Oh, What Do You Do In The Summertime?

Our family is not doing much in the way of traveling this summer.  The hubster is taking his two month sabbatical from work next summer (he gets one every seven years) and we are starting to make big plans to go on a major trip about a year from now.  That means we are staying home this year, except for a possible camping trip at the Oregon Coast.  Tent camping?  Maybe. Hotel camping?   Probably.

So... since we aren't going anywhere, but all of Jabberjaw's friends did go somewhere, it means I have been busy being Activities Director to the 10-year-old.  I know, I know.  Everyone says I should let him figure out how to keep himself  busy, but if I left it up to him, he'd spend the whole summer watching TV, playing video games, and whining about how he has no one to play with.

So I've been hard at work planning some fun activities for me and Jabberjaw to do this summer.  My older three children are teens and therefore they have their own agendas and are independent enough to carry out plans with their friends (most of whom are staying around town, like us).  I'm finding that it's working out really well with it just being the two of us for most of our outings.  Jabber is the perfect age now where we have a lot of fun and can actually carry on a conversation.  I'm enjoying getting to know him as an individual, apart from his siblings.  Being the youngest, he is often overshadowed by the older sibs and spending time alone with him is really giving his personality a chance to shine.  He is quite witty and funny and is really enjoying the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with me, without being pestered by the older kids.

First order of business this summer, for all of the children, was to set up ground rules about the TV and video games.  I established a "No TV Zone" between the hours of noon and 8:00 pm every day.  I can't tell you how lovely it has been to not have the television blaring in the background all day long.  It's been quite peaceful, actually.  Video games are limited to 2 hours a day.  The kids can earn a DVD movie during the day by reading for an hour. 

And speaking of reading... I've got the family doing a lot more reading this summer (Yay!).  Not only can they earn opportunities to watch movies, but I have also made a summer reading chart (thanks to Heidi of The Bartle Bulletin) that we are working on together as a family. When we reach our combined goal of 9,000 total pages read, we get to go to Oaks Park, a local amusement park.  It's really motivating to just about everyone in the family.  Everyone except Genius.  My 15-year-old son couldn't give a rip about going to the amusement park, even when I said he could bring a friend.  But I found a different motivator for him.  A certain amount of pages read earns him a dollar toward a video game. He was all over that!  He read for a full two hours in a row today!  He told me he can't remember ever reading that much at one time in his life before today.  Ya just gotta speak their language, ya know?

Besides reading, we are also working as a family to organize and de-junk the house.  The kids earn allowance for chores but they also have to get work done in order to earn privileges such as outings, hanging out with friends, and having sleepovers.  Bribery Blackmail Incentives work wonders!

I've also found some really great free and cheap stuff to take Jabberjaw to do.  Our local movie theater is running a Kid's Summer Movie Program, where we can go see family movies every Tuesday and Wednesday morning for $1.  I also found a Kids Bowl Free program online that is offered in many bowling alleys nationwide.  It's great! My kids can bowl two free games EVERY DAY all summer long (not that we'll go every day, mind you).

Some other places we plan to go and things we plan to do this summer are:

• Zoo
• Swimming Lessons
• Children's Museum
• Cub Scout Day Camp
• Drive-In
• Water Parks/ Aquatic Center
• Local Fairs and Amusement Parks
• Library Programs/Events
• Children's Play Centers (a la Chuck E. Cheese)
• Lakes & Rivers
• Hiking, Biking, Outdoors
• Skating (roller, ice)
• Berry Picking/Jamming/Gardening
• Cooking/Baking

What kinds of things do you plan to do with your  kids and family this summer?

The Biggest WINNER!!!

Olivia Wins! Olivia Wins! Olivia Wins! Woo Hoo!


Can you tell I'm excited about that?  Tuesday night's Biggest Loser Couples Finale was  A. MAY. ZING!!  Of course, I might be a little biased since I'm a girl and the girls KICKED BUTT this season!  It was the most incredible and inspirational season of The Biggest Loser yet.  I was glued to the television every Tuesday night and never missed an episode the entire season!  Watching the contestants work so hard always inspired me in my own weight loss journey and I often worked out while watching the show.

There were many surprises this season starting off with two new trainers in addition to Bob and Jillian.  The contestants got to go on an amazing trip to New Zealand.  This was also the longest season in the history of the show. Then there was the whole thing with Olympic Gold Medalist Rulon Gardner walking off the Ranch.

