South Beach on Thxgiving ~ FAIL!

I gained a pound and a half yesterday.... LOL!!!

It's ok, I knew I wouldn't be able to stay on the strict eating plan on Thanksgiving Day!!

I did really good up to that day (not sure how much I've lost, but it's about 12 - 15 pounds!), and I'm jumping right back on that wagon today. But everything was SOOOO WELL WORTH IT!!!! What a great meal we had!!

I ate turkey, rice stuffing, brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes with leeks, a little gravy, homemade cranberry sauce, green beans (actual fresh green beans, NOT the casserole), baked yams (WITH ALL the bad stuff on them), appetizers, wine, and a slice of apple pie.

BUT, I didn't bring ANY leftovers home!! And I left two whole pies (I'd made four) there with my cousin at his request.... which worked out perfectly for me. I brought a couple slices each of the other two pies for Chris and my mom.

Yes, I went WAAAY off plan, but hey, it was Thanksgiving Day!!

We had a BLAST though, my cousin just moved down here from Oregon about a month ago, and his mom was here visiting from Arizona, so we had a great time together catching up and enjoying 'family' again. There was 11 of us and we fit perfectly around the huge ROUND table my cousin has!! I got to help in the kitchen, and we laughed so much, I didn't feel like I was missing anything not preparing the meal at home.

My cousin's new place is beautiful, and he's VERY proud of the fact that you can see the world famous 'Hollywood' sign from his house.... but my sister brought him back down to earth when she rolled her eyes and said 'TOURISTS!!!' LOL!!!

Thanksgiving with FAMILY, worth EVERY OUNCE!!! = )


I caught a fish THIS big!!! (My nephew) (Note: my cousin MADE that beautiful fresh flower centerpiece!!)



NO video games at the dinner table!! (My nephew and my son)


My niece, my mom, and my sis


My gorgeous niece and her handsome boyfriend, Tony


My handsome nephew and his beautiful fiancee, Carrie


My beautiful sis and her son

Sixth day and still going strong!

Just finished my fifth day of the South Beach eating plan. I'm still doing very well. Thank you all for your encouragement, I feel it!! = )

I got alot of tips to help me stay on track, and writing about this journey was one of them.... (you can thank Ken for that! = )

I've learned some new ways to conquer the sweet cravings, although, they haven't really been that bad.... the first night or two, I was literally, dreaming about sweets... I think my mouth was chewing in my sleep, but hey, at least I didn't sleep walk into the kitchen... LOL!!!

But the cravings are more scarce now... I still NOTICE sweets nearby, but it's MUCH easier to JUST SAY NO!!!

Last night, I had an 'episode'.... but I conquered it with a tablespoon of peanut butter!!! Then I went to bed, that helped. = ) This morning, instead of the pancakes I thought would be nice... I'm having blackberry flavored tea which DOES have some natural blackberry flavoring in it.... but hey, it's WAY better than the pancakes, right!?! LOL!!!

MOST of all, I have to remember NOT to DWELL on the thoughts of something that enters my head, like the Fuji apples that my boss brought to the office yesterday, my favorite kind... yes, apples ARE a good snack, but for this initial period, I can't have ANYTHING with sugar AT ALL.... so I quickly forced myself to turn my thoughts to other things, work, weekend plans anything else but those apples.

A wonderful friend wrote me about the dangers of becoming, and challenges of being, diabetic. My dad was diabetic, so I'm right in line to becoming diabetic if I'm not careful.... I'm really trying not to. And although my dr. says ALL my numbers are really good right now, (he checked everything about two weeks ago... sugar, cholesterol, iron, etc.)..... I know my good luck isn't going to last forever if I keep eating the things I do and NOT exercising the way I should.

So I'm pretty determined to stop eating the junk food, there's no reason a woman my age should be eating all that stuff anyway, LOL!! No kidding, sometimes, I eat like a five year old would. LOL!! My meals are normally decent, healthful and well balanced, but it's the snacking on sugar junkfood that I have a problem with... So this was my answer.... an eating plan that absolutely BANS ALL sugar from my diet for a couple of weeks until I kick the sugar craving.... my plan is to STICK to the eating plan forever, and enjoying (sparingly) only good-for-me carbs after this initial two week period. If I start getting weak again, I'll just jump back on the first phase of the plan every once in awhile. I'm truly hoping this is something I can LIVE with. I really HAVE to make it work... otherwise I'm doomed.

Now, to set my mind on getting to the gym!! LOL!!!

Joann~

On the wagon, AGAIN!!!

The sugar wagon!! I've banned myself from eating sweets. I'm doing the South Beach eating plan. I wasn't going to post about it, but I have to.... I'm excited, and I'm doing well.... of course, it's ONLY my second day! But hey, I'm feeling REALLY good... good enough to stay pretty determined. Soooo, I'll probably post about my accomplishments and set backs for awhile, until I find something better to blog about. Sorry, I'll try hard not to bore you too much. LOL!!

I've been making the best dinners!! Of course, anything's really good when you're HUNGRY!!

I opened my front door this afternoon... and I SMELLED donuts!!! They smelled so good, but I'm ok, I don't need it.... I just came back in, grabbed a handful of delicious raw almonds, and I was set. = ) And I'm hoping that after a couple of weeks, the sugar cravings will subside, and I'll forget about missing it.

