Losing It – Week 7

The last two weeks I’ve missed my weigh-in at Weight Watchers, thanks to my trip to Nashville and a daycare Easter egg hunt. And I realized yesterday that, because of that, I have no idea what kind of progress – if any – I’ve made. I have no idea if what I’m doing is good, bad or somewhere in between.

See, that’s the thing about a regular weigh-in. It tells me how I’m doing – if what I’m doing is enough or if I need to do more. Without that check, I have no idea if I’m losing weight or getting healthier – or not.

I am a Weight Watchers flunky. I’ve joined – and quit without reaching goal – at least half a dozen times. [That’s just a nice way to say SIX or MORE times!] But the ONE time I DID lose weight? It was thanks to Weight Watchers . . . and an awesome meetings leader and supportive co-workers.

A picture of me after losing 25 lbs, thanks to Weight Watchers, five years ago.
I found my collarbones again - and a clown, apparently.

For me, Weight Watchers is a program – and lifestyle – that works. As we say at my company, “If you work the program, the program works for you.” And as cheesy as that sounds (and believe you me, I know it does), it’s true.

Weight Watchers encourages eating what they call Core Foods – lean meats, plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole wheat grains and low-fat or fat-free dairy. It also suggests healthy behaviors like regular exercise and drinking plenty of water. [There are more, but I can’t remember them. I said I was a flunky!]

And then there are the points, of course. As the list-maker you know I am, I kind of love that. Less in reality of everyday reporting and counting than in theory, of course. But still, it’s good to keep track of what I’m eating. Really, it’s the only thing that works for me.

Oh, wait, I said it was the weighing in. Or is it the tracking points? Or is it the regular meetings with inspirational and understanding leaders? Or the fact that they let me rejoin time and time again, never judging, never questioning? Really, I could go on and on. But what I’m trying to tell you is this: Weight Watchers works for me.

[Even better than ranting about the similarities of my life with Kirstie Alley’s, believe it or not.]

Those of you participating in the Losing It Challenge have been sharing all about your weight loss challenges and struggles and successes and wins. I, on the other hand, have mostly told you about how I drink a lot of water and have an inability to lose weight. So I thought I’d focus on something a little more positive this week!

And, oh yeah, I’m going to weigh in later today, too.

If you need more info about Losing It, read this post. And link up your posts. And comment with something fun! (No giveaway today, but remember, you have until tonight to enter the other three giveaways.)



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Heart and Story / Necklace and Book

One of the richest blessings I’ve received as a result of being a part of this crazy blog world is the amazing women of faith I’ve met. Some I’ve met and hugged in real life, while others I’ve only read their stories, crying and laughing along with the details of their lives.

Lisa is one I’ve met and hugged. Angie is one I’ve only read her story. Both have touched my heart.

Lisa Leonard is a beautiful jewelry designer – and by that, I mean that she’s beautiful and that she designs beautiful jewelry!

After spending a couple days with her at Blissdom, I tried to explain something I saw when I looked at her. See, her blog is full of photos in soft, muted colors. It’s gentle on the eyes. And there’s something about Lisa that is gentle on the soul.

I don’t really know how to describe what I thought. I guess that all sounds a bit crazy. But even though I told her how pastel-ly she was, Lisa was still kind enough to let me give away one of her necklaces.

As I looked at my list of books to read this spring, I knew exactly which necklace I wanted to give away.

What? How does that even make sense? [And, side note, it’s possible that none of this makes sense anyway. It’s real late, Annalyn got up real early, and I’m darned tired. But I digress. I do that when I’m tired. And never when I’m rested. Of course.]

Angie Smith lost her daughter, Audrey, shortly after she was born. Her story is devastating, but the way the Smith family has lived through it – and lived to tell it – is amazing and inspiring and encouraging.

