I Don't Want To Go To Hollywood...

I do want to glorify God with the gifts and talents He has given me.
Yesterday I had a vocal audition with the Worship Arts Pastor at our church. And tomorrow I have a dance audition with him as well.
I woke up yesterday morning, spent some awesome time in prayer. I opened the Word and God have me a beautiful chapter that spoke directly to me. Psalm 25 It speaks about trusting in the Lord and how the humble the Lord will teach His ways. The last several months the Lord has been teaching me many things. Especially in the area of dance. I am not a trained dancer. I took a jazz class in 5th grade where I was one of the most uncoordinated girls in the class. I thoroughly enjoyed the class but only did one semester. It was also fifth grade that I took up the flute and sang in the All-City choir. While I loved to sing, it was the flute that won out. For the next 7 years I played the flute in every band, including marching and symphonic. With my energy going to band activities, I ignored any other performing arts classes at school. I would have loved choir and our high school had one of the BEST dance programs around. With words still ringing in my head that I was not a good dancer I stuck with the band. In high school I joined the gymnastics team. Since it was an underdeveloped team, there were no cuts and I made the team. Since the team was small, every one was encouraged to do all the events. Vault, bars, beam and floor. On floor I started out with the basic skills, I had little dance ability. Yet it was something I enjoyed so I worked hard. "Sarah point your toes" was something I heard continuously. By my senior year I had noticed tremendous improvement. It was my senior year that I accepted Christ and began on my path of living life for Him. What a journey! This spring I received some prophetic words from not just one but almost 10 different people that I was to dance for the Lord. That I was a dancer for the Lord and a praise and worshiper with song and dance. Me, the one who was uncoordinated and struggled to complete a graceful floor routine a dancer? That night I experienced a touch from the Lord. My feet went from the tips of my toes to most of the way up my calves went tingly. At first I questioned if my feet had fell asleep. I tried to lift them off the floor but they were almost cemented. I could not move them. The sensation lasted somewhere between 5-10 minutes and it was at that time the Lord spoke to me and said "I am teaching your feet to dance." Halleluia!
The training has been in my living room. Dancing before my Lord, just me and him. Slowly I ventured out and expressed myself in worship at Visions with dance. Gradually he has been teaching me different things. The Mesianic dance, is it a part of it? The Lord has given me glimpses of what and how. Other things are very gray. I do not know what exactly this all looks like. I do know I am to be obedient in all things he asks of me. Including the dance.
Part of me is terrified. Part of me remembers the 10 year old girl who wanted to dance like the other girls and felt so incompetent. And then the Lord speaks into me, "I am training you. This is your weakness but by my strength you can do all things. This is for my glory. When you dance for me it is beautiful. I love your dance. Do not fear the thoughts of man and his judgment. Dance."
So tomorrow I will dance for man. An audition. The worship leader as well as two other dancers will be there . I know on my own strength I can not dance but for the Lord and with his strength I can. I pray the anointing will be over me. That the Lord will lead the dance. That those there will be touched. For the dance I dance is more than a performance it is a ministry in it's birth. By dance people will be set free and strongholds broken. Miracles will happen as a result of the dance. Let it be so Lord, let it be so.
So pray for me tomorrow if I come to your mind. I appreciate any and all prayers on behalf of the dance.
Oh and the vocal audition was awesome, "Lovely, lovely, beautiful voice, easy to listen to." The conversation was also fantastic. I know that the Lord had yesterday as the foundation for tomorrow. I know that he has all the details and I am to not fear. Trust. Like the old hymn, "Trust and obey for there's no other way."
And I am clinging to the verses he showed me yesterday...
Psalm 26: 11-12
11But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.
12My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD.

Heinz 57

Privacy...is coming to a home near you. My kids are to an age where I am expecting more privacy. For far too long bathroom trips have been a whole family affair. My son knows far too much about womanly issues and well, I would like a moment alone from time to time. So my husband and I have mandated Privacy Law 101, "If the door is shut you must knock and wait. Do not walk in without permission." Now if I could only teach this to the dog as well. I may have to resort to locking the door.

