Well, maybe I’ve been busy all winter taking Human Anatomy and scoring a final grade of 90%.  Maybe its been one of the worst winters on record here and I have been hibernating, or maybe I’m getting ready to launch a new blog (you’ll see!) or maybe just MAYbe I’ve been training all winter (inside I might add) for a 25k race that I really have no business doing.

Yep, that’s it.

My friends have started a movement called ‘Motor’ and its telling stories of people who go against mediocrity, who get the job done, who press on toward a goal even when the odds are stacked against them. 

This resonates with me.

This has been one of the most challenging seasons of my life in the sense that I took on a lot.  I am in school now, and that is no small feat for me AND committing to this run has proven to be really, really hard.

I mean really…

really…

hard.

I knew it would be hard physically – I mean I don’t even want to drive 15.5 miles let alone run it!  When you set out to take something like this on, you really have no idea how your body will do – will it adapt?  Will you get hurt?  To train for this, you have to run a lot, fuel your body differently and THINK differently.

I did not realize how this mental part would “hit” me.  Right after I did my first 10 mile training run, I felt on top of the world that I actually did it, but I knew I had many long runs ahead of me.  I did another 10 mile run after two grueling weeks of barely being able to move past 7 0r 8.   After that last 10 mile run and subsequent short runs, I just hated it.  I hated running, I questioned why I would ever think I could do this, and I was ready to quit.  I had no energy and was being told by multiple people that I had probably over-trained and my body was fatigued.  Just last week, I had talked myself into switching and downgrading to the 10k race.  I mean, there would be no shame in that, it would still be a great accomplishment and great to be a part of the fifth third run in that way.

But I am stubborn.

I have worked so hard.

And this is where the term ‘Motor’ really comes in.  When you have nothing left, you dig just a little deeper and you go for it.

I did not, however, dig this out of myself on my own.   I have amazing friends who are rooting for me, who are encouraging me and helping me.  My friend Amy did almost all of my long runs with me even though she isn’t even doing the race.  My friend Lisa got advice for me from a cousin of hers who runs marathons, and my sister who is injured herself and still going to go for it tomorrow has been giving me pep talks all week!

So, there is no backing out now in my mind.  I am in this thing and I am going to finish. 

Don’t get me wrong, I realize it is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done physically and mentally.   But just as the crowds tomorrow will be giving me a boost of adrenaline and support that I will need, I will be thinking of the “crowds” of friends and family that have been giving me a boost all along and telling me I CAN do this.

So my strategy for tomorrow is to run slow, take in my surroundings, enjoy all the new songs on my ipod, and take my friend Heather’s advice and get five out of the way and countdown from 10….

and, I will motor.

How do YOU Motor?  Tell your story!

This week I celebrated one year of being a Vegetarian.  And its been anything but boring.  I blogged at the start of my journey here.

Some of you may think there really isn’t much to celebrate.  Some of you may even ask, “did you celebrate with a big juicy steak?” (I loved that one).  But for me, there is much to be proud of.

It all started years ago when I read Diet for a New America written by the heir to the Baskin Robbins estate.  He told the truth about different food industries and the role that sugar and meat  is playing in our diets and the hold some of these companies have on us.  Then I read this one and then this one and of course this one.  Oh and how could I forget THIS.   I love the role that self education can play in our lives.  You reach a point in your life when you may have  something that really interests you and you do the research, the ground work to learn and then those tidbits that you learn are the things that really stick with you.

I have also watched movies like Food, Inc. and The Beautiful Truth which I highly recommend.  They are beyond words and if they don’t make you think twice about the meat and other animal products that you put into your body, then probably nothing will.

There are so many reasons to be a Vegetarian for some it is for health reasons, other moral reasons and for some, they just can’t see their way too it.  That’s OK – I’m not here to preach on the issue.  I do have strong feelings and I try to be diplomatic when talking about it.  I just hope I can educate people to see the health of their bodies and their environment in a new way.

For me it boils down to my “Top 5 Reasons why I became a Vegetarian.”

5.  I lost 11 pounds without really trying too hard.  Did you know that on average Vegetarians are 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters?  I’m just sayin… it is the New Year after all.

4.  I am less likely to develop things like heart disease, high blood pressure and certain cancers like colon cancer living on a plant based diet.  A Vegetarian diet is one full of fiber.   Meat is full of saturated animal fat that bogs you down.  I am lighter and healthier eating this way.

3.  As a Vegetarian I can do my small part in saving the world. Did you know that it take 16 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of meat?  In the United States alone we have enough food to feed the entire planet and put an end to hunger.  But instead, we are feeding our cattle, our chickens, and yes, even our fish with our grain.  We have a thirst for meat.  Also, according to the journal of Soil and Water, one acre of land could produce 50,000 pounds of tomatoes, 40,000 pounds of potatoes, 30,000 pounds of carrots and just 250 pounds of beef.  You do the math!

2.  I’m saving a ton of money on groceries.  Yes, my boys still eat meat (I’m workin’ on them as we speak), but all in all, our grocery bill has been slashed by quite a bit.  The average household by going Vegetarian can save $4,000 a year!

