Nausea

In my last post I mentioned that I hadn't been feeling well and that I would explain that in a later post. Well, now it's time. I've been sick for about two weeks with this strange nausea. It's always there but sometimes I feel okay while other times I am really sick. In the last two weeks I have lost almost 10 lbs. If it were under any other circumstance I would be rejoicing, but I lost it all by not being able to eat anything! It's sort of this feeling in the back of my throat that makes me feel like I might just throw up but I never do. It's always the worst in the morning and at night. Some days I can function just fine but others I feel like I can't do anything. Along with it, I have a sore throat but no other cold symptoms and feel extremely fatigued. I know that being tired is a symptom of my hypothyroidism but I can't explain the sore throat and nausea.

I thought that perhaps I was experiencing heart burn but I don't really know what that is supposed to feel like and it doesn't seem to be related to anything I eat. My throat also doesn't burn like you would expect when you think of heart burn. Taking antacids doesn't give me any relief whatsoever. Sometimes just getting food in my stomach helps a little bit but the feeling is always there.

I am so tired and sick that just getting the housework done on a daily basis is all I can manage so going for a walk is out of the question. I have been able to go a few days in the past two weeks but usually I just don't have the strength. Sometimes I think that either I'm starting to feel better or I'm just getting used to being sick all the time, but then I have another really bad day. Today is one of those days.

I know what some of you may be thinking, but you are wrong. According to three tests and my monthly visitor (who is actually my sometimes-every-40-days-visitor and who was 5 days late this time), I am not pregnant. I thought for sure I was because these are all classic pregnancy symptoms, but I was wrong, much to my great disappointment. I could handle the nausea if I knew that I would get a precious gift for it in the end, but now I have no answers and I just want it to stop. I didn't want to say anything about it before because I wanted to surprise my family with the news about the pregnancy but now there is no need to keep it a secret and at this point I don't mind if some people know because I really need some prayer. I feel like I'm just in survivor mode and doing the necessary chores (like keeping my family safe and healthy) and letting everything else slide.

I have a doctor appointment next Tuesday but I can't imagine feeling this way any longer. I am very thankful, however, that I did not feel sick on Thanksgiving or the day after. I ate more those two days than I have eaten over the last two weeks combined. Sadly, the next two days I was more sick than I think I have been since it all started. I hope to get some answers from my doctor next week and my medication will also be adjusted, so if this is all caused by my thyroid then maybe I'll start feeling better soon. Please pray for relief, strength, rest, and the ability to take care of my family even if I don't feel well. Thank you. I'll keep you posted.

Charts

I DESPISE organizing, but I LOVE to be organized. I know that doesn't make much sense, but it's true! The act of organizing and getting everything in its place is so difficult and overwhelming to me, but once I've got it done, I love it! Even better if I can manage to keep it that way, which is rare.

I decided that since I'm not feeling well today (more on that another day), it would be a good day to accomplish a couple of my short-term goals and make some charts, bringing me that much closer to being an organized housewife. First will be a cleaning and chore chart. When I have used one in the past, it worked really well (when I stuck to it) and I loved the idea of only cleaning the house one room at a time per day. Now that I have a house twice as big as the last one, I am in desperate need of a new schedule. I'd also like to make a chart for a weekly menu. I have used menus before and really enjoyed it, but I usually forget to make one and end up thinking about what to make for supper around 3:00. Lately I've been inspired by Lynn's Kitchen Adventures to make up a weekly menu. So now it's time to turn on the Christmas music and make me some charts!

What do you do to stay organized?

Goals

I have been thinking a lot about this lately and have decided that I need to have a list of short-term and long-term goals. I have them floating around in my head, but I really need to write them down. Goals seem so fluid in my head but I think they can be much more concrete in written form.

