Jennie Goutet's Blog: A Lady in France, page 23

Resolve Conflict #WeighIn

This past week I resolved conflict, and it definitely helped me to have a better mindset to take care of myself in other ways. So I thought I would talk a little about that, and a little about what else I’ve been doing.

I’ve been pulling off my ten minutes of floor exercises every single day for two weeks now (except for that one emotional day I talked about last week). I could have skipped more days – the temptation was definitely there with our heat wave, and running all around the place with year-end stuff. But it was only 10 minutes, after all. And I did say I would do it here, which held me accountable.

I also measured my waist, thighs and arms, like I said I would. No surprises on the first two, but the arms? My left arm is one and a half inches bigger than my right! It must be because I’m right-handed so I’m using it more. No wonder I like my right profile better than my left! So in addition to the 10 minutes, I added some light triceps curls on my left arm. Only my left arm.

I feel pretty good, actually. I noticed it when I was vacuuming. I had a spring in my step that’s not usually there, and it made me feel giddy with possibilities. Sometimes I get an inkling that I want to make diet changes, but I’m not quite ready to go there yet, especially when we’re leaving tomorrow for 2 weeks of collective, delicious, French meals. I still haven’t weighed myself since that first week, and probably won’t until we get back from vacation. There are no scales there anyway, which is just as well.

This past week I resolved the conflict with my psychologist, which I had talked about here. It was hard for me to do. But I called her and told her I thought she was out of line. She apologised and explained where she was coming from, while still owning her mistake.

And just like that I was suddenly at peace. I felt so lighthearted after that conversation. I also felt like I had stood up for myself, which spilled over into wanting to get healthier. I know conflict does not help me to eat smart.

In addition, I felt conflicted because I am both rather religiously fundamental and rather politically liberal and what a week to stir the pot! I decided just to be myself – spreading grace at times, and truth at other times, and sometimes by being quiet. Not everyone needs to hear what I think. I’m also thinking of the scripture “Love covers over a multitude of sins.” That’s not a bad thing to aim for.

I also resolved a minor conflict with my husband that was simply over having different stresses and different priorities. But we sat down and figured out why we were at odds, and made sure we were on the same page again.

No wonder I’m in such a good mood with all these resolved conflicts!

So these next two weeks I’m going to keep up with the ten minute of floor exercises a day. And in addition to that, I’m going to swim every single time we go to the beach, no matter how cold the water is. (It’s Brittany, so it’s cold). Knowing the kids, we’ll go every single day. And that means that my white, cellulite-filled (but less flabby!) thighs are going to get a free spa treatment in the freezing salt water nearly every day!

And I’m going to lay out in the sun in my bathing suit without covering up and trying to pretend I’m in a different place physically than the one I’m actually in. That’s what I’m going to do. Small changes, right?

Tomorrow I will post my last Q&A Bible series for the summer, unless I get some more questions. And then the next two weeks I’ll be here with an irregular blogging schedule -mostly picture posts from Brittany. I also have a podcast out next week so I’ll let you know about that.

What about you? Are you making any small changes this week?

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Out and About in Paris

Well hello there! I have been out and about in Paris a LOT this week. Or, well, Paris only twice but I have been OUT a lot. Wanna see what I did?

On Thursday I went to the airport to pick up a friend.

 

Gettin out of my house. Now we’re talking! … Even if it’s just to pick someone up.

Smoked Salmon Salad with Avocado

This is a super simple, quick and easy, breezy peasy recipe for smoked salmon salad with avocado. Ready to dig in?

Take some fresh lettuce. I was so keen on our garden lettuce until a slug slithered up the bowl to escape the vinegar. But as I was saying, take some fresh lettuce. Add a handful of very red, very sweet cherry tomatoes – these ones are called coeurs de pigeon – pigeon heart – a half-avocado, a handful of fresh mozzarella balls, about 100 grams of chopped smoked salmon … and that’s it!

Like this.

And closer up. Yuuuuuum.

It’s sort of amazing how a fresh salad can jump right out of the photo and tempt you, isn’t it? Now let’s make my favourite dressing, which I’m sure I’ve blogged about before. A heaping scoop of Dijon mustard

a little less Balsamic vinegar

then four good-sized spoons of oil. Mix well.

I like using two of olive, and two of canola because it gives a milder flavour. You don’t need salt since the salmon is salty. (Note – this dressing serves two for a large dinner salad).