Little girl blew me away this week at the YMCA. We were playing in the kid's gym and I went to hid in a tunnel mat. I ducked down then peeked out to see where see was. She went to the rock climbing wall and began to climb rather quickly up the wall. Usually I am right there holding her waist as she goes, this time she was 5 feet up before I got to her and I was very proud of her accomplishment. She is turning out to be quite the climber. It is fun to watch as she gets a good hold and muscles herself higher with her upper body strength. I think she has learned a few things from her brother.

I had a visitation from a cleaning angel the other day. My mom was planning on stopping in to give something to my son. Before long we were cleaning little girls room. When that was done she went to work on the kitchen, then the basement, then the living room, then she started in on my bedroom. Three hours later we had the house looking great. With things in order she dropped me off at the YMCA so I could workout, she is such a sweetheart. She took the kids on an errand while I got my cardio workout done. I love you, MOM! Thank you.

I had a moment of brillance early this week. The kids were fighting, whining, bickering back and forth, irritating. I really do wish they would get along and that every day would be filled with nothing but love and kindness. This has yet to be a reality. The other day though in the midst of their meanness to one another I demanded they go sit on the couch. Once on the couch I told them to hold hands. That it was time to get along. Dear Son cried, he did not want to be on the couch and HE DID NOT want to hold his sisters hand. Dear Daughter looked sweetly at him and asked him to hold her hand. He refused. I told them that they would not eat dinner until they had held hands for 1 minute. I walked out of the room and little girl called out, "He's holding my hand." I came back in and he quickly removed his hand from his sisters. Oh so I see how it goes, he can be nice to her but not in front of anyone. I walk out. Again he holds her hand. I find it somewhat amusing. I go back in and he lets go again. By now they are laughing. I tell them if they can hug they can get down and eat. They give each other a HUGE hug and all was well. I think this may have to be practiced continuously. It is good torture for a 5 year old boy.

I am currently in first place in weight loss on Operation Can. More on that later.

To Anonymous

It was not Dirty Dancing the movie it was dirty dancing the reality dance show. It was more of a dance class showing the training each contestant went through to go from little to no experience to being able to dance competitively like Baby did in the movie.

The movie is not appropriate for children. The reality show was fine. Thanks for your concern.

Why There Was No Post Yesterday

No post in the middle of the week. Something must be wrong. There was. One gigantic pain in my tooth. Tuesday afternoon I was experiencing some pain in a rear molar. I prayed through it and got through the day. In the evening it was go to bed or cry so I went to bed praying that the pain would go away.I have a high pain tolerance. I can deal with labor pains. I have had kidney and gull stones. There are very few things that get to me in the pain realm. Apparently tooth pain can get to me. I woke up yesterday and the pain was still present so I made an appointment to see the dentist. Thank you God that he had an opening. I went in and discovered that I was in need of a root canal. The specialist was going to be a week and a half out, the dentist checked his schedule and he had an opening for the afternoon. I will take door number one...TODAY, thank you very much. He prescribed tylenol 3 with codeine and an antibiotic. The pain was beginning to worsen and I was more than happy to try the tylenol. An hour later there was no improvement and I opted for letting the kids watch TV as I tried to rest. It was more like a whimper fest. The pain has to be bad if I am whimpering. Finally the afternoon appointment arrived and I found myself in the dentist chair. Give me the shot baby. Numb that sucker! Within a minute the pain was blissfully gone. The dentist attached a rubber dam to my mouth and drilled a hole in my tooth. After making his way through he stated that it was dead inside made known by a horrific smell. It was like the bottom of my trash can, gross! For two hours my mouth was propped open as he cleaned out the canals. The job is nearly over but is not yet done. It will be finished next week. I spent the last night watching TV and relaxing. The kids spent the afternoon with grandma and grandpa, coming home after dinner. Which was nice to be able to just chill without having to cook and chase after kids. As soon as the kids got home I had them get on the jammies and we cuddled up watching Dirty Dancing and American Idol. Switching back and forth between the two. This made it nice when the singing got bad on American Idol, we just switched it back to the dancing. I so cried when the 19 year old called her dad to tell him she had lied and went to New York and that she was "Going to Hollywood." I so cried. DS thought it was funny that I was crying. Oh well.
Today the pain is subsiding. The tissue is still very tender making it difficult to bite down on my left side. If I put no pressure on it, there is no pain. If I attempt to bite, it still hurts. Thankfully the Tylenol IS working today. I told my trainer that I probably would not be in today but I think I am going to surprise her. I feel good enough to work out. YEAH!
Notes of sympathy are welcomed. :)

