i'd like to buy a vowel, pat...

well hello there, blogland. apparently, life just swallowed me up in the last week or so and i did not follow through on my "blog everyday commitment" but instead of just giving up...i'm hopping right back on that wagon.

first things first...i owe you a weight watcher's wednesday update. since tomorrow is wednesday, though, i'll give you part one today and conclude with part two tomorrow. seriously? can you even stand the excitement? ;) don't get too excited because "part 1" consists of one sentence. part 1: we didn't get to weigh in a week ago due to all the snow and ice that visited our area that weekend. see? i told you not to get too worked up. i can tell you this, though...being "snowed in" and not weighing in {read that: no accountability that comes in the form of the little weight watcher lady who either tells you that you've gained or you've lost that week} does not bode well for a successful weight watcher's week. i did weigh at home that week and my home scale encouraged me by saying i had lost a pound. riveting, i know and just wait...there's more tomorrow ;).

second of all, hubs truly spoke my love language on saturday night...office supplies. i needed a notebook, dividers, and supplies to put together a notebook for my job coordinating the 2's and 3's at church so he graciously agreed to make the journey with me. {and for those of you who know me and who visited my office at church...you will understand the magnitude of what i'm about to say...he also bought me some more sharpies ;} i can't really function if my work papers and things are disorganized so i'm really looking forward to putting my notebook together this morning. {and after that maw maw might go clean her dentures and work a crossword puzzle because apparently, i am just that exciting these days.}

finally, please note the adorable little dayspring add on the right side of the blog. feel free to click on it and go on over there to get some great savings on valentine's day gifts and lots of other great products. i have to say, i'm quite the fan of dayspring and am happy to advertise for them.

alright, it's 10:00 and you know that means it's time for maw maw's lunch and wheel of fortune ;). don't forget to check back in tomorrow for part 2 of weight watcher's wednesday. trust me...it's just as exciting as it sounds.

prayers and action for ronel

i know we've all been burdened and overwhelmed by everything that has been happening in haiti after the earthquake. one story in particular has captured my heart and broken it all at the same time. go here to read ronel's story and then you must go here to find out what you can do about it. that's right, those of us sitting in our pj's in our warm living room surrounded by family on this snowy morning can do something about it. don't just sit back and be sad about it...do something. now.

come on people...let your voice be heard.

weight watcher's wednesday

well hello there, blogland! apparently i took a one week blogging break {apparently, an unplanned break}. life has just been quite busy and honestly, didn't realize it has already been a week since i last blogged.

i have good news to share on the weight watchers front! i was a little nervous about our weigh in on saturday morning. i had worked so hard all week to make sure we were staying within our points but also eating all of our points {which is a bit of a challenge since hubs gets quite a few points}. i just wanted a little bit of movement on the scale to reassure me that i at least had an inkling of how in the world to plan our menus so that they were full of filling, yummy, and healthy weight watchers food. on to the good news...

hubs and i both lost 5.5 lbs!! i thinked i scared the little weight watcher lady because i was so excited about losing any weight much less losing 5.5 lbs! we were both very excited and felt ready to tackle this week. it's been a hard weight watcher's week simply because i've had 2 pampered chef parties and some other things going on in the evenings but we've both been tracking our points and i think we're doing okay.

fingers crossed that we'll have another success on the scale this saturday!

weight watcher wednesday

pics from last week's pantry cleanse...

this was everything that was tossed in the trash...ugh.

this is the newly cleansed/organzied pantry :)

weight watchers here in the alley household is going really well. hubs says he's down 4 lbs and i'm down 2 lbs {since weigh in on saturday}. i've been working very hard to plan meals that would be very ww friendly that we love AND that we're not going to get tired of eating.

hubs has quite a large number of points he has to consume every day {ww uses the points system and you must eat your points every day in order to lose the weight}and so it's been challenging to plan meals within my points range AND meals so that he can use up all of his points :). it's been a little adventure, i'm telling ya.

this was monday night's dinner...grilled chicken, spinach salad {with oranges, strawberries, almonds, and craisins}, half a sweet potato and grapes

i think we've both {hubs and i} turned the corner and are really committed to following through with this. we're ready to get healthy and oh. my. word. it makes a world of difference that we're doing this together. so, the first full week of ww has been a success, i believe.

see you next wednesday with more ww news....hopefully much lighter ;).

be still

true confession: i've really been struggling lately. there. i said it. on the blog and everything. have you ever been in a place in life where you weren't quite sure what was bothering you but you knew things weren't exactly right? yeah, i've been there the last couple weeks and it hasn't been a lot of fun. if i'm being completely honest, i'm not exactly the most introspective person in the world and sometimes, it just takes me a while to process everything to figure what in the world is going on.

i've been feeling quite discontent with some things in life...specifically, i've been feeling purposeless. {that's my "word of the month", apparently} i don't mean to sound whiny or ungrateful. please hear me when i say i know beyond a doubt that the Lord has blessed me with an absolutely amazing husband, an incredible home, awesome family and friends...i could go on and on. i think, though, that the realization that life, for me, is very different than it was 5 months ago has just now started to sink in. life was very busy for us in the months after i resigned from my job and since the pace has slowed down, it's more of a reality for me. i know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord called joel and i to make the tough decision to go ahead and resign but when you're 6 months removed from that "mountain top experience" with God, sometimes the doubts can creep in. i've asked the Lord lately, "did we hear you correctly?" or {my favorite}, "are You sure You know what You're doing here?" it's a good thing that the Lord isn't afraid of our questions and our fears. His response to me, though.... "be still." my response has been the same, "really? be still? ugh. that does not sound like my idea of a good time." His reply, again? "be still."

