You Can Never Own Too Many Books

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

We all have our vices.  We all have things in this World we are weak towards.  Our Earthly kryptonite.  For me it's books!  I love books!  I love having books!!  I love being surrounded by books!!!

When I was at BYU I lived in the library and bookstore.  When something bad happened I went to the bookstore to buy a book.  When something good happened... I went to the bookstore to buy a book.  It's not like I had money or anything!  For lunch I brought cold lunches complete with peanut butter sandwiches.  My wardrobe consisted of clearance shirts from Walmart, $3 each.  My money went to books.  But I was so stressed and burned out with homework they weren't read.  But I kept buying them anyway.  They just make me happy.

After graduating I learned the BYU Creamery had a student/child size ice-cream cone, and they have REALLY good ice-cream.  I used to joke that it's good I didn't know about the dollar something ice-cream cones when I was going there.  I would have saved money on books!

A few years ago the Konmari tidying method was all the rage, and I liked to say that if I was ever going to organize and get rid of stuff, I'd never get rid of my books because they all give me joy.

The sad thing is that I'm still buying books.  The Amazon marketplace is such a good place to find used books.  I completed my American Girl book collection using the marketplace.  It's an extensive collection including all the short stories, mysteries, etc.  And after watching Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, I went to the Amazon Marketplace and bought all the Timothy Zhan Star Wars books in hardback.

I still need to read all these books.

So, yes, my name is Sarah and I have a book collecting addiction.

The first set of books I want to read this year is The Work and the Glory books by Gerald N. Lund.  Lund was my Grandma and Grandpa A's home teacher back in Southern California a long time ago.  But it's also the only book series both my Grandma's read.  My Grandma Stufflebeam wasn't a reader, but she read the series twice, and then she gave me her set.  I bought my Grandma A the first two books and she bought the rest in the nine book series.  The books take place during Latter-Day Saint church history time, and since we're studying the Doctrine and Covenants for Sunday School, it seems like it's time I should finally read them.  Honor my Grandma's, and step back in time to experience what it was like to be an early convert. 

After I'm finish reading those books I need to decide to read the Star Wars books or the American Girl books.  I'm leaning towards Star Wars next.  Also, before turning 39 I need to finish listening to the Harry Potter series on Audible.  I want to revisit the last book while being the same age Lupin and Snape were when they died.  It would just be a really interesting experience.

So happy book reading!!

I've got Worlds to visit.

Sarah

Apparently I Don't Know What Fruit Is...

So....

I was watching this show last weekend where these potters were asked to create a bowl of ceramic fruit, and this one gal did a bowl of squash including zucchini.  And then I was like... zucchini is a fruit!!!????

It is. :\

And after a little research I'm questioning everything and feeling a little silly.  It does make sense.  Zucchini's have seeds and grow from flowers.  Thanks to cooking shows I've seen zucchini flowers being battered and deep fried, so how is it I've never made the fruit connection?

There's an article by Business Insider entitled 14 Vegetables That Are Actually Fruit, and it's a little mind blowing.

We all know tomatoes are fruit.  It's kind of a joke kids tell each other, or they did when I was younger.  But peppers, pumpkins, and sting beans are some of the other masquerading fruit mentioned.  Avocado's are single-seed berries. 

The food pyramid was already confusing with all the conflicting health information in the world, and this just makes it a little more confusing.  Heh, or maybe I should have paid better attention in school. :P

Sarah

Why I Worked so Hard to Accomplish 500 Miles in 2020

I didn't think this medal was ever going to come.  Late December 2019 it was ordered, but there wasn't clear information on the website as to when it would be shipped.  The company I Love To Run make good medals, but their costumer service is severally lacking.  A few years ago I sent a couple emails, none of which were answered, and comments on social media prove others have had the same experience.  But they make really nice medals, so it's a shame. (This is a virtual race medal representing 500 miles achieved in a year).

This medal was designed after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic medal.  I can't post the pictures here as they're copyrighted, but they are gorgeous.  What's amazing is that the original Tokyo medals were made out of recycled materials: "With more than 90 per cent of Japan’s local authorities participating, a total of 78,985 tons of discarded devices were collected, a haul which included approximately 6.21 million used mobile phones, along with digital cameras, handheld games and laptops, all of which were then classified, dismantled and melted down by highly trained contractors. This meant that the final goals of 30.3kg of gold, 4,100kg of silver and 2,700kg of bronze were reached by the time the collection cycle closed on 31 March 2019."

