Thanksgiving

Today is the Canadian Thanksgiving and it is all about gratitude.

I have so much in my life to be grateful for I don't even know where to start. I am going to list some of things I'm grateful for into my gratitude note book. I challenge you to grab a sheet of paper (if you don't do the gratitude notebook) and write down 20 things your grateful for today. It will make you feel awesome! I promise!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our attitude

I always talk about gratitude, because it so important, but so is our attitude. Sounds simple right? If we can choose our attitude it will adjust our mood, our out look, our life!

Our thoughts really do shape our lives. People scoff at that notion, but is so true.

Think about it.

If you obsess over fear, you only find more fear.

If you dwell on lack of money, you find more financial woes.

If you worry about things, your bring more worry and anxiety to your life.

If you believe that your life will be miserable and bleak that is how you will feel.

If you are thinking that life is unfair all the time, you will see more things around you to prove that thought right!

If you are angry you find more to be angry about!

I'm not saying that we have to be happy 100% of the time because the past few days in my life have been a definite roller-coaster of emotions, but I will come out on top!

Why?

Because ultimately I can choose my attitude and realize that what I pay attention to will grow stronger in my life!

So tonight is the "new moon" and one of my friends said Jenn thats a time for new beginnings. Sounds good to me! Every day is a new beginning, but why not start it tonight :)

Week 3

Well Oh my gosh... this is not going well, i think the hardest part right now is that i have no routine. Let me rephrase that. The baby has no routine so therefore I have no routine. Although I have been pretty good about preparing healthy snacks and meals, it goes well for a few days and then the wheels totally fall off and i go into complete carb survival moded. A bagel here, bowl of cereal there.

A lot tougher then I thought to get exercise as well, by the time hubby gets home and we have dinner and do the evenings with the kids and get them off to bed I certainly don't feel like going for a walk. Add that to baby's cranky time from 8-10pm and i feel guilty leaving him to deal with that.

So I am taking it a day at a time trying to make good choices but the odd day I just totally give in and it is a cookie and/or beer kinda day.

I think I have lost a couple of pounds, I have noticed it a little in my face.

The worst part is that it is SUMMER people, I only have 2 pairs of shorts that fit me right now and I refuse to buy anymore, all my t-shirts are a little tight. AND THAT SUCKS. and we won't even talk about a bathing suit.

you would think that alone would be enough motivation to help me stick to eating properly, but i have to tell you the cravings for carbs and junkie foods is crazy.

What do you do when you are craving things you know you shouldn't have???

shann

Week 2

Last week was an attempt to clean up my eating habits and get some more exercise. The exercise went pretty good, getting in atleast 30 mins a day and a long walk on thursday for over an hour.

The clean eating went well till Thursday and then I lost my mind! A case of poor planning put me in the position of being hungry and craving sugar and carbs. It wasn't a horrible cheat, a few chocolates and some kind of processed fruit snacks I keep for the kids.

However, then came friday and all the rain and the water in our basement and cleaning and going through wet boxes and cleaning out part of the basement and sweating my patooty off and then... I popped the button of my shorts. Well that was it I cracked a cold one! which led to another one. Only two which isn't too bad but then my MIL made homemade pizza for dinner, oye! the smart option 2 pieces and a big salad. My choice 4 pieces of pizza and a few cookies for dessert.

Saturday was not much better and Sunday more of the same poor meal planning and not eating at regular intervals left me starving and shovelling anything and everything in my mouth.

I still lost 2.5 lbs and I think that was due to the 5 days of clean eating before the 3 days of disaster, plus the exercise.

I do see a bit of a difference in my face which is the last place I gain so the first place to lose it.

So it is Monday and we are back on the wagon so to speak. Planning meals and snacks and grocery shopping this afternoon. Portion size and reading labels will be an additional focus this week on top of the clean eating, and exercise. Maybe a few toning exercises.

In the spirit of full disclosure I also decided to purchase and follow the 7 day Jillian Michaels Detox and Cleanse program which I two more days left and I think it has held true to the claim of reducing belly bloat, we'll see when I post a photo on Wednesday.

Here's a great 100 calorie snack 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and 1/2 of blueberries. Yumm

BEFORE

This is one of those uncomfortable moments in a persons life when you just have to grite your teeth and do it, because you know it can only get better from here. Here is my BEFORE photo. I had a baby 8 weeks ago, the swelling and water retention have gone down and this is what I am left with, About 20lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight and if I want to be honest about 30lbs over a comfortable fit weight I can maintain without dieting.

I gained the most weight with this pregnancy almost 40lbs, which is not a huge gain compared to other people, so I have heard, but it was alot of weight for me. Especially since I knew exactly where it came from. this pregnancy I craved sweets and lots of them. To tell you the truth I ate so many sweets I am surprised my pancreas didn't just give up jump out of my body and head for the hills.

It is 4 weeks before my birthday and Friday the 13th in Port Dover. If I had a magic wand I would be back at my pre-pregnancy weight and fitting into my skinny jeans. However, this is the planet earth and my goal is a little more realistic. I am hoping to lose about 10 pounds, tone up my legs and butt and fit into my regular jeans for my birthday. Here's how:

*Toning exercises everyday
*atleast 20-30mins of walking or cardio of somekind everyday
*once a week a long one hour walk in my target heartrate zone
*eating 4-6 servings of fruits and veggies
*paying attention to my servings sizes of protein and carbs
*no alcohol during the week
*more water
*no candy, cookies, desserts (ie pie, cake, etc)
*larger breakfasts, smaller dinners
*reading labels and doing the math to make better choices

I will be posting my thoughts, progress and if I am brave a few more photos.

Please let me know if you have any tips, ideas or comments.

Should be an interesting few weeks

dealing with ignorant people

They are out there and no matter how positive you are to them they are still INCREDIBLY rude towards you. Sometimes for a reason in the past and other times because they just deem you not "good enough" or such. (that attitude just makes me howl, by the way)

This morning I was walking when two women I know came towards me. I said "hello ladies" with a smile. The one smiled and said hello and asked me how I was, the other one looked at the ground and kept in her conversation, not once making eye contact or looking up to acknowledge anything as we walked past each other. In fact I'm sure she tilted her head the other way so she didn't have to look at me! (not kidding)

Now I know most of you are thinking, so what. Well it is a small town and I know both of them well. One through school and other through hockey. The one that didn't acknowledge me well she would fall under this ignorant people category. She often doesn't acknowledge me and trust me I'm no fool. I know not everyone likes me, but most people acknowledge me if I have said hello. (like me or not!)


The reason I'm sharing this here is because as I giggled while walking I thought to myself that behaviour could have ruined someone else day! I remember walking with a friend and something similar happened to us and my friend was pissed off for the rest of the walk!!! Her good mood turned sour all because of one rude person!

So how do we deal with it?

1. I always make a point of saying hello and making eye contact to everyone, even those like that. Kill them with kindness I suppose, but really why should I not. It takes more energy to be nasty then it does to be nice!
2. I send them light after they move on. To me sending pink light or love to them will help them not be so "hard".
   
3. I smile and keep on going.
4. I'm thankful for a handful of really good friends in my life.
   
5. I then put that rude person out of my mind.

Does it work?

It does for me.

We run into people every day in our lives that are rude to us for one reason or another.

