Scared of what 2014 will bring

I wound up taking Tom to the ER last night. We discovered he has an abscess around his left tonsil area. I rang in the New Year sitting in an ER room. Not ideal by any means. The hospital doesn't have ENT with privileges so they were going to transfer us to Tulsa. Tom and I were waiting to hear back from the nurse about transporting him via ambulance. I asked why I couldn't take him and now know I should keep some curiosity to myself. The nurse explained to me that the IV was part of the reason they would transport him, but the main reason was the possibility of his airway being cut off completely during transport. Words that I don't accept in a stress free manner...morphine...ambulance...blocked air way...surgery.

I have a friend that does a terrific job of pointing out the silver lining in each less than positive situation. Another friend was suggesting people take part in RAK's as the goal for the last day of 2013. My silver lining last night came in the form of two children, Hunter (age 5) and his sister Journey (age 2). They were sitting outside of the room next to us, their dad was frantically speaking with the staff about his son (Mason, not sure of his age but at least double digits) that was in Diabetic shock. Dad explained that mom was in Colorado, they had their NYE festivities as most people do, and it was discovered that Mason had become unresponsive. Dad called 911 and got him to the ER as quick as possible, but had no one to care for the two little ones. Those two sweet little babies were sitting in the walkway scared to death. They could hear their brother screaming, cussing, fighting the ones around him as he was coming out of his state of shock. Dad was torn, trying to help the staff and Mason deal with the situation, and still trying to remain calm and strong enough to comfort his other children. They sat there, crying, covering their ears, trying to find out if their brother was okay.

I was dying on the inside. Those poor, scared babies...but I'm a stranger so I would likely make them even more uncomfortable. Tom was in the process of being discharged (he has an appointment this morning to get his problem taken care of for good) we asked dad and he agreed to allow Hunter and Journey to come sit on our hospital bed and watch TV. The nurse brought some color sheets and crayons. My heart was tugged on even more when Hunter looked at me with tears in his eyes, and with a shaky voice stuttered out "My sister Journey and I are REALLY scared right now. Our brother Mason isn't right. He is screaming, and fighting, and it's because his diabetes."

We wound up getting discharged and having to leave. The nurse said that the kids would be taken care of and they could continue to sit in our room. My last day of 2013 was a no good day for sure. My first day of 2014 was spent leaving one hospital to come home to a sick great nephew that had to be taken to another ER in Tulsa. Poor Julian has croup. I'm starting this day with an unpleasant trip to Tulsa to see an ENT and get Tom on the mend. I'm blessed. I'm thankful. Everything could be SO much worse.

The 'Other Side'

It is a dreaded time of the school year on the 'Other Side' of the world. Most schools are getting ready for Fall Break. That means parent teacher conferences. I do not look forward to meeting with the teachers. 

I hear the same thing year after year. 'Mrs. Lemons, your child is a wonderful student! What a joy to have in class! Sure, (s)he is struggling with getting (her)his assignments in, and is failing my class, but they have to potential to do great and I just love (her)his smile! 

Every year I have walked away from these conferences frustrated, upset, and deflated. Then I get home and all of my friends have begun posting on social media about the results of their meetings. 'Johnny's teachers ALL said he was a model student! He has an A+ in EVERY SINGLE SUBJECT, and is on the Presidential Honor Roll!'

I don't openly post updates about my meetings. I don't comment on the posts of others either. When I read these posts I feel inadequate. I've failed as a parent, yet again, and am emotional because I am not able to post the same thing. Ever. 

I wonder if parents of Johnny realize what their proud moment does to the 'Other Side' of the coin? It's the same with our babies/toddlers. While other parents are bragging about how Susie was pulling up on her own at 4 months, walking at 8 months, and speaking full sentences before their first birthday, the Lemons mom is reading it and feeling sadness and despair because the Little Lemonhead can't even complete a full sentence and he is four years old. 

I do what I can and I love my kids just as much as the next mom. But, my tear soaked eyes and my hurting heart won't let my fingers respond to your joy.  

Sincerely, 

Mom from the 'Other Side' 

Create organization on your iPhone with subfolders!

