1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

Originally published in The Plain Dealer on Sunday, May 28, 2006

I did a google search and found numerous articles but really enjoyed this one, it explain simply what it was, the health hype and whether I should reduce gluten in my diet. Here is the article from www.womenshealthmag.com.

Is Gluten Bad for You?

Before you hop on the bandwagon, read this

By Karen Ansel, R.D.

Chelsea Clinton’s wedding got a lot of press play for the gorgeous locale, the esteemed guests, and her beautiful dress. But what also took the cake in terms of media coverage was, well, the cake. The gluten-free cake.

Just 10 years ago, barely anyone knew what the word gluten meant, let alone gave any thought to avoiding it. But now gluten-free diet menus are all the rage, and high-profile stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Weisz, and Victoria Beckham have been linked to the gluten-free lifestyle, which is said to contribute to increased energy, thinner thighs, and reduced belly bloat.

What It Is, Exactly
Gluten is a protein found in the grains wheat, barley, and rye. Most of us unknowingly love it, because gluten gives our favorite foods that special touch: It makes pizza dough stretchy, gives bread its spongy texture, and is used to thicken sauces and soups.

Gluten-free eating has a basis in science, and it does help a genuine health problem. To people with a chronic digestive disorder called celiac disease, gluten is truly evil: Their bodies regard even a tiny crumb of it as a malicious invader and mount an immune response, says Alessio Fasano, M.D., medical director of the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research in Baltimore. Problem is, this immune reaction ends up damaging the small intestine, which causes both great gastrointestinal distress and nutritional deficiencies. If untreated, these responses can then lead to intestinal cancers as well as complications such as infertility and osteoporosis.

Experts once thought celiac disease was a rare disorder, believed to affect one in every 10,000 people. But an Archives of Internal Medicine study in 2003 suggests that celiac disease is far more prevalent than anyone had suspected, affecting one in 133 Americans. With increased testing and awareness, more people realized why they felt sick after eating a piece of bread, and food companies discovered a new market.

Now another problem is emerging, and experts are referring to it as nonceliac gluten sensitivity. Gluten sensitivity can lead to similar celiac symptoms such as stomach cramps, diarrhea, and bloating. But unlike celiac, sensitivity doesn’t damage the intestine. For years, health professionals didn’t believe nonceliac gluten sensitivity existed, but experts are beginning to acknowledge that it may affect as many as 20 million Americans, says Fasano.

The Health Hype
Thanks to the increase in diagnosed celiac and gluten sensitivity cases, and the corresponding uptick in foods marketed to sufferers, “gluten-free diets have emerged from obscurity, and now the pendulum has swung completely in the other direction,” says Fasano. And with this popularity push, people have latched on to avoiding gluten as a cure-all for many conditions aside from celiac, including migraines, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome. While some have found relief, that doesn’t mean a gluten free diet will work in all cases.

And then there’s the idea that a gluten-free existence is the ticket to speedy weight loss. But, says Mark DeMeo, M.D., director of gastroenterology and nutrition at the Adult Celiac Disease Program at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, “there’s nothing magical about a gluten-free diet that’s going to help you lose weight.” What’s really at work: Gluten-free dining can seriously limit the number of foods you can eat. With fewer choices, you’re a lot less likely to overeat, says Shelley Case, R.D., author of Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide and a medical advisory board member for the Celiac Disease Foundation.

But it can backfire too, because gluten-free doesn’t mean fat-free or calorie-free.

“Without gluten to bind food together, food manufacturers often use more fat and sugar to make the product more palatable,” says Case. Consider pretzels: A serving of regular pretzels has about 110 calories and just one gram of fat. Swap them for gluten-free pretzels and you could get 140 caloriesand six grams of fat.

Should You Go Gluten-Free?
If you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, the answer is easy: Yes, you have to. But if you just want to give the diet a spin, know this: It’s a giant pain in the butt. Giving up gluten may sound as basic as cutting out bread or eating less pasta, but this isn’t just another version of the low-carb craze. Because gluten makes foods thick and tasty, it is added to everything from salad dressing to soy sauce to seasonings.

Besides the hassle, you can end up with serious nutritional deficiencies. “Gluten-free doesn’t necessarily equal healthy, especially when people yank vitamin-enriched and wholegrain foods from their diets and replace them with gluten free brownies,” says Case. In fact, research suggests that those who forgo gluten may be more likely to miss out on important nutrients such as iron, B vitamins, and fiber.

