Happy New Year

New Year's resolution: I want a new camera

   I don't like New Year's resolutions. I mean I get the whole premise. People want a fresh start and want to accomplish things and get motivated. But it just reminds me of the people who make bad choices and then say, "I'll be good on Monday". The most annoying time of the year at the gym is the beginning of January. Parking lot, machines, classes, locker room, all full. It really is annoying to us members who continue to exercise past February.
     The number one resolution is weight loss. I think that is nonsense too. I know people want to and need to lose weight, but it just seems to me that other issues should be resolutions and then maybe weight loss will actually be able to happen. For example, instead of saying; "I want to lose weight", say," I will cut my processed food intake in half and I will eat more fresh, home- made food, by preparing my lunches for work or school on the weekend. I will get some activity every single day whether its just a simple walk on my lunch break or swimming laps while the kids have their swimming lessons". I think picking an action to commit to instead of the ever elusive"I must lose weight" mantra can be more helpful.
    I do have some resolutions myself. I want to get my kids to eat healthier and eat less junk food. My  6 year old son's eating habits are driving me crazy. He is so picky and he refuses everything I make and is always scavenging the cupboards for any kind of packaged junk. My plan here is if we don't have anything for him to scavenge (I feel like I'm talking about a raccoon) then he will be hungry enough that he will eat the lunch and dinner that I made.
     I've been slowly working up to this. He is now going after grapes and bananas when he wants to snack. An improvement, but yesterday I found that he raided the tostoda shells that were on top of the fridge. He still isn't eating much meat either. I don't want him to only eat bananas and grapes. The point is for him to actually get hungry so he will eat what is on his plate. I will have to work on getting lunch and dinner ready at a consistent time, basically before he starts scavenging. To get ready for the New Year, I took the kids to the store and asked them to pick out all the fruits and veggies that they want to eat. I realize my son has completely different taste from me. He likes the packaged ice burg lettuce salad kits (also known as fake salad). They don't even sell it in organic. What a sacrilege! I got it for him, because I thought baby steps. He wanted celery and carrots and broccoli. So, I did see this as progress. My 8 year old daughter, on the other hand, is so easy. She likes almost anything, except lamb and organ meats, which is a little annoying considering my Middle- Eastern cuisine.
     I guess I am evolving. I am no longer 22 resolving weight loss. I am 31 and I want my kids to stop getting cavities that I attribute to a poor diet. Maybe I am becoming less of a narcissist in my old age (: The whole reducing the cavities is kinda based on how much I have to pay to fill them, so maybe not...