Seven things

Seven random topics that have filled my thoughts lately:

1)  Icicles.  Aren't they amazing?  We had a pretty killer winter storm last week and it's been too cold to all melt away, so the roads are still icy, the snow piled up, and icicles decorate gutters everywhere.  I think it is really quite incredible that water from the snow on the roof can melt just enough to make it down to the edge, but can freeze before gravity can bring those drops to the ground.  Brian pulled a 4 foot beauty off the gutter of the church building last night.  It scares me ever so slightly thinking about walking through a doorway knowing that several sharp weapons are dangling over my head.

2)  I ran 6 miles today.  My longest ever.  Without walking or stopping (other than to reset the treadmill that stops after only 30 minutes).  It felt really good.  Usually I do my longer Saturday runs outside to save me from the dreaded treadmill boredom, but it is way too slick & icy outside, so the treadmill it was.  Normally after about 2 miles, the treadmill becomes more of a mental battle than a physical one.  I get bored on them quickly.  Even my ipod full of music can't get me through more than about 3 miles indoors.  Thank goodness for that Season Finale episode of Project Runway I bought from Itunes.  It kept my mind off my running and the time FLEW!  Can't wait for my next long run...Part 2 of the Season Finale awaits.

3)  I love my calling.  LOVE IT!  I must admit, however, that it has majorly stressed me out lately.  Like can't-sleep-at-night-because-of-the-stress stress.  Filling callings, auxiliary trainings, and the dreaded Cub Scout banquet/fundraiser that has been the bane of my existence for the last 2 months.  At the last Worldwide Leadership training on the 12th I think I finally received some enlightenment about my calling.  HUMILITY.  Yep.  I've been concentrating too much on the silly rules & regulations and not enough on ministering to the sweet children I serve.  They are really amazing and I am so lucky to be able to be with them and love them.  Once I kind of "got" that, I decided to let the rest go.  It worked.  The stress was gone.  It wasn't my calling stressing me out, it was me.  Doh!!! Remind me about this post next time you see me running around the church like a chicken with my head cut off.

4)  Money.  I hate money.  I hate that it has so much power over us.  It seems to always be on my mind.  As much as I tell myself that how much money you have doesn't matter, I really, really wish I had more of it.  There, I said it.

5)  Education.  I have been really flared up lately about education.  All that talk on the news and facebook about Idaho's education reform, as well as our local levy vote coming up.  I have a friend on Facebook that is a representative in the Idaho house and a friend from my old stake in Boise.  I went as far as posting a piece of my mind about the Luna bill for her to pass on to her coworkers.  I think it is unacceptable that education should take a large hit because of our country's self-inflicted financial woes.  And as a reminder - if you are a local friend, don't forget to vote YES on March 8th for the education levys.

6)  Drivers here are RUDE!  I can't believe it sometimes.  Completely rude.  For instance, I was almost all of the way pulled out of my parking space @ TJMaxx and a car pulled up and WENT AROUND ME.  They couldn't wait for another 30 seconds while I finished.  And this literally happens to me almost every day I use parking spaces.  Also, tonight Brian & I were going to a store and needed to switch lanes, and the car behind us in that lane sped up instead of letting us over.  This is also not a rare occurance.  What the heck??!!!!!  And don't get me started on the running of the red lights.  Do they teach this stuff in drivers ed here?  Look out for those K license plates.  Jerks.

7)  I've decided I'm tired of buying chemicals labeled as food.  I stopped buying products with HFCS & Hydrogenated oils years ago, but I have taken it to the next level.  I thought I was pretty safe with sour cream, for example.  I usually buy the Freddy's brand of lite sour cream, and finally (for the 1st time ever) took the time to actually look at what was in it.  What I thought I would see on the label was CREAM.  Instead I saw: cultured cream, grade A whey, modified food starch, sodium phosphate, sodium citrate, guar gum, carageenan, calcium sulface, potassium sorbate (preservative) and locust bean gum.  What the HECK do they need all that other stuff for?  I bought the Daisy light instead.  It's ingredients: cultured cream, skim milk & vitamin a palmitate.

My friend Kristi has also told me about honey cough syrup for my kids.  I usually don't medicate my kids, but they have had terrible coughs lately.  It worked like a charm. WAY better than any of those purple syruppy chemicals on the shelf and it was all natural!  And to top off this latest tangent, last month I bought a pressure canner and finally began bread making again.  Time to get my garden on!  (if only this stupid snow would melt.)  Look out, world!  We're going au natural!  :)