As a father of 3, I find myself increasingly interested in foods that are good for you. Especially when little bodies and minds are concerned, you want to find the best food. However, this gets increasingly frustrating when you look at some of the current medical findings. Let’s look at some favorite kids’ foods, shall we?

Hot Dogs, also bacon.

In fact, any processed meats have been found to cause colorectal cancer, which is the third most prevalent cancer there is. I love bacon. I love hot dogs. Sausage is very tasty. So, my kids have inherited my taste in yummy processed meat foods. Heck, I ate a deli sandwich just before starting to type this. Deli meats cause cancer too, I hope this sandwich doesn’t do me in. So what CAN I eat, and what the eff do I give my kids?

One answer I’ve found is more fruits and vegetables. My kids absolutely love cantaloupe. I could cut a whole cantaloupe up for breakfast and it would be devoured with a quickness. No sausage on my table would be necessary.

Cantaloupe

Oh, no. So there is this listeria outbreak that started in August, but since it takes two months for symptoms to emerge, the source of the infection was consumed probably in June. The offender? Cantaloupe. So much for my breakfast idea…

So I’m back to choosing cereal for a breakfast staple. Cool. Here are some tips that famous doctor, Dr. Sears recommends for choosing healthy cereal. But wait, didn’t I read something about grains somewhere…

Grains

Grains are actually indigestible, and can essentially punch holes in your intestines. For a good fun read on the subject, check out the article ‘How To Keep Feces Out Of Your Bloodstream‘ from Tim Ferris (The 4 Hour Body) and Robb Wolf (The Paleo Solution). I also recommend both of their books.

Oh well, at least after whatever ‘lesser evil’ that I choose to poison feed my kids, there is always something healthy to wash it down with…

Apple Juice

Quick show of hands, who does NOT have this American staple in their fridge right now? Hmm. Not too many hands are flying in to the air. That’s because it’s what we drank when we were kids. It’s what our parents drank. And dang it, apple juice is very tasty!

So another famous doctor, Dr. Mehmet Oz, had to go on national television and tell us that what we’re really drinking is arsenic. ARSENIC! Now this one has met with quite a bit of controversy, but one thing’s for sure: the idea of an acceptable amount of insects in my apple juice was one thing. That might add a bit of bonus protein. But Arsenic?

So, what the eff CAN I feed my kids?

Can anyone answer that question? Comments are open. Please, someone out there in Cyberland offer me hope!

Image shamelessly stolen from Cartoon Brew.

A bit of a cheat today, since I spent a good portion of my lunch break researching the listeria outbreak from cow poo on cantaloupe.  (That will more than likely be tomorrow’s topic because it really burns me up!)

That being said, Saturday I took the kids to see The Lion King in 3D! My kids sat through (nearly) the entire thing – with glasses on! If it wasn’t for a very stinky diaper around the time that Rafiki realizes Simba is still alive, we probably would have made it completely through.

Below, I’m pasting my comment that I posted on Cartoon Brew’s “Lion King 3D Talkback“. You’ll noticed I fudged the fact that we had to get up toward the end. I felt that took away from the sentiment I was trying to convey. I’m allowed artistic license when discussing my life online, right?

