Determined

Determined.

My second grandson is not even five months old, and he is already on the go scooting across the rug to get to his older brother's tractor. I'm not surprised in the least because from the very beginning he was extremely active. Before he was even born he got my daughter's attention with his in utero acrobatic feats.

In a matter of weeks Grandson Number Two seemed to have unusually good control of his neck, and wanted to be sitting up to observe the world around him. My daughter bought him a little frog chair that resulted in quite a few smiles as he happily watched his older brother run around and play. 

At the same time he kept repeatedly doing crunches each time he was in a reclined position. So much so that even changing his diaper became a challenge. He certainly was a determined little guy, and wasn't giving up easily. If doing twenty crunches a day was what it took to get him in a more upright position then he was up for the task. 

Now he is scooting along the floor pretty effortlessly trying to reach his brother's toys. His incredible strength and determination seems to be propelling him toward crawling ahead of schedule. In fact, the other day when he reached his brother's John Deere tractor he graced it with a little slobber. After being reminded to share by his mother, Grandson Number One quickly wiped off the slobber with his fingers, and proudly proclaimed, "I share."

Living in the Moment

Living in the moment. 

My cat Abby is one who truly lives in the moment. She's either happy or not, but either way she's going to let you know about it. 

As I write she is literally sitting on my chest purring loudly letting me know that she is happy. She steals a lot of moments throughout her day finding a way to be either on Chuck's or my lap. It is there that she seems most content. 

Of course, she might disagree when given the choice between lap time and food. If she's hungry or even if she's not, she's going to let you know about it repeatedly. At that moment you better feed her because she is relentless, and won't give up. 

Abby spends most of her day shuffling between the dining room chair, and the dining room rug. She used to meander between all six chairs until my sister gave me the tip to put a dryer sheet on the chairs that were off limits. Right now she has ownership of a comfy captain's chair covered with a towel. 

In the morning don't even think you are going to get to sleep in. Her majesty will you know that you have forgotten to fill her bowl with a loud wail, that is followed by a sweet meow as soon as you you stumble out of the bedroom to feed her. Abby is a girl who knows what she wants, when she wants it, and she pretty much gets her way most of the time. 

Yes, Abby doesn't waste time worrying about her past or future. She lives in the moment enjoying her life, and allowing us to go along for the ride. 

Two Observations

Two observations. 

I was picking up my mail from the post office a couple of days ago as they are not delivering to our neighborhood yet. As I was getting ready to walk out the door a young man on crutches was struggling to get through the door. I was unaware of his plight because I was checking to see if I had the right mail, since the post office seems to be set on giving me my neighbor's mail instead.  

As he pushed the door open, and hobbled a bit he caught my eye, and I realized his dilemma. I immediately pushed the door open for him, and apologized for not paying attention sooner. At the same time a young woman had rushed to his aid as well. She made eye contact with me, and I could tell she was not happy with me not assisting the young man. 

I immediately apologized for not helping him, and as I stepped away I realized that it bothered me that she didn't seem to be happy with my actions. I kept thinking, "Wait, a minute you don't know the whole story." I'm really a very considerate person, it's just that I happened to be checking my mail right at the time he was trying to get in."

Now I came away from this with two observations. The first being that it is easy to pass judgement before you know the whole story. I do this too just by someone's appearance, or by a snippet of information I might have received from social media. 

The other was how concerned I am with strangers' perceived opinions of me. This same kind of thing happened when I didn't fill the boot at an intersection recently. I had just filled it the day before, but I kept think the firefighter was thinking less of me for being cheap. I wanted to yell out the window, "Hey, I contributed yesterday! See I'm a decent person after all."

It bothers me on both accounts. I shouldn't be so quick to pass judgement, and maybe I shouldn't spend so much time making sure everyone likes me. 

A Little Horse Story

A little horse story. 

As a child I loved horses. I grew up watching horses at the movies, and pretending to ride one each time we traveled across the country to a new home. As enamored as I was with horses, I never actually rode one until I was about thirteen. 

Instead, when I was ten the girl who lived across the street from me, and I would play horses. She had a nice collection of toy horses, and I learned words like Appaloosa, and Palomino, as I pretended they were real.  One Christmas I got my own toy horse, a brown and white beauty, that I treasured. 

