The Honey wash is SWEET!

Well, I've been washing with honey for a month now and the results are that I LOVE IT!!!

I was amazed to see that yes...it moisturizes....and YES it does help with acne. Both at once is pretty cool.

I can't use oil on my face. For all of you ladies out there that can use coconut oil as a wash/moisturizer...I'm so jealous! I LOVE coconut oil and I use it as much as possible, but if it so much as touches my face, I have a blemish in that area within a few hours. Obviously, oil on my face is a HUGE problem. Even when using essential oils in grapeseed oil...if I apply it to my face, it's like a get a rash of acne there the next day.

Using apple cider vinegar on a cotton ball is still my answer if I have a major breakout because it calms it, cleans it, and gets rid of any infected areas. But if I use it for several days straight my face begins to feel a little dry. (That tells you just how oily my skin is naturally!!! Most people can handle the vinegar! Too drying.)

So I've decided to wash using a combination of the raw apple cider vinegar and the Honey.

Every day, I'll wash with 1/2 tsp of raw honey morning and night, but if for some reason I get a bad breakout, I'll use the vinegar first, then the honey.

I've stopped wearing all make up...except for Church or going on Dates...not willing to go that far, (yet!) in my journey to becoming a total granola girl. My husband likes me better without makeup, so that's nice. :)

The honey hasn't taken care of every little blemish, but it's done better than most other things that I have tried....and I admit it.... I LIKE it that I can lick my lips while washing my face and taste the sweetness :) It's such a good wholesome feeling to only put edible/safe things on your skin.

I really like how honey makes a mask. just put it on with some warm water, and over 10 minutes it dries into a nice mask. My skin looks really radiant after doing that, but it takes a bit of time so I don't do it as often as I should. But honestly, it's so much more pleasant than clay masks!

I think I'm going to stick with this routine. It's working for me, and I like the way it makes me feel!

All the uses for raw honey are just, well, SWEET!

Some interesting side notes about faces: My cousin who went to Europe years ago said most of the ladies there looked SO YOUNG in comparison with American ladies. He said he was convinced it was because most of the women he saw did NOT WEAR MAKE UP. His theory was that as soon as you start wearing make up regularly, it damages your skin, ages you, and makes your skin addicted to the make up. Once you start using it, you NEED it.

On another note: My 94 year old Grandma Alice has always had a great complexion. She always told us children to never use soap on our faces...she said it was too harsh and messed the skin up. She always stood by the idea of only washing your face with hot water morning and night, and that was all anybody needed to get a healthy complexion. It sure worked well for her and she's stayed looking years younger than her peers.

Wash your face with honey?

Guess what...crazy of crazies, I am going to start trying to wash my face with raw honey.

Many people have sworn by cocounut oil...I LOVE coconut oil, and it makes my face look & feel beautiful for about 3 days, then I break out in HORRIBLE acne. I'm guessing from plugged skin pores?

Many people have recommended that I wash with apple cider vinegar. I have liked and enjoyed this. It has cleared up infections, it is a refreshing astringent, and it does pretty good...but my skin is not vibrant or clear like I want. It leaves me still searching for a better option.

I have tried burdock, and other dock herbs, and some plantain, but I don't think I've tried enough of them for a long enough period of time to tell what kind of difference it could make.

Soooo....I think the time is ripe to take this challenge:

http://crunchybetty.com/honey-challenge

wash your face with honey and water for 2 weeks...that's the challenge.

Since my hubby is a bee keeper, and we have some organic, raw, & Pure honey...it will be a very interesting experience to go ahead and try!

Will post results in At the end of July after the two weeks!

Holiday Blech!

I have been struggling ever since Thanksgiving.

I had been doing so good on my no-sugar quest.

Then the Holidays hit. There was several amazing looking pies at Thanksgiving, and I figured I could get away with just two small half-slices to try them out. I immediately got an incredible buzz. Then my head started to ache and my stomach started to churn. I didn't sleep well that night.

Yikes. I will say this for super healthy eating: the worst part about it for me is that I have a hard time being able to go back and enjoy some social desserts! I wish I could enjoy a slice of chocolate every now and then without feeling sick.

So, the other bad part is that this kind of cheating usually puts me on a negative cycle that then escalates out of control, not to mention weakening my will when the next treat comes along. And they always do come along! I used to say to myself "No sugar except for special occasion!" Then I discovered that in our American Culture there was a special occasion nearly every day! That wasn't going to work!

When I eat no sugar at all for about 2 weeks, it's totally out of my system and I no longer crave it or think much about it. However, once I taste it...whether for a social occasion, or on accident, it starts an incredible craving. Then I start finding excuses to have a little bit here and a little bit there. Next thing I know, I'm sitting down to a whole plate of Christmas cookies!

