Q & A, Part III April 27, 2008

Happy Sabbath, everyone! Some more questions answered below…

Lulu (who should get a blog, right everyone?) asked, “In the spirit of Earth Day, what are your favorite ways to be green in your everyday life?”

I actually didn’t celebrate Earth Day in any special way, but I’ve been an avid reducer/reuser/recycler since I was little.

“What are your tips for a fit and healthy pregnancy? Mr. Right and I have what we call a ‘five year plan’ for wedding, house buying, and first baby, but I say it’s never too early to start getting pointers!”

It’s never too early to start building for a healthy pregnancy. The healthier you are when you get pregnant, the healthier you’ll be when you are pregnant. As a general rule, I tried to eat at least 5-6 servings of fruits and veggies a day in addition to taking my Juice Plus+. I worked out at the gym 3 nights a week and walked or ran outside 20-30 minutes on the off days. Even in the winter, Husband and I would suit up and go out for a walk. I continued this patter when I was pregnant, and worked out (lifting weights and everything) up until the day before I went into labor. You might get detractors (“Don’t you think you’re hurting the baby?”), but as long as you keep your heart rate at a safe level and don’t exercise to the point of exhaustion, you’re probably doing your body a favor. Another helpful thing to me was joining an online forum. The one I used was called “Babyfit” and it was helpful to have other experienced and first-time mothers to answer my questions.

“What’s your typical Starbucks order?”

You know, I’m not much of a coffee drinker (water, now that’s my bag), but when I do order something, it’s usually whatever the current seasonal beverage is.

Jamie asked, “What is your favorite book?”

When I was a child, it was probably a toss-up between Matilda by Roald Dahl or The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Now? I’ve been reading nothing but non-fiction for so long…it’s hard to say. I read the Bible most regularly, so I’ll go with that.

“How did you and your husband meet?”

This is a rather odd and long story. To make it short, he was coming to the same college as me, and my aunt said, “There’s this boy from my church coming to your college. I want him to get in with ‘good people’ so you should invite him to Campus Crusade.” I did just that at the beginning of the year, and dusted off my hands, duty done. I didn’t speak to him again until Christmas break, when we were assigned to the same discussion group at CC’s Christmas Conference. Our group really hit it off and hung out a lot back at school, and we became good friends. Then during May (finals week) he asked me out.

“What do you like most/least about being a mom?”

Most: I can be having the worst day ever, and just a smile from my baby girl brightens it incredibly. She really is a delight.

Least: I don’t deal well with lack of sleep, and her schedule and mine…they don’t always run parallel tracks.

“How many pairs of shoes do you own?”

This is going to sound terrible, but keep in mind that I have shoes that date back to my high school years and probably 10 pair are $1.99 flip-flops from Wal-Mart…I have 40 pairs.

Jenni asked, “Bein’ as how you’re from Minnesota, do you have any Scandinavian blood coursing through your veins? You look blond and blue-eyed, but that could be German as well…”

You’re correct. I’m mostly Swedish, but I also have bits and pieces of these:

English
Irish
Scottish
Norwegian
French-Canadian-Indian
German
Ukrainian

How’s that for a mutt?

Thanks everyone, this was fun, and not as intimidating as I thought. Once again, if you asked a question, consider yourself “tagged” to do the same thing on your own blog, if you so choose.

The Unimportance of Me April 5, 2008

Antique Mommy tagged me for a Six Unimportant Things About Me meme yesterday.

But there’s a twist (AM did this, so I’m going to do the same)…one of them is not true. If you can guess which one, you win a prize*. If multiple people guess the same one, I’ll do a drawing to determine the winner. You have until midnight on Tuesday, April 8 to leave a guess in the comments.

1. My hair is naturally blonde.

2. I learned to ride bike when I was seven.

3. My favorite drink is an Asian Pear Mojito at P.F. Chang’s.

4. I know how to dance the rhumba and the tango.

5. I sell a whole food supplement called Juice Plus+.

6. I type 95 wpm.

Now the hard part. To tag six people. This is always weird because I feel bad for tagging people and bad for not tagging people. I know not everyone has time allotted for memes, so I won’t be offended if you don’t complete it. And if I didn’t list you and you’d like to play, do so by all means!

