Eat-2-Liv Week 2

Well, I had planned to write a few more blogs this weeks.  I have a lot of random thoughts regarding food, eating right, being healthy, exercising and so forth.  But, Matt's iTunes went down this week and he was spending a lot of time on the computer trying to fix it.  Also, the time I would normally have during the day to blog is now being spent exercising with y sister-in-law.   I'm still trying a adjust my schedule to exercising at a different time of day.  It's working well, I just haven't rearranged my schedule to fit all the other stuff in elsewhere.  It's one of my eternal struggles.

So, back to the program.  I step on the scale tomorrow to see how week 2 went.  The good news is that I lost 2 pounds during week 1.  The bad news is that it was the same 2 pounds that I gained the week before I started this program trying to rid my kitchen of Christmas treats... by eating them.  Hopefully this week I will drop below my Christmas treat binge weight.  The other good news is that I feel good about what I am doing, and whether I'm imagining it because I feel like I'm accomplishing something, or it's real, my pants seem to be fitting looser.  Yay!  I really think that when I eat a lot of sugary foods and white breads it just makes me pudgier.  When I eat more nutrient dense foods, I am more slim.  No matter what my weight is.

This week we focused on eating mindfully.  It's something that I need to work on.  A lot of times I eat because it's time to eat and we need to get our meal done to get all the other things done we need to.  I especially eat this way with treats.  I sit in front of the TV and munch without paying attention to what I'm eating or how it tastes.  I think some of my dissatisfaction with food could be solved if I ate more mindfully and actually tasted my food.  Then I would enjoy it more and realize that I have eaten so I don't feel like I need a treat 10 minutes after dinner ends.  I've also been paying attention to how full I am.  And, realizing that I don't feel good when I stuff myself.  So, if I am pleasantly full after I eat, to pay attention to that and not put more into my body that I won't really enjoy.

I realized that if I eat well-balanced meals, I can regulate my hunger more easily.  If I'm snacking or eating small meals, it takes a lot more thought and planning to make sure I get enough of the right foods.  I've noticed it's really easy to snack on a grain or protein, or fruit.  Most of my snacks fit into the same area.  Vegetables are definitely my hardest thing to get extras of.

One thing I worked on this week is trying to work in neutral foods and snacks.  I know that I will go through times when I just want to eat to eat something, or want a snack.  So, to think of a life without snacks or treats, is hard for me imagine.  I know that to make this a lifestyle change, I will have to get over the thoughts that, "When I'm done with this program I can do that again...".  So, I need to figure out how to have an occasional treat or to eat because I feel like it.  This week I have tried to allow myself to do that.  With the stipulation that I first choose healthy foods, then neutral foods.  I try to tune into what my body really wants so that when I finish eating, I feel satisfied.  I think it has gone well.  I learned that I don't have to have a treat and I can still be satisfied.

Challenge: Week 1

On this program, I don't have to count calories, which I love.  I have a list of foods to enjoy, neutral foods and foods to limit.  I like that I'm not told that things are good and bad.  I need to eat a certain amount of foods from the foods to enjoy category each day.  I earn points for eating these foods.  I can eat foods from the foods to limit list if I want, but they are minus points. I can eat foods from the neutral foods list, they don't earn me points or loose me points.  I also have to drink enough water.  I have free calories each day.  I can use those to indulge in treats without loosing points.  I can save them up or use them each day.

I also gets points for the physical activity I do.  The longer I exercise, the more points I get.

That's pretty much what you would expect out of a weight loss program.  Diet and Exercise.

Then, there is the Live category.  For this, I have to get enough sleep each night, Spend some time in meditation or prayer each day, read inspiring words, do an act of kindness, and keep a gratitude journal.  Then, there are focus activities each week that help us learn about ourselves and our eating habits, to be more mindful and thankful as we eat and to encourage us to find ways to live life by being active.

I really like this aspect of the program.  It takes some of the focus off of food and eating the right or wrong things.  Sometimes I think that my biggest problem is that I obsess too much about food.  Then, if I eat something I have termed as bad for me, I just feel bad about myself.  When I'm not just obsessing about food, but focusing on others and positives in my life, it helps me stay positive and carry on with more hope of success.

