Monday, April 30, 2012

Great news...not

Fructose malabsorption. People with fructose malabsorption have difficulty digesting fructose. This is a less serious disorder because it doesn't result in liver or kidney damage. But it can cause abdominal pain, gas, bloating and diarrhea.


Fruit juice, some fruits like apples, bananas and others high in fructose can cause digestive issues....especially in people with IBS.  Yep juice makes me sick just like milk...the news just keeps getting better.  Sorbitol is a No-No I already knew that one.  I've been trying to figure out what has been bothering me and I think it is the fruit juice I stick in my smoothies so that is out.  The fruit  is blueberries, cherries and banana which the banana is now out for sure.  We will see.  My back still aches but the chiropractor said that I need to work out of this flare-up.  WHine whine whine...poor me!!! More sucrose less tummy ache....a nice little problem for me.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Making kids cry

This doesn't happen that often and it is surprizing that it is usually older children.  Friday I was reviewing State reseach papers(4th grade) and I told one girl to cut a sentence because it was repetitive.  I tried to explain flow and choppy writing and the difference to the reader.  Well I guess she liked that sentence and so she went back to her desk and burst into tears.  I told her that she is the author and if she feels that that sentence is important to her paper then to leave it in.  I tried to point out where she had already said almost the exact same thing...but oh well.  I tured a kids card for distracting behavior and he was fine with it, he expected it...i'm possitive.  Girls are so much harder to deal with than boys.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Zombies what is the big deal?


JT and Cade don't watch the shows or read the books, but they love Zombies.
They even decided that during a Zombie Apocalypse they would share with people
they didn't even like to help them stay alive.
They are so giving those two.
They have come up with many other interesting items in their 4th grade thought process.
Logical thought is what I can tell you about their latest ideas.
Jesus died and then rose from the dead...so it is possible that he is a zombie
oh except he didn't eat anyone...at least as far as JT and Cade know.
Glad they have patient primary teachers or they would get kicked out of
Sunday school for voicing those thoughts.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Sugar no-Fruit yes.

Some people have asked if I'm giving up fruit because of the high sugar content.
No.  Fruit has many redeeming qualities that you don't get in candy or sugar heavy items.
Yet I can tell you the weight is not falling of...I'm not worried
but I cut out the brownies, cookie dough, cake etc and I weigh exactly the same as when I 
started this 4 weeks ago.
Well at least I don't have to worry about wasting away on this life choice.
Pineapple is a big anti-inflammatory food.  Aldis has them
for about 1.50 so lots of pineapple in my life currently.
It really helps when I crave something sweet.
Like I said before I have yet to find a fruit that
taste like a brownie...If you find one let me know.
Lara bars are pretty tasty...but no brownie.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

School again

Why I wasn't able to come up with something I wanted to do the rest of my life the first time I was there?  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I've changed...lots in the 19 years I've been out of college.  I would never have picked special ed as a major back than and now I love it.....who knew?

I love subbing in special ed any age at all...except I can tell you that the little ones wear me completely out.  I think it is the level of energy...they have to get it from somewhere so they zap it out of me.  Friday I was in sped at Kindergarten and a little girl in the lunch room coughed and told me she might throw up.  I took her to the nurse and on the way there a little voice in my head said 'get a garbage can' after passing another room the voice started to yell, so I ducked in and asked to take the trash can.  We made it about five more feet and she tossed her lunch in the trash can.  I know the janitor and I were thankful for my listening to the spirit.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Working this summer....Gunnar's mission may break us otherwise.

I'm going to work at a day camp this summer and bring along my two youngest to participate and Zeke is coming as a teen helper.  It should be fun except for a few scheduling issues that will come up with other activities we will be too busy to participate in...oh well life is full of choices.  Lots of time at parks, breakfast and lunch provided, swimming poor twice a week, arts and crafts and gratitude attitude for the theme.  Should be an adventure before I start school again.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Sugar was my best friend...sad....I miss you...lots

sugar withdrawal
I love jelly beans...all year long.  I love and miss you sweet SUGAR!  In college-(and until just the other day) anyone who knew me knew I was the one to ask for something to snack on...my bag was full of treats and goodies 24/7.  You all know someone who carries Tylenol or aspirin...I carried the snacks..lots of them.  I hate to be hungry.  I eat 6 + times a day...still.  Oh I miss sugar.  This is not easy....try it if you don't believe me ... or are you one of those freaks who doesn't likes sweets?  Weirdo!

I'm not a nice person right now...not at all...I have to bite my tongue not to say everything passing though my head....not nice trust me!   I miss eating things that taste GOOD....I want to curl up and die!   This is seriously an addition for me.  I never realized how many times a day I reached for something full of sugar and energy....I'm exhausted and need to sleep more than usual and yet when I go to bed I just stare at the ceiling exhausted.  My eyes won't focus on a book or TV...yet I can't sleep worth a darn....tired and grumpy.  I think the kids wish I would just eat a candy bar and smile again.  A few weeks of this and I may be living alone and friendless.  Hang in there with me....please?


