Wednesday, August 12, 2009

It's Wednesday

Well, it's been a busy 7 days.....not counting Monday, which was a 'do nothing but rest up from the weekend' day.

To get the bad news over with right off the bat.....I gained 1.6 pounds this week. Most of it was gained over the weekend, of course.

We had a very successful 'campout' - and I use that term loosely. We rented a Church Camp near our home.....one which all of my kids (except Lana) associate with many childhood memories, and Jim and I associate with years when our kids were young. The Church I went to camp with as a child rented this camp every year from the time my kids were small....my mom (and sometimes Jim and I as well) took all the grandkids to family camp every year - at this camp. Then, when my kids were old enough to be campers on their own, they also went here with the church that owns the camp. They all had fun looking for their names graffitti-ed on the inside of the cabin walls (and on the bunks, the floors, every permanent fixture in the cabins).

One of the best parts of renting the camp was the Dining Hall......a restaurant style kitchen at our disposal......no need to pack all kinds of cooking gear, no cooking over a two burner Coleman stove, no heating water in order to wash up......and, a place to gather to play games. (Not that I object to all these 'camping chores' - but when you only have a couple days, it is nice to spend your time 'playing' together rather than doing the extra work associated with camping)

The little ones had a playground, the big kids had a basketball court and a sport field, there was a horseshoe pit, a 'rope walk', and Saskatoon berries ripe for the picking all over the grounds.

We brought our 'Aero Bed' and set it up in one of the cabins. Next time, I think we'll sleep on the camper's bunks.....our bed did not hold the air very well, making for little sleep over the two nights we used it. We should have gone home for the night, except Vinj and Kath were using our bed (Taliah is too little to be sleeping in an uninsulated cabin at night) and Jim's folks were using our spare bed (Dad's health is such that he could not be 'camping')....Oh well, that was really the only negative aspect of the weekend - and it only affected Jim and I.

We managed to remember to take a group photo of our immediate family - (of course, our youngest son, Daniel, is missing.....he is still in Thailand with his YWAM team)






Besides 'us', Jim's parents, my mom, and Jim's sister and daughter were out for most of the weekend. My brother and SIL, my niece and her husband and 2 boys, and my 2 other nieces and my other great-nephew came out for part of the day on Sunday.


So.....now to reporting on my weight-loss efforts (or non-efforts, as the case may be).....


I did not drink all my water each day - but then, I did not drink much else, either....only one (or maybe 2) diet soft drinks and no hot chocolate.


I did NOT make use of the golf cart to get from one end of the camp to the other - even though everyone else had fun with it.....I walked (purposefully) when ever I wanted to go anywhere.


I had only 1 pancake on Saturday morning (even though the fresh raspberry sauce Lana made was delicious!) but had 3 sausages....


I had two helpings of spaghetti and meat sauce on Friday night - but that is all that was offered and I hadn't eaten all day......


I had only one hot dog for lunch Saturday.....but there were no other choices......


I did NOT have my hamburgers on buns Saturday night ......but I did have a bowl of dessert ('Sex in a Pan'......try it - you'll find out why it is called that)


I did have two helpings of French Toast with icing sugar on Sunday morning (that is 4 pieces of thick bread) I just couldn't help myself. Ah.....let's be honest.....I didn't WANT to help myself.


I did not have lunch on Sunday because breakfast was later and supper would be earlier than the night before.


I had only one small-ish serving of Lasagne Sunday night and filled up on salad.


On the 'other' list.....I had a frozen ice cream treat - the owners of the camp left us a note saying we could help ourselves to all that was left in the deep freeze - there were big buckets ice cream (none were full, but all had a good bit in them) and a box of treats.....although the kids delved into the ice cream, quite liberally, I did not have any other than the treat.


Since we got home, I've had two more servings of 'Sex in a Pan', but I've been pretty 'on plan' with my meals. Just have to get the evening snacking under control again. Of course, that is directly related to evening activities - a movie usually brings on the uncontrolable munchies. I might have to convince my man that he wants to beat me at Crib instead of watching a movie.


Well, I must go out and finish picking my raspberries for today - not a job I like, BTW, but one that must be done if I want them to keep producing.....and I do like having fresh raspberries in my fridge/freezer.


On a peripherally related note......when we got home from the campout, we found notes from Daniel, excitedly saying that they were going to spend 2 nights on an island resort.

The next afternoon, while reading the news, Jim found there had been 2 very strong earthquakes in the Indian Ocean and there was a Tsunami Warning issued for Thailand....including the resort areas on the islands just off the coast. We spent several hours trying not to worry and be scared since we did not know when Dan and his team were going to the island resort and we did not know where he was right then.

Kathryn got through to the office at the Montana base (she knows the folks there) and was assured the team was in Bangkok. I didn't really believe them, but started to relax a little. Then, the Tsunami Warning was lifted - there would be no Tidal Wave (thank God).

We still have not heard directly from Daniel, but Kath has talked to a friend who works at the YWAM base in Thailand - she said there had been no earthquakes felt there at all - and the base in Montana assures us the team is in Bangkok.

However.....Dan has not gone this long without contacting us via the internet since he got there - certainly not when he was in the city. This makes me think they are, after all, on the island.

They leave Bangkok airport for Montana on the 14th at 12:30 am Bangkok time (so that should be Thursday the 13th at 11:30 pm our time) and arrive in Kalispell at 11:35 pm August 14 (Friday). I will be very relieved when he can text me that he is back in North America.


This has been an underlying worry....not a huge cause for stress, since nothing really has changed since he left for Thailand in June, but - well, if you are a parent, you understand.


