Church Picnic

Gratitude and adoration for my King and Savior, Jesus Christ. I placed my heart at my Savior's feet and sit back and watch in awe as He lovingly puts the pieces back together. Today was an eloquent display of that at our Church picnic.  Thanks and praise to the Father for the time spent in fellowship with "the Body of Christ. Shane has come so far, I look forward to his Wednesday night views from a human perspective. Linda's minor prophet class is great,  I love the structure and order.  Her method for teaching drives my desire to learn more. The Worship team, our worship team speaks for itself, a melodious praise unto our Father.  There is no better feeling than that of being in the arms of your Savior.  I thank my King for loving me patiently and deliberately. I give this praise in the Son Jesus Christ name.  Amen 

I have made it a point to make a conscious effort to spend more time with the Lord.  More time on our relationship and communication with my Savior. The above post was a prayer praise I posted.
I do not know how to explain where I am right now with my life.  There are aspects that leave me confused and frustrated, but I know my Savior is with me.  I know He will always be there for me.
I have laid my heart at His feet and asked for His peace to wash  over me.  He has taken my heart and settled my restless spirit.

There is one song that would be the bast description of where I am in my life right now.

I know it has been a long time since I have posted and there has not been anything about health and fitness.  There are things that need to be addressed first.  I needed to do a self check and inventory of my strength, my personal relationship with the King Jesus Christ.  If this relationship is not in line and there is not open communication it is going to make any thing you are facing insurmountable.   I am still going to the gym as many times as possible.  I am using the general formula: Cardio ( to get heart rate up), Strength/ Core training ( to prolong calorie burning time) and cool down/stretch ( because if you don't, you will regret it later).  

Depression had been seeping in, and I was losing a handle on my perspective.  I went to Jesus in prayer, because things were becoming overwhelming.  He answered my prayers by giving me the opportunity to serve.  I will be serving as a Stage Hand in an upcoming concert. Jesus knew just what I need and exactly the right time.  His love is undeniable. To God be the glory.

Introverted.

I'm back.  Yes, It has been awhile since I have blogged, I have been trying to keep myself busy.  Busy I have been.

Ok, so at this new gym I have figured out a definite formula for workouts that work best for me. But before I go on, I have to talk about an especially memorable trip to the gym. I am a stick my earbuds in and rock out until you knock this out kind of person at the gym.  You will find me totally in the zone, unless there is some interesting eye candy,  of course, or I am there with a buddy. This particular day was a usual.  I did my 15 minutes on the power mill to get my heart rate up and headed to the open room to do some strength training.  There was an older guy, who appeared to be doing some personal training with another gentleman.  I presume he did not think what I had selected to do for the day was sufficient.  He politely got my attention and instructed me on how to do some core exercises.  He showed me four, and told me to how to many sets, reps, and frequency each week.  I needed to change things up so I did what he said.  Two weeks later, I am getting comments from co -workers it appears I am slimming in the area I most want: my mid section. For the up coming week I am going to try and increase the number of reps.  I still have this wedding in about a week. So my current work out, thanks to the guy at the guy who provided me what he thought i should be doing.

15 minutes on the power mill  (The stair stepper).  I was starting on a 3 setting, now I start on four and try to increase every 5 minutes to reach 7.

The four excercises the guy gave me were:

 

I also added one more to make the fourth:

      and    to keep my heart rate up.  This lasts for a total of 20 minutes.
I finalized my work outs with a 15 minute cool down and stretch.  I am reminded at 3 am the importance of stretching before and after a workout. Cool down would be either on low setting on treadmill or stationary bike.


I have come up with great at home work out for those days I stay in.  Everyone around me is looking forward to the cold weather change.  I kind of like the feeling of living on an island all year round, personally.

My at home work out:

  Which is 15 minutes along with the following video, which is 20 minutes:

I trying to find someone to go with me to the gym, kind of like a buddy to keep me accountable. I can bring a friend on my membership for free; I have one person that goes with me on Tuesdays.  Praying for a gym buddy for Thursday, Friday (this is a optional date night) and Saturday.

Something new

Well, yesterday was my last day seeing "Catch".  I have changed gyms. I have also gotten  in trouble and took a vacation back to my hometown.  A lot has happened.

