Deleted

I realized that I just don't have the time right now to keep up with my "Documenting Domesticity" photo blog, so I deleted it. I did import the few posts with photos into this blog, so they're not lost. The other posts, where I described what I was trying to do and explained my various challenges and revisions on my idea, have been deleted since they no longer pertain to anything. As I have the time (and interest and ability) to keep up with the weekly photo challenges at Photo Friday, I'll post them here. Those challenges just aren't meshing with my other goals for this year.

That said, I still intend to be more active with my photography this year. I've taken several food photos the last few weeks, as well as pictures to document my 52-week home organization challenge. Those images will be sprinkled throughout this blog and my recipe blog (Ashley's Cafe), which I fully intend to keep up.

I am considering moving my blog from Blogger/Blogspot to WordPress, but I haven't made a decision on that just yet. It's under consideration as I check out what WordPress has to offer vs. what Blogger offers. I initially wasn't interested in WordPress at all, but since a friend of mine blogs there and I've been visiting it frequently, I'm curious to see how it could change the look and feel of my own blogs. My main reason for moving there would be to better optimize my currently-under-construction jewelry business blog (Ashley's Bead Box).

The possible move to WordPress isn't high on my list of priorities right now, but if I decide to switch, I'll give plenty of notice to you, my faithful reader.

Reading Through the Bible Chronologically

Ten years ago, I read through the Bible in a year. It was hard work, but I did it. This year I'm trying to read through the Bible chronologically. I'm looking forward to seeing where things fit together.

There are 13 of us in a private Facebook group who are reading through chronologically together - keeping each other accountable and sharing our thoughts. I started posting my various thoughts on the readings, but they (my thoughts) were getting a little too lengthy - in my opinion. I don't like cluttering the board like that, so I'm going to blog my thoughts here. You can skip it if you like; I promise not to be offended. :o) Of course, I'll still post my thoughts to the board, but they'll be abridged.

My plan is for one post per book, which means I'll be adding to each post every few days or so. For each chapter, I'll use the heading my Bible uses. (I'm using the NET Bible.) As I read each day, I jot down my ideas and questions; then I read my Bible's study notes and notes from the Bible Knowledge Commentary for further clarification. Some chapters speak to me more than others, so my posting will reflect that.

If you have other insights or want to read along with me, please share that with me!

I Like to Move It!

It's Wednesday! And I'm blogging along with The Vintage Apple on things that are Oh, How Pinteresting! This week I'm featuring health and fitness, in the interest of helping me with one of my goals for this year.

Top of my list: Zumba!

Source: youtube.com via Ashley on Pinterest

I'm not the most coordinated person, but I decided to give Zumba a fair shot last fall - and I love it! Our group started back up last Wednesday night. After a two-month hiatus, I was thrilled to be back!

Since I don't go to the gym (for various reasons), I try to do some working out at home. I can't always get out for a walk or a bike ride or a swim, but these are some things that keep me moving, stretching, and toning.

If you have a stability ball:

This site has 8 great exercises.

Source: fitnessmagazine.com via Ashley on Pinterest

And here's a link to Alternating Toe Touches.

Source: experiencelifemag.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Arm flab is something I'm always wanting to get rid of - especially since I love to go sleeveless in the summer.

Source: skinnyinspirations.tumblr.com via Ashley on Pinterest

And if I ever when I get into a better home routine of daily exercise, this looks like a good plan. There's a different focus area for each weekday!

Source: colormepreppy.tumblr.com via Ashley on Pinterest

As for healthier snacking (which is my biggest issue!), here are two great lists I need to refer to often:

Source: thehealthychange.tumblr.com via Ashley on Pinterest

and

Source: greatist.com via Ashley on Pinterest

What great health and fitness tips have you found on Pinterest?

2012 Goals

Okay, I've had some time to think about what I want to accomplish this year...

1. Health & Fitness
The last two years I've lost about 10 pounds. The difference was early last year, I put most of it back on before I took it off again. This year, I don't want to do that. Instead, I want to continue on my current path of weight loss and lose about 10 more pounds. My ultimate goal is to lose 15 pounds, though 20 would be perfect.

I started taking a Zumba class last fall, and I love it! It starts back up this Wednesday evening, and I plan to get right back in the swing of things. When Zumba's not going on, I need to find something else to keep me moving.

2. Personal Organization
I decided about a month ago that 2012 would be my year to get organized. I think the main thing that got me started thinking that way was Pinterest - and the many organizational tools I found there. My first project in that area is making a wipe-off calendar to match my bedroom. Since that's where most of my "work" takes place, I thought it would be nice to have a color-coordinated calendar to hang permanently. I'm also making a coordinating wipe-off to-do list to hang next to it.

Also in this arena, I'd like to get back to my menu planning. (And in conjunction with my health and fitness goals, plan healthier meals. I really need to work more vegetables into our meals...) Every month, I've been printing off a calendar and writing in our meals a week or so at a time. I'd like to make another wipe-off calendar or something similar (I've seen several on Pinterest...) for the kitchen for just that purpose.

I'd also like to get my house-cleaning schedule more organized. For a while I was doing great with following along with The Flylady. I like her weekly cleaning zones, but I wanted to do some other things on my own. And, through Pinterest again, I've found several websites to help with that.

3. Photography
Yes, photography is here again, in spite of my complete failure in that area last year. I can't help it. It's something that I love to do. I want to get back to participating in the Photo Friday challenges and I want to keep up in my photo blog that I started last year (I think) and only posted 3 or 4 things to... I want to use the photographic technique books I've gotten for Christmas the last few years.

I also need to finish organizing the 15+ months worth of photos that I've downloaded from my various cameras and get them edited, renamed, and filed away into our iPhoto program. Maybe that should be one of the first things on my new to-do list for January...

4. Reading
I don't want to set a number of books to read this year. If I happen to come across something that's good but slow, I don't want to feel like I need to rush through it to reach my goal. That happened last year with George Bush's Decision Points.

I also don't want to set some parameter like reading one classic each month. I'm not always in the mood for a classic, and if one classic takes me a long time (like Jane Austen's Emma), I don't want to feel like I have to jump into another one just to keep up.

What I do want to do this year is read some of the books I have here at home. Usually, once I buy a book, I put it on my shelf and forget about it until some much later date. If I check something out from the library, I'm more likely to read it because I have a limited time to keep it. Another reason I want to do this it to clear off some of my shelf space. I have some books that I haven't yet read, and I don't know if they're worth keeping or not because I haven't read them. What I'd rather do is read some good ones and pass them on to friends to read and pass on to someone else. Then there are those that aren't worth passing on..., but might sell in a garage sale. :o)

5. Jewelry Business
For the last two years, I've been slow about getting my jewelry business off the ground. I've read several books about how to turn a hobby into a business or how to start your own small business, but a lot of what's there doesn't really apply to what I want to do. Several weeks ago, I was browsing the jewelry book shelves at Half-Price Books and came across one that had lots of promise, though: How to Start a Home-Based Jewelry Business by Maire Loughran. I started reading it from the start a few weeks ago and I'm planning to work through the step-by-step process to get things going. Part of that involves setting up a schedule for working on the jewelry pieces, which has now been delegated to Saturdays because of all the "normal" busyness. Maybe if I get myself organized, I can work in a few other times each week.

