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2007/12/31
Well, it’s New Year’s again which means it’s time to take a look at where I was last year at this time and where I am now…weight wise, that is. Where am I? About 8 pounds farther up on the scale…that’s where…and not liking it. I’m also now taking cholesterol medication. I know if I lose weight, I’ll probably be able to stop. I’m not one to take medicine unless it is absolutely imperative. I trust my doctor, so I finally gave in since I wasn’t losing weight. It’s not my thyroid that’s keeping me up there in the cholesterol and weight numbers so I can’t use that as an excuse.
I’m going to be the Mother of the Groom in May of 2009 which means I need to stop procrastinating and get busy with the diet and exercise I kept telling myself I would work on “tomorrow.” Sound familiar? I’ve been looking at formal dresses and getting depressed. I know it’s time to stop just talking about what I need to do; it’s time to get up and get moving.
The busiest time in the gyms is right after Jan 1, then it slows down until the warm weather approaches. It picks up again until it is time to hit the beach or pool…a cycle of inconsistencies for most…except my husband and others like him. I think being “anal” contributes to the ability to keep with the routine and a fit physique. Opposites attract, it’s true. I’m the opposite. Being a teacher, I have to keep to a schedule each day and when I’m home, I’m just the opposite – outside of doing my homework. As I write, he’s on his way to the Y…so now I’m going upstairs onto the treadmill and while I’m there, I’m going to read one of two books by Nicholas Sparks that I received for Christmas from my daughters. It is entitled, The Choice, which is apropos since I need to make my choice to diet and exercise …and to stick to it! We all have choices in life, it’s what we do with them that is important.
Diet + Exercise: The “good” diets basically have the same goal: decrease calories and increase exercise. If we get this equation to balance the intake and the exercise (x = base amount of calories), then we can maintain our weight. When the intake goes beyond that balance, then we gain weight (x + excess calories). In order to lose weight, we need to burn the excess and then some, (x – calories). We all know this. I know this, but getting ME to do this, to listen to myself…is my challenge for 2008, and into 2009, and the goal is to lose 25 pounds in 15 months, in time to buy my Mother of the Groom’s dress.
Which diet should I follow? So many to choose from. Santa was on the Atkins, then recently switched to the Mediterranean Diet. Six years ago I became a Weight Watchers “lifetime member” when I lost 20 pounds in twelve months. WW is a well-balanced healthy diet. It allows you to eat whatever you want without depriving yourself as long as you stay within the allotted points based on your current weight. You can earn more points by exercising. You can also follow the diet online, without going to the meetings. Going it alone might not be motivating, though. The draw back is that it is costly, especially if you don’t stick with it.
A very good, reliable, and free, healthy diet tool that I will be using this time is My Pyramid Tracker at http://www.mypyramid.gov/.
It is an online dietary and physical activity assessment tool that provides information on your diet quality, physical activity status, related nutrition messages, and links to nutrient and physical activity information. The Food Calories/Energy Balance feature automatically calculates your energy balance by subtracting the energy you expend from physical activity from your food calories/energy intake. Use of this tool helps you better understand your energy balance status and enhances the link between good nutrition and regular physical activity. Keep track of your energy balance history and view it up to one year. MyPyramid Tracker translates the principles of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and other nutrition standards developed by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services.
Which exercises? For one, walking works muscles from your feet all the way up. It doesn’t have to cost anything beyond a good pair of walking shoes and comfortable clothing. To increase the effect, walk uphill carrying weights. The weights don’t have to be heavy; any added amount will increase. Walking has helped me, in the past, lose inches and firm up that which wasn’t so firm…but, now that the computer has become a tool I can’t do without as a teacher, I have become very sedentary outside of school. I’ve lost a lot of muscle tone, including the backs of my arms – which is embarrassing when I have to write on the board. There really isn’t any excuse…my treadmill is located in the same room where my computer is located.
