Health Goals

A personal goal of mine (one of many) is to start eating healthier and get my family on track health wise.  I haven't made the best progress in this area, but the desire is there!

I feel our family is not the worst when it comes to nutrition, but we are no where near where we need to be.  An area where i feel we are better is the fact that we eat meat very sparingly and if we do, it's normally chicken.  I also try really hard not to make too many "box meals" and the such.  But there is so much more we need to do.

One of my delimas is the fact that The Hubby is kinda a picky eater (he's a texture guy mostly).  He's not the worst, but he knows what  he likes and what he doesn't like and sticks with that (even if he's never really tried the thing he "doesn't like").   It's hard for me since i am not a picky eater (and i hate feeling like i have to cater to his likes).  I feel i'm not picky because when i was growing up i was encouraged (and sometimes made) to eat all different kinds of food.  Yes, there are some foods i truly do not enjoy, but for the most part, i will try anything.  Hubby on the other hand, well, his mother tended to cater to all the kids desires and they weren't made to try things if they didn't want to.  Also, i don't think his mother really likes to cook so pretty much everything is their house is prepared food of some sort (or they eat fast food, like eating out at least 2-3 times a week).  Like, think freezer meals, stove top, pre-made spice packets, box meals, pop tarts, jars of candy, pop, etc etc.  The only fresh food they normally have is possibly an apple or two, a bag of baby carrots for the crockpot on sunday, and a bag of pre-made salad.   

So this makes it hard when i try to make healthy food for our family.  The Hubby's favorite go to food is pasta.  Can that man eat pasta! (think a pound at a time!)  And i guess it would be ok if he ate it with a healthy tomato sauce, but he doesn't.  His favorite topping is ranch and cheese.  Yes, you did read that correctly.  I was able to get him to switch to whole wheat pasta instead of regular, so that's a bit better i guess..... I love this man so much, but sometimes trying to get him to each healthier is a hassle, so i don't really bother.

But i need to, i really do.  I am not where i would like to be health wise.  Sure, i can blame it on having 2 pregnancies 6 months apart, but i wasn't healthy before my first pregnancy and i'm not healthy now.  To put it plainly, i'm obese, even if i don't look it.  Yes, i'm obese.  I hate knowing that.  And then there is The Hubby.  He is also overweight and not where he should be health wise.  And this scares me since his family has some serious health issues (although a lot has  to do with their lifestyle of course) and i don't want that to happen to my husband.  And my mother was obese my entire childhood and still is and i don't want to end up like her either.

 But i will say it is hard to take control of our lives and change.  There was always so much pressure from my mother not to get fat which made me upset and depressed and made me not want to try even that much more.  And like i said, The Hubby never grew up eating well (i'd say he's lucky if he gets 1-2 servings of fruits and veggies a day).

But we need to take control and change.  We need to do it for ourselves, for our daughter and our future children.  Yes, i can keep making excuses or i can get down to business and just try harder.  It is not going to be easy, but i need to try, because if i don't try then i will fail. 

I'm sorry if this post hasn't made much sense, or if i've rambled...i think i'm making this post  more for  myself so i'll stop making excuses.  If i put it out publicly that i want to change, then maybe i'll feel more of a commitment to my goal.

So what is my goal?  I can't just say i want to eat healthier, that is too broad of a goal.

I would like to loose at least 80lbs in the next 2 years.

I want to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

I want to plan my meals so i know what  is for dinner before 7pm.

I want to get active and exercise at least 3 times a week.

I want to drink at least 2 liters of water a day.

I want to stop buying so much processed food and cook more from scratch.

Limit the sweets in our house.
Eat at the table.
Eat more beans and such.
Eat more fish.
Use the crockpot more.
Limit eating out to 4 times a month (including take out)

Pack The Hubby's lunch every day.

I can't say i'll get on top of all these goals right away while trying to juggle life with a new baby who is having so many fussy issues (she can't handle dairy in my breastmilk and she's not even 2 months old yet and is cutting 2 teeth).  But i have my main goal to loose weight, and i have my deadline, so one way or another i need to reach this goal.  Thank you for letting me ramble and let my feelings out.  

Do you have any goals to get your family healthier?

Craft Room Insperations

Today’s post has no other purpose other than to let off some of my excitement right now.  In our apartment I’ve made the extra bedroom into my craft room.  That’s right, it’s MY craft room, not The Hubby’s office (although he does have a desk in the closet).  About a year ago I put up shelves and arranged it how I wanted and added a couple decorative touches, but I never really finished.  Well, lately, scratch that, these last couple days as I’ve walked in there it’s been driving me nuts not to have it finished how I would like.  Like, if i don't do something about this right this second i'm going to go crazy.  So, I’m working on finishing it now (as much as I can with a fussy 2 month old).

Since my power drill is charging and I’m taking a break I thought I would share some of my inspirations for my craft room.  Who knows, maybe they will inspire you too!

