December Starts Tomorrow and Other Obvious Truths

I'm still here. Somewhat.

Life goes on... Brandon is working in Kansas and D.C. 4 days a week, we had Thanksgiving here with friends (which was great!), the world is still in turmoil, the kids still don't do chores willingly, I'm still having good days and bad days, and Christmas is coming! The last one makes me happy.

I hate terrorists and the fact people are seriously considering Donald Trump as a viable (or even desirable) candidate. I've lost confidence in all the Republican candidates and I can't stand any of the Democratic ones.

Let's see... good news... good news...

I've signed up to be on my friend's Portland to Coast walk relay team! Remember when I did it back in 2011? I'm doing it again in 2016! I'm excited and terrified all at once because I haven't consistently exercised in two solid years. Why? The why's don't matter. All that matters is now I need to get myself going! Weight loss will finally not be the motivating factor.

In fact, weight loss is not really on my mind, anymore, and hasn't been since before I got pregnant. When I conceived #7, I weighed a whopping 252 pounds (more or less). I was a size 20. I had never been that large before and it was a direct result from my mental problems at the time. And I was very aware about my weight, and I was very aware about how I felt. However, and miraculously --a tender mercy, maybe? --I ended up losing 10 pounds before I gave birth. Isn't that crazy? People ask how I did it (as if I followed some regimen whilst incubating my daughter), and the truth is I didn't do anything. What happened was that I got sick. I felt weak and nauseated a lot, I couldn't eat much, I didn't crave sugar (much), and then I had horrendous gall stones that put me in the hospital 4 weeks before her due date. I then ate an almost strictly fat-free diet for 6 weeks so I wouldn't have another attack, and that's how I lost those 10 pounds. I don't recommend it to anyone! Ever! It was awful! Then I gave birth to a 9 pound baby... and by the time she was 6 weeks old, I weighed 220 pounds. I now weigh 214. I'm a size 16. I'm sure I'll continue to lose weight. Why? I'm not sure. I don't track what I eat, but I do eat according to how I feel. Some days I forget to eat altogether, and others I eat more than I should. I'm way more flabby than I should be, though --I need to build up my muscle and I need to do it soon. Not so I can lose weight, though, or look better, but so I can have the capacity to do the PTC relay and so my bones don't start breaking before I'm 50! I need to build muscle so I can have a better quality of life.

Irony: Even with my flabby, semi-big, bore-7-children body, I'm happier with how I look now than I ever have been in my life. I love my body, my face, my hair, and who I am!

I remember when I weighed 215 pounds back in 2007 and I thought I was morbidly obese. I worked my tail off to get down to 168 pounds and was at my peak physically (running 4 miles a day). All I thought about was how I looked compared to other people. I worried constantly I would get fat again. And I was miserable and didn't enjoy my amazing new-found health. That self-fulfilling prophecy came true and I gained all that weight and more back (also gained three more kids!), but it was good for me to experience this. I imagine I'll lose more weight eventually, but it's not the focus of my life. I'm working on other more important things -- like how to schedule in the exercise and keep the house in better order.

Other good news...

#1 has some of her art displayed at a local mall (it's the school district's temporary gallery). Isn't she amazing?:

#2 has the part of Scuttle in the middle school's play, "Little Mermaid, Jr." and she's so excited

#3 is getting pretty good grades and is building a fort outside.

#4 started cello lessons (how long ago did I write? did you know this?) and has an expander in his mouth to get him ready for braces

#5 can read books!

#6 is still adorable and lispy

#7 is crawling, pulling herself up to stand, and has 7 teeth.

Brandon shaves his mustache tomorrow! I loved him in a beard, and his long stache for "Movember" was actually kind of fun, but it'll be nice to get his face back. Although, I don't know... I totally understand the appeal of the beard, now... ;)

Christmas will be here at home with just us (so nice) and I'm close to finishing shopping and getting newsletters sent out. I'm hoping we'll get snow eventually. Not power-outage snow... maybe school cancelling snow... December is a nice time for snow and I'm glad it's been really mild this last month!

I have two book reviews coming up for the blog, dear reader. Isn't that crazy? I haven't done a review for such a long time and I'm really looking forward to it. One is about mental illness and another is a regency romance. Huzzah! Two subjects I feel quite in interest in (not to mention a tad obsessed with one).

I hope you have a glorious week, dear reader. Stay positive and remember to think of positive things. God loves you!