This is Gonna' Hurt

This past weekend, my 7 year old daughter went with her grandmother, my mother, to Oklahoma to work at a charity race. On a whim, Princess decided that she wanted to run in the one mile fun run. She ran a 6 minute mile, and my cousin who ran with her said she could have run it faster if Princess hadn't had to wait on her.

This past Little League season, Princess played baseball for the first time. She played in coach pitch, she was the only girl on her team, she had the coaches wrapped around her little finger, she could outrun the boys on her team around the bases by a full second, and there were at least two times that I saw her beat the ball to first base.

My friends, my daughter is showing natural athletic ability. MY daughter! I have no athletic ability. I will trip over an air current. I am 35 years old, and I have never made contact between a ball and a bat. The only think I have ever managed to do with a vollyball is get my nose broken. But, my daughter is athletic...and that means that I'm gonna have to suck it up, and encourage that in her by at least being an example of someone who tries. This, my daughter, is my impetus to getting off my tuckus and doing something about all that baby fat.

The last time I was at a healthy weight for me was in November 2001, when I found out I was pregnant with Princess. Since then, I have fluctuated somewhere between 40-50 lbs overweight. Or, to put it painfully, I have fluctuated somewhere between obese and obese +10 lbs. This hasn't really bothered me, because also since November 2001, I have given birth to three children, and Rock loves me more than he did when we got married. So, I am fat and happy.

I am still happy, but I cannot remain fat. Not only do I need to encourage my daughter, but I also need to take care of myself. This last year, my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he is doing fine now, but during the course of his treatment I found out a lot of family health history that I did not know. For instance; my maternal grandmother died from congestive heart failure, and so did her mother, and so did her grandmother. Also: Every generation on my mother's side has had insulin dependent Type 2 diabetes. You know this information can really make you think..."Hey! Maybe I should shed a few lbs."

Yesterday, I finally came about and realized that I have to do something...and I have to do something now, today, right this very instant. And I did. Stick with me because, folks...This is gonna' hurt.

Day 1 of the Hurt

I'm a couple of days behind on my getting healthy updates, but I promise you will get over it.

I am a very goal oriented person. If I don't have something for which to work, the things I want to do will simply languish in the abyss of procrastinated enterprises. To thwart the demons of delay, I have laid out several short and long term goals. Let's start with weight.

6/15/2010: 198 lbs
Goal Weight: 150 lbs
Goal Deadline: May 15, 2011

This is a goal of 1 lb a week. When I look at 48 lbs, I overload. When I look at 1 lb a week, I'm pretty sure I can handle that. I have downloaded a calorie and exercise tracker to my phone to help keep me on track, and Rock is in full knowledge and support of what I am doing.

Next, lets deal with fitness. My body hasn't seen any real exercise since college...I graduated in 1998. Then top that with 4 c-sections and gallbladder surgery, and you can pretty much guess that my abdominal muscles have forgotten that they even exhist. Cardio? Please! My sides!Wait, let me catch my breath.......just a minute more.......no, not yet......okay. I hate running, but I'm thinking that is going to be the best remedy for me, and apparently the more you run, the more you can eat!!!! I'm going to be following the "Couch to 5k" running plan by Cool Running. I have downloaded an Ap to my phone that takes me through the paces of each run.

Short Term Goal: Finish week 1 of the plan
Long Term Goal: Run in the 5k of the Cow Town

I must be crazy.

Okay, sooooooo...somehow I manage to blog about once every six months. I mean, it's not like I have anything to write about. You don't really want to hear about my kids....do you? Or, what we are doing around the house?

Well, in reality I am suffering from writers' block. Not the kind where you can't think of anything to write, but the kind where there are so many things about which to write that you just completely shut down and quit writing altogether. Then when you do sit down to write, not only do you have things to write about now, but there are also things you wish you had written about earlier. Then you play this gigantic game of catch-up and keep-up, and if you are anything like me, whatever you write must, must, MUST, be in the correct cronological order. It's enough to make you want to just pull your hair out.

