Mirror, Mirror

"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall..." The question we all know that follows... "Who's the fairest of them all?" I'm pretty sure your reaction would be the same as mine... a million amazingly beautiful women instantly pop into your head, and you probably don't make the top 5. How sad is that?! I want to think of myself as being beautiful. After all, God made me in His image, and how many times do we sing songs to God about how beautiful He is?

When was the last time you did something for yourself, something that just makes you feel special? If you have to think back further than a week, you're not doing it often enough. Take time, at least once a week to do something intentional for yourself that says, 'I love you, appreciate you, and I think you're beautiful.'

Lately, my "Love You Self" has been to polish my nails. Simple and silly it may be, but something about having your nails painted says to me, "I took the extra step to look glamorous." There's also something sexy about having matching polish on all your nails... it completes the look. I love doing polish because its cheap, fast, easy, and looks a lot more difficult than it is. Plus, its a great way to get into the different seasons with different shades... it's festive! (Side note: Give your nails-fingers and toes, a week off every month to where they are polish free.)

Work It Girl!

As I sit down to write this blog, I'm a little stumped. I don't enjoy exercise. Why? Because it tends to make me feel weak. I don't like to feel weak. I enjoy exercise if I've been doing it for awhile, but its that initial start that I put off and can't seem to jump on the band wagon.

I fully believe in exercise. I believe in all the benefits of it. I used to really dislike it because I felt like poop doing it. Yes, I said poop. I was tired, and I'd get dizzy, and my vision would even get blurry. Now that I've changed my eating, I've felt amazing during work outs... I actually started running. (Short distances, mind you.) I felt alive and my body was starting to thank me for taking care of it. I learned to appreciate my body in a whole new way, and I'm no fitness model...

If you have room in your budget for a gym and a personal trainer, and that works for you, great! However, if you're like me, you can barely afford the dumbbells, and there's just no room in your [newly formatted] budget [you made from yesterday's blog], you gotta do it at home. I have been successful in working out at home. You can buy a DVD... one that totally kicked my and my husband's butt is The Biggest Loser workout videos. You could also go online to www.hulu.com where there's an exercise tab. I'm excited about this because it allows you the freedom to change it up! When you are working out at home, it can get boring cuz you're usually doing the same thing. Keep it fresh and fun!

I'm going to start with working out 3x week; I'm going to continue to get outside. We take our dog on hikes in neighboring parks 1-2x week. It's absolutely wonderful and there's nothing quite like fresh air.

Keep in mind what kind of shape you're in now, and also how you are eating. If you are eating clean, workouts are a lot easier because you are putting the right fuel into your body. If you choose to eat like crap, then your workouts will feel like crap. You aren't setting yourself up to succeed.

What do you consider as succeeding? Personally, I've lost a bunch of weight I'd been dying to lose. I got down to the "walk around" weight that I wanted to be at. I'd still love to lose about 9 more... However, I understand that muscle weighs more than fat, so that might not happen... but, I sure would love to have toned arms and legs!!

In the past 9 months, I've often thought, 'How good could I look?' I wonder... It's worth a shot! Trying is better than not! You're best you is not going to happen overnight- or while downing Sbux latte after Sbux latte, or sitting infront of your TV for hours on end... It's going to come through changes, adjustments, work, and a new outlook on life... confidence!! You ARE beautiful! You DO deserve it! You CAN do it! Just know and realize its going to be work, and it will take discipline, but have fun with it!! (I text my mom and my sister, and holler at my husband every time I've lost another pound. They all celebrate with me and give me words of encouragement which keep me motivated to keep going.) Just PLEASE, PLEASE understand that life happens and you will miss a day. You just hop back on the wagon and pick up where you left off.

Figure out a way to keep yourself accountable... keep a journal, have a buddy, sign up for some online tracking, or message me!! I'd love to help you out and celebrate with you in your achievements!! C'mon Girlfriends!! Let's do this!!!

