Often I find myself caught up in self-criticsms and beating myself up over every little thing. I shouldn't have eaten so much of this. I should have done better on my exams. I'm not running fast enough. I didn't get that seam straight enough.
Some days nothing I do is good enough.
Well, for the next 15 minutes things are different. Sometimes acknowlegement of your accomplisments and a little self-praise is just what the doctor ordered!
So here's my list, I'm proud of myself for:
1. Making all of Riley's baby food. It's cheaper, I know what's going into his food, I can personalize his portions, and it was one of my resolutions that I've kept!
2. Still breastfeeding. I stopped nursing James at 6 months, for several reasons and regretted it. Riley's almost 7 mos old and still has not had a bottle of formula yet!
3. Sticking with school. My grades aren't ideal, but I'm not quitting and that counts for something, right?
4. Working out, running again, and sticking with it. Another resolution there!
5. Committing the next 30 days (starting in 10 minutes) to going vegan, and putting my foot down when people (ahem..Daddy..) try to convince me to change my mind.
6. Saving money. I've been setting some aside while Jay's been deployed, so we can put it toward a family vacation when he gets home!
7. Holding down the fort while Jason's been gone. Dealing with a two-year old, a baby, a dog, pottytraining, school, and living with my parents as a 22 year old married-single mom? I'd say that's a pretty big accomplishment right there!
So what are your accomplishments? Goals? Go ahead and make your own list. It'll make you feel good!
Take pride in yourself.
Now I'm off to sneak in one more bite of ice cream before TVA [totally vegan april] begins in 3 minutes!!
'Night ya'll!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sometimes all we need is a little motivation
Here are some words to inspire, motivate, provoke thought, and perk you up!
"Argue for your limitations and sure enough, they're yours." R. Bach (Illusions)
"It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels he is worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great god who made him." -- Abraham Lincoln
"To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men--that is genius."--Emerson
"Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm; it moves stones, it charms brutes. Enthusiasm is the genius of sincerity and truth accomplishes no victories without it.." -- Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873)
"Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them; but do not let them master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight." - Helen Keller.
"What I must do is all that concerns me, not what other people think.." -- Emerson
" Go for it now. The future is promised to no one." -Wayne Dyer
“One problem with gazing too frequently into the past is that we may turn around to find the future has run out on us.” – Michael Cibenko
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” – Lao Tzu
And my favorite:
“We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us.” – Joseph Campbell
"Argue for your limitations and sure enough, they're yours." R. Bach (Illusions)
"It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels he is worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great god who made him." -- Abraham Lincoln
"To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men--that is genius."--Emerson
"Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm; it moves stones, it charms brutes. Enthusiasm is the genius of sincerity and truth accomplishes no victories without it.." -- Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873)
"Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them; but do not let them master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight." - Helen Keller.
"What I must do is all that concerns me, not what other people think.." -- Emerson
" Go for it now. The future is promised to no one." -Wayne Dyer
“One problem with gazing too frequently into the past is that we may turn around to find the future has run out on us.” – Michael Cibenko
“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” – Lao Tzu
And my favorite:
“We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us.” – Joseph Campbell
Feeling good
All this sunshine has got me in a good mood. So good, in fact, that I have been working out! consistently! over the past few weeks. I've started running again and I love it. I'm certainly not in the shape I was in back in my track days of high school, but I'm doing alright. And I'm proud of myself for that. There's another resolution to check on the list!
So, it's not even started, but I'm already having some conflict with Totally Vegan April. I went to Kroger today for some vegan staples to have in the cabinet for meals these next couple of weeks, and it hit me---I'm going to have to miss out on my very favorite Easter tradition this year---Cadbury cream eggs!! For the past 10+ years, I have had a [box of] cadbury cream egg[s] at Easter time. The big ole Bunny always leaves them in my Easter basket. But this year I'm going to have to refrain from all that chocolatey-milky-creamy-sugary goodness. Sad day.
I will admit..I may have bought a box of them amidst all my vegan fare to sneak in my last couple days of foodie freedom... =)
I'm currently working on a quiet book for Riley. I hit up Hobby Lobby yesterday while I was out on a shopping/Olive Garden date with Granny and my boys and got some cute buttons, craft felt, and fabric to make it. I've been sketching out ideas for it and I'm sooo excited to work on it. If you're interested in making your own you can find inspiration, like I did, here: http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2009/07/quiet-book-templates.html
Well "Parenthood" is on in the next four minutes so I'm going plant myself in front of the tube for the next hour.