And this is the end result.

Sigh.

Oh, you’re inviting me over for lunch?

Don’t mind if I do.

Smoked Salmon Salad   Print Prep time 10 mins Total time 10 mins   From: Lady Jennie Recipe type: Main Meal Serves: 2 Ingredients Fresh lettuce to fill two plates About 10 red cherry tomatoes per plate 10 mozzarella balls per plate 200 grams smoked salmon, divided An avocado divided Dressing: Heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard Smaller T balsamic vinegar 4T oil - olive and canola blend Instructions Assemble salad Make dressing Eat! 3.3.3077

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When Does the Holy Spirit Enter You?

This week’s question is from Sarah in TN, and it’s about when the Holy Spirit enters you.

“I’d love information on the Holy Spirit. Does it only enter unto people once they have accepted and been saved.” 

Sarah, thank you for this question. I spent an enjoyable two weeks reading (or re-reading? – I can’t remember) an old book we had lying around, called The Spirit, by Douglas Jacoby, and examining the scriptures … only to discover that I had misread your initial question (chuckle). For some reason I thought you’d asked if we get the Spirit once, or does it come again and again?

But the study period certainly helped me to organise my thoughts to answer the question you actually asked. So here we go.

This post is part of my new #SoundDoctrine series where you submit your questions about the Bible, and I answer them. If you want to know more about the series and my qualifications, you can read this.

When Does the Holy Spirit Enter You?

The short answer is this: the Spirit enters you the moment in which you are baptised into Christ – after you have cleaned house to make room for the Spirit by repenting of your sins and declaring Jesus as Lord. Let’s take a look at a few scriptures.

The first is Acts 2:36-41, and it takes place on Pentecost just after Jesus had spent 40 days with his disciples post-ressurrection – sharing about the Kingdom of God – and after he was taken back up to heaven. The Spirit came upon the apostles (and I’ll talk more about this in a minute), so that they were able to preach the news in the languages of men coming from all different countries. This is the end of Peter’s discourse:

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

There are two key points, I think. One is that many of these people had been in Jerusalem for the Passover and had witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, without understanding what they were participating in. When they heard that they had crucified God Himself, they were cut to the heart and wanted to know how to make amends. Brothers! What should we do?

Peter’s answer was to repent and be baptised for both forgiveness and the Holy Spirit.

The second key point to this scripture is that it’s a promise for their children. For succeeding generations. For us whom the Lord our God will call. We can trust it to answer the question, “What should I do?”

I think that scripture is incredible and gives illumination to how the first century church lived out their faith. But it doesn’t exactly explain how the Holy Spirit comes in baptism. So let’s take a look at Romans 6:1-4

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

What this scripture says is that baptism participates in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Just as Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, we die to our sinful life through repentance.

Just as Christ was buried in the tomb until the third day, we too are buried when we go under the waters of baptism.

Just as the Holy Spirit resuscitated Jesus and brought life back into his dead body, the Holy Spirit resuscitates us and gives us eternal life. We then share the same spirit as Christ. (You can also read Ephesians 2:14-18, which elaborates on the Spirit we share).

Three Exceptions:

If we are to put aside the Spirit of God entering people for His purposes before Jesus came (which is another discussion), there are three recorded exceptions to the Spirit entering people in the moment of baptism.

1. The Apostles. They were not recorded as having been baptised after Jesus’ death. But they were given the Spirit in order to preach a new covenant.

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. You can read more about this in Acts 2.

2. The Samaritans. They had been baptised but didn’t receive the Spirit until the apostles prayed and laid their hands on them.

Why? The people from Samaria had a long history of being despised by the Jews because the foreigners sent to re-colonise Israel after Assyrian captivity intermarried with the people there and worshipped foreign Gods. (2 Kings 17). The Jews needed a visible sign that the Samaritans were also accepted by God, and this happened when they received the Spirit.

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,  because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. This is in Acts 8.

3. The Gentiles. They received the Spirit before they were baptised. The gentile conversion was even harder for the Jews to accept than the Samaritan’s. Peter had to be told three times (when in a trance) to go preach the Word to Cornelius’ household. And when he arrived, he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about it.

He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.

As he preached, the Gentiles received the Spirit, which validated their acceptance by God (which you’ll see just below). Only afterwards were they baptised.

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” You can read about that in Acts 10.

