Diet Update, Week Eight

After posting a short blurb on Facebook, I completely forgot about ye olde weekly blog report, so here are the latest stats:

One more pound lost, bringing the eight-week total to 23 pounds lost!

Hooray fer Ma :-D

I could tell there had been a delayed reaction from the trip and all that food, not to mention Trevor's birthday bash. So when I gingerly stepped on the scale I was just hoping not to have gained....

...losing one more pound is just fine!

OK, enough exclamation marks.

It's Thursday and another week of school is almost completed.

Twelve more weeks until Kendra graduates; we should approximately be done around the same time.

*immense sigh in advance*

As to life, things are puttering along. Glad to have the trips out of the way for a while and get back to normal life.

Normal life being what happens between the large shoe drops.

The kids are enjoying the largest snowfall of the season, so far. It came unexpectedly as all of the computer models predicted it to move south of us and continue on east. But then the "rogue" storm made a turn north at St. Louis and parked in our area for a while. Instead of the predicted "trace" we ended up with 5 or 6 inches.

Still not the frosty deluge hoped for by Ethan, but enough to fire up the skid loader and plow out the driveway.

If he doesn't get to do that four or five times per season, it hasn't really been winter.

So far it's twice, which means the jury is still out.

Loren remains busy with items concerning church. You would think that 80% of the congregation leaving would make for less work but in actuality...

We've been in good health this year, except for that one bad cold that hit everyone but me. So glad they were mostly over things before heading out to the colleges. And that reminds me....Carolyn heard back from Grace and was awarded their smallest scholarship from the Presidential Scholarship Competition. So that's some good. Now we still wait to hear from LeTourneau. The choice between the two schools is still up in the air.

(I just erased two boring paragraphs concerning a possible (painless) migraine on the right side of my face that was causing my eye to leak fluid. But happy to report that things are back to normal this morning, with a regular migraine on my usual left side)

Well, I should probably call the boys in from their snow play and get down to the business of checking math, doing grammar, history, science, etc.

It is hoped the outdoor exercise will make their minds pliable for a bit of bookwork.

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Eleven. Seriously.

Not quite as tall as his age would indicate. And not quite eleven, even. Trevor lobbied to have Tuesday's birthday on the weekend, just in case any older siblings might be able to attend. Here we see older brother Jason, who made a semi-surprise trip up from Cedar Rapids. Not really sure why Ethan appears to be hiding his head in his hands...

Carolyn: "Every year I say I'll never do this again. And every year I somehow get persuaded..."

I thought the picture of Hobbes asleep turned out rather well! Trevor traced it out of a cartoon book and Carolyn "drew" it onto the cake. Then both of them filled in the colors.

We almost never give the kids actual birthday cards, but thanks to Kendra (she drove up from Des Moines but unfortunately isn't in any of the pictures) this boy who claims to be a Jedi knight got a card especially suited to his hallucinations aspirations.

Ah....Star Wars Legos. Now this looks interesting!

This...not so much. Moms just don't have a clue....

Trevor, wondering how long he has to feign interest in the chessmen before opening another present.

A box to camouflage the real shape(s)...oh, he's caught a glimse...

Two more How to Train Your Dragon books...hooray! (nice fake with the dictionary, Ma)

As usual Blogger did not post the pictures in order (and makes it completely difficult to rearrange. Thanks for the update that makes my life worse, Blogger...oh well.

We had a nice time with Kendra and Jason here for part of the day. Older siblings always help to make the  younger kids have a special birthday. Younger kids being the ones left at home after people leave the nest. A fair amount of laughter and verbal joists were had. Ma is getting boring in her old age and appreciates the visit to spice things up for the youngin's.

Happy Birthday, Trevor!

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Many Trips

With the return from Indiana I do hope that life will settle, ever so slightly.

Carolyn had the Presidential Scholarship Competition out at Grace College last week so we made a quick trip out on Thursday where I deposited her at Alpha dorm and then headed to Casa Sharon for a fun visit :-)

Kendra was along as well, making the trip extra special.