'evening ya'll!
So, it's not even started, but I'm already having some conflict with Totally Vegan April. I went to Kroger today for some vegan staples to have in the cabinet for meals these next couple of weeks, and it hit me---I'm going to have to miss out on my very favorite Easter tradition this year---Cadbury cream eggs!! For the past 10+ years, I have had a [box of] cadbury cream egg[s] at Easter time. The big ole Bunny always leaves them in my Easter basket. But this year I'm going to have to refrain from all that chocolatey-milky-creamy-sugary goodness. Sad day.
I will admit..I may have bought a box of them amidst all my vegan fare to sneak in my last couple days of foodie freedom... =)
I'm currently working on a quiet book for Riley. I hit up Hobby Lobby yesterday while I was out on a shopping/Olive Garden date with Granny and my boys and got some cute buttons, craft felt, and fabric to make it. I've been sketching out ideas for it and I'm sooo excited to work on it. If you're interested in making your own you can find inspiration, like I did, here: http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2009/07/quiet-book-templates.html
Well "Parenthood" is on in the next four minutes so I'm going plant myself in front of the tube for the next hour.
'evening ya'll!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Resolution #5. Try the vegan diet for at least 30 days
So it is T minus 2 Days till Totally Vegan April!
I've been meaning to go trial vegan for over a year now, so here's my chance! There's exactly 30 days in the month of April, so it's the perfect opportunity for me to go for it.
Whenever I've mentioned my plans to family and friends, the reaction is anywhere from
"Oh I'd love to do it with you, but it seems like it'd be impossible to give up x [cheese, ice cream, eggs, etc]" to
"It's just not healthy" (mostly my Southern-butter-and-meat-eating family) to my favorite, "I'm basically a vegetarian too! Except for chicken. And pork."
My parents have kind of let off on it, requesting only that I educate them on how to eat vegan and to make sure I balance my diet so that I don't become malnourished.
The big resistance I think I'm going to come across is my Granny, on Easter Sunday. She's doing dinner and of course, she's all Southern. That means, it's "unhealthy" to not eat a hefty serving of meat (main dish), bread (+ butter) and veggies (as long as they're cooked with meat for seasoning and butter).
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up all these animal byproducts because I don't like them. I am a Southern girl, through and through, and like Paula, I can appreciate a stick of butter!
But I also appreciate the Earth, taking care of it, and all the creatures living on it. I lost touch with my veggie-tree-hugging-hippie-ness in the past year, so I'm happy to reconnect with that part of me. And what better time than April?? Especially with EARTH DAY coming up on the 22nd!? I plan to celebrate it bigtime! Not sure how I'm going to do so....more details to come!
I've got my meals planned out for Thurs thru Monday, and I'll try to share recipes as I go along.
I'm suuuper excited about doing this, ya'll! Anyone want to give it a shot with me? If you're not ready to commit to a full 30 days of veganism, you can always take it the one-day-a-week route! Remember, every little effort counts and helps our Earth, the animals, and our waistlines!
I've been meaning to go trial vegan for over a year now, so here's my chance! There's exactly 30 days in the month of April, so it's the perfect opportunity for me to go for it.
Whenever I've mentioned my plans to family and friends, the reaction is anywhere from
"Oh I'd love to do it with you, but it seems like it'd be impossible to give up x [cheese, ice cream, eggs, etc]" to
"It's just not healthy" (mostly my Southern-butter-and-meat-eating family) to my favorite, "I'm basically a vegetarian too! Except for chicken. And pork."
My parents have kind of let off on it, requesting only that I educate them on how to eat vegan and to make sure I balance my diet so that I don't become malnourished.
The big resistance I think I'm going to come across is my Granny, on Easter Sunday. She's doing dinner and of course, she's all Southern. That means, it's "unhealthy" to not eat a hefty serving of meat (main dish), bread (+ butter) and veggies (as long as they're cooked with meat for seasoning and butter).
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up all these animal byproducts because I don't like them. I am a Southern girl, through and through, and like Paula, I can appreciate a stick of butter!
But I also appreciate the Earth, taking care of it, and all the creatures living on it. I lost touch with my veggie-tree-hugging-hippie-ness in the past year, so I'm happy to reconnect with that part of me. And what better time than April?? Especially with EARTH DAY coming up on the 22nd!? I plan to celebrate it bigtime! Not sure how I'm going to do so....more details to come!
