Sweating Profusely, Dying Slowly

Oh. *gasp* My. *huff* Stars. *puff*

Exercise is so overrated.

Just kidding. Kind of.

I had the genius idea of walking to pick up our milk today. It was good exercise and the kids and I enjoyed it. What I realized about 1/2 way there was that I forgot to factor in two large hills. And when you are pushing almost 70 pounds, that is just not a thought you want to have. Tomorrow I may malfunction...

Foul Play - A Call For Action

At risk of being completely ineloquent (versus only slightly), urgency pushes me to rush this post.

America needs to be concerned. Christians need to rise up and find their voice. We are being hoodwinked.

This stimulus package is outrageous. And as outrageous as it is, I do not understand why we are not coming together to fight it. The speed at which they are trying to pass this thing should be a red flag to all of us.

Find a news source you trust (if there is one) and get informed. 'Cause honey, there's a whole lot more to this so called "stimulus" package than what they want us to know. I talked a little bit about it here, but I'm fired up again. After not interceding for our country and its leaders, the worst thing we could do is passively lay aside and watch this happen. So, if you haven't contacted your representative or senators yet, consider the following on just a few topics...

One of the more disturbing items hidden within the ginormously long bill will move our country toward national health care. Okay, you thought waiting 30 minutes in a waiting room was bad, try 3 hours.

You will now also have the privilege of letting the government decide if it is cost effective for you (your parents, your children) to receive medical treatment or if you should pass on medication and treatment and learn to accept your illness and fate. Specifically for our older generation, it will be compared to their anticipated life expectancy. I have also heard that they plan to digitize all medical records into a federal database for governmental access, but I haven't found a good source to double check this one yet.

Also disturbing is the fact that it would have the Census Bureau report directly to the President. Um, hello, can we just say redistrict much? The census is used to determine congressional districts. Why would we give any president that kind of power?

The stimulus package has a lot of ridiculous allotments for renovation in it, but it also includes verbage that bans universities and colleges from using this money to renovate buildings where students engage in "religious worship." This basically would keep groups like Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Campus Crusade for Christ, etc., from being able to use the buildings that have been renovated.

And let's talk about wasteful spending for another minute (which could easily be turned into an hour), because $650 million dollars has been allocated to make the switch from analog to digital TV. Of which, $90 million is set aside to "educate vulnerable persons" about their need to purchase a converter.

If this doesn't concern you, I don't know what will. I'm adding links to make it super easy for you to just take 5 minutes and send an e-mail to ask your representative and senators to vote against this. The phone number to reach all three is 202-224-3121. It is simple, but is one way to make your voice heard. It's your responsibility. It's your right.

The Gift of Time

One of the greatest gifts that we can give to those we love is that of ourselves. The gift of our time. I was reminded of that this weekend.

I planned a mini-date with Caleb this weekend. We would run a couple of errands in town and while we were out we were going to have an ice cream together. But not just any old ice cream. Cold Stone Creamery, baby. Oh. yeah.

I had a coupon for buy one get one free and thought it would be a nice time to enjoy a treat and just talk with him. We had fun and I'll treasure the memory of just being with my biggest boy. Just me and him. Something that needs to happen a lot more often.

As we were spending our afternoon and ice cream together, I realized that I'm not really engaging with him in the things that he really likes. Legos and Star Wars just really don't do anything for me. BUT, that's where my son is at. So, it's where I need to meet him. Light saber and all.

I sat down and played Lego Star Wars the video game with him last night and I hope I never ever forget this night. I wish I had a video tape of it. He was thrilled that his mom was playing with him. He loved showing me how to do everything and we had a lot of good laughs. The game was not my source of entertainment, the pure delight that my son got from having me play that game with him was. He was so appreciative.

And this morning, when he got up, he kissed me and thanked me again for playing. In making that decision to give my time to be with him and doing what he wanted, something changed in our relationship. He knows that I chose him over all the other things that I could have been doing. He knows that he is important to me.

And I know that another session of Lego Star Wars is in my near future.

