Chocolate Update

Okay.  So I accomplished my goal of Chocolate Free for 23.  Every time I wanted to eat chocolate I thought of admitting defeat on the blog and passed the temptation.  However, once the goal was reached I went swimming in a sea of chocolate delights.  I canceled out all my hard work and sacrifice by consuming my weight in cake, cookies, brownies, ice cream and such.

So, here I go again.  I am going to forgo treats until Rachel's 1st birthday (in 2 months).  My caveat is that I can have a small treat on date nights or at special occasions like weddings and such.

Honest Scrap

I happily accept this Honest Scrap Award.

The game is that you have to list 10 honest things about yourself, and then award it to 4 other people. 

1.  I feel like an alien.  I've landed on planet homemaker with only planet single experience.  I look at you wonderful women out there and feel so intimidated.  I'm so behind.  I have no clue what I am doing.  I look at my friends and neighbors that are my chronological age, they have teenagers and seem to have this wife and mother thing down.  I am so completely out of my element.  I don't cook, much.  I don't craft, much.  I don't use coupons, much.  I abhor cleaning.  When I do clean I feel like I'm doing it wrong somehow.  I don't know what to do with a 2 or 4 year old for more than an hour.  I feel like I'm making everything up as I go along.

2.  In what seems like a completely different life, I was a confident, persuasive, well-dressed, hard hitting woman.  I have worked as a Human Resources Coordinator, professional meeting planner, PR director, and benefits specialist.  I served a 19-month mission for the LDS Church to Richmond, VA.  I've served in a myriad of leadership, teaching, music, activities, and support calling in the church.  I have a  BS in Social Psychology and a minor in Music from BYU.  

3.  I have an overactive sensor in my head.  I read, reread and edit everything I write.  I try to edit what I am saying while I am speaking which often causes me to stumble and stutter.  I overthink past conversations.  I worry that I will (or did) sound too whiny, too judgmental, too spineless, too boring, too ridiculous, too, too, too, too...  However, when I am completely at ease I will talk non stop and tell crazy stories.

4.  I've decided to give up scrapbooking, at least for now.  I am in love with the bound books you can order online.  I put together a wonderful 100 page coffee table book with the story of how Doug and I met and our wedding.  It cost me $60.  The hours and the money I would have spent would have been astronomical if I had scrapbooked it.  I can hardly wait to put together the book for Rachel's first year.  I plan on building a book with the story of Elizabeth as well.

5.  I love being a mom.  As a young girl I would sing, "When I grow up I want to be a mother and have a family.  One little, two little, three little babies of my own..."  I wanted to be married and having babies before the age of 20.  When I turned 30 I decided to stop counting on marriage and family and go back to school.  I was working on an MS in Health Promotion and Education and planned on a Ph.D. in psychology when I met Doug.  My heart is still broken over the loss of Elizabeth.  Rachel makes my world go round.  I marvel at her amazing, beautiful little body.  I am in awe watching her learn new things each day.  She has been with me for almost 10 months and yet it feels like barely a week.

6.  I lost my sense of style 2 babies and 40 pounds ago.  I have few clothes that fit and would rather spend the money on my house, my husband or my baby girl.  Rachel is always dressed better than I am.  Often she is clothed with her hair done when I am still in my pajamas and ponytail.  Doug actually took the baby and told me to go shopping the other day.  I know this would be a dream for many women.  For me, trying on clothes needs to come with an extra dose of anti-depressants and perhaps a chocolate cake.  I almost always come away feeling fat and ugly.

7.  I am addicted to carbs, fats and simple sugars.  I love any and all chocolate.  I love breads, cakes, cookies, pasta, potatos, rice, ice cream, butter, creamy alfredo sauce, pizza, pancakes, waffles, real maple syrup and cinnamon rolls.  I do like healthy foods, they are just harder to cook and eat on the go.  I like salads when I eat out or with a group but not by myself.

