[talk: What Do You Do.]

Ok.  So - I thought I'd throw this post back at you, the reader, for some help.

I am far from a no sugar, no flour, only organic kinda gal ... but I'm kinda on the pathway.  More like a trying-to-make-better-choices-than-others-but-not-gonna-beat-myself-up-when-I-can't kinda gal.

I'm wondering how many moms out there are feeling like I am?  Like processed food is the most convenient but EVERYTHING is processed.  Dairy products, cereals and grains, meats, fruits and veggies ... they are all contaminated in one way or another.  Hormones, antibiotics, unsanitary conditions (like feces in the slaughter house ... hate to say it, but if you think it's NOT in our meat - well.  I think you might be wrong.)

I was watching a show about "Food Inc", which is a documentry.  The guy (who wrote this book) said that the super market doesn't sell food, but more like "edible food substitutes."  Yuck.  He said to "not eat what your great grandmother doesn't recognise (using the yogurt tubes as an example ...)".  To eat things that are seasonal - rather than eating foods that come from around the world, picked way too early, and gassed (that's right, GASSED) to have them shiny and ready for our own supermarket.

All this to say, that being a consumer is painful now.  Being a mom - making both economical and healthy AND time effecient decisions is a tricky thing.

So - what do you do?  Do you buy your meat elsewhere (like the farm, or butcher, rather than the supermarket ...)?  If so - WHERE??  I'm lost ... but I know that I want to feed my family grass feed beef, and free range chicken ... Do you buy organic?  Do you think it's a scam?  Do you buy what's in season locally, or do you buy whatever you need, whenever you need it?

Would love to hear your thoughts!!

[tias: Baseball - Game One.]

For the last 2 weeks, Tias has had baseball a minimum of 3 times each week.  Except for when he's been sick ... but that's another story.  It has been SO great ... after two years of dealing with his grumbling with hockey - he absolutely loves baseball.

Wednesday night was a beautiful evening - and I picked up Subway sandwiches with Siah and Katia and met my hubby and Tias at the ballpark.  Dinner at the park - how perfect.  And the game was already underway ... 

Tias was on third base ...

I loved this moment ... Siah and Katia acted like Tias was a RockStar.  He knew it too ... it doesn't give him a "big head" - it gives him confidence.  It was a beautiful thing ... 

The spectators prefer to eat, more than spectate *grin* ...

Tias did so well.  He got to base twice - which brought two team members home.  And he came home as well, once.  So - out of the 5 points scored, Tias was involved in three of them ... he was beaming.

I can hardly believe he's 7.  And a half, I guess.  It's crazy.  He's changing and staying the same - growing up, and acting like a kid ... all at the same time.  I am so proud to be his Mom.

And on a side note ... a pic I managed to capture of our littlest peanut.  This photo means a LOT to me ... because I can never get her to look at me.  This time?  "Hey Katia, do you see the clown inside my lense?"

The next photo is of her giving me a "yeah, whatever" look ... but this one?  Melts my heart.

Have a great one :-) ... 

[redhandedphotography: NEW SITE. NEW BLOG.]

Hey hey hey ...

SO ( I seem to start off like that a whole lot, don't I ... ) ... 

After 5 weeks and hours and hours and hours of time ... I launched my BRAND NEW RHP (RedHanded Photography) website!!!  It's been a labour of love - frustrating and exhilarating all at the same time.  I designed it from scratch, with so much thought and effort into every detail ... I hope you go check it out *grin*.  

And ... a NEW BLOG to boot at www.redhandedphotographyblog.com.  Yes, I ventured out of blogpost and into the world of ProPhoto Blogs.  I designed this one as well, but from a template - and I wanted to keep it simple, and more about the images than "cool gadgets".  You can check it out HERE ...

And honestly? I am SO relieved that it's DONE.  Ok ... well, I'll probably tinker and fiddle with them for a while, but basically I won't be dreaming in fonts and layouts at night!!  I'm mighty happy about that ... 

On a different note, I headed to the doctor to get a note so I can get orthodics for my running.  I'm mighty happy about that too ... And I also had a bit of a therapy session about my sugar binges and my body ... it was good.  Basically, I needed someone to give me a bit of a scare - not even about now, but about the future.  And if I don't want to be over-weight, suffering from diabetes and potentially risking losing limbs and blindness (how's THAT for a reality check), I need to start getting things under control.  He explained to me what I'm scientifically doing to my body every time I crash and every time I binge.  Binges on sugar can cause my metabolism to get completely messed, my pancreas to over-use and ... well.  It's bad.

Will this help?  I actually think it might ... instead of me just rambling on to friends about it, instead of looking for a community of people who feel the same - which actually validates me instead of giving me a reality check - hearing it from a doctor ... yeah.  It felt a bit like a smack on the back of the head.

