Reflections about the Year 2006

One word describes my life for the year of 2006: transforming.

My physical transformation is the most obvious to people. I loss 42 pounds and have been maintaining my weight within 1 or 2 pounds.

I'm thankful for my physical transformation, but I'm more thankful for the work that the Lord has done in my soul, which is less obvious to people.

The people that are close to me know that God has been doing a deep healing work in my soul, which has allowed me to draw closer to God. It has not always been an easy road to walk this year, but God has always been with me and has used many of you to help me along the way. I won't mention names, but you all know who you are and I'm forever grateful for your friendship and love.

I'm sure that the transformation work will continue in 2007, but I also sense that God is bringing me into a new season. A season where I will pour out into the lives of others. My only prayer is that in my pouring out that people will be touched by God's deep love for them and His transforming power.

In concluding, let me share some of my most favorite posts with you for the year 2006:

God Truly Hears & Understands

A Day with My Best Friend

A Birthday Outing

Before & After Photos

Laying Behind the Old & Receiving the New

Sledding

After work yesterday, I made a trip to Malone, NY to visit good friends. My friends had emailed me earlier in the day and asked if I was interested in going sledding with their family. I said sure.

I was amazed to see that there was about 3 inches of snow on the ground in Malone since the rest of the north country that I traveled through all day had no snow. My friends shared that Malone always get snow.

We loaded the sleds into my car and the rest of my friend's family piled into her car. After making a side trip to drop off the neck strap to her daughter's saxaphone, we made our way to the sledding hills. I surveyed the two hills and decided to go down the smaller of the two. My first trip down found me rolling over sideways and getting lots of snow in my face. Somewhere from deep within my memory banks, I was beginning to remember what and what not to do when sledding; I recall rolling sideways can be prevented if I positioned myself right on the sled to begin with - it is just a matter of physics. My second trip down was perfect. Feeling the confidence build, I decided to walk up the big hill and make my first trip down the big one. I must admit I had second thoughts when I got to the top of the hill. I was amazed at how small my friends looked at the bottom of the hill. My friends encouraged me to launch ... so I did. What a blast!! I ended up going down the big hill about 8 times. It was great fun!

Our sledding outing ended with all of us throwing the light snow at each other; it sure did feel good going down the back of my neck.

If you're looking for some winter time fun, go to Malone since they have snow when no place else does.

Christmas Presents

As a small child, I would always hurry to the tree on Christmas morning with excitement. I was truly amazed to find the number of presents that were under the tree for me. Over time, I lost the true meaning of Christmas since I thought it was all about the number of presents that I would get.

God brought back the true meaning of Christmas to me a few years ago. I was in San Diego visiting my brother, Wayne, during the month of December. Wayne and I went to his office one day. It was a long car ride and I made a visit to the ladies room when we arrived. As I was washing my hands, I noticed a Red Cross poster that had the following words printed on it: "What to Give? Give the gift of life. Give Blood." I stood there motionless as I read the words. The Lord began to show me the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas is time for giving. It is nice to receive material gifts, but Jesus gave more than this; He gave His blood so that I may the gift of life and life more abundantly here on earth and in heaven. He did this out of His abundant love for me. This is the greatest Christmas present that I could receive.

I sometimes ask myself "What to give?" I now know to give the gift of life - give love. This is the greatest gift that I can give anyone during the Christmas season.

December 19 - Woman's World Magazine

The December 19 issue of Woman's World Magazine is available beginning today. For those of you that don't know, the magazine interviewed me and sent a professional photographer to my house for a photo shoot; see here and here to learn more. The magazine said that they wanted to feature my story about my weight loss. As you can imagine, I have been anxiously waiting for the December 19 issue to come out.

I received my complimentary copies last week. I opened the envelope with much anticipation of reading the story and seeing my picture only to discover that the magazine decided to only use quotes from me. They decided to focus the story on how snacking helps you to loose weight and included pictures and 34 recipes of snacks that you can eat. If you get the magazine, the article appears on pages 20-21 and my quotes are near the end.

Although the direction that the magazine decided to take with the article is disappointing to me, I am thankful for the opportunity of being interviewed and participating in the professional photo shoot. I am more thankful for my success with loosing weight and being able to maintain my weight within 1 or 2 pounds since May. I never thought that I would be able to loose the weight, but I have and now it is time to help people do the same.

I'm starting a Fire Up Club at my church beginning in January. The purpose of the club is to create a community for ladies to loose weight and get healthy in a mentally supportive, emotionally safe, and spiritual encouraging environment.

I'll be teaching ladies the eating principles based on the book titled "Fire Up Your Metabolism" and help them to incorporate the principles into their eating. My vision statement for the club is "Changing Lifestyles...Living Healthy." Changing the way I eat and my relationship to food (lifestyle change) has allowed me to live a healthier life. My desire is to help other people do the same.

God's School of Wilderness

The Lord prompted me to pick up a book this past weekend that I had read several years ago. The book is written by Charles Swindoll and it is titled “Moses-A Man of Selfless Dedication.”

My eyes scanned the table of contents and saw the chapter titled “The Desert: School of Self-Discovery.” I turned to this chapter and began to read. Here are some of the paragraphs that grabbed my attention:

Apart from the desert experience, you and I might live out our lives without ever hearing or knowing what the God of the universe desires to tell us. The wilderness-like desert changes that. In that lonely place, you find
yourself stripped of all the things you hang on to for comfort – all the stuff you felt you needed through life but really didn’t need at all.

Why does God lead us through desert places? Let’s get the answer from Moses, who had advanced degrees from God’s School of Wilderness. It is so that He might humble us, that He might test us, and that the true condition of our heart might be revealed. Not that God might come to know you (He already does), but that you might come to know you. There’s nothing like the desert to help you discover the real you. When you strip away all the trappings, peel off the masks, and shed all the phony costumes, you begin to see a true
identity – a face that hasn’t emerged for years. Maybe never. That’s what the desert did for Moses. That is what it has done for me, in the wilderness sojourns of my own life. It will humble you. It will show you your strengths and weaknesses. It will help you discover yourself as never before.

God never puts us through the blast furnace in the desert to ruin us. He does it to refine us. And in the midst of that howling wilderness, through the process of time, the stinging sand bites through the rust and corrosion, and we become a usable tool in His hands.

There has been numerous times in my past when I have had the joyful experience of rubbing shoulders with men and women who have been tempered in such a desert. You can always tell – sometimes within moments – when you have met individuals so refined by God. They are some of the most secure, genuinely humble, gracious, honest individuals one can imagine. It took the desert to do it.

I don’t like being trained in God’s School of Wilderness, but I must agree with Charles it is a place where I discover conditions of my heart and allow God to show me things that need changing in my life. It is a place of self discovery for the very purposes of being refined so that God can use me to touch lives of others. And yes I want to have the fruit that results from being trained in God’s School of Wilderness: security, humbleness, graciousness, and honesty. For these reasons, I’ll keep going to God’s School of Wilderness when needed. How about you, will you go too? Just think, maybe we can be in some of the same classes and help each other out.

Discovering the Peace of Christmas

I attended a Women In Ministry (WIM) event today at my church. The theme was focused on discovering the peace of Christmas.

The guest speaker shared that discovering the peace of Christmas is found by discovering the peace of who we are in Christ and that we always have a home in God. This is a place where we are accepted just as we are.

The home concept awakened my heart since just recently the Lord spoke to me about my home, or that place where I'm accepted just as I am.

