Monday, May 31, 2010

Audley End House



Yesterday we decided to buy an English Heritage pass and find a place to go visit. The Man picked out the Audley End House and Gardens. I really didn't know what to expect other than a day out away from the house exploring something of England's history. The day was gorgeous and the time out with the family was amazing.

This was part of the laundry rooms and I fell in LOVE with the clothes drying racks. They are on pulley systems so they could be lowered to hang the clothes and then raised out of the way while drying. I had The Man take a picture of it because it is my ultimate dream of a drying rack. Living in military housing we have our washer and dryer in the kitchen and I do not like it one bit. One day when we are able to buy a house I aim for having something like this to hang my clothes on in an actual laundry room.

We got to watch a show of horses and riders. There were 6 riders, 3 male and 3 female. Each team consisted of one female and one male rider. They did a relay race showing how they could take items like champagne glasses filled with champagne or tea kettles back and forth while galloping and jumping over small gates. The men also demonstrated how they play polo. I know I would for sure fall off a horse doing the things they were doing. I was amazed at the ladies riding side saddle and how fast the horses could go without them falling off.

It was a great day and now we have a year pass to many different historical sites here around England.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Dietary Changes

The Man and I are both over weight so I decided that some dietary changes were in order. We are making them slowly but I have noticed a change already. Our first step is to eliminate high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) from our food and eat more fruits and vegetables. Shopping for food without HFCS is interesting to say the least. Many foods have HFCS in it. I have done pretty good at finding replacements for many things that we eat on a normal basis. I buy my Coke off base on the economy. British Coke is made with sugar and not HFCS. I have found that several of the foods that I can buy at the commissary that are without the HFCS are organic. We havent bought many organic items in the past due to cost but I have decided that losing weight and being healthier is more important than the increased cost of food. Also since cutting out the HFCS I have noticed that I feel fuller, longer. I am not sure if this is a mental thing due to knowing that the food is more expensive or if it is an effect of eating foods made with sugars rather than the HFCS. I guess time will tell this one. I also have noticed less cravings for candies/chocolates. My scale has been teasing me for a couple days now. I havent been under 200lbs since my second was born over 3 years ago. The scale for the past couple days has been teetering between 199 and 200. I think it knows how much I really want to get under 200 again. It will happen slowly but surely. My next step is going to be dramatically reducing the amount of food with soybean oil.