I just got out of the theater, and felt compelled to chime in here. I am not in the animation biz, but consider myself an animation enthusiast. It truly warms my heart that I had this opportunity to take my kids to see a film that has meant so much to me. I think I was 15 when I first saw it with a group of friends at the theater. I remember being absolutely blown away. I had been going through a ‘I should leave this Disney stuff behind so I can grow up’ phase in my life. Lion King completely cured me of that. I’ve stayed enthusiastic ever since, and I truly missed seeing drawings come to life on the big screen. As some others have voiced here, I hope that this “cash grab” by Disney helps them realize that there truly is still a market for good traditional animation.
As for the 3D treatment: it did bother me that everything was slightly muted, though I wouldn’t go so far as to call it dark or gray. It was missing the vibrancy that I remember. That being said, I truly enjoyed flying with Zazu, being trapped in the wildebeest stampede with Simba, and thrilling as Scar lept through the flames right at me in the end battle scene! I’d be doing a disservice if I did not mention the more subtle effects like the rain! Or the dust that is still floating in the air as Simba approaches Mufasa’s still body. These things drew me in.
The debris that wafts from Simba to Rafiki was somehow jarring and weird, and some of the faster action appeared jerky.
But wow, I had a smile on my face the entire time. The same film that reignited a passion so long ago did the trick again for an increasingly cynical grown man. And yes, I was one of those parents that brought a crying kid with me. But once the film started, he was hooked too. And so was his five year old sister. In fact, I’ve taken them to a couple of 3D CGI films, and this was the first time they both kept their glasses on!
Thank you so much to those of you who worked on the original classic and the 3D edition. Your hard work has not gone unnoticed.

Writer’s block isn’t hard to cure.

Just write poorly. Continue to write poorly, in public, until you can write better.

I believe that everyone should write in public. Get a blog. Or use Squidoo or Tumblr or a microblogging site. Use an alias if you like. Turn off comments, certainly–you don’t need more criticism, you need more writing.

Do it every day. Every single day. Not a diary, not fiction, but analysis. Clear, crisp, honest writing about what you see in the world. Or want to see. Or teach (in writing). Tell us how to do something.

If you know you have to write something every single day, even a paragraph, you will improve your writing. If you’re concerned with quality, of course, then not writing is not a problem, because zero is perfect and without defects. Shipping nothing is safe.

That came from Seth Godin‘s blog. I encourage you to visit the full post, entitled ‘Talker’s Block’.

The source of my nervousness came from the fact that I had shared similar sentiments here on this blog. This blog that I’ve abandoned for a year, that is. I still agree with these thoughts, and I’m ashamed to report that I haven’t been living up to my own expectations. So, I’m following Seth’s advice.

I tried to turn off comments, but I couldn’t figure that out. So until I do, they’ll still be there.

Ironically, comments was what sent me packing from blogging in the first place. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed being part of an online community, and I appreciated the feedback. That feedback, however, became an obsession, to the point that I think my writing suffered for it. Either I worried about what that one commenter said, or I wanted to please everyone, and my voice eventually was lost.

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” -John Lennon

On top of feeling like I was starting to live life for the soul purpose of sharing it online and seeing what people online thought of it, I changed careers, moved 4 times within five months (!!), broke a car, got a new one, had one child begin Kindergarten and another enter Senior year. I’ve been busy. And that busy-ness has given me a lot of excuses to cut myself off from everything and focus on myself and my family. I’m grateful for that time, however, I am starting to feel lost once again. After a year, it’s time to dip my toe back in the water.

I am going to try to write once a day, probably on lunch break, and those rare occasions when the kids fall asleep before I do. (When I say rare, I mean it. Don’t look for too many late night posts from this tired Daddy Blogger!)

I thought about outlining what types of topics I could be discussing going forward, but I need to slow down.

Let’s just see what happens…

Calli's first day of school.

Picture taken by Kat, and much appreciated by me...

The reason I remember my answer is due to Calli, my four-year-old-tomorrow. Her eyes shot up, looked deep in to mine and said, “Not ‘yes-and-no’. Just yes. It’s always just yes.”

Since her birth, there has been no shortage of wonderful lessons she has given me, but this one gave me some serious thoughts.

Why do we so often settle for yes-and-no?

• Do you love your job?
• Are you where you want to be in life?
• Does every day end with a sense of fulfillment?

I’m certain I could go on and on. Why shouldn’t we be able to give a definitive yes or no? Why shouldn’t we seek out the yeses?

I related in an earlier post how I feel that I am going through a regeneration. I am changing things about my life and myself that I hope will bring a more fulfilling existence to my family as well as to me. Her statement “Not yes and no!” Echoed in my mind as that’s exactly what I am now trying to accomplish: finding the yeses and avoiding the noes.