On my recent trip to California, my brother and his wife talked a lot about me moving to California. I began to think what my life would be like there: I could easily find a job; it would be great living near my brother and his wife; there are certainly a lot of things to keep me entertained there; the weather is great; etc. etc. I guess I didn't realize how serious I was considering a move to California until I came home.

I was sitting in my living room Tuesday night sipping on a cup of coffee and listening to my favorite music. It was during this time that the Lord spoke these words "you are home, where you belong." I began to be filled with God's peace like never before; a peace that I can't find words to describe what it felt like. I just know that God confirmed to my heart that I'm home. I can truly say that this is a place where I truly feel accepted and loved in spite of my weaknesses and shortcomings.

Home is a great place to be! I wouldn't want to be any place else. Thank you Lord for showing me where my home is and discovering the peace of Christmas.

Cockroach Patrol

I flew the red eye flight from LA to Chicago on Monday night. The flight departed LA at 11:10 PM (PST) and arrived 3 hours later in Chicago. I slept the whole flight. The only thing that woke me up was the announcement from the pilot that we were 40 miles from the airport and that we would be landing in 15 minutes. I was truly amazed since it seemed like we had just departed LA.

Not much was happening at Chicago O'Hara airport at 4:30 AM. There were a few shops and restaurants open. It was not the hustle and bustle of activity that I was accustomed to, but I did have an interesting experience while I was waiting to board my plane for Syracuse.

My carry on bag was between my feet and I was using it as a table to hold my Bible. I was leaning over reading my Bible when I saw something dash out from under my chair. It was an ugly bug and it was making its way towards my carry on bag. I lifted the bag and bug ran right by it. I'm so thankful that I saw the bug since it turned out to be a cockroach. It made its way to the seats that were across from me. There was a gentleman sitting on the end seat across from me. I kept a watchful eye on the cockroach to see where he would make his next move. Sure enough, he turned 90 degrees and started making his way towards the gentleman. I soon realized that the cockroach had every intention of climbing up the man's pant leg. You say, "how did I know this?" Answer: when the cockroach climbed on the man's shoe and seemed very interested in the bottom of his pant. I calmly said to the gentleman "Excuse me, sir, there is a bug on your shoe and you will want to get him off from you." The young lad looked up at me in a daze and said "what". I repeated myself and then he looked down at his feet. Horror filled his face when he saw the massive cockroach about ready to make his way up his leg. The man yelled "get him off from me!!" and began shaking his foot. The cockroach did fall off from him and ran to the other side of the airport. Another gentleman standing on there saw the cockroach and ran over and stepped on him.

The gentleman that was sitting across from me couldn't thank me enough for letting him know about the bug on his foot. He was relieved once he shook it off.

Lesson learned from this experience: be on cockroach patrol when you travel since you never know where one will appear.

I'm Home

I arrived home today from my long red-eye flight from LA last night. My flights were all on time and I landed in Syracuse at 10:15 AM EST. After stops in Cicero & Watertown, I got back to the cabin around 4:00 PM.

I have many stories to share about my trip home, but am too tired to write about them now. Check back in a day or so ... I certainly will be rested by then.

Traveling Home

I can't believe that a week has passed already and it is time for me to travel home.

My stay at my brother's has been relaxing and exciting. I truly enjoyed my time in southern California and would consider moving here if I felt the Lord leading me to leave NNY. The weather is great and the people here are friendly. There are also many choices for entertainment & food here. The best part is that I have family leaving here and it would be great to hang out with them all the time.

To my friends and family in NNY, don't worry I am coming home and am excited about that too. There are certain aspects about the north country that I truly miss; i.e. my cabin, cats, less traffic, and most of all my friends and family.

I'll be leaving for the airport in about 45 minutes. My brother is getting ready to take some family pictures before I leave. I guess I need to sign off for now.

See you all soon.

Visiting Vineyard

Today we ventured out to visit a new church - Vineyard Church @ Anaheim, see here.

Wayne informed me when I first got here that there was a Vineyard church near were he lives. I asked if we could go since I've heard a lot about Vineyard churches and wanted to have a Vineyard experience.

I was impressed by the size of the church. The sanctuary had signs indicating north, south, east, or west entrances. We entered through the north entrance and found seats. Worship had already started and it was better than anything that I've heard on any of the Vineyard's CDs; it is true that live worship is better than any recorded worship. The Pastor was laid back, but shared a powerful message about giving and forgiveness. After service, we stopped by the Newcomer's area and picked up our free guest packet, which included a free Vineyard CD and coffee gift certificate at their bookstore cafe. We visited the bookstore and all got coffee. We truly enjoyed sitting in the cafe and sharing stories.

We decided to stop by a Chinese restaurant on the way home for lunch. This was no ordinary Chinese restaurant that one would find in Potsdam. The wait staff brought carts loaded with food to our table and we selected different dishes. Most of the dishes contained food that I couldn't eat. Consequently, I ordered off the menu.

This past summer I remembered ordering sticky rice when I visited a Thai restaurant with Theresa and Blanche this past summer. I asked Irene if this restaurant would have sticky rice and she said yes. We ordered sticky rice. It was not what I had in mind since it was wrapped in some sort of kale leaf. Three waiters came to our table to inquire what exactly I wanted. I said sticky rice with mango. They all agreed that they had that and departed the table. One waiter returned within minutes with a bowl full of rice that looked like it had hot peppers in it. I shook my head and informed him that this is not what I had wanted. The waiter then asked me if it was the sticky rice dessert. I said yes. He departed with the dish he had brought and appeared minutes later with what looked like what I was expecting. One bite, though, told me that it was not. That was ok because Irene liked it and she brought home with us.

This is my last evening in southern California. I travel back to NNY beginning tomorrow night. I'm taking a red eye flight and will arrive in Syracuse Tuesday morning. I look forward to coming home and getting back into the routine of things. I'm sure that my two cats will be happy to see me too.

Ocean Fishing

I got to experience my first ocean fishing adventure today. It was all that I could imagine and then some.

We arrived dockside around 6 AM. First order of business was to pay for the trip, get fishing licenses, and rental tackle. We then boarded the boat and were on our way to Catalinia Island. After about 2 hours, we arrived and fishing lines were in the water.

I dropped my line in and immediately I had a fish on. It was a mackeral and the deck hand informed me to throw it back since it wasn't good for eating. My two nieces, Whitney & Nicole, got their instructions from the deckhand and dropped their lines. Within in minutes they both got fish called bonitas. The deckhand let us all know that bonitas were good for eating and that we could keep them. My brother and I kept on catching mackerals while the girls kept reeling in the bonitas. I finally caught a bonita after about 2 hours of fishing. Wayne also began catching bonitas and we were all pleased with our catch. Later in the day I caught a couple of calico bass that I kept.

All in all, we had a great day on the ocean. We caught most of our limits for bonitas. The deckhands cleaned them for us and we had some for dinner. They were yummy.

Here are some pictures of our day.

Whitney & Nicole

Where we spent the day - aboard Daveys Locker

Calico Bass

Wayne waitng for a bite, above. A bonita, below.

The Day After Thanksgiving

The ladies of the house decided to venture out for shopping today.