Carrie at Newlywed Nurse-to-Be

Jamie at Class Notes

Happy Mommy

Erica at Haphazard Happenstances

Donna at Quiet Life

Beck at Frog and Toad Are Still Friends

*Prize is $10.00 gift card to Bath & Body Works. I realize that doesn’t even buy one of their delicious lotions these days, but maybe you could get a cool lip gloss or a fuzzy wuzzy pair of socks.

Homemade Baby Food March 8, 2008

This is a solicitation for advice. Just so you know.

A couple of weeks back Anja started eating baby cereal. A little later we started her on strained organic fruits (funny how they come in a container containing BPA…). Now I’d like to start making my own baby cereal and foods. A good friend gave me a book called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. While I am excited to use it, it’s yet another tome to add to the building pile of “must-reads.” So, a two-fold question for those of you who have already been through this:

1) What foods did you start your babies off on (just so I can do a few recipes now and then go back and read the book)?

2) Have any of you made your own baby foods? Did you find it to be worth the work?

Disclaimer: The rest of the post is just some blather, so feel free to skip it and just answer my questions.

I consider myself to be a pretty environmentally-friendly person, and even though global warming has been overly hyped by the media, I have long been a proponent of reduce/reuse/recycle. There reaches a point when I draw limits, however. For instance, when faced with the choice between disposable diapers and cloth, my “green” self wanted to go the natural route. Then I considered the sheer amount of time spent scrubbing poop (or all the “dollars saved” from not purchasing disposables going straight to a diaper service), and disposables won out. It hurts my heart that those buggers will never biodegrade, but I figure Jesus will come back before He’ll let the planet become completely overrun with diapers…

A second example is making my own baby wipes. The same friend who gave me the baby food book makes her own wipes. God love her, but I don’t have the patience (or the coffee cans) required. For the time it would save me in the long run, it’s not worth the $2 a month it would save me. With coupons, I spend probably $4/month on Anja’s wipes, tops, and you have to use paper towels to make homemade wipes, which cost more than wipes.

So, you have learned this about me today: that I value time more than frugality in some instances. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. One can become a slave to money in more than one way. You can have lots of it and love it and always be wanting more, or you can be so penny-pinching that all of your thoughts and time are focused around saving money. Either way, it becomes a god. Lord, give me daily grace to steer clear of either extreme.

—

“He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.” - Ecclesiastes 5:16 ESV

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” - Matthew 6:24 ESV

Recipe Box Swap - Chick-Pea Pilaf March 5, 2008

Randi is hosting her monthly Recipe Box Swap. The theme this month is money-saving recipes. Probably the greatest benefit of eating vegetarian (which we try to do at least 5 or so nights a week) is that it is healthy. Don’t get me started on meat. Or other animal products, for that matter. A secondary benefit is that it is CHEAP! Don’t let marketers fool you into thinking that prepackaged, preservative-filled foods are somehow more economical than beans, lentils and fresh, raw fruits and veggies. Stepping off soapbox…

Here’s a great recipe from The New American Heart Association Cookbook. Both Husband and I love it!

Chick-Pea Pilaf

1/2 to 3/4 cup dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup boiling water

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

10-ounce package frozen green peas, thawed

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

15.5-oz can no-salt-added chick-peas, rinsed and drained

3 oz. low-fat feta cheese

Put the tomatoes in a small bowl and add the boiling water. Set aside for about 10 minutes to soften.

Drain the tomatoes, saving the liquid in a 2-cup measuring cup. Chop the tomatoes and set aside.

Add enough water to the tomato liquid to equal 2 cups. Pour into a medium saucepan.

Rinse the quinoa under cold water; drain. Stir the quinoa into the saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed.

Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour in the oil and swirl to coat the bottom. When the oil is hot, add the green peas, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the chick-peas. Heat through, about 5 minutes.

