One thing I'm really religious about is making sure my family has their yearly check-ups at the doctor. It was an easy habit to start with the kids, as there were so many required appointments after they were born. Before they were born, too, for that matter. Once we stopped being prompted to come in for regular vaccines and to check growth, I made a point of making appointments for them close to their birthdays. We are fortunate that we don't have to go to the doctor very often between their yearly visits, and also fortunate that we have such a good doctor. I hope that I am instilling in them a sense of responsibility for their own, health. I think it's an important lesson to learn as you get older - you are in charge of your body and you shouldn't wait for or expect someone else to do it for you. (sidenote: I am not including my hubby when I mention my kids - he is responsible for his own appointments and rather than nagging, I try to keep to occasional gentle reminders. He seems to do just fine without my interference, thankfully!)
So at my latest physical I had all the usuals, including bloodwork and my once-a-decade tetanus shot. (who knew?) I barely felt the needle piercing my skin, but my arm hurt like crazy for the rest of the week. Glad that's done with. Just two days later, I received a call from the doctor's office, asking me to come in for some results. They always say they'll call if there's anything unusual, but they never call, because there's never anything unusual! The lady on the phone assured me that it was nothing urgent, and in spite of my badgering her to tell me what it was about, she remained cryptic, as they are supposed to. She said I could wait a few days to come in...but still. I admit I was feeling kind of nervous, wondering what sort of strange conditions they may have unearthed in my blood that were presenting me no symptoms or concerns, that wasn't urgent, but still required follow-up. Me and my over-active imagination.
As I soon discovered, there was indeed nothing to worry about. Two issues had been flagged in my bloodwork, however. One, my good cholesterol was a little on the low side. The solution? Get exercising! I confess that I've been really slacking with my running this winter, so this is excellent incentive to lace up my runners and hit the road.
The second issue is that I have low levels of vitamin B12. I've been reading a lof about B12 lately and wondered if I should be taking a supplement. Turns out, I should be. There are very few good food sources of this vitamin (sorry, but I'm not about to start eating liver, which is incidentally the food with the highest source of B12 and also my most hated food. Ever.) You can also get B12 from other red meats, but I'm trying to cut that out of my diet, not eat more of it. So, a supplement it is. B12 deficiency gets more serious as we get older and can take a long time to become a serious problem, I understand, so it's important to have healthy levels of this vitamin as you get older. One early symptom can be tiredness and lack of energy. Hmmmm. Most people I know struggle with those! I'd assumed a lack of sleep and 3 children will do that to a person. And they will. I can get more sleep, but not much I can do about the kids - I'm keeping all 3! Apparently the vitamins work pretty much immediately, so the doctor said I should notice a boost in energy. I went for a run that evening, my first run in a long while, and I kid you not, I felt like I was flying! Self-fulfilling prophecy maybe? Possibly, but I'll take it!
So, I'm feeling fine today. I wrote this blog sitting on a comfy high-backed chair in the lobby of the Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto, and on the train on the way back home, after a fun lunch date with my fabulous hubby. We ate at the brand new earls downtown where I bumped into a girl I used to waitress with at earls in Winnipeg - she now manages this location. I seriously bump into people everywhere! With this connection, I managed to score a spot on her "insiders list" for my hubby when he needs a last minute lunch reservation! Hope he appreciates it!
I've got Bon Jovi cranked on my ipod (what else), I'm sipping my tea, and I'm going to sit back and enjoy the train ride home.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Beauty of Advertising...
I was driving through town with my kids yesterday, when, about 5 minutes from home, my 9 year old points at a Holiday Inn we were passing and said he wanted to stay the night there sometime. Odd, I thought - are my kids getting that desperate for a vacation that the local Holiday Inn looks appealing? I asked him why he wanted to stay there and he said it was because it advertised a pool on the sign. And I, ever the burster of bubbles, mentioned that the pool was probably really small, and not very nice, and therefore not a good place to go. But maybe they have a waterpark, Mom? Not likely, since it doesn't say anything about it on the sign. But he still wasn't totally convinced, thinking that the pool must be nice at a HOLIDAY Inn.
