I made a little video this morning in response to BlissDom Speaks‘ prompt this week: How do you hope BlissDom changes you? Enjoy!

47lbs. 4.5 years.

That’s a lot of extra weight and stress on my frame, which is already being taxed by the physical needs of my boys. It’s time to take care of myself for my own sake and for the sake of my family.

Actually? It’s been time for a while. Since last August, to be exact, when I started at a gym and hit the ground running with my half marathon training. It has been awesome. Running and getting in several good workouts a week has helped my mood because, as my therapist says “A good work out is like taking an anti-depressant”. I feel better, I sleep better, I have more energy.

(I also always have a red splotchy face after working out.)

…but I don’t have less weight.

I have lost 12 or so pounds of baby weight, but that stopped about 2 months ago. It has been frustrating beyond frustrating to hit the gym, log mile after mile, but keep every single pound for the last 2 months. I know for this reason (among others) that it is food quality and portion control that is keeping my body at an unhealthy weight and size.

In 2011 I tackled my exercise, and in 2012 I am tackling my eating.

This is new territory for me, friends and readers (who are friends I just haven’t met yet). Never ever in my entire life have I used the ‘d’ word to describe my eating choices, but, well, here I am 47lbs heavier, running my butt off (but somehow keeping my butt on), and ready to try a diet.

A DIET. Yes. I said it. You ready?

In 2012 I am starting the MediFast diet and I will be blogging through my weight loss journey.

That journey begins here: December 30, 2011

Starting weight: 187lbs

Starting measurements:

• Waist: 36in
• Hips: 43in
• Bust: 42in
• Thigh: 27in
• Arm: 14in

(Can I get an amen?)

What you may be wondering:

Q: But you are still nursing OBrother! Is this safe?

A: Medifast actually has a Nursing Mothers Program!! How cool is that? As with all breastfeeding moms on the Medifast Nursing Mothers Program, my weight loss will be closely monitored by a Medifast Nutritionist and is not to exceed 2lbs a week. Getting good nutrition into my growing boy through breastmilk is an absolute priority for me, and after researching my options, Medifast stood out as a program that is both safe for nursing mothers AND gives results. (And yes, for the curious, I have consulted my doctor and our pediatrician.)

Q: If you are being compensated by Medifast, will you be honest here?

A: O, you better believe. Can I tell you something? I have no idea what to expect. Maybe I am jaded by the ineffectiveness of my exercise regimen lately, but I find myself a little skeptical that anything will work for me. For sure I haven chosen Medifast because I believe it has the most to offer as far as nutrition, convenience, effectiveness, and lifestyle changes that will result in permanent loss; it’s just that I fear the unknown, you know? And dieting is an unknown to me. You and I will be exploring this whole thing together, m’kay? (I’ll hold your hand if you hold mine.) Also, here is my promise to you (because let’s just get it out there, shall we?): This will not turn into an All Things MediFast blog. My hope is to lose weight in a healthy way, encouraging you to live a healthy lifestyle, too. My purpose here is to write through my total motherhood experience – my body and my health are just one aspect of that. Potty training, tantrums, cooking, finances, photography, and marriage are other equally important aspects. All are welcome here.

Q: You are stupid for doing this. I am going to spew hate and judgement in your comments.

A: Cool. And I am going to delete them. I am all for curiosity, information, even challenging questions, but anything that tears down, is judgmental and/or untruthful, or is generally a hindrance to my journey to a healthy weight (or that  of others) will be de.le.ted. Capiche? I am laying this ground rule here because I hope to be able to be honest about this experience, and if I am constantly worrying that the comments will blow up with nastiness, I will not be as vulnerable and honest as I want to be. And you know why else? Because hate is stupid.

:: :: :: Let’s chat. :: :: ::

Do you have any big plans for 2012? Trips, goals, baby due, etc. – I want to hear about them!

Do you have other questions for me? I haven’t actually started the program yet (my first shipment will arrive shortly and I will definitely let you know when it does) but please feel free to ask anything via the comments in this post, or on my contact form which goes to my email inbox.

Want to join me this year on Medifast? If you use the coupon code, OFAMILY56, and sign up for Medifast Advantage, when you order $250+, you’ll receive 56 free Medifast Meals and free shipping! (More details below.)