I needed that today.

ANYway ... that's all for now I hope that your day brings you closer to those you love, closer to who you desire to become, closer to the One who gave Himself for you.

Have a great one!!

[talk: Reality.]

Well.  It's been a few days ... where am I at?

BUSY.

I've redone my RHP site (launching April 1, 2012) ... pretty excited about that.  Why?  Oh, just because it's fun *grin* ... and because I feel like it really represents me well.  I like it ... so yeah, I'm excited.    I'm also in the process of redoing my RHP blog ... I've hummed and hawed about doing this for over a year ... but when Blogger is FREE, why would I pay??

Well ... I decided to put up the coin and buy a template that I can manipulate into what I want.  Why?  Because I wanted my blog to flow with my site - and for it to appear more professional.  Plus, my new blogsite allows me to do far more than my current Blogger one.  

And when I bought it, it gave me the option of using the template for another site (that being, this one).   But then I'd have to register Homemakingirl ... yadayadayada. I don't know ... this doesn't get near the traffic that I think it would need to, to do that.

Beh.  

Not worried about that today ... 

Instead, I've been getting dinner ready all day.  We're having both sets of parents over - and every thing I've made is right from my Make By Homemakingirl blog.  And I see that I've had over 900+ hits??  Crazy ... 

What else?  Well - I haven't been running.  Or exercising, for that matter.  Hmmm ... that's not entirely true.  For some reason if I haven't exercised intentionally in the last 2 days, I feel like I haven't done it ever.  So, yes.  I have exercised - like only three times in the last 7 days.  I've been riding the stationary bike ... (yuck).

And I've made an appointment with my doctor.

Why?

I've decided it's time to look into orthodics for my running shoes.  I haven't run much at all lately, and for some reason it feels like my shins are getting worse??  So sad, as I feel like everything goes a bit downhill for me when I don't run.  I know that I should be having a more diverse exercise schedule, but I just love running so much ... I hate that my ankles and shins are causing me so much grief.

I get down ... stop working out ... start eating nutella out of the jar ... get mad at myself ... eat another scoop *grin*.  Feel worse ... you know how it goes *laughing* ... 

So I have an appointment next week with my doctor, who will hopefully recommend a good place to go to get my legs/ankles FIXED.  I've talked to so many people, and they've all said that orthodics changed everything for them.

I hope it will for me too.

Have a great one ...

[talk: Me and My OnePiece.]

I'm going to be 38 soon.

Thirty-eight.

Really??  How is that possible??

Well .. it's the truth.  And I am at a happy place in my life ... I continue to learn about who I am, and am having fun with that.  Our kids are at a great age, I love our home - business is going well, and I after 20+ years - they still let me lead worship at church.  

Life is good.  I feel good.

And even the tiny battle I have with my body image is starting to mature, I think.  At least it is for today *grin*.  Things are changing, and I won't be able to stop it ... it's harder to lose those couple of pounds, like I used to do in a week.  But I am stronger and healthier than I have ever been in my life - even with the odd sugar binge.  It's pretty obvious that I'll never be taller *grin* ... my nose won't shrink *bigger grin* ... and my arms will alway be *cough* um, thick?  But God made me, and He made me well.

We were away in Arizona for a couple of weeks with friends ... and I brought 3 swimsuits.  One "tanning" bikini (that no one should ever witness me in ...); one two-piece that I can actually feel fairly confident in; and a one piece.

What did I wear?  The one piece.

Oh, it's super cute ... solid navy, strapless (for no tan-lines), rouched, with a white band around the top ... 

But ... it's a one piece.  That's for old people, right??

Well ... I came to the conclusion that no one ever sees my tummy, so why would I expose it for a tan?  And ... another reality is that I'm concerned about moles and the sun.  I don't know about you, but pregnancies put added moles on my body and, yeah, I don't like to mess with that.  

So, I've been covering up.

Now, maybe if I had a six-pack (is that what it's called on girls??), I'd prance around proudly.  But I don't ... so, instead, it's me and my one-piece.

And I felt GREAT :-))).  Although there are no pics of me in it to prove that I did ... thank goodness *wink*.  

I took this pic with Katia during a day at the water-slides in AZ.  You can kinda see the suit ... sorta.   More pics to come ... I took advantage of the freedom of my Iphone for most pics, and with them all already edited and ready-to-go, I'm not sure I want to even go through my Nikon pics ...

But I will *grin*.

Speaking of pics, please go check out my latest session with Shawn and Erica Miller on my RedHanded Photography blog HERE.  A preview ... 

Have a GREAT one :-) ... I will be tonight, for sure.

I have a date with Lady Antebellum, LIVE in Vancouver.   Oh yeah, baby.