Week 3: My Life 5 Years From Now

Hi There!

 

Its Week 3 of 52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose, and the

theme for this week is "My Life 5 Years From Now.

 

That's a tough one for me, because I don't really know what I want to be when I grow up or which direction I want to take my life. 

 

On one hand, I would like to be working less and have more time to devote to my daughter and her activities.  But on the other hand, if I am working, I would like to have more of a leadership role in whatever I am doing.  Yes, I realize those two things don't really line up together that well. 

A girl's gotta dream though, right!

 

I hope I am still in shape.  I hope I am in rockin' a better body in my 40s than I was in my 20s.  I have been able to pull it off so far in my 30s, so here's hoping! 

 

I hope I finally run the Bolder Boulder 10K, that has been on my bucket list for the past 3 years.

 

Yikes, I just realized I will be almost 42 in 5 years.  Gosh that sounds old!

 

Anyway, in 5 years I would like to have less debt and more money.

 

I would like to have all my home projects done...heck maybe even be moved into an even nicer home that doesn't have any projects that need to be done!  :)

 

If I'm really dreaming, then I would like to be an established photographer by then.  But I gotta put in the time and effort to do that, and right now I just don't see that happening.  Maybe someday.  Though I guess that being a photographer might work with my first goal of working less and having a leadership role.  Hmmm....might have to pursue that a little bit harder! 

 

In 5 years, Morgan will be just about to turn 11 yrs old.  Wow.  That sounds old!  She will be starting middle school, which kind of scares me.  Though luckily our school is K-8th, so middle school there is a lot less stressful and scary than a true traditional middle school...at least for Mom anyway! 

 

I hope I have a great relationship with her, and can be her rock as she works her way through the teen years and beyond. 

 

Well there you have it, a glimpse into what I hope is my view of the world in 5 years. 

 

ten on tuesday

1.  Remember yesterday when I said that I love flipflops and I have them on any chance I can get.  Yep...I proved that this morning.  Just as I pulled into the parking lot at work I realized I had flipflops on.  I freaking forgot to change my shoes before I left the house.  Normally I start my day at the gym so that never would have happened, but last night we let Morgan have a sleepover in her playhouse with the girls that live next door...so I was all sorts of out of whack.  I got dressed and ready before they woke up, so I slipped on my flipflops to make a few trips back and forth in the yard serving donuts and milk.  Problem is, I never slipped them back off.  I got the girls situated and off I went out the door! 

2.  Kohls does not have a good selection of plain black flats, or many choices in the "I'm in a pinch, I need cheap shoes" range.  I should have gone to Payless instead!  But I am now sporting a new pair of black flats.

3.  A bit of advice for those of you with kids.  Don't get suckered into having a sleepover during the week.  We slept all night just fine, never heard a peep from the girls...but the morning was craziness!  They had fun though, and that's all that matters! 

4.  I am seriously slacking on my school work.  I am currently working on my MBA from Western Governors University.  I tore through the first 2 classes like nobody's business.  Now I am working on the third, and well...lets just say that using the word "working" was a bit of an exaggeration.  I don't know if its because I am already losing motivation, or if its because the summer is just too busy to throw in online classes on top of the mix. 

5.  This year for Morgan's 6th birthday, we decided to really rock her world and get her a playhouse.  I shopped around for them for quite a while and couldn't find exactly what I wanted in my price range.  Most things were so small, I knew she would grow out of them way too fast.  The big ones that I loved were way out of my price range.  So I kept brainstorming...until I finally scored the most adorable little mansion of a playhouse!  I found it on craigslist.  A nice older couple had it in their backyard for their grandkids.  They had it 7 years and it was in top notch condition.  Their grandkids are teens now and have no interest in it, so they decided it was time to sell it.  Lucky me...I jumped on it!  I bought it for close to the price of those small playhouses,  paid a fraction of what it was new...and it will last her for many years.  Heck I even think it might be fun for a young teenager to hang out in! 

 

6.  I loved the baby and toddler years with Morgan, and I miss them dearly. But this age is pretty darn fun too!  It makes me wish I had summer break! 

 

7.  The fires in Colorado are out of control this year.  We had one practically in our backyard two weeks ago and there are more burning all over the state.  Most nights the smoke is so thick, it smells like a campfire.  It makes my eyes burn and I have had more headaches in the past two weeks than I have the rest of the year.  As much as I love summer, we need a seriously snowy winter next year and we need rain starting now. 

 

8.  I have a constant "To Do" list running in my head.  It seems like just as I cross something off the list, I end up adding three more things.  There is not enough time in the day!

 

9.  Do you ever notice that sometimes you open your mouth and your mom or dad comes out!  I swore I wasn't going to be like them, and I think for the most part I am not...but sometimes I say things that sound just like them!  :)

 

10.  I need a good book to read this weekend at the pool.  We have skipped the pool for two weekends in a row...one because of the fires and air quality and one because we had to put that massive mansion playhouse together!  I will be at the pool this weekend, and that's all there is to it! 

