update on the diet, plus much much more

First things first, I lost 3 more pounds last week. That's 5 total, bringing me to 188. Eight more pounds until my goal. After that, I'm going to set a goal a little farther back. But one step at a time.

To aid my weight loss, I've begun tricking out my decidedly un-tricked out bicycle. I mean, it's pink and purple for crying out loud. However, it's a 10-speed that my brother's ex-girlfriend gave to me a few years ago (thanks, Michelle!) and is still in good condition. The seat is kinda tough, though, so I bought and installed a new one this weekend. Also I bought new brake pads that I found for $1.00 at Wal-Mart. Not bad, eh?

Also last week, something happened to me that I didn't know was even possible. I slipped on a banana peel as I stepped out of my car. I've seen it happen in many Looney Tunes, but never in real life. It was a little traumatic but much more funny. Especially for all the people who saw it. No one laughed in front of me, but I know that as soon as I dragged myself up my stairs, the chuckling began.

The big news this week has been the oncoming potential ice storm. I woke this morning to a car completely frozen over. Once I got my door open, I realized I had neither an ice pick nor a can of de-icer spray. Then I saw an old Limp Bizkit CD from my old roommate's collection lying in my backseat. It made the perfect pick.

On a more serious note, however, I was extremely touched this weekend. We took the youth to a children's home in Independence, MS where we played Santa to the 15-16 kids living there. They sent us Christmas lists and, due to a nice donation we received, we were able to buy each kid 2 gifts. Then they had us come play basketball/soccer/football with them until we had to leave. These kids were so grateful...they all hugged and high-fived us numerous times until we had to drive away. Needless to say, this place will continue to be a mission spot for us in the future.

And finally, I'm trying to learn Christmas songs for Wednesday Night Worship (what we call our weekly service). Since Christmas is pretty much here, if anyone knows any songs I could learn pretty easily (I'm still a novice) then I'd appreciate the tip. I have learned Silent Night and play a pretty funky rendition of Jingle Bells...