Vacation Day 2

I'll start with a picture from our balcony this morning. All we went through to get here was worth it. And this is what I mean by "all we went through"...

Our second vacation day was also a travel day. We began in Miami at the Wyndham hotel which has recently been remodeled. The room was very nice and we slept hard. Our room service breakfast came about 15 minutes after we woke. We were so hungry and thankful to be pampered. As we stood there praying and thanking God for our luxuries, King (*see note below) began to fidget. I kept praying. More fidgeting. Praying. Fidgeting. Finally, David interrupted my prayer and said, "You can keep praying, but there's something in my pants and it's biting me!" Sure enough, he had ants in his pants! They looked like fire ants, but we don't think they were fire ants. Upon further inspection, he had them in his shoes, socks and pants. As we checked out from the hotel, we requested "special consideration" for the extra guests in our room. We'll see how Wyndham responds...

We hopped on the airport shuttle and had a surprise at the airport! We arrived an hour and 45 minutes before our flight, which we had read was plenty of time. OBVIOUSLY, that information did not take into consideration a Friday morning at the American Airlines International section of Miami airport. I have never seen lines so long. Ever. I don't know what the occasion was, but American employees were stationed everywhere and were answering questions from hundreds and hundreds of passengers like ourselves. I like organization and let me tell you, there was none at the airport. Not at American Airlines, anyway. The international section of American wasn't even labeled "international". We got in line and found out that they close the flight an hour before it takes off in order to get all the baggage, etc. That left us 20 minutes to get through a section with many hundreds of people. Later at our gate, we tried to estimate how many people were in the area and we guessed a couple of thousand? Anyway, we got in another line and we still weren't going to make the flight. I asked another American employee what we needed to do and she took our passports, swiped them in the machine there and told us to go over the the counter. Basically, we jumped over everyone else in line (at least a 40 minute wait) and our bags were checked. Then we had to take our bags to the next line to have them stowed for delivery to the plane. That line was growing FAST because their computer broke down. Finally made it through that line and then we had to go through security. That line was three lines wide and very long. God blessed us again as a very harried lady called out that there was another security area around the airport a bit and it had no lines. We shot out of there in search of the other security check through. She was right. It was a breeze ... until they called me aside to inspect my bags. I had no worries because we had been very careful of how we packed our backpacks. Duh. I had left a resealable diet coke in my backpack from the night before. God blessed us again as the guy just through it away and gave me a dirty look. Eeek. Off we went to our gate. I was so rattled by the time we got there that I was just sweating. As we encountered the chaos intially and throughout the ordeal, I truly believed that God would work out the details and get us on the flight, but it didn't look like it was going to work out time after time. Throughout the morning, He was so obvious in showing me that trust isn't about things looking good, but about ... trust. Believing in the Truth and knowing Who He is. He works out the details. I was humbled.

Our flight to Barbados from Miami was a piece of cake. Many of these little islands are their own little sovereign countries, so I got my passport stamped quite a bit, which I like! We flew a turbo prop airplane from Barbados to St Vincent. We went through customs and immigration yet again and walked outside to see a friendly guy holding a sign that said "Young Island" (our resort). Delight!! We drove from the airport a short distance to the dock and I was amazed to see how beautiful and enchanting Young Island is from a distance. Here I am with Young Island in the background. Our cottage is very visible in the background. See the two sailboats parked right next to each other (they are over my left shoulder). As you look at them, look at the one on your right. If you go to the back of the sailboat and then go straight up, you will see our cottage, the top one. There is one just to your right and lower, but we are the upper one. In the picture, there is something grey above our roof. Not sure what that is.

The little ferry that takes you back and forth from St Vincent to Young Island only takes about 3-5 mintues ... very charming. When we stepped out of the boat from our ferry ride, Giselle from the front office, met us and a nice islander also greeted us with rum punch. Strong drink, especially for this non-alcoholic gal! Giselle personally gave us a short tour of the lower part of the island and took us to our cottage. She gave us a tour of our cottage. We were already feeling so pampered. The weekly cocktail began about 15 minutes after our arrival, but we preferred to settle in. We unpacked and washed our faces before dinner. It is suprising how refreshing it is to simply wash our face. It truly takes away the "sticky" humidity feel.

We walked down to dinner which was served by the beach in a thatched, open hut. Very charming. It was a 5-course meal, so I can't remember everything we ate, but I do remember the bread! They bake 6 different flavors of bread daily and our choice last night was coconut bread and cinnamon bread. YUM! I had a carrot soup, smoked salmon roulade, Mahi Mahi with saffron and a warm bean salad. David had a salad with papaya and vinaigrette, the salmon
roulade, veal yams and tomato basil. We had banana cake and homemade ice cream sandwich for dessert. (licking lips sound)

When we got back to our room, we realized there were three of us inside! This little frog liked the a/c and decided to join us. As cute as tree frogs are ... we decided his songs would be a bit much a few hours later. Here he is pictured on our patio (after leaping from King's hand).

