Food Natzi

Parents worry so much about every aspect of their childs upbringing, however they tend to overlook one of the most important; what goes into their childrens bodies. Every parent is guilty of this, including myself. However, as I look around, I don't really see parents forcing any nutritious food on kids anymore, as parents used to in the past.

Its astounding how many people feed their kids nothing but PB+J, pizza, hot dogs, chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. Even the school cafeteria is feeding this crap to our kids and somehow saying it fits in with the "nutritional requirements".

As a sub, I see what kinds of snacks and lunches kids come to school with. Parents seem to think that fruit roll ups and jelly qualify as a fruit, white bread qualifies as a grain, french fries are a veggie and hot dogs fulfill the protein requirement. The only requirement that last one fulfills is the hooves and eyeballs quota, but last I checked thats not anywhere on the food pyramid.

I don't claim to be anywhere near the perfect mom when it comes to nutrition. However, I do not cater to my kids either. 100% whole wheat is the only kind of bread product they will get. Ranch is not salad dressing; olive oil and vinegar only. Kraft singles are not considered a "real" food, and anything made from a box or can is a rarity in my house. Snacks are also kept at a minimum. There is no reason kids need snacks at all hours of the day. Other than a small nutritious snack after school, normal meals should suffice. Juice is also overrated. Its sugar water! Rather than drinking a cup of OJ, eat an orange and chug some water.

Yes, I am the food natzi.

Another rule is mine is using fresh ingredients as much as possible. Its a pain and time consuming but the benefits are immeasurable. Its not like I love to cook and have acquired the ability to cook through osmosis. It's hard work and takes effort to get good at. Its much easier to open a couple cans up, mix some liquid and noodles in and pop it in the oven, but thats taking the easy and less nutritious way out. Making meals from scratch is more difficult, and they are never as consistent in taste, but knowing exactly what is in your food is worth the extra effort.

My kids don't necessarily jump up and down with joy when I serve them their dinners. Its a constant battle, however, they have no choice. While I don't cater to my kids regarding what I am serving, I do cater to how I will serve it (to an extent). Megan will eat spinach in any way, shape or form, but Jacob and Lexi will only eat it raw. So I will leave out the spinach in their portions and give them it on the side. Sometimes I leave the bag out while I am cooking and encourage them to "sneak" handfuls before dinner.

I remember when the kids were young and we were in playgroups (ie. hell). It was expected that the hostess provide snacks for the kids. Its freakin 10am!!!! Either they just ate breakfast or they are about to eat lunch!! Why the need to fill their tummies with cookies and pretzels?

Then there is the snack patrol in youth sports programs, ensuring that each parent be responsible for bringing a snack for the team every practice/game. I run several miles a day and I have never fainted nor died if I didn't immediately get fed. Of course we have childhood obesity problems if parents feel the need to stuff their kids faces just because they exerted some energy at a t-ball game!!

I get made fun of by my friends because my kids act like savage beasts when they get junk food at friends houses or at functions. Its obvious that they don't fed get cookies, rice krispy treats, ice cream or other junk at our house. Nutrigrain bars (jelly filled sugar bars disguised as "healthy" snacks) are the worst thing they get fed. At times it can be frustrating though. It sucks to be the mom who doesn't give in to buying cookies and ice cream when we are out, while all the other kids we are with are have the coniving abilitiy to convince their parents. Not only do I feel sorry for my own kids, but I also feel like the other parents get annoyed that since I didn't buy my kids any, now mine are leeching off their childs snack.

I wonder if this genergation will grow up with all sorts of ailments due to the lack of good eating habits during childhood. Or maybe medical science will have developed enough by then to combat the problem. In any case, I hope my kids grow up to realize that even though mom didn't feed them all the cool stuff their friends got, they started out life with an advantage over other kids.

How I Would Love To Be Called One

Something I firmly believe is that skinny and healthy don't always go hand in hand. Fat is never healthy, but there are thin people out there that are far less healthy than fat people. My friend recently let me borrow her book, "Skinny Bitch". Obviously you can tell from the title that the authors don't hold back. The women curse like sailors, and with an entire chapter devoted to "pooping", its definately blunt and to the point. Despite this, its definately a book I'd recommend to anyone who wants to be healthy. It makes you look at food in an entire different manner.

