Brown do for me???

William! William! William! That's the name of our Team Brown guy UPS said was assigned to deliver the Weider.

Okay, my dear friend was blessed for her patience with an answered prayer; so I am not about to blow mine (patience or blessing) now. But check this out -

• Thursday UPS tracking reported our package was out for delivery. The giant stayed home and waited. In response to the husband's call, the center stated it wasn't on the truck; they'd have it put on that night and it would be delivered the next day.
• Friday, UPS tracking reported our package was out; would definitely be delivered. The giant stayed home and waited - didn't happen; possibly, they stated, wasn't even on the truck.
• package dropped at front door with no indication of delivery although the giant was there, package box marked fragile is damaged, parts falling out of it. William!?!!! Okay, *sigh*!.

So now UPS (you think it will happen today as stated?) is picking up the package - they wanted us to repackage it - responded "this is what you delivered; this is what you pick up". Costco, who we purchased it through (and for an excellent price), has already arranged for it to be replaced.

So, we wait; but I'm still excited! Meanwhile, I'm watching what I eat and, by the way, that weight gain spurt I mentioned is going down. God is good!

Berry Delightful Recipe

this dessert just in from Texas! Thanks to the Eldest!

it's easy to make, quick, and delicious. you can throw it in the oven when people come over and seem like martha stewart. if you keep berries in the freezer, you'll almost always have the ingredients for this yummy last minute dessert.

1-2 (16oz) bags of frozen mixed berries
pour them in a pie pan
pour approx. 1/3 cup of sugar over them
then sprinkle lightly w/ cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice
then in a separate bowl mix [1/2 stick of butter, 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar] until crumbly
pour crumbly mix in pan
bake at 350 until golden brown and somewhat crisp

goes well with vanilla ice cream

I just happen to have an assortment of berries in the freezer!

Weider to lose or not to lose; that is the question ...

ok, the Weider is not here. The Team Brown promised it Thursday; but no. And then Friday; but no. Still its okay. It would have been a great time to have it put together; but, as it ended up, I was not up to starting the program. So, God willing, it will arrive tomorrow. And as I mentioned, the garage is clean. Salvation Army is picking up on Wednesday, and the rest not thrown away as sheer junk is going to the Agape House or to some friends that make trips to Mexico to help children there. It is a good thing we are doing.

But today, right now, I'm putting myself out there. This morning my weight was 203.6. Yes, there's no typo there, sadly. I'm pretty tired of looking at myself. No, I'm not here to whine. I'm here to do something about it and, win or lose, I'm going to be honest. I have made a goal to lose 20 pounds. When I made the goal (last week) my starting weight was 193.9. So ... obviously I'm not heading in the right direction currently and my goal has increased. However, one of the factors is let's say a cyclical hormonal thing, so I truly expect it to cycle down next week; we'll see.

Anyways, I've secured the Ace to be my accountability buddy; we'll do that mutually. She's honest and encouraging and works in the health industry. Sometimes people compete - make bets and such - and while that can be highly motivating, I think this way is less stressful. It's similar to independent study rather than a 'race'. As such, I don't currently have a deadline, only a determination to meet the goal. I tried to make that goal reasonably attainable so as to not have it be self-defeating. Obviously, I need to lose more than 20 pounds; but I'm making this a step project. God deals with us that way - from glory to glory to glory. The idea is to work out and lose weight and incorporate better eating habits as I go along. I've mentioned that this is my most favored means of exercise, although I didn't mention that I love swimming which is an excellent non-stress form of recreation. Still, currently I don't have the means to take advantage of that form. Sooo ... its Weider time!

The Google page offers add-ons from which I chose The Google 15, a means in which I can track my weight. Currently it is telling me Danger! You're heading away from your goal! Although the plan is to weigh in every day for the most part, I will post an average which the program provides. It helps you visualize and keep track of your progress - it has a chart even. I made the initial measurement 1/17. The average one week ago was 194.3. Let me just say that a daily weigh-in can be counter productive and I'm not concentrating on those numbers, but rather the average. But the better gauge I will be paying attention to is inches - that will be the most telling. Weight gain (not in this case) can be due to fat decrease / muscle build among other things. Muscles weigh more than fat. However, if true body improvement is taking place the inches will tell the story and gradually the weight will correspond.

The plan is to workout on the home gym and the exercise bike and improve my eating habits. Not only should I lose weight, but I should improve my blood pressure and cholesterol, my overall physical health and stamina, and possibly abate any hereditary diabetes. So begins my weight loss journey. I solicit your support and prayers along the way.

