Promise of sunshine

It is a sunny day today and even better it's been a week of no LBS for Nan.  I am encourage and excited!  She has recognized her symptoms and has been willing to stop it  before it sets in.  I am so proud of her and we both give the glory to God, who has strengthened her resolve to get well.

We've had a fun December so far.  We watched the Greensboro parade with Mary, Cate and Gabe.  Here Nan, Mary and I are watching it from a parking deck. 

Merry Christmas!

Yes, please!

Always Hoping for the Sun


Although today is Monday and we are back into school and chores, it is a BEAUTIFUL sunny day today!  To celebrate after lunch, we finished up our favorite chocolate ice cream--HAZELNUT FUDGE!

Ice cream is definitely a treat on an LBS diet.  We found this at Whole Foods and it is made from all organic ingredients.  The basic ingredients are coconut milk, agave, cocoa, vanilla extract and  hazelnuts.  It is positively delicious, the only negative is it goes so quickly!

A beautiful day

It's a beautiful day. The morning cool and crisp, with fog resting on the still lake and geese calling back and forth. Then the sun, red and flaming peeps over the orange maples and thaws the air into a pleasant warm. The street scattered with leaves, the whole world hued in orange, yellow, red and brown.
Our chickens roam the garden, Clyde is lying out on the monkey bushes sleeping in absolute dog contentment. School is good, life is good. But me? Am I good? Each day seems to get better and yet worse.I definitely feel each day is harder than the last, and that's a little exhausting. But each hardship I face, I feel like I break through a little more. Painful inch by inch. Maybe things are looking up. I can't lose hope. One day I sobbed in moms arms until there was nothing left to sob, then she lead me upstairs into my room, gave me almonds and put me to bed. Today I woke so happy! Yesterday I had zero meltdowns, I was on a new path today. Until mom told me I couldn't bike today if I was also going to run. I totally lost it. I got so angry. Hysterical (I'm ashamed to say). Why? I felt like an animal was let loose in me. And it lasted 5 minutes or less. It left me stunned, tired and confused. Was I going crazy? This wasn't normal. I had just eaten too. Low blood sugar again. How? How had it gripped me again? Took me by the shoulders and shook me until it hurt. I was tired of hurting. Of course mom, dad and Cate understood, they always do. We realized I had had coffee that morning for the first time in a month of two, maybe that triggered it? You know, I don't know. I am still learning, I'm still struggling and holding on by a thin rope. But I am NOT defeated. With God holding me and my family ready to catch me, I'm not afraid. I can only hope for better each day. And I have a game plan.
1. Get good sleep 2. exercise 3. vitamins 4. gain weight 5. pray hard.

"Prayer first; prayer before anything else or there isn't anything else".
                                 ~ One Thousand Gifts

On a happier note, one of my favorite snacks is larabars . My favorite flavors are of course chocolate or mocha or coconut pie or carrot cake, but all I had was dried cherries and I do love the flavor cherry pie. So I tried making them myself, they were delish!
Here is my recipe:

My homemade Larabar

Cherry Pie Larabars

1 cup of almonds ( or any nut you like)
1 cup of pitted dates (I used sunsweet)
1 cup of sugarless dried cherries (or any dried fruit you like)




Directions:
Process nuts in food processor until ground with a few small chunks. Pour ground nuts into another bowl.
Add the dates and dried fruit to the food processor, grind until a sticky paste forms. 
Put the nuts, dates and dried fruit into a electric mixer and mix until well combined. Or use your  hands. 
Pour mixture into a greased small dish and pat down with a wet spatula until firm. 
Refrigerate for an hour or two. You can cut them into bars and leave them in the dish covered with plastic wrap or I cut them into bars and covered each bar individually with plastic wrap so they're easy to grab and go.
* You can add mini chocolate chips into the mixture. Or cocoa powder and make them into any flavor you really like. 

October is cross country racing...

Why is October like December?  Jam packed with activities?   With Cate and Nan running cross country, it is even crazier this year.  Hart and I have enjoyed going to the races since running is a sport all of us love.  Last week there were two very exciting xc races!

I love the sunbeam in this picture of all the girls at the starting line of the race.  This race was supposed to be on Tuesday but due to the deluge of two days of rain it was postponed to Thursday, a nice sunny day.  It was held at Forsyth County Day School, our rivals (and a team we had never beaten).  Such a lovely campus.  But as I said our team had never won against them.  But all that changed when Cate crossed the finish line a second before a FCDS runner!  Nan was only 6 seconds behind them.  All of our girls did very well.  It was such an exciting race!

    

Then just the next day on Friday was their next race in Lexington at Union Grove.  Another sunny day!  This was a difficult course through a field of stubble, in the woods and across a rickety bridge and that loop was to be run 3 times.  How much fun was it to watch Nan come in first with the best time so far for that course! Cate did well too, coming in at third.  In fact all the girls on FHE girls' team placed in the top ten.

My girls are fast!!  They've  had so much fun running with their team this year.  There are only a few more races left.  The final one is October 20th.  I will keep you posted!

October means the end of summer...

The older I become, the more I realize how much the weather affects me.  I am a sunshine, blue sky, green leaf, pink flower kind of girl.  Give me a sky dotted with fluffy white clouds,  green grass under my feet and the rays of the sun shining on my skin and I am content.  Today, on this October 1st, I must say "good bye" to summer time and "hello" to Autumn, ( but could I just skip greeting Winter this year!).  Lucky for me I am Carolina born and bred and still reside in this fair state.

I have to admit I do find October to be an enchanting time of year.  My eyes do love to feast on the reds, golds and oranges of the maples, hickory and oak trees in our yard.  Pumpkins and mums do charm me and I can't resist sitting them on my front porch and steps.  Comfy foods interest me in the kitchen now.  Forget the cold salads and crisp produce of summer.  Give me sweet potatoes, roasted slowly in the oven or butternut squash in my stew.  A mug of apple cider feels just right too.  I do enjoy putting on a sweater when chilly and what fun to pull out my jeans and long sleeved shirts.  Suddenly I have a new wardrobe!  This year I am in the market for stretchy, leather boots to warm my feet and calves.

                                Fall leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
                                Lengthen night and shorten day
                               Every leaf speaks bliss to me
                               Fluttering from the autumn tree.  -Emily Bronte

The race

So much preparation goes into cross country race day.  They must eat the right foods, get plenty of water and sleep, stretch and prepare mentally.  Once the race begins they are out there drawing on their reserves and hopefully performing at their best.  It is most disappointing when you are watching and hoping for the best  when you can see that  she is suffering from low blood sugar-again.  What to do?  Nothing but hugs and a congratulations on a job finished, after all she did come in 5th!  Yet knowing she is upset with herself, makes me feel let down too. I know she can do better, but my goal is for her to feel better.

Before the race on Monday.  It was a beautiful sunny day