Angie has written a book about her experience, and Lisa has designed a necklace in honor of Angie and Audrey. It’s called Audrey’s Necklace: Marked by Love. It’s lovely, and it’s designed to remind us that, as Lisa wrote on her website, “Some lives, though short, profoundly change the world and leave a mark on our hearts.”

Today I’m giving away Lisa’s necklace and a copy of Angie’s book, I Will Carry You. To enter, leave a comment telling about a book you’re looking forward to reading this spring OR about a piece of jewelry that means something special to you.

For an additional chance to win, follow Lisa on Twitter or follow me on Twitter.

And don’t forget to enter the other giveaways if you haven’t already! (Stuff Christians Like book and Point of Grace cookbook and CD)

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Cooking with grace and loving laundry . . . or something like that.

A couple weeks ago, my office had what’s called a “birthday food day.” In other words, it’s the one day each month that we’re assigned to bring snacky or dessert-y foods, so we can graze all day and pretend that eating crackers and cookies and the occasional grape is the best way any of us can celebrate our co-workers’ birthday month.

For the third (fourth, fifth? I may have lost count.) month in a row, I forgot to bring food.

As I was filling up my water cup in the kitchen that day, looking longingly at the dips and chips and carrots that I didn’t have a right to munch on, I told a co-worker, “I wish I could get it together.”

Later that afternoon, I got an e-mail from Warner Brothers, asking me to review Point of Grace’s latest CD, No Changin' Us, and their cookbook, Cooking with Grace. The e-mail included a link to a song on their album called, “Love and Laundry.”

I plugged in my earphones and clicked on the link.



With phrases like, “I thought that I could do it all/Turns out I was crazy,” and “I keep praying that I can get everything done,” and the kicker, “It might take a miracle to get myself together,” I immediately fell in love.

And cried. Maybe. Just a little. (I mean, come on! If the ladies of Point of Grace can’t get it together, then there’s no hope for me!)

Seriously, I really enjoyed this song and some of the others on No Changin’ Us. “Love & Laundry” has a country pop sound to it, and I like that sort of thing.

Even more than their CD, though, I LOVE Point of Grace’s cookbook, Cooking with Grace. The chapters are divided up into types of food, like a normal cookbook, but they’re titled in a conversational tone that I adore.

“So, not all SALADS are blah.”
“So, SOUP’s on!”
“So, we’re not vegetarians, y’all! MEAT.”

The recipes are for regular food – with simple instructions and less than a dozen ingredients. And almost as good, they include fun stories and photos from the Point of Grace ladies.

And did I mention Amy Grant’s pot roast? Yeah . . .

Even though I like posting my mediocre recipes and linking up to cooking carnivals, I’m not exactly a chef. I enjoyed Julie & Julia, but it’s not like I have a library of cookbooks on my shelves.

But when I got my copy of Cooking with Grace? I literally read it cover to cover. And then made dinner, of course. (Hey, you try reading a cookbook and not getting hungry!)

As you may have guessed, I’m giving away Point of Grace’s CD and cookbook today. Same rules as yesterday (and don’t forget to enter that giveaway, if you haven’t already):

Leave a comment, telling me about your favorite cookbook or CD. For additional chances to win, become a Facebook fan of Point of Grace or Giving Up on Perfect (or both!) – and tell me in a separate comment.

I'll use Random.org to draw a winner of all this week's giveaways after midnight (CST) on Friday.

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Stuff Christians Like: The “Is that contestant on American Idol a Christian Scorecard”

25. After they make the final 12, they thank God = + 1 point (You'd think this one would be worth more points, but everyone on the planet thanks God when they're excited. Rappers have kind of made this one hard to call.)

To add up your score with more than 130 other ideas on this scorecard, visit Stuff Christians Like.

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That’s funny, right? If you like Stuff Christians Like, the blog, you’ll love Stuff Christians Like, the book. And in honor of both my blog anniversary and Jon’s blog tour, I’m giving away a copy.

Edited to add: I'm reading this book right now and just about spit milk out of my mouth this morning when I read, "I don't know if sweat is a spiritual gift, but I've got it."

