Notable Adventures

Adventures in Aging!

2009-06-15T21:28:00.004-04:00

Well, another year older! Had a birthday a week ago, so now knocking on the door to 40! Whoa!

Had lots of fun though. And tried to be good to my diet by eating well. Hubby made me a special cake... a huge chunk of cheddar cheese with candles stuck in it! LOL...it was a cheesecake! Tee hee... Creative, eh?

My nephew's birthday was the first of the month, my Mom's was this weekend, my bestest cousin's is this week, and my youngest daughter's is next week. We're all just a bunch of June bugs around here!

The girls started the Summer Session of S.T.A.R. today - all the instructors there are fabulous, and the one we got for Summer is one we've had before. She's great! It's nice to see her again.

Got to spend some time with one of my best friends today and that was refreshing as always. Our kids are in gymnastics together, so we got to hang out extra.

Then in the evening the girls and I went to help another great friend. She's in the process of opening a Gluten Free Bakery and Cafe in mid-July! She's signed the lease on a space right on the main drag in town - excellent location and she got an excellent deal on it! Tonight we helped her do some initial clean up by trashing all the stuff left behind by the previous renter. Was fun because I'm so excited for her. Even the girls helped out!

Alrighty then, time for some Wii bowling for me!!

Toodles...

Adventures in Summertime

2009-06-10T10:08:00.002-04:00

Summer is here! The kiddos have been out of school since May 22nd and we've been on the go, go, go! We've attended a spiritual retreat at St. Mary's in Sewanee, TN, we've been bowling many times, swimming in our friend's pool, and watching softball games.

Our great friends have kids who play on little league softball teams and we've really enjoyed watching them play. It has inspired me to try to find an adult coed team for me, the dear hubbie and our friends, Shanda and Frank, to join. We're even toying with the idea of creating our team, since the probability of all four of us being picked up on the same team are pretty slim.

I've also had a birthday in all this...another year older. Where is it going?

Gotta get some chores done around the house - been playing too much and not balancing in enough household upkeep!

Until later...

Adventures in Everything

2009-03-13T17:58:00.003-04:00

Wow, and I do mean EVERYTHING! Juggling a lot right now...managing my diabetes, working on weight loss, raising kids, thinking about aging family members and dealing with the loss of one, growing spiritually, finances, relationships.

BUT, it's all on this path I have chosen called LIFE!

Right now I'm excited about the progress I am making towards losing weight and controlling my blood sugar. I've been eating well for several days and the numbers have responded quickly.

Also excited about some household organizing. I began a task in the basement of tidying up my Craft Room which had become a Crap Room. Will keep you posted on that...

Kids are on Spring Break this coming week. Will be nice to get to sleep in a little instead of getting up well before the crack of dawn. Sweeeeeet!

Kids also start riding horses again at S.T.A.R. tomorrow morning. We had taken a break over the cold winter - yes, I was being wimpy.

I'm excited about working my personal MK business and bringing in extra money for the household. Yes, it can be done even in this tough economy...one of my friends has sold nearly $5000 in four months!

AND, I'm excited about my friends/neighbors starting a Charitable Organization called ASDa (Autism Spectrum Disorder Athletes). Boogie Down Baby is hosting their Public Debut on March 28th from 11am to 2pm. 10% of the proceeds will be donated to ASDa. Should be fun!

That's all for now...

Adventures in the New Year

2009-01-10T21:27:00.003-05:00

Here we go! A new year has begun, just 10 short days ago. I, for one, am very excited for what this new year holds in store. As you can tell from my new blog template, I am an Obama supporter. It's fascinating to me at how inspired I have been by Barack...I even made phone calls for his "Bringing Out the Early Vote" part of his campaign. I've NEVER felt so motivated to help out a politician. Nor have I ever felt the desire to watch a debate, but I watched nearly all of them this time around. Anyway, enough of that subject, but I am excited to watch the upcoming inauguration.

I'm also more motivated to get my house cleaned up and organized. Now I know a lot of people might have that same feeling, but for me, it's AMAZING to have the desire to do that! I have struggled with organization for pretty much all my life and I realized just recently that I specifically get stalled out when faced with the task of finding homes for things. But fortunately, my Hubby has a real knack for that part, and I do quite ok with the cleaning part when we're all de-cluttered. Already knew it in other areas, but we make a pretty good match in those two as well.

I always have grandiose ideas of what I'm going to accomplish, so I hesitate to promise myself, or any passing blog readers, that I will post more diligently here at Notable Adventures. Let's just play that one by ear.

I'm excited about some new parenting techniques my best friend and neighbor shared with me last week...I've started implementing them and while it will take time for both me and the kiddos to get used to, I think it will payoff in the long run. Again, we'll see...

Finally, I'm giving thought to putting more effort into my Mary Kay business again. Obviously, in these economic times, we can use the extra income I'll be able to generate. Fortunately there are three areas in retail not usually affected by a recession, and in no particular order: alcohol, tobacco, and cosmetics. Interesting.... ;)

Adventures in Meme's: Scattergories Edition

2008-10-07T13:47:00.004-04:00

Wanna Play? Here are the rules:

Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following questions.
They have to be real places, names, things. nothing made up!
You can’t use your name for the boy/girl name question.
Tag 5 people to play along

What is your name? Sheila
A 4 Letter Word: Surf
A Boys Name: Sean
A Girls Name: Shanda
An Occupation: Songwriter
A Color: Sapphire
Something you wear: Skirt
A Beverage: Sprite
A Food: Spaghetti
Something found in the bathroom: Shampoo
A place: Saskatchewan
A Reason for being late: Surfing the Web
Something you shout: Show Me the Money!

Here are my buddies that I’m tagging…

And anyone else who wants to play. Don’t feel like you have to post this on your blog. It might easier to just cut and paste the questions and leave them as a comment. Also tag others only if you want to.

P.S. This fun idea came from my neighbor and bestest buddy at www.whatjenfinds.com!

Adventures in Results!

2008-09-27T11:52:00.004-04:00

Today is day 31 of my Sugar Control Program, suggested by the wonderful Chiro! I will confess, I have made an occasional poor choice in the past two weeks, but generally have stuck to the guidelines.

Yesterday was an amazing day...got lots of things accomplished from my to do list, including joining a good friend for lunch (I brought munchies of grape tomatoes, baby carrots, mini sweet peppers, white cheese dip and grapes for dessert!) and "mommy therapy," after which we took a half-mile walk. It was a nice balance of socializing, sharing our similarities, and taking care of ourselves. I tell you all of this because later that afternoon I checked my blood sugar and it was the lowest EVER...106! Wooo hooo! I called my friend back and told her the cause was good food, good exercise and good fellowship!

So, my results so far are quite promising. The one issue that kicked off this whole diabetes adventure, was that my blood pressure has been elevated going on a year now. My primary doc is pretty aggressive when it comes to women with this issue, and she wanted to medicate immediately. I was against that if nothing else for the fact that I hadn't made any lifestyle changes to see if it would correct itself. I'm against putting on a "band aid." Let's fix the problem, please!

I am really, really excited to report that my blood pressure is normalizing now! I've only lost 6lbs on this second go-around of Sugar Control, but apparently that has been a good start at helping my heart. (I guess it's helped my rhyming skills, too. ;) Those 6lbs have also been enough to make my anniversary band fit on my ring finger with my other wedding rings, as opposed to my pinky where it's lived since April last year (our 10th anniversary). That's pretty exciting.... of course, the WAY I discovered that it fits there was terrifying. I'll tell that story in another post.

Even though my numbers are looking good (my first morning sugar is always the highest, and I'm seeing that number drop as well), it's not like I can go back to the way I ate before. I have to continue this adventure...

My Dear Hubby and I had a neat conversation last night, about building self esteem vs. self confidence and the differences between the two. Self esteem coming from feeling loved no matter what, and self confidence coming from accomplishments. I think my level of conciousness was raised at that moment, as I began thinking of ways I could build my self confidence. I realized that I could look at these diet and lifestyle changes as miserable, hard and no fun, OR I could look at them as a way to build my self confidence. And I just realized I could raise my self esteem, too, by loving myself enough to do it! Thank you, Divine Spirit, for opening my Spiritual Eyes!

Adventures in Lifestyle Changes: How being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes is a gift

2008-09-10T14:44:00.006-04:00

Wow! There sure have been some changes around here since I last posted...

The most significant one is that I have been diagnosed with Diabetes. Holy Cow, at age 37! But, I take full responsibility for it because I've not taken care of my body, not eaten well, not exercised consistently and have consumed way too many carbs for way too long. In that sense, it's no surprise.

It's two weeks ago today that I began the necessary lifestyle changes for my new diagnosis. Those changes have included going back on the Sugar Control Program my chiropractor suggested back in April (or May?). I did it at that time and managed to stay on it for 10 days. My body really flipped out trying to remove all the junk I had put in it - I won't go into details, but it was NOT pretty! Around day seven I developed flu-like symptoms and it was only a couple days later that I started adding back in the foods I was avoiding. It sounds like Adkins in that I can have unlimited amounts of meat, dairy, green veggies, a couple servings of orange/yellow veggies per week, but the difference is I can also have unlimited fresh fruit. Your body has to have SOME carbs to function properly.

