MAF Day 3

 Breakfast: omelet w/ avocado, swiss, and leftover roasted veg from supper. Didn’t feel as hungry mid-morning today, for whatever reason.

Lunch: roasted Brussels sprouts w/ bacon, toasted pecans, and balsamic. Plus fresh veg (pea pods, carrots, cucumbers, grape tomatoes); cold brew w/ almond milk.

Snack: celery w/ almond butter

I accidentally popped a squishy strawberry in my mouth when slicing a quart for the boys’ supper. Whoops!

Dinner: Hamburger w/ cheese and avocado. Salad w/ lemon dressing and more salad w/ roasted fennel and anchovy dressing. 

Workouts: 4 mile run; 2.5 mi hike. Run took a bit to get going, but then fine. Hike felt suuuuper easy, including some steep elevation.

MAF Day 2

 Breakfast: omelette with avocado, sautéed spinach, and cheese. Filling in theory. Starving by 10AM.

Lunch: leftover meatballs and sauce; spaghetti squash. Inhaled. Felt nice and drowsy afterward. Insert Sunday afternoon nap...

Dinner: Favorite arugula salad w/ roasted broccoli and peppers, chicken, avocado, feta, pepitas, sun-dried tomatoes w/ adobo balsamic dressing. Very happy.

Workout: Plyometrics (cross training day) Not running isn’t as much fun, but the workout was fine. So far feeling good and not grumpy from lack of carbs/sugar. Onward!

Two Week MAF Method

 The challenge: fuel your body with protein, fats, and veg to the exclusion of grains, potatoes, sugar, milk, and fruits. See if exercising changes as your body is forced to use fats over carbs in workouts. Fat burns longer, so theoretically this should be a win. But I really love fruit...

Breakfast: some chicken, pea pods, and red pepper slices. I was still pretty full from my epic farewell to carbs the night before.

Lunch: GF turkey meatballs in arrabiata sauce over spaghetti squash w/ California blend veggies. A familiar recipe, just swapped the Panko for almond meal. Delicious!

Dinner: Big ol’ salad with chicken, avocado, tomatoes, pickled onions w/ balsamic dressing.

Workout: 6 mile run. Felt easy, but I hadn’t run in 3 days so I was bound to feel fresh.

Mother's Day 2021

 

Breakfast in bed. Well...actually this specific setting became Roy's breakfast.
Mine was just as delicious, if not quite as fancy-looking.

• Enjoyed breakfast in bed, which I had prepared the day before and given Roy specific instructions for serving ahead of time. The idea of eating in bed is novel, but when you have three little boys sitting with you watching every bite and sip, eagerly waiting for you to finish so you can get them theirs...well, it loses a little of its charm.
• Served as music director, church pianist, and wedding singer at church this morning. Our hired pianist was off this week so I stepped in. As for the wedding singer part, as Roy said, "So Harry's preaching this weekend, huh?" I thought I'd never top playing "My Heart Will Go On" one summer Sunday at Pearce, but today I belted out Tina Turner and Elton John, so all bets are off. Hope Harry was happy with his live-and-in-person sermon illustration.
• Nap. Nap. NAP! I took a two hour nap under my weighted blanket with the mattress warmer on. It was the epitome of hibernation and I never wanted to get up.
• But get up I did, because today is cross training day. Ugh. Doing a 40 minute workout was the hardest choice of the day, but I'm here to proudly say I CHOSE IT!
• Conversations with moms. Specifically:
• Instagram messaging with Ashley Rodriguez (yes, that Ashley Rodriguez) for a half hour while making supper. She's a kindred spirit--a kindred spirit I really want to be friends with while also totally fan-girling. We discussed books we've been reading and a coffee date someday in the future to talk about life, motherhood, and faith. Anyone want to chip in for my flight to Seattle? 
• Facetiming with my wonderful mama. I haven't seen nearly enough of her over the past year and we had a luxurious chat catching up and delighting in each other's presence. (Many thanks to Owen and Roy for keeping up with Felix's constant potty needs during our conversation.)
• Texting with two of my favorite mom friends--one I've been journeying with for a decade and one for just a few months. Such a wonderful little representation of the flowering of new relationships and the deepening of the established. As much as I loved my nap and hiding from the world, the best part of the day was absolutely the excellent conversation shared with incredible women. 

Mother's Day can be overwhelming for me. There are expectations and platitudes and joys and sorrows and sensitivities. I am a mother, daughter, daughter-in-law, wife, mom-friend, and minister of music. That is an awful lot of roles to get just right at the exact same time. To be celebrated, to celebrate, to acknowledge, to comfort, to come alongside. 

No wonder my brain hurts. (The sugar overload from today probably isn't helping either.)