Hello 2014

Well Hello New Year!! Its been a long long time since I found my way to writing here in this space. Sometimes I look at my blog and think I have so much to say and write and do but where to begin? Life is so different then it was a year ago for our family and for me. When I created this space, my children were babies. Yep that's right babies! Now I find three of them are in school and one is nearly off to kindergarten! I was in the midst of little ones for what seemed like eternity and now they are in grammar school?!!! Where does this time go? Its happening so quickly. Now I can check in to Keeper and do some reflection. It will be a good place, a safe place to jot heart stuff down. And it doesn't have to be perfect (a place I struggle with -- desires to have a perfect space to live in -- when I really live in a beautifully imperfect place for beautiful, living reasons.) So here are a few updates: 1. I finally got on the Medifast wagon for Reals and since October 7, 2013 have lost a total of almost 40 lbs!!! What a lifestyle shift for me. I feel great. No I mean really great!! Like no more numbness in my toes (yep that happens as you inch towards a pre-diabetic state at 35 years old!) I am down 4 sizes!! I sleep better. I want to MOVE!! Its been a hard journey. Learning what the fruit of self-control is all about. I will probably do a blog post about this journey so far, at a later date - because I think it will be beneficial to type it out. this year after I get to my healthy BMI goal sometime after I turn 36 in February, I will be entering into maintenance (80% of maintenance is what goes in to your mouth and 20% working out) which means I will be getting my work out on!!!! I can't wait. Primarily I will be working out to feel GOOD. Love those endorphins. Mamas with four kids in apartments need to get stress relief!! All of this new health is leading me to some great books, great learning and exploration. Let me tell you I am on a high!!! 2. We live in a new city, a new state with a new job for my husband (praise the Lord!!), a new school for the kids, and a wonderful new church!! Its a fresh start for our family and its a good start. We are staying put as far as we know and that feels really good for this Navy family, since we have moved 10 times in almost 12 years of marriage. Of course the bug will bite me in about a year to start preparing our home for moving but that's good because that just keeps us paired down and simple. And don't I just love SIMPLE. 3. This leaves me with a wide open plan for what I do and who I am. Healthy, not anxious about my weight or what I put in my mouth every time I eat, not guilty and obsessive. Kids are in a good place. They will be in school. How do I use my time wisely? How to I continue to streamline our apartment (yep we have four kids in a 3 bedroom apartment - hello Urban Life - and we are loving it!!) to meet our needs for peace, organization, productivity and creativity? How do contribute to the family's pocket book, whilst continuing to be that stay at home momom? We are committing to a year to figure out how it works and to getting ready to enter the work place on my terms. Love that I can telework in this age of laptops. So its a good fresh start. Place to talk out my thoughts and discover what my role is now. Hello there its me God, Esther Plaster. Join me as I do this thing called life post babies. Oh and I hope to be more dedicated to pictures here at Keeper.

paper piles

today while pondering the pile o' papers that i need to tackle; i found via my growing home - a simple way to organize and prioritize school papers. She has four piles: #1 Papers with Dates #2 Items to Read #3 To Keep #4 To Do or To Buy i think this is simple enough. its a system i could apply to my other "piles". how do you organize the piles of papers in your home?

update :: medifast

Ok people, so here is the update. i have lost about 13 lbs so far and then my birthday celebrations hit! you know how that goes. so i am back on it and have a few observations: 1. my problem time is supper time, cooking the supper, waiting to eat, and then celebrating when the husband comes home -- the wine flows and that is making it hard to lose. 2. i really like having the even feeling - this is a very low-glycemic level diet - so if i am following my 5 small snacks and then my lean & green meal faithfully, i don't get the shakes!! 3. i have significantly cut down on my caffeine (french press coffee) intake - that is about one cup per day. i find that i don't need more then that. plus i would rather be drinking my water instead. 4. i am learning so much about my body and how i react to certain foods - like the time i fell off the wagon and ate a bunch of cookie dough that i was making for the kids - and then an hour later the sugar depression hit me and i was a crazy mama! i noticed the next day, even after a very good night's sleep, i had to take a nap in the afternoon - the sugar was still effecting my system. i do not like that feeling at all. i need to remember this feeling and avoid it at all costs. 5. i am not a big fan of anything but the shakes and the bars - and even those are really hard to get down. 6. my body really craves fruits and vegetables and whole, clean foods. i love that! these are all good observations and since i am going to finish up my medifast food this month and then go back to eating the way i should, for financial reasons, i need to remember these points!!!

