Accomplishment

Since giving birth to 3 children, I've been carrying around a little extra weight. For 3 years, I didn't drop a single pound despite some effort on my part. (Not tons of effort, but some.) My weight isn't a huge deal to me. I'm healthy. I don't like to exercise, although I've been trying to be more consistent at it. I am not way overweight and my weight is constant...it doesn't fluctuate at all. For 3 years, every time I stepped on a scale it always said the exact same number. For 9 months, I did Biggest Loser workouts with coworkers and never dropped a pound...(That is not to say it didn't help...I lost a couple of inches around my waist and definitely built muscle. I felt good doing it too.) Then back in about March, I began training for my half marathon. I was running more than I ever had in my life, and I completed my half marathon. I am a slow jogger, and I will never win any awards, but it was still a great feeling of accomplishment. And during the course of training for and running the half marathon, I lost about 7 or 8 pounds. I kept the running up really well until August and then we went on two vacations and I went back to work, and I haven't done as well. I have still been working on my New Years Resolution to eat lots of fruits and vegetables daily though. I do try to eat healthy other than that I'm a sugar addict and do eat too much sugar.

Anyway, a dear friend decided to do a contest among neighbors and friends to try to lose weight from the beginning of November until Thanksgiving. We weighed in at her house at the beginning of November, and I was thrilled to see that I was 9 pounds lighter than I was a year ago. So I'd not only kept the weight off but I'd lost an additional pound since my half marathon. I decided to participate in the contest, and while I was sure I wouldn't win, I figured it would help me be motivated to exercise. I haven't been as good as I would have liked, but I have exercised and when I weighed on Wednesday night, I had lost 1.5 pounds in the past 3 weeks. I know that doesn't sound like much, but for me, it is still a great accomplishment. If I could lose 5 more pounds, I would be perfectly content with my weight. I would weigh more than before having kids, but I was very, very thin back then and had lots of issues with my blood sugar and stuff. I actually think I'm at a healthier weight now than I was then. The contest has been extended until New Year's. I still don't think I will win, and I'm totally okay with that. But I'm excited for the weight I have lost and that I am making time to exercise. It doesn't come naturally to me.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon: A book on gratitude

This month for our book club, Jackie had us read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. It is a children's book, and it is wonderful. It is about a little girl named Minli whose family is very poor. Her father always tells her stories and her mother thinks the stories fill her head with nonsense. Ba tries to explain that stories are not a waste of time, but Ma complains a great deal. Eventually, Minli sets off to try to find the Man in the Moon so she can change her fortune. Along her journey, she meets a Buffalo Boy that has almost nothing, yet he is happy. She meets a dragon that cannot fly. The dragon decides to go with her to ask the Man in the Moon how to fly. She meets twins, Afu and Dafu, who help her. Their village even cuts a small bit out of each of their jackets to make Minli a jacket. Every where she goes, she meets people who are content and happy with their life. Meanwhile her parents are learning important lessons.

I won't give away the ending of this book, but it is worth a read. There are so many wonderful quotes, and the messages of thankfulness and selflessness are so clear and beautifully stated.

There are so many quotes that I loved.

"You only lose what you cling to." (page 140)

"For the line was only made of one word, written over and over again. And that word was Thankfulness." (p. 250)

"The woman (Minli's mother) cursed herself for her selfishness and foolishness. How lucky she had been! She was at last able to see that her daughter's laughter and love could not be improved by having the finest clothes or jewels, that joy had been in her home like a gift waiting to be opened. The woman wept tears for which there was no comfort. For all the time that she had been longing for treasures, she had already had the one most precious." (page 254)

"If you make happy those that are near, those that are far will come." (page 255)

"Fortune was not a house full of jade, but something much more. Something she already had and did not need to change." (page 259)

"The joy! How it flowed and flooded over her! More golden than the king's dragon bracelet, sweeter than a peach from the Queen Mother's garden, and more beautiful than a Goddess of Heaven! Minli smiled, treasuring her good fortune."

*****
On this Thanksgiving Day, I hope I remember to give thanks for all that I am blessed with. I have a wonderful family. I have good health. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have a beautiful home. I have a job, as does my husband. In fact, I not only have a job, but I have a job that I love and that I feel called to do. I have enough food to eat... bounteous food. I have great friends. I have an abundance of good books to read. My prayers are answered on a regular basis. My favorite season of the year, the Christmas season, is coming. Life isn't perfect for any of us, but if we take time to count our blessings and recognize what we do have, it really puts our trials in perspective. I really believe that gratitude and selflessness are the keys to happiness. I have found that to be true in my life when I am practicing it. Now I just need to work on applying those two principles in my life daily.

