Weight Loss Journey 4/22 - 4/28

Weight Loss This Week - 1.5 LB
Current Weight Loss - 27.5 LBS

LBS to go - 1.5 LBS

...Almost there...!

Workout Diary...
My accomplishment this week is that I didn't let schedule messups get to me. If I couldn't get to the gym I still worked out. Twice, I just put on my tennis shoes and just went for a walk.

Sunday - took a brisk 30 minute walk on the campgrounds of the Above Rubies Retreat
Monday - no workout
Tuesday - Spin Class @ 24 + 20 minutes on StairMaster
Wednesday - 30 minutes elliptical + 30 recumbant bike + situps
Thursday - no workout
Friday - took a brisk 30 minute walk through the neighborhood
Saturday - no workout

Eating Diary...
This week was one of good decisions. I felt very "clean" after doing the Herbal Cleanse. I didn't want to ruin the feeling by putting junk into my system. It was kind of like being on a roll :) My body has become conditioned to being treated right. It's nice to be on the road to recovery :)

Sunday (@ Above Rubies Retreat)
Breakfast - Total Raisin Brain + Green Smoothie + a bit of Scrambled Eggs
Lunch - Taco Salad + 1 Chocolate Chip Cookie
Dinner - PB&J + Cheetos + Apple
Water - didn't measure :(

Monday (Coop Day)
Early Morning - Fiber Drink (part of 10-day Herbal Cleanse)
Breakfast - 1 cup of Total Raisin Bran + 1/2 cup milk
Snack - none
Lunch - 1 Slice of Pizza + Salad
Dinner - 1 Slice of Pizza + 1 cup of Green Beans

Tuesday
Early Morning - n/a
Breakfast - Smoothies + 1/2 Toast w/grape jam
Morning Snack - Fiber Drink (part of 10-day Herbal Cleanse)
Lunch - PB&J + Smooth Move Tea
Afternoon Snack - a couple of wheat clubhouse crackers.
Dinner - tomato/cucumber salad + lightly steamed cauliflower followed by a toddler-sized bowl of pot roast over rice (probably about 3/4 cup) + one oreo cookie.
Late Evening - Lemon Tea w/1 tsp sugar
Water - 2 Liters

Wednesday
Early Morning - 1/2 Banana
Breakfast - High Fiber Oatmeal Walnut Cookie
Morning Snack - Banana
Lunch - Big bowl of Total Raisin Bran (waited too long to eat)
Afternoon Snack - two crackers
Dinner - 1/2 of my dinner at church (I'll save the other half for tomorrow's lunch) 1 Chicken Enchilada, 1/2c rice, 1/2c refried beans + thumb's length of chocolate cake.
Late Evening - Lemon Tea w/1 tsp sugar
Water - 2 Liters

Thursday
Early Morning -
Breakfast - Total Raisin Bran
Lunch - Total Raisin Bran (again)...
Snack -
Dinner - Tomato+ Cucumbers, Broccoli, + a tad of pot roast over rice
Water - 1.5 Liters

Friday
Breakfast- Pancakes w/ Maple Syrup
Lunch - PB & J + Banana
Dinner - BBQ Beef Sandwich + Root Beer (Friday Family Night)
Late Evening - Smooth Move Tea

Saturday (@ Grandpa's House)
Breakfast - Banana
Lunch - Burger & Fries
Dinner - Pizza

Now I REALLY Feel Smart!

My blog now has MUSIC! I finally figured out how to do it. I hope that when you visit my little home in bloggityville the melodies help you feel a little more inspired during your day.

If you are interested in seeing exactly which tunes and which artist is playing at any given moment, just scroll down to the bottom of the page. There is my music player with my playlist available for your perusal.

I'm all about making melodies in my heart. Now I can make melodies on my blog :) Hope that this little splattering of music encourages your heart to sing with praise for the King!

Enjoy!

Oh and let me know if this adds any unforeseen difficulties to the site (slow) or even if it drives you bananas.

The Importance of Having and Raising Children...

I am currently moving over posts from an old blog in an attempt to merge the two and make life more simple. This is one of my favorites. I hope it give you food for thought. If this post stirs something inside of you, please listen to Closing the Generation Gap by Voddie Baucham. At last check, his sermon is number [08] so you will have to scroll down a bit to find it. Anyway, in this message, he convincingly argues the Christians need to rethink their view of children.

Originally posted 11/06:

Gracie has to read about three current events a week then type up a written summary. Today, she documented the killing of Lebanese minister/politician. Sometimes, I look up her sources and read them to check for plagiarism. While perusing this article, I ran across the following statement:

Christians make up about 35 percent of Lebanese, down from estimated 55-60 percent before the 1975 civil war. The decline is attributed to emigration of Christians and higher birth rates among Muslims.

