Christmas Eve, redirected

So...changing of all the plans. The weather has come with vengeance. We're not technically "stuck" yet, but the roads are iffy enough that we don't go anywhere if we don't really have to. We were supposed to go to Clarion today for a "Christmas" with my dad's side, and Mom and the boys and all. It would've been fun, but alas...we are staying here, safe and warm. Tomorrow we were supposed to have Christmas dinner at my father-in-law's at the lake. But Mike's other sister and husband couldn't make it and his dad decided to be "stuck" with us instead. My house guest numbers have doubled now; not only do I have Mike's little sister, but then also their dad. I think God is really wanting me to learn something there. :) Really, I'm glad that he came because I would feel bad if he were home alone on Christmas, but it's also really amusing to me because this is the same guy who normally won't come in past the back entryway. And now he's "getting stuck" (as if it were not planned) here for maybe three nights, and yet still going home to take a shower? Funny. And thankfully, I am still laughing. Again, it's not cause they're bad to have around, it's all my attitude and that I am often not very flexible when it comes to things I love like Christmas time.
Speaking of being flexible, I have a lot of food in the house thankfully, but not fancy party stuff because I wasn't planning on hosting any meals. So now we're thinking of Christmas dinner and checking out the freezers. So far the menu has become chili, chicken noodle soup, potato bologna,cheese ball, and fresh sugar cookies. Oh and I think breakfast will be quiche and cinnamon rolls. My mom always made a special breakfast for Christmas morning, so I feel the need to as well. We're shaping up pretty well really, all thanks to my overstocked freezer that Mike laughs at.
Being snowed in leaves me captive with lots of Christmas candy, but it also gives me lots of time to exercise! Mike got me the new "Wii Fit Plus" for my birthday and that's proving to provide lots of entertainment. There's a couple of new games that really are pretty fun and take a bit of work, so I've been enjoying them and hoping that they counter act all of the peanut clusters I ate! :)
I'll stop rambling now and get to cooking. Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!!

Needing an attitude adjustment...

So, I LOVE Christmas time. Just had my birthday and now enjoying these days in between and all of the fun get togethers they bring. However, things aren't looking too promising this year. First of all there is apparently a huge nasty weather system moving in that involves lots of snow, ice, and wind. They're saying to not plan on going anywhere all of the days surrounding Christmas. So there goes the trips we had planned to two family Christmases. I've been trying to think of how I can still make it festive for us if we're snowed in here and not feel like we're missing out on Christmas. Now today, my sister-in-law asked if she could stay with us. I love her dearly and there is no reason why she shouldn't stay with us except for my selfishness and perfectionism. See if she's here I won't be able to have Christmas just how I want it, won't be able to keep my house up to my standards of tidiness, and my husband will be distracted and goofing off with her. Not the romantic snowed in picture that I had been imagining. But I know this is a lousy attitude and if I don't shake it I'm going to be the one to ruin Christmas for myself and possibly the others too. I will be silent and moody, shooting my husband dark looks whenever he does something I can find a way to be annoyed with. It's embarrassing, but that is what I do more often then I'd like to admit. Or, I could pray for grace and choose to be joyful and hospitable, giving her a warm home to enjoy Christmas in where she feels a part of things and my husband can take pride in the home he has to share and feel at peace and loved there. And we can have fun in our stuck-ness, play games, stay up late, eat Christmas food; make a real two (or more) day party of it. That's the ticket! If I can give up my perfectionism and enjoy the moment rather than worrying about the mess or how Christmas is "supposed" to be in my head. (I get myself into more trouble with my "supposed too's). So please pray for me, this Christmas looks like it's going to be up to my attitude and I so want to take this as a chance for growing and not wallow in disappointment and self-pity. Choosing gratitude and joy....

P.S. My shoulder is twitching. Always such a weird feeling.

