Outsourcing--As a Stay-at-Home Mom

Natalie talks about outsourcing today. And then she says she wants us to pick something we don't need to be doing that we will outsource within the next two days.

And then my mind goes blank.

I'm at stay-at-home mom. I would love to outsource the cooking (hm, get my teens to do more of it? although my one teen is so busy with evening activities and work, she's not even home for most suppers...). I've already been "outsourcing" the laundry--both kids have done their own this week. I can't imagine ever hiring a cleaner; my own little quirk in that I would feel like my space is being invaded. Although I would have no problem cleaning somebody else's house, but they want that. I don't. I can "outsource" more of the cleaning tasks to the kids, though, I suppose. Really, though, there is nothing that I do as part of things at home that I would be willing to pay someone else to do.

Income-wise, I have two jobs at the moment: I pick up kids after school once a week and look after them at my house (there is no outsourcing possible there--other than my son looking after the girls when I'm driving my daughter to dance) and I teach a French class once a week. I can't outsource the teaching, it wouldn't make sense to outsource the planning, although I suppose I could try to outsource some of the physical materials I would like. But I don't always know what I want until the last minute.

But that's it. The online French academy isn't a business yet. It doesn't even have a name, so I can't even register a domain or have a virtual assistant get things organized on that end of things or somebody to design it for me just yet. I'm not even sure of all of the components I want. Now that she's brought up outsourcing, I may just find somebody who can, for a reasonable price, design a site for me, or at least some images--once I have an actual name and things are ready to get started. But I also might not since I like to know how everything works. I won't have somebody else do the lesson planning. So... What am I going to outsource? Perhaps once things are really moving I'll find something?

Are you a stay-at-home mom who outsources anything? What? Are you running a fledgling online business and outsourcing something? What?

Day 9 of the 15 Days to Freedom Challenge--Tools and Systems to Free You

Today's challenge is about systems and tools that free up our time. I already use most of what Natalie recommends and I have found it has helped free things up for me. Google Docs is fantastic for things I want to be able to access anywhere or just to have a backup of. I switched to Gmail a couple of years ago, I think, still keeping the email address I've had for possibly 10 years and just having mail go through the Gmail. No more having a computer die and losing all my contacts and stored emails and not only that, if I have access to the internet, I can now access my emails from anywhere. I have Paypal, but am looking into other possibilities for once my site is going to be accepting payments (any suggestions? I've heard there are others that don't charge as much; this is an expense I keep forgetting about).

Because I'm already using some great tools and have certain systems in place that I'm happy with, I think I will learn more about Dropbox and see if that will be useful to me at all.

Do you use certain tools or have certain systems in place? What do you use that makes a difference for you?

3 Big Goals to Plan Into Your Year

I have tried and tried to type a post about fulfilling this challenge. I started yesterday morning, had a very long post; by the evening, it just wasn't right. I tried again, but it wasn't right.

Maybe I just have to say that I can't--for now.

This challenge is about picking 3 big goals and placing them--as well as time off and other things--into your year. Plan your year.

But I just can't do that.

I've hit a time in my life where, while I want to enjoy success in the ventures that have inspired me, I don't want to be goals-driven. I have a tendency to just "get things done" and not be in the here-and-now, truly appreciating and enjoying life. My post from earlier this year talks about me wanting to live a freer, more leisurely life. This goes against the success philosophy of work, work, work towards your goals. Now, I know each and every one of the big teachers of success will say you need balance, but I can't seem to do that. (I do lean towards Asperger's--and one trait can be to get somewhat obsessed with an area of interest; I've had that happen plenty in the past.)

And yet, as I type this, I realize that this is one of my big goals--but how do I set a deadline to it? How do I plan it into my year? I suppose I would have to pick certain types of milestones, measurable things to be reached, but how? What sort of milestones can there be in learning to live in the now? So, this is one reason I can't fulfill this particular challenge. There is no particular milestone to be reached and various little things to do over the year that will unfold.

A second goal has already been talked about in this challenge: to replace last year's income from offline sources with online sources. A milestone goal for this would be for me to get my French academy site up and running--I'm actually aiming for March 1st at the latest, hoping to have a trial version up within the next few weeks. A second milestone goal (so, a third big goal?) for this would be to get 100 registrations--but is this something I can plan into my calendar? Not really. I could pick some arbitrary date, but that doesn't change that I don't know how long it will take for me to pick a name, get the first units done and up, get the next units done and up, then get the next level done and up... I don't know that it's reasonable to expect 100 registrations for the beginner level. Do people just set the goal anyhow? Go, "I'm aiming for 100 registrations by May 1"? Why do I have such trouble with this? I guess because I don't know if it's reasonable, doable, and if it's not, then it's just an arbitrary decision and not something that can actually be worked toward and accomplished.

 I don't have any other big goals right now. I have big desires, but I can feel my commitment level to actually make them happen just isn't there. I'm probably over-thinking all of this. Ah well.

Do you have 3 big goals for the year? Have you planned them into your year? I would love to hear back. I should perhaps have read other people's submissions for day 8 before writing my own!

The ONE Thing to Rule Them All

Today's post is going to be super, super short:

Today's challenge with Natalie Sisson's 15 Days to Freedom is about picking ONE thing to focus on this year. I jumped the gun before even finishing the video and thought my one focus was my online French academy, but finishing the video, I realize it's not my one focus: my one focus this year is to make online more than what I made last year with my offline sources combined. There are different ways I have in mind of accomplishing it, but that's my one focus.

Do you have a single focus for the year?

What's Your Business Style?

I've managed to watch the Day 6 challenge video (of the 15 Days to Freedom Blog Challenge by Natalie Sisson) which, other than showering and getting dressed, is probably my biggest accomplishment so far today. I've been hit by the flu or something and have spent the day drinking orange juice and not spending more than a couple of minutes standing--mostly reclined back, to be honest. But I decided I wasn't going to get another day behind, so I'm getting this done.

