Wow! 2009 is over and tomorrow begins a new year! It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been that long since Y2K! That year will always be one to remember for those of us who lived it.
2009 was an eventful year for me. It began with a trip to Orlando Fla. at the end of January, where my hubby and I spent a week forgetting our age and running like kids from ride to ride at Disneyworld and Universal Studios Orlando. It was great fun, and anything but relaxing.
In March, our #2 Son got married. That was a busy but fun time too.
Summer was late arriving this year, as it rained through most of May and June.
We went to Richfield and Fishlake for the 4th of July for a family reunion.
Spent a week at our family cabin in August, relaxing and making log furniture.
Autumn went by so fast I hardly realized it was here. Kids back in school. Son and his wife moved home for the winter, which we have enjoyed very much. Daughter got a new boyfriend whom we love and are happy about.
Here we are, a week past Christmas, and getting ready to ring in a new year. I remember when I was a kid. Christmas seemed to come around about every 5 years or so. Now it seems like it comes every 6 months. Guess it’s a sign of age.
Happy 2010!
I can’t help it. I’m a hopeless romantic. I’m sentimental and get very nostalgic at Christmas time. These tendencies have prompted me to start traditions. Lots of them. Some to the dismay of my children, especially when they were younger, and some to the dismay of my husband, who has patiently tolerated them through the years.
I put these things in writing, partly for myself and partly for my posterity. Some I wish I had started earlier in my married life. Many I hope my children will carry on with their own families. Some have been abandoned and some continue. Others I plan to begin and some I would do differently if I could.
- Cutting our own fresh Christmas tree
This one started with our very first Christmas as a married couple. My husband is from a small town in Utah near Fish Lake. Each year we would go to his father’s house to visit the Friday after Thanksgiving, and get up early on Saturday to drive up to the Fish Lake National Forest in search of the perfect tree. I emphasize the word perfect for a reason. You see, not just any old tree would do. Especially for my husband. Nevermind the weather. It had to be just right, often taking hours of trekking through deep snow in a blizzard to find. Depending on the weather and the age of my youngest child, I would join in the search. Otherwise I would sit in the truck and wait with my Father-in-law, sometimes wondering if my sweetheart got lost in the forest. When the perfect one was found, it would be cut, strapped to the roof of the car and brought home, often on slippery wet or icy roads. We learned a few things the hard way, about the process of transporting, selecting, and using fresh Christmas trees:
We learned that it works best to put the bottom of the tree at the front end of the car, so as to improve aerodynamics during high-speed travel.
We also learned that it won’t hurt that tree one bit to get snowed on or rained on or cold on the trip home, and if you want a tree with needles on it, it’s best NOT to cover it with anything for transport. Covers flapping in the wind beat the needles right off.
We learned that trees always look smaller in the forest than they actually are. We nearly always had to cut several feet off the bottom, and sometimes a little off the top to fit it under an 8 foot ceiling.
We learned that fresh trees from the forest are COVERED in pollen, dust, dead leaves and a variety of hibernating spiders that spring to life when brought into the warm house. It’s always a good idea to give the tree a thorough shower with the garden hose and let it dry before bringing it inside. This can take several days if the temperature is low and icicles form on the nice, clean tree.
When we moved to our current house, for some crazy reason, we decided we should have two trees. One in the front window and another in the family room. We all suffer from allergies, and although the tree shower helped a lot, I felt guilty cutting two each year so we decided to try the artificial variety. For several years we had one of each. Now we just have two artificial ones, and I burn lots of evergreen scented candles.
- Have Christmas Eve Dinner at our house
After the birth of our first child, we decided it was just too complicated to go out on Christmas Eve. Our little one would always fall asleep in the car on the way home. We wanted him to be awake to hang his stocking and leave cookies for Santa. It was time to just stay home. We invited everyone to join us at our house. This worked out very well for years, but now that our oldest two are married things may start to change, and that’s ok.
