I was up super early yesterday because I needed to bake two pies, start a pot of chili, and get a pork roast in the open and have it all ready by 1:00 in the afternoon. The kids came early and I was happily sitting in the Big Red Chair working on the market bag I’m crocheting when they walked in the door. We visited for about half an hour and then the pork roast was ready to come out of the oven.

The conversation flowed easily. The food was perfect. The gifts were well received. We asked the kids for an experience instead of gifts. We’ll get together soon for that. It was a delightful day. Everyone left before dark and we settled in for a quiet evening together. We discovered a show that’s been on for a few years called Bull. It’s a series about a psychologist who studies juries and how to choose the perfect jurors.

This fascinates me because my younger daughter was on the Mock Trial Team in high school. They repeatedly placed in the state levels of competition and it was fascinating to watch the process play out. The actor who plays Bull is the same guy that played Tony DiNozzo on NCIS…a character I really like. Bull is a well thought out program that’s entertaining and exercises the mind…traits I appreciate in a show. 

I know I am always telling you how much I hate television. Overall, that’s true. But I do like a show that makes you think, that isn’t aggressively violent, and has likable and relatable characters. Most of the time when I’m sitting in the Big Red Chair…writing, knitting, crocheting…I have my headphones on listening to soft spa music or campfires or rainstorms. True confession….I’m a selective television watcher. I don’t like to waste time when I could be doing something more constructive…but an occasional guilty pleasure never hurt anyone. And it’s calorie free!

Speaking of calorie free…I baked two pies yesterday. An apple, and a peach. I used some apple pie filling from Amish Country and my home canned peaches. I purposefully kept the sugar content down to shave some calories, but I can guarantee you they were NOT lo-cal! I made crust from scratch and it was so tender and flaky. If I could pinpoint anything, I’d say I didn’t put quite enough salt in the pie dough. 

As I’m sitting here writing this, and thinking of those two pies in there…I can hear them calling to me. I did have a slice of the peach pie in the afternoon. I don’t need to eat another piece. It will not taste a bit better than the first piece. Overindulgence is a slippery slope when you have issues with food as I’ve had in the past. Part of the Noom program is looking at the psychology behind the choices we make around food. It’s not about restrictions. It’s about freedom..freedom to choose. Freedom to be able to make missteps without the negative self-talk. “I ate that big piece of pie. I might as well admit it…I’ll never lose this weight. I have no self control.” These thought distortions are untrue and do not serve me. So, what am I going to do? I’m going to have my usual evening snack of yogurt and granola with blueberries.

And today is a brand new day!!!

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”How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.“

Proverbs 16:16 ESV