Thursday Ramblings

***WARNING VENTING BY A WOMAN WHO IS PRE-MENOPAUSAL***

I've always tried to stay positive on my blogs but I'm so jumbled in my head that I must get things out. I thought I was pregnant but I'm not and I'm okay with that part. We weren't planning for any more but I would have accepted whatever God had in mind. What I'm not okay with, at least at this moment, is the fact that I feel like I'm getting old. What have I accomplished? Nothing. Oh yeah, you could say I have. I mean I have two degrees (big deal) two beautiful children which I wouldn't trade for anything (well at least at this moment) and a wonderful husband who has put up with me for almost 15 years. And I should be grateful, right?

I know it is all in my head right now but my heart feels so heavy. The stupid scale at the doctor's office was high too which put a bigger guilt trip on me and is very frustrating. I have been working my tail off to loose weight and I'm not getting any where.

I am taking steps to have my hormones check out and the doctor thinks it might be pre-menopausal (GREAT!) so that would explain the symptoms, etc. But all the more reason to feel old!

I don't feel like I have time for anything and I try so hard to prioritize so that the important things like God, my family and myself get taken care of but I feel so jumbled! I feel like I'm failing at everything and that I'm running out of time.

So you might ask how old are you? Well I'm 37 and will turn 38 in September. I have so many things to be thankful for and I am truly blessed, I just wish my heart new that. I know you can choose your attitude, well I want a joyful and peaceful attitude, but right now I have a bad attitude like Meredith Brooks in her song....

Sorry for this post but I just had to get my feelings out!

What does it take?

What does it take to be simple? To live a simple life?

The definition of simplify: to make simple or simpler; to reduce to basic essentials; to diminish in scope or complexity (streamline); to make more intelligible (clarify). When you Google simplify many results are given with the majority having to do with finding your Zen, de-cluttering your life and what you can do to simplify your life. All of which have good suggestions. But what does one do if they want to simplify their life in the way God would want us to. I don’t want to simplify my life to get more things done. That statement in itself seems so odd. Why would I want to do more? No, what I want is to be at peace. And I know right now my life isn’t as peaceful or simplified as I could probably make it.

We are a busy family. Emily has her activities, TaeKwon Do, swimming and art. And then Jim and I work around her schedule to work out and train. Of course our weekends are filled with swim meets or my races but I try to limit my races. Then we do a lot of volunteering for church. Which is good right? I know there is a lot of time that is wasted in front of the TV and in the evenings instead of reading to the kids or playing we all do our own thing….what a waste. I have felt for a while that we needed to unplug our life from the TV, I mean really how many cartoons can one watch and anything Jim or I watch is for mostly entertainment, what you would call brainless TV. Is that benefiting anyone? No not really.

So once again I’m on the journey of simplifying our life. To be a better wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister which will contribute to a better family and above all else to have a better relationship with God is what I will strive for. I’m a list maker so I will start a list of things that I want to do to simplify our lives and myself:

~ Set aside time for God. I have a perfect opportunity every morning. Jim leaves the house around 4:30 and I usually make his lunch. Instead of going back to bed I could read my bible, journal and pray. I know this is one area that God is trying to work in my life.

~Remove all TVs from the bedrooms (I know bad mother) and have only one TV in the house. Limit everyone’s TV time to a few hours a week.

~Watch my spending: no more Starbucks, Panera, lunches out etc. Instead I will set this money in a jar or better yet in my bank account. I’m sure that money can be used for something more beneficial. See if I can cut our grocery budget more, no more dry cleaning (I can iron you know), etc. I can make my own latte’s at home!

~ Simplify our house. Go through and donate, sell, give away or reuse in some way. I’m pretty good with our clothes. I haul through them at least twice a year, but I’m not too good on toys or other items in our house. I think I will plan a huge fall garage sale!

I know there are other things but I will start with these and add to them. There for a while I was being pretty frugal, I’m not sure what happened but I want to get back on track! Wish us luck!

Long time no hear!

