Nothing new...still the worst blogger ever!

The last post was a week before Little Man's 1st birthday and this one is two days after his second. If I'm going to do this, I really need to make more of an effort, yes?

So what's behind this latest "I must start blogging again" surge of interest? One of my friends just started up a blog (daydreamingdarci.blogspot.com if you are interested) and it kinda made me think how much I like to look back on my old posts. My memory is pretty spotty (hence the cruddy blogging schedule) so some of these posts remind me of times gone by that I wouldn't have remembered otherwise.

One of my daughters was awarded a Fulbright grant and is teaching in Honduras for 10 months. She's blogging about her experience (lorenmstokes.wixsite.com) so why shouldn't dear old mom? But then, what does dear old mom have to say?

Last post last year was about us joining our new church. A year later and we are praying over a return to Bethel. Our hearts want to be at Bethel, both for the friends and family we have there and for the sense of belonging and purpose we have there that we don't have at our new church. But what does God want for us? We're trying not to turn our decision into a pro and con thing (cuz of that whole His ways are not our ways thing) but into a prayer thing. We've been gone from services at the new church for a whole month. K. told Bethel leadership that he'd help them out by leading worship for three weeks to give them the time they needed to look around for a new worship leader (they recently asked their senior pastor to step down and the worship/youth pastor chose to follow). Then this past Sunday we went on a weekend cruise with the Flanagans. In our talks about the situation with each other, we've given a deadline of sorts for this coming Sunday to be the Sunday we make our decision. We're hoping that going back to our current church after some time away, that when we worship together with the current church family, we'll have some kind of knowing of what we need to do. Right now, K has stepped down from playing piano with the worship team to lessen the pressure and load on his plate so that he can pray with a clear mind over it and not with the frustrations that come from being a leader and experienced instrumentalist trying to fit into the paradigm that have been set by the worship leader and pastor at our current church.

Probably enough babbling for now. I wonder when next we'll meet!

Worst blogger...ever

How in the world am I supposed to have a record of my life in blog when I apparently am the worst blogger ever?

Anyhow, big news for us: we joined a new church. That poor pastor had to watch me completely lose it during service. He knew I was having a hard time leaving Bethel and I'd blubbered on him weeks before over this fact. He also knew that we'd made our decision to join the church and he was going to call us up after the sermon to announce it to the church and have us remake our confession of faith. But then I got a text from Meg. One of the little ones at Bethel asked where I was. I don't know why that struck me so hard, but it did. I know in my mind that even if we went back to Bethel, that things would never be the same (not that they were wonderful, mind you). But my heart aches for the things I've lost: being with those specific kids, seeing G. after church running around with her friends, checking in on our senior saints, worshipping not just with my friends but with people I truly consider family, singing with F., knowing that what I did during the week made a difference to the environment people worshipped in. Plus I miss being a pastor's wife. Isn't that silly? But I miss feeling like I "belonged."

It probably didn't help that the Saturday before was RH's funeral and I was there at Bethel making sure tissues were available and things were ready. I was a go-to person to ask questions and making decisions on things. Then Sunday I was just me. A nobody that made no difference to anyone and back to just being a number in the weekly count. I don't like that feeling. Makes me think, though, if I'm not enough just being me...than I probably was never enough with the other things.

Geez. That's deep.

In other news, Baby Boy turns one in a week and change! He is the most adorable and smartest baby ever. I need to plan more baby time. I've put a lot of money in that stupid Happy Planner. I need to use it! Dad-blast it!

We had an Ark Encounter

Labor Day weekend was this past weekend so about a month ago when we were looking ahead at the calendar (if you know us, you know what a complete SHOCK this is) Hubby thought we should go to Maggie Valley. Why? Because some people he knew went and said how much they loved it. I was ambivalent. We'd had the same "I love that place/it's my favorite city" reaction from people when we went to New Orleans a couple years ago and we were less than impressed. Different strokes for different folks (or Stokes, as it were). Anyhow, my brain kicked in and I realized that Kenny's birthday was just a couple days after Labor Day so we ought to go someplace he REALLY wanted to go: the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, KY. So Friday we packed up the car and we moved to Beverly...well, we packed up the car and drove to Kentucky, actually. I really watch too much TV.

Saturday found us driving up to the gates and parking about a mile away from the Ark. When you think life-size ark, you really have no clue. Even a mile away, that thing looked massive.

So we get on the Ark-tram and it takes us to the ark.
Dang. That's really all I can say!

 

Once inside, you forget that you are in a replicated boat. It just feels like a building. But there are a lot of displays and videos and such throughout. We could have spent more time there but...Labor Day=people. And people? Don't got much sense. We found out later that there were 6000 others at the Ark with us. The bulk of them acted like that they were completely unaware that there were other people in the room and would stop suddenly, wander around, and/or change direction all without looking first. It was bizarre and it was a lot to deal with CONSTANTLY. We'd lose one group and then find ourselves in the midst of another.