This is where careful meal planning comes in, which may explain why some people feel so good when they go G-free: They’re eating real food instead of ultraprocessed packaged fare. “If you skip the gluten-free goodies and focus on fruits, vegetables, lean protein, dairy, and gluten free grains like amaranth and quinoa, this can be a very healthy way of eating,” says Marlisa Brown, R.D., author of Gluten-Free, Hassle Free. “But you can’t just wing it.”

Seven Signs of Gluten Sensitivity
More than 2.5 million people may have celiac disease, yet only an estimated 150,000 have been diagnosed. That’s because people can be asymptomatic for years, and the symptoms of celiac disease can also overlap with other medical problems, so it often confuses both patients and doctors alike. That said, if you think you might have a problem, don’t ax gluten from your diet before being screened by a specialist. If you go off gluten entirely before having a test done, your results may come back negative even if you have the disease.

Celiac disease has hundreds of recognized symptoms, according to the Celiac Sprue Association, a nonprofit for those with the disease. Here are some common problems:

> Chronic diarrhea or constipation
> Abdominal pain and bloating
> Unexplained weight loss
> Anemia
> Fatigue
> Infertility

Matthew my sous-chef

It was really nice, we worked well together, he wasn’t in the way and dinner preparation time was reduced. There wasn’t a big mess, he cleaned up as he was doing the preparation. I am so proud of my big guy, he is growing up so fast.

I made a short video of Kyle’s “Big Event”.
Enjoy….

Our year started with the whole family moving back to Ottawa.  Kyle went along ahead of the family to get back to work while I stayed behind in Winnipeg to finish the packing and getting rid of all our other possessions like the van and excess toys.  You’d think when we live with family, we didn’t have much stuff, think again….

For an adventurous journey, we decided to take the train to Ottawa.  We left Thursday night and arrived in Ottawa, Saturday afternoon with a short layover in Toronto, enough time for us walk to the CN tower. Unfortunately it was so cloudy we could barely even see the top.  We will have to make that trip again when the weather is better.  The kids had a blast on the train and they want to travel that way again.  Perhaps we will take daddy next year.

Right now we are living on the main floor of a great triplex close to shopping, library, church, school and the gym.  Since we had decided not to purchase a vehicle, this location is perfect.  We walk to most places or bus and bike.  Kyle has a work vehicle so I sometimes get the luxury of using it for grocery shopping, otherwise I use my “granny cart”!

The kids all share a room so they have to make sure it gets cleaned up everyday otherwise it could get a little out of control.  Because of this they are limited to what they can have so it keeps the clutter down most days.  We have been in Ottawa for almost a year now and the living arrangement is working out really well. No need to shovel the snow or cut the grass, unless we want to. The kids are fine with the arrangement. We have a little guest room so if one of them needs to get away from the others, there is somewhere to go.

After being in this neighbourhood for a few weeks, I realized that there weren’t too many kids around us.  There are many little girls who are Natalie’s age but not too many older children.  I still have friends here in Ottawa but without a vehicle, it was a little bit of a challenge to visit or for the kids to socialize.  So we made the decision to send them back to school so they can make their own friends..  They are doing really well socially and academically .  After being home schooled, going back to school,  they were ahead of the class but that is fine, it gives them the confidence to learn more.  There is only 1 or 2 classes per grade and the school has less than 300 kids.  It is great as the kids all play with kids from other grades, a lot of interaction between all the kids. They all play soccer everyday at recess and Matthew was in the Track & Field and Soccer school teams.   Last week the kids made Graham Cracker cookies houses at school.

The kids are also in Mandarin classes, once a week on Saturday mornings.  The will all speak certain sentences to me in Mandarin while I am working on speaking to them more in Mandarin.

In September I started taking French classes, everyday for 3 hours in the morning.  It is tons of fun, we have a variety of people from different countries.  There is so much laughter and we are always talking about food!  Even the class across the hall comments about how much fun we seem to be having, they always have to close their door! The boys also help me with my reading.  It makes them feel good, with them helping me versus the other way around.

With the Y gym being so close, we decided to get  an all inclusive membership, which means that all the activities are included with our membership.  So the kids take swimming lessons twice a week, the boys also do water polo and floor hockey plus Kyle and Matthew take Tae Kwon Do on Sunday afternoons. Kyle takes does a Yoga class and I attended a Pilates class for the first time and really enjoy it.  I am going to continue it next year. This keeps us all very busy and fit.  We walk there for our activities so there is a little bit of a warm up before the activities.

