Fashion Police for Romance Sake

Mr Medic is so lucky to have me to keep an eye out for him!

I have saved him from several fashion emergencies in five years of marriage.

I appreciate that he is thrifty and wants to wear something into the ground before throwing it out, but occasionally the phrase "out with the old, and in with the new" just has to be enforced.  You can all thank me for a job well done.

Here are just a two upgrades:

There are no words for the ones on the left.  May they rest in peace!
Hooray for new Chaco's on a fantastic deal

The ones on the right are the new, just in case you couldn't tell.  You better believe
he got compliments the very day he sported those new-to-him kicks!

You can call me vain, petty, or what you will.  I get it...they are just a couple pair of shoes.  Why should I care what he puts on his tootsies?

I'll tell you why I care.

I believe that if you aren't what your spouse wants to look at, they are sure to find it elsewhere.  The world is full of things that will fight for your spouses attention, and will win if we (couples) don't do our part to keep up the romance.  General attraction, along with many other things, is part of that romance...at least in my mind.

I think it is important to say/do/wear things that we know make our partner attracted to us.

Some may argue that you should love your spouse just the way they are, or that they shouldn't have to change for you to be attracted to them.  I do not agree.

If Mr Medic were to tell me that he loves when I wear the color red, you better believe I'm gonna make it a point to wear it often, even if it is not my top choice.

If it's not an absolute no, as in he's not asking me to wear a muumuu or some other ridiculous request, why wouldn't I do what I could to show him I care about his likes and want to be attractive for him?

I must admit, it has taken some time for Mr Medic to warm up to my wardrobe requests.  In fact he was quite obstinate at first. I wish I had tried communicating the "why" behind my suggestions sooner.  I'm not sure how it even came to me or when, but I finally took the time to explain to him why I suggested different clothes or accessories.  Simply put, certain styles, colors, cuts, etc appeal to me more than others.  Combine those things that appeal to me with the man that I love and I go koo-koo for cocoa puffs (aka Mr Medic)

Ladies, you know what I'm talking about.  You know your husband has that one shirt you love him to wear...right?  Whether it be because it emphasizes his gorgeous blue eyes, or it reminds you of that incredible first date you went on together, there is a reason you love it.  And I bet he doesn't mind wearing it just because he knows you love it!

That doesn't seem so ridiculous now does it?

What about when you wear your "sunday best" to church.  Why is that?  Is it because you want to show the Lord that He is important to you?  Or maybe because it sets that worship experience apart from other experiences in life.

I say, why not give our partners our "I-want-to-be-attractive-to-you best" too?  It shows we are important to each other, and that we want our continued courtship to be set apart or better than anything else there is to offer.  I am not suggesting that we must always be 100% presentable and in tip-top condish, or that there is no place for the workout wear, jam-jams, or get-the-work-done-grubbies, but that we just do what we can to look smokin' hot for the person we want to spend the rest of forever with.

It's ok to want to look good to the one you love, and to want them to look good to you.

I hope I'm not alone in this.

Without getting personally graphic or embarrassing, what does your partner do/say/wear that makes them more attractive to you?  

Here's one of mine that isn't appearance related, just so you have a little evidence that I'm not completely superficial:

I am completely and utterly attracted to Mr Medic being a daddy.  I love watching him be with my boys- having fun with them, teaching them, caring for them, whatever.  I just want to grab that guy and kiss his face when I witness that.

Top L to R: Getting ready for bath time, reading a story, "holding" Goob
Bottom L to R: "nap" time, train ride with Twodles, going on a walk

Natural Man

Scripture of the Day:  "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."  -Mosiah 3:19, The Book of Mormon

Curse the natural man!  hahaha  Why do we have to be so self-concerned by nature?

I'm glad this verse spells out what to do to rid ourselves of that person we are so inclined to be.

1. Yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit
2. Put off the natural man
3. Become a saint through the Atonement of Christ
4. Become as a little child

Today I am most hung up on becoming as a little child.  I just can't wrap my mind around that idea.  I guess its more the qualities listed that describe a child that I'm just not grasping:

          submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things

My inability to envision becoming as a child, or obtaining these childlike qualities may be due to the fact that I have a 2 year old who is experiencing what I like to think is toddler PMS, and an almost 1 year old who is teething and was recently immunized.  Maybe that paints a somewhat accurate picture of the lack of any of the above mentioned childlike qualities floating around our place lately!  ;)

Nevertheless, I will choose to remember the wonderful moments when my children do posses those childlike qualities and strive each day to be more like that.

And I think I'll start with patience

All that He Requires

Scripture of the Day:  "And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should proser in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hat said; therefore if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you."  -Mosiah 2:22, The Book of Mormon

For some reason I was dumbfounded at the phrase "all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments"  To some it may seem like an impossible task, but today it seemed very do-able to me.

Of course, I am not perfect at keeping the commandments, but it doesn't say we have to be.

I am reminded of this quote to back this idea of not being perfect at everything (commandments) all at once:

We need not worry if we can't simultaneously do all of the thing that the Lord has counseled us to do.  He has spoken of a time and a season for all things.  In response to our sincere prayers for guidance, He will direct us in what should be emphasized at each phase of our life.    -For Peace at Home, Richard G. Scott 

We are promised that if we keep the commandments we will be blessed and prospered.  Its not till the end of the same chapter that these blessing are laid more specifically.

"And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of neverending happiness.  O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it."  -Mosiah 2:41, The Book of Mormon

These are the blessing listed:

For the our life on earth-
-We are in a happy state (who doesn't want to be happy)
-Blessed in all things, temporal and spiritual

For our eternal destiny-
-Received into heaven
-Dwell with God in a state of neverending happiness

I feel very hopeful that I can do my part by keeping the commandments, and I know without doubt that God will keep His word to grant these blessings.

Prosperity and Progress

Scripture of the Day:  "Therefore as they were unfaithful they did not prosper nor progress in their journey, but were driven back, and incurred the displeasure of God upon them; and therefore they were smitten with famine and sore afflictions, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty."  -Mosiah 1:17, The Book of Mormon

*Note: bolded words refer back to verse 

Each of us is on our own journey toward some goal or aspiration.  Our journey may include finishing school, seeking a career path, having a family, losing weight, overcoming illness, mastering a new skill, overcoming bad habits, completing a project, etc.

Occasionally on our journey we are driven back, smitten with famine and sore afflictions and it's easy to feel like an outside source is the cause of these setbacks.  This may sometimes be the case, as we cannot control others or take away their agency in acting how they wish.  But might I suggest from this verse, that more often than not, we are our own stumbling block to obtaining our goals.

Our journey in obtaining goals is easily thwarted when we lose faith- faith in ourselves, faith in God, faith in others, etc.  Loss of faith prevents progress or prospering.

There is a reason for being driven back.  Personally I believe it gives us opportunity to take ownership of our situation and make changes that will allow us to begin to progress again, in other words, it helps us to remember our duty.  Are we doing our part?  Are we doing all that is in our power to achieve the results we want.

Being driven back and experiencing trials or being smitten with famine and sore afflictions also requires humility.  We cannot accomplish anything without the help of Christ, therefore we must have faith in Him.  Only then are we able to do all things.  It is so easy to become prideful, relying on our own knowledge, strength, and abilities and forget in whom we must trust.

Practice Makes...Better

I need a little pep talk cause I haven't exercised one lick this week.

Last week I went for a run in the wind, and of course, it stunk.  As soon as I made it to my running trail I was startled by some professional runner chic that came up behind me.  I almost had an accident, which I know is common for hardcore runners, but I had to control myself.  I'm not hardcore and don't have any excuse for peeing my pants like someone who was running a marathon might. 

My being startled was immediately overshadowed by the fact that pro runner chic was galloping gracefully along like a beautiful thoroughbred.  Her stride was incredible.  I couldn't even pretend that I was keeping pace with the horse girl.  She was long gone within seconds.  