Anyhow, our feet felt like we walked the walk and after driving up from Georgia the day before my body did, too. We went to the 4D theater thinking that might give us some time to refresh and regroup, but, no. We decided to call it a day but before we left the grounds I took a picture of Hubby standing in front of the ark to give some perspective. H-U-G-E. How Noah and his sons built that is beyond the scope of my mind.

 

So,  we got some lunch and went back to the hotel where I took a needed nap and Hubby watched the Bulldogs.

The next day we headed down the interstate and checked out the Creation Museum (also from the Answers in Genesis people). Again, it was insanely beautiful and well-done and also packed full of people who had not practiced their company manners in awhile.

I'd love to go back to both places when we have more time (and there were less people to contend with). The Ark Encounter has plans for additions to their campus that I'm interested in seeing the results of. We saw a huge amphitheater that was going up and some of the other plans.

Definitely would like a do-over. BUT I'm glad we went. It was fun to be able to jump in the car and go somewhere (thanks to Meg being able to watch the fur-babies). For most of our married life there were always kid or church (or kid and church) obligations. We'd watch others take off on adventures while we held down the fort. So now we're taking advantage of this time in our lives to have a few of our own!

Catching up...again

Welcome to 2018, blog-o-mine! In my head, it's been a few short months since I checked in, but cream of cheddar, it's actually been three years! What the heck? So...quick update:

K3...Kenny graduated from Point University with a degree in Music-production emphasis married a beautiful, funny, smart young lady named Shaniqua. They have the most adorable 6-month old baby and live nearby. Kenny works as a video production technician and Shaniqua is an attendance secretary.

Lorie...Lorie graduated from American University with a dual major in International Studies and Economics. She lives in DC and works for a nonprofit.

Meagan...Meg was accepted into a nursing program at one of our state universities. She recently became engaged to her Prince Charming. They are looking at a fall 2020 wedding.

Johanna...JoJo spent two months this summer interning with Mision Caribe in Honduras. She is now in Ecuador for a semester abroad. She is working on a dual major in International Relations and Spanish. She'll begin her senior year next semester thanks to good AP scores and Dual Enrollment classes.

Hubby...Ken is working on his second master's degree. This one is in IT through the University of Liverpool.

Me...I'm not doing much of anything. How sad. I've got no children at home (with the exception of Meg on weekends), no studies, no volunteer work, and no church family, but I feel like I'm busier than ever. How'd that happen? Dang. Gotta work on that.

Maybe, just maybe I can use this blog to work that out.

PS...in case you are wondering. No, I'm not still eating the Daniel Plan way and yes, I'm getting as big as a house, thank you very much and no, not going to do the Daniel Plan again.

Daniel Plan TTTC...Day 3 and Day 4

The turkey meatloaf on day 2 was not bad. Forgot when I menu planned about the bread I usually put in meatloaf. So I guess technically I actually made flavored meat and not meatloaf. We made broccoli and cauliflower as sides. Meg and I took a quick 1-mile walk in the neighborhood. Go us.

Day 3

Thursday I stayed in bed 15 minutes longer than I should have and paid greatly for that poor choice. Dinner yesterday beef stew (I'm used the purple potatoes...nothing like spooning up gray potatoes!!!) that I put in the crockpot since it was Daniel Plan night and I wanted to workout after work. The girls had also had about enough with the breakfast smoothies so I’d told them I'd make eggs and bacon. I put the turkey bacon in the oven while I started chopping vegetables. So there I am in the kitchen, checking out the clock, chopping vegetables, keeping one eye on the turkey bacon in the oven and realizing that I still need to pack my gym clothes AND my lunch and that there is no time to make eggs. I'm about to start in on a MAJOR pity party when Meg stumbled into the kitchen and said, "Bacon!" grabbed a piece and then stumbled into the bathroom. Johanna then popped around the corner with a surprised look on her face and said, "Mom! You made bacon! How sweet!" ... so I started giggling and instantly my attitude totally changed. I still had to pack my gym clothes and my lunch but then I was doing it with a chuckle. I let the girls know that I didn't have time for eggs, grab a banana for my breakfast and out the door I went.

Surprisingly, after I ate my banana and a handful of almonds I wasn’t hungry until almost 1 pm! I had a wonky moment with my salad at lunch when a piece of lettuce got caught on the edge of my bowl and when it sprung free, it splurted a drop of balsamic vinaigrette into my eye! Not pleasant!

I did bring my clothes with me but once I found out Meg was going to go home, I chose to instead of working out, going to the church and doing some much needed cleaning and organizing of the SKC room.

The second session for the Daniel Plan group study went well. Thirteen of us plus Johanna and Gloria in the other room. Lots of laughs and sharing, which I love. I know I need to work on eating according to the Daniel Plate and I need to be more determined at carrying out my exercise plan.

