Blizzard of 2016

Most days my house is filled with clothes and dishes. Laundry to do, mounded up in piles galore, crying out for a little soap and fabric softener attention.

Dishes sit in the sink, unbathed for days, collecting leftover remnants from meals like Chinese takeout and colored noo-noo's, nibbled on by a little boy.

My tiny house is a constant war-zone. A place where galloping around the house with swords is an every day event and brushing teeth is like PULLING teeth.

This weekend was no exception.

And particularly because of the "Blizzard of 2016," as they are calling it, that hit us on Friday.

Being cooped up has had it's pluses, and downsides. In addition to chores and tons of usual weekend crap to do, it's got us all snuggled together, in sweatshirts and footies, doing our puzzle and drinking hot chocolate. Catching up on shows and visiting with neighbors, and indulging in oh-so-not-healthy Ramen noodles that are so wrong they're right. Everyone knows it, about the Ramen. 

The snow that has hit us, and finally stopped, has given us a great and much needed opportunity to disconnect from the outside world. To be closer to each other and spend time in stillness and peace, off the road and out of traffic. Playing outside and making memories, for which I know we'll look back on fondly.

My neighbor had a meet and greet party planned for Saturday night, when the snow was a blowin' and the blizzards were a blizzardin' at it's peak. I thought she would cancel it, but to our surprise she didn't. More to our surprise were the amount of people who actually still came.

At 5:30, we bundled up in our 16 layers of clothing and trekked three houses down with our only two bags of (Lay's) chips (commence whining for my now non-existent night snack), and knocked on her door (WHO, by the way, is an older sister of someone Isaac graduated in his high school class with. It's weird how life comes full circle sometimes, and weird visiting with a familiar face that I never thought I'd get to know).

Everyone set their boots on towels and draped their coats on chairs. How did everyone look so put together? I had no makeup on and my hair was atrocious.

But anyway...

We were not thrilled about wading over there in hip-deep snow, but I'm glad we did. It was such a cozy little gathering and a sweet chance to meet neighbors and huddle up together in the storm.

Summer is my favorite time of year, without a doubt. And I'm already phenin' for it. Badly.

But this winter I'll always remember...

That time Levi and I bundled up and walked to "Red Mimi's" through mounds of snow.

That time all three of us had a "snowball" fight (the snow was not snowball material).

That time our Honda was absolutely covered!!



That time we finished our 1,000 piece puzzle.

I love these times when we get to sit and chill and do nothing, trapped inside the house. With no worries but entertaining ourselves. We need more of it.

We need more simplicity. As a whole. In general. In society.

I'm thankful for this blizzard (though I'm hoping it didn't negatively impact too many people across the east, leaving them without power and such).

And while my heart is aching for spring and summer, I'll always remember this!!!

Fitness as a witness.

I don't know a lot about anything. Just a little about some things. And the few things I do know have helped me discover A LOT about myself, and what I know to be true about fitness and health.

I adore fitness and health. There is nothing I believe more than nourishing our bodies with good food and keeping our God-given machines in use and active, to stay healthy, fit, alive, vibrant, energetic, "happy," and full of life.

Fitness is a GOOD thing. Exercise is a GOOD thing. And no matter what anyone says or tells you otherwise, working out and eating right is GOOD for the body. Plan and simple.

Our bodies, believe it or not, crave nourishment. Without food, we'd be dead. What it doesn't crave is junk food. You know, the typical things that taste so good on our tongue but are doing nothing for us inside? Cheesy bread, fries, cookies, and sweets taste much better, quite frankly, than a turnip. To me, anyway. And the general human nature in us, and sometimes our hormones and moods, make us crave bad food.

Some people, particularly fitness and health enthusiasts, might disagree and say, "No, those things gross me out now and make me sick thinking about eating them!"

This might be true, and I can actually relate.

When you are fueling your body with the right things and exercising regularly, your body tends to switch gears and craves more of what is good for you, rather than what is bad. Though it does not mean you still don't crave the occasional ice cream cone!!

