Hey Rowdy Fans!
I am still wearing the Body Bugg. This thing is awesome! I would like to make one recommendation, however, to the makers of the Bugg. If you can tell me how many calories I have burned during the day, couldn't you tell me how many calories I have consumed? Come on...how hard could it be? lol Seems like there would be a way you could tell automagically!!
I am still logging the foods I eat daily, wearing the bugg, trying to come up with ways to get away from both computers to get some activity in. Swimming comes to mind...I hear there is a place right here in the city where I can swim!
I can do this! I am hearing the siren's call from Germany again and hope to answer the call 50 pounds lighter next year.
Stay tuned!
Rowdy
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
My new Body Bugg
Have you heard about the Body Bugg? It's a device that you can purchase from 24 hour fitness that you wear around your arm and the Bugg will tell you how many calories you have burnt in whatever time frame you wear it.
WOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
I am surprised at my age that I didn't understand the math behind losing weight. You have to consume 3500 less calories than you eat to lose a pound. If I want to lose a pound a week, I have to either eat 1600 calories a day (rather than 2100) or eat 2100 and work off 500 calories to get the weight off. So far I have been doing a little of both!
My first official weigh in was today and I lost 1.2 pounds in a week. Overall I have lost 4.8 pounds in a month which is right where I want to be. I would love to lose a total of 50 pounds before I get back to Europe next year.
Last year, in Germany and Austria when we walked a lot, I was just in agony! My feet hurt so bad every day and I was just popping Aleve like they were candy just to stay upright. I have arthritis in both my feet and I am overweight and those two things were just devastating on my last trip. I hope that God is going to give me at least 30 to 40 more years of traveling so if I can take the weight off, I can go anywhere and do anything!
The Bugg is simple. You wear the Bugg on the back of your arm with an armband. The Bugg gathers and converts your activity to calories burned during the timeframe. You hook the Bugg up with a USB cord to your computer at the end of the day to see how many calories you ahve burned. You log the food that you have eaten at body Bugg website and then at the end of the day, you find that you have a deficit or surplus of calories for that day. The Bugg will even tell you how many steps you have taken! How easy is that?
I also have a support group with three other ladies from my small group. We are all at varying stages of weight loss and email each other with our results from the day before! I love the accountablilty!
Love, Love, Love this program!
Stay Tuned!
Rowdy
WOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
I am surprised at my age that I didn't understand the math behind losing weight. You have to consume 3500 less calories than you eat to lose a pound. If I want to lose a pound a week, I have to either eat 1600 calories a day (rather than 2100) or eat 2100 and work off 500 calories to get the weight off. So far I have been doing a little of both!
My first official weigh in was today and I lost 1.2 pounds in a week. Overall I have lost 4.8 pounds in a month which is right where I want to be. I would love to lose a total of 50 pounds before I get back to Europe next year.
Last year, in Germany and Austria when we walked a lot, I was just in agony! My feet hurt so bad every day and I was just popping Aleve like they were candy just to stay upright. I have arthritis in both my feet and I am overweight and those two things were just devastating on my last trip. I hope that God is going to give me at least 30 to 40 more years of traveling so if I can take the weight off, I can go anywhere and do anything!
The Bugg is simple. You wear the Bugg on the back of your arm with an armband. The Bugg gathers and converts your activity to calories burned during the timeframe. You hook the Bugg up with a USB cord to your computer at the end of the day to see how many calories you ahve burned. You log the food that you have eaten at body Bugg website and then at the end of the day, you find that you have a deficit or surplus of calories for that day. The Bugg will even tell you how many steps you have taken! How easy is that?
I also have a support group with three other ladies from my small group. We are all at varying stages of weight loss and email each other with our results from the day before! I love the accountablilty!
Love, Love, Love this program!
Stay Tuned!
Rowdy
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Small Group
Last night was my first official, unofficial leadership of my church small group! WOOO HOOO!
Official that Charrie has handed the reins over to me but unofficial as I must undergo some additional training and then some affirmation at the end of six months!
How exciting and terrifying at the same time! Only God's grace is propping me up on this one!
We layed hands on Liz, Rita and Penny and prayed for them as they leave our group and start their own group under Liz's leadership. I am sooooo excited for them. I love Liz and know that God has got great things in store for both of us as we step out in obedience!
More to come later!
Official that Charrie has handed the reins over to me but unofficial as I must undergo some additional training and then some affirmation at the end of six months!
How exciting and terrifying at the same time! Only God's grace is propping me up on this one!
We layed hands on Liz, Rita and Penny and prayed for them as they leave our group and start their own group under Liz's leadership. I am sooooo excited for them. I love Liz and know that God has got great things in store for both of us as we step out in obedience!
More to come later!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Where has all the time gone?
Oh my gosh! I haven't been here in so long I forgot my password!
Let's talk about Germany!
My daughter Erica, my sister Dixie and I had a GREAT time. I think this was the best trip ever despite my feet hurting every single day, all day long! It took weeks for me to get over the feet issue after we got back!
We stayed in Munich for about 3 days, Oberammergau for a week and then Salzburg for another three days! I really didn't like Munich when I went in 2003 but I really liked it much better this time for some reason although I saw more trash on the streets and more beggars than ever before. Maybe it's because we stayed near the train station which isn't ever in the nicest part of any city, is it?
One of the things that stressed me out in 2003 was having to find a place to eat and then having to find my own seat. In America, we usually have hostesses who seat us. No so in Germany. Then for places that had a beer hall and a nicer section to eat in, which do you use? So in November, on our first day there, we went into the Augustiner near the Marienplatz and a waiter met us near the front. He said hello and asked us how many people and we said three. He took us right back to the seats near the kitchen. In America, that is not good. I decided right then that I would not be offended because maybe it wasn't the same in Germany. I was just delighted that someone seated us. Come to find out, the waiter took us right back to his station which happened to be in the back. WOOO WEEEEE! He gave us all menu's in English (I wanted to practice my German) and suggested some dishes for us. We all ordered something different and everything was just awesome. Our waiter was friendly and I got to practice rounding up with him on the tip and we had one fantastic meal. That was a great first meal and really set my heart at ease for future meals. We actually were met and seated several times over our two weeks there. How nice!
