I’m Home

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve written.  I’m making up for that starting now.  But I need to tell y’all that I made it.  I’m home.  Not quite as cleanly as I’d like it, but I’m home nonetheless!  We came home on August 15th.  It’s been amazing… an adventure…  a labyrinth of new things to maneuver through.  The move was miserable.  The cleaning out, the purging, the letting go of useless stuff was wonderful!  But the move itself was painful.  We will never again use Bekins to move (if we ever do again), nor will I ever recommend that company as the one to trust with your personal things.  Things were broken, misplaced, poorly organized… that along with the unprofessional attitudes of some of the men who moved us had this be an experience that I trudged forward as opposed to feeling supported through.

Having lunch at Dot’s Diner

Being home is something I haven’t felt in a long time.  I remarked to Dan how I realized after being here for a little while that I hadn’t felt the feeling of being home at all in the big house in Rockford.  It was a beautiful house!  But I noticed that I would pace the floor over and over.  I was restless in that house.  It was always cold inside, even during the summertime!  The feeling of being at home is so unmistakable that it has me quite at a loss as to how I could’ve missed that feeling.  I’ve been homeless (in a sense) for 16 years!   I learned so much from my excursion up north.  I made some friends that I know will be friends for life!  I discovered that Weight Watchers actually works and that I really do love the work I do for them.  I learned that I can do whatever I set my mind to.  I know that if something needs to be done, I will find a way.  We are at the end of 2017 and I said to myself and to all of you 2 1/2 years ago that I was coming home.  This was after Dad had passed and I realized that I wanted to get home to be with Jen and the rest of my family.  For 2 years I spoke it.  I lived as though we were moving home.  And then the V.A. job opened up for Dan.  It took about 9 months of his prodding them and checking to make sure that they knew he was still alive and on this planet, but they gave him the job and we came home 4 months ago!  I am singing with Eric and Sandra again!  I am working for Weight Watchers here in my hometown and I love it!  Thanksgiving was wonderful!  Jen and the kids were here and the meal was so very special!  Turkey with Maw Maw’s dressing, spinach with sour cream, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, mashed potatoes, broccoli, rolls, pecan pie, pumpkin cheesecake, and pumpkin pie!  It was miraculous!  And Jen and I did it together.

So Christmas will be here in a couple of weeks.  It’s time to really look at 2018.  What am I going to speak into action next year?  It appears that I am more powerful than I thought I was a couple of years ago.  All it takes is throwing your hat over the wall…

Superstition With Reason

Sam turned 20 on November 4th.  She asked me to get her a cookie cake (which we do every now and then).  So I got her a Mrs. Field’s cake with balloons on it (made of frosting, of course) and with the text comprised of LSU colors spelling out “Happy 20th Birthday, Sam”.  She loved it.  It was a nice day.  The next day I had work.  When I came home I saw the red cookie cake box sitting on the counter and I peeked inside to see how much was left and I saw one piece.  But what I saw about that one piece took my breath away!

The Lakefront

Jen sitting on the seawall

…is a wondrous place.  Jen and I used to go to the lakefront with Dad when we were little.  Always on a Sunday.  Sometimes Kim would come and we’d take our paper kite and fly it while we ate lunch.  Kim was a close friend of Dad’s.  They grew up together and he was at our house a lot before he got sick. He was diagnosed with cancer later on.  I think Kim’s funeral was the 2nd funeral I’d ever been to (after Rie).  We never cooked out down by the lakefront. I don’t even think they had BBQ pits down there back then.  We just picked up Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Dad brought the fishing poles sometimes and we would fish on the seawall.  Every now and then he’d bring the crab nets and we’d try and get some blue crabs (that didn’t happen too often that I remember–and if it did, usually the crabs were too small to take home).

Sitting on the seawall with Dad, Kim, and Jen was magical.

Build Yourself Up

I love the way Arianna speaks about her body and how it works as a “vessel” and not a defining agent pointing to her identity! This is brilliant! I’ve got to share this!

