"Monday, Monday...

so good to me.
Monday, Monday,
it was all I hoped it would be.

Actually, it was Friday and Saturday that were all I hoped they'd be.
One of my goals for Project 2011 was accomplished:
Make plans with my husband to improve our marriage.
On Friday evening and Saturday all day,
we attended this marriage conference at our church:
Cultivating A Thriving Marriage
I should mention that growing together, instead of apart,
is a mutual interest.
I didn't have to twist his arm.
God is answering 20 years' worth of prayers  
as He begins a new work in us
in our empty nest season,
just before grandparenthood.
He is teaching us a deeper meaning of
what it means to be one flesh.
Remember that term from your wedding vows?
Seems so long ago.
Jeepers, it was long ago!

On Friday evening, we sat with 2 other couples, and, over dinner, 

chatted about our first dates, honeymoons and favorite vacations.

.

Did I mention the meal was catered? 

I didn't have to plan it or cook it.  

I wasn't on the committee to set up, serve, or clean up, 

(The youth group did that!)

and there were lemon bars for dessert.

I passed up brownies for lemon bars.

I know!  Crazy me!

Which would you rather have?

My Knight in Shining Armor,

was at my side.

Throw in friends and good food.

The weekend was shaping up to be 

one of the best we've had as a couple 

for a mighty long time.

After dinner, 

Ben and Janet Burns, national speakers at 

Family Life's Weekend to Remember marriage conferences, 

were introduced and spoke with humor and sensitivity about 

the differences between men and women.

Her thoughts:  "Where is our relationship headed?"

His thoughts:  "The car needs and oil change."

I'm certain about this:  
Everyone who reads this has noticed 

this apparent disconnect between the sexes, right?

Right??

Since Friday night was supposed to be a date night,

there was another special treat in store for us:

A local Christian couple, married for 35 years,

Mark Hanson, a Grammy-award winning guitarist,

and his wife, Greta Pedersen, the 2009 Artist of the Year for Young Audiences,

 performed for us.

(You can check out Mark's videos on youtube, too.  I've only linked to one here.)

On Saturday morning, Ben reminded us,

as is usual at each one of the Family Life Conferences we've attended, 

to make these our priorities:
 God first-Vertical relationship
Spouse second-Horizontal relationship

He said he and Janet experience conflict in their marriage.

And so does every other married couple, Christian or not.

Another thing I feel certain about:  
This is not new news.
Is it?

Well, phew! 
The DH and I aren't the only couple in church 
who have some doozies conflict.

They equipped us with useful scripts and methods to use to
work through our conflicts

in God-honoring ways, with love and truth.
Yes, marriage is work.  Every.  Single.  Day.

Everything they shared can be used by newlyweds as well as folks who've been married for decades.

One of the best things about the conference was that many of our friends were there.

When we first met, 17 years ago, we were all raising teenagers

a trying time even if you have "good" kids.

Together, we went through the stops and starts of 

launching them,

only to experience the empty nest.

College/jobs/military service, weddings and/or out-of-wedlock pregnancies, 

and grandparent-hood were next.

By God's grace, we are all still married to the partners of our youth.

It's so encouraging to know that these dear friends 

are still committed to their marriages 

and that they rely on Godly instruction to thrive, together, till death parts them.

Several times during the weekend I wondered,

"How do people get through married life 

without God

and a church family?!"

Thank You, Lord, for the tools we came away with this weekend.

We're so grateful that You will help us learn to use them.

Thanks, too, for our church family with whom we get to share 

the mountain tops and valleys of life here on earth.

Not by might, nor by power,
but by My Spirit, says the LORD...
Who despises the day of small things?
Zechariah 4:6, 10

My God shower His grace, mercy, and peace on you today!

Love, 

Linking up with

Cate at Moments of Whimsy

and for the first time with Drowsy Monkey for

and Danielle for

and Darcy for

and Katie for

and the Latte Lady, Janet for

Here's My Game Plan

You may or may not have noticed my weight loss ticker hasn't moved much lately.

