The Frugal Farm Living life deliberately

I have discovered a fantastic way to lose weight. You might not find it convenient, but it totally works! If you break your ankle on your driving leg, not only can you not drive to the store or the fast-food restaurant, but you can't get up and walk to the kitchen and eat because you're bored.

Today, fully clothed and wearing my big orthopedic boot, I weighed the same as I did a couple of weeks ago, not wearing those things.

(I promise, an update on my foot with a picture coming soon. No cast, just a boot!)

A couple weeks ago, after weaning the littlest Frugalgirl, I decided it was time for a new, let's say "foundation undergarment" (I told you men, quit reading. This post is about BRAS.) I had seen the site Breakout Bras recommended before on a parenting message board so I found it, measured myself according to their instructions, and ordered what I believed to be the right size. The bra was on sale, and the shipping was free, so I didn't have much to lose. I am so amazed at how it fits and that I have been wearing the WRONG bra size for almost all of my life. I have heard that most women do wear the wrong size, and I believe it, especially because my size isn't commonly available at big-box stores. If you wonder if you're wearing the right size, go measure yourself with their method. It is accurate! You will be so glad!

One of the responsibilities that the bigger kids have taken on since I broke my foot is making their lunches to take to school. Their school declares itself to be "peanut-free" to accommodate the allergic kids. They are allowed to take peanut butter sandwiches but can't sit at a "peanut-free" table and all classroom snacks have to be nut-free as well. Tuesday morning Frugalgirl1 was making herself a sandwich and I asked her if she really wanted creamy peanut butter instead of crunchy. She was quite distressed that I would ask her such a question, because in her mind, she was supposed to take peanut butter without nuts.

I found myself in a hurry the other night and I forgot to watch my step on the packed snow in the yard. The temperature was just over the freezing point so all the ice was wet and very, very slippery. And if you can't tell where this story is going, you've obviously never tried to hurry over wet ice.

I slipped and fell and instantly knew that I had hurt my ankle. I have stepped on it wrong a few times before but this time, it was different. I slowly limped back into the house, kept ice packs on my ankle until my shivering shook them off, and kept it elevated.

I could put a little bit of weight on it but for the next 36 hours, I mostly stayed on the couch.

This morning I decided that I'd better go to the doctor. (OK, I didn't actually go by myself. Frugaldad came home from work and drove me and tended to the little girls in the waiting room) After the technician finished the x-rays, I sat in the chair waiting for the films to develop. He took one look at them and came back for me with a wheelchair. Because my ankle is broken, people. Broken, and I've been walking around on it for almost 2 days. Broken, and I have a house full of people to take care of. Broken, and it's my driving foot.

I have an appointment with an orthopaedist on Monday where I'll probably get a cast. In the meantime, I have a splint and a pair of crutches and a husband and kids who are about to learn the meaning of teamwork.

So bear with me as I feel a little sorry for myself, and enjoy this picture of the littlest Frugalgirl taken last summer. Someday it will be warm again, with no ice to slip on.

A couple weeks ago my friend Amy came over to sew. She brought some leftover chicken curry for her lunch. Instead of eating it over rice, her husband had cooked lentils and rice together. I thought that sounded really good. Then I saw that Meredith at Like Merchant Ships had found a blog called Lentils and Rice and the lady who write that blog makes a big pot of lentils and rice every week.

I took this as a sign that it was time to try making lentils and rice together. I put a pound of lentils and a pound of brown rice in a pot with some salt, covered with water (maybe an inch or two over the level of the lentils and rice), brought it to a boil, then simmered it until it was done.

We ate it under my standard chicken curry sauce. It was so much more filling than regular rice and I thought it was really delicious. Only the youngest kid would eat it, so I let the others eat bread.

It made a lot extra, too, so I will have to figure out a way to eat the ~8 cups of leftover lentils and rice.