Proud Mommy Moment

A moment I wasn't even there for, but that still makes me sooo happy.

Last Thursday, I went to book club. Alfredo took the girls out for some Daddy-Daughter time while I was gone. His plan was to get some food and then take them to the dollar movies. As they were eating, he told them to eat quickly so they could make it to the movie on time. Michelle said, "Um, what time does the movie start?" Alfredo told her 7:30. She said, "So, it won't be over until after 9 PM?" He nodded in agreement. Michelle said she didn't think they should go, because she still needed to read for a half hour and it was a school night and then they would be up until way past bedtime. Ella agreed...she also needed to read for 20 minutes, in Spanish, and she thought they should head home soon so they could do their reading and go to bed on time.

So they did a little bit of wandering at the mall and then headed home, did their reading and went to bed a few minutes earlier than normal.

This makes me particularly happy because last year Michelle went through a time when she hated to read and I have worked hard to try to help her develop a love of reading. It is paying off. She never complains or argues about doing her reading this year and she often reads for longer than she is required to. I'm so happy that she wanted to make good choices and chose completing her reading and getting to bed on time rather than watching a movie.

Need some advice?

If any of my friends need some advice, I have a dear friend who writes a weekly advice column on Nauvoo Times. She gives great advice and your question can be anonymous. She gives advice on house cleaning/organization, manners, Mormon culture concerns, etc. Check out her articles here and then you can email me any questions or write them there on the site. Be sure to check out other articles there. I find inspiration there on a weekly basis.

Spirit Week

Spirit Week was last week at the girls' school. Monday was Mismatched Day. Michelle decided she didn't want to participate, so she wore uniform on Monday. But Ella was mismatched.

Tuesday was pajama day. They both wore their pajamas.

Wednesday (Halloween) was Halloween colors: orange, black and purple. They each wore Halloween shirts.

Thursday was crazy hair day. Michelle wanted zombie hair. Ella had part curled, part ratted, part braided with mismatched bows.

Friday was hippie day. They both wore tie died shirts and headbands. I forgot to take their picture.

Fun week.

Best Neighborhood Ever

Seriously, I truly think I live in the best neighborhood ever! I have such great neighbors. People help each other. My children have good friends. I feel safe (despite the fact that I live on the West Side).

(That reminds me of a funny story. Near the end of last year, one of my students asked me where I live. I told them. Several students said, "Ooh, you live there?" Inside I wanted to say, "Do you know where YOU live? Your area is way worse than mine." But I didn't. I just kindly replied that I really liked where I live and that while there are bad neighborhoods in my city, my neighborhood is great, and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. And politely explained that it isn't good manners to say rude things about where a person lives.)

Anyway, back to how awesome my neighborhood is. There are constant proofs of this, but I had a few more on Halloween. A dear friend invited our family over for dinner. Yummy! Then a group of us went trick-or-treating together.

I have an awesome neighbor that decorates his garage and passes out popcorn. In years past it has been a whole spook alley and they've had popcorn and cotton candy. My younger two appreciated the scaled down version, although Michelle was disappointed to not have a whole spook alley. Either way, they are awesome.

Another neighbor makes scones and hot chocolate for all of the trick-or-treaters. It is my favorite stop on our trick or treating rounds. There is no way we miss thier house! They are the best!

I love trick or treating around the neighborhood and running into my cute Sunbeams in their costumes. I love bumping into other friends and neighbors as we're making our rounds. I love that so many of the people I see, I know. I did not grow up here like so many of my friends. My family doesn't live nearby. But this is definitely home.

Such a fun Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving

The Saturday before Halloween, we had friends over for dinner. I made Korean food...so yum! (Recipe coming soon!) Then we carved pumpkins together. It was a lot of fun. I am a terrible pumpkin carver and don't do anything clever, so thankfully Gabby is still young. I asked her what shape she wanted her eyes, nose and mouth and then carved a pretty boring pumpkin. Alfredo helped Michelle and Ella. Thomas carved an amazing flag for Kaleb. Avy and Eli carved theirs with help from their mom and dad, but mostly on their own.