Why do I want to lose weight?

Hmmmmm...my need to lose weight boils down to:

• general health
• self-esteem
• wear more clothes in my closet (instead of having to buy new ones)
• reduce risk of pregnancy complications (the Brachial Plexus Injury that affects my youngest son is more common w/overweight people.
• look like "myself" again
• my husband would never say anything but I know he would appreciate me thinner
• choosing to exercise self-discipline (pun-intended)
• my body is the Lord's but it sure wasn't looking like it :)
  
• more energy

I have always tried to be an active person. I have not always tried to be choosy about what I put in my mouth. I've been convicted spiritually about taking care of my temple and not just being OK b/c I don't smoke or do drugs. The saying that "you are what you eat" is so true and I've battled junk food addiction and emotional eating for a long time.

Can you say medium pepperoni pizza w/ a rootbeer and braum's hotfuge sundae every week for a year while watching ER (about 9 years ago)....bad habits add up!

and last but not least...

post baby stomach blues - it's amazing what a 10 pound object can do to your stomach wall :( ...not to mention a c-section...it's a mess...

Saturday Weigh In....Yippee!!!

This week I dropped 3.5 pounds! Yea! Technically I dropped 4.5 from last week's weigh in . I didn't count that one pound gain cuz I drank a liter of water before weighing in. Bottom line...I'm in another "tens" category! I haven't seen this "tens" since my last baby. I feel like I have really accomplished something now!

I started a candida cleanse this week - basically cutting out carbs (including fruit!). Trying to limit meat and dairy. It's been really hard. I am going to do this for another week and then I'm going to add back in God's food (fruit, all veggies) but I'm gonna limit my carbs versus cutting them completely out.

Figuring out what to eat this week was a mess :)

This Week - Working Out/Eating Less 10/22 - 10/28

OK...here we go...

Monday - 30 minutes on the "Gazelle". I still don't know what that thingy is really called :)

Tuesday - Ran two miles w/ a couple of small breaks and then did resistance training on arms. Finished up with Abs

Wednesday - 30 minutes on the "sit-down" bike (I needed to get some reading done) & 20 minutes on the Elliptical machine

Thursday - Spin Class. We had a sub. She was GREAT!...I was really challenged. TR evening...walked to WalMart -30 minutes there and back.

Friday - 10 minutes on the bike to warm up. Resistance training on legs. 20 minutes of intense elliptical training (interval training). Basically I moved my level of resistance up a notch every minute. Every 5 minutes I would take it back down and start over again.

Eating...trying to ease into a candida cleanse. Didn't dive all the way in b/c I need more time to get acclimated and put the right things in my house. Basically Lo-Carb, No-Sugar, No-Meat (or minimize and make as lean/organic as possible)maxing out on the veggies & protein, kind of eating. Close to the concept in the Maker's Diet.

Monday

Breakfast - Boiled Eggs

Lunch - Salad (Romaine) w/ Tuna, Lettuce & Cucumbers

Dinner - Another Salad and a "taste" of what I cooked for everyone else...Beef Tips over Rice

Tuesday

Breakfast - Boiled Eggs

Lunch - Amy's Enchiladas (Organic Frozen Food)

Dinner - Lunch was soooooooo filling I didn't eat much at all. Fixed Rosemary Chicken for my family. Gracie fixed the roasted potatoes and I warmed up some canned (ugh) green beans. I ate some of my "raw" coleslaw and then nibbled on the dinner everyone else was eating :)

Wednesday

Breakfast - Oatmeal (no sugar, no butter...purely eating b/c I have to :)

Lunch - Garden Burger from Red Robin w/a Caesar Salad (dressing on the side). I have to admit I nibbled on about five fries.

Dinner - Went to our Harvest Festival - called Hallowed Be Thy Name - at my church in place of Halloween.

Thursday

Breakfast - Boiled Eggs...again

Lunch - About 1/3c of Beef Tips over Rice (didn't want to waste the leftover). Some of my "raw" cabbage, black beans and salsa. Sounds so boring but it was so good.

Dinner - a 6-inch Turkey subway sandwich.

Friday

Breakfast - one pancake w/real maple syrup

Lunch - I wasn't feeling well. Not sure if my body is reacting to the cleanse. I've heard that sometimes various cleanses will leave you feeling sick as your body HAS to deal with the toxins in your system. I'll have to research this.

Dinner - Went out to Cotton Patch Cafe. Ate a Caesar salad, then followed with an entre' of grilled salmon and steamed veggies.

Saturday (so far)

Breakfast - two scrambled eggs. Got donuts for my kids and ate two donut holes (so far)

Lunch - (Planned) Turkey Sandwich

Dinner - (Planned) Salad w/tuna

Teaching Writing....already?

Yesterday, I mentioned that Sumo and I made a "D Book". Thought I'd give details today on what we did and how we did it.

There are three pages. The first page has the letter "D" and all of the figure to cut and paste.

The next two pages are the book. Sumo and I colored the "D" page together. Then Sumo did the cutting of the figures while I held the paper and turned it this way and that way so that his cuts would be on the line.

I cut out the book pages. Sumo glued on the figures on their respective pages and then I stapled the pages together and glued on the "binding".

Here are the pics of our finished project:

and no...my digital camera isn't fixed. I just remembered that I can use my digital cam to take photos. Technology is wonderful!

A Perfect Day...

Our schedule was a hit today! This happens only every blue moon so I wanted to make it a point to share it!

Now, today was perfect but not perfect IYKWIM. The dishes in my sink right now have been there all day. I'll get them in the morning :)

Today's Activities.

- 5:00am – S-L-O-W-L-Y wake up and head to 24 Hr Fitness
- 60 minutes in a Spin Class

- 6:45am - back home to shower and get ready for the day
-7:00am - Boiled some eggs then sat down to spend a few minutes playing around online (this was a mistake, I procrastinated on my quiet time :(...priorities...priorities...)

