Gratitude

So I didn't exactly post last week.  That might be because I had BOMBED on the week before with moderation. But life is about moving on.  We have good weeks and bad weeks.  It is all about how we handle what life throws at us. So, instead of giving up on this whole self-improvement process, I'm chalking it up to a bad week and pushing on. Last week's goal to work on was "Affection".  The suggestions were that we  show people, especially family, extra affection.  Since Bob is the only one of my family around, I did pretty good.  I did try to straighten things up around the house and make myself presentable before he got home. Since he is out all day working hard to support our family, when he was home I tried to make sure he had everything he needed from a drink of water, to a Diet Coke, to cookies. I even made really good dinners for him. I wish I had the rest of my family around so that I could show more affection to them. BUT, I am so happy with all my kids and the things they are doing with their lives.

This weeks goal is "Gratitude". This week try to focus on your blessings. As you go through each day pay attention to what you have to be grateful for. Express your gratitude to family, friends and above all thank your Father in Heaven for the blessings in your life.  Look for the positive and good things around you.  They are there you just have to look and find them.  Even when things seem bad and you're depressed and overwhelmed, look for what you DO have and be grateful for it.
I personally have so much to be grateful for in my life. I have the world's most amazing husband.  I have no doubt that he would walk to the ends of the earth and back for me. As I already mentioned, I have been blessed with 3 awesome kids. They have always brought joy to my life.  That doesn't mean we haven't had issues over the years, but for the most part the have brought us very little grief.  The are all strong in the church and have amazing testimonies. What else could I ask for? I also have Katrina who is a great wife to my son and is an incredible mom to my beautiful granddaughter McKinley. All my friends always told me how great it was to be a grandma and they weren't lying. I am also grateful for my parents and siblings (all 7 of them) not to mention all my nieces and nephews.

This week I will  find things to be grateful for every day. I will remember to gives thanks for the many blessings that I have and acknowledge the hand of God in my life.

Moderation in ALL Things

Week four in my quest for self improvement brings the most difficult goal so far.  But first, let me recap last weeks "Love Thy Neighbor".  I did take time to visit with one of my neighbors out by the mailbox.  I also baked bread and had Bob deliver it to 2 neighbors.  I still have plenty of room for improvement in this area. So this brings me to this weeks goal "Moderation". The book recommended taking a food that you have a hard time with and giving it up for a week.  Well.....that's NOT what I'm doing.  I am taking a different approach.  We can all benefit for learning to take things in moderation in many aspects of our life.  Yes food is a major area that I need to practice moderating.  However, what about spending money in moderation or watching TV in moderation.  This week I have chosen to try and take all things in moderation.  I will turn the TV off more and opt for the radio. I will also work on my eating in moderation however, polishings off the bag of Lays potato chips at 11:00 pm last night probably was not a good start to my week.  I will let you know how it works out.  If anyone else is trying this approach to New Year's goal setting, I would love to hear how you are doing.

Love Thy Neighbor

My report for last week's goal of "Prayer" is mixed. I feel like I did try to add more meaning to my prayers but I could still use some practice on frequency of having them, especially in the morning. I will continue to work on this.  Maybe I should go back to the "prayer rock" used by primary kids. If I set a rock by the side of my bed, maybe when I jump out and kick it, I will remember. More likely however, I'll just trip over it in the middle of the night.

So the goal I am working on this week is "Neighbors".  It is much harder for me than "Smile" and "Prayer."  I am perfectly fine in my little comfort zone.  I have my friends and I am comfortable in my own little groove. So, the challenge is to "Choose several neighbors and serve them" . It suggests that if I have neighbors that are difficult to love make them the recipients of even greater service.  This goal will require me to actually take time to possibly talk to my neighbors.  It isn't that I don't like them, it is just that we all have stuff in our lives that keeps us busy.  I will however, try this week to do something for at least one of my neighbors.  BUT, aside from the people that live around us we have "neighbors" in many aspects of our life. Maybe this week, take time to do things for the people you interact with on a daily basis at work or school.  Even a little phone call or short visit to someone in your life can have a great impact. So, this week look for opportunities to bless the lives of people around you.

