The Simple Life at Home

I've been reading quite a bit lately about the minimalism movement.  I have to say that it certainly sounds appealing.

The idea of having just the bare necessities sounds wonderful.  So much less to worry about, to move about while dusting, to hunt through while looking for something else.  Sounds like my idea of heaven on earth.

But actually making it happen in real life?  That's a whole other matter.  Most people have an abundance of personal possessions, things that they cling to for better or for worse.  This can range from sentimental treasures picked up while traveling to every little doo-hickey or gadget that ever crosses our paths that we keep because "someday it might come in handy."

Having recently helped a friend as she packed up to repatriate back to the US, I was struck by the amount of stuff we accumulate.  (Yes, Melissa, should you ever read this, this means you.  Still love you!) I started to think ahead to when we move back home, hopefully in about 2 years.  I decided then and there that I needed to streamline my life well in advance of that move.  Not just for the sake of a smooth move, but for the sake of my sanity every day in between now and then.

Some of the minimalist blogs I've been looking at are a little too radical for me.  Selling off their cars, moving in with parents, only owning enough towels for one for each person in the family.  I'm not quite there yet.  I don't know that I ever will be.  That's why I'm calling this post "Minimal Minimalism." I just want to simplify without hardship.  To me, that seems to negate the point.

In the course of my brain processing all this, I actually discussed with Hubby perhaps getting rid of one of our cars.  After all, I live less than a 10 minute walk to school.  Couldn't the kids and I just walk to and from each day?

Hubby patiently listened and then reminded me that right now, in January, that might seem like an ideal plan.  But soon enough, January turns into April, which eventually brings June when the temperatures at 7 am during our morning walk would already be over 100 degrees and by 3:30 when we head home it would be well over 110.

This is why I married him.

I think that minimalism is great - but it should bring relief and happiness to our lives.  It shouldn't be just  getting rid of stuff for the sake of it. Maybe being car-less works for some people but it wouldn't for us. So here are a few areas where I think I can whittle away at the amount of "stuff" in our home and have it be a positive thing rather than a negative.

• My closet - I have a rather over-stuffed closet, but rarely use more than half of what is hanging in it.  Some of it I just have grown to dislike over the years, but some of it just doesn't fit.  Instead of telling myself, "I'll get back into it someday!!!" I should tell myself, "When I get back down into that size, I'll have worked hard enough at it that I will deserve a new wardrobe!"  Time to donate those clothes.
• Paper - I have tended to keep every paper that is some what official.  For years.  I have a filing cabinet that we moved over here with us five years ago that Hubby and I went through over Christmas break and weeded out maybe 75%.  I guess I don't really need maintenance records on cars that we no longer own or insurance policy documents on policies we've let lapse.  Who knew??
• Kitchen gadgets - Oh, this is getting a little sensitive now, I know.  I fancy myself somewhat of a good cook and have amassed quite a little stockpile of gadgety items in my kitchen.  So much so that I can barely close a couple of cabinet doors and drawers.  I need to ask myself - how often do I use this and does that make it worth me dealing with it taking up space?  The espresso machine that we bought two months before moving to Doha where we can't use it because it's a different voltage?  5 years it's been taking up massive space in my kitchen cabinets.  The rolling pin that I never really use because I can't make a pie crust to save my life, but I keep hoping I will  magically become a pie-maker extraordinaire?  It needs to go.  I'm going to try this plan - if i haven't used it in 6 months, put it in a box and move it to the storage room.  If by that time I haven't had to dig through the box looking for it, to the end-of-school-year garage sale it goes.
• Books - This is a real sacred cow for some, especially us homeschooling types. (Yes, yes, I know I haven't homeschooled in 4 years, but it's still in my blood.)  Hubby and I have 4.5 bookshelves of books, and the kids probably have enough to fill another one between the two of them.  We need to seriously assess what we need to keep (any material which enhances our spiritual life, for instance) and what we need to part with (school materials the kids have outgrown, fiction we won't ever read again, etc.).  I'd like to get it down to just three bookshelves, working our way down to just one eventually.

Well, having completed about half of my previous list, I was very motivated to make a new list and try to accomplish much more of it. I've been working on it sporadically for the last month or so and finally finished it this morning.

I'm setting my start date as tomorrow, which gives me a target date of January 5, 2012. The thing I like about having 1001 days to complete the list is that it gives you approximately 2 3/4 years, so if it's something seasonal, you have more than one shot to do it. I'm going to be putting a countdown clock on my sidebar to keep me motivated.

And now, without further ado, The List:

1. Read through the Bible start to finish
2. Memorize Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians
3. Watch sunrise on the corniche
4. Do Advent wreath and readings
5. Sabbath dinners
6. Go a week without saying something negative about anyone
7. Begin praying with Ibrahim
8. Pray for Ibrahim daily
9. Read & complete all Fascinating Woman assignments
10. Do character study with Emily
11. Teach Emily to cook 14 meals well
12. Paint first floor rooms
13. Do the Grand Plan
14. Save QR 5000 for an emergency plan
15. Pay off debt
16. Learn Arabic through Rosetta Stone
17. Read a six classic books each year
18. Visit Doha’s other museums
19. Learn to bake homemade bread
20. Make porch more welcoming
21. Get my BMI down to at least 24.9
22. Eliminate soda
23. Stop eating at night
24. Take vitamins and calcium daily
25. Floss daily for a month
26. Go to bed by 10:30 on most nights
27. Get a complete physical (with bloodwork) and mammogram
28. Take better care of my skin
29. 45 minutes of cardio, 4x a week
30. See an endocrinologist
31. Christmas letter (via email)
32. Take the family to visit a historical site
33. Take the kids to the Dead Sea
34. Do a 24 hour fast once a month
35. Get braces
36. Stop interrupting people
37. Visit Biosphere 2
38. Figure out how to play Settlers of Cataan
39. Attend symphony
40. Go dune bashing
41. Visit the Inland Sea
42. Plant flowers in flower bed
43. Try to learn some type of needlework
44. Start keeping track of my grocery budget
45. Refine menu plan to work with new schedule
46. Host a Christmas cookie swap
47. Identify 25 things I like about myself
48. Go to Doha Open tennis tournament
49. Have a date with Hubby at least once a month
50. Join a book club
51. Set up laundry room as a storage room for household backups
52. Get grill propane tank replaced and refitted
53. Volunteer at QAWS (animal rescue shelter here in Doha)
54. Start carrying a makeup bag with me for mid-day touch ups
55. Go to the Doha Debates
56. Go to the theater
57. Get the kids to an orthodontist
58. Decorate seasonally
59. Fight the frump
60. Use body lotion every day for a month
61. Entertain other couples once a quarter
62. Spend time at the gym’s sauna and steamroom
63. Go to the movies at Royal Plaza
64. No tv for one month at least once a year
65. No tv for a whole day at least once a week
66. Get a new cleaning plan in place
67. Follow said cleaning plan for 30 days straight
68. Walk the entire corniche
69. Read Blue Like Jazz
70. Re-read Hinds Feet on High Places
71. Go through The Power of a Praying Wife
72. Learn to “sprout”
73. Clean out email folders
74. Learn how to do blog design myself
75. Create a list of 52 “life skill” to teach to the kids and teach them
76. Finish touring Islamic Art Museum
77. Convince Hubby to install Wi-fi here at home
78. Use reusable bags for grocery shopping
79. Phase paper towels and napkins out of the home
80. Check for new podcasts once a week
81. Get a clothes dryer
82. Get a free-standing basketball hoop
83. Finish Christmas shopping at least two weeks early
84. Do a monthly family fun night
85. Make a birthday calendar of friends and family
86. Learn to make homemade pies, including the crust
87. Do the 30 Day Husband Encouragement Challenge twice
88. Leave 101 comments on others’ blogs
89. Learn to make egg rolls
90. Make homemade jam
91. Buy extra shelving units
92. Organize this list
93. Find a doctor I like
94. Complete the Love Dare
95. Try an ethnic cuisine I’ve never tried before
96. Give up something sacrificially for Lent
97. Find 6 recipes from restaurants I like and try them
98. Thoroughly understand how to get all over town
99. Try to find L from high school and apologize
100. Get new curtains for living room and family room
101. Make a new 101 list when this one is completed

