My Journey Part One

We all tend to judge things by successes and failures. But true success is measured by our failures. Let me explain. If someone never fails then that means they never tried. Don't be afraid to fail. A successful person isn't someone who has never failed. They are someone who NEVER GIVES UP!

You might be wondering WHAT "success" I want to talk to you about today. After all, I do run a successful kid care and preschool and have for MANY years. I've been married to the same wonderful man for over thirty-three years. I have given birth to four children and raised two of them to adulthood and the other two are about to embark on that journey, one in a year and the other in three. Those are all things a lot of people would count as successes. I know I do. But those aren't the ones I am here to talk about today.

Today is for a different type of success. One that is just as challenging and rewarding as the ones mentioned above. But this one is a personal journey that is just about ME. This is about my fitness success. Those who know me understand that when I say FITNESS I am talking about more than exercise. Fitness is exercise, diet, our mental fitness and our spiritual fitness. Sometimes those get off balanced and we have one on track but the others fall to the way side. Balance is important when it comes to fitness.

In order to tell you about where I am today on my fitness journey, I need to give you some background on where I started. I was born in the mid 60's. I was not a chubby child, in fact in some of my pictures I look kind of like a stick before hitting puberty. I was an extremely active little girl. I was always outside running around, riding my bike, climbing trees or playing on the swing set. In the summer I was ALWAYS at the public pool. My grandparents spent a lot of time on the golf course so I was doing that, too. I've looked back to try to figure out when that changed and why. It may have been because school got more involved and harder. It could be because I spent more time watching TV. It may have been because puberty changed my attitude and I just got lazy. We were required to do sports and PE in school instead of recess and that may have made it seem less "fun". I'm not sure what the commercials were back then but they COULD have been the beginning on the body image issues that plague us still today.

I grew up in a time that the new aerobic fade came around. Fitness Centers for women were popping up in the late 70's in our small city.. I don't know if women always worried about their weight or if it didn't matter as much because they worked hard around their homes to take care of their families and didn't have time to think about it. But I remember that my grandmother was unhappy with her size 14 clothes and struggled to lose any weight until she got in her mid 70's and 80's and the weight just wouldn't stay on her body. I was not a thin girl after I reached puberty but I wasn't really big, either. But I FELT like I was. It bothered me that I wasn't as small as I "thought" I should be. I can tell you right now that those thoughts were very harmful to my self worth and it has caused me many challenges over my lifetime. I don't remember if I had other people say things to me about weight or if I saw things in movies, TV shows or read it in books. But somewhere, somehow, I got the idea that I was FAT. But when I look back at pictures of myself during those years...I was NOT fat. I was NOT overweight. I was NOT unattractive. I have read my old diaries from my teen years and I was dieting and trying to lose weight ALL.THE.TIME. The more weight I put on the more diets I tried. I lived a yo-yo life with my weight.

My journey just got harder and more complicated as I got out of high school and got married followed by children. Check back for Part Two of the story.

Helping Transform Lives One Day At A Time

My First 15K

Hot Chocolate 15K

I picked up my runner's goodie bag yesterday. I was getting ready for my first 15K. My very first race was the HC5K so it's only fitting my first 15K would be this one. It was challenging but I pushed myself and did my very best and nothing less. It has been a couple of years since I was in even a 5K so the 15K seemed a bit much to me but I was excited to do it anyway. How do you challenge yourself? Do you? You have to push yourself past your comfort zone in order to grow and get better. 

I got up super early and didn't stop going for most of the day. It was a very busy morning! 

Here are just a few things you might like to know.

*This was my first 15K

*It was also my first race of any kind in almost 2 years...yikes!

*My very first race was the HC5K 

*It was in the 30s this morning and the sun never came out to warm things up.

*My feet didn't hurt until mile 9.

*I took sips of my Hydrate during the race to keep me going but at the end I drank most of it. I didn't want to have to potty during the race.

*I would pick a light or a tree and run until I got to it. Often times I was able to keep running past that once I got going. Giving myself goals to shoot for helped.