So now I'm on day 14 of my second round of Sugar Control. Around days 3 and 5, I began to feel and experience the grief and depression from my diet being "limited." Day 5 was a full out pity party and melt-down. I'm not proud...but one of my new friends encouraged going through that process. I was being down on myself for being upset at something so meaningless as FOOD, while other people have to deal with such worse things. But she pointed out, I'm not those people, and their issues are not mine, and I have to deal with me and feel my way, good and bad, through the changes. I love her. :)

I'm going through detox-illness again this time around (maybe mixed with a virus going around, too). It hit on day 12 this time, and started as a little bit of non-moving chest congestion. Not got for an asthmatic! But I was feeling okay, so I joined my girls during their cross country practice (YES, they're in the Cross Country Club at school...amazing. More on that later.) and very, very slowly jogged a full mile. In retrospect, I probably should work up to that, but eh, I'm learning. Yesterday I began feeling worse and worse, with a little bit of reactive airway issues making me cough more, and then the fever started. Whew...by bedtime last night I'll bet it was at least 101 or more! Felt pretty darn yucky. Hubby said I "fidgeted" during the night, indicating to him that I was probably uncomfortable. I also was more verbal in my sleep - not talking, but making noises. Today, day 14, has been a teeny bit better. Less feverish, but major achy all over. Head hurts when I cough. Just blah...

My body is actually dealing with several issues at once. I've had "elevated" blood pressure for about a year. I convinced my doc not to medicate right away, but give me a chance to work on it with diet and exercise, of which I did neither. My chiropractor also discovered super high levels of ammonia in my system, as well as too many nitrates and free radicals. She feels this indicates I'm dealing with inflammation, too. From what I've read the past couple of weeks, it's most likely ALL related.

Insulin resistance is a mean creature. It tells your body to store fat (interesting), as well as retain fluid (aha, that can cause high blood pressure). It can make your body feel constantly fatigued. It's a cycle - your cells can only handle so much sugar, and so to protect themselves they become insulin resistant. That leaves too much sugar in your blood. But, even though the blood sugars are high, the cellular sugar levels are low, making one feel more hungry and want to eat carbs to get the energy we need. Crazy!

One of the reasons these changes have been so difficult is likely because I've been eating MOSTLY carbs. I think I'm addicted to them actually. And really, the lifestyle changes are things I've needed to do for a long time, but didn't "decide" to do it or have the willpower/self-discipline to make them. The gift in the diabetes is that the choice was made for me - I'm making the necessary changes and somehow I feel it's "easier" because I have to. Kinda sick, really, but it's true.

HEY, the other interesting symptom of high blood sugar is mental confusion and fogginess. I wonder if that ties in what I thought were ADD symptoms? Maybe it's been high blood sugar that's doing it. But one thing at a time...I've discussed with my doctor about giving the change in diet time to work (sometimes a month or longer), and then seeing how my blood pressure responds, as well as the confusion. I'm determined to not have to take MORE medicines (i.e., blood pressure meds and insulin).

Results from two weeks of Sugar Control and Increased Exercise...
-blood pressure dropped from high (140/95) to 130/86
-lost 3 pounds
-fasting blood sugars coming down (started at 180, now more like 147)
- hubby more aware of what he eats
- daughters snacking on fruits, meats, cheeses more
So once I get past this virus/detox-illness (also referred to as "healing crisis") I think I'll be jamming!

I found a very well written article at www.wellbeingjournal.com entitled "Diabetes: How to Naturally Heal and Prevent It" by Dr. Tom Cowan. Helped me understand how it all works...

Okay, time for rest to heal.

Adventures in Spiritual Freedom

2008-08-24T22:44:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I'm still here. As my best friend stated on WhatJenFinds.com, I got lost in cyberspace for a little while. :)

Also, I've decided to keep the "Adventures in..." titles, and I'll simply add subtitles when I feel the need to be extra creative.

Here's the main reason for this post, a poem I wrote very recently in response to a friend who seemingly is not okay with my spiritual path.

A Thank You Letter to My Friends

To my friends who have loved me no matter what, Thank You.

To my friends who have remained my friends even when we believe different things, Thank You.

To my friends who have given me a safe place and allowed me to be myself, Thank You.

To my friends who have loved me enough to let me learn from my own mistakes, Thank You.

To my friends who have chosen to use Love, not Power, Thank You.

To my friends who are strong enough in their Faith to not be threatened by mine, Thank You.

To my friends who have encouraged me to grow and learn, Thank You.

To my friends who prove daily that Love is the Only Way, Thank You!

I love ALL my friends, and I hope that I have been able to be all the above for you.

Sheila

I'm Always Learning...

2008-07-08T21:23:00.006-04:00

So here's an interesting question for anyone who's in the mood to ponder...

Do you believe in the teaching value of Karma?

I know that some spiritual paths do not believe in it, while others do. But I felt compelled to share what happened this evening in our household...

I started off the bedtime routine by asking, "who's going to brush their teeth first?" Our oldest daughter, SK, chimed right in with "me!" (our kiddos have a little competitive streak in them, and yes, I use it to my advantage at times. mmuuhahahah!) Our youngest, LK, doesn't deal well with being last, so she started to get a little rebellious about doing any of it. She was persistent enough that I had to threaten to keep her new fav stuffed animal, Po the Panda, with me tonight! She didn't want THAT to happen, so she begrudgingly started moving off the sofa, but decided instead to spaz out a little and knocked our Tivo remote onto the floor. So first, she was required to pick that up, and then she slowly moved toward the bathroom. Meanwhile, SK had finished her bedtime responsibilities, and was standing at the back of the sofa. As LK walked by toward the bathroom, she either accidentally bumped SK on the way, or maybe even intentionally hit her, taking her anger at us out on her sister. It must have hurt somewhat because SK started crying. I asked SK to come over to me and consoled her a bit. I was more than frustrated with LK at this point and voiced to her Dad, loud enough so she could hear, "You know, I think Po needs to stay downstairs with me after all, because LK's resisted too much and now she's hurt someone else on top of it." But as I though more about it, I remembered a post I'd read from the Informal Matriarch's Blog about how she doesn't just want her kids to learn not to things because they'll be punished, but instead to learn that what they're doing is wrong. (she says it much better and I paraphrase for crap, but hopefully you get the idea...) So I mentioned that to my Hubby, sort of thinking out loud, to which he replied, "well, really the best teacher is karma..." It wasn't even 10 seconds later that LK finished up in the bathroom, and came running back into the living room, stubbing her toes on the baby gate behind the sofa, and falling to the floor crying!

Hubby and I just looked at each other with wide eyes, almost in disbelief! He said, "Well that was quick!" Usually I jump up right away to console whomever is hurting. And it did take a lot of effort NOT to do that in this instance, but I felt it was important to let LK deal with her pain for a few moments instead of trying to take it away. When she began to calm down a little, I quietly asked her, "Do you know why you hurt yourself just now?" to which she replied, "Because I hurt my sister."

I'm still amazed when I think about it. And then, the Spiritual Quote of the Day on the Eckankar web site reads:

When something goes wrong in your life, there is usually a spiritual reason for it. Divine Spirit is trying to teach you something about truth.
Harold Klemp, The Language of Soul

Wow!

Pool, Play, Puppies and Persiflage

2008-07-08T17:06:00.009-04:00

I am such a goober head sometimes. I was reading over my blog and wondering where did THIS post go? As it turns out, I had only saved it as a draft, I guess, and hadn't actually posted it. Sheesh! Well, better late than never...

Original Post happened on 7-8-08...
Well, the "Adventures in..." idea has finally worn out it's welcome. Got tired of the restricted-ness of it, I guess. On to more creative titles.... (yes, I did use Roget's online to look that word up!)

Anyhoo, we had a blast today with our friends in the neighborhood who invited us over to swim. They have a lovely pool in their backyard, Two Beautiful Girls for my girls to play with, an adorable Yorkie Poo for Amy Sue to hang out with, and the sweetest Mommy to chat with for my "Adult Therapy." It was SOOOOO nice.

Thanks for inviting us, guys!

Adventures in Summer Fun

2008-07-07T12:51:00.014-04:00

This past week we decided at the LAST MINUTE, to go camping for a couple days...yes, we are crazy. But it was FUN! At first we thought my Mom and StepDad would be going with us, but they couldn't get some things working on their little camper so they had to bail.

Packing up was insane - either we take WAY to much stuff with us, or camping is a lot of work. Or BOTH! We started packing up first thing Tuesday morning and didn't depart for the campground until about 5pm - sheesh! Fortunately it only took about 45 minutes to get there, so we still had plenty of time to set up before dark. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for dinner. The girls loved it!

