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

The good, the bad and the yummy!

 Food, food, food! I don’t know about you but I love food! All of it! The food that is good for you and the food that is not so good for you but all must be yummy. I try very hard to be good and succeed most of the time but then there are those times that only the bad yummy things will do. With that said I also know that there is a place for all foods in a person’s diet even those food items considered by most not the healthiest for you.

Sometimes like today that non-healthy food choice was not my fault. (Of course any excuse will do when you are looking for one.) A group, that my mother belongs to, is having a craft sale next weekend which I always try to send something for it. Since I seldom have time for crafts or sewing any more I always send food. I decided to make “Muddy Buddies” as they sold very well last year. Now I don’t know if you have ever heard of Muddy Buddies but pick up any Chex cereal box and the recipe will probably be there. These are one of those food items that one handful is never enough! Basically it is Chex cereal covered with melted chocolate and peanut butter then covered in powdered sugar. Who could ask for anything more yummy than anything covered with chocolate and peanut butter! Four batches later and the Muddy Buddies are all packed in quart jars tied with cute Christmas ribbons. And I am proud to say that I have only eaten one handful!  

 

Now while that was the bad food for the day there was also good food or maybe I should say good food to come. After a year of debate I signed up to start receiving a CSA box of fruits and vegetables. If you haven’t heard of this it would not surprise me. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. This is a way for you directly help the farmers in your area by buying local and what you get in return are the freshest fruit and vegetables directly from a farm. A lot of the farms are organic which means the cost is a little higher but not enough to make it cost prohibited. If you are a big farmer’s market person you will love these boxes. You pick how often the boxes come and what comes in them all delivered to your front door. How easy is that! No longer will there be excuses for not having any fruit or vegetables in my house. I will no longer have to stop at the store on my way to work because I have no fruit or need some sort of leafy green stuff for a salad for my lunch. I am so excited!

I live in a big farming community and there is nothing more yummy than fresh just picked fruit or vegetables from a roadside fruit stand. Now that roadside stand will be at my door. I will be getting farm fresh good for me food and helping my local economy by shopping local. The farmer’s markets may be gone since summer is over but you can still support your local farmers. If you are not sure if there are any CSA farms in your area Google will be glad to help you. Just type “CSA in wherever you live” and they will pop up. Not sure if they deliver in your area send them a quick email. I would bet that if they don’t they will know who does and will be delight to share that information with you.

Most of the smaller farms in the United States are struggling to hang on as prices for producing the food they grow goes up and the price they receive goes down. While I have a garden every year it is small and I know that I am not capable of producing all the food I enjoy eating so I am very depend on our farmers. Wouldn’t most of you be in that same spot if there were no farmers? Give some thought to helping your local farmers by purchasing a CSA box. Ask your local grocery store about stocking more local produce or shop the local farmers markets. Your local farmers will love having your support. Make supporting and buying from your local farmers’ one of your positively healthy choices every day!

 

 

Recipe for Muddy Buddies from Chex.com

http://www.chex.com/Recipes/RecipeView.aspx?RecipeId=45860&CategoryId=342

 

Curious about CSA, check out my local provider - Farm Fresh to You

http://www.farmfreshtoyou.com/

...the boys!

I have been at my “new job”, as I call it, for over five years but as much as I enjoy it there has always been something missing. In my old job I was surrounded by high school and college students. It was fun to watch them grow and change into adults. The chats were fun and uplifting, bringing back fond memories of my younger days. It was a time for me to share and help them grow but it also allowed me on some occasions to be a child myself. How I miss those days now that I am surrounded only by adults. But an amazing thing happened this fall at my “new job”. We hired some college students to work in our warehouse part time.

During our busy time I go from being a secretary to a warehouse worker. The warehouse manager is fun to work for and while the work is hard I have always felt I could count it as my strength training for the day. The dress code is shorts and a t-shirt which is far different than my secretary clothes of a skirt or slacks and high heels. It is light hearted work and my time in the warehouse has always been enjoyable. But this year there were boys, three of them all from the local colleges! How fun it has been to hear their stories and listen to the adventures. They tease each other, chat about school and the weekend. A buzz surrounds them and their enthusiasm is contiguous. All of us that work in the warehouse are mesmerized by them and the smiles they bring to work every day. I have told them numerous times how much they brighten my day and have added back one of the things I missed about my old job. Working with them has made me feel young again.

Is your live getting dull and old? Are you missing your younger days? Is your enthusiasm gone? Do you want to live longer and be more youthful? Then find a way to surround yourself with young people. Mentor a college student and share what you have learned over your life time from your job. Offer the man the booth at a college career day for your company. Volunteer to help with the youth or college group at your church. If you are looking for a part time job find one that will surround you with young people. Most importantly remember to bring with you an open mind and a willingness to try something new. Embrace their enthusiasm and let that youthful feeling rub off on you. Let the young person you help renew your life and make you feel young again. Make finding the younger you one of your positively healthy choices every day.

