The Thanksgiving 2008 Post

Before I get to the actual week of Thanksgiving, I have some pictures to share from the end of November.



And on to the actual week (by day):

Friday night, we gave the kids their bath, did cuddle time, and instead of putting them in their beds, we put them in their car seats and headed to Dallas. JR drove the entire way. He's a beast.

Saturday we arrived at Claudia and Ryan's empty apartment (they were at a retreat) around 6 am. The kids and I ate breakfast and found PBS on the tv while JR crashed. We spent Sat. recovering from our over-night journey and waiting for Claudia and Ryan to return. When they did, they treated us to some gourmet pizza and a walk around the Uptown area where they live.

Sunday was a little different for us, as Ryan and Claudia are leaders in a church planting effort. There was no Sunday morning assembly to get ready for, so we had a leisurely morning of running some errands and getting ready for the rest of the day. The afternoon was spent at a nearby park playing kick-ball with anyone who wanted to join in. JR DOMINATED the event. No one realized that Ryan and Claudia brought in a ringer. :) Everyone had a lot of fun. And most of the people we saw again during the "service" hosted by the Porches. We met a lot of good people and ate a lot of good food (the meal shared by the group was a holiday meal).

Monday Ryan and JR headed out to get some things squared away for the up-coming Gathering service of the first house church planted and the first "sent" group. Claudia and I played with the kids until we were "relieved" by JR so that Claudia and I could attend a WeightWatchers meeting. (oh, yeah... I've been doing WW for 6 wks. now and am seeing results) After the meeting we all met up and ate at a cafe and then did some shoe shopping. (I was finally able to get JR to buy a pair of shoes for himself. This is the first time he's gotten shoes since we were dating!)That evening, Claudia fixed us a lovely meal, and after the kids were in bed, we watched some funny things off of Youtube and caught up on "Heroes" together.

Here's the slide-show of the pictures I took in Dallas.



Tuesday we all headed out caravan-style, to Searcy, arriving mid-afternoon. Once everyone was reunited, we headed out to the house that my parents are almost finished building. It's lovely. But I'm pretty sure that the Kansas City Meatballs were on everyone's mind, so we headed back to the house and chilled until dinner. After dinner, we decided to have Christmas. (okay!) The rest of the evening was spent enjoying each other's company and watching the newest episode of "Heroes". After everyone else went to bed, JR and I were able to watch the final episodes of "Battlestar Galactica" that we hadn't seen yet. We did this every night until we were caught up and ready for when they start showing the last half of the final season. (I've never said we are not geeks.)

Wednesday, after spending the morning together, broke off by gender. They guys (all of them) went car shopping with Papa and then ate wings. After lunch, while Gideon was sleeping, the older guys played one of JR's new games. The ladies (all of us) headed to Conway. We ate a lovely meal at Marketplace and did some shopping. For my birthday (which also came early this year) I got a gift-card to Old Navy. And since I didn't have any long sleeved shirts, and I'm heading to Germany on the 16th, I had to go get some. We shopped all afternoon and Naomi was a trooper. She was especially happy when I bought her her very own Curious George. For dinner we all met back up at the house. Dinner was really fun. After we were finished eating we all played with a toy microphone Gideon got from the Porches for Christmas. It has recording capabilities and you can play back at different speeds. We did some silly things with that toy. And all I really remember is laughter. Lots of it. After the kids went to bed, we watched the "24: Redemption" movie.

Thursday was Gideon's 2.5 birthday, but like I said, he had eggs for breakfast. So he was a little harder to deal with than normal. :) For Thanksgiving we had the Mansurs and the Allens over. We ate and laughed and talked. The kids played... and did I mention eating? Around 4 we ALL headed over to my parents "almost" house and admired it again. By the time everyone headed their own ways, we were due to visit the Yeckes where the Brooks were also going to be. However we also ran into the Hoppers. We had a lovely visit and then headed, exhausted, home.

Friday was supposed to be our huge Guys-Make-Breakfast-Breakfast. But somehow in the confusion of the day before, they forgot to plan anything. So Papa, all by himself, made breakfast for everyone. Ryan and JR did clean it up however. :) Since the people who are buying the house my parents are currently in were coming by to see the place again, we all cleaned up our traveling stuff. We had a mini birthday party for me and chilled out. All of us played JR's new game while the leftovers were out and about for grazing purposes.