Remember this? Way back when, I came up with a list of 101 things I wanted to accomplish in 1001 days. I got about half way finished with it. Kind of disappointing, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. As most of you know, it has been a tumultous thousand days. So much has changed in my life that I feel like a huge success story just for surviving it!!!

Still, I'm in the process of working up a new list. I think it was really helpful for me to have things put down in writing rather than just stray thoughts that run through my head to the effect of, "Yeah, I should do that some time." You know that old saying, if you aim for nothing, you are sure to hit it. Or however it goes. (I'm not real strong on cliches.)

If you'd be interested in doing a 101 in 1001 list, let me know. We can start on the same day and encourage each other. I'm planning on starting mine as of April 1, so that gives me about a week and a half to collect my thoughts and make a plan.

And hey, even if you only get half of the things on the list accomplished, that's still 50 things more than you would have accomplished without the list!

Well, 2009 is just hours away. Another year ends. Another begins.

As I have gotten older, and perhaps wiser, I've stopped making resolutions. I've come to see that January 1st is just like December 31st. There's no magic reset button that suddenly makes me have infinite willpower to conquer my bad habits. That would be really nice, but it's just not realistic.

However, there are some habits I would like to work on, regardless of the time of year. I've been thinking that maybe the best way to work towards a healthier, happier life is to make small, gradual changes. As opposed to the big sweeping changes all at once that I usually try to pull off and give up on after just a few short days.

So here then are what I want to work on for the first half of 2009. I'll think about the second half of the year later!! Baby steps, people. Baby steps.

January: Not eating at night. I'd like to make it a goal not to eat after 7:30, but for sure not after dinner if we eat late for some reason. The nights of sitting up alone consuming a bag of chips have to end.

February: Exercising 5 days a week. Currently, Hubby and I meet at the gym 3 times a week. I would like to get in the habit of adding in two more days of exercising here at home. We are not planning on renewing our membership (for financial and other reasons), so I need to get into the habit of exercising at home anyways. I've got a treadmill, exercise ball, free weights, exercise bands and countless workout DVD's. I've got no excuse!

March: Get enough sleep. Normally I get 5-6 hours of sleep at night. That's usually due to staying up late (see January!) to watch silly tv or surf the internet. I want to make it a habit to bed in bed by 11:00.

April: Drinking more water. Many days I allow myself to become dehydrated by not drinking much of anything. Most days I drink 1 to 2 sodas. I do drink water - just not enough of it. And I know that drinking those sodas is just drinking empty calories. But it's like an addiction, I swear!

May: Upping my fruit and veggie intake. I love, love, love veggies! I love salad, broccoli, green beans, even brussels sprouts! But often I don't take the time to prepare them for myself. It's easier to do some that you just grab from the cupboard. Fruit? Well, I'm not such a big fan of that, to be honest. I like it - just not enough to choose it over something I like more. I'd like to change that and make healthier choices in my eating habits.

June: Actually take all those supplements I have in my house. Calcium, B vitamins, Vitamin E - you name it, I've got it. But I never take them. I'd like to take them just to get rid of the bottles!! LOL!! No, I've read so much about how important supplements are, but somehow I just never think about it.

So that's my plan. Small baby steps. A little at a time, instead of overwhelming myself with change. Perhaps I won't lose a ton of weight in just a few weeks, but slow and steady wins the race, they say.

If you have any ideas for the second half of the year, bring 'em on!

For those of you who didn't know, I'm a reader. A voracious reader. Usually, I've got about three different books going at one time, picking up the one that grabs my attention at any given moment.

This has become a problem since moving to Qatar. There are a couple of bookstores that carry English books, but they are so expensive! Most books are close to three times what I would pay in the US. So books definitely topped this list of "what to buy" when back home. Every suitcase had between 5 and 10 books stuffed into it. Most were for the kids. I think reading good literature is extremely important and it's always been an important part of our school day. But there were a few treasures tucked away for me. ;)

Here is the book list for 2009:

The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch (This is for a book club I'm joining, but I haven't been able to find it in stock anywhere!!!)
The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
The Pursuit of God - A.W. Tozer
Ordering Your Private World - Gordon Macdonald
Radically Obedient, Radically Blessed - Lysa Terkeurst
Food and Love - Gary Smalley
Heaven - Randy Alcorn
Jesus, The One and Only - Beth Moore
90 Minutes in Heaven - Don Piper
The Next Big Thing - Johanna Edwards
Love Dare - Stephen Kendrick (from the movie "Fireproof")
Healthy Balance for Body and Soul - Cynthia Culp Allen and Charity Allen Winters
How to Really Parent Your Teenager - Ross Campbell
The Great Money Makeover - Dave Ramsay
Hinds Feet on High Places - Hannah Hurnard (re-reading an old favorite that always touches me)

Hopefully I will find more things as I go. It's kind of light on fiction, but then I've always been more of a non-fiction girl. There's no set plan or order. I've already started The Memory Keepers Daughter and Heaven.

