So Yummy!

Let's face, life without almonds, ginger, and wheat can be quite boring to say the least. Once I decided to listen to my body and eliminate those things that I was actually quite allergic to, I was afraid that my days of good grub were over. You see I really l.o.v.e.d almonds and all things wheat--bread, cookies, cake, pasta--you get the picture. Sure I have experimented with different gluten-free products, but found most of them woefully wanting in acceptable taste and/or texture. Then a miracle...no, I didn't suddenly become un-allergic. No, I discovered that Fred Meyer has a pretty decent gluten-free section and woo-hoo I was saved. At last some food worth eating! Peanut butter with dark chocolate chunk cookies YUMMO!

Lemon shortbread cookies with Dark Chocolate ice cream DELISH!

Oh and the best part...these products (except for the PB) are just for me--NO sharing!

A Life Lesson

Our church does not have a paid clergy. That means for Sunday worship members are expected to give talks on assigned gospel topics. The notice comes out a week to two weeks prior to the actual assignment. The assignments are not just limited to adult members. Youth, ages 12 and up, are also called on to speak, although their time limit for speaking is usually about 5 minutes compared to the 10-15 for adults. Last Sunday, the 12-year old in our family was asked to speak. As we were driving home from church last week, I suggested to him that he might want to work on his talk right after lunch while his spirit was still in touch with "churchy things". He said he didn't want to and that he would work on it later in the week. I tried one more time to gently persuade him to write his talk that very day and not to put it off. I used the analogy of the walnuts and sand--walnuts being the things the Lord wants us to do and the sand being everything else that we have to do. If we put the sand in a jar first, no walnuts will fit in; but if we fill our jar with the walnuts first, then when we go to add the sand, everything fits. The 12-year old wasn't buying it. He said he had homework, needed time to play, eat, goof around with dad, etc. He would get to his talk later in the week. I'm a believer in natural consequences and not nagging children. Ok, I'm trying to get better about not nagging children AND I had just taught a lesson on "teach them correct principles and let the govern themselves" so I figured what a perfect time to put words into action/application. Not one more word was said about the talk. The boy knew what needed to be done and he knew that there were many tools available to him for writing his talk. Roll forward to today. He thought he was off the hook because the program listed another youth speaker. That young man was not able to jump in. So the counselor conducting the meeting was looking out into the audience, saying "So if you're the youth speaker who was assigned to speak today, please come forward". The hubby and I are in the congregation totally whispering to the boy that he needs to get up there and say something. He musters up his courage and heads up to the front. He then begins to speak on his assigned topic...

OBEDIENCE

He started his talk by stating that this one really pertained to him this week. He shared the conversation we had in the car on the way home from church last week. He included the walnut/sand analogy. He even was able to share what he had learned from this experience. His dad and I thought he did a great job and can't wait to see what kind of talk he will give next time after this life lesson.

Totally Radical-Party Hardy

David and I aren't huge partygoers. This is mostly due to the fact that we don't get invited to many parties rather than being anti-social. So when we actually received an invitation a couple of weeks ago to a friend's birthday party, I was excited. Then, I became elated as I read the invitation and discovered that it was a "Dress 80's style" party. I immediately began planning my outfit and trying desparately to think of something that I could convince David to wear.

So this is how we looked last Friday as we headed out the party...about as close to 80's style as David would let us get.

So we're not exactly the poster children for the 80's, but hey, I am just impressed that my decidedly "jock" husband put on something sort-of preppy. His response to the whole dressing up thing was that during the 80's he dressed in sweatpants most of the time. Sad, but true.

You and Me Both, Sister

I realize that living where I live, I should expect at least another 6 weeks of cold, possibly snowy, weather. That being said, I am jonesin' for spring to get here and to get here soon! I was hoping that going to the Boat Show last weekend would help me see the light at the end of the tunnel and give me strength so I could make it these next few weeks. But I left the boat show completely uninspired. I didn't sit in even one boat and pretend that I could feel the wind blowing in my hair, the sun shining down, all while my superstar husband is making picture-perfect cuts back and forth behind the boat. Nope, no imagining this at all. Fortunately, the night wasn't a complete bust as there was one 12-year old boy who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself in the boat head and peeking out from below deck.

Today as my workout/training buddy and I were leaving the gym, it was starting to snow. My friend said, "I wish it would hurry up and get warm."

You and me both, sister. You and me, both.

