Saturday, June 30, 2007

Walking Backwards

That's kind of how I felt this week. My schedule was all out of sorts and I never found a groove. Paris had swim lessons every morning so my regular exercise routine for the week didn't happen...at all. We've been staying up late (read: sleeping late). I didn't get enough reading done (I have like a half a book to read before our book club meets on Monday!) I guess I did OK with food. I really felt the effects of the female monthly this week. I've always known the I crave some chocolate during the pms phase, but I really craved carbs all week. I ate oatmeal almost everyday and even had a piece of bread (whole grain & sugar free!) every day with one meal or another. Lots less fruits than I had been eating. It was just a weird week. I'm humbly asking for your prayers this next week as swim lessons continue and my daily routine will continue to be less than "normal". We are also having a BBQ with a few friends on the 4th. I "politely suggested" that everyone bring health conscious sides/desserts to go with the fake fried chicken I'm making (it's baked) and all the meat Easy will be grilling. More than anything I solicit your prayers that I can put my head back in the word on a a daily basis. Just because my kids are sleeping later doesn't mean I have to. Please pray that God nudge me from my bed each morning so I can start the day off at His feet instead of hitting mine in response to the coos and cries of my children.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Weekend In Review

Well, I'm feeling convicted to post about my weekend. It was a busy one. I know I made a few choices that were less than great, but I also made some that were really good. So, here's the low-down:

Friday night was date night. This was our first date night since I've made than major nutritional changes in my diet. We went to Abuello's - our first time there. I was a little nervouse because I LOVE Mexican food - the tortillas, the cheese, the chips, the queso (that's cheese again!), the enchilada sauce, refried beans....and the list of less than healthy favorites goes on and on. So, we get seated and instead of queso, we ordered some guacamole and when we finished the guac I removed the chips from our reach. What really made me happy is that I had a hard time choosing between all the health-full options because the all sounded so good! I ended up ordering some grilled skewers (chicken & shrimp) and I substitued fresh broccoli for the mexican mashed potatoes that came with it. I got no dessert. The splurge for that meal would definitely be the chips at the beginning and the fruity adult beverage I had. (there's a story behind that - it was long overdue......if my future matches my past I won't have another drink like that for a few years!) All in all I felt I handled the evening well. Oh, and some calories got bruned. I'll leave it at that. :-) (I apologize, this is supposed to be my spiritual blog - I usually reserve comments like that for my other blog - oops.)

So then came Saturday - Paris' 5th b-day party. I think the day went fantastic! The kids had a blast and most importantly for me, I didn't eat a piece of cake or ice cream! I have to shout out for my friend Kara as well. She made the cake (which looked amazing as always!) and she didn't even take a nibble in the process - no cake crumbs, no icing. Way to go Kara! My hubby saved me late in the day. I was tired and was thinking things like, "Let's just go grab some burgers or something." Before I could say anything of the sort he suggested we bake the trout he caught on a fishing trip recently. We baked it and had it over whole grain brown & wild rice. Yum-O! I did have two pinches of cake that night, it tasted great, but was sweet enough that I didn't even want more. My how my body has changed it's preferences already!

And that brings us to today. Today is Paris' actual b-day. She's been planning all week to eat at Doubledave's. I was pleased when we walked in to see that DD's is now offering a healthier fare on "green trays" in their buffet. The crust is a honey wheat crust and they use chicken and veggies and much less cheese. Sadly, the went a bit overboard with the onions (which I don't even like on my pizza anyway) so I passed on the green tray and ate the real stuff. I didn't over eat though. My second transgression would be at dinner - I made pancakes for Paris and I ate some. I could really tell that the whole concept of "carb addiction" is real today. After eating those things I found myself really wanting a piece of her cake. Instead, we went out to the back porch and had some watermelon. We also went for a family walk this evening, so I worked in some exercise. Not my best day far as the food goes, but it was a fabulous family day. We even got to all go to worship service together. I usually work the nursery, but I took the day off today so we could all be together all day. It was wonderful.

