30 down!

When I stepped on the scale this morning, I was greeted by a wonderful number: 176. That means I am officially down 30 pounds since I went gluten free on May 27, 2014. (Twenty-eight of these pounds have come off since I started THM in December ... I did lose and gain about five pounds a few times between May and December, but the weight loss didn't really begin until THM.)

Who-hoo!!!!!!!!!!

Not only is this an awesome milestone, but it represents something even bigger. Back in 2010 when I started having gallbladder problems, I lost a little weight. As a motivator for myself, I bought a TV series on DVD that I really wanted ... and then promised myself I wouldn't watch it until I lost 30 pounds. At the time, I thought it would take maybe a year ... but then I started feeling better and eating worse, and I began to wonder if I would ever get to pull those DVDs out of the box.

But finally, today is that day!

The funny thing is, Sports Night doesn't hold that much of an attraction to me right now ... but I'm still going to watch an episode to celebrate!

Here's to the next 30!!!

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a mother's day at home

First of all, let me be clear: I appreciate the sentiment behind Mother's Day, just as I appreciate the sentiment behind Father's Day. I think it's important to honor those who raised us, who prayed and cried over us, who sacrificed for us in ways we'll never fully understand.

I just don't like that Mother's Day is on a Sunday. If I wasn't a churchgoing Christian, the day that Mother's Day falls on probably wouldn't matter. But going to church on Mother's Day when you yourself don't have children can be hard.

I didn't really comprehend this until four years ago. That day, I walked into church, not even realizing that it was Mother's Day ... until two well-meaning greeters wished me "Happy Mother's Day" on my way into the sanctuary. I blogged about it then, so I don't need to rehash it all here. Let's just say that I realized then how difficult Mother's Day can be for the single woman, the woman struggling with infertility, the woman who no longer has custody of her children, and on and on and on.

My Mother's Day church attendance has been hit or miss since that day. Even though I normally am fine with not being a mother, and I actually enjoy my single, childless existence, something about being wished a Happy Mother's Day has a tendency to make me feel less than ... less than normal, less than chosen, less than loved. I know those are all lies that Satan wants me to believe about myself. I know that I am special, I am chosen, and I am loved by the King of Kings, and today of all days, I need to cling to that truth!

So I decided to suck it up, be a big girl, and go to church today. To smile at anyone who happened to wish me a Happy Mother's Day. To worship God with my chosen body of believers.

And then my car wouldn't start.

I had to laugh. It's almost as if God was telling me not to worry about today, to enjoy my morning and then celebrate my own mother.

So that's exactly what I intend to do!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! (photo by Dad)

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five friday favorites #17: week of may 1, 2015

Happy Friday, everyone! This hasn't been a particularly great week for me--I came down with a cold last Saturday, and I'm still fighting it. A silver lining, though: since I've felt pretty terrible all week, I haven't been in the mood to read or work on my editing project much (and honestly, I'm not sure my brain could even have handled either one after eight hours at the office), so I've spent my spare time with mindless entertainment. Namely, Baby Daddy. It's completely hilarious ... due in large part to Tahj Mowry's Tucker. Tucker is the best friend and roommate of Ben, the titular baby daddy. And he is so, so funny. But, as much as I enjoyed binge watching Baby Daddy this week, it's not one of my Friday Favorites. These are ...

1. Let It Be Jesus
I recently had the opportunity to review Christy Nockels' new live album, Let It Be Jesus. It's so, so good, you guys! I've been listening to it practically non-stop. (I do tend to get a bit obsessive about my listening choices when I find something I love!)

Also, I'm able to give away a digital copy of the album to one of my blog readers! So head on over to my review and enter! Entries are low, and the giveaway runs through Saturday. Good luck!

2. Being Overweight
Sounds odd, right? A Friday Favorite is being overweight??? Well, in this case, it is! Because for me, being overweight signals that I'm no longer classified as obese. Two weeks ago, I officially rolled over into the overweight category with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30.0. Then last week, I dropped into the 170s. I think the last time I weighed in the 170s was junior high--which was 20 years ago! Only three pounds to go before I'm 30 pounds lighter than I was when I started this gluten free journey nearly a year ago.

3. Full House reboot
Surely you've heard about this by now, right? Netflix is bringing back Full House as Fuller House, which will focus on a newly-widowed D.J. raising her boys ... and Kimmy and Stephanie move in to help her.

At first, I was outraged when I read that D.J. was recently widowed. How could they kill off Steve??? Except they didn't. D.J.'s dearly departed husband's last name was Fuller (hence the Fuller House), and Steve's last name was Hale. So apparently Steve and D.J.'s series finale reunion didn't stick ... and this gives the lovebirds a second chance (hopefully). This tweet from Scott Weinger (Steve, as well as the voice of Aladdin) gives me hope:

I'm touched by everybody's concern for Steve's welfare. All I can say is, things are in the works for your favorite over-eater! #FullHouse
— Scott Weinger (@ScottWeinger) April 21, 2015

4. Being an INSPY Judge
Never heard of the INSPYs? Neither had I, until about a year ago. The INSPYs were, according to their website, "created by bloggers to discover and highlight the very best in literature that grapples with expressions of the Christian faith." Readers nominate the books, the INSPY advisory board creates a shortlist of five books in each category, and then judges select the winners. On a whim, I applied to be a judge this year, and I was selected! I'll be judging the Contemporary Romance/Romantic Suspense category along with two other bloggers. The shortlist was announced yesterday, and, while I can't specifically comment on any of the books until after the winners are selected, let me just say that I am super excited to get reading! You can meet the judges here and see all the shortlisted books here.

5. Against the Grain

I adopted a gluten free lifestyle almost a year ago, and it has helped so much with my health issues. I recently reviewed a gluten free cookbook called Against the Grain, and it is full of fantastic gluten free recipes ... without weird ingredients. If you're gluten free, you should definitely check it out!

Thanks for stopping by! I'm linking up with the usuals: Erika, Karli, and April.

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