In the beginning...

A few weeks ago, I decided to put my husband and me on a diet. It couldn't be a difficult to follow diet, as those haven't worked for us in the past.  It had to be sustainable and fairly easy to "swallow."  What is said diet?   Nothing more than a no more eating out diet.  Yes, that's it. Unless it's Sweet Tomatoes for a nice salad or Subway for a small sub (and that's quite rare), I make each meal.  We pre-make breakfast foods, at least for hubby.  I make enough for dinner to allow him to take leftovers for lunch (and drive his coworkers crazy with the awesome smell).  We have healthy snack choices, as well, whether it's fruit or a fresh snack bar, or a small slice of cheese. It's been truly easy. 

Now, about 2-3 months prior to that, I had placed us both on a vitamin regimen where we get nearly an 85% absorption rate of the contents.  I'll save those vitamins for another post later.  Let's suffice it to say, his joints are less achy and I have SO MUCH MORE ENERGY!!  Again...I need to write a whole separate post about the vitamins.  

So, why is this diet so amazing?  We've both lost weight just by not eating out!  He has lost nearly 25 pounds and I've lost seven.  He's been in much better moods lately, too. I enjoy doing so much new cooking, which is new.  Some of the recipes I've tried have turned out ... what's the word ... AMAZING!   Yes, that's it.  I'll give you a recipe each blog so you can enjoy them, as well.  What's actually funny is hubby's favorite seems to be simple hamburgers.  Nothing exciting, just freshly made, bacon included, burgers...no cheese and no bun.  Now, I do add a fair amount of spices and an egg. I've also been known to add almond flour to it as well.  He just thinks they are the bees knees.  So if you need a go-to, I say give hamburgers a try.  

Fry up about 2-3 strips of bacon per pound of meat.  Dry off excess grease, tear into small pieces, and place into the hamburger.  Start with a pound (or two) of lean hamburger.  I use nothing less than 93%.  I've also been known to have them grind up a steak into hamburger to help make sure there isn't anything added to the meat.  Put the meat in a bowl and add seasonings, eggs (1 egg per pound of meat), and your choice of a solid (oats, breadcrumbs, almond flour).  Mix with your hands, measure out into 1/4 pounders, and fry on a Foreman or on your outdoor grill.  Top with something healthy like stone-ground mustard or my go-to...homemade guacamole!   Mmmmmmm! 

Caveats...I would not, now, use breadcrumbs unless they were gluten-free.  Ones that I have found that are pretty tasty are Panko. I found these at my local grocery store's health food area.  My eggs are cage-free, grain-fed with no hormones.  Some of the seasonings I've put in my burgers:  salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper, and a steak seasoning. I have put Italian seasonings in them before with good results, as well as Greek seasonings.  Salsa is a good alternative to eggs.  Make it yourself or get some that's healthy.  That's basically it.  For some reason, my husband just absolutely loves them.  I think it's the bacon, which is ok, because you can hide good for you things in the meat and they won't really know it.  Hint hint.  My next attempt to get some healthy stuff in the burgers...quinoa or maybe kale.  Stay tuned!!!  

You want to get behind something? Get behind this

I hope I'm not the first to say this.   I hope to never be the last.   Where to begin....  Would you all agree that right now there is something fundamentally wrong with The United States of America, our country, our way of life?  If you don't, please jump out from that rock you've been living under because you're part of the problem.  

I'm wholly tired of all the agendas being flung around like candy.  I don't care if you think you're a woman.  I don't care if you want to have sex with someone of the same sex.  I don't care if you're pushing feminism as if you really are concerned about me as a woman.  I don't care if you feel there's prevailing racism.  I don't care if you hate me because of my faith.  I don't even really care that you're spouting Allah Akbar while murdering.  Why???  Because your agenda is irrelevant.  What you're saying doesn't matter.  What truly matters right now is the war on human beings...PERIOD.  

You want to get behind something?   Get behind this:  HUMAN LIFE MATTERS. 

You!  Stop falling for these idiotic race baiting people who get on a soapbox about the fact that someone just killed another black person and it was racially motivated.  Stop falling for it!   JUST STOP!!!!  It doesn't matter what their skin color is.  A fellow human being is dead for potentially no reason!  The rest becomes irrelevant. 

You!  Stop being concerned about whether or not people support your desire to have sex with a person of the same gender!  Why should this be an agenda?   Why do you feel the need to push your life choice onto others?  Why should we care about that so much more than actual important issues like the prevailing lack of dignity for basic human life?  It's irrelevant. 

You!  Stop feeling the need to publicly announce you feel like you want to be a woman!  Stop calling transgenders courageous.  Their plight is irrelevant.  You want to see courage?  Stand for human dignity.  Stop the rest.  

You!  Stop flaunting your so called feminist agenda.  It's beyond irrelevant, and you're actually hurting women now.  Stop!

You!  Stop coming after Christians because they take a stand for what they believe is right.  Just because you don't agree with them doesn't mean you target their businesses!   Why should your belief be able to bully someone else's belief??   Saying they won't bake cupcakes or do a floral arrangement or print a piece of paper doesn't equal bullying and it's certainly not hate!  You are not being targeted.  Get over yourselves!  

You!  Stop hiding behind your religion to kill other human beings simply because they do not follow your ways.   At least man up and admit you just simply hate other human beings that much and get on with life.  Admit you have zero acceptance for decency and kindness.  Hate and murder seems to be your agenda...and this we must stop.   

And you!  You ignorant individuals in the media spurring these agendas....oh how you irritate me.  I truly wish people would just stop paying you ANY attention.  You are so guilty of perpetrating hate. You have made your positions as journalists completely irrelevant.  If you have a microphone, your job should be to simply tell the facts/truth.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  Don't you dare incite people to more hatred.  You're despicable...the whole lot of you.  Placing your career and desire to be wealthy over basic humanity is extremely selfish and as inhumane as it comes.  I loathe what you stand for.  That goes for you, Al Sharptons of this world, too. Get away from the mic!  You are also irrelevant.  

Human life matters!   Get behind that and stop categorizing people into this or that. Hold them accountable for the hate or crime, no matter what it is, but stop pigeonholing people!  I go back to paragraph 2 where I said I didn't care about your agenda.  Again, I don't care if you think you're a woman, or have sex with someone of the same gender, or feel feminism is helping me, or are a different color or religion...to me YOU'RE A HUMAN BEING WHOSE LIFE MATTERS!  Everything else is irrelevant to the discussion that needs to happen.  Just simply be a human being for once.  Have human decency for crying out loud.  And for Pete's sake just stop with everything else.  Right now it's irrelevant.  Human life is what needs to be discussed.  Basic human life.   A lot of agendas would become irrelevant when we all practice basic human kindness.