Friday, February 15, 2008
A Weighty Update
So hopefully this chart will show up, but I have inserted a chart to show my weight loss so far. Let me just say--looking at it like this really encourages me. I am just 11.8 pounds away from my 10% goal and that is huge for me (and for you math majors--don't you dare do the math and figure out how much I started at)! As London Tipton would say (for those of you who are unfortunate enough to watch Suite Life of Zach and Cody on Disney Channel)--"YAY ME!!"
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Good news on the homefront
We had an open house both days this weekend. Yesterday, a couple fell in love with our house. Out of 20 houses, both in Portland and Vancouver, they've put ours at #1. Apparently, they're a couple weeks away from moving forward, but still, that was good news! Then, today, a young couple fell in love with our house! They have a 4 month old baby and stayed about 30 minutes, making plans of how they would watch the baby play out the back windows as it grows, and which room it would be in. Exciting for us, but made us get a little nostalgic too. Anyway, they told our realtor that they're going to get financing tomorrow, they've been talking with their parents about it tonight, and they had a couple questions too (do our walls have 2x4's or 2x6's--weird-- and wondering if our trampoline is included!) Anyway, we may have an offer on our house this week and that is FANTASTIC news!
Wisdom from a 4-year old
So Teddy and I have never really hid much from our kids. Of course, we've sheltered them from very disturbing things, or told them partial truths but not whole truths. However, one thing we've never lied to them about is money. We let them know when we can't afford things and why, and also let them know how our finances and spirituality are linked. This is begun some interesting discussions lately as we've begun a financial study at church, and our money situation has been ugly. Anyway, lately, our 4 year old daughter has been blurting out, "We're poor!" mostly off the joke I always say when they ask if they can have something. I always say, "Of course not, we're poor!" Well, apparently, Teddy has taken it one step further than me. The other day at lunch, I complained that the prices we're too high. Our little lady blurts out, "We're poor of money, but rich in love!" She said it so loudly and clearly! Teddy laughed and said they just talked about that in the car! Anyway, the kid gets it!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
One last thing..
I forgot to share a funny thing. The other night, Teddy and I saw an episode of "The Three Stooges" on cable. I've actually never watched them before and found myself nearly wetting myself I was laughing so hard! So anyone who hasn't seen them, I encourage you to watch them. And those of you looking to buy us any presents, we could be in the market for some Stooge dvd's! :) Hee hee!
Today could almost be perfect
Today, for the first time in a long time, I played with my kids. I'm not a big get-on-the-floor and play type player. But, today some stressful issues in my life got worked out and it's made me feel a bit happier and I found myself not only playing horsey on the couch with my girls (yes, even my 9 year old got a ride), but I tickled them, wrestled and laughed. Then when my son got out of the tub, I watched some old cartoons on the computer with him. He really likes Caspar and Popeye!
We then went out to lunch with my mom, then off to my daughter's soccer game. They've had a good two years of being undefeated, but this session moved up a level to be more challenged. They've every game but one this session, until today! They won 8-6. She's facing some challenges there right now, so the ride home was a bit stressful. But as we pulled up at our house, the realtor was gone, but some people showed up to see the house! So we went and got some ice cream, and that lightened the mood back up!
Anyway, today seemed to be nearly perfect. Here's a funny thing too-I always think of funny things to say on our blog--you know, hilarious posts, informative links, election results showing Washington's caucauses--but then I sit down to write and it ends up being a daily journal! Oh well--as I get back into the swing of writing on a regular basis, I'm sure my natural humor and wit will come through! Or maybe Teddy could actually (read) write a post and then it would be funny!
Earlier today, we took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and took a walk around the neighborhood. It was our first walk as a family where all 3 kids rode their bikes! That's a yay and a not yay, because it means Sophia can ride with no training wheels, but it also means she's growing up and stuff! :( But it was a great walk and we enjoyed talking with a few of the neighbors, which made us sad because we had our open house today (and tomorrow as well). But not sad enough to take the house off the market!
Also, my son had his first flag football game today. His team won, and he had got one flag off a kid and stopped a play. He was such a good sport, cheering when they scored and yelling "NOOOO!" when the other team scored, even though he didn't know what he was doing!
