Thanksgiving 2012

I have honestly enjoyed the gratitude posts I have been reading on facebook.  I love the ideas of gratitude sharing on some of the morning shows I have landed on while getting ready for the day.  The idea of gratitude, and sharing it with someone makes me melt inside with the warm and tender feeling of the season this fall. 
It warms my heart to see the children in school write what they are thankful for on paper leaves that are all brought together on a tree.  As they read each one, they gain an understanding of the differences in us all.  One may be grateful for their parents, while another excited for their Dad to be coming home from deployment.  Chances are someone else could simply put, but happy to have crayons! 
This year, I am grateful for my family.  As our children grow older, their ideas for what they see in the future changes with them...sometimes, they know forever what they want to be when they grow up.  Other times, it can go from one thing to something else for years.  It is good for me to see them go through each phase of life.  Sometimes, more difficult.  As they do so, it reminds me, it is their time to grow, and learn, and become strong.  It is my time to be there for when they need me, be supportive, be strong. I am grateful for my husband and his patience with me as my "seasons" change :0) He does so much for our family and I am sure he doesn't have a clue at just how much his family appreciates and loves him. The list could go on - my parents: who are awesome, our siblings: who are amazing, our friends: who are fantastic!
I hope as each new day presents itself to all of us, we can find the beauty in it. The changes of the season in "the world", and the changes of the season in "our own world" are a blessing to us.  I am going to feed off the gratitude I see in others, and remind myself to fill my own gratitude bucket.  
I realize this may be early - Halloween is just around the corner...I guess I am excited for Thanksgiving this year! 

Keep Your Focus Forward

Life is forever changing! Do you embrace the full experience? Are you Living In Full Experiences?? Maybe we all need to work on that a little bit. I know I am constantly needing to remind myself to keep my focus forward...to hold on to what and who are important, those we can always count on, and let all the rest go. 
I love it when I scan through my facebook wall and see some visual, artistic rendition with a quote so appropriately placed, at just a time I think I need it most.  Almost as if that person posted it just for me.  Then I thought to myself - how many of us are in constant need of those reminders? We all have a connection - we are all never alone.  If one is willing to share a little bit of themselves, they will most likely find 1: others who feel exactly as they do, or can at least relate some how to their life experience, trial, or moment; and/or 2: others who needed to HEAR someone else who may be feeling what THEY are going through so as to not feel so alone. 
I am so grateful for those who have shared a little part of themselves with me, so when I was having an experience that seemed tough to get through at the time, I knew....I wasn't alone. 
I am grateful for those friends I have who are every one different, and serve an equally different purpose in my life.  Some who share their hearts, some who just care about how your day is going, some who may share an occasional drink run, lunch, or treat for even just a few minutes to catch up...and some, you may not talk to for months or even years - but the second you get together or have a chance to talk on the phone...it is as if you haven't missed a moment.
I am grateful for family - for the constant and continual support they are, just in being... and knowing they are always there...even when you need some time to be silent, they are loud and clear about their arms wrapping around you with a hug no matter the distance in miles there may be.
As life changes, I hope we can always keep in mind the things and people that remain solid. 
Today I hope for everyone, that as life changes, each one remembers that as every day presents itself, it is a new opportunity to BE - to breathe, to live, to smile, to start a new beginning, to finish what you started - but another day to keep your focus forward!