OK, there you have it. I know I could have done a lot worse than I did, but I still own the fact that I made a few bad choices. As Easy reminded me, it's not a big deal that I "splurged," I just need to remember that this week I will probably have to face some of those cravings down again. I know with God's strength and y'all's encouragement I will get through any momentary cravng and keep this temple headed in the right direction.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Tough Week

That's what it's been. Tripp spiked a fever at VBS on Tuesday evening. He ran one all day Wednesday and has had a rash all over for two days now. Fever is gone though. That prevented me from keeping my "normal" schedule. I'm also PMS-ing which makes me very tired and very cranky. All that together makes it harder to make good choices with food! I've done well though. Wednesday night I actually had the frozen burritos in my hand when I stopped and thought about what I was doing. I put them up and stir-fryed a big bunch of veggies instead. The PMS really does make my sweet tooth scream. (and I mean SCREAM) I've been having a bowl of oatmeal sweetened with Splenda in the evenings. Today I did hit my stash - I keep some dark chocolate on hand for days like today when I'm barely hanging on to sanity and that tooth just won't shut up. I ate two little squares of the bar and put the rest back int the zip-top baggie.

Anywho........I have been reading in Beth Moore and also in the book on contenement for LBC. My quiet time this morning is what stuck with me today though. I'm in Luke 20-something. It was about the "end of days." The study guide I use prompted with a question on my personal feelings when thinking of the end of days. I thought for a minute and found that it doesn't really matter to me if it's now or not. Every day I just want to get up and do what God needs me to do that day. Some days that's all about being Mom, somtimes it's being there for a friend, sometimes it's speaking something out loud that I don't want to say but He's prompting me to anyway, sometimes it's all about being a wife, whatever the task - that's all I want to do each day. I want to follow His lead. If we are nearing the end of days I say "Woo Hoo!!! Let's go home!" If we're not, then so what - it doesn't really change what I want to do every day - simply follow His lead. I know that He will always be leading me to do things that will increase His kindgom and I'm begining to understand and beleieve that He actually has a job for me, Sarah Foster, to do.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Update

It's been crazy and busy and I was even without internet for a bit. We had water running in our internet cable that attaches to the big antenna on top of the house. Yes, I said water, running into an electrical system. Glad I caught it when I did and now it's all better.

Consumption: Has been going really well. I find that making good choices is easier every day. The weekend was challenging as I attended a potluck on Saturday, and had to eat at Whataburger that same night. I did pretty good though. I chose to have NO dessert at the potluck and NO bread. At dinner I ordered a grilled chicken salad, but I did bum some fries off a friend. They tasted good, but I didn't even finish all of them so I think I ate maybe a quarter of an order of medium fries.

Exercise: Last week was not so good as I was fighting off some sickness. I did walk on Friday and I walked again on yesterday. I just didn't do T-TH last week.

Clutter Control: barely keeping up

Spiritual Development: I'm back in Luke for morning quiet time. I didn't do that this morning. The whole house overslept. VBS kept us up late last night. I am reading in the Beth Moore book and am enjoying it quite a bit. I'm about to start the chapter on beleiving I am who God says I am. Knowing that is an area I really struggle with made me decide last night that it could wait for today. I had already read two chapters and thought I should wait until I was more awake to dive into that topic.

Oh - and the # on the scale is dropping!!! My clothes are beginning to fit a bit deffierently as well. Since starting this blog I have lost 10.5 pounds. Keep the prayers and support coming as I celebrate freedom from those pounds while knowing there's a good 30-40 more to go!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

An Example

I thought I would provide an example of how I'm changing my food choices to be a healthier temple.

Old Sarah

Breakfast: 2 Waffles with I Can't Beleive It's Not Butter and Brown Sugar. Probably some Bacon on the side - 4 pieces.

Lunch: Tuna salad (made with canned tuna ,mayo, & relish) sammie on white sandwich bread with at least one slice of cheese. Side of chips of some sort.

Snack: 100 calorie pack of some sort of sugary proccesed food. Or a bowl of chips. Or a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich.

Dinner: Bread of some sort, pasta dish of some kind - usually with beef and some sort of creamy or cheesy sauce or tomto sauce, maybe some salad or a side veggie that was turned into a casserole (meaning cheese, butter, or any manner of other ingredients was added)

Snack: see above snack and repeat

New Sarah

Breakfast: Meal replacement bar or shake OR an egg sramble with ham and veggies.

