My cousin Devon sent out the link to his album today...check it out (and if you like, buy it!)
YAY Devon!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Buddying Up
This post was originally published at Get Fit Chicks. It may refer to posts on Get Fit Chicks that no longer exist. Please email me if you run into any of those and I will break the links. More information about the reposting is available here
So, I don’t make resolutions. I said that already. But that’s not entirely true. I do make resolutions. I just don’t make resolutions that are centered around January 1. I make them all year.
Anyway, my friend Melynda and I both decided we needed something to motivate us as we work on our get healthy goals. So we’re checking in with each other twice week on designated days to see how the week is going.
The idea is that we can talk about our progress, our successes, and our frustrations in reaching our “big” goals AND we can set little goals and be accountable for them.
So, if you look at my list of 101 in 1001, there are two big ones I’m working towards:
1. Fit back into pre-tumble down the stairs clothes
and
13. Weigh less on day 1001 than on day 1
But those big goals are only accomplishable (is that a word I just made up?) by reaching other smaller goals.
For instance, last week my goal was just to remember to take my supplements every day. This week my goal is to drink at least 1.5 litres of water while I’m at work.
We decided our goals could be anything we could measure in some way. Last week, both of us needed help remembering to do something, so we sent each other daily reminders to do our little jobs (taking supplements is a lot easier to remember to do when it’s just once a day...I can't wait for the GAPS diet to end!) This week, we checked in with our new goals yesterday, we’ll check in later this week with progress, and next Monday we’ll both have new goals again.
I like this buddy system...I have to be accountable to someone other than me; I can set small, achievable goals; I can set the same goal over and over and over again for a few weeks until I think I've achieved it (or created or broken a habit); I can set more than one goal a week; I get to catch up with a friend in the process. Because, believe me, we're not just talking about our goal...we're both working mommies and we have two year olds and husbands...there’s lots to talk about!
I used to think the only buddy system that worked for me was scheduling real life time to do something with someone...I'd definitely go to the gym as planned if I was meeting someone there. I’d definitely go for a walk if I was walking with someone. But I realized I just need someone to tell about, someone who would support me but also remind me that I said I was going to do yoga today and it's now 11:45 at night...better get yoga-ing for 15 minutes if you want to reach that goal!
Do you have a buddy system? How does yours work? or does it work better for you to not have a buddy??
So, I don’t make resolutions. I said that already. But that’s not entirely true. I do make resolutions. I just don’t make resolutions that are centered around January 1. I make them all year.
Anyway, my friend Melynda and I both decided we needed something to motivate us as we work on our get healthy goals. So we’re checking in with each other twice week on designated days to see how the week is going.
The idea is that we can talk about our progress, our successes, and our frustrations in reaching our “big” goals AND we can set little goals and be accountable for them.
So, if you look at my list of 101 in 1001, there are two big ones I’m working towards:
1. Fit back into pre-tumble down the stairs clothes
and
13. Weigh less on day 1001 than on day 1
But those big goals are only accomplishable (is that a word I just made up?) by reaching other smaller goals.
For instance, last week my goal was just to remember to take my supplements every day. This week my goal is to drink at least 1.5 litres of water while I’m at work.
We decided our goals could be anything we could measure in some way. Last week, both of us needed help remembering to do something, so we sent each other daily reminders to do our little jobs (taking supplements is a lot easier to remember to do when it’s just once a day...I can't wait for the GAPS diet to end!) This week, we checked in with our new goals yesterday, we’ll check in later this week with progress, and next Monday we’ll both have new goals again.
I like this buddy system...I have to be accountable to someone other than me; I can set small, achievable goals; I can set the same goal over and over and over again for a few weeks until I think I've achieved it (or created or broken a habit); I can set more than one goal a week; I get to catch up with a friend in the process. Because, believe me, we're not just talking about our goal...we're both working mommies and we have two year olds and husbands...there’s lots to talk about!
