I don't like taking vitamins. It's not that I don't think they're valuable, just that I can't seem to remember to take anything in pill form.
My husband and I would like to have kids. Who knew I'd actually get my ducks in a row someday? Usually I do things out of order, but we got married, are buying a house, kids should come next, right? Well, we can hope anyway.
But back to the vitamin issue. If I want to get pregnant I should be taking prenatal vitamins. That is, after all, why they call them "prenatal". BUT, if you should look at these vitamins they're like horse pills. They're huge, not tasty, and don't go down all that well. To make matters worse they make me queezy unless I've had food with them.
My plan was to take kids chewables. I'm not too bad at taking them, and although they've got a bit of extra sugar, I'm thinking the amount in one pill is not too significant. But then I have to worry about folic acid and all that other stuff. Sure, I could try to monitor my diet, but I'm not too sure about my ability as a non-nutritionist to do so.
And while walking in Walgreens I found Belly Bars. The box says "Packed with key prenatal nutrients, Bellybar satisfies your need for something nutritious and your craving for something delicious. And it delivers the essential iron, folic acid, calcium, and Omega-3 DHA that you and your baby need".
Their website claims "The Bellybar team works with nutritionists and medical advisors who are knowledgeable about and extremely experienced in prenatal nutrition. Our research suggests that if you eat a healthy diet, one Bellybar daily will provide the supplemental nutrients needed for normal pregnancies. You get vitamins in most of the foods you eat, and we have identified the nutrients needed to "fill the gap" for most women. However, as with any important decision regarding your pregnancy and nursing, you should consult your health care provider to discuss your individual nutritional needs."
Check with your doctor. I don't know any doctor that would say abandoning a vitamin for a nutrient bar is a good idea. I'm not sure they COULD say that, even if it was a good idea. BUT if I can't seem to take a vitamin I'm wondering if this is a realistic alternative, at least for now. I'm not pregnant so I don't have to worry about what the kid would be getting ...yet. The nutrient information says it delivers 100% of the iron needed in a 2000 calorie diet, 200% of folate (is that folic acid?) and 50mg of Omega 3. With the amount of milk and cheese we eat I'm not too worried about calcium.
They have 180 calories each, so they're a significant snack, but I tried one and it didn't taste hideous. I'm not endorsing this product, I'm not even sure I'm going to use this product, but it has peeked my curiosity. Any thoughts on this product?
***I was not paid for this review
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Good News, Bad News
We got home from signing our Purchase and Sale agreement to the new house to find a summons on our doorstep. Not for us. For our owner.
But being snoops that we are, and the package open, in front of our doorstep, we decided to read it. We thought it would be from our homeowner's association, considering he hasn't been paying his dues and the association asked us to pay them our rent instead of the landlord. We didn't because he said he sent the check in, but that's beside the point.
No, this summons is from two of our landlord's other tenants. Apparently they're having difficulty getting their deposits back and he's not paying moving fees he agreed on with the other tenants. He had the other tenants move out early so he could sell the place.
So on a positive note, we're out of here soon. On a negative note, he's got stuff of ours in storage and has a history of not paying out what's due. Lets see if we get our deposit back, or our belongings for that matter.
But being snoops that we are, and the package open, in front of our doorstep, we decided to read it. We thought it would be from our homeowner's association, considering he hasn't been paying his dues and the association asked us to pay them our rent instead of the landlord. We didn't because he said he sent the check in, but that's beside the point.
No, this summons is from two of our landlord's other tenants. Apparently they're having difficulty getting their deposits back and he's not paying moving fees he agreed on with the other tenants. He had the other tenants move out early so he could sell the place.
So on a positive note, we're out of here soon. On a negative note, he's got stuff of ours in storage and has a history of not paying out what's due. Lets see if we get our deposit back, or our belongings for that matter.
Monday, December 28, 2009
How many cookies?
It's that time of year for me when I look back at Christmas instead of looking forward to it. Every year there are WAY too many presents under the tree, even after perpetual affirmations by the entire family that we are NOT going to buy many gifts. And I guess we didn't, if you look in the comparative sense.
If you take away the Nature Mill indoor composter (which I know was expensive), I had a handful of inexpensive presents from both my parents and my husband, but they were all great gifts. Lots of books that I wanted, and some I didn't know about, a few new pieces of clothing, a few sentimental trinkets (like the handthrown mug I coveted while wedding shopping for a friend) and a handy iphone battery life extender. My husband fared about the same although his big gift was a seriously needed new laptop case. His favorite gift was a hand carved saguaro rib walking stick that my step-father made for himself over 30 years ago.
