Yes, she's a little bit crazy

Lately I've been a little bit nuts in my postings. I'm here, there and everywhere on how I'm trying to lose weight. One week I'm quitting Weight Watchers and Geneen Roth is my magic bullet. The next week I'm back at Weight Watchers, then I'm doing Geneen Roth's plan and Weight Watchers, then I'm binging. If you're wondering what the hell I'm doing, well, get in line because I'm not sure myself anymore.<br /><br />The only thing I know is that I'm not giving up. If it's not working for me, I'll try something else and I'll keep trying different things until I get this figured out. <br /><br />Now a word about therapy for people that have food issues. Obviously, I have issues. Anyone that gains 100 pounds and doesn't have a medical reason for the gain, most likely has some mental issues that contributed to the weight gain.<br /><br />I remember the very first time someone told me I needed to go to therapy for my issues with food. It was in 1992, the person was my Jenny Craig "counselor". After going from 192 to 135 pounds, and still wanting to lose another ten pounds, I lost control one week and ate six bananas in one sitting. I don't know much about the program these days, but in 1992 you were only allowed one or two bananas a week, maximum.<br /><br />I had a few more encounters with food similar to the banana incident over a period of several weeks. When I told my very thin Jenny Craig counselor about my binges, she was appalled. I think she'd lost 25 pounds on Jenny Craig before she was qualified to become a "counselor". She told me there wasn't anything she could do to help me, that I was wasting my money at Jenny Craig, and I needed to go into therapy.<br /><br />She was right, but at this point in my life, I'm just not willing to spend the time and effort for therapy. Perhaps that's a bad idea, but it's where I am right now. <br /><br /><strong>The food and exercise</strong><br />Today was a very good food day. I forgot to take the leftover candy to work, but I put it in the trunk of my car tonight, and I feel safe. Crazy isn't it? That I feel "safe" from food. It's not like it's going to attack me. <br /><br />My workout was great today, I love that old slider rowing machine. I did my thirty minutes on the crossramp and then fifteen minutes rowing. I found some <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbaKM0nhNSk&feature=channel">videos</a> on how to use the rowing machine (and if your back hurts, you're doing it wrong). <br /><br />There are several great instructional videos available on YouTube. It turns out it's a good upper body workout, as well as good for your core. It's not really meant to get your heart rate up high (although it does if you do it too fast), it's more to strengthen your upper body. Who knew? I was doing it super fast to burn calories, but after watching the videos I'm going to slow it down a bit for more strengthening.<br /><br />Now the crazy lady is going to bed. Tomorrow at 2am is out big software release to production. I'm not expecting good things. I hope I'm wrong.

Yes, she's a little bit crazy

Lately I've been a little bit nuts in my postings. I'm here, there and everywhere on how I'm trying to lose weight. One week I...

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Children Blessed To Be At St. Barts/ St. Bart's Blessed By Children