Which got me to thinking, once again, about just how misleading advertising can be, and how easy it is to be fooled by titles and descriptions. Now, I am not accusing the Holiday Inn of being misleading, because they're not. However, it's easy to see how a 9 year old boy, feeling like he could use a little holiday, could think what he thought when he read what he read. Shouldn't a Holiday Inn, by definition, have a fun pool? I actually did go to their website, and while there is absolutely nothing wrong with their pool, it looks as average as just about every other hotel pool I've seen. I can think of better places to take a holiday...
This also got me thinking of how food advertising most definitely IS misleading at worst, and requires very diligent label-reading at best. Maybe you heard about the lady in California recently who was suing Nutella over their not-so-healthy chocolate spread? You've probably heard of buyer-beware, a very applicable term in this situation. There's the school of thought which basically says that if a product has to tell you how healthy it is, it probably isn't. Apples and broccoli don't come with labels, after all.
The following is a list of some of the more outrageous food advertising that I've seen or heard recently:
Kraft Dinner - Enriched with BOLD (is bold supposed to be healthy? how is a food enriched with bold anyway?)
Cheez Whiz - Adds Personality (since when does our food need personality? don't people have personality? and is cheez whiz really food?)
Coke - Pour Some Happiness/ Brings moms and families together (how does one pour happiness? can a family not be brought together by pouring something that doesn't have so many teaspoons of sugar, such as water?)
Ranch Dressing - No artificial flavors (so you're telling me that xanthan gum, polysorbate 60 and silicon dioxide, among others, are what, natural?)
Pop Tarts - Life should be sprinkled with happiness, frosted with possibilities and filled with fun....so you can feel good about sharing the fun of pop tarts with your kids (really...so that's the key to happiness!)
Froot Loops - fortified with 11 essential vitamins and minerals, low in fat, now provides fiber. (I'll keep this is mind the next time I'm craving something healthy)
Honey Nut Cheerios - according to the ads on TV, they just might prevent a heart attack! (good to know, isn't it?)
And, last but not least, make sure to get your money's worth at McDonalds! After all, their chicken nuggets are a symbol of JOY (the O is a nugget). (Don't get me started on this one!)
This is not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination, but isn't it easy to see how people might be fooled into thinking something is either healthy to eat or will bring them some sort of happiness if they eat it? Especially if that person is young or uneducated. Or maybe gullible. I am definitely not immune to these types of advertising, although I tend to make much more informed choices these days. (True story - as of about 12 years ago, I'd never had a filet of fish at McDonalds. It just never appealed to me. Then one day, while watching TV, an ad came on showing someone eating one, and I immediately was hungry for one and went out THAT HOUR and bought myself one.) This is actually embarrassing to admit, as I am usually not that easily influenced. But I just wanted you to know how easy it is to be sucked in to the beauty of advertising.
Can you think of any food advertising that is particularly misleading that I haven't mentioned?
Which got me to thinking, once again, about just how misleading advertising can be, and how easy it is to be fooled by titles and descriptions. Now, I am not accusing the Holiday Inn of being misleading, because they're not. However, it's easy to see how a 9 year old boy, feeling like he could use a little holiday, could think what he thought when he read what he read. Shouldn't a Holiday Inn, by definition, have a fun pool? I actually did go to their website, and while there is absolutely nothing wrong with their pool, it looks as average as just about every other hotel pool I've seen. I can think of better places to take a holiday...
This also got me thinking of how food advertising most definitely IS misleading at worst, and requires very diligent label-reading at best. Maybe you heard about the lady in California recently who was suing Nutella over their not-so-healthy chocolate spread? You've probably heard of buyer-beware, a very applicable term in this situation. There's the school of thought which basically says that if a product has to tell you how healthy it is, it probably isn't. Apples and broccoli don't come with labels, after all.
The following is a list of some of the more outrageous food advertising that I've seen or heard recently:
Kraft Dinner - Enriched with BOLD (is bold supposed to be healthy? how is a food enriched with bold anyway?)
Cheez Whiz - Adds Personality (since when does our food need personality? don't people have personality? and is cheez whiz really food?)
Coke - Pour Some Happiness/ Brings moms and families together (how does one pour happiness? can a family not be brought together by pouring something that doesn't have so many teaspoons of sugar, such as water?)
Ranch Dressing - No artificial flavors (so you're telling me that xanthan gum, polysorbate 60 and silicon dioxide, among others, are what, natural?)
