The Feast

Our day began very early this morning. Jacob loves to hit the Black Friday sales, so he and his friend Bryce left the house at 3:30 a.m.

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I've managed to avoid Black Friday my whole life, until today. As luck would have it, WalMart was selling a $165 GPS for just $89.

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After getting lost in Tulsa this summer, I'd decided I wanted to buy a GPS before our Colorado trip next summer. Having no cash to give Jacob, I knew I'd have to join the crowds and use my credit card if I wanted this bargain.
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Luckily, I didn't have to go as early as Jacob.

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Jacob got the GPS for me as soon as the sale started, and I drove over to Walmart at 5:30 a.m. to get it from him and pay for it.

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Then I went home and went back to bed.

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Jacob hit several other stores and didn't get home until 9:30 a.m.

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He was successful at buying gifts for everyone on his list for less than $50 total.

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I have honestly never seen such a huge crowd of people crammed into one place! (The above photo was obtained online and was not taken this morning at our store.)

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When I woke up, I started cooking for our "second Thanksgiving." Today it was just our little family and our good friend Gwen.
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The extra turkey breast Sarah and I ate yesterday did not set us back at all. We each had a good loss this morning. In 26 days, we've both lost exactly 26.2 lbs.

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I'm sure tomorrow will not be as happy, though.

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Today was the day we chose to feast for Thanksgiving. I tried to limit the menu to only our favorite traditional foods, and we prepared smaller amounts in order to avoid days' worth of leftovers in the fridge to tempt us. Jacob and Dylan should be able to eat up most of the leftovers at dinner tomorrow.
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This is my Thanksgiving plate. Other than my morning snack of an orange and Melba toast, that plate of food is the only other thing I ate until dessert. No seconds allowed.

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On the menu, starting at 12:00 on the plate and going clockwise: candied yams, turkey, mashed potatoes, buttered corn, green bean casserole, olives, and a buttered roll in the center.

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We also had sausage stuffing, which I don't like, and I passed on the gravy.
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Ordinarily this much food would leave me satisfied but not stuffed. However, today I felt like my stomach was going to explode. They say it isn't true that our stomachs "shrink" from not eating, but you couldn't prove it by me! I can see that it will be easy to naturally eat less when we finish the 40 days of diet and begin the 6-week maintenance phase.

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Jacob handled our desserts. He made the apple pie at home (you can see that Dylan enjoyed nibbling on the edges of the crust), and he made the cheesecake in his culinary arts class.
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I sent Splenda to school with him so he could make the cheesecake sugar-free for Sarah and me.

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We did not taste the sugary apple pie, but the cheesecake was the best I've ever eaten! Even those made at Cheesecake Factory are no better!

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The rest of the cheesecake will go into the freezer, to be enjoyed at Christmas time when we're no longer restricted to 500 calories per day.
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Gwen and I enjoyed visiting and watching old home movies, but after dinner the kids had their own plans.

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Sarah took off to babysit, Dylan invited his friend Tony over to spend the night, and Jacob had his friend Christal over to watch a comedy on DVD.

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Christal brought her 21-month-old daughter Raisalynn along.

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That's Raisalynn sharing a spoonful of ice cream with Jacob.

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We always enjoy having Raisalynn over. She is quite a character, a cutie who loves everyone and wins over our hearts. Even tough-guy Dylan melts when she throws her arms around his neck. She makes me look forward to having grandbabies (but not too soon, please!).

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Our "second Thanksgiving" was a very full day, another great opportunity to share with family and friends. Now the day is over and I am very tired. Good-night!

First Thanksgiving

I don't mean the celebration of October 1621. I mean "First Thanksgiving" much as Hobbits mean "first breakfast" and "second breakfast," since we'll be having a second Thanksgiving tomorrow.

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Today we joined my brother Jeff's family to feast and have fun.

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At left: Jeff and his son Burke carve one of two turkeys.

Before feasting, however, we began with the annual family football game in the field by Jeff and Dana's home.

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It was doggone chilly out there, but they had a great time for more than an hour.

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I played the important role of team photographer!

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Sarah took on the task of team babysitter. Here she is with her cousin Callie and Callie's nephew, Garrett.
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Here we have Jeff and Dana working together in the kitchen as they prepared and organized the meal.

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At left are their daughters Emma, Haley, and Hayden.
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One of the things I am most grateful for is family, and today's celebration was filled with family. I hope you'll enjoy these photos of our loved ones.

