MERRY CHRISTMAS, Everyone!!!

Dh and I went out to see the lights in town; THE TREE OF HOPE; and the Christmas Eve Service. Just what we needed to get our minds onto something else.

I got this poem from a Christian lady, who passed over some time ago now: it has been a great help to me during this time ...

GOD'S UNREMITTING CARE ...

THE STRAIN OF LIFE MORE TESTING GROWS
MORE TAXING NOW THE THINGS WHICH WEAR
BUT HEART AND MIND HAVE FOR REPOSE --
GOD'S UNREMITTING CARE!

LIFE'S PROBLEMS GROW: ITS LIMITS PRESS
MORE NOW ABUNDANT -- THINGS TO BEAR
YET, PEACE CAN REIGN IN ALL DISTRESS,
THROUGH GOD'S UNREMITTING CARE!

THE SHADOWS DEEPEN; EVILS REIGN,
AND SORROW'S CUP FULL MANY SHARE,
YET HEARTS FIND COMFORT, 'MIDST LIFE'S PAIN
IN GOD'S UNREMITTING CARE!

OUR GOD STILL REIGNS! HIS HAND CONTROLS!
AND NOTHING CAN HIS LOVE OUTWEAR ...
AND WE, WHO TRUST TO HIM OUR SOULS,
WILL FIND HIS UNREMITTING CARE!

J. DANSON SMITH/ mm

Thank you all for your prayers; I can see and feel the difference in my family already, esp my brother. His anxiety is lessening; and he is getting much stronger. Each day, we feel more at peace; and are still encouraging my family to TRUST GOD through this trial and test of our faith.

Had a good day today; and talked to most of my family. Had a nice turkey dinner: now it's time for my tea.

THANKS SO MUCH for your encouragement; I consider my friends here one of the most important BLESSINGS for the year of 2007. Have you heard of THE BLESSING TREE? A couple who was going thru a really tough time, including losing their home decided to have a blessing tree and held a party for all their friends and family so they could remember all the blessings GOD had given them that year.

They got a real tree and decorated it with small pieces of paper that listed all the blessings they received that year. They hung them on the tree with ribbon and on strings. When their guests arrived, they took them off and read them, sharing with their friends how good GOD had been to them that year. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, THE BLESSING TREE helped them to focus on the positive all thru the Christmas season. What a wonderful idea ...

HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY WEEK; your friend and fellow encourager ROSEBUD

Merry Christmas everyone!!

I finally have a moment to talk. We had an amazing Christmas. My DH's family is all here. It's the first time we've all been together for at least 4 years or more. We've been having a great time visiting. My dinner turned out great. I always worry about the turkey but it was really good.

The weather here is cold but that doesn't matter one bit. We're all together.

One of my sons gave me an exercise ball with DVD so now I really have no excuse not to exercise.

I have to go make waffles for brunch. I just wanted to wish you all a belated Merry Christmas and all of God's richest blessings in 2008.

Blessings and prayers continuing

We had a wonderful Christmas
It started Christmas Eve with the candlelight service and continued through Christmas day. DS had to work (as a hospital chaplain) at noon, so we took him to work and got to tour the hospital and meet some of his co-workers. DIL took us to Land's End and we took lots of great pictures of the ocean, the GG bridge, and walked the labyrinth on the shore. This was a NSV for me. Last year we went, and while everyone walked the labyrinth, I started back up the many, many flights of stairs. I knew that I would need lots of extra time to haul my 200+ lb. self back up to the top. It was one of those wake-up call moments that helped me realize that I was in denial about how much my weight was affecting my life. So - fast-forward to this year and I walked WITH my family. What a great Christmas present for me! God has been so faithful - helping me stay on this journey of change. I certainly couldn't have done it on my own!

Wilma - let us know how you like using the ball. I have been thinking of getting one, but wasn't sure I would use it enough to justify the space it takes up.

Rosebud - thanks for sharing the poem and the blessing tree idea! Both are wonderful!

Gary - great pictures! What a blessing to spend Christmas with so many loved ones

Dawn - I was thinking of you on Christmas and celebrating that you are now in the 150's. AWESOME!!! Still steadily moving down - even through the holidays - and with kids at home too!

It IS different once your kids are gone. I think it is so much easier to calorie count when you are only responsible for your own eating. DH can and does make his own meals if I am not ready to eat. Right now, visiting the kids - I don't have to worry about food preparation, and raiding someone else's kitchen to feed a craving just isn't gonna be a temptation - LOL If I can just stay OP while we dine in all of these wonderful restaurants in San Francisco ...