Next time you are dealing with someone who is rude to you, try it! You never know your mood might lift and you will walk on happy! ;)

Move it or lose it??? part two

Hop on over to A Balanced Lifestyle Health and Wellness to read the rest .... here

:)

Move it or Lose it??

A while back you will remember I started the X-weighted challenge with my husband. Well times up! How did we do?

We both lost about 10lbs, which isn't bad, but we both gained a new appreciation for move it or your going to lose it. What are you going to lose?? Your body, your health.... your well being.

My dh ended up joining a gym that he works out at about three days a week during lunch. I'm back playing field hockey and this year I was able to run and not completely suck wind! (No seriously last year I thought I might die.)

Today I put back on my pedometer to see how many steps I'll take. I think I'll track it all week because today isn't a typical day. My kids are gone and I was able to go for an early a.m. walk and then I'm golfing 9 holes tonight at supper time. It will be interesting to see how many steps are taken. About 6 years ago the entire family wore these for an article/study for the Kitchener Waterloo Record. Was pretty cool. They claim that you need to take 10,000 steps a day to maintain your current weight. In order to drop you need to up your steps and squish your calories!

Oh yes calories. We'll tackle that subject (and I hate that subject... I do love my wine) another time!

Okay so who is with me? Going to see how many steps you take? You can get a simple pedometer at Shoppers Drug Mart, Winners, Walmart almost any where. Go get one. Most are under 20dollars and its well worth it to really track your steps. You might surprise yourself!

Let us know if your joining in!

jenn

Positive Quotes

As some of you know I email daily positive quotes! Unfortunately I had a hard drive crash and my latest back up was from November of last year. Sooooo if you are not receiving my daily quotes and wish too again, please email me at jenn.metzger@sympatico.ca and tell me :)

thanks

:)

jenn

The oil spill

A very good friend of mine wrote a blog article on the BP Oil spill. Its excellent.

You can check it out entirely over here on her blog "The Bold Life" (just click the name it will take you to that article).

I never thought about some of the points she brings up, yet it so true. I know not to "blame" to send light and love. I know the power of prayer works and having faith that we will find a solution!!!

She lists a bunch of ideas... go check it out. It makes for some excellent thinking!!!

Happy Monday friends.

j

New Blog....

New blog started up! Don't worry we are still blogging here too! We are just branching out! ;)

Check it out here

Happy Father's Day....

Wishing all the dads out there a very wonderful and happy Father's Day.

For some father's day comes with mixed emotions if they have lost their father or didn't have a great relationship with him. BUT we hope you can find a great memory and hang on to it. :) Think about the good times today!!!

If you get to spend today with your dad! Awesome! Enjoy the day :)

Gratitude...

Something annoying happened to me this morning and after talking to my dear friend (thanks Shannon) I realized that out of this situation something good came.

What was that???

GRATITUDE.

Gratitude that I love my job and love my life and my school! I can't imagine NOT doing what I do. I love it. I'm passionate about it, I know it helps people and the fact that I get paid to do something I'm totally LOVING is a serious bonus!!!!

I cannot imagine working in a job that I dread. Or there is those that work and feel a total sense of entitlement. You know. The world owes them or their employer owes them. Owe, smoe... If you don't have passion for what your doing, your not going to be truly happy.

So are you passionate about what you do? Do you love it?

If your not, can you work towards change?

Trust me I know change. I've done lots of change in my life (job wise) and now I'm back in school full time while working and have two kids that are very involved in sports. I make it work. Its a balancing act, but it works. What I'm saying is reach for dreams and do what you love. If that means going back to school, look into it.

Life is too short to not do what we are passionate about!

I know, I know I just don't understand your situation. Your right! I don't. BUT I do know that if you don't love your job, don't stay in it. Don't think that it is the "only" job you can get. With that attitude it might be true!!! Remember .... ATTITUDE IS ALWAYS EVERYTHING. You can do it!!!

Find your passion and be happy at what you do every day, all day ;) We spend more hours with our job then we do with loved ones, so why not love it.

Gratitude. Yep ... I love what I do and I'm thankful I get to do something I love!

It's a baby!

Here is the official announcement! I apologize for the delay, but I have been recovering and enjoying the time with our new little person.

Holiday Monday May 24th at 10:28pm a baby boy was born.

Marcello was 7lbs, 13ozs and 20 inches long

He came out lightening quick and consequently had a little trouble breathing as all the air sacks in his lungs did not properly expel mucus and breath in air. After 20 mins he was wisked away to the NICU for a full assessment and returned a few hours later with instructions for some blood work ever 3 hours for the next 9 hours. Other than that he is perfect and beautiful and a great baby.

Sorry to disappoint but I haven't loaded any photos on the computer yet but I will get to that soon I hope. The doctor and the delivery were a little hard on me so I am still not moving too quick around here. My 4 year old tires me out most days and the baby is eating every 2-3 hours and I am sleeping whenever possible.

I hoping to feel more human next week and should resume regular posting duties shortly.

You can look forward to hearing about my new challenge of balancing the extra 20 lbs that are left behind (on my behind) from eating too many cookies and baking delights from Stemmlers in Heidelberg. (damn those cream buns and long johns)

Here's hoping an active summer with the kids will Kick this body back into shape.

loving life...

How are you feeling right now? Are you feeling good? Are you loving life? Yes? No?

If no, why not? Stresses? We all have them its the attitude that matters. We all have things that set us off. It is CHOOSING to say you know what my LIFE IS GOOD... I feel GOOD... it is ALL GOOD that keeps us going.

Do something right now that makes you feel good!

Need some ideas?

1. go for a walk
2. hug someone
3. have a glass of wine
   
4. read
5. turn off the tv and play a board game
6. write/blog
7. go out and sit outside
8. hold hands with a loved one
9. smile
10. dance
11. have a cup of tea/coffee (and enjoy it)
12. enjoy the MOMENT your in
13. go for a drive
14. go for a bike ride
15. go to the library
16. bake something
17. try cooking something new
18. shop
19. paint your nails
20. have a tickle fight
    

the list can on and on.... but the point is you can do to something small to make yourself feel good!

Remember... life is good!

Health tip...

So most of you know I've been on a health journey. To date I've taken 11 lbs off, still going. I found an interesting tip though the other day. That even though I thought I was drinking more then enough water daily. I really wasn't. I'm now drinking more water, we'll see how that changes my weight loss journey too!

So how much water should one drink?

General (apparently) rule of thumb: take you body weight in lbs/2 (divide by 2) = daily intake of H2O in ounces! No joke!!!!

• Drink one to two cups of fluid at least one hour before the start of exercise.
• Drink four to eight ounces of fluid every 10 to 15 mins or so during exercise.
• Drink an additional eight ounces of fluid within 30 mins after exercising.
• Drink two cups of fluid for every pound of body weight lost after exercise. (darn eh)
• Both caffeine and alcohol can have a diuretic effect, so be sure to compensate for this additional water loss. (drink at least an equal amount of water)
• When travelling on an airplane, it is a good idea to drink eight ounces of water for every hour you are on board the plane.

The winner is.....

I'm having issues with Random.org tonight but here it is...


True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 15


So congrats to ...

LADYBING!!! aka Tammy!

Ladybing said...

