I wonder why some of us figure this out, and some don't

We went for our walk this afternoon, only three miles but the weather was perfect. The blue sky was completely cloudless, and it was 58 degrees.<br /><br />Our trail is a little hilly, but we only did three miles of it (it's eight miles long). I wasn't even breathing hard on the steepest parts of the trail. My husband was having trouble. I think he's finally realizing just how out of shape he is these days. He's "only" about 50 pounds overweight, but that's still a lot of extra weight to be packing around. He's been reading books on weight loss for the first time in his life. He's determine to lose weight and get in shape. I say good for "us". I'm glad he's finally going to join me on my quest for health.<br /><br />After our walk, we had a wonderful salad, made with blueberries, strawberries (the best ever strawberries) and a variety of three leaf lettuces, with six ounces of shrimp on each salad. I made a balsamic vinaigrette and it was a wonderful dinner. <br /><br />Then I don't know what happened. I guess I always feel kind of cheated when a salad is my meal. It never feels like a real meal to me. This led to me grazing after dinner. Which resulted in going 26 Points over my target. I had the best intentions and poof!, all gone in just a couple hours. <br /><br />I've been at this for a while now. February 19 was my two-year Weight Watcher anniversary. I should have this all figured out by now. I don't. <br /><br />I read other blogs and so many people are doing excellent, week after week. The first seven months of doing this, I was pretty darn close to perfect. I guess that was my honeymoon phase. <br /><br />The last seventeen months have been a struggle. I kind of think it's going to be like this the rest of my life. I'm never really going to figure it out. Sometimes I wonder if this means I'm just stupid. Too stupid to figure out how to make this whole thing work without it being the most difficult thing I've every done in my life. It really makes me doubt my intelligence. Others do it, why can't I?<br /><br />I keep posting Mt. Rainier pictures and it's probably boring to most of you, but it's so beautiful that I just can't resist taking pictures of it. I love Mt. Rainier. Besides, there wasn't anything interesting on the trail today, besides a lot of people, which kind of annoyed me. The mountain looks so close, even when we're standing there looking at it, it's like we could reach out and touch it. It's actually about sixty miles from our house. Can you believe that sky? Seattle. February. Amazing.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAevW2OvEJbbiPjBDZdXyw_2wBFj_r8Ud3Q5la6BMALfelz9EJDnSVhBTW0hPy9h1Rx0r_WcNGmdTdmsG8tz27FzWNnmeH0xmodqRcPD6IEf0YFLauGsSglPk7BNy0IttYUgYc9Ge-gcry/s1600-h/Mt.+Rainier+21FEB10+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAevW2OvEJbbiPjBDZdXyw_2wBFj_r8Ud3Q5la6BMALfelz9EJDnSVhBTW0hPy9h1Rx0r_WcNGmdTdmsG8tz27FzWNnmeH0xmodqRcPD6IEf0YFLauGsSglPk7BNy0IttYUgYc9Ge-gcry/s640/Mt.+Rainier+21FEB10+007.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>

I wonder why some of us figure this out, and some don't

We went for our walk this afternoon, only three miles but the weather was perfect. The blue sky was completely cloudless, and it was 58 degr...

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My Saturday weighin

My weighin yesterday was 176.4. Up a couple pounds. It's okay though. I haven't been tracking and definitely eating too much healthy stuff. No junk or cake or anything that would be considered unhealthy. Just too many calories. <br /><br />My exercise is back to each workout being my best workout ever. I'm crediting Women's Health "The Big Book of Exercise" for my new enthusiasm at the gym. Plus I've totally given up the treadmill. I hate it and it hates me. <br /><br />Lately with the great weather we've been having in Seattle I've been walking outside every day at lunch this past week. My husband I are going for a walk in about an hour because the weather is once again totally spectacular. It's 58 and not a cloud in the sky. Did I mention it's February?!<br /><br />I'm psyched up to get back to tracking and eating less. I tracked yesterday and ate 30 Points (I'm allowed 21). That's a little high but at least I tracked, and I already have 8 Activity Points in the bank. <br /><br />I went to the gym twice yesterday. My husband decided to go last night so I went with him even though I went before my weighin for a last chance workout. I'm really sore today from doing several new exercises, but it feels good.<br /><br />I'll try to find something to take pictures of today on my walk. I was so busy running errands yesterday that I only took one picture. Another picture of the mountain, this time from the SuperMall where I bought another set of Tanita scales for $100. I've gone through three Taylor scales in the last six months, and they were all a piece of junk (and at $40-$60 I was annoyed taking them back each time). I love my Tanita! She's worth every penny.<br /><br />Mt. Rainier at about 2pm, 2/20/10 - from the SuperMall in Auburn, WA (that's why there's a streetlight right in the middle - gotta love suburbia).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UkN7dU8l9Tz6MfW33XAfmLFivZ6nyhlngD3DS0zUtsTl6DDaRZeO7l9Tnt7wpfNU705ZECKCdTQ6gNp5w-2K3nYNprtOeZvjJYNXAl8DRs6CN8NfGA-Hp_8WNfGQCJWumWh2xG7_C3HN/s1600-h/Rainier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UkN7dU8l9Tz6MfW33XAfmLFivZ6nyhlngD3DS0zUtsTl6DDaRZeO7l9Tnt7wpfNU705ZECKCdTQ6gNp5w-2K3nYNprtOeZvjJYNXAl8DRs6CN8NfGA-Hp_8WNfGQCJWumWh2xG7_C3HN/s400/Rainier.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>

My Saturday weighin

My weighin yesterday was 176.4. Up a couple pounds. It's okay though. I haven't been tracking and definitely eating too much healthy...

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Lenten Reflections: Part 1

Dear Blog Readers,<br />God has wonderously saved me so many times, and I have prayed so often "Lord open my lips, and my mouth will proclaim your praise," but I have not praised God an iota of a percent of what God's saving mercies deserve. This year I want to devote the season of Lent to praising God with a series of devotional reflections on the hymn Rock of Ages. The lyrics of that song have captivated my heart these past months. I am finding them far richer than I had known, full of paradoxical and evocative metaphors. So my plan is to work my way through this hymn with reflections annotating the verses. If they are helpful to you in your lenten observance, so much the better. But I write because God is good and I am compelled to proclaim God's praise. In this first reflection, I will write of the very opening words "Rock of Ages."<br /><br />I.ROCK OF AGES<br /><br />I live in a land of crags, cliffs, buttes, and stone escarpments. My Honda CRV rolls up thousands of miles each year as I roam the Great Basin’s Mojave Desert, once a vast inland sea, now parched beneath the bluest skies on Earth, a land now home to coyotes, lizards, jack rabbits, and me – a nomad bishop with a Bible, prayer book, and shepherd’s staff in the back seat. 312 mountain ranges divide the territory I traverse to visit churches in the scattered centers of mining, ranching, and farming. Hawks, ravens, and eagles fly overhead.<br /><br />This land speaks. Sky, raptors, Joshua trees are its words. But the greatest word, hardest and truest, of this bare and barren land is rock. From the vertical cliffs of Zion National Park on my east to Yosemite’s El Capitan on my west, rock speaks a voluminous silence. Passing through the stony arroyos, I feel the holiness of a cathedral. The rock formations of Cathedral Gorge make it explicit and tell me this intuition of holiness is not just my idiosyncrasy.<br /><br />One evening, just before sunset, a low hill, but a steep one, caught my eye. It was a pile of black stone, no doubt volcanic. The earth’s depths send messengers of rhyolite, basalt, and pumice. I pulled over and scrambled up the hill, standing there looking out over the plane as the sun set behind me and the shadow of night extended into the softening air. But the stone did not extend. It did not soften. It was immovably there. That is the rock’s way.<br /><br />“Rock of ages” – what does it mean? A rock that has endured the ages. A rock that the ages rest upon. The rock which arises from the ages. It is an evocatively multivalent phrase, a symbol that goes back to some of the very oldest verses of our sacred text. Half way around the world, thousands of years ago, rock spoke to people in another desert. It told them something about God, something they needed to hear, as I need to hear it now. Perhaps if we listen closely to their words, we may glean something of their experience, the experience of simpler people, closer to the earth, maybe closer to life. Perhaps we may learn something that will save us from becoming lost in the shifting sands of post-modernity.<br /><br />In you O lord, have I taken refuge<br />Let me never be ashamed . . . .<br />Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe;<br />You are my crag and my stronghold.<br />Psalm 71: 1, 3<br /><br />Verse 3 must have been a recurrent longing. “Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe.”The same words appear verbatim in Psalm 31, v. 3. It is a cry for deliverance and protection.<br /><br />O Lord, I call to you;<br />my Rock, do not be deaf to my cry;<br />lest if you do not hear me,<br />I become like those who go down to the Pit.<br />Psalm 28<br /><br />The Psalms give voice to the variety and complexity of human emotion in a primitive rawness unequalled in any other ancient text, more than Roman odes, more than Greek drama. No passion is more pronounced in the Psalms than fear, the primal cry “Save me.” It is not fear of God. It is fear of the world and a scurrying to God for safety. “Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you.” Psalm 16: 1; “O Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me.” Psalm 7:1.<br /><br />When help was not forthcoming, the people of old complained bitterly. “Why do you stand so far off, O Lord and hide yourself in time of trouble?” Psalm 10:1; “How long O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” Psalm 13:1. But the prevailing theme is expressed in the rock Psalms. “Let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.” Psalm 95:1; and :<br /><br />I love you, O Lord my strength,<br />O Lord my stronghold, my crag, and my haven.<br />My God, my rock in whom I put my trust,<br />my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge;<br />you are worthy of praise.<br />I will call upon the Lord<br />and so shall I be saved from my enemies.<br />Psalm 18: 1- 3<br /><br />Do the rocks still speak to us? Do the stone escarpments of the Mojave say to me what the crags of the Sinai said the Psalmists?<br /><br />Modern people assumed a heroic posture, a Promethean defiance. When atheism chided the religious for our fear of the world, we were ashamed. If we kept to our religion at all, it was an ethical religion of which we need not be ashamed or perhaps a cheerful religion of celebrating what a wonderful world we have been given. We did not want to admit to anything infantile. We did not want to admit we are afraid of the dark, the thunder, the shadow on the x-ray, the fragility of the eco-system, the avarice that devours an economy wiping out life savings, the fine print in our health insurance policies. We did not want to admit that life still scared us.<br /><br />I will not judge the hearts of others. I don’t know what happens in those secret chambers. But I, for one, am still afraid. Granted, I may be more afraid than others. I have anxiety disorder. In my worst bouts, I have rolled xanax like prayer beads in my pocket, afraid of sundown for no reason I could articulate. I have also known fears that had real causes. I have seen my life teeter on the precipice. In the words of T. S. Eliot, “I was, in short, afraid.” A religion that begins with the assumption of human self-sufficiency -- a “religion of happy mindedness” William James called it – will not do for me. I have no need of a polite tea with God. Truth be told, I tend to forget God when I feel self-sufficient. I have prayed fervently at times, but my most unadulteratedly sincere prayer has always been, “Help!” I do not long for the beauty of the Lord. The law of the Lord does not delight my heart. I am Peter sinking on the sea.<br /><br />But when (Peter) saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink<br />he cried, saying Lord save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him . . . .<br />Matthew 14: 30-31<br /><br />“Rock of ages.” “Who is our God, but the Lord? Who is the Rock, except our God?” Psalm 18:32. “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold, so that I shall not be greatly shaken.” Psalm 62:2.<br /><br />The Psalmists are not being spiritual. They are not concerned about the afterlife. They are afraid of the perils haunting this dusty earth. Just so, many of us are afraid our children will be sent to war, afraid of tornadoes, afraid of pandemics. The Psalmists, in their fear, remembered the rocks of the Sinai as we might remember the rocks of the Mojave. The rocks spoke to them about God.<br /><br />Part of what the rocks said about God, who created them to express something of the divine nature, is that God is strong. The power of God works wonders. One can take refuge in the strength of God because God is stronger, vastly stronger, than the forces that assail us. I have been saved by God’s surprises again and again. I know others have not apparently been saved. For that I have no answer, only hope for some future redemption that I cannot yet see. But my experience and what I have seen in the lives of others is that God’s power moves inexplicably in the affairs of this world effecting gracious ends. The power of God sometimes seems to intervene from outside. But it is not really an intervention. God is already here, already the rock solid foundation of reality itself. We can take refuge in that. Even if what we want is deliverance from a particular threat and we do not receive the deliverance we wanted, there is still a rock solid foundation to reality, a place in which we can take refuge – if that foundation is kindly, if that foundation cherishes us and has not cast us off.<br /><br />There is something more to the rock metaphor than strength. There is fidelity. God’s love for us is as unshakeable as rock. The word most expressive of God’s heart in the Hebrew scriptures is hesed. We usually translate hesed as “loving kindness.” But the word has more to do with dependability than sentimentality. It means a love you can count on, a bond unbreakable and sure.<br /><br />Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,<br />for his mercy endures forever.<br />Give thanks to the God of Gods,<br />for his mercy endures forever . . . .<br />Psalm 136<br /><br />And so the Psalm continues recounting God’s act of creation and his assistance to people throughout history, echoing again and again, a full 26 times, “his mercy endures forever.”<br /><br />The foundation of reality is merciful and gracious. Our human foibles and the vicissitudes of history cannot shake that foundation. The love of God cannot be defeated even by our unlovableness. We may refuse to love God or each other, but we cannot stop God from loving us. Even our deaths will not end God’s love for us and what God loves cannot finally die – not if God is the rock solid foundation of reality.<br /><br />I have imagined that people who lived as long before the Pslamists as the Psalmists lived before us must have been awed by the majesty of stone. I have imagined them worshiping a stone mountain like El Capitan in Yosemite, Northern California.<br /><br />My fathers bowed<br />before your granite face<br />sun crowned terrifying.<br />But what had they worthy<br />for sacrifice to you<br />gargantuan monolith?<br />What could they offer<br />colossal you who already consumed<br />the very sky?<br /><br />The Psalmists saw such stone not as idol but as icon, as a sign of the divine nature, a silent word of God. That word spoke awesome majesty, a place of refuge, and a promise of God’s eternal mercy. When “the changes and the chances of this life” are shifting beneath my feet, I need to hear that word.<br /> Copyright Dan Edwards 2010