In reading this, my heart ached. I want the world to be influenced for Christ and to see an area where the Salt and the Light is decreasing makes me sad. Christian people are leaving this war-torn area and moving to other places, leaving behind less of God's people in a place that suffers tremendously.

Also, Christians are just not having as many children as others are. How can we possibly influence the world for Christ if we don't continue producing other people to continue the work?

So many times I hear people discussing the number of children based on what's comfortable, convenient, or desired. Rarely do I hear people discussing the number of children they have based on God's prodding to grow the kingdom of God.

Let's face it. It's a numbers game. Everything is a numbers game. The more people that believe in a particular value, the more likely those values are to infiltrate the culture in which those folks live. The same holds true for Christians and our role in society. Not to negate God's power nor to negate the minority voice, but more people typically carry more power.

How in the world can Christians expect to continue replicating their beliefs and worldviews if we base the number of children we have on the same foundation as non-Christians. Our view of our role as mothers/parents/life-givers must change.

I don't say that everyone should have 12 kids, nor do I believe that people with two children are in sin. I do believe, however, that most Christians I know (including myself) have to take a HARD look at our reasons for our attempts at opening and closing the womb (God is the ultimate opener/closer :). We must constantly evaluate our desire for children and the number of them in the light of God's purposes and plan.

This brings my role as mother into a whole separate light. I view my role as infinitely significant b/c I am raising the leaders of tomorrow. I try to see beyond learning colors, shapes, reading, and algebra. My children have to be prepared to lead in a nation of followers and to think in a country of people where a large majority are trained to be robots and to follow the herd.

Our world is dying. My children will be the tools God's uses to affect change in that dying world. My job is to prepare them. The state of affairs in the world now, and in future generations, far supersedes my desire for comfort and financial surplus. I, along with my husband, must continually check with my Father to see if I've done my part in adding to the number that are marching in his army.

Help me Lord to think of the size of my family in light of YOUR plan and purposes. Help me to view my daily routine/activities/ and sometimes grind as a series of events that lead to a glorious end for my children's future. Help me to see past "getting them to "18". Help me to my children as world-changers and to view my time with them and input as deposits to their future contributions to society.

Sneaky Smoothies...

We drink smoothies for breakfast in our house every Tuesday morning and sometimes on the weekend. I taught Gracie to make them and now she prefers me not to be involved at all.

We have a standard recipe for the smoothies and they always end up tasting something like Strawberry Banana. However, I've recently realized that good smoothies are wonderful for hiding good foods that you want to get into your family.

Here is our basic recipe (all ingredients are approximate):

8oz of milk
8-10 frozen strawberries
3 bananas
2 T Flax Seed Oil
Wheat Germ
Honey to taste
Add ice to preferred consistency

We've been known to sneak in some other items on occasion such as: Avocado, Spinach, Fish Oil, Kiwi, Blueberries, Dates (as a sweetener), Orange Juice (from freshly squeezed oranges), or plain yogurt.

This may seem weird and over the top to some I'm sure, but I assure you that it is a quick fix in the morning and the little people in our house LOVE these concoctions. We normally serve smoothies with some kind of bread or muffin. The kids don't know they aren't supposed to like spinach in a smoothie. If the color is a little "off", they never know (except for Chef Gracie) because their smoothies are served in cups w/tops and a straw (we save the cups that come with kid's meals at restaurants).

This weekend, I had the privilege of attending the Above Rubies Women's Retreat, a conference geared towards encouraging women in motherhood. A "Green Smoothie Demo" was provided for the two mornings of the retreat. I thought I was sneaky!

Here is the recipe for the smoothie I tested that I liked the best. It REALLY was good!

Enough water to cover the blades
Flax Seed (whole)
Almonds (whole and raw)
4-6 apples (whole w/skin & seeds, quartered)
2-4 bananas
1/2 head of lettuce
1/2 head of spinach




If all the variations are overwhelming...don't worry...start with something small the you know you will like. I've been making smoothies for probably four years. I started with a protein shake mix and a banana to make it sweeter. It's taken me awhile to experiment (I love routine and hate change). It's all about the journey right!?!?

Works-for-Me-Wednesdays: Coupon Organization

I've been a coupon cutter on and off for a long time. The most frustrating thing about cutting coupons is doing all the work to cut them out and organize them knowing that sometimes you will never use some. Well, I've recently stumbled upon a little system that will work for me.