I got to meet a German Aunt and Uncle that I had never met before. My Mom and her sister had a falling out with their brother and didn't speak to him for over 40 years. Finally, they smoked the peace pipe and I got to meet my Aunt Dagmar and my Uncle Walter. We went to dinner (it was wonderful) at their house, we met for cake and coffee and I got to meet their son, his new wife and their 2 year old. I just fell in love with my Aunt and Uncle. My Aunt speaks very good English and my Uncle understood most of what we said. I think meeting them was the highlight of our trip!
Staying in Oberammergau was fun. I picked our place off the Internet at Tripadvisor.com and we could not have picked a better place. We stayed at a holiday house run by Anton and Penny Neu near the Ammer River and we loved, loved, loved our holiday house. There was fresh rolls for us every morning and there was a grocery store within walking distance across the river! Anton can tell you something crazy funny with a straight face and Penny was very helpful in directing us to local festivals and answering any questions we might have.
I got to see my cousin Christine, her husband Lothar, their kids Kevin and Vivenne. We had lunch and then visited my Uncle Karl's and Aunt Ella's grave together. My sweet Aunt and Uncle had passed away since I was there last and it was a very special moment for me to stand at their grave with their daugther and her family. I love the Oberammergau cemeteries. I have never been in a more beautiful or peaceful place in my life. My grandparents are in the New cemetery and they were buried there in 1955. My Aunt and Uncle are in the Old Cemetery and they were buried there in 2005 and 2006. Go figure.
One evening and morning we were blessed with snow in Oberammergau. Dixie and I happened to look outside one night and we could see the snow coming down near the street light. When we got up the next morning, it was snowing and there was snow on the ski runs that was sticking but it was wet snow in town. It was snow none the less. I got it on video!
We absolutely loved Salzburg. Salzburg might be my new fav big city! We certainly saw more of it this time than we have ever seen before. Our Sound of Music tour was awesome. I was hoping that it would be different than it was the last time and it was. Different route, different size bus and a different tour guide. Somehow the tour didn't seem as long but what we did see was just awesome. St. Gilgen below a brooding, cloudy sky from above the city was something I will never forget. I would like to take the drive myself if we go back.
More next time! Have a rowdy good day!
Rowdy
Let's talk about Germany!
My daughter Erica, my sister Dixie and I had a GREAT time. I think this was the best trip ever despite my feet hurting every single day, all day long! It took weeks for me to get over the feet issue after we got back!
We stayed in Munich for about 3 days, Oberammergau for a week and then Salzburg for another three days! I really didn't like Munich when I went in 2003 but I really liked it much better this time for some reason although I saw more trash on the streets and more beggars than ever before. Maybe it's because we stayed near the train station which isn't ever in the nicest part of any city, is it?
One of the things that stressed me out in 2003 was having to find a place to eat and then having to find my own seat. In America, we usually have hostesses who seat us. No so in Germany. Then for places that had a beer hall and a nicer section to eat in, which do you use? So in November, on our first day there, we went into the Augustiner near the Marienplatz and a waiter met us near the front. He said hello and asked us how many people and we said three. He took us right back to the seats near the kitchen. In America, that is not good. I decided right then that I would not be offended because maybe it wasn't the same in Germany. I was just delighted that someone seated us. Come to find out, the waiter took us right back to his station which happened to be in the back. WOOO WEEEEE! He gave us all menu's in English (I wanted to practice my German) and suggested some dishes for us. We all ordered something different and everything was just awesome. Our waiter was friendly and I got to practice rounding up with him on the tip and we had one fantastic meal. That was a great first meal and really set my heart at ease for future meals. We actually were met and seated several times over our two weeks there. How nice!
I got to meet a German Aunt and Uncle that I had never met before. My Mom and her sister had a falling out with their brother and didn't speak to him for over 40 years. Finally, they smoked the peace pipe and I got to meet my Aunt Dagmar and my Uncle Walter. We went to dinner (it was wonderful) at their house, we met for cake and coffee and I got to meet their son, his new wife and their 2 year old. I just fell in love with my Aunt and Uncle. My Aunt speaks very good English and my Uncle understood most of what we said. I think meeting them was the highlight of our trip!
Staying in Oberammergau was fun. I picked our place off the Internet at Tripadvisor.com and we could not have picked a better place. We stayed at a holiday house run by Anton and Penny Neu near the Ammer River and we loved, loved, loved our holiday house. There was fresh rolls for us every morning and there was a grocery store within walking distance across the river! Anton can tell you something crazy funny with a straight face and Penny was very helpful in directing us to local festivals and answering any questions we might have.
I got to see my cousin Christine, her husband Lothar, their kids Kevin and Vivenne. We had lunch and then visited my Uncle Karl's and Aunt Ella's grave together. My sweet Aunt and Uncle had passed away since I was there last and it was a very special moment for me to stand at their grave with their daugther and her family. I love the Oberammergau cemeteries. I have never been in a more beautiful or peaceful place in my life. My grandparents are in the New cemetery and they were buried there in 1955. My Aunt and Uncle are in the Old Cemetery and they were buried there in 2005 and 2006. Go figure.
One evening and morning we were blessed with snow in Oberammergau. Dixie and I happened to look outside one night and we could see the snow coming down near the street light. When we got up the next morning, it was snowing and there was snow on the ski runs that was sticking but it was wet snow in town. It was snow none the less. I got it on video!
We absolutely loved Salzburg. Salzburg might be my new fav big city! We certainly saw more of it this time than we have ever seen before. Our Sound of Music tour was awesome. I was hoping that it would be different than it was the last time and it was. Different route, different size bus and a different tour guide. Somehow the tour didn't seem as long but what we did see was just awesome. St. Gilgen below a brooding, cloudy sky from above the city was something I will never forget. I would like to take the drive myself if we go back.
More next time! Have a rowdy good day!
Rowdy
Monday, October 26, 2009
Will we have Oberammergau to ourselves?
Hey there!
I have been pouring over the tourist guides and found out within the last few months that many hotels and restaurants are closed during November in Oberammergau because it's a slow time!!
WOOO HOOOO is all I can say!
I am almost packed and almost ready to go!!
Rowdy
I have been pouring over the tourist guides and found out within the last few months that many hotels and restaurants are closed during November in Oberammergau because it's a slow time!!
