Traffic

I am grateful to be home safe tonight. It is crazy driving around town today and I feel like making it home safely was a miracle :)

Here where we live there is a HIGH amount of 18-19 year old male drivers. Most of them drive like they own the road and are very very aggresive behind the wheel. I usually don't go out during high traffic periods.

We carved pumpkins tonight and we are getting ready for trick or treating tomorrow :) The kids will look so darn cute, can't wait.

Killin It!

So, I have been getting down to business and working out hard this week. Now to just stay consistent and I will see my results!!

I have 131 days to my 30th birthday. I want to make each one count and reach my goals I set for this year. Part of that is getting my weight down to a great happy healthy weight.

18 weeks! I can do this!!

I just have to say I am so sore! My muscles needed help for sure. I have started The New Rules of Lifting for Women again (I did this after my son was born). I am also walking/running everyday. I am enjoying the running and want to make it a lifelong activity. I can see races in my future, maybe a marathon one day. I am also doing some cardio videos at home in the afternoons during my daughters nap.

I am itching to get busy with something and I keep getting side tracked. I have to stay focused and stay on track with the goals I have set already. I see the bigger picture and I want to be there already, but I won't be able to get there without the baby steps. I need to remember that!!

So, What am I doing and focusing on right now?
1. Studying for The National Strength and Conditioning Certified Personal Training exam. I am expected to take this by the end of the year, so I can help others just in time for New Years resolution time.
2. Getting my weight down and increasing my strength.
3. Organizing and keeping the house kept.
4. Increasing my spiritual relationship with God by reading everyday
5. keeping my relationship with my family strong.

I feel good right now, not overworked and I need to keep it that way. I, like alot of women, over schedule myself and I am trying to avoid this.

So, here is to keeping it consistent, staying positive, and KILLIN IT!

Friends

I am extremely grateful for good friends and laughter today! Life is better with friends, isn't it?!

Coconut Oil

WHERE HAVE I BEEN???? Seriously, the stuff is amazing! I am just learning about it and using it. Tonight I didn't have enough butter to make cookies for my son as an afternoon Friday snack. I was thinking okay, I don't have shortning because it is crap and I just got home from the market, what am I going to use that will work. Then it occured to me that I had a jar of coconut oil/butter. I looked at the jar to see if it would convert equal parts for baking and sure enough it does. The cookies turned out AMAZING!

It is good in cooking because the high heat doesn't change the lipids into transfats. It is good for hair and skin topically. I am just learning about all the great uses, but I am excited to add this to my arsenal of good general use items.

Check it out, if you haven't already. If you have and you have more tips, I would love to hear them!!

Freedom

Today I am grateful for being able to help people when I can and my freedom to do the things I want to do when I want. This comes from my husband staying with the kids, the country we live in and the lifestyle in which my family lives.

I was able to drop everything and go help a friend and I was so happy to do so!

Pre-School

Today(well everyday) I am grateful for my son's preschool. He is already starting to talk better and behave better. I am glad that the little amount of education that this country has includes people who want to help young kids with their delays. I would be lost without it!

Ah Ha!

I had one of those moments this morning. I feel so good and I want to write about it before this feeling melts away. I realized that the reason I have been losing and gaining these 10 lbs is because I am not focusing on changing for my life. I was doing short term things and then thinking I could go back to bad habits and that the weight would continue to come off. Well we all know how that works.

I do want to lose this weight and keep it off. I do want to be healthy and keep bad foods out of my diet. Here is the thing that struck me: The bad foods aren't going anywhere! They will always be around!! BUT I can choose to eat them or not. AND I don't have to stay away from them forever. Once in a while is fine and while I am not in a healthy state very rare will I eat them. This is how it works. This is REAL LIFE.

My REAL LIFE right now: I can't get to the gym, I have a baby. SO I am going for jogs in the morning and doing things I can do. I'm done with the excuses, I'm taking responsibility for my actions and I am doing something about it. It is my time to take charge of my life.

Thank you Heavenly Father for helping me put it all together!

For some of you, you may be thinking 'where have you been' but for me this is my breakthrough. The MOTIVATION I have been lacking. The WHY behind it all. Everyone has to have that breakthrough moment in their struggle. I feel like I have finally found mine. Let's see where it takes me..............................

Jogging Stroller

Today I am extremely grateful for my jogging stroller. It enables me to get out and exercise with my baby and clear my head and be able to think in the breaking dawn moments of the morning. Thank you jogging stroller!

By being grateful for my stroller it in turn makes me grateful for my husband who bought the stroller for a super deal for me.

Gratitude

I am truely blessed and it is time to start focusing on the positive and blessings in my life. Everyday I will make a gratitude post. I think this will help me with my energy and motivation and remind myself what is really important in life.

Today I am grateful that the bus was 5 minutes late so Micah didn't miss it. :)

Disarray

Our country is in complete disarray and needs to be completely overhauled! This housing issue is a mess, the bloated salaries of politicians are insane, and as people we have become cold and heartless towards each other.

There are people out there that can't even meet their NEEDS and then the lazy people ruin it for the ones who actually need help. Taxing is not the answer and I don't have the answer. I feel like America needs to bring all their resources home (troops) and restructure everything. Educate and teach Americans how to survive on their own and be more self sufficient. Learn to take care of each other again.

This is my humble opinion

Passion

A few days ago I came across this great quote and come to find out it was from the all powerful OPRAH :)

"Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you."

I agree with this 100%! I am taking this advice and running with it. When I talk about health or toxic free living I get so excited and feel like I could go on and on and on. I need to focus on these things and learn more and incorporate them into my life more with the people around me.