I'll follow my friend Mylinda's lead and post the list on the sidebar. Not because you will be breathless with anticipation as you follow my progress *snort!!* but to serve as a reminder to myself.

What are you looking forward to reading soon?

I seem to have gotten away from one of the purposes of this blog - to chronicle my attempts to live more simply.

What with homeschooling and moving across the world and, well, just plain normal life, trying to live a simple life has slipped by the wayside.

And truthfully, it's gotten harder for me now. When I was still in the States, I pretty much had everything I could want. I had been settled in the same house and/or neighborhood for over 14 years. I had amassed a huge amount of stuff. But in the process of the move, I streamlined big-time. We didn't know where we would be living or how big or small the house would be or what would be available when we got here.

Now I miss all my stuff. I miss my living room furniture that I sold. I miss the chairs that I gave to my friend's adult children. I miss the plastic plates. I miss the lamps I didn't bring.

And it's so tempting to just go out, whip out the credit card and replace it all.

But we are trying to get out of debt and trying to eliminate credit card usage so that's not an option.

So I sit, wishfully thinking of all that I "need." Perhaps this is God's way of helping me learn to be content. After all, I have much more than many in the world have. Much, much more.

I want to learn to be happy with or without all the trappings of the world. I want to teach my children that happiness isn't found in a credit card.

While I'm working on it, I found a great website that I'm going to be using. Christian Simple Living is full of great ideas. I think I'll be spending a lot of time there in the next few days/weeks/months.

First off, I apologize for not being around much this week, either here or visiting your blogs. It seems that the fall that I took did a little more damage than I realized. Once the pain from the bruising went away, I was still left with a painful golf ball sized swelling on my ankle as well as pain in my knee. I know, I know, I should go to a doctor. But I'm still nervous about going to a doctor in a brand new (to us) foreign country. If it doesn't go away in a couple more days, I guess I will. I'll keep you updated. In the meantime, I covet your prayers and your patience.

So this has been a week of trying to be more disciplined all around. It seems as though there are times when every area of my life kind of spirals out of control and I run around from here to there just trying to put out fires.

I've begun to read Ordering Your Private World, by Gordon MacDonald. People have been recommending this book to me for the past 20 years almost. I must admit that I have begun it before and not finished it, but now I find myself being more and more drawn into it. I want to have that sense of inner peace and order he describes. I find myself all too often in the characterizations he draws of someone who does not have order internally.

Some of the areas I've been working on this week include:

Homeschooling - Unfortunately, I often allow myself to be too lax and undisciplined here, just allowing my children to skate by doing the minimal amount of work. We've made a great deal of progress in the past week or two. I'm still not caught up to where I would like us to be, but then again, we did fall behind in part because I was a little busy what with moving across the world and all. However, it's time to stop using that as an excuse and get cracking.

Parenting - I have been lax in this area too, much to content to just send my kids upstairs to their rooms rather than deal constructively with discipline issues. It's too easy when you are weary to just stop the immediate problem and not deal with the underlying issues that cause the problems in the first place. I would like to give my children credit though. I have seen tremendous growth in them over the course of the last two months. Yes, they still fight, but they have also become much closer. They are much more willing to try new foods, having been picky eaters all their lives. They have also pitched in and are much more willing to help out with the chores around here, sometimes without even being asked!

Nutrition - Not just for me, but for my kids too, this has always been a problem. And it's my fault. I give in and buy them unhealthy snacks because I want them too. But in the last couple of weeks, I've definitely been encouraging them to eat healthier as I'm trying to as well. We've made a decision as a family (well, ok, Hubby and I imposed it upon the kids) that we are going to stop buying chips and junk food for at least the summer. Yesterday they didn't even ask for any junk food. Emily asked for sunflower seeds as a snack. Progress!!! Happily, I've lost about 5 pounds without really struggling for it since we moved into this house about a month ago.

Homemaking - I have floundered with this since our move. I was on a fairly good schedule in our previous home, but have been struggling to adjust. However, I think I'm getting it worked out and the house is usually neat and tidy by the time Hubby comes home, dinner is either on the stove or ready, and the laundry is kept up on.

Sadly there are two areas that I am still not seeing improvement in.

My Bible reading is woefully behind, although I do feel as though I am more often in a mode of prayer. I often take time while driving or washing dishes or doing laundry to just talk to God. But I would like to get back on my reading straight through the Bible plan.

And then there is exercise. Ugh. I did go for a walk with Hubby on Friday morning, but that resulted in the most excruciating pain and swelling in my ankle, so that may have to wait a little bit. Besides, Doha is not exactly a "walking" city, if you know what I mean. There are duststorms frequently and there are no sidewalks near us. Hopefully Hubby will figure out how to get our treadmill working (apparently it needs a special converter) so I can begin to use that again.

So while there has been lots of progress there are still areas where I need to instill discipline into my life.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding. Prov. 23:23

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. I Timothy 1:7

Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control. Prov. 25:28

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:3-5

I lost two pounds!!!

I lost two pounds!!!

The big thing is that I did it without major effort, just by making small changes that, truthfully, I didn't even really notice.

For years I've been trying to do big, dramatic changes and expecting MAJOR results INSTANTLY. And I get frustrated, bored, tired, you name it. And then I quit.

But this time I'm not quitting. I am recognizing that Rome (and my waistline) wasn't built in a day, nor will it be undone in a day.

Did I have a perfect week? No, not by far. But I did make more positive choices than negative ones. That's gonna be my ticket I think. And, hopefully over time, those choices will become second nature to me and easier to make. I hope to get to the point where it's not even a choice, but just a natural instinct.

Thanks to all of you for your positive comments and encouragement last week. It meant the world to me. I have a long way to go still, but I know that by going slow and steady, I can indeed win this race.

Today I began a Women's' Bible Study at our new church. The opening song was by Casting Crowns, a truly amazing Christian band with amazing lyrics. This song, The Voice of Truth, talks about how things in our lives constantly throw up in our faces our past failures, but that we much CHOOSE to listen to the voice of truth - God - rather than the voices of those who would tear us down. The One who is with us in all things, in all struggles. The One who will be glorified when we conquer our sins and addictions. The One who gives us strength.

