8:03 - Loving Cat Deely’s hair. Beginning dance was kinda weird. I don’t like it when eyes are blacked out.
8:06 - Okay. We get it. Go vote. I wish I didn’t feel like I really don’t have a choice this year.
8:15 - Maybe Comfort will go home for real this week.
8:25 - Woah, Twitch. Calm down. You’re my fave, but…don’t cry.
8:31 - Sigh. Pretty ballet. It’s a pity my parents never put me in dance classes. Ballet looks so fun.
8:42 - Twitch and Katee are my favorites. Really hoping they make it to the end.
8:51 - Not so into LL.
8:55 - Tata, Comfort!
8:57 - WOOOOOOOO! Twitch stays!

Thirteen of My Favorite Podcasts

13. GodlyGals Podcast - I’ll take this opportunity to plug my own! On a bi-weekly basis, GodlyGals hosts a podcast along with a live chat room. We also take calls via Skype and we’re having a great time with it so far. Check it out sometime! We announce podcasts ahead of time and if you’d like to be notified when we schedule a new one, join the GodlyGals Facebook group, friend us on Myspace, or just send an email to godlygals@godlygals.com and asked to be added to the mailing list.

12. GSPN.tv Lost Podcast - I mostly listen to this one for the callers because they have a lot of people listening live who call in with really great theories. And that’s really all I’m going to say about that one. Listen and you can decide for yourself what you think.

11. The Transmission - Ryan and Jen Ozawa started the first LOST podcast, left for some time, and are back again. Ryan is responsible for breaking a lot of spoilerific news about LOST because they live on the island — wait, I seriously just said, “they live on the island.” They don’t live on The Island (which I’m sure exists), they live in Hawaii.

10. Talk of the Nation podcast - I like this one, but I hate how they give a patronizing giggle toward conservatives. You seriously think you give fair coverage? No, you do not. But I still listen because I like to know what’s going on in the world. Or what some people think is going on.

9. NPR’s Fresh Air podcast - Why listen to the radio when you can download for free? (Bad Liz, bad!) But I’m not home when it comes on and I prefer the comfort of my tub to the seat of my car. I really enjoy hearing the various guests they have on. Unless it’s someone really boring that day, like a former aide to President Clinton. Seriously. It’s over, people.

8. The Lone Conservative - I just discovered this one, but I really like it so far. The guy has spirit.

7. The Jay & Jack Show - Jay & Jack’s Ramblecast and The Married Man podcast have merged to form this new show. Why are these guys so entertaining? They’ve even had special guest, Jorge Garcia on the show a few times. True, I can do without “Hybrid” (Cliff) and Dale, but I just love Jay and Jack together. For those of you who don’t know, Jack is Jay’s stepdad, but you’d never guess they weren’t related. P.S.; Call the show on your cell phone while driving. Jack will love it.

6. Mars Hill Podcast - I really enjoy hearing Mark Driscoll speak so it’s nice to have his sermons showing up in my iTunes on a weekly basis. I recommend the one on birth control and another on the “emergent church.” Strictly biblical. I like it that way.

5. The Dharmalars - You know. LOST. What can I say. Not one for the kiddies and you can pretty much skip the first 15 minutes as it’s nearly always them goofing around. Good discussion about LOST theories though.

4. The Lost Initiative - With Kim and Aimee. Not the stupid British one. I wouldn’t recommend this podcast to any children or anyone with children in the room, but I like to hear a female take on the show. And they played one of my calls (nerd alert) and were very impressed with my question. *beam*

3. LOST Unlocked - Voices. Sometimes they annoy. But I got past that and really started enjoying the show. A little bit cheesy, but they like to talk about in-depth theories from time to time and that’s fun for me.

2. This American Life podcast - I love this show. Love love love it. There’s something about being told stories that reminds me of when I was little and watching Reading Rainbow or something. Check out their episode, “The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar.” I’ve still got the episode saved so that I can let Kevin’s dad listen sometime. It’s about a kid disappearing in North Carolina back around the time his dad was growing up. I think he might find it interesting and might even remember what happened. Very intriguing story.

