Healthy Fragging

Good grief!  Megan posted on Facebook that she was thinking about following a diet she saw in one of the magazines lying around here (have I ever mentioned my magazine addiction?) and the backlash was immediate.  That it was promoted by Dr. Oz seemed to be everyone's biggest problem....even though it was not developed by him, but Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of Eat to Live.

I was surprised by the reaction since I was looking at it myself. Aside from the Dr. Oz connection that seemed to set people off, the big problem most had with it was the lack of carbs, meats, and fats.  Well, that and the claim of losing 10 lbs. per week.  I take that particular claim with a grain of salt, myself, but I've learned enough over the years to have a pretty good idea what's healthy and what isn't.  Now, whether I do what I know....that's another story.

The basic idea is to eliminate processed foods and eat whole foods, with the added twist of nearly (but not quite) eliminating meats and dairy products, too.  The plan calls for getting your proteins from green veggies and beans/legumes.  It allows for a couple of small servings of meat and dairy per week as well.  The idea is to eat veggies and fruit....as much as you want....no calorie counting.  While the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle is not for me, I don't understand why this diet raised such a fuss.  Vegetarians tend to be very healthy people.

One salad into it and Meg admitted it wasn't going to happen for her.  My girl is too much of a carnivore...and she's not exactly a fan of veggies unless they are the starchy ones.  I'm going to give it a go with a one modification.  I'm all for the mass quantities of veggies, but I'm going to allow lean meat with dinner.

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Yesterday was my follow-up appointment with the neurologist for the neuropathy I've been having off and on in my hands and feet since Christmas.  If you've been around for a while you know I went through a bunch of tests last month.  

So, what did they learn?  It's not caused by diabetes, MS or vitamin B-12 deficiency, which are the main culprits (when a culprit can be identified).  In the majority of neuropathy cases the cause is never identified.  That's where I am.  For now all I am to do is continue taking the meds, which seem to be helping, drink more water and get more exercise to force blood flow into the extremities. 

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Getting my hair done today.  Yea!  I get keratin treatments to straighten my super curly, frizz-prone hair.  They last a fairly long time with proper care....using sulfate-free products and only washing every other day.  I've been able to go 4-5 months with ease.  This time, however, I'm at the 7 month mark and it takes a lot to make it look presentable.  You know how a perm looks as it grows out....straight hair growing in with curl on the end?  Reverse that and you've got what I'm dealing with....a good three inches of thick curl with straight after that.  Ugh!

Going for color and a cut today, too.  Can't wait to see what we come up with.

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This cool, wet weather leaves a lot to be desired.  School's been done for over a week and I haven't been in the pool yet.  I don't even have all my flowers planted or all the flower beds weeded.  I am thrilled with tomorrow's forecast, though.....sunny and a high of 78 degrees.  Absolutely perfect for a concert.  And since I happen to be going to see my favorite, Toby Keith, tomorrow, that's good news!  Every other year I've gone it's been August or September and the temperature's been 90 or above.

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The hubby is home today.  It's probably his last Friday home.  Work is finally picking up and next week he's going to another site before starting his own project the following week.  So glad for that.  Not that he won't be around as much, but for the overtime.  It has been a lean winter.  The company really struggled to keep all the employees working even though it was their worst winter ever.

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I have to share this recipe for a healthy (well...healthier) chicken burger I saw in Spry Magazine.  You can find it and 29 more healthy burger variations at Spryliving.com

Peach BBQ Chicken Burgers

Spryliving.com

1 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil

1/4 cup onion, minced

1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided

4 large, ripe peaches, peeled and chopped OR 2 cups frozen peaches, thawed and liquid reserved

2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 small tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

2 tbsp. cilantro, minced

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 lb. ground chicken breast

Sauce: Heat oil over medium heat in a saucepan.  Add onion and 1/4 tsp. kosher salt, cook until softened.  Add peaches (and juice if using frozen peaches) and tomatoes, cook until peaches are mostly softened.  Stir in vinegar, brown sugar and chipotle peppers, cook for about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat; stir in cilantro, lemon juice and remaining salt, and allow to cool.  Blend to desired consistency in blender or food processor.  Return mixture to pan, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Burgers: Combine chicken with about 1/3 cup of the sauce and mix well.  Divide evenly into 4 patties and cook using desired method.  Cook until meat thermometer registers 165.  Serve on whole grain buns, top with sauce, lettuce, and cheese.