Lenten Reflections: Part 1

Dear Blog Readers, God has wonderously saved me so many times, and I have prayed so often "Lord open my lips, and my mouth will proclai...

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Planning de la semaine du 22 au 26 février 2010

<BR><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Permanences<br /></span></strong></h2><ul><br /><li>Le <strong>Conseil Général du Loiret</strong> sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans<br />- le lundi 22 février de 9h à 12h30<br />- le mardi 23 février de 9h à 12h30 et de 13h30 à 17h,<br />- le mercredi 24 février de 13h30 à 17h<br />- le jeudi 25 février de 13h30 à 17h<br />- le vendredi 26 février de 13h30 à 17h<br /><br /><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2007/11/boutique-de-gestion.html">Boutique de Gestion</a></strong> - vendredi 26 février de 09h à 12h30 (sur rendez-vous)</li></ul><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Ateliers</span></strong><br /></h2><br /><ul><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2008/12/atelier-parcours-emploi.html">Parcours Emploi</a></strong> - mardi 23 février à 13h30<br /><br /><li><strong>CV</strong> - mardi 23 février de 9h à 12h30 et mercredi 24 février de 13h30 à 17h<br /><br /><li><strong>Lettre de Motivation</strong> - mardi 23 février de 13h30 à 17h<br /><br /><li><strong>Préparation à l'entretien</strong> - jeudi 18 février de 13h30 à 17h<br /><br /><li><strong>Pôle-emploi.fr</strong> - vendredi 26 février de 10h à 11h30<br /><br /><li><strong><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2009/07/atelier-situtilises-tu-trouves.html">Sit'Utilises tu trouves</a></strong> - vendredi 26 février de 14h à 16h</ul>Cette semaine, l'atelier Parcours Emploi aura lieu le mardi 23 février au Relais Emploi Insertion de Saint Jean de la Ruelle (75 rue Charles Beauhaire - 02.38.79.33.49).<br /><br /><br /><h2><strong><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 113%;color:#005c9b;" >Information collective</span></strong><br /></h2><br /><ul><li><strong>Boutique de gestion</strong> - lundi 22 février à 14h</ul>

Planning de la semaine du 22 au 26 février 2010

Permanences Le Conseil Général du Loiret sera présent dans les locaux de la Maison de l'Emploi du bassin d'Orléans - le lundi 22 fé...

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Great morning workout on Thursday

I had a great workout this morning. I added four new lower body exercises from my new book. I love this new book. It not only has hundreds of great exercises, but also some really good tips. I detest lower body workout days. If I could do only upper body workouts I'd be a happy girl. Of course, it's my hips and thighs that need the most work.<br /><br />I was at the gym at 5:30am and left at 7:10am. When I was driving home (about three miles), I saw something I see every day if it's daylight and not rainy or cloudy. Usually that's a rare day this time of year, but not this week (57 degrees and sunny). Every day when I see this I think I should really stop and take a picture, and every day I don't do it because I'm in a hurry. Today I took five minutes, stopped and took a couple pictures (love my new camera!).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Mt. Rainier</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQRlWdK4pCX_uo9IylXRtiEpcHtYeRTlC8qXCNsHACKSo88ooNNmho6AtyNL2kApW-izKe6Uyy1yqVsqBP_vtP13xk-4oToQUDl8r2o0WaNrVZmnuPKfxyz0B-23sl5eyJcvtPGHQTyAH/s1600-h/Mt+Rainier.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVQRlWdK4pCX_uo9IylXRtiEpcHtYeRTlC8qXCNsHACKSo88ooNNmho6AtyNL2kApW-izKe6Uyy1yqVsqBP_vtP13xk-4oToQUDl8r2o0WaNrVZmnuPKfxyz0B-23sl5eyJcvtPGHQTyAH/s400/Mt+Rainier.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I've always been fascinated by contrails. Probably from growing up in Alaska in the sixties. Very few jets flew overhead and when they left a contrail I thought it was really cool. This one is from this morning.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuu67h2F1bmHWirM68fShGGYBkcrZYEA5Ty-rnBFTyr0VIUVCDAQihKWS6VHID9l8T3l_x3WoPHDLMvNRpvDIJ0OrlLU1HPk4LcHuGvRubQTHNaJf1E0_emdZf8ficIImBSXQCKfOoCHa/s1600-h/Jetstream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuu67h2F1bmHWirM68fShGGYBkcrZYEA5Ty-rnBFTyr0VIUVCDAQihKWS6VHID9l8T3l_x3WoPHDLMvNRpvDIJ0OrlLU1HPk4LcHuGvRubQTHNaJf1E0_emdZf8ficIImBSXQCKfOoCHa/s400/Jetstream.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When I can't figure out what a vanity plate means it makes me a little nuts.  I saw the one below on my walk during lunch today. I asked a few of my coworkers if they knew what it meant. No one had a clue. It was on a shiny, bright blue PT Cruiser. I thought maybe "kill American Airlines too". Honestly, I'm not a terrorist and love American Airlines (well, kind of). It was the only thing that came to mind. I know, totally stupid</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I once drove twenty minutes behind a big, red pickup truck with RDFRTRK plates. I was going crazy trying to figure it out. Obviously it was a red -- truck. A red "fur" truck? When I got close enough I could see the Firefighter's emblem decal on his back window. Oh...Red Fire Truck.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This one stumped me:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozxu-6h98biYxIEHqxNGRMr_Rhq_5lSULB-PJKfV2UbZg2y5cP5kanN96RawCTKCAPFj3HrmFuo3Cu2xFcg_hdyLVDLSjYzTJN1rF35gUm15R3gD9_hSQG3ynDXKhGMwjeF0R-jxceZ-x/s1600-h/Klaatu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozxu-6h98biYxIEHqxNGRMr_Rhq_5lSULB-PJKfV2UbZg2y5cP5kanN96RawCTKCAPFj3HrmFuo3Cu2xFcg_hdyLVDLSjYzTJN1rF35gUm15R3gD9_hSQG3ynDXKhGMwjeF0R-jxceZ-x/s320/Klaatu.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I finally Googled it. It's the name of this guy, from The Day the Earth Stood Still. The guy on the alien ship. Keanu Reeves played Klaatu in the 2008 remake (not anywhere nearly as good as the original). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZc6Ypxq3ygYZzEBYQlaMp_IRzko-C9vAC0iNqNOFzWN_xlCv0rQJoV6nkJUwzW53FBh7z4Pr3r9gFhB_I_2l3akIhsLN1njJwfS5jR-u0m6j4THuhis04pyMNfIwHl0nnGF46M9E5dtNM/s1600-h/klaatu+the+day+the+earth+stood+still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZc6Ypxq3ygYZzEBYQlaMp_IRzko-C9vAC0iNqNOFzWN_xlCv0rQJoV6nkJUwzW53FBh7z4Pr3r9gFhB_I_2l3akIhsLN1njJwfS5jR-u0m6j4THuhis04pyMNfIwHl0nnGF46M9E5dtNM/s320/klaatu+the+day+the+earth+stood+still.jpg" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>

Great morning workout on Thursday

I had a great workout this morning. I added four new lower body exercises from my new book. I love this new book. It not only has hundreds o...

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Chiffres clés - Année 2010, n 1

<BR><br />Voici le 1er numéro de l’année 2010 des « chiffres Clés » produit par l’Observatoire de la Maison de l’Emploi du bassin d’Orléans.<br /><br />Dans ce numéro, un éclairage particulier est accordé aux 3 zones urbaines sensibles présentes dans le bassin d'Orléans.<br /><br /><a title="View Bulletin 4 1 on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/27072622/Bulletin-4-1" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Bulletin 4 1</a> <object data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" height="600" id="doc_896080449358450" name="doc_896080449358450" style="outline:none;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"> <param name="wmode" value="opaque"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"> <param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=27072622&access_key=key-le5qavifno243j66a34&page=1&viewMode=list"> <embed id="doc_896080449358450" name="doc_896080449358450" src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=27072622&access_key=key-le5qavifno243j66a34&page=1&viewMode=list" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="600" width="100%" wmode="opaque" bgcolor="#ffffff"></embed> </object><br /><BR>

Chiffres clés - Année 2010, n 1

Voici le 1er numéro de l’année 2010 des « chiffres Clés » produit par l’Observatoire de la Maison de l’Emploi du bassin d’Orléans. Dans ce n...