Family - Balance - Priority - Life

I am learning more and more everyday how little I control in my life and how much more I need to pay attention to those things most important to me, my family.  It seems that life today is sneaky about getting you so busy that you tend to put things on the back burner that shouldn't be.  Although, a good idea to scale down, it also seems to be a double-edge sword.  It's better to be busy than bored..idleness is not good...if you aren't going forward, you are going backward...if you aren't doing anything, you are sitting on the fence...you need to go somewhere, right? It comes down to BALANCE and everyone's balance is different. 
I was listening to a book on tape yesterday and the thing that stuck in my mind more than anything was prioritzing.  The one thing that is at the top of the list for most people is FAMILY.  I look into my little "life-looking ball" and see that what makes me most happy is doing things for and with my family.  I am happiest when holding my grandbabies..and enjoy most everything most when I have my family around.  Don't get me wrong, I like my time alone when I have some, but I seem to use that for catching up on things instead of ME time for things I enjoy.  That is one of my problems I think.  That is one thing I need to work on - EXCEPT, I turn around and say that all my ME time is my enjoyment of hanging out with my family, cause I am not getting anything else done! Right?? So what to do next to work on my balance?  That is my work in progress. I have realized that I have a problem with prioritizing.  I tend to set my priorities with whatever is on "fire" at the moment. THAT is BAD!!! It is best to "plan" at least a few weeks to a month out, right? Then the idea would be that you wouldn't have as many "fires" to put out.  So my goal will be short-term at first as I take off on this new journey of life prioritization.  It will be to list my priorities and what "do" items will help me stick to my list.
This is where I shall begin -
FAMILY
WORK is important too, but I am unemployed. So I want to find a way to earn an income that will also allow me to keep my priorities with FAMILY.  Managing my time will also be a factor in this.  So many people are able to have a good income just using the internet...why can't I do that? Well, the last couple of days, we haven't had the internet in our area..don't you think that went over well?? It was a nightmare for all those connected through the world wide web! That would be a definate downer to someone doing business online. Luckily it didn't last too long.  So I have a lot to think about, but I am going to try real hard not to ponder too long, as the time is passing. 
How do you prioritize? What helps you to maintain balance? I would love to hear what works for you in this journey we call Life :0) 

I have felt like 2 years of unemployment may have started a pickling process of my brain, so I have been diligent about staying busy with many, many things so my brain always has a reason to keep thinking! Have you ever felt this way? When life throws you a curve ball, you just need to keep the mit moving in the right direction, right? I find it easier for me to feel connected with people if I keep my calendar full.  Every day there is a reason to get up and get ready for what the day brings - but there is also some responsibility to be sure the day is bringing something.  It can get too easy to just leave it open, but then - you may not feel an urgency to take that shower in the morning! I do leave time for surprises :0) you can't have everything to a plan, cause remember...life is what happens when you make other plans! Here's to less baffled brains and new life experiences - TODAY, I tried something new...I set up an account with Twitter.  Now let's see how well that works for me...I may need to get a few tips from some seasoned tweeters!  Join me in my journey to not going stale with age :0)

The Change for 2011

So I hear all these New Year's Resolutions and try to think of what mine could be.  You know, perhaps not the same old general ones..something new - different - something I can actually achieve. I thought of the title of my blog "stephs-time4achange" and thought to myself, life is ALWAYS changing.  A time for change is today AND tomorrow...as long as we are changing, we are progressing, and learning, and growing.  So part of my "change" for this year, and maybe considered a resolution would be healthier lifestyle.  It isn't that I necessarily have an UN-healthy lifestyle, but there are definately things I could change to make it a healthier one. For example: the belly fat thing...I have never had much of an issue with a thick middle until now...it has seemed to be quite comfortable sitting as a muffin top, right on over the top of my jeans.  On one hand, who cares?? I LOVE to eat! On the other hand, belly fat is an indicator of other underlying health issues that could be lirking about to cause me trouble in the long run...SO, I have decided to tackle the belly fat before I lose more control than I already have.  Today was the beginning for me...reducing sugar and managing my good and bad carbs, etc.  I am referencing a lot to the Belly Fat Free book for ideas on how to achieve my goals with a flatter tummy.  I have also looked up a few things online for some smart recipes and ways of making this more "fun" for me to take on this flat belly challenge.  My goal is to have a flatter belly by the end of April.  Let's see how I do, shall we?  I will keep a journal of what I do, if you like - follow along and experience a beginning to healthier living with me. 
This morning I started off with a cold and still sore from my "near miss car accident" the other day. I am full of congestion and have headache and muscle aches.  The idea of excersize for me today is pretty much out of the question.  I have been lucky to get up, shower, and get ready for the day...so my start will pretty much begin with my eating habits.  To keep my metabolism going better - I have read to eat five small meals a day rather than three big ones.  This has been something I have heard multiple times from many venues. So, here's to giving that a try.  Remember, I am a pacer and I have to start with baby steps...this is my first baby step.  This morning I enjoyed a half a grapefruit with one hard boiled egg. I did add a little salt and pepper to the egg.  I have also sipped two cups of vanilla chai tea with honey which seems to soothe my throat and make me feel a little better.  I have also paid attention to drinking more water as well.  For lunch, I had a half a cantalope with a little over a half a cup of cottage cheese again with salt and pepper on it.  Obviously, salt may be an issue for me.  I will work on that as I go.  I feel good so far - with respect to food.  I don't feel like I am starving or anything...it has been keeping me going and other than the cold symptoms, I am feeling pretty good. 
I will do my best to keep current on my personal challenge of a flatter belly.  This may be my only way of holding myself accountable to sticking with it. 
Have a wonderful day!