Oh my. So do I. So. Do. I. 

How do I enter this amazing contest?

Why, I’m so glad you asked! Just leave a comment, telling me the funniest thing you’ve read online lately. For additional chances to win, follow Stuff Christians Like or me (or both!) on Twitter – and tell me in a separate comment.

I'll use Random.org to draw a winner of all this week's giveaways after midnight (CST) on Friday.

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A Holy Day and a blog anniversary (they're not the same thing)

Did you have a good Easter weekend? Mine was tiring, but in a good way. Our church had six services between Friday and Sunday – and that means six services of singing. And not quiet, easy kind of singing, but sing-my-head-off, blow-the-roof-off singing! At one point, our music called for the Triple F – as in, fortississimo, or really, REALLY loud!

I also broke in a new pair of shoes, and I’m happy to report that my feet have not, in fact, fallen off. And Annalyn got to hunt for Easter eggs not once, but twice, while wearing not one, but two, Easter dresses. (On separate days, not at the same time.)

On Good Friday, one of the congregational songs we sang was Keith Getty’s Beneath the Cross. These lyrics really spoke to me, and I hope they might mean something to you, too:

Beneath the cross of Jesus
I find a place to stand,
And wonder at such mercy
That calls me as I am;
For hands that should discard me
Hold wounds which tell me, "Come."
Beneath the cross of Jesus
My unworthy soul is won.

Good word, right?

I’d love to leave it right there, but I have some blog business to attend to today. Namely – it’s my second blog anniversary!

That’s right. Two short – or long, depending on who and when you’re asking – years ago, I ventured to Blogger.com, created a page and wrote about my deepest, darkest feelings.

And cheese dip. Because some things never change.

As I’ve gotten more familiar and involved with the blog world, I’ve found that most people start writing a blog, never sure if anyone will ever read their words.

I didn’t have that same experience. I was lucky enough to start blogging with a built-in audience – and no, I’m not talking about my mother or my husband! My friend, Chelley, and several of her friends had been blogging for quite a while. And they were kind enough to support me and comment on my posts – from deep thoughts to Mexican food and back.

So, today I’d like to send a BIG thank you to Chelley, Mel, Hobsis, BusyMommy, Kimberly and HonorMommy. You are some of the sweetest, funniest, smartest and godliest women I know. And without you, I would have no blog. Thank you.

To celebrate this momentous occasion – and to appreciate ALL of my wonderful blog readers – I’ll be giving away some fun stuff this week. So don’t forget to come back tomorrow (and the next day and the next . . . )!

Until then, though, will you leave a comment and tell me either when you started YOUR blog or when you started reading blogs (if you don’t have one of your own)? Don’t be shy. Even if you don’t normally comment, will you do it today? Puh-retty please?

Happy anniversary, friends. We’re in for a fun week!

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Look Who's Talking - about not losing weight.

I feel like I’m the Kirstie Alley of blogging.

No, I don’t mean that I’m starring in movies where babies talk and it’s somehow cute not creepy (at least in the first one). I mean that I keep saying – loudly and in public – that I’m going to lose weight, only to, well, not lose weight.

From the grand goals and empty promises to the ridiculing myself (For instance, “Am I a good cook? Uh, yeah, obviously. I’m a great cook!” That may or may not have been heard on The Marriage Ref. Probably not. Because of course I wouldn’t watch that kind of dreck on TV. Nope.), I’m following Kirstie’s path.

[Please note that I refrained from saying that I’m following Kirstie’s alley. Because I could have. But I didn’t.]

I don’t mean the path that took her from one of the longest-running and most-loved TV shows to blockbuster (I think, but I’m not looking it up) movies to outlandish reality shows.

Nope. Just the one where I think admitting my weight issues will make me face them and deal with them, only to flop on my face.

*sigh*

I know. You don’t need to tell me to be nice to myself, to give myself a break, to cut myself some slack, not to be so hard on myself. As you may have guessed, I’ve heard it before. And I know it.

