December BLAHS

The first December I remember having the blahs was in 2005. Alison was a newborn baby and I was having postpartum depression. That December I didn't want to do anything. I didn't want to go to any parties that we had been invited to. I didn't want to put up a single decoration. I just wanted to sit and hold Alison. Everyone got on my nerves. I got sick of people saying, "I understand" or "get over it." Thankfully when spring came I was almost back to normal. (no PPD with Chase)

Every December since then, just BEFORE Thanksgiving, I feel myself sinking. WHY does this happen? I am a VERY cheery person. I'm a "glass half full" sort of girl. I can give you many things that I think contribute to the problem- cold weather, being stuck inside, lack of funds, cold weather, lots of darkness, hats/coats/gloves/socks/shoes, so much BRAGGING on facebook, no space to put a tree, cold weather. I'm tired of being depressed during what should be a very joyous time of year.

On Sunday night at small group during prayer time I shared my "issue" with the group and asked that they would pray that I might be JOYFUL this year. It's not easy sharing bad things about yourself but I'm seriously tired of being a downer and figure the only way to STOP it is to get the Lord on my side... through the prayers of others. (You can pray for me also!!!!)

After small group, and a very late dinner, everyone got in bed and I sat down at the kitchen table to get my next few weeks of lesson plans written out. As I was working through our science book I came across a really fun activity. Next week we will be dissecting an owl pellet. I HATE science but for some reason the thought of discovering bones inside of owl vomit thrills me. I quickly got online and ordered my kit. :) It should be here in a few days.

The thought of having a fun activity next week got me thinking. What if instead of moaning and groaning through December I plan fun activities to take my attention off of myself and onto my children?? I believe people refer to this as 25 Days of Christmas. I have a few friends who do this. Last week on a blog I read, a lady showed how to make a calendar of sorts to hide your planned activities in. The project is too much work for me but the activity idea stuck in my mind.

I am so thankful for the prayers of others. Without them the Lord might not have brought this super idea to my mind and perhaps I would have spent another December "in the depths of despair" as they say on Anne of Green Gables. :)

Tomorrow is DAY 1!! I'm excited. You should give it a try also. :)

Weird Gold Thing

Ever since I was a teenager and started wearing gold rings something weird has happened. Out of nowhere I'd look down at my hands and see this: (under the rings, of course. I took them off for this pic.)

If I took my rings off and ran them across my skin it would do this:

I've heard this is because I have low iron. If I am wearing a gold necklace, the gold charm on the end will rub against my shirt leaving a gray area. :( This is very annoying when I'm wearing a light-colored shirt. 

With my pregnancies I had to take extra iron supplements but my number wasn't that bad. I wonder if this is really caused by a low iron issue or if it's something else. I've searched it online and there are others out there who have the same issue and some have said it is related to iron.

What do you think?

Weight Loss Update

On October 4th I started walking/jogging on the treadmill. I weighed 208 pounds.

On  October 12th I added calorie-counting to my daily routine. I weighed 206 pounds.

Today I weigh... 189 pounds.

In 8 weeks I have lost 19 pounds. :)

I went to a REAL store on Saturday night to find a good sale on a sweater or something and while I was there I went ahead and tried on pants in the next size down and they fit- with room to spare. :) Thankfully I have a pair of jeans from my smaller days still here and I'm able to wear them but almost every jeans/pants/skirts I have are too big. I'm wearing belts with my jeans now (which I hate). I think all my dress pants look sloppy on me. I'm not about to run out and buy a new wardrobe though. I think a thrift store outing is in order. :)

Anyone out there who needs encouragement, I highly recommend everydayhealth.com to track all of your calories & exercises. It's VERY motivating. :) Most foods are already entered into the system but you can create your own entries for foods not there.

It's really not that hard. The first week or two is the worst. But when you see that scale changing it's almost impossible to stop yourself from continuing. Don't cut out any foods. Just be aware of the calories. Allow yourself to celebrate a holiday but the next day get back on track.

I will jump for joy and scream outside when I hit 175. That is my next goal- other than 179 which gets me into a new 10s number. My ultimate goal is to be 150. Some may think that number is too high but on me it looks good enough. (175 would be fine, too, but if I could keep losing weight 150 would be nice.)

Shoe Thief

Someone likes to try on my shoes.

I usually don't mind but on Sunday when I went to find my black pointed-toe shoes, one of them was missing. :( I had to wear my grandma black shoes.

Bibles

 You are gonna think that I am terrible but I just went and got Bibles for Ethan & Blake on Saturday. We bought Abigail a Bible a few years ago and she gets good use out of it. For some reason we were slow at getting Bibles for the other kids. I planned on buying three Bibles- one for Alison also- but the sale was so great at Lifeway that there were only TWO Bibles left- of the Bible I wanted.

The boys had no idea I was stopping at Lifeway before my trip to Kroger so when I came home and presented them with their new, very own Bibles you would have thought they hit the lottery. :) They were so excited. They sat down with their Bibles for hours looking through them and reading them. It was wonderful.

Mike's Mom took me & the girls out Sat. evening to buy dresses for the girls for when we go to the ballet in December. When we got home and the "men" were eating pizza, Blake was STILL sitting on the couch with his Bible. He was READING it.

A few weeks ago we started something new in our house. Before anyone can turn on anything electrical (tv, computer, radio) he/she must spend time with the Lord- reading a Bible or awana book verses, praying, etc. That way we start our day off right and get our focus. Sunday morning Blake comes running out of his bedroom, his eyes barely open, with his Bible open on top of his head. lol

I am ashamed that I didn't buy Bibles sooner but I am thrilled with their love for reading them and knowing God more. :)

(I'll keep my eyes/ears open for another sale on Bibles so I can get one for Ali (and Chase?) soon. In the meantime Ali is borrowing a gift Bible Abigail received once.)