Achieving Balance . . . Day Five

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

FAITH Yesterday, God’s children shared God’s word, discussed the annual report, and cut mittens for a community in need.



“I needed clothes and you clothed me . . . “(Matt 25:36a)

FAMILY: I’m really pushing my luck in getting my husband to join me for another photo (after our church directory photos yesterday (done only every five years or so). Lately, he’s been wanting a sweat suit and all the ones left at Sam’s Club were 2X, so I went down to Walmart and bought us both suits. He likes! I’m relatively low maintenance when it comes to hair, make-up (I can still march in place putting on eye shadow) and clothes (my average price per piece falls well below $10). My outfit was on the super sale rack: the britches were size 12-14 and the only matching top was an 8-10. It fit! My first size 8! Lovin' the non-scale victory (NSV) -- WooHoo!



FRIENDS: I took this photo while several of my 5% team mates were visiting Ecuador earlier this month. How fun was this catch?



FITNESS: I walked a 14-minute mile for the Lupus 5K this summer joining fellow Sparkers TheCrazyMango and VPoppy:



FOOD: NorthwoodsMom8 introduced me to a slowcooker recipe for peanut clusters that I knew would make the perfect table favor to give my husband’s classmates during our Christmas lunch. They were a hit! And I ended up keeping only a few servings that fit within my nutritional ranges quite nicely: recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detai
l.asp?recipe=1907211



FUN: I love to watch the odometer on the car roll over to all one digit. I just couldn’t resist this lucky 7 number that I earned last week. I should soon be reaching level 19 with only one last trophy remaining. (Happy, happy -- one SparkPoint incentive goes off the table)



Hope you’re having a great Spark Day! WooHoo! -- only two more blogs left in this challenging challenge.

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Achieving Balance . . . Day Four

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

FAITH: Today is Church Directory Photo Day at my church. Here’s the photo we last took for this directory:



FAMILY: Here’s a little Florida family time at Fisherman’s Village. Hubby’s cousin is in the middle.



FRIENDS: Last night, I enjoyed Moo Shu served at the China Inn where I was able to take the remaining three servings of my entrée home for later enjoyment. What a fun evening filled with good food and lots of laughter!



FOOD: HealthyBarb1 and I are planning a picnic when her fitness minutes take her to my region of the universe. Communing with nature through picnics are incredible experiences. I enjoy picnic tables year round . . . this one is in front of a replica of the first home in Ashland; followed by a campground in Washburn; then patio outside CMO at UW-Superior. Mother nature’s beauty is God’s blessing to those who enjoy the vast diversity our four seasons offer:







FITNESS: I have the 28-Day Bootcamp DVD by our very own Coach Nicole and am now incorporating a new set of routines in my fitness program. While I zip through the minutes (for the sake of my fellow Teddy Bears), many of the minutes I do, are relatively lazy or fun minutes with Tai Chi, dancing, and more leisurely walking in the woods (with a camera, naturally) or functional walking to the market.



FUN: I’m a tree hugger! My Uncle Art (the artist) was well known for his painting of nature the white of his birch trees were the white of the canvas (and not paint). These birch trees were just off a path along Lake Superior.



"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water,” (Jeremiah 17:7a)

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Achieving Balance . . . Day Three

Monday, January 16, 2012

FAITH: One project this Missions Group took on was making diapers out of old t-shirts to send to Honduras. Now we cannot keep up with the requests we get from our local Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries. If you’re ever in my neighborhood, bring me your old (but clean) t-shirts!



FAMILY: While with my Dad last Friday, I came across this earlier photo with my parents and two brothers. How fun to see how we’ve all changed. I love hats and would like to see more return to the fashion scene.



FRIENDS: Friends having dinner at the newest Senior Living Home offering everything from assisted living to hospice care. Their schedule of activities reminded me of being back on a cruise ship (lots! – sign language lessons (imagine the therapy here), cooking demos, bible studies, etc, etc).



FOOD: Soup is good food! I love the savory discovery I’ve made where rehydrating Asian black mushrooms make a great soup base (with or without meat). My breakfast today was a double serving (3 cups/6 freggies in all) of my chicken-veggie-noodle soup totaling: 305 cal, 51 carbs, 6 gr fat, 14 gr protein, 22 gr calcium, 823 gr sodium, 8 gr fiber.