 

Day 3

Breakfast: banana

Mid-morning snack: almonds

Lunch: mixed green salad with grilled chicken, sunflower seeds and homemade balsamic vinaigrette

Dinner: Beef stew

 

Day 4

Breakfast: Smoothie (1/2 cup water blended with big handful of kale and spinach, scoop of protein powder, cup of raspberries/strawberries/blueberries/blackberries, banana, almond milk)

Lunch: Beef stew

Dinner: Dr. Hyman’s Walnut-Basil Pesto Chicken. Not sure about the veggies. Zucchini or asparagus.

The re-start of the same adventure...Daniel Plan TTTC

Here I go…AGAIN. I’m going through the Daniel Plan group study for my third time. The first time I blogged about it, it was just the Daniel Plan. Second time was Daniel Plan Part Deux. This adventure I shall name Daniel Plan TTTC (third time’s the charm).

It’s not that the Daniel Plan doesn’t work. It does. But it doesn’t work if you don’t do it. I do fairly well during the study time and 40 days of eating but afterward, when I don’t have the boundaries set up, that’s when the yucky eating sneaks in. So having a plan for keeping on the Plan after the boundaries of the group study and 40 days are over is what’s going to make it or break it for me.

We met for the first of the six group studies last Thursday. We had 8 people show up and I had emails from people who forgot, had a bad day, didn’t want to get out in the yucky, cold, drizzly mess that was last Thursday. I think we’ll have 12-14 people involved, which will make for some lively discussions.

My family started our 40 days yesterday. I needed time to get the pantry in order and to grocery shop and time had just passed me by in the weeks leading up to the first session. Meg and I worked a miracle at the house and threw away a LOT of expired stuff and bagged up a lot of non-DP (not Daniel Plan okay) foods to take to the church to give away. Let’s just say that after 1.5 days of the detox (first 10 days are no gluten, no dairy, no sugar, no caffeine on top of the regular whole foods/no processed/no artificial sweetener foods Daniel Plan thing), I’m over it. Sorry. That’s a pretty cruddy attitude but I am. At the very least I’m ready to not be on the detox because this girl is HUNGRY!! I know that I’m not doing well with eating according to the Daniel Plan Plate (50% non-starchy vegetables, 25% lean protein, 25% starchy veggie/whole grain and a low-glycemic fruit) and that’s probably my biggest problem and the reason why I’m so blasted hungry. So I’ll work on that and see if that helps keep me full.

Day 1

Breakfast: Smoothie: raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, banana, a couple handfuls of spinach/kale, a cup of coconut water, scoop of protein powder.

Mid-morning snack: almonds

Lunch: salad of mixed greens with grilled chicken, homemade balsamic vinaigrette

Dinner: Salsa chicken (chicken breast baked with homemade taco seasoning and salsa) and corn (no non-starchy veggie…bad!)

Snack: air-popped popcorn

Exercise: Week 4, Day 1 of Couch to 5K plan. 5min warmup walk, 3 min jog, 90 sec recovery walk, 5 min jog, 2.5 min recovery walk, 3 min jog, 90 sec recovery walk, 5 min jog, 5 min cooldown walk.

Day 2

Breakfast: Smoothie: Jamba Juice Green Fusion smoothie mix (and, dang it, I didn’t read the ingredients this morning and just found out that it has stinkin’ sugar in it! So much for the shortcut!) with coconut water, protein powder and 1 T of Chia seed

Mid-morning snack: organic mixed nuts

Lunch: Turkey wraps (turkey wrapped in romaine lettuce with some mustard), apple

Dinner: Meatloaf made with ground turkey, broccoli and not sure what else

Exercise: not sure

 

How long until I can eat my lunch?

The start of a new adventure

So I’ve been pretty quiet on the blogging front these days. Some because I don’t think about it. Some because I’m a little embarrassed about not sticking to the Daniel Plan. Some because I don’t have much to write about. However, yesterday I embarked (that’s a serious word, “embarked.” Makes you know something major is about to be announced.) on a new adventure. I’m calling it “the great smoothie experiment.” As of right now, not sure how long this experiment will last.

Background: Meg’s been having aches and pains now for, well, it seems like forever. We’ve moved up the chain of command, medically-speaking, but can’t get her seen by a pediatric rheumatologist until March. So until then, we are trying some home remedies. Her drum major coach thought getting more greens in her diet wouldn’t hurt so we are trying some green smoothies. We decided to try this adventure together since I need to get back to eating better and since I get up before her, I said I’d be in charge of being Smoothie Maker. She looked up some different recipes and we decided on one that we thought might not taste too disgusting bad. We went to the store and picked up our supplies.