I’m giving myself just a few rules:
1. Write down everything I eat and enter it into my pyramid and make necessary adjustments to reach my goal of 2 pounds per month
2. Walk on the treadmill at least 30 minutes a day at 3.0 mph or more BEFORE I sit at the computer; gradually increase the length and speed for greater aerobic benefits
3. Follow a regiment of muscle toning exercising at least three times a week
In addition to reading while on the treadmill to help pass the time, music is a great motivator to get up and get moving. Music with a perky beat helps me get into the walking, whether outside or in. Personalize your work out with your own music preferences. Start with slow music to stretch and warm up, then increase the tempo, building up to your maximum beats per minute, then start slowing down and end up with cool down music. Don’t forget to stretch at the end, too. Here are some suggestions to get you up and going:
Warm up and cool down:
- Take It to The Limit by the Eagles
- In My Daughter’s Eyes by Martina McBride
- She Believes in Me by Kenny Rogers
- Dance with My Father by Luther Vandross
- Shining Star by the Manhattans
Get Going and Slowing:
- You Can Do Magic by America
- Afternoon Delight by Starland Local Band
- That’s All by Genesis
- Nothing’s Gonna to Stop Us Now by Starship
- Jesse by Carly Simon
Pump It Up:
- Joy by Apollo 100
- Heaven Knows by Donna Summer and Brooklyn Dreams
- You Can’t Hurry Love by The Supremes
- Don’t Get Me Wrong by the Pretenders
- Playing with the Queen of Hearts by Juice Newton
- Bad Bad LeRoy Brown by Jim Croce
- Gloria by Laura Brannigan
- Jump by Pointer Sisters
- Fame by Irene Cara (theme song)
- Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow by Fleetwood Mac
- We Are Family by Sister Sledge
You can burn your own or purchase workout CDs if you don’t have the time or patience. Perhaps, if you invest the time and make your workout more personalized, you’ll follow through with your goal. If you have a grandchild that is into downloading music, ask for his/her help. It can be a project you can do together.
It comes down to controlling your diet and increasing your exercise which doesn’t have to cost anything. Simple, right? Yes, but the hard part for me seems to be the self-discipline to follow through with my own advice.
Here are a some online resources that can help you get started:
Get up and get moving to have a Happy New Year!
2007/12/28
There’s no excuse for being a distant long-distance grandparent if you are technology savvy – and if you aren’t, it’s never too late to learn. Since you’re on the net now reading this article, then I assume you know your way around a computer. That qualifies you for becoming a Digital Distance Grandparent.
Even if you live around the corner, you can have fun being a digital distance grandparent.
We started a fun Saturday tradition – Poppy and I take our granddaughters out to lunch and then play with them either at a playground or at home. We all look forward to it – including their mother. Since their daddy works six days a week, it gives mommy a break. Even though we see them every week, there are other fun ways we stay connected.
- We take digital pictures of us and silly pictures of our Chihuahua / beagle dog, Buddy, and send them with email messages.
- Sometimes we make eCards and send them to their email account.
- We make a special calendar page at the beginning of each month for the girls with pictures of all of us on the top page. They hang them in their room so they can see us when they wake up and go to bed at night.
Digital Distance Grandparent and Grandchildren Activities
Here are more digital distance grandparents’ activities that you can do to stay connected with your grandchildren:
- Using a webcam on the computer: read a bedtime story, say goodnight, view Halloween or dance costumes, lost tooth, prom gown, haircuts, awards, etc.
