One Busy Mama

taking a break

2009-04-25T11:52:00.002-05:00

Hey guys,

I'm taking an extended break from blogging. I've gotten over it and don't really have anything to say that I want to share :)

My daughter is doing well and I just have to keep praying for her...after all, she still has 6 more years until she's not a teenager anymore ;)

I'm changing directions in my life and won't be training anymore after I finish up with several of my clients. I'm working on something that I hope you will hear about, nationally, by spring of next year. No, I won't say a word about it yet, but you may see my name in Walmarts. :)

Life is good, I'm happy...happier than I've been in several months. Getting rid of negative jerks that take advantage of you and lie for no good reason is liberating!

If you are doing well and living a good life, insecure people will talk about you and try to put you down. It just goes to show how miserable they are, and it's really sad...for them!

Be confident in yourself and don't let people knock your dreams. Don't let idiots get you down and stop you in your tracks. SHOW them what you are made of and pursue your dreams. I am!

I'll be back eventually, bragging about my success. :)

Fasting and Praying for Change - Day 1

2009-04-15T11:53:00.003-05:00

I'm going to turn this into a fasting journal for now. My daughter is going through some tough things and it's very hard on the family. I've felt led to pray and fast for a long time, and I'm doing it now.

I'm doing this for change in our lives, for my daughter's well being, and to get even closer to the Lord.

Today is day 1, so it's been fairly easy. I woke up hungrier than usual and that's a blast to start a fast off with, but it's been good.

I have a juicer, but honestly today I just didn't want to "work", so I'm drinking v-8 and water. I may juice tomorrow as I have everything to do it with.

I'm sure this won't be too easy, but since I've felt led to do it, I will survive.

Also, I may go ahead and start that vlogging I've been talking about! It might help more than writing.

Dang

2009-03-27T13:02:00.003-05:00

I don't think I've EVER neglected my blog for this long before!

I've been keeping very, very busy with the kids and missing my hubby. That post from a couple months ago when I was complaining about him? HA! I almost wish he was underfoot again.

He's coming home next Thursday for a visit and I SO cannot wait! It will be something like 7 weeks since we've seen him. I was going through pictures the other day and I found one of him and it just tugged at my heart. I love that big lug. :)

I've been working on the garden a little bit, but the weather hasn't been cooperating! It's 70 degrees one week, drops down to 40 the next week, then back up and down. It's makin' me nuts!

Jody usually does the tilling, but I've had to do it, and it's tough!! That tiller is big and heavy, but I did it! My daughter took a pic:

I immediately dropped 2 pounds after doing that and my obliques were sore for a week!

Speaking of weight loss, I've been doing great with the workouts and eating. I'm down about 12 pounds and have a few more to go.

I have something in the works that I'm really really really excited about, but I won't say anything about it for a while...don't want to jinx it!! It's exciting, though :)

Living the Single Parent Lifestyle

2009-03-04T17:51:00.003-06:00

I know I'm not really a single parent, but it sure feels like it!

We are adjusting to life without my husband and it really is getting better. I still have my moments, like last night when he told me he couldn't come home until the first week in April, and he doesn't want us coming to Nevada because:

1. it's a 1500 mile drive
2. There is absolutely nothing to do in Winnemucca, Nevada
3. He is working so much that we wouldn't see him anyway
4. There's no guarantee that the weather will be okay and this girl does NOT know how to drive in snow.

So, we have 3.5 weeks until we see him again. He did say this would be the longest we would go without seeing eachother. After April, we'll see him about every 3 weeks or so, so not too bad.

I'm doing everything on my own now, and I just didn't realize how much I depend on my husband. We used to split the time running the kids to their places, or I took a couple one place while he took another one somewhere else. Now? I'm running my fool head off trying to make sure everyone gets to where they need to be.

I've also started painting my bedroom, but I can't finish it because I can't move the big heavy bed! So I'll have to wait until April to get it finished :)

On the other hand, I've been climbing ladders to fix part of the siding that blew off in the wind, I'm chopping wood (I stink at that), and just doing a lot of the "manly" stuff that he had been doing.

It's actually making me more confident in certain areas and it feels kind of good. Of course, I'm busier than I've ever been, but I can do it.

