Resolutions

Live A Healthy Lifestyle
Blah, blah, blah.  I know this is on everyone's list every January.  But for me, it's no longer just about losing weight and being focused on a number.  We lived a pretty healthy lifestyle last year until August, when Scottie passed away.  We were looking and feeling better than we had in a decade thanks to our healthy changes, but after August, we slowly rolled back down hill.  And once Halloween came, we gave up completely.  By December we felt sick, tired and unfocused.  It's proof to me that all those little choices we make throughout the day add up to a big deal = how we feel.  And I want to feel good, rested, energized and driven. 

So I'm back to my healthy ways that I started a year ago:
Eating the right foods and the right amounts of them.
Limiting foods that make me feel sluggish and give me headaches {sugars and breads}.
Eating as organic and un-processed as possible.
Cooking from scratch using real food {what a concept!}
Eat an apple a day.
Having treats in moderation {duh, I'm a foodie!}
Yoga three times a week {I love Mandy Ingber's Yogalosophy} & trying to be more active in general.
Plenty of sleep because I do not function well when I'm not rested!
As always, drinking lots of water {we've been a no pop family for 3 years now!}
Drinking apple cider vinegar a few times a week {1tbsp acv mixed with 8 oz water}.
Gargling salt water daily.
Taking vitamins.
And my new one I'm adding this year is green tea.  I'm going to try to drink at least one glass a day because green tea has antioxidants and is supposed to have numerous health benefits.

Be Creative and Productive
I've realized something about myself: I spend a lot of time finding great creative ideas and projects to try, mainly thanks to Pinterest {best thing ever}!  However, I rarely take the time to do any of them.  So I'm going to make a real effort to tap into my creative side and actually get things done. 

On my creative to do list:
Learn to sew {second attempt}
Learn to crochet {second attempt}
Revamp old stuff {spray paint is my best friend}
Makeover our house.  I've been working on this one a while.  We've lived here 5 years and my decorating tastes have changed.  I'm slowly trying to change the look in the house and make our spaces what we need them to be.  Projects in the works right now are turning our bonus room into an adorable playroom, turning our formal dining room into an office and making our utility room more functional. {All on a tight budget of course!}
Continue turning our backyard into our personal playground.  I'd love to add more landscaping, rocks, etc.  Maybe get a chiminea eventually.

Get Outdoors and Have Adventures
I hope 2012 is the year we finally take adventures.  We all want so badly to spend weekends camping, hiking and exploring Oklahoma.  And the weekends we aren't out having adventures, I want to be home.  I've decided we all hate running around.  We're just home bodies.  Don't get me wrong, we love going to arts festivals or bowling or any special outing like that.  We're just tired of running around just for the sake of finding something to do.  I think we all enjoy our time more at home, working on projects or playing outside.

Make More Time for Date Nights & Friends
You know when you hang out with friends and you leave thinking "that was fun, we should do it more often"?  Well, I really want to do it more often.  I hope to have lots of cookouts and nights out with friends this year.

Allen and I are pretty good about making time for date nights.  And we're pretty lucky that our Mom's are aways happy to watch the kids for us.  I hope 2012 brings many fun date nights for us, whether it's concerts or just a quiet dinner where we can actually have an un-interrupted conversation...something that's getting harder and harder with two young, happy and energetic kids!

And my last resolution is a biggie for me...

Let Go of Fear
I've been struggling for a while now with fear.  Fear of something bad happening.  But mainly fears over our health and us getting sick.  It seems I have to hit rock bottom on something in order to resolve it.  I have been gradually getting worse over the last year and hit my rock bottom this winter.  In my usual fashion, I've analyzed it all and I think I've figured out why I am trying so hard to control whether or not we get sick.  Even though my Dad died 4 1/2 years ago, this ugly scar of mine has moved to the surface.  I'm afraid of not being able to be healed.  The old me just assumed that if you got sick, doctors would fix you.  But I saw my Dad take his last breath and I could not help him.  And now 4 1/2 years later, seeing that has me paralyzed with fear of us getting sick and dying.  I know it sounds crazy, but it's amazing how such a tragic event can shape your thinking.  It hasn't helped matters that in 2011 both my babies had hospital visits for two very scary things.  And then losing Scottie so unexpectedly in August.  It's no wonder my fear of tragedy has gone off the grid.