Thursday, I'm going to start my work-outs... I had to get over the 'weakness' hump first... you know, the one where you feel like you're gonna FAINT everytime you think of food, which for me, is ALOT!!! But I'm getting better at that, too!

Even my son is encouraging me.... he's actually eating what I make WITHOUT complaining that there's no pasta or bread with the meal. He just eats the protien and veggie dishes I prepare.... then goes out and buys a burger somewhere!!

Well, thanks for any encouragement you can send over, I'll appreciate it. = )

Joann~

The story of Sam

I can't write this entry without the possibility of looking really bad to some of you who might not agree with a decision I made, but good or bad, it's a decision I made at a moment's notice and I can't turn back and change anything now.

About a month or so ago, my son met a friend I'll call Sam. Sam is homeless... I don't know Sam's story, and I've only seen and spoken to Sam once, very briefly, and VERY late one night when he came by our house to ask if he could stay over for the night, about two nights after my son met him. THAT's where you MAY not agree with my decision.

I said no. My heart BROKE to do that, but that was my decision. That's what I felt was right at the time. Sam is very young to be homeless, not a child, but a young adult..... to accept this young stranger into my home could bring on all kinds of problems. However, I could have also helped Sam by showing him kindness in letting him use our sofa for the night, and that's probably where I'll struggle with my decision forever. I'll never know if I made the right decision. But there was NO time to THINK, so I did the safe thing (and strangely enough, my son easily agreed with my decision, maybe he knew more about Sam than he was telling me??? I don't know. I DID tell him to tell Sam that we would drive him to a shelter, but Sam declined.)

Anyway, the day before that night, Sam asked my son if he could keep some food here for him... he gave my son about 4 grocery bags of sealed quick-and-easy food items to hold for him. Sam has never come back for the food... it's been by our door for a month.

I've looked for Sam on the streets, not even sure I'd really recognize him. My son had seen him on the street once or twice, but neither one of them mentioned the grocery bags.

Finally, when my son saw him again a few nights ago, my son asked him about the groceries, Sam told him to just throw them away..... it's been a couple of days, because I couldn't bring myself to get rid of a homeless person's food.... not even knowing if he's eating now.

But this morning I finally went through the bags to rebag them for a homeless shelter. Again, it totally broke my heart to do this, it felt like I was taking food from someone who really needs it.... I cried the whole time. And I prayed for Sam. That's all I can do.

If I see Sam again, I will offer him food, and again offer to drive him to a shelter.... but my hope is that if I see Sam again, he'll say that he's doing well, living somewhere safe and eating well.

Lord, hear my prayer!!

Happy Anniversary, J-Land!!!!

Even though J-Land doesn't TECHNICALLY exist anymore... it will always live on in our hearts.

I was only a member of J-Land for the last 2 years (or so) of it's existence, but I made some real friends there.... people that are an important part of my life, still.

It broke my heart when J-land ended, I thought I was losing all the good friendships I'd found.... but, because we were ALL tossed out on the street together, we bonded even more.... and together we found a new home with lots of wonderful new friends who accepted us with open arms. Some of us don't blog as often, because we have found other means of keeping in close touch.

How many of us would have bothered to get on FaceBook, otherwise?!?! Now we are together there, and others can find us easily. Hopefully, others from J-land that are still lost out there in cyberspace will find us and choose to come back to us. (You know who you are!! = )

Glad you are all still part of my life!!

A hug from a Stranger

I was in church this morning, and there was a young man sitting next to me on FIRE for the Lord.... you know how you can just pick that up on people. He was probably my son's age or a few years older (early 20's). He was one of those people you could just SEE carrying that beautiful glowing light of the Lord. He was HAPPY, greeting people, singing with raised hands, praising/worshipping, and praying down on his knees while the rest of us were standing.

At the beginning of the service, when the music stopped, the Pastor always asks us to greet each other.

Normally, I'll turn to the people around me and shake their hands and introduce myself.

Today, this young man sitting next to me turned towards me and I reached out my hand to greet him, and he threw his arms open and said "Gimme a hug!" He gave me a strong, hearty hug!! A hug that makes a person feel good!! A hug that says.... "WE HONOR THE SAME FATHER, AND I LOVE YOU!!!"

It may seem like a simple thing to some, but I was really impressed with him. Boys his age don't like to hug fat old ladies, they seek out the cute young ones to hug... but he was REAL!!! He was SINCERE in his Godly love!!

And after the service, he shook my hand again, introduced himself and asked my name. I told him my name and said "Thanks for that hug, you made my day!" So he gave me another one, and told me 'God Bless You'. And we parted ways.

I'm telling you this, so that you'll know that when you hug someone, they FEEL it!! They know when it's sincere.... so go hug a stranger!!!

Joann~

4th of July with a SURPRISE!!!!

First of all, a picture of me and the new MAMA to be....... WOO HOO!!! Shannon's gonna be a MOMMY!!!!!!!!


I'm SOOOO excited for them... CONGRATULATIONS to Shannon & Chad!!!!



The proud grandparents.... (and the GRILLMASTER!!!)



The other proud grandparents....



These are the grandfathers.... is THIS what the new baby is going to look like??!?!



Of course, some pics of my son & me.... :)





Celebrating the festivities.....













And one tired mama.....



Hope you all had a great 4th of July, too!!!

Joann~