found this article...

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/no-sweat-swaps-to-save-you-700-calories-2428974/

this is really worth reading!

My THREE GOALS: #1

The year I turned 29, I bought myself a gift.  It was something I had wanted to do for a long time.  I had lost almost 40 pounds, so it was a reward to myself.  This is the 2nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  It is the symbol for Beth or "Bet".  It is on the top of my right foot.  Pardon the cruddy, blury photo.  I took it with my phone.

Okay, so I bought a little black dress this past spring.  It was a 30th birthday gift/reward.  My plan was to put it on lay-a-way and set a goal for myself.  The dress fit, but if I lost five pounds before I got it out of lay-a-way, it would fit PERFECTLY.  I was going to wear it for myself for my 30th.
Here's a picture of the dress.  Like I said, the one I bought is black.  I tried to take a picture of the actual dress, but my photography skills (or lack of!) just do not do it justice.  Isn't it cute?!?

Well, guess what?  Life happened.  Unfortunately, I didn't reach my goal.  I actually gained the five pounds... plus several more.  Happy birthday, me, here's a few extra pounds.  :(

After MUCH consideration, I've decided that my first goal is to WEAR THAT DRESS.  I would like to say I want to wear that dress by my 31st birthday, but I don't want to stress myself out with a definite date.  I'll just say that BEFORE 2011 I WILL WEAR THAT LITTLE BLACK DRESS and I WILL FEEL GOOD IN IT!!!

Getting to the point that I can wear this little black dress really shouldn't be that difficult.  Getting to the point that I can comfortably wear this little black dress and feel GOOD in it will be.  I know that I can accomplish this goal I have set for myself if I can remained focused on the end result.  

I need to remained focused on what I know my AWESOME God wants for me, and that is for me to lead a healthy, happy life so that I may better serve him!

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has 

called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

                                                   -Philippians 3:14

So, here's GOAL #1.  I'm still unsure of what my other two goals will be, but will let you know

 just as soon as I decide!

I Am Resolved...

I know it's just the beginning of December, but it's not too soon to be thinking about my resolutions.  This year I WILL KEEP THEM... right?
Really though, I would like to!  I always make resolutions and fully intend to stick to them.  Isn't that the point?
This year, I am going to try and get creative.  I want to do some things a little differently.  I NEED to do many things a little differently.  All I have to say is BABY STEPS!!!
My plan is to come up with THREE GOALS for me to reach in 2011.  I'm going to call them goals this time.  Trying to reach a goal doesn't sound nearly as impossible as keeping a resolution!  I know I should probably set more than three, but I actually want to reach them.  If I set too many, I will give up in no time flat.
I am really good at setting goals for myself.  The problem I have is staying motivated long enough to reach them. I'm considering coming up with a few smaller goals to help me reach the bigger goals.  Weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.  I will set my THREE GOALS for 2011 within the next week or so.  Then before the year begins I will attempt to come up with THREE GOALS for the month of January.
If the monthly goals don't seem to motivate me enough, I will then come up with weekly goals for myself.  Whatever it takes to get back on track.  I CAN do this!
I know that I have to be realistic and not do anything crazy.  I know that baby steps will help me to not get quite so overwhelmed with the big picture.  Focusing on right now and not the big picture is so much easier for my super ADD self!  Yes, I have Attention Deficit Disorder.  Anyone that personally knows me and has spent any real amount of time with me knows this.  I was diagnosed as a child.
I was the kid whose teacher always said "She needs to be medicated." and I am SO thankful that my parents didn't listen to them right off.  I learned LOTS about life and how to somewhat manage mine without being medicated.  There did come a point where it was necessary and I remain on meds as an adult.
It's not something I like to advertise (although I just did by typing this on a blog), or something I am proud of.  It is just something that helps me maintain a normal, healthy, life.  There have been short periods when I thought I didn't need medication so I quit taking mine.  Looking back, it is obvious that my entire family suffered because of it!
Okay, FOCUS!
Within the next few days I am really going to think and PRAY about what THREE GOALS I need to reach in 2011.  They may not all three be related to my physical body.  I know that at least one or two will be.  I am trying to also seriously consider spiritual changes that I need to make and what goal or goals I could set to help me make those changes.
Please pray with me the next few days as I try to figure out what it is that I need to do with/for myself in 2011.
I'm praying for you!

Oatmeal

I used to hate oatmeal... then I discovered that it actually DOES keep me full!
For a while I was in the habit of eating it for breakfast just about everyday.  It made a difference in my entire day!
Today I got home and before I began to study for finals I decided I needed to go ahead and eat something.  I wasn't real hungry, but knew I would be soon.  What to eat... hmm...
Grilled cheese sounds good!  So I go to the pantry and start to get out the bread.  Then I spotted it.  The box has been there since we moved in a few weeks ago.  Oatmeal.  I REALLY wanted that grilled cheese though!
Hmm... this was a tough decision, but the apple/cinnamon oatmeal won!

I decided to go for the oatmeal and then if I still want grilled cheese later, I'll have it for lunch.  Looks like I need to add oatmeal to my grocery list.  This is an old habit I'm going to start again!

FINALS WEEK... EEK!!!

The best part of being a 30 year old college student is definitely the fact that I get to once again experience finals week... HA!!!  

I am generally a great test taker.  This is one of the many traits I inherited from my Daddy.  It's something  I'm VERY grateful for.  I've never really stressed about them and never really had to even study in order to pass.