Ahhh better

2009-02-23T14:31:00.002-06:00

God answers prayers. Last week I pretty much kept to myself and hung around the house. If I do too much of that, I start to feel myself slide down into a type of depression, but Friday? I woke up and something just snapped. My "mourning" was over and I got busy.

I've been working hard on the house, well really my bedroom and redecorating it, and working on little craft projects. Then Saturday night I let each of the girls bring a friend to the mall and the movies and we had the best time! I LOVE their friends here! They all wanted to stick with me and I thought it was so sweet that I bought all six kids an Icee and a cookie. Oh, then I took them to the movies and they ALL wanted to see this movie "The Unborn" and it was so scary! And rated PG-13?? I had to walk out halfway through and called hubby and talked to him while I waited for the kids.

Sunday I hooked up the WII for the kids and they had fun with that while I worked on painting the bedroom. The neighbor came over and brought some more wood for us and I chatted it up with him for a while. He is such a sweet guy and always wants to help his neighbors.

Then today I joined a gym, finally, and this will help me stay out of the house. But, my schedule is really full for the next month, so God is answering my prayers and I'll just stay busy until I see my husband again, then do it all over again :)

My diet has been ON and I'm happy about that. It really is so much easier without the hubby here.

That's it, nothing overly exciting, but I'm better and the kids are even more behaved, probably because they don't want to see their Mama snap lol

Well, he's gone

2009-02-16T07:10:00.002-06:00

Hubby left for Nevada Saturday morning and it was a bit emotional for all of us. He left very early that morning, then my daughter had an all day birthday party, so we were pretty busy and it was easier to get through the day.

Yesterday, Sunday, was a lonely day. Sunday's usually are laid back and a little boring, but it seemed a little more so with him gone.

I'm a little concerned about the weekdays because my life has been scheduled around the kids going to school, hubby going to work, me doing my own thing while everyone is gone, then everyone coming home, then supper, family time, then bed.

Since the kids are home by 3 p.m., there's nothing to look forward to after that. I'm not complaining, just trying to work out this new life :o)

I do feel like a single mom now and it's a little tough. The toughest thing so far is trying to keep the fire going in the fireplace! That was always Jody's job, but dang...I have problems with it!

I have exactly one month from today until I see him again and that's my motivation to get on the fitness wagon and STAY on it. He was so bad lately about telling me I look good, don't get skinny, rest, and on and on. Major saboteur! He can't do it now, and really, I want to look good for him, you know, with all the legal brothels around there. :)

I'm going to find a gym this week to join, so I can stay motivated, and also just to meet people! We'll start going to church again soon, too, and that will help.

Then, I guess, the garden will keep me busy and I have all kinds of projects to do around the house that he can't say no to, so that's a plus. lol

The kids are okay so far. We all cried Saturday morning, but pulled up our bootstraps and got to it. I think if I just keep everybody busy and try to have something for us all to look forward to, we'll be okay.

We will be okay.

Pass the Kleenex

2009-02-11T11:25:00.003-06:00

My hubby is leaving this Saturday and the reality of it is setting in. I've been crying out of the blue, overreacting to minor issues, having a hard time falling asleep, and all that other stuff that comes with being emotional.

I thought that I was just hormonal or something because I was okay with him leaving. Yeah, read a few blog posts back and you can see that I was MORE than okay with him leaving. I practically had his bags packed and the engine warmed up for him.

Now? I can't sleep because I will miss him. I'm clingy and trying to make him happy. Did you know they have legal brothels in Nevada?? NOT that my hubby would ever in a million years do that, but still. He'll be working with a bunch of lonely miners that have nothing else to do, and I get stupid crazy about it. And I have NO reason to!

Still, I'm tempted to buy some lingerie and be nice to him before he leaves :)

You Oklahoma people need to get in contact with me! I like long walks, coffee, and meaningful conversation. lol!

My priorities have been shifting lately, too. I'm backing off the personal training and sending some of the new clients to Tony. I'll keep a few, of course, but I really want to do my gardening and mother earth stuff. It's hard to find time to do all I want to do with my full client schedule, so I'm backing off a bit on that.

My garden spot is ready to be tilled and I'm so freaking excited about it. It'll be my baby when it's time to plant!

It really doesn't take much to make me happy!

I'm back to couponing again, and am looking for a meter type of thing to put on here that I can keep track of what I save and put into savings. In a weird way, couponing and saving money really calms me. That'll help :)

quickie update

2009-02-05T15:26:00.004-06:00

My goodness, it's been a while since I've updated. Not much going on, honestly. We did finish the countertops in the kitchen and I'll take pics tonight. I'm really happy with them.

