7 quick takes- Sunday edition

-1-

I just figured out that I can reply to comments on my blog through gmail. Duh!!! Just took 6 months to figure that out!

-2-

The super clean out of 2012 started off well and then hit a snag this weekend.  I did the 27 fling boogie each day on the garage and it's done!! Yay!  We can park a car in there now.  The garage isn't clean by any means, it's just picked up to get a car in there.  I don't have time to do the one hour of work this weekend because I totally overbooked myself.  I'm not happy with myself at all.  I have 3 social engagements.  Plus, I always have to work at school for at least a few hours so there goes all my time.  Hopefully, I will live and learn.  

-3-

I gave my maternity clothes to Goodwill.  Even if on the off chance I get pregnant, I'm not going to want to wear 11 year old maternity clothes anyway.  Even so, I was sad as I drove away.  

-4-

With the whole rythmn word I'm focusing on, I'm realizing how distracted I am and how hard it is for me to concentrate.  When I do finally get going on a task, I become super focused and it's hard for me to be flexible and stop or be interrupted.  This is good information for how to move forward even if I'm not sure how. 

-5-

I'm starting a laundry experiment that Lauren from Magnify the Lord suggested.  It's weird and goes against everything my mother taught me about laundering.  She would be appalled if I told her that I'm trying this.  You do a load a day of whatever everyone wore that day.  No separating.  Just one load of everything.  I just now got all caught up with the laundry so we are starting tonight.  I'll keep you updated.  

-6-

I am doing horrible with trying to be on time.  It's making me really anxious and frustrated because I'm late for nearly everything.  Not super late, no more than 15 minutes but, still, when you are trying to be on time an you are always even a few minutes late, it's frustrating.  I'm pretty sure it's related to #4 so if I can try to stop what I'm doing, it might help.  AAARRRRRGGGGG.  

-7-

My saint for the year is St. Roque Gonzalez de Santa Cruz and the little I know of him, I love him already.  He was a Jesuit martyr and I'm really interested in Ignatian spirituality so he is perfect for this year.  It doesn't seem like there is much info on  him so I'll have to do some hunting.  

Many of these quick takes could be expanded into posts.  I guess I have some blog post ideas ready!!!

Clean Up Time

Well ladies, 2011 was pretty good to me because the crushing fatigue that has plagued me for years has lifted.  One of the thyroid questionnaires asks you to name a percentage of how much you feel like a normal person.  My original answer was 40%.  I'd say now I'm about 85%.  I don't have crushing fatigue but, I don't have any get-up-and-go and my libido is in the toilet.  In addition to the fatigue, I do give into laziness when I'm overwhelmed.

 It's time to come clean.  Besides our living room, kitchen and bathroom, our home is a disaster.  The bedrooms aren't horrible but, they aren't good either.  My closet is a shambles.  AJs room is bursting at the seams.  Guitar mans closet is despicable.  The linen closet, oh my.  Our basement is unbearable.  We have a laundry room, playroom, office and storage room down there.  They are dirty and disorganized.  I am super embarrassed when anyone has to go down there.  I have so many gifts to put away but, there really isn't any place to put them.

The other thing I really struggle with is being on time.  I have all my life.  I come from a family of late people.  The lateness stems from trying to do to much and not being able to prioritize or stop what I'm doing.

So...my word for 2012 is

Rhythm


Rhythm to me means:

intention
calm
preparedness
living in the moment
moving forward
being positive
planning
good timing
awareness of time
respect of time
learning from mistakes, not dwelling on them


To start, I'm targeting areas to organize and clean.  I'll do the following until I get through the house:

Flylady's 27 fling boogie each day
1 hour on the weekend
1 day per month (4-6 hours)

The areas I'll work on are:

garage
Christmas decorations
nursery- we call it that even though it's an office :(
linen closet and vanity
guitar man's closet
laundry room
playland
storage room
Guitar Man's office

I'm just going to organize and clean.  I'll worry about decorating over the summer.  This will probably take all year with Guitar Man's office and the storage room taking the lion's share of the time.  I'd like to take before and after pics to document my progress.  I come from a very clean family and I love things to be neat and clean so this is a burden for me and a source of embarrassment.  But I don't want to feel overwhelmed about this or it won't get done.  My goal is to look at each area in a very detached manner so I'm able to work in a rhythm.

As I was reading this over, it looks like Guitar Man doesn't do his fair share and believe me, he does.  He does all the bills, the grocery shopping and the yard.  He also does crisis management when when things get out of control which is why our main living spaces are organized and clean so we can live comfortably and have guests over.  He also fills our home with play, laughter and music.  We are going to work together on this, but I'm the manager and he's the assistant ;)

Now I have to figure out the time thing... any suggestions?

