Summer Happenings...

We have been at Odosagih almost every weekend this summer.  We just love it here.  Not only for the beauty but for the wonderful Biblical teaching we receive.  There is something for everyone here.  The kids wake up early then head out for fishing, swimming (they have a nice in ground pool), miniature golf, basketball and much more.

Every Saturday evening, there is a concert.  The picture above is The Needhams.  They grew up not far from us.  They are a very talented family.  You can listen to their latest CD right on their website.  They tour all over the US, look them up when they are in your area. 

Yesterday I turned 39!  My last year of the 30's.  I have a goal to reach by my 40th birthday next year.  I'm going to need a lot of prayer because this is one of the biggest hurdles of my life.  My weight really holds me back in many ways.  I've started and stopped, lost and gained so many times in my life.  I have some issues I will be working through that I think are at the root of my weight.  I'm really going to need your prayers. 

I am also a full time student at Liberty University.  I'm taking classes via online.  While yes convenient...this is extremely difficult.  Your professors are not always right there to answer questions.  I'm currently taking Biology this term.  I am not doing well in the class at all.  But I know the Lord has a plan for me and I'm plugging along nicely.  My degree will be a Bachelor of Science in Religion with a minor in Biblical Counseling. 

So as you can see our summer has been SO busy...but very blessed.  I can see God's hand in everything we have been doing.  Oh yes and there is our wonderful bountiful garden.  We have a ton of tomatoes coming on, cucumbers we have been eating just as fast as we pick them, hot peppers, sweet peppers, sweet potatoes and green beans.  I can not wait to start canning these wonderful goodies.  How has your summer been going?

TOS Crew Review~~GoTrybe

Trying this again!!  Blogger deleted my post during it's troubles.  GRR!

I'm sure you have all heard of the epidemic of obesity in children.  There is an astounding 1 in 3 children that considered obese.  It is very scary.  Fighting obesity is something near and dear to my heart.  I've been overweight since I was a child.  I had it under control (sort of) in high school mainly because of sports.  So when this came up for review purposes I jumped at the chance.  Physical Education is sometimes forgotten in Home Schools.  This year we have tried to make it a part of our everyday.

WHAT IS IT:

GoTrybe has programs available for different age groups:

ZooDoos is for the elementary ages, K-5th grade

Trybe180 is for middle school ages, 6th-8th grade (the one we used)

NexTrybe is for high school ages, 9th-12th grade

GoTrybe is a web based program that you can access anywhere you have access to the Internet.   With this program you have not only workouts, but nutrition, wellness, everyday.  You can customize your own or use one of the pre-planned workout.

COST:

You can go HERE and try GoTrybe for one day FREE!  If you decide to continue using gotrybe.com after the free trial period, the cost of a one year membership is $19.95 (regularly $39.95). You can upgrade to a paid membership at any time by visiting the SIGN UP page, located under the HOME menu.

OUR THOUGHTS:

We really enjoyed using this.  Getting our children off the couch, off the computer, away from the TV ect. is a bit of a challenge at times.  This really made it fun for the kids.  They were able to stay on the computer while getting the exercise they needed.  The cost is very affordable, and you do not have to worry about video tapes or DVD's lying around the house.  Not only is this a PE class it can also be used as a Nutrition class as well.   There is a motivation section as well.  One of the first videos we watched was about eating breakfast....now our children will not let me skip breakfast.  LOL!  This is defiantly something we are considering adding to our list of programs for next year.  The price is very affordable.  This is great for everyone not just homeschoolers!

To see what other crew members are saying go HERE.

