A bit of a difference from the last time I was working out somewhat consistently, is that I’m not really doing it with weight loss in mind. But more to increase my energy level. There’s so much I want to do with the kids this summer (especially since it’s the last summer before Hannah starts school, and the last summer before Anthony is out of high school), that I want to have the stamina to keep up with them. I hope for many trips to the park, zoo, hanging out at Mom’s pool, day trips when we can afford it,  and maybe the library when it’s too hot to be outside. Wish I had never stopped working out! Then it wouldn’t be so hard to get back into!

Since getting a fence isn’t going to happen anytime soon, as we had hoped, it was time to look for another home for him. I first asked my cousin if they could take him back, but that wasn’t going to work out. My cousin’s friend wanted him, but he lives in Washington state. So that’s quite a distance and no good way for him to get there.

There was one other person that had expressed an interest in him when we got him. And it just happened to be Aunt Penny’s daughter, Audra. Who once raised and bred Mastiff’s. How perfect is that? So while Aunt Penny was here last weekend, we called her daughter who was very excited and wanted him right away. When I asked if she wanted to ask her husband before saying yes, I heard her say, “we’re getting a dog, ok?” Thankfully he was good with it too. They have a huge fenced in yard with plenty of space for Griffin to play and get all that energy out.

She does live about 6 hours away, but that’s a much shorter trip than Washington state! My Mom will have the kids this weekend, and Zale will be busy with his mock court trial team at their state competition. Dad and I had already talked about hanging out anyway, so we decided why not do it on the road? Friday afternoon we’re heading to Arkansas with Griffin to introduce him to his new family. I’m excited for them and for Griffin since he’s going to have so much more freedom to run. But I will miss him.

Dad called yesterday and “suggested” that I take griffin on short car rides between then and Friday to get him use to being in the car. I say “suggested”, because his exact words were, “I have a mission for you.” Those words usually scare me just a bit. But it was a good idea. Until yesterday he had only been in our Suburban if we took him anywhere with us. And the car is not his favorite place to be.

So last night I figured I’d take Griffin to get gas, just to have somewhere to go. He whined a bit and stood with his front paws in the passenger seat, with his back legs in the back seat of our older Infiniti sedan. Yep, he’s that big. I open the door to get out at the gas station, and before I could stop him, he was out the door. Thankfully I had left his leash hooked up to his gentle leader (not as tight as a muzzle, but keeps him from pulling us down the street), so I was able to grab that before he got away. I figured it would be easier to just let him stay out with me while I pumped gas, than try to force him back into the car. He wasn’t real comfortable with any of it, but he did ok. From there I called my best friend, Kim to see if I could come over for a minute so she could see Griffin while we still have him. They have a lab and a cat, that Griffin did ok with. He was a hit with Kim and her daughter Molly, as he is with most people.

As I type Griffin is whining and pawing at the front door to go out. Even thought I just took him out half an hour ago. Right about now is where a fence would come in very handy!!!

Neither of us left the court without injury. Thankfully nothing major or anything that will prevent us from playing again soon. In fact, Dad has a game tonight. I am very grateful to be playing again. It’s so nice to get a good work out!

I don’t think I did too badly, especially considering how long it had been since I’ve “played”. For the most part we just hit the ball around, but with about 10 minutes left in the hour Dad decided we should play a short game. Penny and I against Dad. She and I actually won! It was great. Yes I know, two of us against one of him, but I’ll take it!  Most of the time I didn’t have a clue what was going on. Thankfully they kept score. I managed a few points, but they usually had to tell me when I made one. We laughed more than anything and I honestly can’t wait to get back on the court. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I started hitting the ball again.

After racquetball I raced home to get ready to go to church. Which was great, good lesson, good music, and great friends. Then back to our house for pizza, dirt cake, and more fun. I’m pretty exhausted, but enjoyed every minute to today!! Thanks Penny for making the drive, thanks Zale for taking care of the kids most of the day while I played,  and thanks Dad for lunch, dinner, and just a great day! Love you all!!!!

Oh yea, one thing I should probably mention, this morning Dad and I met up with a friend of Leeanna’s (Dad’s girlfriend’s daughter). I guess she didn’t hear when Dad introduced me as his daughter, so a minute later she asked if I was Leeanna’s Mom. This is the 2nd time that’s happened. Leeanna is 22 or 23, I’m 35. As a teenager I thought it was cool when someone thought I was older than I really was. Not so much anymore! I think she also assumed Dad and I were married instead of Father / Daughter. We get that a lot too. But I’m pretty sure I could comfortably go the rest of my life without anyone else thinking I’m old enough to be Leeanna’s Mom! Big sister, sure. Mom, I’d rather not.

So this evening I made it upstairs (thanks to Anthony who watched the girls) and got back on the elliptical. I can’t even remember the last time I used it. How pitiful is that!? I only did 20 minutes, but I’m pretty happy with that since it’s been so long. And I don’t even feel like I’m about to die! Which is even better!

Saturday I’m finally getting back on the racquetball court with Dad (and one or more mystery people) after months and months of not playing. I’m not sure that I’ll even remember how to hit the ball or any of the rules, but I know we’ll have a great time! I hope this is just the start of many more Saturdays of racquetball with Dad! Maybe I’ll even learn how to actually play a real game!

Anthony started playing video games when my Dad bought him his first Super Nintendo (or maybe it was Nintendo 64)  for his 5th or 6th birthday. He’s been hooked ever since. He can pick up a controller for anything and know which buttons to push without being told. It’s amazing. I think he’s had every gaming console except the PS3. Zale and I bought his Wii from him because he hadn’t played it much since he got his X Box 360 two Christmas’ ago, and we talked about getting the Wii fit sometime down the line.

