Inspiring night

I had the AMAZING honor of meeting the amazingly sweet and super inspiring Bart Yasso! If you aren't a runner this will probably mean nothing to you other than he is a really cool guy.  But if you are a runner or have ever heard of Yasso 800's, OH MY GOSH!!!  I can tell you I was floating after this!  I was shaking I was so excited!  He was really sweet and signed my Track Club newsletter for me.  This newsletter is going to be framed and put in our room or maybe in front of my treadmill! 

So how did I get to meet this amazing guy?  Our local track club has a banquet each year.  They give out awards to different track club members and local high school runners and then they have a guest speaker.  My bio-mom Kellie who you met in my Thanksgiving post, is a member of the track club (but I'm joining this year) and invited me to be her guest.  When I found out Mr. Yasso was speaking I was excited.  I didn't know much about him other than he was an amazing runner and I have heard of the Yasso 800's.  Our local paper and the newsletter both ran a really amazing article highlighting his running career and the impact he has had on the sport of running. You can read the newspaper article here! I was hooked!  I was super excited to hear him speak and he did NOT disappoint.  He showed some pictures from some AMAZING runs that he has done including a marathon at the base camp for Mount Everest, the badwater ultra (146 miles in death valley in July), and a fun run with a friend in Nepal that went through a rhino sanctuary where they came face to face with a few rhinos! His motto is "Never limit where running can take you". He wrote that on my newsletter and then told me he means that literally, physically, and spiritually.  

While he was talking, a facebook page that I follow and have been inspired by came to mind.  Running4Him is written by an amazing woman named Tiffany.  If you haven't heard of this page GO RIGHT NOW and read the bio!  She is amazing and inspiring!  Click here to read it.  But she came to mind and how she uses her running for God's glory.  Maybe that is what I'm supposed to do or maybe I'm just supposed to dedicate more of my running time to praying, I'm not sure.  But God is telling me something about my running and how He's going to use it.  I have big goals this year (actually the next 2 years!) and I just pray that He shows me what He wants me to do. 

Bart Yasso also wrote a book called "My Life on the Run".  I have it on hold at the library and will do a full review as soon as I get it.  But if the book is anything like Bart, I will LOVE it!! What a blessing it is to be able to run and what an honor to get to meet this amazing guy!!  

What inspires you? Who was the last person that you met or saw that inspired you?

Love, Lacey

A Verse Worth Memorizing

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  I have anxiety. Ok that really isn't a secret!  Anyone who knows me, or knows the real me cause I like to pretend that I don't worry about anything, already knows I suffer with anxiety.  I think it's a two part problem. One part is I'm a Type A/OCD type person and so I like to be in control.  I like to have every detail worked out and lists made and if I don't know what is coming next I get very anxious. Go with the flow is NOT my favorite way to do anything! I LOVE my schedule and if it gets thrown off I feel a bit panicked.  The second part is that Satan knows this about me and feeds me lies about it.  He knows exactly how to make me more upset and whisper things to get me thinking of the what if's.  I can go from happily relaxing on vacation to thinking something bad is going to happen to the kids or me or Mr. J or my parents or . . .  well you get the idea. 

Well for awhile I have been having acid reflux/GERD issues.  Last fall they were so bad that they actually burnt my vocal chords and caused vocal chord distress. Which on a side note, REALLY puts a damper on your running times!  So I have been taking an over the counter medication per my doctor and some days it does ok and other days it does NOTHING! I have been looking to find the cause of my reflux and my doctor suggested that I have an endoscopy done to make sure there wasn't any ting physically wrong. So yesterday was the day! I couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight the night before and then basically go in and take a nap is what I was told.  But of course never having had an endoscopy before and having only been put under a handful of times, I was worried. 

 Now anxiety isn't anything new to me and God has given me several verses to use when I feel anxious.  He gave me this one on Sunday and then again Wednesday night as I was feeling nervous and anxious about this procedure.  The verse is Philippians 4:6&7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in ever situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Now I have read this verse before and prayed it and it has given me peace before but Wednesday night I realized it says "guard your hearts and your MINDS in Christ Jesus". (emphasis mine).  My mind?! The very thing with which I rage war on myself again and again?!