Wednesday we got up, had a relaxing take-your-time breakfast, and then headed out on the boat for swimming! We took a picture of our camp site from the boat...

I was a good mommy to my girls - got them all sun-screened up so no burns. I was not a good mommy to myself however! Yikes! Fortunately my life jacket protected most of my back, but my shoulders and face got a good toasting. We took the puppy out swimming with us, too. She's so cute in her life vest...

She doesn't look too happy there, does she? The girls and the hubby do, though...

Swimming was so much fun because this lake is really clean, as lakes go. There sure were a lot of fishies nibbling on me though! At first it was disconcerting and I thought I was imagining things, but then, as I floated really still we could all see the little minnows swimming up to "taste" me! I got used to it pretty quickly and decided it was kind of cute. :)

After we got back to the camp site it was time for dinner so we got started on the "Pioneer Patties." We sauteed red and green peppers with onions, boiled some baby carrots and fried some potatoes. Hubby formed patties from the ground beef, seasoned them with every spice we brought, and piled the veggies on top. He fashioned an aluminum foil pouch around it all and put in on the camp fire to cook. When you remove it and put it all on a plate, you can top it with cheese. Yuuuuummmmyyyy! This idea came from our good friends from Kentucky with whom we usually camp. They are good camping teachers!!

After dinner the girls wanted to swim MORE! There was a little "beach" area next to our site, and the water was roped off so you couldn't go out too far. Daddy was a good sport and went in with them while I watched and took pictures. My shoulders were starting to hurt so I didn't want to expose them to the sun any more. Here are my little "fishies"...

I got to enjoy a beautiful sunset while they swam...

Thursday was a fun, relaxing day as well. We swam in the "beach" area more and had yummy soft serve ice cream before packing up to head home. I think I agree with my oldest daughter who kept saying, "I want to camp here for 10 days!"

Adventures in New Ideas

2008-06-26T18:07:00.007-04:00

I recently acquired my first messenger bag. I don't know why I never considered a messenger bag in any of my purse purchases, because it's really, really cool! I've taken an idea from my Best Friend and Neighbor, by using a smaller clutch with my wallet and essentials when I go into a store and that clutch now fits neatly in my messenger bag, which can also carry all the "extras" I might need while on the go: small pack of wipes ('cause even at 8 and almost 10, my girls can still make creative messes), camera, tissues (allergy season), catalogs and/or samples to give away for my business, etc.

That sentence was ridiculous... Here's my bag called "Little Men."

The pic doesn't do it justice...it's a rich, chocolate brown corduroy, with the pretty pinks to make it dainty. The cute flower can be moved around, too!

Anyhoo, it's SO cool, that I purchased TWO more to be used by the girls when school starts back. I've seen a lot of their peers switching to messenger bags. They actually look extra adorable on young kids because they hang so far down. But the cool thing about our "Zaza bags" is that the strap is adjustable by re-tying it where we need it. Here's the ones I got for my girls...

"Harold and the Purple Crayon" and "Roses for Mama"

My girls ask me almost every day "when will our bags get here." I'll post pictures of them carrying their bags once they arrive. Fun, fun...

As you can tell, the creator of these bags names each one after a book - so creative! She's wonderful to do business with as well - shipped our bags out right away.

I now have a link to bagsforzaza on the right over there. She has decided to auction off each one to the highest bidder, so check 'em out.

Adventures in Sharing

2008-06-24T19:44:00.000-04:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Adventures in Firsts

2008-05-24T16:20:00.003-04:00

LK has her first loose tooth! :) She's not very happy about it - in fact, she's quite sad. LK doesn't like surprises plus she's afraid it will hurt. I sympathize because I remember how tender my gums would be when I lost a tooth, and how weird it felt to have a space where a tooth once was. She's letting me wiggle it a little at a time, so hopefully it will come out easily and soon.

Today was the last day of the Spring Session at the girls Therapeutic Horse Riding. We've really enjoyed getting to know the instructor on Saturdays. We hadn't had her before, but we all like her a lot. Her partner instructor was familiar to us, so we knew we already liked her. Summer Session begins on Father's Day, but we don't know yet who will be teaching or what day/times the girls will be riding. It's nice to have a couple weeks off for now.

My experiment with sugar control is continuing...feel much better today after the yuckiness of my allergy shot yesterday. Went out to dinner last night with a group from our church, but by the time my main course arrived, my belly was hurting. That was annoying and stayed with me until bedtime. But I woke this morning feeling fine. I'll tell you though, I've had more yucky days than good days so far on this program. Was even feeling last night that if I don't start feeling better soon, I just might say "to heck with this!"

I did get to add in a previously avoided food on Thursday evening. I decided on wheat/gluten to start adding back in, because that seemed to encompass a lot of different foods: breads and pastas of course. So I used a couple recipes from my Sugar Solution cookbook that I ordered recently (before I even knew I'd be on this program, I might add - always amazing to look back at how Spirit works in my life) and chose Chicken with Peaches and Red Wine, and some home made Macaroni and Cheese. The neat thing about this cookbook is that all the recipes are low on the glycemic index, meaning the carbohydrates are "slow burning" and don't put you on that roller coaster of energy highs and lows. I've read a lot the past week about insulin and sugar detoxing, etc., and it seems to make sense that everyone, not just diabetics, should try to keep their blood sugar levels as stable as possible. And it particularly applies to me, because the article mentioned how it leads to elevated blood pressure and causes your heart to work harder. I have a family history of heart disease - my Dad had a heart attack at age 53! He had one artery that was 95% occluded, but show no other indicators like high blood pressure or high cholesterol. So I know that I need to be aware of things that could hurt my heart. Anyhoo, the recipes were scrumptious! My oldest daughter, SK, woke the next morning asking for "that chicken" again for lunch. Wow! They weren't too keen on the homemade Mac and Cheese though...possibly because I overcooked it a little in the last step so it was dryer than it should have been. Ooops, back to the sugar control...

Each time I add an avoided food, I'm supposed to continue the sugar control program for three days to see how the added food makes me feel. So, even though I can add in foods, I'm not yet unrestricted. Blargh! I do notice, however, that I'm not feeling as tired as I have for a long time. My CPAP breathing machine at night helped a lot with the tired feeling because I'm sleeping better with continual oxygen pumping through my brain. But taking out all the sugars and stuff seems to have helped my energy a little. I really only have today to go by though, because I've felt yucky pretty much every day since I started. So, we'll see...

We're hanging out and relaxing this Holiday weekend, with a trip out on the boat planned for tomorrow and Hubby's Community Band Concert on Monday night. Hubby is having to do some work over the weekend to prepare for a business trip next week, but he's chugging right along and is determined to have fun before it's over!

Okay, now I'm feeling sleepy...reading (and apparently typing) makes me feel that way. Zzzzzz... :)

Adventures in "Rehab"

2008-05-23T13:40:00.002-04:00

Hehehe, that title will likely bring an unexpected set of readers to my blog, but oh well! Let's elaborate a bit, shall we?

A little over a week ago I visited my new chiropractor for the first time. The hubby had been going to her for a year or so, and one of his co-workers had highly recommended her based on personal experience. She had even treated me prior to the first visit, by suggesting an oral spray to treat candida in both me and the hubby and that worked quite well! Anyhoo, so I had my first adjustment amidst some lower back discomfort and that was taken away immediately! Wow! I did have some tenderness later that evening as the Doc had predicted and so I rested on an ice pack, but that was the last I felt of that lower back pain. She also had a suggestion based on the information I had filled out - to begin a sugar control program. All of the issues I had listed, she said, pointed to my body's ability to deal with sugar, and the potential for it to be an allergy. So I walked away with several pages of "why to avoid sugar," a list of foods I could have and a list of foods to avoid. All the good stuff, of course: sugar, all wheat products, potatoes, artificial sweeteners of any kind, blah, blah, blah. But, for some reason I was willing to give it a try, perhaps because of the accountability of seeing the Chiro Doc again next week!

The first day or two I was pretty irritable, frustrated at the feeling of being limited. OH, I forgot to mention the mandatory water intake, which calculated to me consuming 128 oz per day. That sounds like a lot, especially to someone who was continually dehydrated and did not enjoy water, but it really calculates to only 13 ounces per hour. Pretty doable, really. So, I was irritable at the restrictions, BUT that was somewhat eased by the positive instructions of requiring that I eat something every 2 hours of my waking day.

After 48 hours or so, I was doing better emotionally, enjoying lots of raw veggies, fruits and all the meat I could consume. Any physical changes wouldn't kick in until day three....and BOY did they!

Day three was probably the worst...basically felt like I had a virus. I was weak, possibly running a low fever, gastrointestinal problems (the big D) and just feeling crummy. Now it's actually possible that I picked up an actual tummy virus, because counting back 3 days, I was around someone who also ended up having a one day viral experience. However, speaking with a friend who does Colon Cleansing for a living (ewwwww!), taught me that our bodies actually harbor viruses and bacteria. And, when one starts a detox such as this "diet," those viruses and bacteria can definitely cause one to feel ill as you experience its departure. So it's just as likely that I was beginning detoxification from sugar. During that time I was feeling so yucky, and I was wishing someone would tell me the dietary restrictions were too harsh and I should postpone them for now. Instead, I was told that it was quite healthy and was asked if I planned on continuing it after the detox period!!!! Heck NO! But, I stuck with it, using large amounts of plain water to help flush that nastiness away!

