New Driver and other sundry items

Yep! That day back in June when my oldest took her driver's test...she passed with flying colors! She didn't have any point deductions at all. Yippee! But scary at the same time. She's taken me to work a couple times so she can "have the car" while I work. Weird feeling...

Exercising is still going good. I finished my 30 day challenge a week or so two ago. That was on the medium level. I'll be starting another 30 days on the hard level hopefully next week. I did a hard workout today...one of the preset ones. Boy...that really got me sweating. Then I did the body test on Wii Fit. So far I lost about 5 pounds since mid-January. Probably would be more if I'd give up ice cream...oh well. I have noticed my muscles are more toned and I get less fatigued. My upper back doesn't hurt as often anymore either so that is good news.

Reading....I'm reading a Dorothy Sayers book at the moment. "Strong Poison" was first. The second story is "Have His Carcase". I'm maybe 5 chapters into it but having trouble staying awake at night. Long days at work and getting to bed too late/getting up early to exercise is beginning to take its toll. :yawn:

Knitting....I'm working on this year's Goddess Knits Anniversary Mystery shawl. That is slow going too. No working on that in spare minutes or it would be tinking galore. But it is a pretty blue ...."Jazz" from Knitpicks...hence I've nicknamed this project "Jasper". Yes, a Twilight reference.

Busy Month

Since the last post....

House sat/Nephew sat while sis and her dh were picking up their oldest from college. Got locked out of their house without a key. Library card to the rescue. (Oldest dd's idea.)

Two days later...finally got the muffler repaired. Now I'm not so noisy.

A couple days after that...Prom for my oldest homeschooled daughter. Who would have thought! She went with a friend from church. His mom works for the DPI (Department of Public Instruction). And dd ran into two 2nd cousins while she was out for the night.

And there was a wedding shower, various church duties, "behind the wheel" class, dentist...once every month for braces, our wedding anniversary which I wasn't home for but we are celebrating tonight with cupcakes that the kids are making.

A bit of unplanned reading was thrown in the mix....The Host by Stephanie Meyer. I didn't really want to read it but my sister had sent it home with me so I figured why not. It made me cry (of course) but some of the characters really were very similar to Twilight characters.

Oh and knitting! Another pattern almost ready....plus the free one still. My Mandala is very close to being finished. (pattern ravelry link) Just another hour or two of knitting then on to the blocking. This year's Mystery shawl started this past weekend but I won't let myself start it until I get last year's shawl done.

But the biggest trouble this month was the computer dying. The one with the patterns and photos and all the other important files. We still don't have the new one here but it will only be another week or so. Luckily we have an old ancient computer upstairs that the kids use and we've got a wireless router. So except for all the files and programs and pictures on the main computer (which is a big BUT!) online life continued mostly uninterrupted.

How could I forget about exercising???? I'm still at it! Back to 5 days a week and sometimes weekends. I was able to save up enough of my exercise incentive pay to buy the new EA Active Sports program. I'm only on the first day of the 30 challenge so the jury is still out on which of the three exercise programs I like the best. This one this morning really had me sweating! But I like the flow of the Wii Personal Trainer and the fun of the Wii Fit. So most likely I'll be doing a combination of two of the programs each day for an hour's worth of exercise. Now if only the scale would start showing some signs that I've been exercising consistently since mid-January. :sigh:

EDIT: It isn't called Wii Personal Trainer. It is called Wii My Fitness Coach.
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Rambling and updates

This was the reading from this past Tuesday from Day By Day We Magnify Thee.

It refers to John 15:16 "Ye have not chose Me, but I have chosen you."

Martin Luther writes:

"This cuts off and condemns at a stroke all the presumption of spurious saints, who want to do and deserve so much, even to reconciling God and making Him their friend. For what do they do but make the choice and seek to be first, in that their merits precede and God's grace toddles on behind? It is not He who chooses us, but we seek Him and make Him our friend, that we may glory in that He has received much good from us. That is what all the world does in seeking to merit God's grace by previous works. But the Gospel says 'Ye have not chosen Me'. That is, you are My friends not because of what you do, but because of what I do. If it were because of what you do, I should have to regard your merit, but it is because of Me and through Me, because I draw you to Me and give you all that I possess, so that your glory is in nothing but My grace and love, and not your own nor all the world's work or merit. For I have not let Myself be found by you; rather have I had to seek you and bring you to Myself, when you were afar off, without knowledge of God, and were held in the grip of error and condemnation like the rest. But now I am come, and I have called you out of the darkness, before you prayed or did anything about it. Thus you are My friends in that you have received all good from Me, and know that you have received it all for nothing and out of sheer grace."

Ahhhh....The sweetness of Grace!

God's
Riches
At
Christ's
Expense



Update on reading: Finished Dracula last night on Daily Lit. Putting that on the kids list of books to read. Now on to Jane Austin...Dostoevsky's Devils may just have to wait a little longer.

Update on Knitting: The Apple Leaf Pi pattern is written. Time to test knit.

Update on Exercise: Today I completed my 4th consecutive week (Monday thru Friday) of exercise (Wii My Fitness Coach...not Wii Fit). I like the program. It adjusts the workout to you, the workouts change every time, and you can add a step, hand weights, or a stability ball (and a heart monitor). And it was only $30 vs. $90 for Wii Fit (if you can even find one!). Also you can pick the focus of the day (6 different ones...yoga, stretch, cardio, lower, upper, core), the location, the music, and the length of time you want to workout.

There are a few things I would change about the program but they are insignificant. The "Goldilocks" thing is one. After a portion of the workout she (the trainer...not Goldilocks!) asks if that section was too hard, just right, or too easy. Well...if you aren't able to control the controller and you end up clicking on "too easy" when you really wanted "just right" there is no way to go back and change it. The next time she will "up the intensity" of the workout. I've made that mistake more than once but I haven't noticed the exercises being out of my realm of capability. When that does happen I'll just have to work real hard to click on the "too hard" button! The way to solve this would have been the next screen asking "Do you really mean that!?!". Or having the three choices further apart.

For those who know me, you may be asking how I've managed to workout FIVE days a week.... For FOUR weeks straight. Easy. I bribe myself. It wasn't my idea. I got it from a Ravelry group called Exerstashers. Everyone has figured out their own reward system. Mine is $0.25 for every 15 minutes of working out. On Friday...when I really want to just stay in bed...and justify that by telling myself how I worked out the rest of the week, isn't that enough?....Then my second incentive kicks in. If I work out each day (Tuesdays & Thursdays are easy days...yoga or stretching and only 30 minutes long) then at the end of the week I double the amount I received for that week. It isn't a lot but in four weeks I'm up to $25. And if you think it is weird to pay oneself for exercising....just think how much I'd be paying if I'd join a gym! Way more than that....plus I wouldn't have the incentive of saving up for some special reward. I'm not sure what that reward will be yet....

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