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Disclosure: I receive free product in order to evaluate and comment on my experiences on the Medifast Nursing Mothers Program. Medifast products and the Medifast Program are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or illness. Any medical improvements noted while on the program are related to weight loss in general, and not to Medifast products or programs.

Coupon code details: For your first order of $250+, use my code, and enroll in Medifast Advantage to receive 28 free meals. Do the same on your next order and you’ll receive ANOTHER 28 free meals! This offer is only valid if you enroll in Medifast Advantage, and it’s limited to one per customer. It’s not valid with prior purchases, any other promotions or discounts, or for Medifast Ready-to-Drink Shakes. Check out Medifast’s website  for complete details on program and discounts.

I blogged about it before, but I’m not sure I was clear enough.

You + Me = Feeding starving children.

On the morning of December 31 I have reserved 25 spaces for friends and readers (who will become friends I’ve met!) to volunteer to pack meals at Feed My Starving Children.

(You can learn more about what it looks like to pack meals at FMSC here.)

As of the publishing of this post, less than half of those spots are filled. When stated positively, that means that 15 more of you can come! Yay for that!

Do you live in Minnesota? (A little birdie named Google Analytics tells me that a few thousand of you do!) Then join us!

Here are the official deets:

Who: You, you, you, and you over there with the chai latte. O, and DanO and me.

What: Packing meals to be sent around the globe to feed impoverished children.

When: Saturday morning, December 31 from 9:00-11:00am

Where: I’m leaving the location undisclosed until you email me about it because I don’t want people to show up without contacting me first. Plus I dunno, there’s still something in me that’s hesitant to give out exact locations on the interwebs etc. etc. Suffice it to say that it is one of the FMSC locations in the twin cities. (Curious? Email me.)

How: To join us – email me at omyfamilyblog@gmail.com with FMSC somewhere in the subject and I will hook. you. up. PS: did you know you can use this handy-dandy contact form to email me? True story.

Can’t be there in person but want to come with us in spirit? Here’s how you can help:

The cost to FMSC for 1 box of food is about $52. They do not receive the ingredients for free and need help to cover the cost of the meals that will be packed. You can learn how to make a tax deductible donation here. If you do donate and are comfortable, would you mind emailing me that you did? I’d just like to share the joy.

Now, for funsies, let’s make this more exciting with, wait for it… a giveaway!

I’m giving away a necklace made by Hope Again Women’s Project in Uganda purchased from the FMSC MarketPlace to one reader. This jewelry not only funds Feed My Starving Children meals, but a portion of the proceeds is returned to the Hope Again Women’s Project (the jewelry makers).

Leaving a comment on this post is all you have to do to enter! Please, feel free to leave a comment even if you would not like to be entered in the giveaway – just include “Not a giveaway entry” in your comment (because I don’t want to stifle the conversation).

Also, one participant who volunteers with us on December 31 will win a FMSC logo tee shirt! (Tee shirt winner selected at packing session. OoOoOo suspense!)

This giveaway closes at 10:00pm Friday December 23rd. Good luck!

More importantly, EMAIL ME. EMAIL ME. EMAIL ME. Come pack meals and serve together. Let’s take this theoretical conversation over chai and make it a real conversation over volunteering.

:: :: :: Let’s Chat. :: :: ::

Are you going to join us? Are you giving back in another way this season?

At one point when they were both crying (No, OBoy you may not pick up baby like that. He doesn’t like it.) I considered throwing in the towel. For some reason, I kept shooting through their tears (mean mom, much?) and I’m glad I did because eventually some pictures turned out pretty swell, in my opinion.

Also? Proof positive that things aren’t always as nice and shiny as they may seem here in bloggityville.

:: :: :: Let’s chat. :: :: ::

What best-laid plans of yours have turned out, uhm, not  as picture perfect as you’d hoped?

Sometimes I feel like this blog has strayed so far from what it started out as (a mix between an outlet for my writing and a means of updating our then (and some still) distant family) that I’m not even sure how to handle it.

Do I write posts for you, friends and readers (who are friends I just haven’t met yet)?

Do I write for our family, who still read here? (Hi Mom!)

Do I write for me? For DanO?

Do I write for our boys?

Do I write for the online community that I have come to treasure and adore?

I don’t really know.