But if I had to estimate the amount of money we spent between my husband and I, I would have to say we spent about $500. That's WAY over the $100 challenge that I keep saying I'd like to do some year. While I'm sure I could get down to $100 per PERSON, I just keep seeing things I'd like for everyone. And because I start shopping early I just keep adding to the pile.
While I like the IDEA of a compact, less commercial Christmas it reminds me of some people I know who deliberately live in poverty. At least one of the people I'm thinking of cuts expenses so they can live below the poverty line and not pay taxes for war. That's some dedication. But when people decide, deliberately decide, to live poor, I'm always reminded that it affects other people too. A friend who makes little fails to bring a dish at the pot luck because they don't have the money, I loan out the car and it's returned without the gas refilled. Small things, but they lead to feelings of resentment.
And when I think about cutting back on how much I spend I wonder if I would be that person. The one who takes more than they give. How difficult it is to be qui pro quo in gift giving.
And if I sound ungrateful, I'm not. More like trying to justify how much fun it is to get a bunch of nice presents. :)
If you take away the Nature Mill indoor composter (which I know was expensive), I had a handful of inexpensive presents from both my parents and my husband, but they were all great gifts. Lots of books that I wanted, and some I didn't know about, a few new pieces of clothing, a few sentimental trinkets (like the handthrown mug I coveted while wedding shopping for a friend) and a handy iphone battery life extender. My husband fared about the same although his big gift was a seriously needed new laptop case. His favorite gift was a hand carved saguaro rib walking stick that my step-father made for himself over 30 years ago.
But if I had to estimate the amount of money we spent between my husband and I, I would have to say we spent about $500. That's WAY over the $100 challenge that I keep saying I'd like to do some year. While I'm sure I could get down to $100 per PERSON, I just keep seeing things I'd like for everyone. And because I start shopping early I just keep adding to the pile.
While I like the IDEA of a compact, less commercial Christmas it reminds me of some people I know who deliberately live in poverty. At least one of the people I'm thinking of cuts expenses so they can live below the poverty line and not pay taxes for war. That's some dedication. But when people decide, deliberately decide, to live poor, I'm always reminded that it affects other people too. A friend who makes little fails to bring a dish at the pot luck because they don't have the money, I loan out the car and it's returned without the gas refilled. Small things, but they lead to feelings of resentment.
And when I think about cutting back on how much I spend I wonder if I would be that person. The one who takes more than they give. How difficult it is to be qui pro quo in gift giving.
And if I sound ungrateful, I'm not. More like trying to justify how much fun it is to get a bunch of nice presents. :)
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Poor Girl, Poor World
Caitlen Watkins, 18 years old, stabbed a guy 6 times with an ice pick after he took the parking spot she'd been waiting for outside of a shopping mall..
I'm not sure if she hit him because her boyfriend was in a fistfight with the spot-stealer, or if she planned it out after he ignored her verbal diatribe. Either way, she, and her boyfriend, were out of the car, in a physical scuffle, had an ice pick, and a previously innocent girl hit the guy a few times. The spot-stealer hit her in the face so she picked him a few more times, he collapsed, and the teens drove off.
Regardless of whether she's right or wrong, I feel bad for Caitlen Watkins. Her rage drove her over the edge, and there's really no going back. Will she go to jail? Will she get anger management classes? What will her future look like?
And why does an 18 year old do such a thing? Has shopping become so frenzied an experience that it causes this time of outrage? Are limits and boundaries disappearing among people as they determine what a person should or should not do?
I certainly know road rage. And I definitely know the feeling that you just HAVE to make a wrong-doer understand that what they're doing is unjust. After all, no one else, the law included, is going to stop a guy from being selfish or rude, or from stealing a parking spot. And I imagine that, for a brief moment, it might have felt good, to have served a bit of justice.
But would I stab a guy who took my spot. No, I hope not. But I can imagine being livid. I just have the good luck of knowing where to draw a line. You would hope that an 18 year old would also know when to walk away. But would they?
Would they know with the way we run society now? The lack of laws on the road, the emphasis on individual gain, the importance of having more of everything, and the sense of entitlement that comes hand in hand with the wealthy. And despite our recession, we are a wealthy nation. But we're a threatened wealthy nation who has seemed to have forgotten what limits are, and why sometimes limits are good.
So is this just one tragic story? Or is this a precursor to continued teen violence from kids who don't know anything about control? Or is this something that's been going on a while, and only the far fetched stories draw our attention now that we're so jaded to the problems of our world.
Half optimistic, half pessimistic, I want to believe the best of the world. A balance of good and bad have always existed in the world, why must there be a tipping point now? But historically speaking there always has been one. We're just waiting now, to see what that will look like, but we could choose which way we want to tip.
Social physics. What goes up, must come down. To every action there is an opposite reaction. An object in motion stays in motion. Which one will we choose? And which one will Caitlen Watkins choose for her future?