So I prayed this verse over and over and over again.  I woke up several times in the night and prayed it. I prayed it when the kids unexpectedly had a 2 hour delay.  That was not in my plan so it made me anxious.  Praise God! He had already worked out what I would do with the kids so I didn't have to worry. I prayed it all the way to the hospital and right up until the medication did it's job and I zonked out. I can't tell you the peace that I received. As soon as I would feel upset or nervous I would pray these words and feel at peace. I also was blessed with many friends and family praying over me today and I know that their prayers for peace for helping me too. 

If you are in a time of worry, anxiety, uncertainty, or just generally feel lost CALL OUT to Christ.  He is waiting!  Tell him how you are feeling.  Ask him to give you peace.  But also make sure you praise Him for all the blessings that He has already given to you! The verse does say pray but with thanksgiving. God is awesome and powerful but He isn't a magic genie. We don't get to just rub his lamp and tell him what to do. Oh how many times have I had to remind myself of this?!  So for example last night I would (literally) cry out to God about how anxious I was and BEG for Him to send me HIS peace.  And then the next time I prayed for myself I made it a prayer of thanksgiving. So I told Him how thankful I was for His love, and Christ, how thankful I was for Mr. J & our kids. I could go on for days on the ways the Lords has blessed me.  God is good!  Even when life doesn't seem like it, He is there and He has a plan for you.  Call out to Him and He WILL give you that peace and guard you heart and mind.

From BrightGreenDoor.com

Love, Lacey

Why do you exercise?

Sorry this picture made me LOL and think about working out! 

My kids see me workout every day.  Every day when it's time for me to workout, I send them upstairs or into another room to play. Our rule is that if you bug me while I'm working out for something other than blood, puke, or a broken bone you have to pay me $1!  This has worked VERY well so far. On a side note, I have only made $1.  These kids are serious about keeping their money!

So the other day I finished my workout and as I was getting out of the shower Miss V came in and said "Mommy, why do you workout every day?" I knew this was going to be an important conversation.  I had a few options to tell her so I quickly ran through them in my head before I carefully answered.

My options to tell her where . . .

"Because mommy is fat and I need to lose weight" 
So let's talk about why this one is a HORRIBLE option.  I don't want to offend anyone but this statement right here can have an affect on your child (son or daughter) for the rest of their lives. Your child looks to you for guidance.  And especially when they are small they think we are perfect.  They don't see fat rolls, or wrinkles, or rubbing thighs.  They see loving arms, legs that chase them outside, and a smiling & loving face. So when we talk negative about ourselves we are inviting them to look negatively at themselves.  Our society is obsessed with weight and being "skinny" and it starts far too young! I don't need to speed that processes along by telling my 4 year old (or any of my kids) that I'm fat!

"Because mommy needs to fit into those size X jeans"
(see the above reason why this one is also NOT a good reason) Also, I am worth WAY more than a number! And that includes a number on the scale or in my jeans!

"Because Daddy (or anyone else) says I need to"
Obviously I don't want my child to think that ANYONE has the right to tell them to workout and give them self worth. Working out is a personal choice and if someone loves you, they will love you the way you look!  Not If/When you get to a certain size!

So after I ran though a few other options here is what I came up with . . .

"Because mommy want to stay healthy and strong so I can keep up with your munchkins!"
I felt like this was a good answer.  I didn't say anything negative about myself and I told her the truth.  I do want to be able to keep up with them and I do want to keep getting healthier & stronger.  I also think being healthy & strong are great goals for everyone so I feel good instilling that into my kids. I want to be a good example to my kids and I think excising and eating healthy are both good things to teach them.  And the best way to teach a child is to lead by example!

One more thought came to me as I was writing, a verse in 1 Corinthians came popping into my mind. 1 Corinthians 6:19&20 says "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." While I do believe that God made each of us special and unique in different sizes and shapes, I also think it's our job to take care of our bodies.  We only have one and if we don't take care of it how can we share God's love with other people if we aren't healthy?