I just take the coupon books out of the Sunday paper and punch holes in them with a 3-hole punch. I put them in a binder and arrange them with dividers by the week of the paper they came in. This probably sounds dumb but let me explain why it work.

A friend of mine recently told me about www.couponmom.com. This is a FREE site that tells me what is on sale for the stores in my area and which coupons give me the most bang for my buck. It also tells me for each coupon, which week and which coupon book the coupon can be located. I just open my binder, flip to the appropriate week, and cut out the coupons I need. This system has made me so happy because I can cut what I need when I need it and not spend every Sunday evening collecting pieces of paper I might never use. It also keeps me from extreme sorrow when I have weeks where I can't keep up with my couponing. I don't have to lament weeks of work gone down the drain because I cut coupons and they have now expired.

Coupon Mom also has a coupon index of sorts so...let's say I need to buy something specific and I just want to know where to find the matching coupon. I can just enter the item name and search for it. The site will tell me exactly where to find it.

I'm not one of those super couponers who pay -$5 for their whole grocery budget every month, but I DO like saving pennies. I figure my role in our home isn't to go out and make the money but I sure can SAVE some! Every little bit counts. This system allows me to save money without a huge front-end time commitment.

Hope this helps someone. It's something that makes my life easier and works for me!

Be sure to check out Rocks in My Dryer for more Works-for-Me Wednesday tips.

Weight Loss Journey 4/15 - 4/21

Weight Loss This Week - .5 LB

Current Weight Loss - 26 LBS

LBS to go - 3 LBS

...making s-l-o-w but steady progress.

Workout Diary...
Definitely got to a groove with my workouts. I enjoyed every minute of it. I have also updated my IPod and created a special workout mix. I had a blast jamming and praising while I huffed and puffed. People probably thought I was crazy. Praising Jesus on adrenalin is awesome! So, now that I'm back on my routine, I'll be trying to increase my workout time to what it was before.

Monday - no workout
Tuesday - 30 minutes elliptical + pushups + situps + squats
Wednesday - BootCamp! in the am + 30 minutes elliptical in the pm (due to Wed afternoon snack)
Thursday - Spin Class @ 24
Friday - took a walk to the store...walked back with bags as weights :)
Saturday - no workout

Eating Diary...
This week was a bit better but still not great on the carbs and the sugar. I had too many opportunities to "celebrate". I'm having to learn that even for special events I can still say no. The one thing that is still with me from my Sugar Fast is that I don't really like the idea of the sweets or carbs in my body. My mind knows that food with no nutritional value is in my system and I don't want it there. So, when I did eat sweets this week, I had very small portions. I was grateful not to be dominated by cravings and the flesh.

When I look back at my week, I see good eating at home but bad eating when eating out. I'm learning to be consistent about my food choices no matter where I am. Singlemindedness is the goal.

I also started a herbal cleanse from Advocare. My husband uses some of their products and gets a discount. I'd never done a cleanse before so I thought I'd give it a try.

Sunday (Last day of Anniversary)
Breakfast - none
Lunch - :) Cheeseburger & Fries
Dinner - Can't remember

Monday
Early Morning - Fiber Drink (part of 10-day Herbal Cleanse)
Breakfast - 1 cup of Total Raisin Bran + 1/2 cup milk
Snack - none
Lunch - Salad
Dinner - Chicken Pot Pie (1 cup) + Broccoli

Tuesday
Early Morning - Apple + Fiber Drink (part of 10-day Herbal Cleanse)
Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs + Toast w/grape jam
Morning Snack - String Cheese + 5 Crackers
Lunch - Half of a sweet potato sweetened w/maple syrup + steamed broccoli (2 cups)
Afternoon Snack - Too many chips with salsa (I couldn't just eat one)
Dinner - Spaghetti ( 1/2 cup noodles + 1 cup of sauce) + Salad (my teenager made it...amazing....iceberg lettuce + red pepper + apple + almonds + cucumber + cheese + bacon bits)
Water - 2 Liters

Wednesday
Early Morning - Apple + Fiber Drink (part of 10-day Herbal Cleanse)
Breakfast - Total Raisin Bran
Morning Snack -
Lunch - Meal Replacement Shake from Advocare (my hubby get a discount)
Afternoon Snack - Started with a half bag of Doritos. I was able to stop but when I ran into an unexpected hospitable gift of chocolate chip cookies...well I just lost control (talk about Buyer's Remorse...sigh)
Dinner - 1 cup of Chicken Tortilla Soup + 1/2 Salmon Caesar Salad (dressing on the side)
Late Night - Lemon Tea w/1tsp of sugar..
Water - 3 Liters (Whoo Hoo!)