It All Began With Butter

That's right. Butter.

Butter and baby steps.

I used to be so overwhlemed by all the information on healthy and natural eating. Throwing up my hands and wondering how I could ever do it all. There was just no way. It would be too time consuming. Too much money. No one will like the food. Yada, yada, yada.

Then, revelation slapped it's firm hand on my face.

Do what you can and take one step at a time. Because any step forward is a step in the right direction. Earth shattering, I know - you can take a minute to catch your breath if you need to...

I've had a lot of fun reflecting on the changes that we made in the last year. Because suddenly, my baby steps have turned into a huge leap over the course of one year. I certainly have not "arrived", but there has been significant change. And when you can say that in a positive manner, it just feels good.

And it all began with butter. My first step in changing my family's eating habits was switching from using margarine to using butter. And the rest, my friends, is history. So, since I can't figure out how to post a celebratory dance for you, I'll just post my list of some steps we took to eating healthier.

• Butter - As I stated before, our journey began with butter replacing margarine. And this was probably the change that the family had the biggest grumbles about...because it was more difficult to spread. I'd like to be able to get organic butter.
  
  
• Cold Cereal - We cut out cold cereal. It was a big deal because we were big cereal eaters. We do keep some cheerios on hand and I'll pick up organic cereal on sale every once in a while for when we are really in a rush on hand. And I've really come to enjoy making a yummy and nourishing breakfast for the boys every morning.
  
  
• Water - Water, water, and more water. We purchased a Pur brand water pitcher and we are all doing so much better about drinking water. I am so thankful to have the chlorine taste gone from our water.
  
  
• Raw Milk - We were very blessed to be introduced to a source for organic raw milk.
  
  
• Whole Wheat Flour - The flour of choice in our cabinets. When it comes down to it, white flour just really doesn't have any nutritional value.
  
  
• High Fructose Corn Syrup - I am trying to avoid products with high fructose corn syrup like the plague. I just checked yesterday and I think I found 3 things in my kitchen that have it. I threw away one, so two more to go...if I didn't miss something.
  
  
• Whole Grains - I've tried to add more grains to our diet. Quinoa, barley, polenta. This is an area that I could improve a lot in.
  
  
• Snacks - Snack food is not something I always had tons of, but I've managed to get a lot of it out of the house. I'm making snacks instead. Again, I could/should be making more. I do buy organic snack bars, etc. when I find them on clearance for quick snack fixes. Better planning would do me wonders in this area.
  
  
• Brown Rice - Out went the white rice, and brown rice now reigns supreme in our house.
  
  
• Garden Fresh - We grew our garden with moderate success this past summer. It has been so joyful to make foods this winter with fruit and veggies that we put away ourselves.
  
  
• Baking Powder - I tossed our baking powder and made sure I bought a brand that did not contain aluminum.
  
  
• Organic Eggs - When I found my raw milk source, I also found a free range egg source. Yummy! The difference in taste is amazing. I need to find a more reliable source for these though.
  
  
• Sandwich Meat - I no longer purchase cold cuts. They are not only expensive, but not very healthy either. This was easier to do in conjunction with my pregnancy since I couldn't eat them during this time anyway.

So, that's what I could think of off the top of my head. I am so excited looking at this list and seeing the progress that we've made. My cabinets and refrigerator look so different now. Much more whole foods and a lot less processed foods. 'Cause I mean really, who can give up Kraft macaroni and cheese? *grin*

One of the great things about taking baby steps is that it all feels doable. And it is much more likely to become habit. If I had tried all this at one time, I would have given up. I am really excited to continue making changes this next year and crossing things off my list. We really can see the health benefits in our family.

Swagbucks Follow-Up

Update 2/6 - I'm doing an experiment and ordered a gift card to see if it would be as easy to redeem as my first experience...because my sister is having an issue with one she ordered. So, stay tuned because I'm going to give it away when/if it gets here...

Back in November, I did a post talking about Swagbucks. Just in case anyone was wondering what I thought about it...