This is not my typical type of post. It seems easier for me to just blog this and then if anyone searches the internet or asks me again, I can simply paste a link instead of having to retype everything =)

If you have an iPhone then you probably have a lot of apps! There are several different screens that you can swipe your way through and try to find each app. OR, you can organize them into subfolders! It is really very simple to do, but not so easy to describe. I'll give it my best shot....

How I got my iPhone 4 from this...

To this...

If you touch an icon on your phone and hold your finger on it for a second or two, all of the icon's on the screen will start shaking. Keep your finger on the icon as you move it around the screen. This is how you will start to create your sub folders. It made sense to me to keep my calculator in with my already programmed Utilities folder. I just happened to hover the icon over the folder and the screen changed and allowed me to drop the calculator into the Utilities folder! Then I just played around until I discovered the iPhone is really a lot smarter than I thought. I dropped the Pandora app onto the iTunes icon and it created a Music folder. I dropped the Instagram app onto the camera icon and it created a Photography folder. Then I got curious to see if I could rename the folders, sure enough! So now my phone is completely organized! Here is a bullet point list to show what to do.

1. Press and hold the desired icon on your homescreen until all of the icons begin to wiggle.
2. Continue pressing down on the icon and move it with your finger over the icon you would like to move it too (for example, if you wish to store FB and Twitter together, move the Twitter icon over the FB icon).
3. Hold it over the desired icon until a sub folder (of sorts) drops down.
4. Release the icon you are moving.
5. To rename the folder, hold the desired folder until all of the icons begin to wiggle.
6. Once the sub folder has dropped down, you are then able to touch in the text box with the title for the folder.
7. Erase the original folder name and retype the new name.
8. Touch anywhere else on the screen and it should save the new name and close the sub folder.

Manic Monday fo sho!

DOMESTIC GODDESS

That is a title I have been attempting to ROCK lately!!! Good grief does it take practice to achieve that title! It seems so simple when you look everything up on the internet. There are TONS of blogs available to help you along the way. D.I.Y. at it's finest!

Two weeks ago, I decided to make some breakfast burrito's for my husband and kids. It was poor judgement on my part to make such an attempt on a day when my sons speech therapist was supposed to be at my house. Bless her heart! She only commented on how delightful all of the food smelled one time! I learned from my mistake and decided to make some more on Sunday, ya know, the day for rest! It would have been SO SUPER simple, if my kids could handle the same amount of heat in their food as my husband. Since that isn't the case, I have to make two separate batches. At the end of the day, I had about two dozen burrito's for the family to enjoy!

Since we moved, I've been trying really hard to be disciplined enough to follow a family meal plan. A couple of suggestions that I have found is to always be PREPARED!!! Plan ahead! Those are two concepts that I truly struggle with, but I am making a helluva attempt! 

I bought a 20 lb bag of potato's from Marvins grocery store in Chouteau. For $9.99 a bag, how could I pass it up?!?! In order to make the most out of my purchase, I needed to do something with the 10 lbs that I still had hanging around. 

Twice baked potato's it is!!! So super simple! Right? Uh...well...just watch and see. 

I started off with 25 potato's. I wrapped 18 of them in foil and peeled the remaining 7 to use for making the skinnytaste garlic mashed potato's for tomorrow night. I remembered from my last attempt at twice baked potato's that if you don't coat them with something the skin will just rip right off. So glad I remembered it AFTER I had already wrapped them all in foil. Yay me! I got to unwrap each one and spray them with Pam, then re-wrap them. UGH!!!

I bought a new ceramic bladed vegetable peeler. It is DA BOMB!!! I got the other taters peeled to boil and mash up. By this time it was 5 pm and my little one was exhausted!  I was forced to pause the taters and concentrate on getting my kiddo to sleep. I also had a pot of water with a bullion cube boiling away on the stove. By the time I got the baby asleep enough to lay him down the water had completely evaporated in the pan. The bullion was caked on. UGH! I squirted some dish soap in the pot, added some more water, and stuck that bad boy back on the burner. Cleaned it in a jiffy!

So while I am in the middle of all of this...I find out...the plumbing is backed up!!! Yay! The plumber gave me the break I wanted by saying use as little water as possible. That means NO DISHES...which means...NO EATING AT HOME!! Woo Hoo!

We got back home around 10:30 because we went to my moms to take showers for the night. Finally, at midnight...I got all of the taters stuffed and put up. 