I ordered the medal as a memento, because I was excited Tokyo was getting the Olympics, and when visiting Tokyo in 2019 they had the mascots and Tokyo Olympics symbol at the airport.  Then 2020 happened, the Olympics were postponed, and it's a huge question mark if they will happen this year.  Hopefully things will turn around so they can, but at this point it's a long shot.

The 500 miles in a year medal arrived yesterday, so I'm completely surprised and relieved, and it will serve as a reminder of last year.  A token of trial and loss.  A symbol of pulling myself together and getting those miles finished.

It's a beautiful medal.

A Little Drive and Staring Sheep

If there is anything this last year has brought it's the chance to explore more of where I live.  Everyone knows about the Great Salt Lake, but only 38 miles south is Utah Lake, the largest fresh water lake in Utah.  The lake is pretty from a distance, but it's one I never get close to.  At 24 miles across and 12 miles long with shallow water, it's actually pretty dangerous for recreation.  High winds and waves make it unsafe.  Plus the lake has an algae problem.  Attractive, right?  :P  But from a distance, and when the lake is blue and not brown, it's really quite lovely.

Some of my friends share the most gorgeous pictures of Utah Lake online.  Walkways and glistening water at sunset.  (Still unsure how to find those spots and I've never asked their exact location).  So usually drives trying to get to Utah Lake in the last... 19 years result in road blocks, dead ends in residential areas, parking areas that require payment so they're avoided and so forth.  There's this thing called Google Maps that never seems to get utilized on drives.  Where's the fun in that?

So yesterday my Mom and I went on a drive for a nice needed break.  We ended up in Springville, then Spanish Fork, and over I-15 to sprawling farmland, the hint of manure in the air reminding me of childhood drives through Tulare County.  Lovely >_<  Though, it is nice going where it feels like we're a million miles away.

We kept driving west until we came upon the south end of Utah Lake, and then just kept going.  The lake looks long when looking at it from the east side of Utah Valley, but I never realized how big the lake really is.  The drive was nice seeing the waters edge crusted over with ice.  Fields yellow and trees bare.  My Mom and I agreed we needed to return in late Spring when everything would be green and full.  We didn't make it too far as we had an appointment to keep, but one of these days I want to return and make the full trip around.

Heading back to civilization we spotted sheep quickly moving across a field.  They seemed so happy, and I've never been this close to so many.  We stopped the car to get a photo, and in turn they stopped to watch us.  It seriously got creepy!!!  All of a sudden they froze, heads turned in our direction, baaing.  As we moved their heads moved.  It was so weird!  What seemed to be an idyllic scene turned into one that could easily be in a horror flick.

(Okay, I'm exaggerating, but it was really quite strange).

Looking forward to more exploring when the weather turns pleasant.

Dreaming of Travel, Spanish, and Ignoring Promptings

Long time no write!  Well, it's been a week, and what a week, right?  Thought it was time to write a little something.

The trip my Mom and I were planning looks like it's getting put on hold.  The CDC came out with new international travel guidelines saying how everyone needs to get a test done before flying back, and if it's positive you can't get on the plane.  That's the gist.  With how sick I got on the Tokyo 2019 trip, with a relapse during the UK trip the next month, the thought of getting sick with anything and getting stranded in another country is terrifying.  With how bad my cough was, I was worried I wouldn't be allowed to come home, and that was almost two years ago.  The common cold can cause a false positive, which is stated on the CDC website, unless it's been removed.  Somewhere I have the screenshot.  So yes, traveling is out of the question for the next whatever.  Every travel tour I've been on it seems someone gets sick with something.  It happens.  Being extra cautious.  Apparently parts of Idaho is really nice.  There's a lot of nice places to visit within a few hundred miles. 

With that said, do I keep studying Spanish?  Do I go back to Japanese and French?  Irish is on the back burner.  I really didn't get far into it, barely the basics, but Spanish was making sense, so learning it here and there would be a positive thing.  And that's why I don't speak any language, because I'm jumping around, forgetting, and then re-learning.  Though I did take two years of college French and was never able to feel comfortable speaking it, getting C-'s in French 102 and 201, and that's with studying 2 hours outside of class to every one hour in class.  It wasn't for a lack of effort, it was really quite a challenge I barely survived.

Though I did find the Central del Libro de Mormón YouTube channel, which is actually pretty good with a lot of video's.  They put several up a week, so I think I'll keep watching them to tune my ear to the sounds of the language.

