DownSizing Update ... So To Speak

It's been 8 weeks 

Therefore it's time for a downsizing update

Down 21 pounds

Down 11 inches

Happy to have survived Thanksgiving

Without too many indulgences

Enjoyed a Super Fun Day

With my siblings and mom

And a few of our kids

My brother is in town from Idaho

So this afternoon we will ALL hang out together

I think that means 23 of us :)

Have a super week

I start my December Daily Tomorrow

So looking forward to the Christmas Season

Blessings!!

 

Thankful For...

Tonight I wanted to share

One special Thankful Moment

My oldest grand daughter is going into Jr High next year

(sigh...where does the time go?)

So, this was her Last Turkey Trot at school

 

It did my heart good

To spend some fun time with her today

As her school celebrated their 25th Annual Turkey Trot

 

Here's My K~Bug getting ready to run

I actually ran with her (a little)

 

Mostly

I watched and took photos

 

After the 10 minute run

We ALL got to have fun doing the

'Turkey' Dance :)

 

My K~But and a couple of her good friends

 

AND

A Selfie!

On This Thanksgiving Day

I pray you are all safe and surrounded 

By people you love and who love you

You are each a Joy in my life

I am SO thankful for my bloggy friends

Enjoy your Thanksgiving

And eat a bite for me

 

CREATE...

It was so much fun to go to 
Green Table Gifts last night
For a night of creating and shopping

All over the country gift and craft shops were hosting
Annie Sloan Fun Night to promote her newest book
 "Room Recipes for Style and Color"

With a small glass of goodness

I enjoyed shopping around and taking in all the beautiful decor

I definitely want to make a JOY sign

I mean, It IS My Word

Darling Bags and Banners

Fun ideas for Tree Trimming

Lots of White, Silver and Gold

After shopping we got to participate in Creating

I chose the Red with JOY

Are you Surprised???

Then...

We each received our special purchase

Annie Sloan's New Book


I have certainly enjoyed scanning it's pages throughout the day
But mostly I enjoyed getting out of the house
And creating with folks I've never met before

Becoming Pro~Active in my Pursuit
To Embrace Widowhood
And
Enjoy The Holiday Season!!

Thank you Green Table Gifts and Staff
For a Very Fun Evening :)

I've Never Done This...But...

 I don't believe I have actually ever done this before

But a post I wrote a long time ago

Has spoken to me recently

I hope it speaks to someone now!

PAIN: It's Good For Us!

Pain, according to World Book Dictionary means: a feeling of being hurt, mental suffering, grief, sorrow, punishment, and penalty.

In recent months it seems pain has been my constant companion. Physically, mentally and spiritually I have experienced pain to some degree. Why would I state that this could be good for me?

Pain is usually a symptom that something is wrong. I am not a believer of the often taught doctrine that says: If you are sick it is because you are in sin, or if you have financial difficulties it is because you are in sin, etc.

I do believe that there are times when we are reaping the harvest of our behavior therefore we may end up sick because we have treated our bodies poorly or we may face financial crisis because we have made poor financial choices or that we may suffer spiritually because we chose to ignore God’s voice and run like Jonah did. But I also stand on God’s word that clearly teaches us that some illness and pain in our lives is merely caused so that the work of God may be displayed in our lives. Read John 9:1-3
During the times that pain seems so prevalent in my life I find myself seeking answers more than ever before. If the pain is physical I purpose to find out why it is there and if there is some cause for it. A broken bone, an infection, a pulled muscle are a few things that may cause physical pain. Treating the pain is not going to heal the bone, infection or muscle. You need to treat the actual cause.

The same holds true for mental or spiritual pain or suffering. I can seek treatment for depression, anxiety, fear, addiction or many other symptoms but I will never be completely whole until I can find out what is causing the symptom.

As I have studied and sought the Lord over the past months and even years I have come to realize that most of the mental and spiritual symptoms I face are caused because of a breach in my relationship with my Lord. When I face times of loneliness, anxiety, depression or fear it is usually because I have failed to keep my relationship strong with my creator. I have allowed outside influences to sever my ties with Him. I have chosen to focus more on circumstances rather than to focus on God.

Psalm 42:5 “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
For a time the writer of the above Psalm focused on self but came to the realization that turning the focus to his Savior and God changed everything. When symptoms well up within me I have a sure answer to the problem. Turn my spirit, my soul (mind, will and emotions) back to the Lord and find rest and refreshing. I am grateful that God has placed a built in warning system within me. He’s given me times of pain, suffering, sorrow, grief and even punishment to bring me back so my focus is on Him.

And, in those times when my eyes are on Him and my relationship with Him is strong yet the pain comes flooding into my soul, I still can stand strong and trust that even through this His Work Will Be Displayed!!

Have you faced pain in your life lately? Put your hope in God, and continue to praise Him while he works it out.

Preparing The Palette

What started out as a weekend

That I was going to just do some yard work

And relax a bit

Became much more

After completing several projects outside

There was one cabinet I wanted to clean out

So I could move my red wine glasses up there

WELL...