- 7:30am - Shower and Dress

- 7:45am - quiet time shared with Gracie; Sumo woke up. I have been teaching him to play quietly when I'm studying God's Word. He did pretty good today!

-8:15am - shift into breakfast

-Dress "buttered eggs" & make toast

-Feed Boys

-Straighten up and Move upstairs

-9:00am - Boys to their Room to get dressed

-9:30am - Outside; trampoline/sidewalk chalk (Sumo wanted me to show him how to write a "B"/basketball/ANOTHER GECKO

-10:30am - Snacks and Table Time - Sumo did puzzles; Kano did "Lauri"shapes

-11:00am - Kano went to this crib for room time (independant play in his crib). Me and Sumo got busy and made a "D Book". Great fun! I'll share more details and some pics tomorrow.

-12:00pm - Gracie to coop then back home to do lunch with the boys. Read three books to them while they were at the table.

-1:00pm - Kano down for Nap then Sumo and I did a reading lesson. He didn't feel like it today :) Oh well, we'll do the same lesson over next week.

-2:00pm - MY QUIET TIME...YEA!!! I played online for a little bit and then started clearing my desk, paying bills, making some calls...basically office time.

-5:00pm - Boys awake. Gracie dropped off at home. Change dipes/Potty/Dress

-6:00pm - Off to the Municipal Court to take care of my ticket :( Drove back home to unload the stroller and WALK TO WALMART.

-8:00pm - Boys to Bed and Grey's Anatomy/lounge time/chat w/Gracie

-11:30pm - Going to bed soon...

Walking...Weird or Normal?

Tonight for exercise and for fun, my kiddos and I walked to Wal-Mart. We needed the exercise, fresh air, and some stuff from the store. It was a 30 minute walk there and then another 30 minutes back. My littles were in the double stroller and Gracie and I took turns pushing it.

We've done it before. Tonight though I felt a little different. It just dawned on me that NOBODY was walking on the sidewalk of our residential neighborhood. You would think with a grocery store on the corner you would see lots of folks taking advantage of a beautiful Texas fall evening - not so...

Growing up, especially during the summers, we walked up the street to the library or down the other major cross-street to go to McDonalds and eat it on the way back :) People just don't do that anymore...the walk I mean.

I found myself being self-conscious and wondering if the people driving past us in their cars thought that our car was "broke-down" or that we didn't have any gas money.

Truth is...it was a nice way to spend time with my family. The boys had a ball (they LOVE going to the store) and we got some great exercise (Wal-mart is down the hill which means coming home is UP the hill).

Earlier this week, we took a walk before dinner. Our neighborhood has a beautiful creek trail. No one else was walking that either. Maybe we are just weird.

Halloween or Harvest...

I'm plagued again this year by the same battle I have every year. Should we do Halloween? I've read all the commentaries and I've heard all the debates but I'm still not sure.

Now, there are so many things to do INSTEAD of Halloween. We have a harvest festival at our church every year (called Hallowed Be Thy Name) and the kids have a great time. They would never know they were missing anything. We can even dress up for this event if we choose.

Right now, the issue is I do the church activity and just don't deal with my position on Halloween. I don't have to. My kids aren't asking to trick-or-treat....so we don't....less for me to worry about. I mean...goodness...my kiddos have never even done the costume thing :)

But...because I'm me...I feel like I ought to have a position. I don't have one yet. While some dogmatically say that Halloween is a pagan holiday and we shouldn't participate, others say that it can still be enjoyed by the kiddos w/o having to delve into the depths of the theology behind it.

My dilemma, if we don't do Halloween, then what's next...Christmas?...That's another discussion :).

For now, we don't do "Halloween" in it's more traditional form, but it's more right now out of laziness than principal. I hope to "get into" the season next year and enjoy the celebration of harvest time by buying a couple of pumpkins and making pumpkin bread, decorating my house in the spirit of the fall season, and creating some traditions for my kiddos. Hopefully they will learn to appreciate the season for the season and I'll never have to come up with a position.

Getting the Plank Out...

God has really been dealing with me about being self-righteous. There...I said it. Yup...I am self-righteous. It's almost a relief to admit it.

I regularly look down upon other members of my household for all the stuff I do versus all the stuff they don't. I trump up in my head all of the good that comes from the work of my hands and how it is so sad that the brunt of the work falls on me.

Blame is the name of the game. It actually comes second nature. If my plans do not go off without a hitch, it's someone else's fault. If I find myself looking for a dish in the kitchen that has seemingly disappeared, someone else must of have broken it and not replaced it. If I have worked hard cleaning and the next day things are helter/skelter again, then other people around this house must have messed things up. If anything is out of place, figure out who the culprit is and NAIL 'EM.

A few days ago, I was searching high and low for my 24 hour fitness card. I remembered clearly the last time I had it and knew...just knew...I had put it in it's place. I was intent on finding it b/c after three visits to the gym w/o it, I'd be forced to buy another one.

I figured that someone else must have moved it, or that it had been mistakenly swept out of place by someone in their carelessness. I just KNEW that I put it in it's place.

Around this same time, my husband was looking for his phone charger. He searched high and low. No charger. He asked me multiple times if I had seen it. No, I hadn't. In my head I was wondering, why couldn't he keep up with his stuff and put it in it's place?

Digging in my purse, looking for my membership card, guess what I found....you guess it...his charger. Not 10 seconds later, guess what else I found...my membership card, tucked behind some papers on my desk...completely NOT in it's place.

it was almost like the Lord was saying to me...."see when you become aware of your own error, and admit your wrong doing, then I am free bless you".

The Lord has been dealing with me HARD on this issue of self-righteousness. He is asking me to be willing to be humble. He is also asking me to be willing to view others the way HE sees them and to treat others the way I want to be treated.

So my prayer this week is "Lord, help me see others with your eyes and reach out to them with your hands".

