Land of Fluff

A perfect pairing

2012-01-22T11:33:00.001-06:00

The Lord makes me very happy; all that I am rejoices in my God.
He has covered me with clothes of salvation and wrapped me with a coat of goodness,
like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding, like a bride dressed in jewels. (Isaiah
61:10 NCV)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday Favorites

2012-01-20T12:07:00.001-06:00

I am SO Not a morning person! However when I put Mandisa's new song "Good Morning" I can't help but go get a little pep into my step! It makes me look on my day with an excitement at the possibilities that this day might bring. If you have not heard this song, you need to!

I am also enjoying my low calorie chocolate cupcake/muffin! When you are dieting & PMS hits -girls, this is the cure!!! I know there are several variations of this recipe but the taste & the texture is so right on my kids ask me to make them. Wow!

I just mix all the ingredients together with a mixer -real well so there is no "crunchy" part in my muffin. Bake according to the directions on the cake mix box. I use Duncan Hines Devil food cake mix, & then sprinkle 4-6 chocolate chips on top of batter in cupcake liner papers prior to baking.

I am also enjoying listening Zig Ziglar podcast, they are free on iTunes & are positive & motivational. Filling my brain with positive stuff as I work around the house.

My last favorite thing I am enjoying this week, is the above new foundation. I heard several good reviews on the product, & when I ran out this week I decided to give it a try. I am so glad I did! It provides good coverage with a light shimmer to deflect light and give a more youthful dewy appearance, can you say "yes, please!".

Well those are my Friday favorites. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Miss America watch party

2012-01-13T11:21:00.001-06:00

Our household (full of girls) treat the Miss America pageant like others treat the Super Bowl game. We are all a buzz getting ready for our party! Each daughter got to invite a friend for the night. We made up a "watch card" game that after you fill in a row you will get a prize. (sort of like Bingo). We have prediction cards made up, so who ever predicts correctly will receive flowers when the new Miss America is crowned. Special food is called for the special night. We will be serving "Miss America tickled pink punch", Miss Oklahoma twister dogs, & Miss Illinois red hot salsa & chips. (Miss Illinois is a red head & since I have a redhead I always try to point out a pretty redheaded contestant. Since in children movies the redhead is usually the bully or a nerdy kid. I want her to be proud of her beautiful red hair!) We are almost ready for the fun to begin, we are off to buy the sashes & tiara's today. Many of the girls are cheering for Miss Oklahoma, calling themselves "team Betty". So we are a biased crowd, we will be cheering on one contestant more than the others. I will blog more about this party later. Hope you have a great weekend!- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Reality Check

2012-01-10T07:00:00.001-06:00

Well I weighed in on National Weigh in Day, (January 2). Yep, you guessed it I did my best impression of Macaulay Culkin from "Home alone". Ah! I was back in the 200's (sob! I mean, gulp!). I weighed in at 202 pounds. However I knew what I needed to do, and got back on that horse. Remember I made it this far, I can do this. So I got back into gym class moving my body, started counting my calories again, and yesterday I weighed in at 196.6 (which is +7.6) where I was BEFORE the holidays started. I can live with that. Now I do not want to stay here! I am trying to reach 40 more pounds down, which just became 47.6 down for this year.

I can do this! So can all of you out there! This is our life! Are you happy at where you are? Are you happy at your level of physical fitness? If not, get started! Only you are stopping yourself! No more excuses, get moving! We can do this!!! So how are you all doing so far?

Youv'e got mail!

2012-01-09T14:46:00.001-06:00

Oh do you remember when the Internet first came out, and the magical voice would announce when you had a "email", it would say "you've got mail". Did it make you excited? Did it make your heart beat a little faster? I know it did mine. I love mail!!

Well I am fairly new to Twitter. (I have been on it for over a year, but really only learning how to use in the last month -hey, I get busy!). One thing that is really neat is that you can "follow" people on twitter, and read their "tweets" or little shout outs. It is So much fun! I follow Beth Moore, Sheila Walsh, Tim Tebow, Bob Harper, etc.. Well the other day I read a tweet, that was written by a lady who is wanting to adopt a baby from a mother who is a drug addict, who is trying to fight her addiction. Sometimes good days, sometimes bad. The baby really needs to stay in the mother's womb about 7 more weeks. So she asked people to send letters or cards of encouragement to this special lady who is having such a hard time making it day to day.

The mailing address to send cards is:
Sanford Crisis Pregnancy Center
Attn: Marie Mondays
1002 S French Ave
Sanford FL 32771

The request is to pray for Marie, to fight her addiction. Also that the baby Anna that she is currently carrying, would not suffer side effects and would make it to a safe time to be born.
If you feel lead, please join me in mailing cards of encouragement to the above address. If you would like to learn more please look on twitter to follow: @ldharper, or look for www.facebook.com/pages/Lisa-Harper/120240462872?sk=notes to learn more.

Just remember how special it feels to receive mail, and think of blessing someone else with that gift. Thank you!

Am I a mom or am I a maid?

2012-01-06T12:19:00.002-06:00

My family saw the new Muppet movie over Christmas break. The movie was fun, enjoyable, clean. My husband & I enjoyed the retro feel of the movie and getting a chance to introduce our kids to the "Muppet experience" that we grew up with.

Some of the new songs are really catchy and just stick with you. My girls favorite song was "Am I a man or am I a muppet" (lyrics printed below)

gary: i reflect on my reflectionand i ask myself the question whats the right direction to go i dont know am i a man

or am i a muppet if im a muppet then im a very manly muppet

am i a muppet or am i a manif im a man that makes me a muppet of a man

Walter: i look into these eyes and i dont recognizethe one i see inside its time for me to decide am i a man or am i a muppet

if im a muppet then im a very manly muppet

am i a muppet or am i a man

if im a man that makes me a muppet of a man

here i go againi think i made up my mind now i understand who i am

im a man im a muppet im a muppet of a man

im a very manly muppet this is what i am

So as I was trying to quickly get around this morning, I counted 3 pairs of shoes & 10 cups out in the living room, and dining room area (keep in mind there are only 5 of us who live here) and both me and my husband pick up our cups, and shoes.

Now don't you judge me! Unless your kids are perfect and ALWAYS bring there cups to the sink and ALWAYS put their shoes up. This is life at home with kids. However not the pattern of behavior I would like to teach them. So trying to keep a good attitude while teaching my kids to pick up after themselves, I redid the above song. So here is my remake to my now favorite Muppet song:

Am I a mom or am I a maid

I reflect on the cups and dishes strewn throughout the houseAnd I ask myself the question What's the right direction

Am I a mom or am I maid

If I'm a mom then my kids need to learn to pick up after themselves

If I'm a maid I really should get paid!

Am I a mother or am I a maid

(I think that is a question that I ask myself almost everyday :)

There that is me laughing at life hope they don't mind me playing with the lyrics! (if I could sing I would have for you, but trust me-that is one question I do not have to ask myself!). Hope you all have a good weekend!!!

Apps can help

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-06:00

While on my weight loss journey I have been open to try to use technology to reach my goal. I have tried some great apps, and some that did nothing for me apps on my iPhone. So I thought I would share some.Lose it, is my favorite app (also available on line!!!) to track calories and exercise for FREE!!! It's a life saver!

I have discovered that "water apps" apps that track the amount of water you drink a day, are SO not created equal!!!!! I love the daily water app (it is available for .99 from iTunes) it is worth every penny! Simple & easy to use and will text you (you set the when & how many times the app should send you a "reminder" text to drink your water). So important!! Because I get up and think "today I am going to be good & drink 8 glasses of water". Then as the day goes along I get busy & forget!!! I don't think about it again until 9pm. (I think that's a little late to be trying to get in 5 glasses of water!) So now I get text during the busy times & I go "I need to drink some water!". I may not hit my goal every day, but I am so more likely to drink a lot more water then on my own.

Action method app, & Getting Dreams done were apps I tried after reading a good review on. I found that getting dreams done is not an app that is ideal for weight loss, it is a good app but not for what I was trying to use it for. Action method is good for small business etc.. But also not for personal weight loss application, in my opinion. When struggling for weight loss I love any help from anyplace that I can. Hope the above reviews help you on your journey. Remember just keep going down the road & we will get there!!! using BlogPress from my iPhone

a Moms happiness

2012-01-03T10:16:00.005-06:00

"A mom is only as happy as her saddest child" I heard Beth Moore use this quote in her Study "Esther". Wow! That is so true, my heart has been so heavy these last few months as my middle daughter has been dealing with unkind behavior from some girls, and being left out. It breaks my heart, so much at first I could not even blog about it, let alone barely talk about it. Can anyone relate?

It is amazing how things in life can be going along so smoothly, no cloud in the sky as far as you can see, and something can happen that just breaks your heart. Heart break is a funny thing, because no one can see it, no one knows it around you. Nobody can see that past your smiling face, that your heart is breaking, you are crying on the inside. Your heart is torn.

This last fall, we went to the first football game, which since we live in a small town, it means it was the social highlight of the month! Football games are Big here in Oklahoma, and a home game, means you better paint your toes, pick out a cute outfit, plan an early dinner because we are going out tonight! So, sorry I digress. We were at the first football game of the season, the crowd was humming with excitement. When my middle daughter asked to go hang out with some girls from school. I said, yes, but she needed to check in about every 30 minutes. I kept an eye out for her, I am a little protective. As I watched the girls interact through out the first half of the game, I picked up on some body language that some of the girls did not like my daughter. I was not overly concerned at this point, because not everybody likes everybody. At times we connect with some people, but not others. That is a fact of life. I get it.

When my daughter checked in, I asked her if everything was going OK, and was she having a good time, and would she rather come sit by us for a while, or another friend we had seen earlier. She said no, and went back to hanging out with her "friends". It was not another 10 minutes, that I saw the same group of girls running, and laughing looking back over their shoulders and hiding from someone. Yep, you guessed it. My daughter. About the time I was putting two and two together, I scanned my over to the entrance ramp into the bleachers and there stood my daughter confused, looking around trying to figure out what happened to her friends. As she stood there you could see when it finally dawned on her that her "friends" had ditched her, her young face displayed every emotion and thought she had. I was saddened for her, and waved at her to get her attention. Needless to say that evening was full of tears, and crying. I tried to point out that "real friends" don't act like this.

However, my daughters heart was broken, the girl that she thought was her best friend was one of the girls that ran away. To make things worse, she is in class with this group of girls. It has been a very hard year. She has been left out, and 3 of the girls have gone as far as ignoring her even at the table during class. I have tried to speak to the teachers they were very nice, but I have failed to see where anything has changed. It is a daily thing. Girls can be so cruel. Words do hurt, and they do leave marks, those marks on just on the inside. I try to tell her not to pay attention, find someone else to hang out with. However, when you only have 22 kids in your class and 3 of them are very vocal about being mean to you it is a hard situation to handle. Especially if you are only 11.

I have spent so much time in prayer for her. Praying that God would bless her with a friend. I have been praying for the girls that have been being so unkind to my daughter. Let me tell you, that has been the hardest, nothing shows me how much my ways, are different from Gods way, and how holy he is- because my flesh wants to tell those girls a thing or two about how mean they are being. I want to tell my daughter to be mean right back. However I know that the bible tells me we are to bless are enemies. Be kind to them. This is so hard to do-I'll be honest, it is even harder to give wise advice to a crying daughter. However this is where what I believe is truth, or its just a good story. I have to decide or choose what my response will be. Sometimes I feel that I make God proud, other time, I hand my head down in shame. However, I know God knows that I hurt, and that my daughter is hurting, and I know that God is in control, and I am praying that God's hand is on this situation. I know that my helps come from the Lord, so even though I am crying on the inside I will praise God, and trust him.

However at times, it just hurts. I think sometimes it's best just to acknowledge the pain and hurt, and be honest. So that is what I am doing. If you read my blog I would ask that you would join me in prayers asking for God's best for these girls & soften their hearts, as well that God would send my daughter a good friend. As well that I would have the wisdom to say the right things, and be an example to my daughter, and not "react" but "respond" correctly.

I know this situation is not an illness, or death, but it is a constant hurt, that is picked at each day that is not healing. I think the little things do matter to God. Thank you for your prayers, and support!!

National Weigh in day!

2012-01-02T13:30:00.000-06:00

Well it's that time of year again. One that inspires us to either jump on the diet band wagon, or buy bigger clothes depending on how we chose to deal with possible weight gain from the holidays, or life. I enjoyed the last week, totally off my diet, I went to the movies with my hubby and ate popcorn, snacked on a few forbidden treats that had been off limits to me this last year, and only hit the gym 2 times last week. Ugh! I guarantee it, I am feeling it today!!!

I am weighing in today, which just so happens to be "National Weigh in day". I will post what the damage was for the last week, um.. or two. I hope it is not to bad. 2011 brought me a 60 pound weight loss, I am hoping that I can make good healthy choices, so that 2012 will bring me a 40 pound weight loss that will have me reaching my goal of 100 pounds!!!

"I don't need easy. I just need possible" ...Bethany Hamilton, Soul Surfer movie.

So it might not be easy to loose these last 40 pounds, but I know, I know! (now) that it is possible, so I am planning right now my success. I will post more on what I am doing, the little steps, and the little choices, that I am making that is going to allow me to hit my goal.

Theme Word for 2012

2012-01-02T07:00:00.002-06:00

A few years back, I read how someone instead of just setting New Year Resolution, after praying about what God wanted to do in their life for the upcoming year, would choose a "Theme" word to focus on and pray on, and see what God would do regarding that word in their life. The thought was that by not setting real strict goals, that could "box" God in, and keep you from being lead to do something you never imagined to do. The focus being on God, and not what I could accomplish, I loved this!! So I started that tradition, the first year my word was "margins" God worked mightily to show me where to add margins in my life, and where margins were needed and where they were absolutely necessary. The second year, my theme word was Cultivate. I believe that God has cultivated in my life a more discipline quiet time with him, as well as a more healthy lifestyle over the last year. So this year when I started praying for the correct, or right theme word, it took a curvy path to end up at the right word. The Word God laid upon my heart was "Choice".

I really had no idea, that this was going to be the word God gave me for 2012! I thought it might be "resolution" which I thought was pretty funny since the whole theme word, came from not setting "new year resolutions". However the word "resolution" was thrust in my mind when I was watching a promo of the upcoming bible study that my small group is going to do. We are going to be starting the bible study based on the movie "Courageous". The women's book that accompanies this study is called "Resolution" it's premise as I understood it, is that the type of life we want is developed based on the small choices we make each day. So we as Christian woman should "resolve" or decide before hand the type of life we want, so that making decisions would be easy. I liked this and prayed about this, but God kept leading me back to the daily Choices we each make in that whole formula.

I admit that I am a geek. I love to know what words mean. So I looked up "choices" and could not find it in the dictionary, but I did find the word "Choice".

Choice (noun:)

1. The act of choosing

2. the power of choosing

3a the best part

3b. a person/thing chosen

4. a number & variety to choose among

5 a care in selecting

(which really got me saying, "yes, God I am so excited to see what you are going to bring into my life through praying for your Choice in my life)

then I read on, hitting the adjective definition of Choice:

1. Worthy of being chosen

2. selected with care

3a. of high quality

3b. of a grade between prime and good

(which Webster's defined "prime" as: the chief or best individual or part.