Irene, Nicole, Whitney, and I arose at 6 AM (PST) to hit the shopping trail. We were off at 6:45 AM and arrived at the mall. To our amazement, there were several other hundred shoppers already standing in line at Mervyn's waiting to pay for their merchandise. That didn't deter us and we made our way through the store. Irene, thinking ahead, decided to hop at the end of the line and save us all a spot. The line was so long that all of us had time to shop while we each took turns holding our spot in line. Two and half hours later we were all at the cash register paying for our great bargains. I got a pair of tennis shoes (Irene informs me that this is the proper term for sneakers in the LA area), a black turtleneck, and a couple V-neck T-shirts; all for a whopping $60.00. Being the adventurous shoppers, we all decided to walk around the mall and window shop. We did stop at a coffee shop for what else - coffee. I had pumpkin spice coffee and it was yummy. The mall began to get overcrowded around 11 AM and we decided it was time to head home.

We arrived home and showed my brother our bargains. He too adventured out and went shopping at a local tool shop. He has very nice woodworking shop in his garage and needed tools and hardware to complete a project for Nicole. He didn't have to wait in line as long as us to pay for his merchandise.

I spent the rest of the day relaxing and even got a 1.5 hour nap in. We are currently are watching a movie and looking forward to going to bed early.

Deep sea fishing is on the schedule for tomorrow. We will be getting up at 4:30 AM (PST) since we need to be at the dock by 6 AM. Check back for the fishing report and pictures.

Thanksgiving Morning

I began to think of all the things that I'm thankful for as I arose this morning. My thankful thoughts continued to flood my mind as I went for my morning walk and did my stretching exercises. I've concluded that I have a lot to be thankful for.

God has blessed me in so many ways. My list of thanksgiving to the Lord is endless. The neat thing is that my list will continue to grow as I continue following the Lord. This is how the Lord designed it to be - to continue pouring out His blessings upon His children. I'm so thankful that Jesus died and rose again so that I can know God through Jesus and enjoy His bountiful blessings in my life. Thank you Lord!!

Another thing on my thanksgiving list, is the fact that I get to spend the day with my brother and his family. This is first time that I've seen him and his wife in about three years. I also have met two of my neices for the first time and will spend the day with them too.

I'm also thankful for the beautiful weather in southern California. The sun in Northern New York has been elusive this fall and I'm truly enjoying the sun and warm weather here in California. I think that this is the first Thanksgiving that I'm wearing shorts and short sleeve shirt. It is nice.

I wish all my family and friends back home a warm and happy Thanksgiving. I encourage you all to think about what you are thankful for this day and lift your praise of thanksgiving up to the Lord.

Visit to Huntington

My sister-in-law, Irene, informed me that we were scheduled to have afternoon tea at the Huntington Tea Room, which is located at the Huntington Library. My initial thought was great, but I found it strange that a tea room was located at a library.

As I walked through the main gate, an attendant handed me a brochure and I found myself admist a beautiful botanical garden. I quickly began looking at the brochure and learned that the Huntington Library is a private, nonprofit collections-based research and educational institution. The Huntington consists of a library, museums with art collections, and botanical gardens. The Huntington was established in 1919 by Henry Edwards Huntington, who was born in Oneonta, NY. Information in the brochure stated that:

"Huntington was a man of vision -with a special interest in books, arts, and gardens. Durning his lifetime, he amassed the core of one of the finest research libraries in the world, established a splendid art collection, and created an array of botanical gardens with plants from a geographic range spanning the globe."

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised when I walked through the main gate of the Huntington Library. Irene and I headed to the cafe for lunch and then we spent about an hour walking through the botanical gardens. We also visited one of the museums. Many of you know that I don't like museums, but this one contained the Gutenberg Bible; something that I truly enjoyed seeing.

Irene and I met my brother and two neices at the tea room for our afternoon tea appointment. We enjoyed their special tea, Holiday Season, and all the snacks; there were even healthy snacks that I could eat with lots of veggies.

We paid a visit to the gift shop prior to leaving. We all bought souvenirs and left the feeling very satisfied with our visit.

Here are some pictures of our visit.

My two neices, Whitney & Nicole

Me enjoying my snacks & tea.

A flower in one of the gardens.

Window Washers

I had a two hour lay over in Chicago yesterday. It was during this time that I noticed a four man team of window washers doing their job. Two of them were on the inside and two of them were on the outside. The guys on the outside had to use extenders to wash the windows since the windows were above their heads.

Two things that I noticed about the window washers. First, they worked well together as a team since the inside guys guided the outside guys where the streaks were after their first wash. Although they were only washing windows, they took their job very seriously, did it with excellence, and made sure the windows were sparkling clean when finished.

I couldn't help to think about the scripture that tells us to do our work as to unto the Lord. I don't know if any of the window washers were Christians, but they certainly seemed to be doing their work as to unto the Lord.

The four window washers will never know that I was watching them, but I learned a valuable lesson from them: no matter how unimportant the work may seem to be I need to do it as unto the Lord.

Arrival Downey

I arrived safely at Downey, CA. My flights were all on time. Actually, my flight departed Chicago about 15 minutes early; the plane left the gate, went right to the runway, and we were off. I fly through Chicago all the time and this was the fastest that I've ever flew out of there.

The plane arrived 40 minutes early into LA. I called my brother to let him know that I had arrived and he was amazed. I met my brother outside the baggage claim area. He picked me up in his bright yellow Ford 150 4x4 pickup truck. I couldn't miss it since it looked like a school bus. I'm not sure why he needs a 4x4 in southern California; it was 91 when I arrived. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the mid 70's.

I was also able to have breakfast with my dad this morning. We met at the Cracker Barrel in Watertown. My dad will be leaving for Flordia next week and this was the last chance for me to see him before he departs. We had a good visit.

Plans for tomorrow include playing golf and enjoying the weather. Later in the week we may go deep sea fishing. This is something that I've always wanted to do.

That is all for now.

Going West

I'm traveling tomorrow to Downey, CA. I am leaving the Hybrid in NY and flying to Downey since California is too far to drive. Downey is 13 miles south of Los Angeles.

I'll be visiting my oldest brother, Wayne, his wife, Irene, and Irene's mom, Eunice. I'll also get to meet two of my neices for the first time too.

What do I plan on doing while in Downey? Golf, pay a visit to Disney Land, and be a beach bum. Sounds fun, right? I can't wait!!

I'll be gone for 8 days. I will be posting to my blog during my time in Downey; so check back to find out how much fun I'm having.

Speedometer Shock

I had just pulled out of my driveway and began my long drive to work. Down the road I traveled noticing the morning rainshower that seems to be the norm these days. I was feeling pretty relaxed as I continued down the road and then I noticed the speed on my speedometer: 89.

I was shocked and began to think how can I be going 89 when I had just pulled out of my driveway; I also didn't feel like I was traveling 89 on the highway. The information on the speedometer didn't match what I was sensing to be true. My internal warning lights began flashing to me that something was wrong. I then looked at the units after the speed and was greatly relieved to discover that they were Km/hour. Switching back to MPH showed that I was traveling at 52.

Lesson learned: check your units on your speedometer when in doubt of your speed.

Whirlwind

Have you ever felt like your life was riding on a whirlwind? This is how I've been feeling since last week.

I can't believe that a week has passed since I had the photo shoot at my house. I haven't really had time to process it all. I can only say "Wow!!" I sometimes pinch myself to see if it is true...I'm going to appear in a National Magazine.

I am truly humbled and honored to have this opportunity to share my story about my weight loss journey. It is certainly a journey and one that is not over. Although I don't need to loose anymore weight, I am on a journey to maintain my goal weight that I reached in the middle of May. I am 42 pounds lighter than I was in January 2006 and I intend to stay at my goal weight.

