One More Sleep Til' Christmas!

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! May your Christmas tomorrow be "jolly and joyous"!

Bless us all!

So this might be a movie with puppets, but I love it so much! This song is especially powerful if you listen to the lyrics. Sit back and enjoy a clip from the Muppet's Christmas Carol.


And no matter where you are or what you are going through this season, may you be blessed.

Prayers Needed!

Hello everyone!
Sorry the posts have been few and far between.
Its been a rough week for my family and we could sure use some prayers. Mark's mom is having surgery next week to remove a mass/tumor they found on her ovary and uterus. We are all a little frightened by this whole thing. (Ok, so I am really frightened) We are hoping that they can remove all of the mass and that it is benign. The doctor suspects is may be ovarian cancer. I hate that c-word. We are trying to take this one day at a time and stay positive until we know exactly what is going on, but it can be so hard.
We are trying to plan out meals for my in-laws post surgery and also attempting to get all the Christmas decorating finished as well, plus continue our normal routines (and bake cookies...I always bake cookies!). Do any of you have any easy nourishing recipes that I can make that might freeze well? I was thinking I'd start with some lighter meals like soups for the first few days and then do some casseroles of some sort. Any guidance is much appreciated. Why does it seem like these things always happen around the holidays?
Next post will be happier, I promise! I have a duck hunting trip to share as well as some knitting projects I have done. And I'm learning to crochet!

Christmas Giveaway Extended!

Hey everyone - just a super quick post to let you know about an awesome Christmas giveaway happening right now. (insert me juming up and down and clapping) Go check 5minutesformom to see the list of all the awesome prizes you can enter to win. And please let me know if you do so that I can be excited for you!! YAY!
Also, check the button on the sidebar about Under the Tree - what a great cause!

Thankful Thursday - on a Friday!

I'm feeling extremely thankful today and let me tell you what a wonderful feeling it is!
So let's get right to it, shall we?
This week I am thankful for:

1. My boss rescheduling our field work to the week after Thanksgiving! This way I get to spend some overdue quality time with my husband.
2. The sun which is shining brightly today - it has been absent this week so welcome back sun!
3. Starbuck's deal this week/weekend where you bogo holiday drinks - hello non-fat peppermint white chocolate mocha, no whip!
4. My aloe vera plant which is growing quite rapidly and probably will need re-potted soon!
5. Stash merrymint tea. Having a nice cuppa right now.
   
6. This blog I've been reading daily: A Girl and a Glue Gun This gal is crazy crafty and has SO many cool ideas. Really. You should check her out. Someday I hope I am half as crafty and productive!
7. Hungry Girl's egg mug recipes. I forgot how great these things were! I had the egg mug lorraine this morning. There are tons more on her site too if you just search for "egg mug"
8. Sweater weather. I big red puffy heart sweater weather!
9. Knitting books. I'm teaching myself to knit :) So far I've got the garter and stockinette stitches down. Going to learn ribs this weekend and then make something fun (I'll share if it is not too disastrous)
10. Candles - specifically the BBW Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin. I've been burning mine so often that I will need a new one soon! (Here that BBW, time to have a SALE on candles for me!)

What are you thankful for this week? Are you looking forward to Thanksgiving? Any special plans? I saw this facebook post about a tradition where everyone in the family writes what they are thankful for on the tablecloth in a fabric pen. What a great idea to start! Think of how neat it will be to read and add to it every year! I just might have to borrow that idea.

What keeps you motivated?