WOOO HOOOO is all I can say!
I am almost packed and almost ready to go!!
Rowdy
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Just 9 more days and counting....
I started packing this week for the big trip!! I am excited and anxious at the same time!
Got some folks praying for me for the anxiety and I think as I get a little closer to the trip, I will get more excited. Right now I am feeling like I have left something out.....oh....that would be my Mother. She is not going and it really makes me sad. Maybe I will get over it once I get on the plane with my sister and daughter.
I have been watching the webcam in Oberammergau and it's already snowed there! I hope it snows at least once while we are there! Snow and the cemetery where my grandparents are buried is an awesome combo. I have never seen a prettier cemetery than the one where my grandparents are buried in Oberammergau - they were buried there in 1955 and the locals call it the new cemetery. It's way younger than the one where my Aunt Ella and Uncle Karl are buried - the old cemetery next to the beautiful Catholic church. This will be my first trip to the cemetery to visit my Aunt and Uncle. They have passed away since I was there last in 2003. I think it's going to be surreal. In my mind, they still live in their house where we visited them so many times over the years. I will miss them and I will miss my mom going too. I pray for an awesome trip! After all, I am doing what my Mother trained me to do - to keep up the travel tradition so that our familes can stay connected. Thank you Mom. You trained me well. I love you!
Got some folks praying for me for the anxiety and I think as I get a little closer to the trip, I will get more excited. Right now I am feeling like I have left something out.....oh....that would be my Mother. She is not going and it really makes me sad. Maybe I will get over it once I get on the plane with my sister and daughter.
I have been watching the webcam in Oberammergau and it's already snowed there! I hope it snows at least once while we are there! Snow and the cemetery where my grandparents are buried is an awesome combo. I have never seen a prettier cemetery than the one where my grandparents are buried in Oberammergau - they were buried there in 1955 and the locals call it the new cemetery. It's way younger than the one where my Aunt Ella and Uncle Karl are buried - the old cemetery next to the beautiful Catholic church. This will be my first trip to the cemetery to visit my Aunt and Uncle. They have passed away since I was there last in 2003. I think it's going to be surreal. In my mind, they still live in their house where we visited them so many times over the years. I will miss them and I will miss my mom going too. I pray for an awesome trip! After all, I am doing what my Mother trained me to do - to keep up the travel tradition so that our familes can stay connected. Thank you Mom. You trained me well. I love you!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Less than six weeks!
Less than six weeks for Germany!!
I am looking at maps, travel books, travel websites and still feel unprepared. There's that anxiety again! Anxiety be gone!! This will be my 7th trip of a lifetime...I sure need to go. It's like being away from home too long.
Next week I go to see my sister in Bama. She is going to Germany with me and my daughter. I am sure she will get me all excited. We plan to go to AAA to get our international drivers permit or license together after getting a passport pic! We are going to scrapbook together with my Dad and StepMom and hopefully spend time with my Mom and StepDad and go to a local German restaurant. YUM!!
It will be nice to be back in the bosom of the fam! I haven't seen them in over a year! WOOO HOOO!!
Jo Anne
I am looking at maps, travel books, travel websites and still feel unprepared. There's that anxiety again! Anxiety be gone!! This will be my 7th trip of a lifetime...I sure need to go. It's like being away from home too long.
Next week I go to see my sister in Bama. She is going to Germany with me and my daughter. I am sure she will get me all excited. We plan to go to AAA to get our international drivers permit or license together after getting a passport pic! We are going to scrapbook together with my Dad and StepMom and hopefully spend time with my Mom and StepDad and go to a local German restaurant. YUM!!
It will be nice to be back in the bosom of the fam! I haven't seen them in over a year! WOOO HOOO!!
Jo Anne
Monday, September 14, 2009
Bad Travel Dream
It was bound to happen! For this upcoming Germany trip, I have been feeling a little anxious because this will be the first time EVAH that I have gone without my Mom who was born and raised in Germany! I have made all the hotel, vacation house, flight and car reservations myself for my sister and my daughter. They are so hands off they don't have a clue.
Yesterday I was really feeling low - not low about going but about the responsibility!! The last time I went, I flew in with a friend about 3 days before my Mom got there and the responsibility of planning, executing and doing in Munich with someone who was as hands off as my sister and daugther are was almost unbearable. I planned everything. Where to go, when to eat, where to sit, when to go - and all in a place where we don't speak the language and on top of that it was cold and rainy. I was never so glad to leave Munich and get to Oberammergau in my life.
So...after my low day yesterday it's no surprise that I dreamed last night I was in Spain and lost and couldn't speak the language. Spain must have come up from a travel report I was reading on Fodor's yesterday. I dreamed I was in a hotel with lots of people I knew and we were all going to go together to some destination and when I came out of my room to join them, they were all running single file in front of me down the corridor at our hotel and I could not catch up to them. I ran out a side door hoping to intercept them and I guess I decided that I could catch them on a bus that was sitting there but when I got on the bus after paying, I couldn't convince the bus driver that I was on the wrong bus because he had no English and I had no Spanish. So, I just sat down with the attitude that I had plenty of time to find myself before I had to show up at the airpoint to leave the country. That's what I always think when in Germany, if we get lost, we will have x amount of days to get back to the airport and I am not going to worry about it. lol
The bus probably comes about too because everytime I got on a bus with my Mom in Germany, she wasn't ever sure where we were going! Oh my goodness. It's funny looking back on it!
No more anxiety! No more bad dreams! Only good stuff from now on!! Cos we are going in a little more than six weeks! WOOO HOOO!!
Yesterday I was really feeling low - not low about going but about the responsibility!! The last time I went, I flew in with a friend about 3 days before my Mom got there and the responsibility of planning, executing and doing in Munich with someone who was as hands off as my sister and daugther are was almost unbearable. I planned everything. Where to go, when to eat, where to sit, when to go - and all in a place where we don't speak the language and on top of that it was cold and rainy. I was never so glad to leave Munich and get to Oberammergau in my life.