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Settling for good enough

We all settle for things in our lives that are a little or a lot less than what we wanted or expected. If you've ever settled, it's something you've accepted as part of your life. You made the decision that it is "good enough". <br /><br />That's what I've done with my weight. I've settled into this 176 range and accepted it as good enough.Yet it's a completely unacceptable weight for me. It's ridiculous that I've gained 20 pounds in the past six months. What's even more ridiculous is that I've tried to fool myself into thinking this it's okay. I use stupid logic with myself, telling myself that I'm a "little" overweight and that's okay. Most people are a little overweight.<br /><br />Well, it is really isn't okay, and I'm ready to do something about it. <br /><br />I complained yesterday about my exercise, that it was lackluster and boring. Last weekend I bought another strength training book. I cracked it open this morning and it's a really good book. I already own about ten strength training books, including NWLR4W (which I hate). This book is great because it's doing different variations of the same exercises I've been doing. <br /><br />This morning<em> </em>I tried a couple new things. Bicep curls using a slanted board (much harder than my concentrated bicep curls). The other doing the lat pulldowns while on my knees. It's suppose to work the glutes in addition to the lats, and mine have been sore all day. Just small changes in old exercises made all the difference in the world. I highly recommend this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Womens-Health-Big-Book-Exercises/dp/1605295493/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266476515&sr=1-1" target="blank">book</a> ($14.99 at Costco).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxjJOXbbY-MszWEQcc6dIvSpegUb4ogk7rDggOXujZaap2FaUBmrqHqJ2cUe_KBF0g-tiAdjc5iByVARrMk4-j6zOCkDWDboAnNiV09OKxtOJTNNeU-2-IzPT_hf2QKGWJey5hgYEgkkZ/s1600-h/book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxjJOXbbY-MszWEQcc6dIvSpegUb4ogk7rDggOXujZaap2FaUBmrqHqJ2cUe_KBF0g-tiAdjc5iByVARrMk4-j6zOCkDWDboAnNiV09OKxtOJTNNeU-2-IzPT_hf2QKGWJey5hgYEgkkZ/s320/book.jpg" width="297" /></a></div><br />I bought new workout shoes on Monday, Asics Gels (GT-2150). I've had three pairs in the last three years and love them. These are a new, improved (and more expensive) model. I wore them Tuesday and wanted to amputate my feet after my workout. I tried them again this morning and they were like wearing pillows. I think I had the laces too tight on Tuesday (stupid me!).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pdiL_VgBuOlfUstyJdrmC5TUm1sfFHj-uJbGTkIy5bLzNwEiV1w7t4dOqsP8DsqRaGq1s8M3qNy_5DUuB2eKkgjV8hBza7A53IXp62LkS_tIKzrk3EcGI82EzXF3CEyFNGUi9isDzFu4/s1600-h/Shoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pdiL_VgBuOlfUstyJdrmC5TUm1sfFHj-uJbGTkIy5bLzNwEiV1w7t4dOqsP8DsqRaGq1s8M3qNy_5DUuB2eKkgjV8hBza7A53IXp62LkS_tIKzrk3EcGI82EzXF3CEyFNGUi9isDzFu4/s320/Shoes.jpg" /></a></div>I also made the decision this morning that if I really hate the treadmill (and I do!) I don't have to work it into my cardio routine during the week. I try to mix up my cardio, a couple days of the StairMaster (my favorite!), a day or two of the treadmill, the spinning cycle, crossramp and elliptical. On treadmill days I'm miserable. <br /><br />The reason I hate the treadmill so much is that I can't jog anymore. I've never mentioned this because it makes me feel so old, but since I twisted my knee last year it's never been the same. Running is just out of the question. I can slowly jog (4.5 mph) for ten minutes then it starts to ache and hurt. I really don't like getting old, but this is a sure sign of becoming elderly. Bad knees. That damn treadmill rubs it in my face every time I get on it. The young twenty-somethings are running up a storm next to me. There I am, the old lady, walking (uphill, but it's still not as cool as running).<br /><br />My decision this morning was to hell with the treadmill. I hate it, and I'm not doing it anymore. If I want to do the StairMaster seven days a week, then I'll do what makes me happy. <br /><br />Now I'm back on track with the exercise, and I'm actually looking forward to trying some new lower body exercises tomorrow. <br /><br />The next step is to figure out how to get back to tracking my food. I'm not settling for 176, that means I'm going to have to track my food. 176 is <strong>not</strong> good enough.<br /><br />Pictures from my walk at lunch today...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><em>This is so strange, but a lot of the flowering trees and bushes are blooming. It's still February. We've had snow in March in past years. I hope winter is really over, but like I said, it's February in Seattle (and sunny...a total freak of nature)!</em></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrOLLBLnmNo3i_L_KBKFr_6TsXRRVmbgWkj_frNZ9oDGsQOR0rndiR6M59VuqtCQjs15ceRBvcDwzCevx_2H-ZBmveC3BPv1ohsfRtDT_x4dqDqTJOdlDymDDtThbsdOySgOeyS4pCskK/s1600-h/Flowers2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrOLLBLnmNo3i_L_KBKFr_6TsXRRVmbgWkj_frNZ9oDGsQOR0rndiR6M59VuqtCQjs15ceRBvcDwzCevx_2H-ZBmveC3BPv1ohsfRtDT_x4dqDqTJOdlDymDDtThbsdOySgOeyS4pCskK/s400/Flowers2.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJfdSbZNyS_QkYsvfY9LP-MUJmPbV78UDX0jtygM1wyQtxAEPEmkiSxArLpKvZcRJ4_sepOSqRrbgzPZWCdNHFIAa2_LtuNvtIT6un7F0S3puq-HZL0gt6MIRSLXf_oPHDzr1NgGsyxn1/s1600-h/Tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJfdSbZNyS_QkYsvfY9LP-MUJmPbV78UDX0jtygM1wyQtxAEPEmkiSxArLpKvZcRJ4_sepOSqRrbgzPZWCdNHFIAa2_LtuNvtIT6un7F0S3puq-HZL0gt6MIRSLXf_oPHDzr1NgGsyxn1/s400/Tree.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJwV9x_pEpNDmCzNy9SWSb6DjVo9urezam51U-4y4rjFqUeLQARBVx4YGHs5QBeo0-gEqfeDLv66dRw2GHdjx6QeM2qTk_yi8ncB2x-tGjlW1NN0bSljbwitBbiFPY-ei6rCDU9Xzm0x7/s1600-h/YellowFlowers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJwV9x_pEpNDmCzNy9SWSb6DjVo9urezam51U-4y4rjFqUeLQARBVx4YGHs5QBeo0-gEqfeDLv66dRw2GHdjx6QeM2qTk_yi8ncB2x-tGjlW1NN0bSljbwitBbiFPY-ei6rCDU9Xzm0x7/s400/YellowFlowers.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>View from the parking lot at my office, as I was leaving at 5:30pm. Just beyond the trees is the condemned trailer park, and to the right is the county detention center. It was still a pretty sunset.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYxV0PoouPxxjHoIs5XsIXccWqv4N9vhz9mKl9zEilaXZ89Z1NTN0uKf3wScPO9Kpuvf6KzcCFeMVL6iQXKbMn1VtCRbQSE-PQH3BwfEM-gW6dZEOgdedi5QdgG6MAlKGnDz88hzqQLc-/s1600-h/ParkingLot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYxV0PoouPxxjHoIs5XsIXccWqv4N9vhz9mKl9zEilaXZ89Z1NTN0uKf3wScPO9Kpuvf6KzcCFeMVL6iQXKbMn1VtCRbQSE-PQH3BwfEM-gW6dZEOgdedi5QdgG6MAlKGnDz88hzqQLc-/s400/ParkingLot.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD1ZkMjKi50vnh9rsYS-bTUIFfCuZP5OcLyqfnzKII_hWIDI8wYI_lf8WIsF4Bbr_egPy72zrH3gR4YZmWWSIL54afuyIbIISThmnZADQHldv4kodPdV2OtFm-hq-MkhILAMAqkBcauJKm/s1600-h/ParkingLot2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD1ZkMjKi50vnh9rsYS-bTUIFfCuZP5OcLyqfnzKII_hWIDI8wYI_lf8WIsF4Bbr_egPy72zrH3gR4YZmWWSIL54afuyIbIISThmnZADQHldv4kodPdV2OtFm-hq-MkhILAMAqkBcauJKm/s400/ParkingLot2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>

Settling for good enough

We all settle for things in our lives that are a little or a lot less than what we wanted or expected. If you've ever settled, it's ...

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Fruity-licious!

<p>Happy hump day! As many of you  may know it’s also Ash Wednesday. I know Catholics traditionally observe Lent and give up something. Even though I’m not Catholic I decided to do something that would “better” my life. <strong><u>I gave up the snooze button!</u></strong> Now I was so happy & thought it was so original until I ready <a href="http://tippytoediet.com/">Cammy’s post</a> tonight(she listed what I’m giving up)! ;) I’m sticking with it though!! And I started out right this morning and got up after just one annoying ring of the alarm!</p> <p>Kyle and spent some time together catching up this morning. I made an<strong> executive decision</strong> to skip the gym and enjoy some time with my man! Seems like things have been crazy lately and we were starting to get caught up in the “<strong>busy-ness of life</strong>”. So it was nice to take some <strong>time</strong> for <strong>each other</strong>! </p> <p>I still made it to my office nice & early. I switched up my breakfast this morning and had a <strong>over flowing</strong> bowl of fruit. I peeled and <strong>orange</strong> and sliced up an <strong>apple</strong> for <strong>2 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8YpvDuWyqY15Dz68JPfgtyq6vK4zb3Awm-8govqUNWiOroEOlHMCJZKZPnLHpxe4Lyi_7wwHVfcLkjOYN-Cn1SuoOFpnMD2m3ix5ebIvf7JeGkgxX5kLeGX7JH_zuNGamUygMegQDWXw/s1600-h/DSC06064%5B4%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06064" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XsDjZaSiYmQFSJ_10ogHXoPaINnMiRQrzPDYPzmxXT7LseSW3XPSOcl4TvCsCE7IVZMaUxQVI8ota91w8EbHFms6G5R5BIJ4hgAgwe42SH7lPSvffRXF256huuZ23FSOJiQdgBs9Fpch/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06064" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>An hour or 2 later I had <strong>1 cup</strong> of <strong>grapes</strong> for <strong>1 point</strong>. Can you tell I’m trying to get my <strong>fridge cleaned out</strong> before all this delicious fruit goes bad?!?!?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2m_UWIeDofgJPSR6cuGW1WyQWxqlM17tnuWp2ObOBr2gmFzm8zd3PqsKmbYyRwis8DNc-w-0QTpP80jCdeKTqYUwsJ-9QLghxEIZGlM1Rb3_mV8Gx-ffpEyo7Ow2qPWN26-pPIPCYVDe8/s1600-h/DSC06065%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06065" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXDyUODyVyB95A9a-Mgy9ZE-3LCTHYAwnYzAu8tU9xaEdAvR3zm2joJKNekT379hZsZmhbe8H9gIoPdHdXbPRmJO7bvGxyr9rWdbdyTYWI2TP5yz-80gbdK1Dx8lZkFgi_EEjBZQq5mhd/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06065" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>My Dad called me around noon and said he was in town and wanted to <strong>meet up for lunch</strong>! What a nice surprise! Before I went I had my last fruit of the morning, <strong>1 1/2c strawberries</strong>, <strong>ww vanilla yogurt</strong>, and 1<strong>/4 c <a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2010/02/few-updates.html">homemade granola</a></strong> for <strong>3 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw43GC4-Prb8yuEN2DYZwRSuRCBZZOmflchktwgQoJNbHM8zDMkO9GvnMXLU3jbaZl-NmoK7J-x4_z-bMn-8t7upO4F5LDEkV9QUgKQ7Zjqzf8JUrzCb5Quyk2avmcMTuIHrdk_wGb-7xM/s1600-h/DSC06066%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06066" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYZY-0wyBI80kwtaGlv0yAOFTUyMzqspa52ufI9uK9ORlyZ-yZc24laaR30s9OtFpuG9kICa8g5-J0TWlm5_wAp3hoNR5O_WSTZBcfZiWGSS6_M5TA7BG7McsPsr1vO7Z41YXum94sWzzz/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06066" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>I met up with my Dad for lunch at Applebees. I love going there knowing they have ww friendly items and I don’t have guess on the calories & fat! Kyle even got to join us. It was a nice, unexpected lunch out with 2 of my favorite guys! Oh and I ordered the <strong>Garlic Herb Chicken</strong> for<strong> 8 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM5cnf0h9kkojegLoNp2uYNyt4WAB5ScmvlhIS_cxIGPNJHS6VIvXch0RF9hyphenhyphenx6hJhxwcyROl4efJPnmNJlYPQQ_B2NHvqQKyAAIawDgSVjVJ89PIDqlropHMO0OxQYzo2MNhNrhqbZ61E/s1600-h/DSC06067%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06067" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8uWD1kBXueSlyXolz6GaydBua-OHG_HvTkbcBtYDI_Q6brVLyGrVdxXET061JxPcQcGVau3_tJLcOc7ol0REKiSYgd3cA9ayd4vt26uhv5nwZZM67hJHlPkKbtD2mYvzQ-yqQz-IHO-dR/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06067" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>After lunch I productive afternoon at work. Knowing I’m going to be gone on Friday (Chicago!!!)I was trying to get things caught up!</p> <p>After work a friend stopped by and chatted for a while with me & Kyle. Another <strong>unexpected visit</strong>! How fun!?!? I wasn’t sure what to do for supper and went <strong>easy</strong>! I whipped up a<strong> few pancakes</strong> and kept them simple and just had <strong>sf syrup</strong> on the side for<strong> 4 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdObAoGUl1c2hnokv1OcxH0N8ZzBNPYc_sflW0tsosZVzFqynlfdxPnZKm7z9yFhL73gyRZkoCALzFFhIrSKjbOZjHpbtckM4-ITcoyPu4werw8BtVSEiCqa-QtcRsLJo-HmyN7SxEad6v/s1600-h/DSC06068%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06068" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPb4qSfpw5qwwbiwCn59ze8eKsrqfxxj42NiumGWwh5KAa_OCL3-IL98qDqqhoWMxmQNuLu3Pm97UpsseazBTjpIwoZ0RnrPYCLNw2YGnzRpj2XPvZZOHMjOkFISUJ0zi6zhTEF6xVI0-J/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06068" width="404" /></a></p> <p>I am working a short day tomorrow and Kyle & I are gonna <strong>hit the road</strong> to Chi-town!! Speaking of that, <strong>thanks</strong> for the ideas. I am definitely going to check out the <strong>bathrooms</strong> in the <strong>John Hancock</strong> building!! ;)</p> <p>I better get going to get a few last minute things done & hit the hay early so I <strong>don’t hit</strong> the <strong>snooze</strong> button! </p> <p><strong>WEDNESDAY’S STATS</strong> <br />POINTS = 18/23   <br />WATER =  86 oz <br />EXERCISE = none</p> <p><strong><em>Do you participate in Lent? If so, what are you giving up? Or maybe it’s something you’re going to do “extra”!</em></strong></p>

Fruity-licious!

