So, it’s been a month, and I feel I owe you an update. Now that things are finally getting back into my normal routine, I can give you that update. I feel like I need to do the update in list form, though, because I’m not sure how to make it all tie together any other way. So, here goes:

1. The Christmas concert was scheduled for Dec. 16th.  However, roughly two hours before the event was scheduled to take place, a nasty, slippery snow/freezing rain mix started falling.  So, the concert was moved to Jan. 8th.  This was the first time in my teaching career that I’ve had to move the Christmas concert to a date after Christmas break.  It does lose a little of the excitement, but it was really nice to feel completely rested as I faced the week.

2. Our Family Christmas celebration was nice.  We celebrated on Dec. 24th, and then I spent Christmas Day cleaning and preparing for a vacation.  We really missed my sister and her family who are in Germany right now.  Our original plan was to have an early dinner together and spend the rest of the evening on gifts and family time.  Then, a Christmas Eve service was planned at church at the last minute.  I was asked to play piano and sing, my brother was asked to set up sound and sing, and my sister-in-law was asked to sing.  So, we ate a quick, early Chili dinner.  Then, we ran off to the service at church.  Then, we came home and exchanged gifts.  Then, we went home and went to bed.  While it was fun, it felt very rushed.  I really missed the family time.

3.  My vacation (yes, I said vacation) was nice and relaxing.  I enjoyed warm weather, sleeping in and being able to move and exercise outside.  My friend, Emily, and I spent a week in Jekyll Island, GA.  It was fun, and I would totally do it again.

Now,  my life is getting back to normal (or as normal as it ever is.)  I’ll leave you with a few pictures from my vacation.

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.

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.

In my time since moving back to my hometown, I’ve come to realize that I miss some really strange things about city life. For example, I miss knowing that I could walk into any number of stores in the area without meeting a single person I know. Here, it’s an unusual day at the grocery store if I can go for more than 2 aisles without seeing someone I know. Now, on a normal day that’s not a problem, but on the days when I’m feeling sick and I just want to grab a little medicine or something to help myself feel a little better it’s an entirely different story. Remember, a few posts ago, I told you I got a neti pot? I was asked about how I like that neti pot by no less than three people at church on Sunday! They all said something to the affect of “I noticed that you didn’t look like you were feeling well. Did it help?” I’m realizing that I either need to take special care of my appearance before I leave the house, or I have be prepared to offer an explanation to anyone who sees me. Of course, there is a little part of me that wanted to respond to those who asked with, “Oh, I was feeling great that day, I was just planning ahead. Why did you think something was wrong?” I think that’s just a little snottier than I want to get, though. (No pun intended.)

There is another thing I miss about city life, though. (This one also struck me as strange.) I miss predictable traffic. Now, I remember laughing at some people who complained about downtown traffic when I first moved back. I mean, seriously, traffic here has nothing on the traffic I saw everyday at every hour of the day on my friendly neighborhood traffic circle in New Jersey. I’ve come to realize, though, that the city traffic had an upside (if that’s possible.) First, traffic holdups, accidents, and construction would be highlighted on the news in the traffic report. So, I knew I could avoid those routes. Second, the roads could handle more traffic for run-of-the-mill times. Most roads had passing lanes and most drivers drove fast, so it was rare for me to really get stuck behind a slow vehicle. Third, it was easy to tell daily patterns in the flow of traffic because factories released workers consistently, workers had to report at large office buildings consistently, and there was general ebb and flow to the everyday traffic. For example, I knew that if I left 5 minutes late to get to work, I would arrive 20 minutes late to work. I knew that because traffic consistently picked up at the same time every morning.

In contrast, small town traffic is always full of surprises. I generally like surprises, just not early in the morning, (unless, of course, the surprise is a snow day, or fog delay, or something similar. ) Sometimes, I’m surprised by a freight train. Sometimes, the town plans a random, unannounced street closing to fill potholes. This morning, on my way to school, my surprise looked something like this: I didn’t take this picture, but the scene I saw looked very similar. (Just use your imagination to picture less daylight and a narrower street.) I got stuck behind a tractor going roughly 3 mph through a construction zone during prime “going-to-work” hours. (And by construction, I mean there were rows of orange cones blocking off a lane of traffic for no apparent reason with no workers or work equipment anywhere in sight.) I have great sympathy for farmers. I’m related to several, and I appreciate their hard work. However, I would have appreciated this particular farmer a lot more if he had chosen a back road this morning.

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?

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!!!!

Yes, I did. I stopped by the polling place on my way to work this morning. The line for my district was (of course) the longest line at the polling place, but it still wasn’t terribly long. I even have a sticker to prove it. It’s not a very pretty sticker, but it does proudly state, “I voted.” And I am proud that I voted. I am very grateful for that right. Lots of people have sacrificed a great deal for me to have that right, and I hope I never take that for granted.

My mind has been racing with thoughts of the election. I’ve not been really sure how to process everything. I know where I stand, and I did all my research several weeks ago, so there wasn’t any confusion on who to vote for. My mind has been racing ahead to the impact the results of this election may or may not have on this country. Then, I came across a few poignant verses this morning. I’m in a ladies’ Bible study through my church. The current study is on Proverbs. We’re going through the study a chapter or a topic at a time, but I’ve been so intrigued by what Proverbs contains that I’ve been trying to read a few chapters a day. Today’s chapters were 19-21. That’s where I came across some very fitting passages for today’s election:

Proverbs 19:21″Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.”

Proverbs 21:1 “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.”

I thought these were particularly fitting reminders for today. It’s a great comfort to know that God is in control no matter what the outcome. I also had another comforting realization this morning. It’s not nearly as spiritual in nature, but it’s still very comforting. I realized that after today, those horrible political ads will be put on hold (for at least a few months.) Those two realizations made my day.

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.

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.

Well, I promised to post news as soon as I had it, so here’s an update. It’s not the update I was hoping for, but it’s good news nonetheless. Baby and mom had a check-up, and the doctor says everything is fine. She’ll have another appointment on Friday. That’s when they’ll schedule the induction if she hasn’t gone into labor on her own by that time.

Also, they are in Germany, and I just noticed that back in July I promised to post pictures from my trip to Germany. So, here are a few of my random favorites:

Click on the pictures to see a larger view. I’ll try to remember to post a few more later, and I’ll be sure to post baby news as it comes to me.