09/26/14 - Friday - The Work Out

Okay, you can see where I started and where I have gotten in these pictures that were taken between August 21, 2013 and September 10, 2014.

So here's the work out routine I've been using:

Warm up:  (5 sets each, To a count of 5 using left side for count)

Standing Leg Circles w/Side Kick (Inward Circles)
Lunge Stretches
Quadriceps Stretches
Side Stretches
Arm Circles (Clockwise)
Neck Rolls (5 sets forward, 5 sets backward)

100 Squats

Cool Down:  (5 sets each, To a count of 5 using right side for count)

Standing Leg Circles w/Side Kick (Outward Circles)
Lunge Stretches
Quadriceps Stretches
Side Stretches
Arm Circles (Counter-Clockwise)
Neck Rolls (5 sets forward, 5 sets backward)

This takes about 25 minutes all together.

Boy, these pictures aren't pretty.

The way I have to think about is, I did the damage.

Throughout this last year plus, I tried to make sure I do this workout at least 3-4 times per week (Aiming for six days for week).

When I started last August, I trusted that God would show me the way to align this body that he gave me with his will.  I didn't expect that as things got better, I would have a time when I felt even more lethargic and fuzzy headed than when I started.  So not fun and thinking things through took a lot of energy itself.  YUCK!

Then we get to Friday, June 13, 2014.  My lower back was taking a painful beating.

I went into see my doctor.  I did my thing in a cup and had some blood drawn.  I had a bladder infection.

What is one of the first things they do when you go to visit the doctor?  They weigh you.  I thought cool, we'll see what kind of progress I've made in the almost ten months I've been working out.  Remember my starting weight was at least 249 pounds.  My weight that day was 236 lbs.

I was disappointed.

I explained to the doctor what I had been doing and that even with building muscle, I still expected that I would have lost more weight in the almost ten months since I had started working out.

Before leaving the doctor's office that day, an appointment was set up for an annual exam and I was given referrals for ultrasounds and x-rays.

The annual exam was scheduled for Friday, 06/27/14.

That's where I leave you for tonight.

Cliffhanger.....and too much to expect anyone to read at one time.

Sweet Dreams to all.

I love you.  Malinda  :-)  XOXOXO

09/10/14 - Wednesday - Sharing

One of Kelsey's favorite pass-times is reading.  So to celebrate her birthday back in June (She's 11 now.  WOW!  Time passes way to quickly when you're watching your child grow up.) we went to 2nd and Charles in Auburn Hills to get some books.

One of the books that I purchased for us is Daily Reflections for Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey.

I have been reading it every day with breakfast along with the other devotionals I read.

One particular entry in this book keeps eating at me.  Here it is:

FEBRUARY 20

I love these lines from The Man Nobody Knows by Bruce Barton, which illustrate that giving to others is like giving to yourself as well:

There are two seas in the Palestine. One is fresh, and fish are in it. Splashes of green adorn its banks. Trees spread their branches over it and stretch out their thirsty roots to sip of it's healing waters. . . . The River Jordan makes this sea with sparkling water from the hills. So it laughs in the sunshine. And men build their houses near to it, birds build their nests; and every kind of life is happier because it is there.

The River Jordan flows on south into another sea.

Here is no splash of fish, no fluttering leaf, no song of birds, no children's laughter. Travelers choose another route, unless on urgent business. The air hangs heavy above its water, and neither man nor beast nor fowl will drink.

What makes this mighty difference in these neighbor seas? Not the River Jordan. It empties the same good water into both. Not the soil in which they lie; not the country round about.

This is the difference. The Sea of Galilee receives but does not keep the Jordan. For every drop that flows into it another drop flows out. The giving and receiving go on in equal measure. The other sea is shrewder, hoarding its income jealously. It will not be tempted into any generous impulse. Every drop it gets, it keeps.

The Sea of Galilee gives and lives. This other sea gives nothing. It is named the Dead. There are two seas in Palestine.

There are two kinds of people in this world.  There are two seas in Palestine.

Why would this eat at me?

God put us here to be present for each other. 

One way to be present for each other is to share our journeys.  The ups, the downs.  The  lessons learned.  Sharing God's strength through our weakness.  Correcting, Confirming, Loving, Uplifting.

One way that God wants me to be present is by writing.  I haven't done a whole lot of sharing.

Despite all the changes that have occurred, are happening currently or will occur, if I don't share them I'm being selfish and I'm not truly changing.

Not self-conscious….SELFISH.  God has been convicting me of imprisoning myself along with others who can benefit from the lessons I've learned.

No matter our differences, inside and out, our paths cross for a reason.

To truly change, therefore transform, into the Malinda God wants me to be I have to let go of that selfishness that binds me to the old Malinda.

It's way past time to unlock these prison doors.

Yes, this has been eating me alive from the inside out.  I want my freedom.

May you be free too.  Life's not easy.  Life can be easier on us though when we share the journey.

I love you all.

Malinda  :-)  XOXOXO

PS - I wonder where Kelsey got her love of reading???  (Tee-Hee)