6. Bible Study
I started this year reading the Bible through chronologically with a group on Facebook. Each day, we can post our thoughts, discoveries, questions, encouragement, etc. My new friend Julie Black put out a request for an accountability partner to help her on her journey through the Bible in a year, and several of her friends said they'd like to do it with her. She started a private group, and there are now close to 15 of us participating. I've always wanted to read it chronologically, and I think this is a great way to go about it!

7. Blogging
Here's another thing I say every year: I want to blog more. Sometimes I do, then other times I don't. It's not a matter of having time to do it. It's a matter of making the time to do it. I've realized just how much time I waste online and I'm trying to use that time more wisely to get other things done (personal organization, jewelry business,...). Blogging would fill some of that gap... And there's also my recipe blog and my photo blog that I want to keep up with... (Everything's related, right?)

Well, I think that's enough to work on this year. It's the same as always, but always a little different, you know? We'll see...

2011 Report Card

Last year, I set 6 goals for myself for 2011. Halfway through the year, things weren't looking good. At all. If I were to give myself a grade, I'd have to give myself nearly straight F's. Well, maybe that's being a little too hard on myself, but when I look at the fact that there were only 6 things, well... Instead of dwelling on that, though, let's see how I ended the year.

Goal 1: Bible Study - A
In June, I gave myself a D because I had basically quit having any kind of personal study. I got myself in gear after that and got back to the "Journey Through the Old Testament" that our church had put out at the beginning of 2010. At the end of 2011, I was finishing up the study on a passage from Jonah - which left just 7 passages to study to complete the booklet.

Goal 2: Weight Loss - B
In June, I had given myself a C. Over the 2010 holiday season, I had gotten back into the bad habit of mindless snacking. By the summer, I had gained most of the weight I had lost the previous year! But I had realized it and had gotten back to doing something to get it off. Since then, I've been more mindful of what I eat and I joined a Zumba group at church. I love it! It's helping get me in shape and now I'm 2 pounds less than where I was at this time last year - 10 pounds less that I was at my highest point during the summer. Now if I can just keep it up throughout this year and not slide back again...

Goal 3: Cooking - B
In June, I had given myself an A because I had learned to make some things from scratch - and without relying on recipes. That was great, but I never did take a cooking class at Central Market. Nor did I cook anything from my Now Eat This! cookbook by Rocco DiSpirito. At one point, I was considering signing up for a series of six international cooking classes through Le Cordon Bleu in Dallas, but I've since changed my mind. There are other things I'd rather do with my money...

Goal 4: Photography - F
Wow. As much as I love to take pictures, I hate formatting and filing them. I let it pile up (again) and it got to be too overwhelming. Still, I need to get it done. Yes, 15 months of photos need to be managed now... The monstrosity of all that kept me from participating in Photo Friday and from keeping up with my Project 52. It turned out to be more like Project 3.

Goal 5: Reading - C
My goal was to read 36 books, including one classic a month. The classics just weren't very interesting to me anymore, and reading them slowed me down. I quit after three of them and went back to reading just what I wanted to read. I did read some great books, but several of them were slower reads and cut into my time quite a bit. Then other busyness got in my way. I ended up reading about 25 books this year - slightly more than half of what I read last year.

Goal 6: Blogging - D
Again, busyness got in the way. And Facebook. And then Pinterest. I lost interesting in reading Real Simple magazine each month because a lot of what they promote is either not so simple or it's too expensive to worry with. Then I got behind in reading my issues of Cooking Light. There's also the fact that many of their recipes are complicated and/or have ingredients that aren't very common. I love to cook, but I want easy. I don't want to spend all my time in the kitchen cooking and cleaning up. I want to watch some TV and knit or crochet in the evenings.

Once again, this is showing where my priorities lie. They're on track, but I would like to get these things I love to do a little more balanced in my life. Maybe I can in 2012.

Slowing Down a Bit

I've gotten to the point where I really don't like to go places much. Maybe it's the traffic or the crowds. Maybe it's the price of gas. Maybe it's getting older. Maybe it's that our "busy days" are so long and so busy, they absolutely wear me out. Maybe it's a combination of some or all of it. I don't know why really, but I know I'm ready to slow down our weekly trips into Mesquite/Garland.

I checked the Forney library yesterday to see if it's comparable to our favorite library in Garland. It's not. Not by any means. There are two rows of books for elementary/junior high students: one row of non-fiction and one row of fiction. Still, I talked with the librarian about the possibility of getting a library card, but since we don't live inside the Forney school district, we'd have to drive out to our district, get a card from there, then get a TEX-Share Card so we can get things from other libraries in other places.

I was thinking about skipping it altogether, but Billy came up with a good idea. Get the cards through Crandall, then check the elementary school around the corner from us and see if we could use their library from time to time. It's worth a try! They'd have all the books we'd need, and they're literally right around the corner from us. I think we'll look into that next week. If they say yes, great. If they say no, that's fine, too. We don't always make it to the library each week anyway.

The other issue deals with grocery shopping. I love shopping at ALDI. They have great products (mostly) at low prices - lower than Wal-Mart, even. I can usually get out of there with a week's worth of groceries for less than $70. Sometimes I go a little over that; more often I go under it. The things I'm not so wild about there are their white bread (stale from day 1) and their produce. Some of it's okay, but most of it is packaged in bulk (which I won't use in time) or looks a little . . . old. I end up having to stop by Wal-Mart or Brookshire's to pick up bread, apples, lettuce, bell pepper, etc. A lot of what I buy at ALDI keeps for a long time. Billy made another recommendation: Go to ALDI once every two or three weeks and get the things I need that will keep. The other weeks, go to the nearby Wal-Mart or Brookshire's to get the fresher stuff. Problem solved.

Now I just need to work out a schedule of when we're going where. We went earlier this week to the library, but we didn't stay long. It was mostly to drop off some books and pick up a few others. Now that we'll be going less often, I'll need to check the boys' school topics in advance and make sure to be prepared for two weeks at a time instead of one. I guess we'll start our limited in-town time after next week.

I'll also have to get back to more detailed menu planning so I can buy what I need at ALDI and only have to get the produce and more frequent staples on our "off" weeks from somewhere else.

So there's my plan to slow down a bit. I hope to get the details worked out over the next few weeks so that I can actually implement it soon.

Update: I realized this morning (Thursday, Dec. 15) that a lot of it probably has to do with the fact that there's nowhere I really want to go. If I wanted to go somewhere, I'd feel a lot different about it.

Culinary School?

I've always enjoyed cooking, and I've toyed with the idea of going to culinary school for a few years. I never really looked into it until recently...

What got me started on the idea again is the book I'm currently reading: The Sharper the Knife, the Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn. I'm just halfway through the book, but the things she's had to do as a student at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris have led me to rethink my dream.

