Why I'm staying in the U.S.A.

Dear United States of America,
I refuse to leave! As the political battle of presidential candidates rages on I have heard and read statements from people saying they will move to a different country should a certain person become president. I can't lie, this thought has crossed my mind. I do love Canada (except for the cold), and France would be really nice. But as I consider my position as a feminist, a mom, a conservationist, a breastfeeding defender, a lover of love, a hunter, an agnostic, and pro-choice, I feel it is my duty to stay.

I am staying because this country needs people like me. It is my duty to remain in my country and let my voice be heard. It is my duty to show the people in our government that the voices that got them elected are not the only voices they must serve in the office of president. The U.S.A is a diverse country with many needs and to be the leader of this country means you must work to serve those needs...ALL of those needs.  

I am concerned about all the things I have seen out there that fuel hatred. Hatred among races, among religions, among other countries, among beliefs. We can't fuel this country on hate and fear! That makes us just as bad as the terrorists. Wouldn't our children be much prouder of us if we hugged each other rather than punched each other?

(This video does not serve as my endorsement of any particular candidate, it is just to illustrate the differences between a hate and love and the power of a hug. It also illustrates how the demeanor of a public figure can influence the behavior of his/her supporters.) 

As president you are responsible for representing all of us on the international stage. If you cannot do so with professionalism, dignity, and compassion you do not deserve the honor of being president. We are progressive, we are not afraid, we want better for our children.   

I am staying because no matter who gets elected president that person will need to know my views and those of people like me. We will need to fight to maintain and advance our views, we will need to shout that hate and fear will not run our lives and that we as Americans have an integrity to uphold. We need to make sure we do not regress on policies that have protected our natural resources, advanced our economy, and protected our civil rights. We need to make sure we continue to move forward with policies that serve our needs, ensure our health, and protect our vulnerable populations.

So hear me now! You will hear from me once you are in office. The people of this country cannot be silenced by the statements that got you elected. You will have supporters that feed into your policies and programs (or lack there of), but once elected you will need to answer to all of the citizens of the U.S.A. 

So no matter who I vote for in November and no matter who wins this presidential election, I will work hard to make my voice heard and try to influence policies that make sense for the U.S.A. Because it is important that our government work for us. It is important that they know what we want and that they cannot govern a people without listening to the people. 

For the love of all that is holey in weight loss

A calorie is a calorie is a calorie....not exactly. We (the royal we) have been learning more and more about how 100 calories of pure sugar does not equal 100 calories of almonds.

Now there is an article out that says we, as humans, don't process calories the same due to our gut fauna.

Wow! I'm confused! Is this why I can't loose weight even when I eat the same food as my 6'6" 160 pound husband? I'm sure genetics are in there somewhere.

We are spoiling our kids

I am afraid we are spoiling our kids and raising brats! As I start to think this thought I get an email in my in box from "What to Expect" titled "How not to spoil your child"

Alice screams a lot and tries to get her way that way. Miles starts to cry. These are the tantrums I have to put up with. I guess I just need to get tougher. One night I put a bunch of Alice's toys in "time-out" and nothing worked. Why won't they listen to me and do as I ask?!!!


Thursday, December 17, 2015
Cottage cheese
HB egg
2 cup tea
2 rice cakes with humus and avacado
DC coffee
Light egg nog (I bought this light stuff by mistake, but it isn't too bad)
Chunk of mozzarella cheese

Gut fauna

So I've heard that sauerkraut is good at improving your gut fauna. I am thinking that is what I need. I also need to cut my carbs. I am just not feeling up to par lately and I need to make some changes. I think my junk food binge is catching up to me.

When Aaron was gone a couple of weeks ago I bought tater tots and made them and hot dogs for the kids and I. I NEVER do that! I mean we only get hot dogs when we are at street festivals or summer BBQs. I never make them at home. I've also thought I need to start some physical activity again. I am getting winded if I have to walk up the stairs 3 or more times. Not good.

So I'm back on my kick and trying to commit. This morning I ate leftover quinoa with feta, kale, and tomatoes and a hard boiled egg. I'm trying to sugar and carb detox and it is so hard. But I'll keep trying. But Christmas is coming and there are all kinds of treats and bingeing available this time of year! Yes, there are so this will be extra hard.

Keeping away from alcohol will be a challenge too. I just need to stop buying it, well and stop drinking it too.

