Food Overhaul

The average American is taking a new look at their diet. Weight gain, diabetes, heart disease and dental issues are plaguing our nation. A glance at our diet explains a huge reason for why. The other half of the health coin is physical fitness. From farm food to quarter pounders, daily hard labor to life at a desk; life has changed so much that it's no surprise the collective health of America keeps falling. Yet the changes we would need to fix a majority of the issues would be very simple if people were aware and willing. Imagine slowly changing your diet from life out of a freezer box back to one where half your meals are meatless and fresh from start to finish.

For my family this change took about 2 years, we keep making small changes constantly. After tempura fried zucchini we decided to give eggplant a try. Now we can't get enough of this great vegetable. Once upon a time we only had one vegetarian meal a week. These days we have 2-3 depending on whats in the fridge. Hubby has lost weight and I have no issue maintaining mine. As for exercise we both keep busy in our own way. I've started playing soccer again, jogging will follow. The husband works so hard and fast that when he goes on vacation for a week he puts on 10lbs. Activity equals weight burn. More weight burn means less worry over every little calorie.

Think about what goes into some of the strange foods we all eat as Americans. I just ate a strawberry pop tart today. Imagine my surprise to find no strawberries on the ingredient list. My soda is sugar, water and flavors. Why can't I just drink water, maybe add a little lemon juice to it. As we change more and more of our bad habits we find that our health improves, energy levels are high without caffeine and other assistants. Look for our next few articles to be on food and how easy it is to make good tasty food.

Soups

Today I bought a magazines about soups. It got my brain thinking about this wondrous dish. Soups tends to be a one pot dish that warms your belly on a cold winters day. This week is officially my week of soups. I'm going to make several over the next few days and freeze them in batches. After the ham we have thaws out I'll have split pea. Others will be beef barley, navy bean, and bean and bacon. Other will join the list as I go through this tasty magazine. Casey will do his part and cook us a cheese soup, one that even I will eat. It's Sooo good!

New Begginings

I've never been good at moving on. However, I feel as if I owe myself a new start. A second go at blogging. This is about wifery. This is about everything that entails. Baby, dinner, carpet stains, to husbands and back again. I'll be posting when I feel like it. Topics may be requested, but most will be as I think of them. To my one fan: I'll make you proud.

The Brain Itch

Today I am composing a letter to the government and for a few papers. Somethings are given to us in moment of clarity that we shouldn't ignore. I'll sound like a nut to some of you, including the family who reads. But all of it is pertinent if you put any thought into the future. I will post the letter once it is finished. So without further delay: BABY!

Ira has reached a new milestone after a month of not really progressing in any large steps. He is scooting around when we give him tummy time, eating bananas (our first people food), and sleeping in his crib finally. His last doctors appt went well, 15 pounds, 2 ounces. 25.5 inches long. He's still our healthy happy boy. Ira's sleeping has changed dramatically in the last week. From not sleeping very well to sleeping almost a whole day away. He seems to be attempting to sleep in 2 big chunks rather than the 3 naps during the day. My house has taken a beating as I've adjusted to never having time to do ANYTHING. With his daily sleeping schedule getting thrown out of whack I've not had the energy for pictures, email, or posting. Sorry to everyone who has felt the lack. I feel bad, but at the same time Ira comes first before any of this extra stuff. Today he has finally consented to nap without a fight so I'm typing as fast as I can on all my projects while I can.

My OFH book is on hiatus, but with a new arrangement for a babysitter I will have the time and concentration to keep going on it and on my "big green dream" (eco build). Some of you I have been contacting to get input on one project or the other. Thank you for always agreeing to help! For now, that is all I have time for... I hear the wails starting. Picture will be posted with my letter once it is finished since I ran out of time.

Good golly it's hot.

We have had an incredible heat wave. Hit 100 on Tuesday, was 95+ Sunday till Wednesday. Poor Ira may not remember how clothes feel by the time we get cooled off. Thursday the wave broke, now it's a lovely 85 in the day... I miss the snow...

Ira has hit a few great milestones despite the heat. He held up his head while on his tummy and looked around. He only put it down when he got mad about being on the floor and started screaming. I cried. What a sap. This was followed closely by his first non milk food. Apple juice from Casey, another first. Daddy's first feeding. Ira made all kinds of great faces before he swallowed a taste or two. That was all he permitted though. Today we had Ira on his tummy to show moo his head up thing when he rolled over! We were all cheering at him. I put him back on his tummy, and he rolled again. Tonight while I was getting him calmed down from his bath he grabbed the rattle out of my hand. His stagnation seems to have been followed up by giant leaps.

As to myself, I have taken up a few new projects. Going to sew up a few aprons, been wanting some feminine aprons with pockets since my skirts and dresses do not. Organizing my life, this has been started due to Ira's mobility increase. We now have 3 binders: cooking, OFH drafting, and the household notebook. The file cabinet will be getting done up right as well. The third project is one that was once a dream and now a likely hood. I'm looking into and designing a plan for a Shared Living Community of 3 households. It's been a blast to research so far. More details on that as I get my information from notes into a readable format. All in all, holy cow what a week!

Foods

We plan our food out in 2 week segments. I like to plan ahead and get all psyched about what we will be eating. This next menu plan looks incredible. To have a cheap 2 weeks in an attempt to get a little bit ahead we will be going largely vegetarian. only 4 of the 14 meals will include an actual meat item. We will be eating eggplant, stir fry, fried rice, bean burritos (homemade re fried beans), and salads of different sorts.

For a suggestion to you all: try to include a few vegetarian meals in your routine and watch your grocery bill dip down. Meat is getting progressively expensive.

Da Baby

Ira has made some strides in the last week. He has figured out how to grab things, though it takes a whole lot of concentration and effort at this point. He is taking naps again, though only when I put him with my blanket or pillow cases. He will sleep at night without an aide but during the day he wants something that smells like mommy. He nuzzles my blanket and chews on the pillow case, so cute. He fills his bassinet now. I'm going to move him to the crib within a month. The idea is sad to me because that means he will be in his own room and not where I can lean over and look at him. Time to get the baby monitor...

Adult wise, me and Casey will be getting a break on Saturday. His mother is taking Ira all night! I am both ecstatic and scared. He sleeps almost all night, minus 3 feedings so I know it's not more than anyone can handle. I know he will be fine. But my baby will be 20 minutes away from me. All night. This is supposed to get us a night of sleep but I fear I may end up wide eyed and anxious this first time.

The research for OFH the book is going well though I may need to do a few interviews at some point. That is a little nerve racking, I don't know how to find people to talk to or how to go about it. Figured out MLA referencing again, some days I understand why the written word is disappearing from the country. When anything I need to know about almost anything can be found with a few clicks and keystrokes you don't want to spend the extra time playing with a book. For myself I will always be a paper copy supporter... I want to have my copy of some things. For everything else there is INTERNET!