Overwhelmed by trying to eat healthy

My family needs a change.  I know I don't feel my best and neither does my family.  Over the winter the pounds have crept on and we have become more sedentary in our habits.  Tempers are flaring and we need a change.

Have you ever noticed that there are so many different diets out there and each is very different.  I wanted to simply find a healthy eating plan to follow to make life easier.  Nope.  Too overwhelming.  So I got out a book I had read a couple of years ago about NDD Nutritional deficient discorder.  What it boils down too is eating whole foods and reading labels to keep from eating processed foods and items with food colorings, etc.  It was very daunting last time when we tried.  BUT we did feel better.

Our life is so busy that we use the drive thru way too much and the frozen aisle has become our best friend. However, I know there is no way we can change all at once.  For one thing my six year old would revolt! He is already a picky eater.

So I tried to just add more fresh produce to our menu (never managed to make one) this week.   Yep, I still brought home take out pizza today but I did slice up some fresh cucumbers and some cherry tomatoes (even though I am the only one in the house who likes tomatoes.)  And my husband of course doesn't like either.  So it was only pizza for him.

I am overwhelmed but the only was forward is to take a step no matter how small and eventually we will cross the finish line to better health.

Winter - BE GONE!

I usually look forward to snow.  I do the snow dance when we get the call that school is canceled.  I love to pull the sled, build a snowman, make hot chocolate and all sorts of yummies with the kids.

BUT this year it has just been too cold.  I had never seen a negative temperature until this year.  Nor had I experienced frozen pipes that wouldn't thaw with the blow dryer or busted pipes that I couldn't get to.

So this year I wish I could cast a spell and winter would magically be gone.  SPRING would arrive and bring the needed warmth.  No more astronomical heating bill or sitting awake at night to make sure the water pump is still humming.

Winter, you have had your time.  I say enough!  Winter - BE GONE!

Virginia Living Museum Trip

For the month of February we traveled to Virginia Living Museum.  It was a blustery day and the threat of snow was only a couple days away.  It was Valentine's day and the museum had a special reptile exhibit going on.  I have never seen so many snakes in one place.  But my favorite reptile was the spurred tortoise from Africa.  There were two of them and we were able to touch their shells.

Admission to the museum was $60 for the four of us, plus we spent another $47 in the gift shop.  Since this was the kids Valentines gift I think it was a good deal.  Educational, fun, and great souvenirs were better than a box of chocolates any day.

My son's favorite place was the veterinarian play clinic.  It is a permanent exhibit and kids are able to take stuffed animals out of cages in the clinic and perform checkups using the various play equipment there.  This was such a hit that we went back twice for him to play.  This is also what led him to want the vet kit and a stuffed otter from the gift shop.  He spent the trip home checking the otter and his sister's beaver that she had wanted.

We also enjoyed watching the beavers move logs around and one even acted as a bulldozer pushing a pile of twigs and leaves into the back corner of their enclosure.  I look forward to our next monthly travel outing and I wonder where we shall go.  March is both my husband and my daughter's birth months.

It is What it is

I have heard this saying many times and mostly I have heard people say bad things about it - oh, so people should just sit back and do nothing,  its a crutch, they're just lazy.

However, I think this saying is a reminder that it is alright the way it is.  It is ok to not be perfect.  I think about the many times that I would read a blog only to eventually get bored and stop reading.  Why?  Everything was always perfect - I make this, I do that, I plant this, I feed this.  Life is so wonderful, blah, blah, blah.  It isn't true.  There are times when things don't turn out, when the best we can do is smile and say, "It is what it is."

I have tried many times to blog before.  It never took long before I turned my own self off.  There isn't always an answer to everything.  When people blog only the perfect I get a sense of falseness, a two dimensionality that leaves something to be desired.  We are humans.  We make mistakes. We do the best we can do which is not always perfect.

So this blog is mine.  It is my journal.  It is what it is.