Whew! Two dozen breakfast burrito's, an entire meals worth of mashed taters, and   36 twice baked potato's...


WOW!!! That's a LOT of work!!! I am thankful to have the opportunity to plan and prepare for my family. I am excited about the time when it will come much easier!!!

All My Friends Are Doing It!

Yes, all of my friends are doing it! Not me though, because I am not a follower. I walk down my own path.

But not because I want too. I want to be a follower. All of my friends are taking steps to enrich their lives. Most of them are finding exciting and fun ways to add exercise to their lives. They are losing pounds beyond anyone's expectations! 

I can't follow them. I am gaining the pounds they are losing! I changed my Zumba schedule to accommodate the school time that I need. Now, instead of leading four or five classes a week, I am only enjoying two a week. I have noticed things that are different since I changed my schedule. 

Sore! Yes, that is right...less class time means more soreness! When I had a full schedule I very rarely experienced any muscle soreness. I can certainly feel every squat, arm raise, or crunch now! Good grief!

Weight gain. Since I backed myself down to two classes I have packed on almost ten pounds! I can feel it for sure! My cargo's are tighter, my neck feels all bulgy and gross. I won't go into any further detail about that.


I get far more excited about each class than I used too. I've always looked forward to class. Spending time with amazing people, sharing successes in our journey, encouraging each other when we notice one needs it, like a family does! I guess it's true what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder. 


I still get mounds and mounds of encouragement! Just the other day, like she knew I needed to hear it, a friend sent me a message to let me know that her group of four friends have lost a total of 119.8 pounds since starting Zumba! That is PHENOMENAL!!!


I'm ready to get on board. I want to join the crowd. I have close to twenty pounds to lose. A little secret though? It's just about all I can do to manage the workouts I get right now. I am taking pain medicine that gives me the whoozies, makes me feel slow and unintelligible, but makes the pain go away, even if only for a few hours. 


I'm getting it fixed. Slow and steady wins the race, right? I'm getting another injection February 2nd. I am more than overjoyed at the thought that by the middle of February I will be pain free again. All I can say for that time period is "Look out world, here I come!"


Until then, hope y'all have fun in your exercise adventures! I'll see ya in about a week and a half!

Green Hair!

You read that title right! I am going green. I have put green (aquamarine) peek-a-boo highlights in my hair before. That is not what I am referring to this time though. Maybe another time!

I usually use Garnier Fruictis Sleek & Shine in my hair after every shower. I don't know that it really does much. I just feel better about myself after I use it. 

In my recent journey to becoming more of a granola mom and frugal, I decided I would see what I could do to minimize the $3.99 bottle and make it a healthier version (chemical free) for my hair. 

I found this website and decided I would give it a try. I went to Whole Foods to get the supplies because I didn't want to mess with ordering it all online and didn't know where else to get them. I think next time (if there is one) I will get the supplies online. I am not sure how many uses I will get out of this attempt, or how effective it is going to be, but dropping $42 on the counter just so I could say I made it myself is CRAZY!!!


I am also going to add my own mix to this recipe and see what happens. I am a natural brunette. I have some red in my hair as well. I have a lengthy list of things that I want to use my money for and if I can manage to not have to pay to have my hair professionally done then I am one up on my goal. Instead of using plain purified water, I steeped some black cohosh tea in the water. Maybe it will help keep my hair a pretty color? I don't know, maybe my hair will wind up being green after all!

My Cup Over-runneth!

Week One of Insanity!

That's right, I am on the path to insanity again. That path that causes me to become overstressed, overtired, and my brain to be overly full. Welcome to Spring semester of 2012! I have four very challenging classes this semester: Principles of Finance, Legal Environment of Business, Entrepreneurship (I always struggle with correctly spelling and pronouncing that word!), and Human Resources Management. 

In the past I have had a very negative attitude toward college. I am not one that is willing to put my family life on the back burner for anything. That being said, there have been many occasions where my school work has suffered. 

I was truly concerned about my ability to be successful this semester. Since my family just got out on our own again, I was afraid that I would be over run with family responsibilities and never make time for school. I am positive that even though my mom never voiced a concern, she has been stressed about it as well. 

After week one mom, you can rest easy and relax. My rock, my strength, my husband was perfect this weekend. He may not have gotten much done on his 'Honey-do' list, on the other hand, I got all of my school work complete on a comprehensive level. 