Three shots is what it takes

Had a fun, albeit fast weekend in Minneapolis. I really like it up there, I could live in MN. Not the city proper, but it would be nice to be closer than four hours. Anyway, we left early on Saturday in order to have time to go to Ikea. I really appreciated Mike and his dad agreeing to do that for me, but then they were both grumpy and just followed me around pushing me to hurry the whole time so I started to appreciate them less. I was told I had a little over and hour there and I was going to make the most of it. After all, it's a two story building and I only get there once a year! Mike's dad ended up buying us a new dining room table so that's really cool. I'm hoping to assemble it today. We had one, but it wasn't very user friendly and never intended to be our long term table. I'm hoping that now we will actually eat at the table more than the kitchen counter. I still need to find some benches to go around it though. We got a couple chairs, but what I really want is a collection of benches; they didn't have just the right thing there. So now the problem is that Mike was counting on getting that table for my birthday/Christmas present and now that his dad bought it Mike has to start over from scratch and he's put no thought into it yet. I think he's a bit miffed but I'm kinda pleased because presents mean a lot to me and I want him to have to put a little work into it. I'm really not that hard to buy for and I've given him lots of hints.
Anyway, the other highlight of the weekend for me was getting to meet up with my friend Elyse at the mall Saturday afternoon. It was a very last minute thing as I realized on Friday that she might be living up there now, but she was and we got to catch up a little and it was so fun. She's the type of girl that always leaves you feeling uplifted. I would like to be that kind of person to others too.
On Sunday I got to go to my first pro football game at the stadium formally known as the Metrodome. It was fun although silly the lengths they go to for what is only a game. I was glad that I had chosen to go with the large Mocha that morning because I think it affected my enthusiasm level quite a bit. And I did want to be enthusiastic. It's certainly more fun to watch a game in person than on the tv and I understand enough about football to know what's going on. As strange as it sounds I was most interested in the cheerleaders; wondering what kind of person it takes to be that perky all the time and be ok with having every move you make choreographed. And then thinking for that type of person you couldn't ask for a better job than being an NFL cheerleader. Then there was this greasy little middle aged man sitting below us that was taking zoomed in pictures of them and I really wanted to flick him in his bald head. Sorry, that's mean but he was creepy. Anyway....it was a pretty good time and fun to be there with Mike; a good date activity.
Parker was so good all weekend. Really about as good as you can expect from a 21 month old. He had his moments when he was tired and hungry or just didn't want to leave all of the amazing toys at "Una Dave"'s, but for the most part really well behaved. Did great on both 4 hour drives and shopping and in church (apart from announcing "Hedgehog watch" in the middle of the prayer). It was really fun to have Elyse finally meet him.
And now it's time to catch up on the laundry and exercising. I did ok on my eating this weekend, but doubt I lost anything. :)

A Thanksgiving Statement:

In my devotional this morning my assignment was to write a thanksgiving declaration similar to that of President Lincoln's and then post it somewhere where people could see it. So here goes:
As I listen to the wind howl around the house I am grateful that it is sound and that I am inside with my loved ones. However it strikes me that being outside with no shelter to to go would not be less than I deserve. Dow to the most taken for granted element of a comfortable shelter and clothes to cover my body, I have been blessed. Regardless of the willful sin that I participate in on a daily basis God continues to "loadeth us with benefits." Even should the worst happen, the One who holds the world in His hand promises to keep count of the hairs of my head and I am fortunate enough to have first hand experience of this faithfulness. So let my heart and countenance be one "overflowing with thankfulness." May I no longer let the "everyday" blessings march by without acknowledgment nor grumble when the exceptional ones don't meet my expectations. May I be only humbled by this outpouring of God's grace, that He should not only notice me but rescue me and then give me the desires of my heart. And after the initial reflex of gratitude my the next always be to pass it on so that others can also experience the abundant life of abiding in Christ. That is, a life that can abound with "every spiritual blessing" irregardless of the physical blessings that might come and go. "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"

In a yummy rut

Ok, I confess, I have already made my pita sandwiches twice this week, and it's only Tuesday. I'm stuck in a tasty rut of what my mom used to call "New York Good-wiches." I find that name cumbersome so I'll just call them pitas, but my goodness they're good. They fill me up with out feeling heavy and they fill my desire for something hot on these chilly days. I don't know the exact calories on these, but since they're basically vegetables, I'm not too worried. I know the two pitas (whole wheat and made with flax) are 160 calories beyond that, I'm not too sure. So, here's the recipe. I know it sounds crazy, but don't knock it till you've tried it!
Saute 1/4 c. onions in a bit of olive oil, while steaming 1/2c. or so of California blend vegetables. Toast two pita halves then spread with a thin layer of mayo. When onions are cooked as desired (I like mine almost burnt) stir in a T. or less of bbq sauce. Divide ingredients between two pita pockets in whatever order, but including all of the following: raw red cabbage, dill pickles, CA veggies, onion and bbq mix.

I know, I know...it's sounds crazy, but it's sooooo good.

Shopping is Exhausting

This was yesterday on what ended up being an all day trip to Fort Dodge. Poor guy, he was so good and so exhausted by that point. Couldn't have been that comfortable.
The weather was perfectly Christmas'y on Sunday so we cranked up the music and made gingerbread cookies and wrapped presents. Parker refers to the cookies as "babies" and plays with them as such, even "changing" them on his tray.

