Loving Life:)

Okay, so I bet you thought I had fallen off the face of the earth, huh? Well, I didn't. I've just been busy with life~that kind of happens when you have three youngin's (15, 18 and 20). Gosh, when did I become so old?! Anyway, in my last post, forever ago, I was sharing that I had finally quit work. I'm tellin' ya, I LOVE not working!!!!! When I first stopped working, I was happily catching up on all kinds of things that had been neglected for too long, but that got old real fast. I am happy to have time to do more around my house, but I really don't want my life to be all about cleaning~UGH! My hubby's work schedule is different now so I am also VERY happy to be spending more time with him. We have been trying to walk together about 3 times a week and I LOVE that!

As for yoga, I am teaching one class a week right now and hope to maybe add more later. I don't want to over-commit myself. Did I mention that I LOVE not working?:) Yeah, so anyway, I do also love teaching yoga! It's not a big money maker as I made the classes donation based, but I truly am blessed to be able to teach.

In the health department, I am NOT magically cured because I am no longer working. One of the reasons I have not been blogging much is that I have had a lot to work through emotionally and just coming to terms with where I am physically. Don't get me wrong, I have improved some since quitting work. I am still going to physical therapy twice a week, trying to eat right (that's SO hard), and trying to learn to be active without overdoing it (so NOT good at that one!). I think before I quit my job, I thought that I WOULD magically be better and it was pretty depressing to realize that that was not the case. I am learning not to take the little things for granted and to appreciate what my body CAN do instead of focusing on what I can't do. I DO still have PAIN and lots of fatigue, but I get to stay home and rest when I need to:) On top of that, I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!

Hope you all are doing well and thanks so much for stopping by:) I hope to start posting more often, but who knows what tomorrow will bring!

It Is What It Is

Well, today was my official last day of work!! Can I get a BIG Hallelujah shout?! Time to start a new season of my life that does NOT include scrubbing other people's toilets:) As excited as I am, this is also a little scary~like, I really did it~I quit, after 8 years! Yikes! You see, I am the type of person that likes to have everything all figured out and I like to KNOW what is going to happen tomorrow or next week. Now, I HAVE NO IDEA!!

I have taken steps to start teaching yoga twice a week, but ultimately, I really don't have any control over how many people (if any) come to my classes. I'm also nervous about the teaching itself. I don't know how my body is going to feel from one day to the next. You don't even want to hear all the other 'what if's' going through my head. Believe me, there are LOTS!

I just came from physical therapy and I have mentioned before how much I like my PT and how we talk the whole time she is killing  working on me. She was laughing at me today because I seem to always want things to be different than they are or I am always thinking 'what if' kind of stuff. For instance, I asked her, "What if I'm not better by the time my insurance is done paying for visits?" Then I said, "I hope it's pretty tomorrow." I could give you more examples, but you get the idea. I am ALWAYS thinking ahead and it adds to the tension and pain in my body. I also ignore my body and clean (and move dressers:) when I shouldn't be! And I wonder why I keep taking 2 steps forward and 1-2 steps back with  my pain.

I said all that to say that I just need to learn that 'it is what it is'. Why can't I just live in the now and be at peace and content. The therapist suggested that I go to behavioral therapy, but I'm not really up for that. I'm not sure I need therapy (although I might:), but one thing I AM sure of is that I NEED GOD! I've been really thinking about this verse this week:

"The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace..." Romans 8:6


The mind controlled by the Spirit (of God) is LIFE and PEACE! I do NOT have peace when I am trying to control or figure everything out! I know this in my head, but need to LIVE IT:)

How about you? Can any of you relate to my struggle? I know I'm not alone in this~we could all just go to therapy together:)  

Happy New Year!