'What can Brown do for me'? Deliver! ;-)

Being a film aficionado, Holy Week is not without some good watches. Here, in no paraticular order, is a list of possibilities (check the ratings for family viewing):

• Rugrats - Easter
• Easter Parade aka "Irving Berlin's Easter Parade" On the day before Easter in 1911, Don Hewes is crushed when his dancing partner (and object of affection) Nadine Hale refuses to start a new contract with him. To prove Nadine's not important to him, Don acquires innocent new protegee Hannah Brown, vowing to make her a star in time for next year's Easter parade.
• VeggieTales - An Easter Carol The theme is the founding of the state of Israel.
• The Easter Story Keepers
• Ben-Hur When a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
• The Greatest Story Ever Told The life of Jesus Christ
• "Jesus of Nazareth" depiction of the life of Christ using the Gospel accounts
• King of Kings the Bible story unfolds through the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
• The Robe tribune in the time of Christ in charge of the group that is assigned to crucify Jesus wins Jesus' homespun robe after the crucifixion. Tormented after the event, still not believing in Jesus, he returns to Palestine to and learn what he can of the man he killed
• The Ten Commandments he Egyptian Prince, Moses, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people.
• Exodus The theme is the founding of the state of Israel.
• The Animated Passion Trilogy
• He Is Risen the greatest miracle of all, the resurrection of Jesus (interactive)
• When Do We Eat? A family's Passover
• The Silver Chalice A Greek artisan is commissioned to cast the cup of Christ in silver and sculpt around its rim the faces of the disciples and Jesus himself.
• From the Manger to the Cross (1912) the life of Jesus Christ, based on the books of the New Testament
• I Beheld His Glory (1953) (TV) the centurion who presided over Christ's crucifixion
• Spartacus The slave Spartacus leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman empire.
• The Passion of the Christ detailing the final hours and crucifixion of Jesus Christ - April 7th on TMC 8pm, 10pm)
• Quo Vadis (1951) a general meets a Christian and gets Emperor Nero to give her to him for services rendered. Meanwhile Nero's atrocities get more outrageous; when he burns Rome and blames the Christians, Nero captures them and all the Christians to throw them to the Lions
• Barabba (1961) Barabbas, the criminal they set free so that Christ could be crucified, is haunted by the ghost of the prophet for the rest of his life.
• Gospel Road: A Story of Jesus (1973) Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, which was shot on location in Israel - Johnny Cash appears in, narrates and performs a number of original songs.
• The Prince of Egypt An Egyptian prince learns of his identity as a Hebrew and, later his destiny to become the chosen deliverer of his people
• Lilies of the Field - strict mother superior believes that someone has been sent by God to build a much needed church in the desert. (my favorite even though its relation has nothing to do with the week in particular).
  

I sense a marathon; hmmm...

Brown picked up!

okay - we're making progress!

Living Large with Little

It is encouraging to watch the Kids (the eldest and her husband) make their life together, riding through the storms of health, finance, moving, stressful schedules of school or work - they grow stronger all along the way. They just became homeowners of a 'fixer-upper' proudly struggling with all the surprises behind the once secured door. Oh, the water heater doesn't work; oh, the flooring allowance is a pittance compared to what is needed; oh, I really didn't need the car to break down now; oh the money for the refrigerator coming from the payoff of a credit card disappeared into the top end of the house financing itself; oh, that's where the bugs go when you fumigate. But hey, they have gotten their degrees at UCLA (fight, fight, fight!), survived apartment living in 'the Jungle', moved out of state, employment adjustments; and they have remained humble (guess that was inevitable - smirk) and thoroughly enjoyable people with an enviable host of caring, 'come-through' friends. I don't hear them gripe, whine, or see them give-up - and beyond their human-ness, they keep praying, keep planning, keep pushing forward, keep communicating, and counting their blessings. They're like that drill on Armageddon, they just keep pushin' their way through to the target. They're are one of mine (blessings) and a source of encouragement in my own trials. No matter how little they have, they make much of it. Such beautiful memories they are making store of.

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34

The son-in-law has a birthday this month - and well let me just say I am proud of him and so glad they found each other. He's OK and has performed a KO on her heart and, as the song says, 'nobody does it better'; no one came close; he's no Ishmael or pretender to the throne. So Son as you look upon these day, hold you head up high and be proud. You're a good man Charlie Brown in heroic porportions and we love you. Eldest, when it comes to you, words run to the farthest regions of the Netherlands. I was saying just tonight, 'the tangible can be taken away, but the intangible - you cant touch this'. Eldest, I love you and I am so proud. May the Lord continue to bless you, and all who care for you while you are so far away. Hugz to you Kids-MJ (together they are MJ, Superman's sweetheart in the movie) - a love of heroic porportions!

P.S. they make me think of the dear dahli lama family - oh to be young again *smile*

merry malaise molasses

my taste in Christmas music is indicative of my celebration. Along with the traditional carols which I really enjoy singing and playing (whether I'm really good at either ;-)), these are some songs I I truly love too:

• "Where Are You, Christmas?" How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• "Christmas Don't Be Late" A Chipmunk Christmas
  
• "Christmas Time Is Here" A Charlie Brown Christmas

nearly all of the selections from Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol including:

• "The Lord's Bright Blessing"

but I especially love the one my sister (and later the eldest) and I used to sing all the time

• "When You're Alone"

If you listen to most of them, you know the music is a tangent from the usual Christmas sounds. I know it doesn't make any sense but, along with the Reason, I love the bittersweet, happy endings, hope of the Season. Silly sappy me!

into February ...