We then went out to lunch with my mom, then off to my daughter's soccer game. They've had a good two years of being undefeated, but this session moved up a level to be more challenged. They've every game but one this session, until today! They won 8-6. She's facing some challenges there right now, so the ride home was a bit stressful. But as we pulled up at our house, the realtor was gone, but some people showed up to see the house! So we went and got some ice cream, and that lightened the mood back up!
Anyway, today seemed to be nearly perfect. Here's a funny thing too-I always think of funny things to say on our blog--you know, hilarious posts, informative links, election results showing Washington's caucauses--but then I sit down to write and it ends up being a daily journal! Oh well--as I get back into the swing of writing on a regular basis, I'm sure my natural humor and wit will come through! Or maybe Teddy could actually (read) write a post and then it would be funny!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
God anwers prayers....
...of course, I know you all know that, right? But get this...I've had a couple rough weeks following program with my weight loss journey. I was better this week, but still going over points occasionally. As I was going into my meeting tonight, I prayed, "Lord, please just let me lose at least a pound. I know I gained 2.4 lbs last week, but could I just lose at least 1 lb?" I got on the scale and lo and behold, I had lost 3.4 lbs! So God did me one better--I lost the 2.4 I gained last week PLUS my 1 lb I asked for! So I felt great and encouraged to keep on keepin' on! I've lost 11 pounds so far--that's the most I've ever lost without taking some pill or doing something drastic, like not eating any carbs or sugar, etc. I'm almost out of a weight range that I've been in since before my little man was born 7 years ago--my goal is to lose 4 lbs this week.
We are having an open house this weekend and are getting excited! Whoo hoo! Pray that someone buys our house this weekend.
Monday, February 4, 2008
YAY for the Giants!
Let's just start off by saying WAY TO GO GIANTS!! We despise the Patriots and what a fulfilling Superbowl. Unfortunately, our son's new flag football team picked that for their name last week--just like a knife in our heart! In fact, he didn't want to play anymore and we had to do some major bribing to get him to agree to play on a team called the Patriots!
So two weeks ago, my weigh in should have shown a gain. I mean, we ate out a ton, for different special occasions. Lo and behold, when I stepped on and had lost another 2.8 pounds! That’s a total of 10 pounds and more than I’ve ever lost on Weight Watchers without gaining any back. Unfortunately, last week at my weigh in, I gained 2.4 lbs. because I did not follow program at all. I’ve begun to explore the reasons why I start to get scared when I lose weight. Anyway, I remain committed to this journey of losing some of myself!
Still no buyer on the house, although we had 2 lookers last week. Here, check out this link and look for mls# 8011337 to see our fantastic house. You want to buy it, I know you do.
This weekend, we finally broke with our old realtor and signed with our new ones. We’re really excited and they seem really excited to sell our house. We’re having an open house this coming weekend. The best part is that we found an old appraisal and because our 1092 sq ft home is actually appraised at 1224 sq ft, we can sell it as such! That’s great news! When we sell the house, we think the plan is to have a repeat performance of this fall. Yes, that’s right—we’ll live with my mom for a couple months, in her 20ft camping trailer she keeps parked next to the house. Yay for us! >:( The only good thing to come of that that I can see is being able to pay off our bills. Last time we did it, everything was unbelievably great and improved our relationship a ton. This time, some things in the situation have changed and I’m a bit apprehensive. So, we’ll see….
We met with the pastor involved in our icky situation at our old church two weeks ago, and it went so unbelievably well. I’m so used to situations like ours turning badly that I was prepared for that. I wasn’t prepared to hear the humbleness and the deep regret over a situation handled badly that we heard from the pastor. It was like salve to our wounds and restored our faith a bit. We still aren’t going back to our old church and are enjoying assimilating into our new one, but it makes it much easier to maintain those relationships left behind and to leave the door open to possibly going back there, if for nothing else than for special occasions. Just today, also, we got a follow up call from another pastor there who is new—we’ve not met him—but he’s been involved as he’s helped the other pastor work through the situation. Also, I got an apology letter from the person who hurt us the most and that has helped a ton too. But we’re still not going back there anytime soon.
