23/Thurs ~ We got a wifi extender to boost the wifi upstairs as the modem is downstairs and the connection hasn't been the best. So far it is working well and apparently the problem wasn't my laptop! VOTD: Mark 2:17
24/Fri ~ Kaylee and I went to the hair salon today before the rain/ice came. I got highlights and Kaylee got a pixie cut. It is so cute! VOTD: John 11:6
25/Sat ~ We had a Family Movie Night and watched the sequel of Maleficent. I liked it better than the first movie. VOTD: Psalm 95:6
26/Sun ~ Today I didn't feel the best. I made it through Church in the morning and then took a Sunday afternoon nap. I went to bed early with the hope that I'd feel better in the morning. VOTD: Romans 12:12
27/Mon ~ I feel much more the thing today. I received my Valentine Swap package from Deb @ www.readerbuzz.blogspot.com in the mail today. The chocolate didn't last long :) I also got a letter from my Pen Pal and Kaylee got a letter stating that she made the Dean's List! It was a good mail day :) VOTD: Psalm 62:8
28/ Tues ~ I wrote a letter back to my penpal with some get-to-know-me information and got it in the mail. I got some yarn to make my "Angel" from Church a shawl for Valentine's Day. Now I just need to get it crocheted so that I can send it to her at college. I hope she likes the color! VOTD: Habakkuk 2:2
29/Wed ~ I got 8000 steps in today! That is a new record for me! Kaylee and I went to the gym and the store. Then I went to the dentist with Doug. This evening was Prayer Meeting and Bible Study. I'm beat! VOTD: Proverbs 12:4
Can you tell that I had a loss this week? I'm feeling cheerful!
My Workshop on Saturday was all about tracking. Tracking in an honest, accurate manner is why I had a loss this week. Most days, I actually pre-tracked. What that means is that at the beginning of the day, I went into MyWW app and tracked the food I was planning to eat that day and then I stuck to it. It worked! I lost 1.4 lbs and actually had 1 smart point taken away from my daily allotment. I now get 29 smart points daily along with my 42 weekly points.
As for exercise, I worked my butt off this past week! We're back to going to the gym on a regular basis and I earned 33 Fit points which surpassed my 25 fitpoint goal for the week. The app actually asked me if I want to increase my fitpoint goal to 35 and I went for it! I'm going to really have to push myself to reach 35 fitpoints this week. I'll let you know how I do at next week's weigh in.
I'll be weighing in on Saturdays and posting my results on Wednesday. If you'd like to join in on the journey, I'd love to have some weight loss friends!
Yesterday, I posted "Heart to Heart ~ Should I Stop Blogging?". This was not meant to put my decision on my readers but to get some feedback as to what you like to read.
That being said, I've given it a lot of thought throughout the evening and night and have made my "decision" about my blogging future.
I'm not going to give it up completely. I would miss it too much.
I am, however, going to change up my schedule. My tentative schedule will be:
16/Thurs ~ Today was Kaylee's first day back to College after Winter Break. I'm glad she had a good day :)
17/Fri ~ I went to the visitation for Alan this afternoon. The funeral is tomorrow but an ice storm is coming our way.
18/Sat ~ The ice storm lasted all day. Since we were stuck inside, we got Kaylee's wardrobe almost completely built and organized.
19/Sun ~ It is so icy and cold outside! We made it down the driveway to go to Church but had to walk back up the driveway because we were spinning and not getting traction. I hate ice!
20/Mon ~ Laken was off school today for MLK Jr. Day. Doug, Kaylee and I went to the gym this evening and I got a total of 7130 steps for the day! Getting there!
21/Tues ~ Mom was craving Stuffed Peppers so we got the ingredients while grocery shopping and made them for supper.
22/Wed ~ I took Laken to the doctor today because she still has a sore throat after five days. She's negative for Strep Throat so it must be viral.
9/Thurs ~ My cousin, Alan, passed away today after a very long battle and complications from Multiple Sclerosis :(
10/Fri ~ My laptop won't stay connected to the internet and is getting on my nerves! I don't know if it is the wifi or my computer... The hubby's laptop (I'm using it now) seems to be working so I'll either confiscate his or get a new computer soon.
11/Sat ~ The Raven's lost their playoff game tonight! Whoohooo!
