Ok- This is Happening

Well, It's February 2014 and I found a journal I started from January 2013. Guess what???? I basically weigh the same amount I did A WHOLE YEAR AGO!!!!!!! *sniff sniff, tear tear*
And my goals for 2014 (for weight loss anyways) look strikingly similar to that of last years.

Here's the deal. I pretty much spent all last year trying to lose more weight. Getting rid of baby number 2's initial abode has proven to be WAAAAAAY harder than I thought it would be. Anyone who knows me knows I make an asserted effort CONSISTENTLY to lose weight. I go to the gym and do several classes per week. I eat pretty healthy almost 80% of the time..I have tried Afterbaby weight loss, Trim Healthy Mama, clean eating, calorie counting and weight watchers all within the last year and I'm  only down 4 lbs from where I was this time last year.
THAT'S DISCOURAGING YA'LL, really discouraging.
I had great success losing weight with Weight Watchers before, I'm baffled as to why it's just not working this time. When I ask a WW leader why I'm not losing their answer is to just eat less.
Well, IDK if you've ever done WW but I can't eat less than I already am. In fact after much reading about metabolism and fueling your body I'm pretty confident I've lived with my body in constant starvation mode. Sure you lose weight initially when you lower your calorie intake but over the long haul all it does is slow down your metabolism...and a slow metabolism does not a fat burning machine make (thanks yoda, ;)

I feel like it's time to figure out my body and what really makes it healthy. I know eating less is NOT the answer, I know working out more is NOT the answer. To be honest...I'm not sure what the answer is. But I know that I have to figure it out if I'm ever going to get to my goals. Sure, I know I could just be content and happy where I am..it's not like I'm obese or anything. I'm not even that over weight. But I have higher goals than just giving up and being happy where I am when I know it's not my best. There is a reason why my body has stalled and isn't releasing the excess and I'm determined to find out why.


So, for the next three months I'm going to be doing, (drum Roll PLEASE)

Jamie Eason's Live Fit Program 

It's a 12 week program that focuses mostly on strength training and healthy eating. I love to exercise..however weights have never been my focus. Sure, I do them in my cardio combo class, or I add some in after 45 minutes on the elliptical. But a lifter, I AM NOT. However, that is going to change. This program starts off with NO CARDIO AT ALL. AW, LORDY.

I've been doing so much reading about how building lean muscle mass aids in weight loss as well as over all fitness and I'm all about that. PLUS, learning to eat better is always a plus. This program is FREE! YES, FREE and lays out all your workouts and meals for you. It really doesn't get any easier. All, I have to do is find the will power to follow the program. I'm praying for the Lords strength to do that.

C'mon Ya'll it doesn't get any better than FREE!!!!!

I don't know if this is going to solve all my weight loss problems. But I am going to give it a shot and see what kind of progress I can make in 3 months.

I will be blogging about my week each monday just to keep me accountable and motivated to keep going. It might even be motivating to you. ;)

I can't wait to get to week 12 and see progress.

Today was day one and the workout wasn't bad. Today was Chest and Triceps so I spent 45 minutes working out those areas with weights. I used 12lb dumbbells for all the exercises and it was tough. When I told my hubs that I was proud of myself for using 12lb-ers he said..."12lbs?? that's like a can of soup".....I don't know what kind of soup he's been eating, but MY cans of soup do NOT weight 12 lbs each. SHEESH! That's ok..we'll see who's laughing in 12 weeks. ha

 I admit that after I was done I felt kinda weird like I should be hopping on the elliptical for a good sweat session. I'm so used to measuring a good workout by not being able to breath and sweat POURING from ever pore. But I resisted and just did some average pace walking to loosen up my muscles.


Jamie Eason says that she doesn't want us using the fuel we are eating to fuel cardio sessions, rather she wants us using the fuel we eat to rebuild our muscles and create lean muscle mass. I'm gonna trust her, she's the expert.

As far as eating goes, I've done pretty well, except for the mini bag of m&m's I had after lunch (thanks mom and dad for sending a whole box full to the kids for valentines day) ;) ha.

So, there ya have it. I'm going after this thing as best I can. I'll hit ya back up next monday to give you week 1's progress.

FINGERS CROSSED~ Wish me luck. :)

Money Matters

Like I said in my last post, God is really taking me on a journey. He's been convicting my heart and changing my thought process on things that I've not even thought about.....EVER!

