Wheat Belly

Wow, I have been reading this book and I highly recommend it.  It has inspired me to give up wheat and gluten during the Great Fast.  Its not going to be easy considering I LOVE bread, baked goods, pizza, you name it.  But I'm gonna do it and try to track my progress here to help keep myself accountable.  I'm going to do my weight and measurements in the morning and try to resist the temptation of weighing myself often and only do it once a week.  I hope I'm much healthier physically and spiritually by the end of the Fast.  If anyone has any good gluten free recipes please comment with them.

Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross

Third Sunday of Great Lent

Troparion - Tone 4

O Lord, save Your people,
and bless Your inheritance.
Grant victories to the Orthodox Christians,
over their adversaries.
And by virtue of Your Cross
preserve Your habitation!

Kontakion - Tone 7

Now the flaming sword no longer guards the gates of Eden;
it has mysteriously been quenched by the wood of the Cross!
The sting of death and the victory of hell have been vanquished;
for You, O my Savior, have come and cried to those in hell:
"Enter again into paradise."

My New Books Have Shipped!!!

I'm so excited my new books have shipped. I cant wait to get them.

Here's a list of whats coming from The Orthodox Marketplace-

Children's Bible Reader
Divine Liturgy Illustrated
For to Us a Child is Born - Christmas Magazine
Heaven on Earth: The Divine Liturgy
Journey Through Holy Week - Children's Guide
The Bible For Young People
The Saturday Service of Great Vespers [CD]

And from Amazon-

The Life of Saint Brigid: Abbess of Kildare
Pictures of God, a Childs Guide to Understanding Icons
How to Pray with Icons

Beautiful Orthodox Blog....

Found an awesome blog with tons on info and support for the Orthodox family.
Check it out here-

http://evlogiaonline.com/

Sorry, but you'll have to copy and paste. I cant figure out how to insert the blog link and its making me very angry!!!!

I'm downloading and printing her childrens booklet of the Hours and can't wait to get started!

Mmmmmm

I gave up two things for the Great Fast.
1- Baked goods-
Still trying to drop that baby weight.

2- Buying cloth diapers-
The second may sound silly to you but its addicting and can be very expensive.

So anyway, I went to Aldi's yesterday and they had these big, yummy strawberries just asking to be dipped in chocolate.



They are soooo good and better for me than a piece of chocolate cake.
Baby is now 3 1/2 months old and I have lost nearly 40 lbs. but have another 25 to 30 to go. I weighed in at 162 on Wednesday. Wish me luck.

Tenative Menu

During Lent I'm really going to work on organization and decluttering- not an easy task for me. I love to plan, definitely a good planner but not so good with the follow through part. So one of the things I'm going to try and work on to make my life easier is planning a weekly menu and trying my best to stick to it. I'm really a go with the flow, impulsive kinda of person so this will not be set in stone. But I think it will help me to budget our money and time.
On the decluttering end I am just going to work on one small area a day at a time and either organize and keep it, sell it, donate it or throw it away. There are 40 days of Lent so I think I can get somewhere- hopefully. I started with the kitchen. Yesterday I worked on the cupboards above my microwave and around it. Today I did the cupboards above my toaster oven. One thing I discovered it I don't need to buy anymore honey for awhile, good thing honey never goes bad.



My oldest loves honey, saw it all out and decided to go for a taste test.






Now for the menu for the week-

Friday-
Breakfast- Eggs- found a new source for fresh, free-range- so excited
Home Fries and Cinnamon Rolls- for those who didn't give up sweets for Lent
Lunch- Veggie Pizza, Popcorn Shrimp, Buttered Noodles
Dinner- Pizza, and Rootbeer Floats- Choc. Covered Strawberries

Saturday-
Breakfast- French Toast and Maple Sausage
Lunch- Ham and Cheese Calzones
Dinner- Sweet Sausage and Pasta Salad

Sunday-
Breakfast- Eggs, Bacon and Italian Toast- daughter #3's favorite
Lunch- Pasta and Meatballs
Dinner- Breaded Porkchops and Chicken Tenders, Corn on Cob and Baked Potatoes

Monday-
Breakfast- Ham and Cheese Omelets
Lunch- Chicken Salad
Dinner- Emerils Kicked-up Meatloaf and Green beans

Tuesday-
Breakfast- Hello Kitty Waffles
Lunch-Popcorn Chicken and Mac n Cheese
Dinner- Burgers and Fries

Wednesday-
Breakfast- Eggs and Toast
Lunch- Toasted Cheese
Dinner- Cincinnati Chilli and Corncakes

Thursday-
Breakfast- Oatmeal
Lunch- Pasta
Dinner- Tuna Casserole

Coming up next week-
Lazagna, Grilled Chicken and Balsamic Veggies, Tuna Melts, Ribs and Sweetbread, Taco's and Pork Tenderloin.