I cancelled my subscription to my old gym yesterday; after I made one last visit on Monday to see Catch.  I was taking a chance since I hadn't seen him lately. Sure enough, he was there;  even got on the rowing machine for me.  On the cancellation form,  the gym asked what was my favorite part of the gym.  I told them " My gym eye candy Catch".

I got myself into a bit of trouble, but got through it-Thank God.  No one is perfect, and I know I am at the top of the sinner list. You live and you learn.

I went back to my home town for the fourth of July weekend.  I am always spoiled with home cooked meals. This was dinner Friday night:

I visited my friends new home and made some fireworks of my own on the fourth of July.  ;).

One of my favorite places to visit is Ballast Point Pier.  A trip home, just isn't a trip home without a visit to the Pier.  

Of course I have to make a stop a my favorite bakery: Alessi bakery on Cypress before I left town.

Such nostalgia for me.

So today as I was working out, a thought came to me.   I haven't been tracking my work outs.   I don't like writing things down.  Since this blog is for fitness and work out, why not use the blog to track my fitness.  My formula for work outs now are 15 mins cardio>30 minutes strength training >15 minute cool down. The gym has a 30 minute circuit area.  Machines against the wall and steppers in front.  This weeks workout:

15 minutes on the stair climber ( Also known as the scare climber; 10 minutes for me is murder)

Express circuit for 30 minutes:

                  Alternating doing stepper for 1 set of 15 repetitions  with one set on the corresponding machine against the wall:

Leg press  

V-Step

Step and curl

leg extension

Step and glute lift

Leg curl

Step and 

Alternating step

Step a

bicep curl

Step with high knee

Abs

 Last 15 minutes cool down on the elliptical.

I think I will try this workout for two weeks, see how long it can make me sweat the most. In the mean time I will be coming up with a new workout. 

My new healthy breakfast for this week is the Avocado Egg sandwich:

My favorite meal is breakfast so we will say the Avocado is the fruit of this post.  I also used it on deconstructed rotisserie chicken to make Avocado Rotisserie chicken salad. It is super healthy for you and well worth the trip home for lunch.

For dessert for the week I have a simple and classic recipe:

1 pkg of Strawberry jello

1 pkg sugar free Strawberry jello

2 cups boiling water

2 cups cold water

1 bag of dollar tree frozen mangos

So incredibly good.

  I ask for prayers for my Uncle Max.  He is 74 and in the hospital recovering from surgery.  Please keep him in your prayers for speedily recovery and release to go home.    

While I was at the gym, after I had just about finish, I heard a song that pushed the corners of my mouth upward and I had to smile.   This was the song, hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

Lost

 I am struggling to deal with the recent events in Charleston, SC.  As I pray and look to my Savior for answers, He keeps putting these two scriptures on my heart.  ". . .Lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5) and  "Vengeance is mine says the Lord" (Roman 12:19)

This Sunday was Father's day.  My father was not in my life.  We were estranged most of my life, he died July 4th 2013. This is probably where by issues with guys and relationships originates. Don't get me wrong, my Savior put some incredible men in my life: my Uncle, my step dad and my friend Alyssa's dad. I just didn't grow up as a Daddy's girl. My Heavenly father, has always been there for me. Never left me to feel abandoned and always shown me love. Happy Father's Day to my Heavenly Father.

I have been posting this as an outlet for my constant struggle with overeating.  I want God to work through me, and this to be for His glory.  I sometimes get off track and have to remind or bring myself back into focus.  My goal is to live a healthier lifestyle that will result in the lose of weight.  I have been going to the gym and putting in hard work. I will admit, I have worked harder at certain times over others.  The physical aspect of this healthier life style, I can say I am maintaining. The other aspect-nutrient intake, consumption, or eating (A.k.a my favorite past time) has quite a bit more significance over the physical aspect than I had originally believed.   It had crossed my mind that the amount of calories and consumption of nutrients is an intricate part of the weight loss process. This was confirmed for me by an article:

To Lose Weight, Eating Less Is Far More Important Than Exercising More

The article made sense to me and reiterated what I had thought.  In looking for the article days later, I found it through the response to the article-which was not what I would have expected.

