Rachel's Ramblings

In playing hide-and-seek with my 2-year-old niece,...

2010-03-11T11:11:49.129-06:00

In playing hide-and-seek with my 2-year-old niece, it's obvious to me that "finding" things is a concept she's only starting to understand. I'd be curious in the developmental basis for that as well.

In the meantime -- great reflections, Rachel. I always admired your ability to be so thoughtful.

Great success, Rachel!! I'm so proud of you. If th...

2010-03-10T12:36:52.440-06:00

Great success, Rachel!! I'm so proud of you. If this is what happens two times per week, I cannot wait to see what happens when you make it to 3 times per week. :)

I think I had to work through some things. I have ...

2010-03-10T11:10:48.846-06:00

I think I had to work through some things. I have so many posts brewing that it's amazing.

I think I was going through a comment desert and that makes me feel disconnected too. Thanks for commenting!

Tink-Tinks, Thanks for reading and commenting. I t...

2010-03-10T11:09:56.128-06:00

Tink-Tinks, Thanks for reading and commenting. I took the Metra into the city and was so excited to see that line stops right in Evanston. The kids and I will be by soon.

I think your last point is a good one -- I can always adjust if it's too much or little.

Before children, my husband and I would go to the ...

2010-03-09T15:16:44.008-06:00

Before children, my husband and I would go to the gym VERY early in the morning to workout and sit in the steam room. I didn't go everyday, but on the days I went, I was definitely more productive the rest of the day. You are absolutely right that "movement leads to more movement". I think three days a week sounds great. You can always adjust if later you find it to be too much or too little.

I would love to follow your other blog and hear mo...

2010-03-08T06:59:21.696-06:00

I would love to follow your other blog and hear more about your journey. I think I tend to fall into the second category (when I am being honest with myself...) You are an inspiration!

Mmm. This is a good question -- and one I've strug...

2010-03-04T14:22:08.473-06:00

Mmm. This is a good question -- and one I've struggled with myself. Lately, I've been striving for 5 days/week. I figure that way if I miss two, I'm still getting 3 good workouts a week. And hey -- if I get five, I'm doing seriously great.

Thanks for stopping in at Blue sky Farm...I love t...

2010-03-02T19:13:01.654-06:00

Thanks for stopping in at Blue sky Farm...I love to hear from new friends,. I hope to start hanging out the laundry soon.. It is still winter here and even though the sunshines It would be impossible to have dry clothes.. But I will be as soon as Spring gets here.

My blog started as an infertility blog and it was ...

2010-02-27T20:53:14.975-06:00

My blog started as an infertility blog and it was hard for me to transition into a "mom" blog. I just recently started to feel like I belonged.

When I first started blogging I didn't even know a...

2010-02-27T11:06:58.774-06:00

When I first started blogging I didn't even know a community of bloggers existed, and I often felt like I was blogging on a cloud, so to speak.
With twitter now, though, and having connected with so many moms via blogs and tweeting, I feel much more grounded in my blogging.

I posted this on Facebook and got a great comment ...

2010-02-24T18:08:55.458-06:00

I posted this on Facebook and got a great comment from Nicole. She said:

I love menu planning. :) I usually try to do a month at a time. I bought a dry erase calendar with a notes section on the side specifically for that purpose. :) I really love it since it makes it super simple to move meals around without it ending up looking cluttered and sloppy. That's what my paper ones always ended up looking like lol.
I really... See More only plan out the dinners as lunch is one of only a few options. Leftovers, sandwich, or soup; either canned or dry depending on what we've got/what I'm in the mood for.
As for getting the recipes? I love allrecipes.com and I have tons of cookbooks too. Though, to be perfectly honest, most of the things I make are just in my head/made up as I go along.

Meal planning is one of those things that we aspir...

2010-02-24T14:28:58.003-06:00

Meal planning is one of those things that we aspire to at our house -- and sometimes we're actually successful!

For the past couple of years, we've invested in a magnetic "tear off" calendar that displays a week at a time. This is what we use for our meal planning.

I love Netters idea of using a notebook. We did that for a while too -- although the notebook wasn't quite as visible as our calendar, it was a great record of past meals (which is great for generating ideas when you're planning!!)

Where's the link for me about whisky and sore thro...

2010-02-24T07:30:44.382-06:00

Where's the link for me about whisky and sore throats? ;)

I wish I menu planned! It's a skill I would love t...

