blessmyendeavors

I’m not much for blaming others for my troubles; I know sometimes others are to blame, but how you deal with situations is so often up to us.  We were reading on people accusing McDonald’s for making them fat. and came up with a solution.  No money exchanges hands.  If McD’s made them fat, McD’s should pay for 1 year at Gold’s Gym and 1 year at Jennie Craig’s to help them get thin again.  Case closed.  If they don’t take advantage of it, the only conclusion is…they aren’t obese because of McD’s at all  !  They are obese because they made the wrong choices.

I’m not thin, I could use time at Gold’s and Jenny’s myself, but I admit I’m in this shape because I am not as active as I used to be, and I eat the wrong things. It’s no one’s fault but mine.  I’m not big-boned, I’m not cutely fluffy !!…lol  I’m over-weight because I’m not doing enough to ~not~ be overweight.   Like most people I do try to diet now and then, but not very successfully, so I just make it my goal to not gain any more weight.  I cook at home and enjoy it.  Eating at a fast food joint no longer appeals to me because it can’t compare to home-cooked meals.   Fast food is so tasteless, and is often full of additives that rob the ingrediants of their flavors, but it’s FAST, quick…convenient.  That I admit is the major reason for it’s success.

We are all in so much of a hurry.  Planning things out can help that situation.  I wonder how many of you remember grandparents cooking too much on saturdays so that no one cooked on sundays?  Sunday was a day of rest..from everything.  We visited people, or had visitors, kids ran wild in the yards under the watchful eyes, everyone  just .. rested.   When I was young I didn’t understand how good it was to rest; now, I think it’s just one more thing we’ve lost as a Nation.   It’s ok to just take time to rest, even if it means planning for it, working harder today so you can rest tomorrow.  Sort of like planning for retirement, I think, only on a weekly basis.

So I’m planning things now; I plan when I shop; I plan my meals; I plan to eat before I leave the house so I don’t get tempted by fast foods.  I plan to lose weight simply by altering my lifestyle; my choices.   This is my solution to fast food; to weight gains.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll join a gym , too….oh, and actually ~use~ it !!

What’s your solution ?

 It occured to me long ago that despite the abundance of cooking shows, cooking is becoming a lost art.  Well, cooking at home, at least.   I sat and watched in amazement as people lined up at a local steakhouse for a holiday meal, barely able to keep my jaw from dropping open as a child reffered to the place as ” grandma’s kitchen “, listening as she laughingly explained to those nearby that they always ate here when family came to visit, so much so that the kids called it ” granny’s kitchen.”  It was cute, in a way, but it made me think further.

How many recipes are you teaching your children that your parents taught you, as their’s taught them?  How are they learning to cook for themselves and their children as they grow to adulthood and have children of their own?   Schools no longer teach Home Economics, where those of my generation learned to sew a seam, hem, install a zipper…and cook ! We learned measuring, used the math other teachers taught us, in a practical fashion.   No one cared that the stove could be hot; worried that parents would sue if a child burned a pinkie.  We were taught kitchen safety along with meauring ingrediants.

Somedays I feel like all we are passing on is which burger joint has the fastest service; or the most coupons.   The food isn’t great; often it’s not even good, yet they are full so much, like the soda fountain on a weekend night.  I applaud the commercials that are promotiing family nights with games.  Why don’t we start advertising baking a cake or cupcakes to go with those game nights and family movie nights?  Who cares if the kitchen is a mess ?  We can also share the comraderie that comes with everyone chipping in to clean up.  I don’t mean kids scrubbing while parents zone out in front of the TV, either.

Learning is best done by example in every case.  Parents, jump in there and share the work !  Start a small water fight and make it fun ! Lick the bowls, fight over the spoons dipped in icing, chase someone with that infamous dishtowel… just don’t leave redmarks !!  Remember..kids learn fast, and you’ll get paid back one day …LOL.  Make sure the payback isn’t eating burnt cake !

C’mon, people ! Let’s put the fun back in being a family !

