Month: February 2013

photos, weight

Crystalline

criscollrj

5131084279_760e129f19i

http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1175/5131084279_760e129f19.jpg

 

I did not take this pic, but I saw a similar effect yesterday driving to Ashtabula Kent Campus.  It was actually even more striking than this if that is possible.  The silver-tipped trees against the blue sky was very similar, but there was also the effect I could see, while driving and unable to stop and use my cell phone camera, of the rays of sun casting a sideways silvery glow across the sky adding to the blue and iced trees. It was magnificent!  I was full speed ahead to take my Math exam, which I was late for, and I wished I could stop on the way back to take the pictures but by then the effect was gone.  But the vision in my mind remains.

One thing I wish I could take the time to do, and the money of course, is to learn to use a better camera and take really  magnificent pictures!  But until then I will enjoy others’ and snap away with my Android phone which doesn’t do too bad —

Some of my favorites I’ve taken:

100_0551100_05392012-01-09 19.45.282012-01-10 08.39.412011-05-21 15.56.012011-05-21 15.38.462011-05-22 01.10.032011-06-22 15.22.472011-06-22 15.25.482013-01-21 09.10.50100_1485

God’s beauty in all seasons is amazing!

In other news, on the 30th I’ll be on my MFP (my Fitness Pal) plan for one month and so far I’ve lost 5 pounds!!  I’m the lowest I’ve been since about 2007. 

God, weight

Calling on you…

criscollrj

2013-02-12 08.25.24Since I dropped two of my courses (was too overwhelmed, they weren’t needed right now, and I’m already taking the two required right now) I have been trying to walk each morning again for 20 minutes.  Today the snow was falling very lightly, not accumulating at all on the ground that currently has no snow, and was just barely coming down on my coat.  It reminded me of many walks I took in high school where I bundled up every day and walked my dog Cocoa in the back woods at our farm.

cocoa 2When I walk it is one time I can really try and pray without much distraction.  It’s a bit different than when I drive to Kent – that is also an important time as I try and listen to 103.3 Moody Radio and really focus on the sermons and conversation.  I don’t always listen to radio – I tend to switch from that to the Fish to just classic rock or mix stations, whatever I am in the mood for.  But listening to the shows on the drive to Kent had become a habit and one I do want to continue even now at home.  But the walking and praying was different, and I had missed it.  I have not consistently done it in a while, just because it had been so hectic to always get out the door to get to school, or get Colleen to school (last year), or whatever I was doing.  I am grateful the time is back.

I am also walking consistently as I am still doing the My Fitness Pal – two weeks tomorrow.  All the exercise gets deducted from the day, giving more calories available, and revving the metabolism!  One pound gone…

This song came into my mind today and I looked it up on YouTube.

 

Stryper – Calling on You

Inside of me there is a lonely place
Sometimes I just don’t know it’s there
But when I’m all alone
That’s when I have to face…
[Bridge]
The part of me that needs someone
To be by my side that’s when I call on…
[Chorus]
You, You make my life complete
You give me all I need
You help me through and through
I’m calling on you
I can’t explain just what You do to me
My love grows stronger everyday
You give me love, You give me company
And when I have to face the rain
You bring sunshine into my life
[Repeat Chorus]
[Solo]
[Repeat Chorus]
More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/stryper/

God

How He loves us….

criscollrj

 

 

Have had occasion to hear this song twice in the last 24 hours <3  And feel convicted to share it.  I also feel convicted that I need to show Him I love Him.  I am definitely experienced in depending on God for His patience, wisdom, deliverance, comfort, peace, and a shoulder to cry on.  But how many times do I spend time reading His word, worshipping His being and not asking for anything or worrying about my problems, or just being With Him?

 

How He Loves Us  — lyrics

He is jealous for me,
He loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
and I realize just how beautiful You are,
and how great Your affections are for me.
And oh, how He loves us
oh oh how He loves us
how He loves us so.
He is jealous for me,
loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
and I realize just how beautiful You are,
and how great Your affections are for me.