The children’s Sunday School at St. Bartholomew’s in Ely is my idea of important news. It isn’t overflowing like St. Mary’s, Nixon or Epiphany, Henderson – both wonderful too. But they definitely have something good going in Ely. <br /> <br /> Of course they have had children’s Sunday School before but part of small church life is the demographic blips. Every few years, the Sunday School declines or even dies for want to children. It is as natural as the seasons. The rebirth of the Sunday School, however, does not happen so spontaneously. That takes initiative. Kim, a relatively new member of St. Bart’s, has taken the initiative.<br /> <br /> Last Sunday, there were 4 children. Sometimes they have 5. Having no Sunday School room, they gather in a corner of the Fellowship Hall while the grownups are engrossed in the Liturgy of the Word upstairs. The kids sit on the floor for now, but Kim and Fr. Red are planning to get a rug or a carpet remnant for them to sit on. Such a thing makes a big difference. It welcomes the group into a defined space, holds them there and focuses attention – far less wandering off.<br /><br /> There is a board on which they have the words for their simple song – “Jesus in the morning” – one of my favorites. Then Kim converses with the children about one point from the Gospel lesson. Colored construction paper chains hang under each child’s name on the bulletin board. Every Sunday when the child attend Sunday School and learns a new lesson, they put a new link on their paper chain. The paper chains make visible their growth in spiritual intelligence. They also encourage and reward attendance, which judging by the paper chains is pretty good.<br /><br /> The point of this week’s Gospel lesson (Zacchaeus up the sycamore tree) was generosity. For their craft, the children created basketfuls of ghost treats. They hooded lollipops, with tissues, tied around the neck, and faces painted on the tissues with magic markers, thereby making ghosts. The kids then came upstairs to join their parents for the Liturgy of the Table. As people were leaving the nave, the children formed a receiving line giving away the ghostly lollipops to the grownups. After everyone else had left the nave, Kim gathered the children to make sure they got the connection between the Gospel lesson and their exercise of generosity in giving away the lollipops. The children also made large pin-on name tags for themselves and for the adults to wear – big help to the visiting bishop.<br /><br /> There are bigger, better-equipped Sunday Schools, but that isn’t an option for St. Bart’s. It may be just as well that it isn’t. As Professor Susannah Singer told us at Convention, Christian formation depends on context, context, context. I cannot imagine any Sunday School program working better in this context. They are doing what works for them – and from my conversation with the children, it is definitely working. They get it. What’s more, Kim is making the children and their activities visible to the adults, as with the ghost candy and the name tags. Children are mysteriously invisible to adults in church. The Rev. Kathy Hopner tells me she has talked with congregations who explain they do not have a Sunday School because they do not have children. She then points at children running about and says “What are those?” When the kids are the receiving line, they are harder to ignore.<br /><br /> Children’s ministry at St. Bart’s is not limited to the offspring of adult members. The Girl Scouts are reactivating in Ely as well, and guess where they meet? Most every Tuesday night, there’s a Girl Scout Meeting in our Fellowship Hall. That is an outreach ministry to the community and a soft evangelism in that it keeps us on the radar screen of Ely’s awareness.<br /><br /> But it isn’t all for children at St. Bart’s. They are soon revving up the new course using the Marcus Borg video on an Adult Faith, facilitated by MDIT (Ministry Developer In Training) Norma Engberg. The course used a workbook to structure people’s reflections on what they have seen and heard. This same program is being used at St. Martin’s, Pahrump and is, I think, available for Church Publishing Co. They are an alert, thinking congregation at St. Bart’s. I just did a sermon there that most preachers would not dare try – too theologically sophisticated. But the folks at St. Bart’s got it right off. Our people are plenty smart enough to deal with challenging material. They want to be challenged because that’s where the growth happens. I am very pleased that St. Bart’s, along with St. Martin’s, is undertaking this study.<br /><br /> Then there are softer spoken kinds of formation going on too. I noticed this year’s poster for Episcopal Relief and Development on a bulletin board too – a visible reminder of the world’s need and the Episcopal Church’s response. That too is soul shaping, consciousness raising, awareness instilling symbolism. I would be so glad to see that poser up in all our churches. Thank God and the people of St. Bart’s for remembering.

Children Blessed To Be At St. Barts/ St. Bart's Blessed By Children

The children’s Sunday School at St. Bartholomew’s in Ely is my idea of important news. It isn’t overflowing like St. Mary’s, Nixon or Epipha...