Isn't that what I want from my life. To give God my best or "prime" part of my life, and receive his best, or "prime" part of God. To make the right choice, as I live my life daily in the small things, to the big things in life. So that is what I am praying and focusing on and I can't wait to see what God is going to do in 2012!!!

So here is to living a "Choice" life! Here is to making the right "Choice" in 2012!!!

The 1st Noel trying to be healthy

2011-12-22T01:17:00.001-06:00

This is the first Thanksgiving through Christmas that I have tried to live a healthy lifestyle. Well let me tell you, it is tough!!
Now before you start shaking your head thinking "girl, you should just have some self control". It's not about just having self control. It's a lot about -scheduling!!!

After all if I am still trying to accomplish the following: get girls up, make lunch, fix 2 sets of girls hair done (that's not counting my own), chauffeuring 3 girls to school, hitting the gym, getting cleaned up, laundry, picking up the girls,homework, dinner & practice, trying to count my calories, drink more water and try to get 7 hours sleep ( so I can loose tummy fat) now the holidays are upon us, & now I am trying to add crafting, wrapping gifts, baking, cleaning, hosting celebrations, going to fun get togethers etc..).

Whew! I tell you what I have learned somethings that I will do differently next year.
1). Simplify some
2). Craft through out the year -do not wait to try to do it all in one month.
3). Make a plan!!
4). Make cute tags ahead of december.
5). Be prepared to take off only 2 days before company. But plan on an alternative exercise workout at home.

All those may seem so simple and so common sense to you all. However. I am used to trying to do it all, and I tell you you can not do it all ALL the time. You have only so many minutes in a day and you have to choose! If you want to have time to snuggle with your babies, dance with your husband, curl up and read a good book. (which I know I do!) You just have to Have a plan. It's ok I doubt your family thinks your super women, nor do they expect you to be. So take a deep breathe and make a plan. If you mess up-don't sweat it just get back up, "after all you don't get tackled sitting on the bench". ( I like that quote but I am sorry I do not know who said it).

I believe I can be healthy but it does take a plan, it takes a positive outlook, & persistence!!

How do I stay positive - I remember when I was taking in some 3xl size sweaters to a size Large. That makes me stay positive! I remember where I have come from.

So the 1st Noel trying to be healthy has had some speed bumps, I put on 3 pounds since Thanksgiving. (the scale goes up 3 pounds, down 2, up 1 down 3) But if I can keep it under a 4 pound gain I will be satisfied. I have to live and will hit it hard and tackle that last 40 pounds in 2012!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What are you actually celebrating?

2011-12-14T11:32:00.003-06:00

I am a horrible time manager! I know here I am a mom, wearing all kinds of hats (cook,chauffeur, social coordinator, wife, decorator, hostess, friend, daughter, etc..) My husband was kindly, very gently reminding me of the "important" things that I needed to get done, and to stay focused on what was necessary, or required to be done first. It made me start thinking "what is important", "what is needed", and "what am I really celebrating"?

I often relate to the story of Martha, (Luke 10:39-42) in the story of Mary and Martha. Oh, I desire to have a Mary's heart seating at the feet of Jesus - just once everything is clean, and ready so that I can focus on what he is saying. Does anyone relate?

It made me start to think, if actions speak louder than words, and my kids are watching what would they say I was celebrating this holiday season. I am afraid that my kids would answer that there mom was celebrating family get togethers and celebration. How sad. Christmas is not about family get togethers! It is about celebrating the birth of Jesus, that God loves us with a "never the less" kind of love!! How that made me stop and pause -which is shocking if you saw my "to do" list. A family is a "blessing. Webster defines blessing as:

bless·ing

noun

Definition of BLESSING

a : the act or words of one that blessesb : approval, encouragement

: a thing conducive to happiness or welfare

I am blessed to have a family, that provides happiness, and encouragement. However Christmas time, my heart and my soul should be focused on celebrating Christ. Jesus Christ is the gift of Christmas. My soul should be at peace. So as I prepare for my family get together. I am going to keep my eyes on Christ, and hopefully my actions will reflect that I am lucky to have a family to get together with, but our "getting together" is not the be all, end all of the holidays, and if something is not perfect, well there goes the holidays. Nope, because Christmas is about Christ. It's not about finding the perfect centerpiece, having the perfect game to play, and keeping everyone else happy. So what are you celebrating this Christmas? Does your actions and the words of your mouth back up your answer?

Just some deep thoughts from a mom who had been busily trying to do it all, taking a deep breath and re-prioritizing what is needed. I think I am going to have to this daily! If not I get distracted and loose my focus. Hope you keep your eyes on Christ.

17 years together!

2011-12-13T00:34:00.003-06:00

Well I did some celebrating this last weekend. Me and my husband celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary-Woo Hoo! I have now known this man 19 years - whew! Such a weird thing to state, that seems like such a long time when you say it years. However when you are living it, it has gone by fast-super fast! We have had good times, and bad times, we have had our ups and our downs. However I love this man, and enjoy living life with him. I am blessed to be so loved! I am humbled by his commitment and dedication to our vows, impressed by how he fathers our children, and strengthened by his strengths. I look forward to what the future will bring our way!

finding Christ this Christmas season

2011-12-11T12:54:00.002-06:00

At this time of year, as we get out our Christmas ornaments and decorate the tree. We have a tradition that each child gets to hang their own ornaments on the tree. We laugh and talk about each piece as we decorate the tree. We remember how much each child has grown, and where we have been. (we also buy an ornament on each family vacation). (do you have any macaroni ornaments on your tree?)

This tradition in its own way reminds me the children of israel celebrated Passover each year. To celebrate the children of Israel escape from slavery in Egypt. The Passover celebration is celebrated with the asking of 4 questions, they remind the Jewish people where they have been, how faithful is God then at the end of the celebration it is concluded with them looking forward to the return of the Messiah. The promised one.

What would it have been like to have been a Shepard going through the routine of life and being startled awake by an angel announcing the birth of the messiah.
"That night, some shepherds were in the fields nearby watching their sheep. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord was shining around them, and they became very frightened. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I am bringing you good news that will be a great joy to all the people. Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ, the Lord. This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a feeding box.” Then a very large group of angels from heaven joined the first angel, praising God and saying: “Give glory to God in heaven,and on earth let there be peace among the people who please God.” When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem. Let’s see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us about.” So the shepherds went quickly and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in a feeding trough. When they had seen him, they told what the angels had said about this child. Everyone was amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured these things and continued to think about them. Then the shepherds went back to their sheep, praising God and thanking him for everything they had seen and heard. It had been just as the angel had told them. (Luke 2:8-20 NCV)

Can you imagine being startled awake to such a sight, how bright they must have been. In the darkness of the night. I am sure the shepherds were shocked, did what they just saw and heard, really just happened!?! With adrenalin Pumping through their veins the got up and rushed to see if it was true. Oh how they must have marveled at the sight of finding Mary, Joseph, and the newborn baby Jesus.

So as we are going about our routine in the busyness of the season, remember to stop, pause and pick up the bible and find Jesus for yourself. Remember where you have been, and what Christ has done for you!

I hope you marvel at what God has done for you this Christmas. That you ponder and continue to think of what you have read. May Christ be real to you this Christmas!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Paper wreaths

2011-12-10T14:07:00.001-06:00

Ok I have been in love with some of the beautiful paper rosette wreaths I have been seeing on line like this one from http://thefrugalgirls.com/2011/10/diy-paper-rosette-wreath.html

Then this one from http://www.lovelycraftyhome.com/2010/12/20/paper-rosette-wreath/

So I decided I had to make myself one! After all I had some spare books, I had hot glue, I had me some time -almost a free craft, the very best kind of craft!
However 5 hours into making my own paper rosette wreath I have learned - Dang! It takes some time to make those cute paper rosettes! (see below some of my rosettes)

And I am FAR from having enough to make a wreath! Good thing I did not want to use the wreath until January. Whew! Well me & my hot glue burned fingers have some more paper rosettes to make. Hope you have a good weekend!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Dog food container

2011-12-02T18:23:00.001-06:00

I used a cheesy popcorn container (see picture below)

Instead of throwing it out, I sprayed a primer cost, then spray painted the container one color to cover up the snowmen. Then I used a circuit to cut the vinyl words "dog food" to make it a usable everyday storage container. Inspired again from Pinterest. Ahh, what would I do without all the great inspiration found there!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Whose on your team?

2011-12-02T02:03:00.001-06:00

As most of you know, the year 2011 has been a start of a weight loss journey for me to become more fit, and have a more healthy lifestyle.

Having people that support, encourage you, hold you accountable, and cheer you on is so valuable!! In January of this year when I started on this journey, had you asked me the question "whose on your team?". My answer would have been 1) my husband and 2) my mother. That's it. In fact, I was embarrassed to even tell others that I was getting ready to "try" to loose weight "once again". I did not want judgement, or attitude from anyone who had never struggled with a weight issues.
As my weight loss journey continued on I was surprised to find that "my team" grew. Nothing prepared me for this! When you struggle with weight you feel ashamed and feel very isolated, they say as a society we don't talk about money. However I can tell you overweight women do not talk, really talk about how they feel and the struggles they have with being overweight, and often those who lost weight seem to be proud of their success and can't even remember how hard it was to just start the first baby steps of this journey. (frustrating!).
Well I opened up on line and found some very sweet supporters on line! (Beverly buzz, Calamity, that's Baloney, 6 happy hearts, C'est la belle vie to name a few)
Then as I went to classes at the gym, trainers were very encouraging! (remember when I started I was often the only plus size lady in class). Trainers Lesli, Ginger, and Charlsea were encouraging and offered a friendly smile,a enthusiastic greeting and knowledgeable instruction.
So a few more people joined my team. Then as I became a "regular" at Sky Fitness Gym I got to know some of the other "regulars". Who offered me advice, encouragement, noticed if I missed, also noticed when I hit fitness goals. (below are pictures of me with some of those kind ladies).

(the above photos were taken after spin class, right before body pump class started. Excuse the sweat!)

This sweet lady learns everyone's name in spin class and always says "hi!". I tell you what, I enjoy spin class, but she makes spin class feel like The "cheers" song says "we want to go where the people go, and everyone knows your name".

So I want to encourage anyone out there who is thinking about trying one more time. Thinking that they might not have a support team. You might be surprised, as how your team grows as your commitment towards your goals grow!! Also who ends up on your team, you might not even know them right now. (I did not know one of those sweet ladies I am I the picture with in January.) Last but not least you will never regret traveling this road. It may get hilly, it may be slow, fast, slow but as long as you keep moving you will find yourself in a much better place than you were in!

If you find yourself needing support please leave a comment, and your blog name. I would love to support you and be on your team! I know losing weight is tough, real tough!! Exercising may seem impossible if walking is a challenge. Just remember you start where you are, and you move forward. Any progress is progress, this is your life, not a competition!!

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Taking Christmas back!

2011-11-30T13:01:00.004-06:00

Last year I had the privilege of being asked to talk to a wonderful group of ladies, about how our family has done Christmas, keeping our focus on Christ, and not on just material gain. I decided that I would post my suggestions and ideas. Some are my own, others evolved from some suggestions we had read, others were sparked and set off by watching a simple commercial about nothing related to Christ. However I feel that God is the God of creation and creativity and I do believe that any of these ideas can be used to help bless you and yours through the upcoming December. I hope you find at least one idea to help you teach your children or help yourself not get caught up in the rat race of a material Christmas.

I believe the Christmas season provides us as mothers, as parents, a wonderful opportunity to pass our faith on to our children. The holiday season allows us to take the time in our daily activities to impress upon our children’s heart that our God is God. How do I do this you might ask?

Well the bible says in Duet 6:4-9

⁴Listen, Israel! The LORD our God is the only true God! ^[b] ⁵So love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. ⁶Memorize his laws ⁷and tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you're at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning. ⁸Write down copies and tie them to your wrists and foreheads to help you obey them. ⁹Write these laws on the door frames of your homes and on your town gates.

Worship Only the LORD

Moses gives a lot of advice to us in this chapter on how we are to raise our children to love the Lord God our.

*In the book “Parenting beyond your capacity” it states “Moses is fighting for the something that is more important than a lifestyle or practice. He is fighting for the hearts of those who will follow. If you want to pass on a Legacy to the next generation it HAS TO BE TRANSFERRED RELATIONALLY!”

That’s why in Duet 6 Moses gives specific about the mundane, daily things in our lives- like eating, commuting, our downtime. How we spend those moments with our kids matter! What type of legacy do you want to leave your children??

This book I just quoted “parenting beyond your capacity” states “know what really matters. It would be heartbreaking if your children enjoy the benefits and the prosperity, of it really doesn’t matter what our kids know if they don’t a better lifestyle, live in a land flowing with milk and honey, and become experiential rich but never really know God.”

Well what does this look like, and how do we implement this into our lives?

Well this can look differently for each family, based on the age of your children’s, the sex of your kids, their likes and interest.

Here are some ways to implement a Christ focused Christmas.

If you have smaller children:

*it may be as simple as gluing cotton balls to a picture of a sheep and talking about the animals in the stable the night baby Jesus was born, or talking about the shepherds that were in the field the night baby Jesus was born watching the sheep.

*If they are really little it may mean practicing the animal sounds of the animal in the stable the night of Jesus’s birth.

*decorate wrapping paper together, or “wrap” a gift together. Talk about how the wisemen brought gifts to baby Jesus, or depending on the age of your children talk about how God gave us the gift of his son.

*talk about how God sent an angel to Joseph and told him that Mary was going to have a baby boy and what to name the baby. Talk to your child about what they were going to be named if they were born the opposite sex, talk about how you came up with their name.

*read the story of the birth of Christ, -make a baby book for baby Jesus of drawings of the different people and animals that were in the story. Get out your child’s baby book, and look at the pictures and talk about who came to see them at the hospital when they were born.

*Talk about how excited everyone was to see them when they were born, talk about how excited the shepherds and the wise men must have been to see baby Jesus.

*eat pepperidge farm gingerbread man and talk about they people in the story who came to see baby Jesus when he was born.

*decorate “Wise Men” hats and play in them. While coloring, stamping, or putting on stickers talk about the wise men who came to see baby Jesus. How they saw the star in the sky.

*purchase “playable” or at least “touchable” nativity sets for your kids to handle

*we had a manger that my dad had built that we brought out each Dec. with a very special doll – that only came out in the month of Dec. which was “baby Jesus”

*play christian DVDs’s about the meaning of Christmas.

*have a birthday party for baby Jesus

*eat animal crackers for snack and talk about the animals in the stable the night baby Jesus was born.

*make, color or decorate angel pictures and talk about the angel that appeared to the shepherds in the the field telling them the “Good News” about Jesus.

*put “angel” or “shepherd’s” dress us clothes in your dress up area for the the month of December.

*make star ornaments and talk about the star that lead the wise men to baby Jesus

*play hide and go seek, looking for the “Largest Star” – hide a bunch of stars around the kids to look for. Just like the wisemen had to seek and follow the stars to find baby Jesus.