Last time I did this program, I remember feeling really good.  I felt like I had more energy and was more productive.  This made me happy. And, bonus, I lost weight!

I have finished my first week of this challenge.  Right now, it doesn't feel too challenging.  Earlier this week, I felt differently.  I really didn't feel like doing this.  It felt too hard to ignore all the treats still in the kitchen from Christmas, and it was just seeming like something that would take more energy than I could muster.  But, points can be motivating to me.  So, I took to eating just foods to enjoy.  It's not so bad.  I try really hard to listen to my body and give it things that sound really good.  I've started to realize that when I eat things that don't satisfy me, I keep eating to try to find something satisfying.  Usually those items would fall into the foods to limit category.  But, I have gotten into bad habits of eating when I'm not hungry.  I will eat out of habit, boredom or to avoid doing housework.  But, at any of those times, I'm not reaching for healthy foods. That's my biggest problem.  The first couple of days it was hard not to eat, when habit told me I should be eating something.  And there were a couple of times early on, when I thought maybe I would just give up, because I didn't know if I was strong enough to keep this up for 6 weeks.  But, sometimes I listened to my body and didn't eat because I knew I wasn't hungry.   Sometimes I comprised and gave in and ate something, but made sure that it was from the food to enjoy category.  So, at least I was trying to make healthier choices.  But, on Friday, I realized that I didn't do any snacking.  And, I didn't even think about it. I felt good when I realized that I didn't have to fight all day to try not to snack on junk food.

I really want to loose a little (or a lot) of weight through this challenge.  Last time I did this challenge, it took me a while before I realized that I could eat foods from the neutral category.  So, I only ate foods from the foods to enjoy category.  This time, I was scared to eat foods from the neutral category.  I felt that if I slid into that category to find things that would satisfy my cravings, that I would keep eating things from that category.  Then, I would have a little stock of treats that aren't really treats that I could turn to when I just want to eat.  I felt like if I took that step now, I would continue to eat the way I have in the past and I wouldn't loose weight.   I also worried about the weekend.  We usually make some treats to enjoy on Sunday evening.  So, I have saved my free calories all week, so that I could indulge with my family.  But, I worried that if I ate all those calories and dipped into the neutral category on the weekend, that I would undo all that I worked on during the week.  I was starting to worry that when I got on the scale on Monday morning, I wouldn't see results.  I'm feeling a little more confident now, and I've pinpointed some of the things that cause me to obsess about food, and what bad habits I've had, and some of the things I need to watch out for, if I want to really adopt more healthy habits.

My struggle will be to remember that I want to make lifestyle changes.  I still find myself saying, "in 6 weeks I'll be able to...".  But, I want to end this cycle, so I don't want to start over in 6 weeks.  I'm trying to change my thinking so that I will continue doing this even after this challenge is over.  And, learn how to deal with special occasions or treats without it breaking all of the good habits I've created.

Eat 2 Liv Challenge

So, I've been unhappy with myself lately.  I spend time telling myself that I want to be healthy and live an active lifestyle, but then I don't quite live up to it.  Then I get into this horrible cycle, where I try to be perfect, but then I have a hard time, then I eat to try to make myself feel better, then I feel bad about failing and I eat more and so on and so forth.  I keep saying we need to make changes, but when it comes down to it, I feel too tired or busy or whatever to actually make those changes happen for very long.  Then, my cycle starts again.

So, when I had the opportunity to join the eat 2 liv challenge I decided that it might give me the motivation I needed to make some positive changes.

I have an awesome friend that had helped me loose weight before.  We seem to have a lot of the same struggles.  I had heard her talk about a program she did that focused on health, body and mind.  From what I heard about it, it sounded like a good idea and a well rounded approach to weight loss, without focusing and obsessing just on weight loss.  A little over a year ago, I got an email from her.  She told me how  a friend of hers, who is a dietician, was starting a weigh loss program and wondered if I wanted to join the pilot program.  I felt like could loose some weight and wanted to try to make some healthier habits, so I joined up.  (Hey, I already told you, I cycle.  Yeah I've done this before.  I'm just trying to not to have to do it again.)

Well, I liked the program, and success.  And it was easy and didn't take a lot of thought.  So, while I was trying to break my cycle this time, and having a really hard time doing it, I got an email from eat 2 liv saying they were starting up a new round.  I really wasn't motivated to put forth the energy I needed to make big changes.  So, I joined.  (It's amazing how much motivation I can get from a friendly little challenge.)