I've gotten a small reprieve from my traveling! I don't have to leave again until the week after Thanksgiving! That makes me feel a bit calmer since everyone is coming here to eat this year. I will not be cooking though, only supplying the room. But if you saw the state of my house right now, you would see why I need the extra time home to prepare. Plus my husband has decided that I am to go duck hunting with this this weekend. I will not be shooting anything or even carrying a gun. I'm just going for the experience and for the time he and I can share while doing something that he seems to really enjoy. And isn't that what marriage is all about? :)

So today I wanted to ask you all, what keeps you motivated? I was in the doctors office yesterday and it seemed like every magazine I picked up had some article on losing weight or getting healthy. All the food plans were different, but one thing that was the same was this: finding and keeping your motivation. One thing I notice about myself is that when I remember WHY I am choosing to eat better and exercise I am more likely to stick with it. After my wedding I lost about 40 pounds using Weight Watchers (both online and then in meetings). My starting motivation then was seeing myself as a marshmallow bride and wanting to look and feel better in my clothes. What a great feeling it is to succeed! Fast forward to now - I've gained about 25 pounds back. And I feel. like. crap. My clothes are clingy, my jeans are tight and giving me the feared muffin top. I'm losing my desire to go out in public for fear I might see someone I know and they will see how FAT I have gotten. There are no excuses for this. I've more than fallen off the wagon - I think the following wagon ran me over! That must be why I'm so swollen!
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make here is that there must be a "why" for anyone to commit to doing anything. And it doesn't always have to be one big reason, it can be a bunch of things, as long as it motivates you and keeps you going on your journey. My current motivators: my jeans are too small and I refuse to buy more, my muffin top has got to go, I feel horrible, and the extra weight I'm carrying might play a huge role in having (or being able to have) children.
So what keeps you motivated? Please share! It doesn't even have to pertain to weight - it could be what motivates you to get up in the morning!

Back to Myself

So how did I get out of my funk from last week you ask? Well, it was a combination of several things.
First and foremost, I prayed.
Second, I listened to my favorite music.
Third, I exercised last night.
And Last, but not least, I realized that even when I am unhappy with my situation, it will pass. It only makes it worse to sit and complain and sulk about it. So I have accepted my "fate" so to speak and will be traveling for work, pretty much this entire month. I will not let this throw a wrench in my happiness.

Staying Positive

Last week was rough. I was sick and then I had to do field work in 50 degree weather and pouring rain. I was exhausted and soaked to the bone. I worked really hard! I feel like I should be super happy with myself for all that effort and planning I did to make the job a successful one. Instead I am dwelling on the negatives - not just the weather but the attitudes and energies possessed by some of the people I had to be around. They REALLY affected me to my core. It has taken the entire weekend to really recover and I am still emotionally exhausted. Mostly because now I need to gear up for MORE work this week and a big trip next week. I'm not looking forward to it at all. And it really gets me down since this is the kind of work I've always thought I would enjoy. I LOVE being outdoors! I love tromping through creeks and mud. So why can't I shake these negative feelings? And how do I overcome them?

Feeling Icky

Posts will be kinda slow this week as I am feeling pretty yucky. I have an infection and the meds I'm taking interfere with another medicine I always take and it is making me and my tummy quite miserable. Plus I have a business trip this week. If I have time while I'm there I will post, but I just wanted to let you all know why I didn't in case I don't.

Fun Movie Clip

Just had to share this clip from Despicable Me. Can't help but want to squeeze Agnes when she says "Its so fluffy I could die!" Yep. That was me when I was a kid. Enjoy!

Thankful Thursday

I am borrowing this from my awesome friend and blogger Melissa at Life as I Know it. I think this is a wonderful idea to just reflect for a moment on all that I have to be thankful for instead of all the bad stuff that tends to take all my attention. (Thanks Melissa!)

Today I am Thankful for:
My friends and readers who are there to support me and encourage me on my journey
My husband - that he is levelheaded when I am a wacko and stays calm when I am freaking out.
The car that is actually working. (I really love my Explorer!)
Money in the savings account that will cover the EXPENSIVE cost of getting the other car fixed.
The fact that we actually have 2 vehicles, even if one is not working right now.
My Extra Cat (yes, that is her name) who always seems to crawl in my lap when I am stressing out to calm me down. She must sense my BP rising or something.
Starbucks is close to where my husband works, so when we have to share the car, I get a grande non-fat white mocha (lovelovelove)
My deep freeze well-stocked with various meat. I may not love meat, but at least I'll never starve!

I hope you will take a moment today to think about what you are thankful for and maybe share those things with me!