That's what happened today. I had been subtly cheating on my goal more and more since those Thanksgiving pies. Today, there happened to be many kinds of Christmas cookies in my house from various activities and functions. They looked so good I couldn't resist, I had to have a "little" of everything. Now I'm sick and tired. A nasty headache behind my right eye, ear, and then to the back of my head. Why do I do this to myself?!?

I guess I really have to face up to the truth: my body and sugar do not get along. I know lots of people who can enjoy their desserts without these consequences, but I am just not one of them. I have to choose between my health and my treats, and it is not a happy one for me. I'd much rather enjoy some goodies throughout the Christmas season!

I'm trying to get my strength of will back (where did it go?!?) to go back to no sugar. It's all or nothing, I guess. It's a mournful situation for me because so many family traditions are tied to food and it is so heart breaking to even try and change them. But I can't afford to be sick, so what's a girl to do? I can't have my cake and eat it too! (Haha, pun intended!)

The importance of FOOD

My kids, especially Dorathy, have a love affair with food. Dorathy spends long hours studying cookbooks and food presentation. She said to me last night, "Mom, I LOVE food...I mean I REALLY love it!" Here are some of her play-doh creations representing food. She wants to own a bakery.

So it's been a bit of a hard change with me altering my personal eating habits and ways of feeding the family. We've been through a lot in my house in the food department. Overall, my kids have been really good sports about it all! Every once and a while, though, they ask me when will I ever bake cookies and goodies again???

Last week I was trying to make a healthy ice cream in my Vitamix using oranges and cabbage, and other veggies. I went a little heavy on the carrots and cabbage. Some of them liked it, but other kids commented," Mom, this ice cream tastes like....VEGETABLES! So I tried again, using more oranges and lots of frozen banannas...and even with the vegetables they LOVED it!!! No more store bought desserts at my house! Now it's just fruits and veggies made into sorbets of all kinds. And the occasional sprouted grain baked treat with honey or other natural sweetener.

It all started with the Triathlon and meeting new people. I was trying to train and become more healthy. I wanted to change my eating habits. I felt that I just wasn't eating healthy enough. I knew I wanted to give up sugar, but that wasn't enough to give me the results I was looking for.

One of the ladies who was training was also on facebook. I had met her previously at a Homeschool Talent show. She posted that she had just published an ebook called the "Fruit Predominant Diet". I began checking out her blogs and reading her recipes. I was very intruiged because she is a member of my church and follows the guidelines in our scriptures called "The Word of Wisdom".

So, after a few months of deliberating, and chatting with her on facebook, I bought her ebook and read it. It helped me go through a paradigm shift. My husband and I began trying to eat our first two meals a day 100% raw, and predominantly fruit. We both lost a lot of weight up front. At a few points, we also suffered "withdrawal" symptoms from a "detox" as our body got used to us eating differently. We did a "Juice Fast" with good results, and experienced increased energy, awareness, and a marked lack of illness and exhaustion.

We haven't kept up all we've learned perfectly. That many fundamental changes are hard to maintain! But I have received a personal testimony that my eating changes are good because when I follow them I feel GREAT. Eating mostly whole, raw, unprocessed foods fills me with life, clarity, and energy. When I don't, I feel lethargic, congested, tired, and sick. It's a very clear difference!

I began taking a few herbal classes from a local Master Herbalist. I spent a lot of time talking to the students who were taking more classes than I was and learning from them. I am hoping to learn more about Natural Healing. Time and money are two obstacles keeping me from progressing as much as I'd like. I feel like a baby who has just stumbled onto a whole new world of awakening, and that I am just toddling around on baby feet, making mistakes and babbling baby talk.

Long story short, my menu and my cupboards and my fridge look totally different than they used to! I have gotten down to my marriage weight. I never thought I would get down below 130 ever again! I am now a size 8, and now I'm thinking I could eventually lose another 10 lbs and get down to a size 6. Just yesterday, I saw an unheard of 128 on my scale! I am completely amazed.

I've noticed a HUGE difference between exercising and eating well. If I could only choose one, I'd choose eating well. Just exercise alone won't do nearly as much. I could be exercising everyday, and if I am eating unhealthy, I'll feel tired and get sick. But this week, I discovered that even though I'm not exercising as often as I'd like, I can still run for 3 miles at a good pace without stopping...I've never before felt that I "Could Run and Not be Weary, and Walk and Not Faint." It's an exhilarating experience to run and feel light as a feather and just feel like you could keep going forever. I've never felt that way before. I like it! A lot! Enough to keep eating my greens and leave the cookies in the garbage can. :)

I feel amazingly good. I don't worry about getting sick. I have lots of energy and feel healthy. Now I just need to try and get more sleep!!! That's my next goal: 8 hrs of sleep a night instead of only 5 or 6! I think I'd rather live a long and healthy life than be burning the candle at both ends. It is a very big sacrifice for me to not have my hours of quiet night life. I'm working on it!

