Shiny = Fancy

I get the privilege to see my Mom today in Warner Robbins. She's usually in Lexington, KY, but currently visiting my brother's home.

He's got 3 cute kids, and the toys to prove it. My two girls couldn't imagine a more engaging play place. So, I'm enjoying a rare respite from toddler boredom. (Its a disease that comes at intervals. The main symptoms are a toddler climbing on and/or destroying more that one valued family heirloom every five minutes or so. The other main symptom is a mother wrapping up a day at home with the kids by going to bed at 7PM on drugs and crying herself to sleep.) Yeah, we've been suffering from an acute case of toddler boredom and teething this past week.

And now, my blogging is occasionally interrupted with Grace's joyful voice,

"Look, Mom, its a mixer!"

"Isn't this pipe fancy?"

"Ooooh, isn't this fancy?"

I'll take it!

Royal's new blog away from this blog

Royal has been a little industrious lately... here's the link to his personal compilation of instructables.... or in other words, detailed how-tos.

http://www.instructables.com/member/royalestel/

The Flying Scrooge

Or, in other words, Royal's latest building project....

The Ornithopter

The Orni what-er?

Its the flying home-made gadget resembling a dragonfly that Royal constructed from office supplies. Then, of course, he posted detail by detail how to do it yourself on instructables.com!

You have got to see this! Here's a sneak peek...

http://www.instructables.com/id/E6HII1H1JREZIXCMII?ALLSTEPS

What's in a Word?

Grace has always been a talented speaker. And, when she wants for a word, she invents descriptions that are creative and clever.

So, see if you can guess what the following definitions refer to:

1. Pinching scissors

2. the Loop stick hanger

3. Nuts shaped like little hot dogs

4. Baby chewing suckers


Give up?


1. cooking tongs

2.Wire Hanger with a paper tube on the long side

3. Cashews

4. pacifiers.

Smiter Bad Guy

We have a new superhero around these days. He goes by the name, "Smiter Bad Guy."

Grace thought of this name. The term "Smiter" originates from "smite" as found in the Book of Mormon. She is frequently inspired by vocabulary we find in the scriptures. Infact, most of our daily family scripture time involves explaining definitions for all the new words in the one verse we get through. Smite was a particularly applicable word to Grace's life, and she has remembered and used it since we first came across it.

So, Smiter Bad Guy is a character, disguised as a little girl, that carries a large weapon disguised as an oversized leaf rake (don't be fooled by its innocent appearance!). He depends on local Good Guys to deliver enemies to him. The enemies are usually disguised as Lawn and Garden implements.



Then, he takes the enemy to an unoccupied part of the yard, lays him down...





and smites him once with the weapon.









That destroys any enemy we've found so far. Thanks, Smiter Bad Guy, for keeping the yard a safe place to live!

Daily Early Morning Seminary

I'm teaching Early Morning Seminary these days.

Its... real early.

So, think of me around 6:15 AM.

What's that, you say? You're still in b... NO! Say its not true!

I'm not listening... Nananana nanaaaaa.... I can't hear you....

I have to go to bed now. See ya.

Running on Chalk Fumes

Well, I dicovered an ususual source of fuel for Sienna's car. . .



Sidewalk chalk! I'm not sure who first tried it, Grace, or Sienna. But, at any rate, one stick'll last over a week of driving! Who knew?

And the other power driving that thing would be Baby power. It's about 1/5 one horsepower unit. Just adorable!

Giving Blood

Some talented Red Cross salesman called me the other day.

He told me about how special and rare my blood is. (I've given here before, so they should know!) He explained the very unusual quality it has, which allows it to be administered to infants and cancer patients. And he finally explained the shortage of this special blood in our area right now.

What could I say? I was flattered into making an appointment.

So, this morning, I marched into the Red Cross office full of self-importance and generosity.

And a pint or so lighter, I went on with my slightly light-headed day.

If you've got clean blood, Just Give!

I'm contemplating posting a pic of my wound. It looks really bad this time, but I'll spare you all.

Adventures in Gardening

I have been trying to grow a "successful" garden for a few years. My main motivation is the appeal of self-sufficiency. My secondary motivation is saving a few bucks.

Last year (2006), we were in a rental home during planting season, and put a few herbs in pots.



In May 2006, we got back home and put in some Zinnia seed. They grew for Grace! I'll try to post some wonderful pics. They bloomed through December 1st! (far left pic)















The Year before that (2005) we were in 2 different rental homes during planting season. We didn't plant.

The year before that (2004, I suppose... how time does fly!) we built 2 small raised garden beds. The only picture I have is the strings marking the squares. You may wisely note that each bed is completely shaded. Hmmm... why didn't that ever occur to me?



Grace helped me plant carrots seeds, and something else that also didn't grow. This was my poor attempt at Square foot gardening.

So, this year! 2007! No time like the present, eh!