 

Have a good week!



Week 2: 10 Things I Live For

Time for another installment of 52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose


The theme for this week is "10 Things I Live For"

1) My daughters smile and snuggles - I absolutely live for my daughter, for smiles and snuggles from her.  I look forward to being with her every day, I miss her dearly when I am not with her and I count the moments till work is over each afternoon so I can see her again.  Often I feel so guilty just for going to the gym in the morning before work, because its time missed with my daughter.  The moments go so quickly.  I blink and she is already almost 6yrs old.  I want to bottle this time up and savor it longer.  I love each age and stage, but I miss all the previous ones as well.

2) The beach - Oh do I love the beach.  I'm a Florida girl living in Colorado!  My heart is in Florida for sure.  I lived there for 5 years, from age 13-18...but I consider it home.  Its where my dad lives and its where my heart longs for.  Even though it was a relatively short time in my life, it was a very memorable period where I formed great friendships and began to figure out who I was.  I met my husband there as well!  When we go back home for a visit we spend as much time as possible at the beach.  An hour first thing in the morning, a walk after dinner...any time we can get!

3) A nap on the porch - We just recently built a deck on our house.  In the process, we bought some deck furniture, including a loveseat.  My new found love is a quick afternoon nap while reading a book on the loveseat...with the kids laughing and playing in the pool next door for background music. 

4) The best seat in the world - I guess this one kinda goes along with my love for the beach.  My dad lives in Florida.  He has this awesome house that sits on a little lake.  From the front door, you can look all the way through the house, through these huge ceiling to floor windows, past the pool, to the lake.  Out on the porch by the pool he has this swing that is so awesome to sit in.  Its made of rope with a small wood frame and it has a foot rest.  It seats two people, which means you can stretch out on it when you sit on it alone.  Everybody fights for the chair.  Its the most peaceful place on earth...next to the beach.  Its also a place that frequently includes a nap!  With that seat and the beach just 2 miles away, who needs a vacation.  I live for my visits home!

5) A lazy day at the pool - Since I have already established how much of an outdoor, summer lovin' girl I am...of course the pool is my next favorite place to be!  When Morgan was born, it was important to me that she learn to swim, so she was in swim lessons very early on.  As she got older, I began to feel sad that she wouldn't grow up around the water like I did.  This town does not offer a lot of pools or community centers, so we decided to join the ultra luxurious gym down the street that is really more of a country club in a lot of ways.  It is nicer than any gym I have ever been to and its incredibly family friendly.  We spend many hours there each week during the entire year, but nothing is more enjoyable then spending the weekends at the outdoor pool in the summer.  We get there early to claim our spots and we have fun the entire day. We know lots of people that go there, so Morgan always has friends to play with.  I love to swim with her, lay in the sun and read or just gab with the ladies.  All winter long we look forward to it.  And summers always go far too fast!   

6) Sushi - My favorite!  I was introduced to it about 2 years ago.  Prior to that, I swore I would never eat raw fish.  I love fish, but I always thought raw fish sounded so gross!  A good friend finally talked me into trying it, and I love it now!  Yum!  One of my favorite little treats!

7) Time with family - Obviously time with family is high on the priorities.  I love it.  I live for it.  'Nuff said!

8) Chocolate covered...anything! - I love chocolate covered cherries at Christmas time.  I used to eat them all season long.  But now that I have adapted a healthier lifestyle with more fitness and "clean" food, and less junk food I don't eat them much anymore.  In fact, I am lucky if I even buy a box during the holiday season these days.  I love chocolate covered strawberries too, and heck...anything with chocolate on it to be honest.  I don't eat any of it often, but every once in a while, specially at Valentine's day...I give in and have a little!  Yum!

9) Flip flops - There is a sign that says "Life Is Better In Flip Flops".  I believe that to be true!  I wear them year round...yes even in Colorado.  My only requirement is that there is no snow on the ground.  I also do not wear them to work.  But if I am not at work and its not snowing out...its a pretty safe bet that I have them on.  Of course if I am working out I wear sneakers...otherwise, flipflops are the "cats meow" in my book!

10) Working out - Wow, that's one I never thought I would say prior to two years ago.  I often heard people say they loved working out, but I never understood it or believed it.  Something changed in me just over two years ago.  I started working out and I loved it, I craved it.  I work out every weekday morning at the crack of dawn.  Yes that's right, my alarm clock is set for 4:24am.  I am typically pulling into the parking lot at the gym around 5:10am.  Believe it or not, I have lots of company too.  The parking lots is busy, the workout classes are packed and the weight room is full.  I run now, I have completed 6 races in total...one was a 10K, the others 5ks.  I don't know what it was that changed, but I love it!  Its the only "me time" I get all day!

