I Think My Scale is Broken

I literally jumped out of bed this morning! I had been so diligent last week in my get-fit goals, and I woke up just KNOWING that I was going to be a little lighter ... I could feel it, and was so excited to post my new weight loss achievements on this here blog.

Well, my heart sank something big when I looked down to see the same old number on the scale's dial. The number that has been staring me in the face every morning for seven days. HUGE SIGH. And another HUGE SIGH. And a slow head shake. And, let's be honest here, a big wave of discouragement.

While I was praying a short time later, I opened my eyes for some reason and saw my soft measuring tape hanging on the ribbon-board beside my bed. I felt a distinct impression that I needed to take new measurements, as it had been four weeks since I last recorded them.

Fast-forward to some giddy jumping and repeated shouts of "Aaahhhh!!" as I measured my waist, stomach, hips, bust, and upper arm to find significant differences in inches!! This is the motivation that I needed, and I was immediately back in the game mentally. I ran downstairs and threw on my new cute puffy black coat (that snapped closed - but didn't quite come together to zip - a couple of weeks ago) ... that beautiful zipper just sailed up to my neck, with not a pull or a tug to be found anywhere. VICTORY IS MINE AFTER ALL!!! I don't know what the deal with my scale is, but I AM making progress, darn it!

The above photo embodies three points that make me happy today:

1. The measuring tape, which I have kept symbolically in my sight;
2. My cute pup;
3. My cute pup's wet paws, which bear witness of our Easy Run through puddles today.

Here's the obvious dumb thing about the photo:

1. It shows my limited understanding of editing my blog posts. I thought I had rotated the picture, and now, I don't know how to fix it! Stuff like this drives me crazy. (Like on my last post I typed "2010" instead of "2011" then published it before I caught it, and had to let it go. Can someone help me??! haha)

Are any of you old enough to remember the Go-Gos? The girl band from the early 80s? I LOVED them, and still occasionally sing this song in my head "...I am a girl of a hundred lists! From what shall I wear, to who I have kissed. Check items off, let nothing to be missed, yes, I am a girl of a hundred lists!" Like Belinda Carlisle, I adore lists. They just break everything down into nice, manageable little groupings. In honor of the awesome Go-Gos, here's another list: this time, Things I Want to Try in the Near Future:

1. Tracey's homemade Whole Wheat Artisan Bread, which she blogged about with a wonderful tutorial;
2. Missy's homemade Spelt Bread, which pretty much tastes as good as cake. I am completely impressed with her perfecting of this awesome skill;
3. Smith Brothers Dairy Delivery from a local town - milk is delivered to your home within 24 hours of milking, has no growth hormones, is organic, and is packaged in fiberboard instead of plastic. It costs more. Still deciding if it's worth it. Have any of you tried this??
4. Bountiful Baskets, a wonderful chain of neighborhood produce co-ops which gives you a varied basket of local, in-season fruits and vegetables for $15. My daughter in Utah loves it, and my friend Lorri has just joined here, and included the words "portabello mushrooms" in today's facebook status update. So cool.
5. A container garden in my side yard: tomatoes, herbs, lettuces.

Here are a few yummy dinner menus from our kitchen last week:

Homemade Zucchini Soup**
Whole-grain crusty bread
Fresh green and purple grapes

Fajitas: chicken breast (marinated in homemade lime marinade, sauteed with purple onion and orange/yellow pepper slices), avocado, corn tortillas
Black bean and corn salsa

Homemade Minestrone Soup (with 1/2 portion sausage and lots of veggies)
Cornbread
Sliced oranges

Tomorrow I'm going to make Couscous Salad, with green onion, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, and grape tomatoes. Never bought couscous before, but Julie makes it and it's yummy. I'm also going to try healthifying my family's favorite Shepherd's Pie, by using ground turkey instead of ground beef, making simple mashed potatoes (no sour cream and just a touch of butter), using fresh green beans and 2% cheddar on top, sparingly. We'll see!

A few final notes:

**This week I will post the recipe for the EASY zucchini soup, and another for "Nutty Jumbles", a fabulously healthy snack.
*In the hopefully near future, look for another "Know This Woman" interview, this time with a dear friend who has become something of a local Word of Wisdom / Health expert.
*Many of you have said that you aren't able to post a comment on my blog! If you attempt, it will prompt you to first set up a Google Account ... this is just registering your email address and entering your PRIVATE password, and a "display name" (what name you want to display on your comments). Once you've entered that info, you can leave comments on any blog you like. It's super easy!

Let's finish today with an inspiring quote from Elder Dallin H. Oaks' fabulous talk in Saturday's session of General Conference:

"When we have a VISION of what we can become ... we can cut and carve ourselves free from addictions and hindrances that keep us from achieving our righteous desires."

I'm so excited to go back to study this talk, and also Elder Christoffersen's and Elder Rogers' (I think this is his name. You know, the one about "To Do versus To Be"!). Super great stuff.

Friends, how I love you all. I want you to know that I think about and try so many of the tips you share with me. Thank you for "championing my cause". I wish I could post all the wonderful comments HERE that you post on facebook or by email so that everyone could benefit from them. Let's keep at this business of getting healthy TOGETHER!