It's very humid here and has rained a couple of times, but they are quick tropical showers. The sun is shining now and there is a constant breeze. Last night we turned the a/c on in the room and by the time the room cooled off, we were wishing for sleep. The disco across the channel at St Vincent (200 yards away) tuned up after we went to sleep. It woke David temporarily, but I knew nothing until 6:45 this morning!

Breakfast was under the same thatched "kiosk" or hut as dinner and we had fresh fruit, vanilla yogurt, incredible omlettes, strong coffee, fresh orange juice and more cinnamon bread! You may wonder about the pounds that we will pack on this week, eating like we are. Let me reassure you that it might just all even out. :) We are on a volcanic island, after all, and just to get to our room, we walk up 39 steps! I can't imagine the hike up to the upper cottages. We are
down by the beach. I want to go play tennis a fair amount and it's at the top of the island. Last night we looked up at it and David says it was about a 30-35 degree angle from where we were standing. The local parrot is the St Vincent parrot and they are here on this island, too. They have a couple in a *huge* cage by the office and the name outside the cage is "Misty". The parrots are beautiful and talkative, even so late last night.

We can't wait for our friends to arrive. O & J arrive tonight around 8:45 and we plan to surprise them by taking a taxi to the airport and meeting them. This airpot is tiny and so unlike anything back home.

* As a reminder, "King" is my husband and I am "Queen". "Princess" is our daughter.

Honeymood started!

We have begun our 15th honeymoon celebration. Our anniversary is not until August, however, we are celebrating early to avoid hurricane season. We are in Miami, on our way to the caribbean tomorrow. Our drive to the airport and flight to Miami was great. We watched a favorite tv show on the King's computer during the flight. We ordered room service once at the hotel and are slowly beginning to relax. It's been so rushed getting ready that it is taking a while to realize that we are truly away from everything. We miss our Princess and know that she is having so much fun as well.

Precious, when you read this, know that we miss you and are praying that you have a super day!! Sweet dreams! It may be Saturday before we can post again. We love you!!

New Jeans, Kipper and Dixie

Well, life has been nuts! School is out, parties I helped with or hosted are over, and now it's just a mad dash to get everything done before we leave on Thursday.

Cutie and I went to the mall today to get a smaller pair of American Eagle jeans. Josha gave me some during spring break and they were too small for me, but I brought them home anyway because they were so soft. Now they are way too big for me and I need some new ones. Get this ... AE is phasing out the "favorites" style of jeans. Why do companies do this?? The style is called "Favorites", for pete's sake. If they are the "Favorites" then leave them in peace and let us all buy them. But, no, they are phasing them out for lower rise jeans called the hipster. Let me just say, that I do not need any more of my hips showing. I have stretch marks, people. No one wants to see stretch marks. :)

So, after walking the mall (after my 2.5 mile walk this morning), I searched the mall for jeans. Have you priced them lately? I was stunned. $65 dollars for jeans. I just couldn't pay it. So, while getting the King's Levi's at Wal-Mart, I found cute jeans for ... yes ... 15.98! I'm feeling a little sassy in my new, smaller, dark wash jeans. Woo-hoo!

I've been walking and eating well most of the time. We had a cookout and I ate a Boca burger instead of the real cow meat. I am starting to branch out and eat mostly NS, but add normal food in. I hit the 30 lb mark! 30 pounds gone from my frame ... forever. Or atleast until I go on my vacation this week. There will be no dieting. 5 course meal every night. There will be no gluttony, but no dieting either. We'll see how big I am when I get back! :)

I have been MIA at the blog for several reasons, not the least of which is that we found a new home for our precious, dear, sweet, adorable Kippy (our Ragdoll cat). Kipper is the most amazing cat. He is with his new family now and last account is loving all over them. It was a horrible separation though and I'm not sure we have completely recovered. I haven't heard Cutie cry like that many times during her young life. Sobs from very deep within.

It helped that we have been looking and praying for a poodle to join our family. We found one this weekend - what great timing. We will not pick her up until the weekend after July 4th. Her name is Dixie and she is a white, tiny toy poodle, about 5 pounds. We can't wait to meet her and I'm sure you will see dozens of pictures of her in the days to come. For now, here is her picture from her breeder's website. What a little doll baby.

Boca Burgers

I had a great day today!! No paralysis, no migraines and I got to walk my 3 miles this morning. Woo-hoo! Here are the pictures of the baby swans that I took a couple of weeks ago. They are twice this big now.