I haven't done much grocery shopping and ZERO coupons!! I found it way too easy to check websites that cover the coupon deals at grocery stores in Tennessee, and I haven't found ANY for the stores in Oklahoma. I need to just hunker down and do some coupon comparing with the deals in the sales flyers. Getting low on groceries anyway ;o)

Found out my hubby is leaving in 1 1/2 weeks for his Nevada job. He's been doing some temporary stuff around here and has been out of my hair and it's been so nice!! I actually have a chance to miss him during the day.

He has to drive down 3 days before he actually has to be there because it's a 1500 mile drive!! Yikes. I decided to take the kids down during Spring Break in March, so that will be a long trip for us, too, but after that, I will be opening a special account to save up for plane trips so everyone can fly. I really want to do the drive the first time because I haven't seen that part of the country and the first time is always nice.

We bought a new-to-me Suburban and got a great deal on it. It's an '03 with under 100,000 miles on it, 4 wheel drive, 2 dvd's for the kids, 4 captain's chairs instead of nothing but benches in the back, sunroof...all that fun stuff. I paid just under $8k for it. Very good deal, plus we have zero car payments now! More money to stick back into the bank.

I'll be happy when hubby starts bringing in the really good paychecks again. I love watching the savings account grow and that actually motivates me to play my saving's game where I stash every single cent I can, almost to the point of being obsessed :o)

I've been really focused on my workouts and fitness again. We all go off and on, and I've been really on and had the mental "shift" towards it this week, rather than just going through the motions. Feels great!

That's the update on my non-exciting life these days :o)

I'm Content

2009-01-26T10:40:00.002-06:00

I'm content, practically happy! What the deal? Well, I think I've just accepted some things and QUIT worrying.

I could let myself get down, and stay down with everything that's gone on it my life. Let's see...I was sick almost the entire year last year, my husband was laid off, my grandmother died, my husband is still home and underfoot, mostly, we moved, our holidays weren't the best...and on and on and on. If I let myself think about those things constantly, wallow in them, let the negative things needle at me...I would be suicidal.

Life is good. Life will happen, good or bad, and I choose to accept the good. Something good ALWAYS comes out of the bad. ALWAYS.

For instance, when my grandmother passed last week, I chose to fly down with my oldest daughter to the funeral. We had some great alone time together and grew closer because of it. It was her first flight, first funeral, so many firsts that I got to be there for.

As far as my husband, I changed my thinking while I was away, and yes, I needed the break from him, but I missed him. The Lord convicted me that I need this time alone with him because he will be gone...for two years. We've gotten along a lot better and he was actually chatty with me today. He also took a temporary job until we hear when he leaves, so he is out of the house a little bit, and that definitely helps :o)

I did let myself stress and freak the night I got back to Oklahoma from the funeral because his boss called and said the maintenance supervisor there wanted to talk to him first and go through the proper procedures. We thought this was a done deal. Well, the guy still hasn't called, but we know they've just been busy and he hasn't called anybody yet.

Even if he doesn't call...you know what? I serve a great God that wants only the best for us, and it's lined up, waiting to happen at the perfect time.

Thinking like this has given me energy like I haven't had in a month or two. I feel better, and giving up the burdens to God and putting a positive spin on all the things that could be potentially devestating, well, it makes live much more enjoyable and manageable.

Dorothy Katherine Williams March 2, 1919 - January 14, 2009

2009-01-15T09:28:00.002-06:00

My sweet grandma passed away unexpectedly last night. We honestly expected her to be around for another 10 years because our whole family lives well up into their 90's.

This is a sad loss for our family and I will miss her so much.

Overwhelming Email Responses to Last Post

2009-01-14T10:04:00.002-06:00

Okay, so not "overwhelming" but I received 15 emails about it. Why don't you people post here so we can have it open for discussion?? :o)

Anyway, I don't have time to answer all the emails, so I'll post my generic response here:

Several emails asked this question, and I had to laugh: Beka, what happened to the Proverbs 31 woman? I did laugh out loud because I've been asking myself the same thing.

