Libby’s Lines

Ok. I don’t like salmon patties… until now.

Had some leftover salmon (oh, and I don’t care for leftovers either) and Tim (who doesn’t really care for salmon) likes salmon patties, so thought I’d make some for lunch. Here’s the recipe:

12 -14 oz. salmon fillets, crumbled
1 egg
2 T. Mayo
1/4 c. bread crumbs
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. onion powder
3/4 t. Old Bay Seasoning
Olive oil

Heat olive oil in frying pan over medium heat. Scoop salmon mixture (I used an ice cream scoop) into pan and slightly flatten to patty shape. Cook 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden on each side. Remove from pan and serve. I made a quick aioli sauce to go with it.

Aioli
Equal parts Mayo and Sour Cream mixed with one of our hot sauces (Peri Peri) and a little salt. Not traditional, but yummy with the salmon.

Enjoy!

I know I don’t keep up with this on a regular basis and I’m not even going to promise to try this time.

This new year started off with a bang for our family: Tim and I both contracted the flu and it is taking a bit of time to completely get over it, and this past week Tim was laid off from his job. Pretty scary, right?

Not really. We’ve been here before under worse circumstances. A few years ago, he was laid off from a job that hadn’t even been making payroll for a few months. Then, it was difficult finding a new job in the area, so we had to relocate. In short, over a period of 6 months: there was no income, we relocated, our oldest came down with pneumonia, Thanksgiving, started new jobs (each of us) that didn’t pay until 6 weeks after starting. At the time of relocating, we had no funds left - period.

Now? This time? We have been saving and making better financial decisions over the past 3 years and this allows us a little freedom to not worry so much about this most recent “set-back”. As well, I believe that Tim and I, and our boys have grown in faith over the past few years. And while we must do our part and be responsible in taking the right steps to take care of our family, we also know that as long as we do what we need to, everything will be alright.

It’s nice to have the freedom that faith brings.

Things have been a bit crazy at our house and I’ve barely had time to keep myself (somewhat) sane, let alone blog. Today is February 26th, 34th day into trying to change to a healthier lifestyle. I’ll say, it has definitely not been easy! We set aside one day each week as a splurge day and are finding that when we splurge, we feel pretty yucky. So, we’re “splurging” less and less.

Jan. 31: Ok, this changed rather quickly. In doing more research, we (I say “we” because my husband is supporting me by joining me in this way of getting healthier) decided it’s better to cut out excess fat and eat well-balanced meals without deleting carbs or sugars, etc. We think it’s more harmful to us to “cut out” types of foods completely or “replace” meals. Changing to a set of healthier eating habits we think in the long run will be more beneficial to us on the whole and our bodies won’t have to go through the “freak out” after a “diet”.

Today: We are still doing the lower fat, better foods, better proportions eating and it seems to be working rather nicely. We aren’t losing it quickly but we do feel a little healthier already.
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Jan. 22
3. For me: I hear and read of all these people who want to lose weight so that they can play with their children, or go hiking with their spouse, etc. Well, mine needs to be even more personal - I want to lose weight so that I feel better, so I can tie my shoes without breathing heavy, so I can walk through a store without thinking about using a powered handicap cart, so I can fasten my seatbelt without having to pull it out all the way to get it fastened, so I can take a shower or bath without my body always rubbing the side walls! Yes, I want to play with my kids - I do that now. Yes, I’d like to have the energy to go hiking with my husband - but ours would be in a museum most likely, which right now - I have to take a lot of breaks and my family has to see some of it without me.

Jan. 31: Well, I am starting to feel better, haven’t been wearing shoes that need tied, been shopping without as much trouble, my body still touches the walls in the shower. Haven’t visited any museums lately. I did have to replace a pair of jeans that were just “worn out” and I bought the next size down to “encourage” myself to continue eating healthier and lose weight and I can already get into them - a little tight - but it’ll continue to fit better and eventually get loose enough that I’ll have to buy more!