I feel like it is also time to get tracking on my fit bit. I haven't even been hitting my goal of 10k steps!

Tuesday, December 16, 2015
2 cup DC tea
HB egg
L/O quinoa, feta, chickpea, kale, tomato (salad)
DC coffee (Santa's White Christmas) with whip cream
Meat stick
Cheese stick
L/O pheasant stir fry and white rice
Peanut butter/oat/chocolate chip cookie
Peppermint candy
Cup of egg nog
Fried fish tacos (at a friend's)
Cookie

Something needs to change with accessibility to guns

I'm done! I'm done supporting gun rights. Yes, me and my husband hunt and we have several shot guns safely locked away, but if having these guns means allowing psychos who want to kill people to have guns too, I'm willing to give them up. 

Something needs to change in this country. I can't believe that mass shooting have become common place and some of the targets have been the most innocent, children. I have now begun to fear for my own family's safety. Below is a letter I sent to Heidi Heitkamp and my other senator/rep. I urge you to write to your representatives in Congress and let them know how you feel about this issue. The gun lobby can't keep blaming mental health and we can't continue to be complacent. Action needs to be taken and out voices heard. 

Dear Heidi Heitkamp,

Enough is enough with this gun violence. I am a supporter of gun rights, I really am, but the recent mass shooting in San Bernardino has put me over the edge. Our country has experienced so many mass shootings that people are dealing with these events on a regular basis. This should not be the case.

I am beginning to live in fear for me and my family’s safety. North Dakota is not immune to this. There was the shooting at a wedding reception in New Rockford a few months ago. That shouldn’t have happened. People should be able to attend joyful events without thinking about the potential of dying. How are we going to keep guns out of the hands of people who have the potential to kill others? How can we keep our communities safe?

Last week I had a real breakdown, this was before the San Bernardino shooting. I dropped my son off at pre-school here in Jamestown. I forgot to bring his heavy coat for when they play outside. When I returned to drop off his coat I simply walked into the school, unnoticed, walked into the classroom, unnoticed again and dropped off his coat in his cubby. As I did this I looked around at the kids playing and realized how vulnerable they were. What if I were someone with a gun and mal intentions to kill a bunch of kids? I went home and cried, my thoughts of losing my son to such violence consumed me. The fear and the feeling of loss were real at that moment and I was in hysterics all morning.

Yes you can say this is a security issue on the school’s part, but really, should we even have to worry about a situation like this?

I am supporting gun control now. Solutions need to be found and the gun lobby can’t keep blaming mental health. I support guns for hunting. All other weapons need to be regulated and strict background checks made (for hunting weapons included). I don’t know exactly what the solution is, but we do need to look beyond our borders to other countries who don’t have these instances of mass murder to see how their gun laws protect their citizens.

Having this fear is disturbing and frightening, and living in fear of your fellow Americans is no way to live free.

Thank you for your time,

Jennifer P. Kross

Meatless night

I have been going meatless more and more often. My kids love tofu, or "tofood" as they call it. Last night I fried up some tofu with a Tastefully Simple orange ginger saracha sauce. It was pretty good and the kids ate it up. My son is deviating more and more away from meat. He didn't eat any turkey on Thanksgiving and when I put meat on his plate he struggles to eat it. I'm not sure what that means exactly, hot dogs he will devour. I refuse to make a separate meal for him. He can eat what I make or go hungry. Does that make me a mean mommy? 

Frying up Tofu

On the side we had mashed cauliflower and broccoli. I've done this with just cauliflower before, but I thought I'd throw in some broccoli to see how it worked. A little butter, parm cheese and it worked pretty well. The kids enjoyed it, and that is usually the barometer in our house.

Mashed broccoli and cauliflower

Guts and gas

I'm contemplating seeing a dietitian. Although, I'm not exactly sure where to find one in my town. My guts are ruined. It may be my eating habits lately. I keep telling myself I'm going to turn things around and eat better. But it hasn't happened yet. I also keep telling myself I'm going to do an elimination diet, but that is challenging. Do I get the rest of the family involved with this experiment? And why start this now during the holiday season when great, indulgent food is abundant and prolific.

It wouldn't be too hard to eliminate dairy, although I do love cheese and eat a lot of it.The other stuff, well, I guess I'd just have to prepare. Bread and gluten would be very challenging, but I guess I'd just have to do a lot of prep and have veggies cut and ready to pull out of the fridge and eat.