- Re-enact the Christmas Story according to Luke
While my kids were still young enough to do it, each year on Christmas Eve we would all dress up and create a live Nativity. Hubby was Joseph, I was Mary, Son #1 was a Wise Man, Son # 2 a Shepherd and Daughter was an angel. A Cabbage Patch doll served as Baby Jesus, wrapped in a cloth diaper tied with cord, and lying in a manger constructed of wood by my hubby. We gathered around the manger while someone read Luke 2 while a recording of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang Silent Night in the background. Yeah, I know it sounds cheesy, and it was, but it was fun for the kids to learn and remember the true Christmas Story.
- Have Family Prayer first thing on Christmas Morning
We have always made sure to have family prayer with the kids as an additional effort to remind them of the true meaning of Christmas before the Santa pandemonium began.
- An orange in the toe of each stocking
In continuation of one of my own childhood traditions, Santa always leaves an orange in the toe of each stocking.
- Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Santas, Jelly Rings, and Mixed Nuts in the shells
These are a must-have for my sweetheart since his childhood!
- A Candlelight Wish
Several years ago I heard an idea I liked, so I created my own adaptation, which has become a yearly tradition. A taper candle is laid on each plate at the Christmas Eve dinner table. Before the blessing of the food, each person picks up their candle. I usually begin by lighting my candle and giving a brief Christmas Wish for the upcoming year. The flame is then passed to the next person, and they make their wish. This continues around the table until everyone has had a turn, then the candles are blown out to send the wishes on their way. It has been amazing and wonderful to see from year to year the wishes that have come to pass, and to recount the blessings we all have. As in most families, there have been times that one person or another has made jokes during the candle lighting, for example, one year my sister told one of my kids she’d give them five bucks to say “I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner”. Most of the time it’s an opportunity to express heartfelt wishes, and has been enjoyed by all.
- Gift wrap unique to Santa
In an effort to keep the Magic of Santa alive for my young kids, I was very careful to purchase different gift wrap, tags, bows, and to disguise my handwriting on the gifts from Santa. This meant leaving no trace of evidence in the trash cans, etc. A separate bag was used to collect the scraps and put outside in the can after Christmas day. Recent discussions with my grown kids have rewarded my efforts. They said they “knew” when they got older and I got careless with those things, knowing they were old enough to know. I should mention one thing about Santa and the Magic here. When #1 was old enough to “know”, he asked one day if Santa was real. I said “of course”. He argued that he “knew”, and that I was lying to him. After going back and forth with this several times, I finally said “yes, you’re right, Dad and I are Santa”. He got a horrified look on his face and was devastated. I vowed to never admit that fact again, no matter how old my kids are… And I haven’t.
- Christmas Sugar Cookies
Hubby says Christmas just isn’t Christmas without home-made sugar cookies. And heaven forbid leaving anything else out with the milk for Santa!
- Letters to Santa c/o Grandpa T
From the time my kids were old enough to understand, they’ve written their letters to Santa. Of course, they were addressed to Santa Claus, North Pole USA, stamped, and placed in the mailbox. Prior to the mailman picking them up, c/0 Grandpa T and his address was added to the envelope. Each year the kids would receive a letter back from Santa, which I collected in a cookie tin. We now have a collection of both!
- Christmas Lights
Through the years we have always gone out to see the lights. Some years it has been to Temple Square and the downtown area. In our early years of marriage, we would drive through the display at Sugar House Park. Other years we have gone to Thanksgiving Point, or if it’s really cold outside, on a drive around the valley to see the light displays listed in the newspaper.
- LDS Annual Christmas Concert
Since the completion of the Conference Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we have tried (and succeeded most years) to get tickets to the annual Christmas Concert. Early on, this meant standing in line for hours in the cold. Later, it meant spending hours online trying to get through. Now it’s done by lottery, with online registration. The concert never been less than spectacular, and well worth the effort to get tickets.
- Christmas Music
From the time I was in High School, I have collected Christmas music. This year I finished loading all of them on my i Tunes account. I have over 2 GB of holiday music. Hubby doesn’t like to hear any of it until Thanksgiving dinner is over, at which time, according to tradition, everyone sings Christmas Carols as we do the dishes.