Way to Go!!!!! I love this because some days it speaks to me totally and some days it just provides 'in case' info! I know that sometimes this is your own therapy so I am proud of you for trying to practice what you preach


I will be seeing you soon! You have a book of inspirations coming to you!
Thank you every one for posting your kind comments!!!

love
jenn and shann

Just noticed... (giveaway)

We just passed our 100th post!

100!!!!!

Pretty sweet!

In honour of that I have a little give away to do! A little hard back book called "Inspirations"

So post a comment here by friday and that evening I will do a draw!!!

jenn and shann

What do you do when your too busy???

SLOW DOWN... and smell the flowers! ;)

Slow down!!!

Yeah seems obvious, but its true. Do something for 5mins that you love. Slow down. Have a glass of wine on your deck, porch, enjoy the sun, the moonlight! WHATEVER but slow down. Book yourself a massage or some reflexology!!!!

It always amazes me when clients walk in talking about 50miles a min and to see the change in them as the session of reflexology begins. I'm no different. My reflexologist could tell you that (right Kate! lol)

Slow down and smell the flowers!!!

Life is busy, but it is only as busy as you make it. Find those few mins to read something positive, write an email to a friend, have a coffee, tea, glass of wine.

Just do it (as nike would say)

Congrats

To my blog partner in crime ...Shannon and family. Shannon gave birth to a baby boy. Everyone is home and doing well.

I will let her update with all the fun stats, experience and of course a picture!

Congrats my friend!

xo

jenn

Back to food....

Yesterdays post was rather heavy, so today I thought we'd switch gears and go back to that topic of food. Food that is good for you, slow food!!!!
I think one of the things we lack in most diets is fruits and veggies. Most of us are great at carbs and protein, but not so much on the other two.
Simple breaky.

1/2 cup of yogurt (whatever flavour you want)

then some berries (about a cup to a cup and 1/2 worth)
-raspberries
-strawberries
-blueberries
-blackberries-mandarin orange segments (if I had some left over)
-banana slices
-kiwi
-melon
- what ever fruit you enjoy

- few small pieces of crystallized ginger cut up
- 1/4 cup of granola that you like

Just add your fruit to a bowl and sprinkle with the ginger. Top with the yogurt and granola and enjoy!!!

Letting go...

Inhale ...

exhale...

inhale...

exhale ...

repeat.

Keep repeating.

I mentioned the other day that I had a bit of melt down and my friend help me turn it around. I realized a few things since then.

1) My PMA (positive mental attitude Hill and Stone) was shot. I had been running on NO sleep, poor nutrition since my NYC trip and when this happens, it is easy to loose your PMA.

2) I have to let it go. (again thanks Marissa and Minda for some guidance)

Let go of what you might ask?

Let go of someone ... of the competition with them or always trying to be above them or one up or the same, always trying to be in your face kind of behaviour, you get the picture. Yes not my normal behaviour at all. As I type this it feels good. I have forgiven myself and I am moving forward. I did not even realized I harbor this kind of attitude towards this person.

I have been hurt so many times by their words towards me I think I built this barrier, but in doing so I actually attract their behaviour I detest towards me! Why? Because its the kind I'm putting out. When your wishing someone karma to come get them, it only attracts that to you. Make sense? Maybe not to some, but its clear to me what I have to do.

I am letting go. Letting go of them and changing my attitude. It starts now. I can do this.

After all attitude is everything.

Here's to a new start.

Remember, attitude is everything and that is a life lesson we all need to keep doing, repeating and practicing!

attitude is everything

We keep saying that on here and we do believe it! AND yesterday during a meltdown moment for me (jenn) I realized it. It took my friend Marrissa to snap me out of it! (thanks girlfriend). Sometimes it is hard to not had down that path of frustration and anger. Things around you are making you upset, lack of sleep and whammo it all adds up.

Crazy, but it is life.

So what happened??? I was mad, very mad. I posted a few choice words on my personal twitter account and my dear friend messaged me right away. We chatted and she was able to help me put things into perspective.

Sometimes that is all we need. I trust her. She is part of my group of a few people that know a lot about me (as in the ups and downs) and I go to her. We've talked about having this close group of friends before. Yesterday I realized how important it is.

So today I'm back with a "yes" attitude (thanks Jeffrey) and I'm looking forward to the long weekend!!!

Ways to achieve simplicity

Below are just "some" ideas to bring simple into your life!!! Not always an easy task, but some of these points listed ARE easy. Try a few, try many! Let us know what you do and how it goes!!!

1. turn of the tv
2. read more (and not the newspaper)
3. be honest
4. go for a walk
5. work from home if it is an option
6. say "no" once in awhile when people ask you to join things
7. de-clutter your home/car/office
8. donate
9. cook at home instead of eating out
10. follow your passion (it just might lead you to an amazing career)
11. eat a balanced diet
12. yoga
13. dance
14. walk to work
15. buy yourself some fresh cut flowers
16. get a good nights sleep
17. drink green tea
18. love more
19. relax
    
20. enjoy the moment

These are just a FEW ideas.

Now its your turn!!!! What do you do to make things simple??

Simplicity

Simplicity is the ultimate in sophistication.

I bought a mug with that on and on the other side it says "life is good". That is my fav saying!!! I bought the mug because after my weekend in NYC After pondering about that statement of "simplicity is the ultimate in sophistication" I realized it can take on more then the material side of things.

There is no doubt in my mind that a simple life is a good life. Yet do we live simply? No not really. Most of us strive for a balanced life and most days we succeed, but we wouldn't always say it is simplified!We all have responsibilities and obligations, but sometimes we just take on too much. Always saying "yes" every time we are asked to do something or go some where. It doesn't matter if it is just one more sport for your child to play this season (yes I am guilty of that) or saying yes to another council/fun day at your child's school or your church, work, whatever. I would consider myself a juggler of many activities between myself, husband and two children, but in recent years I figured out the key of this "simplicity/balancing act"..... others can live with out my help. It is okay to say no and enjoy a simpler life. We don't have to be involved with everything.


Simplifying can also be done in our every day life. We don't need to buy everything our kids or ourselves want. We don't have to "jonsie" with the neighbours or friend/family. If we can, work from home, certainly can help simplify things! Of course this is not an option for everyone, but if you can do it! Go for it!

What are some ways you can live a simpler life style?


Tomorrow I will back with some other ideas to simplify your life!

Simplicity is the ultimate in sophistication!!!

Life is good....

But life is busy!!! Sorry for the absence in blogging! I've been busy getting ready to go away (NYC trip) and just got back and Shannon is pretty close to having her baby!!!

I will be back tonight or tomorrow with a blog post!

Till then, chin up and remember.... LIFE IS GOOD!

Happy Mother's Day

Just taking a moment to wish all the moms out there a very wonderful and happy Mother's Day!

Especially to my dear blog partner in crime Shannon. She will be a moma to three anytime!!!! :) And to my mother....thanks for teaching me that I can truly do and be anything. I love you for that mom! That attitude got lost for awhile, but its back!!! xo

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

being happy...

Learning to be happy right now where you are can be one of the hardest things. Some people are always looking ahead. Looking back. Looking anywhere but right now in the moment. I always says that it is called the present moment because it is a gift to us! A "present" for us to enjoy!

Are you happy with the "right now" in your life? It isn't always easy to relax and enjoy the moment but it something we can all do. Different ways to help.

