Welp.  I’m officially a mall walker.  Yep.  And I’m not even a senior citizen yet.  I’m an over achiever!  Ladonna and I were talking about what we were going to do when it starts getting really hot outside… we already come in smelling like kids on recess… after walking in the Oklahoma wind for 45 minutes… so we talked about getting a membership at OSU OKC up the road and then a friend of ours piped in and said ‘why don’t you just go to Shepherd Mall and walk for FREE!’  uh.  Hello?  ABSOLUTELY!  I’m all about some Free!  So we tried it out today.  We could lap the Cox compound in 15 minutes…we can lap the Shepherd Mall in 7 minutes and that’s even dodging grams and gramps!  Downside:  They have about 3 restaurants’ in there to accommodate Farmer’s Insurance and the school… so we get to smell fresh baked bread from Subway and hamburgers and burrito’s from Dizzy’s and I think it’s asian food from another little joint in there… But we don’t battle wind or weather.  So.

I’ll weigh in on Monday and let you know how the small battles are paying off.  Regardless of what the scale says.. I feel better, with the exception of the blisters ALL OVER my footsies…  I’ve just ordered something off the internet called Tuf Foot.  And yes, it was designed for dogs and Horses…for the cost, I better be able to run like Jackie Joyner Kersey… or however you spell her name…We’ll see.  If I start barking or hiking a leg… I’ll let you know.

First and foremost, everyone immediately stop reading…now wait, if that truly happened you wouldn’t know what I was saying right now… so odd’s are you’re still reading… what I was trying to get at, is immediately go to Marcy Priest and check out her new album.  

Yes I love my husband and Yes he produced it, but that is NOT why I’m sending you there… this girl is AMAZING!  Seriously.  Now.  Go.  Then come back and read.  You’re still reading aren’t you.  You don’t listen well.  NOW.  Go.  I’ll still be here when you get back. 

Craig Groeschel (my senior pastor) spoke a couple of weeks ago about winning today’s battle in his Warrior Series  It REALLY hit home with me.  I haven’t been able to get it out of my head.  For those of you who don’t know me, I’m fat.  Not a big girl… not chubby… not big boned… I’m a tub o’ lard! 

Trent laughs every time I say that...  which here lately is quite often. 

I haven’t been this big since high school and NO, it’s not because I’m unhappy.  It’s quite the opposite, I’d say.  I’m fat and happy.  That’s what I always tell my husband.  He loves me regardless and I did marry him because he’s a fat squisher (he loves to hold my fat rolls).  Seriously… I know a few of you just threw up a little in your mouths, but it’s true.  I love him.

So, my biggest battle in life has always been my weight.  It fluctuates.  Mostly up.  But there have been years when I had a six pack and wore little shirts that showed off my navel ring.  These day’s I can’t even find my belly button.  I’ve just gotten lazy and found happiness in my husband and my life.  I quit focusing on myself.  Good?  Yes.  Good?  No.  Good in the fact that it’s not about me, bad in the fact that it needs to be a little about me. 

There are two main reasons why I want to lose weight. 

One:  I have a history of hormonal cancer in my family and I know illness thrives on unhealthy. 

Two:  I want to be as attractive to my husband as I possibly can be.  I want him to always look at me and be thankful he married me.  Now, Trent is not vain at all… but men enjoy their wives to look nice.  I understand that. 

Today’s battle… so Craig was talking about instead of fighting the big battle that seems overwhelming… fight today’s battle.  That made so much sense for me because I’d set these 3 month goals or even a month goal of eating well and exercising blah blah blah and a week would come and go and I’d cheat and be right back where I was… on the ground, staring up at the wagon driving away.   So when I pray now, I pray for God to give me strength for today’s battle.  Just today’s battle.  When I’m hungry and I’m thinking about a taco or burger, I say to myself, fight this little battle… meaning (go back to work and pop open a can of soup).  And when I do, I’m victorious.  I just won that battle.  And then when I want a coke… I say to myself, fight this little battle… and I get water.  Again.  Winner!  We own a treadmill… I want to get up in the morning and walk, but for the love of all that is good and holy I just can’t…and there is NO time in the evenings between, dinner, laundry, kids, lifegroup, plans, etc… so today, I strapped on my tennis shoes and a friend and I went walking at lunch around the parking lot for 45 minutes.  Again, we had plans tonight (for a dinner date, none the less) at 6:30 so I won’t have time to walk when I get home… so I thought to myself, how do I fight this battle…and now I’m sitting her typing to you, a successful warrior princess for the day!  It’s so elating to me to win these little battles.  

