Welcome Summer!

Today is the first day of summer, in case you didn't know that (and perhaps live under a rock as the announcement of it's arrival was EVERYWHERE today).  After the Spring we've had up here I am more than delighted to see summer arrive.  Unfortunately though, for the "longest day", we had overcast skies so there was no late-evening sunset for us this evening (not that I would have seen it as I was in my basement family room watching The Voice).

Speaking of The Voice... have you been watching?  What a great group of super talented people.  Kind of makes American Idol finalists seem like amateurs.   Oh wait... they are!  If you're watching The Voice, who is your favorite?  I have two... both on "Team Blake"  Dia Frampton and Xenia.  I don't think I could choose between the two if I had to (which of course those voting in America must do!).

Had lunch today with one of my nieces.  It was a quick lunch but a great visit.  She was being a doll and is taking my shower gift for an upcoming family bridal shower I won't be able to attend on Sunday.  I felt kind of bad asking her when it dawned on me that she'd just told me she carpooled in with someone today.  Oopsie... hope said driver doesn't mind a little "extra" stuff on the way home.  (insert cheshire cat grin here).  I would have delivered the gift myself but it is an hour's drive to my sister's home where the shower's being held, and about 25 minutes to my brother's/nieces homes so with my niece in my neighborhood it really saved me time this week.  Thanks "K"... you're a doll!!  The rest of the day feels like a huge blur to me now.  Hmm.

I will say though, I've been keeping on with the Reshaping it All challenge I started awhile ago.  I've continued to count calories and work out (tonight walked/ran on the treadmill for 2 miles in 32 minutes) and have lost another 1/2 pound this past week.  That's 9 lbs in total so far.  I'm 1/2 way to my first goal.  I can't believe the difference it's making in my life... and my wardrobe.  Clothes I haven't worn for a couple summers now fit and some of my shorts even feel like their falling off me now.  Hubby is enjoying the "new" me too (wink wink)

Today's photo for the 30 Day Photo Fun challenge I again took from one of the pictures I shot on my time up north.  I KNOW the pictures are supposed to be "daily" shots, but seriously... are we all doing that?  I think not.  Besides... I at least took it this week!  That should count for something shouldn't it?  Anyhoo... here's my photo:

Day 21 ~ Micro (up close)

I was having fun with the new camera while up at Dad's last week and although I'm 100% girly-girl and hate any insect-y type creature, I was fascinated with the huge dragonflies buzzing around the property.  This little guy landed on this little flower so I was quick to zoom in and capture him in all his buggy-eyed glory.  The one good thing about these fascinating creatures... THEY EAT MOSQUITOES!!  Go dragonflies!!

Party Pooped

It's a party weekend in the Nest.  It's only just begun but this party-er is already pooped!

Last night was my oldest nephew & his future bride's "Stag and Doe" - our second ever and second this month!  It was a night of fun and family and well... prizes!  Yep.  We won something again.  Last S&D we won a 10 person Niagara area wine tour (which I plan to organize with my family members hopefully sometime this summer/fall).  Last night Hubby won a multi-meter and flashlight set, and then we won a "date night" basket with 2 bottles of wine, wine glasses, candles, chocolates and a $50 dinner gift certificate to local restaurants.  Sweet!  Now if I can only get Hubby to stick around home long enough for us to use it!

Tonight we have dinner out with some old friends who we haven't hung out with in forever (well, actually I just hung out with the wives a couple weeks ago).  Really looking forward to it!  Hubby's sleeping as much as he can today so he can catch up on some lost sleep with his busy travel schedule and so he can come out to play tonight.  Hopefully the rain will either hurry & get over with, or avoid us altogether as we had planned for a bon-fire at our friends' place tonight after our BBQ dinner.

My weight loss is going well and I've lost yet another pound!  I even remained in my calorie count yesterday at the S&D which could have been very difficult to do with the amazing spread my sister and her family put on.  Seriously people... you have NO idea how much food was there.  I should have taken a picture on my phone.  There were probably 5-6 banquet size tables FULL of food.  I think my sister said she made something like 1000 meatballs.  Crazy... but delish!

