I don't think day two counts, I was too sick to eat. My total daily consumption was
7 triscuits
1 apple
1 slice of bread
I drank some crystal light because I needed hydration but couldn't keep water down. So, I guess I am 1 for 2 this week- but I am going to keeping trying!
Day one was a success, here is what I ate.
Breakfast
1 c plain yogurt
1 c raspberries
1 c fiber cereal
Lunch
14 triscuits
2 slices of cheese
1 apple
1 plum
Dinner
1/4 c Brown Rice
Sword Fish Fillet
Salad (tomato, cucumber, lettuce, dressing)
Simple but satisfying!
There seems to be a huge trend right now to stop eating sugar and I have spent the better part of the last few weeks trying to decide how I feel about it. Though I have long been concerned about sugar consumption and though I changed my diet limiting refined sugar and starches a few months ago I hadn't really made up my mind to give it up all together. After considerable thought however, here is what I have finally decided about me and sugar.
1. Sugar gives me headaches.
2. Sugar makes me tired.
3. Sugar is addictive.
4. Sugar makes it harder for me to concentrate.
5. Sugar is a catalyst for eating fatty foods.
Having made these discoveries (and others) I have decided to eliminate all refined sugar (and a few other refined things) from my diet. For me this means:
I love my life because
1. I am the daughter of two fantastic parents, who have shown their love for me in countless way over the last 30 years. They are kind and generous and fun to be with. They are not only my parents but my dearest friends.
2. I am married to the most gentle and loving man I have ever known. He is patient and kind and good. He is my rock, my friend, my confidant, my example, my everything!
3. The Lord has blessed me to be the mother of two wonderful boys. Motherhood is a cherished blessing to me. It is without question the hardest, most humbling thing I have even done but it is also the source of my greatest fulfillment and joy. My constant prayer is that I will be equal to the task I have been given to raise my boys in love and light.
4. Spencer is my son- he is such a snuggly, loving child. He is thoughtful and sensitive and full of imagination and life. I love that I have spent the last 8 years watching him grow and look forward to seeing the man he will become.
5. Ross is my son- he is the spice of my life. He is honest (in every way) and terribly funny. He "gets" people and truly loves others. He is selfless and kind. I love all of the energy he adds to our lives. I look forward to watching Ross grow into manhood as well, though I must admit just thinking about the teenage years with him have already got me a bit frightened.
6. I have had the opportunity to live in and learn to love 8 different cities in my adult life. I have met the dearest people and made the greatest memories. Each new place has represented a new beginning for me. An opportunity to take the best of what I have learned and who I have become and share it with others.
7. I have been blessed with the eyes to see how my greatest struggles have also been the source of some of my greatest blessings.
8. Unlike so many people these days, I grew up in a home without television and it has truly shaped my life. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate TV but I love that my life does not revolve around it.
9. I have always lived in a comfortable, clean, beautiful home. I grew up in a wonderful home decorated and well managed by my mom. And though I have moved many times since leaving home at 18 I have always, ALWAYS had a great house to call my home.
10. I have the most generous, thoughtful sister alive! She sees the best in others and is always giving what she can to lighten the load they carry. She is fun and funny and talented in endless ways. She is an extraordinary mom! She is my greatest example and friend.
11. I have an incredible Brother whom I respect and love very much. He is smart and talented and driven to follow his dreams. I remember he once told me, "Laura, don't wait for life to happen to you, go out and make life what you want it to be!" I was young and impressionable then and I really appreciated his words. But the example he has set for me over the years as he has gone out and made his dreams his reality, is priceless.
12. I have an amazing body. I have spent the better part of the last 30 years thinking otherwise but I have finally come to terms with the fact that this body is mine, it is the only one I've got, and I better make the best of it. In doing so I have come appreciate all of the wonderful things my body can do; it can hear and enjoy good music, it can see the brilliant colors of a sunset sky, it can feel and think and cry. It can run and skip and jump and swim and rest and work and create. It gets me where I'm going in good comfort and in relatively good healthy. In short, I love my life because I have an amazing body.
13. I have visited 35 out of the 50 States in the USA and have loved them all for different reasons.
14. I can express my love and testimony through music. I am not very talented musically but I feel so blessed to be able to share the gift of music I have been given with others. My hope is that through my music others lives will be touched and changed as much as my life has been.