1. The Lost Podcast with Jay & Jack - At first, Jay’s voice annoyed me. Then I realized they are one of the best LOST podcasts out there and they won me over. I downloaded all of their episodes and listened. This week they are at Comic-Con and I can’t wait to hear all the fun LOST-related stuff they have to report back. Anyone else planning to join Dharma after the launch? (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you aren’t a serious LOST fan and you are dead to me. Unless you’re my fiance.)

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From Weddings.About.com

For a non-denominational ceremony, a secular ceremony, or a non-traditional ceremony, you can either borrow liberally from one of these traditions, or make up your own rules.

In all cases, the bride traditionally stands on the left, and the groom on the right. This dates back to medieval times when the groom might need to defend his bride in the middle of the ceremony, and wanted to leave his right hand, his sword hand, free. While few grooms even carry a sword anymore, the tradition has lasted.

Sweet, Kevin. You can carry your Lightsaber!

Thirteen Things About My Weight Loss Journey

1. If I hadn’t started getting sick, this probably never would have happened. As in, I wouldn’t have recognized that there was a real problem and that I was going to have to make drastic changes.

2. In September of 2006 I started working at a daycare and it wasn’t long before I started getting ill on a regular basis. One particular illness lasted around 2 months and at the end of November I was at my worst. This was also around the time that Kevin and I started dating. The reason I bring this up is because I never really got better. One week it would be intestinal, the next it would be and upper respiratory infection. I missed out on a lot of things that I had going on in my life. I had to drop out of the ministry team that I was on (due to a class, but being sick had made staying active a real problem). I felt like a loser being sick all the time. There had been things I’d dealt with in college, but nothing like this.

3. It was during this time that I started getting really, really tired. My hair was falling out. I was gaining weight. I didn’t reach my heaviest point until around the summer of 2007, and at that point and beyond I was eating healthy, balanced meals and exercising on a regular basis. None of it made any sense.

4. I was in a Pilates class and very active on SparkPeople.com to try and take control. I strongly recommend SparkPeople.com and if you go by and sign up, please list MISSWISABUS as your referrer. I’ll send you cool stuff on there because I have points running out my ears.

5. No matter what I did, nothing helped. I was listening to all the advice. Eating healthy foods. Could I chalk this up to “happy relationship weight”? At one point I thought I could, but seriously…what relationship is that good? I had gained nearly 20 lbs since Kevin and I started dating.

6. Finally, I got scared. I was having too many health problems — weight gain, fatigue, hair loss, migraines, muscle cramps and joint pain, abnormal menstrual cycles, low basal body temperature, heat intolerance, impaired memory, reactive hypoglycemia, increased need for sleep, irritability and mood instability. A description I gave someone of my life at the point when this was so bad:

I get up early in the morning for work or class, depending on the day, come home, eat a late lunch, and immediately crash for 2-3 hours. I get up, work around here and do homework, hit another tired point around 7 or 8 pm, press through that, and then I can’t get to sleep until around 12 or 1 a.m. Right now I am concerned that I could have some thyroid issues because I could literally sleep all day if I let myself.

Everything seemed to point to my thyroid.

7. In January, I visited my family doctor. Explained everything to him, expected to get my thyroid tested, get medicine, and start losing weight. The problem runs in my family and it seemed that simple. It wasn’t.

He is fairly certain that it is either my thyroid or PCOS. Knowing what that was, and being completely unprepared for that, I nearly lost it in the office. Kept calm though. Tomorrow I will have all the tests done. Then we’ll either medicate the thyroid condition (I’m hoping it’s that) or move on to a specialist (either my gyno or an endocrinologist). My doc thought the symptoms sounded more like PCOS, but my gyno never caught anything. It is possible that if there are cysts they are very very tiny and couldn’t be felt.