Monday, April 23, 2012

Steampunk History

Cenny, Jt and I went to the Minnesota History Center and they were having a Steampunk Day.  In one room they had a great display of interesting things like the above photo.  Piles of things to work with and build...glue guns, drills, pliers.  We spent an hour putting things together.  I made a tie pin(old machine pieces and bottle caps), earrings(out of old keys) and Cenny made a pin (bottle caps and trophy labels)and JT a kaleidoscope(silver painted towel tube and clear balls).  Fun with junk.  David and the two boys showed up after doing baptisms at the temple and we explored the rest of the museum.  This membership was part of our Christmas present from Grandpa and Grandma.  Lots of fun and many different historical places to visit in Minnesota on the same pass.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Sugar Withdrawal the joy

I am so grumpy I want to scream and depressed as ever.  This is my life now (forever and ever) and I realize that it could be so much worse...I just think a nice brownie, cookie dough, a can of frosting or candy bar would make me feel so much better.  I'm the queen of sweets...I made saltine toffee everyday for the two weeks after Christmas...my excuse was that the kids loved it(so did I).

Brownies everyday and Papa Murphy's makes great cookie dough and is just two blocks away.
I feel like I've cut of my arm.
Life would look so much better with a bit of sugar...or chocolate frosting  or cookies or a peanut butter bar(pan full).

I miss sugar more than I miss anything else and I have major issues with Sorbitol so most sugar-free items are out.It could be worse.I know ...I think anyway?

My new food processor makes  great cakes, brownies, cookies, I watched the how to use video...great bread and muffins also.

Tears are coming and yet I know it could be so much worse....really....I can't think of anything but I'm sure it could be somehow?  No just kidding(sort of anyway) I know...sugar is additive like caffeine and this may take a few weeks of missing it like a limb.  Pineapple is good, sweet potatoes are sweeter than ever....blueberries are wonderful and cherries.  Substituting sucrose for fructose is suppose to help but no fruit I've ever had tastes like a brownie or cookie dough or a candy bar and 90% dark chocolate may as well be chalk with all the taste it has(that is ok once in awhile(no thanks  at least not yet).

Hitting something and then eating a brownie...that sounds perfect right now. Headaches, aches, fatigue, depression, cravings, I can't remember simple words(my brain is in a fog) and a stomach that doesn't understand....What the heck is going on?  I told Qatar to close the curtains and we were sitting in the car(I wanted the garage door closed...I told Cenny I couldn't see her back bones because of the french fries and I meant sweatshirt)  The lack of sugar is making me stupid or maybe I'm having a stroke.... this is bad!!  NO JOKING HERE.

My stomach wants my old diet back...TOO BAD...we are doing this together!
This may be one of the hardest things I've done....sugar is everywhere and in everything.  Look at the labels in your cupboards.  Tomato soup for heaven sakes.


Saturday, April 21, 2012

Cenny and the giant flippers she calls feet


Cenneidigh now wears a women's size 10 shoe(about a 9 in men's).  She swapped shoes with Elder Foster(a missionary in our ward) and he could wear hers without a problem.  She has boats for feet.  My shoes never fit her because her feet were so long and thin.  Oh well we will most likely never share clothes either.  She is about 5'1" and 89 pounds with flipper feet.  But someday she will soar over me.  It will be fun to see how tall she gets...or maybe she will just have large feet.  I think she will be taller than me at least...I wear a 7 1/2 most of the time sometimes a 7 depending on the shoes.  David wears a 13 in men and Gunnar wears a 12...Zeke wears an 11 1/2  and Qatar wears 11.  JT has small feet with only a 3 so far.

Shannon, our neighbors daughter, is taller than me now and getting so pretty.  She is in 8th grade and busy all the time with friends.  Zeke and her are good friends and Cenny loves her.  Anything Shannon gives her is gold(lots of wonderful clothes with name brands splashed across the fronts we cannot afford to buy.)  I hate to think about when she stops growing and giving clothes to Cenny...it will be soon...darn.  It has been a huge blessing in out lives to have her next door...along with Ryan and Jordan...good friends for years with our kids.  Love their parents also, Todd and Sarah.  Great neighbors to share our lives with.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Why the new diet? (Unsinkable ships...sink! Everyone ages...DARN)

Arthritis...is what...lots of inflammation in my lower spine and back.  I read a few books on the subject and it seems diet is a huge part of the process of anti-inflammation.  No sugar, dairy, wheat...these three are huge inflammation problems(quick aside....70% of aging is life style...hummmm).  So far sugar is the hardest so far...wheat...difficult...it is in almost everything.  Sugar in almost everything.  Making things from scratch is the sure way to know what is in everything you eat.  


