Laugh, Love, LIVE

Laugh, Love, LIVE

As I embark upon my last few weeks of my 30's, I find myself reflecting on the first 40 years of my life and pondering on how I would like to live the next 40. When my father was 28, he had more years behind him, than he had ahead of him. No day is promised. So for however many days I have left-  I am officially adopting the mantra to Laugh loud, love hard and live life. Those who know me may say this has always been my mantra, well, I'm making it official! I plan to spend this entire year and years to come enjoying life and creating memories.

I want to surround myself with the things and people who offer those three precious things to me. In return, I too will offer my best to them. Now, for those who threaten to take those things away from me... well, you can guess where they will be placed.

My best friend of 30+ years is also turning 40 this year. She thought it would be cool for us both to come up with 20 things we'd like to accomplish this year. I realize that so much of my life stopped after I had my son 5 years ago. I'm feeling a rebirth coming! I want my list to include not only the things I want to change, but also the things  I've lost along the way. Twenty seems like A LOT. I'm going to start typing and see where I land.

1. Find a church home.  This tops my last because when my spiritual house is in order, my physical house gets in order. I have not had a church home since I returned to Atlanta at the end of 2011. I hadn't realized it had been that long until I typed it just now. Yes, I have been heathen. Now I've been to church since 2011, but I've not been in regular attendance at any single church. When I first came to Atlanta, I visited churches for 3 years until I found the right place of worship for me. With that track record I need to get on the ball fast.

2. Give back. Through work, church or on my own, I have always served. With my son turning 5, now is the perfect time for him to see first hand what it's like to offer a hand.

3. Financial Freedom. This is actually a goal I started last year. I hate debt. It is sometimes a necessary evil, but I still hate it. Last year I implemented zero based budgeting (Dave Ramsey) and paid off my car and all credit cards. This year I am tackling my student loan. Although I have a home loan that is not going away any time soon, I don't plan to have any more loans and my next car will be paid in cash.

4. Run a 5k. I'm in physical therapy for my knee so I'm hoping to be cleared for take off!

5. Play tennis. This may be a lofty goal and totally based on my knee therapy, but it is something I enjoyed doing. When I purchased my house, I had to have a  community with tennis courts because I've always planned to get out there again, I need to enjoy my hard earned HOA fees!

6. Limit Social Media. My bestie says I have a love/hate relationship with social media. It is true. I see how it reconnects people and builds bridges for others who may have otherwise never met. But I also see how it stifles interactions among people who are in the same room. I can easily burn an hour reading updates from people who I don't care about and who don't care about me. There is nothing worse than seeing a group of people out together and everyone is on their mobile device (I hope my bestie is reading this because she is a big offender). That time could be better spent doing all the other things I haven't been doing for the last 5 years.

7. Enjoy a hobby. Once upon a time, I had hobbies. Everyone needs to take time to unwind. Other than travelling, I can't name a single hobby that I have. That my friends, cannot continue.

8. Lose 40 pounds. I actually would like to lose more, but lets stick with the 40's theme. I've already been working on this goal. I'm in a bootcamp 3 days a week, I finally assembled my elliptical and I just enrolled in a food delivery service. Lets just say- I'm pretty much out of excuses.

9. Take 5. Weekdays I find myself rushing home from work to pick up my son, rushing him into the car, rushing through homework, rushing through dinner, rushing through bath, rushing through story time, rushing to bed... rinse and repeat. Hardly ever do I slow down to enjoy the journey. I will make a conscious decision to do things out of the ordinary.

10. Keep in touch. Even with the conveniences of social media, I am horrible with staying in touch with people. This is reflected in my personal and working relationships. I have met and lost touch with some amazing people. I have to do better.

Well, that completes my first 10. Check back for the other 10!

GYM TYME!

My bestie told me that blogging about my weight-loss journey would keep me motivated and hold me accountable... lets see if she's right.

I'll start by talking about the gym first. This is where I shine!

I started going to Lifetime Fitness in August. LTF is like the Cadillac of gyms. I know my blog is about being practical, but this gym comes with a lot of great perks and has an outstanding childcare facility. I usually make it to the gym 3 to 4 times a week.  I haven't been able to run in at least 6 years due to knee problems. Since I started strengthening the muscles around my knee, I'm now able to run for 14 minutes straight! LTF offers anabolic metabolism assessments (AMA). I took it to find my specific fat-burning and cardio heart-rate zones (instead of the generic ones that uses your age to calculate your zones). I entered my customized zones into the LTF app and use the apps predefined heart-rate workouts 3 to 4 days a week. I recently took re-assessment (recommended every 3 months) and the results are raveworthy!!