Since the photo shoot, I've been on the local radio station that broadcasts from the Reservation and traveled to Rochester. The radio station broadcast was a special live promotion that we did at the transfer station on Saturday. After this, I hopped in my car and headed south to spend Saturday night with friends. On Sunday afternoon, I continued my journey to Rochester where I crashed at my luxurious room at the Radisson; it was nice getting off the whirlwind for few hours.

The reason I traveled to Rochester was to attend training that taught me how to work with people. I sure did learn a lot. After a quick trip to Wegmans (I wish the North Country had a Wegmans) I headed north and arrived at friends in time to watch the Giants beat up on the Cowboys on Monday night football; I'm a die hard Giant fan in case you didn't know.

I'm back home now and getting back into my routine. Speaking of routine, I need to sign off and head off to the financial class that I'm taking at church.

See you later.

Before & After

Wow!! The change in my appearance didn't really hit me until I received some of the photos from the photo shoot.

I have much to share about the photo shoot, but I've been on the run ever since yesterday. I'm hoping to post sometime on Sunday since I'll be traveling again; I find that I have more time to write when I'm traveling. So until then, enjoy the pictures.

The picture at the bottom was taken Christmas Eve 2005. This was a week before I started eating according to the principles in the Fire Up Your Metabolism book.

Photo Shoot - Woman's World Magazine

The photo editor from Woman's World Magazine contacted me today. She informed me that my story has been selected to appear in the December 19 issue. Please see my post from 10/6 to learn more about my interview with the magazine.

After a few phone calls back and forth, the photo editor arranged for one of their photograpers to come my house on Wednesday, October 18 at 4pm. They will shoot photos of me in two outfits of my choosing; it is a good thing that I'm going shopping for winter clothing tomorrow since I don't have any that fit me. At the magazine's suggestion, I have made arrangements to get my hair styled and to have makeup put on. Carina will be styling my hair and Connie will be applying make up.

They will be taking several full length shots of me and take pictures of me in my kitchen preparing my favorite snacks, which are a peanut sandwhich on whole wheat bread and yogurt with cheerios and fruit.

I never dreamed that I would be appearing in a national magazine when I started my weight loss journey in January. I am so blessed and I thank the Lord for the opportunity of sharing my story through a national magazine.

Dust Bunnies

As I was changing earrings this morning, one of the clasps slipped out my hand and went behind my dresser. I decided that I would hunt for the clasp when got home from work since I was pressed for time.

This afternoon I arrived home and decided to look for my lost clasp. The first thing I did was move the dresser away from the wall. "Ooh gush! Look at all those dust bunnies and other little debris behind my dresser" I said to myself. I didn't let the mess deter me from my task at hand - finding my lost clasp. After looking for a couple of minutes with no success, I decided to get a flash light and the vacuum cleaner. I shined the light behind the dresser and still didn't find the clasp. I then decided to move the dresser farther away from the wall and this is when I saw the clasp. It was underneath one of the legs of the dresser. I then made all those little dust bunnies disappear through the use of the vacuum cleaner. The carpet was cleaned and I promptly put the dresser back into its place.

All the time I was looking for my clasp, I begin to think about how those little dust bunnies hid behind my dresser until I moved the dresser. Up to this point, I had no idea that they were there; they remained hidden until I had a purpose to move the dresser.

The Lord began to show me that those little secret dust bunnies are similar to things that we keep hidden inside of us. Sometimes we aren't even aware that there are hidden dust bunnies that God wants to expose and shine His light on. The hidden dust bunnies are no surprise to God, though, since He knows and sees everything.

God patiently waits for us to invite Him to move our dressers so that the dust bunnies are exposed. He can then shine His light, apply His cleaner, and set us free from those hidden dust bunnies.

Interview With Woman's World Magazine

I received an email yesterday from the nutrition twins inviting me to be interviewed by Woman's World Magazine; see here. One of the editors of the magazine contacted the nutrition twins and wanted names of ladies who were successful in following their Fire Up Metabolism eating plan. The nutrition twins submitted four names to them and I was one of them.

One of the writers for the magazine interviewed me today via the telephone. They were particularly interested in knowing how snacking in between meals helped me to loose weight. My answer: snacking gives me freedom to eat more food without feeling guilty and I don't get hungry in between meals. I realize now that snacking is a normal part of my daily routine and I rather enjoy it.

I'm not sure if they will publish my article. I'll keep you posted if they do and let you know what issue it is in.

Speaking of snacking...it is time for me to have my evening snack. Off I go to enjoy my yogurt, cheerios, and fruit. Chow!

Laying Behind the Old & Receiving the New

2 Cor 5:17
17 What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
NLT

This scripture tells me that I am a new person, not the same anymore, for my old life (old feelings, thoughts, & identity) is gone. I have a new life and identity!

Wouldn’t it be great if I could freely accept my new life & identity and have the old just disappear? Often times, though, there is action required on my part to lay behind the old and receive the new.

I’ve been in a season where God has allowed me to come face-to-face with some old feelings and thoughts about myself. I’ve also seen how much of my identity has been based on these old feelings and thoughts. Of course, this old identity doesn’t match up with what God’s Word says about who I am in Christ.

A couple years ago I taught women’s Sunday school class based on Neil Anderson’s book titled “Victory Over Darkness.” Chapter 4, “Something Old, Something New” describes that I need to believe that my new identity is in the life of Christ and commit myself to grow accordingly. I need to believe this regardless of how I feel or think about myself.

In preparing to teach Chapter 4, God gave me a ceremony to have the ladies perform in class. The ceremony, which I called “Discarding the Old & Putting on the New Celebration”, involved ladies writing on 3x5 index cards old man feelings, thoughts, or other old man stuff that they wanted to get rid of. The ladies were then invited to come forward, rip the cards up, and throw them in a box, which became known as the old man coffin box. The ladies had the option of sharing with the class what they were tossing away, or privately sharing with me, or not sharing at all. After they ripped and tossed the cards away, they received a love shawl and were prayed for.

About a month ago, I felt the Lord calling me to go through the Discarding the Old & Putting on the New Celebration since I have never done this. I invited four of my closest friends to my house last week to be a part of the celebration. I asked one of them to make me a love shawl and another one to lead the celebration.

As I prepared for the celebration, God revealed specific old man feelings and thoughts that I was to share and toss away. These were things in my life that remained in the dark until God shined His light on them, exposed them, and now it was time for me to lay them down.

My friends all arrived and it was time to begin the celebration. Pound! Pound! My heart began racing as I began to open my mouth and share. I shared the most difficult thing first, ripped up the paper, and tossed it into the old man coffin box. I began to move onto the next, when the prayer leader asked if we could stop and have them all pray for me. I said “yes”. They all came over to me, laid hands on me, and prayed for me. Tears came pouring out as they prayed. Half a box of tissues later we moved onto the next thing. I felt a sense of liberation with each thing that I shared, ripped up, and tossed. There were no more index cards in my hands. Everything that the Lord led me to share I had shared.

My friend who made me the love shawl came over and wrapped me in it. They all laid hands on me again and prayed a blessing over me. After prayer, one of my other friends indicated that she had something for me. She went and got another love shawl that she had made. She explained that she was led by the Lord to make me one too. She said that this love shawl symbolizes that I’m washed white as snow by the blood of the Lamb and that I’m God’s girl.

The last thing we did as part of the celebration was to place everything that I ripped up in a paper bag and burnt it. As I watched the torn pieces of my old life burning in front of me, I felt a sense of liberation and that it was time to accept and walk in my new life in Christ. After all the pieces were burnt, I stomped on the ashes and said to myself “it is finished, time to walk in the new!”