My lower back is putting pressure on my right hip to the point that rolling over in bed can reduce me to tears.  Yeah aging is AWESOME!!!But I will conquer this, or at least make life better in the long run.  Diet is just a choice I can make or I can hope and pray for something else...pray yes..hope sure...realistic NOT WITHOUT WORK ON MY SIDE!  Life is full of choices..this is mine.  It should help many areas of my life..by the way my scaly hands are looking better(could just be the cycle..I hope it is related to diet choices.)

Thursday, April 19, 2012

My new toy-for my new dairy-wheat-sugar free diet.


My new toy.  On this gluten-free - Dairy- free and yes SUGAR-FREE diet I needed a machine that could grind, chop and make walnut and almond butter without issues.  This puppy has 1000 watt motor and grinds those nuts to paste in about 3 minutes.  Almond butter Yummy...I was not sure about that...Now I love it more than peanut butter...Peanut butter taste cheap and processed.  Homemade almond butter is a bit tastier than walnut butter.  Walnuts are a bit bitter and so not as tasty...but not bad either and so good for you.  Making my own peanut butter would be good...except I can't have peanuts.

This weekend we will be chopping and grinding and seeing what this little wonder can do.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Qatar is 16 today!!!!

Qatar is 16, this is a photo from Arctic Day at school.  He got quite warm.  Now that he is 
16, he is asking to drive everywhere.  We put new brakes, transmission flush and tires on the old van and 
it drives like new again.  He even commented on the ease of braking.
Happy Birthday QATAR!!!!!
We love you!

Birthstone, Zodiac Sign, Birth Flower, Chinese Animal for your Birth Year, Billboard top song, Day of the week and more info on your birthdate. Can you know too much about the year you were born?

Your Birthdate: April 17, 1996.  Here is what you need to know:
  • You were born on a Wednesday
  • 1996 was a leap year
  • Sign of the Zodiac: Aries
  • Birth Flower: Daisy
  • Symbolization of Flower: Innocence, loyal love, gratitude
  • Chinese Year of the Rat
  • Birthstone: Diamond
Estimated population growth in the world in your lifetime: 1,225,365,299 people
Billboard top songs at the beginning of the year you were born:
  • Pop: Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio featuring L.V.
  • Hip Hop/Blues: Creep by TLC
  • Country: Sold The Grundy County Auction Incident by John Michael Montgomery
Billboard top songs at the end of the year you were born:
  • Pop: Macarena Bayside Boys Mix by Los del Río
  • Hip Hop/Blues: You're Makin' Me High / Let It Flow by Toni Braxton
  • Country: My Maria by Brooks & Dunn
Academy Award nominees for Best Picture in 1996
The winner was: The English Patient
Other nominees for Best Picture were:
  • Fargo
  • Jerry Maguire
  • Secrets & Lies
  • Shine
Winner of the Nobel Peace Price in 1996: Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo José Ramos-Horta
Time Magazine's Man of the Year for 1996: Dr. David Ho
Best Selling NonFiction Book in the U.S. in 1996: Make the Connection by Oprah Winfrey & Bob Greene
Some world leaders at the end of 1996:
  • United States - President: Bill Clinton - Democrat
  • Britain - Prime Minister: John Major - Conservative
  • Canada - Prime Minister: Jean Chretien
  • Australia - Prime Minister: John Howard - Liberal
  • India - Prime Minister: HD Deve Gowda
  • Mexico - President: Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León
Happy Birthday in Binary Code is 010010000110000101110000011100000111100100100000
0100001001101001011100100111010001101000011001000110000101111001


Monday, April 16, 2012

Book Review needing more ratings for this site and amazon

  Finding Our Way Home: A Novel
Here is the link on Amazon......we would love you to find our review helpful and any of our other reviews.  Thanks

Title:  Finding Our Way Home


Review:   I enjoyed this story of two women finding their way back to what they had lost.  Young or old we all have things we have done or haven’t done that we regret.  I think as we age the things we haven’t done pick at us more than the things we have done.  What would happen if you couldn’t do something you loved?  Something that was your way of living, literally and monetarily?  Well you never really know what tomorrow holds and this is a sweet tale of getting back to normal, from a tragedy that changed everything, at least back to the ‘new normal’.

Grace is a huge reason for the changes in these women’s lives and I think we all need to remember that it is Grace that helps us in every way every day.  If you enjoy sweet stories about friendship building, getting back to those you love and recovery of self, you will enjoy this book.  This book is Christian Fiction, in the way that God is present in all of our lives but not overly religious at all.  Happiness, friendship and love pop-up in places we would expect.  This book made me appreciate what I have, warts and all.