Sigh...

The GOOD NEWS

is that I was able to manage a .8# loss

over the 2 week break from my Weight Watchers meetings!

woot!  Yea, ME!

But I'm back in the saddle 

The DH and me at 9000' in the Rockies.  August 2008

with meal planning.

My Dear Husband loves a hot, home-cooked meal 

when he comes home from supporting our lifestyle.

So here's my game plan for dinner for the next 7 nights:

All of these recipes are from a pre-Points Plus Plan

Weight Watchers cookbook called

Meals In Minutes.

Shepherd's Pie 

Warm Cassoulet

Beef Stew Italiano

Roast Pork with Herb Crust

Moroccan Turkey Ham Tagine-I have to buy pitted prunes, coriander, and curry to make this one.

Fish Chowder Pie with Bacon

Herb Cheese-Stuffed Shells

Gettin' hungry just typing it all out!

Since we're expecting snow

-not a big deal to some of you-

I better get my rear in gear and go to the grocery store

to get stocked up.

Nobody knows how to drive in snow around these parts.

You haven't forgotten that you're WONDERFUL

have you?

But I trust in you, O, LORD;

I say, "You are my God."

My times are in your hands...

Praise be to the LORD,

for he showed his wonderful love to me.

Psalm 31:14-15, 21

God bless you with grace and mercy today!

Love,

Linking up with
Annett for

Ashley & Vic at For The Love of Blogs 

for 

My Weight Loss Journey-Day #9 of Thanksgiving

Today I'm thankful for the people and tools

the Lord

has given me to help me on

My Weight Loss Journey.

Believe me, folks,

I've spent/waisted/lost plenty of time

beating myself up for being over-weight. 

Do you recognize this conversation I keep having in my brain?

It's like an earworm.

You know, a song that you hear on the radio,

and for the rest of the day

you CAN'T get it out of your head!

One of the worst earworms I ever got

-apart from the one below-

was at Disneyland when we took the kids on the

"It's A Small World" ride.

Got off on an earworm rabbit trail. 

Hey! 

Rabbit trails lead NO WHERE

and that's where this earworm has gotten me:

Me:  "I need to lose weight 'cuz

I'm not proud of the way I look;

my clothes don't fit;

I've never weighed this much, not even 9 months pregnant;

my cholesterol is sky-high (335!);

I'm at risk for heart disease and diabetes;

I look and feel older than I am;

I feel achy and sluggish..."

You get the picture.

Ever have that conversation?

This fall, when it came time to renew my health insurance for my job,

I learned about a new benefit:

I could join a

Weight Watchers at Work group meeting

FOR FREE!

I know this program works for me.

I achieved Lifetime Member status 5 years ago.

I looked and felt great!

But I didn't maintain the lifestyle.

And the earworm/rabbit trail conversations began.

I'd considered joining again,

but due to our financial state

I didn't feel I could spend the money.

So over the summer, I actually had enough

self-discipline to

NOT BAKE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

every time the thought came in my head.

That helped.

[Go figure!] 

Lost 5 pounds.

Well, thank You, Jesus!

You provided a way for me join with co-workers

for support, accountability, and fellowship on

My Weight Loss Journey!

Part of the benefit includes use of

Weight Watchers' etools on their website.

I joined 2 weeks ago and have lost 1.4# !

I love my leader and my group.

I feel empowered, confident, and hopeful.

Another tool the Lord has given me eyes to see is

on-line supporters such as

Jennifer at Living A Changed Life,

Donna at The Year of Living Healthfully,

Julie at The Going To Be New Me,
(especially the idea for the weight-loss ticker)

and Angie's Healty Living Blog.

Thank you, ladies, for posting your ups and downs

on your weight loss and maintenance journeys!

You inspire me to set goals and share them

with the wide world (as Forest Gump says).

Lord, I lift up all of us who are struggling with this issue.

Please turn our eyes and hearts to You, first,

for approval, strength, and guidance.

When we fail,

Lord, let us find our solace and shelter in You.

