Working out works

Benefits of working out and eating healthy:

Complexion - in the one week that I have been eating differently, more than one person has commented that my skin looks healthier and I have sort of a "glow" to me...I think it's cause David left and then came back, and now I'm much happier. :) .....Then again, it could be because of my diet.

Circadian Rythme- ok, so I read about this one, but it's true! Once you start working out a certain time of the day, your body begins to crave it. I know it sounds crazy, but when I first started working out, I dreaded going out and have to exert more energy that I wanted to save up for work. But after working out for so many days, I actually wake up and my body is begging me to go work out! Kinda funny huh?

It's quality time with the Lord - Sometimes I take my worship music with me and sing to myself, other times I go without it and just pray and thank God for the many blessings David and I have. I get to look around at the beauty of His creation and be reminded of His love.

Sleep - In the time that I have been working out, my sleep has been so peaceful and restful. I have no problem going to bed, I sleep through the night (except for when David kicks me) and I wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the day.

So what's the verdict after week one?

Drumroll please! So far, 8 pounds lost!! Now remember, I've been working out twice a day and I drastically cut my diet to 1200-1400 calories a day...mostly just been following the diet and exercise program on sparkpeople.com. :) One week down, 11 weeks to go!

Rainy days

Today was such a gloomy day.

I woke up, and unlike the other day, there were no birds chirping or no sun shining.

It was raining.

Not a heavy rain, but just enough of a pitter patter/drizzle to make you not want to go outside.

So I stayed inside, made some healthy food for lunch which I had fun doing, and watched Top chef for three hours. I LOVE that show. I never would have watched it if David had not showed it to me or showed any interest in it. He loves cooking, and I always learn something from him when he cooks.

Speaking of David....

He comes home tomorrow!!! (Thurs)

Thanks for everyones encouragement...sure helps :)

I've felt kind of lost without him. When I was cooking today, I guess I just thought he was at work, cause I looked at the time and thought, oh, he'll be home soon, I wonder what he wants to eat for lunch.

then I realized he wasn't coming home.

:(

And David always does dishes for me. I can't stand doing dishes. My hands get all wet and pruny and I just can't do it. It's the one thing I just won't do.

So the dishes are piling up.

I actually thought about doing them tomorrow so he wouldn't have to do them when he got home.

I'm still thinking.

Lonely and in Love

So i'm trying to keep from tearing up right now.

No hubby for the night.

Or the next two nights.

NO WORRIES!!! We are doing great!

He actually has a business meeting in Oklahoma City. He had to leave tonight (tues) to attend workshops that start tomorow (wed). He'll be gone till thursday night, in which he promised me he was going to take me on a date. (and I didn't even ask, he came up with that all by himself)

Except for I don't want to go to bed.

I have a hard time sleeping without him. I know it sounds crazy, we've only been married just short of five months, but I always fall asleep on his chest with his arm around me. I think his breathing makes me calm and peaceful.

So I was trying to remember what I did before I was married, and decided that I was going to come home, take a bubble bath, and read a book.

And I did.

And oh do I feel soooo relaxed. :) It was enjoyable and I never do that when David is home, because I always want to be hanging out with him.

Now for the sleeping part.

I might go drag out my teddy bear, or cuddle up with a pillow. :( not the same by far. But it will have to suffice. :)

Biggest Loser

Soooo,

:)

We are doing this thing at work called the biggest loser. You might have seen the tv show. Well we have 12 girls who are doing this, and it's 8 dollars a week, but if you win then you get 1000 dollars! So it's this huge motivation. So i'm going hardcore!! I found this really cool website, called sparkpeople.com. You join for free and then you have access to all these different materials and workout ideas, a calorie counter and an aerobic counter. It helps you set goals and stuff to. Seriously, I mean, it's a win-win situation. I workout and win, I get a 100 dollars, and a good figure, but if I lose, I still get the good figure.
So this morning, using the calorie counter on the website, I planned out everything I was going to eat for the day, so when i went to work I knew exactly what I was going to eat.

Then i went and worked out.

Ok, I used to run like three miles a day. Whatever happened to that, i don't know. But I went out today and started to run, and I don't even think I made it a half a mile before I was a huffin and a puffin. I decided that I"m going to start by walking for a couple of weeks and build up some stamina before I bust out the running.

Oooh, my hubby just got home, bye bye!

