New Life

I have not updated my blog in over a year.

Since April 2012 we have moved to a new state, gotten two puppies (one of which we lost), become pregnant and had a baby. We are also now in the process of buying our own house!

No wonder I haven't been as diligent in updating. So please accept my apologies as I will strive to update more.

We have lived in SC for over a year and LOVE it. It has been ranked as the most friendliest state in the United States! It is a smaller city than where Alan and I grew up but we LOVE it. It's nice being back in a college town, even though we will never be GameCocks! I enjoy seeing the town come alive with students as they come back to school and it makes me remember my college days.

We will be moving outside of the city to a smaller community and I cannot wait. The downtown reminds you of a one-horse town and has an old move theatre. I cannot wait to explore the cafe's and bookshop. It will be nice to have a small-town feel knowing we are next to a bigger city.

In October of last year we adopted a little puppy, George, who unfortunately died 6 weeks later. We then found a breeder of schnoodles and we got our little Ralphie in February.

In early October we learned we were pregnant! So I decided to have a 6 month old puppy and a newborn baby; what was I thinking!!!

Our handsome baby boy was born 12 days late at 6:13 pm on July 9, 2013.

That is my short and sweet recap since I have last blogged.

There will be more to come so stay tuned...

Simple

I have been thinking lately and the things in this life that are so simple are often the most complex. For instance, eating healthier. It is so simple to eat healthy until you start craving the potato chips or bread, then it becomes so hard to stay on track. Another example is Christianity. God Himself sent His Son to die on the cross for my sins. There is nothing that I can do to earn my way to Heaven, except to accept Jesus. It is so incredibly simple but at the same time is extremely complex.

I am learning not to be so quick to judge others as what may seem simple and easy to me could be complex and difficult to someone else.

Lack of Motivation

I am struggling. I am struggling with motivation for the following:

1) eating healthier
2) getting up early
3) exercising every day
4) getting my work done

I know I am not alone and even as I write this I feel confident there are other people out there who may have the same struggles.

I know part of the reason for my struggles is if I am not happy or even remotely satisfied in one area of my life, the others are affected.

Now that I have confessed I am going to list what I am going to do to make changes:

-you are what you eat is such a true statement. When I eat chips, mashed potatoes, and chocolates, I feel horrible. When I eat "clean" I feel so much better which then affects my attitude.

-when I rise early in the morning I am able to be so much more productive which boosts my mood and overall attitude

-when I rise early and exercise I feel better ALL the day long.

I have learned that what is so simple in this life are also some of the most complex items.

Sleep

Everyday I am more and more amazed at the human body and how intricate and delicate we really are from our systems to the emotions. No two people are built alike.  Just stop and think about it for one second. We breathe without thinking about it; out bodies let us know when they are tired, hungry, sad, etc.

I am amazed at how we have to have sleep and rest in order to continue with our lives. I keep reading in the Bible about sleep. In the Bible sleep is compared to being dead. For those of us who love sleep (me included) that is wrong. We should look forward to each and every day. I know I don't. Most days I would rather sleep than wake up and face the day. Why is this? I can come up with a number of excuses but that's not important here. Last night I received adequate sleep and rest so this morning, I feel great. I am ready to take today on, no matter what it brings. I only have this day. I am not promised tomorrow. If I remember this, then maybe just maybe I can be excited about this day and be ready to face whatever it is I am about to face for this day.

February 23, 2012

Today is February 23, 2012 and I am 29 years old. I feel like I am on a road to self-discovery and have been for awhile now. Here is a little bit of who and what I am:

I am a child, sister, wife, friend, neighbor, cousin, aunt, and so many things... as we travel through life, we realize who we are, what we believe, what we are, how to live:

- God is good, no matter what circumstance I find myself in or how I feel. He stays the same, even though I am constantly changing.

-I am strong in the strength of Christ. At times I may deceive myself and think I am strong. But I am coming to realize that I am not strong in my own strength.

- I am confident. Thanks to my parents, family, and friends, I am a very confident person in who I am. I am just now learning how to be confident in my talents, even though I am not quite sure what they are

- I am loyal and caring about my friends. I am by far an imperfect friend but I am learning and trying to put my friends first which I have not always done.

- I am a wife. Being a wife is a difficult task. I believe in tradition so while I am thankful I have a husband who can cook, I feel as if on most days I need to take care of the things around the house (laundry, cooking, etc). At times I get so frustrated because I feel I have to do everything...perfectly. Not that Alan is putting pressure on me but because I put additional pressure on myself.I just feel like I have to do and be everything. If you are reading this, then I will tell you I'm exhausted half the time!

-I am very frustrating at times. I know I frustrate myself because I cannot speak clearly and really say how I feel, what I want, what's on my mind and the times I do, I always second-guess myself. I guess I doubt myself. Right now, I'm doubting myself because of the mistakes I've made. Whether we like or not, our mistakes will define us. The people I was around when I made those mistakes will always remember me like that. To me, that is so frustrating. I know that if I can change, other people can change. We just don't realize it.

- I am impulsive, I go with my emotions; I'm emotional. If you know me, you know I am very emotional and impulsive. While sometimes it can be a good thing, I just want to "do" and not "think". I have had to stop and think but most of the time I just do. I want to live my life to the fullest and if you stop and smell the roses, then there are things you may miss out on.

- I am not talented. I cannot sing, act, or dance- believe me, I wish I was any and/or all these things. I am learning what my talents are.

I quit my job when I got married for many reasons and am now working with my parents. I had to take a paycut and there are times when I wonder if I did the right thing. When I have these moments, I look at my lovely apt and my handsome husband and know I made the right decision. For whatever reason, I look at this season in my life as "time-out" from corporate America. I turn 30 this year and I'm looking at my life and wondering what are the next 30 years going to look like? 

The one thing I am sure of is I will be ok. 

(2011)Year in Review

This has been a great year! I started 2011 as an engaged woman and am ending 2011 as a married woman. With being married, I also moved in with my husband and we have a lovely apartment I am quite fond of. I turned the last year of my 20's in November. I have learned no family is perfect, and that love is hard.

I am looking forward to 2012 as I strive to be fiscally responsible, a more disciplined person, and a big loser (as in the tv show). I have loved 2011 and am looking forward to 2012 and all the joys, sorrows, and love it will bring.

There is one additional item I must mention for 2011. I have learned more about myself and I am learning that I am ok. Christ came to save sinners, not perfect people. I am not perfect (by any means) but because of what Christ did, I am truly grateful. This does not mean I do not struggle, trust me, I struggle. But I know I am ok.

New Year

On Sunday, I turned the big 29. By the time I'm 30, I have created new goals for myself. I want to be fitter, financially free, thinking about starting a family, and looking for a house. That is a heck of a lot to accomplish in one to two years but if it is the Lord's Will, it will happen. I have to be willing to help myself by setting up some smaller goals each and every day.

I have a month until I am in a good friends' wedding. I am looking forward to it and hopefully dropping a few pounds before then. I just have to be a little more disciplined every day.

Losing weight and accomplishing anything in life, you must have goals. It's such a basic concept but yet I make it soo much harder than it has to be!