My Adventure With The Paleo Diet

Last week I decided to try the Paleo diet. Not commit to Paleo, but try it out. This meant cutting out dairy, grains, and sugar. My wonderful mother adapted the family meal plan to work around this, and a few of the things I ate were definitely interesting.  

For starters, I tried pumpkin leaves. Based on my online research, if I eat them everyday, I'll live past 100. To be honest, I sort of thought they were poisonous or something. Turns out that pretty much all of the pumpkin plant is edible. That doesn't mean it's delicious, though. The pumpkin leaf I had with my pineapple chicken (now that was delicious!) literally tasted like nothing except fuzz. 

Okay. So I know peanuts aren't technically Paleo, but the peanut butter pictured above was organic and almost certainly full of all sorts of vitamins and minerals. Plus, it tasted absolutely wonderful! So it must be healthy, right? 

But best of all were the egg and banana pancakes. Those were the only ingredients. Seriously. Even I was able to remember the recipe! They came out a little funny looking...but they definitely tasted much better than I was expecting.

I only tried it out for a week, but I'm so glad I did. I had more energy. I felt happier, healthier, but also hungrier, especially at the beginning of the week. The first day or two my stomach was always growling. I felt like I was eating so much food, but it wasn't taking up as much room as I was used to. 

I give a huge amount of credit to anyone who commits to doing the Paleo diet! While the benefits are wonderful, it takes a lot of discipline. I didn't used to think as much about the food that I ate. If I was at a party and there was anything chocolate or covered in salt, I would stay by the food table until I was full, and then some. 

I'm not going to continue Paleo, at least not for now, but I am going to think more about the food that I eat and remember how it makes me feel.

I 'celebrated' the end of my Paleo at a picnic last night. I do have to admit that it felt pretty good to eat some bread. ;)

My dad's lifelong dream of projecting a movie outside on our stage/deck was fulfilled as well last night. He showed 'The Incredible Shrinking Man'. My friends and I found it incredibly...um...inspiring. :) 

A Homeschooler's Guide to Community Theatre

• Step 1-Know your lines. This is important for any kind of theatre. Not only do you need to know them, but the other actors need to know that you know them. Repeat your lines as many times as you need. Over and over and over until you can say them backwards and upside down. This is the most boring step of all, so get it out of the way as soon as you can. Note: Highlighters are fun - take advantage of them.

• Step 2-Procrastinate on Step One until about half an hour before rehearsal. A good way to further procrastinate during that half hour is to take some unnecessary script selfies. 

• Step 3- Community theatre is a lot different than homeschool or any other school theatre. First of all, if there is a character that's middle-aged, it's played by an actual middle-aged person and not a poor high schooler in five pounds of make-up. While getting to be a completely different age can be an incredible amount of fun, it's much easier to get into your character when you're the same age. Getting into your character is -the- best part of acting. It's becoming someone you aren't for a few hours. Warning: This step may include walking in countless circles around your kitchen saying your lines in as many different ways as you can until you find the way that feels right. Your family members may think you're going crazy, but it'll all be worth it. I promise.

• Step 4- Relax. Things will go wrong and freaking out doesn't help. One night the truck wouldn't start and I was home alone. I tried waiting for a few minutes. Still nothing. I started freaking out and called my dad. The conversation went a little like this:

'The truck won't start!'

'Did you wait a few minutes and try again?'

'Yes!'

'Did you wait a full ten minutes?'

'...well, no...'

'I'll come pick you up. Wait the full ten minutes and get back to me.'

           After exactly ten minutes it started right up. Thank you, Lord! I shamefully hit my dad's                      number on my phone to tell him to turn around. 

• Step 5- Have your directors and your dad on speed dial. It makes Step 4 easier. 

• Step 6- Once you're in character, this means staying in character. When you're in a show, especially a funny show, this can be the hardest part. At least it is for me. Over half the time I can't control my onstage giggles. If anything goes wrong, or someone makes a funny face, it takes all of the strength that I have to keep it together. Seriously. I'm awful. Take a moment to pity the poor souls who have to be onstage with me whenever something doesn't go as planned. And that happens a lot.