I normally eat Nutrisystem food every day, all day, but I only ate it for breakfast this morning. I had a Boca Burger for lunch ... my first Boca. I nuked it, put A-1 sauce on it and ate it on toasted Ezekiel bread. Oh. My. Goodness! Y-u-m! The Ezekiel bread is amazing and so easy to keep fresh. I have been keeping it in the freezer, so I just take it out, toast it and eat. Fast, easy and good for me.

I'm knocking on 140 lbs. I am almost there... I really want to be in the 130's by the time we leave on the 31st. We'll see. I weighed 141 today.

I really need to go to bed, so I'll post pictures from my walk on tomorrow's post.

G'Day

It's been a good day, Mate! Since my King and Princess were still on their camping trip this morning, I had all the time in the world to get ready for church services. I took another bath (took one after my walk last night) and did my tan, did a pedicure, had NS brown sugar oatmeal ... It was great! At the church building I taught second grade during the 1st hour and during 2nd hour service, I worked in the nursery (infants). I do this every week and factor it into my exercise routine. Some of those babies are chunks! And of course, they like to be bounced and held at the same time. It is a great leg and arm workout to minister to them. I take a step and go up on my toes, take a step and go up on my toes ... very good for the calves. Or I stand in place and do a partial squat to make the bouncing motion. All the while I get to snuggle one of God's precious little lambs and sing about His Gracious Love. The best workout in the world!

Feeling Better

Oh, the blessing of good potassium levels! I don't know where my K+ (potassium) is going, but I seem to be losing it this week. I've had to take liquid and slow release K+ the past few days. This afternoon I started into an episode, but slept it off. I have felt like this kitty though. I'm totally aware during my paralysis, just can't move. Might was well just lay there and be cute!

I made dinner for a family in our small group ... Meatloaf, potato salad, fruit salad and chocolate chip cookies. Half the dinner was homemade, half was purchased. Sam's has Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies in a tub that makes 84 cookies. I baked 30 last night and 15 this afternoon. My goodness, the house smelled good. I am proud to say that I didn't eat one crumb, cooked or uncooked. But I wanted to. :)

I did get to exercise last night and today. I walked 3 miles last night and two miles tonight. King and Cutie/Princess went on a camping trip, so it's just me at the ole palace. I enjoyed my walk, my NS dinner and I even got the dishes done. I'm ready for some Sudoku and some sleep!

Challenge 2 Met

Here are pics from the successful challenge #2. I didn't get to finish it until this evening because there was real work to do this morning, surprised Cutie for lunch and then...

I can't even type it.

My potassium dropped and I...

I had my first paralysis attack in over 10 weeks. I have no words to describe my disappointment. It's just been a hard day. Cutie has a migraine and is having PP issues, too, I think. The King of the palace is stressed. It's just been a trying day. As I lay in the floor of the closet, paralyzed, I remembered the peace of paralysis. I can do nothing. I'm helpless. I'm so dependent on God for everything. No one knew I was in trouble because we are all out of practice and so I lay there ... with the dead centipede on the floor. We lay there, he and I. It was a good reminder that though Satan can sting me, he can not bring death. I'm safe in my Savior's mighty right Hand. I fear no evil, for He is with me.

I'm off to bed. Episodes bring a weariness that is hard to express. Low episodes, like today, also bring a chemical induced depression that is hard to shake. Time in the Word, potassium and sleep are the best treatment options.

Thanks for checking in on me and holding me to my challenge. I didn't forget to post ... it just took me a while.

2nd Challenge

Today's posting is a triple post. Start below with Choo-choo and work your way up!

I'm unspeakably embarressed to post this picture, but it's not like hiding the picture is going to change the status of my laundry. If you will believe the truth, all these clothes are clean and waiting to be put away. And it's just the laundry from this week! Some of them are set out to be packed for the trip. Those two things aside, I have to admit a couple of things. I love to organize, but hate to clean. Love washing clothes, but hate folding and putting them away. Actually, I don't mind folding, it's putting them away.

So, (gulp), here is my second challenge tonight. I'm taking the room and flipping it. That's right, folks. You heard it here first. I'm going to fold all these clothes and put them away before bed tonight.

I'm not going to even set a time limit. But, it's 8:51 and I like to be in bed by 9:30. Pray for me. I'll post the after picture tomorrow morning.

15 minute challenge

(...waiting for the applause to die down...)

Thank you, friends, for your enthusiastic support of this 15 minute house challenge! We are pleased to report that an unholy amount of cat hair, dust, dirt, mites and other disgusting paraphernalia was extracted from the floor of the palace in 20 minutes. The tile areas were vacuumed as well as the living room. Posted are the before and after photos, complete with the unsightly evidence in the vacuum cleaner ... and the guilty suspect looking on.

