Fork in the Road

Yogi Berra is quoted as saying "When you come to a fork in the road, take it!"  I kind of like that!  Life leads you down a lot of long and winding roads, and the one God has me on now, has led me back here, to a blog I started AGES ago, to refresh it, revive it, and bring new life into it.

Another great fork story (and I am not referring Forks, Washington, home to some illustrious fictional Vampires that I have been known to talk about) was told by a mentor of mine, Pastor Steven Furtick from Elevation Church.  The story goes like this:

A woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness and given three months to live. She asked her Pastor to come to her home to discuss her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at her funeral, and what scriptures she wanted read, and which outfit she wanted to be buried in. Then she said, “One more thing… I want to be buried with a fork in my hand.” The pastor was surprised.
The woman explained, “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably say to everyone, ‘Keep your fork.’ It was my favorite time of the dinner, because I knew something better was coming, like velvety chocolate cake or deep dish apple pie – something wonderful. So, I want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and wonder, “What’s with the fork?” Then, I want you to tell them, “Keep your fork, because the best is yet to come.”
The pastor’s eyes welled up with tears of joy as he bid the woman goodbye. He realized she had a better grasp of heaven than he did, and knew something better was coming. At the funeral, when people asked him why she was holding a fork, the pastor told them of the conversation he had with the woman before she died. He said he could not stop thinking about the fork, and knew they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right.

“Keep Your Fork.
The best is yet to come.”

 

I am still dedicated to my weight loss goals, and you can still ask me about Beachbody and how to purchase Shakeology, but the thing that brings me greatest joy is my life in Christ and my family.  So, the focus of this blog will be there.  Thanks for following me over form the other blog, and WELCOME if you are new!

Here's to Spring Break -and Forks!

Old Habits

Really ARE hard to break.  It has been a TRYING week.  Snowmageddon 11 had us out of school and off work for 3 days.  My monthly visitor paid a visit, and due to bad road conditions and a promise to be in a wedding, we all 5 lived in ONE hotel 40 miles from home for 3 days (missing a 4^th day of school and work).  ALL of that chaos really threw a kink in things.  I weighed this morning, since it’s been 2 weeks, and it was a gain.  I kind of figured as much, but it still came as a bit of a blow.  The good news is, today is a NEW day, and I can start all over again!  I have already pressed play and gotten my work out in today, already read today’s reading on my youversion reading plan, Shakeology is on deck,  and it’s not supposed to start snowing again until tomorrow.

I do have to say that this week was a blessing in many ways, though.  I got to see a beautiful, unique, and FUN wedding between two of the most wonderful young people, all through a haze of huge snowflakes.  I got to spend days on end with my wonderful family and see how truly well behaved, grateful,  and charming my kids can be, and how well my husband and I can work as a team, even in close quarters and on someone else’s time line.  I loved being a part of this wedding.  I love how weddings renew our own vows in a way.  And, I loved that I got to teach my wonderful husband a little bit of two stepping AND the Cupid Shuffle.  I have always liked to dance and its fun to get the whole family involved!

So, here’s to new beginnings!  Back to school and work, back to eating healthily and working out, back to being accountable in all ways!  And, Valentine’s Day is only a week away…  :)

Snow Day

I found this definition on urbandictionary.com:  “An unexpected day when you are supposed to go to school but it is canceled. An unexpected break. An unexpected escape from it all. A day to relax, not a day to catch up on work. Do what you want on snow days.”