Weight issues Wednesday

Hello my readers! Welcome to Weight issues Wednesday! Yep, just made that up right off the top of the old noggin.
But seriously. Has anyone else noticed how HARD it is to lose weight? Yes, I know the facts: Eat less than you burn and you will lose weight, but is this magic formula as simple as that? It does not consider any emotional issues you have with food. It assumes that you have the willpower to forgo any sweet treat that passes under your nose. It is a daily struggle for me. Seems like I'll eat normal to well on most days, lose about 2 - 5 pounds (in maybe a week to ten days), have a weekend of eating everything in sight and gain it all back. How frustrating! So I am looking for some simple changes I can start applying to my everyday life to make my lifestyle healthier and happier. For example, one thing I've already changed is eating breakfast every morning. I used to skip this meal since I wasn't hungry, but to maintain your metabolism it is important to kick start your day with breakfast. There are also several things I'd like to change including (but not limited to):

1. Reducing my sugar intake but replacing with natural sweeteners like honey and stevia (right now I use splenda but will not repurchase if I can find a stevia alternative I can bake with)
   
2. Starting to eat cleaner - and I need help with this. If you have any info on this, please please please share! TIA! If you are unfamiliar with this term as far as I understand it it means replacing all the processed crap I eat with healthy stuff. Again, if you know more about this please share!
   
3. Eating vegetables. Or maybe I should say finding waysd to incorporate veggies into my life that aren't in a boring old salad - or finding some way to make a salad exciting.
4. Generally being more aware of food. You know, the emotional and behavioral side of eating. What am I feeling when I sit down and eat an entire pint of Ben and Jerry's and then feel like crap afterward? Did I really need 2 servings of that dinner I made? Knowing the difference between what I need and what I want. That kind of stuff.

I hope that you all have a little insight on this. It is crazy hard to do this alone. My hope is that there is at least one other person struggling like me and that we can help each other. I don't want to eat perfect all the time. I want to ditch the all-or-nothing mentality. I want to feel like I am strong enough to take control of my health and get the most out of this life.

Where have I been?

Oh me oh my - I have been away far too long from blogging and there are SO many things I want to share with everyone. No, nothing huge and life changing has happened. Well, I did get a job (which is a time-suck) but no other real reason for not blogging except that I just feel inadequate. I'm not sure why anyone would want to read about me and my boring life, but one thing I realized while I was away is how therapeutic blogging really is for me. It enables me to gather my thoughts and speak my mind. That is a gift unto itself, just talking about what is going on in my life and letting it all out! If you, my readers, (gosh if there are ANY of you left out there...and I hope you will give me a chance) leave me a comment (some bloggy lurve) it is a huge bonus to my day.

So, I don't want to just spill my guts here in this post because it will be entirely too long for anyone to want to sit and read. So I will summarize some topics that I am sure will be in future discussion.

• Baby fever: I've got it! Must be that biological clock ticking.
  
• Woman issues: goes along with above topic and is thus far keeping me from above goal of having an actual baby, instead of just the fever.
• Weight/Health issues: I'm a a slacker. I lost my exercise buddy (yes mom, that was you) and then my motivation to go to exercise. My hubby wants to lose weight too and that is a rant in itself. I've got about 30-40 pounds to shed before I'm at a "healthy" weight to procreate. Bummer.
  
• Self-esteem: It has wandered off. Where did it go? I wish I knew. I'm hoping that by fixing the weight/health issues I can find it again.
• Cat issues: As to not mix my blogs, I will post this on the life with 4 purrs. I know not everyone likes cats. There are a few that live in my house right now that I don't like either.
• Crafty times: I will be posting on any fun things I create. My inspiration comes in spurts so I cannot promise it will be a regular thing nor can I promise the media will be consistent. I love paper, fabric and yarn. So the possibilities are nearly endless!
  

Well I hope I have not bored you with that. Look for a post at least weekly. I will try and be more on top of things, but I know I can promise at least one post a week to let you in on my little world. Thanks for listening!