How I Lost Weight: My great secrets

1. Drink lots of water every day- Drinking lots of water fills you up so you are less hungry for other things. Whenever you have a craving for something "bad" try a nice warm cup of herbal tea. Cutting out all pop can help a lot of people with just one step.

2. Eat lots of fiber and I mean lots- Eating lots of fiber fills you up so you are less hungry for other things. (Whole wheat foods, Triscuit crackers, broccoli, potatoes, rice, sweet potatoes, peas, applesause, bananas, beans, etc,)

3. Cravings? What do I do about them?- I crave chocolate, so I bought the little tiny miniature candy bars and whenever I have a craving I eat one and only one. I also bought some yummy hard candies. By the time you are done sucking on one of those you forget about your other craving.

4. Exercise?- Not really. But I do stay busy with various activities. The key is to be moving and not to be stagnant in front of the TV or a book all day. For those of you who work at a job at a desk. Try getting up and walking around the office every so often imbetween tasks.

5. Count calories and fat grams?- Nope. I just try to make every meal a healthy meal. But I don't lose sleep over a cheeseburger (actually I might due to heartburn) You don't have to be into tofu and rice cakes all the time. Just try to have the essentials in every meal (fruits and veggies).

6. I moved to a bigger house with stairs. I try to go up and down them lots of times a day. Also cleaning a big house is a workout, but even mopping a tiny bathroom can be a workout if you scrub, scrub, scrub. So can sweeping, vacuuming, rearranging the furniture, carrying a baby, etc. When doing these tasks clean like your life depends on it. Take your anger out on the floor. Mop with all your might. You will be sweating when you are done.

If I think of more later I will post them, but for now here are my great secrets to how I lost weight.

Priceless

1. A dinner date with my husband- $35
2. The new outfit I want- $50
3. A new car $15,000
4. Nice furniture- $5,000
5. A new computer- $1000
6. Getting my hair highlighted- $65
7. Going to a movie I like- $5
8. A Master's Degree- $10,000
9. A dog- $1000 a year
10. Laughter, learning, loving, letting go, listening, looking down at little ones- PRICELESS

If I had all the time in the world I would . . . .

1. Do Nothing!!!!
2. Read a million books.
3. Watch all the good movies I have missed out on while raising children.
4. Call all of my long lost friends.
5. Blog more.
6. Paint my nails and maybe do my hair and wear makeup.
7. Spend more "quality" time with my husband.
8. Sleep, sleep and more sleep.
9. Get a master's degree.
10. Help everyone in the world who needs help.
11. Clean my house.
12. Since I would have a clean house, I would have people over.
13. Cook a 7 course meal occasionally
14. Shop til I dropped, but also found some good bargains I'm sure.
15. Get some more pets.
16. Study the Bible more.

And the list goes on and on and on, but I really wouldn't trade any of these things for the opportunity to spend every day with my children. It may be a "sacrifice" but it is worth 10 times more than all of these things put together. Hearing laughter and singing and all the things the come with childhood bring more joy to my heart than any of these things ever could (accept studying the Bible more).

So, really if I had all the time in the world (and possibly money), I would adopt lots of children who need lots of love. "What the world needs now. . . is love sweet love." (Words from a popular old song)

I Thank My God Upon Every Remembrance Of You

I once had a very good friend move away. I was sad and she told me that she would pray that God would bring me a friend. Not long after that God brought me "my dearest Keppi". We live about 2 hours apart and don't get to see each other often, but when we do it is always fun and relaxing. So, Thank you God for my dearest friend Keppi. And thank you my dear friend for putting up with my silly old ways. For always being there for me. For laughing at my dumb jokes. For doing my hair and painting my ugly toenails. For loving my kids. For driving the distance for me. For giving me gifts. For being unselfish. For having fun. For helping me find those good bargains. And for everything else I love about you. You are a blessing from God.

Someone is Listening

The other day I uttered another quick silly prayer. I used to work with autistic children and saw how devastating it is to the whole family. So when I had children of my own I hoped and prayed our family would never have to go through that. I realized that my baby was not making very many sounds or "words" so I uttered a prayer that God would help him start talking. The very next day my baby went to our neighbor's house for a while. When I went to get him she said he talked and talked and talked. Thank you God for answering another silly prayer of mine. I guess you really are listening and caring about every little thing I care about.