Short-term Goals (now through the end of the year):

• Start a new family devotion.
• Read the Bible EVERY DAY. I don't know why this one is so tough for me, but it is.
• Lose 20 lbs. This one may seem unattainable but over the summer I managed to lose 15 lbs in just under a month. With my thyroid issues, I seem to be able to lose weight easily but it comes right back on very quickly. We'll see how this goes with Thanksgiving right around the corner.
• Walk at least 5 times a week. My goals in the past have been to walk EVERY day, but it never seems to work no matter how hard I try. Something always comes up at least once a week and there are always days where going for a walk just isn't feasible due to scheduling or illness. It's so disappointing when those days arise but if I give myself a little wiggle room, it might be less disappointing. I'll always aim for 7 days but know that if I can't make it every day, I'm still accomplishing my goal.
• Make up a weekly cleaning schedule and stick to it.
• Try a new meal at least twice a week.
• Make at least 3 new card designs a week to sell on my Etsy shop.

Long-term Goals:

• Continue our family devotion routine. We have never been very good at keeping this in our routine due to my husband's crazy work schedule, however, now that he is only working one job and is usually home at a decent time, there is no reason why we can't get this one done.
• Be more encouraging and uplifting to my husband.
• Be more attentive to learning opportunities for my son and expanding on those opportunities.
• Read at least one book a month that will encourage me to be a better child of God, wife, and mother. Any suggestions?
• Also read at least one book a month for pleasure. I'm also open to suggestions here.
• Finish every book I start unless it turns out to be a complete and total dud and failure of a book. I always start reading 3 or 4 books at once and only end up finishing one or two of them. I need to only read one at a time and get all the way through it.
• Start changing our family lifestyle to one that is more active and less sedentary.
• Keep up with my household chores so it is always clean and presentable. I don't mean spotless at all times, but I just don't want to be embarrassed if someone comes over and the house is a wreck. There were many times at our previous house where the house was awful and I couldn't stand the thought of anyone else stepping foot in it. I'm certainly not a perfectionist and my house will never be beautifully clean at all times, but as long as I don't slack off on my daily chores, I'll be happy. If I can stay on top of my duties but have a mess from daily living, I'm fine with that. I've done a pretty good job since we moved into the new house, but I know I can do better.

That is all I have for now, although I may expand on my lists in the next few days. Thanks for reading! Be sure to check on me every now and then and ask how I'm doing on my goals. I would be happy to answer. And if I'm not happy, that means I'm not doing a good job and I need to do better. :-)

Tips

While searching through our bathroom reading material the other day, I came across a 2005 Reader's Digest displaying the following article title: 19 Weight Loss Tips For People Who Love to Eat. I was slightly intrigued but also apprehensive because once you've read one article with weight loss tips, you've read them all. I decided to go ahead and check it out anyway and I'm glad I did! Here are some I would like to share with you:

Start with soup. Eating soup before your meal helps to fill you up so you won't eat as much at dinner. Broth-based soups are better since they tend to be healthier and can be jam-packed with vegetables.

Go for color. Reader's Digest says, "The Japanese have a saying: 'Not dressing up the meal with color is like going out without clothes.'" It goes on to state that it not only makes your food more attractive but it gives you the opportunity to "bulk up your meals without a lot of calories." Red, blue-green, yellow, white and black are colors to look for in choosing your food. I enjoy making colorful dishes, such as the Spicey Christmas Delight I made last year. The stir-fry I make is also quite colorful and very lovely to the eyes and the taste buds. I'll try to remember to post that recipe soon as well.

When you're eating, just eat. Don't eat while you're driving, walking, talking on the phone, working on the computer, or watching TV. It is easier to overeat without realizing it if you are distracted. Dean Ornish, MD, author of Eat More, Weigh Less says, "If you really pay attention to what you're eating, you enjoy it more fully and don't need as much food." This is a bad habit that Sonny and I are just starting to break. Before our Lil' Squirt was born, we greatly enjoyed watching something on the computer while eating dinner and when our little one was just a baby we didn't stop. We would tell ourselves, "He doesn't know any better now because he's too small. Let's take advantage of this great opportunity while we still can!" Well, now he's getting older and we still do it sometimes! It's a tough habit to break but we'll get there soon.

Enjoy regular meals. I'm sure we've all been guilty of missing breakfast or lunch on busy days then chowing down later in the afternoon because you feel like you are starving. Don't skip meals! Eat three regular meals a day, starting with a good, hearty breakfast.

Stop eating before you're full. This should be a no-brainer, but I am so guilty of this! Sometimes food is so incredibly delicious that I just can't put the fork down, but stopping at the first twinge of fullness is important to avoid overeating.

