No Apologies Part Deux

I missed a few weeks on here. Sorry! That's what happens when I brag about being so accountable.

I wrote a post last year that you can find here https://imperfection-personified.blogspot.com/2017/07/no-more-apologies.html

This post is along those lines, but in a more positive vein.

So this morning I was at the gym, OrangeTheory, and one of the trainers was there for class as well. We were wearing the same clothes so she took a picture after class with me. Now six months ago I would have hated that picture. But today I didn't hesitate to let her post it. I have worked really hard in the gym since July. I was tired of not being in shape and I had the money to spend on a gym. This is my first no-apology in action. It's hard to understand how we can spend money on things like the gym for some of my friends. But we're not paying for daycare or diapers or formula. We have some expendable income. That is a silver lining for me. It makes me feel amazing when I finish a workout and I am stronger and leaner than I was six months ago.

My second no-apology is that E and I spend money on things that make us happy, like going out for dinner or a date night. You don't need to spend money to have fun with your spouse, but it is nice to not feel that pinching pennies is synonymous with going out. When we were doing infertility treatments we didn't have any extra money to spend on anything, including date nights. So this is another silver lining.

My third no-apology is that I don't need to spend time around other people's kids in order to feel fulfilled in life. I love kids...I mean clearly if we spent all those years and all that money trying to have one that should tell you something. But E and I are ok, or we'll be ok at some point. We're mostly ok with the hand that we've been dealt. It may always be hard, that we'll have that sore spot no matter how much time passes since we finished trying to have a baby. But our worth does not lie in other's children. We love our many nieces and nephew. We have close friends with little ones that we enjoy seeing when it happens. I consider it to be God's grace that we do not feel broken beyond functioning by our lack of children.

What are some no-apology moments you're having in your life at the moment?

I Missed Last Week!

I tried, y'all, I tried.

I missed blogging last week. It was a week where things just got away from me. So here I sit while all sorts of dinner is going in the kitchen.

We bought an Instant Pot this weekend because I kind of stink at remembering to take meat out of the freezer ahead of time. I threw in a chuck roast tonight with garlic and pepperacinis and the Pot says that it will be done in 45 minutes. I am slightly skeptical but I'll keep y'all posted.

Chili is simmering on the stove and I cut up a bunch of fruit and got it in the fridge. Of all the things that we buy and don't eat the fruit and veggies are probably where we waste the most. I have found that if fruit is cleaned and cut up then we eat it. So currently we've got a bunch of fruit in there. Plus I've been making overnight oatmeal for breakfast on work-out days and I can throw some into the mason jar before running out the door in the morning.

(I guess this is a food post, huh...)

I also baked some bread this weekend, a sandwich bread, and I am so looking forward to some with chili tonight. I've been rethinking and rebuilding my relationship with food this past year. So we try to eat mostly clean in terms of baked goods. I make everything myself, and we try to not have anything just sitting around the house. But I feel better eating something I made and knowing what went into it. I recently went back to a shake/smoothie in the morning on the days I work out. But instead of loading it with fruit and ice and milk (none of which is bad) I've just been doing a scoop of protein powder and a scoop or two of superfood greens in a blender bottle with water. Then I can also eat oatmeal which helps keep me full. I have realized that I am not a smoothie only girl. I need to chew something to feel satiated. I'm also loving how much more excited I am about having eggs and sausage or bacon on the mornings that I don't work out!

BOOKS OF THE WEEK
Currently I'm reading Smoke & Summons by Charlie N. Holmberg which is a fantasy book. It's got a lot of fantasy and a fair amount of good verses evil in the forms of religion and demons.

Recently Finished:
The Forgotten Hours by Katrin Schumann which deals with some heavy topics like statutory rape and how well we know the people that we love.

Up Next:
A Beautiful Work in Progress by Mirna Valerio
And yes, I'm still putting off reading Obsidio. I don't want the series to end.

Link just reminded me that he has some YouTube cat video time scheduled in a minute, so guess I have to wrap this up!

I think this will be the first post I link on Facebook, so, tell me what y'all are eating this week!