Well you might have thought I had dropped the face of the earth but not the case. I'm still around just had some refocusing. Things are going well but busy as usual. Between church, triathlons, training, TaeKwon Do, Emily's swimming, and just plain life there isn't a lot of room to do much of anything. But I'm going to try and blog a few times a week so we will see how it goes. I did get my thesis done and graduated last month finally. That is a big load off my shoulders, but of course now I want to go back to school (or at least I have the itch). I don't know what is going on with posting pictures but I can't tell when I paste them in which one is which so I will just tell you about them. The top on is me and my daughter and the Mother-Daughter Day Tea. The second one is our group that ran the Oklahoma Memorial Marathon. The handsome gentleman to the left is my hubby. The other two women are mother/daughter and are our TaeKwon Do instructors. And last but not least a updated picture of my goofball son! I hope everyone is doing well. I pop in occasionally to read your blogs.....Enjoy the summer.

Long time no hear!

Howdy, yes I'm still alive and kicking! I hadn't realized it had been so long since I had posted last. There have been a lot of things going on, but I have been keeping up with a few of my favorite places to visit. Somethings just get pushed to the side more than others. Anyway, I will try and get you up to date here.

On February 21st my husband and daughter were in a Taekwon Do tournament in Austin. Never been to Austin and enjoyed the drive down from Oklahoma City even if it meant being in the car with two kids for 6 hours. All I can say is Thank the Lord for DVD players! My parents splurged on our hotel room so the first night we stayed in a lovely hotel, I was glad we were there but sad in an odd way that it wasn't just my hubby and I (wink wink). Anyway, 12 people went down to compete. We were the only non-Texas team and everyone came home with at least one medal. Jim placed 3rd in patterns and Emily placed third in sparring! Look she is higher in belt than he is!

After the tournament we traveled up to Granbury Texas (about 2 1/2 hours North) and stayed the night. Why you might ask? Well I had a meeting the following week that I had to be at so my family left me (literally) there Sunday afternoon and I met up with my co-workers. But before they left we went to Dinosaur Valley State Park to see dinosaur tracks that were discovered there. My new picture at the top of the blog is overlooking the Puluxy River. I think it is a good picture of us.

After I got back from that trip, it has been a whirlwind of a time. I have managed to complete three running races, which you can pop over to my other blog (Excited about training) to see those results. And this coming weekend I have my first duathlon of the season!

This was Elliott riding his bike in the back of my car while I was running because it was too cold outside. Yes he was supervised at the time, my hubby took the picture!

Anyway, besides training, working, being a mom and wife, I need to finish my thesis. I defend my master's on May 1st and I still have a lot to do. I feel a little overwhelmed but know it is only temporary (or at least that is what I'm trying to tell myself). My training and races is my stress relief and luckily my hubby works out too plus our kids go with us to the gym. I know once I get this off my plate I will feel much better. So with that being said, if I disappear again for a while, keep me in your thoughts as I torture myself more. I will pop in from time to time to give you an update!

Catchup Monday

I just wanted to let my friends know that I am around. I am extremely busy at work in preparation for an audit that is taking place next week. And I'm extremely stressed! I try and get on to check out everyone's blog so please don't worry if I don't comment on your blog or post. Know that I am lurking!

Hopefully everything will slow down in a couple of weeks! Until then take care!

Christy

Tuesday Twisters!

That's right Twisters in February. I live in central Oklahoma and today out of no where two twister developed and damage a portion of my home town. My family and I with all structures are okay. Both kids were in school at the time so it was a little scary but I knew they would be okay. I ended up leaving work early. Some large homes got hit which is sad. But no one was seriously injured or no fatalities!

So it just goes to show you never know what the weather is going to do, especially in Tornado Alley!

Friend Makin' Monday

Friend Makin' Mondays!

When visiting one Sarah's I found this cute game so I thought I would join in the fun! Go and visit Kasey's wonderful blog and join in the fun.

Here is this weeks task! Answer the following questions:

1) My favorite book is: Hmmmm, I love all books that I read, too hard to pinpoint

2) I drive an: Chrysler Pacifica

3) My favorite type of food to eat is: Mexican

4) My favorite dessert is: My mom's Chocolate Sheet Cake or Cheesecake or Apple Pie

5) My favorite movie is: Bull Durham and the Right Stuff

6) When I go to Starbucks I get a: Chai Tea Latte

7) My favorite vegetable is: Red Bell Peppers

8) My favorite thing to wear is: Workout clothes

9) My favorite color is: I have a lot of black but I love red

10) I decorate my house in this style: Country/Cottage

11) Right now I am reading: The first book of the left behind series

12) If I could vacation anywhere I would go to: Torn between returning to Europe or the somewhere else like Hawaii