NH Part 2

So I woke up this morning unusually happy. I just couldn't stop smiling!! It may have had something to do with the beautiful sunshine coming in the window and the birds chirping (seriously, that's how it was when I woke up) My first thought was, "this is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." I decided to let David sleep a little bit and came out to start trying to figure out what to make him for breakfast. I couldn't take it anymore, and went to wake him up. I jumped all over him and gave him kisses and started tickling him. :) My favorite part of the day!
I made breakfast, which consisted of some potatoes with onions, some scrambled eggs, and some turkey bacon. I love cooking for Dave, definately the way to his heart! Megan and I went to see a movie "One night with the King" It's actually modeled after a book by Tommy Tenney called "Hadassah". It is the story about Esther and how she saved the Jewish people from extinction. I read the book on the plane ride to and from NH, and was very excited to see the movie.

The movie was a total flop.

I got really mad, because it wasn't even biblically sound. It portrayed her in a different light, and many of the things that were done were not scriptural. It was very commercialized, and besides that, it was really slow. I don't know why I see movies after I read the book, because I am always dissappointed.

Megs and I went out shopping and then went to Jess's house to scrapbook. I think I have enough material to scrapbook for months! I've been having a lot of fun with it.

***
Back to Nh.

This is a picture of Dave and I at Fanueil Hall (sp) We got to go inside and see where a lot of historical happenings took place during the beginings of the United States. It was awesome and again, I could have spent all day there. Boston was a lot of fun for me. I wish my dad was there, I know he would have appreciated it as much as I did.

***

This is a pic of Dave and I at something called the Flume Gorge. It's kind of hard to explain, but it is a natural gorge in the mountains that people in olden times used to send logs to travel down the mountain, so they could make their log houses and such. Here we are not actually in it, it was quite a hike to get to the place where it actually was. The next day our legs were sore! It was worth it though, to see and hear the water. It was a deafening sound and made me think of certain scriptures in the Bible that compare the sound of rushing waters to the voice of the Lord.

"and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was
like the roar of rushing waters..." Ezekiel 43:2

" ...his voice was like the sound of rushing waters." Rev. 1:15

It was so loud and overbearing, I couldn't hear Dave talking to me from a foot away! If he was behind me he would have to tap me on the shoulder to first to get my attention.

***

After the flume gorge, we went to Mt. Cannon. Right next to Mt. Cannon is where the Old Man on the Mountain was. It was a natural rock formation,that if viewed from the side looked like the profile of a man. It slide down the side of the mountain in 2003, and is no longer there. It was kind of sad to see the empty space.

We went up Mt. Cannon in a tram car... I don't know if thats the right word. It was kind of like how a ski lift would be, only it could fit 80 people in it on the way up. On top of the mountain, it as 30 degrees out! That would explain the snow, the hats, and the gloves (thanks mom). The snow was so beautiful, and I don't think I had ever seen snow that was as untouched as this snow was. The snow looked like it was freshly fallen on the pine trees, and it was just gorgeous. I'm telling you, the whole trip was like right out of a picture book.

We went up to the top of this watchtower, and it was so beautiful, you could see forever. There was literally a ninety mile visibility. You could see mountains in Vermont and Maine, just everywhere. I'm thankful Dave knows how cold I get up on top of the mountain. He kept me very warm and let me hold on to his arm the whole way up and down the mountaintop. When my little nose was bright red he put his hands over it to try to warm it up. It was so cute! :)

One of the days that we were there, we went to the beach. Dave's uncle has a beach house and we went there and were able to walk right up to the water. It reminded me a lot of Florida, and again, the sound of the water just gave me so much peace! I miss hearing that sound almost every day. It was kind of weird being at the beach and having it be so cold. I don't think I have ever been to the beach and have worn a sweater. But it was comfortable and was actually a pretty beautiful day out. We went to a little town called Newberry port, which was a cute little town with shops that you could walk to. We went to a place called Newicks for dinner, and it was all seafood. I'm not to fond of seafood, but what I had was pretty good.

After that we went to a hockey game, University of New Hampshire vs. Team USA. It was an exhibition game ,and UNH killed them. It was fun to go to though, sure made Dave happy!

This is a pic of David and his Dad... the second one was a charm! :)

This is a pic of Dave's mom and me!! Can you tell it was a little windy out? :)

Because He Loves me

I found this tonight while I was straightening up the house before David comes home... it brought tears to my eyes. I haven't seen it since highschool, and I don't know how it popped up... kind of funny....

Because...

I made her. She's different. she's unique. With love I formed her in her mother's womb. I fashioned her with great joy. I remember with great pleasure the days I created her.

