Merry Christmas!

This is the last of my sermons; then I will go back to sharing what is on  Patti's Plate. When bad things happen, especially of the magnitude of Newtown, Connecticut, I think it is only normal to question one's faith. It is so hard for me to grasp the concept of "free will". I hope and pray that one day it will all be clear to me, but in the meantime, I can only seek understanding and redemption of and from my thoughts.
Mark 9:24 - "I believe, help my unbelief."
There have been many times in my life that my faith has ebbed and flowed. I shouldn't discount what I have attributed as miracles in the past, when bad things happen. I need to remember the good and not focus only on the bad. Twenty two years ago, my father died. It felt like a part of me died with him. I loved him so much. He passed away in September. Three months later I was reluctantly preparing to celebrate my first Christmas without him. Five days before Christmas, I discovered an old roll of film in the back of my dresser drawer. Not knowing what was on it, I said a little prayer when I took it  to get developed. "Please, Lord. Could I have just one picture of my Dad?" I got the photographs back and to my amazement, I was holding the greatest Christmas gift ever. In my hand was a photograph of my father, with all three of my children sitting on his lap. It was taken in front of our Christmas tree the year before. It was an answer to prayer, and more.
Merry Christmas, and God bless you all.

Amazing Grace

I've wanted to go back to writing Patti's Plate, but in light of the Newtown shooting, the inspiration just hasn't been there. Last night, I watched Anderson Cooper, and got my first glimmer of hope since December 14th. Anderson interviewed the parents of Grace McDonnell, one of the Sandy Hook victims. The love expressed by these two remarkable people gave me a sense of peace that has been evading me. The softness in the mother's voice, and beauty in her demeanor was almost surreal. They said that they plan to move forward in their lives to honor the memory of their daughter. I felt encouraged to do the same. Grace was a little girl, innocent and full of love and vitality. She was all about love and peace and even asked for a birthday cake with a pink and purple peace sign on her last birthday.
In memory of Grace and all of the victims of violence, I pray for peace this holiday season.

The Age of Anxiety

I don't care what is on Patti's plate tonight. I doubt anyone else does either. Today our country was reminded again of just how horrible life on Earth can get. Sure, for you optimists out there, stories will follow about heroism, kindness and casseroles.  I personally prefer to wallow in our misery. This is just too sad.

Day 7, Beck Solution

Lately I feel like I'm writing a restaurant blog instead of writing about weight loss. That's not good. I've been maintaining my weight with the better choices that I am making, but I think I'm ready to start losing again. It's probably stupid timing with the holiday season, but I can definitely try harder during the week.  Day 7 of the Beck Solution suggests that you change the tempting environment in your house. I need to rid my house of all fattening unhealthy items. This is definitely difficult with 4 other people living in my home, all of whom do NOT have a weight problem. Why should they suffer because I am overweight? Because we are talking about health, not just calories. I usually don't buy anything except healthy whole foods. The other night, Anne decided to make chocolate chip cookies. They have been calling to me every single night since. I am going to tell her tomorrow to take them to work, or they are going in the trash. They are definitely too much temptation.  As far as dinner goes, just another boring salad made it's way to Patti's plate.

Cobb Salad

I usually am not one to "do" lunch. I have never been part of the "ladies who lunch" club. However, today I celebrated my skinny sister's monumental birthday. (A year and a few days late.) We went to the Tavern in Brentwood and fell in love with the ambiance of the restaurant. Since my sister makes a habit of eating healthy, these days I just follow her lead. We started with a small white bean purée, and then we both had the Cobb salad. It was aesthetically beautiful, as well as nutritious and delicious.  And believe it or not, unlike my sister,  I didn't even finish everything on my plate.

Wine Tasting

I'm hoping that all of the walking I am doing today will counteract the amount of food and drink that I am consuming. Anne and I spent time walking through the quaint decorated streets of Solvang and San Ynez. Since she is used to living in an area that is inundated with wineries, she was able to navigate our walk and introduce me to the intricacies of wine tasting. We tasted great wine and met some really nice people. But of all of the wine we had, it's hard to beat our own Greek favorite, Retsina. We stopped for a glass   and a salad at Petros Restaurant.

Thanks, Anne. I had the BEST time!

Solvang

I have the best daughter in the world! Anne has the day off tomorrow, so she took me to Solvang for an overnight getaway. We used to go here during Christmas time when the kids were small. The little Danish village is decorated for Christmas and it looks like a little winter wonderland. We went to a restaurant owned by the boutique hotel where we are staying.We split little small plates, so although it wasn't exactly dietetic, I didn't feel stuffed at the end of the meal. It was fun and delicious and worth the extra calories.  Anne convinced me that I was doing fine since everything was so small. She also told me that I am not supposed to diet while on vacation. I guess she is definitely out of the running as my weight coach.