I'm not sure if she hit him because her boyfriend was in a fistfight with the spot-stealer, or if she planned it out after he ignored her verbal diatribe. Either way, she, and her boyfriend, were out of the car, in a physical scuffle, had an ice pick, and a previously innocent girl hit the guy a few times. The spot-stealer hit her in the face so she picked him a few more times, he collapsed, and the teens drove off.
Regardless of whether she's right or wrong, I feel bad for Caitlen Watkins. Her rage drove her over the edge, and there's really no going back. Will she go to jail? Will she get anger management classes? What will her future look like?
And why does an 18 year old do such a thing? Has shopping become so frenzied an experience that it causes this time of outrage? Are limits and boundaries disappearing among people as they determine what a person should or should not do?
I certainly know road rage. And I definitely know the feeling that you just HAVE to make a wrong-doer understand that what they're doing is unjust. After all, no one else, the law included, is going to stop a guy from being selfish or rude, or from stealing a parking spot. And I imagine that, for a brief moment, it might have felt good, to have served a bit of justice.
But would I stab a guy who took my spot. No, I hope not. But I can imagine being livid. I just have the good luck of knowing where to draw a line. You would hope that an 18 year old would also know when to walk away. But would they?
Would they know with the way we run society now? The lack of laws on the road, the emphasis on individual gain, the importance of having more of everything, and the sense of entitlement that comes hand in hand with the wealthy. And despite our recession, we are a wealthy nation. But we're a threatened wealthy nation who has seemed to have forgotten what limits are, and why sometimes limits are good.
So is this just one tragic story? Or is this a precursor to continued teen violence from kids who don't know anything about control? Or is this something that's been going on a while, and only the far fetched stories draw our attention now that we're so jaded to the problems of our world.
Half optimistic, half pessimistic, I want to believe the best of the world. A balance of good and bad have always existed in the world, why must there be a tipping point now? But historically speaking there always has been one. We're just waiting now, to see what that will look like, but we could choose which way we want to tip.
Social physics. What goes up, must come down. To every action there is an opposite reaction. An object in motion stays in motion. Which one will we choose? And which one will Caitlen Watkins choose for her future?
Monday, December 21, 2009
Uh, strange?
So I really want a job. And I'm surprised to find that I want an office job. I don't know if that'll change, I enjoyed teaching and lesson plans, but for now, I just want a job I can go to regularly, do work, and get paid for it. I don't want conflict with students, I don't want stress over grading papers on time. I just want a job where I can feel useful and go home not feeling exhausted.
And I found a job online that I think would be perfect. It's a part time job in the admissions department of a local college. It's not a large college, more like a four year program for technologies. I applied, but then though I'd look up their website to see when they were back in session and figure out when they might be hiring.
That caused a problem. The website isn't working (strange for a college designed around computers). So I tried the phone number, and got the police. I think it must have been campus police, but still, strange. I asked how I'd get ahold of human resources and the person on the other end said they'd be back in January. I'm guessing their website won't be back up until then. Anyone else find that a bit odd?
Ah well, noting ventured, nothing gained.
And I found a job online that I think would be perfect. It's a part time job in the admissions department of a local college. It's not a large college, more like a four year program for technologies. I applied, but then though I'd look up their website to see when they were back in session and figure out when they might be hiring.
That caused a problem. The website isn't working (strange for a college designed around computers). So I tried the phone number, and got the police. I think it must have been campus police, but still, strange. I asked how I'd get ahold of human resources and the person on the other end said they'd be back in January. I'm guessing their website won't be back up until then. Anyone else find that a bit odd?
Ah well, noting ventured, nothing gained.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Bidding War
I spent part of the day exploring my new (hopefully) neighborhood.
I wanted to find, and did find:
A local cafe with sweets and coffee
A library
A church I'd feel comfortable attending
A gym
A park
Transportation to and from my favorite food stores
And as I got used to the idea of this new neighborhood apparently someone else did as well. Now we're in a bidding war. I can only hope this will work out well. What STRESS! I forgot what a huge pain it is to buy a house.
I wanted to find, and did find:
A local cafe with sweets and coffee
A library
A church I'd feel comfortable attending
A gym
A park
Transportation to and from my favorite food stores
And as I got used to the idea of this new neighborhood apparently someone else did as well. Now we're in a bidding war. I can only hope this will work out well. What STRESS! I forgot what a huge pain it is to buy a house.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Reality
So we just put an offer on a house. We're excited, but it is also sort of a reality check too.
First, we're actually buying a house without a garage, or parking for that matter. We have to rent a parking spot across the street. And it's just one spot. Not a lot of parking on the street, so this is me really going carless.