- Digital pictures: send, print, and hang on the refrigerator
- Digital photo album pages of trips, friends, artwork, birthdays, events, etc. posted online to share
- Online interactive multiplayer games
- Learn together how to make a digital video of you doing your favorite things, visiting your favorite places, giving cooking lesson, etc. and burn it on a DVD to send = don’t forget to use sound – send a special message at the end
- Write a story together via email – taking turns to add to the story
- Write a journal on a private blog you share with each other – grandparents tell about when they were growing up – grandchildren tell about their week
- Find a story online, set a “reading date” and both read it – then discuss it using Google talk – take turns picking the books
- Design a special T-shirt together online: graphics, sayings such as: Kaitlin’s Nana and Nana’s Kaitlin; I love Nana and I love Kaitlin – use the heart symbol for love – use a digital picture for the middle of the heart
- Create a photo calendar (use highest quality digital photos) of you and your grandchildren for each month (even if you aren’t in the same pictures, you can be on the same page next to each other – you can also layer your grandchild’s picture on top of yours so it looks like you are together)
- Legally download your favorite songs and burn onto a CD or make one of your grandchild’s favorite songs
- Plan an Internet scavenger hunt for your grandchildren, then have them do the same for you
- Find step-by-step kids recipes, choose one, and make together in front of webcam at the same time while talking on a speaker phone – almost like being together in the kitchen – or take digital pictures of the meal and share them
- Search for coloring pages that you would like your grandchild to color. Send the link via email and ask her/him to print it, color it, and send it to you. See if it can be saved to the paint program file and color it using the computer mouse.
- The New Year is a great time to start. Collect 12 months of momentos then send a special surprise (snail mail) in December – make a scrapbook with copies of all the activities you shared including the artwork, stories, photos, journal pages, recipes along with a letter to your grandchildren telling them how much you enjoyed your digital distance activities.
Have ideas to share? Please let us hear from you. In the meantime, enjoy your digital distance grandparent activities!
2007/12/26
If you have listened to the news during the past month, you couldn’t help but to pick up on the story that Britney Spears’ sixteen year old sister, Jamie Lynn, is pregnant. I was very surprised to hear my first grade granddaughter talking about her…not a subject I want her to learn about just yet! Ironically, she is known in her own right as the main character on Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101. Zoey is the first girl to attend an all boys’ boarding school, known for her “smarts and her spunk.” Luckily for Nickelodeon, Jamie Lynn has finished filming the fourth and final season of the show. Perhaps the pregnancy was planned around the show’s end? This brings publicity that is contradictory to the wholesome image that Nickelodeon strives to present for the younger (9 – 14) TV viewing audience. If you read about Jamie Lynn on Zoey 101’s cast bio, the image is the small-town girl next door. Well, she probably is as far as that goes.
Think MTV interviewed residents of Jamie Lynn’s hometown, Kentwood, Louisiana: Those who agreed to speak with us also seemed mixed on just what to make of Jamie Lynn’s situation. Some viewed her as just another teenage girl, while others noted that she has plenty of young fans who view her as a role model, and as such, she should’ve put more thought into her actions.
Her mother claims that she has been home every night by curfew time. Wake up, Mom! Kids don’t go by a time schedule – they do it when the opportunity arises. No pun intended. A conversation I overheard in the lobby of the high school where I teach: “Tammy and Jimmy are a couple. They’ve been having sex for two weeks. It’s official.” It wasn’t said in a whisper – it was stated out loud as I was walking past the young lady broadcasting the news to her friends.
Pregnancy rates among adolescent females have fallen steadily since 1990 (36%) until recently with a 3% increase. Statistics, though, show that teens coming from intact homes are less likely to get pregnant. In 2005, 18 percent of sexually active high school students reported using birth control pills at their most recent sexual intercourse compared to a slightly lower percent since 1993. The greatest decline in teen pregnancies has been within the African-American population. During this same period, there has been a marked improvement in the sex-ed health courses in high schools leading to a more informed teen population which, in turn, has resulted in lower teen pregnancies. It doesn’t mean they aren’t engaging in sex, just not having the numbers of babies of past decades.
Pre-teens are very impressionable and much more aware than when our children were their age. The role models they see portrayed in the media send the message that sexy is attractive for young girls. Even the dolls have short skirts and plunging necklines. Boys aren’t given the message that it takes more than sex to be a man. There isn’t a clear image defining the differences between love and sex. Some young people are engaging in sexual activities before they know what it is about, before they reach high school. By educating them while in the middle school years as to the health risks and consequences of unprotected sex, pregnancy risks for both the young girl and the child, the benefits of abstinence, and the options of birth control, teens will be prepared to make better informed decisions that will affect them for more than just the moment. They need a real dose of reality when it comes to projecting what their future may hold for them. More information can be found at the Women’s Health Channel.
