Remember......

Freedom is not free!

Remember....

Some gave all to protect our freedom!

Take time to remember those that protect our country and who with a moments notice would sacrifice their lives to protect our freedom this Memorial Day. Make thanking these dedicated people and their families one of your positively healthy choices every day!

The above pictures were taken at the Freedom's Heroes Outdoor Memorial  which is part of  "A Grateful Nation Remembers" sponsored by Calvary Christian Center in Yuba City CA. Each of the 20 memorial panels contain the names of our fallen heroes from the Iraq and Afghanistan war. Current total as of April 30, 2013 -  6,654 fallen heroes.

To learn more about this great event please click on one of the below links.

https://www.facebook.com/agratefulnationremembers

http://www.cccyc.net/pages.asp?pageid=103140

Positively fun food for every "holiday"!

 

By now everyone knows that I am the holiday junky. I have been even known to create my own "Holidays" when there seems to be a lack of those special days available. The best memories always seem to create around holidays or other special days. For me “Holiday” memories generally revolved around food and why not. Who doesn’t like food?

We had pink heart shapes pancakes on Valentine’s along with those special Valentine cookies I have written about before. I even have pink dishes for us to eat on. On St Patrick’s Day the pancakes were green shamrocks and I would make green shamrock spritz cookies for later in the day. On one of those memory making days my oldest son asked me why I was making green shamrock cookies and my response was, “I’m creating fond childhood memories!” Of course his response was to roll his eyes at me. But I was not to be detoured from my task. There were bunny pancakes on Easter and egg shaped sugar cookies for dessert. And the holiday pancake and cookie list goes on. It is truly amazing the amount of shapes you can make with pancakes, food coloring and a little imagination. Now to be honest the holiday shapes weren’t perfect but my kids all got the idea of what I was trying to make and my artist talent got better with each one.

 

I now sit happily in the background as I watch my children create similar “Holiday” food memories with my grandchildren. Those heart pancakes have shown up at my youngest son’s house along with orange pumpkin shaped ones on Halloween. My daughter has created special birthday memories with her boys by having them help with their birthday cupcakes. They are now expert sprinkle sprinklers. My oldest son, the eye roller, will soon be the parent of my newest granddaughter. I can hardly wait to see what “Holiday” food memories he will create for her.

What foods come to mind when you picture one of those special days? I bet that all of you whether you are big or small, old or young have certain foods that you associate with the “Holidays” in your life. Make creating and sharing special “Holiday” food memories one of your positively healthy choices every day!

Positively McHealthy!

There is a lot of talk these days about the obesity problem in the United States. Most of the talk is about our population’s habit of eating out at those horrible fast food restaurants. But have you ever really looked at their menus and looked for items that are healthier or do you just order the Number 1 out of habit?

Now I have to admit that I don’t eat out very often but breakfast at McDonald’s has become an every few weeks event for me because of my grandsons. About one a month or so both my daughter and her husband have work commitments out of town on the same day and when this happens, it is Grandma to the rescue. On those days it is my job to get the boys ready for school and off to daycare in the morning. Since growing boys need breakfast Grandma takes them to McDonald’s. I know what you’re thinking…not McDonalds…yuck…there is nothing nutritious there, but you would be wrong! The boys have pancakes, chocolate milk and apples while I have an Egg McMuffin, apples and coffee. All of our meals are well rounded, containing three of the five food groups making for a very nutritious breakfast.

So the next time you are out looking for a bite to eat take a good look at the menu or even better look on-line before you go. You will be surprised at the healthy options fast food restaurants have. But having good healthy choices available only works if you order them. Make ordering the healthy option when eating out one of your positively healthy choices every day!

It’s beginning to feel a lot like…..

No not Christmas, Valentine’s. It’s that special time of year and Valentine cookies are in the air. A special time, spent creating very special memories for both me and the receivers. Someone might remember how long I have been making Valentine cookies and sharing them but not me. It has been so long that now it is just a part of my life and I can’t imagine not baking them.

My heart is happy and full of joy at just though the whole endeavor. It brightens my day and the world around me. The baking process takes all day and is followed by several more days frosting, packaging and delivering. My friends’ eyes light up when the cookies arrive with hugs given to all. Our time together maybe short but the memories created by the Valentine cookies will last a lifetime.

Creating happy memories is good for both the giver and the receiver. Look around your world and see if you can find that special something to make memories of. Then share it with all the people in your world. Take my word once you start it will be impossible to stop. Make creating happy memories one of your positively healthy choices every day!

Only 24 hours in the day!

Time… no matter whom you are what you do or how you try there are only 24 hours in a day. The only one who can spend those 24 hours is you. But how do you choose to spend those hours? Do you use them in a healthy way or do they just disappear leaving you to wonder where the day went? Do you feel accomplished at the end of your 24 hours or do you see a to-do list that has nothing crossed off? Are you always surprised at how long it has been when you run into an old friend? Do you wish you had spent your day differently?

Now I have to admit that I have become a great time waster. Lots of days at the end of my 24 hours I look around and I realize that once again I have accomplished little if nothing. What amazes me is that I am a great planner. I plan everything and I am very intolerant of those that don’t plan. You know the people I am talking about. Those that know something important is coming up and then don’t tell you until two days before, then wonder why you can’t come.

