The View from Here

Boring...

Yes, I am already bored with January and with winter. Brown grass and cold temps and very little activity. I need to psyche myself up for the next few weeks.

I looked at my photo files yesterday and the apple tree bloomed last year on February 2.

The first flower bloomed on February 15.  

Patience, patience, patience…

We can do this!

I AM walking more. I have found that my “once more around the yard” is a good plan, even though it may seem wimpy to those of you walking miles and miles on your treadmills. I feed the birds each and every day, unless it is raining, so at least that means I am consistent about walking. I plan to resume walking down to the highway soon. I’m not sure of the distance, but it is more. That’s all that is important right now.

And I am fully aware that my friends and family are enduring weather that would make me cringe- LOTS of snow, MUCH lower temperatures, and no grass in sight! They are also facing a longer winter, so I can’t complain too much. If I start feeling sorry for myself I have only to recall our year in Iowa! I’ll take Oklahoma’s crazy unpredictable winter any year over Iowa’s predictable months and months of snow.

So…I will try to be appreciative of January.

Patience, patience, patience…

Why is that so difficult for me?

Balance and Self-Control

I watched an interview yesterday of a thirty-something woman who had lost 100 pounds and maintained her new weight for five years. The reporter asked her a few questions about how she had done it and the summation of her answers was “on my own with a plan I designed for myself”. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop so I’d know why she had been selected for the show. Didn’t happen. While the woman wasn’t exactly inarticulate, she also wasn’t the least bit forthcoming about any of her diet or exercise secrets. She lost 100 pounds. Apparently the purpose of the interview was to tell us that if she could do it we can do it. Thanks so much for that waste of time and attention that I will never get back.

I am just a bit perplexed about our fascination with people who lose weight. And you’ll notice I said “our”. If someone has lost 100 pounds I’m right there in the front row to hear how they did it.  We regard these people with the same high esteem as anyone who has achieved a major accomplishment and we want to hear all about it so we can emulate them.  However, something has always bothered me about that concept.

Other than control their own mind and body, which should be the foundation of our existence, what have they done with their life? Seriously…a person can be hateful, dishonest, and annoying- they can be perpetually unemployed, take advantage of their mother, and beat the dog-  but let them lose 100 pounds and there they are on a talk show as a role model for the rest of us.

And we have seen the same thing over and over again in sports, entertainment, and business. We hold up a person’s achievement for all to admire and then find out that the person achieving that glory isn’t a good person at all. It seems that greatness and balance don’t always go hand in hand. Self-control, focus, and achievement in one aspect of life often result in neglect of another.

The Bible teaches just the opposite- moderation, control, and goodness in all things- our thoughts and our deeds. I love Titus, one of the tiny overlooked books of the Bible. In it Paul gives advice for dealing with difficult people and living a good life. He tells Titus to teach the older men to “be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled and sound in faith, in love and in endurance”. Older women are to be “reverent in the way they live” so they can teach younger women to do the same. Younger men are encouraged to be “self-controlled” and Paul tells Titus “in everything set them an example by doing what is good”. My favorite verse (2:12) says that the grace of God teaches us “to say ‘no’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope- the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” A godly life is a balanced life, and although the Bible also teaches us that we have specific talents and abilities to use for the Lord, I don’t think it ever implies that we can abandon everything else to focus on that one gift.

I understand why weight loss is an obvious subject for discussion and admiration. After all, it is apparent to everyone when a person drastically changes their appearance. Ironically that is one of the things that has always irritated me about losing weight and has even sabotaged my diet a few times. I dislike focusing on my weight to the exclusion of other things in my life. Years ago I lost fifty pounds and became a “topic of discussion” at work. I ended up hating the fact that my ability to lose weight suddenly overshadowed every other aspect of my life. A little encouragement and a few congratulatory remarks were certainly appreciated, but at some point most people crossed the line and talked of nothing else. I ended up thinking, “Thanks, but let me tell you what else I’m doing with my life.”

I write often about health and food and diets and my weight. I will gladly tell you that I have lost ten pounds since December 23rd and that I think the recent changes I’ve made in my diet are going to be successful for me.  But if I lose ten or even thirty more pounds, I’d still rather talk about teaching or gardening or photographing the birds. Better still, I’d rather talk about YOU and what you are doing. Our bodies should not be more important than what we do with them. And our appearance should not be the greatest concern of our life. Health and energy and mobility are better reasons for weight control- an important lesson I am slowly, but surely, learning.

Yes, I am trying to lose weight. But I am also trying to be a better person in so many other ways.

It is a daily struggle to live a godly life in this present age.

And it’s all about balance and self-control. 

Happy Birthday!

