Tag Archives: planning

Get ready

Welp.  Looks like the next couple of days will be interesting.  Praying Matthew doesn’t change course any further west and hooks east back out to sea.  It’s a thing, it can happen. See Hurricane Charley (although that hooked east about mid-state–which was NOT good!).

The last time we dealt with a big hurricane it WAS Charley in 2004, who was followed by 3 friends.  The others are a blur, because with 4 hurricanes in 6 weeks, that was a crazy I do not care for.  Prior to that was Floyd in 1999 when most of Central Fla evacauated north (we were in the Panhandle at the time and were fortunate enough to host my dear friend and her family for the night—which was in turn fortunate for us as our 2nd son was born early the next morning!).

This time though, we are here.  This time it’s far larger and stronger.  People may have been slow to act (12 years will do that to you), but I can assure you that the gas stations, grocery stores and home building stores were bustling yesterday.  The Hubs, is a planner though and when we grocery shopped last week we stocked up on the water, gatorade and soup.  Our cars are all gassed up.  Our windows are about a year old.

Today, we will watch the forecast and the Hubs and kids (and cat and dog) will head inland to a friends and depending on whether I get called to the hospital, I will meet them tomorrow after we close or head in to weather out the storm at the hospital.

Pray it up, people.

Head east, Matthew.  WAY east!!!

 

Home stretch…or is it?

Photo CREDIT

The above mentioned photo cred is to an article on network marketing, however, you’ll see it has the same tools to get to ANY goal….commitment and accountability in surrounding yourself with like-minded folks.

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.

Today I find myself heading into Week 5 of the Peak313 challenge and for me, it’s been a GREAT springboard for getting my heart (mind and body, too!) back into the healthy frame o’ mind.  Instead of this being “The End”, it’s rather a beginning, to keep marching forward!

And like the article in the photo above, this challenge, along with fanTABulous encouragement through Clare, seriously make-you-sore exercises and the important scriptural foundation, commitment and accountabilty have contributed tremendously to my staying on track.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not naive and I’ve been in “this place” more times than I can count.  I FULLY expect to continue to be tempted and challenged along the way as I strive toward my “Healthy goal”, it’s a lifelong exercise……..just as it is with our spiritual Walk, budgeting goals, raising children, cultivating healthy marriages, and so on.  Anything worthwhile is worth working on!!  Each day presents its own challenges, and in facing each day as it comes, I find it’s easier for me to keep focused when I keep the one-day-at-a-time mentality.  The choices we make TODAY contribute to where we are tomorrow…we canNOT focus on the worries of tomorrow which haven’t even occurred yet!!    We canNOT focus on the failures of yesterday.  Today.  One step at a time, one foot in front of the other.

And so….to wrap up this week, here is a quick summary:

Exercise:  I modified my plan according to what the day brought.  I had my “plan” and as with anything, sometimes plans fall apart.  This is where Plan B came in.  Modified.  Life changes.  Adaptation is key.  I did.  I was sore.  I got in my time!!

Food:  I planned.  I ate in moderation.  I kept cravings in check and when I simply HAD TO HAVE IT……moderation.  Case in point:  Spontaneous dinner date with Hubby Friday night…healthy choices @ dinner, but skipped the bread and ate in moderation….including the coconut cream pie.  A few bites, savored and enjoyed and I was satisfied.  Moderation not deprivation.  We have to live, people.

Scripture:  Above all things, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.  Proverbs 4:23.  How true, how true.  Especially after my dear friend’s dad underwent open heart surgery this week.  Physically and spiritually, heart=life.  Guard it likewise.

And this week we have….

Wishing you much success, peace and strength in the coming week(s) ahead!  Blessings!!

Work it, girl!!

THIS week I have hit my stride.  Serious talk.  Week 3 of the 5 week challenge and I’ve worked.  IT.  like.  nobody’s.  business.  or everybody’s since this is a blog on the WORLD wide web and all.  Anyhow…..like I was sayin’….THIS week I’ve been an exercising-eating-well-logging-my-food-goody-two-shoes.  It’s been CaRAAAAZaY!!!  So crazy, that I am entertaining the thought of eating clean, like FO REALZ, eating clean.  However, in Friday fashion, and in joining in with Jen’s blogging gang @ Conversion Diary, I thought I’d wrap up the week with 7 things I’ve experienced during this week o’WORKIN’ IT!