I'm a day behind in my 30 Day Photo Fun.  Some days are trickier than others.  Because it's supposed to be a shot we take on that day I had to use a little imagination and creativity for yesterday's shot.

Day 10 ~ Animal

Since we don't have any pets and well, a trip to the zoo was out of the question since it's on the other side of Toronto, I figured that these little guys would fit the bill.  This is one of my teddy bear displays in my living room.  (If you happen to see a dust bunny hop by, well... that's a different kind of "animal" isn't it?).

I'm at a loss as to how to do today's picture since I'm really not a very good photographer.  I seem to be missing that photographer's eye.  Hopefully I can figure something out so I can continue my challenge!

Fresh Fruit and Veggie Day

It was all about the fresh produce today.  Yep... it was.  I started off my day with my workout before heading out to spend the day with my niece, and her precious little 7 month old "E".  Our plan for the day was to purchase the fresh veggies for our veggie platter we offered to take tomorrow night to my oldest nephew & his bride-to-be's Stag & Doe.  Both R and I said we'd bring veggies so we decided that it's much more fun to combine our efforts.  We chose the regular fare of baby carrots, celery sticks, broccoli, red, green, yellow & orange peppers, mushrooms, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.  On our way back to R's, we stopped at a new restaurant in her neighborhood for a bite of lunch.  Baby E was such a good baby and he charmed the socks off everyone we encountered both at the grocery store and the pub.

The rest of our time together was busy chopping veggies and sipping tea while we caught up on each other's lives.  Oh how I adore my niece and am so glad to have the joy of sharing in her first experiences of Mommyhood!!  She's a wonderful Mommy and I'm so proud of her!

From her place I whipped home, dropped off my veggies and then head through the busy rush hour traffic to the airport to pick up my Sweet Hubby.  I'm not sure if it was because I was so excited to go get him, was worried about getting across the ridiculous Toronto traffic, or I just can't read, but whatever the case I ended up early to the airport area so instead of paying extra parking, I drove around for awhile until it was closer to the time of his plane's landing.  At one point I found a Subway parking lot to slip into where I could sit away from traffic (and the hot sun in my eyes) and I once again checked the flight status.  "On Time" it read.  With only a few minutes left until his plane's scheduled arrival time, I hopped back on the road, through the twists and turns to the Terminal 1 parking garage and parked in my usual area.  How pathetic is it that I have a "usual area" at the airport?.

As I approached the big board over the passenger exit into the main area of the terminal I searched the board for his flight.  Imagine my shock when I saw that his plane was marked "Delayed".  Huh?  Five minutes ago it was on time.  How can it be delayed 30 minutes?  Oh well!  Back up the escalator I trudged and back out to my vehicle where I had stashed my Sony eReader earlier in the day.  Might as well read to pass the time.  I head back down to the terminal, keeping my eye on the big board.  At 6:05 his flight status changed from "Delayed" to "Arrived".  Phew!    Within 15 minutes my Sweetie was heading out the big sliding opaque doors and into my arms.  Safe!  Home!... for 3 1/2 days!  I'll take it!!

So... here I am 3 hours later, feeling like that lost appendage has been surgically put back in place.  Oh how I love my Honey being home!

And now to the "Fresh Fruit".  That's today's topic in the 

Day 9 ~ Fresh Fruit

This was my snack tonight while watching a little t.v.  I'm trying to make sure that my evening snack is something good for me and not something that will sabotage my efforts at "Reshaping It All".  Even though I gained a pound back this week (I'm hoping it's the muscle I built doing that Jillian Michaels workout that kicked my butt the other day), I'm still trying to make sure that I'm eating less and exercising more each day.  Although my thighs are super sore right now, it's that good kind of pain that says "Girl... you worked it!".