Today's topic is actually something I've already considered as part of my employer-free life: What's your business style? Basically, are you the type who is going to go after active income or residual income? Also to consider, are you someone who needs to be with people or you'd prefer to just sit with your laptop somewhere comfy to work? Are you going to offer a service, products or both? Things like that.


I am an introvert. A huge introvert. An I've-always-disliked-the-phone introvert. Someone who could probably live fine by herself on a mountain top for quite sometime. I'm quite happy sitting with my laptop, perhaps interacting with people online. I love researching and answering questions, but also just like writing. I love helping, too. I currently teach a weekly class and while I do love the kids, my internal yearnings are to just do it all online. Both products and services, but ideally, less of my service time so that I have more time to research, write and enjoy life my way. :) These are things I've identified already about myself and I am currently working on the online French language learning school that will allow me to do just that: product (lessons) and small amount of "in-person"/online service (conversational times).

What about you? Do you already have your own business(es) going? What works for you? If you're looking at being an entrepreneur yourself, which direction do you think fits you best?

Let It Go, Let It Go

Today's (day 5's) challenge for the 15 Days to Freedom Blog Challenge is about letting go of people and habits in our life that we need to let go of. Sitting down to write this and seeing "Let Go", I couldn't help but think of Frozen.

from http://giphy.com/gifs/dancing-shark-forum-igR5863TALcSk

I can honestly say that I don't have people in my life who put down my ideas, although my mother did before Christmas talk about my kids having talents (guitar and piano) and could they play something, but, to me, "You don't have a talent, do you?" (Actually, yes, Mother, which is why you were always impressed when I was growing up how easily I could learn to play things on the piano without having ever taken a lesson...) But that slip of her aging mind aside, I can't say I have anybody unsupportive in my life I need to let go of. I'm very introverted and have very few close people in my life. It works fine. One person I did need to let go of in my life I let go of about 5 years ago and since then, things have been good.

But the habits... 66 days to develop a new habit?! That's something surprising that Natalie shares in today's video. So, if you want to let go of a bad habit, which you can only really do by replacing it with a better habit, you have to give yourself over 2 months. Two doing-it-faithfully-each-day months. (Part of me is saying, "I'm doomed.") My mind is running a blank on habits I need to replace. But that could just be because it's 11pm after a long day of running around and wanting to actually do this post this morning but didn't get a chance to and I absolutely want it done before bed so I can do Day 6 tomorrow. Okay, some bad habits I have that affect my health, business progress or other:

*Snacking on bad foods in the evening before bed. As I type this, I have an empty bowl that previously contained corn Tostito rounds and some Maynard's Fruit Squirt candies.
*Getting right into work things (or online fun/distractions) instead of taking the time to properly exercise in the morning. Not only am I forgetting to do my rotator cuff exercises, but I'm not doing any cardio, which isn't helping my blood pressure at all. (Neither is the snack above, I suppose!)
*Can it be called a habit to not plan meals ahead of time?
*Spending too much time reading random things online, or evening interesting things that I just get carried away with.
*I tend not to get my Thursday class planned until Wednesday sometime and not completely prepped until Thursday morning, 5 minutes before I have to leave (if I even manage to prep everything I wanted to prep).

She said to pick 2 or 3 habits to let go of and replace them with good habits. So, here are the good habits I'm going to work on for the next two months:
*I'm going to let go of the junk in the evening and replace evening snacks with no snack (some of my snacking is just habit, not actual hunger) or with a healthy snack: fruit, veggies, some sort of whole food.
*I'm going to let go of the early morning online fun/distractions or work stuff to take care of my physical health and exercise--both shoulder work and cardio (if I'm not sick). I have a skipping rope now and some videos... Even though I might not be able to move my arms properly, it doesn't mean I can't tackle the cardio.
*I am going to let go of the Thursday-class-procrastination and actually work on it every day--at least until it's ready. Just the idea of possibly finishing a Monday evening for the coming Thursday sounds divine!

Well, I've got my work cut out for me with this one. Hopefully I'll remember in the morning what I said I would do. ;)

Distractions, Distractions... What Was I Saying?

Natalie Sisson's Day 4 video in the 15 Days to Freedom Blog Challenge really spoke to me. It's all about distractions, pointing out that every distraction sets us back from accomplishing what we were setting out to do. (Okay, that's assuming that we've got a goal in place of something we are trying to accomplish.) Facebook is a huge distraction for me, especially when I leave a tab open and get all of the notifications. Part of my reasoning is that if I only check once or twice a day, then I have a gazillion notifications and can't get through them all.

Well, wait a second: How many of those notifications are that important? Will I be just fine without them? Already, I don't even check most of them--and sometimes that means that the important things get "lost".

So, part of my cutting back distractions, of getting as distraction-free as possible (it's not possible to be completely distraction-free, I don't think) is going to be to, first of all, reduce how many notifications I get and second, keep Facebook closed except when I'm deliberately going to use it for whatever reason.

But, that's not my whole problem. My mind gets in the way. Yes, it does. Just as I was typing this post, I pressed something by accident, got an option to install language dictionaries for my browser, remembered a discussion yesterday about there not being Canadian English options for most things online, which led me to checking if this browser has that option--it did--intalling it AND going back to Facebook to tell the group, where the discussion had been, about it. *sigh* (I literally just sighed.)

I am now starting to wonder about my attention habits. After I sighed and was thinking about what to write next, I realized I was quite cold. So, rather than finish this post, I went downstairs, turned up the heat and grabbed a sweater. Distractions, distractions.


