Creepy Crawlies
Oklahoma is sometimes (?) a strange place. Fall is kind of here, the weather is kind of cooperating - cooling a little, extra rain. But lately, it's been an insect paradise. For them. Not necessarily for me. I thought bugs liked the heat of summer.
For one, we've been seeing caterpillars. Like, lots of them. At the park, at home, wherever. Aren't they spring-harbingers for summer butterflies and moths? Apparently not. We've spotted at least five different types this week.
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| This fellow was at least 3 inches long! He will become a rather large moth over time. |
There have been a lot of spiders around, too. Some are fairly good sized, though not like those amazing yellow-and-black garden spiders back in my Altus yard. We've seen huge webs high up in the trees of the park. There's one, however, who made it's home in the vines of the wisteria on the arch on the park path. Analiese and I spent considerable time observing it this week, watching what went into it's web, etc.
On the disgusting, gross, and just-plain-annoying side... Do you really want to know? One morning, going out to the van for Seminary, I had to wipe the condensation off of windows and mirrors so I could see to drive. I keep a bunch of fast food napkins in the van for just that purpose. So, I cleaned them off and threw the napkins away in the trash can outside our home. Analiese popped into the van, I turned on the engine...and the headlights. Crawling all over said can was MAGGOTS! We had a little freak-out moment - me, more than her because I touched the can!!! GROSS! We shuddered and tried not to throw up! Trust me, when we got home, we told Ken. Time to slay the disgusting dragons!
Then, there are the stupid grasshoppers. I'm constantly scooting their scritchy-scratchy bodies off of me, the mail box, and my poor, benighted gerbera daisy plant on the porch. They've been going to town on the poor plant, who's starting to look shredded. You can tell they've been feasting a lot there, too. Grasshopper poops are a real thing.
And mosquitoes still are messing with my life. The worst part this week was the bite I got on my right arm near the area where I give myself allergy shots. Seriously? Just what I need, double itching!
One cool, non-insect sort-of creepy-crawly we found this week was a frog. Analiese spotted him behind the church building Wednesday after YW. He was sitting by a door, bathed in light. She took me over to look at him. I don't think he much liked the attention but bore it with patience.
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| She named him Gamamoto. Some sort of Manga/Anime reference. |
Doctor Visit
No, he didn't visit me; I went to him. I went to Norman to see him (same office as the allergist) because I had had a food allergy test (blood-letting) a few weeks earlier to see if I was allergic to any food. Because I always seem to be getting tummy-sick. It's becoming a real problem; it interrupts my sleep, stops outings in their tracks, and keeps me from enjoying life in general. I do not want to live in my bathroom.
The result: I am not allergic to ANYTHING food-wise. So I looked the doc square in the eyes and said, "Then we need to have a talk because I'm having issues." (Issues is code-word for any kind of problem, especially long-term, I'm having).
So we did. He's a great doctor. I think we spent at least 30 minutes (!) talking about all the things it could be and what we could do (invasive versus non, expensive versus not, etc.). He really took the time to go over things with me. He answered my questions thoroughly and intelligently (meaning he took me seriously and didn't talk down, he recognized my own intelligence) and we formulated a plan. SIGH. Why is it never easy?
Whole 30
At first he suggested doing this program for only a week, but after some discussion, we decided to go with the complete thirty days. Why? Because of my other issues, like allergies, energy levels and cholesterol, even anxiety.
Whole 30 is a program (Ken says diet) where you restrict A LOT of foods for thirty days in order to clear out and reset your digestive system. Then, you slowly reintroduce things, one at a time, in order to see what is or isn't affecting you. Not that I'm allergic, but that something is bothering my stomach, intestines, or colon.
So, for thirty days no: grains, dairy, legumes (beans & peanuts), sugar, caffeine, processed foods. It's basically protein and veggies, with a little fruit in there. No cheating, because that defies the test and I'd have to start all over again. Grin and bear it, I guess.
I'm not starting it until the 15th of October. They don't recommend it during holidays and big events (like weddings) because the temptation is overwhelming. So, my plan is to get this over and done before Thanksgiving. Not that I can go whole-hog. I'll still have to be careful, because I'll be in the evaluating stage when I have to see what does/doesn't bother me.
