Can a Sugar-Free Me Exist?

I don’t discriminate. I love all types of sugars!

This week I bid ado to a life long member of my family. Someone who was near and dear to my heart. He was there when I was happy or needed a pick-me-up. Consoled me when I was heart-broken and in the depths of self-pity. Oh, Sugar, you’ve been my crutch long enough.

Strawberry frosted Pop-Tarts, Fruit by the Foot, Reese’s Cups and pixie sticks were staples of my youth. I remember adding spoonfuls of sugar to my bowl of Cheerios in the morning.
My high school breakfast consisted of a Diet Coke, frosted animal crackers and a cigarette. (Shhh…don’t tell my mom.) Even my 20s were laden with sugar filled treats and midnight grocery store runs to stock up cookies and ice cream.

I craved candy like an addict needing a fix during my first pregnancy. I’m surprised Finn Girl didn’t come out with jelly beans in her DNA or worse, Swedish fish running through her veins. Not only would’ve that been genetically disturbing, but The Finn would’ve been ticked. The Finns have a strong dislike for the Swedes. Yes, the dislike extends to food with any Swedish reference.

But the time has come to say goodbye to this vice. Add it to the growing list of things I’ve quit: cigarettes, soda (pop, Coke, whatever), gluten, and showering daily since having kids. But if I ever give up coffee or wine check to see if I’ve been possessed. Seriously. A life without those things is not worth living. Coffee and Wine, I’m in it for LIFE with you!

You want me to eat what for dinner??

But now in my mid-30s, I need to improve my health or the Diabetes (pronounced die-a-beat-us) will come for me. I eat a fairly clean diet. Just ask my sisters. They’ll tell you how they’re terrified to eat my house because it’s always an experience. Kale salad with nutritional yeast dressing,  cabbage “steaks” with cashew “cheese”, and homemade chickpea brownies. We usually order pizza at family gatherings.

Now, it’s time to hunker down and get The White Devil out of my diet.

Goodbye Cincinnati, Hello Seattle Hotel Living

Goodbye to the first house we purchased.

We’re officially Washingtonians or Washingtonites or just plain ol’ residents of Washington state. We said goodbye to our old house and touched down Saturday. No, we didn’t celebrate by firing up a bong and smoking some pot.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s all about safety with this one. Read every safety manual on both flights and make certain I did, too.

Instead we got takeout and went to bed at 8pm because of the three hour time difference. And the fact we spent 7 long-ass hours on a plane entertaining a 5 year old and 2 year old while keeping two tiny dogs under our feet sedated with enough meds to make them stop staring at us through the mesh bags with sad eyes and tiny muzzles that remind me of Hannibal Lector mask around their snouts. Pathetic.

Little Finn rewarded our valiant and exhausting efforts by waking up at 3am the next morning. Thank you Pacific Time zone.

Now onto two weeks of extended stay hotel living with communal laundry machines (I found a stranger’s sock in my clean laundry!), stiff bed linens and two TV channels (Weather Channel and CNN, naturally) to entertain the kids.

Mama needs a drink. Thank goodness the front desk had a wine cork. I was about to bust open the bottle bar fight style and drink from the jagged edges.

Cheers my friends!

Plans change…

Today didn’t work out as scheduled. Time is running out before we make our big move. I’m on a tight schedule. A snow day for my daughter meant no school and mom needed to entertain her. We put my little boy down for a nap and spent the afternoon playing in the snow.

We enjoyed the cold weather by making snow angels and having a snowball fight. It ended in tears because my bad aim landed a snowball directly in her face, but it was all good after I wiped off the snow that fell into her jacket and up her nose. Yeah, good parenting.
I put the to do list and thoughts of the move to the side and enjoyed time with my little girl. That is always a good day in my book!

New Beginnings in a New City

I’ve been busy. Real busy. Since my last post the Finn accepted a new job, we put our home on the market, sold it and bought a new one. We’re moving to Seattle in a mere few weeks!

The Finn and I took a couple trips (sans kids!) to check out our new surroundings. The best finds thus far are discovering an area of town called Finn Hill and a local Finnish school. We’ve eager to get the kids into weekly Finnish lessons, and a beginner class for me. (Having your husband teach you a new language is NOT the way to go).

Looks like the Seattle area has a heavy Scandinavian influence that we’ll be looking into. I’m also excited about all the fresh seafood, which was a staple item in my husband’s diet growing up.

Check out the school below:

http://www.finnishschoolofseattle.org/

 

Conan O’Brien is the President of Finland

The Finns have a sense of humor all their own, but this video shows they can still make the world laugh. The former President of Finland looks just like Conan O’Brien. He really does. O’Brien visited the country a few years ago to meet her and did a few campaign ads for the upcoming election. The video below captures it perfectly. Enjoy!

I Quit!

You guys ever have one (or several) of these days? You are overwhelmed, overworked and over it all. The thought of quitting your job, your activities, saving the world or whatever it is that’s gnawing at your insides sounds amazing?
Yeah, me, too. Guess what? I got up the courage and QUIT those things last week.
It was scary, refreshing and made me giddy at the same time. I felt like I took a deep, relaxing breath for the first time in months. That’s how I knew it was the right choice.
Now I get to take back my life. I’ll spend time with family, be very selective about what activities I want to participate in, and relax. Heck, I might even start AND finish a book!
The best part? I’ll pay more attention to you, my friends! I’ll be posting more awesome content on a regular basis.
Time to confess…
Have you ever wanted to quit anything? Did you quit anything?