I need to remember THESE days when I'm having one of THOSE days

You know when you are having 'one of those days'
The kinda days that just start out like that
The kinda days that you wish that wine was a breakfast food
The kinda day that you put yourself in time-out because you need it more then the kids
The kinda day that no matter how busy you are nothing gets done
The kinda days where whining, "NO!" & "Momma, go away" are the soundtrack
The kinda days where you reheat your tea 3 times before you get to it just to have little hands spill it
The kinda days where you have spit-up down your back and it is the least of your worries
The kinda days where you know you love them, but you don't actually like your kid(s)
The kinda days where you feel like an epic failure as a mother because of this

On days like that I need to remember days like these
The kinda days that start out with little smiles and "Good morning, Momma"
The kinda days where I get to watch my boys hold hands as they have their morning milk
The kinda days where there are not one, not two but three pees on the potty
The kinda days where laughter, "Hi, Momma" & "I loo you" are the soundtrack
The kinda days where you read books in the rocking chair and get kisses before nap time
The kinda days where you hang out under the table (in the fort) and talk about the colour of sprinkles you find on the floor
The kinda days where you wonder how you got so lucky that these little souls picked you to be there Momma and are so grateful for that

Thankfully there are more of these days then those days. Unfortunately, those days always seem to be bigger, more monumental and ultimately more indicative of the mother that you are.

Cheers to These Days! (and remembering them even on those days)

Sugar Cookies & Life Lessons

Go Real or Go Home!

The Hubby & I were having our first Christmas together in our new appartment and I wanted it to be perfect. He told me his favourite Christmas cookies were sugar cookies. When I googled a recipe my jaw hit the floor...you want me to put HOW MUCH butter and sugar in there?!? Being the new dietetic intern, I just couldn't imagine all that saturated fat and sugar in something I would make. So I decided I would make it "healthy". Stupid me listened to the food manufacturers when they said you can replace Splenda for sugar and Becel for butter. Ummmm they were wrong. I'm not much of a baker but I have never seen 'dough' do that. It actually crawled up my beaters and started to attack my mixer! Everything about it was wrong! The 'dough' was like pancake batter and when I baked them off - just too see if they would also consume my oven in protest - they turned out like sweet cakey pancakes.

I went out to the store and bought butter and sugar and have never looks back. Sometime you need to break the rules, sometimes you just need to Go Real or Go Home!

Passing it Down

Everytime I bake with my Little Man I remember baking with my mom, standing on the other side of the counter from her watching and adding ingredients. I remember learning important lessons like never measure over the batter because you can't take some things back. I remember being taught to scrape the measuring cup with a knife to make sure the right amount got in...only this year to find out she never actually did that herself (do as I say not as I do?). I rememer - my favourite memory by far - enjoying the fruits of our labour...licking the beaters!

Now, as I bake with my Little Man we always measure over the counter then he dumps it into the bowl. We crack eggs into a cup first and I scoop out lots of eggshells (ever try to teach a 2 year old to crack an egg?!?). We scrape the measuring cups with a knife as some habits are hard to break. Most importantly we always always always share a "beeer" (beater) as he calls them.

Next home reno project (in my dreams) is the kitchen to give us an island so I have room to continue to pass these life lessons down to both my boys in years to come.

It's Worth the Mess

I love cooking and baking with my Little Man. I think I love it because he loves it so much. I love having him standing on a chair beside me as I work in the kitchen. My goal as a mother is to send my boys out into the world as real catches - men who can cook and bake!

I am not a clean baker (I think I have flour in my hair as I write this) but baking with a 2 year old is M.E.S.S.Y.  Messy but worth every egg on the floor, every flour handprint on the wall and most definitely every batter covered face from licking the beater clean.

************

If anyone is interested here is the Recipe we used. It survived eggs being scooped off the counter and added back in, many handfulls of creamed butter & sugar missing due to sneaky little hands and many roll outs as two year old do not understand using the dough space efficently when picking where to cut your cookies from.

Terri's Terrific Toddler Tested Sugar Cookies

You will need:
2c white sugar
1.5c butter
1c powdered sugar (aka icing sugar)
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5c all-purpose flour
2tsp baking powder
1 ts salt




1) Cream butter & sugar in large bowl (Watch sneaky little hands they really like to eat butter and sugar). Beat in eggs and vanilla.
2) In seperate bowl combine flour, powdered sugar, baking bowder and salt.
3) Stir in dry ingredients to large bowl of wet ingredients. (Use your hands, its fun!)
4) Divide into quarters, wrap in saran wrap and chill in fridge for 1 hour to overnight. (If baking with a toddler now it might be a good idea to go with the overnight option and go enjoy a glass of wine.)

