Mom has a Beau and My Boyfriend has Banned Carbs…Welcome to 2014

I have no idea what 2014 will bring except for sure more homework and a fair bit of stress with school. 

 So far, it has brought me the news that my mom has met a man at her retirement home who keeps her company and makes her happy.  I must admit I immediately went home and cried my eyes out; it gave me such a pang to think of my Dad.  Don't get me wrong--I am very happy this has happened.  Moving my Mom to a retirement home this past Fall was difficult in ways you can't imagine.  My brother and sisters and I spent a lot of time making this possible and were beyond stressed by all we had to do on top of living our lives and managing things.  We are still working to keep things operating smoothly.  It is tough to do when you can't ask your parent about things because  A) she either won't tell you, or B) doesn't remember.  Fingers crossed things will be better as we go along.

In the meantime, my Mom is eating regularly and getting all her medications at the correct times, which means she is a completely different person--and that  is a good thing.  She's making friends and taking part in what goes on where she lives.  She has an apartment (this is an assisted living place) and seems to have finally become used to being in a new place.  And her beau appears to have given her an opportunity to be more active instead of sitting in her apartment and watching tv.  

My darling Bud has decided he needs to cut carbs out of his life--and of course it's the fun carbs that I like--pasta, potatoes, and bread.  Boo.  I'm working on making sure I do what I can to help him along when he eats supper at my house.  I've been trying to get him on the quinoa train and so far he hasn't seemed impressed with this high protein stuff.  Thanks to Iowa Girl Eats and other food blogs, I've got a few recipes to try that sound incredibly tasty.  Meanwhile, I still eat pasta when he's not around :).

I can't wait to get out and start running again!  This cold weather and snow makes it seem light years away; let's hope for an early Spring.  What are you doing to make it through the winter?  Any good recipes for soups to share?  And quinoa--how often do you eat it?