By now, everyone who knows me, knows that I've been working my butt off to get in better shape. And for the first time in my life, I feel confident and happy with myself (I'm still not 100% satisfied, but what woman is???). So much so, that I am posting a picture of myself in a bikini. While I am FAR from perfection, this is a milestone, since I think the last time I wore a bikini was when I was 5.

Anyhow, I've managed to lose 40 lbs, most of which were shed after endless miles of running on the treadmill. Suprisingly, I didn't make any drastic changes to my diet. I'm a pretty healthy eater to begin with. It's unrealistic, though, to believe that I didn't make any changes. All that exercise forces you to look at food with an entirely new perspective. I quickly realized how little calories you burn after sweating your eyeballs out exercising, yet, how easy it is to consume those calories. Instead of seeing a granola bar, I'd see 2 miles on the treadmill. An apple, as delicious and nutritious as it may be, is still at least a mile of running.

Back to the book. It really makes you think about all the things you put into your body because you've been brainwashed to believe its healthy (ie. milk). It will surely make you think twice about eating any meat and animal product, not only because of the gut wrenching descriptions of slaughterhouse procedures, but also the high levels of antibiotics and hormones that are forced on these animals and consequently ingested when consumed by humans. Did you know that 1/2 of all the antibiotics on this planet are administered to farm animals? I'm not sure I will be turning vegan anytime soon (mostly-vegetarian is close enough), but you can bet that I will be making some changes to my diet.

My Secret Crush Revealed

At the beginning of the Bush presidency - you know, back when the economy was good, gas wasn’t $4 a gallon and the most important thing on Bush’s mind was stem cell research – yeah, the days before we all realized what a moron he was, there was a shining light among a cabinet made of complete idiots. It was Ari Fleischer, Bush’s first Press Secretary. I have to admit, I had a semi-crush on Ari. He had that nerdy accountant-type look and he was going bald, but his vast knowledge and intelligence was intriguing. I was amazed at how one person could be so on top of things when there was so much information being thrown at them. He also seemed genuine, something that is not common in politics, especially in this administration.

Then one day Ari Fleischer resigned. Scott McClellan was named as his replacement and suddenly I found myself not looking forward to the daily press briefings anymore. Eventually, McClellan quit and Tony Snow, a Fox News anchor was named as his replacement. Although I liked Tony Snow on Fox News, it just didn’t seem appropriate. Tony didn’t last too long. He had health issues and stepped down. He was replaced by someone so unimpressive that I don’t even know her name. Dana something???

Fast forward to this week. Scott McClellan has just published a book bashing the Bush Administration. He recounts how the administration used “political propaganda campaign to sell the war to the American people” and how they encouraged him to lie about the CIA agent leaks. He goes on to say how he unknowingly passed on false information meant to deceive the American people. This is just the latest of a long line of former top officials in the Bush Administration that have come out shaming their former bosses.

What I find hilarious is how the White House has responded to these allegations. They call McClellan "disgruntled" and question why he never expressed his concerns while he was Press Secretary if he was in such opposition. Ummmm… when was the last time you told your boss, “Boss, you’re a complete moron and you have no freaking clue how to run this business.”? That’s right. If you want to keep your job, you don’t say that. Instead you zip your mouth until you find another job. Once you have another job in place, you give notice, and on your way out the door, you vent to anyone willing to listen.

That’s exactly what Scott McClellan did. For someone who was so faithful to his party and position, he became “disillusioned” and is now even speaking favorably of Barak Obama. As with McClellan and so many others, “Disillusioned” is how I find myself feeling toward the Republican Party.

I Pledge Allegiance.....

I was reading an article the other day about a high school who suspended a student for refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. They later changed their mind and lifted the suspension, after finding out that it could possibly be unconstitutional.

I've always secretly thought that the Pledge is somewhat odd and third world-ish. Of course, under normal circumstances I would never say that in public. I'd probably be accused of being anti-American or unappreciative of my country. Neither of those are true, obviously, but nevertheless.

The Pledge is essentially an oath of loyalty to your country. Expecting and requiring military personnel be to pledge their allegiance seems appropriate. Even expecting voting eligible adults to pledge some sort of loyalty is not out of line. However, I find it odd that this is expected of school children. Until I was an adult, I don't think I put any thought into the lines I was reciting every morning in class. It was just something I said. My kids know the pledge but I doubt they realize that every time they say it, they are promising to be loyal to their country.

