20 lbs Baby!

I have officially lost 20lbs! Slow and steady wins the race! I had a month of no weight loss, due to all sorts of sickness and mayhem, but I'm back on track and almost halfway there:) Yippee!

Clean Sweep-The attempt to Organize my Life

Okay. I can do this. deep breath. type. confess. I am an organized person stuck in the Twighlight Zone of disorganization! It seems that the more I try to organize lately=the more stuff that comes out=more disorganization. This book just came out: Does this clutter make my butt look fat?

Every attempt I am trying to make my life fuller and better is being thwarted by the clutter. This book has a great message. Basically, you get stuck in the chaos and cannot lose weight, do business or have productivity in your home. We are putting a stop to that today. Clean Sweep style! We've pulled out the tarps and are getting to business with the organization. Here are my before pics....

I will post my after pics soon!

P.S. After we did the Clean Sweep I got my ear infection, so the project got put on hold in a major way. I'll have pics for you this week!

Dreams and Motherhood

Have you ever had a dream that you thought got lost the moment you became a mother? Don't get me wrong, staring into those precious baby eyes for the first time is a dream for sure, but what about the ones we had before motherhood? As mothers, we have a unique struggle when it comes to balancing our lives. Children, Husband, Church, Community, Spiritual and Personal Needs are often at odds with eachother. None of us wants to be the mom who's children are always being cared for by someone else for our own selfish gain. But neither do we want to be the mom who is so into her children that husband, community and personal needs are pushed to the wayside. I personally believe that it is vitally important for us to actively pursue our dreams, and to constantly grow as well rounded individuals. It is important for many reasons, including for our childrens' sake. Our children will benefit from seeing us enriching our lives and the lives of others with our actions. They will see our efforts to love them, those around us and ourselves and eventually apply them to their own lives. What do we want for our own children? I want to see them go at life with gusto, with passion, and with selflessness. But selflessness doesn't mean total abandoning of your own personal gifts. God has gifted each one of us with unique talents and missions, and to ignore those callings would be to deny our Creator. The Proverbs 31 woman was active in her family, in her community, in her church and at her business. I want to be that woman.

I have always loved to write. From the time I was very young, I dreamed of living in New York, writing for a living. Carefree and creative. As I grew up(which I am still doing, by the way) I refined my dreams to include an amazing man by my side who would love my dreams and my passion, and children who would add zeal and purpose. My dreams have come true...mostly. I have an amazing man who believes in me before I even know what me is all about. And I have 4 beautiful children who have added such a depth to my life, that I cannot possibly imagine being half of the person I am without even one of their smiles. But I have more dreams to explore. I want to write. I want to share my passion with others to encourage and uplift. I am so excited, because I may get an opportunity of a lifetime to pursue my goals and dreams. Proverbs 31 Ministries is putting on an event called She Speaks. It is a conference for women speakers, writers and bloggers to learn and be encouraged. There will be publishers and speakers from every field to share their knowledge and stories with us. It is so close by, I cannot miss the opportunity! It is June 20-22, and there is a scholarship being offered here. The chance to attend this conference is one I hope I can have!

15 pounds

Update on weight loss, 15 lbs so far! Yipee! This is especially exciting considering the weather here lately. I walk outside for my exercise, and it's been FREEZING here for 2 solid weeks, so walking has fallen to the wayside a bit. Next week is supposed to be warmer, 40s instead of 10s in the morning, so back on the trail I'll go! Plus, my diet plan just came out with Strawberry shakes and Peanut Butter Choclate Chip Meal Bars, SO GOOD!

10.2 pounds and counting!

Down 10.2 pounds, and counting down! Don't worry, this isn't from January 1st...a bit unhealthy! I started officially right before Thanksgiving, and cheated plenty during the holidays, so I'm excited it didn't set me back too much. Hopefully when Spring comes in May I'll have lost the next 40! Still walking 4 miles per day, and sometimes extra when we walk into town to check the mail, visit the library, and go to the store. Thanks for all the encouragement!

New Year Resolutions

So, I have to admit, I am not a big New Year's Resolution person. I have probably only actually stayed up to watch a ball drop a total of 4 times ever. So what is it about a new year that makes us want to improve ourselves? Stores start stocking up exercise equipment and organizational items for those of us who have vowed to lose weight and clean our houses! We should be constantly trying to improve ourselves, physically, emotionally, spiritually and socially. So I decided this year I would have some resolutions. Maybe I've always been worried I'd just break them anyways, so why make them in the first place? So for the first time, I figure I'll post them up for all to see, so you guys can check in on me and so how I am doing with them! Here goes:

• Volunteer or perform an act of service once a month


• Write an article once a month


• Get the family healthy and green


• Lose 50 pounds


• Start a garden


• Start recycling


• Walk everywhere I can, as often as I can


• Pursue business ideas

You may have noticed the loftiest goal in there by far, and the one that scares me the most is the lose 50 pounds one. That's a tough one to put out there, but since I am 100% determined to get down to business on it, there it is! There are many other things that this new year is bringing. Frank is still "new" at work, and learning the ins and outs of a comission only job, Toby is starting 2nd grade, Zane is sooo close to being a full fledged reader, Sophia is starting speech therapy in January, and Jude is almost 2! I have also started a new business, selling health and wellness supplements as an independent distributor for Shaklee. This will be a full year, and as the Cardinales do it, I am sure it will be fun! Wishing health and happiness, and all of God's blessings to you in 2008!