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Trick Or Treat

Happy Monday <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">AND </span></span>November friends!! Hard to believe there are only 2 months of 2010 left! They will be a fun filled 2 months though! ;)<br /><br />Despite the urge to sleep in on Sunday Kyle and I got up for church! After wards I sliced up a <span style="font-weight:bold;">pear </span>to tide me over for <span style="font-weight:bold;">1 point</span>. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4usHkKEJJvvZ3fSwbBwbYLQycJo7CmkYWVRPhoe1oJlraAtewcnUrwVEiNpNalQ6TsrxKck8K71x4PPe6K9LO0U2cfhQKuTe9tPteeHMS3GQFPYziQpWUvMCyR9VaRdP9TCZyYdCpOgd1/s1600/DSC09254.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534628627118934018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4usHkKEJJvvZ3fSwbBwbYLQycJo7CmkYWVRPhoe1oJlraAtewcnUrwVEiNpNalQ6TsrxKck8K71x4PPe6K9LO0U2cfhQKuTe9tPteeHMS3GQFPYziQpWUvMCyR9VaRdP9TCZyYdCpOgd1/s400/DSC09254.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />Wendi & Hayden came up to hang out for the day!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCCNI6UzqCnHKI0eakb0WH82h8vgdl7GwQO9F-1250EFHVt02bs5xYlFORGrdpjiluwZ-wwsk8c4TeKn766Awtv8S1xxwX73aledKwbApCtiWhyphenhyphen1xDsvuHWpmq-R-btJLbY-EjeBQnXz9/s1600/DSC09267.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534628613363159378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCCNI6UzqCnHKI0eakb0WH82h8vgdl7GwQO9F-1250EFHVt02bs5xYlFORGrdpjiluwZ-wwsk8c4TeKn766Awtv8S1xxwX73aledKwbApCtiWhyphenhyphen1xDsvuHWpmq-R-btJLbY-EjeBQnXz9/s400/DSC09267.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />We made brunch, <span style="font-weight:bold;">chocolate chip pancakes</span> & <span style="font-weight:bold;">turkey sausage</span>! I had <span style="font-weight:bold;">2 pancakes</span> with <span style="font-weight:bold;">peanut butter</span> on one & <span style="font-weight:bold;">cool whip</span> on the other for <span style="font-weight:bold;">9 points</span>! MMMM, good!!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisncwQspnVbVti4k63WLubFKKlJBNnxcjxTmn5cSAZ5yxfIV1iTsaPEBi9omECYyqLB5Afdbg7CnPOXN_VjqZPi8Mjjwt5BcOwSkD-HdlMFnv22TxMqIy9CkZcz1Dgpqp122yHOtojCFyt/s1600/DSC09255.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534628620963420626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisncwQspnVbVti4k63WLubFKKlJBNnxcjxTmn5cSAZ5yxfIV1iTsaPEBi9omECYyqLB5Afdbg7CnPOXN_VjqZPi8Mjjwt5BcOwSkD-HdlMFnv22TxMqIy9CkZcz1Dgpqp122yHOtojCFyt/s400/DSC09255.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />Isn't he the cutest lil monkey?!?!?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFEjDe2cKEApTPq4cWJD_gQFEfHNJp9_Bbx00ZEPHyqkoMkR2oHsw5QJcvmwPYdy0xkk5RpPy9ac-3UXS0HE74y7Qw4vaj24TUyBdQDj_LsXDlZUpnWtBcIsX-eieS4xu7PFPkrJTIMqm/s1600/DSC09265.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534628411262611938" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFEjDe2cKEApTPq4cWJD_gQFEfHNJp9_Bbx00ZEPHyqkoMkR2oHsw5QJcvmwPYdy0xkk5RpPy9ac-3UXS0HE74y7Qw4vaj24TUyBdQDj_LsXDlZUpnWtBcIsX-eieS4xu7PFPkrJTIMqm/s400/DSC09265.