This winter, I read the excellent book, "How to Grow More Vegetables" by John Jeavons. It is a "biointensive" method of gardening, which translates to 1. you plant "tightly", similarly to the square foot method, and 2. you carefully "grow" your soil so that your garden can always be self-sustainable, without fertilizers and other things being trucked in from someone else's land.

Jeavon's perspective of sustainability has really drawn me in and changed the way I look at the soil, the earth, and the things I consume. This may sound weird, but I now feel closer to understanding the earth and how all we have comes from it. Jeavon's doesn't do any preaching in his book, but I've grown so much from reading it! I recommend it highly, and please do yourself a favor and get it free from the library! It has been around at least 30 years.

Back to my garden in 2007, So, we picked a sunnier spot for this year's garden. Royal helped me prepare the soil. Along with our 6 tomatoes, 6 peppers, and one strawberry plant (thought Grace would love that), we splurged and bought 3 blueberry bushes! (I've wanted to put in some kind of fruit for about 5 years.)

Today, Royal put in some okra seed, and I tossed in a few basil and Nasturtium (flowers that repel bugs in theory) seeds.

In our remaining shady raised garden, Grace put in Cosmos Flower seeds several weeks ago, and today she put in Zinnia's from 2 years ago. Maybe they'll grow. I've kept them in the freezer carefully.

So, Wish us luck! If we live here through August, maybe we will get something. As we pray for a harvest, nourish our plants with great care, and keep the Sabbath day holy, we are very hopeful for some food blessings.

Pretty Pretty Princess

This is the toy referenced in the next post.

Here is Grace's new game, with Mom playing along. (It's actually pretty fun.) This is a dress-up board game.

Sienna's First Car

I splurged today at a consignment sale. I allowed the girls to each pick out one toy. I contributed $3 to Grace's pick, and $5 to Sienna's. This is an inordinately large amount of cash for me to blow, especially on toys. (We have very conservative views on how many toys are necessary for a happy childhood. Okay, that was an understatement...)
But, I digress...
So, anyway, here are the girls enjoying their new treasures.

And, bytheway, five bucks ain't bad for Sienna's first set of wheels. It even gets great gas mileage.

The Magical Ice Cream Man

Here in Southern Georgia, we have some strange cultural practices which mystify children. One is The Ice Cream Man. (I'm mystified mainly that he comes in February...)

One of our neighborhood friends, a 7 year old Matthew, has an unending supply of money to buy overpriced mystical ice cream from the musical mogul. Grace has become fascinated with how indescribably exciting it must be to actually purchase ice cream from a stranger in a musical truck. So, she started asking about a week ago if we could buy some. I put her off with short answers like, I don't want to pay that much for ice cream, etc.

Until one day, she persisted. So, when I had no more clever answers, I pulled out the old let's-wait-until-your-Daddy-gets-home-and-ask-him. So, as soon as our endearing Patriarch comes walking in, "Daddy, let's talk about ice cream now. Daddy, can we please talk about Ice cream now?" With raised eyebrow, Royal gives me the old what-the-heck-is-she-talking-about look.

So, we sat down together. While I expounded the virtue of prudence and thrift, and bargain ice cream from the grocery store, Grace listened patiently. She answered questions and responded in a demonstration of her deep appreciation for such principles. When I had imparted all my motherly wisdom, she sweetly said, "May I buy some ice cream from the ice cream man tomorrow?"

Daddy understood and said this, "Grace, Mommy is saying that you could buy ice cream for less money at the grocery store, and I think what you're saying is that you would like to have the fun of spending the extra money just so you can get ice cream from the Ice Cream Man, right?"

Grace eagerly nodded.

"Okay. How about you get to buy one ice cream from The Ice Cream Man next time he comes. Then, Mom can help you buy ice cream from the Grocery Store. Then you can see for yourself the difference."

So, here is Grace's first successful purchase from the Mystical Ice Cream Man.

8 Minutes in My Morning

I have found a quick, simple exercise regimen that has reshaped my body in 10 minutes a day, 6 days a week- at my home.

For any of you who have ever wanted to change the shape of your body, I challenge you to try this!

Its called 8 Minutes in the Morning. But first, my story....

I grew up feeling my body was okay. I have never had strong feelings about my weight or size. From age 15, I have been a steady size 12, weighing between 130-145 lbs. I have maintained a very minimal, but regular, fitness level. In other words, I'd walk about 2 miles 1-2 times a week, and do beginner pilates once a week. My goal was to be "fit"; not slender or tiny or even beautiful. No exercise regimen I had ever been on changed the shape of my body. I had never dieted, I usually ate too much sugar, and I ate whenever I was hungry.

At age 21, one year after my first baby was born, I weighed 140 lbs. I was still a size 12, still maintaining minimal fitness and very content with that.

