I am officially free of soda for 3 weeks! I know it doesn't seem like much, but it is huge for me. I am a Diet Coke addict. Now, I haven't totally given up caffiene (I do work 3rd shift), but I have cut down on it tremendously. I mostly only drink water with the occassional iced tea or Crystal Lite. So, step one on my way to weight loss. (I hope.)
Today I am starting my 30 in 30. I know I am late, but there have been several issues hindering my start date. But, today I am ready and focused. (It helped trying on clothes from last summer. Or should I say, attempting to try them on.) Nothing like a kick in the pants.
My friend Sara has convinced me to train for a triathalon for next year. Nathan says he will join me as will 2 of my best friends, Kinzi and Callie. Now to just find one to compete in!
I hope you all have a safe and happy Memorial weekend.
A glimpse into the life of a harried mother of 4 who is making the transition from dispatcher to officer. Drama at work to drama at home, with life's little emergencies squeezed in between.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Changes...They are a coming!
I don't want to get into it all right now, but I've got some big life changes coming up. If I'm not around, or I seem moody, just please know it isn't anything personal.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
30 in 30
I got this idea from another blog I read. I wish I could take credit, but I cannot. I've talked quite a bit about my battle with bulge. I'm a little obsessive. Sorry. But I've come to the realization that the reason I'm not losing is two-fold. #1 I LOVE food! #2 I HATE excercise! Bad combination. So, I have set a goal for myself. I'll need help attaining this goal, but I know I have to do it. I've decided for the next 30 days, I will do 30 minutes of physical activity each day. I'm not going to limit myself to what I might do, because I know the boredom will set in. So, it might be a walk (I don't run unless being chased), a bike ride or just a work-out video. I'm hoping by the end of 30 days I will no longer loathe exercising and it will just be a formed habit. So, wish me luck and PLEASE hold me accountable!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Sharing
I thought I'd share a picture of why my life is blessed. Not only has God given me 3 wonderful (most of the time) children to watch over daily, He has also gifted me with 2 special nephews. What I wouldn't do for any of these kids...
Middle Bit: 5 Years
Big Bit: 8 1/2 Years
Baby C: 3 months
P: 2 Years
Little Bit: 3 1/2 Years
Middle Bit: 5 Years
Big Bit: 8 1/2 Years
Baby C: 3 months
P: 2 Years
Little Bit: 3 1/2 Years
Mother's Day
It's hard to believe that I have been blessed with 8 Mother's Days. Some of them have been full of joy and others have been sad, but no matter the emotion of the day I know that my cup truly runneth over. My 3 bits make each day interesting and exciting. Viewing the world through their eyes is always an experience. On this day I also remember 2 other special bits of my life who watch over us every day from Heaven. I know that one day I will also hear their special voices calling me Mom.
I have been blessed with an amazing mom. She may tend to be over the top and totally dramatic, but I couldn't love her more or have more admiration for her.
My heart and life have been blessed to meet so many wonderful moms the last few years. It makes my heart swell when I think of some of the great friends I have made and how this variety of women has completed my life.
A good friend and fellow mom sent this to me and I tucked it away knowing one day I'd share it. I think today is the perfect day. So thank you Kim and happy FIRST Mother's day to you and to all the wonderful mommies out there.
Invisible Mother......
>
> It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.
>
> Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
>
> Obviously, not.
>
> No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.
>
> I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
>
> Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What > number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
>
> I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!
>
> One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England ..
>
> Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.
>
> I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.
>
> I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'
>
> It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe ..
>
> I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:
>
> 'To My Dear Friend, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
>
> In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
>
> No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
>
> These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
>
> They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
>
> The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
>
> A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees'
>
> I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.
>
> It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
>
> At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.
>
> It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
>
> I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
>
> The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
>
> When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him
> to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're going to love it there.'
>
> As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right.
>
> And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
>
> Great Job, MOM!
>
> Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough as it sometimes does.
>
>
> We never know what our finished products will turn out to be because of our perseverance.
I have been blessed with an amazing mom. She may tend to be over the top and totally dramatic, but I couldn't love her more or have more admiration for her.
My heart and life have been blessed to meet so many wonderful moms the last few years. It makes my heart swell when I think of some of the great friends I have made and how this variety of women has completed my life.
A good friend and fellow mom sent this to me and I tucked it away knowing one day I'd share it. I think today is the perfect day. So thank you Kim and happy FIRST Mother's day to you and to all the wonderful mommies out there.
Invisible Mother......
>
> It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.
>
> Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
>
> Obviously, not.
>
> No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.
>
> I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
>
> Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What > number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
>
> I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!
>
> One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England ..
>
> Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.
>
> I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.
>
> I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'
>
> It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe ..
>
> I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:
>
> 'To My Dear Friend, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
>
> In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
>
> No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
>
> These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
>
> They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
>
> The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
>
> A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees'
>
> I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.
>
> It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
>
> At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.
>
> It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
>
> I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
>
> The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
>
> When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him
> to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're going to love it there.'
>
> As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right.
>
> And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
>
> Great Job, MOM!
>
> Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough as it sometimes does.
>
>
> We never know what our finished products will turn out to be because of our perseverance.
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