Trim Healthy Weight Loss

Posting our three month weight loss pictures.

 Beth lost 15 pounds and 11 1/2 inches

Stacey lost 30 pounds and 3 3/4 inches

First Fruits

We're enjoying the bounty from the garden the last week.  I picked my first tomatoes yesterday.  We sliced one up for dinner and the rest will go in a salad for our dinner this evening.

Progress

Progress

I thought you might like to see what our Trim Healthy Progress looked like after 1 month.  These pictures were taken at week 4.  We have now been on Trim Healthy Mama for  6 weeks.

 Beth 11 pounds lost.  6 1/2 inches lost.

Stacey10 pounds lost.  1 1/4 inches lost.

Where, Oh Where Have I Been?

For Today... Today is Thursday.

Outside my window...  The weather has been fantastic here in San Diego.  Cool and drizzly, sometimes rainy.  The forecast is for mid 80's through the weekend.

I am thinking...That I have to catch you up on a lot off happenings.

I am thankful...  I am thankful for God's goodness to me.  I feel so undeserving of His goodness.

I am wearing...  I am wearing an olive green maxi skirt with ruffled blue tank top and a blue and white button down shirt as a cover up.

I am creating...  Well, in the creating department I just finished the nursery set for my second grandchild.  I can sneak you a picture of it but it needs to remain a surprise until the baby shower June 6th.

Baby Walter's Cribset

Cathryn's Cribset, My previous work :-)

I have purchased two more collage picture frames.  One is for my Alaska family pictures, especially the grandchildren.  The other frame will be for our Sully.  That photo album update project hasn't gone anywhere.  But I will be working on that as well.

I've cleaned out a bookshelf in the office.  I've also gathered a large bag of clothing.  I've spied a few old throw pillows and some picture frames that will soon be empty.   I need to go through my craft and sewing supplies and empty some of those things out.   I will be hauling it all to the thrift store.

I also organized a storage room at our church last night and have a few things to take to the thrift store from that as well.

(pics from our overnight camp out in the desert on Sunday)

I am going...  I have a doctor appointment next Friday.  Church on Sunday.  Nothing else that I can foresee.

I am praying...  I have a HUGE unspoken that I am praying for God to move on.(it's not for me :-))  Praying for far away family.  Praying for the changing going on with my in-laws.

I am reading...  I picked up a book by Richard Castle at the library.  It is based off the television show Castle.  I have not seen the show but the book is okay.  I wouldn't let a youngster read it however.  The main character would be the offspring if MacGyver, James Bond and Dirk Pitt produced a child.

From the garden...  The garden is producing very well.  I've recently replanted some old favorites: spinach, lettuce, collard greens and kale.  My Mother's Day present was more tomato plants and some starts of spaghetti squash, they are already in bloom!  My zucchini's are just starting to produce and we are enjoying their great flavor as I have been purchasing them for several months now.

From the kitchen...  Big News from this household department. 

In April husband failed his required bi annual weigh in for the Coast Guard.  It goes against his record and he has 35 weeks to reduce to a certain weight, measurement and BMI.  Soooo we started a 'diet.'  We are trying Trim Healthy Mama.  THM is a low Glycemic, low carb, food combining diet.  I've had good success with it so far.  I've lost 10 pounds and 9 1/4 inches.  I think my manly man has lost 2 inches from his waist.  Tomorrow is our weigh and measure day so we will see how far we've come in four weeks :-)

Is been challenging to use things like flax flour, coconut flour, almond flour.  I've had a few success stories and an equal amount of failures in the baking department.  I did have a good success today with a Lemon Cranberry muffin that was very good.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/379498706077525281/

One our favorites was this Cherry Cheesecake Desert

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/32158584814330657/

From the learning room...  School is almost complete.  We are working on end of year review and gearing up to take our final exams.  We'll probably do the exams next week.  We had an end of year party yesterday making Fairy Gardens.  I think they were a big success.  Even the boys liked them and called them Army Men Gardens.

(pics of the fairy garden  makings)

(these last two pics are my fairy garden)

Favorite quotes for today...
When you get to your wits end, you will find, God lives there.  ~Author Unknown

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.  ~Harriet Beecher Stowe

  A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn.  ~Author Unknown

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle.  I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.  ~Mother Teresa 

 
I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.  ~Jewish Proverb

I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.  ~Agatha Christie 

(feeding the ducks at a lake) 

A peek into what is going on with me...
My female problems have returned.  I've had an ultrasound in March that shows a mass on my remaining left ovary roughly 9.9cm X 7.4 X 7.0 CM.  The Gnyecologist/Ocologist who performed my last surgery gave me two options~
1. remove the remaining ovary and my uterus
2. remove the remaining ovary preserve the uterus and remain on progesterone supplements for that remaining uterus the rest of my life.

I have asked for a second opinion.  The fantastic government health care we are provided with says my second opinion has to come from WITHIN the clinic where I received my first consult.  That second opinion is next Friday.  I will then ask for a THIRD opinion.  I am trying to get into see a gynecologist who works with my friend Tonya at the Womens Hostpital in town.  I am hopeful that he may remove a bit more of the Endometriosis than my previous surgeon did.

Endometriosis is a terrible disease.  Like cancer, but not fatal.  To have more success with treating it, it needs to be removed, lasored, vaporized etc. If I decide to do Estrogen/Progesterone hormone replacement the endometriosis may flare up again if its not all removed.

Truthfully I don't know if I want to use hormone replacement due to the increased breast cancer risk associated with it.  I don't know that I want to totally go without any hormone replacements due to increasing the chances of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and osteoporosis.

My husband (God love him)  has said the two options are feasible options.  He thought the surgeon was less  highfaluting than last time.  Honestly, I think he would take me on a cruise if I just decide to have a hysterectomy and move on.