Horses have been my life since 1969.  I’ve owned over 50 horses myself; I watched Secretariat run; I raced a few of my own horses, and days like today, I miss it.   I handled race horses for 27 years before I decided to retire.  I still am “aware” of it, though I don’t follow it closely. I tuned in this morning and watched my son involved once again in the life I taught him.  He is an apprentice horse shoer now and  I watched him working with his boss in Larry Jones’ barn on tv this morning.  I watched him make the walk to the Ky. Derby four years in a row, and felt a little envy mixed with pride.  I still like hearing the backside news that never makes headlines, like how Larry Jones sat in Eight Bells’ empty stall last year and cried for an hour.  He was heartbroken over her tragic death.   I hope this year eases his pain over it; you just know the man is having flashbacks to that race and has to be brave to be doing this again.

I may  not be involved in racing now, but I still have it in my heart and I’ll be rooting them all on today, from right here at my computer.  It’s raing in Kentucky, and I love a good mudder, so my choice today is Fresian Fire.

Like many others, this economy has hit us, too.  We don’t live high;  drive used cars, shop at thrift stores, keep out thermostats low…and still, its affected us further.  We gave up BlockBuster Dvd membership since we already pay for dsl and can watch HULU, and www.surfthechannel.com, along with many other streaming TV sites.   We don’t feel the loss of our dvd club.  We get car insurance cheaper online through Unitrin, with a discount for not requiring any paperwork.   If we need a paper we dl the information and print it up on our end, not on their end.   As money grew tighter, we got more creative.

I think many families are going through this and I don’t really see it as all bad.  We were gluttons in our expenses; satisfying whims, not wants.  I’ve still got things on my want list that I’ve never taken care of since I frittered away so much money on whims.  Now, we think about what we buy.  Even buying a thermos cup for my husband to carry his coffee in was weighed…a thing we might have just grabbed casually.  Making coffee at home and taking it in a thermos was far more economical than buying a single cup out each day.  We spent $5.00 to save $30; it just made sense.   This thought pattern is affecting all parts of our life.   We have been “existing” within our means for a while; now , we are “living”.  We aren’t acting like this is a temporary setback anymore; we are adapting.

I could wish lots of things would come from this.  People would be less susecptible to commercialism; spend less, conserve more; find its reasonable to step back in time and embrace a quieter way of living again.

I was reading on life in “BLue Zones”…where people tend to live longer and most have basicly happy lives.  I think I might qualify some day.  I knew stress kills; we all hear that.  I got so stressed at a job I had that I had a stroke a little over a year ago.  So this fact was driven home…with a sledge hammer, not just a light tap.  I’ve mostly recovered from it and went back to the simple life I had that kept me relatively stress-free.  I seriously think most could benefit from a life that has less stress.  I listened to talk of the old layaway plans many stores had, and I think its a better idea than credit cards.  Your reward for practicing good money management is getting an item you worked to acquire, not bought on a whim with a slap of plastic.   I think gardening to have fresh foods is better than store bought in many ways.  You get exercise, fresh air, sunlight, fresh  food of good quality and the sense of accomplishment nothing else can provide.  Plus, you save money on groceries and gas driving to the stores.

I think life should slow down.  We are speeding out of control in our economy, our lives, our death rates, educations.  Just…slow down.  Cook at home, cut out some needless expenses that rob you of time, energy and money.    The best things a parent can teach their children are sooo overlooked now.  Teach them economy, how to cook, how to sew, how to enjoy a book.  Question is … do you know that yourself?   If not; learn !  Let your kids learn with you; take both of you on a journey of exploration.  Set a goal for it.  ” If we each chip in, saving bits and pieces, we can go to the amusement park this year”…or a vacation…or buy new bikes.  Something to reward yourselves for practicing skills your parents should have taught you.  Learn to live more simply, take time to pamper yourselves, enrich your minds, and enrich your lives.  And lets all try to live to be 100.

Ok, so I was out taking care of my horses, and I came back into my house to the sound of canned laughter.  I went to see what my husband was watching and …he wasn’t at his desk.  Following the sound of the program, I trailed through the house, to find my husband….and his laptop….in the bathroom.   People, let me tell you; I believe I have found the new sign of a truly confident man.  Picture a 6′4 man, coffee cup  in left hand, watching a sitcom on his laptop while lounging in a bubblebath.  I was chewing a lip to not burst out laughing.   He had brought a small table from our bedroom to set the laptop on.   Yes, we have found a new pleasure to streaming TV.

Faced with losing our last television channel on the 17th, I began exploring the world of streaming TV online, and people, I’m like a kid in a candy shop.  Granted, I cannot get every show I’d like to see, but I’ve found many of my favorites, and often commercial- free.   It’s just nice to know there are options; many options.