*I took it one mile at a time. Once I got to 6 miles I knew I was only a 5k away from finishing. 

*When I did a 10K 2 years ago my feet hurt between mile 4 and 5 so they were hurting badly by the time I finished. Today I passed mile 6 feeling great!

*Having family or friends waiting for you at the finish line makes all the difference in the world. 

*Hearing them call my name as I came towards the finish line and them saying what a great job I did brought tears to my eyes. It was pretty cool. 

*Getting the finisher's metal was awesome!

*Getting a cup of hot chocolate and a bowl of fondue hit the spot. I ate it all but the marshmallows and rice crispy treat.

*Going to eat breakfast after I make them stand out in the cold is a tradition. Old West is a new venue. It was delicious. 

*Normally I can't fall asleep after a race, any size race. Today I fell asleep shortly afterwards and slept for a couple of hours.

*Stretching and "rolling" my feet and legs is a must in my recovery. Plus a hot bath and a cup of Recharge at bedtime. 

*Will I do it again? Yep, next year and every year after as long as I can. I am sad I missed last year. 

**I forgot to turn off my Nike app at the finish line and turned it off after I walked all the way to get my finisher's mug of fondue.

**I forgot to turn off my Polar watch until I was almost to the car! 

There you have it. My day. What did yours look like?

~Helping transform lives one day at a time

Eat To Live

Here is a question for you to think about.

Do you LIVE to EAT  OR  EAT to LIVE?

I've seen a few posts on social media that are telling people it is a GIVEN they WILL make poor choices on Thursday so just go workout or whatever. Is that true? NO!!!!!!! It is NOT a MUST that we make poor choices on a holiday or anytime of the year. 

When we focus our lives around food we will struggle to eat correct portions and with eating foods that are better for us. If it is all about food then we allow those foods that have addictive ingredients in them to control our lives. Many foods contain them. Our bodies have built up an addiction to foods with salt, fat and sugar plus unhealthy chemical additives that make us think we are still hungry, but we aren't. Although, if we are ONLY feeding our bodies those foods, our body is screaming for the foods and nutrients it needs but have no room for them in our stomach. We are over fed and under nourished. Our bodies were created to be fed certain foods. What foods are you feeding your body? 

And it isn't just about what foods but how much food. Why do we stuff food into our bodies without thought? We pile our plates high with so much food and then want to have seconds and thirds because it "tastes so good." Or when we eat out we get large everything or think we need to order very large plates of food. It's OK to enjoy your food. But it isn't a good feeling when we are so full we can't even keep our pants buttoned. I used to live like that. Many, many people do. 

THAT does NOT have to be your Thanksgiving this year. You can eat some delicious food and have a great day. But choose them in the right portions. A smaller amount of potatoes and stuffing is OK. A bigger helping of fresh salad or vegetables is great. Then pick a small piece of dessert, like a thin slice of your favorite pie. It doesn't have to be huge to taste wonderful. And you don't HAVE to have some of every dessert at the same meal. You could spread it out over a number of days so you can enjoy each one IF your like us and tend to make more than one kind of dessert. 

Have no regrets this Thursday. Don't give up on your goals for one day, for one day of food. 

But you say..."Can't I just workout extra hard before and/or after?" Well, I do recommend that you DO keep up your workouts as if it is just any day of the week. I try to workout between 5 and 7 days a week. I do SOMETHING active each day. But when it comes to fitness and weight loss, if that is your goal, it is 80% diet and 20% exercise. Done together will get you the best and fastest results. 

I'm not here to judge your Thanksgiving meal. I'm not here to judge you exercise habits. I am here to support you in your fitness choices and encourage you to make more healthy choices than you do unhealthy ones. We are human and can't do everything just right all of the time. But we can set our goals, figure out what it will take to reach those goals AND stick with it!!! Don't let anything get in your way of reaching them, including yourself and the temptations that come along every day for each of us. 

