New Old Challenge

Hi again.
I have many times how I need to focus on my weight and get healthy again.  I have talked and talked but haven't mastered any of it.
Tomorrow starts the change.  I am working with an old and dear friend to hold each other accountable for our eating and exercising and working out and drinking our water.  We have a 1 bite rule that is that accountability thing that I crave.  What the 1 bite rule is is a commitment that if we take 1 bite of any of the foods we have committed to not eat, we have to call the other and explain why and what we are going to differently.  Last time we did this, I have to admit that my pride got the best of me and I was not going to call my accountability person for that reason.  It worked for me.  I know pride is a sin but sometimes it serves a positive purpose.
My commitment is to work out 3times a week to start then move to 5 times weekly.  I will drink 100 oz of water daily.  I will take my vitamins.  I will keep a food journal and track my progress.  I am really excited to get started.
I know at Christmas time is not the most optimal time to get started but if I don't start now then when. I am going to be successful.
Please be praying for me as you think of this challenge.  Leave a comment if you're interested in joining in.
Have an amazing day.

Venting

Hi all, whoever may actually read this...


Today, on what is usually a day I enjoy and look forward to with the greatest pleasure, I am filled with frustration and iritation.

I am one of those rare people who detests crowds but really looks forward to Black Friday shopping. I will visit with people in the stores and in lines and have great fun with it. This year however, I decided I was going to pare back drastically and only hit 2 stores before going to work this morning.

I was only looking for 2 or 3 items so no biggie, right? Wrong. I wanted to get a USB digital camera for my oldest son for his Christmas stocking and store # 1 was out and store # 2 had the same camera in silver and purple but only the purple was price cut. What 18 year old male is going to want a PURPLE digital camcorder? Seriously?!?!?!?

By the time I got done in the electronics at both stores I was so disappointed and fearful of the amount of time I would spend in the checkout line (I still had to work today and be on time) that I forgot to look at bikes for my little man (Billy). He's been asking constantly for a bike and I thought this would be a great time to get him one. Drats!

Then I was going to order my gift from my husband off Amazon. It was going on sale at 9am so I had it pulled up on my computer just waiting for the sale price to pop up so I could order. It popped up and I clicked "order" and waited 2 minutes to have a screen pop up telling me I was on the waitlist. Then the sale closed. Bigger drats!!! It was for a Kindle e-reader for $100 off the retail price. Kindles don't regularly go on sale so I was pretty stoked! I guess a LOT of other people wanted it too or there were only a couple available.

Now I'm just hoping that I will have better luck getting Chris's Christmas gift for a decent price. I don't want to spend a lot for Christmas, thus the sale shopping but I am afraid I might end up spending a bit more than I had anticipated in order to get everyone at least 1 thing on their list.

I refuse to go into debt for Christmas. I am also keeping the Hawaii trip money off limits.

I am super blessed that my family isn't obsessed with the gift but more appreciative of the thought and effort put into it.

I hope your Black Friday shopping experience was much better than mine.

Have an amazing day and remember the real reason for the season...Jesus Christ! Now that was the best gift of all!

Christmas Cards

For those of you who know me, I love to show off pictures of my family and I can't think of a better way than with photo Christmas cards.  My favorite company to use for them is Shutterfly.

Why you ask?  Because contrary to my initial thought, they do have a variety of CHRISTMAS cards rather than the generic Happy Holidays.  Don't get me wrong, if you want to be all encompassing, go for it.  The reason I celebrate the season is Jesus Christ. 

Shutterfly is easy to use and download your pictures to.  If you're like me and I'm pretty sure you are, time is a premium and you don't want to spend a ton of time but you want it to look good. I can tell you that Shutterfly is the perfect company to save your time and energies.  I have used them to make photo books and was so pleased with the results that when I got the offer to blog about them in exchange for free cards, I couldn't pass it up! 

Check out these cute designs.  I recommend going to their site as embedding them really doesn't do them justice and I can tell you that they are a great quality. 

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery






You'll notice all of these have places for multiple pictures.  As I said, I love to show off my family!  If you only want one or two pictures, they've got those too.  They also have Hanukkah cards and generic cards as well.  If you follow the link above you will see a bunch of Christmas cards, which makes me happy as I was concerned over the limited CHRISTMAS cards I was seeing. 

You can also pick up your prints at  Walgreen's, Target or CVS. 

If you're sending cards this year, I can't recommend Shutterfly photo cards enough.  While you're there, check out their cool photo gifts.  I give a lot of photobooks and calendars and they are always a big hit with grandparents and others that don't get to see my family often.

Let me know what you think and which card is your favorite!

Working

Well, we hit the gym again tonight and I am already feeling it.  I worked on the bike at a higher level than I ever have.  Oh my goodness, my legs are feeling it.  I can't tell you how mush like they feel.  After the bike I did hip abduction/hip adduction exercises and then 10 lb hand weights instead of the 8 lbs I had used last time.

I am doing a recovery day tomorrow and then will have to go a little late on Thursday as it is my day with Grandma.

I have my goal and I am determined to reach it.  It will take a while and I may suffer setbacks but I will get back up and keep moving.

Well, that's all I have for tonight.

Sweet dreams.

Purging

Hi there.