Chow down only when you're hungry. Another no-brainer, yet I find myself eating many times simply because I'm bored. Making sure that you fill your time with important and uplifting tasks throughout the day can help keep you from getting bored or dwelling too much on stressful things in your life which may also encourage eating when you're not hungry. This is an example of things I know but need reminding of many times in my life.

Dine with others. Eating with friends and family helps you to restrain your own behavior and keeps you from over eating. Not only does it make you more aware of what you are eating and how much but being involved in conversation also slows you down.

Have a glass of wine. Studies show that one glass of wine a day can decrease your chances of having cardiovascular disease. We don't really like wine but there may be a day when we'll try it again and maybe it will be a little bit less yucky. It might be helpful though to those of you who don't mind having a little bit of alcohol every now and then and who really enjoy it.

Get moving. You don't need to spend hours at the gym, just be more active in your lifestyle. Go for daily walks, take the stairs instead of the elevator, park at the back of the parking lot, do yard work, etc. One of my top goals nowadays is to work on being more active.

Anyway, those are all the tips that I liked and wanted to share with you.

Moderation

Moderation is the key, my friends.

In July I started on the Weight Watchers diet and for the most part was doing everything right. I also walked almost every day for at least 30 minutes and lost a total of about 15 lbs in about 3 weeks. I didn't work as hard as I knew I could, though. The number of points I was able to use seemed like too many and I always had a ton of points left over and would often think, "Oh, well then I can have a cookie because I have points left." I was not as disciplined as I could be but I certainly did better than I ever have in my life at really trying to diet. There were things about the diet I liked but things I didn't like. This time around I am not counting points, not counting calories, not deciding what is off-limits. I am simply keeping to the philosophy that moderation is the key.

I am definitely striving to eat more vegetables and fruit and less fat and sugar, but I will not deny myself of certain pleasures. My goal is not to lose as much weight as possible, but to transition into a healthier lifestyle. My biggest problem has always been moderation. If I think something is good, self-control goes out the window and I eat as much of it as I can. *Blush blush*. Having one or two cookies a week will not kill me. Having five cookies in one sitting might. Having one soda a month certainly won't harm me, but having one a day (like when we are on vacation, or like I used to do before I got married) will most definitely cause me harm. It's about making good decisions and using self-control. We teach our son daily about self-control and pray with him that God will help him to have self-control and yet I have none myself.

This morning I wanted to have our family's favorite breakfast, potatoes and sausage. We usually make a heaping amount for both of us then smother it in syrup. I used great self-control this morning to only cut up a very small potato and a couple of slices of sausage and to use as little canola oil in the skillet as possible. It was a great breakfast and quite filling.

For lunch I had a veggie burrito, which I told you about one day last week. I used leftover rice from dinner the night before (which was seasoned with home made taco seasoning) and leftover corn. I chopped carrots and broccoli and added fresh spinach. I spread a little bit of ranch dressing on a warmed tortilla, added the rice and veggies then sprinkled it with a little bit of cheddar cheese. It was so wonderfully delicious.

Oh, I also walked 30 minutes at the mall today.

Christmas decorations!

My calves are sore from the brisk pace I kept the entire time. I blew all those old ladies with their fanny packs and hand weights out of the water!

So in closing, it's not all about losing as much weight as possible, but about changing my lifestyle and making better choices. Eating healthier, getting exercise, using self-control, and eating bad things in moderation without denying myself of simple pleasures every now and then. Hopefully this doesn't backfire on me!

Birthday

My Lil' Squirt is 2 years old!!

On Friday my mom and I took him and his cousin to the Mill Mountain Zoo in Roanoke to celebrate his birthday. It isn't the greatest zoo but it was perfect for the little ones because there wasn't anyone else there so they could just run around and check everything out at their own pace. We greatly enjoyed it!