There’s also Acts 19, where disciples in Ephesus had not received the Holy Spirit because they had only undergone the baptism of John, not the baptism of Jesus. This is a quasi-exception because they did need to be baptised into Jesus in order to get the Holy Spirit, but it manifested itself visibly when Paul lay his hands on them. See here:

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”

“John’s baptism,” they replied.

Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.

But I call it a quasi-exception because it reinforces the idea that it’s the norm to receive the Holy Spirit when we are baptised into Jesus Christ.

For our intents and purposes, we as believers, should not focus on what occurred in the exceptions, but in the norm. We should focus our efforts on obedience in order to obtain “the promise for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

I hope this was helpful. Feel free to keep the questions coming! I am thrilled to do the research and answer them, and I thank you for reading.

Next Week’s Question:

Next week’s question comes from Melanie‘s thirteen year old son.

“If God knew we’d screw up and have struggles in this world only to fight to get to Heaven and return to Him, why’d He create us at all or why didn’t He just create Heaven and keep us all there? Thirteen-year-old inquiring minds want to know…”

Awesome question. I hope to see you then.

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Weigh In Week 2

So last week I started this modest little “small changes” campaign. A personal campaign to move towards better health in small increments since large changes are so overwhelming. I decided I was going to do ten minutes of floor exercises a day. Did any of you do it with me?

(no pressure, no guilt, small changes are hard too!)

Well. Would you like to know how effective it is? 

Ten minutes a day of floor exercises (to strengthen abs, thighs and butt) WORKS! It’s worth it to set the timer on your phone (or whatever) and jump in and do it. Here’s what I found.

By Friday, my muscles sort of remembered they existed.

By Saturday, I taught my last class, and was so emotional about changing my life (quitting teaching to become a writer) I took a nap. But I did the floor exercises that day anyway.

By Sunday, I had been eating badly and forgot an evening engagement that didn’t get finished until 11pm, but I did them at 11pm anyway.

By Monday, when I should have been a pro at the routine, I was suffering from a severe headache and strong emotional upheaval (which I wrote about on Tuesday) so I took a day off. But I didn’t feel guilty about taking a day off because I’m only human. Shocker, I know.

By Tuesday, I got back up and did my ten minutes, mainly because I told you I would.

And by yesterday, I was still so emotional and overwhelmed I almost didn’t do the ten minutes, but I did it because I told you I would. And because I was starting to feel stronger.

The biggest benefit? I noticed that my stomach, which generally looks about 7 months pregnant, stayed sucked in more naturally, and I was comfortable wearing a tight tank top that exposed my belly (although there was a cardigan covering the arms).

I also got better over the course of the week at motivating myself to do the ten minutes, even when I was emotional and tired. I usually start with the leg lifts, which I hate the least. And then I do the butt lifts, which I hate the second least. Last of all I do the sit-ups. And the ten minutes fly by pretty quickly that way.

One day I even set the timer to 13 minutes so I could add in stretching. (wooHoo!). Another day I took a 45 minute walk. (gasp)

So. What’s up for this week?

Well. First of all, I weighed myself last week, but did not this week because I didn’t particularly eat well and didn’t want to get discouraged. So I don’t know if there was any change there, but I will be keeping track of it.

However, I decided to do two small changes.

1. I’m going to measure my waist, thighs and arms. Just those three things. That way I can measure a success, which has nothing to do with pounds lost.

2. I cleaned my fridge yesterday. In France we have small refrigerators. And mine is always messy. I shove whatever I can in there with no order whatsoever. See?

I was already in the process of cleaning it when I snapped this picture, so you don’t see the maple syrup (or was it brown ketchup?) that had spilled all over the white section in front.

But look what happens when it’s clean!

I suddenly discover that I have lots of healthy things in there, which I now have easier access to. This will help me as I try to prepare healthier meals. (Speaking of which, I made a smoked salmon salad, and I’ll share that with you on Monday). 

This makes me feel hopeful, particularly as summer sets in full swing. The kids have school for another week, and then we leave for Brittany!

So. Mini challenges for week 2 are to

a) continue the 10 minutes of floor exercises a day

b) clean the fridge and organise it so the healthy foods look more appealing

c) (buy healthy foods if you have none).

Converted Farmhouse Photo #HTRJack

This is the third post in my photo linkup series, in which you can participate through your blog or through Instagram. The hashtag #HTRJack stands for “Hit the Road, Jack” and it’s to motivate me (and you?) to leave the house more often.