Well, holding fast to the cliche of better late than never, here I am posting my first Live Well Wednesday post. I've been thinking about joining for quite some time, but it just seemed that in the middle of a move to the other side of the world that there was too much to think about besides, you know, me.

But I think that's a big part of my problem. I'm always putting something else ahead of taking care of myself. Not that I'm a martyr, mind you. Often, that thing that I'm putting ahead of caring for myself is just my own foolish desires - staying up too late watching tv, eating junk food just because I like it, etc. It seems as if I don't value the body which God has given me highly enough. And so I let it fall apart.

Oftentimes I'll be overwhelmed with guilt and shame about it. Being an overweight person is a shameful experience, let me tell you. But instead of allowing that to motivate me to change, somehow it sends me into a downward spiral of self-recrimination. Which leads to more shame and guilt.

I make grand plans to go on big exercise and diet kicks. And then, just days into it, I give up.

My new plan as I begin to "live well" is to just try to modify slowly my life; to make healthier choices, to be more active, to sleep more, to take care of this one and only body which God has gifted me with.

Some of the things I want to work on:

*** Drinking more water *** I have a wicked addiction to soda. Having moved to the Middle East I am already noticing a difference in the amount of water I'm consuming. While I am still drinking Pepsi, the amount has greatly decreased. But my goal is to work my way up to 100 ounces a day.

*** Make better eating choices *** I won't eat perfectly. I need to accept that. But I need to not give up and binge everytime I make a mistake. I have started to start using fruits, nuts and seeds as snacks rather than chips. That should be easier here because chips cost much more here than in the States, so it will be easier on my wallet as well.

*** Stop eating at night *** My biggest pitfall seems to be at night once everyone else goes to bed. I stay up with the excuse that I "need some alone time." After all, I'm a homeschooling mother! But in reality I graze constantly once everyone's asleep.

*** Sleep more *** Right on par with the above item is I NEED MORE SLEEP!!! I generally go to bed around 1 am. Here in Doha, the sun comes up so early that I'm only getting 4 or 5 hours sleep. This morning, for instance, I woke up, lay in bed for several minutes, finally got up and took a looooong shower. I got out, got dressed, did my hair and makeup and started down the stairs, when I heard my husband moving around. I was shocked to discover that it was only 6:05!!! So I really need to work on getting to bed between 10:30 and 11:00. Not to mention getting a clock so I'll know what time it is!

*** Be more active *** I'm not promising myself that I am going to exercise for an hour a day or any of that. I just, at this point, need to move more. Having 52 stairs in my house is helping. I may have "buns of steel" before we move back to the States!! Also, the more physical housework that I've been doing is contributing towards physical movement. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

So, the bottom line of all of this? I do want to live well. I want to enjoy my life with my husband and kids. I want to be physically ready for all that God calls me to. I want to have energy and exuberance for this life. I want to love my life.

Thanks for sticking through reading this. I look forward to getting to know you other LWW participants and encouraging each other!

Ok, this is hard to write. But I have promised to be upfront and honest here at The Simple Life at Home. So in the interest of transparency I have to confess that I have not lived up to my resolutions.

I really do have the best of intentions. I just hadn't anticipated how Hubby's leaving would throw my world into a kink. And I'm not giving up on things - just maybe tweaking them and/or starting a little late.

So let's go through one by one and I'll give you an update:

Spiritual

• Instead of trying to "live a good Christian life," I want to just simply focus on abiding in Christ. I want Him to be the very air I breathe. I want to live a life of worship. (I think I'm doing pretty good on this. I am spending a lot more time in prayer and in just trying to really BE with God.)
• I want to read through the Bible in 90 days. I started it last year, but with my in-laws here (for six weeks!) it was hard to make the daily commitment to read for up to an hour a day. I really enjoyed doing it while I lasted. The point isn't to get deep study, but to get a "big picture" view of Scripture. (I've decided to hold off on this until after I complete the current study I'm doing, Beth Moore's "Daniel" study. There's a lot of homework in it and the 90 day plan suggests that you don't participate in any other study while doing it.)
• Once that is completed, I want to take the remaining 9 months and study one book of the Bible in depth each month. I haven't decided which books yet, but I'll let you know. (I'm trying now to decide on which books to study so I can pick up some materials to take with me when we move. Any suggestions?)

Emotional

• Prove to myself that I am stronger than I give myself credit for during Hubby's absence. (I think I'm doing ok here. I'm managing to pay the bills, deal with trying to sell the house and rental properties, taking over all the tasks he previously did and I'm ok.)
• Work on controlling my emotions, specifically not crying so easily or losing my temper as quickly. This will be a challenge for me because I am one who desperately needs time alone. Without Hubby here, there won't be anyone to provide that and take the kids off my hands for a while. (This is the area where I've really surprised myself. I've gotten the crying under control. When I feel like starting, I manage to pull myself together and breathe deeply and control my emotions. As far as my temper, I've been doing much better there as well. There are the typical frustrations, but I don't think I've really "lost it" very much.)
• Stop eating for emotional reasons and learn to turn to God for comfort. (Been doing well at this and really stopping and thinking before I eat - particularly late at night.)
  

Physically

• Beginning on Sunday, and until I leave for Qatar, I want to do the 6 Week Body Makeover. I've had success on it in the past (I lost 20 pounds in 3 weeks), but Hubby didn't care for the food and it is a very time-consuming with all the cooking and the eating every three hours. I'm not setting any goal for weight loss, just committing to doing the plan and whatever happens, happens. (I've decided not to do this. I just don't have the time or motivation to spend this much effort on it. I haven't been cooking hardly at all and the times I have cooked, I ate way too much of the plan food. Since my main problem seems to be portion control, I've decided to purchase lots of Lean Cuisine type meals and just use those for a while. It will help me learn portion control and keep me from having to focus on food the entire day.)
• In conjunction with the program, I'm going to go back to walking 5 mornings a week. (I've only done this a couple of times. I haven't been able to sleep well since Hubby left, so I'm either falling asleep at 3 am and sleeping late OR taking a sleeping pill around midnight and sleeping late. See the "going to bed' entry below.)
• I will do the strength-training program that is prescribed in the program as well. It uses the bands and it's very easy. (This is going good.)
• I have to start going to bed earlier. I've gotten in the habit of going to bed around 1 a.m. and waking at 6:30 or 7. That's just not enough sleep. It makes me cranky, makes my skin look tired and sallow and definitely contributes to my weight issues. I want to go to bed by 10:30 or 11 at the latest. (As I mentioned, I've not been sleeping well. The only nights I've slept well are nights I've taken some OTC sleeping pills. But I wait until I've already tossed and turned for a while and still am not getting to sleep before 1 am usually. I need to turn in earlier - 11:00 - and try to get up earlier.)