Even when I exercise and "eat right" I still crave my ice cream and treats.

But there is a mindset shift, I think, when we begin to eat nutritiously and whole, and when we begin to get our blood flowing and muscles working, building up our metabolic heart rate.

Our body and mind begin to recalibrate itself, reminding us that what it really needs is the attention we're giving it.

It is not realistic to eat healthy and clean 100% of the time, though. Sometimes we are just surrounded by food at parties, or at an event, and the choices are limited. The important thing I remember is just to try and choose the healthier options.

It is not realistic, either, to exercise for an hour day. Or even find time to go to the gym (add your 15 mins to get ready, 30 mins to get there and back, and an hour to work out, you're already almost at 2 hours of your day). Who has time for that?

Even with at-home workouts, it's still not always realistic to workout for an hour. Particularly if you work a full-time job and have a family!

30-minutes a day is plenty. 

More, if you can squeeze it in, like going to the park with the kids or taking the dogs on a walk.

Taking "steps," as all of us Fitbit freaks out there monitor, has been a huge eye-opener. It's amazing how little I can move in one day (lol). But the FitBit truly does help make me aware.

It also helps you see that when you are more active, you burn more calories.

It's all about being active.

Over the years, I've really begun to see all of this a little more clearly. And I've started to realize that that's exactly all it is: activity and nourishment.

We're not going to be perfect all the time. We are human. We crave. We fall. We get back up, and sometimes repeat.

It's an every day battle for some, and it will never end (until of course we get our new bodies when we see our heavenly Father!). For to which I say, this battle will no longer matter.

But for the time being, it does. To us. To strive to be more energized moms, more active dads, better listeners, thinkers, and doers. All of that comes with making healthy lifestyle choices with the way we fuel our "machines."

This article is supposed to be have an underlying tone to it though, recognizing that fitness really goes hand in hand with our faith. Fitness can be a witness...

...to people struggling with losing weight.
to people who are depressed.
to those who are weary.
to those who are stressed and anxious.
and even to friends who grapple with exercise overload or binge eating.

All of these scenarios, these beings who we come across daily, might need your fitness as their witness.

What I mean by witness, as it RELATES to fitness:

A living testimony that a healthy and balanced combo of exercise and eating right does the body, the mind, and our spirits good. And while it is a daily struggle for all of us, we can overcome temptation.   

For some people, seeing a real example of someone else who overcame an obstacle is all they need to kickstart themselves.

But I go back to activity and nourishment. These are the cornerstones of living a healthy lifestyle.

And too much of it can be a detriment.

It saddens me so much to see how fitness and health have gotten so out of control. In social media, on TV, in the news.

Fitness and health have always been a popular subject.

It is just recently now, I think, that it has become somewhat of an obsession.

I can say this with humility, but truth, because I still struggle with it being an obsession too. It's always on my mind, food. And I've often worried too much how my pants will fit tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.

I've been there. Struggled with my weight, and not known HOW to have a healthy balance. Worried to much. Looked too much in the mirror. But I've also come to places of feeling good about myself too. It's a constant desire for me to continually want to do good. And if I'm being honest, I struggle too.

Shouldn't that be what it is? A constant desire to continually do good.

"Do good!" That's what my Nana used to always say, anyway.

It's hard not to obsess, quite frankly. We want something so bad we can "taste" it. We see celebs on magazines and people from our favorite TV shows, and our co-workers, and on and on and on.

We must come to a place where we are ok with who we are and what God gave us. Because we cannot change that. We can work to lose fat, tone our muscles, and become fit, yes. Those things are positive and good, done with balance.

But we will never be able to change what our physical makeup is. What we were born with.

We must accept that we are, indeed, getting older. Each one of us. And while we work out to stay fit so that in our old age we can pick up our grandchildren, the wrinkles are going to come. The sags will be rampant. And there is not a darn thing we can do about it besides continue to stay active, nourish our bodies, and be content with HOW and WHO God made us.

The hard part is that I think sometimes we don't realize it has actually become such an obsession until we look back.

