I haven't had a chance to blog in a very long time. Being a mother some things get pushed to the side, but today it was my children that inspired me to return to the blog. Having a sibling I understand that two people born of the same parents can have totally different interests and personalities. My sister and I are 15 months apart and my husband and his brother are 14 months apart so you'd think that being that close in age would almost be akin to being twins, who often have a lot of the same interests. However, that couldn't be farther from the truth for either of us. While we have a lot in common with our siblings as adults, as children we both had totally different interests and groups of friends. As my children are getting older it is becoming very apparent that they have two totally different personalities and passions too.
From the time Peyton could sit up he was all about the throw. He could throw a ball across the room by a year. He walked before a year, did a forward roll and jumped way before he should've been able to developmentally but has never shown much interest in the fine motor. There is very little artwork from him before 2 years old. He just didn't want to sit still long enough to color. Puzzles were a mystery to him until he was almost 3 years old, he just didn't get the what he was supposed to do. He loves baseball, football, soccer, dancing, gymnastics, riding his bike, and hiking, but still isn't much of a climber on the playground, needing help unless the route is really obvious.
Then there is Sierra. At 14 months she isn't walking except a couple of steps, but loves to engage in activities standing up that take concentration and time. So no walking, but climbing, my God can that child climb. She's a little monkey. She loves to be up high. About a month ago I put a crayon in her hand for the first time and she has been obsessed with coloring ever since. And blocks, puzzles, and stacking tasks are some of her favorite things and things that Peyton just didn't catch on to until much later. And music...wow, does she love music, dancing to it, making it, and listening to it.
Emotionally they are seeming to be quite different as well. Peyton was never a cuddler really and he could never self sooth and never attached to a lovey. He woke 3+ times a night for almost 2 years to nurse for comfort. Sierra loves to cuddle, has sucked her fingers from practically birth to self sooth and has a bear that she loves to cuddle with in bed. She sleeps most nights, except when teething or sick, until 4 or 5 in the morning before waking up to be nursed back to sleep. Sierra seems to be more sensitive to the emotions of those around her too and she gets very upset if you tell her no.
It'll be very interesting to see as they get older what they gravitate towards and how different they are. I hope we give them good values, ample opportunities to explore and the confidence to pursue their dreams so that they can be happy, healthy adults. For right now I'm just enjoying observing them every day.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Mt Bierstadt, Our First 14er
When we moved to Colorado I expected to climb a 14er within the first year. We quickly purchased our guide and journal to the Colorado 14ers, but somehow it never happened. There was that time that we attempted Grays and Torreys, but rain and a 4 wheel drive road with us in the Prius thwarted that attempt. Then kids came. So this year, when my mom was in town in July, I jumped on the opportunity to get away sans kids. Zack went along with the idea, but I'm not sure he was as excited as me. I felt like this was something I HAD to do. I want to hike Colorado summits. The Rocky Mountains call me to them making me more myself than I ever am at my home in the Denver burbs. My husband will agree that I am a totally different person in the mountains, but getting there has been difficult in the past 4 years. I have been on one difficult hike in the mountains since starting to have kids. It was a steep beautiful hike near Breckenridge past a waterfall to a high alpine lake. Other than that I have been limited to short "strolls" that can hardly be called hiking. Kids almost made me change my mind today. After my teething one year old kept me up a large majority of the night and when my alarm went off at 4 am and she was crying yet again I seriously considered just saying "screw it." Zack said it was up to me to decide and after just a split second of contemplation I said that I knew I'd completely regret it if we didn't go. So we brewed some coffee and off we went...here's a rundown of the adventure.