I felt gradually better over the next day or two and began to notice a drastic change in my scale! This was probably due to the water weight lost during "the big D" which lasted a full 3 days, but it still felt pretty good to say I'd lost 7 lbs in 5 days! Woo hoo! There's a side effect worth continuing for. ;) Now, I didn't start the program in order to lose weight - sugar detoxing supposedly helps clean the liver and restarts the system to aid in handling sugars better...a reboot of sorts. And really, I was supposed to be feeling better from the diet, not worse. That should have been the motivator to keep me going with it, but since I wasn't the usual case, I would have to just enjoy the weight lose. Later on, looking back with hindsight, feeling crummy like that kept me from being hungry...AT ALL! Had to make myself eat something every two hours. So it was really a blessing.

The other thing this "diet" does is set me up to determine what foods I might be allergic to or at least intolerant of, based on how they make me feel.

I returned to the chiro for my weekly visit yesterday and she felt I was stronger in the "sugars" area, so I could begin adding one type of food back at a time. She said I would need to wait 3 days after trying a food type to see how my body reacts to it. So it's basically like a science experiment on ME. :) It's proving to be quite challenging though.

For example, today I was feeling pretty good. Got a good night's sleep (kids are out of school - yay!), had a relaxing morning and then went for my allergy shot. Almost immediately after getting my shots I started feeling nauseous. I told my allergy nurse and she made note of it, mentioning she hadn't had that happen to a patient before. By the time I'd gotten home my head and sinuses were hurting and I felt weak and yucky. Came in and sat on the sofa and felt chilled. And what's my theory on this? Maybe that my body has been more "cleaned out" and can feel things and will react to things differently than it did in the past. So maybe it's more sensitive to the "junk" being injected in those shots. Dunno, kinda makes sense. It will be worth noting whether or not it happens again next week.

And the experiment ensues.....

Adventures in Mando Land!

2008-05-07T22:18:00.002-04:00

Well, well, well...I made it back to my Mando lessons today. I had missed a couple in a row - one was because I was on a field trip with my daughter, the other was because of illness. So, on my way to the lesson I was feeling quite a bit of anxiety after being gone for a while, AND because I had NOT practiced like I should have. I had that going-to-class-without-your-homework feeling. :) But somewhere on that drive I had an attitude adjustment. Rather than beating myself up for what I hadn't accomplished, I talked to myself about all I HAD done the past couple of weeks, and how I had done all I could do to practice. I decided that I was going to live in the moment, right now, and not dwell on the past. Honestly, the song by Natasha Bedingfield, "Unwritten," was what was playing in my head. So I had a positive attitude about my lesson when I walked in and I really believe it made the lesson so much smoother. The phrase "what you think about you bring about" really is true! I was really excited at how much fun I had rather than being all nervous and freaking out. Imagine that!! Tee hee...

Late, past bedtime by quite a bit, so Nite Nite!

Adventures in Spirituality

2008-05-02T09:26:00.002-04:00

I thought I would post the web site for Eckankar, since a lot of people aren't familiar with this Spiritual Path and it's teachings.

www.Eckankar.org

Adventures in Emotions

2008-04-27T20:47:00.003-04:00

Well, I guess two weeks was nothing compared to TWO MONTHS without a post. I've definitely been on adventures! The things which stand out the most would be, hmmm, the whole month of March! Hahahaha!

Seriously, March was insane for me and the Hubby. Let's see, in March we sold my Subaru, I started counseling with a great Doc, I had surgery on my scalp to remove a cyst, everyone but LK caught a virus resembling the flu which lasted a week, the Hubby and I helped our spiritual group (Eckankar) participate in a local Women's Expo event, I lead a book discussion on Holy Spirit (with a lot of help from Hubby) for our Eckankar group, Hubby and I finished a spiritual training series on how to teach Eckankar classes, Easter weekend was in there somewhere, Hubby traveled to Minneapolis for a Springtime Eckankar Seminar, my daughters started the Spring Session with STAR (physical/occupational therapy riding horses), Hubby co-lead a Spiritual Workshop on Conquering Fear, his co-leader was planning to stay at our home that weekend so I went nuts organizing and cleaning at least the main level of our home (this itself should have been a MONTH long task, but it was completed in a few days), Puppy had her annual checkup, and oldest daughter SK had two separate appointments to have some fillings done. This last item is also a big deal because SK has been so sensitive to sound, we had to put her completely under when she needed work done a couple summers ago. She's now able to deal with it in the dentist's office with nitrous oxide. It's HUGE for her!

Okay, so that was pretty much March, but then there was also April which brought us a birthday party for a close friend of the girls, Step-Dad's birthday, Hubby's birthday, Hubby was in a Community Band Concert where he was also asked to be their MC, Our 11year wedding anniversary, TAXES, registering LK for summer school, and SK participated in Special Olympics (taking Gold in both her events!). And that brings us to present day...

Whaddaya think? Would you have time to blog in between all that? It's safe to say that I've been in overwhelm.

To elaborate a little on one of my adventures, my counseling sessions have been really difficult. After my first session, I wasn't convinced I liked the Doc. I pretty much cried the whole time. And I found out something about my diagnosis at that first session which surprised me. It was really weird, too, that the whole rest of the day I was on the edge of tears. I say weird because I've had two other seasons in my life where counseling was needed, and I had never felt such intense emotions following a visit. It was a foreign experience for me. After my second session I decided that this Doc was a good match - Doc wasn't letting me get away with anything, emotionally speaking. For example, I got feedback at the end of our time about how I would be saying things which were really sad, but be smiling when I said them. I was also coached on "being real" - not holding back or minimizing what I'm feeling. And that has been a theme each week since - practicing being okay with whatever I'm feeling. I think Doc really hit on something with the comment, "you want things to be okay." Thinking about it now, it seems kind of obvious, but I guess with my depression just under the surface, I haven't been able to get it. As Dr. Phil says, you either get it, or you don't. And I didn't... but I'm making progress. That's the amazing thing about this Doc...I feel I've made more progress in just 3 or 4 sessions than I did in both other counseling times combined! I don't think those others were a waste of time, because they definitely helped me learn crisis management. But now I think I'll be able to dig deeper and, hopefully, really start healing.

I'm also becoming aware of my levels of anxiety. I don't necessarily want to avoid those things which cause it, but maybe just take a break from putting myself in those situations, at least until I get stronger emotionally. Unfortunately, it's true what they say about "you can't give to your kids what you don't have yourself." And it goes both ways - I can see my girls' anxieties and feel both compassion, for what their feeling, and sadness, that I may have been feeding it per se. Additionally, I feel hope because by working through mine I'll more likely be able to coach them through theirs.

I'll elaborate more in my next posts about some of the other adventures from the past couple of months. For now, it's late and this is a novel already...

To wrap things up: counseling is hard, but then, it's supposed to be. I'm looking at myself more closely, and being honest about who I see. Real growth only happens in the valleys...

Adventures in Music and Medicine...

2008-02-22T17:04:00.005-05:00

Helllooooooooooo! I know, I know...it's been a WEEK since my last post. You know, no one really warned me at how time speeds up exponentially as we grow older. As Randy Jackson on American Idol would say "I was like WHAT?"

Anyhoo, let's get serious. Results from meds.... I'll start with our youngest daughter, we'll call her LK. So, she started her first does of Focalin XR exactly one week ago this morning. Her first day there was a noticeable increase in her talking - it was pretty much incessant! By that night her Daddy and I were wiped out. We love our girls SO much! Sometimes though it's a challenge to carry on a conversation that is non-stop. Whew! That was a Friday, and we continued with the same dosage through the weekend. On Monday morning I wrote a note to LK's Resource teacher to cover all bases and make sure she knew about the meds. That afternoon, I had a message from the teacher saying that she could already notice marked improvement in several areas: in their small groups reading time, LK was more focused; LK was more willing to do non-preferred tasks; AND, during the math lesson LK did ALL of the problems, rather than her usual only 3 or 4! Wow! That was only after her 4th dose, too! That early status report has put my heart at ease for having to use medications in our little one. I feel, by getting her randomness and lack of focus under control, her performance level is going to better match her abilities, as well as increase her confidence. I feel like she's so much more aware of herself and her surroundings, as well as the people around her. We're still concerned about her sleep habits. She struggles with falling asleep - she may be just fighting sleep cause it's fun to stay up, or it may be that she can't easily make herself go to sleep. (Insomnia is one of the potential side effects of the meds, but LK seemed to fight sleep well before we started them.) We've been experimenting the past couple of days by not allowing candy or sweets from the time both of the girls get out of school until bedtime. I have fresh fruit to curb their cravings for sweets and that seems to be satisfying them. Especially LK - it's like she understands that it's best for and she wants that, too. The results of our experiment have been good so far - it's still taking her time to fall asleep, but she's not so wound up at bedtime. So, all in all, I'm thinking the Focalin was a good step and cutting out sugar in the afternoons/evenings will be good for ALL of us!