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This is Jeff and Dana's oldest child, Justin, and his wife Alisha. Their toddler, Aiden, was sleeping. Poor little guy is just getting over roseola and was exhausted.
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Next comes oldest daughter, Ashley, and her husband Matt. They have 2 little boys, Gage and Garrett, who appear in other photos in this post.
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Here we have Marcus and Jamison. By order of birth, Jamison is next, followed by Micah.

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Micah was unable to attend (he lives in the Valley), and neither were Jamison's wife Monica and toddler Trenton.
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Marcus plays football for his high school , and it's his school versus our high school for the state 3-A championship this Saturday in Flagstaff!

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Between Micah and Marcus comes Amber, and here is Amber with her boyfriend Ethan. Their baby is due on December 20th.

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Maybe a Christmas baby?





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Emma and Ashley share some sisterly time, bonding over a catalogue.

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Are you keeping track? So far we have Justin, Ashley, Jamison, Micah, Amber, and Marcus. Next comes Elsie, but somehow I missed getting a picture of my basketball-playing niece.

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Sorry, Elsie!

The rest of the family is made up of Burke, Emma, Haley, Hayden, Brinley, and Callie.

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At right, Brinley and Hayden entertain themselves and their nephew Gage by poking decorative holes in their paper plates with their plastic forks. I wonder if their gravy ran through the plates like a sieve!
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As dinner was being set out buffet-style, Callie was growing more impatient and hungrier by the minute!

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We are all so grateful to still have our sweet Callie Jayne with us for another Thanksgiving. She is very active and affectionate and making great progress.

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Today she showed us how to count to ten, and then she did a cheer for Marcus's team!

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Once the feast was spread before us, everyone lined up to pile their plates high.

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Sarah and I had to limit ourselves to some turkey breast meat, but I'm sure we ate double the 100 grams of protein allowed for one meal on our diet. I hope we don't pay for it on the scale in the morning...
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Of course, these three are the greatest blessing of my life. I thank God for the gift of my children every day.

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And, last but not least, here I am with Dana and Jeff.

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Thanks so much to you both for inviting us to join you on this special day of Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful visit.

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Your family is so precious to us! Love to all!

Cake, Eagles, and Haircuts

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We attended an Eagle Court of Honor on Sunday evening. While there, I was so taken with this cake that I just had to take a picture of it!

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It was made by my friend Charla, who has a gift for this sort of thing, as you can clearly see.

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The new Eagle Scout is Monte, the oldest son of my friends Wyndie and Eugene.
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That's them in the photo, along with one of Monte's former Boy Scout leaders, Robert, on the left.

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Of course, Sarah and I had to avoid the cake, the chocolate chip cookies, the snicker-doodles, the rolls, the chips...
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But Sarah found something even better: Baby Clarissa! Sarah would rather hold a baby than eat any time.
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Jacob and Dylan certainly enjoyed the good food at the Court of Honor. Charla's cake looks totally scrumptious!
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I lost track of how many chocolate chip cookies Dylan ate. They are his absolute favorite.
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I'd been noticing for weeks that both my sons were becoming pretty shaggy, so the very next day (yesterday) they were sent off for haircuts.
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Ahhh, my sons look like boys again! I think they look so handsome in a shorter style.

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Thank you, Barbara (Baby Clarissa's mom), for giving me my boys back!

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Sarah had her hair done at the same time. Doris, a sweet gal from church and a professional hairdresser, wanted to do Sarah's hair as a birthday gift.

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And here she is! Doris promised she would make Sarah love her curly hair, and by golly, Sarah does love it!
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It just goes to show:
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Life--like cake and cookies--is sweet!

HCG: Week Three

We are now halfway through this diet. Thank goodness. Hate the diet...love the results!

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In 21 days I have lost 22.4 lbs and Sarah has lost 20.2 lbs.

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I'm still off the third hypertension med, and my latest readings were 120/76 and 125/76. Plus I'm in the process of cutting back the doubled medication to its original dosage.

A lot of people wonder what you eat on a 500-calorie diet. Here is my typical day in menus:

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Breakfast: .35 cc of hCG under my tongue and iced tea made from decaffeinated green tea. I sip it all day long.

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Herbal teas are also allowed, hot or cold. The only sweetener allowed is Stevia. (English Toffee-flavored Stevia drops are heavenly in tea!)
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Mid-Morning Snack: Melba toast and an orange, the biggest orange I can find!
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Lunch: A vegetable and 100 grams of protein, just slightly more than 3.5 oz. It makes the cutest little hamburger patties you've ever seen!