So anyone following along with my blog knows my Grandma passed away last month, which was a surprise as it was from a stroke.  Well, and this is where I've been really hard on myself, sometime early last year I remember sharing how I was getting this overwhelming feeling to type up the hand written story my Grandma wrote about the first part of her life, scan a bunch of pictures, and then put it in a book.  Did I do it?  Nope.  And now I'm kicking myself.  That's a project that's going to be a focus for the next little bit.  Just wish I followed the prompting so I could ask her questions.  She would have loved the extra time I would have spent with her working on it.  What a blessing it would have been.  Woulda Shoulda Coulda.  Now I'm putting the book together for my family, so they can find comfort in it.  Don't ignore promptings!  

Well, that's it for now.  Finding peace in the storm.

Sarah

P.S. I was watching YouTube, and as it sometimes happens when videos end, another unplanned one will start up.  This time it was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's CES fireside entitled "Lessons from Liberty Jail."  It's about Joseph Smith's time in Liberty Jail.  So much of it started hitting me on so many levels, and seemed so relevant.  The talk was so familiar!  Why was it so familiar!?  And then it hit me: I was there.  I remembered being touched by the talk and to remember it, because I felt its importance.  And then I remembered something else, I was in the choir!!!  We sang, "My Kindness Shall Not Depart from Thee."  It's a beautiful song, and it has healed by heart so many times.  The song is still on Youtube if you want to hear its sweet message and feel its warmth.

Heads Up on the Podcast

Just a really quick update.

My brothers Steven and Robbie started a podcast last year: the Creator's Playbook.  They took a little break, but either this week or the next (the goal is this Wednesday), they will start posting episodes again.  Some exciting stuff, the official announcement isn't until the end of the month, but my brother Michael and I will be joining the podcast permanently.  We will all be hosts and each episode will be two of us, so we'll be taking turns and mixing it up.

I am announcing this early, just in case there might be those wondering if the podcast may have been abandoned.  It hasn't!!  And episodes will be starting up here really soon.

A month ago I recorded an episode with Steven, but we were trying a new program neither of us completely understood, and there was this echo default setting thing selected.  It messed up the audio a little in parts when we talk over each other.  I haven't heard it, so don't know the extent of how it sounds, but we've decided to post the episode within the next few weeks or so.  It was so much fun to record.  Hopefully we didn't talk over each other too much!!! Heh....

So we're all excited.  We decided to do this podcast fully as siblings last month.  I've got two episodes recording soon that I'm hosting, and the topics are really fun.  Planning for that.  

The podcast I was going to do with Michael is getting put on hold for now.  We've talked that it's something we would like to do, but for now Creator's Playbook is the priority.

We're still learning and growing and developing, and the podcast will get better and better as a result.  Hope you will take a listen when it comes back, or check out what has already been released.

Sarah

Getting Off the Intermittent Fasting Bandwagon

I promise this is the last health post I do until next month!!  It's been pretty much all I've been thinking about.

Also, I should note, I'm not a health expert or dietician, so take what I say with a grain of salt.  I'm just someone figuring stuff out.

I've been intermittent fasting since the start of the pandemic.  All through Spring, Summer, and up till now I've only been eating two meals.  All through spring I wasn't eating out and was eating home cooked meals.  Learned how to make chicken milanese, which is yummy.  During this time I was off and on again with sugar.  My exercise was a mess up till these last few months.  What happened?  I gained pandemic weight, and this weight didn't come off until I upped my walking and went without sugar sweets for 7 weeks.  Intermittent fasting did nothing for me.

Why I wanted to intermittent fast:  One is because I don't like eating breakfast.  Breakfast is annoying, so a way of eating that gets rid of my least favorite meal was alluring.  Also, intermittent fasting helps stabilize blood sugar levels.  Eating throughout the day, mini meals, causes insulin levels to remain high.

What I've learned along the way:  Now, this is a collection of stuff from random sources, so check all this information out yourself.   Intermittent fasting can help get rid of fat, but it also eats away from lean muscle as well, which isn't good.  As a women I.F. affects hormones, so I've had issues in this area.  There's more reasons than this, but if you're concerned it's probably better to seek out a more trustworthy source than I, though there are experts on both sides of the aisle.  It comes down to finding what is best for you.

All I know is that intermittent fasting doesn't work for me.  It works for many, I'm just not one.  Getting reacquainted with breakfast will be a challenge, as I have food allergies tied to many morning foods.   Maybe I should just eat non breakfast food for breakfast.  Chili is yummy.  Also, I made steal cut oats for breakfast.  Takes forever to make, but it's a good morning option.  

