I just wanted to do a life update real quick as well, because many many things are going very well right now. I'm really very excited about the path I've been lead to.
Right now I am eating half a potato with queso on it, and I fully expect to be full when I finish. If it doesnt do the trick, I know the peach will contribute. I am actually feeling full these days!! It is WONDERFUL! Even more wonderful than that is I am losing weight! I started at 267, and 4 weeks later am 254. I'm actually losing weight. I have been working so hard since Matt was born and have gained and gained and gained. I've never put such a concentrated effort on weight loss before only to gain 15 lbs over the course of a year (after I lost all my baby weight naturally, it just fell off! Weird, no?). So to have lost that in almost a month, well, you know the Lord is good. Because I have made it more than obvious I can't do this on my own. I'm using the Weigh Down program, and while I know that there is some contreversy surrounding The Remnant Church, that doesn't mean this is a ridiculously effective way to lose weight. I eat whatever I want, whenever I'm truly hungry, instead of when I have the urge (or head hunger, they call it). I eat really really slowly (especailly compared with how I used to eat) so I don't just run over my fullness cue. Now smaller than normal portion sized FILL ME UP! I eat about two meals a day because that is when I get hungry. Sometimes I'm hungry for breakfast, but usually not. Sometimes I'm hungry at 10pm, so I eat (because it is just as sinful to ignore a hunger cue as it is to eat before you get it). It is AMAZIZING. I know I sound like an infomercial, but you can know I'm not being paid because 1) Im still 254 lbs. That isnt really a marketable testimony :-) 2) I don't fully agree with the whole message. I agree with most of it wholeheartedly, but not all.
Moving on, Warren is getting a wee little promotion. Not enough so that I can stay home, but enough that we aren't living paycheck to paycheck. That will be so so nice. We are considering a vacation to San Antonio next summer when the kiddo is a little older. That will be so exciting! I think he will love Shamu. At least, I will! ;-)
Work is gong a little too well, I'm about out of projects to draw! Uh-Oh!
And, our good friends, Stacy and Tommy are getting married tomorrow. Mostly I'm just excited for them, a little worried, but a good mother type should be, I think. ;-) I hope I look fabulous. I know everyone else will, and I want to keep up!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Hard things
I had to tell a friend a really hard thing yesterday. It did not go well. I'm praying so hard for soft hearts and wisdom (for both of us!). It was just not a pretty thing with me being pretty bad at this kind of thing and him not fully understanding what I was trying to say or not fully accepting what I was trying to say.
I did learn a lot of things yesterday, however. I wished I had expressed more of my concern for him instead of the ministry, so that he didn't feel like I was concerned for me. Because my feelings aren't hurt at all. In fact, we worked really hard on that front weeks ago, and I thought we made a lot of process. I didn't realize that his feelings may have been hurt in the process. I learned that even if they think they can, people don't want to be confronted and it really hurts, no matter what they say, and it must always be done in person so as to fully communicate with words and body language. Because I know my words were hard, but he couldn't see the love or concern in my eyes. I was trying to warn him and he felt like I was trying to pick him apart.
I know I didn't present this perfectly (or even close), but that doesn't mean that there wasn't a really scary issue. There is. However imperfect I am in delivery doesn't mean that he isn't still about to walk into a pit. I'm scared for my friend. I'm scared I might have made it worse.
It is my sincerest hope that I am not being overly critical of him, and it is my sincerest hope that I am not being divisive. I know that even though one desires not to be something doesn't mean they are not that very something. Even still, I truly am worried for my friend. He has such a massive, beautiful calling. How couldn't he be the object of attack? I just hope I didn't facilitate that attack in my "warning". But again, I don't believe that means he shouldn't have been warned.
Lord, I love you. LORD. I want your first. Fill me with fear as to not move out of your boundaries.
I did learn a lot of things yesterday, however. I wished I had expressed more of my concern for him instead of the ministry, so that he didn't feel like I was concerned for me. Because my feelings aren't hurt at all. In fact, we worked really hard on that front weeks ago, and I thought we made a lot of process. I didn't realize that his feelings may have been hurt in the process. I learned that even if they think they can, people don't want to be confronted and it really hurts, no matter what they say, and it must always be done in person so as to fully communicate with words and body language. Because I know my words were hard, but he couldn't see the love or concern in my eyes. I was trying to warn him and he felt like I was trying to pick him apart.
I know I didn't present this perfectly (or even close), but that doesn't mean that there wasn't a really scary issue. There is. However imperfect I am in delivery doesn't mean that he isn't still about to walk into a pit. I'm scared for my friend. I'm scared I might have made it worse.
It is my sincerest hope that I am not being overly critical of him, and it is my sincerest hope that I am not being divisive. I know that even though one desires not to be something doesn't mean they are not that very something. Even still, I truly am worried for my friend. He has such a massive, beautiful calling. How couldn't he be the object of attack? I just hope I didn't facilitate that attack in my "warning". But again, I don't believe that means he shouldn't have been warned.
Lord, I love you. LORD. I want your first. Fill me with fear as to not move out of your boundaries.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
I just might do it!