Happy hump day! As many of you  may know it’s also Ash Wednesday. I know Catholics traditionally observe Lent and give up something. Even th...

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All True Christians

“All True Christians Are Pro-Life,” thus said a bumper sticker in Carson City.<br /><br />I am indebted to this bumper sticker for keeping me entertained for days, spinning out lines of inquiry and wonder at such a curiously arrogant assertion of dogma. These are a few of the things I wonder about.<br /><br />Who decides what opinions you have to hold in order to be a “true Christian?” For centuries, we worked out our definitions of orthodoxy in ecumenical councils. Bishops from all over the Christian world met in prayerful deliberation, guided by theologians, mystics, and people of noted sanctity. They came to a consensus definition of the faith. In those days, the statements of the ecumenical councils set the limits on Christian belief. There was a lot going on in the Protestant Reformation, but the theological heart of it was the claim that the definitions articulated by the councils had become too precise. Each person, the reformers insisted, should be given a copy of the sacred text, written in his or her own language, and allowed to find their own understanding of the truth guided by the indwelling Holy Spirit -- not an ecclesiastical hierarchy. That opened up the possibilities of “true Christianity” to a radically wider array of opinions. What may be new in our time is the extension of this individuality to the right of each individual not only to discern his or her own interpretation but to declare that interpretation to be orthodoxy itself and pronounce anathema on anyone who has reached a different interpretation.<br /><br />So who defines a “true Christian” today? Ralph Reed’s Christian Coalition took most of the pending legislation of the 1990’s, prescribed a right position on that legislation, and claimed that any legislator who voted wrong on any issue was not a “true Christian.” But how did Ralph get that authority? He couldn’t even get himself elected Lieutenant Governor of Georgia. Yet he claimed a greater authority than the Council of Nicaea.<br /><br />It used to be so simple. For Paul, if you could say “Jesus is Lord,” you were a true Christian even if you had some harebrained ideas. Eventually that 3-word affirmation grew into the Apostle’s Creed, and finally the Nicene Creed. In the 4th Century, being baptized and saying the Nicene Creed were enough to call yourself a true Christian even if you could not have passed Ralph Reed’s gauntlet of legislative issues test. Who decides whether someone is a “true Christian?” Maybe we could go back to objective standards like the Bible and the Ancient Creeds. Otherwise, we are in the hands of the manufacturers of bumper stickers.<br /><br />But what about the substance of the claim itself? Are all true Christians “pro-life?” The threshold issue is: what do we mean by “pro-life?” If it means a basic orientation toward life and engagement with the world as opposed to life-denying asceticism, then I have to agree that a true Christian is pro-life. We are an Easter people, a people of the Resurrection. So we are for life – no doubt about it. I would think being pro-life compels one to be an ardent advocate of the Millenium Development Goals, to eradicate death-dealing malaria, tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS, and malnutrition. A pro-life person sends Nets For Life to Kenya. Since life depends on health, surely one who is pro-life must oppose toxic waste dumping, nuclear proliferation, global warming, and smoking. Are all of these positions essential to being a true Christian? Is that what the bumper sticker means?<br /><br />Of course, that is not at all what “pro-life” means in American politics. It means support for government regulation of a women’s choice to carry a pregnancy to term as opposed to abort. I have no doubt whatsoever that a true Christian can be “pro-life” in that sense. I know many of them. But is that moral stance so indisputable as to be the core of Christian faith? It is probably not in Scripture (one Old Testament verse is possibly related– but it’s a stretch). It is definitely not in the Creeds. It is not an ancient dogma of the Church. It was never addressed by an ecumenical council. The Episcopal Church’s Resolution on abortion is “pro-life” in that it regards all life as sacred, it holds any abortion to be a “tragic choice,” and says abortion should never be done for trivial reasons – but it finally affirms that this is an intimate moral decision to be made by a woman with pastoral guidance and moral counseling – not something to be regulated by the government. So, if being “pro-life” means I have to support legislation, I would have to defy the teachings of my church in order to be a “true Christian.” Yet, so many of the Epistles and the writings of Church Fathers like Ignatius of Antioch and Clement of Rome say that a true Christian respects the teachings of the Church. The bumper sticker does put many of us on the horns of dilemma.<br /><br />How do we define a “true Christian?” What are the standards? My son-in-law, an ordained presbyter of the Methodist Church, recently “became a fan” of a Face Book page supporting gay marriage. A friend wrote him a lengthy exposition explaining that homosexuality is a sin, so she could not understand how a Christian could support such a thing. She was making a host of major assumptions which many of us who think of ourselves as Christians do not share – for example the basic function of the Bible as a rule book, the interpretation of ritual purity violations as “sins” even though both Testaments clearly treat them differently, the idea that forbidding one specific sexual practice implies the prohibition of others, the idea that rules explicitly directed against men can be extended to women, the notion that most ritual purity rules were superseded by the gospel but a select few were not, that the whole of moral revelation was complete in the Scripture, etc.<br /><br />Again, there are clearly thousands of people on both sides of this issue –thousands who have been baptized, who receive the sacraments regularly, who recite the Ancient Creeds, and revere the Holy Scriptures, all saying “Jesus is Lord” and meaning it – yet who disagree about the morality of homosexuality. Is it possible for these people to disagree and yet recognize each other as “true Christians?” Yes, if . . . .<br /><br />And here I gulp at what I feel compelled to say. In this post-modern age of devout subjectivism, I know this sounds hopelessly conservative. We can do what our forebears did. We can disagree and have high-charged energetic provocative conversations about the implications of the faith, but only if we embrace a strong orthodoxy and a vigorous orthopraxy.<br /><br />The orthodoxy consists of a commitment to the sacred text, our holy Scriptures, as the starting point of discussion; a commitment to the ancient creeds as the framework, the language structure for our image of God; and a willingness to listen respectfully to the teachers, saints, poets, and sages of our tradition more than the pundits of today. The orthopraxy consists of a commitment to the Summary of the Law. To love God with all our hearts is to love a mystery, to revere a mystery, and so to be humble in the presence of that mystery. To love my neighbor as myself is to give him what is his due and what I expect in return, a decent respect for my integrity and my conscience. It occurs to me that adherence to the Summary of the Law might imply a certain reticence in what I paste to my bumper.

All True Christians

“All True Christians Are Pro-Life,” thus said a bumper sticker in Carson City. I am indebted to this bumper sticker for keeping me entertain...

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My day and a few pictures

My eye was back to normal by last night. I even put on some mascara and went to the gym yesterday afternoon. The magic (expensive) salve did the trick. You've got to love modern medicine is all I can say. <br /><br />Not a whole lot to report today, just a hell of a day at work because I've been on call for the last six days. Being on call is the worst thing ever. I hate it. Our team of nine has over 100 applications we support. For one week every nine weeks, I have to carry the on-call phone and if there's an emergency, I get called and have thirty minutes to respond. It's a bloody nightmare when something goes down because often it affects the operation of the airline. There's always a lot of pressure to get it fixed quickly. I had three calls at home over the weekend, and by noon today I had nine new trouble tickets assigned to me. Today is my last day of being on-call for another nine weeks. It's been a tough week!<br /><br />I was at the gym by 6am this morning for another lackluster workout. My heart (literally) just isn't into working out any more. I go, I do my thing for an hour or an hour and a half (sometimes two), but I'm really fighting with myself about it. Every fiber of my being wants to stay in bed in the mornings. So far I haven't given in, but it's sure been tough lately. I have to have the conversation with myself every freaking morning...get up - get up - get up! One of these days I'm afraid I'm going to lose the battle and the fat chick in me is going to take over again. It's not easy making her shut up, especially at 5am.<br /><br />At noon I went for a walk by my office and realized there just isn't anything very pretty by my office. I wanted to take pictures with my new camera but I'm about a mile from SeaTac airport.It's a rundown, sad area. We have a state detention center on one side of us, where they keep the prisoners before they go to the real jail. On the other side is a trailer park full of single wides that they've condemned because a new road is going to be put in. They're all boarded up and look scary. I started to take pictures of all the new graffiti I saw today but decided it wasn't even pretty graffiti.<br /><br />So here's what I did see that wasn't too awful. :)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">A tree in the parking lot of my work place. Please note the beautiful blue sky, in Seattle, in February and it was 52 degrees!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip5_V-f72AUMSYTtm7-OKpYq7lUpD2z9HiUZGIeqWgDthw0VuTn8Qb9ZZoPVn8ciJ-YNOg1Y_6_PXDlbtbOi-QlRsPUrWohhyphenhyphenPIfNSKdJHMw1Ye6hQ9PE2ZMl6US8FRuzO3jr6Ydcdo8kW/s1600-h/16FEB+2010+tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip5_V-f72AUMSYTtm7-OKpYq7lUpD2z9HiUZGIeqWgDthw0VuTn8Qb9ZZoPVn8ciJ-YNOg1Y_6_PXDlbtbOi-QlRsPUrWohhyphenhyphenPIfNSKdJHMw1Ye6hQ9PE2ZMl6US8FRuzO3jr6Ydcdo8kW/s400/16FEB+2010+tree.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A tree on the street near my work, the street I like to walk because there's hardly any traffic. It's like a street to no where...they never finished it (but that's why they condemned the trailer park, they're going to finish it some day).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZ51_UlPIOmKYZPzRDJMV2dFaXB8ZEfnXR4UZcmSQcDTGDBKXBykGUxerEttwrTyFtk-bAMeTvyfICqZhXRZd6_gP9NqzdSWJzMSboBq7IIz7XVkCwiYfNnvR0FBV7GaRs0_V92Gh79nG/s1600-h/16FEB+2010+tree3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigZ51_UlPIOmKYZPzRDJMV2dFaXB8ZEfnXR4UZcmSQcDTGDBKXBykGUxerEttwrTyFtk-bAMeTvyfICqZhXRZd6_gP9NqzdSWJzMSboBq7IIz7XVkCwiYfNnvR0FBV7GaRs0_V92Gh79nG/s400/16FEB+2010+tree3.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My most favorite airline! Check out that sky. The bluest skies are in Seattle!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ULvsPHv6QXd1f9EkZ1lcSLxHJR7Wp0082HzECiIFBCOSsyPQXa0Uz8Xf_vfCg_R7bS2rmyl0G_jcO4Ce0BMYP75zqzdET-vtkdvc__o2MrnamoPNL8HcCiQh4IsEDcN8cUhj-AUgvdkq/s1600-h/16FEB+2010+airline.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ULvsPHv6QXd1f9EkZ1lcSLxHJR7Wp0082HzECiIFBCOSsyPQXa0Uz8Xf_vfCg_R7bS2rmyl0G_jcO4Ce0BMYP75zqzdET-vtkdvc__o2MrnamoPNL8HcCiQh4IsEDcN8cUhj-AUgvdkq/s400/16FEB+2010+airline.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The trees think it's spring time and are budding already..it's February!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitS8ekiSShwSe70xWuzJgRs6B9ivuMcYSjhyiaX6_EoelCRCumbWMlW_4IYgP2XVPo30OGkLiHRj2mvjfRKRw7NKVZ4sWOehWz5eCExGXeN-j6wcbk5zthFPexIZA05IklxJCRzXdcsv8F/s1600-h/16FEB+2010+Buds.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitS8ekiSShwSe70xWuzJgRs6B9ivuMcYSjhyiaX6_EoelCRCumbWMlW_4IYgP2XVPo30OGkLiHRj2mvjfRKRw7NKVZ4sWOehWz5eCExGXeN-j6wcbk5zthFPexIZA05IklxJCRzXdcsv8F/s400/16FEB+2010+Buds.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A flag in front of an old house.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOU35KytBZqJTuZoJlrIXR3ROUIKvj2Epxp0bFOhNPXm_vxqpyCbu2q8YfjU9AooJ7yFC_q9o8nMuFb5j6B4G6VDoUudp5hl2J6BOOHonmU_XrcwKhS8y2j8wUxPK7oBZ5jnAr4tNFScmE/s1600-h/16FEB+2010+flag.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOU35KytBZqJTuZoJlrIXR3ROUIKvj2Epxp0bFOhNPXm_vxqpyCbu2q8YfjU9AooJ7yFC_q9o8nMuFb5j6B4G6VDoUudp5hl2J6BOOHonmU_XrcwKhS8y2j8wUxPK7oBZ5jnAr4tNFScmE/s400/16FEB+2010+flag.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Same flag from the other side through the budding cherry blossoms.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhewYMfKUGHxdiOxkuWeHeWWNI8Y-a8s9bRJ4dm8KHj5xqItIAyWMtOf3zY4x8jxXZ0P4dyu-c5cDqzDzA3Kc7Tabk8fBUfRRxnfrEhSDk9pAFrB4aY6DBxi_w6k5vsuqCjOoMKCe8HYvuT/s1600-h/16FEB+2010+cherryblossoms.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhewYMfKUGHxdiOxkuWeHeWWNI8Y-a8s9bRJ4dm8KHj5xqItIAyWMtOf3zY4x8jxXZ0P4dyu-c5cDqzDzA3Kc7Tabk8fBUfRRxnfrEhSDk9pAFrB4aY6DBxi_w6k5vsuqCjOoMKCe8HYvuT/s400/16FEB+2010+cherryblossoms.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The view from the county detention center, about 1/4 mile from my office.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The detention center doesn't have any windows. Sad but true.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7loHuIpXd0yNxXjkK28w3l7rEWmc0YAnCX28ipta_U4hBkgBu2mOeOxLOX0XecleKUc7ug8NkKfS9v146vl96VlANvTqM0BET3LILF2XR2qWz9X_7l7SWmMcXCyWgn6-3W3m2IlLo-Zn/s1600-h/16FEB+2010+a+view.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7loHuIpXd0yNxXjkK28w3l7rEWmc0YAnCX28ipta_U4hBkgBu2mOeOxLOX0XecleKUc7ug8NkKfS9v146vl96VlANvTqM0BET3LILF2XR2qWz9X_7l7SWmMcXCyWgn6-3W3m2IlLo-Zn/s400/16FEB+2010+a+view.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />That's all I could find to take pictures of today. Actually, looking at the pictures it looks a lot prettier than I thought.