Now, on to me...I began taking Strattera 11 days ago. I think that I can feel that I've taken the medicine (sometimes jittery, sometimes upset stomach, sometimes headachy) but I can't be sure if it's "working" yet. From what I've read, it takes 3 to 4 weeks to notice improvement. So, it's still a waiting game for me. BUT, I think I might be seeing some twinges of help from it - I'm feeling less like procrastinating when a non-preferred task presents itself, I'm more motivated to work on my "to do" list and complete tasks, and today, I've tackled my kitchen to begin the "Declutter Movement" in my household! (Of course, I haven't finished it yet, and what am I doing? Posting to my Blog! hahahaha) But see, as I'm typing, I'm remembering that I need to finish up the kitchen when I'm done with my Blogging break, so that's different. I'll keep posting about mine and LK's progress.....

And, Mandolin/Music! I haven't been consistent with posting about my lessons, so time to catch up. Each week, Roscoe has given me another assignment in the form of a new song to learn, sometimes TWO! Usually I'm only able to complete one assignment per week, though, but at least I have plenty of material to keep me jamming along. This past lesson things were different. Instead of Roscoe picking up his Mandolin to play along with me, he picked up his acoustic guitar! (I was like WHAT? tee hee..) He explained that at the end of each month's lessons, it's jam time, where we just play music together, my choice of songs. Whew...here come the nerves/anxiety again! He said that doing this exercise helps him know where we are, what we've covered, and most importantly, what we *haven't* covered yet! It was really fun even though I was a nervous wreck. It's probably good that he didn't prepare me in advance what we would be doing, because then I'd just have been a nervous wreck that much longer. So, we started off with Wabash Cannonball, ran through it four times, and not once did I do it perfectly. Shoot! But, I felt better when my sweet Hubby asked me the question his bass instructor poses to him..."yeah, but how many notes did you get RIGHT?" Nice, very nice, praising us to success! Mary Kay Ash would be proud! Anyhoo, we also tried Liberty together, but I hadn't practiced that one in a while, so I was quite rusty. My new assignment is to REALLY memorize the songs he's already given me, so that eventually, upon playing the first note of those songs, I won't have to think about it...I'll just KNOW them. We also discovered that we hadn't talked much about chords, so he wrote several chords for me to practice on until the next lesson. I'm excited to learn new things, not just new songs. I'm so excited, that I need to get back to the kitchen to finish up so I can have some Mando practice time! (Yeah, I think the Strattera MUST be working 'cause normally I'd just leave the mess in the kitchen and go straight to the Mando. wink, wink)

Until the next adventure.......

Adventures in Waiting.......

2008-02-15T16:51:00.003-05:00

Well, It's official....kinda. I had my first appointment with a Psychiatrist to talk about the possibility of Adult ADD - that was on Tuesday, so I'm a bit behind in posting about it.

First off, thanks a bunch to Leah at The Informal Matriarch for suggesting a book for me to read. It's called "So I'm not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy." I've only read a small portion so far, but she was right! It's very well written, with cartoon pictures along the way for those of us who need that to stay interested. It was quite helpful to have read a little before going to my appointment, too, because it felt the tiniest bit like the Doc wasn't sure about my symptoms. He advised me to do some research with my Mom and Dad to find out what they experienced with me growing up. (Apparently that's one of the criteria for diagnosing ADD in adults, is you have to have had symptoms as a child, too.) The reason the book helped me is because it explains how young girls with ADD/ADHD can tend to fly under the radar because their symptoms present in such subtle ways! Anyway, I'll be checking with my parents to see what they remember, because there's a lot I don't.

I think some of the things I mentioned to him DID raise flags here and there - the fact that my daughter was just diagnosed, the fact that I can be "fuzzy headed" and struggle with focusing sometimes but get hyperfocused on preferred tasks (like blogging!). So, by the end of our session he suggested I might benefit from trying a medication for a short while and he wanted to start with Strattera. I'm also scheduled to see one of his therapists - she specializes in women/young moms who are overly busy, with time management, organization, focus and goals. Sort of like behavior therapy I guess.

So, I'm on day 4 of my first level of dosage and will gradually increase over 4-6weeks. I'll keep you posted (wink wink).

Today was the first dosage day for my youngest daughter who is starting FocalinXR. It was much more weird to me to begin giving her this type of medication, than it was for me to try something. Isn't that interesting? I'm willing to make my body a test lab, but it felt the slightest bit uncomfortable to give it to her. Her Dad and I are watching her like a Hawk, asking her how she's feeling, if she's experiencing anything "weird" and we also sent a note to her main teacher today asking her to watch her for any concerning symptoms. (When I type that I sound REALLY overprotective, but have you read about some of these medications and what they can do to our kids? It's scary!)

Kinda feels like a rock and a hard place - she's really struggling in a few areas at school, and even though her behavior grades are always A's, we know she had issues with focus. Our pediatrician who reviewed our surveys and prescribed the meds said she has seen a case similar to ours, where we're involved in different therapies for developmental delays. Apparently, if we can get our daughter's attention more focused, we may start seeing bigger advancement in the results of our therapies! The pediatrician said her other case started off with noticeable delays and within 6 mos to a year was age appropriate! Now THAT'S promising!

So, we're waiting.....waiting to see how we're each affected by this form of therapy. I'm keeping my fingers crossed......

Adventures in Time Management

2008-02-07T20:38:00.000-05:00

WHY are there not enough hours in a day? I remember hearing my Mom say that as I was growing up, and I just didn't get it. NOW I get it!

My to do list is just huge, unmanageable, really. I'm using a really neat palm software called Life Balance, and it helps to prioritize my tasks for me. Yet, my list is sooooo long, it remains overwhelming. I have to keep this device with me at all times, because my brain is going 90 miles per minute with NEW TASKS to put into Life Balance. And if I don't put them in there, I forget them and can't keep them all straight. However, my energy level is very inconsistent - in fact, I find myself having energy to do certain tasks at the worst possible and inappropriate times. For example, I'll be getting the girls ready for school, staying focused on all that goes into that routine, when suddenly I'll feel the urge to take the laundry out of the dryer and fold it! Or, I'll need to be working on preparing our bills to be paid, and it's all I can do to MAKE myself stay on that task - I'll think of 50 other things I could/should/want to do, all which have nothing to do with paying the bills. Actually, I can see why I get distracted from that - it's definitely a non-preferred task! :)

I can see that everything is tied together when it comes to my avoidance of tasks: energy level, emotional status, other obligations. When I'm in the middle of a hectic, over-committed time in my week inevitably I'll think of all the non-time-critical things I need to be doing, and I have to remind myself of the windows of opportunity I'll have, either later that day, or the next day or two. (Here, my energy level is up and my emotional status is up, but other obligations get in the way.) Then, once I arrive at those windows of opportunity, I'm either exhausted from getting too little sleep the night before, OR emotionally drained for one reason or another, so I don't take advantage of those little windows. Hence, it feels like I'm always behind! (Here, the "other obligations" are out of the way, but the energy isn't there or the emotions are low.)

One could say that that situation is rather convenient...a perfect puzzle for one who feels like she is sometimes lazy, unmotivated, even defiant. Hmmmm....that word just came to mind. But yes, sometimes I feel defiant about all the things I HAVE to do or I'm SUPPOSED to do, and I just want to do what I WANT to do. That's mature, isn't it? What, am I a teen going through rebellion in my mid 30's? Yet, that's my feelings at times. I guess the problem is that I allow myself to act on those feelings, and, again, I don't get my "responsibilities" done.

Next week is my first visit with a new psychiatrist, mainly for evaluation for Adult ADD, but hey, I think we ALL could use some good counseling. So, we'll see if what I'm feeling a lot of the time (fuzzy headed or that my brain is spinning, can't think clearly) is really something, or just my life getting crazier with the massive amount I'm juggling now. That's the hardest part about this really...the uncertainty, second guessing the situation. I do look forward to having a more definitive answer next week or sometime very soon. The outcome is the same either way: really hard work on myself.

Makes me tired just thinking about it.....

(I really would welcome others perspectives, experiences, tips on managing Adult ADD and/or organization, prioritization and time management. Additionally, our youngest daughter has been diagnosed with ADHD, so advice in both areas would be helpful. Thanks in advance!)

Adventures in Impulsivity

2008-01-30T15:54:00.000-05:00

Or "How to Research, Test Drive and Buy a Used Vehicle in 3 Days!"

