I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men
But in despair, I bowed my head
"There is no peace on earth," I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, goodwill to men
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead nor doth He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, goodwill to men
Peace on earth, goodwill to men
This song speaks to me more than any other carol of the season. It crosses religious lines and reaches the hearts of all mankind. It speaks of the common emotions we all experience but offers the solace that we are capable of overcoming fear and hate and we can believe that love and goodness will always win. God never stops loving and neither should we.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Nutritionist
I had my first meeting with a nutritionist yesterday. Michele is a friend of my brother and lives in Ithaca so we're doing phone meetings. http://www.grcuisine.com/
We talked for about an hour about my goals and eating and exercise habits (of which I have none). It was determined that I am a carb fiend (duh) and I just need to balance my meals better.
She recommended Activia as it has not only the right kind of bacteria needed for proper digestion but also the phytohormones (or something like that) which will help with my hormonal changes. She also recommends Sparkpeople www.sparkpeople.com as a way to track my nutrition and exercise.
Something has to change and I'm committed to doing it! I'm looking for an accountability buddy if you know anyone. Wish me luck!
We talked for about an hour about my goals and eating and exercise habits (of which I have none). It was determined that I am a carb fiend (duh) and I just need to balance my meals better.
She recommended Activia as it has not only the right kind of bacteria needed for proper digestion but also the phytohormones (or something like that) which will help with my hormonal changes. She also recommends Sparkpeople www.sparkpeople.com as a way to track my nutrition and exercise.
Something has to change and I'm committed to doing it! I'm looking for an accountability buddy if you know anyone. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Healthy choices
I don't know if it's my advancing age or my bad habits but I'm not feeling healthy lately. I've gained weight and my vain self doesn't like it! I took myself off the two meds that may have been contributing to my slowed metabolism and started looking for answers.
The first thing I did was look for a local naturopath as I'd had a lot of luck with one in the past but unfortunately, there is only one left in this area. Actually, in a 75 mile radius! Even crunchy Granola World Ithaca doesn't have a licensed naturopath! As an alternative, I made an appointment with my brother's friend who is a nutritionist but she had nothing available for three weeks. I had to take matters into my own hands!
I picked up the book Skinny Bitch on the advice of a friend and finished it in a day. This book advocates a vegan, organic lifestyle in a take-no-prisoners kind of way. It makes a lot of sense.
Armed with a product list from the book, I headed to Wegman's to stock up on organic fruit. Talk about sticker shock! The cost is about four times the amount of regular pesticidey fruit! I bought nothing.
I then checked out the natural food aisle. $1.79 for Larabars, $4.99 for vegan hot dogs, $4.99 for a box of cereal! Holy crap on a flaxseed cracker! I think I will lose weight on this diet because I can't afford to eat the food!
Seriously, the cost isn't that bad when you consider it's food my children will not eat and I won't have to buy all that often (except for the organic fruit which I'm sure will spoil much faster than it's less healthy counterparts). It's worth it to me to see if my energy returns.
Day One has started with Amaranth flakes cereal and almond milk. Stay tuned.
The first thing I did was look for a local naturopath as I'd had a lot of luck with one in the past but unfortunately, there is only one left in this area. Actually, in a 75 mile radius! Even crunchy Granola World Ithaca doesn't have a licensed naturopath! As an alternative, I made an appointment with my brother's friend who is a nutritionist but she had nothing available for three weeks. I had to take matters into my own hands!
I picked up the book Skinny Bitch on the advice of a friend and finished it in a day. This book advocates a vegan, organic lifestyle in a take-no-prisoners kind of way. It makes a lot of sense.
Armed with a product list from the book, I headed to Wegman's to stock up on organic fruit. Talk about sticker shock! The cost is about four times the amount of regular pesticidey fruit! I bought nothing.
I then checked out the natural food aisle. $1.79 for Larabars, $4.99 for vegan hot dogs, $4.99 for a box of cereal! Holy crap on a flaxseed cracker! I think I will lose weight on this diet because I can't afford to eat the food!
Seriously, the cost isn't that bad when you consider it's food my children will not eat and I won't have to buy all that often (except for the organic fruit which I'm sure will spoil much faster than it's less healthy counterparts). It's worth it to me to see if my energy returns.
