A New Year, A New Me!

I know, this is a crafting blog. And an idea blog. And a very occasional recipe blog. But sometimes I blog about our little life. And what's currently taking up the most space in my thoughts.

So, remember how I was going to tell you a little more about some of my lifestyle changes and whipping this body of mine back into shape? (Its resolution time, remember?) Yeah, well here's the deal. Like I mentioned yesterday, I am participating in a campaign with BlogHer for Best Buy’s “New Year, New You” program (which you can always find if you roll over the Best Buy image at the top of my blog). And thank goodness I found out about it. And thank goodness they have allowed me to participate. (Because, yeah, testing out new things and following along publicly is nice and fun and encouraging.......but I have been needing a real change. And a motivator. So, with or without this campaign, I needed a fresh start this year.)

I have tried like, oh, 75 times in the last 10 months to get on a regular exercise schedule and stick to a regular healthy eating plan. (Don't call it a diet, got it? That word doesn't hang around for long. I always rebel. Ha.) And yeah, my 3rd baby is 10 months old now and directly relates to the amount of time that I have been trying to get on track. Babies are totally and completely worth it and I wouldn't trade any of them for any one of my squishy spots...........but they sure have done a number on my body. But it just forces me to work extra hard (grrr!) to get my body healthy/fit again......and that's good for me. But having babies is only an excuse for my body getting a little (or a lot) squishy. And so is being busy. Or having a bad day. Or getting married. Or hearing bad news. Or moving across the country a few times. Etc, etc. They're all excuses. And I have used them all. And eventually, we have to come to the realization that taking care of our bodies is a choice. (And so is saying yes or no to a whole bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs. ) So, I've had to make a choice to stop letting my mind bully my body. And tell my mind that, "sorry sucker, you CAN'T buy another milkshake at 10pm like you did the night before" and "YES, you have to go to bed before 1:00 am", and yep, "you NEED to visit the gym or do a workout video of some kind more than once a month", etc. (Oh wow, I never knew I would publicly share my bad habits.) And I'm sure I won't be perfect this time around either......but I'm ready to try, try again. My body recently told me that even though I have tried 2,963 times during my life, it's time to try again.

And enjoy life. And family. And feel good all around.

And by the way, it doesn't matter your body shape, size, or wiggle. We could probably all do a little more for our health. I remember a few years ago when a darn skinny friend of mine (in my eyes) told me that she was unhappy with her body and that she needed to lose weight. I laughed at her (kindly). But she then told me she didn't feel healthy, wasn't making good choices, knew she could be doing better, and wanted to firm up and feel her best. I totally got it. And realized I can't laugh at skinny girls anymore who say they're fat. I realize now that we all struggle. Because we're all human. And imperfect. And we all need to work at just doing our best and then looking in the mirror each day and