So...after my low day yesterday it's no surprise that I dreamed last night I was in Spain and lost and couldn't speak the language. Spain must have come up from a travel report I was reading on Fodor's yesterday. I dreamed I was in a hotel with lots of people I knew and we were all going to go together to some destination and when I came out of my room to join them, they were all running single file in front of me down the corridor at our hotel and I could not catch up to them. I ran out a side door hoping to intercept them and I guess I decided that I could catch them on a bus that was sitting there but when I got on the bus after paying, I couldn't convince the bus driver that I was on the wrong bus because he had no English and I had no Spanish. So, I just sat down with the attitude that I had plenty of time to find myself before I had to show up at the airpoint to leave the country. That's what I always think when in Germany, if we get lost, we will have x amount of days to get back to the airport and I am not going to worry about it. lol
The bus probably comes about too because everytime I got on a bus with my Mom in Germany, she wasn't ever sure where we were going! Oh my goodness. It's funny looking back on it!
No more anxiety! No more bad dreams! Only good stuff from now on!! Cos we are going in a little more than six weeks! WOOO HOOO!!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
NOT GOING to Great American Scrapbooking Convention!!
Disappointed doesn't even describe how I feel. I got an email from the GASC group saying that they were cancelling the convention!! I am still going to Bama and I will just spend two days with my sister but I am going to have to change my flight reservations and that's going to cost 180 dollars to change my ticket! That is such a ripoff!!
Not so sure at this point that I will ever attempt another city other than this one for a scrapbooking convention!
Bummer!
Not so sure at this point that I will ever attempt another city other than this one for a scrapbooking convention!
Bummer!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Going to GASC!
I have made my Great American Scrapbook Convention reservations and I have booked my flight so GASC, here I come!! WOOO WEEEE!!
I get to meet up with my sister and a few friends in Chattanooga and we are going to scrapbook together!!
I get to spend time with my sister Dixie and my friends Jeannie and Barb!!
Come on September, move a little faster!!
Rowdy
I get to meet up with my sister and a few friends in Chattanooga and we are going to scrapbook together!!
I get to spend time with my sister Dixie and my friends Jeannie and Barb!!
Come on September, move a little faster!!
Rowdy
Monday, August 17, 2009
Talking to myself and feeling down.....
I guess these days when I update my blog, I am talking to myself! No big deal!
So...I am not rocking the weight loss yet. Just last week I was a maniac one night on the treadmill and decided to try running and I pulled a muscle on the right side of my abdomen that hurts everytime you get up, lay down, breathe, move...you get the picture!
Since that muscle hurts, I have slowed down a little bit. I also noticed that I wasn't feeling good and it's probably a sugar thing. I have decided to cut back on the carbs, eat smaller meals during the day and I hope to boost my metabolism and lose more than a pound every two weeks!
Gotta get er done!
Rowdy
So...I am not rocking the weight loss yet. Just last week I was a maniac one night on the treadmill and decided to try running and I pulled a muscle on the right side of my abdomen that hurts everytime you get up, lay down, breathe, move...you get the picture!
Since that muscle hurts, I have slowed down a little bit. I also noticed that I wasn't feeling good and it's probably a sugar thing. I have decided to cut back on the carbs, eat smaller meals during the day and I hope to boost my metabolism and lose more than a pound every two weeks!
Gotta get er done!
Rowdy
Monday, August 10, 2009
Let the weight loss begin!
It's official - I am fat.
With me running off to Germany in a little bit more than two months, I need a more updated shape than just round. Hey, round is a shape isn't it? lol
We got a treadmill a couple of weeks ago and it is just amazing to me that you can walk for 30 minutes and that burns up something like a coke. That's just CRAZY!
This week I am ramping up the walking and the decrease in calories. Already I am thinking about how much those cookies or that coke are going to take on the treadmill to get it off!
Really, when you break it down, if you are over weight and you eat sugar, guess where that sugar goes? Since your body isn't using it for fuel, it stores it. I no longer want to be a fat storage facility. From this day forward!
Let the Weight Loss Begin!
WOOOO HOOOO!!
ROWDY
With me running off to Germany in a little bit more than two months, I need a more updated shape than just round. Hey, round is a shape isn't it? lol
We got a treadmill a couple of weeks ago and it is just amazing to me that you can walk for 30 minutes and that burns up something like a coke. That's just CRAZY!
This week I am ramping up the walking and the decrease in calories. Already I am thinking about how much those cookies or that coke are going to take on the treadmill to get it off!
Really, when you break it down, if you are over weight and you eat sugar, guess where that sugar goes? Since your body isn't using it for fuel, it stores it. I no longer want to be a fat storage facility. From this day forward!
Let the Weight Loss Begin!
WOOOO HOOOO!!
ROWDY
Friday, July 31, 2009
German Memories!
My mom called me last night and we talked about my sweet Aunt Ella since yesterday she would have been 75!!
One of my last meals I shared with my Aunt Ella, Uncle Karl, Mom and my friend Cheryl was at La Montanara in Oberammergau, Germany. I always order Spaghetti Carbonara at La Montanara because lets face it, it is absolutely wonderful!! Aunt Ella always enjoyed getting my left overs. That's notable since almost every German finishes their big meals and there are no left overs or no doggie bags! La Montanara sends those left overs home with you!! YUM! My mouth is watering as I am writing this! The last time together, Cheryl and I tried some grappa! Oh my Goodness. It tasted like an electric storm in a glass!
I hope to take Dixie and Erica there when we go back in November. I will be thinking of Aunt Ella when we go!
One of my last meals I shared with my Aunt Ella, Uncle Karl, Mom and my friend Cheryl was at La Montanara in Oberammergau, Germany. I always order Spaghetti Carbonara at La Montanara because lets face it, it is absolutely wonderful!! Aunt Ella always enjoyed getting my left overs. That's notable since almost every German finishes their big meals and there are no left overs or no doggie bags! La Montanara sends those left overs home with you!! YUM! My mouth is watering as I am writing this! The last time together, Cheryl and I tried some grappa! Oh my Goodness. It tasted like an electric storm in a glass!
I hope to take Dixie and Erica there when we go back in November. I will be thinking of Aunt Ella when we go!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
German Bread
What I miss the most about Germany, besides my Aunt Ella and Uncle Karl, is German bread.
