Well, here I am again. Determined to make a fresh start. I have been having headaches lately. Really, really bad ones. Yesterday was so bad, that I left work early. Since it was, you got it, the first day of a new month, I swore to God that if He would stop my headache, I would mend my ways and get my life under control. That includes blogging.
So, here I am. Yesterday, I couldn't. It hurt to use my eyes. Today is marginally better. At least the eyes focus. When the head stops feeling like a dead weight on top of my shoulders, I will start walking again. Right now, the very thought of moving makes me nauseous so I only do it very slowly.
So wish me luck in my fresh start. And in getting rid of these headaches!!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Hail to the (Pasta) Queen!
Here's a video from the Pasta Queen.
I can't believe that it's been almost two years since I first came across Jeanette Fulda' blog, Half of Me. This lady is one terrific writer and her weightloss philosophy really rocks. I wanted to be just like her, so I got my own blog... and then proceeded to ignore it for long stretches of time. Wouldn't you know that it was a contest by the Pasta Queen that got me to post my first entry in two months!!
I can't believe that it's been almost two years since I first came across Jeanette Fulda' blog, Half of Me. This lady is one terrific writer and her weightloss philosophy really rocks. I wanted to be just like her, so I got my own blog... and then proceeded to ignore it for long stretches of time. Wouldn't you know that it was a contest by the Pasta Queen that got me to post my first entry in two months!!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Just a walk in the Park
Today, I did something that I didn't think I could do. I walked to Resevoir Park. Then I walked around it and back home.
Yes, my foot was really sore and when I got to the band shell which is probably the farthest thing from my house, I thought, I can't do this anymore. And then I thought, well, I can't crawl home so I have to keep walking. And I did.
I did the whole trip in 35 minutes which is really good considering my weight gain since I have been there last. I thought I'd be gasping for breath when I got there (the road is straight uphill) but I wasn't. I walked what I consider backwards so I would be walking down the tallest hill in the park. But other than that it was great.
Which is good because my BP was up at the doctor's. Not as up as it was at the new gynecologist but up.
But I had lost weight since I had been there and he was very encouraging that I could do this as I had done it in the past.
Go, me!!!
Yes, my foot was really sore and when I got to the band shell which is probably the farthest thing from my house, I thought, I can't do this anymore. And then I thought, well, I can't crawl home so I have to keep walking. And I did.
I did the whole trip in 35 minutes which is really good considering my weight gain since I have been there last. I thought I'd be gasping for breath when I got there (the road is straight uphill) but I wasn't. I walked what I consider backwards so I would be walking down the tallest hill in the park. But other than that it was great.
Which is good because my BP was up at the doctor's. Not as up as it was at the new gynecologist but up.
But I had lost weight since I had been there and he was very encouraging that I could do this as I had done it in the past.
Go, me!!!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Life on the Beach!!!
HooYa!! I am living life on the beach. South Beach, that is!! It's a long story.
I went to a new doctor. I became a patient of the Women's Center for Health and Wellness. I saw Rebecca Gatesman, CRNP. BUT... before she even got in the room, the nice girl took my blood pressure. And said, "Yowza!" Really, she did. I laughed. But my BP was roughly 170/100. Which is high. Very high. Now, I am going to say that I was extremely nervous. I was trembling all over. Which does push the mercury. But. That. Was. It.
It was like I faced the demon right there and said, enough is enough. I am 53 years old and I weigh 250 pounds. I have high blood pressure for which I take meds already and I have already had a cardiac stent implanted. So, I took off for the beach.
I took a short trip there in January of 2006 or 2007 but it didn't work out. I was frustrated by the job I had then and just was so unhappy that I overate. But this day in the doctor's office, it all gelled for me. From the fact that I have been taking lousy care of this body that God gave me, that I really needed to do something before God decided that if I was going to treat His gift to me so shabbily that He would recall it. Think about it.
