Where Has The Summer Gone.

It has been an incredibly busy two weeks. We are preparing to start our fall classes. I have come up with a great recording schedule that will get us through school. I am really disappointed that HomeSat will no longer be available to homeschooling families after this school year. It has been a blessing to us and I know without Homesat we could not have afforded the education that my children have received. This will be huge loss to families that are educating more than one child.
We have spent the past few days setting up class rooms for the kids. Son and Sissy are both delighted to have their school rooms down stairs and not up in their bed rooms anymore. My biggest concern is, am I going to be able to keep the house looking presentable. I have decided that the kids will have to clean their school room each day so it looks presentable.

My exercise is going well. I am walking each and every day at least three times a day. I am averaging around 4.5 miles to 6 miles a day. I am thoroughly impressed with my family. My husband has stepped up to the plate and is waking and walking with me at 7 am before he heads to work. This is a real pleasant surprise.
I can not say my kids are enjoying walking as much as they are but I can say they are not fighting me over it. Never do they ask for me not to go. They have really been good cheer leaders for me. I truly appreciate their support.

I am beginning to look forward to our vacation planned for September. Now I just have to find clothes that fit. I have shrunk out of them. This is a good problem to have.

Choices are Not Alway Easy.

I think one of the things I am loving the most about our nightly family exercise routine is the beautiful sunsets. They are awe inspiring.
Over the weekend we walked, jogged and biked together. It was a wonderful family time.

I am desperately trying to teach me children good choices. I have come to realize that the best way to teach is to live what your teaching. How can I expect my children to make healthy food choices if I am putting unhealthy food on their plates. How can I expect my child to only eat one healthy portion of food if I am eating two or three portions.

This weekend I made and cooked a very balanced meal for my family. My children wanted junk food. No way was I going to let that happen. The kids were not happy but I know I made the right choice. Parenting is not always fun but making the right choice is important.
I am trying to make the right choices for myself and my children. I want to be healthy for my children, they deserve a mother who is healthy enough to run and play with them. Choices are not alway easy.

A Very Busy Week in Review.

It has a been a very busy week for me. I had my big follow up with the doctor who did my colonoscopy. The best news was the biopsy came back clear. YEAH!! I am very happy about that.
It also has been a very good week for my exercise program. My daughter and I have logged 31 miles for our exercise for the week. I am only going three miles today to give my knee some rest. I have felts some pinching in my right knee. Not sure what that is.
I went and bought myself a good pair of running shoes to help with the blisters that formed on my feet from wearing the wrong shoes. I never before put much thought in to the health of my feet. I do now.
I am gearing up for the new school year that looms ahead of us. School will start broadcasting in less than three weeks. I have to know what classes that have to be recorded and what books need to be bought. Where has our summer gone.
Son is loving working at the family store. He has shown so much maturity working with the public. It is a pleasure to watch him turn into a young man.
Sissy has become my constant companion since son has decided to spend his summer working with Dad. Sissy is witty and a delight. Very seldom does she have a bad mood always quick to see the good side of every situation. It has been a good summer so far.

The Feel Good Effect of the Sun

The Feel Good Effect of the Sun.

I keep pondering the thoughts of why now; why this time does becoming physically fit feels so much better. Why do I know deep down this time it truly is going to work. This is the conclusion I have come up with.

Back during the winter I moved my computer and later I set up a new office in the sunroom of our home. I started using the sunroom back during the winter. I did notice that this past winter I was not plagued with SAD “Seasonal Affective Disorder” that I sometimes would get during the winter. Matter of fact I loved sitting in the sunroom and could not get enough of the sunlight coming in to the room. Hence I moved my whole office and took over the sunroom as my space.

I started looking up information on the benefits of natural sunlight and here is some of the information I have found.

Sunlight triggers an increase in the feel-good brain chemical serotonin.

Serotonin lifts your mood and wards off depression.

I know that now when I am out walking in the fresh air and sunlight I love how I feel. It is something I have not experienced since I was a young child running and playing out side. It is a great feeling and right now I am craving going out walking in the sun.

My Week In Review.

This past week has been a great one in review. I have been able to keep my eating habits under control and I have kept my walking routine up. I truly feel good about all the effort that I have been able to put forth.

On Wednesday the children and I were able to exercise three laps around the hiking trail. We were to go again after Wednesday night Bible class, but a storm came and it was not possible.

On Thursday my daughter and made four laps around the park and by the evening I had a blister. This is not good. I really think it is my socks rather than my shoes. So I am making sure the socks are fitting me well. The health of my feet are very important.

On Friday my husband wakes me up and he wants to go walking with us first thing in the morning before going to work. This is a pleasant and good surprise to me. It was the perfect morning to walk. Driving to the trails we see several of the men that he went to school with out walking and biking at 7:30am. He was surprised and I think it made him think that it is important to keep up with your health. We are not young anymore he is 50 and I am 47. We need to keep this routine up.

Then this morning 7:30am the whole family was out the door and we walked and jogged as a family. It feels good that as a family unit we are working together. I will lose this unwanted weight. I will become healthy.

So if I am counting miles I have logged about 27 miles this week. I feel great about this achievement.

Why Does This Time Feel Different?

I am trying to determine what exactly is the difference this time in trying to establish an exercise routine compared to all the other times I have started and stopped. I am guessing it has to do with an article that I read a while back. It was about habits. Basically it said that it takes three weeks of doing something consistently to establish a habit. I really thought about this concept, and I thought if you can establish a bad habit in three weeks why no establish a good habit in three weeks. I knew that I could try something with the idea of three weeks and try it. So I did and during the winter I started riding my bike every day, even if it was just for 10 min. and I did it faithfully for three weeks. By the end of the three weeks it was easy to take the time to do it. I increased my time from ten minutes to twenty minutes. Then when the weather got nice I kept thinking of walking out in the fresh air and the idea became appealing. So the idea of doing something appealing is a lot easier to grasp than doing something unappealing. I am trying real hard not to lose faith that I can become a healthy person. I do have a doctor’s appointment on the 31st of July. I know what I weighed back on July 1^st my last appointment. I am excited to see if I have lost any weight or not.

The Exercise Is Becoming Addictive.

The exercise is becoming addictive. My friend who I normally walk with called this morning and she had three friends that wanted to go walking with us at nine am. I do have to say that two of her friends are very fit and bike ten or more miles a day. I managed to go two rounds this morning. This is my personal best for that early in the day. YEAH

We have already gone again today so we have a total of three rounds on the trails so far. I feel invigorated and I like how I feel after I have completed the trail. If the weather holds out I would like to go again after the sun starts to set.

Work has not totally gone to the sidelines. I did have a customer today that I had to get a cruise quote for but have not heard from her since I left her a message on her phone.
I also have been applying for everything that I feel I am qualified for.

I have started trying to plan a head on my meals. I have always done this to some degree, but with the cost of gas I only want to have to go shopping once in a week. This will take some planning on my part but I feel it is a very do able task. I just have to be more focused and plan my shopping trips better.