A note to my mother

When older adults participate in strength training programs, their self-confidence and self-esteem improve, which has a strong impact on their overall quality of life.


Health Tip of the Day

Jen at 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, 365 Days of TV-Free Toddler Time, and Mega-Family Blogs is giving away a flippin' waffle maker...

To enter, go HERE!!

I love flipping waffle makers. If I win this one, maybe I'll give it to one of my darling daughter-in-laws who borrows mine. :) I won't actually be able to make waffles for awhile as per previous post about the diet. Tomorrow I'll weigh in and let you know how the first week went.

My exercising is going great. I work out with a personal trainer three times a week. I know. It sounds so la-de-da, but it's the best investment I've ever made. Not only am I gaining a lot of muscle, which, sadly, we lose "as we age" (a phrase I've come to know and hate), but I now have bigger "guns" (upper arm muscle) than my husband and some of my sons.




(OK, this officially proves I'm not afraid to make a fool of myself, and that my husband is a really good sport!)


Seriously, I feel so great. I can do things that I haven't been able to do in a long time (open jars, bend over, lift and carry things, walk upstairs, to name a few). The greatest part is that I am almost totally, if not so, off the medicine I took for fibromyalgia. At one point I was taking 450mg of lyrica (in three doses), as well as another drug and a sleeping pill. Now, I take nothing except multivitamins. Hurray! (Okay, sometimes I still take a sleeping pill, but that's because the c-pap breathing mask I wear at night sometimes makes me feel claustrophobic and thus I can't get to sleep.) I only started the training in November and I'm already reaping all these benefits. By the summer I plan to have lost all the weight and still work out.

So, here's to Victor, my trainer. Thanks!

My quote for the day comes from the wall of the gym:

"The only place in the world where success comes before work is in the dictionary."

Saying goodbye, again, and working a swim meet, again

Drew and Courtney left today to go back home. They've been with us almost a month and it was wonderful! It's just that we got so used to their being here, that it's almost like having them move away all over again. :(

Last night was also the last night for Matt and Mir to stay with us as their apartment is now ready and so this house is going to feel pretty empty.

So, last night everyone got together to play games and eat a nice meal. Everyone, except me.

This is where I was:











...doing this:




















Courtney, I wish I had asked you how you put pictures on your blog. They never come out exactly where I would like them. I miss you already. Anywhere, here is a picture for you.

Does anyone know how hard this is?

It's not that I want a "pity party". I just need a little understanding right now.

I started a diet on Monday. It's one I've never done before since I'd already tried all that and it hasn't worked. It's Jenny Craig and, if you don't know anything about that diet, one way to do it is to eat only their packaged food. I chose that option and I also chose to have them choose all my meals. I was just to the point where I wanted to be told, "Here! Eat this! And, eat it at this time."

I don't have to measure, think, or even plan.

Anyway, the food is surprisingly tasty! But, there's just so little of it. And, it is hard not to eat any of the food already in the house. It also seems like EVERY billboard or sign or commercial is about food.

I asked my family to help me out for awhile by cooking all their meals themselves and everyone is taking turns doing that. I appreciate it so much. Thanks. Tonight Matt cooked Thai food (whimper) with peanut sauce (gasp).


And here is what I had:



I survived and I keep dreaming of being thinner. But, with my workouts and this diet I'm hopeful it won't just be a dream. :}

Quote for the day:
"I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen."
Frank Lloyd Wright

My mom likes my blog!

Thanks, Mom, for letting me know you had read and liked my blog. It made me feel great. As you said, it lets you know some of our day to day activities. I wish you could be here to experience them with us.

All of my kids (and grandkids) are in El Paso right now. It's so great. Matt and Mir arrived Tuesday late at night with their moving truck. Last night with all the brothers, Dad, and 7 men from their new ward helping, they got everything moved into the new apartment. But, since there's still a little work to do on the apartment, we get to have them stay with us a few days. This is when I really appreciate having a big enough house to keep everyone with us.

We spend each night playing games and talking and staying up to all hours. Our sleep schedule is suffering, but it's worth it.

Nerf Wars & Persistence

Instead of having a Family Home Evening where we set personal and family goals, we had Nerf Wars. When we can find Nerf guns at a cheap enough price, we buy them in bulk. They always, eventually, break or lose enough bullets that we have to buy more. And, we have bought a lot of Nerf guns over the years. Starting out with five boys made "wars" inevitable. We've had shave cream wars, canned whip cream wars, rubber band/spit wad wars, and lots of Nerf wars. Now that we have mostly girls at home there are fewer wars, but the ones we have are deadly.

That's a new thing I've discovered about the difference between boys and girls. The boys understood that there are rules to war: each side has a fort, or area of their own, and although you may "risk your life" to retrieve bullets from the other side, you stay and shoot from your own area. Girls don't seem to get that. Also, the girls will get right in your face to shoot. (I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of myself with a bullet stuck to my glasses' lens.) Maybe that's because, since boys will play guns with a stick if that's all they have, they are taught from an early age about gun etiquette. Anyway, last night's game was fun and everyone had a good time. Even one of our older boys joined us with his two sons. We'll have to try it again soon once Matt and his family arrive. They are moving here and will be here tomorrow. We'll give them a couple of days to rest up before the battle.

So, as I mentioned, we didn't set our New Year's goals as I had planned. I also didn't get the office clean and all bills paid, but I got a start. And, I did sign up with a weight loss program and I'm committed to losing 40 pounds instead of 30. All in all, I'm moving in the right direction. Oh, and I have been reading the scriptures more. I would like to say I've been kinder, but the other participants in the Nerf War would disagree.

Here's my quote for the day: "Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." Winston Churchill

Things I want to do today; things I want to do this year.

Aren't New Year's Resolutions fun? There's the possibility that, with a fresh start, one can become a whole new person. Well, here are my short term and long term goals to become a new person:



I want to clean this office today and pay any bills that are still lurking about.

I want to sit down with my family and make resolutions for our family and for individuals.

My long-term personal goals are: Study the scriptures daily

Exercize daily

Eat better, eat no sugar

Lose 30 pounds

Treat Everyone more kindly and with more patience (a recurring goal)

Get to know everyone in my ward better, and,

Become friends with someone.

Oh yeah, and post more than 8 times a year.