Podcasting About Kentucky

Churchill Downs - Home of the Kentucky Derby

A Warning About "The Golden Compass" Movie and Children's Literature Series

I seldom send out announcements about movies, but I feel that it is important enough to not be deceived by certain films and books. This is a movie and book series that I was looking forward to, but was told by a friend that it is full of anti-religious themes.

Check out www.snopes.com.

It was first a book written by a renowned Athiest author who hated C.S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia. It is the first book in a series called "His Dark Materials" The Golden compass was written by Phillip Pullman as a direct affront to the Chronicles. In the movie the children kill God and do as they please. The movie has been dumbed down in the hopes to fool parents so they will buy his trilogy. Phillip Pullman said he wants to " kill God in the minds of children"

I Love the Roaring Twenties (and Fantasy Creatures)!

This is my Halloween costume. I love it! I went to a costume party on Saturday and have a work party on Tuesday, so I'm getting a lot of wear out of it :)

Here's a picture of my roommate. She went as a fairy and she made the wings herself. So cool!

Blasts From the Past

Two really cool things happened in the past two weeks. I reconnected with two friends that I haven't seen in ages. It was so much fun.

The first was a friend I met 13 years ago when my parents were living in Charlotte, NC. I actually knew his brother and parents from Virginia Beach because I went to high school with his brother and his mom was a substitute teacher. Anyway, I didn't meet T until college and North Carolina. We emailed occasionally over the years but I last say him Christmas of 1994. Last week I went to Charlotte for a work trip and had let Tom know I was coming to town and maybe we could get together. It ended up being so much fun. I went to dinner with him and his parents on Wednesday night to celebrate his dad's birthday. Then the next night I ate pizza, drank beer and watched a German film at his place with a friend. It was such a break from the hotel room and eating out. So great to reconnect.

Then this week, I was able to meet up with another friend I haven't seen in 10 years! D was in Florida getting his Master's and was part of the Bible study group I attended. Once he got his degree, he headed out in the big bad world to make his way and we kept in touch occasionally via email as well. I hadn't been in touch with him for years when we connected on a professional social networking website. I saw that he was in New York City so I sent him a hello from a Florida friend and told him if he was ever in DC to let me know and I would show him the sights. Imagine my surprise when this week he emailed me saying at the last minute he ended up in DC. We were able to meet up for a couple of hours and walked the Mall to the White House catching up. I really enjoyed reconnecting with him as well and now have another connection in New York to show me the sights.

God is so good and I have to say that it is really a trip to be old enough to have those experiences that as a young girl I used to read about in books or hear about on the news - old friends reconnecting. In a way its crazy that I'm that old, but I'm also so grateful for such wonderful people that I can renew my friendship with.

There's More To Life...

I realized that the past couple of entries have been all about Weight Watchers. And while that is something that is part of my life, there has been so much more happening. I don't want anyone to think that's all I'm going to write about, 'cause it isn't. I have had a pretty amazing past two weeks and I'm just trying to process it. More to come.

Weight Watchers Update

Last week I was traveling in Charlotte and ate lots of chocolate chip cookies at the Doubletree Suites (which by the way are absolutely amazing and you can order online at doubletreecookies.com).

So this week, I had gained three pounds. I'm going to blame one pound on the cookies and two pounds on water weight from my impending PMS. Yeah, so I said that in a public place. Oh well.

Stats are as follows:

Gained 3 pounds.

Will lose 3 pounds by next week.

A Headlamp At Midnight

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. This week has been a very hectic one for me and somewhat anxiety ridden as well. I have a scary feeling that I may have bed bugs. I know, ick, gross, ewwey, blech, and lots of other words. My face is scrunching up at this very minute. However, I'm not ashamed to tell the blogosphere about this. Why? I'm not sure, but anyway, I've told you. I have had some strange bites on my legs the past couple of days and have found some strange little bugs on the carpet. For the record, bed bugs are not microscopic and can be easily seen by the naked eye. I know: ick, gross, ewwey, blech etc.

I have been praying that this is not the case, but anyway, I've had some really funny moments this week last at night in my room with the lights turned off and a headlamp on my head looking for bugs anywhere and everywhere. I was laughing at myself and sorry I couldn't see what I looked like. I mean, I'm tearing the bed apart, the metal frame was disconnecting, the mattress was up against the dresser, I'm on my hands and knees in a dress looking in the carpet. I even slept with the headlamp under my pillow so that in the middle of the night when the bugs might be out feeding, I could surprise them with the headlamp. Alas, I have found very little as a result of these efforts.

I'm hoping that whatever has been biting me is gone far, far away and I can put the headlamp back in the bag where it belongs under my bed. I'm ready for the weekend and no bugs.

Quick Update on Weight Watchers

This week was better than last. I had a nice little break away, but am back working hard and making good choices. I have also started training for a 10K at Thanksgiving and that's giving me extra motivation to keep up the good work :). Shout out to my training peeps Christy and Anne who are going to run the race too. Should be a good time.

Now for the nitty gritty info:

I lost 3.4 pounds this week bringing my totals up which is exciting.