Dear Jesus, you want me to live an ordered life.  You've healed my body to a point where I can now take care of the material gifts you have given me.  Please help me remain calm and focused on you while I'm finding my rhythm.  Thank Dear Jesus for giving me my health and my home.  I love you.  

The Best of 2011

2011 was good to me even if I didn't get pregnant.  Here is a list of what was great about this year.

St. Teresa de Avila

She was my patron for the year.  I loved meditating on the fact that she struggled spiritually until she was 40.  Since I turned 40 this year and the learning curve with this spirituality thing has been steep for me, I took great comfort in knowing her journey.  

Peace

This was my word for the year and even though I'm not completely where I want to be, peace has begun to seep into my heart and for that I am grateful.  Much of the reason is that, with God's help, I've been able to temper some bad habits.  

Weight Watchers

Can you guess what one of the bad habits is?  I'm only 3 pounds away from goal.  

Anit-inflammatory diet and T3

I could be wrong but, I think these two changes were key in helping me feel better.  I'm a bit apprehensive because I'm not sure where the diet will lead me or if I'll need more than T3.  But, at least now I have enough energy to research it more. 

My Napro Doc and her nurse

They spend an inordinate amount of time with me and answer every weird question.   

My Catholic Therapist

She is the person who figured out how tired I was.  She didn't just say, "Oh, your depressed or anxious."  Now, she's working with me on anger management and I'm learning so much.  

Friends

I try to avoid discussing relationships on this blog in case the person would find the post.  But, suffice it to say that I've had several key relationships in my life that became troubled.  Some of them have improved because I've put up healthy boundaries.  I've been praying for God to send some catholic friends and boy, did the Lord deliver.  We've made friends with a couple at church and I joined a book club that's mostly people from church.   These people aren't outwardly spiritual- I'm not going to be saying the rosary with them any time soon. But, they are good, positive people that are fun to be around.  They've been a breath of fresh air.  

Family

Guitar Man and I continue to grow in our relationship even with a few bumps along the way.  AJ is finally doing solidly well in school.  Nothing in school has been easy for him and he's finally working at grade level in 5th grade.  My mom has made it another year- alleluia.  

You

Thank you for this community.  I love reading your struggles, your joys and your stories.  Thank you for sharing- I love you.  

prayer buddy reveal

I had the distinct honor to pray for T at The What IF Cross.  She gave birth to the adorable Magdalene Agnes on December 10th! Praise God!  My prayer life took a hit with travel, family obligations and the general busy-ness of the season.  So, my work was offered up for her intentions.  I offered up tasks and worry many times a day and thought about her all the time.  T- you will continue to be close to my heart!

Controlled Chaos

Thank you all for your prayers for my mom.  After three days in the hospital, she was released.  She's on medication and she can still take her chemo drugs. That was my biggest fear.  One of her chemo drugs can affect the heart and I was so afraid they would discontinue the medication.  The medication she's on (Tykerb) was made specifically for the type of cancer she has and she has a very aggressive form of breast cancer.  Knowing she's on this medication is a great comfort.  It was very, very hard being so far away from both of them and having my 70 year old father have to deal with this all on his own.  My mom became very agitated at certain points (very unusual for her) and there was a scare that she had a hole in her heart (it was a shadow on the echocardiogram).

We tried to make the best of the trip even though the whole point was to all be together for the holidays.  My sis and I had lots of time to talk and hang out and make healthy food.  She's recently became a vegan so it was very complimentary to the anti-inflammatory diet.  On top of everything, my niece was sick the whole time we were there so we didn't go anywhere except to church twice.  I almost forgot about the Holy Day in the midst of worry!

Preparing for the trip took much of my weekends leading up to it so I'm not very well prepared for Christmas which we are hosting.  Then, there's always work and the busy-ness in a school leading up to break.  We've done lots of crafts, Polar Express Day, dipping Oreos in chocolate (VERY anti-inflammatory-HA), secret santa, a holiday breakfast, and two big projects AJ had due for school.  The house isn't all the way decorated or straightened or cleaned.  AJ threw up today all over the living room.  At least that floor is clean now!  And, the gifts aren't all shopped for or wrapped.  Thank goodness we have a small house and a small family.  It makes decorating and shopping a bit easier.  I kind of just took the day off yesterday and did basically nothing.  I'm not sure if it was laziness creeping in or if I was giving my body some rest in the midst of the season.  Probably a little of both.