1. It was a challenge for my health. I took being a Vegetarian on as a health challenge after reading about how eating more whole foods can really have a positive affect on your body and prevent so many diseases.  I was also struggling with a lot of PMS issues and thought I would see if there was anything to  the idea that changing my diet might be the answer.  After 30 days of feeling really great,  and not missing meat at all, I continued it for 45 days, then 3 months and now one year.  I can happily report that I do not have ONE symptom of PMS left and I have more energy and feel better than I have ever felt.

Not only that, but I am running better and lighter!  I have more energy and am on track to run a 25K in May.  This is no small feat for me.  I could never have done this in previous years.  Even after having a night out eating more food than usual, drinking wine and having a good time, I still feel better than ever because the meat is not causing my body to spend all its energy trying to digest it instead of giving me a good run!  Check out this fellow blogger’s website – he is amazing and runs long long distances on a plant based diet.  www.nomeatathlete.com I am always inspired reading his posts!  You can even sign up for his free e-course on what a Vegetarian diet could do for your running.  Its well worth it.  Check out this post for more info to get you started running on a Vegetarian diet.

I hope by my actions, my health and what I write I can inspire some of you to make a change in the new year and eat less meat.  You could try meat-less Mondays or do Vegetarian for 30 days like I did.  It will challenge you in a good way and you just might get hooked.

Your body and our planet will thank you.

Any other “happy herbivores” out there?  How did you get started?  How has it changed your health for the better?  Any meat eaters out there inspired to eat less meat in the new year?

As our boys get older, they are starting to ask questions; my oldest talks about being “from Russia” and often wonders when we can go visit.  They ask things like, “why didn’t I grow in your tummy mommy,” and they want to look at the “life” book I have started for each of them.  When these times come, I realize how important it is to at least take one day of the year and devote it to recognizing my kid’s adoptions.    If you have adopted kids, you know that this is an important part of your child’s life….or at least, it will be at some point, but life can get away from all of us and we forget.  I mean these are our kids, this is our family, and we don’t often think about the fact that our boys are adopted, because, well, they are just simply our kids.

But for them, it is important for them to know that we recognize being adopted makes their family “different” from others and following my friend’s lead, we decided to start a tradition with their family to celebrate being adopted all together!

What a great idea.

I mean, who doesn’t like to celebrate anything with good friends?

So they made the trek to our place in Michigan and wow, what a weekend it was.  On Saturday morning, the dads took the older boys out to the woods for some target practice and hiking around while Austin and Iris helped us cook the cultural feast!

They absolutely loved forming the Dragon Head Meatballs in honor of China!

Later, after the boys came home, we served up the food we had been slaving over all day.  Other than the meatballs, we had Russian black bread and beef stroganoff in honor of our son, Alec adopted from Russia.  We had Haitian Rice and Beans for Tiga, who joined his family from Haiti, Georgia Peach Pie for Dakota and Chicago hot dogs for Austin (the two domestically adopted boys – you can’t forget the United States and our food culture!)

The kids each introduced their dish into the video camera for posterity and maybe, just maybe, we served up a bit of vodka for the adults…. In honor of Russia of course.

I will never forget this weekend and the bonding that was had.  I don’t really know if the kids all “got it” that we were there to celebrate their adoptions, but they did get that families like to celebrate and celebrating together is always a good thing.  We hope to make this a tradition and as our kids change and grow, they will hopefully take the lead on how to celebrate the day, the weekend, or the entire month, in a way that makes it meaningful for them.

Tiga – Haiti, Dakota – Georgia, Alec – Russia, Austin – Chicago, Iris – China

A time of pondering the move, then actually moving, being buried in boxes, looking for jobs, enrolling kids in school,  dealing with the financial stress of moving, and getting our little rental house feeling like home.

I think we’re there.

My kids are in the swing of their new school, they are making many new friends, they are enjoying playing soccer and riding the bus every day.

My husband is really liking his new job and I have had an amazing time as a Therapeutic Riding Instructor for Camp Manitou-Lin.  I’m learning so much and eager to share more of that with all of you!  I also recently landed a perfect part time job that I am very excited about.  Also, in a couple weeks, I will be enrolling in another class to further my educational goals.

There is so much going on, I’ve at times been pretty overwhelmed to even write.  I think I do now know what writers block is.  Its having so many things swirling around in your head, but you just cannot get them out.

I hope this post unleashes the words in my heart and mind.

I know “they” say that you can’t go home again, but I did, I am here.  And you know, there is nothing like a homecoming than a good ole fashioned high school football game.

There are crazy young kids getting into the spirit of the day.

There are little guys with hopes of big football dreams

There is the parade that the entire town joins in for

There are mascots

and all KINDS of spirit

Players ready to win (and go on to win the conference title!)

And the purest feeling of walking the streets of a small town, waving at people you see at work, at the grocery store, at the school dropping off their kids… and hanging with your sister

I’m home.

When we moved here we had recently brought our first son home from Russia – so this home is the only one he really knows.   I remember setting up our bed and his pack n play out in our three season room while we had the hard wood flooring finished.  We lived out there for almost a week in this one room of the house.  It was so fun!

