My War on Sugar

I attended a Sugar Blues Workshop last month. It got me to commit to action. You see, I have known for a long time that sugar is toxic to my body.  I know it makes me feel crummy, makes me look lousy, and causes a consistently dull, coursing pain throughout my body. I have just learned to deal with the pain over the years. It is the price I paid for ice cream, cookies, candy, etc.

I have wanted to stop eating sugar for quite some time, but was never really willing to do it. My mind was there, but my heart was far from it.

And then I attended Larae's sugar workshop. It was just the kick in the pants I needed. Since that night, I have not consumed any sugar. It has been about a month now. And I am actually shocked at how easy it has been. I decided that I am not on a diet. I can eat other bad stuff, just not sugar. Baby steps, you know.

However, the consequences of this momentous decision have been great. I naturally desire healthier fare. Fruit is delicious and really satisfies my need for sweet. I don't have the 4:00pm mommy crash and actually stay pretty active. I am planning my meals and saving the family tons of money. I am baking more, looking for healthy, cost-effective snacks for the family. I don't have pain. I have energy and I don't think about eating out, like, at all. I feel more even.

It is amazing.

And then there is the other evil, insidious reason why I have declared a war on sugar: the $4,000 candy bag. You heard me right. My darling little daughter stole a whole bunch of candy, hid it in her room, and noshed on it for a month every night before going to bed. In a matter of a few months, she has holes in almost every single tooth in her mouth.  {{Breathe in Jesus, breathe out Satan. Breathe in Jesus, breathe out Satan...}}

Oh my heavens, gracious, goodness me. This one is going to hurt. 

So, it has been pretty easy to associate many negative and nasty things with the new five letter word in my life: S-U-G-A-R.

But sugar, you are going down!

My Word For 2012

As I think about this last year, I can sum it up in one word....survival!  Needless to say, I am very glad it is over.  Hallelujah.


With that said, I am trying to get myself excited about 2012.  Unlike this past year, I have made some specific goals. 


 I plan on running at least one marathon.  Training officially starts on Monday.  This is going to be very difficult, but not insurmountable.  Luckily, I have a training program that requires only 4 days of running.  I know I can do that.  With training, I want to run a half marathon in March as well. Rinar did a whole bunch of races last year, but I am not going to let that stop me from doing my thing.


I also want to be more dedicated to my kids and their education.  I have ideas of things I want to do, so this year I am going to implement them.  I think it will be easier because Harry, Julia, and Eli are older and able to do a lot more things. This is only going to get better as the year progresses.  I look forward to that.


Rinar and I plan on taking Raef and Zach to Europe in the late spring.  This is something to look forward to as well.  We have wanted to go for a long time and it will be wonderful to take them with us.


Here are just a few things going through my head right now.  I just read a blog about choosing one word for the year.  And now that I have written some of my thoughts out, I realize what my word is. Implementation.


I have a lot of ideas and now I need to implement them.

When You Want To Change the World

Sometimes I feel like I want to conquer the world. Don't worry, the feeling is usually fleeting, but today was one of those days when I felt like superwoman.

About a week ago, I met some girlfriends at a place called "The Chocolate Bar". Hello! Perfect name, right? We were talking and my new friend Julie was sharing with us how she is going to do surrogacy. I was completely amazed and a bit bewildered.  I was also wondering if the girl is a bit crazy. Since I have already done IVF twice, I could feel the pain she was going to experience already.  Julie then told us how she had wanted to join the military a few years ago. Her husband talked her out of it. But she just has this strong desire to change the world and do big things.  As crazy as it was, I love her enthusiasm!

I may not manifest it in the same way as she does, but I think I often feel the same as her.  In the past, this usually meant I was at Home Depot buying paint or at HomeFabrics picking up some funky fabric to do a new, overly-ambitious project.

Now, I don't really feel like painting anything, but I do feel a strong desire to take on a new, big project that will better my life, push me beyond my limits, and make the world a better place. I find that those two things usually go together quite nicely.  Whenever I challenge my own capabilities, it benefits those around me.

I have come up with something grand and ambitious and I am really ready to jump in with both feet and just go for it.

I plan on starting a children's choir here in Reno.  I think we need one.  I want the musical fulfillment for my own soul, and heaven knows this place needs some musical nurturing. It is pretty pathetic. So why not nurture it from infancy, right?

Just ordered the music tonight and can't wait to get my little paws on it.

Watch out world...here I come.