I hope everyone has a great day - and a wonderful week. Christmastide is such a wonderful time of year. So many reminders about that help us stay focused on the true meaning of the holiday.

Glad that everyone had a nice CHRISTMAS!

GARY ~ those are really nice pics of your family; I hope to start using my new digital camera and printer soon that Dh gave me this year. Will read the instructions first; it's probably really ez though.

COUNTING~ thanks for all your encouragement and prayers; glad you are having such a nice holiday with your family. I really understand that walking victory; today I went ski-walking and did a wee bit of snow pushing off our deck as well. The fresh air was invigorating, but mostly I am so proud of myself for accomplishing these activities on top of my housework today.

SHY ~ appreciate your prayers, support, and good thoughts. Yes, I think something from THE BLESSING TREE STORY could be incorporated into our yearly festivities too!

WILMA ~ that big bouncing ball sounds fun; but I just couldn't imagine myself on that; when I roll off onto the floor, who's gonna be there to pick me back up ~ LOL! Truly, I always tell Dh now and then that he'd better get his WINCH handy; I know I shouldn't say that, but that's exactly what I think sometimes; and that reminds me ...

TRUE STORY ~ Did I ever tell you guys about the time I was beached like a whale??? LOL! One winter, a friend invited me over for a coffee/visit; got all dressed up and was so excited as usual. Got there and Dh said 'Gee there's a lot of snow here, you go first and I'll pull up the ranks just to make sure you're OK!' So, I start walking down the laneway, and as I am going, I start sinking and sinking, more and more ... hehe (I'm laughing my guts out just telling you about this) hehe ...

... right up to my hips in snow; but I got stuck becuz I'm short and when I pulled one leg out, the other one went down. My boots were full of snow and my legs were freezing. At first, I was laughing hysterically, but then after awhile that turned to frustration and tears becuz I couldn't get out ~ LOL! And even poor Dh is trying his best to pull me and he can't cuz he's 130 lbs soaking wet and he started sinking too ... so I told him to go get my friend's Dh or a WINCH ~ LOL!

So that's how all that got started; but how did they get me out, you ask??? I rolled out of the hole as DH took one arm and the other guy took the other one, and they dragged me all the way to the road ... "just like a beached whale!" And yes, we were all laughing, but I didn't get to visit my friend until her DH had the laneway plowed. My Dh wasted no time in telling him what he thought about him letting the laneway get that full of snow ~ LOL!

ANYWAYS ~ you gotta learn to laugh at life sometimes; and that was one that I will laugh about for the rest of my life. I think you have an idea now why I want to lose weight so much; but, I realized later that I probably could have crawled out, but I was just too exhausted from trying ~ LOL!

HELLO KAREN ~ did you sell the house? Or did I miss something??? I probably did; was so distracted. I'll catch up soon.

Well that's enuff story telling for now; do any of you have any embarrassing or funny true stories you want to share with us? Take good care, your fellow encourager ROSEBUD

Hello Everyone! I hope everyone had a good Christmas and Santa was good to you!
I don't know if I told you that I've been watching craigslist for an elliptical--- Well, I found a Gazelle on there the first of December that the lady said was just like new and she wanted $100 for it. I sent her an email I think it was last week and asked if she still had it. She said she did but they were leaving and wouldn't be back until the 28th. So I figured that I would keep watching and if nothing came along better than I would call her this Friday and offer her $50 for it. I got all my "horse trading mentality" from my Daddy! Anyway, I got on craigslist this morning and they had a Proform elliptical for $25 ! I sent an email and asked if they still had it and where would I see it. They replied and then said they had to go to a birthday party this afternoon and wouldn't be home until about 3:00. He said that there was something wrong with adjusting the resistance and the console didn't light up but thought it would just need new batteries. So I told them that I would just buy it and we would be at their house at 3:00. We got down there and looked at it and tried it out. I asked if he would take $20 for it and he agreed! So I now have it here at home. I was pretty excited about it. We tried new batteries and that didn't help the console display but Tim hasn't got into it anymore tonight. And right now I sure don't need to change the resistance because I was on it for about 5 minutes and was just about worn out! He told us he thought that the resistance level right now was set at the lowest. It is a Proform 485E which is an older model but the price was definitely right!! I went ahead and got the internet and downloaded an owners manual for it so maybe we can get it figured out and fix those two things that are wrong with it. If not-- it was still worth the $20! I guess you can tell that I'm pretty happy about it!
Here are a couple pictures of Ginger & Sissy in their new dresses! I just couldn't resist!
I am laughing so hard!!! I think that we have all had those similar stories! Rosebud-- I always love to read your posts!
Gary, loved the pictures of your house and family! I am still trying to wait patiently for a buyer for the house so we can have all my family together next Christmas. Although getting together this year with the grandkids that we hadn't seen in about 10 years was great too!! The youngest was only about 4 months old the last time we saw them.
Well, it is getting late but wanted to pop in and say Hello. I will try to get caught up with everyone tomorrow! Have a good night!