- Santa’s Lap
Tried to make a tradition out of taking the kids to sit on Santa’s lap and have pictures taken. This worked well for the boys, for their first Christmas, since they were less than a month old and didn’t know what was going on. After that, none of my kids would stand for it!
- Twelve days of Christmas for someone in need
For many years, as a family, we would search out someone in our neighborhood who was in need, and do “12 days of Christmas” for them. It was done for us when we were young and struggling. We wanted to feel the joy of being on the other end, and it was wonderful.
- Cookie Exchange
I plan to start this tradition next year. Very early in December, I will host a Cookie Exchange. I will invite my daughters-in-law, their moms, my daughter and my mom. Each person will bring two dozen Christmas Cookies, along with enough copies of the recipe for everyone. We will then sample the cookies, and exchange the rest, giving everyone an assortment to take home. We will drink Hot Cocoa and Wassail. It will be FUN!
- Gratitude list
While reading one of my Christmas Novels this year, it told of an idea I love. I wish I had started it when my kids were very young. In addition to the annual letter to Santa listing Christmas Wishes, a Gratitude list should be written, listing all the blessings that can be thought of. What a wonderful idea!
- Decorating the Tree
We have always had a “Traditional” Tree. I never got into the theme trees, or the fancy designer kind. I’m just too sentimental to not put out my ornaments each year. My collection includes ornaments from both of my grandmothers’ trees, both mine and my hubby’s childhood trees, ornaments my kids have made, ones that I made as a newlywed, Dated ones for the year we were married, the year each child was born, and each son served in the mission field. Now that the kids are older, and have their own collections of ornaments, we have two trees. I decorate one, they decorate the other.
- Christmas Cards and letters
I have always tried to take the time to send out Christmas Cards. A few years ago, I even started doing Christmas Letters. I feel it is important to keep in touch with extended family, since we are so far apart. With ever-increasing technology, it has become much easier to keep in touch electronically, through blogs and Facebook pages. I’m thinking of doing that instead.
- Christmas Eve Storybook
Each year in the fall, I start my search for a new Christmas Storybook. I love picture books, and have an impressive collection. These books must meet certain criteria. They must have beautiful pictures and a meaningful message. Another effort to teach my children about Charity and the true meaning of Christmas.
- The Santa Sack
When my kids were very young, I bought a “Santa Sack”. It was a large canvas bag with a drawstring top. I carried it around in my car, and, after shopping, would put all my purchases inside. This allowed me to bring them in the house without disclosing what I had bought, or even the stores I had shopped at, since they couldn’t see the shopping bags. Last year, I found the most wonderful Santa Sacks at Costco. They’re Red Velvet and have a cute Santa appliqued on the front, and tie with a large gold cord. I bought 3 of them, one for each of my children to use for their own families some day. When we lived in our first house, we would make a stop at our sweet elderly neighbor’s house to leave our purchases, and they would store them for us until Christmas Eve.
- Collections
Christmas Morning
Through the years, without really realizing it, I have collected certain things that I now display as collections at Christmas time. The following are my collections:
Snowmen, Christmas Story China, Santas, Nativities, Ornaments commemorating the birth of each of my children and the years they served their missions, Santa’s Magic Keys, Christmas story books and novels.
When my kids were young, I’d gift wrap 25 of my story books each year, then allow the kids to take turns opening one each night during December, to be their bedtime story for that night. It was fun for the kids to get to unwrap something, and see what story they had chosen each night. I would then curl up in bed with my own Christmas novel.
- Christmas breakfast
My husband has always been the “breakfast chef” in our house. I think he gets it from his dad. He is the one who knows how to work the waffle iron, and make the best pancakes. He is also the one who makes sure we have everything on hand for Christmas breakfast, which has usually been ham, cinnamon rolls and sliced oranges from the Stockings.