And, since I am a really busy person, I needed something easy to stick with. So, it was the Beach! I had gotten a little magazine a few weeks earlier, Prevention Guide, The South Beach Diet 2-week Quick Start Plan. It's basically Phase 1 in a magazine. But it had some recipes I've tried before and some that looked really interesting. Like Oven Roasted Vegetables. Now, can I say Yowza? This recipe is delicious!! So, I'm going to do the food blog, diet blog thing and post the recipe. Complete with picture!!! Looks yummy, right?
How easy is that? I had it the first night with the first grilled chicken of the season. The second day I had leftovers for lunch. I made a fresh batch today and, it being Friday, I just added some 2% shredded mozzarella cheese and called it a meal. And, there's plenty left over for leftovers.
I have also started walking again and trying to work in the routine from my personal trainer. So, I am on my way with more optimism than I have felt in a while.
If you are familiar with the South Beach Diet you will know that the first part, Phase 1, is all lean protein and vegetables. And you can lose a lot of weight fast. Which gets you excited about being on the Plan and being successful. Then you taper it down to Phase 2 which is the rest of your weight loss experience. Then Phase 3 is maintenance. My motto now is Phase 3, here I come!! And, with these oven roasted veggies to help, I'm sure I'll be successful!!
I went to a new doctor. I became a patient of the Women's Center for Health and Wellness. I saw Rebecca Gatesman, CRNP. BUT... before she even got in the room, the nice girl took my blood pressure. And said, "Yowza!" Really, she did. I laughed. But my BP was roughly 170/100. Which is high. Very high. Now, I am going to say that I was extremely nervous. I was trembling all over. Which does push the mercury. But. That. Was. It.
It was like I faced the demon right there and said, enough is enough. I am 53 years old and I weigh 250 pounds. I have high blood pressure for which I take meds already and I have already had a cardiac stent implanted. So, I took off for the beach.
I took a short trip there in January of 2006 or 2007 but it didn't work out. I was frustrated by the job I had then and just was so unhappy that I overate. But this day in the doctor's office, it all gelled for me. From the fact that I have been taking lousy care of this body that God gave me, that I really needed to do something before God decided that if I was going to treat His gift to me so shabbily that He would recall it. Think about it.
And, since I am a really busy person, I needed something easy to stick with. So, it was the Beach! I had gotten a little magazine a few weeks earlier, Prevention Guide, The South Beach Diet 2-week Quick Start Plan. It's basically Phase 1 in a magazine. But it had some recipes I've tried before and some that looked really interesting. Like Oven Roasted Vegetables. Now, can I say Yowza? This recipe is delicious!! So, I'm going to do the food blog, diet blog thing and post the recipe. Complete with picture!!! Looks yummy, right?
Oven Roasted Vegetables (from the South Beach Diet 2-Week Quickstart Plan)
1 medium zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium summer squash, cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium yellow bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
1 lb. fresh asparagus, cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium red onion, sliced (actually, I just chunked mine up into, you guess it, bite-size pieces!)
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
(I chose to use Mrs. Dash's table blend, remember that blood pressure!)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees (F). Place zucchini, summer squash, bell peppers, asparagus and onion in large roasting pan. Toss with oil, salt and pepper to mix and coat.
Spread in single layer in pan. Roast 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are lightly browned and tender.
Serves 4
How easy is that? I had it the first night with the first grilled chicken of the season. The second day I had leftovers for lunch. I made a fresh batch today and, it being Friday, I just added some 2% shredded mozzarella cheese and called it a meal. And, there's plenty left over for leftovers.
I have also started walking again and trying to work in the routine from my personal trainer. So, I am on my way with more optimism than I have felt in a while.
If you are familiar with the South Beach Diet you will know that the first part, Phase 1, is all lean protein and vegetables. And you can lose a lot of weight fast. Which gets you excited about being on the Plan and being successful. Then you taper it down to Phase 2 which is the rest of your weight loss experience. Then Phase 3 is maintenance. My motto now is Phase 3, here I come!! And, with these oven roasted veggies to help, I'm sure I'll be successful!!