Snack: Whole fruit or light yogurt or handful of almonds

Lunch (this is what I had today): Salmon salad (made with salmon, light mayo, olives, relish, and slivered almonds) heaped a top one piece of whole grain bread

Snack: Whole fruit, veggie and dip (that I made from chickpeas and olives - not sure but I may have made hummus without knowing it), light yogurt, or turkey wrapped around a low-fat string cheese.

Dinner: Varies - we're still working our way through our most recent Big Cook and it was done before I made this shift. So, it's usually a small portion of whatever that entree is plus some veggies (whole raw, steamed, or sauted in EVOO) or salad.

Snack: Any of the above mentioned snacks.

Small changes with a big effect. I feel better. I have more energy. The number on the scale is smaller. My kids are making much better choices for their foods! It helps that the not so good options aren't in the house.

Hanging In........

The last two days have been OK.

Consumption has been very good. I'm surprised at how easy this eating thing is becoming. I do, however, still have to fight some cravings in the late evening - usually for waffles and something cheesy. I guess I'm still working on kicking that carb addiction. It's definitely getting better though!

I mised the last two days of exercise. Tuesday I took a nap because I'd only had 3 hours of sleep and had lost my voice so I was trying to get better. Yesterday I was trying to stop a migraine before it got bad. It didn't work.

Clutter Control has been barely basics, but I'm intending to do some catching up today as it is a designated "stay home day!"

Spiritually Development has been good. I've read in my book for LBC which I've discovered is about contenment. I've only done one chapter, so right now I'm thinking I need to read more befor I pass judgement. Some of the statements in Chapter 1 were so general and vague that I didn't really agree with them. I look forward to reading more to see how it unfolds. The Beth Moore book is fabulous and very convicting. Last night was the first night that I had to defend my commitment to no evening TV. Of course, I was defending it to a 5 year old so it was pretty simple. I just told her that it was time to turn it off and then when we got home from church I simply said no. She didn't much like that part, but she got over it when I called her Graggie and let her talk on the phone and then let her stay up late looking at/reading herlibrary books so she could see her Daddy when he got home. It is amazing to me the difference in the feel of the house when the tube is off. Much more peaceful!

I better run, Vivie is calling for her breakfast. Actually she's saying "Huuuwaaaaa. Hmmmmmmmmm. Ma ma. Huuuuuuuuuuuuh." But that really means she wants some breakfast.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Denise Rocks!

I must have looked really bad at church Sunday because I had friends offer to provide lunch and dinner for me on Monday. I am truly blessed by good friends and am happy to report that Easy will be home tonight and I don't think he'll be gone overnight again until sometime in July.

Consumption: Did pretty well here. It's always hard for me when Easy is gone. Lonliness is definitely a trigger for bad eating habits for me. Had some egg scrambled with veggies for breakfast. 1 XS, 2 cups decaf, 24oz water, 1 HEB water. Turkey sandwich & half a banana for lunch. Light cherry yougurt for snack. Then Deinse brought us dinner - she is amazing. In an effort to help me in my remodeling plans she brought me a dinner that fit the bill. She brought me an enormous salad (seriously, I think I ate 1/3 of it for dinner!) that had all the good stuff - carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, chickpeas, avocado, almonds, and the list goes on. She packed some chopped chicken (I think it was rotiserrie - yummy), extra carrots & cucumbers for the kids, some plain pasta (Paris is anti-sauce), sliced up cantalaupe (sp?) and strawberries, two light dressing options, drinks for the kids and even put in diet citrus Green Tea for me to drink! She even made these YUMMY little desserts with sugar free jello, strawberries, and light cool whip. It was a healthy feast enjoy by everyone in my house and we have left overs for lunch today. Denise - YOU ROCK!!

Exercise: 5 laps at Tanglewood Park.

Clutter Control: Just the basics today - laundry and kitchen.