Tah-Dah! Thank you for your kind support!

Shall we have another challenge?

Choo-choo

I'm on track again after my slight de-railment. Is that a word? :) My eats have been good today and yesterday. I seem to have a slight fever though ... spring fever. Not much is getting done around my house. Ewww. My floors and bathrooms are crying out for attention. I'm so overwhelmed with it all that I find it easier to ignore. Perhaps if I set the timer for 15 minutes? Ok, here's the challenge. 15 minute house blitz. I'll update you in 20...

Bad, Bad Choices, Girlie!

Wow, I not only cheated yesterday, I blew the top off the "cheat-o-meter"! I felt awful yesterday and was very hungry. Normally, I can push through any struggles, but I bombed. I ate a fold-over sandwich at 9:30, which was fine. I needed the protein. However, the subsequent Hershey's chocolate bar at 10:30 and the spoonful of chocolate chip cookie dough was NOT okay. By 11:30, I had consumed 780 calories!!! Bad. Very bad. I normally am at about 400 calories after lunch. Well, I think I finished the day up around 1200 or 1250 calories, which is right on target, but I felt so sad about my choices. You know how you feel great when you lay down at night if you've done your best during the day? You can say, "I may not have completed everything on my list today, but I worked hard and I had a good day!"

That was not how I felt yesterday.

I didn't realize it at the time, but I was having low potassium trouble yesterday (one of the main reasons I was feeling awful and sad). Low potassium causes depression/the blues, not to mention the muscle weakness that it causes in me. I didn't think to test my potassium until Princess complained of aching muscles after school. Turns out her potassium was low, too.

Today is a better day. Whew. :) I've had cinnamon oatmeal (NS) and a bowl of strawberries with fat-free cool whip for a total of 190 calories before lunch. And look at my strawberries?! Doesn't that look yummy? I'm totally on today!

I Got It!

I had another migraine last night, which oozed over into today. But, I think I've got it! I think my trigger for these is hunger! I think when my body starts fasting/being hungry that I'm having an "episode". The difference is that I'm not paralyzed, I just have the migraine. I'm going to watch things for the next few days, but I've noticed that if I'll eat some protein when I get a migraine, I feel better.

So, due to migraines and hip healing, I haven't been walking. I did get my Resistance Bands today. I am looking forward to trying them ... maybe tonight?

We leave for our anniversary trip 3 weeks from today. As of this writing, we leave for the trip in 21 days. Or, if you prefer, 501 hours. Or, better still 30,060 minutes. :) I'm just a little excited.

Hip Trouble

God is so Gracious to remind me of His gifts to me. It has been 67 days since my last paralysis episode. I haven't had a migraine in two days. My hips are where the majority of my muscle damage exists from years of paralysis. I've been walking 3 miles, 3 times per week with the occasional extra mile or two thrown in for fun. This past week was a low exercise week because of migraines and this week has been frustrating because I hurt my hip while walking (3 miles) Sunday morning. It's taking it so long to recover, it seems. Normally, I can be fine in a day or so. I did a prayer walk this morning around my block and just that .2 mile aggravated my hip again and it's hurting. I guess I am just going to have to rest it for a couple of more days. In the midst of that "frustration", I am reminded of the joy it is to be able to walk to do my daily duties, not to mention the ability to walk for fun! I'm so blessed.

I bought a book on workouts with a resistance band last night. Now I just need a band. I look forward to this. Anyone with a good resistance band recommendation?

I took my daughter out for a date last night. She was so thrilled. I do most everything with her, but evidently I don't "date" her and she was over the moon about going out last night. We had dinner and browsed the book store. She has been studying state history all year and her choice of either shopping or bookstore after dinner? She chose to go get a history book at the bookstore. I love her! And I love her school for the joy of learning that they have given her.

Catch up

Well, I can't believe it's been 5 days since I posted. I had so many migraines this week. True to my wish, Wednesday was headache-free until evening, so I got in a 3 mile walk in the morning. I took pictures of the swans and their babies at the lake while I was walking, but I can't get them from my phone camera to my computer. I emailed them, but no luck. So, you'll have to use your imagination. They were gray, fuzzy and adorable (the babies). Mom and Dad swan were very proud and brought them right up to the dock for everyone to see.

I didn't get to walk again until this morning. Eats have been okay. I saw the scale drop again this morning as well as my measurments. I'm down 1 1/4 inch in my trouble zone again. It's been about 6 days since I measured. I absolutely don't have any jeans to wear now. The ones I got from my SIL are so big, it's embarressing.