That is my job as a personal coach and trainer. I want to help you find motivation to set and meet your goals. I want to help you find food choices that you can enjoy and not just tolerate. I want to help you find exercise that you LOVE to do. I have found that if you love to do it you will want to do it more and won't like it when you miss a day. I have free groups that help with different areas of food and fitness. I also have groups that require a commitment to fitness program to be a part of. In those groups you get even more of my attention and support. 

I am here to help and encourage as I am on my own journey. I am real and upfront. I share my struggles and my successes. I don't sugar coat it. I am human just like you. I give you REAL advice to help you make REAL steps forward. I have a FB page that I post many things on the subject, videos and links to my challenge groups. Click on Fitness Fun on this page and it will take you there. You can also sign up for me to be your free coach on my website. There are ways to track your fitness goals on my website and much more. 

Let's finish 2015 strong and start 2016 even stronger! 

~~Helping Transform Lives One Day At A Time

New Workout Program Schedule

I have five months until I turn fifty...the BIG 5.0. I've been "planning" to "get in better shape" before that BIG day. So many times I have let other things distract me from what is important to me, things that are for me, personal wants and needs. I put myself on the back burner so much of the time. But I have kept in my mind that I need to do SOMETHING every day that is a better choice than the day before. That is why I picked up the tagline "Changing My Life One Day At A Time". I am taking it one day at a time and doing something to change it for the better. 

I started drinking Shakeology a few months ago. I got consistent this past month, I have one for breakfast every morning. Even when the other stuff I did wasn't great, that was in place.  Build your routine one day at a time. For the past month this was mine: Get up, brush teeth, get dressed, fill my water bottle up, make my Shakeo, and start my work day. I got that down so that it became second nature. I don't even think about it anymore because it is my routine. The only thing I added to my routine that was already in place was the Shakeo. I already have the habit of doing those others things right when I get up, have for years.

Monday I added to my routine, again. I had been doing my workouts in the evening after a long day and it was keeping me up at night. I wasn't sleeping and some people had suggested that one reason might be my working out so late in the day. Let me just say this, just in case you don't know it already. Some of you may not know me well enough yet. I am NOT an early riser on MOST days. I like to sleep in the mornings because I tend to fall asleep after 3 in the morning, sometimes closer to 4 or even 5. I had to make some hard choices in order to meet my goals. Goals that I don't want to miss...again. I can't let myself down this time. This is just too big of a milestone year for me not to do it right.

When I signed up to be a BeachBodyCoach I got to choose my challenge pack. I decided what would serve me best would be the On Demand. I get so many great programs on there, including the extras for the programs I already own on DVD. I used to run but my feet started to hurt a great deal so I backed off of that. My favorite workouts are the Turbo Fire. They are super fun and really work it. I've been doing that routine in the late afternoons for a month. I decided to ADD a weight workout to my daily routine. Since I have this super On Demand filled with so many GREAT workout programs I picked ChaLEAN Extreme for my weight workout. The great thing about Beach Body is you can go on the website on your personal profile, you don't have to be a coach to have this, and you can put in what programs you use. Then PICK a Program Schedule. No more guessing what workout to do what day. I printed off one for Turbo Fire and one for ChaLEAN Extreme. The rest days fall on different days. That means that some days I do both and some days I do just one workout. There is a stretch class that I do after my Turbo Fire workout, too. These schedules are 18 and 20 weeks long. Not all of them are that long. I picked these because they will keep me focused for a longer period of time while advancing in intensity as the weeks go along.

I added these workouts to my MORNING routine. I took my workouts off my late afternoon routine to leave more time for family and personal time so I could wind down and sleep at night. I set my alarm for 5 a.m. That is super early for me and I tend to get pretty sleepy mid morning. It takes me about 15 minutes to get dressed and awake enough to walk in the den and push play. But once I do I feel great. I know that by the end of this year I will be used to it and even crave getting up that early to get my workout done to start my day positively. After finishing these two workout schedules I plan on doing the soon to be released Body Beast 2. I can't wait for that. What a great birthday gift to myself.

