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(((((Motherearth))))))

 

I'm am so glad you are all right! Thanks for letting us know. Take care of yourself now.

Happy Candlemas Day!

 

Just for the record, the sun is not shining today in Northern Michigan I sure hope Winter is on it's way out! My candle is lit.

 

 

Very Interesting! Thanks for sharing this with us. I'd rather have feb. 2nd called candlemas day rather than "groundhog day", sounds so much nicer. I really enjoy the history.

 

Happy Candlemas Day every one and may it be a cloudy dreary day for candles everywhere! This Michigan sub zero winter has got to go soon!!

Welcome to our home on the web,Peacefulhome and Mommyof5!

May you both be blessed spending time here and blessing us as well with your friendship. Word of warning, watch out for those flying pies. Now would be a great time to duck~~~

 

So far our garden has Atropine's lovely dandelions growing here and there to add a golden/cream hue to the garden setting:

http://www.plantphotography.com/DandelionSeedhead1204.htm

 

Peacefulhome's variety of colors of geraniums:

http://www.plantphotography.com/geranium2109.htm

 

Lois's heavenly scented lilac's:

http://www.plantphotography.com/NadineJoory/LilacNJ113.htm

 

And my bright pink coneflowers/echinacia:

http://www.plantphotography.com/PeterCorr/EchinaceaPC108.htm

 

My, what a beautiful garden we have started! Who's next??

MONDAY

Thomas, the Bachelor!

Just six months ago he was a lonely, fat guy singing the blues ... now Thomas has lost 78 pounds and is ready to date! Singles from across the country have submitted their impassioned pleas to go out with him, and you get to choose the lucky woman he takes on a romantic weekend with him. Also, now that she's feeling good about herself, Judith is looking for love. Dr. Phil helps her get back in the dating scene, and has advice for how you can do the same. Get involved in the Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge!

 

http://www.drphil.com/weightloss/weightlos...oss%20Challenge

 

*If you have not already....Maybe you would consider joining our very own Mrs. Survival Weight Loss Challenge going on now?? If interested, please register ASAP in the Sunporch to gain access to our private forum where you'll get support and caring guidance from the whole team.

Hope to see ya there!

 

 

Beatiful party for a tryly beatiful person.

HAPPY birthday, dear CAT!

Di, Thank you for the update! Please let Twila know that we care about her and are wishing her the best. Such a sweetie for taking care of Grandma!

On this frigid snowy day in Michigan I can only dream of my perennial garden. I found this really cool site that has a photo gallery for plants.

 

My all time favorite flower and herb is the echinacia aka pink coneflower. I have several varieties of this in my garden. I love the bright colors and the spiky heads. Also it is useful in dry arrangements and as a medicinal herb. It is my favorite flower!

 

http://www.plantphotography.com/E.htm

 

What is yours? Please visit the link above and add your favorite flower? I think this is a great way to spend a cold winters day, dreaming of warm sunny days in the garden. Lets create a cyber Mrs. Survival garden with all our favorites.

VALENTINE'S DAY ON A DIME

by Tawra Kellam

 

Using a little imagination, you can make your Valentine’s day a little

more fun and a lot less expensive. If you want to add a little

personalized romance or if you don't have the time or money to buy all the

pre-made things in the store, here are some ideas to help you make the day

special.

 

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/tk_romance.html

 

Happy Happy Happy Birthday, dear HappyGirl! May you be blessed today and always!

(((((((Debbielee))))))))

 

The word confinement for Christian topics is not how I see the forum, "Streams In The Desert" best described. We are blessed to have such a place to discuss our faith indepth with one another. Just as we do in church or in a fellowship group.

 

I know many non-Christians and they know fully well that I am a Christian. I do not provoke my friends in Christian discussion because we have differing veiws. Why would I desire to alienate our good relationship because they do not believe the same as I do? Yet whenever there is a crisis in any of my friends lives, I am free to be me and share that I will be praying for them. They accept me as I am, as I do them. I need their caring support as well as all my friends who have differing strengths and giftings.

 

Such as it is here. Throughout the more than 5 years I have been here at Mrs. Survival, I have met some really fascinatining people and fondly refer to this community as beloved friends. I accept and love them where they are at and likewise, I am accepted and loved. I am a better person for knowing each and everyone of you.

 

I was here back at that dividing and hurtful time. I do not like to live in the past. I feel that over the years, we have made the neccesary policies and provisions to ward off upcoming dissension. I have learned the freedom of grace that allows each and every one of us to be themselves without offence. All members are upheld in highest respect. Thats what I love most about Mrs. Survival.