When we visited my Aunt and Uncle over the years they thought that someone in our group, which was usually me, should go to the local bakery every morning for fresh bread. They usually wanted me and the bread to be back at the house around 7:30 to 8:00. Okay, during my 20's I didn't grumble too much about that but when I got to be older, I thought hey, it's my vacation!!! What am I doing up at 7:30 going for bread? I was so ungrateful, I was staying with them for free on vacation!!!
Now, since they are gone, I would love to spend one more morning with them in their cozy little kitchen drinking coffee that would grow hair on your chest and eating fresh bread with German butter. I can just see my Uncle Karl putting about 7 or 8 sugars in his Nescafe Instant Coffee and my Aunt Ella setting out the cute little bread plates for us. I can see the semmel roles and the pretzels that were big enough to cut and put butter on the insides. I can see the evaporated milk that went into the coffee. I can see me drinking coffee and enjoying all the milk and sugar.
I will think about my Uncle Karl and Aunt Ella in the mornings in November when I enjoy the bread with my daughter and sister. Thank you Lord for precious memories.
When we visited my Aunt and Uncle over the years they thought that someone in our group, which was usually me, should go to the local bakery every morning for fresh bread. They usually wanted me and the bread to be back at the house around 7:30 to 8:00. Okay, during my 20's I didn't grumble too much about that but when I got to be older, I thought hey, it's my vacation!!! What am I doing up at 7:30 going for bread? I was so ungrateful, I was staying with them for free on vacation!!!
Now, since they are gone, I would love to spend one more morning with them in their cozy little kitchen drinking coffee that would grow hair on your chest and eating fresh bread with German butter. I can just see my Uncle Karl putting about 7 or 8 sugars in his Nescafe Instant Coffee and my Aunt Ella setting out the cute little bread plates for us. I can see the semmel roles and the pretzels that were big enough to cut and put butter on the insides. I can see the evaporated milk that went into the coffee. I can see me drinking coffee and enjoying all the milk and sugar.
I will think about my Uncle Karl and Aunt Ella in the mornings in November when I enjoy the bread with my daughter and sister. Thank you Lord for precious memories.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Germany Plans
I am so stinkin' excited!
My daughter Erica, my sister Dixie and I are going to Germany and Austria in November!
Wooo Hooo!
This year, we are going to try some new things. I have been to Germany multiple times before, however, I usually traveled with my German Mom, Aunt or Uncle. Not this time. Mom doesn't want to go and my German Aunt Ella and Uncle Karl have passed away since I visited last in 2003. This year, we are going to stay in Munich, Oberammergau and Salzburg. We are going to rent our car in Munich (that's new) and drive ourselves down to Oberammergau (that's new). We will drive to Salzburg (been there, done that) and turn the car back in in Munich (that's new). One day I just pulled the Munich map out of my book shelf and saw that where we will be staying in Munich will be dangerously close to the Autobahn so we are going for it!!
I hope that one of my Scrapfreak friends, Tamara, will be able to join us in Salzburg!!
More details later!!
My daughter Erica, my sister Dixie and I are going to Germany and Austria in November!
Wooo Hooo!
This year, we are going to try some new things. I have been to Germany multiple times before, however, I usually traveled with my German Mom, Aunt or Uncle. Not this time. Mom doesn't want to go and my German Aunt Ella and Uncle Karl have passed away since I visited last in 2003. This year, we are going to stay in Munich, Oberammergau and Salzburg. We are going to rent our car in Munich (that's new) and drive ourselves down to Oberammergau (that's new). We will drive to Salzburg (been there, done that) and turn the car back in in Munich (that's new). One day I just pulled the Munich map out of my book shelf and saw that where we will be staying in Munich will be dangerously close to the Autobahn so we are going for it!!
I hope that one of my Scrapfreak friends, Tamara, will be able to join us in Salzburg!!
More details later!!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Spiritual Gifts
I just got home several hours ago from a 24 hour retreat with my Small group. We went away to study our spiritual gifts!! What a great day!!!
I had a 2 way tie for my top gifts - giving and hospitality. In second place, I had another 2 way tie - faith and intercession! I would have thought that leadership would have been at the top but my idea of leadership sure wasn't the same as what was in our study book. lol
I would surely like to operate in all the gifts. We did find out from one of our girls who had completed her gift list about 6 years ago that your gifts can shift. Hopefully as we mature, we can gain some of the gifts. I know I want more!!
I had a 2 way tie for my top gifts - giving and hospitality. In second place, I had another 2 way tie - faith and intercession! I would have thought that leadership would have been at the top but my idea of leadership sure wasn't the same as what was in our study book. lol
I would surely like to operate in all the gifts. We did find out from one of our girls who had completed her gift list about 6 years ago that your gifts can shift. Hopefully as we mature, we can gain some of the gifts. I know I want more!!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Gottcha!!
You thought you were going to read something interesting? lol
Naw, just thought I would stop by and see my own blog which has been woefully ignored lately.
Let's see.....
I am behind in my online photography class but I hope to catch up this week.
I had my last day crop as a Creative Memories consultant last weekend.
I am going to go and crop with my friend Ruby at a Croptoberfest in DeSoto this coming weekend.
In about 2 and a half weeks, I will be leading a scrapbooking retreat in Collinsville.
My friend Marie could use your prayers as she continutes to wage her battle with cancer.
My friend Renna is going through Chemo so she could use your prayers as well.
My new friend Ryan who wants to go to New Guinea as a missionary needs all the prayers he can get for sponsorship and one time donations!
Fall is on the way. I love Fall, it's my favorite time of the year.
We have 2 bdays in this house tomorrow! Wooo Hoo!!
I think that's it for now!
See ya! God Bless you!!
Naw, just thought I would stop by and see my own blog which has been woefully ignored lately.
Let's see.....
I am behind in my online photography class but I hope to catch up this week.
I had my last day crop as a Creative Memories consultant last weekend.
I am going to go and crop with my friend Ruby at a Croptoberfest in DeSoto this coming weekend.
In about 2 and a half weeks, I will be leading a scrapbooking retreat in Collinsville.
My friend Marie could use your prayers as she continutes to wage her battle with cancer.
My friend Renna is going through Chemo so she could use your prayers as well.
My new friend Ryan who wants to go to New Guinea as a missionary needs all the prayers he can get for sponsorship and one time donations!
