Success!

Thank you for the virtual hugs and very real prayers that went out regarding my nephew. The intervention was a total success! When we all arrived my nephew was adamant about not going to Teen Challenge. He was insistent that he could beat this on his own (c'mon...beat heroin on your own??) We sat down outside on my sister's patio and awkwardly wondered what we should do or how we should begin. The pizza she had ordered arrived and we all grabbed a piece nervously not knowing what to do.

Finally my sister spoke up and told her son that all of of us there loved him, and had some thoughts we wanted to share. One by one we read the letters we'd prepared. It was highly, yet very inwardly emotional. Tears slipped silently down cheeks, sometimes the reader would have to pause to regain composure. My nephew sat stonefaced as we each shared our thoughts. Every letter was excellent and each built upon the next in a way that only could've been orchestrated by God.

When we finished my nephew cleared his throat and then spoke. He told us that we were all right. He did need help outside from himself and that yes, he would go to Teen Challenge because in the deepest part of his heart - he knows it is the only way.

It was a good evening. To see my family all gathered around - willing to drop whatever it was they had planned that evening - to come together for one of our own was incredible. The love and compassion in the air could not be ignored as it enveloped us last night in a circle of unity.

My sister, her husband and my nephew are going to join us at the lake this weekend. It will be bittersweet as we spend time with her son because after Monday we will not see him for some time. He is frightened. My sister is nervous. But I know that this is the best thing. We all know that God has big plans for my nephew. I am confident of this.

Again...thank you for your prayers.

This afternoon I'm heading for the lake with grandbaby. My daughter and her hubby are traveling in from Massachusetts tonight and I want to be there to welcome them. The other two daughters & their significant others will meet us there Friday. Hubby will arrive Saturday. I'm looking forward to a wonderful, final weekend of summer and family.

The exercise will come easy there. I never tire of walking around the lake. I'll have to work on the portion control but I think I can do it.

I'll be checking the comments from all week including today when I return on Monday. Good luck to all and have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Random thoughts on the Big Hole.

Job interview over.

Perfunctory thank you note is mailed.

Now the waiting game.

Tum de dum dum (can you hear my fingers drumming?) At least they aren't rifling through the cupboard looking for something to eat.

Tonight is the intervention. I've written my letter and said a whole lot of prayers. The rest is up to my nephew. And God, I'm hoping he chooses to go for help. It hurts to see my sister go through this. Thank you for the kind thoughts....it seems no one is immune to the ravages of drug addiction these days. Everyone is trying to fill up that big void in their lives with something. If not drugs...then alcohol, pornography, shopping, food. Gasp! Did I say food?

Face it. When we feel empty inside - the most logical thing to do is to try to fill ourselves up. With anything! I've been tying to re-wire those synapses in my brain to crave new things and abolish old habits. In the process I've dusted off my bible and invited God to fill up some of that emptiness. You know what? It's making a difference. In more areas than just the food. (confession here - Lora struggles in several areas.) But things are changing. And it's a good feeling. The less in control I am - the more control I have over trouble spots in my life. Does that makes sense to any of you or am I just rambling today?

Now if we can convince that dear nephew of mine to look elsewhere to fill the void (as in up) it will have been a good day.

I'm off for a walk right now. Summer's flying by and I want to eek every glorious moment left that I can! I'll check in tomorrow before I head for the lake. (Don't forget to leave those comments so your name gets in the hat!) And even though winter is coming - Cto5k works great on a treadmill too!

A Good Day!

Today has been a productive day! I was able to glean a good bunch of peaches from an old peach tree that is growing wild in the hedge row. They're small, but sweet. It was nice to be out in the morning sun and as I ambled through the edge of the woods I spied a clearing where the kids used to have a "camp site" when they were little. The big old round sand stones are still pretty much in a circle where they left them so many years ago. I never let them make a real fire (!) but kids are pretty good at pretending. I paused for a few minutes to bask in the sunshine that was peeking through the trees and remember wistfully...how fast they grow up.

The thistles are starting to pop up and I made a mental note to go out and grab some this fall. I don't know what for....every year I think I'm going to do something with them...but I never do. Maybe paint them gold and make a miniature Christmas tree or something. Perhaps Martha Stewart will have some ideas. (Another mental note ~ pick up a Martha Stewart magazine.)

I also came across a lone apple tree left over from the remnant of an orchard that used to belong to the old farm next door. They actually look pretty big right now, smooth and no worm holes (yet) so I made another mental note to pick some when they ripen a little more.

Hubby brought some big zucchinis home from the garden at the other house last night so I spent the better part of the afternoon making zucchini bread. I'll bring a loaf to the lake this weekend and freeze the rest to savor on a winter afternoon with a cup of coffee if someone should come to call.

I'm getting ready to head out for a walk after I finish this post. (Part of that daily exercise I've incorporated into this week's challenge.) Speaking of which - is going quite well! The water has become almost habit and I actually crave it now. I don't think about fast food anymore. With the garden coming into production phase - there's no lacking of fresh veggies. And the fruit is so tasty this time of year that I'm craving that too. The exercise is going to be the hardest thing for me. Because if I miss a day I tend to want to throw in the towel as a day becomes two...then three... I need to work on that all or nothing mentality. I've lost the 7 pounds that I regained over the past few months and my shorts are fitting better than they have all summer.