It's pitch black, the moon and stars bright. After nursing the baby she's back to sleep and we've decided to follow through with our plan to hike up Mt. Bierstadt, an "easy" Colorado 14er at 14060 feet above sea level. We get dressed, make coffee, put our packed day packs and jackets in the car. It seems strange packing both a fleece and a rain jacket with how warm and clear it is at our house at just over 5500 feet of elevation. Our hike is only an hour and a half away, but our experience living in Colorado is this, altitude is everything when it comes to temperature and we will be starting on a trail at 11,669 feet at approximately 6:30 in the morning. Our experience also tells us that rain can crop up any time in the mountains, so always be prepared. Rain, actually thunder storms, are the reason for our early start. We hope to beat the nearly daily high altitude afternoon storms. We also hope to beat the crowds. With only an elevation gain of 2391 feet (disputable based on source because you descend before ascending) over a little over 3 miles and no technical skills required in the summer it is touted as one of Colorado's easiest 14ers and hence, one of the most crowded. We make our way to Grant, CO to ascend Guanella Pass where the parking area resides. First we stop for breakfast at the Cutthroat Cafe in Bailey, a local greasy spoon where we've eaten before after camping in the area. The three old locals who are the only other ones in the restaurant this early ask us what we could possibly be doing up this early. We say we're going up to Bierstadt. What's going on up there, they reply. Just hiking, we say...they think we're nuts. Why do we do it? To quote Gregory Mallory, famous mountaineer who disappeared on Mt. Everest "because it's there." For me there is an uncontrollable draw to climb a mountain, to see what's around the next bend, over the next hill. It's in me and when the desire is not satiated, I am not me.
We leave the greasy spoon, climb the pass, passing quiet campsites full of campers who have not yet emerged from there nylon cocoons. As we park the sun is just coming over the mountain and the full lower parking area shows that the upcoming beautiful day is attracting many hikers to the mountain. Those with the same desire to climb "because it's there" as me. We are here. I can't remember ever having butterflies in my stomach before a hike, but I do. I've waited so long to hike a 14er I'm afraid of failure. I'm afraid of weather moving in, ending my attempt like the last time. I hear another hiker in the parking lot say "a beautiful day to hike a 14er." It sure is. Nerves quickly give way to an energized electricity in my body. The views are breathtaking. Breathtaking becomes my internal mantra. I will repeat it to myself over and over as we climb. But first, we descend. Descending is not good when your ultimate goal is to go up. We cross a creek and begin our ascent.
I stupidly allow myself to believe this will be easy. The initial ascent as we head into the willows is gentle, hard packed, filled with views of wildflowers and ponds. The mountain looms above us, rocky, but seemingly "not that far." Not that far because the hike descriptions I'd read say 3 miles with 2600 feet of elevation gain. "Sea level is for sissies," I say to myself, the motto for the Bolder Boulder, a 10K we've done several times since moving here. The addition of altitude means a decrease in oxygen. This entire hike falls within the high altitude to extremely high altitude range, which can lead to hypoxia if you aren't used to it. 3 miles, I could do that in my sleep. 2600 feet of elevation gain, no problem. Put it above 11,000 feet and it's a challenge. And then, the challenge began. As we got above treeline, the willows giving way to alpine flowers, rocks and gravel, we suddenly began to ascend, steeply. A trail runner, common in Colorado no matter where you are or how hard the trail, blows by me. A part of me is in awe another part wants to yell, "show off" in his wake. Regardless of the altitude and the steepness of the trail I feel great. I decided to bring my hiking poles and couldn't be happier. If I'd been without my legs would've been taking all the effort and I don't think I'd be feeling as good. Zack drags behind. He tells me later that his heart was pounding with the steepness and the altitude. This is how we are, I'm the climber, he's the descender. He can fly down a mountain without a loss of footing like a mountain goat, whereas I 'm constantly falling on my butt, but I can trudge uphill like a champ. I debate waiting for him, wondering if the negative thoughts in his head, which are obvious even from a distance, will just make him mad. I decide that we should continue to ascend with our own internal dialogues, waiting occasionally, but mostly just concerning myself with getting to the top, taking pictures and marveling at the amazing views around me.