Pop Tarts - Life should be sprinkled with happiness, frosted with possibilities and filled with fun....so you can feel good about sharing the fun of pop tarts with your kids (really...so that's the key to happiness!)
Froot Loops - fortified with 11 essential vitamins and minerals, low in fat, now provides fiber. (I'll keep this is mind the next time I'm craving something healthy)
Honey Nut Cheerios - according to the ads on TV, they just might prevent a heart attack! (good to know, isn't it?)
And, last but not least, make sure to get your money's worth at McDonalds! After all, their chicken nuggets are a symbol of JOY (the O is a nugget). (Don't get me started on this one!)
This is not an exhaustive list by any stretch of the imagination, but isn't it easy to see how people might be fooled into thinking something is either healthy to eat or will bring them some sort of happiness if they eat it? Especially if that person is young or uneducated. Or maybe gullible. I am definitely not immune to these types of advertising, although I tend to make much more informed choices these days. (True story - as of about 12 years ago, I'd never had a filet of fish at McDonalds. It just never appealed to me. Then one day, while watching TV, an ad came on showing someone eating one, and I immediately was hungry for one and went out THAT HOUR and bought myself one.) This is actually embarrassing to admit, as I am usually not that easily influenced. But I just wanted you to know how easy it is to be sucked in to the beauty of advertising.
Can you think of any food advertising that is particularly misleading that I haven't mentioned?
Monday, March 28, 2011
I Don't Know!
I've been learning lately how very little I actually know. It seems to me that my kids are helping me learn this at an almost-daily pace. Here they are, looking at me to answer their (many, unceasing) questions, and half the time I don't even know the answer! It was so much easier when I kind of just "knew", but when it comes time to explain these things in simple terms, I am so often at a loss. For example, I really don't know why the frogs in the pond died. That didn't stop us from having an impromptu funeral service for them, complete with gravestones and singing, but I don't know why they died, and the kids want to know. (I actually want to know too). Was it from natural causes, or perhaps the winter was too cold? Aren't they designed to survive the winter? Or did the heat lamp we used to create a hole in the ice for our fish create some sort of unnatural event for the frogs which caused them to....well....croak? Maybe we'll never know.
I also don't know what caused the Black Plague way back in medieval times, although my 9 year old has learned that it was caused by fleas, which then spread to people. Truly horrible. But if you'd asked me anything about the Plague previously, I'd have had no idea. Maybe I don't need to know about this for my day-to-day life, but shouldn't I have learned this at some point? Did I miss that day of school?
It's true that I also don't know if the kids can have Alphabits for breakfast (they asked tonight, preemptively, I suppose), what's for supper tomorrow, or when am I going to bake cinnamon buns again? I know I'm supposed to be the grown-up here and have an answer to all these questions, but I'm sorry that I just don't.
Another thing I don't know (but was asked about at suppertime) is why the kids' school spent so much time and effort fundraising for the people of Haiti after the earthquake, and why no one is talking about Japan anymore at school (I assume this is not just happening at our school). Have we been so inundated with disaster coverage that we now block it out? Have we given all we want to give? Do we not care anymore? Do we think someone else is doing it? Have we decided that perhaps Japan has enough of its own resources, whereas Haiti did not? What happens when another disaster strikes? We can't have already forgotten about the floods in Australia and the earthquake in New Zealand, but each new disaster seems to cause us to forget about the previous ones. Is this the answer to the question?
My list-of-things-I-don't-know is growing every day, and I suppose I should be thanking my kids for giving me more opportunities to learn, instead of worrying about how very little I really do know!
I also don't know what caused the Black Plague way back in medieval times, although my 9 year old has learned that it was caused by fleas, which then spread to people. Truly horrible. But if you'd asked me anything about the Plague previously, I'd have had no idea. Maybe I don't need to know about this for my day-to-day life, but shouldn't I have learned this at some point? Did I miss that day of school?
It's true that I also don't know if the kids can have Alphabits for breakfast (they asked tonight, preemptively, I suppose), what's for supper tomorrow, or when am I going to bake cinnamon buns again? I know I'm supposed to be the grown-up here and have an answer to all these questions, but I'm sorry that I just don't.
