[Note: If you ever see a seal pup on the beach, steer clear. Usually, mama is close by fishing and will be back to pick up her babe. Read more here about seal haul-outs in Washington. Keep wildlife wild!]

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Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against starting a new eating plan with the new year. Really, who starts anything on a Saturday except a hangover? No one. We humans need some external event to shake us up and drive us towards a healthier existence for pretty much everything, like New Year’s, or your high school reunion, or becoming pregnant, or getting kicked out of your house, or a Monday. Just something.

And I know this issue is loaded and complicated and emotional for those of us who ride the rollercoaster, so these ideas are just one item to put in your basket as you sort through the marketplace of food and its relationship to your body and your self. No one has The Magical Answer for you although I’m told France has a pill….

But I’m here on the other side, the stabilized side, to give you three food tips if you feel you must “be good” and do the D word. They will support you, help with cravings and fill you full of vitamins, protein and fiber.

1. Beans. I know, the musical fruit. But ease into it, a little each day, and your body will adjust, I promise. Plus, they’re packed with fiber and protein and other good stuff. And for those of you (like me) who need variety in life, there’s lentils, garbanzos, pintos, navy, black, and on and on. Experiment with hot or cold options, plain or tossed in soups or salads. I’m told they help to even out your blood sugar level which will help with those evil cravings.

2. Fat. I know you’re running from this and it seems counter-intuitive, but eat fat. Every day. I’m not talking sit down with a tub o’ lard hey, who’re you calling a tub o’ lard?. I’m talking raw (or roasted at home) nuts, seeds, avocados, and oils (yes, some oils are better than others, but that’s a whole other blog post…). Do not be afraid of good food like I was! I think it was Cynthia at Cookus Interruptus (a fun site with cooking videos and comedy) who said if you eat foods that have had the fat removed, your body will still be looking for that fat and not feel satisfied. I am all for satisfaction, so stay away from anything that says “fat-free.”

3. Veggies. I’m telling ya right now if you are dieting and only eating lettuce or broccoli, I was not you will not be able to maintain when you’ve reached your goal have you seen my new yo-yo?? *ahem*. Expand your vegetable horizon. Experiment with types of veggies and methods of cooking them. I swear, I’m beginning to think if I toss a dog turd in olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and roast it in the oven, I’ll love it. Gross, yes unless you ask my dog. But the point is that those veggies you grew up thinking were gross may not be so gross after all. So be a man and try some! Frankly, I believe increasing your vegetable consumption is the key to the kingdom along with an icy shot of Citron Grey Goose as needed….

Before you know it, you’ve broadened your menu horizon, you’re eating tons of good stuff every day, you’re not feeling deprived, and guess what? Your body is adjusting (and hopefully you’re moving it around several times a week in some way that you like).

And then when you reach your goal, you won’t abandon yourself because this time along the journey you realized what truly feeling good feels like, with more energy, strength and focus, and you won’t be able to ignore it those times you and I revert back and start feeling crappy. You’ll want to have healthier and more varied eating, not because it’s weigh-in time, but because you know you’ll feel better that way.

Then you’ll be on the other side, the stabilized side. Where you can relax and love food again.

Are you eating any new, healthier foods this year?

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What with all the pumpkin decomposing going on.

When we last joined our garbage on the porch story, Vampire Kitty was looking a bit saggy, a bit un-Botoxed British actress-y. And Dog Pumpkin had its dark side growing from within.

Let’s see how they’re doing…

DAY SEVEN
What a difference a day makes, eh? Poor Vampire Kitty, she seems so deflated.
DAY EIGHT
I did not see that coming! Bat lost a wing! Although, in bat hindsight, totally predictable since he was sitting by the front door a metropolitan runway with his wings all vulnerable, hanging out there.

Meanwhile, Vampire Kitty has some nasty stuff happening internally. It almost looks like my shower drain hair growing in there. Zombie pumpkin hair?
DAY NINE
There’s really no magic serum to save Vampire Kitty in this story. (As an aside, those smiling pumpkins seem to be holding up. Perhaps it is all attitude? Or that they were carved most recently…)
DAY TEN
Bat got a little triage, see? But Vampire Kitty is turning rapidly into Pancake Kitty. And she’s leaky.
DAY ELEVEN
Okay, this is just plain gross.