I watch the people around me. All ages, all walks of life, all kinds of clothing, footwear and supplies. It's intermittently cold and hot and I grow tired of zipping, unzipping, taking my jacket off and putting it on. The sun goes in and out and the wind picks up and dies down. We finally get to a point where we are ascending steeply, mostly on boulders with water running down the trail, seemingly from some ground seeps, even at this elevation. Rest breaks come more often. The hikers, once reminiscent of ants marching back to their mound start to splinter as people need more and more breaks and are gasping for air. I continue to feel amazing and proud. John Denver's "I am the Eagle" is going through my head, which is strange since my usual mountain playlist is more along the lines of Rocky Mountain High. Instead I feel strong. I feel like I am the eagle, I'm channeling the strength, the beauty, I'm rising above most other humans all across the country as I walk up, up, up. My internal dialogue is positive, tired but motivated, feeling more full of life than I've been in a very long time.
Suddenly we come to a rocky ridge. It's only a slight ascent and leads to a massive cairn that marks the beginning of the end. Zack has caught up and we look at the home stretch. It's a steep boulder field that ascends to the summit. We're almost there. We trudge ahead. It's surprisingly easy compared to what we've just been through. We pick our way from cairn to cairn using hands and feet to climb up and finally, we're there. I choke up, don't cry, but am overwhelmed by the realization that I've finally done it. I've finally hiked above 14000 feet. I am looking down on Colorado. Behind us Mt. Evans, another 14er, looms about 200 feet higher with a road all the way to the top. Those that have driven to the top won't know what I feel now, the sense of accomplishment of having walked this high. I can't wipe the smile off my face. This is me. Yes I have kids now, but I need this to be whole. We take pictures, eat a snack. We've ascended in about 2 hours.
Descents are my downfall. My muscles fatigue, I have a tendency to fall. I repeatedly thank myself for thinking to bring the poles. Meanwhile I'm practically running to keep up with Zack. Descending we can talk about our experience because we can breathe. Zack says even though the "monkeys were talking" on the way up, it was worth it once at the top. We take a break about half way down since my legs have turned to jello. The thing about this hike is that the summit is in view the entire way up and the parking lot is in view the entire way down. That can be both encouraging and disheartening. We finally get to the last part of the trail, the part we had to descend before ascending, so it is uphill. It surprisingly doesn't feel that bad.
We've done it. I now have a renewed desire to summit hike. We stop on the way home at a mountain hole in the wall restaurant/biker bar to have lunch. It feels so appropriate. A beer after Bierstadt. Simpler life. That's what I strive for. I feel a sense again that I'm meant to long trail hike. The Colorado Trail, the Appalachian Trail...something. Now that we have kids it probably won't happen for a while, but I don't feel anymore like the dream is dead. It's alive in me. I'm alive. I'm still capable. It took nearly 7 years a marriage and 2 children later, but I've still got it and I still want it.
It's pitch black, the moon and stars bright. After nursing the baby she's back to sleep and we've decided to follow through with our plan to hike up Mt. Bierstadt, an "easy" Colorado 14er at 14060 feet above sea level. We get dressed, make coffee, put our packed day packs and jackets in the car. It seems strange packing both a fleece and a rain jacket with how warm and clear it is at our house at just over 5500 feet of elevation. Our hike is only an hour and a half away, but our experience living in Colorado is this, altitude is everything when it comes to temperature and we will be starting on a trail at 11,669 feet at approximately 6:30 in the morning. Our experience also tells us that rain can crop up any time in the mountains, so always be prepared. Rain, actually thunder storms, are the reason for our early start. We hope to beat the nearly daily high altitude afternoon storms. We also hope to beat the crowds. With only an elevation gain of 2391 feet (disputable based on source because you descend before ascending) over a little over 3 miles and no technical skills required in the summer it is touted as one of Colorado's easiest 14ers and hence, one of the most crowded. We make our way to Grant, CO to ascend Guanella Pass where the parking area resides. First we stop for breakfast at the Cutthroat Cafe in Bailey, a local greasy spoon where we've eaten before after camping in the area. The three old locals who are the only other ones in the restaurant this early ask us what we could possibly be doing up this early. We say we're going up to Bierstadt. What's going on up there, they reply. Just hiking, we say...they think we're nuts. Why do we do it? To quote Gregory Mallory, famous mountaineer who disappeared on Mt. Everest "because it's there." For me there is an uncontrollable draw to climb a mountain, to see what's around the next bend, over the next hill. It's in me and when the desire is not satiated, I am not me.