Yesterday was a snow day for my entire family.  My husband and I both work for the University – which was closed.  My daughters’ public school was closed.  My son’s day care was even closed.  The high temperature was 9, with a wind chill of -15, and we had blizzard and blizzard-like conditions most of the day.  Today is a snow day, too.  No more snow, but dangerously cold and crazy winds; all the same places are closed.
Needless to say, it’s cold.  And dreary. And truly a departure from the norm around here.  No one in this house ever got out of PJ’s yesterday!  My husband made fancy egg sandwiches for breakfast while preparing white chicken chili in the crock pot for dinner.  I think my 4 year old son watched a total of 6 movies yesterday.  My twin daughters now know more about Wizards of Waverly Place and Fishhooks than they do their own family.  The 3 of us girls even watched Twilight Eclipse together.  My husband and I took a nap (even if it was accidental – we were trying to watch a movie but both fell asleep).  I admit, I was snowbooking (to constantly update your status or post on Facebook during a snowstorm. Also can be used to describe Facebook users who constantly discuss, complain, or post pictures about a snow storm) because there was nothing else to do.   It was too cold and windy to even go out in it and play! It was a total do nothing day. Except eat.  And be lazy.

So, today, we will try harder!  I am going to institute a 45 minute Wii “Just Dance Kids” dance off! (Even thought I already know who will win.)  I will Press Play with Shakeology The 50 during my son’s nap time!  I will finish filing our taxes! I will not mindlessly eat because I am bored and we can’t get the car out of the driveway!  I WILL SURVIVE SNOWEGEDDON 2011 (without gaining weight)!

Guess Who’s Back?!?

Well, after a little hiatus and some technical difficulty resolution, the blog is back! I am sure you wanted an update on my week back in the real (food) life, so here is it. IT WAS HARD! We had left over birthday cake in the house from our son’s party on Saturday. And chips. And white bread. UGH! I still did Shakeology for breakfast as usual, but I have to admit I had a pretty indulgent sandwich for lunch more that one day this week… And Tuesday night we went out to a Mexican food place for #1 son’s 4th birthday dinner, and they gave him fried ice cream. I ate some… But, I also worked out! We had some neighbor issues and a sick kid on the same night earlier this week, so I didn’t get sleep that night, and therefore the workout hit the back burner that day, but I have a plan, and I am sticking to it as best I can! I am doing my best, and forgetting the rest (Thanks, @Tony_Horton). I’m even breaking out my Team Beachbody work out of choice (Shakeology The 50) and pressing play after the kids are in bed since I will be in a car, a gymnasium or a church all day tomorrow (from 6am to 9pm…)

Up to this point, I have been weighing every Monday morning. I am not sure I am up to that this week, though. I don’t want to be disappointed. I let myself have a (food) break after the fast, and I am almost afraid to see the results. So, I have all weekend to decide, but I think I am going to skip the weigh in on Monday. Mandisa (American Idol season 5 and EMI/Sparrow Records Christian Recording Artist) (@mandisaofficial) is 7 pounds form losing 100 pounds, and she only weighs every other week. I might use her plan…

The end of one journey…

Is only the beginning of another! Yesterday was the last day of the 21day Daniel fast my husband and I did with our church, LifeChurch.tv. What an AMAZING experience! We learned, we laughed, we cried. But, for us, I think the most revealing thing for us is that we finished! STRONG! We did this! We disciplined ourselves. We planned ahead. And we SUCCEEDED! Now, I know I have been talking weight loss and health this whole time, and I’ll get to that in a minute, but the lessons learned over the past 3 weeks go so far beyond that!
I am just marveling at the fact that I gave up caffeine, sugar AND fat, COLD TURKEY 3 weeks ago. Now, some days were better than others – day 2 was a NIGHTMARE I was so sick, and weekends were TOUGH (this past one included), but I did it. I relied on God to carry me through. I leaned on my husband to hold me accountable in this house. I blogged about it to be able to “talk” to someone and get my feelings out. These things are all sustainable, and pretty easy too. So, I should be able to continue to make good choices, plan ahead, and start a new, LONGER journey to health and weight loss. And, God is ALWAYS on my side: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)
I am stronger for this journey; wiser, too. I started new habits that I plan to maintain, not only in regards to food, but also starting every day in the Word – right now I am in two reading plans at youversion.com. I would have considered myself close to God before the start of 2011, but right now, I feel closer to Him than I ever have! I also feel closer to my husband, since we were in this together, and we BOTH came out the other side stronger and wiser. I have kept up my workout schedule – including choosing to Press Play and do Shakeology The 50 workout 2 days in a row over this past weekend! I guess I really can follow through with a commitment! It feels GOOD! All things 3 weeks ago I wasn't sure I was strong enough, committed enough, GOOD enough to do.
I know you what to know the dirt! How much did I lose? Again, it’s not all about the weight loss, but for me, this is a HUGE jumping off point, and I plan to continue to lose weight and make good food choices. I am, however, headed to Old School Bagel on the way to work today, and my husband is putting a pot roast in the crock pot for dinner tonight as I type this. But, I would say 18 pounds lost is a good way to start a new journey, don’t you think?

