odds and ends...

Nothing really exciting to report these days. We had a CRAZY Christmas schedule and now that is all over. We are off to a conference tomorrow for three days. I am really ready for a good break and that will come after the New Year (when we return from the conference Rocky's brother and his family will be here for a visit).

Because of our schedule I haven't been able to work out for more than a week now. OH I HATE when our schedule gets in the way of working out. It can't be helped right now, but when the new year rolls around, I am back at the gym every single chance I can get. I am however maintaining my weight just fine, even with the holidays and all the food. I never over ate, and even enjoyed some sweets! We actually bought Dr. Pepper as a little treat for ourselves, but I am totally in control of not drinking them too much! I don't know why this will power and real desire to be healthy showed up so suddenly this year, but I am SO glad it did. I really enjoy eating right and excercising now. Love it!

Just thought I'd check in. The most adorable photos and news are over on Hana's blog though!

I forgot to add....

I forgot to tell you guys in the last post just WHY my sweet hubby's present is supposed to benefit both of us! The reason is because I was driving him nuts telling him almost daily how much I wanted one! He said it benefits both of us, I get one early, and he doesn't have to listen to me ask for one until Christmas day! He also says I was calling him names like "slow-poke" but I don't think that is true.... hehehehehehehe He's imagining things!

My sweet hubby!

I got an early Christmas present! My hubby is sooooooooooo sweet, and so FUNNY! It was delivered as we were walking out the door the other day and he told me it was my Christmas present but I get to open it early. I thought I knew what it was, I've been asking for an mp3 player so I can listen to music while I work out. But he gave me some hints through out the day while we were gone that had me confused. Then in the evening just before I opened the box he gave me one more hint that had me convinced it was NOT an mp3 player. He said, "This is for the good of both you AND me!" And I'm like, well an mp3 player for me isn't going to benefit him any. Well I open it up and after trying to figure out what it was (I'd never seen this brand name before) I finally found it WAS an mp3 player. It is a TINY little iRiver s10! I LOVE it, I've only been able to work out with it once, but it was pure heaven, to worship with my praise songs and favorite music as I excercised! I think the people around me were slightly entertained by my singing (quietly) and dancing as I worked out!

I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

DECEMBER!!!!!!!!!

The dreaded month of the year when we are always so busy I just know I am not going to make it! This is actually not quite as bad as last year, but it's still pretty bad. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!!!!!!!!

In the midst of concert after concert after concert, I am still determined to keep up my workout and healthy eating. I am doing sooooooooooo good! Portion control, totally under control! I don't know when was the last time I logged in my weight, but I am in the 63's this week! I have decided my final goal is 60 kilo, but I am sure it will take me a while to get there, just taking it slow and ENJOYING feeling so good and being healthy.

Ministry is so fun right now, so many things going on! I am really enjoying the chance to minister to mothers with young kids. We are praying about starting a blog on child raising! So many parents are struggling and just don't know what to do! Yea, I know, like we need ONE MORE thing to do! But this one is so VITAL!

I started advent with Hana today. She loves it! this girl loves the Bible so much, it is so fun to watch her learning and remember stories. Her favorite Bible story is Noah's Ark right now, and every person she sees in her children's Bible, she asks if it is Noah and if it is "rain-rain"?!!! We are going to be reading stories about Jesus all month this month, and today we started with when he was 12 years old at the temple. She kept saying "Jesus uh-oh!" because she understood that he was lost and his mommy and daddy were looking for him!

I am off to bed, my new earlier bed time! We are doing a QTbaby store tomorrow. I will update on how that goes, and details of it later too. We are setting up inside a small shopping center!

about me!

I haven't updated about myself much recently, so I just thought I would say, I'm doing GREAT! I am still loving working out and get really frustrated when our schedule gets in the way of me making to the gym. I'm staying steady with my weight and eating as healthy as possible! I feel good, and if I do say so myself, looking pretty good too!!! hahaha

At the gym, I am up to 35 minutes on the eliptical trainer (level 4, consistent uphill climb) burning over 400 calories on the little machines counter every time! I could do more on that silly machine but the timer won't let me go above 35 minutes. I may start setting myself for another cycle, when one ends, because I'd love to get up to doing 45-60 minutes of cardio several times a week. I have some major thigh muscle going on here, haven't had that since basketball and cheerleading in High School! I look forward to wearing shorts next summer!!! I'm lifting weights doing my arms and back 3 times a week. I have a new ab workout that I am doing 5 times a week that is really tough, but I can see it making a difference. I love it!

If I could go back to eating like I was from May to August, I think I could get down a couple more kilo, but I just don't have the motivation at the moment to be that strict with my diet, so I am eating healthy, but have found the perfect balance to stay right at this weight.

I am so tempted to do something crazy like run a marathon, but that is the last thing I need in my life becuase the amount of time required to train for something like that is impossible at the moment. Our gym goes to a marathon in Hawaii every summer, I am so tempted to train and run in that... I also talked with a friend about doing the Disney World Marathon in 2007 or 2008... my life would have to majorly slow down for that though, and I don't see it happening!

"Yubz youuuu!"

Hana has been good for a while about repeating "I love you" if we say it first. But tonight she was in the kitchen with us after dinner and she ran up to Daddy and grabbed his legs, looked up at him and said with a huge grin, "Daddy, Yubz youuu!" Then she cam running for me and did the same thing. This has got to be one of the most precious moments of my life! My sweet child, of her own fruition, came to us and told us she loves us. I have waited sooooooooooo many years for that! WOW! She steals our hearts more and more everyday! Oh wow!

Today we rode a bus across town to go to a church event. Since we always go places in the car, when we have the time and no need to carry a lot of stuff, sometimes we take the bus because Hana loves it. It must be fun to be sitting up so high with a huge window all to yourself. She also likes observing the people who get on and off. She started saying, "girl, bus, all done?" When someone would push the stop button and then get up to get off at the bus stop. It was so cute.

Oh and that reminds me, she is learning what boys and girls are right now. She'll get on the subject and go through EVERY person she knows asking if they are a boy or girl. It is so funny! She is starting to "get" it but sometimes is way off. Tonight after her bath, she asked if Mommy is a boy, then if Nana (herself) is a boy, and finally if Daddy is a boy! She was so happy when she finally got it right!

Counting and testing!

No we aren't taking any exams around our place these days, Hana is the one doing the testing, she is testing Mommy and Daddy's patience! I don't know what has gotten into her the last couple of days but she is determined to disobey us. UGHHHH! I'm getting so tired of getting onto her. I hope this is a short little phase or something, cause not only does it leave my patience frazzled, but it leaves her really insecure because she HATES for Mommy to be upset with her. She seems to do even MORE bad stuff to get my attention, cause I'm so frustrated I am trying to take a break from her but she wants to see if I am still mad at her. It is a vicious cycle!

But when she isn't being a little pill and we are having fun, she is blowing me away with her abilities. This little girl is COUNTING! She gets it right a lot of the time too. I did not know that a two year old can actually count objects. I know that can often say 1-10 if they've been taught, but to actually answer correctly when asked "how many _________ are there?" well it is amazing me. Even when we aren't asking her, she counts things. Today she was drawing and she took all her pencil out of her cup and counted them as she put them back in! The funny thing is that after 6 she often gets it wrong. she counts like this, "1,2,3,4,5,6,9..." Nine often comes after 6 unless we are helping her count!? Not sure why.

She is also counting backwards because we count the floors on elevators when we go down, so smart!

She is really picking up a lot of English words and using them, I am feeling better and better about her being bilingual all the time.

BAD girl!

I had homemade fried onion rings tonight, fried in Crisco!!!!!!!! OH MY! Won't be doing that again anytime soon, it didn't set well with my tummy! But they were yummy and sort of worth it, I guess

Still staying steady in my weight, and I got into a size FIVE pants this week! Haven't been in a size 5 since early High School I think. OH MY!

A basic difference...

Hana technically went to her first preschool class this last Wednesday. We go for two hours once a week to a program for two year olds at the kindergarten Hana will likely attend. The first time we went for observation and Hana didn't enjoy it much. She was more accepting of the activities this time, but still wouldn't get very far from Mommy. For a child who is so outgoing and active, when she gets around children her own age she becomes really shy and isolates herself. She wouldn't join in any of the really fun activities at all??? It will be interesting to see how long it takes before she will start to join in.

Anyways, towards the end of class an eye opening moment happened for me. Hana is not yet used to the basic flow of the class. At the end, there is a short snack time and all the children who have been attending for a long time obviously know that they are to all sit at the table until the teacher declares snack time to be over with the traditional "gochisosama" at the end of the meal in Japan. Well Hana finished eating what she wanted and jumped up to go and play. I was at the mother's table and out loud, to myself, said in Japanese "I wonder if Hana should remain seated?" (Mommy is still learning the system too). And then I began to take a breath to yell out to Hana to go and sit down. The woman beside me leans over and says, "Don't bother to say anything to Hana. With our children, if Mommy tells them to do something they won't do it, but if the teachers tells her to she well. Let the teacher make her sit down."

My immediate reaction was "What is this woman talking about, of course Hana will go sit down if I tell her to." I was rather confused as to why she would think Hana would obey and stranger and not me. And that is when it hit me, most mothers EXPECT for their children not to obey them. In Japan it is the teachers job to teach the child obedience once they begin school.

I was FLOORED. What a basic fundamental difference in our entire way of interacting with our children. When I tell Hana to do something, I expect her to do it, and she knows she is expected to do it. Hana knows I WILL make her do it, so she usually doesn't even pause before doing what I ask her to. When she is feeling honory, she tests the limits, but Mommy (and Daddy) ALWAYS wins. Rocky and I parent entirely from this basis. What we say goes, no questions asked.