I used to think the only buddy system that worked for me was scheduling real life time to do something with someone...I'd definitely go to the gym as planned if I was meeting someone there. I’d definitely go for a walk if I was walking with someone. But I realized I just need someone to tell about, someone who would support me but also remind me that I said I was going to do yoga today and it's now 11:45 at night...better get yoga-ing for 15 minutes if you want to reach that goal!
Do you have a buddy system? How does yours work? or does it work better for you to not have a buddy??
When I went to a decluttering seminar
Back in November I attended a decluttering seminar...okay, that might not be what it was called, but it was led by a professional organizer and I took a lot away with me.
Clutter is a perpetual issue at our house. I'm a clutter collector. But I'm working on it...
Apparently I'm not doing a very good job though. I've lost my note book. The one I write EVERYTHING in. It's gone. J even knows it's gone and whenever she finds me looking for something, she asks if I'm looking for my green book.
Anyway, I had some little notes jotted down in that book, but it's done, so I'm going to have to do this from memory...I can't even remember the name of the lady who ran the seminar or the name of her company. Sigh...I'm fired.
One of the things she talked about was how overwhelmed clutter makes us feel...we walk into our homes and see piles of mail, laundry to be sorted and folded, dishes to be done, laundry to be washed...all of those things make us feel so overwhelmed that most of us end up on the couch hoping it will all go away. I think every person in the room nodded when she asked if have all experienced this at least once in our lives.
I got some good tips out of her...like how to deal with books. She basically suggested using the library whenever possible (which I do now) and she gave some strategies for paring down books - are you going to read it again being the big question. We've applied that strategy to our books (okay, fine, Alex's books) and he got rid of 68 books two weeks ago. That's a lot of books.
She also talked about the 20/80 rule and how it applies to clothes...that we all basically wear 20% of our cloths most of the time. I have two large bags of Alex's clothes in the trunk of the car waiting for drop off at one of the charity boxes.
Why is it so much easier to get rid of someone else's things than it is to get rid of your own?!?!?!
The other key things (for me) that she talked about were guilt and sentimentality. If it makes you feel guilty, get rid of it. If you're attached to it for sentimental reasons, keep it. But minimize how many sentimental things you keep. She gave an example of inheriting someone's collection of something. Something that you're not interested in or stuff to do a hobby that you'll never do. She suggested keeping one part of it and giving the rest away to someone who will use it or be interested in it. She gave a few examples - one of her clients received all of their mother's cooking utensils. They already had a functioning kitchen, so they chose three pieces that had memories for them and framed them and hung them in their kitchen. Another client inherited all of his dad's fly fishing gear. He had no desire to take up fly fishing, but chose some of the more beautiful lures and had them framed and displays them in his office. The rest of the gear was given away to a fly fisherman.
The last little (new) trick up my sleeve is the fire trick. If I can't decide what to do with something, I need to decide if it's something I would replace if there was a fire or that I would miss if I couldn't replace it after a fire.
I can do it. I can declutter our house.
Really.
Eeeep....
Clutter is a perpetual issue at our house. I'm a clutter collector. But I'm working on it...
Apparently I'm not doing a very good job though. I've lost my note book. The one I write EVERYTHING in. It's gone. J even knows it's gone and whenever she finds me looking for something, she asks if I'm looking for my green book.
Anyway, I had some little notes jotted down in that book, but it's done, so I'm going to have to do this from memory...I can't even remember the name of the lady who ran the seminar or the name of her company. Sigh...I'm fired.
One of the things she talked about was how overwhelmed clutter makes us feel...we walk into our homes and see piles of mail, laundry to be sorted and folded, dishes to be done, laundry to be washed...all of those things make us feel so overwhelmed that most of us end up on the couch hoping it will all go away. I think every person in the room nodded when she asked if have all experienced this at least once in our lives.
I got some good tips out of her...like how to deal with books. She basically suggested using the library whenever possible (which I do now) and she gave some strategies for paring down books - are you going to read it again being the big question. We've applied that strategy to our books (okay, fine, Alex's books) and he got rid of 68 books two weeks ago. That's a lot of books.
She also talked about the 20/80 rule and how it applies to clothes...that we all basically wear 20% of our cloths most of the time. I have two large bags of Alex's clothes in the trunk of the car waiting for drop off at one of the charity boxes.