We’re getting close to the end

3 more days! Unfortunately for me, 2 of those are weekend days. And one of those weekend days is my son’s 4th birthday party. SHESSH! Talk about a challenge! But, I am raising the bar for these last few days. I have been trying to do a 30 minute (Shakeology, The 30) workout 3-4 times a week during the fast. I am not sure I made my goal – I didn’t keep very good track of my workouts. Having said that, I would bet I didn’t! :) I intended to do it yesterday, but it was a snow day for the schools, so my schedule was messed up. I did shovel the front porch, the front sidewalk, and about ¼ of the driveway, plus played outside in the snow with the kiddos for an hour! And, I have already loaded up the DVD and pressed play for today - even did ALL of the push ups! So, I am challenging myself to do Shakeology The 50 (a 50 minute workout) for the next two days. Saturday and Sunday. Plus, sticking to the fast. I know it can be done. I just have to pray, and be committed. So – Hold me to it! I’m going to finish strong!

One week to go :/

I remember reading a post somewhere (Facebook, I think – on the OKC LifeChurch page, maybe) on the first day of the fast where someone new to the Daniel fast asked what the hardest day was.  A few people said day 3 (which was a good day for me) and some said the last few.  I even had a dear friend text me on day 3 and tell me day 3 was always her hardest.  My husband shared this with me this morning from his 21 day reading plan at youversion.com that corresponds with the fast: Even though you may feel like you're in a groove now, for many this final week will be harder than the others. Ask God to search you and begin to shine a light on all the dark corners of your heart. Ask Him to use this last week to refine you and cleanse you.  I’m almost frustrated that he shared that with me.  Power of suggestion seems to go a long way with me.  Now that I’ve read that, I already have it in my head that this week is going to be tough. 

But, if someone asked ME what my hardest day was, I would have to say WEEKENDS!  When I am at work during the week, there is no food around (typically) besides what I bring with me and I have a cold water dispenser in my office.  So, my work environment is easy to control.  All 3 of my kids eat breakfast and lunch at their respective schools, so I don’t even have to prepare other food in the mornings.  I have my Shakeology for breakfast, and come home for lunch with my Daniel fasting husband.  So, it’s just dinner that we have to really put a lot of thought into.  We have been making 2 dinner meals, one for us and one for the kids.  Again, not too much of a struggle.  But on the weekends, it’s all kids all the time and all food all the time.  And it's not just about the food.  They demand (and require, and I fully want to give) more of my time and attention - and PATIENCE!  We have a 3 year old boy that is a bottomless pit and his favorite foods are pizza, Doritos, Cheetos and Cheez-its.  And twin 8 year old girls who eat much better than our son does, but still love to have candy and snacks around all the time.  While they have been very good and very supportive of our time, we have tried to make their food lives comfortable for them as well.  We usually eat “out” after church on Sundays – for a many reasons; most of which relate to speed or convenience. Yesterday, that turned into a trip to Little Caesars for a $5 pizza, and they wanted “Silly Bread (Crazy Bread) and sauce too.  I smelled that all the way home.  And was SO JEALOUS!  Add to that the Donuts served at church at the 8:30 service, the granola bars, oatmeal to go bars and blueberry muffins at the 10:00 and 11:30, and yesterday was a HARD day for me!  (We were Host Team leaders for all 3 services, so we were at church all morning.)  There was still left-over pizza at dinner time, and I was ready to quit.  But, I prayed, turned to my fabulous husband for support, and persevered.  ONE MORE WEEKEND TO GO!

