Time to Start..... again

I got the book, The Engine 2 Diet , from the library yesterday and am reading it. It promotes a vegan diet and lifestlye and has some great sounding recipes. Today I bought the ingredients for "Raise-the-Roof Sweet Potato-Vegetable Lasagna". It sounds really good and I will make it for dinner tomorrow. I've been slipping. I've been eating too many fatty foods and dairy. Maybe that's why I'm stuck at 152 lbs, even when I exercise. I want to see the 130's again. I'll try some of the other recipes from this book over the next week.

Flu and Black Elderberry Extract

So 3 out of the 4 members of my household have had flu. Melissa is the only one who went to the doctor and she was told it is probably H1N1 since that is what is going around. They are not testing every case. This has been going on for 2 weeks or more and I am still healthy.

Back in June when I was in severe pain, my doctor could not come up with a firm diagnosis. It seemed it might be nerve pain. It followed the nerve line across the back of my left shoulder and down my left arm. It was unaffected by OTC pain meds and I was pretty miserable. I did some online research and self-diagnosed zoster sine herpete, or shingles without the rash. I investigated further and found that black elderberry extract is supposed to have anti-viral properties. I started taking it in June. The pain went away finally at the end of June. I'm not sure if the elderberry had anything to do with it, but I stopped taking it. After a pain-free July, the same kind of pain in the same place came back in August. So I started taking the elderberry extract again. The Pain lasted the whole month, but this time, when it finally went away, I kept taking the elderberry. I still take it once or twice a day. I am wondering whether the anti-viral properties have kept me from getting the flu.

Julie & Julia / Mary & Mary

I just finished reading Julie & Julia - you know, the book about the woman who cooked all 524 of Julia Child's recipes in a year. I am not much of a cook, but I need to expand my repetoire. The problem with Julia Child, aside from the fact that I do not own any of her cookbooks, is that I do not eat meat and try to stay away from dairy. After reading that book, I would guess that the vast majority of her recipes are either for meat or contain large quantities of butter. So I thought about cooking my way through some vegan cookbook, but I really don't think I have the motivation. What I might do is set a goal to try 30 new vegan recipes in 30 days... how about that? And since the vegan cookbooks I do own are by Mary McDougall, I can call it the Mary & Mary Project. Catchy, huh? I'll let you know if I decide to do it!

On being single in a family oriented church

I came across a dialogue on the somewhat skewed mission statement of a singles ward somewhere in the church. Check it out here . It inspired me to share the following story:

Thirty-some years ago my friend and I were “kicked out” of the singles ward in Cambridge because we lived outside of the Stake boundaries. Our Stake had no singles ward. The first Sunday we attended our family ward we were just a little bit late and I’m sure everyone noticed us - two obviously single young women. It happened to be the Sunday that the RS was speaking and they had chosen a young mother, a middle aged mom and an older woman to speak. When they saw us, they realized that they hadn’t covered all the bases and all three of them awkwardly inserted into their talks that RS has a place for the young SINGLE woman who ISN’T MARRIED YET. I’m glad I had a friend to laugh about it with. And bless them for wanting to include us!

Steve's Blog and Vlog

Stephen is preparing for a Japanese proficiency test and has both a Blog and a Vlog of new words he is learning there in Okinawa. Check them out:

Steve's Japanese Blog

Fw:

My friend sent me one of those positive, uplifting, reinforcing, cute, sappy forwards about how wonderful it is to grow old. I would usually just read, smile and delete. BUT today I am still recuperating from Saturday. Saturday I found myself at a nursing career fair competing with people much young than I. I would go as far as to say I was the oldest person in the room. I was waiting in a long line, watching other people as they interviewed. It was open; I could see what was happening. There were a lot of these open interviews going on in a very crowded conference room. So I watched and saw the interviewers laughing and chatting with the candidates, taking their time. The interviewers were doing most of the talking. I couldn't hear much, but it looked like they were recruiting, trying to sell their hospital, their department. When my turn finally came, I got the cold treatment. No positive chatter, no encouragement. I did not match the profile they were looking for and it was ever so obvious. It probably would have been a good idea to do more than one interview - there were 13 or 14 possibilities - but I was out of time as well as extremely discouraged. So no, I did not find the forward amusing and I will not send it on to seven friends. Today I don't feel so great about growing old.

They Froze to Death

My 5th great grandparents died on March 5, 1813 in Trenton, Maine. Back in the summer of 1969, I discovered their common tombstone in an overgrown cemetery. On it was engraved, “They froze to death returning from a visit”. He was 69; she was 72. I had a great time that summer doing research on my family, tracking tidbits of information and discovering forgotten graveyards. They can be a great source of information.

I love cemeteries. I visit my son’s grave here in Dallas and find it peaceful just to be there. When he died, my mom planted a rhododendron at our camp in NH in his memory. That was over 17 years ago. It is still there and very beautiful.

My dad was cremated, and his ashes were buried in the family plot in Carlisle, Massachusetts. I have ancestors in that cemetery going back to the 1700’s and I love to visit when I am in the area. I think there are 5 or 6 sets of grandparents of various degrees of greatness there as well as numerous uncles, aunts and cousins. Bill’s parents were cremated and are interred in the wall of a chapel in an Episcopal church. I would rather visit a graveyard.

Processed People

I have the DVD "Processed People". I had the trailer posted here but it took too long to load so the link is below. It is worth watching! If you are in the Dallas area and would like to borrow it, let me know.

Processed People

Off to SLC!