[ From: http://www.elyrics.net ]
He loves
oh how He loves us
oh how He loves us
oh how He loves
we are His portion and He is our prize
drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
and if grace is an ocean,then
we’re all sinking’
and heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss
while my heart beats violently inside my chest
and I don’t have time to maintain these regrets
when I think about the way
He loves us oh
how He loves us
how He loves us
how He loves
yeah He loves us
oh how He loves us
oh how He loves
yeah He loves us
yeah He loves us
how He loves us
oh how He loves all

college, weight

New classes and new food plan!

criscollrj

Since I like to pile it on all at once I’m tackling just that!

First, the classes.  I love many things about them and also don’t like some things about them.  But all are necessary and I will be challenged and will grow stronger and hopefully wiser with all the information I’m learning!

  • Characteristics of Special Education, Moderate to Intensive.  So far I love this class!  But I don’t like that it’s at night.  At least it’s only once a week.  My husband Roger has been wonderful to pick up Ryan from latchkey these nights.  I did miss last Wednesday due to Concord, Ohio, having its own personal blizzard which caused a pile-up I mentioned in the last blog post.  I was just not up to going down to school after that.  The class is very interesting with reviewing all the ways special education works and is comprised of, and the course has just begun so all kinds of projects are still in store.  I think we have 5 or 6 projects due in the semester.  This course is a requirement for special ed.
  • Basic Math Concepts II.  So far this class has been more challenging than Math Concepts I which I took last semester.  Of course that shouldn’t be a surprise.  I have to start the lessons earlier.  I am planning to actually start tonight, giving me 6 days to work on it before it is due.  Last week started the study of probabilities, which I was completely unfamiliar with, and I didn’t have enough time once I finally really started it to complete it well and understand it.  I only got 80% on the homework before I ran out of time.  I don’t want to repeat that.  This course is a requirement for special ed.

Now, I could have stopped there.  I am not able to get into advanced study for special education yet because I did not yet complete Math Concepts II.  So, since I am on my last semester of Pell grant (I timed out as I had too many semesters) I did not want to only have 7 credit hours in my last semester on the Pell grant, not using the whole thing when it was available.  So I searched for a few classes to get up to full time, ones that would be applicable to my educational goals.  I have wanted to also get a master’s degree in speech pathology, but had put that on hold until I finished the special education degree.  Therefore with this gap I added two courses towards that:

  • Quantitative Methods in Psychology – in other words, Statistics.  I didn’t really realize when I signed up for it that it was Statistics.  I didn’t realize until I looked at the book sample on Amazon and saw – math?  Ugh.  So far, however, it hasn’t been too bad.  The teacher, however, just did send our first homework to us online and it is due in about 10 days, the day before our first exam.  I have not looked at it yet.  I hope I haven’t shot myself in the foot taking two math courses at once – although they say, admittedly, that statistics is not really math – hmmm, don’t know about that!  This course is a requirement for the speech pathology degree I still hope to get later.
  • Language Disorders in Children.  So far this course is amazing, and exactly the information I am wanting to learn in addition to the special education above.  [You can tell I really could do without the math information – ha ha!]  However, the teacher kind of scared me when she told us that her tests were really really hard and were practically the entire grade for the class – that there is really nothing else graded.  The chapters are also longer than average and I am not getting enough of the reading done.  But it sure helps that I’m fascinated with the topic – I should be able to catch up on the reading and do fine.  This course is a requirement for the speech pathology degree I still hope to get later.

So, all and all, an interesting semester!

Then (and I will probably post more on this next week) I decided to start posting on my phone and computer to My Fitness Pal.  A friend of mine’s son lost 25 pounds on it and I decided to check it out.  It has been four days, and so far everything is going well!  I did set the calories rather high at 1700, just to give myself some leeway as last time I believe I had set Sparkpeople (similar app I did last summer) at 1400 and kept going over.  I love seeing exactly where I am with my nutrients and levels.  More next week along with hopefully my first loss post… but it’s a very slow rate – set at 1/2 pound a week to keep it off….

(can I get HERE?)

college kitty