5) Roll out dough to 1/4" to 1/2" thick. Cut and place 1" apart on cookie sheet.
6) Bake in 400F oven for 6-8minutes. (Look for light browning on edges and remove promptly. Telling your toddler to "Back-up, Back-up, Back-up" can ensure a safe cookie remove for all.)
7) Decorate if desired (or you have it in you and the wine is not calling again) & ENJOY!

Big Brother

I always wanted a big brother, someone to lead the way and look out for me as I slowly entered the world on my own. Alas, that was not the cards dealt to me. I was the big sister and looking back I'm sure my younger siblings would say I did a wonderful job...wow that was funny...they would not say anything of the sort. At least I paved the way and provided a guinea pig for Mom & Dad to test their parenting skills on - you both owe me for that one! So maybe it was my desire for a big brother or maybe because I can relate to being the big sibling but I LOVE watching my Little Man be a big brother.

Not to go too mushy...'cause I never get too emotional...but he is an amazing big brother. I will forever remember the first morning that the Littlest Man was with us. The Little Man got up, called for us from his room and the first thing he said:

"Where Baby Owee"
"Hi Baby Owee" once he located him in the bassinet next to our bed.
Then "Baby Owee in hand" (he wanted to hold him)

That interest and genuine affection continues to this day...all 84 of them. If he's crying He says "Baby Owee Crying" and will go over and hug him, tell me to give him milk or start the swing for him. The other day he actually came downstairs asked me for "Owee's bear", found it, and took it up to him where Dad was watching the Littlest Man. (Insert huge Momma AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW here)

I am so so so very proud of him. My expectations ranged from disinterest to outright anger. As much as I love that Little Man of mine he is very opinionated about what he wants and when he wants it - normally now - and I didn't know how well he would do with sharing my attention. I thus aimed to fully prepare for the newest ones coming with all the 'What's in Momma's Tummy' books and the classic Berenstain Bears and Little Critter new baby books. He knew a baby was in Momma's tummy but I was still very leery as to how being home with both the Little Man and then unknown newest ones.

I knew I had nothing to worry about when Big Brother wanted to read the newest member a book not much more then an hour after he was born and was asking to hold him.

My dearest Little Man,
If you are ever reading this know that this for me is your shinning accomplishment. There is nothing more important then family, especially your siblings. They are the ones that will keep you entertained on the long drives to the cottage, teach you how to stand up for yourself & cover for you when you are out past your curfew. This is something your Aunt Lisa and I took awhile to learn, but I am so glad now that we are friends as well as siblings.

My wish for the both of you is that you grow up, not only entertaining each other so Momma can get stuff done, but as friends sharing snow forts, soakers and of course many many time outs & groundings! 

Eat Real Food. Eat More Plants.

My hubby always says 'Read one for your heart and one for your head' when talking about books. Lately my evening reads while rocking a babe to sleep have followed this balance. My recent 'Ones for the Head' have been Michael Pollans In Defence of Food, Jeannie Marshals Outside the Box: Why our children need real food not food products & I'm currently in the middle of Dr. T Colin Campbell's The China Study. Recognise a trend?!


                           

One would think that in taking a year off with the Littlest Man's arrival that I would...well...take a break. One can not take a break from passion though. There is a reason I'm currently working as an underpaid (compared to comparable hospital jobs) Family Health Team Dietitian. I am passionate about people. I am passionate about food. I am passionate about helping people achieve their health goals through food. Though I may not agree with every single thing these authors write I agree with the basic message.

EAT REAL FOOD. EAT MORE PLANTS.

Eat Real Food
Ever walk down the isles of a grocery store and wonder where all the food is? Nope, probably not. That is the bane that comes with being a dietitian and knowing more then you want sometimes. Ever wonder what is in something if it is fat free, cholesterol free, sugar free & sodium free? Ever need to bring your dictionary (or iPhone for you cool techy people out there) and a magnifying glass to read the ingredient list on some of those packages? Ever wonder why a chocolate bar company is making a breakfast cereal for kids? Or am I the only one?
I love how Michael Pollan put it: If your great grandmother would not recognise that item as a food then it's not real food. He went a step further to explain that your great grandmother may know what yogurt is but she would not recognise it as it is now, neon coloured, tasting of nothing but sugar and arriving in tubes.
I often tell client's, and get a weird look, to look for foods that don't have labels. This is not fail proof, but generally speaking some of the healthiest foods do not carry with them a packaging and thus no label - read vegetables and fruits.