That floored me. Having been told that I had endomytriosis whenever I was in junior high/high school, I was familiar with PCOS. Did. Not. Want.

8. I was tested for everything under the sun.

All my tests came back clear. In a way, it’s a relief, in another, I am terribly discouraged. If it was hypothyroidism I could take the medicine and pretty much be done with it. This means that I have to go on to an endocrinologist for more tests and I’m not looking forward to it.

More tests.

9. I went to visit the endocrinologist in March. I wasn’t happy with what he told me and was basically ready to follows his rules, stick my tongue out at him, and show him that they wouldn’t work. Disclaimer: This was my reaction before realizing exactly what kind of problems I was having and their cause.

First of all, for future reference, be prepared to take off all your clothes (except panties) when you visit one of these doctors. I had not been informed and consequently had hairy legs. Oh well. Plus, it was a male doctor who was seeing me naked and that was unexpected as well. It’s not like it killed me, but I would have preferred a female doctor had I known that was going to happen.

He started out by asking me questions about my symptoms, I went down the entire list to him. He checked my reflexes, my feet, my breathing, and lymph nodes.

He asked me if I’d do a radical diet change if he needed me to. I said sure. Then he said “Atkins” and I just about checked out. I don’t agree with the diet. I think it’s a fast way to get results that are not permanent once you go back to eating balanced meals. Just wanted to get that out in the open. However, I have to do it for 90 days. God, give me strength. We’re going to focus on getting the fat off my body while we deal with the other problems.

Soon I will have to go in for some blood tests (about 10 different ones). What he was most concerned about is the chance that I may be producing too much cortisol. If you have seen commercials for various diet pills you will know that cortisol is the nasty little chemical that causes fat to build up in your middle section. That’s definitely where mine is.

Anyway, I’m getting a lot of hormone tests done in the near future and hopefully we will have some answers soon. And for the next 90 days I’ll be following a diet that I whole-heartedly disagree with, but at this point I am willing to try anything. Tomorrow I am going to the grocery store to buy meat and cheese. Yum.

10. The hormone tests came back and my endocrinologist told me I had PCOS and that I needed to see my family doctor. Only…my hormones weren’t the right levels to suggest PCOS, so I’m not exactly sure where he was getting that from. Either way, since starting the diet, all my problems have disappeared and PCOS doesn’t seem to be on the radar anymore. (More on that below)

11. So that was that. Little did I know what would soon happen. After the two week induction phase which ALMOST killed me, I was feeling great. I had so much energy. My need for a nap was completely gone. And I lost 9 lbs in the first week. I know, that’s a lot, but it was mostly water weight and the remainder has been much, much slower. Every single health issue was GONE. The digestive issues I had grown up with had disappeared completely. Even early on, I felt like a new woman.

12. I am to a point where I can say to the world, “This is how much I weigh.” I am a woman and I’m telling you my weight. This is a breakthrough. Why? Because I’ve felt fat since I was 6-years-old. First, I’ll tell you where I started. My highest weight on SparkPeople.com is listed as 168 lbs. That’s right folks. However, I distinctly remember reaching 171, being too depressed to enter it, pouring a jar of hot fudge on some Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream, and dying a slow, fudgey death.

NOW…I am at my halfway point. I weigh 146.5 lbs on the dot. And my goodness, it feels good to say that. It’s less than I weighed when I graduated high school, maybe less that when I was in junior high. And I’m proud.

13. The point is: I FEEL GOOD. About myself (inside), my body, the things that I’m eating, the steps I’m taking to stay healthy, the direction my life is going in and EVERYTHING really. I had gotten to a point where I was looking at plus size clothing online and resigning myself to the fact that I would always be overweight. Looking for cute clothes that would hide the “fluff” I was so desperately ashamed of. Trying to make myself think that it was okay to remain at an unhealthy weight for the rest of my life, convinced that I couldn’t be where I needed to be.

