I'm back...again...

I know...I keep disappearing for weeks at a time and then reappearing with the words, "I'm back." But hey, at least I'm not giving up....right?

So anyway, I am back. I'm up another 5 pounds or so since the last time I posted a weigh in 2 weeks ago....sigh....



I'm weary of being out of control. I am tired of making unhealthy choices. I am ready for a healthy routine and for making healthy choices once again. My track record proves out that I can't say with any amount of confidence that I'm back to stay and my days of making dumb choices are over...but I can pretty confidently say that today I am going to make healthier choices.

I think I am coming to realize that this whole issue of healthy choices extends far beyond my food choices and whether or not I choose to exercise....it affects my entire life. When I am out of control...I am simply out of control. I find myself living to fulfill my "carnal nature" rather than being led by the spirit of God. I let my quiet time slide. I allow myself to nurse offenses at others. I live a completely "earthly" existence rather than keeping my eyes up and focusing on the eternal.

Philippians 3:18-19
For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.

Oh yeah, that's been me....living as though I was an enemy of the cross of Christ....my mind almost completely on earthly things and spinning out of control because of it.

So, starting again today I am determined that this will be me. In fact I am going to read this passage every morning for a while...

Colossians 3:1-3
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Happy Monday...

It's about time I updated my blog, don't you think?....

As I mentioned a while back, I have been in a bit of a funk. I decided sometime over the weekend that I am tired of being in a funk. It seems that this is not going to just magically "lift" off of me so I am making a choice to get over it!

Psalm 118:24
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Yep, that's what I have decided. And part of that decision is getting back to doing the things I normally do...like posting to my blog...and having a Monday morning weigh in...



Of course my weight is up even more. That tends to happen when I spend time being in a funk instead of making the choice to rejoice in all the good things God has given to me and done for me. I can't say that I am ready to say "I'll get back on my healthy eating plan and stay there"...because I am not ready to do that. But I will say that I am ready to try and make more good choices than bad. And I am committing to walking....speaking of walking....my sister and I walked at the San Diego Zoo last night...2.25 miles up and down hills. We saw this guy on our walk...



We spent some time with my oldest son, Chris (Autumn's Daddy)at the San Diego Wild Animal Park on Saturday evening. I love time spent with them..



I had this great idea that I could teach the kittens, Fred and Ethyl, to wash dishes and clean the kitchen but it's not going so well. They simply play in the water...






And then nap....



So, who am I to argue with kittens...they know about napping. So I have been joining them....



I've had some wonderful outings with my Knight recently...



and I have been enjoying my Starbucks gift cards (this could explain the weight gain)




Seems my life is pretty blessed so I am done being in a funk

....this truly is the day that the Lord has made...

What I'm thinking about this morning...

Update Saturday Morning: so I decided to simple "hide" the status updates from the kids whose updates are causing me angst, for a while. The statements and updates they are making are not the problem, really. It's that there are a myriad of statements that young adult children make every day....statements that aren't necessarily bad things...but things that Mom (me) wouldn't normally know about...until Facebook. So for now, I'm making the choice to not read and know about those things. Because I worry....

I've been in a bit of a funk lately...not really sure why...

So anyway, I was walking to work this morning and thinking about a lot of things. One of the thoughts that is rolling around in my brain this morning is that maybe I should just cancel my Facebook account. I'm not sure what the answer is....but I'm also not sure I really want to see and hear so much of what my kids are doing..you know? I don't necessarily need to know when one of them is thinking of buying a gun, or driving a hundred miles an hour, or see the "wink, wink...thanks for a great date night comments"...or my personal favorite from one of the girlfriends...."I see (our moms) watching us and judging us"...tongue in cheek, I'm sure, but rather stinging none the less in light of how much I am having to deal with the huge red flags that are going off in my brain over the whole thing...

So yeah, maybe I am beginning to agree with my own mom in wondering if being on Facebook really is such a fun thing....

Disneyland

Sunday was Vern's birthday. Disneyland offers a free ticket on your birthday if you sign up for it on their website. We decided that the "happiest place on earth" would be a great place to celebrate!