Imagine going to some foreign country and seeing a classroom full of 6 year olds performing some weird, ritualistic, government required oath, every single day. Wouldn't one on the outside looking in begin thinking such thoughts as government brainwashing, communism, third world, etc..? Does nobody else see this of our own Pledge of Allegiance?

Gas Tax Holiday

My new, more efficient and versatile vehicle!

I've been hearing a lot about this gas tax holiday. McCain and Clinton are for it, while Obama is against it. I personally cannot think of any advantages of this plan. Basically, it calls for an elimination in the federal gas tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day - a time when Americans use the most gas. That's a reduction of about .20 cents per gallon.

I don't know about you, but a measly .20 cents on $4/gallon is a drop in the bucket. I don't think my bank account would notice the difference. I think that demand might go up, which would just cause gas prices to actually go up at least that much or more. In the meantime, the loss of tax revenue would take a toll on our roads. Even though the elimination of the federal gas tax wouldn't have much of an impact on the average person, three months of lost revenue would have quite an impact on funding highway construction and repairs. I just drove on I-80 and couldn't believe the condition it was in. Its a major highway, yet the ruts and potholes were unbelievable.

Its not what people want to hear, but the solution is not finding clever short term solutions to fix the price of gas. Reducing the demand is the only way we can beat the oil companies and force them to lower prices. Driving smaller, more efficient vehicles is a start, but driving less is probably an even better solution. I know that's easier said than done though.

San Francisco

In the past, family trips were not something I looked forward to. I never understood how couples could enjoy taking their kids on trips with them. Not only did I feel that the airfare and extra costs that the kids incurred were a waste of money, but the trip became a chore for the adults. Our trip to Hawaii a few years ago was a prime example. On that trip, we decided that the kids were no longer welcome on vacations that were longer than a 3 day weekend.

This past weekend, we combined a wedding with a family trip to San Francisco. We packed as much into 48 hours as we possibly could. We left early in the morning Friday and drove to Six Flags, where we spent the entire day and rode on everything from roller coasters to elephants. Then we drove down to SF and settled into our hotel. We ate dinner, worked out and went to bed. The next morning we walked along the marina, all the way to the Palace of Fine Arts and the Exploratorium museum, where we spent a couple of hours checking out all the hands on science displays. Then we got some lunch, made our way down to Pier 39, got back to our car and made our way to Modesto. After a record timing wardrobe, hair and makeup change, we got to the wedding just in time for family pictures. We made the 3.5 hour drive home that night in peace; the kids were sleeping and there was no traffic.

Although we were exhausted, I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The kids were relatively well behaved and I feel that, at least Megan and Jacob, were able to get something out of the experience. They came home knowing that SF is known for their earthquakes, the Golden Gate Bridge, and their hilly roads. And no, I didnt tell them what SF is really known for....

Shakey Shakey

If you follow the news you've probably been hearing a lot about the Reno earthquakes. While Reno is not as well known for their seismic activity as California, it actually does have a lot of earthquakes. In fact , Nevada ranks 3rd in the nation(after Alaska and California). While Reno does not usually have big ones, it is common to experience 3.0 or 4.0'ers. Last Friday night, we experienced a 4.9, which was centered in the NW part of Reno. I had felt a small one the day prior to this large one and was also woken up from my sleep the day after. Except for the 4.9 magnitude one on Friday night, neither of the others were really that noticeable.

Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but there are a number of inconsistencies that are baffling scientists. In most cases, a large tremblor is followed by many small aftershocks. But in Reno, there have been hundreds of little ones leading to a large one. Also, the earthquakes are occurring at very shallow depths - only 1-2 miles down. Most earthquakes generally occur many miles beneath the Earths surface. The amount of seismic activity has also increased dramatically. I don't remember the exact numbers, but Reno went from having an unnoticeable amount of "vigorous" earthquakes (those that can be felt), to 500 in one week alone.

Scientists from all over the country are flocking to UNR's Seismological Lab to study this geological phenomenon. They are putting residents on alert, but warn that nobody can predict earthquake activity. In the meantime, schools are having earthquake drills and stores are stocking up disaster supplies. Im hoping that the shakers will subside.