Lately, He's been speaking to me about money. Yep, that crazy little green stuff that seems to make the world go round but people never seem to have enough of.

M-O-N-E-Y.

A few days ago, I asked my husband to go over our budget with me. Mostly because we are celebrating our 10 yr anniversary at the end of the year and I want to be able to pay cash for our trip. I wanted a game plan. I need to know what we have to do to save "x" amount of dollars by December.

As we looked at the numbers on our budget..what comes in, what should be going out I was startled by a huge deficit!!  There in the column marked "savings" was a surprisingly large number.
I quickly said..."whoa, wait a minute..we save that much every month??" My husbands response was, "no, IF we stayed on budget we would save that much every month, but we don't usually do that".

WAIT a MINUTE..hold the phone!!!! "How are we spending that much extra money a month?? What are we spending it on?" I asked.  He just kinda shrugged and shook his head!

God immediately pricked my heart in a huge way!!!  Basically after paying our basic bills and paying for groceries, setting aside some money for eating out, and doing fun activities we SHOULD have enough left over to put several hundred dollars in savings each month.  The fact that we have not been doing that is a huge red flag to me. We can't even recall what that extra money is being spent on.

Most likely it's being spent on, more eating out, stopping to get sodas, new things we see and want, something for the kids, using our credit card mindlessly and having to pay it off at the end of the month.

BUT certainly nothing substantial or meaningful in any way...because neither one of us can even pin point what it's being spent on.

Friends, I want my money to matter more than this.

IF we are so blessed to have all our basic needs met and are able to budget in eating out, allowances for my husband and myself AND have some fun money...then there is no reason at all why we should be spending the rest except for the fact that we are mindlessly indulging ourselves in desires and wants that we clearly don't need OR have made one bit of difference in our lives.

Here's the deal, we don't live extravagant lives. Just about everything I buy is on sale, I use coupons, I do DIY projects to save money. Literally half of my closet is from Goodwill..NO LIE!
We don't take our kids to expensive outings often AT ALL. I shop at Once Upon a Child for their clothes.

I literally am NOT a "shop or spend-a-holic"

If I want to redecorate..I first think of how to repurpose, repaint and reuse what we already have before buying anything new. So I am literally blown away at how we go through money the way we do.
I've boiled it down to two things.

Carelessness and Greed. Ouch. I don't typically consider myself careless or greedy. But after mulling it over in my brain til it's basically mush I can come up with no other conclusions.

We are careless with our excess, and we are greedy in thinking that if we have excess it should obviously be spent on US!! (there's that "we deserve" american entitlement issue again)

Who says that because we have extra money that it should be spent on us. Does God not use His children to bless others?? Who says that we should even be budgeting in "eating out" and "fun money" as if luxuries are the most important things in life.  What if instead of delegating what's left over to people in need..we turned it around..and supported the needy FIRST, and then used our left over for a few indulgent luxuries?? How different the American church would look.

I think of all the things we could be doing to bless others, to show Gods love with our excess.
We could buy groceries for a family for a MONTH with our extra.
We could buy someone a car..(a used one mind you, but still with 4 wheels and an engine)
We could pay someones rent
We could fund a family in Ethiopia for a whole year so they could have food and education.
We could build a church in Africa!!!

But instead, it gets spent on another pair of shoes for my daughter who already has ten pairs. Or on another scarf for me, when I have two drawers full.
It gets spent on another run to get carry out, when we JUST ate out yesterday.
It goes to buy new curtains just because I've had the other ones for a few years and am tired of them.
More, useless, meaningless junk that doesn't enrich our lives one tiny bit. In actuality it just causes us to want more useless, meaningless junk.

I mean, seriously....I WANT MY MONEY TO MATTER more than this.

So, we've decided to cut WAY back. I have a set allowance every month that is just for me. I can go to lunch, I can buy a new shirt...whatever. My goal and promise to myself is to stick to my allowance. If it doesn't fit into my budget. I don't get. NO MORE EXCESS.

I have a closet full of stuff. My goal is to wear EVERYTHING..(everything that fits anyways). I'm going to put together outfits from what I already have. I'm going to be thankful with my home. I may want new accessories for my book shelves..but there is a child in India who could use that $30 a whole lot more than my book shelves could.