I can't remove my mind ;), so that's not the one thing I can remove today from my distractions. I know that Facebook is currently a problem--getting involved in conversations and playing games and all that. I'm setting myself a boundary today and that is that Facebook can be checked in the morning and then checked again in the evening, but other than that, unless there is somebody I need to get in touch with and that's the only way or I know information I need is on Facebook, I'm not heading there. And if I do have to, I will control myself and not get caught up in other things!! (I will head there right now to post this, though. :D)

Finding--and Using--Good Tools

Day 3 of Natalie Sisson's 15 Days to Freedom Challenge asks us to choose a tool to use to help with our success. In terms of a -free life, while this has nothing to do with being allergen-free or anything like that, it does have to do with being a little more stress-free, financially-free and so on. She lists some different tools in the Day 3 video and while we're not obligated to use any of the ones she uses, I decided to try out Evernote and it is installing as I write this.

In my daily life, I'm constantly writing notes--on paper. And losing that piece of paper. This happens for just about anything, including menu planning for the week. I don't lose every piece of paper, but I lose a lot of them. Or find them after I don't need them anymore, sometimes a year later. (No, I'm not kidding.) While there is a part of me that connects better with paper and writing on paper than putting things in my phone, the reality is I lose a lot of my little notes. I figure it can't hurt to try an electronic note system, even if I sometimes write things on paper first, back them up into Evernote and then if I lose the paper, I still have the backup.

And now that it is finished installing, I will see what sort of menu planning notes I have in my mind for this week. :)

----
Evernote is a FREE app you can get that is cross-platform--if you put your note in your phone, it will also be available through your browser on your computer or laptop. The free version is limited, naturally, but even the Premium version is highly affordable.

Random Stuff

I've been reading more the past couple of months from a variety of books. (Book list shared below!) One of the things I read recently in a John Demartini book was something along the lines that whenever we master one challenge and think we've got everything down pat, something is bound to happen to upset any ensuing calm/peace because we need to have constant challenges to grow.

That has, I can say, been my reality the past couple of months.

But I have no complaints: there is so much good that has come out of these challenges, like having me spend more time each day connecting spiritually, growing spiritually. Like turning to books which have provided me with some amazing ideas I was ready for.

Recently, while considering how I've been dealing with the challenges, I've found part of me thinking I don't lead a balanced life. At the same time, I'm starting to wonder if I'm supposed to. If any of us are supposed to. I think we are supposed to learn to connect to our inner guidance (whatever you might call it) and act from inspiration. Inspiration isn't always balanced--but it doesn't leave us feeling unbalanced. We can go and go and go when we are inspired, never tiring.

Where am I going with tihs? Not sure. That's why it's a random stuff post. :D

Other random stuff:
We are booked for Hawaii! Woot! Which means I only have a few months to work on my fitness level and to get my weight down to where I would like it. Even just another 5 pounds down would be nice! I started using this video set by Tracy Anderson

I am discovering that while I can walk for hours, the fairly simple routine really gets to the core of certain muscles that are clearly weak! Probably not suitable for people who have been working out for sometime, but for those of us who are sporadic with our exercise and haven't done much challenging, it's a very nice start. She does have other videos of various levels, which I hope to start moving up through soon.

That will hopefully help with the fitness level I would like so that we can do all the activities we want and I will be able to keep up! Food-wise, I've already started making changes (not for Hawaii, just for my own benefit) and have lost a few pounds already. I do still have a hankering to have more raw vegan foods as part of my daily life and even tried out Ani Phyo's Blueberry Smoothie recipe from her book Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes. I'm hoping to make Mimi Kirk's raw Caesar salad this week. (Mmmm, do I ever love that salad!)

Okay, my (partial) reading list the past while. If you want more information, click on the pictures (or ask me questions in the comments box!). And, um, no, I don't usually read one book before moving onto another. Most of these are still being worked on!


This is one book that really gets me thinking, seeing things differently. I'm not 100% in agreement with everything he says but am open to the possibility that he may, in fact, be on the right track. He talks a lot about how we are to learn to come from a centre of love and that as we act out of balance (elated vs unhappy, for example), we can see that there is something else going on to balance it. (Yes, this appears to go against what I said above about balance, but I'm talking more about the balance in activities, like household stuff and kids and exercise...) He has helped me to lose anxiety I had about some on-going issues and instead appreciate what benefits are coming out of the challenges. Haven't finished this book yet. I seem to need to read a chapter or two and then let them digest.



This is all about Ho'oponopono. It is fascinating, intriguing, something I question and yet have been attempting to implement. It has definitely helped me find greater peace and a deeper spiritual connection. I admit to modifying how they present it to connect it more with my religious beliefs.



This is quite different from typical "law of attraction" stuff out there. I seem to be taking quite a long time to get through it, not because it's not interesting or potentially useful (actually, it may very well have helped me bring a car into my life--but that will have to be a separate post. The story is almost unbelievable!) I guess part of me isn't quite sure what I think of her whole approach, although I have been using the "one command" idea but more as a sort of affirmation/reminder than doing the steps she says.


Gotta have a novel in there, no? lol. I have actually been working on this for months. I am not finding it as captivating as the first two, which I reread immediately before starting this one, but it is still interesting and I definitely want to finish it (although I accidentally saw a spoiler online :( ). We saw the movie for Divergent last Friday and while it was good, it was not nearly as amazing as the film version of The Hunger Games. (Yes, another random thing thrown in there. Sorry.)

Last one on my partial list:

Okay, this isn't really to read, but I'm working on it, so I'm including it!

I don't draw. I can't really draw. Even my students recognize it and I'm quite open and playful about it. So when I saw this book, I initially thought, hm, I can't do that. But when I looked more into it, I started thinking that it was something I could potentially do. Have I been doing one a day? No. I'm not even using the materials they say to use (if I had to wait to start until I had the materials, I would never start!). But I am finding that while some designs they show are a bit of a challenge for me and I may simply never really "get" them, most are quite enjoyable and things I can do! If you aren't very artistic but love the idea of being able to do something artistic, look into zentangle. It may just help you feel like you aren't a total artistic loss.