And it's me going carless a mile from a T station. There are buses, one that goes to the T, another two that go downtown, and one that goes to the retail strip with Target/Home Depot/Old Navy, etc.
The price is more than I had hoped we would spend, but it's a realistic price. With a realistic price will have to come a realistic lifestyle. While we won't be giving up our local foods it will be harder to get to them. Getting to the farm will also be more difficult. If we could find an additional parking spot for sale life would be easier, but also more expensive.
Traveling for the holidays is looking pretty grim for my husband. He's used to going home for Christmas and New Years. Although we'd already planned on Christmas in the States, he'd really been looking forward to New Years overseas. Tickets are already nearing the $1000 mark. While he can get his ticket free from work (nice travel budget perk worked into his contract) my ticket is on us. I keep saying we need to plan ahead.
Planning is not my husband's forte. This may mean more solo trips by Gerd to the continent while I stay home. I told him that he should go along for New Years and he said he didn't want to go without me. That's sweet and also super nice considering how much I hate New Years with all the fireworks. We have somewhat of a tradition, he plays the guitar for me and tries to distract me from all the noise. Anyway, getting off topic.
I don't think we could find a cheaper house that's still in the city. So, we'll be going from feeling pretty affluent to feeling pretty average. But I think that can be a good thing. The adventure in Boston is about to turn into the life in Boston. At least that's what I'm hoping for.
First, we're actually buying a house without a garage, or parking for that matter. We have to rent a parking spot across the street. And it's just one spot. Not a lot of parking on the street, so this is me really going carless.
And it's me going carless a mile from a T station. There are buses, one that goes to the T, another two that go downtown, and one that goes to the retail strip with Target/Home Depot/Old Navy, etc.
The price is more than I had hoped we would spend, but it's a realistic price. With a realistic price will have to come a realistic lifestyle. While we won't be giving up our local foods it will be harder to get to them. Getting to the farm will also be more difficult. If we could find an additional parking spot for sale life would be easier, but also more expensive.
Traveling for the holidays is looking pretty grim for my husband. He's used to going home for Christmas and New Years. Although we'd already planned on Christmas in the States, he'd really been looking forward to New Years overseas. Tickets are already nearing the $1000 mark. While he can get his ticket free from work (nice travel budget perk worked into his contract) my ticket is on us. I keep saying we need to plan ahead.
Planning is not my husband's forte. This may mean more solo trips by Gerd to the continent while I stay home. I told him that he should go along for New Years and he said he didn't want to go without me. That's sweet and also super nice considering how much I hate New Years with all the fireworks. We have somewhat of a tradition, he plays the guitar for me and tries to distract me from all the noise. Anyway, getting off topic.
I don't think we could find a cheaper house that's still in the city. So, we'll be going from feeling pretty affluent to feeling pretty average. But I think that can be a good thing. The adventure in Boston is about to turn into the life in Boston. At least that's what I'm hoping for.
Cookies and Revels
For a relaxed, uneventful weekend, this weekend was pretty busy and eventful. We weren't supposed to do anything but kick back and enjoy being home. I'm not too good at that.
Saturday I woke up early so I could clean and go to the grocery store before going to look at more houses. My husband woke up and called me, "Where are you?". By the time he made it out of bed I'd managed to do two loads of laundry, clean the kitchen, and go to two different stores.
We managed to get a layer of cat hair off of most of our belonging before heading out to look at a couple of houses. A lot of promise in one of those houses, better neighborhood, more space, BIG yard, Victorian detail...the payoff? Only one rental parking space, one mile from the T stop (bus down the street runs that way) and, of course, it's more expensive.
So I scooted off to Yoga, met 4 would be yogis and headed home with 3 of them to make Christmas cookies. This is where the confusion started. See, they thought we were going to do only one batch of cookies. Oh no no no, that's not how you do Christmas cookies. We made 3 different types in 2 hours and planned to do more but everyone was too tired to go on. Myself included.
Fortunately one friend mentioned that I'd see her tomorrow volunteering for the Revels. Good thing she mentioned it, I thought it was the NEXT Sunday. Oops.
So I grudgingly went to Sander's Theater and reported at noon as ordered. It was worth it. Free $54 ticket for an hour of CD sales before hand, during intermission, and a little while after the show. I always wonder what I should do during intermission anyway.
The Revels themselves are difficult to explain. A mix between choral performances, short skits, dances, sing-a-longs, and stories. The group is thematic and includes adults and children and is focused on celebrating the changing of the seasons. This performance, called Christmas Revels, celebrated Christmas/Solstice traditions of Shakers, Appalachia, Southern Gospel, and Native Americans. You wouldn't think they'd all fit together, and at times I thought they could have pulled one or two songs out, but overall they melded it all together better than you would think.
