Dwelling on Excellence

Good day, friends. My, it has been a while. Not only that, we are living in a very different world than the last time I wrote. Life certainly has changed for me, and I’m sure it has for you too.

It seemed like the decade was getting off to a great start when we got punched in the gut. First there were recommended precautions, then there were declarations made by the governor and local authorities. Many people started working from home before businesses were required to shut their doors. Finally, businesses were required to shut their doors regardless of the preparations they had made. Only “essential” businesses were allowed to stay open. That begs the question,

What is an “essential” business, anyway?

If I’m a business owner and I rely on the income from my business to buy groceries and pay the rent, then in my eyes, my business is essential. If I work for an employer and my income is essential for me to be able to put gas in my car and pay the electric bill, then that business is essential. If I rely on a business for life-sustaining goods such as food and water, then that business is essential. In my eyes, there are very few businesses that are not essential.

Does that mean that I have to frequent any of those businesses? Absolutely not. I can choose to take the precautions I believe necessary in order to avoid contact with others. In these days of DoorDash and instacart, you can stay holed up in your home for weeks on end if you really found it necessary.

That said, what have I been doing with myself?

At first, I was spending hours online trying to find the things we needed. I tried to order as many groceries as I could online so that all we had to do was pick them up. As you’ve probably heard, reserving a pick up time was easier said than done. I’d wait for my order to see what I did and didn’t get, and then go to another store to try to get the things we didn’t get. It’s been interesting.

Then there was the whole thing of ordering the non-grocery items that we needed. The disadvantage of ordering some things online is the fact that there are too many choices! Trying to find what you need at the best cost (with or without shipping) can suck time and life right out of you. So far, we’ve been able to make it work.

What is the one good thing that’s come out of this? I’ve been able to concentrate on my running. Not only has the weather been great, but I now have absolutely no conflicts! No 4-H meetings, no church meetings, not even a family get together!

• 

  First signs of spring

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  An old friend . . . The Flyover

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  Lovely and excellent

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  Worthy of praise

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  Physical distance running

These are a few of my favorite things!

I’m going to stop here before this post gets too lengthy. I will do a more in-depth update in a future post. I do hope that you find yourself healthy and doing well. I know these are trying times for all of us.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Philippians 4:8

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Happy New Decade!

Happy New Year! Can you believe it is here? The start of a new year . . . the start of a new decade! Have you thought about it? Where were you (physically, spiritually, emotionally) in 2010? How has your life changed?

Physically, I weighed more than 100 pounds than I do today. I truly did not realize how big I was. I could not walk from the front door of my house to the street/mailbox without huffing and puffing. My oldest graduated from high school in the summer and moved to Florida in the fall. My dad passed away in June. My husband had his third joint replacement surgery in less than a year. It was definitely a year of ups and downs. It felt like the downs outweighed the ups in 2010.

Sometime after that, I decided that it was time for me to pay attention to myself and what I needed instead of devoting all of my time and energy to others. My two older children were out of high school, married, and on their own. My youngest was not school age yet, so I had the time and energy to focus on what I needed.

I started by walking. I didn’t really focus on my diet. I tried to eat “healthier,” but my focus was getting exercise. After all, we hear all of the time that to lose weight you need to eat less and move more. Eventually I tried some group exercise classes at my local community center. The best thing I got from that was a personal trainer that convinced me that I could do anything I wanted.

A friend at church introduced me to juicing. This was a big influence in changing the way I ate. Not only did juicing itself help stop the cravings, it also acted as a stepping stone to adopting healthier food choices. I decided to cut out as much highly processed food as possible. This put an end to most junk food and foods containing flour and sugar. Adopting the Bright Line Eating lifestyle was just another step from where I already was.

Most people over estimate what can be achieved in a year and under estimate what can be done in a decade.