Teddy’s 34th BD was last Sunday and we went out to dinner last night with his parents, my parents, and one of his sisters. We had a good time, except a little issue with alcohol being served. Short story is, because of a few incidences lately and because of my past, we have decided to become a dry family. Anyway, we haven't really been able to let our families know, as some of the info behind that decision has to do with them. But one thing for sure--our oldest daughter has severe issues with anyone drinking, especially one of us. Well, one parent bought Teddy a margarita and then his sister bought him a shot--sincere gestures of birthday cheer--but our daughter just started bawling. The tears were just coursing down her cheeks. So, it was evident to us that the past year has been a hard year on her emotionally and it just confirmed our decision to be teetotallers (I just learned that word on Cash Cab today, that's why I'm using it so much!)
Last thing we’ve been working on…I’m looking for a part-time job. Hopefully just a couple nights a week, in the evening. I have an interview this Thursday at a new take-and-bake pizza joint opening in Hazel Dell area. It’s a start, to build my confidence! If I can work for just 5-6 months, that could really help us pay off our debt and be better going into a new house!
Well, tomorrow is Super Tuesday and, as much as I shouldn’t worry, I am a bit worried for Mike Huckabee. I’m praying that the grassroots effort that has been put into his campaign shows us the results we’re hoping for!
So two weeks ago, my weigh in should have shown a gain. I mean, we ate out a ton, for different special occasions. Lo and behold, when I stepped on and had lost another 2.8 pounds! That’s a total of 10 pounds and more than I’ve ever lost on Weight Watchers without gaining any back. Unfortunately, last week at my weigh in, I gained 2.4 lbs. because I did not follow program at all. I’ve begun to explore the reasons why I start to get scared when I lose weight. Anyway, I remain committed to this journey of losing some of myself!
Still no buyer on the house, although we had 2 lookers last week. Here, check out this link and look for mls# 8011337 to see our fantastic house. You want to buy it, I know you do.
This weekend, we finally broke with our old realtor and signed with our new ones. We’re really excited and they seem really excited to sell our house. We’re having an open house this coming weekend. The best part is that we found an old appraisal and because our 1092 sq ft home is actually appraised at 1224 sq ft, we can sell it as such! That’s great news! When we sell the house, we think the plan is to have a repeat performance of this fall. Yes, that’s right—we’ll live with my mom for a couple months, in her 20ft camping trailer she keeps parked next to the house. Yay for us! >:( The only good thing to come of that that I can see is being able to pay off our bills. Last time we did it, everything was unbelievably great and improved our relationship a ton. This time, some things in the situation have changed and I’m a bit apprehensive. So, we’ll see….
We met with the pastor involved in our icky situation at our old church two weeks ago, and it went so unbelievably well. I’m so used to situations like ours turning badly that I was prepared for that. I wasn’t prepared to hear the humbleness and the deep regret over a situation handled badly that we heard from the pastor. It was like salve to our wounds and restored our faith a bit. We still aren’t going back to our old church and are enjoying assimilating into our new one, but it makes it much easier to maintain those relationships left behind and to leave the door open to possibly going back there, if for nothing else than for special occasions. Just today, also, we got a follow up call from another pastor there who is new—we’ve not met him—but he’s been involved as he’s helped the other pastor work through the situation. Also, I got an apology letter from the person who hurt us the most and that has helped a ton too. But we’re still not going back there anytime soon.
Teddy’s 34th BD was last Sunday and we went out to dinner last night with his parents, my parents, and one of his sisters. We had a good time, except a little issue with alcohol being served. Short story is, because of a few incidences lately and because of my past, we have decided to become a dry family. Anyway, we haven't really been able to let our families know, as some of the info behind that decision has to do with them. But one thing for sure--our oldest daughter has severe issues with anyone drinking, especially one of us. Well, one parent bought Teddy a margarita and then his sister bought him a shot--sincere gestures of birthday cheer--but our daughter just started bawling. The tears were just coursing down her cheeks. So, it was evident to us that the past year has been a hard year on her emotionally and it just confirmed our decision to be teetotallers (I just learned that word on Cash Cab today, that's why I'm using it so much!)
Last thing we’ve been working on…I’m looking for a part-time job. Hopefully just a couple nights a week, in the evening. I have an interview this Thursday at a new take-and-bake pizza joint opening in Hazel Dell area. It’s a start, to build my confidence! If I can work for just 5-6 months, that could really help us pay off our debt and be better going into a new house!
Well, tomorrow is Super Tuesday and, as much as I shouldn’t worry, I am a bit worried for Mike Huckabee. I’m praying that the grassroots effort that has been put into his campaign shows us the results we’re hoping for!
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