Life throws us curves all the time.  A favorite quote of mine is, “Life is what happens when you are making other plans.”  I don’t know who said it, except the friend of mine who likes to quote it constantly.  Get out there and enjoy what you have, don’t constantly whine about what is missing in your life.  Instead of whining, learn to love what you have been given and if you want more than set a goal and work for it.  No one deserves anything in this world unless they work for it.  And when you work for something you always enjoy it more anyway.  Life is what you make of it.  Make it memorable.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

The Austinaire Show

I thought I would get out of attending this year since I have no Austinaires, but Qatar was asked to be the stage manager and to play a walk on part for one of the songs.  So off I went with Zeke, who ditched me to sit with some friends, next time he can pay his own way.  I ended up sitting by my fifth grade teacher, Mrs Graber, and having a great conversation  and the show was lots of fun to boot.

Toby's grandson MC'ed and he was hilarious, I enjoyed the evening and was home by a bit after nine PM.  Not a bad evening.  The solos were sad and long, but Martha and Dylan were the light in the darkness and brightened up the rest of the show.

Qatar loves the theater, but behind the scenes seems to be where he gets the most time.  I need to get my camera out more often.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Plumbing Issues

Someone must have dropped a box of these in the toilet and then flushed.  After a day of plunging and liquid plumber gallons....the plumber pulled a pile of these exploded to huge proportions from the toilet.  We had the bathtub back up and everything....Yuck.....Kids are saying nothing.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Vote for Book Him Danno bottom button...thanks


Note: You're receiving this e-mail because you entered the Independent Book Blogger Awards.

Bloggers, get out the vote!

Hi Book Him Danno,
You have successfully entered the Independent Book Blogger Awards. The polls are now open! It's time to spread the word to your readers and drum up votes for your blog! Voting continues until 11:59 pm EDT, Monday, April 23. Be sure to blog about the awards throughout the voting period, and don't forget to add the voting widget to your site to let all of your fans know where to go.
The rules: The polls allow one vote per person in each of the four categories, and voters must be Goodreads members so that we can accurately tally the results. When polls close, the top 15 blogs in each category will become finalists.
Winners will be selected from among the finalists by a panel of industry judges. Each of the four category winners will receive a pass to BookExpo America (June 5-7, 2012) with airfare and hotel accommodation in New York City.
For more details on rules and background on the judging process, please see the Contest Terms.

Key Dates:
  • Monday, April 9 (at 11:59 pm ET) – Deadline for entries
  • Tuesday, April 10 (12:01am ET) through Monday, April 23 (11:59 pm ET) – Voting
  • Week of May 1 – Shortlist of finalists announced
  • Week of May 7 – Winners announced
The awards are organized by the Association of American Publishers Trade Division members and Goodreads.

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Saturday, April 7, 2012

More Qatar and robotics from the paper.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Happy Birthday JT 10 double digits for my baby!!!!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart.
We love you!!!!

JT!!!

Your Birthdate: April 5, 2002. Here is what you need to know:

  • You were born on a Friday
  • Sign of the Zodiac: Aries
  • Birth Flower: Daisy
  • Symbolization of Flower: Innocence, loyal love, gratitude
  • Chinese Year of the Horse
  • Birthstone: Diamond

Estimated population growth in the world in your lifetime: 757,523,423 people

Billboard top songs at the beginning of the year you were born:
  • Pop: Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse
  • Hip Hop/Blues: Fiesta by R. Kelly featuring Jay-Z
  • Country: Ain't Nothing 'Bout You by Brooks & Dunn

Billboard top songs at the end of the year you were born:

  • Pop: How You Remind Me by Nickelback
  • Hip Hop/Blues: Foolish by Ashanti
  • Country: The Good Stuff by Kenny Chesney

Academy Award nominees for Best Picture in 2002
The winner was: Chicago

Other nominees for Best Picture were:

  • Gangs of New York
  • The Hours
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
  • The Pianist

Winner of the Nobel Peace Price in 2002: Jimmy Carter

Time Magazine's Man of the Year for 2002: The Whistleblowers

Best Selling NonFiction Book in the U.S. in 2002: Self Matters by Phillip C. McGraw

Some world leaders at the end of 2002:

  • United States - President: George W. Bush - Republican
  • Britain - Prime Minister: Tony Blair - Labour
  • Canada - Prime Minister: Jean Chretien
  • Australia - Prime Minister: John Howard - Liberal
  • India - Prime Minister: Atal Bihari Vajpayee
  • Mexico - President: Vicente Fox Quesada

Happy Birthday in Binary Code is 010010000110000101110000011100000111100100100000
0100001001101001011100100111010001101000011001000110000101111001


Monday, April 2, 2012

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Book author tour at Once Upon a Crime

We just got Liz Marklunds newest book fro the publicist and this announcement.
Well Minneapolis on the 17th we have to go.  
4 authors David has read for Simon and Schuster all in one place.
How exciting!!!!!