My day and a few pictures

My eye was back to normal by last night. I even put on some mascara and went to the gym yesterday afternoon. The magic (expensive) salve did...

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Back to the Grindstone!

<p>Hey blog friends! Well the wind died down and I actually had to go to work today so you can stop being jealous of me! :p </p> <p>I didn’t want to get out of bed though, I prefer the coziness right next to Kyle! But I finally convinced myself no matter how short the workout, <strong>something is better than nothing</strong>. I got to the gym and only had <strong>20 minutes</strong> to workout and I made the most of it by doing <strong>intervals</strong> on the <strong>treadmill.</strong> I was a <strong>sweaty mess</strong> at the end, felt awesome!</p> <p>Headed to my office and whipped up a classic bowl of <strong>oatmeal</strong> with a<strong> small sliced banana</strong>, and <strong>chocolate PB2</strong> for <strong>4 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd92ohrrrpwUr_KrhBBwgV-ej3it289ZJrz5s1qngnMTpmL3obQD2dfRh2J3wYYyI6c0vFfEYPGvY7yMqrylv3hPajeDL75rOcNqKXz6ehjscoP4ySgBM6hEYvmr-Nzetd_FAEVdCWVCI5/s1600-h/DSC06059%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06059" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmUwq33UuH9g5BqTiOrAAbEOseT-R4GS0ggbCZ613pE6wPTQa0upV1XFCduU7luE3EiRIMHD7_sw2DMt4s1MQZaKUJC1008Fr1qfhNgr_K4SxBcVbzPwXqzbxLgdrzJu9wFNuMHRN9sd6e/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06059" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>Being closed on Monday made for a extra busy Tuesday! But it just made my day go that much faster! I took a little time out to mix up my morning snack of <strong>1 1/2c strawberries</strong>, <strong>ww vanilla yogurt</strong>, and <strong>1/4 <a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2010/02/few-updates.html">homemade granola</a></strong> for <strong>3 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIeMFCycFSjL916xgv-2vMdnZ_qgoeDLZNTjwmAO_xuDUNtWzXtp5Ap_Kmb8bk4Q7J-huEv_cLP_p9lnrMRHYimCeek96hAlT-wuTDECu84ZkMO41PSn7b2eXFnLpB0GBfIKU_jvH91HCP/s1600-h/DSC06060%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06060" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZo-3aIUB4_DUKdyRG7AMJ3Puo6RgtC0Cwc6dXcZkA4sMthgzDK68uq2p1A6RWJ5O_ICZtpodMUrMoPmwxP4SnqEVueyVlr1hMjZLw0EieufJHUet63BbO3hA_y85TjZuL5CQh-TvQ3L3I/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06060" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>I went home for lunch and made a<strong> quick, fresh meal</strong>! It consisted of<strong> 1/2c cottage cheese</strong>, <strong>1/2c peaches</strong>, <strong>baby carrots</strong>, and a<strong> turkey & cheese flat out</strong> for <strong>5 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_J9EljOQbYtwAXEaZAm37Un7OXGAaR2xKVBrhqIDf5wksK3Ycs4HdnLIx8_PYLOhYaV2wB_OxcUOkLHWLiZo0YdU_RNfhY81K7BxC_f6ncOODatn0WBvA5ETlkLUs95Bnt0kf_VVOTy3n/s1600-h/DSC06061%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06061" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFTR_S0vZZ_w2NgHh6oHqikktCx5uH0xJMd8gMfYt_x7e6Kso-Dz9ANAAb0iJhXnXKWT5Br5SURB6DnKS6z8h9zuaz9aC1Lopzg8WFBXrzczPXcuxl4zlIdpCGwPd1uV3qFOPeliGlW0P/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06061" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>To get me through my afternoon I snacked on some <strong>crisp green grapes</strong> for <strong>1 point</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggLaZGZPegDOxH1vGYEeQK0UQqUElSUOCFGtPyN21pXSiSOjHpxdapdhb60HLKsT-5Ubr9EX9Q1XG504hOGlOH-ly3AUTqOsU2QcAZRU70TzMhXkkoVR77t2YTLNCjxdVP-_3OsHfZBKwF/s1600-h/DSC06062%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06062" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84T0iQ5FlGXILXOLziXH-BILNYX_DiEMrNkUs08WVF2Ap_7050cXNLoXrP0n1sqmkcagZ9o7yRp1Qmpq9tUCUvl7uCqeJB9mlu0ybDx3Nv7ZkjJjh44aYmrNzxz3-xxBDfu1etdyfww3l/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06062" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>After work Kyle had a meeting at church so I was cooking for 1! I decided to go for <strong>pizza</strong>! Mine was made up of<strong> 2 oz chopped ham</strong>, <strong>1/4c 2% shredded mozzarella</strong>, <strong>2 slices of pineapple</strong>, <strong>1/4c pizza sauce</strong>, and a <strong>flat out</strong> for <strong>6 points</strong>. Mmmm, delish!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDVgs-h87-ERDzikV-PoyT-tYgd0QTYpj5BXWWxFEi3575QCUQVnliFZowbWnCaNszjfV2JD2uh0rzabJG-EVlBrv4_3z_dWoaGeN_1aFKcrOk8RYQpCEiV6ppmktbuEKs-W5aLrTmxepx/s1600-h/DSC06063%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06063" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiku3Sz3dWGzWG_UdHnpWY2mCsXiSJJgFYRoE_0qTKeo8BPeN_AwIuyqoudGDvhihnEEesB-3LSQko5dExyRGNuwYKrtDr0kCWBkK-JW01JYOJPn5bANtUzBfaqkc8-Lpbm00ovsVH9RLqr/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06063" width="404" /></a></p> <p>I was <strong>so ready</strong> for Biggest Loser tonight and got a little disappointed when the Olympics were on. Don’t get me wrong, I <strong>enjoy</strong> the Olympics, but was I just hoping for some BL. I decided to be <strong>productive</strong> instead and got my gym bag ready and then blogged! By the way, <strong>what do you think of my new layout</strong>?</p> <p>I’m off for some much needed time with my man!! G’nite bloggie friends!!</p> <p><strong>TUESDAY’S STATS</strong> <br />POINTS = 19/23   <br />WATER =  96 oz <br />EXERCISE = 20 min interval run</p>

Back to the Grindstone!

Hey blog friends! Well the wind died down and I actually had to go to work today so you can stop being jealous of me! :p I didn’t want to ...

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Believe it or not, another snow day!