Neil Martin

Convinced that I could accomplish anything, I signed up for a Couch to 5K program. After watching me run my first 5K, my oldest daughter started running with me and came up with the crazy idea for us to run a 5K a month. This has kept me running all year long and has led to meeting new people and some wonderful friendships.

Now, as we go into a new year and a new decade, I’m thinking about not only how my life might be different in a year, but also how my life might be different in a decade. Ten years ago if you told me I’d be starting off 2020 with a run with my running buddies, I’d tell you that you were crazy–and so were they! Today, I can’t wait to get out there!

That said, I’m excited to see what the next year and the next decade have in store! In the next decade, my youngest will be an adult. I have grandchildren that will be teenagers. Perhaps there will be more grandchildren! Will I still be running? Will I still be writing this blog? I can’t imagine how technology will change between now and then. What are your expectations for the next decade?

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Problem Solved

It certainly has been an interesting Fall. It seemed like we started by going straight from Summer to Winter. We had measurable snow on October 30th! It is very unusual for us to have snow in them on the month of October.

As I mentioned in last week’s post, I was looking into fitness center memberships. The weather had caused us to cancel three of our running sessions already. It looked as if it was going to be a long, cold winter; and I didn’t have a Plan B when I was not able to go outside. Of course, weather is not always the reason for not going out.

I was having a difficult time jumping into the gym membership for one simple reason: it requires a year-long commitment. I really only need one during the winter months, so paying for something year-round was not what I needed and seemed like a waste of money. Our community center does have a 20-swipe pass that you can buy, and that is what I was leaning toward. Then came an unexpected surprise. I got a treadmill!

The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind until a “neighbor” on Nextdoor was offering one up. I was not able to get to it right away, so I thought for sure that it would be gone before I got there. However, to my surprise, I was able to snatch this one up.

I find this ironic since I gave my last treadmill away since I wasn’t using it. Once I started running and had a gym membership, I didn’t see the reason to keep it. Also, it was not made for running, so all I could do was walk on it.

This treadmill was made for running and even has pre-programmed workouts built into it. I decided to give the first workout a try yesterday. I was expecting it to be a “walk in the park” so to speak since it was the first one on the list. It was quite a bit more than I was expecting, but it was ok. It’s been a while since I’ve been on a treadmill, so it’s going to take some getting used to.

I really was torn on how to resolve this problem. I’m so excited that it has been taken care of. Not only that, Fabienne seems to be enjoying it as well.

In other news, I went to a planning meeting this last week for my 35th high school class reunion. I can’t believe it’s been that long! About 10 people attended the meeting. It was nice to see people that I hadn’t seen for quite a while. I did attend our last reunion, but it was hard to talk to everyone. Afterwards, I talked with The Boy Nextdoor and he mentioned that the “clicks” have finally gone away.

Photo by George Huffman on Unsplash

And, how are we planning to start our reunion day? With a 5K! I swear it was not my idea! The lady heading up the planning committee came to the meeting with that idea already in her head. Naturally, that’s something I’m interested in and want to help with, so I’ve jumped on that wagon. I’m designing t-shirts and finisher’s medals as we speak!

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. Lamentations 3:25

Breakfast; an Early, Smelly Winter; and a Kitchen Safe

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

I am sorry for not getting a post out last week. I have noticed for many, many years that October and April are traditionally our busiest months of the year. Even though last Wednesday was technically November, it seemed like the busyness of the previous month had accumulated and I was drowning.

I have managed to try one recipe out of the Official Bright Line Eating Cookbook. This one has gotten a lot of attention on social media. It’s called Banana Rice Bake. It’s intended as a breakfast meal, and consists of banana, rice, and egg. It had a custard-like consistency and tasted delicious. I also had it right out of the oven, so it was nice and warm. Even though this was a delicious meal, I probably won’t have it very often. Most days, I eat a simple breakfast that I can have ready in a few minutes. This breakfast required me to mash a banana and mix several ingredients together before baking it in the oven. It’s about 30 minutes total by the time you count prep work, baking, and then clean up. Still, this would be nice to have on occasion as something different if you have some bananas or rice that needs to be eaten.