He made me breakfast. 

He made me coffee.

He did the dishes.

He washed some laundry.

He put away the babies toys before going to bed. 

He got the kids to help with a happy heart as well.

If every week winds up as successful as this week did, I will be beyond blessed! I am so incredibly thankful for a wonderful family! I have experienced the detached, uninvolved husband that could give a rats ass about my needs. I am also thankful that I no longer have that problem!

Don't tell anyone, but I'm actually looking forward to this week and seeing what all I can accomplish! 

Sabrina and Scentsy!

Okay, I am not usually one to be pushy about buying Scentsy products. I believe if you try the product, you will love it and just naturally want more. I am going to step out of my normal ways for now. January's warmer is SO STINKIN CUTE!!! How can you NOT want it???? SERIOUSLY!!!!

 This warmer is a perfect gift!!! AND VALENTINES DAY is just around the corner! It would be perfect for most any female. Even if you just wanted to treat a friend to something cute and special...this warmer would work!

So send me an email telling me how many you want. I seriously have a feeling this warmer is going to sell out quickly!!! My email address is joyfullemons@hotmail.com

Warmer is not available for purchase until January 1st! Get on the list to order now!

Christmas with a capital 'C'

Much to my dismay, I wasn't able to stick with the Embrace Reasons To Win challenge that I gave myself. Life just got so crazy! I was flying high!!! Then hurt my back and fell down hard to the bottom. I was bad to myself! I ate whatever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to. I was grumpy. That took up about 12 days of the month. For those that may have been looking for my posts...I apologize for not keeping up with it!

The countdown is now on my friends! Do you realize...we have just under 5 weeks left this year! Wow! It's time to start breaking out all of the traditions...and decorations...and music for the Christmas season! 

As a child, I always looked forward to December. It's my birthday month...and of course, what kid doesn't look forward to Christmas! When my kids were little, I still had great excitement involved for the month. 

As my children have started to grow up, I have seen the err of my own ways. I didn't spend much time with them when they were little teaching them about Christmas. I was always concerned about them feeling loved enough. I like to show my affections with gifts and food! It is always a tradition to spend the holiday meals at my parents house, so I didn't really have much to add for food. I way overdid it with gifts.

Now that is the only thing my older kids focus on...and it makes this season less than fun. At the end of the day on Christmas day, there is usually an evening filled with disappointment because the gift list still had some wants left on it. I plan to change that. It's not at all about gifts. Most people that would read this already know that. 

As we embark on the stress filled month of December, I am going to relax. I will be finished with this semester in ELEVEN DAYS!!! I will be able to spend the time doing only things I want to do! I am overly excited about that! There is a movie out there waiting for me to watch it from the beginning to the end without interruption! Not sure which movie yet, but it's there. I will also spend my time making crafty things and cooking =) 

This December marks the 'Late 30's' for me. I'm proud of it! I'm in the best shape all around now than I have ever been! Emotionally, spiritually, physically, you name it...I've never been better at it! 

I have also been learning some new choreography for Zumba! I will have at least four (4) Christmas songs on each playlist! I think that is going to be fun!!! 

For now though, it's time for my head to hit my pillow...so I will continue my excitement later!!!

It's called Christmas...what more can I say!

People of Youth

I was reading a blog yesterday by Sarah Markley. She is an amazing blogger. She was discussing what is true. After reading her words, I felt what she was referring too. I went to pick my kids up from school. Usually, I will sit on my phone and play games until my kids come out. I took a different approach to my time waiting. I decided to people watch. I watched all of the children as they walked on unaware of my presence. 

They say that children are a good mirror image into what their parents are like. I believe that I fall outside of that fact, as do my children. I often find fault in my children, complain about their mistakes, express my disappointment in their decisions, and worry about what their futures could possibly hold. I have so much more than what I think about that I should be thankful for with my kids. (I don't know if that sentence actually makes any sense or not, but I couldn't figure out how else to word it) A lot of parents have to deal with issues in their children's lives that far surpass anything I have experienced. They have life threatening illnesses to handle daily. Some of them have disabilities that require so much that it is mindblowing. I am not one of those parents. 