Use it or lose it!

Use it or lose it is a very popular expression that has been around for quite some time. As one gets older you realize that little by little you lose the ability to do some of the things that were easy not so long ago. Now some of those things could be physical and some could be mental but the bottom line is to get to work and limit those loses.

I am not as flexible, fast or agile as I use to be. Over the years I have gotten slower although some of you would doubt that. I do still walk fairly fast and but I know I don’t walk anywhere near as fast as I use to. You see I have someone to compare my speed with, my daughter. We don’t go shopping as much as we use to but when we do and are walking from store to store I think to myself, “Slow down Jennifer, I can’t keep up!” So I know that I have slowed down and old age is catching up but I know that I must keep moving or risk losing even more. I try to stretch and do yoga to keep flexible. Work my core and do weights. The little I do is not enough but at least it is something and something is better than nothing.

Experts tell you that as you age you should introduce new activities or try new things so that your mind is active and learning. Some of these ideas include using your non-dominate hand for everyday activities, doing puzzles, reading, learning a new hobby and the list goes on. Apparently brain cells are just like the other parts of your body, use it or lose it. I do read and do puzzles every now and again but this summer I can say that I have tried some new hobbies and gained some new skills. I have learned to make jam, tried my hand at pickling and today learned to make bagels. While I am a good cook and baker these new skills required me to use my mind in new ways and think. The key to keeping your mind sharp is to use it by requiring it to think.

It is so easy these days to get complacent and do aimless activities to fill your time. The next time you find yourself flipping the channels looking for anything and I mean anything to watch on the television get up and move instead. It can be as simple as walking in place or if the weather is nice taking a short walk around the block. Try standing on one foot and see how long you can balance then do it with the other foot. Instead of using auto-dial the next ime you make a phone call try to remember the phone number and punch in the number yourself. Recite multiplication tables, state capitols or say the alphabet backwards. Take the time to learn something new or try a new activity. Do something every day to keep your body and mind active. Make “use it” not “lose it” part of your positively healthy choices every day!

Where did all the time go?

Summer is almost over and I have no idea where it went. Wasn’t last week the middle of June? It always seems as though the clocks speed up during the summer. I had so many plans, ideas and things that needed to get done during those few months but very few of them have been accomplished. My running has fallen by the wayside as has getting everything cleaned around the house and yard. My desk has started to accumulate small but growing piles and it seems as though all of the progress I made in the first half the year has come to a screeching halt. Luckily at this point my positively healthy choices have not diminished. So before I reach the point of no return it is time to turn up the heat and start marching to a different drummer.

With so many positively healthy changes still left to make in my life I have declared Monday as BOT-Day, Back on Track Day, to start addessing a few of them.  The alarm will ring at 5am and I will get up, even if I don’t do anything but read the newspaper and drink coffee. After that has become a habit I will move on to adding in some morning exercise and a quick five minute house pick up. I will once again start making to-do lists to help organize my life and get more done. That food diary I haphazardly started will take more precedence in my life so that my eating habits will be front and center.

All of these things will take time but I will tackle them one small step at a time. I will gradually add new tasks on when the previous one becomes a habit. Slowly one small part at a time they will all become a permanent part of my life. But if life gets in the way again it is nice to know that tomorrow always brings in a new day and with it another chance to become all that you would like to be. Start taking those small steps and make those small changes. Many small changes when added together turn in to very large differences in your life.  I challenge you to pick one small thing that you would like to change in yourself or the world around you and start taking the small steps to make them a reality. By working on something one small step at a time you will be taking the first steps toward making positively healthy choices every day.

Oatmeal…the journey from Yucky to Yummy

Most of you know by now that I hate oatmeal. You know that hot, I taste like paste, good for you breakfast. Now I’m not saying that I wouldn’t eat it if there was nothing else to eat but I would have to be pretty hungry. I have cooked different types of oatmeal and prepared it different ways but the only way that seemed to work was when it was baked into cookies or breakfast bars. The problem is that oatmeal is so good for you that I keep trying to find a love for it in my heart and stomach.

Now my daughter thinks oatmeal is the best breakfast around and generally it will be her choice even if we go out for breakfast. Who knows how she found such a love for oatmeal because she didn’t get it at home growing up because it was never on the breakfast menu. She eats oatmeal all kinds of ways and with all kinds of different things in it. My daughter even subscribes to a food blog that only writes about oatmeal.

 A few weeks ago I stayed at my daughter’s house and she was making one of her oatmeal concoctions for the next morning called Overnight Oatmeal or Refrigerator Oatmeal.  The idea is to take dry oatmeal, mix it with yogurt and fruit, put it into the refrigerator for the night and eat it in the morning for breakfast. I know, it sound pretty discussing and it doesn’t look particularly appetizing either but it is yummy and I mean really yummy! In fact it is so yummy that I have fallen in love with oatmeal. I now eat this most mornngs as it is quick, easy and portable.