**I was given access to this website free of charge in exchange for my honest review.**

Healthy Home~~Weekly Weigh In

From now on I'll be linking up to Healthy Home.  This was known as Fit Mommy Friday, but the hostess of this meme could no longer do this.  This is where I will document our journey as a family to shed the extra pounds.  We are also changing our lifestyle at the same time.  I've often thought about my Great Grandparents....mainly my Great Grandmother who lived until the age of 99!  She never once went into the hospital until the week she died.  I don't even think she went to the doctor.  I thought about what she use to cook for us while visiting.  Yes these were often high fat foods, but always natural ingredients.  We are living in a society of the grab and go!  High salt prepackaged foods.  Have you ever looked at what is in those packages?  No wonder we are not living as long as our ancestors did.  Food now a days is fake!  We are also a very LAZY society!!  I can't remember a time when I ever saw my grand parents sitting around!  Still my grandmother is in her 90's and still runs around.  There is no getting around that...We are getting back to the way of our ancestors.  Growing and preparing our own foods.   Eating healthy isn't just about a lot of fruits and veggies and cutting out the fat.  It's about wholesome food AND getting off the couch. 

I want my children to learn how to grow their own foods, prepare the food, and preserve the food.  It's not that hard at all.  No matter what you think.  Even if you live in an apartment, or have little land.  It does not take that much space to grow veggies.  IF you just plain do not want to grow veggies go support the local farmers at the farmers markets.  Buy a large amount of them and freeze them.  You might surprise yourself and really like putting up your own foods.  

Now to my weekly weigh in....I have not been to a Weight Watchers meeting in 2 weeks.  In that 2 weeks we had 3 birthdays.  Which means cake and other goodies.  I faced the music this morning and I gained 4.8 pounds!  At first I was very angry with myself, but my son said to me in that little cute way..."You came here to weigh in today mommy, that is the first step!"  I asked him if he had been talking with my friend Jen M??!!  That's exactly what she tells me all the time.   I am going to get back on track and shed this weight!

Go on over and link up with the Healthy Home.

Fit Mommy Friday

The past 2 weeks have not been very good for me!  April-June are very hectic times in our lives.  We are wrapping up our schooling for the year.  The kids have testing they have to do, I have quarterly reports I have to do.  The months are full of birthday parties....yada yada yada.

In between all of that I've had health issues.  So you can say I am really struggling to find me time to workout.  Now that the weather is nicer I've been getting outside more.  But I need more of a workout.  After this week things S.h.o.u.l.d slow down a bit.  To help me fit in more workouts I got myself a bicycle!  I have not rode one of these since my early teen years...like age 13!  I started by just riding it in the lawn...softer landing should I fall off.  LOL!  The saying is right...you never forget how to.    My son is always asking me to go riding with him now.  Unfortunately I can only go about a 1/4 of a mile up our road.  My legs feel like jello after our ride.  But I know it will get easier as time goes by.  Before you know it I'll be riding it to my parents house about 3 miles away.  

I did not go weigh in again this week.  I know I'm up at least 4 pounds...it happens this point in the month!  How do you control your eating during these "bad" days?   I will go next week and face the music, but just not today.  I can honestly say I'm struggling!  This IS hard to do.  It seems that food is everywhere.  I just need to retrain my brain to make the good choices.

To see more Fit Mommy Friday posts visit Got Chai? 

Cooking Thursday~~Cream of....soup

Now that we are changing our lifestyle here and eating better.  I've been searching for recipes that will help us in that journey without sacrificing taste.  Not only is this fat free but also lower in sodium.  This is just one of these recipes I want to share.  I know many have already seen this recipe.

Cream of...soup

2 cups powdered milk
3/4 cups cornstarch
1/4 cups chicken, beef, bouillon granules (I just crushed the cubes)
2 tablespoons dried onion flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon black or white pepper

Combine all ingredients and blend until mixed. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 1 year. This recipe makes 3 cups and is enough for 9 cans of soup.

To substitute for one can of condensed cream soup:
In a 1-quart saucepan combine 1/3 cup of soup mix
and 1 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil stirring
occasionally.

You can make this into many different types of soups.  Broccoli, potato, vegetable or whatever you can come up with.  I love this soup mix.  We keep it on hand all the time now.

Go on over to Diary of a SAHM to see more delicious recipes!