To serve, stir together the tomatoes, quinoa, and chick-pea mixture. Spoon onto a large serving platter. Crumble the feta on top.

*****Editorial note*****

I don’t us as much red pepper flakes as it calls for–that’s a little too spicy for those of Scandinavian descent, dontcha know.

The Demise of Fries February 26, 2008

Husband and I were going to pick up our car from an oil change the other day and we passed McDonald’s.

“Look at all the people in the drive-through!” I exclaimed, pointing. “It’s Sunday morning at 9:30. What are they doing?”

Husband looked at me and said, “Weird, isn’t it? I forget McDonald’s exists.”

“Yeah, me, too,” I said. “Since we never go there, it’s as if it died long ago.” Turning back to face the store, I murmured, “McDonald’s, you are dead to me.”

Even with all their attempts at luring people in with “healthy” food (Apples with the skin cut off soaked in preservatives and put in a bag are not healthy, FYI. Do NOT feed them to your children. Though they might be a slightly better choice than potatoes with the skin cut off deep fried in grease…), I am not tempted. Burger King, Hardee’s (do they even exist any more?), Taco Bell…you’re all in the same place. Restaurant oblivion.

Wishes and Prayers February 7, 2008

Brea from Texas (like Ron Paul!) tagged me with a meme, and since I didn’t have time to get up my normal post today, I thought it would be fun to not procrastinate this…So here’s the directions: post two wish lists, 5 material wishes and 5 spiritual or more meaningful wishes. Then tag five people (but I’m gonna stick with 3).

List 1:

1. I wish I could stay home with Anja.  Even though I like my job, it breaks my heart to leave her with someone else even the two days a week that I do.

 

2. I wish my family ate even better than we do.  I have a weakness for cookies.  And bars. (For those of you who don’t live in the Midwest, “bars” are like brownies, a pan of something sweet cut into squares.  There are must many varieties.)

 

3. I wish money wasn’t such a problem for my generation.  Society has become geared toward two incomes, and it is very hard to live on one income, even if it’s decent.

 

4. I wish we had a house with our own yard for Anja to play in.  Maybe even an acre or two with trees.

 

5. I wish Husband could travel the way he wants to—Europe,

 

 

List 2:

1. I pray my family will come to know Christ.

 

2. I pray for the spiritual maturity needed to raise my daughter (and hopefully her siblings someday) in the way God would want me to.

 

3. I pray for solidarity of faith for Husband.

 

4. I pray for boldness and wisdom when I interact with unbelievers, that they might see and know and love Christ for who He is and not the figment that our culture (and even many churches) make him out to be.

 

5. I pray that I will use the gifts God has given me in a way that is most glorifying to Him…that any creativity, efficiency, etc. might be redeemed from getting simply an earthly “job well done.”

 

In my first meme, I guess I forgot this part.  Sorry!  I’m new, remember?  I tag Lori, Carrie and Erica.  If you aren’t the “memeing” type, don’t worry about it.  I won’t be offended.  Oh, and I think it’s also protocol to let the person you tag know via email or a comment on their blog that you tagged them.

To keep your produce fresh January 31, 2008

Try this trick!

The Great Cookie Caper December 20, 2007

This morning I looked in the Tupperware on our kitchen counter, and lo and behold, there was one of these bad boys left!

I figured, in my action-justifying way, that since Husband didn’t take it to work with him, he must be leaving it for me. Yay! So I took a bite, and simultaneously, I heard police sirens. I laughed briefly at the irony of it all. Then I took another bite.

The Case for Real Food December 17, 2007

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/the-case-for-real-food/

Pardon my lack of a real post, but this is a great post in place of my own.

Obesity and Babies December 6, 2007

Disclaimer: Nutrition happens to be a “soapbox” of mine…what was intended to be a short post about baby sizes is now…um…this:

Anja is tall. In fact, she’s in the 95^th percentile for her age.

