Missed me?

So have (both of) you noticed I haven't posted lately? One simple reason is that surf controls are back up at work. LOL!! Not joking! And I've been spending less time online in the evenings.

Weight related: I haven't been good with the Weight Watchers stuff. Haven't tracked and have barely weighed in. I'm getting back on track tomorrow. I've travelled a few weekends and had other things throw me off. But... it surprised me to see that I was down. If last week's weigh in was accurate, I'm down a total of 30 pounds. I'm a little sceptical, so we'll see tomorrow morning.

Traveling: I went to Salt Lake City last weekend for General Conference. It was AMAZING and it was the first time I had been there for conference. My favorite moment was singing "We thank the O God for a Prophet" with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir while standing a hundred feet away from President Thomas S. Monson. So precious. We (Sarah, Eileen, and I) were able to stay at my cousin Risa's super cute condo. Big shout out for her hospitality. I met one of Eileen's old friends and one of Sarah's. I totally love these new friends.

Jonas: He is having a hard time in Kindergarten and it isn't because he isn't capable, he is just so strong willed. He has spectacular days, good days, and really bad days. It all depends on his attitude and how much effort he wants to put into his work. His teacher is amazing though. She is working so hard for his benefit. Plus Isaiah has been able to step in and be a part of the positive and negative reinforcement. It seems to be helping. Jonas doesn't care about disappointing me, but he doesn't want to upset his daddy.

Me: I have good days, bad days, and everything in between. I have hope though and am working on making my life better and being a better person. Life is all about growth right now. I'm trying not to stress about the little things and am getting better at the big picture. Life is good.

Scripture 3

1 Nephi 3:7 - And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

I'm still working on last weeks too. This week went too fast.

Scripture 2

This week's scripture brought to you by the New Testiment - Matthew 5: 14-16
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Last week went well. It helps that it was a short one. (Moses 1:39 - For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man)

Santa Cruz Sept. 2009

Last weekend I went to Santa Cruz for a conference (an excuse to go party). It was beautiful. The boardwalk was fun.

I'm going to go back some day and take the train they have there and do some kayaking. The weather was perfect. Last year we went to San Francisco at the same time of year and I was cold most of the time. We stayed at a resort on the beach in Aptos. It was nice to have a kitchenette even if we didn't do any cooking. This resort even offered beach bon fire services. They'll set up a bon fire, provide the fixings for smores and then clean up for you. Pretty cool. One of the events for this conference was formal. I got to wear the dress I blogged about before.

It was nice to get away, meet new people and the drive back home down Hwy 1 was beautiful even if it was foggy a lot of the time.

Jonas' late birthday post

Catching up is hard work...

I've been meaning to blog about Jonas' birthday party that we had in July, but was overwhelmed by the amount of pictures. I had to figure out how to do the collage first. Much better. Just click on it to enlarge.

We had 2 ponies, carnival games with tickets and prizes, snow cones, corn dogs, corn on the cob, cup cakes in ice cream cones, watermelon, lemonade, a horse pinata and LOTS of FUN!

The Scripture Memorization Challenge

I've been regretful that I didn't take advantage of my time in early morning seminary class (scripture study class) when I was in high school. I went all four years but didn't graduate the program because I stopped participating my senior year. Even then I never memorized the Scripture Mastery scriptures. In hind sight I know I did myself a disservice. So I've been thinking about my disappointment and my lack of knowledge regarding the scriptures. Then this weekend I realized I could be regretful or I could do something about it. Hence the title of the blog: The (self inflicted) Scripture Memorization Challenge!

The challenge: Memorize 1 scripture mastery scripture per week. Blog about success (or lack there of). Invite others to the challenge (even if they only need a refresher). Pray about the challenge as it goes; pray for strength, understanding, and the truthfulness of each scripture.

There are 25 scriptures from the 4 books (Old & New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants). That is 100 in total. So yeah it might take two years, but if not now, when?! I'll do one from the Old T., New T., BOM, D&C, Old T. ...That way I work on verses from all books each month.

So here I go. I'm starting with: Moses 1:39 (Old T. / Pearl of Great Price) - Behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

I am officially challenging YOU to join the challenge: http://www.ldsscripturemastery.net/scriptures.html

"Search the scriptures — search the revelations which we publish and ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, to manifest the truth unto you, and if you do it with an eye single to His glory nothing doubting, He will answer you by the power of His Holy Spirit. You will then know for yourselves and not for another." — Joseph Smith, Prophet

Progress - end o' week 18

Down 27 lbs in total. I haven't really set any goals about how much I want to loose, but for now I'm aiming for 50 lbs in total. That's only 23 more to go. Totally do-able.

Some things that help me:

1) A two point breakfast that I can do at work: I discovered Apple-Cinnamon herbal tea from Lipton.

It is yummy. I put a tea bag in my cup, fill it up to the top with hot water from the coffee machine, add a pack of Sweet'N Low, wait for the flavor to seep into the water. I enjoy half of the tea and then add a pack of Quaker's High Fiber Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal to the tea.

Then I have a flavorful, high fiber, breakfast right at my desk. Did I mention 10 grams of fiber and only 2 points?!? Anyway, it is my M-F staple, I do it at home sometimes, and it is an easy solution for traveling.

2) Fiber One Oats & Chocolate Chewy Bar. 9 grams of fiber and only 2 points!!! It is yummy like a little Quaker chocolate chip granola bar, but will actually do something to help fight the hunger.

3) Special K Protein Meal Bar. I love the Chocolate Peanut Butter one. 3 points, 5 grams of fiber and more fat then the other items I mentioned, but being able to eat something with peanut butter in it is totally worth it. Plus I've found that this one does fight the hunger and the sweet tooth.

4) Special K crackers. Different flavors which are all tasty. 2 points for 24 crackers. They are crispy like a chip. Satisfies the munchies.