What a completely different way of thinking and interacting with your child. I can not imagine how difficult life would be if I expected Hana to always disobey me. I have seen so many children where this is the case, no matter what the parents say they aren't going to do it. But I never stopped to think that their parents expect them to be that way and won't or don't try to do anything about it. I always thought the parents had just given up long ago. But I am beginning to realize that maybe this is the basic thinking of all parents from the beginning here. A total fundamental difference, but makes a HUGE difference in the entire life of the child.

Rocky and I discussed this, and this is so dangerous. Parents literally set up the world around their child so that the child never has to obey because they aren't expected to. When with Mom and Dad, they can do whatever they want. Once they are older, there is no reason to nor any basic understanding of doing what Mommy and Daddy says. A set up for a totally distructive child! REALLY frightening.

Rocky and I have been thinking and praying about writing a book about child raising. I feel there is still so much to learn, but part of me thinks that time is of great importance here. These parents need to know that they CAN expect their children to obey!

The mind is a powerful thing

9 years ago when I first came to Japan, I made friends with a small group of Jr. High students at the school I was ministering in. They invited me to go to the zoo with them and I agreed to go even though we could barely communicate with each other. The zoo has some small "rides" like we have at carnivals in the states and we enjoyed a day of walking around looking at animals and riding the rides together. Near the end of the day the girls took me on one ride where you sit inside a large cylinder, and the cylinder rotates around you making you feel like you are moving all kinds of crazy directions. This type of "fake" motion always makes me motion sick. I FELT horrible after riding this ride, but was unable to communicate to them what was wrong with me. I guess in an attempt to make me feel better they thought I should eat something. They also thought this would be a good time to introduce me to a new Japanese food, it is called "takoyaki" (pictured right). Takoyaki is small bread balls, with octopus meat in the middle, topped with a brown sauce and fish flakes. I was not used to these fishy smells or flavors yet, not to mention the fact that I was feeling terribly motion sick. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant experience and I was forever ruined for eating takoyaki.

There is another food in Japan that essentially the same thing as takoyaki, called okonomiyaki. I LOVE okonomiyaki and have no problems eating it. But it doesn't matter what I do, I can not eat takoyaki, and I always begin to feel nausious if I smell it or see it.

Tonight, Rocky had a craving for takoyaki and we went to get him some. When he got back in the car with them, I again felt nasious and could very vividly remember the sights at sounds of being at the zoo that day 9 years ago, riding that ride with my 5 little friends.

The mind is such a powerful thing. On Saturday night at a revival service where we sang, part of the speakers message talked about this same thing. The speakers daughter has a hearing impairment, not because of any physical dissability, but because of a tramatic experience as a child that mentally has her blocking out certain vocal frequencies. She can not hear low voice tones. I was amazed at this, another example of the power of our brains.

This pastors daughter is relearning how to hear to vocal tones she is mentally blocking. Can I relearn how to enjoy takoyaki???

Just a random thought...

Toddler Miracle Diet

This is so funny I laughed till I cried, as the mommy of a two year old, this is so close to true!

Toddler Miracle DietOver the years you may have noticed that most two year olds are trim.Now the formula to their success is available to all in this new diet.You may want to consult your doctor before embarking on this diet,otherwise, you may be seeing him afterwards. Success!!!

DAY ONE
Breakfast: One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape jelly. Eat2 bites of egg, using your fingers; dump the rest on the floor. Take 1bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face and clothes.
Lunch: Four crayons (any color), a handful of potato chips, and aglass of milk (3 sips only, then spill the rest).
Dinner: A dry stick, two pennies and a nickel, 4 sips of flat Pepsi.Bedtime snack: Throw a piece of toast on the kitchen floor.

DAY TWO
Breakfast: Pick up stale toast from kitchen floor and eat it. Drinkhalf bottle of vanilla extract or one vial of vegetable dye.
Lunch: Eat a half tube of "Pulsating Pink" lipstick and a handful ofPurina Dog Chow (any flavor). One ice cube, if desired.
Afternoon snack: Lick an all-day sucker until sticky, take outside,drop in dirt. Retrieve and continue slurping until it is clean again.Then bring inside and drop on rug.
Dinner: A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up yourleft nostril. Pour Grape Kool-Aid over mashed potatoes; eat withspoon.

DAY THREE
Breakfast: Two pancakes with plenty of syrup eat one with fingers, rubin hair. Glass of milk; drink half, stuff other pancake in glass.After breakfast, pick up yesterdays sucker from rug, lick off fuzz,put it on the cushion of best chair.
Lunch: Three matches, peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Spit severalbites onto the floor. Pour glass of milk on table and slurp up.
Dinner: Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips, some red punch.Try to laugh some punch through your nose, if possible.

FINAL DAY
Breakfast: A quarter tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bit of soap, anolive. Pour a glass of milk over bowl of cornflakes; add half a cup ofsugar. Once cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed cereal to dog.
Lunch: Eat breadcrumbs off kitchen floor and dining room carpet. Findthat sucker and finish eating it.
Dinner: A glass of spaghetti and chocolate milk. Leave meatball onplate. Stick of mascara for dessert.

-Carole Libbe

trying this out...

My hubby the photographer, took this little picture of a cosmos flower last week. I'm just trying out my new blogger beta format, so I tried posting this... see how it goes...

A very special day for me....

I did three unbelievable things today...

1. I wore a pair of Jeans I bought in JAPAN!
2. I tucked my shirt in!
3. I wore a belt!

I have never been able to wear clothes bought in Japan, especially pants and jeans. Usually even extra large shirts weren't really very comfortable. I was amazed a few weeks ago to be able to buy some jeans that not only fit me, they were actually a little bit large in the waist.

I haven't tucked in my shirts in like YEARS unless I absolutely had to. I hated how fat it made me look. And likewise, I hated how fat belts made me look, and didn't need them anyways since I wasn't tucking in my shirts. When the belts I owned didn't fit anymore, I refused to buy new ones. BUT today...















So I went back and dug up a picture of myself before I started losing weight. I believe this was when I was the biggest I ever got, probably about 160 pounds, summer of 2005.

I can not believe the pictures of me today are really ME. It seems unreal!!! But so exciting!

Book writing...

At some point several years ago I felt REALLY inspired to write my testimony in a book. I started and didn't get very far. I don't feel like I'm much of a writer, and can't organize the flow in writing, my mind goes to fast for that. when I speak I can get the flow, but writing, I get lost. Anyways, I felt that nudge from the Spirit again this weekend. I need to write it all down and now with our infertility journey and Hana's coming, there is even more to the story. Where does someone start with something like this???? ugh

I guess you just start huh?

A good week...

It has been a LONG week but a good one. We were all a little busy. Preschool homeschool went pretty well, there were days she loved it and days she couldn't be the least bit interested. That's a two year old for you! But we have been invited to also join the one day a week preschool at one of the kindergartens I teach at. I think it is a great opportunity to get to know the mothers, so I think we are oging to do that too. So four days of English preschool at home and one day at the kindergarten. She ought to be thoroughly entertained. I hope. Dealing with the bordom is the hardest for me.

And I need to get some stuff done. I need to clean and finishing getting this house put together. I just don't feel like doing it when I have some free time. LAZY!

workout and weight are solid and steady, but I am losing a little of control over my eating. I need to be eating more healthy stuff. Not gaining weight, but I should just be eating better. I should cook more. Again, LAZY!

I guess I deserve it a little after the crazy summer, but at some point I gotta get back into the groove. qtbaby needs a lot of work, so does my CyberWize stuff. Gotta get with it. ugh

Well things are just trucking along here. We did day two of homeschool preschool today and Hana wasn't really interested in it today. BUT I did it first thing in the morning today, she really wanted to be watching videos instead. Yesterday I waited until right before lunch and she did great, so I think I'll let her get some random play time out of her system tomorrow before I start. You never know with this girl, one day she loves something, the next day she won't have anything to do with it???!!!

All else is well, just trucking along here!

I had the skin scraped off the back of my ankle a couple days ago in a little incident with a door, so I haven't been to work out. I'll go tomorrow!

weighing in at 64 kilo these days. Slowly losing a little bit more weight it seems, but I am eating quite a bit. Yummy stuff, but healthy stuff too, so I'm good

later!

Homeschool preschool

In the mornings Hana has been so bored lately. Imagine that, a summer full of constant activities and surrounded by people all day everyday and now she's bored at home with just Mommy and Daddy! ha! I, of course, have plenty to do but she wants ME to sit and play with her constantly or she wants video's running constantly. I really feel sort of sorry for her. Plus she is showing so much interest in learning these days. She LOVES ABC's and numbers. She loves identifying colors and shapes. I have books and flashcards I use while she is on the potty, and she learns so much there. So I decided to do some preschool acitivites with her in the morning. There is such a wealth of resources for homeschooling on the internet. Most everything I could possibly need is right at my fingertips, I just need to print it out or take the ideas written there and do them. so that's what I'm gonna. I've got my lesson plans done for the next three weeks. But it will all be up to whether she responds well to it or not.

I'm off to bed.
me

life getting back to normal

We finally have things back to normal around here. I'm trying to get the house back in good shape, back into a routine of cooking, Hana potty trained, and back into my workout routine too. But Rocky's is not currently doing a CD project. He's just attending meetings, and networking, practicing with bands he will be performing with, and spending time with US!!! Mommy and Hana love it! We've been swimming once, and eaten most of our meals together, and Daddy has had some time to get in the floor and play with Hana and she has been loving that. It helps me out a lot too.