On the family front....a few more details since this is pretty much an anonymous blog anyway.... my sister just found out that her son is using heroin. He's 20 and has had some rough times these past few years. He did a stint in rehab for pot and alcohol but relapsed. This time the family is staging an intervention tomorrow evening. She has things all lined up for him to go to a place called "Teen Challenge" which will (Lord willing) help him get on the right track and pull his life together.

Please keep us all in prayer. That we say the right things and that he receives what we're saying with love and understanding.

I have a job interview tomorrow for another *sigh* long term sub position. I need the money...but would much rather have something permanent that I can count on in the winter months when hubby's business slows down to almost a halt. And who knows if I'll even get this job?? (more prayers please?)

Okay - I need to get my loaves out of the oven and my exercise underway! A good day to all and thanks for the warm thoughts.

Ooh! And don't forget about the give away!

Okay blog buddies ~ here's the deal with my give-away!

I will be monitoring comments this week. At Midnight next Monday (EST in the US) I will record all the names of those who commented and put them in a hat. I'll draw one name and that lucky person will get a stop watch as well as a printout on the Couch to 5 K program.

If you aren't interested in revving yourself up to run 5 kilometers (3.11 miles) the stop watch also comes in real handy to time yourself doing little 60 second sprints sporadically during your walking regime.

I'll be away starting Thursday until next Monday - so feel free to comment on any posts between today and Thursday. We're heading off to the lake and as you know....no computer down there....

I know this is a short post today.....we are having pretty serious crisis in my sister's family and I have much on my plate right now trying to help. Please keep us all in prayer - especially my sister and nephew who will be coming to the lake with us.

Summer Blog Party!

It's my turn to get in the fun with our Summer Blog Party!

I will be giving away a stop watch (same as the one I use) that comes in real handy when following the Couch to 5k program.

I have been away all weekend but will post more details tonight or tomorrow! (I'm off to church right now and then over to the other house to clean up after our family reunion.)

Be sure to check in tomorrow and I'll let you know how you can win!

Rambling Thoughts.....

The fruits & veggies are going down (as in...I'm eating them!) I'm actually enjoying the fresh fruit which seems to be satisfying my sweet tooth. The water is second nature now. Of course I know that I'll always have to keep at it because it's the easiest habit to let go by the wayside. The smaller plate....sometimes I still forget to actually use it - but I have been consciously putting less on the plate and keeping it filled with veggies is helping too. As for the fast food - not been a problem. I think it was almost more out of boredom than anything else that kept me going there.

Next week's challenge for myself picks up where I left off a month ago. My exercise. For those of you who know me - I started the Couch 2 5K program and got myself to running 21 minutes without stopping. Not bad for a grandma. But the heat set in and I got lazy. No other excuse. Just plain lazy. So starting next week I'm hitting the road again. I'll have more details on that later.

Next week I'm also jumping in the Summer Blog Party with my own give away! More details on that to follow too!

Speaking of summer....has anyone in this hemisphere noticed the subtle changes that August brings? I mean - it's still officially summer here for two more months - but already I've noticed that it's getting darker sooner and the night air has that familiar nip that means fall is on its heels. I always hate to see summer end. I was born in the wrong climate. I was meant to live near an ocean....with palm trees. Alas, I live in upstate New York near Lake Ontario which translates to the dreaded lake effect snow. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting on the dock at the lake in anticipation of the whole summer looming ahead. And now....Labor Day weekend is almost here and summer is about to wind down.

Okay...and why am I lamenting about all this now? Not sure. It's just something I always seem to do this time of year. Sorry (!)

Back from the Lake :-(

A new week (albeit a bit late - as I've just arrived home from the lake).

The bad news... I was a little lax in keeping with my challenges. I didn't use the smaller plate (mainly because with 6 of us there and mealtimes being somewhat hectic I just plain forgot.) Did I drink all the required water? Not sure. I didn't have my Brita Bottle with me to keep track. But I did try to down a glass everytime I passed the sink - and I downed a fair share of bottled water as well. I know I drank way more than I normally would have.

The fruit & veggie thing - actually that worked out well because we went into town on Saturday and bought some zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli, tomatoes & cucumbers to grill for dinner that evening. And I wasn't even remembering my the new challenge I'd given myself! And then Sunday one of our lake neighbors came by with some fresh melon and peaches for us!

The good news? I'm down another pound. And without really trying it seems!

Today I ate some mellon with my lunch. Tonight I'n bringing some corn on the cob, fresh sugar snap peas (to eat raw) and the rest of the grilled veggies we didn't finish at the lake to go with whatever meat hubby decides to grill over to the new house. We're going to have a campfire and eek out what's left of the nice summer nights now that the rain has subsided for a few days.

I'll admit it's getting tricky to juggle all these new challenges - but honestly - the water has become almost habit and I actually crave it now (they say that your sense of thirst is heightened as your body gets used to more water) and I'm finding this to be true. And the fast food thing - don't miss it. I truly don't!

Seeing my weight drop - almost effortlessly - as I incorporate these few changes into my lifestyle is very encouraging!

I know some of you have jumped on the bandwagon and are doing this along with me. This is great! Please keep commenting with your own progress reports....your challenges my differ from mine (we all have our weak spots) but the end result is the same. We're conquering our bad habits, incorporating new ones and changing the way we live. Bit by bit. Day by day. Pound by pound. How cool is that?!