Journey to a Gracious Woman

Well, I did briskly walk two miles this morning!

I didn’t set any goals this week. I kind of really just did a little thinking on the whole matter of “living well”. It is so easy to feed our bodies the things that aren’t good for us. They are readily available. Convienent. Fast. Cheap. Always on sale at the grocery store. It actually takes a lot of work, a lot of discipline, a lot of effort to combat all that the world throws at us–and I do mean throw. Just in the last year I have come to realize that our government isn’t out to protect us – the food industry is not out to produce healthy food products. All they want is money and they will do whatever it takes to get that. Even if it means putting food on the shelves that put us in the hospital with heartattacks. Am I completely blaming them? No, not completely, but partly. Partly because they make us believe what we’re eating is healthy. Yet, when we do some digging and do some research and learn the hard facts, the hard truth…the truth is, they are certainly not for better health. All convienence foods are made w/preservatives (mainly high sodium) to keep longer on the shelves. They strip away all the goodness out of whole grains because it keeps longer on the shelf.

It is really up to us. It is really in our hands to make the decisions, the effort for ourselves to live well by eating well. When we go to the supermarket, we need to realize that 95% of the food in that store is not healthy for us – and I am not kidding. When we shop, we need to make precise lists and stick to them. Shop on a full stomach and stay focused on your list, not on the flashy ads. Because they can get you. “Buy 2 get 1 free Little Debbie Snacks”. Oh it’s so tempting because that is just so cheap! Trust me, it’s not worth it to put that into your body and have a sugar crash in an hour or two. To gain that extra pound over. Shop wise. If we don’t bring it home, we can’t eat it. Right?

Remember, also, where our strength comes from. It’s not so much “will power” as “Holy Ghost Power”! Will it be easy? No. Most likely not. BUT, He will get us through it. And we’ll be better off because of it.

This is the time of year that is the most difficult to avoid all those sweet treats. I would say to just be very careful. When going to the treat table filled with a dozen desserts, choose just one and enjoy it.

We really do need each other’s support, because it’s all we have. God and us are our biggest cheerleaders! When you’re not brought up with healthy habits, we have to start from scratch. One thing also to remember is there is no “quick fix”. It takes time to make this happen. All those “quick fixes” are hoaxes. If you read the fine print at the bottom, it says, “Results not typical. Must be combined with a healthy diet and exercise.” Well, guess what? If you have a healthy diet and exercise, you don’t need that pill that helps you lose weight in your sleep. (Do we really believe that hoax?!) It’s the eating well and exercise that makes us healthy, not the pill. Eating well doesn’t mean cutting out all the things that are good for us, either. It means portion control and balance. Our bodies require certain vitamins to do certain things and we cannot deprive it of that. Supplements are OK, but getting our nutrients from food itself is much better.

Together, we can do this! Even enlight of the holiday! Let us continue to strive to Live Well – even if it begins in our minds, with right thinking.

One of my problems is this: I look back at old photos, from when I was in highschool and look at how I used to look…weighing 106lbs, and rather shapely. (I’m only 5′2 so it’s not like I looked sickly). But since then I’ve had 3 children and have kept on about 20lbs. I could stand to lose about 15 of it. But I keep wanting to go back to the way I “used to look” and I just don’t think it’s possible. It IS possible to look and feel better then I do now, but to live in the past is just wasting time. I need to live in the here and now and be realistic with my goals and be understanding of what has changed–the fact is, I have had 3 children–and I wouldn’t trade them for anything! But if I am unhappy with the way I look and feel, it is up to noone but me to change that – with the strength of my Jesus alone can I succeed!

I would like to make a goal this week to drink more water during the day AND cut out the sweets.

Hmm….don’t know how much I’m going to be getting done this week. I woke up sick this morning. My house is in good shape though, so I’m not complaining – plus, if I’m sick, my dinner guests will probably have to come over another time anyhow. So, before I got sick, this was my plan: My Tackle this week is literally the entire house, lol. I am having guests over on Friday night for dinner, so I need my house to be in top shape. It’s not doing too bad. I just need to do some wiping down of things and “tweeking” here and there. Today I worked on the laundry and the living room. Tomorrow will be the kitchen, which also includes our “office” and “homeschooling stuff”. Thankfully the “homeschooling stuff” is already done. Wednesday will be the children’s room, Thursday the bathroom and laundry room, Friday the master bedroom and a tweeking on the bathroom again.
That’s my week!