Hubby is losing a lot, too. None of our jeans fit and we are trying to hold off on shopping until we get down to our normal size. We are going to have to have a few interim things though. We leave for vacation in 24 days (squeal!), so we'll need to get our vacation stuff in the next couple of weeks.

We went for a picnic at the lake in the neighborhood last night. The snake, kindly went back into his "lair" to let us pass. I was nervous the rest of the hike. (shudder).

Another Migraine Day

I had another migraine today. I was fairly functional until this afternoon. It was still a great day! Today is day 60 with no paralysis!!

Eats were good:

Bkfast-NS chocolate chip granola bar

Lunch- NS Tex-Mex Rice and Beans, 100 cal sweet

Snack- Zone bar

Dinner- NS lasagne

bed night snack- skinny cow fudge bar.

Total calories: 1100.

I drank 60 oz of Peppermint water today. I measured myself and in 9 days I have lost Waist:1/4"; Abdomen: 3/4"; Thigh: 1/2"!! Woo-hoo!

I didn't get to walk again today as the thought of more blood pounding in my body made me even more nauseous. Perhaps tomorrow will be a migraine-free, paralysis-free day!

Date Night

My hubby takes me out for a date every week. We always have a good time with what we choose to do. Tonight we went to the bowling alley and did the "must do's" at this particular bowling alley.

Evidently, from the reviews we had from friends and internet alike, their food is very good . Not to be rude, but the food, umm, well, it was bowling alley food. We had the enchiladas with beans and rice. We were so hungry that it didn't matter about taste ... and the calories?? Well, ya live and learn. I did have an adorable delivery guy though!

I realized that I haven't bowled since 8th or 9th grade. I was just happy to knock some pins down! David also did great for not having bowled in years. We had a really good time and relaxed. That's what date night is all about!

Eats: My eats were good today, until ... :)

NS breakfast, NS snack, NS lunch, Zone bar and then ... cheese enchiladas, drenched in cheese and covered with chili and cheese. :)

I haven't walked since Thursday. I miss it. I hope to walk on the treadmill tomorrow as the weather will demand that I stay inside. Good news! I finished a large paper work task that I've been working on for days. My desk is finally beginning to reappear. It's hard to fit in spending time with my daughter, work and house work and exercise. I feel like I'm turning a big ship and my rudder is so small. I know it's these small changes that will eventually turn my whole life around, physically speaking.

And by the Grace of God alone ... I have now gone 59 days with no paralysis!! You go, God!!

A Picnic with Daddy

I went out with Bekah last night, so Lauren had a date with Daddy. They went down to the lake and picnic'ed by the water. And in the water! They also went for a hike. I can't believe all this beauty is so close to us. Hopefully we can enjoy it more this summer since I'm feeling well.

My eats were fine. I ate dessert out last night and didn't really care about the calories. :) The name of the dessert was "decadent chocolate cake". Need I say more? I will say that I only ate half a piece ... and wanted the rest.

I did not walk yesterday, but I hope to walk today.

Just Before and During my 7 weeks on Nutrisystem

The picture of me in the green shirt is toward the end of February '07. The picture in the red shirt is the first of April. I've lost 4 more pounds since the red shirt picture. I've also started walking a lot since this picture.

I walked almost 2 miles this evening (1.8) and am still enjoying the exercise. My eats were great today until we had to eat out. I ate well, just abit more than I should have eaten. I still think I'm at or under calories again today. I ate often today and that helped me feel great. I had a migraine all day, so that dampened my whole outlook on the day.

Well, tomorrow is a big day at school. Better go do bible time with Princess and tuck her in.

Walking Again

My eats were great today. I was very tired and I think it is because I haven't gotten enough food the past couple of days. Enough calories, I mean. I've eaten well, just ... not enough. I think the culprit is that I had salad for lunch the past two days and by this morning, I was running on a bit of a protein deficit. It's hard to eat out and eat healthy. I don't have to eat out any more this week, so that is good.

I walked my 3 miles again this morning. I walked a route in my neighborhood and I walked some steep hills! I made the walk in about 50 minutes instead of my hour that I've been walking. I hope to build up to 4.5 miles, 3 times a week. For right now, I'm just going to keep the 3 miles, 3 times a week and let my muscles get used to that.

We leave for the caribbean in 5 weeks and I'm determined to have more endurance by the time we leave. Here is a picture of a waterfall that I hope to see while there. Isn't it pretty?