5 Parables
My good friend, Kimberlee, has tapped me for the famous 5 Parables Meme. Thanks for that. Really. However, she did tell me that I could wait until I recovered from Easter to do it. And, I'm feeling recovered enough now to put my mind to which of the parables are my five favorites.
So, #1, top of the heap, is the Persistent Widow. I just love this one. Can we picture the scene? The judge, who didn't care about anyone or anything, even God, on his throne, the little bent widow, who felt she had been wronged, coming in and giving him what for. Over, and over, and over again. Until he finally decided enough was enough and judged in her favor. Which is why I've been saying a prayer for my daughter's academic success over and over and over again.
Maybe the Lord needs to see how serious we are about something, how much we want it, before He grants our prayers. We are to pray always without becoming weary. And, if you read the end of the verse in the Bible, Jesus is talking about the future when He says, "But, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?" I believe this refers to the second coming and always try to keep in the front of my mind that I need to pray and be faithful because, should the Son of Man come during my tenure, I want him to find people of faith hanging around waiting in joyful hope for Him.
#2: The Nasty Tenants . There's this poor guy who works himself to the bone developing a piece of property - grapevines, wine press, even a tower, until he is prosperous. Then he decides to go on a trip so he has to has to have someone keep watch over his vineyard. He leases his vineyard to some tenants. I have to believe that this man was smart enough to check out their references. He thought they were good enough to let them work his property. So, the guy goes on his journey and the time comes for someone to collect the rent. The first guy gets beaten, the second guy gets beaten, so the owner sends his son. So, these fools think, hey, let's kill the son. The owner will be so depressed he'll stay away and the land will be ours by default. Were they nuts?
Now, maybe it's because I have always been a tenant that this parable impresses me. The relationship between owner and tenant is best if it is one of respect. Of course, the landowner is God, and the son is Jesus, and those who do not believe are the tenants. I always have felt that I needed to keep my rented property in good shape so the owner would keep renting to me. (Psychic hot-line note: I was the typical un-tidy teen so when I was getting married, my father said to me, you better learn to keep your apartment tidy or your landlord is going to throw you out on the street. Being the teen I was at the time I was married, I always wanted us to not have to move back home after being thrown out so therefore... yup, you got it). Anyway, as a tenant, I always think these guys give us a bad rap. So, again with the praying. There are times when I would like to be not such a good tenant but going back to that Second Coming, I want to be prepared. Which brings us to #3.
The Ten Virgins. These girls, all very nice I'm sure, are going out to greet the bridegroom who is coming to get married. So, they grab their lamps and go. Five of them were foolish and five of them were wise. Meaning they brought extra oil for their lamps. So, when the guy finally shows up, the five foolish girls are out of oil and ask the five wise girls to give them some. Which they don't do because they don't know if they'll have enough to get the bridegroom to the wedding. (Can I digress here and say, you have to love a culture that let's the women bring the guy to the wedding?) There was a time when I thought the five wise virgins should have shared their oil. But now, I get it. At least I think I do. The lamps are our souls. We can't make anyone else a better, more faithful person. We can only look out for ourselves. We can pray like all-get-out for the other folks in our lives, but ultimately, they're on their own. We all need to be sure that we are, each one of us, ready for the Bridegroom when He comes.
Whew! Getting to #4!! The parable of the two sons. This one is for Caroline. A man has two sons. He goes to the first one and asks him to go work in the vineyard. The son tells his dad no, but then goes and works anyway. The second son, say, sure, Dad, I'll be happy to. And then goes on reading his papyrus roll and munching on dates. Or something like that. First, this parable always makes Caroline and I laugh. She always, always, always, when I ask her to do something, smiles sweetly at me and says, no. Even as she is turning to do it. She has done this since she was tiny. I prefer to think that she just likes to make believe that it was her idea to do whatever it is that I have asked her to do. I mean, she does lots work around the house, she always kept her room neat and tidy, and she always did the laundry during the summers. She just always says no. And, maybe that's sort of how we are with God. We have things we have to do. And, let's be honest, there are times when we don't really feel much like doing them. So we say no. But, then like all good children we realize what would happen if we really made our Parent angry and we get to gettin'!