Spring and Summer here in Ottawa was busy.  It started with Holly and Shirley’s visit, Kyle’s sister and mum.  They came for Matthew’s 10^th birthday.  It was so much fun.  I cooked and Grandma cleaned.  I think that is a perfect trade off.  She stayed for 3 weeks and we were sad to see her go.  Before she left though, Natalie decided to ask grandma if she could come for her birthday, so not to disappoint her granddaughter, Shirley came to Ottawa again in July only for a short visit though.  We all love it when she visits.  Especially this summer as she refinished our dining table.  Looks awesome.

My parents also made a visit to Ottawa this spring.  They came for Andrew’s 1^st holy communion.  It was a great ceremony.  The following week, Andrew became an alter server along side his big brother.  They alter serve every week, Natalie said she can’t wait to join them.  While they were here, Kyle and I also celebrated out 15th wedding anniversary. Canada Day was fun too, going to Parliament Hill with my cousin Denise from New York. We even saw Prince Willam & Princess Kate.

This summer we also managed to do a lot of biking, Natalie has no problems on the 2 wheels, she ended up using Andrew’s old bike that we brought with us from Winnipeg.  We thought that Andrew could still use it, but that wasn’t the case.  How they grow over the winter.  We made a few trips to Britannia beach on our bike, biked to school a few times.  That didn’t work for too long as the school is too close for all that,  Walking is better.  This summer, the kids also played soccer with the “home school” league. They had such a blast.

We also made a few short trips this summer. …

A day trip to Montreal for Erica and Alex’s wedding,

A weekend at a “Peaks” reunion at a friends cottage close to Kingston, ON,

A weekend at Mt Tremblant in Quebec,

And a weekend in Syracuse, NY where Aunty D came to join us.

It has been a great and exciting year.  Kyle has learned lots and is enjoying his job with JAZZ solar, he does the design and installation of the solar panels.  This year he also got his NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) certification.  One of a handful in Canada.  He is very busy and I am also doing sales for the company on a part time basis.

Well I hope this blog finds you all well and healthy,  from our home to your….

Wishing you many blessings this Christmas Season and throughout the New Year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Our Christmas Tree this year, with the nativity scene

]]> http://ameliayap.com/mummy-thoughts/2011/12/christmas-2011/feed/ 0 http://ameliayap.com/mummy-thoughts/2011/11/what-we-learned-from-barbara-coloroso-in-ottawa/ http://ameliayap.com/mummy-thoughts/2011/11/what-we-learned-from-barbara-coloroso-in-ottawa/#comments Thu, 10 Nov 2011 02:14:15 +0000 http://ameliayap.com/mummy-thoughts/?p=1899 Kyle and I had the privilege of listening to Barbara Coloroso speak here in Ottawa last night. She is full of information. I had watch a video of her a few years ago and the biggest thing that we learned then was that kid don’t get much of a chance to make decisions.  Decision making helps them to learn to think for themselves. So if it is not morally degrading or life threatening, let them do it. That is what we have been using when it comes to out kids. This was very evident in their choice of clothes. “I did not dress them!”

As in Matthew case, it was really crazy in the beginning… now he seems to have develop some sort of sense of style, most days his t-shirt is on backwards but he doesn’t really care!! There are more important things to worry about. Natalie wears her fancy dresses to school.  Why not.  There are not enough parties or Christmases to wear all those fancy dresses to before she grows out of them. That is her decision.

One of the main things I remember about last night is this example.  We tell them how to dress, what to eat, how to behave and we have kids that listen and behave well.  Unfortunately when they grow up, they do not learn to think for themselves.  So when they get older, they still let other people, like peers tell to them what to do, how they dress, what they eat etc.  So if their friends are more aggressive and bully, the could follow suit.  If kids think for themselves, they would make their own decisions and know right from wrong and do what they believe in.

Today has been a fun day in terms of the kids putting what I learned into practice.  I know the kids can think for themselves, sometime I feel I have to guide them along in the mornings especially.  Reminding them about brushing their teeth and packing their lunches.  It can get quite stressful in the mornings…  So this morning I put the timer on the oven so that the kids know when they had to finish their breakfast so that they had enough time to get.  Since Matthew always finishes his breakfast really fast, he gets to play in his room before school.  So I put the timer on in their bedroom for 7:50am, so they know when they have to start getting ready to go out the door.  Unfortunately I forgot the tell the other 2 and so they all totally ignored the alarm.  So I went in to remind them 5 minutes later, I though perhaps the alarm didn’t go off.  That is all I had to do, they packed their lunch, got ready and guess what, we all got to school on time…  I did not have to do the constant reminders so there was less tension in the house.  Somehow along the way, I forgot that they are very capable individuals and can think for themselves.  I was very thankful for the reminder.