Saturday the Porches left after lunch, I visited with Katie Johnston, took the kids to see the Holiday of Lights,and then, like before, instead of putting the kids to bed after their bath, we put them in the car and headed home. 10 hours (flat) later, we were home without electricity. :)

Here's the slide-show from this portion of the trip:



Hope you enjoyed this multi-slide-showed post.

Tomorrow is Naomi's 10th Monthabirthday and I'd like to get some video for her. (I had a video for G's.)

Til tomorrow!
Daisha

Weigh-in (a day late)

Well I was getting frustrated because I hadn't really changed weight since moving into Debby's house. I felt like getting out of the 160's was nearly impossible.

Ya see... when I went in for my first pre-natal exam with Gideon (already wearing maternity pants) I weighed in at 160. And I hadn't seen a weight that started with a 1-5 since the summer of 2005. But this morning, much to my disbelief and joy, my scale read "159.5".

Now I realize that it's probably water weight, since I didn't drink very much water yesterday, but I feel like celebrating anyway.

I have also put up a new weight-loss ticker at the bottom of the blog.

So here's to celebrating the small accomplishments that spur on greater ones!

-Daisha

Monday Weigh-in

Well, we're at Debby's house for a bit while she recovers, so I don't have a scale. (ah, shucks, right?) :)

But I've added some MUFA elements to my diet since my tummy is my problem area. So far it seems to be working.

And taking walks is easier now that I can just put the kids in the stroller and go. In fact, on Friday, the kids and I walked to the grocery store and back. I cannot express how excited I am about moving into this neighborhood, a real house, and having a yard!!! Just a few more weeks!!!!!!!!!

-Daisha

Monday Weigh-In

(There is a possibility that I will post 3 times today. Naomi has a monthabirthday today, and I'm working on the slide-show from G's b-day party.)

So I renewed my commitment last week... and I lost the recommended 2 lbs. I have officially started on working off the weight I gained with Gideon. (I have lost the weight that I gained with Naomi.) However I still have a sizeable belly.

That means that the next step to increase my results is working out. (more than just the walks)

Toward that end, I'm going to set up my work-outs with Kristen for this coming month. I just need to wait and see how Debby heals from her surgery on Wed.

So... that's my report.

Come back later in the day to check out Naomi's 4 monthabirthday post. :)
-Daisha

Recap of May

I don't think I've gone this long without posting since I was trying to keep the news about being pregnant with Gideon a secret. But this month has been busy.

It started off with the surprise trip to Searcy (which I mentioned in my last post). We had a great time there and my parent's enjoyed showing off the kids.

We came back and the kids decided that sleep was something that they were no longer interested in. :( And we all got sick. (even JR, who never gets sick)

This month we have had two garage sales. Well, we really had one, and then put all the stuff that didn't sell the first weekend out again the next weekend. And we did pretty well considering the fact that we just wanted to get rid of the stuff we'd been storing in our small apt. for the past 2 years. (We're gearing up for our move into a house at the end of June!!!)

Let's see...

Gideon's new things:
1. He is ALL about reading the Bible these days. We have two that he just adores. In fact, yesterday we were trying to all take a nap. Everyone was in bed (or so we thought). JR and I heard a rustling sound from the living room. JR went to investigate. Gideon was sitting on the couch, reading his NIrV, looked up at JR and said, "Bible!" (Can you get on to a kid for getting out of bed to read his Bible?)
2. He is ALL about praying for people. He will clasp his hands in prayer, bow his head, and call out the name of the person he wants to pray for. It's adorable. And if you are one of the people he knows... and you inexplicable starting having a better day sometime within the past month (or your pet did), you can be pretty sure that G was praying for you.
3. Gideon is a great big brother. He shares his favorite cars with Naomi and shows her how to use them.
4. And he turns 2 tomorrow.

Naomi's new things:
1. Every day she gets better at sitting up on her own.
2. She is reaching for people.
3. She is reaching for and grasping the toys that G hands her.
4. Naomi has even fed herself parts of her bottle before she gets tired/lazy and has us hold it.
5. She is in 6-9 month clothing. (can you believe it?)

