Confession

Okay, so I have to admit something.  On Wednesday of this week I had a complete and total pity party for myself.  My bad mood pretty much consumed me the entire day, from the moment I woke until the moment I went to bed..  Do you ever have those days?  I just felt stressed and so sorry for myself.  Why?  I have no idea!

Here is what I do know.  On Wednesday, I decided to make a few changes.

1. Get back to reading a chapter of Proverbs a day.  I had been in a slump and putting it off.  There was no good reason, only excuses of busyness.  To be honest, I just got LAZY, and I truly believe that the reason I felt so awful on Wednesday was a result of me not being in the word.  I already feel more rested than I did on Wednesday.
2. Begin taking a multi-vitamin.  I have NEVER been good at this.  Taking pills is not hard for me, I have just never liked it.  I have used this an excuse.  It is time for me to take charge of my health and make a little more effort to take care of myself.  If I am not going to eat perfectly the least I can do is take a vitamin!
3. Drink more water.  This decision was actually made as a result of taking the vitamin, but something I have wanted and NEEDED to do forever.  I have to take it with a full glass of water.  That is one glass a day.  Here is another confession... I NEVER drink water.  Sad, huh?  Since I am adding this glass, I might as well add more.  I would love to totally eliminate soda, but I am not there quite yet.  I have not had one in several days though.  I can go a week or so without it, so it really is not something I would consider to be a problem.  Right now, I am trying to make every other drink a glass or bottle of water.

Want to hear something great?  It is Friday.  My slump was Wednesday.  I already feel MUCH better!!!  Thank you, God, for simple changes that can make an enormous difference!

Miss Wacey Gave Me a Fun Idea!

Miss Wacey... She was my son's Sunday School teacher and also taught him for a while at Mother's Day Out.  He called her "Miss Wacey" and the name just sort of stuck.  Miss Wacey moved to Washington and we sure do miss her!  Here's a silly picture of she and I at her going away party.

Well, to get to the point of all this, my friend, Lacey, has a blog.  Her most recent post included her bucket list.  How fun is that?!  There are many things I have always said I wanted to do.  I have never really put forth the effort to write them down though. 

I have decided to make myself a real list.  Yes, Lacey, I am copying you!  Maybe one of the things on my list should be to come visit you!  I will have to really think on what I want on my list before I make it.  It needs to be realistic, but fun.  After I make my bucket list, I will share here and also share as I hopefully achieve the goals and experience the fun items on my list!

Do you have a bucket list?  

Do you have any suggestions for my list?

Blessings

It's President's day.  My daughter is out of school today, so I thought we (mostly I) would sleep in a bit.  I was actually wide awake at about 6:20.  Ugh...  Then my 5yr old son came and crawled in bed with me.  

We stayed there for about 15 minutes, both pretending to sleep (I wanted to sleep, he wanted to play the Wii).  I debated over whether or not to get up.  I WANTED so badly to sleep and I knew if I stayed there long enough, I would eventually slip back into dreamland... maybe he would too.

I began to think about all I have to do this week.  There is always so much on my plate - or at least that is how I feel!  Then I thought about our small group.  Last night we were talking about what keeps us from living out the Word.  What keeps ME from being a living sacrifice?

Romans 12:1-2 says 
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

You know what I decided last night?  Really nothing new at all... simply put, I am TOO busy.  Too wrapped up in "all I have to do this week".  I give too much of my time to things that do not really matter... things of this world.  What can I do to change this?  Keep in mind I am still buried under the covers at this point.

I am wide awake.  Why am I not DOING something?  By now, I have a mental picture of my calendar in my head.  I have so much to DO!!!

Wait... you know what you should do, Beth?  Get up.  Quit hiding in the bed and take advantage of this not so crazy morning!   

After all my debating and stressing about mostly unnecessary busyness, I got up and made my coffee.  Now I am back in bed.  There are pillows piled behind me and Bible study materials piled in front of me.  I saw the sunrise.  Did you know that if I open the blinds that are in front of the patio doors in my room I actually get to see the sunrise?  I did not!    

I hear my kids laughing in the next room as they enjoy their slower paced morning.  The birds are chirping outside my bedroom door.  The dog is snuggled up under the covers right beside me.

The most precious part of my morning just may have been when my 9yr old daughter came in to ask me a question.  As she was leaving she said "You look beautiful!"  

I know this will sound silly, but that meant so much to me.  Here I sit, bed head and pj's., no makeup and glasses.  My hair is piled on top of my head.  My Bible, journal, pens and hilighters are all over the bed in front of me.  The sunlight is streaming in the back door of my room.  She saw beauty in this.  What a blessing!

