Tuesday Feb 8, Wednesday February 9, 2011 Press On!

Today's Good Things:
Bible time
Making some headway on educational materials
Dh offered to do the shopping on his way home, allowing me to rest
Under for calories

Today's Not So Good Things:
Woke up with my head feeling like a fish bowl
Couldn't fall asleep, baby was up in the night, woke early
No exercise

Last night was our date night and for a treat, dh arranged for the children to go to Grandma's for a couple hours. That was lovely. In the past, when we've been able to do that, we generally would go our to our favorite restaurant. We'd share an appetizer, enjoy a favorite entree and splurge for dessert. It's a special night, right?  Well, we're done with those excuses that allow us to overindulge. Just because we are having a special evening together does not mean we need to set aside our good habits and sabotage our hard work. We can enjoy each other without feeding our food passions. We've been working to find new ways to make our date night special and we did pretty well last night.

We started with a plan to go mall walking. Once there, we realized that the food court wasn't going to provide us with very healthy options. So, we bundled back up and walked across the street to Applebee's. (we haven't been there in years, I think. Not since our family outgrew the seating arrangements there..lol!)  After perusing the menu, we both decided on a yummy choice from their Under 550 calorie options. Then we reminisced over our old favorites. Buffalo wings, burgers and fries, Lava cake...mmmmmm. Good stuff, but oh! The horrible, overfull feeling by the end of the meal.

So, we both enjoyed our delicious entrees. Mine was a yummy teriyaki shrimp with fresh vegies over whole wheat chinese pasta. So good! Dh had a lovely chicken breast smothered with peppers, onions and cheese served with fresh broccoli and herbed potatoes. We left satisfied, but not stuffed. We left feeling good and ready to move!

We bundled back up and trucked back over to the mall. After several laps, some great conversation, and a quick stop to buy some socks from off the clearance rack (great deal!), we headed back to pick up the kidlets. What a refreshing evening. Instead of indulging and ending the night feeling bloated and guilty, we made great choices, destressed and created some new ways to enjoy our time out together. We're learning! :D

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Last night was a rough. Not sure if they slipped me caffeinated coffee or what, but I could not fall asleep no matter how I tried. By the time I finally drifted off, Baby was waking at 1:30am for a snuggle. Not her usual, and I vaguely remember getting up with her. By the time 5:30 wake up call came, I was sore tempted to skip Bible time again. However, I was in too much pain to sleep and couldn't breathe, so I guess the Lord wanted me up. ;-)

Today was a good day, but I rested mostly. I have a lot of pressure in my head, feeling like I have liquid in my ears. I'm coming down with something, so I loaded up on the grapefruit and made a giant batch of yummy Winter Lentil Vegetable Soup to enjoy throughout the day. That was smart, as it made our crazy dinner time doable, since dh had to head out as soon as he got in for a town meeting.

Life here just keeps feeling so topsy-turvey. I'm not really looking for any kind of routine to settle into. I don't think we'll see anything like that for a long while. We have a long road ahead of us and it's going to get more difficult as we go. Along with working on making wise food and activity choices, I need to get more diligent in my prayer life. Our family needs protection and strength right now. My dh needs encouragement and support like never before. It's a new battle and I'm grateful the Lord has been working to prepare me for it. May He keep me focused while I stand watch as well as press on. It would be easy to set aside my goals for this season, telling myself I need to put my energies elsewhere or that I don't have time. But, this is life. The Lord is always going to bring changes and challenges to us. I need to learn to live the best way I am able, making choices that honor Him and building habits that strengthen my faith in the midst of these challenges. He gave His life that I might live. I need to remember that I am to give my life that He might live in me.

"Daniel's real triumph wasn't in the fiery furnace. It was gained, first, at the banqueting table. If he hadn't triumphed over his appetites, he never would have had faith to face the furnace." Gregory L. Jantz, The Spiritual Path to Weight Loss, p.61

"Behold, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14