But honestly? Going easy on myself – in this department – is what’s gotten me to this place in the first place. And it’s what has kept me here, too.

I keep wondering – WHAT is going to be the last straw? WHAT will make a difference? Keeping my issues to myself didn’t do it, but neither has confessing them publicly. Beating myself up hasn’t worked, but giving myself a break hasn’t worked, either. So what will?

One time when Smitty and I were in high school, we were walking at the park and passed an older lady. [She was probably my exact age now, that’s just how OLDER she was.] I don’t remember what she was wearing, but whatever her attire was, it showed some unfortunate rolls. And Smitty and I swore to each other that no matter what, we would NEVER have back fat.

Um, yeah.

I also swore I’d never shop at Lane Bryant or wear a size that starts with a 2 or be as big as her (whoever “her” was that day). And yet . . .

I’m not writing all this to get sympathy or pats on the back or anything like that.

(Side note: Annalyn has really gotten into “patting” lately, like patting someone’s arm or asking me to pat her back when I put her to bed. Unfortunately, we’re also dealing with some hitting issues, and I’ve discovered that it can be difficult to draw the line between nice, yet firm, patting and outright hitting. Anyway. Back to my rant.)

Nope, I just wanted to be honest with you all and let you know how I’m feeling. AND to ask those of you who ARE losing weight during our Losing It challenge: What has made the difference to you?

Please don’t tell me, “You just have to be ready. You’ll do it when you’re ready.” Because a) That is not encouraging. (Hello? Ready! I’m ready now!) and b) I truly want to know what’s made the difference in your lives.

And as for the next week of Losing It, I’m going to try and implement some of the goals I made last week: eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking even more water, and getting my exercise ball out of the garage and into the house!

P.S. This morning's Losing It post is the one where you can link up and I remind you of the rules.

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Losing It - Easter Week

I'll write about my week later today, but wanted to get the linky up for you! So link on up and tell us how you did this week!

What is Losing It? Well, Jessie from Vanderbilt Wife, Ashleigh from Heart & Home and I are talking about weight loss journeys.

Link up to Lose It (#LosingIt10 on Twitter, by the way) by writing about your own journey, linking to this site in your post, and sharing a link to your blog post in our weekly carnival. The bloggers who have linked up at least six out of the 10 weeks will be eligible for our prize package of a six-month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble (a meal planning service), a Weight Watchers pedometer and a gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods.

The winner will be the person who loses the largest percentage of his or her body weight during the 10 weeks.



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Too bad I can't count cards...

Have you ever realized that the thing you swear up and down you are NOT is exactly who you ARE? Have you ever been convinced that you are a certain way, that you have a certain personality, that you are skilled in a certain area – only to realize that the evidence proves you WRONG?

Um . . . I have.

Case in point: I am NOT a bad driver. I’m a good driver (an excellent driver). However . . .

The evidence proves differently.

In the past six months, I’ve received three tickets and had one fender bender. With a PARKED CAR.

Yes, I have excuses for each incident. But the fact remains: I may not be as excellent a driver as I once thought.

That makes me think of the span of time when it seemed like every time Chelley was in the car with me, I ran a stop sign. Sorry, drivers of Kirksville!

And, hmm, that reminds me of the time Smitty and I were leaving downtown, driving in our separate cars. When I realized she wasn’t following me anymore, I figured she’d gotten lost. Because I was so much more familiar with downtown Kansas City than she was. That’s what I thought . . . until she called me and said, “Do you realize you just drove the WRONG WAY down a one-way street?!?”

Yeahhhhh. It turns out my driving skills may be a bit more limited than I once assumed.

What about you? Have you ever realized that you are different than you thought? Better or worse. I’d much rather realize I’m better at something – wouldn’t you?! (Why couldn't I discover that I have mad card-counting skillz instead of realizing I drive no better than Dustin Hoffman?)