I decided that I would try to blog about my experience on the program.  For myself.  As I've tried to figure out how to truly be healthy, I've had a lot of different thoughts about what healthy is, why it's so hard sometimes, what gets in our way and how to figure out which of all the health tips you hear are accurate.  I figure, maybe if I blog about it, and get the thoughts out of my head I can make better sense of them.  Also, I want to be more honest with myself.  Maybe in my wonderings I can find out what I'm being honest about and what I'm trying to cover up.  If anyone else ends up reading this, maybe they will figure out that they're not the only ones that struggle with this.  And, If anyone does struggle with the same things as me, you can look into this program.  I believe in it.  I really don't think it's that hard.  And I love that it isn't just about food and loosing weight.  The motto of the the program is "Eat with attention and thankfulness, Live with intention and vitality".  It sounds like just what I would like out of life.  And it makes it not just about food.

So, we'll see what happens.

Loganisms

You know you haven't blogged in a long time when you can't remember your password.  Well... I try.....

I love my son.  So cute and innocent.  He can insult someone without even knowing it. 

We were talking about gardens at daycare.  The kids all started talking about big plants they have seen.  So, here's Logan, "I saw this lady that had a huge pumpkin.  It was, like, as big as my mom.  It was, like, one thousand and six pounds!"  Thank you Logan.  Just because I can't get mad at the scale every morning because I haven't hit the sixty pound mark doesn't mean I weigh a thousand pounds!

But, me and Lynn had a good laugh.  Hopefully worked off a few extra calories. 

Punishment

I tossed and turned a lot last night, so when my alarm went off this morning, I had a hard time getting up.  I finally rolled out of bed at the last possible moment to be able to get ready on time to take Logan to school.  As soon as I got in the shower, Logan knocked on the bathroom door.  (This is the really fun part about having only one bathroom.)  So, he came to get ready ready for school.  (He can be very talkative in the morning.  Another fun part about sharing a bathroom.  He's really cute thought.  He always asks me how I slept and tells me good morning.) 

OK, for the rest of this we need a quick Backstory:  Logan got an alarm clock for Christmas.  (A Perry the Platypus Awakinator, to be exact.)  It's been really nice, because it's made my mornings easier.  He does a good job getting up when his alarm goes off.  It's been much nicer in the mornings.  Except those ones where he gets up when the alarm clock goes off and then sits in his room and reads for half an hour instead of getting ready for school.  But....   Now that he has an alarm clock, he knows what time it is.  He will tell me that he was up until 10:53 and that he woke up at 6:04.  He really pays attention to the time now.  He even knows that when I push the snooze button on my alarm, it takes 7 minutes for it to ring again. 

So, this morning, when he came into the bathroom, we says, "Mom, your late.  You only got in the shower 4 minutes before my alarm clock went off.   I woke up at 7:08."  Then, he tells me that I should have a punishment because I got up late.  I asked him what he thought my punishment should be.  He told me that I should be banned from his Nintendo.  So, I told him that if I was late, he could ban me from his Nintendo today.  But, as we walked up to the school, I pointed out to Logan that we were on time.  He told he thought I should be punished any way.  So, I haven't played the Nintendo today. 

I don't know how he knows that I stay up too late at night playing that game.    But I do know that I better get up on time tomorrow.  I don't want any more punishments.

Hello, Is Dad There?

Guess what?!!  I talked to my dad on the phone today!!!!  OK, I can guess that I'm getting the same, "big deal", stare that I got from my preschool kids when I told them this this morning.  But, it really is a big deal.  You see, I don't think I've ever talked to my dad on the phone.  I was pretending that I have, but as I thought about it more, I realized that I probably just stole that memory from Lynn because she's talked about it enough that it felt familiar to me. 

My dad is hearing impaired.  So, he's always had trouble hearing, but over the years his hearing has gotten worse.  He can read our lips sometimes, and we write a lot of notes, but those things don't work over the phone.  Lynn says that dad used to call form work and ask to talk to mom.  Then he got to where, when someone answered the phone, he would just give them the message to give to mom.  I remember taking messages from the guys at work, because dad started having them call for him.  In the days before caller ID, telemarketers would call and ask for Mr. Breinholt.  We would tell them he couldn't hear on the phone.  Then they would say, "OK, we'll try back later."  And we would say, "he won't be able to hear then either."   So, as far as I remember, I have never talked to my dad on the phone.