My food has been a bit tricky and isn't quite what I want yet but each day I am working to make changes. I still have my Shakeo for breakfast made with unsweetened almond milk, cinnamon, and a banana. I have some fresh fruit for a snack mid morning and mid afternoon. For lunch I have a portion of meat, either beef/chicken/fish/pork with a tossed salad filled with lots of fresh veggies and a cooked vegetable or some more fresh fruit. I am doing my best to eat as little bread or grains as possible for now. My goal for dinner is to juice. I juice a ton of different veggies with a bit of fruit. I add a half an avocado for the natural and good fats that my body needs. The last two days I didn't had that for dinner and haven't made the best choices. I still need to get on track with my entire plan. But remember, don't beat yourself up if you don't do everything just the way you planned. Just do better tomorrow or the next meal. As long as you are taking steps forward you are going the right direction and you will get there. We don't get out of shape in one day and it will take more than one day to get back in shape. I have to keep telling myself that when I allow myself to get down about how far I am from my goals. I have to look at the positive things I am doing every day and tell myself "I am amazing! I am doing this!" You have to be your #1 cheerleader because your going to listen to yourself more than anyone else.

If you are interested in finding out more about the workouts I do or the free support I offer, check out my website or my fb page for more details. I would love to help you by giving you encouragement and helping you find the tools that are just right for you.

Changing my life one day at a time. 

New Game Plan

The past couple of months have been crazy busy in almost every area of my life. It usually is but I'm talking really crazy busy. I've been working on my kid care business, doing my best to fill the open spots and the ones that will be opening this summer. I have 6 wonderful kids graduation from our school. That will leave a huge hole in our hearts as well as our income, unless I get them filled. I do special things for the kids that are graduating and I have been getting those things together. I was also working really hard with those 6 kids to make sure they finished up the reading lessons before the end of the year. I am proud to say that they can all read, plus one 4 year old that isn't graduating until next year. If you know of anyone looking for kid care or a good preschool, send them to my website. 

Last week, I started a challenge to drink 1 to 2 ounces of NingXia Red every day. That stuff is wonderful. It has helped me keep down the cravings for foods I shouldn't have an abundance of. I have more energy. I don't feel like I am ready to call it a day after lunch. I feel like I could just keep going and accomplish so much. It is so worth investing in it for all the benefits you get. If you are interested in that, just let me know. I love my YL and my NingXia Red!!! We have been using our oils and our household products like crazy and loving the lifestyle with less chemicals and a healthier us. If you want to read more about it, you can check out my fb page here. You will find lots of great articles plus links to find out more about the products and company. 

I have let some personal areas of my life go during the past several months and it is time to get back on track. I know from experience that when I am eating right, sleeping enough and working out my whole day goes smoother. Sunday afternoon my youngest daughter and I cleaned out the cabinets and fridge before heading to the store for groceries and supplies. We got a few items to help organize our kitchen better and lots of good foods to make. I really had no rhyme or reason to what I bought, other than I wanted only good foods in my home. My oldest daughter came over on Monday and helped me in an enormous way. She knows how to prep and precook foods and plan meals for the week. She does it all the time for her and her man. She is also MY Beach Body coach. 

Together with my younger daughter, we managed to prep, store and plan for every meal this week, including the meals we serve the kids. We portioned out salads for me for lunch and made a HUGE bowl of salad for my husband and teens to eat. We made a huge bowl of mixed fruit and portioned it out for me but left a huge amount for the family and preschoolers to eat during the week. Extra fruit was washed and bagged to be eaten by itself when we need a little something or don't want the mixed fruit. My hubby grilled chicken and burgers on Monday. I made a huge bowl of rice and mixed in green onions, carrots, green, red, yellow and orange peppers. Each day at lunch I take three cups (1 for my hubby and each teen) and reheat it with some olive oil in a skillet. Today I added some boneless pork chops that I sauteed with olive oil and spices to make a main dish with veggies included. Other options this week for the rice will be seasoned hamburger meat or grilled chicken. We made the salad dressing from scratch. It is a bit tangy so we might work on that or just use less. My lunch is the salad with two hard boiled eggs for the protein. I am staying away from a lot of grains right now. I am making our bread to keep us away from all the added ingredients and I may or may not have a small slice with dinner from time to time. But I am limiting myself to that amount IF I feel the need to have a slice. At least I know it is healthier than the things we used to purchase all the time.  