I think Anthony has played the Wii more in the last week (since it’s been in the living room) than he has the last year and half it’s been in his bedroom. The girls LOVE watching him (and Zale) play. I think Anthony is on a mission to teach the girls to be gamers before he moves out after High School.

As I sit here on the laptop, I’m listening to Hannah ask questions about the games he’s playing (remember, she’s 4) and Anthony answer them. He just told her she’s going to have a pop quiz tomorrow. And I wouldn’t put it past him!

1 box of instant vanilla pudding (prepare according to directions on box)

1 package of softened cream cheese

1 package of cool whip

1 package of Oreo’s

Mix pudding, cream cheese, and cool whip together til smooth. Crush Oreo’s. Layer pudding mix and Oreo’s with the top layer being cookies in a bowl or trifle dish. Chill for few hours (or even over night) and serve. Enjoy!

Anthony, of course, thinks my standards are too strict. After years of battles I’ve let up a little. The rule use to be that his room had to be clean if he wanted to watch TV the next day. Last month I actually paid him to clean it as close to my standards as possible without doing it myself, and keeping it clean for a couple of weeks. Since then it’s just gotten worse and worse. So yesterday I gave him an hour to get it done. It’s much better, but his closet has about 3 feet of dirty clothes piled up, with a full hamper as well.

After noticing this and insisting he start washing his clothes, I look across the hall to see that in the last half hour the girls had emptied three shelves of books, their “treasure chest” which holds all their dress up clothes, and the net hanging in the corner of their room which holds all their stuffed animals. I think their closet is still clean. But considering that I spent about an hour in their room cleaning it yesterday since we were having life group, it’s a bit frustrating.

It appears that I’m losing this battle.

When I told Reagan it was time to go she immediately voiced her displeasure in a not so quiet manner. She was stringing some words together (with a scowl on her face), but I couldn’t quite make them out. We finally convinced the girls to go home and ride their bikes. I was still trying to figure out what Reagan was trying to say when we got in the car. As often happens, I asked Hannah if she knew what Reagan was saying  and of course she knew. Hannah said, “She’s saying that you’re ruining her life.” I couldn’t believe that was coming from my 2 1/2 year old’s mouth, but I asked Reagan if that was what she was saying and she confirmed it was.

So then I ask Hannah where in the world she learned to say that, and Hannah replied that it was from a new Barbie movie that my Mom and step-father bought them this weekend. My first thought was to burn the movies, but then I decided to reason with her instead. Why? I don’t know, I guess because for a brief moment I forgot that you really can’t reason with a 2 year old. She finally did stop saying it, but I’m quite sure we’ll hear it again sometime! I was just hoping it would be at least another 10 years!

Tonight it was Hannah’s turn. While they were taking their baths Hannah asked Reagan if she wanted to get married. I explained that sisters couldn’t get married, and that they weren’t allowed to get married for at least 20 years. Of course Hannah said they were just pretending. I went on to tell her that I hope she finds someone as wonderful as her Daddy to marry, but that she needed to marry whoever God put in her life. She said, ” so not Ethan?” (Ethan is her 5 year old friend from church and our families are very close). I told her that if Ethan was who God wanted her to marry then it would be fine with me….just not for another 20 years or so!

You just never know where the day is going to take you…I for one didn’t expect to be having those conversations with my 2 and 4 year old! Can’t wait to see/hear what they’re going to do and say tomorrow!!!

So when one of my friends from church suggested a new life group for woman who wanted to lose weight and get healthy, I was all for it. We didn’t really know what program we would go by, or if it would just be a support group to help keep each other on track, but I didn’t care. I realized a long time ago, that if I didn’t get to the source of my overeating, it wasn’t going to matter what diet I used, the weight was always going to come back.

Through God’s direction we’re doing the Weigh Down diet. I have to admit, the woman who started this program can be a bit over the top, and I would love to take her to my hair stylist. But the principles are sound and life changing. The bottom line is turning to God instead of turning to food. What a novel concept. We think to turn to Him for finances, our health, many other things, but our weight, not so much unless you’re like me and try to bargain with Him to magically make it disappear.

Here’s the jist of how it works. You don’t eat until your stomach growls. Weird concept, I know, especially since I’ve been taught for years not to let myself get too hungry so I won’t go over board. But doesn’t it really make more sense to not eat if you’re not really hungry?! To keep from overeating, pray over your food, take small bites, put your fork down in between bites and take sips of your drink. Eat slowly and stop when you start to feel full. The best part, is that you literally eat whatever you want. Whatever your body tell you it wants. No more diet food!!!!

As you learn the difference between real physical hunger, and head hunger (or thinking you’re hungry when you’re really not, but just want to eat), you’ll eat less, give your body time to use what you have eaten, and begin to lose weight. The even better benefit is getting closer to God and getting emotionally healthy as well as physically healthy.

The lady leading our group has lost over 70 pounds and other women in our group have lost 5 to 10 pounds since we started a few weeks ago. Unfortunately for me, I lost a couple of pounds the first week, then went back to doing my own thing for the next couple of weeks, so I’m not sure what my true weight loss is yet. But I do know this, I haven’t gained any and have been eating all kinds of yummy food. When I’m hungry! Real ice cream, Mexican food, fast food, etc. But in stopping when I’m full and only eating when I’m truly hungry, I know I’m eating less and less often.

Not to knock Weight Watchers or any other program out there that has worked for many. But it is so freeing to not have to buy diet food anymore, to not have to count points or keep a food journal, or work out because I want to add points back to my food journal because I want to eat more that day. I am learning to keep a prayer journal, because denying yourself really isn’t easy. To turn to God instead of turning to food is quite a challenge when I’ve been turning to food for so many years. But for food to not be the center of my day anymore, is a wonderful change. God Bless!