Julianna is my one kid who hasn't had any trouble adjusting to new eating habits.

She loves her fresh fruits and veggies! This night she decided she wanted a HUGE green pepper for dinner!

She took it outside and chowed down!

YUM YUM

More Triathlon Pictures

They "tatooed"us with our number on our calves & arms, and wrote our swim heat numbers on our hands.

Lucky #133, for Laura who is 33~

Look, I'm getting smile wrinkles ;)

My First Triathlon!!!

500 meter swim! 12.5 mile bike ride! 4 mile run!!!

I just completed my first Triathlon!!!!

HURRAY!!!!

WOW! I've completed my FIRST EVER TRIATHLON!!! Here is me and my sister, all TRIUMPHANT!!!!

If you had told me, even a year ago, that I would complete a triathlon, I would have laughed at you and told you that you were crazy! I was the kid who never liked sports, didn't care for PE, and would have rather read than played at recess. Before this event, the longest I have ever run is 2 miles, the longest I have ever swam is maybe 4 laps (MAYBE!), and the longest I'd ever biked was a one-time 9 miles. (and I thought I was going to die).

I was at an educational conference in Portland, when it was announced at a church Relief Society meeting in April 2010 that they were sponsoring a women's triathlon, where every woman would be encouraged to try their best, and participate as much as they could. We were promised blessings of physical health and spiritual well-being. So I totally missed out on all the inpsiring talks at the get-g0. I didn't have their vision for what it was suppose to be. The next week, my friend Heidi called me to tell me about the triathlon. She was so excited!

But I was NOT excited. She asked me to participate...but I said, "I don't think so." I felt upset. In my mind I was shouting "NO NO NO! I can't add one more thing to the list! I don't have the time, energy, or desire to do a triathlon! That's just not me. You can't ask me! You can't make me! I was very negative about it. I told my husband that I had made up my mind NOT to do it. But he surprised me. He said,"Laura, I think that is a great idea! I will support you in this. I think you will do great and really love it." With that positive note, I felt a little better. I thought, well, if my husband can support me being gone from him and the kids, maybe I can do it! But I still wasn't sure. It was too big a commitment.

Heidi kept right on asking me, though. Heidi was so filled with love and enthusiasm, she pulled me right in. So, I caved in to the positive peer pressure, thinking..."Well, I can always back out later if I decide I can't do it." Many of my friends were enthusiastic and were setting up training schedules. For the first two months, I hardly even exercised and didn't train at all. I was too busy at home with kids and homeschooling.

When School was out, I started training a little bit. I posted earlier about my scary experiences with 2 bad migraines after swimming. It scared me REAL bad. I don't know if it was the Chlorine, or if it was because of sitting in the spa, but I had to fight off panic attacks at just the smell of Chlorine. I was so worried that a migraine would hit me out of nowhere and lay me out cold for the rest of the day. I suffered anxiety just thinking about the swimming pool. If someone mentioned "swimming" my heart would start to pound a mile a minute.

After a month, I realized that I had to overcome my fear and not allow panic to rule my life. I was avoiding the swimming part of the training, and it wasn't helping my mental health to let that continue. A scripture came to mind: 2nd Timothy, 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love, and of a sound mind" Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you, be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you, wherever you go." Fear doesn't come from God. He offers us faith, love, and confidence. I needed to trust in Him.

Even though I only swam an average of once a week instead of 3x per week like I wanted to, I eventually went from a 40 minute swim time with rests after every lap, to a 30 minute rest time with a rest after every 2 or 3 laps, down to a 20 minute swim time where I could alternate breast and back stroke....finally 2 weeks before the Triathlon, I got down to a 15 minute swim time, and I was able to swim the entire thing without stopping, doing the breast stroke all the way. I never learned the Australian craw, or how to do flip-turns...those will be skills for another year, I hope!

The Biking was REALLY hard at first! The first couple of times I went with my lady friends, I thought my legs were going to fall off! I couldn't keep up with them. The burn in my thighs was SO bad. I had to turn back early the first few times. It was really exciting, however, to see how each time I went on the bike it got easier. I got faster. My endurance increased. By the end of the summer, I felt like I could bike 50 miles. I felt like going forever and ever. A few times I was able to go running 2 miles after I got off the bike. I only got to do that twice.