Curious, I checked out the website for Le Cordon Bleu in Dallas and read through the course descriptions for Culinary Arts. The first two "Foundations" courses seem okay: terminology and organization, stocks and sauces, safe food handling, slicing and dicing, following recipes, soups, and cooking with vegetables, grains, and eggs. All that I can handle.

It's the third "Foundations" class that gets me squeamish: butchery and pork products (as in making sausage, etc.). That, I don't think I could handle. I'm not one for filleting fish or beheading chickens and rabbits, and I prefer to buy my meats already prepared, already ready for my seasoning and cooking.

There's a second option: Baking and Pastry Arts. That would be fun, but it's not what I'd like to focus on. Sweets are fine, but I prefer savory foods.

Tuition is another hang-up. While I don't expect it to be cheap, I don't want to spend $17,000+ on certification in something that I'm not sure I want to do professionally. This is more along the lines of something I'd like to learn for my own personal enjoyment. You know, like taking fun cooking classes.

As I was perusing the website, I found just the thing that interests me: MasterChef Non-Professional Cooking Classes. They offer a range of classes from basic culinary skills (including some of the lesser-desired classes like butchery), basic baking skills, seasonal/holiday cooking, and - my favorite - international cuisine! You can opt to take only a class or two that you like, for $99 each, or you can sign up for a whole series of 6 classes for just $479. (You can also take a year of 24 classes - all six classes in each of the four categories - for $1,499, but I'm not interested in that.)

The series that most interests me is "International Cuisine 101". The six classes feature foods from France, the Mediterranean, Italy, Asia, Spain (tapas), and Latin America. This is exactly what I'm looking for! The only catch is the class on French cooking is this Saturday - which is too soon for me. The other classes don't pick back up until January, then run one each month (except for May) until June. The classes are on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., so they wouldn't interfere with Billy's work or classes. Most Saturdays, we're home not doing much of anything. That might also be an incentive for my sister Lindsay, who also loves cooking and taking cooking classes, to come for those weekends and join me.

I'd love to know if the next French cooking class will be scheduled for July 2012. If so, that might be perfect timing for what I want to do. I'd be able to save up some money from birthday and Christmas to pay for it. I might even ask my family for money instead of gifts to help pay for it. That would be an excellent gift!

I'll do a little more research and see if I can find out about that French cooking class. I think it'd be my least favorite of the six, but I'd rather pay $479 and include it than pay $500 and take the classes individually.

Update: I take it back. I would like to try the French cuisine class. I just remembered the savory crepes from La Madeleine, as well as their potato gallete, seasoned, I think, with herbs de Provence. They're wonderful, and I would love to learn to make something similar! Bring on the French!

Mid-Year Review

On January 1 of this year, I blogged about my goals for 2011. As I was thinking about this the other day, I knew I was falling short in most areas, if not all of them. I need to refresh my memory not only with what my goals for the year are but also why they were important to me at one time...

1. Bible Study - D
Sad to say, I've really dropped off here. I was doing well with my own personal study, but I had to change my focus in order to write some articles for a monthly (now bi-monthly, if at all...) e-magazine that a friend of mine was putting out. I'd be so intensely studying for the article that once I finished writing it, I'd "take a break". A lengthy break. A 3-week-long break before starting work on the next one. And now, since I haven't had to turn in an article since late May and I don't know when my next deadline will be, the break has turned into over a month now. I need to return to what I was studying before the magazine articles took my time...

2. Weight Loss - C
Well, the Christmas holidays set me off and I'm just now getting back to losing weight again. Of course, the weight I'm losing now is the 7 pounds I put back on... But it's going well right now. I've lost 5 pounds of that over the last month. I've been exercising more regularly. First it was through 20-minute segments of strength training and cardio, based in part on Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred. More recently it's been through swimming laps at the pool a few times each week. I'm noticing a difference! That's encouraging! Now if I can keep it up, I'm on a good track to lose some more. I'm dreading the plateau I always seem to hit, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve this time...

3. Cooking - A
While I haven't tried many recipes yet from Cooking Light or Now Eat This!, I have been more adventurous in my cooking. I chalk that up to a wonderful book called How to Cook Without a Book. Yes, I know. Funny title. But it's such a great book! Basically, you learn cooking techniques. Then you should be able to cook a wealth of recipes without having to rely on a recipe. I now make my own pasta sauce for a lot less than I was paying for jarred sauce - which I always tweaked anyway! I can make a frittata and I know how to vary ingredients based on what I want or what I have. (Of course, since those are baked, they'll be on our fall/winter rotation. I don't like to turn the oven on if I can help it during the spring/summer...) I've also learned about various pasta dishes that are quick, easy, and flavorful - and I can make it any way I like. Bring on the experimentation! Soon I hope to try a pasta/spinach/ricotta dish, maybe with some Italian sausage mixed in for protein and spice. I also want to try my hand at spanakopita (Greek phyllo pies with spinach and feta). I love what I learned and I'm excited to be able to use it! Yes, I'll still use some cookbooks and actual recipes for things, but I'm no longer afraid to jump out on my own and try something new.

4. Photography - F
I have done soooo little with this. I think it's mainly because I'm overwhelmed with photos on my computer that need to be edited, renamed, and filed into iPhoto. I won't say how many months worth, but I will admit that this is the worst I've let it pile up. I thought summer would be a great time to get it under control again, but it seems we're busier now than we were during the school year. Actually, it's just that when I think about it, I'm busy with something else. When I'm not busy and have some time to work on it, I don't think about it. I need to make a list.

5. Reading - C
Earlier this year, my reading started slow. I think a lot of that had to do with reading classics. While they aren't bad, and it's something I wanted to do, they are definitely a slower read for me. And the fact that I spent a lot of time watching six seasons of Grey's Anatomy on Netflix instead of reading makes for slower-growing book lists. I gave up on reading one classic a month in April, I believe. I had started rereading Lord of the Flies, a favorite from high school, but it just wasn't a great as I remembered. Then I got Decision Points from the library and needed to hurry with it because it was a popular book. I had been 11th in line for it when I placed a hold on it. It was a good book, but it took me a while to get through it. When I had the chance to get back to LOTF, I just wasn't interested anymore. Plus I have too many other library books on my shelf that aren't classics that I need to get read - that I want to read more than classics right now. I'll go back to my old habit of picking up a classic every once in a while... This month, I did read four books, though. I think my total for the year is currently 14...? I've got a long way to go to reach my goal of 36, which I still want to achieve. I can do it!

6. Blogging - D
January was good. February and following months, not so much. I still put some blame on Facebook. I've often come up with statuses for FB that would be better suited for a blog post, but I just shorten them and go on with life. I watched - and enjoyed - Biggest Loser and American Idol this year, but I never felt the need to blog about it. I did write about some articles from my current magazine subscriptions, but not many. And I've let my magazine perusing slide, too. I'm a few months back. I've decided to let Real Simple lapse when renewal comes up. I like it, but it's not one I use much. Cooking Light, on the other hand, has some really useful tips throughout, as well as some great-sounding recipes. Of course, I need to try those recipes instead of just looking at them... My 6-month gift subscription from Lindsay runs out with the August issue, but I decided it's one I want to keep around for at least another year. Last week I renewed it. Maybe I'll pick up blogging about some of that again. As for blogging about life, there's a lot I could do right now. But I feel the need to hold back sometimes. Maybe I'll blog and save the entries as drafts for posting a little later when there's some distance between me and the situations... (I tend to not share a lot of things with a lot of people... That's a big admittance right there.)