Then a mere year later, our best friends moved into the house next door.  Oh what fun that was.  That in and of itself has brought late nights, pajama parties, best friends for the kids and us and hours and hours of eating and drinking together.  These are friends we will have for life.  They mean so much to us.  We even used to have a “duck” we would put in our window and if it was there, it meant you were free to come on over.  The duck of friendship we called it. 

Not too long after that some other special friends moved into the home a couple houses over on the same little “lake” where we have had many paddle boat rides and fishing and even a little splashing around IN the water (for the kids of course).   Our children shared yards, and sleepovers and play things – having them there has brought much laughter and joy to our lives for us and our kids.  They too mean so much to us as a family and for me personally, brought me one of my dearest friends.

We also have memories of the pig roasts we would have here – one year having 75 people!  It was amazing.

We brought our youngest son home from the hospital to this very home.  This is the only home he knows and the memories of having a new baby in a home will always stay with you forever.

I guess you could say this house has brought a lot of joy to our lives as a family.  There have been many times lately that I have thought of it as a curse more than a blessing, so taking a step back has been really good for me as we move on to a new adventure.

It is often said that the suburbs can suck the soul right out of you if you aren’t careful, and I am here to tell you this is very true, but I’m also here to say that if you have good friends surrounding you, you will be just fine.

It’s the house yes, but more importantly its really never a “thing” – its always the people that matter most.  Recently I was able to rekindle a friendship that I have had for 12 years and though it has always been a good friendship, it was only recently really becoming closer than ever.  I am leaving here knowing I have yet another best friend that I can rely on and will always have for life.

Last night was a going away of sorts.  When I stop and really think about it, it doesn’t feel like I’m really going away – a 4 hour trip doesn’t feel that way.    And if these friendships really matter, the 4 hours that separate us will be just a small obstacle in the grand scheme of staying friends forever.

Me, Chris, Heather, Laura

We celebrated at the honey cafe.  It was wonderfully delicious.  The food was vegetarian friendly and all ingredients are organic and fresh.  I highly recommend going there for any gathering with friends.  The service was refreshing, and the food was so good, all my friends plan on going back.

The Veggie Burger

I think celebrating anything over good food is so meaningful. You will carve a memory that will last forever and when you go back to that place, you will remember the laughter you shared with those friends, the talks you had, the time spent.

Grilled Summer Vegetables with Seasonal Risotto

How about you?  How do you love to spend time with your friends?  What connects you the most to the people you love?

I don’t.

I have two boys 8 and 4 who can be picky eaters at times.  As kids go, they are pretty adventurous and I think they know their mom by now and that whatever I make, they are going to have to at least try – or they might go a little hungry that night.

But let’s be honest, when you have kids, you can’t be adventurous wtih food every day.  So I follow a few simple rules that I have laid out for myself

1. Give them at least one meal a week that is all for them.  Something they love
2. Serve whole foods.  Even if I am serving pasta with Parmesan (noodles!), which is my oldest favorites, I only buy whole wheat pasta, I drizzle it with EVOO instead of butter and I top it with freshly grated Parmesan, not the dusty stuff in the green jar.  More on that later
3. Get the kids helping in the kitchen as much as you can.
4. Make. Them. Try. Everything.  Don’t let them off the hook here – they can handle it, and they won’t die if they go to bed hungry one night.  They will learn.
5. Have fun with the things you are cooking and make notes in your cookbooks and recipe boxes of what your family members love and hate.

I am going to be posting more on this topic – making it real for families with small children or let’s face it, picky husbands!

Anyway – life has been crazy!

In a mere two weeks, we are moving back to my hometown area where I grew up in Michigan!  My husband landed a great job with a great organization and though bittersweet, we are really excited about this.

I am, after all, a small town girl.

The town I grew up in is about 500 people and the next town over where I was bussed to school 15 minutes away is about 3000 people.  That is where we are moving.  I have been longing for a place where my kids can grow up and not just be a number in the masses at school, but actually be in a place where they can feel they contribute and are a real part of something.  The town we have been living in for the past 8 years (aside from our brief move to Colorado and back) is just getting bigger and bigger by the day.  Sometimes I feel like the suburban walls are closing in on me.

So we are packin’ our bags!

This is what has sidelined my blogging recently, but I am bound and determined to get back on a regular schedule and (dare I say) even start blogging more often.

I have a whole lot to say, I just hope someone out there wants to listen.  

I wanted to share these lyrics because this song means so much to me right now.  I hope they will for you as well.

God loves a lullaby
In a mothers tears in the dead of night
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes.
God loves a drunkards cry,
A soldiers plea not to let him die
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes.

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

The woman holding on for life,
The dying man giving up the fight
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes
The tears of shame for what’s been done,
The silence when the words won’t come
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes.

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

Better than a church bell ringing,
Better than a choir singing out,singing out.

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

Anyone who knows  me knows one of my passions is healthy homemade meals.  If you feel all “thumbs” in the kitchen or are just wanting to make a good change toward a healthier lifestyle for your family – I think this is really great.  I hope you sign up and take a great positive step toward getting your family healthy!