I've got my meals planned out for Thurs thru Monday, and I'll try to share recipes as I go along.
I'm suuuper excited about doing this, ya'll! Anyone want to give it a shot with me? If you're not ready to commit to a full 30 days of veganism, you can always take it the one-day-a-week route! Remember, every little effort counts and helps our Earth, the animals, and our waistlines!
Friday, March 26, 2010
A Journal For Jordan
I had the pleasure of hearing Dana Canedy speak at my school last night on her book, "A Journal for Jordan". Ms. Canedy wrote the memoir after her fiance, 1st SGT Charles Monroe King was killed in action while serving in Iraq, 2006. While he was deployed, he filled out a journal with life lessons and stories for his baby son, Jordan. After his death, Ms. Canedy took the journal and created a memoir of Charles, his life, his service, and their love. You can read more about it at http://ajournalforjordan.com/
As a mom of two little boys and the wife of a soldier currently overseas, she really struck a cord with me. Of course I bawled my eyes out the entire time! Who wouldn't? She talked about how Charles got to meet his son only once, on his two week leave, only a few short weeks before his untimely death. Her son was 7 months old at the time.
My youngest, Riley is almost 7 months old now. The thought of him or any little boy having to spend the rest of his life without his dad just breaks my heart. No child should have to go through that. But then again, no child should have to go without their dad for any period of time.
I think about this war, this life. These deployments separating families--separating MY family for months to a year at a time. It isn't fair.
I feel so many things . . . I am angry. Sometimes I am resentful. Sad. Frustrated. Helpless. Lonely.
But I am also proud. I'm proud of my soldier for doing the job he committed to, that he was willing to do. I'm proud of where I am from. I'm proud of my children for every little thing they achieve: from rolling over and sitting up, to learning to count and use the potty and their manners. And I am proud of myself, for holding down the fort, for keeping going, even when I don't think I can.
We can't let the ugliness in the world overshadow its beauty.
As Ms. Canedy spoke to my fellow students and I, she had this glow, this appreciation of life about her that I think only comes from someone who has experienced true tragedy. I can't imagine the hurt she experienced from losing someone so close. But she somehow came out of that hurt with the knowledge that life is much too precious and too short not to live.
When you hear stories like hers, no matter what is going on in your life, it just makes you want to go out and give your loved ones the biggest hug and kiss you can lay on them! So that's exactly what I did. I came home, gave my boys a good squeeze and hopped on yahoo to send Jason an email about just how much I love and appreciate him.
Now I suggest you do the same!
'Night ya'll
As a mom of two little boys and the wife of a soldier currently overseas, she really struck a cord with me. Of course I bawled my eyes out the entire time! Who wouldn't? She talked about how Charles got to meet his son only once, on his two week leave, only a few short weeks before his untimely death. Her son was 7 months old at the time.
My youngest, Riley is almost 7 months old now. The thought of him or any little boy having to spend the rest of his life without his dad just breaks my heart. No child should have to go through that. But then again, no child should have to go without their dad for any period of time.
I think about this war, this life. These deployments separating families--separating MY family for months to a year at a time. It isn't fair.
I feel so many things . . . I am angry. Sometimes I am resentful. Sad. Frustrated. Helpless. Lonely.
But I am also proud. I'm proud of my soldier for doing the job he committed to, that he was willing to do. I'm proud of where I am from. I'm proud of my children for every little thing they achieve: from rolling over and sitting up, to learning to count and use the potty and their manners. And I am proud of myself, for holding down the fort, for keeping going, even when I don't think I can.
We can't let the ugliness in the world overshadow its beauty.
As Ms. Canedy spoke to my fellow students and I, she had this glow, this appreciation of life about her that I think only comes from someone who has experienced true tragedy. I can't imagine the hurt she experienced from losing someone so close. But she somehow came out of that hurt with the knowledge that life is much too precious and too short not to live.
When you hear stories like hers, no matter what is going on in your life, it just makes you want to go out and give your loved ones the biggest hug and kiss you can lay on them! So that's exactly what I did. I came home, gave my boys a good squeeze and hopped on yahoo to send Jason an email about just how much I love and appreciate him.
Now I suggest you do the same!