The first graphic shows my change in hear-rate zones and the second one shows my VO2. . VO2 or "Volume of Oxygen" is the standard measure for cardiovascular fitness potential. The score indicates the maximum amount of oxygen your body is capable of using at any one time. The more in shape I become, the more oxygen my body will be able to use and the longer I'll be able to workout.  Notice how I moved from POOR to GOOD in this area!!



BEFORE

	AFTER

You like how I started with the good news first? Now for the bad...  There was a time when I could eat whatever I wanted and still lose weight as long as I worked out. That time has obviously passed.  the scale is not saying much, I have to eat right and exercise. My eating habits are still very inconsistent.  I have to start somewhere, right? I promise to do better with my food on my next post!

Guess who's back?

Yes, It's me! After taking a 2 errrr, 3 year hiatus, I'm back. Being a mom is hard work and time consuming!! A lot has happened since my last post, I've moved twice, purchased another home and Elijah is now 4 (and a half).  Some things have not changed... my weight (sigh) and I am still very PRACTICAL. I've been making laundry detergent, learning to coupon, even making shelves for my washer and dryer (those stands cost $300+ EACH!!). Don't worry, I plan to get you all caught up and update you with the progress of my weight loss journey. Thats all for now. I just needed re-familiarize myself on how to to post! See you next time.

PARTY, PARTY, PARTY

A year ago I was told that the years past quickly. They were not kidding! I guess I can officially stop blaming him for the extra weight right? The first birthday party went off without a hitch.
The theme was Thomas the Train, so Elijah came dressed for the occasion in an OshKosh conductor jumper with a red bandana.

I resisted the urge to go all out, but I did manage to do a small arts & crafts project of his monthly pictures. Before Elijah, I enjoyed scrapbooking so it was nice to use the tools that I spent so much money on. Maybe oneday I will start scrapping again.

Made by Barb the Cake Lady, the cake tasted as good as it look! (Barb has been making cakes for me and my friends for years now) Elijah enjoyed his first taste of cake. I would say he enjoyed his first sugar high, but my mom was here for 10 days before his birthday and you know how grandmas are!

We rented a moonwalk and a sno-cone machine. Both were big hits with the kids. We also had 'Pinky Panties' and Peach Ciroc.. both were big hits with adults :-)

 Note to self always designate a picture taker. Unfortunately, I don't have many picures from the party! So to you new mom's, don't forget a photographer (unless you have a good memory)

A Year in Review

Every month I chronicled Elijah's growth by taking a picture. Every keeps asking me where I found the numbered onesies, well here's the secret.... they are actually stickers. I ordered them from Etsy before he was born. Although he is always willing to smile, depending on the time of day, he grew a bit restless and did not want to stay still. It was a lot easier when I propped him up using pillows. Now he is bigger than the pillow!

Looking back at the pictures, it is unbelievable how much he's changed over the past year.

Fastest 10 months ever!

I can't believe Elijah is already 10 months old! check out the pictures of my big boy. It was kind of late and he didn't feel like smiling much. Since I was already 2 weeks behind on taking the picture, I happily accepted whatever I could get out of him.

I've officially gone from hanging out at the latest hot spots, to planning a kid friendly atmosphere. I feel like he won't remember so I can relax and save all my ideas for the latter years. My girlfriends are already riding me about the 'event of year' so I'm exhausted just thinking about it

Mama needs a new pair of shoes, pants, shirts, etc

I've had the pleasure of working from home in my pajamas since I was 20 weeks pregant. Elijah is almost 6 months and it is time for me to head back into the office. Although I am back down to my pre-preganancy weight - lets just say, some things have shifted.  My old clothes aren't fitting the way they used to. Where is a personal shopper when you need one? Well, I have some one in mind. A few years ago, I wanted a wardrobe makeover and one of my besties allowed me to sit in the dressing room while she worked her magic. I don't know how she did it, but everytime I looked up there was something for me to try on. Well luckily my 'personal shopper' is still around. My stylish friend at Baby Shopaholic OFFERED to find the perfect pieces that can be worn in the office, out on the town and at CHURCH. I asked for clothes that are not too pricey and can be mix-matched to create new looks.  I am in love with so many of things she's chosen for me. I will be one STYLISH mama when I return to work. Check out her blog to view the collection. Let me know what your favorites are. She doesn't know this yet, but I plan to drag her out to the stores with me again. Hey, I have to try these clothes on.