Sunday, January 30, 2011

making a decision

OK, I usually don't follow through on certain things (e.g. quiting sugar, lemonade cleanse). But I want to try eating raw. I want to see what it does to my body. So, starting tomorrow, i will eat everything raw except for one meal (porbably the meal I eat with Jay). So my plan is to eat a raw breakfast (here are some ideas)
- apple, or banana, or orange
-vegetable juice
-green smoothie
Then for lunch, I will also eat something raw:
-salad
-nuts
-fruits
I have my dehidrated cookies and goji berries for snacks. And then for dinner I will eat something vegan (but probaly cooked) with Jay and the children. Sounds good. I will try this for 10 days. And I will write about it here : )

Sunday, today, was great. Heavenly Father helped me with my gospel doctrine class, and we got to go to our meeting in the evening.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

just stuff

Today as i was driving I could smell the fumes from the cars on the road and i thought "I bet that in the Celestial Kingdom the air actually smells nice... probably a sweet smell, a smell of clean, pure, fresh air." I bet there is a smell in the air in the Celestial Kingdom. I want to live there. I want to be there with my Jayzinho - he is my best friend and I love him so much. We truly were meant to be together. I want to grow old with him, laugh with him, learn new things with him and simply be by his side for all eternity.
Jay is such a blessing in my life. He is such a wonderful husband. He's not perfect by any means, but he is SO GOOD. He is perfect for me.
When I left home (in Portugal) to come study in the States my biggest fear was that my parents would die without me being near them. Every single night, for more than one year, I begged in my prayers that Heavenly Father would not take away my parents from this earth. I would beg, cry and explain to Father that I would not be able to cope with the loss of my parents while I was away. Heavenly Father not once told me that He would not take away my parents from me. But what He did always repeat to my heart was: "If your parents leave this mortal experience, you will be prepared to handle it. If it happens it is because you are prepared and can deal with it."  Well, my parents are still alive. And I am very grateful that I received the blessing of having my parents be present to see me go on a mission, come back from a mission, get married in the Temple, graduate with a Master's degree and have two children.
Now, my biggest fear is that I wont have Jay to grow old with. I don't want to loose him. I really don't want to go a day without seeing him and hugging him and telling him how much I love him. Jay is my night in shinning armor. He is soooo patient with me, and he helps me to not take life too serious.
Of course we have misunderstandings, or arguments at times.... : ) in fact, there is a time, every month, when I seem to get irritated or hurt by him more often... can you guess what time of the month that is? : ) yeah, the time my hormones go crazy!!!
Anyway, I hope Heavenly Father blesses me with the opportunity to keep growing and learning next to Jay. We want to serve a mission together later in life. I also want to take him to Africa, and I would love to visit China with him : )
Work is going well. I feel like I need to be more straight forward about my feelings and about what I like and don't like. There's a girl at work that likes to badmouth about other people, and I've caught her saying several lies. I don't feel comfortable when she approaches me to badmouth about other people, and I need to just be straight forward with her and tell her that I want to have nothing to do with conversations like that.
Ohh, Tiago is crying... he's quiet now... He is such a "sweet & sour" little boy : ) I love him SO much. He gives me the BEST hugs, cuddles with me like no one else, has the sweetest smile on hearth, and the cutest giggle (well... OK the cutest giggle actually belongs to Gabi) but then at times he is so stubborn, so irrational, and a little brutinho when he kicks at me or tries to slap me... he's an angel in my life.


I'm teaching Zumba at Curves and loving it. I'm also teaching at the Mesa Y and loving that class too. Exercising is definately helping me feel better. Since I went to counseling I've been better at taking time for myself and about finding something that I like doing. This helps me be a better mother and a better wife because this way I don't feel like I'm constantly sacrificing myself for my family and like there's nothing left at the end of the day for me. It's like I'm giving of the water in my well but making sure that I'm putting some water in as well. Before I used to just give and give all the water that I had in my well and then there was nothing, no more water, no energy, no nothing left for me. I thought that to be a good mother this was what I had to do. But there were all these resentments growing inside of me. Resentments for being a mother, for having children that need my help, for not having a career outside of the home, resentments for the fact that Jay gets to leave the house and spend his day with other grownups while I have to stay at home with the children, resentments of not being validated etc. 

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

temptations....

I feel like eating a candy bar, but I haven't eaten anything with sugar in a little while and I want to stay completely away from it... I know that with Heavenly Father's help I can overcome my addiction to sugar. One day at a time. With Him I can do it. I'm going to brush my teeth and study the scriptures.
I love my little children by the way.
Tiago likes to bite anything when he gets excited, angry, sad, etc : ) we have his teeth mark on our entertainment center!!!! For real, we do!
Gabi today wanted me to put lotion on her hands because they were dry and then told me to also put lotion on her arms so that they don't get hairy like Burke's arms (that's her grandfather)!!!! She cracks me up. The other day she told, "Mama, when I get bigger I will drive to the store to buy things." She is sooo funny.
My Zumba class at curves went really well today. The ladies are so sweet and they love me. I try to make it really fun and full of energy for them. I'm so glad I'm having this opportunity to teach Zumba there (plus they pay well).
Jay is at school right now, studying for a test. I love him. I hope Heavenly Father helps us to stay together for ever.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Gabi's Birthday