Why is it so much easier to get rid of someone else's things than it is to get rid of your own?!?!?!
The other key things (for me) that she talked about were guilt and sentimentality. If it makes you feel guilty, get rid of it. If you're attached to it for sentimental reasons, keep it. But minimize how many sentimental things you keep. She gave an example of inheriting someone's collection of something. Something that you're not interested in or stuff to do a hobby that you'll never do. She suggested keeping one part of it and giving the rest away to someone who will use it or be interested in it. She gave a few examples - one of her clients received all of their mother's cooking utensils. They already had a functioning kitchen, so they chose three pieces that had memories for them and framed them and hung them in their kitchen. Another client inherited all of his dad's fly fishing gear. He had no desire to take up fly fishing, but chose some of the more beautiful lures and had them framed and displays them in his office. The rest of the gear was given away to a fly fisherman.
The last little (new) trick up my sleeve is the fire trick. If I can't decide what to do with something, I need to decide if it's something I would replace if there was a fire or that I would miss if I couldn't replace it after a fire.
I can do it. I can declutter our house.
Really.
Eeeep....
Monday, January 10, 2011
Hits the nail on the head
Oh my, this girl, Lynnea Malley, sums up Facebook quite well...
And because of Facebook's awesome ability to time suck, three nights a week I'm aiming for no Facebook at my house. Without even trying, I'm doing really well on the weekends...I think the computer slept from Friday afternoon until about 6:00 yesterday when I decided it was time to make my grocery list.
We'll see how this exercise goes. I feel old. I remember a time when my evenings were spent reading or knitting or hanging out with friends. Friends who were in the same room as me. Friends who I wasn't communicating with via computer or smart phone or some other new-fangled technological device.
PS there are still some spots in the homemade giveaway game!...you don't *have* to do your own giveaway to participate...leave a comment and you're in!
And because of Facebook's awesome ability to time suck, three nights a week I'm aiming for no Facebook at my house. Without even trying, I'm doing really well on the weekends...I think the computer slept from Friday afternoon until about 6:00 yesterday when I decided it was time to make my grocery list.
We'll see how this exercise goes. I feel old. I remember a time when my evenings were spent reading or knitting or hanging out with friends. Friends who were in the same room as me. Friends who I wasn't communicating with via computer or smart phone or some other new-fangled technological device.
PS there are still some spots in the homemade giveaway game!...you don't *have* to do your own giveaway to participate...leave a comment and you're in!
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Almost miraculous
It's just after 8 and the dishes are done, lunches are pretty much made, and J is in bed.
Whoa...amazing! And peaceful. And relaxing.
And I'm giving the credit to this:
and to Alex. And he's not even here. He's at work...
He got Dad's Own Cookbook for Christmas - with the shift he's working, I asked him to help out with dinner during the week and since he has a limited repertoire of recipes, we needed to start somewhere. This book is awesome! I think it would make a great starting point for anyone just beginning to cook (Alex also has Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, another great starting point...put the two together and wow!)
This book tells you how to do everything. There's even a section on how to chop an onion!
At the beginning of each recipe, after the ingredients, but before the instructions there is also a list of exactly what you will need to make the dish - all the prep and cooking dishes.
After a number of the recipes are some suggestions for serving - side dishes and accompaniments...it's great (I wish some of our other cookbooks had that...)
Alex's first recipe from this book was Cajun Baked Salmon.
It called for steaks, but we both agreed that if we made it again, fillets would be better. Neither of us is a huge salmon steak fan - too many bones to retrieve, especially when J eats with us.
This was a super quick meal to prepare. J and I got home at 5:15 and I think we sat down to eat before 6:00. Alex waited until we were home to start cooking since the salmon only took about 15 minutes...overdone salmon=yuck!
Since I was doing the dishes, I appreciated the prep-work clean up too - a fork, some measuring spoons, a small bowl and a side plate. Easy!
It didn't take long for the house to start smelling yummy!
J loved it. She ate about 2/3 of a steak and some rice. She's decided that peas are yucky this week so she tried to get one of us to eat them for her.