I apologize if you're tired of hearing about this, but I'm a little excited, so I wanted to write. I'm a week late on measuring this month and I had thought I had a bad month too, so tonight when I finally did it I didn't know what to expect. Imagine my surprise when I had actually lost 7lbs this month! Granted it was five weeks rather than four, but still exceeded my goal. And it came off in the right places! I recorded 1.25 in. off my waist and 1in. off my hips! And more off of arms and legs. Hurray! So thankful. Particularly because I stopped counting calories this month, just was kinda winging it and I'm glad that I don't have to go back to doing that so intensely. Perhaps some of my good habits are sticking. That and this was over Thanksgiving and a vacation, so all very encouraging. I'm sure that Christmas will be more of a struggle, but God is bigger than chocolate and candy. ;) I'm grateful. And feeling lighter. :) Oh, and I way need some new bras, they're like 4in. too big I discovered tonight. Whoops.

Normalcy

Back home now and doorman-less. :) At least I don't have to worry about keeping tip money handy any more. Our trip home was thankfully uneventful. Even found a Papa Johns that was next to a Caribou in Denver for our lunch stop. What more could you want? Obviously I did not eat well on that ride home but I did enjoy all of foods that are not readily available at home. I also think that my metabolism has finally kicked in because I am ALWAYS hungry. Despite the vacationing I think I still will meet my 1lb. goal this week, so I'm grateful for that. And my size 10's are getting too big, so that's a nice feeling too. :)
Not really much going on now. Have this weekend to catch up on things and get more ready for Christmas and then next weekend we have Christmas with Mike's extended family in MN. Oh and I officially have only 1/2 of a Christmas present left to pick up. There are probably other odds and ends but that's the official count.
Did I ever mention on here my signing up to be a mentor? Well I did, in this local mentoring program that has a focus on abstinence. Yesterday I was finally paired with a Jr. Higher named Nichole. And I realized at that moment that I am still intimidated by public schoolers. Pathetic no? At first meeting it doesn't seem like we're going to have much in common, but I'm really praying for this relationship; that God will help me love her like I need to and really make a connection with her. It's a great opportunity so I'm thanking God for trusting me with this experience and asking for courage!

More Pictures

Well, we're checking out this morning. Very sad. I went down for one last workout and now Parker and I are just packing up while Mike's in his last session.We're going to try to drive straight through to get home early tomorrow morning. I hope that means I can talk Mike into stopping at Caribou. :D It got cold this morning, we had a little dusting of snow and more coming tonight. How can you make this place any prettier? Just add snow! Yesterday Parker and I went around looking for good shopping. I was rather disappointed in Manitou Springs. Too touristy for me, although we did find the neat coffee shop there that you will see a picture of below. Oh, and I got a hand blown glass pickle ornament to add to our collection. Mike appreciated the randomness. We tried Old Colorado City too and the options were better there. One shop called "the Holly Leaf" and another called "Holly Berry House. " Hehe. Didn't buy anything though. Really was rather a bust day for good shopping, but then why did I still buy things?? Got a "The Broadmoor" shirt, just cause. I don't think I paid full price for anything I bought though; was all about the sale racks, even at the Broadmoor. Keva Juice for suppper and then a swim and early bed. Well, time for packing. More pictures are below.


We tried to take some family pictures this morning. It's been something I've been wanting to do, but haven't liked myself in pictures. So finally I'm at a place where I don't mind pictures and what better background than our current local? They didn't turn out great, but maybe as good at I can get if not paying for a professional? I was going to ask a certain friend I know that takes some pretty good shots, but she never comes home...:P




Parker's kicked back and watching "Max & Ruby."
Mike and Parker enjoying the good life this morning.
Parker at the pool.
This was Parker and I at the "Yerba Mate" coffee shop yesterday. It was very, um, alternative. Good food, and cozy atmosphere, but rather hippy-ish. Yummy carob chip cookies.

I could get used to this...

It's not hard to get up at 6 a.m. when you have a full fitness center and pool waiting for me. The lady at the desk: "Good Morning, will you be joining us for a workout? Could I offer you a towel and headphones?" There are cold, wet towels available also, and lemon water in a cooler. When I got back Mike was in the shower and Parker in the tub playing toys. The tub is really deep and he loves it; I guess that was what he asked for after me this morning. Last night before our evening swim Parker and I went to the Golf Club Grill for supper because it was the most casual restaurant we could find onsite. I had some really tasty potato and parsnip soup and a chicken quesadilla with three indistinguishable but tasty dips. Yes, my meal consisted of the appetizers because they were the only things in my price range. :P Speaking of price range; have I mentioned that I LOVE the bathrobes here in our room? I feel just like someone in a spa commercial or something. So I went to the store where they sell everything that they use here because people always want to buy the things, and the robe is $135. :( So sad. I will not be able to extend my Broadmoor experience beyond the little shower gel bottle that I might take home. Off to Manitou Springs for some shopping. It's supposed to be 57 today and 22 with snow tomorrow.