So, how have I been coping with my writers' block? I have been reading books, reading blogs, reading magazines, and reading curriculum catalogs. Now, I have reached a point where I want to write again. So, I tried yesterday, but that stupid wall of ideas was just too intimidating. There are too many ideas, too many thoughts, and too much stuff to catch up. Hence, I am going to start where I am, and not begin at the beginning. I may take a time trip or two, here and there, but for the most part I will simply be moving forward.

Paper or Digital

It's been a while since I have blogged, and I know I am going to get into some kind of trouble from someone because this isn't about the kids or the family. However, I have been in the mood to read and write lately, and I don't have time to upload pictures and make sure we get caught up. So, here is what you are getting for now.

I have been reading some about the new e-readers, and how so many people are excited about them. Now, I am not a person who shies away from new fangled and button-y gadgets, but I still haven't decided how I feel about these inventions.

For those of you who may not know, an e-reader is an electronic device to which you can upload reading materials such as books or newspapers. These marvelous machines allow you to carry several books, magazines, and/or newspapers in a single device, the largest of which measures slightly smaller than a piece of paper and just over 1/2 inch thick. To me this sounds pretty cool, especially if you are a voracious reader who spends a lot of time out and about, a vacationer planning on sitting on the beach, or a student who wants to avoid back problems before their thirties. The readers also allow you to take notes, highlight passages, bookmark pages, change the font size, change the font, and one of them even has a read-to-me function so that you can "read" your book/magazine/newspaper while you drive.

But, and this is a pretty big but, I am not completely sold on them for several reasons. The first reason being price. These things range in price from $259 up to $489. That's not exactly chump change in a one income household, and I could buy a-whole-buncha paper books for that price. However, the majority of the downloadable books cost around $10, and many libraries carry e-book resources. You pay for the cost of that library care whether you use it or not.

The second reason I'm not completely sold is actually pretty small. Not all of the books I read, or the writers I read, are available on e-books. Now, granted, when I read history or nonfiction, I prefer original documents or works as opposed to treatises on those documents, and those can be difficult to find in the first place. It actually looks as if a very large majority of books are being offered for e-readers.

Thirdly, there is still some question regarding property laws on these devices. In July '09, Amazon remotely deleted some editions of George Orwell's books, Animal Farm and 1984, from their owners Kindle's. Now, in their defense, the editions were added to the store by a company who did not have the rights to the books, and they did refund the Kindle customers' money. However, if someone sells you a paper book, that you purchased in good faith, then the book is yours. The seller must remove all unauthorized copies from their shelves, but they cannot come and take your property. But, in this case that is basically what happened. Amazon has since changed its terms of service agreement. I pray that the literary irony of this particular incident in regard to these particular books is not lost on my readers....down the memory hole.

Finally, my largest reservation about these devices is simple romance. There is just something very satisfying about a paper book. To me, books are beautiful, and nothing looks as good on a shelf as an entire row of books. Unless it is a stack of finished books by the bedside table. There is a certain feeling of accomplishment when you can see that you are nearing the end of a very heavy, thick tome. There is a feeling of relief when you see you are nearing the end of a short book written in stream of consciousness. Then of course there is the way you can inspire your children to read, when they see you holding a book, that does not come when they see you reading from a computer screen. Plus, that little bit of an ego boost when your oldest, who has discovered his own love of reading, is impressed that you have read "that huge book." It's fun to turn heads when you and your four children leave the library carrying arm loads of books. It's encourages your children when they can bring you their book and say, "Look how much I've read, Momma!" That is the romance of paper books.

All in all, I say these devices are going to be a big hit, and I will probably get one (though not any time soon). On a Kindle the words of classics will ring just as beautifully, on a Sony the history will be just as enlightening, on a Nook the theories just a thought provoking, and on an Apple Tablet the theology just as humbling, but for all their conveniences they will never replace the beauty, history, and romance that is a paper book.