I do not want to be a older, bitter woman b/c I spent years and years counting up the failures of others around me and storing up nothing but criticism, sarcasm, and unforgiveness. I can't give up on people...especially the ones I love...Jesus didn't give up on me. My job as a mom and a wife does require a lot of sacrifice and selflessness. This is a fact. But so did Jesus' job of being my Savior.

OK...this was a bit of a ramble but I just had to get this out.

My Binge is OVER!!!

It all started with my visit to the Texas State Fair on Friday. I went, knowing that I would eat some things I shouldn't and that a day of freedom as it relates to food was OK. Well, although I didn't do terribly, I still went overboard.

This led into Saturday, my husband gave me the day off (I'm still paying for it today :) Well, I figured that on my day off I ought to be able to take myself out to eat - right!!!...And then my Mother called me and invited me to join her at P.F. Changs. Well...I went outside of my boundary lines then too...you know the portion sizes there are way too big... I ate every last drop....AND THEN...

I decided that I owed myself some custard from Sheridan's...just cuz I hadn't had any in awhile. I got the Mt. Rush'more w/extra pecans...mmmmmmm....just the way I like it....THEN....

Sunday, went to Luby's and they had CHOCOLATE cake....I mean...this was just getting out of control and you know what????

It wasn't even that good...I mean all of it...I ate a little of this and a little of that OUT OF HABIT...and after every thing that used to make me feel good...I felt terrible. Terribly guilty, and terribly fatigued. My body and my tastes are changing. All I want now is a big salad :)

Good News - I'm changing....

Bad News - Old habits die hard and I'll have to work EXTRA HARD this week to make up for

my little indiscretions...

Lesson learned...yielding to temptation results in guilt...not satisfaction. And....the little satisfaction I got from the sugar was EXTREMELY short-lived :(

Am I the only one whose ever LOST IT in the food department? I'm talking about nonsensical...don't-even-really-want-it kind of eating....

Maybe I was just rebelling against my no-weight-loss situation from Saturday...little good it did me :)

Exercise & Food Diary for 10/15 - 10/21

Here's my workout from last week (all at 24 Hour Fitness):

• Daily - some kind of ab workout
• Tuesday - 30 minutes Gazelle + 17 minutes on the treadmill + 30 minutes Elliptical (I almost killed myself)
• Wednesday - 30 minutes Gazelle + 30 minutes Elliptical
• Thursday - 60 minutes Spin Class
• Friday - 10 minute warm up run + 30 minutes with Personal Trainer, Cophie (I'm doing the 24 Hour Fitness $49 Training Special. I have two sessions left) + 30 minutes on the Gazelle
• Saturday - 30 minutes Gazelle + 10 minutes on the Stairmaster

Sunday

Breakfast - Oatmeal

Lunch - Chicken & Rice

Dinner - Fasted

Monday

Breakfast - Hot Cereal (7-Grain)

Lunch - Snacked on thick-cut deli meat and cheese cubed for my littles. Maybe 2 oz each. Also had a chicken caesar w/italian dressing (salad had fried chicken). Green Tea. Snacked on a few cheetos

Dinner - a cup of Hamburger Helper w/ a salad

Snack - two Snackwell cookies

Tuesday

Breakfast - Smoothies w/toast

Lunch - Wheat Pasta w/spaghetti sauce & okra

Dinner - Chicken Curry, Rice, and Salad

Wednesday

Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs w/ sliced/fried hot dog (so it wouldn't go to waste :) & toast

Lunch - Leftover Chicken Curry & Rice

Dinner - A GREAT SALAD a friend made for me when she visited (romaine, apples, granola, Italian dressing, almonds, Mmmmmmmmm) AND a about an hour later...Turkey & Cheese Sandwich w/mayonnaise, mustard, & lettuce. Lite Cole Slaw and two Oreo Cookies, Grape Juice. I was really proud of myself this day b/c I ate the salad at 6pm and then got too hungry at 7:30 pm...wanted to get a pizza. BUT...I was watching the Biggest Loser and decided to do something healthy and cheaper instead.

Thursday

Breakfast - Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal

Lunch - Ate out @ Friday's. Lo Phat Grilled Chicken Salad (used cabbage instead of lettuce); one quesodilla, and one breadstick.

Dinner - The second half of lunch (I brought what I didn't eat home)

Friday

Breakfast - One pancake w/maple syrup & a banana

Lunch & Dinner - THE TEXAS STATE FAIR (I don't even want to talk about it)

Saturday

Breakfast - I'm typing this at 11am and I haven't eaten yet. I'm gonna have a bowl of Honeycomb to take the edge off

Lunch & Dinner - Haven't figured it out yet but my hubby gave me the day off so I'll eat out and TRY to be good.

Saturday Weigh In

Oh well...this day had to come :(

I weighed in and was actually a pound HEAVIER than last week. Now, I didn't weigh in first thing today and before I weighed in I drank a LITER of water while exercising so I'm choosing to assume that the extra pound on the scale was WATER.

My goal this week was to drop into another "tens" category and it didn't happen but I'm gonna work really hard next week to make it happen!

Next week I'll also be adding back in resistance training. For the last two weeks, I've been focusing on cardio alone.

I also am going to attempt to be more exact with my food diary. Sometimes I'll grab a snack that I don't write down and therefore don't remember :) But my body counts it so I need to to!

My Chore Schedule

People sometimes ask me how do I get it all done. Well...first of all...I don't. Getting it all done is a myth that I am trying to rid myself of right now. No one I know gets it all done unless they pay people...and they still don't get it "all" done.

What I have learned is that being effective and using my time wisely is the goal. I desire to maximize every minute of my day and in order to do that I need organization. So, I have asked many more experienced at-home-Moms to help me and have utilized many books and resources to figure out my day. Now, I am aware that my many schedules and routines make me appear super Type A and inflexible. The reality is that with the amount of activity in my life, the routines help me know what comes next - that's all. I am always free to choose whether or not to go with the plan or circumvent the plan.