Monday: Monday’s green smoothie was made from 1 frozen banana, 5 frozen strawberries, 1/3 honeycrisp apple, 2 handfuls of baby kale/baby spinach combo, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 cup of coconut wate and ½ of a lime wedge. It blended up into a delicate green color. It tasted…okay. It wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever tasted but I’m certainly not gonna jump out of bed and bounce into the kitchen because I can’t WAIT to drink this smoothie! There was a bit of a bitter taste that I figure came from the lime rind. Apparently I was supposed to peel the lime, but that bit of info didn’t get communicated to me. One problem we ran into was that Meg looked up the recipe but didn’t forward the link to me, so I kinda put it together based on our conversation. Got a laugh out of Meg when we figured out what happened. However, it did keep me pretty full. I had a handful of almonds mid-morning, but that was more because I had the munchies and was trying to keep myself away from the chocolate jar.

Tuesday: Found out that Meg isn’t a big fan of the banana. Who knew?! So this morning I attempted a non-banana smoothie. Today’s not-so-green smoothie was made up of 2 handfuls of baby kale/baby spinach, 5 frozen strawberries, about a ½ cup of frozen blueberries, 1 scoop of protein powder and 1 cup of coconut water. It blended into a pretty purple color. It was, well, tart. I think I needed some apple or something in there to help it out. Again, not the worst thing in the world, but I won’t make it again, especially since I was hungry by 8:30. L

I’ve been looking up smoothie recipes and think I’ll add chia seed or flax to tomorrow’s smoothie to see if I can get to lunch without being hungry.

Whaaaaaaaaaat?!

How did this happen again?! Well, I know how this happened again, I didn’t double-check that the bottom part was screwed onto the blender tightly. Of course, I wasn’t the one who took the blender out of the dishwasher, assembled it incorrectly and put it in the stand so that it looked like it was ready to use, so…

So! I was late to work because it takes a bit of time to clean up 12 oz of spilled almond milk.

Oh, Monday, is this really how we want to start this week off?

Competition Day!

Today was the first marching band competition of the season. Last night we thought it might be Meagan's "nemesis triangle" (Power Ranger speak). We've been seeing a chiropractor for her IT band Syndrome issue for a while now. Lately he's been working more on her shoulder than her leg. It seems that the short repetitive motions during the fast parts of the set cause issues. The muscles bunch up and cause a lot of pain. When I got to the practice field last night, Meg was sitting out in tears. I didn't know what to do except to try to call her down so that she could possibly be less tense (which I thought COULDN'T be good for her shoulder). I hated not being able to make things right and I hated knowing that SHE knows that she may lose her drum major position because her injuries hurt the band. I didn't know what I would be walking into when I got to the competition today.

The band left Conyers after practice and eating lunch at the high school. I had to get some things done at the house and at church to get ready for worship tomorrow, so I left at 2. (I wanted to get going at 1:30 but time management is really not my thing.) When I got to the competition, the band was at the warmup field which just happened to be right by the place I parked...which is a good thing since I'm pretty much directionally challenged as well. I had visions of wandering around the campus never finding the band until AFTER they performed! Meg had her arm in a sling and seemed to be in a fairly good mood. Apparently they reconfigured some things so that Meg being one arm down wouldn't throw them off too much.

Jo is dead-center in photo with Meg in her sling on the podium.
My actual favorite part is the Field Crew member who is supporting
the podium but looks like he's peeking at the duet!!

I found the rest of the field crew and shortly afterward found myself watching the band perform while I kept my eye both on Meg and on Jo while reminding myself to breath. I don't know how the drum majors did at being a team, but Meg looked really confident. I know she was hurting but I couldn't tell from her face...although she did rub her opposite shoulder after they got done. Hope she hasn't hurt that one now!

The awards will be in about an hour. I really hope they did well, both as a band and as drum majors.

On another band note, Jo did really well with her duet. She was so worried that she could mess it up.

I'm so very proud of my kids.

That's right! I did it!

This morning I was making my morning smoothie and decided enough was enough! I had HAD it! I had finished a jar of the natural peanut butter we'd been using and so opened a new one. Problem: this was the kind where the oil had separated and I had no idea what I was doing. I figured I needed to stir it, right? No problem. Wrong! Big problem! I got that oil all over the jar, all over my hands, and all over my counter. I didn't get the peanut butter and oil integrated into each other. So I gave up. I pushed the spoon all the way to the bottom and got a spoonful to put in my smoothie and then I capped that jar up and threw it away! Yep! I did! I'm such a rebel.


Okay, so that may not be a big deal to YOU, but it was to me. I hate throwing useful things away. Normally, that jar would stay in my pantry until a) I found someone to give it to, b) it rotted or got broken, or c) I Googled what to do with the peanut butter/oil issue and fixed it. Confession: after I typed out c) I totally thought that I ought to do that and then go home this afternoon and fish the jar out of the trash and fix it! Oh. My. Word!


I think there's a screw loose somewhere!

Catch-up

I’ve been pretty quiet on the Daniel Plan front, haven’t I? I’ve kind of been quiet on all fronts. I

"If you can't say something nice, don't say nuthin' at all!"

learned from Thumper that if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. And frankly, I haven’t had a lot to say nice. Well, that’s a lie. I can always find something nice to say…although I don’t always say it. It’s just that there has been so much that it’s been shadowing everything. But I’m determined to not let it anymore. I've said more before but I'm not going to here. I'm walking the Thumper Road and since I can't say something nice, I'm not saying nuthin' at all!

