Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light. 

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Words: Dallan Forgail (8th Century)

Food for Bedtime

I periodically get informational emails from my insurance company. I used to delete them without even looking at the subject matter, but recently they've been sending some pretty interesting info. (Note: my interest level is much different from many people...just letting my freak flag fly!) Last night I got one on foods to eat before bed time, so I thought I'd pass it along.

Quick Bites: Eat Right to Help You Go Night-Night

Three out of five Americans have trouble sleeping on a regular basis. And most everyone has a night here or there where they can’t fall asleep. Does a hungry belly ever keep you up? Are you the thing that goes bump in the night as you rummage around in your refrigerator?

You want a snack, but not one that will keep you up. Are there foods that can help you sleep better?

Many people know the basics of what not to do, like avoiding large meals, caffeine and alcohol within a few hours of bedtime. But research shows that high-fat snacks such as french fries, potato chips and mozzarella sticks may also interrupt sleep cycles. Bacon, pepperoni and sausage contain high levels of tyramine, which may also keep you up.

Consider trying these foods for nighttime snacking:

1. Cherries: This fruit is one of the few natural food sources of melatonin, the chemical that controls the body’s internal clock to regulate sleep. Melatonin helps maintain your daily body rhythms and is an important antioxidant in the body known to fight cancer. If you can, find Montmorency cherries, a type of sour cherry. They have nearly six times more melatonin than a regular cherry.
2. Bananas: Potassium and magnesium are natural muscle relaxants, and bananas are a good source of both.
3. Scottish or Irish Oatmeal: A complex carbohydrate, oatmeal triggers a rise in blood sugar, which in turn triggers insulin production and the release of sleep-inducing brain chemicals. Oats are also rich in vitamin B6, an anti-stress vitamin, and melatonin. You might think of oatmeal as just a breakfast food, but it’s also a smart choice for a bedtime snack.
4. Edamame: Boiled edamame (soybeans in the pod) is high in magnesium, which has been shown in some studies to improve the quality of sleep.
5. Popcorn with Parmesan Cheese: This easy snack provides a tasty combo of carbohydrates and dairy. Dairy has tryptophan in it, which may help you sleep. And the carbohydrates in the popcorn help your brain absorb tryptophan better.

Be sure to keep your late-night snacking light and eat only when hungry. Not only do calories add up, but many experts believe that not getting enough sleep causes changes in the body that affect our ability to regulate our appetite. So a combination of the wrong kind of nighttime snacking and not enough sleep could result in weight gain.

I had no idea cherries had melatonin in them! I thought that was very interesting. I love learning ways to listen to and work with our bodies for better health. I've never appreciated sleep like I do now, I have no clue how I will ever have another baby again in the future! (Not an announcement.) 

Daily Bread

This morning, I woke up and tended to the important business of catching up on all the blogs I like to read. Blog after blog continued to talk about fall and how it was quickly approaching, or in some places, beginning to show its early signs. That must have stuck with me subconsciously as I got dressed. I put on a pair of jeans, rolled them into capris, put on my black camisole with a shirt over it, got J dressed in roughly the same type of clothes, walked outside (sans the usual water bottles), and DIED of heat! Fall may be coming, but not any time soon in the Midwest! We are still very much so in the summer temps--at least for this Alaskan girl!

Hello, friends! I'm hoping to start blogging more regularly now that summer is, kind of, winding down. Way too much has happened to try to catch up, so I'll just start with now and we'll all have to wait and see if catching up is really in the cards.

***

I wanted to share a few videos I came across that really spoke to my soul this morning. We've been going through some trials lately that I honestly never saw coming--which I guess is the case with most trials in life. I'm one of those pretty cold hearted and, most likely, emotionally stunted people that can basically turn off emotions when I reach my breaking point. For example, before I got married, I never really had break ups that destroyed me because my usual pattern would go something like this: initial break up, dramatic crying/my life is over, I start to get annoyed with myself and all the emotions, decide I'm over it, cut said person out of my life, and move on.  It's not a very admirable quality, and I always thought it would come and bite me in the butt at some point--but I've been going a good 26+ years in this way and so far so good. (Good meaning I haven't gone crazy in a grocery store when seeing a loaf of bread triggered all past emotions I never dealt with properly.)

Anyways, I sort of reached my peak of emotions in the past couple days and have drifted into the "I'm over it" stage. Which really means I'm starting to accept my situation and give up on all of my previous desires. Unfortunately, this scenario isn't one where I get to just "cut people out" and "move on." I know I'm running the risk of being one of those annoying people that talks about a problem, but doesn't actually tell you what the problem is. All that ambiguity just really gets under my skins sometimes, so I'll move on.

Today I came across these videos and they helped me remember what's important. I had previously reached a point in this trial where I knew I needed to renew my efforts in doing the "little things" like this first video talks about. 

