My Birthday Party

From July!

Granny Sain's 80th Birthday

This is most of my family together at my Granny's birthday party!

My Granny helped raise me. I lived with her some off and on throughout
my life. She has taught me so much. She always made me feel special,
supported, and loved. She helped me with a few hard break ups just
being there and sitting up late at night playing Scrabble. She assured
me Heavenly Father had some one else for me. I am glad I listened I
now have Phillip! I love her!

Fireplace for Fall

I found a few fall decorations and think they look great on the fireplace!

It been awhile...

We finally got moved to our new house. We have had a water pipe bust and the discovery of mold. Thankfully it was all coved by the insurance company. The kitchen and guest bathroom were finally finished this week. I enjoy living here and finding much joy in these cooler days just sitting on the porch reading.  Also, I now have a piano and again I am taking lessons. Slow and steady wins the race. I will post pictures soon.

Things are pretty much normal Phillip got something in his foot last week and we sent over 12 hours in the Grady ER to stop the bleeding and get him on some much needed antibiotics. Phillip indeed is on the Autism Spectrum with having Asperger Syndrome. I feel bad it has taken so long to find this out but it explains a lot of his past and his special quirks. We know now and life has been going more smooth as we learn how best to handle issues that arise.

I have been sticking to the Gluten Free Diet and benefiting much from it. I have had less pain and much less stomach issues. I guess I should have listen to my Dr. way back in 1999! As far as my weight loss goes I have been at a standstill since reaching 330-335. I have an appointment with a Bariatric specialist in Dec. The most consistent thing about Grady is the wait. Not having insurance is a real pain. 

I made a new friend this week who asked me to walk with her a few times a week and I am so excited both for the friend and the chance to have someone to walk with! It is a lot easier when I walk with Phillip to back out doing any exercise. All my Doctors keep saying I need to reduce my stress…ugh! They say it like it is so easy? I am blessed to have friends that know more than me and are willing to share: yoga, meditation, and walking!!!!  

Hula Hoop Princess

This is my cousins daughter they are here for my birthday weekend and she is awesome!

a little update: Weight Watchers and Hair

When I started this journey I was able to afford Weight Watchers but right now this is not an option for our budget so I am using the tools they taught me and I will be going back ASAP. I also hate long hair so I was going to not cut my hair until my 100 pound goal well most of you know things beyond my control happened and I had to cut my hair. New goal for when I hit 100 pounds gone is a really nice beach trip and some new clothes.

This should be our LAST move for a very long time!

Just a little of what is going on in the Childs' home. We found out we got our house and we are so excited! Then the few days that followed were NOT FUN. I ended up in the Grady ER at 1 pm on the 4th of July and was having surgery the next morning. I am doing better now and can focus on the move.

This weekend is my Birthday and we have family and friends coming into town to us celebrate!!!!! Hope they don't mind the boxes(I am so thankful post its have so many colors now it has really helped me color code all our boxes) and eating on paper/plastic dishes... I will update more on both the new house and the Birthday next week!


We got this house... yes, it came back on the market and we won this time!!!!

scattered, covered, smothered and chunk'd

I had to cut my hair before I reached my goal! Gasp I know. Why? Two reasons: 1^st Addie and Tyler shared their LICE with me (not nice of them right?) 2^nd I was getting migraine headaches a lot (3 times one week) I asked the doctor if there was something  I could do and she said cut your hair. See I had a doctor’s note to cut my hair, hehe! I am also happy to say we are all lice free.

As for my weight you ask? I am just flying in a holding pattern. We are still looking for a house and I am praying we find the right one soon and I can get back on a schedule that will work better for me. I thrive on a schedule and routine. When this is interrupted I feel scattered, covered, smothered and chunk'd! (Waffle House anyone?) So the number one house on our list today is pictured below and it is NOT a foreclosure!

UPDATE: The house went under contract this morning before we even got to see it:( So here we go looking again!

Ok so now that my hair is cut ever so short I need a new goal, any ideas? 

House, Wheat, Camping, and Bags

It has been 3 weeks since I have blogged! The day after my last post we found out we did not get the 1st house we wanted and had bid on. So we have been looking and have found an even better home (pictured above) than the 1^st. We placed a bid the following day after we found out we lost the 1^st house. So it has been a long wait to see if the bank will accept our bid. We have offered the full asking price and to pay all closing cost. Phillip and I fasted last Sunday to know from Heavenly Father if this is where he wants us. We spent a few hours around the house last Sunday. We prayed in the drive way, located the local stores, and just tried to know if this was right for us. We were sure we would have found something out last week!! NO SUCH LUCK! Honestly, I am so stressed about all this waiting I am in physical pain. Today I even had a migraine headache and had to miss church. I love church and I really enjoy teaching Sunday School.