It is SO easy to be that woman when your husband goes off to work early in the morning and comes home late in the evening. During those alone hours when he was gone to work, I would have my prayer time, journaling time, workout time...all those things where I could pour out my frustrations and get it out of my system before he came home. It's SO easy to be the perfect wife when you only see your husband a few hours a day.

When he was working I would make his favorite meals that took hours to cook. I had time to shower and look through my closet for nice things to wear for him. I had time to set the table, put ice in the glasses, and have the entire house cleaned for him so that he would feel relaxed and at ease when he came home.

Now? I wake up and he's here. I make breakfast and he's asking why I have oatmeal and egg whites every day. I go to get on the treadmill and he hears a funny noise, then orders me off of it so he can fix the noise...while I'm working out. He sees me struggling with a weight and comes over and takes it out of my hand...while I'm doing my heavy sets. I am cooking dinner and he comes over and sniffs it, makes a funny face and walks away...even though I've been making this dish for years and he never had a complaint when it was served when he got home. He asks why I'm putting "that in there". He has started doing the laundry - ALL wrong by the way - and shrunk my clothes, washed an ink pen with all the whites, as forgets to clean the lint filter. Oh yeah, he is forgetting to put laundry detergent in the washer.

He puts his dishes in the sink, not the dishwasher, which is fine for once a day, I can handle that...but three or four times a day gets annoying.

He gets on my work computer (we have 3 computers) and he messes with the browsers. He changes all my settings, and he uses my computer when I have things to do. Yes, I can use the other computers but all my work files are on this one, making it a real pain to do work from the other ones. He can use the other ones :o)

And yes, he had the nerve to ask me the same question. One day when we were fussing at eachother, he said, "I thought you were supposed to be this submissive wife now." OH. NO. HE. DI'INT. After that, all I heard was "meh meh meh blah blah blah" while I contemplated accidentally letting the coffee cup "fall" out of my hand at 60 miles an hour, and accidentally aimed at his head.

You have to understand that for the 15 years we've been together, he has never been unemployed and has never been underfoot like this before. This is brand new for both of us. I've tried to make it work by getting ready to go to the grocery store and spend an hour alone, but when he sees what I'm doing, he says "Oh, I need to go by Home Depot so I'll go with you" and my precious one hour alone time turns into a 3 hour trip of him double checking my grocery deals, asking if I "really need that" and then me standing at the end of the electrical aisle at Home Depot while he figures out what part he needs for two hours.

He is a good husband and he works hard around here. It's just WAY different than it was when he worked all the time. This is brand new to us and it makes me wonder what it will be like when he retires and is home for 20 years!! That's a scary thought!!!

So yes, I do try to be the Proverbs 31 woman still. It's just harder...especially when I am in my bedroom having my prayer time and he comes in asking where my big pots are so he can use them to clean out the fireplace. :/

He's Leaving Me

2009-01-13T14:39:00.003-06:00

No, my husband isn't leaving our marriage, but he is leaving me to go back to work soon.

His job will be in Nevada for 2 years, and we just found out that it could turn into a 5 year job. Of course we are thrilled that he will be working again and God made it so that he will be making - with per diem and bonuses - nearly 3 times more than he was making before.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that he will be gone. Part of me realllllllllly wants him gone because he's been home and underfoot for nearly 2 months. Seriously? He's been getting on my nerves and this last week I've been extremely irritated with him. Part of that is because I am sick (head and chest cold stuff) and I always get grumpy for several days before it actually hits. Maybe.

I just don't know if I'm grumpy because I want him to leave? Or because he IS leaving.

It will be really hard on us when he is gone and I'm concerned just about being lonely while he's away! I'll have the children, but I know they will miss their dad. They've always needed both of us together because the dynamic of me and my husband together is a strong force for them.

I have friends I can talk to on the phone and online, but who will I go out for coffee and talk with in this new town? I need adult conversation. Something beyond "How was school today?" Or, "Go clean your room".

I've been toying with the idea of going back to school and getting my nursing degree (as if I don't have enough on my plate!) and my hubby is really very supportive of that idea. I already have a job that I love, a house that needs a lot of attention, and a yard full of pecan trees that need constant attending to. Not to mention that I really want to put a garden in this year, but the school starts in May and is from 8-4 Monday-Friday. Not much time for a half acre garden and mowing four acres.

I don't know...I'm just trying to work this out in my head and dumping it out here on my blog.