When we are successful,

Lord, let us rejoice in You,

our always-available Strength

and everlasting Lover.

God's abundant blessings on your day, friends!

Love, Karen

Today I'm inviting you to a blog hop with Java and friends over at
Never Growing Old

Personally, I plan to NEVER be old. 
Which is different than:  I never plan to be old.
How 'bout you?

Writing Contest

A Writing Contest for bloggers!  Who'd a thunk on August 12th, 2010, that I would enter one?  Not me, that's who.

Yup, I'm doin' it.  The great part is that I will get to read some good writing from the other bloggers entered in the contest.  Love me some good readin'! 

You can enter the contest, too, and/or read the entries if you go to Erika's site, The Girl Next Door Grows Up.  Be sure to read her rules, too.

The post I'm going to enter is this one:  You Were Worth It!

We only have today to do this. 

Carpe diem!

God bless your day, friends.

Love , Karen

Fruits, Vegetables, and Accountability-Part 1

 My goal for this week is to eat my way through this yummy assortment of fruits and veggies.   

 

It was so fun picking them out at the grocery store on Saturday.  You know the scene:  a vast array of colors and textures, shapes and sizes that bedazzles the eyes.  Would have been even more fun at my local farmer's market.  Truth is, I didn't want to be rushed through my quiet time outside.  Something tells me it was one of the last warm-enough mornings of the year to enjoy myself there.  

It is with a great deal of trepidation-that's a five-dollar word for fear-that I post this.  I'm on my own in this quest, for the love of my life is not a fan of this part of the food pyramid.  He is my mostly-red-meat-and-potatoes-man. 
A few (many?) of you are nodding knowingly. 

Now I'm accountable to you.

You will be rooting for me on the sidelines, I know.

Don't hesitate to let me know that, 'kay?

What if I fail?

NO!  Don't go there, Karen!

 

It's been so long since I challenged myself to set any meaningful goals.  

You know (don't you?), actually planned to achieve something for me.

Using the words goal, achieve, plan, and challenge in a sentence about me is scary.

Seriously.

I've let some of my circumstances distract me from

dreaming

about what

I could achieve

for me.

And quite honestly, I've been plain ol' lazy. 

**Cleansing breath**

Begin to think of yourself as the person you are beginning to become. 

How about that word:  Beginning.

I can let myself begin.

I won't achieve my goal in one day. 

But I can achieve my goal, one meal at a time.

My ultimate goal is to fit into these jeans again by summer. 

Let's just say I'm a few sizes north of this.

 Here's what I've achieved since Saturday: 

Conquered nearly all of the strawberries. 

Used the corn and 1 onion in a recipe I'll post later.  

My DH (dear husband) liked the meat and a few of the veggies in it.  That is a big deal, folks.

Ate a banana with my Life cereal this morning. 

Steamed the cauliflower and plan to enjoy some of it at lunch.

Tonight, I stir-fried a broccoli crown, some mushrooms, a few baby carrots, 

and an onion that aren't pictured above.  

Cubed the cantelope and served it for dinner, too. 

By prepping the fruit and veggies ahead of time I've planned to have healthy food on hand for my lunches and for snacking.

Oh, I feel so good about that!

Good night.  Sleep tight. 

And don't let the zimperumpazoos bite!

(From Mercer Mayer's Just Go To Bed)

I will lie down and sleep in peace,

for You alone, O LORD,

make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 4:8

Love, Karen

 
*p.s.  My friend, Tiffany, over at Become Shoppertunistic, says she has
fresh fruits and veggies delivered to her home by a Community Supported Agriculture program.  That's a great way to ensure we have healthy food on hand every week and support local farmers.  (You can Google CSA to find a farm close to you.)  She also teaches classes about how to save money as you shop for items you need so you can spend it on things you want-as your budget allows.
You can also check out Watch My Weight Wednesday, Living A Changed Life, and The Year of Living Healthfully
for support in dealing with weight loss.  I do.

Linking with Roz at La Bella Vita for