I have a doctor’s visit tomorrow afternoon to see if there might be something else going on and to check on my new medicine. She also wants to see how I am doing without wheat. This has been one of the worst food allergies for me. It makes us plan more meals at home and pack lunches. So it has been kinda hard with us being so busy. So if you have any recipes that are wheat/gluten free and would like to share with me that would awesome. I never realized how much food contains wheat!  So the issues I had with the wheat in my diet have improved 100%. I am sure when we know we have a house to move my stress will decrease and so will my pain. (if you don’t know already I have fibromyalgia)

A couple of weeks ago we were so busy with the house hunting we had to cancel our week long trip to the beach and just went camping in Forsyth Ga for a weekend. It is near the place where they filmed the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes”! We even were able to eat at the Whistle Stop Café. They had good BBQ. We had so much fun. We roasted marshmallows and enjoyed the fire.

I have also decided that I love bags so much that I should try and make a few bucks by selling Thirty-One Gifts. So now you can just call me your personal bag lady. They have a great special this month. (see picture) The company offers great hostess products and who does not need a bag for church, school, beach, pool, and kids! So let me know if you want more information. I can even travel to your home if you want to have a get together. (aka a reason to visit with you and get a new bag to boot) Plus, with Phillip not able to work we can really use the an extra few bucks and bags.

Coming soon an update on my weight loss and the issues I am having with my hair!

What a crazy twisting turning out of control few weeks!

As far as my weight loss goes it has been slow going but still going down all but this week I am sure I have gained. For some reason I just can’t seem to get full! UGH! I still love Weight Watchers and the YMCA it just seems I have been making excuses as to why I “don’t have time”(cough, cough) So enough is enough and tomorrow is a new day. I am looking forward to Summer Time adventures and activities that will have me moving and having FUN in the HOT ATLANTA SUN!

All my tests came back normal, NO CANCER, Yahoo!  I was referred to see someone who might be able to help me with infertile issues but I can’t seem to even be able to schedule an appointment with them???? It is very odd when I call Grady they act like they have no idea what I am talking about. I guess I will have to make a trip down there in person. My regular MD suggested I wait till after summer when I should weigh less. She wants me to be under 300 before I go. So this is my new goal!!!! Dr. Li said that after I drop the weight and after Phil’s test get back and there is no issues on his side she thinks getting pregnant will be much easier!  DO I NEED ANOTHER REASON TO MOVE? NO WAY!

We have enough money to finally get a house and we have placed a bid on it. It has been two weeks and we found out they did not have the title cleared. We have decided to give them two more weeks to see if they can work it out. We pray after all this waiting we will be blessed with our house! If it does not work out in our favor we will know it just was not ment to be and we will keep looking. (see picture of said house above)

With this house hunting and waiting we have had to cancel our beach trip at the end of the month. We will be making a trip to the beach before the end of 2012, I PROMISE MYSELF!

I have been teaching one of the adult Sunday school classes at church. I am surprised by how much I enjoy it!  I really have enjoyed teaching children in the past and I had no idea it would be as much fun to teach adults! I am also really blessed by those who attend the class and contribute.  I pray that I can continue to pray, study, and prepare in a way that would be pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

Low fat yummy cake!

Thanks Momma! I love you.

I am very discouraged. Read with caution!

So last week I gained the 1.4 pounds I had lost the week before! I thought to myself,” I have stayed within my points but I have not exercised as much as I should have because I was not feeling so hot. I also made a note about going to bed between 11pm and midnight because when I don’t get enough sleep I have a bad week on the scale. So all week I have made a point to get to bed sooner and exercise every day, EVEN ON SUNDAY!” I weighed yesterday and I gained an additional half pound and today another full pound gained, I CAN JUST SCREAM but instead I just cried. Phillip heard me and came running to see if I was ok? I am doing the program right, even weighing my sandwich meat and I have counted every point of piece of food I have put into my mouth. I have exercised more than I have in weeks and drinking my water. Why is the scale not going down, why is it going up?

A FEW POSITIVE NOTES: My clothes are getting to big the shorts I had on today while at Stone Mountain kept falling down I really need to get a belt. We will see what happens tomorrow when I go weigh in at Weight Watchers. We also planted some herbs; mint, cilantro, and rosemary. I love lemon's and mint in my water, you should try it! I WILL NOT GIVE UP! This is the hardest thing I have ever done. No towel throwing in allowed. 