Well there you have it...10 things that I love for. 

Sexy Legs...part one

I've been on a quest for sexy legs lately...a quest involving an IV, a laser and a scalpel.

Yep thats right!

I had some nasty varicose veins on my upper thigh.  I don't remember if I had them before I got pregnant, which makes me think I probably didn't!  But man oh man they sure popped out after pregnancy!  I hated them. 

I had not owned shorts for 14 years.  Mostly because of my weight, but after I lost the weight over the past 2 years, I still refused to wear shorts because of the ugly blue bumps on my left thigh and under my left knee.  At the pool I always covered up with a towel if I left my seat.  I'm not sure how many people actually noticed them, but I sure did and I hated it.  They starting to hurt too.  It wasn't uncommon for my leg to fall asleep if I crossed it too much while sitting at my desk.  After I ran a 10K last summer, I swear I ruined my legs...or my veins.  I'm not sure if thats possible, but I do know that they were never quite the same after.  It took me a week to recover from that run.  My left leg started going numb during workouts, it felt uncomfortable all the time.  It was bad enough that I went from working out 7 days a week early in the morning, to no workouts at all!  I gradually started cutting out workouts after that run.  By the end of last August I wasn't working out at all.  I tried twice in September and both times my left leg felt too uncomfortable so I stopped.   

Last summer while laying at the pool, a friend told me about her friend that had her varicose veins removed.  It was something I had never really considered until that moment.  I didn't even know it was an option.  But I was inspired.  I didn't think it was something I could actually afford but I wanted to look into it.  So I scheduled a consultation with a vein specialist.   

To be continued...

Week 1: Who Am I

I need to blog more.  I want to blog more.

This morning in my google reader feed I read a post from somebody joining in on the "52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose" idea that Mrs. to Mama is doing.  Something clicked.  I instantly thought, wow maybe this is what I need to do to revive my blogging. 

When Morgan was born I was blogging like crazy.  For the first 4 years I have awesome records of her life at www.missmorganhope.blogspot.com.  Its an awesome "baby book" of memories that I hope to one day print out into books.  After a while I decided I wanted somewhere to write about my life, the life that existed and still exists outside of Morgan, who is my world!  So I started this blog.  I had all sorts of ideas for it, and I still often think "oh wow, I should blog about that"...but it never happens!  For whatever reason, I all but abandoned this blog...and hers for that matter.  I even let the domain expire. 

So this morning, after reading that post...I renewed my domain!  I'm going to try to refresh my blog look in the next few weeks and try to post weekly.  Maybe blogging with a purpose will revive my blogging all together!

So anyway...the topic for Week 1 is "Who Am I"

I am so many things. 

I am a mom.  I am a working mom.  I am a wife.  I am a friend.  I am a sister.  I am a daughter.  I am a runner.  I am a photographer.  I am a Daisy/Girl Scout leader.  I am on the PTO.  I am in college.  I am a reader.  I am a sun worshiper.  I am a Veteran.  I am Catholic, but haven't been to church in many years.  I work out every morning.  I don't sleep enough.  I am a thrify bargain shopper.  I live in Colorado but my heart is in Florida!  I love being outside.  I love wearing flipflops.  I do not love the cold or the snow.  I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.  I will be celebrating my 20th anniversary next year.  2014 will also be my 20th high school reunion. 

I am sure there are lots of other ways to describe me...

I guess the role I consider most important is the role of mom.  All others come second at this stage of my life.  But all of the roles are connected and all are important. 

Morgan has pretty much rocked my world since the day I found out I was pregnant with her!  That little girl is my world.  She has changed me for the better and she amazes me every single day!  We struggled to get pregnant, and we prayed so hard for that little girl.  Even with all my hopes and prayers, she is so much more than I ever thought I deserved or wanted.

So there you have it...that's the shortened, condensed version of me!

Time for an update

Wow, its been a while!  Plenty has been going on, I just haven't taken the time to write about any of it!

So anyway, here is a quick little update:

1.  I enrolled in Western Governors University (WGU) and will be starting the MBA - Management and Strategy program on April 1st!  I am super excited.  I have missed school.  I always enjoyed being in college.  So I am looking forward to going back.  It will be very different this time around though.  In the past I always held a full time job while going to school full time, but on top of that I have a 5 year old now!  My husband works evenings and my current job is much higher stress and responsibility than it was back in my college days.  So this time around I am going to do it all online.  I love having that option now.  Back when I was in school the last time, there were a few online courses offered at University of Colorado, where I went, but not enough to complete a degree.  The other awesome aspect of WGU is that its a self paced program.  So I could theoretically finish faster than the typical two years.  Of course, its just my nature to try to speed it up...so my goal is to finish in a year.  Easy for me to say considering I haven't started yet!  We'll see how it goes!

