Workout

So I'm on my 4th week of working out, fairly consistent. I'm proud of myself. It's the longest I've stuck to a workout routine on my own. In high school, I got my workout from volleyball. I loved volleyball. I wasn't great at it, but I did enjoy it. My coach was awesome (shout out to Ms. Holland)! Anyway, so since then I haven't done much of anything exercise-wise. About 6 months before I got pregnant, my metabolism started slowing down and everything I ate was getting to me. Once I had Valerie and quit breastfeeding when she was about 9 1/2 months, my metabolism slowed way down. She's 2 1/2 now, and I had to do something about it. I was always "tired" and never felt like doing anything. I even went into a depression. I haven't felt good about my body, either.

People will look at me and say "You're little. What are you worried about?" When you know your body, you know when it's out of control. I may not be as big as everyone else but I felt like it because I was out of shape and not taking care of myself. I also got tired of hearing, "Are you pregnant?" That's where all my fat goes, my belly. So here I am.

 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" For me in my walk with Christ, I had to put that in perspective to motivate me. Would I want to present this physical body to Christ? Why would I? I don't even want to present to myself. After 4 weeks, there's not much transformation body wise on the outside. I've lost about an inch in my waist. I'm aiming for 2 more inches and then maintaining. Inside, I feel so much better. After almost 10 years of no constant exercise routine, I can't expect what I want in 4 weeks. I just can't. But I've had progress and that motivates me.


What's my routine? Well, working out at least 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week. I haven't missed more than 2 days in one week and I've had days where I had to shorten it to 15 min. But something is better than nothing. I have learned that evening workout works better for me. I started P90X before near the beginning of the year. It wasn't motivating enough and I did it in the morning which require early mornings. It worked. I lost about 2 inches in 2 weeks but I couldn't stay on top of it. So this time I started doing Hip Hop Abs. It's fun and keeps me interested. I do incorporate some P90X ab exercises. This week I am starting Insanity. This workout is by the same instructor as Hip Hop Abs. I did the fitness test today and the 6 min. Hip Hop Abs. By combining the Hip Hop Abs and Insanity, I'll get what I want in the amount of time I hope for. I don't follow the meal plans step by step but I follow the basics of them- eat small and healthy more often. I'm more thoughtful about what I eat. I'm still working on portion control and self control but I think I'm at a good point when it comes to food. I will follow Insanity's 60 day workout all the way through.


Feel free to give me your tips. Encourage me and keep me accountable. I'll post before and after pictures at the end. I'm too embarrassed to show where I'm at now. It's one thing to look good to other people, it's another when you don't feel and look at yourself that way. I'm comfortable with who I am on the inside but physically is what I struggle with on a daily basis. We all have our faults which makes us far from perfect. That doesn't mean we have to except less than the best for ourselves. My life verse reminds me that I must stay one track and that I can do it. Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." He is my ultimate motivator, trainer, and best of all, friend.

The Farmer's Market

So, today we're getting ready to walk down the street and visit the Farmer's Market for the first time. I love living in a small town where we can walk to stores, restaurants, the park, and the Farmer's Market. However, our plans for our next home will be more out of the city limits away from so much traffic and noise. That's several years away at this point.

Anyways, so I never went to a Farmer's Market until I started the job I'm at now. Spartanburg holds one on Wednesdays from 11-1. Perfect- right around lunch time. The ladies and I like to walk over and sample some great bread (I can't buy this year b/c It's not part of my new food lifestyle). They also do bag lunches. The last time we went, we just took our own lunches, sat in the square and had lunch. It was nice. I fell in love with the Farmer's Market. We'll be going to the first one on June 6th. Join us if you're in the area.

Lyman opened up one this year and it started on on Wednesday. It runs from 3-7 pm. That's nice for those who work and want to stop by get ingredients for supper. We didn't go, so we're going this morning. It runs from 8am-12pm. Nate's not going. He's still in the bed. I'm not sure what time he got off early this morning. When he gets on 1st shift in a couple of months, all three of us will be able to do it.

Several of the ladies at work have started gardens at their home. I think next year I will do it, too. By that time, I hope to be working only part time and I will have more time to save money on food. I love fruits and veggies and a garden would be great.

Anybody got any tips? So now I'm really excited. Valerie and I will stroll down there in a few. I'll update as to what I get. Maybe even take a couple snapshots of what's there.

Life Lessons

I'll admit, I came to communicate my frustrations from this week. Well---I read it through twice and deleted it. Here I am, starting over. lol...Sometimes you need to write/type it all out and then delete it. It really helped.


I thank the Lord for guiding me thus far. I haven't always leaned on him like I should but he's always there when I do. I'm glad that he started teaching me early. I wasn't 4 or 5 when I got saved, but I'm grateful he chose me when he did. He chose me at a time when he knew I needed him the most. I haven't been the perfect child, but he never left me. Eventually, I came to my senses, spelled the roses, the light bulb came on, however you want to say it.


He led me to a great church and church family. Things change. People change. People make changes. That's life. Sometimes it's hard to embrace. Sometimes you know it's best. Other times you know it's not. Then there are those times you're just not sure. He's in control. In the end, the Lord leads my life and my family's life. We will make a change when he tells us to. We can't let the devil convince us otherwise. I'm sure the devil's mad right now.


I'm grateful the Lord is teaching me things while I'm still young. I don't want to be old and learning something I should've learned as a young person. He taught me early into adulthood how to love and forgive. I went through some tough trials to learn Godly love and forgiveness, but I made it through. He helped me through it even when I didn't realize that's what he was doing at the time. He taught me about friendship and loyalty. I learned how to let go of those who weren't true friends. Recently, he's taught me about standing firm for what I believe and learning to let go what hindered me from becoming closer to him. I know these two lessons are not done yet. I'm still young and I still have a lot to learn. I look forward to the lessons, maybe not the situations and trials, but it will be worth it all. I'm always a work in progress for Him. I will continue to make mistakes but I thank God he forgives and teaches me not to make the same mistakes over and over.


I'd like to repeat a FB post I made earlier this week:
Love one another. Encourage one another. Help one another. Pray for one another. 
Don't criticize or judge without knowing the fullness of the truth. Don't stab someone with mean words. 
Be kind. Be gentle. Be considerate. Be positive.


Have a great weekend!