I was never, nor have I ever bee, skinny. I am healthier now than I have ever been. I am far more conscience about the need for a healthy lifestyle than some parents. I struggle constantly with my children over food. They are skinny. It doesn't seem to matter what goes into their bodies, they remain skinny. Both of them take medicine daily. There are weight requirements for them to take the medicine. My children are always walking the line of being underweight. If it weren't for their height, both of them would be able to wear the same clothes that a 10 year old would wear. It is challenging, to say the least, to try to get them to understand the importance of nutrition. They know they won't get fat if they eat nothing but junk. They know they don't require exercise to remain skinny. What I can't get them to understand is that even though they are skinny, I whip their tails as far as being fit is concerned. 

I am thankful that I have never experienced the feelings associated with being a parent with an overweight child. I am fortunate enough to not have to deal with allergies, ailments, or disease. I hope that my children will never experience the emotion involved with being overweight. There is a lot to be said about ignorance being bliss. I watched all of the children walking to their rides. I was saddened to see that more than half of them were seriously overweight. I felt anger toward the parents that allow their children to be so excessively unhealthy. How can a parent do that to their child? Why in the world would a  parent just sit back and allow their teenage child to be 50lbs or more overweight? Don't the parents know that they need to be a positive influence in their childrens lives? They should encourage their children to be active! They need someone like Jillian Michaels to come whip their bo-hiney's into shape! Gah it irritates me.


Then I sit and take a look inside. I go within my life. The saying 'Don't judge a book by it's cover' if fitting. here. I need to change. I need to get my children off the couch. I try to encourage them to exercise. It falls on def ears. I need to change the situation so that exercise is no longer an option. It's difficult. We live pretty far from any type of athletic facility. I would take them to the track at the high school since I pick them up from there every weekday, except the elements are of concern for my toddler. I am totally willing to take my kids to the rec center. They love to swim. My husband (the one with the irrational fears about children) refuses to allow Logan into a public pool without his strong arms there to save the day in case of an emergency. There are a multitude of reasons that I have come up with to not force my children to be active.

I will gladly listen to any suggestions that my friends may offer to get these kids active! I think Jillian should change her words just a bit. I think it should read more like..."You want be healthy? Then shut up and do your mountain climbers!"

Pork & Ravioli Stoup

I was lacking motivation yesterday. It seems to be my daily routine lately. I had a craving for some ham. And creamy soup. Here is what I came up with.

Pork Stew Meat ( Whatever portion is appropriate for your guest list)
1 medium white onion
1 orange bell pepper
1 package (From WalMart) Portabella Mushrooms
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 small container heavy whipping cream
1 box chicken stock
1 stick butter
flour
water
1 package premade ravioli (I used four cheese)
Olive Oil

Not actual stoup because I didn't think to take a picture

I don't measure. Everything above is approximate. Cover the bottom of a pot with olive oil. I used a dutch oven. Chop onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Add to hot oil and saute with garlic. Remove veggies and add meat. After the meat is browned, add the entire stick of butter. I never said this was a healthy recipe! Then add whipping cream and flour to create a slight rue. Add chicken stock and water to make into a soup. About 30 minutes before ready to serve, add ravioli and let cook until they are soft. Voila! dinner is ready!

Embrace your 'you'ness

A couple of my pals have been a great influence on me. They are dedicated, hardcore, supportive fitness junkies. I have been blessed to be welcomed into their group with open and supportive arms. Together, four of them worked hard, sweat a lot, supported the life out of each other, and lost a combined total of 50 lbs. Their latest goal is going to get knocked down like a measly little fly in 10 days.  They decided that they weren't going to waste any time. They accomplished their first goal early, so they started a mini-challenge. The challenge for the few days left is to each burn approximately 270 calories a day.

In ten days, this amazingly strong group (Bree's bankers), will embark on a completely new fitness challenge. They have had me PUMPED!!! Each one of them has credited me with influencing them. I promise that if I was an influence, it was completely unintentional. They are always, and I mean ALWAYS, positive and supportive. They filled my sails! I am reminded of the class slogan that one of my sisters had in her senior year, "Look out world, here I come." I have been motivated to stay positive, always looking for ways to be a newer, brighter, healthier me. I decided to Embrace Reasons to Win. And blog about it. Eek!