Thursday
Early Morning - Banana
Breakfast - Go Lean Kashi
Lunch - 1/2 Chick Fil A Wrap
Snack - Salsa & Chips
Dinner - Variety Salad + a tad of tuna casserole (maybe 3/4 cup)
Water - 1.5 Liters

Friday (A day with too much sugar)
Breakfast- Pancakes w/ Maple Syrup
Lunch - 1/2 of a 6 inch Subway sandwich + Chips + Cake(Preschooler Birthday Party)
Dinner - Taco Salad + a little peach cobbler and ice cream (Date w/hubby)

Saturday (@ Above Rubies Retreat)
Breakfast - Bowl of Total Raisin Bran + Banana
Lunch - Turkey and Cheese Sandwich on Crescent Bread w/ Vegetable Soup
Dinner - Grilled Chicken, Steamed Veggies, Wild Rice, Wheat Roll + a thumb's length of cheesecake.

A Super Sonic Family Night Disaster...

Last night we decided to go and hang out after dinner. We loaded into the car for a "surprise ride". This is what we tell the kiddos when we don't want them to ask question :)...and we want to build excitement about where we are going. So last night, we headed to Sonic. I found a new Sonic while running an errand one day. It is HUGE and has a nice playground set on sand. We knew it would be messy but we figured the kids would have fun. They did have fun and the fun lasted right up until our last 10 minutes.

The drama started with our two year old, K-No. The play area is surrounded by an iron fence and he decided that he didn't like it. We laughed as he put both of his hands on the fence and tried to lift up. He strained and huffed and puffed, throwing his head back and grimacing because of his overwhelmingly effort. It was a hoot.

The iron fence was situated over a two foot concrete wall. From the ground the two foot concrete wall rose up and then the iron fence rose up, supported by the wall. He decided he could get more leverage if he climbed up on the concrete wall and stuck his legs through the opening between the wall and the bottom of the fence. We laughed at that too....until he fell. He fell trying to get down and so he landed smack on his face. As soon as he got up, we saw that his mouth was filled with blood and he had a bruise in the middle of his forehead. He was screaming bloody murder.

Less than a minute later, the 4 year old, Sumo, started screaming too. After a solid hour of playing in the sand without event, he had finally decided to get sand in his eyes. He screamed louder than K-No and wouldn't let anyone help him. He just took off like a wild man, rubbing his eyes and hollering at the top of his lungs.

So much for a fun family night.

We were eventually able to calm both of them down. K-No left with a swollen lip and Sumo held a baby wipe over his eyes on the way home, looking like he was in mourning. He asked for a new baby wipe every 60 seconds, claiming that the old one was "de-wa-ty".

Chalk this one up to a family story we'll tell for a long time.

You Must Be a Natural

I hear this all the time. People seem to think that because I choose to be at home with my children and especially because we homeschool that I must have an extra dose of something. It's gotten to the point that it almost irritates me to hear that. Why? Because I know I'm not a natural. In fact, everything about how I live my life now compared to where I've come from is a choice.

You have to understand. I was a single parent before I was out of my teens. My life was built completely around "making it" and that included working as I had myself and a baby girl to support. I didn't want to live my life like this. All of my friends were kicking back, starting their life worry free. Not me. I was a twenty-something young black woman doing my best to get ahead because I had to. It was a choice.

Everything that I had went into making a way for myself and getting ahead. I moved around a bit looking for a job that was a right fit. When I found myself at an money management firm, I realized I had a good job and stayed put. I learned to love this job. It was a life-sucking job. Most Wall Street jobs are. I arrived before 7 a.m. and there was pressure to stay after 6 p.m. I did what I could. A job that I despised originally because of the tough work life quickly became a way to make an excellent living. I got promoted and wound up 3 years later as a VP, researching publicly traded companies to evaluate them for entry into the portfolio. I learned to love this job. Why? A great salary, wonderful bonuses, and I had worked my way up to being important. I had arrived.

Then...I met my husband.

He is in the entertainment industry and travels quite a bit. We decided that we would never see each other if we both worked the way we did, something had to go. I went part time on my job. This lasted for two months. It never failed. When I was home, he'd be gone. When he was home, I had to work. I decided to come home.

I was excited about coming home. I regretted not being able to be all there and I had quickly grown tired of balancing my job and the new family we were trying to blend.

That excitement was the initial shot of adrenalin. Being at home was the hardest job I'd ever done. I put my all into being at home because that's how I've always operated. When I have something to accomplish, I give it my all. Why did my family deserve any less?