Today, my mom and dad got a new phone.  When we talk, it types out what we say, then my dad can read it, and talk to us.  So, mom and dad called Lynn's this morning to test it out, and I got to talk to my dad on the phone!  It was super cool. 

Logan Gets Baptized

Logan turned 8 last month.  I can't believe he's so old.  So, he got to get baptized today.  We've been talking about this for a year now.  Asking him if he wants to gets baptized and trying to see what he really understands about it.  I've been impressed.  He understands a lot more about it than I did when I got baptized at 8.  (I don't think my parents did a bad job teaching me.  I think that in this day and age, kids have to be stronger and know more at a younger age than I did.  I believe Heavenly Father knows this and sends children who can live up to this challenge.)  I think I got baptized because I knew I was supposed to.  I tried to make sure that Logan felt like he had a choice, and I'm confident that he made his choice for the right reason. 

Logan had been excited and nervous about getting baptized.  This morning I could tell that because he never stopped talking.  He just jabbered on and on and on and on and on......  And he couldn't just sit at the table and eat his breakfast.  He kept getting up wandering as he told me stories about anything and everything.  And then when it was time to go to the church he got really quiet and serious looking.  He commented to his dad this morning, "Finally, I get to be a member of the church."   Him and his dad practiced a couple of times, and we left for the church.

We had some wonderful talks given to the children to be baptized.  I was taken back to my time living at home while mom played a musical number on the piano.  I remember when we would watch her play the organ in church.  We would watch for her make a mistake.  No one else ever knew that she had messed up.  We did, because we would see her shake her head in disgust.  I remembered that today, as I watched my mom pull faces as she played "I Am a Child of God".  It made me smile.  I thought the song was beautiful, and I'm glad she was willing to it.  I think it will make a special memory for Logan.

Then Logan got to be baptized.  The first time, his knee came up, so he had to do it again.  He made sure that he got it right the second time.  Then, the part he was excited for.  He got to be confirmed and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Matt gave a wonderful blessing.  Then the Bishop called on me bear my testimony.  He thinks he can pick on me because I'm the Young Women's President.  I told him it wasn't fair to make me talk today.  Logan and Matt just laughed because they knew I couldn't talk without crying.  Every time I looked at Logan, he rolled his eyes at me.  But, I finally choked out a few words.  After Sister Delaney, the Primary President, bore her testimony, the Bishop made some comments.  He always says such perfect things. 

It was a good day.  Wonderful to be able to feel the spirit and be to be reminded of the constant companionship we can have.  And, it's always wonderful to be able to spend time with family.  I love my family, on both sides, and am grateful for the love and support they give to us.  I'm glad they were there to share this special day with us. 

Nintendo

I've taken a little time off from blogging.  I really had days that I wanted to blog during Christmas, but I was so busy with other things that there were days that I never even saw the computer.  So, that didn't get done.  I think I will start trying this again, and maybe you'll hear about my Christmas, but right now, I'm going to go wrestle Logan's Nintendo DS away from Matt because I think it's my turn to play.  Logan got a DS for his birthday.  It helped me get many things done at Christmas time because he was busy with something besides bugging me.  Now, I don't usually get into video games.  I'm not good at  them.  And I don't really want to take the time to try to get good them, because I have so many other things I feel like I should be spending my time doing.  But puzzle games are my weakness.  And so I am slightly addicted to Logan's I Spy game that has a puzzle on it.  And it's easy for me.  No confusing controls, just tap the things that match.  I can handle that!  Unfortunately, I'm also addicted. 

Swedish Dance

Today I learned the coolest dance.  I totally have to work it into my Christmas traditions.  A lady from Sweden taught it to us.  Basically, you hold hands in a long line and run around the room and in and out of doors.  It was awesome!  Of course, we did it with about 30 people.  It might loose something if it's just the three of us.  I'll definitely have to teach my brothers and sisters this one.  I think it will be more fun with more people.  And it's from another country, so it's cultural. 

