My last post was so long; this one will probably be pretty short, and I only have a few photos to add. I didn't get the last post done and posted until Sunday evening, August 9th. There were so many photos to add and blogger had several issues, such as putting photos in the wrong place, so it took even longer than I anticipated. I worked on adding the photos for hours on both Saturday the 8th and Sunday the 9th.
Saturday August 8th: Besides working on the blog post, I got a lot of other things done. I made some wheat bread using a recipe Amy gave me because it fits all the criteria for the diet that I am trying out. The basic rules are: no sugar (in anything, and most bread has sugar--honey is okay though), no red meat or pork, no dairy, no oil of any kind besides olive oil, no corn, only whole grains. For the first couple of months, I am also supposed to avoid nuts and avocado. So what can I eat, you may be wondering? Chicken, turkey, and seafood are all okay. Fruits and vegetables are great. Quinoa, brown rice, potatoes, eggs, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread (without sugar) are all allowed. It actually hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be. That was a bit of a tangent...back to the bread. I mixed it in my breadmaker, but baked it in the oven because my breadmaker lid is broken, so it won't seal and get up to the correct temperature. I really like the bread--I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to store bought--and so does Frank. We're going through it a lot faster than I anticipated, so I had to make another loaf on Wednesday.
Besides making bread, I worked on several things related to church. I sent our bishop a list of the things that need to be done for the Labor Day picnic, with suggestions of what to assign to each organization. (He told us the next day at church that everyone had accepted their assignments 😊). I contacted the RS secretary to ask if I could meet with her to learn how she creates flyers using AI, as well as how to post them in our ward's Circles. We set up an appointment for Monday afternoon. (I need to know how to do these things for my RS activities calling.) I emailed the stake executive secretary to ask for an appointment to get set apart as a service missionary (haven't heard back yet, though...I need to follow up on that). I contacted my stake president to ask him to double check my application, because the mission lead for the group I'm joining emailed me and said my application still needs my stake president's approval. My stake president answered me and said I should be good to go, but the mission lead says the stake president approval is still pending. However, he said I could go ahead and get set apart, so I'm just moving forward with that.
Besides all of those things, I also practiced the ukulele and prepared dinner for the missionaries. Seth ate with us and then he had to leave for work. After dinner with the missionaries, Frank and I went to the auto parts store and purchased and then installed new light bulbs for my rear license plate. Then we took my car to put gas in it.
Sunday, August 9th: Frank had YSA stake meetings at the University of Maryland. He felt like his foot was well enough that he could drive (even though it was still swollen and painful). I spent the morning reading scriptures and texting Amy about autoimmune disorders (she wanted to know which autoimmune the eye doctor thought I might have; I actually don't know). Frank came with me to part of our ward meetings (he used crutches to get around so he wouldn't have to walk on his foot as much). He left our sacrament meeting early to attend the YSA Branch council and then he went to their sacrament meeting. I attended our usual ward meetings and then waited for the YSA sacrament meeting to end so that I could take Frank home. After church, I was in the hallway talking to the sister who was called to replace me as a Seminary teacher. One of the girls in my Seminary class walked by and commented "It's the ghosts of Seminary past and Seminary future!"😂
After church, we talked to Jared and had dinner and family night before Seth left for mission prep class. Tanner also called to talk for a little while that evening.
Monday, August 10th: Frank arranged with his boss to work from home this week since his foot is so painful.
This was a pretty busy day for me. I had a dentist appointment in the morning. Afterwards, I went to see my friend Wanda, who lives in a nursing home nearby. I haven't been able to visit her in a long time; she was very surprised but happy to see me. She doesn't get out much anymore, and it is sad to think about that. She is mostly in bed all the time. It must be very difficult for her, but she is always cheerful.
After visiting with Wanda, I made stops at Target and Costco before going home. At Target, I got some fruit strip snacks that fit my diet criteria (and they are tasty!). At Costco, I stocked up on chicken, shrimp, and salmon. After my errands, I went home to lunch before heading back to do the regular grocery shopping. Somewhere in there I also vacuumed and got laundry done. We had family night and I read John Adams until bed time.
