My World Travels

Clean Eating Challenge

A week ago I began a seven day “clean eating challenge”—and I survived! I pledged to eat nothing processed or artificial for one week. I admit I went into it a little blind. It wasn't until a friend asked for my definition of “non-processed” that I began to explore what clean eating really means to me.  

One definition I found said that any food that can reasonably be made in a home kitchen is not processed. Another describes it as foods that contain 5 or fewer ingredients.  I guess for me I just wanted to stick with foods that contain real ingredients and not “products”.  So any foods that contained additional additives I did not recognize were not allowed.  I also wanted foods as close to their natural form as possible. So honey and agave were OK but white sugar and corn syrup were off limits. Whole grains were fine but nothing made with refined white flour.  I wanted food from nature not from a lab!

It honestly wasn’t as hard to eat real food as I thought it would be but I’m certain that is because I have fresh food literally growing outside my front door. (I love it when I can use the word “literally” and mean it!). I also ordered a Bountiful Basket so I had all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables on hand which really helped me stick to my resolve. I love to cook so it was actually rather fun to explore new recipes and adapt old favorites. I made my own almond milk from scratch when I realized the milk in my fridge had the word “palmitate” in the ingredient list (what the heck is that?!).  I even turned some of that almond milk into a chocolate frozen treat. (It did NOT taste “exactly” like a Wendy’s Frosty as the internet recipe promised it would but it was still pretty tasty!)  I julienned a zucchini from my garden to make veggie “noodles” and served it with an amazing oven roasted tomato sauce made with my Blendtec. Super yummy!  I realized that I actually prefer the taste of brown rice over white rice I just don’t usually plan ahead enough to account for the slightly longer cook time.

The whole experience was not without its challenges; it was a clean eating “challenge” after all.  The first few days I had a really bad sugar withdrawal headache.  And the soda cravings nearly did me in a few times. It was also kind of a pain to have to plan ahead for every meal—especially lunch. Eating right takes so much more effort!  Grocery shopping took more time because I stopped to read every label.  It was actually extremely eye-opening to really consider how much of what is sold in the average American grocery store as “food” is really just junk! 

This was such a great learning experience for me and I’m so glad I did it. Overall I feel pretty good. I even lost a few pounds without counting a single calorie or carb! I honestly don’t plan on keeping my diet quite this strict all the time but I feel like I now have a better understanding of how I can improve the dietary habits of my entire family. I learned that I can definitely do better than I’ve been doing and it won’t be as hard as I thought!  

A Blog Post About My Lack of Blog Posts

So. . .I think it's clear that I'm not really a "blogger" anymore and I've been thinking quite a bit about why that is.  I haven't exactly pinpointed what changes in my life over the past few years have strangled my bloggy mind but I have several working theories.

For one thing, this blog has never been your typical Mormon Mommy Blog.  I'm just not that kind of mom. I'm not creative or cutesy or organized. I don't plan adorable parties and festive play dates or weekly outings to fascinating places--and even if  I did no one would ever know about it because I always forget to take pictures.This isn't my journal or weekly family newsletter to update the world on all of my happenings and provident living. This blog has never really been about me sharing what I do it's more about having a place to express what I think. Perhaps I'm just not thinking as much as I used to.

For another thing, I use Facebook now and I didn't back when I started blogging. The random ideas that I used to send out into cyberspace via this blog are now expressed more frequently and more concisely as status updates on Facebook. And I have found that the payoff is much more instantaneous. I can compose a post in just a few seconds and then spend the rest of the day getting told how clever I am or how cute my toddler is. But overall it tends to be a lot less satisfying. At times status updates end up feeling like nothing more than thesis statements to essays I could compose but never have the energy to actually write. A blog post requires more thought and more time and while I know for certain I have less spare time than I used to, I've unfortunately started to realize I have a lot less blog worthy thoughts too. That makes me sad.

I'm starting to worry that in this modern age of texts and quick updates that my thinking is getting too fragmented. That having high speed connections to everything in the world is somehow slowing my ability to think clearly. . .or maybe I'm just getting old. :)

I'm not giving up on my blog completely. I hope to be able to think longer thoughts again someday.