This week I didn’t do all that well at getting out. I was finishing up my English classes, which was exhausting, and I also had a hard week emotionally.

But I did get out. And I took one photo, and I’ve already spoiled the surprise by including it up there ^^. But sometimes that just has to be good enough, right? We’re still early on in this series, with not many participants. It may never take off, and that’s okay. But I’m going to keep plugging away at it, at least until getting out and exploring France becomes more of a habit. And you want to see more of France too, right?

So. Here is my photo. A converted farmhouse, with shutters in the pretty blue colour I love.

 

Getting out was not easy this week but I did it. I love this converted farmhouse. It’s on sale!!

Depression, Shame and Guilt

It has been many years since I’ve felt any shame over my depression and the fact that I take medicine for it. As a memoirist and a blogger, I’m too accustomed to publicly sharing my weaknesses as I strive for authenticity.  As a Christian and Bible teacher, I’m too accustomed to grappling with the darker masses of the soul and shoving them into the light for healing. Twenty years of anti-depressants. Twenty years of accepting and loving myself in this weakness.

So I was caught off-guard this week when my use of anti-depressants was called into question because I’ve really grown in confidence, and in learning to accept it.

It started with my son’s trumpet teacher. We were discussing how hard he is on himself when he has no call to be. He’s got a talent for the trumpet, he’s hard-working, and he’s only in his second year! I explained that we had invited a family psychologist to come to our home to try and help him with this, adding that I, myself, struggle with depression and have been taking medicine for twenty years. There was an awkward pause as she looked at me. And then she turned to my son and said, “Well, you know what your antidepressant is?” She tapped his instrument. “This is!”

And like that, I was reduced.

The second incident was the worst because it came from the psychologist herself. In everything until this she had been wonderful. Very gentle, and extremely wise in knowing how to deal with some of the smaller unhealthy family patterns before they morph into dysfunction. That was why we called her. But when she found out I had been on medicine for twenty years, these are some of the things she said:

Anti-depressants are for short-term use, not long-term.

Any issues you have need to be worked through with long-term therapy.

You don’t need them to be a wonderful mother.

After twenty years, they have permeated your body and you will need to detox, like with alcohol.

And just like that I was reduced. When she started in (again, in a very gentle, respectful voice – a boosting sort of voice – which was at such variance with the content of her speech), I tried to tell her that I wasn’t really open to what she was saying right now, explaining that I had done long-term therapy several times, and I had attempted to go off medicine under supervision several times. I tried to tell her about my head trauma from the car accident. But she only reinforced her argument. Gently.

The truth is, I have wanted to try to go off medicine again. I’ve been wondering if my new life as a full-time author, where I don’t have to run around and teach, and squeeze my scraps of writing in between outings, will be conducive to trying to go off. I’ve been wondering, if I can really get my nutrition and exercise habits under control, will that help me to manage my depression without medicine? I’ve been wondering these things and gearing up to try again.

But her pressure to do it, or her hints that I should have already done it, have the reverse effect on me.  It’s this twisty guilt-shame-panic darkness that threatens to strangle me and convince me that I cannot. It’s this perverse need to show her that she’s wrong and that I can’t do it, thereby validating the twenty years I’ve “wasted” under the influence of medicine.

The third episode was yesterday with my very good friend. I told her about what happened with the psychologist, and she said that she sort of agreed with her, that her mother decided to go off anti-depressants from one day to the next and found that she was totally fine without it.

But the difference with my good friend is that she listened to my story, and then said that my situation sounded different, and that no matter what she was there for me. She validated me and gave me a huge hug, and we were fine. Even though her initial premise was – if my mom can go off it just like that, so can anyone! – she finished the conversation with words of support.

But I still had a headache yesterday. I woke up with a headache (which might have been caused by eating junk food, which might have been caused by feeling badly about myself, which might have been caused by the guilt and shame I felt over taking antidepressants). Regardless of the cause, the headache got worse over the course of the day, and by 8pm, I was in bed with the shutters closed against the daylight, feeling like someone had a crowbar under my left cheekbone and was trying to pop my eyeball out. I slept for twelve hours.

I need to talk to the psychologist. *sigh* I need to tell her that I found her comment to be destructive because – although she was there to assist the family, and therefore had some rights to give an assessment – she didn’t know enough about my past to be able to make that decision. She was not there as my long-term care provider. I’ll have to tell her that I felt like vomiting after she left. I’ll have to tell her that, rather than feeling empowered by her wisdom and help, I felt reduced.