Responding to Readers’ Questions on Weight Loss


Since, I am wanting to focus more on the nutrient consumption, I am going to introduce a new recipe I am going to try for this week's meal prep.  Now, I have to say how I obtain the recipe.  I tried the salad for lunch from the salad bar at "local" Grocery chain. I saw this guy heap some on his plate, and meandered over to take a closer look. Once I had tried it, I instantly fell in love.  It wasn't sweet like I was hoping it wouldn't  be.  It was savory and crunchy and a little tangy.  I liked it so much that later I thought to myself, I want to know how to make Kale and Brussels sprout salad.

 

It is filled with fiber from the Brussels sprouts and the kale; not to mention the slivers of almonds and bacon.  The bacon being the best Apple-wood smoked Peppered Turkey Bacon  from Trader Joe's.  Back to the recipe .  So I got the idea to  call the Grocery store that I tried the salad and ask the deli if they will give me the recipe.  After a bit of a run around, that I thought might actually lead to them giving me the recipe-I was informed they were not able to give out the recipe. I tried, so looked for other avenues to obtain said recipe.   I have found a recipe and making it tonight. Right now my apartment is permeated with the smell of Applewood smoked Peppered Turkey bacon. I'm in heaven.

Sometimes this world is too much. It's overwhelming and I fear I will be lost. I hear songs like Francesca Battistelli: It's Your Life 

. . . And I find myself again-or better said, I feel like my Savior Jesus has found me before I am lost. 

Beach Baptism 2015

So this weekend was my church's annual beach baptism.  I was unsure if I was going to go this year because I had already been baptized and my daughter was baptized at our 2014 beach baptism.  However, I am a beach junkie so I took this opportunity to go and support my friend's son being baptized.    Of course it was great and I had a lot of fun. My favorite part of our church's beach baptism is my church rents a pavilion and supplies charcoal so we can BBQ-this is my favorite summer activity (I like BBQ so much, you can catch me still manning the grill at the beginning of Fall).   This year I decided to go all out with kabobs.   I made four different kinds: chicken, shrimp wrapped in bacon , steak and potatoes and pesto shrimp:

That is James in the background who was baptized on Saturday. 

I am from S. Tampa, FL.  Tampa has a lot of "Island " influence,   The islands that have the most impact on the culture are  Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.  There is such an impact, my mom made sure I took Spanish as a second language starting in middle school. One of my favorite dishes from the islands is Island Pigeon peas (gungoh peas) and rice.  Most of the recipes call for parboiled, white or yellow rice.  I can say I know my way around the kitchen, so what I am going to do for my meal prep for this week is attempt to make the Island pigeon peas and rice, but with brown rice.   There is an ingredient that many Island peas and rice recipes call for called a Scotch bonnet pepper.  I wondered  why only one pepper was called for in every recipe I looked at; I have learned Scotch bonnet pepper  sounds like a nice sweet name for a pepper that will literally set you on fire.   Most Scotch Bonnets have a Scoville  units ("is the measurement of the pungency - spicy heat of chilli peppers or other spicy foods as reported in Scoville heat units", "a function of capsaicin concentration" ) of 100,000-350,000.  Just to have something to compare this to jalapenos have a rating of 2,500-8,000 on the Scoville scale.   Though, I have heard high capsaicin concentration are good for you and boost your metabolism-I dislike spicy foods. So, I will be attempting to make this favorite Island dish but replace the rice with brown rice and cut down on the heat.  

That reminds me, please keep my "Coach" in your prayers.  This Saturday 6.13.15, my coach is cycling 68 miles (Yes, 68 miles; that was not a typo) to help raise awareness and cycle out obesity.  You can support the cause by donating To www.gofundme.com/CyclingTeam .  This man is an inspiration and motivation to all, though I doubt he has an ounce of fat on his body-he still uses Christ  and sets a positive example to cultivate physical activity and healthy relationships with food.  Our prays are with you Coach-you got this. 

