I'm back!

Well, well, well! 'Bout time I got back here and posted something! I have no good excuses for why I haven't posted. So, post I will.

I think I was still in Florida the last time I posted. We had a lovely Christmas morning with my son Joel and his beautiful bride Robin. Then over to my mom's for Christmas gifts and dinner. A very nice day overall.

We left to come home to NC on the Saturday before New Years. It was great to get home. However, the house was cold, and the mice had a grand old time while we were gone - leaving my pantry full of little brown presents, and lots of surprise stashes of rice and popcorn all over the place. Fun!

We got to spend New Year's Eve at the home of our friends Mike and Peggy. Also there were their daughter Jen and baby Austin, and our friends John and Dana with their daughters Jackie and Shannon, and granddaughter Maddie. We had a fun night!

Life is pretty much back to winter normal. We did have a nice snow on New Year's Day, and the last of it just melted off our driveway yesterday. Can't wait for the next snow!

As you can see in the picture (if you compare it to some older ones) I've continued on the weigh down. I have lost 94lbs so far, with about 30 to go. My Type II Diabetes and my Sleep Apnea are gone! Yee haw! I am smaller now than I was in the 5th grade. Ok, so I was the tallest and biggest kid in my class...but it's still true! I continue to try to choose to eat healthy foods, and to get some exercise on most days. Josh and Louie are trying to improve their eating habits along with me, so it's a win-win situation.

God is good. We came back to NC with no real job prospects for Louie. Of course a job he never expected came to him, and even though he's driving 3 hours a day to and from the job, it's money in the bank! We're still trying to decide what the Lord has in store for us here. We just walk each day a step at a time, and wait for Him to show us the way. I don't know how we can feel secure in this, but somehow we do. He's held us so far, and will continue to meet our needs as we continue to rely on Him.

I'll post again before you know it, so do check back!

Loving life!

Christmas Update

Home is where the heart is....so I guess if we are with our loved ones we are home. However, if you've ever spent an extended visit in someone else's (your mother's) home, you may realize that it's still not really HOME! All that being said, you can guess that we won't be celebrating a tender NC Christmas. (Can you hear me sobbing....) Instead, we will be here in sunny Florida, enjoying being with my son and daughter in love, but trying to walk on the eggshells of my mothers's moods as we celebrate here in the home of my youth.

I'm trying to keep a good attitude....I'm trying to keep a good attitude...I'm trying........

Christmas is our favorite time of year. We love to decorate and entertain...cooking goodies and listening to our ever growing collection of Christmas CD's (just got James Taylor's new one!) and just enjoying the atmosphere that permeates the season. Unfortunately, since moving to NC in 2004, we have only been able to celebrate Christmas in our home ONE TIME!!! My goal for 2008 is to make sure we are home for Christmas!

Speaking of entertaining, our son and daughter in love had their 2nd annual Christmas Party last night. Fun was had by all! They had a nice spread (including some delicious Chicken Salad Croissant sandwiches made by yours truly - aw come on! You remember them and your mouth is watering just thinking about them!) with sandwiches, chips, candy, cookies, cupcakes, and the Chocolate Fountain with lots of fruit for dipping. Of course the kids were very happy when my brother Jay appeared with a big bag of fluffy marshmallows!!! Under the chocolate falls they went! We won't even begin to comment on the plate of chocolate covered strawberries that someone (not me!!! it was twins-actual identical twins) lost control of. I just remember hearing Duke saying to them "I hate you." as he watched them eat the strawberries. Next thing you know...chocolate on the chair, the dress, the floor.... Oh wait...I wasn't going to comment on that! Speaking of twins, ask Nancy and Robin which twins dressed exactly alike at the party! Those girls are too funny.

We had a Silly Santa gift exchange. The most sought after gifts were scratch off tickets, Bailey's Irish Cream, a bottle of bubbly and...drum roll please...a huge remote control that even Louie could read without his glasses. It was a hilarious time! I was the third person to choose a gift, and Louie was the last. Like any good husband, he got those scratchoff tickets back for me (I chose them first and immediately had them swiped from my grubby little hands!). They were a Poker Hold 'Em type game, and being the Poker enthusiast that I am, I thought at first that I had won $155. Once Louie and his brother John instructed me on what a "Flush" was...I flushed away $150 of my supposed winnings. But hey! I've got $5 to buy another ticket....and who knows what I could win on that one!!

