Well, as you can see, it has been a few days since I posted! We had general conference, Sophie's birthday and birthday party, and a lot of busy/craziness! But I have continued to make (mostly) healthy food choices, which has been good! I am glad I did the food log for a couple of days, because it really helped to get me to start thinking about what I am putting into my body instead of mindlessly sort of assuming I was being healthy overall, which really wasn't the case!
Some friends of mine invited me to to a health challenge they termed "the biggest winner". We did this last year. You get a certain amount of points for up to 6 cups of water per day, up to 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, not drinking soda, not eating treats, not eating fried food or junk food, and exercising up to 6 hours per week. We started last Monday, and my goal was to get a perfect score this week. And I did it! I said no to various treats that were offered me, made sure to up my fruit, veggie and water intake, and made sure to get an average of an hour of exercise per day. Mostly that has simply been taking the kids out for a walk, but at least it is something!
I would love to start running again, but I hurt my knee playing basketball a few weeks ago, and each time I try something more strenuous than walking, it starts acting up again. Also, this week I somehow pulled something in my back/chest. It's weird that they both hurt simultaneously. I guess it's just something deep down in the middle that hurts. But if I don't stay on top of my ibuprofin doses it really starts to hurt. I am usually very healthy (in the not sick or injured sense of the word) and not worried about physical ailments, but I feel like a bit of a hypochondriac this week. I found a couple of small bumps on the back of my neck, and Michael thinks they are probably just swollen lymph nodes, but I wonder. With my dad having cancer, it makes me worried. I set up a check up with a doctor, but they are all booked out a couple of weeks. In addition, I was talking to a friend who was asking for birth control suggestions, and I was telling her about my experience with my iud. She had been doing some research on the kind I have, and I mentioned that it had been great until this last week when I had really heavy flow and much more severe cramps than the last 10 months that I have had it. Then she mentioned that I should get that checked out because that's one of the signs that it might have perforated your uterus wall, and could cause serious problems. So now I can't stop thinking about that either! It's been a weird week. Oh, and add in the fact that over the past couple of months I have had my first experience with some weird scalp condition and have crazy dandruff. It's embarrassing and I'm confused about what is going on with me! So I see a dermatologist on Wednesday. Thirty is no good, I tell you!
So, that's been my week! Some successes, some worries. I lost 2 pounds over the course of the week, so that's something to celebrate.
Since general conference, my goal-setting mind has shifted to the spiritual. It really wasn't an amazing conference experience, because we were prepping for a party on Saturday (I have vowed never to do a birthday party on conference Saturday ever again) and celebrated a birthday on Sunday, and since the kids were pretty naughty and not listening, and since Michael and I were preeeetty grumpy with them, it really wasn't the spiritual feast I was hoping for. But since then I have been going over the messages online, and I have enjoyed them. So far there is exactly one thing that has stuck out to me. Someone quoted Matthew 25:40, which reads:
"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have adone it unto one of the bleast of these my cbrethren, ye have done it unto me."
And it was crazy how after I heard that scripture, it was all I could think about. I thought about how I treated my children, how I am so often impatient, how I use sarcasm with Ryan so often, how I try to get them to leave me alone too often, how I sometimes judge others and deride them in my mind, how I sometimes overlook things that Michael does for me because I am too busy focusing on what he hasn't done for me. Things that I don't really think about--at least in the moment--as really being very bad. But when I think about doing those things to my Savior, I feel racked with guilt. Because essentially, I have done them to my Savior. Each time I do those things to anyone, it is like I am doing them to my Savior, because he loves them so much. It is easy to understand as a parent. When Ryan makes one of his siblings hurt or sad, it is very much like he has done it to me.
So, I determined that one new goal that I am consciously striving for is to treat others like I would want to treat the Savior. I have obviously not been perfect, but I have been improving. And that feels good. I have noticed a couple of times that I have been able to stop myself in the moment and change direction, and prevent myself from doing or saying something that I would regret. I am struggling with how to quantify this goal, though. I always seem to do better when I am striving for a quantifiable goal. So, since I know that thinking and acting on a more spiritual level goes hand in hand with preparing myself spiritually for the day, here is my new quantifiable goal for this week:
*I will read my scriptures and say meaningful morning prayers at the first "quiet moment" chance I get on any given day. With how early my kids get up, this sometimes happens before we get going for the day, and it sometimes happens after I have dropped the boys off to school. Sometimes it even waits for nap time. But I am going to use the first chance I get to devote my energy to drawing nearer to my Heavenly Father and my Savior.
*I will keep my home at least at a baseline level of tidiness/cleanliness sothat the Spirit can dwell in our home.
*I will make more of an effort to keep out any music that isn't uplifting, and when I feel like listening to music, I will purposefully choose music that is uplifting, inspiring, and happiness-inducing.
*I will not watch and shows on hulu this week. Instead, if I need some entertainment or fun, I will do things together with my children, husband or friends that are uplifting, productive, active or service-oriented.
So there we go, my goals for this week! Go get it!
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