Today: The jeans are fitting a little better each week. When I’ve worn my tennis shoes, they’re a little easier to tie each time. This is a very good thing.
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Jan. 22
So my starting point is 264 pounds, my goal is 180. Let’s see how long it takes to get there!

Jan. 31: I’m actually still at 264, but it’s 264.1 now instead of 264.8!

Today: 260
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Jan. 31’s Inches:
Waist - 47.75
Hips - 54.50
L. Arm - 15.25
R. Arm - 15.50
L. Thigh - 31.25
R. Thigh - 30

Today’s:
Waist - 45
Hips - 53
L. Arm - 15
R. Arm - 14.5
L. Thigh - 27.5
R. Thigh - 27.5

Total inches lost to date (Feb. 26): 11 3/4 inches! Whoo-hoo!

Well, it’s day 9 of changing my eating habits. Last week I listed the 3 things I decided to try so for the next few months I’ll stick with the same format and update on those 3 things as well as weight lost/gained and I think I’ll add in my inches today and start tracking those as well.

Jan. 22
1. For fun: I’ve joined a group of people in a 12 week, weight-loss pool. At the end of 12 weeks, the winners (or losers in our case) win the pot-o-money that we’ve all paid in to participate.

Today: I lost 1/2 pound - not looking too good right now for me to win any money, but….

Jan. 22
2. For weight-loss: Today is day one of living in “The Zone”. I don’t want to go on a traditional diet, where you “cut out” foods you love to eat. Rather, I choose to eat in a balanced manner. I won’t eat as much fat and sugar, but I’m not banned from them either. I’m not “banned” from anything, but rather learning to balance everything.

Today: Ok, this changed rather quickly. In doing more research, we (I say “we” because my husband is supporting me by joining me in this way of getting healthier) decided it’s better to cut out excess fat and eat well-balanced meals without deleting carbs or sugars, etc. We think it’s more harmful to us to “cut out” types of foods completely or “replace” meals. Changing to a set of healthier eating habits we think in the long run will be more beneficial to us on the whole and our bodies won’t have to go through the “freak out” after a “diet”.

Jan. 22
3. For me: I hear and read of all these people who want to lose weight so that they can play with their children, or go hiking with their spouse, etc. Well, mine needs to be even more personal - I want to lose weight so that I feel better, so I can tie my shoes without breathing heavy, so I can walk through a store without thinking about using a powered handicap cart, so I can fasten my seatbelt without having to pull it out all the way to get it fastened, so I can take a shower or bath without my body always rubbing the side walls! Yes, I want to play with my kids - I do that now. Yes, I’d like to have the energy to go hiking with my husband - but ours would be in a museum most likely, which right now - I have to take a lot of breaks and my family has to see some of it without me.

Today: Well, I am starting to feel better, haven’t been wearing shoes that need tied, been shopping without as much trouble, my body still touches the walls in the shower. Haven’t visited any museums lately. I did have to replace a pair of jeans that were just “worn out” and I bought the next size down to “encourage” myself to continue eating healthier and lose weight and I can already get into them - a little tight - but it’ll continue to fit better and eventually get loose enough that I’ll have to buy more!

Jan. 22
So my starting point is 264 pounds, my goal is 180. Let’s see how long it takes to get there!

Today: I’m actually still at 264, but it’s 264.1 now instead of 264.8!

Today’s Inches:
Waist - 47.75
Hips - 54.50
L. Arm - 15.25
R. Arm - 15.50
L. Thigh - 31.25
R. Thigh - 30

Whew! That’s a lot o’ inches! So, I think more excercise is in order.

Ok, I admit it - I weigh too much! Actually, I’ve never been unwilling to admit that. Just the opposite, I’ve almost been proud of it. Even when I was at the right weight, at a good weight and healthy people would “warn” me about getting overweight and what would happen to me “when” I get that way. Well, it worked - I reached the goal they set for me.