Sometimes one must keep trying and working at something to achieve success. Is there something in your life that you need to take another try at? Even if it is the fourth try or the twentieth try please try again. I know that it gets harder to convince yourself to keep trying when you do not succeed early on but keep going. Sometimes the sweetest success is the one that has been the most elusive to achieve. Remember if everything were easy the success and pride you gain from it would be greatly diminished. Let’s re-embrace the old adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again!” by making trying again one of your positively healthy choices every day!

 Susan’s Overnight Oatmeal

1/3 cup Quick Oats

1 single serving container of flavored yogurt (6 to 8 oz) or 3/4 to 1 cup yogurt

½  banana

½ - 1 cup assorted sliced fruit

Mix quick oats and yogurt together. Add sliced banana and fruit then mix again. Store covered in the refrigerator overnight. Eat and enjoy in the morning. You can also add toppings like nuts or granola in the morning when you are ready to eat.

 Hint: I use a small plastic container with a lid to mix, store and eat from. My daughter uses plain greek yogurt, a small amount of milk, a tablespoon of chia seeds and flax along with a dash of cinnamon.  Sometimes she even adds a tablespoon of peanut butter right before she eats it. There are lots of variations on the internet if you need more inspiration for this positively healthy breakfast.

The Party!

Enjoying life to the fullest is a great way to regenerate the soul, the mind and the body. One of things I enjoy most in life is having parties. When my children were small we had lots and lots of parties with most of them held on short notice. Now these were not your ordinary parties. It wasn’t anyone’s birthday and sometimes it wasn’t even a special day. They were parties to just to have a party. These weren’t fancy but they were filled with crafts, food and fun. Now I know some of you are saying, “Not a party. There is too much planning and preparing!” But really give this some thought. Is all that fancy stuff really necessary or is it just fluff and stuff? Would you have just as fun a time if things were simpler? Parties come down to everyone having a good time, not the amount of time and money spent on the food or preparing.

 Last October I hosted a Halloween party for my family and extended family. The idea was to have lots of fun and silliness for both children and adults. Everyone had so much fun that it was decided that it must happen again. My guests chose the date and I chose the theme, which to be honest had already been chosen because my good friend and I were having so much fun just in the planning. So June 3^rd was the chosen day for “The Best of All Holidays Party”. I know it sounds silly doesn’t it? But I want you to think back to your favorite part of each holiday. At Thanksgiving isn’t it turkey and pumpkin pie. Don’t you have fond memories of trick or treating and Easter egg hunts? How about those great Valentine cookies I make every year. What we did was take the best memories from every holiday and combine them into one giant celebration.

The children decorated bags one side for Halloween and one side for Easter as their first craft. Then they made picture frames out of popsicle sticks for the party photograph. We made homemade root beer (see recipe below) and the children watched as the dry ice bubbled and smoked carbonating the liquid. There was food and lots of it. Every family attending brought their favorite holiday food. I bake a turkey the day before so that we could have leftover turkey sandwiches. There were homemade rolls, Valentine sugar cookies for decorating, baked beans, yams, those cute little Spritz cookies in assorted holiday shapes and colors, deviled eggs and three types of salad.

After the crafts and eating were done it was on to the games and prizes. The one rule for the party games is the adults have to play the same games as the children. The first game was Eat the Donut. Do you know this game? This is where you tie a string through a donut, suspend it at mouth height and you have to eat the donut with your hands behind your back. The children got to use the little donuts but the adults had to eat the large ones. I’m sure you can already picture the scene when it was the adults turn. Next game up was Drop the Clothes Pin. When the last person had finished dropping their clothespins into the can and the prizes awarded it was on to trick or treating. Yes trick or treating!I had asked a few neighbors if they would be willing to let my band of children knock on their door and scream that popular phrase “Trick or Treat”.  So off the children and chaperons went from house to house with the last house being mine. Now while they were gleefully out of the backyard the remaining adults were hiding the Easter eggs. Shortly there was a knock at the door, “Trick or Treat!” and in filed all the children. They each picked an egg of a different color to hunt for and out the door they ran. Soon the eggs had all been found and it was time for dessert. Everyone frosted and decorated heart shaped sugar cookies with assorted sprinkles and toppings from several holidays or enjoyed those wonder Spritz cookies.

We still had a few more things to fit in so next up was the piñata. Now the piñata was a surprise as one of the guests called the morning of the party to say they hoped Cinco de Mayo hadn’t been taken because they were bringing one. The children all took turns with lots of swings and misses but finally the candy and money spilled out onto the lawn. Quickly they collected their prizes and it was on to the last and final game “Pass the Package”. The game is cross between musical chairs and hot potato but with a wrapped package.  Since the adults and children both play there were two packages. We sit in two circles and pass the package from person to person until the music stops. Once the music stops you get to unwrap one layer of paper off the package and perform the task written on the paper. Sometimes the note asks you to do something physical, sometimes the note will ask you to do something silly, sometimes you get to pick a prize and if you are the last person to have the package you win the big prize. This is repeated until the packages have been unwrapped and the grand prize given. By the end everyone is laughing.


