Negligence and Procrastination

Wow!  It seems as though it has been forever since I posted on here!  It's been in the back of my mind constantly but I just haven't found a good time to sit and blog.  I haven't even had time lately to sit down and take care of our emails.  You know, all of those lovely emails that I intend to read sometime but never actually do.  It finally got to over 200 emails this morning and I decided that I had to take action.  Now, 200 emails may not sound extreme to some people but I'll just say that we try to keep our emails to a bare minimum and that's usually less that 10.  So, our emails were overloaded, our DVR has such a backlog that I feel like when I do finally have the time to sit and watch any of the shows that I wind up falling asleep right in the middle of the episode, and I haven't been able to sit down and read for several weeks; at least not recreationally.  Then I realized that withdrawing myself from all of this media has not necessarily been a negative in my life.  Have I been able to sit down and zone out with mindless drivel?  Not really.  Have I felt lost without it?  Nope!  Have I been able to take the time to accomplish more of the things that are potentially enriching and edifying?  Yup.

Family

Our church held its General Conference a little over a week ago.  For those that are unaware of this semi-annual event, it is when the leaders of our church speak and offer counsel and inspiration to anyone willing to hear their messages.  During this last General Conference, President Uchtdorf, a Counselor in the First Presidency of the church, touched on many things but what I felt was most applicable to me was his mention of time management.  Have I been busy?  Yes.  Have I been focusing more on things that really truly matter?  I like to think that I have.  I am trying to focus more on the truly important things and steer away from the things that just seem more enticing.  In the past it's seemed relatively easy to tell the kids, "I'll be there in just a minute.  Just wait until I'm done with [insert meaningless internet site or other frivolous task]".  It's so easy to find other things to do that seem so much easier than tending to the things that really should be priorities in my life.  This may mean less frequent blog posts and it may mean fewer deals found online, but are those the things that are vital?  Not really.  I feel good about the things that I have began to make improvements upon.  I have felt more organized in my life.  I have had a greater sense of accomplishment and hope to continue on with this for as long as possible.  Here's hoping.....

Problem solved

This is a follow-up post to my last entry. Last time I wrote that I was desperately seeking suggestions on what I could do to get fit without the aid of my "precious" gym membership which I begrudgingly parted with when we moved to Arizona. Well, since then, I have rethought that cry for help because it turns out that I got what I asked for and then some as my aching body is now the one making the cry for help.

I have begun walking/jogging nearly five days per week with a superb partner(who will remain unnamed, though I must say he has been a truly wonderful support for the past 10 years ;) ). Then, this past week, I spoke with one of my neighbors who was just getting done working out with another woman from our neighborhood/ward and invited me to join them to work out three days per week. I am very thankful to these amazing women for allowing me to join them and am even more thankful that they don't outwardly laugh at me while I make a fool of myself doing certain exercises. Well, I must go and play Little People with Jake because I was just informed that if I did it "right now" then I could get a hug-and-kiss from him. Soooo.....bye!

Desperately Seeking Suggestions

Ok. So, now that I am finally done nursing I am ready to get back in shape, since I have one of those body types that actually holds on to all fat while nursing.

Well, I've gotta be honest, the desire is there but I'm going to need some help from those of you(if anyone) that reads my blog. Those of you that have known me for a while are probably aware that I'm not exactly in my peak physical shape like I was before Noah. Before our move to Arizona I was pretty good about going to the gym three days a week and getting some light exercise in on other days(I would typically run on average 25 miles and do my kickboxing/tae bo class three days per week) . I LOVED having a gym membership that enabled me to physically and mentally remove myself from my at-home distractions and I found it pretty easy to get some exercise in on other days since we were biking, walking, or running distance to numerous city ammenities(library, zoo, park, farmer's market, Riverwalk, etc....), and having those things so close to home made it so much easier to get out of the house on a consistent basis. Maybe it's just because I'm still not totally used to being in Arizona, maybe it's my attitude, or both, but I just can't find anything appealing around here to make me want to just get out of the house, at least not that isn't a 10-15 minute drive first, not to mention that I have a phobia of snakes. I don't want to feel as though I have to drive somewhere first before I can enjoy the outdoors. I'm pretty comfortable biking to get to where I want to go but there are a lot of busy, fast-moving roads near our home that make me very uneasy. Also, I have initiated a Couch-to-5k plan and mapped my routes, though they are just between our boring old subdivision and the boring old subdivision across the street, but it's just not motivating me. I was always so good about staying self-motivated and self-disciplined before, now I'm more like self-sabotaging. Ho-hum.

I need any advice I can get to get myself motivated around here and I need suggestions on what I can do and where I can go. I would love to have a gym membership again but it's not exactly in the budget right now. So, with that being said; HELP!!!!

Change and sickness

Jason started a new job this past Monday so our evenings at home have been completely thrown off. It certainly is taking some adjusting going from having Jason around nearly all of the time for the past year to now having him gone every evening. I really have enjoyed having Jason around, even though I may have had the occasional grumble. It was truly a blessing on so many occasions that he was home. He was able to spend more time with the kids and I and was actually home for Noah's first year to see firsthand all of the milestones that our little guy made. I hope that this new change will bring about many opportunities and growth. We do have a transportation issue, however, but we'll make due for now. Jason needs the van to go to work, so I will be motor-less for at least 4 hours daily while he's gone and before his mom may get home. My biggest concern is the reliability of our van. Hopefully she'll hold out for us; she's been a good van.

Soooo, it seems that someone forgot to tell our family that cold season is OVER!!!! It is now May and we're all sick!!! This bout of illness has truly made me realize that we all have our own "personalities" when it come to being sick. When we get sick, Noah gets it in his eyes and nose, Jacob gets it in his lungs, Leah gets it in her nose and throat, and I get it in my throat and lungs which ultimately means that I lose my voice, and this happens pretty much every single time we get sick. We are family yet we are all very unique.

On the bandwagon

Soooo......after seemingly countless friends and family members have asked us, "Hey, do you guys have a blog?", and after much procrastination we have finally decided to give it a go. I will keep my expectations and hopes low for this whole blogging thing so I should expect any followers of our blog to do the same. My intentions are to make semi-frequent posts that will include a little bit of everything. I don't want to create a blog solely about our kids, though they will be a significant part of it.

This week we were fortunate enough to get a one night stay at the Red Roof Inn in West Phoenix for a PENNY and rather than waste it we figured that we would plan a fun outing for our little family. We had a fun night of food, swimming, and a movie, then we woke early the next morning and headed out to visit with my(Missy's) Great Aunt in Peoria. The kids were able to do more swimming at her house and then we finished up our trip at a family fun center which I had found an online certificate for at half price. It was tons of fun!