52:5 Calvin Symposium on Worship

Brrrrr!!!! It was 22 degrees when this photo was taken! This week, my friend from church, Danae, and I flew to Grand Rapids, Michigan to attend the Calvin Symposium on Worship held at Calvin College (go Knights!!!) It was SO much fun for me to be on the campus of my alma mater, even though it was SUPER cold. The conference was worth it!

An extra bonus was catching up with some college friends while I was in town, and staying up late into the night talking with Danae.

--

Originally posted at: http://rebeccasmiscellanies.blogspot.com/

52:3 Hash House

This photo is not just about enjoying a great meal at a San Diego landmark. It's about hanging out with a great friend who brings a lot of fun and joy into my life. Rebecca and I go to the same church and she lives in San Diego (as opposed to 50~ miles north of the city like me.) Thanks for a great night out!! I'm so glad we're friends!

--

Originally posted at: http://rebeccasmiscellanies.blogspot.com/

No more resolutions week 3

So far, my resolution to focus on my weight loss goals one day and one week at a time has been very successful. In weeks 2 and 3, I lost exactly 1 pound, so after losing 5 pounds the first week (a nice bonus) I'm up to 7 lbs total since 12/30. Niiiice!!

This week I think I was a bit lucky... I can't say no to Mexican food, and ate it three times over the weekend. To try and offset it, I exercised like crazy at the gym three days in a row. I know I won't be successful a second week in a row without getting back to key strategies though.

So... back to the thing I keep asking myself: "Will this help me lose 1 pound this week?"

I'm also very glad for some friends on Facebook who are striving to lose weight... it helps keep me motivated knowing I'm not the only one.

--
Originally posted at: http://rebeccasmiscellanies.blogspot.com/

Book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

I joined a book group! Yippee!! I just love reading and have always wanted to join a book group. There is a group of women at my church who have been reading books together for a long time, and now that I'm not in class 3 nights a week, I decided to try it out. They have been so wonderfully welcoming, and I am getting to read books that I would not have picked on my own.

The first book I read with them was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. From the review on amazon.com:

Mark Haddon's bitterly funny debut novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is a murder mystery of sorts--one told by an autistic version of Adrian Mole. Fifteen-year-old Christopher John Francis Boone is mathematically gifted and socially hopeless, raised in a working-class home by parents who can barely cope with their child's quirks. He takes everything that he sees (or is told) at face value, and is unable to sort out the strange behavior of his elders and peers.

Late one night, Christopher comes across his neighbor's poodle, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork. Wellington's owner finds him cradling her dead dog in his arms, and has him arrested. After spending a night in jail, Christopher resolves--against the objection of his father and neighbors--to discover just who has murdered Wellington. He is encouraged by Siobhan, a social worker at his school, to write a book about his investigations, and the result--quirkily illustrated, with each chapter given its own prime number--is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

I actually really liked this book! The author did such a good job of telling the story from the perspective of the main character, that I learned a lot, and it made me think - always a good thing. Also, it's not a terribly long book, and was fairly easy reading. If you read this book, don't overlook the footnotes, the often contain little gems of humor that add to the story.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

by Mark Haddon

--

Originally posted at: http://rebeccasmiscellanies.blogspot.com/

52:2 Grandma turns 89

This lady is a treasure in my life. My grandma turned 89 this week, and I'm so grateful to have her. She brings love, laughter and sweetness to my life. I love you, Grandma!

--
Originally posted at: http://rebeccasmiscellanies.blogspot.com/

Perfectly captured

I love this photo of me, and since that almost never happens... I had to share it. That's all.

--

Originally posted at: http://rebeccasmiscellanies.blogspot.com/

Yummy Chunky Tomato Soup

OK, so week one - or should I say the first seven days? - of my New Year's resolution went very well... I lost 5 pounds this week. WOW. Guess it really paid off to drag myself to the gym and eat very very healthy food. :)

On another good note, just when I thought I was going to have to give up comfort food forever in favor of vegetables, I opened the pantry and made a really yummy tomato soup.

Chunky Tomato Soup

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes

1 can (10.75 oz) condensed tomato soup

1 can (the small one) skim milk

1 tsp Italian seasoning

Heat. Serve. Enjoy healthy comfort food.

--
Originally posted at: http://rebeccasmiscellanies.blogspot.com/

52:1 Disneyland

Ahhh, Mickey. You and I have become such good friends this year. Sadly, I must say goodbye for a while, but don't worry... it's just a good bye for now, I'll be back soon.

--
Originally posted at: http://rebeccasmiscellanies.blogspot.com/

52 Week Project

In the digital scrapbooking world, there was lots and lots of buzz at the New Year, people who were boldy striving to document 2010 with a "365 project," taking at least one photo every day for an entire year. That sounds really cool, I thought... and about a millisecond later I realized that taking a photo every day is just not a realistic goal for me.

Then my friend Kristin (she's a San Diego Photographer and her work is a-ma-zing! go check her out!) posted that she was starting a 52-week project, posting one photo per week for a year. Hmmmm, I thought. I could do that. Especially since I have a cool new phone with a camera and web access.

I'm going to go look through my photos from this week and find one to post.

--
Originally posted at: http://rebeccasmiscellanies.blogspot.com/

No more New Year's resolutions

I never do very well at New Year's resolutions, so this year I'm trying something different: daily resolutions. Maybe not every day. Maybe a lot of days the resolution will be the same as the day before or last Tuesday or every day for the last month. So what. Today will be different because I will resolve to do something that will better my life.

Starting with... I'm going to take action today that will help me lose weight and be healthier. I joined Weight Watchers in September of 2007. A year ago, after 15 months, I'd lost 55 pounds. Wow. Very impressive. Today, after 27 months, I've gained 25 back. UGH!!!! (There are just no pretty words to describe that!!) From today, I want to lose 52 pounds. But I know that I will be completely overwhelmed by trying to lose 52 pounds. So for this week, I'm going to try to lose 1 pound.

Today, to work towards that goal, I'm going to to to the gym and eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables. And I'm going to try and make the rest of the Christmas cookies last longer than 5 minutes.

--
Originally posted at: http://rebeccasmiscellanies.blogspot.com/