Fall is on the way. I love Fall, it's my favorite time of the year.
We have 2 bdays in this house tomorrow! Wooo Hoo!!
I think that's it for now!
See ya! God Bless you!!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
WOW!!
Can you believe it's been April since I have been here?
Hmm...what's been going on with me lately?
Oh....I am so enjoying the Beth Moore "Breaking Free" bible study I am doing this summer! This week we are studying about God's unfailing love. Unfailing love. Unfailing LOVE. Even though our friends, our spouses, our parents, our children fail us, God will never stop loving us. He will discipline us but he will not stop loving us. I have been smiling since I started reading the lesson. I am not the type of person who feels like it is hard for someone or God to love me because I have never suffered from lack of self esteem! Many people, however, just don't have a good picture of themselves. Even without the good picture, God still loves them for who they are NOW. We don't have to be better or try harder (although we should always strive to grow) but God loves us anyway NOW. He sent his son for us....his son who was so bruised and battered at the cross that he didn't look human anymore. Jesus covered all our sins with blood. With love. There's that smile again!!
I am so reaching for more of the Potter and and hoping to learn more about being Clay - about being mold able and flexible and understanding the loving hands of the Potter.
I am still praying for my friend Marie that she continue to receive healing. Her doctors discovered another tumor but Marie is in good spirits. My smart friend Jeannie once said that "cancer is a win-win situation for Christians". Either you stay here and live or you go home and really begin to live. Sounds like a win-win to me!! Marie told me that she has witnessed to others because of the cancer. What a blessing in disguise.
One of my other friends, Renna is going to talk to an oncologist this week. Her doctor believes that she has breast cancer. Renna is a mighty woman of God - she is lucky to have friends and family lifting her up in prayer! I hope to talk with her this week!
That's it for now! God bless you!!
Hmm...what's been going on with me lately?
Oh....I am so enjoying the Beth Moore "Breaking Free" bible study I am doing this summer! This week we are studying about God's unfailing love. Unfailing love. Unfailing LOVE. Even though our friends, our spouses, our parents, our children fail us, God will never stop loving us. He will discipline us but he will not stop loving us. I have been smiling since I started reading the lesson. I am not the type of person who feels like it is hard for someone or God to love me because I have never suffered from lack of self esteem! Many people, however, just don't have a good picture of themselves. Even without the good picture, God still loves them for who they are NOW. We don't have to be better or try harder (although we should always strive to grow) but God loves us anyway NOW. He sent his son for us....his son who was so bruised and battered at the cross that he didn't look human anymore. Jesus covered all our sins with blood. With love. There's that smile again!!
I am so reaching for more of the Potter and and hoping to learn more about being Clay - about being mold able and flexible and understanding the loving hands of the Potter.
I am still praying for my friend Marie that she continue to receive healing. Her doctors discovered another tumor but Marie is in good spirits. My smart friend Jeannie once said that "cancer is a win-win situation for Christians". Either you stay here and live or you go home and really begin to live. Sounds like a win-win to me!! Marie told me that she has witnessed to others because of the cancer. What a blessing in disguise.
One of my other friends, Renna is going to talk to an oncologist this week. Her doctor believes that she has breast cancer. Renna is a mighty woman of God - she is lucky to have friends and family lifting her up in prayer! I hope to talk with her this week!
That's it for now! God bless you!!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
A New Small Group!!!
To continue my story a little bit we have to catch up with where I am now.
After my pastor died in the small church that I attended in Corinth, I moved back to my previous church. I didn't want to go back, I felt like I would be going back to Egypt. The Holy Spirit continued to guide me back there and so I went. I renewed old friendships, I renewed a friendship with someone who became my downline for my Creative Memories business, I got closer to my Pastor and his wife than ever before but I still felt like it was only for a season.
In the meantime, my oldest daughter had started visiting a church near where we live. She asked me to visit with her. I really liked it - its a non traditional Southern Baptist church but it's HUGE and almost everybody there is college age! Matt, the pastor, said that if you are over 30 then we have prayed for you to come! lol
So since I was going to my former church by myself and really felt like I needed a family connection, I started regularly visiting with my daugther but looking backward - like Lot's wife. I was comparing this new church to my previous churchs. I felt like the current church isn't spiritual enough, the music wasn't what I liked, there are too many people, etc. Why do we look back? Why do we look back at things in our lives that cannot be changed. The death of my pastor really threw me into a tailspin. I had a million questions. Why would God give him a ministry and then take him from us before that ministry was built up? Why didn't our former church help him get him ministry started? Why did God make him struggle so hard? Why do we look back and use that lense for what we did like and then compare it to what we don't like? You know what - if I don't know the answers now, I won't ever know them. Who am I to question God? I have to keep moving forward because like Lot's wife, looking behind only leads to pain and death.
At this new church, I was still unhappy for about two years. Since we are so big, we only have the same service over and over during the weekend to get 5000 people through the campus on weekends. There are no midweek services. To connect with each other, the church wants you to join a small group before taking a membership class to make sure that everybody is on the same sheet of music. Where is joining a small group biblical? I like to throw out the biblical part when I don't agree with things!! I didn't know anybody - because I didn't volunteer for anything. The only people I met were all my daughter's age and as much as I would like to be 20 again....that just wasn't working for me. Oh poor me!! Do you want some Whine with that Cheese?
So, the pastor's daughter in law from my previous church invited me to a stamping party at my former church. I went and at the end of the party, the consultant asked me if I went all the way down there to church (because she lives near me) and I said no, I go to church in the town of Highland Village. She said she did too. I can only believe that was God's way of sending a rep from my current church to me at my former church to ensure that I knew I was in the right place! Thank you Lord for that!
I don't know what has keep me from joining a small group. I didn't feel led to join any specific group. I didn't want to get to know more people, I felt like I had enough friends in my life. But when I got right down to it, I didn't have contact with people in a real setting. All my friends seem to be online. I am not living my life with any other Godly women in real time. I finally decided that I was missing that in my life. Maybe a small group would be the perfect thing for me! It was time to start moving forward again.
I went online and found a group and shot off an email and got a response the same night. So off I went on Tuesday to my new group. They are ladies in all stages of life 35+ and I had an awesome time. They all know each other already so I just have to jump in and get involved in the things that they do together outside of the small group - like cooking classes, Ranger games, weddings, etc.