Banana Rice Bake

I went through the cookbook a few days ago and marked recipes that I would like to try, so I will be slowly trying new recipes.

It seems like winter has come early again this year, and it has already been a struggle to keep running. Two weeks ago, still in October, we ran in the snow! What was mother nature thinking? Last week it was warmer, but the winds were blowing fiercely. As we ran along a sidewalk that backed up to a neighborhood with lots of barking dogs, I could smell what I thought was something the barking dogs had left behind. I didn’t learn until the next day that the cold front had passed through so quickly that it brought barnyard odors from hundreds of miles away!

💩💩💩 ALERT! https://t.co/HNOvNL8S5J

— Fox 4 Weather KC (@fox4wx) November 7, 2019

It really was that bad!

I’ve had three planned runs in the last month that have been canceled due to weather. This has caused me to look into fitness club memberships in the area. I am finding that I am not good at exercising at home. When I’m at home, there’s always something else to do.

The last few weeks have been a struggle. I have been hungry for some reason and wanting to snack. (I’m still on daylight savings time!) I had a jar of cashews that it was too simple for me to put my hand into and have a few for a snack. I also have a hard time resisting the NMF that is brought to me almost on a daily basis. I have a hard time of putting it in my mouth before I even realize what I’ve done.

So, I bought a kitchen safe! If you haven’t heard of this product, it’s a box with a locking lid on top. It does not have a combination or key. It has a dial, and you select how long you want it locked up. Turn the dial, tap, and you have five seconds to change your mind. Once it locks the only way to open the safe is to break it!

My jar of cashews now lives in the safe. If I feel the urge to dip into them, I can instead quickly lock them up. Any NMF that is brought to me, goes in the safe. This gives me time to come up with a plan of what to do with it once the safe opens. If I think I need to delay longer, I can extend the time on the safe. I have put it to good use, and I am happy that I purchased it. I see it having lots of uses in the future.

“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

John 8:36

Becoming the Best Me

I had this photo pop up on Facebook this week from three years ago. It was a “memory” that it wanted me to share on my page. I didn’t share it, and I usually don’t because I get tired of seeing everyone else’s “memories” from years ago.

This photo that I took three years ago was a great reminder. My daughter and I ran a 5K race that took place on a farm that had a pumpkin patch. Their pumpkins were sold by the pound, so they had a wheelbarrow with 100 pounds of pumpkins in it to give you an idea of what 100 pounds of pumpkins looked like.

After just losing 100 pounds, I had to have a photo with it. It was a great example, a reminder of how far I’d come, and a reminder of where I’d been.

This is what me with 100 less pounds looks like!

What no one tells you is that losing weight is as much mental as it is physical. The obvious things come to mind such as changing your habits and dealing with the cravings and your saboteur. But no one tells you about your mental image of yourself.

No one tells you that if your body changes quickly, it may take a while for your brain to catch up. If you lose weight rapidly, your mind still has the image of the heavier you. This is why you might put on clothing that is way too big without realizing that you are now a smaller size.

I think anyone that is trying to lose weight also has an image in their mind of what they will look like at their goal weight. As I got closer to my goal weight, I realized that my body wasn’t going to look anything like I had hoped. Yes, it was smaller, but it was also becoming wrinkly and flabby. It was to be expected, but it was still disheartening.

Three years ago, this put the brakes on my weight loss journey. I still had 50 pounds to go to my goal weight, and the thought of what was to come was not something my brain was ready to handle. So, I let it simmer. And simmer. And simmer. Until the pot was dry.

My weight slowly crept up. Over the course of about 18 months, I gained about 40 pounds. About 11 months ago, I decided that I had had enough. There was no way I was going back to where I was when this all started. My mind had finally caught up with my body. The added weight was making everything so much harder, and I was now okay with how my body was probably going to look once I reached my goal weight.

