Weighing In On My Resolutions...Pun Intented

Happy January 10th, folks! We've all had just over a week to get ourselves adjusted to any New Year's resolutions we might have made... so how's it going? I'm delighted to report that from my side of the blogosphere, things are going well!

My main New Year's goal (as 40 creeps closer and closer) is to get healthy and active. I was tired of being tired. ;) Been there? Yeah, me too. And for too long. Getting a little more specific, I have set my mind to weigh what I did when I got married. Granted that was 12 years and two kids ago, but it was also a time where I was taking pretty good care of myself. Still, that requires a weight loss of 35 pounds. Yep. Christmas (and Thanksgiving) was a two-month celebration for my taste buds. And my waist-line is the proof. :/

Unlike Januaries past, this year I've committed to doing Weight Watchers instead of my "go-to" South Beach diet. I'm trying to eat moderately and really make lifestyle changes and not get caught up in a "diet," so to speak. I'm also learning that I'm going to eat a cupcake now and then, and darn it, I am NOT going to grieve myself silly over it. I'm just going to eat healthy the majority of the time. It's about balance, you know?

And as for the active part, I'm trying to walk at least a 20 minute mile most days. Did you see what I did there? Most days. No real set schedule, just trying to do it every day that I can. I still have dreams of running a 5K this year, but I'm taking things moderately, something I've never tried before. And days like this Thursday when I'm going to be in Birmingham all day with doctors' appointments, I'm not going to fret over missing a day or trying to work harder or longer the next day to try and make up for it. All this might sound like a "no-brainer" for a lot of you, but this is brand new territory for me. My "all or nothing" mentality hasn't gotten me anywhere but stressed and NOT where I want to be physically, mentally, or emotionally. So 2012 is going to run differently. So let's see how it all shook down, shall we?

Starting weight (Jan 2): 172 lbs. Gulp.
Monday (Jan 9): 167lbs. That's 5 pounds, baby! Woot!

And the best part is? I had a burger and fries for lunch one day and peach cobbler on another day. I just reigned the eating in around my "splurges," and walked as many days as I could (which I think was 3, but I'd have to check to make sure). How awesome! Now, it was a little bit of a challenge to take the time to write down EVERYTHING that I ate all day, but it really does give you a wake-up call to what you are putting in your mouth and how often. For me, I'm allotted 26 points a day and 39 "overage" points a week for days I might go over or for special treats. I'm doing WW online, so I don't have to go to any meetings or anything. But the online tools have been fantastic to track how much water I'm drinking (which wasn't enough previously) to reminding me to take my vitamins (and, ahem, other medication that keeps momma outta the crazy house, if ya know what I mean ;)!! ). All in all, I'm pretty pleased and ready to celebrate my 5 lb loss.

Which leads me to this: I've been trying to come up with non-food related rewards for every five pounds of weight loss. My first reward is a pedicure, but I'm having trouble coming up with the other 6. These are things that I'd like to do that I normally wouldn't do for myself so that it will be extra special and exciting to reach each goal. If you have any ideas, feel free to leave me a comment. I'll post my reward schedule when I'm done with it. I hope today finds all of you on your way to meeting your own goals!

My Back Says, "Thank You!"

This is a picture of the door that leads into our house from the garage. Do NOT judge me for all the junk on the shelf. Save that until you've seen the other side of the garage that could technically qualify us for an episode of hoarders. ;) Just keepin' it real, folks. Anyways... this is not a post about organization (gasp! Although de-junkifying the garage DID make the list for the near future! LOL!), it's actually about how awesome my brother and my Pops are for building a wheelchair ramp for us in like three.whole.hours. I know. They are supah-stars!!!

Here they are in the demolition stage. They look handy enough, right? You have no idea. I stayed out there with them the whole time because I was just amazed at how they decided what to do and then executed the plan effortlessly, working together like a well oiled machine. I asked my brother how he knew what to do without a drawing or anything, and he just pointed to his temple and said, "I've got it all right here." Gotta love that.

Here they are a little further along in the process. I'm glad they weren't opposed to me taking pictures like a maniac. :D They were so in the "zone" with their building that they hardly noticed me at all.

And here she is all finished! They added a runner to the ramp for a little extra traction and to help keep from tracking dirt in the house. How thoughtful!

You can see that the rug is doing a bang-up job catching the sawdust after we tested the ramp out to make sure it would hold us all! Poppy even mounted my broom rack to the front of it to keep my cleaning stuff handy but out of the way of wheelchair traffic. He's good like that!