Sweet Day

I had lunch with my bible study ladies today at the sweetest little cafe and bakery. It had the feel of grandma's english tea room. The food was so good! Almost all of my ladies were there and we had a great time. I was so overwhelmed ... still am ... at their gift to me. It's a gift certificate to a well-known spa in town for a very generous amount of money. I am still sitting here shaking my head. I enjoyed them so much this year and have been praying about whether to lead a group next year. The love and affirmation I received was humbling to say the least! I just realized that we didn't take a picture today. (sigh.) This picture is a sample of their desserts. The flan cake is flan on top of a butter cake. Does it get any yummier??

Today has been a hungry day. I'm within 100 calories of my 1200. Maybe over, maybe under. Today is the first day I haven't written my calorie consumption down on my refrig. Maybe I'll stop and add things up.... Okay, looks like I'm about 1070 calories. Not as bad as I thought. I had a salad at lunch that was so good! It had some creamy basil pesto pasta in it, so I'm not sure of the calorie count on that. Bfast: NS bar, 4 oz milk; apple; L: aforementioned salad, water; 90 cal ice cream bar; Zone bar at 3p.m.; NS dinner with Skinny cow bar for dessert. And of course, throughout the day I have sipped on my beloved Peppermint tea.

I have to tell you the sweetest of God. It's the little things that show His Lovingkindness. David's office chair broke over the weekend. It's a used, fancy office chair (Herman Miller, if that means anything to you). He has been sitting in a folding chair the past few days which has been, ah-hem ... painful on his damaged tailbone. Today he was able to reach the chair repair folks who told him the chair parts would only be $20; however, it would take about 2 weeks to fix it because the parts had to be ordered. (sigh) This afternoon he took the chair in and not only did they have the parts in stock (!), but they fixed it right there in front of him!! Now his little bruised/broken tailbone will not hurt as he works. I just think God is so sweet ... and FAST!

Whew. I'm back

Sorry for not posting, but my login hasn't worked for over a week. I'm back to blogging daily now.

Weight: It's about the same. I'm losing a pound a week or so. Nice and slow which is best. 24 pounds lost ... f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

Exercise: Great improvement here! You all know during Periodic Paralysis sometimes it was exercise just to walk across the room. It's been 7 weeks and three days since I've had a paralysis episode! In that time frame, I've begun to use my muscles. I started walking 1.3 miles about three weeks ago. I haven't walked a lot, but I've been active in between walking events. On Friday, I walked 3 miles! My hips (where I have most of my muscle damage) hurt during but not after the 3 miles. Tonight David and I walked the same three miles.

So, in honor of my friend Josha, I will also write a song. To the tune of Mary Had A Little Lamb:

I walked around Town Lake, around Town Lake, around Town Lake
I walked around Town Lake with my friend Bekah.

The path was three miles long, three miles long, three miles long
The path was three miles long and I did it all.

Bekah has a soccer physique, soccer physique, soccer physique
Bekah has a soccer physique and I kept up with her!

I was so inspired, so inspired, so inspired
I was so inspired, I bought 2 running skirts.

Ok, enough. :) I do like my two new running skirts. I felt official as i walked with all the other sweaty bodies out there this evening. Our city is so fit. Sheesh.

Eats: The eats are going well. I eat out about once a week or so. This week it will be twice, but I'm choosing wisely when I order. I ate a caesar salad today with a bit of bread at Johnny Carinos. Yum. NS pizza for dinner, NS bar for bkfast and Laughing Cow lite for morning snack.

I'm off to bathe the sweat away. I'm alive, not paralyzed, my family is with me ... it's been a great day!

Roses and Moving

As promised, here is a picture of my Mother's Day 2004 rose bush. It was getting buffeted by the wind in this picture. What's up with the wind lately? It's been blowing almost every day.

EATS:

I told Bekah that I'd post my eats for the day ... to keep me accountable on this weightloss thing. So, Bekah, I had a Luna bar for breakfast. It was "S'mores" flavor. Now, this is silly because there were no marshmallows and no graham crackers. How in the world is this meal bar like a S'mores?? Only the advertisers know. It was passable. Then I had a DanActive yougurt (three swallows and it's gone) for morning snack, NS Black Bean Tortilla Soup (with no tortillas!) and NS Chili for dinner. I drank lots of Peppermint tea and a diet A&W. The Hershey's chocolate covered eggs are calling, no, screaming my name. They are as of yet, still strink wrapped. Pray.

We helped our sweet friend, Jamie, move into her new apartment today. And I do mean n-e-w. These apartments have just been built and Jamie is one of the first people to move in. Her apartment is beautiful!! The first picture is in the old apt with her cute dog Bella. The last picture is in the new apartment ... check out the countertops. Cool!