'Night ya'll
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Resolution #2: Explore my creativity
I designed and sewed this apron all by myself. There was a lot of swearing and frustration involved--especially since my mom's sewing machine hates me and conspires to screw up every time I'm inches away from finishing a project...
But I did it! And I'm super proud of myself for it. This project has been sitting on my to-do list for weeks now. It was a huge relief to mark it off tonight.
I even christened it with a batch of Martha Stewart's http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/raspberry-cream-sandwich-cookies!
Mmmm...
'Night ya'll
Since I'm late
Here's a list of my resolutions for this year. My goal is to keep them, and keep up with them.
1. Continue to Live in the moment
2. Explore my creativity
3. Eat healthier: more organic fresh produce, whole grains, nuts, beans, less processed food, cut out artificial sweeteners, etc. Indulge a little. And practice portion control.
4. Start going to the gym regularly again. I have help with the kiddos, I'm not pregnant, and I'll have the campus gym available daily. No excuses.
5. Try the vegan diet for at least 30 days. Also, do some juice fasts, since Santa brought me that nice juicer and all.
6. Excell in my A&P classes. Make As.
7. Make my own baby food.
8. Try new recipes. Souffle. Lamb. Creme brulee. Cook dangerously.
9. Drink more water.
10. Make Mommy & James dates. Give him my undivided attention.
11. Enjoy Riley's babyhood.
12. Save and manage money better.
13. Give more and get involved for a cause. Be active.
14. Don't let fears or shyness keep me from meeting people and making friends.
15. Organize.
16. Take lots of pictures and videos. Capture the moment. Keep Jason and out-of-state family in touch.
17. Travel.
18. Find balance in my time, identity, and relationships.
19. Get a tattoo when Jason gets home from this deployment.
20. Allow myself enough time. Be on time for all appointments without rushing.
21. Explore my spirituality.
22. Hand-write letters.
23. Laugh.
24. Love.
25. Enjoy life.
26. Embrace who I am and where I come from.
27. Try new things.
28. Don't waste time.
30. Take a ceramics class.
31. Shop at flea markets and farmer's markets and locally owned stores. Less at chains (i.e. Wal-mart).
32. Go down a shoe size in my ecological footprint.
33. Count my blessings.
34. Nurture my relationships. Marriage. Family. Friendships.
35. Start each day with positive affirmations. Believe them.
36. Set a good example for my children.
37. Be optimistic.
38. Find peace within myself.
Ta da!
So here's the plan:
Include pictures and see if I can make every one of them happen. Will I do it?
1. Continue to Live in the moment
2. Explore my creativity
3. Eat healthier: more organic fresh produce, whole grains, nuts, beans, less processed food, cut out artificial sweeteners, etc. Indulge a little. And practice portion control.
4. Start going to the gym regularly again. I have help with the kiddos, I'm not pregnant, and I'll have the campus gym available daily. No excuses.
5. Try the vegan diet for at least 30 days. Also, do some juice fasts, since Santa brought me that nice juicer and all.
6. Excell in my A&P classes. Make As.
7. Make my own baby food.
8. Try new recipes. Souffle. Lamb. Creme brulee. Cook dangerously.
9. Drink more water.
10. Make Mommy & James dates. Give him my undivided attention.
11. Enjoy Riley's babyhood.
12. Save and manage money better.
13. Give more and get involved for a cause. Be active.
14. Don't let fears or shyness keep me from meeting people and making friends.
15. Organize.
16. Take lots of pictures and videos. Capture the moment. Keep Jason and out-of-state family in touch.
17. Travel.
18. Find balance in my time, identity, and relationships.
19. Get a tattoo when Jason gets home from this deployment.
20. Allow myself enough time. Be on time for all appointments without rushing.
21. Explore my spirituality.
22. Hand-write letters.
23. Laugh.
24. Love.
25. Enjoy life.
26. Embrace who I am and where I come from.
27. Try new things.
28. Don't waste time.
30. Take a ceramics class.
31. Shop at flea markets and farmer's markets and locally owned stores. Less at chains (i.e. Wal-mart).
32. Go down a shoe size in my ecological footprint.
33. Count my blessings.
34. Nurture my relationships. Marriage. Family. Friendships.
35. Start each day with positive affirmations. Believe them.
36. Set a good example for my children.
37. Be optimistic.
38. Find peace within myself.
Ta da!