1. Gratitude. Find something to be thankful right this second in your life! Focus on it! Those good happy feelings that the gratitude bring make it easier to be in the moment (and happy)

2. Smile. Nothing like a smile that change your in the moment feeling/attitude.

3. Do something for you. Read, shop, exercise. Do something YOU love. Put some music on and dance!!!

4. Spend time with a pet. It has been proven that pets enrich our lives. They make us happy, feel loved.

5. Get outside, even in the rain. It doesn't matter the weather, just go out and enjoy the rain, sun, wind :)

6. Develop your faith. It might seem crazy to some, but when you develop your faith, your happiness increases!

7. Take a bubble bath. Come on how doesn't even reading that make you happy???

8. Keep a journal. Mine is a gratitude journal where every day I write down a few things that I"m grateful for and make me happy!

9. Start a creative hobby. Scrapbooking, sewing, cooking, art. Something that allows you to express your joy and happiness.

10. Just embrace the moment and learn to be happy. Happiness is ultimately a choice.

What is your happiness today?

OPD - is it sucking the life out of you??

Other People's Drama

So I was reading a weekly E-zine that I subscribe to and this weeks article was about how much time we allow to be taken up by Other People's Drama (OPD). If we were to keep track and if we only spent 1 hour a day on OPD at the end of a year we would have spent a full 3 weeks - 24hrs a day watching, engaged and distracted by OPD.

Now I must admit I almost didn't get my son out the door to school on time today because I was reading the latest on Sandra Bullock. Crazy I know... I love the woman and knew her return to public life would be classy and I have been checking daily to see when that was going to happen.

Imagine almost forgetting to pack lunch for my kid, because I want to find out how someone I have never met is going to handle her public divorce. hmmmmm.

And I consider myself to be a person who has their celebrity watching in check, meaning I don't waste countless hours on the internet or watching TV shows. I tend to check a few websites, read the new articles and click off to more important issues in my life.

Now, let's look at the next level of OPD, people you know... how many people hear about drama in someone's life and each time they visit with someone new. Friend of a friend divorcing, neighbour's sister going into rehab, the business downtown is declaring bankruptcy.

More time...

Next Level of OPD our own family and friends, how often do we get unneccesarily caught up in the drama of our family and friends. In a recent situation in our family I had to take a step back and make a specific offer of support - what I was willing and able to do vs. daily, weekly hour or hours long phone calls rehashing information with no clear solutions being worked on. At this point in my life as much as I want to be supportive I just don't have the time and energy to talk endlessly on the phone and go no where but in cirlcles. I'm all for talking...but you can't be the only person to support someone.

Back to time being spent... the article focused mainly on celebrity watching, which I'm sure I spend at least 30 mins doing, but now if you add in the other 2 levels I talked about, do you see how much of YOUR time is being consumed?

Again, I believe support of family and friends is a responsibility, but take care to guard HOW that support is given and taken. Very rarely does a situation require carte blanche to take over all your time and energy.

The article continued to talk about the things you could be focusing on instead....YOU. If you dedicated 30 mins to an hour a day focussing on something that would be good for you or moving yourself forward, what results would that produce.

if you could spend 3 weeks, 24hours a day working on a business plan or idea or marketing plan, what kind of wonderful, creative and solid plans would come of it?????

hhmmmmm

A big one for alot of people...If you spent 30-60 mins a day walking, what would you feel like, look like and think like at the end of the year.

hmmmmmmm

If you spent 30-60 mins a day sorting, tossing and putting away the clutter in your basement, living room, bedroom. What would your house look like, feel like???

hmmmmmm

If you spent 30-60 mins a day dealing with bills, banking, budgeting, menu planning, grocery lists and investing information. What would your financial situaton look like, feel like.????

hmmmmmmm

If you spent 30-60 mins a day thinking, being, doing and showing your spouse how much you value them and your marriage. What would your marriage look like, feel like.

hmmmmmmm


Lots to think about. What do you think? What could you be spending 30 mins a day doing??

shannon

easy rice and chicken

Back to food!!! This recipe is so simple and I made extra rice use another day too!

Brown rice ( I did up enough for four servings to have lots of extra)

chicken strips - cooked

apple

few almonds

table spoon of shredded cheese ( just enough to taste with the apples)

chopped chives (or green onions)

balsamic vinegar (couple of splashes)

I cooked the rice earlier in the day when I had time so at supper time it was just put together and enjoy. There is no reason you couldn't cook the rice a day or two ahead and store in the fridge!

Cook the chicken. (I used quick strips from our local polutry place, so they have been pre cooked, just had to heat in the microwave)

Cut apple into thin slices

Combine all the ingredients!

(I had mine with cold rice)

Enjoy!

Quick, simple and tastes good!

Happy Earth Day

April 22nd is Earth Day!!!

What are you doing today???

Do you have two mins? Pop on over to HeartMath and check out this amazing video! Just click here!

Do something good for yourself and the earth today!

Happy Earth Day friends!jenn and shannsource

slow food part one

When I say slow food what comes to your mind? Lazy weekend bbq's? Roast beef dinners? The truth is the slow movements are so much more then that. It is about cooking from scratch in a simple way, using real ingredients and sitting around the table!

These days we are so "busy" on the run, no time to spend with family that we seem to eat in the fast lane. Processed foods or fast food that are easy and convenient! We are guilty of that in this house hold as well! I am not saying we are perfect!!! Just the other day we ran out of time so we grabbed a ready made frozen meal.

I always hear oh we don't have time, I don't like to cook, it is cheaper to eat this stuff rather then fresh.

Well might be true, but after studying nutrition and anatomy in my school course (and I've just start the tip of the ice burg so to speak in those courses) I have realized how important it is to have real food. Wholesome food. Part of what makes it healthy for us is the love that is put in it to prepare it for you and your family. (Yes that is my holistic nutrient course speaking there!)

Lets face the facts. We are all busy. Life is choices. You can make the effort to eat a bit better and more times around the table or not bother and cruise through the fast lane and take the consequences that will eventually come with that.

What are they?

Heart disease

High blood pressure

Cholesterol

Diabetes type II

Obesity

Slow Digestive systems (which lead to another entire set of issues)

Those are just a few of the things that our food intake effects.

Jamie Oliver is trying to lead a charge on this in the United States. You can here and check and sign (yes Canucks can now sign) on Jamie's Food Revolution! He is trying to get people to cook simple foods to keep them away from the processed food and fast food!

You can also check out some "Slow food movements" such as:

Toronto

Canada

International

check out those sites. They have some great ideas!

Over the next few days Shann and I will be back with some simple recipes that are fast and easy to make!

Happy Saturday and hope you take the time to cook this weekend!

jenn

Searching...

While searching for a blog topic I tweeted to a friend and say hey what should we chat about on here? Her tweet back, "do what you like because that makes you happy. When you are happy you are in balance"! Sound advice that umm I'm sure I've heard before! ;) Thanks friend!

So lets talk about happiness! Are you happy right now. Are you loving the moments, living in the moment. Learning to just enjoy?


Really happiness is so easy to find, funny thing is I had a friend tag me on my personal blog of what 10 things are making me happy right now!


10 things that make me happy...