For snacks we have fruit or nuts, or a healthy granola. I started dinner around 5 before heading into the den for my Turbo Fire workout. Some options for dinner this week are baked salmon and asparagus, steak and new potatoes, skillet pizza, and spaghetti. Any leftovers are put in a container or a baggie and available to add to one of the other meals. At the end of the week we may decide to have a combo meal with everything we have left over so it doesn't go to waste. 

I will be doing my shopping on Saturdays and my food prep on Sundays late in the afternoon each week, when time allows for that. I am going to be flexible when needed. Depending on the time I make it to the store on Saturdays, we COULD grill the meat and some veggies on a Saturday afternoon and then I would prep it to put into meal plans on Sunday afternoon. 

 I set timers to go off on my phone all day long. I had a timer for each meal and snack, for the workout (I need to change the time because I really like working out earlier rather than later) and for cooking. It was GREAT! I stayed ON TRACK, I ate well and I got my workout in. I know for me, planning and prep is KEY. I HAVE to have that, always. Today, the first day of this plan, went off like clock-work. My family ate the food I put on their plates and seemed to enjoy it very much. 

If you are interested in learning more about meal planning or Shakeology or great workout videos, let me know! I would be happy to help you any way I can. If I don't have the answer to something, hang on, I will ask someone higher up and let you know. I am super excited about this journey to better health and I would love for you to join me. If you want to check out my fb page on fitness it is here. 

Now for a really cool surprise.....drum roll please...... 

I decided to become a Beach Body coach. I did it for several reasons. I know a great deal when I see it. I get 25% off my BB products by being a coach. Who wants to purchase full price on something they purchase every month? I sure don't. I don't have all the details yet, but when I do, I will fill you in. While you are waiting, why don't you check out my pages and let me know if you have any questions about anything. We have monthly online and in person YL parties to share more about different oils. There are monthly challenge groups for BB that keep you inspired and excited. 

My goals for the rest of this year are pretty simple. I will get into a size 8 jean/dress again. I will get back to running in fun races all year long, maybe one a month, maybe more in the cooler months and less in the really HOT months. I will become an expert at every Turbo Fire workout PLUS PiYo. I am looking forward to the NEW Cize workout that is coming in July!!! I can't wait to get my hands on that one. I know my younger daughter and I will have super fun with that because she is my dancer. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my update. I hope to share with you more often, as my life allows. I love the fact that it is full. When my teens are all grown, I don't think I will enjoy the quiet and I will miss them deeply. 

Changing my life one day at a time.

HELLO 2014

Seems like only weeks ago that I was looking towards 2013 with anticipation. I had yet to run my first 5K even though I had started running during the summer of 2012. Looking back over the year I see that I tried many things to get on the right track but didn't keep doing all of them consistently. That is the reason I didn't reach the weight loss goals I had set. 

I am proud of the fact that I ran in six 5K races in 2013. I am already signed up for nine in 2014; seven 5K's, one 10K and one half marathon. That is HUGE! I don't think the 10K is that major since I have run 5 miles before and a 10K is only 6.2 miles. But the half marathon is 13.1 miles. That seems huge to me. I am super excited about it but at the same time I KNOW if I do not keep running regularly and do not train I will not be happy with the results of that race. I will feel that I wasted money, since it was the most expensive race I have even thought about signing up for. I know I want to cross that finish line with confidence that I did my very best. I am not really worried about the time, other than actually finishing within the time frame they allow. It would be great if I could increase my run time and finish strong. 

My run time goal for 2014 is to get it down to a 10 minute mile. That is quite a challenge since right now I have slowed down to about 14 minutes instead of the 13 that I was doing earlier last year. I am not sure why I have slowed down so much. But it probably has to the with the fact that I have put on 10 pounds and don't run regularly. I WILL change that in 2014. 

