Speaking of Welcome to the Family...

Since last September, we have added quite a bit to this household. We should probably calm the fuck down. Also, I realize many of you who pay any attention to Facebook at all know of this and are already sick of it. So feel free to disregard or LOOK AT ALL THE ADORABLE.

First, we have Hannibal Cthulu. This fancy mister was a stray from the mean streets of Commerce, TX. My teammate found him but cannot abide cats, and I'd been kicking the idea around of getting one anyway. So I took this as, obviously, a sign from The Universe and Bast that we should give him a loving place to live. So we did.

Then, because Michael missed having feathered things around, we got this little dude. We honestly have several nicknames for him (?) because we haven't officially had him DNA tested and we might be the jerks calling the chick a dude and will have a lot to apologize for later. So for now, our chirping thing...

And then, because my husband loves me more than he should, he indulged my inner bratchild and got me a kitten for my birthday. See, I love Hannibal, he's fan-fucking tastic. But he was two when we got him, and well set in his fancy pants ways when we got him. I realized that I had missed out on the kitten time and was kind of sad about it. So what was supposed to be a trip to get litter became New Kitten Day. Ladies and Gentlemen, Dexter Maximus.

And because I can't stop taking pictures of all of their faces....

YOU'RE WELCOME

Welcome to The Family

Except not really. I'm not actually telling you how I make this.

Mother's day is coming up, and gods love her, all my mom ever wants to do for days dedicated to her is come over and watch me cook lasagna. Oh, and then eat it. Obvs.

So, in honor of the upcoming day in the kitchen, I give you....holy shit....pictures from when I made it last Mother's Day. These photos were taken for the express reason of creating this post. I'm so bad at this....

Anyway....

The basis of this, and any respectable Italian dish is olive oil and garlic. You can discuss the best method of garlic delivery. Some smash, some grate, some chop, some roast then smash....do what you feel. But do it a lot. I personally have doubled the "recipe" measure of garlic in this and most everything else I make.

Then, you make The Sauce. This is the awesome all day sauce that is great for any number of redsauce dishes. Once you finish this step, which, you know, takes 6hrs, you can make spaghetti, tortellini, ziti, etc etc etc. But the magic of all the things is found here. I firmly believe the quality of the dish begins and ends with 1. the best ingredients you can afford and 2. your sauce.

Oh, and you guys, so much cheese. It's hiding everywhere. We have....romano, parm, ricotta, and mozzarella.

Which, you know, you should shred by hand. That ensures you slice off a piece of your finger so a little of you is in every dish.

 Meatballs. For reasons.

So you've made your sauce, and mixed your cheeses, and made your meatballs, and it's all shiny and ready for the magic. Pile that shit together. Let your dog eat whatever falls to the floor.

Oven. Magic.

Eat. Try not to eat it all. Also try not to be drunk by the time you get to this step. Because nothing says "crack open a bottle of Sangiovese" like making lasagna.

Checking In

So, true to form, I didn't start lifting again after my oh so sincere resolution. I did, however, start watching what I put in my face (ugh, mostly, there was an ice cream accident) and dropped 3lbs. So, yay?

Started (re-started? continued?) lifting today, which inspires me for this post. I can't tell yet how sore I'll be - which probably means it won't be that bad. Last time I was kind of hurting 30mins after.

So here are my numbers - I know they're not impressive and they include a 20% de-load due to the, ahem, couple month break we took. The overhead press is the bane of my existence and I had failed, de-loaded, and reduced weight increase before we started. But today I lifted about 10lbs more than my first time when I thought my arms would fall off. I'm a derby girl. Upper body strength isn't something we naturally do.

Squat - 95lbs
Bench - 60lbs
Barbell Row - 60lbs
Overhead Press - 52.5lbs
Deadlift - 130lbs (raaaaaaaaaawr)

Today will be a double post. One for fitness and health, and one for one of my favorite fat kid things. You gotta have balance...

Getting my Shit Together

I can count at least a dozen times every year where I swear I'm going to start eating better, being more active, the usual lose weight meow meow whatever. In the past year I managed to get to the smallest I've been in many years. Seen here.

Oh hey you guys. I got married! To my first love. And it's goddamn perfect.

Perfect.

I also retired from roller derby (DK4L), and made a lot of crazy changes. Lots of upheaval, but all totally worth it. Totally. You guys. Totally.

So there's a bit of a disconnect in making this a kind of food blog and a healthier life blog. But you know, it's my little corner of the world and it can be about whatever I want. Sometimes food, sometimes struggles, a little success, and whatever feels important at the moment.

Upcoming topics will include:
A visual guide to The Family Recipe (without giving you the recipe).
Weight training (I can throw heavy things around!)
Updates on home projects (let's talk about our awesome garden)
The expanding family (er, menagerie)

And more!

For now - I've decided that if I put this out to The Universe, it will become real and you guys (seriously please) will hold me somewhat accountable and not let me open that 2nd (4th) bottle of wine, eat my body weight in tortilla chips, or make a meal out of a pint of ice cream. For those of you who are my buddies on MyFitnessPal, you'll be able to see what I eat. To my FitBit buddies, I'm definitely trying to walk around more, but fuck having a desk job you guys.

So here are the things that always ruin me.
1. Emotional Eating
2. Ice Cream
3. Pizza
4. Cheese
5. Alcohol

There's more, but you know....fixing most of those will fix a lot. I took "before" pictures for the first time ever today, and I kind of wanted to cry. A lot. I was bigger this time last year, but that's little consolation to how I feel right now. We started lifting in February, and I was getting strong, and (allegedly) great things were happening in the overall re-shape of my body. Then there was a Friday where we said "fuck it" and went to a bar instead. Fast forward three (or four?) weeks and I hadn't set foot back into the weight room. I resolved, no seriously, I need to get back at it. Lifted once, was so sore that I allowed myself to not lift two days later...and that was two weeks ago. So you see - maybe reason #1 up there should be my laziness.

So, tonight I made tilapia with a pretty rad dill sauce. And it was awesome. And under like, 400 calories for the big ass plate of food. This is doable, I just have to reprogram my brain. You know, right after I finish this beer.

Shit.