Wordless Wednesday No. 1~ What Little Boys Are Made Of

This just in...from Big Idea

A brand new VeggieTales dvd movie is in the works and will be released July 12. It is called "Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry's Big River Rescue"!

Set along the banks of the Mississippi, this story is full of rafts and riverboats, grand adventure and helping others in need. Join Huckleberry Larry and Tomato Sawyer as they abandon their dream of running the Huck Stop and Tom’s Tax Business to help a friend in dire need.

Stay tuned for more details...

Week 4 Weigh In

Yes, it has been 4 weeks now that I have been back on the Weight Watcher's program, and after a bit of a gain, (+1.2 lbs), last week...I had some good news at the scale tonight. I'm down 3.4 lbs from last week! That means in the past month I have taken off a total of 13.4 lbs. Not too bad.

Now, if I can just keep that up... Part of the reason I decided to go back to WW was, that even though I can't do anything about turning 50...at least I can be a little thinner and healthier by the time I get there. I was looking forward to my cousin, Bonnie visiting from WA for our birthday. She and I were born the exact same day and have always called ourselves "twin cousins". Growing up, we were always the same size and weight, her sister Terry was a year older, usually an inch or so taller, but always weighed 5 lbs LESS than we did. We were out to WA to visit Bonnie last August and I'll tell you what...we don't look much like twins anymore. I'm sure I outweighed her by 100 lbs or more. The last I heard, she won't be coming for our birthday, but plans to come to visit us this August, so it would be really nice if I can have a lot of the weight I need to lose OFF by then.

I know that I have to take it one step at a time, and speaking of steps...I should really (literally), dust off the ol' tread mill and start taking some steps on that. Who knows? I just might do that in the morning...I'll let y'all know how that one goes.

A Tribute to My Sis

This is a picture my sister, Patty and me. Patty fought a brave battle against breast cancer for at least 2 years, but in the end, the Lord took her home to be with Him. Yesterday was the 5th anniversary of her death. The picture was taken almost 6 years ago at our parents' 50th Anniversary party, which turned out to be a little over 11 months before Patty passed away. Patty was a wonderful Christian wife and mother of 11 children...yes, you read that right, 11 children. At the time of her death they ranged from almost 4 years old to 21 years of age.

She was a year and a half YOUNGER than me, but was always the one I turned to when I had questions of a spiritual nature, even though she was my little sister. We all miss her greatly, and I still have moments when I think I'll just call Patty on the phone and ask about something that I'm sure she'll know the answer to.

Here is a picture of her husband, Randy and ALL of their children, taken about a year after her death.

Shanna, (standing next to her father in this picture), joined the Army after graduating High School. She spent a year in Iraq, and is now stationed in Alaska. She is also the mother of Patty's first grandchild, Ja'lyn, who turned one year old 3 days ago and sadly, never got to meet her her wonderful grandmother. Happy 1st Birthday, Ja'lyn!!!

Their oldest child, Tonia is now 26, Shanna will be 22 this Thursday, and the rest are as follows: Thomas is 19, Isaac 18, April 17, Sarah 15, Zach 14, Christina 13, (yes, there are 6 teenagers!), Zion 12, John Jacob, (JJ) is 10, and Isaiah will be 9 in May.

Yesterday, our pastor was preaching about how we all need to let ourselves be emotional at certain times in our lives. It brought me back to exactly 5 years ago, (which coincidentally was also a Sunday), when I went to church just hours after the call from my mother that my sister was gone, and bawled throughout the entire service. I was certainly being emotional then. I also remember that my cousin, Channing and his wife Dawn were there for the service, and Pastor Tom told me that morning that my cousin had accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior that very week. I told Channing the sad news about Patty, and added that I was sure she was jumping for joy over his salvation, up in heaven. Patty was all about spreading the Gospel and trying to get everyone she knew saved. I miss you Sis, and if you have any "pull" up there, could you possibly arrange for me to have the mansion next to yours when I get there?

Lessons From The Sock Drawer!

I am a Big Idea VeggieTales Ambassador. I received an email from them a few days ago, about a new DVD coming out on May 3rd. It is called "Lessons From The Sock Drawer, A Collection of Veggie Shorts and Briefs". I had to read that subtitle a couple of times before I "got" it. Hmmm...shorts and briefs in a sock drawer! Imagine that. If you and your children love your veggies like I do...have I got a deal for you!!