Little did I know that when I opened the cabinet above the refrigerator

I would find

Black MOLD :(

SO...

My weekend became a mission 

To Clean, not only the cabinet,

But the kitchen in total

 

The small cabinet above the refrigerator

Became an unintended victim of a broken water hose

From my refrigerator in July

Unbeknownst to me

Water from the hose was spraying up into the cabinet

And caused mold to grow

Fortunately,

When I had the frig fixed in July

The water leak stopped and everything in the cabinet was dry

Although it was a HUGE project to

Bleach and clean and bleach and clean 

The cabinet

I'm SO thankful that I wanted to move these glasses

Otherwise, Who knows When I would have noticed the mold

 

Now, not only is the cabinet totally cleaned

The top of my refrigerator is cleaned and prepped

For Holiday Decor

Since I am not hosting Thanksgiving this year

I decided to clear my fall decor and start getting ready for Christmas

Usually, once Thanksgiving is over

I just start decorating for Christmas

However, this year I have decided to start with a clean, neutral palette

 With the exception of a few necessary items

I'm putting everything away

And going to start fresh

The above photo was my kitchen window this morning

Filthy windows that needed Major cleaning

Older black/white/tan checked valance 

 

I took the valance down

Pulled the windows out

They both come completely out of the sill

For easier cleaning

They are heavy and it is NOT an easy job

But they were in Desperate need of cleaning

I removed the old curtain rods

And added a simple tension rod

plus a set of white Battenburg valances

That I purchased a few months ago

 

It feels SO much cleaner and open

Now when I wash dishes or prepare a meal

I have clean windows to look out of

AND

A fresh clean palette 

For my Holiday Decor

 

I do like this simple valance

As difficult as Christmas has become for me

I am actually looking forward to decorating this year

Maybe doing some downsizing and 

Clearing out the clutter

Has helped me to look forward to 

Preparing The Palette 

Speaking of downsizing:

6 weeks on the NS programs

And I am Down 17 pounds :)

Today, the cute black capris that I wear to do house work

Kept falling off...

Might be time to find a new pair of grubbies!

Have a Super Week

The Great Shoe Release

NOT~~

I wanted to do a Great Big Shoe Release

But once I started going through them

I just couldn't let them go

Does that mean I'm a shoe hoarder?

I really don't have That many pairs of shoes

Only 2 pair of boots

 

Just this small coat closet with slippers and

Everyday  shoes

Oh, and my Christmas flats :)

 

Only a *few* pair of nice heels

 

And these *junk* 

Wear in the yard shoes

 

I'm getting rid of these pairs

So, I think I did fairly well

Don't you?

Honestly,

I wear about 3 pair of shoes all year long

3 pair of sandal~flops almost every day

 Even in the winter

Once in a while I will put on a pair of closed toed shoes

(IF I really have too *wink*)

If the truth be known

I'd go barefoot Everyday

However, living in AZ, I'm sure I'd burn the bottom of my feet

Whew...the cement gets Really HOT here in the Summer!!!

Okay, so that's my shoe fetish for this year

Unless, of course, I but a new pair

I'll share that with you :)

I hope you don't freeze in the days ahead

I hear it's supposed to get Really cold in some areas

We are supposed to get down into the 40's next week

But that's just the overnight Low's

Stay Warm !!

 

Down Sizing

I'm on a journey

And I've kept it off of social media

But it's time to share

Weight was never an issue for me when I was younger

But after a complete hysterectomy at the age of 26

With the many adjustments of synthetic hormones

And other challenges I was facing at that time

I began to gain weight quickly

I've attempted various diets and programs

With some success but none of them were long lived

In the few years since Mark passed

I have allowed myself the pleasure of eating whatever I wanted

Whenever I wanted it with no real thought to the damage I was doing to my body

In recent months it has become more of a health issue

So, I decided, with Lots of prompting from my doctor, 

That I needed to make some Major changes

Thus, the Journey began

After some research, prayer and understanding my own needs

I decided to join NutriSystem

It's strict, well planned, and exactly what I needed

As sad as it may sound

I really needed someone (plan) to make the bulk of my decisions for me

 It has been easy

The food is good and I like what I am seeing

Today I begin my second month

What happened during the first 28 days

Downsizing

Pant size: down 2

Inches: down 7

Pounds: down 13

Ummm....Yes, I am one happy adventurer!

Why am I sharing now

The journey gets tougher as you go along

I rather love support and encouragement

I don't have my Mark around anymore to nudge me in the right direction

 So, once a month

I hope to chat and share here in hopes of being encouraged

And nudged toward my health goals

Next week I go for my annual lab work

I'm hoping to see a nice decline in my cholesterol

My blood pressure is already better (yay)

Thank you for allowing me to share

NOW

Here are a few photos of Halloween

A Few Sweet Visistors

My youngest and one of his buddies

Yes, they went out and came home with 

Waaay too much candy

 

K~Baby

 

K~Bel

 

K~Bug

 

My 3 Beautiful K's

Besides the fact that they came late

Had already been out for a couple of hours

Were rather tired and wired

They are still beautiful girlies!

And make the Nana's heart Smile