Time For New

After the Holidays are over and the decorations put away, I always feel ready for a little something new around the house! I'm excited about doing some painting and refreshing some tired areas in my home. But until then, a few new accessories will do the trick! Join us on Friday for Pink Friday, "In With The New" sale! Use the above link to jump straight to Make Mine Pink for all the great shops and their offerings or this link to jump straight to Forget Me Not Dreams Pink Friday Category. Happy Shopping!

WEIGH-IN WEDNESDAYS

Here it is, Weigh In Wednesday Week 2.
What a week it was! This morning I weighed in down 1.5 pounds from last week. Yesterday morning I was down 4 pounds. I have learned many things this week. #1, I'm not sure about the multiple weigh ins during the week. This week, it helped because I did learn a few things. #2, As a younger person, I had no palate for sweets, as a menopausal mama, I have chocolate rages. If you are in the way, like blocking the door to the room where the chocolate is hidden, you had best move! Nothing separates me from my hormones and chocolate. This week we had chocolate withdrawal. Not pretty, but a dash to the 'frig for a cold flavored water really worked. Yesterday was not so good, but 1 out of seven is a great improvement.
#3, Diet Coke is my enemy. Too much sodium and other bad stuff in it. I went to Diet Rite and the flavored water. I'm thinking that the initial 4 pound loss was from the switch, as last night I had the dreaded DC at a movie with my husband. Yes, a date night with my husband. Incredible.

So, I can chalk this week up in the success column as 1 pound/week is my anticipation. I learned by my own observation, no lectures, that I have to drink more water and stay away from the Diet Coke. Chocolate will still be in my future, unless I plan on jail time, but I will usually trade that out with flavored water or fruit. Eileen will be storing our little chocolate bar snowmen at her house unless you all find pity on us and buy them.

On to the next week. I will have my grandson with us all week in Tucson. We are all looking forward to the sun. Ken has bought him some little golf clubs and we have lots of plans for walking and swimming. Target and Walmart are special favorites for shopping. Should be fun!!

AWE

AWE! : reverent wonder tinged with fear inspired by the sublime.

I woke to see this incredible sunrise this morning! We haven't seen anything but gray, dingy skies for so long...snow, ice, rain, flooding... what a wonderful sight this was. It is so amazing how the sunlight can lift your emotions so much! Then to see this palate of the Creator's breath-taking colors, never to be truly reproduced by the human hand. The word is used so often, it has become trivialized, but this was truly awesome.

Have a wonderful day and create some of your own beauties,with your hands or in your heart!

Karen

JOY!!

JOY!: to experience great pleasure or delight; Rejoice!

We received this, the first picture of our new grandson expected in late May. It will be the first for our youngest son and his wife. The emotions for me, seeing this for the first time, were of pure joy and overwhelming love. They crashed over me like a wave, all encompassing, flooding my heart and soul. The skinny little leg and the precious facial features, so sweet and such a gift. Little Hagen will be named after my dad, a man so incredible and so close to my sons and me. We all miss him so much. Prayers will be lifted that this little one will have some of his great papa's wisdom, love for others and love for his God and Savior.

Two verses immediately came to mind.... Psalm 139:13-14
“For you created my inmost being: you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Nana Karen

WEIGH-IN WEDNESDAYS

Pansy's growing on the side of Mt. Etna in Sicily.


I am starting a new program called Weigh In Wednesday. One of my anticipations is loosing some pounds so I feel better about myself , increasing my self esteem and making my body image more acceptable, eventually pleasing. This morning was my first horrifying weigh-in. Tears came instantly when those 3 large numbers clicked into place. More than I have ever weighed. I was a svelte 130 lbs. in 1990, graduating from nursing school after 4 grueling years
of studying chemistry, microbiology, anatomy/physiology and finally patient care. Found my dream job in drug research and life was way good! In six months I was stricken with Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia, incredible aching in every muscle and sleeping up to 18 hours every day. Then the seizures started 2 Grand Mal where I was rushed to the hospital to stay for a week each time. I was having up to 40 seizures every day. I couldn't be left alone and I couldn't work being on the massive anti-convulsants. The only positive was an incredible appetite, eating things I had never had a taste for. The final conclusion.... 45 pounds in 6 weeks, lots of anti-convulsant drugs and still seizures. Things have quieted physically, but the weight still jumps up sporadically and unexpectedly.
This is my plea... are there others out there needing a friend, a supporter to walk down the weight loss trail.? I have 3 friends who are joining me on the yellow brick road of protein bars. We need your stories of encouragement, your low cal, good tasting recipes and some good old Atta girl! You can do it!
So in starting, I am Karen of Forget Me not Dreams. My anticipation for this year is a loss of 40-50 lbs, slowly at a pound per week. My goal is to do more exercise, so walking on the treadmill until the weather gets better here, lifting some light weights at first and some floor stretching and exercising. After this first week, I will let you know next Wednesday how the battle went and what I want to add or change. Meet me here and let me know how you did through this week.
My friend and I have joined www.healthylivingonline.com on iVillage. It seems to be a very good, well rounded program. Check it out.

Thanks for listening!
Karen

SAVINGS!

Yup, we’ve missed them too! Pink Fridays are starting up again this week with the perfect theme to start off the new year….”Make Way For the New”! You’ll find an incredible 40% off savings in our Pink Friday category, so check it out! Click here for a sneak peek...but no buying till Friday! We are clearing out our shelves to make room for… “In With the New”. Don’t forget to check out the other great shops at Make Mine Pink Friday too!
Join us!
Karen & Eileen

ANTICIPATION

Anticipation is the act of looking forward: pleasurable expectation: the visualization of a future event or state.

I have decided that I am finished with the New Year's resolutions, as of 2009, I am going to have anticipations. At my tender age, resolutions have become too frustrating, too self defeating and not much fun. Anticipations on the other hand offer an element of surprise, expectation and promise. I'm ready!

So, my anticipation list for this year, or maybe until July 1st, or maybe for life is:
1) Relax more and gain more creativity in the process. Create!
2) Spend more laugh time with my grand babies. Welcome my new Sweet Pea in late May
3) Lose a pound a week until I feel better about looking in the mirror... breathing in my clothes is important too.
4) Make 4 new friends
5)Bring some kind of joy, make some kind of difference in the lives of 10 people. Bake more cookies for Marines overseas.
5) Anticipate the blessings in my life everyday, count them and be thankful!

WHAT ARE YOU ANTICIPATING FOR THIS COMING YEAR?

I would love to know! Karen