A First for the New Year

I went to the gym a few weeks ago.  Yep, it only took me 16 days to talk myself into going.  I read something recently, on Pinterest of course, that said "Someone who is busier than you is running right now".  I am sure that this is true.  Many of my friends that are runners are some of the busiest people I know.  So the last two weeks I have repeated this to myself a few times each day, and I finally made it to the gym!

It has been about a year since I have worked out on a regular basis and though the numbers on the scale have not changed much, the weight has, well, it has redistributed itself.  This redistribution has settled mostly to my midsection.  The biggest issue with that is the tight pants syndrome I am starting to experience.  I hate when I have to struggle a little to button my pants :)  

Tight pants is only one reason I aim to make some changes.  I miss being "strong".  I love when my body feels and looks strong; when muscles start to define, energy is up, and I don't have to ask a guy to carry or move something.  I LOVE how I FEEL on the INSIDE when my BODY is STRONG on the OUTSIDE.  

So, my slow journey to a healthier weight is beginning now.  I say slow because realistically I know that I am not going to start out going to the gym everyday or changing how I eat over night.  Failure will come fast and swift if I make that my goal (this I know from past experience).  I am going to make small changes over time and hopefully improve my physical self.

What do you do to get motivated? 

A Man Worth Celebrating

Today is A's birthday!  If you ask me, this is a pretty important day to celebrate.  If you ask him, he will probably tell you that it is no big deal.  But how can this be no big deal?  A is one the most generous and selfless people that I know.  He is constantly putting others before him and has literally given the shirt off his back for others.  He loves to make people laugh.  He is amazing with our nieces and nephews, all kids really, and will one day be an amazing father.  He is a hard working, easy going, big hearted man.  The birth of someone this amazing must be, and will be celebrated!   

So Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!  May this year be your best yet and may you know how much you are loved and appreciated by those around you! 

Oh What A Year!

I maybe should have started with this post instead of my previous one.  I don't want you to get the wrong idea and think that our finances are blinding us from all the good that happened this past year.   So here are some of the GREAT things that happened in 2011. 

In May I turned the big 3-0- and celebrated with family and friends. My sweet husband threw a surprise party and it was wonderful.  I was even blessed with out of town visitors, which made it even more memorable. 

This summer, our first real attempt at gardening was a huge success, though I probably owe some of that to my mom.  We live in an apartment which makes gardening a bit of a challenge.  My mom agreed to let us build a raised bed at her house if we paid for the materials.  We built our garden, added some seaweed mulch (again, a big thanks to mom), and watched our garden thrive.  I even learned to make freezer salsa and tomato sauce.

In July I took my 6th trip to the Appalachian region to lead a group of high school students in mission work.  As always, I was reminded of just how lucky I am and how much God has blessed me.  It is an enlightening and faith building experience for me, even after 6 years.  

August was a busy month. An opportunity arose for me to take a teaching job at a Catholic school, which has always been my dream.  The hitch was that it was not a full-time position.  I felt I couldn't pass it up and have been so happy with my decision.  Also that month, some of my best friends and I participated in our first annual Great Escape.  It was so wonderful to spend an entire weekend just hanging out, eating, and drinking.  It was like being back in college and I can't wait for the next one!! 

October brought our 1 year wedding anniversary.  I thank God everyday for blessing me with A.  I am so lucky to have found such a caring and generous person to spend my life with.  Our plan was to go out for a nice dinner, but the Brewers were in the playoff's.  We scratched dinner plans and curled up to watch the game, complete with baked potatoes, peanuts, and beer.  I wouldn't have changed a thing (except maybe a Brewers win).  We had an event filled first year and I look forward to creating more memories.

In November, A's mom was told that there was no longer evidence of disease.  She fought hard and won her battle with lung cancer.  We pray for continued good health.

December was filled with all of the wonderful activities of the season.  We enjoyed a lot of time with family and friends and ate more then we probably should.  It was a wonderful ending to the year. 

Even with the trials we encountered in 2011, we had many blessings as well.  I look forward to what 2012 has in store for us. 

Young, Fabulous, and...broke?

We are not actually broke, but some days it feels like it.  When I switched jobs, we knew I would have to take a drastic pay decrease.  I crunched the numbers and decided that having to limit our spending a little (ok, a lot) was worth loving my job again.  Things started out ok and A took on some side jobs to help make ends meet.  We have, however, incurred some additional expenses that we had not planned on.  These things can never be planned for, but it can make for some scary and stressful times (I am sure some of you can relate to the stress finances can cause).  And with the holidays, side jobs for A are pretty much non-existent...Anyone need a painter? ;)  So 2012 is starting out a little on the difficult side financially.

Last year, I was set on bringing our debt down and creating an emergency savings account.  Let's just say that didn't happen.  I had the best of intentions, but was unwilling to give up the quality of life A and I had been accustomed to.  The choices we made brought us to this point and so only we can make the changes necessary to improve it.  In order to be comfortable in the future, we are going to have to make some sacrifices in the present.          

This year, one of my challenges goals will be to find ways to live more simply and cut costs to help us improve our financial situation and our lives overall.  We took the first step this year by growing a garden, and I froze some salsa and tomato sauce with our harvest.  I plan on attempting this again this year and hopefully learning how to can even more items.

I am currently looking into homemade laundry soap and household cleaners.  I like this idea not only because it will save us money, but because it is better for us and the environment.  It seems like a win, win.  I will be sure to keep you posted when I try these out in case you are interested in trying them out yourself.

Let me know if you have any other ideas to help us live more simply (and fiscally responsibly) over the next year.