Anyhow, back to the Daniel Plan. Tonight is the last meeting. Yep, we made it through the entire study. Kenny’s lost almost 20 lbs (stinker) and I’ve lost anywhere from 5-10 lbs…depends on if the scale decides to like me that day. I am very proud of myself for getting through the entire six week study. Kenny’s and my 40 days of eating the Daniel Plan way ends next Friday since we got such a late start due to not beginning until after we took Lorie back to school. Kenny is so happy with his weight loss and with how he feels that we’ll pretty much stick to the Daniel Plan way of eating as a normal way of life (at least that’s the plan. It was the plan when I did it back in January but the nasty foods crept right back in).

Meg in uniform

We are firmly into marching band season. We have a little more than 2 weeks until our first

competition. It’s very exciting. We haven’t used the props yet, but hope to get them on the field at the next game which is the week after next.

I’m still trying to work out what my job is and what it isn’t. It’s kind of frustrating sometimes but I do really like the people I work with and am happy that I can dress up and not find myself crawling around on a teacher’s floor trying to re-hook some piece of electronics that someone unplugged.

Pretty boring stuff, to be honest.

I will take some time to hype an audiobook I just listened to, “Unglued” by Lysa Terkeurst was really well done. I could totally relate to this woman and if she lived anywhere near me, I would want to be her best friend because she totally gets me! I laughed, I cried (a little), I was struck speechless a LOT. I think I’m going to purchase the paper book of hers so I can highlight and write some notes. I’m also going to look her up and get another one or more of her books. She’s part of the proverbs31 woman website, so I’m going to have to give that another whirl. I’d stumbled across the website a couple years ago. I don’t remember why I haven’t been more engaged with it.

And last, but certainly not least, Jo has her driver's permit. She conned me into letting her drive home from Walmart the other day. My fingers have finally unclenched themselves from the claw form they were in, but there are permanent fingernail grooves in the handle of my car. Poor thing.

She's actually not a bad driver for an absolute beginner. But there's just something about being in a car with your 15-year old at the wheel and your heart being in your throat that makes you want to go berzerko!!

My sweet Meagan

Had this email conversation between Meggie and me last Friday in anticipation of her first game in drum major uniform.


Me: Do you have your gloves for tonight? I have your “stars” in my jewelry box at home. Do you need them?

Meagan: Yes... I thought I had lost them!!!!! Oh my goodness thank God!

Me: You ding-a-ling! We decided I’d keep them so you WOULDN’T lose them! J I just gotta remember to get them!

Meagan: Oh... I don't remember that. Ok cool.

Me: Will you be home before the game? It’s in one of the little drawers…think it’s the second one.

Meagan: I got them. I left my wallet at the house so just got home and on my back
 

Me: Child, please!! You may need to go to college in Georgia just so we can rescue you from yourself!

Meagan: Lol... Well I had totally forgotten, well I mean I still don't remember doing that, but yeah. I was planning on going to the army surplus store to get new ones or borrow lories old ones.

And funnier still, when I got to the school to volunteer with the band, I found out that her boyfriend (sweetheart that he is) had driven to the army surplus store for her and purchased new leaves (got that wrong by calling them stars...oops!) for her.

I can't be too irritated with her because the apple don't fall far from the tree! :)

 

Daniel Plan, part deux-days 8-12

Yowzers! How did all this time go by without me checking in? Today was my easy week, too! I have no excuse! Anyhow I’m still sitting at 181.2 so that’s disappointing…

Anyhow, I’m tired still. I tried walking a mile last night and taking a bath with lavender scented Epsom salts…but still woke up at 3am and tossed and turned the rest of the night.

Foodwise, we did really good. The 10-day detox was done yesterday. We enjoyed spaghetti for dinner. I think we’ll still be watching how much dairy and gluten we put in our bodies to help keep us on track.

I don’t remember what exactly I had for breakfast (smoothies every day) or lunch (usually leftovers) but I did manage to write down what dinner was each night:

Monday: turkey burgers, broccoli/cauliflower mix

Tuesday: Baked chicken with either green beans (Kenny) or brown rice with broccoli/carrots

Wednesday: veggie stew

Thursday: Whole-wheat spaghetti with sauce made from tomato paste, olive oil, garlic and spices, 5-grain rolls, corn and (for me) broccoli slaw with vinaigrette dressing

Tonight the big football game between county rivals (one school I work for and the other school my kids attend). I have about 30 minutes after I get home to walk the dogs, change, throw down some food and then get back in the car to head to the kids’ school to help load equipment before buses leave. I’ll get a lot of exercise from loading and unloading instruments so I’m not going to do any formal exercises.