*play the quiet game, like Zechariah who could not speak. (Luke 1:57-80)

**Now a word of caution here—Don’t become so “attached” to what you are doing that you can not move on once your child has grown past that activity (manger story)

**Remember - - “Why” we do something does not change, however “How” we do something MUST change.

--What does that mean, or what does that transition looks like to older kids?

Older kids:

*baking session making cookies in different shapes from the story, - talk about it.

*downloading the “star app” on your ipod/ipad and going outside and looking at the stars and talk about how the wisemen saw the stars and followed the star to find Jesus.

*each child gets a miniature manger and yellow strips of paper to write down the “kind things” they do for others, to help prepare our hearts for baby Jesus on Christmas. (This helps combat the case of the gimme’s me) Hopefully by Christmas the manger will be full.

*refuse to shorten the name “Christmas” explain to your kids why we find the abbreviation XMAS offensive.

*celebrate advent – have the kids participate

*make an origami nativity set as a family

*make a yarn nativity set as a family

*talk about the family tree of Jesus. And talk about your own family tree.

*talk about when Gabriel came to tell Mary about her having the son of God, how she trembled. What have we been afraid of that turned into a blessing?

*Ask your kids what is the most meaningful thing you do during the holiday season? Why, did they answer the way they did? You might find what speaks to the heart of each of your children or different things, because they are different.

Any age kids:

*listening to christian Christmas music

*read the “REAL” Christmas story as a family on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day instead of the night before Christmas or in addition to. *reading christian Christmas books

*participate if your family chooses in an angel tree, or give to a need, - but if so – Include the kids make them shop with your, or if older have them be in charge of the shopping, wrapping etc.. Even have your children give a portion of their allowance for the purchase of the gift. If your family has decided ahead of time on this.

s. SANTA

What to do about Santa?

It’s a Big, Tough, Question! That can only be answered by your and your husband!

For us personally, this what we decide to do and why.

(School,/marginalized)

1 gift, and stockings.

(we try not to over decorate with Santa, we do have the kids picture taken each year with Santa out at the Christmas Train)

**We do not talk and “assign” Godly attributes to Santa (he knows when you are good, and bad, and he sees you when he is sleeping)

BALANCE is our key.

*The wish list

* then focus conversation on what they are giving, or what “we are giving” instead of talking non stop about what they want.

Now I do want to take a minute and remind you all.

About the Star in the sky that the wisemen saw and followed to baby Jesus.

*we are called to be lights in this world.

Matthew 5:14-16:

¹⁴You are like light for the whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, ¹⁵and no one would light a lamp and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.

I am sure your family, is like my family, your neighborhood is like my neighborhood, your friends are like my friends, and your kids friends families are like my kids friends families. –Not everyone knows God personally and some are trying awful hard to run from him, and other may have never been introduced to him other than in movies with the funny description as “sweet baby Jesus” well let me be clear Thank Goodness for baby Jesus but thank goodness baby Jesus grew up and died on the cross for our sins!

Now some of your might be breaking out into a nervous sweat thinking I am going to encourage you to walk up and hit people over the head – No!! I am not me personally the only real kind of sharing that I have seen that has made a difference in someone’s life is the that little thing we mentioned at the first “Relational” sharing!!

So what does that mean? Well take a deep breath I am merely suggesting that you have your home decorated in such a manner that it would witness for you. (the nativity set we talked about, maybe an open bible on a table turned to the Christmas story, etc)

A peaceful atmosphere of love that permeates your home. Keeping that in mind

*How are you during this holiday season?? Are you Joyful?

Are you peaceful?

Are you content?

Remember that you can not share what you do not have! So please be intentional and set aside alone time with God this holiday season!!!

Keep Christ as a priority and keep everything in perspective.

Remember there is no such thing as Wonder women. Only amazing women made by a Wonderful, Mighty God, Lord of all creation!!

And because I am female I know! I know! How crazy we can get about anything!! Anything!!

So I would like to read to you a poem reworded from 1 Corinthians 13

"First Corinthians 13 : The Christmas Version"

"If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child; Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse; Love is kind, even when harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust. But giving the gift of LOVE will endure."

May the joy of Advent bring God’s love into you life in a special way this Christmas! Seen below is proof we can all get along as we share love with one another!

Remember a priority is simply a pre-decision about your time!

So I encourage all your ladies to go home and during nap time, or your quiet time today –pray about your calendar and how you want to spend your time this December. Pray about the legacy you want to leave your children and those around you this holiday season.

Thank you for having me, and I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas

**This is the presentation that I posted last year. Of course my kids are another year older and I am trying to come up with some new creative approaches to help them and my husband and me to stay focused on Christ. I will post more on those as the month continues on.

faux wrought iron window treatment

2011-11-22T08:57:00.002-06:00

Well this pin caught my eye the other day on pinterest. (if you are on pinterest, look for me!)

I have an octagon shaped window that I never know what to do with.

However, when I saw this pin and went over to Blog "imperfectly perfect" http://tali-schiffer-oren.blogspot.com/2010/09/home-work-tp-flowerproject.html

I thought I could do this in that window.
So I started collecting toilet paper rolls. I marked off 1/2 inches then cut into strips.

Then I went to town glueing 5 pieces together to make flowers.

Then i glued all the flowers together and spray painted them black. To give the look of wrought iron.

Then placed the creation in the window (I placed it in between the window and the screen to hold it in place)

I love it! It gives the window character and it only cost me the cost of the black spray paint.

What have you been inspired to make lately?

I know creating something gives me great pleasure and helps me deal with stress, you should give it a try. Hope everyone has a great day!

Free, Well Thank you!

2011-11-18T23:25:00.001-06:00

Well today I went to the hip little area in Tulsa known as Cherry street. That is where LuluLemons show room is located at here in Tulsa, Ok.

Above is a picture of the store front. Notice the cute flowers in front of the window.

LuluLemons is a store that sells athletic apparel along with offering free yoga classes to encourage an active lifestyle.

The workers even post their goals, for example: take spin class twice a week, etc.. This store even offers a free rooftop yoga class at sunset when the weather is agreeable.
Well I was nervous about going in today. I won, yes won! A free tank top from the store during a drawing for participants at a Body Pump launch party. As most of you know I have lost 60 pounds since January. (I have been holding this weight the last month! Ugh! I have 40 left to go). After I won the top I went on line and saw the size chart, there xl is a size 12. Which I am not -I am a loose 16 or a tight 13/14. I was a little scared of going in and being laughed out of the store. ( I could hear the mocking in my head) but I sucked it up, and told the very nice sales lady (I am horrible with names!) that I was fearful that I might not "fit" into the tank. She was SO kind, she said she thought this other style of tank that had a built in bra and offered more support might just work. Did I mention that she offered to swap out my win of tank style 1, for tank style 2.

I will be honest, I have not bought a workout tank for myself yet. I tend to stick to yoga pants and a t shirt. However, I really like the comfort & support of this tank!
I will look even better in this tank in 10 more pounds down! Ahh! That tummy is getting smaller but slowly! So 10 more pounds is what I hope to loose for this calendar year, then tackle the last 30 pounds to make my goal weight in 2012.

At times like when the scale won't budge I remind myself where I have come from.

New years eve dec 31,2010
249.5

Here I am at 222.5 pounds

Here I am at 202 pounds

Here I am at 189 pounds

I look forward to working out and burning calories in my new Lululemon tank!

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One holiday at a time

2011-11-17T09:40:00.001-06:00

I enjoy the holiday of Thanksgiving. A time set aside each year to remember what we have to be thankful for. To pause a second in our crazy world, with our crazy schedules and take a deep breath and be thankful, count our blessings and let gratitude seep into our hearts and minds! Wow, the feeling of contentment and being blessed is overwhelming.

However in today's marketing blitz the need to sell us items for Christmas makes many stores overlook Thanksgiving. Which I feel cause people to "feel" stressed, panic, and overwhelmed with "agh! I need to get stuff, do stuff, more, more, more!". That is why I respect and appreciate Nordstrom refusal to jump off a cliff, just because other retail stores are (putting Christmas stuff out even before Halloween!).

- how different would Christmas be celebrated if people went into that season if the year with a thankful heart. How do you keep Thanksgiving?

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Appreciation

2011-11-15T10:02:00.001-06:00

Don't we all want to feel appreciated sometimes? I know I do. As a mom, nobody usually comes home and thanks me for putting up laundry, or cleaning the toilets. (If your kids notice and tell you thank you please feel free to leave me advice in the comment section!).

As much as we all love a kind word of appreciation, how freely do we give or hand out thank you's? I know I am guilty of getting busy and forgetting to let others know that I appreciate at them.

The amazing thing about a kind word or sweet jester is that it does not have to be BIG or grand to make are day. Below is a photo of a sweet basket I found for me at church where I volunteer once a week. How very very sweet. The basket had my favorite pop, favorite candy, and a cute notepad along with a sweet thank you card. I tell you it made my day!! So it got me thinking, have I made anyone else's day lately? Well that is my challenge over the next few weeks is to try to find one person each week to bless with gratitude. How about you? Is there anyone that you should tell how much you appreciate them? Do you have a favorite way to tell others "thank you"? If you do I would love to hear about it!!

Isn't the Lara the lady I volunteer for a sweetie! It was so unexpected to find a sweet goodie basket left for me I wish you could have seen my face lit up with a big ol'e grin!

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Starting body combat

2011-11-09T22:18:00.001-06:00

Oh, I have started a new class to try to shock my muscles. Oh, they are shocked all right!! For me it has been an awkward experience. I have never tried kickboxing before or anything remotely like it!!

- so here is a photo of how i "feel" I look during class. (you do feel strong during class. You feel in charge of your health)

However the above photo is how I really look during class. Sweaty, sucking air. It's fun, fast paced and HARD!!!!

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Hair

2011-11-08T08:38:00.001-06:00

Hair has been the focus if my household this week. The oldest daughter decided to go brown this weekend. She has been blonde, then as her hair darkened up "assisted" blonde with highlights. But she decided to see what she would look like as a brunette.

The youngest has found the benefit of interest and enjoys looking at my pins to pick out how she wants me to do her hair for the next day. Below is a picture of the heart pigtails she wore yesterday and coordinated her outfit with it.

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Visual Reminders of God's promises

2011-10-28T11:44:00.001-05:00

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the LORD your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.” (Joshua 4:4-7 NLT)

-
These are my "visual" reminder of God's promises to me over the years.

I primed the rocks, with a dark primer. Then spray painted the rocks the oil rubbed bronze. Then I used a gold paint pen to write the verse and year that God used the verse to speak into my life. A great visual to use as a natural conversation about our relationship with God.

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A few of my favorite things....

2011-10-27T10:46:00.001-05:00

Well I am a "Gilmore Girls" fan. I loved the shows quick banter, the characters of the small town, the relationships and interaction in between all those characters, it was a clean show so I could watch it with my girls. Well I think I have found a new show that is filling in the gap that Gilmore Girls left. It is called "The hart of Dixie" it's on Monday nights. Cute, funny, and so far pretty clean.

-
The second thing I can't get enough is this EOS lip balm.

Loving this!!! After reading Several reviews in magazines about how great they are I finally broke down and on impulse bought one. Now I am going to have to go back and buy several of them to store around the house and car where I store all my reading glasses. (I tried the mint flavor but I can't wait to try the rest!) i love when you try something out that has received good review and you agree with it! Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!!!

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What's in your heart?

2011-10-26T10:24:00.001-05:00

I love to post special bible verses around the house where I can see them, and hopefully learn them like the back of my hand. However, when I went to run my bathwater the other night this is what I found.

Needless to say, a little one had splashed it while playing in the tub. Hum! So I tried out the cricut machine, and cut out a special verse. So this is what I will now see when I sink into a bubble bath.

I am pleased with it. (it did take a little while to stick on each letter, but well worth it!)

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Fall weekend Day trips

2011-10-25T09:36:00.001-05:00

I love fall! It's my favorite season of the year. Charm sweaters, apple cider, hot chocolate, a trip to the pumpkin patch, colored leaves, brisk cool air. I just love it! What better way to enjoy Oklahoma than to pile into the car for a day trip. This last weekend we found ourselves in Clevland, Oklahoma. They were having pioneer days so the streets were pretty crowded so we decided to keep on driving. (However we did see a very cute large bulldog dressed in an OSU jersey with a large orange bow on her hair. She was adorable, but I forgot to snap a picture. We saw that Hominy, Oklahoma was 10 miles up the road and none of us had been there so we decided to "drive on!" was the vote in the car. So off we went.
Hominy, Oklahoma has a quaint downtown. Small with what looked like a sodapop and ice-cream counter store -just like in "It's a Wonderful Life" starring Jimmy Stewart. Where he works as a kid. Unfortunately for us it was closed. However we did spot a sign for a historical site in Hominy, Oklahoma for the "Drummond Home". Which for you bloggers out there might be familiar with that last name because the "pioneer woman" Ree Drummond" married into this famous ranching family of Oklahoma.

My girls were thrilled to stop by and take a peak around the historical home not because of the ranching history, nor the Oklahoma history that the home represents -sorry! (more info on the Drummond family here: http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/D/DR007.html

But because the have tried a lot of the yummy recipes from her cookbook, and have seen her new cooking show on the food network with me.
Hominy, is proud of their Indian heritage and history because paintings were seen on almost every building side driving through the downtown area.

We did not find a place to eat in Hominy though I did see some sign about fried catfish, the kids out voted hubby and me. So we drove on into the town of Skiatook, Oklahoma where we ate at "Señor Salsa". Good prices, the food was however just ok, not memorable. Then we headed back home after some more site seeing, however that is a post for another day.

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Isn't that pinteresting

2011-10-19T13:40:00.001-05:00

Well I thought I would post about some of the things that I have tried from the highly addicting Pinterest site

I made the above cinnamon pull apart bread from plainchicken.com. My family loved it, I thought it was just ok, but my family would strongly disagree.

Oh my gosh!! The above dessert just may be the cure for PMS!! A girlfriend made this for girls night in, she found the recipe at kevinandamanda.com. It is so bad I did not even calculate the calories for it, any way I am sure it was calorie free since I had it on girls night in.

A perfect fall muffin: spiced apple sauce crumb muffin. The yummy recipe is from blueeyedbakers.com. A wonderful spice packed muffin to enjoy with a cup of coffee!!!

I spruced up the veggie tray at my daughters family birthday party. Just like the above picture shows the veggie dip in a bowl sat down into a hollowed out pumpkin.

I made the jalapeño bites from: aisletoaloha.blogspot.com. Family found them very yummy. I was however when made again, I would recommend just rolling them up for ease. (by the way I found out I was allergic to touching raw jalapeno's -ugh!! Effected my breathing scary! Needless to say, the hubby will be preparing anything that calls for jalapeño's himself from now on.).

I tried to re create the above spruced up 7 layer dip ,but ugh! I made my lines for the spider web the wrong direction. Thank goodness the mess up was on the sourcream level so I was able to fill in with sourcream and it was good to serve and no one but you know that I tried to make it fancy.

Now wasn't that pinteresting?