Per serving: 310 calories, 10 g fat, 65 mg chol., 17 g protein, 27 carbs, 3 g fiber, 310 mg sodium

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Hello Summer...Let the Ponderings Roll

Well, it's day one of my summer vacation...which is sort of like New Years for me, in that it's time to make some resolutions.  With my days mainly free and uninterrupted by a pesky (but necessary) job, I can focus more on things that need doing.  On the top of the list is me.  I have gotten into the lazy habit of eating foods that are not so healthy over this past school year and the bum knee (I've fallen and twisted it TWICE in the last 4 months) has put a crimp in any kind of exercise.

I was going to post this in my poor neglected health blog, but after a lot of consideration I've decided I'm going to delete both it and my book blog.  It's too much to expect people to keep up with more than one blog, I think.  Pfffft!  It's too much for me to keep up three blogs.  Anyway, any diet, exercise or book posts will be on the main blog.  I'm going to be doing some rearranging and housekeeping around here in the coming days.

Getting back to those "resolutions"....

For starters, I got up this morning and spent some time reading the Bible and praying, which always makes the day go better.  It's unfortunate that on work days it's hard to fit it in until after the morning run.  After that I drug out and dusted off my Perfect Planner.  I was so excited to start the year off with it back in January, but just like the prayer time...it was hard to squeeze in first thing in the day and if it didn't get done then it didn't seem to get done at all.  Getting just those two things done makes me feel so accomplished.  Not to mention...Intentional, which you'll remember is my One Word for 2013.

With my To-Do List written out in my planner...I have a plan for the day.  It's already out of order because of rain (I wanted to weed the flower beds and plant some flowers) and my daughter getting in late (or rather early this morning) and still being in bed.  I want her help in totally emptying out the frig and freezer, scrubbing them and putting everything back in an organized fashion...which, yes, I am aware will last only until the first person goes looking for something, but I will feel better.  It's been making me feel stressed.  Blogging wasn't to come until later in the day, but hey, lists are adaptable and not written in stone.  Just so I actually accomplish some of the things on it, I'll be good with that.

Diet is next on my list of resolutions.  We've been doing a lot of eating out.  That's going to stop.  For two reasons.  Health and finances.  The best part of summer is the abundance of fresh fruits and veggies.  I'm determined to whip our diets into shape.  My daughter has lost 40 pounds.  I'm not sure how she's done it.  She does not eat healthy and other than a few walks here and there I don't see her exercise.  Sigh...I wish it would melt off of me that easily.  It doesn't, so my plan aside from not eating out as much, is to shop the perimeter of the store (dairy, produce, meats) and skip as much of the interior aisles (processed foods) as possible, cut waaaay back on my daily Coke (the soda not the drug) habit and drink water and tea instead, find healthier ways to prepare favorite dishes and of course....

Exercise.  With the weather warming up our pool is now open...and as soon as the water warms up, too, I will be in there daily swimming and doing some other exercises that will be kind to my knee.  I'm going to give the exercise bike a go this morning.  Not sure if the knee is up to it, but I won't know till I try.  As soon as it's healed enough I'm dragging out the Fluidity Bar and getting back into that.  It's very gentle, but really works you out.  I'm hoping the knee heals quickly.

So, there's my summer plan.  I just wish I had gotten motivated sooner.  Next weekend is the Toby Keith concert...at least I'm not seeing him face to face this year...and I have two trips coming up next month.  One to Tennessee for training to teach Kay Arthur's Precept Bible Studies and the second to the beach.  There's no way I'm going to be a beach babe by then, but I can at least jiggle less.

I'm keeping in mind the words of Romans 12:1 -

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.

glitter-graphics.com

Before I go hit that list there's time for a little Pondering with Brenda.  

This week's prompt:  roll

In our house, the most important roll.....is the toilet paper roll.  Not much attention is paid to the lowly TP roll, until it's not there when needed.  Fear of just such a situation has made me a TP hoarder.  There is always a stockpile in this house.  And be honest, if the zombie apocalypse strikes tomorrow you know we're all going to be making a run to the grocery store for milk, bread, eggs, and toilet paper.  It's the American way of coping with disaster!

