Taking a "Time Out!"

I really want to be able to look back two years from now after all this craziness is behind me with nursing school and remember what actually went on in my life despite the madness. For that reason, I hope to be consistent in taking some "time out" moments to record some thoughts - even if it's just 5 minutes here and there. Monday begins week 3 of nursing school - crazy to think how quickly it's going by already. (I'm OKAY with that!) :) The first week was fairly "easy" for the most part. There were some overwhelming moments, but those moments were brief, thank goodness. We mainly just learned some basic "intro to nursing" things along with how to perform proper patient hygiene techniques such as oral care/bed baths, changing bed linens, etc. This past week (2nd week) I definitely had more frequent "what have I gotten myself into" moments - information was thrown at us at a much faster pace this week. Nonetheless, it was still a good week! Still just getting "a feel" for what to expect!

I'm learning very early on that they don't lie to you when they tell you you will not have much of a life outside your school work over these 2 years. So far, my schedule consist of getting up between 5 and 5:30 most days, managing to have somewhat of a quiet time and substantial breakfast and leaving for school between 6:30-6:45. I'm usually home most days by around 3, which gives me a little time to get some studying in before Aaron gets home from work. Poor thing - some days I'm doing good to look up from my books long enough to give him a kiss and ask how his day was before returning to my studies. I cannot tell you what a blessing this man is to me - he has been so ready to help out however I need him to as far as cooking and cleaning goes. I may have to ask for the help at times, but never do I hear a "sigh" or complaint. He's always ready to answer with a "sure" and a sweet smile on his face. I did good. :) I try to end my day by 9 or 10 - I'm trying to allow my body to adjust to a minimum of 6 hours of sleep to a max of no more than 8. So far, I'm hangin' in! Time management is going to be key!

I think the hardest thing for me throughout this journey is going to be having to say "no" or "I'm sorry, I just can't do that right now" when asked to be somewhere or participate in something that I would LOVE to be a part of...and learning what things or events are ok to say "no" to and when I need to say "no" to nursing school...if that makes sense. My church just hosted a 2 day "Disciple Makers Conference" this weekend and Aaron literally had to tell me that I could not go. Now, don't get me wrong - my husband loves me and he knows my heart...and we both agree that our devotion to the Lord comes before anything else. I went back and forth for over a week, trying to figure out how I was going to study for the 2 test I have next week on top of all the "routine" things I have to study every week, plus go to this conference Friday night and all day on Saturday. I needed him to tell me I couldn't go for many reasons! Thankfully, they recorded the sessions so I can go back and listen to them when I have time. So, it's just things like this that will be hard. I apologize in advance if you ask me to do something and I have to turn you down - please don't take offense or take it personal! :)

Well, I definitely needed this little "time out"! Like I said, I have 2 test next week and then another one the following week, so maybe I'll be back for another "time out" after that! For now, I'm going to spend some time loving on my honey until the Falcons game starts at 7:30. Then, it's back to studying for me and some fun football watching for the Mister! :)

Thoughts...

LOTS of thoughts running through my mind today - random thoughts - thoughts that don't necessarily flow together but are still there, nonetheless.

- ONE week from today I start nursing classes. Thinking back 5 + years ago when I TALKED about going to nursing school, hoped to go to nursing school, dreamed of going to nursing school. It's really happening and I'm scared out of my mind!

-LOVED this weekend and the extra special time spent with my sweet husband. We've been talking about how once classes start for me next week, that our time together may not be as often as what we like - that we will vow to set aside time for each other everyday - and ask the Lord to allow us to soak up as much of one another as we can during that time each day - whether it be 10 minutes or 2 hours.

-Hoping my husband will forgive me in advance for the lack of cooking and cleaning that will take place over the next two years and praying that my OCD self will not stress out over the lack of cooking and cleaning that take place over the next two years!

-Thankful that Aaron and I both come from families of hard workers and that they continue to instill in us the value of doing things the right way, even if the right way is the harder or the longer way.

-I am still giddy over the fact that I have another precious niece or nephew on the way. Aaron and I were talking last night that we need to buy my Sister and BIL a webcam so that I can see more of my Luke and my sister's belly as it grows!

-"Your walk....talks." A statement my Pastor made yesterday. He is currently preaching through Colossians and right now he's talking about "a new man's new mouth" and how others will know we are truly regenerated by the words that flow from our lips. Oh be careful little mouth what you say.

-The visit that we had from dear friends this past Friday was so good for my soul. Brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.

-I miss my girlfriends from home. Miss them something fierce at times. They are precious to me and they always will be. They each have such beautiful families now and it's crazy to think how grown up we all are getting. I love the callings that the Lord has placed on each of their lives. I haven't gotten to see much of them over the last year and a half, but truly look forward to the next time we do get together - because I know we will not miss a beat. :)

-Thankful for the new friendships I'm allowing the Lord to finally begin cultivating in my life here in Griffin. I. Need. Them.

