String of Inspiration

I have discovered a blog that I just love. It is the Healthy Living Lounge. http://thehealthylivinglounge.com. (I have not yet figured out how to put a link in a post. If anyone knows how to do this please fill me in.)

This blog is really awesome. The author has some wonderful thoughts on living to your fullest, living naturally, staying grounded...etc. One of the things she talked about in post was the String of Inspiration. It is along the lines of a Dream Board. The difference is with the board your photos and other items were permanently glued. With the string you can change up your photos and such as your thoughts, dreams, wishes, motivations change. I love this idea, but of course had yet to put it into play. We'll today was the day and I finally took some time and put my string together. I had a hard time deciding on the best hanging place. I wanted it to be somewhere that I would see it multiple times during the day but also a place of quiet for peaceful reflection. I know your all saying "good luck" on that with a 4 year old. But I knew it was feasible. I finally chose above my bookcase in my bedroom. It is the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night. My umph in the morning and my aaaahhhh at night!!!!!

I chose my various images as reminders, motivations, goals, ah ha's, etc. In life's hustle and bustle and with the stresses on the personal burners I just felt like I needed a touch stone. So, here it is...my String of Inspiration!

Happy 4th Birthday Doodlebug!

To My Precious Doodlebug on her 4th Birthday

What I Wish For You

When you are lonely, I wish you love;

When you are sad, I wish you joy;

When you are discouraged, I wish you hope;

When your spirit is low, I wish you beauty;

When you are troubled, I wish you peace.

I wish you all these things and so much more!  These past 4 years have been a blessing and joy and I so look forward to the years ahead and being a part of this amazing journey that we began on March 23, 2005 at 10:47pm.  

A Flooring Option

I am a floundering at going green in my house.  I'm no where near where I want to be but I know that slowly but surely I will get there.  So, in my quest to go green I have been doing research on green flooring options.  I hate carpet.  I have always hated carpet and when we moved into our house I compromised with my husband on carpet.  After almost 5 years in the house he has converted to the no carpet land I want to live in.  

Now, given the economical times we live in replacing our carpet with tile or bamboo is not in the budget and won't be for some time.  About a month ago I decided that the family room carpet had to go.  It was so awful! In my desperation I decided to just rip up the carpet and we would live on the cement until another option was affordable.  In doing some research I found that this is a wonderful green option.   I planned for this to occur over my husbands spring break. So, last week we went to work and I'm so happy with the results that we just may tackle the bedrooms as well.  Below are our results.

Ripping up carpet is not historically a fun job.  But because of the goal that we were working toward it was fun.  An extra bonus....ripping up carpet can actually be quite a good frustration release! :-)

Now, the cement floor doesn't look so great once everything is ripped up.  We went to work cleaning the floor and once that was dry added 2 coats of cement paint.  Now, the cement paint is quite stinky but it dried beautifully!

Once it was dried we moved in the furniture. We decided to move the family room and make this room a dining room.  Now we still have some work to do like putting the chair covers on, getting pictures up, and moving in my desk belongings but I couldn't be happier with the result.

Here is another view!  Some other thoughts that I have on this choice.  It will be cleaner, easier to clean and lower on allergens.  Like I said, I am so happy with the result that I think we will tackle the bedrooms as well.  I know that if we ever have to move we will have to put something in since not everyone will see my vision, but for now this is a wonderful choice and I'm so glad that we did it.

Graduation

On Monday, January 26, I was officially finished with my teacher accreditation program.  It was a very, very long year of a tremendous amount of work but I am done!!!!!  The program had a small graduation ceremony for those of us that had finished our coursework, had our portfolios signed off on and our exit interviews in December. It was really nice but what was the best part is that my little Doodlebug was there. We talked about school, how important school is and how wonderful it is to graduate and what that means.  She was just amazing and understood that this was a big deal.  She was quiet when everyone spoke, we all had to get up and speak, and was just so grown up!  She gave everyone thumbs up and high five's when it was all over! We then topped off the evening by stopping at our favorite ice cream parlor, getting some ice cream to go and making small sundaes when we got home!  Now, I just have to wait for the state to send me my teaching licence!  I have been told they are on the slow side!

