Feeding Our Children

I have been really excited about Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, even if I haven't watched an episode yet, but that's what hulu and this weekend are for.  Given my excitement, I was super bummed when I read today's AP article on the results of the experiment (pasted below).  Turns out, kids didn't really like the healthy foods and still wanted pizza and chicken nuggets and sugar.  This coincides with research released yesterday from the National Institutes of Health showing that junk food uses the same chemical pathways in our brain as addictive drugs.  Of course, this government research is merely proving what we all learned from Liz Lemon on a recent episode of 30 Rock - once you've had fat and sugar, you want fat and sugar - and you may or may not seek it out in your sleep.

I was fortunate enough to take an interim graduate course on childhood obesity just as it was becoming a hot topic.  Turns out, kids like most of the foods they are exposed to early on.  There are some things that they'll just never like (like me and mushrooms), but the key comes down to early and consistent exposure.  Then you wind up with kids that actually ask for water and carrot sticks.  I babysat some kids like this in college and their excitement for vegetables always left me stunned.  All of this meaning, the key to raising kids (and adults) that like healthy foods is to give healthy foods to them early and often.  Sadly, this is why Jamie's experiment may not have been that successful.  These children were already conditioned to a regular diet of poor choices.

I am a firm believer that all foods fit, but some just fit every now and then.  And using food for reward and punishment becomes a slippery slope when fried foods are the coveted prize.  I'm not saying that I'll never be the parent sitting in the drive-through, multi-tasking and hoping the kid will stop whining.  But hopefully my kids will be as excited about sauteed zucchini as I am instead of being afraid of it.

Survey: Kids Spurn Celeb Chef's Healthy Lunches

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: March 30, 2010

Filed at 10:29 a.m. ET

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) -- A survey shows kids at the West Virginia school featured in ''Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution'' liked their standard pizza and chicken nuggets more than the celebrity chef's fresh, healthy menu items.

And when denied the food they were used to, many stopped buying the school lunch.

The survey at Central City Elementary in Huntington also found children drank less milk after Oliver removed the sugary chocolate and strawberry bottles.

But there is a bright spot in the data from the West Virginia University Health Research Center: More than six in 10 kids said they'd learned to try new foods.

ABC chose to have the show in Huntington after a 2008 Associated Press story dubbed the five-county metropolitan area the nation's unhealthiest.

 

I knew it was coming...

I had been waiting on it.  And now I've gotten it not once, but 3 times, in 2 days.  What is this mysterious "it"?  That would be my momma's annual request for me to come home and "drop taters".  You see, planting potatoes signifies the beginning of the farming season for my parents.  If you've never planted potatoes, you do so by getting little "seed taters", cutting them up so that there's an eye on each bit, and dropping them in the ground.  She's already cut her seed, and made more than sure I know it.

My mother views this as my annual "opportunity" to get in touch with my roots and my heritage and learn how to farm properly.  I could say no, but I'd never hear the end of it.  Plus, I don't really mind - it is kind of fun. 

I'm always perplexed that this is the only instance where my parents refer to potatoes as "taters".  Perhaps they feel more authentic this way?  I think I'd like my mom to use her best british accent to call up and ask "Dear, do you foresee coming home to plant potatoes?" 

How do you ladies do it?

Ok, so if you know me, you know I don't do hair.  I get a hair cut and it looks like how the stylist intended it until my hair is too dirty and I have to wash it out.  I try to straighten my hair, but my skills are lacking.  Yes, I use tons of product.  Yes, I partition it off in sections.  I do all the tricks - I'm just bad at it.  In addition to that, it takes about 2 hours for my hair to really dry and a minimum 20 minutes to straighten it - so my hair is usually whatever I happen to get that day.

I have many friends that straighten their hair every day, and they boggle my mind.  I have the utmost respect for them because I do not see how it's possible.  Surely they get up at 4am.