You know, if I had gone back to sleep, I would have slept too late and gotten up in a rush.  If I had not gotten my tail out of bed and taken advantage of having unhurried extra time with HIM... some of these things I mentioned would not have occurred this morning.

I am SO thankful for ALL the blessings given to me DAILY!  My goal this week is to SLOW DOWN and THINK about how I spend my time.  What do I give my time to that is really unnecessary?  What can I eliminate?  What can I decrease so that HE can increase?

 "He must increase, but I must decrease."  

-John 3:30

TIPS!

Recently I have had a few friends ask for some information by email or Facebook.  I decided to copy/paste it to my blog for future reference.  Hope it's helpful!  

I really am not crazy about expensive fad diets. From what I've observed, they typically are WAY over priced and they do not last. Who can really live their entire life drinking shakes or taking supplements. That's just not how God created us to live. It's not natural!

Okay, you may already know most of these, but here are a few things that work for me:

1)PRAY.
Don't rely solely on yourself, others, or self-help books. All these can be VERY helpful, but I think you know WHO we should ultimately depend on!

2)ACCOUNTABILITY.
Find a few friends that you feel you can completely trust and share EVERYTHING (I would be happy to be one of those!). True accountability is really difficult at first, but you will find that it will ultimately make things so much better for you. Share your struggles, temptations, likes, dislikes, weight (this is the toughest!), exercise, EVERYTHING. I promise it WILL make a difference! I have a close friend who shares the same struggles I do and in the past, we have texted each other our weight weekly. I'm at 177 (was down to 159, then back up to 186), and HAVE to get back on track before I am right back where I started. I have even gone so far as texting her everything I ate as I ate it. Whatever it takes, right?!

3)MEASURE YOUR FOOD.
This is easy, but also easy to forget to do! Get some measuring cups/spoons that are simple and easy to use. I have a set that actually look like spoons. I LOVE them! They are 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 cups. Get whatever works for you though. I like the spoon shape of mine b/c I can easily serve my food with them.
It helps to SEE how much food you are putting on your plate. Don't starve yourself. Look at the serving size, and get that amount. If when you finish, you still feel hungy, go back and MEASURE your second helping.
Once I got used to doing this, I actually started measuring out 1/2 of the serving size of the one thing on my plate that was the most unhealthy (I usually did what had the most carbs). That way when I got seconds, it was only one complete serving and I wasn't going overboard on it!
Another easy measuring tool is to imagine a divided styrofoam plate. The biggest section should be your green veggie, the two smallest your meat and carb. You can do that when you don't have a way of measuring.

4)MEASURE YOURSELF.
Get a friend to measure an area of your body that you struggle with. You can look up measuring charts online if you want to measure what is recommended by the experts. Sometimes you may not shrink in weight, but you are losing inches (especially if you're working out). I would honestly rather lose inches than pounds!
Cut a ribbon or string the length of your beginning measurements and each time you measure (I like to do once monthly), cut a new one. It's kind of fun to see if/how it changes!

5)REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!
No matter what we look like, we are beautiful! I tell my precious nine year old daughter all the time that "God doesn't make ugly people." to remind her that we are all "precious in His sight". Find a few inspiring scriptures and memorize them as a reminder of this!!!

6) Always use a smaller plate and smaller utensils. 
We tend to want to fill our plate with food and you can fill a small plate and it actually ends up being enough food. Plus if you want to go back for seconds, it's not quite as bad as if you had a normal dinner plate.  Don't forget to measure those second helpings!

7) Read some inspiring books. Here are a few of my favorites.
-First Place For Health
-Made to Crave (I also have this audiobook in my car.)
-The Weigh Down Diet (I don't totally agree with everything this author says, but the book is full of helpful tips.)
-Thin Within

You can probably find some of these in your local or church library.
 
8) Find some graphs or charts where you can see your loss (pounds or inches). 
It motivates you to keep trying and not give up. I found one that was a line graph and it was cool to see the line going down as I was losing. It did it in very small increments so it went down every time I would lose .5 of a pound.
 
9) I did Weight Watchers, so I try to remember what my zero points foods are and eat them as often as possible. If you aren't familiar with this I would be happy to share. There are lots of websites that you can use to find this stuff out too.


http://www.laaloosh.com/ 
This site has lots of resources, charts, and information that is great!

http://www.dwlz.com/
This has mostly WW info, but has restaurant info too. 

