Counting Threads - Patty's website

Okay - well, I've been wanting to switch my morning routine to include going to the gym and I did it this morning! 

Last night, I enlisted the help of my family.  I asked them to remind me to put my breakfast and lunch together to take with me this morning as well as get out my clothes for work.  Then I made sure my gym bag was all packed.  When I got, at the usual time, I threw on my gym clothes, put my work clothes in my gym bag, grabbed my prepared meals, and headed out the door.  I have to drive kids from early-morning Bible study to school - I got there, picked the kids up, dropped them off and headed to the gym.

I got to the gym and threw my stuff in a locker and then went and did 10 minutes of leg exercises on the weight machines for strength building.  This is something my rheumatologist has recommended since I have some mild osteopenia.  I know it isn't much, but it's more than I've been doing and I feel good.  I even got to work earlier than I usually do after showering and changing at the gym.

So, as long as I remember to get everything ready the night before, it looks like this just might work out!  I am psyched. 

Spring is definitely here in New England.  All the perennials that I planted last year are starting to peek out of the ground to see if it's safe yet.  And we've had rain, rain, and more rain.  Up north, there has been flooding.  So far, we've been spared that this year.

My weight loss problems continue.  I've not had much success despite tracking my food and trying hard (and mostly succeeding) to stay within my calorie limits.  I've gone for some tests to rule out any medical problems.  I'll report on that later if anything shows up.

I've been stitching on one piece primarily - Lavendar and Lace's Song of Christmas.  I absolutely LOVE working on that piece even if it is a Christmas piece and it is spring.  It's just so pretty and challenging.

And it is now only 36 more days until Karen and I leave for Alaska.  I'm so excited for that!  It should be a fantastic trip.  We're going by train starting in Boston then to New York, Toronto, Ontario, Jasper, Alberta, and finally Prince Rupert, British Columbia.  From Prince Rupert, we take a ferry to Whittier, Alaska, and then we'll probably rent a car up to Anchorage.  From Anchorage we will be taking a train after a few days to go up to Denali State Park for several days before heading back to Anchorage and flying to New York via Seattle.  Once in New York, we board another train home.  This is one of those trips where getting there is more than half the fun.  We'll be going through all the western Canadian Provinces - Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, So then I'll have hit all Canadian provinces - just not the Northwest Territories, Yukon, or Nunavut. 

Well that's it for now.  I'll write more later!

It's been along time since I've posted.  I'm hoping to change that again.  I'm not going to say much right now except that a lot has changed since my last post. 

I won't be doing the Arthritis Walk this year - no time.  However, I have been busy with lots of other things, especially at church.

I'll write again in a couple days.  In the meantime, sorry to have been so long about blogging.  Definitely need to change that!

Down today - 206.5! 

I keep track of my weight, nutrition, and exercise goals on a site called sparkpeople.  It's a wonderful site, and you'll find a link to it on my links page.  One of the great things about sparkpeople is the support from others just like me.  On sparkpeople, I'm part of two teams with monthly goals I know I can achieve. 

The first goal is with the Canned Fat Drive team.  My goal for that one is to lose 4 pounds by the end of April and donate the equivalent weight of canned goods to my local food bank.  That one is really fun.  I'm going to go and purchase 4 pounds of canned goods this evening and each time I lose a pound, move the cans from the "goal" pile to the "ready to donate" pile.  That should make it a lot more visual for me and my family.  And think how good I'll feel at the end of April with 4 pounds of canned goods to donate!  Ask me how my piles are going.  I'm hoping that I'll have to go out and buy more canned goods by the end of April because I'll have exceeded my goal.

The second goal is an exercise goal.  I know this isn't as dramatic, but I've committed to go for a 10-minute walk every day during April.  Since I'm not doing anything like that at all right now and since I'm really out of shape, I figure this will be a MAJOR improvement for me.

Wish me luck!  Tomorrow is the big new day.

My three ways I've seen the hand of God in my life:

1.  I realized this morning that although I'm not sticking with the South Beach Diet 100% that my cravings for a lot of carbs are going down and that I'm eating much healthier overall.

2.  Serving others through church has been such a great blessing in my life - even more than I could have dreamed.

3.  God has blessed me with an abundance of good friends.

Hello.  Back again.  I had a conference to go to today which was very good.  Unfortunately, my weight loss is not so good.  I've gained a little more weight and am up to 210 again.  I'm not sure what's going on.  Well, tomorrow's another day.  Must be my age!

Blessings today:

1.  I learned a lot at the conference--mostly about myself and how I relate to others which is a good thing.

2.  I still have two beautiful sons at home who make me smile every day.

3.  I'm blessed with faith in God.

Have a good night everyone!