Nursery Rhymes

It's been a busy day here in my little Nest.  With the sun shining brightly and the warm weather finally here, today was as good a day as any to get summer going in my garden.  I somehow missed the garden gene from my Mom and so I was desperately in need of a little help.  I called my Mother-in-Law to see if she was busy today and wanted to come along with me to hunt down some summery plants for my front garden.  Being a beautiful gardener herself, she was delighted to get my call.

We searched high and low from Wal-mart to Home Depot to two other nurseries in the hunt for an urn to replace the old plastic bin that was all cracked and badly in need of a date with the garbage man.  At our last stop we found the perfect planter for the front walkway.  Wanna see?

In this planter we put the tall brown spiky plant (that of course is it's formal name), 2 double impatiens, ivy, lobelia (I think it's what the white flowers on the left front/right back are called), and some other multi-colored ferny plant (again... forget the name!).

In the main front garden we decided to plant different flowers than last year.  My garden gets SO much direct sunlight that last year my plants really didn't flourish.  This year we chose some that should hopefully do much better.  We picked up some strawflowers, Celosia, snap dragons, alyssum and lavender.  Lots of color and texture this year.  Let's hope they do well!  Here's a shot of the newly planted garden:

Tomorrow, if the weather co-operates, I will plant the impatiens I have for the garden between my house and my neighbors.  Last year that garden thrived with pink and white impatiens and begonias.  Hopefully this year they'll do well again!

So... that was my day in a nutshell.  I ended the evening babysitting my friend's four kids which went much easier than I'd anticipated.  I actually looked after them in groups of 2 with the 2 older girls out at soccer games while I put the 2 youngest to bed.  I honestly admire my friends with kids... I'm not so sure I could have done it to be perfectly honest!

Lastly tonight, I need to share my photo for today's 

Day 6 ~ Books

Today's picture is all about books and this is how I read books these days.  I would have included my Kindle book but Hubby has it with him on his business trip.  I read from either my Sony eReader, Kindle or iPhone (via the Kindle app, Kobo app, or iBook app).  The book I am showing is Candace Cameron-Bure's book, Reshaping it All, which is the book that inspired the 65 day challenge I'm participating in online.  Sure I can sometimes miss turning the pages of a "real" book, but I was running out of physical space in my house to hold paper books, and with these books, I am never at a loss to read whatever I feel like at the exact moment I feel like reading it and... with the built in lights it's easy to read in bed without wrecking my eyes and keeping Hubby awake!  Speaking of my books, I think I'll take them upstairs and have a little read before it's lights out on this day!

Meditation

But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. (Psalm 1:2 NLT)

This was the verse that started off my morning.  They, from verse one being those "who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers", delight in God's laws (or His Word) and they meditate on it day and night.  Meditate on it.  Meditate... "to engage in thought or contemplation".

As I read this Psalm first thing this morning, a wave of conviction wafted passed my spirit.  How often do I actually meditate on the verses I read each morning.  With shame and honesty I admitted to myself (and now to all of you) that I don't often enough take time to chew on the words I'm reading in my daily quiet time.  The deep desire of my heart would be to do so, but yet in the flurry of the day, I read and run.  Quiet-time quickies seem to be my norm rather than the exception.

I truly can't blame anyone or anything other than my own selfishness and lack of self-discipline, but I'd like to.  I'd like to blame technology for making me an expert "multi-tasker" which I think is honestly more a case of ADD now.  I flit from one thing to another like a bee looking for pollen.  One minute I'm sitting reading God's Word and simultaneously I'm thinking about adding my grocery list to my iPhone app.  Like a squirming baby, I wriggle my way out of God's lap and on to the next activity.