I got a new haircut this weekend and now have bangs.  I felt like if I was getting the different cut, then I should commit and straighten the hair.  I had every intention in the world of getting up early this Monday morning to wash, dry, AND straighten my new hair.  I did get up and make the coffee.  Then, I fell back asleep (something I've become sadly good at in recent years).  This left me with enough time to wash my hair (with the shampoo and conditioner optimal for straightening), put in the straightening cream, comb my hair, blow dry my hair straight, and use the de-frizz straightening balm.  However, without the actual use of the straightening iron, this combination results in what I like to call the "big-poofy-upside-down-muffin" or sometimes a set of basset hound ears.  Wavey in spots, straight in others, and just plain big.  The funniest part of it all is that I currently look a bit like the high school senior portrait version of myself, just with a few more bangs and a lot less hair spray.  And no velvet drape and pearls - which I admit are needed to pull off the full effect. 

The sleeping meant that I also failed to make my lunch, so I think I'm going home for a sandwich and some hair ironing.

(I tried to upload a picture of Kelly Kapowski and her awesome bangs here, but the computer is not cooperating).

The Trouble with the Staycation

I'm on a Spring Break Staycation.  And, it has been pretty great so far.  But here's the deal, I don't think staycations are so good for some us (aka -me).  Being at home or in town while on vacation makes me think of all of the other things I "should" be doing while I'm just watching television, or sleeping late, etc.  Were I actually at the beach with thoughts of doing something work or chore related, I could go "Oh, pish-posh" and move right along with my day.

Add to this the guilt I have for not being a type A personality, and it's a bit sad.  So, I have tried to balance this out with the realization that I am the only one that has any real expectations of myself for today.  I'm the one that made the grand Spring Break to-do-list and I'm the only one that will know what is left undone. 

Perhaps wrongfully, I am claiming the new roof on my apartment building as something I've accomplished this week.  Granted, I've had nothing to do with it, but the need for a new roof has worried me for years and I know this will stop the ceiling leak I've been so concerned about - so I feel like it something to check off my list :).  

Human Water Balloon?

Where to start with this?  After years of boughts with fainting (at such convenient places as the White House and Mardi Gras) and general dizziness, I finally put the puzzle pieces together and saw a doctor about it.  Seems as though that underappreciated autonomic nervous system of mine doesn't always get my blood flowing back up to my brain.  There is medicine for this, which at first I hesitated about, but then found to be quite effective.  Turns out, I don't have to plan around a daily exhaustion/anxiety attack between the hours of 3-6 pm.  I can now do such things during these hours as:  remember people's names, complete sentences, and solve problems.  I don't even have to shiver after eating.  Fascinating stuff.

However, the doctor did warn that this medicine, particularly when combined with the recommended increase in salt and fluid intake, could lead to some puffy-ness.  Perhaps even some swelling of the ankles (oh my).  I thought surely this was a small and vain price to pay.  I know that this is still true, but then there are days like today - when the puffy is mixed with respiratory stuffy-ness and I feel a bit like I'm drowning and my pants don't really fit (and no - the pants not fitting have nothing to do with that batch of my Momma's homeade fudge - whether I ate it all or not).  Today, I feel like the Michellin man, or a human water balloon as stated above.  Like I should stay away from all sharp corners and sewing needles to avoid puncture.

I am a big believer in words of life and positive self-talk, so I'm trying to give this a good spin.  At first I thought I could just refer to myself as Elle McPuffypherson - so then I could think I am a fierce swimsuit model of fluid retention.  I agree that this is perhaps reaching too far.  So, maybe I'll think of myself as a mermaid instead.  I mean, they're meant to live in salt water, so surely they have issues with bloating when they sprout legs to walk around land and fall in love with princes, which is how I spend my day-to-day life anyhow so really we have a lot in common.  Mermaid it is. 

I'm loving this term!

I'm in the process of reviewing a student's Secondary Comps Prospectus, where she will be sampling women ages 18-25.  She is referring to them as "emerging adults".

