Enchanted Chameleon

Ambleside

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."  Nelson Mandela

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
Nelson Mandela
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/place_2.html#BIFiz47v5w3AtPgy.99

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.
Nelson Mandela
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/place_2.html#BIFiz47v5w3AtPgy.99

cutting out TV

Last month, during the first couple of weeks of school, C's teacher and I had the talk.  Hand in hand with a Waldorf education, no TV.  Not even because he's a Waldorf teacher and that's what they have to say, C wasn't adjusting to school life so easily and we discussed the extent of our TV watching and decided on a plan.  The plan was to go back to the world of TV that I grew up in: Saturday morning cartoons.  I loved waking up, as did C's teacher, to Saturday morning cartoons. Certain ones were only available Saturday mornings and I was excited to wake up and watch Jem, Smurfs and Fat Albert.

Further to that plan but not C's teacher actual responsibility was to fill the weekday TV time with something new.  I have been long wanting to start reading out loud chapter books so I decided now was as good as a time as any.

After the first 2 days of no TV on a weekday which can only be likened to detox and withdrawal, C became quite interested in the first book that I decided to go with: Charlotte's Web.  It turned out that it was the right book at the right time and the stars aligned quite beautifully.  We were ready for reading chapter books out loud.  Since last month we have finished Charlotte's Web, The Wizard of Oz, Winnie the Pooh and are currently finishing up and looking forward to the second book in the series, Little House in the Big Woods.  All of these books were sitting on our shelves just waiting for us.

If only all changes in life could be so sweet and simple.

The result: C brightened up in class and settled into the daily and weekly rhythms and routines better than I could have hoped for.  We eliminated the exhausting, energy depleting nature of the TV and found an astounding amount of energy for all kinds of little projects and happenings around the house.

We've eliminated TV before but it's never gone so smoothly.  This past year it has been a blessing.  While I sort out myself and my new life as a working, single parent, TV has been the extra 5 minutes while I get ready in the morning or the afternoon nap that I desperately needed. Maybe it's in part due to C's age and he was just really ready for this.  I'm feeling pretty grateful that we were able to eliminate it, when it really was a crutch that I didn't want to use any longer.

And don't get me wrong, it hasn't been perfect.  Some days I fall asleep reading to him, or I cry the last 20 pages of reading Charlotte's Web.  Those are the minor extra responsibilities of taking on this challenge, and it is in our day and age, it really is.  I don't blame those that watch so much TV.  We're scared to let our kids out in the street to play and roam and be the way I grew up 30 years ago.  We are assimilating to our environment as best we can and when I say we, I mean all parents surrounded by so much technology.  Can we even break the bad that is Netflix and the convenience of watching an entire series in a couple of days.  Heck, I'm still watching TV after he goes to sleep, but my excuse is it is Little House on the Prairie and I'm learning really great parenting skills from it!  The sacrifice is and I'm aware and not complaining about it, that I don't have time for this and that.  I choose TV.

In any case, we have success at this time.  Knock on wood.

If you are further interested in the effects of TV on children, there is a really great lecture coming up at the Waldorf School that I am looking forward to.  Bottom line of the lecture is to learn how to use media to your advantage and to not let it use you.  Next Monday evening with Jaimen McMillon.     

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Healthy Families BC :: Shopping Sense Giveaway

In my return to enchanting you (and me) I accepted a couple of invites to blogging events around town.  I thought it would help me get a little bit of my mojo back.  I had a fun and educational morning out with fellow Top 30 2012 Mom Bloggers at the Main Street Marketplace IGA and Dietician, Global BC One Bite at a TIme Correspondent and Model Avatar for the Healthy Families BC Shopping Sense BC website, Melodie Yong.  Overall we had a real live tour of the grocery store with lots of great info and facts from a Registered Dietician as is offered now virtually through the Healthy Families BC Shopping Sense site.  

Some of the great things that we learned from the tour and the new website include:

:: Planning weekly menus and shopping from a list makes it easy and affordable to make healthy choices in the grocery store.

:: How to use the Nutrition Facts table on packaged foods to make healthier choices.

:: Knowing food safety tips to ensure you serve your family fresh and wholesome foods.