Jesus' brother, James, in the first chapter of his book in the New Testament confronts this very issue I'm struggling with.  In James 1:22-25 he writes:

But don't just listen to God's word.  You must do what it says.  Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.  For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.  You see yourself, walk away and forget what you look like.  But if  you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

I don't know about you, but the older I get, the more I want to forget what I look like some days, but I don't think that's what James is talking about.  I think he's talking more about the essence of forgetting what we look like... who we are.  I think he's saying that it's important to really take a good long look in the mirror at ourselves sometimes (both literally and figuratively) to see what work needs to be done.  Is my hair brushed?  Is my make-up running down my face?  Am I reflecting the Light of Jesus to those around me?  Am I more like Jesus today than yesterday?


I am challenged today to take my "multi-tasking" self and really spend some time in God's mirror, taking a good hard look at what He's asking of me and then doing it.  How 'bout you?

Part of looking at ourselves is in the physical sense and that coincides with today's "30 Day Photo Fun" photo.

Day 5 ~ Breakfast Today

Mmm ~  Good and Healthy!

As I continue on my 65 "Reshaping It All" challenge, I try and start my day with a healthy breakfast as well as a healthy time with God.  This morning I enjoyed a half of a ruby red grapefruit (which Hubby wanted a slice of ... but I made him wait until AFTER my picture was taken!), 1 serving of Special K Oats & Honey cereal with 1/8 cup of All Bran Buds mixed in, with 25 blueberries for extra zip... with 1/2 cup of 1% Natrel milk poured over the flakes.  Topping it all off was a cup of my favorite tea, Bigelow French Vanilla... no milk or sugar added... just the delicious flavor of the tea!  What did you have for breakfast... physically and spiritually?

It Moved... in the Nick of Time

Finally... after six weeks, my scale finally moved in the right direction!  Saturday afternoon, with my workout clothes on and my body ready for action, I finished my six-week challenge on my Wii EA Sports Active program.  Hubby and I had gone out shopping earlier in the day to pick up a few more items for his "fitness" allowance with work.   We picked up a medicine ball and the P90X workout DVDs to go with the weights and mat we got Friday.  When we got home, after my workout, together we did a little of the AbRipper on the P90X but if I'm 100% honest, I am SO not ready for the P90X.  My head wants to me, but my body is SO not ready to go there yet!  I was able to do maybe 1/3 of the ab exercises but guess that's better than none, huh?

I'm getting much better at this calorie counting thing I think... I'm slowly learning to think ahead with food. For example, we were going to look after our friends' 4 boys Saturday night and we wanted to treat them to pizza.  Knowing I'd had pizza Friday night as a "treat", instead I packed ingredients to throw together chicken salad tossed onto a bed of spinach for Hubby and I.  Hubby took the boys for a treat after dinner and a round of sports in the park, while I enjoyed a yogurt I'd brought from home.  Stayed within my calories that day!

Even Mother's Day I was being good.  We took Hubby's Mom to the movies in the afternoon to see "Jumping the Broom", a cute little movie produced by Pastor T.D. Jakes.  I am always tempted to chow down on the movie popcorn like I used to, with a Large bag on my lap and endless handfuls until my belly can't take another bite.  But that's the "old" me.  This time at the theater, we did buy a large popcorn, but I asked for a small bag (which the guy couldn't give me) and instead got a box (you know the one that is like a little tray with drink holders on one side?) and I took two handfuls of popcorn and placed them in my box and that was it.  I nibbled slowly on my little "box" of popcorn and was satisfied.  So many less calories when you do it that way.  Next time I may remember to bring an empty tupperware container to share in... or maybe hot air my own at home first.  I still love my popcorn at the movies but now it's not my entire day's worth of calories!

All this measuring and being careful and "budgeting" is starting to pay off though.  Mondays are the days I set for "weigh-in" and "measurements" and this morning I had a pleasant surprise when I stepped onto the bathroom scale.  Not only was I down the 2 pounds I had sneaked a peek at earlier on the weekend, but I was down another pound!!  That's 3 pounds!  Finally... the scale moved!!  I did a little happy dance (and woke Hubby up to tell him the exciting news) and quickly put on my workout gear while the euphoric feeling remained.  I even upped the anti in my workout this morning now that my 6 week challenge is done and really gave my heart a good pumping!  I never thought it would happen but those little endorphins have finally kicked in.  It's about time!