Unit Study

For Christmas we got the Ant Works Habitat. Thanks Mom! It is an ant farm made out of a special gel that was formulated by NASA to study ants in space. It is very cool. Last week we ordered our ants.
Since we will soon have ants for pets, we decided we should learn about them. Our first unit study, ANTS!
I picked out a couple books from the library and we have been reading a chapter a day. After we read we discuss, draw pictures and list facts that we learned. Yesterday we made an ant out of a section of an egg carton. Three sections to be exact to represent the head, thorax and abdomen. We painted them, then added pipe cleaner legs and antennae.

It is DS's favorite subject of the day. He runs for his ant book. I must say I am enjoying this child led unit study approach. I wonder what will be next. One never knows.

I will let you know when the ants arrive, it may take 3-4 weeks. Yippee, have I mentioned I love Science?

Article From Shape Magazine

If you can walk a mile, swim a lap, and bike around town, you can finish one of these races. Just follow our three-month program. Read more here.
It has a beginner's tri training calendar and training log that you can print to help you in your training. I think I may just have to go buy the February issue of Shape to get part two.
Thanks AnynomousMom for sharing this site with me.

Retracting a Previous Statement

On Saturday three families from our small group decided to go to the YMCA together. We skated, climbed the rock wall and swam. It was a great time.
When it was time for the rock wall most of us signed the waivers to climb. Once harnessed we tackled the wall, one by one. Climb one for me was on course one, no problem. The kids climbed, DS scrambled up like Spiderman a couple of times. I decided I would brave the second course, it couldn't be that much harder than the first, right? Wrong. I struggled my way up. The incline was steeper, the grips smaller. Finding a good grip was a challenge. I eeked my way up with an occasional boost from the belayer. It was tough stuff. Finally I reached the top and rang the bell.
Here is the retraction. The day before hubby did not just barely beat me, he schooled me. He was on course two which I found to be incredibly difficult but he sailed up it with no problems. So I just wanted to set the record straight, hubby is a much better climber than I gave him credit for.
Way to go, babe!

Emerging Dream

Since I have been working out I have tried various workouts to get moving. I have lifted weights, ran, biked, swam, rowed, the elliptical thing and played various sports with the kids. It has been a journey that I am so thankful I have embarked on. When I first started my endurance was low. I would be a couple minutes into it and out of breath. I have pushed through it and am seeing great improvement. Over the last week or so I have begun to seriously consider a triathlon. The more I have talked to people the more I am encouraged. I am beginning to see this as a reality. At first it was a "someday I would like to do that." Then it turned into "maybe next year I will be ready for something like that." And now it is more like "I am doing it, this year."
Thankfully there are sprint triathlons. All three disciplines (swimming, biking and running) in shorter distances. A sprint would include a 1/4 mile swim, 13 mile bike ride and a 5K run. If you would have told me last year that I would even think about doing it I may have laughed. But today I am determined I am going to do it.
This morning I had a good cardio workout followed by a good stretch. Then to my delight my parents took the kids to dinner, making hubby and I's second date to the gym. I decided that I wanted a taste of what a triathlon would be like. I determined I was going to do a 1/4 mile swim (18 lengths of the pool) 5 miles on the bike and a 1 mile run. I felt this was a bit ambitious but I knew I had to start somewhere. Hubby had an hour and a half workout planned for himself so I set my goal to accomplish all three in that same amount of time.
I filled my water bottle got suited up and made my way to the pool. Now I have never swam any amount of distance in my life. I am a good swimmer but not a great swimmer. I am untrained. I can tread water and back stroke until the end of day but have yet to master by breathing for a normal stroke in any amount of distance. So for that reason I decided to do the swim continuous with the use of a board. I figure technique will come with the building of endurance. So kick, kick, kick I went. With no use of the arms it took about 20 minutes to complete the distance. I got out of the pool and made my way quickly to my locker to change. In less than 5 minutes I was on the bike and peddling at a good rate. I finished the 5 miles in 21.3 minutes wiped off the bike and set off on the track. On the outer lane I had 16 laps to make my mile. When I got to 7 I was not sure if I was really on 6 or 7 so I counted it as 6. The same happened at lap 11/12 so I counted it as 11. I finished my mile in about 20 minutes or less. Since I did not plan on doing a mini triathlon I did not bring a stopwatch. But when it was all said and done it had been almost exactly an hour. I finished it, AMAZING by itself, a half hour before my goal. WooHoo!! It felt really good.
Since hubby was still running I went down to talk to one of the employees at the Y. Turns out he has done a few sprint triathlons and was a wealth of information. He told me the ins and outs. What to expect and how to prepare. I told him that maybe I was being a little ambitious to think I should try for one this year. He was very encouraging and said "You can totally do it."
After I cooled off a bit I decided I would climb the rock wall. I made it to the top. Then hubby finished his workout and challenged me to a climb. So I climbed again. With myself on course one and hubby on course two. Cute harnesses and all. At go we both scrambled up the wall and he beat me. But not by that much. Not all that surprising either when you consider his brute strength and taller build. Unfair advantage if you ask me. Ah good times.
So there you have it, my emerging dream is to do a sprint triathlon THIS YEAR. Do you think I can do it? I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!
Anyone want to join me?

