Aaaaahh! The joy of realizing an accomplished goal! Alright, so it has only been a week and a half, but I have met my two week weight loss goal in that time! I have been reading the book "The 17 Day Diet" and adapting his methods to my lifestyle....a kefir and frozen fruit smoothie for breakfast, a large salad for lunch, and salad and protein for dinner, fruit or cheese, etc for a snack. I really wanted to see gi-normous results instantaneously, but when I calculated how much I would lose in 6 months if I lost 2 pounds a week, well I was excited to say the least! By the time I leave with my family to go to North Carolina in May, I could have lost 42 pounds! My goal is to lose fifty, but forty two is awesome for shock value for my extended family! Lol! I know, I know, those of you who know me are thinking, "fifty pounds? How could she lose fifty pounds? She doesn't look bad to me!". Well, there is a lot that clothes and height can hide, and fifty big ones will get me near (not all the way to) my ideal healthy weight.
How many times have we promised ourselves that we will dig in and do this? How many times have we wished we could move faster, hurt less, and sleep better? I just gave up most times, saying that it was to hard, not worth it, or who cares anyway?! I don't know why I have the motivation now, but here is my theory. Sometimes God lets us get to a place where we are more ready to listen to Him, and then he gives us the tools and the willpower we need to accomplish our goals. Do I think health and fitness have any spiritual connection? You bet I do! My laziness, my cravings, my lack of control, my bingeing, my don't care attitude......okay maybe you get the picture....selfishness, lack of self control, greed, gluttony...these all sound like some Bible verses I know of that hammer home the need to lead a spirit controlled life!
So here I am being accountable to the world for what I need to be, and the results I know God will bless me with each week! I may not exercise like a maniac , but I will control my appetite, by the Grace of God, and he will bring the blessing!
I would love to here what your New Years resolution was and how you are faring at accomplishing it!
Have a Simply Scrumptious Day!
Psalm 37:4-6

How on earth do I keep up?!

I have recently discovered that having semi-self-sufficient nearly adult children, does NOT slow down the pace of life for a stay-at-home Mom! The opposite is true....schedules never mesh, our always full dinner table is almost always lacking 2-3 of the usual 7 mealtime attendees, and the chances for a family photo can be snuffed out in an instant!
So how to keep up with healthy cooking? Easy cleaning? Fun ideas for the in-between free moments? Friends, FaceBook, Blogs and Pinterest! What great resources for easy, healthy and quick ideas! Of course, sometimes I do get sidetracked and spend too much time reading and looking instead of doing....but all in all, I love the way us women can feed off each others creativity and frugality, to help each other produce foods and atmospheres that relax and nourish our families. After all, isn't that a huge part of our calling as moms and wives?
I have long been overwhelmed with recipe hunting (especially the ones I printed out, and now store in ridiculous piles of mayhem), wanting but never achieving perfect organization (unless it is under the duress of the "uh-oh mom is on an insane cleaning bing" insanity), all the while wanting to perfectly home-school my children, perfectly love my Hubby, and perfectly decorate my home on a perfectly maintained budget!!
With the wonderful birth of the electronic age, I have decided to make use of a very few wonderful resources and find ways to make small changes, to reach less perfection more consistently instead of more, very inconsistently. (You know...the crazy cleaning binges, painting binges, throwing and giving away binges)and to instead choose a very few things to begin to do well. For instance, I need to work on a devotional time in the morning...solution; find something easy to read, ask hubby to wake me up, just do it...no huge expectations, but lots of consistency. Second, go to flylady.com and get moving on her simple one-step changes to keep my house cleaner. Third, pray for strength to keep my better diet!! I have started The 17 Day Diet, which has been really wonderful for the 3 days I have been on it, but you know how diets go!
So, I am going to spend more time looking for accountability, and easy ways to keep doing what I should be so that our house is a special place to come home to! For my Hubby, for my away-son, my semi-away-son, and my stay-at-home-daughter and 2 stay-at-home sons! Thank the Lord for great friends and great online tools! May He give me the strength to overcome all obstacles!!
May your day be Simply Scrumptious!