15. I have been blessed with a knowledge and testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
16. I have made sacred covenants that enable me to be united with my family eternally.
17. I know that the Priesthood of God has been restored to the earth and I know I have been blessed by it many times. I have always lived in a home where the power of the priesthood was present and available to me- that is a rare and wonderful thing.
18. I have never been without food, water, clothing, or shelter.
19. I grew up in the same town as my great-grand parents, grand parents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I had an amazing childhood surrounded by my loving, supportive family. I have not always appreciated my proximity to family but I am so grateful for it now. It is what I ultimately want for my children.
20. I know how to and sincerely enjoy hard work. Who would have ever thought that knowing how to work would be one of the things that I love about my life... but it is! The longer I live the more I realize how much of life is work in one way or another. Relationships are work, prayer is work, money management is work, parenting is work, personal health and fitness are work. I am so lucky to have been raise by parents who taught me how to love work in all its varieties.
21. I know that I can do hard things, like being a supportive military wife, surviving a devastating natural disaster, caring for a child with special needs, relocating my family every few years without complaining, managing my health, traveling alone, overcoming personal weakness, losing a loved one, repenting of sin, serving others when I have unmet needs, etc.
22. I have learned to love the out doors in all its grandeur. I love the mountains and the sea- I even love the dessert. I love plants and animals and the feel of fresh clean air.
23. I live in and love living it Italy.
24. I am an American! I never knew how much my nationality meant to me until Robert joined the Navy 10 years ago. Since that time I have sacrificed personally for the freedoms America offers her people and the world. My love for our country has only grown since living aboard. Anyone, who is feeling "down" on America needs to spend a little time on foreign soil to be reminded of the beauty, plenty and opportunity our freedom brings.
25. My heart is filled with wonderful warm memories. It was once said that "Memories are the June roses in the December's of our lives." I love this thoughts and think that I have experienced it many times. Not only have my memories seen me through tough times but they have made good times, better.
26. I know there is still hope for me. Hope that I will someday become who I want to be and do what I came to earth to do. I know it is never to late to begin again, to learn something new, to make someone else smile, to right a wrong, to dream a dream.
27. When the going gets tough... Robert lets me take a nap!
28. I live on earth right now and can be an instrument in preparing the world and its people for the Second Coming of my Savior, Jesus Christ.
29. I have everything I could ever need and almost everything I have ever really wanted.
30. Someday when I am old and tired and lonely and sad, I can look back on this list and be reminded that I am so blessed- that I truly do have a beautiful life!
I had a dentist appointment yesterday and I was a few minutes late because I got stuck behind a herd of sheep walking down the middle of the road and I couldn't get around them. I know, I know it sounds as unbelievable an excuse as the dog ate my homework, but it is true! I even have pictures to prove it- take a look!
Isn't this the craziest thing you have ever seen? I love it though- it made me smile all day!
This is a picture of the control panel on our Italian car. I am ashamed to admit that after FIVE MONTHS of driving in Italy, I recently discovered that the semicircle on the right is NOT the speedometer! It is actually the RPM gage. In every other car I have ever driven, the speedometer has been on the right and the RPM gage has been on the left! Admittedly several times (before I made this startling discovery) I looked down at the RPM gage (thinking it was the speedometer) and thought, "Wow, I thought I was going a lot faster than that!" SCARY...but true! I can't explain how this is possible other than to say, switching the placement of the gage, converting miles per hour into kilometers per hour, trying survive driving in Italy (and yes... blond hair) are not a good mix!
When we found out we were moving to Italy, we sold our van in the U.S. and decided to buy a "Naples Beater" as our primary mode of transportation here. Once we arrived however, we found that good "Naples Beaters" are hard to come by. After a few weeks of diligently looking we finally decided on this beauty.
It is an older Italian car (a 1993 Lanica, Thema) and though it is not terribly comfortable, it does run reasonably well. It has four doors and a trunk which we didn't realize were "accessories" until we got here and discovered that many cars don't have either one. The best part about the car though is that behind its wheel it takes the other Italian drivers a minute or two to realize that I am not Italian! This is a HUGE benefit when you are fighting for a place in line or squeezing between two cars on a two lane road. It also comes in handy when you accidentally bump into someone or side swipe their mirror!