What I had to realize was that I have a problem. I cannot handle the sugar and all the refined starches and such. My body just doesn’t do those. No matter what you think about low-carbing (I’m not “no-carbing”, I get my carbs from healthier, more natural sources like fruits and nuts), for me it is what works and what I have to do. I have made a life change and I praise God for bringing that crazy doctor into my life.

You do not have to stay where you are. If you are overweight (or under, though I’ve never experienced that and can’t really imagine) and dealing with the issues that come along with it, listen to me — realize that it is NOT okay to be content in an unhealthy place. You are killing yourself. You are worth more to God and the people around you and you have got to see that. Your excuses don’t fly. Tomorrow isn’t when you change. And understand, it’s not the world holding you back, not your friend or your family, your career or school — it is you. You have to take responsibility, understand that it is your body, and YOU have to want the change. That may sound harsh, but it is true. I learned it the hard way, but thankfully started crawling out of the pit before I was too far in.

You can too. And I’m serious, if anyone reading this wants to talk to me about what I went through, what you’re going through…whatever…feel free. Find me on SparkPeople or send me an email at liz@misswisabus.com.

Once upon a time in the Internet, Elizabeth got engaged and never blogged again.

Just kidding. Well, you know, sorta. The week that Kevin proposed was a crazy one as I started a new job, went through training, and had to adjust to a new schedule. It’s so weird. I’m now working 9-6 instead of 8-5, and I have a 10 minute commute instead of a 30-60 minute commute. My alarm goes off around 7am instead of 5am. For some reason it’s been really difficult getting used to it though. I get home around the same time every evening, only I don’t have to sit in awful Oklahoma City traffic for an hour. So what’s wrong here? I don’t know, it may be that Kevin is working in Tulsa, so I only get to see him on the weekends for the most part.

Did I forget to watch SYTYCD yesterday? I can never remember when that show is on. And I love it, so I should remember.

Instead, last night I watched Derailed. Predictable, but still creepy. I ended up with the unrated version from Netflix and I really wish they’d give you an option. The language was filthy and I’m not sure how much of the content was in the original theatrical version. Also, there were about 3 times at the end of the film where I was like, “Okay, that was the end” and then it wasn’t. I hate that feeling. When you know a movie should end and it doesn’t.

Also last night, I cut my thumb while slicing a lemon and didn’t realize until I was squeezing the lemon onto some salmon and saw that the skin of the lemon was covered in blood. Beautiful, I know.

This morning, right as I was leaving for work, I dropped a 1/4 carat diamond earring down the drain. Called my dad on the way to work and he’s going to come up and help me out since Kevin is in Tulsa and I might set the house on fire if I try to pry my way into the pipes under my sink.

Kidding.

Other than those small bumps in the road, life is good. One of my dearest friends is getting married this weekend and I’m a bridesmaid. We’re wearing some lovely green dresses. You know, I’ve only been a bridesmaid a couple of times and I should probably count myself lucky that the dresses have been really nice ones. And the one from Heather’s has the SuperFabric ability of standing on its own.

AND today, I sent out notes asking some ladies to be my bridesmaids! Woohoo!

Thirteen Fabulous Things about My Engagement

1. While I had suspected things, when it came down to it I was absolutely shocked.

2. That morning Kevin picked me up so that we could drive to Tulsa. When he was in the kitchen I heard the refrigerator door open and then he commented on something smelling bad. Immediately, my mind was elsewhere. He had mentioned before that whenever we got engaged he was going to celebrate with a Henry Weinhard’s Root Beer. It’s his favorite. I got him a six-pack (shipped from California) for Valentine’s Day. The thought came to mind that he might be putting a bottle in there and that was really the only glimmer of hope that I had throughout the day.