Because I'm on the GAPS diet, I got to have salad instead of rice. That was a challenge when Alex picked the first recipe he wanted to try...the first few were nixed because a main ingredient that couldn't be easily left out or substituted (at least for my portion) was something on the not recommended list. I told Alex I'd go through the book and make a list of the recipes that are okay for me...maybe that's what I should do with all this time stretching in front of me tonight!
The calm evening we had is such a treat. Because we got to eat dinner with him, J wasn't (too) upset when Alex went to work and because Alex was in the kitchen, I got to spend a few minutes with J before dinner, looking at a book and playing with play dough. I don't often get to do that because I'm trying to get dinner made, but we both really enjoyed it!
Whoa...amazing! And peaceful. And relaxing.
And I'm giving the credit to this:
and to Alex. And he's not even here. He's at work...
He got Dad's Own Cookbook for Christmas - with the shift he's working, I asked him to help out with dinner during the week and since he has a limited repertoire of recipes, we needed to start somewhere. This book is awesome! I think it would make a great starting point for anyone just beginning to cook (Alex also has Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, another great starting point...put the two together and wow!)
This book tells you how to do everything. There's even a section on how to chop an onion!
At the beginning of each recipe, after the ingredients, but before the instructions there is also a list of exactly what you will need to make the dish - all the prep and cooking dishes.
After a number of the recipes are some suggestions for serving - side dishes and accompaniments...it's great (I wish some of our other cookbooks had that...)
Alex's first recipe from this book was Cajun Baked Salmon.
It called for steaks, but we both agreed that if we made it again, fillets would be better. Neither of us is a huge salmon steak fan - too many bones to retrieve, especially when J eats with us.
This was a super quick meal to prepare. J and I got home at 5:15 and I think we sat down to eat before 6:00. Alex waited until we were home to start cooking since the salmon only took about 15 minutes...overdone salmon=yuck!
Since I was doing the dishes, I appreciated the prep-work clean up too - a fork, some measuring spoons, a small bowl and a side plate. Easy!
It didn't take long for the house to start smelling yummy!
J loved it. She ate about 2/3 of a steak and some rice. She's decided that peas are yucky this week so she tried to get one of us to eat them for her.
Because I'm on the GAPS diet, I got to have salad instead of rice. That was a challenge when Alex picked the first recipe he wanted to try...the first few were nixed because a main ingredient that couldn't be easily left out or substituted (at least for my portion) was something on the not recommended list. I told Alex I'd go through the book and make a list of the recipes that are okay for me...maybe that's what I should do with all this time stretching in front of me tonight!
The calm evening we had is such a treat. Because we got to eat dinner with him, J wasn't (too) upset when Alex went to work and because Alex was in the kitchen, I got to spend a few minutes with J before dinner, looking at a book and playing with play dough. I don't often get to do that because I'm trying to get dinner made, but we both really enjoyed it!
Sometimes you just need a time out
A lesson from Squirt...
When we were at my parents' house over the holidays we had dinner with my sister's boyfriend's family. His sister has a daughter the same age as J (still with me?).
J and B had a great time together...eventually. But it was touch and go at first. J was unhappy at one point and she just needed to be removed from the situation (I can't remember what happened...it was a non-event)
I took her into the den and closed the door and figured we'd sit together and I'd rub her back until she stopped crying and when she was ready, we'd go back to the big noisy room full of people.
We settled into the rocking chair and about three rocks in, she lifted her head up and said, "Mommy, go away. I need a time out."
Really? I wasn't giving her a time out, I just thought she needed some quiet time to regroup.
Well, apparently she NEEDED a time out and I didn't move fast enough because she said it again. And then she told me that she would come out when it was time.
So I left her.
And she did. And she apologized all on her own for her meltdown.
See, kids can teach you things.
The lesson? Sometimes we all just need a few minutes alone to gather ourselves together and carry on. Worth remembering...even I need a time out from time to time...and hopefully this will remind me to just take that time out and life will be much better for it!