My Weight-loss journey:
So I've come to realize that the commitment to lose weight is just like any other commitment. Whether you are committing to Christ, a spouse, or a healthier life-style, the decision has to be made daily. And I haven't been committed to weight-loss the past 2 weeks or longer. However, I am still at the same weight, which I guess is a blessing. I'd be really discouraged if I had gained back all the weight I'd already lost.
And once again I'm re-committing myself to recording my calories (which seems to be really important for me to actually lose the weight) and to go on walks every evening that I can.
Thanks for keeping up with my journey and encouraging me.

New Projects on the horizon:
I've begun working on a new idea for a creative outlet that will hopefully bring in some income in the future. I have one picture in the slide-show of the commissioned work that was requested for a new baby girl. I'll write more about this later.

On tap for this week:
Gearing up for G's b-day party.
G's birthday TOMORROW (can't believe my baby is 2)
JR umps and plays some Texas Hold'em
(and as I'm typing this post, G is bringing his favorite Bible to N and she's trying to open it)

LIFE IS GOOD.
(here's a slide-show... my dad is sending me more pics from their visit, so I'll get those up here when I get them)

Monday Weigh-In

This week has been much better. I started with renewed zeal and it has prompted me to return to SparkPeople to record my calories and water intake. But most importantly, it has "sparked" me to really get out and exercise.

Almost every day this week I took a 45 min.-1 hr. walk. Most of these were taken as a family. We enjoyed the time together outside.

I have lost 4 pounds this week. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is motivating in and of itself. :)

This week is going to be really busy. And on top of that, JR will be out of town or working most evenings. (That always makes it harder to stick to my exercise routine.) So, keep me and my motivation in your prayers.

Thanks for keeping up with this effort of mine and cheering me on.

-Daisha
(only 25 more pounds to go)

Monday Weigh-In

So I missed last week due to being in Orlando.

I've really slacked the past 2 weeks. And it shows by that fact that I've gained back 2 pounds. :(

So, with renewed zeal?, enthusiasm?, vigor?... um, well, with renewed commitment, I logged into SparkPeople this morning.

I keep acting as if the 30 lbs. I want to lose is just going to come off with wishing. And it's harder to stay motivated now that I can fit back into the jeans I worked hard to get into before G's first Birthday. (which I was already pregnant by, btw)

I guess I've lost the baby weight from Naomi, and now I have the 15 lbs. to lose from Gideon's birth, and 15 lbs. to lose from being over-weight in the first place.

I'm back on the band-wagon and even though I find it a pain to record everything on line, apparently, that's what I need to be doing.

It begins again...

Monday Weigh-In 3

The scale this morning said 167. When I first entered my weight into SparkPeople (March 13), it was 174. I began my "diet" on March 17. So 3.5 wks. later and I have lost 7 lbs.

I guess that's not bad.

I went to a play with Tiffany on Saturday and wore my jeans! I'm still wearing maternity tops. But that's because I can't fit my chest into anything else... not even the shirts I wore when I was heavier and breastfeeding Gideon. But I'm not even breastfeeding Naomi... so I don't know how to contain these things. (I know some of you think I'm complaining about something that you pray for... but, I can't even wear XL shirts... so, it's not as fun as media makes you think.) :)

I didn't do a good job of drinking water last week. I also only recorded my calories for half a day. (I'm shaking my head in shame. However, I don't want to have to get on line everyday.)

The walks after dinner also mainly became the first-of-the-month shopping trips. But there is walking involved.

The more I do this, the more I'm convinced that to actually feel like I'm getting some traction here, I'm going to have to make a bigger commitment to exercise.

So, I think that JR and I are going to push dinner back, and while it's cooking, he's going to take care of the kids and I can hit the treadmill in the gym in our apt. complex. Of course, that won't happen on the nights where he's umping, but walking more evenings than not is better than not walking. I'm also heading out today to buy a pedometer.

That's my report for this week.

Daisha

Monday Weigh-in 2

Well, I've lost another half a pound. This week I've been more discouraged. I'm not really sure why. My guess is that it's continuous attacks from Satan.