The only thing missing at the party was the McGrew-Kelly clan...we've got to get our acts together. Last year they made the party and we didn't. This year we made the party and they didn't. Hmmmmmm. There is something so wrong with that!

We did make it to church today - the Church at Bradenton - otherwise known as Church of God on 43rd St. They had their adult Christmas program and it was very nice. Made Louie and me teary eyed as we wistfully remembered all the fun of past programs with Mike and Peggy. If I'd have known we'd be here this long, I would have joined their choir as a snowbird!

So, you're asking, is all my Christmas shopping finished??? What? Are you kidding? It would not be Christmas without me running around at the last minute trying to finish up! We may spend Christmas Eve night with Joel and Robin....so I guess I need to get myself in shopping gear and git er done. That way, I might actually get everything wrapped and ready so I can enjoy Christmas Eve, and get to bed before 3am.

Pray for us as we wander through this wonderful season. Know that we are praying for you.
Have yourselves a Merry Little Christmas!

Home for the Holidays

Man oh man would I love to be home for Thanksgiving. Instead, we are still here in Florida. Yes, the weather is beautiful, but having lived here for 40 some years, been there-seen that. I would love to be putting on my coat- complaining about being cold! But, alas and alack, I will slip into my sandals and take my bare toes to Ft. Meade for turkey day.

It will be nice to see the Olivio side of the family. My poor husband has been forced into Frankdom over the years. My son knows his Frank relatives completely, but struggles to remember the names of his Olivio aunts and uncles. For his first 8 years of life, we lived a mile from my parents and they took care of him while I worked. Since moving to NC in 2004, we've returned many times, such as now, and stay right here in the home I grew up in. Communal family living. Oh the joys! I will forever be 16 and unable to do anything right.

Well, it's not all that bad. I do love being able to see my mother and sister and brothers. My mom has some heart problems, and it's hard to say how long she'll be around. Seems like she will live forever, but you just never know. I lost my dad in 2005, 6 weeks after his cancer diagnosis. Life really is short, and moments should be treasured. So, I put up with the stuff I don't like, so that I can have some time that counts. Nothing dramatic, just trips to the thrift store to find cheap clothes, or learning to make a time honored recipe that I know my mom will never write down.

Back to Thanksgiving. We will go to my husband's sister Barbara's house. He has 8 brothers and sisters, and all the family that goes along with that. So different from my little family, now just Mom, my sister and 2 brothers and me - the only married one - bringing my husband and two sons, and now one daughter in law. Oh, and I must include my older son's sister, who is living with them and now a part of our family too. She is 16, and still sweet enough for all of us to love her. She's also the little blond granddaughter my mom always wanted! But I digress. Ft. Meade - Thanksgiving. There will be lots of relatives, lots of food, including the homemade gnocchi made by our immediate family. This recipe was passed down by my hubby's sweet mother. She taught us to make this pasta, and we have carried on the tradition. An Italian Thanksgiving it will again be!

So, as they say, home is where the heart is, so I guess we will be home, but part of us will be in NC- as our hearts are missing our familyfriends there. You know who you are! ;)

As I ponder this holiday, I am thankful for my husband, my sons, my daughter in law, my almost daughter, my mom, my sister and brothers, my heart familyfriends in NC, my health, my laid back life, my dog and cat. Most of all, I am thankful that I know my Savior, my Redeemer, my Father God - and that my life is hidden in Christ.

Be Thankful. Happy Thanksgiving.

4 months of weight loss

It's been 4 months since I had a Mini Gastric Bypass done. I've lost about 67 lbs and feel great. It's good to by pass the "plus sizes" and head for the regular clothes! Of course most of my shopping is now done at the local thrift stores, since I'm still losing and don't want to invest much in my ever shrinking wardrobe.

I will be 50 in March, and hope to be pretty close to my goal by then. We'll see...I'm expecting my weight loss to slow down some over the next few months. Regardless of whether I'm at my goal, I do know that I will be skinnier than I have been in a loooooooong time. That's the way to enter my 50's!!! I expect this to be a wonderful decade!

Are you happy? I am!

