Patience

I know you've all been waiting patiently for me to add something or anything to this blog. Well, I've been lots more busy than I anticipated when I said I'd be back on the 2nd. So, please, bear with me.

Good news is that I've already lost a bit of weight. Hooray! But it's not been fun, cuz I've been sick. There's been a stomach bug going round and I think I got hit by it. My brother-in-law and my hubby's aunt have both been sick and we saw them over the holidays. So, I'm not saying it's their fault but ya know.... The thing that stinks is that when I get sick I get nauseated and my stomach hurts and I get headaches and I'm so exhausted I can barely smile. But I don't throw up. I know, thanks for the update. But really, I don't. I can't tell you the last time I did. And sometimes I pray that I will, because you know sometimes it's the only way you get relief from the nausea. Well, so far God hasn't seen fit to allow me that relief. I go on.

I have been working on portion control. One trick that we have learned works and we occasionally put it into practice is using smaller plates. I know people that have these HUGE platters for plates and they get used to filling them up. Well, we can fill our plates as well...there's just lots less calories there. Last night I made a pretty rich dinner. But Mike and I both had very small servings (my stomach was on fire and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to eat at all). We were able to have seconds and leave the table feeling satisfied but not full.

I've also been working on how I relate to Mike and the boys. Have you heard that scripture, "A soft answer turneth away wrath"? Well, it works. Really. When you concentrate on how you give an answer and you use a moderated tone and check the sarcasm and attitude at the door you will find yourself a lot more at ease during a confrontation with your spouse, children, coworker or anyone else you get into confrontations with. Don't expect it to calm the other person(s) down. You're supposed to be changing yourself, not others. Remember that point.

So that is my half-baked update. I hope to get on a better schedule in the coming weeks...oh, I'm laughing! You should see my calendar. Still, I'm gonna try.

What is it all about?

Pick-up the Pace: Lifestyle 2009 is about me and changing the things that I have an influence on in my personal life: weight, exercise, health, eating habits, and spending.

Here are my goals as of January 1, 2009:

1. No new clothes for one year (the exception is underclothes). I'm sure to save a couple hundred right here. Though I don't do any big shopping for myself, I do like the sales and can succumb pretty quick to a discount at Christopher & Banks. My husband will enjoy needling me on this one. Let's see who has the last laugh....cuz I plan to take the money, just not the clothes! Haha!

2. I gotta lose weight. There are no if, ands, or buts about it. I let myself go this past couple of months and I need to take care of myself. My goal is realistic...20 lbs. I can do it!

3. Exercise daily. I have a treadmill that I was using every day but then I got busy and couldn't seem to reorganize my daily life to fit it in. I HAVE to. I also have to go back to lifting because once you stop, those muscles get flabby. Ewwww! I also have DDR and my kids and I love it. That 's a quick calorie burner and it's fun! And hard. It is hard. But fun.

4. 8 hours of shut-eye. Faithfully. Now I know as a mom and all that jazz that there is going to be the occasional late night. But I've gotten really bad about sleep habits and I realized the other night when I couldn't fall asleep til after 4am that I really needed to work on this. Plus, getting enough sleep helps you lose weight. BONUS!

5. Eating right. This is something I've been working on already. But I do occasionally go ballistic and hit the snacks big time. My challenge is portion control which is really the crux of any weight loss strategy. I crave pasta, chicken, a good steak, veggies. Some of those things isn't too bad...like the veggies. But when it's all of it, that's a BIG problem.

6. My health. This is a combination of many of these goals but I also need to keep up with preventative care. I'm bad about keeping my doctor appointments, or even making them. I've also let the kids check-ups slip too often. So I'm gonna 'Do better'.

7. This is the trickiest but probably most important goal. I'm gonna teach my kids to implement kindness, compassion and respect in their daily lives. How? I'm not sure yet but I'm open to suggestions. My kids can be mean, nasty and just down-right rude. I want to change that while I can. Now, don't get me wrong, I've taught my kids these principles since they were babies but somewhere things got off track. Maybe the public schools, their friends, or maybe we as parents just haven't been diligent and very good examples. Hmmm. We're gonna work on that.

Stay tuned. I hope to make some major changes-little by little!