Archive for March, 2008
The New Mommy
Rae March 21st, 2008
With all the change that has been taking place in our household I thought it was time for a little change for myself. A big thank you to my husband for the support he has shown me in my venture with short hair. It was a much needed change. Don’t worry it won’t stay short forever.
You can also view new pictures in the gallery. Check out the new pictures folder for March. All the pictures that were in the folder have been moved to their premanent places among the other folders. So if you are looking for a picture check the folder of the person in the picture ie. Britt smiling is now in Brittany the folder. Also if a picture looks blurry you can click it until it shows it to you in full size. Then back up to look at the rest. Enjoy!
Mandatory Overtime Continues
Rae March 21st, 2008
In a time when so many Americans are beginning to feel the crunch of layoffs we find ourselves begging for a break. Right before the holidays hit Chuck’s work started asking workers to stay overtime. Then it went to mandatory 9 hours a week. So they have to cram it into 5 days or else face the fact of having to work on Saturday to catch up on just overtime. Now this week they have put in for mandatory work on Saturday the 29th. On top of all this extra work the head quarters has told all workers that they are on a payroll freeze until further notice. That is right, work hard people and we won’t reward you is the message they put out. If you don’t work hard then out you go. That really does a lot for office morale. What is funny, to boot, is that Chuck had his annual review and they want him to be a more positive force in the team. So what does this mean for the family?
We now have an overworked father/husband that is dealing with health stuff and doesn’t have time to be with his family. Don’t get me wrong I am grateful that he has a job and we are able to pay for things. I am happy that we have insurance that we haven’t had since we were single. I just wish there was something I could do to help Chuck more. He really is being pushed to the breaking point. If Saturdays become an every week mandatory thing I can honestly say I don’t think Chuck will last long. He really wants to start school next semester and I can’t see it happening with him working so many hours. Something has got to give. I just hope it isn’t Chuck’s spirit.
In Motion..
Rae March 14th, 2008
What really is the core reason so many Americans are becoming not just Fat but obese? I look around sizing myself against the women in my community and find myself amazed at just how fat we have all become. Not just the adults but our children are suffering from this as well. I can’t say that diet is totally the issue here. I wish it was as simple as blaming it on the fast food or eating out. With Brittany hitting the adult weight of over 95 lbs it has opened my eyes to a problem we have been facing for years. I started to look at the difference in my childhood and my daughter’s. At her age I was riding my bike from the time I got home from school until the sun went down. I was climbing trees and playing sports. I as her parent have just started letting her have lightly supervised outdoor time. She can only go as far as a few houses down. I have to be able to call her back should a problem arise. Why don’t I let her have the same freedoms I enjoyed as a child? It is simple.. violence in the community is on a rise. I believe this is the case everywhere. I can’t turn on the TV with out hearing of at least 2 shootings a day. In our own neighborhood we have at least three houses that are drug dealers plus all the foot traffic from them. The safest time in our neighborhood is from 7am-10am when those houses are sleeping. So I know Britt is not getting the physical exercise that she needs. Also we have more televisions, computers, video games that help promote that sedentary lifestyle. I also have to say that there is a higher pressure for kids to know more in school which leads to more homework taking away from time to be in motion. Remember the slogan .. Bodies in Motion stay in Motion.
So if that is why our children are heavy what is the excuse for the adults in our community? I would also lean towards the fact that we are less active then our forefathers. We don’t have to hunt for our food source. We work extreme hours sitting behind a desk leading to less time to be active. I think that something that goes along with all of this is the fact that the average sleep an adult gets is way less the the needed 8 hours. We are neglecting to take care of our selves because of the demands we try to meet everyday. I know with Chuck having to work mandatory overtime along with his drive time he has only 3 hours in the evening until it is time for him to go to sleep and start all over again. He tries so hard to fit as much as he can into this time, but feels like he always misses out on doing all that he wants to. With the need for our own lifestyle change we as a family are having to rethink how we spend our time. So what would happen if all of America had a recess time during the day? A time to be set into motion. A time to be active. I would think that this ever growing waist line, that we are seeing as a trend, would start to reduce itself. A side issue to all this weight we are carrying around is the fact that health care costs are on a rise as well. A smaller waistline is just what the doctor orders. I think that we all want to be healthier and smaller.
I think that America is finally waking up.. slowly. Jobs are giving healthy living incentives. I hear things being said on TV as well as seeing the growing popularity of The Biggest Loser. If 1/10th of the funding going to the war was put towards health care in America that would be a foot in the right direction. If reading this inspires one more person to try to put themselves on a healthier track it was worth typing out. I know that my family has changed drastically in just the last week. We all need to find something to motivate us to get up and set ourselves in motion.