Balancing Act

I'm sorry I've been gone for so long, but you, see things have been out of balance. And when I say things...I mean most everything in my life. Let's begin with the moving of the weights.

First weight: I have only recently been having a daily Bible and prayer time on a consistent basis again. This was the first weight on the wrong side of the scale. Christ promised, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you," and he has always kept his promise. I also made a promise to Christ to be faithful, but I have time and time and time and time again done exactly that. I have left. I have forsaken. But God is so good, so merciful, so gracious. He sent his Son to die on the cross so that I could have life, and continually I toss it aside. But, He stays. He never leaves. He loves me, and most miraculously of all He pulls me back into his arms, holds me close to His heart, and puts me back in my place of honor as His child as if it never happened. Now? I still disappoint my Father, but I am not ignoring it. I am more aware of my sins, am more appalled by my own sinfulness. God has put a much larger mirror in front of my face, and though I still see my own reflection instead of His, "...I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."(Phil 1:6)

Second weight: I became more interested in what was happening on Facebook or in politics than I was with my family and my home. Some of you know this about me, but I love to learn. I am a fount of sometimes usefull information because I read everything. Search engines are a dangerous tool for me. I may begin by searching for a recipie, but I will end up 3 hours later learning about vermicomposting and how to use the resultant product. During this time, I would kinda sorta take care of things. I would keep the kids fed, clothed, and safe, but I was not being their Momma. Thank God, this part started after we were finished with school and my children's education did not suffer. But my relationship with them did, and that is far more important. The housework? Well, it suffers still, but for a different reason. I'm snuggling on the couch with my babies and a book. How did I get past this? Rock. He is truly my rock. I wouldn't be who I am if it wasn't for him. He fulfills his job as my spiritual leader. I thank God he has given me Rock. Rock basically grounded me from the computer for almost a month. I still go to my favorite websites to read, but I am only allowed a certain amount of time.

Third weight: This part is physiological, and I have an appointment with my Dr. at the end of this week. Please pray for my Dr. that she will have wisdom to be able to help me. My hormones are all out of whack. Which basically means that I am fighting for control of my emotions 2 weeks out of each month. This is new ground for me. I have never really had many of the symptoms of PMS, and only slight cases of Baby Blues for a couple of weeks right after my babies were born. Now? Rock has to rescue me at least a couple of days a month, and I am fighting tears the rest of the time. The symptoms have gotten worse, but since I have been having a daily quiet time I do not have feelings of panic.

Slowly but surely, the scales are tipping back into balance. I understand the reality of weight one and weight two. These are direct results of my disobedience to God, but again He restored my soul, and He will lead me down the paths of righteousness for His names sake. I do not understand the whys and wherefores of weight number three, but I do know that He is saying to me as He said to the Apostle Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor 12:9)

Have a Blessed Day Everyone!

Coloring Eggs

In our family we have always loved coloring eggs. Why? I don't really know, but we do. I know that my brother and I would color eggs and hide and hunt them when we were in college. We of course did this indoors, because we wouldn't want people to think we are weird or anything.

Well, Rock and I have now passed down this love to all of our offspring. It is a big deal when out come the dye, stickers, crayons, and anything else we might want to try.

Professor makes sure that all of his eggs have something to say. I believe that one of them even said, "I am yummy!"

Princess is a decorator. Her eggs had designs instead of sayings.

Look at those eyes!


We honestly didn't expect Warrior to get this involved, but he was very quiet and focused throughout the whole thing.

This was Baby J's first foray into egg decorating, and as you can see he was a natural. Nothing gets by this kid.

And Daddy had to get some baby loves while waiting for the eggs to dry.

This is what fun looks like!

Almost done...

Next year we plan on getting more creative...I think they are ready for it.