I joined a fb group that has a goal to run 1 mile a day or 365 miles in 2014. If I am doing my training for the 10K and the Half, that should be no problem at all. I am also doing what I can to eat healthier. I know I need to start a food journal and track everything I eat. It is easy to misjudge how much we are eating if we don't track it. I am trying to make sure I take my vitamins and other things that will help my thyroid get back on track. I will share more about those changes if food and activity as the year goes by. 

I hope everyone has great goals set for the new year. Make them count. Take it one day at a time and do something towards those goals. Doesn't have to be a big step, take baby steps. Change one choice you make at a meal. Go for a walk instead of eat a snack that is unhealthy for you. Decide to eat a smaller portion of something. Go to bed earlier so you can get a good night's rest. Drink water instead of soda or some other sugary drink. You have a blank "notebook" with 365 pages. It is up to you what you write on each page. 

Changing my life one day at a time. 

Desires Of Your Heart

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Do you know the verse? What do you think it means? What has it come to mean to you? I would love to share the insight the Lord gave me this morning on my daily run in the park. I have said many times that running has never been my thing. Whenever anyone mentioned running my automatic response has always been "I can't run". I honestly believed I couldn't. I was terrible at it in school and never realized that I could take it slowly and get better at it or even want to run.

Here is where this verse comes in. The Lord has created in me a desire to run. He has shown me that it is something I want to do and can get better at. Eleven weeks ago, God placed a new desire in my heart. It started as a little glimmer of an idea from a friend who said she was going to run in a 5K in February. All of a sudden, it sounded like an awesome idea. I wanted to do that. I looked up the Couch to 5K and found a treadmill version. I spend the next 9 weeks running on that treadmill at the pace they set forth for each of the three days a week. I even added a day or two each week from time to time. I didn't JUST run the three days a week that I had to on the plan but I even chose to run MORE than required. ME. Running. WOW! 

I have to say that running outside has really changed things in another way. I don't just want to run because it is what I am supposed to do because I signed up for the 5K already. It is something I get up extra early to do and even WANT to do. I have even added to the amount of time and distance that I am running. I use a new app that helps me keep up with it and I push myself because I know I can do it and feel wonderful afterwards. I have been running outside for two weeks now. 

Can I picture myself running a 10K? Before today, I couldn't. But since I ran 4 miles today, who says I can't up that and actually run 6 miles at some point? I CAN do it! I know if I keep running each week and increase my time little by little I can also add to my distance in the hour that I have to run. It has become a desire of my heart. 

As I was running this morning, a joy filled my heart as I listened to my worship music (I spend my run time worshiping the Lord every step of the way). I realized that HE put the joy in my heart to run, the desire. And I realized that when I decide ahead of time what I am going to do, I do it. On Wednesday, I decided before my run that I would run the whole 3 miles without stopping. Today, I decided before my run that I could run the extra two laps and run the 4 miles. I didn't let myself quit because I made the choice before I got out there. I even got up five minutes earlier so I would have extra time to run if I ran at a slower pace. I actually ran at a faster pace than the other times so I was able to complete the 4 miles in under an hour. 

It is my desire to become stronger and healthier so I can live a longer and better life with my family. I have changed the way I eat and changed the way I move. I am making small but long term changes in the way I live and how my body looks. I can't wait to get to the weight I am going to stay at. But that will not be the end of the road on this running journey. It will only be the beginning. Thanks for coming along on the ride with me and cheering me on. It means a lot. 

Changing my life, one day at a time. 

Four Keys To Success

I am reading a great book by Candace Cameron Bure. You might remember her on Full House as DJ Tanner. She has written a great book called Reshaping It All: Motivation for Physical and Spiritual Fitness. This is one of the things I am using to help me keep the right frame of mind about my whole weight loss journey. 

The chapter I am on right now is called Unlock Your Freedom. It talks about the keys to success. I know I want success in this adventure. And I want to keep it off for good. I don't want to travel down this road again over and over again anymore. I have done that all of my adult life. 