But from this day forward, I am making a huge effort to let go of my fears.  None of it is in my hands and I'm just wasting my energy trying to control it.  It is time that I truly trust that God will take care of us.  That doesn't mean we won't get sick or experience tragedy.  But it means that God will guide us through it.  I need to trust his plan for me and I need to trust his timing.  Ironically, our first church sermon of the new year had a lot to do with letting go of fear.  Easier said than done, but I'm ready to take this leap of faith.

Yogalosophy

I have had a love/hate relationship with exercise for years now.  I know I need to do it for my health and to set a good example for my kids.  I know I'll feel better after the fact.  I know all the common sense facts about the benefits of exercise.  Yet, I've hated everything I've tried.  And the bottom line is, if I don't enjoy something, I'm not going to do it long term. 

I've had elliptical phases.  Running on a machine like a monkey, watching music videos on my phone.  Checking the clock every 30 seconds to see if my time is up yet.  I have tried pretending to enjoy it.  But I hate it. 

I've had walking phases.  I've walked up and down my hilly road over and over.  But having two kids, my only options of doing this are either the crack of dawn before the kids are up and Allen needs to leave for work.  Or at the end of they day.  Well, I'm not a morning person and do not enjoy walking in the dark.  And I have zero energy left at the end of the day so why the heck would I want to leave my family to walk up and down a road.  I've also tried taking the kids along with me.  While this is a fun adventure for the family, it is definitely not a calorie burning workout for this Momma.

I had a Jillian Michaels workout phase.  That girl is crazy.  Enough said.

I've had workout dvd phases.  I like this concept because I can do it any time of day, with or without kids.  But it requires gear.  The dvd I have has me dragging kitchen chairs into the living room, laying on couch cushions in the floor, and using weights.  There's lots of get up, lay down, go faster, repeat.  It's a little annoying after a while. 

But I recently read an article on Yoga and decided to try it.  I decided to go with Mandy Ingber's Yogalosophy.  She's Jennifer Aniston's yoga girl so I figured, if she works for Jennifer, she's gotta work for me.  I liked the idea of Yogalosophy because it combines yoga poses with toning exercises.

Let me just tell you how much I LOVE it.  I mean really, I enjoy it!  I've been doing it for a week and I think I'm actually craving it.  Here's why I love it so much:

* It fits into my life.  It's 35 minutes.  That's it.  I don't need gear or much space.  I do it in my bedroom in a small space between the bed and the dresser.  How simple is that?  I can do it any time of day.  I can do it and then go somewhere because I don't get disgustingly sweaty.  I can turn a cartoon on for the kids and run in the bedroom and do my thing before they even realize I was missing.  {They are very clingy these days.  It is very heart warming that they love me so much that they want to be with me every second of the day.  But at the same time, it's getting very challenging to get anything done.}

* It feels good!  I actually enjoy the feeling.  Now there's a first.  The toning exercises are grueling, but as soon as you do one, you switch to a yoga pose, which feels great.  I feel extremely relaxed when my 35 minutes are over.

* I'm a deep thinker and there's a "deepness" to yoga.   The idea of connecting to your inner self and to a higher power.  It's my 35 minutes of the day to connect. 

* I totally get Mandy Ingber's personality.  She's funny and real and not annoying at all. 

* I already feel stronger.  Seriously, after one week I feel stronger.  I love the idea of getting strong just by using your own body.  No weights, no gear, no bs.  Just balancing and holding your body in a certain position.  It's awesome.