Spring Moments

I love spring. It helps me remember the simple and most beautiful things in life. My husband. My children. Clear sparkling water. Fresh Fruit. Sunshine on my face. Light. Fresh cut flowers on my table. Eating ice cream cones. Playing at the park. Being barefoot. My favorite white t-shirt. New green blades of grass. Opening the windows. Going on walks. Not being in a rush. Enjoying the moment. Breathing. Feeling God's Love.

I am a Flexitarian

I have had the most liberating idea come to me. This new found concept has brought loads of freedom into my so called healthy lifestyle. I came upon this fascinating word yesterday as I was reading one of my favorite blogs. It really made me laugh as I pondered it's meaning. I also have said I don't like to have a label put on me but this one fits me perfectly and it makes me feel so wonderful. Please don't take me too seriously.



According to Wikipedia:



Flexitarianism -is a semi-vegetarian diet focusing on vegetarian food with occasional meat consumption. A self-described flexitarian seeks to decrease meat consumption without eliminating it entirely from his or her diet. There are no guidelines for how much or how little meat one must eat before being classified a flexitarian. [1]


Mr. Smiley and I started changing our diets about 3 years ago. We have slowly made changes for the good and to make a long story short, we even tried tofu this past week and it wasn't bad. Changing the way we eat hasn't been a painful road for us. A word of warning though, I must tell you that once you decide to take this path in life, food as you know it will never be the same.



We now love to eat really good "real food". We try to eat whole grains, veggies, fruits, and a little meat. We try to limit our consumption of white flour, white sugar, food colorings, nitrates, nitrites, pork and many other unmentionables. Eating out and finding really good food at a restaurant is getting more difficult and we increasingly find ourselves enjoying our own food at home.



Sunday night on our long drive home we decided that we would try to eat meat less than what we have been and see how that would go. Then I came upon this great word - flexitarianism- What a relief. With no guidelines to how much or how little meat I must eat to be classified as a flexitarian, I believe I can always be classified as such and never disappoint or not fit into this category.



In fact, in 2003, the American Dialect Society voted flexitarian as the year's most useful word and defined it as "a vegetarian who occasionally eats meat".[2]

I think that a flexitarian can also eat as much or as little white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, trans or saturated fats and any other of those nasty chemicals we decide to put into our bodies and call food. I think flexitarianism covers most of the basics.



When you decide to try to be healthy or eat healthier than you have before, you get all sorts of misconceptions generated by others on your behalf. I once had a visiting teacher bring me brownies to the door and tell me she knew I would never eat them but that I could give them to my kids to enjoy. Not to mention brownies are the most wonderful food ever invented. Now, I don't have to fake it anymore. I will simply reply, "I am a flexitarian." and go on ahead and eat those brownies and not feel one bit of guilt.



I have given numerous nutrition seminars and people get this total false idea about me. I have never mentioned that I am a vegetarian or even pretended as such but I have had many ladies ask me how I survive on eating salads. No, I am not the sugar Nazi as some have suggested. I actually have no will power, which is why I rarely buy candy, cookies, or even make them very often because all I would do all day is eat them. We just try to eat healthy and once in a while we do eat pork, white sugar and french fries.. "I am a flexitarian!"



I try my best to feed my kids nutritious foods. I try to take my vitamins everyday. I try to drink filtered water and try not to use the microwave everyday. But, I am human. I am a mom. I have kids that don't like carrots and squash all of the time. "I am a FLEXITARIAN!!!"

New Resolve

I have had this fantasy for years to be a writer. But didn't know how to go about it. Pitiful. Anyways, I am hoping that I will start writing here on my blog more often. So if I have any readers out there, check back often as I have a new resolve to start blogging.

Years ago a friend told me that he didn't know I was a real person just a "runner". Yes, running (only competitively) was a passion for a long time and I still love the smell of the track. I have never really loved running as far as just to do it. It has always been painful for me. I have to have some kind of competition to work for. I like to run fast and not for a very long amount of time. At my age that really means I don't run too much. Anyways, I have had to work hard to get rid of that label and become a little more well rounded. And I don't mean well rounded around my middle. I do run and workout most days of the week to ward off that kind of well roundedness.

So this blog is now dedicated to writing about fitness, nutrition, and anything else that suits my fancy.

Sorry for the past few months.

I know I am a slacker on my blog. We have been working on many projects and had many other priorities to pay attention to the last few months. So quick update. We are all doing great, had a wonderful holiday season and feel very blessed to have a good marriage, fun kids and a good job.

The projects we have been working on will just surprise some of you. We have started making our own winter boots and cold weather clothing. If you want to know more you will have to know that I am a closet food storage/preparedness nerd. I am not a fanatic though.





The winter clothing we have made is really cool (not really) but keeps you really warm. I would show a picture with it on me but why don't you just imagine what I would look like with an inch layer of foam all over my body. Kind of puffy. I sat outside with it on at midnight one night when it was 15 degrees outside - I was completely warm. Not something I would wear out on the town but I don't have too much pride because I hate being cold.





We have at least one article of clothing for everyone but Mr. Smiley at this point. Mr. Smiley is the only one that has a full set of boots. If we need them in the near future then Mr. Smiley will have warm feet and the rest of us will have cold feet and warm bodies. So we still have a lot to do. I failed sewing in 7th grade but am redeeming myself. Hopefully we will finish our project by next winter. I will send an update on the project when it is finished.

Now that I have told you how weird we are I think that we will say goodbye for the day.