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At left is a typical lunch. Notice the size of the burger compared to the regular-sized radishes.
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I usually have a ground beef, chicken, or turkey patty, or sometimes 6-7 medium shrimp.

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Mid-Afternoon Snack: More Melba toast and a sugar-free Jello cup.
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Dinner: Another vegetable (different from the lunch choice) and 100 grams of a different protein.

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We usually have a teeny-tiny strip of steak or chicken breast. White fish, like tilapia, is also allowed, but not fatty fish like tuna or salmon.
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This steak-and-cabbage stew was dinner a few nights ago. Quite tasty!

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Dessert: The biggest apple I can get my hands on: Granny Smith, gala, golden delicious, etc. Once Sarah and I splurged on a cupful each of fresh strawberries for dessert, but that's a luxury now that berries are out of season.

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There are also 2 more .35 cc doses of hCG spread out through the day. I was told to take the drops 10 minutes before eating, but I now take it at various times of the day. I don't see any difference in the rate of weight loss.

Fruits and Vegetables: 2 fruits and 2 vegetables are allowed per day. The fruits and the Melba toast may be eaten with lunch and dinner, but I prefer to spread them out as snacks to keep my blood sugar stable.

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Allowed fruits are oranges, apples, strawberries, or half of a grapefruit. They must be eaten separately and you shouldn't eat the same fruit twice in one day.

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The same rules apply to vegetables: choose 2 different vegetables in a day, and never mix them at the same meal. Some modern versions of the diet allow combining of vegetables, but I'm following Dr. Simeons's original protocal.

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Allowed vegetables: lettuce, spinach, cabbage, tomato, cucumber, radishes, celery, asparagus, or onion. Healthy, but not exactly nutrient-dense. Sarah and I usually have a small, sliced tomato; or half a diced cucumber in vinegar; or steamed, seasoned cabbage.

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Serving sizes for the vegetables aren't specific. It just states that you can have a "large handful." Any seasonings are allowable as long as they contain no fats.

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Proteins, though, are strictly measured. The 100 grams is pre-cooked weight, so I find it simpler to spend a couple of hours cutting the meat into correct portions and sealing them in snack bags. For the next 2 weeks we just pull them out of the freezer as needed.

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At right are my cute little freezer-ready bags of tilapia, shrimp, steak, chicken breast, 93% lean ground beef, and ground chicken and turkey.

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I've stated before that I don't believe fat-free or extreme low-fat diets are healthy. I've also said I don't approve of rigidly restricted-calorie diets. I still don't, at least for the long term.

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However, according to Dr. Simeons, while hCG is releasing abnormal fat deposits into the bloodstream it is necessary to limit the amount of fat in the diet so it doesn't overload the system. And supposedly all the nutrients we need are stored in those fat deposits.
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It makes sense, and it seems to be working. Both Sarah and I feel fine. For me, the first week was rough, but my energy has been climbing ever since. (Still hungry, though!)

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And due to the caloric restriction, Simeons does discourage exercise during the 40 days of the diet. He allows a 20-minute daily walk for those who feel they must get in some cardio. Sarah was doing more than twice that and still felt fine.

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Lose weight without exercise? Sign me up!
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Dr. Simeons's diet actually prohibits the use of Chapstick, lotion, makeup, and cream-based products such as shampoo and conditioner in order to further limit fats being absorbed into the body, but I can't go quite that far. I'm not sure being thin would be worth looking like a dried up old prune! Besides, even with my Chapstick and lotions, I'm still losing steadily.

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I continue to study the research and anecdotal information on this diet, and it is not without its controversies. I'll go into that information next week.

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Meanwhile, I just have to say:
**********Works for me!

Busy Days, Busy Nights

I love having teenagers. They are so busy, so funny, so passionate about everything.

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Still, sometimes I miss the days when they were small and I had them at home with me most of the time. When we sat together most nights, watching videos, playing games, cuddling, tickling, teasing.

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Today was one of those days where we barely saw each other. It actually began last night, when Dylan went on an overnight campout at Los Burros with his Scout troop and Jacob stayed the night at his friend Kyle's house.

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Dylan spent this morning on a 20-mile biking adventure, while Jacob worked for a neighbor. When Dylan returned at 3pm, he immediately left to spend the rest of the day at his friend Eric's house.

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Left to ourselves, Sarah and I decided to have a girls' afternoon out. We went to see the movie 2012.

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I LOVED it! I'm a huge fan of disaster movies, science fiction, and special effects, and this film satisfied my desire for excitement and escapism perfectly. Nonstop action! Throughout the movie I found myself holding my breath, every muscle tensed. I had to keep reminding myself to relax.