My favorite part is the personal "stamp" my brother put on it after they were done. Since Chuck is an Auburn grad who married into a family of die-hard Alabama fans, Bill couldn't resist throwing a little jab his way.

Bill also said that if he comes back and it's painted orange and blue, he's tearing it down. LOL! Chuck and I are so thrilled with it, we wouldn't care if it was all decked out in houndstooth with crimson pom-poms. But don't give my brother any ideas, okay?!?! Thanks so much, Bill and Poppy for all your hard work! We love it AND you!!!

Anyone Else Getting Organized?

This is the side of our pantry when you walk through our kitchen door. Below are our recycling bins that barely made it into the picture. :) This little wall is like the "command center" of our house where the big calendar usually stays (notice the 3M hook in the middle. I had already started to take stuff down when I thought about blogging about this organization project! LOL!). The lunch menu from school also hangs out here along with random reminders and miscellaneous artwork that all get hung up with blue painters tape to keep from marring my solid wood cabinets and the drywall. But it's a mess, no? Definitely not the prettiest thing in the world, so I headed to Staples to pick up a few things to make this area really work for our family...

Ta-dah!!! I purchased these three boards for about $20 dollars each and I think they do the trick, don't you? The top one is a cork board, the middle one is a dry-erase/ magnetic calendar and the bottom one is just a blank dry-erase/ magnetic board. I picked up a magnetic cup holder at Wal-Mart in the school supplies section to hold all the markers and it's found a home in the top right hand corner of the bottom board.

Here's a closer look at these beauties. I spent a little more on these that had the black wooden frame around them because I thought they coordinated well with the other black accessories in my kitchen. Did you notice the calendar, though? I actually started my New Year's organizing back in December! Trust me, there's LOTS of organizing left to do around here! Do any of you have a "command center" from which your family operates? Is it working for you? Perhaps you could implement something like this in your kitchen or office and organize all that paper clutter. Another solution would be to paint the side of a cabinet or wall with magnetic paint and/or chalkboard paint (which I almost did here). How about putting a large sheet of flashing from Lowe's on the wall to hang your calendar or notes from? The ideas are endless, really. I hope this has given you a few ideas to get you started. Have a great weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday!

Music Therapy Thursday... Strong Enough

Today's choice for a little music therapy was a no-brainer after my last post on New Year's resolutions. It was solidified when I learned that my good friend Mary Snyder will be having surgery on Monday to remove her bladder. She has bladder cancer.

I talked with her yesterday and, of course, she's frightened about what lies ahead. It breaks my heart because I know few people as wonderful as Mary and cannot think of anyone who deserves this less than she does. However, trouble comes to all of us in this life. Lance Armstrong put it best, though, when he said "In life and in medicine we have two choices: give up or fight like hell." Mary is a fighter and I know she isn't going to give up, but over the last year I have felt like Mary and probably many of you who are going through your own battles. I've wanted so many times to throw my hands up and say "I can't DO this anymore! I'm just not strong enough to take this!"

But here's the beauty and the dichotomy of it all: we don't have to be strong enough. As this songs states, it's in the times that we are flat on our face with no where else to go but up that we reach out and take the hand of the One that IS strong enough. Are you tired, struggling, suffocating, stagnating, and have done all you can do for yourself? There is freedom in letting go and letting the master and creator of the universe do what he does best: restore, redeem, and make new his creation. He's on our side. Better than that, he'll carry you to the finish line!

Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me." We all need this reminder from time to time and Matthew West does an excellent job with this song. Even if Contemporary Christian music isn't your "thing," I hope you give it a listen. Blessings to you this Thursday! Now rock on!!!

Let's DO This Thing!!!

I love a fresh start. A clean slate. A new beginning. Nothing brings more hope than the idea of starting things off "brand new." That's what I love about a new year. 365 days to do more/better/differently than the 365 days previously. What can I say? I've always been an overachiever. ;)

I've heard many of you are not making resolutions for fear of not completing your goal. For some it's weight loss (me), for others it's debt management (umm... also me), and for others it's organization (yep. Ahem. ME!)that eludes us year after year no matter how sincere we are about our endeavors to change on January the 1st. Hey, I'm with you! If I had a nickel for every resolution I've kept over the years, I'd be writing this blog post from somewhere tropical, with a slushy drink in hand, topped with an umbrella. While getting a massage. Waiting on my next massage. ;) But trust me, this does not mean I'm not going to hike up my knickers (once again) and jump off into the deep end of the resolution swimming pool. I'm going for it. I'm ALL in!