10)TAKE YOUR TIME!!!  

This didn't happen overnight. It's not going to come off overnight... and that is OKAY! Don't listen to advertisements and others who say "lose 50 pounds by..." some crazy, unrealistic date. If you lose slowly, you're teaching your body to keep it off. I did gain weight after losing, but it wasn't all of it and I refused to let myself get frustrated. I know that I can just do what I know I need to do and get it off again. This is a lifelong struggle for me and I know it is probably something I will always deal with. I just have to be sure to be aware of that. It's okay. I'm not sad about it. I will just take my time and make changes to stay on the right path. Slow loss over a long period of time is better than crash dieting and being on a never-ending weight loss roller coaster. 

You're doing great, don't give up!!!

Do you know of any other helpful tips or resources?  Please share if you do!

When? What?

I think I have come up with my target weight for my BIG goal.  It is BIG... like REALLY BIG.  Actually, I will be REALLY small by the time this is all over with!  I KNOW I can with HIS help, and I AM EXCITED!!!
Before I share my target weight, I would like to get all my specifics nailed down.  I need a date.  Deciding WHEN I want to reach my target weight will determine LOTS of issues.  This includes the method I choose to use to accomplish this goal.
I have mentioned before that I am NOT a fan of crazy fad diets.  This is something I still feel strongly about.  I need to make a total lifestyle change.  This is the most realistic option for me.  I need to do something that I can stick with after I reach my target weight.  I do not just want to lose, I want to MAINTAIN.
When thinking about my method, I have to think about foods that I tend to go overboard with... foods that tend to make me want to just jump totally off the wagon.   What are they?

• Chocolate
• Fast Food
• Candy
• Bacon
• Cookie Dough
• French Fries
• Bread With Butter and Garlic
• Popcorn With LOTS of Butter
• Chips

Hmm...  I see a pattern here.  My list contains mostly carbohydrates and sugar.  What does this say about ME?  What can I do about this?  More importantly, what can I do about this that will keep me from totally eliminating these things from my diet? 
I know I have to slow down and eat more healthy foods.  Maybe I should try fasting a few of these things for a while.  In the book Made to Crave, the author talks about fasting.  Is this something I should try?  WHAT food or foods should I abstain from?  Have YOU ever fasted?  How wonderful would it be to learn to turn to God each time a craving hit?  Is that not the whole purpose in all this?  Do I not need to learn to turn to God in my time of weakness? 

I Don't Think, I KNOW I Can!

Some days I feel like the Little Engine That Could.  "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."  Well, no more thinking!  I KNOW I CAN!  I mentioned before that I want to do something big.  I want to do something REALLY big.

I have done some research.  If there is one thing I know, it is that ideal weight charts are silly.  None of them are the same.  Some say I have a medium build.  Some say I have a large build.  Some say I should weigh around 120 pounds.  Some say I should weigh around 140 pounds.  There are experts who say you should go by weight.  There are others who say you should go by BMI.

According to the charts and calculators my BMI is 32.7.  This is considered obese.  Gross. 

Here are the BMI stats:

BMI Categories:

Underweight = <18.5
Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
Overweight = 25–29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater 

 

Looks like I have a long road ahead of me.  If I were to weigh 150, my BMI would still be 27.4.  This is still considered overweight.  140 pounds is a BMI of 25.6... STILL overweight.

In order to reach the normal weight range, I need to weigh a whopping 136 pounds.  Keep in mind this is at the very TOP of the range.  My BMI would still be 24.9, and would not leave me any room to play.  In order to be right in the middle of the Normal weight range, I need to weigh 119 pounds.  WOW.  That is 60 pounds less than what I weigh right now.  WOW.  There are no words for this! 

What do you think I should shoot for?

New YUMMY Breakfast!

Okay, well it probably is not really anything new.  It is new to me though! 

I could tell I am living a little healthier when I was in Kroger scanning the cream cheese spreads and thought "Hey!  You have strawberries in your cart!  Just get the plain Weight Watchers spread."

Today's breakfast: (5 pts)
1 slice of double fiber bread (The brand I got was 3 pts a slice.  Oops!)
Butter spray
Toast in oven.
After toasted, add 1 serving of Weight Watcher's cream cheese spread (2 pts)
Sliced strawberries on top of that. (ZERO pts)

I will have to say it is SO good!  There was also a time when I would have turned my nose up at this.  Hooray for progress!

Speaking of progress...
I weighed last week on the Wii and I am back down to 175.  I was at 187.  Twelve pounds!  God is good! 

