03/18/11: Will You Humor Me?

I have no food to report since I last wrote.

I have a favor to ask anyone who may be reading this blog: Even if you think it's the suckiest, most boring blog you've ever read and have no intention of coming back, or if you read it just once in a while, or if you read it and champion what I'm trying to do, would you please "follow" me? Following the blog doesn't commit you to anything. You won't get the blog delivered to your e-mail address, and you won't get spammed with anything. It would just be nice to have some visual representation of who lands on my page, like birds on my little "wire." I'd be even more tickled if some of you who "followed" me came from other counties. Please, just humor me and let me know you've looking at/read this blog, even just once :-) And now, onto blogging . . .

Ugh. I am such a slob about keeping this commitment to abstain from white sugar and white flour and blog about the results every day in 2011. Just had to remind myself what I committed to do late last year. Sigh. I easily get revved up to do something, and then I find it hard, if not impossible, to follow through. In my defense, I will say that I've had an abnormally difficult time concentrating on my work, so I have felt pressured to catch up, and I've in general been running slow, with difficulty sleeping, putting me behind the 8-ball in almost all areas of my life, at which point the tracking and blogging go right out the window, with the baby and the bath water! God, that was an awkward run-on sentence, wasn't it?

So what was distracting me from my work? My makeup collection. Yes, I have a girly, shallow hobby: I collect cosmetics, mainly eyeshadow. My favorite cosmetics company, Aromaleigh, is liquidating their stock, and there is much swapping going on over at the Aromaleigh Anonymous Facebook page. It's a totally un-Godly pursuit and so much out of proportion that it completely fails to honor God in any way, so I guess it's my sinful little guilty pleasure. And if that's the main sin I carry, I think I'm doing pretty well for a human being. I committed much more heinous sins when I was younger (I may tell you about them, or I may not). I've confessed them, and made appropriate amends, in my Ninth Step, so they don't really haunt me anymore. But I need to remember them so I don't forget that I could easily fall back into them if I don't keep up my close contact with my Higher Power. I have been careful to maintain my God time and Bible reading while I wasn't tracking and blogging, so I feel good about that.

Sending everyone a virtual (((hug)))!

03/10/11: Primacy of "God Time"

Yesterday's food:

03/09/11 Bed at 10:30 pm/up at 10:00 am

God time? No

[P] Salami

[P] Chicken

[V] Brussels sprouts

[V] X

[V] X

[F] Apple

[F] X

[F] X

[St] Brown rice

[St] Sweet potatoes

[D] Skim milk

[D] X

[Sn] SF/GF home-made muffins (x 2)

[Sn] SF/GF home-made muffins (x 2)

[Sn] Nightfood bar

[Nightfood bar] Yes

[W] Four cups (including tea w/ creamer)

Good morning, everyone! It's 11:56 am EST right now, so I'm doing the limbo again with posting, LOL. Hope you all had a good night's sleep. I did, despite having insomnia until 3:00 am this morning. Blech. But I'm getting better at recovering from that instead of falling into a stupor all day. I've eaten most of my breakfast, showered and dressed, had my God time, finished half of my daily physical therapy exercises, and am now posting to the blog. Normally I wouldn't do half of that at all and wouldn't do the other half until about 3:00 or 4:00 pm. A spiritual mentor once told me that I have good bounce-back-ability. 'Bout time I used it, eh?

The same mentor taught me that the longest 18 inches I will ever travel is from the head to the heart. I would add that it's even a bit longer to the gut, where most of my transformation takes place. I was thinking about that this morning as I was reflecting on what I've learned about the Sabbath in the context of the actions I've taken so far with my household to start observing it beginning this Sunday.

As I prepare to give the Sabbath primacy in my week, I've been thinking more about my struggle with giving my God time primacy in my day. I know that when I seek time in God's presence early in the day, my entire day, and my attitude, are better. Yet, I do not do what I know is best for me to do. I get caught up in thinking that spending time with God in the morning will take time away from getting my work done, from being able to do this or that, etc. I forget that ALL things in my life stem from God and the quality of our relationship. Just as I would try to build a friendship with another human being, I must seek time with God, talk with him, and listen for his guidance, even when I don't "feel" like it, for this is the essence of loving oneself as well as another: doing what is best, what is most growthful, even when I don't want to do it.