The party was coming to a close and my good friend and I are both tired but smiling. What a fun day it had been!  As I was packing up food to send home with everyone the following question came up. “Is this going to be an annual event?” I think all of you know my answer, “Of course” I said. I may be tired but the day had been full of wonderful times that regenerated my body, mind and soul. When have you taken the time lately to have fun and enjoy life to the fullest? Remember each day brings new possibilities and new ways to find enjoyment. Are you actively looking to live your life to the fullest or just skating through it? Make living every day to the fullest one of your positively healthy choices every day!

PS. And that party next year, Hawaii here we come. Grass skirts and coconut bras for all!

Homemade Root Beer

5 lbs of Sugar

5 gallons of water
5 lbs Dry Ice
2 oz Root Beer Extract

Mix sugar and water together until dissolved. Add root beer extract and mix. Add dry ice. Root beer is ready serve when most of the bubbling has stopped.

Tip: I usually make a simple syrup using all the sugar and a few gallons of the water earlier in the day so that it can cool. Then when it is time to make the root beer I add the additional water. Unless I have a really large group I make half a recipe.

Thanking those that gave all!

Memorial Day is the time to remember our past and those that have protected us. It is a time to reflect on all the brave and unselfish military men and women who have served this country and  gave all so that we could be free.  The price of our freedom is not cheap and should not be taken lightly. All who have served deserve our thanks and gratitude.

Every year one of my local churches holds a large Memorial Day celebration. It started when they hosted the traveling replica of “The Wall”. The exhibit arrived before Memorial Day and stayed for a little over a week. You could visit "The Wall" at any time of day or night and there was always a volunteer there to help you find names or help you make a charcoal rubbing. I was so moved by my initial visit that I went back several times at different times of the day and night. I gave thanks and said prayers as I thought of all those brave people who gave all and the war that everybody hated. One of my good friends from high school had served in Vietnam on the front lines. He rarely talks about what happened there but every once in a while you get little tidbits of what it was like.

The congregation of this church was so moved by that first exhibit that they created their own memorial wall for the fallen soldiers  of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The "Freedom’s Heroes Outdoor Memorial" goes up two weekends before Memorial Day and stays up until the Tuesday after. The number of panels has grown over the years as the number of soldiers that gave all has grown. I visit it several times during those 10 days and am always amazed at the power of standing in front of it. They still have volunteers to help you find the names of the fallen and every year I cautiously ask about the people I know who serve in the military praying that their names will not be there. So far I have been lucky but another year has gone by.

I watched the panels and flags going up last Friday at the church so my yearly ritual of thanking those that gave all will be starting. Every year when I visit I stop at each panel, read a few names of the brave soldiers that gave all and say thank you. When I arrive at the last two panels I carefully read each name as they are the ones that have been added this last year. This great event reminds me of how complacent I have been about the real cost of freedom. Take a moment to say a pray for the fallen who gave all and their families as Memorial Day approaches. Remember to thank those that are still serving and protecting our priceless freedom. This Memorial Day make thanking those that served our great country and gave all part of your positively healthy choices everyday.

If you would like more information about this great Northern California event celebrating Memorial Day visit   http://www.cccyc.net. On the website visit Freedom’s Heroes Outdoor Memorial and “A Grateful Nation Remembers”. You can also visit their Facebook page about the event called A Grateful Nation Remembers. 
 https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/agratefulnationremembers

A lesson from the scary spare room, touch things only once.

Organizing experts will tell you that the best way to eliminate clutter is to only touch things once. If you pick something up deal with it now and not later because later never seems to happen. Since I have not followed this rule things have accumulated and accumulated in my spare room. This is the room where all things without a home go to stay temporarily. Unfortunately once they arrive in that room they seldom ever leave. It is out of sight and out of mind until that one day when the room has become so scary it must be dealt with.

Some of the items came to be in that room from other cleaning projects because I just didn’t know what to do with them. My idea was to just leave them there temporarily so that I could finish cleaning a different room and then I would find them a home. But low and behold a year or more later they are still there sadly looking for a new home. There is the box of old computer parts that need to go to the recycle and four boxes of stuff that came out my old office desk. My golf clubs live in there along with the car cover for the Datson 240Z. The fire box I bought several years ago is in there waiting for me to put my important papers in it. There are piles here and piles there, piles piles everywhere!


