Remember that List I'm Supposed to Be On?Well, I'm Not On It.

I was bored today. I did all the usual morning routine. I worked out. I put away several loads of laundry. I pulled recyclables out of the trash and growled at my little family (even thought they weren't home) as I was doing so. I spent an hour or two clipping coupons and menu planning around the grocery ad sales. I cleaned two bathrooms and dusted our bedroom. I made Zero Points Soup and put it in the crock pot. My version is similar to this, although, it's more like Clean Out the Cupboards, Refrigerator, and Freezer Soup. I fought with the printer. I scrubbed two mystery stains out of the carpet. I sorted through a ton of junk mail. I filled out a ton of forms for school. I made sure Middle School registration was signed, sealed, delivered. Every bit of it was yawn city.

I wanted to write, to do a few sewing projects (I'm a sloppy sewer, but I have a great idea for a re-tilized object that I'm just dying to try), and I wanted to sit and chat on the phone with a friend. Every time I felt like I would get close to getting things done so that I could do something for me, I'd see something else to do.

I'm supposed to be putting myself back on the list, but it's not working very well. I'll try to do better tomorrow. I think I have such a hard time, especially with writing, when I look around and see unfinished stuff. I know my house will never be completely done. Lord knows, it will never be completely picked up or clean. Maybe I need to leave to write. I don't know.

Why do I feel guilty taking time out of my "work" day to work on something for me? When I owned my business I felt guilty every minute that I didn't work on the business. Are you sensing a pattern here?

My work day as a stay at home mom often goes on longer than my husbands, but it's much more flexible than his. And I'm thankful every day that I'm back here at home where I'm meant to be. But, the boredom. It can be relentless some days. I think I cleaned the kitchen four times today. Make a mess, clean up a mess. Make a mess, clean up a mess, throw in a load of laundry. None of it is rocket science. I honestly do get a great deal out of being at home. I do. This is just a challenge that I'd forgotten about when I was barely keeping my head above water working more than full time.

Ugh.

So, this is the one thing I did for me today. I was craving apple pie today. Not just any apple pie. My mom's. With her homemade crust and delicious filling that only a woman who owned 300 apple trees could perfect. Knowing just how many WW Points that would be, I decided I needed something similar. Baked apples it is.

They don't photograph real well, but man were they delicious.

Baked Apples with Vanilla Sauce

Growing up with 300 apple trees meant we ate a lot of apples. Mom, however, didn't make a lot of baked apples. She didn't like them. Dad and I did! This recipe filled a craving for apple pie and it's definitely a keeper. Serves 4 at 2 Weight Watchers Points per Serving.

4 medium apple(s), cored
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz fat-free instant vanilla pudding mix, about 2 Tbsp
3/4 cup fat-free skim milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Wash and core apples. Place apples in a 9 X 9-inch baking dish.
In a small bowl, combine cinnamon, ginger and sugar. Place 1 tablespoon of cinnamon mixture in cored-out center of each apple; sprinkle remaining cinnamon mixture over apples. Combine water and lemon juice in a cup; pour liquid around apples.
Bake until apples are soft when pierced with a knife, about 15 to 20 minutes; remove from oven and let cool.
Pour pudding mix into a medium bowl; whisk in milk to make a fairly thin sauce. Place one apple on a plate and drizzle with sauce. Yields 1 apple and about 1/4 cup of sauce per serving.