Me + 100 pounds

So, here I am, back to where I was three years ago, and I’m ok with that. For the first time in a long time, I’m ok with where I am and where I’m going. Bright Line Eating has been great for quieting my mind. For the first time, I can see clearly where I’m going, and I’m ok with that. It’s not originally what I had envisioned, but it’s the best I can be!

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which [comes] through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Philipians 1:9-11

A Bit of a Rant

As I mentioned in my last post, the last few days of my vacation did not go as planned.  I ended up eating off plan and not eating well–including NMF.

I don’t know why, but it only takes one second to go off plan.  But once you do, it is a long struggle to get your act back together and to stay on plan.  I know Susan Pierce Thompson refers to it as “rezooming.”  However, rezooming is a process.

Right now I am very upset with myself, so this might sound a bit like a rant.  I had a great BLE day.  I got up this morning and the morning and breakfast went as planned.  I knew lunch was going to be away from home today, so it was packed and ready to go the night before.  The afternoon and lunch went as planned.

I stopped by the grocery store on the way home as planned.  I was pleased to find that brussel sprouts and asparagus were on sale and was looking forward to roasting them tomorrow.

I was hoping to run when I got home, but it was cold and rainy.  I really wanted to do something since I hadn’t been able to run much in the last week, so I did some exercises at home.  Afterwards I had my BLE dinner.  It was delicious, but for some reason it didn’t seem like it filled me up like it usually does.

Late in the evening my husband announced that he was going to a nearby fast-food restaurant and asked if I wanted anything.  I politely said, “No.”  My daughter, however, put in her order.

It wasn’t long before my husband returned with a ton of NMF.  He had gotten everything to go.  Including NMF that he had bought for me.

Here is why I am frustrated:  When presented with this type of situation, I have a problem not taking and not eating the NMF.  It’s like I feel obligated or that I am being rude if I don’t.  I cannot imagine where this feeling comes from.  The only thing I can think of is that I remember visiting my grandparents’ house as a child.  My grandmother always had lots of NMF ready for us when we arrived.  She was constantly asking us if we wanted something.  It was like she was trying to be hospitable and a good host.  And as a good guest, we were to eat the fruits of her labor.

But now I feel like I am living in a very unhealthy situation.  I am living with addicts that don’t even want to admit that sugar and flour addiction is a real thing, let alone to the fact that they are addicted.  All they’re worried about is that the food that goes into their mouth tastes good; and, in their mind, it doesn’t taste good unless it’s loaded with sugar.

And that has created another problem.  Since I’m no longer cooking with sugar and flour, they’re not very excited about what I’m making.  I’m having a very difficult time trying to figure out how to incorporate BLE into our family meals.  Breakfast and lunch aren’t any big deal, the difficulty comes with dinner.  I’m eating a big salad every night, but I don’t dare serve that to the rest of the family.  Most nights I’m making my big salad for me and cooking something else for everyone else.

I’ve asked for suggestions in a couple of Facebook groups that I’m in but haven’t really gotten any help.  Some days I want to give up.  Some days I want to tell everyone else in the house to grow up.

So, where am I going with all this? I’m not sure. I don’t want to be a complainer, but I don’t have a real solution at this time. A few days have passed, so I’m not quite as frustrated as I was when I started this post. I’m not finding any real help from anyone else which makes me feel quite alone, but surely there are other people out there in a similar situation.

That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1:9

Traveling with Bright Line Eating

Last week was my first time to travel with Bright Line Eating. I’ll tell you right off that it was far from perfect. But, it was a good learning experience–otherwise known as research.

First, I did a lot of planning. We were staying at a resort where we would have a full-size kitchen and could prepare our own food. We’ve stayed there before, so I knew what to expect as far as where we would be staying.

