I've lived in Concordia, MO (town about an hour east of KC) Lincoln, NE (great little city!) Dallas, TX Waco, TX Duncanville, TX (suburb of Dallas) DH and I would like to live in Northern Colorado someday, or even back somewhere in the midwest. Although I've lived here almost 25 years, I'm really not much of a fan of Texas.

Yep, typical American restaurant fare. Huge portions, loaded with fat and salt for flavor. Some of that stuff didn't even look appetizing - like the Awesome Blossom. Way, way too greasy for me. And turkey burgers taste too much like, well, turkey. And yet. We rarely go out to eat. We make almost everything at home from scratch, and we eat really pretty healthy most of the time. For us eating out is a bit of a luxury. Soo...if DH and I are out on a date and we go to a restaurant, I'm probably not going to go for the grilled chicken salad, sans dressing and a dry baked potato. If I'm spending money on eating out, I'm gonna eat whatever looks good to me, and whatever I'm hungry for, at the time. If that means the gooey cheese enchiladas with refried beans, so be it! If that means the pasta with cream sauce and a tiramisu for dessert, that's what I'm gonna order. Of course, I usually end up bringing some home, and DH and I might end up sharing the dessert, but that's okay, I still really enjoyed something I don't normally have. Just my thoughts.

Another other here! We are Lutheran (Missouri Synod).

Everybody's a little different in how they respond to various foods. About three years ago I lost around 25 pounds and have (more or less) been able to keep it off. For me, keeping it off has been more challenging than it was to lose the weight in the first place. If you're not eating much, and it's lots of carbs, there may be a couple of different things going on. First, your caloric intake may be too low and thus your body has gone into starvation mode, meaning your metabolism has slowed down to make the most of what food it is getting. Secondly, if your body is sensitive to carbs (pre-diabetic, PCOS or insulin resistance are some conditions that go hand in hand with this) your body will convert the carbs into more fats. It can be really frustrating! (ask me how I know :001_smile:) I'm fairly sensitive to carbs. It was aggravating because what I used to do was cut back on food but I would gain weight anyway because of what I was eating. So I have to be careful not to eat too many carbs, especially high-glycemic stuff. If I do I can tell pretty quickly by the way my clothes start fitting (or not!). This is what worked for me: Eating protein at every meal, along with a carb and a fat. For breakfast that might look like eggs, a piece of toast or bowl of oatmeal. Or cottage cheese mixed with yogurt or fruit and nuts sprinkled on top. Ironically I was eating more food than before and was much more satisfied but started to lose weight. I found that eating every 3-4 hours helped eliminate any cravings I had. And I give myself permission to eat other stuff (high glycemic stuff) every once in a while. If I totally denied myself, it wouldn't work as well for me. 'Cuz I still really like popcorn and chocolate and ice cream and stuff like that! :lurk5: As far as exercising, definitely that will help give your metabolism a good kick-start. You might want to start out conservatively; it is easy to want to go full bore right away, but people tend to burn out more easily this way. Rather start out slowly and add a little more each week. Yeah, you might be sore for a couple of days, but it will pass. Remember, it's good kind of sore! Again, everyone's different, but the following book was especially helpful to me as far as re-doing how I ate. It is titled The Formula by Gene and Joyce Daoust, based on 40-30-30 eating. The recipes and meal suggestions in the book are stuff "normal" people eat and are easy to prepare. I found I really didn't have to shop much differently. Hope this helps!

DS7 is 1st grade and we average 1.5 hours/day, four days a week with Fridays as "Science and Discovery Days". In addition he does some of his own reading for enjoyment. DD5.5 is K and she does about 45min - 1hr, a couple of days a week, plus joining in on Fridays. That's one on one specific teaching time. Beyond that, I know they're learning all the time.

I like to have two scrambled eggs (or 1 whole egg and two egg whites), with toast, or eggs and a bowl of oatmeal with cream and a little real maple syrup. And a cup of coffee! Or, I will mix some flavored yogurt with cottage cheese and organic frozen blueberries in a bowl and eat that. Sounds a little different, but I like it! I am sensitive to carbs so I try to have a protein and a little fat with lower-glycemic carbs at most meals. It also keeps mid-morning cravings at bay.

I'm ready for a break, but we're going to hang in there until our Spring Break! Since my DH is a teacher we'll be following his school schedule. Spring break is during Holy Week this year; we're talking about going camping earlier in the week and being home to observe Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and celebrate Easter Sunday.

Hey...I also live in Duncanville! We are currently participating in a COOP in Red Oak and soon one in Ellis county, south of here. Susan, how old are your kids? I have a DS7 and DD5.5

I am so very sorry. Please know you and all affected are in my prayers.

FYI, in spite of what my screen name suggests, I don't live anywhere near the mountains...I just wish I did! :) DH and I have been married almost 12 years and have two children, DS7 and DD5. This is our second year of homeschooling. If you had talked to me a couple of years ago I would have been one of the last people to consider homeschooling, mostly because I didn't know enough about it and I didn't think I could do it! One of my sisters was thinking about it and gave me some resources so I could make a more informed decision. And, after much prayer, much research, much discussion, and DH's encouragement, we took the plunge. And I'm so glad we did! Before becoming a SAHM when DS7 was born, I worked at a community college as a counselor/academic advisor for students with disabilities. Now I do some academic advising on a seasonal basis, as well as teach a class every once in a while, as time allows (which isn't much, lately). DH is a high school teacher and freelance animator. He's on his last semester of his master's program, so our schedule has been really crazy lately (well, more than usual). As far as our home curriculum, last year was kind of "freestyle", but we have a little bit more structure to things this year. Here's what we're using: Scripture and Catechism lessons. We are Lutheran and our faith and church are an integral part of our lives. Sonlight Core C for History/Geography, Read-Alouds, some of DS's reading, and Science Horizon Math K and 1, plus additional math games, etc. Handwriting Without Tears Spelling Workout First Language Lessons Lots of playing, Legos, puzzles, drawing, imagination, music, singing, dancing, building forts, "home" skills (i.e. chores), etc...and various and sundry other items of interest, as well as a COOP now and then. ...I will add that I've been a lurker on this site for quite some time, and have learned a lot! I must give kudos to Peek-a-Boo for telling me about it. Thanks, Peek! :D

After we went to buying more whole and organic foods we discovered we are actually spending a little less because we are not buying a bunch of processed stuff! DH gets paid once a month, so I put together a cash-flow plan each month and assign each dollar to a category (e.g. mortgage, tithe, retirement, groceries, vacation fund, gift fund, gas, utilities, clothing, car fund, etc.) Once we started telling our money where to go ;) it started behaving much better! The other thing that has helped is that we pay cash for most things. Any change we get back from the transaction go into a piggy bank that we can use for a designated purpose. Last year we were able to buy our food and a few "extras" for our summer vacation. The great thing was that it was money we didn't even miss! Anyway, these are just some things that work for us. HTH!

I use a series called Power 90; it's designed to be a "boot camp" program for 90 days. It alternates days of cardio/abs and resistance training, six days a week and starts out less intense but ramps it up as you are ready. I have gone through it once, and I was really happy with the results; but I've kind of fallen off the wagon of exercising regularly as of late. I'd like to get back with the program again!

I have a BA in Sociology (now there's a useful degree!) and a MS in Counseling & Development. I do miss taking classes, and will probably pick it up again sometime in the future...way in the future. :rolleyes: