WFMW: alternative to soda pop

In my quest to change my eating and health, I had to give up Diet Coke once again.  I had given it up in January 2007, but it slipped back into somehow.  I have learned that drinking a splash of 100% fruit juice mixed with sparkling mineral water really helps to "curb" that craving for soda.  Depending on the flavor of fruit juice, it even feels a little like a wine cooler.  For me, I am looking for 100% fruit juice (no added sugar).  So the drink feels like a treat, and I enjoy the refreshment without filling my body with yuck.

A couple of recommended sparkling waters:  Perrier or S. Pellegrino

One of the best brands for fruit juice:  R.W. Knudsen

You can check out more Works for Me Wednesday Tips by going here!

Dysregulated

Ok, if you are not familiar with the psychology of emotional regulation...let me quickly catch you up. Simply put, we are either regulated or dysregulated. When we are calm and thinking rationally, we are regulated. But every single one of us has had a moment here and there of being dysregulated. When our emotions are so loud, we act a little "crazy." We might scream things, throw things, bite people's heads off....and very often, we wonder where that came from. It may even be like someone took over our bodies for a moment. Factors that lead to a state of dysregulation are stress and fear (and the occasional hormone).

I am operating on a daily basis, dysregulated. My dysregulation is pretty quiet, but I am stressed to the gills. Workload is ginormous, working on my clinical hours, home is out of order, medical issues, hubby needs a full-time job. All it takes to set me off right now is a simple "turn of a dime." And let's add two different bouts of stomach bug in the last couple weeks. Stress makes you sick, you know? It lowers our immunities, so when those germs come across us....our defense is down. But the sickies add to my stress.

So, I need not justify the extra moments here and there that I take to nurture myself or pamper myself. These moments are more important now more than ever. I would welcome ideas....what little things do you do to nurture yourself? I also solicit your prayers. If you are a believer, please please please lift me and my family up! I have no idea how long this "added stress" will last, but I need supernatural strength to pull me through to the other side.

Lamentations 3:21-26

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

 It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

The Power of Writing Goals Down

You've probably heard that writing your goals down makes you more likely to achieve those goals. I've heard this for awhile. I even remember several years ago running across a list my husband had made that included buying a house and publishing a book...both of those as well as everything else on the list had been accomplished (with one exception...he has not run for Congress yet). That list really drove home for me that writing things down makes a difference. I happen to run across a list I had made a little over 5 years ago of 25 things I want to have, do, or be. It was really fun reading over this list. Here's my list, with my commentary...

1. fun mom (I hope I am)
2. devoted wife (I know I am)
3. spiritual mom, wife (usually)
4. admired social worker (by some)
5. good housekeeper (so-so....but I hired a good one to come in every other week)
6. a tattoo of a Christian fish (got it)
7. another house (got one 6 months after list was made)
8. a Volkswagen bug (got it....but have since traded it in)
9. a good memory maker (I can be)
10. a good memory keeper (scrapbooking...I go through spurts and am caught up to the end of 2007)
11. a wardrobe that fits (ha, ha....this was because I had lost 50 pounds....got some great clothes that fit....then I gained some weight....but I'm losing again)
12. an MSW (whew....I had to work for this degree....but I got it)
13. healthy (I was healthy when I made the list....guess I wanted to stay healthy....working on it)
14. inspirational to others (at times)
15. Kadesh leader for life (this is a church camp Hubs and I used to be group leaders in....we did it 5 years....then we took a break....still on that break)
16. Christian kids (for sure!)
17. good skin (this one is a sad face....I guess I am plagued with acne....ever see an 80 year old with acne? Hang around 45 years....)
18. close to God (MUCH closer than I was then for sure...but He's addictive....I want to be even closer)
19. a good pray-er (I'm decent....I would like to be better....of course, I am thinking of public praying....I do pray on my own more now than I did then....guess the definition is vague)
20. organized (when you come to see the 80 year old with acne....she will probably still be disorganized....grrr)
21. balanced (mostly)
22. Jesus Freak (oh yeah!)
23. funny, witty (to myself....to my kids....and to a few who appreciate my humor!)
24. good with finances (yeppers....Dave Ramsey rocks!)
25. approachable (how do you measure this? and what was I thinking when I put this down?)

That is 7 things to have....I got 6 of them. 18 things to be...and 14 of those I would check as saying achieved (at least tipping the scale for mostly). I didn't have any things to do on my list...next list, ummm, I should do that. I think that is really good odds...20 out of 25....80%....pretty cool! The best part is having the list to refer to. Blogging helps that out....take my 101 Things list,for instance...that is a great thing to refer to. I'll be updating how I'm doing on the list before long. But for the purposes of this post, I thought it cool to see a list from 5 years ago. And, how cool is it that I didn't refer to the list but still accomplished as much as I did? I had forgotten I wrote the list.

What are your goals?

Fuzzball Has a Birthday

Do you see that cute little gray face?  That is my fuzzball.  He turns one year old today.  His real name is "Scout" but sometime when he was a kitten, we started calling him "Fuzzball." And it has stuck more than "Scout."  

Now I have to tell you....my family begged me for a kitten for a good long time.  We had our wiener dog, and I thought that was plenty.  I am not anti-animal in the least...I was just reluctant to add another animal to the mix.  I was the only one in my family that was reluctant.  The kids and the dad would "gang up" up on me from time to time, calling me from the pet store.  But I never gave in.

Finally, I got them to quit that....I just said, "We can get a kitten, but she will have to find me."  So then they were waiting for her to find me.  Notice it said "her."  I had decided it would be a girl and we would name her "Scout" after To Kill a Mockingbird.

This bought me some time, but I would keep putting them off....maybe during Spring Break....then Spring Break came and "she didn't find me."  Then I put them off and said "maybe during the summer."  So last summer, my son was very disappointed and reminded me that it was summer and we still didn't get a kitten.  They were about to go to camp and my mind started thinking of a way to surprise them....and maybe have a kitten by the time they came back.  However, we found some kittens in the CVS parking lot THAT day (it was a Saturday)...and we picked out a gray one.  He was 5 1/2 weeks old and had been abandoned by his mother.  AND HE WAS A HE.....but we still named him "Scout."  

My husband took very good care of this little guy.  We took him to the vet, had him checked out....  We had to give him formula at first.  We had to be concerned about his bathroom habits...

Before long, we all had adopted him.  And interestingly enough....the one most reluctant to get a cat (that would be me) is the one most attached to the little fuzzball.  My husband gets frustrated with me and what I "allow" the kitty to do.  He runs the place...for sure!  He sleeps a great deal of the time in my bed, right between the Hubs and I...like he's a person!  He wants "loving" early in the morning(3 a.m., 4 a.m., 5 a.m.).  For the longest time, I would sleep with my hands under the pillow because he would be coaxing my hands onto his head so I'd pet him.  

So, for 2009, my kids each had birthdays (one in January, one in March).  I did not blog about them this year.  My dear, sweet husband had a birthday in February....no blog post wishing him a happy birthday.  But this little kitten that I didn't even want is having a birthday ON the National Day of Prayer (which I mention as a side note)....and I blog about him and his birthday.  I am a twisted individual.  I do love this little guy so much.  He makes me so happy.  I haven't felt this way about a pet since I was a kid.  And I don't understand why I love him so much, maybe too much....but look at him....he's so cute!

(And, I love my kids more than the kitten...just so you know!)

Good Stuff!!

Here's a great song! Be blessed!!

Romans 12:9-13

My 9th verse I am memorizing is as follows:

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality."

This is from the New International Verson.  I especially like verse 12....the "be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."