Holy Cow...somebody pinch me! Yep, you've read that subtitle correctly...we are now the proud owners of a 2000 GMC Yukon XL 2500 SLT! She can carry 7 passengers comfortably (8 squished), and can tow massive amounts of weight (can you tell I can't remember the numbers) so she can haul our Pontoon boat this summer, as well as Hubby's upright bass, without leaving any family members at home. It's got a lot of bells and whistles and was a one-owner vehicle for it's first 7 years. It was cared for and loved - it's obvious. Here's a couple pictures:

Man, what a crazy weekend! I kinda started the discussion of needing a larger vehicle when we were coming back from our Christmas holidays in Chicago. Hubby's car was packed...I mean to the brim. The poor girls had their legs sticking straight out in front of them because there was so much STUFF in the floor. Even still, we had to ship boxes both to and from Chicago just to make it work! AND, nevermind the genius level puzzle the trunk was to put together. Talk about stress!

Anyway, so that was the beginning of things. And along the way, I guess we figured out that we could make it work financially as long as we were careful and smart with our money. So last Saturday, after Hubby's Jazz Band Rehearsal, he started "poking around" at car lots to see what was out there and what each price range would buy for us. He had researched SUV's and discovered that the 2002 Yukon XL was an Editor's Choice on Edmunds, so that was what he wanted to see. He found lots of Suburbans and even tested a few, all with differing levels of wear and tear. It was fun getting all the text messages with pictures of what he was finding. After several hours of looking in one part of town, he headed home. I honestly thought he was just done looking, but lo and behold, he sent a text saying "can we go back out?" I was really excited! While he had been hunting around, I was searching on google for "used cars knoxville" and it gave me the option of choosing a make - very cool! Had no idea that would work, but it brought me pages upon pages of GMC vehicles, within a small radius of our zip code 'cause it gave me that option, too. So I looked for possible test drive candidates, mostly considering price and location, and came up with some to check out.

The first one I rode in/test drove with the Hubby was an 02 Yukon XL. It wasn't too shabby - had a moon roof, leather seats w/heat, cd/cassette, etc. Drove nicely, too, though when the Hubby tried it, he really put his foot into & it didn't seem to have the 'pick up' that some of the Suburbans had that he drove earlier. He wondered if it was the difference in engine size - this one was a 5.3L and they also make a 6.0L. So, we were initially very pleased with the 02, but thought it would be nice to find a 6.0L with which to compare it. A lot of the car lots were closing down by this time, so we headed back to our neck of the woods, deciding along the way to see if any lots were open down the main street of our town. We did find one open, and it had an 03 Suburban so we tested that out. Interestingly enough, it seemed to have more power than the 02 Yukon, but we noticed that the interior didn't hold up as well. Lots of buttons with their markings rubbed off, and some of the carpeting wasn't attached in places. So, one more data point.

In searching for more open lots, we came across a BIG Chevy Dealer, and alas, they were open! They had a BUNCH of used Suburbans and Yukons to look at...including a 2000 Yukon w/the 6.0L engine we were wanting to try!!! Woo hoo! So we took that baby for a test drive, and there REALLY is a difference in the power. As it turned out, this body style was the 2500 as opposed to the 1500 and was considered "heavy duty." It was nice....and surprisingly well kept! No buttons rubbed off, even at two years older than the previous ones, none of the seats broken or leather torn anywhere, the center console worked. The two big things we noticed were (1) the front bucket seats had too much "play" in them, meaning every time we stopped or started, they slid about an inch! Oooo, not safe and very disconcerting for test-driving, I might add, and (2) Hubby noticed a slight stutter in the engine. So, now we had the larger engine to compare to the others. We kept the poor sales guy and one of his superiors there quite a bit after closing time - but they were sooooo okay with it. Of course they were - they wanted to make a sale! Fortunately for me (I might have wanted to negotiate that NIGHT) they weren't open on Sunday, so we left to think it over until Monday morning.

I was thoroughly excited! OH, I forgot to mention the best part! The first several SUV's he and I tested were really a little above our price range, and the 2000 was more comfortably within it!! Yet another awesome feature! So, think about it we did! We made a list of all the awesome things we liked about it and all the not-so-awesome things we didn't like about it (there weren't really that many!), and we weighed the options. We figured out how many miles I usually drive in a month/year, and calculated how much extra it would be to go from my Subaru Outback to a Heavy Duty SUV. Surprisingly, not that much really. But among ALL the thinking and comparing and evaluating, we decided we had two choices...the 02 Yukon XL (a 1500 body style, yet PLENTY big enough to tow the boat) or the 2000 Yukon XL 2500 (almost ridiculously too much towing capacity, but an amazing Gem of a vehicle).

And, as crazy as it all seems (to look, decide and eventually purchase a vehicle so quickly) at the same time, it was as if we were following Spirit. You see, Hubby and I are of the belief that there's really no such thing as a "wrong" or "right" choice. Those are merely labels we humans apply to situations, based on emotion and how we feel about how things go. Really, regardless of the choice, we simply learn different lessons, or face different challenges to learn such lessons. So, on Sunday, while we were headed to a spiritual gathering, Hubby shared with me some insight and clarity he had gotten over night.

Frankly, to me, believing that there isn't a "wrong" choice is quite comforting, but how were we to decide which vehicle we wanted to pursue? Hubby said that he was very aware of how I had an immediate and strong affinity for the 2000 model, and he was trying to figure out what that might be about. He said, "What we might be dealing with here is choosing between two Spiritual Laws." The 02 model could represent The Law of Economy, where we only take what we need - it is the lighter body style, therefore, we'd likely get better gas mileage, plus it was more than enough towing capacity and so would be only what we need, not overboard on power. The 2000 model could represent the The Law of Love, because of how well taken care of it was. That vehicle was full of Love, and so maybe I was drawn to that and wanted to continue that cycle by being a humble steward and taking good care of it.

I was really in awe, and quite thoughtful about this new perspective. It made a lot of sense, especially since I believe that there are lessons to be learned in every little thing we do, say, participate in, etc. So thinking about this experience and these decisions from a spiritual standpoint struck a chord. (I know, I should be doing this all day, every minute really, but I'm not quite there yet on the whole discipline thing! Progress....little by little)

And that's where things stood on Monday morning...by then I had truly decided that I wanted to pursue the 2000 model, while trying to remain detached from the outcome. (challenging when you know what you want) We went in with a long list of things we had yet to check out on the SUV, and meticulously ran through that list, discovering a couple important items we hadn't noticed on Saturday night. Afterwards, we sat down with the sales guy and talked things over. All in all, things went rather smoothly, with the dealer cringing somewhat about the requests we made for repairing these essential items. BUT, we were willing to pay their asking price if they did. They agreed to move forward on the repairs, with the stipulation that if they came across something HUGELY expensive to fix, they would stop and call us to re-negotiate. This was fine with us, so we left the dealership with a tentative deal. The sales guy kept us informed, both later that day as well as the next, even though he was off work. To me, those two days were really long, wondering if they were going to find something they weren't willing to fix, hence sort of a "deal-breaker," as well as, just wanting to be driving it. Hubby was really supportive, and at different times said what a bummer it was to not have it yet. But he and I agreed that it was yet another spiritual opportunity, to practice patience and non-attachment to a material/physical object.

We finally got word on Tuesday afternoon that it was ready to go, all repairs made and we could come by anytime to look it over and take it home! Wooo hooooo! Was SO excited! Hubby was at work when I got the call, so I had to wait a minimum of 30 minutes, but really, Hubby needed to wrap up some loose ends before bailing out of work. For some reason, at this point, I was really relaxed and feeling patience in abundance. Maybe because it was now a known, that it WOULD happen, just a matter of time. I checked with the dealer regarding any time constraints and they were open until 9pm, so we had plenty leeway. I encouraged Hubby to take his time, do all that he needed to do to leave his work in a good place...THEN we would have our fun!

So that's it! OH NO, Wait!!!!!! I remember one more AMAZING part to the story! Hubby and I were sharing the experience with a friend from our spiritual group, and she was so excited with us, and amazed at the smoothness of being in the Flow of Spirit. After hearing all about the Yukon she asked, "So, you're going to keep your Subaru, right?" I explained that while we didn't trade it in, we were planning on cleaning it up and selling it ourselves. I shared with her how inspired I was to show the next owner how much I loved my Subaru by making it look and run it's best. She proceeded to say, "Reeeeaaaallllly! I might actually be interested in your Subaru for my brother." I honestly could not believe what I was hearing...seriously? A potential buyer for the Subaru? We talked a while more, with us sharing all the things we knew about the car, including disclosing all the things we knew might be considered "wrong" with it. We were each excited at the possibility - our friend, with buying a car from someone she knew and trusted, and us, with a buyer so quickly and someone we knew, which encourages me even more to make the Subaru look amazing. Later on, while talking just with Hubby, he mentioned again how he felt that somehow Spirit knew we were going to need the larger vehicle for something down the road, even if we had no idea what it was. But now...maybe...possibly...the reason we needed to move on to the next vehicle, was because someone else needed my Subaru!

Whoa! Ponder that one for a while.....