What great fun we had!! We ended up doing the upgrade to annual passes. Here's a tidbit of information that I was so pleasantly surprised to learn...they let us use Vern's free birthday ticket for the upgrade! Here's how it works, in order to do the annual pass, and do monthly payments rather han a lump sum, you need to buy a ticket and then upgrade it. So it would normally be $144.00 for the tickets which could then be upgraded to the annual pass. But they counted Vern's free birthday ticket as $72.00 so we only had to pay the 72.00 for my ticket and then pay the balance monthly. We're so excited to know that we can now go to Disneyland or California Adventure as often as we want to all year long!


So anyway..here are a few snapshots from our day..

This is so funny to me...we live in Santee which is in San Diego County. Up until just a few months ago there were no Sonic Drive Ins in San Diego. But they built one this past winter right here in Santee. It's within a couple of blocks of our home but we have never eaten there because it is so crazy crowded all the time. They seriously have traffic control directing cars into the place and it's been that way since they opened. People are honest to goodness sitting in lines on the back street in their cars waiting for their turn to get into the parking lot. So we, being unwilling to sit in line for 30 to 40 minutes to go to Sonic, have not been!

Vern had never been to Sonic at all so we decided to go to Sonic on our way to Disneyland. So here we are at the Sonic in Anaheim, 3 miles from Disneyland. How funny that we can't even get into the parking lot of the Sonic by our house but at this one, we were one of only two cars there! Of course we had the "toaster breakfast sandwich combo" with tater tots! Vern likes sausage and egg McMuffins better but was glad to finally be able to eat at Sonic.






The rest of these were simply photos we took throughout the day. We had a ball. I am not real happy about that middle aged obese woman being next to my husband in all the shots...great motivation to stay on my diet plan!

Getting back into the swing of things...

So...it's Tuesday morning. I survived the Monday of getting back into the swing of it! I went back to work, started back on my Weight Watchers plan, and even got my walk in!

In the interest of accountability, here's how yesterday went...

Morning:
Coffee, 3 mugs spread out over the course of the morning with a total of 1 cup Almond Breeze "milk" and 1 Tbs of heavy cream. I've been drinking my coffee with a combination of Almond Breeze and a teaspoon of heavy cream in each large mug. This combination satisfies my appetite for a strong, rich, creamy cup of coffee in the morning without adding a ton of points to my day.
2.5 points

Breakfast:
The morning got away from me and I ended up skipping breakfast
0 points

Lunch:
1 pre-cooked Teriyaki Chicken "Breast" from Costco (frozen foods)
2 cups baby spinach leaves sprayed with balsamic salad spray
3points

Dinner:
Same Chicken "breast" as lunch (I'm lazy)
1/2 cup Brown Rice with 1 Tbs light margarine spread
Stir "fried" snap peas, peppers, and onions
Golden Spoon frozen yogurt
10.5 points

Snacks:
WW Frozen Peanut Butter Cup Sundae 3 points
1 bottle Smirnoff Ice Raspberry Burst 5 points
(this was good but not worth the 5 points!)

Target:24
Total Used: 24 points

Activity: walked a total of 1 hour
3 points

So...there we go, one day of on plan eating and healthy exercise accomplished. Now to do the same thing today!

My prayer:
Dear Lord,
I know from Your word that self control is a fruit of the Spirit and I am asking You to help me to be temperate and controlled by Your Spirit in all that I do today. Help me to remember that You are my strength and my comfort and to turn to You and to Your word for satisfaction and comfort. I pray this in Your wonderful name, Christ Jesus.
Amen

Back to reality....

(insert heavy sigh here, not a sad sigh but a sigh of resignation to reality)

Today it's back to reality for me in more ways than one! I have been on vacation for a week. I didn't leave town. I spent my vacation here at home but I was off from work for a week. Today I go back to work. I'm grateful that I have a wonderful job, I really am. But it sure was nice being off for a week!

I am also resigned to getting back on my healthy eating plan by returning to counting Weight Watcher points.

Oh, and then there's the reality of the need for exercise..

...and the reality of the photos we took yesterday at Disneyland. We went for Vern's birthday. We had a wonderful time. The photos show an obese middle aged woman standing next to my handsome husband...that woman needs to step aside! That's reality! (I'll post the photos of our wonderful day at Disneyland a bit later)

...and the big, slap in the face reality of my weekly weigh in. How appropriate that my socks have cupcakes on them....there are some cupcakes in the trash downstairs...along with some golden, chocolate filled Oreos...alrighty then....on to Monday!