Reshaping It All Read Online Free PDF

thing to have turkey tacos four or five days a week. We loved them, and since they were easy to make, Mom made them a lot. It became a staple in our house that we all learned to make; in fact they're so simple that I often make them for my kids too. She could have used ground beef but Mom knew turkey was a leaner choice that tasted similar to beef, and was better for us. It does have a lighter taste, but once seasoned there is not a big difference. We loved them then and still do.
    I loved watching Mom in the kitchen. Her long blonde ponytail would sway as she moved, and her smile told me she loved being there. I loved being there too, knowing I was Mom's helper when the kids were at school. Being a helper meant I got to taste everything too, which is probably the reason I hung out so much in the kitchen at all.
    When I think of my dad, I fondly remember white T-shirts, along with his worn-out jeans that were stained with grease spots and paint blops. Those stains served to remind us that Dad could and would fix everything. He was the ultimate handyman, who put his skills to use on the house. They always lived in the same place, but over the years the house has gone through several major remodeling jobs, including the time our garage was transformed into a family room. Dad would hire out for some jobs, but any job he could do himself, he would. He drove a light-blue Volkswagen Beetle to work every day, and left the Volkswagen van for Mom and us kids. Because of his rugged, handsome looks and wavy brown hair, he was often compared to Michael Landon.
    Dad came from a background of healthy eating, while Mom was the opposite. She was brought up in a home that when they ate cold cereal in the morning, they needed to add two tablespoons of sugar to sweeten it up. At times it felt like a battleground when deciding on the type of food and what we could eat. Mom wasn't deliberately unhealthy; she just wasn't as health conscious as Dad, who often tried to implement healthy alternatives.
    Our eating habits changed from year to year. For several years we were on the Pritikin Diet, which is based on a book by Nathan Pritikin. The diet is based on vegetables, grains, and fruit. It wasn't strictly vegetarian, but it did have a low percentage of fat. Basically it tasted like cardboard. Dad taught us healthier ways to eat, but they weren't great-tasting options. At the same time Mom would buy chips for our lunch boxes, take us out for fast food, and keep a healthy supply of ice cream in our freezer. Her options weren't so healthy but tasted incredibly good. She tried her best to respect Dad's efforts, but because she loved the naughty but nice food, she'd sneak it into the house.
    I started to view food in either one of two ways—it was either delicious but forbidden, or it was acceptable and tasteless. The bottom line is that I was left confused. I really believe that this confusion set the stage for the bad eating habits I had throughout my teen years and into early adulthood. Without clear direction and understanding we're bound to face failure.
    A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:8 KJV)
    Dad wouldn't allow soda, so drinking water was something he encouraged a lot. Depending on the year my mom would have Diet Pepsi in the fridge, but that was the forbidden fruit we dare not touch. Thankfully I acquired a taste for water; in fact I love it, and it's still the first drink I reach for today.
    When I was five, things started to get busy for Mom. She was running Kirk, Melissa, and me to auditions in LA. Dad's schedule worked out perfectly. He was home by 3:30, so if Mom was busy driving one kid, he could watch the other three and help out with homework.
    I knew the routine. I would come out of the school, and if Mom was parked at the start of the pickup line, then I knew that I had an audition. If that was the case, we'd leave right away and head over the hill to the west side. She would have my clothes clean, pressed,