Something I noticed from the Summer Sing-A-Long is that they focus on similarities between cultures. This performance was no different, they looked at the Cheery Tree (Shaker), the Tree of Life (Native America), the Christmas Tree (Appalachia ) with a message that the darkness/coldness can never fully drive out goodness/warmth. There is always hope for the future. Of course they did this while also intermixing several traditional Christmas songs as well. Christ was portrayed as the hope of the world by Christian traditions as Native American songs showed family as that same light of hope. It was well done.
The whole thing made me want to sing again. I want to dance again. I decided right then and there I'd go to Contra dance on Thursday. Too bad I woke up this morning and realized I'll be in New York that evening to visit a New Mexico friend who'll be visiting.
Saturday I woke up early so I could clean and go to the grocery store before going to look at more houses. My husband woke up and called me, "Where are you?". By the time he made it out of bed I'd managed to do two loads of laundry, clean the kitchen, and go to two different stores.
We managed to get a layer of cat hair off of most of our belonging before heading out to look at a couple of houses. A lot of promise in one of those houses, better neighborhood, more space, BIG yard, Victorian detail...the payoff? Only one rental parking space, one mile from the T stop (bus down the street runs that way) and, of course, it's more expensive.
So I scooted off to Yoga, met 4 would be yogis and headed home with 3 of them to make Christmas cookies. This is where the confusion started. See, they thought we were going to do only one batch of cookies. Oh no no no, that's not how you do Christmas cookies. We made 3 different types in 2 hours and planned to do more but everyone was too tired to go on. Myself included.
Fortunately one friend mentioned that I'd see her tomorrow volunteering for the Revels. Good thing she mentioned it, I thought it was the NEXT Sunday. Oops.
So I grudgingly went to Sander's Theater and reported at noon as ordered. It was worth it. Free $54 ticket for an hour of CD sales before hand, during intermission, and a little while after the show. I always wonder what I should do during intermission anyway.
The Revels themselves are difficult to explain. A mix between choral performances, short skits, dances, sing-a-longs, and stories. The group is thematic and includes adults and children and is focused on celebrating the changing of the seasons. This performance, called Christmas Revels, celebrated Christmas/Solstice traditions of Shakers, Appalachia, Southern Gospel, and Native Americans. You wouldn't think they'd all fit together, and at times I thought they could have pulled one or two songs out, but overall they melded it all together better than you would think.
Something I noticed from the Summer Sing-A-Long is that they focus on similarities between cultures. This performance was no different, they looked at the Cheery Tree (Shaker), the Tree of Life (Native America), the Christmas Tree (Appalachia ) with a message that the darkness/coldness can never fully drive out goodness/warmth. There is always hope for the future. Of course they did this while also intermixing several traditional Christmas songs as well. Christ was portrayed as the hope of the world by Christian traditions as Native American songs showed family as that same light of hope. It was well done.
The whole thing made me want to sing again. I want to dance again. I decided right then and there I'd go to Contra dance on Thursday. Too bad I woke up this morning and realized I'll be in New York that evening to visit a New Mexico friend who'll be visiting.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Pizza
Well,
I had my cheap organic menu planned for the week but the moment my husband walked through the door I knew quinoa was NOT going to be on the night's menu. That's okay, keeps me from getting too uppity. Upper Crust pizza it was. And there aren't even any leftovers.
I had my cheap organic menu planned for the week but the moment my husband walked through the door I knew quinoa was NOT going to be on the night's menu. That's okay, keeps me from getting too uppity. Upper Crust pizza it was. And there aren't even any leftovers.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
No House
Well, fooey.
How do you spell fooey anyway. Darn, shucks, arg.
I wanted to buy a house. Not the concept, an actual house. It was on the wrong side of Mass Ave which means that there's more crime and it isn't the best area, but it's BARELY on the other side, so I figured it wouldn't be too bad, right?
Well, I went to the community department of the police department today and found out that the gang activity in the area is extremely high. The officer said he would advise his own family members to look elsewhere to live. Out of fairness he said I should knock on neighbors doors and see their take on the neighborhood. Is the increase in crime worth a $400,000 reduction in price? To get anything similar across the street would run in the $700,000 to $800,000 price range.
There are other neighborhoods to look at so I guess we can keep looking. I was expecting more crime but didn't expect to find out that it was a high crime area. Back to the drawing board.
How do you spell fooey anyway. Darn, shucks, arg.
I wanted to buy a house. Not the concept, an actual house. It was on the wrong side of Mass Ave which means that there's more crime and it isn't the best area, but it's BARELY on the other side, so I figured it wouldn't be too bad, right?