Professionally

• I want to make the separation from Hubby, and the move, as easy on the kids as possible.
• I want to make sure I quickly establish new routines and household order once we get to Qatar. It's important that we get used to the new city/country/culture as quickly as possible and get the kids meeting new friends, while still making home a familiar refuge.
• Hubby hates how I pile things up until I can get to them. So a major goal for me is to learn to deal with things at the time rather than have literal piles of stuff that falls over at the slightest breeze. (Doing so-so on this. I go in spurts, you know? Sometimes I'm really motivated, others not. But it's a learning process and I don't expect to conquer it in one day.)
• I need to really work hard and learn to overcome laziness. (I definitely see an improvement in the amount of work I'm putting into things. Yippee!)
• Once we move into our new home, I don't want to allow clutter to accumulate.

So, while my goals may have been lofty and impressive, in actuality things don't always work out how one would hope. I'm still trying to make myself into a better person, but maybe it won't be quite as dramatic. But that's ok. Life's a journey, right?

Welcome to 2008!!! It is now time for the ceremonial making of the resolutions.

I'm one of those people who each year makes resolutions and then breaks them before January 5th. But I'm thinking this year may be different. Since Hubby is leaving in a couple of days, I'll be able to really focus on myself. Doesn't that sound simply atrocious!???!! "Hello, I'm Lori and I want to focus on M-E!"

But I'm hoping you know what I mean. I kind of have in mind this "Extreme Makeover: Lori Edition." And not just physically, although that certainly is in order. I'm talking spiritually, emotionally, and professionally too. I'd like to bring back the woman Hubby originally married.

Sadly, over the years I have let myself go in all the above areas. Instead of being vibrant and strong, I've become boring and needy. Ugh!! Who wants to come home to that every day? Poor guy! So I'm going to take advantage of this time apart to spend some time working on me. Now, don't think I've forgotten I have two children to tend to. Trust me, they aren't going to be neglected. But they know about my plans and are totally on board with me. In fact, Emily has decided she's going to serve as my personal trainer (oh, joy.) and she's using Gillian from The Biggest Loser as her role model.

So what are these big plans, you ask? Well, since you're begging, I'll let you know. But, shhh! Don't tell Hubby. He's completely unaware of my plans.

Spiritual

1. Instead of trying to "live a good Christian life," I want to just simply focus on abiding in Christ. I want Him to be the very air I breathe. I want to live a life of worship.
2. I want to read through the Bible in 90 days. I started it last year, but with my in-laws here (for six weeks!) it was hard to make the daily commitment to read for up to an hour a day. I really enjoyed doing it while I lasted. The point isn't to get deep study, but to get a "big picture" view of Scripture.
3. Once that is completed, I want to take the remaining 9 months and study one book of the Bible in depth each month. I haven't decided which books yet, but I'll let you know.

Emotional

1. Prove to myself that I am stronger than I give myself credit for during Hubby's absence.
2. Work on controlling my emotions, specifically not crying so easily or losing my temper as quickly. This will be a challenge for me because I am one who desperately needs time alone. Without Hubby here, there won't be anyone to provide that and take the kids off my hands for a while.
3. Stop eating for emotional reasons and learn to turn to God for comfort.

Physically

1. Beginning on Sunday, and until I leave for Qatar, I want to do the 6 Week Body Makeover. I've had success on it in the past but Hubby didn't care for the food and it is a very time-consuming with all the cooking and the eating every three hours. I'm not setting any goal for weight loss, just committing to doing the plan and whatever happens, happens.
2. In conjunction with the program, I'm going to go back to walking 5 mornings a week.
3. I will do the strength-training program that is prescribed in the program as well. It uses the bands and it's very easy.
4. I have to start going to bed earlier. I've gotten in the habit of going to bed around 1 a.m. and waking at 6:30 or 7. That's just not enough sleep. It makes me cranky, makes my skin look tired and sallow and definitely contributes to my weight issues. I want to go to bed by 10:30 or 11 at the latest.

Professionally

1. I want to make the separation from Hubby, and the move, as easy on the kids as possible.
2. I want to make sure I quickly establish new routines and household order once we get to Qatar. It's important that we get used to the new city/country/culture as quickly as possible and get the kids meeting new friends, while still making home a familiar refuge.
3. Hubby hates how I pile things up until I can get to them. So a major goal for me is to learn to deal with things at the time rather than have literal piles of stuff that falls over at the slightest breeze.
4. I need to really work hard and learn to overcome laziness.
5. Once we move into our new home, I don't want to allow clutter to accumulate.

So those are my big issues. I'll be sure to keep you updated on my progress as we go along. Oh, and Marybeth at Cheaper by the Half Dozen is hosting a Goals Challenge '08. If you are looking for some inspiration, it's a great place to start!!

Update: I've got 47 out of the 101 finished, so I'm close to half way done with still 14 months to go. Several of the things will get checked off the list while we are in the process of moving. Unfortunately, the moving will also make some of the items either difficult or impossible to do, so I'm going to need to replace some of the original goals. Those items are in red, with the replacement goal next to it in black as I think of them.

Some of you have already heard of my attempt to complete 101 things in 1001 days. Feel free to skip this post!

For those of you who think I'm speaking in some kind of binary language, let me explain. I came across this idea at Enjoy the Journey and thought it was wonderful. The idea is to come up with a list of things you'd like to accomplish, but with a reasonable time frame. 1001 days comes up to about 2.75 years. That way, you still have a deadline approaching, but should you miss doing something (say going to a sunrise service on Easter morning), you still have the chance to do it the next year.

So here is my amended list. I made some changes once I thought about it and realized that some things didn't really matter that much to me. And since it's my list, I can do that! Things that are completed will be bolded with the date next to it. Some things may just have a note about the progress.


