weight watchers vlog #2

it's that time again! kate and i recorded another vlog to talk about weight watchers... this time we're covering dining out and snacks.



in the video we reference a site we use to find the point values of foods at some of our favorite restaurants. it's called exercise4weightloss.com and i find it SO useful! in fact as i was browsing today i noticed that they have the points for rita's water ice... a must have for the summertime!

we talked a bit about snacks but i feel like i should share some more of my "go-to's." i love love love applesauce and since i buy the all-natural, no sugar added version, i consider it free. sprinkle some cinnamon on top and yum! i buy the small pre-packaged cups and use it as a side to my lunches regularly! i also love having a wedge of laughing cow cheese (garlic herb is my favorite) with some reduced-fat triscuits (1pt for the cheese, 3 for 7 triscuits). i especially love having that alongside some progresso light soup. they have points plus values on the can which is super convenient! my snacks aren't always super healthy either... i like chocolate just as much as the next gal so i always keep a stash of some type of hershey's chocolate. currently it's mini kit-kats and reese's cups and they're in my freezer. at 2pts each it's a great way to get my fix!

i think i go in cycles with my snacking. i like something for a couple weeks and then i switch out to something else. quaker has these great mini rice cakes called "quakes" and they're pretty good if you're into rice cakes. i also like the little debbie 100-calorie nutty bars. gives me that chocolate-peanut butter goodness. animal crackers are actually reasonably low and satisfy my "crunch" craving... i think you can have about 16 or so for only 3 points which isn't too bad.

so those are some more tips from me that aren't included on the video but i just wanted to share for anyone out there who is looking for some new ideas! and if you have any other dining out or snacking tips then feel free to pass them along.

hope you're all having a great week!

 

social network ramblings

i took a break from facebook for lent. my motivations weren't completely holy and righteous. in all honesty i was overwhelmed at the time with all that was happening in my life and i realized how important my privacy was to me. i had no idea how to begin telling people or who to tell and the thought of my business being put out on facebook sent me over the edge. it was then that i realized lent was about to begin and so i decided to give up facebook. for the most part it was an easy decision, but at the same time difficult, knowing how many people i would disconnect with.

on sunday night i reactivated my facebook account and then proceeded to delete about 170 of my "friends." funny that facebook chooses to word it like that. friends? really? since when are people from high school (who never talked to me then) considered friends? i just find it interesting. i guess my perspective has changed a lot and maybe i'm a bit jaded, but it's where i'm at. i just realize that facebook is an excuse to be nosy and dig into the lives of people you would otherwise have no business digging into. now, don't get me wrong here... i realize the benefits of facebook and i love it for the ways it allows me to keep in touch with actual friends around the world and family members who i don't get to see often. i'm not referring to that. i just know that for me, right now in this stage of life, i want to keep that space a bit more private and reserved for those i do feel close to.

i realize that this might sound completely contradictory considering the fact that i have a blog that anyone in the world has access to... and if people stumble across it then so be it. i know what i'm putting out there and that i might be surprised to actually know who reads. in fact, i've been surprised by the number of people who found out what's been happening in my life because of my blog. people i had no idea read... you know who you are! haha! so comment once in a while would ya?

i don't know where i'm going with this post. it has been weird though... being back on facebook... changing my "engaged" relationship status and then deleting the post from my feed so people don't notice. ugh. honestly i've felt so dirty since being back on. does that sound weird? yeah, probably. it's hard to explain. i just don't wanna get sucked back into the vortex of it. i've enjoyed my extra time from being off it and i know jesus has, too since it meant more time for him. man, sometimes i have things so backwards.

so that's where i'm at with all of that.

no easter recap for me. it was a beautiful day, but also a really hard one for me for a number of reasons. i spent several hours of it crying, but thank God for good friends and family who were there to listen. life is hard sometimes and it's ok to admit that. sometimes even freeing.

lost another pound and a half this week which means i'm at 27lbs total. can't wait to cross that 30lb threshhold. hoo to the ray.

grace and peace,

 

my life verses

i want to share with you about an experience i had that has changed my life and the way i see myself. this is very personal to me, but something i want to share. i don't expect everyone to fully understand so i'll share it as best as i can.

last fall i spent some time praying with my pastor's wife stefanie, who also happens to be a very dear friend of mine. i was lamenting on how i was struggling with my purpose and who i was supposed to be. i had this picture of myself as a cardboard box sitting on a shelf in a grocery store just waiting to be "chosen." i shared that with her and she thought it made a lot of sense given what i was feeling. i've always tried to fit myself into what others want me to be or need me to be. it's like i'm saying, "oh you need 'such-and-such'? yeah i can be that!" or "you need 'this kind of person'? i'm your girl!" so rather than letting who i am dictate what i do, i'm letting what i do dictate who i am.

we prayed for a while that day and stef encouraged me to ask God who he says i am. i'm a firm believer that God speaks to us in many ways- visions, dreams, words, etc. he spoke very clearly to my heart that day and showed me a beautiful oak tree standing on a hillside. no, that can't be me i thought right away. in his gentle way the Father assured me that indeed it was. i shared that with stef, who thought that was amazing. she quickly asked me, "susan? what are boxes made of?" 

"cardboard," i replied.

"and what is cardboard?"

now the words came tumbling out so quickly, "cardboard is made from wood... from trees... that have been cut down and choppped up and hard pressed... and OH MY GOSH!"

it all came together so fast. i was meant to be an oak tree and i had allowed myself to become a cardboard box... a twisted version of my original design. a box has no roots to keep it standing during a storm. a box has no shady branches to comfort others. i'm not supposed to be a box! it might sound crazy, but in that moment so many things came together for me.

stef opened up her bible and began to read from isaiah 61. as she read it the words were just jumping off the pages and my heart was crying, "yes! yes!" i knew that this was my calling. isaiah 61 speaks of justice and restoration and joy... and the end of verse 3 says "they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor." God has called me to be an oak tree for the display of HIS splendor. not so that others will look at me and say, "wow look how great Susan is," but rather, "wow look at what God has done/is doing/will do in Susan!" all for his glory! that is the cry of my heart. to point others to the all-consuming, irrefutable, undeniable love of God. to withstand the testing, to remain strong on the windiest of days, to be rooted deeply in the knowledge of God.

ever since that day God has shown me over and over again that this is who i am. that these are my life verses. the sunday after that revelation stef was sharing at church. she opened up her bible and an oak leaf fell out. she stopped what she was doing and handed it to me excitedly. she had been given that leaf weeks prior at a conference, stuck it in her bible and forgotten about it. i love when God works like that. it was just another confirmation that i had indeed heard from him and that's how it's been ever since.

like this morning.

i subscribe to a daily devotion called "girlfriends in God." it gets emailed to me every day and it's a great reminder to stop and take time to reflect. this morning it was about how we are the bride of christ and this paragraph stopped me in my tracks:

In Isaiah 61:3, the prophet describes what God will do for the Bride of Christ. He will bestow on her a crown of beauty instead of ashes, anoint her with the oil of gladness instead of mourning and place on her shoulders a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Are you feeling brokenhearted because of broken dreams? Have you been in mourning because your dream of being a bride has not turned out like you had hoped? God desires to blow away the ashes and place the crown of a royal bride on your head. So lift your head dear one, and accept your crown from the King of Kings.

there it was again. a reference to isaiah 61 and completely relatable to where i am today. i love when God does that! when he meets us right where we are and speaks exactly what our heart needs to hear. this is the God we serve. one who longs to comfort us in our pain and rejoice in our victories- alongside us. what a privilege and an honor!

be blessed today,