keeping :: self

hello friends, i know i need to do an update post on my diet using Medifast, and i will but i just needed to post about this. I have just started reading Say Yes To Hoboken (sister-in-law to Jordan of Oh Happy Day and Gabrielle of DesignMom). I thought her post yesterday was so, simply, good. I decided to make my own list - let me see ... 1. blog :: (i wish that i did this blog thing more often, every day - but sometimes i find it overwhelming because i am a perfectionist. no not everything in my house is perfect (or life for that matter) - precisely because if i can't do it perfect, then i won't do it at all or even try. blogging is such an amazing form of communication and expression and i do long to enter in to this world. so i will keep trying to pick it up and make a habit - because it helps me plan, focus, align my thoughts and heart, connect and share. 2. knit :: (i do love to knit - it ebbs & flows withe season and the project.) i am not a great knitter but i do love the process even more then the finished product. 3. garden :: (it is nearly spring and i am waiting for just a bit more warmth, before i venture out to clean up my garden and plan my spring and summer greenery.) - our life is in transition (perpetually) right now, so i go back and forth with actually putting a garden in. i think what i may do some container gardening and use the square foot spaces that we have from two years worth of gardening to plant lettuces and cilantro. i have so many seed packets left over from last year - are those still good. i think so. 4. walking :: i love being outside on a walk. its so good for my mood. in fact, even the quick little trip to pull the garbage cans from the curb (when its super cold outside this is a challenge!!:) is a mood-lifter. we live in such a beautiful part of the city and so close to town. i need to insist that our family takes walks at least once a week. everyday we will be walking to and from school when the weather is warm enough. we borrowed a very nice double jogger - perfect for tired little four-year olds and six-year olds to hop in to. no excuses for me!! do you have anyways that you need to incorporate back in to your daily life that keep you?

Week 1

Its Sunday, and I am here checking in to the Collective to record this past week on Medifast. It was a good week!!! I am down 6 lbs. from my first day on the diet. I feel much better. The first three days were rough - mostly just the really low energy that I had. My coach Julie (who is also one of my dearest and best-est friends) warned me that the first three days were tough. But I endured and made it. Each day brought its challenges. To name a few: not really wanting to cook for the rest of the family but knowing that I need to; planning ahead with what I am eating so I am not tempted; seeing my husband have his evening drink and snacks and not being able to join in the ritual after the kids have gone to bed. Just a few. But doable - so doable. It was a constant reminder that I was making the choices, that the buck stopped with me! I was able to really look forward to and savor my lean & green meal (which until today reserved for supper rather then lunch). I look forward to my real food and eating veggies and protein never tasted so good. I weigh the meat but I allow myself as much salad and veggies (no carrots, very little tomatoes) as I want. My appetite has definitely decreased, so I get full more quickly. Feels good to know when I am hungry and when I am full. I have also noticed that I am more careful about my water intake -- I am able to make sure that I am hydrated -- especially if I am feeling hungry - which actually doesn't happen on Medifast. That is right! No low-blood sugar levels!! I stay at the same glycemic levels throughout the day. I am careful to eat every two hours and no more then two hours after I wake up in the morning. I don't get the crazy feeling - therefore I am not tempted to eat things off my diet. I did allow myself one cheat date. On Friday was my friend's 40th birthday. I ate some appetizers (small amount) and had a glass of read wine (with a few more sips of a second). It was fabulous. I have been thinking some about what it means to live life with food, celebrating with food. I don't think life celebrations should always be centered on food but I think that its ok, good, and beautiful to enjoy the feasting. Throughout the Bible, the Lord includes feasting with food and wine within the celebrations. There is such an emphasis on enjoyment. On rejoicing. On appreciating the bounty. However, I also know that there is a time and a place for all things. I know that when the Lord created food and wine, he did so with moderation in mind. I can still be a "foodie". I just have to pick and choose my celebrations. Smaller portions - and no, self, it is not a Party every evening after the kids are asleep!:) I am learning to replace the habits that weren't healthy for me, with much more healthy alternatives - i.e. instead of a very high-calorie Belgian Ale, I brew a nice piping hot cup of unsweetened cup of herbal tea. I am also watching my caffeine intake. I usually have just a cup of French press coffee with non-fat cream. I think some of the forgotten calories I had been consuming were from my regular half & half creamer in my multiple cups of joe per day! I am wearing my Pedometer each day and making sure that I do at least 5000 steps. I am seeing that its not hard at all to get those in - usually on a busy day with the kids I can log in over 10,000 steps. I want to start getting outside for a walk a few times a week. I would really enjoy walking the kids to and from school -- its a matter of planning and also getting them to be out in the cold! But its good for all of us to be outside. Even in the cold. Here is to another week of future victories!