There's no arguing here about the over or under question.  We all agree that over is the way to go.  Not that it would matter since I seem to be the only person in the house with an understanding of how to work the holder and put a new roll on.  If I have to do it, it obviously goes my way.

My pet peeve these days is that the price of the rolls continues to climb, while the size of the rolls is shrinking...though they've renamed many of the sizes to make them sound bigger.  I'm sorry.  I don't care if you call it Double, Mega, or Jumbo....250 sheets is still 250 sheets.  The shrinking size and rising cost have me wondering if Sears has any plans to bring back its catalog?

A slightly lesser peeve is the rolls found in public restrooms.  I understand they do not want to have "clogging" issues, but the thinness of the paper combined with the locked security dispensers that make it difficult, if not impossible to find the end of the paper, usually means a pile of confetti on the floor before 3 usable squares are pulled off the roll.  And the minute those square are pulled the end of the paper sucks back to the roll and disappears.  Grrrrr!

And that's how I roll!

A Hodgepodge Within a Hodgepodge

So many things to get to today!  Where do I start?

How about with an update on the whole diet program?  Waste of time.  You get supplements, alright, three different kinds.  You get some kind of special aerated water, two gallons per week.  You get the good doctor's cell phone number so you can text him as much as you want.  You also get his email.  Then you get a recipe book of low calorie foods and a customized grocery list.....even though the ad said there was no "dieting."  I'm guessing they probably might want you to exercise, too.  Imagine that.

It sounds reasonable, right?  You're probably wondering why I'm not doing it.  Let me give you a reason.  Actually, let me give you 1700 reasons.  That is the cost ($1700) for 40 days.  There really isn't much if any cost to the diet stuff so you are basically paying the $1700 for the supplements and "counseling," which based on yesterday would be pretty weak.  There isn't a vitamin in the world worth $1700 unless it cures cancer or something.

I told Tim and he said we can check into joining a gym again.  That would be great, but only if he goes.  I get bored when I go alone.

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1. When were you last 'on a mountaintop'?  You may answer in the literal or figurative sense.~ Last on a mountain top......this area is mountainous so literally, I'm probably driving over one nearly every day.  Figuratively, the first lunch I had with my friend and bible teacher was one...so was front row at the Toby Keith concert...and the women's retreat last summer...and nearly every week at worship service.

2.  Do you establish and maintain a strict budget in your household?  What is one piece of financial advice you would offer someone just starting out on their own? 
~ Pfffffft....no budget here.  My advice to someone starting out....establish and maintain a budget.  If you don't know how...GET HELP.  It may not be fun, but one day when you're around 50 you'll be glad you did.  Trust me.

3.  Cherries-yay or nay?  Cherry pie, cherry cola, black forest cake, or a scoop ofBen and Jerry's Cherries Garcia...pick one. 
~ Yay!  I love to eat bing cherries and keep a bowl of them around when they are in season.  I don't like cherry pie or black forest cake all that much.  I do like vanilla ice cream with cherries in it, but I think I'd have to pick cherry cola as my favorite....that is real cherry cola made with cherry syrup at the soda fountain.  We can still get those at a couple of places around here.

4.  Should you ever discuss religion or politics with people you don't know? 
~ Probably not, but experience tells me....better with strangers than family and friends.  At least if you want to keep your family and friends.

5.  When you take a road trip do you prefer to be the driver or the passenger?  Where were you headed on your last road trip? 
~ Well, if I drive I won't fall asleep.  Riding in the car nearly always puts me to sleep at some point.  I'd rather be the passenger on a long trip, though.  You can't really look around as much when you're the driver.

6. If we peeked inside your closet, what color would we say is most prevalent?
~ Probably black, followed by red or orange and then blue.

7. Who's your favorite senior citizen and why are they special?
~ Betty White!  I don't always like how vulgar she is, but I sure admire her spunk and spirit.  I hope to be even half that spry when I'm 80, let alone 90!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

~ Having to go back to work in the bitter cold and snow after a 4-day weekend is just a cruel, cruel joke.

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And last but not least, I'm linking up with Dawn at Beneath the Surface today to kick off 7-week journey of discovery as we work our way through Rachel G. Hackenberg's devotional, Writing to God - 40 Days of Praying with My Pen.

