Life is Not About Finding Yourself!

Have you ever moved?  Packed your stuff in boxes, loaded them on a truck, prayed they arrived at your new address intact and rediscovered yourself in the process?  In the words of Mercer Mayer, "Me too!"  Come the winter, we will be following the process as a family for the sixth time in 14 years.  This next home has the potential to be our address for the next eight years and, though I am excited about that, I have no idea what it feels like to live within the same walls for more than three.  In the words of my daughter, "Wait... What?"

I have formulated my own very simple opinion about moving.  Everyone should pretend they are moving every six months or so.  (Ask any military spouse and they will agree whole heartedly.)  Sorting through closets, clearing out the attic spaces, shifting things around the garage and rearranging furniture not only helps pull the weeds, but renews the sense of 'home'.  My mother was always rearranging furniture; I think it was so she could vacuum new pieces of the carpet, but the house always felt 'better' after a good going through~

And then there is the internal furniture.  I remember a conversation with a dear friend of mine after she moved to a new state with her nearly new husband.  At that time I had moved 4 states and had some experience with the invisibility of it all.  She had expressed how she was having a tough time finding a place to belong to which I said, "The beauty of it is, moving allows you to not only let go of the furniture you dislike, it allows you to cast off the pieces of yourself you dislike living with. You have the chance to invent who you wish to be which will lead you to the places you belong."  George Bernard Shaw's more concise version wraps it up nicely, "Life is not about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself."

After we hear from the Realtor, I may be sooner to a road-trip to Virginia than later.  My husband can't go so soon, but I am hopefully going to have a few days of house-hunting to see where our furniture might fit.  My kids are saying "Me too?" and I am saying "Wait... What?" but even though it's a little scrambled and unfair, the excitement is intoxicating.  We all have a new sense of direction.  We have all been given the chance to recreate our purpose.  We all have the opportunity to pull the weeds.  And, as soon as we settle on a house, we'll have the chance to rearrange the furniture.

Before the trip, real food, lots of water, vitamins for my vitamins, and as always, clean hands - especially after the rest stops.

Anna~

A Calorie is Not an Ingredient!

Calorie; a unit of heat energy. Precicely: the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water through 1 °C, often used to measure the energy value of foods (thank you internet).  A calorie is not what makes you fat, what makes you healthy or what makes you up. You are made of minerals, vitamins, fat, protein, acid, compounds made from those elements, and, most abundantly, water. Calories define how much energy you must create or expend in order to efficiently use what you consume. A calorie is not an ingredient.

Today, I saw two commercials that sparked the desire to define, again, what a calorie is and what it is not.  First, Pizza Hut is testing a 'Skinny Slice' of pizza; less dough and toppings and under 300 calories.  Nothing was mentioned about the preservatives in the dough, the chemical additives in the sauce or the artificial ingredients and sweeteners used when making this 'skinny' pizza; only the calorie count is marketed.

Next was a Dog Chow commercial appealing to owners of the overweight pooch.  'Light and Healthy' Dog Chow is now on the shelves, beside 'Light & Fit' and 'Science Diet Light Adult'.  Iams has its version, as do many other varieties.  Now, if your dog needs light dog food because he or she is overweight, calorie counting and portion control will not solve the problem.  Fido will only go from being overweight and full to overweight and starving, much like the easily convinced patron at the Pizza Hut counter dining on Skinny Pizza.

Pizza, to be clear, is not the problem.  Pizza can be a very delicious and healthy piece of the dietary pie.  Tomatoes, cheese, herbs and prepared sausages atop a chewy crust is part of our weekly menu, home-made or otherwise.  The problem is the focus on the Calorie Count.

The solution to the problem is defined in the definition above.  A calorie is the measurement of how much energy it takes to efficiently use what you consume.  Instead of feeding Fido 'Light & Fit' and dining on 'Skinny Slices' of pizza, find a way to create and expend energy so you may use the energy you have eaten!  Start with real food, wash it in with water, give your vitamins their vitamins and then put your dog on a short leash and take a nice long walk.  Your 'calories' will thank you!

Oh, and don't forget to wash your hands~

Anna~

There's Nothing Wrong with My Meal Plan!

I have been trying to get the shoes back in the closet, the laundry back in the drawers, the cans in the pantry, the meat in the freezer and the homework signed and in the corresponding backpack.  We are in the season of 'get our shit-together' and it's been a very messy process.  Each kid has been served with papers of every color and request from new, fairly organized teachers.  Their physicals are in, their teeth are clean, their backpacks are full, and my tank is empty.  Scott is out running a tri-Athelon today and I have only gotten out of bed once to refill my coffee.  (I can hear the kids laughing downstairs as I write.)

Two weeks into school and we are finally getting caught up.  The first week of school my Mother-in-Law was here, which literally saved our lives.  She made French Toast for breakfast on the first day of school, American Chop Suey for dinner (a New England Classic, I'm told), and helped keep the kids out and about while I conducted client calls and constructed emails.  That week was a patch work quilt of old, new, and fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants.

This last week was better. Scott made a fabulous steak and asparagus dinner on the weekend; a local butcher was involved.  I made something out of chicken pieces and a vegetable that I can't remember.  I finally shopped on Tuesday which yielded home made spaghetti sauce, stuffed peppers, roast chicken and quinoa, kielbasa and baked beans, and pork steaks with lots of green things.  Each night we enjoyed steamed veggies, butter, and oils, and each lunch was made from leftovers.  We even breakfasted on fruit, toast, eggs and yogurt with home-made granola.

All of this great food came in handy on Thursday as all 5 of us participated in the Run to Remember at 6 am... in the morning.  As I watched all of my children cross the finish line full minutes before I did on that 3 mile race, I, again, was reminded how much further I have to go in my 1/2 marathon training.  Some runs are really strong and consistent, others are defeating; all have been shorter than 13 miles.  After a great dinner tonight, I will put myself to bed in anticipation of running 10 miles tomorrow. I will sleep knowing the kids are so fantastic because I feed them so very well.

Even on weeks when we shop just before we eat, I know there is truly nothing wrong with my meal plan.   I know kielbasa isn't real food, but nearly everything else that lands on our plate is nourishing in one way or another.  The shoes will eventually land in the closet, the laundry will soon find its way out of the hamper, and the kids will always have things to return to their backpacks.  There will also always be Saturday mornings to lay in bed, and write, and sip coffee, and listen to the laughter from the kids.

And, as always, time to wash our hands.

Anna~