Over the weekend we picked out our Christmas tree, a milestone for our little family of three! Maxwell was asleep in the Jeep while we were driving to a tree farm set up within the city of Los Angeles, and I thought for sure he was going to sleep through the whole thing. But he can clearly smell excitement because he woke up right as we said, “this is the one!” I think Zack’s a little embarrassed over our tree, because it’s a bit wee compared to what we could have bought. But I think it’s perfect. It’s the right size for our little 600 square foot apartment. It’s also basically the same size as me, ha! But our ornaments look absolutely perfect hung on it’s branches, and the gold yarn garland I made (see the DIY here) is a great compliment.
This is Maxwell’s first Christmas tree… I truly can’t believe it’s already this time of year. It’s magical. Max has been changing so much these last few weeks. He is clapping on his own, he seems to understand a few phrases that we say to him, and his favorite book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear. He’s a pro at drinking water out of a regular cup, and all of Bauer’s toys are so! fascinating! oh my word. He’s also the fastest belly crawler I’ve ever seen.
I thought last year was perfect because Zack surprised me on Christmas Eve, when I arrived back to Los Angeles after a week in Michigan visiting our families, with a Christmas tree and presents under it. We weren’t going to exchange gifts last year, but he must have run into Santa while I was out of town, because he definitely stopped by our apartment. And now this year, because of an amazing year for Gussy Sews we bought our plane tickets home for a generous amount of time. AND, it’s Maxwell’s first Christmas. This year will definitely, definitely be perfect :)
PS. only one week left to shop Gussy Sews! There are still a handful of gems inside the shop, and I’d be so so grateful if we could completely sell out before December 16th. (xoxoxo)
In our case, we use a lot a steamer and a inoodr grill. You can have dinner ready in less than 30 min. The veggies and potatoes in the steamer take max 15 min, and the meat (pork, beef, chicken, fish) max 20 min. You can use different spices for the meat to make it more interesting. An on top of the time, you are eating healthy. The steamer is about $25, and the grill about $30. It’s a good investment.
anonymous 2:53, good point. Usually people are obese becusae there is another serious problem, usually psychiatric. (I put on 30 pounds during my last serious bout with chronic depression. Just as you mentioned, I comforted myself with food.)Part of it may be that the word “fat” is still shrouded in the language of moral judgement. Obesity is thought to be a sign of moral weakness, when in reality it’s more likely the symptom of an underlying problem that doesn’t go away even after the obesity is cured. Drug addiction is still viewed in a similar way– people turn to drugs to compensate for a psychiatric ailment.Still, a patient is responsible for seeking proper treatment and sticking to that treatment. Part of doing this is letting a doctor or therapist know when the prescribed treatment isn’t working– or getting a second opinion.So, if I were a doctor, I would still say, “Yes, you are fat. Doesn’t make you a bad person, but your weight will kill you if you keep this up.”But if I were that obese patient, I’d have the right to respond, “Look, you’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. That’s why I came here, so I could find out how not to be fat anymore. Can you suggest something for me?”