Early this morning it started to snow. I love the white blanket that covers the earth at this time of year, though I can’t share the same enthusiasm for the cold. I am happy to be back on our routine this morning. It has helped keep things orderly around here. Monday’s prove to be long days for me because Jon works until 8:00pm. However today the light doesn’t seem so far away. I have plenty to keep me busy and I just feel optimistic. I feel like I’m getting ahold of the routines and the house cleaning the more I work at being consistent. The habits are forming and I don’t even realize it. It’s a wonderful feeling. Yes, I have let go of the perfectionism. I am just excited to see the consistency turn to habits. I have been OK with letting things go, and content with a less then perfect home. Tidiness is key, not perfection. Honestly, having a cluttered and messy home keeps my mind that way. When I have a tidy house, I feel like I can think straight and my thoughts are organized as well. Anyone else ever feel like that?

I have to admit, I have not been in the Word in the last week or two. This is something I need to remedy right away because I really need to be pressing forward. Sometimes I feel like I don’t even have time to think about feeding myself because I’m so busy feeding everyone else–and I don’t just mean food. Oh I enjoy serving, of course. Yes, sometimes it can be stressful, but it is a joy. Sometimes I just forget that I have needs too and I’ve learned it is not wrong of me to meet them. It makes me a better wife and mother to do so because I come back refreshed.

I wish I had something of more value to share here this morning. A scripture that has spoken to me recently or a revelation, but I don’t. It is just the same ‘ol stuff. Maybe next week.

Oh, also, I’m frustrated with trying to get a new template on here without losing all my widgets. I would like to use a template not provided by blogger, but cannot figure out how to save all my widgets. I spend a lot of time working on those and don’t want to have to redo them all, know what I mean? *sigh*

Well, although (again) I wasn’t able to get out and run (and I do mean able), I did some things indoors that kept me active. One being that the children and I danced around the living room for like 30 minutes to praise music! It was fun! And I would pick up my toddler and dance with him in my arms (added weight!). It seriously has been impossible to get outside. My two youngest have not been sleeping well at night, in turn keeping me up and I’ve been sleeping in a little. Once my husband leaves for work (@ 7am), I can’t go out and run. It is a very tight schedule. Though, I have the weekends, they have been very chaotic. What I need to do is just do what I can. Because I seriously WANT to get out there and run! I really miss it. But for now, I think I am going to have to just do what I can do. I do have some “Walk Away the Pounds” dvds. If I have to I’ll just pop one of those in a few times a week. It’s better then nothing and it won’t last forever. I can also work on toning just by doing crunches, push ups and lifting hand weights (which I do have here). Well, anyways….aside from the excuses, they really aren’t excuses. It HAS been impossible. Eating well is a whole other issue, ha ha. I do plan to have a “New Year’s Resolution” for 2008 on this. Seriously. More on that another day. I am not going to set any goals for the coming week. Truth be told, I don’t like failing myself. So if I don’t set myself up I can’t be disappointed. This week and weekend already look to be busy because of the holiday and other events we have going on. I cannot run without my husband being present to watch the children and he has things going on, too. However, come the spring when things settle down and warm up, I want to be ready to hit the road again. I don’t want to be heaving 1/4 of a mile into it, so I NEED to stay fit so that I can actually run. I don’t have any “words of wisdom” or cute cliche’s to share this week. I don’t have any spiritual quirks to go along with this. I seriously just think the season is a difficult one right now with trying to sleep train a baby and dealing with night terrors in a toddler – sleep has become my most important commodity right now. Without it, my mentality is completely wacked out and I’m no good to anyone. For more on sleep deprivation, check the side bar for an article or two under “Sleep deprivation” and you’ll find out the truths and dangers behind it. I pray you all have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!!

Do you have any holiday traditions? I encouarge you to post them on your blog and check out this giveaway for a Toshiba dvd player at In Pursuit of Proverbs 31.