Emerging Adults is defined as:  developmental category of individuals ranging in age from 18 to 25; also a time when individuals are more likely to explore their world for new experiences (Shifren, Furnham, & Bauserman, 2003).

How much do I wish I had this term back when?!  "Leave me alone, I'm trying to figure this out as an emerging adult!"  Alas, I am past the age range, but hopefully still exploring the world!!

Toast

I have a rather old toaster.  I thought it was my grandmother's but I wasn't sure.  Last night, during a toast mishap, Daddy told me the backstory.  Evidently, this was Mamaw's first and only toaster.  Sometime during the 1970s, he realized he had a thing for toasted sandwiches, and she had no way of making them for him, so he bought it for her.
Aside from last night's tempermental mishap - it's worked great for over 30 years.  This story makes me glad that I never replaced this faithful toaster with one of the cute red ones from Target.

Oh, Alice.

I've never quite known what I think about Alice in Wonderland.  I've loved the idea of it and images from it, but as a child I was confused and sometimes scared by the story.  It has an inherent dark twist that I was never sure how to take.  As a kid, I wondered why the red queen was bad, particularly since she was the Queen of Hearts.  Aren't hearts supposed to be a good thing?  And why would a smart little girl take food and drink from strangers? 

Then, there was the 1985 TV movie full of famous people.  Do y'all remember this?  I watched it because I thought I was supposed to - but it scared me!  And why was there a freaky dragon in this one that wasn't in the animated version? ( I know now - just didn't then)

As an adult, I thought maybe Alice in Wonderland was one of those things that really wasn't supposed to be for the good of children, or was really about getting high and doing bad things, and was just packaged in one of those weird Victorian ways that made it appear to be for children.  I'm very aversed to the dark twisting of things that are to be pure and lovely - so I struggled.

All of this made me enter the Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland with great trepidation.  Considering that it was Tim Burton, who I'm still not real sure of, and horribly reviewed - I went because I knew it was important to a friend and because it seemed like something I should like.  Turns out, I really did like it!

To me, this version was about having faith, being the full self you were made to be, and ultimately slaying the dragon.  I found it to be quite full of Christian archetypes in this way.  I think the story of woundedness and forgiveness on behalf of the White Queen is actually quite powerful - even if it could be expanded upon as critics say.  Speaking of woundedness - Depp's Mad Hater does a great job of drawing compassion for those that may no longer really fit in this world, but that we love anyway.  I can see why the critics have said it has a terrible script with such little character development that you don't care what happens.  However, I found the characters to be so well acted with their own little idiosyncrises, that they made me care. 

Was I blown away by it?  Perhaps not.  But I'm certainly glad I went! And, I want Alice's shoes and dresses.  I mean, it's nice that OPI made Alice nail colors and all - but I'd much prefer some blue ribboned ballet flats.

Photos from Alice in Wonderland page on MSN.

Fave Lips for Spring!

I am absolutely loving the new MAC Viva Glam lipsticks.  Every year or so, MAC puts out a new lipstick and/or lipgloss where all proceeds go to the MAC AIDS Fund.  We have benefitted locally from this fund, and the money seems to be very judiciously and wisely distributed.  Their most recent focus has been on providing local housing for persons and families living with HIV/AIDS. 

On top of being a great cause, the Viva Glam colors are usually my favorite!  Recently, they released two limited edition Viva Glams called Cyndi and Gaga (Yes, Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga).  The local store had sold out of the Lady Gaga, because it is the paler pink that the magazines have all said we'll be wearing this summer - and because the younger kids don't realize who Cyndi Lauper is.  But, I find the Cyndi is actually a prettier color and was all over the red carpet last night.  If applied heavily, it looks like what Sandra Bullock was wearing when she accepted her Oscar.  You can wear it lighter for day-to-day, especially with this season's pastel eye shadows, and it makes you feel like a pretty girl.

I also recommend their lip gloss in True Babe - a shocking hot pink that actually goes on quite pretty.  (But, sales from this one don't go to charity).

