A Mixed Bag Blog

I know that this isn't typical for me, but this blog is going to be sort of a mixed bag - a VERY mixed bag! There has been so much that I have wanted/needed to blog but I haven't gotten around to it. So, forgive me for being scatterbrained! 

First off, my weight-loss update for this week is that I am down .4 pounds to an even 197. I am grateful, because I wasn't sure which way the scale would go this week. I walked and ran a lot last week (and burned a nice amount of calories) but I only did strength training twice instead of my usual three. This was an extremely busy weekend, so I didn't get too upset with myself for not getting that third strength training day in. Besides, I hate strength training and I totally think that running around all weekend and holding/hauling bags of pageant stuff, and what not, should count as strength training....and likely cardio as well! So much walking this weekend! My feet can attest to the fact that I have been moving a LOT! Which, I assume, made up for my lack of food-tracking this weekend. I know I didn't do my best, but I could have done a lot worse. So, the fact that I pretty much maintained (and lost that tiny bit this week) is good enough for me! 

This could also be the week where I start getting better progress! As I mentioned before, I got my refund from beachbody.com for that Power90 I sent back (and purchased Chalean Extreme instead). The UPS tracking says that it's in transit to its final destination right now, so maybe I'll get it today (instead of Friday like they told me). That would make it nice, because I took yesterday off and was totally lazy. So, I was going to do my strength training today. I will wait and see if that box shows up in a little while. If not, I guess I will do one of my other strength training videos one last time before starting Chalean Extreme on my next strength training day. I look forward to a fresh new bunch of exercises and am hoping for good results!

That's pretty much it for my weight-loss update! The other thing I wanted to briefly blog about was our trip to the Galilean Home. I mentioned tidbits here and there, but I haven't really given a full report. Considering that I was sick a majority of the time, and this was a much different trip than my first time, I guess I don't have as much to say. Last year, a team got together and we all went (and we plan on doing that again the second week of June - mark your calendars!). I blogged things day by day. This time, however, I will give a condensed synopsis. 

Basically, my family and I spent our Spring Break down there and Maggie (who had been volunteering there) came back home with us. While we were there, the kids got to enjoy pre-school with some other kids and Mitch helped with some light construction. I helped take care of the babies as best I could, but my illness got in the way (mainly the beginning of the week). Thankfully, I was well enough by Thursday to actually help take some of the babies to the prison to see their Mamas. We also got to celebrate Casey's 7th birthday with some delicious chocolate cake that Maggie provided for us. Spencer, one of the kids at the home, was also celebrating his birthday (the day after Casey's). 

Overall, we had a good time in spite of illness and a few other incidences (like when Casey decided to pull the fire alarm for some reason). The week went by so fast, and so did the drive home! On the way down, I had horrible body aches and was feeling awful! On the way back, Maggie and I watched "Gone with the Wind" so that took care of the driving time lol. It also helped us forget that we were packed in the van like sardines considering that we had all of our stuff (plus Maggie's) packed in there. 

I guess that's pretty much all I have to say about that. Next things worth mentioning are the events of this past weekend. I was/am hoping to blog them separately. Though, in case I don't, I'll just mention a few things. One of them being that Mitch and I enjoyed our much anticipated trip to Indy on Thursday to hear George W. Bush speak at the Life Centers event (which also included Mike Pence, Miss America Katie Stam, and Sandi Patty). We enjoyed hearing him speak about his faith, life in the Oval Office, and so many other things. Though, I thought that he talked more about that than he did actual pro-life content (in my opinion, Mike Huckabee's speech last year was much better in that regard). Still, it was a great evening and we enjoyed hearing the things he had to share. He really had the crowd laughing a lot! He really does have a sense of humor and knows how to take/make a joke (even at his own expense) lol. Oh, and a BIG THANK YOU to our friend, Cindy, for watching our kids (it was a late night!). 

I also enjoyed Sandi Patty's testimony of how she and her husband adopted their son, Sam, who is now a teenager. They both had children from previous marriages and were trying to work on their blended family; not quite deciding for sure if they wanted to add to it. She said they had talked about adopting a boy and naming him Sam (after his father, I think). They kind of placed it on the back burner and she just prayed that if God wanted them to do it, He would just place a baby in their lap. She said be careful about prayers like that lol. She said that she was contacted about finding a family for a baby boy whose adoption fell through. She and her family talked about it and long story short, when they came to see him in the hospital, the boy had ironically already been named (and you'll never guess the name!). Yep,...."Sam". She said there was a little heart with his name on it and rainbows on it too. She sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in honor of him and the fact that his birth mother chose life for him. How precious is that?! 

Speaking of love and charity, I want to finish up this blog by congratulating Angela Witte, the new "Queen of Charities" pageant winner (and Miss Congeniality too!). If I get around to blogging more about the pageant and the whole experience, I'll be sure to include more details and such. In the meantime, you can check out the photos I've posted on Facebook (and some professional photos will be uploaded soon, I'm told). The main thing that I want to say, at the moment, is that I went into it hoping that I could help raise money for charity, bring awareness to the ones that I cherish most, have fun, and make new friends! I'm not sure that I did all that well at raising funds (though, I tried!) but as for the rest, I feel that I have definitely accomplished that! If there's one thing I value most about things like this, it's the fact that I get to make connections/friendships with such amazing people! That alone makes the experience worthwhile! 

Well, that's all for now! Thanks for reading!! God bless you all!!