It has been a little over a week since I went through the Discarding the Old & Putting on the New Celebration. I can honestly say that I feel like a new creation in Christ, I’ve come to know deep in my heart that God truly loves me unconditionally and that He will never leave nor forsake me, and that I’m always God’s girl. I comfortable with being me now and I don’t have to hide behind a mask and pretend to be someone else. I am truly walking in my new life!

To my four friends that participated in the celebration, thank you for being there for me, loving me, and listening to me. I truly love you all and may we continue to grow together in Christ.

Wind Power

I found this funny. What do you think?

A Yielded Heart

God has me in a season where I'm truly learning what it means to have a yielded a heart. Here are some of the things that I've learned.

A yielded heart:

• is soft and supple;
• can be shaped and molded into God's perfect will for my life;
• surrenders to the Lord and is obedient no matter how I feel;
• goes through trials & tribulations with God to come out victorious on the other side;
• leads to more freedom in Christ;
• receives and accepts God's forgiveness and unconditional love; and
• pleases God.

I desire to always yield my heart to the Lord since it is a wonderful place to be; a place where I sit at the feet of Jesus yielding to His perfect will for my life.

Trash Tidbits

The articles below appeared in my recent WasteAge magazine. I thought that you all would find them interesting.

Drinking on the Job
Aug 1, 2006 12:00 PMBy Jennifer Grzeskowiak

If you've ever been to a fraternity party, you know people will drink some pretty unusual substances on a dare. In a more serious context, a landfill manager in Southwold Township, Ontario, recently gulped down a glass of treated leachate to prove that the Green Lane landfill isn't harmful to the environment.
Apparently, it wasn't the first time he had drank the concoction, which he described as slightly sweet and not completely unpleasant. This time, however, the manager imbibed after the government approved a 10-million-ton landfill expansion, creating concern that Toronto might begin hauling its waste to the site. And you thought chugging a gallon of milk in an hour was weird.
Source: London (Ontario) Free Press

Davy Jones' Garbage Truck
Aug 1, 2006 12:00 PMBy Jennifer Grzeskowiak
As the old saying goes, “Women need men like fish need bicycles.” Apparently, however, fish do have a use for old garbage trucks. In June, Thailand submerged the bodies and chassis of 189 trucks off of the southern coast to create artificial reefs and attract more fish. In their former life, the trucks, which were cleaned and disinfected, were used to pick up waste in Bangkok.
As part of the queen's project to help marine life and fishermen, the government previously has dumped trains and drainage pipes. Bicycles-built-for-two have yet to make the list of items.
Source: The Bangkok Post

Fishing Report

I picked up my fishing buddy, Michael, bright and early on Thursday morning. Our destination was Clayton, NY to spend the day fishing with my dad.

Our first stop was at the Sunoco gas station in Potsdam; I needed my cup of Gulliver's hazelnut coffee and Michael needed a bottle of water. Next stop was Dunkin Donuts. It is a tradition that I bring donuts for the trip when I go fishing with dad. We got 6 donuts. I let Michael pick out three of them and said that he could have some, but that he would have to wait until we got on the boat.

On the way to Clayton, Michael and I had a conversation about castles. I shared with him the story about Boldt Castle. I knew that we would arrive a few minutes late, but I thought it would be neat for Michael to actually see the castle. There is a spot in Alexandria Bay, which is on the way to Clayton, that you can see Boldt Castle. We made the side trip and Michael with impressed with it. I also shared with Michael that the Thousand Island Bridge Authority owns Boldt Castle and that I used to paint the bridge during the summers when I college student. On rainy days, we would go to Boldt Castle and paint the steel rafters in the attic. Another interesting point: one of the muskies that was caught on my father's boat is displayed in the billards room at the castle.

We arrived at the marina and my dad greeted us. After quick trips to the bathroom, we all jumped in the boat and my dad skillfully maneuvered the boat out of the boat slip. I'm truly amazed how my dad maneuvers the boat in & out of his slip since it located in the corner the building and there are always boats behind him that he has to avoid hitting.

"Time to open the donut box", I said to Michael. We opened the box and to our amazement one donut was missing. I asked Michael if he had already had one and he said no. Strange I thought since I know we got six donuts and the white frosting to the one missing was on the box. Michael grabbed a donut while my dad and I passed on having any. My dad did have two later in the day and the missing donut remained a mystery.

We got to our first fishing spot, baited our hooks, and dropped our lines in the water. My dad provided Michael with instructions of how to drop his line down and Michael caught on quickly. We were there for about 15 minutes and didn't get any bites. "Time to move, why stay in a spot where there is no action," said dad.

We were on the move to waters located in Canada when dad decided to try one more spot on the US side of the St. Lawrence River. We had our lines down for about 5 minutes when Michael informed me that he thought he had bottom. I grabbed his pole and brought the line tight. The jerking of the line revealed to me that Michael had a fish. I gave him the pole back and told him to begin reeling. He was reeling and all of a sudden the pole bent over and the line went out to deeper waters. My dad and I looked at each other and said "he either has a northern pike or muskie." After a few minutes of reeling, the fish was netted and in the boat. The fish was a northern pike measuring about 28 inches. Nice fish, Michael!! After a picture, we threw the pike back into the water. I encouraged dad to give Michael the traditional fisherman handshake: shake hands before washing the fish slime off. Dad originally hestitated, but then decided to do it. Michael didn't seem to mind. This is a sign that Michael is an experienced fisherman now - he has had the traditional fisherman handshake.

Michael ended up catching a few perch at this same spot. By the time that we were on our way to Canadian waters again, Michael had out fished me in quantity and size. Not bad for his first time out.

On the ride to Canada, Michael asked a lot of questions about the tackle and instrumentation on the boat. He was able to see the us cross the border line on dad's GPS unit. It was pretty interesting. Michael also got to see how my dad finds fish with his depth & fish finder.

My dad and I shared how fishing was a lot different then when I learned how to fish. We didn't have all the fancy instrumentation. We used to go to a spot, put our lines in, and wait for the fish to bite. Now if my dad doesn't mark any fish in an area, he doesn't stop to fish there.

We were at our next stop and Michael caught his first small mouth bass.

We ended up keeping the bass. After dad placed it into the fish well, Michael walked over to him to initiate the tradtional fisherman handshake. My dad looked at him, laughed, and shook Michael's hand.

We caught a total of 6 small mouth bass, two perch, and Michael's one pike. All in all it was a good day of fishing.

Michael learned a lot about fishing. He eventually was able to bait his own hook and take bait off from his hook when it was dead. He also got a lesson in cleaning the fish, but I don't think he enjoyed this part as much as fishing. He also got to eat some of what we caught on Saturday night since we had a fish dinner at his house with the rest of his family.

Thanks for letting my dad and I share our fishing knowledge with you Michael. It was great to spend the day with you and teach you all that we know about fishing. You've graduated from fishing 101 to fishing 102 now and remember what your mom said about the bait that we use in fishing 102.

Michael and I had a conversation about the mystery of the missing donut on the way home. We concluded that my dad must have given one to the marina owner since he was standing next to the boat when we boarded the boat.

Gone Fishing

Tomorrow I will be fishing with my favorite fishing guide in the whole world - my dad. Check out his website.

Dad has a charter business and has been a professional guide for the past 32 years. He certainly knows all the hot fishing spots in the Thousand Islands.

My dad taught me all that I know about fishing. I think he had a fishing pole in my hand before I could walk. I was 17 when I caught my first muskie with him. What a thrill to reel in a 53 inch fish weighing close to 40 pounds; this prize catch hangs on my wall today.