Friday night I made a lion cake for for Lil' Squirt's birthday party:

I used a recipe from my Taste of Home cook book for Moist Chocolate Cake and simply doubled it. I made two round cake pans and filled two muffin pans with the rest of the batter in little cupcake cups. For the brown frosting, I used the Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting recipe in the Taste of Home Baking Book and for the yellow frosting I used the Bakery Frosting recipe (divided by fourths and using vanilla instead of almond extract) from the same cook book. I had a bit of problem when it came to the round cakes, however. Even though I greased the pans, they still didn't come out well. The first one looked terrible but was still in one piece while the second one just came out in chunks. Instead of making a two layer cake, I decided to just go ahead and use a portion of the failure as a raised part on the cake for the mouth and nose. It worked out really well! It wasn't until AFTER the cake had been made that I received a link to one of my favorite blogs, Lynn's Kitchen Adventures, which stated that sprinkling the pan with cocoa powder before pouring the batter in keeps the chocolate cake from sticking to the pan. Genius! Anyway, it still turned out beautifully despite my limited baking and decorating knowledge, and it sure was a hit!

We had a blast at the party, passing around our new baby niece and watching the antics of a couple of toddlers surrounded by lots of new toys and books. Lil' Squirt greatly enjoyed having his truck driver Gramma and her dogs stay with us but now the guests have left and the festivities are over so we can take a deep breath and get back into our normal routine. We like routine.

Sick, Sick, Sick!

Well, all three of us have a bad cold now. So much for walking and making better, healthier dinner choices for the next couple of days. My mom offered to order Chineese food and since she doesn't cook much and I didn't have the energy, I said it would be fine. It was all right but what good is deliciously fattening food if you can't taste it?

There isn't a book in this world that I have ever read that captivates me the way the Left Behind series does. Yes, I know it's just someone's own interpretation of what happens in the end times but it just has this way of drawing me in. I started reading them again a month ago and am on the 10th book now. Crazy, I know! My time could be spent so much better reading more uplifting books but at least it has drawn my attention away from watching TV shows online. One of my goals has been to watch less and read more, which I am doing. Any suggestions on some good, educational reading material that will actually do me some good? I'll want to have one ready for when I finish this series, which is only 2 books away. ;-)

My Lil' Squirt is turning 2 tomorrow! He loves animals so tomorrow my mom and I are going to pick up his cousin and take them to the zoo! Afterwards, he is going to help me make a lion cake for his lion themed birthday. I hope it turns out all right. I'll be sure to post pictures and let you know either way.

Mother

My mother came for a visit to celebrate my Lil' Squirt's second birthday! Tomorrow we're running errands and hopefully I can go for a walk with her and her dogs. It will probably be a much slower pace than I'm used to with the dogs, but at least it will be something.

Speaking of her dogs, this time I have a giant fenced in back yard for them to run and play in! I also have a kennel in the basement for when we need to leave them here. Oh what joy that brings me!

Tomorrow I will share my delicious veggie burrito recipe that I tried today. So yummy!

Motivation

I wish I could say my motivation to lose weight was just because I want to be healthy. While I DO want to just be healthy, I have many more reasons. Of course, I want my son to learn to have a healthier lifestyle than I did growing up. I'm having a hard time now because I have to break 26 years worth of bad habits. Those things don't just change overnight! I know that if I start young with my Lil' Squirt, it will be easier for him when he is growing up. My other reason is because I want another baby!

We started trying over a year ago. I got pregnant right away but miscarried at 7 or 8 weeks. After taking about 6 weeks to heal both physically and emotionally, we started trying again but it just hasn't happened for us. After the miscarriage I started putting on weight, which at first I thought was perfectly fine and normal because I was somewhat depressed and it was also in the midst of the holiday season so there was lots of delicious grub to munch on, but I continued to put on weight for months. My lifestyle hadn't changed though. I wasn't eating more than I had been or eating any less healthy. If anything, I should have gained a few pounds at first then stayed the same with the small amount of physical activity I got at the time. But the weight just kept coming. I was also EXHAUSTED all the time. And I don't just mean work made me tired. It didn't matter how much sleep I got, 8 hours or 4 hours, I was always so tired! Any physical activity knocked me out for days. I thought it was just because I was overweight and I would try to ignore it and just go on about my business but it really started to bring me down. I was getting headaches almost daily and I was also getting more and more forgetful and finding it difficult for things to compute in my mind. I remember asking Sonny if it was possible that I was showing early signs of Alzheimer's. I finally went to the doctor when my cycle suddenly changed and went from a long 40 days and extremely heavy to 26 days and light enough to be considered spotting. I had a myriad of tests done and it turned out that my thyroid was low.

