It's Been a Week...

Since I've written anything. There's just so much going on that it's hard to keep up. This is going to be a long one.

Last week Saturday I attended a Montessori event called "Silent Journey". I was so thankful that I went. It gave me great insight into my children's lives away from home. It also confirmed for me that Montessori is so wonderful and that every child should attend school in this setting. Montessori is for every child, not just children like mine.

All of the parents were lead through one Children's House (pre-k and Kindergarten) classroom, Elementary 1 (1st - 3rd) and Elementary 2 (4th - 6th). On our first walk through, we were instructed to just observe the rooms without touching or asking questions. Just to absorb the materials. I found this incredibly difficult. Not talk or touch????? All I could do was think, "Oh my Goodness, this feeling I have inside of me must be what Taylor experiences on a day to day basis." By the way, some of the parents didn't follow direction and touched the materials. Is it odd that that bothered me? Parents who don't follow directions...naughty, naughty. Anyway, on the second walk through, the teachers showed us the Montessori materials and how they work. I was blown away. All of the feelings and emotions I felt took me back to my childhood. Had I only been taught in a Montessori environment, who knows where I would be today. Everything about Montessori is amazing, especially math. It was amazing to see the math beads used to solve for least common multiple. I just can't emphasis how amazing a Montessori classroom is.

At the end of the event, one of the teachers explained that people often do not see creativity and organization as related. He said that what people fail to understand is that creativity comes when people have order for their thoughts, ideas and feelings which in return allows creativity to spawn, develop and make it self real. With out order, these thoughts, ideas and feelings are chaotic and will not produce themselves in a way that can be shared with other people. Dan, the teacher, said it so much more graciously than I put it but his words allowed me to connect the dots.

Montessori materials are all very neat, orderly, and laid out in a very common sense way. Though each classroom from K-6th is nearly the same, all of the thoughts build upon each other until you are able to take the binomial block and use it to solve math equations. Did I say AMAZING yet????? It provides order, and structure at the same time allowing the child the ability to make their own decisions and freedom with the materials. That's how we live our lives at home too. Our children understand that there is a place for everything and that we all take responsibility for keeping this order yet we have the freedom to be creative and feel how we choose. Having the same structure at home and at school has provided great harmony in our lives. People who visit us are often amazed at how responsible and neat Taylor and Ayden are but their behavior is truly a result of Montessori. The order in our home allows them security and an understanding of limits. This may sound counter intuitive but this structure allows the girls to explore in ways other children may not be able to.

This is a big part of why the girls ask me things that I think are so odd. While Taylor was sitting on the toilet this morning, she asked me what a portfolio is. Kong and I explained it to her and she said, "okay", like what we had told her was completely normal. Ayden and I went around last night asking for UNICEF donations. She was such a pro. When we finished, she asked me about poor children and if she was considered poor. We had a very nice discussion. Montessori children are encouraged to ask questions, challenge the norm, and explore all thoughts and feelings. I'm so lucky I stumbled upon Montessori. My girls are amazing people because of it. Sometimes I completely forget that they are only 8 and 4.

So while I was learning, Kong went Pheasant hunting in Iowa. They shot a total of 20 birds. We made Pheasant with bamboo and it was delicious. The natural game is such a great addition to our diet. He's my provider : )

I made it to 165. Woo whooo!!!!!!!!! That's 17 pounds baby! Is it odd that I'm afraid to buy clothes? I have this fear in the back of my mind that I may get big again and the new clothes I buy are wasted. I've been wearing a pair of jeans I bought from Express before I had Taylor. I can't believe I was this big before I even had kids. My goodness what happened to me in my mid twenties? Anyway, the jeans actually look good on me but they are a little torn where my legs use to rub. You know, the area that rubs so much you could start a small brush fire? It's probably time for me to get a new pair of jeans.

I also went to the dentist this past week. I am bummed to report that I have a cavity. This is my first one in over 10 years. I had the first cavity of my life at 22 and now, 12 years later, I have my second. I'm scheduled to get it fixed on November 12.

Lastly, I want to make a correction on a prior post, now that my cholesterol is down to 170, that is actually a 60 point drop, not 30 as I originally thought. This is amazing. I've been using amazing a lot, huh? We'll, it is amazing. I am loved, I am blessed and I'm loving life...including all of the hectic craziness that happens on a day to day basis. Thank you Lord!