As for the rest of  my life, things are moving right along.  I am trying to get my house under control by taking it a room at a time. I am hoping to be done by February 1. Yesterday after a 3 month break I went for a run. Wow! How quickly my body forgot. I am SORE today. I have great plans for this year and am excited to tackle them.

It's a New Year!!!

The holidays have come and gone. We had a wonderful season and I hope you all did as well. Trevor and Kara both home from school and then the day after Christmas we headed for Provo to see Samuel, Katrina and McKinley.  McKinley is growing up so fast and is smart as a whip. Did I mention how cute she is? Samuel and Katrina are also doing well.  While in Provo we also saw Serena and Matt and Aimee (with a couple of kids). When we left Provo we headed south to visit the family down there. It was a whirlwind trip but it was great to see everyone.
So, now everyone is back at school and Bob and I are back to being empty nesters. We actually sat down and made a few New Year's resolutions this year. Just like everyone else, I'm a little sick of the SAME old resolutions every year.  You know the "I'm going to lose weight", "I'm going to get more organized" and goals of that sort. So, several years ago I picked up a self-improvement journal that has 52 things to work on. You take one goal to work on each week. The first week was "Smiling". It states "A smile can turn the world around". You are supposed to work on smiling when you're with others, alone, with strangers and especially when you don't feel like it.  Remember "Fake it til you make it!" Week 2 is prayer. Remember to pray always and always have a prayer in your heart.  This week work on having sincere daily prayers.
I will attempt to update every week with the goal of the week in case any of your wish to join in.

Change is Good

So today has been one month of my new exercise regime.  I am up to running a mile and a half now.  Slow and steady wins the race in the weight loss department though, I'm losing about a pound a week.  BUT, that I am actually able to run that far without dying is a great achievement.  There have been other changes in my life as well.  I am proud to announce (I should be ashamed) that after 28 years, I have quit watching The Young and the Restless. Its been a month now and I am amazed at how little the tv is on now-a-days.  Also, another habit (one which was not taught to me by my parents) is my Diet Coke issue.  You will be pleased to know that I have cut back greatly on my intake.  I was drinking 1-3, 42 oz cups a day.  It started as  a financial thing.  One day Bob and I were sitting at Wendy's waiting to pay for our DC's and he was holding the 17 quarters in his hand.  He said "Wow, that's a lot of quarters and we're trading them in for 2 cups of colored water."  So, we decided that we would quit buying them unless we were out to dinner or at the movies (we DO have a well stocked vending machine in our backyard you know).  I do still drink it without guilt, but I have cut back.

As for the rest of my life, things are changing there too.  Bob and I had Wood Design for 8 years.  The last 2 years were rough.  So, in February we closed and Bob took a job as the plant manager for another larger cabinet shop.  To say that the owner was the "Boss from You Know Where" is an understatement.  It was a relief in a way when he was let go on July 12.  Three weeks later he started at Barbosa Cabinets (he worked there from 99-02).  He's handling commercial sales in mid to high rise buildings in the Bay area.  It's a new direction for him , but if anyone can do it he can.

Sometimes in life we change of our own accord and others times we're forced into change. It's all in how we handle it.  I'm thankful that I have my wonderful husband and family to be there and support me when life changes.

So it Begins...

This is the time for brutal honesty. Not only with all of you, but with myself, about myself.  I've had an awesome life.  I have a wonderful family that loves and encourages me in everything I do. Yes, our family has had its typical ups and downs but for the most part it has been great.  I however have spent the last 24 years battling my weight problem.  Like millions of other overweight people, I have tried who knows how many different diet plans. I have found the most success with Weight Watchers.  I first joined in 1990 after my second child and lost 30 lbs to reach Lifetime and got down to within 5 lbs of high school weight.  Over the next 5 years however, we started our own business and I had another baby.  Ever since then it has been a constant roller coaster, up and down and back and forth to WW. In August of 2007 I went back to WW AGAIN and over the next 2 years lost 60 lbs. Then life hit, our business started tanking due to the economy, Samuel and Katrina got married, Kara graduated, Trevor came home, you know, every excuse in the book.  Now two years later I find myself having put back on 45 lbs. But, I still have a wonderful marriage and awesome kids. If my weight is the worst thing I have to deal with after surviving the last two years, I can do it.