We leave the greasy spoon, climb the pass, passing quiet campsites full of campers who have not yet emerged from there nylon cocoons. As we park the sun is just coming over the mountain and the full lower parking area shows that the upcoming beautiful day is attracting many hikers to the mountain. Those with the same desire to climb "because it's there" as me. We are here. I can't remember ever having butterflies in my stomach before a hike, but I do. I've waited so long to hike a 14er I'm afraid of failure. I'm afraid of weather moving in, ending my attempt like the last time. I hear another hiker in the parking lot say "a beautiful day to hike a 14er." It sure is. Nerves quickly give way to an energized electricity in my body. The views are breathtaking. Breathtaking becomes my internal mantra. I will repeat it to myself over and over as we climb. But first, we descend. Descending is not good when your ultimate goal is to go up. We cross a creek and begin our ascent.
I stupidly allow myself to believe this will be easy. The initial ascent as we head into the willows is gentle, hard packed, filled with views of wildflowers and ponds. The mountain looms above us, rocky, but seemingly "not that far." Not that far because the hike descriptions I'd read say 3 miles with 2600 feet of elevation gain. "Sea level is for sissies," I say to myself, the motto for the Bolder Boulder, a 10K we've done several times since moving here. The addition of altitude means a decrease in oxygen. This entire hike falls within the high altitude to extremely high altitude range, which can lead to hypoxia if you aren't used to it. 3 miles, I could do that in my sleep. 2600 feet of elevation gain, no problem. Put it above 11,000 feet and it's a challenge. And then, the challenge began. As we got above treeline, the willows giving way to alpine flowers, rocks and gravel, we suddenly began to ascend, steeply. A trail runner, common in Colorado no matter where you are or how hard the trail, blows by me. A part of me is in awe another part wants to yell, "show off" in his wake. Regardless of the altitude and the steepness of the trail I feel great. I decided to bring my hiking poles and couldn't be happier. If I'd been without my legs would've been taking all the effort and I don't think I'd be feeling as good. Zack drags behind. He tells me later that his heart was pounding with the steepness and the altitude. This is how we are, I'm the climber, he's the descender. He can fly down a mountain without a loss of footing like a mountain goat, whereas I 'm constantly falling on my butt, but I can trudge uphill like a champ. I debate waiting for him, wondering if the negative thoughts in his head, which are obvious even from a distance, will just make him mad. I decide that we should continue to ascend with our own internal dialogues, waiting occasionally, but mostly just concerning myself with getting to the top, taking pictures and marveling at the amazing views around me.
I watch the people around me. All ages, all walks of life, all kinds of clothing, footwear and supplies. It's intermittently cold and hot and I grow tired of zipping, unzipping, taking my jacket off and putting it on. The sun goes in and out and the wind picks up and dies down. We finally get to a point where we are ascending steeply, mostly on boulders with water running down the trail, seemingly from some ground seeps, even at this elevation. Rest breaks come more often. The hikers, once reminiscent of ants marching back to their mound start to splinter as people need more and more breaks and are gasping for air. I continue to feel amazing and proud. John Denver's "I am the Eagle" is going through my head, which is strange since my usual mountain playlist is more along the lines of Rocky Mountain High. Instead I feel strong. I feel like I am the eagle, I'm channeling the strength, the beauty, I'm rising above most other humans all across the country as I walk up, up, up. My internal dialogue is positive, tired but motivated, feeling more full of life than I've been in a very long time.
Suddenly we come to a rocky ridge. It's only a slight ascent and leads to a massive cairn that marks the beginning of the end. Zack has caught up and we look at the home stretch. It's a steep boulder field that ascends to the summit. We're almost there. We trudge ahead. It's surprisingly easy compared to what we've just been through. We pick our way from cairn to cairn using hands and feet to climb up and finally, we're there. I choke up, don't cry, but am overwhelmed by the realization that I've finally done it. I've finally hiked above 14000 feet. I am looking down on Colorado. Behind us Mt. Evans, another 14er, looms about 200 feet higher with a road all the way to the top. Those that have driven to the top won't know what I feel now, the sense of accomplishment of having walked this high. I can't wipe the smile off my face. This is me. Yes I have kids now, but I need this to be whole. We take pictures, eat a snack. We've ascended in about 2 hours.
