"Hats & Pearls" Tea Parties

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending and helping my new daughter-in-law Kalee Harris host her first "Hats & Pearls" Tea Party with the ladies and their daughters in her hall at her work. We had so much fun. Great kick start for May and Mother's Day! plus now I can add milliner to my resume'. lol...

C25K --- What Matters Most?

I had to laugh... there is a great phrase in today's section of  "Life Harmony" that I really like and it goes right along with this weekend's theme of General Conference.

"A Vision without Passion will not Spark You into Action"

I totally believe you are what you make of your time. In running, you run --- you get faster and healthier. You have a vision and if you have the passion you will make your goal. Same applies with other things in life. Today, we were challenged to answer three questions about our selfs...

#1. What am I doing when I am happiest and most satisfied? 

answer: Helping others

#2. If I could do anything or be anything, what would it be?

answer: Helping others

#3. If money was no object, how would I spend my time?

answer: Helping others

C25K --- Making up time!

 Today, I reached my goal of  1.5 miles in 25 minutes. I am sore, but down 2 pounds. :) Also, today I got my letter to my future self all finished. I guess I am getting old, because not much in my life is scheduled to change. I mainly just want to lose my 100 pounds, reduce my blood pressure and travel with my kids and granddaughter. Life is good!!!!

C25K --- Burning Mussels & Bucket lists

My workout this morning consisted of making an airport run to drop off my grandbaby and daughter-in-law. I am so glad that hey got to spend extra time with us after the wedding. I am going to miss them very much.

I am taking it easy today because my mussels are still very tender and burning from my workout yesterday.

Our LIFE HARMONY assignment for today is to create a bucket list. I made one the last time I participated in the first C25k program. And so I am just going to revisit that list.... I can tell you that after running my fist Color Vibe Run in 58 minutes, my new goal is to do my next one in 45 minutes.

C25K --- Running, Writing & Sports Drinks

Today on the C25k Facebook page there was a link to www.active.com, that featured a discussion about sports drinks and how you can make your own. I am not a big fan of sports drinks, but the article got us here at the pantry thinking about fun summer chillers that we could make at home that would still meet the criterial of a sports drink. Which the article stated as being: "The nutritional profile of most commercial sports drinks is approximately 50 calories, 14 grams of carbohydrate and 110 grams of sodium per 8-ounce serving." 

This one is our favorite so far... BLACKBERRY LEMONADE

Also today, we had some assignments:

Life Harmony --- We were suppose to write a letter to someone we love and let they know how we would like to celebrate our successes. Write telling about where we are at in our career, business and personal life, explain our accomplishments, and give direction to where we would like to be a year from now. 

Couch 2 5K here I COME!

Today, I started a new "Couch 2 5K" program and I am doing this for two reasons...
#1. I have plateaued in my weight loss adventures
#2. I feel very soggy and unhealthy

Also a couple of months ago, I discovered a wonderful new online magazine entitled

"Life Harmony" by Wendi Hatton. 

Even though it really isn't anything that we haven't heard before, I like what I have been reading and decided to add some of my thoughts and actions into this journal, because I truly believe that healing encompasses all parts of your heart and soul. 

Right off the bat she talks about vision and goal setting. After reading, I couldn't help but ask the main question:

"How do I deal with How I feel?" 

First Day Facts:
Weight ---- 245
Blood Pressure --- 136/86
Walking 1 mile ---- 18 minutes
Diet --- heavy in Carbs

I am using MY FITNESS PAL as my tracking program.

BFP END OF WEEK 2 - SILENCE

BFP END OF WEEK JOURNAL ENTRY: 

As many of you know I am involved with a project entitled "The Benjamin Franklin Project", where each week we focus on one of his 13 virtues listed in his auto-bio. AND as many of you know this past week wasSILENCE... Anyway, as most of you know my week started out a little rough, (see my post on first day if you are wondering), but it did get better and I learned two profound things this week... 1. It doesn't pay to take your personal frustrations out on your best friend, especially when they don't have any control over the situation and 2. The busier I kept my hands the less my mouth got into trouble.

BFP END OF WEEK 1 - TEMPERANCE

 I am really enjoying this project. My Husband and I are true FOODIES and we love to spend time in the kitchen creating and eating together. So this week along with taking the challenge, we decided it would be fun to do a little research about colonialdishes, we decided to spend the week preparing and featuring some of the dishes on our food blog. The result in doing so expanded our thoughts on a more natural way of life and also we felt very satisfied in our food consumption. We each only lost a few pounds, but we did find we had more energy through out the day. We stayed true to the project everyday except for one... Thursday, we found ourselves over endulging at our local fast food joint on the way home from work. And we were bloated and lacked energy most of the next day. (Big sigh)... Interesting lesson learned this week!  :) 

The Benjamin Franklin Project.