I listed my meals and the quantity of each ingredient I would need on the left side of my paper. I then multiplied each ingredient by the number of days I would need that meal and wrote that on the right side of my paper. This way I knew how much I needed of each ingredient. I also did something similar for the rest of the family. I calculated their meals and how much I would need of each ingredient.

A couple of days before we left, I placed an order at a Wal Mart near where we would be staying to be picked up once we arrived. Placing and picking up the order was seamless. I was easily able to order everything I needed. When my order was ready, I was notified of only one substitution. They did not have the brand of taco seasoning I ordered, so it was switched to another brand. It wasn’t a big deal.

Samson was incredible.

The first three days went exactly as planned, so it was easy to stick to my eating plan. We got up and had breakfast. We didn’t have anywhere we had to be until 1:00, so there was swimming and fishing to do before eating lunch and then going to our events. Each of those days we had time to go back to our resort and have dinner. It was working and it was easy. I was a happy Camper so to speak.

The last two days of our trip did not go as I had envisioned. We had tickets to an amusement park. In the past we’ve stayed there until closing, which is usually around 6:00. It might mean eating dinner a little later than usual, but I could handle that. However, this weekend they were having some special events and stayed open until 9:00 pm both nights.

I had also purchased discounted meal tickets so that we could eat lunch there at their buffet. I thought with a buffet that I would be easily able to eat a BLE lunch. I was not able to do that. The only fruit offered on the buffet came in the form of cobblers and pies. All of the meat on the buffet was breaded and fried.

The last two days of our trip was a flop. We got back to our resort so late that we did not feel like eating a meal. We were also still full from eating a very late lunch at a buffet with very heavy food. I got up the next morning still feeling the effects.

The view on a morning walk.

Overall, it was a nice trip. The weather was perfect every day except for the last day we were there. Everything went well except for the last two days of our meals. The lesson learned here is that I’m going to have to find a way to take my meals with me. It was nice not to have to take food in and pull the wagon around, but it’s something I’m going to have to do in the future.

What are your BLE travel tips?

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

I Corinthians 10:31

State Fair Bound

We had some very unexpected and exciting news earlier this week. Fabienne’s cake which she entered in the county fair through 4-H was selected to go to the State Fair. It was not marked on her entry card when we picked up her cake from the county fair, so it was a surprise to see her name and cake listed as a state fair entry.

We were also asked if she would write a one-page story about her project and include a photo with it in a binder. Evidently, there’s a gift certificate she could win. So, with just a few days notice, here we go! Oh, and the cake had to be repaired too! Yip, she made a unicorn cake with a gold horn and in bringing it home the tip of the horn got knocked off. The horn had been sprayed with gold, edible glitter, so we had to cover everything up except for the tip of the horn and spray it again. The horn isn’t as pointy or as long as it was, but it still looks pretty good.

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  Practice, practice, practice.

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  The finished product.

Fabienne is also fighting an ear infection. So, this morning we got her paper written while she lay in bed with ear drops in her ear. I let her dictate to me what she wanted written, and I helped her by asking some questions and doing the typing. Here’s part of what she wrote:

This is my first year in cake decorating. I wanted to take cake decorating because I wanted to learn how to decorate cakes, and I like to eat cake.

I like unicorns, so I wanted to make a unicorn cake. I found a video on YouTube and I really liked the design, so I went with it. It was a unicorn cake by Rosanna Pansino.

To decorate the cake I first iced the cake with white royal icing. I used a tool to smooth the sides out, but I didn’t make it completely smooth so it would look like fur. Then I chose my icing colors which were purple, pink, blue, and yellow. I used rosettes to make a floral main.

I used fondant to make the horn and ears. I rolled out a long piece of fondant like a snake with one end thicker than the other. I then rolled it around a chopstick. I sprayed gold, edible glitter on the horn. I had to wait a few hours for it to dry before I could insert it into the cake.

