Getting Back on the Diet

I'm still struggling to resist cravings and stick to the diet I feel best on. So, I'm resorting to psychological tactics. I find that, at times like this, what I'm really wanting is protein (especially chicken!) and salt. I can't resist chips and meat meals. So, I'm starting by giving in. I bought chicken - lots of it, pesticide-free, both dark and white meat, and I wrapped it in foil and baked it. I start with the dark meat, since that seems to be what tastes best, and I salt it well. It's delicious and just what I want! But then, after the second or third piece, I remember why I stopped eating dark meat. It's fatty and really gross! So then I switch to white meat, still well salted. In the meantime, I continue to make green smoothies and eat them throughout the day. By the second day, I start to remember that white meat isn't as good as I always anticipate in the midst of cravings. It's really dry. By then, my cravings are subsiding and I'm getting really sick of chicken. And from that point, it's no problem sticking to the diet. I usually still have a little chicken left over to fall back on if I start craving again. By the third day, I'm eating the last piece of chicken, but not enjoying it.

For a 'wannabe' vegan, it's a disgusting cure. But it does seem to work, and I console myself by telling myself that my body could probably use the extra dense protein from time to time. And J, who also loves and craves chicken, never seems to mind helping me eat the chicken. ;)

Freedom of Religion

Don't read our Constitution, friend,
Lest you should recall
Our history--which is, you know,
Unconstitutional.

Mention not the name of God
Nor speak of your religion:
This our Fathers clearly made
A breach of Separation.

Nor our motto nor our pledge
Are we allowed to say,
But (minus Christianity)
God bless the USA!

Vacation's Over

Miss Roxie went home, and now it's back to work, back to the mundane routine (which includes school), and back to the diet. So far I'm not doing so good with that last part. I only usually do a little bit of walking on the treadmill, but even that fell by the wayside this week. And it's hard getting back to the diet routine. I've been doing a raw diet this year, hoping to increase my energy and feel less stiff (old age creeping up, no doubt!) I have this theory that, if the diet is predominantly unprocessed produce in a natural state, the body will be better able to handle a few indiscretions. Generally, I eat a LOT of "green smoothies." They're basically fruit smoothies with some leafy greens thrown into the blender. So the smoothie has those vital leafy greens, but tastes like a fruit smoothie. And there's very little chopping, so it's easier than making a salad.

This week, I put my theory to the test. I started my days with green smoothies, but by evening, I was having chicken, salmon, Thai noodles, popcorn, even chocolate cake. I feel pretty good in spite of a week of that, but it's hard going back. I'd forgotten to factor in cravings! And now it's cold, and a chicken and potato casserole sounds so much more appealing than a green smoothie.

Good Reading

The Common Room has some interesting posts today. There's one on the politics of book banning and related censorship of ideas, a post that includes part of a GI's letter that was censored out of the liberal news media (you need to read it!), and a post about the state of higher education that will interest homeschoolers.

New Lenses

After all those 2am nights with the visiting Miss Roxie, I slept in this morning. Miss M was up before me. After playing by herself for a few minutes, she came up to the bed and and said, "Here you go, Mommy, here you go!" and she handed me my contact lens case. Whew, I thought -- I'm glad she handed it to me before she got it open!

Then I opened it and discovered that she had handed it to me after she had gotten it open. This is all I found in the left compartment of the case:

They're gas permeable rigid lenses, and I have no idea where the rest of the lens is. I spent the morning at the eye doctor's, getting a new pair of contact lenses.

I Made a Cloak!

I started with a pattern online. I've made these for Tim and his brothers, and then Miss Roxie and I made three, and then it dawned on me - by making the hood neck bigger and gathering it to fit the neck of the cloak, I could make a better looking hood. So I tried it on a cloak I made for myself. I also made an extra quarter of a circle which I added to the half circle that the pattern calls for so that my cloak is a 3/4 circle. I added a trim around the hood made of the same fabric as the cloak (forest green fleece) and that made it stiff enough not to flop so much when I put the hood up. It ties with a shoe-lace secured inside the seam where the hood meets the cloak.

I made one for Miss M, too, but she wasn't patient enough to pose in hers.



Just a reminder - I don't sew, I can't make pattern pieces fit. But this is an easy project that even I could do. The only sewing required is stitching the two pieces of the hood together, and then attaching it to the cloak. If you use fleece or some other fabric that doesn't unravel, you won't even need to hem it. The cloak itself is just a half circle with a small half-circle cut out for the neck. A half circle for an adult cloak takes 3 1/2 yards of 60" fabric. The hood is cut from the scraps.

Miss M's cloak and hood were from less than a yard of fleece.

The Water Cure

A cure-all for everything. The theory goes that many of our ailments are caused by unrecognized dehydration. The Water Cure (or here) is free.

The Water Cure Recipe:

Drink 1/2 your body weight of water in ounces, daily. 110 pounds would drink 55 ounces of water. Use 1/4 tsp. of sea salt (not table salt, which is depleted of necessary minerals) per quart of water. Use salt liberally with food. As long as you drink the water, you can use the salt. Avoid caffeinated or alcoholic drinks. These are diuretics and will dehydrate you.