Eat More Plants
We live in a society that is dominated with the thought of 'Meat = strong and healthy'. Disagree? If I asked you what was for dinner, what would you say? Chicken, roast beef, pork OR broccoli, quinoa, beans, peppers? Considering that vegetables should make up half of your meal at lunch & dinner, don't you think we should answer with a plant based food first? I'm not trying to say that meat is bad - though some may disagree with this as well - but when you can't fathom eating a meal without meat or your steak takes up most of your plate you are missing out on the balance piece of all of this. I often have clients look at me as if I have two heads (Yes I do get a lot of weird looks at work - I'm used to it now) when I say that at least two of our main meals a week should be vegetarian. I have parents coming in feeding their teenage daughters fake-meat chicken nuggets when the rest of the family has a "normal" meal. These paresnts have no idea what else to feed her. One of my dear vegan friends has to deal with getting asked "What do you eat for protein?" whenever her dietary choices comes up. Where did this obsession with meat come from?

Science has shown time and time again that for the greater population a diet consisting mostly of whole plant based foods is healthier and key in preventing many of the affluent diseases (ie heart disease, diabetes). This does not mean we all have to give up meat but to look to other food sources for our protein and to think of meat as a condiment or a side when we do have it. Unbeknownst to most people many of our everyday grain foods contain protein such as bread and rice. Nuts and seeds are a great source of protein as are beans and lentils. No not green beans - think chili. Don't worry I didn't know what they were when I started to learn about them either! These foods can be incorporated into our diet in many everyday or unique ways. To star simply think about peanut butter on toast, hummus and veggies or vegetarian chili. Then move onto chickpea curry, pumpkin black bean enchiladas or vegetarian thia chili. Getting comfortable and adventurous while cooking with beans & lentils is something that I am working on over the next year. That way next time a client looks at me with that 'She's crazy look' I can hand them a stack of Dietitian and family approved recipes to try for themselves.

PS: My carniverous brother in law just loved my vegetarian thia chili this weekend...who knew!?

Stick It To Fast Food this November

We've decided to 

 for the month of November.

What an amazing grass-root movement, developed by a bunch of teenagers, this is. Is anyone else not entirely surprised that they were able to do SOMETHING while the medical industry and government have been chasing their tails when it comes to our obesity epidemic and our recent dramatic rise in chronic (read mostly preventable) diseases?

A big congrats to this teens for figuring out that -

"Fast Food isn’t real food. It was designed by scientists in white lab coats. Sure, sometimes it tastes good, but that’s their trick. If you put enough salt, sugar and fat in anything, it’ll taste good. Fast food companies are getting rich feeding us garbage. And it’s making us fat and sick."

- and deciding to do something about it!

In my personal and professional opinion our food environment - everything from what happens at the farmers field to our dinner table - is currently the biggest factor impacting our health at this time. The problem with our food environment is that it is so multi-factoral - Where do we start?! I've always been an advocate of start somewhere. If that's eating organic foods - Great! If that is avoiding GMO - Great! If that is sitting down as a family at the table to eat dinner every night - Great! If that is not letting your children watch TV that has food commercials targeting them - Great! If that is learning to cook real food - Great! If that is going to farmers markets and supporting other local producers - Great! If that's is organising a boycott on fast food - Great!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not preeching that you should be more like me. I love me some Dairy Queen Blizzards and buying pizza on those cold rainy days is so much easier then making dinner. Fast food (and I use the term 'food' VERY losely) tastes good and it is so very very easy. And you know what?! That's why they make the big bucks. I get it. I know. It's hard to say 'No'. The problem is that it is so normal. It is not uncommon for many people to eat fast food everyday. That bagel or muffin from your coffee shop on the way to work, that quick lunch b/c you are in a hurry and pizza or burgers for dinner b/c you are so tired at the end of the day, it's all fast food.

I challenge each and every one of you...all 20 or so... to join the Little Man, the Littlest Man and I in our pledge to Stick it to Fast Food for the month of November. ('cause I'm nursing I guess the Littlest Man gets in on mine). Help me, help the high shcool students, help yourself 'de-normalize' fast food.

