Female in Motion

For well over a year, I have been faithfully reading a daily blog by Holley Gerth, a writer for Dayspring Cards. "Heart to Heart with Holley" is a devotional diary, but so much more. She just "gets" me. It's like she's crawling around inside my head. Oh, my, that's a scary thought! Today's blog entry from Holley was delving into the subject of overcoming obstacles. She says, "...the biggest challenge has been the voice inside my head. It's the one that says, 'You can never do this, This is in the way. That won't ever change.'" As she was praying one night, Holley asked God, "What do I say instead?" (to silence the negative voices in her head). The author says the answer was clear. Even so . That set me thinking. I have battled negative voices in my mind since I was young. They began outside from another, but I picked up the mantra and continued to batter myself with insults. My favorites were "you're not g

As I write, I am wearing a pair of St. John's Bay misses size 16 jeans, with the zipper and button done! They said it couldn't be done...but I did it. I guess all those weeks of aerobic workouts are paying off. In the last few months, I have lost five more pounds. Not a moment too soon, either, my high school class reunion is coming up! *** I did something kind of gutsy on Saturday, or maybe just dumb. I attended the Kansas Writers Association's monthly meeting in Wichita, and read the first two pages of my novel-in-progress to a critique group. The experience was humbling (some people's work was more polished, mature, better), scary (it was the first time anyone besides The Hubster heard it), but ultimately helpful. People in my group gave me some great ideas for the opening, so I set about to implement some of these on Sunday afternoon, after church. However, I had a nasty migraine, so my brain was pretty much cornmeal mush. I did get some thoughts on the page, and ho

Some things are given. When you get married, you get a ring. If you take care of it, it lasts a lifetime. (And so, hopefully, will the marriage!) Well, The Hubster and I are going strong at 29 years and counting, but the ring...not so much. About a month ago, my wedding ring broke. Two days later, it broke again. I took it in to my favorite jeweler, Luke Schmidt, and he related the sad news. It was terminal. He could maybe mend the ring, but it would never be as strong as it was before, and it would cost much more to repair than the ring was worth. Hmmm. The Hubster and I put our heads together and thought and prayed on it. We decided that perhaps now was a good time to "upgrade." Walking in to Schmidt Jewelers and sitting in the "engaged" seats was pretty surreal. Luke and Blanche were lovely, as usual. No pressure at all, just good customer service. These folks are not just our jewelers, they are friends. They know our personalities and preferences. Luke knew I wa

This week marks the third anniversary of my blog. My original goals were to exercise more, lose some weight and continue the work I had begun on Project Carol. Through the history of this blog, you can see the progress I have made. I stopped biting my fingernails, joined writer's groups, attended conferences, gave speeches and lost more weight. It seems as if while this blog was aging, I was doing some growing up, too. When I began Female in Motion, I was a size 16W. Now I wear a 14W or 16 misses. That's not a lot of weight, but I have kept it off for three years, and that is much better than I have ever done before. I was always a yo yo dieter in the past. My endurance and energy levels have increased, as well. I think regular exercise is the key for me. I feel better, sleep better, even eat better when I have worked out. My diet has improved, too. I drink lots of water and know my "trigger" foods, like potato chips, donuts and most desserts. Out of my house, off of

Rachel and Drew are moving to Dallas! Yes, my youngest daughter and her husband are starting a new chapter in the book of their life. Some might say: They're too young! They're not wealthy! It's too far away! I say: I was younger. I was poorer. It's not the moon, people! When is the best time to start your life over? Today. Or tomorrow, at the very latest. The kids have an opportunity to live in Dallas, where Drew will attend college. He is planning on becoming a physician in the Navy. I am impressed with his ambition and drive. It will take a lot of hard work and time, but he's young and energetic, and smart, to boot. I appreciate their enthusiasm to make this dream come true. That's what it takes. To that end, I spent this afternoon in Rachel's bedroom, sorting through piles of clothes. My daughter is a bit of a clothes horse; she gets that from me. She has great taste, a keen eye for a bargain, and sews a lot of her own stuff. We made mountains. One mount