New Game

A variation of the "[Your Name] Needs" game. This is the "[Your Name] Hates" game. Mama Squirrel suggested it.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Tim's Mom hates to cook. She knows how, She just hates it.
(I hate to cook. I don't really know how, either)

Tim's Mom Hates: Humidity
(There are worse things than humidity)

Tim's Mom hates most software.
(Not *most* software, just most software updates)

Tim's Mom HATES the idea of returning to the house that held so many horrid memories and having to be near his sister.
(Wow! Sounds like a story behind this one!)

Tim's Mom hates Dave Matthews.
(I have no opinion of Dave Matthews; people I respect like him, so he must be okay!)

Tim's Mom hates being interrupted
(not as much as I hate being misunderstood)

Tim's Mom hates the Running game
(true, I'm not very athletic!)


Tim's Mom hates the way her pantry smells of old potatoes, ginger and Campbell’s Tomato Soup.
(?)

Tim's Mom hates her printer and suggests we don't order anymore.
(but I love my new laser printer!)

Tim's Mom hates when I sing
(depends on who "I" is)

Tim's Mom hates our mice; they give her a great deal of trouble when she cleans cages And such.
(I think mice are cute)

Tim's Mom hates to have even the slightest bit of visible light in the room when she is sleeping.
(I sleep with a night light . . .)

Tim's Mom hates it when people stare at her
(Yes, this is true!)

Tim's Mom loves to act, but Karen is chosen for the lead. Now Tim's Mom hates the play
(I can accept that Karen was right for the part . . .)

I was afraid to tell Tim's Mom about my idea because Tim's Mom hates panel discussions.
(?)

Faerie

I am happy right now. Not with a buoyant, flippant happiness, but more like what Lewis called Joy: I feel like one on the borders of Faerie--in the midst of an adventure, with the whole world under an enchantment. Every tree and leaf, the clouds in the sky, the fire in the fireplace, they all border on that realm. "Faerie...holds the seas, the sun, the moon, the sky; and the earth, and all things that are in it: tree and bird, water and stone, wine and bread, and ourselves, mortal men, when we are enchanted." The feeling--Joy--is not "satisfying," but it is deep and piercing. No one who had once entered faeryland would ever want to leave.

I think I can understand to a point the Romantic or the Pagan. This enchantment of the natural world instills all things with a little bit of the reality of their Creator; and if the Creator is not recognized, why not worship His sacredness revealed in nature?

This enchantment is not a bad thing. We live in what we call the "real" world, by which we mean stock-markets, football games, public relations departments, laundromats, and all the surpassing reality of the material world. But these things are not real. They sit like a film on the deeps of reality, and will pass away in a moment. The truly real is something far higher and deeper.

The realm of Faerie is in the Real World. We glimpse it sometimes from far off upon its borders. Its beauty haunts our greatest tales. But its reality is too great for most of us. There are tales of those who have entered that realm, but you notice that it is the widow's son or the poor young fool--never a stockbroker. He is too engrossed in the "real world" to be taken in by anything so Real as the enchantment of Faerie. We, too, are usually too engrossed with the "real world". If we stood face to face with an elf, we would be overwhelmed by his solid reality. It would break us like the sea breaks a wooden pier.

Let us by all means live in the real world, but let us choose our reality wisely. This world is ephemeral--let us live for the Real World beyond this. Because, in the end, what will there be but that?


Suggested reading: G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Beowulf, King Arthur, Fairy Tales (especially the Celtic ones--not Hans Christian Anderson)

No More Family Flix

Family Flix is no longer going to be editing movies to remove objectionable content to make them suitable for family viewing:

----------------------------------------------------------

After 5 years of providing our customers with the highest editing standards in the industry, we regretfully have decided to close Family Flix.

With Hollywood's arrogance and billions of dollars they've generated through consumer purchases, the studios and producers have legally tried to stop you from viewing content in a manner that supports your standards. They claim you have absolutely no right to purchase something you paid hard earned dollars for and hire a service such as Family Flix to remove content you deem inappropriate. Their response is, "If you don't like it, don't watch it."

If you find this to be utterly disturbing like the thousand's of consumers that support what we believe is a First Amendment Right, you need to take Hollywood's advice and "don't watch it".

In the near future, we will be actively engaging in a movement that Hollywood recommends, the "Don't like it, don't watch it" campaign. We will be spreading the word to millions throughout the United States to take back our TV's and theatres.

We know through recent polls conducted by CBS and affiliates that if Americans have a choice, many would prefer not to have Hollywood force what they call "art" down our throats.

It is our intention to follow Hollywood's advice of "don't like it, don't watch it", and go one step further by creating the largest motion picture studio outside of Hollywood. We will be creating blockbuster films with top-level actors. Films you'll love, but won't have to cover your children's eyes or ears, or as an adult, not having to be subjected to someone else's low standards.

We believe it's time to actively pursue the real issues instead of the "band-aid" we've been placing by editing consumer owned copies of movies. The future of entertainment is about to change and you can be part of it!

Thanks for the many years of support.

Sincerely,
Richard & Sandra Teraci
Family Flix