Good to know...

This is a pretty cool new site I found, and its very current!
You plug in your age, gender and amount of exercise and it tells you what your
dietary needs are.

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

Try it! Its fun!

Its an American site so some measures are given in imperial amounts but its still helpful.
Don't worry some day the Americans will realize that metric is the RIGHT way to do things!
ha ha ha

My Bleeding Heart...

This morning, the moms group I attend was talking about gardening. I'm not much of a gardener, my thumbs are pinkish with nary a shade of green! I learned a lot, because I knew so little and have a lot to learn in this area.

I asked a question about my bleeding heart, a flower I have in my front yard which is growing up from underneath my step. I have cut it down repeatedly but it keeps coming back. It just won't die, not that I want to kill it, I just don't want it there....

Now there is nothing unattractive about the flower, in fact its lovely. I would plant a bunch of them in a garden. Its just the place where it comes up that is inappropriate.
WHOA!!! LOOK OUT! DEEP THOUGHT COMING UP...

So when does a flower become a weed? When its growing in the wrong place? A crack between a cement pad and a cement step is not the place for a lovely flower. They belong in a garden. The flower is lovely, what it looks like has nothing to do with why it shouldn't be there.

Suddenly I had such compassion for my little flower. I have often felt like a weed because I was trying to bloom where I don't belong. I need to get me to a garden....

Manual Labour...

Let's examine the word "manual" shall we?
"Man" because Man! Its hard work! and...
"Man" because men should be the ones doing it.

I was doing some heavy labour today (insert whining voice here) and its realllllllly haaaaaaarrrrd! I have dirt under my finger nails! EWWWWWW!!!

Not to be too old-fashioned but I'd rather bake cookies than shovel gravel anyday!

Got Time???

If you've got a few extra hours to waste today, I found a cool web-site that could keep me fascinated for hours.

http://www.hri.ca/partners/forob/e/COUNTRY/

It has all the countries in the world listed; for each country the break-down of religious groups is given and then the country's political stand on freedom of expression is given.

It is interesting to note how strongly political climates correlate with religion.
So much for separationg between church and state!!!

Interesting info....gets you thinking!

Disciplincident...

I just made up a new word...disciplincident.
It means when your child acts out in a negative way, and you use the incident as a teachable moment so good comes out of it.

I had a disciplincident at Cosco today. The girls had the cutest little ballet and princess books, and I wanted to buy one for each of my girls. Once I gave the books to them, they began fighting over who gets which one. They were grabbing and whining, and getting angry at each other.

Obviously, I did not buy them the books. That sort of behaviour can not be rewarded.
I was really disappointed. I wanted to buy them the books, I wanted them to have them because they were nice but I didn't want them to get the message that will reward fighting, arguing and selfishness. Character building has to become before pretty books! Drat!

I got to thinking, I wonder if God feels like this? He wants to give me good things but I am so stubborn sometimes that I prevent myself from having good things that He wants to give me. I wonder if God is more disappointed over my losing good things than I am...

I am learn so much about what God may feel like from parenting. Am I saying that parenting is making me more "godlike"? No. Parenting is making me into a better child!

Awwwww.....

I was awakened this morning by a little voice beside my head.
Isabella was standing beside my bed at 6:30am.
She had a quiet, sad little voice and she said, "Mommy, my heart isn't feeling well, its sick"

I picked her up and cuddled her and asked her to explain why her heart is "sick".
She told me, "I had a bad dream about Monsters Inc., and scary makes my heart sick."

Kids are awesome!

I Have Lice!!!

Okay, now that I have your attention, I don't actually have lice! ha ha ha

Rebecca saw an episode of the kid's show "Arthur" the other day and it was about
a lice epidemic at the elementary school.

This afternoon, she was leaning against me and running her fingers through my hair. Suddenly, she kinds of perks up and starts parting my hair down the middle. She looks very carefully at my scalp and announces, "I'm afraid you have lice! But don't worry, I know just what to do, I'll be right back."

She proceeds to run upstairs and brings back a comb and water bottle.
She tells me she'll have to look through ALL my hair and use special lice medicine to get rid of them. But I should not worry because she can handle it.

When she watches a show, she really watches a show. She remembered everything about what lice were and how to deal with them....good to know!

Problem Solving...

The old adage is that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. This applies to other people's problems as well. Have you ever found yourself listening to someone else complaining about a problem, and thought "I wish that was my problem! That's so EASY to solve!"

Looking at other people's problem outside of their perspective, their history, their fears and doubts, and other complicated emotions enmeshed in the situation makes the solution seem very simple.

It is the "obvious" answers that lead people to tell an abused woman, "Just leave him."
They tell a homeless teenager, "Just go home." They tell the unemployed, "Just get a job."

I had a thought yesterday about the obvious answer that I would give to an abuse victim.
If someone is always lying to you, and telling you can't do it, doubting your ability, calling you fat or ugly, or degrading you. Any self-respecting person wouldn't be around that person anymore.

It is an obvious solution. If anyone would talk to me like that, they would have to leave. I would never allow another person to talk to me like that, so why do I think its okay for me to say such horrible things to myself?
What do you do when your abuser is you?