I really don’t want to have to do that.

So that’s what I wanted to tell you about today. I don’t necessarily need for you to tell me I’m okay (although you probably will do that, sweeties that you are).

In case you didn’t catch the nuance, I don’t want you to advise me on whether nutrition and exercise will cure me of my depression (although I am confident you caught the nuance and wouldn’t do that).

Where in the Bible Should I start?

Have you ever wondered where in the Bible you should start reading? That is the subject of today’s Q&A.

     Tia, from TN, asks, “One of the questions I always get is where do I start in the bible…read it front to back or just open and read. Can you give me your answer?”

     

     This post is part of my new #SoundDoctrine series where you submit your questions about the Bible, and I answer them. If you want to know more about the series and my qualifications, you can read this.

My thoughts:

You can read the Bible from front to back; there’s nothing wrong with that. Contrary to what a lot of us might think about the Bible, (and how it’s best left in the hands of theologians and priests), it really was written for the general population. Jesus spoke for the humblest of ears. The Bible is written for you.

However, the start-to-finish plan might not be the best way to begin. Genesis is full of interesting stories that a lot of you will recognise: Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham going to sacrifice his son, Joseph and the coat of many colours (to name a few). And even Exodus is interesting with Moses, and the plagues, and the parting of the Red Sea.

But by the time you get to Leviticus, you’re starting to delve into all the rules God gave Moses on the mountain – in addition to the Ten Commandments – about things like what is considered clean, how worship should be performed, how to build the alter, what sacrifices are for which sins, etc. And then Numbers starts counting people and clans to keep a record of the Israeli genealogy. With all those details to plough through that have little bearing on your daily life, you might lose interest and lose heart if you start reading the Bible right from the beginning.

What I recommend is to start in the New Testament in the book of John. The New Testament is both a continuation of the Old, and a new promise – a promise of grace. What better place to begin than where you’ll find grace?

The reason I like John is because it was written by one of Jesus’ disciples who was really close to him. He spent a lot of time with him, even when other disciples were not necessarily there. The book of John has more of Jesus’ words than anything else. You get to see his heart through what he says and how he prays.

Don’t be intimidated by the first Chapter of John, which talks about the Word becoming flesh, etc. It’s only the first half-page that’s a little lofty and hard to comprehend (and we can talk about it another time). The rest of the book is very simple to read and understand. If you have questions, why not jot them down as you read, and ask someone you trust. Or come back here and ask me!

If you’ve read John, and want more, I recommend reading Luke and Acts, one after the other. They are written by the same guy – a Greek doctor, who was not with Jesus during his ministry, but who interviewed a lot of eye-witnesses to figure out what happened. Luke also tells of Jesus’ life, ministry and death, and some of the stories overlap with John.

Acts details the beginning of the church after Jesus was resurrected and went to heaven. When you’ve read Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and the birth of the church, a lot of things begin to fall into place. Not bad for getting the whole picture of those early days, right?

After that, if you’re itching for some Old Testament stuff, I recommend 1 and 2 Samuel, which is about David and Goliath (starting in Chapter 16), and then about David’s life as the second and most famous king of Israel. It reads like a story. You’ll like it.

So that’s for some continuous reading to give you a bigger picture. But it is okay to skip around in other areas too. Like the Psalms. Whether you’re a seasoned prayer warrior or praying for the first time, you can also skim the Psalms and find one that speaks to you on that day and pray through it. Allow the Psalmist’s prayer and praise to become yours. It’s very effective in helping you form the words, particularly if you are having trouble praying.

And the Proverbs are just great. Those are also ones you can skip around and read here and there without reading them in order. They were written by David’s son, Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. And the Proverbs are wise. And often funny.

If you’d like a basic tutorial on what each book of the Bible is about, you can read my post here. Otherwise, my advice is to keep it simple and start with JOHN.

     Next week’s question is from Sarah in TN, and is about this Spirit. “I’d love information on the Holy Spirit. Does it only enter unto people once they have accepted and been saved.”

Hope to see you there, and don’t forget to leave me a question in the comments or by e-mail if there’s something about the Bible you’d like to know.

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Weigh In

I have a confession to make.

I am A. Hot. Mess.