I also got to be the first woman to appear on the Rod & Reel show with my dad. Again, I was 17 when this happened. Bill Saiff, the star of the show, kept out fishing me early, but my dad kept warning him that I would finish strong in the end. This I did do and out fished Bill for the day. What a thrill for me and my dad; I know that dad was proud of me and my fishing accomplishments.

I will be bringing a novice fishing buddy with me tomorrow. He has only fished once before for about 30 minutes with me earlier this summer. We caught 2 Rock Bass. I'm hoping that we catch something a little more exciting tomorrow.

It is neat that I get to share my dad's fishing knowledge with a novice fisherman. Of course, who could he learn better from than my dad.

Check back in a few days since I'll probably post some fishing stories and pictures.

A Birthday Outing

Yesterday was Connie's birthday and we celebrated on Monday. We spent the afternoon in Lake Placid and then had a marvelous dinner at the Mirror Lake Inn. For those who have never been, I highly recommend going sometime.

Appetizer - Bowl of French Onion Soup

Connie's Dinner - Grilled Rosmary Chicken served with roasted baby veggies & house potatoes

My Dinner - Grilled Pork Loin with blueberry chutney & sweet potatoes

Surprise dessert for Connie.

Vacation Time

As of 12:00 pm yesterday, I am officially on vacation until September 5. This is wonderful!!

Here is a snapshot of what I'll be doing:

• sleeping in until 6 or 7 am each morning (I know you're thinking that is not sleeping in, but is for me since I get up at 4:30am to go to work);
• spending time on the St. Lawrence River with some great friends - thanks Dave & Connie for inviting me to share the cabin on the river with your family;
• lots of kayaking;
• some golf;
• visiting family in the Thousand Islands; and
• washing & re-caulking my log cabin.

I'm off to the river now. What fun!!

Unexpected Bed Guest

My mom and I arrived home Saturday night after seeing the Sound of Music production. It was late, 11:45 pm, and we both were dreaming of finding our beds. I kissed mom good night, headed up to my room and was anxious to jump in my waterbed. I decided to fluff the covers up before I made the final splash. When I did, I found an unexpected bed guest - a dead mouse.

My cat, Shadow, is an exceptional mouse hunter and I figured he had brought it to me the night before to show me his proud catch. I guess I was too sound asleep to notice his trophy and he buried it underneath my cover. I quickly got a paper towel, swooped the little guy up, and threw him out the door. I then went to bed and had a restful sleep.

What Enemies Are You Facing?

Psalm 18 is written by David after God delivered him from all of his enemies. In David's case, his enemies were other humans, but the Psalm can also be applied to other forms of enemies. What are some of these other enemies?

One for sure is the devil. John 10:10 states "the thief comes but to steal, kill, and destory, but I (Jesus) have come to give you life and life more abundantly." The devil doesn't want us to live the abundant life that Christ died to give us. The devil works overtime to keep us from this abundant life through two other forms of enemies: (1) Sin and (2) Thoughts and feelings.

Sin can separate us from God for eternity if we don't confess our sins and ask God to forgive us.

Our thoughts and feelings are perhaps more subtle forms of the enemy. Our thoughts can shape how we feel about certain things and ultimately shape what we believe. If our thoughts go contrary to God's Word, then they have the power to draw us away from God and keep us from enjoying the abundant life that Christ died to give us. The devil can also use our thoughts to deceive us into feeling and believing certain things about ourselves that leads us away from God.

No matter what enemy we face, Psalm 18 provides insight to have God deliver us from them. Verses 2 & 30 tell us to that God is our strength and shield provided that we trust Him. Verses 32 and 38 indicate that God arms us with strength for the battle. Verse 37 tells us to pursue our enemies and don't turn back till they are destroyed.

In summary, trusting God gives us a shield and strength for the battle that we must pursue to have victory over our enemies.

Pursuing our enemies means that we have an active part in determining whether or not we are delivered from them. Pursuing means that we must stand ready with the sword of the Spirit (Word of God) when the devil comes to entice us into sin or influence our thoughts and feelings about ourselves. All that we do, think, feel, or believe must be compared to the Word to determine whether it is an enemny that intends to harm us. If enemnies have been discovered, then we boot them out with the Word of God and we can experience God's delivering power that David did.

God will deliver you from all your enemies no matter what you are facing today. Put your trust in God, He'll give you strength & a shield for the battle to pursue your enemies and experience God's delivering power.

Summer Fun

I've been enjoying the summer. Here is some of what I've been doing.

I have a new past time - kayaking. I got my kayak last weekend. I'm truly enjoying it and love being out on the water. I'm amazed at all of God's creation that I get to enjoy as I paddle across the waterways of NNY. Just today, I was able to get within 50 feet of a Blue Heron as it was searching for its next meal. I also got an up close view of a painted turtle in the water since I paddled right over it.

A Sunday morning kayaking trip with my friend Theresa. How do you like my paddle, Theresa?

Teaching some of my good friends all that my dad taught me about fishing.

A night of watching friends tubing on Norwood lake. Oh, by the way Ben, you can let go of the boat.

A Day With My Best Friend

Early last week I decided that I would drive to Old Forge to purchase a kayak. I didn't want to go alone and began to think about who I could invite. I thought "I'll ask my best friend to go and spend the whole day with me." I was fortunate that my best friend didn't have anything scheduled and would love to go.

My best friend met me as I woke up on Saturday morning. We had breakfast and coffee together; it was the beginning of a great day!

We then went to a meeting at 9am. During the meeting, my best friend began to show me that there are some things in my life that are hindering our relationship. I may not have liked what I was hearing, but I knew the things that were shared were true. My best friend was gentle in sharing and I truly felt loved during the whole time. I'm so thankful for this.

At 10am, my best friend and I hopped in the car and we began the journey to Old Forge. "Oops" , I said to my best friend, "did I tell you that I was going to Watertown first?" My best friend didn't mind and said lets go. We were on our way.

As I drove, I pondered what my best friend shared with me about our relationship. Tears began to roll down my face and I could feel the volcanic eruption beginning inside of me. I pulled the car over and the weeping began. As I weeped, my best friend held and comforted me. My best friend began to speak to me through the lyrics of the following song that was playing on my CD player:

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You're
Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me
I am Yours

Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am Yours
I am Yours

Written by Mark Hal
Music by Casting Crowns
Song based on Psalms 52 and 139 and Ephesians 2
© 2003 Club Zoo Music / SWEC Music
(Admin. by Club Zoo Music) / BMI.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

My best friend: cares to feel my hurt; hears me when I call; catches me when I fall; looks at me with love in spite of my sin; and calms the storm that rages inside of me. The journey continued after all the weeping was over.

During the rest of the trip, my best friend kept showing me how loved and accepted I am. I didn't have to worry about being perfect; I just needed to be who I am - a child of God.

We arrived home around 10:20 pm when my best friend said to me "Go to bed, Laura. I'll stay with you through the night and be here in the morning when you awake."

You have probably gathered that my best friend is Jesus. I am so blessed to have Him as my best friend and I look forward to spending many more days with Him.

Washington, DC Attorneys & Hourly Rates

Today I received a bill from an attorneys office that is located in Washington, DC. The bill was suppose to be sent to the St. Regis Hotel, which is located in DC, but came to me under the name of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe.

The amazing part of the bill was the hourly rate for the attorney. Can you guess what it was? How about $470 per hour.