Okay, is that enough random for you today? :D What is going on in your life? What are you reading? What is inspiring and helping and motivating you?

It's Monday!

With Christmas holidays, each day seems to be blending into the next! I need to keep reminding myself today that it's Monday. While I'm definitely in vacation mode, I had all last week off and know that I need to work on some things this week so that next week goes smoothly.

But today is also day 2 of week 1 for me. (See yesterday's post!) I realized that 6 months is 26 weeks. I'm on week 1 of accomplishing some health and fitness (and financial) goals. Where am I going with all of this? How am I going to get there? Those are questions on my mind today.

I have started journalling what I'm eating so that I have an idea of my habits right now. I don't have a clear idea of where I'm headed food-wise, although do have a rough idea of where I'm going fitness-wise. My intention had been to get on the treadmill this morning, but I have a nasty sinus headache that I've been bowing down to. I think I might just get on it anyhow, even if I just walk for 15 minutes instead of my intention to mix in some running. It'll be a start.

Let me ramble about food, then:

*I have realized that I really need to have menu plans, especially since I'm trying to change what we eat. My daughter's stomach issues have resumed and while it may be a virus, too, she appears to have hit a time to go wheat-free. With the concerns about the arsenic in rice products, it's not as simple as just substituting gluten-free (usually rice-based) products for the usual wheat ones. In any case, to go wheat/gluten-free, I can't just wing it: I need a plan, specific recipes I know I will be making, etc. This will require some research, including going back in this blog to find recipes I've tried. lol.

*When I think of my ideal food consumption, it is highly raw, but not entirely. It is soy-free, gluten-free, meat-free, dairy-free, low-grain, white sugar-free, processed food-free, high variety of fruits and vegetables. Just writing this right now, though, I live in the (at-the-moment) frozen Canadian prairies. The selection of fruits this time of year is pretty poor. I suppose I need to get a list of seasonal fruit and focus mostly on that. Frozen fruits are great for smoothies and such, too.

*I have lots of cookbooks to help me out with all this and there is a wealth of info and ideas online. Because my family is not necessarily interested in becoming vegetarian, paleo menu ideas have caught my eye.

I'm going for health here, as you can see, rather than trying to plan a diet that will make sure I lose the weight I want to lose. Although, it would be good for me to still have some broken-down goals for that, wouldn't it? Of course it would. Okay, I'll pick a "middle" number, 12 lbs, as the goal weight loss. That is just 2 lbs per month. Frankly, I might lose 3 lbs the first week just by dropping wheat. (!) I guess if I'm on or ahead of target right from the get-go, there won't be a problem with that! (Omg, am I prepared to drop wheat right away? No. I need a menu plan!)

Enough of my rambling. I am going to change into some exercise clothes, drink a glass of water and get those 15 minutes of treadmill in. Goal this week is to be able to run 1/4 km straight (0.155 miles). I think I've done that in the past, but not entirely sure. And with my treadmill, I'm not sure it will tell me something that specific so just now, I worked out how long I would have to run: I think I comfortably run at a pace of 4.4 mph on the treadmill. 0.155 miles / 4.4 mph = 2.2 minutes (2 minutes 12 seconds). Hm. I don't think I have run that long before. But that's the goal for Saturday! I will have to figure out how long I need to run if I run slower than that. Yikes, I'd better get to that treadmill ASAP! lol

Wacky Dream

I will at some point get back into writing about food and health topics, but today's post isn't about either one, unless it was something I ate? lol

I just woke up from the most bizarre dream. My 15-year old daughter is supposed to be going on a day trip with a church youth group today and in my dream, it's the morning of, like it is in realy life, we are outside and she tells me her friend isn't going after all because of something I can't remember. She forwards me the text she got, but more than just that message gets sent. I don't get a chance to see it all when we have to go in for some reason, but my curiosity is piqued because it seems from other messages that ended up getting sent in the forward that the girl wasn't going due to being punished for something. But a discussion starts about my daughter not wanting to go now that her friend wasn't going.

"What? We won't get the $40 registration fee back." More about the only reason she was going was because this other friend was going. All of a sudden, a young woman we know shows up. We start all eating at the table and I decide I should get her opinion while I wait for my husband to get up so I can ask him his. There's mention of it just being boys she knows in the group and no girls and it would be awkward. The young woman takes Emilie's side. I say something about the other friends she had said were going, too. She looks down as she responds something and I tell her I know she was lying about something or had lied about something. I then say rather tensely, "You are going to have to pay me back the $40," knowing that my daughter doesn't have a job and no money left in her wallet. (Why is the $40 so important? lol) I go back outside to pick things up we had left and to try to see the rest of the text, and I see the girl she was supposed to be going on this day trip with is sitting beside her on the sofa. (Where did she come from all of a sudden? No clue. But the other young lady is miraculously gone!) I come back in within a minute to ask what the friend is doing at our place if she can't go on the trip and what are we supposed to do with her and don't get a chance: there are 3 older teen boys I don't know in my house (which isn't actually our real house; it was like a little apartment in a single-level house or something), two are laying on some sort of a futon watching TV and my daughter's on the futon with them! They're even holding beers that they've already mostly drunk. My daughter sits up when I ask, "What is going on here?", but she is holding a tall glass of milk, at least, and not a beer. (lol)

I get angry and start getting these guys--all truly young men, not short, skinny teens or anything--to get to the door, grabbing the beers out of their hands and just get really angry at them. "This is illegal! What gave you the right to go and grab beers?" is one thing I remember saying. One guy answers back in a matching tone about how you just go grab something from the fridge when you're at someone's place. I yell back, no, you don't and we start arguing and I end up pointing my finger at him, saying something about I"m teaching him proper manners here and you need to always ask (and he was actually kind of calming down and accepting that I was right) but I couldn't continue as my mouth was drying up and I was finding it hard to talk. I was suddenly awake, my mouth open and dry. And I felt a bit of a shake as though I might actually have been moving my arm in my sleep. I realized it was just a dream--and was very thankful for it!