PS: Grandma and Nana...consider this a notification that when the Little Man is with you this month there is no fast food. Who only knows what you two give him when I'm not around.
kidding....i love you!

For more information and to PLEDGE check out:
www.stickittofastfood.org

It's Halloween...

I love Halloween! What other holiday do you get to attack an innocent squash with a knife and go bug your neighbours for candy. I always enjoyed Halloween as a kid for obvious reasons - candy! As an adult I have enjoyed watching the neighbourhood kids come around and snacking on as much candy as I give out. Actually I get the chocolates 'cause I like them more.

This year has been so much more fun. The Little Man had a blast picking out a pumpkin with his best buddy a few weekends ago. Tonight we carved the the beast. I thought the Little Man would be all over gutting it. Nope. It was too goopy. He didn't want to get his hands messy. He was the supervisor of the carving. He told told Mom & Dad what to do and how they were doing it wrong.

He is asking for Halloween songs and once I start it's "more", "more", "more".

His favourites are:

5 Little Pumpkins sitting on a gate

The first one says 'Oh my it's getting late.'

The second one says 'There are witches in the air.'

The third one say 'But we don't care.'

The fourth one says 'Lets run and run and run.'

The fifth one says ' It's time for Halloween fun.'

Awhoooooooooooo went the wind

And out went the lights

And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight

It's Halloween

The lamp is lit

Around the fire we children sit

Telling ghost stories bit by bit

'Till sister Jane says 'Hushhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh'

Who's that peeping around the bedroom door

Who's the creeping across the kitchen floor

Who's that screeching like their throat is sore

IT'S A GOBLIN 

There is a tiny window of your life when your childhood can blend with your kids'. Sharing your traditions and memories to help then make new ones. Both of these songs were my favourite as a kid and I love hearing the Little Man ask for them again and again. I have song the "Gaa-bin Ong" no less then 15 times in a row.

What's Halloween without treats?!?  Given that I have recently found Pintrest (that is another topic in and of itself) I decide to find something quick, easy yet fun for a Halloween party that I went to with the boys today. I found a recipe for 'Bones'. Small marshmallows on stick pretzels dipped in melted white chocolate. The Little Man keeps asking more 'More bone', but only easy the ends and leaves the pretzel part.

I have this thing that I really want to make the boys costumes. However in past years I had limited sewing skills, we are talking lucky to sew a straight line kind of skills, thus costumes were out. I have since leaned how to sew pants so the Littlest Man got pirate pants hand sewn by Mom. I had every intention to make a train out of cardboard boxes ect but my ambition and reality of available time for such an endeavour did not match. So we ordered him a train engineer costume on-line. It's kinda perfect for our little train lover!

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow night. Here's hoping the weather holds out or there will not be much trick-or-Treating, thus limited candy for me....errrrr I mean the Little Man.

Happy Halloween!

Today I met Joe Carter

Today I met Joe Carter. Not only did I get to meet him I got to watch (from the pitching mound I might add) as he hit a 3-run home run to win the 1993 World Series in the bottom of the 9th in Game Six.

Here he is as he "Touches 'em all" at the Sky Dome. Actually he "touched 'em all" about 9 times!

I thought this would be the hard part of parenting. I'm not very imaginative.

I grew up with the most amazing bedtime stories from my dad. There were amazing adventures involving Darrel the Dragon, Mont Merencie the mouse and Bongo & Coconut on their tropical island. The bar was set high! So I tried to tell my Little Man a bedtime story once. It went like this: "There were once some people, they did stuff, and the lived happily ever after". I just don't have this gift of imagination.

How am I going to foster the creative juices and imagination if I, as an adult, have lost it? How do I turn sheets and couch cushions into a tent in Africa on safari or an igloo at the North Pole? How do I turn the dog bowl being presented to me with a "Happy Birthday, Mom" into our morning adventure? I don't know....

I don't know, but I think you just follow their lead, use what you know and before you know it you will remember how to imagine.

So Thank-you Little Man for showing me today that a flute can easily be the baseball bat that Joe Carter swung to win the 1993 World Series.

PS: Incase you missed it in 1993: The Swing

Mindfulness Laduree Style

Mindful Eating is something I talk about with clients all the time. I am well aware that it is easy to say and hard to do. I am terrible for snacking in front of the computer while I watch a show or while reading a book. Then of course the food is all gone and I think 'How did that happen?'. That is NOT mindful Terri!

