Well in lieu of much substantive content, I think I'll give a weather report :)

The snow is only about a mile above our house, on the mountainside. The highs are in the 40's and lows in the 30's, with several nights being below freezing now. That is Alaska for you - short and definitive seasons.l The leaves turning has been beautiful, but aside from feeling badly for my kids not being able to play outside quite as much right now (too wet) I must say I am actually looking forward to a long, dark winter. It's one of my favorite seasons, and once it freezes over again, Callie can slide without fear of a wet rear upon hitting the bottom of the slide at the park! I am not looking forward to snow suits taking forever to get on and off, or car scraping, but I love few things better than falling snow or clear, still, icy afternoons without a cloud in the sky. MMM!

On the weight loss front, I am down 1.4 pounds today and came in at 218.4. Not bad, not bad, my average weight loss week to week seems to be around 1.3-1.5 pounds and while it is slow, I am content with it. My pants are falling off BADLY so I do think I am in need of a new pair of jeans and two pairs of slacks (black and brown, I'm boring) for church very soon. I still have plenty of nicer tops that fit but have retired all but two of my fat-girl tent tee-shirts I had bought when I was in the 250's. The two I have kept still fit decently enough but even they are becoming too shapeless to be flattering. Contrary to what most heavy women like to tell themselves (me included!), baggier clothing WILL make you look heavier than a nicely tailored garment. We're not talking skin-tight here, but the eye of an observer doesn't differentiate between fat vs. loose clothing, and they WILL assume you are big enough to fill in the extra yardage in a given top or badly cut skirt!

Exercise has been poor this past week due to illness, and now that I am feeling marginally better I will be changing this. Today is shot - my spare time has been devoted to cooking a turkey to freeze for lunch meat/leftovers/etc etc, despite getting up at 5:20 am! I will be trying to stick to my guns of waking up with my husband from here on out, for the sake of getting things done before my kids wake up AND as a courtesy to him. I think it will help me get my exercise is each morning (in fact, I am positive of it) and give me good blocks of time for bible study, reading, some chores, etc etc before the munchkins come downstairs. It also gives me good time to prep meals for the day and send him out the door with a lunch for work, which has been a goal of mine since we got married and one I have never really met.

It's taken a lot of prayer, but my schedule and goals are slowly converging and I am becoming a VERY happy girl because of it. When one part of my life is disciplined, whatever it is, it helps all the others fall into line behind it. I need that momentum each day that comes from making good choices and being productive, and waking early is a part of that whether I like it or not (I am naturally a night owl). So while all but basic calisthenics fell to the wayside today, I got SO much done and even had time for a nap without creating any issue. My goal is to keep the good pace of today up for tomorrow and every other weekday this week. And as for my weight, that will continue to take care of itself with all but the most minimal attention from me :)

Ah, sweet success and harmony!