This fall has been difficult, as I've mentioned. An active toddler and demanding work has made it hard to stick to my normal self-treatment: sunny walks, cooking lots of good food, relaxing now and then with a cup of herbal tea or cocoa, or the ultimate catnap in a sunny patch. There have been some positives though, my eating habits that I've been developing over almost the last year have helped me keep my carb cravings mostly in the nibble mode, instead of the usual devour mode.

Memories of my holiday season before my first pregnancy kept replaying in my head. I gained ten pounds over the holidays that year, then promptly got pregnant and gained too much in my pregancy. I really don't want to do that in my next pregnancy, I want to start out at a low weight this next time. There are some big differences between this year and that one though, namely: corn and dairy and sugar. They didn't seem to make me feel bad at the time, but they really pack on the pounds for me. I'm way more compliant than I was then. My biggest cheat avoid now is a little maple syrup, and too big portions on acceptable grains. So, so far I haven't gained weight even with some lessened compliance, I was so sure that I had, I didn't want to step on the scale.

Another thing I now have going for me is a new treadmill! It's not a top rated brand or anything, but I should get some good use out of it. If I wear it out, then I'll know it's worth spending more next time. We set it up by some windows and a door, so I can have sunlight and fresh air. I only walked a mile on it yesterday, in bits and pieces, but it felt good.

I used up all my free time yesterday doing the shopping for a week. eDiets has taught me that it is somewhat possible, I always forget something, but it's been helpful for meal planning and time management. My husband thought I had gotten a little carried away with all the stuff I bought. Most of the extra was non-perishables, but my bags of groceries covered half the kitchen floor as I was putting them away. Tis the season, the old instinct to hoard and store had kicked in. I went to the HFS, the Asian market, and the grocery store.

At the HFS they finally had rice bran oil, I was about to order it, so I almost danced for joy when I saw it. My favorite packaged rice cracker is made with rice bran oil, so I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy the flavor, and it appears to have some beneficial properties. Though I don't think it has an official designation by Dr. D, Heidi recommended it in her column a few times. I need to find out if it's organic, but it's the only brand I've ever found, so it may be the best I can do.

At the asian store, I got a bunch of sweet rice flour (1/2 the price of the HFS bags), and found some "Glutinous Indian Millet." I was intrigued, but there were two brands, one looked like small grey millet, the other had much bigger grains and the ingredient translation in some other language was Sorgo or sorgu which made me wonder if it was actually sorgum, a nonnie avoid. I picked up the small one, that resembled millet, but I'm still not sure.

I've been having success with my rice milk maker. I use brown basmati rice, a little millet, and a tablespoon of flax. It comes out quite thick still, so I may need to use less flax. Maybe the millet gets thick too? Anyway, I really prefer the taste to storebought, it's a little more bland but has no aftertaste...I'm working out what flavors to add to brighten it up. So far I've only sweetened some with glycerine, but haven't really added flavor...almond extract, nutmeg or lemon juice should probably spruce it right up. Chocolate has been my standby so far, as I mainly use it in my cocoa. If any of you are thinking of buying a soymilk maker to make rice milk, make sure it's one that specifically states it can make rice milk and includes instructions for it. Rice milk is the hardest to clean out of a soymilk maker, so you want one that is easy to clean. I haven't had much trouble, but I haven't used the stickier types of rice, and I clean it right away and thoroughly each time. It only takes the machine 15 minutes to do it's work, then it takes me another 10 or so minutes to clean it. The payoff is good though, I am happy to actually be able to drink it straight...something I couldn't do with anything other than cow milk or silk nog.

That pretty much catches me up. On to the treadmill, work, and drying a bunch of mangoes (stocking up some of that sunshine for the winter).