Blog-Aid (what a brilliant idea)

ooh, look - it's a blog in the middle of the week...

Well, I just had a thought, and decided to share it. I've just purchased this cookbook...



It's a collaboration between Julie Van Rosendaal and 26 other food bloggers on the internet. I know that every single recipe I've ever gotten from Julie has been absolutely fabulous, so seriously - it's worth every penny, and the best bit is that every penny spent on these books is going to help the folks in Haiti. I think it's a brilliant project, and I'm happy to support it. I highly recommend others do so as well.

You can buy the book here... (link)

... and you can read Julie's comments here... (link)

Go out and buy this book! (Actually, you don't need to go anywhere to buy it, I certainly didn't. Buy it from the comfort of your home.) Seriously - buy it.

Stress...

My friend says I need to try these things...



Kalms... apparently they de-stress you. You know what I'd really like though, is this...



I almost always feel more relaxed, and far less stressed after having one of those... not to mention balanced.

I have had a week packed with commitments and craziness. Apparently my body anticipated this at the beginning of the week and decided to plague me with a short-lived stomach flu. Thankfully it was short lived. Painful, but short lived. Now, unfortunately though - I owe my pal a Coke. We had this disagreement about the flu shot, and I said that I'd be fine without it, and would just continue supplementing with Vitamin D - and that's all I needed. We bet on a Coke. I now owe him a Coke. Small price to pay I suppose. However, being sick wasn't going to stop me from keeping my commitments, so I fulfilled them. Tuesday, we had our first "Faith in God" activity for the year in Primary. This is an activity once a month for Children aged 8-11. Then, Wednesday I was supposed to do something too, but went to bed early instead. Felt 150% better on Thursday. Thursday I spoke at our Relief Society Meeting on my 110 pound weight loss, what got me there, and what happened afterwards. (shared the Ugly Duckling story as told by President Craig) It went really well, but anticipating the presentation, and anticipating doing it 3 times over really kind of stressed me out a little. Then Saturday I had all of these things to do - a quarter of which actually got done - but not well. Long story short, I hate the National Express East Coast people, my neighbours are slobs, and hairdressers in this country are not very accommodating. Then, today I spoke in church after going through all of the regular Primary madness that ensues every week. This also went really well, but as I said - I think just anticipating doing all of these things this week really stressed me out. So, now I've got all of this pent up leftover stress - even though I got through it all ok. Maybe I'll just drink some Horlicks and go to bed. It all starts over again tomorrow, but at least my schedule looks relatively clear-ish this week. Imagine what I'm going to be like when I start my studies... :-/ I may need to invest in these Kalms that my friend was speaking of.

On a totally un-related topic, I think I want a Micropig. They are really quite clean, not to mention cute and snorty. Sigh... I wish I could have a pet. Maybe if I train it to use the toilet, I could. Because then I could still work every day-like. Probably not practical, but still - a girl can dream.

Same Old... New Name?

It's 11 pm, and this is the first chance I've had to sit down and write a blog entry today. Life gets continually busier, but you know - it feels fulfilled. I find, that the busier I get, the less chance I have of getting myself into trouble. I just feel better overall when I keep busy. Not over-busy, I mean - too much stuff creates the bad kind of stress. I hope I don't push myself to that point, but good stress is very helpful I find.



My sister called me today, she says I need to look into this "Flat Belly Diet". She's going to give it a go. I'm not one for fad diets, but there are an awful lot of people out there that swear by this one. I don't know, someone needs to tell me what I did before. I seem to have a difficult time finding the right balance between exercise and diet. I may be exercising too much. Perhaps am not doing the right kind of exercise. My diet definitely could be improved, but at the moment is entirely dependent on my budget. Which really isn't an excuse. I eat healthy for the most part, but if someone is going to give me free food, I'm certainly not going to turn it away...

Speaking of this, the ladies at church have asked me to speak to them about how I lost weight before... what I did, and what was the connection I made in my head that finally got me to change my lifestyle. I haven't planned exactly what I'm going to say to them, but I hope to be able to convey to them exactly the sort of motivation that I had in the beginning, and in doing so - re-motivate myself to do something differently. Because whatever I'm doing doesn't seem to help. The more exercise I do, the bigger my thighs seem to get. It is rather defeating...