  1. Oatmeal.  Yum.  Delish.  Can do lots with it.  This week it’s been pumpkin.  But…..how long, O’ Lord is my belly going to grumble afterward????? Anyone??  Anyone???
  2. Walking lunges.  Super good for your gluteus maximus.  Around the corner of the track.  2 sets.  2 days later=ouch.
  3. Packing my lunch at night makes a lot of sense.  Speeds up the morning, too.  Maybe I’ll actually do that next week.  Baby steps, people.  Baby steps.
  4. Cutting out ice cream at night hasn’t been as bad as I thought.  Apparently, my low point comes when I get in the door after work…..veggie straws are where it’s at.  Trust me.  You can have a lot of those suckers in a serving…it’s perfect!
  5. Lots of walking=dry, scaly feet.  A little love on the weekend with the ped-egg, lotion and some new polish…….happy tootsies!
  6. Regular working out makes for some GOOD sleep.  So I’ve heard.  However, don’t hate but….our kiddos are bigger and now that we have sleepers-through-the-night, I pretty much fall asleep in about 2 seconds flat, so I haven’t noticed any change there…but “They” all say it’s true…so I’m sure it is.
  7. Maybe I’m the last to know..maybe you are…but here’s a little ditty that is (according the my newest teen) all the rage right now…PSY–Gangnam style.    Maybe you could run to this on your next run.  or not.  whatev.  Now you’re cool.  You’re welcome. And you’re one of the many who made clicking on the video part of the Guinness world record book for “most watched”….kewl.

Have a great weekend.  We’ve got both games…wait for it….AT HOME!  WOOT WOOT!  Maybe I’ll get a nap.  HAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH

don’t forget to visit JEN and everyone else, too!!

Blessings!

Monday mourning..

Blah.  At some point perhaps I will try a boring weekend and see if that makes Monday more palatable.  Naaaaahh….

This Monday starts week 3 of the Peak313 “5-week challenge” and I’ve got to say, so far, I’m sucking.  OK, well, not a total lie…the first week was pretty good…with room for improvement on the food choices, but the second week.  Blech!

  • Sick child
  • Hubby dealing with some personal issues…which I then take on (because that’s what I do..I empathize to the point of making it MY problem) and then revert to comfort food and busy-ness wherever I can find it
  • Open house for the Elem school
  • Change in soccer practice, unexpectedly
  • Super busy at work

Nothing truly earth-shattering, however, life got in the way and I let it.  Bummer.  It derailed my exercise AND my eating and so I fully experience the saying “when you fail to plan, plan to fail”.  And fail I did.  When you fall (or fail) you have to get up, brush yourself off and get back on the path.  One day at a time.  One foot in front of the other.  And so on.

Somewhere around Friday I began to rally mentally.  Better food choices.  A little exercise.  Saturday was a busy sports day for the girls with LOTS of driving, however, better food choices and a decent mental outlook on the day as a whole.  Sunday was the RESTART:  Mass.  Walk. Grocery shop.  Pre-cook for lunches for the week:  Baked chicken breasts, brown rice, quinoa, hard-boiled eggs, cut up some veggies for the kids to snack on (and me).  I also made some treats for the fam–not exactly “clean eating” but a treat…moderation, right?  Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies–I’d give you my recipe, but it’s a little of this, little of that kind of deal but you could use this one from A Sweeter Thing.  I made the cookies for a treat for the week (we’ll see if they last that long!) and I made a peanut butter pie for dessert last night.

Moving on….we have fruit and veggies in the house…I’ve got food prepared for the week…I can’t wait to try this pumpkin oatmeal recipe for breakfast this morning… I’ll be hitting the gym @ lunch today…we have a healing mission @ church tonight. Day 2.  Week 3.  It’s ON!

This challenge is motivating and encouraging and I am also EXTREMELY motivated by Socially Fit’s blog and Twitter feed throughout the day.  Focus.  Focus.  Focus.

I’m off to start the morning rush…..How’s your week looking?

Peak 313..Week 3 Scripture verse!

Time management…..whatev! We can’t ALL be perfect.

Here we are in our second week of summer.  Yesterday as I rolled into work late for the second day in a row it occurred to me that my time management skills are el sucko!  Actually, not so much that it’s my time management skills but that fact that I haven’t made a successful transition to our summer schedule yet. Nor have  I even tried.  Therein lies the problem.  And then I remember, for some reason it usually takes me about two weeks to make the transition to a new routine……..WHY?!??!!?

In the mornings I am now finding myself with a surplus of time and that is the foundation of my time management rearrangement challenge.  With all this extra time I feel I can do so much more, neglecting the clock and then rushing like a madwoman in the last 5 minutes and leaving late (BUT…..still managing to get it done….just late!).

Last night I looked at my morning and mentally readjusted my “plan” allotting myself a set time for my Quiet time in the morning with a definitive END time to my Quiet activities, thus BEGINNING my daily routine of getting the girls up, ready and out the door.  ON.  TIME.

Here we go.  Day 1 of readjusting the summer clock.  Wish me luck!!  Anyone else have problems adjusting to new changes in schedules, i.e. summer, back-to-school??  Or is it just me?