Category Archives: Changes

I really didn’t want to but….

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I’m glad I did.  Go to the gym yesterday that is.  That’s the good thing about having accountability partners, you do NOT want to be the only one who didn’t work out–(not without a good reason anyway).  I was feeling lazy yesterday by lunch time and really just wanted to go nap somewhere, but the other girls had already gone and were giving me the “eye” and asking me what my plan at the gym was going to be, soooooooo.  I went.  Mostly because I do better when I have someone to account to.  I am a little competitive.  I remembered we are having a luncheon today to celebrate May birthdays (mine included) and I’ll surely be partaking of some delicious fare.  And I’ll be going again today at lunch.  Mostly because of the luncheon.  But also because I’ll have to do legs.  Since my arms and upper body are sore, I can’t ignore my legs!!!  Friday I am meeting a friend in the wee hours of the morning (urgh!) and that will wrap the week up for strength training.  Here’s the deal though:

  • I can complain all I want, but the truth is I’ll get out of it ONLY what I put into it
  • After 4 months of consistent exercise, I HAVE SHOULDER DEFINITION!! Yup.  It’s not crazy muscle magazine fitness, but I clearly have muscle peeking through and confirmed by Hubby, daughter and son.
  • I may not WANT to work out, however, when it’s done…..I never regret having worked out
  • Nike has it right.  Just do it.  Lace up the shoes and go around the block. 20 minutes is gone before you know it.
  • I do have more energy.  I do sleep better.  My clothes fit better.
  • It’s the one thing I do for ME and it benefits my entire family!
  • God gave me this body, this temple, it’s MY job to take care of it and glorify Him through it.
So find some time today to give your body what it needs.  Excuses are abundant.  What do you have to lose?
1 Corinthians 6:19  

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
Here’s our growing list to May’s challenge.  Check ’em out and join in!  Comment and I’ll add you in!
Have a blessed day!!

Apurva  (new to blogging…hope we don’t scare off forever!!)

MB

Brite  

Amanda 

Lea 

And so it begins…..

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In the beginning…..everything seems so exciting, shiny, full of promise and hope.  New school clothes.  Unopened packets of pens, paper, folders, dividers.  Unscathed backpacks.  Unscuffed tennis shoes.  And then you settle into a routine and as you near the end, ripped shorts, crumpled paper, graffiti’ed backpacks, holey shoes and you plug on with your eye on the prize because the end is just. around. the. corner.

Ah.  And so it realistically be with the blog challenge.  Every day in May.  Seems fun.  Exciting. All these ideas floating in my brain.  And then finding the time to put them down.  Struggling between what I want to say and how it’s coming out of my brain.  Often not even on the same hemisphere!!

The reality is, I LOVE a challenge.  I always work better under pressure with a specific goal in mind. Whether it was when I used to run and was training for a race or with my girlfriends at the beginning of the year when we decided we could do ANYTHing for 12 weeks!!  (here it is into our 4th month and still plugging along in our new routines!)  I’m a structured person.  I wish I was more relaxed sometimes, but it’s not where my comfort zone is…a first-born, goal-oriented, nurturer.

HOWEVER, you may be more free.  Less inclined to stay inside the lines.  YAY! for you.  I’ll live vicariously through you and maybe gain some courage to step outside the box once in a while.  So, join me in our blogging “challenge” for May.  Blog each day.  Blog some days.  Use words.  Use pictures.  Use both.   Send your blog name in the comment section, I’ll add you in.  So far, we are FOUR.  I look forward to sliding into the end of May, tattered, blogged and having “met” other bloggers and styles to steal learn from throughout the 31 days!

Have a wonderful day!!

Brite  (this awesome Mama is the sweetest and gentlest!  with 4 little ones–including a newborn, she homeschools, farms, sews, cooks and sometimes includes great pictures of life’s ups and downs)

Amanda (I just met her yesterday through her blog, and Brite, and I enjoyed her pictures and her theme for May–pictures and Scriptures–FABULOUS combination!)