And when I do, I look forward to sharing them here.

Rethinking the New Year

Every January I have high hopes regarding New Years resolutions. ("THIS will be the year I go all Fly Lady and finally get control of the house." "THIS will be the year I eat only unprocessed whole foods." Etc. Etc. Etc.)
And those resolves seem to last a few days, maybe a few weeks if I'm lucky, and then I spend the rest of the month of January feeling like a failure. I eventually give up and hope for better luck next year.
Such has been the case this year. I set out a few weeks ago to start eating better, yet I'm sipping Cherry Coke as I write this. I had hoped to conquer the laundry by doing one load every day so I wouldn't get behind, but somehow things got away from me and earlier this week while grocery shopping at Walmart I actually bought my son a bag of new socks and a fresh pair of pants so that I could avoid the laundry for one more day. I want to spend more time blogging and less time on facebook, but the month is more than half done and this is my first blog attempt(and to be totally honest, I've clicked over to facebook at least four times tonight just since I started writing this post!)
Sometimes I feel like I'm hopeless.
But I had a conversation today with my husband that put all of this New Year's Resolution business into perspective.
He pointed out that January is the worst possible time of year for me to engage in life altering changes.
I hate winter--like with a passion. I can't stand the cold and the dark and the monotony of it all. Despite all of my lofty desires to overhaul my diet it seems I am emotionally predisposed to want comfort food during this time of year. I can guilt myself into clean eating for a little while but eventually I cave because my cold tired soul just really wants a big bowl of my famous creamy chicken soup made with heavy cream and good old white rice. I've tried multiple times to cut "the social network" out of my life but when I'm feeling stuck in my house and isolated from other people I like to connect with friends and remember I'm not alone in the world. And try as I might, it's tough for me to alter my daily routine when we're already half way through the school year and set in a groove.
I'm pretty sure I suffer from some form of seasonal depression--I'm certain of this diagnosis because the Internet told me so :). I think I will always struggle to be my best self at a time of year when I'm usually just trying to make it through each day.
But that doesn't mean that it is never within my grasp to make a change. This morning as I knelt down with my children to have family prayer before everyone left for school I remembered that there was a time in my life when establishing just such a habit was at the top of my resolution list. It didn't become a regular habit for us until we made it part of our daily routine at the beginning of the school year.
And I had an epiphany: I will always be better off if I remember that the start of the "new year" is the third week of August and I should just leave January alone!

Three Cheers for Wives!

Last month I was talking to one of my Army wife friends whose husband is currently deployed overseas. She was jokingly offended that of all of the freebie offers extended to service members on Veterans Day none of those perks were also offered to the wives of Soldiers. I had to agree with my friend a little bit. In a lot of ways I feel like I'm a war veteran too. It's not an easy thing to be married to a Solider.

As I have thought about this even more the thought occurred to me that in many ways it's not an easy thing to be married to ANYBODY! Don't get me wrong, I adore my husband and I think we have a fantastic relationship but being a wife can be hard--no matter who you're married to. And truth be told, we Army wives get a lot of press time over what we endure, but there are countless faithful companions all over the world who get no attention or appreciation for their sacrifices.

So here's to all the wives everywhere who suck it up, pick up the slack and carry on.

Here's to the doctor's wife who is constantly awakened in the middle of the night when that blasted "on-call" pager goes off.

Here's to the attorney's wife whose life and schedule are often at the mercy of "billable hours."

Here's to the accountant's wife who spends a lot of time alone during tax season.

Here's to the entrepreneur's wife who lives with inconsistent income and finds herself working for a company that may never pay her.

Here's to the traveling businessman's wife who can never get her routine into an effective groove because plans are never the same from week to week.

Here's to the teacher's wife who understands that doing work you love is more valuable than a big paycheck.

Here's to the student's wife who feels like a single mom to babies who always seem to be in bed before daddy gets home.

Here's to the police officer's wife who sends her husband out the door everyday to deal with dangerous people and dangerous situations and does so with faith and optimism.

And to all wives everywhere who manage households with slim bank accounts, who know when to compromise and when not to, and who stand by their man when things get tough:

I salute you!