To have a good day with God, try seeking His Good Orderly Direction in the morning!

03/09/11: Blanca Update -- She's Out!

First, yesterday's food:

03/08/11 Bed at 10:30 pm/up at 8:00 am

God time? Yes

[P] Egg white

[P] Salami

[V] Half raw pepper

[V] Half raw pepper

[V] Stewed zucchini, tomatoes, and black olives

[F] Apple

[F] X

[F] X

[St] Kashi

[St] Rice

[D] Skim milk

[D] Feta cheese

[D] Skim milk

[Sn] Two SF/GF cookies

[Sn] Three SF/GF cookies

[Sn] SF/GF home-made muffins (x 2)

[Sn] SF/GF home-made muffins (x 2)

[Sn] Nightfood bar

[Nightfood bar] Yes

[W] Four cups (including tea w/ creamer [x 2])

I swear I'm gonna slap myself upside the head with a large pepperoni stick if I don't at least start my blog posts in the morning our if not finish them before noon! It's now 11:55 am EST here in Springfield, PA, so I'm squeaking in under the wire.

I had a huge snackfest yesterday for Fat Tuesday, but I still managed to stay away from white flour and sugar, yay! I also had a pretty well balanced and productive day that included a little bit of house tidying (I'm not big on housecleaning), exercising, Bible reading (for our Bible study at church; we're in the book of Romans now), and a decent amount of editing work. Those are the days I like best (remember the ducks post?)

And now to the Blanca update: We cautiously let her out of the kitty condo on Monday. Surprisingly, it didn't take her long to come out, whereupon Buster promptly went in; she followed; and they proceeded to have a boxing match (see photo in upper right of the blog). No growling or hissing was involved, however, so we decided to consider it a weird form of cat greeting.

Blanca spent most of Monday exploring the basement, which does have a lot of cool nooks and crannies for investigating. She spent most of the evening under the rafters. Then she came upstairs, ran right past us in the living room, and went back toward the condo. We figured she wanted to be tucked in, so we let her back in and closed the latched door. Good night, Blahnky!

Yesterday, Blanca spent most of the day on the couch sleeping next to Buster in his kitty cup. She wouldn't let either of us get too close without running away, but I think it showed progress that she didn't stay cooped up too long in the basement, don't you?

Last night she mistakenly got looked in my roommate's bedroom and knocked a lot of stuff over before she got let out. And this morning she was waiting with Buster in the kitchen for breakfast. I think she's going to make a fine house kitty and is coming along splendidly for a young feral cat, don't you?

03/08/11: Onerous Tracking

Several days' worth of food:

03/07/11 Bed at 10:30 pm/up at 7:30 am

God time?

[P] Egg white

[P] Honey Chicken Lean Cuisine

[V] Brussels sprouts

[V] Carrots and peppers

[V] Tomatoes in chili

[F] Apple

[F] X

[F] X

[St] Kashi

[St] Chili

[D] Skim milk

[D] Skim milk

[D] Sour cream

[Sn] Tostitos

[Sn] +A few pretzel twists

[Nightfood bar] Yes

[W] Four cups (including tea w/ creamer)

03/06/11 Bed at 3:00 pm/up at 10:00 am

God time? Yes

[P] Egg white

[P] Salami

[V] Vegetable soup

[V] Brussels sprouts

[V] X

[F] Apple

[F] X

[F] X

[St] Kashi

[St] Brown rice

[D] Skim milk

[D] Yogurt

[D] Skim milk

[D] Kozy Shack SF pudding

[D] Kozy Shack SF pudding

[D] Kozy Shack SF pudding

[D] Kozy Shack SF pudding

[Sn] *Luna bar

[Sn] Tostitos

[Nightfood bar] No (I ran out)

[W] Four cups (including tea w/ creamer)

03/05/11 Bed at 10:30 pm/up at 7:15 am

God time? Yes

[P] Egg white

[P] X

[V] Brussels sprouts

[V] X

[V] X

[F] Apple

[F] Polaner All Fruit

[F] X

[St] Ezekiel English muffin

[St] Ezekiel English muffin

[D] *Chobani pineapple yogurt

[D] Skim milk

[Sn] Entire bag of GF Mi-Del ginger cookies!