Now, I want to reach the goal I set for me: to not only lose weight, but to live healthier and be able to physically do what I want to do. So, there are 3 things I’ve decided to try:

1. For fun: I’ve joined a group of people in a 12 week, weight-loss pool. At the end of 12 weeks, the winners (or losers in our case) win the pot-o-money that we’ve all paid in to participate.

2. For weight-loss: Today is day one of living in “The Zone”. I don’t want to go on a traditional diet, where you “cut out” foods you love to eat. Rather, I choose to eat in a balanced manner. I won’t eat as much fat and sugar, but I’m not banned from them either. I’m not “banned” from anything, but rather learning to balance everything.

3. For me: I hear and read of all these people who want to lose weight so that they can play with their children, or go hiking with their spouse, etc. Well, mine needs to be even more personal - I want to lose weight so that I feel better, so I can tie my shoes without breathing heavy, so I can walk through a store without thinking about using a powered handicap cart, so I can fasten my seatbelt without having to pull it out all the way to get it fastened, so I can take a shower or bath without my body always rubbing the side walls! Yes, I want to play with my kids - I do that now. Yes, I’d like to have the energy to go hiking with my husband - but ours would be in a museum most likely, which right now - I have to take a lot of breaks and my family has to see some of it without me.

So my starting point is 264 pounds, my goal is 180. Let’s see how long it takes to get there!

Hey. I know it’s been a while. Life has been a bit crazy the past couple of years. My job went to full-time rather unexpectedly, full-time took over my entire life for about a year and a half along with trying to be involved at church, a work-traveling husband, two boys and now an additional child (as of August).

I am no longer working outside the home and am enjoying the reduction in stress. I haven’t gotten too much done around the house yet, because I’ve been a little selfish with my “free” time since not working. I’ve been doing some reorganization around the house and some cleaning, but I’ve also taken time to do some scrapbooking, a little reading, cooking, etc. just for “me” time.

The kids are in private school this year: our oldest is doing much better with homework, played soccer and is in the Men’s Acapella Choir, our youngest is doing well and is on the robotics team while our newest addition to the family (a niece of mine) is doing better academically and was on the junior volleyball team this past season. She had never played before and it was good to watch her learn something new and begin to do pretty well at it.

Our oldest is driving: it’s fun and scary at the same time. He does pretty well, but like most adolescents doesn’t want our help or advice. More growing away from needing us and as his mom I want him to still need me, even though I want him to be independent and self-sufficient.
It’s a tough cycle, isn’t it? Letting them grow up, wanting them to grow up and still wanting them to stay little.

Well, time for bed. Good night. God bless.

Well, we’ve made a decision. We have decided that the Nazarene church mentioned in my previous note will be our church home while living in Illinois. We haven’t felt the strong 110% positive answer from God about this one like the last two, but we certainly feel that warm welcome and a comfortable fit when there. The people are genuinely friendly, they are a caring church concerned about being a true light in the world for Christ and the pastor seems like a stong Christ-centered leader.

It’s nice to know that we will now be able to get to know people here, make friends and begin to get involved again. As much as we miss our friends in Indiana, we need to develop relationships here. I look forward to in-home fellowships, going out to dinner with other families, etc. again.

We had dinner today with a family there. The parents teach the Sunday School class that Tim and I attend. It’s funny isn’t how wherever you go, people remind you of someone you know from places you’ve come from? The husband reminds us of the husband/father of a family we have become very close with from Indiana. It’s a nice familiarity with some differences thrown in. The wife reminds us of the wife/mother of a different family we were friends with Indiana. We haven’t seen them too often for the past 2-3 years, after they decided to attend another church in Indiana. Turns out that they are from the north side of Indy with strong ties to people we know there. Small world, huh? Anyway, dinner was nice, they have 3 children with the 2 boys being close in ages to our 2 boys.