Today was Gabi's Birthday. She is now 4 yo. She is such a blessing in my life and I love her so, so much. It was a wonderful day for all of us. I went to work at the Y and Gabi and Tiago played a lot with everyone else. Gabi had on a pink dress and looked adorable.
Then, at home she helped me make cup cakes, and decorate the house while we waited for her little friends to get here. When her friends arrived (there were 9 children total) they played in the backyard, I painted their nails, then we came inside and decorated cup cakes and ate them, after that we went to the park in our neighborhood and played on the slide and in the dirt, later we went back to the house to hit the pinata and get lots of candy. We then sang happy birthday to Gabi and to Lauren Passey who has the same birthday, and all the kids got a turn at blowing out the candles - this is a tradition that I hope to keep bc I know how it is, every little kid wants to blow candles whether it is her birthday or not. Max (Gabi's Prince) was here. He was the only boy. I love him and wouldn't mind a bit if Gabi stayed in touch with him all growing up and dated him and then married him : ) His parents are excellent too.
Gabi was very happy all day long, the kids all had fun and played well together, and now the children are in bed, the house is all cleaned up and I am very TIRED, but happy and thankful for all my blessings (Gabi being one of the main ones).

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

unbelievable

Unbelievable, just when I think that I've seen, felt or experienced everything I'm surprised with something else that happens in my life. Today I talked to Billy about getting payed for the Zumba class that I taught on sat. and she pretty much said that there wasn't money to pay me and then Shay went on to explain to me that I should have known that I was working only as a volunteer. REALLY people, how am I supposed to know that I'm working as a volunteer if NO ONE tells me that, even after I talked about 3 times with Shay about how to clock in so that I can get payed. and she NEVER mentioned anything to me about being a volunteer... Can you tell by the way I'm writing that I'm pretty upset????????????
And then I go on facebook and this r_ _ _ _ _ ed old roommate of mine as taken me off her list of friends - after MANY years of me putting up  up with her crappy personality, and still making an effort to buy her new baby a present, looking her up and giving her the present when I had very little time in Utah (visiting family). So I wrote her a message (a pretty mild one bc I don't really like being mean to people or telling them everything that is on my mind) asking her if she still wants to be friends with me. But honestly what I feel like doing is just calling her up and having a very honest talk over the phone with her...
Ok, I just talked to my AWESOME husband who helped me understand and realize a few good things and I am feeling better. I love him so much. He truly is my BEST FRIEND and I know that we are a perfect match.
Life is still good. Not always fair, but it's good.
I am thankful for:
-good friends at work (like Kristen and Jolyn)
-my good husband who listens to me, is honest with me and has been a good example of scripture study, journal writing, and personal prayer
-for Gabi's sweetness, for her desire to dance zumba with me, for her great/amazing sense of humor (she can laugh at anything), and I'm thankful that she is so kind to Tiago - she is the PERFECT big sister to him, never hurts him, shares her stuff with him, plays with him, etc
-for Tiago's hugs. I absolutely love the way he puts his arms around my neck and just cuddles with me. I am also thankful that he lest me drown him with kisses : )
-for the opportunity to teach gospel doctrine again next Sunday!!!!!
- for the lessons that the Lord is trying to teach me. - Heavenly Father, I'm trying hard to learn. I'm sorry if I'm selfish and prideful so often. I know that I need to get better.
-for the gift I've received from the Lord to teach zumba in circuit, at Curves, and that those ladies like me and my style.
-that I've been feeling healthy lately
-for my home that looks cute and feels comfortable
It's time to go to bed now.

always your Ninhas

Monday, January 10, 2011

I'm a bit tired

I'm trying to get ready for a marathon in October, a 15 K (9miles) in Feb. and a warrior dash (http://www.warriordash.com/register2011_arizona.php ) in April. I am also teaching Zumba classes at Curves twice a week and at the Mesa YMCA on Saturdays.
I want to feel fit, feel energetic and healthy but today I had to drag myself to the gym to do Body Pum. I just didn't feel like moving : )  I'm glad that I went though. I feel better about myself.
I have a body bug that J gave me for Christmas (he totally surprised me) and it says that I have burned 2400 calories today!!!!!!!!!!! Viva!!!!!!!!!!
I read a talk about repentance this morning and I feel like Heavenly Father totally blessed me with a wonderful rest of the day. The kids and I played in the backyard all morning. The kids got all dirty in the mud, but I didn't stress about it and just let them have fun, I raked the leaves (that felt soooo good) and planted more seeds (kale, carrots and green peas), I also fixed my tomato plants, etc.
I need to make an appointment to talk to the Bishop... so that I can move to step 6.
I love my Father, my husband, my children and my family. Thank you Heavenly Father for blessing me with so much.
Love,

