Thanksgiving Did NOT Agree With Me!!

Yuck... Yuck... Yuck. I even tried to be good for Thanksgiving. But alas, I have gained three pounds back in the last two weeks! I don't like it. I think it must have been the rolls. I made too many and ate them instead of eating pie. Oh well.

Thanksgiving was good. We went over to our friends house and had Thanksgiving dinner at about 1:00 then we hung around there all day and had seconds at about 7:00pm. It was so nice. There was three of us couples and we each chipped in to make stuff. I made rolls, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes. I almost had a big oops before we went to dinner. I was boiling the mashed potatoes and almost boiled them down to potato soup. I tried to drain them and they just wouldn't drain. I ran upstairs and was upset and told James I ruined the potatoes. He dumped them into a bowl from the strainer and salvaged them, luckily. Otherwise we were going to have to stop by King Soopers to pick up some of theirs. But we didn't have too. They were actually good. I was just trying to do too many things at once.

Anyway, back to Thanksgiving. I only had one serving of everything except the rolls. And I really didn't eat too many of those. I did not have pie either. I don't like pumpkin pie and they also had a french silk pie that I don't like so I didn't have pie! I still gained weight though. I think I am not drinking enough water. In fact, I am pretty sure I am not drinking enough water.

Today I am starting over again. I logged my weight in on my Weight Watchers thing and I lowered my daily allowance of points from 32 to 29. We'll see if that helps. I need to be eating better too. I also have not been exercising as much. James and I did go for a 5 mile walk before Thanksgiving dinner. But the week before that the Rec Center was closed so I couldn't go swimming. Then I forgot to go swimming last week. Monday I was going to go, but I had to go pick up Jet from the Vet at noon. I know, excuses, excuses.

I did exercise a bunch last night. I was watching The Biggest Loser (such an inspiring show) and I exercise during the whole 2 hour show. I was running in place, jumping, sit ups, push ups, and I used some cans of soup as weights for bicep curls, flys, and a couple of other arm work outs. I hope to so that a little bit more! Anyway, I will quite rambling now!

You are Not What You Do...

This is taken from my Bible… the comments in it are written by people at Zondervan… here is some that I really liked.

“But now, This is what the Lord says—He who created you, Jacob, He who formed you, Israel: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.’” Isaiah 43:1

Regardless of what society or your family tells you (or even what you may secretly tell yourself), you are not the sum total of your pedigree, resume and credentials. You have one identity in life upon which you should rest all your aspirations: You are a daughter (or son) of God. That’s all. But how much that “all” entails!

• You are unconditionally accepted—not because you earned it, but because of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).
• Your past is forgiven (2 Corinthians 5:17).
• You have a promising future (Jeremiah 29:11).
• He will never turn you away (John 6:37).
• You are loved as you are and not as you should be (Jeremiah 31:3).
• You are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10)

Do you believe God wants an intimate relationship with you, not another impressive audition? The Bible’s revelation to the over-achiever is this: There is nothing more for you to “do” to earn God’s favor; Christ has already done it all. And because of the Cross (not by anything you’ve done), you are entitled to a promotion you didn’t earn, favor you didn’t seek, a status beyond your wildest expectations and confidence in the court of the King. The world will try to point to what you do in order to define your worth—as if a salary, title or home address could ever encapsulate the wonder of a person’s value. Remember, it’s not who you are or what you do but whose you are. And you belong to the Almighty God.

Other Readings

Psalm 46:10
John 1:12
Ephesians 1:5

Keep House for the Lord

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,’ says the LORD ‘You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?’ declares the LORD Almighty. ‘Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.’” Haggai 1:7-9

Housework! I hate the word. Actually, loathe is probably the optimal word. I do not like to dust, vacuum, clean the toilets, or even do the dishes. But, like I told my sister the other day, I do the housework because it keeps everyone happy. I notice that things go so much smoother around my house when it is clean. My husband comes home happy and we can go out, have fun on a Saturday, instead of doing the work that I should have done during the week.

My piano students even notice when I don’t clean the house. They are five and seven years old and if I haven’t dusted in a week, or two, they point out that the piano feels funny (aka dusty). My student last night was even drawing pictures in the dust when I went to answer the phone. I was so embarrassed. I wanted a do-over. I wanted to be able to dust and get my house cleaned before they came over. But, I did not spend my time wisely, and the housework went undone.
Do you ever wonder what God thinks of your house? Is it pleasing to the Lord’s eye? Does it have too much “stuff” that you never use? Could that “stuff” be given to someone who has never had something like it? Or, is your house falling apart? Do you keep the floors, walls, ceilings clean and void of cracks and holes?

Have you thought about your church in the same way that you think about your own house? Your church should be God’s house. Does the Lord’s house get the same respect as your own?
This past Sunday, November 11, 2007, was Stewardship Sunday around the ABCUSA. Many people spent the month prior to Sunday thinking and praying about what they can do and give to their church to keep it running and out of debt. Then they made pledges and gave what they could to their church. According to ABCUSA General Secretary Roy Medley, United Mission (UM) giving is leveling off from its sharp decline, but is not near stopping in its decline. Giving in the local church usually, but not always, reflects the UM giving.

If you decided to give to your church in this next year, did you do it with the idea in mind that your church is God’s house? I know that if I, and all others in my church, gave comparably as much to God’s house as we spent on our own houses, in “housework” and in money, our church would not lack funds or workers for special projects and other “housekeeping.” I know very few people who actually like doing housework, but I do know that not enough people pitch in to do the housework for God.