This week, the Daniel Plan Essential we are focusing on in: Fitness. So we’ve studied: Faith, Food, and now, Fitness. This is one this that tends to mess me up. I can handle the food pretty well. The fitness part gets me every time. I did come home from the study and after the sunset (it’s 95 and MUGGY here in Georgia right now) Meg and I walked to the front of the subdivision, which is one mile. I’ve tried to either stand at my desk or walk around more during the day, since I’m so sedentary at work.

I’m actually trying to set up a time for me and two friends to meet at the gym and work out tomorrow and maybe in the future. And I’ve made plans to do Zumba on Tuesday with friends (at a gym) and Thursday with DVDs after the Bible study.

Go me! (Especially if I go through with it!)

My silent rebellion

This year I took a new position within the school system. I’m now the secretary for the principal at the rival school of the school my kids’ attend. And, woo-wee, there’s some serious school pride going on over here. Not so much with the kids, mind you, but with the staff and the parents. I have been asked several times why I didn’t bring my kids with me…and by people who know that one of the girls is not only a senior, but one of the drum majors! Yeah, sure, I'm gonna make her miss out on all that!! Don’t get me wrong, this is a perfectly nice school. I’m proud to work here. I love the staff. But just like any high school, it’s not perfect. My kids know their school. When Jo graduates, we’ll have had a Stokes child enrolled for a solid decade. That’s a lot of history right there.

Anyhow, the first football game of the season is this Friday and everyone here is on super Patriot Pride alert. I mean, it didn’t take me long to know how they felt about my kids’ school. But this week? Wowsers! It’s almost to the level of “methinks they doth protest too much.” Maybe that has to do with the fact that Rockdale beat Heritage at last year’s football game? <giggle>  But, my goodness, really? It’s a football game.

Yes, yes, I know, I live in the South where Football is King. But, still, seriously, folks!! Get it together. It’s kind of sad that they have to have 20+ police on site…because of the alumni, parents, and adult fans!! Really? REALLY???  <sigh>

Anyhow, as things heighten to a fever pitch around here, I’ve decided to do the only thing I can do…wear Rockdale colors all week. I even have a Bulldog necklace to wear, thanks to Meg’s boyfriend’s mother!  I meant to take a picture every day and post it…but it was ridiculously muggy yesterday afternoon after work and after going to the Park to hang out with my bestie, Kim, and my sweet girl, Gloria, and then pumping gas…I was a slimy, sweaty mess and all I wanted to do was to get out of that dress (well, really, the Spanx, girl’s gotta be honest, here).

I will be so glad when this week is over, though. Of course, basketball season is right around the corner and I hear the Rockdale/Heritage basketball game is something to behold as well.

Joy…

Daniel Plan, part deux-days 6 & 7

These weekends are gonna kill me. I don’t know why it’s harder to stay on track at home than it is when I’m at work. I have a refrigerator full of good things to eat…but I didn’t feel like dealing with it. Maybe that’s it. On work days I make a smoothie and take it with me to drink on the ride. I also make lunch and that’s my only choice. At home I have all sorts of options but in order to eat them, I have to do something. Guess that makes me a lazy thingamajig.

Saturday I dropped to 181.8, which meant 3 lbs gone, so that started my day off well. I had so much to do to get ready for this weekend. I had the VBS follow-up movie and the Band Potluck on Saturday afternoon and evening and SKC/nursery meeting on Sunday to prep for. And what did I do Saturday morning? I lolled around in bed! Which made the rest of the weekend go pretty irritatingly. Nothing fell apart because previous planning held, which meant that I didn’t look all whackado. But still. It annoys me that I didn’t work on the things that I’d planned to work on.

The VBS follow-up movie was disappointing. Only three kids showed up and since we watched it in the fellowship hall, since I thought there would be more participating, the movie was too dark for that big room and the sound quality was really yucky. But I appreciated the parents of the kids that showed up for taking time on their Saturday to bring their kids and I had a couple volunteers who showed up and that meant a lot to me.

The Band Potluck was pretty good, I guess. I volunteered to help with the merchandise and ended up not eating…but that’s okay. I’m not sure what I could have ate. My favorite part of the night is when the kids take the field. This year they did something different. They encouraged the parents to come down to the field and take their kids’ places. We learned the responses to some of the different commands. Kenny took Jo’s place and she showed him how to stand and do flute stuff. I stood with Meg by her podium and learned a couple directing motions. (Wow! That is HARD!!!) The guard parents were my favorite because they some of them had to contort their bodies in to ways I don’t think they’d planned to EVER get into! But I think it gave the parents a new appreciation of a little of what their kids go through AND it gave a lot of amusement to the kids, the instructors and to the parents who didn’t choose participate.

Sunday I got to be in a Sunday school class. My soul is so happy. Jo joined me. We are doing Beth Moore’s study on 1 & 2 Thessalonians. SKC was pretty fun. 9 kids came. We looked into the battle of Jericho and what lessons we could learn from it. The nursery meeting was a bit of a bust because Brad had to skip in order to look in on his parents and Joyce had plans to eat out for lunch. Since we were just going to go over a sample nursery handbook and talk about changes and additions for our church, I just gave Joyce a copy and Kim a copy to give to Brad and we’ll chat about it some other time.

