A Pound of Cure: 2008 in Review

I am currently in week 10 of my weight loss journey. As of this week, I'm 17.2 pounds lighter than when I started. At weight loss church this week we were asked to finish these statements:

I'm feeling most proud of...

Just getting started! That first step's a doosie!

A great way I found to manage my emotions is...

Blog or Journal

I'm proud I handled setbacks by remembering...

persistence not perfection!

The most important thing I've learned is...

Set realistic goals, never give up, be as kind to myself as I am to others!

I'm really glad I discovered...

My own strength, my bold voice, and the value of my family, friends, and faith!

The best strategy for successfully dining out was...

Plan ahead for the points and what I'm going to eat, then box up half of it as soon as it arrives at the table as a takehome meal for the next day!

The Helpful Habit that I improved the most is...

Taking care of myself!

When I weighed in on Christmas Eve morning, I showed a 4 pound gain!! True, I had social engagements pretty much every day and evening of the entire week before Christmas but I did feel that I had navigated those pretty well. Such a large jump came as a shock~and I was really bummed! Thanks to Nancy, our meeting clerk, secretary, friend and confidante who said, "Don't let this throw you off!" I know she's been there, too. Now at lifetime, she still remembers these struggles. I kept hearing her words throughout the holiday and Nancy, I didn't let that 4 pounds throw me off! So, when I weighed in on Tuesday evening, I was 5.2 pounds down. A net loss of 1.2 pounds OVER CHRISTMAS!!!! I am so thankful for this program and for the leaders and supporters and fellow-members who help so much along the way! The first week I joined, my leader Kathy and Nancy sent me a postcard welcoming me and in big letters she wrote: YOU CAN DO THIS! She underlined the word can. There are so many times those words have come to my rescue, too! You know what? 2009 is going to be a very good year! I'm planning a lot of healthy changes for myself and it's good to know that there will be the cavalry(all you Lana supporters out there) to lean on when I need to...I hope 2009 is a very blessed year for all of you reading this blog(cuz most of you fall into that Lana supporter category, too!). Take the best of care and have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I WILL STOP! REALLY I WILL!!

I promise! Just not quite yet...Here are two more Christmas YouTubes that you can't live without until next holiday season. I'm sure of this. Trust me! So, take a few more minutes to enjoy the last hurrah of Christmas before we ring in the New Year:

This one's doggone adorable!



For the more politically and socially minded:



Thanks Lisa and Diane for calling my attention to these gems~Keep em'coming girls!

The Path I Walk: Growth

Today at VPM we talked about growth: Luke 2:52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Good topic for this time of year. I don't know about you but I always get a bit reflective now heading into the New Year, looking back for signs of progress(growth), looking back at what I learned from my various encounters with life, and looking ahead to where I'd like to be by this time next year.Art VanWyhe spoke of growth in terms of who we look up to. Who are your heros? The consumate hero, of course, is Jesus, our example, and as He grew in wisdom and stature, He also grew in favor with God and men.Am I doing that? Are you? Art brought out several areas where we can take a look at the issue of growth. The first was growing in discernment(wisdom). How can we grow in this area? Art gave a few examples: read your Bible, follow the design that God/Christ has patterned for us, use the lessons from our circumstances to help us make good choices, be sensitive to the direct leadings of God, and get good input from other like-minded people. In the area of physical growth,Art highlighted that even if you are past all of your physical growth spurts, we can still look for ways to honor the temple God has given us by respectful behavior and good health habits. We can draw closer or grow spiritually by first desiring to be closer to God and by having the discipline daily to make time for scripture and prayer. Relationally, we can grow by fellowship with God and others. Specifically, spending time in life groups, in church, but also taking time to participate in the lives of those we live by, work with, or encounter in other venues along the path. Personally, I have been experiencing a growth spurt of sorts because of my healing process post-divorce, and the knowledge that I am approaching 50 has been a catalyst for changing some of the things in my life that have needed changing for a long time! I realize that all of those changes that I hope to make will not happen over night.At times I will grow faster, sometimes slower, and, yes, there will be halts along the way.Growth is a process.The most important point is to keep desiring growth at every stage of life. There's always room for improvement~it's the biggest room in the universe!
P.S. Thanks to A.J.Westendorp and Jordan DeJonge for sharing their very moving testimonies and incredible experience of this year playing football for the Holland Christian Maroons during their winning season and gaining the State Championship!I loved how you guys followed and depended upon God to take you through that glorious journey!Congratulations again on the honor you helped the Maroons to win with God's help. Blessings to you both in your future endeavors!

Baker~Wiedewitsch~Rogers~Glazek Family Christmas 2008

Here are the scenes of our family Christmas. It was an especially blessed one from my point of view. We have all drawn closer this year and have come to value our family more. Everyone contributed and participated. The boys helped me put up the outside lights. Tyler went with me to get the tree. Trevor put the lights on the tree. Jayden decorated it with my help and he helped string cranberries and helped glue the green and red paper chains.There are ornaments that my parents gave me before I left home on this tree. Tyler has his ornaments from 1985-Baby's first Christmas. There are some clay ornaments that Tyler and Trevor made when they were 5& 7 years old...and the 6 Crystal ornaments that I have always loved. The rest were plastic shatterproof ornaments that are Jayden and cat-proof.Just the fact that we actually had a REAL Christmas tree was a miracle in itself. The year the kittens were born, they knocked the tree over so many times that we just left it lying down with a big sign that read: DON'T ASK. The next year we put our gifts around a nativity scene but nobody liked that. Then we got the cheesy snow globe that was supposed to go in the yard but we put it inside and put our gifts around it. That worked for a couple years. Then Bryn tried catching the snowflakes-he bit a big hole in the thing and it blew those little fake snow pellets all over the house.This happened while we were gone somewhere and came home to a big mess!We unplugged it immediately and some cat who thought the remaining pellets were kitty litter peed on it! Needless to say, end of the snow globe! So, this tree really meant a lot to me. It was not our most elegant one down through the years. It's kind of homely and Charlie Brownish. But I loved it the most because everyone did something for it. When I look at that tree I see my family. Each special one. Unity. That really blessed my heart this year to walk into the house and see a symbol of our family and our love for one another. Our connectedness. I hope that each of you found similar sources of joy over your holidays! God Bless you and keep you and cause His face to shine your way! Peace!

Christmas Thought for December 25th

Thought for the day:
Hold up your head! You were not made for failure, you were made for victory; go forward with a joyful confidence in that result sooner or later, and the sooner or later depends mainly on yourself.
Weight Watcher's tip of the day:
Take time today to relax and reflect on the positive things in your life. May eating healthy be one of them.
Lana says:
Be grateful for all your many blessings today! Pray for those who are less fortunate and don't forget to pray for all the members of the American Armed Forces who are serving this country-especially those who cannot be home with their families over the holidays.

Christmas Thought for December 24th

Thought for the day:
Guard within yourself that treasure, kindness.
Weight Watcher's tip of the day:
Expect great things and you will receive great things (speaking of weight loss-not holiday gifts!)
Lana says:
Today, go out of your way to acknowledge a person who provides a service for you though the year. Give them a token of your esteem and some words of praise. No matter what sort of work you do, it always feels great to know that you are appreciated.

More Christmas Cool....

Just for you Josh Groban fans~speakers up for this one:



Entertain yourself with this cool puzzle~it's not hard, really! Have some fun:

http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=XE13117730