Descents are my downfall. My muscles fatigue, I have a tendency to fall. I repeatedly thank myself for thinking to bring the poles. Meanwhile I'm practically running to keep up with Zack. Descending we can talk about our experience because we can breathe. Zack says even though the "monkeys were talking" on the way up, it was worth it once at the top. We take a break about half way down since my legs have turned to jello. The thing about this hike is that the summit is in view the entire way up and the parking lot is in view the entire way down. That can be both encouraging and disheartening. We finally get to the last part of the trail, the part we had to descend before ascending, so it is uphill. It surprisingly doesn't feel that bad.
We've done it. I now have a renewed desire to summit hike. We stop on the way home at a mountain hole in the wall restaurant/biker bar to have lunch. It feels so appropriate. A beer after Bierstadt. Simpler life. That's what I strive for. I feel a sense again that I'm meant to long trail hike. The Colorado Trail, the Appalachian Trail...something. Now that we have kids it probably won't happen for a while, but I don't feel anymore like the dream is dead. It's alive in me. I'm alive. I'm still capable. It took nearly 7 years a marriage and 2 children later, but I've still got it and I still want it.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Ruminations on me
I am me. I am a crunchy granola girl who hugs trees. I gave birth to two gorgeous babies with a midwife in the water and watched them immediately recognize me as "Mama" and take hold of my heart (and breast) and not let go. I buy organic food and I have a garden that fails miserably every summer and yet every summer I try. I dream of being a nomad and living off the land. I had an awful relationship with my deceased, alcoholic father, I have a wonderful relationship with my mother, and I have a wonderful husband who I am muddling through this complicated life with. I dream, BIG. I'm internal, often forgoing what I want due to not ever expressing it to anyone but myself. I LOVE my kids, more than life. I both hate myself and love myself in the same breath. I yearn to be outdoors, all the time. I enjoy my daily interactions with my patients and learning everything there is to know about them. I'm not happy and I'm joyous. I'm complicated. That is me. Take me as I am.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Yard Frustrations
This is a blog to vent. Every spring/summer since buying this house I think, what in God's name was the person who lived here before us thinking?! This year I decided to wander around both the backyard and front to photo document some of the biggest offenses in the yard.
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| Don't know what this is called. It's a succulent that spreads like wildfire. This used to be roughly a 3 foot in diameter spread of this plant. Once we cut down the pine tree (more to come on that later) that provided shade, it took over. Now I find it sprouting up everywhere, including the backyard behind a privacy fence! |
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| Another spreader. This vine, while pretty when blooming, is popping up everywhere! It's even coming up in the grass and every year I spend hours pulling out dead and dying shoots that are suffocating everything in their path. Also in this pic, this damn wine barrel. What you can't see is that there is a tree stump in it. Yes, that's right, there used to be a Russian Olive tree growing out of this barrel. If you are familiar with Russian Olives you'd know they are basically a weed. So basically nothing will grow in this barrel because of the stump in it and the fact that soil seeps out the side since the metal parts are shot, I am constantly cutting down shoots of the olive that pop up next to it, and it's basically just one big ant hill. |
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| Mint, the classic cannot be contained, herb. Everything I've ever read about mint says to only plant it in a container because once you've got it, it's everywhere. That's very true. |
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Lemon Balm-another cannot be contained herb. At least it's purported to keep away mosquitoes since the oil is one of the main ingredients in citronella. It also makes an okay tea and I'll sometimes use it in summery recipes to add a lemony flavor.     
And don't even get me started on the lava rock we cleared out 6 years ago, the weeds that constantly pop up in the xeroscaping, the stinging nettles almost as tall as me, and the railroad tie stairs on the side of the house that are rotten and uneven and an accident waiting to happen! Why exactly was the outside space one of the things that sold me on the house? Um, probably because I was as green as the person that chose the landscaping about what works and what doesn't. All I want is a space for a good vegetable garden and a chicken coup. I'm getting pretty good at gardening in planters on the deck since it's the only sunny spot (even if we cut down all the honey locusts in our yard our next door neighbors have a 50+ foot cottonwood that shades most of the backyard most of the day). What have I learned? Outdoor space is more important to me than indoor space. Next time around I'll be more discriminating.