The List
Begun 7/12/06 - Deadline 4/8/09

Updated: 1/30/08

1. Read through the Bible start to finish (currently in i Kings)
2. Go a week with no tv (8/8/06)
3. Memorize a verse a week
4. Do a 24 hour fast
5. Start journaling again (June 2007)
6. Watch a sunrise on the beach by myself
7. Do Advent readings and an Advent wreath
8. Go an entire week without saying anything negative about anyone
9. Go away for a weekend alone with my husband
10. Take a dance class with my hubby
11. Keep the desk clean and neat for my husband
12. Pray for my husband daily
13. Do not complain about my hubby to anyone (December 2007 - I think I've got a handle on this one)
14. Throw my husband a surprise birthday party (he's never had a birthday party in his entire life!)
15. Iron a week ahead of time for at least one month (December 2007)
16. Read and complete all assignments in Fascinating Womanhood
17. Play pool with hubby ( 7-12-07 - He beat me!!!)
18. Personal thing between my hubby and myself. No snickering, please!
19. Take the family to visit a historical site
20. Take the kids to the Dead Sea
21. Do a Bible study with my daughter (ok, not a Bible study per se, but we are working our way through Beautiful Girlhood)
22. Get in the routine of having a fancy Sabbath dinner each week
23. Take my kids somewhere fun just for the heck of it (8/5/06)
24. Have a family picnic (7/15/06)
25. Teach my daughter to cook 14 meals well (she's learned 5 so far)
26. Cull the bookshelves to make more free space (12/4/06)
27. Paint the kids' bathrom a pretty color (10/9/06)
28. Keep the van clean for one month (8/15/06)
29. Organize the linen closets (12/5/06) and yet it needs done again!
30. Take a one week Internet vacation
31. Go through the house ruthlessly and get rid of excess stuff (12/1/06 and ongoing)
32. Rip all my cd's (03/05/07)
33. Do all the filing that has been piling up (9/29/06)
34. Make a household inventory for insurance purposes (1/30/08)
35. Sort jewelry box and get rid of items I'll never wear (7/26/06)
36. Find a workable system for organizing the home (December 2007 - Finally, a place for everything and everything in its place!!!)
37. Use the crockpot once a week (no date as this is a process)
38. Save $1000 for my personal discretionary emergency fund
39. Have enough in the pantry that I could skip grocery shopping for two weeks
40. Pay off all debt except for the house
41. Have a mega garage sale to get rid of stuff (12/06/06)
42. Figure out the Prepaid college fund account and get up to date (7/24/06)
43. Get driver's license corrected (5/20/07)
44. Use up all the lotions, cosmetics, etc. before buying more (December 2007)
45. Get highlights (March 2008)
46. Grow a vegetable garden (August 2007)
47. Learn Arabic through Rosetta Stone
48. Take a seminary class I find interesting (Won't be able to do this now due to move)
49. Take a homemaking class (07/07))
50. Start a blog (6/11/07)
51. Learn to make kanaffe, an Arabic dessert (1/1/07)
52. Learn to make movies on the computer (10/11/07 - Thanks, Emily!!)
53. Read a classic book every couple of months (have read 6 so far)
54. Learn a new recipe each month
55. Take advantage of the free museum nights here in town
56. Learn how to make P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps (6/14/07 - They were yummy!)
57. Make bread from scratch (September 24, 2007 - Yum!)
58. Make pizza from scratch (May 2008)
59. See a Broadway show
60. Get a Wii (great for those hot days in Qatari summers - at least we'll be up and about rather than lying on the couch) (March 2008)
61. Go to a concert (September 11, 2007)
62. Host a fancy dinner party (August 17, 2007)
63. Get all the fish in Animal Crossing (7/13/06 - see how lame I am?)
64. Go to a U-pic for strawberries and tomatoes (1/17/08 - oh my gosh - Delish!!)
65. See Shakespeare in the park (7/15/06)
66. Take kids to a drive-in movie
67. Fall asleep on a blanket in the backyard
68. Visit the Burj Al-Arab
69. Go for a walk in the rain (March 2008)
70. Donate blood twice a year
71. Watch a meteor shower (August 28, 2007)
72. Get my weight down to 140
73. Drink only water for one week (October 9, 2007)
74. Walk 30 minutes a day
75. Get my eating under control
76. Find a form of exercise I really enjoy (6/12/07 - swimming!!)
77. See a dermatologist about rosacea (9/28/06)
78. Take vitamins daily
79. Floss every day for at least a month
80. Try a fruit I've never tried before (12/22/06 - papaya and carambola)
81. Go to bed by 10 pm for a month
82. Don't eat after 8 pm for a month
83. Feel better at 40 than I did at 30
84. Find a doctor I like
85. Try edamame (1/13/07)
86. Spend a day at the spa (pedicure, manicure, massage and facial)
87. Buy some nice new pj's - not to fancy or to sloppy looking (9/30/06)
88. Get a good tan (please no lectures!)
89. Start wearing shoes in the house
90. Get braces
91. Get teeth professionally whitened
92. Go shopping at Ann Taylor
93. Do a full skin-care routine for a month
94. Find a good red lipstick
95. Be able to tuck in my shirt and like the way I look
96. Grow my hair long (10/1/06)
97. Find a great brown leather purse (7/21/06)
98. Move out of South Florida (March 26, 2008!!!)
99. Send out Christmas cards in early December
100. Stop interrupting people (much improvement here, but not completely under control)
101. Make a new 101 list when this one is completed

Well, it's been 30 days since I revealed my shame to the world.

The hardest part for me was definitely trying to get my husband to go through his things that were in the room. He's someone who likes to keep EVERYTHING!! He always envisions a use for everything at some point in the futures. Fortunately, he's a little more motivated than usual with our upcoming move. I pointed out to him that once he leaves the US (2-3 months before me) all of this things are fair game and if he didn't go through them, I would get to make the call as to what he gets to keep. That got him going!!

2. Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order?

Umm...No one is allowed in this room ever again.

3. What did you do with the “stuff” you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?

Well, unfortunately I forgot about the "bonus prize" for the biggest pile of stuff removed. Cuz, ladies, I would have won it, hands down. About half the books are in a box to be listed on eBay (mostly curriculum). The other half either were thrown away or taken to Goodwill. Daniel's toys were sorted through and we made room in his room for them. The computer and utility desk I decided were not really necessary in the home, so they have gone out to the garage sale pile for Hubby to sell while I'm gone. All the extra stuff in the closet (boxes of paper that had been given to us, a big Rubbermaid of purses, MORE books, wrapping paper, etc.) is gone!! What was sell-able was sold at one of our 2 garage sales this month and what wasn't was disposed of. In fact, I had to take some of our garbage to our empty rental property to put out because we had so much!!