Are you seeing the big picture yet?  I’m not taking on the whole battle.  I can’t win that one.  I’m taking on the small battles day by day and ONLY with God’s help.  And by winning those small battles day by day, the big one will be victorious. 

Thanks Craig. 

ooooooooh this one made me think for a minute… 

It was God’s design, before the fall, that the woman’s desire would be to her husband and that he would rule over her.  This relationship was not a punishment, but after the fall it would be a source of suffering for the woman.  God created the woman to be the helper of the man – a sinless man.  Now that she has led him into sin, she is still his helper, her desires are still focused on him and his goals, and he will still rule over her as before - but now he is sinful, selfish and carnal.

Good gracious, Eve!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?  I could see something like this happening over chocolate…. but an apple?  Come on!  I wonder if in the beginning it were Adam and Keri if man would still be sinless… see… the apple is not a great desire of mine.  But… then again after some fig leaves and barley, I’m sure an apple sounds like a caramel, pecan triple chocolate brownie.   

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving… The Austin’s are heading over to my brother’s house to eat a lot of GREAT food and laugh.  I’m so thankful for my family!  From one end to the other.  And they better be darn thankful for my grandma Sally’s home made Augratin potato’s that I was up at 8:00am this morning peeling and cubing.  Thank you grandma Sally.  I have faint memories of my grandma, she passed away when I was young… but I still remember when we’d go stay the night with her the twin beds we slept in with tall bed posts, it felt like we had to jump up in those things, cool feeling.  I think I saw those beds later in life and felt kind of deflated because they didn’t seem quite as big(tall) as I remembered.  Tess and I went shopping last night for the food, trafic and wal-mart were both crazy.  We had a good time though… we discussed how po-tate’s had both eye’s and toe’s.  Noah and Tess both helped me this morning by grating cheese… Noah woke up first, so I told him he had to wash his hands before he could help… washes em good, dryes em, heading over to the dining room table to start grating and before he made it, the finger hit the nose…I know… so needless to say, I sent him back to the sink to rewash.  Afterwhich, he proceeded to wipe his nose on my dish towel.    All that to say, I love the holiday’s cuz we get to spend time with all our kids and see family and eat good food.  I hope you all are having a great Thanksgiving and are truly thankful to the One who made all this possible and blesses us everyday.

So yesterday I’m reading Beth Moore’s blog where Amanda talks about Haystacks … and I think to my self… self (because I always address myself directly when speaking to myself)… these little chow mein noodles that the pretty lady speaks of… those would be quite delightful on my spinach salad for some crunchyness.  So now, for those of you who are patiently waiting to find out what all I put in my spinach salad, I will divulge the savor in my salad… it’s simply baby spinach, 1 boiled egg, sunflower seeds (unsalted), a piece of turkey bacon I cooked – broken into bits, and now… dunh duh da duuuunh… chow mein noodles… and… and… aaaaaaand…here’s the kicker… I throw in about 5 to 7 green olives for flavor so I don’t have to use salad dressing.  So, I’m at the store last night buying the norm you need for colder days… hot cocoa (and not just any cocoa, Nestles hot cocoa – which my son so sweetly pronounces Nessels), General Foods International french vanilla cafe and some Hormel Turkey Chili (because I haven’t found my recipe that my husband loves… so… Hormel will suffice)… when what should I happen upon… chow mein noodles!  I’m so proud.  I always have good intent to get things at the grocery store and never remember… you’d think by now, I’d write it down… so at this point, I’m feeling pretty good about myself.  Before I run out the door this morning I down a large glass of water, and grab a banana and my box of oatmeal I bought for work and dump just a few of those noodles in a baggy…  Good lord why didn’t any one tell me they are like little bits of pie crust in your mouth.  Needless to say the oatmeal sat wayside as I continued to munch on this little baggy of bliss… I’m fascinated… so much so that I pondered all the way to work… I could top macaroni and cheese with these… any casserole… I could coat them in chocolate and make chow mein chocolate balls… the possibilities are endless… I even walked around to everyone who sits near me at work and made them try them.  Then I get to work and start immediately working… no seriously… I started researching this wonderful creation man calls chow mein noodles when much to my dismay, someone has beat me to the punch… the chow mein chocolate balls have already been created (hence the picture…I’m a visual creature so all posts will likely contain a photo.)  Why has this secret been kept from me?