1. my morning coffee
2. the sound of my kids getting along!
3. hockey. Yeah you guys know it!
4. traveling!!! NYC is less then a month a way for me!
5. Scrapbooking
6. reading... I love reading
7. date night
8. flowers (yes I still get friday flowers most weeks... you rock Tim.. love u)
9. my business and school
10. just spending time with Tim and the kids!


When you are happy or able to find a weee bit of happiness your life starts to go back in balance.

What are you happy about? Small things, big things, anything?

Tell us, what is making you happy right now!

Happy Thursday!
j

quote

Gratitude itself is a form of abundance!

- Jack Canfield

Opinions

Why do we let other people's opinions of us effect us so much?

I was faced with this question just the other night from some people I barely know. I know them through the great wide web and I tweeted (as in twitter) something on my personal page. I actually uploaded a picture and they had a RUDE comment that they sent and you know I let it get to me. Then one of them went on to attack me via tweeting on his own page that everyone seems to be a "self-hep" guru these days.

It hurt.

Crazy.

1) I know better then to let that get to me

2) I don't know these people in REAL LIFE

3) Why associate with people who obviously do not respect me?

4) They are really energy vampires, sucking me dry... move on.

After talking to a few friends about it I decided to shift my focus and read. It always helps shift my attitude, because it is all attitude!!! BUT it is hard when you feel someone is taking a personal punch at you. Learning to let go, walk away is really what we need to do.

That said yeah I'm still a little bit annoyed, but for the most part I am over it. These things happen, but when it did this time it really made me sit back and think.

Why do we get worked up when people do this? What is the right way to handle it? I decided that walking away, not commenting back and just "un-following them" on the twitter was enough. I do not need people like that in my life. I have fantastic friends both in real life and on the web. Including the readers of this blog!

Happy Monday and remember when someone has an opinion about you that you do not care for, just ignore them because I guarantee they are the minority!

Crunch Time

WOW! I can't believe how long it has been since I did a blog post. Thanks Jenn for picking ALL the slack around here.

We are getting down to it around here. My Maternity Leave replacement starts on MONDAY! can you believe it!....No me neither. I am very lucky to be able to work 2 full time weeks to train and 2 part time weeks to finish up a project involving moving files and setting up a new system. Then I will hopefully have a moment or two to myself around here to relax before this new family member arrives.

I have been madly washing and preparing baby clothes, baby blankets, baby diapers, baby's dresser, baby carseat, baby, baby, baby. I am so thankful to all my friends who have pitched in to track down gently used baby gear for me. (since I had already given all my stuff away)

I have my hospital bag packed and actually in the car. Possibly too much, but I am prepared.

Everyone is excited, I'm just getting anxious. you know...the whole birth process, it's not like i forgot or anything, but i'm trying to keep perspective.

Well it's a beautiful day and I am hanging laundry on the washline today...I just love the smell of laundry from the line.

Have a great day!
shann

dentist

I have this thing about the dentist. I dislike going there in a big way. However, today I decided to go with a different attitude and you know what? It wasn't that bad.

I've had a love/hate relationship with the dentist for years. You name it, I've had it done to my teeth. I remember getting braces in grade 4 and the rest of my friends would get them on and off all through my senior public days and I had them on till the END of grade 8. Then entered the world of retainers, both types, removable and permanent. FINALLY in 2007 I got the last retainer removed. Why? Because I switched to a new dentist! :)

Today when I went in I decided to do some affirmation work on the way in. I kept repeating to myself.

I am calm and this is easy.
I have perfect teeth.

You know what??? It wasn't that bad. She told me I had perfect teeth. Which I giggled at because I really don't floss and I could brush longer then I do!

Repeating to myself that it was okay and I am calm was the best thing I could do! Made the hour fly by and everything was fine.

blog changes

Just switching up the blog!

Affirmations

Those of you that know me fairly well know that I'm a big fan of affirmations. Some people think they are lame, but I think any time you can concentrate on good/positive especially on yourself it is never a bad thing.

I remember when I first heard of the following affirmation.

I love and approve of myself.

That one is from Louise Hay. She is truly an inspirational woman.

I could say I love, but could not remember the rest of it to save my life. Why? Probably because at the time I really did not approve of myself. It is funny how we spend so much time working on things yet working on ourselves is something we feel guilty about. I know as a Christian, I felt bad, it seem "selfish" to work on saying I love and approve of myself. BUT its not. We need to do these things.

A few other of my fav affirmations are:


I love and approve of myself.


I have plenty of time.


I am calm and safe.


Life is good. Life is good.


I actually have lots of different ones and I give some out to my clients when they need them, my children, my friends, who ever! So what do you do with the affirmation??? You repeat it. You just simply keep saying it. Eventually you will believe it! Strange things happen once we do love ourselves. Don't believe me? Try it.

In front of the mirror I want you to stand there and say "I love and approve of myself" start there. Do it at least 5 times to start. How do you feel? Awkward? Happy? Sad? Thinking about all your faults??? That is pretty typical when you first start. Keep going at it. Every day, add a few more reps. You will be surprised to see what happens!!!


If you like the idea of affirmations check out Louise's site. She posts a daily affirmation here.
My theory is one can never have too much positivity coming at them ;) Another spot to check for affirmations is on twitter. Especially on The Bold Life's page. This is my friend Tess. You can also check out her blog here.

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter weekend!

balancing

I think I'm finally finding some balance in my new life. By new I mean my newly added school life. I think going back to school is awesome! I recommend it to anyone, but beware that if you do it and still work, your a mom, wife, sports nut, whatever it requires some what of a balancing act!

I have to say that my husband (thanks tim) and kids have been great. I find my oldest child is starting to help more around the house. Now that could just be because he is money task oriented, but I don't care, I'll take it. Everyone has been allowing me my study time. Thanks. :)

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."

-Albert Einstein

I wrote that quote out and posted it near my study desk. It is a gentle reminder to me that it is okay that I am taking time at the course or to slow down. Enjoy life.

How are you balancing lately? Are you enjoying life?

dancing in the rain.

Click over HERE to watch a short movie by the Motivation in a Minute. It is called Dancing in the Rain and it is all about having GRATITUDE. It really echos what we say on here!

Its short, turn up your speakers and relax and enjoy.

Happy Friday friends!

Checking in your Word for 2010

Way back in January we challenged you to choose a word to represent this year for you. My word for 2010 is success!

Now the second part of that challenge was to constantly remind yourself of your word. Such as scrapbook it, print it on a sticky note and put it by your computer. I found a little metal key with the word "success" engraved on it. It sits near my computer. I also wrote my word on a few sticky notes and placed them around my work space and my study space and I am reading a few books on success.

My current one is by the greats Napoleon Hill and W. Clemment Stone! It is called, 'Success through a Positive Mental Attitude'. You can find it on line here.


Their theory is you either have PMA as in Positive Mental Attitude working for you or NMA which is Negative Mental Attitude. We have both all the time, it just depends which one you choose to use!

It all goes back to the theory that attitude is everything. The same thing we preach here too. I am only on chapter three so far but I'm loving the book. After I'm finished reading I will give a brief over view of it!

What have you been doing to remind yourself of your 2010 word?

Re-energize

Life has been going at an insane pace the past month. Since I got into school my life has been crazy trying to get back into that habit of studying, working, being a mom that helps at school, drives to hockey and clean a house. Yes I hit a wall.