When we were at my parents' house over the holidays we had dinner with my sister's boyfriend's family. His sister has a daughter the same age as J (still with me?).
J and B had a great time together...eventually. But it was touch and go at first. J was unhappy at one point and she just needed to be removed from the situation (I can't remember what happened...it was a non-event)
I took her into the den and closed the door and figured we'd sit together and I'd rub her back until she stopped crying and when she was ready, we'd go back to the big noisy room full of people.
We settled into the rocking chair and about three rocks in, she lifted her head up and said, "Mommy, go away. I need a time out."
Really? I wasn't giving her a time out, I just thought she needed some quiet time to regroup.
Well, apparently she NEEDED a time out and I didn't move fast enough because she said it again. And then she told me that she would come out when it was time.
So I left her.
And she did. And she apologized all on her own for her meltdown.
See, kids can teach you things.
The lesson? Sometimes we all just need a few minutes alone to gather ourselves together and carry on. Worth remembering...even I need a time out from time to time...and hopefully this will remind me to just take that time out and life will be much better for it!
I’m ready for you, 2011!
This post was originally published at Get Fit Chicks. It may refer to posts on Get Fit Chicks that no longer exist. Please email me if you run into any of those and I will break the links. More information about the reposting is available here
Happy New Year!
I was away over the holidays and busy celebrating with family and friends and pretty much ignoring the computer world. Yeah. When I turned my computer on after three days of ignoring, do you know what I found?
Over 1000 posts in my RSS feed. Something like 300 emails.
I selectively read my RSS feed. There are some blogs that I have to read and some that I like to read and some that I read very occasionally, so there was a process to choosing what to read, but it still took forever. And I deleted most of the email. I don’t get a lot of personal email anymore...
Anyway, I'm back now, so I'm trying to get back into blogging...
Not that 2010 was a bad year (it wasn't), but I'm so ready for 2011. I didn't make any specific resolutions for 2011. I've been working on my 101 things in 1001 days since September and that seems to be a good way for me to do it. There are some health and fitness goals in there, so go take a look (and if you're doing the 101 things in 1001 days challenge, let me know, I love to follow what others are up to!)
I did start the year with a list of lists though…books to read, blog posts to write, parts of our house to declutter, emails to write, packages to send, phone calls to make…
Slowly but surely I'll cross them all off…and very quickly I'll add more and more and more.
Lists are never ending! But I love them anyway!
My big challenge right now is still the GAPS diet. It's going much better now that the evil healing crisis is done and I'm on the full diet. It's still restrictive, but not like in the introductory stages.
I had some interesting food over the holidays – my mom made me lasagne with zucchini "noodles" and used cheddar cheese instead of ricotta and mozzarella. It was tasty and it held together fairly well. She also made some spiced nuts which were to die for and I could have everything in them...yay for finding snack food that works with the diet.
I have another 6-8 weeks to go on the diet and I'm looking forward to the end. I think I will have developed some good low carb habits by the time the end comes and I've figured out how to make one meal for all three of us instead of one for me and one for them…it's easier on the full diet and I can always make a side of rice or some potatoes for Alex and J and just not have them on my plate.
The big thing I'm looking forward to is a reduction in our grocery bill. It's huge because of all the nut butters and meat and special foods…I think it will go down substantially when I go back to less restricted eating (and less broth...I'm getting tired of it!)
Is anyone else out there like me and doesn't make specific New Years resolutions?
Happy New Year!
I was away over the holidays and busy celebrating with family and friends and pretty much ignoring the computer world. Yeah. When I turned my computer on after three days of ignoring, do you know what I found?
Over 1000 posts in my RSS feed. Something like 300 emails.
I selectively read my RSS feed. There are some blogs that I have to read and some that I like to read and some that I read very occasionally, so there was a process to choosing what to read, but it still took forever. And I deleted most of the email. I don’t get a lot of personal email anymore...
Anyway, I'm back now, so I'm trying to get back into blogging...
Not that 2010 was a bad year (it wasn't), but I'm so ready for 2011. I didn't make any specific resolutions for 2011. I've been working on my 101 things in 1001 days since September and that seems to be a good way for me to do it. There are some health and fitness goals in there, so go take a look (and if you're doing the 101 things in 1001 days challenge, let me know, I love to follow what others are up to!)