Never heard of the book?  I hadn't either until this past weekend.  I hope Dawn and Rachel will forgive me as I borrow from Dawn's page, words from the publisher and a quote from Rachel.

About the Book From the Publishers Page: 

If you love to write, or if you need to spark your creativity, this book is for you.

Writing to God offers forty insightful days of prayer and personal reflection. With poems and thoughts to prompt your own prayers, Writing to God will inspire you when you feel dry, help you voice your deepest complaints and greatest joys, and surprise you with fresh perspectives on God. 

When verbal prayers feel stale, or you simply want to try something fresh, open this inviting guide and pray wherever the pen leads!

• Includes a special section of prayers and prompts for Holy Week and Easter.

• Includes some surprising prayers: Caffeine, A Lover's Psalm, Recycling: A Prayer for Salvation, Feeling a Prayer, Traveling, On "Good Friday" Kind of Days, and many more!

"Praying by writing takes a prayer out of my head and makes praying a whole-body exercise: my creativity is sparked, my spirit fully focused, my muscles employed, my sense of touch and awareness of breath heightened. I felt more connected to prayer than I had ever experienced before." –Rachel Hackenberg

I find Rachel's reflections inspiring, the scripture choices relevant, and the prompts a good focal point.  To share with you from Day 1: Caffeine here is the tail end of my prayer.

Breathe life, true, everlasting life into the farthest, deepest corners of my soul. 

Sweep through like the Spring winds, refreshing and clearing away dust, staleness, and darkness. 

Refresh my soul. Make me as excited as I once was. 

Create in me an endless hunger for you that I may FEAST on prayer and scripture. 

Fill my days and nights with the wonder of you, that you, 

my God in Heaven, would be all my soul requires to quicken and shout for joy!

I hope you will consider joining us.  How this little community we are creating over on Dawn's blog  is going to take shape is still somewhat up in the air.  It sounds like it will be a place for us all to share and encourage one another and be blessed by the things we are learning rather than a blog hop.  

Have a blessed day, my friends!

Three W's: Wind, Weight & Writing

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Woo-weee is it windy out there this morning!  I can hear my wind chime's constant clamor, but more impressively...I can hear my mom's monster chime (it has big heavy 4' - 6' long pipes) clanking away.

*I should, in all honesty, disclose here that it's the rare day that we don't have a least a nice breeze going.  Wind seems to (in my mind's eye) swirl around in the river basin the town sits in, then shoot up the hills until it reaches the plateau we live on, where it SWEEPS across and then blows on up over the top of the ridge.  I rarely pay attention to it unless it tops 50 mph.  

Other than a tornado that ripped through the neighborhood in 1976, the worst sustained winds we've seen were back on New Year's Eve 1998.  Those were clocked at 100 mph!!  Everyone I ever talked to reported being able to sit in their house and watch the walls sway.  Now THAT was impressive.  And pretty scary.

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I have an appointment this afternoon at 4:00 for an intitial consultation about the NutriMost weight loss program.  It sounds too good to be true, but there are a few things that are keeping me from running for the hills.

1. The doctor is a chiropractor, which would normally scare me away.  However, my mom hooked up with a chiropractic nutritionist 20 years ago.  He totally changed her diet and (without exercise) she went from a size 18 to a size 9 in a little more than 6 months.  And she's kept it off.  A lot of the things he said back then that made the rest of us think he was a kook are now accepted mainstream thinking.
2. While I know there is more cost for the supplements and whatnot required for the program, this initial consultation and evaluation is only $27.  I can afford that much to check it out.
3. There is a money-back guarantee if you don't lose at least 20 pounds in the 40-day program.
4. The doctor is a Christian.

Tim is also pretty curious about what I find out.  It's no secret that the man doesn't feel good most of the time.  I've always attributed it to bad genes, poor sleep habits, too much work, and a crappy diet.  You can't do much about the genes except work to offset them...something he doesn't do.  The rest, however, there is hope for and this doctor also says he can give better health through his methods and most of it comes about by taking herbal and homeopathic formulas to reset certain bodily processes.  "Magic" pills are exactly what Tim is hoping (and searching) for.

Praying there is something to this.

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source

Beginning tomorrow I am starting a 40-day journey.  Possibly 2 now that I am thinking about it...if the diet program is legit.  The journey I want to introduce you to now, though, is a spiritual one.  I am going to be joining up with Dawn at Beneath The Surface and anyone else who joins us to spend the next 40 days Writing to God.  It's an exercise in writing our prayers out on paper.  