Sunday's baptism at our church (check out the ministry blog for that report) was so incredible. My hope and energy for the salvation of many in Japan is renewed. I was reminded through this Sunday that GOD does it all, we are just His humble servants. My resolve to share Christ with people and leave the rest to God has returned. Here recently I have had my days where I wonder why we are putting so much energy into doing what we do, when we often see so little change. But then I realize that we go somewhere do a concert and leave, so there isn't a chance to see the results. Yesterday I got to see the results of many other people's years of sharing the Gospel with Mr. Koga. what a joy it was to see before my eyes the life of someone so changed. Just when I needed to see God at work, He showed me. And I realize now I have been seeing him do so many amazing things, but I was too distracted with busy-ness to really see how amazing it all is. God Rocks!!!

I'm staying steady with my weight and eating. Not really losing but not gaining. I'm working out consistently. Trying to concentrate on getting a little more flexible, so I'm stretching a lot. I really need to loosen up in my hips and lower back area. I am as stiff as a board there. Slow and steady she goes.

Happy Birthday Hana!

Today we celebrate my baby girls second birthday. It is amazing to me to think that she was born two years ago today and I didn't even know she existed yet! WOW!!! But I think that somehow I did know because in these few days before we got the call about her I had become so anxious I was almost frantic to figure out a way to get my baby home. As if my heart knew she was out there and waiting for me.

Today she is a rambunxious, happy, smart and sweet little two year old. She obeys really well for the most part (although I am beginning to understand what they mean by those terrible twos). She is not terrible at two but certainly more independent, getting a stronger temper and showing more willpower than before. She LOVES her Mommy and Daddy and showers us with kisses and hugs though out the day. She is start to say "I love you" which is more like "wub you" but it is so precious to hear. Her current fad is the "ABC's" she wants to sing the song about a million times a day and wants to see over and over again, one portion of a certain Mickey video where they sing it. When she tries to sing it her self it comes out (with the ABC song tune) as "A-B-C-A-B-C-A-B-C-A-B-C" and so forth. And where ever she sees writing (whether in English or Japanese) she squeels and explaims " ABC's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I have a set of Baby Einstein learning cards and she can identify the circle, oval, square, rectangle, and triangle when asked. And she can identify one and two. Her favorite number however is two, so every other number after that is always two, unless prompted to say the correct number by Mommy.She still absolutely adores bow-wows, but can identify many many animals. All of them are identified by the noise they make and not their actual name. So cats are "meow, meow" dogs are of course "bow-wow", horses are "neigh-neigh", ducks are "ga-ga" (the Japanese noise they make), lions and tigers are "rahhhh", and so forth.

She absolutely loves Hermie the caterpillar! We watch that movie a couple times a day (she demands it imediatley after breakfast and potty trip are done first thing in the morning) and she would want it to play continuously thoughout the day if I would let her. We discovered hermieandfriends.com and she loves for me to print out the coloring pages for her.

She is just such a fun little girl. She is talking so much now that I can't possibly keep record of all the words she knows. She picks up several new ones a day. She speaks in a mix of Japanese and English. It feels to me sometimes like she is constantly speaking Japanese but really I think it isn't so bad. Most of her nouns are English and her verbs are mostly Japanese. She would be an interesting linguistics study. But Mommy and Daddy are as strict as we can be about making her say things in English before we respond. However, since we understand as readily what she is saying in Japanese sometimes we respond before we realize she said it in Japanese. It is taking a lot of self discipline for us both to reinforce the Enlgish in the home rule we have set up!

I am so amazed to be her Mommy and so thankful to the woman who gave birth to her. She is heavy on my heart today as well as the other family (birth grandparents and other extended) who may be thinking of her especially today. I wish they could also know this precious ray of sunshine and watch her grow. I would love to say thank you to them today and everyday for this amazing and precious gift of my daughter.

I can not believe two years have flown by. I wish I could slow down the clock, and at the same time I can not wait to see what a beautiful young lady this amazing daughter of mine turns out to be.

Back to the three of us!

On Thursday early morning Robynn left us, and then Friday Rocky's brother and his family left. We are now for the first time in 2 and 1/2 months a family of 3. WOW! We miss everybody but it feels good. We are really enjoying some down time, sort of. It will only be a matter of days before we have some concerts and many other regular ministry responsibilities. Life just never slows down for very long. But I don't think I would have it any other way.

My house is looking good now thanks to Robynn!!! The entryway is beautiful and for Hana's birthday she got a new room! I'll have to post pictures later. It looks so good. and in the living room I finally have decorations on the walls. The place looks lived in now! It only took a year! hahaha There is still plenty more to do, but for now the major traffic areas look great, and I couldn't ask for more.

My computer is acting up, so that is why I haven't posted in a while. For some reason today (so far) it is working. So I have to write as much as I can while I can.

In just 2 days my baby is going to be TWO years old. Where does the time go? She is growing sooooooo fast, and I sometimes want to freeze time and sometime can't wait to see how she grows up. She is so bright and beautiful. So smart, and so fun! But at the same time, sometimes she makes me want to pull my hair out. I know that sounds very familiar to every Mommy. She is becoming two in every way. She wants to do everything by herself and on her times. Often times that is OK with me and I am more than willing to help her learn to do it on her own. But when it comes to potty training and eating, we have our days where I wonder how I am going to survive this.

She is talking sooooooo much right now, but so much of that talk is in Japanese I worry. We surround her with English and Rocky and I speak totally in English only to her, but she insists in many cases on using Japanese. Especially when it comes to verbs. Most of her nouns are English though. So we get some mixed sentences. But in some cases I insist that the uses English and she refuses. Like when she is asking what something is, her phrase is "kore nani" which means "what's this" in Japanese. I won't answer her, and respond ALWAYS with "Hana say what's that." but she will NOT say it. She'll keep asking in Japanese and I keep telling her to say "what's that" and eventually she will just mumble something (as if she is answering herself about what that thing is) and then drops it and goes on to something else. It cracks me UP. She can be so hard headed. I wonder how long it will take for her to really get it. I think she fully understands that I am wanting her to say the other phrase but she just doesn't understand that one is English and one is Japanese yet. Maybe? Maybe she fully understands and just has Mommy totally fooled! I wouldn't be at all surprised if that were the case. Whew, this Mommy stuff gets harder and harder all the time!

So anyways, she's a blast. She's talking a lot right now but I never can recall all the cute things she does when I am sitting her typing. I need to write more consistently so I can catch it all! If I can get this silly keyboard fixed I will. But right now it has already messed up really badly during this typing session so I better close out.

On the workout front, I am doing great. I have reached a nice balance in what I eat, working out and weight. I am steadily at 64 kilo and eating more stuff I stayed totally away from before. I finally am back in the gym now that everyone is gone and I have a ways to go to catch up to the level I was at before. I can't do as much or lift as much but it won't be long.

OK I'm outta here for now.

Slowly getting back to normal...

Well, things are slowly returning to normal around here. The CMA girls are gone and we rested a little this weekend. Today Robynn and I painted the entryway! FINALLY!!!!!!!! My entryway is painted! It looks awesome. The walls are a dark beige color and we painted the trip glossy white. I should have taken a before picture, so I could show the difference. It looks sooooooooo good! We get to decorate tomorrow! There is a little bit of trim left to paint but it shouldn't take long. Robynn and I working together we did awesome. I am also tearing up the lenolium on the stairs. NOT easy to do. I bought a spray that helps unstick things, and it took one whole can of spray to do just two steps. We have 13 steps! It also took me about two hours to do those two steps. I will go back tomorrow and ask for something better to get the glue to let loose. This is so fun!!!!!!!

Well that is about all the excitement around here. Just praying the Robynn and I can stay motivated to paint, I feel like I am getting on a role here, I hope I can keep it up.

We are planning to ask for baby #2 soon. It seems the last time I got my house together, Hana came soon after. I wonder if I am suddenly motivated to get this all done cause a new baby will be here soon??? hmmmmmmmmmmm

Working out and eating right are going awesome. I didn't get to work out a lot since we got back, but I went once (Friday) and it felt great. I was too tired today after painting all day and tomorrow they are closed, but I will go back on Wednesday. I'm still doing well eating right, and I am down to 64 kilo (140 pounds) that's down one more kilo!!!!!! I just need to find the balance now. Eating right and working out. I don't really NEED to lose more weight.

We got some new scales and I love them. It does a body scan and tells me body fat percentage, muscle mass, etc. It is really cool all the info that comes off it. I score totally within normal range on everything. But my estimated body age is 33 (I'm 31) so I hope to bring that down with time! It's just the coolest scale, I wish I'd had it since earlier this year before I started working out. It would be cool to see how much all that info has changed.

Ok, I'm off to watch 24, yea! A night of relaxation!

WAY TOO BUSY...

I hardly even have time to take care of myself these days. It is just pure craziness. You'll find on our ministry blog that the CMA ballet girls are here right now. It has been awesome, God is really working through all their ministry events. It is such a priviledge to be a part of it. But we are out and about EVERY single day. Poor Hana, she must wonder what happened to a normal life. She doesn't know what a normal bed time or nap time is anymore because she never got to recover from jet lag and return to normal before the craziness hit. However, she is doing WONDERFUL, being a sweet heart and coping quite well with all the random-ness of these last weeks.

I'm doing great too, I have only gotten to work out at the gym twice since we got back so I am a little frustrated with the lack of opportunity to do my thing, but the two days of dance camp were a pretty good workout. I LOVED the ballet session we had, it was an amazing leg work out. I am very very tempted to take ballet now. I am just so NOT flexible though. I am very curious as to whether flexibility can be attained at this late a stage in life. I've never been flexible. I tried soooooooooo hard to do the splits in cheerleading in high school, never did get there. I got pretty close, after stretching every day for months on end, but never go there. I have gotten quite a bit more flexible in the last months though. Anyways, I may take up ballet. I know I'd love for Hana to do it too.

On another note, Rocky and I are strongly considering home schooling. God is really speaking to us about it in many ways, and we are pretty much decided on it. I think it would take something major to deter us. I am sooooooooooooooo excited. Lots to learn about it, and much to do in the next few years. The hardest obstacle will be the reaction we will get from some of those close to us, especially Rocky's parents. We have already mentioned it to them in the past and they were totally shocked and opposed. Of course that has no bearing on whether we do it or not, but it won't be easy if we constantly have objection and criticism from them about it. So we are praying they will understand.

