Goals Update: July 2013

I am on a leisurely mid-summer pace with the goals right now.

Fitness: We froze our family membership to the gym for the summer, so dog-walking has been the only exercise for me lately.  I am thinking about getting a Jawbone or a Fitbit so I can track how many steps I'm taking each day.  I'm pretty sure my number is lower than I'd like!  

My new favorite afternoon snack--yogurt and nutella (or a nutella-like spread).

In keeping with my reduced/untracked activity, I have also reduced my dessert intake. I am getting to the age where dessert needs to be an occasional treat and not the next thing after dinner.  My kids usually ask "what's for dessert?" as they are sitting down to dinner, and I find it to be maddening!  We are trying to lead by example on this one.  We aren't completely banning it, but now they can have one cookie after lunch instead of two or three.  I have also starting buying pre-packaged things like Klondike bars instead of bringing home a half-gallon (or whatever it actually is now) of ice cream because portion control is much easier that way.

Foods:  I tried three new recipes in July.  Two were from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook: Zucchini with Almond Pesto and Roast Chicken with Potatoes.  I also tried a recipe for short ribs that I found online.  We really liked the zucchini, but I'll have to try a few more recipes from the library's copy of Smitten Kitchen before I commit to buying it.

 Pictures:  I ordered prints and put them in our photo album.  More importantly, I ordered doubles and gave them to the kids so they can put them up in their own rooms.  They love having the pictures.  My goal for August is to actually take some pictures that might be frame-worthy.  Some of the pictures on our walls could stand to be updated.

We still have another month of summer, so it is time for us to get serious about chasing fireflies and eating dinner outdoors.