And then it happened. A couple of turns of events transpired. It was like a ninja hit me. Day by day, the wind began to calm. The storms of excitement began to move. A hiccup here, and a negative burst there. My sails are flat now. And the most recent injury to my back has guaranteed that the wind will be a distant thought for a bit. I lack desire now. It seems to be pointless. Battling an uphill walk with a bitter cold wind. It's amazing how the best intentions can change so quickly.

I'm still searching for reasons to win. I know that this little slump will be a passing thought before too long. But for the moment, the reasons are out of reach for me. I can feel the emotion starting to creep in. I have spent time thinking, reminiscing, pondering. The evil of all things Bree is Facebook. It's a fantastic way to socialize. I love all of the support and encouragement. What kills me are the happenings on Facebook that aren't as obvious. Facebook can kill a persons spirit. One conversation between mutual friends can wound me. A new friend request accepted can cause a wall to be built in seconds. As sad as it is to say, for me, sometimes the lack of communication is enough to devastate my day.

I wish that I could just get above it all. Become untouchable emotionally. Get to a point where the little things don't bother me or build up. This little blog is not a cry for help. I am not asking for an outpouring of support. The motivation behind writing all of this down is to follow the quote "Embrace your 'you'ness". Be it right or wrong, this is me. My husband tells me I care to much. I am too nice to too many people. He wishes that I were more calloused. There are times that I wish the same, however, it just isn't in me to be that way. I will get past this little slump. I have been here before. I was emotionally miserable for quite a long time. I'm sure everyone has been there. And most people make it out just fine.

It would be wonderful to have that small group of people that pull your own head out for you, like Christina Yang. Sometimes, life just seems unfulfilled without a Yang in your life. Now that I have gotten onto rambling and sadness...I will try to turn it around with some quotes that Bree's Bankers have been fostering...

"You wanna be skinny? Then shut up and do your mountain climbers!"

I am going to start Monday

Have you ever had the intention of doing great things, Monday? 

Ever had a bad habit you wanted to kick, starting Monday? 

What was the last new beginning you promised yourself you would start, Monday?

We have all done this. There are some people in this world that never have any intention of making positive changes. I like to believe that they are few and far between. I mean, even the Grinch came around after seeing joy in others! 

So why do we set ourselves up like that? Why do we care enough to know that we need a change, but not care enough to follow through with the change? Words are powerful! Spoken words, to a friend, colleague, family member, or group have a tendency to help keep us accountable. Why do we always tell our best friend we are going to start our change in life, tomorrow?

It's because we know that we need too. We only half way commit. We lack the desire to actually follow through all the way to the end. We are scared. Intimidated. Especially when it comes to exercise. We don't want to feel the burn from an awesome workout. We don't want to take the grief from our family members or friends about spending less time with them and more time with the gym (which is a completely different blog that I'll get to next, I hope).

I have known my entire life that I needed to shed these unwanted pounds. I've never been skinny. I hear that I am now. I see that I am smaller than I've ever been before. I can still stand to shed some more. Don't worry, I'm not going to become one of the people that has such a delusion of self that I take it too far. I was intimidated in the past. Even when I fell in love with Zumba, I was intimidated. I saw the amazing instructors at the front of the class. They had their hiney's millimeters off the floor during squats. They were jumping and jumping and jumping over a foot or two in the air with every single song. But at 5'6 and over 200 lbs, how the heck was I gonna move this house without experiencing the excruciating burn. Heck, my calve muscles might even {whispering} break off!!!

Then it happened. One of those amazing instructors caught me and a couple other gals giving her grief. Her class was SO easy, I barely even broke a sweat (all in jest, of course). And she did it. She challenged us. And, to make matters worse, she challenged us on FACEBOOK!!! Gah! I can't back down from THAT! Her challenge was simple. "Jump when I jump and squat as low as I do when we do squats." She didn't ask anything unreasonable out of us. I certainly couldn't back down! The next class I went to had a LOT of people in it. I'm talking over 70. I did it. I couldn't jump as high as she did (still can't), but I did it. And ya know, my muscles didn't break off. I didn't shake the earth beneath me. And I got a taste for it. I figured if I could do it once, I could do it again. And again. And again. 

That was the extra push that I needed. That was what made me decide to finally get off the crazy, heavy, unhealthy road I was on. I won't make resolutions any more. Resolution is just a big word for setting yourself up for disappointment. And just like the title of the Blog, you won't hear me say, I am going to start Monday. Because I am human, if I allow myself the avenue to back out, then I welcome in reasons not to. If I come across a new idea, a new workout, a new type of eating habit, I will start it today. Even better than that, I will start it now. 