• Step 7- Be prepared for anything and everything. When you're on a tight schedule, say, two months or less, things will go terribly, horribly, wonderfully wrong. Cast members will drop out last minute, leading to quick role changes or doubling up on characters. The set that the director planned won't work out and everything will have to be put together by wonderful cast members and relatives. Practices will go an hour and a half over. Walls will fall apart when doors are slammed. Lines will get jumbled, mixed up, and forgotten completely. And to be honest? It's sort of awesome. If everyone is prepared and ready for the worst to happen, you're no longer a cast, you're a team. 

• Step 8- Have fun and don't be scared to actually talk to your fellow cast members. When I walked into the theater for the first practice of my first ever community theatre show, I didn't know anyone. The room was full of people of all different ages and backgrounds, none of whom I was related to! For the first few practices, I didn't talk to anyone offstage. I just felt so awkward. I was the only homeschooler there! It was a huge wake-up call once I started to actually acknowledge the people around me. Wait...why was I so scared to talk to these people? As an introvert, I'm usually not a huge fan of meeting new people. Until I actually step out of my little comfort zone and do it. Then I realize how silly I was to want to stay home and how great it is to be surrounded by new people. Seriously. It's pretty awesome. 

The Pay Off (knitting a sweater part 3)

There's no other feeling like putting on a new sweater for the first time. 

Especially hand-knit sweaters. 

It's scientifically proven that hand-knit sweaters are 75% cozier.

I have a 'bit' of a sweater collection in my closet. I strongly believe that, no matter how 'ugly', every sweater deserves to be worn. Even though they're a pain to wash and take up twice as much room as everything else, wearing one just feels like a hug, and that's worth the trouble. 

The Knitting (aka making a sweater part 2)

I not only suffer from YSS, but I also suffer from BKS (bored knitter syndrome). Symptoms include feeling as if you've been working on a project for what seems like forever, starting countless other projects, and wrists that hurt too much to move. Sufferers know that whatever they're making would fit much better if they kept going for another inch or so, but the desire to try the garment on outweighs the need to make the garment the right size. 

That had been my problem for my second sweater. I had bought enough yarn, and I followed the pattern, but I was so sick of knitting the poor thing that I figured I could just 'make it fit' instead of knitting for another hour.

No. Constantly readjusting a sweater isn't worth it. Tugging and stretching and blocking get annoying after more than one wear.

So I was determined not to let that happen again. I fought through the boredom.

Fighting through the boredom meant spending quite a bit of time knitting in my closet. One night, after watching an episode of Doctor Who titled 'Night Terrors', I went up to my closet to make an attempt at finishing a sleeve.



 I turned on the light and immediately heard a high pitched *squeeeal*.


The lights started flickering.


The squeal got louder.


Then blackness, shortly followed by a *pop*.




Turns out the lightbulb had decided to die as dramatically as possible.

That took away some of the boredom.

A few nights later, I had an experience that was almost, if not, more, terrifying. I was almost done, so close I could feel it. I just need to finish the neckband. When I finally cast off, I tried to get it over my head. I would've been lucky to be able to stick my foot through it. See, in knitting, weird things can happen. Even if you think you're following the directions exactly, your project can turn out super weird.

My first ever knitting project was supposed to be a 10 stitch square. After a night of wrapping the yarn around and pulling the loops through and off the needle, I ended up with this lovely triangle with  over 30 stitches and a huge hole smack dab in the middle.

The sinking feeling I experienced back then was the same one I experienced many, many, many times since and again when I saw that collar...

The Homeschooler vs The Standardized Test

Few things are more stressful than the idea of sitting in a quiet room for three to four hours and taking a test surrounded by unknown people. 

Seriously, what's scarier than dropping a pencil and having roll underneath the desk of the person in front of you?! Or drinking too much water during the break and having an obnoxiously loud stomach for the second half of the test. Oh, and the break itself is scariest of all! You don't want to seem awkward by not talking to anyone, but you definitely don't want to actually initiate conversation.

Yesterday, I took my third standardized test and I came to a realization. 

No one else was paying attention to me.

Seriously. They were all there to take the test, not to judge the way that I hold my pencil. When I started taking the test, it required my full attention. I went into a zone where I was unaware of the people around me, as did everyone else. 

Standardized tests are scary. Especially for the homeschooler. Taking a test at a desk?! For three hours? Personally, I much prefer curling up on the couch underneath a blanket while I eat something unhealthy. I thought I couldn't do it. When I took the SAT in June, I walked into an unknown school full of unknown people and sat down and took the test. And you know what? 

I came out unscathed. 