You Don't Have to be a Mom...

Nope... You don't have to be a Mom to receive these for "Mother's Day"....

I'd been out all day at a meeting for our Abide banquet and had just sat down at 2:30 pm to check emails when I heard the Hubby's key in the front door lock.  Surprised he was home, I was even more surprised when he came around the corner with this beautiful bouquet of flowers in his hand.  WOWZERS!!  Orchids, snapdragons, daisies, gerbera daisy and my favorite of all... purple stock... and some other funky looking purple spikey flower.  Have you ever smelled Stock?  Mmmmmmm!  Even though I'm not technically a Mom, Hubby said that because I'm a mother-figure to many, he wanted me to have these.  What a keeper my Sweetie is!!

After I put my gorgeous fragrant flowers into a vase, Hubby and I took off for a little exercise equipment shopping.  His company allows employees a certain amount of money each year to purchase equipment to keep them healthy.  For some it can be used towards a gym membership I think, but Hubby likes to use his amount for equipping our home gym and fortunately now I get to take part in these "rewards".  Today we picked up an exercise mat, some dumbbells and we forgot to pick it up, but we intended to grab a medicine ball too.  We'll have to go back for that!

On our "errand run" we also did a quick stop at the grocery store before heading home, only because I'd forgotten a part of my EA Sports Active2 program (that I was returning to Best Buy) in my Wii.  The heart monitor stopped working on my program after my second time using the program... either that or my heart stopped ticking!  Once the groceries were in place, and the USB drive for the exercise program was in my hand, we head over to Best Buy to make an exchange.  I'm hoping this new one works.  If not... I'm giving up on that particular program!

After Best Buy, Hubby and I caught an early movie of "Something Borrowed".  Cute movie.  John Krakinski stole the show though.  That guy is FUNNY!  Do you know who I'm talking about?  He's the guy who plays Jim on The Office... married to Emily Blunt (the snarky Britt in The Devil Wears Prada).  After the movie we head out for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, where I made sure on my handy little calorie counting program that I could eat something there and stay within my daily limit.  I had 2 small pieces of pizza along with half a spinach salad.  YUM!  Only 540 calories in total.  Not bad for dinner!  I even chose to drink water... mostly though because they serve Pepsi there and I'm a Diet Coke girl!  

Since I've been on the go all day I still have my workout to do for today.  I'm on my 2nd last workout for my 6 week challenge.  I can't believe I've almost made it. 

Before I go for tonight... been a long time since I've done it... but here is this week's Friday Fill-ins:

And...here we go!

1. Amazing Race is one my favorite TV show (or movie) because I love that I can see the world from the comfort of my HDTV!

2. Go to page 45 of the book you're reading or of the book closest to you; go to the 6th paragraph and make a sentence out of 7 words from it: Make notes on each plan and pray.

3. I am tired tonight.

4. I rarely take long walks.

5. Take some time to tell someone special that you love them.

6. My Wii needs a bit of work out tonight so I'll have to go keep it company and exercise.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleeping, tomorrow my plans include knitting (gotta finish some things for the Silent Auction) and Sunday, I want to think about my Mom in honor of her on Mother's Day!

Tea for... Six

Today was my first Thursday morning home since the end of our Abide, ladies' group.  Last Thursday we concluded our study of Faithful, Abundant, True by Kay Arthur, Priscilla Shirer & Beth Moore.  What a study it was!  We were so encouraged to dig "Deeper Still" into the heart of God.  I'm going to miss these weekly challenges from God's Word and these teachers.  I'll just have to dig in on my own until September, now won't I?

One week mid-study, (I can't remember how we got on the topic now) one of the ladies suggested that we meet after Abide was finished for the year and have a little "how did you meet your spouse?" get together.  I loved the idea and decided to invite my small group ladies to my home.  I love having people in and let's be honest, company is always a great excuse to give the house a super good clean, isn't it?