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Thursday, March 15, 2012
My Food Evolution
I began thinking the other day that a great topic for a blog would be the evolution of my food choices. I've run the gamut from hardly any red meat and no seafood but shrimp, to vegetarian with fish/seafood allowed, to full meat eater. I've gone from a boring diet consisting of eating the same things every day for weeks on end to cooking everything from scratch with variety being the spice of life. I think my food journey has now led us to a point that I am very happy with. A place where I feel my food choices are conscientious, have a purpose, and hopefully have the health of me and my family in mind. It was a long and winding road that led to this point.
I was never that kid that would only eat grilled cheese and spaghetti, although I did like me some enriched white flour spaghetti with sauce, hold the meat. I just never particularly cared for red meat. Chicken was OK, but never a huge favorite. Turkey for Thanksgiving? No thanks. I loved raw vegetables, but nothing cooked, turned my nose up to steak and loved pizza, mexican, anything with cheese. Spicy food? Not for me, even mildly spicy things made me sweat and my nose run.
It was probably when I went to college and ventured into the culinary world on my own that I really began thinking about what I was eating. Initially, living in a dorm with a shared kitchen with the entire floor and a microwave and mini fridge in our room it was what was fast, easy, and nonperishable. So for almost an entire year I survived on ramen noodle cups for lunch and tricolor pasta with Italian dressing and parmesan cheese on it for dinner. To add some variety occasionally I would hit up the Blimpie subs across the street or the Wendys in the student union. If I remember correctly, by the end of my sophomore year I had changed my major to Human Nutrition, never realizing how fascinating I would find the topic. Food mattered (yes, there is a similarly titled documentary that has greatly shaped my recent eating habits). What we take into our bodies directly affects the functioning of all the systems in our body. Without the proper nutrients the biochemical processes that our bodies are meant to perform on a regular basis for every single thing from taking a step to creating a thought to sleeping to filtering poisons out of our bodies, will not work as efficiently as they should. I really started thinking more about what I ate and started the rudimentary process of picking out healthier foods. That first step was mostly whole grains replacing white pasta and bread and replacing my cheese with lower fat versions and adding yogurt, which I'd previously hated, to my regular food intake. I also now had an understanding of portion size and was educated on reading labels for things like sugar and sodium content as well as saturated and trans fats. Little did I know this was just the tip of the iceberg for how I would scrutinize my foods later in life.
I had a spell in grad school as a vegetarian/fish eater. I can't remember exactly how long it lasted, I would say a year to a year and a half or so. It was not a hard transition for me, I rarely ate meat anyway and didn't really like chicken or pork. I missed processed meats like lunch meat and ham. I also went through a phase where I ate tuna with pasta every day for lunch for about 3 months straight. I'm still worried that I've given myself mercury poisoning, although I did eat regular tuna, not albacore that's higher in mercury. During my veggie days I learned to like tofu, but still wasn't super adventurous with food. I ate a lot of soy replacements for meat. Soy ground "meat," soy "chicken," soy "hamburgers." Organic was just starting to become popular and as someone who was already big into the environment, I was all for organic foods as I could afford them. Then I met my Cajun husband and began eating meat every day and developed a love for spicy. Fast forward to today.