The day of reckoning has come for this room and the cleaning adventure has begun. First thing to be dealt with is the fire box. My birth certificates, passport, pink slips and credit cards go inside then it is carefully stashed away. I take the flowers out of the vase, give them a quick cleaning and lay them on shelf in the bathroom. The tool box and gardening things are moved to the garage. Then it is on the pile by the closet. I put the gift bags and boxes away, pick up the hangers and sorted through piles. Red and gold ornaments head to the garage and a portable jewelry box goes into the closet. What is that I see… it is the floor! All that is left is some VCR tapes, the electronic recyclables and the boxes from the old desk. I will tackle the boxes another day and find somewhere to recycle the electronics. The next step is to wash the curtains, clean the window and dust mop the floor. It has been a busy but rewarding day.

Make a pact with yourself to only touch things once. By touching things only once you save time, energy and eliminate clutter. Put junk mail in the garbage now and not tomorrow, find a permanent home for items when you move them and not a temporary one. Join me in my quest against clutter. Make “touching things only once” part of your positively healthy choices everyday!

Running with the Family!

It has been proven that people who exercise in groups or with a buddy are more likely to be successful than those that go it alone. The main idea is that the desire and will to start moving and keep moving is easier as a shared experience. Several members of my family either run or are trying to run, that would be me, and so as a family we participate in several fun runs each year. Sharing these experiences help keep me motivated and moving forward with my running even if it is a slow process.

On Saturday the runners in the family gathered for our Second Annual Zoo Fun Run. This particular run raises funds for the local Parks and Recreation Department and the Zoo. They have a kid’s fun run, a 5K and a 10K race. We were all entered in different events but we were there together. All four of my grandchildren ran in the Kid’s Fun Run. My little daughter-in-law (as I call her because she is cute and petite) and I ran the 5K while my daughter and her husband ran the 10K.

As with all races the Kid’s Fun Run was first. All of the children are gathered together and chase after some costumed character with another costumed character taking up the rear. The characters role is to either lead the way so that the children don’t get lost or bring up the rear so that no child gets left behind. Now this is no easy task because they have to run fairly fast to stay ahead of the children but not so fast that you leave them behind all while being dressed  in some ridiculous costume. The run starts with the boys separating and heading out fast, while the girls ran slower but hand in hand the whole way. They are all delighted to get to the end and receive their prizes which this year was a soft sided lunch box filled with surprises. Then it was off to the after run snack table to get Smucker’s Uncrustable sandwiches, granola bars and water. All of the children were then left in the care of Grandma Debby to play games and wait for the raffle to begin while the rest of us headed off to run.

Next up was the 5K. We lined up, the whistle blew and we were off and running. Luckily the first mile was pretty much downhill but with this race being an out and back that meant we would be running up that same hill the last mile. I gave that a lot of thought as we were running. I had memories of last year when I had tried to run the 10K to find out that the first two miles were uphill, with some small hills in the middle and the last mile being that same hill I was now on. Boy was I glad we had opted for the 5K this year! We ran and ran and walked a little. Soon we had looped back around and we were staring at that long uphill last mile. With a big sigh we started up the hill. I have to say that we ran most of the way even if we were running about the same pace as we could walk. When we arrived at the bottom of the last hill my daughter-in-law looked at me and with gusto said “I am running up this hill, I know I can make it because my old driveway was steeper!” and off she went. I went at it slower and waved her to run as fast as she could because we were almost to the end. The finish line was just a few hundred yards beyond that hill and across a parking lot. She ran and I followed both of us happy to cross that magic line.  After locating a bottle of water and a snack from one of the booths it was off to find Grandma Debby and the children.

The 10K started about 20 minutes after the 5K. I was glad that my daughter and her husband were running it and not me. Last year the weather had been cool but this year it was hot. All I could envision was that long uphill first few miles with no shade. But they are young and run regularly so I knew they would be fine. I waited at the finish line so that I could take a picture and watched the clock as it ticked closer to their projected finish time. They came in two minutes later than they had projected which isn’t bad for the first run of the season.

It was a fun day of exercising combined with spending time with family. Everyone was tired and sweaty but smiling. What would it take to get your family exercising together? Being active together as a family could be as simple as playing a game of tag or going on family walks. The idea is to get everybody in the family moving together. Not only will everyone be learning to live a healthy active lifestyle you will be creating wonderful family memories. Invest in your family’s health and well being by making family exercise time one of your positively healthy choices everyday!



If you would like more information about this family fun event and live in or around the Sacramento area please visit www.folsomrunwithnature.com. 

... a Vegetable Garden

Vegetables are one of the main ingredients to a healthy diet yet most adults rarely eat enough of them. To fulfill your daily requirement of vegetables you need eat five to seven servings. Think back to what you ate last week. How many days did you eat your required servings of vegetables? If you are like most adults you were probably lucky if you ate five to seven serving in the entire week! Many years ago I started a vegetable garden to help solve this problem.

At first I just grew tomatoes but eventually I added more vegetables and soon there was not enough room in the small flower bed along the house. So with the help of a firefighter friend I built a raised bed for my garden. Once the frame was done I had three cubic yards of top soil delivered and dumped in the driveway. Then I persuaded a couple of strong young men to haul the dirt to the box and dump it in. Soon I was ready to plant. That first year it was tomatoes, zucchini and peppers. It was so much fun to go out in the morning and look at what had grown during the night. There is nothing better than a home grown tomato! Yummy!