- One gift from us, the rest from Santa
This is the one I would do differently if I had it to do again. Christmas seemed to get a little out of hand in our family. I think it would have helped to have Santa bring just one gift and fill the stockings. I think it would have been healthier for my kids to realize the sacrifice it takes as parents to provide Christmas, and not to anticipate so much from Santa. Our kids were a little spoiled, in my opinion. They weren’t necessarily unrealistic in their expectations and what they would put on their wish list, but between parents, Grandparents, Aunts with no children and Santa, they pretty much got everything they asked for and then some. Although we had no control over what others chose to do for them, we could have done less ourselves, in the Santa department. That way they would have realized why some of their friends seemed to get more or less than they did. (They never said anything about it, but I’m sure, in their minds as kids they thought about it occasionally and wondered why). So my advice to my kids is; do it the other way around for your kids.
I decided it would be fun to write down my ‘Bucket List”, of things I want to do before I “Kick It”. This list may not necessarily be realistic, but I want to do it anyway. I’m sure it will need to be edited many times over, but here goes:
Visit the following places:
Australia, for at least a month so I can see the different coasts and the Great Barrier Reef.
Bali, Indonesia
Tahiti to go deep sea fishing.
The Bahamas and Cayman Islands where I want to swim with the dolphins and Scuba dive a shipwreck.
Alaska, in winter to see an Aurora Borealis, for an entire summer to see the highlights, including the Bears, and to fish (again) in the ocean for salmon.
Europe, including Paris, Madrid, London, Venice, Rome, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland and Scotland.
The Greek Isles
South Africa
Serve a mission for my church with my husband in a remote area of the South Pacific.
Witness the birth of at least one grandchild.
Take all my kids and their families to Kauai, Hawaii for a two week vacation.
Become proficient in photography and Photoshop so I can chronicle the lives of my kids and their families.
Finish my scrapbooks and life history.
Invent something that will generate royalties for my posterity. I’ve had lots of great ideas over the years. Just need to act on them..
See a Broadway Show in New York City
Learn to country dance
Do something (?) significant that my posterity will remember me for.
Over the years as a mother, I have tried not to forget some of the funny and cute things my kids have said. They are all grown now, and every now & then these things come to mind. I really should have written them down at the time I heard them, when the details weren’t hazy from age and the passing of time. I guess it’s better late than never. I will likely have to edit this many times before it is complete. Some of it may have been more funny when it happened, than it will appear here. That’s ok. It will help to spark my memory for years to come…
Our oldest son had an imaginary friend. He called him “Sir Vruhvruv”. He would carry on complete conversations with Sir Vruhvruv, and even have arguments with him. He was also quite proficient at arguing with himself. (?) This led us to believe he would grow up to be a litigation attorney some day. Hasn’t happened yet..(?)
Son #1 was confused because often when he would tell us something about himself, he would say: “I were” doing this or that. We realized he would use the word “were” because our reply would so often be “You were?” This continued until summer before Kindergarten.
One day upon returning home from work, my husband asked my oldest son about his day. He replied with an ashamed look on his face “I were a jerk”. Ok, now I should say, earlier in the day, I had become upset with him, and in my frustration I called him a “Jerk”. Not something I was proud of afterwards. Of course it came back to haunt me…
When our kids were young, my husband and I did a lot of fishing. We bought our oldest a little plastic “Mickey Mouse” fishing pole when he was old enough to participate. He would spend hours on the banks “fishing” with us. Whenever one of us would catch a fish, he would come running with the net. He said “I wanna be the Net Do-er”.
Son # two, who had trouble with pronunciation, asked one day where his “Taoh Coat” was. I couldn’t figure out what he was saying. He repeated himself several times, becoming more and more frustrated with me for not understanding. Finally it hit me: He wanted his winter coat that had “Stars” on it! (Hence, his “Star Coat”)
Same son, at about age three, when he was old enough to go Trick-Or-Treating the first time, went door to door dressed up as a clown. First house we came to offered a whole bowl of Smarties Candies. His eyes got big, and he exclaimed: “Oh Boy! Faowteethe!” (Sounded like “farties”) We got a good laugh.
