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The Resistance Begins

January 9, 2011 by Dawn Marie

This morning I received the first comment regarding the lack of highly processed foods in the pantry.  My eldest son was looking for something to eat for breakfast and commented, “I wish we had some Swiss Cake Rolls or something.”  I explained our new food philosophy of eating foods, and the ingredients to make them, as close to their origins as possible.  He laughed and said, “Well, I’m glad I am going back to school today.” 

There were plenty of breakfast items available (fresh fruits, cereals, eggs, toast, etc.), but his generation seems to want it fast, not necessarily nutritious.  If they can not open the package in 10 seconds and start eating, it’s too much work.  I remember telling my children about 12 years ago that we did not have a microwave in our home when I was their age.  They asked in astonishment how we warmed our food and struggled with the concept of using the stove top or oven to reheat leftovers.

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Pantry Wars

January 8, 2011 by Dawn Marie

I am taking a stand to keep as many processed, sugary, fatty snacks out of my cupboards as possible.  I am replacing chips of all kinds, packaged cookies, pretzels, snack cakes, etc. with fresh fruits, vegetables, low-fat cheeses, nuts, whole grain crackers, and plain greek yogurt with basic fruit and whole grain cereal add-ins.  There is still a stash of my favorite bite-sized chocolate; I haven’t been able to let that go.  I want to make an excuse for it, like chocolate has medicinal purposes, but I am just going to own it; I want chocolate. 

This is the first week of the new regime, so I have not heard any backlash yet from the younger generation males of the household, but as the junk food diminishes, I am bound to get some sort of revolt.  I tried this tactic once before; as soon as the sour cream and onion chips were gone, my younger son was making requests to replenish the supply.  I caved that time, but I am now stronger in my convictions to eat foods as close to their original source as possible.  My husband has congratulated me on my efforts; we will see what his attitude is in a few weeks.

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Menu Planning

January 7, 2011 by Dawn Marie

As our nest gets more empty, it gets more difficult to plan for dinner.  They say it is hard to cook for just one or two people.  You know what is harder?  Cooking for one or two most nights and then having your boys, who are in their early twenties, eat dinner at home.  Sometimes, one of them brings a friend.

Last night, I made a two and a half pound meatloaf and about the same amount of mashed potatoes.  My husband worked late, so we ate before he got home.  I had to reserve some of dinner for him, because the three boys were gobbling it up!  When my husband got home, he looked at what was left and said, “Is that it?”  There was still quite a large portion, by my standards.  I guess I underestimate the male appetite!

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Running Safety

December 30, 2010 by Dawn Marie

As I got ready to take off for a run on a cloudy day, my husband stopped me at the end of the driveway and told me that my grey long-sleeved shirt and long pants made me blend in with the road.  He suggested I put on my high visibility vest I had just gotten from our daughter for Christmas. 

“I am already behind schedule; I will be alright,” I said.

I was a little over three miles into my four mile run when I got a sharp pain in my chest.  I started walking a few steps.  The first thought that popped in my mind was, “Is this it, Lord?”  followed by, “If I fall down on the road, I will blend in, cars won’t see me, and I could get run over.  I don’t want my family to have to deal with that.”  Thankfully, after a few steps, it passed.  The pain must have been indigestion or something.  Next time, I will definately wear my vest.

Later, I reflected on the event and thought about how my first reaction was to speak to the Lord and not feel fear at the thought of death.  Cool.

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What a Holiday!

December 28, 2010 by Dawn Marie

There are some things you want to forget, and this holiday week there have been plenty of events that I hope fade quickly from my middle-aged brain. 

12/23  On the way to Wisconsin to celebrate Christmas and bring back Terry’s mom to spend the week with us, we were rear-ended on I-94 on the north side of Chicago.  Traffic had slowed to 15-20 miles per hour, but the car behind us hit our Pathfinder going about 50 miles per hour, catapulting us forward and knocking the spare tire out from under our vehicle.  Terry saw it coming in the rearview mirror, but by the time he could say, “He is going to hit us,” BOOM, we were hit.  Terry was sitting up, but I was leaning forward, so I hit the head rest hard enough that the front of my face hurt. 

The police officer had us pull off of the highway at the next exit and go to a shopping center parking lot to fill out a report.  As we went through the parking lot, a car started backing out.  Terry honked his horn, but the guy kept backing.  We had to stop hard so that he wouldn’t hit us.  “Do we have a sign on us that says ‘Hit Me’?” I asked in exasperation.

Needless to say, we turned around and headed back home to assess the damages.  I thought I would feel a lot worse the next day, but I only had some muscle tightness in the neck, shoulders, and back.

My sister-in-law’s grandmother passed away this day, also.

12/24-25  Celebrating Christmas with friends and family was the highlight of the week.  We made some new friends Christmas Eve and celebrated Gavin’s first Christmas on Christmas Day.

12/26-28  Sunday started out fine, went for a great run and ate dinner at Miranda and Kyle’s.  We brought Gavin back home with us, along with my niece and nephew, because they didn’t want to go to their great-grandma’s funeral.  It was supposed to be a couple of days of great fun with the kids.  At about 3 a.m. on the 27th, I started getting sick out of both ends.  About an hour later, Terry started in; what can I say, we do everything together.  Gavin woke up about 5 a.m.  We had him on the bed as we took turns running to the bathroom.   We had to wave the white flag and have Gavin’s dad come get him, and my niece and nephew left a few hours after that.  What a bummer!  Terry and I were so sick the rest of the day; even after the explosions stopped, we were achy and wiped out.  I lost 5 pounds in 24 hours.  I don’t feel so great yet today, but much better than yesterday.

I keep telling myself that New Year’s eve is going to be a blast.  As long as it isn’t the same blast we had after Christmas.

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