Monthly Archives: January 2013

psychology

Be Mildly Rebellious

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Today I am wearing the t-shirt I slept in!  Rebellious, I know.  Maybe tomorrow it will be “no bra” day.  Ha!

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I try very hard to “be” a woman who stands by her word, that does what she says she will do and live by the guidelines of the culture I live in.  But I have been inspired lately to be a bit more rebellious towards these cultural guidelines.

Thank you Tim Ferris and his book The Four Hour Work Week. 

[Sidenote: Last year, my book club gave me the award Actionator 2012 because I really do try and put into to practice what I read and am inspired by.]

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In The Four Hour Work Week, Tim Ferris gives the reader what he calls “Comfort Challenges”.  One comfort challenge that spoke very personally to me was the “Relax in Public” challenge.  My understanding of the activity is that you find a busy sidewalk and lie down.  Don’t explain yourself, just take a rest.  Hmmm… thought provoking isn’t it.  Why is this not culturally acceptable?  If I am tired, why not lie down? As a mom of three boys under five, I think I am going to instill this into my daily life.  I am going to give it a try next week.

Here is my last thought from Tim’s book: “It isn’t enough to think outside the box.  Thinking is passive.  Get used to acting outside the box.”  Well said Tim.  I am a good thinker, but now I am going to aim to be a better Actionator!

health & fitness, Uncategorized

Be a Walker

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Yesterday, I attempted to drive my son to Elementary School because it was cold (-8 degrees Celsius) and to be truthful, I was feeling lazy.   He goes to school about ten blocks away, down a hill, in the centre of our town.  The school has approximately 750 students from Kindergarten to Grade seven.

Now here is the kicker: The school drop-off was absolutely insane.  I was seriously shaking my head at how many cars there were.  I couldn’t even get into the school parking lot.

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(View of parking lot from the top of hill I had to traverse!)

I ended up parking on a busy side road, hauling all three kids out of their car seats, walking around the very busy parking lot, over a huge snow pile, and then down the other side clinging onto the chainlink fence.

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We made it into the line-up just as the bell rang.

I think we will go back to walking to school!

But this brings up my next point: Why don’t we walk more?  Why don’t more people get out of their cars and walk into the restaurant?  I understand if you have children to tote or a wheelchair to unfold, but if you are able-bodied and alone in your car, why do you go through the drive thru?

Our fifteen month old just started walking on the weekend.  What a joy it is to see his smiling faces as he “cowboy” walks across the living room!

Last point for today, when my husband was teaching grade six/seven, a city planner came in and asked the students to draw their neighbourhood.  Those children that walked to school had more awareness of the environment around them and perhaps more of an appreciation.  Do children notice how crunchy chestnuts are when you step on them or learn how to walk along a concrete barrier when they are zooming down the road in a car?

Yup, I think that walking is a pretty important skill to utilize, something we shouldn’t take for granted!

Thanks baby OC for reminding me of this lesson – now just remember to watch out for the table!

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Household Chores

Be A Messy Kitchen Tabler

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Here is an inventory of what is on our kitchen table this afternoon:

1 water glass left on table by CC

Playdough

2 year old ski pass

Cars from Christmas

Candle with holder

Chestnuts from a walk to school in October

2 paper snow boots for music class

Lego

Journal with bible and devotional

Healing Prayer book

Emotion cards: Today’s word was “Chipper”

Clay

Stickers

“People” have told me that when you have kids around, you have to let things go!

I think I am going to start with the kitchen table.  It is so freeing to have everyone doing what they love around the kitchen table.  Over the course of the day, the table becomes a mound of differing activities: building, creating, playing, reading, writing, and sometimes eating.

Now if only there was a way to not have to clean it off every time we eat!

Goals

Be a Spelt Lover

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In my last post, I confessed my eating/bowel issues. This journey six years ago, led me to spelt flour.

I LOVE this nutty grain.

To go along with my limited sugar goal for 2013, our family is trying to reduce the packaging we use. So instead of buying packages of products, I am trying to make/bake more things.

Last week, I found an incredible spelt scone recipe from an Australian website. We loved them so much that I had to make them again today.

The only ingredients are: spelt, baking powder, salt, butter and milk (I use rice milk).

This is hard to explain, but the most amazing thing about the recipe is when you add the butter to the dry ingredients with your hands. This was like running your hands through teeny tiny fluffy pillows with a hint of bubble bath bubbles.

