My Diet Journal~Part 3

14 Jul

A Slice of Life

DiVoran Lites

My ten extra pounds, and my egg choir.

My ten extra pounds, and my egg choir.

When I started journaling this morning, everything in me felt low from energy to emotions. Usually when I start writing I tell the Lord what I’m unhappy about, so I planned to complain for about five hours. My routine had changed. I slept in until seven and then it was starting to get hot, so I thought I’d skip the coffee and the writing and hit the trail.

I’ve become able to drink coffee with Stevia and one quarter grain saccharine, but I still need the creamer, which is 2cheating. I tried to do without it one day, last week, taking Anacin with its 32 mg of caffeine, in order to avoid the withdrawal headache. It didn’t work, so I had a cup of coffee in the afternoon. I know I’m addicted, but I don’t want to give it up because I enjoy it, feel that it clears my mind, and have more energy when I drink a cup. I drink two a day. Some studies show that a moderate amount is good for most people, but if doc says no, then it’s no.

We bought some new Stevia called Truvia and we like it much better. I still want a quarter gram of saccharine, in fact I wish I could stay on that combination, even though Dr. Simenon discovered that artificial sweeteners are truly bad for people.

Flashback — Okay, I’m ready for my walk. Hat, key, phone, “sticky” note-pad, church pew pencil, (I found it in my car), tissue, iPod, and dark glasses. At first it’s not unbearably hot. I start listening to a book. Some days I don’t listen, I just enjoy the fresh air and observe, and maybe I’ll listen on the way home to make the journey shorter. It gets hotter as I go. By the time I head home I’m thinking about calling Bill to ask if he’ll come get me. But no, that would be wimpy. I didn’t drink water because you’re supposed to take the hcg and give it a chance to get into your system without interference. What if I pass out from dehydration?

When I do get home I lay on my bed for a while getting lower by the minute. Here comes the addiction withdrawal headache. I think I’ll lie here like this all day. This must be how it feels to be in deep grief, just wanting to stay in bed.

I decide that for a cup of coffee I can make myself get up.

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Now I’m writing. Bill comes in for a minute and we talk about his weight. To our great surprise he has already reached his goal, though he didn’t realize it and wants to keep going, He lost ten pounds his first week. The way I understand it, you don’t go off the diet when you reach your goal weight, you continue with the hcg until the three weeks are up, but you eat more. When you reach your goal, you can eat as much of the designated foods as you wish. You don’t have to count calories, anymore, just stay away from starch and sugar.

After our chat and three quarters of the cup of coffee, I didn’t feel down anymore, so I started writing and here you see the result.

Oh, by the way, in case you’re interested, I have lost 6.05 lb. this week. Thanks for listening.

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The Classic

13 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

I’ve mentioned before how my brother was always fascinated with model airplanes. How he would build them, fly them, fix them up and fly them again. He was really good with his hands.

Another thing he liked to do – as I remember – was to work on car engines. I remember a time, after we began to become friends instead of just picking-at-each-other siblings, that he bought an OLD car and brought it home to work on. I believe he totally removed the engine and other parts and re-worked them. I’m proud to say that I helped him with that a bit – I actually HELPED him! When it was back together, he painted that car a gorgeous turquoise.

When Fred and I met, he was a sophomore at the University of New Mexico (UNM). He lived on campus and so didn’t need a vehicle. He also didn’t have his driver’s license. So if we went anywhere, I was the driver.

It didn’t take him long to remedy that situation – at least in that he obtained his driver’s license. However, he still didn’t have a car. He either walked or took the bus. Albuquerque had a good public transportation system.

Long about Springtime of 1960, he purchased his first car – a 1957 Chevrolet Belaire V8. He paid a grand total of $1,100 for it. It was a soft green, four-door, bench seats, automatic transmission.  It was a beauty! It didn’t have air conditioning, but in Albuquerque’s climate, we didn’t need it. He was so proud of that car.

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In 1960, we, and my parents, drove in that car to Englewood, California for Christmas with my brother Bill, and his wife, DiVoran. We discovered that Bill was working on another car. Fred helped him put the engine back together and everything back in place. We had a grand time with them there. We took in Disneyland

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and Knotts Berry Farm.

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Great memories. We had a wonderful Christmas dinner at Bill and DiVoran’s little house, along withher parents.

 
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On New Year’s Eve, we drove to Pasadena, to spend some time with Fred’s Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Bob. One of Fred’s cousins and his friends, took two picnic benches and some bedrolls, and set them up on the sidewalk at the starting point for the 1961 Rose Parade, scheduled for the following day. They slept on the benches to keep our spots. After the parade, we went back to their house and had a lovely lunch, then we headed out, back to Albuquerque.

That next summer – June 20, 1961 – 53 years ago – we loaded up that car and, following our wedding – headed to Fort Worth, Texas, where Fred was to study at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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While it was a smooth ride, we really wished for an air conditioned car! Texas climate is NOT the same as New Mexico!!