I really don't have friends that call me up for movies or shopping. I have lots of scrapbooking friends but we don't hang out together outside of scrapbooking. I need people to live my life with. I think real life can't be replaced and should not be replaced by online life. I haven't had a best friend since high school. I need in person friends. This is going to be so awesome! Ladies to pray with, to grow with and to walk through life with. I only hope that they like me as much as I liked them. We filled out prayer cards on Tuesday so a brand new person is praying for me that I didn't know before Tuesday. I am lifting up someone else in prayer that I didn't know before!
Isn't God awesome? I think he is all the time!!
Please keep praying for my friends Marie and Tracey. Keep praying for Wendy (Stacey's Mom who is battling cancer). The Coppell Relay is coming up, they are on my heart everyday!!
After my pastor died in the small church that I attended in Corinth, I moved back to my previous church. I didn't want to go back, I felt like I would be going back to Egypt. The Holy Spirit continued to guide me back there and so I went. I renewed old friendships, I renewed a friendship with someone who became my downline for my Creative Memories business, I got closer to my Pastor and his wife than ever before but I still felt like it was only for a season.
In the meantime, my oldest daughter had started visiting a church near where we live. She asked me to visit with her. I really liked it - its a non traditional Southern Baptist church but it's HUGE and almost everybody there is college age! Matt, the pastor, said that if you are over 30 then we have prayed for you to come! lol
So since I was going to my former church by myself and really felt like I needed a family connection, I started regularly visiting with my daugther but looking backward - like Lot's wife. I was comparing this new church to my previous churchs. I felt like the current church isn't spiritual enough, the music wasn't what I liked, there are too many people, etc. Why do we look back? Why do we look back at things in our lives that cannot be changed. The death of my pastor really threw me into a tailspin. I had a million questions. Why would God give him a ministry and then take him from us before that ministry was built up? Why didn't our former church help him get him ministry started? Why did God make him struggle so hard? Why do we look back and use that lense for what we did like and then compare it to what we don't like? You know what - if I don't know the answers now, I won't ever know them. Who am I to question God? I have to keep moving forward because like Lot's wife, looking behind only leads to pain and death.
At this new church, I was still unhappy for about two years. Since we are so big, we only have the same service over and over during the weekend to get 5000 people through the campus on weekends. There are no midweek services. To connect with each other, the church wants you to join a small group before taking a membership class to make sure that everybody is on the same sheet of music. Where is joining a small group biblical? I like to throw out the biblical part when I don't agree with things!! I didn't know anybody - because I didn't volunteer for anything. The only people I met were all my daughter's age and as much as I would like to be 20 again....that just wasn't working for me. Oh poor me!! Do you want some Whine with that Cheese?
So, the pastor's daughter in law from my previous church invited me to a stamping party at my former church. I went and at the end of the party, the consultant asked me if I went all the way down there to church (because she lives near me) and I said no, I go to church in the town of Highland Village. She said she did too. I can only believe that was God's way of sending a rep from my current church to me at my former church to ensure that I knew I was in the right place! Thank you Lord for that!
I don't know what has keep me from joining a small group. I didn't feel led to join any specific group. I didn't want to get to know more people, I felt like I had enough friends in my life. But when I got right down to it, I didn't have contact with people in a real setting. All my friends seem to be online. I am not living my life with any other Godly women in real time. I finally decided that I was missing that in my life. Maybe a small group would be the perfect thing for me! It was time to start moving forward again.
I went online and found a group and shot off an email and got a response the same night. So off I went on Tuesday to my new group. They are ladies in all stages of life 35+ and I had an awesome time. They all know each other already so I just have to jump in and get involved in the things that they do together outside of the small group - like cooking classes, Ranger games, weddings, etc.
I really don't have friends that call me up for movies or shopping. I have lots of scrapbooking friends but we don't hang out together outside of scrapbooking. I need people to live my life with. I think real life can't be replaced and should not be replaced by online life. I haven't had a best friend since high school. I need in person friends. This is going to be so awesome! Ladies to pray with, to grow with and to walk through life with. I only hope that they like me as much as I liked them. We filled out prayer cards on Tuesday so a brand new person is praying for me that I didn't know before Tuesday. I am lifting up someone else in prayer that I didn't know before!
Isn't God awesome? I think he is all the time!!
Please keep praying for my friends Marie and Tracey. Keep praying for Wendy (Stacey's Mom who is battling cancer). The Coppell Relay is coming up, they are on my heart everyday!!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Prayer
Many people who know me, know I love intercessory prayer. Especially for people with health issues. I especially seem drawn to cancer and there has been a big impact in my life through several people with cancer - some I did know and some I will have to wait to get to heaven to meet!
How did the story start? Well, one day on a planet far away...whoops...wrong story!! lol
When I first moved to Texas in 1990, I had been out of church since I was 19. I grew up in several Southern Baptist churchs and at the age of 19, I moved out of my parents home and in with a roommate. A roommate that didn't go to church and lived for clubbing. I tried to stay in church but I remember sitting in church yawning one Sunday thinking to myself that it was stupid to get up for church and not be living the Christian life. So, I dropped out. The pull of a sinful life was way more strong for me than to live a Godly life. So from the age of 19 to 31, I lived a sinful life. Drinking, sex, drugs, cursing, etc, I did them all. Around the age of 26 or 27, I quit dating and decided that I was happier without men! I quit clubbing, drugs, sex and became a homebody. I also struggled with depression - which is a generational curse in my family that had plagued me since I was a teenager. for years, I wanted to go back to church but just never found the courage to go again. Not by myself!! At the age of 30, I felt like I needed to move away or die. I contacted the old roommate in Texas and she knew of a job opening. So I applied, ran off to Europe for a three week trip, came back and gave my notice and was out here 5 weeks after applying! The first weekend guess where I went? To church with my old roommate!! She took me to her Church of God (Pentecostal) and I really didn't like it at first. There is just no sitting on the pew in a Church of God. You have to become involved and actively worship! To my surprise, I really loved the Pentecostal way.
