What Am I Doing?

My friend is writing a book. 
I am helping her. 
I know nothing about writing a book.

What am I doing? 

Basically, I am her editor/proofreader right now. She is writing a testimony of the amazing miracles God has performed in the life of her family over the past 10 years, to which I have had a "front row seat", so to spreak.  She wrote the first draft, and now I am going through it and not only correcting grammar and phrasing mistakes, but also cleaning it up, taking out parts, rewriting sections, etc.

I'm feeling a bit over my head, but my friend called today and said she and her whole family were really excited by the changes I made in the Introduction and first chapter. So I'm feeling that at least I'm going in the right direction with it.  Whew.
There is a bit of a time crunch to get this done as soon as possible and to the publisher so that she can have it ready for a conference she is speaking at in a couple of months.
Gulp! 

I will fill in more details later, but if you happen to think of it, I'd appreciate your prayers.

Starting with a Personal Trainer . Oh My.

"Is there anything you don't like about exercise?

That was one of the questions from my  young, bubbly, athletic personal trainer at our first meeting yesterday morning.  I couldn't hide the snort, but then smiled.

"The pain."  

I actually like to exercise, and I told her that.  I enjoy physical activity and pushing myself and reaching goals and feeling fit.  The problem is the pain that it takes to get from fat, flabby, out-of-shape me to svelte, toned, strong and healthy me.  Yesterday was only my physical assessment -  weight, body measurements, flexibility test ( sit on the floor with legs straight in front and reach for toes ), strength test ( lady push ups and crunches ), and cardio test ( resting heartrate, then 5 minutes climbing on and off the step platform, then heartrate again ) .  

I. Am. Sore.

I have been going to the gym about twice a week for a few weeks now and doing about 30 minutes on the elliptical machine.  That doesn't make me sore.  Pushups, crunches, and step platform = another story.  Which is the whole point of the personal trainer. Sessions with a trainer at the Y  is actually a Christmas present from my oldest son - the Army captain who can deadlift 400 lbs and thinks CrossFit is fun.  It is something I requested, because I knew I needed an additional push to both get my knee/leg strength back after surgery and to get this 51-yr-old body heading in the right direction, which is out of the chair and into the gym! 

I really like my trainer - so far - after meeting her for just one hour. Her name is Carrie and she is a mom with 3 young children, and she had knee surgery when she was in college.  So she can relate. Sort of.  She is about as big around as my upper arm.  But she is sweet and I think we'll work well together.  Whatever that means. 

She didn't tell me the results of the tests and measurements yesterday - thankfully. I think they have discovered that telling people the results right away sends them spiraling into the pit of depression and running away as fast as they can waddle!  So she is saving those numbers for a later date, when hopefully I will have improved so much that I will be ecstatic at how far I have come!  We are "starting" on Monday. 

My first goal - which is very reasonable - is consistency.  It is absolutely true that in order to get stronger and healthier you have to actually DO something on a regular basis, and not just think about it.   So I have to make myself go to the gym or go for a walk or do Dance Dance Revolution on the Wii at least 4 times a week. And Carrie will be keeping track of whether I do it or not!  Accountability is good. 

A long time ago, when I was in my teens and twenties and even early thirties, I was in good shape! I was a size 10 when I got married.   I played sports, swam, ran, went to dance aerobics class. If you are exercising somewhat regularly now and are in decent shape, DO NOT STOP.  Make it a lifelong priority!!!  Because  I got busy with kids and life and money was tight and I stopped making exercise a priority and I gradually put on more and more weight until my wedding ring no longer fit and had to be cut off and I hardly recognized the woman in the dressing room mirror.   I would start to walk or try to exercise with a video or go to the gym for short bursts, but I wouldn't stick with it.   And the older I got, the harder it got.  And then my left knee started to hurt, a lot, and I ended up having surgery to trim a torn miniscus last September. I am amazed at how long it takes to recover from what seemed like minor, arthroscopic surgery thru a couple of teeny tiny incisions.  I still struggle with stairs and getting up off the floor, even after finishing 8 weeks of physical therapy. 