So, was it something I ate? lol. We did have company last night and all kinds of food... ;)

I'm Baaaa-aaack!

(What show is that from? Was it one of Urkel's lines? I'll have to look it up.)

One more week until spring break. Lots to do around here, although, admittedly, I can't blame how much there is to do on my lack of posting: I've spent gads of time playing Candy Crush Saga in Facebook. And I discovered how to keep getting free lives. Which means I continue playing beyond just a little break! I'm just really feeling this loooong winter (we've had close to another foot of snow the past few days...) and a need for a break from everything.

Anyhow, my pseudo-niece realized she was feeling blah and we were tweeting about fasts and cleanses. She went for a juice fast and very quickly, was feeling very good. She inspired me to hop back on the healthy food wagon. I thought about joining her for a juice fast, but I don't have a juicer, so that's out for me. So then I was thinking about doing a sort of "green smoothie fast" but the idea of having nothing but green smoothies doesn't feel very appealing and I think I might go crazier with that than when I drop wheat. (Oy, I dropped wheat again for the day the other day--went back to those "I feel like I'm going crazy, what will I eat that will be satisfying?" feelings. I don't like it. And it's a bad sign. I've got to cut out wheat long-term, don't I?)

So, other than planning to start each day with as much green smoothie as I can handle, I sat down and went through my Raw Food: A Complete Guide for Every Meal of the Day book, which is a great book if you are looking for meals for just one person (which I am) and don't have a dehydrator (which I don't), and picked a bunch of recipes to make for lunches this week. Or as a raw food side dish for suppers. I haven't planned everything out yet, which I should absolutely do, especially plan when I'll do the prep required for each one, but have selected the following (I'm going to babble here because then it's all written down and I can come find it when I'm looking for it :D) and made sure to get the necessary ingredients today. I have sooooo much raw fruits and veggies in the fridge now that I absolutely have to make sure I follow through and don't waste anything

*Granola p. 39--this recipe has almonds, which I'll have to not mix in right away since it's always an unknown as to whether I'll react or not; also requires soaking the nuts, which means I definitely need to plan which day I'd like to have it. I don't think I've ever soaked nuts before, although I know many resources recommend it. The recipes I've used didn't require it, so I didn't do it. I'll have to look into that.

*Mango and Pineapple Smoothie p. 43--I actually picked this with my daughter in mind since it's a smoothie recipe that doesn't have bananas. But it sounds tasty, so maybe we'll all share. ;) Doesn't really require much prep since I'm using frozen mango and I'm cheating and using up some canned pineapple that we have.

*Broccoli Salad with Raisins p. 89--I'm leaving out the apple cubes (makes my mouth itch, usually), or might put them in a side dish and serve this salad with a supper and let those who can eat raw apples put them on their salad. There isn't a whole lot of prep for this one, so it could be done easily right before a meal.

*Friday Burritos p. 93 (which I probably won't eat on Friday lol)--I'm missing the alfalfa sprouts (couldn't find them anywhere at the store I was at today), but I think it'll still be fine. There's more chopping to do for this one than some of the other ones; I should possibly actually keep it for Friday when I'll have more time--and the avocado should be ripe by then.

I also bought myself a zucchini to make some raw pasta (I'm pretty sure there's an easy marinara-style recipe in one of my books) and I think I have everything to make the amazing Caesar salad I've raved about before from Mimi Kirk's book. And that carrot, raisin and seeds salad I showed not long ago. And I bought lettuce to make sure to have greens available for each and every supper. (My kids actually like just taking a couple of leaves of green lettuce and eating it just like that!)

What's my plan with all this? Let myself feel the craziness of not getting grains for the first half of the day and some. Green smoothie as much as I can handle, then perhaps granola or the flax seed "pancakes" or fruit to finish off the morning; raw lunch; raw afternoon snack. Essentially, my plan is raw all day (but with that green smoothie to start--best way for me to really get in a lot of fruits and greens) until supper. And I have in mind largely wheat-free suppers for the whole week (I should do up a Make-a-Menu Monday post; I should, but will I?). I'll probably feel like I'm going crazy the first couple of days, but I know it'll be fine. I do have an inkling now about what cigarette and drug addicts must go through! It's got to be sheer torture for them to resist.

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Brief interruption: I just saw a little ad about kids being safest in a booster seat until 4'9" or 80 lbs. My daughter is 15, 4'11 and about 80 lbs. She's taking after my mother and hasn't had a real growth spurt yet--expecting her to end up eventually around 5'1"-5'2". But she was probably 4'9" and 70 lbs at age 13! A booster seat at age 13??? My mother was 75 lbs when she started high school. Anyhow...

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I've been meaning to post my recent (mis)adventures in gluten-free baking. That will have to be a separate post. Let's just say that I had some difficulty and have pictures to show it. lol. The cookies are absolutely delicious though. But I apparently have a sugar addiction, too, because when I have some on Sunday (not a part of Lent!), I don't stop at just one.

I also read The Heavy during my blog hiatus.

I'm going to do a post with a book review. Maybe sometime this week. Maybe next week during spring break. I'll keep my opinion a mystery until then. :D (Oy, that's another thing to plan food for: My brother-in-law and his wife are heading down to Arizona to visit the grandparents during spring break, without the kids, and the kids--a 5yo, an 8yo and a 12yo--will be staying with us!)

I think I'm going to have to keep things simple for tomorrow, so none of the above recipes (except maybe the smoothie). I have an online class to run at 11 and then my in-house class from 1-3, then it's pick up the above-mentioned nieces and nephew from school from 3-4, and then a meeting at 7 for parents who have a child doing the Confirmation prep classes, so time is tight in terms of trying to get school work done with my kids, prep the house and finalize the class lesson plan AND do food prep at any point during the day. Smoothie and a simple salad and whatever I want for raw fruits, veggies and maybe a handful of nuts or something will be fine. And then something super simple for supper.

