Food Chart

This is my eating chart that I customized after seeing the Swiss food Pyramid. I like having balance in my eating and this seemed like a good guideline. When I am hungry instead of going to the cupboard to find something to eat, I go to the chart and see what I have not had yet. I move the thumbtack on top of the word for what I have eaten so it is no longer visible making it easier to see what is left to eat for the day.

The Swiss version had 3 servings of dairy. I changed 2 of the servings to beans and sprouts which in my opinion have more nutrition than dairy.

Boulder Akicita

I started a new club called the Boulder Akicita. It is a group of boys reading about great men from history (mountain men and indians for now) and discussing the books, doing projects, and earning awards. The site is www.boulderakicita.blogspot.com . June is our second month meeting. Last month we read about Geronimo. This month is Daniel Boone. Last month we made wotawe's(a leather bag worn around the neck that contains special things). This month we are going to be making shirts that we can decorate with various beads and feathers that are being earned. Our meetings are every other week and last from 2 to 3 hours. The boys are having a great time with it.

Fighting For the Freedom(chorus)

Music

I have written piano music to go with the songs I have written. I am rewriting one of the songs so that it will hit the 'personal' chord more with the youth. I was able to talk to my niece who is 15 about the problems with virtue in her school. She was able to give me some pointers and some insight into what her world is like. I also was able to get some constructive criticism from my Parents-in-law, and some good ideas. I have so many ideas for songs and music.

I have a not -so-good sound recording of one of the songs that I have been trying to get on to this blog but have been unsuccessful so far. I need to work on it some more.

Piano

I have been going to my piano lessons and learning much. I feel like it is natural for me to sit at a piano. I feel creativity coursing through me when I play. I love it.

I have been doing my practicing on a miniature keyboard. It has been o.k. to help me learn finger placement and so forth, but it has been terrible for when I need to practice dynamics and pedals. I have just been pressing the keys harder when I need to be forte; the sound just doesn't change so it has been frustrating. I have been just moving my foot up and down to practice the pedal. It is so different to go to my lesson and sit at a true piano with full size keys.

I have looked in the classifieds for pianos but I have not had a plethora of money and I live in the middle of Wyoming where it is hundreds of miles to the big cities so I have not had much hope of getting a piano very soon. Well, I went to the local donation center and lo and behold someone was dropping off a piano! The center only wanted $50.00 for it, bench and all! I bought it, loaded it on my Sister-in-Laws trailer and followed it home. I live 3 miles in on a dirt road, so it was bumpy and I wasn't sure the piano would still play when we got it home, but what else could I do? We got it into the house with much muscle help from friends and now I have a piano! I play for hours each day and never tire of it. I have written another song on it that I need to coordinate with words. I love knowing chords and how the pedals work so I can make beautiful sounds.

My schedule is off and I have not been writing my essays because if I have a spare moment I am writing music and practicing my lessons. What a wonderful life I lead. Actually it has been very busy with the boys schooling, my part time job, chores, discipline, exercise, garden season, and so forth. Summer is going to be hard to have a schedule so I will just make sure we are doing the important things, and improvise from there.

Man of the Family by Ralph Moody

I have been reading Little Britches with the kids so I was drawn to read this next book in the series. I had read them a couple of years ago and have been enjoying them just as much the second time around so they are truly a classic in my family. I love the real life principles that Ralph teaches through remembering his childhood. He had to grow up fast in the early 1900's when his father died. He was only 11, but was able to keep his family together and thriving by devising odd jobs and working hard. My boys have felt a kinship to Little Britches because he does things that they have been known to do. At one point my 9 year old son Cody said,"I know what he's going to do next, Mom. He always says that right before he does the wrong thing." It has had my boys thinking about character, and honor. My husband has recently read these books also, and he said that they confirmed a life lesson that he had been learning in his Louis L'Amour books, that there are only two kinds of men; honest ones, and dishonest ones. We have the next two books in the series and I am excited to read them. So far they have been full of decisions based on right and wrong. Their family makes life altering changes because they would not do something that would hurt someone else. I want my family to have those values.
Ralph's mother in the book is a good example to mothers. She perseveres through tough times without complaining or making it hard on others. She does her best and more. Her kids admire her, and want to do all they can to help her and to honor her. She does not lose her temper even in times that I am sure I would not be able to stay calm. I have wondered as I have read these books, how she kept such peace in her home. I think that she let the little things go and focused on the big things though not with so much focus that she lost sight of the bigger picture. What an admirable woman. Yesterday I saw my son run outside with his socks on. He knows that is wrong but was not thinking of that at the time. It made me wonder how Ralph's mother would have handled it. It seems that Ralph did everything he could to make his mother happy and proud. Would he have worn his socks outside on the dirt for his mother to wash? Would his mother just have let it go, and focused on the larger picture? I don't know. I let it go, and thought about how soon my boys will be gone and their dirty socks with them. That will be a sad day and I will be glad that I did not scold my son more often than was truly necessary.
Ralph did become the man of the family at a young age. His mother grateful and did all she could do also. I am thankful for the prosperity that my family has compared to what they had, but I am envious of the complete unity that they shared. Maybe if I read this book aloud to my family enough some of it will rub off!

Teach me, Teach me

In keeping with what my Husband suggested, I looked to the psalms for lyric ideas. The chorus to this song is from the Psalms and I like it. I will use that idea again. What a smart Husband I have.
I know it takes away from the peace of a song to diverge it's inner workings, but I need to journal the things I am learning from the lyric book I am studying. Bear with me.
I used the verse/chorus form (or ABAB), tried not to have the ends of the lines overly rhyme, started with a verse that led up to the chorus, and kept the pronouns varied throughout the song. The chorus is the main idea of the song, and repeats at the end. The reason for the song, the who, what, where, and why, is clearly evident from the beginning.

Teach me, Teach me

I sit alone in my bedroom
Caught up in misery and pain.
Punishing myself for the things I've done
I cry and then I start to pray.

Show me thy ways, O Lord.
Teach me thy paths.
Lead me in thy truth, O Lord.
Teach me, Teach me.

While praying my mind is put at ease.
I feel peace melt my troubles away.
The words "I love you" speak to me and
I know that it will be o.k.

Show me thy ways, O Lord.
Teach me thy paths.
Lead me in thy truth, O Lord.
Teach me, Teach me.

As I pray I remember things I used to know
That I am never, no never, no never alone.
My Savior paid the price for my every sin, so
Onward and Upward I go!

Show me thy ways, O Lord.
Teach me thy paths.
Lead me in thy truth, O Lord.
Teach me, Teach me.

Show me thy ways, O Lord.
Teach me thy paths.
Lead me in thy truth, O Lord.
Teach me, Teach me.
Teach me, Teach me.
Teach me.