Another thing I don't know (but was asked about at suppertime) is why the kids' school spent so much time and effort fundraising for the people of Haiti after the earthquake, and why no one is talking about Japan anymore at school (I assume this is not just happening at our school). Have we been so inundated with disaster coverage that we now block it out? Have we given all we want to give? Do we not care anymore? Do we think someone else is doing it? Have we decided that perhaps Japan has enough of its own resources, whereas Haiti did not? What happens when another disaster strikes? We can't have already forgotten about the floods in Australia and the earthquake in New Zealand, but each new disaster seems to cause us to forget about the previous ones. Is this the answer to the question?
My list-of-things-I-don't-know is growing every day, and I suppose I should be thanking my kids for giving me more opportunities to learn, instead of worrying about how very little I really do know!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Why I Love Football
I'm sitting in my office, drinking coffee, and scowling out the window at a blustery January day. The only problem is, it's not January! It's March!! Someone (ahem, Mother Nature) didn't get the memo about March arriving and March break being just around the corner. Last year we had bathing suit/picnic weather for March break - I don't think we'll be so lucky this year. I don't like to be a complainer, especially when there's nothing I can do about the situation, so please consider the above sentences to be a mere reporting-of-the-facts.
I've been thinking about football lately. Of course, you all know that the Green Bay Packers won the Superbowl last month, a source of much happiness at our house. However, many people (and to clarify, I mean girls) just don't understand what you might call my "football obsession." I prefer to call it a passion, but that's neither here nor there. I decided it was time to explain, hence the above title. I may not sway you to becoming a fellow football fanatic, but perhaps you'll begin to understand...
Confession number one: I'm a drama queen. Maybe not in the true sense of the expression ("a person given to often excessively emotional performances or reactions", which conjures up a tantrum-throwing schoolgirl who doesn't get her way, although I'm sure there are those who might disagree). What I mean is that I love drama. I need excitement and action and suspense. (And since I've been consulting Webster, drama is defined as "a state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces"). Doesn't the definition of drama seem to be written for a sports context?
I thoroughly enjoy watching sports. I'll watch just about anything, at least once in a while, with the exception of curling. I'm sorry, I just can't do it. Every sport has an element of drama (I'm sure even curling does, but I just don't get it) which is why there are entire networks on TV devoted to sports coverage.
But when it comes right down to it, the only sport with enough drama and suspense to hold and keep my attention for an entire game and season, is football. (I do need to differentiate here between Canadian and American football - while I will watch the CFL, it's the NFL that is the recipient of my devotion). Football is truly a game of seconds and inches. An entire game of football can be determined by just a few seconds, or by just a few inches. A team who is losing may need those few precious seconds to either even the score or pull into the lead for the win. Or the game may be decided by inches - a team may come up short of a touchdown by mere inches, or a player may catch a touchdown pass with mere inches to spare, toes hovering on the sideline. I have spent many a Sunday afternoon or Monday evening literally on the edge of my seat, as the outcome of a game is decided by seconds and inches. Heart pounding, palms sweating, eyes glued to the TV, I am riveted, and have been known to either collapse in a heap on the couch or to jump jubilantly to my feet with whoops of joy (just ask my kids).
When you consider (and you really should) that the NFL season only lasts 5 months (including one month of playoffs) and that the teams only play once each week, you will (hopefully) understand the importance of each and every game. The drama and suspense build each week and culminate in true excitement as each game unfolds. There's none of this "8 games back" business that you might see in hockey as a team fights for its playoff life - that's half a season in football, my friends!
Emotions run the gamut - from a high as the quarterback executes a perfect pass - a bullet - to his receiver who runs the ball into the endzone for a touchdown, to a low as the quarterback is sacked, fumbles the ball and the opposing team recovers it for a touchdown. Are you starting to understand just how much drama is contained in one game of football?
I always feel a void when the season ends each year, especially if my team had a less-than-successful season. The wait until preseason begins feels much too long, but it is one thing to look forward to as summer comes to an end. However, this year was different - the end of the season brought with it much joy and celebration as our team (the Green Bay Packers) became Superbowl Champions, a feat they hadn't accomplished in 14 years. As the proud owner of a large, bright orange foam cheesehead, and the displayer of a pair of fuzzy green and yellow dice in my van (a symbol of recognition for the neighbors), I was one pleased and proud Packers fan this year. Winning or losing are not the criteria for how loyal I am to my team, but a Superbowl win just makes everything that much more sweet.