What have you all been up to? (Even though it's only one of you who ever tends to comment, but I know in the stats there are more of you reading! :D) Are you feeling the effects of a long winter? How are you managing it?

Saturday Mishmash

Okay, a mishmash of sorts:

I neglected eating greens for a while and restarted this past week. When I've had a lack like that and start up again, my body kind of goes, "Omg! Greens! Give me more!"

Being tired this morning (had two pieces of white toast, to boot), I decided to have an energizing--or at least non-energy-depleting--lunch:

 

I've probably shared a similar salad before. It's just so easy, combines different tastes so it makes it tasty and it's nutritionally satisfying! Super simple (and raw vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free...):

*bed of lettuce (green leaf above)

*shredded organic carrot (if you don't normally eat organic carrots, have a look and see if the organic carrots available where you live are better than the regular; here, the regular carrots seem to be old and dried up and don't taste great and the organic are just gorgeous, fresh and delicious--absolutely worth the little bit extra $!)

*raw sunflower seeds

*raw pumpkin seeds

*raisins

*some olive oil

*some lemon juice

*sprinkling of Mrs. Dash

I feel great after eating that for lunch. I almost turned to some banana bread as a kind of dessert, but decided against it because I know it'll make me feel more drained--I'm already so tired today!

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I have a new favourite chocolate milk. 

I've been seeing things with cheese and things like ice cream lately and have been really wanting to indulge in them. Which is crazy since I haven't wanted anything like that in ages and I know I won't actually like the taste and it will make me seriously ill. 

But it is a sign I've had before: I'm not getting enough calcium.

Other than trying to make sure to eat in a more balanced fashion, I was wishing I actually liked to drink the almond and rice milks and all that. I used to drink the Silk Soy Chocolate Milk when I'd get all cheese-cravy, but it left me mucousy, so I gave that up. I discovered this last week at the grocery store

and I love it! It tastes delicious, doesn't leave me mucousy and has helped me easily satisfy my calcium needs. I hesitated getting it since it is Lent and I had decided to not partake of sweet treats, but I figured that as long as I'm treating it like milk/calcium source rather than going nuts with it, it's okay. It also has more iron than the unsweetened Silk PureAlmond and lists it as a decent source of vitamin E. (Yay for dark chocolate! :) )

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Random fact: Frogs can not swallow with their eyes open. (Why am I sharing this? My daughter's rattling off random facts she's reading from her iPod. ;) )

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A friend of mine extolled the virtues of arnica to me a few years back, and then another friend more recently. The first friend really extolled them after she gave her 5-year old son doses of arnica after he was hit by a pickup truck (reckless driver! he's okay today!), fractured his skull and had swelling. When they went for the first check up, the doctor was quite surprised by how much the swelling had gone down, something my friend attributed to the arnica. Not having read a lot about homeopathy, I didn't know what to think.

My daughter bruised her ribs not long ago and the second friend reminded me immediately of using arnica. Okay, why not give it a shot? A single dose of arnica and the pain was completely gone. Coincidence?

I ended up with a nasty migraine a couple weeks ago. Looked up online if arnica might help with a migraine at all. I can't remember what the actual result of that search was, but I did end up stumbling on an article talking about arnica and some research done. The research was trying to discount arnica, having used it on patients who had had surgery (I think it was for carpal tunnel). A control group was given a placebo. The results? Both patients reported approximately the same amount of relief.

If I'd stopped reading there, I wouldn't have gotten the full information. Turns out the the people doing the research didn't pay attention to traditional recommended doses of arnica and gave way more than what a homeopath would ever give. The article went on to say that research has been done on cell responses to arnica and it has to be a low enough dose for the cells to respond. (I'm sorry, I find that fascinating!) We live in a society where we tend to think more is better, including for pain killers and inflammation reducers, but our bodies don't necessarily respond how we think they will.

In any case, I decided to use some arnica on my migraine and it did help a little. The real clincher was the following week, not this past Thursday but the Thursday before, I had my parent volunteer day. I woke up with a headache and tried the arnica; it helped a bit and Advil didn't. Got to the church for the volunteer day and noticed right away that the stairs seemed easier. Could my at-home stair training really have made that much difference in just a week? Ended up having another dose around lunch time, which didn't help the headache at all (had that darn thing ALL day) but I noticed, again, distinct ease with climbing the stairs.

I'm absolutely convinced now that the arnica helps with the inflammation in my iliotibial band, which meant that it was easier and there wasn't the usual pulling on my knees, causing pain. I will have to remember the arnica for my next parent duty day! The unfortunate thing: the brand I bought has lactose. *sigh* I will be looking for a dairy-free/vegan version!

A Tuesday Mishmash

Make-a-Meal Monday--completely forgot about it. The way this week is, I can't even remember what we had last night. (lol). We will be having pancakes tomorrow evening (yes, that's right, Ash Wednesday instead of Shrove Tuesday--a tradition in my husband's French Canadian family) and Thursday, we might have Chinese take-out or something for Valentine's (yes, the whole family; my husband and I have never done something special for Valentine's Day just the two of us!) and Friday... Well, who knows. lol

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I've failed my family--Yes, somewhat melodramatic, which is funny given I'm probably the least melodramatic person you'll come across, but I feel I've failed in everyone's nutrition education and like I need to really take charge of our nutrition around here and not only get some much needed education in, but really make sure that I eat properly, which will make it all the easier to make sure they eat properly. A certain someone, who shall remain nameless but let's just say I am not homeschooling this person as s/he's much too old for that, said last night, when I pulled out the cut up raw veggies, that s/he had had a bag of veggies at lunch so didn't need to have anymore. Like you can have too many veggies.