I did start the year with a list of lists though…books to read, blog posts to write, parts of our house to declutter, emails to write, packages to send, phone calls to make…
Slowly but surely I'll cross them all off…and very quickly I'll add more and more and more.
Lists are never ending! But I love them anyway!
My big challenge right now is still the GAPS diet. It's going much better now that the evil healing crisis is done and I'm on the full diet. It's still restrictive, but not like in the introductory stages.
I had some interesting food over the holidays – my mom made me lasagne with zucchini "noodles" and used cheddar cheese instead of ricotta and mozzarella. It was tasty and it held together fairly well. She also made some spiced nuts which were to die for and I could have everything in them...yay for finding snack food that works with the diet.
I have another 6-8 weeks to go on the diet and I'm looking forward to the end. I think I will have developed some good low carb habits by the time the end comes and I've figured out how to make one meal for all three of us instead of one for me and one for them…it's easier on the full diet and I can always make a side of rice or some potatoes for Alex and J and just not have them on my plate.
The big thing I'm looking forward to is a reduction in our grocery bill. It's huge because of all the nut butters and meat and special foods…I think it will go down substantially when I go back to less restricted eating (and less broth...I'm getting tired of it!)
Is anyone else out there like me and doesn't make specific New Years resolutions?
Handmade times five (aka Game!)
When I first ventured into the world of blogging, Heddy, who encouraged me be unbored by starting my own blog suggested a few blogs to me for my reading pleasure. One of those blogs was Martini Mom. For the past almost five years (eeep....have I really been blogging that long?!?!) I have been lurking on Martini Mom's blog. I've read about her little boy, who isn't so little anymore, her ex-husband, the dog, the Man, the new baby, the kitchen reno. I've laughed, I've been ticked off for her, I've gotten teary, and I think I've left a comment or two, but for the most part I've lurked (seems sort of strange to me as I type this that I know a fair amount about her life and she doesn't know anything about me...)
But then yesterday she posted a fun little game! and offered to send something handmade to the first five people to comment on her post and suggested that if you're one of her five you might want to play too. I wandered over there first and I'm totally up for playing. I'm going to do the same...first five commenters, I will send you something that I make for you and you'll receive it by the end of 2011.
I figure that gives me 359 days to get my act together and make five homemade things...I have a few thoughts rolling around in my brain right now...
Leave a comment with your email address...and if you're in the top five and you want to play too, well, leave a comment with a link to your "Game!." I'll email you in the next couple of days and collect your address (unless of course I have it already...) and sometime before December 31, you'll get a little package in the mail or left on your doorstep or maybe you'll discover something in your purse...who knows...
And if I don't know you (in real life or in the blog world) and you have a blog, please leave a link to your blog so I can decide what I might like to make for you...
This is going to be fun...
So, if you want something homemade by me, comment away...
PS You don't have to have a blog to comment. You also don't have to do your own giveaway.
But then yesterday she posted a fun little game! and offered to send something handmade to the first five people to comment on her post and suggested that if you're one of her five you might want to play too. I wandered over there first and I'm totally up for playing. I'm going to do the same...first five commenters, I will send you something that I make for you and you'll receive it by the end of 2011.
I figure that gives me 359 days to get my act together and make five homemade things...I have a few thoughts rolling around in my brain right now...
Leave a comment with your email address...and if you're in the top five and you want to play too, well, leave a comment with a link to your "Game!." I'll email you in the next couple of days and collect your address (unless of course I have it already...) and sometime before December 31, you'll get a little package in the mail or left on your doorstep or maybe you'll discover something in your purse...who knows...
And if I don't know you (in real life or in the blog world) and you have a blog, please leave a link to your blog so I can decide what I might like to make for you...
This is going to be fun...
So, if you want something homemade by me, comment away...
PS You don't have to have a blog to comment. You also don't have to do your own giveaway.
