Progress is very motivating December 1, 2008

Today marks the beginning of week 4, and I’m doing pretty well with the fitness and nutrition adjustments so far.  I’ve been tracking my progress online at fitday.com.  It’s pretty cool.  I can conveniently set my own goals for weight and nutrition (or they give guidelines.)  Then, I enter what I’ve eaten and what exercises I’ve done.  It tracks my calories eaten and burned.  I can also track my weight and measurement changes.  I’ve also done quite a bit of reading on how to change my habits.  Here are a few things that are working for me:

1.   I’m getting into the workout routine gradually. I have done well with this in the past, but it always takes special effort.  I tend to be an “all or nothing” kind of person.  The problem is that I sometimes overdo the exercise too early, get frustrated and have trouble staying motivated.  This time, I’m started simply, gradually increasing times and weights, and it’s working.

2.  I am adjusting my nutrition gradually. I’ve been reading several things about nutrition, and I’ve been struck more than ever with the importance of choosing changes that I can sustain.  I did check out realfood.info (Thanks, Melissa!), and it fits several other things I’ve been reading.  The general guidelines I’m following are that food that looks most like the way God created it is best for me.  I’m also making sure that I eat some protein with every meal and snack, and my goal for the next couple of weeks is to make sure I spread my calories throughout the day in 5 smaller “meals.”  The things I’m reading say this is good for me, and from a practical standpoint, these are adjustments I can reasonably make and maintain.  That’s very important to me.

3. I’m using help for my fitness plan. I found a free source at freetrainers.com.  It isn’t rocket science, but it’s helpful for me to have a plan and guidance for my fitness, and since I can’t afford a real-life physical trainer, this plan is working pretty well for me.  It’s helpful for me because it is customizable to what materials, time, etc. I have available.  It’s also helpful because it helps me to vary my workout, which I know is key to successful results.

4.  Finally, I’m tracking everything. I mentioned this at the beginning of the post, and I’m bringing it up again, because I’ve been amazed at how much this simple step helps me.  I can’t believe how much more I think about what I’m going to eat when I know that I’m going to have to write it down.  Aside from a minor binge at our Thanksgiving meal, I’ve been doing pretty well.  (The funny thing about the Thanksgiving meal binge is that I thought I was being reasonable until I added everything up and realize how many calories I had ingested.  It was nearly double my normal daily intake!!–I didn’t let it get me down, though.  I got right back to the normal routine.)  The coolest thing about tracking everything is that I can see me progress.  Even though my changes seem small from day to day, I’ve now been tracking everything for three weeks, and I’m seeing a difference.

Here’s the progress I’ve seen over the past three weeks:

1.  I’ve learned to balance my calories. I’m seeing caloric intake on a chart, and realizing that my ratio of calories is changing. Fewer of my calories are coming from fat or cheap carbs.  That makes me feel good about my nutrition, and it helps me make a few more simple changes.

2.  I’ve been exercising pretty consistently. I’ve done at least four workouts every week since the week I started.

3. I’ve lost 7 pounds and 4 inches in these three weeks. That may seem small to you, but I’m pretty excited at the progress, especially since the Thanksgiving binge happened during that time.  And, here’s where I’m totally sold on tracking my progress.  If I hadn’t written down measurements, food, and exercise, I’m not sure I’d even realize that I had made any progress. Since I did write it down and see the progress, it’s motivated me to keep going, because I’m realizing that the simple changes have not been in vain.  And, thanks to Melissa for asking, because that’s a big help, too.  It helps me stay on target to know that other people now know that I have a target, and to know that these same people will probably expect to see visible results in the reasonable future.

Have I told you about my birthday resolution? November 19, 2008

A couple weeks ago, I had a birthday.  Now, it wasn’t a landmark birthday, and I’m thankful that when most people find out my age, they are still able to honestly think of me as young.  However, the day before my birthday brought a real epiphany to me.  I was in the copy room after school with a few other teachers.  These teachers are all several years older than I am.  They were complaining about how they are out of shape, and despite their best intentions to get in shape, they have not taken the necessary steps to get into shape.  One of the ladies said, “I told my husband I wanted to be in the best shape of my life when I turned 50.  That’s only 6 months away now.  I don’t think it’s gonna happen.”  That’s when I realized that if I don’t make a concerted effort to take care of myself now, it’s not going to get any easier in the future.

So, I made a resolution.  I resolved to get back on a workout plan and to be far more careful with my nutrition.  So far, I’m into the middle of week 2, and I haven’t had any major failures yet.  So, you may be wondering why I’m telling you all of this.  Well, it’s simple.  I’ve learned through much trial and error that I do much better when someone holds me accountable.   So, if you think of it, now and then, would you please ask me how I’m doing?  Thanks.