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" /></a><br />I had a big bowl full of <span style="font-weight:bold;">candy </span>ready for trick or treat-ers! Unfortunately I wasn't as strong as I hoped and had some...I'm estimating <span style="font-weight:bold;">9 points</span>. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Wb3SDnZcX-_YshAvNqiPtzm5tz4lDKaYgns-572kaAXu8bchwd06BrHXKHi-tNK-empkPpszeF6uI9CDMTymh0kLK6PwVY_b2XnqGz4MNQB748ZBe80JAqpHXOIyckaPzYX3C3Z2pk-E/s1600/DSC09268.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534628401183277474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Wb3SDnZcX-_YshAvNqiPtzm5tz4lDKaYgns-572kaAXu8bchwd06BrHXKHi-tNK-empkPpszeF6uI9CDMTymh0kLK6PwVY_b2XnqGz4MNQB748ZBe80JAqpHXOIyckaPzYX3C3Z2pk-E/s400/DSC09268.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />Hayden was a good help passing out candy! ;) I love seeing the neighborhood kids all dressed up! I think my favorite were the little Iowa Hawkeye football player & cheerleader! ;)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50wW41Y7cYgpmyiZkt7N6ZLzWm-2IYCb15aIPuS5qXg_qYyrmJ3g0RVdJzSjRAgNRKwJ2C5o5m4Op-WBKuXfk-cRYLRMe1TU9bO3jOS_RaTrV1OZ6ETF4Rv-y84QIX-dBRgknSzq55cro/s1600/DSC09272.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534628387095248210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50wW41Y7cYgpmyiZkt7N6ZLzWm-2IYCb15aIPuS5qXg_qYyrmJ3g0RVdJzSjRAgNRKwJ2C5o5m4Op-WBKuXfk-cRYLRMe1TU9bO3jOS_RaTrV1OZ6ETF4Rv-y84QIX-dBRgknSzq55cro/s400/DSC09272.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />We had <span style="font-weight:bold;">chili </span>for supper! I had <span style="font-weight:bold;">1 c</span> with <span style="font-weight:bold;">cheese </span>& <span style="font-weight:bold;">crackers </span>for <span style="font-weight:bold;">10 points</span>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_72UR0CP97YbG7BJNk438Au36ufmmwuUSISrvmUDlVhf7YC2aRPCwSWEb1ROt81SyXGXIb2gUicqXRBwV4u3b0Pzk0yh6pnAsOdvRWCqzdoIbd9uH45y8O5ABeKpvxvCGsT4mBHkqOwWo/s1600/DSC09269.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534628380229229826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_72UR0CP97YbG7BJNk438Au36ufmmwuUSISrvmUDlVhf7YC2aRPCwSWEb1ROt81SyXGXIb2gUicqXRBwV4u3b0Pzk0yh6pnAsOdvRWCqzdoIbd9uH45y8O5ABeKpvxvCGsT4mBHkqOwWo/s400/DSC09269.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br />And a meal with chili is never complete without <span style="font-weight:bold;">cinnamon rolls</span>! Reminds of school lunches! These were reduced fat, so only <span style="font-weight:bold;">2 points</span> each!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyFyfA4WN8j_6tDXm9ewI5_EUspMUOGUbcqH_pbbk2Ws3ID0lMVWgMDeHfmIKqtIPsN0Gg9sdfT0MXXC2vbmVfIYZkGiXQ6RnrwuvL2kT9grtpBGJ-J5vg-b95629o79yzpFsKdBJ2w96/s1600/DSC09270.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534628375834151138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyFyfA4WN8j_6tDXm9ewI5_EUspMUOGUbcqH_pbbk2Ws3ID0lMVWgMDeHfmIKqtIPsN0Gg9sdfT0MXXC2vbmVfIYZkGiXQ6RnrwuvL2kT9grtpBGJ-J5vg-b95629o79yzpFsKdBJ2w96/s400/DSC09270.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SUNDAY’S STATS</span><br />POINTS = 31/23<br />WEEKLY ALLOWANCE POINTS = 35 used/0 remaining<br />ACTIVITY POINTS EARNED = 0 today/1 week<br />H2O = 68 oz<br />EXERCISE = none