Day One has started with Amaranth flakes cereal and almond milk. Stay tuned.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Memorial Day Morning
Willow woke me up at 6:30 this morning giving me a bonus hour to sleep in on my day off. I fed her like usual and got ready to go for a walk. I never have time to do this on a workday and always wanted to see what the lake looks like so early in the morning.
There was a chill in the air but I could tell it was going to turn into a hot day. The lawn was wet with dew and the cut grass stuck to my shoes as I walked across the field. As I was coming down the dirt path that leads to the lake, I could see the ropes they'd put up on the beach designating the swimming area. Their buoys lay so still on a mirror of water. The fog was just lifting from the surface of the lake and the sunlight filtering through it gave it a ghostly appearance.
We made our way down the path, the only ones out that early. Willow spotted a rabbit and pulled hard on the leash. The terrified rabbit took the opportunity to run for safety into the brush. As we turned the curve, I could see a lone fisherman casting his line. I imagine he was enjoying the quiet, beautiful morning as well.
We continued our walk and turned around at the bottom of the hill. The temperature was starting to rise (or was it my own) and coffee sounded much more appealing than climbing the hill. As we made our way back, I could see a part of the lake that is particularly quiet. Here I've seen beavers swimming as they dragged sticks through the water to build the dam the county workers always destroy. But today, no beavers. No fish. Not a ripple on the water. Fog met sun here and it swirled upward in lazy circles dancing above the glassy surface before disappearing into the air.
We headed for home after our 3 mile trek and I waved to my neighbors out on the porch of their Victorian enjoying their morning coffee with their bulldog at their side. I stopped short of asking them for a cup of coffee and a muffin. I'm filled with envy when I see these neighbors. How wonderful it would be to have a home overlooking this lake!
Willow and I arrived at the door and I stomped my feet to get as much sticky grass off them before going inside. She did the trick I call "circus dog" where she makes the seven steps from landing to landing in one giant leap. It's hard to believe six months ago she didn't know how to climb stairs and was terrified of trying.
I put the coffee on and warmed up the leftover hash browns I'd made yesterday. I melted butter in a frying pan and cracked two eggs into it. Two yolks in one egg! Yes, today will be a good day.
There was a chill in the air but I could tell it was going to turn into a hot day. The lawn was wet with dew and the cut grass stuck to my shoes as I walked across the field. As I was coming down the dirt path that leads to the lake, I could see the ropes they'd put up on the beach designating the swimming area. Their buoys lay so still on a mirror of water. The fog was just lifting from the surface of the lake and the sunlight filtering through it gave it a ghostly appearance.
We made our way down the path, the only ones out that early. Willow spotted a rabbit and pulled hard on the leash. The terrified rabbit took the opportunity to run for safety into the brush. As we turned the curve, I could see a lone fisherman casting his line. I imagine he was enjoying the quiet, beautiful morning as well.
We continued our walk and turned around at the bottom of the hill. The temperature was starting to rise (or was it my own) and coffee sounded much more appealing than climbing the hill. As we made our way back, I could see a part of the lake that is particularly quiet. Here I've seen beavers swimming as they dragged sticks through the water to build the dam the county workers always destroy. But today, no beavers. No fish. Not a ripple on the water. Fog met sun here and it swirled upward in lazy circles dancing above the glassy surface before disappearing into the air.
We headed for home after our 3 mile trek and I waved to my neighbors out on the porch of their Victorian enjoying their morning coffee with their bulldog at their side. I stopped short of asking them for a cup of coffee and a muffin. I'm filled with envy when I see these neighbors. How wonderful it would be to have a home overlooking this lake!
Willow and I arrived at the door and I stomped my feet to get as much sticky grass off them before going inside. She did the trick I call "circus dog" where she makes the seven steps from landing to landing in one giant leap. It's hard to believe six months ago she didn't know how to climb stairs and was terrified of trying.
I put the coffee on and warmed up the leftover hash browns I'd made yesterday. I melted butter in a frying pan and cracked two eggs into it. Two yolks in one egg! Yes, today will be a good day.
Monday, February 15, 2010
A gripe in the life
I feel a gripe coming on. It's long overdue. The past 48 hours have been the pits.