So pray for me if you will.  I need to have peace over the decision I make.

One of my favorite things...  Since this diet, I crave all things carb.

From the board room...  the Pinterest board that is...

this was lunch
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/8866530492791648/

this is dinner
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/379498706077525533/

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thank you Simple Woman for the inspiration for my post!

Hello From Betheelou

For Today... Monday March 23, 2015

Thank you for sticking in here with me during my absence.  Truth be told its been pretty busy around here since we got home from the cruise.  The Holidays, Church Christmas Drama,  #2 Son's 12th birthday, Valentine Banquet and stuff.

Chili Cook Off Competition

 #1~  On the left was the winning chili

 table centerpieces were flowers from my garden in Mason jars tied with rafia bows

Outside my window...  It is such a beautiful day.  70's and breezy.  By the end of the week we will have three 90 degree days. 

I am thinking...  Thinking about a lot of things.  I am thankful for the way the Lord organizes our paths.  On a recent spur of the moment 4X4 trip in the Toyota we rescued another Jeep in distress.  We hauled a total of 7 people in the cab of the Toyota 90 miles back into town and then were able to help them the next day repair their Jeep and return the Jeep to town.  As a thank-you, our new friends had us over for a Saturday lunch with games and good friendship.

 Anza- Borrego Desert

 Can't take a picture of him without him joking around.

 Succulents out in the desert.

 Climbing a hill in the TOYOTA.

 Smugglers Cave.

 It was getting colder as a storm was blowing in.

 Another one of the Smugglers Caves.

 We think the dirt road at the bottom is in Mexico.

 Playing Shuffleboard with Gina.

 Stacey and Mike on the other side.  Shuffleboard IS FUN.

I am thankful...  Thank You always to the Lord for giving me blessings over and above any I could ask or think.  I am thankful for my salvation.  I am thankful for my husband and his personality, how it meshes with mine.  How my husband takes care of me.

I wanted a Subaru Forester for a very long time.  I love the looks of those sporty little cars.  I got one.  I got rid of it.  We decided that it wasn't a practical people hauler.

In its place my dear husband bought me our THIRD Dodge Caravan.  It's a 2007 model our last ones were 2001 and 2003.

I am wearing...  I am wearing brown capri's and a multi colored top, bare feet.  My hair is pulled back out of my face.

I am creating...  I FINALLY got my quilt done!!! I am very pleased with how it turned out.  My sewing job is not professional at all but the long arm quilting job I had done on my quilt is fantastic.

My next project is to sew a nautical themed nursery set for my new Grandson Walter "Whit".

A diaper bag using one of Daddy's work shirts

 A sweet pillow

I am thinking of a design for the quilt using chevrons.  Similar to the one in the picture but in the colors red, white and blue.  The theme is nautical.

Some time after that, I am going to go through my photo albums and my photo wall editing and deleting and adding pictures to my wall of the grand-babies.

The garden has been worked over for spring and planted with things like carrots, green onions, green and yellow zucchini, green beans, peas and tomatoes.  In a few weeks I will plant melon seeds so as to have some watermelon in July.

I am going...  I have a ladies morning planned for Friday.  We are going to the bay to have a fire and hot dogs.  A few of the ladies are coming with me.  Last week we made 15 quarts of pickled beets. 

You can almost see that these were the pink and white stripped candy cane beets.  After the water bath canning they turned a beautiful yellow.  They are very mild flavored.

I am praying...  I am praying for the Lord to do a wondrous work in me.  Make me braver and bolder.  Praying for my health... for healing.  Praying for far away family.  Praying for the desires of my heart.

I am reading...  I am between books at the moment.  I did go to the library on Friday and got a stack of books.

From the learning rooms...  My student is plugging along.  We over halfway complete with our year.  He is doing pretty average on his grades.  In English he has been doing diagramming sentences.  In Math last week, he was working on bar graphs.  According to him, Math was easy!

In my kitchen...  My student is  practicing Home Economics today.  He was craving Goulash so I told him he could make it for dinner.  We had a lesson in crock pot cooking.  Now all that is left is to cook the noodles!

  

Our little kitty has been very curious in her old age she'll be 15 in September!.  She loves to be around us.  She's started to sit on the dining room table during dinner.  She likes to be on the counter-tops when there is activity in the kitchen.

A favorite quote for today...  We're memorizing the Romans Road as a competition between adults and children for Sunday School.  It's been fun!

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."  Romans 3:23

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  Romans 6:23

"But God Commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

"Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."  Romans 5:9 

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."  Romans 10:13

A peek into my days...  We received our tax return and decided to spend part of it on some things around the house.  Our Pretty Power Wagon got a Rhino Liner.

And a new hot tub cover for our hot tub.

 Grandpa And Grandma from Tennessee were able to make new camping chairs a blessing for us.  The chairs have built in coolers.  Not that we need a cooler in the arm of a camp chair.

One of my favorite things...  I LOVE living here.  Southern California is good for me.

 I love how some of these little barrel cactus turn purple while others don't.

Be Praying for Me...  I haven't been feeling well since Thanksgiving.  My left side has been hurting  real bad during my cycles.  The last month the pain had been almost constant through the whole month.  I saw my primary care last Monday.  He has ordered me to have an ultrasound.  All my medical care comes from the government and they do nothing in a hurry.  I am waiting to make the ultrasound appointment until I receive a LETTER telling me where I can schedule that appointment.  I have also scheduled an appoint for the beginning of April at a Naturopath to discuss some other options with her.  Be praying that I have more options than having my ovary removed or having a hysterectomy.  Thank You for your prayers.

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thank you Simple Woman for the inspiration!