So. Here I am at 51, about to start again to see if I can reclaim that lost person.  The one who felt strong and energetic and looked halfway decent in a pair of jeans.  Why?  Because I miss being active and I hate feeling like a slug.  Maybe recording my progress here for the world to see ( okay,  maybe not the world, but Mom and the couple of other people who actually read this ) will motivate me to stick with it this time. I'm hoping that having a cheerleader/personal trainer to hold me accountable and also give me a routine to follow will keep me going as well.  I watch The Biggest Loser on tv, and marvel at the intensity of those workouts and what those people accomplish physically week to week!  Part of their success is having someone showing them how to exercise and standing there screaming at them to NOT GIVE UP!   I can't imagine Carrie will be screaming at me - sure hope not!  But she will be teaching me and encouraging me to push myself and do more than I would do on my own.  So I have high hopes. Here we go.

50 Fun Facts About Me

 This is a reprise of a list I wrote  several years ago. Just for fun.


1. I was born in Meriden, CT in 1960. My parents moved back to my dad's hometown of Uxbridge, MA within the year, and bought a house up the road, in Mendon, when I was 3. They still live there.

2. I love chocolate!

3. I was married on my birthday, as was my mother.

4. My mother and I made my wedding gown.

5.. I am the first-born daughter of a first-born daughter of a first-born daughter of a first-born daughter. .

6. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour when I was 13.


7. My husband and I first met in 4th grade, when we both played trumpet in the elementary school band. 

8. Our first official "date" was our high school Senior Prom.

9. I've always loved being around children. I carried around the babies at all the family gatherings, and did LOTS of babysitting in high school.

10. My favorite books when I was young were Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Karen by Marie Killilea, and The Family Nobody Wanted by Helen Doss.  I read a LOT.

11. I am one-half Italian, one-fourth Scottish, and one-fourth English.

12, My first paid job, besides babysitting, was as Assistant Recreation Director at our little lake-front town beach in Mendon when I was 14. I continued to work at that beach every summer for the next 8 years., as a lifeguard, swim instructor, and then as the Beach Director.

13. I was in the Synchronized Swim Club in college.


14. My favorite candy bar is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.


15. I would rather go to the mountains than to the beach.

16. I dabbled in gymnastics as a teen. I took a gymnastics judging course when I was 18, and actually judged one high school meet.

17. I sing alto.

18. I remember where I was when the space shuttle Challenger exploded. I was vaccuuming the bedroom of our apartment in Boca Raton, Florida, listening to the radio, and keeping one eye on my toddler.

19. My dream house is a solar log home with a big wrap-around porch and a huge yard!

20. I am afraid of heights.

21. When I was 10 years old, my family ( mom, dad,  4 kids ) camped around Europe for 6 weeks in a Volkswagon Campmobile.

22. I hate horror movies and lima beans.

23. Fall is my favorite season.

24. I have had surgery three times ~ to remove my tonsils when I was 5, to remove my gall bladder when I was 42, and to repair a torn miniscus in my left knee when I was 51.

25. I do not drink coffee.

26. I love to bake.

27. I had a crush on David Cassidy when I was in Jr. High ( who didn't? )

28. My husband and I went on a Caribbean Cruise for our 10th wedding anniversary.

29. My favorite board game is Scrabble.

30. I am allergic to shellfish - more specifically, bivalves ( clams, oysters, scallops ).

31. I played field hockey in high school.

32. I was a cheerleader in my senior year of high school, and my future husband was on the basketball team.

33. My middle name is Marie, after my paternal grandmother.

34. When I was little, I wanted to be a teacher or a doctor when I grew up.

35. I collect souvenir pins.

36. So far, I have visited 27 states and 10 countries ( and just driving through doesn't count).

37. I love family camping! I do require toilets and running water, however.

38. The most amazing thing I have ever seen is the Grand Canyon.

39. I prefer Diet Pepsi to Diet Coke.

40. My favorite color is blue.

41. My favorite subjects in school were always English and Art.

42. My first job after college was as an assistant in the Public Relations office at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

43. I started homeschooling in 1994, with a 4th grader, 1st grader, 4 yr old and 1 yr old.

44. I am right-brain dominant!

45. I am very easily distracted. It takes me forever to get through a project, like cleaning my bedroom, because I keep getting sidetracked.

46. I have done both free-lance calligraphy and portrait drawing at one time or another.

47.  I have been a full-time mom since my oldest child was born, but I have also sold Tupperware, worked part-time at a fabric/crafts store, taught private swimming lessons, taught art, and baked cupcakes.

48. I enjoy handcrafts, like crossstitch, knitting, quilting, etc, but don't take the time to do them anymore. I need to work on that.

49. I don't watch much TV, but do enjoy  "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition", " Cupcake Wars", "American Idol", and  "NCIS".

50. I am a terrible housekeeper ( something to do with the right-brain, easily distractible thing....)

Welcome 2012!