Spiritual Development: Quiet time was in Psalms again. Today the study guide prompted many questions about doubt and how Satan has used it to wreak havoc in my life. He always uses it to have me doubt that God's promises actually apply to me. Then I read chapter 3 in the Beth Moore book. Holy cow. In this chapter she challenges you to spend time in prayer and let God help you determine a time period to focus on doing the following things: Raise your sheild of faith (and she gives you a physical way to do this so that you really engage you mind and spirit - it gives me goosebumps when I do it!), sanctify yourself (pray and ask God to show you what He'd like you to remove from your life), and record Godstops (times when you clearly see God's presence in a situation. I did as the book challenges and here's what God gave me - no evening TV. Turn the TV off at 6:00 pm for the night everynight. Time frame - starting Tuesday and continuing until my new gig (which I'm not quite at libertly to discuss in detail yet) starts - should be September 1. She recommends tying a blue cord of some kind around your right wrist to serve as your reminder, so if you see me wearing a blue bracelet on my right wrist you'll know what it means. It was a powerful chapter and one that literally prompted me to pray in a way I rarely do - so totally honest and "naked" and willing to do whatever it is He asks of me so that I may truly know Him and feel His presence in my daily life. It was pretty amazing. It truly is amazing what happens when you open yourself and ask the Spirit to lead you. The really amazing thing is that we have that power any and every minute of every day if we will only stop and ask and listen for the answers.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Quick Update

Thursday and Friday were both good. Consumption remained healthy and only at times of hunger. I exercised both days - Thursday I worked out with my tubing and I walked on Friday. Clutter control was just keeping up around the house. I did have quiet time Thursday morning. Friday I did not - the bag monster got me! I did get to spend some time with one of my best friends in Houston Friday evening and that was a tremendous time of relaxing and boosting of my spirits. (Not that my spirits were low, but it was just a great visit!) We spoke of many of the changes I've been tracking here and it was so good to have support and encouragement as well as be able to share some new knowledge with them. (that book I read is effecting people everywhere I go because I can't stop talking about it!) Anyway, I just wanted to post my basics so you would all know I've been keeping up. This is weekend 2 of Easy being gone all weekend so we're hanging in. I can say that my eating has not been as good today, but I haven't eaten past full. I do ask that you pray for us as we finish this weekend on our own. Easy will be home tomorrow evening, but he will be gone overnight again Monday night. The kids are getting to that "push the limit" point since they haven't had much time with Daddy and we still have a ways to go before they get some quality time. Please pray that I can keep my cool and be a good example to them. (i.e. - not yell and scream and zone on the TV becuase I'm tired and stessed!)

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Wednesday Already?

The week is going fast! Here's how I did:

Consumption: 1 XS, 1 chocolate coconut TAMRB, 24oz water, 1 HEB water, 1 banana, 2 string cheese turkey roll-ups, handful almonds, handful cashews ,1 bowl left over linguinie a la anne. I'm kind of amazed at how not hungry I've been as I've made the effort to serisouly reduce my processed carb intake!

Exercise: 30-minute aerobic video work out. If you'd like a chuckle you should go read my other blog for a more detailed description of this experience. (link is in the sidebar)

Clutter Control: Sheet day!

Spiritual Development: Missed my morning quiet time. I did take time in the afternoon (after exercising & getting a shower - God does multiply your time when you use it for Him!) and read a chapter in Beleiving God. I also bought the book we are using for summer Ladies' Bible Class so i can get the first chapter read before class starts next week. We are using Calm My Anxious Heart by Lina Dillow.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Tuesday

Consumption: TAMRS (chocolate w/banana & pb), handful of grapes, 2/3 a cup of natural applesauce (vivie would eat it), 2 eggs scrambled w/mushrooms, olives and topped with salsa, 1 XS, 1 HEB water, 1 cup decaf coffee, 2 small helpings linguine a la anne (pasta and ham dish), some tomato-cucumber salad, hanful of cashews

Exercise: Nothing formal. My book I ordered for my xertubes came in so I will put together my plan and start the strength training part of my routine on Thursday.

Clutter Control: just the basics today.

Spiritual Development: Quiet time at 6:40-ish. Psalm 8 I think. Truth be told, it didn't make a lasting impression as I can't even remember at the moment what it was about. Started reading Beleiving God by Beth Moore for this month's book club.

Monday, June 4, 2007

Manic Monday

Not really manic, but definitely a very full one!!!

