Pencil Thin

I feel really blessed that my husband is able to fix and renovate most of the things around our house. He does and amazing job with just about everything that he does. This makes it hard to complain when something he installs doesn’t quite work the way it should. He installed a light in our bathroom that seems to work for a week and then quit. I would love to take the thing out and have some sort of Murray Feiss light installed but I don’t dare bring up the subject. He picked out the light that is currently in the bathroom. I really hate the light and bit my tongue when I saw it. It does absolutely nothing to brighten the bathroom and creates all sorts of shadows. If you don’t have makeup to put on or hair to style the light would be great. I can only hope he decides something is wrong with the light and suggests we look for a different one.

After watching the movie “Food Inc” I am now a believer in buying organic foods whenever possible. If you haven’t seen this movie I would encourage you to track it down and watch it. I am soooo willing to spend more on organic foods, because I want to know exactly what is going into my families bodies. I shiver at the though of how many pesticides, antibiotics and hormones are in the foods we eat everyday. I do wish it was more affordable… but knowing what my family is eating gives me a peace of mind that makes it totally worth it to me. We now budget throughout the year in order to be able to buy organic beef and pork from a local farmer each year.

There haven’t been many changes that have occurred as a result of my weight loss. For some reason my clothes still fit about the same even through I have lost 25 pounds. It is a little weird to me to know I have lost that much weight and am still buying the same size pants. It makes me wonder where the weight came from that I lost? I keep thinking it has to be somewhere I like my calves because that wouldn’t impact my pants size the way it would if it had come from my waist. One great thing is I no longer have to worry about how to treat acne because my skin is really clear. I have to think that not eating processed foods must agree with my skin because I haven’t had any pimples in about a month. Everything I have read says that I should start to notice more changes in my body now that I am working out intensely each day. I really hope this is true because I only want to loose about 19 more pounds and would love to think I will not be wearing the same size forever.

O.K., so Target is having a fabulous clearance sale in my neck of the woods. 80% off some clothes and shoes and boots. As I was scouring the bargain racks, I came across this FABULOUS dress. Just my colors, just my size, perfect fabric…so I tried it on. It’s like it was made for my particular body. I think I even giggled in the dressing room. Even on clearance it was still $19, but I decided to go for it because a)I haven’t bought a dress from anywhere but a thrift store in over 9 years b)I’ve been rotating the same three outfits for church for the past three months and c)My birthday is in two days. I walked out on cloud nine…right up until I passed the maternity section. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! It’s a maternity dress…and no, I’m not expecting. I guess that explains the extra room on top and the flowing hips. Ugh! I cried inside for half a second and then bought it anyway. Who cares, right?!? But just now I’m wondering what I’m going to say if someone totally preggers shows up in the same dress or someone remembers where it came from… What do you all think? Would you wear anything from the maternity section if you weren’t officially in need of said section?

The diet I am following has been one of the best plans I have every followed. I don’t really remember exactly how I found out about it. I think I may have been researching diet pill side effects when I found a discussion about this diet on a forum. The great thing about this diet is the fact that I now know it works. So many times you read about this fantastic diet plan that sounds to good to be true. I am always hesitant to believe stuff I read unless I know someone who has actually tried it. For some reason I decided to give this diet plan a try and am so glad I did. I now have an eating plan for life that I know works as long as I follow it.

A friend of mine is trying to implement the use of natural consequences with her children. She is really struggling with understanding what this means. For example she asked me what a natural consequence for not putting a coat away when asked would be?

The natural consequence is that people trip over the coat and the coat gets destroyed or damaged from being walked on.

In truth, “natural consequence” has become a really popular catch phrase in parenting, but actual natural consequence parenting wouldn’t be either safe or effective. Most of us don’t–and shouldn’t– allow our children to experience many natural consequences in real life because they’re too dangerous (touching a hot stove), they’re too distant and/or irreversible for the child to be able to understand them in time to learn (refusing to brush their teeth until they realize that cavities and social rejection due to bad breath really hurt), or the natural consequences actually punish or damage other people or property, not the child themselves (running around Mom’s living room until something gets knocked over. That’s the natural consequence, but does the child really care?). In other words, I think that what “natural consequences” actually means would not be safe or very effective parenting.

I think what people usually mean when they use the term natural consequences is “reasonable rule-based consequences for our micro-society,” which makes sense. After all, those are the rules under which we all function far more frequently than under natural consequences. The example Bluebooks gave is a reasonable social consequence, rather than a natural consequence, and it sounds like good parenting to me, too.

Our older son is reaching the age where we have to begin talking about puberty and growing up. We have been gently trying to talk to him about the changes that will be taking place in his body over the coming months and years. It is had trying to prepare your child for facial hair, body odor, and scalp pimples when they have no concept of what all that really means. In my gut I think we can explain things until we are blue in the face but until he is actually dealing with the changes of puberty it probably won’t make any sense. I honestly don’t believe that you can make sense out of your teenage years until you are well past them and are actually living life as a grown up.