And above all else, deciding definitively yes or no and not settling.

This post brought to you by Dad-Blogs' FatherHood Friday. Be sure to swing by for all the other great Dads and Moms who love to share their lives online!

Seth recently wrote a post called The non-optimized life.

If you haven’t seen his blog, you wouldn’t call it optimized by any stretch of the imagination. He rarely posts a picture, and when he does it is only to illustrate his point.

He doesn’t allow comments and he doesn’t use excessive links.

He’s a busy man, and it’s a wonder that he blogs at all, let alone daily.

He uses social networking in ways that maximizes his exposure without wasting his time.

This highly successful marketer/business man/author has taught this Daddy Blogger something very important:

I like to think that I’ve optimized my life by using Twitter to update my Facebook, or using Social Oomph to broadcast that I’ve written a new post every two hours on the day it’s posted.

But I still write all of those posts. Each message, even at 140 characters or less, represent time. Time I could have spent with my wife and kids. Time I could have been using improving myself.

My wife and I have discussed these ideas since I began this blog a year and a half ago. I’ve justified that time countless ways. It increases traffic, I’m making friends, it benefits my writing by helping me write quickly and directly.

As life moves forward, I see these justifications less as explanations and more as excuses. Actually, not just as excuses, but procrastination from doing the real work. The real work of finding myself and my family living lives that we can all be proud of.

Blogging and tweeting will slow, but the quality bar will be raised. If you enjoy what you see here, please subscribe to my RSS feed, because I won’t be telling you every two hours that I’ve blogged. Hopefully, I’ll find a voice worth listening to, and like Seth Godin, optimization (i.e. begging you to read me) will no longer be necessary.

You’ll just want to be here.

I’m about to hit ‘publish’ on this post at 11:00 pm on the Saturday night before the final game of the World Cup. I’d say when it comes to non-optimization, I’m off to a great start!

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• The non-optimized law blog (kevin.lexblog.com)
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• Seth Godin on Benefits of the Blogging Process (climbtothestars.org)
• Are influencers all that influential? (mailchimp.com)

Ah, Independence Day. There's nothing more patriotic than watching a giant mothership blowing up our nation's capital...

In Avon, CO., they can’t wait to blow stuff up. That’s why, on July 3, thousands of people gather at Nottingham Park for the Salute to the USA celebration, which boasts the Rocky Mountains’ biggest firework display.

Unfortunately, I had to work last night and missed the whole thing. But Kat got to go and took some awesome pics using her Casio Exilim G* that served her well in Australia. (Those pics are coming soon, I’ll be posting them over several days after the holiday.)

So, without further ado, join me in vicariously enjoying the biggest fireworks display of the Rockies.

Oooooooo...

Aaaaaaahhhhh....

OK, I'll stop...

Happy 4th, everybody! Be safe out there…**

*This blog was not endorsed by the city of Avon, Twentieth Century Fox, or Casio.

**Speaking of safety, for family friendly and safe online patriotic fun, give these Patriot’s Games a try! (Click the pic!)

In messages of 160 characters or less, I’ve learned that she repelled off of cliffs at the Blue Mountains, toured the Sidney Opera House and Parliament, visited aquariums and zoos, held a Koala, swam under a waterfall, and ate kangaroo, crocodile, and (live!!) green ants.

But I can’t wait to hear the stories. She hung out with aborigines and stayed with a family that’s as in to Asian culture as she is.

The drive home should be exciting.

Thanks to all that supported us in getting her to the Land Down Under, I’ll be sure to pass on some stories (and pics!)

Thanks again!

This post brought to you by Dad-Blogs' FatherHood Friday. Be sure to swing by for all the other great Dads and Moms who love to share their lives online!

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• Messages From The Land Down Under, and Miscellaneous Friday Ramblings… (howefitz.com)

All contents copyright 2008-2009 Justin Howe.