Lea (her 5th year of this challenge, I stole it from her, she’s crazy busy, the MOST creative person EVER, a God’s girl through and through and after all these years of knowing her I finally figured out how she gets it all done.  She doesn’t sleep.  Which is why I’ll never capture her cape!  I love sleep too much.)

Friday! 7 ways to recap the week

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It’s been a busy week for the kids at school.  This week was the FCAT, standardized testing (quite controversial, though if we didn’t have FCAT we’d have another brand…), and it’s always stressful because the entire year is geared toward this test.  The school’s rating, federal money, etc are just a couple of things riding on the outcome of the test.  So, needless to say, we are ALL quite thrilled to see Friday this week!

— 1 —

Monday was the Boston Marathon.  Hot, hot, hot.  My girlfriend ran in it.  Being from sunny FLA, she is heat-trained and ran that puppy in 4:22, but some 4,000+people opted out for the automatic spot in next year’s race.  It wasn’t my race, but it was really cool to text the race and have it send me her updates along the way.  Very inspiring considering the girl has only been running since her late 30’s, early 40’s!

— 2 —

Monday was also free McDonald’s breakfast for the FCAT kids.  We got up early, grabbed the breakfast and came home to eat and get ready.  It was a good motivator to get the kids out of bed quickly on a Monday morning!  (The breakfast was:  apple slices, OJ or milk and an egg mcmuffin, in case you were wondering…)

— 3 —

So, so workout week.  I’ll get day 2 of strength today and I did get cardio, but for some reason I was distracted with appointments this week at lunch.  Urgh.  Yesterday’s post @ Socially Fit was a good reminder that we don’t get results from haphazard efforts and good intentions.  It takes actual participation and commitment.  I’m down 9 pounds in 8 weeks, but that doesn’t mean I’m done! Far from it, moving on…one day at a time!

— 4 —

Got my hair cut this week.  OK, trimmed.  But you KNOW how great it feels to get your hair cut.  And shampooed.  And blow dried.  By someone else.  Heaven.

— 5 —

In prayer the other night and after listening to my Among Women podcast, I realized I needed to make an Adoration visit.  Time to charge my spirit.  I did that yesterday at lunch, instead of going to the gym.  It was a good move.  I definitely needed it.  I took some time while I was there to go through my prayer journal and its sporadic entries over the last 5 years and PRAISE GOD for the answered prayers.  Some not in the way, I might prefer, but to look back and see how He works.  AWE inspiring.  Truly.  Our God is a good and gracious God and sometimes we need to step back and see the big picture.

— 6 —

One of those long prayed prayers was answered this week.  A dear friend who has been unable to conceive for the past 8 years gave birth to a sweet baby boy.  After a 36+ hour labor!!  Mom, dad, big brother and baby are doing fine.  There was quite a text bomb going early on and it was exciting to see prayers in action and the community of friends and love surrounding them.

— 7 —

Ya’ll have a great weekend!  Be blessed.  Enjoy every minute.  Life is short.  Embrace it!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Palm Sunday

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Palm Sunday.  Onset of lots of extra people in church.  (JK, but true!)  Beginning of Holy Week.

Jesus enters Jerusalem lauded and anticipated as the possible Messiah with welcoming adoration of  “Hosanna”.  Before the week’s end the same crowd will call for His death, “Crucify him!  Crucify him!”. We are fickle people.  Repeating the same steps, day in, day out.  2000 years later.  Joyful anticipation of Easter, Resurrection Sunday.  Deaf to how He calls us to live our life.  To walk the Talk.  Living out our faith beyond the pew.  Accepting our differences.  Forgiving our faults.  Encouraging those mustard seeds to take root and offer rest and shade to all who are weary as that seed blooms to the giant tree.  Before we celebrate the empty tomb, the Risen Lord, we must experience the betrayal, the condemnation, the pain and suffering and the Death of Jesus.  On a Cross.  Obedient unto death.  So that we may live.  So that we may receive the strength, courage, grace and hope to make it through this life with the hope of Heaven when these days are over.   It’s a tough week.  It’s a powerful ending.