I will try to muster motivation to motivate others, but it is difficult just now. Ah well, I'm still reasonably healthy at least...

Ah, Friends...

Friends like this are hard to come by

It's really nice when people from home come to visit here in Scotland. I just had a really great catch-up with Davin - who is here in the UK on a business trip. He came up to Scotland to visit my friend Steve, so I stole some time with him also. I really miss that, you know? People I've known forever, and just chit chatting about old times, and the people we know. That's why it's so nice to have Steve around as well. It helps me remember that I had a different life before. I miss my people. I miss my girls in particular though - my two closest friends Pat and Tracy. I would say that there is no one in the world who knows me better than they do. They know all of my kinks and flaws, and they love me for them. I hope one day to find another friend like that - whom I can tell anything at all to, and they wouldn't think of me differently. I think I would shock a fair few people out of their skin if I told them half of what I was really thinking - haha. But, I guess that's what makes relationships like that special; you can really tell them anything, and they'll accept you no matter what you say. They'd chastise you, and try to help you back on the right track if necessary, but will still love you and accept you.

Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is - true friends are hard to come by. Don't get me wrong, I've made some really great friends here while living in Scotland. I've really been fortunate that way. But, I guess I'm just not entirely trusting by nature. It takes a really trustworthy soul to get to see the real me. I hope I'll be fortunate enough to find that again.

So, we had a lovely potluck dinner tonight. Lisa and Sandy brought a casserole (delicious), I made Salad (ok), and Steve brought a Rice Pudding (also delicious). I must say - that these friends have proven to be excellent to spend time with, and also to depend on for being there when needing a shoulder to cry on. Not least of all, they make excellent food. I'm grateful to have found good friends here in Scotland. Friends really are what makes life worthwhile - wherever you are.

I feel very fortunate to have had great friends in my life.

Please come and visit me any time, my friends. :-)

Sunday Thoughts...

This is for mbfm...

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

My prayers are for your son, for you, and your family. God loves him very much, and he'll take care of him, because he's his son as well... and you are his daughter.

That's all I'm going to say about that.

Today, I'm feeling fairly thoughtful, and contemplative. I have to say, that I'm really enjoying working with the Primary children at church. They're great kids, and each one of them is really special in their own way. It just seems like there is never an end of things to do. I think this is the first time I've had one of these "losing sleep over" callings, and I have to say it's exhausting - because it's full time. But, I think - that may be just what I need right now... a chance to stop worrying about myself and my own needs for a while, and think about others. I think it's just too easy to get into that "poor me" rut when you have nothing to distract you from yourself. It's good to have lots of little distractions in my life. Things are really looking up just now. I think this will be a heck of a year...

I went back to the gym this week. Feeling pretty good. The muscles remember what to do. The Yoga mat is glad to be useful again. Things are in motion to keep me on the right track with all of my resolutions. I'm not saying I've been perfect in keeping them, but I'm doing my very best, and the best thing really is to keep it fairly consistent, and not let yourself have an "all or nothing" attitude about it. If you slip up, just pick yourself and start over again. No big deal. We build things up in our minds far too much. They've asked me to speak to the Relief Society ladies at church about my weight-loss journey. They want to know what it was that motivated me in the first place. The real thing is, that the only thing that can motivate you is your will. You can have one or two of many different reasons for "wanting" to lose weight, but the only thing that actually helps you to succeed is your decision to do so. Once you have decided to do something - you do it. That's really the end of the story. Commitment is the key. Isn't that the case with everything in life? If you want real happiness, you have to commit to a worthy cause. So - there you have it.

I think that's all I have to say today. Will post again next week.

B

A Bit Late Perhaps...

Well, perhaps it's still Sunday somewhere in the world... Fiji perhaps?

1st chance to keep that resolution, and I've screwed up already. However, I shall mend my ways next week.

My list of things to do seems to be increasing at an alarming rate! Who knew Primary was so much work? (just kidding, of course it's lots of work - kids take effort) I'm starting to feel like I know what I'm doing though. It's just that there is so much to do. Thankfully I can delegate.

So, other than that, not much has occupied my time or thoughts this week (except the regular boring stuff) New Year's Eve was a bit of a disappointment, as the Ceilidh was cancelled. I guess the icy roads were a bit too much for the Scots out in the country to make it in. So - no Ceilidh. Though, I bought a couple of bottles of Shloer, and a bag of Haggis flavoured crisps, and stayed in watching movies all night.