I discovered that it was VERY difficult to find 2 hours for exercising everyday. I can handle one hour. But in order to train correctly, I really needed 2 hours a day and that was hard to come by. My kids had to be very tolerant. Often It was Christopher changing Julianna's stinky diaper and all the kids scrounging for their own breakfast. It would break my heart that if I happened to be home when Julianna would wake up, she'd yell in delight "Mommy's home! Mommy's Home!" As if it were a big surprise that I was actually in the house in the morning!

It was very hard for me to leave my kids to exercise. Every morning I would wake up between 5 and 5:30 a.m. I would make myself a smoothie, grab some fruit, and then exercise from 6 to 8. Once school started, I needed to get home earlier...and that was when I was suppose to be pushing it longer! Then it started getting dark in the mornings, and it was getting scary to ride bikes in the foggy rainy dark. We had to start training later and later, which was biting into my day's schedule.

Here is a group of ladies I trained with: Me, My sister, Stephanie, Heidi, and Kirsten

The swimming and biking really increased my endurance to the point where it wasn't nearly as hard to run as it used to be. I usually have to run then walk, and alternate to keep my heart rate down. But during the triathlon, my body really found a rhythm, and I was able to run pretty much the whole way.

SO.....on the day of the big Triathlon, I asked Scott to have the kids at the stadium to welcome me across the finish line. I told him to be there between 10 and 10:30, because I wasn't sure if I could run the whole way, and I was expecting to walk a good portion. In adding up the times of when I would exercise the three portions separately, I estimated that it would take me 2.5 hours to complete the triathlon.

My swim time began at 8 a.m., so I told my husband he could arrive as early as 10 to cheer me past the finish line, but not to worry about it till 1o:30.

Boy was I suprised when I finished the Triathlon in less than 2 hours!!! (In this triathlon, they didn't count transition times between events because of some location difficulties...but that's another story.)

Laura Returns, Victorious!!!

Laura, Kirsten, Mary, Nona, heidi, Stephanie, & Whitney. We are all MOMS! The theme of our triathlon was "TRI-YOUR-BEST" We all got a cute homemade medal and waterbottle as we crossed the finish line. We all got t-shirts for participating. They had a reward ceremony later, lots of fun & good feelings. Between all of us we had 25+ kids. There were lots of Grandma's in this triathlon. Some of them trained with their daughters and granddaughters. Some people did teams, like a relay race.

Here is Nona, my dear friend! We started biking from her house every morning throughout the summer. We had so many fun & uplifting talks while training. I was so nervous that after exercising with my fun ladies all summer, that I would have a hard time completing the triathlon by myself. They had strict rules: no electronic devices. And we weren't allowed to bike side by side. (for safety, of course). Nona helped encourage me through everything. I kept on telling her, If I could just be behind you the whole triathlon, I'll be fine! Well, lo and behold, I was put in Nona's Swimming lane! So we swam together, biked near to each other, and even walked together till I started RUNNING! It was a great emotional boost to have her by me most of the way. I swam at the same time as my sister, Mary Cate, but she was FAST! She swam with the ease of a mermaid and was one of the first out of the pool, while I was one of the last. The swimming was definitely the hardest part for me. In trying to swim with 5 other ladies in the same lane who were faster than me and passing me up, I thought I was going to DIE! All those feet and arms everywhere, and the water filled with air bubbles so I couldn't see where I was going. It was a difficult start. I wasn't able to do the whole thing without stopping. I still swam in only 15 minutes, but I had to stop a few times and catch my breath, and I had to do a few other strokes to rest my muscles.

The Biking was my Favorite Part! I never thought I would grow to love biking so much. At first, I found it really scary. Now, I feel like I am flying! I was passing people like crazy! It was an exhilarating experience! But the BEST PART of the whole thing, was that whenever I passed by someone coming back, they would cheer for us. (We went 6 miles one way, then doubled back on the same street on the opposite side.)

The love, joy, and enthusiasm was catching! I felt a great surge of love for all the people I was competing with. When I was running during the 5K portion, I would slow down to chat with people and encourage them, and then I would speed up again.

Every time we passed someone on the bike ride, people were calling out "Great Job!' "Way to go!" "Looking good!" "Keep it up!" "WHOOHOO!"

And so on, and so forth. We were all cheering each other on.

There were several groups of families camped out along the route with posters and signs cheering out for their loved ones. But they cheered US on, too. I can't express how fantastic that made me feel!

Many people had a favorite hymn or scripture that they sung or recited in their head, as a mantra, to keep them focused and inspired. I had a favorite song I heard when I was a teenager that I remembered and it ran through my head through the entire triathlon. It supported me and gave me strength and vision to keep going and enduring:

"My Father rules the heavens,

My Mother is a Queen.

