FITNESS GOALS

I have to admit...I've really struggled to keep weight off since turning thirty. I walk or do some form of exercise almost daily, but the weight keeps increasing. I have a goal to lose 15 pounds by my 32nd birthday in November, but I am finding it difficult to lose even 1 pound. Today, I read about a free weight loss website, http://www.sparkpeople.com/ . I quickly signed up and joined the website because I will try anything if it is free. One of the first tasks was to calculate caloric intake for one day. I almost passed out when today's calories added up to over 2800. How can I eat so much food? No wonder I can't lose weight, even with exercise. One of my first new goals is to try giving up pop/soda and to attempt consuming 8 glasses of water/day. Hopefully, I will see some progress soon. If anyone has any weight loss advice, then please share......

TOP 2 TUESDAY: TOP 2 TIPS

TOP 2 MONEY TIPS

1. PAY YOURSELF FIRST

The easiest way to save money is to not think about saving. Make a payment to yourself from each     paycheck before you make any purchases or pay any bills. After you adopt this practice for a few months, it becomes a habit and you begin to save without thinking.

2. KEEP YOUR MONEY SEPARATE FROM YOUR SPOUSE

Many people disagree with this advice, but I always make this suggestion to couples planning to marry. One of the greatest causes for disagreement between couples is MONEY. If you each have your own accounts, then you will never fight about money. Your spouse can never say anything about an expensive purchase if his money was not used! Evaluate your monthly household bills and divide them evenly or based on each person's income, then you can save or spend the remaining amount without having to depend on someone else. When one person in the marriage is expected to carry all the financial burden, it often becomes too much of a hardship to endure.

GRATEFUL FOR MONDAY

Today, I am grateful monday is almost over. This has been one of the worst work days I have ever experienced and I have encountered some of the meanest people known to exist on this planet. I keep telling myself how lucky I am just to have a job. For some reason, I have found the need to remind myself repeatedly today....maybe it will even become believable by tomorrow.

I am also grateful for the continued progress on Mom and Dad's new home. Hopefully, they will be able to move in before Halloween or at least Thanksgiving. After terrible work days like today, I am very blessed to have a home, where I can feel comfortable and relax. I pray that Mom and Dad will be able to feel that same comfort again...very soon!

I am also grateful for a very nice weekend. On Saturday, we enjoyed a wonderful 1st birthday for our friends' (Jason and Dasheka) son Cayden. He is so cute!

                                    

                                            Cayden                                           

We spent Saturday night at the boat with the family. We had a great time, but I hope we didn't keep our boating neighbors up all night with our beautiful singing!

On Sunday, Robby and I went to my Mom and Dad's pool to swim with my little cousins. The kids had a wonderful time, but we were exhausted!

                                     

                                                                            Emily

                                     

                                                                           Hunter

Later on Sunday, we helped Colt celebrate his 2nd birthday. Colt is my friend Cydni's (Cydni and Cavanaugh) little boy and he is just adorable. I wanted to take pictures at the party, but my camera battery died earlier on sunday. I was able to borrow one picture from my friend Brooke's facebook...Thanks Brooke!

                                     

  I love this pic of Colt! He had just devoured his cupcake, which was frosted with red icing. Too cute!

We are so grateful that our friends and family allow me and Robby to be a part of their childrens' lives. It makes not having kids of our own much easier to endure. We love them all--they are just precious!