The book, available from both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, is available in print edition and as an ebook for both Kindle and Nook.  Each day there is something to reflect on, scripture to read, and a writing prompt.

Now, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not going to put my written words to God up on the blog every day, but every Wednesday from tomorrow (Feb. 20) through Wednesday, March 3 I'll be meeting up with Dawn and the others on her blog to link up and share about what we are gaining from the process.

I hope you'll consider joining us.

It's Okay Tuesday - Oct. 18

It's Okay Tuesday, where we allow ourselves to be okay about our little "quirks," is the brainchild of WhisperingWriter over at Airing My Dirty Laundry, One Sock at a Time. She borrowed the idea from Glamour Magazine and we all like it so much it's become an official meme. So....here we go!

HEY, IT'S OKAY....

...to admit that you feel like crud after your workout rather than pumped.

So, not happening that way here.  I am sweaty, tired, my thighs hurt

and I feel like it wouldn't take much to make me barf.  No snazzy

designer yoga outfits, fake tans or complaining about my

size 2 booty going on here.  I want a shower.  I want food.

I might want to hurt Jake.  And if my booty was anywhere 

near a size 2 I'd be on my knees thanking God!

...to feel stupid for putting yourself on the list to get emails

about auditioning for the next season of The Biggest Loser.

Would I really want to be on the show with the whole world watching?

Must think about this one.

...to like the new comedy on CBS, Two Broke Girls.

It's really pretty funny and I like the sarcastic wit of  the 

"poor" street-wise character.  

...to still not be impressed by the "new" Two and a Half Men.

Can't Ashton Kutcher play any character besides Kelso?

And how convenient that news of his affair hit the news this week.

...to be procrastinating on the reading for my class again and 

reading a (gasp!) cowboy romance instead.  Sorry, I can only

read so much of the intellectual stuff at a time.  Spirituality

is an interesting subject, why must most of the books that

are biblically sound, also be incredibly dry and boring?

...to have liked Tim Allen's new show.  It's a throwback and in

MHO, television could use a few more of those kinder, gentler

sitcoms that just make you feel good.  Remember how nice it

was when the whole family gathered to watch ABC's Friday night lineup?

...to have a hot turkey sandwich, mashed potatoes, and gravy for

lunch.  And wash it down with diet Coke.

It's the American way.

I'm off to get a shower and enjoy that turkey sandwich.  Not at the same time,

but in that order.  LOL  You all enjoy your day and remember, whatever

weird little thing you do......IT'S OKAY!

Last Frags of the Summer

This is the last Friday of summer.  Could we all bow our heads for a moment of silence here in honor of summer's passing?  It's such a sad thing.

Okay, moving on to the business at hand, which would be Friday Fragments with Mrs. 4444 over at Half-Past Kissin' Time.  I'm really tired this morning so let's see what I can come up with....

Last month I shared about a classmate of mine who had undergone some very serious surgery for cancer...removal of a 32-pound tumor, a kidney, spleen and colon...and was still in need of treatment for cancer in his lungs.  I'm very sad to report that he died yesterday.  He leaves behind a wife, two adult daughters, and most tragically, two young sons under the age of 10.  Please remember the family in your prayers.

Life is busy and full for Megan these days.  I hope she is enjoying it and finding happiness rather than wishing for something else as she did for so long.  She is working plenty of hours at the daycare and seems to like it (as much as she is going to like any job) and the people she works with.  She and Cody have gone to the county fair every night this week and he has spoiled her shamelessly, buying her t-shirts and decals for on his truck (Browning deer heads with each of their names for on the doors), and spending a lot of money winning her a knife, two goldfish (that died the next day), and a stuffed cow.  Tonight they are going to Pittsburgh to see Jason Aldean with friends.  Tomorrow, I'm taking her to get the tattoo we said we'd pay for as a birthday gift...it's a month late, but the artist was on vacation.