My first actual horseback riding experience didn't really go all that well. A friend I'd met at school took me to a place in Waxahachie that pretty much looked like the glue factory. Of course, that would never be a term used today, but those horses were pretty much used up. Except, I didn't care one bit. My romance with all things horses had come true until they put me on one. 

Let's just say I basically spent the entire time riding the fence line as the horse made his way back to the corral time and time again. The man who worked there would slap the horse, and send it back to the pasture, and it would turn around, and head back. I learned on a return visit to request a more docile horse. They gave me a sweet mare who was easy to handle, and I enjoyed getting to ride her the few times we went back. 

My next door neighbor accompanied us once, and she must have had some prior experience because she rode a horse that could actually gallop. My horse seemed quite content to move at a slower pace, and I could never get her to go faster than a trot. On one particular visit I convinced my friend to let me ride her horse because I wanted to be able to "ride like the wind." Let's just say that I was never able to get that horse to stop, and had to dismount while he was still moving. My horse looked better and better!

As an adult I've only ridden a horse a handful of times, and primarily on a trail while vacationing. The last time was in Colorado when Brittany was in middle school, and although I  handled the horse well, I was afraid I had a permanent case of bow-leggedness when I finished the ride.  

After my love of horses from afar, you can imagine how tickled I was to see a video of my two year old grandson riding a horse that his grandparents from Virginia had brought him last week. He was sitting on the same saddle that his Dad has used as a young child, and he looked quite pleased with himself. His Pop was leading Lilly, his horse, and his Dad was right there beside him cheering him on as he always does. A picture was snapped of three generations of horsemen.

That sure is one lucky boy, and I couldn't help but think how my dream of owning a horse, had come true a few generations later. I know it won't be too much longer that he will be handling Lilly all on his own, and he too will be riding like the wind!

Out of the Box

Out of the box. 

One of the last areas of our house to get organized has been the garage. This primarily has been due to the fact that since we're selling the farm we have begun to cart home the "stuff" we want to keep. It has all found its way into our garage waiting to be assigned a home. 

This weekend we made a trip to Sam's to purchase some shelving. It's hard to organize when you have no place to put the "stuff." Chuck picked out a six-shelf unit that he thought would do the trick. We decided we could always come back to pick up another one if needed. 

A day later Chuck began assembling the shelf which resembled an old Erector Set from the sixties. Thank goodness he is mechanical because if left up to me it would have to remain in the box. He did ask, though, for my assistance as it did require more than one person to put it together. 

At one point he was ready to connect the upper shelves to the lower. It looked like it might be a little tricky to prevent it from toppling over mid-stream. It was then that I did a very unusual thing for me. As I looked at both pieces I began to wonder if they had to be connected? Would it work to have two separate shorter shelves instead?

You would still have the six shelves, but not the massive seven foot height of the intended structure. As Chuck stopped to consider my crazy idea, he realized in doing so one of the shelves would be perfect height for a workspace. The more he thought about the idea, the more he liked it. 

I was pretty shocked at myself because just a week ago I was admitting that thinking out of the box was not necessarily my strong suit, and here I was doing so. I was actually quite pleased with myself, and the garage ended up looking great. 

Who Likes it Best?

Who likes it best?

About a month ago I purchased a set of three small balls that resembled the flubber balls of our old dodge ball days. I figured they would be perfect for my grandson to play with in our new backyard. 

Sure enough, the last time he visited he had a great time playing with them, but I think Cooper might have enjoyed them more. Although, they are a little too big to fit in his mouth, he can bat them around with his paws pretty effortlessly. 

My grandson, and Cooper were quite a team as they chased each other around the yard playing their own game of keep away. Unfortunately Cooper might have also been involved in an unintentional game of dodge ball due to the inaccurate aim of a two year old. Luckily, no harm was done, and they both went on to play some more. 

Now that the two year old has returned home Cooper still enjoys chasing the balls around the yard, until they rest in the dip beside the fence, and his lack of an opposable thumb makes it impossible for him to retrieve them. 

That's where I come into play as I make the trek across the yard to get them for him. To be honest I'm pretty tickled that the two of them are starting to really play together, and that Poochies as my grandson likes to call Cooper is actually enjoying himself. 

Steps To Better Eating

Steps To Better Eating. 