However, around the time I conceived my 2nd child, I stopped exercising. As I gained weight, I started feeling blob-like. Too soft around the edges, if you get my drift. Six months later, I was well-rounded. I decided that when this baby was born, I was going to do something about my large horizontal stature.

I found Jorge Cruise's 1st book, 8 Minutes in the Morning. I read it cover to cover and decided this was the exercise routine for me! It is only 2 exercises a day, with Sundays off. Since I can do 10 minutes of anything, I decided this was something I could maintain.

I got up to 187 lbs that pregnancy. The birth was perfect, leaving me at 170 lbs.

About a month later, I began my 8 Minutes. I bought a copy of the Book myself. (I should mention, the fitness plan includes an eating plan that is very simple, good nutrition. It involves portion control. However, since I was breast-feeding, I decided not to reduce my calorie intake. I did try to follow the general principles, though. So, basically, I ate a few more veggies, and added some Omega 3 to my diet. I still ate everything else as usual. If you follow the eating plan, you'll have results much quicker than I did.)

I was back into my size 14 jeans in a few weeks. I seemed to lose about 1 lb/week, or slightly less. I couldn't have been happier to wear those jeans, either! I kept up my 8 Minutes faithfully.

In November, (I had been doing 8 minutes for 2.5 months, so I weighed around 155-160) Royal took me clothes shopping. He wanted me to have some attractive jeans. (I've never been good at having clothes that fit well.) I was shocked when size 10 fit me. I was sure it was just the badly sized generic brand. I had never worn a size 10 anything that I could remember. So, we took home my first size ten, and I was pretty skeptical about it.

By December, I needed more small jeans. I got some "expensive" used jeans in size 10 that fit pretty well. I also had to buy a dress for my Sister's wedding. And again, it was a size 10, and a bit loose.

In February, I went back to the consignment store for more, since my size 10s were too loose. (I was back down to about 140 lbs now.) I brought home two pair of size 8 jeans.

Finally, around July (after 8 minutes every day for almost a year.), I was out on a wild, random shopping spree (long story, but it was Royal's orders), and I tried on some size 6 jeans "just for fun". Not only did they fit, but they were comfortably loose. Dumbstruck, I brought home that victory!

Here's me in June- 11 months after baby number two.


Now, I weigh 135ish, I wear a size 8 on bad days, and I do my workout no matter what. 8 Minutes of strength training. I still have too much sugar most of the time, and I eat what I want.
I have to tell you, it is pretty fun being so small! I like being in my ideal weight category. I like being small, and still having plenty of muscle.

Someday I'm going to start an 8 minutes challenge with my whole family, so we can all get fit together. When I do, You'll see the post, and I hope you'll join the challenge.

For more information, or if you want to try out 8 Minutes, please email me! I'd love to hear about it and encourage you. royal.spamcan@gmail.com Happy Slenderizing!

8 Minutes is a fitness plan designed by Jorge Cruise. His first book, 8 Minutes in the Morning (the original), has been the basis for my routine. If you buy it, I recommend getting the "Kit". It has all the exercises on separate, easy to use Cards. (So, you don't have to hold a book open to see the exercises. That's what I use.) The next version of the same book: 8 Minutes in the Morning for Extra Easy Weight Loss has been the basis for my improved eating habits (it has a simplified eating plan.)

Grace's Quiet Time

This evening Grace was explaining to me what kind of treat she'd like for being reverent during church,when she interrupted herself and asked, pointing, if she could wear my "headphones." She was pointing to the hearing protection I wear when I mow the lawn. I consented and she explained that she needed some "quiet time." After a few seconds of jumping up and down with the headphones on, she proceeded to sing gibberish at the top of her lungs. Apparently her quiet time was noisy time for the rest of us. Then Grace sat down and read Sienna a book. I had to take pictures. She's been dancing the whole evening. I love being a dad.

Walmart Prediction

Wal-Mart is going down, folks! You can say that you heard it here, too. Taking an Edward Deming perspective of the business, it becomes obvious that Wal-Mart has been watering their soup for over a decade. From store to store, the only thing that is consistent seems to be the HUGE size of the buildings, and the lack of knowledgeable help. The help in some stores does seem to at least care about the customers. I haven't found that to be true in any walmart near me (Southeast Georgia.), but my Brother in Warner Robbins (middle Georgia) claims to know of a store where it is true. I am embarrassed to admit that I shop there to save on groceries. They usually have about 4 out of 5 things I need on days when I have the stamina to stay long enough to peruse the entire store looking for them. The last straw-the beginning of the end- came on the day they hung televisions from the ceiling every 20 feet, blaring unwelcome advertisements in my general direction. Yes, that was the day I began to hate spending my time, energy, and money at Wal-Mart. And, in my opinion, Wal-Mart will not be able to maintain their status in the US economy for too much longer. They are alienating customers, suppliers, and employees. Hello, Target!