Earlier in the week I sent off an email to the ladies and about half of them were available to come for our Thursday morning brunch.  I set my alarm early this morning so I'd have time to shower, do the "do" and prepare my buffet of delicious treats.  Remembering that I'm on this "Reshaping it All" quest, I purchased a good selection of fresh fruit and yogurt to serve, along with the traditional goodies of handmade scones (with the most amazing recipe EVER ~ World's Best Scones) and cranberry-orange muffins (from a Martha White mix I'd picked up in the States).

Knowing that the scones and muffins are not the best choice for me in my calorie-counting feat, I decided to make the Scones using my smallest round cutter, and the muffins in a mini pan so that I could still partake in the carb-filled treat, but with less calories.  Is that cheating, btw?  I set out some Strawberry jam and Devon Cream for the scones and muffins, and had OJ, Hazelnut-Vanilla Coffee and an assortment of my favorite teas.

Five ladies came to join me this morning and we had a wonderful time of learning one another's love stories and sharing pictures from our weddings, all while we "brunched".  I was completely surprised when the ladies presented me with 2 beautiful yellow begonia plants (hope I don't kill them...I'm not the most gifted Gardener, you know), and lovely cards, all to thank me for leading Abide this year.  SO not expected!!

After the ladies left and I was hand-washing my good china luncheon plates, I smiled as I thought of our morning.  An idea came to me that this summer, as well as throughout the next semester of Abide, I need to "brunch" with ladies from our church more often, getting to know them deeper and building community.  Hmm...There's a new way to "reshape" my ministry!

What's for Dinner Wednesday

I feel like I've been on this mission of losing weight for awhile, even though it's only been not quite 6 weeks.  I've only missed 2 days out of my 4 day/week workout regime and I've been under or just barely over my calorie intake the past 30+ days since starting to track my food intake with My Fitness Pal.  I'd hoped that the weight would just fall off as I got moving, but that has not been the case.  

Every Wednesday I do a little "weigh-in" and I take my measurements so that I can track my progress.  I hate to admit that I used to be one of those people who daily got on the scale to watch the fluctuations, fooling myself into thinking I was making great progress.  Now I just aim on once a week so that I don't obsess about the scale... or at least try not to.  

For the past 30+ days as I've sweat my little face off (and I do mean that... you should see how red my face gets when I exercise... it's not a pretty sight... hence why I work out alone in my basement!) I have stepped on the scale with great anticipation of the numbers scrolling down pound by pound but nope... nothing.  Nada.  Not a single pound.  Sure people are telling me that muscle weighs more than fat but heck, I wanna see those numbers flying south!

One positive to today's weigh-in is that I have seen a slight (positive) change in my measurements!!  My waist has decreased a 1/2 inch so bless my soul... all this huffing and puffing is actually working!!  I feel more motivated to keep it up & even up my workouts a little more.

So... in that quest to eat well and lose actual pounds on the scale, as I shopped at the grocery store this afternoon I carefully thought out my purchases, focusing on fresh fruits and veggies, although taste-wise they still aren't what I veer to first and foremost.  While walking past the meat aisle I noticed some beautiful pork loin chops.  I know... pork loin chops aren't beautiful, but I thought that maybe for a change we could try the "other white meat" instead of the usual chicken or beef... (still working on the fish element on a regular basis).  With my handy iPhone, (I love the ease of shopping when you have recipes at your fingertips with the iPhone!!) I pulled up my Food Network app and found this healthy choice:  Teriyaki Orange Pork Chops.  It was fast and easy to prepare and grill along with grilled peppers, onions, mushrooms (for hubby), & pineapple chunks and quite tasty and satisfying.  I think I may have to try new and healthy recipes more often instead of the old standards I prepare too often.

What's for dinner at your house this Wednesday?  