God designed us to move. So let's move more.

He created fruits and vegetables. Let's eat them more.

But so help us, may we not ever be ashamed of who God made us and try to change that.

May fitness (and exercise, and health, and nutrition, and all that goes in hand with it) be our witness.

May we try to be living examples of our God-given machines by being active and eating healthy because that's what He desires us to do. To please Him by taking care of our temples. After all, our bodies are a temple (1 Cor. 6:19).

My prayer is that we would use our gifts, skills, knowledge, and strength, to represent fitness and health in a positive way. Encouraging activity and movement and promoting the benefits of eating living, colorful foods. Not because we have to, but that we will want to because we know it's what He's called us to do.

Routines. We need them.

Writing a blog post every few days is hard to do. Especially when you have a little one.

Let us face it: those three hours our babies are in preschool each morning is GOLDEN (lol).

There is so much to do during those three hours, not to mention work, if you work from home. And when I am not busy with work, I'm frantically making my to-do lists and crossing things off to try to get them all done while there is PEACE and QUIET.

For example:
-make meatloaf
-fold clothes
-update calendar and respond to invites
-research Shaklee stuff
-workout

I intend to get all of these things done, especially when I am not busy with work. But sometimes I just like to use the 3 hours to sit in silence, or catch up on a show, or watch clips on youtube of mindless crap I can't concentrate on (oxymoron much?) while Levi is chatting and bouncing around, or READ my books.

Parenting is hard. It's really hard. And it's also a huge blessing.

I learn about myself almost every day, while Levi is learning too.

My moods. My habits. My intentions. Desires. Failures. Victories.

Kids change you, for sure.

One thing that's really helped me over the years, especially since becoming a mom, is having routines. Without them I think I'd go nuts.

I am learning to also try to enjoy not having them, especially when I'm on vacation or when it's the weekend, and just to be relaxed and still. But during the week, they're lifesavers.

Side note: I'm also learning that there is not as much time for things (like getting ready for school) as I used to tend to think there was. And that EARLIER is better.

For example, our morning routine before school consists of getting up at 8, dressed by 8:15, breakfast by 8:30, and from 8:45 - 9 we brush teeth, hair, and put on shoes. I've almost gotten it down to a TEE! I'm so proud of myself, lol.

It took me a while to figure this timing out, but once I did, the mornings became smooth as butter.

We throw in a couple odd and end things like crossing off days on his calendar and such, too, which helps set the tone for the day, I think. And helps him learn and remember what day it is!

I'm a big fan of routines. I think they help kids stay focused and on track, especially when the last thing on a four year old's mind is focusing. They are scatterbrained little minions.

We also have bedtime routines, too. And again, it took me a while, but I started getting him ready for bed way earlier than his (semi) 8:30 bed time. Because by the time it takes him to change, get his teeth brushed, and pick out his book, we've wasted a half hour and it's after 9 before his settling in. And I hate waking him up for school in the mornings if he ends up sleeping in.

So, we start the pajamas at about 7, brush his teeth around 7:30, and lounge around for a few until it's time to head into his room. It's been good.

Hopefully, through the years, these routines will help give him a sense for organization and show him (and us) they're necessary and helpful in life.

AND...they work!

Happy Wednesday friends. Friday is too far away...

New Year's Resolutions.

In today's day and age, I am always hearing people say "New Year's resolutions don't work. I don't make them anymore."

I don't understand this, really.

Are they not trendy? Are they not hip? Are they out of style?

I think they are. No, I think people THINK they are.

Quite frankly, I think New Year's resolutions are great. They have a lot of meaning and are a chance for people to set goals and try to stick to them. Whether it's something tangible like losing weight and going to the gym, or to work on a virtue, like patience, they're all good.

Yes, YES. We all need lifestyle changes too, especially when it may come to our nutrition and health. Lifestyle changes are important in those areas. But it is indeed OK to set goals for ourselves too.