They are selling the DVD with 2 free gifts for 14.99 and you can order yours now from http://www.bigidea.com/

The Bundle includes:

1. A CD entitled "Songs from the Sock Drawer: A Collection of 9 Toe-Tappin' Tunes
2. 1 LARGE 2'x3' Sock Drawer Show Poster (neatly folded)
3. Lessons From The Sock Drawer DVD: A collection of 15 all-time favorite short features.

That's 75 minutes of fun! Edmund's pet hamster disappears after he accidentally leaves the top off its cage, so he writes to Bob & Larry for advice. Find out how Larry helps poor Edmund with his hamster problem as we learn that "a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing." Proverbs 17:22

Socks DVD Includes:

• Binky the Opera Singer (2003)
• Going Up (2004)
• Larry's Blues (2005)
• Dr. Jiggle & Mr. Sly (2004)
• Paco and the Singing Aardvark (NEW!)
• Omelet (2001)
• Gated Community (2006)
• The Englishman Who Went Up The Hill (2000)
• Larry's Lagoon (1994)
• Paco and the Chicken (NEW!)
• Modern Major General (2003)
• Forgive-O-Matic (2004)
• Lunch (2003)
• The Story of St. Patrick (2004)
• Larry's High Silk Hat (2001)

Socks CD Includes:

• I Want to Dance
• Billy Joe McGuffrey
• Salesmunz Rap
• The Waiting Game
• Schoolhouse Polka
• Good Shepherd (Psalm 23)
• The Forgiveness Song,
• Modern Major General
• Promised Land
  

Of Grandkids, Frogs... and Little Horses

I spoke to my grandson, CJ (pictured above with Auntie Molly), on the phone again last night. Of course the first thing he asks these day is, "Gammra, you got a frog in your throat?". I told him it was getting a little better, to which his mother replied, "No, now she's just a little hoarse." I told her she's really going to confuse that boy, first Grandma swallows a frog, and now she's eating little horses! She said that's what she was trying to do. Jessica is a great mother, but really has a silly sense of humor sometimes. I think that's why she and I get along so well.

They're coming to visit next weekend. I can't wait! CJ is really excited about seeing "Gammra and Gampa", and of course, Gammra's new frog bathroom. I haven't seen him since he stayed with us for a while in February. His mother is a single mom in the Air Force, so when she has been deployed, or has been sent somewhere for training, he has stayed with us for extended periods of time. He's very comfortable with us, and loves going to church with us.

I haven't seen my Grandson, AJ, (pictured above with his dad), for a couple of years now. He is 5 years old and lives in Phoenix with my son, Jeremy. I miss them both a lot.

And then there's the new one, HD, born Dec. 23rd to my step-son, Dan and his wife Terianna. We haven't even met this little guy yet, since they live out in Oregon. He looks like a real cutie though.

I was really hoping all the kids and grandkids could be here for my birthday in June...but it doesn't sound like that's going to happen. Dan and family are coming to visit sometime in August or September, and with the air fares getting so high these days, I don't know when we'll get to see Jeremy and AJ again.

Jake Takes The Cake!

After Saturday's Tastefully Simple party, I had quite a few of the samples left over. My dd Molly really, really liked the "Classy Chocolate Pound Cake". She liked it so much, she decided to have a piece for breakfast on Sunday morning. The only thing was, she forgot to put it away when she was done with it. She just wrapped it in foil and left it on the counter.

We have a part Springer Spaniel, Part Chocolate Lab named Jake, who must have thought he needed to be a little more chocolate-y. When we returned home from church and going out to Chinese, I found the tin foil on the kitchen floor...and no chocolate pound cake to be found!
I've heard that it can be dangerous for dogs to eat chocolate...I have not found this to be true with Jake. He's gotten into chocolate in the past too, and never seems to be the worse for it.
I need to get myself a digital camera, I don't have one at the moment, but I found one that Molly had taken of the culprit a while back.

Short Term Goals...

I realized last night that I have exactly 10 weeks before I hit the big 5-0. If I can lose just 2 lbs a week over the next 10 weeks, I'll be 30 lbs. lighter than I was when I started. That would be cool. I'm going to shoot for that. So far, I've averaged approximately 3.33 lbs for the past 3 weeks, (even if you consider the 1.2 lb gain this week), so it should be possible, right??

Week 3 Weigh In~The only thing I lost this week...was my voice!

I was up +1.2 lbs, which is okay. I knew I wasn't very "good" last week, and after having had two great weeks, I'm just happy to have kept exactly 10 lbs off from my starting weight.