Since going back to school and becoming a non-traditional student or a "Momma" as one young guy casually called me (like he thought I would find that funny), I have done really well.  I actually REALLY enjoy school.  It's totally different for me to go now that I've been out for ten years.  I'm there because I WANT to be there.

The difference this time is that I am NERVOUS about these stinkin' finals!  I don't want to just pass the test, I want to do well on the tests!

So why am I blogging about this on my "Becoming a Healthier Me" site?  

There are actually many reasons...

Going back to complete my college education is part of becoming a healthier me.  I have wanted to go back for years, yet never had the courage to do it.  There are many reasons why I didn't go, but the number one reason was that I honestly didn't think I was smart enough.  Well, I'll just say it... I felt STUPID.

I've never been the smart one in the family.  I've been called many wonderful things ( I have the most amazing, encouraging parents I could ask for!), but smart has definitely never been one of my titles.  No one EVER said I was stupid, I was just an "average" student.  

I'm okay with that.  Looking back, I can see how decisions I made affected my grades/school work which influenced people's perceptions of my academic capability.  I did just well enough to get scholarships and that's all I needed.  

To be honest with you, I wouldn't change any of it... well maybe I should say I wouldn't change most of it.  As a teen, I was always VERY active and involved in extra-curricular activities.  All of it helped me to become who I am today.  It's all part of my story.

Now that I am back in school I do know that I may not be the smartest kid in my class, but I am DEFINITELY NOT stupid.  I have set goals for myself with my schooling/grades, and I intend to reach them.  Matthew 19:26 says 

"With God all things are possible."  

Did you get that?  ALL things are possible.  Even me going back to school and FINISHING!  I refuse to use the phrase "Don't ask me, I went to beauty school..." ever again!!!  Besides, even if I hadn't gone back to college, going to cosmetology school doesn't make me stupid.  I had to study hard and take a huge test in order to get my cosmetology license!  

Another reason I'm posting about finals is because I'm STRESSING over it!  Guess what stress typically brings for me???  Munchies!  So... WHAT am I going to do about that?

I need to come up with a goal.  Something that will keep me from gaining five pounds in a week while I'm in my academically induced coma.

This week I will work on FIVE things:

1. Memorize a new verse.  I have chosen Philippians 3:14- 

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

This is not at all a new verse for me.  I've heard it MANY times in my 30 years.  I've never actually taken the time to memorize the entire verse and reference.  

By the end of the week, I will have this down!  Anytime I'm tempted to pull out some junk food, I'm going to recite this scripture.  Take that, Munchies!!!

2. Drink more water.  I would like to at least drink FOUR bottles of water a day.  This is something I always struggle with.  I may do well on day one, and then slowly start slacking.  I DESPISE water.  It is just not my choice of beverages.  I know that there are so many benefits to drinking plenty of water... skin, hair, appetite... the list goes on and on.

3. Here's another tough one.  EXERCISE.  Yuck!  I am SO not motivated to do anything physical.  Maybe that's why I've gained so much in the past several months.  Maybe that is why I had to try on FIVE different outfits this morning before deciding which made me feel the least self conscious.

I would like to exercise for at least 90 minutes this week.  I know that isn't really much for an entire week, but it is 90 more minutes than I exercised last week... and the week before... and before that... you get the picture.

4. Weigh and measure myself.  This is something I was keeping track of for a while and it made a HUGE difference for me.  I stayed more motivated because I was more on top of things.  I knew my numbers!  

I am going to once again begin documenting my weight and measurements.  I'm not sure if I'll post them on here yet.  We'll just have to wait and see about that one.

5. GO TO BED!!!  This is another one of those traits I get from my Daddy.  I am a night owl.  If I could have my way, I would stay up late every night and sleep until at least 10:00 every morning.  I am so guilty of staying up late and then having to get up early.  I live a sleep deprived life and it is all by my choosing!  I will be in bed by 10:00 every night this week.  Whew!  That's a tough commitment for me!

In closing, I would like to ask you to please pray that I will reach my goals and have a decent,
low stress finals week.  I'm praying for you!

-Beth

And then there was cake...

My wonderful father-in-law had a birthday this week.  To celebrate his turning 65, we had a little get together in our home.  It was a great time with family honoring a very special man!
The kids and I decided to bake him a cake.  It was SO much fun!  Everyone deserves a birthday cake, right?!?  An added plus was the fun I had with the kids while making the cake and cookies for Grand-Dad.

After the celebration there was some leftover cake.  I tried to send it home with our guests, but we were still left with quite a bit here at our house.  Now is the part where I admit that I am the one who consumed the majority of the leftover cake... big surprise, huh?

Here's the good part:

Today, as I was washing some dishes, I looked over and saw the remainder of the birthday cake.  I felt disgusted at the sight of it.  What a StRaNgE feeling for me to experience!  

I didn't feel guilty.  I felt disgusted.  It was like I just felt that it was something that was so unnecessary to keep.  It was bad.  That cake was UNHEALTHY and I knew I didn't want any more of it!  I immediately picked it up and dumped the entire thing into the running water in the sink.  

Aaaahhhh...

 Can we say "FREEDOM"?!?!?!?!?  It felt so wonderful to rid my kitchen, my home, mySELF of that stinkin' cake!  

Don't get me wrong the cake tasted amazing.  I will actually probably make it again sometime.  I just know that I did what needed to be done with the leftovers and said "NO" to keeping the remainder of my most recent late night sugar fix around.  :)