I learned to decorate. I learned to cook. I learned to keep house. I learned work in the yard.

Then enter babies. We've added two little boys since or union. This catapulted me into another dimension of motherhood. I had never actually been at home with my oldest daughter. I knew nothing about potty training, setting up a home routine, teaching my children to mind, etc.

I learned. I'm still learning.

But this is from the girl who had learned to be committed to corporate life - the same girl who had gotten used to a lot of perks, recognition, and MONEY. Life on one income is doable but very few who choose this life are rich.

I enjoy my children because I chose to commit my life to raising people of character. I've learned to enjoy them.

I enjoy cleaning house...NOT BECAUSE I LIKE TO CLEAN...but because I have learned to do what I have to do for the sake of the people who live in my home.

I have learned to enjoy cooking...because I have chosen to put the health and nutrition of those under my care ahead of my desire to eat out.

I have learned to enjoy teaching my children. My husband and I choose to be completely responsible to God alone for the spiritual and intellectual education they receive and this is the best option for our family at this time. I chose homeschooling before I thought I would be able to stand being around them all the time.

There is a spiritual concept anytime something appears natural. You do what you know you should do. The feelings come later.

If I look like I'm a natural. It's because I've learned to be.

What do you want to be naturally gifted to do? Do you think it is out of your reach? Learn to do it. Work at doing it. You'd be surprirsed what then can come naturally.

Philippians 4.13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The question is not and has never been, what do I want to do, but instead...what does Christ want me to do. Whatever it is...he will provide the know-how and the will power to get it done.

Works-for-Me-Wednesdays: Teaching ABCs

I never cease to be amazed at what my young ones learn from EXPOSURE. I was insanely worried when my now 4yo was 2. I wondered how exactly I was going to teach the alphabet to him.

Fast forward a few years, he not only knows his ABCs but is reading.

Here is one thing that I did to expose him early on.



I figured since we were up and down the stairs all day, we could say the alphabet and point us various letters as we traveled. Now I take some of the work we do and tack it above the letter that the picture represents. Our elephant (made at the library) goes above "E" and the blueberry painting goes above "B".

We have gotten a little off track lately because "life" happens sometimes but we are following the well planned guidelines from Letter of the Week to help us make it through the alphabet. This Mom has great ideas on books to read and activities to do for each letter if you are creatively challenged like me!

Be sure to check out Rocks in My Dryer for more Works-for-Me Wednesday tips.

If You Blink, You'll Miss It

Recently, my family hit the highways and took a weekend roadtrip. In Texas, a road trip includes lots of flat land, miles of pastures, and rows of crops. It can get monotonous. When you are sitting in a car (or a minivan in our case), the view can seem all the same. The temptation would be to stop looking and to stop taking in the scenery. A good book or a few minutes of sweet "car" sleep might seem a whole lot more enticing then staring at the same old mile after mile.

The photo above is what I almost missed because I was engrossed in some book I had brought along to read. I happened to glance up mid-page and caught this sunset. I grabbed my digital camera and proceeded to break all safety laws as I stood up and leaned as close as I could get to my husbands window without obscuring his view (yes...as he drove). I just had to catch this beautiful sight.

It's a pretty good shot considering the fact that we were moving at about 70 miles per hour. The picture is good but not great. It's enough for me to have a memory but not enough to actually show the detail. We were just moving too fast.

Life moves fast. Even when it feels like it's moving slow. It moves fast...it just does.

And we get busy...we get busy doing so many things that aren't bad or that even make sense for the journey that we are on. But...when we look up and realize that something beautiful is happening, our ability to capture and remember the details may be limited because of the speed at which we travel.

My lesson from this photo...S-L-O-W-D-O-W-N.

Now this is a photo, that I took at a standstill. We were traveling on a dirt road...somewhere in between two teeny-tiny towns. Because the road was so rough, we had no choice other than to proceed at a snail's pace. Because we were moving so slow, I did not miss this:


In fact, I asked my husband to stop the RV. I leaned over him, completely obscuring his view to catch the shot. This is the driveway to someone's home. Gorgeous. I captured this sight on my camera and in my memory because we stopped to gaze.

Life is beautiful. My desire is to take it all in and to move slow enough so that I don't miss it's beauty. I figure that if I move fast I may still arrive at my planned destination, but what good does that do me if I missed the moments of beauty along the way?

Lord, help me to slow down...help me to keep my eyes peeled for those memory-making moments that you provide. Help me not to blink. I don't want to miss anything that you have given me to enjoy along the way of my journey.