We rang in 2012 at the annual New Years Eve festivities at our friends, the Nemitzes.
The parents played Family Feud and Catch Phrase while the kids played games upstairs - then we all gathered in the living room and kitchen for the big Countdown! 

Everyone toasted with New Year with sparkling grape juice - even the Campbells, who joined us via Skype from Vancouver, BC!

 

The kids finished off the night with sparklers out on the lawn.  

Good night everyone!  I wish you all extraordinary blessings in 2012.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I really do love Christmas and all the festivity, wonder, anticipation, and trappings of the season.  Driving down the street and seeing a house decked out in Christmas lights makes me smile and, my kids will tell you I'm prone to shouted outbursts of "CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!" 

Although I don't go head over heels with decorations, I adore setting out my nativity sets, wreaths, and candles, and will sit contentedly admiring the Christmas tree, letting the memories that each ornament brings wash over me.

The smells of gingerbread, lemon peel, cloves, and peppermint whisk me back to happy childhood days baking cookies and Christmas treats with my mother, and more recently with my own brood.

Holiday cards from friends and family far and near grace the door frame between my dining room and loving room.  I appreciate the effort it takes to get those cards in the mail, because my own cards have not made it out the door even 3 days after Christmas - but I rationalize that they will be appreciated all the more after the busyness of Christmas settles down.

Christmas music playing on the radio - or iPod,  and Christmas movies like "It's a Wonderful Life",  "The Nativity Story", and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" all put me in the holiday mood. Christmas Eve Candlelight Service with my family, welcoming Christmas Day as the clock strikes midnight, is another meaningful tradition.  Most of all, I love being surrounded by my family.  Four of my five children are nestled again in their beds, while the fifth is nestled in a cot in a tent with 30 or so other soldiers in Kuwait.... but at least we got to Skype on Christmas Day!!!

I hate shopping, as a rule, but I love giving gifts to the people I love. I did the Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh gifts again this year, and it really helped give me direction and purpose in choosing meaningful gifts for my family.  Gold gifts = the "big" gift that is valuable or desired;  Frankincense = a gift related to spiritual growth or worship;   Myrrh = a practical gift for the body.   Stockings are filled with small items like toothbrushes, candy, toiletries, socks, gum, batteries, magazines, pocket knife, Starbucks and iTunes gift cards, ice scrapers, and football cards. I knitted these Christmas stockings years ago, when my kids were babies - they are nice and stretchy.
:-)

Sarah and Amanda both were busy with the yarn and crochet hooks this fall, and Eric and Mark were the glad recipients.

 

 

 Is it really worth all the hoopla?  Is Christmas really worth the money, energy, time, and effort it demands?  Well, it depends on why you do it.  If it is something to check off the To Do list as you trudge through the calendar, then you might not think so. 

If the trappings of the holiday obliterate the reason for the celebration, which is the unmatchable gift of Christ the King, our Savior, then it's probably not. 

But if you view Christmas is a special gift - an opportunity - to engage in meaningful traditions and create cherished memories with loved ones, then it is priceless, and as enchanting for me at age 51 as it was when I was 5.  I thank God for loving me SO much that He sent His one and only Son, so that through Him I can be assured of everlasting life!  I thank God for the rich treasure I have received in family, friends, home, and traditions.  With Christ at the center of it all, Christmas is not a chore or cheap commercialism or something to endure, but a wonderful, delightful time of celebration and commemoration.  It's the birthday of the King!

Even as we give to one another, we remember the poor, the sick, the widows, the orphans, and give to help them as well... through The Salvation Army Kettle, Operations Christmas Child, TOMS shoes, sponsoring a child in Africa through Ten Eighteen, Inc.....

Because of Jesus - who He is and what He has done - it truly is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.    I hope it has been for you too. 

Gingerbread House 2011

Here is our Gingerbread House for 2011.  I designed it and baked the pieces. Jason did most of the assembly and decorating himself, with just a little assistance here and there.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS, ALEX! 

We're proud of you.

We miss you.

We love you.

Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Teens & Young Adults

Since Jason turned 13 in August, this is the 1st Christmas that ALL my babies are teens or twenty-somethings. A recent growth spurt means no more shopping in the children's department! And no more shopping in the toy aisles at Target or WalMart.

I am still buying "educational" stuff. Sorry, but I'll always be a homeschool mom who believes in LIFELONG learning. :-)

Everyone still gets a stocking filled with goodies, and that is opened first thing on Christmas morning. They are left at the foot of each bed, so they can be emptied as soon as the eyelids flutter open.