KAREN ~ that is a very good deal you got on that Elliptical machine. Those dresses on your furry babies are really cute; mine got sweaters. Glad you like the stories/posts ...

SHY ~ Your story was a good one too; interestingly enuff, I had a similar experience when I was about 10+ y/o, only we all jumped off the dock; and my top came up, but not off; and a strap broke, so I just had to hold it 'til I could get out of the water, and put my shirt back on very quickly ~ lol.

HELLO TO EVERYONE ELSE ~ have a good night everyone; your fellow encourager ...

ROSEBUD

Wow! Time flies I have been so busy! Pray all had an awesome Christmas I sure did!! Gotta hurry as having party for my youthgroup tonight so gotta get snacks together, but have neglected you guys long enough.
Rosebud- Thanks! (encouragement for doing a great job losing) Prayers for your brother for continued, growing in Christ, comfort and strength... That restaurant had an awesome idea, too bad others don't follow suit.
Heather- Prayers all went well with visit w/ your brother
E.Z.- awesome decorations, house looks so nice, I gave our niece a hug for ya... She was so excited this year... Glad you got a chance to spend time with family and relax . Can't wait for the cruise so I can relax and not have to run to work... Yeah!!
Cadavis- Welcome! awesome people here!!!
Counting- At work at 6am is more frequent now because I still have 2 staff out of work... but it is getting easier, I wake up practically every morning by 6am now... Prayers for an awesome vacation....
Karen- Loved the santa Claus story as well as the conversation w/ Logan- so so true--- Congrats on elliptical, I really like mine just gotta find time to use it, hopefully things will settle down soon w/ work not be so busy...
Shy- Congrat's in the !50's you have done awesome... I agree I luv little churches, the people tend to be closer, as relationships and friendships tend to develop as you get to know each other better, My church has about 50 people in the winter and 100-130 in the summer when the snow bunnies come back from Fla. Wow! swimsuit story.. How embarrassing!!
Wilma- wow! waffles sound yummy what a great idea

Pray you all had an awesome Christmas spent w/ family and friends and a very blessed New Year... Gotta run, always in my prayers...

Thanks for the invite Rosebud! This looks like a great place.
A little info about me. I'm 44, a born again Christian, married to a WONDERFUL man, have 4 kids, 1 grandson, work in education.... and have got to get healthy in 2008.

I am a diabetic and have high blood pressure. My husband's cholesterol is high, so in Jan. he will start a 8 week class at his work. My daughter is also over weight (and I worry about her). I have done weight watchers before, so as crazy as it sounds, we are waiting until the first of the New Year to get started.

I am looking forward to getting to know everyone here.
May God ALWAYS bless you!

TIGER ~ glad you found us; our leader, EZ/GARY likes all kinds of sports including college football, and they chat sports a lot in the 'GENERAL CHATTER' forum.

SHY ~ we have a similar church issue; his church is very structured and quiet; AND THERE'S NO SINGING? They read scripture, pray, short sermon, celebrate the eucharist, and announcements. I come from a traditional background where you sing a lot, read scriptures and psalms, have a sermon, eucharist once a month, sing some more, and then are blessed before we go home. We have tried a few others, but he doesn't seem to like any of them; so, we will have to keep 'Sunday Sharing' as I call it, for now. We live in a small town, so there's only so many churches to choose from, and they're ALL small ~ lol.

SUE ~ you are indeed a busy lady; hope your party goes well. I think it is so nice what you are doing for them; I remember the leaders that did that kind of stuff for us, and we appreciated it a lot. It's so nice to have a Christian alternative for socializing for our young people, esp today.

Well we had a good day, was supposed to take our little 'SWEETIE' to the vets for a lump on her belly, but they called and cancelled on us. So I am going to try and get her some vitamins until I can find a vet to see her; we only have a part-timer who comes here from the city once a week.

I am back on track from the holidays; I had a few treats but they were all small and I had them as my snacks, so there shouldn't be any damage there. We are having friends here for New Year's day. Just did some housework and rested this afternoon; I felt better today: yesterday had quite a fever with a flu/cold I caught somewhere.

Take good care everyone, your fellow encourager ROSEBUD sending up ^prayers^ for you and yours ...

Hello and Happy Saturday.