Adventures in Psychology

2008-01-17T15:59:00.000-05:00

Well, the ball is officially rolling now for me to be assessed for ADD, or ADHD as it is now officially known. For 35 years I haven't really given much thought to my "habits" or behaviors as anything other than ordinary. Often have described myself as lazy or unmotivated. But my one very best friends, who is AWESOME at research and continuously learning about herself, tried taking an online test for ADD tendencies. These types of tests do not diagnose you, but it's an indicator or red flag per say, and leads to going through the official steps of seeing a psychiatrist to be evaluated. After hearing about my friends perspective, I began to wonder how I would fair on one of these tests. I didn't take one right away, but for some reason, one evening while playing cards with my hubby and mother, the subject came up and we ALL took the test. My mother and I scored the same, very near 100, while my hubby came out with thirty-something. (The higher scores indicate a tendency toward ADD.) At my appointment with my new primary care physician, I brought up the test to her and after answering some of her questions, she said I should see a psychiatrist to delve further into it. I now have said appointment, in about 3 weeks, so it will be interesting to see where I stand. Will keep my blog posted.....tee hee!

Adventures in a New Year: Exercise, Music & Philosophy

2008-01-16T21:22:00.001-05:00

Well, the daily routine has picked right up again where it left off. The girls are back in school, so we're getting up BUTT early. (Who's brilliant idea was it to have school start at 7:45am for ages 5 through 13?) So, I'm a little tired 'cause I'm behind on sleep 'cause I've learned recently that I'm right-brained a lot of the times and our tendency shifts toward the Night Owl Club. I know I NEED to get to sleep at a decent hour, yet somehow, I don't make myself go lay down! Anyhoo, I'm really excited today because I'm starting to exercise (however minuscule the amount). Hubby purchased an elliptical trainer, and I FINALLY used it this morning, right after dropping off the kids at school. I was only able to comfortably do 6.5 minutes...I know, that's really sad, huh? But, you've gotta start somewhere! The cool part though, was afterwards, while resting a while, I felt like what I did was very do-able. I read recently in a health magazine that it might produce better results to exercise in 2-3 ten minutes sessions throughout the day rather than 1 thirty minute session all together. I almost went back and did another ten minutes later in the afternoon, but I'm glad I didn't. The backs of my thighs are NOT happy! So, I'll build up to a good routine several days a week and by Thanksgiving I will have lost 60 pounds!!! That's my goal.

Had my fourth Mandolin lesson today. (the mando is the small one - the other is Hubby's upright bass. They're cute together, huh?) Was a really good session. Last week....let's see, I guess I'd better put this in chronologically. After the holidays, I had my second lesson and it went really well. I played the song Roscoe gave me before Christmas (Wabash Cannonball) and got a good "grade." Then he gave me a new song to learn in tabliture (is that spelled right? spellcheck was of NO help) and it included eighth notes which means learning to up-pick! No, not upchuck (eeeewwww), but up-picking. The mandolin has 8 strings, in four sets of two. Each set is tuned to the same note. So, there is your normal down-picking, and there is also up-picking, using the bottom string from each set. Clear as mud, right? So, I practiced that song, titled "Liberty," for that whole week. He also suggested I use a metronome to help me gradually learn to play faster, or at least as close as possible to the way the song is supposed to sound. NOW, last week I went into my lesson SO amazingly nervous about playing this song in front of Roscoe. Major performance anxiety. And, I flopped! Not a big deal really, was just super nervous and didn't do as well as I had in practices at home, so I was a little disappointed in myself. Probably didn't help my nerves that I was running late getting there, so was a little spastic upon arrival. Also changed things up a bit that Roscoe was playing along with me, "chopping" the chords at every 2nd and 4th beats. I've already experienced that any tiny change in the practice routine takes me a few times to adjust to....seriously, just going from a seated position to playing in a standing position was enough to throw me off a bit. So, imagine the nerves at performing in front of the teacher, coupled with him playing along. Yep, it wasn't pretty. He tried to make me feel better by explaining that I really did quite well. It helped a little... He sent me home with the assignment of polishing up "Liberty" as well as practicing playing 3-string chords (holy cow, now that's HARD!). Will elaborate more about chords later...

Now we're caught up to today's lesson, in which we again played "Liberty" together, and I made it through! Woo hooo! I was a bit more relaxed today for some reason. The lesson was also different because I used my Treo's voice memo program to record the whole session for listening again later. Roscoe really says a lot in those 30 minutes, and I felt like I was probably missing some things. Also, got the idea from Hubby's Bass Instructor, who advised Hubby from the first lesson to record the sessions....said it helps to retain the info better. New homework is a new song called....hmmmm, forgotten already. Guess I can add it later. Title is less important than the assignment - practicing tremolo! This is a very fast up-down picking motion, which creates a sound that makes you want to got eat at the Olive Garden! Fantastico! Seriously, it does sound very Italian, like you're on a Gondola floating through Venice! He gave me a second song to tinker with, called "Golden Slippers" I think. So, I'll be busy with those two this week.

And, finally, to fulfill the "philosophy" section of my title...My best friend, Jen P, at What Jen Finds (see my sidebar for the link), posted a provocative challenge for her visitors...which of course includes me. It's asking what your opinion is of the phrase "everything happens for a reason." I love it because it's causing dialogue - everyone has their own perspectives, and there are many good comments on it already. I just think it was a really cool idea/experiment which is causing people to use their minds and hearts to evaluate where they are....way to go, Jen P!

Adventures in Travel: Heading "Nawth" for the Holidays

2007-12-24T13:03:00.000-05:00

Because I'm sooooooo behind in my posts, yet still wanted to share about our trip, I've made an End of the Year, all-inclusive post. Whew...better get a snack and a drink before you start... Tee hee...

December 20th:
We've been in Chicago now for several days. It's been wonderfully relaxing, even the drive, too! Apparently it makes a difference to travel in the middle of the week because we had no problem with traffic. It seemed like we were in a time warp, we reached our destination so quickly. We split the drive into 2 days, staying overnight in a pet-friendly hotel. (Thank you petswelcome.com! They have a feature that shows you all pet-friendly hotels along your route.) I even got a good mando practice session in the hotel. My sweet Hubby packed the car so the mando was easily accessible. Thanks Hubby!
I expected more of an adventure traveling this year because we brought along our puppy! She's a cute little spud of a dog, as my Hubby calls her. We found out she travels very well, riding in the passenger's lap the whole way. She was quiet & slept a bunch. Yay puppy!

Once at Pop's house (Hubby's Dad), we quickly settled in for the Holiday Festivities. We had a few days with just us and Pop before Jim's Sis from Wisconsin would arrive.

December 22nd (Pop's Birthday):
For Pop's Birthday, we all went out to eat together at BQ's Mongolian Grill in downtown Naperville. It was especially fun getting a table for twelve! But they managed to pull a few tables together since it was before the evening dinner rush.

Then we all went back to Pop's house for birthday presents and several different desserts to choose from. Twas a great evening!

Christmas Eve:
By this time we've all been hanging around in our PJ's, enjoying time with one another. Now it's time for some of the Family Traditions to take place. Around noon we headed out to the local grocery store to pick up the trays of food Pop always orders (tradition 1): 2 Shrimp Cocktail trays, a large veggie tray, and a meat/cheese for making sandwiches. Back home again, we enjoy a lunch/snack of taco dip and chips while visiting with the Niece and her Beau. Afterwards, we start an assembly line to make asparagus sandwiches (tradition 2). "Asparagus?" you might say...I believe this tradition comes from the British background in the family. Trust me...they taste wonderful! Our two girls LOVE them, if that says anything for the vegetable known as asparagus. Our girls even helped out with the assembly. I think they only had to wash their hands 4 or 5 times...they're still learning such social no no's as licking your fingers while you work with "community" foods. Another traditional Christmas food is Tomato Aspic (tradition 3). Hmmm...how do I describe this to unfamiliar palettes. It's sort of a jello mold, comprised of tomato paste, lemon jello, worchestershire sauce, and spices. Hubby made his best to date this Christmas, with even the Niece tasting it after snubbing her nose to it for the past 19 years! We also had the Family Punch (tradition 4) - Our girls love the foaminess of it. Yummy! Oh Yes, Hubby also got rave reviews on his deviled eggs. (Not sure if this is a long standing tradition, but surely one for the past several years.) They were fantastic, though a little strong for my "plain jane" taste buds. Still awesome, nontheless. After dining on all those wonderful foods, it was Yule Log time (tradition 5). Can't remember if it was before or after PJ's, but somewhere in there we hung the stockings as well (tradition 6). We have established another tradition the past few years, which is that we each get to open one present on Christmas Eve: new pajamas (new tradition 7)! This is a lot of fun - I adore my Chilly Willy pants, and the Hubby got Santa Claus pants. Our girls each got High School Musical pj's - the latest craze in our house. (We know all the songs, and can pretty much quote the movies.) Then our girls cozied up on the sofa with Daddy while he read "Twas the Night Before Christmas..." (tradition 8)

Ahhhh......that was fun to remember all the little nuances we so enjoy each year!