Starting Weight: 153.8
Current Weight: 146.4
Total Weight Loss: 7.4

Here's to onward and downward!

What A Weigh-In

The past week and a half to two weeks have been really sporadic with my Weight Watchers routine. This past weekend I was in NY for a wedding and the car ride there and back was filled with lots of yummy food (not necessarily good, but yummy). So I was not expecting good things to come out of this weigh in. And the results were not promising.

I gained the two pounds I had lost last week.

But I can't look at this as doing bad, or needing to get back on track again. Rather I need to look at this as let's keep going. Make the choices I know are better because in the long run, I will be happier than the immediate fix I get from that extra helping of spring rolls or the fries on the side please with my sandwich.

Of course all of this is making me wonder what my motivation for eating is. I have noticed that since being on Weight Watchers, I have been eating more sweets than I normally do. I think this is because I have figured that I can eat really yummy sweets that are low in points and not deprive myself. But I realize that I need to not substitute the sweet things for the good delicious food because that is what I'm depriving myself of. I like good food. But I have spent too much time focusing on the sweet things so I don't feel deprived that I'm missing out on good food that will satisfy me and not make me feel deprived.

I have also realized that I don't have a weight problem and so in some ways it is hard for me to look back and say "I don't want to get like that again." I need to have the motivation of looking and feeling better in pictures and clothes as my reminder of why I am doing this. In addition, this is all about the discipline.

It has been hard the past couple weeks though for several reasons. I'm trying to be disciplined in my spending as well, so I feel like I'm being strict in many different areas and I guess I'm using the food area as an out. I have been tired a lot lately and that makes it harder for me to keep my guard up. I have been traveling which always gets me out of my routine. So there are reasons, but I'm not beating myself up. Rather, I the next opportunity I have to make a decision, I hope to make the right one. And have a really good weigh in report next week.

Starting Weight: 153.8
Current Weight: 149.8
Total Loss: 4.0

Staying Positive

My desire to join the Foreign Service is looking more and more like a dream. My current ranking is 82 out of 102. I have five more chances to get hired before I expire off the list this go round. Approximately 10-12 are hired each cycle. So my chances are pretty slim. Of course if I'm able to get fluent enough in French in the next six months, that might help.

I can always take the test again and start the process over again. My plan is to wait until early spring of 2008 and see what the Holy Spirit is prompting, see how changes that have been implemented in the process are affecting hiring, see what new things are happening in my personal and professional life before making any more decisions.

It's a little disheartening, but they do say that one of the key factors for becoming a Foreign Service Officer is persistence!

Weekly Weigh In

This week was much better than last week. I wasn't expecting much to be honest, but the scale doesn't lie and I'm certainly not going to call it one :)

This week I lost 1.2 pounds. So that was exciting.

Starting Weight: 153.8
Current Weight: 147.8
Total Weight loss: 6
Goal Weight: 138

I haven't been counting as strictly as I probably should, but I have been doing a couple of things differently. I have almost completely eliminated snacking, but when I have, in my mind it is part of my daily food intake. Like a meal almost, so I don't treat it casually.

I have also been drinking a lot more water and trying to include a lot more vegetables into my diet since they are zero points and don't count against me.

The only other major change that I think has really helped me so far has been eating lots of frozen meals for lunch and dinner. I just haven't had the time to cook and I usually get home around 7:30 or 8:00pm every night. Plus food seems to go bad in my fridge. In addition, I have been trying to save money during the week and not eat lunch out as often. Bringing a frozen meal has been helpful, but I try to balance it out with a fresh side salad with the frozen entree. I'm hoping that once I figure out a more effective working schedule (get to bed earlier, up earlier, to work earlier, leave earlier, cook dinner), I will continue with this track of frozen food.

Anyway, I am excited to be eating smaller portions and regaining some of the control over food that I had lost.

I've Got A Boat To Sell You!

This is the company that my dad works for. If you want a boat...

www.mustangmarine.com.au

I'm proud of my pops and excited for him to be working for this great company. So I thought I would do a little advertising for him :)

So Close, But Not Quite

So I knew I haven't been sticking to the regimen quite as well as I should. And I haven't really been exercising either. And it showed :( But some progress was still made.

Starting Weight: 153.8 lbs
Current Weight: 149.0 lbs
Total Loss: 4.8 lbs

Yeah so I lost 20 oz. I mean, that's like the weight of two toothbrushes. So sad. Here's to next week. I'm aiming for a total loss of 6 pounds!

Being A Tourist

A couple weeks ago, I went on a two hour Lincoln Assassination tour in DC. It was really fun playing the tourist. The tour started on the north side of the White House and then we wandered through the streets following the events of that fateful day until ending up at the Ford Theater and hearing about the last moments of Abraham Lincoln. It was really cool.

The picture is of me and some friends from church who all went on the tour as well. It was really cool seeing the actual box that Lincoln sat in (just above our heads with all the drapes) and standing on the stage where John Wilkes Booth jumped and made his escape. Apparently there is a bus tour that will take you from the Ford's theater along his escape route to the farm where he was eventually found.