This is truly amazing that an attorney can make that much per hour. Lets see ... that is $18,800 per week for a 40 hour work week. I can't even imagine making that much money in one week. Perhaps I should think about switching careers. I always said that I would make a good attorney. What do you think?

Enjoying the Weekend

At last, the weekend is here. My plans for the weekend include traveling with friends to Purchase, NY. The reason for the travel is to take my friend's daughter to a music camp; she will be spending a week there.

We will be making a stop near Lake George where we will spend the afternoon relaxing and swimming - this is what weekends are for. We'll spend the night at my friend's family resort and then travel to Purchase tomorrow. On the way home, we intend to stop and shop along the way.

I'm sure that I'll drink plenty of coffee during the trip too.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Coffee Time With God

Ok, you all know that I love to fellowship with a cup of coffee in hand since drinking coffee and having good conversations with friends is one of my favorite past times.

Last week God encouraged me to get a cup of coffee and hang out with Him. Until then, I had never thought about having a cup of coffee while hanging out with God. What a great idea!!

I followed the leading of the Holy Spirit, grabbed a cup of Gulliver's hazelnut coffee (one of my favorites), and found a spot near the Racquette River. I was truly amazed how the Lord began speaking to me about various things as sat with coffee in hand. The rushing waters of the Racquette River also soothed my soul and brought me the peace of God, which I so desparately needed on this day. I truly enjoyed drinking my coffee and being with God.

Since last week, I've gone back to the same place with coffee in hand to have a personal time with God. Just yesterday, the Lord led me to Psalm 23:2:

....He leads me beside waters of rest. He restores my soul.

Sitting beside the Racquette River allows me to find a place of rest, be at at peace with God, and my soul gets refreshed and restored as I spend time with the Lord and drink my coffee.

Thank you, Lord, for inviting me to have a cup of coffee and hanging out with You. I'm am truly blessed.

Today's Struggles Are Tomorrow's Successes

Last night I watched TD Jakes' message entitled "Nothing Just Happens." This was a powerful message about understanding that God has a plan and purpose for us and that nothing just happens. God uses all things, good and bad, to work His purposes out in our lives.

In the message, TD Jakes shared two points that really helped me to reframe some of my thinking about struggles that I encounter:

1. Yesterday's struggles are today's successes
2. Today's struggles are tomorrow's successes

As I ponder these two points, I can clearly see how my yesterday's struggles have contributed to the successes that I enjoy today. This brings me hope that the struggles I go through today will become my successes tomorrow.

I may not fully understand the reasons why I go through struggles, but it doesn't matter since I trust God that He will work them together for my good (Rm 8:28) and the struggles will become my successes in the future.

Busy Days

This week has been filled with a whirlwind of activities.

Yesterday I spent the day driving to three destinations and touring interesting sites: (1) Biomass burning facility in Lyonsdale, NY; (2) Willow biomass farm in Belleville, NY; and (3) Anaerobic digester farm in Belleville, NY. Can you guess what these three places have in common and why I would want to visit them?

These interesting field trips are part of the Fuel For the Future conference that I'm attending at Clarkson for the remainder of the week. The conference is looking at technologies for using alternative fuel supplies for creating energy. Using waste cooking oil to create biodiesel is the technology that I'm most interested in. This is a technology that I've been researching for the past year. Biodiesel can replace the diesel fuel used to run our garbage trucks. Advantages of biodiesel include it burns cleaner and is cheaper than diesel fuel. I worked on a proposal with Clarkson last week. If funded, the grant would provide money to build a biodiesel production system on the reservation. Sounds fun.

In my travels yesterday, I passed the new wind farm that is located near Lowville, NY. The wind farm has hundreds of newly installed winds mills that create enough energy to supply all the houses in Lewis County. I didn't mind the appearance of the gigantic wind mills (Nancy - this is my kind of museum). I actually thought that they added some unique beauty to the skyline. I would highly recommend to drive by them if you are traveling in that area. They are located on Route 177. Route 177 runs between Rt. 81 (Adams Center Exit) and Lowville, NY. The wind farm is located near the section of the road near Lowville, NY.

Unplanned Snack

I was able to enjoy an unplanned snack this evening. You are probably wondering how can a snack be unplanned?

I'm always planning the types and amounts of food that I eat in a day. My unplanned snack became a reality when I forgot to include one of my carb servings with my lunch today. I was disappointed to see that I had forgotten it when I opened my lunch bag up at noon, but I quickly thought "I'll just make it up later in the day."

I came home after work, ate dinner, and then mowed my lawn. As I was mowing, I planned for my unplanned snack: ice cold yogurt with a bit of cheerios on top; this has become one of my favorites. This unplanned snack sure hit the spot after mowing. I know it isn't ice cream, but I sure do enjoy it as much and appreciate that it is healthier for me to eat.

The best part of this story: I get to eat a planned snack later this evening. You guessed it - ice cold yogurt with cheerios on top. Twice in one day...doesn't get much better than this.

Father's Day

Nancy snapped this picture of my dad and me after we had breakfast this past Monday. My dad loves to ride his motorcycle.

I had the awesome privilege of spending time with my dad today to celebrate Father's Day. I treasure these times since my dad spends some Father's day taking other people out fishing - my dad operates a fishing charter business. I was glad to learn that he didn't have to go fishing today and I was able to spend time with him.

Farther's day is special for me since I spent 10 years not talking to my dad. The reasons why are not important. More importantly, is that God restored my relationship with dad. We have a great relationship now and I cherish my times with him.

As my friend Nancy says "your dad is a way cool guy." I agree with her and I love him very much.

Home

I am home and enjoying the cabin life; for those who don't know, I live in a 4 bedroom log cabin nestled in 20 acres of woods. I love the peace, quiet, and all the animals that roam across my yard.

Today I'll spend trying to weed my flower beds and plant flowers. My busy life and weather have not cooperated to allow me to get this done. One would think that I'm growing a forest of weeds since they have overtaken my flower beds. The weeds will get a surprise when I put on my new garden gloves and begin pulling them out. I just hope that the weather will cooperate. It has already rained this morning and the weather channel tells me that we will be getting more.

Other than weeding, I'll need to buy a father's day present and card. I hope to see my dad tomorrow if he is not out on the St. Lawrence fishing. He has a fishing charter business and this is the opening of bass season. He didn't have a charter booked for tomorrow the last time I spoke to him.

Captain Russ is my dad's name and I think he is pretty cool. He spends most of his days on the boat fishing. He has actually fished 21 days in a row. When you ask him if he ever gets sick of fishing, he tells you no. He also has a motorcycle that he got a couple years ago and rides that around when he doesn't have a fishing pole in his hand. He is cool and I love him very much.

The rain has subsided...I guess I should go attack those weeds. Have a good one.

Dining in Arlington, Va

This was a post that I wrote yesterday, but couldn't publish because of internet problems at the hotel in DC. I hope you enjoy reading about our dining adventure.


After working on my proposal all day, I was ready to eat some fine food. After discussing what would satisfy our taste-buds, we decided on Thai food. A Google search revealed that there was a Thai restaurant 5 miles from the hotel. A call to the restaurant showed that we didn’t need reservations and there was a parking lot – important thing to know when you trying to dine in a large city. We printed directions from Google and headed to the company Hybrid.