Money, Money, Money

Up until this point in my life, my money has controlled me; I have not controlled it. In the months leading up to our wedding, I had heard alot of talk about Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. We looked into it and did do some of the videos before we were married, but we didn't implement anything. I just set up a quick make-shift budget to figure out how much we could afford for housing before we started looking for a place to live, and that's as far as we got before we were married.

After we were married, my husband began to do the workbook and set up a budget through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, and we continued to watch the videos. One thing Dave Ramsey talks about is that in every marriage, there is a nerd and then there's the free spirit... I don't like to do things, I procrastinate, and I have about a 20 min attention span when someone else is talking. (And I did not want to come up with a budget because I thought it would be restricting, and I thought I'd feel binded; that I'd have absolutely no freedom with money... to the point of I couldn't buy a cup of coffee or shirt if I wanted.) My husband does things, and usually is good with not procrastinating, and he was the one who wanted to come up with a budget... we thought he was the nerd. However, we began to realize I was actually the nerd. We noticed it when I'd read ahead when someone was reading out loud to a group, or would break for talking, I'd keep reading. I also was the detailed one and made sure all the bills were paid on time. Needless to say, we weren't very successful setting up a budget the first time around because of this. We just had a better idea of our money, that's all.

After we moved, my husband became really concerned with "a budget." I got all the paperwork together and sat down one day and worked on it for along time. However, I had a new excitement and couldn't wait to share my information at our "budget meeting" the next day. I knew we had a plan! I knew exactly how much money I had every week or every month for certain things... clothes, food, gas, etc. (We've been able to pay off all of our credit card debt!) I love knowing that every month, we're setting aside money for our savings, retirement, and vacations! It is wonderful! (Dave Ramsey has spreadsheets that help you calcuate how much you will need to save monthly to have a healthy retirement.)

I feel bound by our debt that we still have (school loans, etc), and freed by the debt we no longer have. I also LOVE our budget. I worked on it long and hard for about a day and a half, but even with all my revisions, it still wasn't perfect. As we are watching our cash flow out, we're realizing we over-budgeted in some areas and under-budgeted in others. This is why, after 4 weeks on this budget plan, we'll meet again and make more revisions. It will adjust slightly every month. Life changes, and you have to be able to change with it; however, to be successful, you have to have some sort of a plan. After all, God planned!

I encourage you to set up a budget if you don't have one. Look at how much money you are needlessly spending on food, clothes, and entertainment. (Those were my short comings.) Remember to give and honor God with your choices... He could take it all away in a moment.

Proverbs 16:1-3 "We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer. People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives. Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed."

What's for Dinner?!

Ever have that "puffy" feeling? Like you're retaining abnormal amounts of water? Like you just plain ol' feel fat in your skin? I hate that feeling! I just wanted to grab the fat and cut it off! I knew I shouldn't feel this way, that I should do something about it, but I didn't know how to fix it. I'd tried diets before, but they were so much work and I never felt any better. I had several moments where I thought 'I'd rather be fat and miserable than trying [unsuccessfully] to lose weight, and 10x more miserable because my calorie intake leaves me starving and drained of energy.'

I felt that way for years, but I haven't had those thoughts or feelings in the last 9 months! In the past 9 months, I have lost 20 lbs! I weigh what I weighed my junior year of high school! And guess what's the best part?! I did it with pretty much no exercise (which I hate), and eating more food (which tastes amazing)! I also have 10x more energy than I ever have had in my entire life! (Yes, even when I was in high school.)

How did I do it? I read "The Eat-Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno and applied it to my life. My husband actually bought it for himself because he wasn't feeling 'normal.' He'd get dizzy, winded, and sweaty from just running up a flight of stairs. He was always tired; he could sleep 10 hrs, still need a mid-morning nap, and afternoon nap! I knew something needed to change. He couldn't keep living this way. He read the book, and really thought it could help. I read it, said, "Its worth a try!" Then made the changes.