Then about 10 minutes before midnight, I turned on the radio, and listened to the countdown, drinking my Shloer. There was a surprising amount of Fireworks to watch outside of my window. I really do have a fantastic view. I don't think I'm ever going to want to leave this flat, simply because I'd miss the view. So, I drank BOTH bottles of Shloer, and had the wickedest sugar hangover the next day. (which I deserved for being gluttonous)

Friday the 1st, I went to my friend from work - Susan's place. She had this fantastic Stovie party with her entire family and a vast number of friends as well. This was a proper Scottish party, let me tell you. They were lots of fun, and all of them made me feel right at home. I heard just about every "When I went to the Calgary Stampede" story they had to tell. All involving Cowboys and alcohol. Haha - ah Stampede. Even though it's really only an excuse to get drunk and wear less clothes, I think I'm starting to miss Stampede a little. Who knew that would happen? Oh, also - Hilary (my favourite co-worker) came to that party with her husband Alistair - so it was nice to see them. Then afterwards, I went back to their place to watch Doctor Who (final David Tennant episode) with them and their daughter - which incidentally was a tad bit cheezy in the end there, and a little disappointing to be honest - loved the Timelords return though! I think Matt Smith is going to be brilliant. (though, I will miss David Tennant) Looking forward to the new series.



So, yeah - that was my Hogmanay in a nutshell. Not the wildest time, and not conventional either. Maybe next year will be different. Maybe I'll even get a proper New Year's kiss next year. *fingers crossed*

Hope you all had a great time. I promise I'll do better next week, and try to keep my Sunday Blog commitment.

B

Time Again For Resolutions.....

Remember that movie? I guess we're not living in space stations on the moon or any other exotic places in the solar system for that matter. A bit behind in our progression I'd say. Nonetheless, 2010 is now upon us.

I thought that since I've spent most of the week thinking about all that transpired in 2009, and what I'd like to accomplish in 2010, that I'd share my resolutions with you. I write resolutions every year, and even though I often don't accomplish everything on the list, something about writing them down keeps me focused enough to accomplish at least some things. So, I'd call that successful. Remember the other day when I said I'd try to set a resolution to blog every single day? Well, after the last week of planning things for my new calling as Primary President, and anticipating the other things that I'll be busy with in 2010, I don't think that's possible, however - I've kept the blog in mind whilst planning my resolutions. So, without further delay, here they are...

Becky's Resolutions 2010

Health:
I will practice Yoga for an hour – at least 3 days a week
I will do 30 minutes of some sort of Cardio exercise 6 Days a week
I will not eat Candy at all, except for Dark Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger at my discretion
I will eat a Healthy diet full of fruit and vegetables as usual

(these go in line with goals written earlier this month)

Spirituality:
I will study at least 1 chapter of Scriptures every day
I will offer up sincere prayer every night and throughout the day (never could master morning prayers - always fell asleep)
I will attend the temple more often in 2010, aiming for March as the first trip. (travel is expensive)
I will give every bit of attention I can to my calling as Primary President, and give each child individualized attention according to their needs

Education:
I will set aside time (at least a couple of hours) every day except Sunday to study and work on my University Course
I will do everything I can to keep a first class Honours standing

Personal:
I will write a Blog entry once a week (on Sunday)
I will go to all church activities and meet as many people as I can
I will look into the Capoeira class and other classes where I can meet new people.

So, there you have it - Resolutions 2010. I have to say - the health goals are particularly in the fore-front of my mind (as usual) - as people have been posting pictures of me on facebook that I am NOT happy with. I know that the camera adds like 10 pounds, but still - I'm feeling quite uncomfortable with those pictures. So, as soon as I'm back to the office, regular routine ensues.

I hope everyone is as excited as I am to start a new year... when I was young, I used to think that New Year's was a stupid holiday that was over-hyped. Now that I'm older, I get excited about starting fresh every year. I think it's a great holiday.

Tomorrow night, I'm going to the Hogmanay Ceilidh at the church - which should get me into exercise mode - as Ceilidh = workout.

Happy Hogmanay everyone!