Taking Back "ME" Time.......

February 2009

August 2008

October 2008

It has been a while since I've updated this blog.... Today has been determined to be the day I take back some "ME" time... Hence the photos posted (yes, I do miss the longer hair a bit)... It is a reminder to myself that the time I had been taking for "ME" over the last year + was well worth it and I need to continue... Have had a few speed bumps this last several months in not having much time to devote to my walking & exercising.... May be considered being selfish, but other things are going to have to take a back seat in the goal of conquering walking 1,000 miles & downsizing by another 41#'s.... I need to be a bit selfish (in a good way) in order to reach goals in my lifestyle change or else I cannot be the best "me" I can be for all others who need me...Plus, I need to break in those new walking shoes I posted the last entry... Babysitting 10-11 hours a day, then feeling I need to do other things makes it hard to get in walking... Daylight savings is here and that makes one less excuse...Excuses are exactly all I have been using too... I used to never let anything (snow, rain, wind,cold,etc) stop me.... Time to resume that mindset....I will not set aside important thing, but will strive to pick up in the area of finding creative ways to do things to fit in the "me time" on a daily basis..... I have went back to logging my foods/exercise at the other website I used before I started this blog.. No posting those things here daily....But, I will be here more often than of the late....

Spring Break is this week... Meg has started out with a nasty viral infection... Sick since Friday and new symptoms arising daily.... We haven't had a lot of sickness this winter, but when it has hit...It has been a "hard hit"... Ben has fought a nasty cold, I a relentless sinus infection/flu & now Meg this....... Allergy season is soon approaching too.... UGH..... Making sure to have inhalers, nebulizer & Sudafed are on hand/ready for Meg .

Pray for me or even join me a bit in the walking/exercising to give ourselves a freshness of air & a peaceful moment in each day... Let me know if you do!..The mental lift it gives me is beyond the physical in being able to see God's beautiful creation and hear the sounds of his creatures.....I alwasy come back lifted in spirit and ready to go again... Don't know why I have made something so easy as putting one foot in front of the other a difficult one, but not looking back and going forward to SUCCEED!!!!!

May the Lord bless you as richly as He has blessed me, JERRI

A Spring in the Step!

The kids & I went shopping Saturday....Got me some new shoes....Now, I want to wear them to church.... (haha)... Went to Big 5, then WalMart..Wore them @ WallyZoo to see how they felt....GOOD!... Before walking, I WAS NOT a person to wear tennis shoes, as I hated to spend the $$$ on them...I had one pair to last me 2-3 years... Now, I LOVE to shop for them..... My motto is "on sale" or they stay in the store... I don't hesitate to spend $$ on a good pair of shoes anymore though.. It is a neccessity to protect the goodness of my feet.... No more cringing, griping & hesitating to spend money on myself for this ( you moms know how it is when it comes time to spend $$$$ on ourselves usually).....I am the same for the rest of the family in buying "new" shoes..... Everything else is well, from a "special place" (as my mom calls them)and I'm picky in the integrity of the clothing.... I explained to Ben how when I was his age that my momo would take me several places to find a pair of shoes and I was so picky about how they looked on my foot, that we would usually go back home without a pair and had shopped @ several stores... He got it on me then..."So, that's where I get it" he said and without hesitation..... YEP!. I suprised him when we went to the Value Village to allow him to walk to Ross & the mall while Meg & I looked for her some pants/tops...... When I called him to have him walk back towards our direction...He was trying on a a pair of guess what.... SHOES!... He is one who thinks he needs a new pair each month..... I am blessed to have a 15 year old son who isn't embarrased to be seen with his mom, but thought that I would allow him some freedom... He did help me pick out a new pair of tennis shoes and he did scrutinize I will tell you when he didn't like something I tried on... Currently he is on a pair of Mt.Dew green high-tops I got him for Christmas..... He isn't allowed to wear them to church though.... and he didn't get the $75 pair of shoes he tried on yesterday.... He has a new pair of black shoes he wears to church, so no excuses for the "LOUD" green ones at inappropriate times......

So........ New spring in the step and looking forward to getting a walk in today.... Take off in time to walk to the church house and have time to change before 4 p.m. music practice.... Thanking the Lord each step of the way that He allows us to afford new shoes.....