My favorite moment was when Olivia, who is a professional opera singer, sang on the scale after losing 100 pounds.  She had made it her goal to sing on the show when she reached 100 pounds lost and she sang beautifully.  It brought tears to my eyes.  It was very emotional not only because her singing was so beautiful and because she'd lost 100 pounds but also because she sang an aria for a part she desperately longed to play on stage.  Olivia had always been limited to "fat parts" in operas because of her size.  She had always wanted to play the lead roles, the fiery vixens who get all the accolades.  But she was always limited in what roles she could play because of her weight.  So when she sang a song, from a lead role that she was now more likely to get,  it was an extremely touching moment.

Olivia was so inspirational to me this season.  She had so much drive and determination.  She was always so spunky and positive.  She never gave up and she never let anything get in her way.  I was so proud that she ended up winning and representing all of us women who struggle with our weight.  She was only the 4th woman to win the show out of 12 seasons.  She and her sister, Hannah, were also the very first sisters to make it together all the way to the finale.  Irene, who was the Biggest Loser on campus and the first woman this season to lose 100 pounds on the Ranch, rounded out the Top 3 finalists, making this the first year that was all female finalists!  And to top it off, the At Home winner was also a gal-- Dani!!  You go girls!!  Girl Power!  (Sorry guys-- no disrespect... it's just that it always seems to be guys that win physical challenges.  It's nice to have the ladies represent once in awhile!).

Another surprise during the finale was that there was no mention whatsoever about Rulon Gardner.  Where was he?  I knew he was disqualified from participating in the At Home challenge since he decided to leave the Ranch early, but I still figured he would make an appearance.  At the very least, I thought they would mention him but other than a brief video clip about his brother that he appeared in, it was as if he had never been on the show.  Made me wonder if there was some legal reason why he wasn't even mentioned.  An article I read online said that NBC contacted him to see if he'd like to make an appearance, but they never got a response.  Hmmm... makes you wonder how he's done with his weight loss post-show.

One of the final surprises of the finale and season in general was the announcement that professional tennis star Anna Kournikova will be replacing Jillian Michaels next fall.  There was no mention of whether the new trainers, Cara and Brett would be returning or not.  The same article I mentioned previously suggested that they would not be returning.  I think that's too bad.  I really liked them and thought they brought a really interesting dynamic to the show.  We'll have to see how it goes with Anna.

Should make for another very interesting season of The Biggest Loser.  Looking forward to it!

Chihuly

Isn't this beautiful?  This is just one of thousands of sculptures by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly [chi-HOO-lee].  I discovered his work a couple of years ago and have become fascinated with it ever since!  He's a Northwesterner, like myself, having been born in Tacoma, Washington.

I was visiting Tacoma a couple of years ago and stumbled upon (thankfully I didn't stumble into, as klutzy as I am!) a large collection of his glass artwork, featured in a couple of museums there.

I was hooked.

His blown glass art is so unique and recognizable, if I see it anywhere, I know it immediately.  I was pleasantly surprised to run across several of his pieces while walking through a hotel in Las Vegas last year.  I hadn't seen anything of his in person since Tacoma, the year before.  To me it was like finding a rare and hidden gem.  It was as exciting to me as if I had spotted a celebrity!  Of course, I snapped some pics!

This morning I wasn't feeling well, so I was enjoying some downtime in front of the telly (keep reading--you'll understand soon).  I was looking through the channel guide to see if there was anything interesting on, when the name 'Chihuly' jumped out at me.  Ovation channel was showing a couple of documentaries on exhibits that Dale Chihuly had done in the last decade.

I was riveted.

The first doc was about an exhibit he did at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Surrey, UK (hence, the prior use of the word 'telly'!).  The other special was featuring an exhibition in Jerusalem.   Both shows had behind-the-scenes looks at the creative process of his masterpieces.  Not only does his artwork have a uniquely stylistic look, but even how he creates it is unique in that he employs teams of people to help in it's creation.  I truly enjoyed watching how they assembled the structures piece by piece.

Please click on this link to go to his official website for more information on Dale Chihuly, but especially to look at more of his amazing artwork.  He has a very eclectic collection of pieces.  The picture above is only one style.

I find his art both beautiful and fascinating.  I love the interesting shapes and bright colors.  His work can be both serenely peaceful and exhilarating, all at once.  I know you'll totally love looking at the pictures.

However... there's nothing like viewing it in person.

I just wish I could afford some of my own!

Nevermind... my children would just destroy it.

It is glass, after all.

Oh well, guess I'll just make it my life's goal to travel to as many exhibits of his, before I die, as I can.  In fact, I'm planning to go see another of his sculptures very soon...