Summer Highlights: Part 2

Seeing as how we are almost half way through fall it's a little anticlimactic to complete my Summer Highlights post at this point but this has been on my "to-do" list for weeks and I'd really like to check it off! So here we go--



This summer my kiddos learned to fish. This was the first--but not only--successful catch of the season. We got a "new to us" truck with great off road capability and my husband has had a ball going into the wilderness for family adventures. After a year in Iraq it has been so good for him to spend some time in our beautiful mountains!


We took a little family vacation to my husband's hometown for a few days over Pioneer Day weekend. Although we were less than an hour from home we stayed two nights in a hotel, spent one day at Lagoon (which the kids love and the parents can't stand!) and played for a day at the park with Grandma and Grandpa. We also stuck around long enough to see the local Pioneer parade. I LOVE parades and it's extra fun to go to one in a small town where they give away lots of stuff!






We also spent a weekend as a family at Snowbird. I love, love, love Snowbird in the summer. It is so refreshing to get a break from the summer heat. We spent an entire afternoon playing. There is so much to do! We did have a little mishap, however. Apparently it IS possible to wipe out on an Alpine slide. My oldest boy got going so fast he ended up taking quite a tumble. (That last picture was taken just minutes before the crash. He got pretty skinned up but was able to tough it out and still enjoy the rest of the day. He was even willing to try it again so that the slide wouldn't "beat him."


And then before we knew it the summer was gone and the past several weeks have been a whirlwind of homework, piano lessons, band practice, viola class, soccer games, flag football, scouts, activity days and other general busy-ness! Dad went back to work in August after a year out of the office followed by two months of playing. It has been a rather rough adjustment but it's getting better.
We're so grateful for our many blessings and all the memories we share as a family!


Happy Fall!!

Summer Highlights: Part 1

First of all, if you're reading this, I'm glad you remembered I even have a blog--although lately it seems I haven't!

Here's a little bit of what I've been up to since you last heard from me:


I started off the summer by fulfilling a goal to run a 5K race with a few of my Army Wife friends (who will probably kill me for posting this picture!). This race was a bit symbolic for me. I ran it just a few days before my husband returned from deployment. Getting to the end of that long year felt very much like completing a difficult road race. I was determined to finish strong even though at times I felt like I was gasping for breath as I crawled to the finish line! Fortunately, I think I made it to the end of both stronger than when I started.


In June my husband returned from his second overseas deployment. He has been away from home for half of the last five years. I'm really hoping that the next five years aren't nearly so adventurous for him!


In June we celebrated my baby's second birthday. He's a lot more boy than baby these days. It has been said of him (by someone other than me) that he "oozes personality." I think that's a pretty accurate description. He is very social, a little bit sneaky and says the darnedest things. He enjoys playing outside, doing his "naked dance" and all things Lightning McQueen. He insists he can do anything the big kids can do but still wants to be called "baby." I was (FINALLY!) able to ween him a few weeks ago so perhaps his baby days truly are behind him. (Yes, I nursed him until he was two. I honestly can't decide if that makes me a hero or a hippie.)


On the Fourth of July the entire family got up early and participated in the Freedom Festival 5K race. (Notice I didn't say we actually "ran" the race.) That is such a fun race. There's no pressure to go fast, it's very motivating to be cheered on by hundreds of people as you go down the parade route, and there are so many out of shape people that no matter how slow you go you still probably won't be last!





In July my husband and I took a much needed vacation to San Diego--WITHOUT the kids! We had a fantastic time. I am so grateful for family members who so lovingly took care of our kiddos for nearly a week so we could have a stress free trip. I have decided that San Diego is the perfect vacation destination. There is just so much to do! We kept it pretty simple and spent a lot of our time at the beach. On Sunday we went to Old Town and visited the new Mormon Battalion Visitors Center which was amazing. Some of our dearest friends live there so we were able to spent a wonderful evening with them too. One of my favorite things about the trip was eating great food in restaurants we would never take the kids to! That said however, we spent most of the trip talking about how much our kids would love San Diego. (I guess that means we really DO love them!)We're already planning a family vacation to go back as soon as we can.


I guess that's enough for now. Stay tuned for part 2!