January 2nd

Ah a new year... New hopes & dreams and challenges & joys.  There are so many exciting things going on in January and I want to be apart of ALL of them. Unfortunately for me that would mean total burnout so I narrowed it down to accept two challenges for January.  

What are they? hang tight I will get to that... first i need to share my 14 Goals for 2014. Sharing them with you - random stranger - actually does help me be more accountable.  So if you see me slacking, please call me out on it!  So here they are:

1.  Make a Quilt

2.  Start writing again! You love writing, make time for it. Minimum twice a month.

3.  Get healthy already! You are almost 40! No French Fries! Time to be 170lbs again. Track, Track, Track on Weight Watchers.

4.  Run 2 5k’s, Beginning of the year & end. See how much you’ve improved!

5.  Make a new DETAILED budget, get your hubby involved!

6.  Create Master Meal plan

7.  Pay off Medical expenses… You are almost there!

8.  Write Grandma 1 letter per month.

9.  Send more cards for no reason. 2 per month.

10.      Plant a Garden

11.      Hike 2 new trails in the Smoky Mountains

12.      Read a Classic novel

13.      Make a Genealogy book for Grandma

14.      Visit a new city.

 So, what do you think? Hubby said it seems aggressive, but doable. I agree.  I want to challenge myself, but make it attainable as well.  In reality I have a 40/50 hr a week career, two teenage daughters a husband that I adore and an amazing church group.  I am a busy woman. So what challenges am i beginning with? 

Challenge #1 www.acuff.me To start, I am apart of the Jon Acuff 30 day hustle... Day one, define what you are gonna hustle on in January. So i thought and I thunk and decided that the first thing I needed to do was dust off my financial peace training and get back on a solid budget... Being on a budget provides self esteem, security, and the freedom to dream and do. Day Two, why did we pick what we did? Well I kinda already explained that, but basically it can set the pace for the entire year. Since I plan on this year being spectacular, my financial world needs to reflect that as well.

Challenge #2 - www.Goinswriter.com Write 500 words a day for 31 days... Ooopps! I think I was supposed to start that yesterday.  What I like about this challenge is that I really love writing, and wanted to get back in the habit. The other part is we weren't challenged to write/edit/re-write and submit perfect essays.  No editing just write... about the recipe you made yesterday, the struggle you had with your teen, a funny story, whatever.... Free your thoughts and write something! This feels so liberating.  At work I write, and edit and re-write emails and letters and memos until every and, an & but are perfectly so. Here I can add my irrelevant prepositions at the ends of questions without being scrutinized. Example: Do you know where my coat is, at? haha, Sometimes you havbe no idea you do those weird thing until you move to a new region.  

Challanges I declined - Empty Shelf @ acuff.me - Empty a book shelf and fill it up throughout the year.  Made to Crave bible study on Proverbs31.com and I think I had a few more in my email from Weight Watchers, biblegateway and flylady.com

Challenge yourself! 

 

The Girls & Travel

It seems I may have friends.  I mean not just a friend that lives in one place and a friend that lives in another, but a group of women, from my sunday school class, outside church friends. I think the last time I had a group of friends was early high school, I belonged to a group of 3.  Now, 20 yrs later, I think I belong to a new group, and I try not to be an idiot about it, but sentimentally, I really need a support group right now.

My husband has been flying back and forth to Brazil, for work since September. It stinks. He will gone 4 weeks, home 2, gone 3 weeks, home 1 week. I have been thrust into the role of a single mom, with a household for a couple.  It is stressful, it has been stressful on our relationship, mostly because we are just tired. Tired of being apart, tired of the traveling, tired of being left out & tired of being left behind.

On the bright side, we have been emailing like crazy and have really opened up our communication as well. I just miss my friend. (name that movie)

Have a great weekend! Chat soon.

Getting there...

What do you think of this layout?  It seems a bit crowded to me.  I think if I could figure out how to reduce the side bar FONT size, I'd be golden. 

I have lots to tell... The big one being that my husband has been in Brazil most of the past 6 months and will be for the next 4-6 months... But I'll leave that for another day.

Right now I am at work, with nothing to do, and 7 hrs to fill... I think it's time to clean out the file cabinets!

Woot woot!

Hey, you. Have a great weekend, ok?

Opps

Ha ha..
I was playing with the different template options and I have completely jacked up my blog. Great!

I hope to provide a more visually appealing site in the near future.

Hugs! 

And Happy Valentine's Day!

How are you?

So it seems my Twitter account is linked to my blog, which is fine... I'm not a big twitterer, tweeter? So SOMEONE  who happens to be a bit tech savvy figured it out. Which BTW is totally cool with me.

I have missed using this as my outlet to whine, share, celebrate and record our family, but Facebook is just SO easy to drop a line and you're off. You know? But that's all it is, a clever line to answer the social protocol "How are you" but not actually wanting to know.
Have you ever HONESTLY answered a casual "How are you?" from someone... It's actually quite hilarious to see the expression on the check out lady's face when you say "Actually, my shoe broke and I locked my keys in my car, I found a distant relative in England and all I want to do is call my Dad and tell him about it, but I can't (insert rogue tear) it's been a pretty rough day."
It will be the fastest check out you have ever experienced... 

But why don't we? Why are we so afraid to share emotions, and struggles, and REAL LIFE? Not just with strangers but people who we consider our friends, or acquaintances that could be friends if you'd just open up a bit? Rejection? Maybe, but you'd probably most likely find relief, because your life looked SO perfect on Facebook. 

I'm not afraid, because my struggles and flaws and emotions are what make me who I am, don't tell me "Fine and you?" Tell me what is going on with your life? How can I pray for you?


Tell me, 

How are you? Really?

You want to hear my testimony?

Well, I'm not ready to tell you...

Not yet.

Wanna know why?

I feel (sometimes) like the only reason some people want to hear my testimony is so they can hear about the most awful, shameful things I have done, weigh themselves against that, and then judge me for it.

I mean, let's face it, no one's testimony include a somewhat shameful moment, that was kinda bad. It involves that absolute lowest of low's that you have ever been in.

So if a situation presents itself, in which I think my story could benefit you, I will share it. If you're just that nibby nosey "church lady" then you may get the 4 sentence summary of a 400 page novel. :)

NO CANCER!!!

I had my first mammogram yesterday and I will say it was uncomfortable, but not unbearable. They then did a ultrasound and found that I have several cysts on both breasts. I have been instructed to take 400mg of Vitamin E, and if the giant cyst (the one I found) doesn't go down within 2 months, to call back to have it drained.
The Dr said I would be a great candidate for an MRI considering the density of my breasts, the family history on my maternal & paternal side, and the considerable amount of cysts I already have, but that fate is in the hands of my insurance company.
That made me recall something I had read about Christina Applegate, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer at 36, of which was found by an MRI. She was appalled that early detection resources were not available to all women, like an MRI... Her story never really hit home until now.
Hubby was right, you could say I won the lottery yesterday, and I need to start taking better care of myself. I know that cancer doesn't discriminate, but I don't want to encourage it either.
I need to take a stand for myself, for my health, my future and be an example to my daughters.