For those who don't know, the thyroid gland is, "a two-lobed endocrine gland, located at the base of the neck that secretes two hormones that regulate the rates of metabolism, growth, and development," according to Dictionary.com. It just so happens that any problem with the thyroid gland affects almost all parts of the body in some way. It makes you tired, gain weight, causes depression, the inability to think clearly, forgetfulness, and many other things that seem unrelated, including difficulty getting pregnant.

There are a lot of women at my old church in Blacksburg who were also having thyroid issues and they all seemed to deal with it in different ways. Some did exactly what the doctor prescribed while some went a more natural route. After receiving a lot of advice and seeking out a lot of information from both sides, I decided that I fell somewhere in the middle and that I would start taking Synthroid and see how my body reacted and if I would start to notice a difference then try some herbs and special diets if it didn't seem to be working. So far I have definitely seen a difference in how much more energy I have in general (although I still have REALLY sluggish days but they don't happen as often) and I have had far fewer headaches. I will be getting tested again in a few weeks and we'll see where I stand.

One of the ways that I know I can help myself along is by eating better and getting more exercise. I feel that if I can lose some weight and get into a better, healthier lifestyle, it will be easier to get pregnant. It was so easy to get pregnant the first two times but now I feel like I'm having this epic battle with my body and I am losing. I know that God is sovereign and only He decides when it is time for us to have another child, but my desire is so strong and perhaps the reason it is so strong is to give me motivation to get myself healthy. God will give us another baby in His timing and I must be patient (which is so hard, especially when everyone around me is having babies) but He knows what is best for me and for my family. All I can do for my part is to pray the prayer that never fails: "Lord, Your will be done," and to prepare my body to receive the precious gift that I hope someday God will give us.

Speaking of precious gifts, my sister-in-law had her baby today! She is a healthy 5 lb 10 oz and 18 3/4 inches long. Congratulations Eleanor and Peter!

Tater Tot Casserole

I know I just posted about accountability and losing weight and eating better, but for one last hoorah I have decided to make tater tot casserole for supper tonight. We have half a can of cream of mushroom soup sitting in the fridge as well as half a pound of country sausage that needs to be used. Those things combined just beg for our favorite casserole and once its out of the way, there won't be any other incredibly fattening items in the fridge. So here is the recipe for this epic, out of this world meal:

If you recall from previous posts, I don't use measurements for my own recipes that I make up so nothing is exact. Sorry about that!

Tater Tot Casserole

Brown 1/2 to 1 lb hamburger or country sausage with chopped onions (we prefer sausage but it depends on what you have on hand...we also use smaller amounts of meat to help save some moola).

Mix 1 can cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup with 1/4 cup milk, a few scoops of sour cream, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Mix strained hamburger or sausage with the creamy mixture then dump into a casserole dish.

Cover with a layer of tater tots then sprinkle with more cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until tater tots are slightly brown and cooked thoroughly.

Revamp

So I did it again. I stopped blogging. There are times and seasons of life where you have time to write blogs and then there aren't. Since my last post Sonny has gotten a new job and we have moved an hour away to the same city as my in-laws! We love it here and couldn't be happier. Actually, the only thing that would make me happier is if my church and all the people in it could just pack up and move here too, although I have greatly enjoyed meeting the people at Trinity and look forward to getting to know them even better.

I haven't exactly accomplished all of my goals in the past months since writing them down, but I am certainly on my way. I will write another post with my new goals, showing what I have accomplished and what I still need to work on. I am also going to get back on my diet, which took a hiatus while I was on vacation with the family in August but I could never bring myself to get back on. I had a good stint for about a month where I stuck to my diet and walked almost every day, losing about 15 lbs and it was amazing! I have many reasons why weight loss is one of my top goals in the upcoming months which I will outline to you soon.

