Author: chungwipff

Romantic Interlude

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“What’s wrong with dad? He looks like he lost his best friend.” Josie says.

I look at my husband sitting at the end of the pool. He does look forlorn.

 

“Are you OK? You look sad.”

“Yeah. I’m just considering the preseason injuries the 49ers sustained. It doesn’t look good.”

“Oh well, I’m sure sitting here worrying will help,” I chuckle.

“And we have the pool cover on wrong.”

“I’ll help you turn it over.”

“And I’m still fat*. I look in the mirror and I just don’t want to be this fat.”

“Why don’t you exercise? Make it fun?”

“No, it’s too hot for fun.”

“OK, Eeyore. Have it your way.”

 

We both laugh.

 

*see post about his weight loss. He’s lost over 15 lbs in the past two months!

Sunday Suggestion

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My high school daughters pack lunches instead of buying school lunch. They have no access to lockers, so they have to carry everything all day. Tupperware takes up a lot of space in their backpacks and this year, they told me they don’t want to use bulky plastic containers anymore. They requested disposable sandwich bags.

This, when I told myself I wouldn’t buy those disposable baggies anymore. They’re bad for the environment! They’re wasteful!

So, I just purchased two sets of these:

Wegreeco Reusable Sandwich & Snack Bags – Set of 3 – (Odyssey)

It’s $11 for a set of three. It saves you money. It’s better for the environment. It’s stinkin’ cute. Do you need any other reasons to ditch the plastic ziploc bags and use these instead?

 

 

 

 

This Just in!

Academy

For the fifth consecutive year, Mesa Academy for Advanced Studies is pleased to announce it is ranked the #1 Middle School in the State of Arizona!  This ranking is based upon 2017-18 AZMerit test scores of 700 Arizona middle schools. According to the test results, Mesa Academy ranked higher than 99.5% of middle schools in Arizona, and is ranked first among 11 middle schools in the Mesa Unified District.

Additionally, Mesa Academy’s elementary school, comprised of grades 4 and 5, holds its 2016-17 score at 98.9%, and is ranked #2 out of 1104 Arizona elementary schools.

The Mesa Academy for Advanced Studies is an MYP (Middle Years Programme) International Baccalaureate school that provides its 433 students, grades 4 – 8, with rigorous, high-school preparation courses.   The school is located on the corner of Power and Brown Roads in East Mesa.

 

School Digger analyzes statistics from National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Arizona Department of Education.

 

Appetite

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My husband of twenty-one years decided to lose weight. At 6′, he was at his all-time high of 220 lbs. The impetus for change? He saw a picture of himself that a friend took and didn’t like what he saw.

There are several ways to slim down: cut calories, increase physical activity (exercise!) or both. Hubby is choosing to cut calories.  Through research, he’s discovered that in order to reach his target weight of 180 lbs, he cannot go over 2,000 calories.

2,000 calories to a man who has eaten anything he wanted whenever he wanted is a drastic change.

In the past two months, he has stuck to this limit most of the time. He’s now down to 204 lbs. and finds the sacrifice worth it.

As with most things in life, what you do consistently will yield results: both good and not so good. When he chooses to eat a big slice of cake or ice cream, he foregoes dinner.

Doing the right thing is most painful when we think of our appetites in terms of what we are sacrificing, but we usually succeed when we focus on what we “gain.”

Saturday Suggestion (A Cure at Last!)

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My daughter has had chronic stomach problems for as long as we can remember. Often, she has to lie down for an hour or two after eating and it doesn’t matter what it is she ate. Sometimes gluten is bad, sometimes it’s OK. Sometimes fruit is good, sometimes it causes her immense pain.

It got to the point that she’d have stomach pain before she ate in anticipation of the digestive problems.

Of course, stress and anxiety did not help matters.

She took TUMS and every other medicine she could possibly take after eating.

We took her to Children’s Phoenix Hospital and ran tests. No ulcers and no cause could be identified except “sensitivity” to certain foods. It was frustrating.

And then her friend’s father told her he has IBS too, and that these enzyme pills helped him a lot.

And they do! She’s still trying to figure out the timing: take pills half an hour before eating? An hour? And it’s challenging to remember to take them before eating…but they are definitely better than not taking them.

They are also pricey. This bottle of 90 pills cost $68.45 on Amazon. But the smile on her face and the newfound energy makes it worth it!