I'm having a nice lazy day here. My DH has gone deer hunting today, daughter is shopping w/ her grandmother, son is outside playing w/ the dog.

I have been surfing the net for hours. My eyeballs are bugged out for ALL of the weight loss and healthy eating tips! Wild salmon no farm raised salmon...flaxseed not flaxseed oil...Soy milk vs. cows milk....Oatmeal not cereal... Eggs...NO eggs. I do trust all of the things I have been reading on the Mayo Clinic web site.

YIKKIES what's a girl to do?

I would love to hear what kind of diets y'all are following.... along with some menus. I usually fix our breakfast at home, Husband and I take our lunch to work. and normally we do dinner as a family (home cooked) Something I don't really enjoy doing, but I do it for my family. (patting myself on the back) lol.

Well the laundry room is calling my name. I will check back a bit later!

Hope y'all are enjoying the day!

I am a calorie counter, I find that works best for me. I plan my menus ahead and most of the time stick to it. I find calorie counting to be flexible, non restrictive and best of all , free. It is also something I can live with long term to maintain my weight loss.

HI GALS ~

I am exhausted .... Angie and I had our Saturday morning 3 mile walk to Starbucks, then a trip to Costco, produce market and the new Fresh and Easy Store in town.

We had party goodies to buy. We are having about 20+ here for dinner and an "early" New Years Eve party...we expect most of our crowd to be home well before midnight...I sure hope so! "cause if the're not.... please keep the noise down ...'cause I'm trying to sleep!

BARGOO ~ Calorie counting is very successful for a lot of people!

TIGERDAWG As far as "diets" go, all I can say is that for me it is just common sense/no secret stuff that works best. Healthy food and exercise. A typical days meal for me while I was losing weight was Breakfast of fiber cereal or oatmeal with a bannana or whole wheat toast or a low fat yogurt. A granola bar for a snack. Lunch was a can of low cal soup such as Progresso Turkey Noodle and a turkey sandwich on whole wheat. A snack of carrots and celery. Dinner was "whatever" we are having...we don't eat boxed or fast food much at all around here. We do eat meat and rice/potato and veggies for most meals or a pasta dish...usually with a red sauce not creamy. I just ate less for dinner....I found I didn't have to eat until I felt like I would blow up! I am not much of a snacker...although I could eat a bag of chips at any meal! I am not a sweet eater...so that makes things easier for me too. I do have too many beer calories most days I do a lot of miles with my wife and dogs or on the treadmill also. I do burn off a lot of calories some days with my construction work too...which is an advantage I may have over you gals too. Thanks for joining us!

ROSEBUD and SHY ~Isn't it great that the Lord blesses us with so many churches and ways to recieve His WORD! For some folks the little neighborhood home churches are best and others love the mega church way. So many ways to worship in our free country. We are so richly blessed!

AUNT SUE ~Take a breath dear! Thanks for giving the little one a from her Uncle Gary ...Lara says it is cold there in NYC and so glad to be home for Christmas. Start packing!

KAREN ~Great score on that elliptical! Angie loves craigslist...she even sold some cardboard boxes on it once! Yep I do suppose seeing some of those grandkids after almost 10 years would make it a good year!

LAURIE ~ I hope you are still enjoying your time in the Bay area and having some fine dark beer "he says as he opens another MGD"

WILMA ~So, are you playing with that new ball yet? I weighed in at 171.4 on Wednesday...I was down but had too many cheese enchiladas at Christmas! I am over that today too at 173.0...the highest I have been in ages... but I am in denial so it doesn't count! A good walk this afternoon plus the one I had this morning should get me back on target!

Well Ladies I think I am up to date....see you in church tomorrow

WORSHIP where/when you can!

GARY ~ Yes, we are very blessed to be able to go to and choose from many different kinds/sizes of churches in NA. Believe it or not, in some countries in this world today, Christians are actually being persecuted and killed just for their beliefs, so we are praying for them (Samoa comes to mind; hope it's the right Asian country).

That sounds like a good plan, and similar to ours; we have cereal or oatmeal most mornings, but eggs about once a week. Lunch is a whole wheat sandwich with soup or fruit. We just have a regular dinner too; we rarely eat out, and if we do, it's likely SPIT BBQ CHICKEN. A new Chinese restaurant just opened up near here, so we must go try it out sometime.

Today I made a large pot of homemade turkey/veggie/sweet potato soup; had three containers left over to put in the freezer for another time. Hope you have a great party; already sounds like you will. We are having some folks over on New Year's Day this year.