<p>Happy Monday friends! I got to sleep in once again this morning. We had a 2 hour delay that was announced last night with all the blowing snow that’s flying around and then around 8am we ended up closing. <strong><u>Hooray</u></strong> for another snow day!</p> <p>I wanted to wait a few days after I was sick to give an update on my weight. I weighed in this morning and was at <strong>163</strong>, which is a <strong><u>1.5lb loss</u></strong> from my weight last week! I was really hoping to be 162 right now and lose 2 lbs these last 2 weeks of February to meet my March 1st <strong>goal weight of 158</strong>, so we’ll see how that goes! Just need to stay focused and on plan!</p> <p>If you haven’t noticed yet, you should <strong>check out</strong> my new links to the left (i.e. progress pictures, about me, goals) and <strong>let me know</strong> what you think!</p> <p>After catching up on blogs & losing track of time I decided I need to get some breakfast! I toasted <strong>2 </strong>left over <strong>pancakes</strong> from yesterday, topped them with <strong>warm cinnamon apples</strong> & a <strong>sprinkle</strong> of <strong>granola</strong>!! I also had an <strong>orange</strong> on the side for a <strong>4 point</strong> breakfast! Yum-o!!!<img alt="DSC06048" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglySlXsFJ2Pm-cP2moD1mMtxA1D1h0woJN0PiJ-fQCk9eLaU0VFlu9lq_j6c_PjeJ_fy_bvMK4mDY3tjXUDGHAopYuI6n4UuuCGf1BTqn8a6jHDQ8Ari7daFBJoehUIH8PuVZoRzU5Yjej/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC06048" width="404" /></p> <p><img alt="DSC06049" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKkaFYDLeT-zr5BR_DjmRsxSWuLsu46Ay3g4I-TI3Bf_6Iq74QGgJiQMF8bGufYDo4NtSIjkmmelu3sns0Y42OL23HrfUkIto9OrDT2iQvmp2F7y9GdPpENdGraBpnOojNCwIqGygqrXBP/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC06049" width="404" /></p> <p>After breakfast I got my list together and ventured out into the wind & snow! I stopped at Wal-Mart, Target, Hy-Vee, and a quick stop to see my man @ work! I didn’t get home till 3pm and was ready for some lunch! I heated up <strong>1c</strong> of <strong>chili</strong> with a <strong>sprinkle</strong> of <strong>ff cheese</strong> and had<strong> 5 ff crackers</strong> and a few <strong>baby carrots</strong> on the side for a <u>wonderfully warm</u> <strong>7 point</strong> lunch. <img alt="DSC06050" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihF13z61_R0SYnU9mhfXvgGWrS4tsE8MAk-An6H5NQKMqqLE5H5MJmaQlgoX8TdWlkZppCaZIp88n5xAF465lijeboWUp-OvTFZBAx7qoGjiiySVET-2kBxE6V4wlBuQBDnyXWU6LM4ehi/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC06050" width="404" /></p> <p><img alt="DSC06051" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhArDdccxvHs3nm_l-leFR4oAzC_Q1nROPUCd6BeshO-nek3Bk41MBBWi_NnfmEIvmul6epwiblHyAQ6Qb-QFlusuRfnihowclop6fyuKqkWdf8egZ0X4hl0b7V4E8-0RbNJMoHBXsdXhl0/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC06051" width="404" />Kyle and I are headed east this weekend to <strong>Chicago</strong>! Kyle’s sister and her husband live there, so we’re going to visit! We have a few things planned…of course <strong>shopping</strong>, dinner at the <strong>Signature Room</strong> on the 95th floor of the <strong>John Hancock building</strong>, and Kyle wants to go to <strong>Game Works</strong> (he’s a <strong><u>kid at heart</u></strong>)! Does anyone have any recommendations of something <strong><u>fun</u></strong> and <strong><u>unique</u></strong> that you’ve done or always wanted to do in the <strong><em>Windy City</em></strong>?</p> <p>I spent my afternoon <strong>getting ready</strong> for our trip! I pre-portioned snacks into baggies and put them & a few other snacks into 2 large containers, one for the way there and one for the way home! And my list of things to grab from the fridge is <strong>all ready to go</strong> as well!! I also got my <strong>clothes picked out</strong> & <strong>suitcase packed</strong>. I just have to throw in my things I use everyday!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxr2VYJz0P7Erj-oSf36Yu89zIYz19AKWwy7TxFZURK6FfYE2oPwe5SQIsFtZam0lvVlmyLJEdR5P03zy-3LhFFjjr_puEO2965JB4UW8aZpLvZIpLxEsFCQbn_59uPpXloep8BPYKZv4l/s1600-h/DSC06052%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06052" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8VSLYKPz4iplwUzmAcumub-KuNUxAOK4hBJPn5eKDggbpv8S8wad9rdY53c1IBHjEDfI7QQVI1fvwxldlwSbxgU8CK6LsNHV_RZNUK7dh_-hsDxJa0oaATmH4oHMvsiteME_r3Itryxr8/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06052" width="404" /></a>  </p> <p>While supper was baking I mixed up my<strong><u> favorite combo</u></strong>! In the mix was <strong>1 1/2c strawberries</strong>, <strong>vanilla ww yogurt</strong>, and <strong>1/4c <a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2010/02/few-updates.html">homemade granola</a></strong> for <strong>3 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lp7R-XpF58o5dgxmwBbdfy8kmxRGMkaM1nGxxgFVfGfIKFvW8E91UG3XKcefVcE1rROZIpWZp2qKJPEn7FIEy8-HGNQxtf8Dg_u-6JzlJ6PHcgnbpQZDy-owuWVrnAMtVmUGf2y4iWZx/s1600-h/DSC06057%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06057" border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2WxynITKhTBR0TgZUf6y3s2Ijp7gpaUBXQ4XPOPfcRmOXbZzxFQ1gcDNE2nBMQ_kZuX2vvar-9UHrhZZr0fh5HDGmU6MCX8dk-XmAOORDuRriwIA6Z1PHzd6qJxGi0izsjU7Achl4cOJ2/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06057" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>Supper tonight is a favorite of Kyle’s, <a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2009/02/day-112-monday-223_24.html">Creamy Ham & Potato Bake</a>. I had <strong>1 serving</strong> and<strong> 1/2c</strong> of <strong>green beans</strong> for <strong>4 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRSvFUCO9L08NusBMiPVas-g3jCKme6e7X976dv8twNdB2GV9sAl-J1atrsum1xYcYu1H4dj87x808qxqQkCQcKi4RTKwQz_AgZJ04S4VO8qFoUth4dl5WkWMU3DRztr5IgaBJmiHdZK_l/s1600-h/DSC06058%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06058" border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNx2M8lrS9K4yjbU3H1NRvSUppVqSfVpvmmUo7URcEadhjaSCstk0rY22U-xYnUrNaV1wlYCCI9gL9OrPUU4RZS_tFhv72dNJ_kRFcpFP3hWRrJn5kGyxLNYZo12SvgWwgoTWVruTcWL0c/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06058" width="404" /></a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p> </p> <p>I’m all snuggled in, waiting for Kyle to get off work, and watching the Bachelor! It’s kind of my guilty pleasure! </p> <p>G’nite blog friends!</p> <p><strong>MONDAY’S STATS</strong> <br />POINTS = 18/23   <br />WATER =  72 oz <br />EXERCISE = none</p> <p><strong><em>P.S. Don’t forget to give me your good ideas for Chicago!!</em></strong></p>

Believe it or not, another snow day!

Happy Monday friends! I got to sleep in once again this morning. We had a 2 hour delay that was announced last night with all the blowing sn...

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A Valentine owie

<strong>Valentine's Day from hell</strong><br />Valentine's Day 2010 will go down as my worst day so far this year and probably my worst Valentine's day ever. I had some sort of allergic reaction and my right eyelid swelled up so it was almost shut. In addition, as soon as my eyelid started swelling, I started sneezing uncontrollably for about twelve hours. <br /><br />I have no idea how what happened, but my eyelid felt like it had acid on it and it hurt like hell. Not to mention I looked like a one-eyed monster with a red nose. Yesterday wasn't my best day.<br /><br />The only good thing that came out of this is how sweet my husband was about the whole thing. He was really concerned, and kept checking on me after I took a couple Benadryl and passed out at 3pm yesterday.<br /><br />This morning when I woke, my eye was even more swollen. It wasn't just my eyelid, but the entire socket around my eye was swollen and puffy. Without me even asking him, my husband called the doctor and managed to get a 9:30am appointment for me to see an eye specialist. <br /><br />He drove me there, waited for me, took me to the pharmacy, got my prescription filled and was a carring and concerned spouse. I really appreciated this because I wasn't in any condition to drive and I felt awful. The sneezing had turned into a sinus headache and my entire head hurt and felt like it was going to explode.<br /><br />The doctor didn't have any idea what was wrong with me, just that I was allergic to something. He rolled back both of my eyelids to look at the underside (which by the way, hurt like heck). He said I had eyes prone to allergies, they were "cobble-stoned" on the underside of my lids. Nice to know but this has never happened to me before.<br /><br />My prescription was a tiny tube of salve, 3.5 grams (about 1/8 ounce), and it was $126.00 without insurance. Luckily I have insurance so it was only $25. Highway robbery but I would have paid just about anything for it. It seems to be working and the swelling has gone down considerably and the sneezing has stopped.<br /><br />I'm even thinking about going to the gym, or maybe a walk outside. The sun is shining and it's 47 degrees. I got a new camera for Valentine's Day that I'm dying to try out. It's a red Panasonic Lumix and very cool. It even has a "food" picture taking setting. I love it but haven't had a chance to play with it yet.<br /><br />In spite of the eye thing yesterday and Valentine's Day being a bust, I'm in a really happy mood. Not being in pain is always a good thing. Having a caring and loving husband isn't too bad either. <br /><b><br />Thank you</b><br />I don't say this often enough, but I really appreciate everyone out there in blog world. Your caring comments mean a lot to me. I haven't been commenting as much as usual on your blogs, because I was so self-absorbed in my own sadness and throwing myself a daily pity party I just didn't have the time nor felt very like I had anything worthy to say. Those days are past me now (thank God, and I mean that literally). I feel like I can be supportive and caring about other people again. Just like you always are for me. :)<br /><br /><strong>Picture of the day</strong><br />I'm thinking about adding a picture of the day since I'm so in love with my new camera. I'm copying this idea from a few people's blog. I love pictures and taking pictures.<br /><br />In the picture below, the white and orange cat is my cat, Mickey Mouse, the only cat I've ever met that comes when he's called and loves me the best. The other cat is actually our neighbor's cat, Bear. My husband let's him in the house all the time because he's so cute and the neighbor recently decided to make him an outdoor cat and they won't let him in the house anymore. <br /><br />My husband has a bad habit of bringing home strays. I told him Bear isn't a stray, but even I feel sorry for the little guy when he's standing out in the rain, hovering on our front port, dripping wet. <br /><br />Mickey Mouse will sit and watch Bear for hours. He doesn't touch him or hiss at him, he just watches him very intently. I often wonder what Mickey is thinking when he's staring at Bear. Probably something like 'who the hell let you in here?' or 'one wrong move and you're history!' or 'remember, I'm numero uno around here and don't you forget it!'or 'ummm, excuse ME, but that's MY pillow you're touching, they're all MY pillows!'. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">"I'm watching you"</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQbWl0WD1NJ_uyF1PkMTy_lO6s2-OyTkXsGanQM_BI2QO7sL3Ae6eX0lpI55wuMSy_ibfUe6KQxGZKuVVjzeFk-p98d1_D0gGjYkVADqyetctcgMMnEu4_XjU2yt81byx7CJEYtA97fbk/s1600-h/Mickey+and+Bear+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQbWl0WD1NJ_uyF1PkMTy_lO6s2-OyTkXsGanQM_BI2QO7sL3Ae6eX0lpI55wuMSy_ibfUe6KQxGZKuVVjzeFk-p98d1_D0gGjYkVADqyetctcgMMnEu4_XjU2yt81byx7CJEYtA97fbk/s400/Mickey+and+Bear+011.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>

A Valentine owie

Valentine's Day from hell Valentine's Day 2010 will go down as my worst day so far this year and probably my worst Valentine's d...

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6 Job Search Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/rn/ar5l4ll6bmtc46b109rn.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/rn/ar5l4ll6bmtc46b109rn.gif" /></a></div>In any economic climate job hunting is nobody's idea of fun. And with the growing number of folks hitting the bricks these days it seems the task is getting even harder. But that's not precisely true because the actual job-hunting strategies and techniques required of the professional job changer remain the same in any climate. What is bothersome, however, is that the process is quite likely to take longer. This leads to increased stress: financial stress, physical stress, emotional stress and family stress.<br /><br />Most people do not perform at their best in stressful situations. They get tired more quickly, they get frustrated, and run out of patience, and they make mistakes. Here are six of job-hunting mistakes frequently made during a recession.<br /><br />Mistake No. 1: Feeling entitled<br />In the new economy your stellar background, great track record, prestigious degree and glowing references guarantee you nothing. The new employment paradigm is, "What have you done for me lately?" You must be constantly developing your skills, your talents, broadening your interests and driving your career development. If you don't you may well be left behind.<br /><br />Mistake No. 2: Focusing on yourself, not the employer<br />Spend your time finding out which of potential employer's needs are unmet instead of touting your brilliance. Saying, "I need a job" is irrelevant and depressing; that's your problem and has nothing to do with why this organization is hiring. Uncovering an employer's problem areas demonstrates your bona-fide interest and offering your solutions demonstrates your critical thinking, creativity and approach to problem solving. This is how to get hired.<br /><br />Mistake No. 3: Taking rejection personally<br />Face it; there are a lot of jobs you are not going to land. Use rejection as an opportunity to assess and build your job-hunting skills. Evaluate what you could have done better in your research or interview or with your follow-up. If you aren't getting rejected regularly then you either aren't working hard enough to get your foot in the door or you're applying for jobs beneath your capabilities. No employer makes a decision not to hire you; they make a decision to hire someone else who did a better job of selling him or herself into the position. Suck it up and move on.<br /><br />Mistake No. 4: Focusing on your age<br />It is human nature to focus more on one's perceived weaknesses as opposed to one's strengths. This is especially true for people in the job hunt. Younger folks worry about not having enough experience; older folks worry about looking over-qualified. If you don't want a potential employer to focus on your age make sure you focus on what strengths you bring to the party: energy, track record, endurance, patience, technology skills, people skills, creativity and work ethic. Sell yourself based on what you have.<br /><br />Mistake No. 5: Looking for a silver bullet<br />Some job hunters swear by recruiters; others by on-line job postings. The latest buzz is that social networking sites are making all other job-hunting techniques obsolete. There is no one best way to job hunt. If you want to increase the effectiveness of your job search you must spend more time on it and use every technique in the book. This means answering print ads, responding to on-line job postings, contacting appropriate recruiters, cold contacting potential employers, networking your brains out and using social networking sites to pursue all of these strategies. Sorry, there are no silver bullets or genies in a bottle.<br /><br />Mistake No. 6: Absorbing too much news media<br />Yes, there's a recession. Yes, a lot of folks are out of work. And, yes, finding a job is a hard job in and of itself. But, no, the sky is not falling. And yes, if you work hard and long enough at it you will land a good job. The media's motto is "If it bleeds, it leads." Bad news is their stock in trade. You will never see a story about company hiring back 10 workers or a person who landed a great job after a rigorous job hunt. A regular diet of bad news will convince you that no one is hiring (untrue), to avoid employers who have had a reduction or layoff (bad strategy) or maybe you should just move to China (bad idea unless you speak Mandarin). Get out, have some fun, work at keeping your energy and spirits up, and network with optimistic people.<br /><br />Eventually this recession -- like all recessions -- will really be over and you'll be better prepared for (gulp) the next one.<br /><br />By Dr. Paul Powers, psychologist, executive coach, career expert, and noted conference speaker and author of "Winning Job Interviews" and "Love Your Job!" For a free subscription to his "LifeMap" newsletter, visit www.drpaulpowers.com.<br /><br /><a class="addthis_button" href="http://addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&username=rockfordlink"><img alt="Bookmark and Share" height="16" src="http://s7.addthis.com/static/btn/v2/lg-share-en.gif" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" width="125" /></a><script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=rockfordlink" type="text/javascript"></script>

6 Job Search Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make

In any economic climate job hunting is nobody's idea of fun. And with the growing number of folks hitting the bricks these days it seems...