I was watching "the View" today...I know - I know..... but it's on and I'm home! Anyhoo - they were discussing being happy, and the general consensus was that they didn't think anyone was really happy. Especially "religious" people....the guilt trip and all that..don't get too happy or the other shoe will drop. Better to be down and depressed so there are no surprises. Hogwash!

Well, let me say that I am happy. Is my life perfect? Absolutely not. But I am happy. I have an all powerful God who loves me, a Savior who stands beside Him pleading for me - how could I not be happy? Now, happiness is relative I guess (no, you don't get it from your relatives - it's usually the opposite!). Happiness for me is contentedness, knowing that in the end, everything will be made right and whole, no more questions without answers, no tears, no sickness, no death. This makes me happy. My family and friends love me and I love them - this makes me happy. I live in the beautiful mountains of NC that are now turning beautiful yellow, red and orange - this makes me happy. Life is an adventure - this makes me happy. There is just so much to be happy about. Happiness outweighs the circumstances we find ourselves in, if we will let it.

If you are not happy, I hope this doesn't sound like drivel to you. Pray for happiness. I know that the Lord Jesus came to give us life, and life more abundantly....how can that not call for happiness? I pray that if you need some happiness, it will come to you in buckets full! He is faithful and He will do it!

He makes me happy!

On the weigh down....

My weight loss journey continues to be wonderful. I've lost 58.5 pounds, so I figure I'm over half way there. My clothes are all too big, except for a few that I save from the last time I was smaller. We'll be heading to Florida for a visit within the next two weeks, so I'm looking forward to some shopping with my mom!

I really have a different view of food now. I've dieted soooo many times, but this time is very different. I still don't eat much, and have to make sure I drink a protein shake every day to get my protein in. There is no way I could do it otherwise! I passed a milestone recently, and my hubby was saying that we needed to celebrate it...however I wanted. Well, I can tell you, before this, I would have been figuring out where to go out to eat, even if I was dieting. But now I don't find food to be celebratory. It's just not that interesting anymore. So I guess I will have to figure out what else we can do. A movie in the theatre would be great!

Speaking of visiting Florida, here we go again. It just seems that right now, that's where the jobs are for Louie. He is looking to change careers, and the Lord may be opening some doors for him, but right now the door is open to Florida. I just hope we'll get a little cool weather while we are there, since we'll be missing it here.

The leaves are changing colors here, and they are beautiful. Since moving here in 2004, this is only the second time we've seen the fall. We saw it in 2004, but then it was late in 2005 so we had already gone to Florida, and then last year we were already in Florida and stayed past the colors. I'm glad to be here this year, so we can appreciate the beautiful fall season, and not JUST have to rake the leaves up!

We're heading to drive the Appalachian Parkway on Sunday with my brother and sister in law, Frank and Sherri. It's supposed to be a nice day, so I'm looking forward to it.

Happy Fall Y'all!!!

On the weigh down....

As I mentioned before, I am on a weight loss journey. So far, I'm pleased with the results - a loss of 37 lbs since 7/5/07. I still have lots to go, but that's ok. I'm learning what I can eat, and what I can't. Scrambled eggs are on my NO list, and as of yesterday, so is cream cheese! Some things just don't want to stay down! Ok, I know, TMI.

I've been changing my cooking habits, since I'm not eating much anymore, and Louie is trying to lose a few pounds himself. Josh also needs to lose, or at least maintain until he hits his growth spurt. So, it's usually chicken or lean meat, and some kind of veggie for dinner. Since Louie works most days, lunch is just Josh and me. I am pleased to say that Josh's french fry habit has been cut back since we've gotten home from Florida. He usually has a "snack wrap" that I make for him, or a hamburger or whatever, but no fries. When I do let him have fries at home, they are just baked potato wedges. Lots less fat. I like to have a little soup or salad for my lunch.

It's funny how much of our lives and social interactions revolve around food. I love to cook, and I love to entertain, so it's always been a big part of our get togethers. Now, I'm looking at food differently, trying to find delicious but nutritious recipes. I like trying new recipes, and its wonderful to find something that all three of us like! If it's a hit for us, it's something I can keep in mind when I am cooking for friends and family.

Speaking of that...gotta find a good Mahi-Mahi recipe for dinner tonight! Abbasynian!