I have found on iTunes U free lectures from colleges on nutrition and dietetics. So while I am in the car I listen to the class lecture just like I would if I was in the class. I LOVE IT! I'm so nerdy, but I love it. I have already learned more and started to remember more, and remembering is my biggest issue.

When I head back to school, I don't want to just pass my classes with good grades. I want to learn as much as I possibly can! I want to know it all, so any little help I can get before I get back to school is great.

What excites you? What are you passionate about??

I AM (the meaning of turning 30)

I was inspired by this song. It really spoke to me and I figured out why turning 30 is so fabulous, it is because you finally learn to love yourself. This song I imagined singing to myself. Here are the lyrics and hopefully I can get the feed up for the song.


Christina Aguilera I Am lyrics

I am timid
And I am oversensitive
I am a lioness
I am tired and defensive
You take me in your arms
And I fold into you
I have insecurities
You show me I am beautiful

Love me or leave me just take it or leave it
It's not that I'm needy just need you to see me
Take me, free me, see through to the core of me
Take me, free me, there will be no more pretending

I am temperamental
And I have imperfections
And I am emotional
I am unpredictable
I am naked
I am vulnerable
I am a woman
I am opening up to you

Love me or leave me, just take it or leave it
It's not that I'm needy, just need you to see me
Take me, free me, see through to the core of me
Take me, free me, there will be no more pretending

Now I stand before you with my heart in my hands
I'm asking you to take me just the way that I am

Please lay down your arms
Do you know me?
Make me feel safe from harm

Oh just take me, free me, see through to the core of me
Take me, free me, there will be no more pretending

I am temperamental
And I have imperfections
And I am emotional
There'll be no more pretending

Compost Goal

Started our compost pile today! I am using an old can that formula came in for the kitchen scraps. This is nice because it has a lid and can hold most of the days food scraps. I will have to take some pictures so I can show you the process.

For now we are just doing a pile, not a bin. Once I find a 'bin' that I can get for free or pretty cheap then I will probably do that so I can use my good soil when I want and not have to dig to the bottom of the pile.

YAY! One more thing on my checklist going!

October 1st

I just realized that it is October 1st. In celebration of that day (it is no special day really just the first of the month) I am going to see how much I can do in 30 days!

1st- I ordered part of my study material for the National Strength and Conditioning Association to get my personal training certificate.

2-I have eaten well all day today.

3- water intake is going good today as well.

4-I feel good!

ok, that's it.

What are you going to achieve this month??

Adjusting, New Routines, and Finding My Rhythm

Well I haven't lost anymore weight, but I haven't gained. I have a plan to get on a routine and get back to being on track. Hopefully all of my crazy life happenings are over and things can settle down and I can get into a rhythm.

I was on a great website beliefnet.com reading 12 Secrets that Can Change Your Life, let me list them and then I will talk about the ones that struck me for good.
1. Be nice even when others are not
2. Inner mastery of a problem will bring a natural solution
3. Establish endurance and you will succeed at all things
4.Hurry prevents you from having inner composure
5. Sometimes you have to surrender and step back
6. Create inner certainty about reaching your goals
7. Do not spend more than you have
8. It's non of your business what others think of you
9. Always nurture your best qualities
10. Your determination will take you the distance
11. The more you know, the better you are
12. Be your own best source of happiness

Isn't that a great list! If you want to read more click the link http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/2010/08/Secrets-that-Can-Change-Your-Life.aspx?p=13

#2 was great for me. I do have a inner struggle with all my challenges. If I can master myself on the inside the other things will just fall into place.

#4 was a slap in the face! I do feel hurried all of the time and it makes me feel frazzled and put kids in the mix of that and you get crazy Mommy! If I can calm down on the inside I will be able to take the hiccups on the outside. I feel like this is easier said than done though!

#6 bam! there it was!!!! Let me be honest, with this weight loss stuff I always set a plan, stick to it for a while and then I start to self sabotage and it is because I don't really believe that I will achieve my goal. I have failed so many times before. I mean how many times on this blog alone have I started and stopped. I'm sure it is annoying to others, just as it is to me. I use to be so sure of myself and so arrogant (not really but that is the term that came to mind) about who and what my abilities are. I have lost that in the mix of marriage, kids, and life in general. I NEED that back because I know that I am a lot more Bad Ass than I give myself credit for.

#8 I love it!

#9 this is such a good one because so many times in my life people have taught me to work on my weakness' and by doing that I have put my strengths and best qualities to the side. Somewhere in the last year I read or heard someone say something to the effect of strength your strengths and let go of your weakness'. I really liked that! Focusing on just my weakness was making me feel like a failure. I think it takes a good balance of strengths and weakness so you don't get discouraged easily and you can get over the hurdles easier.

#11. Love this one too!!

#12 this is something I am working on now! I had this before I got married and then with marriage I thought that I had to sacrifice my happiness for the greater good, if that makes sense. My husband has been helping me realize that he married me because of who I was and he wouldn't ever want to change me, and that I should never sacrifice my happiness for anything. This is hard for me because I am a giver and I will give everything for others to be happy and comfortable. It is a growing period to get back to where I was, but I know that I will be a better me because of everything.

Overall, I am happy again. I am able to speak my mind without worry of what others will think. I am setting some fabulous new goals, which I'm not quiet yet ready to post. I need to be confident inside that I am going to achieve them before I post. I feel like I am on a great path again and ready to move some mountains! I have always felt like a mover and shaker and now it's time to take action!

I will leave you with this piece of motivation: To live well is to be inspired. Today, do the things you have always said you wanted to do. It can be that simple.