Christmas Day:
I was sort of concerned about the girls waking early and all the adults wanting breakfast, hence requiring the girls to wait even longer to open presents! (Note that I'm one of the girls, too! I wanted to open 'em up, man!) But my concerns were non-issue...our girls slept in until about 9am and apparently Jim's Sis and her Partner had been up a while already, because they had Spanish Fritatta waiting for us for breakfast...yummy! We spent the day opening presents (first from Santa Claus, then from each other), eating leftovers from our Christmas Eve "spread," playing with all our new toys, and just being relaxed with family. Twas a wonderful Christmas!

Day after Christmas:
(I'm starting to get shorter and shorter on my Posts, huh? Guess I want to get caught up and post "in the present.")

This was a rough day, but one filled with love and compassion. My Sister-in-Law's Partner received news that her brother had passed away. It was a pretty sudden thing, as they had just visited him less than two weeks prior and he was doing okay. He had been fighting some serious medical issues for a few days before Christmas, but was seemingly moving past them. It was a really tough time - our families have gone through several Holiday Seasons in which someone has lost a loved one. It's becoming an unpleasant tradition for people passing in December. We all sat down and tried to help Sis's Partner sort through her emotions to figure out what she wanted and needed to do. It's very hard to watch someone you love go through hurtful moments such as this, yet a blessing to be with them, to comfort them and just love them through it as best you can.

December 27th:
This was the evening we were to have a special dinner with some friends of ours and their family. I'll call them the Best Man and the Bridesmaid (from our wedding 10 years ago!). Each year they invite us over for a family dinner, with an unknown quantity of people who'll possibly be there, too. Sometimes it's just us and the Best Man and Bridesmaid, and their 3 kids. Other times it includes EVERYONE: Best Man's family (Mom, Dad and Sis), Bridesmaid's family (Mom, Dad, two sisters, two brothers-in-law, and everyone's children totaling NINE). Add our kiddos to the mix and you've got Eleven Children and Thirteen Adults! WOW! And the food is ALWAYS amazing. Best Man is Greek.....Aaaaaaa, OPA! Bridesmaid is Lebanese......Mmmmmm, لذيذ (Arabic for "delicious"). We had a wonderful time, eating fabulous dishes and desserts, playing games and sharing gifts. Thanks, guys, for a memorable holiday!

December 29th & 30th:
We had an amazingly easy trip home. Was a good pace, but not rushed. We are still amazed at how well Puppy travels! We made it most of the way home on the first day, stopping in Frankfort, KY at the only pet-friendly, yet the BEST Hotel there! It's not right off the exit, but still only 5 minutes down the road into downtown Frankfort. A HUGE hotel overlooking the river and two beautiful new bridges. Great experience! Made it the rest of the way home on Sunday, with a brief stop at Kroger to get stocked up on grocery essentials. Sigh...it's good to be home!

New Year's Eve:
My Mom and StepDad joined us in the early for an evening of catching up, eating, playing cards and bringing in 2008. I had the urge to make something in the crock pot, for an easy and healthy dinner. So, Pot Roast was the special for the night. Mom brought a veggie tray and a fruit tray. And we always have plenty of sweet stuff and munchies in the pantry for snacking while playing cards.

When they first arrived though, we had some important business to attend to.....we hadn't done our Christmas present exchange yet! Woo hoo! We each had a lot of fun taking turns seeing what surprises were in store. That was neato! Afterwards, we had a late dinner, played cards while the girls were enthralled with their new stuff from Grandma and Grandpa, and before we knew it, it was time to watch the ball drop. We always break out the noise makers, which the girls have "gradually" gotten used to hearing (they both have sensitive ears and strong startle reflexes still - neither likes really loud noises), but this year they managed quite well. Grandma found some cute ideas for hats...can you see the picture? These are Culligan Water Cups I had in our chef's cart. We put ribbons through them to tie them under our chins. Grandpa got really creative and used some stretchy bows from one of my packages to make a chin strap (see the second hats from the left & right). He's amazing! Anyhoo...we ushered in the new year with hugs, kisses, songs, dancing, and the traditional yelling out the front door to any neighbors who might still be awake! I wonder if we woke anyone...... Happy New Year!!

Adventures in Music - My First Mandolin Lesson!

2007-12-12T17:44:00.001-05:00

Wow! Yay! I had my first mandolin lesson today. I was soooooo nervous - no idea why, had nothing to prove or live up to cause I don't know much about the instrument. But, nervous I was.

The studio is located in Maryville, and I was about 20 min. early, so I stopped at Burger King for a whopper jr. w/cheese. Took my time so I could slam down my burger, but alas, I'd forgotten to request no onions or pickles. (Definitely don't want to have onion-breath when I meet my instructor!) Once I removed the culprits, I was good to go! I arrived at the studio about 10 min early, which is highly unusual for me. Just ask my daughters' gymnastics teacher.... Anyway, I went on in and found a sofa in the waiting area. Not long after, my instructor arrived. His name is Roscoe Morgan. He had me laughing right away because he asked if I'd finished my lunch from BK. Huh? How did he know that? He admitted he'd seen a white wagon with a Mary Kay sticker while he was having HIS lunch @ BK. Then when he pulled into the parking lot, there's that wagon again. So I joked, "uh oh, you've found me out!" He said, "well you know what they say about great minds......" After a pause in which I was going to finish that sentence with the usual "they think alike," he added "they're a terrible thing to waste." LOL!

Let the lesson commence... Roscoe began by asking me questions to assess what knowledge of music I had. To my surprise, and his, too, I think, I actually knew more than I thought. What's the difference between a quarter note and an eighth note? What happens to a quarter note when you add a dot after it? Have you noticed in tabaliture that there are four lines on the staff - do you know why? (tabaliture is a special way to read music while learning to play a fretted instrument - what you commonly see on a piece of sheet music is called Standard Notation) Do you know which notes are represented when strumming the open strings of your mandolin? I actually knew the answers to most of those questions. [ A special thank you goes here, to my high school chorus teacher, Mr. Mac!]

Now that he has a better idea of what I know, and after he shares which finger on my left hand goes where, he gives me a challenge right out of the gate! He quickly writes a line of tablature and asks me to try playing it, and to figure out what tune it is I'm playing.....man, here come the butterflies in my tummy again! But, I managed to do it, only leaving out one note toward the end. Whew! Not as bard as I thought. Oh, and the tune? "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Baaaar- Baaaaar!

Once he saw that I could read the music that way, he went to work writing out a more complicated piece for me to take home and practice. I noticed the upside-down title from where I was seated...Wabash Cannonball! He was pleased that I was familiar with the tune. He also printed out a sheet with scales and arpeggios (sounds like a guy from Little Italy..."hey, Arpeggio, where-a you put-a the calzone-e?") for me to practice. "Begin by learning the G scale. Do not move on to the other scales until you have G memorized."

He gave me several compliments along the way - it was quite an affirming half hour! I look forward to my next lesson, which will have to wait until Jan 2008 since we'll be out of town for the Holidays. But for now, check out Roscoe's web page from the link above. He also has a "my space" page which includes several songs by him and his band, Lonely Train. You can get there from his main web site. I'll put links on my side bar, too. Man, that's some fast mandolin playing!

Gaining Insight into my Eating Habits

2007-12-06T17:15:00.000-05:00

Here is what I've had to eat today:

French toast, McDonald's Chicken Nuggets, Green Tea (guess that's a drink), Cheese Puffs, a bowl of Smacks.... WOW! That looks baaaaaaaad! That's why this blog/food journal is insightful. Yay awareness!

I'm excited to practice my Mandolin this evening! I've had my instrument now for two weeks and have managed to learn three, no make that four, Christmas Carols. The family will be traveling to Chicago in just under two weeks (yikes!) and we'll be taking our instruments with us. Hubby plays alto saxophone (that one will stay home), electric bass (going to Chicago) and after tonight may also be playing the acoustic Upright Bass (definitely wont' fit in the car!). Hubby's sister plays acoustic guitar, so we'll likely do some playing together once we're all in Chi-town. Wow, back to why I'm excited to practice tonight...just rec'd some sheet music from hubby's sis and can use it to practice for our "jam sessions." You know, this paragraph looks really confusing - sure hope it reads better than it looks. :) Gotta finish more chores before I can "play"...

Adventures in Food - My first Post

2007-12-05T15:58:00.000-05:00

Hi! My first post to my blog! Yay!

My dear friend has helped me to set this up and understand how it works. She even helped me decide what to blog about and choose a title! (Sometimes I need help with such things, esp. if the menu is TOO big!)

So, my adventure in food today was my body's response to eating a Hot Fudge Sunday from McDonalds...yeah, I know, terrible for me! The interesting thing was that very soon after finishing it, my sinuses felt tight and painful. Hmmmm.......hubby's family has a specific allergy to chocolate. Wonder if I have that too...