Travis swore to me that he'd write this post, but, apparently, spring semester of your last year of graduate school can be pretty busy...how quickly I have forgotten! ;-) So on this gorgeous Wednesday morning, with abundant sunshine and our front door flung open, we're writing this post together.
Wednesdays have become a special time of the week - not only because we're halfway to the weekend (hallelujah) but because Wednesdays are the days Travis doesn't have to be on campus. We get to spend the morning together, having breakfast, doing chores, running errands, and going on long walks around the neighborhood. We've really begun to cherish this time together and with spring coming so quickly, these sunny days really give us energy for the rest of the week.
Wednesdays are also our weigh-in days. Shortly after returning from Christmas break and all of our traveling (we were in 10 states in 3 weeks), Travis and I decided, like many people do in the New Year, to commit to losing weight together. I had been pretty intentional about not losing weight before the wedding, mostly because I didn't want to make a goal and run the risk of not making it (I hate doing that), thereby running the risk of feeling bad about myself on wedding day (unacceptable). Travis has been steadily losing weight for a year after, thankfully, moving to an apartment on campus that had it's own kitchen (no more school meal plan). Since the summer of 2009 through Christmas, he had lost 20 pounds and lots of inches off the waistline - and is (understandably) pretty thrilled! Like many topics and subjects, we had been talking about joining Weight Watchers for awhile - I have done it off and on since high school - and the clincher was deciding to do the online program and promising (maybe even covenanting) to weigh in together every week.
So, we're starting our 6th week today. To date, Travis has lost almost 10 and I have lost almost 8 - we're keeping great pace with each other! We're losing weight almost in proportion to each other, and the only snag we have hit so far is how many more points Travis has per day than I do.
But, the new PointsPlus program has been great so far - we are eating lots of fresh produce - more than I have ever eaten on WW before - because the new program counts all fruits and vegetables as "Power Foods" and "Zero Point Foods." I'm convinced this is in an effort to respond to the amount of processed foods folks used to turn to on WW - 100 calorie snack packs and Jello pudding cups, for example. Fruits and veggies used to be worth precious points, and by making them "Power Foods," WW has really responded well to the newest food guide pyramid and dietary recommendations by most health/nutrition experts, which state that we should be eating more fruits and veggies than any other type of food per day. Additionally, WW has combined fruits and vegetables into 1 category for tracking - so instead of trying really hard to check off all 5 servings of veggies and 3 of fruit, one only has to check off 8 servings of either fruits or vegetables.
With all this fresh produce sitting in our home, I'm very surprised that we haven't blown our budget for the rest of the year. It always makes me sad to know that fresh produce is so much more expensive than canned or frozen fruits and vegetables, but as with many decisions recently, Travis and I have committed to buying fresh, local produce, as opposed to depending on cans and frozen stuff. Don't get me wrong, our freezer has plenty of frozen veggie bags and our pantry is well stocked with cans, but we have changed our cooking so that our impulse is to reach for the crisper drawer, rather than the can opener. We have begun to use frozen or canned goods only for Crockpot meals or soups/stews, rather than a side for a meal. This has been a huge transition for me because canned or frozen veggies ensured supper was always on the table growing up. I'm sure as our family (eventually, in a good amount of time) grows, we will depend on these handy containers, but for now, with the 2 of us, it's fun to experiment with and learn about the wide range of produce available in our grocery stores.
Since we have lived in Decatur for a few years now, Travis and I have grown extremely accustomed to having any type of grocery we want within just a few miles of our home. This close proximity leads me to the third subject for this posting - the job hunt. Already, we are mourning (with our friends who have already moved away from the area) for our favorite restaurants, groceries, and specialty shops, particularly in Decatur. Anyone who lives here for any amount of time always falls in love with places like The Brick Store Pub, Taqueria de Sol, and Dancing Goats Coffee Bar. In our tenure here, we have discovered gems like Coyote's Mexican Grill (on College Ave), Java Jive (on Ponce in Atlanta), and lots of others (remarkably which have no websites ;-) ). We remember our favorite places from back home in Texas and North Carolina, but are almost anxious about the new, undiscovered, potential favorite restaurants, groceries, and shops in the place where we live next.
The Presbyterian Church, USA is very particular about its process for ordaining women and men - there are lots of steps in the process, and sometimes, it feels like a lot of hoops to jump through. However, the process works, and while we've been in it (Travis for almost 3 and me for almost 4), we have learned a new kind of faithfulness and love for the denomination in which we were raised and are committed to serving. Now, please don't interpret that last statement to mean that we haven't been: frustrated, mad, pissed off, irritated, stomping our feet, wishing it were easier - we have. A lot. Our heritage in the Reformed tradition of Protestantism tells us that we are "reformed and always being reformed." Well, sometimes the "always being reformed" part is painstakingly slow, overwhelming, and seemingly impossible, and yet, we can stop, look around, and realize that it has already occurred - Thanks be to God!