-Praying with all my might that I do not gain 20 more pounds in nursing school. I already have 25 to get back off since Aaron and I entered marital bliss. I'm adopting this phrase my friend Kate (who is a nurse) shared with me the other day: Nuts and berries, not fries and shakes. That's her advice to me as I start out on this journey - I will try my hardest to heed it, Kate!!

-"Made to Live For You" - song that was sang at church yesterday. Needed the reminder that above nursing school, above my friends and family (and missing them), above stressing out over a cleaned house or a homecooked meal (or lack thereof), above ALL else, I was made to live for Him. So often, I think I'm made to live for all these other things and I try to squeeze a bit of Him in wherever and whenever I can. Help me, Lord, to live for YOU, and while living for YOU and seeking You and Your kingdom first, You tell me that all these other things I need will be added. Help me to trust Your word.

New House, Goodwill Finds and a Growing Luke!

Hey all! Well, to say we've had lots going on lately is a bit of an understatement. We found out a little over a month ago that I was accepted to begin nursing school this fall, which is a HUGE praise and something that we are incredibly thankful for. A few weeks before we received this exciting news, we started throwing around the idea of becoming "house hunters" for the first time. After all, it is one of our favorite shows on HGTV. :) So, after some praying and seeking advice from our friends and family, we started putting what we've learned from our late night family friendly t.v. show to use! The process of looking for a home has been fairly pleasant overall and the Lord has been faithful to close doors and open them where He has seen fit. We couldn't be more excited with the home that He has chosen for us! We are set to close on our first home on June 6th! We definitely have our work cut out for us for the next few months (or year!) with the renovations we hope/need to make, but we know that's just part of making it our "own". :) I will post more pictures once we move, but for now, here it is!

Our kitchen in the new house is a bit odd shaped. There is a separate dining room where we will have a full sized table, but as far as the kitchen goes, there is room for something, but not a full sized table by any means. Aaron and I began looking at options for kitchen islands, with the thoughts that we would eventually just probably have one custom made for us later on down the road. Wouldn't you know, however, that I would find one that I just LOVE while Aaron and I were out and about one day at an antique store here in Griffin?! Seeing that we are buying a house, we have most certainly put ourselves on a spending FREEZE on items that we don't necessarily need at this point. So, I knew there was no way we could purchase this kitchen island that has so much character and that I immediately fell in love with. I had this table on my mind non-stop after seeing it. I was trying to come up with a million different ideas of what I could sell, etc. so that we could purchase this table. Aaron told me I sounded like him trying to figure out how he was going to buy an iPad! He gets giddy and excited over buying iPad's...I get giddy and excited over buying beautiful blue kitchen islands! Several days later after talking things over with Aaron, I went back to the antique store to see if I could bargain with the owner to lower the price - I failed because she had actually just lowered it by almost $90. She did inform me, however, of the store's lay-a-way plan and after lots of thought, Aaron decided that I would never be able to look at another kitchen island again without comparing it to this one. Take a look at our new (but old!) soon-to-be kitchen island that we are in the process of purchasing! It is going go perfectly with the colors and cottage type feel that we are going to be going with in our new kitchen!

I also wanted to share with you a GREAT Goodwill find that I ran upon several weeks ago. We have been looking for a bedside table for Aaron's side of the bed since we've been married and have always come away disappointed with not finding one we like that is reasonably priced. I immediately called Aaron from the store as soon as I saw this to ask if he minded me buying it (again, we're on a major spending freeze!). After hanging up w/ Aaron, a fellow shopper approached me and assured me that I was getting an amazing deal in this little table. He told me that it was indeed an antique, that he had two tables at home just like this one, and that they were worth over $100. Check out my little deal...only paid a little over $8 for it and I can't wait to refinish it!

(please excuse all the boxes in the background...if you could only see the rest of our "packed up" apartment right now!)

And last, but certainly not least, I leave you with a quick update on my little man, Luke. Last week, Luke completed his first year of PreK. He has grown to love and enjoy his time at school and making new friends. I can't believe how big he's getting - but I must say, the older he gets, the more fun he gets! I love him more and more each day - even if we are 100 miles apart! Both of our families are doing well. Please keep both Aaron's grandmother and my grandfather in your prayers. They've both had their own health issues arise this week but are both in good hands!

Luke's first day of preschool this year!

Luke's last day of preschool this year! Don't you just love how he crosses his legs?!?

Cute thing. :)

GFJ -"Fit For My King" FINISHED!!