Post-election thoughts November 8, 2008

Now, I know the election was finished up a few days ago, but I’ve had several thoughts mulling through my brain, and I’m feeling a bit of a need to vent. So, would you please bear with me? Thanks!

I did quite a bit of research on where the candidates stood. After the research, I felt compelled to vote pro-life. In other words, my vote for president lost. Now, I have to admit I was a little disappointed, but I was not really surprised. I mean, seriously, didn’t the media predict this about six months ago? Actually, back in the spring preliminary election time, my mom and I had a discussion about how difficult it would be for any Republican to win this time around, given the bashing that our current president has been taking.

Still, I have several frustrations, so I’ve come up with my short list of how things would be handled differently if it were up to me (which, I understand, it clearly is not.) At any rate, here it is:

1. Journalists would simply journal news. Nothing else. No predictions. No giddy excitement over downfalls of candidates. No giddy excitement over victories of candidates. No bias–just pure unadulterated, chronicling of news. Yes, I do realize this would make news far less interesting to watch, but it would once again be news and not some twisted mutation of a talk show disguised as news.

2. Just for the record, #1 would also apply to the conservative news programs who share my views. They would also be required to stop sharing opinions and trying to sway voters. That’s not their job.

3. No victories would be announced before all the votes had been cast and counted. Seriously, how do you think those poor Alaskan and Hawaiian citizens felt? After months of hearing people say, “Your vote matters,” the winner was declared before they had finished voting. Even here in Indiana, the governor’s race was declared within seconds of the polls closing. They hadn’t even started counting yet! They based the announcement on exit polls. Seriously, did we learn NOTHING from the 2000 presidential election fiasco???? I don’t care how strongly the numbers indicated the winner. I don’t think it’s asking too much for everyone to have enough patience to wait until the next morning to know the outcome.

4. Celebrities would be required to shut up about the election. In the midst of this most recent election season, the political ads were everywhere. I don’t think it’s asking too much for me to be able to turn on a light entertaining TV show without having to hear what side the stars of the show are taking. I teach at a little Christian school in a conservative town. I’m sure most of the parents and teachers in the school voted the same way I did. Still, when students asked me who I was voting for, I didn’t tell them. I told them that I researched what each candidate believed. I told them that I was voting the way I thought was right. I did not tell them who I chose. They need to learn that it’s important to research candidates. I have no business leading them to believe that I have any kind of authority on this. Neither do the celebrities.

5. What I said about celebrities in #4 would also be said about religious leaders. I don’t believe they have any business trying to get people to vote for a certain candidate. I’m especially disappointed in a few organizations that sent out emails telling us how evil Obama is. I grant this: He is a human. He is a sinner. He has flaws. I chose not to vote for him. However, several emails crossed lines into leading us to believe that if he got elected the world would fall apart. To that, I say, “GET A GRIP!” I serve a sovereign God. I will pray for our nation. I will pray for the salvation of Obama, but if our nation does indeed fall apart during his presidential term, it will only happen because that it what God wants to happen.

6. Finally, in my ideal world, candidates would be seriously limited in the amount of advertising time they would be allowed to purchase. Seriously, once I’ve made up my mind about who I will enter on my ballot, I don’t care to hear any more from the candidates. And for the local candidates, if you really want me to believe that you are going to save money for our state or local government, then stop sending me daily mailings on why your opposing candidate is a terrible choice.

OK, I think that covers it all. Thanks so much for listening to my rant. What do you think? Any rules you would add?

Happy Birthday to Me! November 7, 2008

I’m very tired of raking leaves! I spent some time on it this weekend. I raked up more leaves on Wednesday evening. The following pictures are what my lawn looked like on Thursday (which was also my actual birthday.)

The pictures show my front yard, my back yard, and a perspective shot because I was having a little too much fun with the camera. You might notice that the pavement was not covered at all. Every inch of space on the grass was, though. The irony of the whole situation? We have no large trees on our property. The neighbors who have the trees also have a leaf blowers. What do I have? Sore hands!!!!

Weekend happenings November 3, 2008

OK, the title may be a poor choice, because it may lead you to believe that I had an eventful weekend. I did not. However, there were a few happenings that I found blog-worthy:

1. My parents returned safely from Germany, so I have now seen a few pictures of my new, beautiful niece. I do not yet have any in digital form to share with you, though. However, I can assure you that she is beautiful. She looks very much like her older sister. So, to give you a taste of the cuteness, I’ve posted a picture of her.