Monday, January 03, 2011
Farewell 2010
Well, I had thought I'd do this on New Years Eve, but, well, J had other ideas...I wanted to go to bed early, but J was up until 10:30...
Then I thought, oh, I'll do it on New Years Day. Ha. J was up at 5:00. I know people who arrived home later than that...J went to bed and got up before they had even finished partying.
UGH.
So, here's my recap of 2010. On January 3rd.
Oh, and somehow this is my 1000th post...yeah, 1000th post...how the heck did that happen?
2010 was a crazy year for us and while overall it was great, I must say I'm happy to see it gone.
Let's see...it started with the crazy diet and it ended with a new crazy diet...
We were rudely awakened to the frailty of human life and how lucky we are to have our loved ones (and just in case we didn't get the message the first time, we were reminded again in the fall).
I started acupuncture to sort out some leftover issues from having J.
The Olympics and Paralympic games came to Vancouver and we had a blast! We even got to catch up with a friend of mine from my Our Chalet days. Alex got to work a shift with fairly normal hours and we all loved it. Apparently the excitement of the Gold Medal hockey game was too much for me and I disappeared from blogland for the month of March.
March was also the start of bi-weekly yoga for me and I discovered how much I love it.
The end of March marked a huge change in my work life as my department closed for good and I was transferred to a brand spanking new department. It was a big change, a new experience, and brought many challenges, but nine months in, while I miss my coworkers from my old department, I am enjoying my new position, department, and coworkers.
We got to summer and looked forward to J entering UBC...daycare that is...
J grew from a little baby into a little girl who entertains us on a daily basis with all kinds of antics. We left her with my parents for a week at Easter, spur of the moment, and again in August when we took a little vacation.
I started two new challenges this year - a book challenge and a 101 in 1001 challenge. And I made a newimaginary blog friend!
We started using the kitchen book to organize our lives and maximize the time we get to spend as a family...life with a daddy on crazy, ever-shifting shift work can be trying for all involved.
The weather turned very cold and we even got a big dump of snow. I started knitting again. We began celebrating Christmas early with the Santa Claus parade and ended with a lovely little Christmas vacation in k-town.
So yeah, a very productive and relatively happy year...I'm happy to see 2011 though. I'm hoping it might be a bit smoother going than 2010 was.
As for resolutions, well I don't make them. I set goals throughout the year. Right now I'm working on sticking to the GAPS diet and crossing things off the list of 101 in 1001 days...We're also working on sorting out the STUFF in our lives...getting rid of four bags of books today was just the beginning!
Happy 2011 to my blog readers...hope yours is wonderfully amazing and happy!
Then I thought, oh, I'll do it on New Years Day. Ha. J was up at 5:00. I know people who arrived home later than that...J went to bed and got up before they had even finished partying.
UGH.
So, here's my recap of 2010. On January 3rd.
Oh, and somehow this is my 1000th post...yeah, 1000th post...how the heck did that happen?
2010 was a crazy year for us and while overall it was great, I must say I'm happy to see it gone.
Let's see...it started with the crazy diet and it ended with a new crazy diet...
We were rudely awakened to the frailty of human life and how lucky we are to have our loved ones (and just in case we didn't get the message the first time, we were reminded again in the fall).
I started acupuncture to sort out some leftover issues from having J.
The Olympics and Paralympic games came to Vancouver and we had a blast! We even got to catch up with a friend of mine from my Our Chalet days. Alex got to work a shift with fairly normal hours and we all loved it. Apparently the excitement of the Gold Medal hockey game was too much for me and I disappeared from blogland for the month of March.
March was also the start of bi-weekly yoga for me and I discovered how much I love it.
The end of March marked a huge change in my work life as my department closed for good and I was transferred to a brand spanking new department. It was a big change, a new experience, and brought many challenges, but nine months in, while I miss my coworkers from my old department, I am enjoying my new position, department, and coworkers.
We got to summer and looked forward to J entering UBC...daycare that is...
J grew from a little baby into a little girl who entertains us on a daily basis with all kinds of antics. We left her with my parents for a week at Easter, spur of the moment, and again in August when we took a little vacation.