So, what does this mid-year review show me? Of the things I thought important at the beginning of the year, only some have held true. I need to decide which of these goals are most important and focus on them. The others can hold off a little longer. Priorities change for various reasons, and right now Bible study and health need to take a higher place in my life. And reading has just always been a pleasure I can't let go of. Writing is an important outlet for me that I've let slide. I need it, and I need to get back to it. I'll work in photography when I can, but I won't worry if I don't do all the things with it that I'd like to.

Lost: Inspiration

One of my goals for this year was to blog more about life in general instead of playing the meme game so often. I did a little of that, but I seem to have fallen off that horse in March or April. I don't know why. Life didn't get any busier than normal. I think I just lost my inspiration.

I've also dropped off quite a bit in my reading. By this time last year, I had read more than 20 books. I'm currently reading book #9. It was Lord of the Flies, my classic for April. But I got George W. Bush's Decision Points from the waiting list at the library, so I had to focus on it. I put LOTF away, lost interest, and returned it to the library. I also lost my interest in reading one classic a month. I just want to read what strikes my fancy, when it strikes my fancy. I'm still reading Decision Points. It's a slower read for me than most books - non-fiction usually is - but I'm really enjoying it. I'm also finding it very timely, what with Osama bin Laden's recent death.

Another area I've lost inspiration: photography. I WANT to take pictures, but I just haven't taken the time to do it. What I want to photograph is hard with the boys in tow. I haven't participated in the weekly Photo Friday meme in months. I haven't gotten back to my Project 52 since I rethought my angle two months ago. I found my new angle, but I haven't done anything since. I've also basically quit participating in a Facebook photography challenge group.

Maybe I just need to finish out this school year with the boys. We have just over a week left. Maybe then I can find some new inspiration.

Cooking Light: Healthy Habit 2: Exercise 3 Times a Week

I was in a good exercise routine - last summer. Then we left for vacation in September and I had a hard time getting back to that routine. I did a little here and there, then the busyness of the holidays happened and I quit. In January, I had planned to start again. Sometimes plans don't work out. This was entirely my fault, though. I just...didn't.

I had read earlier in my Cooking Light magazine (Jan/Feb double issue) what February's challenge was, and I think I subconsciously put off exercising until this month. Now the first week of February has gone by and I only exercised once. Yesterday. For about 5 minutes. The goal is 30 minutes, 3 times a week.

That really shouldn't be hard for me. Oh, I find all sorts of excuses:
* I prefer to exercise in the morning before the boys get up.
* It's too cold/hot/wet/windy outside.
* I just ate something.
* I have too many chores to do right now.
* I'm tired.
* I forgot.
And the list could go on and on...

But here's how I CAN work some exercise into my day without much "effort" on my part:
* I take lots of "breaks" throughout the day. Some are to jump on Facebook for a few minutes. Others are to watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. Why not take two 15-minute breaks to do some punches, crunches, squats, arm raises, jogging in place, jumping jacks, etc.?
* Exercise while I watch Grey's Anatomy, or whatever else happens to be on. I find just plain exercise to be boring, but if I have something else to occupy my mind, the time should pass quickly.
* Once the weather starts to warm up - and in the meantime, on those rare warm days that come out of nowhere - I need to get outside with the boys and ride bikes with them, or at least walk while they ride. We haven't made our way around the lake in many months.

I miss the evening walks I started taking last spring. Even when I went by myself, I had a good time. I'd put on my iPod and pick up the pace. Most days, I'd walk for 25-30 minutes. And I'd almost always vary my route. When the temperature started creeping up, I'd walk a little later in the evenings. Once summer hit in its full force, I quit. It was too miserable out there, even when it was almost dark. I had intended to start back in the fall, but habits die and are hard to get going again. I walked once or twice.

I could tell a difference in my body when I was getting regular exercise, and it felt great! I can tell a difference in my body now. Not so great.

So, I'm accepting this challenge. I will exercise three times this week - because the five minutes of punches I did yesterday don't really count. Tonight I'll have my first opportunity, if I don't let my pride get in the way. Caleb's basketball coach is opening the last half of this last practice up for parents to play against the team. I'm horrible at basketball. I don't know the rules, and I know the parents who will be playing will be so much better than me. Still, if I don't worry about getting out there and looking like a fool in front of everyone, I'll get in about half an hour of good exercise that will seem like only minutes. And it'll probably be a lot of fun, too. I'm sure it'll be great fodder for another blog post!

Cooking Light: Healthy Habit 1: Veggie Up

For this year, Cooking Light is focusing on one healthy habit each month. January's challenge is to add 3 servings of vegetables (and fruits) each day.

This will indeed be a challenge for me, but one I'm up for. In my weekly menu planning, I typically focus on the main dish and scrounge up what sides I can find. Sometimes I'm good about buying frozen broccoli or fresh spinach or apples, but you can only eat so much of that day after day. I need to liven things up a bit!

Last night we had vegetable soup, and we'll finish the leftovers tomorrow night. Other than that, we haven't had many vegetables - and no fruit. We ran out of apples right before Christmas; then the boys finished off the clementines shortly after. I've forgotten to buy more fruit the last few times I've been to the grocery store, but today I stopped by Brookshire's and bought two 5-lb. bags of grapefruit that were on sale.

This month, I will start the new habit of intentionally planning - and buying - vegetables for side dishes for our evening meals. I will also buy a variety of fruit for the boys and me to have with our lunches. It's harder this time of year when not much is fresh, but canned will work for now. I'll just make sure the fruit is in its own juice, not heavy syrup. And since tomorrow is grocery day, I better get to making my menu!

2011 Goals

It's that time again. Time to set my goals for the upcoming year. After doing fairly well with last year's goals, I'm feeling pretty confident about this year!

1. Bible Study
I want to be more consistent in my personal Bible study. Typically I only do it if I get up "in time" in the morning - except for days I wash my hair because that takes longer... And except for the summer when I tend to sleep in... Lame excuses. I don't need to let my schedule (or lack of one at times...) dictate the time I spend in God's Word.

2. Weight Loss
Last year I succeeded in losing 10 pounds - and keeping it off. It was a slow process, but at least I didn't yo-yo through it all. It was fairly consistent. This year I'd like to lose 10 more pounds, with an ultimate goal of 20 (though that may take two years instead of one). Last year I managed to grasp the concept of portion control - and actually start doing it. This year I want to continue with that and add in some form of regular exercise, not sporadic like I did last year. I have several options: walking, stabiility ball, Jillian DVD, bicycling, sports with the boys, swimming, etc. I just need to stick with something.