A voice only a Daddy could love

I can say the last two hours of American Idol were mostly painful. Yikes! I laughed incredibly hard. Those people actually thought they had talent. Wow. I mostly enjoyed my five year olds response to their auditions. "That one IS NOT going through." "Yum, NO he can not sing." "You are not going to Hollywood." Or Big Red at the end. "He is too red. He's the reddest." At least there were glimmers of hopefuls throughout, otherwise it would have been completely unbearable. I do not know how Simon, Randy and Paula listen to audition after audition when most of the people flat out stink.
I think that only the Father in heaven could love some of the sounds that came forth tonight. At least they have the Father's love.

Date Night

Last night our small group was canceled due to sickness and wanting to prevent the spread of anything gunky. So hubby and I found ourselves with a sitter and we did not want to cancel on her too. What do you do when you have an unexpected date? Well, if you are two currently health minded individuals, you hit the gym. Hubby had missed his morning workout so he was more than willing to spend the night lifting weights. I had my weight lifting class in the morning and she kicked our booties. I settled for cardio on the elliptical machine. Nothing gets my heart rate going like the elliptical. I found that going in the forward motion kills the chins but going backwards it is a pleasant workout. It was fun watching hubby workout. He is in incredible shape right now. His strength is up. His fat is down. In the last year he has slimmed down tremendously. He looks good. Real good. And it was cool to see him in this part of his world. Usually we workout seperately due to schedules and childcare.
So maybe a date to the gym is not for everyone but it worked for us.

Have you had any dates that were not the norm? I would love to hear about it.

Dance Video

I went on a search of a video to show what kind of dance I will be learning. The best one I found was this site below.
Hassidic Dance
It shows two separate dances done by a group at the Israeli Dance at Beaver Lake in Montreal this last summer. I recognized many of the moves from what I learned Sunday.
Enjoy!

When our dance troupe gets it together it will be a bit more graceful and done in traditional dress. Our music will be slightly different as well as it will be more contemporary Christian music with Jewish themes. At least this is my understanding. The songs played on the above video are traditional Jewish songs.

Tcherkessia?

Tcherkessia
L Mayim
L Coupe
3 Point Turn
R Coupe

R Rock Step
L Rock Step
Balances
L Mayim
Hassidic
3 Point Turn

Before yesterday the above would have been some unknown language that I would have not a clue as to what it meant. And still today I am learning the terms that go with the movement. The above are dance steps to two of the dances I learned yesterday at the Davidic dance workshop. The songs Hallelu and A Song Shall be Heard were two of the dances that we were taught. Our church is in the birthing stages of developing a davidic dance troupe. Dancing like David danced (with our clothes on, thank you) Taking traditional Jewish dances and praising God with dance.

Yesterday a dance troupe from Grand Rapids braved the snow storm and came in to perform some of their dances as well as teach us some things as well. It was beautiful watching them move as they praised the Lord.