My husband found my old WW materials, (from about 7 years ago), in the garage yesterday! Yay! I had a "Complete Food Guide", a "Dining Out Companion", and a 3 month journal in it. The food guide should still be pretty current, the dining out book might need to be replaced, since restaurants frequently change their menus, but the thing I was really excited about is the journal. They have changed the style of these recently, and I much prefer the old style journal. I only used it for the first 3 weeks, so I will start writing down everything I eat this week in it, and hopefully that will show on the scale in a week.

Now, the losing the voice thing...
Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! It is so maddening! Silence is NOT golden when you are the one who is forced to be silent. I don't think I've ever had laryngitis this bad, I can't really get any sound out at all. I had to whisper to the WW lady, and then to the cashier at Pamida, where I stopped to pick up some throat lozenges.
Ray never listens to me when I CAN talk, so it's really frustrating to try to tell him something when I can't talk! I hope this thing goes away soon, I would really like to be able to sing Friday for Karaoke night at church. Say a little prayer for me if you think about it.

I talked (whispered) to my sweet grandson CJ on the phone again today. He said, "Gammra, you still got a frog in your throat? I whispered, "Yes." He then told me I should get some "Edison". That's how he says medicine, and has always called his vitamins "Edison". I then gave the phone to Molly, it was just too hard to communicate over the phone by whispering.
I had to text msg my dh today, which I never do, because I knew he wouldn't hear me if I called him. I may be blogging a lot in the next few days, it's a good way for me to vent silently. Please bear with me.

Now I really AM losin' it!

My voice that is! I woke up this morning with a bit of a sore throat, but went to church anyway. This afternoon, my voice is getting worse and worse, and sometimes comes out in just a whisper.

How frustrating, not to be able to talk. Especially on the telephone, that's got to be there worst. I spoke to my daughter and grandson on the phone earlier today, and had been telling them a few days ago about our newly remodeled "frog bathroom". My 3yo grandson, CJ, was asking me about it. He said, "Gammra, is your frog bathroom done?" I said, "Yes it is," in a very hoarse, whisper-y kind of voice.

My daughter said, "Sounds like Grandma has a frog in her throat!" CJ seemed a bit confused by this, and probably thinks his grandma has taken to eating amphibians, but he replied, "Gammra, you got a frog in your throat? You gotta go to church to get that frog out of your throat!"

I suppose he's right. From the mouths of babes...

Tastefully Simple, Simply Tasty!

I'm not sure how I'm going to do on the scales come Monday evening. I had a Tastefully Simple party this afternoon, and I'm afraid all the wonderful treats we tasted were not exactly WW friendly. Some of them were not bad, (point-wise), I checked the "Ravishing Raspberry Dressing" it's only one point! I'll have to get me some of that. My daughter, Molly, (the 11teen yo), really liked that too. She also wants me to order the "Orange Dream" smoothie mix, which was absolutely delicious, and tastes just like a Dreamsicle. I might, but that one could prove to be a bit too tempting for me to have around the house. My hubby, Ray, tried a few things when he got home this evening and really enjoyed the beer bread with the "Spinach and Herb dip.

We had a lot of fun, and were pretty full by the time we tasted approximately 25 different food and drink items. Thank you Jody, for the fun, yummy taste experience! I'm not going to be too upset if I didn't lose much this week, but hopefully, I haven't gained too much either.

Here I am!

My friends have been bugging me about starting my own blog for some time now. I put it off, and put it off, and really just wanted to figure out a main theme for my blog if I was going to start one. Recently, I went back to Weight Watcher's AGAIN, but am bound and determined to stick with it this time, maybe because the big 5-0 is looming ever closer, and I have over 100 lbs to lose at this point in my life, and don't want to gain even more.

So...this morning, before I even got out of bed, I had an "aha moment" it came to me. I'll create a blog about my journey back to a "normal weight", and the triumphs and trials along the way. It won't be completely about weight loss, (cuz that would be boring to most people), but I promise to update you all at least weekly on my progress, (or lack thereof). I'm hoping that I will be able to encourage others with a lot of weight to lose, and my readers will also provide encouragement and accountability to me along my weight-loss journey. Is that a deal?

I'm not going to post my starting weight, not even my own darling husband is privy to that information. I'm not ready to do that at this point, but after losing a significant amount, I probably will. So far though, I've lost 5.4 lbs the first week, and another 5.8 lbs the second, for a total of 11.2 lbs!
Hopefully, I will not only keep that off, but will lose another couple by the end of this week.

I weigh in on Monday evenings, so I will update on Monday nights or Tuesday mornings and let y'all know how it's going, and if anything else interesting happens during the week...well, who knows? I might just post about that too.