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Happy Independence Day!

Wishing the blogosphere a very happy July 4th!   Today I am thankful for the men and women throughout our history that have preserved our freedom and for those serving currently.  Freedom is not free.

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As I researched my family’s history for our upcoming trip, I found that my  great great (could be here awhile if I wrote them all out) grandpa on my Grandma T’s dad’s side served in the Revolutionary War as a member of the Massachusetts Militia.  I can’t imagine how we must have felt being a part of such an transformative moment in history.   He was tremendously proud of his service, which is even noted on his gravestone in Connecticut.

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Today many of us will enjoy the beach, barbecues, parties and fireworks with our families to celebrate the holiday.   Be safe, have fun, live in gratitude and pursue your passions.

 

 

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Joys of Childhood

I spent my childhood outside playing in the woods, riding my bike with the neighbor kids, playing sports year round in the neighborhood and spending quality time with my family.  My childhood was fantastic and full of fond memories.  These memories are more meaningful now that I have children of my own.  I remember waking up early Christmas mornings with my brothers eagerly awaiting the opportunity to open our presents.  I loved Christmas as a kid, but as a parent Christmas is a million times better.

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The beauty of being a parent is the innocence we love when transitioning from child to adult is rediscovered through our children. The excitement of Christmas morning is now heard in their scampering about the house waiting for us to wake up.  A sense of wonderment and discovery is shared when our child sees or experiences something for the first time.  I’ll never forget their first trip to the zoo when they first saw a lion, tiger, giraffe and gorillas for the first time.  The sense of wonderment and excitement as they moved from animal to animal was palpable.

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Somewhere along our journey, we lose the wonderment and joy of childhood as we get lost in the minutia of everyday life.  We stop rolling down the hills and being silly instead opting to take ourselves too seriously.  We stop being curious.  There is a lot we can learn from our children as we guide them through life. We can learn to enjoy the small things in life, to not take ourselves too seriously and to approach life with a sense of wonderment and curiosity.

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My boys love exploring the outdoor and enjoy a healthy sense of adventure.  They’re minds are going a million times a minute.  When they see something they love, you can guarantee that they’ve already started scheming about how they’re going to get a boat, a chicken, a goat, a plane, etc.  Their mind and their dreams have no bounds.  Their joie de vivre is contagious and drives me a better mom, a better wife and a better person.  Inspiration doesn’t always come from big things or famous people sometimes it comes from our minis.

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Sitting Shotgun

When we go somewhere as a family, my hubby drives the car and the kids and I get to relax.  I really don’t like driving, especially in S. Florida, so being a passenger is usually always okay with me.  Until it wasn’t….  My oldest got his learner’s permit at 15, which was mind boggling.  In a previous life, I worked auto claims, which makes me a nervous rider.  Couple that with my child driving me around and it was a recipe for an ulcer.

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We agreed early on that hubby would teach the boys to drive and I would watch from afar.  Frankly, I don’t have the nerves or the stomach for it and they need a calm teacher.  A nervous teacher would do nothing, but make them anxious.  I decided one night to let him try driving my car.  It was a short distance, less than .5 mile, from just inside our gate to our house, so I thought I could handle it.  I was wrong.

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Jake did great, but I was a wreck.  When we got to the road where he needed to make a right turn, I instructed him to slow down causing him to get a bit frazzled.  Consequently, he hit the gas instead of the brake causing a panic.  He asked frantically what he should do and my eloquent response was “hit the other pedal!”  He hit the brake and made the turn safely and the subsequent turns safely getting us home in one piece albeit with frayed nerves.

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Flash forward to March of 2016, Jake had his license for over 6 months and hubby was out of town with Goalielocks for hockey.  I was sick and had been horribly sick for several days.  I couldn’t keep any fluid or food down and knew that the only way to stop it would be to get some IV fluids.  The only way for me to get to the ER was Jake.  Jake drove me to the ER and he did a great job.

