The Biggest Loser‏

I really enjoy watching the biggest loser. They just had the season premier this past Tuesday. It's very inspiring seeing people beginning the journey to completely change their life. I have to give it to them for the courage it has to take to stand up before all of America to do their weigh ins, just in their sports bras and spandex shorts for the women, and for the men just in their shorts. It would be extremely difficult to get up their to bare it all like that...although the grand prize might be tempting enough:) (A quarter of a million) hmmmm, I still think it would take a lot of courage to do what the contestants do. For me the reason I really enjoy watching the show is because it inspires me to get out & go for a run, hit the gym, just try to get back to a healthy weight and being all around healthier so I have the energy to play with my kids and be a good example for them and my family.

That small little place I can call my own‏

That Small Little Place

As a mom, whether you have a career you go off to everyday, or you're a stay at home mom like myself it seems as though everyone that exists in our world (whether it maybe @ home or @ our job) seems to clamor for our attention. Even that small little voice inside that says "don't forget about me". If only there was that small, quiet, little place we could escape to for at least one hour a day just to be by our self.

Whether it's to go for a run around the neighborhood,

go to the gym workout those frustrations, our local coffee shop-just to sit in that

big comfy chair with our favorite cup of yumminess...

YUMMINESS

or even the thought of being able to hide out in our closet (is quite a nice thought right about now) ;) Yes, these all at once use to be my small places at one moment in my life that I called my own small place {even hiding out in my closet} I use to have a hard time with confrontations plus I hated crying in front of people, (just ask Tommy...while we were dating he found me in my closet a few times).lol I had the false belief that crying is a sign of weakness. I use to also just take off for a run to clear my head (which is a great way to clear your head, but definitely don't advise you to go on a run when you're in the middle of an argument with your husband, they don't really appreciate that). FUNNY STORY: or, at least, I maybe the only one who finds the humor in this story, but just bare with me...when Tommy and I first got married I had a hard time disagreeing with him or actually talking calmly through our disagreements and so I would take off in the middle of our arguing and would go for a run, well Tommy would call me over and over and I would just push the ignore button...now I can see that definitely was not the best form of communication :)
Luckily as time has passed I've been able to face confrontations and our disagreements a little better.
Back to that small place we can call our own would be nice to have just so we don't have to do anything but think, ponder, even dream about our future...That still, quiet place we can get lost in, away from everything, and all responsibilities and call it our own space. Oh, just the thought of that place I could call my own, daily, just for one hour each and everyday...now that would be a dream come true:) I've read so many books, article, blogs, statements that say "in order to be able to take care of the ones you love you must first take care of yourself". Which is great advice, but when do you find the time to actually be able to do that?!
JUST THE THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK!!!

The Challenge

I challenged myself one day to send one encouraging text every hour to my husband to help build him up and make his day better. One of the reason I decided to challenge myself to encourage my husband is I'm the optimist and he's the realist in our relationship. He can be very hard on himself and just needs to have an encouraging cheerleader behind him cheering him on. I believe that is one of the reasons God put us together, He thinks the world of my husband and my husband just needs to be reminded of that every now and then and I don't mind being the vessel used by God to let my husband know how special he is in God's eyes. So as the day proceeded on I began to wonder if I could do it for a full week. (Everyday, send an encouraging text every hour while he was at work) just so I could see how it impacted him by the end of the week. At the end of his work week I could definitely see he acted more confident at the end of the week. So I began to wonder if I could do it a full month... We'll see what happens ;)

Draw Strings and Elastic Wastebands

What line do we cross over in life as we get older as women that draw strings & elastic wastebands become a main part of our wardrobes? I use to be able to wear cute jeans that fit great on me, or slacks & button up shirts that made me look more sophisticated & pulled together. Yet only 4 years later plus 2 kids during the time that has passed, my husband's elastic draw string shorts seem to be the most comfortable & have become my staple daily wardrobe.

(sorry not brave enough to show you how stylish I look these days) lol
With still 27 lbs to loose from both pregnancy I'm a bit disappointed in the way I look & dress...(feeling quite a little frumpy if you ask me). I don't really want to go clothing shopping b/c I have a lot of cute clothes to wear, they just don't fit right now. Plus I know I will loose the weight, I've lost it before when I was about 25lbs overweight I can do it again... It's just more of a challenge with two little ones @ home. But I am determined to get back into shape. So, I've joined a community Get Fit Program that last 8 weeks which will help me with my jump start that I have already started. One of my motivation to get into shape is in February my husband & I are looking forward to running a marathon together...

Onto my adventure in loosing these extra 27lbs & a more fit me...

I'm definately looking forward to getting back into my cute clothes.

(my beautiful kids are oh so worth the extra pounds but I'm ready for the pounds to come off and be back to my normal self)

The Roles in life we get lost in

I decided to write on this subject because as a woman we can relate to each other in the different areas of life in some point in our lives. We all have our ups & downs & sometimes the ups & downs hit us all in one day of our lives. As each day passes & I inevitably get a day older it seems as though I have lost myself in the roles that I play in everyday,

a wife, (a pastor's wife @ that, which I do love but that even adds more roles to play)

a mother (a nursing mother @ that of a 3 month old),

.....a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend... The list can seem endless yet as a woman we have a tendency to please everyone else & put ourselves on the back burner. So, in the midst of all our roles we play in, it's so easy to loose ourselves. There are so many things I use to love doing yet I seem to have less time to do them or the convients of those activities are not so convient. For instance, I use to love to go hiking but living in West Texas that convient is more so about 4 hours away from us...not that convient. I use to love running (which I still love to do but with much less time to do it). But one thing I'm learning is that you really have to be intentional if you still want to enjoy life & do the things you love doing. Even if that means getting up before the whole family & before the sun even gets up to do those things...it maybe less sleep but it's also taking care of yourself so that you can take care of the ones you love so much.