Fit Mommy Friday

This has been a very tough week for me.  I found out I have gallstones and will be seeing a surgeon in April.  Not the news I had hoped for!!  But I continue to press on, it's just a small stumbling block.

I went to my Weight Watcher's meeting today and I stayed the same.  I am very thankful for that!!  I have not been able to exercise at all.  Today I will start with a small workout session.

I wrote these down from the Weight Watcher's room today:

Helpful Habits- Build a strong foundation

• Ask for help
• Learn from experiences
• Manage your environment
• Manage your feelings
• Manage your thoughts
• Monitor yourself
• Take care of yourself

These are habits I need to incorporate into my life.  The first one I've done...asking for help....I joined weight watchers.  That is a hard thing to do.  Admiting that I needed help.  I've always been an independent person....admiting that I needed help with weight loss was the hardest thing I've had to do.  I'm an addict when it comes to food.  I'm slowly learning from experiences.  Sometimes I don't even think when putting food in my mouth.  It's like I'm in a haze...then it's over and I'm left with a feeling of failure. 

I am working on getting into that mindset that I CAN do it, instead of the I can't do it.  One of the many things I learned so far from "Made to Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst was to lean on God not myself or any human.  Psalm 18 1-3 says, "I will love You, O Lord, my strength.  The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

If you have not read that book I highly recommend you do.  This book has changed my life, both physical and mental.  My walk with God has never been stronger.  I've also lost a total of 11 pounds in 4 weeks.  But it's not all about the number on a scale.

To see other Fit Mommy Friday posts visit Got Chai?

Fit Mommy Friday

I went to my first Weight Watcher's meeting/weigh in this morning!  In my first week I lost 6.8 pounds!!  I was walking on air!!

This week has been a week of adjustment for me following this WW plan.  I'm so use to counting calories and such.  On WW they do it all for me.  I just need to learn the points system a bit more.  Tonight the kids and I headed out shopping to find some WW foods.  I was thrilled when I found the yogurt, string cheese, frozen meals, cheese slices for my LOVED grilled cheese.  I even found cream cheese!  I'm thrilled and excited for this coming week.

Here is a recipe I tried this week and it was SO good!!

Turkey, Bean and Vegetable Chili

1 lb. ground turkey

1 bag of frozen onions

1 bag of frozen peppers

1/8 tsp granulated garlic

2 large carrots chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

1 Tbsp chili power

1 Tbsp paprika

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano dried

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

29 oz fat free chicken stock or broth

29 oz can kidney beans rinsed and drained

15 oz can fat free refried beans

Cook up the turkey, add spices midway through cooking.  Continue to cook until it is done.  Place the rest of the ingredients into your crockpot.  Set crockpot on high for 3 hours or low for 8 hours.

I made this the night before and place in the refrigerator.  Then put it in the crockpot before leaving for church.  This was SO good.  Also it's only 5 points per serving which is 1 1/2 cups!

FIRST Book review~~Love food and live well by Chantel Hobbs

***Special thanks to Audra Jennings, Senior Media Specialist, The B&B Media Group for sending me a review copy.***

I posted a while ago about my struggle with my weight.  Until last year it had just become part of who I am.  I have done a lot of soul searching recently and realized I needed to change.  I told myself this was going to be the year for me to not only loose weight but to be healthy while doing it.  No pills, fast tricks ect.  It was going to take good old fashioned hard work.  Then this book came up for review!! WOOHOO!!

When I got the book I thought after looking at the front cover...."Oh great another size 2 pretty blonde telling ME how to loose weight!!"  But this book was so easy to read I had a hard time putting it down.  I can not say enough good things about it.  It is full of lifestyle changing strategies for you.  The only thing I would of liked to have seen in there are some before and after pictures of the author. 

To see more about the author AND the before and after pictures I wanted to see go HERE! It's the author, Chantel Hobb's website.

You can purchase the book HERE. You can see what other bloggers say about this book HERE.

I plan on blogging about my journey in 2011 both with my weight and my spiritual growth!