Encouraging Christian Women – Confessions of a Snowflake | Discussing Issues of Faith

This week's topic is…

Breakfast

Have your breakfast habits changed since starting on this weight loss journey? What are some of your favorite breakfast meals? What do you do when you're in a hurry? I hope you'll come share with us. Afterall breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

I am not sure if I have confessed this here or not before.

But the reality is that I am not a morning person!

I always wake up hungry. Therefore I have never been one to skip breakfast. Plus, I have learned it doesn't do me any good to skip breakfast…even if for some reason I don't feel hungry in morning. I just end up feeling extra hungry later in the day. So I always try to eat something in the morning.

Since I am not a morning person, I don't like to spend a lot of time making something to eat. So my breakfasts are usually pretty quick and easy. I love oatmeal. And since I like quick, I generally do the instant kind. Although I am interested in trying this Peanut Butter Breakfast Pudding. It sounds delish!

Cream of Wheat is an all time favorite comfort food of mine. I mean like a lifelong favorite. It has been my go to comfort food since I was young. I used to make it with milk to make it extra creamy. But since I've been on this weight loss journey, I've made it with water. While I do miss the difference the milk made, I don't miss it enough to want those calories. I do love my Cream of Wheat with a little bit of Brummel & Brown Margarine and sugar. Yummy! I think I want a bowl now!

Ooh…I almost forgot another favorite. I love buttered toast w/sliced banana. Yes, I make the toast, butter it, and then I put banana slices on it. Don't ask me where I came up with this combination. I started doing it as a teen. And I have loved it ever since.

Ooh…I'm getting hungry.

Since I am too lazy to make waffles, I will buy frozen waffles and pancakes for breakfast. Yes, I know I could make them & freeze them. But I have never perfected that. So for now you will have to forgive me for my frozen breakfasts. But I am telling you this to tell you about my new favorite substitute for syrup….strawberry syrup.

Strawberry syrup is extremely easy to make! Just chop up a handful of strawberries and cook them in a pan along with a tablespoon (or less) of sugar. Give the strawberries plenty of time to soften up and congeal with the syrup. Then put them on your dish of choice along with a little fat free whipped cream and you've got quite a treat!

Oh my! I do think I need to stop there before I decide I need breakfast!

BTW, the scale was kind of nice to me today. I lost 1.2 lbs. Yes, this is a loss. But after last week's unexpected & frustrating gain, I was disappointed that it wasn't more. But I'll keep at it. As Scarlett says, tomorrow is another day!

How are you doing with your weight loss goals my friend? What is your breakfast routine? Why don't you join us for Weight Loss Wednesday and share? Remember…we're all in this together!

It's easy. Write a blog post about this week's topic and link back to this post. Then register with Mr. Linky below. Please know, though, that I reserve the right to delete any link that does not conform to the spirit of Weight Loss Wednesday. You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #wlwed.

Also please remember to visit some of the other participants as well. It's very encouraging to know you are not alone in this journey.

For the next few weeks, our topics are going to cover a series. We are going to go through each meal, including snacks, and talk about some of our favorites. Sometimes the biggest challenge to eating well is knowing what to eat. I love to know what others are doing. It always gives me great ideas.

Next week is all about lunch. What do you like to eat for lunch? Do you have any favorite lunch recipes? Actually lunch is the meal I struggle with the most for some reason. So I hope you'll come share with us because I need ideas!

In the meantime, remember….

Quitting is not an option!

MM: Lessons Learned Through the Years

This month's Marriage Monday, hosted by the beautiful and talented e-Mom, is all about overcoming apathy and boredom in a marriage.

When we were first married almost 18 years ago, I didn't think apathy and boredom were possible in our marriage. We were so much in love. We're going to be different. For a long time that was true.

Then somewhere around that magical 7 year mark, things begin to change. But we worked through those changes. I learned some things about being a submissive wife. We worked through some issues. Things were better.

Then along came the 16 year mark. Problems began to surface again. Through the years before that, we had been under some very severe stress. During that time I had learned some terrible coping techniques. I was quiet and distant to my husband.

When my husband finally asked me what was wrong, it took me a while to really open up and be honest about my feelings. Some of it he didn't want to hear. Some of it I didn't want to hear. But we were able to talk it out. Since then our marriage has been much better.

One of the things I've learned is that being married for a long time is hard. Over time, habits develop that can be detrimental to a good marriage. Then it becomes difficult to break those habits. Feelings are hurt. And if left untouched, those feelings can lead to bitterness. Bitterness can destroy any relationship.

It's at those times that we have to make a choice. We have to decide where is our focus. Is our focus on all the things that have gone wrong in our marriage? Or is our focus on the good in our marriage?

We also need to look honestly at the man that we married. Why did we marry him? What attracted us to him? And then what is good about him now? Those are things we have to remember during the times of apathy.

We also must be willing to communicate openly and honestly about our feelings.. Contrary to popular belief, husbands are not mind readers. We have to tell him when we are feeling neglected or left out or unimportant.

Finally we must be willing to take time out of our busy schedules for our husbands. Yes, we are busy. Running a household, taking care of children, working in and out of the house – all of this takes time and energy. But we must not forget that our husband deserves some of our time and energy too.

Besides, I have learned (the hard way) that when I make time for my husband, I feel better about life. He listens to my stressed out complaints. Sometimes he is able to help out with those complaints in ways I could not have imagined. Othertimes he helps me see the situation in a new light. Either way it helps to spend time with him. It reminds of those days when we were first in love and it was just us against the world.

I love my husband dearly. Marrying him was one of the absolute best decisions I ever made. But we are both human. We both mess up. We both hurt each other's feelings at times. The point is to keep believing even when you don't feel the magic and to pick each other up and keep going. Remember you're in this for life…and that is a great thing!

WLWed: Breakfast

MM: Lessons Learned Through the Years

My Life as a Snowflake

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