Hubby and I were lucky enough a few years ago to go to Europe and spent 2 days of this in Paris. In my research as to what to see and do....well really it was more like what to eat and drink....I came across a recommendation for macaroons from Laduree's. I'm a big fan of chocolate and thought why not. Ahhhh but this lowly traveller found out that the macaroons of poor quality chocolate and stale coconut where not what was awaiting. These  french macaroons are a meringue sandwich with a crispy shell and creamy jelly or ganache center and like nothing I had seen before. I bought a few and after they travelled around Paris for the day in my bag they were a little worse for wear but still possessed that melt in your mouth explosion of sweet heaven. These delicacies perfectly combined taste with sweetness unlike most of our over sugared treats here in North America.

As I'm sure you can tell I'm a big fan! I was lucky enough that my fabulous mother-in-law was well aware of my love affair with these tasty treats and on her recent trip to Paris she brought me...well they were for hubby and me...some home.

This has been a lesson for me in mindful eating. There is nothing like knowing you have a limited supply of a food that you truly enjoy and would have to cross an ocean to get more. Mindfully eating is about taking small bites, stopping in between bites to not only know that you did eat but to experience the smell, taste, texture and even sight of the food you are eating.

I only get to hope I get to enjoy this lesson in mindfully eating these macaroons again soon!

Tis' the season for.....Pumpkins!

I love the fall time. I love the vibrant colours and the crisp air. I love the warm sweaters and not quite needing a coat yet. Mostly I love the food. Culinary choices go from the fresh vibrant foods of summer to the warm comforting meals of fall.

This fall I have discovered the delights of the pumpkin in my cooking, and I'm not just talking about pies here (though I do love me some pumpkin pie). A few weeks ago the boys and I made pumpkin cookies after I saw a friend's recipe on facebook. Jack loved dumping, stirring, mixing but mostly licking the beaters.

The thing with this recipe was that it didn't use all the pumpkin that comes in the can. I froze it in ice cube trays with the intention of using it later, but really thinking it would be found in the bottom of the freezer a year from now freezer burned. Well thank-you Clean Eating - my favourite foodie magazine - for having a bunch of great pumpkin recipes in your latest edition. I liked the look of these recipes so much I scoured Fergus looking for a pie pumpkin to grate. I discovered no ones carries these little pumpkins inFergus when the pies of Thanksgiving are only a memory.

The Cheesy Pumpkin Bake was a huge success as well as super healthy with not only the pumpkin but broccoli & kale for additional veggies and whole grain bread as well. Talk about a one pan meal. The Pumpkin Enchiladas were a flavour explosion with the additional fibre benefits of black beans added it. The Little Man loved the enchiladas best and ate more then me that meal. He would have loved them for lunch leftovers the next day if Dad didn't get to them first!

Wow! Seasonal, local and healthy vegetarian meals that we all loved - Success for this Momma!!

What I Cherish in my Baby Boys

Ahhhh that newborn and baby stage. It is so much work and so exhausting that you seem to pass each day in a blur. Everyone tells you to take time to savour the moments as they go so fast - I might only speak for myself here (I doubt it) - but when you are living a sleep deprived life it is hard to remember the moments let alone take time to enjoy them.
I am now on my second baby, he's 8 weeks, and am doing much better this time around appreciating the small things that only babies have to offer. Maybe it's because I have "been here and done this" before but here are the things I am trying to take time everyday to enjoy.

7) Being the Center of The (well someones) Universe
There is something in me, maybe its the Leo coming out, but I love being 'IT', the all knowing one, the big kahuna, the favourite. Right now my littlest man is at the stage where he knows me, will seek me out with his eyes and complain until I pay attention to him. He will be fussy with someone else and quiet as soon as I pick him up. He will smile big smiles for Dad and big brother but for me...I get the you are the only mom in the world and you rock my universe kinda smile. I love that look. Maybe I love this look b/c I know that all too soon I will be the routine one. My little man of 2 years will ask where Dad is all day, will get excited about going to Grandma's and climb into Nana's car when she's here. Me, well, he sees me all day most days so yeah I'm kinda old hat by now, nothing to get to excited about. So for now I'm going to enjoy being the center of the universe to at least one of my men.