Well, I went to the community department of the police department today and found out that the gang activity in the area is extremely high. The officer said he would advise his own family members to look elsewhere to live. Out of fairness he said I should knock on neighbors doors and see their take on the neighborhood. Is the increase in crime worth a $400,000 reduction in price? To get anything similar across the street would run in the $700,000 to $800,000 price range.
There are other neighborhoods to look at so I guess we can keep looking. I was expecting more crime but didn't expect to find out that it was a high crime area. Back to the drawing board.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Turnips
I've never eaten a turnip before, at least that I'm aware of. Vegetables weren't really big in our house when I was growing up. Mom hates spinach and cooked carrots (or at least she did when I was a kid). We had corn, peas, green beans, broccoli, and sometimes salad. But we weren't vegetarians. Meals were pretty traditional, and turnips don't really fit with the theme.
I like turnips, at least how I made them tonight. I boiled them then added Swiss cheese, onion, milk and spices, sprinkled the top with more cheese and baked the whole thing in a casserole dish. Then I sauteed spinach, buttered a few pieces of my homemade bread and added a cup of leftover green chili stew. Fabulous dinner if I do say so myself.
Tomorrow's dinner is quinoa with broccoli and peanut butter, brussel sprouts, and leftover turnips. Friday will be homemade bread toasted with Swiss cheese along with fruit with peanut butter (for me) and Nutella (for my husband). Perhaps we'll finish off the leftover stew. Over the weekend I'll make split pea soup. I still have to figure out what to do with the celeriac.
Total cost is approximately $30 for approximately 5 meals (for two people) for an all organic menu that contains primarily local, in season foods. Feeling pretty good about dinners, now I have to work on breakfasts....
I like turnips, at least how I made them tonight. I boiled them then added Swiss cheese, onion, milk and spices, sprinkled the top with more cheese and baked the whole thing in a casserole dish. Then I sauteed spinach, buttered a few pieces of my homemade bread and added a cup of leftover green chili stew. Fabulous dinner if I do say so myself.
Tomorrow's dinner is quinoa with broccoli and peanut butter, brussel sprouts, and leftover turnips. Friday will be homemade bread toasted with Swiss cheese along with fruit with peanut butter (for me) and Nutella (for my husband). Perhaps we'll finish off the leftover stew. Over the weekend I'll make split pea soup. I still have to figure out what to do with the celeriac.
Total cost is approximately $30 for approximately 5 meals (for two people) for an all organic menu that contains primarily local, in season foods. Feeling pretty good about dinners, now I have to work on breakfasts....
One Pound
I did absolutely nothing yesterday, save read a book, watch a movie, and bake bread. It was the kind of recovery day I thought I needed after two weeks of traveling. It was near bliss.
But, I gained a pound.
I just got a new scale that actually shows weight in digits (before I was using a cheep round wheel of weight measurement from Ikea) and I've noticed that my weight keeps going up. Not in huge high increments, but going up nevertheless.
What concerns me about my day off (i.e. no physical exercise at all) is that I didn't eat excessively. I'm not going to say it was the most healthy meal in the world, especially considering there wasn't anything in our fridge (we have been gone for two weeks) and I didn't feel like even going shopping (although I should have because today it's raining outside).
I ate the following:
1 piece of individually wrapped chocolate (cal: 230, from fat 115)
1 handful of raisins (493, from fat 9)
1 small apple (65, from fat 2)
2 slices homemade baked bread (240, from fat 30, estimated)
1 bowl homemade(ish) from a kit green chili stew (360, from fat 35)
That's it. I've been racking my brain trying to think of anything else I ate, but I'm pretty sure that was all I ate yesterday. Now, I was surprised at how calorie high raisins were, but if I total the amount up I ate less that 1400 calories (1388). I can't believe I gained a pound.
So today I'm going to the gym. Apparently I'm going to have to exercise daily if I want to continue eating (if I gained a pound eating less than 1400 calories what would happen if I ate 3 square meals a day?). I don't mind exercise, actually once I get into a routine I really like being active, bu I'm surprised by my *need* to exercise.
But, I gained a pound.
I just got a new scale that actually shows weight in digits (before I was using a cheep round wheel of weight measurement from Ikea) and I've noticed that my weight keeps going up. Not in huge high increments, but going up nevertheless.
What concerns me about my day off (i.e. no physical exercise at all) is that I didn't eat excessively. I'm not going to say it was the most healthy meal in the world, especially considering there wasn't anything in our fridge (we have been gone for two weeks) and I didn't feel like even going shopping (although I should have because today it's raining outside).
I ate the following:
1 piece of individually wrapped chocolate (cal: 230, from fat 115)
1 handful of raisins (493, from fat 9)
1 small apple (65, from fat 2)
2 slices homemade baked bread (240, from fat 30, estimated)
1 bowl homemade(ish) from a kit green chili stew (360, from fat 35)
That's it. I've been racking my brain trying to think of anything else I ate, but I'm pretty sure that was all I ate yesterday. Now, I was surprised at how calorie high raisins were, but if I total the amount up I ate less that 1400 calories (1388). I can't believe I gained a pound.
