Lifestyle Change Part 3

Today is the third 10 week completion of my lifestyle change (weight loss).

The update for weeks 6-10 is the scale that looked like this:
Week 6 - lost 1 lb.
Week 7 - gained .5 lb.
Week 8 - lost 1 lb.
Week 9 - gained/lost 0
Week 10 - lost 1 lb.

During this 10 week period, my total weight loss is........ 3 lbs.

I began this "adventure" on February 26 with a total loss of 10 lbs. in 10 weeks.  I lost an additional 6.5 lbs. in my second 10 week period. I'm continuing my plan of eat less, move more. I am watching my portion size, and walking on the treadmill at a 2% incline, 3 mph, 25 minutes for 5-6 days per week.

I have lost the total of 19.5 lbs. in 30 weeks. That's 10.89% in 30 weeks. And now can say goodbye to the 160s! My current weight is 159.5 lbs. Booyah!

I have marked off 10 more weeks which will take me to November 26. My update posts will be on Week 5 and Week 10.

Thanks for your encouragement and support as the journey continues! I've linked this post to Kathy at House of Hills. Please stop in and see how the other ladies are doing and cheer them on.

Iced Latte

Happiness in a cup....

I finally found something at Starbucks (besides hot chocolate) that I adore.

It's a Grande, Iced, Skinny, Vanilla, Latte!

And depending on where you read the calorie count on Starbuck's website...it's either 80 or 90 calories.

Something I can live with and drink with no guilt involved.

Yum! (And you're welcome.)

National Day of Encouragement

One of the blogs I follow is (in)courage. (In)courage has been celebrating their one year anniversary and there have been 30 Days of Giveaways! WOW!

One of the giveaways I participated/won is from Day 11. (They sent the first 400 entries a free pack of ten cards from DaySpring's new Hope and Encouragement line.) All they asked in return is for me to write a post on my blog and link it back to them, sharing my story about how I used one of the cards to encourage someone else. Because you see, today (September 12th) is the National Day of Encouragement.

Here is the card I chose:

Yeah, totally been there.
You're going to make it...
and you'll have love and prayers with you all the way.

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. Philippians 1:6 NIV

I am sending the card to one of my Bible Study Buddies. She has suffered from a hip problem for years. She's had multiple surgeries, been in almost constant pain and has been told that it will be a year to recover from her latest surgery. During these past years, she has shown such gentleness of spirit and patience.  And amazing (to me) is the care and encouragement she has shown toward others during her difficult time. When I heard about her latest prognosis, I was told that she was discouraged and I thought about God's perfect timing for me to send her encouragement through this card. I'll write my prayer for her continued healing and patience during this time. For wisdom for her doctors and gentle care from her physical therapist and my hope is that she feels God's love and mine when she receives the card.

Once I have linked my post back to (in)courage, I'm entered to win $500.
$250 will go to a charity I choose and $250 for me.

Yet I'm changing their rules a bit because I'd like to give $250 to two charities.

1) I would donate $250 to Compassion International's Unsponsored Children's Fund which "can help children see hope in Compassion's program by providing care until they find a sponsor." (Over the past few days, a group of bloggers have been on a mission trip with Compassion to Guatemala. Because of unemployment I'm not able to commit to sponsor a child at this time, yet love the idea of being able to "Show the love of Christ immediately.") (Words in quotes are from Compassion International's website.)

2) I would also donate $250 to Americans for Native Americans because this is an organization close to my Bible Study Buddy's heart. Their Mission Statement says, "Americans for Native Americans is dedicated to improving the quality of life of Native Americans by providing essential goods and programs which foster self-reliance and mutual understanding." Americans for Native Americans focuses on those living in the Southwest United States. (Words in quotes are from Americans for Native Americans' website.)

I am grateful for the ten free cards from (in)courage and am looking forward to sending out nine more to those who need encouragement.

Can you imagine how the world would be with people encouraging each other?
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1Thessalonians 5:11 NIV


Good luck to the 400 bloggers/commenters for the chance to win $500!

This experience has been a blessing for me. Thank you (in)courage!

Updated on September 13: Congratulations to Amy from Thoughts on the Divine for winning the $500 from (in)courage!

Move In Day

It's been two weeks since our son started his career as a teacher. He's been living in a hotel for those two weeks while waiting to be able to move into his apartment.

Friday he picked up his keys.

On Saturday, Wonderful Husband, our daughter and I left Pennsylvania at 6:30 a.m. with two vans packed and drove to Virginia. We arrived at our son's/her brother's new home and with his help, unloaded everything up to his THIRD FLOOR apartment. His bed, dresser, desk, clothes, boxes of books and DVDs.