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Start of a bathroom re do

2011-10-18T15:53:00.001-05:00

I decided to take down the wall paper in my bathroom and paint my "flat" wall instead of hanging more wall paper. When, what do my anxious eyes see- a texture in the drywall: Oh My!!

So below you can see a picture of me re-texturizing the wall as I smooth joint compound on the wall. Once it dried I went back over it with a fine piece of sand paper to make sure that the surface was smooth and flat. This was not hard, but VERY time consuming. Once the cabinets are painted I will finish up painting the walls and post a final picture.

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losing weight and step class -the low down

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Well if you like to dance, if you love to shake your thing step class might just be for you. I love step class! However, It has taken me 60 pounds down to be able to really to be able to start taking step class without making my knees hurt.

The low down of losing weight and taking step class is this:

1. Try it! if it makes your knees hurt, stop!

2. When you lose 20 pounds try it again, if it still makes your knees hurt -stop, wait for another twenty pounds down and try it again.

3. you have to be comfortable with yourself to not try to keep up with aerobic barbie in your class, and just do what you are able to do. If it gets to hard, just do what everyone else is doing on the step on the ground.

(*now I will be honest with you when I first tried step class I was not at this place. So what resulted was my knees hurt, I could barely get out of bed the next day- which in the end cost me 3 days of moving my body and burning calories -ugh!)

4. Remind yourself "It is not about being perfect, It's about effort". Yes, I have to remind myself this fact oh, about 30 times about half way through class when I am sucking wind, and aerobic barbie is bouncing around like we just got started.

5. It does not matter what you look like while exercising all that matters is that you are moving your body, burning calories. You are getting stronger, and improving you!

6. If you start back up and your knees just barely ache, come home ice them while watching TV, and take a few ibuprofen and hopeful you will feel fine in the morning. That's the key, and when you know you can add something to your regiment. (Some classes I am still sore the next day, but as the day wears on the soreness works itself out then it is a good type of soreness.)

However, like the old saying goes "The best exercise is the exercise that you will do!" So if you try step class and it is not for you. Hey, it's not for you, go try something else! Just keep moving!

What is your purpose as a mom?

2011-10-05T07:00:00.001-05:00

What is your purpose as a mom? You might be real quick in answering this, or you might be thinking, What do I mean exactly by "purpose"?

Purpose is defined by Webster dictionary as:

Definition of PURPOSEFUL

: having a purpose: asa : meaningful <purposeful activities>b : intentional <purposeful ambiguity>

: full of determination purposeful>

— pur·pose·ful·ly adverb

— pur·pose·ful·ness noun

So I ask you again, what is your "purpose" as a mom?

We went and watched the movie "Courageous" this past weekend. (see movie poster below)

"Courageous" is a great movie that challenges the men of today to stand up and be Fathers. I loved this movie. However one line that talked about are you being "Purposeful" in fathering or in my mind I switched the word to "parenting" or "mothering" your child?

So I went home and looked up the definition to purposeful. Was I parenting my child by being meaningfull (definition: having a meaning or purpose, full of meaning or significant) and two was I being intentional (definition: done by intention or design.) (by the way intention means: a determination to act in a certain way or resolve)

So what are you as a parent, mom, dad, or both maybe-

What are you by intention or design teaching or conveying or modeling for your child that has meaning, purpose and is full of significance?

I know for me, this has sent me back to the drawing board to look at

what I am doing:

1. Intentionally or by design?

2. The time spent each week to "Intentionally" convey or teach this purpose -is it enough time, or is more time needed to devote to this?

3. Is what I am trying to purposefully teach my children does it has meaning? Is it "Significant"?

4. Am I living out that "significant" or meaningful lesson in my own life? (after all if it is important enough for them, is it not important enough for me?)

Which to really give the time to live out what I want to be "purposeful" to my children to know. To convey to their hearts the significance and God. I need to focus on what the bible instructs in Deuteronomy 6:4-9

^"4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.^[a] ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."

It's a day in day out activity. I am to model to my children how amazing God is, how I stand in Awe of what a mighty God we serve. How to love others through actions and deed, how to forgive other when our heart is bruised, how to give, how to put others first. How to glorify him, how to praise him, how to love a husband, how to be a mother, how to be a daughter, how to be sister, how to be a friend. I fall onto my knees when I realize what an awesome job I have been entrusted to. That God trust me enough to show and teach those things to my 3 precious daughters. Me, an imperfect, shallow, person to take part in this. I guess when your children who are always watching see your flaws, can really see the Glory of God when he shines through such imperfection and weakness of our own humanity.

I would love to hear what God has placed on your heart to purposefully teach or model to your own children? Or what you wished you would have been more purposefully of teaching?

Forgiving and Loving others (a.k.a. theme word update)

2011-10-04T10:55:00.006-05:00

Wow! Why is it that it is so hard to forgive others? Why is it so hard to let go of the hurts we feel? Why is it so hard to let go of the anger that those hurts have bubbled up in our heart? I guess for myself I feel justified to be hurt or angry. I want the offender to recognize and acknowledge that they have hurt me and I want them to say they are sorry and ask for forgiveness. Why is that? I have struggled with this question for the last 2 weeks. I guess because 1) the offender recognizing that they have hurt my feelings would "justify" or at least acknowledge that my heart was hurt. It validates me as an individual. Secondly when someone says they are sorry, it allows me to be in a place of control where I get to choose to forgive them.

However, God has been speaking directly to my heart this last 2 weeks. That 1) he (God) knows my heart and sees the hurt that was inflicted on it. 2) Whether or not the "offender" ask for forgiveness- I always have the right to "Choose" to forgive that individual.

So what is my decision? Will I give up my right to be hurt, mad, and upset? Will I "choose" to forgive the person who has hurt my feelings? (And not just my personal feelings but someone who has hurt 2 of my 3 kids feelings, and is about to hurt the feelings of some of my additional families feelings by their actions-ugh!!) However like my theme word for the year "Cultivate" (you can go to that post by clicking here.) God is definitely trying to promote growth in me by me letting go of my rights, my feelings, and choosing to forgive and love others through actions, letting God tend to my bruised heart.

For those of you who do not know the exact definition of "cultivate" it is as follows:

cul·ti·vate (klt-vt)

tr.v. cul·ti·vat·ed, cul·ti·vat·ing, cul·ti·vates

a. To improve and prepare (land), as by plowing or fertilizing, for raising crops; till.

b. To loosen or dig soil around (growing plants).

2. To grow or tend (a plant or crop).

3. To promote the growth of (a biological culture).

4. To nurture; foster. See Synonyms at nurture.

5. To form and refine, as by education.

6. To seek the acquaintance or goodwill of; make friends with.

God reminds me that I am a role model for my 3 daughters who are watching me, and how I deal with "my feelings", "my hurt", "my rights" and seeing if I hold tightly to them for my glory to be right, or if I surrender them to God by letting go, choosing to forgive others. Choosing to love them and forgive them regardless "if their" actions and behavior does not show love. (because if actions speak louder than our words. Then that is a truth that goes both ways. So what if their actions are not loving, what are my actions going to be?) God allows me to choose, will I turn from my own ways and my own desire? It has been a struggle! I will be honest. I have wrestled with this hurt for about 2 weeks now. (And truthfully I have been struggling with a portion of this since my oldest birthday in August) However I have decided that God wants me to humble myself and let go. It does not matter that I am right. What does matter is that I reflect the love of God and forgive others. I can not tell my daughters to forgive others that hurt them, to let it go, be the Bigger person -do not let their actions determine their behavior "IF" they don't see me doing the same. I am just praying and leaning on God to deal with my bruised heart and feelings and deciding and choosing to stand up to be the kind of person God wants me to be, that I want to be, and that my daughter's need me to be.

I choose to forgive others, I choose to Love!

So here I am an insignificant,woman a mom, wife, with hurt feelings but because of who God is, and because of Who he is, that is shaping and refining me. Because of Who he says I am, I am able to love others and forgive others way beyond the capacity of my little heart.

Perfect pairing Deuteronomy 11:31,32

2011-10-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

For you are about to cross the Jordan River to take over the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take that land and are living in it, you must be careful to obey all the decrees and regulations I am giving you today. (Deuteronomy 11:31, 32 NLT)
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I spin you right round, baby right round

2011-09-26T11:34:00.001-05:00

Well I had a horrible, horrible eating weekend!! pms struck me hard & nobody dared to get in between me & chocolate this weekend!! (trust me! I would have hurt somebody if they had even tried!) But at last today is Monday and I am back on the wagon again, striving for clean eating and I added a spin class today so............ Drumroll please .........I will be taking spin 5 days a week now!!! (dunt, dunt, Dah!!!!) (don't you just love "implied" sound effects!) So we shall see if I am still able to walk on Friday. (this has been about a month and half process to work up to). Definitely whining all the way!!

I have added step class back into my routine, and will be blogging about the low down of step class tomorrow. Now that is some fun stuff!

I am going to try to eat clean and step up my work outs for the next few weeks, I have set a "target date" to see what I can accomplish by that date of October 14th. (I have an annual party to attend on the 15th so I am going to use that as a source of motivation to keep me, keeping on. Hey! I have been on a diet since January you really have to set either different weight loss goals and/or event motivators to kick you in the bootie to kick it up a notch!). So much of this weight loss journey that I am on all starts in the mind!!! And for a large part 50% of it is fought and success is determined in the mind! What is my decision today? Will I make good eating choices today? Will I move my body today?

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Perfect pairing Genesis 1:14

2011-09-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. (Genesis 1:14 NLT)
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Perfect pairing 2 Timothy 4:7,8

2011-09-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7, 8 NLT)

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Lonely, far away

2011-09-16T15:09:00.001-05:00

Have you ever heard of the "no parcel" club? It's a nickname given to soldiers who serve in our armed forces in far off countries who do not receive mail or parcel. Men & women who are fighting for my freedom, and serve our country proudly who have no one willing to write them or send care packages filled with such basic goodies that it brings tears to my eyes at how blessed I am.

God laid this burden on my heart. I am a simple stay at home mom. I can't go to forgein lands to love others for Christ. However I can send a letter and a care package once a month to soldiers.

I get my addresses and names from the website. www.anysoldier.com. Sometimes I receive a letter back from a soldier sometimes I don't. That's ok, I know they are busy. However, I know that they feel appreciated, that a stranger cared enough to take some time to send a care package.

Military mom blog has some great ideas for packages her blog is: http://militarymomathome.blogspot.com/2009/01/care-package-ideas.html?m=1

Check it out, for some wonderful ideas! The main thing I have learned is not to mix hygiene products with food items. The website anysoldier.com says at temperatures at 110 no matter how well sealed cookies are if sent with deodorant it will taste like that. (ugh! Who would want to eat deodorant chocolate chip cookies!)

Well if this touches your heart and you have some time to put together a package and write a letter I would encourage you to do so.

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Diet updates (photos)

2011-09-15T10:25:00.001-05:00

Here I am on New Year's Eve 2011. (weighing in at 249.5)

Here I am weighing in at 222.5. ( I was hoping this time i just might be able to loose this weight. Being overweight is exhausting!)

Here I am below weighing in at 202 pounds, I have now added in exercise to the weight loss equation. Not just focusing on my diet.

Here I am below (pictured with my momma, one of my cheerleaders!). Weighing in at 198.4. (yeah! I had broke into the 100's!!)

Below is a picture of me today. (I had just won the spirit contest at spin class - you might not be able to make out the rub on tattoo on the side of my face but I am pretty sure that is why I won the contest. Go Cowboys!). Here I am weighing in at 189.2 (woo HOO!! 60 pounds down) I have crossed the half way point and am very excited to knock out the next 40 pounds until I can hit maintenance phase. It is hard to be on a diet for 9 months and counting, but I am so glad that I have gotten started and I am getting stronger, healthier everyday not just for myself but also for my family)

Here I am holding a goodie filled box for winning the spirit competition for my spin class. (it is filled with a shirt, backpack, & 3 coupon for smoothies there at Sky Gym-where I have meet so many people who offer me daily encouragement on my weight loss journey!! I am going to have to blog about them in the upcoming weeks!). You never can make a successful journey on your own you need a support system!!!

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Woo HOO!!!!!

2011-09-14T08:52:00.001-05:00

You know what size of jeans I am in above????

Ahhh! A size 13/14!!! I can't believe it! If you remember I started in January at a size 24, now I am a 13/14. (which was my dream size, I could not even imagine & I still have 40 pounds to go!! Woo HOO!!!!!!!??

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I hit 60 pound down

2011-09-13T09:33:00.001-05:00

I hit 60 pounds down.
WHOO HOO!!!!!!!

I am in the 180's!!!!!
(barely, I am 189.4 But hey, I am putting my flag in it & claiming it!!!!!!). I will post some pictures later in the day!

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Right choices

2011-09-12T16:02:00.001-05:00

Hum.. I am redhead who is pretty outgoing, a talker, and yes even a quick temper. So at the age of 41 God has started to work on my actions or how I choose to word my opinion when I get angry.

Ugh!!! This has been so hard for me!!! My oldest daughter came in crying a few weeks ago because a mother (yes, an adult & a friend of mine got upset with my daughter, based on what her daughter said.) Now I had already heard my daughter's side earlier in the day. Now as a 41 year old I know that there is always two sides to every story, and did I mention that the girls are 13! (oh, the drama!). I was very upset & disappointed that my friend decided to vent about my daughter since she is "friends" with several teens on Facebook and that we are from a small town. However I knew my daughter was watching to see how I would handle this. I took a deep breathe, said a quick prayer and remembered the verse that states:
"A gentle answer deflects anger,

but harsh words make tempers flare. "(Proverbs 15:1 NLT)

So I took another deep breathe and re examined the facts. 1) this mom was a friend of mine 2). It's tough being a mom and sometimes we are all guilty of reacting first. 3)If feelings were hurt I would apologize, however an apology does not mean my daughter's intentions were to hurt her daughters feelings. It simple means we were sorry that their feelings were hurt. 4) The wall of Facebook was not an appropriate place to have this conversation. 5). There is always 2 sides to every story.

By contacting the mom, making an apology it saved not only my friendship, but also kept the situation from escalating and kept our daughters friendship in tact as well.

Now is this how I "felt" Like responding -no! In my own flesh I wanted to let her know that I had a 13 year old who was now crying, and that we teach our children not to air their problems on Facebook, but I knew me being right or wrong was not going to solve this situation. I also knew just because this is how I felt, that this would not have been a right choice before God and my daughter's watchful eyes for me to do. Praise God that he is still shaping and molding me!

Have you ever gotten mad & handled a situation the right way or even an incorrect way?

Being a mom is so hard!!

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Perfect pairing Nahum 1:3

2011-09-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great,

and he never lets the guilty go unpunished.

He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm.

The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet. (Nahum 1:3 NLT)

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Effort-ugh!!!!

2011-09-10T08:35:00.001-05:00

This is my focus this week! I putting out the effort to work my body everyday, getting stronger and healthier. (can you tell that I stayed the same this week?).