I walked 1.5 miles today in 53 degree weather with a north wind blowing. I took no potassium on my walk, no sugar, no cell phone. It was just me, my polartec and my ipod. I felt like a normal woman going for a walk. I had an earache when I came back, but that's always happened to me when I'm in a north wind for any length of time. I don't know why, but I've gotten earaches as far back as I can remember. My mom used to heat that oil in the little brown bottle and put it in my ears and stuff cotton in my ear to keep the oil in and wind out. We lived in the panhandle of Texas and could get some stiff, cold winds back then. As I headed off to school, I always felt like an inverted Cottontail with those cotton puffs sticking out of my ears. When I came back from my walk today I thought fondly of the warmth of that oil from my childhood, but I figured I could thaw my eustachian tubes just as easily with hot herbal tea. I was right.

So, after walking 1.5 miles and helping Jamie move today, my muscles have called an emergency meeting of the body and have declared a strike. I'm not paralyzed, just worn out. It feels good because I know I've had great exercise today, worked my muscles really hard in the process, been in cold that normally triggers paralysis, gotten very hungry at times today ... and I've not been paralyzed once!! Three cheers for God and His sweetness to little ole me.

Hip, Hip, Hooray! Hip, Hip, Hooray! Hip, Hip, Hooray!

Working Girl

Here I am, working away at my desk in my new office. No, wait. That's Grover on my desk. Don't you just love Grover? My favorite book as a child was, "The Monster At The End Of This Book". Loved it! Now, I have found a small version of my childhood friend and he keeps me company at my desk. I think he has a "rosey" spot, don't you?

The roses are from my "Mother's Day" bush that King and Princess bought me three years ago. I'll have to post a picture in a couple of days. It is covered with roses. The roses smell soooo good, too. Did you know a great fertilizer for roses is a banana peel? I was skeptical, too. I tried it after a neighbor urged me to try it. Shazam. I have done nothing to this rose bush for two years ... no yearly pruning, no fertilizing. Nothing. I only put banana peels on it. It is 5' tall and 3.5'-4' wide and blooms all season long. I'm telling ya ... banana peels.

So, did I mention that I am working from home now? Yes, I've been hired as the executive assistant for my hubby. Like in a professional position ... not a wash your socks kind of position. It's been fun so far and I look forward to working and helping him even more.

Running & Kipper

Can you believe it? I ran night before last. And no one was chasing me either! :) I used to run when I was in college and then in early marriage I picked up in line skating. Since having Periodic Paralysis, I obviously haven't been able to do either one. Now that I'm on this new medication and am keeping my calcium levels up, I have so much more energy. Princess was riding her bike and I was going to follow her. I decided to jog to catch up with her and once my feet started making that rhythmic pounding, I just kept going. I ran all the way up the hill and 1/2 way around the block. It felt so great!

I'm trying to get some type of walk, jog or other exercise at least 3 days a week. I'm averaging more than that right now. I have to start out slow because my muscles have been getting smaller over the course of my illness the past 6 years.

Kipper, our cat, is the most adorable thing. He has never had an accident in the house, he doesn't scratch furniture, he loves people, he doesn't get on countertops, he hasn't ever had hairball trouble. He's the perfect cat. The problem is that he is a cat. So many people are allergic and I think I might becoming one of them. I'm having some non-typical allergy symptoms and it only happens here in the house. Kipper is Princess' 7th birthday present, so I hate the thought of sending him to another home, but it might be what we have to do. Please pray for all of us: me, to find out what is causing my alleric reactions; Lauren that her heart will be peaceful no matter our decision; and Kipper that God will find him the perfect home if our home can not be his anymore. Above is a picture of what he looks like most of the time. He loves to have his chin and chest scratched. Silly boy.

Just Another Monday

Actually it isn't just another Monday. This is the day after Easter and I can't believe how fast things have become mundane. Yesterday was such a celebration of Jesus and now I'm back to laundry and school projects. :) It's all good though.

I told myself last week that I would only weigh once a day, but I confess ... I'm a daily "weigher". I lost another pound last night, or ... sometime. I'm down 22 pounds with 28 to go. Almost halfway. This morning I really and truly resolved to weigh only once a week. I love waking up and seeing the numbers on the scale go down another point. However, I owned the fact that I don't need to lose a pound a day or else I'll risk losing muscle and not fat. The Lord knows I need to lose fat, so I'm going to shoot for Friday morning weigh-ins. In the meantime, I'll ... just ... wait ... and wonder.
And here is the picture of my treat for making my 20 pound goal! Solar Nails. Love 'em. L-o-v-e them!

Plateau and Treats

Well, as happens in weight loss, I have hit a plateau. I lost about a pound a day for 3 weeks in March for a total of 20 lbs. I haven't lost any weight this week. I did give myself my "20 lb" goal/treat. I got Solar nails. Oh my! I've wished for these type of nails for years, but have never had the motivation or reason to spend money on them. I told myself if I lost 20 pounds that I would get them. I'm so glad that I did. It's a reminder to stay on top of my game every time I look at my hands. I'll post a picture on Friday.

