Happily Ever After

Hoosier Girl of The Coffee Table is this week's Fun Monday host. Hoosier Girl is contemplating marriage so she is asking, "What do you consider important to a good marriage or relationship?"

Even though I have been inconsistent with my blog and my Fun Monday participation, there are two reasons that I have signed up for this exercise. First, the lovely hostess is also from Indiana, and second, I have been married for a number of years, for 42 since the day after Christmas. Now, my longevity of marital bliss may not make me an expert at the topic, but I do have some reflections.

December 26, 1966

The first and foremost secret to a good realtionship is selecting a good partner. Perhaps, this is easier said than accomplished, but fortunately I did marry a kind, intelligent, handsome, and even-tempered man, Daddy D. Although we married at a relatively young age, we grew up together before our children were born. Additionally, I think that our willingness to forgive has helped this personal growth. Finally, although we have some separate interests, we do try to spend time with each other.

December 26, 2006 at the 40th wedding anniversary party that we threw for ourselves.

Maybe another pathway to a healthy relationship is the ability to have good time.

Up, Up, and Away

Sayre of Sayre Smiles is this week's Fun Monday host. The lovely and creative Sayre is asking us to " Take your camera to work and take pictures of the things that inspire you as you work or that inspires your co-workers."

I work at the Clifford Pierce Middle School where I teach science to seventh graders. With our vaulted entrance pointing upward, just walking into our building can be awe-inspiring.

But, what visitors see as they are inside the building is indeed inspirational to our students, staff members, and visitors alike. This huge space shuttle model hangs in the pointed entrance way. The space shuttle, which is 1:10 scale model of Endeavour, was originally constructed by a Cub Scout Pack in a nearby town. The Cub Scouts walked alongside the shuttle in a Fourth of July parade. The shuttle was then donated to the Merrillville Schools and hangs outside our Planetarium, which is the only planetarium in Northwest Indiana that presents group and public program.

To see other example of inspirational workplace artwork or to participate in this Fun Monday event, visit Sayre Smiles .

Dream a Little Dream with Me

This week's Fun Monday hostess is Jill, of The Adventures of Lil Mouse. Jill asking us about our dreams. Specifically, Jill asks, "Do you have any dreams, particularly recurrent ones that you feel no one else has? Or, just tell us about an odd dream you had as a kid.


Usually, I do not dream, or perhaps, something about my advanced age makes me incapable of remembering my dreams. However, conveniently for this Fun Monday, this past Friday night my sleep was disturbed by a frightening and memorable dream. In my dream, I was in very close proximity to an oncoming tornado. Strangely, this scary dream coincides with one of my real-life fantasies of photographing one of these dangerous weather phenomena. When I hear the television announcer proclaim a tornado warning or even when the local siren sounds the alarm, I always grab my camera and look for funnel clouds through the doorways and windows. You may think that being more frightened of an imaginary threat than a real hazard is strange. However, for some reason, the shadowy unknown always seems scarier to me than actual dangers.

I do remember another strange twilight dreaminess experience from my younger years. A couple of times, when I was in my teens, I remember being asleep, but I was conscious of trying to wake up. However, for a time period, which seemed eternal, I was not able to wake and be fully conscious. In this dreamlike not quite awake state, I seemed to float about the house. Although there were no scary monsters in these dreams, the semi-conscious state frightened me as I apparently had little control of my being.

Then, as a child, I dreamt that I was in a dentist chair, and this lady with hairy fingernails tried to choke me. When I awoke, the sheet was wrapped around my neck. (((Shudder))) This dream scared me for months. I may be fortunate not to remember most dreams these days.

Brotherly Love in the Summertime

This week's Fun Monday hostess is Patience. Knowing that patience is a virtue , my hostess will probably not mind my late entry to this week's event. The task for this Monday is, "How I'll Spend My Summer."

Since I teach school during the year, part of my summer vacation will be spent doing all the things that I put off during the rest of the year. Every year, I hope to do some serious cleaning and complete some much needed renovation on our sixty year old home. And every summer. I get less done than I planned.

However, perhaps Patience is actually referring to fun in the sun rather work in the gloom. Some years my husband and I do not actually travel for our vacation. Hopefully, this summer will not be one of those years. As you might infer from our title, Daddy D and I hope to visit Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, this summer. During our stay, we would to emphasize touring the historic sites in the city including Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. I am not sure what else to see, but maybe you experienced travelers can give me some tips. Plus, our youngest son, Luke, has been there a few times, and he is very helpful with travel plans.

Luke with Rocky in Philadelphia

Happy Fun Monday, I have missed all of you.

Fun Monday - Indiana Wants You

Pamela of Dust Will Wait is the hostess of this week's Fun Monday adventure. For our challenge, Pamela is asking us, "Show me in pictures or tell me in words what defines the place where you live." The wise and wonderful Pamela is leaving the interpretation of the task up to the participants. (Of course, the generous Fun Monday crowd is always accepting of others responses...after all this is about having fun on Monday.)

This comic strip drawn by our son, Luke, for the Purdue Exponent when he was a college student delineates a definite feature about where I live.

Living in Indiana, we have the opportunity to experience all four seasons and all sorts of weather.