MAC Viva Glam Lipsticks

Sandra Bullock's look

Bright Sunshiny Day

How do you spell sunshiny?  Sunshiney?

Anywho - today was the first truly glorious day around here in ages.  And it was way past due.  I had two choices today:  drive home to spend the day with my dad on his birthday and let Mathilda and I enjoy the great outdoors, or stay on my couch all day with the respiratory crud and just look out the window.  I knew I would regret not getting out, so I put on my fat jeans and a hoodie and away we went.

I think all living and breathing things were excited about the sun because I saw both a wild turkey and a badger just hanging out on the side of the road.  It's not unusual to see wild animals on my way home - but these seemed to be coming out of the woods to soak up the light.

When I got there, my dad was finishing up his birthday morning wood chopping.  Seriously.  He and Mr. Randall had almost finished unloading a whole trailer of wood.  After lunch (that I had picked up for us at Lisa's - of course), Daddy went out to prep the tractor to plow this year's garden and I walked Mathilda around the field.  She has been stir-crazy lately and in desperate need of an adventure.  I realized the field had just been cut for hay, that the ground was actually dry, there were no bugs and no snakes, and it was neither hot nor cold.  This rare alignment of circumstances meant it was the very best time to lay myself right down in the field.  So, I did.  For a wonderously long time.  I kept thinking, this may be as close to heaven as it comes here on earth - just one of God's little gifts to us.  And I loved that my dad didn't think anything of his grown daughter taking a nap in the field.  Along with the dogs.  It just made sense today.  As if on cue, we all got up and started moving as soon as we heard the bucket of the tractor lift, knowing that meant it was time for work - or at least getting out of the way.      

A little later, my mom asked me to go cut us a bouqet of buttercups.  These are very special buttercups because my grandmother (her mother that we never met) planted them on the front bank of the house ages ago.  The bulbs were spread around when the county came through with the road - so now they naturally run up and down both sides and along the ditchbank. 

All in all, it was one of those gifts of a day.  Where you remember who you are and intensly feel God's creation.  I tried to take some pictures, but my battery died right after I got there, so I missed out on some great ones.  Please read the detail on the store sign.  It is hilarious.

   

What if our baby pictures were in the tabloids?

Evidently, the tabloids are trying to make a big deal out of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt being a tomboy.  (See a link pointing out how ridiculous this is below).
If the picture they are using is the proof, then I'm pretty sure any of us girls born between 1975-1980 were also wrongfully made to look like boys.  In the picture, she's sporting an outfit I wore up until sometime in 1st or 2nd grade, along with the exact same haircut.  The only difference is that I positively insisted on wearing my cowboy boots with this outfit and my preppy sweaters were monogrammed with my initials (I was Southern, after all). 
Clearly, this made no long term impact, as proven by the bright pink lipstick, dress, and heels I'm wearing to work today.  And, if you disregard my flannel and rugby shirt phase of the 90s.

Wonderwall story that actually has some sense

Dating Diatribe.

Ok, this is not a dating blog. Or a blog about singleness or a desperation to be married. But, the past couple of weeks seem to have come to some sort of precipice where it is time for me to write this – maybe just for myself if nothing else. I guess to kind of form my thesis on it all, as of today, March 1, 2010. (I fully realize that I may regret putting this on the internet and want to vomit shortly hereafter).


This is mostly in response to how often other people (usually family and coworkers) like to think of my dating life (or lack thereof) for me. Also, I have been in a place where I was feeling the best ever about being single but then struggling with it again recently. On top of this, I have been trying to very intentionally not revert to the man-hater I once was, but men have been making that a little difficult for me lately because of how they have been treating women that I love.

First of all, I would like for it to be known once and for all that I don’t date because I’m not asked. Not because I’m too picky, although what on earth is wrong with a girl having some standards? The truth is, I’ve given perhaps too much of a chance to those that have actually asked me. I have accepted every invitation that was not by a scary drunk man on the street or otherwise a blatantly bad idea. I once went on 5 dates with a very country guy that was very different from me just because he had a beautiful heart and because he was the first guy to ask for my number. I even went on 3 dates with a sweet boy that made knives and didn’t really talk!