Did you have big plans to celebrate ringing in the New Year? I NEVER make plans for New Years Eve because I NEVER make it til midnight~lol! Hubby and I stayed home and watched movies and I fell asleep on the couch. Exciting, huh? It may not sound too exciting, but we are both happy to stay home for a quiet night. All my youngin's were at other people's houses until well after midnight. My boys and a friend of theirs have not even been to bed~AT ALL!! Boy, to be young again! I'm getting ready to start some chocolate chip pancakes for them:)

Hubby goes back to work on Monday which means the Holidays will officially be over. I still have my tree up because I got it up kind of late. It's too much work to put it up and then take it right back down. I'll probably do that sometime this week. I have mixed emotions about getting back to 'normal' routine. It has been so nice to be on 'holiday' for the last two weeks with my family. Now, it's time for my daughter to get back to work on homeschooling and for life to resume as usual.

Resolutions? I don't have any! I have learned something about myself. I do MUCH better setting small daily goals than I do trying to set goals for an entire year. I wouldn't remember half of them anyway:) I used to be so schedule oriented and wanted everything planned out just right. Well, life doesn't happen that way and it would always just stress me out! I used to spend HOURS planning the school year and daily schedule only to find within the first two weeks of the homeschool year, that my 'perfect' schedule wasn't so perfect. I do still like to be fairly organized, but I have learned to give myself LOTS of grace! There are just too many variables in life for things to go how I want them to go~especially raising three teens!

Okay, off to make pancakes!

Do you set New Years Resolutions? I pray this year is FULL of blessings for each and every one of you!!

'MIA'

Hey everyone!! I have been 'missing in action' lately, but not by choice. My computer decided to go nuts several days ago! Thankfully, I have a son that knows his stuff about computers and he was able to get us up and running again~whew! Not having a computer is like living in a foreign country! Well, maybe not so drastic as that, but I admit, I feel lost without one:)

How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was great! I really enjoyed being with my family, but forgot to take my camera, so no pictures. The day after Thanksgiving (a.k.a. Black Friday) I braved the crowds for the first time in my life! I am really NOT someone who loves to shop, so this was a real feat for me. My daughter (14) and I went together and had a blast. I did NOT go out at some awful, ridiculously early hour though! I felt like I was doing well enough just to get out there at all. We found some good sales and really had fun together.Some people may think this is awful, but I'm letting my kids do their own shopping this year. They are old enough that they don't mind knowing what they are getting, AND it saves having to return a bunch of stuff. My middle son went out at 3am to get his!! Letting my teens shop for themselves will hopefully make the season a little less stressful and tiring for me and they love doing it this way.

I don't have any pictures today, but will hopefully be back to normal soon, now that I have a computer:) I was thinking the other day how sad it is that we are SO dependent on technology. In light of that, I may not be posting as often, or I may just try to make my post short and sweet. I just don't want this to take up time that I could be reading my Bible or other important things.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying the season!

Out of Order

Hey there readers! I have kind of been 'out of order' the last couple of days with a very sore throat! I think I'll walk around my house with an 'out of order' sign on my back! Isn't it funny how when the mom is sick they just try to keep going. The family still needs to be fed, the laundry still has to be done etc. Actually, I have not done any laundry today. I have watched movies and tried to just rest. It seems like every time I get overwhelmed or overly tired, I get a sore throat. Does that ever happen to you? I'm really hoping that I will feel back to 'normal' tomorrow. I had to miss physical therapy and yoga today~sigh:( The rest has been good for me though.

Great news!!! I have a new little niece (no pictures yet though)! My brother and his wife had their 5th baby yesterday and she is adorable! I wasn't feeling too good yesterday, so I only got to see her for a minute and then headed home. When I woke up feeling worse today, I knew I couldn't risk going around her with a sore throat. I SO want to cuddle her though:) I hope to have a picture soon~she is beautiful.

Anyway, just wanted to say 'Hi'!! Hope to be back to regular posting ASAP! I enjoy the blog community so much! Speaking of which, I found a new (to me) gluten free forum yesterday. It's called Gluten Free Faces. If you are gluten free, you might want to check it out.

Have a BLESSED beyond measure weekend!!!

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us..." Ps. 67:1