8.  I love adventure.  I like to go places without a plan and just see what happens.  As a single girl I would travel to different cities by myself or with a friend and see what came my way.  I've gone to more movies by myself than I can count.  I used to get dressed up and go to dinner by myself.  I would pretend I was a mysterious woman from a far away place.  I would try to imagine what others might guess about this mysterious woman.  It was empowering.  I've bungee jumped, took lessons on how to be a white water rafting guide, served as a "ma" on trek, and will ride amusement park rides until my head and stomach feel like they will explode.

9.  I enjoy hosting parties.  I have four caveats to this.  First, I want a maid to come clean my house beforehand.  Second, I would like a chef to do all of the cooking.  Third, I have a hard time choosing who to invite.  There are a ton of people I want to get to know.  But, there is only so much room in my house.  Plus, unlike in the singles ward there are children to consider.  Fourth, I don't want to leave anyone out.  I always feel left out when I hear someone else got together and had a party, went on an excursion, or did anything social to which I wasn't invited.  I have a hard time doing things and leaving others out.  When I was in singles wards I just invited everybody even those I didn't really want to come.  The more the merrier in my book.  I haven't figured out how to do this on planet family so I've let it paralyze me.

10.  I like to name everything.  My laptop is Maggie.  My desktop computer used to be Blinky until I traded Doug for Bart.  Our cameras are Sheldon, Leonard and Raj.  My phones used to be Guido and George.  We have a robot vacuum named Mo.  Rachel's dolls are Molly and Polly the dollies.  Our cars are Homer and Pedro.

So now I have to pass the award on to four people.  I want to pass it to everybody.  I hate only choosing four.  If you wanted this to be awarded to you consider yourself awarded.
1.  Sonia at La Dolce Vita.  It's fun to read about her life in Italy.
2.  Nova at Noble Moments.  Nova is one of my longest standing friends and it's fun to see what her creative mind comes up with.  
3.  Amanda at Little Montague Boys.  Amanda is cool and quirky.
4.  Angie of the Nowling Family.  I really want to get to know her better.

Please don't make me eat THAT

One of my friends asked:   "Have you ever eaten something that you didn't like so you didn't hurt feelings? And have you ever made something that someone (besides family) told you they absolutely hated?"  I began to write a reply.  But, when the response became an essay I decided it would be fun to field the question on here.

When I was younger I liked hosting fancy dinner parties.  In college they were usually accompanied with a "How to Host a Murder" game.  I tried to match the meal to the setting of the game.  I often tried new recipes on my unsuspecting guests.  There were times that nobody ate one or more of the items.

My biggest disappointment occurred with family.  One Christmas I made a four course meal for family and some friends.  There were quite a few who flat out refused to eat some of the dishes.  The biggest objection was to the vichyssoise, a cold potato soup similar to gazpacho.  Plus, they wanted to have all of the courses at once.  I haven't tried serving an elegant meal to my family since that episode. 

Now eating food I don't like is a whole other kettle of fish... literally.  When I was a kid I was fed, by my 7 older siblings, many "delicacies."  I tried unsweetened cocoa, banana peel, and peanut butter and bologna sandwiches.  Perhaps that is where I gained my picky eating.  It's only been in the last decade that I have begun being adventurous in my food choices. 

I tried a lot of foods during my dating years.  I always wanted to be "cool."  I'm not a fan of peaches.  I went on a weekend excursion with a guy a really liked.  He stopped in a little town in Wyoming.  When I got back from the little girls room he presented me with a peach.  He declared that he had spent time picking the very best peach for me.  So I ate it.  I praised him for picking this delectable treasure for me.  I vowed, to myself, that if we got married I'd have to tell him I didn't like peaches.  It bit me again later that trip when he showed up with a peach shake from the local market.  He said he knew he had to get me one because I loved peaches so much.  Darn my acting ability!

My mission forced me to kick my eating strange food up another level.  I ate everything placed in front of me.  Virginia is not another country.  But, people can still come up with odd foods.  Luckily, I never had to try chitlins.

Now I try to keep an open mind.  There are foods I still don't eat on my own.  But, if you invite me to dinner I will try most of what is placed in front of me.