My brother is a champion,

He's Called the King of Kings

And I was once among them,

A spirit, born of God.

Created by His Mighty Hand:

A Warrior for his cause.

I was born a winner,

A royal spirit breathes it's life in me!

I was born a winner,

Destined for Eternal Victory!

Born to Win! Born to Win!

There are a few more verses, but this verse was the one that ran through my head the whole time. There was an incredible spirit of love, sisterhood, and acceptance that was there today. There were a few people who had a hard time getting to the finish line, and we would run up to them and hold their hand, and shout encouragements. There was no dog-eat-dog competition here. No race to "win". We were all doing our best, racing against ourselves to get the best time they could for our own benefit.

So I don't have my final time scores yet. (2 more days!) But I was able to run almost the entire 4 miles (Minus 2 fast water breaks and one port-a-potty bathroom break!)

The ironic part of my great time: I missed my family by 5 minutes! I was sprinting for the finish line, and arrived at the gate, slowing down asking, "What's my time?" Because that is where they started our running time from! When they timer guys shouted to me "Don't stop now! Keep running! The finish line is down there!" And I looked to find the Finish line was on the other side of the track. I yelled "Darn!" because I had just sprinted with the last of my energy to what I THOUGHT was the end!!! The finish line looked SO far away!

Endurance, endurance, endurance.

I thought I would collapse, but I pushed myself and really ran for the finish line! It was so great! Except that I kept looking for my husband and kids, and nobody was there. However, everyone in the stadium was cheering for me, whether they knew me or not. My sister beat me by several minutes (She was a SPEEDY runner, even though she didn't run once during training! I'll do another post on that so you can hear all about her amazing health discoveries!)

It was an exhilarating experience. I will remember it for as long as I live. I feel a sense of euphoria. It was like giving birth to a baby. I planned, prepared, and worked for something wonderful that took a lot of time, effort, and pain to produce. (Without feeling sick for 9 months, haha.)

I can see why people get excited to be a part of something like this.

I would definitely like to do a Triathlon again!!!

This experience has changed me for the better. I've learned some great things about endurance, self-discipline, and health. I'm in better physical condition at the age of 33 that I have ever been in my life! I feel great!

My goal isn't to be a super-skinny athlete. My desire is to be able to "Run and not be Weary, and to Walk and not Faint". I want to be a healthy, energetic Mother who has the ability to play and be active with her children, and still has enough energy left over to work on personal hobbies. If I'm to live a long and healthy life, some minor sacrifices are worth it. If I'm to be the kind of parent who can exercise with her teenagers, and be able to run races with my future Grandkids, then I've got to be in GREAT shape now...and stay that way!

That is a goal worth exercising for!

Another Migraine

I got another migraine today.

2 migraines in 2 weeks is not a happy thing.

This migraine hit me about 30 minutes after working out at the swimming pool again. So, I'm thinking there must be a trigger there.

Either the pool chemicals, or the changes between hot and cold water, or just working out too hard.

All I know is, if the migraines don't stop, I'll be canceling my pool pass and dropping out of the triathlon. I can't handle loosing an entire day once a week. It's not fair to my family: either Christopher has to watch all his younger siblings, or Scott has to call in sick to work and stay home to take care of me. Not to mention it wipes me out for about 48 hrs afterwards.

So I'm going to take a week break from the pool. I'm going to call and ask when they put the chemicals in the water, so I can make sure I don't swim right after it's been treated. I'm also going to stop using the spa. Scott and his Dad both think it's the change from working out in the cold water to going to relax in the hot water.

For myself, I'm not sure what caused it. Both times I got the migraine, I think I pushed myself too hard in the water and got some water up my nose and down my throat. I have worked out at the pool one time WITHOUT getting a migraine. That particular time I only sat in the spa for 60 seconds instead of 5 minutes.

Today when I got out of the pool, I couldn't see well out of my left eye. I thought it was just the after affect of the goggles. So I relaxed in the spa for a few minutes and then went home. But by the time I got in the shower, I saw the rainbow kaleidoscope across my vision. It was a sparkly rainbow that changed shape and slowly moved across my vision. It looks slightly like the "afterburn" you get when you stare at a light for too long, but it doesn't go away. That warning gives me about 30 minutes to take some painkillers and crawl into a bed in a dark room and hibernate for the next 5 hours while waves of nausea roll over me and my ears are ringing like crazy. When the migraine finally hit for real, I feel like a truck had slammed into me.

When I finally woke up, mostly recovered, the rest of the a day I feel like I'm in a fog and my eyes and ears are extra sensitive. I guess I should feel blessed that getting over these migraines is a 5 hour deal instead of the unlucky few who struggle from 24 to 72 hrs.