6) Melting Baby

I don't even know what to call this and my literary skill will not do it justice. There is this way that babies will just melt into you. Their bones and joints will contour to your body and it's as if the two of you become one again. There is almost a liquidity to their bodies the way they soften to you as you hold them and they relax.

5) So Soft
We also know babies are soft. "Smooth as a baby's bottom" comes to mind. And while I don't go around rubbing his bottom, I can't seem to keep my cheek off of the littlest mans hair and head. They are just.so.soft.

4) Chubby Cheeks
I don't remember my little man having these big kissable cheeks when he was a babe that my littlest man has. I can not get enough kisses in on those cheeks. My lips just disappear in baby cheek and I love the loud "muah" that they make.

3) That Face
Both my boys have ended up with a very unique 'face' that they use often.
I would like to introduce the "Puss Face". This would be used whenever the little man was upset about something or unhappy...we saw this a lot!

Now this one I call the "Concerned Face" he really has this "what-did-I-get-myself-into-these-people-don't-know-what-they-are-doing" look. I swear we have not dropped him...yet. 

2) The special snuggle spot
My little man had this habit of snuggling his newborn head right b/t my neck and shoulder. I would tilt my head to the side and rest the side of my head on the top of his. This didn't last long as his head quickly got too big for this. I cherish those special moments of us rocking away in the middle of the night with his head cradled against my neck with me protecting him for those few moments from everything.
I was really looking forward to the neck snuggles when I was pregnant with my second man. I longed for them. I dreamt of them. I could not wait. Turnes out he was not a neck snuggler....he was a collarbone snuggler. My littlest man will inch his way down my body to get his head just below my collar bone. Once there, all is right in his world, and he will settle into our peaceful snuggle. What I have learnt to enjoy and appreciate with both boys is that it will not be the same but it will be just as heavenly to have those special snuggles in special moment where you get to hold them and protect them from everything.

1) Milk Breath
Oh how I missed milk breath. The littlest man has just started getting milk breath now. I don't know if it was because he is now drinking enough to have this or because he has finally stopped puking up the milk ALL THE TIME. There is a distinct difference b/t milk puke breath and milk breath.
There is this sweet milk smell they have that I crave worse then chocolate. After a nurse I will/would hold them (now for the littlest man and then for the little man) close to my eyes and SNIFF! Yup this may sound crazy but I'm addicted to that milk breath. I also know that my fix will run out in about 4months when he starts solids. Until then my sniffer will get a workout.

If you are entering this stage I recommend drinking a coffee/tea or getting caffeine into you somehow so you are awake enough for a moment to take that moment to think about what you love about this stage because it will be over all to fast. If you are in this stage what do you love? If this stage is a distant memory what do you remember most fondly?

So What Am I Doing Here?

I have never considered myself a blogger...cause really what do I have to say that someone wants to read about. I have no grandiose ideas about how exciting my life is. But here I am....
I remember back in elementary school learning to describe things in the Who, What, Where, When, Why, How, so here goes.

Who
Who am I? Well I am many things to many people, as we all are. I would start by saying I'm a mother, a wife, a dietitian, a daughter, a sister and a friend. I am a lover of nature, horses, wine, photography, cooking and that laughing so hard it hurts feeling. I love to have fun and be silly. I love to read, especially those really good books that suck you in and keep you up way to late reading even though you keep telling yourself just one more page. I believe in health and finding the healthiest you. I guess I could go on but if you are reading this you likely know me really well...cause I'm pretty sure those are the only ones who are going to read this anyway!
What
A blog...but I guess you've figured that part out.
Were
Right here at Just Me Being Me
When
Whenever I get time...
Why
Well that is the big questions. WHY? I'm blogging because through facebook I discovered that I love to get my thoughts, experiences and insights out there. When I was young I kept old school paper journals and loved the process of getting my thoughts on paper and have enjoyed even more reading them over the years. Over 3 years ago I decided to start journaling again...I missed it. I got a nice new book with an inspirational quote on the front. Guess how many entries I have made. TWO! Yup that's right two. Obviously something wasn't working. Then a few nights ago I got this idea to Blog. I have no idea why I thought this was a good idea but it has stuck with me and I have caught myself daydreaming about what I would write and what I had to say. I really have no desire...okay maybe a little desire...to have people read and comment but I have this need to express and for now this is my means of expression.
How
Well I'm not very techy so I'm figuring out the 'how' as I go along. 

If there is anyone reading this...................hello?..........................Enjoy!