A week into February - where did the time go? Life has been a many splendored thing!

• Well, thank you Brown, the package has finally arrived to stay - today! It wasn't in the best of condition, this delivery; but workable - so it gets to stay. The husband is at home and maybe the giant too - I wonder if it'll be put together by the time I get home. The giant didn't get the job from the last interview, but has some more set up - keep him in prayer. The floor is matted. The exercise bike is in place. And today I am a pound less than last week. It's time to step up the program!
• The 9/80 work week started and is going pretty well. I had my first Friday off last week. I used it to wait for people like housecleaners, service people, and school principals - oh joy. But more progress was made on the garage - and more things given to Goodwill and the Agape House. The next day off will be a 4-day weekend as the following Monday is a holiday - how kewl!
• The husband has wooed me to dinner a few times - we have patronized Tony Roma's again and also went to Chili's. At Tony's my eyes were so much larger than my stomach. I brought half of those ribs home.
  At Chili's I just love their Chicken Crispers. Again, I think the effects of working toward weight loss was reflected, as I couldn't begin to consume all of the food. But this time maybe it was because I over-ordered ;-). With a main course you can get a side of ribs for $5.99. Who could resist that? And then those onion blossoms! I couldn't even order their delicious mexican eggrolls sigh. But the good news is I dutifully packed up a lot of my meal for take home and dined on it over the rest of the week. Still maybe those bump ups on my weight loss progress chart are for a reason ...
  
• We had our annual superbowl party complete with tossing penalty flags into the middle of the floor and replete with food. And yet again, I did very well - one small plate of food even though I, yes me, made a dish myself - chicken nachos (recipe forthcoming). I was for the Colts, so very happy with the day's outcome.
• We must give homage to the youngest's godfather (picturing Marlon Brando in my head), a dear friend of ours - Happy Birthday Andre!
• Other dear friends of ours had an anniversary - Congratulations Aaron and Jody!
• The husband and I sensed a need to request a change for the youngest one's teacher. He had and absolutely wonderful teacher, Mrs. Zappe, in kindergarten. In 1st grade, Mr. Ferguson continued to challenge and stimulate him. But we are noticing signs of discouragement in the 2nd grade and not because the work is too hard. So after the principal did not return my 2 phone calls and a subsequent conversation I did have with the teacher (after 2 emails), dad took over the reigns and carried the baton from mom. They met today and if there is no improvement for the youngest, it'll be pressed even without relenting.
• The family room is getting a face lift - along with the TV the husband has been long wanting (no not a plasma!), I on the other had was able to adorn it with a lovely entertainment center. He was able to take advantage of 'after the bowl savings' and I snagged a no longer to be carried item before it disappeared into oblivion for a remarkable price that was only available until midnight the evening I spotted it. The wonders of the internet - I could still snatch it up even though the hour was late. It is now scheduled for delivery.

That's enough for a week into February; isn't it?

christmas gems

I may have been down this road already, but if so, I find myself here again.

One of the Christmas programs I once enjoyed was a remake of It's a Wonderful Life with Marlo Thomas, It happened One Christmas; she's the Jimmy Stewart (Orson Welles, Wayne Rogers). It was a long time ago, but I still remember the enjoyment. Here's an interesting take on the 'Wonderful Life' movies. Another one I thought was special is 'The Gift of the Magi', a story by O'Henry, which if I remember correctly is about a poor newly married couple and what they choose to give each other for Christmas. Very touching. The Gift of Love is a version with Marie Osmond and Timothy Bottoms.

Always endearing is the story of appreciating a sorry little Christmas tree in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Christmas Time is Here from that movie is unique and one of my favorite songs of the season, just above Alvin and the Chipmunks'. And just because I read everything Louisa May Alcott growing up, I love Little Women with Winona Ryder. They represent everything family.

A good story about our Christmas shopping nature is "Jingle All the Way" (our governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sinbad). Another film, that of life's ironies, set at Christmas time is Trading Places (Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche, Denholm Elliott) - the wiki summary says "the basic plot is very similar to the Three Stooges 1935 short film Hoi Polloi. Like the Stooges' film, Trading Places was one of many adaptations of Mark Twain's 1882 story of The Prince and the Pauper, a tale of two 16th century boys who share a striking resemblance but inhabit very different stations in society".

A very nice oldie is "The Bishop's Wife" (Cary Grant, Loretta Young - my mom used to watch her television show every weekday at 4pm; hers and "The Mike Douglas Show" - and David Niven), the precursor to The Preacher's Wife (Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Courtney B. Vance, Gregory Hines, Jenifer Lewis, Loretta Devine). Finally, while I am not a supporter of the fantasy, a memorable one in true Christmas tradition is "Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus" (Richard Thomas, Edward Asner, Charles Bronson.

Here's a wiki list of Christmas movies well worth reviewing; you might have some of these in your library. Here's a take on several Christmas movies.

May your holiday be full of memories and movie reminiscing. May the reason for the season shine bright in all you do. May God's peace and love be warmly around you. Be blessed. Merry Christmas!