Lettuce

Who's going to argue when he says, "Can I eat the lettuce?"

All the Single Ladies (and Dads)

My wife is in Scotland exploring her family heritage with her father and her two sisters.  Of course I'm excited for her.  She deserves every second of every minute and I'm thrilled she is getting to not only get out and see the world, but I'm super happy for her that she gets to spend quality time with her family.  

Back home in Indiana, I've been taking every friend up on their invites to pools, play dates, and cookouts (Sorry New York friends.  I'm not calling it a BBQ.)  We are staying busy to say the least.  I had little thought to how I'd feel for ten days being the sole provider, but I knew I'd be tired.  Tired from the 4,346 questions per day that fly at me.  Tired from trying to plan blocks of time to also include some down time.  Tired from trying to sneak in a visit to the computer, the toilet, or to cut the grass.  Tired from being tired.

One thing that I've thought is how thankful I am that my dear wife and I have partnered to raise our kids to be healthy eaters.  I can now imagine how exhausting this has to be for "all the single ladies" and dads out there who do it alone day in and day out.  While I firmly believe that sound eating habits start with mom and dad, mom and dad must have sound eating habits to start.  Not tooting my own horn here, but this is a health and wellness blog.  In my wife's absence this week, I'm reminded how thankful I am that we do this together:  raise our kids to eat whole foods, to eat their veggies, and to stay away from processed foods, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, etc.  It's exhausting.  I get it.  Trust me.....I'm whipped, but I have a light at the end of my tunnel.

 I did have a visit from a little bird on my shoulder who whispered in the voice of my wife, "Now you know how I feel ever day."  Thanks birdie.

Here's some good information on kids and their diets....

Food Politics Blog
What's Cooking With Kids
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Play date anyone?

Running Across the United States

It's almost Spring and the snow and ice have both melted.  Indiana saw temps in the 50's the past week which was a huge motivator for me.  I'd like to thank all the friends and co-workers who have shared their story with me so far.  If anything, you've been a big inspiration to me as I continue to need smacked around to stay on track.  

It's been a tough week for me as I suffered a pretty significant groin injury playing indoor soccer last weekend.  It was stupid of me to go out as hard as I did with little stretching, and the result is being pretty immobile for a week.  A few chiropractic adjustments and tons of fish oil later, and I hope to be back to working out later this week.  I don't think I want to rush this part of my body, huh?!

So I became a bit dejected over the week.  I've let a few "indulgences" slip into my diet.  Work has been a bit stressful at times, and I've caught myself straying from my focused path prior to being injured.

ENTER:  A new purpose.  I've mentioned Dean Karnazes, the ultramarathon runner before.  He's something else.  Call it what you want, but in my book this guy has put running and wellness on the map.  Currently, he is running ACROSS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to raise money for a huge, HUGE cause.

Check out the info. here.....

So I've decided to join him for a measly 5K stint in Indianapolis on April 17th.  The time and location are to be determined, so I'll keep you posted.  However and MORE IMPORTANTLY.....My goal right now is to raise AT LEAST $1,000 for Action for Healthy Kids.  This organization helps raise money to help fight childhood obesity and undernourishment, something I believe is a crisis in our country.  I sure hope you would consider donating to the cause.  As many of you know, I don't do these kids of things half-assed, so expect more posts to come.

You can get straight to my donation page by CLICKING RIGHT HERE.

This is exactly the kind of thing I needed at this point in the year and at this point in my path to remaining healthy throughout the winter months.  It's hard!!!!  But.....finding little things like this helps re-energize me to getting back on track.