[Sn] *Eight Peeps

[Nightfood bar] Yes

[W] Two cups (including tea with creamer)

It was all I could do to transfer all of this information to the blog post before I wrap up for the evening. I have got to post my food and blog each and every day because doing it every few days is becoming onerous. Blech.

See you tomorrow. 

The Sabbath, Southern Style

Yesterday's food:

03/04/11 Bed at 10:30 pm/up at 9:00 am

God time? Yes

[P] Egg white

[P] Salami

[V] Brussels sprouts

[V] Tomatoes

[V] Zucchini

[F] Apple

[F] X

[F] X

[St] Kashi

[St] Rice

[D] Skim milk

[D] Skim milk

[Sn] Nightfood bar

[Sn] *+Four home-made cookies

[Nightfood bar]

[W] Four cups (including tea w/ creamer)

Yesteray I got an e-mail from my pastor about the upcoming Sabbath experiment. I thought the contents (see below) were pretty cool. We haven't gotten down to the concrete guidelines yet, but here's an excerpt of Sabbath "flavor, " Jeff-style (edited very lightly by moi, of course): 

"First off, most people have the wrong idea about the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not a day for me to focus on me and making me happy, and whatever I do to make me happy on the Sabbath helps me and my health. Catch all the "me" in that sentence?  The Sabbath is not a "good idea" because human beings need rest, so take it or leave it (like that extra helping of broccoli). We do need rest. But the Sabbath is a commandment."

"Second, from what I've read by rabbis and the like, the Sabbath exists in order to arrange our entire week. Like a great big couch in a living room, all the other pieces have to be positioned to accommodate its "primacy," Setting a day aside for God makes the whole week holy."

"Third, when it comes to rules, the basic notion is to "not exert dominance over the world."  We are to stop trying to "be God" for ourselves and let God Almighty take care of us.  The Sabbath is a day for worship, meditation, study, forgiving people, forgiving yourself, having conversations about how good God is, etc. The Sabbath is NOT a day for bullying ourselves, taking focus off of God by focusing on rules, or for shaming other people who won't be observing it. The easiest way to observe the Sabbath is live on a farm in the Depression Era South: You're in church all day, so [there's] no work.  But we'll have to figure out some rules for ourselves." 

I think that can stand on it's own for a blog entry, don't you?

BTW, my pastor is Southerner Jeffrey E. Bryan from Springfield Presbyterian Church in Springfield, PA. Come on down and worship with us, won't you?

03/03/11: "Sabbathian" Experiment Update

Food from the day before yesterday: 

03/02/11 Bed at 10:30 pm/up at 7:45 am

Didn't track

03/01/11 Bed at 1:30 pm/up at 9:00 am

God time? No

[P] Egg white

[P] Hamburger, no bun

[V] Large salad

[V] Large salad

[V] Large salad

[F] Blueberries

[F] Blueberries

[F] X

[St] Noodles

[St] GF/SF Muffin

[St] GF/SF muffin

[St] GF/SF muffin

[D] Skim milk

[D]Skim milk

[Sn] GF/SF Muffin

[Sn] Nightfood bar

[Nightfood bar] Yes

[W] Two cups

Well, slap me upside the head and call me "Betty." I didn't know there was such a word as "Sabbatarian" or I would have used it in the title of my my last post (or maybe not just to be contrary). I'm doing some preliminary research for my church's Sabbath experiment (yeah; we're kind of flying by the seat of our pants here [my almost-favorite way to fly]), and most of the phrases I Googled in the beginning ("Christian Sabbath, "observing the Christian Sabbath") yielded a froth of debate on whether or not keeping the Sabbath even still applied to Christians. I ignored those results and entered a new search term, "Presbyterian Sabbath," which yielded much more useful information. I haven't read it yet, but I'm sure you'll hear about it in future blog posts :-)

When I recently asked my pastor (Jeff) for some more information on keeping the Sabbath, he told me that in a nutshell, it's about "not exerting force over the world," which fascinated my complex and convoluted mind. I'm pretty much prepared to give up TV and the computer on whatever day the group decides to observe the Sabbath, but I've been wondering, "In what other ways do I exert power over the world?"