I'm not sure when exactly the full transition occurred, but somewhere between grad school nearly a decade ago and now I have become a food purist. I still have my moments and places of weakness, i.e. we still eat at Buffalo Wild Wings nearly every week, I will sometimes get fast food if I'm on the road and starving (but not McDonalds, I'm boycotting them) and I do have the occasional deli meat. For the most part I am eating in a way I would never have thought back when I was majoring in nutrition. We are eating vegetarian 4 days a week, have fish 2 nights a week, and splurge with Buffalo Wild Wings (we will quit this habit someday, I swear) or I will make a meal with grass fed beef or chicken. We eat tons of vegetables, mostly organic-I carry a card in my wallet to let me know which are the most pesticide laden fruits and vegetables and spend the extra money on organic versions of these and will be doing a better job hitting the farmer's market this summer for local produce. My favorite snacks (I really love them and am pretty addicted) are dried seaweed and kale chips. I garden organically, growing a lot of my own vegetables and herbs in the summer months. We eat whole grains. We hardly eat anything that comes from a box anymore, 80% of my shopping is done in the bulk foods and produce department. We choose non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) products whenever possible. I recently researched it online and found that Morningstar Farms (Kellogg) and Boca (Kraft) do not use GMO free soy, so they are out of my kitchen. I will only choose vegetarian and vegan products that voluntarily will state on their label if they are GMO free since the United States refuses to require it. Thanks to my daughter's dairy allergy I had to give it up to nurse her and now my husband is on the dairy-free bandwagon too, but my son is too addicted to dairy for him to be dairy free. This once cheeseaholic doesn't miss it and I believe it has contributed to me getting down to within one pound my goal weight, a weight I haven't been in a decade, since I graduated from college.
It may seem complicated, it may seem boring, but after watching such documentaries as Food Matters, Food Inc., Dirt and Forks Over Knives I feel I am helping my family have a one up on a lot of the life threatening illnesses of our time; cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease. And it's not boring at all. Spices instead of fat and sugar give food flavor. And really, how hard is it to shop on the outside of the grocery store, avoiding the processed middle aisles? I have to admit I do have to go to the store a little more often or the produce goes bad. But if produce rots in my fridge, I just throw it in my compost bin where it becomes beautiful fertilizer for my garden. It's win, win. What's next? Our own chickens and harvesting our own eggs? I can't wait to continue experimenting and learning. This is how our grandparents ate, real food, not something created in a laboratory. Everything goes back to the dirt, that's true about food and it's true about life.
I was never that kid that would only eat grilled cheese and spaghetti, although I did like me some enriched white flour spaghetti with sauce, hold the meat. I just never particularly cared for red meat. Chicken was OK, but never a huge favorite. Turkey for Thanksgiving? No thanks. I loved raw vegetables, but nothing cooked, turned my nose up to steak and loved pizza, mexican, anything with cheese. Spicy food? Not for me, even mildly spicy things made me sweat and my nose run.
It was probably when I went to college and ventured into the culinary world on my own that I really began thinking about what I was eating. Initially, living in a dorm with a shared kitchen with the entire floor and a microwave and mini fridge in our room it was what was fast, easy, and nonperishable. So for almost an entire year I survived on ramen noodle cups for lunch and tricolor pasta with Italian dressing and parmesan cheese on it for dinner. To add some variety occasionally I would hit up the Blimpie subs across the street or the Wendys in the student union. If I remember correctly, by the end of my sophomore year I had changed my major to Human Nutrition, never realizing how fascinating I would find the topic. Food mattered (yes, there is a similarly titled documentary that has greatly shaped my recent eating habits). What we take into our bodies directly affects the functioning of all the systems in our body. Without the proper nutrients the biochemical processes that our bodies are meant to perform on a regular basis for every single thing from taking a step to creating a thought to sleeping to filtering poisons out of our bodies, will not work as efficiently as they should. I really started thinking more about what I ate and started the rudimentary process of picking out healthier foods. That first step was mostly whole grains replacing white pasta and bread and replacing my cheese with lower fat versions and adding yogurt, which I'd previously hated, to my regular food intake. I also now had an understanding of portion size and was educated on reading labels for things like sugar and sodium content as well as saturated and trans fats. Little did I know this was just the tip of the iceberg for how I would scrutinize my foods later in life.
I had a spell in grad school as a vegetarian/fish eater. I can't remember exactly how long it lasted, I would say a year to a year and a half or so. It was not a hard transition for me, I rarely ate meat anyway and didn't really like chicken or pork. I missed processed meats like lunch meat and ham. I also went through a phase where I ate tuna with pasta every day for lunch for about 3 months straight. I'm still worried that I've given myself mercury poisoning, although I did eat regular tuna, not albacore that's higher in mercury. During my veggie days I learned to like tofu, but still wasn't super adventurous with food. I ate a lot of soy replacements for meat. Soy ground "meat," soy "chicken," soy "hamburgers." Organic was just starting to become popular and as someone who was already big into the environment, I was all for organic foods as I could afford them. Then I met my Cajun husband and began eating meat every day and developed a love for spicy. Fast forward to today.