This post is all over the place.  Basically, I'm writing it so I can find comfort in all that's been done already, find fortitude for what's left to do, and keep the real reason for the season in the forefront of our preparations.

While I work, I'm going to light a candle and put on Jeff Cavins Great Adventure Bible Study CDs.  I have the 8 week series and it's perfect to listen to at Christmas because it builds up to Christ's birth.

All my work and worry is offered up for my dear prayer buddy.

Dear Jesus, help me remember that when I prepare for our guests, I am preparing for you to enter our home.  When I cook the food, it is to feed you.  When I clean and decorate it's so you have a beautiful place to sit and enjoy the love of a family.  And that the greatest gift I can give my family is a still, peaceful, gentle heart so that I may reflect God's love.  

God Bless you, my friends!

Prayers and Leibster

Can you please, please pray for my mom, Judi?  It looks like she's going to be okay, but she's been in the hospital for 2 days due to an irregular heartbeat.  She's completely stable.  They are running many tests and there was a scare today because the echocardiogram showed a hole in her heart.  They did another more invasive test (esophagial echocardiogram) that showed it wasn't a hole, it was just a shadow.  My mom's health isn't great since she's on chemo for recurrent breast cancer.  I just wish she could be home.  What sucks, too, is that my parents were supposed to be in Seattle visiting my sister with AJ and I.  They admitted her the day before we were to leave and my parents insisted AJ and I still go.  So, here my sister and I are, in Seattle, worried and wishing we were in Chicago.  My poor dad has been dealing with this by himself for three days.  Mother Mary, pray for my dear, sweet mother and my loyal, loving father. 

I've been so busy preparing for the trip (sub plans, christmas shopping, craft making) that I haven't been able to acknowledge the Liebster award that Alive in Hope bestowed upon this bad, bad blogger.  Thank you Alive in Hope, you always cheer me up with your effervescent posts!  Part of the deal with the Leibster is that you have to award 5 other blogs with under 200 followers.









Upon receipt of the Liebster Blog Award, there are a few very simple rules: 

1)  Copy and paste the award to your blog.
2)  Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
3)  Reveal your top 5 blog picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
4)  Hope that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.

Here are some of my favs, in no particular order:


1. What if God Says No- I love Donna's quiet, steadfast faith.

2.  Sew Infertile- I can't see if she as more than 200 followers.  Sew's open book policy about her hormones have taught me so much about my own!  And, she's got great, great news!

3.  Abigail's Alcove- Abigail's strong faith and willingness to share it lifts me up with every post.

4.  Be Not Afraid- I can't wait to hear what adventures await this sweet family!

5.  Catholic Mutt- Love her pics and her thinking.

And, every single person on my side bar.  You are my heroes, my mentors, my role models.  I love you and pray for you every single day.

Anti inflammatory diet questions

I've been a very, very bad blogger as of late.  Reading and not commenting.  Not responding to comments on my own blog.  Not posting.  I'm still adjusting to my new sleep routine and it's cut precious time from my day.  I'm trying to come up with creative ways to carve out time.  Thank you all for commenting on my last two posts.  You gave great insights and support that has helped me in my journey.  I am indebted to you.  If anyone has Sarah's (at Sarah's Journal) or St. Rita's Roses' email, can you leave in the comment box?  I was too slow on the uptake to email them about getting invites to their blogs.

I started part of the anti inflammatory diet two weeks ago.  I say part because I was only going on what I could find on the internet.  I just purchased a book titled, The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book by Jessica Black.  Half the book is recipes which I desperately need.  It's been hard, but with the other diet changes I've made, it seemed like just another step.

What I'm doing:

• No caffeine
• No sugar
• No processed foods
• No fast food
• No potato
• No tomato
• No rice, gluten or dairy (not really anti inflammatory- food allergy testing found out I am sensitive to it.  Still eating butter.)
• Tons of veggies and fruits
• Lots of seeds and nuts
• Probably a bit too much meat 
• Green tea with honey and a bit of soy creamer

What I still need to do:

• more fish (salmon and anchovies)
• more mushrooms
• no more pork
• no peanuts (peanut butter is my favorite food :(  ) 

I am feeling better.  Praise Jesus! I'm still not where I want to be, but the crushing fatigue has lifted.  I've even had some moments when I felt 'normal.'  I'm sure the better sleep and the T3 are contributing also.  When I first started the diet, I thought I'd have anything I wanted on Thanksgiving.  But, now that I'm feeling better, I'll be making some special food and sticking with it.  

Questions for you guys:

Do you have any book recommendations on the anti-inflammatory diet?

Do you have any recipes or tips you can share?  

God Bless you All!!