3. Cooking
Last year I learned to make baklava, and I made my first real cheesecake. This year I'd like to learn to make a few new things. I want to take at least one class at Central Market. I'd like to learn to make savory crepes like the ones at La Madeleine. I have two other things that fall within this category:
*trying new recipes from the Cooking Light magazine that Lindsay got me a subscription to, and
*modifying my favorite recipes to make them lower in fat and calories. For this I plan to use the help of Rocco DiSpirito and his Now Eat This! cookbook.

4. Photography
I failed miserably at my photography goals last year. I still want to sell some images through a stock photo site, and I still want to decorate my home with pictures Billy and I have taken. I want to be more timely in downloading pictures from my cameras and getting through the processes to get them filed away in iPhoto. (I currently have 8 months worth to work on right now. That daunting task keeps scaring me away, and the more I put it off, the worse it gets.) This year I have some accountability, though. My friend Debra, a professional photographer, created a Facebook page to challenge her professional and hobbyist photographer friends to hone their skills through either a 365 or 52 project. I've opted for one photo a week and have set up a blog for just that (Project 52). As guidebooks/textbooks, I'll be using my new photography book, 50 Photo Projects by Lee Frost, as well as two others by Tom Ang: Digital Photography Masterclass and How to Photograph Absolutely Everthing. I also plan to get back into the Photo Friday meme - and maybe the weekly topics for it will coincide with my "assignments" from my books...

5. Reading
I read 44 books last year! This year I'd like to read at least 36 (3 a month), and I want to read 12 classics. I didn't read many in high school, and I don't want to miss out on some potentially great literature.

6. Blogging
I was much better about blogging last year. Well, in the number of posts at least. Content was okay, but I relied heavily on memes for that instead of real life. This year I want to blog more about life in general. I will continue to blog about the books I read, but I also want to blog about things I find in my Real Simple and Cooking Light magazines. I might even blog about American Idol and Biggest Loser.

I think that's probably enough for this year. Most of my list centers around things I already do; I just need to do them better.

2010 Report Card

In keeping with tradition, I set goals for myself again for this year. They didn't seem as lofty as last year's goals, but after those epic failures, I thought I needed to go a little easier on myself. Let's see how I did this year...

1. Lose some weight!
Seems I set this every year. It's something I really want to do; I just like food too much to be very successful... Two areas I need to work on: moving more and portion control.

Success! I didn't lose as much as I would've liked, but I did lose 10 pounds this year! Woohoo!

2. Get my jewelry business off the ground.
This includes settling on a business name (still not too fond of "Ashley's Bead Box"), getting a jewelry blog up and running, and having a few shows. Valentine's Day is practically right around the corner. It's the next big jewelry sales event, but as far as promoting my jewelry goes, I'm not prepared for that just yet. I'm setting a goal of having a show in time for Mother's Day.

Mediocre. Well, I kept "Ashley's Bead Box" because I couldn't come up with anything else I liked. I didn't get my jewelry blog going or host any jewelry shows, but I did sell some pieces. And I learned wire wrapping, which was a big accomplishment - and something I'd like to learn more about.

3. Blog more.
I'm not talking about the jewelry blog here, but this personal blog of mine. I averaged two posts a month last year. I hate that! I love to write! I blame my lack of time/interest on Facebook. :o) I'm already doing better than last year!

Success! I had more than 3 times as many posts this year as I did last year. Many of them were weekly menus, and several were answering memes, but there were a few posts that were all my own. I enjoy blogging and I want to keep it up regularly.

4. I'd like to do something more with my photography.
I realize this statement is really open, but so is my goal with it. Yes, I'd like to participate more in the weekly Photo Friday challenges - but I want to do more. I bought Tom Ang's book Digital Photography Masterclass to help me learn more about my camera and how to take better pictures. Next on my list is his book How to Photograph Absolutely Everything.

I'd also like to sell some of my photographs. I've been looking into stock photography websites to see what that entails. Amy, a friend of mine from high school, sparked my interest in this. She listed some of her photos just last year and has already sold one.

Another thing I'd like to do here and there is to take local road trips for the sole purpose of photographing what's there. Billy and I want to make a photo wall in our entry, full of photos we've taken. Since our house has earth tones throughout, we want to have the pictures done in sepia tones, matted in off-white, and framed in dark brown. I have an idea of the types of photos I want to showcase, but we need to get out and take them!

Last year I started my Project 365, but it stalled after just a few weeks - if that. I'd like to have some sort of photoblog, but I don't know to what extent. Maybe another time, I'll try the project again. I love the idea of it, but it's a lot harder than I thought it would be. Especially for a stay-at-home mom who only gets out a few times a week.

Fail! I didn't do much at all with my photography this year. I took tons of pictures, but I haven't done anything other than download them off my cameras since March. Yes, that's going to be one major project next year.

5. I'd like to make some decision about my future as a Pampered Chef consultant.
I've found other things that I'd rather do than set up kitchen shows and worry about keeping my consultant status. Holding the shows is fun, but calling people to host them is the part I don't like. I'm not a phone person, and once I got out of the habit of making my nightly business calls, it's been nearly impossible to get back into doing it. And I'm not the go-getter type to recruit people to join my team.

Success! I made the decision to get out of Pampered Chef, and it was extremely freeing!

Overall, it was a good year, goal-wise. I've been thinking about my goals for 2011 and am looking forward to sharing them soon.

Flashback Friday: Show Me the Money!

Linda (Mocha with Linda) wants to know about money in this week's Flashback Friday.

How was money handled in your family when you were growing up? Were your parents savers or spenders? What are examples of ways they saved or splurged? Who paid the bills? What, if anything, did they teach you about money? Did you have an allowance? Whether received as an allowance or through other means such as gifts, when you had your "own" money, were there restrictions on how you spent it? Were you paid for making certain grades on your report card? Did your parents tithe or give money to the church on a regular basis? What about other charities? How old were you when you got your first checking account or credit card? How has the way you were raised impacted your handling of financial issues today?

Ooooh, the "M" word! Thankfully I had good role models growing up. My parents were both savers, though Mama spent more than Daddy. My sisters and I never lacked for necessities, and we frequently got new things like clothing, games, dolls, books, etc., but big ticket items like game systems, bicycles, etc., were saved for special occasions like birthdays or Christmas.

Daddy paid the bills, handed out the allowance, etc. I remember when I was in college, he would give me a certain amount of money per week. That included money for eating out, for gas, etc. When it was gone, it was gone. He even went so far as to figure how many miles per gallon my car averaged, how many miles it was to and from school, and any errand mileage I might use. I also had extra money from babysitting that I'd use for special things - a new outfit, an extra night out with friends, and so on.

Mama bought most of my clothes, but there were limits on what I could get. If I wanted the current "in" pair of blue jeans, Mama would pay what a "regular" pair would cost and it was up to me to pay for the rest. I don't think I ever owned a pair of the hottest brand because I didn't want to give up my money for that. I survived just fine wearing the less popular brands of clothing. Thankfully I wasn't a popularity hound, or I might've spent my high school years broke.