Reflecting on that, I realize that I really do need to turn it all over to God.  This is His design and His plan, I’m just enjoying the journey.  There will be times in my life when I am tested for many reasons, and passing this test just goes to show me that I CAN DO IT!  I’m not alone.  I have God on my side, Jesus to pray to, my husband to keep me grounded, and my blog world to pour it all out to!  AMEN!

A Challenging Monday

Today is day 8 of my fast.  I just watched history streaming on my PC as the first woman governor of the great state of Oklahoma took her Oath of Office (Congrats, Mary Fallin – our 27^th Governor!), and it is snowing at a pretty steady clip here in North Central Oklahoma!  My drive to work took 3 times as long as it usually does, and I am hungry.  This is the first time I have really felt hungry the whole journey!  Last night, I had a headache again, but nothing like earlier in the week...  But feeling hunger is a new thing for me in this season.

I knew the snow was coming, so we had tried to be prepared as a family.  Got up early to make sure cars were warmed up, ice was scraped of windshields, kids had cold weather gear, etc.  Although the drive was long and tedious, it was GREAT to hear my 3 year old son chatter in AWE of all the white we saw on the way to day care this morning.  He says the funniest things!  He asked, “"Mom, how do all those cars get the snow off their screens? With their wipers?"  I assume he meant windshields...  (He says some funny stuff!  Follow him on Twitter @JakeWeaverSays) As is my usual, I drank my Shakeology on the way to work, and for some reason, it just didn’t last.  Due to all the other distractions this morning, I neglected to grab my usual fresh fruit snack or some nuts!  DARN!  But, I am praying for strength!  I know I will go home for lunch soon, and there is no way I am throwing in the towel at this point!

Since one of the areas of my life I am trying to improve on and hand over to God is my health and weight, I am using this fast not only as a time for spiritual growth and enlightenment, but also as a jump-off point for a lifestyle change in my eating and fitness.  That's why I became a Beachbody coach a few weeks back as well.  So, this morning,  I weighed.  The last time I was on a scale was on December 8, a month ago.  Since that time, I have lost 11 pounds.  It's a great start, but I have a long way to go...

I saw some great Daniel fast recipes on the LifeChurch.tv OKC Campus Facebook page, and I loved a ReTweet I saw from our senior pastor, Craig Groeschel this morning: “A diet changes the way you look. A fast changes the way you see!”  So true!  And I want to SEE more!  Time to dig deeper, go further, last longer!

I got to Press Play!

God is GOOD - all the time!  I skipped my workout this morning for prayer.  When I got to work, things were par for the course until about 10:00 am.  Apparently, some construction elsewhere on campus made the power go out in our building (as well as a few adjacent buildings).  We mulled around for an hour trying to decide what to do, and after that, my boss sent me home for the day!  So, the first thing I did? Press Play!  I did Shakeology The 30, and now I have to rest of the day to do what I need to around here.  Feelin' good!

New Year - UPDATE!

I did so well for the first 2 weeks!  I am not wearing my back brace AT ALL,  and I worked out 5 of the first 7 days (WOOT!) and not quite as much the week of Christmas and New Years! *sigh*  But, I went on a 4 day road trip to Texas for the Alamo Bowl, and walked a LOT during that day, so I was still active.  Also took a 4 day break from Shakeology during the trip, but all in all I am still on track and still proud of my accomplishments.

All that to say, I am taking a little detour.  I really think this is for the better in LOTS of ways.  My husband and I are participating in a First of the Year 21 day fast with our church, LifeChurch.tv.  Here is a link to the event on Facebook for more information.  I am still doing Shakeology for breakfast, and I plan to work out 3-5 days a week with Shakeology - The Workouts.  I really hope this will jump-start me into a new year of fitness and healthy!  21 days without meat, dairy, sugar or animal by-products is a good way to start!  I am so excited to see where this journey takes me mentally, spiritually, and PHYSICALLY!  Here's to a new year and a new ME!

