May the Firth be With You!

   Today being May 4th, the many men in my life have been celebrating Star Wars Day, greeting everyone with "May the 4th be With You".  Well, it came to me this evening while comfortably perched on my neighbours couch, a vision proposing a new intergalactic movement to counteract the Star Wars geekdom that persists in my house and many others.  Yes, I much prefer to greet you with "May the Firth be With You"!  After all, I think I can aptly match my boys quotations from Star Wars with lines orated by Colin Firth in his many films!  Why not have an internationally celebrated day of Colin Firth instead!! 

May the Firth Be With You sounds so much better - and this time of year holds so much promise!  The weather is gorgeous, Colin Firth is gorgeous, a time of rebirth and new beginnings...

Last Wednesday at Curves I weighed in at 136.25 lbs!  To celebrate, I pigged out at Serendipity on an extra order of scones with Carla for lunch.  Earlier that day while working in the school library I checked out the parent lending library and signed out three books on healthy eating for kids.  One of the positive side effects of the Colin Firth Diet Club is that my kids are also eating better and trying new foods, real foods!  The first book I read was Anita Bean's "Healthy Eating For Kids".  There were a few alarming statistics revealed in her book that I would like to share with you,

"According to the National Obesity Forum, if the number of obese children continues to rise, children will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents."

"...obese children are up to 20 per cent more likely to develop cancer as adults, according to a 2004 statement from the National Obesity Forum."

"Children who are obese in their teens are twice as likely to die by the age of 50."

These statistics are rather sobering aren't they?  I know I don't want to have to bury one of my children, so reading this verified for me, that the changes I am making are not only improving my health, but the healthy odds of my childrens' future.  Less packaged food items and more natural healthy foods from here on in!  I have to say again, that since I've started this program, I have developed a new passion for cooking!  I used to dread making dinner, or heaven forbid three school lunches everyday!  Now I find I am embracing the wide the selection of produce at the grocery store, trying new recipes, spending more time in the kitchen, and the positive influence this is all having on the family as a whole.  It's hard on the kids when they see classmates eating the prepackaged, high sodium and fatty items that through manipulative marketing techniques have been made to look more appetizing and aesthetically appealing such as Lunchables.  The daughter of a friend of mine wanted to know why she wasn't allowed to have Lunchables when her friend was, and her mom responded that the other childs' mom obviously didn't love her as much!  That may seem a bit harsh, but there is a reality there.  The problem is that people need to be reeducated as to what healthy food is.  Sure, there are all kinds of wonderful sounding claims shouting out to us on packaging but these are giving us a false sense of healthy eating.  I guess this is why I find it helpful to continue reading up on the subject, as it never hurts to be reminded along the way and keep myself accountable in my progress.  I am constantly educating myself about incorporating a healthier lifestyle.

Every time the kids have a P.A. Day at school, their Great-Grandparents like to take them to McDonald's for lunch.  Last Friday was one such day, and I am proud to say that I opted for a healthier option.  I ordered a Teriyaki Chicken salad with cashews and a fruit smoothie to drink.  Afterwards, I came home and began dethatching my lawn of dead grass and debris - a job I had never done before, but I felt great and motivated to do so.

Last Saturday we went to the Niagara Food & Wine Expo with Carla and Steve and sampled wine, beer and food.   Since I have previously been extolling the virtues of laughter, this was a prime venue!  See below!

We had such a great time (thanks to Dave and Barb who gave us the tickets!), especially when a certain bartender concocted an amazing cocktail for Carla and I just after having those pics taken.  On the way back home we stopped for lunch at The Pie Plate (the place Steve bought that delicious banana cream pie before!).  Carla and I shared an Asiago and Artichoke pizza - what?  A year ago, there would have been absolutely no way you would find such a thing on my plate!  But now that I am eating real food and keeping an open mind (and mouth!) that has all changed and I've come to enjoy experiencing and appreciating new flavours! 

The following day I worked more on raking up the lawn.  It was quite a work out, and I came inside late afternoon and gorged on a few too many shortbread cookies I had purchased at the Expo, so to assuage my guilt, I decided to go back out and do more yardwork - even as the skies opened and the rain was pouring.  But I didn't mind getting wet, it was so peaceful out there and I was in my own little world working away!  And instead of dwelling on eating the cookies, I did something productive to counteract it - exercise!

On Monday I weighed in at 136.5 lbs.  My blood pressure was awesome! 

At the grocery store I was excited to see they had sour sop!  When we were in Costa Rica last year, Kristen and I fell in love with sour sop juice at the resort!  I had to buy some sour sop!

I also bought 3 different kinds of eggplant and red swiss chard.  Since I had eaten some chocolate for a snack, I decided to walk in the rain to pick the kids up from school to work it off.  Hmm, maybe the weather is to blame for my snack infractions?  That's twice in a row that I've eaten something naughty and gone to work off the ill effects in the rain.  Hmm.. something to think about?  For dinner I tried a new recipe for Delicata Chard taken from "The Cleaner Plate Club".  Well, technically since delicata squash wasn't available it was Butternut Chard!  I had some butternut squash in the freezer so I substituted it for the delicata and made swiss chard for the first time.  Admittedly, I was worried this would be another recipe that would get thumbs down from all of us, but the flavour surprised me!  Will definitely be making it again!

With our upcoming cruise arriving before we know it, I'm going to try to get my 12 monthly workouts in before we leave as I'll be away for two weeks.  Since we'll be touring the Mediterranean, I think it's time to revisit Mamma Mia for some Colin eye candy (even though, sadly, he ends up being gay!).  I went wheat-free for a couple of days this week and on Thursday I weighed in at just over 135.25 lbs!  Getting so close to my next movie!  I'm so excited!    Last night we were invited to Amanda & Julian's for dinner.  Amanda made the most divine goulash!  I loved it!  I'm looking forward to spending next weekend with them and Steve and Carla as we return to Niagara-on-the-Lake to visit some wineries!  I predict much more laughter on the horizon!

As it's past midnight now, I'll sign off - but then again, Colin Firth Day could be extended to Colin Firth weekend, I think "May the Firth Be With You"  works just as nicely for May 5th - don't you?  John is running in his firth (while reading this over before publishing it, I noticed that I inadvertently typed firth instead of first here, but I decided to leave it as is, because clearly it's the firth thing on my mind!) 1/2 marathon tomorrow morning and I wish him luck. John -  "May the Firth Be With You!"