I changed the look of my blog because I am going to change the whole premise of my blog. Now I am going to use it to hold myself accountable for losing weight and getting healthy. I know that not many people read it, if any, but maybe just putting something out there will give me motivation. I have been inspired from many different sources but my current source is my brother, who is overweight as well. He lives on the opposite side of the country from me but is still inspiring me every day. He told me yesterday that he has lost 13 lbs by walking and eating better. It is such a great start and I am inspired by him because he doesn't seem to have much support and he has to make DRASTIC lifestyle changes in order to continue losing weight. I have faith in him and know that he can do it. He started going to church again, which is something I have been praying about for ages, and he is learning a lot about the Lord and the way to live in order to honor God. Please pray for him through this transformation, as well as for me as I start getting myself healthy as well.

So for now, I will leave you this: a few pictures of our new house!

Our beautiful house, minus the landscaping. I need to learn how to tend to a yard and garden.

A huge fenced in back yard. Perfect for running and playing!

Our little boy has his very own play room!

Okay, so this isn't part of the house but I want you to meet the newest addition to our family. Isabella, aka Izzy, aka Matt.

A Day of Rest

I love that God commands us to take a day of rest. Sunday is truly our day of rest and relaxation. Sonny works almost twelve hours four days a week, three and a half hours one day, and eight hours another day, leaving Sunday his only full day off. He is exhausted by the time Sunday comes around so we relish in the fact that it is a day of rest. Many times we go to his parent's house after church and spend the day with family, sometimes we have lunch at other people's houses, but our favorite activity to do on Sunday is to sit around at home and play together as a family. We try to make something delicious for dinner that we don't normally have during the week, we like to play games, we play with Lil' Squirt, and many times we watch movies. It makes for a great day and lets us relax before entering another full week.

Yesterday was one of those Sundays. We knew that we had a lot to do: weather proof the house (I know, it's STILL not done and it's January), fix the dryer, clean (which always needs to be done), take down the Christmas decorations, laundry, and a number of other things. However, after every single day off for the past month has been full of car fixing (which is finally done), we decided to do none of them. We watched a couple episodes of America's Funniest Home Videos (one of my all time faves) and spent the day lounging around in pajamas. Sonny even made pudding, which we ate in bed as we watched a movie. The day would have been a lot more fun had Lil' Squirt been in a better mood though. He threw the biggest fits he's ever thrown, which included bawling, screaming, stomping, kicking, arm flailing, and throwing himself on the floor. Whoah. Between those fits and fussiness, he was still the sweetest, cutest little boy imaginable. Sonny got to enjoy a little walk with him outside while I took a delightful nap. It was a perfect day.

Now today the work begins. After a weekend of no housework, a lot needs to be done. I can just look forward to next Sunday, when we get to see the family and a friend whom we haven't seen in ages! At least I don't have to wait all week to see my sis-in-law! She's coming over tonight for dinner and to see her nephew. Yay!

Question of the day: Does anyone have any healthy, frugally delicious meal ideas for the week? Let me know! I'd love to try some new recipes!

Irene Does Life

This one is long, bear with me.

Have you ever heard of the blog, "Ben Does Life"? Is that grammatically correct? Oh well. Ben Does Life is about a 24 year old guy who was very overweight and decided to do something about it. He started changing his eating habits and began running. Only a couple weeks after he started his new lifestyle, he participated in a 5K and fell in love with running. He has lost a total of 120 lbs and he's not done yet! He not only got healthier physically, but mentally as well. He was very depressed and had lost his girlfriend of four years to that depression. After changing his life for the better, he was happy! One of the things he says repeatedly throughout his blog is that when you want to start living life, just do it! Get up and go.

I first read about Ben in a Yahoo article featuring 8 outstanding people who lost an amazing amount of weight and blogged about it. I have been hooked to Ben Does Life for the last couple of days. I have felt so inspired to just get up and change my life, to stop being lazy and do it! Laziness has taken control of my life and I intend to fight it!

Ever since I stopped working in daycare, there hasn't been much of a physical aspect to my life. I do housework and take care of my one-year-old, but that's pretty much it. Last spring I spent a lot of time outside, hanging up laundry and going for walks, but many of the old habits started to return slowly and have now gotten out of hand! That type of lifestyle (sitting around watching TV or movies much of the day, staying home 24/7, slacking on the chores, etc.) is the beginning of a long downward spiral of depression for me. However, I'm going to stop it in its tracks right now, before it gets to a really bad place.