I’m not too proud to say that I have tried online dating. I signed up in response to an awful day where I knew I had to try something new. It was not for me, at least not right now, so I stopped. But I did try it.

I’m often asked why I’m not dating certain people that are in my life, but again, I’d have to be asked first or they would actually have to say something to me. And while I usually don’t “like” guys until we’re friends, the friend thing also gets very complicated. Any relationship I’ve had that has been close to real has come out of a friendship place, but I'm also the girl that has always been "the buddy" or "sister", and I don't think most of these guys even realize I'm a girl. While I do believe friendship is the most important thing to making a marriage work, in these situations you’re risking a lot of hurt with someone you already love, and it can make things more confusing or hurt even more. I certainly don’t have it figured out, but really wish I did.

Others have been concerned that I don’t date because I’m a “social butterfly” that only hangs out with other single people. I struggle with the logic in this one. Yes, it is quite easy to get in a rut of not dating because of the sedentary non-dating behaviors of others around you. However, I think people from older generations have difficulty understanding why people my age, particularly the single ones, are so social. We’re certainly not going to sit at home alone and cry in our ice cream; and hanging out with all of your married friends that have become parents just rubs it in your face. How are we to find someone doing those things? So, you pack your schedule with all the activities that the married people with toddlers aren’t doing, and hope you find someone new along the way.

Then, there are those that think I do not date because I chose my career over having a family, and that maybe I don’t even want one. Or that if I had really wanted to be married then I wouldn’t have gotten my Ph.D., because men don’t want a woman more educated than them, so I should have known better. To put it plainly, that is just crap. First of all, yes, I focused on school for years. But the only time I used that as an excuse to not date was when the guy made me very uncomfortable. Again – this really goes back to the NOT BEING ASKED by remotely normal men thing. Also, why would I want to be in a relationship with a person that didn’t want me as God made me to be? Would these people suggest I not fulfill God’s purpose for my life in hopes that I could get married instead? And like a man intimidated by me would be a good partner for me anyway. As an answer to this, some have suggested I be the asker – I’ve tried it more than once and it hasn’t worked out. (And dangit – a girl wants to be pursued!)

Still others suggest I give up my good job and move to a city where I might meet more men. I went to college in Nashville and didn’t date. I lived in DC for a year, and wasn’t even asked to get coffee a single time (now – being asked whether I wanted to hook up is a whole other story- clearly these men didn’t know me). A coworker told me that meant I wasn’t in the right places. Where else could I have been? I intentionally went to new places and met new people weekly because I was trying to get the most out of the experience.

Some people think I belong with a certain “type”. This type is usually what I’m not attracted to or either the kind that doesn’t like me back. Despite my resume, I don’t really fit in the old school Southern world of doctors, lawyers, athletes, and socialites, and I’m ok with that.

So, where am I now and what have I learned? I have taken more risks. I’ve learned that maybe I can flirt a little, even if it’s not natural or comfortable for me. I do let guys hug me now (I don’t even push or kick them these days – promise!). I try to seem as open and friendly as I can. I used to think that I needed a complicated person in order to get my complicated self – but I’ve learned that two complicated people means double drama and I should trust the “normal” people to love me with my mess (which I’m daily set free from anyway – Praise God!). I’ve learned that I want I want a partner that loves to serve God and others, particularly the ones that may be harder to love.

I’ve learned that if someone rejects me or simply doesn’t choose me, it’s not because I’m not enough. It’s because God is protecting me or has a better plan.

Really, I am me. I like me. I like my life. I am blessed. I want someone to add to my life or compliment it, and I’d like to compliment his life in return. I’ve always known marriage is difficult, and that I don’t need to be married to be whole, but that it’s something I’d like to try. God is always faithful and He’s never late, even when it seems like it. That’s what I know.