". . . called their name Adam. . ."

Last night I was speaking with a very nice lady, but was a bit bothered when she started talking about her husband in a negative way. It was not a "big" issue she was complaining about. She was just bothered because she liked having short hair, and he liked her hair to be longer.

Big deal.

Honestly, if my husband had a preference, I would cut my hair to suit him. Not because he "made me," but because I love him and he's the one I want to please. As it is, my husband does not seem to have a preference in that area, but does have requests in other areas.

The other day, my husband was mentioning how the Bible says, in Gen. 5:2, that God made Adam and Eve, and blessed them, ". . .and called their name Adam." In other words, God saw Adam and Eve as one being. Two parts of a whole.

If someone were to speak bad about part of you (say your voice or your natural hair color), wouldn't you be offended? Yet, many times, spouses speak ill of each other without giving it a second thought.

Honestly, when I hear someone speak negatively about their spouse, I usually have a poor impression of the person who's doing the speaking. Haven't you ever wondered, "Why did she marry that guy if he's such a jerk?!?"

I know we're far from perfect, but I do believe my husband and I have a good relationship because neither of us makes a habit of speaking ill of the other.

I love my husband! :)

In Memory of My Mom

January is known to be the month of "new beginnings," but I don't always look

forward to this month of the year. When I was 5 years old, my baby brother died in January. When I was 17 years old, my mother died in January. Both are in heaven. . . but both are missed.

I'm writing this post because the end of January marks 20 years that my mother has been gone. I don't want to tell you how her death has affected me, but rather how her life influenced me. I love you Mom!

My mom was sick. . . often. She developed Mono and Hepatitis C when she was a young adult.Though I don't know all the medical "lingo," I do know that the Hepatitis C causes Cirrhosis of the liver. Through her life, my mother had many health issues due to those two illnesses. In 1992 she had a liver transplant, but her body did not accept it. She died at the age of 42.

Through all her sickness, my mother never "let on" about how badly she felt. She was a very strong and determined woman. She was given a poor prognosis early on, but it did not cause her to give up. She often said she wanted to live long enough to see me graduate high school and get married. . . she did not make it for either.

She was a wonderful mom and all the friends in my neighborhood thought she was the "cool" mom. They would come over and chat with her and I remember one of my friends even bringing her roses when she was sick. She loved buying things for me, but didn't want me to be too spoiled. . . don't know if that worked out ;)

She was very strict with me concerning school. She pushed me to do what she knew I could do. I remember

when I was in 4th grade, I received a C in math. She was NOT happy, but my dad thought it was no big deal. She told him that it would be no big deal if I were a "C" student, but I was and "A" student, so I better get my act together. Needless to say, that was my last "C" until I took a 4 credit Chemistry course in college.

And, speaking of college, there was no question as to whether I would go or not. I grew up knowing I would attend college. Now, mind you, I could never decide what I wanted to "be" when I was an adult, but that's probably because she had me involved in so much - gymnastics, dance class, tennis lessons, soccer, track, piano,

acting, choir, . . .

Anyways, I wanted to share some pictures of my mom. I do still miss her and wish she could have met my children. I know she would have spoiled them rotten! :)

No Sugar Added!

I feel like I should explain my "no sugar" diet since so many people have commented on my FB status :)

When I was a young child, my dad really became concerned about being overweight because heart disease seemed to run in his family. He decided to incorporate a "whole foods" diet into our home. That meant no sugar cereals, no boxed cakes or brownies, no white flour or white rice, and not even cow's milk (which was fine since I was allergic). At the time he was an "extremist," but now I think he would "fit in" with many people.

With the change in diet and some extra exercise (tennis and jogging) he lost A LOT of weight! Those who did not know him back when he was overweight would never believe he had been!

So I say all that to explain that I grew up on a healthy, whole foods diet. what happened? School!!!

In 10th grade I started attending a boarding school (NOT a reform school - lol!) and the food there was much different from home. I had a roommate who enjoyed HoHo's and there was plenty of junk food besides that! In the cafeteria, the food was good, but when you're feeding a large group, it's hard not to use canned vegetables and sauces (which we never used at home).

So started my demise.

After high school, I went away to college and continued eating junk food. I did not indulge in candy and soda as much as carbs. I remember eating lots of macaroni and cheese and pizza and breadsticks - yum!