So, on July 11 I started on the road to a healthier me.  I figured I "know" everything there is to know about losing weight, I just have to do it.  I have finally been willing to accept somethings that I need to make as permanent changes in my life.  #1 I really have to get serious about exercise for long term.  I somehow have to make it a habit for the rest of my life.  I truly HATE exercise, I've often quoted Garfield and said "I might as well exercise, I'm in a bad mood anyway." So on July 11th, I started running. this is something I have never done in my life.  In school I was always in that group of kids bringing up the end and walking in the mile.  Don't think I'm breaking any land speed records, because I can walk faster than my slow jog, BUT I am doing it.  I started at a half mile, which you may laugh at,but after 3 days I up'd it to 3/4 and then the next week to 1 mile.  The first time I ran down the street after finishing the mile was a bit emotional because it was the first time in my life I had done so without walking.  Today was 6 times of running the mile and it is pathetically slow but I've managed to trim 2 minutes off my time.  I have also been doing about 50 minutes of floor and ball.  Now you need to also understand, I am not doing this totally of my own volition.  Kara is home for the summer and has taken on the role of my personal trainer or my "exercise Nazi".  She has mapped out my fitness plan for the next year with running increases every 2 weeks.  She's awesome even though I don't always "like" her in the moment.  #2 After years of WW I've decided to take a new approach to weight loss.  Changing things in my daily life that I can live with forever.  Spray butter, GONE! Lite tortillas, GONE! Fat-free cheese and Shiretake noodles, GONE! These were foods I associated with "dieting" and I did not like them.  In turn I'm choosing to control real foods that I eat.  I'm also incorporating other changes in my eating habits that I know I can live with.  It's been almost 3 weeks and I'm already seeing results.  So, I plan on using this blog to chronicle this journey I have begun.  I hope to share my ups and down and hopefully you guys can shares yours as well.  I feel that FINALLY I am on the road to a new and healthier me.

My Life in the Now

I spent the weekend with my wonderful daughter down in Irvine.  We shopped til we literally dropped, we ate (too much), we watched movies and we laughed (a lot). For whatever reason, while I was down there, I decided I wanted to start blogging. I'm not really sure why but here it goes.

So, I find myself in this new place in life, an empty nester. To understand where I am today I need to back up almost 25 years. WOW! June 17, 1986 I graduated from Serra High School in San Diego, CA.  Two days later we moved to the big old town of Fredonia, AZ. My dad was being sent to Japan for a year, so mom and the kids would live there while he was gone. I was to spend the summer there until going to BYU in the fall. I took a job from the paper babysitting for the summer. On July, 9th my dad left for Japan. On July 12 the family I was sitting for set me up with their cousin Robert.  The rest, as they say, is history. Just nine months after we wed along came Samuel.  So, to make a long story, short after 23+ years of child rearing my husband and I are actually getting to spend more time together, which after all, is the reason we got married in the first place.

I love being a mom and wife! I love doing things for my family. I have spent the last 23+ years running between baseball, basketball, football, track, cross country, gymnastics, ballet, piano, choir and who knows how many church obligations. After so many years of running, now there isn't so much running. So, I find myself searching for my new role in life. How do I stay busy and be productive while at the same time enjoy this new freedom? I want to accomplish things and be involved without being over scheduled and dragged down. I want freedom to do what I want to do; to take off to go see my kids, to play with my granddaughter when she arrives, to go visit my parents, and to take off with my husband, but I still want to have pupose and meaning to my life. I am attempting to find balance.

So, why the blog? Not sure yet.  I am hoping to share memories and things I've learned while at the same time share my current ups, downs, and ah ha moments.