As promised…

Baby Girl. I promise, she was happier than she looks.

I promised a post with pictures yesterday and *gasp* I’m actually going to deliver!

We ended up not going to church as my mom didn’t feel well. She has been sick for several years now and I’m waiting on the Lord to send the one doctor that will finally give us the answers to heal her.

Anyway, my mom, sister and cousin (Better known as Aunt Viv to the kids) put together baskets for the kids. Viv even decorated carrot cake cupcakes with Ashley. I don’t have a picture of them just know there were peeps on the tops. (And they were delicious.)

Little Man. Love that smile!

After we had lunch, my sister and I got started on the Resurrection Rolls.

Resurrection Rolls before going into the oven.

If you want the directions on making these, check out my Facebook page.

These things smelled amazing.

Just an FYI, these rolls can get messy.

He is risen!

If you’ve read the description, you know that the marshmallow that was wrapped in the crescent roll disappears to represent Jesus not being in the tomb on the third day after his death. Even though I knew it was supposed to happen, it was seriously cool to open the roll and there be nothing inside.

After all of that, we realized that we never did an egg hunt with the kids. No one felt like moving but Viv hid some around the house. Justin couldn’t care less but Ashley had a great time finding them. It was a great day all around. I even came home with cupcakes and some spiral ham. 🙂

Tomorrow is cleaning day since Hubby comes home on Wednesday. He’s only in for a week this time as his promotion (mentioned on the Facebook page) requires him to be back early. I can’t express how proud I am and how blessed I feel to have that man as my husband and the father of my children.

Well, I’m going to go to bed so that I can (hopefully) get up early and get my workout and bible study finished before the kiddos wake up.

Hope y’all had a great weekend and have a great week!

Christ is Risen!

This won’t be long since I have a peach cobbler to make, two kids (and myself) to get ready, and a fairly long drive to my mother’s church, but I just wanted to drop in and wish you all a Happy Easter! For those of you traveling today, I pray you have a safe trip and are able to enjoy the message of our redemption through Christ.

I’ll have a longer post about our activities (hopefully with pictures) either later today or tomorrow. 

Have a blessed day, y’all!

When It Rains…

I know just about everyone of you can understand when I say that if one thing goes wrong, several more things are usually just waiting to go wrong.

I finished school last month (woo hoo!) the week before Hubby came home from work. The week he came home, our two older dogs attacked our puppy and chewed up the charger cord to my decrepit laptop.

Thankfully, (after a rather large vet bill) our puppy is OK and the dogs are back into their playful routine. Here is my PSA for the week: Get your dogs fixed!

I’m trying really hard to make due without buying anything for the laptop as it’s a piece of crap and not worth putting any money into. My phone/kindle charger also died so I’m making frequent trips to my car to charge both items.

Usually, things like this would have made me tailspin into a really bad attitude and would have caused tension between Hubby and myself. Instead, I’m focusing on the good parts:

1) My computer made it through grad school. I can go to the library for my ROW posts and do just about everything else from my phone.

2) Hubby was home and I didn’t have to handle everything on my own.

3) I’m spending less time on my phone and actually getting into the current Proverbs 31 bible study.

I’ve always heard that we should look for the blessings in the struggles but never took that lesson to heart. Until now, that is.

What stressful/difficult situations have you been able to see the blessings in?

New Chapter

As of Monday night, I am no longer a graduate student. I finished my final exam and just sort of stared at my computer for a few minutes.

Am I really done? Yeah. The student loan payments that are coming due next month prove that. It probably won’t feel real until I walk across the stage in July. I thought about skipping graduation, but then I thought about how hard I’ve worked over the last 18 months. Nuh uh. This girl will be strutting across that stage!

Now that I’m done with school, I feel kind of aimless. I had really hoped to have a job by now so that I could at least take care of my student loans, but no luck. The longer I think about that the more I wonder if I messed up by getting my master’s in Public Administration. I already get enough grief from Hubby about getting a History degree but not teaching. The thing is, I don’t want to teach kids. They can be bratty and I have no control over my reactions to such brattiness. I’d be fired in a week.

I’ve been seriously trying to leave my employment dilemma to the Lord. I apply to just about every job I can find that will pay the bills and then just pray that one of them will be to His liking. I’ve asked the Lord to help find a job that I can advance in, create a career out of, pays the bills, and gives me a sense of fulfillment. I know that might seem like a tall order these days, but it’s what I want. I’ve also prayed about accepting a job even if it doesn’t initially fulfill all of my requirements. Until something comes up, I’ll keep plugging along with job applications and thanking the Lord that I get a little extra time with the kiddos. I know I’ll miss these days when I go back to work.

At least with school finished, I can finally start focusing on writing more. I’m reading a lot on different topics so I hope to have a few multi-post series planned in the next month or so. I’m also able to focus on working with Oilfield Family Ministry. We have grown so much and it is truly a blessing to work with the other amazing admins on this page. Oilfield or not, make sure to check us out!

