Time to get caught back up on my reading . . .

(image from http://churchad.com/)

Okay, okay. I get the hint.

Getting Back on Track . . .

Thanks to Kristen - I am ready to get back on track. I'm on the path to a healthier me starting right now. I have already had lots of water today and I am ready to be healthy. I am ready to FIT in my clothes. I am ready for a lot of things.

It's not too late to make those new year's resolutions come true . . . WHO'S WITH ME????

New Month - New Start . . .

Yes, I did pretty well at the 'posting every day thing' until the past week. Things got busy for me and I couldn't get out of bed early enough or was too tired in the evenings to post anything worth posting.

Since today is February 1st, I've decided to jump right back on the bicycle and try again. I had a long list of resolutions, and although I haven't fallen completely off - I need to put some umph back into my willpower.

So - I found a really good article about getting out of bed in the mornings WITHOUT caffeine. Check it out here.

I especially appreciated the third tip on this list, "The 10-Minute Rule. If you want to stick with a consistent wake-up time, practice the ten-minute rule. This means you commit to staying awake for at least the next ten minutes. Once you get over that initial period, the temptation to go back to bed is usually gone." I think that seems to be true with a lot of things.

When my husband FINALLY quit smoking after many many years - he learned that most cravings will go away after 3 minutes . . . so if he could find something else to focus on during that craving, he could make it. And he did. (I'm so proud of him . . . it's been TWO YEARS!!)

So that is my newest goal. When I crave BAD food, I will focus on something else until the craving subsides. When I want to get back into bed and sleep all day, I'll turn on all the lights and BLOG. :-)

Happy February!

Learning to trust . . .

("Crowning Glory" photo by IzzyBeth, Costa Rica)

Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like nothing is going right? You feel like no matter how hard you try - you still don't measure up? And then the smallest things start to bother you?

Today has been one of those days for me. I'm stressed about some unknown situations in my life and I am worried about what is going to happen next. I hate that feeling.

And after having my own mini-meltdown - sitting on the floor crying asking God "What am I doing wrong? I've been reading my Bible every day, trying to be a good wife and mother . . . and jumping into those roles more than I ever have . . . what am I doing wrong?"

Well - just as I thought that - this popped into my head . . .

"You're not trusting Me."

Wow. Ouch. And all that stuff.

And I wasn't. I wasn't trusting God. If I am doing all I can do to be the best person I can be, then I have to learn to trust God to take care of me. That is hard. I've always had an emotional caretaker type role. And then when you work in an administrative assistant role - you become somewhat of a caretaker for everyone you work for. At the end of the day - you don't have enough emotional energy to do what needs to be done to take care of yourself and sometimes even your family.

So I've just added a new resolution to my list.

Learn to trust.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Matthew 6:27-34 (The Message) says:

"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

I'm trying . . .

Resolution update . . .

Just thought I'd post an update on how I'm doing SO FAR . . .

My New Year's Resolutions for 2008:
1. Update my blog every day (at the least, 2x per week).

I've been trying very hard to update every day and haven't missed yet, although last night's post barely made it under the wire . . .

2. Lose 50 pounds. (lost about 4 pounds so far)

Just getting away from all those holiday treats is a big help!

3. Exercise at least 3x per week. No excuses. (need to start this!!)

I have a gym membership - but why is it that I want to get in a little better shape before I even GO there? I don't want people to see me.

4. Find things to inspire me and then let the inspiration run wild.

My kids and my husband inspire me every day - but I haven't been able to RUN WILD with it yet. Except for this blog.

5. Try out at least one new recipe per month.

Thanks to my new favorite blog, The Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, and her recipe site, The Pioneer Woman Cooks - I've already tried out one recipe and am baking the other one today.

6. Re-learn to sew.

Give me a break - I couldn't do EVERYTHING in one week.

7. Teach an online class if possible.

I have a couple people I'm in contact with to work on this one.

8. Spend more time with my kids.

Ever since I completed my Masters, this has been an easier one. I am so glad about that!

9. Have a date night at least once per month with my hubby.

The month isn't over yet!!!

10. Read more books. Especially my Bible.

I am working on the Read the Bible in a year program and reading every day. I'm learning a lot of interesting things.

I am also reading Frank Peretti's The Visitation. I love his books and haven't read one in a while. So far - this one is a great read.