I am loving ministering with these special summer events, but I can not wait to get back in the gym and pick up where I left off. I am so motivated and it is frustrating not to be able to act on that.

It's great to be back on my blog again too!

I'm back!!!!!!!!

Life is so crazy but I'm here. We got back from the States like a week ago, but it has been non stop ever since. But I am alive and well, the US was awesome, but exhausting, and Japan is just as bad if not worse. We got back Tuesday night, ran around Wednesday and repacked, went to camp with Jr. high/High School Thurs/Fri/Sat, church and afureru today and tomorrow is family band cocnert. I LOST MY VOICE! It is so frustrating to not be able to talk or sing. I won't be singing in the concer tomorrow.

Still on my health kick. I actually LOST weight in Ameirca. Worked out today at my gym FINALLY and weighed in at 65.2!!!!!!!!!!! My last weight was 66.something before left, but in the high 66's. I was so excited, I can not believe I LOST weight in America!!! So all is well on the front.

Now just to survive the next two weeks. The ballet team from Colorado comes tomorrow and we have them for almost two weeks from there, THEN maybe we get our lives back.

Speaking of being way busy, I gotta go get in bed!

bye bye

It's been a while...

But I have been a good girl!!!!!!

Being in the states is rough as far is food is concerned. It is REALLY hard to eat healthy, especially if you are as busy as we are. But I am doing pretty good, all things considered. I think I may have gained a little weight so far, but not much. In the first week back I lost down to 65! My goal weight! I was able to work out every day and eat right. but after that working out has been sporatic, and eating, not so healthy, although I have refrained from over eating. So I feel like I am doing well.

Having fun, but crazy busy! I'll update more some other time.

Hugs!

An all day workout...

Whew, I am worn out. I spent the whole day cleaning, washing, packing, cleaning, washing packing, etc. It was a workout, so I didn't do the stepper tonight, but I did do my ab, butt and leg work while watching some TV. Saturday is now gone, we have two concerts tomorrow (or today I should say) and it doesn't help that it is at a church out of town. Why do we always do this to ourselves! We pack our schedule so tight there is no room to breathe... ugh

Praying that Hana handles tomorrow and then being thrown into this long travel to America the very next day OK. She is such a trooper but is so active right now and being on that plane is not going to be easy for her. She will certainly enjoy America once we get there though. The little stinker is going to be the center of attention everywhere we go, as if she isn't used to that already!

I'm off to bed, gotta be driving away from the house by 8am tomorrow. wowza

Friday has come and gone...

This week is just flying by, we are going to be on a plane before I know it. Oh, I do hope the travel time flies by as quickly as these days are. I went to the 100 yen store today and bought Hana some new "toys" and they are staying hidden until we get on the plane. I hope they keep her at least a little occupied.

workout today...
35 minutes on gym stepper
arms, abs, back, stretching
weight :( 66.4 I didn't get into the 65's. I don't think I will make it to the gym again before we leave so, I guess I can't say I made it to me goal of 65. ugh

Now I have to be strong and not regain anything while in America. Be strong, be strong, be strong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

off to bed, tomorrow is packing day and Sunday we have two concerts. We leave Monday morning. WOW

It's already Thursday!

Oh my time is flying by. We leave for the states in just 5 days! I have so much to do in those 5 days, and it still doesn't seem real that we will be going so soon.

at the gym yesterday I weighed 66.1!!!!!!!!! Just a bit more and I will be in the 65's. I think I can do it before we leave! I will have time to go today and tomorrow, and then probably will have to work out at home on Sat. and Sun. so I need to see that 65 on the scales by Friday cause we don't have a scale at home still. How exciting! It is the first time I have ever lost a significant amount of weight in my life and it feels GREAT! 6 kilo or about 13 pounds! WOW! I've probably lost more, I didn't have any scales at home when I was at my heaviest. anyways, now the biggest goal is to maintain or even dare I say continue to lose while we are in the states. Then once we get back my goal is to make it to 62 kilo and stay there! For a height of 5'9" or 172 cm, I think that is pretty good healthy normal weight. Enough "meat on my bones" to keep my hubby happy, but thin enough for me to feel healthy and happy! It feels strange to be on the brink of switching modes from losing to maintaining. It will be tricky to find the balance of how much of what I can eat to stay the same here. another fun challenge!

Well, Rocky is almost done with Ai's CD too. It is sounding great.

We have English at the kindergarten this morning so I better go!

time flies!

I guess I missed posting yesterday and didn't even realize it. We had a house full of people, an Afureru! meeting. I went to work out anyways while they met. They were planning the Afureru that Rocky and I will miss because we will be in the states, so I didn't have to be in on the meeting. So I did workout yesterday. I felt really blah through my workout though, can't figure out why. And I am also very unhappy to report that the scale showed I gained .5 kilo since Saturday. I have no idea why????????? AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Anyways, life goes on.

Today I worked out at home. Still felt really sluggish and not sure why. We have to leave before 7am tomorrow morning so I am off to bed.

Will life ever slow down? (I say this, and then when it does slow down I am so bored I beg for busy-ness again!)

a great Sunday!

workout:
1 hour on home stepper, 650 cal.
abs

good:
breakfast: CyberWize shake
lunch: curry and rice
snack: a few crackers, glass of milk
dinner: stir fried veggies, salad, a little bit of rice
afterworkout snack (I was soooooo hungry): a few little wafers, glass of OJ

It was a great Sunday, got to take a nap with my sweety this afternoon! that's a rare thing these days.

Gotta get up early tomorrow, so I am off to bed. Just one week before we leave for the states!!!

OH YEAH!!!

I made it to the gym this afternoon while Hana was napping and Daddy was on duty. I'm so excited, I couldn't believe it... I weighed 66.3 kilo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm gonna make it to 65.something by the time we leave. I'm gonna make it! Yiiiiihaw!!!

workout: 35 min on stepper (upped the level today), get this 400 calories burned!!! wahoo!!!!

food:
breakfast; toast and milk
lunch; large salad, veggie soup, half a tortilla
snack, cheese crackers, milk
dinner; mushroom & green onions rolled in pork, steamed green veggies, cabbage with dressing

I ate a pretty big evening meal, I was soooooooooooo hungry.

Nothing else too exciting today. I'm outta here

no time to workout today...

I didn't get a chance to work out today, but I did great with eating so I feel OK. I even went to our church's cafe tonight and did NOT have a piece of cheese cake! YEA for me!!!

So that is about all for today because it already after midnight, we just got home about an hour ago, I gotta go to bed!

busy but awesome day...

this is what my day looked like...

6:30 a.m. get up and get ready
7:30 a.m. leave with Hana to have breakfast with Rae
8-9 TRY to have accountability time with Rae (mostly try to concentrate on conversing with Rae while keeping Hana under control!)
9-9:30 drive across town
9:30-10:30 Bible Study with Mothers at one Christian kindergarten
10:30-10:45 Hang out with the mothers
10:45-11:15 rush further across town to practive some songs with Rocky and Shinya for the chapel we will do together next week
11:15-12:30 practice
12:30-1:00 go back across town to meet a friend for lunch
1:00-2:00 eat with friend (again try to converse while controling and feeding Hana)
2:00 take Hana home for a nap
2-5:30 Hana SLEEPS!!! (YEA, Mommy gets to relax)
5:30-6:30 play with Hana
6:30-7:00 cook dinner
7:00-8:00 feed and bathe Hana
8:00 Hana to bed, talk with Daddy while he eats (he just got home)
9:00 relax a little
10:00-11:30 work out
11:30 bath

now I am doing my own thing, and it is almost 1am, what a day! Craziness, why did I write all that down, I have no idea, maybe to remember someday how hectic life used to be, when I am retired and have forgotten what busy means (yea right like that will ever happen!)

workout today:
55 minutes on home stepper, 4000 steps, 560 calories
abs, legs, stretch

food:
breakfast: spinach bake, toast, yogurt
lunch: small chicken rice dish, salad
snack: a few strawberries with Hana
dinner: scrambled egg with fresh tomato (mmmm yummy! the tomato gets really tart when heated quickly at the end of the scramble!!!), boiled spinach, carrot salad, a little bit of rice

I had an AWESOME Bible study with the ladies at the kindergarten today. My first time to go without Rocky, he couldn't be there. It was neat, I was able to teach a quick lesson in Japan, and then allowed the ladies to ask any questions they wanted to. They had some great questions about Jesus, his disciples, basics about the Bible like what is the Old and New Testament, etc. We also talked about Hana's adoption and infertility, the miracle of babies. It was such a neat time with those ladies. I often feel my Japanese is inadequate for a Bible study but one of the ladies asked a difficult question about why Judas was a disciple of Jesus if He was going to betray him and have him killed. After I explained some things to her, she exlaimed "OH that makes so much sense, I understand now!" I was so honored to hear that comment. I guess in some ways my very SIMPLE Japanese makes it easier to understand these sometimes difficult and deep issues. I was so excited that God spoke through me today in a way she could understand! Thank you Jesus!!! I only get to meet with this group of ladies about 3 or 4 times a YEAR, so I pray they all come back and we can cover some meaningful information in the short times we will have together!

Off to bed, it is after 1am

SOOOOO excited!!!!!!!!!

OK, so you'll never believe this. Guess how much I weighed today????

drum roll please......



66.9 kilo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I couldn't believe I made it down into the 66's. My goal was to be 65 by the time we go to the states. Can I do it? I have 11 days!