12/Sun ~ Sick kids are no fun! No Church for Laken today and now Kaylee has a sick stomach :(
13/Mon ~We went to the Campus Bookstore and picked up Kaylee's books for the Spring 2020 Semester. Laken was home sick from school.
14/Tues ~ Today was our first day back at the gym. We left after Laken got on the bus this morning so we'd get home in plenty of time for Doug to get ready for work as he is on second shift this wee.
15/Wed ~ Kaylee and I got our "Fitbits" today! We got them synced to our phones and had fun trying to out-do each other.
1/Wed ~ We spent a quiet day at home just hanging out and had pork and sauerkraut for New Year's Dinner.
2/Thurs ~ Doug (the hubby) went back to work today and Laken went back to school as well. Time to get back into our routine.
3/Fri ~ We had family dinner at Dan & Kelly's with meatloaf and chocolate cake t remember Uncle John's birthday. I finished my First Book of 2020!
4/Sat ~ My goal was to lose 1 lb. this week but at weigh in I only lost .4 lbs. Better than a gain, I guess!
5/Sun ~ Sundays are for Church, football and naps! I got the Church and a nap part in early and football later in the day even though my Steelers are out of the running.
6/Mon ~ I started and finished Ravelry's BAMCAL 2020 for January a Polly Plum pattern called "Cheers!". It is listed as "Advanced" but I had no problems crocheting it. Yay, me!
7/Tues ~ We got 4" of snow from 12pm-4pm. Laken had an early dismissal from school so she played in the snow :)
8/Wed ~ Doug decided today that he wants to start going back to the gym so we're (Doug, Kaylee and I) are going to be going to Planet Fitness Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week.
I wanted to have a heart to heart conversation today.
I've been blogging for well over 10 years now. I can't believe that it has been that long! I started when my girls were both pretty young as a creative outlet and a way to document what was going on in our lives.
Lately, it has been feeling more like a chore that I need to check off my daily "to-do" list. I still enjoy blogging, I just don't know if I've outgrown it.
Here's where you, my readers, come in to the picture.
What do you think? Should I stop blogging? Should I keep blogging but modify my schedule in someway?
What features do you like? Do you actually read my posts?
I know I have a few faithful followers but I get so few comments that sometimes it feels like I'm talking to myself.
Is blogging a thing of the past? Should I just concentrate on Instagram or something else?
I just really don't know what I want to do. What do YOU want me to do? Your feedback would mean the world to me!
The ice is finally melted from last weekend's ice storm. We were supposed to get more ice this past Saturday but it was a bit warmer than expected so we got some heavy rains instead. I would have hated to see how much snow it would have been if it had been cold enough for it. I haven't looked at the weather for the coming week yet.
On my breakfast plate:
English Muffin with Peanut Butter
As I look around the house::::
Things are pretty much in order. I do need to do something about the shoe storage situation. Right now my shoes and the hubby's shoes are just in a pile. Any ideas?
On today's to do list::::
Just the gym today. We got groceries on Saturday afternoon so that is already marked off for the week :)
Happening this week::::
Devotions: This week we finished up our Bad Girls of the Bible Study. Next were jumping right into Really Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs. What study are you doing at the moment?
WW: We had a great Workshop on Saturday talking about tracking our food and activity. I had a loss because I've been working my butt off exercising and tracking and being honest with my food intake. Only 2.6 left to go before I get my 25lb charm!
Exercise: I didn't realize how few steps I get in on a regular, non-exercise day until I got my "fitbit". It has really helped me be more aware of my activity. The hubby was on daylight (first shift) last week so we went to the gym three evenings. I'm used to going in the morning and the evening is a completely different environment and vibe. I prefer mornings!
Housework: Pretty much normal this week.
Doug: The hubby is on third shift (nights) this week. We'll be going to the gym in Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings when he gets home from work before he goes to bed. His back is much better! Thanks for all the concern and well wishes in the comments :)
Kaylee: Kaylee is immersed in her College work full force now especially with College Algebra and Sociology. She's enjoying her Art Appreciation Class and hasn't really said much about Managerial Accounting yet. Her online gym class is going well.
