Mt. Pilot

On Saturday, the youth from church went on a day trip to Mt. Pilot, and then on to Mt. Airy, the town where Andy Griffith was raised, and on which the Andy Griffith Show was based. Because I like so many of the pictures, I'm going to post them in two parts, starting with the hike at Mt. Pilot. It was a great day of fellowship, with a bit of hiking, a bit of sight-seeing, and lots of laughter. It was a rather small group, with many of our non-GBC teens there and our GBC teens not there, which gave us a really good chance to get to know the newbies and have fun with them in a relaxed atmosphere. It was actually planned for the junior high, high school, and college and career group, which is why you'll see such a broad age range in the group shot(plus a couple of kiddos along for the day).

The whole group

You have to appreciate a good photo bomb. My life- long friend, Kristie, jumped in without my knowing it. I tried to pay her back later in the day, but her attempt was much better than mine.

And then this happened: another great picture that one of our highschoolers says pretty much sums up the two of us

And there was a great little seat up in the rocks

And a fuzzy caterpillar enjoying the view

Pa-le-ohhhh

So, my attempt to be more organized with my time has me out the door early, making phone and Skype calls from the coffee shop down the street. This has been my office five days a week ever since I returned to the States, but in an attempt to cut my budget, I was staying home this past month. Here's the conundrum that I face, however: stay home and get less done, but save $15 a week, OR get to the coffee shop, spend the $15 a week on drip coffee, and get more done. I've decided that I need to return to my more efficient ways, so I've returned to the coffee shop. I just can't get stuff done at home, because I get too distracted!

So here's a quick Paleo update. Yep, I'm still doing that crazy "diet," eating that crazy way: meat, veggies, fruit, and nuts; very little sugars other than from fruit, and when I do, it's honey or maple syrup, or 85% dark chocolate. I had read that your body will get to a certain point where it just stops losing weight and then you have to switch things up. I lost a steady 5-6 lbs. per month for 11 months, and am grateful for that, but have been on a plateau since April, and am tired of it. Though I'm very pleased with all the progress I've made, and am super active and in good shape now, I've still got 15 pounds to go to get into the "normal" weight category for my height, and would like to get a safe 10 pounds under that. That would put me at 135 pounds. Yep, I just told you what I want to weigh, and if you do the math....what I weigh now, and what I weighed before I started down this path. =-) And I'm not a bit ashamed of my current weight, because I've worked super hard to get to this point. And yes, for those who get concerned about my goals being unreasonable: Yes, a fair amount of my weight now is muscle weight. I get that. I cycle a ton, swim 3-4 hours a week, do 1-2 hours of Zumba a week, and have just added in a bit of running(Shocker! I never thought THAT would happen- haha). So, yes, I've got muscle. But....I've still got fat, too, and a bit more than I need to have.

Soo, what do you do when you hit a plateau and stay there? Ugh, you have to resort to the very terrible thing called calorie counting. I've not counted a single calorie during any part of this journey(Paleo discourages it). However, when you've got nothing else you can cut out of your diet(no soda, no ice-cream, no junk food, nothing), you've got to do something. So I've begun the arduous task of counting those calories. And I admit that I counted very carefully last week....and not so wonderfully this week. It's just Soooo hard when I'm exercising this much, and my body is telling me to replenish, replenish!!!! It kind of screams at me some times, so it's a bit of a balancing act until I get it figured out. But, I'm still loving this way of eating. I'll say it over and over again, "It's not a 'Diet' in the way that people now think of that word. It's a way of life, not a diet to lose weight. I don't plan on hitting 135 and then reverting to processed, high sugar foods. I plan on eating this way from now on out. My body feels so much better, free from the indigestion and bloating that gluten foods bring, and the crazy drainage and sinus problems that come with dairy. Do I eat foods containing those on occasion? Sure! And I enjoy them. But they won't and can't be a regular part of my daily food choices, because they're not good for my body or for me. So for now, I'll sacrifice, and instead of having one avocado in my salad, I'll just have half of one, and instead of putting nuts on top of everything and in everything, I'll choose to eat my nuts after workouts, and I'll be a tad more careful about how much coconut milk I pour into my coffee. ;-) I still get to eat great, and be healthy, which is what this journey is about, right? My body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and I want this temple to be in tip, top shape, so that it can be used to its utmost for His glory. As my mentor says, "Self care enables you to better care for others."

I LOVE banana pancakes!! 2 eggs, one banana, 1 tbsp, almond meal(you can do it w/out, but it helps it flip better), and pumpkin pie spice. Yum!

An absolutely amazing creation: coconut milk, tomatoes, spinach, garlic, bellpeppers, smoked turkey, cajun seasoning, and Hungarian Paprika. So good!!

Pumpkin! I love that Fall is here and with it comes pumpkins. And pumpkins are yummy! Most people consider this a decoration, but it's a member of the gourd family, and quite tasty! I made a yummy dinner the other night of onion, apple, chicken sausage, spinach, and pumpkin puree on top. I can't wait for pumpkin pancakes this Saturday, and roasted pumpkin. Yummo!

September's almost over!

So, I just realized that I haven't written on here in a month. Oops. I think I said that last time, also. A month ago, the family that I nannied for before moving to Ukraine asked me to help them out on a temporary basis. Because I was really wanting to get the road bike I've been saving for, I agreed to help them for a couple of months. Basically, their girls are in ballet six days a week, and they need someone to meet the girls at the bus stop, work on homework, and take them to ballet. They only need help four days a week, at a max of two hours each afternoon. That sounded reasonable to me........and yet, it's been quite a challenge. Though most of my Skype calls are over by the time I leave to meet the girls, there were other things that I was doing during those two hours, that now has to be shifted to other times in the day. Honestly, the adjustment has been a little rougher than I thought it would be. Then there were two Thursday through Sunday trips to the beach, which completely threw me off schedule: a JV and Varsity Retreat, and the Ladies' Retreat. Just adding in that one seemingly little schedule addition is forcing me to think through my scheduling of events much better. Thankfully, the time change will happen soon and I can get out to get my exercise done earlier. I joined the YMCA at the beginning of Sept. to be able to alternate between cycling and swimming days, so I ride my bike to the Y and then swim for around an hour, or I head out on a 20 or so mile ride. After I get home and get cleaned up and eat, I begin my Skype calls, and am usually finishing those up right as it's time to head to the girls. I'm still working my way through the "funding Your Ministry" book, and am busy formulating a workable plan for raising more support. And yes, I know I said I'd write about the joys of support raising- I still plan on doing that. With Zumba, cycling, swimming, mentoring, Varsity(and all the activities that go with it), I'm definitely needing to get myself thoroughly adjusted to this change in schedule, and make sure that I'm not short changing any of the missionaries that I keep in regular contact with. Actually, I think it's good, because it's forcing me to be very organized and to prioritize my days. Before, I could shift things around easily, but now I've got to really stick to a plan in order to get everything into each day. And though it's taking me a little while to adjust, I'm glad that I can help them out for a while, and ultimately, be able to purchase my new bike without going into debt!

JV/Varsity Fall Retreat. We had a great four days of fun, fellowship, and studying John Eldridge's book, "Epic." There were actually more leaders there than kids, but we're super excited about this year's group of JV and Varsity students, and getting to disciple them and be a part of their lives.