So the first key is Willpower. We can't just want to do something, we have to put action behind  it. We can strengthen our willpower through positive thoughts. That makes sense, doesn't it? Negative thoughts sure don't make it easier to accomplish something. We have to keep our thoughts positive in order to accomplish weight loss. Plus willpower is what it takes to push on even when obstacles get in our way, including stress.

The next key is Belief. What we believe will be our outcome. We need to choose to believe we can succeed. We need to believe that our bodies were created to be a certain way and through healthy eating we can live a more abundant life. We have a choice to believe negative thoughts or positive ones. I want to be a positive person and believe I can succeed.

The third key is Decision. Each small decision we make builds to make a bigger picture. Every time we say no to something we shouldn't eat that takes that want a little farther away. I have successfully cut out soda again. It was really easy this time because I had given it up four years ago and only just started having a few here and there this past year. I am limiting sweets to a bare minimal. Not because I have to, because I choose to. I have a goal in mind, a purpose. I don't want to weigh this anymore. So even though saying no to one candy bar might seem small, it really isn't. I was able to purchase one for my husband on Saturday and didn't even think about buying one for myself. The desire wasn't even there. That is progress, especially for a chocoholic like myself. 

The fourth key is Action. Nothing will happen without action.You have to put action to your decisions, belief and willpower. We can want something all day long but without action we aren't going to get it. If we need to set aside a certain time to workout then we better do it. Then when that time comes around don't hesitate but jump in there and get it done. I know I feel so much better after I have worked out, even when it was at 6 in the morning. I was proud of myself for getting up and working out. I knew I had done something to move forward in what I wanted. 

We have to put all four together to succeed. We can't just rely on one or the other. They work together. I know I don't have as much to go as some, but to me, it seems like a great deal. I have gotten down to 150 pounds before but I really need to reach a much lower amount on the scales. For my height I should weigh between 120 and 130. I was 120 pounds for a long time before I had children. I would like to try working all the fat off my body and toning as best I can and see what that looks like on the scales. I could weigh more because muscle weighs more than fat. I didn't have much muscle on my body back then even though I was 120 pounds. I plan to have a toned body and will be fine if that looks like more on the scales. 

Some key thoughts: I have been putting my goals into action. I have been watching portion control and counting my calories since the beginning of December. I have been working out almost daily for the past three weeks. I have been taking care of my face daily like I should. It is my desire to have overall better health. 

What goals are you going to put the four keys into practice to accomplish?

Changing my life a day at a time.

Our Summer 2008

I don't know about anyone else and their summer but mine has gone by rather quickly. JC asked me the other day "Mom, how can it almost be Christmas already?" I had to tell him that time passes so quickly and that is why we have to make sure that every day is spent doing the things that are truly important. Now as the world grows darker we have to shine Christs' light even brighter so those who are lost will see.

We did get to do some fun things this summer. I don't have pictures yet of all of them but if I wait for that I may never post! I love to post and share things on here but life gets so busy sometimes. I will try to give brief descriptions of our summer activities!

One of the things we have done a lot this summer is go to Hawaiian Falls in Mansfield. It is newly built and really great for families with younger children. We got passes and went every weekend in June and part of July. We have not had a chance to go in the last few weeks due to our many activities. But that has been a major source of fun in our summer. Both the younger kids have turned a beautiful golden brown as their skin tanned in the summer sun. Mine on the other hand, has not! My darling husband questioned me one day as to why I wasn't as dark as them since I was out there the same amount of time. I just DON'T tan, that is it, cut and dry. I did get a little bit darker but still look very fair next to them.

JC went to Preteen Camp for the very first time this year! He loved it, as I knew he would. He enjoyed every aspect of it. He enjoyed the camp pastor, which was also a comedian/storyteller of sorts. He had a wonderful wolf puppet that he used to tell stories and get the kids drawn into it with. He came home with the CD of it and we listened to it all the way home from the church, with a couple of stops in between. I don't have his film developed yet, I know bad! What can I say? I am so busy! And... I forget!