A New Year, A New Me

Greetings to y'all! Its another year - but its a new year. A time for growth, movement and challenge. At least for me. My 35th year comes in a few weeks. I have decided that I want to get healthy. I have been talking about this for years now. Its been four years since our last child was born. My body is not getting back to the way it was because I have to do something to make that happen. Without going in to my long, personal history with weight and body image stuff, let's just say its been a battle. This year was altogether one of the most stressful years ever and now I have a chance to do something - to actually control a part of my life when everything else is out of my reach. This isn't just a desire to fit in to a specific size. This is a quest for lifelong health and wellness. So as of three days ago I began my Medifast journey. Its hard. I am a foody - love my posh cheeses, my breads, my wine and fancy beer. I love cooking and baking. I love going to yummy restaurants and finding the local places about town. This diet food is not the best tasting in the world. (shakes and bars are good). But I have decided that I am going to do this program. I have tried other programs - with some moderate success. However I need results. Its supposed to be quick - I am going to say 3 months. I want to lose 60 lbs. So it may take longer. I am going to have to get down to the food issues that are at the heart of matter. Why does food comfort me. Why do I go to food instead of Jesus? What can I do that is a healthy alternative? It is what is necessary to make this 35th year the best and the foundation year for the rest of my life. If I don't take care of my weight now, there will be serious (not maybe, but for-real will be) health consequences in the future. My family and friends will suffer. I don't want to live that way. I want to LIVE. I want to get to my desired healthy weight - which for a 5 ft 2 in female is 118 to 132 for a medium frame. Medifast has a great track record for losing the weight and keeping it off. I want maintain a healthy weight and be active. I have an awesome bike and I want to use it. I love to work out and do yoga. I want to be able to do those things, without the baby weight. I don't want my kids to ever ask Mama why are you fat? I want to make positive choices for my children. I am seeking out my doctor's advice and also that of a nutritionist. I believe this is a really good program for me because it is a low glycemic level diet. I have diabetes in my family and I know that this is key. I would like to journal here on the blog every Sunday - give a weigh in and feelings from the week. It will be good to post pictures. This will be an encouragement to me down the line, when it is tempting to give up.

The Great Minimizer

Hello all!! I have been busy with our four children, but now that summer is over I am determined to take each day and use it to my advantage. Today is rainy and humid - not a good pool day. Over the last few weeks I have been reading and inspired by simplemom's new book Organized Simplicity. I also found a terrific blog (by accident - isn't it always like that?) Its called Rethinking the Dream. Its about a husband and wife (+ child) who decided that the American dream of home ownership wasn't cracking up to be The Dream. So they downsized, sold their home, purged their stuff and moved to a two-bedroom rental apartment. As I wrestle emotionally with a possible move (again!) this summer (= our 10th move in 10 years of marriage and military), my desires are truly moving towards less is more. Less to clean (my cleaning regimen is so distracted with the clutter of our possessions.) and more time to embrace my precious children, my wonderful husband and my amazing life that Christ has given to me in Abundance!! I am going to take it with Day 1. I will post pictures of the spaces that I purge before and after shots. I already feel better. Something I am realizing about myself is that I carry stuff-guilt. I have bought things - that end up in "organizational boxes" (you know the rubbermaid clutter) and then I feel guilty if I don't repurpose it, gift it, goodwill-it or sell it. The problem is there isn't time in my life to do this -- so I am just going to get it OUT!! I am giving myself the gift of Peace and Order this summer. This gift will trickle down to the kids and to my husband -- who is out of country right now. When he returns I want to have this place full of peace. So not only does that mean that I purge but that I purge ingratitude from my heart. I want to be a mother who has a cheerful heart (resist the sin to get frustrated with the little people!) and purposeful days. No longer will I shirk my duty to create a home of order (yes life is messy but can't it be an easy clean up too!!) So here it goes folks!!!