My love of football does not mean I understand every aspect of the game (although I'd like to). I'm often slow to understand why a flag was thrown for a penalty, or how a certain play was executed. But this doesn't take away from the beauty of the game: the bullet passes, the impossible catches by one hand or by the fingertips, the agility of the running back as he dodges yet another defender, the sprint from one end of the field to the other as a kick-off is returned for a touchdown, the games played in any kind of weather and watched by die-hard fans,
or the game-changing play made by a surprisingly agile 350 pound player. My love of football has nothing to do with men in tights - one could just as easily go to the ballet for that - but rather a love of the drama and beauty of the game.
This drama queen can hardly wait for the season to begin!
I've been thinking about football lately. Of course, you all know that the Green Bay Packers won the Superbowl last month, a source of much happiness at our house. However, many people (and to clarify, I mean girls) just don't understand what you might call my "football obsession." I prefer to call it a passion, but that's neither here nor there. I decided it was time to explain, hence the above title. I may not sway you to becoming a fellow football fanatic, but perhaps you'll begin to understand...
Confession number one: I'm a drama queen. Maybe not in the true sense of the expression ("a person given to often excessively emotional performances or reactions", which conjures up a tantrum-throwing schoolgirl who doesn't get her way, although I'm sure there are those who might disagree). What I mean is that I love drama. I need excitement and action and suspense. (And since I've been consulting Webster, drama is defined as "a state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces"). Doesn't the definition of drama seem to be written for a sports context?
I thoroughly enjoy watching sports. I'll watch just about anything, at least once in a while, with the exception of curling. I'm sorry, I just can't do it. Every sport has an element of drama (I'm sure even curling does, but I just don't get it) which is why there are entire networks on TV devoted to sports coverage.
But when it comes right down to it, the only sport with enough drama and suspense to hold and keep my attention for an entire game and season, is football. (I do need to differentiate here between Canadian and American football - while I will watch the CFL, it's the NFL that is the recipient of my devotion). Football is truly a game of seconds and inches. An entire game of football can be determined by just a few seconds, or by just a few inches. A team who is losing may need those few precious seconds to either even the score or pull into the lead for the win. Or the game may be decided by inches - a team may come up short of a touchdown by mere inches, or a player may catch a touchdown pass with mere inches to spare, toes hovering on the sideline. I have spent many a Sunday afternoon or Monday evening literally on the edge of my seat, as the outcome of a game is decided by seconds and inches. Heart pounding, palms sweating, eyes glued to the TV, I am riveted, and have been known to either collapse in a heap on the couch or to jump jubilantly to my feet with whoops of joy (just ask my kids).
When you consider (and you really should) that the NFL season only lasts 5 months (including one month of playoffs) and that the teams only play once each week, you will (hopefully) understand the importance of each and every game. The drama and suspense build each week and culminate in true excitement as each game unfolds. There's none of this "8 games back" business that you might see in hockey as a team fights for its playoff life - that's half a season in football, my friends!
Emotions run the gamut - from a high as the quarterback executes a perfect pass - a bullet - to his receiver who runs the ball into the endzone for a touchdown, to a low as the quarterback is sacked, fumbles the ball and the opposing team recovers it for a touchdown. Are you starting to understand just how much drama is contained in one game of football?
I always feel a void when the season ends each year, especially if my team had a less-than-successful season. The wait until preseason begins feels much too long, but it is one thing to look forward to as summer comes to an end. However, this year was different - the end of the season brought with it much joy and celebration as our team (the Green Bay Packers) became Superbowl Champions, a feat they hadn't accomplished in 14 years. As the proud owner of a large, bright orange foam cheesehead, and the displayer of a pair of fuzzy green and yellow dice in my van (a symbol of recognition for the neighbors), I was one pleased and proud Packers fan this year. Winning or losing are not the criteria for how loyal I am to my team, but a Superbowl win just makes everything that much more sweet.
My love of football does not mean I understand every aspect of the game (although I'd like to). I'm often slow to understand why a flag was thrown for a penalty, or how a certain play was executed. But this doesn't take away from the beauty of the game: the bullet passes, the impossible catches by one hand or by the fingertips, the agility of the running back as he dodges yet another defender, the sprint from one end of the field to the other as a kick-off is returned for a touchdown, the games played in any kind of weather and watched by die-hard fans,
or the game-changing play made by a surprisingly agile 350 pound player. My love of football has nothing to do with men in tights - one could just as easily go to the ballet for that - but rather a love of the drama and beauty of the game.
