Happy Valentines Day

As I was looking at the dirty floor today I thought of the quote "nature abhors a vacuum" Just what does that mean? I abhor a vacuum as well, but since when did mother nature buy a hoover?

Craining my brain far back to freshman physical science I remember the quote being interpreted that where there is an empty space it will invariably fill up with something. I have no idea of the history, who thought it up, or why. But while I was frosting my valentine cookies I had a moment to ponder.

Lets say the empty space is my mouth. The natural woman (me) naturally would like to fill it especially when I am in the kitchen.

Valentines Day = Chocolate. Calamity = an eater of Chocolate.

Stragety: I begged my husband "please whatever you do, do not buy me chocolate for V day." Then to fill the vaccuim/void the absence of chocolate would leave on Valentines day I told him "I would like bubble bath and a People (there I said it, I am a gossip monger.) I know that my home will be filled with chocolate no matter what, so to limit my intake I can stop the flow from one artery.

Now - I have to fill my empty mouth and stomach before nature does, and my secret: Spearmint gum in my kitchen drawers, large glasses of ice water, a cup of hot chocolate, fudgecicles in my freezer, and the most important: 3 nice filling healthy meals and 2 healthy snacks.

When I have had to overcome any obsticle, be it a bad habit or a sin, I find that I have to fill up my life with other things. Sitting and thinking about how bad I want the object only leads me to cave. Filling my time with service, excercise, children, spouse or hobbies, makes it harder to put the old vice back in the hole.

For example T.V. time = food, the change: T.V. time = ironing, sock sorting, crocheting, foot rubbing etc. Find your vice, dig it out and then fill the hole in with something better. It is always better to be busy than bored. Boredom brings on eating.

"Nature sucks" There I said it-get it? vacuum pun. Nature sucks stuff right on to your belly, stop the flow, clog up the vacuum. This advice is my Valentines gift to you. I am so grateful to you. It is so fun to find comments in my email box, I love that I have made friends that I have never met. I am grateful that others are willing to struggle right along with me. On this day of love and gratitude I need to say thanks! My life is getting crazy busy right now with church callings, family, school and various commitments so the postings are slowing down a bit, but I feel that this blog is a cherry on top of a very blessed life! Thanks for making it possible.

Love,
Calamity.

Amalickiah and The Evil Banana Chip

Amalickiah was a bad man. He came up with a plan to worm his way into the hearts of the powerful, destroy them and then take control of their positions.

Lehonti was a captain of a strong army and was wary of the man. Amalickiah tried three times to persuade him to come down and make a deal with him to join together, but Lehonti stayed strong, and followed his instinct. Not one to give up, the fourth time Amalickiah "found that he could not get Lehonti to come down off from the mount, he went up into the mount, nearly to Lehonti's camp" (Alma 47:12) Finally Lehonti consented. A deal was made that they would work together with Amalickiah as the second in command to Lehonti. To make the story brief, during their time together Amalickiah eventually poisoined Lehonti by degrees until he was dead and took over Lehontis army.

Here is where our stories merge, I have been done wrong by banana chips. I love dried fruit, it is easy to put in little bags and put in my purse, in my van, or in my kitchen. I buy dried peaches, mangos, apples, cherries, even pears, which are a sweet alternitive to candy but I always stayed away from the banana chips, I thought they were nasty. I "durst not" buy them, I ignored them all together. One day while at costco I found a large bag of combined fruit, which included banana chips. I hated those chips, but loved the others, so I invited the evil in with the good. After eating all the other fruits the yellow imposters and I were left alone. I ate a few. The next day I ate a few more, My chips promised me that they were health food, used by backpackers and granola heads. As days passed I started developing a taste for the things. Banana chips are cheap, and are found next to the fresh bananas in the produce section, in the bulk section and in the health food section of my grocery store - Such a reccomendation I thought.

Then it happened, my scale started to protest and give me higher numbers - in shock I analyzed my eating, the only thing that changed was the yellow cardboard chips. I wondered what was in those things, I looked up the nutritional information online. "Total Fat 34g - 51% of a daily diet, Saturated Fat 29g" They fry those things, In palm oil, and add banana flavoring. THIRTY FOUR GRAMS OF FAT????Stunned I realized I was basically eating a meal deal from McDonalds while not getting the benefit of taste.

Amalickiah wormed his way into the life of Lehonti until Lehonti felt safe and happy. Banana chips wormed their way into my daily diet, until I believed that I was doing something good, safe and healthy. I became so comfortable I let them become my favorite snack. Lehonti should have googled Amalickiah to find out just what kind of guy he was. Unfortunately for him he didn't - but I did. Googling what I eat, finding out the truth can save me. I am armed againgst banana chips, they no longer hold my heart. I can't even bear to look at the nasty creatures.

My lesson learned? Read labels, google information, read fast food menu information before you go out so you will not eat in ignorance. . . . Knowledge is the key to weight loss. A fat bottom side doesn't just appear, it gets put there by the evil things we invite inside. If our bodies are temples, then we must make sure that the foods we let in are reccomend worthy.

"And the truth shall set you free...."

Confessions Of The cookie monster.

I have felt guilt when my skinny fourteen year old looks into the freezer and says "hey who ate all the ice cream? I have felt the shame burn within me as my children return home from school only to ask - where is last nights cake? I have heard my husband wonder out loud where the supply of mint milanos have gone. The guilt comes from the knowledge of where the ice cream, the cake and the milanos are - in my tummy.

I am undergoing a change however. The feeling is a funny one that I haven't experienced before. I can hardly put it into words but when I see that I am eating more than my share of goodies I look at my children enjoying it and feel bad that I am acting selfishly. I would credit it to the whisperings of the spirit. Somehow my desire to not be selfish with my children is becoming stronger than my urge to eat like cookie monster. - I believe that Heavenly Father doesn't want me to be Jabba the Hut gobbling away my day, eating resourses that should be shared. Children, a neighbor, a friend, or better yet - an enemy - could benefit from selfless sharing. Guilt actually works wonders for me. I am going to let it fester so that when I am tempted to grab the last dozen or so cookies and curl up with a book - I will feel like the hamburgler. At 39&3/4 I am maturing. It is nice to grow up and not out.

There, I am glad I got that off my chest, (and kept the cookies off my thighs) Have a good week everyone!

(I am toning down my posting schedule to once a week. I fear I am running out of things to say and am becoming redundant- My story for those who haven't read it is spelled out carefully in my first month of postings and you can go there to see what really helped me to change and lose weight.)