I do not know where exactly this will lead. I do feel like I will be a part of the dance that is beginning in my church. I don't know how to explain it except to say that as I watched them, it was as if I already knew the dance. They were doing things that I have been doing in my living room as the Lord has been teaching me how to dance. To see it come together as a group and see it play out was very cool for me. I am excited as to what the Lord is doing through the dance.

Competitive Nature

My son is now at an age where he enjoys playing games. We play War, Go Fish, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly Jr and our latest addition, Blokus. To say he is competitive is an understatement. The kid plays to win. And he does not like to lose. This should be no surprise, he was born of gaming genes. My dad, my siblings, aunts, uncles and grandparents are/were all gamers. It is in our genes, our very DNA has a code somewhere that screams GAMER. The more I thought about it recently the more I realized how God is rewiring me.
Any of you that have known me for any length of time know, I love to play games. Any kind of game. Word, board, strategy, card; if it is a game chances are I like to play it. Along with this comes a competitive nature. Competitive to the core. I recall one New Year's Eve playing the game of Risk with 5 guys. I was kicking booty. Along with the success came trash talk and belittling of those at the table. Calling them boys and such. I recall it really rubbing one of the guys the wrong way. The reality was he was also competitive. So we clashed. I ran the game and ended up conquering the world that night. Yeah me! A boost to my already proud gaming mind.
Truth. I excel at games. They come natural to me and so I often cream the competition whether I intend to or not. Truth. I have not always been gracious in my winning. Truth. God is doing a work in me in this very area.
I did not realize it at first. Then I went camping this summer with all of my family, aunts, uncles, siblings; the whole kit-n-kaboodle. This has always been a time for me to enjoy some true competition and game to my hearts content. It was near the end of the week when I realized it. I had not played A SINGLE GAME, the entire week. With the exception of calling Bingo numbers for the family bingo, I had not played any games. At first I was completely surprised by this. Me gamers of all gamers had not played a game in peek game playing territory! What was up? Then the Lord showed me he was doing a work. He had taken the competitive must win attitude from me. The one that has potential to destroy relationships. I still enjoy games, don't get me wrong. I love a good game. But my attitude has changed. I want to see others excel. I want to enjoy the fellowship as much as the engaging of my mind. My current favorite game is Apples to Apples, that's about as uncompetitive as you can get when it comes to group games. I love the laughs that come with it as people interact.
I think the Lord has taken the competitive nature and shown me how to rechannel it into passion. Right now there are many things I am passionate about. Games is not one of them.
I have to smile when I watch my son. I know what drives him. He reminds me of how I used to be. Maybe it won't take him as long to figure out how to be a gracious winner or a non-pouting loser. I pray he can grasp those things early on. I am thankful I finally got it into my head and my heart. Winning is not everything. But living passionately for the Lord IS!

What's Your Real Age?

So my sister told me about this site where you answer a questionaire about your health, lifestyle and what not. It is painless and does not take too long to do. Your calendar age is your age according to your birth date. Your real age is the age your body is. So an athletic person that takes care of their body may have a real age younger than their calendar age. And a smoker may have an real age older than their calendar age. Interesting stuff.
Then it gives you helpful hints of how to lower your real age and take better care of yourself.

My Real Age is 24.6! WooHoo!
How about you? Find out by taking the test here.