And after my 6 weeks of extreme dieting, Sharon's dinner of spaghetti and salad (with hummus!) was just fabulous. I couldn't believe how good actual food tasted! Then there were snacks after her Bible Study group...Ma pert near went hog wild :-D

And glad I am upon learning this morning that I didn't gain any of the weight back...more on that, later.

Carolyn had a great experience. The whole atmosphere was less intimidating than LeTourneau; less of a panel judgement air. And she was able to talk with several professors, thanks in part to Kendra taking us over to the science building and hobnobbing with her "old" instructors. Of course they weren't old old....a couple were even younger than me :-D

After the competition was completed by noon, Saturday, we spent a little time at Sharon's chicken coop so Carolyn could see her sister. The time was made more merry by the addition of Dr. Gary Pitts, whom Kendra had been shadowing for the past day and a half.

Good times at the coop!

Finally, at 2:30 Indiana time, we left for Iowa. Arrival was around 10:30 Central time, with just enough sleep to get up for church the following morning.

Now I'm ready for stability. Though I still have to take Nolan to Cedar Rapids every Monday evening for his tutoring session at EduCare. I figure that by the end of four weeks I'll have put equivalent miles (and my time) of going out to Indiana and back.

Oh well. All for a good cause (I hope).

Doing the shopping in Cedar Rapids for the foreseeable future. I've scoped out my favorite stores and even found a nice Goodwill about 3 minutes from the tutoring place.

Talk about yer providential moments!

On the home front, Trevor and Nolan have had so many "extras" (additional game time, additional videos) to help pass the time was I was gone that now they are having to readjust to the simple life; reading, playing with....toys, making things out of Legos.

Of course they always knew their time of fun and frivolity couldn't last.

Back to the diet scene: I now start Phase II of Ma's Makeover.Want to lose 10 more pounds or so and hope to manage that in the next 5 to 6 weeks. Slower pace should still get me down in plenty of time for Kendra's graduation in May.

Which will necessitate another trip....

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The Diet Update - Week 6

I have on my desk six, neatly stapled bundles of paper. The bundles are smallish and contain seven papers each, one for each day of the week. Upon each paper is listed the food consumed for that day, as well as the calories. On the back I have listed the exercise.

It's documentation for the past six weeks of diet endeavor. And the latest report?

Three more pounds lost, bringing the six week total to 19.5 pounds!!

Woo-ee, Ma is pleased :-D

Might as well round 'er up to 20.

Now to take a little break from the strictness. This week's daily average was 562 calories. I may have eaten more on Thanksgiving or Christmas days than I did this entire week.

But since I'll be traveling out to Indiana, visiting with Sharon and attending a dinner on Friday night for parents of the Presidential Scholarship novitiates (Grace College) I figure it will be alright to let down my caloric hair a bit.

Nothing crazy. I wouldn't be able to count the calories precisely, anyway.

Then we'll get back in the regimen and try for 10-15 more pounds before Kendra graduates in May.

Sounds like a plan!

I forgot to mention something concerning the trip to Texas: Carolyn and Ethan were very excited to attend a Gaither Vocal Band concert.

Son Derek clued me in that they would be appearing at Belcher Auditorium (on LeTourneau Campus) during the Heritage Scholarship weekend. I quickly pulled up the site and discovered there were three tickets left.

Two of them were decent seats, one directly behind the other. I put in my bid for them and then had to register all my info before the sale would be complete. The nice thing? They said they would hold my seats for six minutes while I typed in the information.

I was sweating it out but managed to acquire the tickets! Pretty exciting stuff but I didn't relax completely until I received them in the mail.

Then I made Carolyn show them to me on the morning they left, just to be certain they were in her possession.

I'm not obsessed. Really.

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To Texas and Back Again

It's been whirlwindy at the Hoytstead.

Gusty weather aside, Loren drove Carolyn and Ethan down to Texas, last Wednesday. They arrived home Sunday night, though the weather turned bad at the end, with snow and wind. And Loren taking off the snow tires for the trip south complicated matters. But they did get home safely, albeit looking rather haggard.