The other day I bought her the cutest little jeans at Target for less than $2.00. I washed them and went to put them on her today, only to find that they’re way too huge in the waist. They even have an elastic waist, but they slide right off of her. This is a trend that started when she was born. At 3 mo. old, she is long enough for 6 mo. pants, but in the waist she’s a 0-3 mo. In other words, she’s ready for a flood at all times. You can see from the picture below that she’s not what you’d call a skinny baby. So my question is: Has our culture of obesity now made way for obese babies?

Overall, I’ve noticed a dramatic change in sizes since I was a kid. Children are much fatter. It makes me really sad when I go to the store and see a kid that can’t be much older than three who has got major weight issues. But…let’s take a look at what we’re feeding them…

Babies: The average kid starts out on either breast milk or formula. Basic nutrition. Babies need it. But…a lot of moms feed on demand. When a child has a breast thrust in their face every time they make a peep, how do we not expect them to push problems away by eating when they get older? Then, they graduate to cereal and baby foods. Do you know what they make in baby food form these days? Macaroni & Cheese. Peach cobbler. Lasagna. Who wants to develop their little palates to crave these horrible-for-them items before they even taste the real thing? Ugh. Marketing toward children makes me sick. What makes me sicker is marketing toward stupid, gullible parents. Because it works. Because they’re stupid and gullible. Okay, got derailed there for a second…back on track. They move on from these disgusting excuses for baby food to finger foods. What are they given? Carbohydrates in cute shapes fortified with vitamins. Wouldn’t want to give them fruit or vegetables, would we? Those things might actually HELP their bodies fight off infection and disease. Better to give them some synthetic (read: man-made) vitamins stirred into a slurry of “enriched” floury paste held together by high fructose corn syrup (it’s in everything, people) that is baked into fun little shapes. Then they can start hardening their arteries and growing cancer cells at a nice young age. Oh, and don’t forget to wash it down with some “100% Fruit Juice.” Of course it’s good for you! Never mind that they took out all the fiber that helps you process the gargantuan amount of sugar in the fruit. Next time try a 100% piece of real fruit.

Toddlers: Once they’ve grown a few more teeth, they get to start dining out with mom and dad. What’s on the menu? Chicken fingers (fried) with French fries (fried), hamburgers (fried), spaghetti (at least the tomato sauce is somewhat redeemable), french toast sticks (dense white bread, dipped in fat, deep fried and covered in a sugary syrup). Is it any wonder kids are being diagnosed with ADD more and more? The fuel we’re giving them isn’t sufficient for their bodies to run on! And unfortunately, this isn’t much different from the menu offered in most homes. “What? Little Bobby won’t eat anything but cheezy puffs and root beer? Aww…better that than let him starve.” Maybe not better. Maybe not.

School-agers: “Billy, will you trade me your fruit snacks for my granola bar?” That pretty much says it all. Come home to mom (or the sitter) after school and grab an Oreo or some chips.

Teenagers: They’ve got wheels (or at least friends with wheels), some cash, and fast food galore. How often do you see gangs of teenagers hanging out at the local vegetarian bistro? Or scouring the aisles of Whole Foods? Nope. They’re at 7-11 (do they still have those or am I just old?) grabbing a Big Gulp and one of those awesomely nutritious pre-packaged sugar cookies with thick pink frosting and sprinkles. Or they’re at McDonald’s scoring an equally nutritious piece of deep fried chicken wrapped in a white flour tortilla with iceberg lettuce and shredded cheese. “Mom, I’m supposed to do a report on organic produce for my ethics class…what’s ‘produce’?”

Adults: NOW they have tons of excuses for their crappy lifestyle of eating. I’m busy, so I’ll grab something out of the vending machine or pick up KFC on the way home. And so it continues in a downward spiral. Nary an apple or an asparagus spear in sight. Heart disease, cancer, diabetes…these diseases (and others) are often preventable through excellent dietary and lifestyle habits. Many adults have made choices and will continue making choices that bring on these diseases. And then they teach their children to make the same horrible choices. And the beat goes on…