Chickpeas, Volleyball and Lacy J!

So far I'm doing well in my journey towards better health! As I sit here writing this, I can feel the pain in my abs, but I'm also very happy about that pain. Kevin has been supportive. We're in a competition. As soon as he wakes up, he goes out to the living room and does a serios of situps and pushups. Since I am usually leaving as he starts this routine, he phones me when he is done and tells me how many of each he has done. I then have to do that same number when I get home at night. It's great for both of us, because we both want to be able to walk with confidence as we wear our bathing suits in December, a time when normally we find ourselves hiding behind sweaters and jeans!

Yesterday was the best workout I have had in a long time! I rowed for 10 minutes, I ran for 3o minutes-and my knee only hurt for the last 3 minutes or so-and I rode the bike for 15 minutes. It was intense and I was sweating by the end of all of it! I had to laugh today because I was walking through the office and one of the secretaries said, "Not feeling well today, Stacy?" I was like, "No, I'm fine! Why?" She replied with, "Oh, sorry, you just seemed to be moving slowly so I thought maybe you weren't feeling well!" Ha! Perhaps my MUSCLES weren't feeling so well! I do love that feeling though. The one that comes after a long workout when all of your muscles are sore but you know that it is good because it means you actually DID something with your body that included movement of all of the parts.

I'm also doing better with eating! I have denied myself the sweets all week, in fact I haven't even been tempted! It's amazing what one can do when there is a goal to reach! I have introduced healthier foods into my lunches and dinners as well. I have had chickpeas at lunch two days in a row! They taste so yummy and they are even healthy on the side! So far I have put them in my salad and just eaten them plain, but if anybody has some great chickpea recipes, I would love to have them. They seem to be one of my new favorite foods!

The volleyball season carries on. The girls are amazing. Today in the league playoffs they came back from 11-2 to win the first set we played. They are proving that they have what it takes and we may end up back at provincials again! I always have to laugh at myself because I go to the games thinking that I have no energy and whatever happens, happens but then the game gets going and I find that I'm into it and intense. The girls are just so fun! It's so rewarding to see how they develop and change over the season. It's so exciting to see them do the things that we practice and to see those things WORK! I love seeing their joy after winning a big point and I love it even more when I see a girl encourage her teammate after a tough play. Our prayer times as a team are some of my favorite times. These girls are amazing and I hope that if I someday have a daughter, she will have a caring heart that is on fire for God like these young ladies.

My friend Lacy arrives tomorrow! She's on of my closest friends from university and has become another daughter for my parents. Neither of us can remember the last time that we were together, just the two of us. We used to go on these long walks together every night in university. We shared our hearts with one another. I love her faith and strength and I cannot wait to see her! I'm picking her up at SeaTac tomorrow. I can't believe that I will actually get to see her face to face. We're going to do all of those fun things that we would normally do if we lived near each other. Hopefully we can spend Saturday morning just talking at Starbucks. We're going to go out to eat at Olive Garden, our favorite restaurant to hit together, Sunday we can go to church together and worship with one another, and we will just really enjoy being close friends, hanging out and having fun! Yay Lacy J! I can't wait to see you tomorrow! 3:25! I'm there!

I'm ready for the long weekend and even more ready for Christmas break! In the meantime, though, I will have fun!