So today I'm going to the gym. Apparently I'm going to have to exercise daily if I want to continue eating (if I gained a pound eating less than 1400 calories what would happen if I ate 3 square meals a day?). I don't mind exercise, actually once I get into a routine I really like being active, bu I'm surprised by my *need* to exercise.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Food, Inc.
I've been meaning to watch the film for a while now, but only today did I notice that it's available for instant play on Netflix.
The content isn't new, but it's well done. I hope the concepts reach people who didn't already know that our food has become too corporate, a big business that thinks about profit above the health and welfare of the nation.
I turned off the film and started baking my own bread. But as I was baking, I couldn't help but think back to a family interviewed in the movie. The producers showed a family drive through a fast food restaurant and order $11.75 (change approximate) worth of food for four people, two adults and two children. The premise was that they couldn't afford vegetables, even though they wanted them, and they didn't have time to cook a real meal most nights.
And of course they can't afford to eat the way they want. The food movement isn't just about eating better food, it's about changing your way of life. Sure, some people are already on the band wagon, I'm not the only one cooking my own bread, but if food reform is going to happen, we can't just keep going to the supermarket.
My Thanksgiving turkey cost $75. That's right, WAY, WAY more than the $.48/pound my aunt paid for her turkey from her local supermarket. We both got around a 16 pound bird but her bird cost less than $10. I'd like to think that my bird tasted better, but really, it probably didn't taste that much different.
But I'm not just paying for taste, and organically fed food does usually taste better in my opinion, I'm paying the true cost of my meat and I'm paying for the knowledge that my food was fed healthy ingredients and well respected during it's life on the farm. I can't say the same for mass production.
But what about the family that can't afford more than $12 a meal? They've got a few choices. One would be to not eat meat, shocking, but always an option. They otherwise could decide that it's worth saving up for and make it a feast. But either way it requires a life change and it requires planning ahead. Without change we'll still get fed, maybe life won't change all that much, but we'll still be feeding into a system that's broken, and sooner or later (hopefully much later) a broken food system will bring a broken food supply.
The content isn't new, but it's well done. I hope the concepts reach people who didn't already know that our food has become too corporate, a big business that thinks about profit above the health and welfare of the nation.
I turned off the film and started baking my own bread. But as I was baking, I couldn't help but think back to a family interviewed in the movie. The producers showed a family drive through a fast food restaurant and order $11.75 (change approximate) worth of food for four people, two adults and two children. The premise was that they couldn't afford vegetables, even though they wanted them, and they didn't have time to cook a real meal most nights.
And of course they can't afford to eat the way they want. The food movement isn't just about eating better food, it's about changing your way of life. Sure, some people are already on the band wagon, I'm not the only one cooking my own bread, but if food reform is going to happen, we can't just keep going to the supermarket.
My Thanksgiving turkey cost $75. That's right, WAY, WAY more than the $.48/pound my aunt paid for her turkey from her local supermarket. We both got around a 16 pound bird but her bird cost less than $10. I'd like to think that my bird tasted better, but really, it probably didn't taste that much different.
But I'm not just paying for taste, and organically fed food does usually taste better in my opinion, I'm paying the true cost of my meat and I'm paying for the knowledge that my food was fed healthy ingredients and well respected during it's life on the farm. I can't say the same for mass production.
But what about the family that can't afford more than $12 a meal? They've got a few choices. One would be to not eat meat, shocking, but always an option. They otherwise could decide that it's worth saving up for and make it a feast. But either way it requires a life change and it requires planning ahead. Without change we'll still get fed, maybe life won't change all that much, but we'll still be feeding into a system that's broken, and sooner or later (hopefully much later) a broken food system will bring a broken food supply.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Proud Owner
I'm a proud owner of a Christmas tree. The in-laws left today, guilty sigh of relief there, but before they took off I grabbed my mother-in-law and hauled her off to a Christmas tree farm. It was the first time I've ever cut down a Christmas tree on my own. The owner gave me a very large sickle-like saw and told me to pick one.
There was a light smattering of snow on all the trees and just enough snow on the ground to cover up the earth and make it a white wonderland.
We managed to get the car in my Honda Civic with the help of the farm owner (wrapping a tree in a blanket works miracles) and my mother-in-law and I managed to haul the thing up 4 flights of stairs on our own (my husband was working). Now I've strung the lights, both white lights and chili pepper lights, and I'm waiting for Gerd so I can start hanging all the ornaments.