Time to go to bed. If these migraines don't stop, I'm going to become paranoid at all the possible "triggers". I just want to know WHY I'm having them, when I've never had them in my life before. Both times it has been 30 minutes after being done swimming at the pool. So there is an obvious connection.

Just wish I knew what it was!

Braces in 2011

Whoop-de-doo....we are now entering the new and as-yet unexplored realm of orthodontics in our family.

Christopher got his first consultation this week for getting braces put on in the near future. I've known this day was coming since his permanent teeth first came in. I'm glad we've gotten to wait this long!

He will probably be getting braces on a little after his 12th birthday. By the time his braces come off, it will be just in time to put Dorathy's braces on!

Christopher just needs to loose his last 3 baby molars and let the permanent teeth come in. They want all the permanent teeth in before they start the ordeal, but they don't want to wait too long because Chris has a canine that has been stuck for a while. It has no place to come down to. If it starts to descend before they put the braces on, it will cause who knows what kind of havoc in his mouth.

They say it should take about 18 months to straighten out Christopher's teeth and correct his overbite.

I had braces on for 2 1/2 years from the age of 13 yrs to 15 1/2 yrs. I remember what a pain they were, but how WONDERFUL it was when they were taken off! Having my teeth fit together, and my underbite corrected was such a miracle. Chewing used to give me headaches.

Dorathy's braces will be a bit more complicated. She already has a cross-bite and much more crooked teeth than Chris. She has one tooth that is completely sideways and to the back. (I used to have more than one of those!).

My kids asked me the other day, "What did people to before they invented braces?"

"They had crooked teeth." I answered.

"That doesn't sound so bad." they replied.

"No, it's not so bad. Most people don't get to have braces...they just have to deal with crooked teeth. But believe me, straight teeth are NICE!" I assured them.

"Well, is it a serious condition?" Christopher was anxious to know. "Has anyone ever, well,....DIED because of crooked teeth?"

"Of course not!" I laughed, "Well not as far as I know!"

"Well then, why should I get braces?" he asked sincerely. "I could live with crooked teeth!"

While at the Dentist's office, Christopher was most concerned over what he would or wouldn't be able to eat. He was very distressed to find out that his candy choice would be limited. (not that he eats that much candy...but I guess it's really important to him!

It looks like the cost for the braces is comparable to a monthly car payment.

One more reason to keep on driving my paid-for van until it absolutely falls apart! But I'll keep fantasizing about my dream 12 passenger van where I can separate my kids so they're not poking each other and screaming "She touched me!" in the back seat.

Soooo....it's time to start saving up our money! I guess as the kids get older, their needs get greater, and the pocket-book gets tighter. I'm going to be practicing some penny-pinching skills!!!

I hope the next 3 kids have straight teeth! If they could inherit Scott's great teeth instead of my crooked bad ones, that would be such a blessing!

Triathlon

I may be crazy to take more things on at this point in my life, but I've signed up to participate in a Triathlon. My good friend, Heidi, has become chairperson in our area to organize this event. Her enthusiasm and passion for life and good health are catching, and she's swept up a whole crowd of us in her wake! Go, Heidi! If it weren't for her, I would never have dreamed up participating in this!!! I must admit, that when she first mentioned it to me, I was NOT excited.

Only 1% of all Americans have ever completed a Triathlon. It has honestly never been one of my goals. My most ambitious physical goal recently has been to be able to jog 3.5 miles without stopping. I thought I might someday complete a 5K marathon.

Our church, however, has decided to sponsor a Women's Triathlon and they challenged the women to participate in it to the best of their ability, even if they only did part of one event. When I deliberated and then reluctantly told Heidi to count me in, I didn't know how much training this was going to take! And this Triathlon is just about the smallest one out there. WOW to all of you athletes out there to whom this will sound like a piece of cake:

Our event will consist of:

Swimming 20 lengths (or 10 laps)

Biking 15 miles

Run/walk 5K

I figured the swimming would be the hardest part for me, since I never really graduated from swimming lessons as a child. (biking scares me too, so that will be a challenge) My version of swimming was to never go under water unless my nose was plugged. I got better at being in the water when my family moved to Texas and we had a swimming pool for 7 years. But I've never really swum more than a few laps at a time.

I honestly have never been the athletic type. The only team sports I ever played was one season of soccer when I was 9 years old. I got kicked in the shins repeatedly, and the other kids looked like gigantic monsters to me. I was small and not very fast. During the games, I felt like I was getting beat up. I didn't like it at all, and was very happy when the ordeal was over.