I should add on a fun note, I have a policy that only original art finds a home on my walls . . . the artist here was undoubtedly a starving artist of the 70’s on the UW Madison campus of the Lake Menona skyline. Since 1987, this skyline is now adorned by a splendid Frank Lloyd Wright creation. Artists truly bless my life. I just learned that my newest SparkFriend is an artist.



FITNESS: Lake Superior is magic! This Great Lake is shared by Canada, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Walking along it’s majestic shores is a great way to work in a few fitness minutes.



FUN: Last month, my status line read: “EHAGFELD tried on successfully a Size 10 animal-print shirt dress at Kohl’s last night. WooHoo! I’m still a Size 12, but haven’t seen a Size 10 since my overweight days from my early teens.” They don’t call it “vanity" sizing for nothing! While I didn’t buy the dress, I sure had fun trying it on. Here’s the photo:



Hope you feelin’ the love this day!

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Achieving Balance . . . Day Two

Sunday, January 15, 2012

I should preface this blog by the fact that week’s blogging is compliments of the 5% challenge where we are asked to blog every day for one week as part of our Living The Good Life challenge. Being blessed as a visual person, I will likely concentrate this week of blogs through the lens of my camera. You will see -- in yesterday's blog in more detail -- that I am concentrating my efforts on achieving balance through a healthy combination of faith, family, friends, food, fitness, and fun.

FAITH: Last Sunday, I was part of a team -- taking this photo -- that prepared a community dinner at my husband’s church:



FAMILY: Last Friday, I spent the day with my Dad. We enjoyed eating out and a visit to Lake Superior.





FRIENDS: Dad and I looked through some old photos and I came across this gem from a former work associate (about 30 years ago) who now regularly snowbirds in southern Florida. This was such a fun time and I loved my work.



FOOD: I met all my nutrients yesterday except for sodium (thanks to 2 servings of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese). I’m beginning to think now that this could be my area of most needed improvement. For breakfast, I made another comfort food: A turkey pepperoni-mushroom –and-onion pizza on flatbread (279 cal, 31 carbs, 10 fat, 24 prot, 32 calcium, 1134 sodium, 12 fiber). I seldom order pizza now when I go to the best pizza houses.



FITNESS: I’m in Week Three of the Official January Jumpstart. I’m so glad Nicole gives us modified workout options. I’ve actually been progressing to the second level on many of my workouts. WooHoo!



FUN: Here’s a photo along the highway heading to my Dad’s place. No snow in my yard, but we’re getting hit in the countryside.



May you strike balance in every area of your life.

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Achieving Balance . . . Day One

Saturday, January 14, 2012

FAITH: Spend at least 15 minutes daily in the study of God’s word and complete at least two prayer shawls. My goal is to continue to make my faith an active verb – a living faith -- full of ways where my personal relationship with God is enhanced. I take to heart the words of Jesus when he forgives Peter’s denial of him and says, “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:17b)



FAMILY: When living within a hundred miles from my Father (WWII veteran), I strive to see him weekly. Before worship on Christmas Eve, we enjoyed a taste of Lake Superior:



FRIENDS: I’d like to use Mrs P’s words here when I say, “be present “ -- During the holidays, I was able to meet NorthwoodsMom8 for coffee, wrapping her gently with a prayer-filled shawl.



FOOD: Track food daily while satisfying 4-7 of the recommend levels of: calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, calcium, and sodium daily. It was here that I whipped up some sautéed onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes with some fiber gourmet pasta.



FITNESS: Track daily while averaging 70 minutes (or more) of daily cardio and strength training. Sometimes I think these winter trails are more about balance than they are about walking . . . as simply staying up is truly an art. This is one reason I post a lot of 30-minute miles!



FUN: Photography is one of my many hobbies. This winter has been extremely mild. HealthyBarb1 and I are getting ready to tramp in the woods (snowshoes are packed and ready) up the beautiful north shore of Lake Superior – I so want to show her all my favorite haunts! I can nearly always count on the incredible Amnicon Falls when I can’t find snow around my own home.



Hope you’re having a FABULOUS week and FEELIN' the love on this site from your many Spark Friends!

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