Today, for instance, my family and I are going to the fair. Our morning chores will either get done tomorrow, or not at all. Hanging out with my family is more important today than clean bathrooms. My schedules and routines allow me to make choices about where I want to spend my time. If I didn't have some kind of guide for how to do things I would always be putting out fires and doing whatever I felt like at the moment or what had to be done. I know Moms like this and I've BEEN a Mom like this...operating out of chaos.

OK...enough preaching. I'm going to the fair and this was supposed to be a quick post :)

Although it constantly changes, I thought I'd share our most recent updated Chores Schedule. Hope it helps someone.

BTW...when you look at just know that I KNOW it could be more simple but...I wanted not only to know what needs to be done in our house but WHOSE JOB IT IS to do it! I refuse to be the maid. We all mess up so we all clean up....except my hubby who brings home the check so we can BE at home :) But even he does his part :) I just don't put him on the schedule.

There is a comments sections on this blog. Feel free to post your thoughts or any questions :)

Parent of a rebel?...Parent of a genius?

It's amazing that I can feel so many emotions on the same day related to being a homeschooling mother.

I have one kid testing all the boundaries and another that does anything I ask willingly. Are they both my kids or what? How can they be so different today and then...why will they completely switch roles tomorrow and be just as different then?

My high schooler is great. I don't believe anymore that the teenager years have to be murder. I do believe they are years of accelerated growth and development....kind of like a two year old. We accept it at two but we get angry about teens. It requires the same amount of commitment. I think the main different is that the teenager uses words and the toddlers don't. Maybe we accept that since our sweet toddlers are still our "babies" and we know they are growing.

Well....my teenager is still growing too. So even as I discipline and direct. I must be patient with her. I'm typing this to remind myself b/c...I really wanted to SCREAM when the clothes were folded but not put away, the dishes were washed but not all clean, and the landing on the stairs held ALL the things I asked her to put AWAY.

UUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!

Now on this same day, my 3yo BLEW me away by writing letters on his MagnaDoodle. I haven't taught him to write not one letter. He just decided today that he wanted to write an F and then he did it. Then he wanted to write an A and he did it again. My mouth was WIDE OPEN! He went on and wrote another 6 or 7 letters. How does he know how to do this? I dunno. I'm just glad I was with him to witness his moment of genius :) I don't have a picture of his letter but I do have a picture of his genuis moment before that....

My preschooler is a puzzle maniac. We just recently graduated from frame puzzles to this Cars puzzle with 24 pieces. He put it together by himself the first time he tried. This might be normal for a 3yo but I don't know that so...I'll just settle for thinking he's a genius. Here's a pic. I tried to crop out the Buzz Light Year undies but couldn't get it all :o

This was TODAY....tomorrow I'll be raving about my daughter and pulling my hair out with my son!

The important thing I'm learning as a Mom is to take the good with the not so great and just do the job knowing that it pays off in the end. Each day will look different. Some will be successful, some will be torture, and some will be mixed. Just do the job to the glory of God and ask HIM to direct your steps with HIS children on loan to YOU.

btw...

Sweet Baby K-No is still my precious toddler - he does no wrong :) & Bessie is on the A Honor Roll at school - no issues with them right now but their day for being blogged is coming...

I'm been away...and it's India's fault!

My husband was able to get tickets to the India Arie concert for this past Tuesday night. I gathered up the ladies in my family and we all attended. This girl is great. Nice, decent, folksy kind of stuff. She's a true musician, talented singer, and entertainer.

Now, I try to be spontaneous and I want to be spontaneous but the fact of the matter is, my life at home works because of ROUTINE!!! When I jump outside of my routine, it takes me a second to get it back together. Posting on my blog has had to take a back seat to catching up on dirty dishes, grading schoolwork, folding clothes, etc.

My 14yo usually will carry the weight but she went with me so...things at home came to a stand still :)

Anytime I try to go anywhere or do anything special it requires a LOT of work on the front end. It kind of makes it easier just to stay at home. But I went anyway...and had a GREAT time.

Before I left I cooked Chicken Curry ( my mother is from Guyana - a West Indian culture). I fixed enough for my family, my grandmother, aunt, cousin, and a friend who just had a baby. I felt like SHE-WOMAN!!! Maybe I'll post the recipe when I figure out the measurements. Right now...I "dump" cook this dish.

Then I got home at midnight...had to put the food away and make up the bed (I washed sheets earlier in the day). THEN...I had to get up at 5am....WHEW!!!

So...needless to say...I haven't blogged in a couple of days. I'll try to get back with it.

About Salvation...

The following post is my most important belief. I do not share it with others nearly as often as I should. And I should share it. It's good news...

The prompting for this post came from an opportunity I missed to share this good news. Read about it HERE. I don't want to miss an opportunity like that ever again.

I am writing this post to help me articulate better my beliefs for myself and for others. If this post blesses you in that it helps you to share your faith or that it helps you to HAVE faith, be a blessing to someone else and pass it along.

I have good news. It is too good not to share. It is unbelievably simple and yet so many find it so hard to accept.

This good news is preceded by some bad news. Because I'm the kind of person that likes a happy ending...I'll start with the bad news first.

THE BAD NEWS...

I'm not perfect. I never was, and I never will be. There are high, ethical, and moral standards that I can never hope to achieve - even with all my effort. I miss the mark more often than I care to admit. In my short lifetime (or so I would like to believe), I have lied, hated, gossiped, and been unkind...just to name a few inadequacies because there are many more.

The bottom line...I am a sinner. You are a sinner. Whether in thought, word, or deed, we all have fallen short of perfection. Everyone I know is a sinner because they have, at some point in their life, missed the mark too.

What mark you say? The mark that God has set.