What amazes me is how complacent I have become about planning time for the things that need to be done every day. It’s those defeatist jobs that are everywhere. You know the ones I’m talking about, the jobs that are never really finished. The jobs that are like a revolving door because no sooner do you finish them than it is time to do them again. Cleaning, yard work, dishes, laundry, they are just never done. There are just moments in time when it looks as though they are done. Now I do manage to get my laundry done if you don’t count getting it put away. I do manage to cook for myself if you don’t count getting the dishes washed. I do get my lawn mowed if you don’t count the edging and weed-eating. I’m sure you are seeing the pattern here. I never quite seem to complete all of any task when it comes to every day household chores. I run out of energy and enthusiasm before they are done.

Then there is the time needed to spend with friends and family. How do you fit that in among all the everyday items to be done? After all there are only 24 hours in the day! Now I know no one would miss a special person’s birthday that is an obvious choice but what about all the days of the year. Aren’t they just as important? Why should there be only one day a year when you carve out time for a special someone in your life? Are you missing something that might really hold more value than some household chore?

In our daily lives we are always sacrificing one thing for another because we all only have 24 hours to get everything done. How do you choose what gets left to be done on another day? Do you ever have doubts that you made the correct choice? Did you choose the healthy option or the easy one? Sometimes the healthiest choice is not the most obvious.  It is always easier to justify time spent doing household chores while leaving family and friends with any time that might be leftover. While I would love to have all my chores completed I have learned that they will wait for me. I know that on my death bed I will not be thinking about the dust, unfolded laundry or the dishes in the sink I will be thinking of lost time with family and friends. So move over chores and defeatist jobs. This year spending more time with family and friends will be one of my positively healthy choices every day! Will you join me?

A New Year.... A Healthier You....

During the holidays people reflect about the good and bad things that surround their lives and begin to think about new beginnings. Now, one can start something new or change things about their life at any time of the year but the beginning of a new year usually hits home for most people. I think we all feel as though the New Year brings with it a clean slate and endless possibilities. We leave behind the old and begin anew again.

Once again I have been reflecting about making additional positively healthy choices in my life. I have created a new vision board for 2013. Now those of you who have been reading for the last year will say, “It looks just like last years!” They may be similar but they are definitely different. Last year I accomplished getting in more exercise, not enough but more. I ate better but not as good as I could have. What I didn’t do well was make better money choices. So that has been moved to the top priority this year.

Money, money, money. We need it, spend it, save it and enjoy it. But do you control it or does it control you? Now don’t get me wrong I do a fair job of managing my money but I know I can do better. My saving account definitely could and should be bigger and those in hindsight “why did I buy this” purchases could be less. So off I go with a clean slate and plan for a positively healthy financial future.

Now I will still be working on more gym or running time and eating better. One can never let up on those because without those you throw your health out the window. And if you have no health you really have nothing. I still need to find more time for friends, family and the fun things in life as those help keep you mentally healthy.

Join me in this New Year by finding a new you. What could you do in your life to be healthier? Is it eating healthier or getting more exercise? Do you need more time for yourself? Maybe you just need to get more sleep or worry less. Would having more money in your savings account make life less stressful? To help you visualize the new you make your own vision board. Fill it with pictures of the things that you need to make healthier in your life then add some inspirational phrases to help you stay on track. I made mine in Mircosoft Word and used clip art or free pictures I found online. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Make this the year of new beginnings and the start to a life filled with positively healthy choices everyday!

Say hello to a hero….our nations Veterans!

In case you haven’t noticed we live in a great country! We live in a country where one can speak his mind and not be jail or worse for saying those words. It is a place where people come from all nations looking for the freedoms that most of us take for granted. But those freedoms did not come without a price and through the years our country has paid dearly. Many have died or been injured in keeping our freedom and country safe.  It is time to say thank you to all those in the military or have served in the military and their families.

Many years ago, near the start of the Iraq war, the son of my manager was serving in Iraq. It was a few weeks before Mother’s Day and we talked about how nice it would be to send blank Mother’s Day cards for him to hand out to other military personnel so that they would have cards to send to their love ones on that special day. The staff all got involved and spread the word via friends, neighbors and church. Soon customers were dropping off cards at the store. Some were bought and dozens were hand made by classrooms of children from local schools. Then the local paper showed up to do a story about the Mother’s Day cards being collected and we were front page news. Soon we had so many cards we had to find additional military personnel to hand them out. Those receiving the cards were so grateful and we know that many wonderful ladies got a special surprise that Mother’s Day, a card they hadn't been expecting. It was such a simple way to say thank you.

There are lots of ways to say thank you. Offer to buy lunch for the service member in line with you at your favorite eatery. When you see a service person, shake their hand and say thank you. Visit patients at a VA hospital. Help with a “Stand Down” in your area for local vets. Call your local Veterans office and ask what you can do. None of these ideas suit your tastes, this week’s “Parade” magazine has several other suggestions on how to say thank you. It really doesn’t matter what you do but please do something.  For me I am going to write a letter for Operation Gratitude and let that special service person know how grateful I am for their service and their family’s sacrifice. Make thanking a person who secured our freedoms one of your positively healthy choices every day!

Want to know more about Operation Gratitude:

http://www.operationgratitude.com/

Parade - "4 Ways to Say Thanks on Verterans Day"

http://www.parade.com/news/2012/11/11-veterans-day-show-your-appreciation.html