The Power of an 89-cent Hamburger

Yesterday evening we took one of our cars to Edgar's Automotive to have a problem checked out. On a previous visit to Edgar's in American Fork, we took the girls to Chick-fil-a afterwards for dinner. There is also a McDonald's right by Edgar's, which we hadn't been to, but which Chloe must have remembered, because when we told her we were going to American Fork to Edgar's, she assumed that meant getting a hamburger, too. And she must have been hungry, because she kept saying she wanted to get a hamburger. As we were leaving American Fork, she continued asking for a hamburger. Not wanting to go home and cook, I convinced Duncan to turn around and go back to the McDonald's (a nice, new one). We got the girls a hamburger to share, a cheeseburger for each of us, one large fry to share, and water to drink. As we got settled at our table in the play area, Chloe excitedly climbed up on her chair, unwrapped her hamburger and said, gazing down upon it, "This is a wonderful day!"

Here's to Your Health

Ever since a recent day when I had Little Debbie snack cakes and potato chips for lunch, and then proceeded to have a horrible day with zero patience or tolerance for my children, I've been thinking a lot about the effect that food has on the mind and body. The day after that horrible day, my mother-in-law told me about a free nutrition class offered at The Good Earth in Orem, which I attended. Instead of recount the stories and information from the class, I'll just put the link to presenter's website: The Green Smoothie Girl.

When I came home from the class, I asked Duncan if he would mind if we threw out all the leftover Easter candy. He agreed that it would be a good idea. Then one thing led to another, and this is what we threw away that night.

This was a little over two weeks ago, and since then we (including the girls) have virtually been off of sugar (refined white sugar, to be more specific). It's been great. I feel more stable and have had more energy. Duncan has been feeling great, too, and was thrilled when his white shirt felt looser in the neck and his abdomen firmer.

I've also been making green smoothies lately, which my mother-in-law has already been doing for the past five or six months since buying a Vitamix blender. Today's smoothie was especially delicious. It had fresh raw spinach, one mango, one orange, one banana, lime juice, a couple tablespoons of agave, and about a cup each of water and ice. The girls loved it. In fact, Chloe said, "This treat is really yummy!"

I'm still a novice at the smoothie thing, and haven't ventured past spinach in terms of adding greens and other veggies. I also would like to get the right kind of blender, like a Vitamix or a Blendtec. But for now, I'm using my mom's Bosch with a blender, and it has worked fine (also for making whole wheat bread). So, here's to many more years of a lot less sugar, and a lot more raw, whole food!

Tuesday Night

5:30 p.m.
Duncan comes home and tells me that Parker (his brother) has texted, saying that Ashley and Ember will be at Jump On It in Lindon at 6:30. Would we like to go hang out with them? Ok, we decide, that would be fun.

6:45 p.m.
We arrive at Jump On It and wait a little while. Ashley and Ember end up not coming. We all jump anyway and have a great time.

8:30 p.m.
We return home and put the tired girls to bed. (Nine o'clock bedtime is late for them.) We then put our tired selves to bed by about 11 p.m.

1:00 a.m.
We are awakened by a loud beeping that sounds like it might be our smoke alarm. Indeed the sound is coming from our smoke alarm, but there is no smoke. Duncan manages to deactivate the alarm and we return to bed.

1:30 a.m.
We are again awakened by the same series of beeps. We stumble through the house and try to stop the unbearable noise that the girls have miraculously slept through. This time we must resort to disconnecting the apparatuses and removing them from their base in the ceiling. We are perplexed by this alarm because there is no smoke and it was not the usual chirping sound of the low battery indicator. Upon closer inspection of the writing on the back of the alarm, we read that a series of four beeps, pause and repeat indicates CO detection. It warns, "CO cannot be seen or smelled but can KILL you. Call emergency services."

1:40 a.m.
We call 911, explain our situation and answer some questions. "Is anyone in the home feeling sick?" I answer that I am feeling nauseous. We are instructed to bundle up our sleeping children and go outside.

1:50 a.m.
A cop car arrives and the officer asks us the same questions as we wait for the emergency vehicles to come.

1:55 a.m.
A big yellow fire truck and an ambulance quietly pull into our cul-de-sac. Five guys enter our home in search of the suspected CO. They find no traces at all. They invite us back in and hook the alarms back up with “new” batteries (probably 10 years old) that I have found in the garage.

2:20 a.m.
I am still feeling somewhat nauseous, so I alert the guys to this fact. They test my oxygen level on a special machine which they say is not picking up any amount of anything abnormal. In fact, they say I’m in really great shape. “Do you run?” one of them asks. (No, I don’t.)

2:30 a.m.
All the visitors leave and we return to bed.

3:00 a.m.
We are awakened by four beeps, pause and repeat… The two smoke/CO detectors are now on the kitchen table. And thank goodness we are all safe.