Jenni also had her first experience with camp this year. She went to GA camp. Her big sister went in my place since I had no more vacation time to spare because we used up five days for our honeymoon in April. The girls had a wonderful time, all of them. It was one of the best years the girls had at camp. She really grew up during that trip. I talked to her on the phone a few times but she didn't want to come home. She wanted to stay there and have fun with her friends and her sister. Last weekend she got invited over to a sleepover and I could tell she really had grown up a little from camp when I told her I would miss her. Her reply was "Mom, it's not that long." Too true, it was only one night, not 5 days like camp was. My sweet baby is growing up! That is a very good thing!

In between church camps we went on our vacation to...you guessed it...Colorado! We sure miss it when we are not there. We spent the 4th of July with our dear friends in Idaho Springs.

We watched the fireworks from the same spot we did last year.

The next day us girls had our day, as you can read about in the previous post.

We headed for Montrose to camp the following day. The views along the way were wonderful. We hadn't traveled that way before so it was nice to see some of Colorado that we hadn't seen. We camped there for two days. The weather was nice. We drove up to Ouray and that was a lovely little mountain town. There were shops there and I found a collection of Angels that I adore! I want to collect them but can't find anyone who sells them. So I guess I will have to make trips to Ouray periodically. We may camp there someday.

We headed to Westcliffe, our town, after that. We spent two days there. We put markers on our land where we want our house built. We also went bowling (our favorite thing to do there) and played pool one night. We also got to eat at our favorite pizza place. It was like being home for just a bit.

Then we went to Durango to camp a couple of days. This is a view we saw while driving from Westcliffe to Durango. It was fun.

We got to make s'mores at the camp ground in Durango since we could have somewhat of an open fire. We didn't get to do that in Montrose. Then we drove home in one day! LONG DRIVE!!!

The day we got home from Colorado we slept for half a day then got up for Vacation Bible School. We had a wonderful week of VBS! The songs were so fun this year. I had been working in the preschool area the last 9 years so I really missed the music time that the older kids got to do.

I helped out in the first grade class. We had a lot of fun doing pretend water activities in the classroom!

We have done the summer movie day several times this summer. The kids have been great at that. We went to Chuck E. Cheese one morning to visit with some dear friends from the school the kids went to the last two years. We have gone to get Slurpees many, many times this summer to try to withstand the heat that comes with Texas during the months of July and August.

We have gone to see full price movies a few times. We enjoyed Dark Knight and Kung Fu Panda. It is so hard to take the kids to the movies when it is new because it costs so much now. I would rather wait till the movies gets to the dollar show to pay less but it is hard to make them wait for something they want to see so badly and others they are close to have seen it. Of course, Sami saw Dark Knight the day it opened! She does that a lot.

I have been doing school all summer. I have done very well at keeping my grades up, even through vacation! Yes, my laptop and text book went with us! I am in the process of getting licensed instead of registered with the state so that I can watch more kids and carry more kids on my food program. I am very excited about what that can mean towards our goals to pay off things and build our house so that we are debt free and have a place to live when we get to Colorado. We have sat down and made our lists of things we need to do in the next few months and it is so exciting!

We could no longer afford our old school so we had to make some hard choices. But with prayer they have not been hard at all. Much to the contrary. Nick is studying to take his GED. The younger two will be homeschooling. We are all excited about our school plans and look forward to an exciting year. Nick is also working on starting his own rock band. He is so talented. He taught himself how to play the piano and bass guitar and sings very well. He is now learning to play the drums for certain songs. He is gifted with music in a way I have never seen before. I am amazed and excited to see how he lets God use him through it.

My daycare, as I said above, is doing very well and we are making some big changes. The Lord is already laying the foundations of it as the time draws near to turn in the paperwork. I am trusting Him to bring who He wants here as always. He has been so faithful to do so all these years.

We are doing well and staying busy as we take each day and do at least one thing to work towards our goals to move. It takes time but we will get there.

Until next time...blessings to you.