If you have considered eating healthier it's easy to get overwhelmed. To begin with there are so many different schools of thought when it comes to what you should eat. I'm not going to share with you a specific diet, rather I'm going to give you a few tips that have worked for me. 

My journey to healthy eating really is about a five year journey, and it has certainly been far from perfect, but I am content with how I'm maintaining my weight, getting great results on my blood work, and just an overall feeling of wellness. 

1. Begin eating more real food- The blog 100 Days of Real Food got me started on trying to eat less processed, and more real food. I began checking ingredients, and looking for five or less that I could recognize and pronounce. When I stopped eating so much processed food my reoccurring headaches became fewer and fewer, and now are gone. 

2. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store- A good way to start buying healthier choices is to shop the perimeter of the store vs. the aisles. The only time I'm usually entering the aisles is to buy whole grain pasta, canned tomatoes, lots of beans, peanut butter, tea, and frozen foods. 

3. Brew your own tea- I absolutely love unsweetened tea, the stronger the better. Black tea has a very refreshing taste. To be honest, I didn't always feel this way. I used to use sugar, and then artificial sweetener in my tea. When I stopped it took a little time to acquire a taste for the unsweetened variety. I usually only drink water, tea, and coffee, and don't waste my time on sodas or diet sodas. 

4. Sprouts- If you are fortunate enough to have a Sprouts nearby take advantage of their produce. I have found their prices to be excellent, and are actually advertised as loss leaders. I rarely buy any of the pricier products, and get most of my groceries from Walmart. While you are there spring for a loaf of Ezekiel Flax bread found in the refrigerated section of the bakery, and try it toasted. Add a little real butter, and your tastebuds will thank you. 

5. Pasture raised eggs- I have made the decision to spend more on pasture raised eggs, and usually buy Vital Farms when available. You might enjoy checking out their website to learn more about their philosophy toward raising hens. One of my favorite breakfasts is avocado toast with a fried egg on top. I toast Ezekiel bread, and top it with a mashed avocado with lime and seasoning, and put an egg on top. This breakfast is to die for. 

6. Steel cut oats- For sixty years I never liked oatmeal, that is until I tried steel cut oats. I think for me the texture of the mushy oats is what I didn't like. I do not add sweetener to my oats, but use either fresh or frozen blueberries instead. I make these oats on the stove, and they take about ten minutes, but it is ten minutes well spent. 

7. Hummus- I used to think that lunch always had to be accompanied by chips. Now don't get me wrong, I still have a weakness for their salty, crispy goodness, but now I add raw veggies, and hummus as my side. I recently discovered sugar snap peas, and really like their crispness. Although, the "baby carrots," are convenient, I prefer the real deal, and cut up my own. I also add a bunch of broccoli crowns to the mix, and I'm quite content. 

8. Brown bag popcorn- Popcorn has always been my go to snack, and today I pop my own in the microwave using a brown paper lunch bag. I put 1/4 cup of kernels in the bag, and pop until the popping slows. Don't be tempted to get a few more pops because it can burn easily. I dump it in a bowl, and give it a spritz of olive oil. I then add salt, and my homemade "Parmesan." I blend 1 cup of slivered almonds with 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, and 3/4 tsp kosher salt in the blender, and make this salty nutty delight. 

9. Raw honey- I've been picking up a large bottle of Nature Nate's raw honey at Sam's and use it in my hot tea.  Raw honey is more nutritional since it doesn't have any added corn syrup. 

10. Herbal tea- After my tour of Celestial Seasonings in Boulder, Colorado, I became hooked on tea. Many times I fix a cup for Chuck and I before bedtime to help aid in sleeping. 

11. Meatless Monday- If you've never considered fixing a meal without meat you might want to consider it. Pinterest can be your best friend when it comes to finding delicious recipes. If you don't think you can give up meat, try looking for a new side dish. I was surprised to learn how delicious many meals are that are made from chick peas or black beans. Chuck and I eat less meat than before, and enjoy trying new places and dishes. I have found it easier to maintain my weight keeping my meat and dairy consumption in check. 

I also want to endorse Weight Watchers if you are wanting to learn more about healthier eating.  If you choose to join I encourage you to make the weekly meetings a part of your health routine. Being with like-minded people goes a long way to keep you motivated, and you will always come away with something you didn't know before. For many having the accountability of a weekly weigh-in leads to better success as well. 

If you have any questions I'd be more than happy to help.