2. I was feeling pretty crummy on Friday with a nasty case of sinus “ickyness. ” I fight this problem at every major weather change, but this time was a doozy. Now, my normal course of action involves medication (and as much of it as I can legally take.) I’ve never been happy with how the medication makes me feel, though, so this year I decided to try something new. I got a Neti Pot. I read about this a while ago, and I was quite frankly, disgusted by the thought of using one. However, the junk in my sinuses was really getting to me this weekend, so I thought I’d give it a try. It seemed like a relatively cheap, natural fix to my recurring problem. (It was also helpful to know that Walgreen’s has an amazing return policy, so if it made me feel like I was drowning, or if it didn’t produce any good results at all, I knew it would be OK to take it back.) Results: I think I’m sold. I’ve now done this a few times, and I’m breathing much better than I would have thought possible a few days ago. I’ll admit it does take a little practice to use it well, and it doesn’t instantly cure my sinus problems. Please note that this looks nothing like I did when I tried the neti pot. She’s still smiling, and (if it’s possible) even looks cute. I, thankfully, had no cameras around to document the experiment, but I’m pretty sure I looked like a monster with gunk spewing out of my nose. And rather than smiling, I’m pretty sure I had a look of terror on my face, because when my sinuses filled with water, I did feel a little like I might have been drowning. It did, however, rinse enough gunk out of my sinuses for me to be able to face the day and do a half-decent job at teaching my students.

3. Due to my sinus malady, I spent most of Saturday sleeping. It did help my head, but it did nothing for my productivity.

4. I had a weird burst of energy Sunday afternoon. (I’m not sure if it was a result of the time change, or sinus problems, or a combination.) I decided to take advantage of it. I did some scrubbing or laundry and bathrooms. Then I moved to outdoor tasks. I dug up the spent tomato plants and all the no-longer-pretty perennials. Then I raked leaves. We have no big trees in our yard, but we are surrounded by them on all sides, so we are never short on leaves to rake. Now, the yard is mostly ready for winter, and I have tired shoulders and blisters on my hands to show for it. I thought that my gardening gloves would protect my hands, but it turns out that I was very wrong about that. And my burst of energy only lasted long enough for me to finish those tasks. After that, the sinus headache came back full force, and spent the rest of the evening collapsed on the couch. The neti pot relieved some of the pressure, but there’s a lot of distance to cover to go from feeling like my head might explode to feeling good.

5. While I’m not a fan of what the time change does to my students’ behavior, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to drive to school in daylight today. It really helps my frame of mind, especially on Monday morning. It also didn’t hurt that the sun was shining on beautiful weather, and there are still several trees displaying glorious fall color on my way. It was really a great way to start my work week.

It’s a Girl!!! October 27, 2008

My sister had her baby at 4:26 p.m., Germany time. Molly Mariam weighed in at 9 lbs. even and was 20 1/2 inches long. She was born just in time for my parents to spend a couple days with her before their flight leaves for home on Wednesday.

No pictures yet, but I’ll post them as soon as I can.

Hello world! October 16, 2008

Yes. It’s true…. I have made the switch to WordPress. After slacking on the other blog for a while, a friend showed me the joys of WordPress. So far, I’m happy, and that may even encourage me to do a little more consistent blogging.  So, in this first post on the snazzy new blog, I won’t bore you with all the mundane details of my life, but I will say things are going well and give a brief rundown of what’s going on with me.

School had a pretty rough start, but we seem to be slowly coming back to a calmer reality. The Grandparents’ Day music program was a hit. (Of course, you all know how easy it is to impress grandparents with the talents of their grandchildren, but we won’t allow that to skew the memories of the day.) I can hardly believe that we are already on the last day of our first quarter now.

In other areas of my life, there isn’t much to report, but I’m enjoying the autumn air and activities. I love fall, and this particular fall seems to bringing out my domestic side. Back in the spring, I planted my first-ever mini-garden. I enjoyed the cucumbers and tomatoes. The other plants didn’t do so well. In the end, though, my three little tomato plants produced far more tomatoes than I imagined they would when I decided to plant them. So, I made a large back of spaghetti sauce which is now happily freezing in my parents deep freezer. Then, my mom offered apples from the trees in their backyard. They are not the prettiest of apples, but so far, they have made excellent apple crisp, apple cake, and applesauce. This weekend, I intend to use them for freezing a few apple pies and apple butter. The two best parts of these projects are that they cost me next to nothing, and the produce was nearly all organic. So, for next to nothing, I have enough natural (nearly organic) spaghetti sauce and applesauce to last me for the year.