The good thing about the way I am is that I'm very independant. Good for hubby being gone for two years, but baaaaaaad for him being home 24/7 for two months.

We thought he would be gone this week, but his boss told him it would be more likely the end of the month. Don't judge me, but I felt really let down that he would be home for 2 more weeks. I think that's just because we've been snippy with eachother because we're both always HERE.

I KNOW I'll miss him desperately the second he drives away...and you'll get to hear all about that when the time comes :o) He just needs to go away so I can miss him. Ha!

I know the Lord will work it all out. He always does. I just need to let go and trust. It's as simple as that.

Free Suave Shampoo

2009-01-12T21:46:00.003-06:00

Here you go my frugal friends. Every penny saved helps.

Click HERE

kitchen floors before

2009-01-09T08:16:00.001-06:00

floors after - still need to paint base of cabinets

2009-01-09T08:13:00.002-06:00

Hubby working on the bathroom

2009-01-07T19:41:00.002-06:00

We have a second bathroom that was literally stripped. No toilet, all the wallpaper torn down, the shower wasn't working, and there is no flooring.

My husband decided to get the second shower working, so he had to take out the toilet he just installed, and only had a few inches, very literally, to work under the house. He had to dig to even get in there just a little bit.

It cracked up my oldest daughter who took this video. It's short, but the first half she added music and her own little stuff, so bear with it the first 30 seconds. :o)

Home Improvement

2009-01-06T15:53:00.007-06:00

Boy oh BOY have we been hard at it the last couple of weeks! We've been working so hard to get this house into shape and it just seems like it's going so slow!

We gotten the kitchen, living room, and 1 child's room painted. The cabinets have been sanded and painted, a new toilet installed, a new stove installed (because someone stepped on the old stove and broke it), and I got the little bar thingy painted. The yard has been cleaned up and we have year's worth of firewood.

But...here's the bar before: (Ignore the tools and messes! This is part of the process ;o)

after I put the base coat on:

after I sponged and put on the poly - btw, it looks more granite-looking in person. My camera picked up all the different colors:

Here's the cabinets before (literally like this when we moved in:

Drawers during:

And the after (we still need to add trim around the top of the cabinets):

Just getting settled

2008-12-29T10:55:00.002-06:00

We've been here a little over a week and though most of the boxes are unpacked, it's still utter chaos.

I couldn't stand the kitchen for one more second, so I painted the puke green a cornmeal yellow, started painting the cabinets white (it's actually peach linen, but it looks very white), and I bought new hinges because the old ones are really crappy.

Then I decided that I really hate the countertops, so I'll be redoing those hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

Good news! I can't remember if I mentioned it here or not, but my hubby's job came through. You know, the one he got laid off of? It came through!!! It looks like he'll have to be in Nevada in the middle of January. It sure will be nice to have a decent paycheck coming in again.

Even though we'll be getting his pay in again, I have learned so many important lessons throughout all of this. Saving money while you have an income is imperitive. Even if it's just a little bit here and there, save that money and live like you don't have another paycheck coming. I just can't reinforce that enough!

Ooooh that double coupon store I found? It's even better than I thought. They double up to a dollar. Meaning they double the dollar! Every other place I've ever seen that doubles coupons is only up to 50 cents. Woo-freaking-hoo!

Of course, I haven't had any time to do any couponing, and not much shopping at all. I only needed a few things, but still felt guilty about not getting the coupons out. ;)

I'm loving having all my workout equipment in the house and in the giant den that has the tv and our furniture. It's so EASY to get a workout in and I don't feel pressured to get it done at certain times of the day. It's SO nice. I've gotten several good workouts in and my eating is back on track after the move.

I am LOVING Oklahoma so far. Everybody else in the family seems to, as well, but the kids won't start school until next week, so we'll see how that goes.

That's about it. Ready to get this year behind me and looking forward to a fabulous 2009!!

Happy Birthday JESUS!!!

2008-12-24T22:23:00.002-06:00

Father God in Heaven,

Thank you for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. Thank YOU for taking control of our lives and doing everything in our best interests.

Thank YOU for giving us what we need...nothing more, nothing less. Thank YOU for the security we have in YOU. Everything we have is because of YOU and YOUR love towards us.

Thank YOU for making life worth living!!

Happy Birthday JESUS! Without YOU, we are worth nothing.