Slow and Steady

This week at my weigh in I lost 1.4 pounds, ugh! I know it is going down not up. I really should not watch shows like The Biggest Loser. So my total loss is 35, I should be happy, but I don't feel as HAPPY as I think I should. I still have so much more to go.  Starting at 371 and having so much to lose it seems like it is so far away. I need to be happy with 35 pounds. I am afraid, of what? My clothes not fitting, not recognizing the person in the mirror, and how do I live like a healthy person? The last time I remember being under 300 was when I was in High School. So my entire adult life I have lived in this size body even though at points it may have been less or more. I felt like it was 300. My biggest fear is what if I fail, what if I do give up? I have never been able to finish this all the many times before. Trust me it is not fun going to TOPS(take off pounds sensibly) in the 5th grade, Weight Watchers in the 7th and about 5 other times before this time, the 3 day diet, Slim Fast you get the picture right? I don't know what will happen tomorrow but I do know I am going to try my best and rely on the Lord to help me with the rest. That is the difference this time I know I can't do it alone. I can do it one day at a time and even one minute at a time. The other thing is if I do fail I don't have to give up completely. In my past it has been all or nothing. If I messed up in the morning then I might as well throw in the towel for the entire day then it made it easy to give up the next day. This time is different because I understand that a bad day does not equal complete failure. As for my other fears, I pray when the time comes I will understand that it is what is in the inside that makes a person and even though I will look different I will still be the obsessive compulsive, ADD, fun, loving person I am now.

And a side note:
I love Spring. I was married to Phillip on Easter weekend 8 years ago. I have always enjoyed Spring in South. Every where I look I can see touches of  God's love. He created something so beautiful I can see His love in every bloom. What better time to marry my best friend, Phillip Childs. He is such a great husband and he is good at laundry and he loves me fat or thin I know he loves the inside me.

The flowers remind me of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ whom I am so thankful for. It was so much fun teaching this in Sunday School this morning. I am so blessed to be know Jesus Christ suffered and was resurrected for me and you.

We have this weeks dinners cooked and ready to heat up. We have no meat lasagna, turkey tetrazzini, sour cream chicken breasts, bbq chicken with carrots and then one night Boca Burgers.

A weekend of gladness!

First of all, I just want to express how much more joy comes in my life when I don't stress about things I can't change. I can't change when Phillip's aunts house will sell and when we will have to move, I can't control how other people are(even if they are wrong, not my worry), I can't control getting sick, I can't control the weather(trust me I have tried, lol) What I can do; I can prepare to move by saving some money and boxing up a few things to make moving easier, I can control what I eat, I can control me!!!!!!!!

I am so thankful for this:

The Serenity Prayer
	God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen. --Reinhold Niebuhr
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3, 5-6 So this weekend has been wonderful. I stepped on the scale and it said 334!!!!!!! Less than I weighed on my wedding 8 years ago. I was so happy. Next goal is to be below 300. Phillip and I celebrated our proposal anniversary(8 years). We went to Stone Mountain and played mini golf. It was a lot easier for me to walk around I noticed I was not as out of breath has I had been in the past. I also was not looking around for a place to sit and rest while waiting on others to have their turn. But I was tugging at my shorts to keep them from falling off(time to get a belt)! Here is a picture. We then used our extra Weight Watchers points and treated ourselves to a Krispy Kreme doughnut trip. Then we had dinner at Woody's near Piedmont Park, Philly Cheese Steak!!! We met the Big Cheese(his words, not mine) and he was super nice. We will be going back there, when I have 14 points to spare. I wonder how many people celebrate the day the got engaged? We are "lucky" it was on St. Patty's Day that makes it easier to remember. On another note, tomorrow is my ultrasound and I have my biopsy on April 10th. These tests are in preparation to see if I will be able to conceive a child. I also have heard from a state program that I might be able to qualify for that will help us, I am working on all that paper work. I know the Lord has a plan for us, it may not be this but He is preparing us. There is a child who will need a loving home in a few months and that might be what the plan is for us, we will just have to be patient, prepare, and pray. And lastly, today I was asked to teach the Gospel Principals Sunday School class for at least the next few weeks. I am so excited!!!! Now, off to prepare my lesson for next week.

Sun dried tomato pesto pizza(serves 4)

We were so hungry when we returned home from church today. I looked in the fridge and found the dough we got last night from Trader Joe's, pesto(2Tbs), 2% cheese(1Cup), garlic(1 clove) and a few sun dried tomatoes cut up and tossed on! 15 minutes total to make and bake. Oh yeah it was 9 Weight Watchers points of heaven.

14 points for this!

I gave in today, after a week if craving one:)

Back to normal!