May the Lord bless you as richly as I know He has blessed me,

JERRI

Cold Thursday...................

My goodness it is cold today..... Tells me that frost season for Paul isn't far away..... He's already working 6 days a week and going to get busier.... Ben & I have music practice a bit later... I only have one more week of playing piano for a while, but Ben is a "fixture".... I want to go browse for a new pair of tennis shoes (walking shoes are so muddy) if possible before hand......Nothin' like a new pair of shoes! Well, there is..... But it always makes me feel energized for some reason..... Gravel roads aren't too shoe tread friendly and could get a new pair broken in for when I need them.....

Best get with listing the menu & finish the dishwashing before the afternoon is over....

*Poached Egg/Egg Whites, LS V-8,Lite Toast w/ Honey & Coffee (the norm)

*Fiber One Bar, 12 Espresso Beans (hey it's better than the handful yesterday)

*Broiled Wild Salmon Chunk (Lemon),NS Black Beans,Cabbage....Pineapple Chunks

*Apple

*Oatmeal, Whole Dried Cranberries,Walnuts, Skim Milk

*Orville Redenbocker Microwave Bowl Plain Popcorn (first try @ it)

*H2o = No Less Than 120 oz.

Stubborness & Struggles

I am a very stubborn person... For those of you who don't know me very well...I am a struggler of sorts as well.... I am learning, but slowly of course.... Needing to find that place of total submission in many areas of my life at the current time & place I am every moment that God places me.... How much better it feels to finally "get it" each and every time I let go of the reigns.. It does get easier though.... I have learned this last several months of going through many changes. With unknowns lurking in the future for me of dealing with diagnosis of my mom's disease, diagnosis of the little boy I have babysat for the last 5 years being autism and many other things fresh on my mind it is easy to start crying (I'm a crier anyway ~I know I know). But, as I look back at each individual occurance... Had those things not happened we wouldn't be where we are right now as far as church family especially..... We had to be where we are in order to have realized that my mom had some definite lack of memory issues... That forced me to talk with my dad in seeking her some testing... That VERY question she asked me that she should of known the answer to beyond a shadow of a doubt at the moment she did wasn't a fluke, nor cooincidence.... God had placed me there at that very time... I believe that to my core.... I thank Him for His precious guidance and peace He has given in a transition. I do have struggles @ times in the "I wish" He hadn't lead us away from a place we considered to be a home of Godly people and friends, but He did and to surrender to His will has blessed us in so many ways....

The "unkown" for the future (even the next minute) is something that could swallow me up whole if I didn't have faith..... Prayer & Publication being my issues this week so far.... Kneeling as a coach while a student prays before a game is taken to court & declared it now forbidden for that coach or any school staff to participate in one State... The taking of "the word" prayer and forbidding it even being used in proper context of just using the word itself in another State..... What happened to all those people who "prayed" after 9/11 and how we couldn't make it without "God"?...Then publications being called "translations" of God's words being published these days.... Perversions of God's words is more like it.... Taking perfectly understood words and constorting them to mean something that conforms to being "publicly acceptable" in termanology these days or easier understood..... God doesn't move and He expects us to grow in Him to understand what He is telling us...We are to raise to His standards as we study His word(s). Not expect Him to come to our level... He will give us the understanding we need.... That is what studying using concordances, biblical dictionaries and commentaries are for..... BTW ~ J.Vernon McGee is a good set of studies to own.. This has been his harp this week on the radio too ;-)

Having things we can know beyond the shadow of a doubt in that God is in control of ALL things. Knowing our Eternity as Born-Again Christians should be our total comfort.... God is fulfilling all He has told He would do before His return.... Yet we sit and say "I never thought I would see the day that happened" or see the the things that society holds as acceptable..... There shouldn't be ANY surprises or worries... There should be rejoicing that we are that much closer to His triumphant return..... Prayer should be fervent and from the heart of desire to do our utmost for Him while we are in waiting..... If there were more of that... There would be less time for worry, being appalled at current events or status of our country..... God has a plan and purpose for us all. He will place us EXACTLY where He wants us and when.... Are we going to go kicking and screaming or submissively?