Take time to speak to the Lord. Listen to what the needs are for the house in which God lives. It may not be money; it may be volunteering to teach, filling in for a sick janitor, or helping repair a leak in the roof. Whatever it may be, take time to do God’s house work. Take pride in where the Lord lives. Don’t let God’s house become something less than your own house. The care you put into the house of God will translate to visitors as care for the members and people of the church.

Prayer: Lord, help us to listen for the call for help. We know You take pride in Your house and Your people, so help us do the same. In your precious name, Amen.

Weight loss pictures...

I finally have pictures. The one on the left is the picture taken today, the one on the right is when I started. I see some difference, but let me know if you see any.

12 Pounds Down!!

Slow but steady. And it yelled at me again. I know I did not lose more than 2 pounds this week, but it is taking the "average" of the last couple of weeks and telling me that I am losing more than an average of 2 pounds over a week. Well, I am not going to worry about it. I have been at this for 8 weeks and I have lost 12 pounds. That is not more than 2 pounds a week! I should be at 16, but I had some trouble when I was in Grand Junction.

Oh well, anyway, I am at 12 pounds down, and 10 inches lost. I measured myself the other day. I don't have the measurements with me, but they total 10 inches! I am happy. I stil have yet to get my pictures taken. I will see if I can do that some time this week.

A must read!

Any Christian should go and read this blog. Make sure you have a tissue in your hand.
http://www.challies.com/archives/articles/dr-criswell-longtime-pastor-of.php.

10 pound milestone!

I stepped on the scale this morning and it read 252! I was excited. 10 pounds down since I started. I started on Sept 19 at 262. 7 weeks later I am down 10 lbs. That isn't bad. Or so I thought. I logged my weight in to the Weight Watchers website and it yelled at me :-(. It told me I was losing weight too fast. That I need to slow down to 2 lbs or less a week. I lost 3 lbs this week and it yells at me for losing too fast! I don't understand sometimes... I am trying to be good. It is hard. And I understand what it is saying when it tells me that I am losing too fast, but I still don't want the scale to be the same or higher each week. I am going to take what I can get. I'm going to work harder on only losing 2 lbs per week, but I am going to lose each week. I am not going to gain. That is part of my goal.

Well, anyway, I am happy I am down!

Inches Lost!!!

I am so excited. I measured myself today and I have lost a lot of inches. In total I have lost 9 inches!!! I am sooooooo estatic! I have lost the most in my waist.

Here are my starting measurements...
thigh-34
hips-53.5
waist-41 (?)
chest-44.5
arm-16.5

Here are todays measurements...
thigh-33
hips-51
waist-38
chest-43
arm-15.5

So here are the differences between Sept 30 and today (Nov. 5)
1 in the thigh....
2.5 in the hips....
3 in the waist....
1.5 in the chest...
and 1 in the arm...

I guess this is working. I all of my jeans are too big for me. But I don't want to buy anymore clothes til I am down to where I can't wear any of my current clothes. I did buy a dress this weekend, but it is a wrap dress and will be easily adjustable when I lose weight. It can also be used as a maternity dress once I will need to have one. But anyway, I am done now. I have to go clean the house!!! I will post pictures tonight once I have James take them!

Tag, I'm It

There is a little game of tag going on, and I am it.

Here are the instructions for the next people:
List 3 habits/little-known facts about yourself on your blog.
Then tag 3 more people, post their names, then go to their blog and leave a comment telling them they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog for these instructions.

Now here are the 3 habits/little-known facts about myself.

1) I love listening to talk radio. I don't like listening to music at work cause it puts me to sleep, so I listen to talk radio.

2) I want to have a baby soon!!!

3) I love the Japanese Sake Fuki! It is a plum wine that is really good to have during a meal or with dessert!

I now Tag.... I don't have anyone to tag... I'll have to wait to tag someone... cause I don't know enough bloggers.

Update on Weight Loss and Family

So, I was told the other day that I need to keep writing in my blog. I have been a little lax on doing this. My apologies! Anyway, I stepped on the scale this morning and it read 253!!! My lowest since I started WW. I am excited! I also measured myself the other day. I don’t have those with me right now, but I will put another post up tomorrow, with updated measurements. I will also put up pictures.

As far as other news in my life- I don’t really have any. Grandpa is having more tests done, so no news there. James is loving his new job. He is keeping extremely busy. He has learned more in his last two weeks then he learned in his two years at Archstone. He is proving to his boss that he is a good investment.

Anyway, I must tell you about this awesome restaurant my boss introduced me too. It is called Four Leaf Chopped Salads (http://www.fourleafchoppedsalads.com/home4.htm). MMMMMMMMMMMMM I LOVE this place! All they serve is salads, so I can’t take James there (he’s “not a rabbit”). But their salads are excellent. You can choose one of their pre-designed concoctions, or make your own. My favorite is one they had as a special the first day I went there. It’s called the “Super Spicy Salad.” It consists of a mix of romaine and iceberg lettuce, spicy chicken, chedder cheese, jalapenos, red onion, tomato, and a southwest ranch. MMMMM! Anyway, they put all the dry ingredients in a bowl, then they pour the contents out onto a cutting board. They chop the salad together really well, and then put it into a big bowl, add the dressing, and then toss it all together. It’s then returned to the original bowl, and then you eat. Its soooo good, and really, really healthy. That salad is only 4 points on my WWs for a BIG salad. When I say big, I mean big. (If you have a set of the three Pyrex bowls, it will fill the middle size bowl! J) I am going to have that for dinner tonight!

OK, I’ll quit talking about the salad place! Well…. I will write more tomorrow. Hope you all are doing well. Write me some comments! I love to see your opinions and comments, etc.