Now, I don't plan on being as radical as Ben and making my entire life about running, but I do want to get healthy and be a more productive housewife. I would like for my husband to come home to a beautiful, cozy home at night and not have to tell him tearfully, "I lost track of time," or "I was so tired!" I'm not going to devote a whole blog to it, but I will give updates now and then as to how I'm doing. Ben talks so much about being held accountable by his blog and I know how important accountability is so I'm going to be sure to document my successes AND my failures.

I found out that the loop around the trailer park is one half mile, so I plan to walk it 2-4 times a day (depending on the weather since I have to take my precious Lil' Squirt with me) at first, working up as I gain more strength. When the weather gets nicer, there is a pond just a couple miles from my house where I can walk that is also a half mile and gorgeous to boot!

So stay in touch to find out how things go! I don't want to disappoint you, but more than that, I don't want to disappoint myself. Please pray for the ability to rely on God in ALL things and for the strength to keep moving forward. Thanks, friends!

Lil' Squirt

The Lil' Squirt's pants have been falling down all morning. They are so pesky because they barely go up over his thighs, but they sure do come down easily! He's my little tiny waisted boy. A few minutes ago I noticed a flash of bare skin out of the corner of my eyes and turned to see Lil' Squirt standing next to the coffee table with no pants on. I said, "What happened to your pants?" He looked down, smiled, then picked them up and brought them to me. What a sweet and intelligent little boy I have!

Note: Right after I posted this, I realized that I hadn't heard anything from Lil' Squirt in a minute or so. I walked into his bedroom (usually I can hear him playing with his toys in his room) and saw cloth diapers strewn about the room along with every pair of pants from his dresser. I'm sure he was on his way to pulling out all of his shirts as well, but I caught him. How can he make such a huge mess in such a short amount of time? 1-2 minutes, tops.

Goals and Mashed Potato Casserole

I'm not really a new years resolution kind of gal, but I am in desperate need of some lifestyle changes. I've gotten too lazy in the past months and this simply won't do. So here are some of my long- and short-term goals for 2011.

• Finish Reading "The House that Cleans Itself" and be inspired to turn my house into one that cleans itself! Don't worry, I haven't gone crazy and I don't actually think I can have a house that cleans itself, but check out the above link and see what Mindy Starns Clark is talking about.
• Eat smaller portions and walk EVERY day (except maybe Sunday, the day of rest). I've never felt the need to lose weight just to lose weight, but I do want to be healthy. I want to have lots of babies and I want to live well into old age and meet my grandchildren and maybe even my great-grandchildren.
• Have dinner earlier in the evening. Now this will be a tough one, since my husband gets off work at 10:00. I used to eat dinner by myself and just leave the leftovers for the hubby when he got home, but lately I've gotten into the routine of just having a light snack at dinnertime and eating with Sonny when he gets home. It's so pleasant to have dinner with him every night but I don't like to do it because I've heard that it's unhealthy to eat right before bed. I need time to work off my food!
• Be more encouraging and uplifting to my husband
• Be more attentive to learning opportunities for my son and expanding those opportunities
• Prepare more wholesome meals
• Read at least one book a month that will encourage me to be a better child of God, wife, and mother
• Also read at least one book a month for pleasure. I always mean to do this one but end up starting so many different books at once that it's difficult to finish even one!
• Watch less TV. We don't have a TV but over the last couple of years I have started to watch more and more shows online. What a waste of time! *blush blush*
• Combat laziness in general (I'll expand on this one in the near future). That's a BIG one.

I will add more to this list at another time, but for right now, I need to tell you about my latest attempt at a new meal. I know how good sweet potatoes are for you. Yes, I even know they are a superfood, but I just don't like them! Maybe if I eat them in small, disguised doses, I will eventually acquire a taste for them. So, tonight I made a Mashed Potato Casserole with a mixture of sweet and white potatoes. It was good, as long as I had bites that were primarily white potatoes. Sonny quite enjoyed it though. At least someone was happy with it! The only substitution I made was adding my new favorite casserole ingredient: cream of chicken soup, in place of the chive and onion cream cheese. I think it would be a yummy Thanksgiving dish.

Finally!

