Adieu

Farewell February. I have often wondered how a short month can seem so insufferably long. But this year you have given us a welcome reprieve from the cold, snowy, gray days that usually accompany your arrival.

This break from routine has caused me to notice some new and wonderful things about you, February. First, with each day you let a little more light in to start my day and then you let the light linger a little while longer before ushering in the night.

Second, you have greeted me with some magnificent sunrises and birds chirping. These make the early morning runs much more enjoyable and give me something to look forward to.

And this year, February, you brought us the Winter Olympics. How I loved watching the Games. To watch athletes compete at that level and caliber allowed me to live vicariously through them.

Thank you February for visiting this year and being such an accommodating guest. Your behavior was above reproach. You've left me anxious to see what March brings.

Ooh, That Must be the Truth Whapping Me in the Face

Lately the kids have been into playing the game "Imagniff". It is a pretty fun game and causes some pretty deep chuckles when the answers are revealed. However, the game should come with a warning. "Warning: players may feel at ease enough to reveal how they really feel." Two examples of my children's real feelings. Question 1: Imaginiff mom were a weather forecast. Which would she be?

1. Severe Thunderstorms
2. Partly cloudy
3. Freezing Rain
4. Breezy
5. Heat Wave
6. Fair & Mild

Well Dave and I both picked #6--Dave because he knew that would be in his best interest. Me, because I thought that I was becoming more temperate. Which answer do you think my children picked?

Well? They picked freezing rain! Freezing Rain? Nobody likes freezing rain. I would have been OK with thunderstorms because they are at least cool to look at and dissipate quickly. Freezing rain sticks around and makes everyone miserable.

OK, deep breath. Concentrate on developing temperance. OK, moving on in the game. Next question about mom.

Imaginiff mom were a body part. Which would she be?

1. Bicep
2. Funny Bone
3. Gluteus Maximus
4. Cranium
5. Heart
6. Backbone

Dave picks #5 cuz he's just sweet that way. I pick #4 cuz I think I'm pretty smart. My children pick...#3. They think I'm a butt. What the heck?!

So these were the defenses they offered up. First, freezing rain because I am always cold. Second, gluteus maximus because it is a strong muscle. Hmmm, still not sure if I'm buying all that. What do you think?

Tales of the Weird and Not in My Job Description

I don't know that this week at work was particularly "weird" but it was rather busy. It was another round of nit-picking at one of the elementary schools I work at. The same school that we've been working on since before Christmas. Seriously, can we just be done with this plague of lice? Is there some rod I can hold up, have parents look at, and declare all lice dead? Oh to be a modern-day Moses just so I did not have to pick another nit. A male staff member asked me to look at a bump on his chest. Looking is fine, but he also wanted me to feel the lump. That was a first, can't say that I have palpated any lumps on anyone at school--other than the occasional head bump. But there definitely was a lump so I referred him to his primary care doc. Taught 7th graders about blood-borne pathogens, particularly Hep A, B, and C. Nothing like teaching middle school kids to remind you of the importance of checking for understanding. There were a couple of times when I was thinking, "how in the world did your brain process what I just said and come up with a question like that?" Splinted a broken arm this morning. The little girl was in the beginning stages of shock by time she arrived at school. She broke her arm on the way to the bus stop, got on the bus and came to school. There was no question that the arm was broken. Have you seen the Harry Potter movie, Chamber of Secrets? Do you remember the scene where Harry broke his arm? Remember how the arm was bowed? Yeah, so was this little girl's. OK, so I guess dealing with all of those things are probably included in my job description (well, maybe not feeling staff member's lumps), but when all of them occur on back-to-back days, I begin to wonder what the heck is going on. Oh and last night...I got home from the temple at about 9:45. Katelyn had put herself to bed. The boys are out of town. The phone rings about 10 p.m. It's my visiting teacher asking me if I had heard the news. What news? Well, apparently their are cops canvasing the neighborhood (my neighborhood) with a K-9 unit looking for a convicted felon. Sure enough, I can see the flashing lights at the end of the block. Great, so much for a good night's sleep.

And This is How Things are Spread

Dear Room Mom: I want to commend you for your attempt today to balance the usual sweet, sugary treats found at parties with more healthy options. The Valentines crafts were fun and simple enough for the kids to be thoroughly engaged. And did you notice how the veggie trays and other healthy foods were also consumed by hungry youngsters? However, I have a bone to pick with you. Why would you sabotage your efforts to promote health and wellness by bringing your sick child to the party? You know the child that the school already sent home once today because s/he had a fever of 101.6? I realize that you probably were feeling pressured to attend the party since you had volunteered to help. But I'm sure a quick e-mail or text explaining the situation would have been all the teacher needed. Those teachers are amazing at working under pressure--especially since I think there were probably at least 10 other parents in the room who could have filled in. OK, maybe you just felt like you really had to be there. I get it. So here are two more options for you to consider. First, see if a friend could watch your child for the hour your are at the party. No, you couldn't possibly ask a friend to watch your sick child because you don't want to get them sick? OK, well last resort...have your child rest in the health room at school while you help at the party. Your child will be well cared for, it will be quiet, and most importantly, s/he will not be exposing all other 21 students in the classroom to whatever "bug" s/he has! Sincerely, Nurse Graham