3. I later found out that about 3 weeks before, he had asked my dad’s permission at my cousin’s wedding. While I sat across the room talking to a relative, she noticed Dad talking to Kevin. She asked me what I thought was going on. Joking, I said, “Oh, he’s probably asking Dad’s permission to marry me.” Little did I know…

4. Back in February we finally got to go to the Melting Pot to celebrate Valentine’s Day and have our very belated anniversary dinner. An ice storm in December prevented us from going on the actual date of our first date, so we thought we’d try again. Before we went to dinner though, we went to a jewelry store. And there we found the most beautiful ring. I loved it, but wasn’t expecting anything, and we walked out of the store empty-handed. Of course, I never expected Kevin to purchase it while I was there with him. The lady said the sale ended that weekend and that the ring was the last they had, so I thought maybe he might go back the next day. Then the next day came. And so did another ice storm. Roads were bad, things were closed, and I just knew that Kevin wouldn’t be driving all the way up to north Oklahoma City to get that little thing. It made me sad, but I resigned myself to the fact that we would just have to look more. I never thought I’d get attached to a ring like that, but I loved it. Seriously, it was EXACTLY what I’d dreamed of…kinda all the rings I had ever been interested in put together.

5. He did drive up in all that mess to get the ring. Sigh. When I shared this detail with my PawPaw this weekend, he said, “Now that’s romance.” And it is, isn’t it?

6. Kevin got us tickets to see the touring production of Phantom of the Opera in Tulsa. He had them for a while, but the wheels didn’t start turning regarding a proposal until later, whenever we decided to get married a little sooner.

7. So we drove up to Tulsa. It was a really beautiful production and, oh yeah, we were on the SECOND ROW.

8. Gonna take this opportunity to tell you that Kevin was so…stinkin’…calm. All day. That threw me off more than anything. I don’t know why, but I expected that he would be a little bit nervous or something.

9. Then we drove home (to Norman, which is about 2 hours). I napped for a little while and Kevin said something like, “If I didn’t have to drive, I would just stare at you” because we’re disgusting like that.

10. We got to Norman. He’d been concerned about the weather (we were expecting rain) and had been checking with his roommate throughout the day so that we would know if we needed to change plans for our walk around campus at OU that we were going to take after dinner.

11. Dinner was very nice. We ate at Charleston’s (the place where we first really spoke while seated next to each other at a surprise party). When Kevin prayed over our meal he said something I thought was peculiar about “memorable moments.” But I just let it slide.

12. We drove to campus and parked at the Baptist Student Union. I pulled my hair back because it was starting to get really humid outside. Who am I kidding. It was miserable by the time we sat down. We wandered around the fountains and statues, just enjoying each other’s company. Finally, we made it to the South Oval, walked between a few buildings, and Kevin led me over to a bench so that I could open my present celebrating our 18th month together (June 9). He pulled a book out of the giftbag he was carrying and I recognized that it was a photobook from Shutterfly (I’d made him one a few months back). We sat there, going through the pictures that documented our entire relationship, from the beginning back in December of 2006 to the last part — me graduating from OU. On that page there was a paragraph that he asked me to read aloud.

The past 18 months have been extremely wonderful. You have been such a blessing in my life. It fills my heart with warmth as I look back on our relationship with these pictures. Your life is moving forward with amazing things coming your way. You have graduated from college, so what are you going to do now? We both know the answer to this question with you having a job. This brings to mind another question to ask…

And on the next page was a picture of the ring and “Elizabeth, will you marry me?” and then he was down on one knee with the ring, and I said yes. That moment was like a whirlwind, but it’s one I will never forget. Okay, now I think I might cry. I didn’t when it happened. But my goodness. Look what God has blessed me with.

13. I couldn’t have imagined it any better. Any sweeter, any more romantic, or perfect. I was always a “head in the clouds” kind of child, wrapped up in fairy tales, but a few awful run-ins with the opposite sex during the end of high school and my college years made me pretty bitter and cynical about relationships. A few years ago I would have been the first to tell you that it doesn’t matter who you marry, it’s all work, and no one is really good at heart. While that may be true, that doesn’t mean that God does not have a plan for you.