Me and my sweet little Doodlebug!

The 5 graduates, our program coordinator and director!

Receiving my Program Completion Certificate from the program director, Dr. Hawkins.

Kirk unfortunately couldn't be with us, he had a gig, but here are the three girls!  We had forgotten to get a picture of us at the ceremony so we hopped next door to our neighbors house and got a picture!

To Turkey or Not To Turkey-The Answer

I just realized that I never put a post in to answer the question to my dilemma on what we did about Turkey for the holidays.  What we did was we ordered a free range, organic, Turkey from our local market.  I also really tired to make a bigger deal out of the sides and everyone participated and had a cooking job to do so they were all invested in the side dishes.  It was a great dinner.  For myself, I chose to eat just the side dishes and avoided the Turkey.  Just my personal choice for the day.  I have to work on how to deal with the Turkey burgers and Turkey Goulash that we have on a pretty regular basis.  Maybe I can get organic and free range ground Turkey?

Now, here is the funny part.  It is pretty funny how the universe works sometimes.  When we moved into our house there was a refrigerator.  It was old and still working, but not in the greatest aesthetic condition so we went ahead and moved it into the garage.  I gave it a full on scrub and use it as extra freezer and fridge space for the larger items such as juice and such.  Also, due to our extreme weather situations, hurricanes, I wanted to have the extra freezer space to stockpile ice.  Anyways,  after our dinner was over we put the Turkey leftovers in that fridge to make room in the kitchen fridge for the side dish leftovers. Sometime throughout the night a breaker blew and the power to the garage fridge and a few inside outlets lost power. We lost all the Turkey leftovers.  Now, it killed me to have the food waste.  I hate to waste food, but I have to say after all my debating with myself on what to do, I had to just laugh at the irony of the situation.   For all of you that have every watched the "Christmas Story" movie about the boy who wants a Bebe gun, I began reciting lines from the scene at the end of the movie where the neighbors dogs came in and got the Turkey.  "The scent still hung in the air, no more Turkey sandwiches, no more Turkey soup, no more Turkey hash....." you get the idea.  I just love how the universe works!

Common Sense

I am a quote collector.  I collect quotes that touch my heart and make me laugh. I have a several friends, former teachers/mentors that send me quotes and other things that I add to my collection.  I received this one from a former teacher and I thought it was interesting and just wanted to share it.  I would love to know what you think!

Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years.  No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.  Comon Sense will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).  His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teenssuspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired forreprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student, but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live, as the churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot.  She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

Common Sense is survived by four stepbrothers; I know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else is To Blame, and I'm a Victim.  

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

A Poem

I have a friend that writes poetry. She is really very good and is looking to get some published. She sent me the below poem in her Christmas card and with the busyness of the holidays I forgot to post it. But several of the sentiments can also reflect the New Year so enjoy!

Christmas

May you be filled with Christmas cheer,

and may it fill your heart in the coming year.

May you greet those you meet each day

with a smile to cheer them on their way.

May you treat each day like a gift from above,

and enjoy the time you have with those you love.

May you bring something good to all you do,

and let your love and joy come shinning through.

May you be filled with wisdom and grace,

and may you live life at an unhurried pace.

May you be the miracle you were meant to be,

and always look for the beauty that is there to see.

-Lisa McIntosh-

To Turkey or not to Turkey-That is the Question

OK, I'm having a really hard time with what to do this holiday season.  Now, we have not eaten beef or pork in our house, on a regular basis, for a long time with the exception of my stuffing, stuffed mushrooms and breakfast casserole that we make at Christmas once a year, but we still have turkey and chicken at least three times a week.   I am looking into using a soy bacon for the breakfast casserole and a soy sausage for the stuffing and mushrooms although I am finding that not all soy products translate that well. What is really bothering me is I have recently received several e-mails and taken in a few sights on the treatment of turkeys and how they are processed.  Lets just say I was horrified!  