Too Many Things

The problem with blogging is that sometimes I have so many things that I want to blog about, that I get overwhelmed and don't blog anything. Such is the case for this past week. For example, I thought about blogging about my quandry about voting for our school district's m&o levy. I was wondering if I had an ethical obligation to vote for the levy, not only because my children attend/benefit from public education, but the district is my employer. I won't tell you what decision I finally came to, but the very fact that I was debating might be an indication to which way I voted. Then I thought about blogging about the cutest little 1st grader who has to use the bathroom in the health room because, as he says, "I just take way too much time when I use the other bathroom." When he comes out of the health room bathroom in under 5 minutes, he'll give you a double thumbs-up, but then you have to remind him to go right back to class. My next thought was about universal health care. I don't like it. I think it is dangerous to think that somehow the government can provide a viable healthcare system that won't bankrupt the whole country. I was especially bothered by the fact that our governor really is pushing hard for this and is ready to make this her hill to die on--I guess one can only hope. I was also floored when she said to the nurses across the state (at Nurse Leg Day, which I attended), that she was so proud that the legislature voted to increase unemployment benefits because "People who are unemployed don't save, they spend. And if they go out and spend extra on a coffee or a computer, well then maybe they have just saved a job at Starbuck's and Microsoft." Um, shouldn't we all be trying a little harder to save and avoid purchases we really can't afford? Finally, is anyone else dismayed at the number of President Obama's canidates that have had to withdraw because they haven't bothered to pay taxes? Or do you find it concerning that many people aren't bothered by it and find it acceptable because, after all, "people in their positions are rarely doing their own taxes so they probably don't really know that the taxes haven't been paid." What?! We all have to sign the return and I bet they do go over it with a fine-toothed comb to look for more deductions. And even though I had a nice "girl's weekend" (going over to Olympia for Nurse Leg Day), I was soooo happy to get home and see my family! Carson even said "I love you, Mom" when I called him Monday morning to make sure he was up for school AND he gave me a hug as soon as I got home. It's nice to be appreciated.

The Return of the Baby Car

In our household we have three vehicles: David's quad cab, the SUV, and what I refer to lovingly as "my little Honda" AKA, the baby car. No one else in my family appreciates this car nearly as much as I do. If given the chance they would all pick either the truck or the SUV to ride in. I find it sad when no one wants to ride in my little Honda. The baby car is in good condition--no bondo or rust spots to be ashamed of--it doesn't make any funny squeally noises that a car of its age might (it's 15 years old) and it still has a lot of getty-up and go left in it. So what is the objection of my family members? Well, they all say they have outgrown the baby car--meaning they all think they are too big to ride in it. Carson can't really say that just yet because for the time being he is still shorter than me (by only about 2 inches), but Katelyn passed me up a year ago and David never really did fit very well in the Honda, especially after I was driving. Anyway, with all the snow that fell at the end of December my little Honda just didn't have enough ground clearance to drive over all of the snow ruts, berms, and drifts. So she had to live in the garage. I was a little sad not being able to drive my little Honda. I missed the feeling of sitting down low and feeling like the car was enveloping me. I missed her sweet little manual transmission and the tight cornering. Finally on Sunday the snow had melted enough from our driveway (before the snowblower arrived I only shoveled enough snow to get the SUV out and therefore had a huge berm behind the Honda's slot in the garage) and my little Honda and I went for a drive! Oh it was wonderful! The baby car and I were out on the road again and all was right with the world. She and I are bonded--it will be a sad day when I have to hand over the keys to Katelyn. Unless...David realizes how special I would feel if he got me another Honda. But this time I want a Honda S2000 (baby blue, hard top please).

A Week in Review

Since from time to time I like to think of this blog as a sort of journaling experience, I wanted to review what occurred during this last week. Monday: Ready, Set, STOP! Even though we were supposed to return to school after our Christmas Break, schools were ordered closed by the county sheriff. That's OK because it gave me a chance to get out and use my new snow-thrower (that's the official name for my snowblower). Tuesday: Next verse, same as the first. A little louder, a little bit worse--schools were closed again. What really sucked was that on Monday I told my friend that I would be at spin--at 4:30 AM thank you very much. I didn't think I could ditch her cuz she is the instruct and I felt duty-bound to show up even though I totally could have slept in. Wednesday: Surely they would re-open schools, but No, they were still closed and crews were brought in to shovel snow off of the roofs. I told my children that if school was closed on Thursday I was just going to take them and drop them off there anyway and I would come back at 3:00 to pick them up. Total empty threat because we live only a few blocks from the middle school and a couple of miles from the high school and the children know that they could walk home. Thursday: FINALLY and hip-hip-hooray! Schools are open! Friday: The best for last. Carson received the Athlete of the Season Award for his outstanding performance this past wrestling season. Saturday: Quiet day, spent sometime doing laundry and running errands. Carson and his dad spent about hour looking at old pictures. Dave discovered that the apple didn't fall from the tree where Carson is concerned. He came up and said, "we found some of my junior high pictures--man, Carson looks almost just like me." Really, honey, I never noticed. Well that wraps up the week for the Graham's. We'll see what adventures this week brings.