Have you ever heard that expression? I hadn’t until I started blogging, but the image it invokes is something I can identify with. I picture a frazzled, sweaty (it’s summer time), overweight, stained-shirt, limp-haired mom, who can only stare in dismay at the mess that is her ‘sanctuary’.

Or maybe that’s just me.

I feel lots of hope with all the new things budding in my heart these days. I think it’s because the windows are open and the breeze is pouring in, and this is my last week of teaching. WooHoooo! I am about to embark on writing blogs and books full time.

HOPE!

I get to do what I love! (Oh please God, let me make a little money in this venture so we don’t go under).

But with all that hope? This is what my house looks like.

Okay, so that doesn’t look horrible. You can’t see all the papers and bills stashed away, plus there are cute kids. But this is my kitchen.

Our living room generally looks good because there is not much clutter here. But I’ve decided to downsize and sell things on eBay to buy new couches. There are these iron-on plastic beads, called Hama (or Perler), which I put up on eBay.

But then someone got the brilliant idea to put them in a fishbowl and fill them with water, then put them back in the plastic box and seal the lid so that they could mold. (That wasn’t really the intention, but that’s what happened). So those are out drying on a towel.

And then, of course, the guest room, which has ALL the stuff I’m selling on eBay, plus the bag of stuff for teaching kids’ class at church, plus the bag of stuff for teaching English at the school, plus the empty printer cartridges that need to be mailed in for recycling … you get my drift.

See? Hot mess.

But, along with this new hope for my career, comes new hope for my life. I want to start shedding. It’s my mid-year resolution. I want to shed the items in our house we don’t need. I want to shed the overspending. I want to shed the bad habits (like spending too much time on my couch).

And I want to shed excess weight.

I’m 60 – or maybe even 70 – pounds over what I was when I got married, which (for anyone who has seen me in person) comes as a shock to no one but myself. You see, there is this mirror in the upstairs bathroom that I like. You pull the bottom half down to get the soft lighting that masks your wrinkles and that only allows you to see from the collarbones up. I look really pretty in that mirror. I haven’t changed in that mirror. Everywhere else? I’m pretty much a hot mess.

But what’s a (middle-aged) girl going to do when she’s:

– in denial.

– got three and a half decades of failed dieting under her belt to one decade of not needing to diet (aka age 0 to 10).

– overwhelmed by the sheer number of possible ways to change a person’s diet/ lifestyle so that she can’t seem to stick to any one thing for more than 2.5 weeks.

– so out of shape that joints are a consideration, and the old way of tacking on jogging to the regular life routine no longer works.

– a mom to really picky eaters (seriously. what’s wrong with these kids? It’s not like I haven’t given them variety and healthy foods right from the get-go) that plead for pizza, nuggets and pre-packaged cordon bleu, and have a meltdown when it’s ratatouille (okay, that’s just the youngest).

– a French food blogger and a regular dinner party hoster.

– limited by the French culture regarding exercise options. As in – if you haven’t signed up in time for a class through the Town Hall, there is NO CLASS FOR YOU.

     As in – if you do get a class, it will be the same thing/ same time each week with no options for variety, and you most certainly need to crack open your piggy bank to afford it.

     As in – if you decide to pay to go to the public pool to swim laps, you will only be able to go at noon with everyone else and get stuck behind someone really slow who has no concept of circle swimming. That.

So what’s a girl like that to do?

Small changes. That’s what!

I’m curious – just curious – what will happen if I do ten minutes worth of sit-ups and other floor exercises every day for the next 2 weeks before our family beach vacation. I’m curious what kind of difference it will make, if any. I suspect it will make a difference.

So this morning I set out to see. I set the alarm on my phone for 10 minutes and started with those leg lifts where you’re on all fours and you lift your bent leg back up, then lift your bent leg to the side. (You know, like the Jane Fonda tape, after which you drink a Tab. No? Not a’ ringing any bells?)

And then I did the sit-ups on your back where you pretend you’re cycling. Sit-ups on the sides. Plank for as long as I could …

Phew! How many more minutes to go? Still 3.5. So then I started over again with more leg lifts and cycling. And then the alarm went off – my first day.

I also made clean-eating banana oatmeal breakfast muffins, which were really good. I got the recipe from here, and she got it elsewhere but I couldn’t find it on that site to credit it.

So that’s what I did too.