Really, my goal is to develop a good balanced way of eating that's healthy, practical, and manageable.  I don't want any extremes, just good habits while being realistic. 

Sarah

Attacked by Carrots

Who knew being healthy would be so dangerous?

Who knew allergies/intolerance to carrots was a thing?

About three years ago I had a scare.  A painful scare.  And I was all alone.  My Mom was working on fixing up my Grandpa's property in Riverside CA.  My Dad was at work.  My Grandpa was still alive and living in an RV next to our house.  For that week I was the sole person taking care of my Grandpa and he was making all these crazy demands, like wanting me to drive to McDonald's at 9 pm in a snow storm to get him hot fries.  I didn't do it.  Driving at night while it's snowing can be pretty scary.  

During that time I would check up on him several times a day, making sure he had everything, and getting him what he needed.  It was late in the day when I was eating carrots and hummus and then, all of a sudden, the most excruciating pain hit just below my heart behind my ribs.  It was scary, and I could barely move.  I wondered if it was the food, but then I surmised that it might have been a panic attack.

Since then I've mainly had carrots cooked, and when they were raw I would get a little pain, but brushed it aside.  Well, today I had another full blown attack, and it happened just after eating a full carrot.  The pain hitting where the esophagus and stomach meet, the pain intensely pulsing from that point up to my mouth. 

My Mom called my brother Michael who has a lot of allergies, and he told my Mom to immediately give me two benadryl and a claritin.  He came over and gave me a blessing, and we talked for a while as my symptoms slowly abated.  He also can't have carrots raw.

I looked it up, and though carrot allergies are on the rare side here, it's more common in Europe.

So mystery solved.  I can't have raw carrots, and whether or not cooked carrots are okay will have to be determined with experiments and trials.

Crazy scary stuff.  Learned a new thing today.  So now I have a new challenge to work through and figure out.  I finished off my Christmas chocolate today, so I'm going on another sweets fast, as sugar causes inflammation and other problems.  My lower esophagus feels a lot better, it just feels really bruised at the moment.

So it's almost 10:30 pm, and I didn't sleep at all this afternoon, even with the two benadryl and claritin.  Didn't want to mess up my sleeping cycle.

I'm not writing this as a complaint.  It is what it is.  More as information.  For three years I've been having on again/off again problems.  Some of the problems are still unsolved, but this mystery is closed. 

There's so much we just don't know, both about ourselves personally and other medical stuff.  How many others out there are having pain and can't figure it out?  Sometimes our problems can be simple things that are overlooked.  For me it was a root vegetable hiding behind the label of good health.

Getting healthy isn't a one size fits all, which is apart of the frustration.  We are all different, and we all have different challenges.  Some obvious and some hidden.

So good luck with whatever you're struggling with.  Don't lose hope.  Don't give up.

And I seriously need to get to sleep.  As frustrating as it is that I have to figure this whole carrot thing out, it's nice knowing I have a problem with them, as the only way to fix a problem is to first be aware of the fact that there is a problem.  Everything will fall into place.  I'll work it out.

Have a good day,

Sarah

A Changing Mindset

Was I sounding at all defeated yesterday?  Because, in the back of my mind, I was feeling a little defeated.  It's like this total battle with my brain saying one thing, but my heart and fingers saying another.  I was hoping for better results, but was disappointed and feeling a little hopeless, but then the other part of me kicks in and is like, "You can do it.  Push through!  Everyone plateaus and gains weight when making changes."  And so forth.  Then the doubt comes back in, like can I do it at all?  This is all for nothing.

(For those who haven't read my previous posts and have no idea what I'm talking about, I walked/biked/ellipticaled 153 miles last month, and gained 3 pounds accordingly).

The funny thing is, what I'm about to say I've probably already said.  One of these days I should go back and read all these posts about health and such just to see the roller coaster and the back and forth.  Losing weight and getting healthy truly is a mental game.  It's a constant tug between "yes you can, give it time" vs "none of this is working, just quit because it's pointless".

So, even though I will periodically weigh myself as one form of measurement, I'm focusing on more positive things.  The fact I got all those miles last month and didn't give up, even though the thought was oh so tempting.  The fact I realized that lung medication I was on was hurting my mental health and stopped.  (The walking really is helping.  The 3rd week of December I only got 9 miles, and by the end of the week my lungs were tight and I was coughing a bit.  Right now, late at night, my lungs are feeling pretty good.  I theorize the walking causes my lungs to expand with deep breathing, and that's why it's helping).