We went out to eat but it was a buffet, which when I’m eating regularly I don’t eat enough to make it worthwhile, but on the Daniel Plan was kind of silly. We paid $11 for me to have some salad, a hard-boiled egg, and apple and baked chicken.  

I don’t think I ate dinner Sunday night. I took a Sunday nap and just couldn’t get it together!

I’m still really, really tired. I’m just not getting sound sleep. I guess I need to work on scrubbing my bathtub so I can take a soak at the end of the day and see if that helps.

Food:

Saturday: peanut butter/banana smoothie, raw cashews and apple for lunch, no dinner

Sunday: no breakfast, baked chicken, apple, salad, hard-boiled egg for lunch, leftover walnut/basil pesto chicken and green beans.

Weight:

Starting weight: 184.8

Day 2 weight: 184.4

Day 3 weight: 184.2

Day 4 weight: 184.0

Day 5 weight: 183.8

Day 6 weight: 181.8

Day 7 weight: 181.2

Daniel Plan, part deux-day 3

Headaches abound! I feel like I am one big headache and stuffy headed person. I’m taking my Zyrtec and nosespray as usual so I’m assuming that this is either the toxins coming out or that I’ve caught a cold. Kenny feels crummy, too, which also could just be the toxins or that we’ve caught the same cold since we spent all weekend together in the car. I’m still a day behind on blogging so this is about yesterday/day 3. Maybe I’ll catch up at some point and blog at night about my day…and maybe I won’t. Depends on how saucy I get to feeling.

The Daniel Plan group is great. Emails flying and encouragement coming left, right, and center. Awesome, awesome, awesome!

Yesterday was one of those Cinderella days for me. I was feeling low because I’m still not an integral part of the team at work and although I have a nice little office with my name over the door, I still feel like I’m unnecessary. Since the girls had band practice until 6, I had to deal with the dogs. I felt mega-guilty about leaving them in the pen while I swept and mopped because they’d been crated up all day with no human companionship (coming off of a whole 3 months with someone there almost all day/every day). But the floors needed some attention and I HAVE to get this house on a routine…for my own sanity. I did my & Kenny’s laundry and changed my sheets on Monday (and some dish towels), Jo’s laundry on Tuesday, and yesterday finished up the delicates while I swept and mopped the family room, kitchen/dining/entry way, and my bedroom. I need to scrub down my bathroom today (yuck). Besides just needing to do it for sanitary reasons, I want to start taking Epsom salt baths at night to calm and draw out more toxins. Plus I’m having a hard time getting my quiet time in. I’m the children’s leader, leading a Bible study and a mom…I gotta have my Bible time!!!

Last night I also went by Kroger’s because everyone at Daniel Plan raved about their organic/gluten-free section. I was actually a bit confused. I do appreciate that they have everything grouped together but I still could not find cheap tahini!! I broke down and bought some though. I’m such a schmuck. J

After I got the house stuff done that I needed to get done, I realized that I didn’t have time to work on Sandra’s flyer anymore. Luckily she won’t need it until next Tuesday. I needed to get dinner ready. One of my favorite recipes from the Daniel Plan book is Dr. Hymans Walnut/BasilPesto Chicken. Unfortunately, I got popped by some grapeseed oil and burnt the snot out of two of my toes and in between them. Hurt like anything! Dingaling didn’t think about the fact that I had aloe with lidocaine in my cabinet. I just put cold water on it and griped about it until I got home and Kenny was saying I needed to put something on it.

Today’s meals: banana/peanut butter smoothie with protein scoop for breakfast, lunch-hummus/carrots and an apple, snack: raw cashews, dinner: walnut/basil pesto chicken with broccoli/cauliflower. Water: 114 oz


Exercise: none. My toes hurt too badly to stuff into tennis shoes. But I figured since I'd sweated up a storm with the sweeping/mopping, I hadn't been totally sedentary!!

Starting weight: 184.8

Day 2 weight: 184.4

Day 3 weight: 184.2

Daniel Plan, part deux-Day 2

Day 2 was hard, I’m not gonna lie. I woke up with a headache and not feeling like I slept enough. But I had a plan for the day: Work, dishes/laundry, salsa chicken, work on Sandra’s flyer and print out Band minutes, band meeting, home.

So the day pretty much went like that except I didn’t feel like unloading the dishes, so that didn’t get done. And the printer decided it was going to be offline no matter what I did, so I had to leave earlier than I’d planned to go by the church to print out the Band minutes, which meant I had to finish Sandra’s flyer later. I also didn’t get to eat dinner since I ran out of time. The Band meeting was kind of irritating because all the stuff we went over, I’d already heard in the planning meeting and the budget meeting. So when we started over for the people who didn’t realize that the meeting started at 6:30 instead of 7, well, I was on edge.