I want God to open my eyes to the nonsense. I love my kids and I love buying things for them. BUT the reality is they have more than they need. They have so much in fact..that they don't really even enjoy what they have because the amount of stuff is so overwhelming. And, because they are so used to getting stuff the thrill is just "getting" it..not actually playing with it, and I'm not ok with that.
So, unless it's a birthday or Christmas. No more TOYS, no more clothes, no more NOTHING!

The fact that my whole family could literally have beds and dressers of our own in our bedroom alone, is a shocking realization to the amount of excess! When I really allow God to do surgery on my greed and my heart I start to walk around my home in AWE of the blessings I've been given.

I'm not living on the street..or in a dump. I'm not hungry, I'm not cold. I have clothes..and stylish ones at that. My kids have luxuries and toys. WHO THE HECK DO WE THINK WE ARE, to maintain an attitude of constantly needing more!

That new shirt wont bring meaning to my life. The bigger tv wont fulfill my inner most longings. Going on an extravagant vacation wont fill any emptiness within me.  A new couch wont bring me meaningful relationships.

I want my money to matter.
I'm giving God room to use the finances He's giving me to bless others. My tithe, is not enough. I will live on less, so I'm able to bless.

I will sacrifice the boots on sale at marshals and the 20th cute dress or hair bow for my daughter so that someone else might know that Jesus is using people to bless them.

I want my money to MATTER. I will live with less, so it will!

2014 Search for Simplicity.

Well, I haven't posted in well over a month. I've had so much whirling around in my head I feel like I couldn't articulate a single thought that would make any meaningful sense at all. But God has been doing something in me in this last month or so and I think it's time to share it.

2014 is going to be a big year for me. I have several mile stones that I'm really looking forward to. I'm turning 30 in about 6 weeks! My husband and I will be celebrating ten years of marriage and I get to go on my first missions trip out of the country. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about all of that.

I've been thinking quite a bit about this new phase in my life...30 years old feels huge, feels exciting, feels old. (ha just kidding) I've thought much about the time spent in my 20's and I've decided I want my 30's to be different...MUCH different. Don't get my wrong, my 20's brought lots of great adventures, wonderful learning, babies, friends, experiences. But underneath the polished exterior of who I've represented myself to be, my 20's were also filled with much insecurity, selfishness, bad attitudes and misguided priorities to say the least. You may not have known it to look at me, but contentment and joy were rare commodities. Which is sad, because I've been so blessed. BEYOND blessed even. Looking back at all I've been given and knowing in my heart I've not been completely thankful just makes me sick, and ashamed if I'm being honest. 

I want the decade of my 30's to be marked by difference attributes than that of my 20's. I want to be different, I want to be better.

I've decided that 2014 is a year that I will give God room to change me. When I say change, I don't mean, small little things..I mean, I want to be CHANGED, really CHANGED!

I'm tired of the rat race of life as we know it. I'm tired of Christianity as we know it. I'm tired of the world selling us misguided dreams and desires that do nothing but fuel our own selfishness and pride as we disregard the lost and the hurting. Things need to change."I" need to change.

I don't want to look at the brave people who are doing great things and only wish I was brave enough to do what they're doing..I want to BE that brave person.

I want to be brave to tackle my selfishness and greed and really turn that ship around in a world that is sending us full speed down stream towards destruction.

I want to bravely be disciplined with my convictions even if NO ONE else understands, agrees or is following my example. Cause lets face it, It's so much easier to do something hard when you aren't the only one "suffering". When you're tackling your human sinful nature it feels like suffering when everyone around you is gleefully indulging in their own. It feels unfair, it feels lonely. But I'm reminding myself that those things didn't make me happy when I was "gleefully indulging" in them myself. It only brought joy for a minute and then it was gone, fleeting, like chasing the wind. Just when you think you've caught it, it slips through your fingers and calls you to pursue it further. It's a game you just never win.

2014 is going to be a search for simplicity, contentment and living with less. Not because I have to, but because I'm learning that having more, is not actually "MORE" when it comes to feeling fulfilled in life and I want my kids to learn this lesson early. We are going to live with less than the consumeristic world tells us we "deserve". We are going to eat at home more, shop less, be thankful for what we have by not constantly filling our eyes, minds and hearts with all that we don't have and "want". Those things are like the sunset, it's pretty for a few moments but before you even realize it, it's gone and you're waiting on what's next. I for one am tired of looking to "what's next"..the next cute sweater, the bigger tv, the newer car, the next restaurant. 