I talked about it today with a person whom I respect (Nancy), and she said that the Sabbath is about rest, reverence for God, and appreciating God's goodness in your life. I was trying to reconcile that with what my pastor had said, and I gave Nancy this example: If I want to lie in my bead and read a book, when I pick up the book, aren't I technically exerting power over the world? She said, "It depends on the intention with which you pick up the book." I thought that was a pretty cool answer because I'd like to think of the Sabbath as a time to practice reverence and gratitude with intention!

How about you? What would your Sabbath look like?

03/01/11: Workshop and "Sabbathian" Experiment

Three days' worth of food:

02/28/11 Bed at 10:30 am/up at 9:00 am

God time? No

[P] Egg white

[P] Chicken

[V] Large salad

[V] Large salad

[V] Large salad

[F] Apple

[F] Polaner All Fruit

[F] Fruit in muffins

[St] Ezekiel English muffin

[St] Ezekiel English muffin

[St] Yams

[D] Skim milk

[D] Skim milk

[Sn] GF/SF muffin

[Sn] GF/SF muffin

[Nightfood bar] Yes

[W] Four cups (including tea w/ creamer)

02/27/11 Bed at 10:45 am/up at 5:00 am!

God time? Yup

[P] Egg white

[P] Cheeseburger, no roll

[V] Steamed veggies

[V] Steamed veggies

[V] Tomato juice

[F] Apple

[F] Fruit in muffins

[F] X

[F] X

[St] Kashi

[St] ^White rice

[D] Skim milk

[D] Cheese on burger

[Sn] *Rice Krispie treat

[Sn] Two GF/SF muffins

[Nightfood bar] Yes

[W] ?

02/26/11 Bed at 3:00 am/up at 10:00 am

God time? No

[P] Egg white

[P] Ground beef

[V] Cole slaw

[V] X

[V] X

[F] Apple

[F] X

[F] X

[St] Kashi

[St] Kashi

[St] Sweet potatoes

[D] Skim milk

[D] Skim milk

[Sn] *Ice cream

[Sn] *+Oatmeal cake! (so worth it, LOL)

[Nightfood bar] Yes

[W] One cup (tea w/ creamer)

Well, I'm still exhausted. I think I can start cutting back again on my sleep meds because I've been waking up groggy, which tells me that my body isn't using all that I'm giving it at night. However, on the plus side, writing down my food in the little notebook I keep with me is definitely helping (see above; not as many bolded "Xs")! I had hoped to finally get to blogging daily, but I'll take baby steps, thank you very much.

On Sunday night I facilitated the second part of a two-week spiritual gifts workshop for the kids at my church. I think it went fairly well, especially since it was my first time doing something like this. I was nervous when it started, but I almost crapped myself when the pastor walked in! He's young and cool, but it still made me feel nervous. Apparently he liked it enough to consider having me lead it for the adults in church, so that will be exciting if it comes to fruition. I'm also doing an experiment during Lent by observing the Sabbath during that time. I don't really know how Christians are supposed to observe the Sabbath, but so far the pastor, and the pastor's wife, and I are going to do it, and we'll be inviting others to participate if they want to as well as researching what guidelines to follow. For me it will principally mean no computer and no TV, which will probably make me absolutely crazy in the beginning, but I'm willing to see where it takes me :-)

What about you? Do you observe the Sabbath? If so, how?

PS: Blanca, my new rescue kitty, is coming along slowly but surely. She came home on Saturday. Above is a photo of her and Buster eating together :-) She'll be in the kitty condo until she acclimates to us and her surroundings.