4. Now that you have completed the challenge, do you think having and keeping your space organized will make a difference in your life?

Oh, yes. I mean, I joke about it being my shame. But it's really not a joke. It's mortifying to have an unexpected guest and know they will walk by that door and see how awful it is. Now I can relax and just enjoy people who come for a visit. Much better!!

6. Why do you think you should win the challenge?

Well, I hate to promote myself. But to be able to get this room into shape with all that we've been dealing with here is really a miracle. The stress level around here has been incredibly high. I don't know that I should win, but I know that I've already won in my own mind just by getting this done!!

Thanks to Laura at the Organizing Junkie for hosting the 30 Day Organizational Challenge and helping me to reclaim a bit of my home and my life!!

Well, it's over. I've come to realize that good enough is good enough. If you haven't been following my crazy attempt to make my home into a Better Homes and Garden palace in less than one week, you've missed out. I mean, there's nothing like a woman possessed by the spirit of perfectionism to make you want to slap someone.

But I give up. It's just not going to happen. I've done as much as I can do, but we all have to know when to accept defeat. I'm going to keep working on the list, but at a reasonable pace. And if things don't get done, they don't get done. Life will go on.

Yesterday, on our way home from having spent the entire day running errands - from 11 in the morning until 6 at night - Hubby called and asked me to do a simple task for him. I honestly started crying in the car and told him I was going to lose it if I had to add one more thing to my plate. He very gently comforted me and told me to just do what I can do and not worry about the rest of it.

When I got home, the best thing I could muster up for dinner was Tuna Helper. Now, no disrespect to those of you who use Tuna Helper (or any other Helper for that matter), but this is something that Hubby hates. Personally I don't mind it, but her prefers his food less...preservative-laden, let's say. I only keep it in the house as part of our hurricane supply closet. After I got it made, I felt bad about not responding more graciously when he asked for my help earlier. I worked on what he asked me to do and got it done in the time frame he needed.

And I felt much better for it. It helped me to take my eyes off myself and my goals. It put things into perspective. I felt much calmer and steadier. And I realized that I was being crazy.

Crazy to think that I could do that much (and there is much I have done that didn't even make the list (new toilet seats, for instance!!??). Crazy to think that the insane woman screaming at her kids because she is so stressed out is what God wanted from me.

So today we have just me. And that's good enough.

UPDATED: My mom laughed at me when she read this post, saying I wouldn't get half of this done. Well - phooey to her!!! As you can see below, I've gotten a good amount of it done already. I'm sore and achy, but feeling very accomplished!!

I just spent about 15 minutes walking through my house, noting down everything that I believe needs to be done before we start showing it. Here we go:

Exterior
Pressure wash sidewalks and pool deck - DONE
Pressure wash brick wall of bedding area - DONE
Paint light post white -DONE
Replace light post cover - Had to special order it; will come in 3 weeks, but I've handled it, so - DONE
Plant new things in bedding area - DONE
Trim foliage - DONE
Weed the walkway and driveway - DONE
Repot the oleander bush - DONE
Clean windows (75 ft. of French doors - ugh!!) - DONE
Rearrange the garage - DONE
Call contractor to fix patio where cement is damaged

Master Bath and Bedroom
Finish filing
Replace closet doors (missing since we moved in 3 years ago!) - DONE
Repair door frames
Relocate photo albums that I don't know where to put
Move treadmill to garage
Clean off dresser - DONE
Sort my clothes - get rid of non-needed things - DONE
Re-fold Hubby's clothes in the walk-in closet organizer - Yeah...Decided this isn't that important.
Clean out bathroom cabinets - DONE
Straighten and organize bathroom shelving unit - DONE
Scrub shower door to remove film - DONE
Scrub tub caulking - DONE
Buy new bath mat for shower - DONE

Living Areas
Touch up baseboard paint in dining room - DONE
Dust chandelier - DONE
Clean tray table - DONE

Kitchen
Scrub down all cabinets and countertops
Scrub glass stovetop
Clean oven - DONE
Clean out cabinets and re-organize - DONE
Clean out pantry and re-organize - DONE
Clean out refrigerator and freezer - DONE

Playroom
Finish pulling out books to sell on eBay - DONE
Rehang closet door - Arrgh! Home Depot was out of the needed piece. Will have to wait.
Box up remaining books and put in storage - DONE
Get rid of bookshelves - DONE
Take down computer desk - DONE
Wipe hard drives and dispose of old computers - DONE
Move bed to center of room - Tried it, didn't like it, but I'm counting it as DONE

Miscellaneous
Clean and organize kids' rooms (this would be another whole post!!) - Emily's Room DONE
Decorate for Christmas - DONE

I'm thinking what I want to do is assign each section a day or two (or three!). This week I'm going to work on the playroom Monday and Tuesday, and complete the living room tasks on Wednesday. We always do our Christmas decorating on Thanksgiving Day, so that will be a no-brainer for us. Over the weekend, Hubby and I will work on all the exterior tasks. That leaves me all next week to work on the bedrooms. Then on Friday, I'll do all the cleaning stuff - mop the floors, clean the bathrooms, etc. And we'll be all set!!

1. I need to remove all the books from the room. First off, I need to identify those books which I can list on eBay and get that done. Then, whatever isn't worth listing on eBay and I don't want to keep, I just need to donate to Goodwill. I'd like to cut the number of bookshelves down from 4 to 2.
2. I need to either convince my son (not likely) to get rid of the Imaginext toys or move them to the garage, or find a better system for storing them. Currently they are filling 3 under-the-bed boxes (which don't even fit under the bed) and are always in the way.
3. I need to make a system which will encourage my kids to put away cds and cd-roms when they are finished with them - right now they get left out and are all over the place, not good when you are talking about $175 curriculum cds!!
4. I'd like to paint the room. It's right now a shade of salmon (what was I thinking?!?!?) and I want to paint it a nice neutral sand color, matching the main living areas of the house.
5. I need to get the closet door to stay on. It keeps coming off every time we put it back up. Any tips on how those things work?
6. I need to figure out a better place to store the large green ottoman until we are ready to have a garage sale and sell that set. It doesn't fit in any other room and it would get ruined in the garage, but this just isn't working.
7. I need to make a shelf or two to be dedicated to the school equipment (microscope, globe, etc.).
8. I'd like to put a pretty tablecloth or table skirt on this ugly utility table that we are using for a computer desk right now. Ugh!!
9. And finally, I need to devise a way to get it to stay nice when I'm done. It seems like every time I get this room straightened up it ends up like this again.