This drama queen can hardly wait for the season to begin!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Fabulous February!
In the midst of what feels like a long, cold winter, when the kids have occasional minor illnesses, it still seems to get dark a little too early, and summer still feels so very far away, it's nice to have a little something to look forward to. January can typically be a depressing month, especially with the Christmas excitement over. However, in our house, January was actually very exciting this year. Why, you ask?? Well, NFL playoffs, of course! Playoffs are always something we eagerly anticipate, but this year was definitely an exception, as our favorite team (the Green Bay Packers, for those of you not in the know) were slowly but surely marching towards the Superbowl. They seemed like unlikely heroes, having left themselves several must-win games at the end of the season. But each Sunday, we watched in nervous anticipation as they beat yet another "better" team, in yet another away game.
For those of you who don't know, I have loved football since highschool, and picked the Packers as my team probably in about grade 11. What can I say, I liked the color green! Fast forward to Sunday, February 6, 2011, and my/our team is actually in the Superbowl for the first time in about 13 years! It's hard to describe the joy we felt when they actually won the coveted trophy. I know it's "just football", but their win kept me smiling for days! I'm actually still smiling about it!
But there's more...
For Christmas this year I received, much to my surprise and delight, tickets to see Bon Jovi in concert. Again, for those of you who don't know, Bon Jovi has been my favorite band since highschool. They've been making music for about 27 years (!!!) and I'm still loving it! The concert was February 15, and Stefan and I made a date out of it. We got a babysitter, and I took the train downtown to meet him for dinner before the concert. I don't have a lot of concert experience to compare this one to, but suffice it to say that it was AMAZING! They put on such a great show and I was reminded just how many big hits they've had over the years. I would not hesitate to go see them live again. The icing on the cake was the opening song, where Jon sang from a platform just in front of our seats. Needless to say, I've had a pretty big smile on my face ever since.
Now, if I could just get spring to show up...
For those of you who don't know, I have loved football since highschool, and picked the Packers as my team probably in about grade 11. What can I say, I liked the color green! Fast forward to Sunday, February 6, 2011, and my/our team is actually in the Superbowl for the first time in about 13 years! It's hard to describe the joy we felt when they actually won the coveted trophy. I know it's "just football", but their win kept me smiling for days! I'm actually still smiling about it!
But there's more...
For Christmas this year I received, much to my surprise and delight, tickets to see Bon Jovi in concert. Again, for those of you who don't know, Bon Jovi has been my favorite band since highschool. They've been making music for about 27 years (!!!) and I'm still loving it! The concert was February 15, and Stefan and I made a date out of it. We got a babysitter, and I took the train downtown to meet him for dinner before the concert. I don't have a lot of concert experience to compare this one to, but suffice it to say that it was AMAZING! They put on such a great show and I was reminded just how many big hits they've had over the years. I would not hesitate to go see them live again. The icing on the cake was the opening song, where Jon sang from a platform just in front of our seats. Needless to say, I've had a pretty big smile on my face ever since.
Now, if I could just get spring to show up...
Thursday, February 3, 2011
AFTER PHOTOS!!
Here, finally, are the AFTER photos of our renovation. I am sorry for the lack of order with these photos. Somehow, I have lost my ability to rearrange uploaded photos as I want them. I have searched all over, and cannot figure out how to do this like I used to. Sadly, it is probably something ridiculously simple, but in the meantime - here are the photos! The one of the office shows the wall before it was painted, but you get the idea. Our wall color of choice for the mudroom was called Celestial Blue. Sounds peaceful and calming, doesn't it? The last 3 photos show the completed lockers. We ordered them online from the States, and after a LOT of researching, and almost settling on something not-quite-right, we found these. The kids got to choose the color they wanted, and I think they look pretty good together. I have my own locker, for my purse, gloves, scarves, etc. These lockers are fantastic - especially in the winter when everyone has so much more gear! We are really loving all the extra space and organization. Money well spent!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Running, Renovations, Roadtrips and Raw Food
I really don't set out to come up with a title that alliterates, but these 4 items were on my mind. I know it's been a long hiatus from the blog, but September and October were utterly crazy. I think November is a bit more calm, now that we're almost half-way through, but I certainly don't expect December to go by unnoticed.