I'm pretty sure my parents tithed regularly. When I was little, Daddy would hand me a little money to put in the offering plate as it was passed. I don't know what charities my parents gave to other than the usual church programs: the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Now Mama sponsors a child or two through Compassion International, and she helps work their booth at concerts and other events. I think she also participates in Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child.

One thing that stands out to me about Daddy is his Christmas list. He always puts something practical on there like socks or a belt, but he also wants us to spend the money we would normally spend on him and buy something for someone in need - making a donation to the Salvation Army, buying something for someone on an angel tree, sending a soldier a care package, etc. All he wants is a card with a picture of what we gave. I have yet to remember to do something like that. I get so caught up in the busy-ness of the season that I forget. It shames me. Since I'm thinking about it right now, I should go ahead and put that under his name on my list for this year.

I was in college when I got my first checking account. Daddy helped me set it up, taught me how to keep a check register, and showed me how to balance my checkbook when my statement came each month. It wasn't that I was stupid about those matters, but he wanted to be sure I knew how to keep myself out of financial difficulties. I'm happy to say he never had to bail me out of anything. He also gave me a lot of cautious advice when I got my first credit card later on. Of course I waited until I had a job other than weekend or summer babysitting. I knew I needed some steady income for that privilege.

I'd like to say that I've been as cautious as Daddy taught me to be. Unfortunately I do have debt, but it's manageable and my credit score is high. I'd like to be debt-free one day, but it'll take a while. I read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover a few years ago, and I really liked his approach. We've done a few things to start reducing our debt, but not to Dave's extremes.

I'm in the process of getting my own jewelry business set up. When I resigned from The Pampered Chef in January, I had a few hundred dollars in my business account. I turned that into a jewelry business account and have used what's in there for my supplies, replenishing it with money I've made on sales. I'm trying not to use my credit card for anything, but if I need to, I'll transfer money from my business account to our personal account to cover it. It's worked well so far, and I plan to keep it that way.

In my personal life, I'm pretty frugal. I save (and save and save) my birthday money until I find something I absolutely must have, and then I only spend a little of it. I'm very choosy. I started clipping coupons and shopping sales, saving a little money that way. Planning a weekly menu helps me save, too, since I plan the next week according to the current week's sales and only buy what's on my list. Okay, sometimes I buy something that's not on my list, but that's infrequent. When ALDI opened, I started shopping there, just a little at first until we could see what their quality is compared to their savings. It only took a few weeks before I was doing the bulk of my weekly grocery shopping there instead of Wal-Mart. The savings are incredible! I'm still brand loyal on a few things, so I do still shop Wal-Mart (and Brookshire's when they have exceptional sales - like this week!).

I also clip restaurant coupons. When we want to eat out, we look through my coupons before making a decision. One great coupon we used recently was from Genghis Grill, where two kids eat free for each paid adult meal. I have one more of those coupons, which expires on Oct. 31, and we "earned" a free bowl on our next visit. Since we'll all order water to drink, the only thing we'll be paying for is one adult meal!

Another way we're saving money is by switching our cell phone plans. Our AT&T contracts for our iPhones recently ran out and we were going month-to-month. After a little research, my husband found a better deal with a different carrier. We still have our iPhones, but now they're more like iPod Touch gadgets with all the Internet capability - as long as there's a wireless connection. That way I can still play my games, use my grocery list program and calendar, take quick pictures, etc., but we're paying almost $100 less for service on two less fancy phones. Every little bit helps!

Time for a Change

I liked my old page design, but I don't know how long I've had it. When I logged onto my Blogger account this morning, there was a large banner proclaiming some new template designs. After looking through them, I thought, Why not? So here is my new design. I'm really into reds, oranges, and golds right now - comforting warm tones.

That's the color scheme through my house, too. I've moved away from blues and greens (though I still have some warmer greens). Years ago, I had an Italian villa/grape theme in my kitchen and my other colors were primarily green with some blues and plums mixed in. After we relocated to Dallas, I kept some of the Italian theme and everything else was just a mish-mash of things. Since we were renting, I didn't want to put any money into redecorating. Why do that when you don't know what the next place will be like?

he kitchen in the last place we rented (for 3 years) had terra cotta/burnt orange counters. At first I hated it, but it started growing on me. After a short time, I started liking the warmer tones. When time came for me to get a new comforter for the master bedroom, I went with oranges and golds. I loved the change, but I didn't want to fully commit to redecorating since we were still renting and had no idea how long that would go on.

Last fall we were able to buy a house again. The colors were neutral and my leanings were to give up the Italian grapes for something new. I decided on flowers, mainly sunflowers, for the kitchen/dining area. From there, the reds, oranges, golds, and browns just flowed through the rest of the house.

Most recently, I bought curtains for the boys' room - in those same colors. They have bold stripes, and they don't look feminine. The boys love them. Ever since Billy hung them last weekend, they've kept their curtains closed because they like the darkness. The sun shining through seems to make the room glow.

I still have more to do in the decorating area. I just need to get a few pieces of furniture, which is just a matter of actually going out and looking for something. The main thing is artwork for our walls. I don't want to buy something someone else did. Since Billy and I love photography and have quite a collection of various things we've photographed, it's just a matter of deciding what to print and where to hang it. I think we've decided on a sunset picture Billy shot in Greece for the boys' bathroom. I want to use flower prints in our bedroom, and I have tons of those. I need to take the time to go through them all and decide which ones will carry through the colors I like. I also need to decide if I want one large poster-sized print to go over the bed or if I just want to arrange three or four coordinating prints... Decisions, decisions.

I feel my house is both comfortable and comforting, and I hope others feel that way when they're here. The same goes for my blog.

Writing Exercises

I've mentioned several times that I'd like to write a children's book. In fact, I started one a few years ago, but once I got stuck, I put it away indefinitely. I've gotten it out a time or two since then and tried to work on it, but I'd hit that wall again and put it away. I'd think about it for a day or so, trying to work out the kinks, then I'd get busy with other things and forget about it again. Recently I've wanted to take it up again, but I know I'll see those difficult places again and put it away to ponder a while. Then I'll forget. Again.

While on one of our weekly library trips, I wandered into the section with writing guides. There are guide books for all sorts of writing: drama, comedy, stand-up, poetry, etc. I just wanted some practice. As I kept looking along the shelves, A Writer's Workbook caught my eye. I took it off the shelf and glanced through it. It looked promising, so I dropped it into the abyss of my library bag, along with several books the boys had chosen and a few other random things I had picked up.

Two weeks later, I finally opened it and began reading. Author Caroline Sharp talked about how you can't stop when you get stuck in your writing. You can't put it away and think the words will flow more easily the next time you put your pen to paper (or your fingers to the keyboard). Just as gymnasts and swimmers must practice before competitions, just as musicians must tune up before playing their instruments, writers must practice writing - finding the right words, getting into a flow of brain activity, etc.