I do know that this uncertainty has led to a lot of quiet around here. I’ll think of something, some piece I want to write, but then shoot it down mid-air because it’s not right for this audience or that reason or this that and the other thing. The result?

::crickets::

What if it offends her? What if they find it boring? What if they think I’m just being cliche?

I feel like I’ve lost that conversation that once went on here, where we talked about things as though we were sitting in Starbucks (or Caribou, or Dutch Bros or Tully’s or Peet’s or whatever your geographically relevant coffee house may be) over a grande chai. Somehow it became this stage where I needed to perform and dance and do things well in order to impress someone. And friends? This is my fault, not yours. It’s a pressure I put on myself somewhere along the way. Please know that I cherish each of your interactions here in this space on the interwebs – whether they’re comments or emails or resulting deep friendships – I cherish your voice and presence here.

Excitingly, just because we’re chatting over chai doesn’t mean we can’t talk about passionate or stirring topics. Not at all! It just means that we will talk about them as friends. And when the conversation about one specific topic is dying down, we’ll change the subject – as one does.

So, can we just do that here? Can I just come here and talk about how my 2 year old throws the WORLD’S! BIGGEST! TANTRUMS! and how I respond with anger but I’m working on it? And when we’ve talked that one out and you’ve shared your own stories, can I share about how I’ve managed to lose 15 lbs and keep it off for a month (but not lose any more, despite my efforts)? Then can we transition into how much I’m enjoying hitting up the library lately, and how pinterest makes me feel simultaneously inspired and inadequate?

Well? Can we?

:: :: :: Let’s chat. :: :: ::

What do you order at your coffe house of choice? Tell me about your kiddo’s tantrums and how you deal. Talk to me about your own fitness lately. What books do you recommend I check out next? Are you on pinterest, and do you go to sleep dreaming about burlap and mason jars, too?

Have you heard of Feed My Starving Children? Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a Christian nonprofit hunger relief organization that sends food into the poorest of areas across the globe. FMSC has several food packing locations in the US where volunteers can come, receive a quick training, and then work in an assembly line type environment to produce dried meals that can later be prepared and served.

In 2010, more than 520,000 volunteers joined FMSC to package over 124 million meals for children around the world.

During a single packing session, each volunteer packs an average of 1 box of food, which equals 216 meals—enough to feed 7 starving children for nearly a month. A month!

What an amazing thing to be a part of, am I right? And I would love to be part of it with you.

I want to do this. I want to help. I want you to help. I want to meet you. I want to serve with you. I want to laugh with you. I want to give with you.

So let’s pack meals together this December.

You don’t need to have a blog, a twitter account, be on pinterest, or even know what pinterest is in order to join us. You just need a few hours, two hands, and a big heart.

O, and you need to look awesome in a hair net. Because, obviously.

O My Friends Feed My Starving Children Event

Saturday morning, December 31.

To reserve your spot and get location and time details, send me an email at

omyfamilyblog@gmail.com with FMSC somewhere in the subject.

Can’t be there in person but want to come with us in spirit? Here’s how you can help:

The cost to FMSC for 1 box of food is about $52. They do not receive the ingredients for free and need help to cover the cost of the meals that will be packed. You can learn how to donate here.

I’m a tangible giver – as in I’d rather take the $10 I was going to donate, go buy $10 worth of something needed, and THEN donate it. Want to give a tangible gift to FMSC? I would be happy to purchase specific items for you and bring them to the packing location where we are headed. Here’s a wish list of their specific needs. If you’d like to take part in this way, shoot me an email and let’s chat (again, FMSC in the subject pretty pleasies).

When we give our time and resources to FMSC, this food will go from our hands:

To theirs:

I can’t wait.

{all above photos are from FMSC’s flickr photostream and are property of FMSC}

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Did you step out and do a friendly act this week? I would love to read about it. Please link up here. Only rules are 1) that you link to the post about your act of kindness, not just to your main blog url, that way if people are surfing through in the future, they’ll still find your post. Then, 2) within your post, link back to this post so that others can come join in the giving and the sharing and the love.

(Any links that don’t follow the rulesies will be deleted. Capiche?)

So? Go ahead! Warm fuzzies all around! Link up below:

{photo credit}

After a delay last week in an act of kindness that required more effort and time than I apparently had to give, I wanted to make this week’s FF decidedly manageable. Because, you know, most of us have a lot on our plates, but we have to buy the stuff on our plates from somewhere, right?