Home Sweet Home

2008-12-22T15:33:00.002-06:00

We made it to the new house. We are SO glad to be here and we are slowly making progress getting things unpacked. There is just so much stuff!

We left at 11 pm Friday night because hubby kept saying, I need to make sure we can get the mattresses in, and we had planned on sleeping on just the mattresses Friday night, loading those up Saturday morning, then leaving. Well, the truck was filling up fast and we knew we'd have to leave some stuff behind to pick up later, and he was getting more worried, so I let him load that up. Then he needed the blankets to wrap my mirrors in, then needed the pillows to cusion them. So we ended up leaving that night :)

We drove about 5 hours and pulled over at a truck stop and slept for a few hours. I was worried about getting sleep because I can't usually sleep in a vehicle. I'm such a control freak that I have to stay awake when he's driving or he'll kill us all. He needs me. I did get a few hours and felt great.

We then drove another 7 hours and made it here around 2:30 in the afternoon. We were SO relieved to be here that the kids ran around the yard all giddy. We counted the pecan trees and there are over 20 of them!! That thrilled us to death.

We went into the house after that to take a look before we started unloading and after walking through all the rooms, I broke down into tears. It was filthy. I'm talking mouse turds in the kitchen cabinets, the floors were filthy, even the trim around the doors. Oh yeah, and GUM stuck to the walls!?!?!

We did a little cleaning, exhausted as we were, and pulled the mattresses and neccessities out of the truck. We went out and found a Cracker Barrel, ate some great comfort food, came back and slept 12 hours solid. We felt a lot better after that and got right on it.

The house is looking better now that it's getting cleaned and our stuff is being put in, but we have a TON of painting to do. The kitchen cabinets are horrible and that's going to be a huge job for me in the next couple of weeks. Grease and filth are on there so bad that bleach won't even take it off. Oh well.

Other than a few things, we are happy and getting our new home looking good. It will take some time, but it will be exactly the way I want it before long.

Here are 101 tips to get you that body of your dreams:

2008-12-18T11:57:00.001-06:00

This was such a hit with my newsletter readers that I decided to post it here.

1. Hire an online personal trainer. I know a really great one :o)

2. Visualize that perfect body on yourself.

3. Write down what you want your body to look like.

4. Tell everybody you know what you are doing and what your goals
are. Tell them that you are accomplishing them, no matter what.

5. Write down every single morsel you put in your mouth.

6. Stay up 15 minutes later each night to prepare your meals for
the next day.

7. Put your cardio equipment in front of the T.V. and watch your
favorite show while you burn a couple hundred more calories.

8. When you go to the grocery store, buy only the food on your
meal plan.

9. Take cash only to the grocery store to prevent a candy bar
accidentally sneaking in the basket.

10. Learn a hobby that takes time and keeps your hands out of the
cookie jar. Crochet and knitting are good for this.

11. Keep carrot sticks, celery, and cucumber on hand at all times
for those stressful-need-crunchy-food emergencies.

12. Keep a bowlful of prepared sugar free, fat free jello in your
fridge at all times.

13. Use a nasty inlaw, a jealous coworker, whoever gets on your
nerves, as motivation to show off.

14. See if you can increase your pushups everyday.

15. When you do your cardio, try to burn at least 10 more calories
than you did the last time.

16. Don't be afraid of pushing yourself.

17. Don't be afraid of the brand new body you are going to have.

18. Love yourself enough to take care of YOU first!

19. Just smile. When everybody else is complaining about their new
diet, just smile.

20. When you are sticking to a meal plan, doing your workouts,
working hard and you start to feel bad...jump for joy because that
is when your body is changing the most.

21. PMS doesn't control you.

22. Don't be afraid of snow or rainy weather. Run through it
anyway. You may run faster and burn more calories to get out of
the weather.

23. Don't use your kids as an excuse.

24. Don't use your spouse as an excuse.

25. Don't use your job as an excuse.

26. Don't use ANYTHING as an excuse.

27. Stop looking for shortcuts. Slow and steady wins the race.

28. Forgive yourself when you mess up and move on. It's not the
end of the world.

29. Write in a journal all the feelings you have with the new body.
Not when you get the body. See it now.

30. Buy a good, expensive pair of running shoes. Don't go cheap
here.

31. Work out to improve joint pain. Don't not work out to avoid it.

32. Post on online forums about your journey. Don't hide yourself.

33. Tell a few jokes and laugh your butt off.

34. Be nice to yourself.

35. Play mind games with yourself to get you through one more
minute of cardio.

36. Food is not a reward.

37. Eat to live. Don't live to eat.

38. Reward yourself with nail polish, a new workout outfit, or a
trashy celebrity magazine for a great week of workouts and eating
clean.