We moved to Italy just after the first of August 2007. We moved into our house right away and immediately signed up to have internet service in our home. I wrongly assuming that since it is the twenty first century and Italy is not a third world country, our service would be hooked up in a jiffy. Well, it wasn't. More than four months later, five attempts by the local internet company, and many tears of frustration on my part, our internet was FINALLY hooked up.
We were of course, delighted to have internet service once everything was said and done but I have wondered to myself these last few months, "how can a place like Italy that calls itself a modern and civilized country not have ready access to basic services like telephone and internet?"
Well, I think I may have, at long last, figured it out (at least in part) and I thought I would share what I have discovered.
Italy is, as you know, a very old country and as such is filled with VERY old buildings which were not originally wired for telephone or internet. So you may ask, we have the ability to wire old buildings, why not do it here and give the people the services they want? Well, the buildings here are made entirely of stone, tile, brick and concrete. Making even minor home projects (like holes for telephone and internet wiring) a major undertaking. In addition it is quite expensive and general speaking the people here are very poor. And even if you did made the effort to properly wire your home, many towns and villages are not yet set up to deliver telephone and internet services anyway. Because it is physically very difficult to get these services to the people, they have learned to live without them. And since they have learned to live without them they are not terribly motivated to provide them to people like me who are convinced that they are essential everyday living.
Anyway, I am sure there are many MANY more reasons for the local internet company's lack of interest in serving frantic American women who are desperate for internet service, but even this tid-bit of information helps me to understand the great people here and the unique challenges they face as a country.
I have been thinking a lot about Becky the last few days and I want to share the words of a song that remind me of her. I found this song a few years ago and the title (Thy Word is a Lamp Unto My Feet) immediately reminded me of Becky. I was amazed at the title of the song, of course but as I read the words, I was even more amazed at how they represented what I saw in her and in the kind of life she lived.
I am a child so far from home, strangely a drift yet not alone.
I'm learning line on line, I'm growing grace by grace- clinging to the light I have been given.
Until I hear thy voice, until I see thy face, until I truly taste of heaven.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
It leads to the source of purest light and to all the Father hath.
It resounds in my soul like a voice from long ago, in words so pure and sweet.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.
I pray to thee each day for strength, to find and walk the narrow way.
I left from one safe shore and I will return once more faithful to the truth I have been given.
For in my heart I feel they promises are real, thy light will lead me back to heaven.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
It leads to the source of purest light and to all the Father hath.
It resounds in my soul like a voice from long ago, in words so pure and sweet.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.
Someday beyond the veil I'll worship at thy feet but 'til that blessed day when faith and knowledge meet: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
It leads to the source of purest light and to all the Father hath.
It resounds in my soul like a voice from long ago, in words so pure and sweet.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.
I came across this song late in January 2005 and learned it right away. I really wanted to sing it at church but didn't feel comfortable asking the ward music coordinator if I could, even though she was a good friend. Anyway a few weeks later (the third week of February to be exact) on a Thursday, my friend called and asked if I could come up with something to sing at church that Sunday. I told her about this song and she was thrilled. I sang it that Sunday and it was awesome- I felt like I was giving honor to Becky as I sang, to the amazing women she was and to the great life she lived. Of course, Becky wasn't there to hear it but I know somehow she heard.
That experience really helped me feel peace about Becky's death. Even though it happened years after she passed away, it was the first time I felt any real closure. I was 11 when Becky was diagnosed with cancer- way too young and immature to really understand what it all meant. Even at 19, when she died, I wasn't wise enough to know how to say I love you and goodbye.
I am grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord that make experiences like this possible. I am grateful for a testimony that he knows each of us, he understands the desires of our hearts and he will direct our paths for good.
This is Hazel Jo Stewart. She is my newest niece and though I have never held her in my arms I love her more than I can express. She was born in September last year with Spina Bifida and has endured many surgeries and hospitalizations in her 5 short months on earth. She has three older sisters and the best parents any girl could ever ask for. She has an angel-like spirit (her Nickname "Baby Halo" is very fitting) and a strong determination to live!
Although she has overcome much, there are still many battles left for her to fight. Yesterday, Jen noticed that Hazel had a high fever and took her to the doctor. After preliminary tests they decided to hospitalize Hazel. In addition to a very high fever her lab work showed a very high white blood cell count.
This little girl needs our prayers! So if you believe in the power of prayer, please pray for Baby Hazel, for her incredible mom and dad, and for all those that are helping care for her big sisters.
