200 days is hard

When P was called into the bishopric we went shopping for suits.  While waiting for him to try on suits I found a blue velvet jacket that I thought looked great.  I challenged myself to go sugar free for 200 days to get that velvet coat.  My first attempt ended after 101 days over a blueberry cake.  My second attempt ended yesterday, at 118 days, over some peach cobbler.  I don't have a hard time avoiding the obvious sugars, like ice cream, candy, cookies or doughnuts.  It's the home made things with not as much sugar as the recipe calls for things, that I justify, until I've broken my resolve.

I'm open with the kids about my efforts and hope they will see in my example that I'm not perfect and can try again.  And ultimately, I hope they will believe that they can try again too. 

My first attempt, I just calculated my finish date and set off without any other effort.  On the second attempt, that started right as quarantine began, I printed a chart  with 200 boxes, and I wrote in the dates, but not on a daily basis.  For my 3rd attempt I'll be keeping a food journal in a school planner I got from the Dollar General.  Conveniently the calendar starts July 27th, yesterday.... and I'll keep a food journal and mark how many days it has been. 

Improvement and progression is one eternal round.  I love that I can still grown and develop healthier habits.  I am not finished. yet.

Lost and Found

Some things are lost in translation but some things are found. 

The sign for translate involves both hands, fingers closed but palms together.  One hand, or both rotate in opposition and the thumb and index finger extend like cotyledon.  The sign for translation is very close to the sign for change.  This similarity of motion and form, illuminate the meaning of the word, as sign language often does.

“Nearer my God to Thee”  

NEAR, NEAR MY GOD THEE

Even though it be a cross that raiseth me

IF MY CROSS SHOW-to-ME LIFE SACRIFICE

       The signs and words ebb and flow, making the meaning clear to the deaf even if they are sometimes confusing to the hearing.

“Angels to beckon me”

ANGELS    BECKON  BECON with encouragement I never heard before.

“Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;” 

MY   GRIEF   SUFFER    STONES  BUILD  TEMPLE

Life is a translation, a change from one state of being, to another.  Some things translate well out of this life and some lose their meaning.    Some people are lost in this translation, but some souls are found.

Cooking for kids

Dense Jello:  Make the jello recipe but add a packet of gelatin.  This makes really nice dense Jello.  The typical recipe for Jigglers is to add half the water, but that means you have twice the sugar to achieve double the gelatin.  It's cheaper and "healthier" to just buy a box of gelatin and double the desired ingredient.

Pudding Frosting:  Whip 1 c. cream and then add a Tbs of powdered sugar and 1 Tbs of instant pudding powder.  This creates a very thick frosting that has very little sugar.  Thick frosting is so festive and is usually made with 2 cups of powdered sugar and 1/2 c. of butter.  You can have an inch of frosting that doesn't give you stomach ache, yay!

Pancake sandwiches:  We make a batch of pancakes and the kids can eat them in many different ways.  Some like to eat them with syrup, or with Jam like a sandwich, or with sausage, egg, cheese...  It's a nice breakfast where everyone gets what they want without too much extra mess.

Zoom party

When I got back from Utah I got back in the groove of trying to reach out to the relief society sisters here.  I planned a zoom party and encouraged everyone to dress up and have a background🦸‍♂️.
There were 5 participants but only 4 wearing pants.  Two wigs, two virtual backdrops, 1 hat, 1 tiara and 1 feather boa.  We played scattergories, I Spy, whats in your purse and ended with showing that we can draw on the screen.  I’m really glad we did it and grateful to the ladies that remembered to come.  I know I don't hardly call anyone because it’s not not like we’re planning any get togethers.

P took G and M to help the aunts move.  I’m home doing what I do, organizing and moving things around.  Yay?

The pod of peas went on a bike ride with me.  Three peas in a pod is the nickname for the littles, lP, B and L.  I sent lP and B on to circle the block as I made my way home from the first mile with L.  I had brought the water backpack and that was very important.  L hasn’t ridden a mile for over a month so he has to build up his stamina.

self disciplines

Occasionally I recognize I have a problem with something.  16 years ago I stopped reading people magazine.  4 years ago I stopped eating cakes, cookies, sugary stuff.  Today I'm trying to stop checking facebook throughout the day.  I checked it this morning and it is not urgent to check it again.  I need to spend more time with my children, not reading updates from people who maybe need to spend more time with their children.  It's amazing to me that many people don't do facebook at all because it is such a time and energy suck. 

Done is better than...

I am a few years behind on our family movies.  We got a fantastic new ipad and I have caught up 1 year.  I recently let M and G each make a movie and they are a lot more decisive about what pictures to use and music and call it done.  Part of me is shocked when I see something that I would have left as a 10 minute movie become a 3 minute movie.  But another part of me is very glad to be catching up. 

I have a saying "Done is better than good." which should really be "Don't let perfection get in the way of the job."  Sometimes the kids get caught up on doing something in a way that requires more effort than it actually does.  The family movies are one of those things for me and I'm glad to see them just cruising through them without getting paralyzed or overloaded.  They know how they experience the movies.  They love to see the places we've been but don't need to have 10 pictures of it!  Way to go G and M.

Done is good. 

Spring Break 2018 by M
April 2018 by M
May June 2018 by G

we went to the beach and it was nice

P suggested that we go to the beach tonight.  We left a little after 7 and stayed for about 30 minutes.  We parked at the usual lot but instead of taking the board walk, we walked down the car ramp for social distancing, then turned north, away from the crowd, such as it was.  The kids got to ride boogie boards which they haven't done since last summer.  The water was so warm.  It was pretty easy to stay 20-30 feet away from anyone. 

Shaving my head

P has joked for years that he would be willing to shave my head.  While we were away I thought it would be a great time to try having very short hair, so as soon as we got back I washed it and cut it all off!  P did the actual clippers part.  I really like it.  So this year I'll be growing it back, or not.  : )

Adam canyon lower falls

P has been finding a lot of great hikes up to waterfalls.

Home again

We drove home on Thursday night, arriving Saturday afternoon.  The drive home was uneventful until southern Georgia when we got a flat tire.  P changed it on the interstate with all the kids and luggage inside, then we found a used tire store 13 miles away and got it switched out for only $44.  We ate Mcdonalds sandwiches for breakfast, all the snacks for lunch, and Little Ceasars for Dinner on Friday.  The good thing about traveling fast is you don't have to plan so much travel food since the kids are only awake for 1.5 days. 

We saw a lot more face masks on the way home than on the way out.  Since we were coming home, rather than to a semi-whole -family-reunion at my mother's Hospice bed, I was less terrified of getting the virus.  We still took disinfecting wipes and alcohol spray with us to the restroom stops.  But it had become routine, I felt like the kids knew not to touch anything and I was more at peace.

Now we're back to Florida and the statistics are not good.  It looks like we will be out of hospital beds in a week.  Thanks Desantis!

It is so good to be home though.  Phew!