39. Be honest with yourself.

40. Be honest with your trainer.

41. Utilize your trainer's (or support teams) services.

42. Compete with yourself.

43. Choose healthy. Skinny is a dirty word.

44. Repeat your affirmations when you wake up and when you go to
bed.

45. Model successful people.

46. Teach people what has helped you.

47. Express yourself on a blog, on a forum, or through your hobbies.

48. Write down 5 things that make you special.

49. Challenge the status quo. Are you 50 years old? You don't
have to look like it.

50. Don't give up. Ever.

51. Have a good cry and move on. Don't wallow in self pity.

52. Set out your workout clothes the night before.

53. Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier every day until you are up an
hour ealier than normal and work out!

54. Scour the internet for new recipes for your meal plan.

55. Post pictures of people you want to look like all over your
house and car.

56. A perfect body does not happiness make.

57. Believe in yourself.

58. Beat the odds. When everyone else gives up the 2nd week in
January, you keep going, Tiger.

59. Don't complicate your program. Just do it.

60. Get excited.

61. Quit letting sugar, salt, and alcohol steal your dreams.

62. Learn to listen to your body.

63. Read fitness magazines to get inspired.

64. Plan your new wardrobe.

65. When you are cooking dinner, do 10 jumping squats for a quick
few calories burned.

66. Have Faith in yourself.

67. Do this life and body change NOW. Someday will never come.

68. Aim to improve your life, not just your body.

69. Meditate.

70. Watch The Biggest Loser. Get season DVD's and do your cardio.

71. Make everything you do a way to burn a few extra calories.

72. Don't hang around negative people.

73. When you have a negative thought, immediately replace it with a
positive one.

74. Look at the big picture.

75. Arrange your big goals into smaller, more manageable goals.

76. Buy a bikini.

77. Plan a vacation where you can show off that new body.

78. Don't settle. Always reach.

79. Maintenance weight is a myth.

80. Find a park nearby and take pictures as you walk or hike.

81. Buy bikes for everyone in your family and go for Sunday rides
together.

82. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.

83. Your post workout meal can make you or break you. Choose what
you eat wisely.

84. Be open to trying new foods.

85. Don't take yourself so seriously.

86. You belong in the gym just as much as the meatheads do. They
don't own the place ya know.

87. Make a big deal over your victories. Brag on yourself!

88. When a chocolate craving hits, drink sugar free hot chocolate.

89. Don't depend on your workout partner to always be there. Be
there for yourself first.

90. Stay busy and don't let yourself get bored.

91. Look yourself in the eyes every morning and say "You're
beautiful"

92. Try an audiobook for your next cardio session.

93. Before going to sleep at night, pray for yourself and 10 people
that you love.

94. Set a time to do your workouts every day. Schedule it in your
day planner and don't let anything get in your way.

95. Don't you dare buy anymore fat clothes.

96. Keep a chart of your losses (or muscle gains) but don't dwell
on it.

97. Try different kinds of tea or coffee when you are feeling
hungry but it's not time to eat yet.

98. What other people think doesn't matter. This is your life.

99. You are significant and deserve to live the best life
imaginable.

100. Time will pass if you decide to change yourself or not.
Question is: how do you want to look? Fat or healthy?

101. Don't wait for someone to inspire you. You inpire THEM!

Protect yourself against the recession

2008-12-17T12:58:00.003-06:00

I know the economy and layoffs, cut hours, and rising prices are hurting a lot of people right now, myself included.

In case you didn't know, my husband was laid off last month, and as he's the bread winner in our household, we took a really big hit. Fortunately, I planned and prepared beforehand so that we can survive this without much of a hitch.

Here's some of what I did to prepare:

*Live below your means I made sure that we could live off one income if a layoff or job loss should happen. We lived below our means and saved the rest. Sure, we would have looked like we were well off to our family and friends, but why bother? We don't need to keep up with the Joneses. While many are worrying about how to keep up their current lifestyle, we feel more secure because we put that money back.