An acquaintance of mine that is a Zumba instructor is starting a seven day challenge today. While I am not going to announce on Facebook that I am going to follow her challenge, I still have plans too. Her challenge is this...

Christy Marshall Fulton

My seven day fitness challenge: 30 minutes of physical activity per day, 200 sit ups/ crunches, 100 push ups, and 200 squats/ lunges...... No fast food and No fried foods. Who's going to join me? Wednesday, Nov. 9 is Day One - Let's Get It!

I'm going to start...TODAY!!!! Now, in the famous words that are listed below...

"Do you wanna be skinny?!?!?! Then shut up and do your mountain climbers!" --Jillian Michaels

Embrace Reasons to Win Day 7

So I skipped a couple of days for my challenge. I am SO guilty of struggling with consistency. This is something that got me thinking. I wonder if there is an app for that? Bwahahaaa...I kid. I kid. But seriously, is there a pill for that? A magic pill that will help me stay on track, focused, and remember the things I am supposed to do?

Five-hundred-thousand doctors out there will tell you yes, there are many pills to choose from to enhance your brain. How the heck is the average Jane supposed to whittle it all down and get it right? That my friend, is the million dollar question.

I don't know. I am NO EXPERT! I DO know that all of the fitness experts that I listen to say that we should all be taking vitamin supplements. Let's face it, if we ate all of the food that "our body needs" to get the amount of nutrition that is suggested, we would all be puking it back up by the end of the day. I mean, seriously, have you paid attention to ALL of the suggested foods in order to have proper nutrition? It is insane! 

Yes, there is a pill for that. It's called a vitamin. I have never been one to be consistent with taking pills (Uhm, hello child number two). I found a couple of articles from some of my favorite sources about the vitamins that active women should take. Women's Day  has a nice short little list to follow. I like simplicity. It makes things go quickly! Livestrong has a few more listed than WD. I know, I know, Lance took some drugs to accomplish his goals. We are all human. The information still seems to be pretty valid so don't give me grief! If you are looking for a highly extensive (nine page) list, that ever so HOT HOT HOT man, Travis Stark is an advocate for Prevention magazine and they have more than I think we need to know on this page!

So, now on my little month long journey, I encourage you to drink plenty of water, pick a couple of things to help improve your life, quit smoking, and take some vitamins! Also, don't be too critical of yourself if you seem to be less than successful at something! I mean, life is pretty stinking short and who wants to spend all of it as a Debbie Downer?

Have fun Embracing Reasons to Win!!!

Eek! My bad!

Geez. Only a few days into my challenge and I dropped off. I allowed myself to get overwhelmed with my own situations. Had a fabulous time at the Master Class with Heidy and Armando. It's crazy how our perceptions of images are different than realities! Ashley Bittle pointed out that Heidy is indeed a rather vertically challenged woman. She doesn't seem to be below average on height in any of the pictures that I have seen of her. Also, I imagine Armando is now BEYOND ROCKSTAR for one lucky lady that he grabbed out of the crowd and serenaded in front of all 300+ people! I am beyond impressed with him!

Saturday's Jam session was wonderful! Catherine and Stephanie are amazing with their energy and enthusiasm! They certainly gave us quite a workout, renewed interest in Salsa, and some fabulous routines! 

My husband commented that he is getting tired of Zumba. This is a common problem for instructors. It takes a special man to tolerate and support a Zumba instructor wife. I promise that the instructors are very aware of how blessed they are to have that special man. They also listen to them when they say they are getting tired of being neglected. We start backing off and staying home more often. That is, until the next big event comes along! 

I wanted to do so many things today. I wanted to attend Ashley's (Bittle) class. I want to experience her party! I've been around her at Zumbathons and other Master Class events. I want to experience HER party. 

I also wanted to practice the choreography I learned at the Jam session so that I could bring it to my classes this week. I even bought the music today, knowing that I would be getting half of it from the Mega Mix that should be in the mail soon.

I have school work that needs my attention. And laundry. My room has never been and stayed so messy. I need to buy new shoes. I have SO many things that I need to get done that I am overwhelmed by it all.