New treats! David and I took our Christmas camera back to Best Buy today because it does not take low light pictures very well. The manager has been so helpful. I'm really liking Best Buy these days. David traded the big camera in for a dryer and a cute little digital camera that fits in my purse! A new dryer!! I'm so excited. Mine still works, it just takes a little longer to dry big loads and it's one of those purchases that will be necessary before too long.

Here is a picture of my Hero. He's the one who bought my dryer and my camera and my new nails. What a doll!

My camera should arrive tomorrow. I'll take a picture of my nails and post it then.

Update: the dryer just arrived and is purring away in there. Ahhhh. The things that pamper us as women. Especially gadget girls like myself.

Weight Loss

Well, in the spirit of my blog name, "Made New", I thought I'd start a blog about my weight loss.

I started Nutrisystem one month ago on March 1, 2007. I thought I weighed 163 when I started, but I just found out that my scales were not accurate. They were what we all wish ... light. Turns out, instead of weighing 163, I actually weighed (shudder) 170 when I started Nutrisystem. Friends, that is what I weighed when I delivered Princess about 8.5 years ago. And I have no baby to show for all that fat! I am so glad I am on this new medicine, Avandia, and that my Paralysis is so much better. While changing my calendar this morning, I realized that it has been 4 weeks since I had an episode! Four weeks!! Amazing.

So, aside from my 1.5 week spring break trip where I gained and lost, I have lost 20 pounds as of this morning, March 31. I have 30 more pounds to go. Our caribbean vacation is June 1-8, so I need to lose that weight in 9 weeks. I'm off to drink some more water!!

Paralysis

Well, I have had a day of paralysis today. I took Princess (our daughter) to school and when I parked in our garage after returning, I was too tired to get out. So, I sat there getting progressively paralyzed. In a little while, I heard the door from the house open and I smiled to myself. The King or the Princess always seem to know when to check on the Queen. King fed me sugar until I could walk and then I changed from my skirt into slacks. Being paralyzed is one thing. Being paralyzed in a skirt is quite another. I'm not an exhibitionist.
So, I changed and feeling much better, I headed off to the church building for bible study. I lead a small group bible study on Tuesday mornings. We (the leaders) start the morning in prayer and after prayer, I had another small episode. So, one of the substitutes took my group for 10 minutes or so. My sweet sub went back to her group and I led my small group through our bible study. It was very enjoyable, but I was struggling with an episode the whole time. Finally when we broke into two's to pray, I couldn't hold off the episode any longer. I sat down and then layed down on the floor and went into a deep episode. I have 11 ladies in my group and they all crowded around and helped. At one point they called King and he talked them through getting my Paralysis suitcase from the car along with my oxygen. They hooked my oxygen up and read on my Paralysis Instruction paper that explains what to do if I have an episode. They learned how to ask me questions that I could blink "yes" or "no" to and then began to sing to me. They were just so precious. They sang worship songs, kid songs (Zaccheus was a wee little man...), Christmas songs, and my favorite song: "You are my strength when I am weak". After we have our small group discussion, we always go upstairs for the lecture. Well, none of my ladies would leave and go upstairs! :) They all stayed, even after David arrived to help. It was a sweet time and it brought the group closer together.
I'm sitting in bed even now. I'm sure the rest of the day will be spent resting or paralyzed, but that's okay. Dinner is in the crockpot and it's a rainy day. A good day to be in bed.

Blogging

I know blogging is so popular, however I am reluctant to blog because of how easy it is for strangers to glean personal information. I am willing to try again because it is a fun way to keep in touch with all of our family and friends.

If you want to read about us on the blog ... please email or comment on this.

Granny

Well, my Granny turned 90 on October 2nd. I really can't believe she is 90. She doesn't look 90 or act 90 either. :) We were able to go see her this weekend and it was such a treat. Actually, I also got to see my aunt and uncle at the family get together. I haven't had a good visit with my aunt in years, so it was a real treat.

Reading!

I'm reading 4 books right now. "Love and Respect" about marriage, "Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan (the modern English version) ... sooo incredibly good! A must read! I'm also reading a wonderful book entitled "Sacred Parenting". This is not a how-to book on parenting, but rather a book on how God changes us as parents through parenting. Lastly, I'm studying Hebrews and Romans. Such a neat time right now and I'm soaking so much up. I highly recommend the last two books. The "Love and Respect" book has some very good points, but also some belabored stereo-types. I'm not finished with it yet, so I'll reserve final judgement until I am finished.