The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Unless at the bottom some sweetness lie
who cares for all the crinkling of the pie?

A line from my most recent book club selection ( a delightful murder-mystery which incidentally shares a name with this post) that is somehow fitting for my next 30 days.

That's right, back in action for November.  October was a bit of a bust.  Turns out, dieting is as boring and unfulfilling to blog about as it is to carry out.  The timing of that challenge was a bit off, too, so close to the beginning of the school year, with all the trials, tribulations, stresses and general malaise thereof.  I wasn't able to add anything to my life (as in, the time and energy it takes to plan and prepare properly for a controlled diet plan), and the vagueness of the goal allowed me free reign to cheat.

So I threw in the towel and went back to life as usual.


And October blurred by, almost unnoticed, in a rush of mundanity.

Enough of that.  Time to make life memorable again.

My November challenge is inspired in part by the quote above, and in part by an article in some random women's magazine I picked up at the gym.  In this article, the author attempts to counter her sugar addition by quitting all refined sugar, cold turkey.  Sound a bit familiar?

I was excited to successfully curb my own candy addiction in the spring with our original diet, but I have had a tendency to turn to baked goods in times of weakness, since then.

So this month, I'm going to try to cut something OUT of my life rather than adding anything in: No extra refined sugar, if I can help it.

I figure this shouldn't take any extra planning.  Just a LOT of willpower.

But what's a little willpower among friends?

To help out a bit, I am also, simultaneously, going to use my blogging time to look for the sweetness in the bottom of the pie-- the sweetness of life itself, far deeper and richer than any glazed donut can offer.

Ok, maybe not ANY glazed donut. I mean, there's Krispy Kreme right off the conveyor...

At any rate, tomorrow.  We'll give it a shot.  Join me, and I'll try to throw in a bit of gratitude in addition to boring sugar-free updates.  A bit of sweetness to make it all worthwhile.

October 5 and 6

I think I would be doing better with this whole 30 day diet if I wasn't so exhausted and disgruntled by the whole work/life/work  routine these days.  This leads to coffee runs and sneaking in extra chocolate and having a snack just for the comfort of it.

Also-- dieting, it turns out, if unfulfilling as a 30days blog challenge.   Nothing good to write about.  Promotes whining, or confessions, or boring litanies of food. Or all three.

I am beginning to regret this choice and yet.  I've committed to it so I'd best make the best of it.  I keep thinking to myself "Tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a better day, a more conscious day.  I'll actually skip the snacks, actually cut out refined sugar long enough to feel the positive effects...."  Sigh.

On a positive note I DO think I drank a bit more water today than I had been.

Baby steps.

On to a new day tomorrow.

October 5

I am too busy to drink water.  That's the verdict today.

I will try again tomorrow.

Also it is 10:30pm and I am hungry.  Sigh.  At least breakfast comes quickly.

Tomorrow morning:  Spinning class.  Going for a stellar eating day to follow it up.  Wish me luck.

October 3

Verdict today:  not too bad.

I did a weigh in this morning at the gym and in the spirit of full disclosure I'm putting it out there:  152 1/2

This is about 2 pounds up from the low point last spring so I'm feeling that this new 30 days of mine is well-timed.  My goal is to be under 150, with 145 being something to shoot for.

Something I did well today:  I stuck to my premeasured snacks until I got home at 5:00.  And even then I didn't go overboard.

Something I can improve on:  A dinner out, even if it was Panera, is bound to wreak havoc on things.  Also, I had some teddy grahams just now.  It turns out I am going to need to go to bed earlier if I am going to cut out the evening snacks entirely.

A goal for tomorrow:  64 ounces of water.

October 2

I am finding I am missing my gratitude journal.

I thought it might be difficult, doing a 30 days that required adding something in to my already jam packed life.  But 30 days makes a habit, it seems, and I miss the space that is left without it.

This new 30 days, it is going to take some adjustment.  It is a 30 days of subtraction rather than addition and I think it is going to be harder.  In a lot of ways.  Harder to track, harder to celebrate, harder to check off as "done".  Harder because watching my diet all day long takes a lot longer than a 5 minute journal entry, it turns out.  And harder because what is being subtracted, is something I love.  Namely, food.

So my goal each day of the 30 days is simple. Nat and I want to go back to the diet we used with such success in the spring, and whittle off the next 5 pounds or so.  I'm allowing myself a bit of leeway from the 1600 calorie plan.  The idea is, follow it to a T for Breakfast, Lunch and Snack requirements, then allow myself a dinner of my choosing.   So far, mixed success.  Today, in fact, was declared a Non-Diet day as we were heading to a birthday party and nothing says "good times" quite like having to refuse pizza and cupcakes.  It was a good day, and it was good pizza, and tomorrow is a new day and a new week and I am going to stick to this.