I am on an adventure.  It is a doozy.  In addition to my steps towards starting an online travel agency and getting to where I look decent in a bathing suit for our trip to Hawaii, I am starting a mass purge from my house. 

I have a trunk load of things to drop at the Salvation Army and a pile of boxes by the front door to go into my trunk as soon as it's empty.  I have boxes of fabric that need to go to the church for the sewing team.  I have a box of books for the library at Billy's school.  I have boxes of clothes that I need to get out of the house but I can't pull them out until I have an empty truck to take them out of the house.  So much to do.  My goal in doing this is that I will have less to deal with and less to move when we eventually move.  I keep saying I want to move to the Gresham area but the idea of packing all our stuff stifles my enthusiasm. 

I have tons of crafts that I have bought but not completed.  I have oodles and oodles of sewing projects that need to be done.  And painting projects.  And who could forget all the scrapbooks I want to make.  Oh geesh!  My head spins as I think of it. 

To stop the head spinning and procrastination, I am simply going to take one project at a time and get it done.  If I finish one in the course of a week, maybe I can finish 2 or even 3.  Once these projects are done, I will have a ton of gifts to give and will be so very happy.  I love giving gifts to my friends and I think specially about them when I am putting the gift together, praying for them, remembering fun times we have had, thinking about how they will use whatever it is that I am making.

Boy, just thinking about all that makes me smile and motivates me, until I see the mess that is.  But I will wade thru the mess and accomplish good things.  I am determined that I will reclaim my house and make beautiful things from what we have.  I don't believe I will have to buy more than a couple gifts this year which makes me happy. I can use what we have to make so many fun and wonderful things.

The beautiful thing about making gifts using the supplies I already have at home is that I can get rid of things in the process because the gifts leave once I'm done.  Yeah!

Purging is so cleansing and healthy.  I really wish I did more of it, or didn't accumulate so much stuff to begin with. 

Oh well, life is good and it will be even better when I have less to deal with. 

Happy Tuesday!

Changes

I had forgotten how much I really enjoy working out.  Chris and I made it back to the gym yesterday and it was wonderful, even though I am feeling it this morning. 

I got on the treadmill and my knee started to act up but I was still able to run sprints.  I am hoping to do more today.  I did weights and the bike too and had enough energy to get stuff done around the house!  Ah, how I have missed the increased energy I get when I work out. 

My goal is to work out at the gym in the morning before work but since I have to get Billy up and ready and to school by 7:30, I don't see that as very feasible.  Maybe I'll just aim to do video's in the morning and then go to the gym 3 or 4 nights a week to do a wider range of activities. 

How do you work out the time to do everything you want? 

I have very specific goals.  Chris and I are going to Hawaii in May to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and I want to look good in all our pictures. I know that sounds vein and I won't disagree.  I want to look good.  I want to turn my husbands head and have him brag on me...of course last time that happened, I got Billy.  LOL! I have boxes of smaller clothes just waiting patiently for me to be able to wear them.  I would love to get rid of the ones currently hanging in my closet and pull out all those boxes that are stored away. 

Well, that's what's currently on my mind.  Hope you enjoy reading and laughing with me at my silliness.

Have a great Monday.

Decisions

God has been so good to me.  He has provided great opportunities for me and I know that they are directed by His hand and not my own so I have to ask, why do I hold back?  What am I afraid of?  If God is leading me then He is going to be with me and if He's with me then that's where I want to be.  Right?  Makes sense enough. 

I think I must be going thru an irrational phase as I have suddenly developed claustrophobia as I found out yesterday trying to do a brain MRI.  This is the same type of irrational thinking to me as not being able to go into the tube. 

Please pray with me that I would get confirmation that this is the path He does indeed want me on so I can move forward.  I am super excited about it but terrified at the same time.

Thank you in advance for your prayers.

This moment

Today's ponderings are about living in the moment.  I have a really deeply ingrained habit of thinking about the next thing.  You know the way some people never seem completely there when you're with them?  That's how I feel and I know I miss so much.

There is so much peace in this moment.  The now.  At this particular moment I have work piled up under my arms but as I type this thought, I am so content and not in a hurry to rush off to the next thing, like cleaning up the piles on my desk.  They will be there in 5 minutes.  Who knows, by the time I get done with this post, the phone could ring 10 times or not at all.  Either way, I am here and I am happy.

I ponder how many great moments I may have missed or prevented someone else from experiencing all because I was in a colossal rush to get to the next thing.  It makes me a little sad.  How many times could I have slowed down to show someone how valuable they are to me by giving them my full attention?  How many smiles could I have shared with my children if I wouldn't have been in such a rush to get them here or there. 

Today I am going to slow down and not rush.  My priority is people and relationships.  Yes work needs to get done and it will.  Yes laundry needs folded and dishes need to be done and they will be done.  But none of this is going to be done at the cost of those I value. 

Am I the only one who struggles with this?  It seems that the vast majority of my friends are great at doing the balancing act.  The run the kids to all their lessons and activities and volunteer and help the kiddos with their homework and have dates with their husbands and always look great and are most always on time and arrive with a smile on their face.  Do they struggle with the rush?  Do they shortcut relationships along the way?

This moment I am going to just breath and say a prayer of thanks that I have this moment and that it is good.

Have a wonderful day!