Saturday, April 30, 2011

Day 120 - Drink Red Wine, In Moderation

I like to have a glass of red wine at night, while cooking dinner. I have read that a glass a day has health benefits. Here is a list of those benefits:

1. Reduces coronary heart disease
2. Maintains the immune system
3. Contains polyphenols
4. Contains resveratrol (look this one up)
5. Contains flavonoids
6. Has an anti bacterial component
7. Can reduce stress

Obviously, I am not a doctor, so I don't know if this is all accurate. But, I am going to assume this is correct and continue to have my nightly glass of wine, in moderation, to stay on the road to better health.
ReReducing coronary heart diseases

Friday, April 29, 2011

Day 119 - Watch A Royal Wedding

I am secretly a big fan of the royal family. I guess it is not a secret anymore, and my husband will probably cringe when he reads this, finding out my ugly truth. I have always been fascinated by the fact that a monarchy in this day and age still exists, and it is something about the British monarchy that I find especially fascinating.

Maybe it is because my beloved grandfather was 100% English. He was so proud of his heritage. I still remember him visiting my family the day that Charles and Diana got married. He was so excited about that wedding. I remember details about it to this day. Which is somewhat remarkable given that it was 30 years ago and I struggle to remember details about yesterday.

I have also read more historical fiction about the British monarchy than any other type of historical fiction. Phillipa Gregory has been a favorite author of mine for years. Her stories about Henry and Anne Bolyn, to name one, has given me hours of entertainment. It also causes me to spend hours online doing research about people who have been gone a long time.

I would guess my interest is also just another symptom of my love of everything historical. I have a Bachelors Degree in History (only useful if planning on teaching history which I have learned) but with that love I have found myself reading and researching topics for fun that others do only when required.

Which brings me to why I watched the wedding. Because I wanted to take part in a monumental, historical occasion. I wanted to watch that beautiful couple get married, and imagine what it must feel like to be a commoner, only to become a princess. A childhood dream for so many little girls. In 2011 it became a reality for one girl and I was there to watch it along with millions of others. I enjoyed it and it made me happy.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Day 118 - Visit My Parents

Today we took that 5 hour road trip from Milwaukee to St. Paul to visit my parents. The trip is so worth it. I don't see them nearly enough, so a long car ride is a small price to pay.

This year, like every other year, I want to resolve to make a trip to Minnesota more often than I already do. Whenever we are there, we have such a fun time. Mall of America is filled with fun activities, not to mention a grandma who is always willing to pay for rides. Thanks Grandma!

Time goes by so damn fast, I need to make seeing my family more of a priority.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Day 117 - What Is A Friend

What is a friend? I have always believed that a friend is someone who sticks by you. Someone you stick by as well. A friend is a person who tells you when you are being a great person, but will also tell you when you are being a real jerk. Friends are with you through thick and thin and will see you at your worst. A friend is always willing to accept your faults, no matter what the circumstances might be.

Recently I have had to reexamine a relationship in my life that I had once considered to be a friendship, but it really wasn't. Not at all in fact. All of the things that I wrote about above are things that were non existent in our so called friendship, probably on both sides of the relationship. After a lot of drama and turbulence, hurt feelings and anger, I decided that it was time to let this particular friendship go. For circumstances that I cannot get into, it has been hard for a lot of people besides myself. That is the thing with relationships, other people are involved and they can be hurt as well.

The friend I speak of is someone who needs constant attention, praise and admiration from those around her. No matter what one does, it is never enough. As a mother of 3, a wife and a daughter it just became too much for me to handle emotionally. So, I did what so many of us have to do for our own mental health. I let go. I am better for it. My family is better for it. The woman I let go is probably better for it as well. Sometimes, a little tough love is all someone needs to realize that their actions can lead to hurt feelings and broken relationships.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Day 116 - Have One No Spend Day Per Week

Today we stayed home, all of us, husband included. It was a rainy, dreary day and there seemed no reason to leave. It got me thinking about the days when we would spend the day together at home in order to save money. We need to get back to that as much as possible.

Time to start designating one day per week as a day when we don't spend any money. Instead of spending that day, we save. The best way to accomplish the goal is to stay home. Which was one of my tasks several weeks ago. Stay home, spend less on gas! Now, stay home spend less on gas and on stuff. Win, win.

On this dreary day, I made a bundt cake, from scratch and I am going to make a beef stew. Both of these things are being made with items I already have in the house. I also made banana waffles this morning for the family, from scratch. I find that I can make the best meals with a little creativity and available resources. Again, I also find that I am saving money and time. I didn't have to carve out time to go to the store.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Day 115 - Save Money, Wash Hair Less

This has been on my to do list since January 1. I was inspired by a friend of mine who is also writing a blog, she wrote about washing hair less often as well a couple days ago. For a long time I have known that it is not a good idea to wash your hair everyday. The simple truth is that washing too much dries your hair out. This is a task that I have tried on and off again for several years with little success because I get frustrated.

When you wash your hair you wash away the oils that give it moisture. Therefore drying it out. I find though that because I wash it everyday, I can't ever miss a day because my hair gets so oily. I am not letting things work naturally on my head because I am too impatient to let nature take it's course. In other words, the only way my hair will stop getting so oily after one day will be to allow it get oily and eventually self regulate so to speak.

For the next month, I am going to try this again. Wash every other day and see what happens. I am sure that by month's end I will find that my hair is not getting oily after one day. Also, I am betting that I am going to save some money as well. Half the washing means half the shampoo and conditioner being used. My bank account will thank me.

In case you are wondering, here is a link to my friend's post about the same topic:

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Day 114 - Happy Easter

First of all, I am catching up on my blogs this morning. The weekend was filled with a lot of activity. By the end of each day, the idea of turning on the computer was too much. I was so good about keeping up, until Thursday that is. Hopefully, I won't have another time this year when blogging seems impossible.

We went out for a nice Easter Brunch this morning. We gave ourselves a break from cooking and cleaning up. Easter brunch is always so very delicious, I think that it is second to Mother's Day Brunch. Our day will be quiet. After brunch, we are going to just stay home, enjoy some quiet time, rest and maybe play a board game as a family. I realize that it is okay to have a holiday spent at home. We have been choosing that route more and more lately, and we are all happy with it. Holidays tend to cause stress and fighting that is not worth the hassle.

Day 113 - Let Someone Else To The Grocery Shopping

I have been very busy the last few weeks. In fact, too busy to keep up with even the simple household chores that we have all grown use to me doing. When planning my weekend I was desperately trying to figure out how I was going to fit in grocery shopping. That is when it hit me, I do not have to do all of it. My husband, a man who truly loves to grocery shop is capable of this task which I hate! I even let him do the meal planning and he is planning on doing the cooking! I love him.

I am going to start giving more of these mundane tasks to my family more often now. I need to let go of some control and start letting my family help more. The kids will probably fight it, at first, but as time goes on I believe that they will appreciate contributing more to the daily rigors of running a family. I know I will appreciate.