The Bible says "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" - Romans 3:23.

You must realize that there is nothing you can do to earn the favor of God. His standards are too high for us to reach...no matter how hard we work or how hard we try.

MORE BAD NEWS...

I am going to die. We all die. The clock is constantly ticking and we all die. We can live on this earth separated from God...BUT...the problem is that if we die imperfect, we will have to be separated from God forever.

"The wages of sin is death" - Romans 6:23

Basically, my sin, my mistakes, and my messups make it impossible for me to be with God. If I die in my sin, I will never be able to experience life with Him. God is perfect and He just cannot be around sin.

So enough with all of this bad news...

THE GOOD NEWS...

God knew that no one could be perfect. Even the best of us mess up every now and then. So, knowing that we were in a pickle that we couldn't get out of, He decided to provide us a way out.

"God demonstrated his love toward us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" - Romans 5:8

Jesus Christ is God's Son. God sent Him to live here among men on earth, live a perfect life, and die with no sin. Then when Christ came back to life three days later, this proved that sin and death had been conquered and that He was God's Son and could carry out God's plan.

What was the plan?...for a perfect Jesus to be a substitute for me since I'd messed up so bad already.

God loved me and didn't want to be separated from me for eternity so He made a way for me to come to Him if I so desired.

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?...

You can be saved from the penalty of your sin by believing in Christ and His sacrifice for your sins.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but have eternal life" - John 3:16

Like I said so simple...

And for many...I know...so far fetched...

Many times I don't share because I'm afraid people will 1) have questions I can't answer, 2) outright reject salvation or 3) outright reject me...

But here's the thing,

It's good news that Someone thought enough of me to give me a chance at having priveleges I couldn't earn...

It's good news that Someone loved me enough to pay a high price for my freedom...

It's good news that Someone wants me to know Him and came after me when I wasn't thinking about Him...

It's good news that this Someone is the all-powerful, Creator of the Universe, and He cares about little 'ol me.

WHY WOULDN'T I SHARE THIS OTHERS?...

Even if you are a little skeptical...isn't it worth a look-see?

If nothing else...if what I believe to be true IS true...the price is too high not to check it out...

I'm not an intellectual scholar or a theological genius. I'm just a gal who simply believes in this good news and wants to share it with the world. The more I learn, the more it all makes sense...but...it starts with believing.

"If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved". = Romans 10:9

I wish I would have shared this good news to the cab driver that drove me home that day. I wish with all my heart that I had not let him leave me at my front door step, only to return to his self-proclaimed existence of no-life, no friends, and no hope. I could have given him good news and I didn't.

This post was practice. So the next time someone crosses my path who is need of good news...I'll be ready...This post is for me to read as often as I need a refresher...AND...

if this is your first time reading the story of good news...

THIS POST IS FOR YOU!

Alrighty...it's late

and I'm trying to be more disciplined about getting in the bed at a decent hour so...today being my long day and all...plus the fact that I just did a long post on my other blog...I'm just gonna call it a night.

I'll have more to say tomorrow...

Side note: I'm so sad...my digital camera is broken...and just when I was getting the hang of blogging with pictures. It will be for 3-4 weeks...So I'll be pictureless during that time :(....hmmm...maybe I can resurrect some old photos :)

(this post was originally created on a separate i maintained previously. it was written prior to the combination of my two blogs...the link refers to this current blog. just a note to someone that might be confused)

On Procrastination

As I am blogging frequently these days, I have become a connoisseur of blogs in a sense. I found this entry on a day last week when I was accused of being a procrastinator. I viciously denied it and then stumbled upon this post. Talk about being humbled :)

Katrina from Callapidder Days has graciously let me share her post on the 7 Phases of Procrastination.

GET READY TO BE CONVICTED!

I chose to link to Katrina's post tonight (Sunday night) so that I can stop procrastinating and get ready for the week ahead!...instead of blogging for an hour :)

Saturday Weigh In

I went to the gym this morning to work out (50 minutes total), then I went to weight in. I was expecting a not-so-great weight in b/c I wasn't great in regards to eating this week.

My mouth dropped open when I got on the scale...

I lost 3 pounds this week! Unbelievable. Why? b/c eating wise this wasn't the best week.

I journaled a bit about my eating for Wednesday but didn't for Thursday and Friday cuz I was embarrassed to admit my gluttony.

Thursday

Breakfast - Raisin Bran w/2% milk

Lunch - Grillled Chick Filet Combo (including fries and a sweet tea). The fries weren't good so I hi-tailed it to Whataburger for some hot good fries and a chocolate chip cookie.

Dinner - an Apple...I was discouraged after my lunch breakdown not to mention still full.

Friday

Breakfast - Raisin Bran w/2% milk

Lunch - Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich w/ chips.

Dinner - Golden Corral - I tried to be good. I did have a salad and some veggies but I did eat some fried foods, a small bowl of banana pudding and half a roll.

One thing I can say. Although I didn't kick out all of the sugar and carbs, I worked really hard at controlling my portion size and eating until satisfied instead of eating until full.

I worked out everyday this week doing at least 30 minutes of cardio and maybe a little more when I had time.

I'm so excited. Maybe I'll be movitated enough next week to drop the bad nutrition habits so that I can REALLY see what my weight loss is like when all pistons are firing.

A Lethargic Day

Compared to yesterday, today was a flop. The littles ran around playing aimlessly but having a great time while I sat on the couch, watching them. This is probably as a result of my lack of sleep this past weekend.

They kids had fun, amazingly enough. We ended up putting the cushions from the couch (our old one in the gameroom) and letting them jump for awhile and then...even with the TV/Video on, they got board and meandered into the room to play with their toys, then on to puzzles, then on the outdoors...

My oldest has coop on Thursdays and is gone from 12pm - 7pm. Afterwards, I picked her up and we headed to 24 Hour Fitness for her P.E. and my daily cardio workout. We go to a dance class. I didn't attack it with much energy but at least I did something. My daughter had a great time. She loves the dancing and the music.