The trees are in their blazing beauty right now, too, and I’m relishing the crisp air and beautiful smells of autumn. I’m also waiting with great anticipation to hear news from Germany. My parents are there right now with my sister and brother-in-law. My sister is great with child, and they are enjoying time with her and the family. This is their second baby, and she’s due on Sunday, so it really could be any time now. This will be the 10th of my nieces and nephews, but I’m no less excited than I was with the first 9. Of course, I’d love it even more if I could be there in person, but I’m sure Mom and Dad will bring good pictures, and I’m very happy that they get to be there to welcome their newest grandchild. I’ll be sure to post news as soon as I know what to post.

I’m Back!!!! July 14, 2008

I made it safely to and from Germany, and I had a great two weeks there. I promised a few people a full report of the trip, and I want to assure you that I will post more details, and perhaps even a few pictures soon. For today, I’m just too tired. It took all the patience and time that I had available to load the picture I took onto CDs so that my parents can see their adorable granddaughter. Everything else will just have to wait. Please, don’t take it personally.

Because I thought it’s about time for an update….. May 1, 2008

Life is breezing by at an unbelievable rate. I was just reminded that I haven’t posted anything in almost two whole months. Then, I looked at the last post and realized how much has happened in the last two months. I’ll try my best to keep this brief and catch you up on all the excitement. I should probably warn you ahead of time that the last couple of months’ activities will probably make this post a little more serious than my norm.

First, thank you for praying for my administrator. He and his wife are doing well. They lost their little dog, and the house is not livable, but they are in the process of rebuilding. Thankfully, they have a furnished place to live in the meantime. A missionary family in their church was looking for renters, and the insurance company pays rent, so it works out beautifully for everyone. The way the timing and plan of all of this came together is a beautiful reminder of God’ sovereignty.

The afternoon of the last post was drama-filled for me. I was on my way home when I saw the dreaded flashing police lights in my rear-view mirror. I pulled over to get out of the way, because I hadn’t been speeding, but I was shocked to discover he was pulling me over. It turns out that my tags were expired. Those of you who live in states that require inspections should be thankful that you have a sticker in your windshield to constantly remind you of when your registration is due. For eight years, I drove in states that had that. My current state of residence has no such convenient reminder. They also don’t have front license plates. So, unless you regularly check the stickers on the back plate of your car, you will mis the renewal time, your car will be impounded, and you will owe a late fee on the registration as well as impounding and towing fees, and a hefty fine for the citation. Two months later, it is all settled and paid, but I am not yet able to laugh about it. Give me another month or two on that. I had to remind myself several times that it was only a car. I knew people who had just lost their house!!!!

School has been busy, too. We had a visiting team here to critique us for accreditation renewal. That was busy and nerve-wracking, but it went well. Then, my students finished their spring concert. The original date had to be postponed due to sickness. Before this year of school, I never had to postpone any concerts. This year, I had to postpone two. Next week is the performance week for our sixth grade musical. I enjoy musical season, but it definitely will take over my life for the next week.

I made a short trip to western NY state last weekend. My grandfather’s wife of 19 years passed away. She was 87 and had struggled for years with heart issues. Still, it was hard. My grandfather is unsaved and took a bad fall about a week after she died. The fall has made it impossible for him to put weight on his leg. In fact, if he didn’t already have two artificial hips, he probably would have a broken one. So, he was in a wheelchair at the memorial service. His 90th birthday is coming up in September, so being in a wheelchair isn’t that uncommon, but he’s been an active care-taker his whole life. Now, he can’t even take care of himself without help. All 5 of his children (my mom and her siblings) were able to get to the memorial service, and they haven’t all been together in about 15 years. Only my mom and one other sibling are saved, so the visits tend to be a little draining. I’m very thankful, again, though, for God’s amazing timing. The way this all fell in between craziness at school allowed me to spend some time with the extended family. I’m very thankful for that–especially with my grandfather. He was doing poorly enough that I don’t feel very confident that I’ll ever see him alive again.

In short, my life over the last two months has had a little more than usual of the ups and downs. Still, I’m constantly being reminded of God’ sovereignty. In every instance, even the case of my expired tags, I’ve seen how lovingly God arranged the timing to make it more manageable. One of the most precious reminders came from a dear friend the other day. She knew I had gone to the memorial service, and she asked me how my grandfather was doing. I told her the update, and she reminded me that during a time like this my grandfather will be looking for a purpose to keep living. She said, “God keeps giving him more time to accept salvation.” It was a beautiful shift in perspective. I’m so thankful for that friend and the reminder. I’m so blessed to serve such a loving God–a God who cares about all the details.

Urgent prayer request! March 12, 2008

I just got a message from the school secretary. The administrator of our school just got a call that his house is on fire. The neighbor called and reported that it seems to be a total loss. Please lift this family up in prayer!!