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Critics have claimed that the special effects are great (they are) but that the plot is weak. I have to disagree. I think the characters are well-developed and the story is complex enough to stand strong in the midst of sweeping destruction and mind-boggling special effects.

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The tale springs from the fact that the Mayan calendar--which has been remarkably accurate for thousands of years--ends on December 21, 2012. Some believe it means the world will end by some horrible catastrophe at that time.

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What do you think?

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I think you can only fit so much calendar onto one rock! I do believe we are living in the "last days," but I'm afraid we'll bring about our own destruction. The wheels are already in motion...

Sarah enjoyed the movie, too, though she'd have preferred to see New Moon, the second of the Twilight films. We'll go next weekend, when the madness dies down.

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We saw Jacob briefly before he took off again with a big group of friends. They were heading to a friend's house to do some "turkey bowling." I've never done it myself, but I guess it involves hurling a frozen turkey down the lane toward 10 soda bottles. Sounds like good times!
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As for Sarah, tonight she invited over 2 friends, Emmi and Gina, to watch The Proposal on DVD. Thus I have been banished to my home office to write this post.

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That's the kind of day it has been, fun and busy but not much together time. But that's okay. My kids are involved in worthwhile activities with good friends.

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And maybe this is nature's way of cutting the apron strings, of preparing me for that empty nest that's approaching far too quickly.

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Meanwhile, I will cherish every remaining moment we spend under the same roof!

Missionaries in the Family

In Saturday's post I mentioned my Uncle Ernie and Aunt Alma, who were missionaries on the nearby White Mountain Apache reservation at the time Mark and I moved here, back in 1990.

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It brought a flood of pleasant memories.

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When we came to the White Mountains, we had no other family here. My parents and my brother Jeff lived in Utah. The rest of my siblings and Mark's family lived 3 hours away, in Mesa.
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So it was wonderful to have Ernie and Alma living less than an hour away, in the town of Whiteriver.
We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with them. We visited their home and saw the Apache mementos they would take to California with them when they returned home in a few months, including a cradleboard blessed for fertility by the medicine man. Mark handled it, as instructed. Two weeks later Jacob was conceived!

We also enjoyed having Ernie and Alma show us around the reservation. These photos were all taken on 13 Oct 1990. At that time I was 36, Mark was 22, and Sarah was 11 months old.

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We first went to Geronimo's Cave, which required some steep climbing, so Mark went alone and brought me some quartz crystals from inside the cave. Then we had a picnic lunch at Lower Log Camp, next to a stream. All but the final 2 photos were taken at Lower Log Camp.

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At right are Uncle Ernie and me (and little Sarah in the playpen). Ernie is my dad's older brother, and they look very much alike. Being with Ernie made me miss my dad a little bit less.
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Here we have Alma making her way across the creek to take pictures of wildflowers. One of her pics is featured below. Nicely done!

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The top photo shows Uncle Ernie and me (holding Sarah) while we started a fire and set up our picnic area. In the second shot, Alma and Ernie continue to get us all set up, and in the third, Aunt Alma stands by our yummy picnic lunch.

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Most reservations are located on the most inhospitable land the US government could find, but this reservation is in beautiful country. Plenty of forests for logging, camping, hiking, and hunting; lakes and streams for fishing; mountains for skiing; grazing lands.

We continued to live without family in the White Mountains for a year and a half after Ernie and Alma returned home, but by then we were established and had begun making connections at home, work, and church.

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They got us through the first several months of homesickness.
Eventually Jeff and Dana moved their family back to this area, where Dana spent a good part of her childhood and where she has many relatives still. A year later my parents joined us, moving their mobile home here.

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At left is our sweet Sarah. She spent a lot of time fishing with her dad and loved being outdoors.

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Here is the stream that flowed past our picnic site. Mark always had his fishing gear handy and had to try out any new bodies of water. I don't recall that he had any success here.
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This is one of my favorite pictures of Sarah with her dad. She could sit for hours in his lap and quietly watch him fishing.






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After our lunch, we headed up to Hawley Lake. On our way we passed this deer at the side of the road.

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When we arrived at beautiful Hawley Lake, Mark immediately had to try it out, and his luck improved. It became one of his favorite fishing spots, but this trip was our first introduction to the place.

That's me looking out on the lake one last time before our lovely day ended.
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Yes, those are glad memories of happy times. We love you and miss you, Uncle Ernie and Aunt Alma!