You have no idea how many times I have tried to start a new post on here in the last few weeks! It's been so hectic and crazy lately! I started an Etsy shop (check out my last post here) which has been taking up way more time than I ever anticipated and my mother has been staying at my house for the last month. She just left on Sunday to start a new job! Yeah! She really likes it so far.

I also had a sick baby boy and as soon as he started getting better, my husband and I started to come down with the same thing. I live in a house of germs right now, so stay away! Lil' Squirt is starting to feel better but he still has a nasty diaper rash. It's been coming and going for almost two months now. We would do a good job of getting it knocked out quickly but as soon as we put him in cloth diapers again, his rash would come back. We changed detergents but when that didn't work, started using disposable diapers exclusively but nothing ever seems to help. We've tried it all: Desitin, A&D Ointment, Butt Paste, fresh air (we've learned to block off the kitchen so he'll stay on the linoleum making it an easy clean-up), numerous changes throughout the day, and not using wipes.

Quick change of subject. Right now my husband is out working on the car but it has this obnoxious car alarm that we can't figure out and apparently it won't let him do his thing. The battery is dying on the car so the alarm dwindles down to nothing rather pathetically. It was entertaining at first but now it won't quit and it's 9:30 at night! Poor neighbors!

Anyway, now the rash has gotten worse and we need to do something different! It has raised bumps everywhere and it has not improved in the last couple of days. I think I'm going to try the natural route. I heard from a friend that grape fruit seed extract worked wonders on her daughter's terrible rash so maybe I'll try it. I went to the local health food store and found it for a whopping $14 for a tiny little bottle (although you don't need to use very much at a time) and walked right back out thinking that was a little too far out of our price range. I think I have passed the desperate stage now and will do anything to help soothe my poor baby's bottom! If THAT doesn't work, it's back to the doctor!

The alarm on the car keeps "chirping" every now and then. Dumb car.

Simply Sweet with Grace

Simply Sweet with Grace. That's the name of my new card shop! I decided to join the wonderful world of Etsy to sell my cards. Etsy is a community of people buying and selling handmade or vintage items and supplies. I call it a community because it is very social. You can participate in forums, email, and discuss topics with other sellers/buyers within the Etsy community. They give tips, ideas, and feedback on the items being sold. It is a great venue for people to express their creativity and get paid for it!

I only have one item up for sale at the moment, but will have many more very soon. I need someone with a good camera to help me get some nice, creative shots of the cards. Image is everything in trying to market what you are selling! Here is what I have for sale now:

I first heard about Etsy from my friend, Mary, who has a shop selling homemade all natural soap. I bought some soap from her for all the women in my family for Christmas and it seemed to be a big hit! Her products are 100% natural, great for your skin, and smell delicious! Check out Oil and Spice and order some soap today! Look her new dog shampoo!

Sonny's aunt sells homemade purses on Etsy too! She uses adorable high quality fabric to make cute purses, totes, and mini-wallets. She's even in the process of making me a special diaper bag! She loves what she does and she'll even work on special orders. Go visit Jacs Sacs!

Happy New Year!

I have tried about a thousand times to start a new post for over a week but every time I try, I either can't think of anything past the first sentence, or I get distracted and have to give up. I started a couple posts continuing the Y2K challenge but couldn't get very far because so much happened in 2003 that I just don't know where to begin! I started a post about the black eyed peas and cornbread I made on New Years day, and one about my goals for 2011. I'll be posting a lot over the next couple of days to catch up, so be prepared for a whirlwind adventure in blogging!

First up, New Years! As many of you know, it's a southern tradition to have black eyed peas and cornbread on New Years Day to ensure a year of good luck. Despite growing up in Washington state, I grew up with this tradition as well. I spent all of Saturday in the kitchen, working on dinner and making fudge. It was a very fun and productive day!

Our anniversary was on the third and since Sonny had to work, we decided to celebrate by getting a hotel room in Roanoke and going to dinner at a fancy (for us) restaurant. My mother being here made it all possible! She stayed home with Lil' Squirt while we went out. It was my first time being away from him for more than a few hours but he did great! It was as if he didn't even know we were gone! It was the most wonderful and relaxing time I have had in ages. Happy Two Years, hubby!