Check out the FB page for updates and links to my Real Oilfield Wives posts. (I also just pinned the links to a bunch of my ROW posts on my Pinterest page.) As always, don’t hesitate to tell me what you would like to read about.

Well, I need to go referee a toy dispute between the kiddos. Have a great day, y’all!

 

*Facepalm*

I just realized that my daily ritual of “I have other stuff to do. Blogging can wait until tomorrow,” has turned into almost a month without a post. And honestly? I wasn’t that busy. I was that lazy. Yup. I’m gonna be real honest. I’m tired most of the time and my lovely laptop is once again on it’s last leg. I need it to work for four more weeks and then it can finally crap out. For this reason alone I have started to use my computer only for school work and for those few things I can’t do on my phone.

Four. More. Weeks. Just four and then my time in grad school will be over. Done. I can have my evenings back. I might even read a book in one sitting! Or I could sleep. Yeah, sleep sounds good.

I’m still volunteering at church and I really enjoy the time with the kiddos. I’m very behind on reading the Bible and having quiet time with the Lord each day. I set my alarm and then sleep through it. When you stay up late to get homework and exercise in you tend to be a little sluggish in the mornings.

One thing I have kept up with is working out. I haven’t lost much weight but I have started making exercise a part of my day. I found the Doonya workout DVDs and I’m in love. I have an obsession with India and Bollywood so when I saw a glowing review for the DVDs I knew I needed to get it. At only 25.00 for the set it’s a very practical and economic choice. No crazy meal plan, no expensive equipment, just dancing. I just have to watch my snacking which is why I haven’t lost more than I have.

The thing for me to remember is that while it’s taking me a while to get where I want to be, at least I’m making progress.

Wait…how did it get to be Saturday already?!

That’s the question I asked myself this morning when thinking about how I have to work in children’s ministry and that it’s small group connection day at church tomorrow. Then I remembered that I haven’t checked in for the week. I don’t think you’ll blame me when you hear all I’ve been doing. 

I have worked out every single day since JR went to work. For those of you playing at home, that’s 12 days. In a row. For reals.

I can’t get a workout in while Justin is awake since he is a ginormous (hey, it could be a word some day. I mean, look at selfie. Or “facie” as my mom calls it) momma’s boy and has to be in my lap if I’m sitting down for more than ten seconds. So, every night around 8 p.m. I put Justin in his crib and then work out. I’m trying a website called Daily Burn. I”m on the free trial right now doing the 15 minutes a day for 15 days program (Actually, it’s called DB15). I’ve also been doing 15 minutes on the recumbent bike to make sure I stay under calories for the day.

Oh! I’ve also logged everything I’ve put in my mouth for 13 days. That’s pretty epic for me because now it’s like a habit. As soon as I eat, I pull out my phone and log it. Now, I just need that dang scale to start moving past the 5 lb. lost mark. 

On the spiritual front, I’ve started using the journal given out at last week’s sermon and I’m trying to get caught up on bible study. I’m doing pretty good with the Proverbs 31 online Made To Crave study and I’m loving the small group that I’m in. I think if I’d been in a small group in the last study that I would have actually gotten more out of it. 

Well, Justin is awake (again) so I guess I had better try to get him back to sleep. 

Good night, y’all!

Keep On Keeping On

I feel like the last two days have been non-stop even though I didn’t really do much today. Maybe it’s because I had a very long day yesterday and then was a bit drained when  I realized that I had left my debit card at the restaurant in South Carolina and now I have to wait on a new one from the bank (and pay 8 bucks for it). When I think about it, I’d rather pay the fee than drive all the way back to SC just to pick up my card.

Anyway, I have done much better this week on eating right and working out. I’ll admit that I had a not-so-healthy meal last night, but I still worked out and came in under calories. I’ve done very good today and will also come in under calories with exercise. I think one of the things that is keeping me accountable is the 100 Days of Tracking challenge I’m doing with a Facebook page I follow. I’ve tracked all of my food for six days in a row. I really feel like I’m on my way to getting back in the grove and getting these pounds off. I’ve been riding the recumbent bike, even though it really hurts my lower back, and doing kettlebell exercises. Hubby sent me a link to a site called Daily Burn and I’m going to sign up for the thirty day trial and see how I like it. I’ll check back later and let y’all know what I think.

Tomorrow I’ll start the “Made to Crave” bible study with those lovely ladies at Proverbs 31 Ministry. The book, by Lysa TerKeurst, is all about learning to crave food less and God more. I’m so excited because this time around I remembered to sign up for a small group. Last bible study I read the book but didn’t make much effort outside of that. I find it awesome that my church is also doing a sermon series called “Let’s Move”, which is all about being healthy in spirit, soul, and body. Definitely check it out!

Remember how I said I wanted to read the bible before Christmas? I signed up for a daily plan through an app on my phone and I’m already behind. I think the best way for me to study the bible is through Church sermons, devotionals, and reading books. I’m just not very good at sticking to the daily plan.