My newest goal (which I set along with a precious friend) is to lose 15 pounds by December 9th.  This is her 50th bday and we are going to accomplish our goal with HIS help!  It can be done!

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him."  -Lamentations 3:24

I would love to hear all about your journey!  Do you have any good breakfast ideas to share?  Have you reached a goal recently?  Have you set any goals lately?  What scripture(s) has the Lord used to help push you through temptation?  

It's Official!

Well, it is official.  Mike and I joined Weight Watchers. It will definitely help that my sweet husband is doing this with me. In the past I have tried to do this on my own. That was tough! I would cook healthier foods, but he would not be counting and it just made it easier for me to slack. Thanks for joining me on this new (old) endeavor, Mike! I LOVE YOU!!!!


I am not even going to tell you what my weight was.  YUCK.  Let me just say that going all summer without getting on the scales was NOT a good thing for Beth.  I will tell you that I am allowed to have 29 points a day.  Mike gets 50!  Everyone said there would be a big difference in the amount we each get.  Men always get lots more is what I was told.  Guess they were right!  This should be interesting.

After all that reluctance, I found that the people at the meeting were VERY friendly and helpful.  I look forward to getting to know them a little better!  I do not know why I even hesitated to go.  It was great and will continue to be great.  Especially after I begin to shed the pounds!

I think that once I get used to the new PointsPlus program I will like it.  It is not really that different except for the amount of points you get each week and the points values of foods.  I noticed that lots of the things that they point out as different are things I already knew.  The little start up packet they give new members is very helpful.  I am just happy to have all the new information now so we can get started!

My goal is to very strictly stick to Weight Watchers for a full year. I know it can be done. It will be nice to see what happens! I already have several items in my closet that I have been keeping as "when I lose weight" clothes.  Does every woman do that???  Maybe in the next few weeks I will break them out and show them to you.

Do not be too surprised if I mention Weight Watchers pretty frequently.  I do not intend to turn this into a Weight Watchers blog.  There are PLENTY of those out there.  They are all good and very helpful!  I have a few that I follow and know I will follow a little more closely in the weeks to come.  I will be sure to share any interesting information that I discover.

With my crazy full time wife/mommy/student schedule, I need all the help I can get.  If you know of EASY recipes (preferably ones I can cook in a slow cooker) I would greatly appreciate you sharing them!  PLEASE TRY TO INCLUDE PointsPlus VALUES IF YOU KNOW THEM!  Who knows, if I get enough I may just force myself to become a little more computer savy and create a separate page on my blog for recipes. 
 
 
I LOVE tips! I want to hear about helpful WEBSITES, BLOGS, and most of all EASY RECIPES. Do you have any that work well for you? Please feel free to leave a comment and share with me. 

FLORIDA, Baby!!!!!!

And now for some serious motivation...

Mike called from work this afternoon and said "I wanna go to Florida.".  Can you say SAHWEET?!?!!!!!!

The Mannings and the Robertsons go way back.  We first were friends with Donny.  He actually played a pretty big part in Mike and I dating in high school.  He and Steph met a few years later and I knew I had found a great friend.  It has worked out wonderfully for us as couples.  We also have children who are close in ages and enjoy spending time together.  

A few years ago, the Robertson's relocated.  It stinks because we do not get to spend time together like we used to.  The only plus is that we get to go visit them... in Florida!

Here are a few pics from another trip we made to visit the Robertsons.  It was the first time the kids had been to the beach.  I was at about 165 pounds and these are the only pictures I have to prove it.  I know I will be bigger this time, but at least I am motivated to work hard until our trip in June!  

Mommy and M on the Beach.  

I have a tanning package that I don't use very often.  

I guess it is time to use it!  Hopefully I won't be as 

white this time.  Tan fat looks better than white fat, right???

C and A have been friends since they were babies.

People used to mistake them as twins.  

I guess you can tell which tanned baby lives in FL!

M loved the sand.

The Mannings and A playing in the water.

A and C, friends forever!

This is one of the few pictures of Mike and myself.  

We have to be better about taking pictures together this time!

Mike and Donny.  

This is the only picture I could find of them where they were 

both looking at the camera and not acting goofy!

Stephanie and Donny Robertson

Stephanie and myself.  I cannot WAIT to see this girl!

How sad that this is the only picture of our family (not in swimsuits)?!?  

The kids would not look at the camera.  Little stinkers!

Okay, this is not anyone we know... 

I could not resist!  Sorry if you know this man, 

but someone needs a new set of shorts!