We have settled into all our regular routines around here. School is going well for the kids, and they are busy with sports, piano, birthday parties and all that other fun stuff that kids get to do. I've been trying to keep up with my running as regularly as possible, and I've done a few races to keep myself motivated and focused. Connor and I ran a 5k race together in October - we had a great time running together, and I was very proud that he was able to run the whole time! He hadn't trained at all, so I was very impressed with him. I hope we can do some more races together in the future. It's likely only a matter of time before I have to work to keep up with him, so I should enjoy this while I can! This is a great time of year for running - the temperature is perfect most days, it's not too wet, and it's so peaceful running through the forest on a bed of fallen leaves and watching more leaves gently falling. The added bonus is soaking in the hot tub in the chilly air right after a run.
So, on to renovations! I have added before pictures to the blog, but don't yet have the during and after photos. I will be sure to post those once I have them ready. We had decided that we'd like to knock out the wall that separates our office from our laundry room/mud room, and move it over to create more space in the mud room. Our office was huge, and even now that it's smaller, there's still plenty of space. But we found ourselves feeling very crowded in our mudroom, with kids and backpacks and bags of groceries and shoes and jackets and laundry all getting in the way! So, the wall was moved over (not by us, of course), and the tile floor ripped out and replaced with cork flooring and the walls repainted, and now we have a much improved space! All we have left to do is to add "lockers", which come with seating, hooks, and shelves, and we should be completely organized. Those should arrive in the next couple weeks, and we're very excited to see the finished product. So far, I'm just enjoying all the extra space when doing laundry, and not having anyone getting smashed in the head by the door! (My kids have a habit of sitting down to take their shoes off right in the path of the opening door).
I was pretty lucky and got to take two vacations in the month of October. The first was by myself, for 6 nights, to BC. I spent a night in Vancouver with my cousin Frieda, and we ran the seawall together. Something to cross off my bucket list! Then I spent several days with my sister and her family, and we did a roadtrip to Oliver to visit my folks. It was great seeing my niece and nephew. I had a very fun morning (too short, of course) with my lovely friend Corina, and then I ended the trip by hanging out with my BFF, Carla. It was a fantastic holiday - so great to see everyone and to see the sights of BC (happy to visit, but Ontario is home!).
I was home about a week, and then we ventured out on a family roadtrip to Chicago, with my mother-in-law along for the adventure. We were gone for 4 nights and we had such a fun time. It was great exploring a new city, and between the Navy Pier, downtown Chicago, Soldier Field and the Lego Discovery Center, there was so much to see and do. I highly recommend visiting Chicago if you ever get the chance - it's a beautiful city.
Finally, (and I'm trying to give you the Coles Notes here) - raw food. I was asked recently if I have gone raw yet, and the question got me thinking. At first, I felt like maybe I had failed a bit, as I certainly do not eat a completely raw diet. But then I wondered, did I ever really plan to do that? Perhaps I saw it as the ideal to strive for but did not consider the feasibility. However, I feel like maybe I have succeeded after all. No, I do not eat 100% of my food raw, and I'm guessing that I never will. I have done enough research and reading to understand a lot of different perspectives. Some are very rigid and legalistic, others much more flexible and thus, more doable. One of my favorite perspectives on this subject is given by the writer of a blog called Choosing Raw, who doesn't advocate for eating 100% raw. She does, however, eat 100% vegan. I love her clarity, honesty and knowledge on this whole subject area, and have come to respect her opinions. Check it out if you want to know more.
I do feel that I have succeeded, though, in dramatically increasing the amount of raw food that I eat on any given day. While dinner is rarely a raw meal, breakfast almost always is (usually a smoothie) and lunch often is raw or partially raw, and snacks are usually raw. Other changes I've made are to cut back on the amount of meat my family eats, to add a lot more fresh fruits and veggies to our diets and to slowly cut back on processed food. Some people may accomplish these things cold turkey, but in our family, the gradual process seems to be working. It's easier to get everyone on board this way. I'm thankful that my family is receptive to the positive changes, and I make sure to regularly talk to them about the choices we make. I am realizing that perhaps "going raw" isn't my ultimate goal, but rather, "going healthy" is.
On that note, I'm going to drag myself away from the computer and get to bed for some healthy sleep! Thanks for checking in!