It is not unknown, I am not the best at relationships.  I have arrived at one of my least favorite parts of a relationship-"the break-up".  It is my least favorite because  I have gotten comfortable, and now it is going to have to change.   I am breaking up because this new relationship offers more.  This new relationship is available 24/7 (anytime), and I need that because  I need  more attention than the average lady.  This new relationship offers massages, do you know how hard it is for a girl to get a massage now a days.  I like all the extra pampering.  I would be offering or bringing the same thing to the table-but would be getting a lot more.  I am breaking up with my current gym of one year.  I think it is time for a change in scenery and this new gym has chair and hydro massage.   I would like to just give them the one month notice  and have a smooth transition to the new gym-but from what I have heard it is not going to be that easy.  I have heard in the past by other members that when they tried to break up-monthly fees were still being taken out months later and they had to ultimately have the bank stop payment.   So I am wondering if I should just go to my bank first and tell them to stop payment ahead of time and then give the 30 day cancellation.   This way if they do not stop withdrawing from my account, I have already told my bank to stop allowing withdraws.   I just hate having to put this much thought into a break up, or any thought at all.  I am a very loyal person, so this makes me feel like  I am high tailing it for something better.  I wouldn't see "Catch" anymore, but I have been going to this gym for a year now and have yet to say two words to the man or find out his name.   There are also circumstance circling around why he may not even be right for me.   I do not know if he is even a Christian or loves the Lord.  

I seen the sexiest thing this weekend at the beach.  You would think with all the chest bearing men there it would be a guy jogging in just his swim trunks on the beach or jet skiing.  No, neither of those.  It was a guy sitting in a beach chair, holding a baby.  Not sure if this is attractive to me because I didn't grow up with my father in my life or because I want to have more kids but wont do so unless it is with the right guy.  It could be either, it could be a bit of both.   One thing I do know, this does not seen to be going away-but seems to becoming more and more attractive to see .  I think I will resolve not to leave my house for father's day.  (Not really)

I have some relationship guidelines, or parameters that I an considering redefining.  For example, my standard deviation or dating range is + or - 5 years.  Now this is just a standard, it can change based on circumstance and situations.  Another is rebound time.  If I have been dating an individual for 2 years, I am going to look to spend some time getting to know me again. (I tend to be all in when dating)  I would not be looking to start a relationship again in 3 weeks. How long would I wait?  I would not be able to say.  I guess it would be when God put it on my heart that he was done fixing and mending my heart, and was ready for me to show or pour out the love he has poured into me.  Which brings me to what I will be doing next week while my coach is cycling 68 miles.  "Lift Service Out" is a community outreach where we help out others in the community.  I am actually excited about this, getting to pour out some of the love my Savior has poured into me.  I have have never had to paint, but I am looking forward to do it this upcoming weekend.  Who knows God's plans?  All I know is if this is in His plan, I am ready for the adventure. 

Happy  28th  Birthday   J. D.

Took my eyes off Him for only a moment. . .

 Many have said to me that I need to be more open or transparent, be more approachable and "put myself out there". This is not what I hear, what I hear is make myself vulnerable. Keeping my distance alleviates having to deal with "the politics".  I dislike dealing with the unpleasantness of "politics".

This week theme keeps swirling around the the idea that I need to open up and make more friends. My Pastor kicked it off by going back and reminding me of our church's core values: Connect. Grow. Serve.  I have grown immensely, and I  serve. I will admit:When it comes to the connect part-there is a major disconnect when it comes to  me.  My uncle then tells me I need to be more friendly and open. The message on his church bulletin this Sunday  was Ecclesiastes: 4:9-12 The Value of a friend. He reminded me that I need to let God's light shine through me.

It used to perplex me  whenever I heard it mentioned: No man is an island. I get it now. I need to do something  to change and to try to be more open and available.  Deep sigh. For this, I will need to go to my Savior.

I seem to have taken my eyes off my Savior.  Though it may seem like briefly, it's enough time for things to feel as though they are falling apart.  Or so the enemy will have me believe.
The plans I had for the Danial Plan study has not gone quite the way  I had anticipated.  Originally, I wanted a support group for other dealing with overeating.  I wanted to have friends to call when I was stressed about life and standing on the ledge of  Death by Chocolate (Fudge brownie wedge between two layers of chocolate cake, held together by fudge icing). I wanted someone to talk to that understood and could understand the struggle I face daily.  I wanted to tell others of my struggle and how I thought I would never get to where I am now-but I continued.

A friend of mine wanted to go to the beach baptism my church is holding, so we are making a day of it. I am excited about the beach day. I am starting to second guess the new bathing suit, though.  I don't feel comfortable where I am at this time on my journey.  I know I am not going to be comfortable if I wear it.  This is a day I am blessed to get to spend at the beach with friends and family. I want to be comfortable and enjoy the day.  I am considering giving the bathing suit to my daughter so she has one for the summer and just being comfortable.