Looking for a place to donate to relief in Haiti? I have read so many mixed things about donating safely. This is a list I found that seems to be reliable information.

American Red Cross website (link), by calling 1-800-REDCROSS or text the word “HAITI” to 90999, which will automatically bill a $10 donation to your mobile phone account.

Doctors Without Borders

Oxfam America

Yéle Haiti

Healing Hands for Haiti: The organizations is filing last-minute paperwork to enable them to legally solicit contributions in Utah. Credit card donations at a secure PayPal link accessible at http://www.healinghandsforhaiti.org/ Or you can send a check or money order to: Healing Hands for Haiti International Foundation, c/o The Treasurer at Healing Hands for Haiti International Foundation Inc., P.O. Box 521800, Salt Lake City, Utah 84152-1800

Catholic Community Services: The Salt Lake City charity is urging donors to contact Catholic Relief Services in Washington, D.C. (www.crs.org).

The other day I was hired for an work at home job. I am really very thankful to have this job because of the flexibility it offers and the extra income it will provide out family. I have done a job very similar to this one in the past and should be able to learn the necessary skills very quickly. I will spend a great deal of the day looking at various websites and free web directories online. It is always interesting to see various websites and learn new things that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise. Just when I think I have seen everything there is to see then something new comes up and my jaw drops. The things people are interested in is so wide spread and diverse that it never seems to get boring. I love the work I do and am so glad to be able to be doing it again.

We gave DS10 a bento box shipped directly from Japan for Christmas. I pack it for his lunches a few times a week and he loves it! We love getting so creative and fun with his food. Anyone else do this and would be willing to share tips, tricks, recipes and/or photos? You can be as fancy or plain as you want with your food, and the food that I pack is pretty Americanized. We do make sticky rice and form it into Onigiri (rice balls). Most everything we do is mini. Mini bagels, muffins, pita pockets. Lots of shaped things (cheese, veggies, sandwiches) cut out with cutters. There are sooo many cute accessories. Food picks, sauce bottles, food shapers. I am loving it and so is DS.

I am eating about as healthy of a diet as I have ever eaten in my life. You would think that my body would just go crazy but it really hasn’t. My husband joked that my system would go into shock and react as if I had taken a colon cleanser or something in response to all the vegetables I am eating. The reality is that I don’t feel much different at all. I expected to have more energy and some sort of improvement in my overall disposition but the truth is that I feel pretty much the same. I am thinner and that is great but somehow I expected a little more from such a dramatic change in my lifestyle. I read all about people who say that changing their diet actually changed their life and I am wondering what they are talking about? I feel great about my weight loss but certainly don’t feel like a new person.

I had asked in a previous post about any gardening advice that people might have to share with new gardeners. I have already gotten some great tips and thought I would share:

* patio container gardening (easy for lazy retired bears )
handicap accessible by those using wheelchairs or walkers
great for elderly or those with lower back and knee problems
easy gardens for apartment housing or sunny patios
low upkeep and no weeds – just water twice a day with a hose
5 gallon bucket w/ wire cage + 1 Early Girl tomato plant = 1 bushel harvest

* fertilizer
the types: Plant food vs. Vegetable food

* mulch and weed control
mulch conserves water and prevents weed seeds from germinating
even wet sheets of newspaper can be used as mulch
disturb the soil around the plants every week, to prevent weeds from growing

* soil conditioners
adding composted leaves and other plant matter returns nitrogen to the soil.
adding manure will loosen the soil so fragile root systems will take hold faster and plants will have a great food source.

* bug prevention
plant certain flowers next to a vegetable plant to keep bugs away
spray plants with homemade solutions to kill bugs

Get children involved with gardening!
picky eaters may decide they want to try eating things they’ve grown themselves!

Last week I finished the first phase of my new diet routine. I am now in a phase where I am trying to stabilize my weight at the point where I currently am. I really thought this would be easy but it is proving to be a little more difficult than I anticipated. It is not like I am eating a ton of food but my weight has crept up a little bit. I almost wish I could take the alli diet pill in addition to what I am already doing. I know that for right now I need to follow my current diet strictly and that everything will work out. It is hard to realize that there are just certain foods that I am never again going to be able to eat. I keep telling myself that being healthy is more important but it is still proving to be quite an adjustment to wrap my head around.

I am going to be working with some new gardeners and I need some hints that have helped you. If you were a brand new gardener, what would you like to know from the beginning and if you have never tried to garden, what do you want to know? The focus will be on vegetables and some fruits (raspberries, strawberries) in South Salt Lake, Utah.

Some things that I think are important:
*Seed/transplant start dates for our area
*Ideas to prepare soil (We have alkaline soil with clay & rock.) Someone else is going to cover square foot gardening.
*Sun vs. shade lovers
*Space savers for small spaces (pole beans vs. bush beans, etc.)
*Good plants for our area
*Any good money saving hints??? (Everyone seems to need to save $ lately.)

I would love any hints about these areas. Is there other important information that I have missed? Please let me know.

