Mamavation Monday - lists, lists, lists...

Things that I did well last week:

Ate more fruits and veggies
Had no red meat
Tried to get more sleep/to bed earlier each night
Stopped using artificial sweetener
Thumbed through my new Raw Energy book for some new ideas
Got up at 6am on my day off for a killer workout!

Things I shouldn't have done last week:

Ate a Milky Way in bed while watching tv
Drank too much coffee
Drank too little water
Didn't work out enough - only Friday morning
Didn't finish all my Esther Bible study homework :(


Things I need to do this week:
Bible study each day - no matter what!
Drink more water!
Drink much less coffee
Work out more: 4+ days cardio, 2+ days strength training
Get in bed by 10pm and turn the tv OFF when I'm there!
Nail color change and eyebrow waxing (seriously, getting scary here)
Do some yoga a few times this week to help w/hip pain and relaxation

If you've applied to be a Mamavation Mom, leave me a comment with a link to your post!

Mamavation Monday!

Well, I did something I said I wasn't going to do - I got on the scale yesterday morning. Ugh. You'd think I'd learn my lesson after awhile! I did lose 2 lbs, but I was - naturally - hoping for more. Got out the tape measure and I've lost about 1/2 inch on my waist - so I'm happy about that. I can tell my pants aren't quite as tight as they were (translation: I can actually breathe when I wear my jeans again).

So I guess the past 2 weeks haven't been a total waste. I do need to pump it up at the gym, though. I need to become the beast that I was a few years ago - working out until my clothes are soaked and sweat is literally dripping from my head. The other day, I got up to the little droplets running down my neck - so I'm getting there. Does anyone else guage their workouts this way, I wonder? LOL

Ok, off to eat my plain grilled cheese on whole wheat bread!

Mamavation Monday!

In other news about getting life back in order (see previous post), I recommitted (again!) to getting healthy last week. I worked out a whole two days in a row! At the gym! So proud. I've also eaten really, really well since last Thursday - possibly even since Wednesday. I can tell I've lost something - weight, maybe a 1/4 inch or so... you know how you just feel *lighter* when you eat clean.

One of my motivators has been my online pal ASUJoan - She always has the most thoughtful posts - you should check them out. Her recent ones about her own quest to live healthier have really helped me to step it up on my end. She thinks I never read her blog, but I do! I just forget to comment when I read it... I'm so busy absorbing the great insights she has there. :)

Another thing that really motivated me was one of the success stories at Mamavation. I happened to get it in my email last week and something just ~clicked~ when I read about a lady who has lost 60 lbs in the past year or so. No quick fix: just healthy eating, exercise, the occasional slip-up (because we WILL all have them) - but mostly her amazingly positive attitude. All the Mamas at Mamavation are just awesome, and I'm proud to pledge into their online sorority.

I'm NOT getting on the scale this time. Not for at least a week or more. Heck, maybe I'll NEVER get back on that horrible contraption. I know what I weighed last week (since I had a doctor's appt) and that's all I needed to know. And no - I will never, ever, EVER tell you - so don't think about asking (unless, of course, you have John Mayer tickets for his show tonight, then we can negotiate privately ~doing the "Call me!" sign). Honestly, the number I saw on that scale sickened me. And the sad fact is that it is literally sickening me. And doggonit, I'm too young to feel this old. I do not want to age gracefully - I want to go into my elder years kicking, screaming, and hopefully while dancing to some rockin' tunes. But in order to do that, I need to get back into shape - NOW.

If you're a Mamavation Mama, too, please let me know! If you're not, feel free to leave encouraging comments as often as you wish. I'd love to do the same for you! :)

Make-Do Monday

When our oldest son went into the Navy, we kept all of his things in his room as he left them. For two years! Hubby couldn't think of packing them up or getting rid of - or even box up - anything, even though we knew that Lee would no longer be living with us. We finally moved his old dresser into another room, where it sat full of his old clothes and whatever other stuff he'd tossed in the drawers over the years.

It's now been 4 years since he left home, and he and his wife came for a visit a few weeks ago and I finally asked what he wanted to do with the stuff in the dresser. He opened a few drawers, threw out some receipts from years ago and other nonsensical items that had been thrown in over the years, and said "Eh, just put the rest in a box somewhere, I'll look through it another time." So we did, and his beloved old clothes, high school notes, video games and cd's he will never play again now live in a box in the shop with our other older kids' long-forgotten momentos.

So then we had an empty dresser sitting in the office. Not wanting to get rid of it, I decided to use it for storage. Now it's home to all the dog's (clean) blankets (any of you with dachshunds will know that they LOVE their blankies - so we have lots of them), dogfood, and stockpiled items such as bottles of peroxide, toothpaste, shampoos, etc. that won't fit in the bathroom cabinets. On top is a small television, a dvd player, and my workout dvds (hmm, I should probably dust those off since they haven't gotten much use).


Instead of getting rid of that old dresser or chest of drawers that you love - make it useful and store your stockpiled items (my fellow couponers), linens, or anything else that needs a new home in your home!

To see how others are "making do" on Mondays, check out My Practically Perfect Life!

Monday Madness

The highlight of my weekend was: Motorcycle ride with my hubby along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The goals for the week are: Catch up at work, Bible study every day, exercise every day.

My marriage goal for the week is: go 5 days without saying *anything* critical!

A parenting goal for the week is: go visit Adam @ work at least once (Walmart), try to have dinner w/Kelsey at the table every night that she's here.

A personal goal I hope to achieve this week is: at least a 30 minute workout every day

The thing I'm most looking forward to this week is: dinner tonight with Liz & Peggy!

Friends I've Found Mondays

I usually start out my Monday mornings (after everyone in the house has left) by sitting with my coffee and looking over my Google Reader list to catch up on my favorite blogs. It's a great way to start the week with some fresh inspiration from the wonderful sites I've discovered.

So I decided that I will share one with you each week. Mondays will be a day that I will share a blog that I've run across that has touched me in some way - may be a funny blog, a thoughtful one, a crazy one, may be about couponing/homemaking/Bible/other topic.

I never realized until recently how many WONDERFUL blogs there are out there that are such blessings! I hope you will check them out and let me know what you think.

My first Monday Friend-I've-Found is Kristi at



I found her blog much by "accident" (but you know, God makes no "accidents") She has been a real inspiration to me in my Bible studies and quiet times. What a wise young woman! Check her out!