Tuesday, August 11th: I woke up at 2:30 am and didn't go back to sleep until 5:00, then I went back to sleep until a little after 8:00. I just got regular chores done (cleaned bathrooms & planned meals) and listened to some of the Follow Him podcast. I had my temple shift that evening. Frank didn't go because of his foot. I got a ride with my friend Mary Kay, who is in my ward and works the same shift that I do. It was nice visiting with her on the way down and back. At the temple, we had an awesome training. Then I worked in the laundry for a little while, was a hostess in the celestial room for a little while, and then worked in initiatories for the rest of the evening. We didn't have very many patrons, but that was nice because it gave me a chance to get some practice without feeling super overwhelmed. Everything went smoothly, and I am feeling more comfortable and starting to really love working at the temple.
Wednesday, August 12th: As I mentioned earlier, I made bread. I spent a lot of time reading John Adams and got within 100 pages of finishing it. I probably would have finished, but there were a lot of distractions--I'm in a group of people in my ward who are providing rides to work and back for a sister and her children--they don't have a car--and there were a lot of text messages going back and forth to arrange all that. I had book chat that evening. We had a great discussion and will be reading Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen next (I've already read it, but I'm planning to read it again). I still haven't finished reading John Adams, but I have to say that I have gained a whole lot of respect for him while reading this book about his life. He sacrificed so much to serve his country, and he stuck to what he thought was the right thing to do, even if it hurt him politically. We need more leaders like that!
Thursday, August 13th: This was another very busy day. I exercised and did regular chores in the morning (grocery shopping, started laundry, vacuuming). I went to lunch with my friend Rebekah, so we could get caught up on everything we've been doing for the last month. (We went to Chipotle, where I was able to get food that met my diet criteria.) Then I took Frank to his PT appointment and after dropping him off at home, I went immediately to an eye doctor appointment. This one was my annual visit with the optometrist to check my vision. My eyes have changed only slightly, so I don't need to get new glasses. He's going to have me try a slightly different prescription for my contact lenses, but if it doesn't make much of a difference, then I won't change those either.
After the eye doctor, I came home and made dinner; I also finished folding laundry. Then I went to pick up two of the previously mentioned sister's children from work and gave them rides home. One of them is living with a friend and the other one is living with her mom at a campground. I was anticipating a very uncomfortable ride with two teenagers / young adults who would just stare at their phones and not speak to me (we had never met before Thursday), but I was pleasantly surprised that they were friendly and they talked and laughed with each other and with me. Also, they both thanked me when I dropped them off.
In between everything else, I tried to read John Adams when I could, but didn't have a chance to read much.
Friday, August 14th: I didn't wake up until 8:15, which suprised me because I went to bed around 10:00 and slept great all night. It was pretty awesome to get that much quality sleep! The only down side is that the day felt half over before it started. 😂 By the time I exercised and showered, it was practically lunch time. I spent the afternoon updating finances. After dinner, I went to a game night with a few other sisters in my ward. Frank was invited to a guy's game night too, but he decided not to go because of his foot. I had a fun time; we played several games and there was a lot of laughter. In one game, I kept banging my elbows on the table by accident. I hit my left elbow right on the tip, and it is really sore! (I did win that game, though, so I guess it was worth the sacrifice? 😄)
Frank finished his last dose of prednisone on Tuesday and since then has been taking another anti-inflammatory. He's really not seeing much of an improvement; his foot is still very painful. As a matter of fact, I would say it is more swollen now than it was earlier in the week. This is how it looked on Wednesday:
I think he's going to need to follow up with the doctor next week if he doesn't see any improvement. I really hate seeing him suffer! He keeps going along doing what needs to be done anyway and doesn't complain much, but I can tell he's hurting. Everyone please keep him in your prayers.
On a happy note, look what I got in the mail today:
Hopefully I will be set apart soon and can get started on learning what I need to do.
That's all of our news for this week.
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