Healthy People 2010, a federal initiative to improve health in the United States, has set a goal to reduce pregnancies among adolescent females ages 15-17 from 68 per 1,000 in 1996, to 43 per 1,000 by 2010. Related goals include “increasing the proportion of adolescents who abstain from sexual intercourse or use condoms if currently sexually active.”
Rumor has it that Nickelodeon will run with the opportunity to do a special on teen pregnancy. Perhaps this will help deter young ones from engaging in sex but only if it shows them as high school drop outs, struggling to make ends meet, taking care of a little one while trying to earn a living, having to accept welfare in order to provide food for the child, not being able to go out with friends and party, staying home and being her own babysitter on Saturday nights instead of getting paid to watch another’s children, or not being able to find a boyfriend because she already has a boyfriend. Also, they should include how it affects the children – socially, emotionally, and economically – what impact it has on society as a whole. That won’t be the picture if they focus on Jamie Lynn Spears. Maybe she’ll come out with her own maternity clothing line now -but, unfortunately, that’s not reality for 99% of the young, unwed mothers.
As grandparents raising grandchildren, great care needs to be taken to insure the children are provided the support, love and care that they would receive in an intact home so they don’t become part of the teen pregnancy statistics. Surveys show that daughters of unwed mothers tend to follow the same path. Teen mothers are more likely to drop out of school and live on welfare assistance. Sons of teen mothers are more likely to be in trouble with the law when they are teens. Sex education should not be just the school’s responsibility. The school can only educate the children for one period a day, one marking period a school year. For the rest of the time, they are our responsibility. Books are available that can help with how to approach the subject. If you don’t feel comfortable discussing the topic with your grandchild, find someone you trust.
Online Resources:
2007/12/22
Traveling with the grandchildren, no matter what their ages, takes some pre-planning so that everyone can enjoy the vacation stress free most of the time…hopefully.
To help you with your pre-planning for the upcoming travel time with your grandchildren, here is a list of sites that will give you some great tips:
Enjoy your trip with the grandchildren!
2007/12/20
Next week the grandkids will be out of school until after New Year’s. Oh, my! What is a grandparent to do? Kids like to be busy – just as long as it doesn’t have anything to do with school. Even with new presents not yet broken in, kids  can become bored if they don’t get a chance to get out and about. (No time to rest up next week!)
Having activities planned during a school break can help make the time together much more enjoyable. To start, some pre-planning activities can be fun too:
- Ask the children to make a list of what they would like to do during their week off. (You can add your ideas, too, like quiet time here and there?) Together discuss the choices and come up with a plan. Make sure each child, if there is more than one, has input into what is decided. They will feel better about participating in something the other child chose.
- Use MS Word or Publisher to create an activities calendar for the week. Clip art or pictures can be added. Find a symbol for the activity and place it in that day’s box.
- Use the internet to research your destination or to find locations and directions.
Having trouble thinking of activities to do? Here are some suggestions:
- Ceramics – find a shop that allows you to paint the item and they fire it for you
- Tea Party – visit a tea room or hold one at home
- Go to Indoor Play Gyms – invite other families to meet you there; go for pizza afterwards
- Bowling – call ahead to see if they have bumpers for young children so they won’t get gutter balls
- Craft Day – create a puppet show: write the play, build a puppet theater from a box; design puppets – give a show
- Indoor ice skating – young ones can use walkers provided by the rink
- Learn about the weather, check the weather against the Farmer’s Almanac’s predictions, make a weather chart out of felt
- Learn about stars or constellations, then visit a planetarium
- Camp-In – build tents in living room with sheets, cook favorite “camp” foods, play cards and other games, tell stories, have a scavenger hunt, learn to tie knots, learn about constellations, look at the stars at night
- Check with your local library to see if they have activities for children during the week
- Take pictures of favorite things, people, and places – create a picture book
- Start a Grandma (or Grandpa) and Me book with pictures and memories
- Find and visit a Children’s discovery museum
In the comment section, tell us about your favorite activities with your grandchildren.
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