Day 2.

Wow... Just spent 4hrs on my header. yep. 4 loooong hours... but I must admit I am pretty proud of it :) I bet I could have done it in 30mins if I weren't so indecisive. 
Now that all that time is spent I have about an hour before I need to get ready to go to my good friend Meredith's house for lunch. Thanks Mer! :)


I am achieving my daily goals thus far (only been 2 days) .. yesterday as Marshall and I were driving home from Beaumont a car in front of us stopped at the traffic lights and didn't move when the light went green. I could tell Marshall was a little agitated, we drove up beside the car to go around it but by that time the light had turned red so we weren't going anywhere. I rolled down the window and asked the young guy sitting in the drivers seat 'what's wrong?' to which he replied 'something is wrong with the transmission, it won't go into first gear'. People behind him were honking their horns since he couldn't find the button to turn his hazard lights on. I suggested we help him, so we parked our car at the nearby servo, (petrol or service station as we refer to them in Australia) or gas station.. then proceeded to help push his car off the busy road. Lucky there was a Mr Transmission about 2 blocks away. Marshall was pushing from the passenger seat door, I was pushing the boot (trunk), on 105 in Beaumont.. in nice jeans, my clean white and baby blue blouse and sandals, that are not quite heels but more like a wedge... :) I found it amusing and exciting. So I was able to check off my goal of service that day. Not to mention the babysitting I had done all day... which led me to completely fail one of my goals. I had been doing pretty good staying away from sweets, candy, desserts of late but I took a step backwards yesterday. I drove to Vidor to babysit for a friend. I was watching 3 cute little girls, aged about 1 & 1/2, 3 & 5. I asked them if they would like some cereal for breakfast and they each declined, well not the little one. I then went to the fridge and pantry to see what else there was to offer them, you know.. maybe toast, oatmeal, fruit, eggs. Much to my dismay, in fact I was utterly hurt by what I saw since this past week I have watched 2 documentaries about food and health etc... the pantry was FULL.. and I mean, full to where you could not even see the shelves... everything was stacked and piled and shoved in there. Packets of chips, a huge bowl of candy, donuts, little debbie cakes of multiple sorts.. I could go on and on. I don't know if I believe in 'moderation in all things' however this pantry contained waaaaayyyy beyond what I would think is a moderate amount of sugary, fatty foods lacking in any nutritional value. I shut the door. Went back to the fridge and gave them all lil' cuties - you know those little tangerines or mandarins.. whatever you call them. For lunch it was macaroni & cheese.. quick, easy - even I enjoy it from time to time (homemade though) and I include some chicken & broccoli so I feel like I'm eating something slightly better than just refined, bleached flour and cheesy, buttery fat sauce. Seriously.. what is that packet of yellow powder even made from that comes with store bought mac & cheese? It tastes pretty good.. but WHAT IS IT? sigh... well their Mum called during the day to check up and invited me to eat whatever I liked in the pantry even the chocolate from her jar up high... and I did. I am a sucker for chocolate. I probably had about 6 or 7 pieces of dove or giardelli chocolate. yep, I indulged.. and now I have to start over again - NO SUGAR!


Something else I realised yesterday - I have a lot of respect and admiration for that mother, still do. I nannied for her for about 6 months last year. I was able to see her interact with her children and she was like a Saint.. never ever became impatient or angry. Never yelled, was continually loving, really Christlike. If her messy 2yr old poured the entire bottle of liquid washing detergent over her naked self it wasn't a big deal. She just laughed and cleaned her up. Her youngest was a terribly messy eater, smooshing her food, sandwiches and bananas all over the table, with her hands and feet... but this mother remained calm and would just clean up later. Basically I thought she was 'Super Mum', perfect. She didn't just let her kids do anything either, like get away with misbehaving etc, she would discipline them but it was always with sooo much love and patience. 
Okay, the point is I thought she was perfect, super mum - and I still do admire her loving, gentle nature... but the truth is no one is perfect and you should never ever compare yourself to others or feel like you have to reach some bar set by someone else... because you may not know it, in fact you may never know where they fall short. Where they aren't perfect, but just human. I can't judge or condemn this mother for sometimes feeding her children things I'd never dream of giving my kids, because we're all different and we all grew up differently and were shaped and affected by our own upbringings and have varying attitudes, values & beliefs. I'm grateful for mine, I'm grateful for my mother and grandmothers and the wealth of knowledge they've passed down to me and the wonderful examples they are. Here is a great book I read sometime last year. http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Like-Women-Influence/dp/0757300545
It is called 'How to be Like Women of Influence' - if you can get your hands on a copy, do so. You won't regret it. It was one of the most incredible, encouraging, empowering, motivating books I ever read. I have so much respect and admiration for the women in this book and the amazing lives they lived and examples they were. READ IT!


I'd hesitated in beginning a blog because I'd felt like I wouldn't have anything to write about however, I think with "followers" it will encourage me to get something on here each day, even if it's short, and enhance my writing capabilities slowly but surely. Plus I've had plenty of ideas over the past 24hrs for various blog posts.
I have recently watched some great documentaries, or 'doco's' as we Aussies refer to them in our slang... So I have some ideas for following posts. Stay tuned for... 


1. My thoughts on documentaries, 'Killer at Large - Why Obesity is America's Greatest Threat, 'Food Inc.' and 'The Business of Being Born'.
2. Surviving.. err i mean, Living in Lumberton TX
3. newlywed ramblings...
4. some delicious and nutritious recipes!
5. My thoughts on parenting - I am not a parent yet, but I have had plenty of experience nannying and learning from other mothers things that I would or would not like to implement when I am a parent, I would love comments/discussion from all you wise women out there especially regarding discipline.. I'd like to learn as much as I can before I start popping em out!
6. my progress with sewing.... eeek!


thanks for visiting!

The beginning...

13 Goals for 2010

1. Wean myself off foods high in refined sugar

2. Try hard not to feel jealous/envious of others and be more grateful for my many blessings

3. Read/study the scriptures and pray daily

4. Avoid R rated movies and disgraceful television shows

5. Listen to music that uplifts my soul, is edifying not degrading nor grim

6. Read a good book each month

7. Start & keep a blog/journal

8. Try not to criticize myself or others harshly, unfavourably. To not condemn, blame or find fault.

9. Teach myself to sew

10. Love my husband more

11. Exercise daily, even if it's just a 30min walk

12. A daily act of service or kind gesture, kind words or compliment to someone

13. Smile more :)

There are many more goals I have for myself for the short and long term however I choose to list these things that I can work on daily that I feel will help me live a happier, more spiritual and healthy life and also help me to feel more cheerful, grateful and full of love. 

More to come as I slowly become familiar with the world of blogging. 

 <3 Tahlia.