BARGOO ~ your plan sounds good too; I like that theory and think it is doable for the long-term too. That's what I'm looking for; oh sure, I mess up a tad here and there, but nothing too major, thankfully. I'm finding this way so much easier now ...

Not much else going on here, but piles of snow falling last night; DH says we are gonna go broke with all these snow shovelling fees, but we can't do it and the fella needs the dough, so it works out for both of us. I told Dh to tell him it's time to stop the 'SNOW DANCING' though ~ lol.

Well, that's all for tonight; gotta get to bed soon, so take good care ~ your fellow encourager ROSEBUD ^prayers^ continue ...

Rosebud - thanks for the "whale" story! I've got tears running down my cheeks. Mostly because I have been stuck up to my waist in the snow and know exactly how it feels. DH had to pull me out too. I crawled until I got to "safe" ground. How is your "pup" doing? Is she better?
Thanks for the reminder that there are many Christians that are not blessed to have the freedom to worship that we enjoy. You are so right! We all need to keep the global church in our prayers and do what we can to help our brothers and sisters in Christ!

Dawn - thanks for sharing the swimming story. I'm laughing even harder! I had stopped - your story was kind of sad - until you got to the bathing suit part. That was always a fear for me as a teen - losing part of my suit. Since then, I've never worn a two-piece suit, so it isn't an issue any longer - LOL

Finding an "our" church sounds like a great idea. It can be hard though - it took us quite a while until we found one we were both comfortable with. He liked a small, intimate feeling, I was used to a bigger congregation. We now attend a larger church, but go to the early morning service which averages 60-80 people. It is a good compromise for us. I do agree that the small church feel lends itself to a more connected and caring atmosphere. With a larger congregation, it is a challenge to make sure everyone feels cared for and nurtured. I always like to hear "praise the LORD" and clapping during a service - but Methodists aren't known for a lot of spontaneity during the service (at least in northern MI). I just do it anyway - thankfully the congregation is used to me by now - LOL

Karen - thanks for sharing the pictures - they look SOOOO cute! I hope that 2008 brings the sale of your house! We continue to keep the situation in our prayers.

Sue - glad you had a great Christmas! Hope the party went well!

tigerdawg - WELCOME! I look forward to getting to know you. I'm a calorie counter like Shy and bargoo (ditto what bargoo said). DH and I are vegetarians. I applaud your cooking for your family. I like to cook - just not all the time - LOL. Our kids are grown, so it is MUCH easier now. DH can fend for himself if I don't feel like eating.

It IS hard sorting out all of the diet and exercise advice you find online. Common sense goes a long way. So does trial and error - try something - if it doesn't work - try something else. Like Shy, I use Fitday. This is the first time I have kept a food, exercise and weight journal. It has been a big part of my success so far. I really think I need to keep it up for life. Other plan details:
I try to limit myself to 1200-1500 calories each day. I try to get a 40/30/30 carb/protein/fat split. I also try to get enough fiber and eat as many whole or natural foods as I can. Processed foods, simple sugars and "junk" foods are things I try to limit as much as possible. Actually - I have lost my taste for most of them since changing my eating habits over the last 6 months.
Working exercise into my daily routine has been tougher, but I am slowly getting to a place where I actually miss it if I don't do it. Yeah!!!!!

Gary - We are having a wonderful time. Lots of wine - but so far - not one beer I'm hoping that we can work in a couple microbreweries on Mon. and/or Wed. If not, DH's home brew is gonna taste mighty good when we get home!

Hope you have a wonderful party! We are having a party on the 1st - well, actually DIL is having it and we are helping. 25 people are invited over for her birthday. I'm gonna try and be a good MIL and just do whatever she asks me to do to get ready - LOL

Whew - I think I am caught up! I missed posting

I will try to get a few pictures up in the next day or two - as time allows. We really enjoyed Yosemite! We hiked in the snow every day and DIL was surprised by our ability to keep up (it is amazing what losing 90+ lbs. between the two of us will do for our speed and endurance- LOL)! DH and I bought each other trekking poles for Christmas - they were a wonderful gift since we hiked over solid ice on some of the trails. Over the 2.5 days, we hiked over 15 miles

Blessings to all! Prayers continuing!

Shy - I feel the same way about snow - LOL. The older I get, the less I enjoy winter. Thus, when the kids said that they wanted to give us a snow vacation as their Christmas gift to us, I was skeptical. But, we had a really nice time and I enjoyed the snow much more than I do in Michigan. I think the beautiful mountains helped - we don't have mountains back home. I have attached a few of the pictures we took while hiking. We actually enjoyed it so much, that we are going to dig out our cross-country skis when we get home. They have been sitting in the garage - neglected and ignored for several years now.