I have made up my mind to "just leave her"! I don't need to listen to that Erica anymore. Anytime she looks in the mirror and sees a fat cow, I'll say, "Hey! You can't talk to you like that! Stop it! Who do you think you are? Me?"
(Then I'll get confused for awhile, but I'll figure it out, I'm smart that way! :)

But I'm not taking doubting comments that are meant to breed fear anymore. I'm not listening to put downs about what I look like, or my hair, or fat or body image stuff anymore. No one can talk to me like that! Not even me!

Either I'll develop multiple personalities or I'll start to see the lovliness that other people tell me is there. But I'll never see it, if I don't start looking...so I here I go, with eyes wide open!

Why do I have Whitney Houston's song "Greatest Love of All" stuck in my head all of the sudden?

Happy Birthday Cheryl!!!!

Childless Day...

My darling husband has taken the girls to the cabin for the day so I can catch up on my work.
Yee-hah!

Well, okay, I'm not having FUN, I'm still working but its still a nice break from noise!
My house is eerily quiet.
All I can hear is the sound of my typing on the keyboard.

Sigh!
After I get my work done, I think I'll take a nap!
Mmmmmmmm......nap!
*drool, drool*

Hidden Treasure...

There are tons of movies about hidden treasures, in fact, one just came out....National Treasure.
From pirates, and cowboys hidden loot to secret account numbers in spy movies, I think there is something exciting and attractive about hidden loot.

I'm not sure if its the fact that its ill-gotten gains, (forbidden fruit tastes sweetest you know!) or if its the thrill of the chase that attracts people. But for better or for worse, people love to chase what they can't have, or shouldn't have!

Considering the magnitude of the attraction, I'm surprised that God doesn't use this method to attract people, you know like reverse psychology. "You can't know me" just so people would want to know Him, that's what I would do if I were God. (Good thing I'm not)

Then I got to thinking, you know, there are somethings that God does keep hidden.
(Besides the whole thing about not being able to know ALL of God at first glance, and the entirity of life being a new revelation or facet of God revealed to us on a daily basis that will continue for the rest of eternity...besides THAT of course!!!!)

What I meant in a more literal sense, is there are people all around us who are hidden, and they are amazing treasures. When we look at people and just see the person's appearance, we make a judgement (good, bad or indifferent) and go our merry way.

But imagine if we could see other people in their entirity, like God does. If we could look at someone and see all the wisdom they have accumulated, all they love they've ever given, all the compassion they feel when they see others hurt, how they long to be loved, how hurt they've been, how funny they are, and all the ways they have love to give, and that they want to give it.
Wow! How easy it would be to love and appreciate people.

If this were the case, my sister would be the most popular person in every room. She is a hidden treasure with unbelievable depth of riches and few people have ever seen her real value.

Those who do, become her biggest fans and are loyal to her forever...one of her employers once told me she was "the kindest woman on the planet with a mother's heart". The other day, she was described as a "Genius Sunday School Teacher". When I hear things like this, I always say, "I know!" because I'm one of the lucky ones who've been allowed to see the treasure. I feel sorry for people who've never met my sister, but I'm happy for me because she lets me be her friend everyday!!!

I can understand the attraction of hidden treasure because I have one in my life, but its one that's sooooo rich that I am willing to share a little bit of her because she has lots to give.
But if you meet and become a fan....just remember I Saw Her First! And I'm President of the fan club so BACK OFF!!!

Poll...

I finally changed the poll on the sidebar!
(about time!)

Pick N Choosing....

Lately I've been pick'n'choosing my way through life. There is too much for me to do, with the resources I have available to me. I have limited time and energy so I've been forced to stop driving myself to an early grave, and (in my sisters words) "only do what I can do."

Everyday is an exercise in prioritizing my goals,(and looking at my values) knowing that not that all the "to do"s on my list will be accomplished.

For too long I have lived everyday in a lose/lose situation...for example...my girls get my attention and housework done but I got no work done(from my job), didn't exercise = FAILURE.....or I get behind on laundry, ignored the kids and caught up on my work = FAILURE!!!

No More! I'm taking control, looking at my priorities and making some changes so there is more balance and less stress!

Some of the strategies I've employed to get organized and stay sane are:

#1...Using my agenda!
#2...Choosing a First Priority Goal -> My kids come before my job. Period.
#3...I need to schedule time to work, away from kids.
#4...Not every room in my house needs to be clean at the same time.
#5...If I don't exercise for 3 days in a row, my butt will not double in size.
#6...Some of it can wait for tomorrow.

I've also had to face some simple truths.

• Given half an hour, either I can make the kids beautiful (clothes and hair) or myself beautiful, but not both! If I try, I'll be late.
• I have enough energy to concentrate on eating right or exercising but not both.
• My house have toys and books strewn about, so what?
• If supper isn't ready by supper time, my children will not die of starvation.
• When I'm totally stressed about all that I have to do, scaling back on time with good friends to make more time to work, is not helpful!

Growing and Learning...

