Ministering Angel

"God does notice us, and he watches over us, but it is usually through another person that he meets our needs." -Spencer W. Kimball

So the last two weeks have been particularly rough for me. Worries for my children, that are meant for another blogging time, had almost driven me to insanity. I usually have my mom, my MIL, and my friend to go to with worries like these. But, in the midst of this small crisis, I found myself without any of them. They were all out of town at the same time! I was a bit lost. As a side note to all of my good friends out there, please don't be hurt that I didn't call you. I truly know that I could have confided in any one of you and been given sound advice, but I became a bit blind and bewildered in my worry.

Just as I have done in the past, I became introverted trying to work out the problem on my own. This worked to some extent, but I still needed an outside opinion. I began praying about a huge decision that was looking me in the face when out of the blue, my darling older sister called. With busy schedules and kids acting crazy at both ends of the wire, it's not often that we can chat on the phone. But in my time of need, she called and asked how I was.



I knew right when I saw her number on caller id that she was the answer to my prayers. Wiping away tears I answered the phone to hear her bubbly voice ask how I was doing. And then she got quite an earful. Being the great educator and mother that she is, she had the wisdom to know what to say to me. Her words talked me out of the frenzy that I had created over the last two weeks! All the worry, anxiety and insanity were replaced by a clear head and calm breathing. After just a few minutes on the phone with her I knew what I needed to do (and, to Sco's credit, he had the right answer all along). So this post is to thank Gabi for acting on a feeling and also to thank my Heavenly Father for using her as His ministering angel. Love you!

Family Feud

OK, blog friends. For our Primary Board Dinner we will be playing Family Feud. Does anyone have the board-game version of this game that I can borrow. Our dinner is on September 26th, so logically I would need to borrow a game located in Utah. Please let me know if I can borrow yours.

Thanks,
Resourceful Nim

Good-Bye Sugar

In July I went in to get some blood work done. I had been exercising religiously since January, drinking Slim-Fast for two meals, and couldn't see any physical improvement. I felt stronger, but I saw no weight loss. I was frustrated enough to go in to see if my medications were keeping me over weight or if I had other hidden problems (like thyroid complications). When the nurse got my blood test results she noticed that I was pre-diabetic! With Type II in my family history it seems that I am predisposed for the same fate. She quickly put me on Metformin to protect my pancreas and told me it was time to lose the excess weight. What a wake-up call!

At first I was relieved to have found this problem while I am still relatively young, so that I can avoid Type II. However, with a new diet low in sugars and high in fiber (bleh), I became very grumpy the first month. I felt trapped in a new lifestyle that I did not like. Food was always a joy for me, especially that of the sweeter variety. Cutting my tie to sugar cold-turkey was no fun. I had to reinvent what my "favorite food" was going to be (right now it's Pink Lady apples). I had to start enjoying eating a lot of greens with not a lot of taste. It was upsetting.

Now that I'm 2 months into this healthy-eating routine, I am asking myself what the big deal was? It's an amazing change of mind-set. The other night I treated myself to a wonderful little slice of mint brownie (thanks Ronda) and it tasted sooooo good. But then I ate a plate of sliced apples and I enjoyed them just as much! A few months ago I would have said, "Forget the apples, pass me another BIG piece of brownie, please." Now I look forward to my snack of a banana and handful of peanuts. A Diet Coke is something I treat myself to only once a month. I treat myself to one dessert a week (those who know my sweet tooth might be asking, "Who are you, and what have you done with Nim?). I am giving myself permission to tell you all this, because I am extremely proud of myself, and also to publicly commit myself to keep going. I not only feel a lot better without my highs and lows of sugar, but I have lost 17 pounds in the last 8 weeks! I have dropped two pant sizes!!!!! I am half-way to my target weight and confident that I will make it in the next three months.



I need to tell you that Sue Webb, over at Phase II for Women, has a wonderful program for losing weight. I go to her once a month for a weigh-in, a pep-talk, and (yes) a few prescriptions. I love her. She has been a great help in keeping me on my program.

I will be posting photos of my before and after, probably at Christmas time. For now just celebrate the fact that my shorts almost fell down when I was at my golf lesson! Wahoo! What a feeling.

Summer was great. . .Let Fall begin!