Like My Mom

As a kid I really loved the fact that my parents' birthdays were just 1 week apart. It made for fun celebrations 2 weekends in a row! My mom is 51 weeks older than my dad and it was fun to point out (which my brother and I did repeatedly) that they were the same age for a week every year.  :)

Despite being a Daddy's Girl, there is no denying that I am my mother's daughter. After all, when she was 22, she picked up and moved across the country to Dallas to escape the cold weather in Pittsburgh. She liked it so much she stayed, met my dad, and the rest is history. I tease her that I did the same thing, moving from Dallas to DC, but I'm not sold on this whole cold weather thing for the rest of my life! I guess moving, independence, and hating cold are genetic :)

My mom always made sure my brother and I had a good breakfast before we headed off to school. That habit has definitely stuck although I rarely eat dinner leftovers for breakfast anymore (before the invention of decent gluten free breakfast options)! I kick-started my day with my favorite bowl of overnight cereal: 1/4c BRM hot cereal plus buckwheat groats, 1/4c almond milk, 1/2c water, 1/2T chia seeds, cinnamon, blueberries and raspberries, crushed almond slivers, and 1/2T of peanut butter. Solid start to my day!

Those who know me will tell you that I'm not afraid to speak my mind or stick up for myself, my family, and my friends. I learned this from my mom who is the best advocate anyone could have. She's a fighter, in more ways than one, and I'm glad she's got my back.

When I got the crazy idea to walk 39.3 miles to raise awareness for breast cancer in honor of my mom surviving the disease, my mom encouraged me and decided to join me in the adventure. Despite training in 2 separate cities, she joined me in DC and together we completed a marathon and a half in 36 hours! Take that breast cancer! That weekend was memorable in so many ways and I'm glad we shared the experience together. I learned what when something gets you down you stand up and fight for what you want and don't take no for an answer.

When I'm home, my mom and I love going to lunch. It's a fun break in the workday and gives us a chance to eat where we like (and not worry about the boys in the family) and catch up on things. Even though we didn't lunch together, I enjoyed a packed lunch during a meeting. I had a huge salad with lettuce, romaine, roasted veg, 2oz grilled chicken, and Annie's lite Italian dressing. I also had some vegan herb crackers I made over the weekend.

I am often not surprised at all that I found an interest in food blogging and cooking. Growing up, my mom cooked almost every night and we had dinner together as a family. Some of the dinners were quicker than others, but we had healthy options and spent time as a family sharing our days and talking about other fun things.

My mom is an amazing cook. I start looking forward to our Thanksgiving meal weeks in advance because I can't wait to have those special, homemade dishes! This is a woman who lovingly makes ravioli, gnocchi, tomato sauce, and more from scratch to spoil the ones she loves. I get my knack for cooking throughout winter to warm the house from her and we both love to experiment in the kitchen.

I snacked on a peach mid-afternoon and then headed home and had a second snack of toast, half with cheese and half with nut butter. I needed some fuel for my 4.5 walk / run!

 

Dinner tonight was a salad plus a serving of pasta with tomato sauce and some roasted veggies. I had to honor my Italian side, after all, I get all that from my mom's side of the family.

Now I'm relaxing and getting ready for the week to wrap up.  I snacked on some fruit and am ready to call it a night. But first,

Happy birthday Mom!! I hope you've had a fantastic day!