Its always good to grow and be stretched, one would not want to be stagnant and get stuck.
HOWEVER, during the growing stage, there is much discomfort.
Things are stirred up, and (for myself) there are not alot of warm, fuzzy feelings.

I love growth but I hate the process!
No pain, no gain, eh?

Ewwwwww....

Potty training is gross and frustrating. Today, when taking off Bella's training pants, I actually ended up with a splash of pee in my hair! Ewwwwwwwww!
Totally Gross!

When she was in her second pair of underwear, I saw some drips coming down her leg.
I asked her, "Bella, did you pee in your panties again?"
She replied, "No, its just RAIN."

Errrrrrrrr.....I'll laugh tomorrow when I'm not so frustrated.

My Tantrum...

ALL I want to do is eat WHATEVER I want, WHENEVER I want, exercise whenever I FEEL like it and NOT gain ANY weight!!!! Is that TOO much to ask?????

STUPID laws of physics!!!!

BTW...this tantrum was not brought on by the evil fairy people that live in my scale, it is the fault of the wicked dwarf people who live in my closet and shrink my clothes at night!

Its NOT MY fault! I had to eat junk food, if it weren't for me, the people at Old Dutch would be unemployed! I was HELPING!!!

Creation Works...

As I drove home this afternoon I was watching the bare trees along the side of the road.


I thought to myself, that reminds me of the pictures of "dendrites" (the branches of our nervous system in the brain) that I saw in my neuropsychology textbooks.


Then I thought, actually, that's interesting thought because that system of having an origin that branches out is used more than once in our bodies, our blood works that way.


So do our lungs, that branch out so we can breathe properly...


I guess God has used this system over and over again in nature because it works so well, so it must be perfect and effecient just like everything else He does AND it seems that most things on the earth have a parallel in the spiritual realm.

The most obvious thing that springs to mind, is Jesus saying He is the vine and we are the branches.

But outside of being a good metaphor for a sermon, what does this actually mean? What are the practical applications of having a vine and branches work effeciently and perfectly?

It seems so simple and profound that I am convinced I have something to learn from this, I will think on it some more....

Illegal Substances.....

In the news the topic of marijuana being legalized or not is always controversial. This substance and that substance, should it be legal or should it be banned???

If you want to ban a substance so badly, let's start with Glitter Glue!!!!
Now that is an EVIL, DANGEROUS, DESTRUCTIVE substance that should not be on the market!

Grrrrrr...my girls and I has craft time today. I hate that crap, it just comes out way too fast and all they do is goop it all over, and it gets all over my kitchen and floors and my kids.
Its impossible to get out of their hair.

If we're going to start banning substances...lets start at home....BAN GLITTER GLUE!!!
Come on moms, are you with me????

Priorities thing

For those of you who did the priorities list, the answer is now in the comment section.
For those of you who didn't, don't cheat!
Read the post, make up your mind before reading the answers!

Let's Re-Cap!

Its been a busy few days, I've either been running to catch this run-away train that is my life or been fast asleep trying to beat this stupid virus. This awful cold virus is an unwanted guest in my sinuses, but its a little dull and won't take the hint that it isn't wanted. Its time for my sinuses to stop being so polite and kick that virus to the curb!!!

Let's see....what haven't I blogged about?

On Wednesday we took friends out for dinner and a show. Dinner being fabulous Japanese food and the show being a display of nausea, uneasiness and general anxiety in my friend Yvonne.

My husband laughed heartily all night long! He got a kick out seeing her squirm at a) the different food b) being asked to catch a raw egg , followed by a bowl of rice and then a knife...each request making her more nauseated than the last...D.J. thinking each request was funnier than the last.
(Her agony was his great pleasure, go figure!) and finally c) DJ convinced Yvonne to eat a chicken liver.....quite an adventurous evening was had by all. I think they are still our friends?????? hee hee hee

Thursday and Friday were shopping, organizing, work-outs, play-dates, cleaning, more organizing followed by more cleaning, bike riding, work and more cleaning. Phew!

Saturday, my little family spent the day at the cabin. The girls played in the snow all day and consequently slept like a rock in the evening. I had the pleasure of a run in nature just before we headed back to the city. It was a pleasant surprise to find that I could run farther than I was able to bicycle last year! Quite an improvement!

And today....church rocked! This afternoon a workshop on children's ministry, rocked! And tonight, church rocked encore!
Good job churchin' it up, church folk! Keep up the good churchin' and keep on churchin' it!
Church.
Ha ha ha
What a funny word.
Seriously, just say it.
Church.
Church. Church. Church.
Church.
ha ha ha

Busy, busy, busy....

Haven't had time to post in the last few days.
Busy
Busy
Busy
Auuuuuuugggggghhhhh!

Priorities.....

I came across this the other day...interesting.....

Five things happen simultaneously, in what order do you solve the problems?

1. The phone is ringing.
2. The baby is crying.
3. The laundry is hanging on the line and its beginning to rain.
4. The water faucet is running in the kitchen.
5. Someone is knocking on the front door.

Decide your order of solving the problem and then read the comment section.