Good to see you, Wheeler! Come back soon!

Ginger runs screaming into the room wearing a very shiny spandex disco dress..She tosses the Frank Sinatra records. "Did I hear music!" Then she starts to point up at the glittering disco ball and then down, swing her body back & forth and singing at the top of her lungs "IIIIIII'm stayin' alive, stayin' alive, IIIIIIIIII'm stayin' alive."

 

Snowmom knows that Ginger had just finished reading Dr. Phil's chapter on "intentional exercise" but thinks Ginger should have fun no-matter how foolishly back in time she may appear. And think of the miles that she is racking up on her pedometer!

I guess, I'm with you , Jenna! Our town just opened up a Super Wal-Mart last week, and its subject has come up in at least 90% of my conversations. Its a pretty big deal to me to be able to save $ and not have to travel out of town to do so.

 

Happy savin'!

MONDAY 1/26th

The Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge:

Bye, Bye Booty!

Dr. Phil told you that if you enlisted in "Booty Camp" and stuck to his plan, you'd lose 20-30 pounds in 10 weeks. It's not too late to get involved! Find out if four of his recruits are losing weight ... or if they need another kick in the booty! Also, fat pets and their overweight masters.

 

Every year, I love hearing the history of St. Valentine and equate it to what Valentine's Day means to me. There is more depth than merely pink&red heart's and chocolates. It's all about True Love!

 

Thank you, Snow, for sharing this!

((((MountainMommy))))))

 

You'll be missed! Thank you for all you've done for us. Please do come by often and let us know about your new adventures.

 

Blessings~

 

Sounds like this would be a lot of fun to do with a few children. With cabin fever getting the best of us this winter, looking for indoor activities is a must.

Thank you, Hill, for sharing this creative and interesting concoction.

It was really good to get together again!! Come and join us asap

Its below 0 here and I don't have a treadmill. Gotta get me one! Count me in for 3 miles this past week...I didn't quite make my goal this week but when its this cold, I spend little time walking outdoors. Better warm up soon!

I'll be there! I think we better bring our #'s. Its time we get real. We'll be rejoicing months from now when the pounds start disappearing but for now is the hard part...getting real.

Key One: Right Thinking

Unlock the door to self control

 

Change your thinking to change your weight. Get rid of self defeating thought patterns, believe that you will succeed, and you will have mastered the first key necessary to overcome your struggles with your weight. As you begin to think differently, you will succeed and you will maximize your life.

 

Everyone -including you- has what I call a "personal truth." This is whatever you, at the absolute core of your being, believe to be true about yourself. It is the story you live, the story you tell yourself about everything that is going on in your life, and this includes your weight and your ability (or lack of ability) to keep your weight in check. You hold powerful beliefs about yourself and these influence you, good or bad, and affect how you approach your weight. Everything you do and feel, and more importantly, how you do it and feel stems from your personal truth.

 

You don't have to look far to find negative examples of personal truths that can jump out and ambush your weight-management efforts; you start a weight loss or exercise program to change your shape, but your efforts bite the dust again and again, because you tell yourself that you are a hopeless case who will never succeed. Your personal truth is that of a failure-and honestly, why wouldn't it be? You have a long history of failure in this arena of weight control, one that you have internalized, and now it dictates to you what your outcome will be.

 

It should be obvious then, why your personal truth is so important. What you believe about yourself, what you treat as your ownreality, is dramatically important because it guides and directs your weight management efforts.

 

If you have ever been to a circus, perhaps you have seen six-ton elephants tethered by rope to little wooden stakes. Have you ever wondered why one of these powerful animals doesn't yank that stake out of the ground and stampede off? When the elephants are young and powerless, they are attached by heavy chains to immovable steel stakes. The baby elephants tug and pull, but no matter how hard they try, the chains will not break and the stakes will not come out of the ground. As the elephants grow and get stronger, they come to believe that they cannot move anywhere as long as there is a stake in the ground nearby, no matter how tiny or weak the stake. They don't try to break loose because they think they can't.

 

So it is with people. If you are like those circus elephants, you've allowed your thoughts and actions to limit you, and like those elephants, you may not have been aware that you had choices. Well, you may not have been aware before but I am telling you now that you do have choices, you do have power; now you know. You don't have to stay mindlessly tied to stakes of wrong thinking and self-destructive behavior. You can "pull up the stakes," transcend your conditioning, and reprogram yourself for success rather than failure.