This second video describes what happened to me this morning. I woke up with a renewed hope. I don't know why the timing was the way it was, but I woke up and I suddenly cared again. I know that I carried this burden for as long as I could, and now Christ and the Atonement are making up the difference. I'm moving forward in the way that I know I need to because I know that Christ is carrying me the rest of the way. I'm exhausted emotionally! Let me tell you what! But I have hope again, which hasn't been present for a few weeks. I like how he talks about how it doesn't mean we know when it will work out--there's no time frame given--we just know that day by day it will work out. Eventually we'll see the end. Right now, I can still feel that I'm in the thick of this trial. I haven't had the sense that the burden has been completely lifted, but I do have the sense that at some point it will be over and I'll survive and be better off because of it--just like all of the other trials before this one.

Then here's the last one in the series. Also, very good.

If you're interested in knowing a little bit more about who Elder Christofferson is.

Book Review: Thirteen Reasons Why

By now, you should all know that I love Teen Lit. I'm not ashamed of that at all...okay, maybe slightly embarrassed. But someone who willingly takes pictures like this:

just really should learn to embrace the weirdness...so I'm going to!

Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher, is about a teenage girl who commits suicide. She leaves behind 13 cassette tapes for a list of people to understand why she committed suicide. As a health teacher who spent several days discussing the warning signs of suicide and how to help potential victims of suicide, I was very wary of this book. I don't like anything that glorifies suicide or makes it look like an satisfactory answer to the difficulties we all face in life (understandable, some more than others). Our major take home message in my class was that, "Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem."

I was so happy (and quite relieved) that this book never glorified suicide. It depicted the very real consequences of teens' actions. Asher showed that it's never too late to fix a reputation, it's never too late to give someone a second chance, it DOES matter how you treat each and every person you come in contact with, and the choices you make do, indeed, have an impact on all those around you. Like I've mentioned before, I HATE when bad things happen to kids--whether it's real life, TV, or books--it's just too hard for me to take! I always personalize everything I read or hear, and I've loved too many young people in my life to just brush those things off. I never want to become desensitized to the horrible realities that are so casually depicted in our everyday media. However, I did appreciate Asher's way of shining light on many teenage cliches that, all too often, live up to their stereotypes. (I.e.: girl gets drunk and can't control, nor remember, what happens to her).

Lastly, I love when books are written in an interesting format. We were able to hear the tapes and then understand the main character, Clay's, reaction to the recordings. I love any kind of spin on a traditional narrative!

Overall, I really liked this book and would recommend it to anyone that is into teeny-bopper lit!

Menu 7/22

It's been awhile, but today I was searching Pinterest for some new recipes, when I decided to post them on here! I hate having to go back through my Pinterest to find whatever recipe I'm looking for--plus, sometimes I go back through these posts and remember recipes I'd forgotten about! Win-win!

Here's what I'm attempting this week!

Shrimp and Rice Stuffed Tomatoes
-I've been blessed with a good eater. J loves tomatoes! When I first saw this I thought I'd just do the rice and shrimp part, but I figured I'd go for it and try to do the real deal...we'll see how it goes!

Crockpot Italian Chicken (several other recipes in this same link)

Sweet Chili Chicken Bowls
-I'm going to either serve this over noodles or just by itself as the main entree since we are already having rice twice this week.
-I'm usually not big on having my entree sweet, I don't know why, I just have never really liked it. However, last week we had this Corn and Black Bean Pizza, and the mixture of the sweet corn and BBQ sauce was awesome! I've been thinking about it ever since! I'm hoping this recipe will keep my new sweet craving alive!

Fried Rice
-I'll leave out the chicken on this one, we tend to get a little 'chickened out' if we aren't careful.



Anybody have any new favorites?

A "Good Mom Day"

I was just trying to play catch-up on our family blog (I try to use it more as a family journal, but I'm failing miserably!). The post was about J turning 2, but the conclusion slowly started turning into my most recent thoughts on motherhood. (Side note: feeling extremely narcissistic about that now that I've actually typed it out and you all have read it.) However, it made me think of a topic that I wanted to talk about with you--here's the concluding paragraph and then I'll get to my topic:

I'm trying my hardest to get out and go do stuff with her--to take advantage of the family-friendly environment of the Midwest; as well as, my wonderful opportunity to stay home with her. We go to the library on a weekly basis (sometimes more) and we start Parent-Tot Swim lessons tomorrow! She is excited beyond belief! I'm hoping to get out and find more activities in the community that are going on this summer. My greatest desire and ambition right now is to be a mom that DOES stuff. This week I'm going to buy Play-doh and water-color paints and anything else I see in that aisle that she could do! I just yearn to be a good mom. Others may see that and think that's so lame, but it truly is the greatest accomplishment in my life. The days when I sit back and know that I did a great job as a mom, those days, are my happiest! When we explored, tried new things, read books, played toys, snuggled, and hugged and kissed and wrestled on the ground--I know I did my job and it makes me so happy! I never thought I'd see the day when I became so elated and overwhelmed with a sense of pride because of those things--but that day is upon me and I make no excuses for it. 