We have settled into all our regular routines around here. School is going well for the kids, and they are busy with sports, piano, birthday parties and all that other fun stuff that kids get to do. I've been trying to keep up with my running as regularly as possible, and I've done a few races to keep myself motivated and focused. Connor and I ran a 5k race together in October - we had a great time running together, and I was very proud that he was able to run the whole time! He hadn't trained at all, so I was very impressed with him. I hope we can do some more races together in the future. It's likely only a matter of time before I have to work to keep up with him, so I should enjoy this while I can! This is a great time of year for running - the temperature is perfect most days, it's not too wet, and it's so peaceful running through the forest on a bed of fallen leaves and watching more leaves gently falling. The added bonus is soaking in the hot tub in the chilly air right after a run.
So, on to renovations! I have added before pictures to the blog, but don't yet have the during and after photos. I will be sure to post those once I have them ready. We had decided that we'd like to knock out the wall that separates our office from our laundry room/mud room, and move it over to create more space in the mud room. Our office was huge, and even now that it's smaller, there's still plenty of space. But we found ourselves feeling very crowded in our mudroom, with kids and backpacks and bags of groceries and shoes and jackets and laundry all getting in the way! So, the wall was moved over (not by us, of course), and the tile floor ripped out and replaced with cork flooring and the walls repainted, and now we have a much improved space! All we have left to do is to add "lockers", which come with seating, hooks, and shelves, and we should be completely organized. Those should arrive in the next couple weeks, and we're very excited to see the finished product. So far, I'm just enjoying all the extra space when doing laundry, and not having anyone getting smashed in the head by the door! (My kids have a habit of sitting down to take their shoes off right in the path of the opening door).
I was pretty lucky and got to take two vacations in the month of October. The first was by myself, for 6 nights, to BC. I spent a night in Vancouver with my cousin Frieda, and we ran the seawall together. Something to cross off my bucket list! Then I spent several days with my sister and her family, and we did a roadtrip to Oliver to visit my folks. It was great seeing my niece and nephew. I had a very fun morning (too short, of course) with my lovely friend Corina, and then I ended the trip by hanging out with my BFF, Carla. It was a fantastic holiday - so great to see everyone and to see the sights of BC (happy to visit, but Ontario is home!).
I was home about a week, and then we ventured out on a family roadtrip to Chicago, with my mother-in-law along for the adventure. We were gone for 4 nights and we had such a fun time. It was great exploring a new city, and between the Navy Pier, downtown Chicago, Soldier Field and the Lego Discovery Center, there was so much to see and do. I highly recommend visiting Chicago if you ever get the chance - it's a beautiful city.
Finally, (and I'm trying to give you the Coles Notes here) - raw food. I was asked recently if I have gone raw yet, and the question got me thinking. At first, I felt like maybe I had failed a bit, as I certainly do not eat a completely raw diet. But then I wondered, did I ever really plan to do that? Perhaps I saw it as the ideal to strive for but did not consider the feasibility. However, I feel like maybe I have succeeded after all. No, I do not eat 100% of my food raw, and I'm guessing that I never will. I have done enough research and reading to understand a lot of different perspectives. Some are very rigid and legalistic, others much more flexible and thus, more doable. One of my favorite perspectives on this subject is given by the writer of a blog called Choosing Raw, who doesn't advocate for eating 100% raw. She does, however, eat 100% vegan. I love her clarity, honesty and knowledge on this whole subject area, and have come to respect her opinions. Check it out if you want to know more.
I do feel that I have succeeded, though, in dramatically increasing the amount of raw food that I eat on any given day. While dinner is rarely a raw meal, breakfast almost always is (usually a smoothie) and lunch often is raw or partially raw, and snacks are usually raw. Other changes I've made are to cut back on the amount of meat my family eats, to add a lot more fresh fruits and veggies to our diets and to slowly cut back on processed food. Some people may accomplish these things cold turkey, but in our family, the gradual process seems to be working. It's easier to get everyone on board this way. I'm thankful that my family is receptive to the positive changes, and I make sure to regularly talk to them about the choices we make. I am realizing that perhaps "going raw" isn't my ultimate goal, but rather, "going healthy" is.
On that note, I'm going to drag myself away from the computer and get to bed for some healthy sleep! Thanks for checking in!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