I started two new challenges this year - a book challenge and a 101 in 1001 challenge. And I made a new
We started using the kitchen book to organize our lives and maximize the time we get to spend as a family...life with a daddy on crazy, ever-shifting shift work can be trying for all involved.
The weather turned very cold and we even got a big dump of snow. I started knitting again. We began celebrating Christmas early with the Santa Claus parade and ended with a lovely little Christmas vacation in k-town.
So yeah, a very productive and relatively happy year...I'm happy to see 2011 though. I'm hoping it might be a bit smoother going than 2010 was.
As for resolutions, well I don't make them. I set goals throughout the year. Right now I'm working on sticking to the GAPS diet and crossing things off the list of 101 in 1001 days...We're also working on sorting out the STUFF in our lives...getting rid of four bags of books today was just the beginning!
Happy 2011 to my blog readers...hope yours is wonderfully amazing and happy!
Saturday, January 01, 2011
4. Stick to the crazy diet for at least a month
Huh. I thought I'd blogged about this...but apparently not.
I wrote a bit about it as it happened on Get Fit Chicks.
I wrote about the new diet it when it arrived here.
But I didn't really blog about completing item number 4. I'm sure I did though. So bear with me. I've been up since 5:00 am this morning.
I did the diet. I stuck with it as best I could given the events going on in our lives. I stocked the house with crazy diet friendly food. I drank lots of water. I ate lots of veggies and fruit and grilled and baked chicken. I was careful. I planned ahead when I knew I wouldn't have much choice so that I wouldn't have to eat much.
It didn't work. It was frustrating. I didn't feel any better.
UGH.
But I did it.
I also found out why it wasn't working. One of the things that was high the last time was my cortisol. I also had an unhappy liver and an unhappy pancreas. This time, my cortisol is low. So low. Usually if you saw a graph of your cortisol, it would start out really high in the morning, then drop quickly and then even out for the rest of the day. Mine is low and the curve is pretty flat all day.
Some of this is called adrenal fatigue. There are other things going on too.
The crazy diet and the GAPS diet have a few things in common, but a lot of things not in common. One likes wheat, the other likes nuts. One likes lentils, the other likes rice. One likes fermented dairy products, the other only likes fresh dairy products. Both dislike soy. Both like fresh meats.
So while the crazy diet didn't work for me (if you're looking it up, the term you want to search is low-tyramine diet) this time, I'm happy to say the GAPS diet is working. It's going to be longer than the crazy diet before we can start adding things in (3-4 months vs 1 month) but I'm game if the results are worth it and so far they are!
I wrote a bit about it as it happened on Get Fit Chicks.
I wrote about the new diet it when it arrived here.
But I didn't really blog about completing item number 4. I'm sure I did though. So bear with me. I've been up since 5:00 am this morning.
I did the diet. I stuck with it as best I could given the events going on in our lives. I stocked the house with crazy diet friendly food. I drank lots of water. I ate lots of veggies and fruit and grilled and baked chicken. I was careful. I planned ahead when I knew I wouldn't have much choice so that I wouldn't have to eat much.
It didn't work. It was frustrating. I didn't feel any better.
UGH.
But I did it.
I also found out why it wasn't working. One of the things that was high the last time was my cortisol. I also had an unhappy liver and an unhappy pancreas. This time, my cortisol is low. So low. Usually if you saw a graph of your cortisol, it would start out really high in the morning, then drop quickly and then even out for the rest of the day. Mine is low and the curve is pretty flat all day.
Some of this is called adrenal fatigue. There are other things going on too.
The crazy diet and the GAPS diet have a few things in common, but a lot of things not in common. One likes wheat, the other likes nuts. One likes lentils, the other likes rice. One likes fermented dairy products, the other only likes fresh dairy products. Both dislike soy. Both like fresh meats.
So while the crazy diet didn't work for me (if you're looking it up, the term you want to search is low-tyramine diet) this time, I'm happy to say the GAPS diet is working. It's going to be longer than the crazy diet before we can start adding things in (3-4 months vs 1 month) but I'm game if the results are worth it and so far they are!
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