here i go...!

last night i the new focus T25 workout from beachbody came in the mail. i am so pumped!  and this time i am giving 110% to the program.  i'm even going to follow the diet program as best i can.  this past year has been a bad year for me and i developed some terrible eating habits.  i think i've broken most of those habits, but being closer to 40 than 30 means the weight just isn't falling off, even with my commitment to working out every day.

although i could care less if i have a perfect set of abs and i'm not trying to be as tiny as i was in high school, i'd sure like to look like someone who wakes up super early every morning to workout, since that is who i am.  i'd like to feel a little more confident in myself and not so self conscious.

source

i didn't intend for this to be a fitness blog.  i'm no fitness expert, just someone who likes working out.  but i've decided i am going to use this blog to chronicle my experiences with T25.  hopefully it will help keep me accountable.  and hopefully 10 weeks from now i'll see major results!

*disclaimer: i am not a beachbody coach and i do not receive anything for talking about focus T25.  i just enjoy the beachbody fitness programs as they include a lot of variety within their great workout programs!

10 things i live for (or cannot live without) - 52 weeks of blogging with a purpose

linking up for the first time this week with from mrs. to mama on her 52 weeks of blogging with a purpose series.

here's my top ten list of things i live for, or cannot live without:

God's word - i am not in it enough.  but i need it to live.

books - i am an avid reader.  i would love to find a way to get paid to read full time.  especially on days like today where i'm completely  hooked on a book (reconstructing amelia by kimberly mccreight).  i love getting lost in a good story.  i also love learning new things.  so i don't discriminate.  fiction, non-fiction, young adult, children's, chick-lit, historical fiction, doesn't matter to me.  i'll give any book a chance!

beach - the beach makes me so happy.  i don't even know if i can explain how or why.  i just love the sound of the ocean.  and the feel of the sand under my toes.  i like the beach in the winter and in the summer.  (spring and fall work for me, too!)  i would love to live on the beach someday.

 

exercise - i start each monday through friday working out in my basement.  bright and early.  usually with a beachbody dvd.  i feel so much better when i work out.  i sleep better, too.  and i love challenging my body to get stronger and fitter.  i also love the fact that each time i work out, i am contributing to my future by making my body healthier.

fresh air - there's nothing like a day spent outside.  i love long walks in the park.  driving with my sunroof open.  eating outside during my lunch breaks.  i wish i spent more time outside.

summer - even if i'm not at the beach, summer is the best.  sunshine.  high temps.  no homework for the kiddos.  a less intense extracurricular schedule.  swimming.  ice cream.  i love it all!

diet coke - i know it's bad for me.  I've given it up many times.  but i just can't quit it completely.  i'm not a coffee drinker, so diet cokes my thing. 

lazy days with the family - before i met my husband i hated sitting around doing nothing.  it was so boring.  i had to be headed somewhere, making something, learning something.  now i love the days where we accomplish hardly anything.  for example, yesterday we spent most of the day outside on lawn chairs while the kids played in a wading pool.  yes, they're too big for a wading pool and a trip to the local pool would've made more sense.  but lazing around in the backyard for the day was just heavenly.  and i hope the girls have fond memories of our backyard "pool" when they grow up!

music - life seems so much better with music.  i like a little big of everything.  and I've noticed i'm more productive with music on.  i'm also happier with music on.  i would hate to see a world without music.

sunshine - my mood always seems brighter on a sunny day.  i love the feel of the sun on my skin.  i love how alive the world seems when the sun is out.  my brother lives in alaska and i have no idea how he handles the months of little sun.  i could never be without my sunny days.

so there it is, the 10 ten things i either live for or can't live without (or maybe both!).  what things are essential to you?

change of scenery

i need variety to stay sane. the funny thing is i always let myself get stuck in ruts and often avoid seeking out new experiences. thankfully, the other day, an event i had to take big sis to allowed me to enjoy a change of scenery for the evening.

we were in a city about a half hour away. one we've never been to before. because of the timing of the event, it did't make sense to drive home after dropping big sis off. so i took advantage of our situation and went exploring with lil' sis. we went to an ice cream stand like i remember from when i was a child. family owned. homemade ice cream. lots of fun, unique treats that you don’t see at chains like dairy queen or cold stone. and the best part, they had picnic tables and a playground in a field behind the stand. we sat at a table in the sun and enjoyed our ice cream before lil’ sis spent some time climbing around.

when we tired of that we visited the city’s park. while similar to the parks near us, this park also had a large lake. we watched families fishing, ducks and geese guarding their babies, and women getting in their daily walk. she tried out all of the slides on the playground (there were 6) and decided the giant “tube slide” was the best. she must have went down that one 20 times.

finally, we stopped in at the local library. what a beautiful library. it looked much more like a barnes and noble than a library. lil' sis quickly found the children’s section and set off to play while I enjoyed a giant comfy chair.

while we were actually out and about for less than 2 hours, we had such a great time. made me wonder why we don’t do this more often. there are so many wonderful cities in our areas, all with their own hidden gems. it was refreshing to go somewhere new and unfamiliar. honestly, it was almost like being on vacation, even though we were less than an hour from home. i made up my mind last night that we need to plan more adventures like this. find out what is special about nearby cities and go there. i cannot wait to see what we find when we seek a change of scenery!

day in, day out - five minute friday

today i'm linking up with Lisa Jo for five minute friday.

this week's prompt: rhythm

go

day in, day out.  i wake up, work out, eat breakfast, go to work.  come home, start the laundry, make dinner, do the dishes.  then its bedtime.  brush teeth, read stories, kiss goodnight and eventually go to bed myself.