Hmmm... There's something to that, and that's something I haven't been doing. Yes, I blog, but not consistently and not about anything of consequence. The writing I've been doing isn't doing anything to move me forward on my book.

So, I'm going to make an effort to follow through with the writing exercises in A Writer's Workbook to get my mind sharpened again. I'll post some of the exercises, but probably not all of them. In fact, the first "assignment" focuses on honing the power of description by writing about a circle, the color red, a bench, and 27 other random things. My first impression is that these won't make for interesting reading. Then again, they might. I'll post what is post-worthy and keep the rest hidden away.

The Basket List

A few weeks ago, I made a list of all the things I'd like to do while the boys are away on spring break. After two week-long delays, they're finally getting to spend some time at Camp Mamaw & Papaw and I'm getting to my list.

I didn't want to call this a "bucket" list because I have no intention of kicking the bucket when I finish it. I thought a "basket" list was appropriate since these are things I'm doing before Easter and the boys are back home.

Monday

1. Went to the dentist. I went in this morning for my semi-annual cleaning. Everything looked great, so I'll see them again in September or October, I can't remember which...

2. Shopped for beads. I'm nowhere near finished with this, but I did check out Hobby Lobby's and Michael's beads. I bought a few things at Hobby Lobby for myself using the gift card I got at Christmas. Everything I bought there was half-price.

3. Bought a few new shirts. I don't think this was on my list, but I decided to stop in Kohl's and was pleasantly surprised to find two shirts I liked. They were half-price, too.

4. Browsed Aldi. The new grocery store is interesting. It's quite a bit smaller than even the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. They have very few recognizable name brand products, but what they do have is lower priced. The produce department doesn't have as much to offer, but what I saw there today looked like good quality and the prices were low. Avocados were 38 cents each; pineapples for 99 cents; a quart of strawberries was $1.49. I started to buy a pineapple and a container of strawberries, but I wasn't sure if I was coming straight home or not.

5. Looked through jewelry design books at Borders. I didn't really see any books I wanted to buy, but I did look through several, and I got some new ideas for things I want to try. I wish they'd get some of these books at my library so I could look at them for an extended period of time. It's always then that I come upon things I missed the first time looking through the book.

6. Made some jewelry. I've been working on a few crystal crosses for pendants and earrings today.

7. Bought some lipstick. I found the lipstick I wanted from Merle Norman. I went ahead and bought it, despite the ridiculously high price, but now I wish I'd just waited to find something else that wasn't so expensive. Plus, it's not quite the shade I remember wearing a few years ago. Of course, that could be my imagination since my opinion has been clouded by the price...

8. Ate supper at a "new" burger place. It's not new, but it's new to us. I can't remember the name, but it's just down the strip from Double Dave's Pizza. The burgers were really good. The fries were overdone with seasoned salt. I'll go back, but not too often. It was a heavy meal after eating lighter for so long now.

9. Looked at shrubs and trees to replace the dead and/or ugly stuff in our front flower bed. We went to Lowe's and Home Depot to see what they had, what their prices were, etc. We have a few ideas...

Tuesday

10. Got my hair trimmed. I haven't had a trim since August, I believe. It was high time! I don't have the name of a good stylist anymore, so I took a chance and walked into a salon. The stylist did a good job of cutting my hair, but she didn't want me to walk out with a wet head since styling is included in the price. I don't use a hair dryer or any other heat appliance on my hair, and I had to tell her repeatedly that I didn't want her to use the flat iron or a curling iron (?) on my hair. I did let her dry it and "style" it, though. I probably won't go back there...

11. Shopped for beads. Yes, again. This time I went to Bally Beads in Rockwall and was pleasantly surprised to find out they now sell wholesale to the public, not just to those with tax ID numbers. Woohoo! They have a great selection of natural stone beads, which I prefer to work with, but they also have some good glass beads. I also think they have the best prices on craft wire and sterling silver wire - but they don't carry a big variety of it.

12. Colored my hair. After I got home, I colored my hair (and rinsed out the dry frizz and itchy clippings out of my hair). For the last few years, I've gone with Chocolate Peanut Butter or Chocolate Caramel, but this time I decided to be a little bolder. I used Sangria for some nice deep red highlights. I like it.

13. Bought some copper washers from Harbor Freight Tools. I'm going to make jewelry out of them. Yes, jewelry. Earrings, bracelets, maybe even a belt. Billy bought some gardening tools. The lady noticed what we bought and laughed that we were backward. :o)

14. Ate a delicious Mediterranean Wrap at Jason's Deli. I started to get a quarter muffaletta and cup of red beans & rice. Then I saw a veggie pizza on their specials menu. Then I saw the low-cal wraps on the menu and went with that and a side of fresh fruit. I'm ready for more!

15. Looked at more shrubs and trees. Yes, again. We went to a different Home Depot to see what they had. We still hadn't made any firm decision on what we wanted - except I definitely wanted gardenias.

Wednesday

16. Completed my third ring sample and all my class instructions for my Beads of Splendor class. Finally! I took everything in to Diana and she put me down to teach a class in May. I told her which weekends were better for me, and she said she'll be in touch.

17. Shopped for beads. Yes, again! I bought a few things at Beads of Splendor, then went up to Rock Barrell for some things, then back to Rockwall to Bally Beads to get a few things for a birthday bracelet party I'm doing for a 13-year-old from church. Oh, and I stopped at Hobby Lobby again to get a few more supplies that were on sale.

18. Looked at more shrubs and trees. We still hadn't settled on exactly what we wanted to plant, but we did buy some gardening tools and concrete block border for the flower bed.

19. Ate supper at Chili's.

Thursday

20. Attended the Dallas Blooms festival at the Arboretum. This was my first time to go in the more-than-6 years we've lived here. There were brightly-colored tulips everywhere. Beautiful! I took tons of pictures, and I can't wait to see how they turned out.

21. Enjoyed a delicious lunch at Ali Baba. I've been wanting to go here for months. A Mediterranean buffet full of all sorts of delicious samplings... My favorite thing, as usual, was the roasted cauliflower. I ate entirely too much and enjoyed every minute of it. I think there are several things there the boys would enjoy eating.

22. Bought gardenias and a red dogwood tree. We made a spur-of-the-moment decision to buy a red dogwood tree. The size was right, and the price was lower than we had seen at other Home Depots in the area. We decided to wait another weekend to get azaleas done.

23. Planted our new garden finds. Rain was in the forecast for Friday, the day we originally had planned to do our planting. We had a good block of time to get things done, so we got right to digging up the old dying scrubby shrubs and pulling weeds. Billy dug up the scraggly tree and hit the main water line into the house. Why they had planted a tree right over that, I'll never know! Water was spraying everywhere! Billy managed to stop the spraying, but water started rushing into the hole. Someone from the water department came out to shut the water off and tell Billy what he needed to do to fix it. We got the gardenias in the ground, then went back to Home Depot, a nearby hardware store, and Lowe's to find what was needed to fix it. Finally Billy found what he needed and we made it home in time for him to repair the line before dark. Then we put the border down and called it a night. It looks so much better than before! I took some before and after pictures, but we still have to replace three more bushes with some azaleas (yes, we finally decided!) before we're truly finished.