Today's workout...
35 minutes on gym stepper, 150 stories climbed, 360 calories (I upped the level, and FELT it)
abs, arms, back

food:
breakfast: CyberWize shake
lunch: KFC grilled chicken salad bowl
snack: a few strawberries and a few sora mame (my dictionary says these are called broad beans or horse beans in English)
dinner: boiled pork and enoki mushroom on lettuce, tomato soup, a little bit of rice

dranks tons of water or tea today too.

I had a much better day today. Very low stress! I got up and did a little house work, went to deliver some CD's, grabbed lunch, taught a short Bible study as baptismal prep for a Nepali woman who is getting baptized next month and her pastor wanted her to be preped in English, then had the rest of the day to myself! Hana took a good long nap, we went shopping for dinner when she woke up, and then had a nice evening together as a little family (quite rare these days). I need a lower stress day!

My hubby's Daddy is so sweet. Yesterday at our concert a few situations really stressed me out because of some issues that Dad didn't take care of himself and he should have. He is always supposed to let the churches know we need someone to look after Hana during the concert and he forgot to do that. She ended up not really having anyone fully in charge of her and wondered around the sanctuary from person to person during the concert. This was stressful to me because I didn't know what she was going to do next and although she was being very quiet and never did anything she shouldn't do, it was stressful not knowing when she might head for a door she should go out of, or run up to the stage to try to get to me, or whatever. She is so amazing that she is such a good baby, but mommy anticipates what might happen and can't concentrate on the concert because of it. So Rocky let Dad know that this was a problem and he called to appologize to me this morning. He was so sweet, said he was really sorry it stressed me out. He's just such a humble, neat man and I am so thankful he is my father-in-law!

The Bible study I did today with the woman from Nepal was so awesome too. She has not be discipled in the Bible really and has been attending a Japanese church so I wondered how much she understand about the Gospel and if she even knew WHY she was choosing to be baptized. Her faith and wisdom amazed me. She would answer questions I would ask her by saying, "I don't know why I know this, but I hear it whispered into my heart." When I explained to her what we must do in response to the gift of salvation that God offers us, but believing in our heart and receiving the gift, she told me, "I have spent night awake thinking, wondering if I was crazy for wanting to believe but my heart kept telling me, you have to receive it, you have to receive it!" The Holy Spirit has been teaching this woman the things of God!!! I knew these things happened in places where there is no one to "tell" the people, like I've heard stories of places in China coming to faith just because of dreams or just such "heart" responding. But it was such an honor to be a witness to the very same thing happening right her in my own city. I do not get to see Sushila very often, she works from 7am to 7pm every day to support her family while her husband is getting his PhD. She is an amazing woman, and God has been working in her life for many years. The testimony of her and her husband both coming to faith when they came to Japan is incredible. I will tell it more in details someday I hope but no time for it today!

I gotta go, the finale of American Idol is on in Japan tonight and I am taping it. I want to try and watch it before I go to bed, I might not get through it though because it is already 11:3o!

More of the same...

BUSY, that is just the theme of life these days. But I am keeping up with my workout and diet and at least that is good.

Yesterday at the gym I did 35 min on stepper, 360 cal., and then did full body weights, etc.

Today we were gone alllllllll day (7:30am-10:30pm) so I couldn't work out very well, but during some free time this afternoon I did sit ups, butt muscle work, and legs. We were at a church all day doing a morning and evening concert and since our meals were provided I felt like I couldn't leave much food on the plate. At lunch I left a good bit of my rice behind though, at dinner however I couldn't leave any food, or it would have been noticed and really rude. So I probably over ate today, but I don't feel like I had a choice. I only had a shake for breakfast.

Other than that, I am just stressed. STRESSED, STRESSED, STRESSED! EVERYONE and EVERYTHING has control of my life right now, our schedule RULES all and I have no choice about it. It is pretty tough to deal with. I can't keep the laundry clean, or the house. I barely get to cook because we always have to go out. I'm about to go nuts, and we have less than 2 weeks before we leave for the states and I have no idea when I am going to get ready to leave for the states.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Another REALLY busy day...

I made it through another crazy day AND worked out too! Can I be proud of myself? I'm so proud! So anyways, our house guest is gone! He had a great three days of concerts and we enjoyed having him. Tomorrow is going to be crazy too. A.M. concert and afternoon Afureru! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH, it will be so nutso. Hana fell apart on the way home tonight, her third night out WAY past bedtime and she had all she could take. One little correction from Mommy with a stern voice and she just lost it. Screamed for last 15 minutes of the ride home. That is soooooooo rare for her. It's only happened about 4 or 5 times in her life. But she lost control tonight. I felt so sorry for her. Tomorrow will not be any easier. Monday is a Hana day. If it is sunny we are going to go play at a great park, if it isn't sunny we will go to a children's play area in a shopping center somewhere and just let her have at it. She needs some "kid" time.

So I worked out tonight but did not do well on eating. It is impossible with this crazy schedule and all the events with "snacks" out afterwards. I haven't eaten dinner and I'm starving and the only thing to eat is chocolate covered cookies, or jelly filled cookies, or mini-candy bars, or cream puffs, etc. etc. etc. My stomach feels so GROSS tonight. It is like saying "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!" I haven't had that much sugar and carbs in about 3 or 4 months now, and it does not feel good. Won't make that mistake again. ughhhh

So I am off to bed.

BZZZZZZZZZ, busy bees

Life couldn't get any more crazy. It seems our days are filled to the brim, every single minutes scheduled with something until we barely have time to commute from one place to the next. We often find that we have over committed, but realize it too late, and that is happening to us now. Because of the trip to the states, we have so much we have to get done before we go as well.

We have a guest here with us right now, a musician who is traveling in the area. We are sponsor three days of ministry for him. Last night we had a concert at a church in the middle of town. Tonight he will be at our church doing live night for our weekly cafe. and tomorrow he will be at another Christian cafe. He's staying with us so we are doing all the transporting, setting up, administrating and so forth. Plus feeding and housing him, makes for a busy week! Then Sunday we have a concert ourselves in the morning and then Afureru! in the afternoon. OH MY! The next two weeks after that are just as packed full of events, right up until the day we leave for the states. WE are NUTS!

In the midst of it all I still workout and am eating right. I was so excited to weigh in at 67.5 kilo on Wednesday! I finally saw that 7 on the scale! I was sooooooooooo excited. But today, tomorrow and Sunday I won't make it to the gym and will have to do my stepper here at home. I won't know if I've stayed steady or lost more until I go to the gym on Monday.

God is doing so many incredible things. I saw a neat woman whose little girl was dressed so cute in a department store the other day and decided to approach her and give her a qtbaby business card. She was sooooooooo excited to meet us and ended up leaving with business cards for our ministry and Gospel Kitakyushu (the internet radio station) in the end. The next day we got an email from her that she is married to one of Rocky's elementary school classmates. While looking at our website, her husband recognized Rocky! We are so excited about such an encounter and hope to get to know them.

That reminds me, the qtbaby.net website is up! It still needs work but you can check it out (even though it is all in Japanese) and we have two outfits on the Yahoo! Japan auction website. Still no bids on them though.

I gotta go, lots to do, OF COURSE!

many blessings

Life gets crazy busy sometimes...

UGH, I wish I could have Jan/Feb back where I was bored cause I had nothing to do! It must be the warmer weather or something because we are suddenly running around like a bunch of ants. Life turned busy all the sudden when I wasn't looking!

Anyways, I have been working out every day, just haven't had time to blog. Sat. and Sun. I had to workout at home, silly gym closes early those days. both days I did about an hour on the stepper (around 600 calories on the counter) and I did various other exercises.

I unpacked my summer clothes from storage, and I have my WHOLE wardrobe back! things that haven't fit in years fit me now. I am so excited! It feels so amazing, I want to shop for new cute clothes, but now that I have so many things back that I can wear, I don't NEED any new clothes. shucks!

Today workout...
gym stepper 35 min., 340 calories, 140 stories
arms, abs, back, legs, stretching

food: ( I was soooooooo bad today a friend came over with donuts this morning and I ate some throughout the day! My reasoning, gotta get them gone so I won't eat them! ;/ HUH?) hehehe
breakfast: donut (UGH)
lunch: somen noodles, salad, grilled egg plant
snack: donut (UGH)
dinner: mac and cheese, teriyaki chicken (grilled in the oven!), salad

I am STUCK at 68 kilo. I haven't budged in two weeks. So from tomorrow I am hitting a major veggie diet to try and get a few more kilo off before we go to the states. My muscle tone is AWESOME, I'm seeing muscle in places I forgot had muscles *giggle* but I need to lose more fat and for some reason I am at a standstill all the sudden. So food is going to have to be the thing that changes. I had kinda slacked on eating because I've been doing so good losing weight and seeing size change. but since weight is in a rut, tomorrow we get serious about eating again! I want to be down before going to America where I'm not goign to be able to work out as much and will be MAJORLY tempted with all kinds of very fattening food and DR PEPPER!

Praying for strength!

OK, so QTbaby is officially on the Yahoo! Japan Auction site as of tonight! If you want to see we have two items up, a boy and girl outfit. Here's the links...
http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n36925911
http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/86760908

They'll be up for 5 days, so I'll let you know how it goes. We have another flea market this weekend. This last Saturday was good but there were very few customers. The place was so deserted. This coming Saturday is in a better location, supposedly lots of people come through! So we'll see how that goes.

OK, I'm off to bed. Oh before I go, My baby girl is 1 year and NINE months today. Time flies soooooooooooo quickly! Today she started saying TWO when I show her some number flash cards, and she is on a NO kick, everything is NO! ugh, followed by a yes if the answer really was yes! little munchkin! She's so precious and so much fun!

workout report yesterday and today...

Yesterday I went to the gym, and did my workout...

stepper: 35 minutes, 145 stories climbed, 360 calories
abs, arms, back, legs

I can not remember all that I ate yesterday but I did really well, I ate a TON of veggies, almost all of them baked or boiled, no oils!

