Take Care

There's something about the onset of Fall that makes me reflect on the past year.

I could be the changing leaves reminding me of new beginnings and the old making way for the new.

Or it could be the rainy days that leave me cooped up inside with two rowdy midgets.

Either way, I've spent the last couple weeks pulling back and evaluating where I am as a wife, mother, and friend to see what kind of goals I want to make to improve.

I'm quick to be overly critical of myself every time I do these little self report cards so I've also spent a lot of time asking God to point out the areas that He wants me to work on.

He is usually kind to me and only points out one or two at a time and this year was no different.

The first one I knew was coming before I even started praying about it.

And it was confirmed last Tuesday when I had an entire day to myself.

I have got to start taking better care of myself.

I'm sure, based on this blog, that you probably assume I'm a pretty healthy person.

I'm not.

I've always tried to make sure my kids are eating healthy and exercising and getting enough rest (which we've seriously slacked off on this Summer), but I rarely put any consideration into what I'm doing to make sure I'm healthy.

I tracked what I ate the other day and it was a serious wake up call for me.

Coffee in bed at 8
Starbucks at 10:30
Cookie at 3
Fries and a small piece of chicken at 7
Ice cream at 9:30

Eww!

No wonder I'm tired and cranky and feeling bad about myself!

I wish I could say this is rare, but I hardly ever eat real food before 3 and by then I'm so hungry I can't wait to cook something so I just grab something quick.  And since we don't really let the kids snack, the only quick stuff in our house is dessert stuff.  We do eat dinner as a family almost every night, but one meal a day doesn't cut it.

And lets not even start on the topic of exercise.

I'm a naturally thin person so healthy eating and exercise are easy for me to ignore.

What's not easy to ignore is my energy crashes and how tired I fell all the time.

So I'm trying really hard to fix this.

As much as I hate eating breakfast, I'm making myself sit at the table with the kids and eat something before I start my day.

I'm cutting back on sugary treats and slowly weeding out all the caffeine I consume.

Yea, that last one is gonna hurt.

I'm on day 5 of only 1 cup of coffee a day and as sleepy as I was the first couple days, I'm feeling pretty good now.

My beloved Starbucks will be a rare treat now.

I'm having to train myself that I do not have to pull in every time I pass a Starbucks and a trip to the grocery store doesn't warrant a $4 cup of sugar.

Andrew and I decided about a month ago that we weren't going to eat out with the kids unless it was a planned family date and somewhere kid friendly.  Now I've added that fast food will be cut way back too.  Which means I have to plan ahead and bring them (and me) food now.

I failed multiple times last week on this.  Like we ate at Chickfila on the way to church the day after my new declaration.  And while I could've picked a salad, you know I didn't.

My actual words were, "if I'm gonna eat fast food, I ain't getting a salad!"

Probably need to change that attitude.

I'm also exercising for at least 10 minutes.  I know that's puny, but it's a start.

So this post is more for me, but I wanted to get it down in writing.

God pointed out one other area that I need to work on, but I'll save that one for another day!

I'm off to cherish the last of my sole cup of coffee.

I'll try not to lick the bottom of the cup!