In the battle of Homeschooler VS. Standardized test, I rose victorious. 

.......

Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration...I basically just walked out of the school with and tried to seem cool while texting my dad.

BUT

Anyone - homeschooler or not - deserves some sort of medal certificate of awesomeness or something after completing the last standardized test of their high school careers. Or any test for that matter. It is mentally exhausting, but the feeling of relief after walking out of the test room is worth it.

Even the dreaded break isn't that bad (drinking water, eating cheese, and pretending to read the anti-bully posters on the wall can make you seem busy ;) ).

She's Nine

I present my bubbly, sparkly, purpley, outgoing, little sister

When I heard she was a girl, my first thought was that means I get the bunk bed! Since then we've gotten rid of the bunk bed, but I love her to pieces anyways. ;)


The last nine years would have been no where near as musical if she'd never been born.

She's a total goof and loves to make people laugh.

She fills our house with giggles and random dance numbers.

Even though we definitely bicker and annoy everyone around us, I don't know what I'd do without either of my siblings, and I'm so incredibly thankful for them.

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. ~Marion C. Garretty

In Which My Sister Gives Me a Makeover

Note the impressive double eye-brow courtesy of my make-up artist

I decided to indulge my sister on account of it almost being her birthday. Hmm. 

Few things are more terrifying than see an eyeliner pencil coming straight for your eye. Regardless of who is putting it on, I'm incredibly twitchy when it comes to having other people put make-up on my face. Any of the wonderful moms in our homeschool group can attest to that fact during play season. ;) This was much more interesting, however.

Taking off make-up is an experience that...builds character...

My Very Last First Day

My first year of school, Mom read me this book and I thought of it today when I sat down for my very last first day of school (at home, at least).

It's almost surreal thinking that this is the start of my -last- year of high school. First days are always the best day of the school year. Every other day of the year lacks the excitement and motivation of that anticipated first day. And this is my last one. 

It's bittersweet. No more 'first day of school outfit' jokes in pajamas with my siblings. 

No more going over chore schedules for the year or walking through assignments and expectations.

But at the same time, this is almost the end of a big chapter in my life, and I'm excited to start reading the next one. Until then, however, I think I'm going to curl up, read some picture books, and soak up the nostalgia.

Also, my brother is almost taller than me. What?

Yarn Shopping Syndrome (aka making a sweater-step one)

I have a shopping problem. And not in the normal teenage girl way. 

I don't like spending money.

And I'm indecisive.

I have this theory that if anyone were to watch the security tapes from any store that I enter, they would immediately start laughing. Not only do I take forever to chose something, but I then carry that thing around with me and proceed to put it back, take something else, carry that thing around, put it back, take the original thing, repeat. Either that, or I'll confidently grab something, carry it around for a good half hour or more, put it back and leave without buying anything.

It gets worse with yarn shopping.

As a knitter, going through yarn isn't just normal shopping. You look at the yarn and you see possibilities. Colors, fibers, weights, yardage, etc., can all become hats, scarves, mittens, socks, headbands, doll clothes, blankets, sweaters, etc. There are just too many possibilities. 

And my yarn shopping experience has been nearly exclusively the craft aisle of Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart doesn't have the greatest selection of yarn. Especially when it comes to choosing yarn for a sweater. Last year, I decided to knit my first sweater with some white yarn I'd gotten from a rummage sale. I'd chosen a fisherman's pattern with lots of cables. Bad idea. I should have realized that there was no way I'd have enough. Cables take a lot of time, energy, sweat, tears, and yarn. I'd finished the front when I realized that there was no way I'd have enough for the back. Soo I went to my main yarn resource (Wal-Mart) and tried to find the closest white.

-__-

Needless to say, the whites were glaringly different. I had refused to acknowledge that fact during the sweater making process. 'Maybe it's just the light' or 'maybe after I wash it, the colors will...even out or...something'. Well, it wasn't the light, and the colors didn't 'even out'. That poor sweater has been worn out of the house exactly one time. Never again.

I've decided to make this sweater again. But not white. 

Step one in making a sweater- choose your yarn. If you suffer from Yarn Shopping Syndrome (or YSS as the medical professionals call it) like I do, I would recommend not bringing anyone along with you. Unless you have a patient family member or close friend who is willing to walk up and down the same aisle for an hour giving their opinion.

p.s. make sure you buy ENOUGH so you won't have
to run back to the store mid project!