The only other organized sports I played in was Pee Wee Basketball. My Dad would take us kids every Saturday in the winter to these Pee Wee church Basketball practices and games. Honestly, I spent more time on the bench than on the court. I'm not sure I ever made a basket in those early years. When I played, I tended to get my baby teeth knocked out of my head. My accomplishments were dribbling some and learning to pass the ball as quickly as I could if it was ever passed to me!

In school when we had to run races, I was almost always in the last few stragglers that came panting in at the end. My best mile run ever was 8 minutes 30 seconds. My usual score was between 9 and 10 minutes. During Gym and recess, I was usually the last one picked for teams. I didn't let it bother me too much, I just figured it wasn't my forte.

I remember at the end of 5th grade, they encouraged all the kids to try out for the sports teams for the middle school. I told myself, "Why not? How do I know unless I try?" So I signed up for try-outs. I tried out for softball, basketball, and volleyball. I was pretty disappointed when I discovered that I wasn't even put on the waiting list for any of them.

That was the point where I cemented my view of myself: Sports are just not for me! I decided to try choir after that. It was hard for me to be even willing to do anything like volleyball at a family reunion, let alone in any kind of competitive atmosphere. All my experiences reinforced my beliefs about myself: Laura is not athletic.

So speed up 21 years....how do I end up choosing to train to do a triathlon?

Here's some history, skip it if it bores you:

During my first year of marriage, I gained 2o lbs just from not eating healthy!(and not exercising much beyond walking the college campus) This will probably gross you out, but Scott's idea of a Saturday morning treat was to share a dozen doughnuts with me and then fry up a pound of bacon. Eventually I realized that I had to learn how to cook instead of living off of junk food. Then I got pregnant and gained 45 lbs. During this time, I pretty much never exercised. My idea of fun is sitting on the couch all day reading books, not walking around the block. I didn't know I was in trouble, however, until after I had my first baby.

As I got close to delivery, I noticed that my heart was so weak that getting up off the couch could give me heart palpations. Then I was surprised when my post-natal recovery was super slow. I couldn't walk around the block without getting dizzy for about 2 months after I had Christopher. I wasn't loosing baby weight very fast, either. Being 23 years old and overweight wasn't very fun. So I began walking everyday with my sister around BYU. It also helped that I had a neighbor who was very athletic. She's was the type who could run a marathon 9 months pregnant.

This neighbor and I became very close friends, and she was a great example to me. Just from talking and hanging out with her, I became more interested in having better health. She invited me to go jogging with her...ugh...I HATED jogging. But she was fun to talk to and I wanted to see if I could do it, so I went anyway. I felt myself getting stronger. I felt more energetic...man I felt GOOD...and I began to loose weight! I was almost back to my marriage weight, and it was very exciting.

Then I got pregnant with baby #2, but had a miscarriage around 18 weeks. For everyone who knows me, they know I gain a LOT of weight during my pregnancies and carry big from the get-go. It was depressing recovering and healing, and no matter how hard I exercised, that baby weight did not want to come off. So when I got pregnant with Dorathy a few months later, I gained baby weight on top of prior baby fat. By the time I was 9 months pregnant with her, I weighed 205 lbs. That is really big for my 5 foot 4" stature. That is the heaviest I have ever been.

After I gave birth to Darling Dorathy, I felt a strong desire to get control of my life by exercising and eating with more self-discipline. My sister and I now walk/jogged everyday a few miles to and from and then around the Provo Temple. We walked up and down massive hills pushing a double stroller. I gave up my nightly treats of ice cream and ate daily spinach salads instead. And miracle of miracle, it WORKED! I was able to loose 75 lbs in a couple of months. I felt like a new person. I looked like a new person!

During Pregnancy #3 with baby Courtney, I once again packed the weight on, but thankfully I didn't gain as much weight as my previous pregnancies. I think this was the first pregnancy that I started out with being in good shape. I felt an immense difference in my energy level. Still, my post-natal recovery, wasn't the best. I had recently moved to Willamina, OR, and I was lonely and depressed. There was NO good place to exercise. The streets were narrow, filled with pot holes, and in general bad repair. I was stressed out with Scott working nights at a new job, having to keep a screaming newborn baby quiet so my husband could sleep during the day, and having 3 children at home with me under the age of 5 in a town of only 1500 people, and there was NOTHING TO DO!

So, I turned to chocolate. This was the first time I ever really noticed becoming addicted to sugar. I totally used sugar to medicate myself. I was eating it before breakfast...and in between and after every meal. My after-baby weightloss had plateaued...and then began to RISE!!! I totally freaked out about that. I did not want to be heavy and out of shape again! Some family members had heard of the Suzanne Summers Diet, and they were having good results, so I decided to give it a try. I started it when Courtney was 8 months old and I had just moved to Dallas. By the time my baby was 12 months old, I had lost a good 30 lbs! I was back to my normal self. But eating this way took massive self-control: NO SUGAR allowed, and I had to eat fruit separate, 20 min. before a meal, and then I could never combine carbs and fats. Meat and dairy could never meet either. On this diet I spent WAY too much money on specialty foods. It was also getting tiresome to have to make a separate meal for myself every day. My family had no desire to follow my eating habits. So I eventually gave it up. I packed quite a few pounds back on when I went back a normal diet, and of course I went back to eating sugary treats.