We aren’t sports fans, and would sign up for satellite if we could get a package that was sports-free.  It irks us to pay for 24 channels when there are 9 we will never watch.  Why can’t they make packages can be switched up to suit the consumer?  I’d heard once that it was considered, but I haven’t heard any more about it.   I secretly think it’s because they know the rest of us are needed to pay for the sports broadcasts.   I believe in physical fitness; I don’t believe in sports, simply for sports’ sake.  I used to like playing sports, not sitting on the sidelines just watching.   If I’m not in it, I’m not around it, simply put.   So I’m not likely to watch sports channels, and I don’t like having to buy it in a viewing package.

So, streaming TV on my computer is making me very happy until we figure out what we want to do.  I have found seven sites that do quite nicely, and would be willing to subscribe to sites like Discovery and Sci-Fi Network if it meant I could stream my favorite programs from them regularly.

I went shopping with my mother, who has congestive heartfailure, and thus, a handicapped parking tag for her car.  That is the only concession she makes to her illness.  She’s stubborn that way.  We went to a local discount superstore and couldn’t find a parking space near the store.; all the handicapped places were taken.  Ok, this happens.  I found a general parking space only 3 places from the entrance she wanted to use, so parked there.  Now, myself, I will park at a distance from any entrance due to a desire to exercise, and the added bonus of less traffic; both vehicular and pedestrian.  I tend to be a bit of a snob about it, and am scornful of people who will make 3 trips around a lot to find a place ten feet closer.

Knowing this, you can imagine my surprise when a car stopped, and a perfectly healthy-looking man took it on himself to yell at us for taking his parking space !  His arguement was, since mom’s minivan had a handicapped tag, it was her DUTY to park only in handicapped parking, thus leaving that prime general space for people like him.  He didn’t care that all the handicapped spaces were full.  I suppose we should have sat in a firelane, patiently waiting for a handicapped parking space to open up, or..perhaps we should have removed the tag from the rearview mirror and hidden it to not offend the healthy, but far lazier, patrons like him.  I had to grit my teeth, and settled for simply commenting that his heart might like the walk from the vacant space four places further out.

Just when I think I’ve heard it all, I’m surprised again by people.

I have nothing against Michelle Obama; she’s great, but I have to wonder why the news is following her twice as much as the President.  I began keeping score yesterday and I heard her name 27 times, while the President’s, only 5 times.  Maybe this is a sign of the times; maybe we are being geared toward having a woman in charge.  Why not?  There are many women who are great business women.   Look out, Hilary, Michelle might be the first one we have as Commander in Cheif.

I, personally, love the united front the Obamas are showing the world.  I think unity, togetherness ( to borrow an old hippy phrase ) is what we need.  I’m sick of the “ME” generation.  Tired of the selfishness of those who think only what they want is important.   I’m glad to see that the Obamas aren’t afraid to let people see they are still in love with each other.   My marriage is like that, and its hard to maintain; I admit it….. but we manage.

We actually did alright in this election; got 2 for the price of 1 in our new leaders.  Who doesn’t love a bargain?

I woke this morning to a cool room, and enjoyed the luxury of not having to leap from my bed to begin the day.  I am retired.  However, before you begin muttering about my luck, let me tell you something I suddenly came face to face with.

We’ve all been hearing for months how television is changing to digital broadcasting soon.  That day is looming; already we have only 2 channels left on our modest little 19 inch model television.  Next week, it will go blank forever, and our lives will step back the equivilent of 100 years.    We, like millions of other low-income people cannot afford to replace it.  We will keep it around solely to watch dvds.

I lay in bed this morning and wondered how this is going to affect life for those millions.  Has anyone even considered how television changed our lives, and how this is going to force a change again?   For us it means news will only come in via radio, and the computer.  No longer will we blythely turn on the evening news, or the Today Show in the morning.  No more “Good Morning America”…no more Dr.Phil, or Judge Judy.  This change could not have come at a worse time in our economy; millions are having to face the worries of how to save their homes, feed their families, find a job….and now, almost as a slap in the face, have it rubbed in that they cannot even afford the luxury of television.  Not cable TV, mind you !  No such decadant expense as that…but simple, plain public broadcastings.  Next week, this machine that I voice my misgivings on today will become my sole source of connection with the world at large.

I wonder how life is going to change?