Vol. 2 No. 1 - Are You Ready to Change?

Are You Ready to Change?

Happy New Year Everyone!!! 

I know the weather outside is frightful for many of you, but remember it will pass.  Spring will come;I love the change and beauty of Spring!!!  You will wonder how you ever got through this crazy winter!!!  Like many of you I have set a few goals for myself this year, but also I had a chance to reflect back, not so much the highlights of the year but all those sweet little miracles that seemed to have taken place, what I have learned and what I need to change.

To say last year was hard was an understatement.  I can look back now and think how did I ever do it?  Oh yeah I DIDN’T!!!  There were many angels and small miracles that pulled me through. For all those that continuously reached out to me, thank you!!  What a miracle you were!!  I think of a favorite quote of mine I saw while in Texas that reads:  "When you think of how reluctant to change you are, think of the beauty of Autumn."  I  love this quote!!

It’s true, change is hard!!!  We have to get out of that comfort zone we all love to sit and hang out in.  We want all the good things that come with change but to put the work and effort in is sometimes hard.  This year I have already had some major changes, but I am determined to make them work to my advantage!!  I have already decided this is going to be my year and I am going to change it!! YIKES!!  Did I just say that?  I know I can, but I also want to go jump back into my comfort zone!! Let’s start out with my new church schedule.

Okay I know what you are thinking, why do you have a new church schedule? In the LDS (Mormon) church often times we have 3 (wards) congregations that all use the building on Sundays.  We can’t all be there at once, that so we rotate our schedules years to get through our three hour blocks of meetings. Last year we met at 1 pm, this year it is our turn to meet at 9.  And I must give a shout out to all those with little ones who can get to church that early and on time!!!  You all rock!!!  There was a good turnout today!!!  I love my Oak Hills Ward!!!  So now we meet from 9-12 instead of 1-4.  It will be an adjustment. I liked my Sunday morning naps.  Before I could wait to the crowds dispersed a bit before making my way to the next class or to my car.  Not anymore!!  Once we are done others are waiting to come in and use our room.  It will be an adjustment but I know I will be okay.  Because I have already decided I was going to be there every Sunday and that means I just need to learn to maneuver the hallways and go with the flow. 

My health.  I know I need to make some changes in my lifestyle if I want to regain my health.  I don’t have an excuse anymore I just have to do it.  At the end of the year when I cut my leg and had to have it wrapped I noticed how it seemed as though I was more mobile than before.  That got me to thinking of ways I can improve my health.  The times I feel the best is when I eat meats, fruit and vegetables.  I need to do this and not worry when others with good intentions tell me differently.  My favorite thing to do is go off soda and sugar.  I know you think I am crazy!!  But I love doing it!!  It keeps me away from the Soda (I really don’t drink it that much anymore) and with sugar I stay away from the sweets, chocolate and candy primarily.  I realize when I do it I have control in my life.

I have also learned I need to really focus on portion control.  There was a cool thing on Pinterest  I thought I would share. For quite some time I have wanted one of these but I could never justify it with my finances, now I can.  What is this miracle invention I want?  A muffin tin and paper cupcake holders!!  When I make something like a casserole or meatloaf , I take what I want and put the rest in the fridge.  My stomach does not hold as much as it used to (which is a good thing) but my mind has not quite caught up yet. With a muffin tin you can spoon your casserole or whatever into the muffin spots, it is great for portion control.  I think this will help me from going overload on my stomach.  And if you want to be REALLY LAZY go to the Dollar Store and buy aluminum foil ones for $1!!   Easy Peasy!!!  In addition to my eating habits, I need to work on my exercise habits.  I have not come up with a sure fire plan for this one yet, but I have some starting points.  I am going to wrap my legs (it helps with the circulation), do some band exercises at home and hopefully get out and walk a bit. All this will take time.

Spirituality.  I feel there is much more I can do than just what I am doing right now.  I really want to find a way to serve others more and be kinder to people.  One of my goals I had last year was to find one person or charity a month and donate to.  I think I will do that again this year. I know I want to do more service period.  I learned a great lesson last year.   It is so easy when you feel your life is caving in on you to give up and go back to bad habits. I did that with some things (sugar and gluten).  But again there were other things I could keep control of and that I continually tried to do.  I learned a lot about obedience.  Even as hard as times got, not once did I not have food or gas in my car or minutes on my phone;all things that were priorities for me due to financial circumstances.  I truly feel the reason why is because I was trying very hard to be obedient and faithful.  I went to church every Sunday, had my daily prayers and scripture study, and paid my tithes and offerings.  I remained faithful.  And because of my obedience I feel the blessings bestowed upon me.  So I will continue to do my best to be obedient, I sure like it a whole lot more than the drama I was accustomed to a few years ago!!

Financial.  Okay so here the fun part.  On New Year’s Eve I got the call I had been approved for disability.  YAHOO!!!  I say this because now I feel as though I can concentrate on getting healthy and not focus so much on survival mode.  I can take care of my day to day needs which I think will help me in my health goals.  When I got my first payment, I filled up my car with gas which I have not been able to do in a very long time. I think I can make better decisions in a grocery store since going shopping with a $20 budget is not so much on my mind anymore. I can buy a new laptop as mine is going out so I can continue to write and try and earn money that way. I can make up a budget and put money into savings.  I can buy a small gift card for those who have done so much for me this year, I want to say thank you.  Those small little things we sometimes take for granted I can now do.

Right now I feel I have so many blessings in my life.  I feel as though I have been given this window of time for those changes I am seeking; get healthy, stash some money away and work on my books. Change I know can be hard, but I also know it can be good. I am looking forward to some changes in my life, how about you?  Are you ready to change?