We moved from that side of the city and then joined an Assembly of God. During my years back in Church, I told God that one day I would like to lay hands on people for healing. After an awesome ladies retreat at Oral Roberts University, where I was slain in the spirit for the first time, I went to church on Sunday of the same weekend and we had a spirit filled service. The holy spirit told me to go down front and be annointed by one of our ministers. I walked right down to the alter and asked our minister during the alter call to annoint me. I wasn't sure what I was being annointed for but I knew I needed to be obedient. So I went and I was annointed.
I left that church to join a pastor previously from that church, in his new ministry. One night during alter call, a man who was a preacher from Canada prophesied over me that I would have a healing ministry. People would ask who I was and others would answer that I was sent by God to heal. I still get goose bumps to this day when I think of that phophesy! The Holy Spirit much later revealed to me that the healing ministry was what I was annointed for when I answered the alter call at my previous church.
I thought it was going to be a church ministry where I work under the leadership of a minister. My former minister had just started asking me to pray over people at the alter when he died of a sudden heart attack one Saturday years ago. I often wonder if he could have been saved if I had been reached the day he had his heart attack but we KNOW he is in a better place.
My ministry seems to be to help friends in need of prayer. Many, many times I have been woken at 3:00 AM to pray for friends, relatives of friends and my own parents. I have often wondered why it's at 3:00 AM but that seems to be the time the soul is at it's lowest, according to research, so I think its a great time for the Holy Spirit to give me those people that I need to pray for. I just have to let the spirit guide me for the prayers. I don't know who it is that I need to pray for or what I need to pray for until the spirit gives me the names and needs. I do know that I believe each time I pray for someone that they will be healed. Each time. There is no begging. There is only the asking for healing and just then thanking God for for the healing! Just believe when you pray. Cancer isn't a big thing for God. God is still in the healing business. There are way too many stories of people still being healed and set free for the stories not to be true!
Why tell my story today? A sweet friend, who I hope to get to know much better, was told by her Doctor today that she might have bladder cancer! She MIGHT have cancer. I think whatever the lump is, it can go away between today and the biopsy that she needs. I would love to hear her tell me that the doctors were standing around scratching their heads or that they knew it was cancer and that now it's gone! Thank you Jesus!
That's it for today. My friend Tracy could use your prayers right about now. It's been a tough day for her. Let's lift her up in prayer. God knew Tracy when she was in her mother's womb. God knows how many hairs she has on her head. God ALWAYS answers our prayers. Always.
Have a ROWDY good day!!
How did the story start? Well, one day on a planet far away...whoops...wrong story!! lol
When I first moved to Texas in 1990, I had been out of church since I was 19. I grew up in several Southern Baptist churchs and at the age of 19, I moved out of my parents home and in with a roommate. A roommate that didn't go to church and lived for clubbing. I tried to stay in church but I remember sitting in church yawning one Sunday thinking to myself that it was stupid to get up for church and not be living the Christian life. So, I dropped out. The pull of a sinful life was way more strong for me than to live a Godly life. So from the age of 19 to 31, I lived a sinful life. Drinking, sex, drugs, cursing, etc, I did them all. Around the age of 26 or 27, I quit dating and decided that I was happier without men! I quit clubbing, drugs, sex and became a homebody. I also struggled with depression - which is a generational curse in my family that had plagued me since I was a teenager. for years, I wanted to go back to church but just never found the courage to go again. Not by myself!! At the age of 30, I felt like I needed to move away or die. I contacted the old roommate in Texas and she knew of a job opening. So I applied, ran off to Europe for a three week trip, came back and gave my notice and was out here 5 weeks after applying! The first weekend guess where I went? To church with my old roommate!! She took me to her Church of God (Pentecostal) and I really didn't like it at first. There is just no sitting on the pew in a Church of God. You have to become involved and actively worship! To my surprise, I really loved the Pentecostal way.
We moved from that side of the city and then joined an Assembly of God. During my years back in Church, I told God that one day I would like to lay hands on people for healing. After an awesome ladies retreat at Oral Roberts University, where I was slain in the spirit for the first time, I went to church on Sunday of the same weekend and we had a spirit filled service. The holy spirit told me to go down front and be annointed by one of our ministers. I walked right down to the alter and asked our minister during the alter call to annoint me. I wasn't sure what I was being annointed for but I knew I needed to be obedient. So I went and I was annointed.
I left that church to join a pastor previously from that church, in his new ministry. One night during alter call, a man who was a preacher from Canada prophesied over me that I would have a healing ministry. People would ask who I was and others would answer that I was sent by God to heal. I still get goose bumps to this day when I think of that phophesy! The Holy Spirit much later revealed to me that the healing ministry was what I was annointed for when I answered the alter call at my previous church.
I thought it was going to be a church ministry where I work under the leadership of a minister. My former minister had just started asking me to pray over people at the alter when he died of a sudden heart attack one Saturday years ago. I often wonder if he could have been saved if I had been reached the day he had his heart attack but we KNOW he is in a better place.
My ministry seems to be to help friends in need of prayer. Many, many times I have been woken at 3:00 AM to pray for friends, relatives of friends and my own parents. I have often wondered why it's at 3:00 AM but that seems to be the time the soul is at it's lowest, according to research, so I think its a great time for the Holy Spirit to give me those people that I need to pray for. I just have to let the spirit guide me for the prayers. I don't know who it is that I need to pray for or what I need to pray for until the spirit gives me the names and needs. I do know that I believe each time I pray for someone that they will be healed. Each time. There is no begging. There is only the asking for healing and just then thanking God for for the healing! Just believe when you pray. Cancer isn't a big thing for God. God is still in the healing business. There are way too many stories of people still being healed and set free for the stories not to be true!
Why tell my story today? A sweet friend, who I hope to get to know much better, was told by her Doctor today that she might have bladder cancer! She MIGHT have cancer. I think whatever the lump is, it can go away between today and the biopsy that she needs. I would love to hear her tell me that the doctors were standing around scratching their heads or that they knew it was cancer and that now it's gone! Thank you Jesus!
That's it for today. My friend Tracy could use your prayers right about now. It's been a tough day for her. Let's lift her up in prayer. God knew Tracy when she was in her mother's womb. God knows how many hairs she has on her head. God ALWAYS answers our prayers. Always.
Have a ROWDY good day!!
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