Ah, the joys of sharing on Facebook

• Why would you have you FB name set to show your allegiance to a particular translation of the Bible?  (and no, it's not the original Hebrew/Greek)
• If someone is sharing their heartbreaking life circumstances involving some very difficult decisions that must be made, do NOT leave a comment saying, "I'm going through the exact same thing!  I can't find a new primary care doctor."
• I love that you got a new haircut, but you do not need to post 14 new selfies.  Every hour.  All week.  The same rule applies when you get a new pet, furniture, clothing, lipgloss, etc.
• If you wouldn't feel comfortable saying your EXACT comment directly to the original poster's face, then DON'T POST IT.

(Dusting myself off, and stepping off the soapbox now).

Seriously, I love FB.  It is such a blessing to stay connected with friends and family who are thousands of miles away (or even just across town, but we just happen to have opposite schedules).  And admittedly I've been spending more time on there the past couple months due to the THM group.  But I'm now finding myself backing off a bit as my eyes are getting sore from too much rolling.  Yep, the never ending cycle...

January

Just checking in as we head into the first full week of January.

I have been THM'ing for about 4 months now, and am down 30 pounds.  Made it through 2 weeks of traveling/staying with family/holiday goodies without gaining.  As mentioned in my previous post, this is the first year in a verrrrrry long time that I'm not feeling overwhelmed about my weight; I know I still have a long journey ahead of me, but that's OK.  I'm not focusing on the end result, but just taking it one meal at a time and making good choices.  And if I screw up, that's OK, too.... but rather than getting down on myself and writing off the rest of the day/week/month, I'll get back "on plan" with the next meal.

I put these jeans on today; they technically fit, but were uncomfortably snug when I started making changes.  I now have 4-5" of extra fabric (and that's fresh out of the dryer, too!)

To "celebrate" thought I'd share one of my recent diet meals, LOL. Backstory: my Mom attended a baby or wedding shower at least 25 years ago, and the hostess served spinach quiche.  My mom got the recipe, and it became a family favorite; in fact, this even became my traditional birthday dinner.  Played around with the recipe this weekend, and came up with this version.  Under the THM guidelines, this is an S meal - "satisfying" since it's using fat as its fuel source (as opposed to "E" for energizing when it's all about the carbs)


Spinach Cheese Bake
1 pound ground beef
1 med onion, chopped
16 oz package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and pressed dry
8 oz block Neufchatel cheese, softened
2 c shredded mozzarella
10 oz cottage cheese
8 eggs
1 Tbsp oregano
½ tsp salt

 Preheat oven to 350. Brown ground beef, then use same pan to sauté onions. Stir all ingredients together, and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake approx 50 minutes, or until middle is bubbling and edges are lightly browned. Allow to sit for at least 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Helloooooo 2014!

Last year's word was intentional... I had lots of good intentions but kind of lacked in the follow-through department.

But it's a new year, right?!

This year's single word: WHATEVER.

No, I'm not trying to be channel my inner 14 year old girl and be snarky.  As in Philippians 4:8

"...whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]." (Amplified)

This verse really jumped out at me as we wrapped up the Philippians study last month.  Are those the things I'm focusing on, or am I worrying about stupid stuff (FYI, that's addressed in 4:6).

2014 is going to be lovely.  I've made substantial changes to my diet and am already seeing some results; it's pretty awesome not to be starting the year depressed about the number on the scale.  Still lots of things that need to be put in order around our house, but progress is being made.

And I'd like to think that possibly someday, someone might describe our family as lovely, kind, gracious, or worthy of praise.

w h a t e v e r.