I came a crossed this Facebook page while I was searching for another. I am kind of intrigued with this project and since my one word for the year is FREEDOM, I decided this might be fun... So I am going to give it a try. I plan on using my blog as my Journal.

"Good morning and happy Sunday! Today we begin our first week of the Benjamin Franklin Project. Our virtue of the week is temperance, "Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation."

Franklin said we should, "Eat to live, and not live to eat." He also said, "To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals" and "He that lives carnally, won't live eternally." 

The point of this week is not to diet, though that is not against the rules. It is to put food and drink in their proper places in our lives. Food is fuel for our body and nutrients for our health. It should not take on the role of comforter, friend, consolation, reward, or god. Those roles belong to our friends, family, and religion. 

It is also not against the rules to have alcohol. Wine with dinner or a drink with friends is fine. The same rules apply to it though as to food. Alcohol should be kept in its proper place and not used to deal with emotions. It should be consumed in moderation and not to excess. Like food, it is fuel. 

Our Recommendations (not rules):

This week eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. Do not eat mindlessly. Do not use food and drink for anything but nourishment. 

Record your failures. Franklin kept a journal to record when he failed at a virtue. As time goes on this will allow us to monitor our progress. If you overeat, munch mindlessly, or over imbibe, record it. This will also serve to keep you honest though no one needs to know the number unless you choose to share it. 

Do not beat yourself up for the failures. Record them and move on. Franklin had plenty of marks in his journal. The point is to improve not to be perfect.

Let the other 12 virtues operate on autopilot. This is not license to abandon them. They are just not our focus this week. 

Good luck and on Saturday we will allow those who wish to share their achievements do so.

Feelin' Thrifty....

We have a savings debate going on at our house. Over the past week we have talked about different ways of saving without breaking the pocket book. I personally like putting 10% aside at the same time I pay my tithing. But with the thought of my lucky pennies last year and trying to teach my kids to become money independent, we decided to try a little lucky penny experiment this year. So along with taking on the 52 week saving challenge that has posted here on Facebook this past month, we have chosen to save up some pennies using two other plans... Just to see which plan has a higher amount at the end of 30 days.

PLAN #1. (Red & Pink Bottle) - "Double the Day"

This is a monthly plan is where you drop pennies in the bottle and you double pennies from the day before. So...

day 1 - one penny. 

day 2 - double the 1 penny to 2 pennies, 

day 3 - double the 2 pennies to 4 pennies,

day 4 - double the 4 pennies to 8 pennies

And so on for 30 days.

PLAN #2. (Blue & Yellow bottle) - "Pay the Day"

This plan can be either a monthly or a yearly plan, very easy and yet gets harder the longer you go into the year. So for the sake of our experiment we are going monthly...

day 1 - pay yourself 1 penny

day 2 - pay yourself 2 pennies

day 3 - pay yourself 3 pennies

day 4 - pay yourself 4 pennies

And so on for 30 days.

Now, I know, we are all adults here at our house and you are probably thinking that all we would have to do is to add up all the pennies on a calculator and we would know which plan will have the most pennies, but it is the habit of saving that I am trying to create here people... Lol... . Do you know how hard it is for some of us to plan ahead enough to drop even 1 penny a day into a jar, never mind 30 pennies. And how about 365 pennies that you would have to drop in the jar December 31st, if you were to choose plan 2 for the whole year? See, think about it!..... 

We would love to have anyone that wants to join us and also share stories of other savings plans you have all tried. We love to read stories of things that have worked.

New Year Goals....

I am so excited for the new year. We had a very good and productive 2013 and eagerly anticipate another good year to follow.

My Scripture goal is to read the Old Testament 

My Personal Savings goal is to save a least $100.00 a month 

My Scrapbook goal is to complete 60 layouts

My Card goal is to make and send out at least 5 a month

My Altered Art goal is to complete at least 1 project a month. 

My Workshop goal is to hold at least 6 a month.

My Catering/Personal Chef goal is to hold 3 events a month.

My Cooking goal is to cook my way through "The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook"

My word for the year is going to be... FREEDOM. 

And even though my heart is very full today and could write a long saga as to why freedom is my word of choice, I will simply say... "Freedom to find Myself" is something that I have learned to treasure this past couple of months. And as I set my goals for the new year, I am looking forward to spending my free time this year exploring my freedom options. Many of which will probably be shared here... 

My theme for 2014.... "Lots to be seen in 2014"... So let's bring on the NEW YEAR!