As I watched her move farther and farther away and eventually disappear, I started to feel a little deflated.  But I kept running.  

To make the experience even more glorious, my music listening device was malfunctioning and stopped after only one song.  I knew I couldn't make it without my tunes so I fumbled around trying to get it to continue while still attached to my arm band and maintaining as much of a running speed as was possible.  I must not be good at multitasking because eventually I had to stop and get things situated.  I'm sure I lost a good 30 seconds, or more.  

By then my run was completely ruined.  I thought to myself "whatevs, I'm going home" which ironically was where my running route ended.

As I terminated the stopwatch expecting to be well over my usual time of 12 minutes and 30ish seconds, I was pleasantly surprised to see this:

With my little music mishap and the time it took to stop and correct, I am pretty confident that I ran that mile a whole minutes faster than I normally do!

I'm totally hardcore!  ;)  I've earned the right to pee my pants while running (joke)

Now if I can just get that thoroughbred out in front of me every morning.

One last success to help in my little pep talk.  Since I haven't seen a change in numbers on the scale I decided to do some measuring.  In about a months time here are the changes:

Neck-      .5" decrease
R Arm-     1" decrease
L Arm-    .5" decrease
R Thigh-  1.25" decrease
L Thigh-  .5" decrease
R Calf-    .5" increase
L Calf-    .25" increase

My goal is to see some change in the waist and hip next.  The baby fat has received it's official eviction notice.

  

Spiritual Giant

This picture represents one of my most rewarding mom moments of all time.  The picture itself has no significance other than the way my sweet Twodles looked when he said something that made me feel like all my efforts as a momma were worth it.  I don't ever want to forget!

I sat feeding Goob his usual breakfast fav, oatmeal while Twodles fed himself like a big boy.  Twodles is currently in the "why" or  "what does that mean" stage, which is actually really exciting to see his little brain connecting ideas and learning.

Today's Q&A session began with "what does aftermoon (afternoon) mean?"  I explained.

His next question was "when is church?"  I told him that it was on Sunday, in the afternoon.

He smiled.

Then I asked "do you like church?" He replied "yes!"

When I asked why he liked church I was expecting him to say something like "goldfish" which is the snack he has during sunday school, or some other 2-year-old appropriate response. Instead he blew me out of my seat.

"I like the Spirit...do you like the Spirit mommy?"

Immediately tears came streaming down my face (which you know sparked another question "are you sad mommy?" hahaha)  I couldn't believe that my little boy could say something so perfect, completely unscripted or memorized.

I took the time to tell him I had happy tears, and that I did in fact love the Spirit.

At some point something that Mr Medic and I have said or done has sunk into his tiny heart and he knows that at church we feel the Spirit.

I hope to always help him have opportunities at church and at home to feel the Spirit and remember that he likes it.

<3

Who's Counting Anyway?

Three days ago I was reunited with two long lost friends...the digital food scale, and MyPlate-calorie tracker.

If I'm in the business to lose weight it has to be done, but it's just so hard while I'm still nursing.  I can eat a meal and literally feel like my stomach is completely empty 30 minutes later.

I wouldn't say that I am on the tracking train yet, but I have wanted to see how much I'm consuming, and try to work my way down to 1800 calories. (good for nursing)  I will get there eventually, and will then work my way down to 1200/cal after I'm done nursing.

I'm pretty hungry, which is normal when decreasing calories and increasing physical activity.  I just have to remind myself not to play the "I can eat whatever I want, I'm nursing" card, which is a lot like the "I can eat whatever I want, I'm pregnant" card.

I made some forms to keep close at all times that will help me track what I am eating.  They even fit in a purse or wallet for eating out.  They are based off the forms used at the college for the weight loss program I did in 2011.  I got them laminated so I can use a marker to check things off throughout the day.

The front has how many servings you get of each food group.
The back has the serving sizes and  other suggestions

With all this effort, if I haven't lost 10 lbs come Monday when I step on the scale, I QUIT!  ;)