Body image

These are not my thighs. No, really, they're not. They belong to someone else, someone MUCH larger than I am. See, I really weigh 95 pounds, just as I did in high school. Except now I have larger.... ahem.... I'm more shapely. And when I was thinner, so were my thighs. I have the measurements to prove it. Sometime in between pregnancies, for some warped reason, I measured them. 18". Really. And, not any more. They're slightly larger now. BUT, not by a factor of 2 or even exponentially (shudder).

Why am I outing myself like this, you ask? It's simple. I have taken up the challenge of the 30 Day Dead Shred. I've been reading over at this site about her trials and travails to get Deaded Shredded, and thought, hmmm, maybe I should look into it. So I looked. And backed away. Quickly.

But this Monday, during my Not Me! rompings through blogs, I came across another blog talking about the Shred, except this one hasn't started it yet. That's mainly because she's on vacation with her husband in Hawaii. Her start date is Monday, May 18. YOU know, ALL torture diets/exercise regimens start on Mondays. Plus, I'm going to Cancun in July. With bathing suits. To wear. Showing those thighs.

So, I can do this. Start on the 18th, I mean. I bought the DVD yesterday. I haven't unwrapped it yet, though. That would be silly. It's not the 18th yet.

Anyone out there want to join me? Beginning Monday, May 18, we're gonna get DEADED SHREDDED!

Not Me! Monday!

Hey, guess what! It's time for Not Me! Monday! again. That time of the week when we emulate MckMama and confess all our failings to each other. Or our triumphs. I'm easy.

Yesterday, I did not aid and abet in the elimination of 2, count them, TWO snakes. Said reptiles were truly NOT at my house, for the record. They were captured at - not in - a house way down the street. But, my daughter, HRH, & I certainly did not drive down to the house with a revolver not-loaded with snake shot. We did not spend 15 minutes or so nailing down (so to speak) the identification of the snakies. For the record, they were non-poisonous, but the family has little kids. And these snakes were LONG. And they bite. So I did not provide my now-loaded revolver to the man of the house, who promptly did not shoot the stuffings out of the snakes. And rejoicing did not spread throughout the land.
On a lighter note, I did not have a most marvelous Mother's Day, with a nice meal, and a movie in the afternoon. Indiana rocks! And I certainly did not celebrate it with two hot, gooey, chocolate chip cookies hand-baked by my husband. I had not mixed up the dough a week ago, with plans to have an occasion bake-off when the mood strikes. And it certainly did not strike yesterday!
How about you guys? What have you NOT done this week? Confess!

Not Me! Monday!

It's back!!!! The world famous Not Me! Monday! The place where you confess all your sins to the world, in the hopes that others will comiserate with you, rather than judge you. Ahem. Check out the MckMama of the Not! Me-ers, MckMama.

So here goes: this week I did not plant flower seeds, plant some more, then plant some more. In the same holes. I am not thinking that more is better, and that a little variety is good for the soul. I did not contemplate making a batch of my famous fudge, then chicken out & make good old chocolate chip cookies instead. And I certainly did not eat one hot out of the oven in 3 seconds flat. Nope. Not me!

I also did not watch my newly 17-yr. old daughter get ready for her first prom (and first real date), with a LOT of poignancy, but also with great pride at her beauty. I did not make enough baked ziti with meatballs, Caesar salad, and crostini to feed 19 of her friends, rather than the 4 who were there. I did not have enough meatballs left over to feed us for 2 more meals, including the sauce. I was not tempted to just eat all the meatballs, rather than save them. I do NOT adore meatballs. Nope. Not me!

Compassion in Shreveport

It's time I came out of the closet - no, not THAT closet. The closet about Compassion. I sponsor a child in India. Yes, THAT India. He's a 5-year old little boy in a village 215 km northeast of Delhi (someone do the conversion for me, please!).

This all started with a blogger I follow, Angie Smith, who started writing about Compassion a couple of months ago. She is, as we speak, over in India, in Kolkata (Calcutta), meeting lots of these little ones. And, of course, raising awareness for sponsoring.

Money's tight right now. For a lot of us. But, you know, once I realized that I had been paying the same amount of money ($38) for a "health club" membership which I had just canceled, the decision became a non-decision. Lots of us can squeeze together that much a month. I don't personally do the coffee bar thing, mainly because I've learned to make those drinks at home & I'm a cheapskate. But there are lots of other areas I can & did cut back.

Thirty-eight dollars. A month. Compassion does it right - and there are kids all over the world needing you. (I may insult someone here) Don't give me the song and dance about kids right here at home needing our help. I know that - trust me, I work with them every day. My answer to you is - ARE you helping them, or is that just your pat answer?

$38. Compassion. They make it easy for you, and it's worth it.

Shreveport

Let's see, will this make me famous? I got an email this morning from Wikimetro asking if they could link my blog to their site. Hmmmm. I guess so. Now I'm supposed to write about happenings in and around my home town, so the world can keep up. Wait for it!

Hallelujah!

A quick note to my legion of fans to say "Happy Easter!" It's a glorious morning, trying to rain, but it always rains here at Easter.

Celebrate the day with your family & friends, and try not to eat too many bunny eggs. BTW, all the pictures on my site were taken last year at Easter. My, how they've grown.

"He is not here; He has risen, just as He said." Matthew 28:6

A NOT! Not me! Monday!

This is just a teeny note to give all my legion of fans a little update.....

There are three blogs that I officially follow. Of the three, ALL of them need prayer - MAJOR prayer. Here's why:

http://thelukesponbergfoundation.blogspot.com are expecting! That's right, they lost their little one almost a year ago, and are now looking forward to another little one. I can't imagine their feelings, having never been where they are, but I can ask you to pray for them. Put yourself in their place & ask God's grace on them.j

http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com are, tomorrow, going to observe the first anniversary of their daughter's birthday and one day life. Again, I can't imagine; I can only ask you to pray for sweet Angie & for peace on this hardest of days.

www.mycharmingkids.net , MckMama, is right now going through the storm. Her MckMiracle baby is on his third week of hospitalization with continuing bouts of SupraVentricular Tachycardia. I DO know what she's going through: at times, I've been slammed with my own bouts of SVT's. It's no fun, and I'm a grownup. Imagine what a 4-month-old feels like. Pray, people. Raise these good Christians up to the Lord and ask for mercy. For miracles. For peace.
For joy.

And, it wouldn't hurt to let them know that you're praying for them.

Later!