Single Step

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  ~Lao-tzu

Today was my single step.  I got up early, I put on some work-out appropriate clothes and shoes, loaded the DVD into the player, and I leaned forward to PRESS PLAY!

Today’s work out: Shakeology – The 30

I figured, I have to start somewhere!  I have been using Shakeology as a meal replacement for breakfast for about a month now, and I feel so much better!  When I started the shakes, I was still battling the bulging disk (between L4 & L5) in my back.  I was still in a brace 24 hours a day, and pretty miserable without it.  Since then, I have been weaning myself off the brace – down to about 4-6 hours a day (mostly while sitting at work or in a car), and I can actually bend over!  So, the time had come to start moving!

Since the Shakeology workouts were already in my hands, I figured it was a great place to start.  I would say I was able to do about 80% of the work today.  I did the modified jumping jacks with Lisette, only about ½ of the push ups (on my knees), and had the worse time putting my hands under my hips and lifting up!  Since I didn’t have any workout weights on hand, my husband fetched me two cans of corn we had on hand for a holiday recipe he will be preparing tonight.  It was funny, but it worked!  LOVED working my shoulders!   I also was a bit uncoordinated on the knee lifts, but I know it will get better!

With only about 12 minutes left in the workout, my number one daughter came out of her room complaining of a tummy ache.  Less than 2 minutes later – I heard her puking in the bathroom.  I was DETERMINED not to let this slow me down, so I sent my husband in to help her and just kept on working!  Thankful for him and his parenting abilities this morning.  He HATES puke, but #1 Daughter is old enough to care for herself some, so she was OK with minimal assistance.

I felt SUCH a since of accomplishment when the workout was over.  I was hot, sweaty, and my heart rate was up.  I felt GOOD. I felt triumphant!  I felt like I was finally doing something good for myself.  I hope to keep doing The 30 for awhile until I can get all the way through it, then I will move to The 50!  Now, if I could just get my husband to do it with me…

Two Weeks

So, obviously, the last time I wanted to start blogging again, it didn't really happen. But, now I have purpose again. I am determined to lose some weight! So, I am going to chronicle that journey here... I got new Nike Shox for Christmas. No more excuses!

Two weeks ago, I started my new routine. I set 2 alarms on my new (Samsung Impression) phone with the fun ring tone of "Walk it Out" (You Tube) to get me excited about getting up and moving. It plays at 10:35 and again at 3:35. That allows the halls to be clear(er) of students. And I have not missed a walk yet.

Here's the scoop. I work on the Oklahoma State University campus in the Engineering department. My office is on the first floor of a 5 story building. There is a stair case at the north and south ends of the building - my office is almost dead center on the first floor. So, I go out my door, head north or south (depending on my mood), and go up the second floor, then across to the opposite stair well, then up, and over, up and over. Once I complete the hall on the 5th floor, I start down doing the same thing. I haven't missed one trip (twice a day) since I started on January 4!

I already feel so much better and stronger! I don't get short of breath doing it any more, my knees don't creak as bad, and my posture is better. I have gotten MUCH faster at it, and it almost seems "easy" now. So, today, I am adding a new twist to the afternoon jaunt. A second "rep!" I am going to go up, then down, then back up and down again. I am going to do that for a week (or so), then add another "rep" to the morning walk as well. Hopefully, that will keep the challenge going as I decide what other exercise to add in.

Today is also the first day in the 2nd step of my plan. Shakeology! My old friend Stephanie Richardson (we worked together BACK IN THE DAY when I was in the Dallas area) is a coach for Team Beachbody (www.funfitmom.com), and she introduced me to the meal replacement shakes and sent me a sample pack to get me started. I am going to replace lunch for a week and see how it goes!

So, wish me luck on this journey, and check back often for updates!