 

With this key, you will learn how to change your internal dialogue and in doing so, regain self-control and peace of mind. When you begin to think, feel, and behave differently, when you are on the right track internally and emotionally, you'll quickly discover there is an enormous energy that uplifts you.

 

Your Weight Locus of Control

 

To help you clarify the thought patterns that may be holding you back from your weight loss goals, try doing an internal audit. Your weight locus of control (WLOC) reveals your mindset about who or what you credit or blame for the shape you're in.

 

Identifying your primary weight locus of control is important, because once you know what it is, you can exercise greater control over your thinking, feelings, and behavior. You'll be awakened to powerful resources at your disposal — resources that can help you finally achieve your weight loss goals. You'll be able to stop destructive behavior such as overeating, bingeing, on-again, off-again dieting. And you'll have a new measure of self-control over your mind in body.

 

Your Weight Locus of Control

For each statement below, decide how much you agree or disagree with it. Of the four answer choices, select the one that best expresses how you feel about the statement: if you agree totally without reservations, then circle "a" agree; "b" if you agree slightly; "c" if you disagree slightly; or "d" if you disagree completely.

 

 

Part A. Internal Weight Locus of Control

1.Gaining, losing, and maintaining weight is entirely up to me.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

2. I am overweight as a result of my eating habits.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

3. I am overweight as a result of being inactive or not getting enough exercise.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

4. If I set realistic, measurable goals, I can lose weight no matter what.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

5. Failure to keep my weight off is due to poor effort on my part.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Part B. External Weight Locus of Control

6. Family history has most determined my weight and size.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

7. I need a structured, formal diet program, or else I have difficulty losing weight.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

8. I depend on good doctors or nutritionists to help me lose weight.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

9. I need prescription diet pills or other diet aids to lose weight.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

10. I overeat because there is too much tempting food in my environment.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Part C. Chance Weight Locus of Control

11. Being at my ideal weight is a matter of good fortune.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

12. My failure to lose weight is just bad luck.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

13. I will go off my diet if I have a bad day.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

14. No matter if I gain weight, lose weight, or stay the same, it is just going to happen, and that's life.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

15. I am very lucky if I stick to my exercise program.

a. Agree.

b. Agree slightly.

c. Disagree slightly.

d. Disagree.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

SCORING

You will score yourself separately for each of the three parts of the WLOC assessment (Internal, External, and Chance). For each "Agree" answer, give yourself 4 points; for each "Agree slightly" answer, give yourself 3 points; for each "Disagree slightly" answer, give yourself 2 points; and for each "Disagree" answer, give yourself 1 point. Record your totals in the spaces below:

 

Part A. Internal _________________

 

Part B. External _________________

 

Part C. Chance _________________

 

Your responses to the questions for each part of the assessment generated three separate scores, each ranging from five to twenty. For each of the three parts of the test — Internal, External, and Chance — your scores place you into one of four categories: very low, low, average, or high for each of the three parts of the test, in accordance with the following chart:

 

Part A: Internal Weight Locus of Control

5 to 7: Very low attribution of your weight to internal responsibilities

8 to 11: Low attribution of your weight to internal responsibilities

12 to 16: Average attribution of your weight to internal responsibilities

17 to 20: High attribution of your weight to internal responsibilities

 

Part B: External Weight Locus of Control

5 to 7: Very low attribution of your weight to external responsibilities

8 to 11: Low attribution of your weight to external responsibilities

12 to 16: Average attribution of your weight to external responsibilities

17 to 20: High attribution of your weight to external responsibilities

 

Part C: Chance Weight Locus of Control

5 to 7: Very low attribution of your weight to chance

8 to 11: Low attribution of your weight to chance

12 to 16: Average attribution of your weight to chance

17 to 20: High attribution of your weight to chance

 

*Highlights taken from Dr. Phil McGraw's book "The Ultimate Weight Solution, The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom"

 

What we learn in the leisure of our backyards, we can eaily apply to survival skills. Cooking on a fire pit and barbeque helps us to be comfortable when we may need to be more self sufficient. I love outdoors. Thanks Mare, for posting about this new magazine!

MONDAY 1/19 on Dr. Phil

Weight Loss Challenge Success Stories

Get ready for some amazing weight loss success stories from viewers who have joined the challenge from home. What are you waiting for? Meet a guest who went from a size 20 to a size 8, and find out how one woman lost 153 pounds without going on a diet! Plus, the challengers have lost more than 1,000 pounds ... but only one team can win the biggest prize of the challenge yet.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This should give us loads to talk about at chat Monday night! See ya there! ~ Ginger