Already?

Already??

Tomorrow is February!  I am still dizzy from all the busyness around Christmas.  I can’t believe it is already February.  UGH!

So it is one month down and I’m making some progress on my new year goals.  This week, I painted the hallway and half of my living room.  It is so amazing what fresh paint can do for a room!!  ((sigh)) Wish I had done this about 5 years ago.  I can’t wait to display all the art work I’ve completed since Christmas.

My family and I have given up electronics and spending money on Sundays.  This is part of a challenge I set in mid-January.  So far, so good.  The first Sunday very little complaining happened due to a very long Saturday.  Everyone slept the day away.  The second Sunday, we were all a little grumpy about no electronics.  In the end though, it wasn’t too hard.  Yesterday, we got so much done.  We painted.  We repaired.  We played.  We baked. We hung out together.  It was really nice.  It is so amazing how much one can get done without the TV, computer, and cell phone.  It hit me this morning though..It was supposed to be a day of rest…rest with God.  ((sigh))

January has blasted off with a good start.  As I was sitting here at my desk, I looked up at the calendar I received for Christmas.  Psalm 65:11 leapt from the snow scene picture hovering over the January days.  “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness..”

God is so sweet..what a comfort and a joy in that message!!  Praise God!

Enjoy this last day of January 2011…Look for God today.  He’s around you blessing you and sending you love notes..God bless…

Already??

Do you think it is too early to be thinking about New Year’s resolutions??  I can’t stand how the stores bring out the Christmas decorations along with the Halloween.  So, should I be as critical on myself for thinking about those dreaded resolutions?

Every year, I honestly try to conquer some life changing goal.  Whether it is healthy eating or exercising more, I create a routine that I think I can live with…… or not.  Hey, I’m just being honest.  Last year, I was focusing on eating healthier.  I believe I have accomplished that goal….. ahem… somewhat.  I was vegan for Lent.  Gave up caffeine for two months for fasting on behalf of the women’s retreat I held this fall.  I have even stopped eating meat….. for the most part…..okay…. 95% of the time….. it has been difficult around here with Thanksgiving and all!!  I’m not buying any meat…. if that counts!! I’ve lost weight and feel better.  So, I think I can celebrate!

My quest for balance fell short the minute I began working part-time for a few months.  Now, it has become a struggle to regain my balance I worked so hard for…..guess it is back to the drawing board on that one!!  I even went as far as picking up a book at the library about how an unbalanced life is truly a balanced life.  I haven’t even found the energy nor the time to read it!    HMMMM, balanced???  Think not!

There is one resolution I am going to full fill this next year.  I have been giving it a lot of thought, lately.  And I believe it is time to really put this in motion.  The resolution was sparked by a conversation…. a really tough, ugly cry conversation with someone I deeply love.  Distance and time has wedged space between us and I miss the times we had in the past.  I have caught myself pining for those times, even crying over those lost times.

And do you know what came to my mind?  My dear sweet Grandma, of course.  As a child, I remember her sitting down each and every Monday morning with a letter she had received from her sister in California.  Her sister moved out west during the Great Depression like many Arkansans during those hard times.  Every Monday Grandma got a letter and every Wednesday she sent a letter in return.  On Tuesday, she stayed on the phone with her other siblings in and around the Little Rock area talking about their letters.  It was such a sweet thing to do…..  I can’t remember much about her brother in New Mexico.  He died when I was 8 and I honestly can not remember if she wrote letters to him.  BUT, I recall her writing a monthly letter to his wife.  This really got me to thinking about my own personal lack of correspondence with family and friends.

I don’t intentionally don’t write.  I don’t intentionally not call.  I have good intentions……I just never get to it.  I pulled out Christmas cards two weeks ago.  They are sitting on our end table right now without addresses.  I keep thinking I’ll get to them……ahem.  See what I mean??  I thought I could beat Mark’s cousin.  She always has her cards out before Thanksgiving because every year on black Friday, there is a card in my mailbox.  How does she do it???

So, my first New Year’s resolution…… correspond, baby!!

Enjoy your Monday!!  God bless…….

It's That Time

It is that time of the year.  We have made our resolutions and we are beginning forget our intentions.  So here’s something to think about……

On the first of every month, reset your goals.  Completely and honestly revisit what you resolved to do this year.  Whether it is to manage your money, time or food better this year, just take a moment on the first of each and every month to re-evaluate.  Review your progress.  Make necessary changes.  Eat the elephant one bite at a time……

Just yesterday, I had a conversation with God.  I felt ashamed that I had lapsed in my diet area.  I have been working out on a pretty regular basis but that is about it.  I think my sabotage techniques were working in over time.  I guess I was trying to pave the way to give up.  Feeling down about the whole thing, I went to aerobics class last night and God spoke up.  Winded, heart pounding, felt like fainting…..I heard Him.   Take one step at a time, one day at a time, and you will accomplish it.