Ok, so the craft room that I saw that started it all was this one

I pretty much love everything there is about that room, especially the colors.  You can’t tell me you aren’t wishing that room was yours right about now!  Some things I’m taking from this room and applying it to mine are:

A ribbon holder and cable

Stair-step ledges to hold my buttons and beads

table skirt

And

Cubby system

Aren’t those just great! 

Other ideas I’ve gathered from other places:

Making my own boxes for my cubbies

Dry erase board

Fabric organization 

more fabric organization

Another cable line

 spice rack storage

Ok, that’s all I really have right now….but I’m just so excited for this room to be finished!  If I come up with more inspirations I’ll share them with you :)

Do you have any inspirations for your crafting area?

T-Shirt Shrug Tutorial

So something i do in my spare time (which lately has been when i'm nursing the little one) is explore different blogs trying to find new projects i want to do (someday).  The other day i ran across this tutorial and i instantly fell in love with it and wanted to share!

T-Shirt Shrug tutorial

One reason why i'm so excited about this tutorial is i found that shrugs are great for nursing in public!  I can just wear a tank top that i can pull down easily, and the shrug keeps me covered on the top/side.  Perfect!  I also like how romantic and "girly" this is, but still can be grown up!

But it's hard for me to find shrugs that i like or can afford so this is perfect, so needless to say, i'm very excited about this tutorial.  I think i'm going to have to go to the thrift store and see what kind of awesome shirts i can find!

So there you have it.  An awesome, amazingly cheap project to go do! Enjoy!

Fear in Childbirth

This movie was shared on my facebook and it's just too powerful of a message not to share.

It is a short little film that talks about the fear in childbirth. In my quest for knowledge on pregnancy, childbirth and the such i have found that many women these days are afraid of childbirth. Why? Why are women so afraid of something our bodies are made to do? Do we not have faith in our creator that he (or she if that is what you believe) would know what they are doing to make it possible to birth our offspring safely? Yes, childbirth is painful, sometimes, very very very painful, but something we must remember is that this pain is *doing* something. It has a reason. The pain of childbirth is productive. And it won't last forever (even though when you are in the moment it is hard to remember that). Remembering these things can help get us through our labors.

As for the other fears that surround birth (and there are many) i have this to say. It is of the upmost importance that you select a caregiver who is going to work WITH you to achieve the best pregnancy and birth that you possibly can. You need a caregiver who is willing to take the time to explain everything to you and answer any questions you have and not make you feel stupid or silly for asking them.

It is also important that you do research for yourself! You need to educate yourself. Knowledge is power! Read everything that you can get your hands on! The more i learned about how my body is meant to work, the less fear i had in the birthing process..

I hope that i am making some sort of sense, but i'm afraid that i'm not saying things as clearly as i would like. But, i have a fussy baby on my chest right now that needs attention and so i will end this post here and perhaps i'll go into more details later.
Please watch the video and share your comments :)

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my personal blog!
I felt it was time for me to go out on my own and create a place for me to share my latest projects, articles and links i find interesting, and a place for me to share my thoughts on things i find important.

I hope you find this blog educational and insperational.

Now for a quick introduction. I am 23 years old and have been married to my significant other for about 3 and 1/2 years now (He is almost 26). We have 2 daughters. Our first had Bilateral Multicystic Kidney Disease and died shortly after she was born. Our second daughter is a month old. Our family is of the LDS faith. We try to be thrifty and love to save as much as we can. We are also a little more "crunchy" in the sense that we had a midwife assisted home birth for our second daughter, we cloth diaper, baby-wear, bedshare, delay/selective vax, extend rear-face, extend breastfeed, we are against circumcision, and against spanking. I am also trying to go more "green" with our family. Personally, i love to be creative and craft as much as i can. A new hobby is decorating cakes and cupcakes.

I think that will do for now for an introduction.

(you may have noticed i haven't used any names. I do NOT want to use my family's names in this blog. I still need to come up with some nicknames for everyone, but i'm pretty sure my husband will be known as The Hubby and our second daughter will probably be Little Rainbow. But i'll let you know. Please do not use any of my family's names in your comments. Thank you!)

Now, onto a post.
Yesterday i read a blog post at Single Dad Laughing called The Disease Called "Perfection" and The Cure for "Perfection". These posts really hit me hard. His posts really got me thinking (as do all the posts i've read of his so far). He talks about how perfection plauges us all. He talks about how perfection destorys peoples lives. He talks about how we need to be REAL to those around us and stop letting perfection control our lives.

Like i said above, this hit me hard. Lately i've been struggling with "being real". I've struggled with saying exactly what's on my mind, and how how i feel. Why is this?

It's because i have one deep fear.
The fear of rejection.

My whole life i have wanted others to like me. I NEEDED to be liked. But why? Why is it so imporant to me? I honestly don't know. But i'm trying really hard not to let what OTHERS think control me. Why should i care? Why should i let the fear of what others will think of me control my thoughts and actions?

I need to be REAL to myself and stop caring.
I know it will not be easy, but i will do my best.

And so, a fair warning. I may say things on my blog "others" do not want to hear. But i have to be real to myself and that means telling the truth.

so here we go. I hope you enjoy the ride with me.