Many blessings as we enter into this holiest of weeks.  And, as the Pope said in his Palm Sunday message, “May Palm Sunday be a day of decision for you, the decision to say yes to the Lord and to follow him all the way, the decision to make his Passover, his death and resurrection, the very focus of your Christian lives. ”

Heading into Holy week….almost!

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— 1 —

One week until Good Friday.  WOW!  I wish I had more “spiritual growth” to report for Lent, but honestly, the biggest changes have come this past week.  Which is the hope anyway, right?  That WE do grow closer to Christ during this solemn time.  I guess my expectations are always bigger than reality, maybe I’m waiting for my own personal “burning bush” moment and need to recognize the smaller daily miracles.  What can I say?  I am a work in progress, let’s hope it’s forward motion though.

— 2 —

We received a sweet Easter “basket” yesterday from my Mom.  The kids LOVED it!! (thanks, Mom) and I promptly put up my Easter dish towels which reminded me I have a cabinet full of Easter decorations that I need to put up, as well as get the kiddos baskets taken care of this week.  I still can’t believe Easter is almost here.  Wow!

— 3 —

Three good workouts in this week.  Two with my girlfriend and one by myself.  Even ventured into the “man area”…you know where the men hog the equipment.  Yep.  I owned it.  Sauntered over like I knew what I was doing (well, I actually did know what I was doing).  Today I pay the price.  But it’s good.  I like my muscles to speak to me.  And it’s a great feeling to have my clothes looser on me.  And for some fun you can check out this blog of all the people you see in the gym, or this blog (my new favorite for motivation) for great fitness tips and inspiration….

— 4 —

Sadly, I had a knee issue this week.  So frustrating.  After almost 18 months of fabulousness, I had some serious swelling and pain after working legs.  I didn’t feel anything while working out, but definitely right after working out.  Something was tweaked.  The GOOD news is, after several days of taking it easy, ICE, elevation and some Alleve, it is way better today with greater range of motion and decreased swelling.  Phew.  Anytime I can stay out of my ortho’s office is a good day.  And when I can avoid another surgery, even better!!

— 5 —

I finished two books this week.  Made to Crave.  Simply a SUPERB book focusing on all the things we often try to fill our “God-shaped hole” with, especially with food.  And things to think about as to WHY we eat when we eat, etc, I simply cannot say enough about how wonderful this book was and what a great Lenten companion.

I also finished Mockingjay.  What.  A Ride.  No spoilers here.  A depressing series (I mean it IS based on a post-Apocalytpic time), however, the action was riveting.  I’m glad it’s done.  I want to read silly, happy stuff now.  Waiting on Hubby to finish so we can go see it with our son, who also read the books.  It KILLED him (son) that he finished first and could NOT discuss the book with me since I was still reading it.  And yes, I cried.  I’m a tender heart.

— 6 —

I am officially part of the Pinterest community.  My daughter’s art teacher told her about it for making some bracelets, so BOOM.  We’re in.  I’ve been avoiding it forever.  I still don’t understand it.  I am completely overwhelmed.  There is nothing on my site except two panda pictures (quite adorable)–they are on my daughter’s board.  Really?  What do I do with this?  I’m sure there is some usefulness to it, but I’m not really sure.  Care to educate me??  Please??  Thanks.

— 7 —

I am starting the “Mary, Undoer of Knots” novena today.  Will take me to Holy Saturday.  I wanted something to really focus on during this last week of Lent.  I did it a few years ago and it was a wonderful novena and a fruitful time.

Have a great weekend, and as always, join in with Jen and many, many others to see their Quick takes!!  Click on the link below!  Blessings!!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!