What I grow in the garden changes from year to year. At the end of each growing season I analyze how the garden did and what changes I will make for the following year. I try growing new things, some work and some don’t. Some produce more that I would ever eat others not enough. I have learned that you need to grow lots of green beans and can probably pass on the eggplants. You only need to have one zucchini plant, unless you want to be the zucchini provider for the whole neighborhood. If you have never grown leaf lettuce I would highly recommend it as it is easy and grows fast. My grandchildren love to give the lettuce a haircut when they are over.  I have out grown the raised bed and have moved several vegetable out to other flowerbeds to grow among the flowers. Luckily I have friends to share this great resource with as even with my small area I produce more that I could ever eat. 

  

Do you need more vegetables in your life? Consider starting a garden. You could grow your own salsa or salad bar. Start with a small area in your yard or use large containers. Pick a vegetable you like and find out how much better it tastes home grown. Involve your children and watch as they learn where their food comes from. Let them help you pick the great bounty and learn to love vegetables. This year make vegetables a larger part of your diet on your way to making positively healthy choices everyday!

..... a quiet Easter!

Most holidays at my house are of the loud and louder variety but this year Easter was different. I opted for a very quiet holiday. For weeks and weeks I have been so busy that both my house and yard looked as though a tornado had blown through. I desperately need to get things done and with lots of birthday commitments coming it was now or never. Instead of the usual Eater egg hunts and big breakfasts I stayed home by myself.

So you know this was my choice. My daughter offered to do a brunch and I politely told her that it wasn’t necessary unless her siblings really wanted to get together. As I saw it we were having brunch the following weekend which could be a combination Easter and birthday get together for our family. My choice has raised eyebrows and caused people to give me odd looks when I tell them that I am staying home alone. ”Not be with your family?” they say. You would have thought I had committed a mortal sin.

By staying home I have gotten things done. On Saturday I pulled weeds, mowed the lawn, filled in an area with dirt and with the help of my friend Debby replanted my front flower bed. I cleaned my kitchen, dusted mopped the hardwood floors, picked up the dining room and cleaned the bathroom. My laundry was washed, dried and put away. The bed had clean sheets and my shoes were in their proper place. Sunday after church I went for my first outdoor run of the year. It was only two miles but two miles is two miles.

I worry a lot about my children and their families as I remember lots of over committed holidays from the past. When they were little we would run from one relative to another trying to make everybody happy and ultimately making ourselves too tired to enjoy the day. No one wanted to give up their time on those special days. Some of the best holidays we had were when we told everyone, “I’m sorry but we are going skiing.”

When was the last time  you reflected on your holiday rituals? Are the holidays really what you want them to be or have they become a crazy nightmare? If you didn’t feel pressured by others what would you do? Who says you can only hunt Easter eggs on Easter and only have presents at Christmas or birthdays? Maybe it is time to realize that holidays can be anytime and stop making choices based on what someone else or a calender is telling you. Simplify your life and the holidays by planning in some quiet time for your family. Use this time to reflect on the true meaning of day or just relax and enjoy the quiet. Sometimes a quiet holiday can be one of the most positively healthy choices everyday.

Volunteering....a Positively Health Choice

Most people I know do some sort of volunteering. Helping others warms your heart and soul. It grows a greater appreciation for those around us and highlights how truly fortunate most of us are. If you are like me a lot of the volunteering I do is easy. You write a check, donate a turkey at Thanksgiving for a food basket, help in a child’s classroom or drop a toy in a barrel for a child at Christmas. But when was the last time you stepped outside your comfort zone to volunteer. I mean really out of your comfort zone.

For the second year I have stepped out of my comfort zone to help at a clinic that offers free medical, dental and vision care to those without insurance.  The clinic lasted four days and I was there three of them. Every year it sucks me in a little more and now I cannot image not being there. I watch for next year’s date to post so that I can sign up and anxiously wait to see my friends from the previous years. For me these are some of the most precious moments in my life.

This particular event is hosted by RAM or Remote Area Medical which runs free clinics across the United States. Now I have no medical experience so I am what they called a general volunteer. Some hauled trash, others help with lunch for the volunteers and others did registration. There were lots and lots of jobs. My job this year was to get those who came for services to a waiting nurse or EMT so that their vitals and medical history could be taken before being sent to a doctor or dentist. I was to watch for open spots at the tables and flag down a person standing at the front who would then escort them to the available medical staff.

 My friends will tell you that I do a good job of making a spectacle out of myself and this day was no exception. On that first day it became very obvious that the people up front were having a hard time seeing me because I am short. So I started stretching my arms high above my head and waving them. I know some of you can already envision what this must have looked like. Soon the person at the front was waving back at me and we were both laughing. A short time after that I could see one of the volunteers pointing at me as they were escorting people toward the table I was waving for. Then all of us were laughing both volunteers and patients. I had become the designed waver for the medical staff.

