Weight Loss Plans

I can't believe I'm going to post this, but I'm trying to give myself a lot of accountability here - no place to hide is actually what I'm going for. Most of you who know me in "real life" know that I have some weight to lose (thanks for not mentioning it!). And now that Jack is getting a little bigger (sigh), I'm getting in a big fat (yeah, I said it) hurry to get in shape. I don't want to continue down this road of being out of shape and out of breath and too big for the slide on the playground. But more than what I want, God's calling me to get this under control (only by His grace, of course), to be more disciplined across the board. So I'm jumping in.
Here are my goals for this week -
1. No coke - this one should be pretty easy. I actually quit about 2 weeks ago (and had a massive week-long headache!).
2. 8 cups of water a day - I'd like to drink more, but I think I'll work my way up from here.
3. 2 T coconut oil everyday. When I get a second I'll come back and add a link here. Coconut oil is supposed to be very good for supporting the thyroid and since I have thyroid issues, I'm going to try it.
4. Something raw at every meal.
5. 10 min of some kind of exercise every day. I know it's not much, but it's so much more than I'm doing now.
So that's it. Every Monday I'm going to note how I'm doing, so feel free to skip Mondays for those of you who love me for my wit and not my body :)

No more trips to the Post Office:)

My Works For Me Wednesday entry this week is pretty basic but it is such a big help to me. With three littles and a post office with no parking, I just don't have time to run in there every time I need stamps. And sure I used to buy them in the checkout at the grocery store, but with kids begging for candy and all the half-naked women I'm trying to teach Levi to ignore...well, I'm busy at the checkout. So I get my stamps in the mail. You can order them here. But I have a bright orange envelope that I got from my mailman. I leave a check in it and put it in the mailbox. He takes the check and leaves me stamps:) Nice and simple, just like I like.
Head over to the other Shannon's and read all the great ideas!

My personality type

You Are An INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience.You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

What's" Your Personality Type?

July 19 WFMW

I love Works for Me Wednesday!

This is something that millions of other people have probably already figured out but ... We had a serious stuffed animal storage issue going on. The kids have lots of beautiful stuffed toys and they love to play with them so getting rid of them wasn't really an option for me. I had to have something high enough that they couldn't pull them down on there own (I let them pick which ones to keep out for the week). And I didn't have a free corner to hang one of those cool nets that they sell for this very purpose - also they didn't really go with the decor (which is a lovely princess theme that you can't see in this picture). So we took three cup hooks and threaded through about 4 yards of leftover tulle from someone's wedding. It looks a little lopsided in the picture, but it's usually quite pretty. Brenna calls them her animal clouds:) 

Works for Me Wednesday

Love, LOVE, LOVE Works for Me Wednesday over at Rocks In My Dryer. Check it out for great tips on everything!

My tip for today is pretty simple. I use an over the door shoe holder to organize the nursery closet. Brenna and Jack share a room so there is a lot of little stuff to keep track of in that room. The pockets are just the right size for diapers and/or pullups - the closet is right next to the changing table so everything is easy to reach. I also keep Brenna's hairbows so I can match them to her outfit when I pull it out of the closet. Ditto for hats, shoes, etc. There's plenty of room for creams and powders, too, and they're up high out of the reach of little girls who love lotion:) It's a lifesaver for me!

When I am dry You fill my cup

I asked for prayer this morning for my attitude. My pastor's a riot - he wrote "Shannon's 'tude" on the list. I've been so ... fed up lately, feeling criticisized at every turn, angry at everyone. And I certainly realize that some of this is postpartum aftershocks, some of it was me taking my eyes off the Father and focusing too much on the opinions of this world.
Well, God is no slow-poke and He answered my prayer only moments into the service through the music. I'm very close to our music leader but I hadn't talked to her about what's going on (I'd rather whine to y'all where I can delete anyone who calls me on it - haha) so I know it wasn't her planning that I have to thank. I was just singing along to the chorus All In All, encouraging Levi to sing up since he knows the words, when the words washed over me so powerfully that I lost my breath...

You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all
Seeking You as a precious jewel
Lord to give up, I'd be a fool
You are my all in all
Jesus, Lamb of God, worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God, worthy is Your name
Taking my sin, my cross, my shame
Rising again, I bless Your name
You are my all in all
When I fall down, You pick me up
When I am dry, You fill my cup
You are my all in all

My cup has been dry - not only are people sipping out of the top, some of them are gulping actually, but I've been struggling with others who seem determined to drill some holes or make some cracks, too. But my real problem, the one that hinges on me falling short and not other people that I can't control, is that I haven't been seeking Him. I've been looking for approval in all the wrong places and when it wasn't forthcoming (and, boy, was it not forthcoming) I've let it affect me. He is my All in All and He asks me to Trust and Obey (can you guess what the next hymn was?). So I did get a 'tude check at church this morning:) Just what I needed.

Works for Me Wednesday

My works for me post this week is one little tidbit and one BIG DEAL THING THAT I COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT.
The tidbit is this - I try to keep a vinyl tablecloth in the car for imprompto picnics, to sit on when the ground is wet, etc.
But my huge thing I couldn't live without is my family. There is nothing in this life like having a close and loving family. We pull together, we *know* each other, we take care of one another. And that works for me!
Run by Shannon's place to see the rest of the fabulous ideas.

The Two Jacks

I'm only going to leave this up for just a little while, but I wanted to share this picture with y'all of our Uncle Jack holding his namesake. This is one of my very favorite men in the universe - he's just everything I think a man should be. He has this incredible ability to make you feel like the most beautiful, cherished, precious woman in a room. There are so many things about him that I want to pass on to my boys - he's so caring and so protective and such a *man's man* - but never in a condesending or belittling way. He has such a strong wife and daughter and is so proud of both of them. Oh, I have tears in my eyes just trying to type this. I wanted to ask for your prayers because we may lose Uncle Jack soon to cancer. I just can't imagine the hole that would leave in the world. And how I hate the idea that my boys might grow up without listening to him tell a story and that Brenna won't know what it's like to hear him say "hello, darlin'." When we decided to name our first boy after Casey (and his dad and his grandfather), we already knew that we would want to name our next son (if God blessed us with two) after Uncle Jack and my daddy. We want our boys to know these great men and to feel a little of the weight of these great big shoes to fill. And we wanted these great men to know how much we love them.