As David told Solomon (I Chron. 28:9) ~ " Know thou the God of thy Father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searcheth ALL hearts, and understandeth ALL the imaginations of the thoughts. If thou seek Him, He will be found by thee; but if thout forsake Him, He will cast thee off forever"...

Breakfast = Banana, Fiber One Bar, Coffee (1/2 c. skim & 1.5 tsp. S.F. Irish Cream)

Snack = Light n Fit Yogurt with Ground Flax

Lil' bite left-over Stuffed Papa Murphy's Chicken Pizza

Dinner = Smart Balance P.B., FIreweed Honey, Sara Lee Thin Bread (PBHS)

Snack = Handful Espresso Beans (Chocolate ones)

Supper =WaskyMacky,Gr.Turkey Breast,Lil Grate L.F. Cheese

Snack = 1 sl. Thin Bread w/FireweedHoney

H2o = No less than 120 oz.

Much Love & Happiness to You!

Jerri

Learning to go it alone in blogville

Tuesday Agenda (proposed ~ subject to change)

Breakfast ~ Prayer (calorie free) 7:00 a.m. ~1/2 Banana

8:30 a.m. ~1 Whole Egg/2 Whites (home grown),1/2 Avocado, Tomato....

Coffee (1/2 c. Skim milk, 1.5 tsp. S.F. Vanilla Bean Syrup added)

Snack ~ Ruby Red Grapefruit

Dinner ~ Broiled Tuna, Apple (ate too many Choc. covered Espresso Beans to eat anything else)

Snack ~ Nothin'

Supper ~ Oatmeal (1/2 Mom's Best & 1/2 Regular), Whole Dried Cranberries,Walnuts

Snack ~ ?

H2o Consumption ~ No less than 120 oz.

Gazelle = At least 2 miles...Bike = At least 2 miles

Much LOVE ~ HAPPINESS ~ SUCCESS to YOU!

Day #1 ~ Finally figured out basics

Wow!.... I never thought I would figure out this layout stuff...Trying to gather a template from another site was impossible, so had to start from scratch in a way of changing a couple html codes in notebook....I did'nt design this and credit is @ the bottom of the page....She has an amazing array of templates......

This will be my outlet pretty much everyday for my lifestyle change journey...Used to posting a diary everyday elsewhere...

I have a little over half-way to go to reaching my initial goal of downsizing by 82#'s.....I began on 01/21/08 with eating healthier to start and then incorporated walking everyday on 02/01/08... Had a few speedbumps along the way and not much progress made this last 6 months..... Not able to walk everyday as I was, due to caring for an infant & 2 other little boys knocls me out of walking with the baby jogger like the beginning days... But, I do own a Gazelle (like cross-country skiiing) and a resistance bike for when I decide to go a few miles.... I have logged almost 970 miles between the Gazelle and walking....

In my journey I have opted to not use the word "diet" or "lose weight" for myself..... Diets fade and usually fairly quick in that they aren't something I can stick to the remainder of my life..Moderation is my motto..... As for the "losing" part..... I am not looking for pounds, so why would I say I lost them? I'm working them off ounce by ounce...Thus, this is a "downsizing" for me.... Which have went down a size and maybe a quarter of another.... Shall be down a total of 2 sizes hopefully by the end of April...That's my goal anyways.....

Being a stay @ home mom & babysitter for 14 years hasn't allowed me much time or opportunity to make many friends for several years.... I do have some friends I keep in contact with through the internet (facebook and now here hopefully).... Made some great friends on the "diet" support site and have 1 in particular I'm very fond of and hope to never lose contact with. She tells me we were seperated at birth, but I find that a bit impossible beings as we are something like 6 years apart ( I won't say who beat who in birth order)... We are pretty much total opposites, but share a bond that is undescribable... I tease her that I am going to walk to her house one day...... It would take me FOREVER to do that realistically, but I can wish & dream about it at least.....

Recently learned that my mom has dimentia and dealing with that has been a bit of a tough road in acceptance. Allowing God to show us His reason for all things is what we have to focus on....

I think I have given enough for my first post and will start tomorrow with listing my menu/activites sometime for my self accountability..... Couldn't find any other website that offered what I had the other place, so this blog was the next best thing...... Follow along with me if you want, but don't feel obligated to comment, etc....... I know I can get pretty boring a majority of the time.....

TTFN, Jerri