It was nice to know that even in my funk, fatigue, and floppation (is that a word?) that my kiddos still had a good day.

Preschool Science - Our Nature Walk

It took me a second to get these photos loaded but this is actually from Wednesday, Oct 11th.

This day was STELLAR! This was one of the few days that everything went off without a hitch. During "outside" time, I took the boys to a park in our neighborhood. It had rained pretty heavily the day before so the playground equipment was all wet and icky. I figured swinging was a pretty safe activity!

The boys really had a good time :)

They could swing for a loooooooooonnnnnnnng time!

When were all done, we took a nature walk and looked at "big" leaves and "small" leaves. We observed sticks, rocks, and even found a gigantic spider web! The boys lingered at a bridge looking at the "river" as Sumo called it - basically it was only a dried up creek with remnants of the rain. Where did he learn about rivers? I have no idea :)

A couple of the leaves we observed got picked and made it home with us. I'm not a super crafty person but the idea struck me to make an arts and crafts project out of it. I taped the leaves, face-up to the back of a sheet of copy paper and during Sumo's school time had him color over the leaf, making an impression. We discussed "big" and "little". He was awestruck out how a leaf appeared out of nowhere. I felt like the greatest Mom ever.

Like I've said many times before...most of my days are far from perfect but this one was...well...very SWEET!

Thought I'd share...

My Workouts So Far This Week

Yesterday I couldn't wake up...read my post from a couple of days ago if you want to know why...

I ended up going around 2:30 and running/walking two miles. I didn't feel like it and my energy was low but I did it anyway. Hope it pays off.

Today I got up at 6am and did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine and another 20 minutes on some kind of machine that has arm bars and your legs move back and forth. I gonna have to find out the name of that thingie tomorrow...

I hope to soon try a Pilates tape a friend gave me a couple of weeks ago.

Eating...hmmmm...not bad but not GREAT. Great takes planning and I didn't get a chance to plan this week.

Last night I had Spaghetti Squash and this morning so far I had a cup of raising bran with 1/2 cup 2 % milk. That's an OK start I guess!

Oh..and around 11pm last night I had a piece of toast w/a pat of butter...not great but not excessive :)?

Spaghetti Squash

Thought I'd share a recipe I tried out today. My kids loved it and it is a great lo-carb solution to traditional spaghetti.

Spaghetti Squash is a specific kind of squash so look for a large oval-shaped squash colored item. It is seasonal I believe and prominent during the fall.

Poke holes in it and bake it on 350 degrees for anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour depending on the size. It is done when the outside is very soft to the touch.

About 15 minutes before the squash is done. Start on your sauce.

If you are making a meat sauce brown your ground beef or turkey w/1 chopped onion first then add the following sauce to it and simmer until your squash is done.

I made the sauce with the following recipe. It's easy to do this because even if I don't have store-bought spaghetti sauce on hand I ALWAYS have tomato sauce on hand.

1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce

1 (6oz) can tomato paste

2 tsp minced garlic (substitute garlic powder if necessary)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano

I just dump each item into skillet that already contains the meat, stir, and simmer for about 15 minutes or until I'm finished with the squash. You can always jazz up your sauce with other stuff you like. That's the beauty of making your own and it doesn't take much more effort than Prego or Ragu off the shelf!

Back to the squash. I then cut the squash in half, scoop or fork out the seeds, then begin to fork out the spaghetti squash onto a plate. It comes out just like spaghetti!

Pour your sauce on top and there you have it! Lo-Carb Spaghetti!

I sprinkled a little cheese on top to finish it off :)

If you make it, let me know how it turns out and any variations you make to your sauce!

A Missed Opportunity...

A couple of months ago, I was coming home from a trip with one of my children. My ride didn't show up to the airport...turns out they had car troubles. The result?...I took a cab home. The most expensive cab ride ever... $60. After a grueling plane ride with an 18 month old. I wanted to get that baby strapped in the car seat, enjoy peace and quiet, maybe catch a few Zzz's.

The cab driver had other plans.

He started out asking me about the baby, then about my other kids, then about the importance of family. Before I knew it, he had transitioned into talking about his life and family. He was from Africa. He was working here to take care of his mother and sisters. His father had died and left the responsibility of the family to him. He had no life, no friends, no hope - only work.

I tuned him out.

After a few minutes, somewhere in the depths of my spirit, I was convicted. Convicted about how this man was telling me that he didn't see a future for himself or for his life. He only saw the day in-day out routine of "making it". I was convicted about caring so little about his plight and his view that life was only something to "get through". I was convicted b/c I had something to offer him, something that would give him hope and that would give him a future. Why didn't I go on to share my hope with him after sensing the unction to do so?

I didn't know exactly what to say...

I didn't know where to start...

I was afraid he would ask me questions I couldn't answer...

I didn't know, for certain, whether or not he would want the hope I offered...

I was afraid I wouldn't explain my living hope in just the right way...

I got out of the car, feeling convicted and sad, knowing that this man, who I would probably never see again, had no hope and I had not shared mine.

I vowed to never let that happen again. I think of him often and realize that if he dies and doesn't hear about the wonderful gift available to him, his blood is on my hands.

I am reviewing exactly what it is I believe and how I plan on communicating this to the next person that crosses my path. Sharing this plan will be the next post I write. It is my desire to makes sure that someone else can benefit from my mistake and be prepared the next time a person with no hope crosses their path.

Life is too short to let opportunities like this pass by unnoticed, unappreciated, and untouched.

A Rough Couple of Days

It's been a rough couple of days. The last couple of nights I've had a total of 2 hours sleep (1 whole hour each night). It's 1am now and my boys will be up at 7:30am waiting on me to fix breakfast.

Why you ask have I had no sleep...Here's the quick chronicle...