We drove that un-air-conditioned car for several years before trading it in on another, newer vehicle. As we look back on those times, Fred continues to say that he wishes he had kept that car. It is now considered a CLASSIC. Of course, we were dirt poor at the time, and couldn’t possibly keep that car and have another one. And we couldn’t possibly know that, that particular car would turn into a CLASSIC.

But it’s fun to look back and remember those times.

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No more bad memories.

12 Jul

It’s Saturday and that means a blog by Janet Perez Eckles walking by faith, not by sight.

Know God, Know Hope No God, No Hope

11 Jul

From My Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

 

What a difference the spelling makes.

To know Him is to love Him, and others.

To love Him is to serve Him,

as we reach out to our brothers.

 

If you have yet to meet Him,

here is all you have to do.

Confess you are a sinner-

He’s waiting at the cross for you.

 

Hang on to hope, as on Jesus you wait.

“I will go before you and make

the crooked paths straight”. Isaiah 45.

 

No God  –  No hope,

I can’t imagine such a scenario.

Why?  My heart is too full of love,

since Jesus I came to know!

“Therefore, having been justified by faith,

we have peace with God through our

Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have

access by faith into this grace in which we stand,

and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Romans 5:1,2

 

IMG_1416

 

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Love’s Concentric Circles

10 Jul

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

It seems my circle of love is not becoming smaller but concentric. A side benefit of having eleven aunts and uncles is a whole bunch of cousins. It doesn’t stop there as those cousins have children, creating even more cousins.

This week we were blessed to have a visit from my cousin, Susan and her children who live in Georgia. Her three children combined with our two grandchildren created some awesome and chaotic “cousins time” On the first day of their visit the children from teens to tweens had a blast at our local entertainment complex, “The Factory”.

The Factory

 

The second day we loaded up two cars with picnic supplies, chairs and towels and visited a local swimming hole, Sliding Rock in the Pisgah National Forest.

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Susan is the granddaughter of one of my favorite aunts during my childhood. Her grandmother Della, her husband and boys spent a lot of time with my family as I was growing up. We were a musical family and would “make music” when the families got together. Della sang a beautiful high soprano while my mother a strong Alto. Together with their boys and my brothers we had music voices covered all the way down to deep bass. Dad and mom also played the guitar. Oh the sweet hymns they sang. There was one they sang, that I still sing in my heart when I am feeling down, Come Unto Me.

My aunt Della died of a brain tumor when she was forty-seven. I was heartbroken but she left a legacy of love. I still miss her almost fifty years later.

 

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My Western Trip~Part 10

9 Jul

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Bill

 

Heading for the Point Loma Peninsula, I checked out the Cabrillo National Monument, which commemorates the landing of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in the San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542. After that beautiful drive, I visited the famous San Diego Maritime Museum, Seaport Village, the Seafood Grotto, the Tribute to Bob Hope wartime tours, and the WWII V.J. Day Monument. The tribute to Bob Hope was unique, in that it consisted of a group of bronze figures representing all the U.S. Military Services, gathered around Bob, while he told many of his funniest jokes (via recordings) to anyone who was listening.

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And then, there was the gigantic WW V.J. Day Monument, depicting the famous 1945 Time Square celebration picture of a sailor kissing a dental technician. Many, along with me, had always thought she was a nurse, because of her white uniform, but the base plaque said she was not a nurse, but a dental technician. I finished the day with a wonderful visit with our high school friends Jim and Charlene, while we ate dinner at the Brigantide Seafood Restaurant.

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The next morning I headed east to visit the Pacific Southwest Railroad Museums in La Mesa and Campo, Ca. Unfortunately, they were both closed, so I just kept heading east toward Yuma, AZ where I planned to visit the Yuma Territorial Prison. Now there was a place you would never have wanted to be incarcerated, as a criminal, in the late 1800s. Amazingly, even though most inmates were sentenced to do time at the Territorial Prison for violent crimes, some were sent there for things such as polygamy, forgery and violations of the Neutrality Act. While in Yuma, I also visited the U.S. Quartermaster Depot which was used by the U.S. Army to store and distribute supplies for military posts in the territories of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas from 1864 to 1883.

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Next, it was on East for another 240 miles of desert, thru Gila Bend and a lot more desert, to Tucson, AZ where I was looking forward to visiting the Pima Air & Space Museum and AMARG (Better known as the Bone yard). The next day was Friday, and I was up bright and early so I could be first in line for tickets to both the Museum and the Bone Yard, since they only gave Bone Yard tours M-F. What a great time I had there! The Museum itself encompasses four large hangers of beautifully restored aircraft, and 30+ acres of static display aircraft outdoors. The Bone Yard consists of over 300 acres, where literally thousands of discontinued U.S. Military aircraft are stored, reclaimed or restored to flying condition when needed.   Luckily, the Museum provides bus tours of both the Museum grounds and the Bone Yard, so people like me can see most all there is to see in about 4-6 hours. It really boggled my mind to see acres and acres of airplanes stored like that, all in one place!