I made so many friends and they all had stories about why they had volunteered for this particular event. One lady had gotten her EMT license just so see could come to these types of events; her day job is the Marketing Director for Jelly Belly. One surgical nurse from Southern California was having such a good time that the following day his son who is a journeyman bricklayer and lived local joined him. There were two retired nurses who not only did these types of clinics but travel to Mexico and Ecuador on medical missions. One of them had driven five hours to get to her friends to help at the clinic. Such wonderful people all of them. If those friendships were not enough the people helped were so grateful. Many of these people had stood in line over night just to get these precious services. They would say thank you over and over again. Their children were so polite and respectful not once did any of the children scream or have a tantrum. I don’t know about you but I cannot even image standing in line all night out in the elements with small children and still have my wits about me in the morning.

My challenge for all of you is to step out of your comfort zone the next time you volunteer. Instead of sponsoring a person running for a cause do the run yourself and raise your own funds. Don’t just drop that toy in the barrel call the Salvation Army and ask if you can help sort or distribute the toys. If you are donating food why not help cook and serve it to those less fortunate. Take a risk and take that extra step. Make this the year to do more and take your volunteering to a new level. You will be surprised how wonderful you feel at the end of the day by stepping out of your comfort zone. There is no better time than the present to make volunteering one of your positively healthy choices everyday.

Three of Five Positively Healthy Choices Everyday!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It refuels your body and energizes your mind for the beginning of a new day. Now I have always been a big breakfast advocate. It is easy and cheap to make and generally children love breakfast food. I know it sounds crazy but my children always had a hot breakfast even when I had to be to work by 7:00 in the morning. Most of the breakfasts took less than 10 minutes to make and no, they didn’t have cold cereal every day. I fact my daughter would look at you like you were crazy if you thought she was going to eat cereal more than one day a week and then it had better be Lucky Charms. Each of my children has their favorites. One likes waffles, the other french toast and the other anything as long as there was bacon. Sometimes we would even have breakfast for dinner.

I recently discovered something I didn’t know about breakfast. To make a breakfast truly healthy you need to eat at least three of the five food groups. It doesn’t matter which three as long as there are three represented on your plate. It may seem silly but it really does make a difference. For years I have told friends that cereal for breakfast never filled me up. It was like the old expression about Chinese food, you eat it and an hour later you are hungry. In my quest to improve my health and keep an eye on my cholesterol number I have been eating more whole grain cereal for breakfast. What I never realized was that in the past when I ate cereal I was only eating from two of the five food groups, grains and dairy. No wonder I always felt hungry when I ate cereal and not other food for breakfast. Since I discovered this I simply add a banana to the cereal and it fills me up until lunch.

The other meals in the day need to follow that same rule by containing at least three of five food groups. It just seems that the other meals take care of themselves better than breakfast does. Poor breakfast, the most important meal of the day, gets pushed and shoved around. Some people eat nothing for breakfast and run out the door with a coffee cup in their hand then wonder why they can hardly move for most of the morning. Or they make a quick stop for a donut or pastry and feel fine for a short time until the sugar high runs out.

The important thing about breakfast is that it doesn’t need to be hard, time consuming or complicated to make. Remember it only needs to be three things to be healthy. Pick a fruit, add a protein, drink some milk and you have three of five. Make a peanut butter sandwich then add either a piece of fruit or some milk and you have three of five. Grab a yogurt a small bag with dry cereal add some fruit and you have three of five. Make a homemade egg sandwich (egg, english muffin, cheese) again three of five. Your three of five doesn’t even have to be what most people would consider breakfast foods. How about a ham and cheese sandwich, guess what it is three of five. Even pizza is three of five. All of these take five minutes or less to make and are highly portable. You would even be able to count your coffee as one of the food groups if it contains a cup of milk. That is of course if you leave out the fancy flavorings and whipped cream on top. Can you say Latte?

Become a three of five breakfast advocate at your house and make breakfast the most important meal of the day. This simple healthy habit will follow everyone you live with through their lifetimes and help create healthy lifestyles. Remember that breakfast doesn’t need to be big and fancy, save those three course breakfasts for special days or the weekends. Make breakfast fun and keep things easy. By keeping breakfast simple everyone can start their day healthy and ready for what the new day holds. Make three of five one of your family's positively healthy choices everyday!

Good Friends…Positively Healthy Choices Everyday!

If you are like me I have friends from all walks of life, they live in assorted places and I met them at different times in my life. I was reminded a few nights ago how special friends are and the bonds we create with them while chatting with a high school friend. The memories made with these special people are always held close to our hearts and generally fill our lives with happiness. Good friends, create great moments that turn into lasting memories which create good mental health. Having good mental health makes everything in the world look and feel better.

