The Blizzard is Coming, The Blizzard is Coming...

Yes, it's true, the blizzard is heading our way. They expect the snow to start around 3 p.m. today and accumulate at the rate of 1-3 inches per hour for a total of two to three feet! I can remember the big blizzard of 1967 in Chicago. I was in the third grade and had perfect attendance that year. I kept telling my Dad that I had to go to school so that I could keep my perfect record! Of course, we had fun back then, staying out in the snow, building tunnels and forts. Oh, what fun we had!

To get ready for the blizzard, I had to make sure that we had enough supplies to last us for a few days. Our formula vendor and our diaper vendor deliver once a month and you guessed it, we are waiting on both deliveries. The formula and feeding supplies are due on Thursday and the diapers and changing supplies are scheduled today via Federal Express although I get the feeling that they may not arrive. Dear Son is on multiple medications for seizures and a few other things and some of those prescriptions were scheduled for renewal later this week. All were refilled and prescriptions are in the house. Regardless, we are ready.

Formula. Check.

Diapers. Check.

Prescription Medications for Dear Son. Check.

Laundry Soap. Check. I don't know about you, but my household stops if I can't do the wash, lol.

Comfort Food. Check.

To prepare for the week, I did my weekly grocery shopping yesterday. The parking lot was so full that I had to wait until someone left to get a spot. That's crazy! On the list this week were comfort foods. No sense sitting indoors with a blizzard outside without some good old fashioned comfort food. On the menu this week will be chicken pot pie, made with homemade mashed potatoes and some broccoli on the side. Meatloaf is on the menu as well-I have Grandma's recipe that I enhanced a bit and it's really good. I even tried to get some tomato soup but they were sold out! Did they not know a blizzard was coming! It was the only type that was sold out. I am not much of a soup person and typically make my own but I do have a thing for tomato soup on occasion. Anyway, comfort foods are in the house.

Until then, I needed to make my green smoothies. Green smoothies are wonderful. Not only are they a great way to pack in a maximum amount of nutrition but they have been wonderful for me in relieving arthritis pain. Typically, prior to rain or snow, I would be in a pretty fair amount of pain. While I did eat foods high in omega-3s, they didn't seem to help avoid this pain. Green smoothies are the first food that took away all of my pain. This was the first time that I really experienced how food can relieve pain. As a result of drinking these green smoothies, several things happened: the arthritis in my knee went away and I no longer woke up with dry eyes. In addition, I had severe arthritis in my feet ever since I was a teenager. It always felt like my feet were broken overnight and I could hardly stand on them when I woke up in the morning. This has been like that since I was a little girl. I should also mention that I was extremely fit up until giving birth to Dear Son so it wasn't due to being overweight or anything. Since drinking green smoothies, I don't have arthritis pain and now I don't know when it's going to rain or snow unless I watch the weather. I still have to eat fairly well and eat omega 3s which are anti-inflammatory. You can read more about green smoothies on Victoria Boutenko's Green Smoothie Revolution Blog. Now I am not suggesting it will cure any of your ailments, I am just sharing what it's done for me. I always think it's better when you can eat foods to cure your ailments/pain rather than taking any medications. I don't take medications of any kind. Off soapbox now.

Anyway, I started drinking green smoothies last June and have one every other morning for breakfast. Here's how to make it:

-1 1/2-2 cups of water

-1 frozen organic banana (I like Dole organic bananas at Whole Foods. They have great flavor.)

-1/2 cup frozen organic berries (I alternate between organic raspberries and organic strawberries. I do like blueberries but not in my smoothies because they turn the smoothie a brownish color and it looks like, well, you know.)

-3 giant handfuls of organic spinach or other organic greens. This is how much I put in my smoothie.

Put water and frozen banana in blender on "chop". Once it's chopped, add the strawberries and chop again. Once that's done, add the spinach and chop some more. Once chopped, switch it to the "puree" function and puree about 45 seconds or more. Of course if you have a Blendtec mixer, you can just put all of the ingredients in the blender at once but for my little Cuisinart, you have to do the steps separately so the blender blades don't break. I also like using organic ingredients to boost the nutritional value. There are some studies that suggest that there are possibly more nutrients in organic fruits and vegetables and while there is not a concensus, I genuinely believe that since many of the organic fruits and vegetables taste better, that they have to be better for you. Even if the nutritional value were similar, you can reduce the toxins by choosing organic and you are guaranteed that the food is not genetically modified.

So our focus for the next few days will be keeping warm and watching the snow fall. In addition to the snow, they expect winds of 50 mph tomorrow. Dear Son will be keeping warm in his NFL Bears Snuggie that I got him for Christmas. Dad likes it so much, he told me to pack it in Dear Son's suitcase over the weekend and told me it might not be coming back, lol.