Wednesday, September 23, 2009

moving forward!

Whenever I do things, I tend to do them "all or nothing". With everything changing with the kids being in school, our schedule, etc., it's also an exciting time of new opportunity for me as well. So, I'm trying really 'go for it' and make some personal changes as well.

First of all, I have a renewed focus to lose some weight and shape up a bit. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm training for a marathon or turning into (as Kate puts it) an "exercise freak". But I have recently seen several unflattering pictures of myself that were VERY inspiring for me to make some changes. I'm hoping to lose several pounds and simply get back into a routine of doing some type of exercise every day. The Dance-Dance Revolution is back out after having been neglected for many, many months, and yesterday I tried out a Salsa-Dancing workout DVD (now THAT was interesting....I was quite glad no one was watching!!) and did an 8-minute pilates workout, that was very tolerable! I'm also keeping a food journal...something that in and of itself keeps me from really 'fressing-out' on junk that I'd have to own up to on paper!!

I've started a new personal Bible study that is focused, with daily 'homework'. I crave this kind of thing, and had done many studies like this in the past, but found it practically impossible to do with the homeschooling. Now, I feel privileged to have an hour or so each day to be able to spend doing my study or just worshiping at the piano. I actually almost feel guilty to have the available time to do this!

I'm also really trying to 'retrain' myself in some areas. When my kids were really little, I felt it was easy to enjoy being a homemaker...making good food, entertaining, generally making my home a nice place to be. However, over time and with the added 'full-time teaching job' (I'm realizing now how very true that is!) I sort of lost sight of what a joy that could be. Life was more centered around getting the necessities done, and I would say our home wasn't necessarily a peaceful place to be. This is one change I am definitely focusing on. I want everyone to really look forward to coming back here at the end of the day. I also want it to run efficiently, so I am trying to spend some time looking at creative 'home-oriented' blogs and such...ones with creative ideas for budgeting/saving money, meal ideas, frugal decorating suggestions, and creative cleaning tips. I've found some really good ones, so I think you might see my blogroll on the side changing soon!

And...hopefully I will also be able to get back to blogging more regularly, with more creative posts than have recently been appearing!

**Also....I'm going to be posting a weekly polling question. It's just for fun, and you can answer anonymously without needing to log in to any kind of account. So, jump in and cast your vote!**

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