Lazy-Girl Mexican Meatballess soup!

From Stephanie Barton’s Kitchen to yours -

1 lb ground beef 1 Lg Onion, diced

Salt, pepper, garlic powder

Brown ground beef in your large pan or stew pot with seasonings and onion.

Add:

8 cups of water with 3 Tbsp. of beef bouillion powder (I used some from Alison’s Pantry) and

3/4cup of uncooked rice

Bring pot to a boil on high, then turn down to med/high heat to simmer.

Peel and dice:

6 lg carrots 2 sm – med potatoes - add to the pot

Core and dice:

1 anaheim pepper - add to the pot

Add: 1 -15 oz can of diced tomatoes w/garlic and onions

Sprinkle in a little cumin and parsley and a dash of cayenne pepper.

You may want to add a little more water if it becomes too thick – use your judgement.

Let pot simmer for about 20 minutes until carrots and potatoes are tender.

I topped mine with cheese and served with tortilla chips!

Enjoy :0)

On the Run! Day 1

WOW! That title can mean so many things! I really have been on the run, which is why I haven't been able to post much lately.  The title though, is mostly referring to my new training program.  I am getting ready for a half marathon in June.  I will be participating in the one at Sundance on June 12th.  I am pretty excited about it.  However, I think I psyched myself out a little and had a really rough first day for my official training.  Of course, I planned on starting today, even though I have been running for a while.  This morning, I woke up to bitter cold and wind.  It was so nice and cozy where I was and the thought of going out to run in the weather just simply didn't appeal to me.  Yet, it was my first day and I needed to get off my keaster and not be afraid to begin my journey....so I layered my clothes on, loosened my shoe laces, covered my ears, put my buds in and got the music goin....once I was done warming up and stretching, I was warm enough to want to go outside to feel the cool air.  Cool isn't really the word for it, but I will try to make it sound a little desireable!  The start of my run and middle of my run wasn't so bad....it was when the wind shifted coming straight at me where I began to struggle with the running part.  I felt as though Michael Ohre was shoving me backwards not allowing me to even move forward a little bit.  I finally caved and walked quite a bit of the last third of my route.  I will attempt it again tomorrow morning. 
I hear that once you have worked out, you should have some kind of protein within 90 minutes to help your muscles heal faster and recover better.  So of course, since I seem to be motivated by food on a regular basis, I cooled down and went in after a good hearty breakfast.  I sauteed some veggies, which included onions, bell peppers, cauliflower, brocoli, and spinach in a spray of olive oil, added two eggs and a small amount of cheese....it was delicious!  I also included some fresh strawberries on the side.  It was wonderful.  Took my vitamins and was off to get ready for the day. 
Well, I have about 8 weeks to be ready, let's see how I do, shall we?
Have a great day!