She said "Look what God did!".  

C and M digging to China.

Cannot wait to see this again.  God is the best artist!

C and D, more digging.

So here's my goal:  

I want to weigh 170 pounds by the time we go.  I have about six weeks to do it.  Twelve pounds in six weeks is doable!  I had decided to lose one a week this morning.  There is absolutely no reason why I cannot lose two a week for six weeks.  Here goes...

Ouch!

Today was our Spring Break Zoo Day.  We try to go a few times a year and usually one of those times falls during Spring Break.  C is out of town with my parents, so M and I went with some friends.  It was fun!  

I did NOT expect it to be as sunny as it was today.  Luckily I am the only one of the two of us with rosy pink skin to show for our time in the sun.  Ouch!

Yesterday I chose to do some Wii Fit.  I forget how much I enjoy it until I take the time to play.  It was fun!  I spent 30 minutes on the Wii.  The yoga and balancing activities are the ones I enjoy the most.  

I am going to try and spend at least 30 minutes every other day doing some type of physical activity.  I NEED this and I know it.  NO MORE EXCUSES, BETH!!!  It is time to MOVE!

After the yoga and the zoo today I will have to say that my legs are a little sore.  Ouch!  But it's a good ouch!  This is something I need to feel more often.  Being physically fit is another part of taking care of my body.  It is MY responsibility to take care of the body HE gave me.

One way I would like to exercise is to run.  I know TONS of people that do it.  It is just so intimidating to me.  I think I will feel like a dork if I'm running outside.  I don't have the right clothing.  I don't have the right shoes.  I don't have time without kids... excuses, excuses!  Maybe I'll eventually get over this.  Until I do, I need to take advantage of the things I know that I CAN do.  Like utilizing all the different games we have for the Wii.  I even have a Zumba game.  I LOVE Zumba!  

I WILL do this.  Tomorrow will be exercise day number two for this week and it WILL happen!

I Expected Worse

I replaced the batteries in the Wii Fit board and weighed this morning.  I honestly expected it to be in the upper 180's, possibly even in the 190's.  It is no secret that I have not done well for about the last 10-12 months.  I could make lots of excuses for this, but I will not.  
I knew what I was doing every time I made unhealthy choices.  I knew my weight was (once again) spiraling out of control.  My clothes got tight.  I got out the last few pair of "fat pants" that I owned.  You know what I am talking about.  We all have them.  A few months ago, those pants started getting tight.  Hello, tummy...
I have always been one who does best by weighing myself daily.  For about the past year, I have not.  In fact I haven't even owned a functional set of scales.  
Experts say to NOT weigh daily.  It seriously helps me stay on task though.   Seeing the difference in my daily weight will either motivate me to keep up the good work, or to try harder to make better choices that day.  I do not let it depress me if I have gained a pound one day.  I know that weight changes daily in either direction.  If I am up a pound one day, I just try harder to make healthy choices so that the next day my weight will (hopefully) go back down to where it was.  No big deal!
Okay, I'll cut to the chase.  After weighing in this morning my weight was...

181.5

Not as high as expected.  WHEW!  I also got out last summer's capri pants and they still fit!  Of course they are not as loose as they were, but they are on and comfortable.  Yippee!  

I still am focusing on SELF CONTROL for the week.  

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 

          -2 Timothy 1:7

I need to set some short term goals for myself.  Any ideas?  How often do you weigh yourself, and why?  I would love your input!

Starting today...

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."  -Ephesians 5:15-17

I'm going to try and track what I do throughout the day.  I would like to do this for 5 days.  Goal # 3 is to simplify.  This may make things a little more complicated at first, but in the long run, I believe it will help me reach all 3 of my goals.
Doing this will enable me to see exactly how much time I spend doing certain thing, eliminate the unnecessary, and SIMPLIFY!  I need to SEE what I eat and SEE how much time I spend doing meaningless activities, and also what I eat and DRINK.  I need to make better use of my time!
My day's activity most likely won't be posted on here.  I'm just thinking that would be a little weird.  If I wanted everyone to know exactly what I do every minute of the day, I would re-open my twitter account (I had one at one time, but closed it after deciding it was a HUGE waste of my time!!!).

So, here goes.  I'm going to have to do a daily self-inventory for 5 days.  This will probably make me rethink LOTS of what I do, but hopefully it will help me to reach my 3 goals a little more easily!

Goal #3

I have decided what Goal #3 needs to be.  I will not elaborate because I think that it speaks for itself...

KEEP IT SIMPLE

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!