Today,

home stepper: 45 minutes, 3333 steps, 450 calories
abs, butt, thighs

food:
breakfast; spinach egg bake and English muffin, OJ
lunch; spicy Udon noodles (lots of veggies in it)
dinner: two pigs in a blanket (small ones), tomatos, bell peppers, veggie soup

NO snacks, and not much sugar today!!! Except for the OJ I guess. It is getting easier and easier all the time to control what I eat. I don't live for the next meal as if I haven't eatten in a month like I used to. I used to look forward to each meal like I was starved and malnourished or something. Now food is finally just a practical part of my day, not the focus. It has taken two months of struggling to get control of my attitude towards food, but I think I am finally there. I enjoy eating smaller portions and not feeling full when I am done. I actually don't crave cokes anymore. It is really amazing. I am just praying I can keep this attitude when I get to the states, because if not I am liable to undo all that I have done.

I have one more month to make this habit of eating right and working out the NORM for my body. After three months, surely I won't lose the desire and drive in just a few weeks! SURELY! I gotta find out though, if there is anywhere to work out in Littlefield, TX? I know there is a Curves gym but that isn't my style. I'm thinking of trying to find a cheap stepper on ebay if I have to. I do not want to lose this muscle tone or gain any weight back!

OK, I'm off to bed.

Healthy eating with my new oven!

I did soooooooooo good today with our meals. TONS of yummy veggies thanks to my new oven. It makes some of the coolest stuff. And tonight we had "fried" chicken! But it was REALLY low cal cause it was actually baked! It was soooooo yummy and tasted fried. Rocky was raving about it, then you KNOW it had to be good! It was REALLY good! I LOVE MY NEW OVEN, have I said that before?

So here's my stats for the day...

workout (gym closed today)
home stepper; 60 minutes, 4500 steps, 640 calories (this sucker is generous with the calorie count)
legs and stretching (I can put my palms on the floor now! like maybe for the first time in my whole life! Way too excited about this!)

food...
breakfast: toast, milk
lunch: pork and green veggie (don't know the English name) salad, a tiny bit of rice
no snack!!!
dinner: chicken, salad, mushroom and onion side dish

I FEEL GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so loving this.

So I'm off to bed.

Back to workout!

Finally feeling better and able to work out again. I worked out at home last night but forgot to post my stats. So just for my record keeping...

home stepper: 55 min, 540 cal, 4500 steps (and it felt GREAT!)
stretching and various little toning exercises

Today at the gym

stepper: 35 min, 145 stories, 350 cal (I significantly increased my workout today for the gym stepper which is harder than my little home stepper) AND it felt GREAT!
arms, legs, abs, back and stretching

I did it all today because tomorrow is the gyms day to be closed. I'll probably work out at home but because I can't do any weights again until Wednesday I did the whole deal.

Food...
breakfast: toast, milk
lunch: grilled chicken sandwhich, salad, small ginger-ale
dinner: curry and rice, salad, cake for mother's day (withe Rocky's parents)

And the greatest news of all, drum roll please.......................................................
68.0 kilo today!!!! I was sort of hoping it would drop down to below 67.something by the time I got out of the shower and sauna, but I didN't get to see that 7. Oh well maybe Wednesday. But my goal is to be 65 by the time we leave for the states in June, and at this pace I'm not going to make it. I stayed steady in the 68's almost all last month. If I don't hunker down and really "diet" in my eating I think I might stay pretty steady. Not that I am not losing inches, you wouldn't believe the difference in my arms, legs, abs, etc. Even my hands look thinner, and my face, totally different, but for some reason I'd just like to see the reduction on the scales too!

We had a great weekend though and spent all of today recording. Hana went to stay with Baba (grandma) all day, and Rocky and I worked in the studio. We had a small scare with Rocky's eye Saturday night, he was seeing an odd blurry, bright field in the center of his vision. We were really worried, but the doc today said it is a form of migraine. Sure enough Rocky looked it up online when he got home and one page about the name of the migraine Rocky's doc siad he had, had a drawing of what the blurry, bright spot looks like and Rocky said that is exactly what he was seeing! what a relief that physically he had no problem with his eyes, but he is straining his eye too much working so much on the computer so I have to keep an eye on him (no pun intended) and make him take it easy.

Well I better go get ready for bed. The gym was really busy tonight and it took me forever, and it is already midnight.

tummy troubles...

I'm not feeling so good the last day and a half. I think I must have eaten something that didn't agree with me. so yesterday and today no workout, I am just trying to get past this. Maybe tomorrow!

I need to catch up...

So worked out both the 10th and 11th but didn't post cause I was depressed, I've hit like a weight rut or something. I can NOT get out of the 68's and was wanting to be down to 65kilo by mid June when we go back to the states. At this rate, that ain't happening. So I'm bummed. But the good news is, with my new oven I can fix some majorly healthy stuff! I LOVE the cookbook that came with it. Tonight we had some really perfectly cooked stuffed bell peppers. It was so awesome, the setting I baked them on, microwaved and grilled them at the same time with steam action going as well. You know I said this oven works with a new steam baking technology. it was so cool. They came out PERFECT, nice and crispy on top. mmmmmmmmmm, yummy! I also did some cut up long onions topped off with some ground garlic, katsuo and soy sauce microwaved for like two minutes. It was soooooo easy and really YUMMY! Rocky loved it! I am going to need another cookbook that goes with this oven. They've got great stuff in there. And majorly healthy!!! Have I said that I love my new oven.

So even though I am in a weight rut, my shape is changing and it is GREAT! I don't even recognize my own waist or my legs. Still have quite a ways to go but I'm still excited about the difference. My only problem is NONE of my clothes fit! I spend all day pulling up my jeans, and I can't buy any new ones in Japan because Japanese clothes don't fit. Today I went to teach English songs at one kindergarten and I nearly lost my pants half way through one song with lots of motions. The kids follow my moves so I was afraid if I reached down and pulled up my pants they'd all do the same. but they were about to fall off! whew, it would have been embarrasing to lose them. So anyways, I'm going clothes shopping as soon as we get to the states!

My other major delima (if you're a guy and your reading, skip this paragraph) I am losing weight in one very unfortunate area... my boobs! they are disappearing rapidly and I don't have much to lose. I was so excited to be actually filling out my bras, but not anymore. ughhh

Back to my oven again but, I gotta go upload a picture of my baking hot dog buns from Wednesday, mmmmmmmmm yummy! Let me go get that...

I gotta make our own hot dog buns and hamburger buns here and I make some yummmmy ones, even if I do say so myself! mmmmmmmm they were good!

Ok, so other than that, nothing exciting going on here. Anne and I are trying to figure out what is the best way to do our qtbaby business online because I have realized that I know so little about creating a shopping cart online and it is overwhelming to keep up with it anyways. so we are starting out with Yahoo! Auction. We'll see how that goes this coming week. I registered tonight and they have to send me an address confirmation thingy, so I can't put any items up till I get that registered letter from Yahoo! But then I'll be putting some clothes up to see how they sell!!! Can't wait!!!

OK, I'm outta here for now. I have an upset tummy today so I am taking a break from working out.

It's my birthday! (and workout report)

WOW, what a birthday! I got a new clock and an oven all in one day. The oven wasn't really a birthday present, it was a necessity because our other oven broke but still it is exciting! and the clock is awesome, I'll hopefully take pictures and upload tomorrow, but tonight I gotta get this done and get in bed, it is 1am here.

I had a sweet date with my wonderful hubby tonight. He's so amazing and I LOVE spending time with him, especially since lately we don't get as much free time as we used to! We went to eat at a very nice and delicious Italian restaurant, and then went shopping for a moment and had our favorite desert at our favorite cafe. Our favorite desert is called Blueberry Sugarpie! We call each other sugarpie so it is quite special to us! AND very YUMMY!!!

So here's my report for today and I am off to bed...

workout...
home stepper, 51 minutes, 3450 steps, 500 calories
arms, abs, legs, stretching

By the way I got a new stepper today! The company replaced the other one because parts were breaking off of it every time I used it and it was REALLY loud. Rocky called yesterday to explain and see what they'd do even though we were a couple weeks past the one year guarantee, but they were very understanding and immediately sent a replacement! It arrived this morning, talk about FAST! It is so smooth and quite! I LOVE IT!

food...
breakfast: toast, honey, milk (since it was my birthday I went ahead and had my favorite toast and honey even though I have been committed to only drinking shakes lately)
lunch: mushroom/ground pork on rice, salad, water
snack: a small piece of birthday cake a friend brought
dinner: a VERY nice 6 course Italian meal (we won't talk about the calories because it was my birthday!!!) and of course SUGARPIE for dessert!mmmmmm

With my new oven, which has lots of fancy high tech abilities, we are going to be eating some majorly healthy wonderful meals from now on. This oven will bake with super heated steam! This means I can "fry" things in the oven. If it is an oily meat like chicken, then I don't have to add any oil and it will fry beautifully, if it has no oil like some seafoods then I can just add a little bit of olive oil and it will fry up nicely! Plus it came with a recipe book for all kinds of casseroles and veggie side dishes! Can't wait to try them all. I can also oven back AND microwave at the same time, so cakes take half the time to cook, etc. This is one amazing machine! I can't wait to use it tomorrow!!!

good night

Wahooo, free at last (and workout report FINALLY)

Well they are finally gone! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my inlaws, but they are exhausting! It is a lot of work to cook for and look out for 6 adults, one child and two babies! Not they they were ALL my responsibility ALL the time, but you know what I mean.

So now life returns somewhat to normal again. I finally get to sleep through the night tonight because Hana is in her own room, and I can't hear every move she makes, nor can she hear mine, so I can roll over in bed when I want to, and not care if Rocky is snoring... hehehe!