I added a Tabata class this week, which is an interval class offered at Sky fitness gym in Tulsa. The trainers name is Linda, she is tough during class. Linda pushes you to do as much as you think you can, and then a little bit more. (ugh!! Yes, I am sore today!!). However she is friendly, very encouraging and nice-I love that in a trainer!!! It makes me feel like I have a team of people on my side on this weight loss journey.

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The low down about spin class

2011-09-09T13:42:00.001-05:00

I really enjoy going to spin class!! However, I have learned a few things along the way that I really wish someone would have shared with me before I got started. So here is the low down about spin class if you are a newbie:

The first thing, is that the seat is not comfortable!! (you do start to get used to it, after awhile). Until then you have 3 options with dealing with the uncomfortable seat: 1) ignore it & soldier on (not my favorite option -I'm a wimp!) 2). Buy a pair of bike shorts. Bike shorts have extra padding built into them (however it may give the "appearance" that you may be wearing depends, if someone was not aware that you were indeed wearing bike shorts -yikes! No thank you) the 3rd option is my favorite. Invest in a padded seat cover for the bike seat. (see a picture of mine above) I carry mine back & forth from the gym. It is also a pretty inexpensive option $14.00 I believe I paid for it at Target. (worth every penny!!!)

Secondly, drink lots of water prior to class, during class & after class. (with that in mind make sure you use the restroom before class begins)

Lastly, for us females it is so, so very important that you keep your "nether" regions well groomed. During spin class you will be sliding off your seat & going into a standing position on the pedals often, then sliding back onto the seat. If you are not well groomed things could get umm.. Pulled or tugged which would make you very uncomfortable during class.
(which is what I am, as I can't believe I just blogged about this)

Last but not least, you can always modify- you are only competing with yourself. Pushing yourself to do your personal best! Not competing with your neighbor. My class is filled with people of all ages 20, 30, 40,50,60. All sizes itty bitty, to obese. As well as a triathlon competitor, regular 6 days a week bikers, to newbies. Spinning burns a lot of calories and is non impacting on your joints (knees). It is amazing how fast a class passes when you have a good trainer or instructor!

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Back to school house cleaning?

2011-09-02T09:20:00.001-05:00

What's going on in my neck of the woods? Well....back to school cleaning.

Say what? What is back to school house cleaning? Well it's the time of year that kids go back to school again, and mom has the time to putt the house back together again. Doing all those little chores that I did not want to do while the kids were home...however my back to school cleaning also had some unexpected jobs. See the photo of the large vase above. Well who would have guessed that I would find: a pair of Childs size socks, a empty toilet paper roll, a girl's bracelet, and a hair Barrett all inside it. Who does that??!!!!
Well, apparently "not me" does that. A very suspicious character who wears my children's socks, & jewelry. Humm.....

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Down -58.7 pounds!

2011-09-02T09:03:00.001-05:00

The scale has finally moved after being stuck since July 4th (ugh!). (can you sense my frustration?).

I am now down -58.7 pounds. The scale moved -2.4 pounds this week. Yeah!!! What did I do differently this week you might ask? Well, I added some different classes to my routine and switched up how I was exercising hoping to shock the muscles into burning some calories -yeah!

Well I am hoping to hit the 60 pounds weight loss next week. That would be wonderful for me mentally, as well as if I lose 1 more pound I will be in the 180's! (insert a small scream of delight here).

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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Feeling crafty?

2011-08-09T09:14:00.001-05:00

- I mentioned that it has been 114 degrees outside -Ahh! Exactly, so what is a girl to do with herself? Well my sister in-law taught me how to make the cute bird nest necklace above. You do how many eggs that you have children or grandchildren. This was a fun and easy craft.

So if you would like to try your hand at this craft, but you don't know my sister in-law here is a great tutorial I found on line over at "live, Laugh, Photography" here is the link to the tutorial:
http://livelaughandphotograph.blogspot.com/2011/06/bird-nest-necklace-tutorial.html

This tutorial has great step by step photo's. (don't you just love the Internet!!)
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Cookie are from the devil!

2011-08-08T07:30:00.000-05:00

Cookies are from the devil!!! At least I am not strong enough to resist this type of bake goods in my own house. Ugh!!! So disappointed, I thought I had grown enough to resist these sweets-apparently not!

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How are you loving??

2011-08-07T23:08:00.001-05:00

Well the other day during 114 degree weather, I got out off my car and noticed that the parking lot that had multitude of cracks and imperfections. Someone had taken tar (or something that smelled hot, I did mention that it was 114 degrees outside) and tried to fill in the holes. I even took a picture!

It reminded me of the verse from the bible in 1 Peter 4:8
"Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins."(1 Peter 4:8 NLT)

Which made me think, "how am I loving others?". Is my love filling the cracks, or imperfections of their lives??? Sadly, not good enough- I need to do better!! Love more, love better, get in there and love enough to overlook the things that can drive someone crazy!

How are you doing loving others?
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Perfect Pairing -Isaiah 62:5b

2011-08-07T11:31:00.001-05:00

"As a man rejoices over his new wife, so your God will rejoice over you.". Isaiah 62:5

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Helen mirren wins best body

2011-08-03T08:28:00.001-05:00

- Helen Mirren's wins best body award from a gym in L.A. And the news media goes wild that someone in their sixty's won. Why, is that? Why do we try to label beautiful or pretty by a certain shape, or age. I really don't think you can put a limit on a definition of beautiful.

Here is another photo of Helen. Doesn't she look amazing! For any age!

I think when we try to define what beauty is a limit what qualifies as beauty -we make it ordinary. I for one, enjoy watching films from the 80's because the actresses look different from each other! It was before Everyone got plastic surgery to try to look exactly the same. If beauty becomes a cookie cutter type of beauty it won't be long until a new definition of beauty evolves.

What or who do you think is beautiful ?

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Record high's & on a diet!

2011-08-01T21:55:00.001-05:00

I am really loving this Sugar free margarita flavored snow cone-so yummy!! (and they add salt -so good, & so low calorie!)

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Perfect pairing Proverbs 15:30

2011-07-31T11:53:00.001-05:00

Good news makes you feel better.

Your happiness will show in your eyes. (Proverbs 15:30 NCV)

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Witness Protection Program

2011-07-28T09:45:00.003-05:00

I love watching and reading stories that could be best described as "Thrillers". Sometimes in these thrillers an innocent or not so innocent person has seen something that they should not have. Often because they were where they should not have been or doing something that they should not have been doing in the first place. In these thrillers they are usually protected by our Federal Government, in a program called "Witness Protection". Where they are issued new identities, new names, and told not to tell anyone who they "really are".

That whole concept as to how the world "protects people", isn't much different from how I want to protect myself sometimes from the things I have done in the past. When Satan tries to whisper in my ear, "You can't do that, your not qualified-remember what you have done in your past." Even my girls, when they were little - caught red handed with a crayon in hand, in front of the scribbling on the wall denied that they Ever wrote on the wall. What is it with us humans that, denial and hiding is the best way we can think of to handle past mistakes.

This stands out in stark contrast as to how God deals with our past mistakes, once we become a christian. OK - let's remember God's way are definitely not our ways!

"For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9

When you become a christian, God puts you in his Witness Protection Program. He gives you a new identity in Christ, he gives you a new name -he adopts you into his own family. However wait for it- he doesn't tell you not to share with others about your past, he is not worried that your past will make him look bad! In fact, when others learn how you "used to be", and can see how God has worked an AMAZING work in your life, that is your witness to them as to how great God is!!!

"We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves."

2 Corinthians 4:7

It's show time!

2011-07-26T22:55:00.002-05:00

It's so hot outside, and I wanna stay in the A/C. New movies are hitting the local theaters. I love going to the movies, however going to the
movies puts me directly in temptation to over eat on really bad for you popcorn!

USA Today reports "A large popcorn at AMC has 16 cups, 1,030 calories and 57 grams of saturated fat. A large from Cinemark: 17 cups and 910 calories, 4 grams of saturated fat.". The popcorn not only looks good, it smells good.

So how to handle the movie theater temptation. I have been fighting the temptation by buying a sucker. I know there is no real nutritional value in a sucker. However, hear me out. A sucker's calorie count generally runs between 60 & 100 calories. A sucker takes almost the whole movie to suck on! You will not be able to pop anything into your mouth to eat if you have a sucker in it. (also suckers come in some fun flavors that you might not have been enjoying, if you are watching what you eat. So a sucker can really be a sweet treat, and a safe way to go to the movies. A little like bowling with the bumper rails up).

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Perfect pairing, Jonah 1:17

2011-07-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

¹⁷ Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."

Jonah 1:17

Toes!

2011-07-22T09:34:00.001-05:00

When it's summer time, I think a lot about toes! I guess because as the heat rises I live in flip flops or go bare foot. Last summer the "Zach Brown band" had a hit out called "toes".

This summer since I have added yoga and pilates to my routine, I find myself not only barefoot but also bending over and looking at them ALOT!! (below is a pic of me from yoga class)

So I am really loving fun, happy, surprising nail polish colors for my toes. Right now I am loving green nail polish, last week it was a buttercup yellow.

What simple pleasures of summer make you smile??

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Spinning at Sky Gym

2011-07-21T08:13:00.007-05:00

I took my first spin class yesterday at Sky Gym in Tulsa, Ok.

I had been to intimidated to try spin class for the following reasons: 1). I heard you have to get there early to get a bike and I was unsure what early meant. 2) notice that on the spin bike you can or need to adjust 3 areas on the bike : seat height. Handlebar height, and handlebar distance. I was not sure how to do this, and if there would be enough time for a newbie like myself to figure it out. 3) I wasn't sure if I could keep up.

Wow! I know when I considered all those things, no wonder I was a little afraid of trying spin class. However I love the class "Body Pump" and I have taken it from several different trainers. I know now who my favorite trainer is. (I would encourage anyone new working out at a gym, to try different trainers or teachers that teach the same class. Not all trainers are alike. Just like you don't want to best friends with EVERYONE you meet. You are going to like different trainers better for a variety of reasons.) My favorite trainer is Leslie she is high energy, instructional, encouraging and keeps it fun. A lot of the trainers teach several different classes. So when I decided to branch out and try spin class, I looked to see if she also taught spinning. Sure enough she did, so I picked her class to be my intro into the world of spinning.

I found it fun! Low impact, aerobic. The workout is customizable like body pump through resistance you adjust on the bike and the number of rotation you pedal the bike. My fast is so not there fast -yet! I look forward to improving and having fun in this class! (by the way early is 30/40 mins prior to class starting: it allows set up of the bike adjustments, and warm up time). Also Everyone in the class was so friendly and helpful -I am not kidding. 3 different ladies came up and gave me helpful information before class began, or helped me get my bike prepped! There were all sizes and shapes in this class. The music was fun, and I really broke a sweat- I hope adding this class to my weekly work out routine will help me bust through my weight loss plateau that I have hit, the last 2 1/2 weeks. (latest update: 56.3 pounds down since January, and holding -ugh! 44 pounds left to go!)
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Stuck!

2011-07-20T19:36:00.003-05:00

Well I have hit a plateau. Ugh!! I have been at the same 2/3 pounds for 19 days now. Ugh! I will not stop. I will keep going, I can do this! That is all I'm going to say or whine on the matter, hopefully I will have a great diet update to report next week.

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Oh, baby! Baby!

2011-07-18T22:58:00.001-05:00

My sister in-law Jenn became an Aunt again this week. So she made these adorable cake pop, to take to the hospital for a gift. The new momma can hand them out to the guest who come and visit at the hospital. Such a cute idea!!!

My sister in-law did a great job!!! I am so glad that she is letting me show off her handiwork! If you are interested in trying to make some check out

Bakerella's blog (http://m.bakerella.com/category/pops-bites/cake-pops/) online for how to information.
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Go Wild!

2011-07-18T08:12:00.006-05:00

Back to school is getting closer, and I thought I would share what my daughter did for her handouts in last years elections.

My oldest daughter decided to run for National Junior Honor Society president this last year. Above is the pop & mini candy bars she handed out one day during the election period.

Above is the mint packets that she handed out while campaigning. Below is the suckers she handed out.

She used the slogan "Go Wild and Vote for Kaylee" most of the time, since we used animal print paper on her hand outs and posters. All that is except for the mints, pictured above.

Kaylee had fun running her election and it was a great experience for her. However she did not win, another student won. (Yes, she had cute hand outs as well). As much as I would have loved to shield my daughter from this loss. I think that is just as big part of life as well, for our children to learn how to lose gracefully, and win gracefully. Because we all know you can't win every time, and sometime how you loose says more about you, than how you act when you win.

What life lessons do you as a parent, find it hard to watch your kids learn?? (parenting is hard!)

Perfect pairing, Job 35:5

2011-07-17T07:00:00.001-05:00

"Look up into the sky, and see

the clouds high above you"

Job 35:5

It is so hot the IPod doesn't want to come out & play!

2011-07-15T20:14:00.001-05:00

It is so hot outside here in Oklahoma. That today when we dared to venture outside to the pool my daughters IPod had a message of "iPod needs to cool down before you can use". That is hot!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ouch! What to do if your muscles hurt!

2011-07-14T12:13:00.005-05:00

Well I went back to the gym on Monday, following my lovely stay cation. I assumed it would be a little rough, but not to bad. I assumed wrong!! Ouch! I hurt- my legs hurt, my arms hurt! It is safe to say I hurt everywhere!

Well what is a girl to do? I tried drinking some water with baking soda in it. Let's just say this did not work, and tasted a lot like drinking alka seltzer - yuck!

I then tried Tues night to take a long hot bath, with Epsom Salt and Baking soda in the water. I was Leary because Epsom Salt had never really seemed to work, but I had read several websites that listed this concoction of Baking soda & Epsom salt.

Well will wonders never cease! I took a long hot soak, in the bath tub. I read part of a wonderful romance novel while soaking in the tub. I giggled in a few hours after the bath, my legs felt wonderful!! No longer hurting, cramping muscles - however my arms that were above the waterline holding the book up that I was reading were still hurting. So I took another bath this morning, and let my arms soak in the combination Epsom salt and Baking Soda water. Worked like a charm - I no longer need to set with the heating pad on various parts of my body- Yeah!!! If you are dealing with muscle soreness I encourage you to give this a try!

A Romantic Staycation

2011-07-12T09:28:00.000-05:00

Well in my neck of the woods, I just returned from a "Romantic Staycation"!

Well you have heard a lot lately about "stay cations" and "family stay cations". However have you ever considered a "Romantic Stay cation"? Well this is what me and my hubby did this year. It was FAB! Every year my parents who live out of state take our girls for a week, to get to spend some quantity and quality time with them. Usually that leaves me at home, foot loose and fancy free, while Brent works, since he saves his vacation time for the family vacation. Well this year Princess #1 got braces, and yes our health insurance/dental insurance pays nothing (did you get that-Nothing! for them). So sob! This year we are having to indulge doing fun things around our town with the kids. So what ever was my husband going to do with his vacation time?.....(insert dramatic dun,dun, dah!!!! music here.) You guessed it, a "Romantic Stay cation"

Well you might ask yourself, what is a Romantic Stay cation. Well honestly it may look a little different for each couple out there depending on the ages of their kids, and what the couples interest are. For us, we set several ground rules approaching this week:

1. Not to be rushed! Also not to have every moment scheduled up! (our kids are at the age where they have their own schedules so our current life is pretty hectic shuffling kids to practices etc...)

