A Better ME????

So, it's been nearly a month since The Major left for Kyrgyzstan. It's been a month of tears but also some really sweet moments cuddled up with my girlies. We took our first road trip to see my sister and her family (3 action packed girls)...yes, 5 girls in 1 house. Consider our super-hero-mom strength being ears of steel...sometimes the house was so loud I think our brains were ready to bleed out our ears. haha Though the trip was only 5 hours one-way, that was an accomplishment for me with a 4 1/2 year old and 17 month old (who doesn't sleep in her carseat & doesn't enjoy it either!).

This month has given me some time to consider my goals...I want this time to mean something. I don't want to just X out a bunch of calendar squares without thinking to myself "Yep, I did it today!"...not just survived. I know there will be many days of pure survival & that's okay...but without a goal in mind the only goal then is ONLY survival. I don't want not live that way...not for 6 months, not for any length of time.

So, do you want to see what my focus will be?

1-Spiritual health. The Major and I are reading through a Psalm daily and then Proverbs. That will bring us within days or weeks of his arrival home. I am also doing an online Ephesian's study with "Good Morning Girls" (google it). I also, especially when I'm discouraged, I pick up the following books:

Faith Deployed by Jocelyn Green
40 Ways to Get Closer to God by Jerry MacGregor (or Chip MacGregor as many know him as)
Fighting Fear, Winning the War at Home by Edie Melson
Faith Deployed...Again by Jocelyn Green...again. ;-)

Those books are so helpful in getting my focus on my heart and God and where HE has me in the moment.

2-Physical Health. I have started running! I am running on average of about 20 mins a day on a treadmill, which is about 2 miles for me. Yes, I'm being pretty real with you all. I HATE working out but this little trick is working...what's the "trick?" I listen to great audio books when I run...and won't let myself listen to them unless I'm running. ;-) Right now I'm listening to "A Heart Most Worthy" by Siri Mitchell. Soooo good.

I am also working on finding more natural ways to eat (which we mostly do already anyway), dye my hair, and take care of my skin. I have LOTS of gray and I'm only 34 so going gray gracefully is not in the short-term timeline...but I want to find a less chemical way to do this. I know they are out there...it's time to do some research. And when I was in H.S. and college I had AWFUL skin and this carried over into my young wifehood & early motherhood. Even now I can get some seriously teenage looking breakouts. But I have some bad scarring and I really want to work toward a fix. So I started with a consultation with an amazing Aesthetician who does things naturally & works with your whole body's health...that means right eating & everything...it ALL affects your skin & hair. Today I had a chemical peel among other treatments & bought some amazing products. My skin feels like it is actually BREATHING!!!! We're on a roll!

3-Writing Health. I am in the middle of a manuscript that I LOVE! I have a deadline and I'm super excited about finishing it. I'm learning the craft through a variety of ways and working on being the best fiction writer I can. Finishing this current manuscript is the simplest goal I can lay out for my writing...and one of the hardest things to do when your hubby is over 7000 miles away & you're a single mama for the time being. BUT, I'm determined. I will be traveling to my parents for about 6 wks very soon & it seems when I'm away from home I really get "inspired" and I can get some words out. Since I've visited my sister I was able to get quite a bit done, inspiring myself to keep at it.

Those are the 3 main focuses that I have. I wouldn't consider them full-fledged goals b/c I didn't lay out the way to measure success...but they are focuses and I'm excited about each of them.

Check back & see how I'm doing. I will blog about the aspects of each of them as I feel led. So...beware...one day you might get a diatribe of info on why you should consider going on a low-diary (or NO-dairy) or low/no gluten diet...to another day where I talk about what my characters are putting me through...or why I was discouraged & what verse or book got me out of my funk.

I hope you come back!

Cheers,
Elizabeth