Updates

I'm doing very well on my July Spending Diet. I've successfully ignored all the email offers of drastic discounts. And I've shopped at Target for essentials without looking at what's on sale or clearance. Plus, to further get a handle on expenses, I've started using EveryDollar and think I've finally found a way to simply and easily track my budget.

We're still expecting granddaughter's arrival on Thursday, July 14. The c-section is scheduled for 1:15 P.M. However, I won't be surprised if DIL's water breaks before then. The baby dropped Sunday night and she's doing a lot of moving :)

Over the weekend I read The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Denise Hazime. John Goodman recently visited his and my hometown, St. Louis. After seeing pictures, I was curious to learn about the diet he used to lose, and keep off, 100+ pounds. Since I've been primarily eating fresh for roughly 15 months, I learned it would take only a few adjustments to adopt the mediterranean diet, which has been proven to greatly improve overall health.

The biggest adjustment would be eating fish twice a week. I am not a fan of seafood, so I'm starting with simple recipes. Fortunately Hazime's cookbook included several. So far I've successfully prepared her Pan-Seared Cod With Cherry Tomatoes.

Another adjustment is to use more spices, making vegetable and low fat dishes much more appetizing. Yesterday I prepared the book's Chicken Quinoa Pilaf and shared it with my son, DIL, and their roommate. Thumbs up all around! And today I prepared Hazime's Greek Salad (minus the yucky olives) for my lunch. I can hardly wait to eat it, again, tomorrow.

It feels really good to enjoy cooking again. I'd been in a slump for several months, cooking the same 5-6 boring recipes over and over. But now I'm loving using so many of my spices with such good results. I'm getting my cooking mojo back!

I've also been reading again. I read a lot last summer, but stopped when I got busy with the holidays and started cross-stitching again. Now I'm back at it with four library books on my nightstand.

But the last thing I do at night is watch TV shows and YouTube on my iPad. After finishing Orange Is the New Black, Veep, Mrs. Biggs, and Suspects I was having trouble finding another series. Then last night I decided to try Six Feet Under. Wow! I had forgotten how good that show was. Now I'm set for another few weeks.

So, in addition to researching a fall trip to the Seattle, WA area, that's how I've been keeping myself busy while eagerly waiting to meet my granddaughter. Just two more days – yay!