I do need to get off the sweets again.  They're my Achilles heel.  But I do feel better, dang it, and it would be funny if I lose weight again as I continue to get miles and incorporate strength training.  I'm also increasing my veggie intake.  Went to the store and got some greens, so I'm prepped for tomorrow.  So that's another thing I'm going to focus on, feeling good through food choices.  I may not be losing the weight at the speed I wish, which is one step forward and a million steps back, but how I feel needs to be paramount.

Side note, I went to the store to grab epsom salt, which is why I originally went.  Preparing for increased muscle aches.  While there I wandered down the hair aisle and noticed an increased amount of hair scrunchies.  Scrunchies have always been available, but I haven't used them since I was a kid.  Well, there were some cute ones so I got some.  The 80's seem to be coming back in many ways.  As long as we don't bring back shoulder pads.  

Anywho, the future is unclear.  So many possibilities (and the scenarios currently running through my head aren't good).  Regardless, I'm going to focus on the things within my control.  Health is so much more than a number on the scale and a tag stitched to the inside of pants.

Until next time,

Sarah

"Our responsibility is to rise from mediocrity to competence, from failure to achievement. Our task is to become our best selves. One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final." Thomas S. Monson

2021 Health Goals: Operation Not Giving Up

I did it!  I set the crazy task of achieving 153.55 miles this last month, so I can have 500 miles for the whole year, and finished yesterday morning with 153.77 miles.  Now, that's counting walking, elliptical, and indoor bike, but on the machines I count an 18 mile minute, even though the machine reads more.  So... yeah, weird brain math out of thin air, but I didn't want to discourage myself from using the machines when they're available.  Walking around the house or on the treadmill for 153 miles would have been unbearable.  

So, goal achieved.  And how do I feel?  Tired.  Really, really tired.  So tired I fell asleep last night at 9:30 pm, making me a fuddy-duddy.  I tried so hard to stay up.  Even the constant fireworks from 9 to midnight couldn't keep me awake.  And then I woke up really thirsty this morning, so I'm not replenishing enough.  I might have drank a good 30 oz this morning.

Before drinking all that water I did weigh myself and get measurements.  In the last month I actually gained 3 pounds, but my measurements are the same, so I weigh what I did last February.  It's frustrating.  Maybe I'm gaining muscle?  Maybe I'm retaining water?  I have had sweets these last couple weeks, but I don't go crazy with them, and I still forbid cereals and juice.  But I've been dealing with stresses and grief, so maybe there's some cortisol action going on.

Now that I've established an exercise habit, I'll scale back a little, but getting miles isn't so overwhelming now, which is good because I'm doing a 2280 Route 66 challenge.  Daunting, but I got a head start a few weeks ago in case I get sick this year, or go on a trip.  As of yesterday I've completed about 7% of the challenge with 148.8 miles achieved, and have 2,131.5 miles remaining.  I'm not converting elliptical or bike miles for this challenge, so bike miles are really going to help.  The goal is to finish by the end of the year.

I also know I need to make new challenges, because the only way I'm going to lose weight is with diet and gaining more muscle, which means a focus on healthy eating and strength training.  I suspect I have insulin resistance, but I don't have insurance so I can't get my hormones checked.  Just guessing in the dark combined with past experiences and other stuff.  I really wish I could get a blood test and see the levels.  It would answer so many questions.  I also wonder if I might have thyroid problems, or the start of one, as it runs on both sides of my family.  But even if I did I couldn't do anything about it, anyway.  So I gotta be smart and do what I can.

So, to summarize, 2021 goals = * Complete the Route 66 mile challenge. * incorporate strength training to increase muscle, which will limit muscle loss while losing weight, and will also increase insulin sensitivity. * Study nutrition, explore already owned but not used cookbooks, and improve my eating. (Throwing in here that I probably should learn to love cooking, because I currently really don't, hence falling back on fast food, quick meals, and bad habits).

Also, I saw in a video, and read online, that if you walk for 15 minutes after a meal it helps with blood sugars, which must also help with insulin sensitivity, too?  Need to read more into it.  But walking after meals would be a good goal, too. 

That's the main focus.  Trying not to get discouraged.  I was hoping to lose weight with all those miles last month which I got by walking, elliptical, and indoor bike riding.  Bummed I gained a few pounds.  But it is what it is. 

I wish people would be kinder to us who are overweight.  I've probably watched too many videos and read too much stuff online.  Just because we're overweight doesn't mean we're lazy and not trying.  Many of us are, and it's so frustrating.  It's a constant battle that's always going uphill and never flattens.

No matter how frustrating this process is, I'm not giving up.

Sarah