I guess because I was fairly active and had a good metabolism, I did not gain much weight. Unfortunately, my sins have found me out, and now I weigh more than I ever have in my life! :(

After my fourth baby was born in August, I started keeping track of my calories on http://www.loseit.com I did lose some weight, but still felt sluggish. I had done a "cleanse" the year before, but couldn't do one now due to nursing my baby. The "fast" I had done before left me feeling good and with tons of energy. I wanted to feel that way again.

I looked up "sugar free diet" online and found http://olsonnd.com/30-sugar-free-days/ . After reading about the negative affects of sugar on many other websites, I figured I was up for the challenge - not just for weight loss, but for overall health.

I am on Day 4 and it has not been too bad. I am re-learning what snacks are "healthy" so I never feel hungry enough to grab a cookie or chunk of bread to fill up. I keep apples, almonds, cashews, and baby carrots in close reach.

After my 30 days, I am hoping to stay away from sugar as much as possible, but will probably use Stevia and some raw honey in it's place. I love to bake, so I'll just need to find some recipes that are low to no sugar.

Wish me luck!

Mawwwiage. . .

I know some of you do not appreciate 'The Princess Bride" due to your young age ;) but to me, it's a classic! Even my boys enjoy watching the movie. My oldest son will say, "No more rhyming, and I mean it!" and my youngest will answer with, "Anyone want a peanut?!?" Hee hee - I think it's so cute.

Speaking of marriage though, I was under the impression that girls were mainly the ones who dreamed of growing up and meeting their "special someone." Recently, I realized otherwise. While tucking my 3 year old into bed the other night, he looked at me and seriously asked, "Mom, can I marry a girl in the morning?"

My other two boys also talk about getting married. The problem is, they do not realize that they may not have yet "met their match." One has a crush on a 13 year old and the other thinks he will marry his sister - lol!

I started thinking today - it's probably a good thing they want to get married. Hopefully, it's due to the fact that my husband and I enjoy being married to each other and they want to experience the same thing. My husband and I have been married 13 1/2 years, and we have not had any screaming matches, have not slammed doors, punched walls, or made the other one sleep on the couch. We certainly have disagreements, but after 13 years, they are few and far between and are resolved quickly.

I'm certain that my in-laws relationship with each other has had an impact on our relationship. They set a great example for their children, and my husband expected our marriage to be just as strong. I think that's part of the problem with marriages today - people don't have high expectations!

When my son says, "When I'm married, maybe I'll wash the dishes to help my wife" - it makes me smile. When they play "make believe" and the "Dad" goes to work while the "Mommy" stays home - it makes me smile. When I hear them say to their sister, "You are so beautiful" - it makes me smile.

I pray that my husband and I will be a great example of a wonderful marriage relationship and that each of my children will marry the proper mate. Apart from our relationship with God, marriage is the closest relationship we will have outside of family. So, it's important to have a good one!

Mmmmmm. . . cookies. . .

Yesterday I started "30 Sugar Free Days." This means that for 30 days (Lord willing), I will not eat anything that contains sugar or acts like sugar in my body. It does seem a bit overwhelming, but not impossible! :)

OK, so you're wondering why I'm posting a cookie recipe?!? Because making goodies is fun for me! I just can't stop!!!!

These are good for many reasons. . .

- they contain peanut butter (and isn't anything with peanut butter yummy?!?)

- they can be made in one bowl (yay for less clean-up!)

- they can be made in less than 15 minutes (ahhh, efficiency!)

- they contain only 4 ingredients (cost-effective for sure!)

So, are you ready?!?

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies:

1 c light corn syrup

1 c white sugar

1 c peanut butter

3+ c Rice Krispies

In a medium saucepan, mix sugar and corn syrup and set stove to medium heat. When mixture starts to boil, let it boil for 1 min. Remove from heat and add the peanut butter. If you would like, you can also add some chocolate at this point (mmmmm!). Mix until smooth, then gradually add in Rice Krispies. I honestly don't measure out my cereal, so I'm guessing at 3 cups. Just add until all the peanut butter mixture is used up.

When all is mixed, drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper (I pat mine down a bit). When they have cooled, they are ready to eat! And oh, are they yummy!

Now, since I'm on this "Sugar Free" challenge, I did not eat any, but sent half to work with my hubby and wrapped half for the boys for a snack tomorrow. For some reason, just making them eased the stress in my day!