Day 8: Operation HOPE

Rough day.  *sigh*  Really rough day.  My day began at 5:45 a.m., and just stopped now at 7:25 p.m.  Today was filled with cooking, cooking and more cooking, running errands, food shopping, cleaning, wrapping presents, doing a history project with Sarah.

I woke up exhausted and hurting from head to toe.  The pain got worse as the day went on.  I actually had to take pain medicine today.  And, I've been very weepy today {not sure why}.

Now that I'm done with week one, I'm able to mix and match my menus.  I tried mixing and matching.  For some reason it was hard for me to do that.  Tomorrow I'm going to just do all the meals that I had on day four.  I liked day four's meals; and, they were pretty easy.

Another struggle I had was I was out through lunch time today.  I had already had my snack and drank all my "to go" herbal tea that I brought with me.  I was hungry...and then frustrated.  Frustrated because I was hungry and knew that I couldn't eat anything until I got home for lunch.  Frustrated because I couldn't just grab a quick something.  This was the first time I've had to deal with that.  I know it won't be the last.

This day was hard.  No getting around it.  Yet, even though it was hard, there were so many blessings to be thankful for today:  Sunshine.  Mailbox full of greetings from family and friends.  Christmas music.  Chocolate.  Staying on track.  Great herbal tea to savor.  Helpful children.  Understanding and compassionate husband.  Adorable puppy.  Christmas movies.  Warm home.

All of these things bring a smile to my face and lighten my heart.  These are the things I will dwell on as this day comes to a close.  Tomorrow is day nine.  Today will be in the past.  And, that is where it will stay.

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Day 8: Menu

Breakfast was a veggie omelet with peppers, onions and mushrooms, green tea and lemon water.  One of my favorite breakfasts!

Lunch was a huge salad with 4 ounces of chicken, topped with oil & vinegar, green tea and lemon water.  Another favorite.  Quick.  Easy.  Filling!

Dinner was a 4 ounce piece of chicken with veggies, steamed vegetables, herbal tea {trying not to have green tea in the evening}, lemon water and dark chocolate {in place of wine}.  I made the chicken in a foil packet topped with peppers, onions, mushrooms and garlic.  I dotted the chicken with coconut oil, and after I placed the veggies on top I sprinkled balsamic vinegar over top.  Oh my!  This was good!  I had more steamed veggies on the side {leftover green beans, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower}.  They were good, too.  The herbal tea I had was from Celestial Seasonings holiday tea "Cranberry Vanilla Wonderland".  AH-MAZ-ING!!  And, the Enjoy Life dark chocolate was AWESOME!  I will always have that on hand!  ❤ Thanks Lauren for leading me to this wonderful treat!❤

Snacks were an apple and a KIND bar.