Carolyn participated in the Heritage Scholarship Competition at LeTourneau University. There was an essay, a group project and then an interview.

Carolyn and Ethan also sat in on several classes and got the lowdown on the campus layout, and most importantly...

THE CAFETERIA.

The reactions to the last were as follows: "You can go back for seconds!" and, "I don't think I'll be tempted to overeat..."

I'll let you decide who said what.

I was home alone with Nolan and Trevor from Wednesday through most of Friday. To say they had a little extra computer game time, and watched extra videos, would be an understatement. However, in my defense, I needed time to be on the treadmill (three times daily) and take a wee nap each day. And I needed to know that they--and one in particular of the "they"--would stay out of trouble.

In addition, I thought it might be an opportune time to clean out under the bed. I knew there were a lot of shoes and dust. I wasn't expecting the unopened copy of Reader's Digest from December 2006, but hey...we must take the little surprises along with the work.

Speaking of which, it turned into more than a "shoes and dust" job.

I ended up chasing cobwebs (which brought down flaking paint), moving the bed away from the wall, wiping down baseboards.....I think you get the picture. The ol' "I might as well do this...as long as I'm at it, let's clean this...." etc. etc. etc.

Kendra arrived on Friday night to give me a taste of adult company :-)

Then Sunday morning's freezing rain cancelled church, allowing me even more time to clean. Ha, ha.

I won't tell you how many bags of trash I took out of there. One alone was filled with decrepit shoes.

Well, enough trash talk.

This week will be my turn. Thursday, Carolyn and I (and guest traveler Kendra!) will head east to Indiana. Time for the Presidential Scholarship Competition at Grace College.

It will have to be a short trip. One day for travel. One and a half to visit. One afternoon and evening to come back home. That way I won't have to be away on Sunday.

Now, I promised myself that I would get something posted tonight....

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Doin' the Town, on the Cheap

With Loren, Carolyn, and Ethan off gallivanting in Texas Ma decided she was not going to be left in quietude.

Wednesday evening saw Nolan, Trevor, and I doin' the concert thang.

Above "Brass in Blue," United States Air Force Heartland of America Band.

It was a free concert and you know how cheap Ma is. To add more cheapness to the evening, I took the boys to McDonald's for supper. They thought this was the greatest, of course. Two McDoubles each, fries, and three chocolate chip cookies to split between them. And I convinced them to forgo the usual soft drink and get chocolate milk. Two each!

I had a big salad with the fewest amount of calories possible, 190 without dressing. So I didn't go over "budget."

The concert was pretty good and the boys even enjoyed themselves. I think Trevor says it best with his comment, "It was better than I thought it would be."

Nolan hugely enjoyed the whole concert and thanked me several times for taking them. He gets quite caught up in the excitement of any stage show due to the multiple sensory experience.

Of course, the 50 minute drive there and back is a bit of a killjoy, but still....

The picture above shows one of the final songs when the group plays the theme from all the service branches and has veterans from each stand up during their song. It's a staple of shows like this (as well as Lawrence Welk).

On the home front, the days without half our family are pretty quiet. We do our school in the morning and then the kids get extra game time around noon, so I can hit the treadmill and Total Gym in the basement without worrying that there are any shenanigans occurring up above my head. Then it's a little more school and lunch.

Usually a video of some kind in the afternoon, so I can grab a snooze.

Then this evening, we watched a movie together while they ate pizza and I had a salad. Also gave them extra portions of cookie bars for dessert. So yeah...we're livin' it up, here.

On the diet front, I neglected to report in for week five:

Wednesday's Weigh-in.....2 more pounds lost, bringing the total to 16.5 pounds lost so far :-)

Going pretty well, though I am looking forward to a trip next week and may let my hair down, calorically.

Stats-wise I averaged 636 calories per day this past week. I'm starting to sense a little more desire to eat something extra but think I can hold on until next Thursday. Then my goal is not to gain anything back on the trip and jump back into the restricted calorie regimen upon return.

I've already drop a belt size and can fit into a few things I couldn't for a while, so it goes well, I believe.

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