But in the meantime, I'm going to give myself a sentence.

Today I am grateful for houses full of children and babies and presents and laughter, for rainy-day fall drives down country roads and memory lane, for coffee shared in the car and candle-light whispering on the walls of our home.   Welcome, Fall.

September 30

I am grateful for these past 30 days, which have been just what I've needed.

I may well keep this up.  We'll see.

October will bring 30 days of conscious and conscientious eating and I am trying to be grateful in advance for how good I'll feel because of it.  Even if I think I am missing September's 30 days, already.

Today, I am grateful that the rain held off until we were just about ready to leave Hale Farm.  I am grateful for the patient and friendly service at Chick-Fil-A.  I am grateful that my 3:00 math group went more smoothly today.  I am grateful for lad back dinners and happy children making messes in a playroom and comfortable time spent with the best of the best of friends.

I am grateful for the love I am feeling in my heart just now, as I think about my day and the people who have been a part of it.  This month has been a lot about people, and all the love, and my kids of course.  And the weather.

But mostly, it's been about time.  Time, and the glory of it.  How lucky we are to have each day, even the worst days, certainly the best days, most especially the ordinary days in between...



Collection of "last lines" from each post this month...


I am grateful for what I have and for what I have yet to reach.
I am grateful for three day weekends. This is the way life should be....
I am grateful for delicious grilled chicken and salad, for the abundance of food, for coffee with cream, and the blessing of time to enjoy it all.


I am grateful for friends.  I am grateful for time.  I am grateful for the chance to sit with my feet up for a few moments.  I am grateful to be home.
I am grateful that a bed and a new day tomorrow await.
I am grateful for graham crackers dipped in milk


I am grateful for sunshine peeking out from behind a cloudy week.
I am grateful for how much I laughed today.
I am grateful for all the ways the stars have aligned in my life.  Even when I am tired.


I am grateful for my children who love to play together, all of a sudden.  
I am grateful for the chance to affirm that yes, I've got my priorities straight.
I am grateful that tomorrow is Friday, though the weeks are starting to fly precipitously fast all of a sudden and I think I would be just as grateful for more Thursday, to tell the truth.
I am grateful that I am not trying to entertain the queen this weekend, that's for sure.
I am grateful that the weekend is not over yet.


I am grateful for hot tea and our faux-fireplace on a chilly evening. 
I am grateful that this give me the excuse to look for a larger dining room table. 
I am grateful for all the joy and laughter in my life.
I am grateful for the body I have, in this moment of my life, and I will choose to its beauty and its strength.  
I am grateful for quiet evenings and early bedtimes.


I am grateful for all the richness and fullness of my life, one event scheduled tight against the other with mere minutes to spare...
I am grateful for the opportunity to bring my focus back to where it belongs. 
I am grateful I had more than 5 minutes to write tonight.




Thank you all for sharing this month with me.  I hope you'll stick around for the next 30 days, too.  Have you started your own 30 days yet?  Link me to your blogs so I can support you too!

September 29

Tonight I am grateful for so much.  Five minutes may not cut it, but I'll try.

I am grateful for the gift of a midweek day off with my time and my kids all to myself.  I am grateful for adventures and trains and the very kind volunteer conductors who helped me get the stroller up and down the stairs. 

I am grateful for my well-behaved children, for their laughter and curiosity and engagement.  I am grateful for passengers and passers-by who are kind and gracious and complimentary, who play peekaboo with my baby and smile at my boy.  I am grateful for the nice man who let Jack hold the coyote pelt for a very long time.  I am grateful for my little scientist of a boy and the way he just soaks up the world.

I am grateful for picture-perfect front yard gardens and red water-pumps in the side yards of meticulous century homes. 

I am grateful for train tables in restaurants and kind hostesses who seat mommas right near them so kids can play and mommas can drink their coffee.  I am grateful for coffee.  I am grateful for my kids who can play at a train table together.  I am grateful for my little love of a daughter, flirting and chasing and charming everyone she meets; kissing babies and laughing and daring life to keep up. 


I am grateful for lovely evenings with friends, for saying "We should do this more often" and really meaning it, for the gift of kindred spirits and bonding over our shared parenting experiences.  For the mutual support and the laughter and for seeing our truly adorable children playing together in the other room.

I am grateful for the people who have taken the time to tell me how this month of gratitude has touched them.  I am grateful that it is not just my own life I am changing. 

I am grateful I had more than 5 minutes to write tonight.