Sounds crazy, right? I'm not into crazy; it makes me VERY SKEPTICAL. But...the doctor said he'd seen some pretty great, positive results from it and felt it was a good recommendation, considering my circumstances. It sounds a lot like the paleo & keto diets going on, like the one my cousin, Tim, lost a lot of weight on. But this is temporary, though it could lead to some weight loss and some re-evaluation of food choices. Which would be nice. Also, if I start having problems again, I can do it again as needed.
Would my family do it with me? Well, we're going to have a special FHE Monday and talk about it. I know Jonathan has been having some problems with food lately, so maybe he will. We'll see. If you've had any success, or have any advice on it for me, please let me know. I am in the process of researching all about it. I cannot afford doing the organic thing, so I will have to readjust some of their suggestions. Also, great recipes, including ones for breakfast, would be awesome!
CONFERENCE NOTES
I am going to leave the "Big Change" to the end of these comments, so you're just going to have to endure my take on the other parts of conference. Too bad, conference was amazing!
First off, I made it a Seminary "project" to watch and note conference. We spent nearly all of our class time on Friday talking about conference and how to get the most out of it. I was a little concerned that we didn't get to much of my lesson, but the Spirit was telling me not to worry about it - conference was more important!
There was much continued talk about ministering from last conference. "Feed my sheep" was an oft-repeated theme. I liked Elder Soares' talk about including new converts into the "river" of the church, The Women's session focused a lot on loving others.
There was quite a bit of talk about fears, trials and hardships. Elder Ballard's talk about life after death was particularly poignant in light of his recent loss of his wife. Apparently, Elder Eyring's wife is not doing well, either, and his sweet words portrayed his deep love for her. I wept.
Of course, there was plenty of upbeat words. Elder Uchtdorf was his cheerful self, talking about how the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes us better...and happier. Elder Gay of the 70 told us that no enduring joy exists outside of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love this from him: "Can you see that every one around you is a sacred being?" What a perspective!
There were firm stands on our beliefs, too. The world is not going to sway us into agreeing in things that aren't right! President Oak's talk was unmistakable in this fashion: The truths about the Plan of Salvation cannot be learned by secular methods. Oh, and change yourself; not the Church!
President Russell M. Nelson - Prophet of God 💖
That man is so amazing. He's awful darling, too. He has such an endearing smile and manner, as if he loves the whole world and wants us all to be one big happy family (which I think he does!). He spoke a lot, not every session, but nearly. He seems to be just full of energy and revelation that he wants/needs to spill out to the world. It's so exciting to watch him!
He challenged the women of the Church Saturday evening to something similar to what he did with the youth earlier this year. (By the way, I find it adorable that he calls the youth his Youth Battalion!) He challenged the women to read the whole Book of Mormon by the year's end (not much time, but I've already started), take a 10-day media fast (I'm starting on Monday), and go to the temple regularly. I've covenanted to do all that he asks, so...there you go, you know what I'll be doing for the next little bit.
Especially touching was his talk today (Sunday) about why the Church name HAS to be The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I never thought about it before, but yes, all the other permutations of the name have left out the Savior's name. And the Savior is at the center of all that we do. He was nearly in tears, it hurt him so much to contemplate it. Our covenant at baptism and each week at the altar of the sacrament is to always remember Christ. How can we do that if we don't have his name upon us in our very title? It was a perspective I hadn't considered, and then I felt badly because I had been remiss. No more! (Of note: the choir is now the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. No more Mormon.)
THE CHANGE
I thought maybe they'd wait until Sunday before announcing anything. Nope, right off the bat, comes the news. We're going down to two hour meetings on Sunday versus three in the past. Not to give us more time to relax, but instead to move our worship focus to be more in the home. I have been thinking for a long time how to increase, focus, and improve our total Sabbath worship at home. This is quite a blessing, I think, for our family and for all families who want to strengthen their bonds with the Lord through deeper, more meaningful family worship.
We've already downloaded the curriculum for next year. We're going to be thinking, planning, and discussing all of this in our family home evenings up to January, when the program changes are to be implemented. But we all seem to be in agreement - this is a very good thing!
It is good, so very good, to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter-Days. And exciting!
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| Analiese has figured out a Halloween costume for Pom. Not that I think she cares for it much. |
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