Day-Brighteners

I had to get myself out of this morning's little funk, so I took some initiative to get myself busy. First, I made a few phone calls to people I could cry with, and that felt much better. I also got a few fantastic emails from friends who are praying for me. Then I set up a lunch date with my dad and my brother - two people who I always have great conversations with, and who always have a nice way of NOT talking about my problems, and getting me to thinking about other things (like a new park across the river from our house). I then took home a piece of Skor cheesecake so that I could munch on it while I typed this new post. I'm sure the sugar and caffeine from the 3 glasses of homemade iced tea I drank are also helping boost my mood. My day was brightened even moreso when I stopped at the Post Office, and had the great surprise of a PARCEL PICK-UP notice in my box! Woohoo! I LOVE parcel pick-up notices! It was an order of books that I had made on Amazon. I can barely put down these two books, they are amazing! Here's my report:

I was watching a rare moment of Oprah a few weeks back. She had Dr. Oz on, as well as a guy named David Zinczenko. They were discussing child obesity. I have lately been inspired to make better meals for James, because he is living in a generation that seems to be losing the weight battle - and I don't want to see him suffer. However, I'm the kind of person that can't just be told "don't give your kids Kraft Dinner, it has a million calories". I need someone to say, "instead of giving your kids Kraft Dinner, rather give them canned tomato pasta, like Spaghetti O's". I like alternative options - and specific examples. This particular show was dedicated to doing just that. They even had a quiz, listing two different menu items from different common restaurants and getting the audience to pick the one they thought was healthiest. They got almost all of them wrong! I was really intrigued, and decided to look into getting Zinczenko's books. One is called "Eat This Not That: The Ultimate Guide to What to Eat When", and the other is "Eat This Not That! For Kids". These books are AWESOME! I'm now really inspired to make better choices, and I love that it covers everything from homemade foods to fast foods, canned goods, to frozen entrees. The books also feature full colour pictures of almost all the items they talk about. I think it will be a really great investment of a mere $16.02 per book (a friend of mine also ordered one, so we got free shipping). I would highly recommend these books! The one for kids also gives some great school lunch options that I would have never thought about - I can't wait to refer to it when I start making lunches for James.