My original goal in using Swagbucks was to be able to get a rookie Cal Ripken baseball card for Richie for Christmas. He was pleasantly surprised by this small gift and I felt extra good that I got it for free. *grin* I did think it was pretty cool.

Since then, I have continued to earn swagbucks and I am half way to a gift card that I want. I don't use it very often, so I'm slow in earning them. It helps that I had two people sign up under me, so I benefit from earning some while they do their searching and winning. Who knows, I might change my mind if they add some new, cool prize that I can turn into a gift again. *wink*

The only issue that I've had is that my searches don't seem quite as extensive as if I was using another search engine. Most of the time this is not a problem for me because I'm still finding what I need, but it could be a problem for some types of searches.

So, I'm slowly searching my way to some nifty prizes. You can sign up here through my link if you're interested in trying it out. If you've been using it, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Caught Red Handed

Or rather blue handed.

About an hour after my post yesterday, I walked into the kitchen to find this face staring at me.

Busted.

He got into the blueberries. Again.

Five O'Clock Shadow

It's been a while since we've had a multiple choice question. Past due if you ask me, so I present to you the following picture of my boy, Samuel...



Which best describes this picture:

A) Samuel was enrolled into a research study on the effects of fertilizer run-off in water after he began sprouting premature facial hair.

B) He discovered a small, mushroom village outside and satisfied his hunger with helpless, blue Smurfs.

C) It's an adverse reaction to helping Jo Ann lick stamps.

D) Samuel raided Jo Ann's grape Fanta stash.

Doesn't this picture look like his little hand got horribly smashed by something? It almost upset my stomach, silly huh? Ah, motherhood. *grin*

And the answer is...

Boo-behwies. I had a cute video of him saying blueberries, but I couldn't get it to work. Anyway, I made muffins today and had given him some in a bowl. I left the kitchen and when I returned I found him eating from the bag (which was in the freezer I might add) and turning very purple.

P.S. I do not have a Fanta stash. I repeat, I do not have Fanta stash. Oh, and I don't make the kids lick stamps. Anymore.

I Resolve...

Knowing that I am extremely structured, disciplined, and organized, *cough, cough, gasp*, you won't be surprised to learn that I actually have been piecing some goals together for this year.

Quit being dramatic and pick yourself up off the floor.

I tend to be rebellious about resolutions, being a sick perfectionist who does not desire the feelings of failure resulting from broken resolutions. And who has a problem with procrastination. And distraction, don't forget distraction. Um, what were we talking about?...

Anyway, this year I have made a few goals for myself and well, now that I'm posting them, I'll have to stick with it.

Without further ado, drumroll please.

In 2009, I resolve to :

1. Cut the number of times I say, "Hold on a minute", to the kids in half. Now, I have no way to realistically measure this, it's just something I'll know. Somewhere my Methods professor is banging his head against a wall...



2. Find a loose schedule for cleaning, chores/allowance, etc., that works for us. I'm really hoping routine (*shudder*) and I can find some way to coexist this year.



3. Expand the garden this year and preserve at least half the fruit and vegetables we go through in a year. I've got a lot of learning to do in this area and hopefully I'll find some other affordable resources to obtain organic food to put away. (By the way, has anyone been to the local produce auction? I'd love to hear about your experience.)



4. Finally nail down a budget. The last time I tried this, I ended up in tears. First from the frustration of not being able to make it all work, then from gratitude to God for the fact that I couldn't make it all work. He clearly extends His hand of provision to us.
   
   
5. Have the house in order by April 1st. It doesn't have to be perfect, but there's a lot of room for improvement. I love to have company and want those in my home to feel comfortable.



6. Become better friends with consistency and discipline. Personal prayer time, obedience to God, 'nuff said.



7. Lose 10 pounds and find ways to incorporate exercise into my daily routine at least 4 days a week.



8. Nourish the relationships in my life. In a culture that is focused on things, I want to be focused on people. It's possible to be surrounded by people and feel very alone.

So there you have it. Eight ways you can help keep me accountable this year.