When he was four, his Aunt interviewed him on video about the Easter Bunny. She asked him What does the Easter Bunny look like? His reply: “Hethe big”. How big is he?: “About thickth feet”. What color is he?: “Pople”
While my kids were young, we lived next door to an older couple who had no children or grandchildren. Our boys had a relationship with them very similar to that of Mr. & Mrs. Wilson and Dennis the Menace. Our second son had trouble pronouncing various letters when he was a pre-schooler. Their names were Mr. & Mrs. Baxter. Mrs. Baxter’s name was Josephine. #2 called them “Mixto Baxto and Jovuthbean”.
We often made trips to Richfield Utah, my husband’s home town. It takes a couple of hours to get there. As kids often do, #2 asked “where are we?” as we were travelling. We were in a small town called Levan. We told him we were in Levan. He got frustrated and said “I KNOW we’re in the VAN, but WHERE ARE WE?”
When our daughter was 3 years old, we moved from our first home to our present home. She often asked after we moved when we would go back to our “Strawberry House”. We never have been certain why, in her mind it was the “Strawberry House”. The only things we could guess were that it was red brick with a similar color siding, or possibly that we had a small strawberry patch in the back yard.
Our daugher has always invented a lot of her own words. This may be a result of a teaching method used during her early grade-school years where kids were encouraged to write, without emphasis on spelling or grammar. Kids were allowed to use “invented” spelling, which usually came out as the word sounded. Some of her invented words (until she was in her teens, and some still today) are: “Of Coursely”, “Butcept”,
The kids aren’t the only ones who’ve said funny things. Dad and I have said a few ourselves, although at the time they weren’t intended to be funny. For example: One day when I was completely frustrated with #1, I got tongue tied while trying to threaten him. In an effort to say “If you don’t stop it I’m going to give you a licking” or “If you don’t stop it I’m going to spank your butt”, it came out “If you don’t stop it I’m going to lick your butt!” He busted up laughing, and realizing what I had said, I couldn’t stay mad anymore.
One night (just recently) we had Swiss Chard for dinner. #2 and his new wife were with us. She had never had chard before. On her way home that night, she told my son: “Tell your dad I really like his chode”. Son couldn’t wait to share that one with everyone!
Same daugher-in-law was watching me make guacamole. She called it “guacamole sauce”, and asked how many “guacamoles” (avocadoes) it takes to make it. Love her to pieces!
As I was leaving the gym yesterday, I walked out into the fresh fall air, noticed the beautiful colors of the changing leaves on the mountains, capped with snow a little higher up. There were a few light, low clouds hovering over the foothills. I was reminded, at that moment, how blessed I am.
It is a wonderful thing to be healthy and to feel good. One doesn’t always appreciate the simple things in life until they are taken away, at least for a time.
I feel so blessed to live where I live, to have a husband who loves me, and to feel joy in my posterity.
I am blessed with a job I enjoy, a comfortable home to live in, and a loving family.
As Americans, we are so very blessed. For us, life is so good. We are free to worship as we believe. We are able to sleep at night without fear, and to go about our daily lives without threat.
God has given us so much in Nature. There is beauty everywhere, if we just look.
I must always take the time to stop and count my blessings. It’s the least I can do for Him who is the Creator of all things.
I used to hate country music. Seems like all they ever sang about was lost love, their dog, how their truck broke down, and all the miserable things in life.
Country music has changed! I love it now! I love the lyrics to today’s country songs. Yeah, there are still a few of them out there that talk about broken hearts, revenge, and the like, but so MANY of them are SO ROMANTIC!!!