I’m going to keep you updated on what I’m doing – my small changes and how it’s going. Do you want to come along for the ride? (I’m talking to the people who are in the same place as me, which – I know – is not everyone). What do you say to 10 minutes of floor exercises a day until next week when we check back in and see how we did and what changes we’ve noticed? Perhaps we’ll add enough small, manageable changes over time to be able to weigh in and see a BIG difference.

    What about those of you who have gone through it and have come through the other side? Any tips?

Droit d’auteur: viperagp / 123RF Banque d’images

The post Weigh In appeared first on A Lady In France.

#HTRJack Instagram-Blog Linkup

This is the second post in my Instagram and/or Blog photo linkup series. The hashtag #HTRJack stands for “Hit the Road, Jack” and it’s to motivate me to leave the house more often. Honestly, I’m the worst kind of homebody and I need the motivation. And since I live near Paris, I hope that this means I’ll be exploring the streets of Paris on a more regular basis. For my sake. (And yours?)

I would love company if you want to get out and explore your hometown as well. Down below are the instructions for joining in, (hopefully much better explained than in last week’s post).

However, first let me share with you two of the Instagram photos I took this week from my time out of the house. The first image is to PROVE that your pictures don’t have to be exotic or touristy. It just has to be out of your house. See? The gas station. Notice we’re in euros and our gas is measured in litres instead of gallons. And if you have a mathematical brain, you’ll see that we pay dearly for it.

Getting gas in #France #HTRJack

A photo posted by Jennie Goutet (@aladyinfrance) on Jun 12, 2015 at 3:12am PDT

The second image is of a street in another city where horses have the right of way. Nothing fancy. Just a snapshot of places nearby. I’d love to see yours!

One-way street. Unless you’re a horse. Love this place. #France #HTRJack A photo posted by Jennie Goutet (@aladyinfrance) on Jun 11, 2015 at 4:08am PDT

Okay, so the instructions. There are two ways to join in:

1) Linking up with your blog:

  If you want to join by writing a blog post and including the pictures you took that week, you can link up through the linky-tool down at the bottom of this post. Your post can include one picture or more than one, and it can have as many or as few words as you want to accompany the photos. It just has to be related to the theme of getting out of the house.   Your post can also include regular pictures in the blog post, or embedded Instagram photos.

The benefit to using Instagram photos in the post is that it’ll be easier for people to follow you there. And, when I feature one or more of the people who have linked up that week, I’ll be able to show the photo itself with your Instagram link, in addition to the link to your blog.  

Make sure you include the button in your post if you want to be featured. The way you do this is to copy the code inside the scroll box (not right click – use the “edit – copy” function in your menu bar). Then go to your post and choose the “text” version of your post rather than the “visual”. You should see that on the upper right hand of your post draft. Paste the code where you want it in the text version, and the button should appear when you click back to visual. (Without the scroll box).  

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Finally. It helps to tweet the post, using the #HTRJack hashtag. It’s more visible for me, and it’s more visible for you. And the second way to join in?

2) Simply using the #HTRJack hashtag when you Instagram theme-related photos.

  If you don’t have a blog, or prefer to join in only through Instagram, include the hashtag when you post the photo on Instagram. If you want to be featured on my blog, I recommend choosing just one or two of your favourite theme-related photos to include the hashtag. If there are too many to choose from, all coming from the same person, I will likely look elsewhere. It’s even more important to tweet your Instagram photo, including the hashtag, if you want to be featured. This ensures that I see it.  

Who’s Featured This Week?!

 There are two features this week – a blog post and an Instagram photo, so you get an idea of both. The blog post is written by Maria at Tri-lingual Mama, who also lives in France. She showed us the city in Normandy, called Cabourg. A perfect illustration of getting out of the house and exploring places nearby. You can see her post, by clicking here. And you can follow her on Instagram here.  

The second feature is an Instagram photo by Leigh Ann, who blogs at Genie in a Blog. This is her picturesque photo – out of the house with her kids on a sunny, idyllic day. You can find her blog here, and follow her on Instagram here.

Summer day 2. I'm telling you, I can't live up to this "fun every day" thing. We're gonna crash and burn by the end of June.

A photo posted by Leigh Ann Torres (@latorres78) on Jun 9, 2015 at 7:36am PDT

  Thank you to everyone who linked up last week!  

Now for the Linkup Tool if you’re linking a blog post.  (You can only link your blog here, not your Instagram url. Too bad, right?)  

Ready, set …? GO!  

The post #HTRJack Instagram-Blog Linkup appeared first on A Lady In France.