On Saturday Spencer had his very first Blue and Gold Banquet for scouts- it was quite the event (deserving of its own post, so stay tuned)! As part of the days events there was a cake auction to raise money for camps and other troop outings. Each child was required to make, decorate and donate a cake for the auction. Spencer did a great job on his cake - take a look.
I really enjoy baking and was delighted to help Spencer with his cake. And given our sugar issues, I was thrilled that we could bake and decorate a cake together without actually having to eat it. We worked really hard and by the time we arrived at the banquet and donated our cake, I was glad to be rid of it. But a few minutes after the auction began it occurred to me that there were 50 cakes to be auctioned and only 50 families to buy them! I realized it was my duty as the mother of a boy scout to buy a cake, so I did. But here is the funny part, we spent 10 dollars buying the ingredients for the cake, 2 hours making and baking it and another hour decorating it. Then we bought it from ourselves for 10 dollars, cut one piece for Spencer to eat and threw the rest away!! Hello, what is wrong with this picture? Next time I will save myself the time and hassle and just donate 20 bucks!
Sundays are always the hardest day of the week for me when Robert is gone. I am always out of ideas and out of energy long before the kids are and it never fails to make for interesting experiences. Well, today was no exception. Despite my greatest efforts not to, I took a nap this afternoon. While I was sleeping the kids asked if they could have a snack, I said sure. When I woke up this is what I found in the kitchen.
In case you can't tell by looking, their "snack" consisted of: a bowl of raspberries (note the straws used to drink the juice), a package of 5 hot dogs and half a bottle of Katsup, 2 cups of hot chocolate each, toast with frosting on it, half a loaf of Sunday bread, a zucchinni (I'm still not sure what they did with that because I am pretty sure they didn't eat it), a yellow bell pepper and left over Hawaiian Haystacks from last nights dinner. HELLO! What is up with that? It is not like I never feed them, they had breakfast and lunch- I swear!
I am so frustrated right now about the endless murmuring I am subjected to by my boys. It is SO out of control and I am at a total loss for knowing how to deal with it. I feel like they have everything in the world to be grateful for and yet they live lives of total dissatisfaction with themselves and everyone else. What am I doing wrong!?! I can only imagine that they are getting their negativism from us. But both Robert and I try really hard to be positive about things (even when they are really hard) and I think we are both very careful about the things that we say (of course, I could be wrong).
Anyway, a perfect example... yesterday the boys woke up all grumpy that it was Monday. When they started in with the regular "I don't want to go to school today" and "I'm too tired to get out of bed, Mom" I reminded them that it was a holiday and that they didn't have to go to school. I thought they would be delighted but instead they immediately began complaining that they only got one day off and they didn't want to have to go to school at all.
Ahhh! How can I help them to be grateful for what they do have? How can I help them to see the glass as half full instead of half empty? When I discipline them for being negative and for constantly murmuring- they feel that I am not listening. When I listen to it day in and day out it gets worse. I am really struggling to know what the proper balance is.
Any thoughts, ideas, or comments from other moms who can relate would be greatly appreciated!
Tonight at dinner I told the boys that tomorrow was "Curtain and Carpet Day" (meaning the day we are FINALLY going to buy carpets and hang curtain in the house). And that they were really lucky they didn't have to go to school so they could stay home and help!
Ross said, "Mom tomorrow is not carpet and curtain day... it is Martin Luther King day!" I was impressed he remembered why he had the day off of school- I didn't think he would. So I and asked him why we celebrate Martin Luther King day.
And he said, "Well... it is all because he had a good dream!"
This morning at breakfast Spencer and Ross and I got into a political discussion (it was actually quite comical). We talked about democracy's and monarchy's, Presidents and Kings. We talked about the great blessings we have been given as Americans and the many responsibilities that we have as a result of those blessings. Then we got to talking about the up coming presidential election and the importance of electing righteous leaders. I shared with them my feelings about the up coming presidential candidates. And while I tried to be objective and stay politically neutral, my strong feelings about Hillary must have at some point taken over becasue by the time I was done ranting both the boys were looking at me wide eyed and terrified.
Spencer, in his usual thoughtful and concerned way said, "Oh no Mom, what are we going to do if she gets elected?"
Before I could answer Ross said, "Don't worry Spence. I'll run for President- I'm sure I'll win! Cause I'm good and cause I can do hard things!"
So move over Mitt and Hillary- here comes Ross!!