Blog 365 Days- Check

*Day 365*

I did it!  I was unsure about this when I started, but I made it anyway.  Now, I might take a break for a bit.  But I'll be back soon. 
Thank you to all of you who have commented and made me feel like this was worthwhile.  And thank you to those of you who read this and still like me instead of thinking I'm just a huge dork.  And thank you all for not pointing out too many of my grammar and spelling mistakes, and for at least pretending like what I say makes sense.  Thanks for all of you who supported me in this challenge by "following" me.  It's been a good experience for me.

The Future of Blogging

*Day 364*

Well, I'm trying to decide what to do about this blog after I finish my 365 days.  I might get ambitious and pretend like it's leap year and do an extra day!  Just kidding.  I want to keep blogging, I'm not sure how to keep my self motivated.  I thought I'll blog unless it's one of those days when I can't think of anything to say.  But, if it turns out to be like this month I'll be taking about 28 days off, and that would effectively be the end of my blog, because I would never get back to it.  I've learned something about myself.  I'm an all or nothing kind of person.  Matt tried to get me to blog years ago.  I think I made 2 entries.  It just didn't make it to the top of my priority list.  Now, he makes a challenge, and if I do it every day, I can somehow get it done.  But if I say I'll blog when something big happens or when I have time or feel like it or whatever, it will never get done.  It's the same way with treats for me.  I can't moderate myself.  I say I will, but I can't.  But if I say I'm not eating any treats at all (and Matt always laughs at me) I can do it.  All or nothing.  Of course having a challenge motivates me a little. 

When I started this blog, I was thinking along the lines of a personal history.  I thought I could get some memories down and stories that Logan might like to have record of.  I didn't get as much of that done as I thought I would.  But, I think it will be fun to look back and see what our everyday life was like.  Because I don't usually keep track of the normal stuff.  So, If I keep blogging, I think I will try to get more of those things down.  I just can't decide how to regulate myself so I don't start skipping and get to the point where I never blog again.  So there you have it.  I have one day left, and I don't know what I'm going to do.  Maybe put more pictures up because I realize I've gotten kind of slacky at posting pictures. 

I found a picture!  I figured, why wait to fix that picture problem. I knew I had to have one of Logan I could use.   

Coffeemate

*Day 363*

So, I've turned my son onto a new habit.  I love drinking hot chocolate in the winter.  I especially love flavored hot chocolate.  But every once in a while I throw in something from my childhood.  I still call it Postum.  I know the container says Pero, and that they don't make the Postum brand anymore.  But, I always thought they were the same thing, so, I still call it postum.  Well, every now and then I have some postum.  It's only good with sugar and cream.  But, since I really like the flavored hot chocolate, I figured I would like the flavored coffeemate creamer in my postum.  Well, I do.  And now so does Logan.  He never wanted to try postum before, but the other day he decided for some reason to try it.  Oh, wait, I think it's because he saw the creamer.  That must have looked good to him.  I guess it was.  He has wanted postum over hot chocolate ever since.  So, first thing this morning, he asked for some postum.  He eats breakfast at school every morning.  And Logan has been recruiting.  He turned his dad.  After they shoveled on Sunday, Logan offered to make Matt a cup of postum.  It's now officially a family habit.  Yeah, we went to the store last night buy more postum and pick a new coffeemate.  And that was our dessert last night.  Mmmmmm....

The Grinch

*Day 362*

How the Grinch stole Christmas (the Dr. Seuss version) is my favorite Christmas movie.  I was going to list some of my favorite quotes form it, then I realized that I have too many.  I will just refer you to the book.  OK, I'll pick one.  "The Grinches small heart grew three sizes that day."  And I'm holding myself back from adding more. 

We just finished watching this show on TV.  I love that my son can quote it and has just as many favorite parts as I do.  The whole show is someones favorite part.  And Logan can point out the differences between the movie and the book.  Like, in the movie the Grinch uses black thread to tie a big horn on the top of Max's head.  In the book, he uses red. 

Classic show, and it has a great meaning.  We read the book yesterday, the movie today, and I'm sure it's not the last time we'll read or see it this holiday season.