Yes, I'm stealing the phrase coined by the Auburn tigers during their championship season in 2010. Sure it's corny, and I'm not even a "real" football fan according to the rest of my fellow Alabamians, but I think it sums up what I've made up my mind to do this year. For my health and fitness goals this year: I'm all in! For our family's financial future: I'm all in! For my house and tackling the clutter therein: I'm all in! For my family and our time together: I'm all in! For my relationship with God and my spiritual journey: I'm all in!

Why such a drastic stance? Because in looking back at these fundamental areas of my life, I can see where I've given things "the good 'ol college try" but have not given them my all. I'm not beating myself up too badly because over time there have been EXCELLENT excuses that have kept me from doing so. Valid excuses, but excuses all the same. And because I have realized I cannot do everything or be everything for everybody, I'm letting a lot of things go so I can concentrate on these five main areas. Yes, I've made some specific goals and specific lists that I'll share later, but for now I'm just thrilled to be starting fresh. I feel like I've hypothetically swept my arm across my desk, clearing off all the junk, and am slowly putting only the things that belong back on there. How's that for a visual? LOL! I'm such a weirdo... No amount of resolve is going to change that, I'm afraid!

How about the rest of you? Any goals or resolutions to speak of so far this year? I promise to encourage you, if you promise to encourage me, mmmkay? C'mon! Let's DO this thing! My step-dad always said, "Can't never could and won't never will!" So here's to a Happy New Year and to new beginnings!

Christmas Shopping Via the Internet

I began my Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving. NO, I was not one of those people up at the crack of dawn, standing in a line, elbowing my way to the deal of the century. I guess it was about 3:00 p.m. when Chuck and I mosey-ed on down to K-Mart to start making a dent in our Christmas list. Surprisingly, we STILL managed to get several things at TERRIFIC prices. Plus, the crowd was manageable and the check-out lines were moving like well-oiled machines. But the "holy Grail" of Christmas shopping came later that weekend when momma racked up doing some online shopping. My life will never be the same. :)

Where do you go when your nephew asks for an obscure DVD for his gift this year? Well, AMAZON, of course! Where do you turn when your dad wants some jeans, but wears an unusual size not found in stores? Yep. Amazon to the rescue again. Throw in free shipping and zero tax and momma starts doing her happy dance. Remind me to show it to you sometime. It's awesome.

Next, I head on over to www.verabradley.com where my mom had seen a purse on clearance that she wanted. To my surprise, they were having a 50% off sale on three of their most popular styles in retiring patterns. Well, for less than the cost of a purse on clearance, I got dear old mum a bag I would have never been able to buy for her otherwise. And there's always her birthday for that purse she had her eye on. I have never heard of Vera Bradley selling anything at 50% off. I had to pay shipping, but completely, totally worth it. YAY!!!

Santa has also been doing some online shopping, himself, for the little red-head. Jamie had been wanting a Miss Piggy doll like I had when I was a girl, and I haven't been able to find one anywhere locally. Ditto for the new Monster High dolls. Once again, Amazon hooked us up with Miss Piggy and we found two of the new Monster High dolls together on eBay for a steal (cuz Target was all sold out)! Combine all that with the fact that I did not waste any gas searching all over for all of the above items, I did not have to deal with traffic, crowded parking, harried shoppers, distressed sales clerks, or long check-out lines, and I would say woo-to-the-hoopty-hoo!!! It's no wonder I am in more of the "Christmas spirit" than I have been in years. Just a few more items to check off my list and I'm done! And I've given myself a deadline of this Saturday to have it all completed so I can relax and enjoy the rest of the season in peace...

Did any of you do any online shopping this year? It's SO the way to go, don'tcha think? Are y'all finished up with shopping or have you even started? As I was reminded this morning by the red-head... "Only 17 more days 'til Christmas Eve!!!"

Music Therapy Thursday...Top 4 Christmas Songs (No. 4)

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas," isn't it? We have finally finished all the decorating (inside and out!). Whew! It's so wonderful to sit back and look at the tree in the evening or drive by houses all lit up for the season. Those sights make me happy. That's the reason I chose to share this song today for a little music therapy.

When I started this party on Thursdays over a year ago, I had no idea how much positive feedback I'd get from it. Some of my blogger friends are even jumping on the bandwagon and sharing a little music therapy of their own. That also makes me happy! Music is such a wonderful way to bring people together, no? So anyway, while talking to my friend Hollie, she mentioned that she was going to be sharing a Christmas edition of MTT and I thought I'd take her great idea one step farther and count down the next four Thursdays sharing my favorite Christmas songs with you. What are some of your favorite Christmas songs? Leave a comment if you'd like. I'd like to see if there are any obscure ones I could add to my list! Well, without further ado, let the awesome Christmas music begin!!!