Also, I think I’m gonna end up blowing my goal of making new recipes out of the water. I think I set the goal at 12 (?) but I’m too lazy (and sleepy) to go back and look right now. Just in the time that JR was home, I tried five or six new recipes. It really does seem like we haven’t had the same dish twice in a while, and that’s a great feeling.

I’m also praying really hard for the Lord to point me in the right direction professionally. There are some potential changes coming up in our lives and financial stability would be a great thing.

As of right now, I feel like I’m on a roll and that it’s only going to get better.  🙂

 

So close…

I get on the scale this morning and I see 180.8.(!) I’m so close to the 170’s that I can taste it. I’m both excited and nervous. This is usually where I get to before I lose all motivation, stop tracking calories, and gain back the almost four pounds I’ve just lost. One thing that is motivating me this time? For the first time in years I am actually lighter than my husband, who is also tracking his food and trying to lose weight.

Hubby lives at the rig for the two weeks he is at work and is making an effort to buy healthier foods that are also easy and fast to prepare. I mean, who really wants to cook an elaborate meal when they get off work at 6 in the morning? All of this makes me think that if he can do this while working nights in the cold hours away from his family, I can do it at home.

On another note, Hubby headed back to work last night. Like always, I had the hardest time getting to sleep. I also feel like something is missing for the first two or three days he is gone. School started back during days off, so I have that to keep me busy (yay….).

Oooo my church is hosting a Matt Redman concert next week and I was able to snag a couple of tickets. I’m determined to make myself go whether I get child care or not. I hate crowds but I know it will be a fun time.

Stay tuned for another update on my weight loss journey, as well as a few frugal momma-type posts.

Ugh.

On the eating right and exercising front, this week has been a complete bust. I ate like the calories didn’t matter and then I pulled my right hamstring so I haven’t done either challenge for two days. I feel better today but I wanted to give my leg the proper time before testing it. On the eating front, it is incredibly hard for me to eat right while on a budget while feeding three other people who don’t need to lose weight. I guess I need to stop making excuses and start finding solutions.

I want to be real about my failure here. I don’t want to hide it because I’m hoping this will motivate me. I’m tired of being this big. I’m tired of not feeling attractive and uncomfortable in my own skin. I’ve done this before so I’m not sure why it’s so hard this go round. Right before I got pregnant with Justin I lost almost 30 lbs in a 6 month period. I then got lazy, pregnant, and gained every bit of it back. I know I can do this. I just have to actually do it!

On the plus side, I got new shoes! And not the Wal-Mart special either. I also bought a 5 lb. kettle bell. I found some exercises on Pinterest (my favorite thing ever) and thought I’d give it a try. When I get comfortable with 5 lbs. I plan to move up to 10 lbs.

So, while this week may have been a total failure, it doesn’t mean that I’m giving up. Just pushing forward.

 

Challenges and Goals

If you’ve read my blog for any certain amount of time you know how much I love Crystal Paine, a.k.a. The Money Saving Mom. She is doing a year-long challenge, 12 Months to a Healthier You. It is just like Crystal to break things down into one goal a month instead of going whole hog and doing everything at once. This is one reason why I love her. The goal for the first month is to focus on the habit of exercising more. This is perfect since I am trying to lose weight this year. Keep reading to find out how I’m establishing good exercise habits.

I’m sure that you have seen one or two of those fitness challenges floating around Pinterest, Twitter, or Facebook by now. I follow a number of fitness sites so I see them all of the time. To go along with my goal of losing weight (still avoiding the term “Resolution”) I decided to do two. One dedicated to arms and the other is a boot camp type. This basically means lots and lots of push ups. And squats. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate squats?

Here is the arms challenge from Fat to Fit Chick.

Here is the boot camp challenge from Shrinking Jeans.

I’m also doing the Shrinking Jeans 6 week boot camp. Today is Week 1 Day 2 and I’m not looking forward to it. It kicked my but two days ago on day one (rest day between each day). I am trying to not leave the house to work out so I’ve been running in the yard for the sprints. My drive way is on an incline… Yeah. I just like to think I’m kicking it up a notch!

What I’m excited about is that I’m actually sticking to these challenges and the boot camp. (I know it’s only been a week. Give me a break here!)

I’m also trying to work on my eating habits. It’s so amazing to me how fast and easy it is to get of track. “Oh, this one piece of pizza won’t hurt me.” Probably not, unless I’ve already had two. I see my husband eat whatever he wants and I get a little jealous. Then I remember that he works his weight off two weeks at a time, while I’m at home. Mostly stationary. Which is changing this month!

I will be updating weekly with my progress and any links I find helpful. For the time being, check out my Pinterest boards for tons of recipes and other info. I’ve been quite the pinning fool lately. After a month of working on this habit, it will be easier to continue these healthy habits for the rest of the year.

Have a great week, y’all!