From the beginning there was always that beautiful smile! Happy Birthday to my youngest girl, middle child, wonderful daughter! 

 

Got Milk?

I’ve been reading about the food prices that will increase this year due to last year’s drought. Of course anything that is fed grain will cost you more money, so I’m glad that I don’t eat beef, pork, or chicken. But in that same group is the producer of one of my favorite categories of food- milk and milk products. I already save some money because I use non-fat dry milk. Gary doesn’t drink milk at all and seldom eats cereal so dry milk suits our needs. I can make enough milk for my own use without wasting any. I can also store enough dry milk to last through as many months as I choose. Unfortunately there isn’t a similar alternative for cheese and ice cream, so I guess my diet plan to eat less will have to suffice as a money-saving plan as well!

I suppose we will also see an increase in the price of eggs. I’ve returned to eating fake ones to save on cholesterol, but it might be better to eat the real ones and just eat a couple per week. Certainly cheaper. And studies show that the cholesterol isn’t a factor if your overall diet doesn’t include a lot of meat. Something to ponder.

Maybe this is the key to sticking to our New Year’s resolutions to lose weight! Let’s look at the prices instead of the calories and think of our pocketbooks before we put something into our mouths. We will be thinner and our wallets will be fatter! Sounds like a plan to me….

Thank You!

I got an email “thank you” from a stranger yesterday.

I love those two little words!

To me they convey the idea that I made a small difference in someone’s life. And that someone took time out of their busy life to acknowledge my action. I don’t need a pat on the back or a reciprocal action or a written note, although each of those has its place in life.

Just those two little words will suffice.

That’s all most of us want- a little attention now and then. We just want to know that our friends and family members recognize that we are making an effort to be helpful and kind and agreeable, just like our moms taught us to be.

I sometimes fail to say thank you, or I express my feelings a little “after the fact”. I think we tend to do that most with the people who are around us every day. We get so accustomed to their kindness that we overlook some of the things they do. I fully admit that I don’t tell my husband “thank you” often enough.

As we embark on the adventure of a new year I want to start by saying THANK YOU to each and every one of you who have taken the time to read my words this past year. I know you have other things to do. I know that my musings are often mundane and my opinions are old-fashioned. But I like to think that you find yourself returning here because once in a while I say something that makes a small difference in your life. I hope that in the coming year I continue to do so.

 

Looking Ahead to 2013

I begin 2013 much as I began 2012- hesitant, yet hopeful. I have not made any resolutions, but I offer these few random thoughts about what the new year might hold.

It seems that for a time we are going to be more broke than we had planned. But this is the year that I am saving money. I AM saving money. I AM SAVING MONEY! Feel free to repeat with me as often as necessary.

Despite positive changes in my diet I am still fat. I eat well, but I still eat too much. It’s that simple. And I know that it would be un-American to start out the year without a new diet plan.  So I have determined that the best plan for me is to continue my pescetarian ways, and to continue some of my “daily” foods, but eat ½ as much. I’m not going to count calories, give up sweets, or do anything drastic. I’m simply going to stop and think before preparing any snack or meal and eat ½ of what I would have previously eaten.  (Please note that this will tie in nicely to the first plan- saving money!)

I have given much thought this week to my exercise problem. Again I have determined that the best plan for me is the simplest, so I am not going to embrace an exciting new walking/running/dancing program for the coming year. I’m not going to join a gym or buy equipment. I already have an old treadmill in the laundry room that sits there silently mocking me.  I’m going to do something that everyone my age should do- stretch at least ten minutes each day. Staying flexible is very important and helps prevent injuries. And I’m just going to look for ways every day to add to the steps I take. No more driving around the parking lot looking for the closest space! When I fill the bird feeders I can add one more lap around the yard for my health. When I go out to take pictures I can walk a little farther and perhaps I will be rewarded with something new to photograph!

I want to spend more time in the garden in 2013. I have been quite discouraged by the drought conditions of the past two years and as a result cut back on gardening. I know that is difficult to believe when you look at all the flower photos in my files, but it is true. I seldom buy a plant anymore unless it is on the clearance shelf. And I don’t buy anything that requires moist soil. I invested in some seeds this fall and hope they will give me a glorious cutting garden without a lot of water. I also sat down yesterday with a new seed catalog and circled some old favorites that have been absent from my garden in recent years. So for 2013 I am going to add celosia, gomphrena, nigella, and verbena bonariensis to my spring planting. I’m especially fond of nigella. If you are not familiar with it click here.

I also plan to write more, take better photos, and improve my teaching skills. Standard protocol for each and every year! This old dog can only learn a few new tricks at a time.

Happy New Year

to each and every one of you!