2. We had to eat at restaurants that we had not tried for about 80-90% of our dining out experiences. We did not eat out every meal, and we did try to mix it up a little: one day we might eat breakfast out, but dined in for dinner. etc.. ( I learned at the German Restaurant that I do not care for sweet cabbage! yuck!)

3. We choose to sleep in (I LOVED THIS!!! The oldest princess is doing cross country this summer and I have to get up at 6:15 -AM!!! 5 days a week-sob!)

4. We choose to see several movies that were out, without having to pay for child care!! (and since hubby was off, we were able to catch matinee prices, as well as the early bird discount some days for the first movie showing.) Really I felt like a princess! Go ahead, ask what I think about a movie! I am in the know now, because I saw almost every first run movie out there that I wanted to see!

5. I did take a vacation from my diet this week. I did not restrict my food or beverages. (I did stick to diet soda when I wanted a pop). I did not weigh myself but once, and I did not enter my calories in the Lose it app. I also did not go to the gym, from July 5Th on. (Ugh! Missing the gym was the very hardest thing about this!) ( I believe that I have gained 3 pounds but this time was so worth it! I will get back on the diet horse on Monday!) I know, I know, I know if you are a diet purist, you might think I have lost my mind. However, I have not. I have been on a diet since Jan 7th. That is 6 months, with just a splurge meal, here or there calories always counted. I really needed this 6 days off, before I take my diet to the next level to help me loose the next 44 pounds. So no excuses, just a rational decision to take a vacation off for 6 days. I felt confident that I could do this at this time, because I have developed the tools and the strength to get back on the diet wagon on Monday.

6. We did connect with some other couples twice during the 6 day period. However we did limit this to only 2 times. (one night we went to 80's pub downtown, when it was free token night. They had all these old, 80's arcade video games to play! So much fun! I even got to put my initials on the high screen for centipede!-Only took 41 years to accomplish that goal!

&. We scheduled one day at home, except for church. I had a selection of books to read, and my hubby had a game for his PS3 to play. Downtime! Ah!! We slept in that day, lounged around.

We had so much fun! I felt like a newlywed again. It was amazing to get a chance to connect and talk without being interrupted by a child. We could pick a movie based on our interest, not on the entire families interest. It was exciting to re discover the uniqueness of one another as husband and wife, and not father and mother. We really did about everything we would have on a vacation: dined out, shopping, movies. However we did not have to pay for a hotel room, or a rental car. Nor did we have to loose time traveling to a different location. (Does this mean I would never want to travel anywhere - of course not! However if money is tight, this might be a great alternative!)

Perfect pairing,

2011-07-10T07:00:00.004-05:00

"You rule the oceans. You subdue their storm-tossed waves."

Psalm 89:9

(This verses makes me realize what an Amazing God we serve!)

Girl, sit down and let's catch up!

2011-07-07T04:59:00.001-05:00

Hey Girlfriend, pull up a chair, do I have some things to share with you today. I love checking out other people's blogs! I learn so much from them- I tell everyone that blogs are hands down better than any magazine. Magazines only come out once a month, most people update their blog if not daily, then 3-4 times a week. It's like being friends with the super crafty mom, and bff with the girl who always knows the latest make-up or hair do technique. So I thought I would share some of the things that I have loved this past week either in blog land, or on the Internet.

First off, if you love to entertain and you have not checked out "Just a little something for you" you have to go check it out. Judy has a heart for entertaining others, and really blessing them as she opens the door to her house. Think of Judy, as God's version of Martha Stewart! This heart for others she has obviously passed on to her children. Judy posted on July 3rd, about a party that her daughter threw. The 4Th of July party her daughter threw had some great ideas for hosting a large get together for lunch or dinner! (very cute ideas on how to feed a large group of kids in a large gathering, and cute hostess gifts!) If you stop by leave Judy a sweet comment.

Another thing I have enjoyed listening to is Lysa Terkeurst was the last guest speaker for Elevation Church during their summer concert series. The audio of this can be downloaded on their podcast or the video can be watched from their archive on line here is the link for Elevation Church. Girl, I am telling you - that you are going to just love her!

Another blog that I love to check out, here again via two options: one her blog MakeupbyTiffanyD or subscribe to her YouTube channel. I love the tutorial she did on eyeliner how to: tightlining technique and lining the waterline tutorial. I try to keep up with some latest make up techniques because it is to easy for me to go on "auto-pilot" when it is time for me to do my make-up and do the same techniques that I have done FOREVER. I think Oprah may have referred to this type of "auto pilot" as "being caught in a time warp". Anything you have done the same way for 5 years should probably be looked at and re-evaluated on how your doing it. (doesn't TiffanyD have the best eyes?!)

Check out the above veggie haul that Amy from over at "A Snip of Goodness" grew and check out her wonderful heart touching post called "Bear much Fruit?" Amy has a heart for God and you will enjoy reading her post. If you stop by her blog, leaver her a comment and let her know that I sent you her way.

Well I have loved getting the chance to catch up with you! I hope you will take my advice, and that you might get a chance to read or watch these really good video! I know that they will brighten your day, encourage you, and maybe teach you something new. (I know I am smarter and better looking for just checking them out! Don't hurt yourself laughing to hard there!)

2011-07-06T09:29:00.009-05:00

Due to my obsession with Pinterest - I felt I was obligated to try some new things this last week. My first attempt at something new was making the Rollo Brownie (see below) Here is a link to the recipe found on baking addiction that was posted by guest blogger Kristan from Confession of a cookbook queen. Her blog is to die for!

The second thing I was inspired to make for this past holiday weekend was the above photo of Mexican appetizer cups. My family loved these! Some even went so far as to say "just mix the filling and set it out in a bowl and serve with tortilla chips and call it a day". You can find this recipe at the Pillsbury website.

I also painted the little princess's toes to look like strawberries. (sorry I had not cleaned up the paint that had gotten on her toes before I took this picture) . She however did not care - she loved her strawberry painted toes.

Above is a photo of the oldest princess's nails when we were about half way done "tie dying" her nails. You can find an amazing tutorial at "hey nice nails!". This was a fun activity, but really messy!

Hope you have a great day, and that you are inspired to try something new today!

Let's Celebrate Good "changes"-come on!

2011-07-05T15:17:00.009-05:00

Hope everybody had a great 4Th of July! We went and enjoyed watching fireworks last night in a town next to ours. Above is a photo of the night sky. Who did you choose to celebrate with?

We choose to celebrate this year with family, a smaller celebration than last year. However still fun and enjoyable. (Above is a photo of Grace-our youngest princess sitting on her Daddy's lap watching the fireworks)

(above is my sister, my Daddy, and my sister's boyfriend - notice that my Daddy is sitting in between them.

My youngest had so much fun blowing bubbles waiting for the firework show to begin. She did not even seem to notice that it was 96 degrees outside. Bless the young!

Above is a photo of the other 2 princess in our house- Kaylee and Paige.

As I thought through out the day how we celebrate the 4Th of July, and why. I first was very thankful that we live in an amazing country that gives us so much freedom! That made my thoughts go down the path how do we celebrate the other good things that happen to us in our lives. On my weight loss journey - I have victories that are not just a change of the number on the scale.

I have had several this last week. So I thought I would Shout out with Glee on my blog some of the victories I have had this last week.

1. I went shopping for a new shirt -I had a great coupon from Fashion bug store. Fashion bug is a store for women's clothing that is divided in half where half the store has juniors and misses size, and the other half has women's plus size clothing. (Last year I went in there in May and purchased a bathing suit for vacation which was the biggest size I had EVER bought, and yes I looked longingly at the other side of the store and dreamed about one day losing enough weight to get to shop on "the other side of the store". (insert a deep sigh here). Notice the picture below and how the store is divided with a divider wall down the middle of the store.

Well guess what?!?! I got to shop on the other side of the store!!! Woo Hoo!

2. I went for a "walk/jog" the other night for the first time this year - and guess what? I jogged (now keep in mind this term is used loosely!) around an entire block!! Wow! I am growing stronger and more in shape. Progress!

3. I only had 1 (one) hamburger for dinner the night of the 4Th! (last year I had 2/3 yikes!) Some victories are small, but it is important to recognize the changes that you are successful at making and stay positive!!

4. When I leave body pump class now, I am tired and sweaty - However I am now recognizable! I am not drowned in sweat where I have no make-up left on my face, and my hair looks like I have taken a shower. (I still am sweaty but I now appear to glisten, not drenched!)

5. I now can do 16 girl push ups in a row!!! (Baby steps!!)

6. On the squat portion of the class (I take body pump 2 times a week) I went up in weight to a 10 pound weight on each side of my bar bell- Yeah!!! (I started with a 5 pound on each side - back in March.)

With all the above reasons for me to celebrate this week. My two favorite sayings for the week are:

*IF you change nothing,

nothing will change!

*You can bike ride, swim, run

no matter how slow you go,

you're still lapping everyone

on the couch!

What victories have you had this last week or two in your life?

Are you recognizing them? Are you celebrating them? I would love to hear from you!! I will celebrate with you! Positive, healthy changes add up! Keep on Keeping on!!

Can you be good without God?

2011-07-04T12:57:00.016-05:00

USA Today website reported yesterday that the Freedom from Religion Foundation is taking 4Th of July as an opportunity to publicly proclaim their presence in the United States. Their group mailed out over 15,000 "happy human" pins to it's members who are atheist. Encouraging them to wear them on the 4Th to promote conversation about their motto: "You can be good without God". As a christian God fearing woman "I AGREE" you can be be "Good" without God!

The bible (I know shocking isn't it) says in Luke 6:32 & 33 "If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!"

Isn't that interesting, the bible says that doing good to those who are good to us is in our very nature. However, the Bible radically challenges Christians to do more, go farther in their actions - put love into actions that is so radical that it goes against our nature, and what makes sense to us in our thinking!

It states in Luke 6:27&28 "But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you."

Say what? You want me to nice to the lady who just almost ran me down with her shopping cart at the Walmart? You want me to be nice to the lady who makes fun, of me & my husband that we go on "date night"? You want me to be forgiving and kind to the lady who is never nice at the gym? You want me to be kind, to the lady who always grumbles and complains? You want me to be nice to the mom who does not encourage her children to be kind to others, in fact I have heard her praising them when they have been behaving with self centered actions? You want me to be nice to the lady who invited a bunch of women out to eat but did not include me? You want me to be nice and kind to a kid who makes my child's life miserable at school? You want me to be nice to the lady at the pool, who mocks people who are struggling with weight issues? Lord that is asking a lot from me, from anyone!

God that is a lot to ask! How can I even begin to do the things you want me to do. To love the unlovable, to be kind to the unkind. When in my nature I just want to cross my arms over my chest, take my toys and go home! I only am able to love others, be kind, when I realize how much God loves me, and see others how God sees them, and how much God loves the unlovable, unkind, prickly person standing next to me at the store. (1 John 4:11 & Colossians 1:8) I can not do this on my own! No matter how much I want to be "good"!

I am afraid more of us christian do not put that love in action, so the Lord of Lords does not get the praise and credit that is due to him. If I would not be so worried about "my rights", "my feelings", and more worried about loving others for God, he might get praised!

1 John 3:10

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
1 John 3:9-11 (in Context) 1 John 3 (Whole Chapter)

Wouldn't it be so amazing if Christians "really started loving people" who were unkind, unlovable, difficult, prickly people -so much so, that people were just awe struck! Then God would be glorified, and he would get all the credit, and how would good really measure up against love then?

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4Th of July, and I hope you take some time to ponder if you are "good" or are you showing Christ's love to others?

down 56.3 pounds

2011-07-01T07:28:00.011-05:00

Do you need to lose weight? Have you tried before only to be derailed from your efforts? I know! I had slowly gained weight over a decade of having 3 babies. On one hand I knew I was gaining weight, on the other hand it just did not seem that important to me I was busy enjoying my life, and my kiddos to try to focus on that. Then one day I saw a picture of myself and my daughter that was taken as we were walking down the beach. OH MY GOODNESS!! Can you imagine my horror, when I realized how large I had become! Why, oh why had my husband not told me? Yes, I saw myself everyday as I applied my make-up and styled my hair. However I did not get a full length body shot in the mirror every day. In fact the more I thought about it, when I sat down to do my hair and makeup the mirror just let me see about boobs up. As a began to take an inventory of what my body really looked like now. I will be honest with you I was overwhelmed!!! I thought is it even possible to loose this much weight without surgery? I just did not know.

Then last fall, I attended the Friday night football game, at our local High School. It is the event of the week in a small town! Notice all the kids out on the field for the pre-game welcome of our high school football team. I mean to tell you the whole town shows up for the Friday night football game. (think Friday Night Live, TV show). It was there that I spotted a lady who had once been heavy who was amazingly skinny!!! I had to know right then and there -How? What did she do? I did not realize it then, but seeing her success made me realize that there was hope for me, I had potential to lose weight to. After all, if she could do it, so could I!

I started gathering information on how she had done it, talking over the possibility that I should really

gear up and try to lose the weight I had accumulated. I decided to start in January after the holiday (after all I had decided it would be very hard to start during that time of year). My husband, and my mom

became my cheerleaders! They refused to accept excuses from me. They told me it was possible to lose the weight if I really tried.

So I have to tell you as of this week I am down 56.3pounds. I am so excited that I moving right along in this weight loss journey that I am on! I was stopped yesterday at the grocery store in my

small town and was asked how I am losing my weight. Yeah! Clerks at the store are even noticing all

my hard work!! I have to tell you I have 44 pounds left to go - but I now know it is possible! I can do this

and I will do this. If you need to lose weight, or are starting to question if it is possible and even worth

trying I want to encourage you to see the potential in yourself! You can do this!

hiding behind a computer

2011-06-29T16:49:00.011-05:00

Have you actually stopped and read some of the comments on your favorite blogs, or YouTube channel?

I was shocked when I read some of the comments that were being left to "Meganheartsmakeup". If you or your daughter have not discovered her, she soon will! Megan has a makeup how-to channel on YouTube for 2 years or so. The girl is polite, cute, funny, and informative in her videos. Megan occasional will address such issues as girls respecting themselves, and self esteem. Seventeen magazine has recently hired her since January of this year, and she has a page in their magazine each month on everything from make-up to hair do's. However some of the comments that she has had to endure or put up with have been shocking for example the following is just one of such comments left on her YouTube wall:

@macie1243 LMAO. I think she's ugly, but in this video her make-up looks pretty and her eyes are gorgeous. Besides that, I think she's not pretty on any level. That makes me strange? Ok!

Teresa Collins another blogger who owns a scrapbook company listed some of the comments she has had to endure :

mary artest said:

You are ?????? years old.. You have never used the rubber bands, yet somehow you 'LOVE' them now. You are so shallow and inexperienced. I have a suggestion for you. Instead of (posers boot camp), maybe you should take a class in English grammer and composition. Your writing is quite embarasing. Your experience level is obviously quite limited. Why do you think anybody would want to read your whinning and complaining about your pretend 'boot camp'. You are such a tool. It's funny how you pay people to train you, and you think they respect you. A clue for the 'clueless', they don't care about you and they even make fun of you after you leave. You are so pathetic. How come you are constantly losing weight, (6 pounds here and 2 pounds there), yet you are still a COW. I saw you walking today (on 1300 east) (not running)(in the ugliest pink sweat pants I have ever seen), you are bigger than ever. You are such a joke!"