Goals help keep us on track, keep us accountable, and give us something to work towards. They provide an end in sight. They give us a finish line. And THAT is something that helps us stay focused.

I've heard some people create vision boards for this kind of thing too, displaying in pictures what they hope to accomplish or achieve. It gives them something to look at throughout the year to help them keep in mind what they set out to do at the first of the year.

I like that one.

New Year's is one of my favorite times of year.

I love going into somewhat of a hibernation, for the month of December. And moreso the last two weeks of it. It's like a state of pure bliss with the work parties, slowing down of client projects, shopping, stay-cationing, hot chocolate drinking, and family and friend bonding that makes waiting the whole year for it worthwhile. It just STINKS that it's over so quickly.

After all the hibernating and eating of delightful food and hitting sales and staying up late and sleeping in, that dreadful moment comes, though, where you have to get back to reality. You must clean your house, put up all your gifts, put the decorations away, go back to work, and get life back to "normal," whatever that may be in your household.

It is so unfortunate, really, that life has to be this way. That we can't always be in a state of enjoyment with family and friends and the seasons and year-round holidays, and that we feel we have to rush back to work. I wish it wasn't so. I wish we all were able to enjoy life just a little bit more. Soak it in a little bit longer. And not RUSH back to our jobs and our commutes and the hustle and bustle.

Is it really worth it?

*Sigh*

So, today I declare that I do believe in resolutions. I think they are awesome. And I hope you make some.

Christmas vacation...the best.

This has been one of the best Christmas vacation breaks in my life!

I took off two weeks of work, which began on the 19th of December. Today is January 1st and I don't go back to work until the 4th. It is nearing an end, which I can hardly believe.

Levi was off too and we've had the BEST time gallivanting around, running errands, shopping, wrapping presents together, watching movies and just relaxing.

I don't remember the last time I got up for days on end with no plans made and just chilled, not having to worry about much.

Freedom.

It was so nice.

We did have all sorts of things in mind that we wanted to do, and we've done a lot of them.

We saw the new Chipmunks movie in theaters, had lunch with Gramie, got our Cinnabons on Christmas Eve at Potomac Mills, watched a few Christmas movies including "Christmas with the Kranks," "Kung Fu Panda Christmas," and "The Holiday." I got caught up on some of my O.C. episodes too, blogged a little, read a LOT, and just relaxed and drank more cups of coffee (and wine) than I count on my fingers.

Levi and I snuggled a lot and he drew lots of pictures for the fam. We also had some serious sword and pillow fights with each other and daddy too.

We had devotions too! And did I tell you on the 16th we prayed together to invite Jesus into his heart? :) <3 p="">
Right now, we are still sitting here at home enjoying the day at hand. He is watching the new "Minions" movie that he bought yesterday from Toys R Us with his own money and eating an eggo, per usual.

I really, really, REALLY, do not want to face Monday and going back to reality. It'll be ok a few hours in, but for right now, I'm dreading it BADLY.

Perhaps one day Isaac and I will get to a place where we own our own business and make our own hours.

That would be so nice.

Today my thought is to take the Christmas decorations down and get to the grocery store.

With the New Year starting and the sun actually halfway making an appearance today (we've had so much RAIN these past few weeks), it's got me phenin' for the warmer weather already. After New Year's, I'm done with the cold, LOL.

Levi also starts back to preschool on Monday, which is another reminder that it's only another half year left of school until until he'll be on the road to kindergarten in the fall.

Seriously....WHERE has time gone? I do NOT understand it.

He'll probably be going to Haydon for his first year, which is where I went to school. I'm sure a lot has changed there though. The circle of life, it's crazy... and it scares me sending my little guy off to foreign territory. Probably more ME than HIM.

The New Year also has me thinking a lot about careers, and long-term life decisions. Where we will be working in the coming months and years and if either Isaac or I will ever change jobs down the road.

What other changes will come, if any?

I'm always hopeful and inspired by the onset of a New Year and I hope there are some great ones in 2016 friends!!

Setting cookies and milk out for Santa on Christmas Eve!