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Non-Traditional V-Day

<p>Happy Valentines Day to all my lovely readers!! I hope you’re feeling the love! </p> <p>I slept in a little bit and then got up and got busy! I <u>blogged</u>, <u>balanced</u> our <u>checkbook</u>, <u>planned our meals</u> for the week, and did <u>laundry</u>! Our KC friends got up and we all had breakfast together! I made a serving of<strong> banana pancakes</strong> for myself with a <strong>1/4c sf syrup</strong> for <strong>5 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR2ZT3QPBU6o_AIZWFnt-tjrsoS0ZvrdUKlnCQ699OtfA5E3CBSuBvlgPL1UIt7T_0I4mzcdNw8_uTfZl7kLpYgPtF1OqxtiDLxQxjCx_ODZPTKaAvnZwvc58L1ekNOnKJWwrFLwHUTQzT/s1600-h/DSC06043%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06043" border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBD-my72pMRbbxVx844yHe7SNNNNZ00E8opIflgQ6XDSAa8a2vhaLythoIiL5oOaPot6CrSH9A5rjHOvs2HyuVtHsS5PUCENklIYjnurYjlW7vQNcNhtnTO2fbkDdXBwklSXA3chL5GDU1/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06043" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>Our friends headed back down south to KC! It is always <strong>so fun</strong> to have them visit. Can’t wait for your next visit guys!</p> <p>I had a<strong> lunch date</strong> with a friend and a few other friends. Unfortunately it was to announce her very sad news, her & her hubby are getting divorced. She wanted her closest friends to find out from her and not from other people or ways. Food wise, I didn’t eat anything for lunch, it was only an hour after our big breakfast. </p> <p>I’m glad I can be there for my friend, but divorce is never a fun thing to deal with. :( After our afternoon I came home and left <strong>once again</strong>!  My sister from Omaha was in town and I hadn’t had a chance to see her with my <strong>busy weekend</strong>! On the way to see her I snacked on a <strong>vanilla ww yogurt</strong> & <strong>1/4c</strong> of my <strong><a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2010/02/few-updates.html">homemade granola</a></strong> for<strong> 2 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjREwzxfDWlEFKIcCOlqgDAshyphenhyphenlSNlWnzT68JBV3iytcbAaMuu9LzQZqRMkfBWwz94uhbvaLjBPLEgJ59Dq9jFrVVbPOJ8ZBcFWtzhYSrgenYJmKyiQRyNW0sK5OGtoDQVx-9DaNp2jdvB/s1600-h/DSC06045%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06045" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBLO_a_rL4aN3gjTPfG_PfGILdVv1XtaPkhyphenhyphenddO7DgN7G4nsdNhX4p0BM5zW5EunSoGIIAEtdu8w3j2KXjM0MrqZIzseytjuPTZCnT5n6EsUUhsSQRMI2nWSc2QBRdvHgZcayeR-n3YW40/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06045" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>I had a fun evening with my sisters! We didn’t do a whole lot, just our usual chatting! It is so nice to have her closer. She used to live in Georgia and we only got to see her 2-3 times/year. I think I’ve seen her that much since Christmas! </p> <p>I decided to head home early. The wind was really picking up and is expected to have white out conditions with drifting! We got a few inches of fluffy white snow last night that I’m sure is going to turn into some big drifts!!</p> <p>I got home a little before 8pm and knew I had to eat something, but wanted to go on the lighter side since it was a little bit later in the night. I made a yummy plate filled with a <strong>chicken salad sandwich</strong> with <strong>cheese</strong>, <strong>baby carrots</strong>, and <strong>1/2c cottage cheese</strong> with <strong>1/2c peaches</strong> for a total of <strong>6 points</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72k9CPFKiqKzIuTsWV1BeFYBTmdlJuxOmrjmoSGRICGrwoT_lUgaJISMxe5ISOZgWpG8B-SLjwm0sdvX9HGlvPXZEMf1tOS_qt3QsY06QhullEpcdecBs7hjVngO4cCRGL6w5VFpaHInH/s1600-h/DSC06046%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06046" border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5CV1N2VQsOll-iioKsw2p3LzWJsYohdzbFZarzRkqEH6c38YZEtQQjzvjvy1bPImFai1u_GAR-yjlzrTte0UM_ruIsPHJVEUBDOQmTmsrIdgIokYk1bJ7WLMdKf4TImNUHrIpRzoiZvv/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06046" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>Currently I’m munching my serving of <strong>“Valentine” chocolate</strong> for the day! I’m trying to teach myself <strong><em><u>moderation</u></em></strong>! Kyle thought it was silly just to eat this amount, but I don’t have to have a whole of a bag of M&Ms to enjoy chocolate. I need to teach myself that just a few are <strong><u>ok</u></strong>! My <strong>chocolate</strong> <strong>fix</strong> was <strong>1 point</strong>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRIUMy6gf3Q3OvAvOMXOOB31zMRwYmnllV4L2pDnOO116XQmFWXIgvyW72lhlu7-4qkoQFhTsfqOaQ5qlXXdLk26WCfHgwWmkIaXPRT2GESlTocSKQ6nCFqZlgPDozVG4uaqoxhgZy9ah/s1600-h/DSC06047%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06047" border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMjlbKJ74kXyi_Pjkuiyg-O3-jDNppeAKSdfDBl9DrCmTT5yk35q4-da7gb8ErrdtqP8b_CPR4qHNKcK7PELv_6azuWYnFnYVMo8Gh1EuI9nBymme1HN-Uy_A8xBvOZClZhnXTqWI_2BgD/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06047" width="404" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Even though it wasn’t a “<strong>traditional</strong>” Valentines Day for me & Kyle, I am <strong>glad</strong> I can <u>be there</u> to for my friend and show her I love & care for her. Talking with my friend over these past few hard days has made me even more <strong>thankful</strong> for Kyle! Don’t forget to tell those closest to you that you love them…<strong><u>don’t take any moment for granted</u></strong>! And I would just like to say that I <strong><u>love</u></strong> all my readers and all the <strong><u>encouraging comments</u></strong> you leave me, keep em coming! </p> <p><strong>SUNDAY’S STATS</strong> <br />POINTS = 14/23 <br />WATER =  72 oz <br />EXERCISE = none</p> <p><strong><u><em>note:</em></u></strong> I did not even realize how little points I ate today! I think waking up late really <strong>throws me off</strong>. I didn’t want you guys to be <strong>worried</strong> that I was trying to only eat that low of an amount! Don’t worry this girl is <strong>not starving</strong> herself! Hunger wise, I feel more than <strong>satisfied</strong> with my day of eats!</p>

Non-Traditional V-Day

Happy Valentines Day to all my lovely readers!! I hope you’re feeling the love! I slept in a little bit and then got up and got busy! I bl...

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Happy Valentine's Days: Kicking depression's butt

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpBtW3XsXxnvvFlM7XYNtHFpakNPw7Gvh6f3ydath1Cw7_1YRLFKQGFRPZBhgzWimARRkmhupNzQmlzm5HNb_SZTry_MFfmky8rPRuTGgDZObw2ErZGTe7l38HHn2JBjcT6lcZ1rCCGoKP/s1600-h/azk14-valentine-heart1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpBtW3XsXxnvvFlM7XYNtHFpakNPw7Gvh6f3ydath1Cw7_1YRLFKQGFRPZBhgzWimARRkmhupNzQmlzm5HNb_SZTry_MFfmky8rPRuTGgDZObw2ErZGTe7l38HHn2JBjcT6lcZ1rCCGoKP/s320/azk14-valentine-heart1.gif" /></a></div><strong>Depression</strong><br />I woke up this morning with a new attitude. I believe I'm responsible for my own happiness. I can't expect someone else to make me happy, just like someone else can't depend on me to make them happy. It comes from within, we can each control our own emotions. At least I believe that applies to most of us, but not all of us.<br /><br />Some people have true depression, not just a few weeks of being in a funk, but months or years of deep sadness. They need mind-altering drugs to get through each day. <br /><br />One of my nieces has been on a mixture of anti-depressants and anti-psychotics for several years. Unfortunately, her doctors have never found the magic potion to make her a happier person. Today she's a shell of the girl I knew twenty years ago. It's heart-breaking to watch, and I often wonder why she can't just "get over it", but after watching her suffer for the last sixteen years I realize she can't just shake her sadness. It has consumed her.<br /><br />I, on the other hand, can do something about this sadness I've been going through. I've been in an unhappy place since before Christmas. I thought it was kind of a post-traumatic stress thing from my project from hell I was on at work. However, it had been two months since that project ended and the sadness seemed to get deeper and darker.<br /><br />I'm not sure what happened overnight to make me realize I don't want to go through life wallowing in self-pity, but I woke up feeling optimistic and positive today. Even when it seems like things are bleak and happiness is impossible to find, half the battle is still having the resolve to fight back. I have the resolve to fight this depression. It won't consume me any longer. Life is short. I can choose to be miserable and sad, or I can choose to find the good in this life and build on it. I chose the latter.<br /><br /><strong>Valentine's Day</strong><br />I started the morning by  downloading a Valentine's Day card for my husband. American Greetings has a cool <a href="http://www1.americangreetings.com/printables/category.pd/Occasions-Holidays-February/_/N-5ybz2Z88cv/Ne-81c4?navtype=dropdown" target="blank">website</a> where you can add pictures and customize the card. Since he gave me roses and a romantic card yesterday I thought I should at least give him a card. He said I seemed kind of down lately and he wanted to surprise me early. This from a guy that last year ran to the store at 4pm on Valentine's Day to buy a card and flowers.<br /><br />I was going to make buckwheat blueberry pancakes in heart shapes for breakfast but my husband is on a new health kick and opted for scrambled egg whites and fresh strawberries. <br /><br />Finally, after living with me all these  years and watch me count calories or Points for most of those years, he's getting on the bandwagon with me. Although I'm finding it a bit annoying to hear him tell me what he can and can't eat, especially when milk, bananas and olive oil are on his do not touch list. I keep telling him you can't believe everything you read, but he tends to not listen to me.<br /><br />We don't have anything big planned for the day except I finally get to see the second Twilight movie. It's my turn to pick the movie, although I loved Blind Side, even though it was kind of about football. As far as Twilight, what can I say, guess I'm just a teenager at heart and still believe in young love (vampires...not so much).<br /><br />We're also going to hit the gym this morning. My husband is starting to go to the gym with me. The only problem is on the weekends I tend to workout longer, usually about two hours. He's done in an hour and wants to leave. The solution is we go in separate cars. It's not environmentally friendly, but it's only three miles and it keeps me from resenting him going with me.<br /><br /><strong>Food tip of the day</strong><br />Did you know one teaspoon of sugar is equal to 4.3 grams of sugar? Did you know one Weight Watcher orange sorbet and ice cream bar has 20 grams of sugar, or almost <strong>five</strong> <strong>teaspoons</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>sugar</strong>! It's only two Points, but that's a lot of sugar. Not exactly a healthy snack (especially if you eat two in one sitting!). A Weight Watchers don't.<br /><br /><em>P.S. - By the way, if you think Jesus was just a man, check out this email I received. It was sent four days ago, but I didn't read it until today, <strong>after</strong> I posted this morning. I know this wonderful person has been praying for me. I'll leave the author anonymous, but wow, a rather profound statement!</em><br /><em><br /></em>Here is something that it took me years to learn. NO ONE is ever going to make us happy. Happiness comes from inside ourselves. No man, woman, or child will ever be able to 'give us the attention' we crave. My husband still comes home from work and sits in his recliner and falls asleep in front of the tv. But I now know that he isn't really ignoring me. It is just how he is. I know he loves me completely; and he knows I love him. How do I handle it? Eating was always something I did to 'fill the void' and I am struggling, as you are, to break THAT one. But I can now find joy, happiness as it were, in simply being me. Imperfect as I am. I am a special creation of God. That should be enough. It isn't always, but I am growing and getting better. The only one who will never fail you is God. He can, and wants to be your source of happiness. All you have to do is let Him.