With those extra pounds on, I then got pregnant with Angel. I gained my normal 45 lbs, and it didn't want to come off fast like I hoped it would. I didn't start to really make progress and loose weight again until right before I got pregnant with Julianna. Having a great exercise partner was the thing that helped me the most. This pregnancy was really hard on my body, probably just because I was so much older, and had to take care of a large family. After I gave birth, exercise alone did nothing to shed pounds. I found out that I was hypo-thyroid, and my metabolism was very slow. It was also hard to do anything or go anywhere when I had a colicky baby that screamed for 4 to 6 hours everyday. Julianna HATED the stroller.

Last summer I finally began jogging again, and I saw some improvement. Julianna was finally big enough to enjoy the walks. I spent almost a full year entirely giving up Sugar in all forms, and it did help a little. I think I was able to loose about 30 lbs, mostly just from staying away from sweets.

I have been trying ever since to loose those last 10 lbs, and my body has not wanted to cooperate. If jogging 3 miles a day won't do it, what will? I think our bodies like stability and really fight change. You sometimes have to do something drastic to shake things up. I'm sure I could do it If I just poured enough mental energy into the project, but I feel like I'm all used up in focusing on other areas of my life.

So I'm using Heidi's energy to spur me along with this triathlon project. I've gone back to giving up sugar, and I am trying to exercise 5/6 days per week instead of just 3. This time Scott is exercising along with me, and that has been loads of fun! Christopher gets to babysit, and then Scott and I get our "us" time while jogging/biking/swimming. They are some of the best dates we've ever had!

When I capitulated and agreed to join the Triathlon, I realized, "This is it!" This will be the venue to help inspire me to change. And with this being such a huge goal for me, I figure, if I can do this, I can do anything! Maybe after completing this triathlon, I'll have to realign my paradigm. "Laura is an athletic Mom who can do hard things!"

Who knows what will be next? Cross country skiing? A Biking Trip? Backpacking? White water rafting? It's fun to do something new, and feel the possibilities of what I could learn in the future open up before my gaze. My long term goal is to be healthy enough so that I can participate in athletic types of activities with my children when they are all older.

My short-term goal is just to be able to finish this triathlon. I have no desire to get a "good time" nor to compete. I hate competition.

I'm going to have to be careful and not push myself in my training. I did my first swim last week, and made the mistake of doing too much. I ended up with a nasty migraine that night as payment. It has scared me to the bone. I never want another migraine!

My current workout schedule will be:

M- walk/swim

T-walk/jog 3 to 5 miles

W-run/swim

TH-walk/jog 3 to 5 miles

Fri-bike/swim

Saturday-Biking

Am I crazy or what? Wish me Luck!

Here's to better health!

All's Well that Ends Well!

Happy Happy news!

Everything is just fine. The ultrasound on my right breast showed nothing unusual: no cause for further worry.

According to the Doctor and Radiologist, it is just as I had suspected (and hoped) : the lump was nothing more than an enlarged milk duct. Even though Julianna has been weaned for over a month, such things are pretty common.

I appreciate my Midwife's desire to be extremely precautious. And it was still a good reality check for me!

All the same, I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief that I don't have any biopsies, surgeries, or cancer in my near future...

In the meantime, I am recommitting myself to a healthy life style of good eating, regular exercise, and reaching my weight loss goal: just 9 more pounds to go!

Freaking Out

I had an experience today that thoroughly freaked me out.

I went to my Midwife for my yearly check up.

She said I have some suspicious tissue in both breasts, and a lump in one breast.

So I'm going to the Mcminnville Hospital Monday morning to get an ultrasound done.

My midwife urged me not to freak out, assuring me there was only a 1 in 500 chance that it could be cancer....so of course I'm totally freaking out, and completely stressed to the max. Visions of biopsies, chemotheropy, and my funeral all bouncing around in my head.

Honestly, I'm sure things just feel weird because I'm in the in-between stage of weaning Julianna. It's probably a swollen milk duct, or something....

BUT

My greatest fear has always been dying of cancer. And it's just a little bit of an awakening to have to face even the HINT of your own mortality.

I'm sure everything will be fine. After venting to a few people, I feel much better.

I will post what the radiologist discovers on Monday.