I just discovered online today that Chihuly has a chandelier on display at the small, non-commercial, Hillsboro Airport, minutes from my house!

Next time I make a Costco run, I'm gonna stop in there for some artistic enlightment on my way to buy another stockpile of toilet paper.

Hey, we mom's gotta get our enlightenment any way we can...

' The Truth Will Set You Free'

As the title of the blog infers, today's post is my effort to speak my truth in the hopes that I can motivate myself to better things and possibly inspire someone else.  I wrestled all day, yesterday, with thoughts about where I'm at in my quest for wholeness as a person.  I made a huge decision and started following through on it yesterday.  I've had many thoughts tumbling around in my head regarding the decision.  I attempted to write those thoughts down in my personal journal but kept procrastinating and couldn't figure out why.  Finally-- LATE, LATE, last night (more accurately early this morning) it finally occurred to me that what was eating at me was that I really wanted to blog about it, not just journal it privately.  I'm sure once I mentally purge what I feel necessary to blog, there will still be plenty more to journal that is just too private and wordy to share here.  My hope is that I won't have such a mental block in my journaling once I've completed this task.

Why would I feel so compelled to spill my guts and share my truth in such a public forum?  Only God can say, but I have some theories.  First of all, as I mentioned before, I think it will motivate me to greater things.  What I'm sharing here is something I've carried around with me my whole adult life.  It has plagued me and kept me from reaching my true potential.  It has made me feel ashamed, yet it is something that many, many people suffer from, which brings me to my second reason for blogging about it-- maybe someone reading this, suffers from it as well and will benefit from reading my post.  Even if no one else gets anything out of this, I know that speaking my truth will free me from the hiding, secrecy, and guilt that I have suffered from over the years.  I share in the hope that once I say it out loud (or in this case, write it down and send it out) I can't hide it any longer and I can move forward.

What I suffer from isn't anything grandiose or over-the-top.  It isn't some rare disease or abnormality.  Simply put-- I am an emotional eater.  That's it in a nutshell.  I eat when I'm not hungry.  I eat for many reasons other than fueling my body.  I crave unhealthy food and can't stop myself from eating them and eating far too much of them. I know many people do this.  I am far from alone.  Yet, it is so easy to feel alone in it.  It is a lonely place.  No one wants to talk about it.  No one wants to admit it.  There is a lot of shame in it.  You feel ashamed that you have no control over yourself.  I always feel embarrassed to talk about it because it seems so insignificant compared to "real" eating disorders such as binge eating, anorexia, or bulimia.  But I'm understanding, more and more, that I feel as much pain from my "eating disorder" as anyone else and my pain deserves a voice, as much as anyone else's does.

I want to rise above it and realized very recently that I am powerless to do so on my own.  I made the decision to seek professional help in the form of private counseling.  I have been to counseling in the past for depression, but until recently had not realized how much I needed professional help for this.  I had convinced myself that I could do it on my own, and that since I was no longer depressed, then I had no need for counseling.  I've watched some reality TV shows recently, regarding obese people, and saw how much they benefited from counseling.  I knew that it was time.  I finally realized that it was not a sign of weakness to ask for help but rather it is a sign of courage to realize that you lack the tools to make the changes on your own.

I have yo-yo dieted my whole adult life.  I have struggled with self-esteem and body image issues for decades.  I have tried many, many diets, weight loss programs, and exercise regimes.  Each time I tried a new one, it would work for awhile, but eventually I would revert back to my old habits.  I would then go looking for another solution, only to repeat the same pattern.  I was always looking outside myself for the answer.  Finally, a couple years ago, I recognized my self-defeating, sabotaging ways and took some time away from dieting and exercise to just focus on the mental issues.  I worked very hard to learn to look in the mirror and truly love myself.  I was very successful in changing the "mental tapes" in my head and no longer allowing myself to be critical and negative about my body.  After a time, and having gained back a bunch of weight, I started the journey once again to get a handle on my physical health and fitness.

I took up running again recently (I have blogged about my running, and why I love it, in previous posts).  I started working on eating healthy, instead of dieting, to fuel my body for the arduous task of running longer and longer distances.  I set a goal of running a half marathon before the end of the year.  I set smaller goals of running shorter races, leading up to the half.  I looked up websites on running and nutrition. I found an amazing book that told me exactly what and when to eat to fuel my runs.  The author broke down the formula for how much to eat to have the energy you need for running while still losing weight.  I finally felt like I had all of the missing pieces to my puzzle.  I chose a form of exercise I enjoyed and knew exactly how to fuel my body for it.  I was even excited about the fact that the more miles you run, the less "perfect" you have to be in your eating (not to mention that you GET to eat carbs and LOTS of them!).