Friday night - finished taking out braids.

Saturday night - attempt to wash my hair in prep for Sunday BUT...forgot to comb out first...this means...TANGLED HAIR!!! I was untangling my hair and trying to comb out my hair for FOUR HOURS...took a brief nap...got up and started getting the kiddos ready for church.

Sunday night - trying to get caught up around the house from last week. Somebody forgot to tell me that if I take a break from my routine (house and kids) and my hubby has the kids...it's not really a break unless I have also arranged for household duties to occur while I'm away too. Otherwise, I have to work DOUBLE hard to make up for what didn't happen while I was out playing (wash for clean underwear, clean dishes for clean cups, etc).

Sleep @ 4:30am and up at 6am....

OH JOY....Kanaan's left shoe of his ONLY pair of shoes is at my mother's house. I go to get it at 6am...try not to fall asleep at the wheel.

Get everyone dressed for our long day, hop in the car and BAM...car won't start.

Thank God the jumper battery is charged up. Hubby is out of town and that would have been a mess.

Off to coop...Later, I get called out of my class b/c my 3yo has fallen out of the swing and busted his head open...Not that bad but still...

WHAT A DAY!...WHAT A WEEKEND!!! Does anyone else have days...or series of days like tihs?

I wish I could give my kids EVERYTHING...

but I can't...not and be at home with them...and DEFINITELY not homeschool. They can't be in a zillion activities. We can't by them designer outfits or put a thousand gifts under the tree at Christmas. Eating out on a regular basis is NOT gonna happen. They will not have enough money saved for an Ivy League Education by the time they are 18.

Most of the time, I'm completely cool about not being able to meet up with society's standards of providing for my kiddos (for example, Wal-Mart vs. Dillard's for clothes). There are times, I have to admit, when it just seems like going on vacation (which is...getting a job where I get to be by myself all day) appears to look like such a GREAT option!

On days like these a little encouragement is a great pick me up.

I bumped into a blog that I have really enjoyed reading for the past couple of weeks. There is a post that addresses this very topic that I've been detailing with. I asked Lindsey, the blog owner, for permission to share it with you. Read more on the topic of Raising Children by visiting Lindsay's Blog to view her thoughts.

Saturday Weigh In!

This morning I didn't work out but I did throw the boys in the car ( in their diapers) and bribed Gracie w/donuts to come along for the ride so I could go to 24 Hour Fitness and weigh in. I just needed a quasi-adult in the car to be aware so that I could go in for 5-10 minutes and do check my progress.

With the boys distracted by a movie and Gracie reclining in a seat with one eye open and one eye closed, I ran in to check and....

1.5 lbs! Yea!!!

This was a great accomplishment for me as I only got to do cardio 3x this week. I didn't lift b/c first of all, I knew I had to meet with Cophie, the new trainer and secondly, I was tired of not seeing the scale move. I wanted to take a break from the resistance training so that my muscle weight wouldn't affect my weigh in this time.

I think that I'm gonna take a two week break from the weights to re-establish my cardio routine and also to get back into running.

Cophie suggested that I start back running b/c it is a great cardio workout for taking off the weight. I mentioned to her that I did a half-marathon a couple of years ago and she was like "so why aren't you running now"....(gulp)...cuz I don't want to anymore...I dunno :(

So..I ran a mile/walked a mile (on Tue) and sprinted at the end...thought I was gonna pass out...felt good about making the effort though.

I'll probably go for once or twice a week on the running...I love reading on the elliptical and the bike...don't wanna give up my personal reading time completely!

OK...I'm off to get ready for church in the AM and to plan my menus for next week. Having a menu already thought through makes good food choices a breeze!

I'm wanna be the Biggest Loser!

So I'm going to be keeping a ticker at the top of my blog page...

I've been working out at my local 24 Hour Fitness. They started running a special in September that give 6 personal training sessions for $49. You can't beat that. So I signed up. As a part of this program, they are running a contest and we are divided up by teams and everything. The winning team gets to go out to Pappadeaux!

I had my first training session this morning with Cophie, my new trainer, . It was short, only 30 minutes, and definitely grueling. Not so much a use of weights but more of using my body as my weight and having to use ALOT of strength to exercise the body parts we were aiming at. My legs are pretty strong but my upper body is a mess. Anything involving my arms to balance my body...it's hard work! Oh...and my abs are a mess too. Two babies back to back plus a C-section for the last one equals a weak core....YUCK!

As a way for me to hold myself accountable, I thought I start posting here about my weight loss journey. Maybe somebody wants to join me in my quest to lose some weight? I weigh in every Saturday morning.

My short term goal is another 15 pounds. That's what I've used on my the new ticker that is at the top of my blog. My husband and I plan on having another little one and losing 15 more pounds would make me feel like I'm at healthy weight for going through another pregnancy. I'm hoping to accomplish the weight loss by the end of this year.

My long term "realistc" goal would involve losing another 20 pounds after that for a total of 35 more pounds. My trainer is trying to convince me to go for this goal now so that I don't have so much work to do after another pregnancy. That sounds well and good but I'm already anxious for another little one :) Cophie says that I could get to this in March...only another 3 months down the line from my short term goal.

I say realistic b/c I would be happy at this weight for the rest of my life. But is there another goal that I hide in the recesses of my heart? Yup! It's a dream though :)

A Trip to the Zoo

Today me and my little ones went to the Fort Worth Zoo. I had forgotten how much fun stuff like this can be. The last time we went to the zoo was a year ago. We've got to go more often!

It was Homeschool Day, and although much of the educational stuff available was for older children, the zoo was set up for families and learning. We went to a live animal show and saw a snake, baby alligator, a HUGE frog, and a couple of penguins.