This year it is just us for Thanksgiving and we had decided not to do the full traditional dinner since we have a full house at Christmas and will be having a big meal then which would include a turkey. I'm having a really hard time with this.  I just cannot rationalize my cooking a food product that was so horribly abused and tortured!  I agree with a good friend of mine who had a very similar meat discussion on her blog, that I know animals will not be treated like the family pet, but I agree that they should be treated with respect and dignity.   They should be treated and processed humanely.  This is my dilemma and it has made me re-think the chicken and ground turkey we use regularly.  

Even though I would love to try it I don't think my family and in-laws, mom excluded since she is a vegetarian, will be into a Tofurky.  So, I'm in the process of finding a turkey of the organic, natural, free range kind that is processed in a humanely manner.  Not an easy task.  Our local Whole Foods Market has complete turkey dinners that you can purchase.   They work with the Plainville Turkey Company.  I have gone to their website and they are very much into treating their turkey's naturally and humanely even in their transport to the processing plant.  But my question is what then happens at the processing plant?  If I ask the company about their processing will I get a straight answer?  We have an amazing local deli that is also doing turkey's.  They are advertising that their turkey's are all natural/organic and come from Amish country in Michigan.  I'm going to check that out as well. 

 So, I am on the investigative hunt to find something that will work for my Turkey loving family and my ethical quandary.  If anyone has an insight as to some suggestions I would be all ears since I don't think this is going to be easy.

I will keep you posted on what I find out!

Almost Done!

I am so excited because I am almost done with the 10 month program I have been doing to get my 5 year renewable professional teaching credential.  For those of you who don't know, when I was teaching before Doodlebug came along, I was teaching on a temporary credential.  I was working on getting my 5 year professional through the county offices when I found out I was pregnant. Once I went out on maternity leave I discovered that the program that I was in through the county was only open to full time employees.  So, I am now back to getting that done.  My last class was on November 1.  Yeah!  Now I'm finishing up my hard copy and electronic copy portfolio's and I have an exit interview.  Then everything ships off to Tallahassee and once I get processed I will have my credential.  My only hope is that the exit interview process doesn't drag on.  I was hoping to be all said and done by December 1.  I will just have to wait and see, but I'm just so excited.  It was a long 10 months, but I have a 4.0 GPA and I'm now ready to move on and work on the course work I need to add the Reading Endorsement to my credential.  More work to do but the first step is almost done! Yeah!

Pain versus Exhaustion

I have been asked on several occasions  "which is worse the pain or the exhaustion of Fibromyalgia?"  Since I didn't have an answer at the time of being asked I decided to write it out since sometimes that is the best way for me to work out a question.  Maybe that goes back to my word problem days in math! (LOL) 

At this point I haven't been able to decide since they are both equally not fun.  I think the best answer that I have right now is it depends on the day.  Which may sound odd but really this is a day to day process.   There are days that the pain is much worse and there are days that the exhaustion is much worse.  There are days when it can be one or the other.  For example there will be a day where I have energy but the pain is great or vice versa.  Then there are days when it is both.  That is the most frustrating part of this whole thing.  Never knowing from day to day what kind of day I will have and what I will be able to accomplish.  

Obviously the next question would be "what are you doing to combat this roller coast ride?"  My answer to that......I'm learning on it.  Instead of saying I'm working on it I'm saying I'm learning on it because it really is a learning process.  Everything that I did in the past for my body in terms of pain relief, eating, exercising, relaxation, etc. is out the window.  I have to find a whole new way in which to function and frankly I'm excited about that.  I'm looking at this as a positive change for my health and well being. Why wallow in self pity since that won't get you anywhere!  I'm  reading as much as I can and seeing what has worked for others to give a try. Since not everything works for everyone I'm keeping a journal to figure out what works and what doesn't and creating a bag of tricks for myself.  Laughter is healing so guess what, I'm laughing as much as I can because really if you could see me getting to the toilet in the morning it really is a funny sight! :-)

So, I think that is my answer right now and I will keep you posted on how I fill my bag of tricks. I just keep remembering that you aren't given more than you can handle even when you think you can't handle anymore! :-)

ABC Meme

I saw this on a friends blog and thought it was just to fun to pass up!