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Like Glee . . . kind of.

Is this week half over already? I still haven't recovered from my weekend!

Last Thursday, Annalyn flew to Nashville with my parents, and I flew to meet them on Friday. We were all there to support my brother, who accompanies a high school show choir that was competing in a national competition at the Grand Ole Opry.

Think Glee meets real life. Kind of.

(If you add miles of walking in work shoes, because you didn't bring tennis shoes; hauling a 2-year-old in the 80th percentile for weight on about half those miles; missing most the choir performances due to a cranky little girl; and sleeping with said girl, who happened to believe the full-size bed was all hers. I'm just saying.)

Reportedly, Annalyn was awesome on the flight down. And I won't make you wait to find out: she was pretty good on the flight back, too. She was definitely a squirmy, tired toddler. But, thanks to several (yes, several) bags of berry Yogos, three laps to climb over and a mommy who can recite her favorite books from heart, we had no 45-minute screaming fits. So I call that a success.

And the weather in Nashville? It was beautiful. The whole Opryland complex was covered in blooming flowers like this:

Unfortunately, Annalyn's cold - and the chaos of travel and the constraints of a quiet, dark auditorium - brought us some of this, too:

On the bright side, though, my brother's choir was AWESOME. And they got Best Combo of the whole competition. That means "best band," which is his part. So, you know, we were a little proud.

I know we're mid-week now . . . but how was YOUR weekend?

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It just happened.

I started a blog because I was bored. And a little lonely. I thought it would be a good place to get my thoughts out and maybe keep in better touch with my friend, Chelley.

I never intended to make friends all over the country.

I had no plans to make a dime, much less make a plan for monetizing.

I certainly had no intention to grow a heart for missions.

And yet . . .

*****

When I was in college, I had a few friends who went on mission trips. And then at the first church we attended after moving back to Kansas City, we became close friends with a couple training to translate the Bible for the people of Indonesia. Later, when we moved to the church we still attend, we met lots more people determined to answer that Great Commission . . . overseas . . . far away . . . in the mission field.

And every time I’d meet another missionary or learn that one of my new friends was, in fact, a missionary (gasp!), I’d say the same thing:

“I’m so glad God didn’t call me to missions.”

*****

At first I only read a handful of blogs. Chelley’s, of course, and the blogs her grad school friends wrote. But one day – maybe nothing good was on TV or I was up late, letting my newborn cry it out – I branched out. I read other blogs.

Those other blogs led to more blogs, which led to even more blogs.

And somewhere between just reading a handful of blogs and the hundreds of blogs that clog up my Google Reader today, I stumbled onto a group of women who have changed my life.

Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.
Sophie at BooMama.
Melanie at Big Mama.

Are these ladies funny? Sure. But while I do enjoy their rambling, clever posts, it was their hearts for Compassion International that moved me.

Moved me to tears.
Moved me to sponsor a child in Ghana.
Moved me to reconsider how I spend my money.

I used to thank God for not calling me to missions. But now I know differently. He’s called me, all right.

To what, I don’t know.

Maybe just to sponsor a little girl named Elizabeth.
Maybe to use the money from a job change to pay off debt faster – instead of getting a new cell phone.
Maybe to tell you about what I’ve learned from Compassion.

Or maybe something more.

I don’t know. But this sure isn’t why I started a blog. THIS is what I would call an unintended consequence. Since stumbling on the first Compassion blogger posts . . .

I've been glued to my screen every time a group goes on a trip.
I've applied to go on a trip myself.
I've cried tears of joy - and maybe a couple of envy - when each new blogger mission trip group is announced.

Shaun Groves has asked how God has changed and surprised us. Well, this is it.

Because of the Compassion bloggers, I am changed.
Because of the Compassion bloggers, my heart is broken.
Because of the Compassion bloggers, I can no longer say, “I’m so glad God didn’t call me to missions.”

Has God changed or surprised you lately?

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