My Top Ten (Eleven) Serious Life Lessons learned form Disney!

So we did the whole silly lessons learned thing a few weeks ago and it just seemed fitting to do some real life lessons learned.  I hope you enjoy my Disney take on life.

10. Finding Nemo: Never, ever give up!  Just keep "swimming" and eventually you will get there.

9.  Up:  You are never to old to go on an adventure, make new friends and learn new things.

8. The Incredibles:  Embrace the "super-hero" in yourself. You can do things you never dreamed were possible.

7. Brave:  If you find yourself in a disagreement with someone explain to them why you feel the way you do about the situation.  You may never be able to agree, but you may be able to understand one another and come to some sort of compromise on the issue.  Who knows letting them know how you feel could "change your fate".

6. Mulan:  Just because your a girl does not mean you have to give up your dreams, it only means you may have to work harder to make them come true.

5. Tarzan: Make time for fun as a family. They will be memories you will look back on for a lifetime.

4. The Lion King: "Hakuna Matata!" Seriously, we worry so much about everything that could happen and out of 100% only about 1% actually does.

3. The Little Mermaid: Real true friends are very important, do not ever take them for granted. They will always be willing to help you out of a "pinch".

2. Frozen: I actually learned two lessons from Frozen. The first is that, there is nothing else in the whole world like family. I know sometimes they hurt you and make you sad, but they are still your blood and nothing will change it. We just have to learn to forgive them and love them anyway. The second one Anna learned the hard way, just because something seems meant to be, it can still be wrong. If it is to good to be true, it mostly like is. Be ever watchful for those sheep in wolves clothing.

And last, but certainly not least...

1. Tangled: True love will always find you, (even if your locked in a tower). Make sure your eyes are watching and your heart is willing and waiting.

Imagination: Thank God my kids have it

Recently my husband and I were discussing how much we see the children of today with some sort of electronic device, sitting around glued to the screen of their ipods, tablets or phones. It made me think of my own childhood and the lack of electronic toys that we had.  When I was a little girl I would go outside everyday and play in the dirt, building whole worlds out of rocks and sticks. I  remember that we would spend whole afternoons building  "frog houses", I'm sure I need to explain that. We would put our hands or feet flat on the ground and covered them with wet dirt, packing it down really good. Then we would pull out or hand/foot and it would leave an opening in the dirt.  We would build them and make little roads to and from. We built whole neighborhoods and then would pretend rocks were cars, because we didn't have any cars to play with.

Getting ready to build our "frog house".

You have to pack that wet dirt down really good!

Now slowly pull your foot out. 

Smooth out the entrance and you have.....

......our completed "frog house". 

I remember a time when a stick would become a sword, a digging tool or even a gun. A pillowcase could be a super hero cape, a sack or even turn you into a ghost.  A box would be anything from a car to a boat to a spaceship. A flower pot, a few household items, a few outdoor things and a toy tea pot could become a Fairy garden for Tinkerbell (see picture below).

I am not trying to say that electronics are bad, they do have a use in our society.  It just distresses me as I look around and see all these children, even little toddlers with some type of "device" in their hands. It seems they have no idea what is going on around them and I have to wonder what has happened to imagination?

Our children are limited to thirty minutes of technology time a day.  I try to encourage pretend/imaginative play.  They play board games, play with dolls,  blocks, read books and stay outside  when the weather permits.  Maybe all of this comes from my Early Childhood Education background, but I sincerely believe that children learn from play, no matter their age. 

Without imagination we would have no more inventors, authors, artists, the list goes on and on. Let us, as parents, take the opportunity to foster imagination in our children so that future generations can see how very important it is.




 I have to say I had an awesome childhood!!

"That's my 'two-cents worth', what's yours?"



My Weight Loss Journey: Part 2

It has been five weeks since I wrote the first part of this blog. I have to say I have been super slack in writing anything, because I have been spending time with my kids and enjoying the few days of pretty weather we have had here.

When I wrote the first part of this on March 10th I was down 8 pounds and I am now happy to report I am down a grand total of 13 pounds. I met the goal that Weight Watchers set for me, so I decided to increase it by 3 more pounds. That may not sound like much to anyone, but losing 16 pounds total would put me down
ten percent of my body weight.  I had heard somewhere that ten percent was a pretty important achievement so I decided to research it out. According to the OAC (Obesity Action Coalition) losing 5-10 percent of your body weight can significantly alter your health for the better.

http://www.obesityaction.org/educational-resources/resource-articles-2/general-articles/benefits-of-5-10-percent-weight-loss

Just watching what you eat is not enough, you have to maintain an appropriate exercise program that will not only help you continue to lose, but to keep off what you have already lost.  I often hear people complain about being overweight, unfit or unhealthy. I do not care to hear people's excuses!!! I know  that there are medical conditions that people have that prevent weight loss. My husband suffers from hypothyroidism (under active thyroid) and it has been impossible for him to lose weight. The best that he has been able to do is just maintain the place he is at.  Some people however will moan and complain about their weight, size or how unhealthy they are, but they are not willing to do anything about it.  Years ago I never even gave being healthy a second glance, but now I need to take the time to take care of myself. I need to do all that I can to try and stick around for my family.  I want to see my children grow up and live their lives to the fullest. If that means giving up a few foods that I love and dedicating some more of my time to exercise, then so be it.  I have just a few more weeks left with the Weight Watchers program, hopefully I can hit my "new goal" and continue to maintain it.  We need to get healthy if not for ourselves than for our loved ones.  Summer is coming people, it is time to get off the coach and get it moving.

"That's my 'two-cents worth', what's yours?"