Long Over-due Introduction of Amrita!

The intro to Amrita is coming in a couple of parts! Quite awhile ago I started reading her blog because it was so different from anything else I was following and I just felt so refreshed by that! But I think it was this post (which I snatched by a copy and paste from her blog) that really caught my eye and I was hooked as a regular reader from then on! More next time ... in the meantime, enjoy her post:

The Highs and Lows

Today was a day of highs and lows.The high point of the day was when I received a gift check for our church building fund and when India defeated Pakistan in the first one day cricket match.

The lows were when I went to the bank stood in a very long Que only to discover that my ATM card had expired and I did not bring my new one along.

My washing machine 's dryer gave out on me after the first cycle and the repairman did not come after I phoned him.

I also had a few "run ins" with mama.The generation gap is getting longer and rockier and slipper-ier (coined a new word here).

Aunt S was quite disturbed, she has her moments.

And my old girl- maid (female Jeeves) tries my patience too.Her hearing and eyesight is weak and her IQ is low.But because she is a very poor widow and is very faithful and honest I just can't let her go.

I felt quite ill and stressed out in the evening.Stress causes vertigo in me,but I went out to get medicines. And I bought a book by Joyce Meyers called The Secret Power of Speaking God 's Word.Its a compilation of Bible verses we can speak out during different situations of life.My verse for stress is-It is God 's desire that I be free from all anxiety and distressing care. I Cor 7;32

The Holy Spirit calmed my soul otherwise I was telling Mama that I am going to call Sonia in Lucknow and tell her to ask her hubby 's uncle who is the Director of a famous Christian Psychiatric Hospital there to book a room for me.My Mom agreed.

What were your day 's highs and lows?

NEW MEMBERS!

This has been a VERY exciting week for the Winners! If you have not already noticed, check out the new additions to the sidebars. I'm going to introduce my friend Renae to you, and actually, there is a connection between her and Amrita.

Some time back, I began visiting Amrita's blog (which I really enjoy reading, I might add), and one day I left a comment there. Renae saw my comment and clicked on my name to visit my blog! She and Carol-Ann and I all got into lots of interesting conversations there and became good friends just chatting.

Of course, I then stopped by Renae's blog, Morning Coffee, and found out that I love reading her wonderful devotionals. She is an excellent writer; in fact, she has articles published in local and national magazines and is writing mysteries for girls 8 to 12. She also writes a weekly column that is currently carried in 4 newspapers. For all the scoop on Renae, click here. One of the biggest surprises of my year (maybe even this decade!) was when Renae invited me to be a guest writer on her blog, so now I have 2 posts over there on Morning Coffee which, let me tell you, has stretched me right out to my limit! It has been good stretching, only I haven't been able to claim it on the exercise chart!

Welcome Renae! I am SO glad your are joining us!

Wake-up Call!

Sometimes "wake-up" calls do happen in a series of events like this crazy "clock" portrays!
I had the ball fall on my chest and pull the stopper outta the keg this week when I realized my blood-pressure was high! I won't bore you with all the chain reaction series of events leading up to it. The long and the short is that it has come down on its own without meds to still being high but not in the danger zone. In investigating it, the doctor at the emergency walk-in clinic thoroughly checked my sinuses to see if that might be the reason why I have a headache that won't go away even with tylenol. I have been to my regular doc several times with my hand over my right eye saying that my face feels like it's going to fall off. She always looks thoughtful, writes in her book and suggests I quit drinking coffee! OK, so today I made no mention of my eye and my face because I didn't want another doc to tell me that! Without me saying anything, he started poking different parts of my face and then looked in my right eye with his scope. He kept going round and round the eye till I wondered how long I could take the spot light. But when he shifted to the left eye he just did a quick glance there and turned the light off. "AHA!" I knew without him saying anything that I would do whatever he told me -- even to quit drinkin' coffee! It was kinda like Daniel telling the king what his dream had been as well as giving him its interpretation when the doc found the point of concern without being told the symptom!

Regarding my eye and face, he said I have a sinus infection for which I need two weeks of antibiotics and a prescription nasal spray.

Regarding the BP he has no idea except to say, "Cut down on salt, avoid caffeine (yes sir!), and go for a brisk half hour walk each day. As you do that, we'll just have to keep an eye on it."

So I went today for a 40 minute brisk walk! Can you believe it?

Thanks everyone for taking the time to learn your way around posting exercise time and weights! I plan to post the instructions and put a link to it right below the window containing the exercise log sheet for future reference (if we suffer memory lapse) and new members.

Also, I shall eventually move the archives into the new Google document window and then it will be up to each person to decide how much you want to keep and show and what you want to delete. As it is, I have simply been archiving the last entry for each month.

'Nuff techy stuff! Get exercising BEFORE you get a wake-up call!

Introducing: Michelle!

One of the most fun things in my summer thus far happened yesterday! Michelle sent me an email and put down her authorization to be signed up as a Winner! So here is her official introduction!

Although she lives in B.C. and is married to John ...

... the happy Mama of Isaiah ...

... and of Baby Hannah ...


... when Michelle and I first met, she was three years old and living in Ontario! She and her Mom came walking into our church during choir practice (as I recall) to ask when the Sunday services were held. I won't go into all the details now, but further on down the road (when Michelle was all grown up and in Grade One), she and her Mom invited me to live with them for a year while I saved up to go to Bible College. During that year, I discovered that little red-head could sing harmony! Can you believe it?! She was just adorable!

Welcome to our blog, Michelle, and the introductory blessing we bestow on you is: may you be the biggest loser!

Oh, by the way ...
I'm not sure if I have spoken yet on this blog
about my daughter: Kinza Michelle.

Andrea is now a WINNER!

Andrea, it's no secret that in our books Gord's kids have always been winners! But it is official today that you are now one of OUR winners! Now if Aunt Jeanette would just break down and shift her goal, this could be known as the 150 club! But I guess Roger would seem kinda scrawny at 150!

Welcome to our sidebar and may you be the puff on our flickering candle flame that we've needed recently!

My Trip -- Part 2

In 1977 (many, many moons ago -- in fact, was I even alive then??), I was engaged to Barry, but we did not plan to get married for another long year, so I enrolled in the one-year secretarial course at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. That was an excellent decision because what I learned that year has been the foundation for all the work I have done since then. Typing, grammar, and shorthand skills weren't the only benefits, though. Three of us students -- Pat, Frances, and I -- became friends and spent a lot of time studying together and hanging out between classes.

Over the years, Pat has been just wonderful about keeping in touch with me. She wrote lots of letters before the days of email and sent pictures and Christmas cards. I have not been nearly as good at that as she has, but I have always admired her ability to do it so well. Thirty years later, we still love to keep in touch which is much easier now with emails back and forth and blogs and such! Still, there is nothing like getting together and gabbing the hours away over coffee, which is exactly what we did during my visit with Carol-Ann. Here is Pat, looking back at me from across the coffee-shop table.

This is a weight-loss blog, so I am duty bound to say that I totally resisted the urge to get more than coffee! We were surrounded by goodies at this wonderful coffee shop, but I raised my chin and stiffened my upper lip! (Actually, I better be honest and admit that I had just eaten!) Now, though, we are starting into the Christmas season with all the goodies and big meals that go with it.

This is my plan: Keep drinking more water, take only one helping at meals, give in and eat only one little sweet each day, and run around like crazy to burn off calories!!

On a more serious note, though, I have been thinking about how in some parts of the world there is no need for weight loss because there is not even enough food to sustain healthy life. So let's remember this Christmas to be very thankful for our many, many blessings!