 I get the feeling Catch would not be looking for the same type of friendship l am seeking. I have not gotten any indication Catch even wants a friend, in the sense that I am meaning. When I say friend, I mean one like Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, a friend to watch the fireworks with this year on the 4th of July .  A friend to go to the gym and work out from time to time  This has been my trepidation. I have made it a habit of playing it safe and being cautious.   I do not think Catch wants the same.
What happened to dating, or getting to know another person . spending time enjoying one another' s company? This concept seems to have become extinct with the dinosaurs.

My eyes were off of my Savior.  Though, it may have been for only a brief moment.  I was distracted long enough.   I must now re- focus and look to Jesus; you can find me at the feet of my Savior.

I love the messages on church billboards, I think of them as little messages from God. ( He will use any means possible to speak to us) This week, there was one that said: A church is a gift from God, assembly required.   How appropriate for where I am in my walk right now.








                            If you see me at they gym, this is the song playing through my earbuds:

Love this song. 

Mother's Day

There is no better feeling than being in the arms of your Savior.  This is how I have felt lately.  Its as though all this time I have been trying to fill the emptiness in my heart with everything possible. In my case its food.  Most people try and fill the hole in their heart, in their life with the things we become slaves to: food, sex, alcohol, anything that will numb the pain.  What we are looking to replace is the love our Savior-which isn't possible.
My Father is working on me.  Yes, I am for sure a work in progress. I try and stay in His word to build our relationship,

My journey has been long in my goal to lose weight.  I have talked about food and eating healthy. I have talked about my many trips to the gym.  I have always felt the underlying issue needs to be reviewed also.  The entire reason I started this blog was to journal my journey and to come up with some sort of group support.  Well, I am happy to announce I finally got up the courage and have posed a bible study or over eaters support group to my church.  It was received well.  I posed it to our women's ministry leader and she is posing starting "The Daniel Plan" bible study.  Its not exactly an over eaters support group as I had envisioned-however, it's a start. When I look back on where this journey has started and where I am now.  I cant help but look to my Lord Jesus and smile.  Thank you.


My Mother's day was really good.  I went and visited my mother's grave-which was hard.  It also helped remember to continue to work toward progress.  

I remember where I have come from, where this journey has brought me from:

It is always nice to reflect on the journey.  This also gives me motivation to continue forward. 

My daughter usually spends the summer with her father.  I am leery of letting her go.  You see my ex-husband/ her father, does not eat what we eat.  He doesn't stay behind her about getting physical activity each day, and she ends up gaining weight. It would be nice if I could get get her into a summer camp that would keep her active during the day.  When I was younger it was NYSP: ( National Youth Sports Program).  We would do sports all day during the summer.  A summer program that does skating one day, swimming another day, field sports.  This would be something great for fitness and training clubs to start.  Kicked off by a summer BBQ.  I love BBQs and potlucks-they are just so family and homey. 

I had really been motivated to stay discipline for this last month.  My church holds a Beach baptism every year at St. George island.  I was looking forward because this is how I have been gauging my weight loss. I bought a two-piece bathing suit.  I said two piece-not bikini.  Every couple of weeks I would try it on to see if it fit any better.  I found out last week this year the baptism was going to be on June 6.  I was stoked and pumped things into high gear. My bubble was later burst when by daughter who was baptized at  last year Beach baptism, said she didn't want to go.  

I  have been going to my church  for over a decade and could not think of any place else to call home. There is a guy in church that has peaked my interest. I have a horrible track record with relationships.   It is going to take  a real man of God with some patience to get through to my heart. I don't want to possibly mess up being able to call my church home.  My church is where I lay at the feet of my Savior.   It is where I have laughed; where I have cried. I would be so lost. Calvary is where I take refuge from the world. I will keep praying about it. 

Catch was at the gym today.  He is wearing this new sexy vibrant blue.  Lord, I saw him on the pull up bar,  I am just going to tell you guys-anything on the pull up  bar is sexy. 

Well, I get I will set my goal on being two-piece bathing suit ready for the trip to NY at the end of the summer 8/8/2015.