I'm not sure when exactly the full transition occurred, but somewhere between grad school nearly a decade ago and now I have become a food purist. I still have my moments and places of weakness, i.e. we still eat at Buffalo Wild Wings nearly every week, I will sometimes get fast food if I'm on the road and starving (but not McDonalds, I'm boycotting them) and I do have the occasional deli meat. For the most part I am eating in a way I would never have thought back when I was majoring in nutrition. We are eating vegetarian 4 days a week, have fish 2 nights a week, and splurge with Buffalo Wild Wings (we will quit this habit someday, I swear) or I will make a meal with grass fed beef or chicken. We eat tons of vegetables, mostly organic-I carry a card in my wallet to let me know which are the most pesticide laden fruits and vegetables and spend the extra money on organic versions of these and will be doing a better job hitting the farmer's market this summer for local produce. My favorite snacks (I really love them and am pretty addicted) are dried seaweed and kale chips. I garden organically, growing a lot of my own vegetables and herbs in the summer months. We eat whole grains. We hardly eat anything that comes from a box anymore, 80% of my shopping is done in the bulk foods and produce department. We choose non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) products whenever possible. I recently researched it online and found that Morningstar Farms (Kellogg) and Boca (Kraft) do not use GMO free soy, so they are out of my kitchen. I will only choose vegetarian and vegan products that voluntarily will state on their label if they are GMO free since the United States refuses to require it. Thanks to my daughter's dairy allergy I had to give it up to nurse her and now my husband is on the dairy-free bandwagon too, but my son is too addicted to dairy for him to be dairy free. This once cheeseaholic doesn't miss it and I believe it has contributed to me getting down to within one pound my goal weight, a weight I haven't been in a decade, since I graduated from college.
It may seem complicated, it may seem boring, but after watching such documentaries as Food Matters, Food Inc., Dirt and Forks Over Knives I feel I am helping my family have a one up on a lot of the life threatening illnesses of our time; cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease. And it's not boring at all. Spices instead of fat and sugar give food flavor. And really, how hard is it to shop on the outside of the grocery store, avoiding the processed middle aisles? I have to admit I do have to go to the store a little more often or the produce goes bad. But if produce rots in my fridge, I just throw it in my compost bin where it becomes beautiful fertilizer for my garden. It's win, win. What's next? Our own chickens and harvesting our own eggs? I can't wait to continue experimenting and learning. This is how our grandparents ate, real food, not something created in a laboratory. Everything goes back to the dirt, that's true about food and it's true about life.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Top 11 of 2011
So I've started following a blog now that I have my new digital SLR camera (thanks Zack for the Christmas/Anniversary/Birthday present) to give me some tips for improving my photographs. It was through this blog that I heard about the top 11 of 2011. You submit the top 11 photos you took of your kids in 2011. I'm a little limited since I've only had access to a good camera since June (first my step dad's that I borrowed, then my new one), but I think I can come up with 11 pics I love (I'd rather 21). Here we go...
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| I love the reaction. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. |
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| On one of our first camping trips after becoming a family of 4. I saw their shadows and just had to take a pic. A boy and his Daddy. |
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| Making his own fun while camping. An old chewed up dog frisbee and some dirt. What more does a boy need? |
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| Batting practice |
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| Camping with little sis. One of many sweet moments between the two of them. |
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| This soccer action shot is one of my favorites because it makes him actually look like he knows what he's doing |
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| I had a photo shoot one day with my daughter. This was my first attempt at non-candid shots. |
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| More from the photo shoot |
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| I thought the mirror would be a nice touch. Only problem was the beveling around the edge. |
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| One of my favorite action shots on the beach. The birds were very cooperative. |
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| I just couldn't leave out a pic of him in his glasses, sittin' on the dock of the bay. |
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