My Journey

Today I want to talk about self confidence. (I feel like I’m writing an essay in 1st grade. “I’m going to tell you about…”)

Self confidence is hard. And don’t for a second think it’s only hard for people who struggle with their weight or only for women. Self confidence is just hard. Period. Everyone struggles with something. Even if you are a very confident person who actually loves their body, there is something that you either dislike or don’t feel comfortable about. When I was little, before I was fat, it was my feet. They’re big. And wide. People used to call them “flintsone feet” and I never wore sandles.

Everyone has something.

I think a lot of people start off their weight loss journey thinking “If I lose 20 pounds, I’ll feel more comfortable in a bikini.”And maybe that’s true for some people, but it’s not always…

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Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches!

The soup last week was delicious!  That was the Picante Chicken Black Bean Soup.  It was wonderful and only ended up being 6 points plus values for 1-1/2 cups!  I put it with a salad or a good serving of vegetables and it made a wonderful dinner.  If you try it, let me know what you thought.

Today I have something a little different…

My Front Porch…

Sitting on my front porch was one of my favorite things to do after a day of playing in the dirt, or walking down the street to school to run up and down the football field.  The porch was like the day’s final resting spot.  Not like a death, but more like a place for contemplation and reflection.  Sitting on the brick-laid steps I’d watch the lizards jump from bush to bush and try to guess what color car would drive by next.  The mosquitoes hadn’t quite come out for their time in the sun yet, so sitting on the steps, catching a breeze here and there, watching the cars pass, while I try to guess what’s for dinner by sniffing the air for any sign of red beans or baked macaroni seemed to be the best idea at the time.

Mrs. Reynolds would come out and put her sprinkler over by the azaleas,

The Sunshine Blogger Award!

What a nice award!  I know whenever I go on and search for those blogs I’ve become so familiar with and even search for some new ones, I am continually feeling as if I’m standing in a ray of sunshine when I read another blogger’s words that I just get… I love when I read that blog and I just know if that person were here in front of me, we would be fast friends. I’ve encountered quite a few of those and it’s been lovely, like sunshine..  So thank you, Miss Cathy, for this honor and recognition.

The rules for this one are simple.  I’ve got some questions to answer, and 11 bloggers to nominate.

The Encouraging Thunder Award!

Wow!  With a name like that for the award how could I not be thrilled to be acknowledged by my fellow blog-mate, Miss Sarah?!

I had to do some looking to find out what this is all about and I did find this lovely quote:

“Encouragement is said to be the oxygen for the human spirit. Do not forget you are carrying someone’s air with you. Encourage them. Help them breathe” – anonymous.

One of the rules states that I have to share with y’all why I do this.

Roger Ebert?

I stayed home from work yesterday because I had such a headache that it was hard for me to turn my head.  I never get headaches, so that was different.  It did get better and I ended up on Netflix and watched “Life Itself…” which was the movie about Roger Ebert’s life.  I really had no idea that Roger Ebert was as impressive as he was!  He was an excellent writer

Friday Food!!

I made those lovely Italian Turkey Burgers from the recipe I posted last Friday. They were wonderful; so much different than a regular hamburger! They were like gourmet hamburgers

“Today Was a Good Day” Photo Collage Challenge

Wake up at the beach in Ft. Walton

Spend most of the day on the beach or snorkeling just off the shore

Head back to the room but stop at the pool to cool off and swim with the kids

Wave to Dad and Betty as we go back to take showers and clean up

End up the day with dinner at Pandora’s in Ft. Walton Beach. Perfect end to a perfect day!

This would be a perfect day for me right now.  The kids were small (before they got their own ideas and preferences and boyfriends and all that stuff).  We were too!  We were in Florida (my favorite place to vacation in all the world!).  Dad would be there too.  Perfect!

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Today Was a Good Day.”

Creepy Clouds

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Creepy.”

I saw this sky one day at work as the clouds gathered in preparation for a storm.  It was bad.  That was the night our tree fell down on the front lawn.  The clouds looked so ominous!