So there you have it. I have allowed you to see what no other humans outside my family have seen. Don't you feel special? Now I'm off to get to work!!

To see what other bloggers are working on, head on over to The Organizing Junkie to see more 30-Day Organizational Challenge participants!

Well, specifically in one area for the purposes of this post.

Back over the summer I had grand plans. I was going to be the next big thing. I would reduce my grocery bills and increase our health. I was going to grow my own vegetables.

I did tons of research. Every book in the library on vegetable growing here in the South Florida region came home with me. I wrote out pages and pages of notes - planting times, feeding schedules, pruning information...anything I could find.

And I bought. Oh, did I buy! Once Hubby rejected my plan to make a raised bed garden in the yard and insisted I work with pots on the patio, I had myself a pot purchasing party. Big ones, little ones, round ones, square ones. And or course, I needed to buy the appropriate soil stuff - peat moss, lime, perlite, sand, blood meal, moon dust. Ok, no moon dust actually, but just about everything else that comes in bags from Home Depot. I figured it would all be worth it in the end once we reaped the bountiful harvest.

Then I hit a snag. Except for a peppers and tomatoes, almost everything I wanted to grow was to be grown from seed. But apparently there is a seed shortage here in South Florida. I couldn't find seeds anywhere. Well, flower seeds, yes, but that wasn't what I needed. I could order them online, but Hubby hates it when I shop online and I'd already pushed his patience to the limit with all the pots and bags now filling our garage.

So I decided to be content with peppers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and herbs.

To date, I have harvested one (did ya catch that? ONE!) cherry tomato. My peppers are growing - I'd say that there are about 3 on the vine that will be ready to harvest soon. But my tomatoes? I don't know what happened. They have been plagued by everything they could be plagued by and are just spindly and dying. I have no idea what happened. None of my books or notes address the problem.

Hubby has kindly begun returning the pots. I say kindly because he has not completely ridiculed me as I had expected him to.

As for that one lone little cherry tomato?

It was the best darn $100 bite of tomato I've ever had.

I have some exciting news to share, but first I'll give you our week's menu. Last week, I wasn't feeling well for a couple of days, so I've moved some of last week's menu up to this week.

• Monday - Baja Beef & Beans, Tex-Mex Rice, Fiesta Salad with vanilla ice cream and Apple Enchiladas for dessert (I'm taking dinner to our youth pastor and his wife who just had a new baby, so I'm making double portions to serve both families. This is an awesome crockpot recipe!)
• Tuesday - Pot Roast with baby carrots and potatoes, tossed salad
• Wednesday - Lentils and rice, chopped salad
• Thursday - Stuffed Cabbage Casserole
• Friday - Chicken Fajitas with Corn, Avocado & Black Bean salad
• Saturday - Blackened Chicken Salad (recipe from Applebee's)
• Sunday - Scallops, yellow rice, tossed salad

If anyone is interested in any of the recipes, just let me know and I'll be happy to post them.

Now on to the big news! No, I'm not pregnant so let's just get that out of the way, shall we? It seems pretty certain that we will indeed be moving to the Middle East. This morning Hubby interviewed (via phone) with a company in Qatar and they definitely want him. The problem is that's not where we want to go.

But this morning he also received an email from the person he's been talking with in Dubai (which IS where we want to go) and he will be calling him for a phone interview this week and he said that he's very optimistic about Hubby getting the job. Whoo-hoo!!

We do have some big decisions to make. Going to Qatar would probably mean significantly more money. But in Dubai, we would be close to Hubby's sister and her family - cousins for my kids to be around. Also, there is so much to do in Dubai - an indoor ski center, a huge waterpark, an amazing theme park set to open soon and more. I've learned that there's a nice-sized group of people there who homeschool (as opposed to Qatar, where I can't find a single homeschooler to save my life!). It's a very child-friendly place and we have gotten very excited about what life might be like there.

After having done some research following my previous post on this subject, I don't think we'll be able to save quite as much money as I had thought. The cost of living is much higher there than I realized. But we will still be able to sock away quite a good deal of money for our retirement and it will be a huge adventure for all of us. And for those of you who are thinking, "What on earth are they thinking about?? How could you move to the Middle East??!!" I refer you here. This site will give you some basic information about Dubai.

So, Hubby may be leaving us as soon as December and the kids and I would follow a few months after that. There's ALOT to do between now and then! Anyone want to rent a fully furnished house in Miami?!?!

This week, I'm going to continue working on the habits I mentioned last week. I can't honestly say that I did very well this past week, but better than if I didn't have something to aim for, I suppose. Posting the chart up on my bathroom mirror gives me a daily reminder of what my goals are.

I know that most people probably think it's better to work on just one or two things at a time, but trust me when I say that I seriously am so out of whack right now that I need to improve every area of my life pronto! Having a list of 20 different things that I'm working on is helping me to try to find balance in my life - everything from my relationship with God to having pretty feet is covered!

I have to admit that I've been neglecting myself for quite some time now. I think that after my kids were born, I went into some kind of depression (though I'm not sure that's the right word) wherein I just didn't really care about myself at all - all my energy went into my kids. I put myself on the back burner. Now, many pounds and a lot of self-pity later, I have dug myself into a deep, deep pit I'm trying to climb out of.

As a reminder, here's the 20 habits I'm working on:

1. Devotions each morning
2. Vitamin each morning
3. Bed by 11:00
4. Bedtime Routine (wash face, moisturize, brush teeth, floss)
5. No Sugar
6. At least 5 Servings of Produce
7. Shoes on in the House
8. Mini-Pedi each night (file calluses and slather with Vaseline)
9. No Binging
10. No Food After 8 pm
11. 5 Min. Stretching
12. Walk at least 20 Min
13. Breakfast
14. Calcium Tablet
15. Floss
16. Strength Train
17. No Soda
18. Don’t Salt Food
19. Drink 64 Oz. Water
20. 1 Hour of Quiet (No tv, no radio, no yelling kids - just time for my mind to be quiet)

For more ideas of what other women around the world are working on, be sure to stop by The Lazy Organizer!