Tim is back to work and had to reschedule the doctor's appointment he was supposed to have yesterday.  He'd hoped to get one later in the day yesterday, but it's not until Sept. 7 now.  I'm not thrilled, but what can you do?  We know there was something in his bloodwork that they didn't like, because the doctor is the one who asked for this appointment.  We just don't know what they didn't like.  If they say he has high blood sugar I'm going to kill him.  Not really, but I'm going to be upset and he's going to have to get the bloodwork done again because he was supposed to fast for 12-14 hours before the blood was drawn and about 10 hours before hand he was eating ice cream.

As for me, I am sticking with the program at the gym.  I go 5 days a week.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays I do strength training with Jake, my personal trainer.  Jake is a year or two older than my son and looks like a surfer dude.  He's not my favorite person when my muscles are screaming in protest, but most of the time we get along great.  We both have the same ornery kind of personality and there's a lot of joshing back and forth.  It's comfortable and fun, which helps a lot.  On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I go and walk on the treadmill and ride the recumbant bike.  I wouldn't mind taking a yoga class, too, but none of the times work with my schedule.  I'm also tracking all my food on a computer program that Jake can monitor from the gym.  We're connected by our cell phones, too, so I'm supposed to text him once a day or so.  I'm not doing so hot with that one....just feels weird texting him.

Be watching over the next couple of days for some new links to great blogs.  I've got a ton of them bookmarked that I need to get on the blogroll.  Right now I'm going to go read some of your blogs before I head to the gym.  Other than that, have yourselves a great weekend and enjoy this last bit of summer.

It's Okay Tuesday - Let's Get Physical

On Tuesdays I've taken to joining in with Whispering Writer on a an idea she borrowed from Glamour Magazine. She calls it It's Okay Tuesdays. It's when we can take a moment and tell ourselves that those quirky things we think and do are...well....OKAY!

Hey, it's okay....

...to have nearly puked on your trainer in your very first session.  He says it's good to know where the "line" is.  Yea..."line" established.

...to totally hate your trainer while you're sitting there with sweat pour off you, your head between your knees, and every thought focused on not getting sick.

...to admit your trainer is actually a pretty nice guy during your better moments...and that he's actually kind of hot (in a young-enough-to-be-your-son-you-old-perv kind of way) during your really good moments.

...to be ridiculously proud of yourself for sticking with your training and finishing the session....kind of like when Rocky runs to the top of those stairs...

Looking Forward

In looking for something new to fill my blog space I came across a meme at Something For When You're Bored.  It's a month's worth of writing prompts.  As near as I can tell SFWYB did it back in February so it's long over.  That being the case, I don't figure it will hurt a thing for me to start it on May 3.  If you're feeling stuck at any point feel free to jump in.

Today's prompt:  Something you're looking forward to this year.

I wanted to write about fun stuff like vacations and concerts and gardening, but my brain just won't stop thinking about more serious things.  I sort of hate when that happens.  I like to laugh.  A lot.  In case you've never noticed.  And serious stuff is, well, just not funny.  Okay, so maybe it is once in a great while when "gallows" humor kicks in because it's either laugh or cry, but usually.....

One thing I am really looking forward to this year is spending more time with the women at church.  Since we started our Bible study group we've grown closer and I'd really like to get to know them better than I do.  With three months of summer vacation just around the corner I will have loads of time to get more involved.

The second serious thing I'm looking forward to is losing weight.  I admit I haven't been all that serious about it.  I need to be.  Otherwise, that gallows humor is going to be rearing it's head.  Seriously (pun not actually intended), I feel like God is really bringing this to the forefront for me.  I am noticing a lot of (not so good) things about my body lately.  I feel tired, sluggish, brain-fogged, aches and twinges and pains that didn't used to be there, and the one that kills me....I am noticing more and more that I am just not able to do. 

I don't want to be fat.  I don't want to feel crappy.  I don't want my choices limited.  I want to be healthy.  I want to live a long, active life.  I want to be an example to my daughter and granddaughter (and maybe even to Tim who should diet, too).  Most importantly, I want to honor God and I'm not doing that if I'm fat and doing nothing to change it.  God created this body and round is not the shape he intended for it.  One of the things God calls women to is self-control.  Being fat says I'm out of control since I have no medical condition to blame it on.  Being outside of God's will is a sin.  Soooo....Hi, everyone!  My name's Stacy and I'm a sinner.  I don't wanna be a sinner.  I want to be a good girl.  I want my Father to be pleased with me.

And hey, if I can get a wolf whistle or two out of the deal.....I'd learn to live with it.