We then attended a superbowl party at the church this evening. Tim and I don’t even watch sports (as man of you know), however the opportunity for fellowship was something we didn’t want to pass up. I’m so glad we didn’t. There weren’t many there, but that may have been perfect because we were able to spend time with a few and really get to know them a bit better. I spent 1/2 hour or so with one wonderfully nice lady and we talked about anything and everything that one or the other of us thought of. It was almost as if we had already been at least acquaintances for a while, if not already friends.

A number of people that attend this church are from, have lived or have friends/family in the area of Indy. It’s at least a place for conversations to start. The boys have already fit in with their age groups, which is so good for us to see. We didn’t want this move to be any more difficult for them than necessary, so settling into a church where they could make friends has been a top priority.

Well, all of that said to say this. Thank you Lord for providing places of worship and fellowship with like-minded people striving to follow You. We are so blessed!

Blessings on all of you.

Let me catch you up on everything since moving:

November:
Moved
Birthday for Libby
Finished a musical in Indy
2 new schools for the boys
2 new jobs for the parents
Thanksgiving with 2 sets of friends
No paycheck yet

December:
More friends visiting 1 st 2 weekends
Mid-month payday - Yippee!!!
Anniversary
Some Christmas shopping
Christmas with both sides of family
Paying up on bills - hadn’t been able to do that for a while
Quiet Christmas at home - just us - it was really nice
Nice end to a pretty crummy year.

January:
Quiet new year at home - just us
Still no church home up here
Celebrated John’s birthday back in Indy
Feeling isolated with no friends up here
Financially, things are improving

Now I’ll expound a little bit:

We are still looking for a church home. I don’t think our expectations are too high, but I do think that we will not attend some due to reminders of past hurts and experiences. We have visited 3 churches so far, 1 non-denominational, 1 another denomination and 1 Nazarene. The Nazarene is the best of the 3, making us feel the most welcome and comfortable. The non-denominational was nice too, but new and not offering much in the way of fellowship and no Sunday School: no times to get to know people and make friends, which is what we need right now. The other denomination is just not where we feel would be a good fit for us because of reminders of past negative experiences.

At this point we are looking at the Nazarene church being our church home here, but we are going to try one other before we make that decision. We just aren’t 100% sure this is the one God is placing us in. We haven’t felt that immediate connection like we have at the last 2 churches we’ve attended. Not to say that we have to feel that, but we don’t want to stop short of something else that God may have in store.

Well, gotta get to work. More later. My schedule is settling in, so I will be able to write more.

Oh wait! That’s us!

More on this later when details have been worked out!

Closure is a good thing. Mostly.

It was good to be with our former church family the past couple of weeks. The purpose was church business meetings to “try and help the church move forward” after these difficult “few” months.

About the meetings… I don’t think that the leadership or the district leadership have grasped the concept of the real underlying problem. There were things said and done that irritated me, angered me, inspired me and made me gasp in disbelief. So, I believe that at this point, nothing will be “fixed” or reconciled and growth will still be stunted for that church. I am not saying that new people won’t come in, I’m saying that people, workers will continue to leave. That saddens my heart.

About the people… it was absolutely wonderful to have contact with them again and hear from most, that we are still loved, well thought of and missed. We’d been hearing just the opposite about a lot of people from there. I’m sure there are a select few that feel that way, but not the majority. It was good for me to hear that the majority understand the issues that have caused a “flock” of people to leave in recent (3) months and that they are “cheering us on” in our new adventures.

I miss these people. I miss those who don’t feel this way. I miss the comraderie that those in that church family exhibit. I pray for the leadership, all of them, and hope that they will truly allow Christ to lead and work among them. After all, that is “keeping the main thing the main thing.”

So, to that church family: I miss you greatly. I love you greatly. I look forward to seeing you someday soon in eternity.

To our new (and temporary) church family: I love you greatly (already). Thank you for accepting us so warmly and quickly. Your spirit has lifted mine. I will miss you when we move.