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

So Friday I was at the gyno's office, discussing gyno things. I think the yearly visits are bad enough, but when things are a little "off" and you have to make an extra trip, I think that is almost unmentionable. And I really wasn't going to mention it at all except Dave thought the story was funny. And I promise it is all G-rated stuff. So the conversation was going along nicely UNTIL the doctor said "Well, you know at your age". I'm sure she continued in her side of the conversation, but my mind stopped immediately at the "At your age" comment. Suddenly I was thinking, am I really at "at your age" status? How did that happen? When did that happen? And then I was thinking that what I really wanted to tell the doctor was "Excuse me, doc, but if 40 is the new 20 then I'm only 18! So don't give me any of that "at your age" mumbo jumbo. Slowly my mind re-focused just in time to hear her say...so I think that you could consider yourself in the perimenopausal time, even though you are a little young for that. Oh sure, now you try and salvage the conversation by trying to assuage the feelings of someone you had just informed was "at your age" status. Then she proceeded to order a mammogram and breast ultrasound (the reasons why I made an extra trip to the gyno's office). Roll forward to today and here are the G-rated basics of the mammogram and ultrasound. First, there should be a better way to take x-rays of those things. Squishing them as flat as you can and then turning a knob to squish them even flatter is pretty darn near as painful as giving birth and passing a kidney stone (both of which I have done on more than one occasion). Second, why is it the breast that isn't giving you problems is the one that gets the call back for another round of fun and pictures? Third, if you are the ultrasound tech, just don't say anything because when you say "everything looks normal" after scanning one breast and then saying nothing except "I'm going to show these pictures to the radiologist" after scanning the other breast (the one that got the call back), one begins to wonder if something is wrong. And finally, when you and the radiologist come back into the room with your eyes downcast and the rest of your face looking somber, that sends an immediate message that something is wrong. So if the news is good, come in with a more positive approach. Fortunately all is well and I should be good to go when I turn "20" in a couple of years. PS Sorry brothers if this was too much for you. But Dan, let this be a lesson to you--work on your facial expressions before you hit residency! Don't try and appear neutral because I think that will always be read as "trouble is brewin'".

Gluten-free Baking Success Stories

Giving up wheat is hard--I've said that before. Sometimes I really miss real bread, real pastry items, and real pasta. So I am always excited when a gluten-free recipe works out. I know I have a winner when my boy, Carson, will eat it. I've been playing around with different flours to try and re-create the texture that is found in pastries (cookies and cakes). I think I've finally found some flours that work well...a mixture of sorghum, coconut, and teff. I've tried rice flours, but I think they leave the mix too sticky for the most part. The products of my experimenting... On the left there is Sweet Potato Cornbread and on the right Chocolate Chunk Cookies. The framework for both recipes were from Karina's Kitchen. I added my own "tweaks" to make the recipes work for me...the chocolate chip cookie recipe was vegan and I refuse to go vegan! (I have had to give up enough good stuff). So I used shortening, used sorghum, teff and coconut flours, didn't add the milk (although I'll try that next time). The cornbread called for 3/4 cup of sweet potato puree, but I didn't have enough so I added 1/2 sweet potato, 1/4 creamed corn and cut the oil in half. I also left out all of the spices, except for the vanilla. The flour mixture was sorghum, coconut, and brown rice (1/2 c, 1/4c, 1/4 c respectively). Carson keeps asking to eat my cookies and David gave me a thumbs up for the cornbread. I also took some of the cookies to lunch yesterday and shared them with my lunch table buddies. One of the gals has celiac disease and so is on gluten-free diet like me. The other ladies don't know how we do it. The best two compliments from yesterday about the cookies? Gluten-free buddy asked for the recipe. Another gal, who was a little skeptical at first, said "Mmm. I like gluten-free cookies." If you have friends or family that are living a gluten-free lifestyle, have them checkout http://www.glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/.

Because I Said I Would

Our Sunday services are 3 hours--the first hour the entire congregation meets together listening to talks prepared by congregation members; 2nd hour are different Sunday School classes where scripture is studied and discussed; 3rd hour is for Relief Society and Priesthood meetings. That is the usual schedule of events. On occasion, however, the 2nd and 3rd hours are used in a different manner. Such was the case this past Sunday. I have to admit that when I heard that we were having a combined meeting for 2 hours, I grumbled a little bit under my breath. I enjoy breaking the 3 hour block up into three 1-hour meetings. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the clock and discovered that we only had 30 minutes left. I had been more engaged in the topic (missionary work) than I thought I would be. The last 30 minutes we were able to break out into our Relief Society and Priesthood groups. Once in Relief Society, we spent some time discussing the message that we had just heard about. I'm not the best missionary, not because I have a weak testimony or am embarrassed by the teachings of the church, but because I feel like things in my home should be in order before I try to being a missionary to others. Anyway, we talked about ways that we could share the gospel message and blogging, Facebook, Twitter were all mentioned. This little blog came to my mind immediately (and I told the RS sisters that I would post a link here). I realize that it is primarily my family that reads this, but that's OK because the clip that I'm going to link you to tonight, is a message for everyone and maybe one of you needs to hear it or feel the Spirit that is present as you are watching. The clip is about our eternal nature. I know that we are children of a Heavenly Father and that we lived with Him before we came to this earth. I know that we have a divine nature and potential. We were not placed here by accident. Our Heavenly Father loves us. I know this is a gospel truth. Watch the clip, let your heart be awakened to a principle that you were taught before you were born. The clip is a selection of scriptural references set to music that allow the Holy Ghost to speak to your heart. yes, I provided the same link twice, just in case you missed the first one.