We got onto Crystal Drive as we departed the hotel parking garage. We found the next street that the directions indicated we needed to be on. As we continued on, we both began to realize that the next street to turn on was no where to be found. We had to make a snap decision and turned onto a road that we thought was the one that would lead us to the Thai restaurant. We quickly realized that it was the wrong road since we were on I-395 headed across a bridge in DC; this is the opposite direction that we needed to go. We could do nothing, but enjoy the rush hour traffic, which was moving slow, and the scenery along the way. After about 15 minutes of crossing the Potomac River, we finally found an exit to get off I-395. We were able to get off and get back on I-395 south headed back to Arlington, Va. A quick geography lesson: the Potomac River separates DC from Arlington, Va. We eventually found our way back to the hotel, parked the car, and walked to a nearby Thai restaurant.

We both laughed about our little driving adventure and made the best of it as we entered the Thai restaurant. The menu looked great and the prices were very reasonable. We both ordered and within minutes our food arrived at our table; for those of you who know Nancy she did take pictures of the food…so check her blog out since she’ll probably post them when she gets home. As we both were admiring our food, Nancy offered me a taste from her plate. I grabbed my fork and put some in my mouth. My mouth quickly let me know that Nancy’s dish was spicy; this was evident since my mouth felt like it was on fire. I don’t like spicy food. Nancy quickly informed me that her dish was spicy enough to “wake up my insides.” I certainly felt like my insides were being waked up to something that it didn’t like. I soon recovered though and enjoyed my chicken, broccoli, and noodle dish.

We did have an enjoyable dining experience out even though we didn’t end up going to the original Thai restaurant that we had plan on. Sometimes we have to make the best of it even when our plans don't work out the way we intended them to.

Arrival - Washington, DC

Nancy & I arrived in Washington, DC last evening about 6:30 pm. It was a good day for traveling.

I picked Nancy up at 6:30 am and we headed south. We made a stop in Watertown where we met my dad for breakfast. He rode his motorcycle and Nancy took our picture with us standing next to it - I imagine that you might see it on her weblog in the future. We were back on the road to continue our trip south. The nice thing about heading south is the weather improved the farther we went. It was sunny and in the mid 70's by the time we arrived in Washington.

After checking in at the hotel, Nancy went off to be a tourist and I went to a business dinner meeting. I was pretty tired by the time I got back to the room at 10pm.

I have an unstructured day ahead of me. I must complete a proposal that I've been working on. I guess I should go begin working on it. Perhaps I'll work on it when I'm sitting pool side enjoying the sun. I wonder how much I would get done if I did that? Check back and I'll let you know.

Destination - Washington, DC

Yes, you got it...I'm getting set for another trip. This time the trip is for work.

I sit on a committee that advises EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) about environmental issues. I'm the only Tribal representative and I'll be sitting in day long meetings from Tuesday-Thursday. I call them marathon meetings since they usually start at 8 or 9 am and go until 5 or 6 pm. My brain definitely needs a rest after these meetings.

I'm driving the office hybrid vehicle, which is a Toyota Highlander. It won't get as good gas mileage as my hybrid, but it will be interesting to see how it performs.

My good friend, Nancy, will be joining me for the trip. Nancy is an excellent travel companion. Nancy will see as many museums in DC as time permits while I'm in my meetings. I'm not a museum person and this is a good thing since Nancy likes to go off on her own and check things out.

We will leave bright and early tomorrow morning (6:30 am). I guess I better go to bed now so that I'll be awake for the drive.

Check back here for updates or click on the link for Nancy's blog under my links section since we both will be able to post during the trip.

Life At the Transfer Station

I arrived at the transfer station about 30 minutes ago.

I wonder what the day would bring as I stepped out of my car. I never know when I spend the day at the station. The normal routine is to sit at the desk waiting for loaded trucks of garbage or recyclables to roll across the scale. I get to weigh them and buzz them to move to the designated areas so that they can unload. I then get to re-weigh them after they unload everything and take their money: "that will be $10.00 sir". If the computer is working correctly, it will tell me how much change I need to give back to them. I take their money, give them their change and receipt, and close the cash drawer. "Have a good sir" is what I say when they leave. I then sit and wait for the next customer. I sometimes can sit for hours until the next customer. During these times, I occupy myself with doing paperwork that I bring with me from my main office, if I remember to bring it with me. Often times, customers will come in like a flood and the flurry of activities causes me to swith modes.

My work at the transfer station has taught me to adapt to whatever is happening. I find myself routinely switching modes depending on the given moment. This is a challenge since I am a person of balance and like routine. I have to adapt right now since my first customer has arrived; off to weighing I go.

A Time for Everything

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

In January, I entered a new season in my life that I call healthier living for today and tomorrow. I entered the season knowing fully well that the decisions I make today impacts my life in the future.

Prior to January, I wasn't sowing good seeds with respect to my eating habits. I would eat anything that I wanted and as much as I wanted to. I began to realize that continuing to eat this way was having negative impacts on my spiritual, emotional, and physical health. I also came to a place of brokeness before God and asked Him to help me control my eating. This is when the healthier living for today and tomorrow season began for me.

The first part of the season was focused on weight loss. One of the first things I learned was that metabolism is the way my body uses calories from the food that I eat. If I eat more than my body needs, those extra calories get stored as fat. Eating less than my body needs causes weight loss.

Now that I had the basic understanding about metabolism, I began to learn about eating smaller more frequent meals while measuring the portions of food that I was eating. I bought measuring cups and a balance so that I could weigh my portion sizes. Measuring and weighing my food was a new concept for me, but it taught me about portion control and the importance of eating only what my body needed.

I also learned that eating breads, crackers, and pasta made from whole wheat has more fiber and nutrients and causes my body to use more energy to digest this type of food; the more energy needed means more calories are burned that helps lead to weight loss.

Eating whole grains in combination with the right amounts of proteins and fats also caused my body to loose weight. My body needs food from all the food groups in order to fire up my metabolism, which led to my weight loss.

Combining my new healthier eating with working out five times per week (3 days of strenth training, 2 days of aerobics) allowed me to loose between 1-3 pounds per week.

I reached my goal weight a few weeks ago and I'm now in the maintaining part of the season. This means that I have to eat more food in order to maintain my weight.

I thought eating more food would be great and easy to do, but I'm finding that it is a challenge. My stomach has shrunk and is very content with me eating at the level that I've been accustomed to. Nevertheless, I either need to eat more or reduce my active level in order to maintain my weight. I don't see my active level changing so eating more is the only option that I have.

Eating more is an unusual challenge for me to experience since I've never had a problem packing the food down. Matter of fact, there were periods in my life where eating was a favorite pass time and stuffing myself beyond the point of comfort was normal for me. I'm so glad that I don't do this anymore and I love eating in moderation now.

I've loss a total of 42 pounds since January 1. I sometimes pinch myself to see if it is really true. I've always heard about other people loosing this much weight and never thought that I could do it. Nevertheless, here I am 42 pounds lighter and with God's grace I was able to achieve my goal. Thank you Lord!!

Many people have asked me if I found it hard to do. Overall, I haven't found it hard. I've had God's grace. Another key for my success was realizing that what I reap in the future depends on what I sow today. I began to look at older members of my family and began asking myself “do I want to look and have the health problems that they do when I’m their age?” My answer was no and I realized that I needed to sow good eating and exercise habits today in order to be healthy in the future.

I am also successful since I had two wonderful people (Theresa & Blanche Smith) to help me stay on course and share in the fun of experiencing weight loss together. Blanche and Theresa have been a great support and inspiration to me and I probably wouldn’t have been able to accomplish my goal weight without them. I’m every so thankful for them and their support and love.

I'm glad that the weight loss season is behind me and I know that God's grace will be with me as I continue to eat more in the maintaining part of the season.