We (or at least I - depending on if Jim gets called to work) leave on the 19th to go pick Daniel up and bring him home!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Weighing In Again

Well, it is a day late again - my routine definately gets thrown off when Jim is home for an extended time. Not that I'm complaining!

I gained this week - and lost - for an end result of a gain of .8 lbs.

What can I say?

I'm having a hard time staying away from sweets.....'gourmet' cookies at the grocery store, chocolate bar 'singles', chocolate cake......no binges on any of them, but too many small pieces on a day to day basis.

On a positive note, I've been drinking lots more water again and I've been writing down everything I eat.

I seldom have time to sit and ponder 'why' I eat what I do....mostly, I think, I am just undisciplined - no head games involved, no big emotional reasons, just bad habits that I've allowed to develop again over time.

I am a procrastinator - I find it too easy to tell myself I'll deal with something 'later' or 'tomorrow'. This is true in my health/eating habits as well.

One of my major infractions of this past week was not eating breakfast (and I haven't eaten yet this morning, even though I've been up for 1 1/2 hrs) I still wake up hungry, but I ignore it until lunch time. According to the wisdom of the plan that I followed to lose almost 50 pounds, eating enough is as important as not eating too much - and breakfast is ultra important. I know - that is wisdom that is not limited to the LA Weight Loss Center's plan....it is just wisdom. So, part of my problem has been NOT eating everything on my plan.

So, today is the day I begin to follow my plan religiously again.

Tomorrow our family begins our annual 'family campout' - only this year, we are not exactly camping - we have rented the local church's 'Bible Camp'....just 10 minutes down the road from our house. We will have a fully stocked kitchen, bathrooms, showers, cabins, a lake, canoes, a playground....... I expect this arrangement will work real well. AND it will be less expensive than renting the primitive group campgrounds out in the mountains. Since our newest baby is not quite 3 weeks old, and the night time temperatures will be below 10C, Vinjelu and Kathryn will be spending the nights at our house so they do not need to worry about bundling little Taliah up too much.

sidenote.....Jim and I lost a baby girl when we were camping in 1980 - the cause was officially 'Sudden Infant Death Syndrome' (Crib Death) but in the years since then, much has been learned about what could have caused many SIDS deaths - CO2 poisoning caused by the baby breathing in her own expelled air with not enough oxygen rich air to replace it. (That is why the common practice now is to lay babies on their backs rather than on their tummies, as we were taught to do.) In our case, since we were camping in the mountains where the night time temperatures drop significantly, our baby was bundled up, on her tummy, and her 'crib' was covered with blankets to keep the chill off. Of course, we do not know for certain that this caused the SIDS, but ....... (If you are interested, I have written a little about this experience here....it is in the middle or so of the post)

So, you can see why we are a little overprotective of Taliah in this circumstance.

Anyway, we are beginning a weekend where I have little control over the food offered. Each family is responsible for a meal which they prepare for everyone. I will bring healthy alternatives for myself, just in case the meals offered are way out of line for me. Jim and I are responsible for 2 meals - a supper and a lunch. It is a fun way for everyone to be able to serve each other and to contribute to the weekend. Each family is also assigned to be a helper to another family who is supplying the meal, so everyone is on KP twice over the weekend. (Except me and Jim - we are 'on' three times....but we're the hosts, so...)


But...I might as well begin today to bring more discipline into my eating habits - if I wait until after the weekend there will just be something else to distract me....August is pretty booked up with special events.

Summertime takes away from computer time - which is not a bad thing - I notice many of you have not posted as often as usual lately. I am assuming that y'all are enjoying the outdoors, vacations, and family time! Isn't summer great!?

Well, I am off to have breakfast then to town for groceries so I can begin my meal preps for the weekend.....this will be my first trip into Camrose since the storm last Saturday that took down the stage at the big Country Music event our town hosts every year. Ever heard of 'Big Valley Jamboree'? It is a long weekend FULL of country music's biggest stars. This year's bigeest headliners were Josh Turner, Gary Allen, Billy Currington, and Tim McGraw (those are the only ones I can remember since I don't go to the concerts). Just before Currington finished up his show, someone came on stage and told everyone to get off.....there is an area ON stage where fans who hold VIP tickets can sit. Seconds later, a strong 'sheer wind' collapsed the enormous stage - throwing instruments, sound equipment, and other debris around the concert area. One woman was killed when a speaker fell on her - she didn't even have time to leave her seat. Several others were critically injured and many had injuries that took them to the hospital for immediate care.

We were in our 'other' town - at church - when the storm hit us first...but we were in the basement and were barely aware of it. (see my photo post for our experience).

Our son Andrew was at BVJ - with a VIP pass. We spent some anxious moments until we managed to get through to him (cell towers were jammed) after someone interupted our activities at church to tell us of the tragedy.

It must have been horrific for those who were there.

We, in Western Canada, do not often experience severe weather like this - oh, we have funnel clouds a few times a year - and once in awhile one actually touches down - in a farmer's field....but weather that causes tragedy and takes lives? - very seldom. It is one of the best things about living in Alberta.

Our home was on the southern fringe of the storm - no damage...just a few light weight things blown off the deck....nothing that doesn't happen several times a summer.

And BTW...just for some closure to the subject.....the rest of the concerts (Saturday night and into Sunday night) were cancelled. The first time in 20 years that any concerts at BVJ were cancelled - in spite of some pretty nasty weather (temperature -wise) in past years.

That was kind of a negative way to end this post, sorry.

Wish me luck over the weekend!