To me she's beautiful-I love her. I love her smile, I love her ways. I love hearing her laugh and seeing the silly things she does. She is herself and no one else-this is how I made her.

I made her pretty but not beautiful, because I know her heart and knew she would be vain. I wanted her to search her heart, and learn that it would be me in her that would draw friends near.

I made her in such a way that she would need Me. I made her a litle more lonesome than she would like to be, only because I want her to turn to Me in her loneliness. I made her a little more dependent than she would like to be, only because I want her to depend on me.

I know her heart. I know that if I had not made her like this, she would go her chosen way, and forget about Me-her creator. I have given her many good and happy things because I love her.

I have seen her broken heart and the tears she has cried all alone. I have been with her and have had a broken heart too.

Many times, she has stumbled and fallen alone, only because she would not take My hand. So many lessons she has learned the hard way, because she would not listen to My voice. So many times, I have sat back, and sadly watched her go her merry way alone, only to watch her return to my arms, sad and broken.

And now, she is Mine again. I made her and then bought her. I paid a high price for her, because I love her. I have had to reshape and remold her to renew her to what I had planned for her to be. It has not been easy for her, or for Me. I want her to be conformed to My image. This high goal I have set for her, because...

I LOVE HER.
***
*sigh* :) It's good to know that sometimes when you aren't sure why things are happening the way they are, that He knows, He is in control, and He loves you. Let the Joy of the Lord be your strength.... :)

Trip to NH!

Pictures are working! This means that I get to write about NH!!!

This is the house that David's parents live in, and the house that he lived in for four years before he left for college. It was fun to see where he grew up. He kept saying things like, "here's where I paced the street when you told me you got a tattoo" (I didn't, it was a big joke between Danielle and I) He kept reminiscing about times we had talked and where he was sitting, it was really cute, and gave me a glimpse into our past as well. :) I love historical things, things that are really old. His mom told me that the house was 115 years old, which I thought was just amazing. Now it is a two family home, split right down the middle. That's how most of the houses are in Manchester, since all the houses are massive.




***
The day after we got to NH, we went to an apple orchard and did some apple picking. It was so much fun, and it was neat to see all the different types of apples you can grow. The way you pick apples is that you get this long pole, and on the end of it is a bag with little claws all over it. You just stick the bag up there next to an apples, twist a little bit, and the apples falls right into the bag! Dave climbed up into the tree and started grabbing some as well. After we picked the apples there was a little watchtower sort of thing, and we climbed up there, and you could see mountains forever! It was really beautiful because the foliage was surounding the mountains as well. The place that we went to was kind of like a farm. They had all these animals, like billy goats, roosters, bunnies. They were so funny. When you walked up to the billy goats they would start bleeting because they wanted you to throw them an apple core. The bunny had a weird ear, one went straight up, and one went straight down, he kind of looked like a helicopter.
After the farm, we went to this place called the shaker village. This is where the shakers lived for 200 years. They were very skilled craftsman, and pretty much lived seperated from society. Unfortunately, they weren't that smart, because they believed in Celibacy. Which means that the last shaker died in 1992. I thought this was so funny, because wouldn't they realize that their race was going to die off!? We at at a restaurant called the shaker table restaurant. This food was SOOOO good. I had mac n cheese, but it was made with sharp vermont cheddar and had garlic in it, with penne pasta. They gave you fresh homemade bread with it and the best apple crumb stuffing. It was so much food, and we were sharing, because the food was so unique. Davids parents got these sandwiches that had the bread dipped in eggs and grilled, and then there was turkey and tomotoes in the sandwich. But the twist was that they gave you a side of real maple syrup to dip the sanwich into. Who would have ever thought that would be good? But it was, and it was so much better with the syrup than without. Afterwards we drove to a really big lake, called Lake Winnipausekee. It was very New Englandish and had a little shopping area that we had fun walking around and Mom and I got some ICE CREAM!!!! Yummy!

***

The next day we went to Boston, MA. I had a field day here. It had tons of historical sites and readings, and I could have spent forever in this city. It was really busy and bustling, which I didn't like as much, but the historical things were really neat to see. There is no way you could see all of boston in one day, so next time we go, I already know the things I want to see. But we saw a lot. There is this thing called the Freedom Trail. It is a red line that goes all throughout the city, and you just follow it and it takes you to all these historical sites. It was really neat. We ate at this replica of the Cheers tv show, we ended up sitting outside though since it was such a beautiful day out.

***
Ok, so i've only gotten to the second or third day of our trip, and we were there for seven, so stay tuned for part two!