I have to wonder, who writes the lyrics? Can men really be that romantic? Seriously! If men actually DID and SAID the things they sing about in country songs women would SWOON over them, no matter how they look! I mean, who could resist a guy who says-
“I melt everytime you look at me that way”
“What a beautiful mess I’m in, spending all my time with you, nothing else I’d rather do…”
“I’m gonna love you, like nobody loves you, and I’ll earn your trust making memories of us…”
“The first time I looked in your eyes I knew that I would do anything for you…”
“I don’t see how you could ever be anything but mine”
“I just want to love you more than anything else, more than life itself…”
” All that I want is to be where you are”
“I want to love you out loud”
“It’s your love. It does something to me, sends a shock right through me, I can’t get enough”
“I can just see you with a baby on the way. I can just see you when your hair is turning grey. What I can’t see is how I’m gonna ever love you more, but I’ve said that before…Now you’re my whole life, now you’re my whole world, I just can’t believe the way I feel about you girl. We’ll look back someday at this moment that we’re in and I’ll look at you and say: And thought I loved you then…”
Seriously, how could any girl resist?
Sigh…
My age is beginning to show through my thoughts.
I have found myself thinking a lot lately about how the meanings of different words have changed just in my lifetime. I know this has been the case for many generations, and is usually a sign of the “generation gap”.
I was born in 1960. It was a “groovy” era at the time.
In the 70’s it was “cool”.
In the 80’s things were “tight”.
The 90’s were “way bad”, and at the turn of the century, things became “awesome”.
As a parent, your kids tend to keep you “up” on all the latest lingo. In some cases, they’d rather you NOT know what they’re talking about. Then you have to do a little research to find out. It doesn’t take much. Just pick up a teen magazine and you’ll learn a lot. And some things you’d rather not know, but need to know.
A few things I’ve learned from teen magazines:
- “Hooking Up” means to have casual sex with someone you have no commitment to, and that you may or may not have known for very long.
- Most teens don’t think anything other than intercourse is considered to be sex.
- “Going Out” with or “Dating” someone means you are in an exclusive relationship with them.
- “Hanging Out” means spending time with or doing activities with someone you aren’t exclusive with. This can be with either sex. This also means you pay your own way, even though many guys think it gives them a free pass for NICMO (Non-Commital Making Out) and cuddling. (Something MUST be done to CHANGE this!)
Back to new definitions:
“Shorty” (pronounced “Shawty”): A Girlfriend, usually used by guys
“Chica” A Girlfriend, usually used by girls
“Thong” (also known as “Butt Floss” for obvious reasons): A tiny triangle of fabric attached to very narrow elastic at the points. (a pathetic excuse for underwear in my opinion. Why bother?)
“Flip Flops” (Previously known as “Thongs”): Backless beach shoes.
“Mack”: Kiss
“Mack Daddy”: A guy who kisses a lot of girls
“Cuddle Slut”: Someone who doesn’t require commitment to engage in cuddling or snuggling with the opposite sex.
“Douche Bag”: A guy who’s a jerk for a variety of reasons.
“I’m Down”: (“Example: I’m down with that”) I agree, Count me in.
“Ride”: A vehicle
“Sweet”: (synonym for “Rad”, “Awesome”, and “Cool”)
“Bomb”: (example: “His “Ride” is the bomb!”) Totally Awesome, Rad and Cool
“Sick”: synonymous to “Bomb” and “Sweet”
“Dope”: synonymous to “Sick”
There are so many more! Please feel free to add! 
I have been attending “Ladie’s Night” for the past 20 or so years. This event coincides with the Priesthood session for men during General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It is an opportunity for women to escape with the credit cards and go wild.
When I first began to attend Ladie’s night, it was held at Mormon Handicraft, in Downtown Salt Lake City. Now days, you can find these events at craft stores, bookstores, scrapbook shops, and the like.
Here’s the scheme:
Advertise a party, including cookies and punch, free prize drawings throughout the evening, and a free gift to the first 100 people through the door. This gets the crowd there. And keeps them there. For the whole two hours.
When you arrive, you will find loads of opportunities to spend money in the form of “special deals” and demos showing what you can’t live without. And you’ll see the array of “prizes” being given away (but must be present to win).
All this, with no husband there to say NO!
Ok, so back to my story.