We went to lunch. Went shopping. Unloaded his purchases (dishes, pots and pans, cleaning supplies, you know just stuff).

We went to dinner. Went shopping. Unloaded his purchases and although he doesn't own a couch or  a chair yet...he has his priorities straight (for being a guy and all that).

His necessary purchase:

A 46" flat-screen TV and a TV stand!

As far as he's concerned, his first solo home is as good as gold!

Rock on Mr. Teacher!

Do you remember your first home?

A Blog with Substance Award

Alana at 107 Down chose my blog as one of ten that she would award as "A Blog with Substance" today! Woo hoo!!!

So in keeping with "the rules" of my acceptance, I will complete the three requirements listed below.

1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
Thank you Alana for giving me the award! I'm so glad that we "met" during the "Losing It Weight Loss Challenge" and are keeping in contact to encourage each other as we continue toward our healthier lifestyle. You are a blessing!

2. Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience using 5 words.

Christian - I'm a work in progress.
Encouraging - I love the bloggy world that gives and receives encouragement.
Mature - OK. I could have said, "Old," since I've noticed that most bloggers are younger and many have small children (not old ones like mine). lol
Entertaining - I've actually had Wonderful Husband's sister-in-law tell him that he's lucky that I'm so entertaining. (We laughed over that one!)
Thankful - I'm very thankful for my faith, family, and friends (blog friends included)!

3. Pass it on to 10 other people you feel have blogs with real substance.

1. (in)courage - A group of women whose posts speak to me about faith and life.
2. Amelia at No End to Space - She has 3 young children and is honest with her life.
3. Emily at (de)Caffeinated Blessings - She's from my old home town in Texas and I love her posts.
4. Stephanie Baffone - She's making me a more compassionate person while she shares her wisdom on "loving, losing and living."
5. Wendy Pope at Walking with Women Through the Word - She vlogs about The One Year Chronological Bible. She's one of the Proverbs 31 Ministries women that inspires me through God's Word.
6. Traci Michele at Ordinary Inspirations - I love that she just ran her first 5K and sounds like she'll do it again.
7. Annie Blogs - A writer that makes me laugh and makes me think.
8. Meredith at Learn, Laugh, Live, Love - An elementary school teacher that is so very wise.
9. Kathy at House of Hills - We met during the "Losing It Weight Loss Challenge" and after the conclusion she began hostessing "Losing It A Motivational Weight Loss Community." I am thankful for her.
10. Lyndsay at Lyndsights - She makes me laugh/think with every sentence she writes.

Thank you again Alana for this award! It's been fun and made me happy today!

It's the Most Wonderful...

...time of the year!

Yes, I've always loved the old Staples commercial showing the parent shopping for school supplies with the kids. The parent's face is ecstatically happy...the kids, not so much.

Besides my deep adoration for office supplies (another post entirely), I have always loved sending my kids back to school when they were younger. Unfortunately, I was never the parent that took pictures of the kids on the first day of school getting on the school bus.

I always thought my memory would be so good as to take that mental picture, file it away in my mind, and retrieve it year after year after...well you get the picture. Memory, smemory. I should have taken pictures. Sigh.

So now that I have a new digital camera I wanted to take pictures of my "kids" as they leave for school. It's not their first day per se...you'll see what I mean below.

Goodbye "Evil Genius"! He's driving away for his first in-service teachers' days. He'll be teaching middle school math beginning on September 7. We're proud and happy and excited for him as he begins his career!

Goodbye Young Sweetie! She's driving back to her university (her third year) and her first time with having a car available to her on campus. We're proud and happy and excited for her as she begins classes on August 30!

Our nest is now empty (except for school breaks). It's time for me to begin de-junking cleaning their rooms. And Wonderful Husband and I are planning our vacation for September. Woo hoo!

Blueberry Cobbler

Happiness in a casserole dish....

I must admit to getting the recipe from Mary The Kay The Blog and she noted that the recipe came from her sister's dear friend Wendy. (You can click the link above to see MarytheKay's original post.) I tweaked the recipe a bit below.

Blueberry Cobbler

Ingredients:

1 stick butter

1 cup flour

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 cup whole milk

4 cups blueberries

Method:

Melt butter in 9 x 9 casserole dish.

Mix flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder and milk.

Pour berries over the melted butter and drizzle batter on top.

Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup sugar over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, up to 45 minutes.

Here's the most important part....serve with vanilla ice cream.

It's an easy recipe and delicious! Thank you MarytheKay and Wendy!

In fact....I also made a peach cobbler using this same recipe (6 peaches) and it was delicious too. I guess it was so delicious that I forgot to take a picture before we dug in and finished it off.

Once again, don't forget the vanilla ice cream and enjoy!