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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Adventures in the Produce Aisle

I’ve never been a big fan of vegetables, or fruits for that matter. I was born allergic to most foods and as a result I’ve just never really developed a taste for fruits & vegetables. When I attempted to eat them at various times throughout my life (when I was pregnant for example) I have not been a fan. So fruits & vegetables have not been a big part of my life.

When the boys were growing up I insisted that Jeff never ask me to try things in front of them, as I didn’t want to say no and impress upon them my food hang-ups. Thankfully, Jared will pretty much eat anything; he’ll definitely try everything once and if he doesn’t like it (and there’s not much he doesn’t like) he’ll let us know. Justin, on the other hand, has definitely inherited my finickiness, and there’s no medical reason for him to be that way. About the time he reached his teens he made the decision to start eating better and he has really broadened his horizons in the past several years. Now, living on his own for the first time, he’s become a bit of a health nut – to the degree that he will – and it’s a very good thing. I’m thrilled that he is getting over his food hang-ups much younger than I have. It’s taken me this long to start coming around!

In the past year Jeff & I decided to make some dramatic dietary changes. We were never junk food junkies or horrible eaters, but I was not one to make vegetables at night with dinner. We ate a lot of pasta and bread, without focusing much on protein. Now we focus on protein and vegetables. As a result salad is a regular staple in our diet; it’s something we eat daily now. I feel like I live in the grocery store, or I should live there as I’m there often enough. I’ve never spent so much time in the produce section. I’ve definitely spent more time in the produce aisle in the past year than I ever have in my whole life. It’s really good and I’m really glad about it, it’s just different for me. I’m at the grocery store every two to three days buying a fresh head of lettuce, among other produce items. I feel like I should just move into the produce section!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Home James…err, I mean Jeff!

The weather this winter has been extremely harsh, and I know most folks don’t believe me when I say that’s unusual for Great Falls. We’ve had many mild winters, so to have this much snow and ice and cold is unusual for us. We aren’t used to it anymore, or perhaps I should say I’m not used to it. This week has been a blessing in comparison to the past several weeks. We are in the high 30’s to low 40’s daily with some sun, compared to last week’s teen’s and clouds. Folks are back outside wearing shorts and t-shirts! It’s been a very nice, much needed break!

This time last week the roads were sheets of ice. Cars were ice skating all over town and into each other. My little bug is not made for this. I’ve already told Jeff, as much as I LOVE my bug, in 5 to 10 years when I am car shopping again I will want a vehicle that is a little higher off the road IF we are still living in an area where snow is part of our lives. The other school of thought, and I really like this one, is that I have a summer car and a winter car – makes me dream about the days when I can become a snow bird and have a winter home and a summer home! Wishful thinking…

But last week, Jared and I are getting ready to head out for the day – me delivering him to school and myself to work. Jeff says, as always, “Drive safe!” To which I respond that he should be chauffeuring me to work and Jared to school. I reminded him that he is the reason that we live in Montana. (That’s not to say I don’t like it, but it sure works when the weather is crappy – I blame him!) I informed him that if I had my way I’d be living in sunny, 70+ degree Southern California and not driving on an ice rink. To which he responded that if we lived in So Cal he’d have a minimum one hour commute to work. So I gave him two choices, he can either chauffeur me six months out of the year OR he can commute a long distance to work. I really felt I had a sound argument, but he still wasn’t buying…so off to work I drove! I’m just hoping this fair weather holds out a little bit longer as the ice rink is finally starting to thaw!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Draggin'

I’ve written so many blog posts, in my mind, in recent weeks…I’ve decided that I just need to start writing and stop putting so much thought into it! Perhaps I should change the name of my blog to something like the ‘Ranting’s of a mad housewife’…here goes today’s rant…

I bought my brother-in-law a t-shirt for Christmas that had a picture of a man dragging a donkey on it; the caption notes…I went on a little hike, now I’m dragging my ass (or something to that effect). He is an avid hiker. I, on the other hand, am not…yet I’m seriously ‘dragging my ass’ today! So, what’s my excuse?!

I am not a morning person. Jeff bought me a magnet several years ago that sums it up very well, “Not a morning person doesn’t even begin to cover it!” That’s me! Coffee doesn’t help; I’ve never liked it, can’t even stand the smell of it. My morning cup of coffee is my shower, yet that hasn’t seemed to help get me moving this morning!

I slept like a rock last night so you’d think I’d be good to go, but that’s definitely not the case. Perhaps it was our weekend jaunt to Missoula. I took the day off work on Friday and we drove away with two packed vehicles, ready to move Justin into his first apartment. I slept well while there, so I’m still asking, what’s my excuse?!

I have none, but I’m just glad that today I have nothing to do but pick Jared up from school and go home! Tomorrow is another day…hopefully I will wake up raring to go! One can hope anyway…

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Resolutions…or not!

It’s that time of year again, the time of year when folks start talking about their resolutions…and soon after are talking about how they’ve already broken those resolutions. The other reality is that everyone pretty much makes the same resolutions; lose weight, quit smoking, watch less TV, etc. There’s so rarely any uniqueness to them. Personally, I’ve never been much for making resolutions, as I know the reality is that they are rarely thought of, let alone kept, soon after the New Year begins.

And therein lies the problem, I think, with resolutions. Most folks state a resolution and think about it for about a week or two and quickly forget it. It is not something that they have truly committed to or take the time to make a habit out of. Experts tell us that it takes 21 days to create a habit. My non-scientific guess would be that most resolutions are forgotten by the 15th of January.

I found an interesting article on resolutions, kind of funny reading actually…resolutions one should never make:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/12/29/tf.new.years.resolutions/index.html?iref=obnetwork

So with this New Year I’ll once again stick with my resolution to NOT make any resolutions thank you very much! Oops, wonder what happens if I wind up breaking that resolution?!?!