I almost fell off the aerobic step.  Okay, so God IS in my corner……and He won’t let me fail as long as I listen.

If we give up now, we will only be making the same resolutions in 2011.  Remember, and keep reminding yourself, that 2010 is our year!!

God bless……

Unconventional Weight Loss

Oh dear, my words are coming back to haunt me.  “Check back on Monday for my weight loss plan.”  I hate to disappoint you.  There is no plan.  I have read my heart out, researched and well I got nothing new……

In every book I read on the matter…. trust me I have a library of weight loss books….I found that there are four keys to  successful weight loss:

1.  Exercise

2.  Balanced Diet

3.  Soul Searching

4.  Accountability

As unconventional as that may seem, there is my plan.  Sorry to disappoint you, but all the experts on my bookshelf basically say the same thing.  You have to exercise, eat right, learn why you eat, and to be accountable.   There, now how more simple can that be??

However, I would like to invite you on my journey to a slimmer me.  I have always been overweight.  I was the chubby 3rd grader, overweight Middle Schooler, and Obese High School student.  In college, I dropped down 5 dress sizes and loved being an active young woman.  However, over the years I have once again become obese.  I hate to even say that word…..obese…..I am a walking death sentence.  It is true.  No matter….. I can no longer sugar coat the concept.  I am eating myself to an early grave.  Grim…. huh?  Yet, it is true.

Over, the past couple of years, I have made many positive changes in my life.  I am content with our family’s lifestyle of frugality and I love to help others live a life of financial contentment.  I left stressful careers in order to pursue God’s calling.  Then it hit me…. I am still not living a fulfilled life.   I know, I can’t believe I just wrote that……

But, the reality:  as long as I am carrying emotional baggage around my waist, I am wasting my life.  I can not be “free” in every sense of the word until I understand why I am obese, forgive myself, and take full responsibility in changing my lifestyle.

I must overcome the excuses I have placed in my life to prevent any success in losing weight.  I have clung to the idea that losing weight is expensive.  I can prove to you that healthy foods are expensive.  But, I am clever and creative enough to let go of that excuse.  I joke about how I injure myself while exercising.  The real joke is that I hide behind that excuse.  I do walk for an hour each day…..let me rephrase that…..on the days when I don’t have any plans.  But my caloric intake is much higher than the calories burned when I walk and thus not helping me a bit.   And I hide behind the “reason why.” Only because it is so painful to really free myself from it….. guess it is easier to stuff my reasons with cookies than to face them.

I know the diet pitfalls that I use as a crutch.  I hate bad tasting expensive health foods.  I hate difficult exercise programs.  Let’s face it, I tend to injure myself.  And I can’t afford counseling.  So, my plan is to present affordable, healthy, and delicious foods and recipes throughout 2010.  I will create an exercise program that is affordable and safe while showing results.  And I will be uncovering my “demons” and inspiring others to do the same in order to find freedom from this bondage.  So 2010 is going to be the year of a slimmer healthier Regina and I hope you will join me.

As always…. God bless…..

Just Around the Corner

I just realized something……  2009 is almost over!  Where did the year go?  New Year’s Day was just yesterday.  Time flies…..I don’t understand that expression.  The calendar ticks away at the same rate every day.  We’re responsible for making  time seem to slip through our fingers.  Just yesterday, I chuckled at my sarcasm while telling a friend that I didn’t know how I got everything done when I worked a full time job.

Like every year before, millions begin with New Year’s Resolutions.  And like every year, many do not commit to their resolutions and well…by February, everything is back to the way it was before Jan. 1st.  I am just as guilty of doing it.  Every year I say to myself that this  is the year that I am going to lose weight, get rich, and turn the clock back.  Well, perhaps, I set my self up for failure or have the wrong definition for my resolutions.

Like for every success story in weight loss, financial planning, or even time management, there has to be a plan put into place.  A plan can insure your success by making goals…. reachable goals…. and committing to a “brain change.”  New Year’s resolutions can be successful if we would just take the time and plan how we are going to obtain those goals.  We are talking about baby steps.  Not jumping into it with both feet, running and putting blinders on…. that will only set you up for failure.  Like I do every year……  BUT

2010 can be lived out to the fullest and it is my resolution to do so.  I am working on several plans to begin my new year to conquer weight loss, saving money, and becoming more energy efficient.  Over the next few posts I will be talking about my plans.  Check back on Monday my plan for weight loss.

Until then…….

God Bless