I am shocked that so many people are comfortable being so rude hiding behind their computer! In the real world I doubt very many people would actually be rude enough to say something like

those comments to someone else's face. Or infront of people that they know. After all what would their family and friends say about how they are acting.

I know some may try to argue that they are just trying to "keep it real" or "honest". However, I don't think people are trying to "keep it real" or "honest". I think it is just an excuse for being rude. (Notice the hurtful comments are not directed at the post or video blog it is directed at the person personally!)

Cyber bullying comes in all forms and shapes. I do not read anything informative from the two above sample mean hearted comments left for others on their blog post. I think this form of cyber bullying is social acceptable, I just don't think it should be. (note: I do not know either of

those 2 ladies who have been subject to these hurtful comments. I know that there are probably more out there-these are just 2 that I have happened to stumble upon)

My mom always told me, "If I can't say something nice, I should just keep my mouth shut!"

It really is possible to read something you don't like and not to leave hurtful comments behind!

What are your thoughts on the subject? Have you suffered any hurtful comments on your blog?

Is your Purse heavy?

2011-06-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

The other day I reached for my purse to get ready to head out the door, and all I could think is "what is in my purse?". My purse was heavy! I sat it down and started to go through it (to try to figure out what was making it So Heavy!) Well I found 4 lip glosses, not in the make bag that was in the purse, a change purse, hand sanitizer, a sheet of coupons, my ear buds for my i phone at the gym, 5 pens, a small notebook (I like my notes old school style), a pair of scissors (who knows!), a hair bow, 2 hair rubber bands, a highlighter, some lose change, a bulletin from church last weekend, a snack packet that my daughter did not eat one day when we were running errands in the car. No wonder my purse was heavy!!

I think in life, our thought life, or our inner tape that runs in our mind as we go about our business can sometimes get "heavy" or "negative" without our permission, or with out us "really" meaning to start being negative in our thought life. Lately, I have been unpacking my thought life - really listening to what I am saying about myself as I am going through my life. I have been stopping myself when I hear myself being critical towards myself that I would never Ever say about a friend, or let anyone say about a dear friend! Why, oh why would I think it would be OK, to think those thoughts about my self? I am trying to focus on positive, true statements, instead of the negative ones that have unfortunately become a habit for me.

"And now, dear brothers and sister, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

Philippians 4:8

I was shocked, when I really started paying attention to what I had been saying to myself, about myself!

What does your internal tape say when you are not paying attention?

Have you cleaned out your "thought life" or purse lately? Has it gotten "heavy" without you realizing it?

Do you have a library elf?

2011-06-28T07:00:00.001-05:00

What is going on in my neck of the woods, is the Library summer program! My kids look forward to participating in this program each year. Our local library does not only encourage reading through awarding a coupon book, and gold medal for visiting and reading a certain number of books. It also offers some fun freebie classes for entertainment for the kids. We went to the Bixby Library last week and watched a magic show. The kids thought it was so much fun. We also went to the Glenpool library to watch a show put on by some clowns it was very entertaining.

I never understand why more people do not take advantage of all the free things offered by the public library. Ours offer free loans on books, magazine, Cd's,DVDs, play aways,e-books, I admit there have been times where I have accumulated some fines by the library. I recently found this adorable pin being sold on etsy by Baymoonstudios

However there is a fairly new site that helps keeps all those fines down. Especially for mom's of multiple children who also enjoy the library as much as she does! This site is called the library elf

This is an AMAZING website that offers you the ability to sign up your library card, and all your dependents library cards and they will email, and text you notice before any items are due (I set mine up to text me 3 days before items are due), then I set my account up to text and email me ever day that there is something overdue. (our library charges $1.00 a day for overdue DVDs with no cap- AH! That could really add up fast if I forgot that one of the little princess's checked out 3 movies one week.) If your library is a subscriber this service is provided free of charge. If it is not the basic service of one library card is free, for additional library card monitoring there is a $12.00 charge for the year. Still how much money could this service save you? Fortunately for me, my library is a subscriber - Yeah! Tulsa County Library system- thank you!!!

have you ever missed the mark?

2011-06-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

Sometimes you think you are communicating to find out that you have so missed the mark!! That was my experience following the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. I bought fun, tacky tiara's for me and my girls. We baked a white cake, with strawberry filling for the wedding cake, and a chocolate cake for the grooms cake. We were ready set, to get up on April 29 at the crack of dawn, I believe in Glenpool, Ok that made it about 4 am.

We got up, and ooh, and ahh'd over the hats and the dresses. We waited with anticipation to see the bridal dress. When Princess Eugenie and Beatrice arrived on the scene with there fun amazing, show stopping hats, I pointed out the princesses to my princesses "Oh, look there is Fergie's daughter's". I also pointed out several other people to them along the way, David and Victoria Beckham (my did she not look lovely for being pregnant, and yes, boy he looked handsome!) I pointed out Prince Charles, and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall. We talked about the large bet placed on what color Queen Elizabeth would wear. The large bet, guessed it would be yellow. Yellow it was. All and all we had a wonderful time. We thought the wedding was nice, the bride's sister Pippa looked Wow!! The ceremony was sweet and seemed personal even though they were sharing it with the world. A great day to add to our memories that I was building with my kids.

Days later, we were talking and I spotted Fergie on the talk show circuit. I pointed her out to my girls, my oldest looked dumb struck, and went "Oh! I was wondering why Fergies, daughters were so old, when Fergie does not seem old enough to have daughters that age." Yep, you guessed it, she thought I had been talking about

the singer, Fergie , not the redhead former princess Sarah Ferguson. Sigh, sometimes you think you are communicating and sharing information only to find that you have missed the mark completely!

Pancake Lovin'

2011-06-24T07:00:00.002-05:00

First, off this is not a diet recipe. This is a recipe that I made, one evening when my family was wanting Breakfast for dinner (remember just because I am on a diet does not mean that my hubby and kids want to be on one) . I am so not a morning person I am not sure that I would want to make pancakes from scratch for breakfast, however for dinner I will take all those extra steps. The peach pancake recipe is from the cookbook "Mary Mac Tea Room". Which I guarantee you is jam packed with good down home southern recipes. Not very many of them are low calorie or low fat. However yummy they are.

Peach Buttermilk Pancakes:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (OK, maybe a smidgen more)

2 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups canned peach chunks, drained (you can use fresh peaches as well)

maple syrup

Stir together the dry ingredients, set aside. In another large bowl, beat eggs then add buttermilk. Blend in dry ingredients. Once mixed, stirred in peaches. Lightly butter a large griddle, over middle heat. Pour batter in small circles on griddle. Cook 2-4 pancakes at a time. Once tops of pancakes bubble flip over to cook the other side. Once both sides have been cooked remove pancakes from hot griddle. Continue making pancakes until the batter has been used. Served pancakes warm with maple syrup.

My family loves to occasionally have breakfast for dinner. Does yours? My family gave this pancake recipe 2 thumbs up, they could not speak because they were too busy eating.

Oh, and Amy over at Mamie'sQuilt posted about this yummy pancakes she made called "cinnamon roll pancakes". I am going to make this for the family this weekend!

2011-06-23T17:00:00.001-05:00

"Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!"

Psalm 34:8

What is your focus these days? The above is the verse I have been focusing on during this stage of my diet. What stage you might ask, well I have crossed over the half way point on my diet. I am down53.9 pounds, I have only 46.1 left to go!!! However when you have been dieting as long as I have (5 months strong as of today) You have to change your focus, I love the above verse! What satisfies my soul is not mindless eating food that offers no real nutritional value, but knowing that the Lord, nourishes my soul.

Do you have a verse, a positive motto, or picture that you look at to help inspire you to your weight loss goal, or what ever you are currently working towards (it could be a financial goal, a parenting goal, a redecorating, or even housecleaning goal)? I would love to hear what inspires you!

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother Book Review

2011-06-22T21:23:00.008-05:00

I have to tell you with all the hype and strong opinions I had heard about this book, I was a little Leary about picking this one up. I was not sure that this was a light enjoyable read that was suited for summer reading. However this book charmed me. Amy Chua was an honest author who wrote about her experience raising her two daughters. Amy Chua went in to great detail to explain how she thought about her children's education, chores, musical talent. I loved that she did not just give her opinion but she explained how her opinions were shaped, and how they differ from commonly held parental view points here in the United States.

I respect her as a parent. As a mother who loves her children and really wants the very best for her children. I loved how she addressed work ethics, towards achieving ones goal. Amy explained "What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it. To get good at anything, you have to work, and children on their own never want to work." I am not sure that I always agree with her that achieving to be the very, very best at something will bring my kids happiness or some of the extreme measures she took. However I do believe that to achieve anything takes work. I believe that our society as a whole, has lowered the "expectation" bar that we ask our children to meet, or exceed. I see this with "helicopter moms" hoovering around their children often feel that the school or teacher is to blame if their child does not make a good grades. Instead of thinking that their child should have to work harder to make better grades.

I loved how she explained the difference with Chinese parents not worrying at all about their children's self esteem, and we know that Western parents worry about this concern way too much! After all look at parenting magazines, and the titles of some of the articles each month, if you think our culture does not focus on this subject.

I really enjoyed this book. The author does not hide from areas that she struggled with in parenting her daughters. Amy openly admits criticism that her parents, and children have vocalized to her. However she also fights, to prove to the reader that her view point though not a common view point here in America does have validity. This book I would recommend to any parent even if you agree or disagree with the author, I can say this-The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother will definitely get you thinking about your parenting style, and philosophy.

Put your hands up! How are your fingernails painted?

2011-06-17T11:18:00.008-05:00

Well my brother has a theory that "if" a lady has a tattoo if she will tell him where it is located he can guess her age. (within 5 years based on trends). So since I have added Yoga to my work out routine this last 2 weeks I have been staring at my toes a lot. I have been dreaming of all the pretty shades of color that I could use to paint my toes. So the other day at the pool I wonder if the same "theory" could be applied to Nail polish, on the toes. So I started making a point to peek at the ladies toes around me to see what colors they were using. To my surprise at both pools about everyone over 20 kept to either Red or Hot Pink. However, imagine my surprise when I looked at one ladies toes and one (1) toe was painted a different color. A Different color! What was that all about?

I mean did she run out of nail polish for her big toe or what? Well I was quite surprised when I came home and did an Internet search on nail polish trends. I discovered it is very much the thing when painting your fingernails to paint the "Ring Finger" a different color. I found tons of pictures demonstrating this technique from the outrageous to the tame. From the famous to the not so famous. So what Do you all think? Do you like this new trend? For more information or to see more photos of this trend, check out GirlsinthePoodleshoe blog.

I think the more I get used to it, the more I like it! At least simply done, like above.

I never have my nails done this elaborately. However if I paid to have them done I might add a design on the ring finger instead of painting it a different color.

Well while I was researching nail polish trend I stumbled upon these cute photos of "Strawberry nails". My girls are going to go crazy over this! I even think I can paint this one for them. (some dots, and jagged lines are definitely in my artistic skill set!)

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Diet Strategies

2011-06-16T10:14:00.010-05:00

If you are planning on losing 50 pounds or more, you need to mentally cowgirl or cowboy up that it is going to take some time! Now I am not being negative, if you choose not to go on a diet to lose the extra weight you are caring around, you will just be that much older down the line 5 months to a year. However if you are gearing up, psyching yourself up to lose a large amount of weight - be realistic. You did not gain the extra weight in 3-4 weeks, so it makes since that it will take longer than 3-4 weeks to lose that extra weight. So as you give yourself the freedom of knowing that losing a large amount of weight is going to take some time. You need to come up with some good, livable diet strategies for you and your household. (Especially if you are wanting your household to support you! You may be on a diet, but that does not necessarily mean the rest of your household wants to be! My kids would revolt, hold strike signs in the front yard if I tried to make them adhere to my diet plan.) However, let's be real. Most of us have to figure out how to diet at home, or at work - the exact same places that we put on the weight. So what works?

1) I started by cleaning out all the "junk" food and "unhealthy" food that were my triggers. I instead bought snack food for my kids and family that were not temptations for me, but they love. For example, ice cream and Popsicles do not tempt me at all! So they are no problem to have in the house.

2 & 3) If my family demanded to have certain foods in the household that they think they can not live without. I will occasionally buy these items, but my rule is "no food but healthy food is allowed out on my counter". Any other type of foods have to be stored in a drawer or cabinet. You see I have 3 children that range from the ages of 3rd grade-8th grade. Since they outnumber me, and I wanted to not feel like a short order cook. I started to keep a basket of snacks on the counter so the girls could reach them and help themselves. Well that had to stop because if I was hungry and walked into the kitchen, I would most likely grab at the first food I saw and eat quickly before I had even had a chance to think "Is this a good choice? Is it the best choice for me?". Now I have some snacks down low, that the 3rd grader can reach by herself when she wants an afternoon snack but I don't have to stop folding laundry, etc.. to run go get it for her. Also the less time I am in the kitchen, the less opportunity there is for me to eat.

4) Plan ahead, have healthy snacks, or calorie correct portion snacks ready to eat and in a place that you know if you get hungry you can look at these 2 places and anything there will be safe to eat.

5) I really don't like to make 2 dinners but sometimes I try to "tweak" the meal a little bit for me. For example, on nights I make spaghetti for the family. I set aside my spaghetti sauce with out meat, to the side before I add meat to the sauce for my family. Also instead of using noodles for spaghetti like my family eats. I cut a zucchini in long slices wet them with water, and coat them with bread crumbs and bake them in the oven. (I will often hit the top with a spray of Pam) this allows me to eat at the table with the family. My plate looks very similar to theirs. I get the flavor of the marinara sauce, but not all the calories for the noodles. A win-win situation!! (also some nights, I skip the sides that I am serving the family if it happens to be a baked potato, or mac and cheese etc.. I will subsitute a low calorie bowl of soup as my side, but still eat the meat portion of the dinner and throw in a fruit.)

6) Also sipping hot tea in the evening is amazing! I try to buy flavored teas for the things I like, "coconut cocoa" tea, "cocoa spice" tea, can you see a chocolate theme here? Also mint tea is great as well. I am excited to try a pineapple tropic tea this upcoming week!

7) Remember as you lose weight, and you adjust to a new eating pattern some of the things that would make you a raving lunatic might not be a big deal any more. You might have tried some things that work, so stick with those. Other strategies might not have worked or are no longer necessary be flexible to change. Look for better subsitute for the things you are craving.

8) Get a support group! I don't mean a girlfriend that has only 5 pounds to lose!!! If you don't know anyone personally find some weight loss blogs of real people losing weight! Watch the TV show Extreme Weight loss. They will help to keep you inspired as you are on this journey!