Here's a list of some of the things that might find their way into my teens'/twenty-somethings' stockings:

1. an orange - every Christmas, there is one in the toe.
2. a coin - it always used to be a quarter; however, an upgrade to a collectible gold or silver coin might be in order
3. Gum / mints
4. candy - preferably something a little unusual - peppermint patties, turtles, dark chocolate, homemade caramels ....
5. nuts
6. toothbrush - standard or electric
7. iTunes gift card
8. CD or DVD
9. pens / markers
10. mini notepad or journal
11. Chapstick
12. makeup ( lip gloss, eye shadow, nail polish )
13. jewelry
14. pocket knife
15. compass
16. socks/ slipper socks
17. watch
18. sunglasses
19. magazine / puzzle book
20. batteries
21. Earphones
22. gloves
23. Gift Cards - Starbucks, Chick-Fil-A, Bojangles, Barnes & Noble, movies
24. Face wash
25. hand lotion/ hand sanitizer
26. car air freshener
27. ice scraper
28. nail clippers / emory board
29. tweezers
30. Emergen-C / vitamins
31. Band Aids
32. Mini Photo Book
33. money clip
34. bag clips - for chips, pretzels, etc.
35. sports trading cards
36. cable ties
37. car charger for phone
38. jump drive
39. mini mag light / headlamp
40. keyring
42. stress ball / hand exerciser
43. jump rope
44. luggage tags
45. cellphone case
46. deck of cards
47. video game
48. Post It notes, flags, tabs
49. tickets to sports event or concert
50. guitar accessories - pics, tuner, strap, etc.
51. razor / razor blade cartridges / shaving cream
52. loofah
53. hair brush / comb
54. hair elastics, ribbon, clips, headbands
55. deodorant
56. Christmas tree ornament
57. purse organizer
58. Nerf darts
59. Silly string
60. stain stick

Celebrate Advent with Christmas Picture Books

If you have young children, you probably do some sort of Advent activity to countdown the days until Christmas.  There are lots of creative ideas for doing this and also reinforcing the message and meaning of Christmas with our children.  For years I used the advent unit studies on the Symbols of Christmas and the Names of Jesus found in Celebrate With Joy! by Sondra Burnett/

We have created paper chains with Bible verses on them, tearing off one link per day.

We have collected change in a jar, counting objects in our house that are blessings, and then donating the money to the Southern Baptist's Lottie Moon Fund or another charity after Christmas.   For example,  on Dec. 1,  put a penny in the jar for every shoe in the house. On Dec. 2, put a quarter in the jar for each car we own.  On Dec. 3, put a dollar in the jar for each bathroom.  On Dec. 4, put a dime in the jar for each Bible in the house.  Etc.

We love books, and Arnold Ytreeide has written a wonderful trilogy of Advent adventure stories set in biblical times.  The stories, Jotham's Journey, Bartholomew's Passage, and Tabitha's Travels are written as daily readings leading up to Christmas Day, and include questions to talk about together.


Another idea is to collect Christmas picture books and display them in a special basket, reading one story each day until Christmas.  Advent traditionally starts on the 4th Sunday before Christmas, but most Advent Calendars start on Dec. 1st.  You can do it either way.
Here are some suggestions for books you might like to add to your Christmas collection.

The Very First Christmas, by Paul L. Maier

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey,  by Susan Wojciechowski

Jacob's Gift, by Max Lucado

 Alabaster's Song, by Max Lucado

How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss

Legend of the Christmas Tree, by Rick Osborne

Legend of the Candy Cane, by Lori Walburg

The Night Before Christmas, by Clement Clark Moore, ill. by Jan Brett

Gift of the Magi, by O Henry, ill. by P.J. Lynch

A Charlie Brown Christmas Pop-Up Edition

Christmas Around the World Pop-Up Book by Chuck Fischer

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, ill. by Brett Helquist

Legend of the Poinsettia, by retold & ill. by Tomie de Paola

The Little Drummer Boy, by Ezra Jack Keats

St. Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend, by Julie Stiegemeyer

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson

Christmas in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, ill. by Renee Graef

The Littlest Angel, by Charles Tazewell

Twelve Days of Christmas, ill. by Jan Brett

Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story, by Cynthia Rylant

Christmas in the Trenches, by John McCutcheon

The Candle in the Window, by Grace Johnson

Annika's Secret Wish, by Beverly Lewis

Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus' Birth, by Dandi Daley Mackall