Our microwave/oven/toaster broke! It was cheap and old anyways, so I am excited, I get to go and buy a new oven tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I REALLY wish we could go ahead and buy the range top/oven combo that I want so badly, but that is going to ahve to wait till we can afford to remodel the WHOLE kitchen. We are probably going to get an oven that is the newest technology in Japan right now, it cooks with supper heated steam, making it very efficient and healthy. I can "fry" things in the oven, the steam brings out the oil in the meat and fries it just as it were deep fried. I can also bake and microwave at the same time, so a cake that should take 40 minutes to bake will actually bake in half the time! WOW!!! I'll have to tell you more about my new oven if we get it tomorrow.

I will also be putting a newsletter on our ministry blog and some info and pics about Hana on her blog in the next day or so, so if you are reading this, check those out too.

I FINALLY got to work out again! I have not been able to work out, OR eat right the last 5 days or so. Today I did great...

Food...
Breakfast: Cyberwize shake
lunch: some snacks after church, Chinese cold noodles with veggies
snack/dinner: guacamole and chips
dinner: was NOT hungry so I didn't eat and I still feel fine at midnight!

workout...
47 minutes home stepper, 490 calories, 3500 steps
arms, legs, abs, stretching

I hit the gym tomorrow and get to weigh myself... I don't think I am going to like what I see...

I'm off to bed, tomorrow there are a lot of things to do, and LOTS of laundry to wash!

tomorrow I get my life back...

Whew, what a week it has been. In the first week of May several holidays fall close together and it is called Golden Week, everyone gets a good amount of time off work and they all go and visit family. this is the week Rocky's brother and his family always come to visit from Osaka. It has been fun, but crazy. We are the hosts, and cooking for 8 people is WILD. Thank goodness we all went out to eat tonight, I don't think I would have made it through one more evening! They leave tomorrow. Oh I wish I could go workout but I don't think I can, we have a meeting in the afternoon and it will probably last until it is too late for me to go to the gym since they close early on Sunday. It will be the home stepper for me tomorrow night. If that thing survives anymore of my workouts. Each time I use it I find little plastic pieces on the floor underneath it that are breaking off from somewhere. It will begin to make a horrible noises while I am on it and then CRACK, something breaks off and it is fairly quiet again! Really unnerving. It is going to throw me across the room one of these days.

So I haven't been able to work out in three days and have been eating like a pig, it will be interesting to see what has happened to my weight. I do NOT look forward to getting on the scales Monday at the gym...

I'm off to bed for now. Hana has been sleeping in our room since the guests are here, and every move she makes at night wakes me up. She woke up at SIX a.m. this morning. That is WAY early for her. I was getting up to get ready for our flea market (which by the way was rained out) and she woke up with me. I thought it would be a tough day, but since we got rained out and came home she went straight down for a nap and slept THREE hours! YEA!!!

Okidoki, good night!

Work out report (5/03)

Well the gym is closed today becuase it is a holiday so I worked out at home after spending all day cleaning the whole house. I would say I got some excersize today!!!

workout:
41 minutes home stepper, 500 calories, 3584 steps
arms, abs, stretching

food:
lunch: stir friend veggies, rice, tea
snack: a few pieces of chocolate covered almond
dinner: cucumber and egg plant soup, tomatos, sashimi and a tiny bit of rice, water

Rocky's brother's family will be here tomorrow and they are staying with us now that they have a second child. so I will be really busy from tomorrow and probably not have time to come on here, OR workout. Plus family getting together means EATING, hopefully I will be too busy fixing all the food to do any eating!

Gotta go get some rest before I start the rest of this crazy week.

My new thinner face!

I can't believe how quickly my face has slimmed down! this is a picture Rocky took this weekend! YEA!

Can you say exhausted???

OH MY GOODNESS, I am sooooooooooooooooooo tired. We had an ok day at our first flea market. First of all, and I thought this would be the case, people who go shopping at a flea market (especially this particular one) are looking for garage sale type stuff, NOT brand new items. So we sold about five outfits. Second of all, this particular flea market was not a very good one, size, organizationally, etc. More about that in a minute. Third, we have a lot to learn about setting up, talking with the customers, pricing, and so forth...

But I knew it would be a learning experience. I knew we would probably be outside the budget of most flea market shoppers, and I knew that we might face some challenges with the "culture" of Japan's flea market. So I am not in the least bit discouraged! You have to learn and be challenged to grow, and grow we shall!!!

We got in trouble for having only brand new items!? There was this flea police lady, i.e. JERK, that decided she wanted to pick on us ALL day! The flea police first decided that our little tarp was outside our alloted space, so we had to move everything in order to back up our items like TWO INCHES. Then she decided our setting was going to be in the way of the customer who was coming in beside us, so we had to move everything again (don't ask me how if we were set up within our space, we were going to be in the way of our neighbor, but she was convinced of this). THEN after she had already dealt with our booth that many times and had seen what we were selling and seen all our signs that clearly read we are selling new import items, she comes by and says the we are not allowed to have all new items, that this particular flea market specializes in the sell of unwanted personal items, or recycling things, and we are only allowed to have TEN new items out. Here we stand with a wrack full of about 100 outfits, AND about 30 more layed out on the ground and she is telling us we have to get out some used stuff and only display ten new items. I looked at miss flea police like she was a lunatic! did it look like we had any used items up our sleeve or something?

So I headed over to talk to the woman who had spoken with on the phone many times and who took my reservation. I explained to her that I was sorry we were breaking the rules but that I couldn't read all the Japanese that was in the explanation on the internet and I asked her flat out if we should close up our booth. She said no, that it was fine for today but next time bring at least half of our stuff used. (by the way I am still trying to figure out the REASON for a rule such as this, but I will probably never figure that one out) So I breath a sigh of relief and head back to our booth when the flea police shows up again, and tells me again I can only display ten items. I took down about half of our clothing. The next time she waits till I leave the booth for something, and she comes and tells our friend who is helping with the booth. My friend is determined not to give into this woman since we had permission to continue from the other lady. So the flea police, now thoroughly preterbed because her demands have been ignored comes back again! However, again she got ignored! We made it to 3 pm, the end, without ever taking down any more items, we didn't sell much anyways, so the fact that the clothes were not all out on display didn't hurt us too much, BUT we will never go back there again. I later realized they cheated me out of 500 yen (about $5) on my registration fee as well. they must have had it in for the foreigners, because there were several other booths with PLENTY of brand new items and little or no used items out, and they weren't getting bugged or told to put their stuff away. There were also plenty of other booths taking up more than their share of space, and nothing was said to them. The flea police chick just wanted to pick on somebody and the foreigners looked like an easy target. This is the FIRST time I have ever been so blatantly treated differently in Japan, in a negative way because I am a "gaijin".

However, the reason we will not go back there is not because we are pouting and throwing a fit, it just wasn't our crowd. However we made good friends with our next door neighbor, who by the way commented often on how strick miss flea police was being, and she gave us the scoop on some REALLY great flea markets to go to, where she said our items would sell well. We also met another awesome lady who spoke English beautifully, and she will be moving to Arizona soon. She is really interested in CyberWize, and just overall interested in us. But best of all, she is interested in the GOSPEL!!! I can't wait to keep in touch with her and get her going to a church when she gets to the states. Her husband is American and they have 3 kids. It was so great to meet her.

SOOOOOOOOOO, it was a great learning experience. We will probably do many more flea markets because if nothing else we got to hand out business cards with our web address on it. And we got to meet people, that is what I love most about this. I get to meet people I would never come in contact with otherwise. People I can tell about Jesus!

Next time, I also know to stand up for myself if I ever run into another anal flea police! I think my just looking at her with this "your crazy" look on my face was not very effective.

Hana did AWESOME though! she even took a nap in her stroller. She was a major tropper. It was exhausting keeping up with her and the store, but it was great to learn that I can do it with if I need to. And I think she pretty much enjoyed it.

I am totally pooped though, so I am off to bed. Tomorrow I have to get ready for Rocky's brother's family to come and spend the rest of the week with us. Their family has grown, they now total four, and that is too many to fit in Rocky's parent's little apartment so we get to play host from now on! Praise God for our huge spacious house!

good night

too busy to blog!

We were out of town over the weekend I didn't get to work out on Sat. Then Sunday I worked out here at home last night but didn't get to blog. I had a 50 minute workout on my stepper here in at home last night. it felt AWESOME! Can't remember the steps and calorie stats, but they were high. But I did HORRIBLE eating this weekend, snacked a lot (at the church between activities) and at chocolate on the way home! ugh! and I drank a coke to stay awake on the drive home. BAD BAD me! That was my first coke in at least two weeks, I can't remember when I last had one.

But today I am back on track...

workout:
35 minutes on stepper, 140 storriesclimed, 344 calories
legs, abs stretching

food:
breakfast: toast, milk
lunch: a little bit of rice, miso soup, carrot salad, tea
snack: a couple of chocolate covered almonds, a little bit of Hana's popcorn
dinner: chicken with oroshi daikon, salad, a little bit of rice

There is this guy at the gym that thinks it is his job to comment on everything I do. He tells me I am not standing properly or not pulling properly or SOMETHING. It drives me nuts! I wish he would leave me alone.

Otherwise I have a few other good little buddies at the gym. It is certainly a little community, there are those of us who are there EVERY day at the same time, and we get to know each other a little. Most of them are just now figuring out that I understand Japanese so they are starting to talk to me more and more each day. It's fun.

I am convinced however, that weighing yourself is NOT the best way to determine how workout and diet are going. weight can be soooo deceiving. My body shape has changed DRAMATICALLY in the last 6 weeks, but my weight has not changed that significantly. and like today, when I came into the gym I weight 69.4 by the time I finished my workout I weighed 69 even. After my shower and a couple sessions in the sauna, I weighted 68.6! That is almost one complete kilo difference. VERY misleading.

so I am saying that my weight today was 68.6 (cause I like that number the best!)

