Highways and Byways

Oh how the time has flown by! I can not believe its been since July that I last posted. So much has happened in the last 3 months.

August 2011 - I took a diabetes education class (4 weeks) that was phenomenal. I learned so much throughout these few weeks and I am getting better blood sugar readings at home. Still need to work on diet and exercise, but I finally feel like I'm in control of the disease instead of the disease being in control of me.  During August, I also started back to school to finish my Masters Degree in Professional (Biblical) Counseling through Liberty University.

Budgeting and Menu Planning (9-15 July 2011)

So the goal this week is to eat whats in the freezer and minimize what I have to buy at the store. And to use coupons when I can.

Breakfasts: omlets, scrambled eggs, coffee
Lunches: salads, leftovers, roastbeef or ham roll ups, veges
Snacks: cheese, protein, full fat greek yogurt, berries, apples, peanut butter
Dinners:
Saturday - not sure, since we have a birthday party at 4 and have to be at Lifeblood at 7 to set up and music practice
Sunday - taco salad w/homemade taco meat/seasoning, pepperjack, salsa
Monday - chicken breast sauteed with broccoli & cheese (freezer, need cheese)
Tuesday - CI Group - crockpot-pot roast w/celery, onions, beef broth, carrots, salad (freezer, need-celery & salad stuff)
Wednesday -sauteed snapper with green beans or broccoli (freezer)
Thursday - CI Group-  Leftovers
Friday - Out!

Fighting Diabetes Type II

I can't believe it is July already! Where has the time gone? I want to journal to keep a history of how I am doing with fighing/controlling this disease. I need to lose some weight and this will help with controlling diabetes, but since this runs in my family (strongly rides my paternal line) I may not be able to reverse it completely.

Current diabetes meds: metformin 1000mg x2, glipizide 10mg

Goal: lose weight and get off meds (or at least reduce them) by 31 December 2011.

Pounds lost since 17 June 2011 - 7lbs

So, my doc put me on metformin and glipizide and I have to test my blood sugar twice a day (since 15 June 2011). I also am eating low carb (for the most part) and my doc gave me a referral for diabetes education classes (which, hopefully my insurance will cover because its $450 for four classes). Will find out next week what insurance will cover (supposedly should cover the cost since my insurance is BCBS out of Maryland and Maryland law requires insurance companies to pay for such classes).

So I have definitely noticed a drop in my fasting blood sugar, as it was 200-232 and has dropped to around 150-165. This is still rather high, as my doc wants it under 140. But since I can't quite control that "Dawn Phenomenon" I am not too concerned. From what I have read, it is the hardest to control and will probably work itself out once my non-fasting blood sugar comes down to normal range. Which was actually really good yesterday before dinner @ 126.  I always thought it would really be awful to have to stick myself every day to check blood sugar, but actually its not all that bad. Its also kind of cool to see how food affects my blood sugar - like a lab experiment, which is how I am working this thing. I created a spreadsheet so I can log blood sugar, meals eaten, and exercise for each day. I can then take the numbers and find the average, which I can loosely associate with the A1C chart to see how my A1C is doing. Its dropped from a 9.5 to approx 7.5 in a month.  My doc wants it under 7, and i want to try to get it in the 5-5.5 range (which is considered normal).

Whatnot Wednesday - Summertime!

OMGoodness! Its Wednesday again already! I can't believe it! It only seems like Tuesday because of the holiday weekend last weekend.

Whatnot Wednesday - Mid-May Edition

• In all the busi-ness thisweek, I totally forgot about Whatnot Wednesday until I saw my friend Emily's post on Facebook! Gotta love FB!
• Too much going on this week at work with FY12 budget planning...yuck! But, if we want jobs next year, its a necessary evil.  Don't know about you, but I kinda like getting paid. :)
  

Whatnot Wednesday

WHAT!!! Is it Wednesday again already???? Where has the time gone?

--Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day.  I did. I came home from church and our son had put a card for me in the door window (so I'd see it). He had to work Sunday morning (long story) and so, we left before he did. He drew me a sweet card and wrote the most sweetest message in it. The funny part, though, was he put "I got you a Starbucks Card and I was going to give it to you when you woke up - but I couldn't find it. I looked in my truck, and in my room. And then found it in my pocket." HAHAHAHAHAHA! Love it! And the Starbucks card. :)

Whatnot Wednesday

--We had a great time in Orlando last week at Exponential Conference (church planter conference). There were approximately 4,000 fellow church planters. Funny thing, it seems every where we go, my husband knows someone. This time, we met up with a good friend & fellow church planter from Jacksonville. Our son is always amazed or amused (not sure which) and teases Dave when this happens. So, yes, Shane, your dad knew someone there too. :)

Whatnot Wednesday

I've been waiting all week for Whatnot Wednesday!