My personal favorite and something I chat about often with my guests working the till at Whole Foods:

:: Don't shop hungry. (wink)

If you know me and my experience with healthy eating (former raw foodist, owner of a juice and smoothie truck, organizer of green smoothie challenges) I do feel a mite bit smug that I already know all I need to know and then some about food going into this. However the tour was a great reminder of my own weakness for striving for perfection. Whether my shopping has taken a downward slope or the downward slope is my nose that I'm looking along into someone else's shopping cart we all have to remember:  Do we want to be perfect or do we want to be happy. (Normally I say right instead of perfect but I think it's the same thing here!)  I'm hope we agreed that the answer was HAPPY!  Basically, we moms need to give ourselves credit where credit is due. With best intentions we set out daily or weekly to the dreaded or pleasurable grocery store depending on how many if any children we are wrangling that day and we deserve to make it easy on ourselves.

Two things I especially liked about the tour and the Site is the opportunity to get our children involved:

:: Get them in on the menu planning and list making.

:: Get them to pick out one of anything they want to try in the produce section.

This second will help stretch ourselves outside our comfort zones and maybe discover new recipes and favorites. And if I may add one further point:

:: Never shop when they are hungry. (wink wink)

A little fun grocery related activity that C and I partook in not so long ago was getting one of every pear variety that was offered in the store and doing a little taste testing.  Each day we sampled a different variety of pear and compared it to the previous pears we had tried our. Nothing exotic by any means.  Just pure, local, fresh fun.

And since all my experience as a healthy foodie comes from reading and not actual registered studies, it does help to take note of the information that hangs out so easily in a Registered Dieticians brain the way green smoothies hang out in mine:

::  4 grams of sugar is equal to one sugar cube (when reading sugar gram labels)

:: 100 extra calories is an extra mile of walking (for us ladies trying to keep it trim)

:: Although I've never had a problem with drinking my calories it is valid to note that even smoothies can become a calorie drinking frenzy when adding high fat food like yogurts and such.  I like to keep mine simple with just fruit and veggies (and don't forget to brush your teeth after if you spend a lot of time sipping them)

:: By the bone meat is fattier.  (just something good to know and simple to remember)

 

And in all her Model Avatar glory, Melodie Yong right smack dab at the front door of the IGA.

And now the part you've been waiting for, the big giveaway.  I am very excited to be giving away two $50 gift cards for Safeway provided by the Healthy Shopping BC Team that put together the tour and the website.  Just comment below and tell me what you think about the Shopping Sense website whether you like it or not, find it helpful, etc.  Give it a good exploring as I would love to see your feedback on it.  The contest is open to BC Residents only and will be open until Friday March 22nd at 12 am PST.  Two winners will be announced.  One entry per person.

Two winners of the Healthy Families BC Shopping Sense Giveaway:

Brandee

Taryrn

Thanks for stopping by friends.  Hope to see more of you in the weeks to come!  XO.  S

Return to Innocence

Well hello there friends.

 

It's been what feels like way too long since I was taking up this space.  I'm hoping that is going to change over the next few weeks and months to come.  I also hope to not only find time for this space but also the new voice of Suzanne the Enchanted Chameleon.

 

Ya see, Suzanne has been through the ringer since before we last met. If you look up the top 3 most stressful things that people go through than you'll know what I'm up too. Many times in the past few months I've gotten back up, dusted off my britches and kept going as hard as it was or with as big or as small steps I could muster. Thankfully I've had supportive friends, coworkers and family.

 

But I've been missing my pages here where sometimes through words, pictures, crafts, juice or smoothies I sort through the pages of my life. And still with no end in sight to the stress, responsibilities and other unpredictable events that seem to pour when it rains I thought I would dust off my britches and my computer and find some comfort here.

So please stay tuned. This is no ordinary return. I have a giveaway coming your way in the next couple of days to reawaken my fingers and hopefully also my readers. Thanks great friends I'm getting that loving feeling already.

XO. Suzanne 

~ an enchanting giveaway with blurb ~

 

Today I'm super excited to bring you a special giveaway from Blurb!  Give a personal gift this holiday with Blurb's Custom Planners.  Make a date with your creative side and make the perfect gift for family and friends or even yourself (like I did with my pictures above)!  Blurb's beautifully designed weekly planner templates allow you to create a professional-looking, yet personal, gift.  Planners start at $21.95 and include elegant designs, noteworthy paper, and two convenient sizes and custom dates.  

ONE LUCKY WINNER is getting a $25 gift card to put towards a Blurb Custom Planner.  To enter just post a comment telling us your inspiration for your custom planner.  One entry per person please.  Giveaway is open until Monday December 10th at 11 pm PST and the winner will be contacted shortly after.  

For everyone else save 20% on your Blurb books with promo code LASTCALL20.  It's not too late to put your favourite 2012 moments in a beautiful keepsake book.  Sale ends December 10th, 2012.  Good luck!  XO.  S

And the Winner is JS!  Thanks!