It started with me being deathly sick (okay, deathly is a bit of exaggeration) with a stomach bug on Valentine's Day weekend. Bob was my angel of mercy taking care of the girls when I couldn't get out of bed. He gave me a beautiful Pandora bracelet and it was all I could do to lift my wrist for him to put it on me.
He left around 3:00 and the girls came home from a very short visit with their dad at 4:00. I had asked Syd to pick up a pint of white rice from the Chinese restaurant on their way home. She brought me a quart and I sat in bed and ate it out of the container. I left the bag on the bed and Willow helped herself to the fortune cookie. Crumbs and paper were strewn all over the bed.
I went to bed fairly early which is somewhat of a joke considering I hadn't gotten out of it in 24 hours. My whole body ached. The nausea was gone, however and was thankful for that.
I dragged myself out of bed at 5:30 this morning and trudged with shaking legs up the hill with the dog for our morning pilgrimage to the field. Slowly I got ready for work and left the house early to pick up a cake for my receptionist. Before I even got halfway there, I got a call from Syd saying the dog won't stop whining. I have no idea what she expected me to do from 20 miles away. As soon as I got to the office, I got a call from Mell telling me Syd won't give her ten dollar bill back to her. Again, my powers are limited. My only weapon is to threaten severe punishment in 8 hours.
It was a typical day at work which means putting out fires and trying to make everyone play nice. I was still so weak but managed to get through the day.
I stopped at Aldi's for chicken patties knowing this dinner choice was going to blow my chances at Mother of the Year but I needed something fast the kids wouldn't gripe at eating. I filled my gas tank in anticipation of yet another threatened snowstorm and finally made my way home.
I arrived home to find a huge mess in the living room and a wet spot on the carpet due to the kids not taking the dog outside soon enough. Syd had cajoled my neighbor into giving her a jar of Jif claiming we were out of peanut butter. Later, I discovered two things: dog poop on the floor and that I don't have enough quarters to dry a load of laundry.
I have a 10-page case study analyis, a quiz and 5 chapters to read for school before Sunday. My nails are so long from procrastinating on my nailfill that I can barely type.
I'm glad the day is over and right now all I want to do is go to bed.....so I can start all of this all over again.
Gripe over.
It started with me being deathly sick (okay, deathly is a bit of exaggeration) with a stomach bug on Valentine's Day weekend. Bob was my angel of mercy taking care of the girls when I couldn't get out of bed. He gave me a beautiful Pandora bracelet and it was all I could do to lift my wrist for him to put it on me.
He left around 3:00 and the girls came home from a very short visit with their dad at 4:00. I had asked Syd to pick up a pint of white rice from the Chinese restaurant on their way home. She brought me a quart and I sat in bed and ate it out of the container. I left the bag on the bed and Willow helped herself to the fortune cookie. Crumbs and paper were strewn all over the bed.
I went to bed fairly early which is somewhat of a joke considering I hadn't gotten out of it in 24 hours. My whole body ached. The nausea was gone, however and was thankful for that.
I dragged myself out of bed at 5:30 this morning and trudged with shaking legs up the hill with the dog for our morning pilgrimage to the field. Slowly I got ready for work and left the house early to pick up a cake for my receptionist. Before I even got halfway there, I got a call from Syd saying the dog won't stop whining. I have no idea what she expected me to do from 20 miles away. As soon as I got to the office, I got a call from Mell telling me Syd won't give her ten dollar bill back to her. Again, my powers are limited. My only weapon is to threaten severe punishment in 8 hours.
It was a typical day at work which means putting out fires and trying to make everyone play nice. I was still so weak but managed to get through the day.
I stopped at Aldi's for chicken patties knowing this dinner choice was going to blow my chances at Mother of the Year but I needed something fast the kids wouldn't gripe at eating. I filled my gas tank in anticipation of yet another threatened snowstorm and finally made my way home.
I arrived home to find a huge mess in the living room and a wet spot on the carpet due to the kids not taking the dog outside soon enough. Syd had cajoled my neighbor into giving her a jar of Jif claiming we were out of peanut butter. Later, I discovered two things: dog poop on the floor and that I don't have enough quarters to dry a load of laundry.
I have a 10-page case study analyis, a quiz and 5 chapters to read for school before Sunday. My nails are so long from procrastinating on my nailfill that I can barely type.
I'm glad the day is over and right now all I want to do is go to bed.....so I can start all of this all over again.
Gripe over.
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