NInhas
PS- something funny... Gabi now repeats everything that she hears so she's been saying things like:
"Keep an eye on Tiago for my Mama." or "You look so good Mama, you look so young!" and "Tiago you are not being a very nice boy today, look at my hand, I am saying no no"

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

I am thankful for:

A few months ago I was part of a program where I had to send an email to another person everyday. In the message I had to list things that I was grateful for. I told myself that I had to list at least 7 things everyday. There were days when it was hard to come up with so many things to be thankful for, but overall it was quite amazing the effect it had on me. I became so much more aware of all my blessings. Plus the day always ended on a positive note because I would recall all the good things that had happened to me that day.
A few weeks ago I received a blessing of comfort and in it the Lord told me to keep in mind everything that I do have instead of focusing on what I lack. I was also told to keep serving everyone around me and that as I serve the same type of blessings will come back to me. I know that this is true.
Anyway, so I thought it would be good to write down daily things that I am thankful for and that show Heavenly Father's hand in my life.
Today I am thankful for:
-my body and how it works/functions so well. I went to a body sculpt class this morning...I can move, jump, jam to music, etc.

Monday, January 3, 2011

The Negative Effects of Sugar

 I've read so many things about the negative effects of sugar. Studies have been done about how it effects your mood, your sleep, even your levels of aggressiveness.

The following is from one of the many websites about the negative effects of sugar http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm 

"The average American consumes an astounding 2-3 pounds of sugar each week, which is not surprising considering that highly refined sugars in the forms of sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar), and high-fructose corn syrup are being processed into so many foods such as bread, breakfast cereal, mayonnaise, peanut butter, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and a plethora of microwave meals.
sugar
 
In the last 20 years, we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. 26 pounds to 135 lbs. of sugar per person per year! Prior to the turn of this century (1887-1890), the average consumption was only 5 lbs. per person per year!

 

Here is a list of ways sugar can affect your health:

  • Sugar can suppress the immune system.
  • Sugar can upset the body's mineral balance.
  • Sugar can contribute to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, concentration difficulties, and crankiness in children.
  • Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
  • Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
  • Sugar can reduce helpful high density cholesterol (HDLs).
  • Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol (LDLs).
  • Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
  • Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection.
  • Sugar can cause kidney damage.
  • Sugar can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
  • Sugar may lead to chromium deficiency.
  • Sugar can cause copper deficiency.
  • Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
  • Sugar can increase fasting levels of blood glucose.
  • Sugar can promote tooth decay.
  • Sugar can produce an acidic stomach.
  • Sugar can raise adrenaline levels in children.
  • Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
  • Sugar can speed the aging process, causing wrinkles and grey hair.
  • Sugar can increase total cholesterol.
  • Sugar can contribute to weight gain and obesity.
  • High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
  • Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
  • Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
  • Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
  • Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance.
  • Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
  • Sugar can increase systolic blood pressure.
  • Sugar causes food allergies.
  • Sugar can cause free radical formation in the bloodstream.
  • Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
  • Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
  • Sugar can overstress the pancreas, causing damage.
  • Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
  • Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
  • Sugar can cause liver cells to divide, increasing the size of the liver.
  • Sugar can increase the amount of fat in the liver.
  • Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
  • Sugar can cause depression.
  • Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
  • Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
  • Sugar can cause hypertension.
  • Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
  • Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha and theta brain waves, which can alter the mind's ability to think clearly.
  • Sugar can increase blood platelet adhesiveness which increases risk of blood clots and strokes.
  • Sugar can increase insulin responses in those consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
  • Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.

I ran a 5K today!

My husband and I are training for a marathon in November and we signed up for a 15K at the begining of march soooooooo I better start running : )
Today I ran a 5K. I put on these new running pants (there's really nothing new about them, I bought them used - like most of my other clothing items) and I felt so cool in them that running was a breeze. I bought this book called "Marathon, you can do it" and in it the writer explains that at certain times during the race you should "pull out" some magic tricks to help you keep runing and this could be anything: from imaginary birds that carry you in their wings, to magic tennis shoes with special powers. So for my run today I used as my magic trick my "new" running pants!
Today I was able to help one of Jay's friends. I did some service. She needed a ride from the airport back to her house. So I drove for almost 2 hours to help her. It wasn't convenient, and at first when Jay asked me to help her with this I thought: I'll do it... but... I'm not thrilled about it.
Well, then I got thinking and... I've asked the Lord to use me as an instrument, I've asked Him to give me opportunities to serve and help others. Now He is giving those to me. And I realised that it's when I serve at times that are not convenient that I really prove to Him that I am willing to help others. So, I got this good feeling inside of me and asked for forgiveness to the Lord for not being very excited about helping at first.
I know that true service comes when it isn't easy or convenient.
For dinner we had vegetarian lasagna (so yummy).
I didn't eat anything with sugar today and I didn't eat after 8pm. BUT I did eat too many "sugarless" (yet very sweet) cookies - and I'm not happy about that.
I really want to eat only things that are good for me and that don't make me regret eating them. Does that make sense? Anyway, I'm working on it. Heavenly Father is helping me.
We also had FHE. We talked about Jesus' birthday - Christmas.
Life is good. Heavenly Father is the BEST! I love Him.