It is a cart if it goes well, otherwise it is but timber ~Hindi Proverb

I’ve had my first really ‘feels like I’m finally on break’  day.  Got J and the Bean up but both of them were still so sunburned from their accident on the lake (boat broke down, sunscreen didn’t work) they were tired and couldn’t go to work and GT camp respectively.

I got them settled and started on my large summer project. Which is the same as last summer’s. I go to each room and clean and organize it from top to bottom. Each room gets 1-2 days. I did a bit of the bookcases today and 90% of the living room.  Still have to sort out the Bean’s desk but everything else is dusted, re-disorganized (tm Leigh Helm) and things that are no longer needed have been either discarded or put on the dining room table.

Why the dining room table? Well I’m trying something new this year. Not entirely new, but new-ish. Long ago in SF when I was poor (and even when I wasn’t so poor) I would get together with friends and we’d have snax and wine and put all our clothes and other assorted bits in my living room and we’d get new to us clothes and shoes. And books and music. No real rules, just good will and whatever didn’t get taken went to goodwill.

I tried doing something like that when I first moved back to Fayetteville, but couldn’t get it off the ground. this year I have a breadmaker (don’t’ eat bread anymore) various electronics and lots of books, kid clothes…so I’m going to clean like a mad woman for the next few days and hopefully we can get some hotdogs, burgers and convince folks to bring over their stuff to swap or at least come take some of ours. I’m letting things go (like a good all in one printer/scanner) for a couple of bottles of pinot grigio. Or a iphone 3gs iHome charger speaker system for one bottle of wine. Or a donation to Ranger’s Pantry.   Maybe this weekend or next. Maybe it will work. I’ve already had some interest in the stuff I have.

It feels really good to clear things out.

I also…get to get rid of some clothes. Why? Well unlike this time last year, I get to get rid of clothes not because they are too small, but because they are too big. I’ve lost quite a bit of weight I needed to lose. By going primal in baby steps. Right away we cut out sugar, pasta. bread and rice. Sugar was the hardest. We ate meat and cheese and veg and berries. I consumed a LOT Of nuts at first. Now, not so much. I quit eating candy. If I have candy I have a square or two of Ghirardelli 72% cacao a few times a week.  For awhile we didn’t even have an off plan day. Now we do and get pizza or sushi or something. But the longer we’re eating this way the less inclined we are to eat crap.

Case in point yesterday. J and the Bean were sunburned. I was burnt (and still am) from a rough school year. It was father’s day. I had my first donut since January. It was yucky (and it was Krispy Kreme—not fresh but still). It made me feel sick. It started a stupid sugar spiral that made it easier to eat more carbs, but that stopped the next day. trying not feel guilty about it because of what I learned. I don’t like most donuts anymore. Cool. Now if I could get that to happen with chocolate cake.

The good thing about The Primal Blueprint is that Mark realizes we’re human and have things like a 9th birthday party with a really tasty Chocolate and Vanilla Monster High pink and black buttercream icing cake. You  just have to not eat huge amounts of the cake for days on end. Have some that day, hell have some the next day—then STOP. It gets easier to make the right choices the longer we do this.

We’re not fully into the “grass fed cowpooling” part of it …yet. But we will get there. This makes sense for me personally because I’m horribly allergic to a number of modern food additives. I don’t have to worry about that anymore because I’m eating actual FOOD all the time now. Not processed..but things my greatgrandma would recognize as food.

And we haven’t forced it on our kidlet, though our meals are primal. She can have a peanut butter sandwich of course, but she loves her ham and pepperjack in lettuce leaves not bread. She still has granola bars for her school snax and she chases the ice cream truck like she’s hunting wildebeest. Balance.

Well this is getting long again…and I thought I had nothing to say. This is the beginning of more writing. I have some time free for a bit and I want to spend it more creatively.  I’ve had several stops and starts and I think I’m ready for the conversation to begin again.