We decided to go away over night. We got a hotel with a pool and water slide and its been awesome. Well the service here is much to be desired, but I wouldn't let that ruin our mini vacation. The picture above is from the place we stayed. It was at the Fairfield Inn and Suites, but honestly if I didn't have the kids I would never stay here again. HOWEVER they loved this pool and water slide and it was worth dealing with the brutal service for their enjoyment!

We are recharged and ready to go! It was a good mid week break!!!

Fabulous Fridays...

Today I have decided is a fabulous friday! Why? Why not. I feel more zen like today then I have all week. Maybe because I'm taking care of myself today which translates into a little more balance into my life. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Some things that are fabulous in my life right now....

• my job (I really do love it)
• my friends
  
• my family
• my school (LOVE it)
• the fact that field hockey starts in less then a month
• its the weekend!
  

What is fabulous in your life today?

Happy Friday!

Ch-ch-ch-changes....

Sorry that I have not been blogging lately. Life got unbalanced and out of control again! Hey this blog is about getting back in balance ;) good thing!

I started a new adventure. Back to school. I'm attending the Toronto School of Homeopathic Medicine to become a doctor of Homeopathic medicine! Yes, life is changing for me over the next four years. Yes, I'm nuts. Yes I'm still working as a reflexology practitioner too!

Life just needs to be rebalanced. Getting into the groove of studying again and reading along with working, hockey, volunteering, blogging and everything else! :) It is all good! It will be all good! I'm starting to get into that groove!

I'm really excited about what is to come in my life! For those of you that don't know what homeopathy is I have included a description below from the website from the Society of Homeopathics

About homeopathy:
Homeopathy is a system of medicine which is based on treating the individual with highly diluted substances given in mainly tablet form, which triggers the body’s natural system of healing. Based on their experience of their symptoms, a homeopath will match the most appropriate medicine to the patient.

It works on the principle of “like cures like” - that is, a substance that would cause symptoms in a healthy person is used to cure those same symptoms in illness. For example, one remedy which might be used in a person suffering from insomnia is coffea, a remedy made from coffee.
Scientifically it can not yet be explained precisely how homeopathy works, but new theories in quantum physics are going some way towards shedding light on the process. What we do know is that a carefully selected homeopathic remedy acts as a trigger to the body’s healing processes.

Homeopathy has been widely used throughout the world for more than 200 years. In 2000, the House of Lords’ Select Committee on Science & Technology cited homeopathy as one of the five Group One therapies, having “an individual diagnostic approach” along with osteopathy, chiropractic, herbal medicine and acupuncture.(1)

Homeopathy can be safely used alongside conventional medicines and will not interfere with the action of medicines prescribed by your doctor. Because homeopathic medicines (often referred to as remedies) are non-toxic, there are no side effects(2) and they are safe even for pregnant women and babies.

What do you believe?

It's so nice out this weekend, it finally feels like spring is one its way. I know we still have a few more weeks of snow and cold weather but it is a few days like this that keep us going, knowing that spring will come.

Feeling the sun on my face and going for a walk around the neighbourhood let my mind wonder of the possibilities this year brings. Maybe its the hormones, maybe its the course I have been taking "Design the Best 10 Years" of your life. But it has got me to thinking about how I got here and where I am going.

One of the exercises I have done is to think about childhood experiences and what I learned from them. Did I learn I can do anything? Did I learn because I was a girl I was only suitable to do certain things? Did some of my parents beliefs transfer to me? Some of my grandparents beliefs? Have I let those beliefs guide my decisions? Have I let some of those beliefs hold me back? It has been a very interesting process.

By all accounts I had a great childhood, nothing overly traumatic, lots of love, plenty of fun experiences, lots of lessons. But I was still surprised by some of the beliefs that popped up, some of the thoughts and realizations that became crystal clear "just like that".

Some of the beliefs that are probably responsible for decisions I have made and looked back on and said WHY did I take that path, it will not get me to where I want to go? Why is it taking me sooooo long to get to my destination?

When i took the time to really look at some of these memories and what beleifs they represent, it gave me the opportunity as an adult to look at them and decide if I still believe them.

Deciding that I DO NOT believe some of them anymore has really freed up my way of thinking, allowed me to explore more possibilities with an open mind, without limiting myself.

Here is an example I think alot of people can relate to.

One of my childhood memories involved the age old question, What do you want to be when you grow up? I wanted to work on cars just like my Dad. Almost each adult in my life would respond, "That 's not a job for you , you need to find a nice office job. Working on cars is dirty, not for girls"

Where am I now, working in a nice stable office job, never followed my passion of rebuilding and painting cars, sure I still appreciate a rebuilt car, and going to a car show, but my love for cars and working on them has been lost in years and years of a belief that cars are not for me. That I could not be successful or a "good girl" if I chose this path.

Even at 19 when I got an office job at a car shop, many of those same adults would ask me when I was getting out of that dirty shop and getting a real job?

See what I mean? We don't know any better to reject these beliefs when we are younger, but as we get older, having the opportunity to re-examine these beliefs and what place they have in my life or not has been an empowering experience.

What do you believe? about your life about yourself and where did it come from?

Shannon
:)

Support networks...

Do you have one?

I've been talking to a few friends lately that told me I should write about this. How everyone needs a support network. I don't mean just friends either. I mean a solid group of four to five people you can depend on, talk to, know they won't say a word about ANYTHING you tell them, won't judge you and will give you solid advice.

Gossip spreads fast when you think you're confiding in someone who really truly isn't part of your support network. Trust me I can speak from experience on that one and I have learned my lesson. The hard way.

I'm talking about that small team/friends that you trust everything with. It is the team of people who are truly there for you. My group is five people. My husband being one, my mom and three girlfriends. All of them I can turn to when I feel negative and they don't judge they just help me through it. I can vent to them, again no judgment just help. I completely appreciate having people who support me in every avenue of my life. My work, my studies, my personal life.

I know I can count on this group to help keep my attitude positive and see the big picture, when I'm struggling. I learn from them and I adore them. It is a two way street though. They give and I give back. It is not just me taking. I know that I am part of their support network too! I listen to them, help them just as they do for me!

That said, I know I am in others network of support and I'm fine with that. I love being able to make them feel better and help them.

Think about that group you have around you that does this for you. When you think of them some of the values that should come to mind are acceptance, trust, loyal, open minded, gratitude and giving.

The bottom line is these people ALWAYS make you feel good. Lift your spirits and listen to you and care about your success and happiness.

j

What's for LUNCH?

I'm hungry.....(no surprise there)

I forgot to pack my lunch (sitting in the fridge...again no surprise there)

Pita
Sub
Hamburger

What would you choose if you were 7 months pregnant???

Tough choices

It started last Thursday, just a tickle, I went to bed early only to be woken twice by my oldest who was "not feeling too good" after a couple of toilet breaks and some dry heaves on his part, a cold cloth and some fresh air. We tucked ourselves back into bed. In the light of day he was clamy and pale. I was stuffed up and coughing.

Is it possible we are sick again??? I just don't get it. On top of that we had the craziest weekend ever on the go.

I was supposed to be attending a Scrapbooking retreat 2 nights, 3 days of food, friends and crafting. Sleeping and eating whenever I want. I love this weekend since it is in the dead of winter and it is always just what I need to get through till spring. However, I knew this year would be cut short. My Gramma is turning 85 and this weekend was also her birthday. Top that with my in-laws anniversaries 19 for BIL and SIL and 47 ??for my hubby's parents. All very important occassions not to be missed.

