Reading...

I've been reading this month an a variety of topics, Sarra you can smile here...yes I have several books going at once :) I've actually been really busy too, but since being 'converted' to my Nook eReader, I have handy and high quality reading material any time, so find I am reading more. Anyway I digress; I have been learning some things that maybe sometimes we know at a subconscious level, but we don't think about properly in our conscious head. Plus when you're busy with young family and just going from task to task to activity to task to activity, you might not have the time for this kind of introspection...but I digress again.

So, a few tidbits...
- We are real human individuals, with our own identities, even though we are also part of a couple. Important to understand for ourselves, and for our spouses. They need what we need; same-sex friends,  family, respect, activity, down time, privacy (this one was interesting to me, b/c I guess I never really thought about it properly), and time in our own skin, to know who we are and what we want, what we like, or don't like, what our dreams are, and how we feel.

- We should expect approx. 20% of our needs to be met by our spouse...the rest from our selves, families, friends, co-workers (that would be me, myself, and I - haha), etc. Don't expect too much from the other human that is your spouse...he/she isn't on earth expressly for the purpose of meeting our needs. We have to do a lot of that work for ourselves (since meeting needs is kind of work!). (I can't remember where I read this one...but it makes sense).

Why have I been thinking about this stuff? Because I have thought of myself as a 'couple' instead of an individual  person for ages...when I write a letter, I have to go back and change all the 'we's' to 'I's'  and I'm pretty sure we both do that to each other...for example, when we order food, my honeybun will ask me what he should get. I want him to order his own food from now on...so that he gets what he really, really actually wants. He might have to sit there for a while to remember what the heck that is, and I am exactly the same. I think it's wonderful to be a close knit couple, but we have to know who we are also.  I think it would help improve conflicts..for example ( I can pull this example out any day of the week bc it's been with us pretty well like a 3rd person in our marriage). I am the one that likes the house to be perfectly tidy, everything in it's place. I live with someone for whom that is not the top priority,  so now it's basically my need, not really his; if he shows some effort out of respect for me, that should be good enough - anything beyond that is on me, because I'm the one that wants it near perfect (ie. meet my own need for a super tidy house). I'm good at saying this, but not actually doing it, but it's good that I at least see it now...so I have to practice. One thing I know I am good at is 'entertaining' myself. At least my spouse doesn't have to keep me busy:) I have a life of my own when it comes to taking care of my home, family and my time on my own, and when he's home we spend our time together. I can be happy on my own when I have to.

 If I could give my spouse a gift right now, it would be a couple of great male friends...b/c I think it would be fun for him. That is a goal of mine too, to cultivate my friends more vigorously. End of post....more to come probably, since I am ruminating in this vein. It's great to be 50 and have the mental space in my brain for such thoughts instead of just on 'go' all the time, at top speed.

Great quote:

“Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!”

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Second Counselor in the First Presidency

“Continue in Patience,” Ensign, May 2010, 57

Keep Guacamole Fresh & Wheat Belly

OK, so this is a random post on guacamole, which we have been eating liberally this week. What is the bane of guacamole? It's very difficult to store for later...so I looked it up and found this solution at: http://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Guacamole-Fresh

But I'll just tell you b/c it's so easy!

1. Put the remaining guacamole in the smallest bowl possible that it will fit while leaving a small lip.
2. Smooth it out flat as possible with a spoon.
3. Carefully smooth out a layer of sour cream on top, sealing up the edges to the bowl. No guacamole should be visible. (I used a thin later).
4. Cover with plastic wrap, starting at the middle and smoothing out to the edges...try to seal out all the air you can.
5. Put in the fridge.

We pulled this out of the fridge later to perfect guacamole!

I could post all the day about what I've been learning about wheat and gluten, if you are interested two of the books I have been reading are Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis and Living Gluten-Free for Dummies by Danna Korn, both of which are easy reading and SUPER interesting.

There is a blog by Dr. Davis here: http://www.wheatbellyblog.com and another amazingly helpful blog on gluten-free recipes/living here: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.ca.

There are compelling reasons, according to my reading, for learning about gluten and wheat even if you do not have Celiac disease, or wheat sensitivities - all laid out in the books mentioned here. There can be affects on joints, allergies, fibromyalgia (my interest), chubby bellies (also my interest:), blood sugar (!), cholesterol, and other areas, for example ADD and Autism. Read the books and decide for yourself.

It's been about a week or two so far, and I am finding it pretty easy, though I still need to work on cutting out the wheat free food that is still not healthy, such as the half a pint of Ben & Jerry's that Jared forced me and Mano to eat the other night - at least we shared it :) The reason I find it easy is that there is no hunger, or counting of calories, or weighing of foods, etc. Basically you eat from this list of foods:

Vegetables
Fruits
Meats
Dairy (for me - some with actual Celiac may be intolerant)(Ice Cream is included in this list!)
Nuts
Non-Wheat Grains/Starches (rice, potato, corn, buckwheat, beans, quinoa, etc.)
Fish
Legumes
Poultry
Seafood
Eggs

I haven't been hungry in any way shape or form, and I don't miss the wheat hardly at all. The biggest trick is to find it all, as it 'hides' in some things in the form of wheat starch, wheat malt (malt flavouring, malt vinegar), wheat germ,  wheat bran, etc.

What is off-limits?

Wheat (includes durum, semolina, flour, bulgur, kamut, graham, farina, spelt, einkorn, and others ).
Barley
Rye
Triticale
Oats (b/c of cross contamination - you can by oats that are not contaminated, search on the web.) I don't know at this early stage if this matter that much to me or not.

Breakfast this morning (plain Greek yoghurt, blueberries, almonds, pecans):

Let me know if you decide to learn more...we can commiserate!

Creative Memories Showcase 2012 - Minneapolis!!

If you have ever wondered what in the world we do at showcase, in Minneapolis, here it is....it 's all fun, fun, fun:) Lots of music, friends, inspiration, motivation, and learning, and fun!! Seriously!

Beautiful Lindsay

This is a video of one of the most beautiful people, inside and out, that I have known in my entire life. She is the warmest girl you'll ever meet, she is incredibly smart, she's such an aware and attentive mom, she is a super friend, and then she is unbelievably talented at anything she takes up, anything she sets her mind to. She's seriously the best! Our family LOVES you Linds, and we wish you the best in your soccer endeavours!