These moving pictures whisper the story for us. 

click >> Preston Gannaway, Concord Monitor — 2008 Pulitzer Prize in Photography

God bless the St. Pierre Family in their loss, especially Rich in teaching his little ones to cope, each in his/her own way.  This candid photo journal of their hardships gracefully illustrates the beautiful bonds of family.  It almost seems that our concept of death — what we consider mabacre and bleak – is less so in witnessing the family in the aftermath.  Why is that?

…for us fat-indulgent middle-aged “mice.” Nothing fancy or expensive — you can even buy the boxed stuff.  It doesn’t mean you’re a lush…just that you’re health conscious on a glass a day.  They say it “eases” the aging process…or maybe just helps one worry less about it. :) 

Red wine stops effects of high-fat diet

Seriously, though…after losing a couple of family members this year to heart disease, I have, in earnest, begun drinking a glass of red wine each night.  I just replaced my usual cup of coffee each night after everyone goes to bed with a ruby-red glass instead.  And I lessened my caffeine intake as a bonus. This was one of my New Year’s resolutions, and I’m happy to say that I’ve stuck with it. 

As for the science of it, I guess that what researchers call resveratrol is what I would call kind of an internal astringent for fatty arteries.  It’s becoming clear from recent studies that red wine intervenes against aging and, especially for us middle-aged women, heart disease.

So drink up…just a glass per day. 

For more info., see related post: http://galvanized.wordpress.com/2007/11/28/red-wine-cheers-to-our-health-ladies/

photo by bronwynbaz on Flickr

I’ve always been interested in height studies over generations and populations – anthropometrics, to use the proper term.  This article by Burkhard Bilger, from The New Yorker is a fascinating read:

The Height Gap

Some interesting excerpts:

“In both Europe and the Americas, he discovered, humans grew shorter as their cities grew larger. The more people clustered together, the more pest-ridden and poorly fed they became.”

“America was a good place to live in the eighteenth century. Game was abundant, land free for the clearing, settlement sparse enough to prevent epidemics.”

“Biologists say that we achieve our stature in three spurts: the first in infancy, the second between the ages of six and eight, the last in adolescence. Any decent diet can send us sprouting at these ages, but take away any one of forty-five or fifty essential nutrients and the body stops growing.”

“When incomes went up, heights went up (after a predictable lag time), and always to the same degree.” 

“As America’s rich and poor drift further apart, its growth curve may be headed in the opposite direction, Komlos and others say. The eight million Americans without a job, the forty million without health insurance, the thirty-five million who live below the poverty line are surely having trouble measuring up. And they’re not alone. As more and more Americans turn to a fast-food diet, its effects may be creeping up the social ladder, so that even the wealthy are growing wider rather than taller.”

“Steckel has found that Americans lose the most height to Northern Europeans in infancy and adolescence, which implicates pre- and post-natal care and teen-age eating habits. ‘If these snack foods are crowding out fruits and vegetables, then we may not be getting the micronutrients we need,’ he says. In a recent British study, one group of schoolchildren was given hamburgers, French fries, and other familiar lunch foods; the other was fed nineteen-forties-style wartime rations such as boiled cabbage and corned beef. Within eight weeks, the children on the rations were both taller and slimmer than the ones on a regular diet.

“The average American man is only five feet nine and a half… Women, meanwhile, seem to be getting smaller. According to the National Center for Health Statistics…women born in the late nineteen-fifties and early nineteen-sixties average just under five feet five. Those born a decade later are a third of an inch shorter.”

So according to this article, one can be sure that the more polarized an economy within a population, the more disparity in height exists.  When wealth is more evenly distributed in a population, the height of the population rises over time.  So, in short, if you live in a more dense population and are richer with more opportunity, and get better nutrition because of it, then you’re probably taller.  No big suprise.  Also no surprise is the fact that if you live out in the open, away from everyone, and also get a good amount of exercise and nutrition, then you’re also going to be tall.  So it sounds like a quality of life matter, right?