My total weight loss now equals about 25 pounds. It is funny to have lost this much weight so quickly. I am still getting used to feeling the bones in my body. The last time I weighed this little was about 15 years ago. That was before becoming pregnant with my first son. I gained a ton of weight when I was pregnant with him. I remember addressing birth announcements and thinking to myself that the weight would just fall off after I had him. I did loose some of the weight but never got back to where I was before children. I still have about 15 pounds that I would like to loose but I am completely thrilled with the results thus far. I am now moving into a 6 week period where I will be stabilizing my weight at this level before starting another round to loose those final few pounds. I am so excited to be moving into the next phase and beginning a more varied diet.

I know there are things out there folks can’t eat due to allergies, but I’m wondering what foods/ingredients do you avoid by choice? And what is your reasoning for it?

Such as high fructose corn syrup. I know this is a big one for some folks. I’ve heard rumor it is what they use to mimic cancer in lab rats. That may be completely off-base, but it was enough to make me think twice about wanting to eat it. We also avoid PHO’s (partially hydrogenated oils) and hydrogenated oils.
HFCS
I avoid soy because I have thyroid problems, which have been linked to too much soy, and also infertility, which again has been linked to too much soy. Also I have three boys which a diet high in soy can cause problems for them. My boys love milk but we are trying hard to limit their milk consumption since even too much milk is not good for you. Other things include any color additive with a number symbol attached to it (e.g. blue #1, yellow #5, red #40).

There has been many times in my life when I wondered whether my brother would ever find someone to share his life. I love my brother but he has many qualities that would make it hard for someone to share his life. I personally could not get past the fact that every time I visit his home I want to take some Anilox cleaner and just start scrubbing. He is one of those men who does not rank cleaning as being a priority. Somehow he has found a person who is able to look beyond what I consider his less than desirable qualities and is willing to share his life. I think this is a wonderful thing. It is weird after all this time of him being a bachelor to consider him as part of a couple. When I invite him to do things I keep forgetting to include his significant other. I am setting a goal this year to be a better sister and to include his new mate in our family activities.

There is something about shoveling snow that I enjoy. I know this sounds crazy but it is true. Most of my female friends wouldn’t be caught dead shoveling snow and consider this to be work that men should do. I am of the mindset that it is a great way to get a good upper body workout. I also think there is something satisfying about it. When you are done shoveling you can look around and see what you have accomplished. I am quite sure my neighbors think that I am a little obsessive about my shoveling activities but I don’t care. When I am shoveling I enjoy the peace and quiet. It is nice to be alone with my thoughts working on a task. I know there will come a day when I don’t look on this job as being quite so enjoyable but for now I will take the little moments of pleasure when I can get them.

For Christmas I received a copy of Wii Fit Plus. I have to say I really enjoy it much more than the previous version. I found the older version a little bit cumbersome to use. To be honest it spend more time sitting on our tv stand than it did actually in the Wii system. It drove me crazy to have to stop between activities. It would seem like I would just get into a good workout when the session would be over. With the new version you can program you favorite activities to be one continuous workout routine. There are several new activities that are much more challenging as well as engaging. The game has even peaked the interest of my older son. He frequently asks when he is going to be able to have a turn with the game. This was something that never happened with the older version.

I am taking a moment to gripe about something that really has nothing to do with anything that I typically write about. We have a therapist who is supposed to come to the house twice a week to meet with our son and work on various skills. Since the beginning of November she has canceled one appointment per week. Ofter she calls at the last minute to cancel and sometimes after she is supposed to be here. I think this occurs because she thinks that since we home school that our schedule must be wide open or something. The truth is that our day is very scheduled and my son has several online classes that he needs to be in attendance for. I have debated about calling her boss to inquire if this is standard practice with their office but I am hesitant. I am giving her the benefit of the doubt and hoping that this habit of canceling stops when I stop being so accommodating.

The diet I am following recommends that people have a scale that measures very small increments of weight gain or loss. The scale I presently own is one that I bought at an electronics store several years ago. I have been really quite happy with it. The thing I am debating about is whether I really need to invest in a new scale? My scale measures in half pound increments rather than smaller one. I am wondering if it is really vital that I know I gain or lost a tenth of a pound? My instinct is to just keep using what I am using and not obsess over every teeny tiny weight loss or gain. What would you do? I have already invested quite a bit of money to follow this very strict diet. Spending even more money is not something I want to do right now but I would hate to ruin my progress by not following the diet very strictly.

I went on my new diet around the very end of November. It am due to finish this phase of the diet in a little less than a week. Overall I cannot say anything bad at all about this diet. The weight literally falls off as long as you follow the diet strictly. To date I have lost about 22 pounds in just shy of 6 weeks. There is no other diet that I have tried that has given me results this quickly. The next phase of the diet is where I reset my hypothalamus to my new body weight. I am a little nervous about this phase because I will be adding in new foods and will try to figure out what causes me to gain weight and what doesn’t.