Ever since I was a small child we have had a family tradition of getting together on Christmas Eve for a family gathering at one of my aunts/uncle’s house. I look forward to it every year. The whole family, extended and that, comes to celebrate. We have food, gift exchance, sing carols and catch up with each other. It’s a wonderful time and I look forward to it every year.
This year, I believe, will be a tough year compared to all the rest. About 6 weeks ago my grandpa passed away and it just will not be the same without him. So it will be difficult to be there and not have him there.

I encouarge you to check out In Pursuit of Proverbs 31. It’s an excellent site for wives looking to be the best wives and mother’s they can be.

Ok, I have nothing but disappointing news this week, unfortunately. ValleyGirl and I made a challenge together and I failed to meet it. Very disappointing. I don’t like the feeling, that is for sure, so it probably won’t happen again. My husband and I just bought a new book called “Complete Book of Running” put out by Runner’s World. I need to dig into a bit so that it will motivate me even more. Maybe I can even set some other goals as well. Cutting so much of the sugar out has been going better. So that’s good. I am accepting ValleyGirl’s challenge:

JUST DO IT at least 3 times this week — no over-thinking, no excuses, no putting it
off. Just get outside or on the elliptical and walk for two miles.

With that, I’ll leave you with this quote from Runner’s World. I am going to start by training my mind and doing “right” thinking. That’s where it starts.

If you can train your mind — and you can — your body will
follow.

I’ve already cut my computer down drastically, however, I am going to be cutting it down even further (who knows, maybe one day I won’t even have anything “regular” to visit and I will only use it for research purposes). After having the last two days off of the internet, my house and my children have benefited greatly. So if you don’t see me posting but once a week, that’s why! I will try to keep this as updated as I can, though! That means I may miss some “In Other Words” or “Live Well Wednesdays”. I will just catch up as I can.

This afternoon I had a pretty awful power struggle with my two year old on trying to get him to take his nap. He screamed, kicked, stripped all of his clothes off, threw toys around the room as well as all his bedding on the floor. He rolled around on the floor in protest. After giving him a couple of swats, I left him to his fit. Seems to me the swats didn’t do a thing (or so that’s what he wants me to believe). After he had stripped his clothes off and was by the door whining, I went back in there and lovingly but firmly explained to him exactly what he was going to do. “You’re going to get your pillow, blanket and pacifier and get back into bed now and take a nap. You need your sleep and you will wake up feeling much better.” After a couple more small swats on the rear he reluctantly crawled into bed and pulled his covers over him. Now he is sleeping soundly.

My little guy has been dealing with some sleep issues since birth. They have gotten better, but there are still some things to work on: and it all starts with me. Setting a better schedule and bedtime/naptime routines and sticking to them closely. I don’t think we as parents realize sometimes how important it is that our children get the right amount of sleep every night. Sleep deprivation in children can be serious. It can cause them to freak out just like my lil man did today. They can become irrational, even violent. They also have trouble staying asleep in the night (or during naps). Their capacity to learn and retain information dwindles and their development can suffer. For more on the problems of sleep deprivation click here.

So, I am glad I won the battle today – I was freakin’ out wondering what was wrong with him. I mean, he is a little strong-willed, but this was a bit over the top; rather out of the ordinary for him. I know it’s because he’s not getting enough sleep and I am just not sure how to remedy this exactly. I mean, about 4 days a week I can. But we have a rather active lifestyle with being involved in our church and 2 or more nights a week intereferes with his sleep schedule. What do I do? I want to make way for my son’s best interest but my husband (whom I love dearly) I don’t think sees this the same way I do. He repeatidly tells me “he’ll be fine”, and maybe he is for that one night – but then it shows the next day, and sometimes the day after that, too! That’s how long it takes him to catch back up – only to again fall behind the next night. This just can’t continue like this. Perhaps I can keep a log and show the patterns to my sweetie so he can see what I mean. I do know he wants whats best for our children, too. I just don’t think he believes the same thing I do about what’s going on with him or how important sleep is.

So…my next step is to create a specific schedule for Benjamin and do what I need to do to stick to it. I’m not saying it will be all easy….but it will benefit him and that’s what matters. God gave this child to me to raise and protect and he made our bodies to function a certain way, and sleep is needed for physical and mental restoration.