Do you know what I'm talking about? Those days where you just really know that you did your job. That all the career ambitions or personal interests you set aside to be a mom, were all worth it. Will you tell me about one of those days? (Shoot, don't hold back, tell me about every single day you can remember that was like that!) I just love hearing about days when moms were awesome! I love it because, when do you ever get to talk about it in a public setting without having to hold back because of the eye rolls (either because people think being a mom is so 1950's or people hate you because you're making them look bad)?

I liked being a teacher, but I LOVE being a mom. It totally sucks somedays, but a lot of times, those are the days when I wasn't doing it right! I wasn't trying and I wasn't paying attention to J and that's why she was going cray cray by noon. So can we do this for each other? Can you leave a long comment or post about all the ridiculous things you did with your kid(s) and can we all agree to reply to each other's comments with, "You go girl!" "Slide-burns are the worst, but oh so worth it!"and other stuff like that? No one is going to try and one-up each other, it's just a no-holds-bar-euphoric-I'm the bomb dot com-comment-fest! And instead of adding lines to our stories like, "sooo that's life with a toddler!" *nervous laugh* or "the things you do when you don't talk to adults for over 10 hours" *nervous laugh, is it hot in here to anyone else????*, let's just say something hard core like "I make no excuses!" Because being a mom is hard core and I don't care what anyone else says!

I'm so excited about this, I almost forgot I haven't posted in forever so people probably aren't reading anymore, but that's okay! Whenever you see this, or think about it after you've had a "Good Mom Day", just come and comment and I will be happy and excited right along with you!

As a recap:

1. Leave a comment or link to a post where you describe a day where you were a sweet-tastic mom.
2. Be hard core and say, "I make no excuses!" at the end.
3. Reply to other people's comments or link with how hard core and awesome they are.
4. Come back and repeat whenever possible.
5. Boom.

Here are some of my, "Good Mom Day" moments,

She had been SOOOO sick, but she wanted to go outside so badly. We struggled and climbed to the very top of the jungle gym and, after all that, she was too tired to play. So we sat, and watched some squirrels. I taught her squirrels live in trees that day (funny when you realize all that they don't know) and I didn't rush her to go down a slide so we could go home, we just sat, and watched squirrles play and climb. I make no excuses.

As a family we went for a walk and randomly came across a Paddle-Boat little pond area. We went inside and found out it was only $8 total, for everyone, for 20 minutes. So we just did it, like that! No plans, no questions, we were just spontaneous and fun and J still asks to go "Ride a boat?"

Sometimes your toddler wants to wear a winter hat when it's 80 degrees out, you just roll with it and feel good about them getting to be a kid!

Sometimes your toddler likes stickers, but DOES NOT like stickers on herself. So you take one for the team and wear Anime stickers for an entire day. I make no excuses!

We went for a walk. A really long walk where I just followed everywhere she wanted to go (except for the trash compactor--being hard core does not mean being stupid).

I didn't feel like wearing sunglasses, but she LOVES when we wear them together. So we rocked those sunglasses and Maroon 5's "One More Night" for the one billionth time in a row.

Even Clifford has to hydrate. And the answer is, "No! She hardly ever wears clothes at home! And, yes! It does make her ridiculously happy and say awesome things like 'NAKEY BABY NAKEY BABY!!'" I make no excuses!

Sometimes they aren't sick, they just really want you to hold them while they sleep. And yeah, I had a ton of other stuff to do, and it made us late for a dinner invitation, but now I have this, and I make no excuses.

Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars

This is a Teen Lit novel--so of course I liked it! I just love teen novels, I don't know why, but I always have! I think it has something to do with the fact that my life has always had virtually no drama in it, so reading about other people's is fun! That's probably the same reason I enjoy crappy Reality TV..?

The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, is about two teenagers who both have cancer. It's about their relationship with each other, their families, and ultimately, themselves. Having watched my mom battle cancer from afar, this book had me full on ugly crying more than once. Something I found interesting about this book was that the teenagers were faced with a terrible illness that many times emotionally debilitates adults, yet in the midst of them dealing with their ailments, they still wanted/needed to go through all of the same coming of age obstacles that every other teen faces.

There was one particular scene that I felt the author did such an awesome job writing. I could picture it so well and the dialogue between the teens and their actions were so realistic to students I had had in classes. I was laughing so hard! (If you decide to read the book, egg + car is what I'm referring to). I wish I had remembered to write this review right after I read it...whoops! Overall I enjoyed the book, it was a quick and easy read. I could have done without some of the smut that was thrown in there, but such is life. A good read for older teens to adults like me who have some weird obsession with teen lit.