One factor that is widely known is that Europeans don’t have the fast food habit that Americans do.  That’s crucial to our health.  I have to say that this article — along with the lasting effects of having watched “SuperSize Me” a few years back — left me wondering what legacy our society will have for how we cared for our young.  Produce is high.  Fast food is somewhat cheap.  Our laziness as a mass fuels the industry.  But it’s time to go back to our mothers’ habits with Tupperware and baggies — to prepare our own snacks — you know, wash some grapes, mix up some tuna and eggs — rather than reaching for a pre-prepared one off of the shelf.  Think about it — that crinkling cellophane wrapper sound has a Pavlovian effect on us.  We salivate and look around when we hear it, as in, “Oooh, what did you just get out of the pantry?  Grab me one, too!”

It’s high time that we go totally back to whole foods.  The effect of not doing so is starting to show in our generation’s size.  It’s time to stop our fast food/processed food habits because they’re more convenient and ready-to-serve, or right around the corner, hot and ready.  I’ve found a few habits I changed this year that I hope will boost our family’s nutrition to help our less-than-average height problem:

If we have to open a cellophane package to eat it, it’s probably a processed carb and not healthy enough for our diet.

Fast food = nutritionally empty calories.  There is absolutely no justification for it other than quick energy.

If we keep the freezer well stocked with meat, we’re much, much less likely to slip out the door for fast food.  Since there’s meat in there, we’re left without an excuse to eat in, and it can be quickly prepared with just about anything else in the pantry.

We keep the fruit bowl filled, requiring each person to have at least one serving from it each day.

We keep lettuce and/or spinach leaves in the fridge at all times.

And, OK, I know this one is particularly difficult for me…but we are getting much better about leaving soda at the store.  That stuff has no place in the home whatsoever.  I’m honestly trying to make it a beverage enjoyed only when I’m out and as a treat.

We’ll see how our height measures up after the next growth spurt. 

Photo by earth2marsh on Flickr

Found this New York Times’ Travel Section article on less expensive summer trips.  We all know that, with the price of gas at an all-time high, there are none that we could truthfully call INexpensive.  But if yours is like our family, taking a large cooler on a long scenic car trip and keeping it perpetually stocked and reachable, it’s do-able with a little planning, mapping, and saving.  And the more I read, the more I realize that when it comes to travelling, America’s got it all, doesn’t She? 

click it! >  31 Places to Go This Summer

I’ve already done a lot of the East, so on my life list to visit are: the Redwood Forest, Niagra Falls, and the Napa Valley.  My personal favorite is, of course, Austin/San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country.  You can’t beat it!  Europe is enticing, but we really do have everything in our own backyard.

Happy and safe summer travelling, everyone.

My kids and I don’t know why this hits us as so funny…but it does.  *chuckling*

Found this article by Jaymi Heimbuch on ecogeek.  What an ingenious idea!  It would place wind turbines out into the blue for more green.  There is the possibility to combine sources for energy — wind and water – and just another chance for our generation to assume more responsibility for our children’s future.

click it! >>  Floating Wind Turbines Could Revolutionize Wind Power

And for the record, ecogeek.org is a fascinating site.  It shows that there are people out there active in creating and improving alternatives for the future.  I came away from reading it feeling quite positive.

And I’m with plans for more SOLAR power.  It just seems such a wasted resource, an alternative that hasn’t been supported and developed as it should.

Our oldest recently turned 18.  She had mentioned that skydiving was something she might want to try someday, so we figured…no time like the present to achieve a life goal!  And as a way to wake up to adulthood and embrace all of life’s opportunities, we gave her a gift that will keep on giving…everytime she runs into some daunting obstacle or doubts herself. She loved it!

For those of you who are physically healthy and have always wanted to jump but still put it off, here’s some general info.: the first tandem skydive generally lasts a total of about 8 or 9 minutes from the jump out of the plane. The plane takes the skydivers to about 14,000 feet. The jump takes place, followed by about a 65-second freefall at a speed of about 120 mph for about 8,000 feet. And once the altimeter reads 6,000 feet, the chute is pulled, and the rest of the experience is about a 6- to 7-minute glide to good ol’ Planet Earth. The instructors are skilled enough that the landing is generally safe and gentle. The cost is about $300 for the jump, the equipment rental, the instruction and tandem coach, the still pictures (about 30), and the video…and worth every penny as a major life event. So if it’s something you have on your Life List, maybe you can quit saying “someday” and consider it!

For the record, Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon, Texas is a fantastic facility.  It’s very popular around these parts.  I’ve run into many people in this area who have jumped there. My daughter’s instructor was Hoop, and he was great.

