My Aha Moment

This morning, like most mornings in the last month, I did not want to get out of bed.  I started to ask myself what was wrong with me.  I usually get out of bed start a load of laundry or go straight to the kitchen to start my coffee.  

I only wanted to stay in bed and read a book or read the latest in Twitter or Facebook.  

Then it hit me.  

It's December 4.  Close to our school break. Close to the end of the year.  

I am burned out!  

It's the same feeling when Spring break comes around.  Counting the weeks and days until Summer break when I can just sit by the pool and read a book or play in the pool with my kids.  

Except this time I wanted to snuggle with my blankie and a good book.  

So starting tomorrow, I'm going to make myself get out of bed at 7am and start the laundry and make my coffee.  Get my blood pumping and plan out the rest of the day.  

I had some leftover Daiya cheese from our Thanksgiving feast.  I knew I needed to use it before it spoils. Realized I haven't made this delicious dish in a while....

Pasta Pizza

1 lb pasta (any shape)

pizza sauce (I used Ragu but whatever you have at hand is good. Any red/marinara sauce will do)

8oz or more of any non-dairy cheese you might have at hand

Cook pasta according to directions

While the pasta is being drained heat up the pizza sauce until it bubbles

Add the pasta back into the pot with the sauce and add the cheese

Heat and cover until the cheese gets nice and melty.

You can add whatever veggies you have, TVP, or any other vegan protein you might have.

Enjoy!

My name is Maria and I am a Mom over 40

Last night while enjoying my popcorn sprinkled with nutritional yeast and looking through Wednesday's lesson plan, I received an email inviting me to join a group of moms in the SFV called moms over 40.
I was appalled! How dare they they invite me to such a group!
But then I realized 
OH SHIT I AM A MOM OVER 40!
It hit me like a Lego brick.
I felt so down that I was tempted to pop another bag of popcorn.
Just the words alone put me in a depressive state.
Mom over 40.
Then looking back at my over 20 years (!!!!) experience of being a mom the Lego brick came back to me like a boomerang.
It's not so bad.
I am looking forward to the next 20 years of being a mom over 40 with an empty nest.
In fact, in 6 1/2 years my youngest will be 18.  Which in my mind means I can do what I feel in my own time and at my own pace.  I know many moms who do that with kids underfoot but I am my mother's daughter.
A martyr, if you will.
I put my kids first in everything and I'm okay with it.  Now I'm not perfect.  I've made many mistakes over the years.
Perfection is not my game because honestly those who claim to be perfect with the organic foods, cooked from scratch have some serious probs, dude.
I'm all for eating well but sometimes I will buy that jar of pasta sauce or (gasp!) fruit juice with only 10% juice.
So yeah, I am a mom over 40.
I have the cesarean scar, stretch marks that looks like the map of freeways crossing Southern California, allergy to dairy and thyroid disease since the birth of my youngest to prove it.  And the promise from my youngest to put me in a nursing home where they will treat me like royalty because I wiped her butt clean when she was a baby.