I got home and took the dogs on a walk out to the front of the subdivision (1 mile…go me), I really need to remember to put their harnesses on since they have no idea how to walk well on a leash and I don’t have the time to teach them.

I did sit down and finish Sandra’s flyer and looked over my lesson for tonight before I went to sleep.

I didn’t eat dinner because by the time I got settled after the meeting, it was almost 9. I wasn’t hungry and I didn’t want to eat that late…so I didn’t.

Oh, and I looked it up and Ezekial bread does have wheat and gluten, now it’s organic gluten and sprouted wheat so if you’re gonna screw up with your gluten, that’s the way to go. But I still beat myself up a little for not eating right the VERY FIRST DAY!!! And the second time I did this!!! Ack!

Today’s meals: Strawberry/banana smoothie with almond milk and chia seeds for breakfast, organic raw cashews and spinach/kale chips (checked…gluten free) for snack at work, quinoa salad for lunch, hummus and carrots for snack at home, and 96 oz of water. I made “Salsa chicken” (chicken breasts baked with homemade taco season and salsa) for dinner but didn’t eat it.

Starting weight: 184.8

Day 2 weight: 184.4

 

Disappointing, but with the thyroid issue and just having ate right and walked one mile for one day, guess I might be expecting too much? I have to say that emails to my hubby, friends and Daniel Plan peeps have turned my frown upside down!

Here we go again!

Daniel Plan, part deux!

Yep, I'm a glutton for punishment. Today is day 1 of the plan for me and Kenny. The first Bible study session was last Thursday. However, since we left Friday after work to make the drive to D.C. we figured the better choice would be to start today (Monday). I took the day off so it wasn't too horrible. Tomorrow I'll have to deal with work, too. Ugh. I think I may have boo-booed, though, because I didn't even think about it and had some Ezekial bread. I think it's okay on the 30 days but not the 10 day detox. I'll have to check that out. :(

Days 1-10 are the detox: no dairy, no gluten, no sugar, no processed foods, no caffeine

How I ate:
Breakfast: Smoothie made with banana, blueberries, almond milk, protein powder, and chia seed.
Mid-morning snack: Hummus with carrots
Lunch: Turkey sandwich, Dijon mustard
Dinner: Baked chicken breast, brown Jasmine rice, green beans
Water: 80 oz.

Exercise: I shopped and did a lot of laundry and housework (I even weeded a bit!!) during the day. Jo and I took the dogs on a 1-mile walk!!

Gonna do a banana & strawberry smoothie tomorrow, a quinoa salad for lunch, probably some more hummus and carrots for a snack. Dinner....if I get up in time, I think I'll put some beef stew in the crockpot. I have a band booster meeting tomorrow night so I gotta do something easy or fast.

Day 1 down, 39 to go!

Last days of summer...

Okay, so I know how ridiculous that reads seeing that it's only July 12th. But tomorrow is the last day of MY summer. I start work on Monday at my new position with the school system! I'm super excited...and super scared. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do exactly in my new position. My title is Principal's Secretary (so fancy-schmancy!) and I'll also be helping with the athletic director, but what my actual day-to-day responsibilities will look like are up in the air.

Squee!

Sorry, had to do that. I'm all goose-pimply and giddy as I type this out!

It's been a pretty nifty 6 weeks since my last day of work as an INTEL last school year. I've really enjoyed having my Kenny-bear and Lorie-lou home. We had a fantabulous time at our family Beach Week and VBS turned out pretty ding-dang-dong nice. (All that hand-wringing was pretty worthless...wish I'd get that through my head.)

Now I've got to get myself together for the school year. New job and new responsibility with the kids' marching band (I usually just chaperone...this year I'm the Band Booster Secretary) will add some stress until I get into a new routine but I'm ready to get going. 

I'm going to attempt the Daniel Plan again in August. About 9 people from the church are going to join me on the journey this time. We've chosen a time that can't get messed with because it's just before the church's Prayer Time and it's before fall ball starts. I'm hoping between that and my Planet Fitness membership, that I get a good jumpstart on my health.

I also figured out that if I continue the course with my school work and include summer courses next summer, that I will graduate with my B.A. in Religion/Biblical Counseling in May 2016!

But for now...I just have to get through tonight and tomorrow. I've attempted the Pinterest Listerine foot soak with Listerine/Vinegar and water. It does NOT make your nasty calluses sloughed off but it did make using the pumice stone on those areas a bit more effective. I'm about to go soak in the tub  before making a date with Mr. Nyquil. I've gotten a bit of a cough/cold from Kenny and am pretty sick of it. So soak (to help me unwind), Mr. Nyquil within and Mr. Vicks Rub without and nighty-night time it is!

Hoping I can be a little more disciplined on the blog. I did pretty well there for awhile. But not so much lately. Sure is fun to go back and read some of the things I thought worth posting over the years! Well, fun for ME. Probably pretty boring for anyone else.