Priorities

Priorities... that word alone makes me want to run in the other direction.  Can you tell I'm a "Type B" person?  The baby of the family?  We all need priorities in life and sometimes those priorities get a little mixed up... or forgotten... or lost.

It's Day 3 of the 65 day "Reshaping it All" challenge I began this week and today's challenge has to do with setting priorities.  Part of successful changes come from reorganizing and changing priorities.  For example,  my former priority in eating was to satisfy my cravings for whatever I felt like.  Talk about denial.  I think I was believing I was still in my early 20's when I could eat whatever I wanted without gaining an ounce.  Now just thinking about food I gain weight!  My "new" priority is to think before I eat and ask myself if I can "afford" to eat whatever it is.  If I can't "afford" it, I either have to pass it by or I have to make up the deficit by exercising so that I can afford those extra calories.

So... Darlene asked us today to think of 4 things in our lives that we want to "reshape".  Here are mine:

1.  A more disciplined prayer life.  Don't get me wrong... I pray every day, often throughout my day, but what I'm talking about here is one of those "shut out the world and get on my knees and spend solitude with Jesus" kinds of prayer lives.  You know the kind... "Soaking Prayers" like the Beth Moore's and Angela Thomas' have with Jesus!  Those intimate #1 priority type prayer lives that really move things in the heavenly realms.  Often I feel too ADD for prayer with my mind racing here and there, from one thing to the next.  Wanna reshape that big time!

2.  A better housekeeping schedule.  As I was browsing about Darlene's websites the other day, I came across this amazing section about housekeeping that I immediately wanted to begin implementing.  This Housekeeping Schedule should help me put my home in order and a sense of peace to all who enter... not to mention relieve that last minute panic when I know people are coming over.  You know you know what I mean!

3.  My body of course... and my eating habits.  I guess this one is a given, huh, considering I joined up for this 65 day challenge.  It's not that I'm looking for a "diet" so much as I want to "reshape" my eating habits and lifestyle.  About 8 weeks ago I threw my back out while putting on my pants to go to church one Sunday morning.  My back spasmed for days and then while away visiting my sister in NC, I found that I was in pain both sitting and standing.  While standing it felt like my bones were locking and the pain was unbearable.  I knew then that NOW was the time to change this.  I'm only 46 yet was feeling like I was 66 (or even 76... not that I know what that feels like, or that it's a negative thing for some active, healthier individuals of that age).  All I knew was that I didn't like how limited my motion was and that if I didn't make some changes soon, it was going to be a very limiting life ahead for me.  I'm married to a guy who exercises almost every day, even while away on business trips.  He's made his own little home gym in our basement family room so I really had no excuse for not getting fit.  I even have my own personal trainer/cheerleader, yet it wasn't enough for me to get up off the sofa and get moving... until this last bout with a bad back.  It was then that I came home from that trip and decided to put my Wii to good use and that's when I started my 6 week EA Sports Active challenge.  Now with only 3 days left of that challenge, my lower back feels amazing and the aches and pains of March are faint memories.  I'm feeling inspired and excited to "reshape" my body further and those eating patterns along with it!

4.  My ministry and leadership skills.  This past September I ventured into scary territory with my church ladies' group when I stepped up as "facilitator" of our Abide group.  Feeling like Moses, with knees knocking I took the reigns of the "up-front" job and led our ladies on Thursday mornings and Wednesday evenings into our DVD studies.  From what I can tell, women enjoyed themselves and strengthened their walks with Jesus (although I can take NO credit for that), but I know inside of me that there is more there for God to do in me and through me in this ministry.  I desire to reshape my leadership skills and part of that is reshaping my dependence and intimacy with God, which brings me back to my #1 above... it all kind of comes full circle I think.

There are lots of other ways I desire to "reshape" myself over the next 65 days and beyond, but for today those are my desires, hopes, dreams... dare I say, goals.

Now it's your turn... what would be the 4 things in your life you'd like to "reshape" this month, season, year?