Laken: This will be Laken's first full week of school in three weeks! She's going to be in shock! :) Science Olympiad practices are heating up with two practices and a test this week. The test is to see who makes it into the actual Science Olympiad competition, so prayers are welcomed that she makes it! She'll be heart broken if she doesn't.
Currently reading::::
I'm currently reading:
Next, I'll probably read either a historical fiction or a nonfiction.
On the TV::::
FBI
FBI Most Wanted
Prodigal Son
Deputy
Lincoln Rhyme
I decided to also join in the Moogly CAL 2020! The first block is "Flower Power Square" designed by Carolyn Christmas at www.pinkmambo.com . This was my first square that I've made from this designer.
I'm using these scrappy colors to make my crochet along blocks for as many as it will make:
I enjoying crocheting from this pattern but there were a few spots where I had to guess where to put the next stitch as there weren't many row by row pictures that I find very helpful to have.
I changed my colors every row to make it "scrappier" looking :)
I messed up somewhere along the way. I had too many stitches and had to "fudge" it with some "crochet-togethers" to get the right stitch count.
The square was only measuring 11" so I added a light purple double crochet row to bring the size up to match my other crochet along squares.
Here are some things that made me smile this week:
~Answered Prayers! I can't really get into details, but the Lord came through in a big way about something I had been praying for. I hate to be so vague but I couldn't let it go by without mentioning that God does answer prayers! :)
~Days Off! Monday there was no school due to MLK Jr. Day and Laken doesn't have school on Friday so we only had to "rise and shine" 3 days this school week :)
~7150 Steps! This number is the highest number steps I've gotten on my fitness tracker since I got it last week. I work so hard to get to that number. My next goal is 8000 steps :)
~Valentine Swap Participants! I was so excited to have 12 people sign up for the Valentine Swap. I sent out all the info to the participants on Sunday so now the packages should be flying about. I can't wait to send and receive :)
~Snow (err..ice) Day! Saturday we were iced in for the whole day. I was bummed to miss MyWW Workshop but it was nice to spend the entire day with my family working around the house :)
We had a major ice storm here in my neck of the woods on Saturday so I wasn't able to make it out to my WW Workshop. I'm not even sure if they still had it or if it was cancelled. I saw the ice at 7am and promptly went back under the covers!
So, no weigh in this week...
I do, however, want to mention that I've gotten myself a "fitbit" type contraption for my wrist to measure my steps for the day. It does a whole lot more than that but was only $23 on amazon.
I wanted to see how many steps I was getting in on a regular day. I should say how LITTLE steps I get in on a regular day. "They" recommend getting 10,000 steps a day but on a non-gym/treadmill day I'm only getting 20% of that. One day that I got on the treadmill for 30 minutes I got about 5,000 steps for the day, so better but still not quite there!
When we go to the gym I'm putting about 60 minutes in on the treadmill and stepper. Due to the ice, we didn't make it to the gym Monday (I used my treadmill though) so I'm anxious to see how many steps I get in at the gym.
I'll be weighing in on Saturdays and posting my results on Wednesday. If you'd like to join in on the journey, I'd love to have some weight loss friends!
Title: For Love or Loyalty by Jennifer Hudson Taylor
Series: The MacGregor Legacy Book #1
Pages: 352
Date Published: November 2013
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Blurb:
Scotland to Carolina, 1760
One conquest could destroy her, but avenge his family.
Malcolm MacGregor vows to free his family and exact revenge against Duncan Campbell. When the opportunity arises, Malcolm decides to use Duncan’s daughter as the bargaining price. Lauren Campbell is the perfect answer, until she begins chipping away at the bitterness in Malcolm’s heart and changing everything. Her bold faith and forgiveness ignites guilt he would rather avoid and a love he doesn’t deserve.
Lauren Campbell never expected to discover such a caring and protective man behind the façade of Malcolm MacGregor’s fierce reputation. When they arrive in America, things turn against them, and Lauren finds herself in a fate worse than death. Now Malcolm has the dilemma of freeing the rest of his family or rescuing Lauren, but time is short and with little means, he needs a miracle.
My Thoughts:
I was scrolling through www.christianbook.com 's Christmas sales and came across this book. The cover drew me in right away. The description and price (less than $2.00) sealed the deal! Back in the days when I read mainstream romances, I loved books set in the Highlands so I was very eager to dig in to this one!