It's Nice To Be Loved

*Day 361*

Sometimes it's nice to feel loved.  I work at my sister Lynn's house.  She has this adorable little girl that I've seen just about every day of her life.  (Now if seeing your aunt every day of your life isn't just the coolest thing ever, I don't know what is.... j/k.)  Jessica is, well, Jessica, and I love the girl, but sometimes I'm glad I don't have to take her home with me.  She's 3, what more do I have to say.  But, somedays, I would do anything for her.  I mean she loves her aunt (me)!  When I left today she gave me a hug, kiss and the electric "I love you" sign.  Then she told me to come back again.  I told her I'd come back tomorrow.  And she got excited!  Like I don't come back every day.  One day not too long ago, one of the kids left while Jessica was in the bathroom.  She heard me tell them goodbye when they went out the door.  She started crying and throwing a fit because she thought I left and she didn't get to hug me or tell me to come back.  When I yelled to her I was still there, she calmed down.  It's really sweet to feel so loved.  But this new one takes the cake. 

But this has to start with... Backstory!  When I was three I nearly choked to death.  Here is my version of the story.  Put together from what I remember in my unconscious state and what I have heard over and over through the years.  We'd been grocery shopping.  We got home and Renae, who was a baby, was hungry.  So was I, but being the middle child, no one cared about that.  (Just kidding, that's for you mom!)  Anyway, mom, was feeding the baby.  (I don't hold anything against Renae.)  I just got too hungry, so I decided to do something about it.  We had bought this loaf of bread at the store.  I took a big bite out of it.  Then, I choked on it.  My mom was still feeding the baby.  Sherry, bless her, noticed something was wrong, and went to tell mom that I was turning blue.  Mom came and got me.  She tried to get the bread out, but couldn't.  She started to call 911, then I passed out and she had to stop dialing the number to catch me.  This was old rotary phone times, so she had to start dialing again.  Still she couldn't get the bread out.  She put her finger in my mouth, and I bit it!  Then, she remembered this new thing that they had just learned in Relief Society.  So, she tried the Heimlich maneuver.  (Really, it was new!  I just figured people had always known the Heimlich maneuver.  How many people died from choking before they figured this out?  And, so glad my mom goes to Relief Society.)  Anyway, with my tiny unconscious body trying to slip out of her hands, she tried the Heimlich maneuver.  The bread finally popped out.  Then the neighbor came in to see what was going on because the paramedics were there but no one was opening the door.  I remember waking up.  My mom was sitting at the table, holding me, soaking her finger in a bowl of ice water.  I think that's when she cried.  I have always admired my mom's ability to get through a crisis with a calm head.  If she breaks down, it's always after everyone is OK and taken care of.  I hope that I inherited that quality from her.  And, I'm also glad I haven't been tested yet to see if I have it.  But, mostly, I am just grateful for mom for saving my life.  When I sit and think about what really could have happened in that situation.......  Well, I love my mom, and I'm glad I'm here today.  So, that's my backstory.

This weekend, Jessica and some of my other nieces and nephews were eating at my mom and dad's.  Jessica has this new bad habit of stuffing tons of food in her mouth.  And she doesn't like to sit still and eat.  (Ask Lynn, I'm very sensitive to the threat of choking.  I am always telling the kids to be careful so they don't choke.)  Anyway, Jessica was running around with food in her mouth, so my mom told the kids the story of when I almost choked to death.  (Logan loves to hear that story too.  It's one of his most requested.  Maybe he likes to see me cry.)  Well, that night when Jessica said her prayers, she stopped to ask Lynn if it was her mom that saved me, Lynn told her yes, so Jessica continued,  "Thanks for moms mom for saving Aunt Kirsty so she can be with us today."  Isn't that just sweetest thing you ever heard!  Yeah, sometimes it's just nice to know that you are so loved.   Electric "I love you"!

Fingernails

*Day 360*

Oh my gosh, I finally made it to the 60's!  That means this is my last week of blogging everyday.  Wow.

Logan wanted to paint my fingernails.  He also did my toenails. 