*Cut coupons My grocery bill was cut from $150 a week to now only $20 a week. For a big family like mine, this is huge! That extra $130 a week went straight into the savings account.

Yes, it's time consuming to cut coupons, but so what? Take the time to do it and find places online like couponmom.com that help you find the deals. Do it. You'll never want to go back to just buying groceries all willy-nilly again.

*Store some extra food Sometimes I would take my grocery savings and buy in bulk for a rainy day. I will be able to feed my family for a year if we didn't make another dime that whole time. 50 pounds of oatmeal, brown rice, beans, lentils...all that stuff is safely stored away in case things get really, really bad. No, it's not junk food and not the most appetizing if you don't know how to cook it, but I sleep good at night knowing that we won't go hungry.

*GROW your own food Anybody can grow vegetables and you can do it in any amount of space. I've seen square foot gardens that are in very, very small areas and can feed a family for a year. Check out this inspiring family! The Urban Homestead

Learn to dehydrate and can your own food. It's so simple and it really does give you peace of mind knowing that if anything were to happen, you can take care of yourself. It's a great hobby and gives you such a sense of self-confidence. Plus it's healthier for you!

*Stop eating out We were taking date nights every weekend while we dropped the kids off at the movies or other various events. Hubby and I would go out and eat, sometimes shop, or go bowling, then have a Starbucks. Whatever we felt like doing, we did! While we justified it to ourselves that we needed quiet time together, we were taking way too much advantage of it. We would spend upwards of $150 every Saturday night for the dinners and movies.

We've since cut that out and instead of eating out, one day a week I'll make a big, fancy dinner from scratch, put on the candles, and the whole family eats together and we talk about our hectic week. We might rent a movie, but sometimes we'll just hang out together. That's a $600 savings a month, my friend.

*Learn to cook I saw a recent poll that said that less than 50% of Americans know how to cook. Seriously?! Most people can put things from a box together and make dinner, but that really costs more than making it yourself.

By cooking from scratch, you can cut that grocery bill wayyyy down, and all you need to do is get a cookbook and follow directions. It's that simple.

You will also avoid those preservatives and appetite enhancers found in processed foods and all the cancer causing agents in them. Yuck!

*Work out and eat right This will keep you healthy to keep those doctor bills down. You feel better and more in control of your life if you take care of yourself. Lose those 20 pounds that are affecting your knees. Drop the junk food and eat those good things you just cooked from scratch or grew in the garden to drop the weight - not to mention saving money.

Some of the richest people I know, literally millionaires, do all of the above. That's how the rich stay rich.

I will touch on this again sometime in the near future, but these little tips I just threw out there can save you upwards of $1000 - PER MONTH! Put that in savings and watch it grow. Save it for that inevitable rainy day that we're all dreading and you will feel much better about your future.

Hodge Podge

2008-12-15T14:56:00.002-06:00

I really don't know what to write about! About how much I'm packing and cleaning? zzzzzz. :)

We are excited and ready to go. It seems like such a long way until Saturday! I've been thinking about my garden and what I want to put in it, what animals, all that fun stuff.

I know for certain I want to expand on the orcahrd and plant some cherry trees. A couple more apple trees, definitely blueberries and blackberries, ooooh and strawberries. I could go on and on.

I was panicking because I was looking for grocery stores in the Tulsa area that double coupons and I couldn't find a thing! Finally I did and it looks like I'll be able to get some pretty good deals. They have a CVS right in the area I'll be living, too.

Will take more pics of the house and all that fun stuff when we get there. Pretty excited that I'll have my workout equipment IN the house. It's been way too cold to go out and workout, but I've been trying to get some body weight and dumbbell stuff in. No excuses after we move!

Check back in after the move!

House

2008-12-11T07:14:00.002-06:00

Here's another (blurry) pic of the house

He Must Be Stopped!

2008-12-10T08:05:00.003-06:00

In anticipation of our move, my hubby is selling all MY stuff. He sold my tanning bed (which I never use because it's bad for you), my big weight set (which I never use because I got a newer, more compact one), my old treadmill (which I never use because I got a better one), my shoulder press machine (which I have one on the newer machine). Did he sell any of his stuff? No.

He doesn't want to move the heavy stuff and wants to save space in the moving truck, and I did have doubles of everything...but still.

Eh, maybe I had this vision of Noah's Ark with doubles of workout equipment. :) He's got a point.