A is for Attached or Single? Attached since 1994.

B is for Best Friend? Julie, Mary, and Kay (I miss them dearly!)

C is for Cake or Pie?  Cake: MIL Silver White Cake, Pie: Apple Carmel Pie

D is for Day of Choice? Sunday, a day of peace!

E is for Essential Item?  My calendar journal.  Without it I would completely lost.

F is for Favorite Color?  Pink or Earth Tones.

G is for Gummy Bears or Worms?  Bears.

H is for Hometown?   San Francisco, California.

I is for Favorite Indulgence?  A bubble bath, alone!  Candles included!

J is for January or July?  Before living in Florida I would have said July since that is when my birthday is.  Now, I say January since I crave cooler weather!

K is for Kids?   Doodlebug age 3 1/2

L is for Life isn't complete without? My family!

M is for Marriage Date?  October 8, 1995

N is for Number of Brothers and Sisters?  1 Brother

O is for Oranges or Apples?  Apples:  Braeburn or Granny Smith! Yummy

P is for Phobias?   Not to fond of heights.                                            

Q is for Quotes?  "Life is like an instrument.  The beauty and quality of the music is based on he devotion of the musician playing it."

R is for Reasons to Smile? Doodlebug!  She makes me smile every day!

S is for Season of Choice?  Winter

T is for Tag 5 People?  Anyone reading this, consider yourself tagged.

U is for Unknown fact about me?  When I was 10 I almost had to have left leg amputated from the knee down due to an infection.

V is for Vegetable?   Broccoli!

W is for Worst Habit?  Biting my nails!

X is for X-ray or Ultrasound?  Between the two of them and the number I have had I should be glowing!

Y is for Your Favorite Food?  Homemade Turkey Burgers from the grill with all the trimmings!

A New Life Change: Fibromyalgia

For those of you who don't know I have been going through a great deal of medical testing the past few months.  I have had a great deal of pain and fatigue along with some other things that have been going on for many months and we have been working with my GP and others to get to the bottom of.    For a long time I just ignored it.  I figured I'm 40 with a 3 year old and I'm going to be tired and have aches and pains, but this went way beyond that.  It had gotten to the point where I dreaded the first steps of the morning because they were so painful.  I hit my 41st birthday this summer and I felt like I was 81.  This was not being in the 40's with a pre-schooler this was something else.  This past Wednesday I met again with the Rheumatologist to get the results of what we hoped might the last of the tests and some answers.  Final diagnosis at this time:  Fibromyalgia.  So, I have now begun the research process to find out all I can about this and what we can do since the new drug Cymbalta they are using is not an option for me as well as corticosteroids or muscle relaxers.  The body doesn't react well to any of those and I don't want to take a ton of pills either.  I hate pills!  But that's a whole other story.  The Rheumatologist that I saw, who was fantastic, has given us several holistic options such as Yoga and massage and I'm researching several diet options. If anyone who is reading this has any information, knows of anyone dealing with this or is dealing with this and has suggestions on anything, I would love to get the information.  This is all new to me.  I have always  been a self-sufficient, independent person, the person who takes care of things and gets things done.  Now I'm going to have to learn how to ask for help and make changes that right now I'm having a hard time dealing with.  Change isn't a bad thing, I actually like change, when I'm the one in control of the change!  I know there will be ups and downs, so it's time to deal with each day as it comes and to realize I can't control everything.  I think I have tried this many times before but always seemed to manage to go back to what I guess I would call my comfort zone.  Now, I have to let go of the control to find comfort.  Boy, I think this is going to be a tough lesson for me! :-)  I will keep you posted!