Whole Hearted

A new mindset.
No more half hearted attempts at things. If it is something I want to do, I AM GOING TO DO IT. I don't want to just "try" to live a healthy lifestyle. Either I am going to do it or I am not. So if I choose to do it, I AM GOING TO DO IT. If I want to lose weight, I will. If I want to wake up in the morning, I will. If I want to eat healthy food choices, I will. Because it is a choice, and I am choosing to do it. Completely, whole heartedly, committed. The same goes for things I don't want to do. If I don't want to do it, I think about what I do want and do it.
The bible talks about the luke warm. Neither hot nor cold. A on the fence, uncommitted approach. And the Lord said he does not want us to be luke warm. He would rather we be cold than luke warm. In fact he dislikes it so much he said he would spit us out of his mouth. He is talking about our faith and commitment to him. But does not everything we do reflect our love of him. In all things we can glorify God.
So why do we get stuck in ruts? Why do we not succeed at things we are struggling with, be it weight, addictions, bad habits? I think it is because we are neither hot nor cold. We say things like, "I am going to try." Or "If it works it works, if not, oh well." "I am going to do it someday." We lack commitment. We lack a strong desire to see it accomplished. We lack a pure and perfect heart.
There are things that I have not yet commit to. And things that are for right now, today. And for those things, I will succeed. I will do it because I am choosing to put my whole heart into it.
The other day in my weight class, we were discussing some of the pro's of doing a workout as a group. Some replied with "I just would not do it by myself." I have been thinking about this the last couple days. And I guess I am to the point that I am going to do it if I am the only one. If I have to do it all by myself. I am doing it. I will take responsibility for getting myself to the gym daily and making the most of my time once I am there. I will take responsibility to eat the right foods, whether my family chooses to do the same or not. (Currently they are.) I have made up my mind and I am giving my whole heart to achieve that which I have set out to achieve, including becoming more and more Christ like.
Only good can come of it all.

1 Chronicles 28:9
"And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.

Revelation 3:15-17
15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Show Some Love

So apparently it is National De-lurking Week. As I have discovered on many blogs tonight. So show some love people. De-lurk if only for a moment. Let me know who you are, where you are from, how you found this blog and anything else of interest. Thanks!

If you are unfamiliar with commenting, this is how you do it:
Click on the word comment below this post, it will take you to a white screen with a box on the right. Leave your comment in this box. Just below it click other, type your name, initials, code name or whatever humors you. There is no need to leave a web address, you may leave this blank. Lastly, try and figure out the sometimes tricky letters that appear for word verification. Type them in the box provided and click the bright orange button that says "publish this comment." You will know it published them when it appears on the left hand side. If it did not, try retyping the word verification and publishing it again.

To avoid clicking back and forth from this post and the comment screen, go to the comment screen and click show original post on the right hand side.

Now that you know how it will definitely not kill you to comment. (wink)

This Does NOT Work For Me Wednesday

It's was almost bedtime and we were snuggled on the couch to read a few books before bed. What could go wrong? I read a cute book about being five, DS though it was great; he's five. Then we went for ABC A Family Alphabet Book. Nice little ABC word play. All was well until page two. B is for Books. Harmless right? Until you read the sentence below it: Our moms read out favorite book to us at bedtime. I rub my eyes and try again. No I did read that right. Our moms, meaning two moms. I alter the word use to make it singular and continue on. Page three, C is for cookies. Screech, wait a sec, this book is not right for it reads: Both of my dads know how to make great chocolate chip cookies. I begin to thumb through the pages and it is all of same s*x couples and their kids. I look at the back cover and it reads "celebrates alternative families" Oh yippee!
Apparently the publishing company Two Lives publishing is "creating books for children in alternative families." Good to know. I didn't think I would have to screen books listed for ages 2-5 so carefully. Now I do and you do too.

I Am A Woman On...

Weights!
Oh Yes I am. I started my class today at the YMCA. The title of the class is Women On Weights (WOW) Being day one, the trainer went easy on us. Well at least she said she did. We did a full body workout. With three sets of 8 reps for each machine. It was a great workout. For the most part it was working on the machines that I have been using for the last couple weeks. Yet it was improved because she was there to correct form and show proper extension to get the most out of the lift. She also was pretty right on as far as starting weights and abilities. Which is a good thing. Knowing where to start is half the battle. Today there were six in the class, three newbies and three veterans. The veterans were given their instructions and went about with their workouts as a group of three. The newbies had one on one attention of the trainer as she taught us what to do. Which was great!
Of everything we did I feel it in my thighs the most. Lunges. I have been doing them with much less repetition. So I feel it, which is good. Productivity. She talked a bit about soreness and muscle memory. How you need to keep at it to train the muscle. She also mentioned the need to stretch and eat more protein.
So off I go to stretch. Watch out I am getting buff. I am a woman on weights. heehee

Behold The Lemon

This is a fascinating article about Lemons and their use to prevent sickness. A good read, thanks Kellie!
Behold The Lemon