Happy Valentine's Days: Kicking depression's butt

Depression I woke up this morning with a new attitude. I believe I'm responsible for my own happiness. I can't expect someone else t...

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Feeling good never felt so good!

<p><strong><u>Happy Hearts Weekend</u></strong> everyone!!</p> <p><strong><u>Thank you</u></strong> for all the well wishes yesterday. I am feeling<strong> much better</strong> today. I didn’t eat anything yesterday so my Friday post would have been pictures of nothing! ;)</p> <p>Our friends from KC made it Friday afternoon and <strong>braved</strong> the sickie I was and still stayed with us. We actually had a nice time <strong>talking</strong> the night away! I just stayed curled up on the couch! :) </p> <p>I slept wonderfully through the night and woke up feeling much better. A little weak, but definitely on the mend! I was <em>nervous</em> to eat, but finally around 10am decided I think my body <strong>needed some fuel</strong>! I toasted a <strong>thin bun</strong> and put just a <strong>smidge</strong> of <strong>strawberry jelly</strong> on it for <strong>1 point</strong>. And it settled in my tummy quite happily! :)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFtCxJzgWhC51YYfKPrSsfwBwWh0gYquFjREvRCGqDb8mk6z7HYdGSaYCnzY3-k1PYBQM7y80m80A6hiQGfu4V6t1oyRfiZssM2r-vk1BfCmdJUJtSscmxMoMOcLoovfkplTT9zjdtRjl/s1600-h/DSC06016%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06016" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOdxZPRBvcuaV2xMKzQxI-ynPItNGo29mGt67CNVzEF4EH0LrueDFmE2eDbUNPSTWBcP3L_BJsXDiTsFA6hz-klwVTTQaUDrnolSWtCIZdAmR6egb4z7rRlpzEE01YjKii3V1c0GmA3zPP/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06016" width="404" /></a> </p> <p>Our <u>sweet KC friends</u> brought us a little Valentine! She picked out the bite size snickers because they are only 1 point (and Snickers are my FAV!).  And the other candy is <strong>Andes Mints</strong>, Kyle’s favorite! How thoughtfully, she is a fellow WW friend as well!!! And the card was just perfect, we both <strong>LOVE</strong> ice cream!! Thanks guys!! I think I might wait to have any chocolate…for now anyway! ;)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRPMQorrU483e9L6-eEG7ZgRDk7dghsr7GTaxacOThB8mHBimgR5dTAeamXtwpefcVY4ddv1ha6x0a2lx4wKPIpcjXlN43QZ_-7dKfrLoyGTb3HaY38BloAJf0DfcHMaEV5VOmEJA3xST/s1600-h/DSC06018%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06018" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhVCsBNoOZecF5Lmb6ztk5nHIIRk0BW8WLuk_f7DjOqPdOp9VfP4OyBrgi7RTeroYZXNPGqoPIjFXqPS_kKfRNZYB3J3kV38TdA8QheclH11SBlFrDxej2rYzSp-OxQacs_y92KMIWg39t/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06018" width="404" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>We spent the morning just hanging out and catching up some more. Our friends had lunch plans with some family that lives in the area, so they headed out and I made a small lunch for myself. I had a <strong>chicken salad sandwich</strong> with <strong>cheese</strong> and some <strong>sf berry blue jello</strong> on the side for<strong> 4 points</strong>. Once again, still sitting just fine on my stomach! Hooray!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkWM67whbQPXLkMkw3gWdYANqokOjC6-xte1Sj39fak1CS4X6FDwk4MvNZTDjqwc29Bhb_Ue1teWtPot94tjlT3Uw2brWkg3Q5TTYUQ-G3GH6Rl7ySjV_185y77_TZfxg6tlW73Ps-S9QJ/s1600-h/DSC06017%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06017" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlLU-6ziqiQcYt2FGtauYd3oz8Oc9S84MiBtmz3N3DSvNKiE4GLfdC0_wQE_U79ICgG0cz_cEtFOtQ5K2Qh1hbBMV4GDfkTwNyHNveiHZo2PPDx3p906laNFDdofbCvKcmXjx721vdo1t/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06017" width="404" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Our friends headed off to a family wedding they had and Kyle and I rested up! Needed to have my energy for the upcoming night of fun! We got ready and headed out for dinner. We decided to go to Applebees because we had a gift certificate to use and hey what’s better than a free night out for dinner!?!?</p> <p>Kyle parents ended up being there as well, so they joined us! It was a fun dinner, filled with laughs, as always! :)<img alt="DSC06019" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFFDIIOODQYrELclENgN4s6GfD4nd29Qou1neghyM6fX3Dlz_D_XctJNDegkl1om0KOjGcgpc7GRjokpXvWN8_hrhIiiI6Y4YqbiUSp2I0oRukhBn8w9JF5M_4LLAAG0qohZPe_Lu-EXKF/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC06019" width="404" /> </p> <p><img alt="DSC06020" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOBfkHdDYruxL93K7RaSxukdG3QyOivhE2lzava83vdRfp9CC-sG2WBt1D0BGLwGGf3i3-KvfMIC4b0oExZQx29y1WjcczTiPVo72pDwEtBDNHsguIY3Ao6n0r5H0bS0y-eTZL3RndGFw/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC06020" width="404" />I ordered my<u> favorite WW meal</u> there, <strong>Garlic Herb Chicken</strong> for <strong>7 points</strong>. Delicious!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDRf8FuXZQj_UIZgCrJ1987Po1NadWLWCGjMF6gAV2G8Wsccz5jfEtpwfweEWdQ7ttHM1Fd5-p7TH7cFCPb54RZCN_j4gbzZDGBgdE-8ULE9fw1PmYkdk-pjM7uPKrcEFS5uVt3HLNAWT/s1600-h/DSC06022%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06022" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNH4sHylxwYWAv0xRPqvqIuLEHtGhgXQ8AfSLH6rcCP3F9BAvBu7cY0FDUZgIh2TTBTzGxnAtTZnoPJarj8OOxyrenauFKhSOO9zCucI8DjYUtz4_ZJ_ZgAriGe5QsGs47at9-zD1cyDsF/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06022" width="404" /></a></p> <p>After our <strong>impromptu dinner date</strong> with the ‘rents, we headed to reception to meet up with our <strong>KC friends</strong>. Here is a picture of the four of us! Just <strong>love</strong> these guys! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTozcDBJo71RmTQkXBgmIn_CsFN92UN-oayOdW72julzkIc2zzvWk6r-e3NtU20Bb0OMZbQVoTwDTeoYI3mnc_w6WRS45ZJmRmh64UnLTkS34NePHFSpDotq821laxWiZKA1sQ8abOYrn/s1600-h/DSC06024%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06024" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4sV9zWgRJXYSigDJPSlN7LyLvYcaxvyA0YLUFvj813MipLLNydCT2KsQv8Bpr7MprfyXZjkce9zWpPCil4VgvvNyQydtm0G4kbJlVfuJ-0SDGTGW0InXGSZhrsufGCyhqdvAXeckFE2yj/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06024" width="404" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>Since it was a wedding reception & all I had a 2 glasses of<strong> free keg beer</strong> (<strong>4 points</strong>)! Can’t go wrong there! ;)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT5mJ0-hAzqaZwgGr33N9d_h0hRZcbai4IeY17zVUeZyCY8ZRRMgCJLKvmmPeYgpHflujD_MJJwLfm6IqgUY4ToROTIfC0YHtwLJAm9ePgWdd5-MBAbTpDOwDszpUu5q8F8sliU9HyyviZ/s1600-h/DSC06023%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06023" border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghvDXclUeVREhsElMo6c3PvakpUsWM5xM6flZlk30BOONK2YeUxQEkQea3ptJTjkJI8l9i4Q5kOv3B4mmBTSM-aCOcuE95QWS-G66AQ1Sky4at7snXnTa-sHVqut2kWKdKz1h02iegHmSK/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06023" width="404" /></a></p> <p> </p> <p>We danced the night away, everything from the “<strong>chicken dance</strong>” to “<strong>bad romance</strong>” (by lady gaga)! And there <strong>may</strong> or <strong>may not</strong> have been some <strong>cupcakes</strong> involved!! For the record though, I did not partake in that part! ;)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_O_sqAd1_tQrJCuC_zgY5WTLbRtx8S3qrpssgg6JGD71lndO1aIMevv4zleV9CWdw2qF2DKJjV613hNP6OEEfs12c5jYpqoGfl-L2nKbszSilrBom2wFa8Bh8gzMBLwuRZmKhPO01_8Jf/s1600-h/DSC06026%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06026" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi99ivyBT6kYFHIsNHLVYHWzdr6FidlucEjPSizB75UkuPquUjFr59shNiuRidrUczU77NVZxN6n3_L71ueawsQY6zqE0P55GH3dYzMWtvEHFrSYcfGDCgfBQhCJWo0mycM0Dk0gSLabn88/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06026" width="404" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC-jofhpv-ycdPwCwmtFL2Ten0hX-4sMxmqNvPjxIUH0OltN8zD7X5ylj-jK9a-9_nZ5HHLHw9F5xpN1ZTAqMVxceRMugsotX7rW-ZCR5313vlCJwyCeZyn0q_QS8HZmgHzy6acaICMZfe/s1600-h/DSC06025%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06025" border="0" height="539" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUDV-VGOX0cEEroTcjNTnMcq9DwQE4VNw0fB1fdobK1Y4VlgBha-Yv4C18LPZtYrYbDxBXWYjGFCaX53MnqP9qlRQQTni_MjvJRdZ9GnF2c6ixeCYTGF53q5M90lio_yAqMmSnA-Cn-qU4/?imgmax=800" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" title="DSC06025" width="404" /></a>       </p> <p>After the reception we headed downtown to a favorite “<strong>hot spot</strong>” of ours. I decided to go for the <u>low point option</u> and had a <strong>Budweiser Select 55</strong> for <strong>1 point</strong>. There ended up being about 1/2 of my co-workers there! So that was fun to hang out with them outside of work! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6MyjKF2UDrSbRBbYZQERbst4X29RJWY6isvdKPGLYjWkhTLqidJi9DJT9xtx90UpduZWmnQvld3gsNwGSdMFjEMx4a0Rq_oUDZ-xaIDYACAJzbYcnEwIHY0crY2k_Qu7siSgoGVM9eed/s1600-h/DSC06040%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06040" border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG1zsWhSdvmaqmrsPUuSNd5o3wqKwf6vQ8nWdSa2mEqcr4GmBPE5KGogCvh2Mtoz_IGyXU0ecG5CG5c2i2T7ZI6dtEribGLjMmmk8Ew3062kcjrVkcIOd-dIm0GeASS_jLyhefGbwiU73k/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC06040" width="254" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Kyle and I called it a night fairly early and got home a little before 1am…compared to <a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2010/02/weekend-recap.html">last week</a> at least! ;) I had one <strong>bite size snickers</strong> before bed for <strong>1 point</strong>!! Mmm, <u>love the chocolate</u>! (sorry for the poor picture quality…I was ready to <strong>devour</strong> this thing!)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPvbK2SKzBdqbDLPfgcCjRh-q8eNO6CP842_8fhSizKkZ-DGRuvmb56Ea-9pCTkuFpajPvEjY3lUSjRzotLq3OVd_8VhJ_wc0liY1Hj8-yI1tGmigNs8FA6A7WL9rF3gEAB3lk09Dn5zm/s1600-h/DSC06042%5B3%5D.jpg"><img alt="DSC06042" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEius5jC_8MRxdmu4TLLXqdEW_6fgurBLALO9HKyiUTE7DVCJ-36Qu_tG39XGd4pgWuX7bXtsh47lzpsrbSyjpI5qnPgA0hVBrRclIIDbdoTA9Y4pEAcG3-0kmbJ-aeQ47pIAbwk5mykGlze/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC06042" width="404" /></a>  </p> <p></p> <p>When we were heading to bed I had this wonderful feeling of feeling well!! I think everyone says it after being sick, but it sure makes you appreciate feeling good! </p> <p><strong>SATURDAY’S STATS</strong> <br />POINTS = 18/23 <br />WATER =  24 oz <br />EXERCISE = none</p>

Feeling good never felt so good!

Happy Hearts Weekend everyone!! Thank you for all the well wishes yesterday. I am feeling much better today. I didn’t eat anything yes...

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