Labor Story for Labor Day

In reading some of my friends blogs tonight, I'm going to follow their lead with the following meme.  I also just watched an episode of John and Kate + 8 on TLC and they had taken their 4 year old sextuplets to the NICU to see where they had been born.  So, In honor of labor day.... a labor story.

How long were your labors?

I have only had 1 and it is a very long story.  So, to make the long story as short as possible.  I went into labor on a Monday evening.   Contractions were every 5 minutes lasting about a minute.  After some discussion at the hospital triage (there was some confusion as to how far along I was.  I was 6 weeks early.  Once this was confirmed by my doc, the nurses were hopping. They thought I was full term.) I was admitted and sent directly to labor and delivery.  This was were I was until my beautiful Doodlebug was born on Wednesday at 10:47pm.  If we want to talk actual hours from when the contractions began to when I actually delivered I believe that would be 52 hours and 17 minutes.  I told you it was a long story! :-)

How did you know you were in labor?

I went from 0-60 in about an hour.  We had gone to the airport to sign for some tickets. Another long story.  On the way back I began having contractions.  Within an hour they were every 5 minutes lasting about a minute.  They were pretty good ones but I was able to breathe and do my thing up until Wednesday morning. 

Where did you deliver?

At the hospital!  I had hoped to do some laboring at home, do the tub thing, a little relaxation etc.  but that was not meant to be.  Doodlebug had other plans! :-)

Drugs?

Oh my yes!    Because I was 6 weeks early we had hoped that my labor would stop because my doc wanted to get at least another 3 weeks.  At 34 weeks they don't do anything to stop or kick your labor into gear they just let the body do it's thing.  Tuesday morning contractions were still going the same but a bit stronger and by Tuesday evening I was dilated to 3 centimeters so I wasn't going anywhere.  They gave me something to try to help me sleep but it didn't do a thing.  By early Wednesday morning I was done.  I woke DH up with a banshee type scream that shook the building, "GET SOMEONE HERE NOW!"  That was his description although I don't remember screaming but I know I was extremely insistent and was ready to induce physical harm on anyone that walked in the room that didn't have relief on the way.  The nurse, who was wonderful, checked me and  I was 5 centimeters.  They ordered the epidural and I was a happy camper.  I recall telling the anesthesiologist that I loved him multiple times.  We thought Doodlebug would be here by noon, but the labor stalled.  They called the high risk doc in to do an amniocentesis to check lung development.  During the nurse change over at 7pm my water broke and I immediately dilated to 10 centimeters.  The drugs were so very good!

C-Section?

No, but my doc told me that since Doodlebug had come face up and got stuck even being early, that they predicted that if I had gone full term I would have been a c-section.  

Who Delivered?

My incredible doc.  She is just so amazing.  We had an amazing team with us during that time.  I was in the smallest room but had the most people in there from my doc and nurse, to my mom, DH, my Doula, and the neo-natal and respiratory specialist teams.  We were a packed house!  I had a hard time with pushing but on the last push for some reason I got it and Doodlebug shot out and doc was there to literally catch her!

You know, it was long and it was scary but it was such an amazing experience.  An experience that we had dreamed about.  One that we had waited so long for, one that we just didn't think we would get to have.  I wouldn't change a thing.  

Grocery Savings

OK, I'm really excited.  I discovered a blog, via a friend of mine, that is all about getting the most bang for your buck while grocery shopping.  Fiddledeedee.blogspot.com.  Now, I have been pretty good at clipping coupons, and working with a list based on a menu plan, but I always new I could do better.  We'll today I was really excited.  So here, was my bill, mind you I have not been able to get our grocery bill under $180+.