I just might cook the book! I certainly wont blog about it... much... Well, i really probably wont. It will be hard enough to keep the commitment to cook the book, let alone document it for someone else's enjoyment. And here is the second disappointment. I'm not doing one of those specialty, highend, wonderful, and challenging cookbooks, like The French Laundry, or Nose to Tail. No Sir. A) I can't even dream of affording some of the equipment and ingredients necessary.
B) I don't think I have the basic skill set necessary to pull off even the simplest of the recipes. Which is know is an excuse, but its mostly the reason I'm starting out with an easy one, so I can....
Learn how to COOK! My mom is a FANTASTIC cook. I mean, darn near gourmet. She would laugh at The French Laundry. Okay, maybe not laugh, but she certainly wouldn't be intimidated. Also, I have this particular ability to get pretty good at most things with a fair amount of speed. It is nice in that it sends waves of jealousy through my friends when my "beginners luck" shows them up the first three or four attempts at "whatever", but then I cannot advance. I am a jack of all trades doomed to be great at nothing, just fair a many things. Such is my curse. But not with cooking! I am a black sheep! My husband can really hold his own in the kitchen, especially when it comes to baking. My mom's abilities have been enumerated and my dad worked as a restaurant manager, so while he can only make that mac and cheese for 20, it's freaking amazing. Even my brother has considered culinary school because he too has found a knack in cooking. The only knack I have found in this area is EATING all the dishes prepared. I can eat with the best of them, but that is a curse as well because I am grossly obese. *sigh*
So you see, I MUST learn how to cook. I love eating and I'm not very good at cooking and ladies and gents, that is a TERRIBLE combination. I'm thinking of using the first cookbook I ever got. My grandmother (who was also not a very good cook, but introduced me to the joy of eggo waffles) gave it to me when I was pretty young and I just hung on to it for years. Now I consult it daily. How much water does Jasmine Rice need (because my Asian cloth bag does not offer instructions to the mentally challenged that have not had it memorized since they were three)? How can you spice a pot roast? How long do you bake a sweet potato? Can you microwave green beans? Etc. So, you see, I would like to beef up my cooking repertoire, get a little experience under my belt. Which leads me to the fact that....
I still haven't gone through the first attempt on many of these dishes you veterans take for granted! You guys are on Lobster Consumee, which is just a variation of the other consumees you've done, but I've never cooked lobster! Lamb Brains? Hm, sounds fun, but where is the lamb chop located? While I think it would be fantastic to try these things, some day. I also think it would be much more useful to learn how to correctly roast a chicken. Plus, I'm 20-something. That means plenty of time to get to brain. Seriously, how cool would I really be if I could make Roasted Guinea Fowl en Crepinette de Byaldi with Pan Jus, but my chicken was consistently dry? Catch my drift?
The only catch is that this cook book has THOUSANDS of recipes. It's so huge. So I might find a smaller book. I do get bored rather easily...
B) I don't think I have the basic skill set necessary to pull off even the simplest of the recipes. Which is know is an excuse, but its mostly the reason I'm starting out with an easy one, so I can....
Learn how to COOK! My mom is a FANTASTIC cook. I mean, darn near gourmet. She would laugh at The French Laundry. Okay, maybe not laugh, but she certainly wouldn't be intimidated. Also, I have this particular ability to get pretty good at most things with a fair amount of speed. It is nice in that it sends waves of jealousy through my friends when my "beginners luck" shows them up the first three or four attempts at "whatever", but then I cannot advance. I am a jack of all trades doomed to be great at nothing, just fair a many things. Such is my curse. But not with cooking! I am a black sheep! My husband can really hold his own in the kitchen, especially when it comes to baking. My mom's abilities have been enumerated and my dad worked as a restaurant manager, so while he can only make that mac and cheese for 20, it's freaking amazing. Even my brother has considered culinary school because he too has found a knack in cooking. The only knack I have found in this area is EATING all the dishes prepared. I can eat with the best of them, but that is a curse as well because I am grossly obese. *sigh*
So you see, I MUST learn how to cook. I love eating and I'm not very good at cooking and ladies and gents, that is a TERRIBLE combination. I'm thinking of using the first cookbook I ever got. My grandmother (who was also not a very good cook, but introduced me to the joy of eggo waffles) gave it to me when I was pretty young and I just hung on to it for years. Now I consult it daily. How much water does Jasmine Rice need (because my Asian cloth bag does not offer instructions to the mentally challenged that have not had it memorized since they were three)? How can you spice a pot roast? How long do you bake a sweet potato? Can you microwave green beans? Etc. So, you see, I would like to beef up my cooking repertoire, get a little experience under my belt. Which leads me to the fact that....
I still haven't gone through the first attempt on many of these dishes you veterans take for granted! You guys are on Lobster Consumee, which is just a variation of the other consumees you've done, but I've never cooked lobster! Lamb Brains? Hm, sounds fun, but where is the lamb chop located? While I think it would be fantastic to try these things, some day. I also think it would be much more useful to learn how to correctly roast a chicken. Plus, I'm 20-something. That means plenty of time to get to brain. Seriously, how cool would I really be if I could make Roasted Guinea Fowl en Crepinette de Byaldi with Pan Jus, but my chicken was consistently dry? Catch my drift?
The only catch is that this cook book has THOUSANDS of recipes. It's so huge. So I might find a smaller book. I do get bored rather easily...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