For #5, I'm going to break the rules. No shock there for me!! I'm not going to name a parable, I'm going to tell you my favorite verse in the Bible. When Jesus is in the garden praying before he is captured, He asks God, "Is there someway around my having to do this?" Now, He knows that God is all-powerful and can do whatever He feels like, so, He asks Him. But then, he says, "Not my will but yours be done." In other words, "I'll stick with the plan if You think that's best." And he does. As a human, he must have known the horrible pain he was going to suffer. He was a carpenter. He must have smashed his thumb at least once. He could only imagine what He was going to suffer on our behalf. But He did it. For us. And, that's what keeps me going day after day, when I think that things can't get any worse, I know that God has a plan and that I am part of that plan and I just have to keep that faith and I'll be fine.
Because we are promised that God knows our names and the number of hairs on our heads. Now, I have really thick hair and if God knows that much about me, then he knows everything else too and that's when I just lay myself in His hands and let him hold me. Because He knows what I need.
The end. Amen. Alleluia!!
So, #1, top of the heap, is the Persistent Widow. I just love this one. Can we picture the scene? The judge, who didn't care about anyone or anything, even God, on his throne, the little bent widow, who felt she had been wronged, coming in and giving him what for. Over, and over, and over again. Until he finally decided enough was enough and judged in her favor. Which is why I've been saying a prayer for my daughter's academic success over and over and over again.
Maybe the Lord needs to see how serious we are about something, how much we want it, before He grants our prayers. We are to pray always without becoming weary. And, if you read the end of the verse in the Bible, Jesus is talking about the future when He says, "But, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?" I believe this refers to the second coming and always try to keep in the front of my mind that I need to pray and be faithful because, should the Son of Man come during my tenure, I want him to find people of faith hanging around waiting in joyful hope for Him.
#2: The Nasty Tenants . There's this poor guy who works himself to the bone developing a piece of property - grapevines, wine press, even a tower, until he is prosperous. Then he decides to go on a trip so he has to has to have someone keep watch over his vineyard. He leases his vineyard to some tenants. I have to believe that this man was smart enough to check out their references. He thought they were good enough to let them work his property. So, the guy goes on his journey and the time comes for someone to collect the rent. The first guy gets beaten, the second guy gets beaten, so the owner sends his son. So, these fools think, hey, let's kill the son. The owner will be so depressed he'll stay away and the land will be ours by default. Were they nuts?
Now, maybe it's because I have always been a tenant that this parable impresses me. The relationship between owner and tenant is best if it is one of respect. Of course, the landowner is God, and the son is Jesus, and those who do not believe are the tenants. I always have felt that I needed to keep my rented property in good shape so the owner would keep renting to me. (Psychic hot-line note: I was the typical un-tidy teen so when I was getting married, my father said to me, you better learn to keep your apartment tidy or your landlord is going to throw you out on the street. Being the teen I was at the time I was married, I always wanted us to not have to move back home after being thrown out so therefore... yup, you got it). Anyway, as a tenant, I always think these guys give us a bad rap. So, again with the praying. There are times when I would like to be not such a good tenant but going back to that Second Coming, I want to be prepared. Which brings us to #3.
The Ten Virgins. These girls, all very nice I'm sure, are going out to greet the bridegroom who is coming to get married. So, they grab their lamps and go. Five of them were foolish and five of them were wise. Meaning they brought extra oil for their lamps. So, when the guy finally shows up, the five foolish girls are out of oil and ask the five wise girls to give them some. Which they don't do because they don't know if they'll have enough to get the bridegroom to the wedding. (Can I digress here and say, you have to love a culture that let's the women bring the guy to the wedding?) There was a time when I thought the five wise virgins should have shared their oil. But now, I get it. At least I think I do. The lamps are our souls. We can't make anyone else a better, more faithful person. We can only look out for ourselves. We can pray like all-get-out for the other folks in our lives, but ultimately, they're on their own. We all need to be sure that we are, each one of us, ready for the Bridegroom when He comes.