Which is what the Hubs finally said.

Leaving us with this:
Aw. I miss their slimy, leaky, stinky pulpiness.

(Which is also what I said about the cancellation of As the World Turns.)

Well, you laughed, you cried you were grateful not to live with me or have to come over this past week.

Thus concludes our little gourdy drama…

Pumpkin bread, anyone?

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One thing of a gazillion around here that she ignores me on is that all-time kid-favorite activity: brushing her teeth.

Luckily, her haphazard dental habit has not yet caused any ulcers in me cavities. She won’t work hard at cleaning her room, or picking up her stuff, but man-O-man, will she get creative in avoiding this daily habit.

Yesterday I yelled, are you brushing? I don’t hear the toothbrush going!, and she compliantly turned it on.

Unfortunately for her, I walked by the bathroom a minute later and saw, to my utter shock and amusement, a dry toothbrush buzzing away on the counter.

Too bad her mouth was in the other room.

I confess I had a hard time not hyperventilating from laughing punishing her.

Points for creativity, right?

If she gets more crafty, I’ll have to sell her to a mustached foreigner fill every corner of the house with third grader- nanny-cams.

Are you getting crap pulled on you? Tell me I’m not alone!

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Dooooood, have we got some mice for you!

The garage is this way….

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Thanks for all the great beach walks, park runs counter-surfing adventures , bed-hogging and nostril/brain licks.
Here’s to ten more years, Boo Boo, of letting you in.

We love you.

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We all know he’s a total Alaskan gearhead (and I have the blog posts to prove it…), so natch, he’s got a cross- oops, I’ve been corrected compound bow. And plenty of raccoons roaming around a target in our yard for practice so I recommend you call first.

Yes, this was taken in our yard.

And the beauty of it? She wants to do it. She charges out of the house if he starts a-flingin’.

Whaaaaa?

Just how did he accomplish this great feat? I have no idea.

I’m wondering if he can start flinging her dirty socks across the living room.

Now, that would be helpful. Pick up those, Kid.

Of course, she is her mother’s daughter, so throughout practice he does have to endure a certain level of, shall we say, critiquing?

Dad, you missed! Dad, oh my God, that was SO FAR from the middle! AHAHAHAHAHA! Dad, I farted!

It’s hard to find good help these days.

Have you ever trained your kid to love some chore? Please share!! Maybe I can learn something!!

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Be as clear as possible when stating to the Universe what you want.

Sure, I may have said, “It’d be great to have a couple of extra bucks right about now, Universe.”

But I didn’t mean this:

Or this:

But the Hubs didn’t load fast enough they are handsome, aren’t they?

Need a couple extra bucks?

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“True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice.”
- Samuel Johnston

“My friends are my estate.”
- Emily Dickinson

“I count myself in nothing else so happy
As in a soul rememb’ring my good friends.”
- William Shakespeare, Richard II

“Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.”
- Woodrow Wilson

Friends, they get us through rough patches; they celebrate the sunshine with us. The dearest ones see through our bullshit outward mask and into our true being and still drink with speak to us anyway.

What can possibly be better than having good friends?

I’ll tell you what–
Having good friends with chickens!

Thank you, good friends! This egg lover feels grateful for you every morning!

What do you think? Should we get chickens at chez Let the dog in?!

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Then, two days into it you realize you have serious crankiness issues.

And not just with the kids, but with yourself.

We were going to make art books. Instead, we are making ice cream runs.

We were going to go to the beach. Day 1, we got the bottom of our foot scraped by barnacles and are “never going back to the beach again!”

We were going to read, read, read. Instead, we are marathoning Phineas and Ferb.

I guess there is still too much time to correct course, but each summer I forget my margarita recipe the uphill battle from the year before. Same soldiers, different battlefield…

So, how’s your summer going? Are you doing what you intended to do?

And most importantly, do you have a good, strong cocktail recipe to share?

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