A Little Weekend Magic

Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day here. The sun is shining, the air was just this side of dry, it was cool, but not super cold, blue sky, white puffy clouds - but just a few. All in all amazing. I sat outside and worked on my weekly Bible study lesson. I'm co leading a group called Holy Spirit Encounter with my church. So far it's been great.

Anyway, as I'm sitting at the table on the deck in the backyard, I hear a buzzing noise to my right. I think it is a giant beetle bug as I look and see an emerald green-gold "bug" about three inches long or so. Just when I begin to wonder what kind of bug it is, it flits to the left and sticks it's face into another flower and then zooms as fast as possible to the end of the yard. I barely have time to react when it hits me, "Oh my gosh! THat was a HUMMINGBIRD!" I'm so excited, I can barely breathe, I get up to run around the house and find something to write it down with so I don't forget. It was the most incredible, unexpected thing I have seen in ages. I couldn't believe it. I had no idea that hummingbirds lived in Maryland. I mean WOW!

The first two thoughts I had after it flew away - so super fast by the way - were 1) we need to plant more flowers that it can feed on so I can see it again and 2) I wonder how they live in winter when there are no flowers.

For those of you who know how obsessed I am with Googling this kind of information - I haven't looked it up yet. But I will now.

I was so thankful for that little bit of magic that God provided to me on Saturday. It was perhaps one of my favorite moments of the weekend.



I didn't take this picture - but it is almost identical to how I saw the bird.

WW Update

Today was another weigh in. I felt much better about sticking to my regimen this past week. And it paid off!

Starting Weight: 153.8 lbs
Current Weight: 149.2 lbs
Total Loss: 4.6 lbs

Here's to getting over five this week!

Before Pictures

So this picture is from two years ago when I first moved in. You can't really tell what my room looked like, but you can see the wall color and the brown bookshelf. There is also the picture of my dresser. So really nothing very exciting about any of it. But now...I have a new room. See pictures below.

Becoming An Adult

When I came back from Montana last month, I was struck by a huge desire to grow up in some areas of my life. The first thing that has been on the top of my list is to have an adult bedroom! That sounds odd, but I have been living like a coed in a dorm for a while now and I figured it was time to get rid of the free furniture and hand me down items and redo my room.

So two weekends ago, I went shopping at IKEA (the grown up college dorm room look), and bought a new dresser, bookshelf/decorative wall unit, floating shelves for the wall, two lamps, new duvet cover. I'm still looking for a bookshelf style headboard. All the pieces match and this week I bought paint and have repainted my room. It looks awesome. I'm not quite done yet, but when I am, I'll post some pictures.

I'm very excited about being more grown up - at least in the room where I live :)

Physical Discipline Update

Yesterday was my three week mark of participating in Weight Watchers. As mentioned in the previous post, I had falled off the wagon the previous week and I think I was being dragged through the dirt this past week as I was half on and half off. But my weigh in was successful. Another pound gone!

So for those of you keeping track...

Starting Weight: 153.8
Current Weight: 151.2
Difference: -2.6

In addition, I am committing to train for a 10K race on Thanksgiving day, known as the Turkey Trot. Two years ago I ran in the 2 mile fun run with my roommate Anne and friend Christy. This year, we are all gearing up for a big time race. Should be fun!

I have had some interesting thoughts the past couple of weeks as I've been on this WW program. I have had moments of sadness for foods that I probably won't eat much anymore. Not because I can't, but because I shouldn't. As I'm changing my mindset of food and eating to live, not living to eat, I have been struck by the hold food has had in my life. Now granted, I grew up eating lots of wheat bread and whole grain cereals, salad with dinner almost every night, lots of vegetables, juices and water, oodles of olive oil. So I don't have terrible eating habits and for that I'm so thankful to my parents. I like to eat foods that are good for me. Anyway, it was interesting to know that I was grieving certain foods. The only one that comes to mind at the moment is mayonnaise, but I've been cutting that out of my diet for a while now anyway. I'll post more as I think of them.

Falling Off The Wagon

So after I posted yesterday, one of my friends was kind enough to remind me that currently I have "fallen off the Weight Watchers Wagon." And yes, she was right. I did take a hiatus of sorts for a couple of days.

Her comment caused me to think a little deeper about putting such personal goals on a public blog such as this one and opening myself up to criticism and a tarnished reputation if I fail.

However, I thought that in the end this is a place for me to post successes and failures and to allow others to see my mistakes and my triumphs. Yesterday's post on my plan for discipline is one that is stretching me to explore areas of my life where I have been lax. To open up areas of my life to a greater control of the Holy Spirit and to allow Him to work in me and clean me up.

I will fail. I will fall. I will bruise myself. I will end up with bloody knees on this road. But I will continue to set lofty goals, I will continue to challenge myself, and I will continue to let you see me in my weak moments and my strong ones. Perhaps so you can be challenged to do the same thing in your life. And perhaps so that we can know that we are not alone on this journey. That there is indeed nothing new under the sun.