Normally I'd have multicolored lights (somehow I've always associated pure white lights with snobbery) but it's a tradition in the Ertzgebirge region (where my in-laws come from) to have pure white trees in each house. We compromised and included something from my childhood region...red chili lights.
It's beginning to look a bit like Christmas, and that makes leaving Tucson feel okay again. Life is good.
There was a light smattering of snow on all the trees and just enough snow on the ground to cover up the earth and make it a white wonderland.
We managed to get the car in my Honda Civic with the help of the farm owner (wrapping a tree in a blanket works miracles) and my mother-in-law and I managed to haul the thing up 4 flights of stairs on our own (my husband was working). Now I've strung the lights, both white lights and chili pepper lights, and I'm waiting for Gerd so I can start hanging all the ornaments.
Normally I'd have multicolored lights (somehow I've always associated pure white lights with snobbery) but it's a tradition in the Ertzgebirge region (where my in-laws come from) to have pure white trees in each house. We compromised and included something from my childhood region...red chili lights.
It's beginning to look a bit like Christmas, and that makes leaving Tucson feel okay again. Life is good.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Behind
I had a great post composed in my head a few days ago. It was something about the New England Aquarium, a very rude woman who seemed to believe that only children should enjoy the the feeling station, and who didn't seem to understand the importance of teaching her child to wait his turn. Seriously, do people somehow believe that learning should be limited to young children? How frightening it would be if children didn't learn that they can be lifetime learners. Anyway, a few days has taken out the steam of my subject. I can now look back and really, it wasn't worth getting so irritated now was it?
And then there was the post about nudity. My brother-in-law doesn't seem to mind if anyone sees his package, although after a brief discussion last Christmas he typically wears at least his underwear in unconfined spaces. Unfortunately that turned out to be him changing in the hallway of our bed and breakfast a few days ago. More discussion ensued and I became labeled a prude. I have to say, looking back, I probably could have been nicer in the way I discussed the issue. It's never nice to find out you're doing something culturally unacceptable. Somehow his offhanded remark struck me wrong however. And really, I didn't want to get thrown out of the hotel.
Our hotel is a whole post waiting to happen. I misread the website and we didn't have enough beds for everyone. After holding my temper and holding my own the brusque B&B owner and I came to an agreement that involved an air bed and discounted rates. Actually I think I handled myself about as well as I could considering we'd been traveling for far too long and everyone seemed unnaturally irriated for having to leave the house at 6:30 to make our plane on time.
And now we're in Arizona and it's a strange, strange experience. Was I really raised here? I've been gone so long I can't see things the same way anymore. I find that I don't miss it (because I don't know it) and yet I desperately miss it. And I miss who I was and who I might have been.
All the advice points to looking forward, not backward. Never look back, right? Except that's how we analyze. That's how we learn. That's how we figure out which direction forward really IS.
But looking back right now, I feel more lost than I did before. I don't think I really know who I am anymore.
Believe it or not, when I was growing up in the southwest I was more accepting of different people and different views than I am now. I was far more kind and less controlling. And I wonder, if I'd stayed in Tucson would I have ended up who I am today? If not, who would I be? And if there is some other way I could be, what would I want that to look like?
And then there was the post about nudity. My brother-in-law doesn't seem to mind if anyone sees his package, although after a brief discussion last Christmas he typically wears at least his underwear in unconfined spaces. Unfortunately that turned out to be him changing in the hallway of our bed and breakfast a few days ago. More discussion ensued and I became labeled a prude. I have to say, looking back, I probably could have been nicer in the way I discussed the issue. It's never nice to find out you're doing something culturally unacceptable. Somehow his offhanded remark struck me wrong however. And really, I didn't want to get thrown out of the hotel.
Our hotel is a whole post waiting to happen. I misread the website and we didn't have enough beds for everyone. After holding my temper and holding my own the brusque B&B owner and I came to an agreement that involved an air bed and discounted rates. Actually I think I handled myself about as well as I could considering we'd been traveling for far too long and everyone seemed unnaturally irriated for having to leave the house at 6:30 to make our plane on time.
And now we're in Arizona and it's a strange, strange experience. Was I really raised here? I've been gone so long I can't see things the same way anymore. I find that I don't miss it (because I don't know it) and yet I desperately miss it. And I miss who I was and who I might have been.
All the advice points to looking forward, not backward. Never look back, right? Except that's how we analyze. That's how we learn. That's how we figure out which direction forward really IS.
But looking back right now, I feel more lost than I did before. I don't think I really know who I am anymore.
Believe it or not, when I was growing up in the southwest I was more accepting of different people and different views than I am now. I was far more kind and less controlling. And I wonder, if I'd stayed in Tucson would I have ended up who I am today? If not, who would I be? And if there is some other way I could be, what would I want that to look like?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)