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

(Note: I was planning a blogging special event for Valentine's Day. However, perhaps this should be postponed for another day.)

Fun Monday - My Reading List

This week's Fun Monday host is the lovely AOJ at The Lurchers. Angela is asking the participants this week some bookish questions. 1. What are we reading currently? 2. Are we enjoying our current read? 3. What one book would we take with us to a desrt island?

My current read may not be a surprise to some regular visitors to Return of the White Robin. I am currently reading Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama. As a huge fan of the current president of the United States of America, I am enjoying reading about this man and the forces that shaped his character. One of the many quotes that I treasure from Obama's book is the compliment that he pays his wife Michelle in the introduction. Complimenting his wife Obama thanks his wife "for her wit, grace, candor, and unerring ability to encourage my best impulses." ( I can only hope for an unerring ability to encourage the best impulses of those that I love.)

Actually, I am reading several books these past couple of days. On Saturday, our son, Luke, and daughter-in-law, Bree, became parents for the second time. The little boy, who is not so little at 9 pounds 5 ounces and 22 1/4 inches long, is our third grandchild and our first grandson. My husband and I are caring for his big sister, Kara, while mom and baby rest in the hospital. Our granddaughter, not quite 14 month-old Kara, is quite a fan of books. For many months, she has been sitting and looking at board books by herself or with an adult. She sits patiently turning the pages of a selected book using the skill of turning the pages from the left to the right. Recently, she has included books with paper pages. With supervision, she treats the paper pages with utmost respect turning the pages one by one carefully so not to bend or tear the pages.

Animal Babies in Ponds and Rivers is just one of the many books that we have been reading with our granddaughter, who is pictured here with her parents the night before the birth of her baby brother.

One day old Nathan.

For the book that I would most like to take with me on a desert island, I am tempted to say The Bible or my favorite book, God is Love, by Philip Gulley or perhaps, a favorite of my youth, An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott. However, since I know little of survival, this book seems more practical.
To see a list of participants or to sign-up to participate, visit AOJ at The Lurchers.

Fun Monday - A Change in Lifestyle

Grace of Mama Rehema is this week's Fun Monday hostess. Grace is asking the participants to share information about a diet. We can discuss diets that we have tried and tell what we liked or did not like about the diet. Grace encourages us to tell about one diet that you had so much success with, or another that was a torture to follow or both.

I am very happy the Grace has selected this particular topic for this Fun Monday. I have been thinking about writing about my adventures in dieting for a few weeks. Like many dieters, I have become somewhat of a zealot in promoting the diet that works for me. On the other hand, I am somewhat self-conscious about discussing weight. Most of my life, I have been fortunate to be slim. Even as I aged and added some pounds, my height of 5'7" hid some of the extra pounds that I had gained over the past seven or so years. However, I developed a double chin and a tummy paunch, which is definitely not desirable.

Yet, no longer being svelte did not induce me to lose weight. My weight loss was almost accidental, and I lost about 25 pounds in about six months. The plan that we followed is The G.I. Diet developed by Rick Gallop. Here is how this came about. In June2008, my husband and I were at a party, and Daddy D mentioned that he felt tired much of the time. A friend suggested that he might have more energy by losing a few pounds by trying the G.I. Diet. Daddy D like me is tall (he is actually a lot taller at 6'3".) We, tall people, tend to hide our weight gains over our long frames.

So off to the bookstore, we went to purchase both The G.I. Diet and The G.I. Diet Express by Rick Gallop . The Glycemic Index or G.I. Diet by Gallop is based on the premise that all foods are traffic-light color-coded. Green light foods are acceptable foods for the diet and include most fruits and vegetables, fresh fish, fish packed in water, lean meats, whole wheat pastas, almonds, oatmeal, skim milk, fat-free cheese, fat free yogurt to name a few of the main choices.

The plan essentially consists of eating three meals including only the foods from the extensive green light list. Additionally to stave off hunger, dieters are encouraged to eat snacks between meals, again choosing foods from the green light list. Frequently, our snacks consist of plain yogurt with fresh fruit or flavored fat-free yogurt. Another snack time favorite is almonds.

I highly recommend the G.I. Diet. My husband has lost almost 20 pounds, and I lost 25 pounds because I followed his diet. Even though I did have a few pounds to lose and I am very happy with the results, I was following this diet partly for convenience. I probably have reached the yellow light phase of the diet, which is the maintenance phase. In this phase, a few more foods such as bananas, corn, red wine, and unsweetened fruit juices are permitted in addition to the green light foods. Red light foods such as bacon, peanut butter, and Jello should always be avoided. As my title suggests, this is not really a diet as such but a change in lifestyle with a "healthy balanced eating plan to guide you the rest of your life." (Gallop)

In addition to actually losing weight, there are some other positive aspects of the G.I. Diet. The green light foods or foods with a low glycemic index break down slowly leaving the dieter feeling fuller longer. Furthermore, there is no calorie counting, measuring, or quotas.

This is me some 25 pounds thinner than last June without a double chin or tummy paunch. (Sorry No Before Picture)

For a different aspect of this dieting adventure, check out our team blog, Mama Said, Papa Said .