Wall or Plateau?

It's frustrating and demoralizing when you stop seeing progress in your weight loss efforts, even though you're still trying. At first, it seems like a wall - something that stops you in your tracks, forcing you to stop moving in one direction and move in another one. If I think it's a wall, I'll most likely do just what I've done in the past - give up and go back the way I came. Then the weight comes creeping back on and I'm right back where I started.

The other option is to see this temporary pause in weight loss as a plateau. With a plateau, you can keep going the same direction and, after a time, you'll continue on as originally planned. That's actually what this phase is called. Instead of giving up this time, as I have so many times in the past, I'm going to see myself through this season and stick to my goals.

There are many different explanations as to why the body reaches a plateau in weight loss, and there are countless ways to remedy it. The reason? In simplified terms, the body reaches an equilibrium between the intake and the expense of calories. As you lose weight, your basic metabolic rate slows down, reducing the number of calories your body needs to function. Since you've already reduced your caloric intake, your body has readjusted.

The solution? Shake things up a bit. Eat a few more calories than you have been, then go back down again. Reduce carb intake and slightly increase protein. If you're not exercising, start. If you are exercising, do something different. Run instead of walk. Increase weights or repetitions. Switch your exercise routine or exercise at a different time of day. And most importantly, don't give up. Eventually you will get across the plateau and see success again.

So, now that I'm at that point, what do I need to do to get through it? I probably could stand to increase my protein intake. I only eat two slices of lunch meat on my daily half a sandwich. (Four is a whole serving.) At supper, my meat intake is low. I'm trying to focus on eating more vegetables and fewer carbs, but I've cut back a lot on my meats. On my last grocery trip, I bought cheese stick snacks to give me a little fat and protein, as opposed to eating a handful of tortilla chips (carbs) and salsa. I also bought some almonds, pistachios, and dry roasted peanuts in the shell. If I can eat a little of those at snack times, I'll be increasing my protein by quite a bit.

As for exercise, I had gotten out of the habit. The last few weeks have found me making more of an effort, but it's still not consistent. I do have several exercises to try that are supposed to increase metabolism, so I'm going to start doing those at least four times a week. Once the weather warms up, I'll be able to do more - walking to the park, riding bikes with the boys, swimming, etc. If I can hang in there until then, I'm pretty certain I'll see another stretch of weight loss.

So far, I've lost 8 pounds - the same amount I reached the last time I plateaued and gave up. I'm determined not to do that this time. I've broken my goal of 35 pounds into four more easily reachable goals of 10 pounds each. (I know that comes up to 40 pounds. I'll be happy with 35, ecstatic with 40...) Now I need to set some small rewards for reaching each of those goals. For the first 10 pounds, I might buy myself a new shirt. For the next 10, I might actually buy a new swimsuit. (I saw some I liked in Target yesterday as I was rushing through, searching for curtain rods for my bedroom...) For the third 10 pounds, I'll probably need a new pair of pants. And for the fourth and final 10, who knows? That will take some consideration.

In the meantime, though, I need to focus on making a few small changes and getting myself through to the other side of the plateau.

It's Official

Actually it became official Monday. I am no longer a Pampered Chef consultant. I feel relieved that I don't have to make phone calls and set up shows and all the other stuff that goes along with it. I was also feeling pressure to recruit new consultants to join my team, but I was never comfortable with that. I felt like I had to be pushy to do it, and I'm not that way. Granted, I did enjoy being a consultant in the beginning (except for the recruiting part) - and most of the first two years of it. Then I became apathetic. The last year was one of questioning: Do I keep this up? Should I keep this up? It just took some serious thought and talking things over with Billy for me to come to the decision that I needed to get out. If I wasn't enjoying it anymore, why keep doing it half-heartedly? I wasn't doing myself or my customers or the company any good that way.

I've cleaned out my bags, boxes, and drawers. I've thrown old things away, shredded old copies of receipts, and put business materials that are still usable into a box to take to my former director so she can use them or pass them on to someone else. My next step is closing that bank account before I incur a service charge.

Even though I'm officially not a consultant, I still get emails from the company and I can still access the consultant website. I don't care about the emails, but I'm glad I can still access the site for now. The new selling season starts in March, but on Monday, Feb. 8, they'll have the new spring products online for consultants to see. I just want to know what's coming. The last two seasons haven't really thrilled me, but you never know when they might introduce the next great thing. Maybe I'll still have access to the site by then. I don't know their timetable on deleting my consultant privileges.

So, what do I do now? What's my next step? I would like to take my jewelry from just a hobby to a small business. There are a lot of differences between that and my being a Pampered Chef consultant:

1. I don't have to maintain minimum monthly requirements to remain active.
2. I don't risk losing career sales, increased commissions, and bonuses if I don't sell a certain amount over a certain period of time.
3. I don't have to make phone calls every night to drum up business.
4. I don't have to have home parties if I don't want to, but I can if someone is interested. (Two friends have already offered.)
5. If I do choose to have a home party, I won't have all the prep work, clean-up work, or the load to carry that I did with Pampered Chef.
6. I can set my prices and whatever I make from it is mine.
7. I can truly work from home.
8. I get to express my creativity in various ways.
9. There's no pressure to recruit anyone to join my "team".

The list could go on.

I'm currently deciding on my business name. Once that is settled, I'll get a website for showcasing my jewelry and I'll set up a Facebook Fan Page. I get more exposure through FB than I did through my Etsy shop, which is like finding a needle in a haystack the size of Texas.

My goal is to have my website up by March 1, which is 3 1/2 short weeks away. I've got some work to do!

Update: Monday, February 8 - Today is the day they release the information on the new spring products. My website access has been canceled, so I'll find out when the general public does. Hopefully I won't get emails from the home office anymore.

Over the Hump?

I'm in my third week of watching what I eat and counting calories. I think I'm over the always-hungry hump! I noticed both yesterday and today that I haven't had the urge to eat too much. If that's the case, then things should be much easier!

I've lost 6 lbs. and 3 inches since I started. On "Measurement Mondays", I enter various measurements into my iFitness app and it charts my progress. Apparently my abs are going to be the hardest place to lose; those measurements haven't changed at all... On "Weigh-In Wednesdays" and "Sneak Peak Saturdays", I enter my weight into my iFitness and Lose It! apps so I can see my progress. I actually weigh myself every day, but I only enter it into my programs twice a week. It's been a pretty steady drop, and it's been going a little faster than I thought. I'm targeted to reach my goal weight on June 23, but if I reach it earlier, I'm going to keep going to my final date to see how much I can lose. Believe me, I can stand to lose more than my goal actually is. I set a lower goal because I thought it was going to be really hard.

I've started exercising some most days, too. I read recently that exercise helps, but not to the degree that good nutrition will. So instead of worrying about how many calories I get to burn each day, I'm working harder on watching what I eat and exercising a little to get me going in the mornings. If I get in a good walk or maybe even a run here and there, that's just a bonus.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few weeks.