When times get tough and the going gets rough it is these wonderful memories that help keep us going. I have memories around cookies, leotards, tracing feet, homemade pie and the list goes on. Some of these memories have become part of everyday live and get relived often while others only appear at special moments or times. Sometimes I can even choose to make the memories appear and grow them with new additions. Many times these great memories include not only my friends but other family members as well.

My children and grandchildren have vivid memories of standing on a piece of paper while I traced their feet so that Auntie Reva, my good friend, could bring them shoes. No one was allowed to go anywhere close to Auntie Reva’s home or work without Chocolate Crackle Cookies to deliver to her and the family. Her two girls have known these cookies since they were small and they are now all grown up but you mention those cookies and their eyes still light up. Very special cookie memories created for not one family but two families.

My friend Diana is my sewing buddy. Our daughters did gymnastics together for many years and our sewing fun started with leotards. If I sewed one for my daughter, her daughter got one and if she sewed one for her daughter, mine got one. The material was cheap and the girls were so small we could get two leotards out of every piece of material we bought. So leotards by the drawer full they had. I would bet that at any given time the girls had twenty leotards each, if not more. Over the years there have been many more sewing projects adding to these great sewing memories.

Then there is my friend Toni. She makes the best pie crust I have ever eaten. Now I do a lot of baking but one of things I can’t make is good pie crust. So one Thanksgiving she and the family come over for dinner with the plan being for me to learn to make Toni’s wonderful pie crust. We start as soon as she got to the house but things quickly went from bad to worse. Soon I was in tears and Toni had taken over because I just can’t do it. Since that day Toni has always made my holiday pies. We call it our holiday trade, she makes my pies and I make her dinner rolls. Everyone is happy and doing what they do best.

It doesn’t matter what you do with these special friends because they will make anything feel special. My friend Debby runs errands with me every weekend. You know she has to be special because who else would go to the grocery store with you and eat Taco Bell for lunch every weekend. Where do good friends fit into your life? Are you creating as many happy memories as you could with them? Is there a way to add to the memories you have already created? Surround yourself with the people that make you happy and minimize your time with the people who don’t. Your attitude and self worth are too important to your well being to be around negative or toxic people. As for me, I am riding down memory lane with my high school friend in his dad’s blue MG convertible remembering that good friends make positively healthy choices everyday! 

The positively unhealthy 1% ....

Everyone has their doubts about choices made in their lives. No matter what you do there is always that 1% of doubt. But that small 1% causes us the most grief. We will analyze and analyze the situation over and over. To be truthful we will analyze it the death. Why do we let something so small rule our lives? It seems very silly when you look at the situation as a whole because there is nothing in anyone’s live that is guaranteed. Now that doesn’t mean you should wear black at night and walk down the middle of the road or take careless chances but how much worrying is healthy. Remember that worrying needlessly could be a big health risk. The more you worry the greater the stress and for some reason worries seem to build on worries. Sometimes we let those worries and doubts get out of control then all of a sudden the 1% has taken over our lives.

Now there have been many occasions when I have let the 1% get the best of me. That doesn’t mean that I let it control my final decision but it was there nipping at my heels. Quite a few years ago not long after my divorce the car I had died. I worried and worried. My daughter would be home from college the next week and there would be no car.  I cried and cried there were so many questions and so many unknowns. Would I be able to get a loan, how does one even go about buying a car? I took the process one step at a time. I called my two banks to see if I would even qualify for a loan as I had my doubts and waited nervously for them to call back. When they said yes I started looking for a car and with that came more doubts. The choices, there were just too many choices. When I had narrowed down the choices, with the help of my teen age sons and knew what I wanted it was time to start the real shopping. I had a coworker take me on my lunch hour to the local car dealer for a test run at dealing with the sales person. I was hyperventilating all the way there. I recited the lines I had been practicing and made it through the test run. 

With my sons in tow we set off on that Saturday to the first car lot. This was the same place I had practiced just a few days ago. Now I knew from my research that they really couldn’t give me the things they promised but I thought we should see what they could come up with. So there we sat in the office and haggling over the price. Back and forth they went from us to another office and back several times. The next time they left I looked at my boys and said, “If they don’t come back with a deal we are walking out!” When they came back without the deal and only more haggling we got up I said thank you and we left. I have never seen two such shocked men in my live. We left, drove to the next dealer, told them our story and a new car we came home with. To this day it is the boys’ favorite story to tell about their mother. If I had let that 1% of doubt rule my life and control my choices we would still be without a car.

Most of the decisions we make fall into that 99%. We have to learn and sometimes remind ourselves not to let the 1% over take our lives. Think about the last time you second guessed yourself only to realize to late that you were correct the first time? Learn to trust yourself and the choices you make.  Yes occasionally they will be wrong but if you really look at all your choices you make every day I think you will find that 99% of the time you have made positively healthy choices. So the next time doubt creeps into your life look around and see if it is that positively unhealthy 1% creeping in instead of the positively healthy 99%.