so, that's where i am right now. i'm supposed to be still. now, factor in the breaking free bible study and a recent conversation with a good friend over a cup of coffee {where she, not knowing my current struggles, spent 2 hours encouraging me to make the most of my time at home while i'm in this waiting season. those were her words. i sat at her kitchen table in tears overwhelmed by the goodness and graciousness of the Lord that He would continue to speak to my heart through this friend when i have been less than agreeable with Him lately.} and i know i'm right where the Lord wants me to be. i'm in a new place that, quite frankly, is a bit uncomfortable because i'm not in control right now {funny that i think i ever was} but i know the Lord is going to use this time to change me, stretch me, and mold me to be more like Him and less like me {praise Him for that, by the way}.

my goal and my desire is while i'm in this season of waiting that i will make the most of my time. my friend so kindly pointed out that i'm in a very unique season in life where i am not committed to a full time job and i don't have children {yet}. i have an opportunity to focus on my husband, our home, getting healthy and in shape, and on my relationship with the Lord. so while this time of waiting seems uncertain and sometimes difficult, i am choosing to be thankful. i don't know what the Lord is going to do in this season of my life but instead of being grumpy, whiny, or complainy {is that a word?!} i'm going to be thankful. thankful that i have such an opportunity to grow and learn and be stretched in my relationship with the Lord with very few distractions; thankful that i can focus on my husband and the best way to support him as he leads our family; thankful that i have this time {without children} to establish our home.

i have always joked that since i was 15 years old, i knew exactly what i was going to do with my life and the direction the Lord was leading. in some ways, that's very true...i always had such a clear direction and focus as to what my next step was supposed to be. for the first time in my life, more things are uncertain than are certain and i'm okay with that.

weight watcher wednesday update...on thursday

i have to admit, i missed blogging yesterday. so, i owe you a "weight watchers wednesday" update even though today is thursday :). whatever works, right?

first things first, i lost 2 pounds this week. hubs and i did not make it to an actual weight watcher meeting last week but i weighed at home. we're headed to our first "official" meeting on saturday morning at 10:00. i also "cleansed" our pantry and ended up with 3 trash bags full of stuff. i also had a very successful trip to the grocery store where i replaced the not-so-good-for-us food with food that is good for us. tonight's dinner was made from ingredients purchased during the turning-over-a-new-and-healthy-leaf grocery trip and hubs actually really liked it. score!

grumpy

yeah, that word kinda sums me up today. truth be told, i've been grumpy for the past few days; i don't really know what's causing it or why i'm grumpy...i just am. i even considered not blogging today because really, who wants to read what grumpy amy has to say? but then i remembered i promised to not worry or care about what you might think about me and just blog freely. so, here i am. "hi, my name is amy and i'm grumpy..."

so here are a few of my pet peeves as of late (humor me, i'm grumpy...remember?):

-facebook. {gasp!} i've been onboard the facebook bandwagon for a long time...like, back in the day when you had to be associated with a school to join and i've been a fb fan for a long time. i've really enjoyed reconnecting with friends from elementary school, junior high, high school, college, and seminary. lately, it has just bugged me that it seems as though people either use their status messages to declare how awesome their life is {been guilty of that at one point or another} or as a way to passive agressively judge other people. either way, facebook has not brought out the best in me lately so i've decided that sometimes with a status message, silence really can be golden. hopefully, i'll be feeling the facebook love again really soon.

-parents who refuse to volunteer: i've worked in children's ministry in some capacity or another for 12 1/2 years now and parents who refuse to volunteer still completely baffle me and frustrate me all at the same time. they freak out if their child's class has no teacher {or if the teacher is late, heaven forbid} but when you ask them to step up and serve they have a million reasons why they can't. now, i'm not a big fan of requiring all parents to serve {you don't want someone teaching your child who hates being in the room or doesn't really like children} but come on, people. step up and teach children about Jesus. my other related "soap box" is that parents have lower expectations for their child's sunday school teacher than they have for their own teacher but that's another rant for another day. it just baffles me that parents can hear that their child's class has no teacher 3 sundays out of the month and still seem indifferent to the problem.

-bad drivers: if you're a chronic breaker, forget to turn off your turn signal five miles after you turn, or you tend to drive slower than the posted speed limit, i'm sorry but you drive me crazy when we're on the road together.

in order to balance out the grumpiness, i have thought of a few things lately that really make me happy:

-my amazing husband: seriously...i'm not trying to be a sappy newlywed {because, newsflash...i just heard this week that if you've passed the one year anniversary, you're no longer newlyweds. that makes me so sad} but he really and truly is the sweetest man on the planet. i've been sick for several weeks and not only has he endured my whining, complaining, and all around wimpyness, he's been so sweet to me. there are about a million other examples i could give but just trust me...he's just awesome.

-my little paisley: i don't know what it is about her the last few weeks but she has been such a little cuddle bug lately and i love it! she loves to just snuggle up and chew on her {nylon} bone or lately she just lays down across my lap and settles in for some good snuggling. she also is such a fan of giving kisses {i never thought i'd be okay with that but i am}. example: the other day after she'd been outside to play for a bit {and it was pretty cold out}, i picked her up and she wrapped her front paws around my neck and nestled her head into my hair and laid her head on my shoulder. precious, just precious.

-a trip to dallas in february: i'm super excited about my trip to see some of my best friends in the world. i had some amazing experiences in dallas with some incredible friends and it always does my heart good to go back and visit.

thanks for enduring the grumpy amy today. hopefully, a happier amy will be back tomorrow :).