My weight fell off slowly, but surely. (A pound here, two pounds there.) I wasn't disappointed by the little numbers that fell, because I was feeling so much better eating this new way. My skin, hair, and nails were healthier; I had way more energy to actually make it through my day... I didn't have that "2 o'clock feeling," and the best part?! The food was amazing and I was eating tons of it!! I also found out I'm actually a really good cook. :)  That was the moment that the Disney movie Ratatouille really spoke to me, "Anyone can cook!"

Tosca Reno really talks about it being a lifestyle. I have made it my lifestyle (and it wasn't hard). I will be pulling most of my nutrition references from her book. I'm so glad we bought it, because I will always be able to reference and re-read it.

Get yours today at www.amazon.com

P.S. For those wondering about my husband, he's a new man. He was never fat, or really out of shape... he did P90X just several months before we made this change. 25 lbs fell off of him within 2 or 3 months.   (I was jealous at first, but, guess who's still losing and who's plateaued? ;) He's doing fabulously, and this has given him such life that he tells everyone he meets about it.

Where You At?

How many of us have ever felt like you've lost yourself, or perhaps maybe never even found yourself?

"Losing" yourself is basically a nice way of saying you don't like who you've become. People who have "lost" themselves know the whole feeling, but to "find" themselves again usually means they have to give some "thing" up and they usually really like that "thing" their holding onto. (P.S. That "thing" is usually sin.)

"Not finding" yourself either means you never had the guts to be who God wanted you to be, or your someone who feels empty because you've never had the opportunity to know God before.

Proverbs 12:13 "Laughter can conceal a heavy heart, but when the laughter ends, the grief remains."

Jumping in pretty deep today. But, this is the core of how we feel & who we are from the moment we wake up to the moment we close our eyes at night.

GOD is the only one that has the ability to make you whole. (No one and no thing can do this for you. It will only fall short and leave you unsatisfied.) And through the ability of being whole in Him, you allow Him to fill you up to the point of overflowing. THIS will change your  life.

Proverbs 13:9 "The life of the godly is full of light and joy..."

Proverbs 3:24 "You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly."

Putting God first in your life, will give you success in whatever you do; if you actually put Him first. Putting your husband, family, friends, or yourself first will only make you fall and then ask "why?" God knows you better and knows what to fill you up with more than anyone else, even yourself. Trust in Him. Let Him in, and let Him do what He wants to do in you. 

Wouldn't you like to know the woman God wants to make you to be? I do.

Happily Ever After

Ever After- One of the greatest movies of all time. Who doesn't love a good rags to riches story that happens to include true love?! Another good one to watch: Pride & Prejudice. Even though I'm a total romantic and cry in practically every chick flick, I'm not writing about that. Nope. I'm sharing about making your own Happily Ever After. And making it RIGHT NOW! Why wait? I've been tired of waiting, and I want more out of this life. I want to take charge of my life now, and tell it where to go! I want to live it! Don't you?

So, what does that all mean? The word 'discipline' seems to pop into my head. However, I happen to really dislike that word. 'Discipline' doesn't sound like fun, and I happen to really like fun. 

Hebrews 12:11- "No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening-it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way."

I can testify that the Bible does know best, so what does it mean to live Happily Ever After? I believe that it means having a balance in your life, that includes God in every aspect of it. Being healthy, which is more than eating right or exercising. Its means being healthy spiritually, financially, and loving who you are. I have heard way too many women put themselves down about the way they look, or stress about relationships and fincances. Every week, I'll hit on finances, nutrition, exercise (yes, I hate it too), spiritualness/relationships, and beauty (because it's fun, and we're girls, and "girls just gotta have fun!"). Follow along and maybe receive some encouragement into your own life to make your ever after now. 

I see strong women standing up for themselves, their God, their marriages and their families. Take back and take control of your life. It is time to stop feeling inadequate and insufficient. God never intended for us to feel this way, so why do we? Ask yourself that question, and then follow this blog to make things happen in your life that you dreamed of... welcome to Happily Ever After.