But BE WARNED…Hoop SAYS he’s counting to 3…but he only goes to 2. Haha!

Hi, all! I just wanted to apologize for the long hiatus from my favorite hobby — this black hole of a blog — for a while (since December 2007, to be exact). Our household had to reorder priorities for the first half of 2008, as it was of paramount importance to get our oldest child buckled down to writing college essays, applying, filtering offers, and, most importantly, get the financial side situated. Have you ever had to enforce a teenager to write her college essays? No easy task. But she’s now prepared and excited for September, as are her Dad and I! But you’ll be hearing more about that later…

I now know alllllll about every single Texas college, public or private; early acceptance, admissions, Accuplacer, SAT/ACT, FAFSA, student loans and grants, CollegeBoard, FastWeb, and Zinch. Each of these subjects has taken over our family life for the last few months. And, believe me, if a parent and kid can navigate these waters together and stay afloat, then college should be a cinch!

Honestly, until now, there has been no time — not even a few minutes a day — to spare. But I’ll be the first to admit that blogging, at least for me, takes a lot more than just a few minutes a day. For a while, I’ll just post my favorite finds. This, because, to be honest, I am so out of the loop (and feeling force-fed on politics right now) that all I really want is to review some sensational video, pics, music, or writing from others for a while.

So back to business at Galvanized! I hope that everyone has been doing well.

M

Parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles — how many of these pics have you collected over the years — 3…5…7 years’ worth? LOL

Love it!  This gallery I stumbled upon has 177 — that’s right — 177 of these “wonderful photographic memories, ” after viewing which you’ll feel like you’ve been through a whole Saturday before Christmas with one of these red velveteen saints.

OK,  “saint” is a strong word…but can you blame him?  

Yet the kids still always leave “beloved” Santa milk and cookies, claim to adore him, and sanctify his existence every year.  I have the proof:

 Hypocritical?  Nawww…just startled by that shock of white hair!   <3;)>

It’s that season again, moms and dads, to dream up ways on how to 1) keep the kids busy over winter break and 2) make sure that they give as much as they receive.  Thankfully, FamilyFun has helped me to solve this problem for many years — and their new ideas don’t disappoint!  Take a look!  Here are my favorites that my kids will be crafting starting this week.

But, again, these are only a very FEW of the ideas here — at FamilyFun.com:

 http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/specialfeature/holiday_gifts_ms/

So I’m making my list of crafting/grocery materials today, for one gift idea per day.  That should keep us busy AT HOME all day, every day until Christmas.  And, high on my list, it should keep the spending under control.
Last year, we made a hit together with big glass jars (about $3.00 each) that we filled with homemade dry hot cocoa mix (very inexpensive).  We made it appealing to the eye when we topped it inside with chocolate chips and marshmallows, added bows and jingle bells to the lids, and a card from the family.  Everyone loved it and finished every sip of it — plus they had a decorated jar to save. You can even buy paint pens to design your own jars with names and the kids’ drawings.

The best gift that I receive each holiday season is watching each of my kids’ expectant faces — almost glowing — when someone is about to open a present that they have made with their little hands.  And it’s a gift to a child, too, to reveal to them that they can make someone feel loved with their time and thoughtfulness.  It’s empowering and does wonders for a child’s understanding of the fulfillment one experiences in giving in their relationships and in appreciating the priceless intangibles of cheer and love in this now very consumer-crazy,  quantified and material season.

So let’s sit down for leisurely time with the kids at the kitchen table and do some of these crafts.  It will return to our homes the joys of Christmas before busy commercialization and frantic consumerism overtook its magic.  And if you’ve got that shopping addiction like I used to — you know, when it just feels good to be breezing in and out the door with bags — I totally understand.  There is indeed a painful withdrawal from it at first (because, hey, spending can have a euphoric drug-like effect for a tired soul), but you DO eventually rediscover that warm feeling and satisfaction that you had when you were little if you just slow down and take it in.

It makes me proud when there’s one less mass manufactured gift that they just picked up with mom at the store.  Now, isn’t that a better feeling than simply picking up a flat, boring gift card? LOL

And another big plus — the TV is off for long periods of time…and no one is yelling that it’s his turn to hold the remote control!  Is that an actual conversation that I hear going on at the table?  LOL