Over all the years I’ve been attending Ladie’s night, I can think of only two times that I haven’t won a drawing prize. This is the good part. It is for this reason that my husband doesn’t cringe when I say I’m going. (That, and the fact that I’ve been pretty good with the credit card so far). Each year when I get home, he just asks what I won this time. Doesn’t ask how much it cost him for me to win.
Most years I like to go with someone. I always tell them about my prize winning record, and most always keep it going. This year, I took my newest daughter-in-law. We both won! (But I won twice!)
I won a CD with 15 computer fonts and a tool carousel full of scrapbook supplies. (I attended at a craft store this time)
It’s all great fun!
“Nothing tastes as good as being healthy and thin feels” -unknown
I am a carbohydrate nazi.
Let me explain.
A little over 4 years ago. I was LARGE. Miserably overweight large. I hated it. I couldn’t understand how I got that way either. I wasn’t the type to eat the refrigerator every day. I just looked like I did. I exercised on a regular basis (Water aerobics three times a week for an hour each time) and I have always been VERY active. Kinda like the Energizer bunny, I just keep going. I cleaned houses for seven different clients for six years. That’s a lot of physical work! So how could I have gained so much weight?
I have struggled with hypoglycemia since I was in college, and fibromyalgia for the past 8 years. I am 5′5″ tall and weighed 103 lbs when I got married at age 20. I took aerobics classes three times a week. I weighed 120 a year later when I got pregnant with my first child. (Not so unusual to gain a little weight when you’re first married) Never lost the last 10 lbs from the first pregnancy, so I weighed 130 when I got pregnant with the second three years after the first was born. I wasn’t happy about that weight. I saw a doctor, who set me up with a dietician. I went on the American Heart Association Diet, following the lists for 2000, 1800, and 1500 calories a day, weighing and measuring everything and counting those calories. It was awful! I was so worn out trying to figure out what I could eat that nothing tasted good. I lost a few pounds, but not enough to encourage me. Four and a half years later, again, not having lost the last 10 lbs from my previous pregnancy, I weighed 140 lbs when I got pregnant with my third (and final) child.
We moved into our current home when our youngest was 3. I was at 155 lbs. at that point. (I had lost all but the last 10 lbs again, and then gradually gained another 5 lbs. Ok, this was getting ridiculous. I was careful about quantity. I tried to eat healthy meals and snacks. Snacks like carrot sticks, an apple, a piece of dry toast. Shortly after the snack, I would be hungry again.
When you have hypoglycemia, if you don’t eat when you’re hungry, you begin to feel nauseous. If you continue to ingnore the hunger, you get really sleepy and grumpy, followed by a headache, at which point you lay down and try to sleep. Then, after a short while, you lose your ability to reason, making it impossible to do anything for yourself. My husband would sometimes call from work in the afternoon, and he could always tell if I was at this point because my speech would be slurred, as if I were drunk. He would tell me to go in the kitchen and eat something specific, to raise my blood sugar so I could function again. Sometimes it was hard to even get up at that point.
After eating something, I would gradually rev back up, like my battery was slowly getting re-charged and I would be fine, for about a half hour, before it all started again. It was a vicious cycle of eating and crashing. But I was eating healthy, right? Well, sort of.
I lived like that for a lot of years. And gained weight slowly but steadily. I just didn’t know what to do about it.
Then we went to our Ward Family Christmas Party. I weighed around 170 at that point. Grossly overweight, considering my frame size and height. I saw a woman in our ward who is several years younger than me, who, at one point anyway, had been as overweight as I was, but she looked FABULOUS! WOW! What had she done to lose the weight??? I didn’t get around to asking her for a few months. I would see her at the gym every time I went to the pool. I thought maybe that was how she’s done it. Working her butt off a the gym. Not an option for me, with fibromyalgia. That’s why I started the water aerobics. It’s a good cardio and toning workout without the impact on the sore body.