2.  I'm still working out daily, well for the most part.  I try to go every morning before work.  I try to get there at 5am.  I used to be really successful at it.  I started almost exactly two years ago, and for the first year I think I only missed three mornings.  Seriously!  I was hard core!  I was seeing so much progress that I was afraid if I started allowing myself to miss days, that I would miss more and more and pretty soon abandon what I had started.  Plus I had friends meeting me there.  We all depending on each other.  Some days just knowing one of the girls was expecting me was all that got me there!  Then the start of the second year hit.  I started out strong, but gradually fell back.  By Labor Day of last year I was frustrated, burned out and having issues with my legs.  So I pretty much stopped.  It was gradual I guess.  During the summer I was missing one day a week on average.  But sure enough, once I started allowing myself to miss a day, I started missing a bunch of them!  I had an extended break for all of September and October, and half of November.  But as soon as I was able to, I jumped back in the saddle.  I haven't been as strict, but I am still going.  My goal for this week was to go all 5 days.  But this morning I woke up with a migraine.  So this won't be the week I hit my goal either. 

3.  My legs....oh man do I have a lot to say about that.  I will save that for another post or two.  Lets just say, it was a much more drawn out process than I ever imagined.  I'm still not 100%, but I am getting closer.  I am glad I did it, but wow its been quite an ordeal.  I learn a lot about myself and my body though, which is good!

4.  Morgan is still the light of my life, of course!  She is 5.5 yrs old and what an amazing little girl she is turning out to be.  She constantly amazes and wows me.  I can't believe I created that little bundle of joy, imagine, wonder and energy! 

5.  I'm not all that content in my job.  I don't know why, I should be.  I have a ton of responsibility, and even more flexibility.  Its a great fit for my life right now, its just not fullfilling for some reason.  hence the reason I am going back to school I guess.  I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.  I just know that estimating floor covering and being a project manager for commercial construction jobsites does not seem to be it!  :)

6.  Having a school aged child is exhausting.  For some reason I feel this guilt for not being able to help out in the classroom and at the school all the time.  I want to be there, but can't.  So I do as much as I possibly can.  I am the Daisy Troop Leader, I am the Boxtops Committe Chair for the PTO, I am room mom for the Kindergarten class, and a member of the Photography Committe for the PTO.  Yes, it wears me out just thinking about it!  Its been fun though!

7. Photography is still an major interest.  I just don't find myself grabbing my camera as much in the colder months.  Now that its lighter so much later in the evenings, I am itching to take more pictures again!  I am signed up for a really cool photography class in April that involves wine and chocolate and is for ladies only.  Its nothing racy, just a moms night out type photography class.  Should be fun!

8.  I already talked about exercise...lets talk about "eating clean".  Man, who knew that was just an effective diet and why have I not tried that before!  Forget all the fad diets and counting points...eating clean is where its at!  I haven't been able to exercise as much as I used to, or as hard as I would like...but thanks to eating clean, I lost 7lbs in January.  It was all the weight I gained during the surgeries and the holidays!  It wasn't even that hard to do.  It turns out, I actually like healthy food, alot!  I could eat my weight in sushi, and for the most part thats considered clean!  Hooray!

9.  I've been watching The Biggest Loser this season.  I don't watch a whole lot of tv anymore, but thats one show that Morgan and I both love.  Did you see Danni?  She started at 238lbs I believe.  And she is 163lbs as of this week.  She did that in 11 weeks.  When I started out I was 224lbs, so 14lbs lighter than her, and now I am 163lbs as well.  It took me 5 years to do that!  Slow and steady wins the race right!  I can't believe I just mentioned my weight!  But you know what, I am pretty darn proud of what I have achieved, so 163lbs is awesome to me!  I'm not where I want to be yet, though I don't necessarily have an end weight goal in mind either.  I wouldn't mind hiting 147lbs, just because thats the weight I was when I graduated high school.  Or 155lbs, so I can finally hit the "healthy" weight on the BMI chart.  You know, 138lbs wouldn't be bad either...thats the weight I was in basic training.  Any of those would be nice, but ultimately I just want to maintain the weight loss I have had and be phyically healthy.  I would say I am in better physical shape now than I ever was in high school or basic training. 

10.  Running.  Lets just say, I am not where I was.  Last July I ran my first 10K.  And then I didn't run again till two weeks ago.  I started the C25K program over again, and I am running at a faster pace than I was last summer.  I guess thats good.  I wanted to run the St Patricks Day 5K this weekend, but my husband says I shouldn't because of my legs.  He is right, so I won't.  Maybe this summer I can run one though.  I sure hope so!
     

Elf On The Shelf...11

Macy felt a little left out since she didn't have a stocking, so she brought one back from the North Pole when she visited Santa last night!