For the ears, I cut teardrop shapes out of white fondant—two large and two small. The small ones I sprayed gold with edible glitter. I put the small teardrop on top of the large teardrop and put toothpicks in between the layers. I laid the ears in a bowl to let them dry to the shape I wanted.

I drew eyes using black icing to make my winking unicorn.

I am very pleased with how my cake turned out.

Fourth of July Recap and Beyond

Good Wednesday afternoon! We are starting the day off with thunderstorms, so who knows what today is going to bring. Hopefully they will move on and we can go on with the day.

Here’s hoping you had a great Independence Day. We started the day off with a 4-mile race that benefited a local hospital. It’s a small race in a small town, but always lots of fun. It’s the third time I’ve ran this race, and it was my second best time, so I felt good that I was able to take four minutes off of last year’s time! The race starts off with two pretty steep hills. This was the first time I’ve been able to run up both of them!

This year we were blessed with cloudy skies for the race. Even though it starts at 7:30 in the morning, it’s still always a hot one. The last two years it was hot and humid with the sun shining and the heat was pretty intense. This year we just had hot and humid. It’s amazing what a difference it makes.

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  Nice and fresh before the race!

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  Finished!

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  We all made it!

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  First place in her age group!

As always, we had a great time, and Fabienne got first place in her age group!

Later that evening we had a great time with friends celebrating the Fourth with hamburgers, hot dogs, and the fixin’s including homemade ice cream. The kids were also able to light a few fireworks and best of all, the Blue Angels flew right overhead! The precision these guys fly with is incredible. It looked like their wings were inches apart.

This week, we are getting ready for the county fair, so there are lots of projects going on at our house right now. Of course they all have a deadline, so things get a little intense sometimes. This weekend will be spent getting our things judged and helping with the fair. By Monday, we will be ready for some quiet time!

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

Independence Day 2019

It’s hard to believe that it is July already. Summer just got here, but it seems like it is slipping away so quickly. Before we know it, summer will be gone, it will be fall, and we’ll be slipping into winter. After that comes the new year! Sigh.

Tomorrow is a big day here in the U.S. It is our Independence Day celebration. What are your plans for Independence Day? Growing up it meant a block party! There were five houses on our street. In the evening people would begin to gather. We had all kinds of homemade treats to sample. The most exciting treat was always the homemade ice cream. There was often a strawberry sauce to put over it if desired. There was always homemade hot fudge sauce. Once we had our fill of ice cream, cake, brownies, and fudge sauce it was time for the fireworks. Most of the time the weather cooperated. I can remember times that it was so cold that we were sitting out in the yard in our sleeping bags.

Times have certainly changed. We’re all much older now. Some have passed away, others have moved away. None of us have the metabolism or the stomach to eat pounds of sugar in one sitting.

Tomorrow I’ll start my day with a 4-mile race that goes to benefit a local hospital. This is the third time I’ve done this run. It’s a small race in a small town and lots of fun. Afterwards, I’ll have my BLE muffins for breakfast. They’re really good, but nothing compares to homemade ice cream and Mom’s hot fudge sauce! (Hot fudge sauce on a blueberry muffin? Now you’re talking!)

Later, we’ll get out our copy of the Declaration of Independence and give it a read. It’s a nice reminder once a year. I often do it in the car–it’s easy to hold everyone’s attention there.

Freedom is a valuable thing. We’ve had so much of it, that we often take it for granted. We have reaped a bountiful harvest yet are not cautiously storing up for the famine around the corner. We don’t even recognize when our freedom is slowly being taken away. Our founding fathers understood the value of freedom and what it was like to live without it. They and their families were willing to give up everything to guarantee that you and I would have the luxury of living in freedom. Let’s honor them, as we should, on this carefree day.

Physical freedom is a great thing. Let’s not forget where the most important freedom, spiritual freedom, comes from.

 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.  John 8:36

Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures has a nice Independence Day post. Hop on over there and check it out!

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