11. Take more pictures - and learn how to do it correctly.



Obviously I've been taking more pictures - but I haven't got the hang of everything yet. My camera has a "sports" setting and also a setting where you can take several pictures in a row. I've been trying to combine them to get some good action shots - but I have not mastered it just yet . . .



12. Sing more, yell less.

I can say I've been singing more - but I still need to cut down on my yelling.

13. Keep my resolutions all year long . . .

So far . . . not too bad . . .

How are you doing on your new year's resolutions???

Reading the Bible in a Year

One of my New Year's resolutions is to read more books - especially the Bible. I know several people who have done the 'read the Bible in a year' program and decided to try it myself. I was unaware that the program is available online, so once I found it, I thought I would share it with all of you.

If you go to this link - it will show you the chapters to read each day (they say its about 15 minutes per day . . . unless you're like me . . . because I have a Quest Bible and I like to read all the notes and commentary.)

However, if you don't have a Bible - or one that you can easily understand - this website also makes it easy for you to read the Bible translation of your choice ONLINE, courtesy of Biblegateway.com.

This program does not have you read the Bible chronologically - for example, on January 1st - you read a couple chapters each from Genesis, Matthew, Psalms, and Proverbs. I really like it.

Even though we're already a few days into the year - I think it would be pretty easy to catch up if you'd like to go on this journey with me!!

Have a great day!

Snow Snow Look at the Snow

We actually got some snow in the past couple of days. I was really bummed that we didn't have a white Christmas. We had a pretty good snowstorm the week before Christmas, which promptly melted away. Then we got a light sprinkling for the past couple of days and now it is REALLY COLD. The problem with Indiana is that it is very hard to predict the weather from one day to the next.



One day, you may need to wear boots, long underwear, two sweaters, a coat, hat, scarf and mittens - and the next day, you could get away with wearing shorts. It's nuts - but something we've pretty much gotten used to. The bigger issue is - the constant change in weather, temperature, humidity, etc. means constantly fighting off colds. That part - not so fun.

I went out and took some pictures of our backyard covered in a light sprinkling of snow.





From these pictures - you might think I have a pretty large country backyard . . . well . . . you can go right on thinking that, but it is not true. :-) My husband is just really good at doing the best he can with what he has been given. We actually walk out our back door, walk about 10 feet (if that) and we're in our neighbor's house. That is the one thing that makes me a little bit sad. I grew up with a HUGE yard - plus my Grandparents lived around the corner and all the land on that corner was theirs. I could walk to their house on the road, or walk to their house through the woods behind our house. I had lots of outdoor adventures when I was little - and there is a part of me that feels like my kids are getting cheated out of that.

Perhaps someday - we'll have a big yard again . . . but for now, I'll just look at these pictures and pretend.

Thanks honey for giving me that option. And thanks God for the snow, whether on Christmas or not . . . it is still beautiful.

Take More Pictures

Here is proof that I'm already doing what I can to meet my New Year's Resolutions . . .

I finally got a camera that takes the shot when I want it too.
Here is Gracie licking her nose.

Grandma making homemade Chicken and Dumplings for Christmas.

Dad opening presents and showing his great fashion sense.

Hunkahubby with his new Kiss cologne.
(Yes, that band with the guys in makeup. ha ha)

Christmas morning after Santa had been to our house.

The kitties were visited by Santa Paws.

"I ain't got no body." - Max

What's your New Year's Resolution?

I think my New Year's Resolution will be to actually try and KEEP my New Year's Resolutions. :-) Every year, we all get all hyped up in January about the new things we are going to do to better ourselves and by February we've all fallen back into the same old rut. I am really praying for 2008 to be different for me.

I accomplished a lot this year and due to some things finally being completed - I should be able to focus and actually complete some new things in 2008.

My New Year's Resolutions for 2008:
1. Update my blog every day (at the least, 2x per week). [gotta give myself an out]
2. Lose 50 pounds. For my health and my own well-being.
3. Exercise at least 3x per week. No excuses.
4. Find things to inspire me and then let the inspiration run wild.
5. Try out at least one new recipe per month.
6. Re-learn to sew. Yes, I'm turning into a happy homewrecker.
7. Teach an online class if possible.
8. Spend more time with my kids.
9. Have a date night at least once per month with my hubby.
10. Read more books. Especially my Bible.
11. Take more pictures - and learn how to do it correctly (I got a new camera.)
12. Sing more, yell less.
13. Keep my resolutions all year long . . .

Well, with that list, I'm bound to make it on a few of them, right??

I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year.

What are your resolutions???