Why I canceled our gym membership

Here it is January and most people are joining gyms so they can get fit, not me.  Today I went to the Y and canceled my membership.  Why you ask?  Well while others want to build muscle and lose pounds I am more concerned about building family relationships and making memories.

When we go to the Y everyone is separate.  Christopher is in the playroom, Carolyn is in the pool, and Shane and I are either on the track, treadmill, bike, or separate.  We then retrieve everyone and head for home.  It is dark.  We are tired.  And everyone is feeling stressed and snippy.

I have set my priorities to stay home.  I want to be home as much as possible.  Since both of us are teachers we are exhausted from wrangling children all day and trying to make a difference.  I want to value home time and use it to build our family's relationships.  I want to spend our time together: playing games, watching a movie, cooking, reading, walking, and even doing chores.

When I was growing up I wasn't involved in many things and neither was my husband.  I went to school and came home.  I belonged to the school chorus but that only required an occasional evening for a performance.   My husband was in the drama club and was involved in the occasional performance. We did not have something each and every day to do to keep us away from home and our family.  We turned out all right, but I wonder if the same will be said for this generation.

So, tonight my family will dine at home on hot dogs and chips.  And then we will relax as a family and begin our weekend with a movie snuggled up under the blankets to keep the winter chill away.  I smile knowing that my priorities are decided and now I need to keep the compass pointed in the correct direction.

Virginia Zoo Trip

Yesterday we took the kids to Norfolk to the Virginia Zoo.  We left home and drove for half an hour when my husband realized he hadn't put the new stickers onto our license plates.  So, we turned around, put them on, and started our journey again.  Even with all this extra time on the road the day still was great.

On the way over Shane discovered that he could purchase tickets online from Groupon and save us $20.  A coworker had seen his post on Facebook that we were going and passed along this info.  We arrived and the zoo attendant scanned our voucher and into the zoo we went.

The first thing we had to do was ride the train.  It took us on a loop through the zoo for only $2 per person.  Christopher clutched his token tightly in his hand while we waited to board.  He wouldn't leave for fear the train would leave without us.  My favorite part was the commentary from the driver.  We learned the names of the different animals.  We were tickled to discover that one of the Mayan tigers had the same name as our son.

I really enjoyed the red pandas.  Their fur was vibrant on this cloudy but mild winter day.  The temperature was 54 degrees.  Many of the exhibits were under construction but we still enjoyed the animals we saw.  Christopher could not be pried away from the giraffes which he had been longing to see.  I even had to put a quarter in one of those binocular machines.  He squealed in delight as he looked through it at the giraffe's faces.

Carolyn enjoyed all the animals but was happiest when we stopped to eat.  We were very lucky to get food because everything was closed.  The lady at the Safari Cafe told us we could come in and they fixed us hot dogs and french fries fresh.  We also had ice cream.  The total was $43 which is a bit high but not unlike what you expect to pay when you eat inside a zoo or museum.

Then we went to the zoo store.  Carolyn got a tapir and a bison stuffed animal and Christopher got a zoo play set.  Grand total at the store was $43.43.  It seems that was the number of the day.  We journeyed back home with enough time to get comfortable and watch Return of the Jedi before bed.

This was a great trip for January.  I checked it off my list.  Now,  where shall we go for February?

Welcoming a New Year

I used to make resolutions only to discover that I quickly forgot about them.  Then I purposely didn't make resolutions because I wasn't going to fall into that trap.  After all nothing really changed.  Time continued on and would have even if the ball was never dropped and the horns were never blown.  We humans are not the controller of time.  Time controls us.

Well this year I am not making resolutions instead I am doing things.  And thanks to the Google Keep app, I have them on a checklist that I see everyday.  They aren't things I want to change about myself. They are simply things that are important to me that I want to be mindful of and prioritize.  Things like playing games one night each week with my family, taking the children somewhere different each month, finding a new brewery to visit with my husband monthly, and drawing something everyday.  They involve guarding the time and savoring it to enjoy these activities.