I find it a hassle to record things on line. I don't have a lot of free time here, and I'm going to spend it recording calories??? I'd rather not. But I also haven't been doing a good job of eating consciously either.

So, I'll reapply myself this week. Plus, I'm making it a goal of mine to take the kids for a walk after dinner every night this week. It'll be good to get us out, and after dinner, they are both usually awake and not needing to be tended to in a way that prevents a walk.

JR and I are taking a mini-vacation in 2 weeks to go to an O's game (more about the O's later today) and meet up with some of his friends from college. My goal is to be in my jeans (with a zipper and a button) by the time we go there. I can get them on now, and some people (I'm sure) would leave the house in them. But I've never been a fan of tight jeans... so 2 weeks, if I stay on track, will see me fitting in them nicely.

I think I'm just too impatient for this weight-loss thing.

Daisha

Monday Weigh-In

Well, one week down, 29 lbs. to go. I lost 3 lbs. this past week! I think this is pretty good considering that I'm having a hard time finding time for the work-outs.

You'd think that finding 10 min. in my day to work out wouldn't be all that hard. But I'm not sure I'll get a shower everyday... so... let's just say that I'm still trying to manage my time with two kids still. :)

I've also been re-considering the "calorie count" portion of SparkPeople. Yes, it's a great tool. But I've also been watching TLC's "I Can Make You Thin". When I put into practice Rule 3: Eat Consciously, I realized that the portion I had given myself b/c I knew how many calories it was, was more food than I actually wanted at that time. But since I knew how many calories, and it was well within the range for the day, I ate it anyway. I'm wondering if following Rule 3 would actually allow me to eat less and not have to worry about remembering what I've eaten when I'm away from the internet. This weekend I was not at home for the majority of it, and the recording of the calories was a hassle. If this is to be a life-change, then it should be as easy as possible... right? Any thoughts from you guys out there as to whether I should give up the counting and just stick with the eating consciously? From the tracking this past week, I've realized that I don't really go much outside my range anyway.

So... to re-cap:

1. 3 lbs. lost
2. Still looking for time to work-out
3. Debating about calorie-counting vs. eating consciously

Weigh-in with your thoughts. :)

-Daisha

(Easter pics will be up later.)

Today's the Day.

Here is my beginning of a new era. An era where I am open and honest with myself and you (the blog-readers)...

I am over-weight. Actually, according to the BMI, I am actually obese. (doesn't that just sound awful?)

I know... you guys (good-intentioned that you are) will be quick to remind me that I gave birth 6 weeks ago. But the truth is that I have been obese since Gideon was born and overweight my entire life. Even at my wedding I was 20 lbs. over what is recommended for my height.

And I'm owning up to it. I am confessing my lack of control when it comes to food, and my lack of will-power when it comes to exercising.

I have used my weight as an excuse to keep my distance from people. I used it as an excuse as to why I didn't date... didn't get "the part"... wasn't who I wanted to be.

But all that is at an end. Today's the day...

I have joined SparkPeople. I have a SparkPage.

And here are my goals:

1. Drink 8 8oz. glasses of water a day.
2. Track my nutrition with their nutrition tracker.
3. Exercise at least 10 min. a day.
4. (and following Jaime's example) I will blog every Monday about my progress.

I know that these aren't overly ambitious goals... yet. I want to set goals I can meet. I will increase my workouts as I figure out how to work them into my schedule. Plus, JR gave me an awesome X-mas gift certificate for 8 pilates work-outs at Fit&Functional with Kristen. I will be using those. And Kristen and I have a deal: she will whip me into shape and I'll teach her how to use her new sewing machine. :) Pretty good deal, huh?

I will have a permanent link to my SparkPeople page on the Left. Keep me accountable. Check in on me. See how I'm doing.

But most importantly, please pray for me. Whenever I set my mind to loose weight (which I have done many times throughout the years) Satan wages war on me. I become SO hungry, and get SO busy that it seems like weight-loss is a selfish pursuit. And I know that this is a spiritual attack.

Not only do I want to lose weight for health and self-esteem purposes, but now that I have a daughter, I want to be able to set a positive example of health for her.

Thanks for being part of my support system.

-Daisha