I did some searching this morning: If one of the baggies constitutes 2-3 (Canadian) servings of veggies, this particular person is supposed to be having 8-10 servings (possibly more, given this person's high metabolism) of fruits and vegetables a day according to the Canadian guidelines. Now, from everything I've read, a higher percentage of fruit and veggie intake and fewer than the recommended grains would be better, but I digress: This person, who may have had something like 3-4 servings of juice at lunch, which I refuse to count as 3-4 servings of fruit since it's not like it's fresh juice, and possibly had a banana at breakfast--but not guaranteed, had therefore had at best 8 servings of fruits and vegetables during the day, but probably more like 5-6. But what to say since I know I'm not getting lately anywhere near what I ought to be?

There is a part of me that is hoping that as I work on nutrition and perhaps figure out charts or something that can be on display that this particular someone that I love dearly will learn a little something? This person was somewhat reluctant to accept that white sugar wasn't what was meant by people needing to consume sugar (glucose). I'm not actually sure I've convinced him/her. But at least I can tackle the kids--and my own--food consumption!

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Might have overdone the stairs--I decided to do 5 sets straight of my stairs today. I'm not feeling the type of discomfort I had yesterday, but actual moments of pain. Too much too quickly once again. I will do some good stretching/yoga this evening and cut back to 4 sets tomorrow. On the flip side, the kids and I went to the mall today and we never just stand on the escalator--what a waste of muscle use and time!--so we walked up as we usually do. I could tell that it was much easier than in the past. I can't believe how much difference just a few days has made. Makes me feel optimistic for the parent duty day next week!

That's it for now!

What to Make of Dara-Lynn Weiss?

This has nothing to do with my -free life, but it is health and food-related, so I'm going to post it here.

You may or may not have heard of Dara-Lynn Weiss. I only just heard about her yesterday. She wrote an article for Vogue about the diet she put her overweight 7-year old daughter on and was subsequently offered a book deal, which she called "The Heavy."

There are parents who have said it's great that someone's finally doing something and not letting their overweight/obese child get worse. Many, after reading just the article, have bashed her, claiming she embarrassed and shamed her child, some calling her neurotic, and so much more.

Which is it?

I have yet to read the book (waiting for it from the library), but just from what I've read and watched so far, I have to say the whole thing is very confusing.Very inconsistent. She wrote in the Vogue article (which I can't actually find online, only quotes and references) about her bad public behaviour on occasions (whether she recognizes it as bad or not) but doesn't seem to think she ever actually embarrassed her daughter, Bea. She says her daughter is a very happy kid now, but has previously written that her daughter was traumatized by it all. Anybody else sharing my confusion?

Her calm demeanour in interviews is contradicted by the examples she provides of her own bad behaviour. Weiss's approach to her daughter's weight loss included her flying off the handle and not letting Bea have supper one night because she had eaten what Weiss decided was 800 calories of food during something at school, and her storming out of a Starbucks, having dumped a child's hot chocolate into the garbage, because the person at the counter didn't know if it was 120 or 210 calories. She admits to getting into "heated discussions" about stopping Bea from eating more than agreed upon at parties, but in one interview I watched, she made it seem like it was not a big deal, just her giving her daughter a reminder about what she could and could not eat. The confusion grows.

One article about her and the book stated that the book was toned-down, which made it "better" to read than the Vogue article. Given the extremes Dara-Lynn Weiss has presented, I have to wonder how authentic the toned-down book is. Did she tone it down after the backlash of the article and omit the extent of her sometimes questionable behaviour?

Weiss has stated that the book is more about the attitude in today's society that it's bad to for a child to be overweight but it's also bad for parents to step in and do something about their overweight child. From what I've seen so far, I think people are objecting more to her methods than her goal. I'm eager to read the book, even though I am now a little wary of just how honest it will be.

Brief Update!

I missed -Free Recipe Friday.

I don't have a menu plan for this week.

Way too much going on lately. This next week isn't really any better and has more added in, really.

On a positive note, nothing heard back from the doctor, which means my daughter is not celiac, didn't test positive for whatever gluten sensitivity it is they test for and there are no issues with her thyroid.

On the flip side, not having to avoid wheat means she's been eating a lot of wheat. And more stomach complaints have popped up. And I can tell I'm not feeling as well as I did when we were gluten-free. I have no idea how this will play out this week, but I am doing what I can to at least see about a gluten-free food option before I eat something else.

I haven't been exercising, but I need to start again. At least my evening yoga--my neck and back and knees/IT band are not happy with me! In a few weeks, I have a parent duty day at a homeschool co-op in a church with 3 stories and a whole lot of stairs to go up and down. No, we're not allowed to use the elevator. My knees and IT band are going to need me to be in better shape! And I'll have to do some serious yoga afterward.

Where am I going with this? No clue. I had the kind of weekend where I need another weekend to recover. :P

(Mis)Adventures in Cooking

Adventures in Cooking aka What Happens When You Rush While Cooking

It was just after 4 pm and I decided to make the scalloped potatoes recipe I shared last Friday. I looked in my printed off recipes and couldn't find it, so I had to find it on my blog. 1.5 hours it was going to take. Perfect: it will be ready for 5:30, my tired brain said. Except, of course, it was now even more after 4 pm and there was still all the prep to do.

No problem! I would be speedy! I grabbed 5 potatoes and an onion from the basement, came back upstairs and got started on the sauce. Trying to measure 1/4 cup of Veganaise, half of it ends up on the counter. Is the counter clean? I think so. Scooped some of it into the measuring cup and continued.

Oh, yes, the sauce requires constant whisking. Can't prep the rest while it cooks. I decided to try anyhow, whisking very quickly in between grabbing a potato and starting to slice. I made a mess of the stove top with my whisking. At least it's a glass top and can be easily cleaned later. I end up going between whisking and slicing, making sure to use the hand protector thingy after the first potato since my finger got awfully close to being sliced.