Cut to Friday night, I have 2 large tables which I committed for use at this retreat. I had the afternoon off and decided around 2 that I was going to stay home that night but head out to the retreat in morning. Hubby and I dropped of the tables and I headed home for more soup and rest. Saturday morning came and went and I still did not feel great.

Tough choice time. I decided that going would cost me more energy then the benefit I would get from going away for my favorite event of the year. It was very disappointing, but I had to important events that required my presence and something had to give.

Sunday morning I did not feel much better, and sadly had to send my hubby and the girl to the party without me and my son, both of us curled up on the couch with our soup and extra vitamin c, coughing and with a box of kleenex.

I hate making tough choices like that because usually I can medicate and make it through, I am always the one you can count on to be there. However, this pregnancy and the colds and virus' that are going around are spanking my butt.

The boy is always more suseptable as his daily activities require more energy and leave him worn out on a regular basis. He is so good about taking his vitamins, eating well and I mean really well, the kid can't eat anymore vegetables or fruits in a day, he is so good about getting to bed on time and doing his exercises. He should be the healthiest kid ever, but his is also very active which wears him down over the course of the week.

We managed to eek our way off the couch for dinner on Sunday night, only because my in-laws live next door and my MIL made soup especially for us and the soup is MAGICAL , I swear!

The boy and I only stayed for an hour or so and headed back home for hot baths, new pjs and off to bed again.

If you are still with me, the point I need to make is that sometimes as much as these tough choices are hard and totally ruin your expectations, if you are willing to make them, they usually work out for the best.

Happily, the boy woke up with sparkling eyes and a skip in his step and me I'm still a little stuffed up but I definately feel better. Thankfully I had the forsight to take today off as a day of rest, little did I know it would be for a totally different reason.

If you have a story about a tough choice that really worked out for the best, please share!

Have a great day!
shann:)

Sunday quote

"The Land of Opportunity is an attitude."

~BJ Gallagher and Warren H. Schmidt

Again and again, what is the common thread to success? ATTITUDE!!!!!

If you have a crappy attitude, it is unlikely you will achieve your success you desire. This quote is so true. With the right attitude anything is possible. You can change your life around with the a good attitude.

How is your attitude today?

What is one thing you are doing right now to change it and/or improve it?

Do you have Gratitude?

Okay so after the other post I had some interesting emails from a few people that know me well. They were telling me that writing things down that they were grateful for was just not possible because they had NOTHING.

What? actually that is a more WTF??

Your kidding me right?

I emailed them back and the one started a conversation. This is the short of it.

me: You have a roof over your head?

them: Yes but I might loose it because I lost my job.

me: You still have one for now, you can get the job soon.

me: You woke up today. Fresh start.

them: Yes but I hated today

me: You have a loving family

them: yes but their disappointed in me

me: Have you asked them that? Do they say they love you.

them: Yes they do love me. Okay I have one thing.

me: You currently have the ability to apply to jobs, walk there, drive there or surf the internet.

them: Yes

me: The sun is out ;-) (yeah sneaky but heck I'm grateful for sun in the winter)

them: yes


This person then went on to list about 6 more things that was good in their life and before you knew it.... bingo... that person had found GRATITUDE.

You know what. I got an email shortly later saying that their mood had drastically improved and when it did they went only line and found 6 jobs to apply too!!

Seriously, how fantastic is that??? You change your view, change your ATTITUDE and change happens.

Sometimes it is really hard to find gratitude. The easy way is just to be negative and say forget about and the world is out to get me. If you can just find a few simple things, you will be amazed at how fast that snowballs into LOTS of reasons to be thankful!!!

Remember, life is good. It is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it!

jenn

Self doubt talk!

Ever hear that nagging voice in your head??? You know which one I'm talking about! We all have it, we've all heard it. Some of us listen too it too much! It goes like this...

• I can't do that.

• I won't be able to.

• I'm not smart enough.

• I'm not active enough.

• I don't have enough money.

• I'm not good enough.

• Murphy's Law will get me

• It's cancer, I know it, its my family.

• They don't like me.

• I have no courage.

• I'm not pretty enough.

• I'm doomed

You know that voice? We've all had it. We all get it. You can squish it out. It really is the only way to truly become a positive thinker/believer/doer.
When you hear that voice come into your head. Stop, think and say the opposite!

• I will/can do it!

• I will be able to...

• I am smart.

• I am active

• I have an ever increasing income

• I am good enough.

• I create my own luck and I am lucky.

• I have a healthy body, soul and mind.

• I am happy and have lots of friends.

• I am full of love and courage.

• I approve of myself.

• I am beautiful.

• I have a good life.

We bombarded our inner thoughts with so much negative self talk, we don't realize we are doing it. I always thought of myself as happy and positive, but when I stepped back and realized how much negative talk happened in my head, I could not believe it! Every time I caught myself talking negative I moved my bracelet I was wearing to the other wrist. You know the first time I did this I moved it 20 times. YES TWENTY!!! These days I don't wear one. If I catch myself verbalizing a negative thought or saying it in my head, I just stop and say "I approve of myself" and then repeat the negative statement I just said, but with the positive twist.
It seems like a lot of work, but in no time you will have less and less negative thoughts going through your mind.

Replace that negative thought with a positive affirmation!

YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!

Another easy way to replace the self doubt talk is to keep a gratitude journal. It doesn't have to be anything huge, but when your feeling full of self doubt. Write down 20 things your grateful for in your life and don't tell me you don't have 20 things. We all do. Even in our lowest moments we can still find things to be grateful for.

Remember ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!!!!!! We really are what we believe we are.

From the Planning Ahead File.

As you know I will be on maternity leave from my full time job, beginning in May. In December I decided that I needed a week to decompress after Christmas take stock and do some planning to prepare for my Maternity Leave. Can you believe that when I asked for this week off in January my work asked me if I could tell them how I was planning on using the rest of my vacation time before my Maternity leave. How was I planning on using 5 weeks vacation in less then 5 months????

My reply, good question that's kinda why I am taking the week off in January.

My point being that planning ahead is never wasted time.

I just thought I would share with you a few of the things you may want to consider thinking about and planning ahead for during these cold days of February. I find it really helps me get through this time of year when I can look ahead at the things we want to do and make a plan to have the money available for us to do them!

1. If you have a garden or would like to start one, have a look at the plants you would like to grow and the supplies you will need. I have already purchased my starting trays, soil and seeds, they are tucked away for a snowday or the beginning of March when the kids and I will decide and start planting our seeds for our garden this year.

2. Kids activities for the summer, vacation bible school, summer camp, day camp, summer sports. Yes? No? Cost? Schedule?

3. Summer Vacation - staying home? going away?? where??

4. Special Activities or Festivals

5. Budget - Starting putting $$ away in a separate account or cash in an envelope, so that the $$ is already there when the time comes

6. Work around the house or yard that you want to do this year, prune trees, re-plant flower beds, build a walkway or deck? It really helps to put weekends on the calendar for large projects, this way you have a target for having all the tools, supplies and possibly extra people available to help. (maybe even a BBQ to thank all those who helped)

These are just some of the things that I start to think about and plan for during the month of February.