Getting ready to head out on vacation in just a couple of hours so I don't have but just a quick second to update. I successfully complete my 30 day "Fit For My King" devotional yesterday! I wish I could put in to words how good I feel! Truly. Before I started this whole foods adventure a little over a month ago, I was really starting to struggle with fatigue and just flat out not feeling good all around. Without a doubt in my mind, I now know the majority of these "complaints" were due to the foods that I was choosing to eat. Aaron and I have both gotten into an exercise routine again, and this obviously is helping us to both feel better as well. Am I going to continue eating this way? ABSOLUTELY!! The biggest challenge has been finding recipes, etc., but the sites I posted in my last post have been lifesavers. Another great one that I ran upon this week is www.100daysofrealfood.com . The main goal in eating this way, at least for myself is to feel healthier so that I can ultimately take better care of the Lord's temple (my body) to serve Him better. I'm excited to say that I've lost 9 pounds over the last 30 days. I pray that as I continue on this journey, that it will always be for HIS glory and not for my selfish desires.

GFJ -"Fit For My King" Recipes!

Just wanted to quickly share a few recipe websites/blogs that have been and are becoming extremely helpful for me as I've learned to prepare and ENJOY whole foods/natural foods over these past few weeks! (read post below to see why!) I have about 1 week left until my 30 day "fast" on whole foods is over. I don't think it'll really be "over" for me though! I can't tell you how GREAT I have felt with no refined sugar or processed foods swimming around in my system. Aside from my allergies wearing me out, I have truly had more energy than I can remember having in a LONG time! I'm learning to love that knowing what is going into my body is GOOD for me. I will update next week after my 30 days is up! But for now, I will leave you with a few websites that have some really yummy and healthy recipes.

"Now glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more that we would ever dare to ask or hope." Ephesians 3:20

http://www.ohhealthyday.com/

http://www.anjasfood4thought.com/

http://www.healthyfoodforliving.com/

http://www.fullplatediet.org/recipes/

GFJ Post - getting "Fit for My King"

I have to be completely honest here in telling you my thoughts when I picked up this book in LifeWay about a week ago. I thought, "ok, this is just another one of THOSE diet books that just happens to have a Christian spin on it." The title even sounded a little cheesy to me - Fit for My King. Just being HONEST! (must've been extra critical that day and having major moments of NOT walking or thinking in the Spirit!) And if I've read one book on how to lose weight I've read at least 50. So, why should I use my gift card to buy this book instead of that Kari Jobe CD I really wanted? I kid you not, there was a battle that went on in my head for about 15 minutes as I held both of these items in my hand. I only had enough money left on the gift card to purchase one or the other. Which one would it be? Well, obviously we all know it was the book, and I have to admit that I left the store I little mad about my decision. I was mad that I didn't get that Kari Jobe CD and I was even more mad that I was one of those people who have to buy books about losing weight anyway! It was most definitely a "poor, poor me" kind of day...can ya tell?? :) Thank goodness His mercies are new everyday! Amen? Amen.

Towards the mid part of last week I started feeling much more energized and rested. I attributed this to being more consistent over the past couple of weeks with exercising and the sunshine that we've been getting hasn't hurt, either! After my workout last Thursday, I was hungry! It was lunchtime and Aaron had other plans for lunch that day, so I was on my own and could fix myself whatever I wanted. I don't know that I could say this is exactly what I wanted and had in mind when opening the fridge to see what my options were, but what I came out with were fresh fruits and veges that I made a simple smoothie out of. (see last post) And it truly was so satisfying and GOOD and gave me more energy than anything else I could have chosen to have. I know this sounds weird, but it was actually very exciting to me that I enjoyed my lunch that much!

I woke up the next day, still feeling good about the choices that I had made the day before, and I happened to remember that "book" that I had bought earlier in the week that still sat in its crumpled up bag in a chair. Still a little hesitant, I began to read the intro. And after a few pages in and reading things such as "Our God desires for His beloved to experience good health and for their souls to soar" and "Can you imagine if our purpose for being our best was to show our King how much we love Him by taking care of His temple and to have enough energy to witness to the lost?" - I have to say I was a little, ok a lot, more humbled than I was a few days earlier in my regards to what the Lord might allow me to learn through these pages. And I was even more so humbled that He began preparing my heart and my body for the challenges that laid ahead of me the day BEFORE I even knew what they were going to be. This book, Fit for My King, is a 30 day devotional that challenges you, not only with a whole foods "diet" for the 30 days - fasting completely off of white sugar, white flour and several other things, but it is also a book that makes some tough points. My goal, as His child, should not be to lose a single pound for ME and ALL that comes with that! It absolutely should be completely about Him and for His glory ALONE. This is so INCREDIBLY difficult...especially for us women. We are constantly faced with images that we think we should live up to in our society. We so long for the approval and the praise of others. But that isn't God's goal for us at all. His goal is for us to be HEALTHY - for His glory, so that we can make His name greater - and that's the ONLY reason. So, as cheesy as it may or may not sound, I want to be fit for my King. I want to wake up each morning feeling strong so that I can fulfill whatever purposes He has for me for that day. I want to eat the foods that He intended for me to eat from the beginning of time. Not foods that may taste so yummy for a time, but slowly destroy His temple.