9) Also Keelie over at RealFat says to take pictures of yourself while you are on this weight loss journey. I love, love, love this idea! Because if you have a lot of weight to lose it might be a few months before other people start to recognize all the hard work you are doing. So you can look back over the photos and see how your body is changing and be encouraged.

These are my tips that I have found that seem to help me in my weight loss journey. I have currently lost 52.1 pounds and have 48 pounds left to go. I have been on a diet since January 7th 2011. That means I have been on a diet for 5 months. and I have 48 pounds left to go. So I know and understand that losing weight is hard, and yes, sometimes gruellingly slow. However keep it up! We are here to encourage one another no matter what the journey or struggle we might each be facing. I thank everyone that leaves sweet comments and encouragement on my blog! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! I read each of them and treasure them in my heart!!

You mean it takes work?

2011-06-14T08:14:00.009-05:00

I have to admit it! I always thought that you either were naturally thin or you were not. I mean I had read the articles with super models who said that they did not diet, they just enjoyed biking and walking with their families. I saw countless of very skinny, tiny girls at church - I saw that during VBS they ate a chocolate chip cookie with the kids. I felt so overwhelmed and mad at my genes. I was so frustrated I wanted to be classified as a "skinny chic" who would look good in clothes. I did not realize that it took work! I am honest! I did not realize that other ladies worked at being thin. My own mom who is itty bitty - never seem to have to work at it. Oh, she occasionally would watch what she ate. Once she was passed 40 she started walking. However that just never seemed like it took a lot for her to maintain her youthful appearance.

I remember that I started my weight loss journey in January, thinking ok it is just a "food issue" I have to get this under control. "I wonder why some people can eat anything they want, but it is such a struggle for me?" Well you should have seen all my thoughts the first week I went to the gym back in March. I could not believe all the ladies I knew that I was running into!!! I was a little awe struck! Here I had admired some of these very thin, beautiful ladies from my previous church for years!! I had been jealous that they could shop, and & come to church in the latest styles. (I know jealous is not a good emotion, but I am trying to keep it real!) I was shocked that I saw some of these same ladies showing up at the gym day after day, putting in some grueling workouts. These ladies did not just have "great" genes! These ladies sacrificed for it! It was such a relief to me. It was an "Ah-Ha!" moment for me.

It connected in my brain that being in good shape, wasn't just about eating 100% perfect all the time! (Because really who can be 100% perfect all the time!) It was combining good eating choices, with exercise that pulls staying healthy all together. It finally made sense! To me it was like finding the perfect recipe for the best banana bread! It has started to click. I don't feel angry anymore that I have genes that allow the excess fat I store to be on my thighs. I am not frustrated that I have to make good eating choices. I realize for the most part everyone who is over 40 and in good shape probably has to deal with both of these issues - they may have just had it figured out before I did!

Do you need some inspiration?

2011-06-10T12:20:00.004-05:00

Do you need some inspiration? Do you need to hear something positive? Do you need to be encouraged during the season of life that you find yourself in. Be it, single, married, divorced, etc... Well I am loving the new series by pastor Steven Furtick from Elevation Church from Charlotte North Caroline. I know I don't even go to his church, but his sermons are on my ipod every week. The new series is called Mr. & Mrs. Betterhalf. You can find them on itunes to download for free as an audio podcast or you can go to their website and listen from their archive at Elevation church. I included a link to their archive for your convenience.

Whether you are looking for Mr. Right, or you have found Mr. Right. Or you are raising kids that will be looking for Mr. Right! Check at this series!! Do Not Forget the Bonus teaching by Dr. Emerson so funny & so true!! For anyone who wants to understand why men & women are really different and how we handle and react differently to conflict. Also if you are raising boys to be men I would say that this message is one you can not afford to miss hearing!! LOVE IT! Love It!!! Love it!! I hope you are inspired in wherever you are in your life's journey! Happy Friday! I hope you have a Great Weekend!!!

summer decorating ideas

2011-06-08T07:00:00.001-05:00

Isn't the above arrangement just beautiful!! Little votives and shells. If you don't have any white sand, and can't find any at the store. I have used salt. It works great, and it's cheap!

I love summer time! I love the beach! However when you live in Oklahoma what ways can you bring the beach into your home. Well I have took some pictures of some cute ideas and I wanted to share them with you.

Here is a cute vase/large jar with a wreath of shells on it. That could easily be removed for the rest of the year.

Here is a close up pics of the shells wired onto a wreath form.

Above is a photo of the back of the wreath.

Above is a photo of a large jar, with wood sticks coming out of it, with a few shells sprinkled across the bottom..

Here is another large glass container with shells in the bottom. Love it!

Once again the simplicity of shells displayed in a basket. I love seasonal decorating ideas that can easily be swapped out for fall, or holiday decorations! What do you like to decorate with in the summer time?

Girls weekend trip

2011-06-07T07:00:00.002-05:00

What's happening in my neck of the woods, well my mom, "Sweet Tea" and me went on a Bunko reunion this weekend! Can you say Girls Road Trip!

We meet up with about 8 ladies, 6 of them we used to play bunko with about 2 decades ago (ouch! that was painful to admit!) I was so fortunate to be able to be in a group of ladies that included not only my mom, but my Aunt as well! Here is a pic of the 3 of us below.

We all meet up at one the ladies Lake house on Grand Lake, here in Oklahoma. Where we ate dinner, caught up on all the gossip and all the kids, and grand kids photos. We laughed and talked to about 2am. (at least some of us did!). Then we all got up, and ate a yummy breakfast that Helen had made for us. Then we grabbed our purses and we headed out the door to Sandstone Gardens which is located right outside of Joplin, MO. Their brochure describes it best "Sandstones Garden is an inspirational shopping destination featuring endless home & garden delights." It really did! It also has a Bistro located in it's facility. So all of us girls got to "do lunch" together. Below is a photo of us all looking at the menu.

The food was yummy! They had these wonderful soup/salad combo's, or a salad/sandwich combo meal and all the meals came with a choice of dessert. (yep! I total splurged for this meal!) Below is a photo of one of the ladies lunch. Didn't I tell you it was good!

We had such a delightful day! We all went back to the lake, had a snack then packed back up and headed home. If you are from Oklahoma this is such a great day trip! We did not got into the heart of Joplin, since much of the town has been destroyed since the tornado hit Joplin a few weeks ago. However do not let that stop you from heading up for a nice day trip! Sandstone gardens was a delight!

Size 16 baby! Down 51.1 pounds!!

2011-06-06T16:44:00.008-05:00

You know what this is a picture of? You guessed it! It is a photo of me in a pair of size 16 jeans - zipped up!!! Woo Hoo!!! I hit my 2nd mini goal ! I am below 200 pounds!! Woo Hoo!!

I have to tell you I had 2 milestone moments this week! The first I have lost 51.1 pounds which has put me at 198.4 which being below 200 was the 2nd mini goal heading towards that large goal of 100 pound weight loss. The 2nd milestone that I hit this week was fitting into size 16 pants!! I almost cried I was so happy! This means that I can go shop at ANY store! be it Gap, Limited, Ann Taylor Loft. All the stores I have dreamed of shopping at, but could not because of my size. This really has been such a happy, happy milestone to hit.

Also it does seem like LOTS of people are noticing that I am losing weight. Yeah! That is such a positive thing since I have been dieting, and exercising and on this weight loss journey since January. I just can't believe it! I have 48.9 pounds left to go. So I am excited about continuing on down this road. My daughter and me were talking after I was able to buy some new pants, and some new tops! (did I mention that I bought tops in a size Large Woo Hoo! no, 2Xl, 3Xl, not even a Xl, but a L!!!!) about what size did I hope to end up. I told her if you had asked me in January all I would of hoped and dreamed for was a size 14. However I am in a size 16 with 48.9 left to go. They say that every 10-12 pounds is a dress size. I have found that pretty accurate. So Who knows I told her, we shall see where I am when I get there! The reality of this weight loss journey is becoming much bigger, than I had every allowed myself to hope for! (also I did 16 push up's in a row today in class!! Have I mentioned that when I started classes in March I could only do about 2 push up's in a row. I am definitely getting stronger!)

down 47.5 pounds

2011-05-27T07:57:00.010-05:00

So the journey began with one step. Stepping out in faith that I could accomplish what seemed impossible: lose weight. I have been on this journey for about 5 months now. This far down the road I do think I will be able to now reach my destination.

Above is a picture of me on New Year's Eve (my heaviest 249)

Above is a picture of me weighing 222. (going down!)

Above is a picture of me weighing in at 202 pounds.

Well here I am this week getting ready for my body pump class. (sorry the picture is not my best) I am down a total of 47.5 as of today. Yeah! I am closely approaching my second goal which is 199, (I am 3 pounds away from reaching this goal).

I have decided to break my total weight loss down into mini goals to help me stay focused and positive. My first goal was reaching 215. My second goal is 199. The third goal I have set is 175. That is as far as I can focus "out" on the future, right now. Anything further just starts to seem unreal. Which is why I decided to focus on mini goals, instead of the huge end number of losing a 100 pounds. My mind just can't wrap itself around that number or what that might look like right now. (my momma always told me "how do you eat an elephant? bite, by bite, by bite". So here's to taking small bites out of my weight loss journey!)

I hit a plateau this last 2 weeks. I have tried to stay positive, and just keep moving. I added a step aerobics class this last 2 weeks. (The first week I could barely move the next day.) I was very sore, but the class was so much fun. I went back for my second week yesterday. I am happy to report that I am not nearly as sore as I was last week - yeah! This is such an accomplishment for me. I do not think I would have been capable of doing an hour long step class in January when I started my weight loss journey. I feel that I have grown stronger, increased my stamina, and it is just easier to move being 47.5 pounds lighter. So with all this in mind, I will continue on, walking down the road towards my weight loss goal!

Well I hope everyone has a great Memorial day weekend! Stay safe & have fun!

Are you a lover?

2011-05-25T07:00:00.001-05:00

I love the TV show "The good wife" on CBS! The beautiful Julianna Margulies plays a character named Alicia Florrick, whose husband has an affair while holding a public office. The show has offered insight as to how difficult and hurt a wife would be to find her self in this position, let alone also in the public spotlight. I can not imagine even trying to handle some of the things that her character has found herself dealing with, as well as trying to explain them to her children. The show really keeps you guessing and it is a fun show to watch! Fans of the show have different views and opinions as to what "Alicia Florrick" should do in the story. The television show is packed full of relationship drama as well as legal drama.

I thought about the show "The good wife" this last 2 weeks while I was reading the book "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers. The book is a retelling of the book of Hosea. It brings to life the characters in the book, and what they must have felt personally to endure such problems in the their lives. To have to struggle with betrayal, hurt, and forgiveness. I thought as I pondered and read the book, "How would I handle this situation"? More often than not as much as I would have loved to say I would be able to show forgiveness and love, I'm not sure exactly what I would have done. I think my gut reaction to hurt, is to hurt back or withdrawal and cut those types of people out of my life. However as I continued to read the wonderful book by Francine River all I could think was

Isaiah 55:8 (New International Version)

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.

"Lord, that is so true! Your thoughts are not my natural thoughts, your ways are not my natural response. Please Lord, help me to be more like you. Let me be able to forgive those who hurt me. Let me be able to continue to show kindness to those who are rude, and unkind." I am not a natural lover, unless you count my children who it is easy for me to forgive. Others who are careless with my feelings, or those that hurt my kids feeling are much harder for me to forgive. Do you find it easy to love, really love the people in your life you bump into? Do you forgive easy?

Well, if you are busy making your list for summer and have not read the book "Redeeming Love" you must add this one to your summer reading list.

What's happening in my neck of the woods.. sometimes a girl has to liv a little

2011-05-24T07:00:00.002-05:00

What is happening in my neck of the woods. I am joining the ladies over at Real Housewives of Oklahoma for a linky party today. Well, In my neck of the woods, if you find yourself free with an afternoon to go shopping head over to the Jenk, Ok. There on main street is the cutest little boutique -with literally everything you would Love to have, and nothing you really need. (Does that not just scream your name!) This cute store is called "Liv a Little Boutique" it is located 201 E Main st in Jenks, Ok. There phone number is: 918 629-9495.

The store carries several one of kind item. You can get several items necklaces, dresses, and bags custom ordered. This is a fun store that carries all type of jewelry, books, candles, and gift items galore. It carries OU, OSU, TU, and cute Jenks merchandise. Young, and younger girls would enjoy this store. It is one of my daughters and mine favorite way to kill an hour, and leave with some cute bling! The store also provides complimentary cute gift wrap for those last minute gift items that you pick up. (can you say "Life saver!)

A great app! fooducate

2011-05-23T07:00:00.001-05:00

Well those of you who know that I am on a weight loss journey know that I love the app, "lose it" (it can also be used on your computer at www.loseit.com to help track of your calorie intake and your weight loss goals. Well during the last 4 weeks I have been trying to educate myself on good nutrition, wise choices etc.. I have come along way baby! However, I am still a relative newbie to making the best choices at the super market when faced with a long shelf filled with similar products. It can be mind boggling! Overwhelming how different companies use descriptive phrases on the front of packaging.

I was told by a dear friend the other day about this fab app, that also has a blog that you can follow that tries to educate people about the best choices when picking out food. It is called "fooducate" you can find their blog by clicking on fooducateblog. This link will take you to their blog. The app also allows you to use your iphone camera to scan the bar code found on the food you are considering. It tells you if it is good choice or bad. It also gives you a better alternative for the food that you are looking at, if you are shocked at the bad score that the item received.

You must check out this blog, and the best news is that the app was free from the app store!

My favorite "Faux" dessert right now

2011-05-19T07:00:00.001-05:00

Well the temperature is starting to warm up outside. I have been on a diet now for about 4 and 1/2 months. I have lost 44 pounds. (Yeah!) However, I tell you what -momma needs something sweet from time to time! This may sound so very simple (and it is!) and it is my new "fav" drink in the afternoon! I fill one large, cup with ice. Pour about a cap full of "vanilla sugar free syrup" found on the coffee aisle in the cup. Then fill glass with "diet root beer" -Ah! I tell you it taste just like a root beer float, but with none of the calories! Whew!

Yes, I know some substitute artificial sweeteners are not the best for you. I acknowledge this. However I also acknowledge that I have been dieting for 4 & 1/2 months and I need to taste something that taste like an indulgence every once and a while without blowing all the hard work that I have accomplished, and still need to complete (44 pounds down, 54 to go!)

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese new commercial What are they really selling to our kids?

2011-05-18T09:12:00.004-05:00

This commercial is horrible! The company is trying to market this product to our children (which mine love!) with behavior that is not funny no matter how you portray it! Stealing is a crime, and I do not want my children to think it is OK, no matter what the situation is, to take somebody else's stuff and sell it a pawn shop.

In the real world some families have to deal with the heartbreak of teens that are on drug who do exactly the behavior demonstrated in this commercial. It can be heartbreaking, and sad for families that are dealing with such a betrayal of trust. Kraft has always been such a family orientated company. I hope they realize that this commercial is not funny and lacks moral value that we as parents don't want our children to imitate. If you agree please find the Kraft macaroni & cheese page on facebook, and let them know as a parent you do not approve of the way they are trying to market their product.