What do you want to get done this summer??

shann
:)

Designing the Best 10 Years of Your Life - Shannon

Back at the beginning of January, Jenn and I both did a post reflecting on the past 10 years of our life. Jenn also mentioned that we were on board with something going on with @Darrenhardy over at Success Magazine . We are both participating in the Design the Best 10 Years of Your Life course.
I was of course a little behind in getting started due to being sick most of January. However, I signed up, printed off the worksheets and have since gotten started.

The first set of Worksheets are titled Review and you go through the last 10 years and the last year and list things that you are proud of, contributions you have made, etc. This was fairly easy because I had already given this some thought for my New Year's post. Although they do ask you to list 10 victories of the past 10 years and I found 10 difficult I had to sit with it and think about what I considered a victory.

Next we move on to Gratitude which again was fairly easy as I keep a gratitude journal and was able to list things beside the various questions. The one that gave me pause was list 3 times I have experienced LUCK in my life. That is a great question! I loved it.

Next on to Contemplation interesting 24 hours to live and answer a series of questions. End result for me. Hubby and I need to update our WILL!

Next was a tricky exercise that I have done before, Write your own obituary. Morbid I know!. But once I got started it was not as complicated as I thought it would be, it came to me as I started writing, how I hoped to be remembered.

So this is how far I am, at the beginning, next we are moving on to Core Values so I am interested to get started on that.

This series is an investment in time probably a good 30 -60 minutes per set of worksheets, maybe more for some people, but it feels good already to get this information down on paper.

Also by registering for this program (which is FREE) you receive extra messages from Darren Hardy as well as excerpt of interviews or seminars from world famous speakers.

Again you can sign up for this program here. If your at all interested in Designing the Best 10 Years of Your Life I strongly recommend you get started now. I don't think this will ever be offered as a FREE course again.

What is the one thing you for sure want to accomplish in the next 10 years?

Shannon:)

quote

...always forgive your enemies..nothing annoys them so much.

--- Oscar Wilde


So much can be said about that quote. How true is it though? Really, why bother to hold anger, resentment against someone else. They don't care. You are only hurting yourself. Easier said then done sometimes, but it really is the best way. Let it go. Besides when you can let it go and they do notice that (and they will notice) they will be annoyed! ;)


Who are you mad at?
Who do you dislike right now?

Breathe deeply...

Let it all out...

Move on.

Happy Wednesday.

Sweet Day Off

So as part of my New Year's resolution. I took a week off in January to make some decisions and plan out my time until this new person arrives sometime in May.

I decided that I was going to use my full 4weeks vacation before my maternity leave to give me time to do all those things that need to be done before a baby arrives. I also took off the days that I have doctors appointments so that I didn't have to feel rushed to get back to work or pissed off at my doctor because he was late and that would make me late for work.

So today is one of those days that I am off for the day. I have had most of the morning to myself to catch up on things around the house and on my computer (cleaning out email !!). I have completed the boys scholastic book order (ordering ahead for the spring birthdays), I have been able to do some reasearch on a few courses that I would like to take. AND just for fun I was home and was able to take a call from our insurance agent who let me know that my insurance was actually going down (by $18.00 a year) but I take the reduction at this point.

I was able to touch base with a few friends (which is one of my goals for 2010) to say hello and ask how they are doing.

This afternoon I am off for my pre-registration appointment at the Hospital or as I like to call it the Social Services Interogation. I willingly let my hubby bow out of this appointment as I find it a total waste of time and really really annoying. I understand they are trying to identify people who may require services so they can get them on caseloads before the need is at a crisis point. I just get annoying with the constant questions about my drug use, marital status, and support systems within the community. I still remember our first visit when I was pregnant with our first child. Our appointment was the day before we were getting married (a civil ceremony in our backyard) the social worker asked if we were married, I shot my husband a look that said now is not the time for the truth, and I turned smiled politely and said yes! I'll be damned if I was going to get into a new series of questions over one measly day. To this day my husband likes to bring up the time I lied to the "government". Whatever!

Then I have scheduled a massage for myself which I so desperately need since I feel like my hip joints just want to fall apart on me.

Then I still want to plot some budget numbers down for me and hubby to look at so we can make some decisions about what to do with our mortgage, debt repayment schedule and living expenses while we still have a few more months of full income left and before we do our taxes.

If you had a day off, what are the top three things you would do???

shann
:)

Sunday Preparation

Last week was a little hectic and boy did I feel it. I was tired every day and every night I fell into bed exhausted.

This week I decided to prepare a little better in hopes that this week won't be quite so taxing.

I made a menu plan and grocery list on Saturday and then went shopping today and spent two hours cooking to prepare tonights meal and two meals for this week and two meals for the freezer.
I made Hamburgers, fries and veggies
I made two sets of meatballs (to go with spagehtti)
I made two Lasagnas

So here is how my week should go:

Mondays - pick up the girl from the farm Family dinner night at the In-laws (god bless nonna)
Tuesday - Day off for appointments - Ham and Mashed Potatoes and veggies
Wednesday - Crazy Activity Night - Spagehtti and Meatballs, Garlic Bread and Spinach salad
Thursday - Frittata with leftovers from above
Friday - Lasagna, Garlic Bread and spinach salad
Saturday - We have a party to go to so we will order Pizza in for the kids and the babysitter

Saturday start planning all over again. whew!

Although I have been doing better at making a list and sticking to it I have been spending over $200.00 a week for the past three weeks. Now this is not too bad considering I have started buying diapers again, wanting to stock up a bit before the baby comes, however for our famly of 4.5 I really feel I should be able to do better.
I had a really small grocery list this week but somehow still managed to spend $222.00.

Goal for next week:
Menu plan
reduce grocery bill (I'm not even going to put a $$ amount to it just less than this week)
Meal Preparation on Sunday again

I'll let you know how I make out.

Shann
:)

Tips from Success Magazine

Shann and I both enjoy and read Success Magazine! It is a business magazine, but it is chalked full of positive attitude and living articles! One of the latest posts on their blog was the 12 Top Tips for 2009 and I thought I'd share a few!

You can check the full article here.

My favs are .....

8. Live in the moment. In the spring of 1994, Michael J. Fox began to accept Parkinson’s disease and live in and enjoy the moment. “Yesterday’s losses and tomorrow’s trials were no longer the only poles of my existence,” he writes in Lucky Man.

9. Make each day the very best. “There is no dress rehearsal. You can either lay in bed all day and feel sorry for yourself or you can get up every morning at 6 and try to make the best of the day.” —David Foster

11. Trust things will turn in your favor. “You may be going through great difficulties, and you’re tempted to think, I’m never going to get out of this. This is never going to change. I’m never going to win this situation. Stand strong. When negative thoughts come, reject them.” —Joel Osteen

Those are just three I like. Honestly LOVE the entire list. Its a good list to go look at!!! Remember attitude is everything! :) Living in the moment is not always easy to do but it is so essential for enjoying life! Too many people live life always looking forward or back. You need to look at the now and enjoy it! Making each day the best goes hand in hand with enjoying the moments! If you make every day the best day, you can't go wrong! The last one deals with attitude! If you think your doomed... you will be! If you think things will be okay and take the positive road, it likely will be that!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

jenn