AND my boys loved eating the train shaped scones I made.

I think this is going to be my go to recipe whenever I feel sad/bad/grumpy. Good for my spirit and my body!

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Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
2 cups organic white spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
75g butter
200ml organic milk

Method
Mix organic white spelt flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and mix with your fingers. Pour in the milk and mix with a spoon. Tip the mixture onto a well floured surface and mix until smooth. Roll out the dough or press with your hands to make it about 2cm thick. Cut out 5cm circles. Place the cut-out scones on a lined baking tray. Cook in 225oC oven for 10 minutes. Serve with your favourite jam (or our favourite SuperJam) and maybe some cream. Makes 10-12 scones.

Click through here to visit our online shop. We deliver Australia wide

http://www.goodness.com.au/organic-spelt-scones.html

health & fitness, Self-help, Uncategorized

Be Less “Sugary”

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Are you ready for a graphic story and a happy ending?

Six years ago, I started noticing that I was having healthy issues that were affecting my life. I was bloated, I had cramping, I often had to lie down. I even had blood on my stools. I went to my MD and did some blood tests and even a colonoscopy. YUM! The doctor couldn’t find a thing. He told me to just try and “deal with it”.

I am the type of girl that can grin and bear it. I have even pushed through athletic injuries knowing that “no pain no gain” is sometimes appropriate, but this pain, bloating, cramping was not normal.

So for the first time I went to see a Naturopathic doctor. She immediately recognized these symptoms and had me eliminate wheat, dairy, sugar and a few other things. Within 6 week, I was pain and blood free. Within 6 months, I had lost 20 pounds and had never felt better!

Now as I start 2013, I am reflecting on my health and where I want to be as I turn 40 in a few years. I realized that I need to again cut down on the sugar intake! I often wonder if years from now research is going to show us the havoc that sugar creates in human bodies. I know that my cousin in Spain would agree with that.

ImageThis morning I looked at the snow and it made me think of my sugar goal. I realized that the ‘sugar’ I shovel should not be going into my mouth!

Household Chores

Be a Vinegar User

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I often wonder how much healthier our earth would be if we stopped using all man-made cleaners and started to just using vinegar.  Yes vinegar!

Vinegar came my way when living in Europe.  I was asking someone where I could buy some vinegar to make salad dressing.  I couldn’t find white vinegar in my local grocery store.  They actually laughed at me because she used white vinegar to clean her vegetables and clean her house.  She wouldn’t use it for salad dressing!

I was reminded of the heroics of vinegar when I read an article in Mother Earth Living.  They had 17 uses for vinegar:

http://www.motherearthliving.com/healthy-home/natural-cleaning/versatile-vinegar-zmhz13jfzmel.aspx

1. Grease cutter

2. Disinfectant

3. Toilet Bowl Cleaner

4. Drain Cleaner

5. Glass Gleaner

6. Residue Remover

7. Hair Rinse

8. Furniture Polish

9. Stain Remover

10. Laundry Softener

11.  Dandruff Preventive

12. Wart Killer

13. Breath Freshner

14. Paintbrush Softener

15. Greens Reviver

16. Egg Aid

17. Rust Remover

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We also discovered another great use for vinegar this afternoon:

“Explosive” Science Project Ingredient!

Goals, health & fitness

Be a Beginner

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I am always amazed at watching my 5, 3 and 1 year old boys.  They are always trying something new, trying to figure something out, moving around, climbing on things and generally just moving through their world in a different way each day.  I was inspired!

I decided that my three goals for this year are to laugh more, love more and make more mistakes.  My type A personality loves the t’s crossed neatly if you know what I mean.

So, today I tried to include all three of these goals into one activity: Zumba!  A year or two ago I said that I would never try Zumba and that I would never join a gym again… well never say never people!  I did both of those things this morning.  My very wise neighbour had, over time, convinced me that I should try Zumba.

IT WAS INCREDIBLE!  It was fun, I made a fool of myself and I got some great exercise.  It was one activity where I had to solely focus on what I was doing. I couldn’t worry about the boys at home, what I was going to cook for dinner or the pile of laundry.

Here is an image that I got off the web that sums up the experience for me:

Now off to have a rest, I am sore!

What are you going to do this year to “be a beginner”?  What new pathways are you going to create in your brain?