[Coll]

Aaah, at last, a good day! I feel as though I lost water weight today. No snacking, lots of protein and fat. Lunch was some leftover meatloaf that I found buried in the freezer! Yum. Need to make more and freeze it in slices - so easy to reheat even when frozen solid, just fry covered for a few minutes each side and it is even nicer than when it is fresh. I also had a medium size apple and another cup of tea. Dinner was scrambled egg and breakfast sausages followed by a bowl of berries and cream. I had a carb flu type headache this afternoon and was really thirsty - my typical reaction to going low carb after indulging in too much carb heavy food! School took a lot of energy today ... sometimes I really don't feel like doing it and then the kids don't want to either and that gets even harder to stay motivated. Oh well, maybe tomorrow will be smoother - it is always worst when you have had more than one or two days off and we had about 4 off with our trip. Takes a while to get into the groove again.

Pretty chilly today - maximum of 46F for about half an hour and then zipped back down to the 30's. A few snowflakes floating around this evening again - it would be nice if there was enough snow to stick a bit. But I will happily take any moisture that comes our way. Going to try and get an early night tonight - such perfect sleeping weather. Have slept really well the last two days since getting back from our trip. Hopefully no nightmares tonight for the kids, then I get to sleep through, oh bliss!