When Hubby Travels

Over the last few months hubby has been traveling....A LOT!
Since October he has been home probably 3 out of the 12 weeks. Meaning I am getting pretty used to parenting solo. I have gotten into a routine. Unfortunately, he has gotten into a routine of being solo as well. He was home this weekend and readjusting is hard. He is used to quiet, no kids, things in his order, time to himself, freedom with his schedule. So re-entry into a chaotic home of two young children, has it's stressful moments. For me, I am used to having the vehicle and complete control of our schedule. He is gone again for the week and when he returns it should be for a long time. With no expected flights out for awhile. Thankfully!
Our son the other day said, "I miss Daddy, when he is gone, it feels inside me like he is not even a part of our family." OK Woah!! If he is feeling like that, something has to change. And this come and turn right back around is not working. We just start getting readjusted to him being home and he is gone again.
I am thankful this trip is a short one. I am thankful it is the last one in current sight. I am thankful my hubby works for a great company and provides for us. I am thankful he enjoys his travels. I am thankful when he comes home. I will be thankful even more when I get to accompany him on his adventures abroad.
Anyone else have to deal with traveling hubbies? How is it for you?

Behind on Bloglines

Wow! I went this morning to check bloglines. Apparently I have not checked them at all this week because there was 233 posts. How can I be that behind on my blog reading? And how can 33 different bloggers have written 233 posts? There was a few duplicate posts and some reposts. Still that is a whole lot of reading I need to get caught up on.
Having the computer downstairs is changing my computer time. I spend considerably less time on it. On Tuesday of last week I did not go to the computer EVEN ONCE. That is incredible for me. I came down Wednesday and it was then that I realized I had not even glanced at it the day before. It was an odd realization.
There are times when it is much less convenient to have it down here. Like when I am cooking and need to confirm the recipe. Or when I want to check the budget. Pay bills. (Took me a few days to get down and get them done.) That is not normal. Usually we get paid and everything is done within a couple hours.
I miss some of my Instant Message buddies. Before it was always on and we could pop in a quick (or not so quick) hey and see how they were. Now it is hit and miss.
It seems like my priority is checking mail and responding to those. Then put up a post. I really do not want to be so behind on others blogs. Then again it is good to not be so dependent on the computer and having the balance I have been praying about for the last year.
So to all of my fellow bloggers. I love ya. I have not completely forgotten you. I am making my rounds and will continue to do so. It may be less frequent. I hope not too much so.
That's how things are going with having the computer down. Ya take the good with the bad. And the bad is not all that bad.

Update: I finally got caught up on bloglines. Yeah!

Pics

Dave arrived home safely just before dinner last night. And just in time to see DS's wiggly tooth before he pulled it out. I knew it would not be long when he came home from grandma's with it dangling by a thread. He gave it a quick yank and was surprised when it came out. Not to mention completely thrilled. Negotiations were made earlier last week on the amount he would get for it. It started out as a quarter. Then when he talked to Dad he said I know I get a dollar. Then Dad upped it to $5. So five dollars it was.


The following are the living room. This is how it was when he first arrived home. It has changed a bit. All good.



If you enlarge this one...you will see the toothless grin. He is SO cute!

Hubby's Coming Home

Yeah!
I can't wait for him to see the living room. I will try and post a picture after he arrives. An unveiling of sorts. On the off chance that he should read my blog. I will wait.

It will be fun to see if he notices any changes in my physical appearance. I feel like there are changes. I know I am getting stronger. Things are firming up. I think I have slimmed a bit in the face. I also notice a difference in my upper thighs. And perhaps a wee bit in the abs. Soon it will be a whole lot in the abs. (CHEESY GRIN)

I have a workout to get to and a few minor touches to the house. It is different having the computer downstairs. I have to be much more deliberate about it's use. A good thing.

Have a great day everyone!

All Men May Run Along

I can tell ya now this will be too much info for the testosterone type. So come on back tomorrow. Go on now.

Alright ladies. Menstration. I don't blame you if any of you want to run along now too. Go ahead and go if your going to go.

OK. Still here? Good. The last few days have been a whole lot harder on the flesh. I have slept in the last three days. It began Saturday night with staying up late to read, continued on with late night for New Year's Eve and has continued on. This morning I had the thought that it may be attributed to that time of the month. Our bodies have different needs during this lovely week. So could it be that I am having a harder time getting up because of it? I hope so because this needs to end.