It's completely twisted that a 2700sq ft house, a closet the size of my first kitchen, more toys than my daughter can possibly play with, cupboards full of food and all of our basic needs being met and THEN MORE..is still not enough. Nope, there is always another baby doll to want, another cute shirt to buy, another style of curtain to hang, more food to eat,  another vacation to dream about. It's a perpetual cycle of "I WANT", "WE DESERVE", "MORE MORE MORE" and frankly, it's exhausting.

I want peace and fulfillment in today, in ME today... Not me ten pounds from now, not me when I get new boots or a new hair cut, or when I get to redecorate my living room. I will be content with me TODAY.

So, I'll probably be blogging more about this journey I'm about to embark on. My search for simplicity and contentment by embracing less, embracing sacrifice, embracing thankfulness. I'm sure it's going to be WAAAY harder than I can even imagine. But I'm determined to give God room to change me. 

I don't want to look at the brave people who are doing great things and only wish I was brave enough to do what they're doing..I want to BE that brave person.

Weight Loss Wednesday- Weight Watchers Mexican Chicken

I haven't done a Weight Loss Wednesday for a while, and I have several friends doing Weight Watchers, so I thought I'd share one of my tried and true Weight Watcher Go-To meals.

This simple meal is LOW POINTS with BIG FLAVOR!!!

You will need a Chicken Breast per person (aprox 4oz a pc)
Taco Seasoning
gallon zip lock bag
Salsa
Sour cream or sub greek yogurt if you wish


1. Place taco seasoning packet in a gallon sized ziplock baggie. Add thawed chicken breasts to baggie and shake to cover well.

2. Place in baking dish and cook aprox 30 minutes or until juices run clear and chicken appears done.

3. 10 minutes before chicken is done. Add 1 cup of Salsa to the tops of Chicken breast and continue cooking til done.

4. Once done, top with2 tbsp sour cream or greek yogurt sub per breast.

You can eat this on top a salad like shown above, or with mexican rice, or beans. It just depends on how many points you want to use on the additions. I LOVE this on salad...or tacos. OR you can eat it alone with a side of vegetables to keep the point count really low.

4oz Chicken Breast with salsa and 2 TBSP reduced Sour Cream= 5PP

HAPPY EATING!!

Thanks a "Latte"- Coffee Gift

It's the most wonderful time of the year and you know what that means!!

PRESENTS!

Yep, Presents for everyone. The list can be long and it can get pricey.

This makes a really cute, friend, co worker, teacher or whoever likes coffee gift and it can be really cost effective.

I call it the

"THANKS A LATTE"

You will need

Flavored Chocolate Melts or chocolate morsels ( you can choose whatever flavors you'd like, but I chose pumpkin spice and white chocolate peppermint)

Plastic Spoons

coffee Mug

Small coffee pack 

Tissue Paper

Treat Bags to wrap it all in.

Step one- Gourmet Chocolate Stir SPOONS

 Melt the chocolates and dip in the plastic spoons. Lay on foil or parchment paper to harden

I dipped the white chocolate ones in crushed candy canes.

Once Hardened, decorative wrap them. I bought treat bags and just cut them.

STEP TWO- Arrange your goodies into your mug. 

I used tissue paper to prop things up so they looked nicer. (but I forgot to take a pic of that step. :/ opps)

Step Three- "THANKS a LATTE" for being a great......

And you can fill in the blank with whatever you want.

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

An affordable and unique gift for the many "someones" in your life that you want to show appreciation to for Christmas!!

My whole gift cost just under $5.

Happy Gifting!!

Dime Designed DIY- Goodwill Canvas Repurpose

So, This week I've been a crafting maniac. Literally have done about 5 projects. Which is AWESOME!  I guess this no Facebook thing really has benefits. You can click the link to read about that if you want.
But seriously I've had so much time to do things I love and that makes me feel great!!

Anywhoo, I want to share my latest project with you.

It's my....

GOOD WILL CANVAS REDO!!!

This is what they looked like before. I got these babies for $1.50 a pc at Goodwill (IheartGoodwill)

I obviously wasn't in love with these floral beauties, so I decided to try my hand at redoing them with one of my favorite products.

MODPODGE

If you've never used it and you're a crafter..you don't know what you're missing!