Consumption: 1 TAMRS (vanilla with 2 scoops of peanut butter), 2 XS drinks, 24oz (plain) water, 1 HEB water, 2 turkey roll-ups (lunchmeat around string cheese), grilled chicken sammie on whole wheat bread with tomatoes on it and on the side, 2/3 of a peach, 1 handful almonds.

I finished the Healthy for Life (by Dr. Ray Strand) book over the weekend. You can expect to see more fruits and veggies and a lot less processed foods in my reporting!

Exercise: 6 laps at Tanglewood park pushing double stroller with T&V in it.

I also purchased to work out videos today so that on Wednesday afternoons I can do a cardio work out. This will give me 3 cardio days and 2 strength training days a week. Anything on the weekend will be bonus!

Clutter Control: Sold a box of books to Half Price Books. Bought bins and got ALL of our DVD's organized. (and put away so the kids will stop playing with them!!) Laundry.

Spiritual Development: Had my quiet time this morning in Psalm 6. It was interesting. The devotional prompted you to think about tears and crying. Those who are close know that I went a very long time with out crying. I was so stressed during my pregnancy with Viv and then trying to get moved into the house that I just sort of shut off. I didn't cry more than 2 tears for close to a year I think. Then I found out a friend had cancer and I lost it. I'm easing back into my "natural" crying. Reading this Psalm reminded me that God made us with tear ducts and they aren't there just to flush out our eyeballs when they have junk in them. He gave us emotions. He wants us to to cry out to Him and give Him a chance to wipe away our tears. I did that on Thursday. I went in to peep at Tripper before I went to bed and it felt like the whole world fell on my head. I'll have to explain more later, but I was just overwhelmed suddenly with my love for him and my desire for his future to be amazing, and filled with joy, and...normal. That night as I lay in bed I prayed that God would take care of my son, but I also prayed that He would take away my fear. I found immediate releif and drifted into slumber peacfully. God wants us to bring Him our struggles. He has comfort to offer that we can get no where else. I'm glad I'm learning to cry again. Mostly I'm glad that I've finally dicovered the peace of letting God wipe away my tears.

Friday, June 1, 2007

Thursday Report

Consumption: 2 cups French Vanilla coffee, Chocolate TAMRS with banana and natural pb, 1/2 HEB water, 1 snuggle w/turkey, a pickle spear, and cream cheese, 1 100 calorie granola snack bar, a handful of southwet ranch Ritz chips, 1 brisket sammie and a helping of broccoli carrot casserole, and sadly - a large fry and bottled DP from McDonald's.

I started reading a book yesterday that is really shedding some light on my eating habits and the current state of my body. It's called Healthy for Life by Dr. Strand. I read nearly 100 pages yesterday because it rang so true to me. He talks a lot about the glycemic-index and how high glycemic foods truly create a physical addiction not undifferent than one to drugs. I'm sure I will finish the book over the weekend since Easy is out of town. I think I will pass it to my mom when I'm done. She and I eat very similarly and I think that it could really help her see what I've already learned. Basically - this is a hard battle to fight and our culture (though seemingly obsessed with young thin beauty) helps create a carb addiction that results in the need to fight our own body chemistry to get healthy. Good news is, I'm ready to fight!

Exercise: Nothing formal today. I worked at the church doing some babysitting this morning and let me say - man, was that a work out! Stephanie and I had 12 kids to watch and we were serisouly pooped when it was done. (Thus, the pooe choice of fries and soda mentioned above!)

Clutter Control: I got Tripp's room all cleaned up and organized!! This was a major undertaking. It looks so nice now and I think all the kids can play in a much more productive way. I truly beleive chaos breeds chaos so starting the day with a nice neat house will result in more peace in my book!

Spiritual Development: My quiet time was in Luke this morning. Nothing truly dramatic hit me except that I need to tend to what I have. I'm learning that it's a fine line we tread. I know God puts dreams in our hearts to stretch us and increase our faith so we can in turn increase His Kingdom. I also know that if we don't tend to what we already have that we can't be stretched into something more. Ultimately I suppose the lesson is one I've know all along and just forget - a lot. My focus shouldn't be on any of these "earthly" things anyway. It doesn't matter if I'm focusing on what I have or what I want. My focus should be on God - the rest will fall into place when He has my heart and mind.