Also, I had food cravings on Monday that I gave into. The Snickers bar was devoured. Overall, I have done most excellent with the eating aspect. I really am pleased with how it has been. Normally the week of my period would be fried foods. While they do not help with cramps, they make them worse, my body usually craves them. I have yet to partake in fast food during this operation. I have ate out but not the normal cheese burger and fries. It has been soups and salads. A huge improvement.

And...what do you do when you are flowing and want to workout? Do you go light? Do you continue at the same intensity as normal? I am finding myself drawn to going harder than normal. Not sure if this is just feeling like I am behind or if my body needs it. It could be because I watched the all day marathon of the Biggest Loser 3 and found a bit of motivation. In between the commercials I was moving, crunching, running, doing jumping jacks. Again it could have been because I was thinking you are watching TV all day (it was on New Year's Day.) Anyhow, I am thinking it is not all that fair to woman that we have to endure this once a month for a week at a time. We have to add weight to line our wombs. We crave things. Hormones go all over the place. It alters our daily rhythms. Water weight. It is not in the best interest of my success in this Operation Can to continue menstrating. I am beginning to think that it may be that very reason why no woman has ever won Biggest Loser. They have had tremendous success but have not won the whole thing. That is because the men do not have to deal with this kind of stuff.

Then on the other hand. The whole thing is stinking amazing. God made our bodies in an incredible way that I can not even fully fathom. I am thankful that this womb has carried my children. And that it was a cozy place for them as they grew into the little people that they are. I am thankful that I am a woman. I am thankful. I am. Now if I could only figure how it all plays into my current goals, that would be good.

Psalm 139:14
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Shh..Don't Tell My Hubby

First off the following information is highly classified. If you read it you are making a commitment to not speak a word of it to my hubby until further notice. If you are willing to refrain from conversation with my husband on the following you may read on.
Hubby is currently out of state. Yes, I rang in the New Year without my midnight kiss. Well, I got a kiss, from my 5 year old son, who stayed up to midnight and beyond. So while he has been out of state, I (with help) rearranged the living room. It was established before he left that we would be getting furniture from my father-in-law (FIL.) Cute dark blue leather. More formal than our ripped up, side falling off polyester couch. So on Saturday the new couch and chair arrived. We passed on the recliner and kicked our old couch literally to the curb.
Before he left hubby planted the seed that he would like to see the computer desk moved downstairs and a cleaner, more formal look for the living room. The desk always seems to get cluttered, try as I may to keep it cleaned off. It takes a matter of minutes to cover it with papers. And then toys from the kids and things we try to keep out of the dog's reach. And...you get the point. So I took some time to think about it and decided to do it.
My brother and sister-in-law helped move the new furniture in and after my FIL left they looked at me and asked if I was going to do it. And that they would help me if I wanted. So I set to sorting through the junk on the desk and shoving some of it into totes. Undid the web of cables to the computer and printer, unplugged. We brought the desk down and our entertainment center up. We completely changed the look putting the TV on a different wall and the couch and chair in places they have never been before. We moved around some wall decorations. Arranged DVD's. I set the computer back up in its new place, my BIL drilled a hole in the bedroom to reroute the phone line so I would have my internet. Thank you , thank you!
Things are falling into place. I still have some totes to sort through and things to organize but I must say it looks really good.
So what will it be like having the computer out of the daily buzz? I will have to be deliberate and time conscience of the time I spend here. Who know's we may play a whole lot more down here in the technical playroom. We may actually do school down here where the cabinets of school supplies and a table are already set-up. I may actually workout more and get used to the cooler temps that I find myself in. Nothing a good blanket can not cure. I do know it will help my be more disciplined. Because if I don't see it, the less likely it is that I will check email compulsively throughout the day.
It also means that I may not always hear the IM one may send. So I am thinking of only signing in to IM if I am at the computer or downstairs. I still have my phone upstairs. I will still be available just in a different way and under different circumstances.
I will let you know how it goes.

Remember don't tell my hubby. I want him to be surprised. And the likely hood of him reading this post is 1%.

Happy New Year!
May God bless you and your families in 2007!