Well, finally I am starting to feel human again. My energy is slowly increasing. I feel like I have not been much help around the house and it shows. Dirty dishes, clothes cleaned (thanks to Phillip) but in piles not put away, the dining room table covered, UGH! I have a bag full of medicine I have to take to get over this nasty bronchitis! I really felt bad because I needed help from my friends and I am so blessed that on two days this past week friends brought dinner so Phillip could have a rest, and man o man I was so thankful. I have missed church and was starting to stress out about my calling at church and doing a good job because I am so sickL I finally understand that if I am doing all I can do that is all that is expected. I have enjoyed my scriptures reading and my prayer time more this two weeks.

I was really tempted with fast food and sweets!!!!! WHY O WHY do I want fast food and sweets when I feel bad????? When I weighed in on Thursday I still lost weight, only 0.6 pounds, but a loss is better than a gain.

Now, to motivated to move more. I have been resting for weeks now. So back to the grind, tomorrow I will be working on my house, Wednesday I will take a walk with Phillip, and Thursday back to the YMCA!!!! I am not planning on a big loss this week when I weigh in because of all the medicine, but I still have done well enough for another small loss!

This is the hardest thing I have ever done.

A not so fun weekend:(

So this weekend was so bad. Both me and my husband have been sick. We hardly even left the house. It was a good thing I had our monthly menu planned ahead of time and knew what to buy at the store Friday night. We had everything we needed except for some soup I wanted Saturday. My sweet husband ventured out to buy me some chicken soup! This weekend included lots of TV, sleep, and extra fluids. I must say it is very hard for me when I am sick not to just eat everything in sight. You know that "If I eat.......(cake, cookies, pie, pizza, etc) it will surely make me feel better?" So I am very thankful for the following story our Weight Watchers leader shared 2 weeks ago.

She had just started attending meetings about 4 months prior. Her group leader was awesome, funny and very understanding. One day the leaders husband died suddenly at age 48 of a heart attack. So weeks went by and everyone wondered if the leader would even return, they missed and loved her so much. The substitutes tried hard but it was just not the same. About two months or so passed and she returned. The leader took a few minutes and thanked everyone for the cards, flowers, prayers and love from them. Then she said she had something important to share. People in her life knew she was a Weight Watchers leader, but that did not stop all the food from pouring in, cake, cookies, homemade brownies etc... she said her dinning room table was covered. She said every time she went into that room it was so hard for her not to just give in and eat. But she had a thought, prompting of sorts "will eating any of this food bring my husband back, will it change the fact I am alone, will eating change anything? NO it will not and she was able to walk away!" Food will never FIX anything except hunger.

I will never forget this!

March 2012 Monthly Dinner Menu

A few folks have asked for my menu so I thought I would share!

March 2012

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
				1	2	3
BONUS SWEETS: Peanut butter oatmeal softies PPC 287 & cherry pie PPC 290				Left Over’s	Lunch: Fri. or Sat mushroom feta frittata Dinner: Date Night	Stuffed Chicken Breasts RSG 99 w/ peas
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Pork Tenderloin w/ veggies PPC pg 137	Pork Stir-Fry w/ rice	Herbed Chicken Tenders RSG 96 w/ Brussels Sprouts	Homemade Pizza, tomato, mushroom, pepperoni BDFE 50	Mozzarella, tomato pasta, PPC 71	Date Night	Skillet Chicken w/ artichokes & roasted peppers PFC 107
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
Crock Pot Orange Chicken w/ rice	Southwest Turkey Burger PFC 137	Stuffed Cabbage Casserole PPC 132	Spaghetti with Chicken and Tomatoes, pinterest	Left Over’s	Date Night	Chicken & Rice from the freezer
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Lasagna BDFE 138	Pork Lo Mein RSG 169	Orange & honey chicken W/ couscous RSG 91	Left Over’s	Chicken Sausages w/ mashed potatoes and broccoli	Date Night	Baked Turkey and spinach Spaghetti
25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Sour Cream Chicken, pintrest w/ corn	BBQ Chicken and carrots	Turkey Tetrazzini BDFE 23	Left Over’s	Bocca Bugers	Date Night	Parmesan crusted turkey cutlets

My Less Weighty Dream List

1. I will ride a roller coaster again.

2. I will sky dive, just once!

3. I will shop at Goodwill Thrift store for clothes.

4. I will not have to use the seatbelt extension in my car.

5. I will walk the 3 day Susan G Coleman walk.

6. I will run a 5K.

7. I will do a bike ride for diabetes, dressed in BLUE (for the Blue Heel Society, go ahead check it out, you know you want to! http://blueheelsociety.blogspot.com/)

8. I will become a lifetime member at Weight Watchers, this way I can go for free!

9. I will climb a rock wall.

10. I will succeed!