That's right, every new year I think of goals and things I want to accomplish, things to change, BUT this year brings none. I will just be enjoying my life, living every day to the fullest and appreciating all that I have. Whether I lose a few extra pounds or finally get around to playing the piano sitting in my living room is not going to make or break me.

Ahh, now I feel better. Boo to you resolutions.

Happy 2010!! Here's to a NEW decade filled with possibilities!

I can't help but think back to 10 years ago: I was sitting in a new apartment as a newlywed, one month away from having a baby. Although Mike and I were on a roller coaster of life changes that most people experience over the course of a few years and not MONTHS, my life was about to be changed forever, and more dramatically by a cute (and not very little) baby boy. Since then we have pursued careers, bought two homes and restored one, had a baby girl, moved out of state and watched our children grow. How short time is, how fast things change and what a thrill it is to watch it all.
Can't wait to see what happens in the next 10 years!

How did this month get away from me so fast?? I promised myself this year, I was NOT going to do anything that stressed me out or I didn't want to do...so I just had lovely takeout for dinner, I only made 2 baked items, didn't send or get presents for many people and I am fine with that.

If I sent out a Christmas card (which I did not), it may look something like this:

Okay so maybe I cheated a little and that was the one I made for my clients (altered a bit). It's the thought that counts. Yes, I think so.

This Christmas I am learning to appreciate, recognize and respect all the beauty and love that surrounds me in so many ways, that same love Jesus has for all of us.
Merry Christmas.

It is officially December 1st and I am starting to feel the winter of the season. Hannah and I sat down the last three days and put together this puzzle, it was really hard. Really. I have never been a jig saw puzzler, just haven't had the attention, focus or patience but I got this one out that my sister gave me a couple years ago and was determined to finish it-after all on Thanksgiving weekend, what else is there to do? I was determined to show the kids to not give up. Hannah hung in there with me, and Taylor had no interest. I have been trying since that kid was a toddler to interest him in puzzles, but I think I get it now, he doesn't like them. Now I'm ready for another one-maybe 1,000 pieces. It is a perfect winter activity, along with reading and crafting...I think I feel those knitting needles calling me.

Maybe this is why I love fall and winter, the coziness of all being nestled inside together, warm and safe. Taylor, Hannah and I had a great time last week making origami "fortune tellers"...remember back in grade school, the little four pocketed pieces of paper that you wrote messages inside and colors on the outside,and put your fingers into? Taylor's "fortunes" were hilarious: from winning a trillion dollars to being eaten by a shark they were very creative. He was the smart one and showed Hannah and I how to make them. Hannah wasn't so interested in the fortunes as the colors and how it looked on the outside.
This weekend is our annual gingerbread house project-this year it's a village. I love buying those kits and not having to attempt to actually making the gingerbread.

Happy December!

TRADITION
Definition: established practice, ritual; celebratory observation

Do you ever do something over and over again and wonder "Why am I doing this"?
Traditions are kind of like that. Some you just do because you've done them and others you do because you've always done them AND like them. Most of the time you have NO IDEA where the tradition started in the first place, yet year after year, there are the same expectations.

Why do we have to have certain days and celebrations to feel things or do things for others?

I am thankful every day for so many things I couldn't begin to list but why do I need a day to eat a turkey to do that?

Why do I need a day to "feel patriotic" and watch fireworks?
Why do I need a day to "really love" my husband?
Why do I need a day to wear green and celebrate somebody else's traditions & history?
Why do I need a day to dress my children up so they can get candy from strangers?

And most importantly, why do I need a day to give gifts to others? Or decorate a tree and stick ornaments on it...or make my kids believe something that really doesn't? That is so far beyond what the actual day is about anyway. I think you all know the day I'm talking about.

I have started looking at the meaning of traditions, what they mean to me, and where they originated. The thought of being a robot and doing things because they've always been done that way, that day or like that is very unappealing to me.

Here are some traditions I do like:
Saturday morning breakfast with the family
Sunday church
Family movie night
Making a gingerbread house with the kids every December
going to the water park every summer
Enjoying dinner around the table together
date nights
Celebrating Easter and what it means
Sending a card to someone I care about

Those don't sound much like traditions that we know but they are the kind I like.

I watched an interesting movie yesterday called Food, Inc. and highly recommend it to anyone living in the United States that frequents grocery stores on a regular basis. So unless you live in a remote area where you grow everything...take the time to watch this movie.

The movie reveals some of the issues and policies our government is using to "regulate" farmers, the food industry and EVERYTHING we put in our mouths and it has made me think. Since moving to Idaho five years ago, I have really enjoyed getting to go to farmers markets and get fresh produce. Even the local grocery story carries local fruits and veggies. I like supporting the farmers..no farms=no food. I have considered many times getting a half or quarter beef from a local farmer, not only because of the quality and knowing what the cow had eaten, but because of the savings in price.

I couldn't believe the information in this movie regarding how farmers are controlled and manipulated by the government, and the unethical practices of growing, feeding and distributing beef, chicken and pork. Yuck.
I think because I was raised in my teenage years on a sort-of ranch where we grew our meat or got it from a neighbor who grew their meat, I was horrified by the way the animals were treated. Not respectfully and not humanly. We always took care of our animals: feeding them right (grassfed), making sure they were healthy. Now I know this has been going on for years and I have chosen to take a blind eye and buy my steak and enjoy it, but something hit a nerve with this movie.

So here is the bottom line of the movie: consumers (you and me) are producing this frenzy of demand, and based on that demand, food companies are reaching outrageous solutions to keep up with it. The fast food industry is the #1 purchaser of many meats and other things like potatoes. We are creating a monster because we like to eat our junk food. We consume more fat and sugar than ANY OTHER COUNTRY. Disgusting.

Because we only like to buy chicken breasts, they are now growing chickens that are fatter and heavier than they were 20 years ago, have no life, and the poor chickens cannot even walk from the weight.
We are dying and getting infected with e. coli (not around 20 years ago) from not only meats, but produce as well because nobody is paying attention or making laws to make sure it doesn't happen. Disgusting.

But what can we do?? I try and get my groceries as cheap as I can so I can feed my family on a budget. How do we find a solution to this? One thing I have been trying to do lately after finding blogs and websites on the subject, is to use whole foods. I didn't even know what a whole food was. It is a food that is not "processed"..thinks food in their natural form like fresh fruits, veggies, beans, grains, grass fed beef, free range chicken, etc.

I am by no means different from all those other consumers that like to buy only chicken breasts and my tons of products with genetically engineered corn (did you know corn is in everything?)

So do I buy free-range chicken and grass fed beef for a higher price but eat it less often, and limit the amount of processed foods we eat like cereal, crackers, chips, granola bars?
There are so many great websites out there that show you how to do it, make your own granola bars, cereal, use beans and whole grains to eat meat less. Can I afford it?

I will have to think about this one. But I do know one thing, I do not want to raise children that eat fast food all the time, don't know where food comes from or how to prepare and plan meals that include whole foods.