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After several hours of IV fluids, they released me from the ER and Jake picked me up.  He drove us to Target to fill my prescription and pick up Gingerale and saltine crackers.  This time I was feeling better, but I was still comfortable with his driving.  The Mayor meanwhile felt compelled to criticize every move Jacob made on the road, he was relentless.  Now almost two years after he got his license, I’m perfectly comfortable being a passenger in his car.

Now when he drives, it’s all about the music.

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The Trouble With Travel

The trouble with travel is hockey is trying to maintain healthy eating habits when the majority of your weeknights are spent at the rink and your weekends are spent driving across the state to other rinks.  Hockey season doesn’t have to be a diet killer if you’re well prepared.  Just like you would take the time to prep our meals for the work week, you have to take the time to prep your snacks  and meals for the road.

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After hundreds of miles on the road, the ease and quickness of fast food is alluring.  If, however, you’ve planned ahead and prepped your snacks and meals for the road, it is easy to drive by or skip out on the fast food.  Removing the temptation and not wanting to waste food will go a long way to keeping you on the diet wagon.

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Here are some great ideas for healthy snacks and easy meals for the road.

  • Almonds
  • Peanuts
  • Stringed Cheese
  • Apples or apple slices
  • Peanut butter or almond butter
  • Oranges – clementine’s are perfect for road trips as they are very easy to peel
  • Berries
  • Grapes
  • Popcorn
  • Baby carrots
  • Protein Shakes
  • Protein bars
  • Granola bars
  • Yogurt
  • Hard boiled eggs
  • Celery sticks

If you carpool with other families, be sure your snacks align with any food allergies that may be present in your carpool group.

These snacks are easy, convenient, healthy and relatively inexpensive especially when compared to the cost of eating at a restaurant every trip.  For tips on how to indulge in an adult beverage or two without calling your waistline, see my tasty, but light on calories recommendations here.

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It’s Friday – Time to be Amazing

While it is easy to celebrate that the end of our work week in near, bring focus to today’s work and strive to be your best as the weekend draws closer.

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Walt Whitman Wednesday

This week’s wisdom Wednesday comes courtesy of Walt Whitman.  Carpe Diem, choose to be happy and choose to live a life full of love, laughter and happiness.

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Go Local

When I go to my favorite restaurant, I am a creature of habit.  I always order the same dish the same way.  I always look at the other menu items, but ultimately I decide to stick with what I know.  My coffee is no different, which is why Selena or Adam always have it ready for me when I walk into Dunkin in the morning.  I wish I could be more adventurous when it comes to dining out, but I hate spending money on food and then being disappointed.

There’s one exception to this rule and that is when I travel.   If I’m travelling abroad, aside from my coffee habit, my creature of habit and safe food choices go out the window.   To truly experience another culture, you have to delve into their cuisine and local dishes even if it is a bit scary.  One rule we have in our house is when travelling abroad, you only get one McDonald’s trip so you can experience the different menus across the globe. All other meals should be eaten in local restaurants.

Most places are known for a specialty dish or two.  In the Brittany region of France, they’re known for the delectable Kouign-amannn cake.  This wonderful pastry is a round, crusty cake that comprises of layers of butter and sugar between layers of pastry. I know – it sounds awful right?  I have craved this dessert since leaving Saint Malo in 2011.

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Saint Malo is an incredible seaside city, where my husband’s grandfather happened to have landed in 1944 as part of the allied forces.  Despite coming into the city under heavy Nazi fire, he was enthralled with its beauty and brought back two paintings of Saint Malo with him to the states when the war had ended.    Saint Malo is also the city that Jacques Cartier departed from when he discovered Quebec.  I never knew how much I would grow to love Jacques Cartier.

In 2016, we had the opportunity to travel to Quebec City for Peewee Quebec, which was one of the most incredible trips I’ve ever taken.  Thank god for Jacques Cartier discovering Canada because les petit pains au chocolats and other pastries in Quebec City tasted like they had been baked in France.  The food in Quebec City. The cuisine of Quebec City is heavily influenced by Breton cuisine and what a tasty treat.