wake up the next day and start it all over again.

this is the rhythm of my life.  it seems pretty steady and pretty simple yet in my mind it is chaos.  there's not just the simple things i listed above to worry about.  there's clutter.  homework.  dance classes.  business travel.  hubby's sporting events.  family gatherings.  the eight million other chores i can never find the time for.

how does that all fit in?  how do i create a rhythm that incorporates everything i want it to.

i guess i don't.  i learn to accept that not everything will get done.  that at this time certain things will have to slip (like skipping my workout this morning!).  but as long as the important things are taken care of, everything will turn out just fine.

i still don't feel that i've found my rhythm as a working mom.  i still feel clumsy and disoriented.  but i'm learning.  and getting closer, i hope.  in the meantime, i will enjoy the messiness of life.

stop

offline

 i did my best yesterday to stay offline all day.  no facebook, no instagram, no twitter, i even stayed off candy crush (gasp!).  i’m embarrassed to admit it was tough.  but i need to stay offline more often. 

back in february, i swore off social media.  i managed to avoid it completely for about 4 weeks.  those were four great weeks.  i was more productive.  less stressed.  but as much as i appreciated that time offline, i felt i was a little too isolated.  so in march, i rejoined the social media world.  it wasn't too difficult to go back to my old habits.  and although i didn’t want to admit it, I could see how easily i was becoming attached to my iphone and macbook.  but i didn’t want to let go.  this really has affected me negatively.  so, rather than take an all or nothing approach, i’ve decided to start slowly and declare sundays and wednesdays as “internet-free days”.  no blog reading.  no facebook.  no candy crush.  no searching for answers to the world’s problems on google.  nothing.  for two days a week.  maybe i’ll move this up to three or four days at some point.  but I think this is a good starting point. 

i often wonder why I am stressed.  why I feel so behind.  why I’m feeling drained.  i bet at least some of the reason is the amount of time i spend in front of a screen.  i work all day in front of a computer.  i am drained by 4:00.  yet i come home and get online again.  that makes no sense.  yet i do it day after day.  well, it’s time to fight my internet addiction.  i have a feeling it’s going to result in a lot of positive changes!

my first Twitterature

boy do i love to read!  so much so that when i went to turn in my card for the library's summer reading program, i believe the librarian thought i was lying when i reported that i had read three books in one week!  but i did.  honest :)

here are some of the books i've finished over the past month:

Composing Amelia - a very real story about mental illness.  also about finding your way in life when things don't go the way you expected.  #inspiring #christianchicklit

Gift From the Sea - timeless advice for women.  every modern mom should read this! #alltimefavorite

True Colors - i have a friend who absolutely adores Kristin Hannah. i thought this was all right.  it was a bit suspenseful in parts and also brought tears to my eyes, so i guess that makes it a winner.  #aboutforgiveness

Summer People - my dream is to live on the beach, so i enjoy books set on the coast as i can live my beach life vicariously through the characters.  didn't like the ending of this one. #beachread #Nantucket

Sharp Objects - i guess you either love or hate Gillian Flynn.  so far i love her.  this book fascinated me. #thriller #shouldbeamovie

The Age of Miracles - seeing earth shattering events happen through the eyes of an 11 year old was extremely enjoyable.  if it was a movie, my husband would even love this story. #magical

check out the Modern Mrs. Darcy's Twitterature for more quick book reviews.

the links to amazon are NOT affiliate links, partly because i cannot figure out how to get it to work on my blog :)

white space

last night big sis was supposed to have a dance event, but it was cancelled due to incoming storms.  we ended up with a big white space on our calendar and boy was it heavenly!  i love white spaces.  i think the main reason i invested a million dollars into a pottery barn white board calendar was so i could see the giant white spaces on the calendar each week.

of course, as the girls get older, i fear the white spaces will get fewer, but i will try my hardest to prevent that.  white spaces bring me joy.  they bring relief, laughter, relaxation and happiness.  last night's white space resulted in lingering over dinner having a great conversation about i forget what.  and then, me and the girls cuddled up on a corner of the couch watching so you think you can dance.  as a mom of two dancing princesses, this was heaven!

as we went to bed last night, i could tell the white space was used wisely and i cannot wait for the next day in our week that involves no plans!

everyone has to start somewhere

so here i am, starting this blog, standing in the sunshine, a happy blog.

the idea for this came to me when i was driving home from work the other day.  i was remembering my "job" as a sunshine girl in my sorority.  this was a position i shared with one other girl and we were responsible for encouraging our sorority sisters.  when i was in college, i was in a sorority.  for two years in the sorority i had the honor of being a "sunshine girl".  we made signs to hang on dorm room doors, bought encouraging cards, and lead chants at meetings and other events.  as corny as that sounds, it was a lot of fun.

along with that, i recalled a gift my "big sister" gave me when i first joined the sorority.  it was a "happy book".  this was before the gratitude journal trend had begun, but my big suggested i use this book to list happy thoughts.  in that first book, i listed over 1600 happy thoughts in two years and went on to fill a second journal, too.

in college,  i spent so much time seeking happy things.

sadly, these days, i'm bogged down by the realities of adulthood.  a job, busy husband, two kids, and a big house keep me busy and stressed.  a few weeks ago i realized that my thoughts tend toward the negative most of the time.  this has to stop so i decided a happy blog where i focus on positive things would be a good place to start.  i'm not really sure how this will all work out, but i'm excited to get started on this blogging adventure!