I'm off to bed, tomorrow we FINALLY get to unveil our qtbaby business! It is forcast to be a sunny day and we have a flea market to go to! Hopefully pictures tomorrow!

Work out report (4/28)

Life is suddenly crazy busy everyday. I was soooooooo tempted not to go workout today. We were headed home from the church cafe and I just wanted to come home and chill for a little while and then get ready for tomorrow, but I am so proud of myself. I came home, got ready to go workout and went and did it. Not only did I work out, I did a SOLID workout, upped my stepper level and stayed at that level through the whole cycle. And I wasn't sluggish like I thought I would be after such a busy day (and some sugar today, bad bad me!) So here's the stats...

workout:
stepper 35 minutes, 340 calories, 130 stories climbed! that next level up really adds some work
abs, arms, back, stretching

incidentally I am seeing more flexibility when I stretch. One of my questions right now is whether a person who is not flexible can become flexible with persistence. In high school I tried for years to do the splits and never could. I wonder if I just wasn't trying hard enough or if a person can be physically made in a way that they just won't flex in certain ways. I am determined to become more flexible if it is possible... just curious about that one

food:
breakfast: toast, milk
lunch: remen noodles with lots of veggies on top, tea
snack: chocolate shake and a donut (this is the BAD part, I was going to splurge for the donut but my friend I was with bought me a shake and handed it to me, I was like AHHHHH but couldn't refuse it, she'd already payed for it, so ugh, I drank it)
dinner: salad, a few french fries
after workout snack: banana and milk

I did NOT do well with eating today. NOT at all. And we will be gone all weekend and I probably won't have much control over what is offered. Then next week Rocky's brother's family will be here... LOTS of eating will take place then! OH my, I hope I can control myself.

Gotta go to bed.

Work out report (4/27)

Today was again super busy so it is late and I'm headed for bed. this will be quick...

workout:
stepper 25 min, 250cal, 100 stories
abs, legs, stretching

food:
breakfast: pancakes, juice
lunch: eggplant harusame noodle soup, carrot salad, tea
snack: banana, milk
dinner: sushi maki, salad, fruit jello

good night

Work out report (4/26)

WHEW! I am plum worn out today for some reason. I am so sleepy I am about to fall out of my chair! It wasn't necessarily a really busy day so I don't know why! But here's my report for today...

workout:
35 min stepper, 130 stories climbed, 310 calories (either my home stepper is way too generous or the gym stepper is way too stingy with this calorie counter, because at home I get like 500 calories but barely broke a sweat and at the gym I get only 390 and I can hardly walk when I am done, what's up with that?)
abs, arms, back and stretching.

food:
breakfast: CyberWize shake
lunch: rice, carrots salad, spinach with ponzu, 4 little sausages, tea
dinner: rice, sweet and sour pork, water

Weight: 68.8 (up a little today, ugh)

OK, I'm off to get ready for bed.

Work out report (4/25)

I am up way too late tonight so this will be short!

workout: (gym closed on Tues.)
home stepper, 43 min, 3580 steps, 500 calories (the stepper counter is VERY generous I think)
abs, stretch

food:
breakfast: too busy to eat, wasn't hungry either
lunch: pumpkin harusame noodle soup, small piece of bread, some apple, tea
snack: toast with whipped honey (YUM)
dinner: pork kimuchi rice bowl, milk, tea

I did GREAT with my eating today. Felt pretty hungry right before dinner, I think because my lunch was REALLY low cal. The noodle package said it was 130 calories only. That is low. I wish I knew how many calories was in that rice bowl I had for dinner... let me check the internet... 807! wow, that was steep. So my total calories today probably came to about... 1,200 or so. That is pretty good! I am glad I did so well earlier in the day, that rice bowl was a lot of calories!

So anyways, it was a good day but I better get to bed. Tomorrow will be busy again!

Work out report (4/24)

Had a pretty good day of rest. Just did random things, for CyberWize, QTbaby, and MY cutie baby. Who by the way has a fever and diarrhea this evening. Poor thing. She's been kind of low key all day and I suspected something was up. I hope she'll be Ok by morning. Usually when she has fever she wakes up during the middle of the night several times. Poor baby.

OK, so I have AWESOME news! All that thinking I wasn't doing so well on eating right these last few days. Well it didn't seem to matter very much. I figured surely I would be up on the scales a little today, or just the same at the most. I was sooooooooo shoked to see my weight today...

68.5!!!!!!!

Not only did I get to see the 68's again, I am well down into them! I looked at my weight chart on the computer at the gym, just three weeks ago I was 71.4!!! That is almost 3 kilo in 3 weeks! My goal of 65 by June is totally in reach. I am so excited!!!

Workout:
35 minutes on stepper, 330 calories, 130 stories climbed
abs, arms

food:

lunch: vegetable stir friend rice with a little chopped pork, kimchi, tea
snack: glass of orange juice
after workout snack: banana
dinner: small hamburger patty, green peas rice, salad, tororo

I learned one lesson today, I went to workout at 4pm. I usually work out in the evenings after dinner, but today going in the afternoon was TOUGH. It had been several hours since lunch, and I could tell I needed more fuel. My normal routine was a struggle to get through. I have to remember from now on to eat something before I go workout. It is obvious that my metabolism is catching up so I can afford to fuel the workout, so I feel good during it and can make the most of each part of my workout. It seems like a waste to go and workout if I will cheat on my activites because I am tired and feeling sluggish. Like today, I can usually do my whole stepper routine without holding onto the rails, but today I had to grab on a few times to make it easier on my legs. I don't want to waste all the hard work, so gotta have enough energy!

I was following a book that suggests not to eat unless you FEEL hunger pains. This working well for me, but you'll notice I also didn't have breadfast today. I wasn't feeling hungry so I didn't eat until lunch. But by lunch time I was almost desperate to sit down and eat. And then my workout was so sluggish, I think I will go ahead and eat a little something for breakfast every morning anyways, that probably significantly impacted my low energy this afternoon. Again, I am obviously doing fine, and I've been eating breakfast almost everyday so no worries. Besides I love my toast with whipped honey in the mornings!

It is just so exciting to be seeing results this time. The last time I got into the gym I did not change my eating habits much and reasoned that just working out would bring off the weight but it didn't. I lost a little at first but then stayed the same forever. I also ended up eating more a lot of the time because I convinced myself that I was working out and that would take care of it. I feel great this time, and it feels awesome to see the pounds coming off and the muscle tone coming on!!!

Busy Sunday, Reflections

Sundays are so crazy sometimes! This morning Rocky preached at Harugaoka Church. We have had a long standing relationship with this church. Right after we were married, this church had no pastor and they had Rocky preaching one Sunday a month every month for a while. Then they had a pastor for a while, and for a time enjoyed some incredible growth. However, at some point some things went bad, and the pastor left a while back. We do not know what happened but the church was left with only a handful of members. The core group that is left is strong, and devoted. They now again have a rotation of others filling the pulpit on Sunday morning while they recover and move on. We really enjoy going to this church, there is a Spirit of determination and faithfulness among the small group of members. They also really receive Rocky's messages with eager hearts and open minds. so they call on Rocky about once a month to fill to pulpit and today we were there.

This morning was so much fun and we always wish we had more time and resources to give to this group. This morning Rocky's message was about eternal life. It starts here and now and it isn't just the rewards of heaven but is the blessing of walking with and getting to know Jesus even from now. John 17:3 "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." Rocky made a great point in his message, the verb "know" has two very different meanings. You can know about something but not really KNOW it.

What hit me this morning is that we get the priviledge of KNOWING Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior. Not only did he die for us, save us, give us eternal life, he shows us grace and mercy, blesses us far beyond what we deserve, and on top of all that, we get to KNOW him. How excited would you be if someone told you that you are going to get to meet and get to know Julia Roberts or George Bush, The Pope or any other famous person you admire. Many of us would be so excited we could hardly stand it. We would probably have trouble sleeping at night, would do our best to look and act our best, we would tell everyone we know.

Do you feel the same way about the fact that you get to meet and get to know your Savior, Jesus Christ. And the verse in John says, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." You want to find heaven on Earth? He lives right inside your heart, walks beside you every day and reveals every part of himself you'd ever want or need to know about in his word. And he's dying to get to know you!

WOW, that turned into a little devo, huh!?

So anyways, we couldn't hang around much after Harugaoka, we had to run get lunch and head to church for Afureru! in the afternoon. That is our bilingual monthly worship meeting. We had an awesome meeting today. You can see some pictures on the website, www.afureru.org then click on the link to the blog. There are about 8 pictures there I think. It was such a great meeting tonight, the whole meeting was testimony sharing time. We love to get the opportunity to hear how God is working in everyone around us.

So after that, we had dinner with some friends, and we got home at 9pm. We left a little after 9am this morning, whew, what a day! Hana was such a trooper, she did great.

Needless to say, I was worn out and did not want to work out. So I didn't. I also did sort of OK with eating today. I do great in the morning and afternoon and then eat what I feel like is a little too much for dinner. It wasn't terrible, just not the best.

breakfast: CyberWize shake
lunch: salad, garlic bread, ginger ale
snack: 2 little cookies, tea
dinner: we went to a restaurant called hamakatsu with our friends. It is breaded friend meats with rice soup, and pickled veggies. I shared a plate with my friend, so I had a small portion of each; fried pork/potato koroke/chicken, some pickled veggies, cabbage salad, a little bit of rice with tororo on top, tea

I shouldn't have had all that for dinner. Especially on a day that I couldn't work out. So just like yesterday, I decide again today, tomorrow I WILL do better. I did follow my promise from yesterday, today I cut down on sugar and carbs. Tomorrow, I will do better in the evening!