So, I grabbed my modpodge, my foam applicator, and some pages from an old book I got at a garage sale like 9 years ago and I went to work.

Following the directions on modpode I applied a thin layer to attach the papers. I ripped them and placed them in various directions.

Then I put a layer on top of each piece as well.

this is what it looked like after I was done. I applied another layer of Modpodge all over the top and sides to keep the papers securely in place.

LET DRY WELL!!!

then I grabbed some cute letters I bought from Micheals. I got a whole tablet full of die cut letters in one pack. 

The letters were not the color I needed to match our master bedroom which is where I planned to hang these. So I decided to use these as stencils.

I traced around each one with light pencil and used Painters Paint Markers from walmart. TO fill in the letters.

I continued on until they both were done!!!

Here's my final product!!!!!!

I love how these turned out. They will be perfect for our Master Bedroom.

I love that I only spent $1.50 a piece!!!

Stay tuned for more Dime Designed DIY ideas!!

Now that I'm facebook free. I'll be doing MUCH more. ;)

Happy Crafting

The Pain of Sacrifice

I was reminded of a saying today that once brought great peace in the midst of a painful circumstance.

Do you ever find yourself in the midst of a trying circumstance? Or maybe in the midst of what feels like a great sacrifice??

I've been there more times than I'd like and I'm sure I'll be there again someday. 

When I'm in the middle of something that feels really hard I can get really down. Sometimes I just feel sad, other times I feel angry. Sometimes I just feel like life isn't fair and I want to cry and stomp my feet at God and remind him how unfair I really feel this situation is.

Can you relate?

This saying was told to me by a dear friend in the midst of one of my pity parties over something I felt was too much of a sacrifice....she said...

"The sting of sacrifice is soothed in His presence"

Man that's a good lil saying packed with a powerful punch.

You see, there will most likely come a time in all Christians lives when God asks something of them that will feel like a sacrifice.

It could be taking a job that scares you, or taking a job that seems "less" than what you deserve.

Maybe it's moving away from family, or shelving a dream of getting married or having children to follow Gods plan for your life.

Maybe God is asking you to cut ties with someone or something that is bringing you down and drawing you away from Him.

Maybe he's asking you to break old habits or come out from the crowd and stand up for something resulting in loss of friendship or status.

 2 Samuel 24:24 states, "I will not offer unto the Lord my God that which costs me nothing."

In that same way I think God often asks us to do things for him that will cost us something and that feels like a mighty sacrifice.

Those "sacrifices" to God are a beautiful offering to HIM, but lets be real honest...it doesn't seem so beautiful when you're the one sacrificing. It hurts, it's uncomfortable, it goes against what feels natural and safe...and yet, God doesn't ever ask us to do something that will not bring Him glory or is for our benefit.

"The Sting of Sacrifice is soothed in HIS PRESENCE"

Does Sacrifice hurt? YEP

Does is sting and feeling uncomfortable? Absolutely.

But you don't have to go through the pain of the sacrifice alone. 

When you spend time in the presence of God it's almost like the Holy Spirit just pours spiritual neosporin all over those aching wounds.

When I start feeling like what God has asked of me, "JUST ISN'T FAIR"....it's time to spend more time in HIS presence.

Only in His presence are we provided the strength to overcome what can be unbearable sacrifice.

When Jesus was about to be betrayed and he knew his crucifixion was near. What did he do??

He went to the garden to pray. He spent ALL night soaking in the presence of God as preparation for the sacrifice he was about to make for us.

I bet Jesus thought it was "PRETTY UNFAIR" when he asked his disciples, his very closest friends to stay awake with him to pray, just to return to find them comfortably sleeping. 

There they lie resting as Jesus prepared for the most horrible thing that he'd have to endure on this earth.

I bet he felt pretty alone.

"The Sting of Sacrifice is Soothed in HIS presence."

To the heart that's lonely from moving away....that ache is soothed in His presence.

To the addict who's craving just another hit or drink.......the cravings are soothed in His presence.

To the single one who's putting aside their desires for marriage and family to serve a greater call...

Those longings are soothed in His presence.

I don't know what type of sacrifice you may feel like you're facing. I don't know what pain and longings torment your heart and mind.

But I do know, that it ALL can be soothed in His presence.

Find comfort in the presence of God today.

xoxo