So why am I still repeating the same self-defeating, self-sabotaging behaviors?  I have a few good ideas that I'm not going to get into here.  The fact is that I've figured some of it out but it isn't helping me discontinue the negative behaviors.  I've been so frustrated lately because I feel like I'm really close to finally reaching my potential after all these years.  I can see in my mind's eye a vision of myself looking over a chasm and I can see my true potential on the other side.  She is a fit and healthy runner who takes good care of herself and is happy and beautiful, both inside and out.  She's so close, yet I can't reach her.  I thought, at first, that I needed to find a counselor who could help me build a bridge to get across the chasm in order to finally reach my true self.  But then it occurred to me that the chasm wasn't really that wide-- in fact, I realized that if I just believed in myself enough, I could jump it.  But I'm too afraid I will fail and fall to my doom.  What I need is someone to help me feel confident enough to make the jump.

So yesterday I went on a search for a counselor/Psychologist nearby that works with our insurance and specializes in eating disorders.  I was actually surprised how many were right here in town.  I left a message with one office and heard back from them this afternoon.  I was actually scared, at first, that I might end up with someone I didn't feel a connection with but I read a blog yesterday regarding choosing the right counselor with the emphasis being on shopping around until you find the right fit.  So I gave myself permission to try one out and move on if it doesn't feel right.  I know that through faith and prayer, the Lord will help me find the right person.  If this counselor doesn't work out, there are plenty more to choose from.

The Lord will help me find the counselor and will help me finally win the battle over my demons, once and for all.  He wants me to be happy.  He inspired me to share this blog because He knew it would help me feel happy.  He helped me to share my truth and it has 'set me free'.

Some Day My 'Prince Will' Come!

I didn't watch the Royal Wedding live as some people did. I didn't even get to watch it until about three days later, in fact. Why did I bother to watch it at all, some may ask. Well... I'll tell you why.

I was traveling while the live nuptials were being broadcast, so I planned ahead and set up my DVR so I could catch up when I got home. I have to admit, it was nice to be able to speed through some of the slower, more boring parts, but all in all it was totally worth a couple hours of my time. And the reason for that is-- because I'm a girl.

I'm sure there are some guys out there who were interested in tuning in, for various reasons. Maybe you're a Brit or maybe your just fascinated with Brits and all things British. Maybe you served a mission in England or have been lucky enough to travel there for some other reason. Maybe you're obsessed with Royalty. Or maybe you're just obsessed with Kate (she IS beautiful!). Whatever the reason, most guys who even gave half a thought to spending a couple of hours of their precious time watching a wedding of someone they weren't related to, had some type of reason.

Most women and girls who watched did so for one reason and one reason only. Almost every little girl I know dreams of marrying a handsome prince and becoming a princess. It's every little girl's dream (well, at least MOST little girls). And Kate Middleton actually fulfilled that dream! She found the handsome prince, fell in love, married him, and became a real life princess! It's the stuff of fairy tales, but in this case, it's actually real life. We all wanted to watch so we could live vicariously through Princess Catherine, if only for a brief moment.  If we couldn't be the Princess, then we could pretend in our minds as we watched the wedding.

If you think I'm exaggerating, just imagine how much money Disney has made over the years selling Princess Stuff! We girls grow up playing dress up, twirling around in frilly dresses and begging our mom's to let us wear a little of her makeup.  Many of us, at one time or another, forced a brother (or even a sister) to play the part of the prince so we could act out our pretend wedding.  My sister-in-law even mentioned in her blog recently that she has had a secret crush on Prince William for years and fantasized about how she would meet and marry him someday.

And who wouldn't want to?  He's not only good-looking and charming but he is also a caring and compassionate person.  Kate really got quite the catch.  I'm sure Diana is looking down on her son and is very proud of the man he turned out to be.  Not only did he do his civic duty by serving in the military, he also learned from his mother to be giving and serving and has gone on many humanitarian trips to poverty stricken parts of the world.  I was blown away when I heard recently that he once slept under a bridge to find out what it's like for the homeless.  He made friends with people during his various travels, people that he and Kate ended up inviting to their wedding.

It's hard NOT to be pulled in by all of that.  No wonder Kate fell in love.  And all of us watching were reminded that sometimes fairy tales do actually come true...