Total Grocery Bill = $145.42

Vendor Coupons = $3.10

Store Coupons = $3.00

Advertised Special Savings = $5.46

Advantage Buy Savings = $5.11

Total Savings = $16.67

Now, this bill didn't include meat or cleaning supplies but did include a rectal thermometer (we have a sick kitty and have to monitor it's temp, I know TMI), and Huggies Wipes.   I usually get cleaning supplies at Target because it is cheaper and they carry the green cleaning products that I use.  Yes, I am cleaning with all green cleaning products with the exception of laundry detergent, softener and dish washing detergent.  I haven't found one that I like, but I'm working on it.  I also have some bleach in the house in our hurricane kit.  Which came in very handy since 2 1/2 rooms in our house flooded with Fay.   But, that story is for another post.  Anyways, I know that I can do even better but knowing that I cut the bill by $40 which included all the organic stuff that I like for us, was pretty exciting and I just wanted to share!

New Start

It has been forever since I have written on my personal blog.  Our summer was so incredibly busy.  I had such hopes for a lazy days summer but that wasn't to be the case.  So, since our summer is quickly coming to an end, I decided to give myself a new start and give the blog a fresh new face along with this new start.  

Life is just too busy right now.  I keep trying to somehow streamline our schedule, get things so organized that the house basically runs itself, and just make things simple, but life just marches on and the merry go round continues.  I don't see life getting quieter since the world is not quiet right now but if our home could be a haven, a soft place to land for everyone, then maybe just maybe life won't seem so nuts.  So, since the summer is coming to a close, since the fall school term begins in a week I have decided to give this simple life at home another go.  How am I going to do this?  We'll that is what I'm working on.  Going back to some of the principles that I learned by reading Flylady info., and things that I wanted to accomplish in my 1,001 days list I'm creating a rough draft of things that I would love to see happen for us.  Then have a family meeting to get everyone's input and come up with a plan that we can all strive toward.  Now, I know it takes 21+ days to create a habit, I'm not so naive that I think this will happen overnight, but I really think if the whole family is on the same page we can truly make a difference in the way we live.  It's not just a want but a necessity.  I will keep you posted on our progress.  If you have any suggestions or thoughts on things that work or have worked for your family please send them my way.  I'm all ears! :-)

Quote of the Day

God measures us by putting the tape measure around our hearts.

Do what you can, for who you can, with what you have, and where you are!

Thankful Thursday A Day Late

My Thankful Thursday entry is a day late this week.  Yesterday was a really, really rough day!  Now that I have had a chance to just sit and think about the day, what I am truly thankful for is for all the angels that hovered around me giving me the strength that I needed and to just breathe through the pain.   I am thankful for the bad days because I know that there are good days just around the corner! 

Quote of the Day

May today there be peace within you.

My you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.

Thankful Thursday's

This was a very busy day and a day of lasts. It was Doodlebugs last school program for the year and our last playgroup. Due to schedules we won't be able to get together as a group. I know there will be many more firsts and lasts to come but today was the real first of the lasts.

I was sad today because of the lasts but in thinking of my thankfullness for this Thursday I am thankful for Doodlebugs school and especially her teacher. Our family was truely blessed at having this teacher in her life. Her caring, kindness, patience, warmth and compassion as well as her understanding of Doodlebugs temperment were amazing and we couldn't have asked for a better fit for her first adventures with school.

I am also extremely thankful for our playgroup. It has been wonderful for Doodlebug to have such terrific playmates, but really this group was more for me then for her if I really think about it. This is a group of truely amazing women and what they have given me could never be thanked for enough. They were sounding boards, adivce columnists, shoulders to cry on, idea gatherers, google and yahoo combined. But what was the most impactful for me is their faith. The strengh they gather from their faith has just made such an difference in me and my own struggles with faith. Even though we won't be getting together as a playgroup I will still keep all these amazing women in my life. Not just for myself but hopefully to be a strength for them as we work our ways through parenthood and life.

In Remembrance

This is a day of remembrance.  A day to remember those that gave selflessly in service to our country.  I also see today as a day to think about our men and women overseas.  I don't believe in war.  I don't believe in the war in Iraq but I do believe in the troops.  I believe they need our love, support, and prayers.  I believe in peace and that is what I pray for today and everyday!  Peace for our homes, our country, our world.