It is day four of our Paleo Challenge and I have to say, things are going very well (my husband thinks otherwise, since he can’t have his cheese, especially for last night’s dinner of “pasta!”). Aside from waking up starving on Tuesday, I have been very satisfied with not consuming dairy or grains and feel pretty good. In fact, the past couple of nights I went to bed WAY too late, but surprisingly, I wasn’t dragging the next days as I usually am. I’m not sure if my energy levels are related to what we are consuming or not, but either way, I like it!
Anyhow, since it is Thursday, I’m linking up with Jessie at Jessie Loves to Run for her fun Thankful Thursday Link-up. She is so sweet, so be sure to check her out!
After having a jam session (he playing his instruments and me on the piano) with Keenan this morning, it made me really appreciate our play time together. I’m truly thankful for being able to spend my days with him filled with playing, laughing and snuggling. Though some days can be hard, I love every moment with him and I love that he wants to spend time with me. His new thing right now is grabbing my hand, pulling me over to his toys and saying, “Mommy, play with me!” It is so precious and I wish I could keep him this small forever!
Enjoying his lunch of turkey rolls today!
On a different note, I’m excited to share a special local project/partnership with you called, “Think Green,” that I think so many other companies and schools could benefit from. Beutler Air Conditioning and Plumbing, a heating and air conditioning company in the Sacramento area, has partnered with the West Sacramento Educational Foundation to give back to the community by educating children on energy conservation. Together, Beutler and the West Sacamento Educational Foundation created an opportunity for children to think creatively and critically by submitting ideas for projects on energy conservation. They are encouraging students from kindergarten to eighth grade in the Washington Unified School District of West Sacramento to enter their “green ideas” on how to reduce energy costs, as well as how it affects their community. The class with the winning idea will be receive a mini-grant of $500, the second and third finalists will receive mini-grants of $300 and $200. The contest is open until February 15th and the winners will be announced in March. As an added bonus, Beutler will match the total prize earnings by donating $1,000 to the West Sacramento Educational Foundation.
Beutler decided to create this project because they are very passionate about teaching children about energy savings. They believe the younger we can teach kids to “think green” and conserve energy, the better our environment will be years down the road. This is the reason why I am writing about this today, because I commend Beutler for reaching out into their community to make a difference. So many times, companies are in it just to make money and succeed, forgetting about their communities, so it is refreshing to see a company committed to its’ residents and the future of our environment.
Just like teaching children about healthy eating and the importance of exercise at a young age, I believe it is vital to also teach about energy conservation. My husband deals with energy efficiency and renewable energy issues, so they’re hot topics in our house! Keenan is only 2 years old, but we are teaching him to always shut off the light when leaving a room (my husband is VERY adamant about this), recycling and reusing things, instead of being wasteful. Let’s raise our children to follow the three r’s of reduce, reuse and recycle, as well as turning off lights when not in use, not letting the water run while brushing our teeth and using florescent bulbs. By educating our children and establishing healthy habits (nutritionally and environmentally) at an early age, we will have much more responsible adults and, hopefully, a healthier planet. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to start talking with your children about energy conservation and how important it is to keeping our environment a healthier one! (When my husband heard about this program, he said, “You have GOT to write about this–kids need to know this stuff, because their parents are too busy to take the time to learn everything.”)
Well, I need to start prepping dinner (sauteed brussel sprouts with onions, bacon and pine nuts…YUM!) before we head to CrossFit for another tough, but good workout. I was able to finish at the top with yesterday’s WOD of box jump overs, v-ups, grasshoppers and shuttle runs, but boy, are my legs feeling it today!
Questions:
– What do you do to conserve energy?
– How do you “think green?”
– Would you like to see posts about workout ideas that you can do at home?
REMINDER: There is still time to enter a chance to win a 32 oz. jar of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil! Contest ends Jan. 16th at midnight PST!! Click here to enter!
Have you ever tried cauliflower pizza??? Thats next on my list to try….the crust base is cauliflower and eggs….wow
Yes, and I love it! We haven’t made it in awhile, so I need to bring that back!
I completely forgot about the Think Green project. Ooops! I’ve gotten much better at conserving electricity and recycling. Lately I’ve been trying to pay more attention to the cleaning products we use and am buying or creating more green products.
Glad to hear the paleo challenge is going good for you! We’re doing pretty good as well. Like your husband, mines not really loving it and cheated yesterday by eating sushi. I feel good though and even though it wasn’t a goal, I’ve already dropped a few pounds. Must be all the water that gluten and dairy make you retain! Hope your cross fit class went well this morning!
Glad you guys are doing well with the challenge, too! Congrats on the weight loss, that is awesome! That is funny that you mentioned your husband cheating yesterday, because my husband almost did, too, by eating a handful of Keenan’s cheerios until I said something to him!