W.I.A.W.

If you follow a lot of blogs you will notice some bloggers have weekly schedules and do certain themed posts on certain days usually with a catchy title using alliteration liiiike... Wednesdays are sometimes W.I.W.W. (What I Wore Wednesdays) or W.I.A.W (What I Ate Wednesdays). Well over here, for today at least, W.I.A.W. stands for "Wow, It's Already Wednesday?!"

That is exactly the way I feel today! I actually feel this way every week. Every day just goes by so fast and before you can blink its a new week. Several days ago I posted about some things I wanted to accomplish and some things (time-wasters) I wanted to phase out of my life. Well, Saturday I went to JoAnn fabrics and bought the materials needed to make a skirt. I wasn't really expecting to see anything I liked. I actually had to pick between three different fabrics. I am keeping the others in mind for other projects! OR just more of the same project in different prints.

I am having a hard time deciding what style to do. There are two tutorials from Cotton and Curls that I want to try and they are both fairly simple... looking. Haven't tried them yet, so I can't say for sure. Also, my skill level is BEGINNER. I have started two dresses before, got half way through, got stuck and then never finished. This time I want to try and practice correct technique and take my time so the end product is wearable. There will be an end product! Here are the two styles I am trying to decide between.

If I make this I'll need to make it longer than in this picture to  keep it modest while sitting. This being a wrap style I may even need to just attach at the overlap so it doesn't separate. (Thinking out loud.) source

Looking at this tutorial just now to get the picture made me realize how much simpler this one is than the other. source

Simpler is better for a beginner... especially if that beginner is me! I plan to begin working on this tomorrow, my day off this week. If I'm not too ashamed when it's finished I'll post pictures! The material I chose is very similar to the material C&C used in the first picture. I was thinking if mine turns out to be wearable I might wear it to the upcoming Valentine's banquet here at MSOP! 

Without any clever seg-way, I'm changing the subject!

This past week we (MSOP student wives) were required to develop and turn in a Bible class lesson about a certain Bible character or characters. After we turned them in to our teacher we all swapped lessons and now we each have about 25 different Bible class lessons already made up to take with us wherever we are going! I am super pumped about it. It's gotten me even more excited about finding a congregation for AJ and I to work with and begin teaching children's Bible class again! 

I want to share something our teacher, sister Tish Clarke, said about teaching Bible class that really stuck out to me. What she said wasn't a huge secret or something very profound; I guess I just never heard it said out loud before. She said, "When your students leave your classroom they should leave thinking about God and what He means to them rather than thinking about Jonah and a big fish!" Meaning, they need to remember what they learn about God from the account of Jonah and the big fish, not just that Jonah was swallowed by a big fish and was there for three days. I haven't taught MANY Bible classes before, but the ones I have taught I think I was too focused on making sure I had enough "to do" to fill the class time and making sure I was going to keep their attention. Those things are important, but not as important as those little ones hearing about God from His word and the application to their life. I can't wait to put this in to practice!  

Are you working on any sewing projects?
Have any tips for a beginner?

   

I'm really doing it!

After two different times starting and quitting, I, along with my awesome gym buddy, have completed the first three weeks of the "Total Body Blitz" 12-week exercise program. I have to say I am feeling great! Pounds are coming off... granted not like on the Biggest Loser, but they are coming off! My jeans are getting looser and looser. That makes me excited! There is nothing like results to make you want to keep going. I had a small victory in our work out today, too. I completed real-deal box jumps as prescribed. You are probably like, woo-hoo... go, you... but it was a victory indeed for me. We had been doing the box jumps on an aerobic step that's only like three or four inches off the floor. Like this one only without the risers underneath.

Today I used a 12" box. It was scary making the first jump because I kept picturing myself missing the box and scraping my shins all to pieces. After that, it was awesome! So the 12" box is the shortest one in this picture. Hey, gotta start somewhere!!

  

Can you believe there are people out there that can jump a 62" box?! Check out this video just for fun. I'm not even sure if that's the highest one. Have you ever heard of Cross Fit? That is definitely something I would like to get in to eventually. Those people are so fit. Although, some of the women are VERY built and that's not my goal. 

Anyway. My diet hasn't been top notch by any means, but I am certainly eating better. I've been keeping up with tracking my calories on My Fitness Pal and I know that has helped. I really want to take mine and AJ's diet to the next level and really eat clean. We have made several changes in our pantry, but one thing we haven't gotten rid of is potato chips!! I don't eat them every day, but on days when we have a sandwich for lunch I want chips. Sometimes we will have apple slices instead, but those chips are so yummy. I could do some carrot sticks. 

What have your work outs been like lately?

Have you had any personal victories?

 

Something worth blogging about...

I think that has been my problem this entire time. The reason I cannot post consistently is because I rarely have anything worth blogging about, besides things of a spiritual nature of course. Even then I haven't been able to keep up the "Light for Your Path" series I said I was going to have. Blogging requires creativity. I like to think that I am creative; however, I believe my creativity has been stunned. "By what?" you may be asking. I blame the television. Well, my television doesn't do anything wrong until I turn it on then somehow I find myself sitting... watching... for longer than I want to admit. Not to mention while I'm watching the TV, I'm also checking Facebook a zillion times (I already quit FB once.) and my e-mail. BTW no one e-mails me... besides the 100 websites I've signed up to receive sale advertisements and things like that. WHY? I don't know. I don't ever buy anything! So... I must blame myself. I've stunned my own creativity into oblivion! awww, man... this has by far been the greatest challenge of being at home daily. I know I'm not the only one who struggles with this, am I? I want so badly to be able to work from the home to have time to take care of my family one day. Here I am having been given the opportunity and I have the time and it's wasted.

The good news is it's a new year! ha ha! Because I couldn't change anything about myself until after the new year came, right? Anyway.

How am I going to quit my TV watching habit? Well, AJ and I have talked about getting rid of the television, but we have yet to decide to just do it. We want to keep it to watch movies of course. So now it's up to just good ole self-discipline. Wasting time while watching TV has not only kept me from blogging like I want to, but it has also kept me from reading more, learning to sew, becoming a better cook, keeping a "house chores" schedule, visiting with friends more often... studying the Bible like I should. Oh man, it's just getting worse and worse.

OKAY. Back to the bright side. Self-discipline. Right.

I'm thankful to God for the opportunity to do right again and to be a better person all around.

So from now on I am going to spend more time doing the things I want to do and need to do for God, myself, for my husband, and for others.

Now that I have gotten that off my chest... let's talk about something worth blogging about!

You know that 12 week "Total Body Blitz" I've tried to start a couple of times now? I have officially made it through week one of the program without skipping a day and doing the workouts as prescribed. I would not have been able to do it without my workout buddy though! She has been a real encouragement to me this week, especially today. She helped me run longer than I think I have in over three years. WOO HOO! Only 11 more weeks to go! We can so do it.

In other weight-loss news, I've been tracking my food and exercise on My Fitness Pal consistently again. I've also gone 11 days without a soda, too! I'm trying to go from now until AJ graduates without sweets. You might be thinking that is extreme and that I can have sweets in moderation. Well, not for me. Sugary snacks, cakes, cookies, ice cream, etc are going to be the death of me... so for now, they are dead to me.

Thanks for reading! Have a very blessed weekend. Don't forget to make your best effort to attend worship services this Sunday.

"I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy might acts. I will speak of the glorious honor of they majesty, and of the wondrous works."  Psalm 145:1-5