Happy to Report

That I am down today another pound to 166. I've lost a total of 16 pounds. Yeah!!! I think my weight loss has slowed down. I'm losing about 3 pounds a month. Do you think that is too slow? If I keep trending at this rate, hopefully I'll lose an additional 18 pounds by the summer for a total weight loss of 34 pounds.

I promised myself that I would buy new bras and panties once I hit 165. Kong keeps telling me not to wait. He laughs at my granny undies that now sag big time in the booty. I'm going to wait for that 1 pound before rewarding myself. I might even splurge and buy myself a pair of jeans. We'll see.

Ayden had to go to the Office today. She poked a child in the back with her pencil and drew on a child's shirt. She also bit a child's finger on the play ground yesterday. I know what she is doing is wrong but why are these kids just sitting there and letting her do this?

I just happened enter the school as she was being walked down to the office. She's been doing so wonderful so I'm not sure what's going on. The teachers are telling me they think she is bored. Her afternoon teacher said to me that he thinks she's way above the materials and activities that they are working on. That's hard for me to believe because she can't even read yet. You can't be bored you've mastered what you are being taught, right? Mr. Matt says that her comprehension and communication is beyond children of her age. Not sure what to think here.

Heart of the Heart Land

I was in Fargo yesterday seeing clients. Since my Monday was full, I decided to drive in on Sunday night. There were not a lot of hotel choices so I stayed at this boutique hotel with only 17 rooms. It was very nice. If you ever make it to Fargo, stay at the Hotel Donaldson (HoDo). Very clean lines, modern art work. I later learn from my colleague that HoDo is the nicest hotel in North Dakota. Who knew.

Sorry for going off on a tangent. Anyway, when I arrived at 10:30pm, I knew that I was in the heart of the Midwest. There were no city amenities, i.e. parking lots with attendants or ramps that you could enter after dark, there were no restaurants open down town because it was a Sunday night, and right across the street was a women's clinic which people were holding signs outside protesting abortion. These people apparently guard the door of this clinic 24/7. I had a good view all night as my hotel room window directly faced the clinic. The protesters were quiet and calm so they were not a bother.

The ride up was also very eventful. I was scanning the radio stations constantly over my 4 hour drive and boy was it fun. I was telling Kong that I was in 80's heaven. There were a ton of heavy metal stations along with 80's power hits. I heard song's I hadn't heard in decades on normal stations like Love Bites by Def Leopard, Nothing Else Matters by Metallica, Glory of Love by Peter Cetera, Toy Solider by Martika and the list goes on and on. The memories associated with each song, how I felt during the time period the song was popular...good times : )

It was just interesting. I guess even though I grew up in a small/mid size town, I forget how different life is. It's almost like a time warp back to the 90's. Not that it's bad, it's just different. Life is so much more innocent. The people are so much less intense, in a good way. I'm still taking it in and mulling over what all of these emotion means to me.

On a different note, another month of no cravings before you know who visits and I'm down to 166 1/2. Not sure how this can be as I went over 20 points last week and I ate fast food twice but I'll take what I can get. I'm still working out 4x a week. I got the results of my lab test for my insurance back and the results were phenomenal. All of the indicators of kidneys disease came back as being within range of normal kidney function. This is a miracle!!!!!!! Also, my cholesterol went down from 201 to 170. Whooa Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess being diligent about eating healthy, cutting out red meats, no yokes, no fried foods ad increase vegetables really is making a difference. It's been a lot of work but so worth it.

So Blessed

Today, I was reminded as to how blessed I am. God has lead me to so many places; physically, spiritually and emotionally. I am surrounded by love, support and goodness. He continues to lead me even during times when I don't think I'm in need of him. I am truly blessed.

Nice Evening

Kong and I attended an event Asian Media put together. We were asked to attend as mentors for speed mentoring. After dinner, mentors paired in twos moved from table to table speaking about their professions, their education and to provide words of wisdom to a group of 100 young teenagers.

This was Kong's first event of this type. He really enjoyed himself and learned a great deal about himself during the process. It was nice to see a Hmong man at this event as often times, Hmong men don't participate. I was really proud of him. I enjoyed myself as well. It was especially fun for me because each time Kong came by me, he would smile and make googly eyes at me. I would turn to the kids and say, "This guy has been trying to hit on me all night." Everyone got a good laugh out of it. Either that or they were creeped out and uncomfortable.