Tomorrow morning, Bill, Emma and I will fly to Salt Lake City. We will rent a car and drive down to Provo and stay with our good friends, the Harlows. Then on Wednesday, Emma will enter the MTC. So our time with her grows shoreter and shorter. Today Sarah and Loren drove over from Ft Worth to spend the day with us. James and Melissa are here as well. On Sunday Emma got to talk with Stephen in Japan for 30-40 minutes, before getting set apart Sunday night. She has had a good dose of family. As a missionary she will serve for 18 months with no vacations or trips home. We will get 4 phone calls - 2 Christmas calls and 2 Mother's Day calls. We will miss her, but we are very excited for her too, as she begins this new phase in her life!

Flu Shots

So, I have made a brief foray back into the world of working people. I have worked a few flu shot clinics. Last Thursday I gave a little over 100 flu shots at a clinic for Citigroup in Irving. It has been fun to get out and meet new people and make a little money, but I suppose I need to get a real job. At a hospital. I thought the nursing degree (BSN) and the RN would open many doors, but I was mistaken. Without that hospital experience, no one wants me. I am afraid of 12-hour shifts that stretch into 14 or 15 hour shifts. I am in good health, but I am not young.

Population Fluctuation on Sycamore Street

The population of young people in our household has been in a state of flux. In June, Stephen left for Japan and Emma for Minnesota. From no kids at home in July we got Emma back in the middle of August at almost the same time that Joakim arrived. Then a week later we got Annebeth. We were stable at 3 during September. Then Rene came to visit for two weeks in October and we were up to 4. Last Saturday we went down to two when Rene went back to Germany and Annebeth finally got permission to move in with her new host family. Just in time for James and Melissa who will be driving from Idaho Falls to Dallas this weekend and staying with us for... as long as they want to! So we will be back to 4. But then Emma will be leaving for her mission three weeks from today, bringing us down to 3 again. And then when Sarah starts her rotation at Childrens Medical Center at the end of December, we will have her for a few days. It keeps life interesting!

Emma's Going On A Mission!!!

Can you guess where? Here's a hint:



She reports to the MTC in Provo on November 19th. Exciting times!

It was the best of jobs, it was the worst of jobs.

"It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair." I sacrificed the best of jobs because I could not bear to go back to the worst of jobs.

Habits and Shoes

I have heard that it takes 30 days to establish a new habit. While I was living out of a suitcase for 30 days, I had only 3 pairs of shoes to wear. I've been home for a week now and just realized that I've been wearing the same 3 pairs of shoes since I got back, even though there are plenty more in my closet!

Here We Go Again

Today I got approval for two exchange students to attend the Arts Magnet for this coming school year. One is a dancer; the other is a violinist. They both are excellent candidates for Arts. I'm sure they will enjoy their year. I had been trying to find another family to host one of them, but more and more I am growing attached to both of them, even though we have not yet met. I'm not sure which I would want to give up. I had thought we would keep Joakim, the Swedish boy, and find another home for Annebeth, the Danish girl, but I find myself feeling excessively picky about who would be acceptable. And as I discovered with Rene and SeWon, it is often easier to have two than just one, especially when I have no kids of my own at home. We have Emma now, but she will probably leave in another 2 or 3 months for her mission.


UPDATE: Joakim arrived on August 15th and Annebeth arrived on August 22nd. Here is a picture taken at DFW on the 22nd:

Better Than Chocolate

Blasphemy to some, maybe, but there are a few edible treats that I find better than chocolate. Mighty Mango fruit juice smoothie by Naked is one. Expensive, but worth it! Panda brand licorice with herbs is another. As with anything so delicious and tempting, a little goes a long way... or should. I've found that overindulgance can spoil even the most delectable of treats. I may come back and add to this list. I recall using the phrase "better than chocolate" in reference to other favorites that slip my mind just now. I've eliminated anything with butter - like artichokes or lobster, since I'm trying to eat vegan. Do you have a favorite treat that's better than chocolate??



OK, I just thought of another. Fresh raspberries, right off the bush. Last week, when we were in New Hampshire, Sarah, Loren and I drove to a farm at the end of Tuftonboro neck and picked raspberries and blueberries. I probably ate nearly as many as I saved! And I recall thinking 'better than chocolate'.

Time to Make a List

One of my goals for the next few days, besides staying out of the heat, is to get my house in order. We hope to host another exchange student this year, and YFU will want to make a home visit. I'm not sure we would pass at this point. I've been up since 7:30 or so and have accomplished very little. SO it's time to make a to-do list.

I've been trying to get my 2 students approved since mid-June, but people have been on vacation, Arts has no principal and the people who are there don't want to take responsibility. In the meantine, these kids cannot get a visa because they do not have a school placement confirmed.

HOT HOT HOT ... Hazardous Weather Outlook

Heat Advisory!! I left beautiful, cool New Hampshire to come home to this. It was rainy and cooler than usual in NH, but a bad day at the lake in NH is better than almost any day in Dallas in the summer. I do not handle Texas heat very well. The above images are from the NOAA website. I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of orange suns on NOAA for the next month or so.

Bullets

While I was in PA, Bill was awakened one night at about 3 AM by the sound of gunshots. He got up to investigate, but it wasn't until morning that he found a bullet hole in the dining room window and a bullet lodged in the wall. That hole is at about the level of my heart had I been standing near the window, or my head had I been sitting at the table. Later he found a second bullet hole that went through the outside wall into the pantry, through the pantry wall into the laundry room and through the wall over the laundry room door. That's right - three entry holes and three exit holes from the same bullet. He found the actual bullet on the family room floor. It's amazing that nothing in the pantry was damaged or broken... and lucky no one was hurt. People are so thoughtless and stupid. Random bullets can and have killed.

What a slouch I am!

I am being a Camp Nurse in Pennsylvania!. So much to write about and yet I don't. I finally have a day off today, so maybe after breakfast. Ill catch up.