Strawberry Shortcake

*Day 359*

Looking around at toys and gifts for Christmas I notice that a lot of the toys we had as kids are back again for our children to enjoy.  Seeing them brings back some childhood memories and remind me of the things I loved as a kid.  Well, here's a weird, random memory that came up after seeing these toys.  I was talking to my sister, Sherry,  the other and she mentioned that there was a sale on Strawberry shortcake dolls and she was planning on getting some for her daughter.  It instantly reminded me of the Strawberry shortcake doll that Sherry had when we were kids.  It actually smelled like strawberries.  We were playing with it one day (and by playing with it, I mean smelling it.  That's all I ever remember doing with it.) and one of my little brothers (I don't remember which one) wanted to smell it.  So Sherry it up by his nose and when she pulled it away, there was a big booger on Strawberries hat.  It wasn't intentional, but funny.  I wonder if that's when Sherry became a germaphobe?  

Thanksgiving Celebration

*Day 358*

We went to Salt Lake yesterday for Thanksgiving dinner with my family.  Now it's been a couple of days since this "blizzard".  I figured they had plenty of time to clear the roads for holiday travelers and we would be fine driving down.  The roads were ice packed!  We were skidding and moving maybe 20 mph.  By the time we got to Wellsville, Matt was talking about turning around because he didn't want to drive all the way in those conditions, besides we wouldn't be there in time for dinner.  But, we went on and found Sardine Canyon in perfect condition.  Wha?  I guess they concentrated all their efforts on the canyon and didn't worry about city streets.  Oh, well, at least we made it the rest of the way at a decent speed.  And, we were on time for dinner.

Dinner was great and then we got to enjoy some basketball and football.  Good times.  Then it was time for what Matt has termed "Pie Fest".  OK, so maybe we get a little carried away with our pies sometimes.  You have to have the traditional, but then this is the oly time of year the I make/eat pie, so we have to try some new stuff.  Like eggnog pie, pumpkin spice cake, orange cream, cookies and cream, cherry chocolate, pumpkin cheesecake, peanut butter pie, and so on and so forth.  So, you kind of end up with a lot of pie.   I think it's OK when we eat "dinner" around lunch time and then have pie for dinner. 

Today we got to go Matt's dads and enjoy another delicious meal.  And some fun games.  Me and Matt rocked at pictionary!  Cornstartch!  Unfortunately, Matt is the only that can decipher my drawing, and because of a late night last night, my brain shut down half way through the girls vs. boys game, and I wasn't much help.  Sorry ladies.  I still had fun laughing at myself. 

I love this time of year.  We get to spend time with family, play games and eat food.  Bring on Christmas!

Thanksgiving

*Day 357*

Family and food.  Two of my favorite things! 

Pie

*Day 356*

Ahhhhh..... pies are finished.  Apple, Banana Cherry Cream and Coconut Cream.  Now the hard part.  Waiting!

Blizzard!

*Day 355*

Well, we got notice last night that the schools would let out early today because of the blizzard warning.  I've lived in Utah my whole life and I only remember ever having one snow day in all my years of school.  It snowed a few feet overnight, and they cancelled school.  So, we stayed home and played in the snow all day.  I was in middle or high school.  Me and Renae wanted to make use of our day off, but we didn't have good boots or gloves.  We knew that if we could keep dry, we would be able to play outside longer.  So, we used bread bags to keep us warm.  We put on socks, then a bread bag, then more socks and then our shoes.  We did the same for our hands.  When we were little, and didn't have gloves, my mom used to put socks on our hands to keep them warm.  So, we put socks on out hands, then a bag, then more socks, and went out to play.  It worked!  We played outside forever, and we didn't get wet, so we stayed warm. 

One time when I was in college, they cancelled church because it was so cold.

Today I lived through my first blizzard.  It wasn't as bad as I expected a blizzard to be.  Of course, I planned to be home, and stay home.  It did get very windy for a while.  And there was snow that made it very hard to see.  At some points, we could barely see the neighbors house.  And, I think the school district feels justified for the early release.  The storm blew in, right at time that we would have been going to pick Logan up from school.  I think the storm has mostly passed now.  We have a bout 8-10 inches of snow, and it is cold.  But, we survived.  And we didn't even loose power.  So, while we were waiting out the storm, we introduced Logan to another classic.  We watched the "Princess Bride" while drinking hot chocolate.  He liked it, laughed in the right places and went to bed quoting, "mawrage, mawrage, is what brings us togever today." 

Now, I hope it's about done, because I have to go shopping tomorrow for my Thanksgiving food.