2010-02-23T18:44:08.337-06:00

I wish I menu planned! It's a skill I would love to be able to pick up. I;ll check back for some of the ideas your readers will post :)

~Ida Mae
www.treeswillbend.com

I love menu planning. I have a notebook that I put...

2010-02-23T11:36:26.171-06:00

I love menu planning. I have a notebook that I put all of our menus for the week (typically, I plan about 5 meals, but do not ever designate a specific day of the week in which to consume said meal) I use a variation of on-line recipes, recipes in my favorite cookbooks, and recipes that I love from my own recipe files. When I am using a new recipe, I always write a review in my cookbook regarding how I feel the recipe is. If it is excellent or better, we will make it again. If it is only good, the likelihood of an encore meal is unlikely. When I am stumped for menu ideas, I just look through my previous plans and pick out our favorites. Hope this helps.

Well, the annoying thing is that this week has bee...

2010-02-18T10:43:26.205-06:00

Well, the annoying thing is that this week has been last week too. More sickness and found out today it has been strep throat so I guess the ladies at Curves should be glad I didn't show up yesterday.

Next week is a new week!!!! I will establish a regular routine!

Good luck with the elliptical routine. It's such a great machine.

We are truly blessed. Here's to remembering that. ...

2010-02-18T09:56:34.338-06:00

We are truly blessed.
Here's to remembering that. And to sharing.

Great way to look at it, Rachel. Don't let last we...

2010-02-18T09:54:33.536-06:00

Great way to look at it, Rachel. Don't let last week predict this week... everything is new!

I'm newly back on the wagon with my elliptical routine this week. Missed yesterday, cuz I simply needed SLEEP. But, I'm taking your lead. Tomorrow is a new day.

You always have to eat the best bits first... you ...

2010-02-17T18:43:16.925-06:00

You always have to eat the best bits first... you remember right!!

My heart too goes out to mothers with nothing to give... there but for the grace of God...

Happy WW!
http://www.gardenersreach.com/post/Amazing-Butterflies.aspx

Happy birthday to your mom! She raised such a beau...

2010-02-13T22:47:32.751-06:00

Happy birthday to your mom! She raised such a beautiful woman, and I hope her day is wonderful.

Aahhhh. I'm so behind in my reading that I missed ...

2010-02-11T18:43:25.487-06:00

Aahhhh. I'm so behind in my reading that I missed this! I know that you're prepared for this adventure -- having lived through it before, and having a faith that keeps you grounded even when the future is uncertain. But, I'll be praying that this is an AWESOME adventure for you.

Heh. My excuses are lame... but aren't all "excuse...

2010-02-11T18:41:13.328-06:00

Heh. My excuses are lame... but aren't all "excuses" lame by nature?

Time is an issue for everyone, I think, including me. I know myself, and I NEED to exercise in the morning or I'll find every excuse not to do it in the end. But, I'm also not a morning person :)

I also love to eat. I eat healthy foods -- but often too many/too much. I often joke that I NEED to exercise to keep up my eating habits. And, of course, having a food blog doesn't help. It's time suckage, in and of itself, AND it involves food! :)

Oh -- and I can't really seem to find an exercise I really enjoy that I can do regularly. So, here I sit.. plodding away on the elliptical... wishing I could BE that person who loved being active.

I share similar views when it comes to body image ...

2010-02-11T18:36:57.048-06:00

I share similar views when it comes to body image and fat acceptance. And I often feel the friction between being healthy/fit and conforming to an unrealistic ideal. Kudos to you for taking that first step! I'm thinking this will be an interesting journey -- and I'm eager for you to keep us posted.

That's really the truth, Rachel. And so many who D...

2010-02-11T18:33:06.358-06:00

That's really the truth, Rachel. And so many who DON'T see themselves in the teaching role shortchange themselves. We are teachers to anyone who values our advice, our experience... who looks to us for inspiration... who asks us to be there for them.

Funny how the time between us functions here. I had no idea you'd gone into teaching... so I would never have thought to ask you that question!

Arwyn, I think lack of time has been the root of m...

2010-02-07T14:12:32.254-06:00

Arwyn, I think lack of time has been the root of my challenges and I think that is real common. I hope that exercise will be habit and so it will fit into my life once I start another job.

As Hyacynth says, "If I want to be healthy, exercise is not an option."