Back and forth I went, deciding finally on only 4 potatoes since I was trying to be speedy AND my family tends to love saucy. On the last potato, I didn't use the hand protector thing. Felt the blade against my finger at one point, but it didn't really hurt, so all's well, right? Finally, the sauce is done and it can sit on the stove top while I cut the onion. Should I cut the whole onion or just put in half? I started slicing it and felt my finger--the one that touched the mandoline blade earlier--stinging a bit. I looked: I was missing some skin. Not enough to bleed, but enough to wonder if somebody's going to end up eating it tonight. Would that mean I'm turning them into cannibals?

I got a bandage and went back to slicing the onion. It didn't take long--I'd barely cut anything--before my eyes started stinging. And watering. Severely. So badly, as a matter of fact, I could barely see what I was doing and am not even sure I really cut them up well. I decided at that point that 1/2 the onion is plenty. I saw at one point a kind of pinky part below one of the onions. Oh no! my onion-and-speed-induced irrationality said, did I bleed onto an onion? Of course, I hadn't bled at all, so it was a really stupid thought. But I was still trying to quickly get this onion done. I didn't care if there were long pieces still hiding in between the chopped onion, I put it all in anyhow. Sauce got poured over top, paprika sprinkled on top of that and into the oven.

I checked the time: 4:34. Oy. Won't be ready until 6. At least we don't need to head out tonight, so it's okay if supper's later than usual. Of course, there is still the rest of the supper to cook in a little bit--who knows what more could happen? :p

Mish-Mash Day

It's already Wednesday, isn't it? I forget just how crazy things are when not on holidays. I have to admit to having dropped the ball with my PrayFit--I am so exhausted these past few days, I just have not seemed to care in the morning and by evening, I'm sooo tired. The change to a busy routine makes me long for the days in the past when things were so much slower!  Or maybe it's just where I live. I love watching House Hunters International on HGTV and very often, there is mention of how someone moving from one area to another notices the difference in activity levels. I live in such a high-paced, almost frenetic society; I'm sure I would do much better with a slower-paced life. (Mind you, wouldn't we all? A chaos-free life would be super nice!) Even some period flicks, like Little Women, are showing me the kind of slower-paced life I would love to have.

This Wednesday morning [woops, it was morning when I started this] babble is leading somewhere, I promise. :) Today, my 15-year old has an appointment for blood work. We saw the doctor last Friday and she is going ahead with celiac testing, thyroid testing and some other things. I can't wait until we have things confirmed about the wheat/gluten because for now, she's supposed to keep eating gluten items so that all the tests reflect how she is on gluten. But she's definitely like how she was before her week and a half of gluten-free eating and has been like this over the entire holiday: sluggish, tired, more emotional, stomach complaints here and there... We may have to wait two weeks before we hear back about the blood work. If she has to do a biopsy to confirm celiac... it could be quite a while. And she's supposed to be on gluten before the biopsy because they are looking for damage--and if she goes off, things could heal up and diagnosis will not be accurate. I have learned a lot about potential celiac this past month! "Why do the testing?" That's what I was asking. I'll answer that question in another post soon.

My mind's on all that but also on tomorrow. As of tomorrow, my Thursdays are going to be crazy: one student will be showing up at 8:30 for French class (which I haven't yet planned and prepped), I'll get going with her (and hopefully my daughter; we'll see if she can get herself up and dressed by then), at 9 am the other student will arrive, I'll teach the three girls until about 10:15 am, then drive them about 20 minutes away (I think) for a homeschool program they are all attending, drive back home, eat lunch, have an afternoon French class from 1-3, leave right after that to pick up my nieces and nephew from school, but my nephew doesn't get to my nieces' school until about 3:45, at which point I then need to drive to the homeschool program (an estimated 30-40 minutes away from that location and at that time of day) to pick up my daughter--who is supposed to be done at 4:10. By the time I actually get there, it could be closer to 4:20, then we have to get back home during high traffic, which means it could very well be 4:45 or later by the time we actually get home. And then I'm supposed to start supper. Oy. One of my intentions (not resolution) for this year is to develop a weekly meal-planning habit. I haven't started. Not sure what stopped me on the weekend, but it didn't happen. I do need to decide now what we'll eat tomorrow. I'm trying to get us off completely from all the super fast, processed foods and may resort to it for tomorrow but I don't want it to become a regular habit again! I have a crockpot and a pressure cooker... I will have to do some recipe hunting! And I still want to keep some gluten-free meals in the mix so when we do go back to at least wheat-free for my daughter (and probably me; I feel better when I'm not eating wheat), it won't be a big deal. Maybe Janae over at http://bring-joy.com/ will have a recipe idea for me for tomorrow evening!

This "talk" of wheat-free has reminded me about going soy-free. I know I consume various products with soy in them, but when I eat full out soy, like in my best.ice cream.ever post, I react. Sometimes it's skin issues. This time, clear that the estrogen-like things in soy definitely affect me and not in a positive way! As delicious as that ice cream was, I have finished the tiny carton and won't be getting more. :( (However, if you are not soy-sensitive and love ice cream like I do, definitely try it! :D)

And other than that, I've been exploring different ways to make a reasonable income at home through online options. I really want next year to be a French class-free school year. I'm loving teaching the kids, but the amount of time it takes from my week to plan and prep and then how it affects our homeschooling, how it takes away from a simpler, slower pace... My two Thursday morning girls are heading to school next year anyhow, so I'm definitely going to be losing students. I had looked into doing online tutoring and real time classes, but that ends up controlling my schedule, too, which isn't what I'm yearning for. If you are making money from home through some sort of online means, being boss-free and controlling your time, I'd love to hear about it! (You can email me if you'd prefer to not post about it here.)

Is that enough for today? lol