My son has developed a fear of live moving things (other than humans) so it took him a second to realize that the snake was not gonna bite him. It was a little embarrasing there for a moment cuz I was THE mom with the screaming preschooler and people were looking at me. I hesitated for a second, thinking that maybe we should move, but I decided against that and instead told him that the snake wasn't going to "get him", encouraged him to look at that snake, and held him close until he relaxed a bit.

We made sure to see the basics, lions, tigers, and bears..."OH MY". The favorite was watching the elephants splash around in their "pool" to cool down from the Texas sun. They kept running in and out of the water, rolling around and spraying one another. I'd never seen animals so active. Hated that my digital camera was too low on battery to get some shots.

I did get some great shots of the turtles though. It was so great to see my kiddos SO interested in hanging around an observing them. I had to move them along after a while!

Looking for more turtles...

OH...there they are!

The fish were a hit with the boys. Anytime they see fish, they are looking for Nemo and Dori. We found 'em :) They were hit for Mom too...we were out of the sun and in the shade while fish-watching.

Brushing the goats at the petting zoo turned out to be the area that the boys had the most trouble leaving. All I could think about while watching and shooting some pics, was how much the petting zoo reminded me of changing dirty diapers! We washed our hands REAL good!

I'm so glad to have the opportunity to be with my children on days like today. It is truly a privilege to be present to observe there "wow" moments. Everything is new to them and I get sheer joy at watching their responses as they take in novel sights and experiences.

A Day at the Hotel

Today I hung out in the hotel room my parents have for the conference they are hosting. Me and my oldest just stayed in the room all day, ordering room service and watching movies.

I really spent most of my time grading papers for the coop I teach in and reading ahead for the history my daugher will be reading soon.

Never a vacation really for a homeschooling Mom. Always looking for an opportunity to get caught up.

I'll write more tomorrow!

Playing Catchup

Today was great!...even though I woke up late and had to work hard to catch up.

I'm supposed to wake up at 5am but couldn't. I've been battling a sore throat and sinus congestion all week (where is my Mommy sick day?). So when the alarm went off at 5am, I reached over and SLAMMED it so that alarm would know I was serious about it shutting off.

Around 6:45 I awoke and laid there for a moment trying to decide if I wanted to start my day where I should based on my schedule OR get up and still try and make it to the gym (the thing I supposed to do at 5am). I opted for the gym. This was a good thing because later on I made a ...um....not so good food choice :(

Off to the gym where I surprised myself and tried my hand at a run on the treadmill. I've run/walk in a half-marathon before but after that I had my last baby and my running shoes haven't seen any action since. I walked one and ran one. Not bad for the first time back to that exercise in a long while.

After my workout, I decided to push my day further out of wack by going to Kroger and doing a coupon-shop. I have friends that I have been trying to get me to buy in the coupon mania. It is definitely worth it but it does take time.

So home at 9am, I am definitely late. No cold cereal or instant oatmeal is in the house and my plan was to bake bran muffins. I get my oldest to make smoothies to hold everyone over and then I start on the bran muffins. We ate 10am.... :)

After that our day went pretty smoothly. I played and danced with the boys for awhile while Gracie did her schoolwork. Then I sent the boys outside to play so that I could get oriented for the rest of the day and straighten up the kitchen a bit.

Fastforward to lunch, I felt guilty but I broke out some Spaghettios. High in sodium and fat is OK when you haven't had time to plan properly.Then the boys are off to their nap and it's time to conference with Gracie.

We sat down to review her History. We are studying US History this year. She does her work independantly and then we discuss so I make sure I've hit on important points I want her to focus on. We were playing a bit of catch up so we talked from 1:30 to 3:30. You should have seen the glazed over look on her face :)

The baby's therapist showed up at 4pm. At 5pm, I ran to my coop host home to pick up my organic coop produce bin. Back home to get everyone ready to go out for dinner. Our church is having a conference and we went to hang out with my parents (Pastor & First Lady). We ate dinner and then hung out at the evening session. The boys were delirious and their Momma went to bed nursing a sore throat.

Lots got done today but BOY was it a crunch!

Monday (Sigh)...My Busiest Day

is OVER!!!

Every week I rejoice at making it through. I've had a few people ask me about my schedule. I posted our "planned" schedule in another post. (Check it out HERE ). But as I mention in my post on Getting Things In Order, my days rarely look exactly like this. For those interested in the gruesome details...here we go:

Daily To Do List

- 5:00am – S-L-O-W-L-Y wake up and head to 24 Hr Fitness
- 30 minutes on the elliptical machine

- 30 minutes on the bike while reading my book for this week.

- 6:30am - back home to shower and get ready for the day
-7:00am - quiet time shared with Gracie;

-7:45am - start getting ready for my crazy day!

-Make Oatmeal

-Dress Chicken for crockpot (salt, pepper, onion, & celery inside & out)

-Clean Out Dishwasher and Wash dishes from the sink

-Load up the Van

-Gracie makes lunch for boys and feeds one while I feed the other

-Dress Boys, Brush Teeth, Etc

- 8:50 - Head to Coop

- 9:15 to 11:30 - Teach Class while littles in nursery & Gracie takes her classes

- 11:30 to 12:30 - Lunch w/the boys on the playground

- 12:30 to 1:30 - Teach Class

1:30 - 4:00 - To Nursery to sit with boys while they nap ( I read/nap/etc)

4:00 - Pack up, make a bank run, & come home

4:45 - Walk in to the smell of Dinner! Throw in some leftovers in the oven to warm up

5:00 - Cut Coupons and Watch Hubby play w/boys. Unwind.

6:00 - Eat Dinner

6:45 - Leave for Bible Study (Cousin babysits boys)

9:00 - Back Home

9:30 - Debone remaining chicken for some other dish this week (Sweet Hubby did the dishes)

10:00 - Talk to Hubby/ Make Grocery List for Tomorrow

10:30 - Clean off Desk and Prepare for Tomorrow

11:00 - Aimlessly wandering online

11:30 - Finishing this blog & going to sleep!