nice sunny day...

At least for now. We got dumped on with rain yesterday. The lobby of the hospital where Emily works was flooded, the highway through the big city was closed for a bit...our yard is soggier than ever...but the sun is out right now! The rain is coming back later, but..the sun is out right now!

Today is day #29 of my new life. The life where I eat wisely. The life wherein I go on walks, day in day out, swim, excercise....where I wait patiently for the weight to fall off. I know I am in better shape than I was a month ago because my clothes are a tiny bit looser. I know I have lost six pounds. But as I look in the mirror day after day, I still see what I don't want to see. I have a long way to go. I do feel better though, have more energy. I am absolutely committed to see this through, no matter what. I am thankful that my knees have held up...there have been some days when I cried out to God during my walks, begging and pleading that my knees could be strengthened so that I could succeed in this. Times when every step hurt.

My "Wait-And-It'll-Be-Gone" diet certainly works. I bought six Hershey chocolate bunnies yesterday for a quarter each...170 calories...hmm. I thought perhaps I would have one later. I kept thinking about it....then when I went to have one, they were gone! I guess Daddy had passed them out to some of the kids. Relief. I didn't have to have one! One thing that has helped me is when I am tempted to have something, I will wait until later. If it is not gone, at least I will have had time to decide if I really want to waste calories on it. Then the temptation passes and when I am thinking more rationally, I don't really want it. Although I did have a few malted eggs last night....

We are out of coffee. None left except some half decaf. I think I should go buy some. Stores are challenging now. I see so many yummy things. I don't waste time considering them, just see them and know I can't have them. But still, I smell bakery smells and see yummy things. I bring nuts and apples with me wherever I go now, so I don't get too hungry and binge.

Enough about all of that. I am sick and tired of cleaning my house all of the time. I like it clean, but come on!!! I have to remind myself that this is my JOB. My husband can't just get sick of work and slack off and go shopping. Or read a book and let things go. (Ooh, I am a lucky girl, aren't I?) There is so much pressure on the Mom, though. If a teenager leaves their mug in the living room...the Mom has to either take care of it, or find out who left it there and have that person take care of it. Mom should of course do this with a happy smile and a cheerful voice. Same with the dirty socks, which NO ONE left on the living room floor. On days where multiple items are left in places they do not belong, and Mom is feeling rather tired of it all, and teenagers are hormonal and tired of being nagged at, it can be challenging. So the Mom, who wants a Peaceful House more than anything, has to be extra nice....but if she picks everything up herself, they will not learn. blah. Makes me just want to be The Bad Guy (Mother Gothel in "Tangled")

The bad thing is that sometimes when I start asking who left something someplace, one of the older kids will sigh loudly and say something like, "Mom's at it again..." OUCH! I was NOT nagging, just asking....rrr. It IS love to overlook a matter...and I overlook many matters....but I am also not their slave.

I like when I ask someone to take care of something, then find the same thing in a different spot a few minutes later...

Here are some of the things I need to vent about:

1. Shoes. Put them on the shelf, or bring them to your room!

2. Sweaters jackets sweatshirts....hang them up! If we all left them on the back of the couch, we would have a new couch monster!

3. Mugs cups glasses....put them at least on the counter next to the sink. And please don't leave a mug cup glass full of anything in the living room...and blame the person who tipped it over for the mess...

4. Mugs cups glasses.....if you had a smoothie or a cup of coffee, rinse that mug cup glass.

5. Cheese. If you opened a block of cheese, do not simply return it to the refridgerator with the wrapper opened. It will get hard and die.

6. Milk. If you drank the last of it, do not put the empty jug back in the 'fridge or leave it on the counter.

7. Same with juice. Am I the ONLY ONE who knows how to flatten a juice carton and throw it away?

8. Scrape that bowl/plate before you put it into the sink.

9. Flush the toilet.

10. If the toilet paper is gone, get another roll for the next person.

11. Rinse the sink ater you brush your teeth.

12. Wipe your feet, close the door, turn out the light, hang up your towel....

13. If you vaccuum your room, please don't leave the vaccuum cleaner in there so I can play the Find The Vaccuum Cleaner Game when I need it.

14. If you don't need those school papers, throw them away, do not leave them on the kitchen table. If you DO need them, do not leave them on the kitchen table.

15. If you eat candy, do not leave the wrappers on the computer table.

16. If you make yourself a can of soup for after school snack, do not leave the pan on the stove with the rest of the soup in it because "someone might want it".

17. If you spill sugar on the floor....do not pretend you didn't.

eeeks. this could go on and on and on....yet in the midst of all this, it is possible for me to work on my own salvation, to be good and kind and gentle and overcome my own sin. It always goes back to the same thing no matter what the circumstances: I, the Mom with good intentions and a nature that is full of sin, I - need to suffer and overcome. Because it is true that God causes ALL things to work together for good for those who love Him.