Anyway, I was asked to be one of the final speakers at the event. I was asked to do so on the spot. I was surprised that I was able to pull it off. Kong even commented on how well I did and as the loving husband that he is, he told me I was a natural. It was nice to finally do something "volunteer" together. I think we really share a bond when we do these types of things together. We may also both be on the Leadership Council for Asian and Pacific Minnesotans. Is that a conflict of interest? I guess when there aren't a lot of Hmong people in professional level Corporate jobs, you take what you can get, right?

That's all for now. I worked out tonight for about an hour - 43 minutes elliptical, 15 min Calisthenics and stretches. Feel good even though I ate too much today.

Surprised

I was pleasantly surprised when I got on the scale on Monday and I had only gained two pounds from my food blow up over the weekend. I went from 167 to 169. Still under 170. Wooo Whoooo! I'm slowly learning that one weekend of food blow up does not mean the end. It just means I need to be more disciplined the following week. That's a tough mind set to get into if your whole life set backs mean complete failure. I guess that's my flaw of; all or nothing, perfect or not. Never any greys...

I'm debating on if I should wait to buy new clothes or get a few pieces now. Everything I was wearing before is really loose on me now. My suits/business atire is what probably looks the worst on me. They sort of just hang off of my body and it looks like I'm wearing someone else's clothes. I'm at that weird stage where size 12 is loose but size 10 is just a little snug. I'm not complaining because I was pushing a 16 just six months ago. I'm thinking my reward for new clothes is when I can fit into size 10 comfortably. Who would have thought 15 year ago that I would be happy to wear a size 10.

Yesterday, I had Shoua take pictures of Taylor for her 8th b-day pictures. Shoua did a fabulous job. I would reccomend her to anyone. Check out Shoua's blog for pictures of the girls. You can click on the top right corner of Shoua's blog to get to her photography website. She does great work! http://auohs.blogs.com/shouayangphotography/.

Revelation and Blow Ups in One Weekend

This past week has been very interesting for me. It's odd because I've only lost 15 pounds but I've noticed that people treat me differently already. I'm not sure if it's because I put a little more effort into myself before leaving the house, or if it's maybe my subconscious change in attitude but I catch people looking at me and sending me positive body gestures. People smile more at me, they pay more attention and they linger longer when they look at me. I'm not sure how to feel about this. Though it makes me feel nice, I feel guilty about enjoying this positive interaction. Not sure what to make of it.

I'm through with the strictest part of my cleanse. What a difference it has made in my skin. I'm starting to eat one serving of grains per day. I learned this week that when I ate less, I was maintaining my weight but once I started eating up my points for the entire day/week, I lost weight again. I guess even though I always knew that eating less does not necessarily mean weight loss, it's always nice to get confirmation for encouragement.

Lastly, I had a huge food blow up this weekend. It was Taylor's birthday so ate too much Saturday and Sunday. I was at a negative 18 points by the end of tonight. Probably more since I'm sure I didn't remember everything I ate over the weekend. On a positive note, Taylor had a very nice birthday. Saturday started with her and me going for our 2mile run/walk. Upon our return, her dad made a very special breakfast (whole wheat raspberry pancakes with turkey bacon), we had a very pleasant day together, and ended with a fun birthday party at Shoreview.

On a side note, no one from the V side came and everyone from the Y side did. I know that we didn't provide a great deal of notice so I don't hold it against anyone. I just felt bad as Taylor didn't invite all of her friends because she wanted to make room for her family. All in all, it was still a good turn out (22 kids and 12 adults) and Taylor had a great time. She's such a good child. I am blessed.

Down 15!!!!

After gaining a total of 3 pound over the weekend, I've lost those three plus one more. I'm down to 167 which is 15 pounds from where I started. Making healthy food choices is getting easier and easier. I worked out Monday and Wednesday. I'm hoping to go tonight, Saturday and Sunday.

I have not had any grain or dairy products for 4 days. I've been eating a lot of greens like baby spinach, pea pods, green beans and asparagus. Chicken breast with asparagus is my favorite but it think the asparagus is making my urine smell. Oh well...the trade off is definitely worth it since no one goes to the bathroom with me. I also haven't had gas in weeks. This is amazing since I've been known my whole life as the gassy one in the family.

Second Day of Clense

I'm on my second day of my cleanse. I have not eaten any grains so I've had no bread, pasta or rice these past two days. I've had to be really concious of filling my rice need so I've been leaning a great deal on veggies and fruit. I've also been indulging my self with jello and sherbet. No ice cream since I can't have dairy. Only two days and I'm not missing rice yet even though Kong and the girls are still eating it. I feel good but by the end of the day, I usually have a slight headache.