So here's the plan:
Include pictures and see if I can make every one of them happen. Will I do it?
Shame on me
for being so lazy this past year. In my defense, I've been a little busy.
I'm going to sum it up:
1. Lots of summer activities to make up for staying inside during such a cold winter, including but not limited to: farmer's markets, brother-in-law's wedding, Annual Army Air show, visit from friends, trip to the carnival, sister's visit complete with Meryl Streep movie and cake to celebrate her birthday, visits from in laws from West Texas and Albany, New York respectively, visit from my family, some gardening, sewing, cleaning, lots of grilling out with friends, new neighbors, trips to the lake/beach area on post, trips to the park, and lots of eating.
2. Had a baby. Riley was born September 10, only 6 [miserable] days past his due date. But we were oh so happy to meet him!
3. Hubby's first deployment. I won't lie--it has sucked sucked sucked! But we're almost at the halfway mark now!
4. After the month from hell (everything that could go wrong, went wrong as soon as he left) me and the kids packed up and moved back to Tennessee with my parents. We're here til I finish this semester's classes and then it's back to NY!
5. Hubby's had a 2 week leave in December and got to spend Christmas and New Year's with us. It was everything I could have hoped for and then some! We had a blast.
6. We all flew down to Texas and spent New Years with the In-laws. Had a fantastic New Year's party complete with lots of champagne, celebration, long talks with the family, great food, cookies!!, got all dressed up, and at the end of the night found some sweatpants! [I'm not explaining].
7. Jason's family gave us a fantastic date night while we were down there visiting before he had to take off again. We got all dressed up, went out to eat at Chili's, saw Sherlock Holmes, and spent the night at a nice, new hotel in the area. We had a great time and it was nice to get to just focus on each other for awhile, sans kids.
8. Started classes on campus for the spring! Taking Anatomy and Physiology which is kicking my butt.
9. Started pottytraining 'Thing One', which is going [pleasantly] surprisingly well!
10. Flew up to New York during my spring break week to pick up the dog and fly her down here. The lady who was keeping her was closing her boarding business before we'd be back up there and that was my only opportunity to get her, so off I went. She is very happy to be back with her family, eating all the people food she can stand--even if she is being chased, sat on, and generally tortured by James.
I think that's about it?
I'm going to sum it up:
1. Lots of summer activities to make up for staying inside during such a cold winter, including but not limited to: farmer's markets, brother-in-law's wedding, Annual Army Air show, visit from friends, trip to the carnival, sister's visit complete with Meryl Streep movie and cake to celebrate her birthday, visits from in laws from West Texas and Albany, New York respectively, visit from my family, some gardening, sewing, cleaning, lots of grilling out with friends, new neighbors, trips to the lake/beach area on post, trips to the park, and lots of eating.
2. Had a baby. Riley was born September 10, only 6 [miserable] days past his due date. But we were oh so happy to meet him!
3. Hubby's first deployment. I won't lie--it has sucked sucked sucked! But we're almost at the halfway mark now!
4. After the month from hell (everything that could go wrong, went wrong as soon as he left) me and the kids packed up and moved back to Tennessee with my parents. We're here til I finish this semester's classes and then it's back to NY!
5. Hubby's had a 2 week leave in December and got to spend Christmas and New Year's with us. It was everything I could have hoped for and then some! We had a blast.
6. We all flew down to Texas and spent New Years with the In-laws. Had a fantastic New Year's party complete with lots of champagne, celebration, long talks with the family, great food, cookies!!, got all dressed up, and at the end of the night found some sweatpants! [I'm not explaining].
7. Jason's family gave us a fantastic date night while we were down there visiting before he had to take off again. We got all dressed up, went out to eat at Chili's, saw Sherlock Holmes, and spent the night at a nice, new hotel in the area. We had a great time and it was nice to get to just focus on each other for awhile, sans kids.
8. Started classes on campus for the spring! Taking Anatomy and Physiology which is kicking my butt.
9. Started pottytraining 'Thing One', which is going [pleasantly] surprisingly well!
10. Flew up to New York during my spring break week to pick up the dog and fly her down here. The lady who was keeping her was closing her boarding business before we'd be back up there and that was my only opportunity to get her, so off I went. She is very happy to be back with her family, eating all the people food she can stand--even if she is being chased, sat on, and generally tortured by James.
I think that's about it?
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