Trick Or Treat

Happy Monday AND November friends!! Hard to believe there are only 2 months of 2010 left! They will be a fun filled 2 months though! ;) Desp...

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Weighin update after the candy lapse

I couldn't help myself this morning, I had to see how much damage I did last night with those candy bars I ate. At 80 calories each, I ate six, that's about 500 calories over what I should have eaten yesterday (or about 10+ Points, and that's not even looking at the fat grams).<br /><br />Well, I had a big scale surprise. I weigh 174.2, with my workout clothes on (same clothing as when I weighed in at Weight Watchers on Saturday at 178.2). That's on my home Tanita scales that are always right on with the Weight Watcher scales. What the heck! A <strong>four-pound loss</strong> in two days???<br /><br />Maybe it was the good eating all weekend with the exception of the candy, or the gallons of water I drank (thanks to <a href="http://almostgastricbypass.blogspot.com/">Allan</a> for the constant reminder of the importance of water), or perhaps the three-hour intense exercise at the gym over the weekend. I'm not sure of the reason, but I'm thrilled the candy didn't totally derail me. Seeing a four-pound loss has actually inspired me to keep on track and keep going. A mid-week weighin isn't always a bad thing.<br /><br /><strong>A little friendly competition</strong><br />I have a confession. I've been following Lyn, <a href="http://escapefromobesity.blogspot.com/">Escape from Obesity</a>, for at least two years (maybe longer). When she started on MediFast I weighed what I weigh now.<br /><br />I thought I must get to goal before Lyn to prove this can be done without using drastic measures such as reducing your calories to 800-900 a day on an expensive, pre-packaged food program. You can do this eating healthy, natural food and doing exercise. Well, Lyn kept losing weight, and I was up and down the same five pounds...for the last several months. I watched Lyn get closer and closer to my weight. <br /><br />Guess what? Lyn and I now weigh exactly the same (and we're the same height but I think she looks a lot skinnier :). <br /><br />Now I'm thrilled for Lyn. No one deserves this more than she does. She's done a lot of work on her mental attitude, how she views food, how she views herself. Just because she's doing MediFast doesn't mean this was easy for her. I've done several of the pre-package food programs (with the exception of MF), and I know it's still hard work. Lyn is one of my heroes, and I admire what she's done. I don't put any less significance on it because she used the MediFast program, just like I don't put any less significance on someone that has had weight loss surgery. It's still incredibly difficult to lose weight, regardless of the path you chose.<br /><br />On the other hand, I still feel like I have to prove something. That this can be done naturally, without spending a ton of money on a pre-packaged food program. So Lyn, if you're reading this, the race is on! I know you're losing 2-3 pounds per week, and I'm not sure I can keep up with that pace, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

Weighin update after the candy lapse

I couldn't help myself this morning, I had to see how much damage I did last night with those candy bars I ate. At 80 calories each, I a...

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Candy monster and polka dots

First of all, I don't think I can live with this polka dot look. It's making me dizzy, especially on my big 25 inch monitor I use for work (yes, I was just working on some work stuff and yes it's 5am). It's not bad on my laptop, but yikes, in big, giant living color, all these dots make me feel kind of sick.<br /><br />About the candy, even though we had about 40 kids last night, and I had them taking handfuls of candy because honestly, I wanted to run out of candy and turn off the lights and rip off that ridiculous wig...we still wound up with a bag of 150 pieces of candy. The good stuff. <br /><br />Right before I went to bed I grabbed a handful, a mixture of six bars, Twix, Almond Joys and Milk Ways, and I ate them. Oh well. A little lapse.The candy is going to work today, to the communal kitchen we all share on my floor. It will most likely be gone by noon. :)<br /><br />I'm just about ready to pull on my workout clothes and head out to the gym. I think I'll do the StairMaster today and a good upper body workout, probably an hour and twenty minutes, which seems to be my normal to get in 30 minutes of cardio and 40 minutes of strength training. <br /><br />Happy Monday everyone (and thank goodness Halloween is over!). Now we have Thanksgiving to face. Tis the season of food holidays.

Candy monster and polka dots

First of all, I don't think I can live with this polka dot look. It's making me dizzy, especially on my big 25 inch monitor I use fo...

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