Insanity!

No, really, actual Insanity is here...this is not just a clever reference to my life, lol! I started this new program from Beachbody today, and I am very, very excited! It is only a 60-day rotation, so I am very hopeful that I will actually stick with it!

In other news, I found out about a program that state of FL has for early intervention speech therapy which may eliminate or at least reduce the cost for us since our insurance doesn't cover it. I called and gave them all my information and was surprised to have a therapist call me back the very same day. She is coming over tonight at 1730 to visit with Alex and evaluate him for herself, and I suppose we'll find out what services we qualify for at the same time. So keep your fingers crossed for us!

My dad wrote a recent post about how to travel well, and, while I definitely appreciate the advice, I have to defend myself a bit. Because I am generally traveling on behalf of the military or my civilian company, I don't get to make my own travel arrangements. I have to go through our company's travel coordinator and the AF has its own travel agency that sets your itinerary. I do have frequent flier codes that I can apply to build up my miles, but I'm not cool enough yet to qualify for any particular gold club (although I'm close with a few!). This also means that if my flights are delayed or canceled due to weather or other circumstances, I have to call back to either travel agency for them to change my flights. If I try to do it on my own, I won't get reimbursed! Also, my trips are often combined, meaning I'm going to more than one place on a particular trip, so I have to pack more than will fit into a regular size carry-on. Not to mention the fact that once you've put combat boots and BDUs into a carry on suitcase, you really have no room for anything else. Also, my travels for the military happen to fall over a Monday, I also have to bring my blues (another uniform), so I am forced to check my bag (one good thing is that most airlines will wave the baggage fee if you are military traveling on orders, so at least I don't have to pay for it!).

Recipe:

This is a Brazilian stew recipe I adapted from several sources (most notably Rachel Ray & Eric Ripert), but there are many different variations. I like this recipe because it is super easy, not a lot of work (just a long cook time), and you can leave out the spicy stuff so the kids will eat it :)

Pu's Fejoada:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb dried black beans
1 lb pork roast, cut into 1" chunks
1 lb sausage (linguica, chorizo, whatever), sliced
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
8 cups of water
1 8oz ham hock
Cooked long-grain rice to serve it with
salt and pepper to taste

Fry up 1/2 of the chopped onion in the olive oil in a large dutch oven until the onions are soft. Add the garlic and cook about 1 min more (don't let it brown!). Then add the pork chunks and sausage and brown them on all sides, about 6 min or so over med-high heat. Add the rest of the ingredients except the other 1/2 cup of chopped onion, the water should just cover all of the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower the heat to let it simmer for about 2 hours. (Hint: as the stew cooks, take a taste every 1/2 hour or so and add salt and pepper to your taste remembering that the saltiness of the ham hock and sausage will start to seep into the liquid later in the cooking). At the 2 hour mark put on whatever kind of rice you've chosen (I usually have Basmati and Jasmine around the house, so that is what I use for this recipe). Place the remaining 1/2 cup chopped onion into a small pan and cook it over medium heat until the onions really caramelize (that lovely yellow-brown shade), about 10-15 minutes. Take about 1 1/2 cups of the cooked black bean from the pot and add them to the cooked onions and mash with whatever tool you see fit (I use a potato masher since I don't have an immersion blender *sob* and it turns out just fine). Return the mash to the stew and continue to simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until the stew thickens. Remove the bay leaves and ham hock before serving over rice.
You can also add accouterments such as sliced jalapenos or a true salsa (i.e. freshly chopped and not from a jar!), but my kids like just the way it is.

Workouts:

So for this new Insanity program there is a fit test included to help you figure out how much progress you've made as the weeks go by. Since today was my first day (no, I couldn't wait until Monday to start!), I did the fit test, which is only about 27min long, so I will probably add on some yoga or pilates tonight. You get 1 min to do as many of each exercise as you can. Here are my stats:
Plyo Kicks - 60
Plyo Jacks - 45
High Knees (L) - 88
High Knees (R) - 80
Power Jumps - 20
Globe Jumps - 10
Suicide Jumps - 18
Push-up Jacks - 16
Plank Knees - 55
You are supposed to do the fit test every two weeks, but that seems a bit like overkill to me, so I may only do it every 3 weeks or so to track my progress.

Things Recently Heard in the House on Pu's Corner:

Me: What are you doing out of bed again!
Small 3-year old child: *very placatingly* I'm just taking a dump, Mom.

Me: *watches 9 and 10-yr old stash the already confiscated GameBoy under a couch cushion* Really, guys! Why would you do that!!??
9-yr old: *wide-eyed and innocent* Do what?
Me: *lifts couch cushion to reveal the evidence* Why is this under here?
10-yr old: But, Mom, that was already there.
Me: *exasperated* I just watched you guys do it!
10-yr old: Oh *pauses* well, you didn't say that.