**Saturday we had a great time at Kidfest. We ran a booth for our church, and I have to say that I think my Pastor Husband is more of a kid than the kids were! He made balloon hats and animals nonstop for 6 hours. We also found out that we have incredible talent in our church...I've never seen such beautiful facepainting that one of our ladies did! Maybe she'll come help me decorate my house! :)

Whatnot Wednesday

Wow...I've looked forward all week to Whatnot Wednesday and now I almost missed it!


** Ever watched the show "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files?" Its one of my favorites really interesting. This team of former FBI agents, computer graphics experts, cinamaphotograhers and other experts travel to different locations to debunk various claims such as UFOs, ghosts, etc.

Saving Money :)

So, I love reading blogs on how people save money at the grocery store and how they find all these great coupons on the internet. One really cool blog I read is couponing & budgeting. This blog has links to some other really good webpages, too. This woman went through some really awful times at an old church - serious spiritual abuse stuff - but that is another blog.

Whatnot Wednesday

OK, so I totally stole borrowed this idea from Emily...but this seems like a cool idea. Whatnot Wednesday...gotta be better than a
Melancholy Monday :). From my understanding, this is the place where you just put out whatever is on your brain at the moment...like a purging session. Uh, yeah, that could be scary. Well, let's see...

Bittersweet Memories

Throughout the last few years, I often wondered how I would feel when our time serving at Carlisle would end. I can't express how much Carlisle has blessed our family over the years. For sure, we have had our ups and downs and have suffered through some severe trials and heartache. But, we have also experienced some of the hugest blessings and greatest joy imaginable.

How Big I'm Blessed

I find myself sitting at my desk getting irritated with my officemate's teleconference - the phone is turned up so loud and their voices are like fingernails on a chalk board - ear piercing! I am bored and ready to go home. In my line of work, its pretty much feast or famine...and right now we are in a famine period. All this means is there is not a lot of work right now and the monotnous watching the clock each day is driving me crazy.

Birthday Cake with Icing & Sprinkles on Top

This post has been written on my heart for days, yet I am just now finding the time to write.  We had such an awesome day in the Lord last Sunday, and I can only describe it as your favorite cake with your favorite icing and LOTS of sprinkes on top!

The "P" Word

Perfect. Perfection. Perfectionism. Perfectionist. That describes me to a "P"! Not that I am perfect in any way, mind you, but that I (in my mind) think that I should be...All -or- nothing. No middle ground. Pass/Fail. What do I put that kind of pressure on myself? I do know that I am not alone in this mindset. Ever Read Proverbs 31 and think "there is NO WAY I can live up to this!!!"  I have.  Ever hear list of "DOs and DON'Ts" for Christians" and think there is NO WAY I can live up to this! I have. Read a list of "DOs and DONTs" Especially for Pastor's Wives Edition" and think there is NO WAY I can live up to this!!! Yep, me again.

Home Cooked Meals - Week 3

Another week of staying on track by cooking at home. I am actually enjoying trying new recipes and stuff. Goals for this week are the same as last week, and they are already met, with exception of actually cooking them.

SAT - Shrimp Gumbo Casserole - Paula Deen
SUN - Out
MON - Stuffed Peppers
TUE - Crock Pot BBQ ribs, mashed potatoes, sauteed snow peas
WED - left overs
THR - chicken stew, crusty bread
FRI - leftovers

Budgeting Part 2

So, last week went pretty well. We cooked and ate at home three of the five days, which is doing good for us. Of the two days we ate out for dinner, one was for our son's girlfriend's birthday and the other was we just didn't have time between work and a meeting to come home and cook dinner.

The "B" Word

Ah, yes. The dreaded "b" word. BUDGETS. As I was looking over our acutals we spent in January, I confirmed my suspicions that we are spending way to much on eating out and groceries. Which means if we keep doing this, my clothing budget will have to expand too :(  So, for February, I am going to attempt to reduce drastically these two areas of our budget.

Jesus, Messiah, Lord of All

Tomorrow we are going to celebrate our first Lord's Supper at Lifeblood. We are really excited to be able to share this sacred time with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I even attempted to make homemade unleavened bread! Can't wait to see how it turns out. :)

Pastor Dave will be walking us through the OT Passover and the NT Lord's Supper and how they interrelate and how Jesus is the Passover Lamb, the promise that the Israelites were trusting would come. 

Lifeblood ~ New Beginnings

Wow! I can't believe it has been a month already since we launched Sunday morning services. We had a rockin' New Year's Eve Party & Preview Service to ring in the new year (btw, I cannot believe it is already 2011). So many people at our current church (Carlisle) have been so supportive of Dave & I as we take this next step of faith and start Lifeblood. We cannot thank them enough. I never knew how hard it would be to start a church from the ground up. So many hoops to go through and so many issues to think about. You'd think it would be quite simple.