{Get it? Our plates? Food? Groce… never mind. It’s not funny if I have to explain it.}

I’m at the grocery store every week or every other week, and I was reminded on my trip Monday how many things we can do in this one location that would have an impact on someone else’s day. Consider doing some of these small (but, really, they’re big) things next time you are just going about your regular day, getting your groceries:

• Park in a distant parking spot if you don’t have your kiddos along. O, what a blessing it is to find a close spot when hauling two under two to the store.
• Offer to return someone’s cart for them.
• Purchase an extra of each (or just some) of your non-perishable items as you shop – donate them to a food shelf. (The grocery store near us even has a box just past the check outs for food donations.)
• Buy a bouquet of flowers or a small treat for someone you know who could use a day-brightener. Drop it off on your way home.
• If there’s a rogue cart in the parking lot, return it to the corral.
• Have coupons for things you aren’t going to buy? Be a coupon fairy. This idea came from Tera of The Accidental Blogger when she linked up the very first FF. She describes it: ”I could be seen flitting about inside the Bullseye store leaving almost $50 worth of coupons in my wake.  Seriously folks, being the coupon fairy is a lot of fun–you should definitely try it.  As I flitted, I prayed for those who would find the coupons.” Hi. Awesomest idea ever? I say yes.

Sometimes I think if I have to lofty of expectations all I do is give up when it looks like I won’t meet them (did I hear someone say last week?). This list is a good reminder for me that I can do for others as I do my usual stuff. Nothing elaborate, just living day to day life while blessing others along the way.

Did you step out and do a friendly act this week? I would love to read about it. Please link up here. Only rules are 1) that you link to the post about your act of kindness, not just to your main blog url, that way if people are surfing through in the future, they’ll still find your post. Then, 2) within your post, link back to this post so that others can come join in the giving and the sharing and the love.

(Any links that don’t follow the rulesies will be deleted. Capiche?)

So? Go ahead! Warm fuzzies all around! Link up below:

A little over a week ago I was all “Friends. Why does no one love the Friendly Fridays? Boo hoo and woe is me.” and then the following Friday…

nothing.

No Friendly Friday post. Heck, not even a post all week. Not because y’all didn’t totally knock my socks off with the conversations that the last FF post started, but because I didn’t actually get to it. (‘It’ being my act of kindness.)

I’ll take my piece of humble pie to go, thanks.

I had great intentions, I really did. I was running a little behind because I had some wonderful playdates last week and I didn’t get to working on my act of kindness until Friday itself. I baked chocolate chip cookies and then made them into cream-filled cookie sandwiches.

Right?

The recipe for the cream filling is from here. You’re welcome.

I was making them with a neighbor in mind. One who recently went through the kind of situation where you really aren’t sure what to say, how to support her through it. The cookies cooled, I filled them, ate a dozen few, and even packaged them in one of the cute boxes I have on hand for just such an occasion…

…which is currently sitting on my diningroom table, 4 days later, awaiting the short walk over to her house to be given.

Sigh.

This week, friends. This week I will do better. Pinkie swearsies.

So, uhm, penance? Can I offer something in exchange for the lack of Friendly Friday post (and act)?

A $30 shop credit to The Pleated Poppy, anyone?

(K, good. Glad we could strike a deal.)

Home goods, scarves, hair accessories, check book covers, zipped pouches…

I’m sure you’ll find something agreeable.

I am thrilled to announce that O My Family is giving away a $30 shop credit to The Pleated Poppy to one friend or reader (who is a friend I just haven’t met yet)!

Leaving a comment on this post is all you have to do to enter! Of course, for those over achievers, you can gain one extra entry by tweeting this:

O how I love @thepleatedpoppy! Check out their $30 shop credit giveaway by @OMyFamily here: http://bit.ly/u7AYFV

Just tweet it and come back here to leave ONE ADDITIONAL comment on this post letting me know that you tweeted and what your twitter name is. Any comments that don’t follow these rules will be deleted. (Play fair, friends!)

This giveaway closes at 10:00pm CST Friday October 28th. The winner will be announced the next day.

Good luck!

Disclosure: The Pleated Poppy has provided the spoils of this giveaway today.

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PS: Did I mention I’m running a half marathon THIS Saturday? BRING IT.