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—–To Be Continued—–

 

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Diet Journal Entry~2

7 Jul

My Take

DiVoran Lites

 

 

DiVoran and her mom

Mom-Dora, Me-DiVoran probably at my highest weight, several years ago.

 

Day Four

I can’t believe we’re starting day four on our diet. That means we only have two weeks and three days left, and then three weeks on maintenance when we have more food choices and won’t be limited as far as calories go. If we follow the rules adequately, we will keep it off for a good long time, who knows, maybe forever.

The diet has been in existence for over fifty year after Dr. Simeon researched and experimented with it on his willing patients for over fifteen years.* I think it was the diet Bill and Judy’s mom went on many years ago, only she had to go the a doctor’s office and get hormone shots. Nowadays we don’t use the real hormone, we use a homeopathic, which the body perceives in exactly the same way. Agnes was thrilled with the results, and we were thrilled for her. She never went back up to her original weight.

The rules are detailed because while the hcg triggers the body to let go of the fat, the chemical make-up of various foods either aid or hinder the loss. The website we use has counselors online to help.

We spent half an hour after lunch yesterday hashing out the directions, our experiences with the diet, and our needs (or wants). Both of us are first-born, perfectionist, control freaks so we have many discussions over almost everything. Certain words such as sorry, say, again, I blipped, and let me see if I understand what you’re saying, are vital to the discussions. The cats don’t like it if we raise our voices.

We appreciate every bite we get, except at this point we still can’t stand the Stevia we have on hand. We’ve had it since the first diet about five years ago, though, so we’re thinking of getting a new package, hoping it has improved and will be better when it’s fresher.

This morning the scale put on a light show of flashing numbers ending with an ERROR message. Yesterday, my first day, I’d lost two-and-a-half pounds. Bill has lost four. The scale is working fine now, maybe it had to change its mind from continually showing gain, to showing loss.

By this time, you may be thinking that we’re rich and fussy about food. Are you thinking of the poor, the homeless, and the people dying in countries where their governments deliberately starve them to death? I need to pray about all that again, will you join me?

Dear Lord, only your omniscience can know how deeply grateful we are to have so many varieties of food and drink to choose from. We thank you that we can buy what we need and what we want. We don’t have the power or the resources to supply jobs, farms, and sustenance for everyone in the whole world, and as you say in your word we will always have the poor with us. However we do ask you to show us where and when to share, and to give us the wisdom, the power, and the love to obey you. All we do know to do is to trust you with all our hearts, to thank you, and to help us not to depend on our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

The way I wrote part one it sounded as if MAINTENANCE consisted of no oils at all. That’s a false impression. It’s the diet that lets you have no oils. Maintenance give you all the fats you’d want: dairy, cheese, cooking oil, butter, etc. The way I’m understanding it, our bodies are supposed to run on the fats they break down. What gets us into trouble is combining them with starch or sugar or both. After three weeks on maintenance, the directions explain, you may start back with carbs, but carefully.

For more information here is a handy link to a PDF

http://www.yourhcg.com/poundsandinches.pdf

 

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Something to Live By

6 Jul

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

Recently, we met a friend at a famous barbeque eatery. It has become one of our favorite places to eat. Unfortunately, it takes us about 45 minutes to get there from our house, so we don’t go there very often. It is a favorite of the locals, and you must get there just as they open the doors, or you wait in a long line outside!

It’s a fairly rustic place, with just a few booths, but mostly picnic-type tables with benches. Some of the seating is outside, but under cover. But the food is really worth the wait, and definitely the place to go if you like BBQ.

While we were eating and visiting with each other, I noticed a plaque on the wall. There are a LOT of plaques on the wall, and other rustic decorations, but this one really caught my eye. It goes like this:

smilr copy

Isn’t that neat? There really isn’t anything “Christian” about it, but I think it says a lot about life perspective. I think it would help keep us in the right frame of mind to be upbeat and positive about how we live each day. Nothing droopy about anything on that list.

So………S M I L E and give thanks – for everything!

God is good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I want to be a citizen.

5 Jul

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight with Janet Perez Eckles

Persistence and Prayer Rout Worry

4 Jul

From My Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

 

WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT?

I am reminded that an old saint was asked.,

‘Which is the more important,

reading God’s word or praying?”

To which he replied,

“Which is more important to a bird,

the right wing or the left?”

A. W. Tozer.

 

Pray without ceasing  1 Th. 5:17

 

 

‘KEEP ON KEEPING ON”

A river cuts through rock,

not because of it’s strength,

but because of its persistence.

Jim Watkins actor born 1944

 

I, too, want to forge ahead.

I’ll keep my eyes on Jesus

and His never failing assistance.

 

There is no use in carrying around “worry “and ” regret”,

they only weigh you down.

Keep yourself open to “hope” and to “love”.

A smile will replace a frown.

 

Come unto me

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