I have spent most of the day reading articles (school work) about Steve Jobs. I have learned a lot about him. I have learned things that I can actually apply to my challenge, even though his life is not directly related to fitness.

I'm sure everyone knows that Steve Jobs was a co-founder of Apple. What I didn't know, was that Jobs recruited a top notch executive from PepsiCo. A few years later, that top notch exec played a crucial part in getting Jobs fired from the very company he helped co-found! There are several other ventures that Jobs went through to help get him to the top of the income ladder. 

The key takeaway from the history of Steve Jobs would be that sometimes a person can only be successful through failure. 

How many times have you started an adventure down the path of a healthy lifestyle? 

Were you successful with every attempt?

How long did your success last?

What have you learned from those journeys?

I bet if you pick out all of the things that worked for you, you'd be amazed. And I wonder if it is possible that if you put all of those successes together, would you finally find THE right way for you to be successful?

Have a glass of water and think about it for just a bit =)

Embrace Reasons to Win Day 3

I can hear it now. "***Oh! No she didn't! How cliche!" 

Meh, deal with it and smile =)

Why are you allowing yourself to live with smoking? You already know it's bad for you! I'm not going to bore you with a ton of statistics or plea's to stop now. I will give you just a few that you may not be considering.

1. The CDC estimates that adult male smokers lose an average of 13.2 years of life and female smokers lose 14.5 years of life because of smoking, and given the diseases that smoking can cause, it can steal your quality of life long before you die.

2. Tobacco is responsible for nearly one in every five deaths in the United States and is the largest cause of preventable death.

3. Right now, nearly one in every five of those deaths means there are children that are mourning the loss of their parent. A loss that is devastating. That could have been prevented.

We all know that we are not guaranteed tomorrow. There are things that we can do to make it a better situation if we are here tomorrow. 

If you have ever suffered the loss of a significant other, parent, or sibling, and you are a parent that smokes, I ask you...do you remember that feeling? Why would you want to put your kids through that!?!

Is your child's well being enough of a reason for you to win? 

***This blog post was NOT directed at anyone in particular! It is a topic that goes along with changing lifestyles and becoming healthy. THAT IS ALL!!! 

Embrace Reasons to Win Day 2

I am very elated with the response that I received from the first days post! Just knowing that I might help one single person make smarter choices for their health is so bittersweet! I'm going to make it simple on myself today, as I am dealing with a lot right now. I am simply going to post a link to my thoughts for day 2. It's a great point of reference.




http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/13-healthy-habits-to-improve-your-life

Embrace Reasons to Win and enjoy the ride!

Last year I tried to complete the 'Attitude of Gratitude' challenge. I fell short! I think I made it to "N". I have done a lot of living and a lot more learning since then. This year, for November, I will post 'Embrace Reasons to Win and Enjoy the Ride'! 

Thirty days hath November. It goes without saying, 30 days hath my challenge! Let's see how far I make it!

Day 1 

WATER!!!

I can't even begin to preach enough about drinking plenty of water! Everyone knows it is SO important. Few people make it a priority. Every source that I have looked into suggests that you do the following to make sure that you hydrate well:
drink about half of your body weight in ounces per day. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, drink 75 ounces of water.

One of my really good friends has a weight loss blog. She likes to refer to common things to give perspective on the amount of weight her group has lost. It does the trick for sure! So I will try the same thing here.

I currently weigh 170lbs. According to the suggestions from my sources, that means that I should drink 85 ounces of water as a base amount every single day. 

I have a sneaking suspicion that everyone that would read this blog is familiar with a bottle of soda. They are pretty easy to consume. Eighty-five ounces of water is equivalent to a measly four bottles of your favorite soda. That means you can have one on your way to work, one with your lunch, one on the way home from work, and one with dinner. 

Most of us probably drink at least that much of our favorite drink every single day! Let's try to make sure that we accomplish this very simple goal for the entire month of November! 

DID YOU KNOW? Japanese researcher and doctor of alternative medicine Masaru Emoto showed that water carries energy and is affected by music, words and prayer. 

The link to the above Did You Know can be found Here

With this in mind, let's also make it a goal to keep ourselves surrounded with positive music, positive words, and positive prayer!

~Sabrina

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday (ON WEDNESDAY!!!)