One day I asked. What she said surprised me. She’d gone on the South Beach Diet. Ok, I’d seen the book, along with all the other “fad” diet books out there. Hadn’t heard anything about it though, until then. And it didn’t take hearing anything more to convince me, all I had to do was look at HER! Ok, if she could do it, I could do it.
Next trip to Costco, I found the book and bought it. (by then it was available in paperback, about $8)
I immediately started to read…and the more I read the more I said “Ah Hah!” It made so much sense! I wasn’t eating unhealthy things, it was just the wrong things at the wrong times. Every time I read I learned something, and immediately started to apply what I had learned. The results were immediate. It took me two weeks to read the book, but by the time I finished it, I had already lost weight! Amazing! AND I didn’t have to PAY someone to help me, or eat any disgusting, processed, overpriced food!
It was just before Mother’s Day. I purged the refrigerator and the pantry. I got rid of all those unhealthy carbs. I wrote up a shopping list and went to Costco and the grocery store. I bought lots and lots of good, healthy high protein phase 1 foods. Then I announced to my husband that we were getting serious now. And I prepared those healthy foods (didn’t follow their recipes. They were WAY too exotic for my cooking skills, but I just made up my own combinations of things using the foods on the list)
First two weeks we both lost 12 lbs! That first two weeks of phase one were a challenge for my hubby, but after the first 3 days, I felt TERRIFIC! I had ENERGY! And my sugar crashes were GONE!!! AND we were both losing weight. FAST!!! What a great reward! And motivation to continue!
At the end of that two weeks, as instructed, we started phase 2. It was great to have fruit back and a little whole grain bread. The weight continued to drop off. My goal was 140 lbs. Not in any specific amount of time, just as long as it took. I acheived that goal so easily, I set a new one. Wouldn’t it be awesome to weigh close to what I did when I got pregnant with my first? I shot for 125.
In October of that year, with only 3 lbs to go on my goal, I went on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera with my Mom, my sisters and some friends. I was determined to not re-gain the “average 8 lbs” people gain on a week long cruise. So I made careful choices at the breakfast and lunch buffet, and asked for “sugar-free” desserts in the dining room at night. This lasted about 3 days until the rest of the girls in my group told me I was crazy not to enjoy the delectable foods that were available. So I cheated. A little. Ok, a lot. But I only gained 5 lbs back by the end.
When I got home, I went back on phase 1, mostly to “de-tox” and get my sugar cravings under control again. I should have only done it for one week instead of two, because when I got back to phase 2, I had lost 10 lbs instead of the 8 I needed to reach my goal. Woo Hoo!!!! I had some leeway! I weighed 118 lbs! Just 15 more that I did the day I got married! And I felt great! All in all it took 6 months to lose 55 lbs.
I had a hard time moving forward to phase 3, which is the maintenance phase, and actually the lifestyle necessary to maintain a healthy weight. It was hard to move on, because I didn’t miss anything on phase 2. I was getting plenty to eat, and wasn’t hungry. I had all the variety I wanted. I continued to drop a few more pounds, and would fluctuate up and down about 3 pounds.
This went on for quite a while. I decided to have a physical, just to make sure losing that much weight that quickly hadn’t been unhealthy in any way. My report was amazing! Cholesterol levels were perfect. BMI index was excellent, and most of all, I felt better than I had since I was in my 20’s.
I no longer had fibromyalgia symptoms. I attributed this to both the weight loss and eliminating refined sugar and carbs from my diet.
I can attest to the fact that the South Beach Diet by Dr. Agatson works! It was a miracle for me, and changed my life! I maintained the weight loss for over 3 years, became ill, lost an unhealthy amount of weight due to the illness, which took over 18 months to even begin to regain. I have since regained about 25 lbs. (ten of it was needed to be healthy), and I’m now working again on losing another 10-15 lbs. to be at what I consider a healthy weight for me. (My doctor thinks it should be about 5 lbs under my current weight.)
Bottom Line: I did it! I found a solution to a big problem. I feel better, look better, have more energy, and am more able to face getting older without the fear of suffering for the rest of my life. For this I am so grateful…