I found it extremely interesting that people were so desperate that they would sell themselves (indenture) just to get passage to the "colonies". I was also surprised that people could be indentured against their will. What a horrible, horrible situation that would be!
The story of Malcolm and Lauren was an epic tale going from Scotland to the High Seas to Charles Towne (plantations and bordellos and lumber mills). It was quite a ride with a very strong inspirational story line as well.
I really want to find the next two books in The MacGregor Legacy Series! I'm off to search for them now :)
We had a nasty ice-storm on Saturday and were iced in the house. We made it out for Church on Sunday morning but then couldn't make it back up our driveway! We had to park in the grass and walk the rest of the way up the hill on the ice. Not fun!
On my breakfast plate:
English Muffin, Eggs, Vanilla Chai Tea
As I look around the house::::
Saturday, while iced in, the hubby built Kaylee a wardrobe so that we could get rid of some of the dressers in her tiny bedroom and make more room to move. It was a bit nerve-wracking during the process because everything was scattered EVERYWHERE! The end result will be worth it though. I must keep this in mind!
On today's to do list::::
We're going to the gym and then getting groceries. The gym and the market are in the same plaza so it makes it super convenient.
Happening this week::::
Devotions: This week in our "Bad Girls of the Bible" study, we learned more about Michael, wife of David and Saul's daughter. Some takeaways: 1. There is a time to dance. 2. Unconfessed sin stops worship. 3. Words spoken in anger burn. 4. A wise woman rises above her circumstances.
WW: We had an ice storm on Saturday, so we were stuck inside. I didn't make it to my workshop to get weighed in.
Exercise: We've been going to the gym 3 times a week and on the other days I've been getting on my treadmill. Kaylee and I got "Fitbits" (a cheap brand) so I can truly track my steps.
Housework: Kaylee and I went through her clothes to get rid of any that were too small or that she no longer wears. She gave some to Laken but most are going to Goodwill.
Doug: The hubby is on 1st shift (7a-3p) this week but will probably be working overtime so not getting home until around 6p-ish. He pulled his back a bit moving furniture around Saturday but not too extremely bad. He's still getting around!
Kaylee: Kaylee is getting situated in her bedroom after the rearrangement. I helped her sort through all her clothes are will be taking a full large garbage bag to Goodwill. She still has a ton of clothes that she was able to hang up in her new wardrobe. We need to get her some more hangers though.
Laken: Laken has no school today for MLK Jr.'s Day. She also is off school on Friday because her school hosts a huge wrestling tournament this weekend. Another 3 day week for her!
Currently reading::::
I finished "For Love or Loyalty" by Jennifer Hudson Taylor and will be posting a review tomorrow.
Right now I'm reading "Stratagem" by Robin Caroll, one of my favorite suspense authors.
Next, I'll probably read either a historical fiction or a nonfiction.
Wednesday - Homemade waffles, eggs, bacon Thursday - Pot pie Friday - Pork Chops, Au Gratin Potatoes Saturday - Pizza Sunday - Potluck at Church
What I am creating at the moment::::
Still working on the Ombre Cozy Stripe Afghan at my leisure. I'm also making something "top secret" for my Valentine Swap partner! I'll show pictures after the swap :)
Picture From the Camera
Bible Verse
"In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets."
I'm using these scrappy colors to make my crochet along blocks:
This block used some techniques that I haven't done before such as descending and ascending the "ladder" of previous rows. I admit that I breathed a sigh of relief when the rows below were finished!
For some reason my computer won't let me make the rest of these pictures larger but this is what the block looks like with the written instructions completed. It turned out to be 13".
Because it was already 13", I only bordered with a single crochet round of white and a single crochet round of the red.
I'm please with how it turned out. I really had to concentrate on some parts of the pattern but the writer had lots of "special notes" there were very helpful.
"According to your estimations, she has eight minutes to figure out she can't open the door unless her employee uses the key he got in the last room."
Page 56
"I'd like to pay for the funeral."
Q. Do you think that readers make better employees, as opposed to non-readers? Why or why not? (submitted by Maria @ A Night's Dream of Books)
A. I'd like to think that reading makes a person better all around but I don't think reading would necessarily make a person a better employee. For example, my husband hates to read and he is one of the best employees I've ever known. I think it all depends on the individual.
