Friday, September 23, 2011

Pasta & pizza

Just had a nice lunch with a sweet friend that I don't get to talk to often enough. We had lunch at Luigi's which reminded me that I have not shared about what I found I can eat at an Italian restaurant. As I've said before, there is not a doubt in my mind that white flour & white sugar are my enemy. The last several times that I ate them, the inflammation & pain were almost unbearable. Now, I have learned that since I eat clean and white-free most of the time, that once a week if i want a white roll or biscuit, then I eat it without any side effects. I have been to lots of weddings and showers lately & allow myself to eat just a few bites of cake. I think I have detoxed my body sufficiently enough now that it doesn't throw it into shock when I stray just a tad bit.

Sorry, back to Luigi's.... they have the BEST pizza in Ardmore. Before, I would eat 1/2 of a large pizza from there easily. One day I was craving their pizza so bad & then remembered they have eggplant rollitini and it is GOOD. Eggplant stuffed with ricotta cheese, smothered in marinara sauce & topped with gooey cheese. And I have them add mushrooms. No white pasta! I can eat the whole thing and it does not cause me any pain. Praise God!! I realize that this is not a low calorie dish, but it makes me very happy. :)

I have also found a frozen pizza that I can eat. Amy's Organic has a pizza with a whole grain crust, no preservatives & all organic ingredients. I had the veggie pizza last night and it was absolutely delicious. I am so thankful to be finding good tasting foods that are healthy and don't cause my body harm & most importantly for me, pain.

Earlier in the week, I made shrimp fettucini alfredo using organic whole grain fettucini & frozen shrimp. I made my own alfredo sauce using butter, garlic, basil, parsley, REAL parmesan cheese & low fat milk. It was really good, but it was a little too thin. Kevin actually really liked it. He just said to make twice as much sauce next time. Lol. I'm going to have to play with it & see if I can thicken it up a little then I will share my recipe with you.

FYI - have you read the ingredients on some of the packages of shredded cheese? Hint - it's not just cheese. Most of them have added oils & preservatives in them.

The triple digit temps are finally gone. Fall is in the air. And God is good...ALL the time.

Lori

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Grant

Things have been crazy! But, what else is new, right? Grant got his driver's license on July 18th. He passed on the very 1st try. Praise God! Kevin made a deal with a guy (swapped some stuff) for a 2000 Dodge Ram 1500 ext cab pickup. It is black & has the pipes that go "vroom vroom" (which apparently is a BIG deal to guys). The engine was locked up, back glass was shattered, missing tail lights, etc. It's been a great project for them (and Ricky). They put a good used engine in it, replaced the glass, lights, etc. and it was a good looking truck. It's pretty scratched up like the previous owner drove it through the woods all the time or something. Grant was proud of it & LOVED driving it. The fact that he had no job & the truck gets 13 mpg didn't slow him down in the slightest.

Then on August 3rd, 3 weeks after he got his license, I got the dreaded phone call "Mom, I just had a wreck". He & his friends were not injured, other than sore from the impact. Praise God! It totalled the other guy's truck. Grant got his first ticket for failure to yield to oncoming traffic. And here we go............

Luckily the bed of his truck took the biggest hit. Kevin hammered it out the best he could but it looks like crushed metal (which is what it is). He's still driving it & we are in no hurry to fix it. Kevin says that maybe when people see it, they will be afraid to get too close him. Ha ha!

I will never understand how 2 people can come from the same parents, be raised in the same home with the same rules & be sooooo different. Cole has always driven like an old man. Grant drives like.... a 16 year old boy. Cole was never very social & preferred just staying home. Grant wants to be everywhere, al the time, with everybody. He is so afraid that he's going to miss out on something. He was blowing through $$$ (MY $$$) like there was unlimited supply! I've always had a hard time saying "no" to anybody, especially my children.

But, Praise God, he is now an employee of Homeland. He got his first paycheck last weekend. And between church, school and working about 20 hours a week, he's too busy and too tired to be running around too much. God is so GOOD!

Lori