The response I see in people’s eyes when they hear the story of our relationship and the engagement makes everything clear: God has blessed me by putting this man in my life, this man who wants to commit to a lifetime of loving me, caring for me, our future children, our household, dealing with the problems that will inevitably come along, putting up with my stubborn moods, unintentionally sharp tongue (thank you, Johnson side of the family), and my puppy dog pouting that I will admit to using.

But in the past few days something has happened in my heart. I want to be the best wife I can be. I want to dive into the Word of God, continue growing that relationship, and in turn make my marriage one built on a firm foundation in Christ. I really can’t tell you how I feel. But I hope that I never forget the fact that this is a gift from God. If there was one thing I could tell Little Girl Me it would be that You can have your fairy tale.

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Umm…I got engaged this evening! Story to follow soon.

Appetizer
What is the weather like today where you live? Cool and dewy this morning, hot this afternoon most likely.

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how career-minded are you? Two, at the most. I have no career ambition. I have life ambition.

Salad
What type of window coverings do you have in your home? Blinds, curtains, shutters, etc.? A couple of rooms have curtains, but most of them just have blinds.

Main Course
Name something that instantly cheers you up. Blackberries, You’ve Got Mail, cream cheese, pedicures, naps, Diet Dr. Pepper, my puppy, Kevin.

Dessert
How many times do you hit the snooze button on a typical morning? Usually two.

I was intending to write something about the anti-christ today, but I need to fact check with my brother Kyle first. He’s an authority on the subject. So watch for that tomorrow probably.

Instead! I thought I would tell all of you that I have my “blogaversary” coming up. I don’t have the actual date that I started blogging. My first real, hosted domain featuring a blog was back in March or April of 2004, but I’ve been journaling online since sometime in the Spring of 2000. That makes me feel really old. I remember teaching myself basic HTML code when I was in 7th grade using services like gURLpages. Back in the day, my username everywhere, including on that first website I had in 1997, was ordinaryprincess. Isn’t that spectacularly adolescent of me? I thought so. Of course, back then I chose the name because I was convinced I would marry Prince William:

I’ll say about him what my Granny says about Elvis: We’ll never know what might have happened if we’d met.

Back to the topic at hand. I’m going to be celebrating my blogaversary on July 2nd, since that’s the oldest post I have here at Miss Wisabus. When this blog first started it was Smosey.com and was hosted by Cyberpixels. At first, CP was a phenomenal host. Quick to answer emails, very helpful, and not too expensive. And then something happened. I believe they sold the company to someone else. They stopped answering support calls, emails, everything. And to top it off they kept charging me even though I asked for their services to be terminated. Not long before they sold or whatever, they’d had a huge crash and lost most of my information. Approximately a year’s worth of blogging. Tragedy. So I salvaged what I could and skidattled over to DreamHost where I have been living on a fluffy white cloud of hosting bliss ever since (thanks to Brandon!). GodlyGals is also hosted there, along with KicktheAnthill.com (a new politics/culture/religion/Oklahoma blog started by a few friends).

So, what should I do to celebrate? The Redneck Diva had people ask her questions. I think that would be fun. Also, I think maybe I’ll do a little podcast for it as well. And just talk. Cause goodness knows one thing I’m good at is “just talking.” OH! And I think I’ll reveal a Top Secret Video of Miss Wisabus Singing in a Church Musical at Age 4. With fruit on my head. You do not want to miss that!

Folks! Submit your questions here in the comments, things you want to know about me, my life, love, and other mysteries (CCM fans…I kill, do I not?). You can also ask for me to photograph things and I’ll get them posted as well. Like I requested the Redneck Diva to do, I’m going to post a photo of the insides of things: my refrigerator, bathroom cabinet, closet, etc. This is gonna be fun!

Honestly, the only thing that could make this video any more perfect would be for my boyfriend to be in it. Other than that? Mike Rowe + Bear Grylls + Deadliest Catch guys = Perfection. I ♥ Discovery Channel.