One night two of the moms, a hockey sister and I walked off the beaten path looking for a local bistro.  We found the cutest little place that would seat us at their bar, so we wouldn’t have to wait too long.  My friend Inga and I let the waitress order us her favorite dishes.  I ended up with veal sweet bread dish and Inga ended up with a seafood dish.   The food was incredible, though the sweet bread was a bit rich for my tummy.  Quite frankly if I had known what it was, I probably wouldn’t have ordered it, but then I would have missed out on the experience.

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The most important part of dinner, however, was dessert.  After 5 years of waiting and searching high and low in North America, I found a restaurant that served Kouign-amann.  It was absolutely amazing.  As I ate it, it instantly took me back to Saint Malo and the gite in Normandy.   The taste of the cake, combined with the memories of France and the new memories being created that night in Quebec City made for an incredible culinary experience.  If we hadn’t gone off the beaten path, we would have missed out.

I look forward to exploring Norway and its foods with my boys this summer.  The food, much like the land and the cities we will visit, is a connection to our Norwegian heritage.  While my boys are pretty picky eaters at home, I’m hoping this trip abroad will broaden their taste buds.

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Monday Motivation

Coffee is in hand.  Now who’s ready to slay Monday and the week?  I know I am!

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My New Toy

After leaving the nice camera on the shelf for the last year or so I brushed it off, charged its battery and got the lenses ready for graduation.  I bought the T2i for our trip to France back in 2011.   If you’re travelling to Europe or planning any major trip, it is worthwhile to invest in a good camera.    Many museums, cathedrals, castles, palaces and other landmarks prohibit flash photography, so you’ll need a camera that takes good pics in low light.

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Since 2011 my Canon EOS Rebel T2i has served us well, but after 6 years, countless trips to Minnesota, countless hockey tournaments and countless school events culminating with Jake’s graduation it is time to move on.  Truthfully, some of the photos from graduation were a bit cringe worthy.  The T6i comes with an improved lens compared to the T2i.  In addition, the camera is a bit heavy by current standards and lacks the connectivity to smartphones and computers built into the T6i and T7i.

The Canon EOS Rebel T6i can be controlled from my iphone.  No more running and tripping to try and beat the timer when taking a group picture off a tripod.  You can also review and manage images easily on your iphone, which is a huge plus.

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In preparation for my trip overseas, I’ve been playing around with the camera to try and learn the different settings and familiarize myself with it.  Fortunately, my puppies, my guinea pigs  and my kids have been happy to oblige.  My initial review of the Canon Rebel EOS T6i is that it is a huge upgrade compared to the T2i.  It is light, easy to use and easy to navigate the menus.  After my trip I will write a more comprehensive review.   Here are some of the practice pictures.

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Keeping Up Appearances

When Snap went public in March, investors had high hopes that they’d see Facebook like returns on their IPO dollars.  That might be a stretch, but the thought was that Snap would be a good addition to a portfolio.  Since the IPO, shares have fallen by 28% due investor concerns surrounding slowing user growth and lack of profitability.  Class actions lawsuits seeking to protect investors have followed.

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In the wake of Uber’s troubles, comparisons between Uber’s former CEO Travis Kalanick and Snap’s CEO Evan Spiegel have been common place.  Now that Snap is a publicly held company, Spiegel is more likely to lose his job as a result of poor user growth and low profitability.  Both are known to be egotistical, brash, and narcissistic and both have gotten in trouble for their comments.

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Monday night Snap threw a party in Cannes at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.  Ironically, there were no cameras allowed in the event and guests were not allowed to take photos.  Additionally, journalists were not allowed into the party either.  Sounds like Snap likes being in the camera business, but doesn’t want the cameras in its business.  Perhaps they are trying to maintain an illusion of austerity in the face of the numerous class action suits or a contrived sense of exclusivity.  Meanwhile stateside, Kalanchick resigned Tuesday as CEO of Uber.

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When it comes to maintaining illusions, it isn’t just powerful CEOs, but regular people via their social media accounts.  Society has created a web of perceived perfection via filters, influencers and viral videos.  The illusion becomes dangerous when people can no longer cope with real life against the juxtaposition of the illusion.  If your kids were to look at your pics, would they see you or would they see a contrived version of you?

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