Her talk also talked about consequences, last night we came home past their bedtime.  Of course they were fooling around before getting into bed.  I asked the kids what the consequences would be if they didn’t go to sleep right away.  Andrew said that he would get grounded.  (oops I think we have over used that a little, we should not be raising them out of fear, something to take note of).  Natalie figured it out, they would be tired the next day.  Very logical and after that little discussion, they got ready for bed and no arguments.  Somehow, when we get a little busy, we just forget the common sense things, the kids are so logical and they just need real answers.

Last night’s talk was worth it’s weight in gold.  Kid are worth it, I love the little reminders, as parents we are the biggest influence on the children.  How we behave and what we say to them or let them do will help them think for themselves and bring out the best in them.  Thanks Babara.

The weather was great and they didn’t have to use too much padding and they had tons of fun.  Here are some of the images of their evening.  BTW for those of you who remember Robert Munch, the “Paper Bag Princess” lives upstairs.

The school encourage us to pick the apples to enjoy instead of letting them go to waste.  So that is what we did.  Every day after school, we stopped to pick apples on the way home.  The kids loved climbing the tree and picking and eating those apples straight from the tree.

There are still tons of apples on the tree.  Unfortunately they are now too high to climb to pick.  So yesterday we took the ladder and we picked more apples.  Made juice yesterday and will make another apple crisp today!  The super easy recipe is at the bottom of the blog.

The big surprise was when Kyle came home from one of his customers this week who is a farmer.  Check out the size of that apple.  Kyle is not sure whether to eat it or not.  I remember seeing apples that size in Australia….

The apple is as big as her head

His favourite fruit!

Guess which one is from the farm and which one is from the school

Apple Oatmeal Crisp

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup butter melted
Mixed the above ingredient together and line the pan with half the mixture.

4 cups sliced apples
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
Mix the apples together with the sugar and cinnamon and place on top of the oatmeal mixture.
Top off the apples with the remaining half of the oatmeal mixture.

Place it in the oven for 350F for 45minutes.
Enjoy!
The kids like it with ice-cream.

I love long weekends.  This weekend, the kids and I cleaned out their bedrooms, it was long overdue.  We started on Saturday, took a break in the afternoon and finished on Sunday.  So now the deal is that they have to clean up every night before they go to bed.  I think we have said that many times before.  I need to put down my foot down more and not let the kids take advantage with excuses.  Tonight Natalie had a fit when we told her she had to put her toys away even though we helped her she didn’t have to do it herself.  The tears… So their room is now tidy.  The goal is to make sure they keep it that way!   I am thankful for clean and tidy rooms.

I did some tidying up myself.  The winter clothes are out and most of the summer stuff has been put away.  It is so odd as it is still so warm outside.  We went for a bike ride to Britannia Beach on Sunday afternoon and it was such a lovely ride.  The park was just packed, everyone was out enjoying the wonderful warm October weather.  I am thankful for the great weather we are having.

It was a social weekend for us too.  Saturday we went to a un-traditional baby shower with the family in Rockland.  We met up with friends from our Peak Potential courses and it was an awesome evening.  The kids just entertained themselves, and played on the vast property.  Saturday night we had our vegetarian thanksgiving dinner with a couple of friends.  I made a sweet potato gratin, amazing what you can find online when you do a google search.  I search for “vegetarian thanksgiving dinner”!  Today we went to visit our friends Terry and Jane.  It always amazes me when our kids meet up with our friends kids.  This is the second time our kids have gotten together since moving back to Ottawa, and they are so comfortable together.  When they met up the first time, they hadn’t seen each other for over 4 years, Matthew would have been 6.  No problem hanging out together to play. That is so great.  I am thankful for great kids.

This morning, I slept in, very rare for me.  I can’t remember when the last time I did that.  I was quite stuffed up last night and had a restless sleep so the extra couple of hours this morning was so very nice.  I am thankful for a husband who looked after the kids and let me sleep in.

What a awesome weekend.  I have so much to be thankful for.  What are you thankful for?