Please pray for me over these next 30 days as I make my way through this devotional and through His Word. (and as I seek out new recipes to try!!) I have also been given the challenge to not weigh myself at all during these next 30 days which I know will be VERY hard for me. So pray that I will not be fixated with a number but with feeling energized so that I can betterB serve others and my Lord. Pray that I will not get discouraged when I mess up, because I know that I probably will. My hope is that my desires and my thinking for food and the types of food I crave will be transformed over this next month so that this will become a lifestyle change - not just a 30 day change. And lastly, pray that I will learn to do EVERYTHING for Him.

This seems to be a GREAT book for those looking to loose weight and for those who just want to eat more wholesomely. Highly recommend it. Fit for My King by Sherri Rose Shepherd

Recipe I tried out yesterday that was YUMMY!

Irish Mum's Brown Bread

1 cup unbleached white bread flour (I used whole wheat flour instead)
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4+ cups buttermilk
2 ounces butter
1 egg

Melt the butter over gentle heat.

In a medium-sized bowl lightly beat the egg and then gradually add the buttermilk all the while stirring to incorporate the egg. Beat in the butter. In another bowl sift and mix the dry ingredients as best you can, and then stir in the buttermilk mixture. If you are using a baking tin the mixture should be on the wetter side. If your dough is too dry, mix in small splashes of buttermilk until it is the right consistency. Cook at 400F for 50 minutes on the middle rack. You want to hear a sort of hollow sound when you knock on the bottom of the tin. Resist the urge to take the bread out too soon, or the middle of the bread won't get cooked through.

Makes 1 loaf.

**NOTE** Because I used whole wheat flour, the loaf was a little more dense and took about an hour and 10 minutes in the oven instead of 50 minutes.

GFJ Post!!

I'm sorry, yet again, that it took me forever to do another "Get Fit Journey" post. Some of you are aware that I have been on this journey since January of 2007. I constantly have to remind myself that journeys in life have both roads that go up and roads that go down, and often times roads that are somewhere in between. I've definitely been on a "rocky" road over the past year in my GFJ and I think/know the biggest reason for that is simply a lack of self-discipline. I can blame this road on starting back to school, or on just getting married and moving to a new place, etc., etc. But when it comes right down to it, I've just been very lax with my eating and with my exercise. These last two weeks have been better, though! Thanks to my mother and father-in-law, Aaron and I now have a treadmill! I have wanted this for Aaron and myself for a while now, but was a little hesitant with our living in an apartment, lack of space, neighbors right underneath us situation. Aaron's parents had a spare treadmill in their basement and they were very generous to allow us to use it. I'm using the treadmill to supplement my exercise video that I truly enjoy doing - "Walk Away the Pounds" with Leslie Sansone. This video allows me to choose a 1, 2 or 3 mile workout, depending on the amount of time I have to workout and also on my energy level. I always either choose the 2 or 3 mile workout and then on top of that, I have been walking on the treadmill for a least another mile. So far, so good. And my sweet husband has been getting up early to use the treadmill before he goes to work. I love that he has chosen to head out on this "journey" with me. The thing that makes me not like him being on this journey with me, however, is the fact that his pants feel looser after ONE stinkin' time on that treadmill! :) I love him so much and am incredibly appreciative of his support in my life. Here we both are, trying out the treadmill!

I look a little TOO excited...and my thumbs look weird.

I can hear what my husband is thinking..."Seriously. You're taking a picture of me walking on a treadmill at 7 o'clock in the morning?? Who cares about that?!?" Isn't he just cute? :)

This was my lunch for today and it was SO YUMMY and packed full of vitamins and nutrients. I enjoy eating smoothies, I just don't ever really think about making them. Well, that's going to change! I just took several ingredients that I had on hand here at home - a carrot, an apple, a handful of fresh cherries and frozen strawberries. I probably would have added at least part of a banana too, but since I had one with my breakfast this morning, I skipped it in my smoothie.

I only used half of an apple. A bit of yogurt would have been ideal just to help liquify the smoothie a little, but since I didn't have any in my fridge today, I added a couple of tablespoons of apple juice - just enough to help the blending process.

I also used my coffee grinder and ground up about a tablespoon and a half of flax seeds to throw into the mix. Incase you didn't know, flax seeds are FULL of goodness for you! You can add them to anything you make - doesn't hinder the taste at all.

Isn't that just beautiful?? And it tasted even better than it looked! VERY filling too.

My advice for this GFJ post: Don't consider yourself a failure, even when you find yourself on a hard or rocky road in your journey. Keep going, because the road will level out again eventually.

"Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places smooth." Isaiah 40:4