Whew! Getting to #4!! The parable of the two sons. This one is for Caroline. A man has two sons. He goes to the first one and asks him to go work in the vineyard. The son tells his dad no, but then goes and works anyway. The second son, say, sure, Dad, I'll be happy to. And then goes on reading his papyrus roll and munching on dates. Or something like that. First, this parable always makes Caroline and I laugh. She always, always, always, when I ask her to do something, smiles sweetly at me and says, no. Even as she is turning to do it. She has done this since she was tiny. I prefer to think that she just likes to make believe that it was her idea to do whatever it is that I have asked her to do. I mean, she does lots work around the house, she always kept her room neat and tidy, and she always did the laundry during the summers. She just always says no. And, maybe that's sort of how we are with God. We have things we have to do. And, let's be honest, there are times when we don't really feel much like doing them. So we say no. But, then like all good children we realize what would happen if we really made our Parent angry and we get to gettin'!
For #5, I'm going to break the rules. No shock there for me!! I'm not going to name a parable, I'm going to tell you my favorite verse in the Bible. When Jesus is in the garden praying before he is captured, He asks God, "Is there someway around my having to do this?" Now, He knows that God is all-powerful and can do whatever He feels like, so, He asks Him. But then, he says, "Not my will but yours be done." In other words, "I'll stick with the plan if You think that's best." And he does. As a human, he must have known the horrible pain he was going to suffer. He was a carpenter. He must have smashed his thumb at least once. He could only imagine what He was going to suffer on our behalf. But He did it. For us. And, that's what keeps me going day after day, when I think that things can't get any worse, I know that God has a plan and that I am part of that plan and I just have to keep that faith and I'll be fine.
Because we are promised that God knows our names and the number of hairs on our heads. Now, I have really thick hair and if God knows that much about me, then he knows everything else too and that's when I just lay myself in His hands and let him hold me. Because He knows what I need.
The end. Amen. Alleluia!!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
He is (almost) Risen!!
Today went better than I had hoped. We were actually done decorating at 11:35 AM. I had wanted to be done by Noon. Praise God!! When Fr. Dan came out of the confessional, he was just sorta looking around and I went over to him and said that the goal was that we were in a garden meeting the Resurrected Lord in the middle. So, there are two large "natural" garden areas on each side of the Sanctuary and the Sanctuary itself, the Risen Lord, is very formal. He did not change a thing. I can't wait for tonight!!!
One side of the "garden"...
The other side:
Close up of the fountain beside the baptismal font. My mother said, "That looks like its outside somewhere!"
Close up of the fountain beside the baptismal font. My mother said, "That looks like its outside somewhere!"
The Risen Lord!!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Holy Week
One of the things I do that brings me the most joy is being on the decorating committee of my parish church. It's especially interesting now that I am also the parish secretary. But I still love the planning that goes into the decorations that will help set the mood of these most solemn, holy liturgies. Some of the tiniest details are discussed and discussed again, thrown out and then reconsidered. And, don't even start about the flowers!! How many, which color, where should they be?
Here are some of my Holy Week memories:
Tennebrae, the Service of light and darkness..
Holy Thursday flowers...
The Altar of Repose on Good Friday morning before being dismantled. It's a garden setting because we can take time and wait with Jesus as He prays in the garden.
Behind the scenes Good Friday Morning...Fr. Dan stacking chair to be used for Easter Vigil Mass.
My good friend Peggy spends time making the posies prettier...
Good Friday. But about 10 AM. After getting it all figured out we took a picture for posterity. After we venerate the crucifix, Fr. Dan will turn around and place it on the red cloth so we can continue to meditate on it as we receive Holy Communion.And, it's not over yet!! Tomorrow is Holy Saturday. A good time will be had by all who gather to decorate!!
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