I'm trying to think of a really meaningful way to end this but I guess the best way would be to say "Think before you speak".  That applies to a lot of things in life!

Love, Lacey

Laptop problems

So our laptop is currently on the blink. Mr J is working on fixing it. But until then I'm stuck blogging on my phone. Let me tell you how fun & easy that is (insert sarcasm & grouchiness).  So until it gets up and running here is a funny pic to make you smile!! 

Love, Lacey

Motivation Vs. Determination

Do you ever have a week where you feel  like this? 

Yep!  That was me on Monday.  I don't know why but I have been super grouchy this week.  And to go along with my grouchy mood I've had ZERO motivation.  I mean I did NOT want to workout to save my life. As you may or may not know I am in week 5 (today is the last day) of a 10 week workout program.  I work out 5 days a week for 25 mins a day except for double day Fridays where it's two videos.  ANYWAYS!!  It's really important to me to finish this program.  I set a goal to do all the workouts for all 10 weeks and I want to do it.  But here I am in week 5 feeling like I want to crawl in bed and never come out.  I'm not sure if it is because the kids went back to school (after 3 weeks!) and I'm trying to adjust to our regular schedule. Or maybe it's because I went to the most awesome rocking 80's party on Friday night followed by a fantastic date night on Saturday.  So maybe I had a weekend hangover?  At any rate, I was not feeling myself and certainly was not feeling like working out.  But you know what? I did it anyways! 

A few days ago a friend of mine mentioned that she wished she had my motivation.  I almost laughed out loud.  Like I just said I had NO motivation.  But you know what I did have?  Determination! I set a goal and I will make it no matter what.  But the conversation got me thinking about motivation vs. determination.  So I thought I would look up some definitions.

Motivation -  

 - the act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something : the act or process of motivating someone

 - the condition of being eager to act or work : the condition of being motivated

 - a force or influence that causes someone to do something

I love the second definition!  The condition of being eager to act or work.  I can think of a few things that have made me eager to act or work. But usually working out is not it!  Now let's look at the definition for determination.

Determination - 

 - a quality that makes you continue trying to do or achieve something that is difficult

 - the act of finding out or calculating something

 - the act of officially deciding something

I love all these definitions but the first is great. It's a personality quality that makes you continue trying to do something that is difficult. Not just an act or condition but a quality! 

I have never been one to think that I have determination of any sort.  But I will be honest there are other runners and people that have pushed me to be better.  To be a better christian, mother, runner, friend, and person! Over this past year of running I have learned what determination means.  But this week I lived it.  I have made a goal to finish all 10 weeks of this workout program.  And not just phone it in, but to truly work my booty off (literally)! So in order to accomplish my goal I need determination! Because with determination you don't go by feeling.  With determination you go by your goals! I have a calendar that every day when I finish my workout I color the square pink! I get excited when I pick up the marker to color it in.  I never color the square before I actually do the workout.  This motivates me and helps keep me focused to achieve my goals!

What are your goals? How do you keep yourself motivated and find determination? 

Love, Lacey

Makeup Monday: Face Wash Review

I'm not one to change up my face washing routine too often.  My skin isn't sensitive per say but it is a bit picky about what I use.  What I mean by that is I won't necessarily get a rash or hives or anything from something new (like when I was younger!) but my face will break out or be more oily than normal. So I'm not one to change things up too often but when a new product comes out that I think may work for me I have to try it!  Especially if it's by a brand that I have loved in the past.  So without further adieu I give you the Simple brand Smoothing Facial Scrub.

The bottle is 5 fl oz and says it has 2 vital vitamins, 1 skin loving exfoliator, and 0 dyes or perfumes.  It contains Pro-vitamin B5 to help restore, soften, and smooth skin. It also contains vitamin E to moisturize and help improve skins condition.  It also contains rice granules to help gently exfoliate and brighten.

What I liked about this product and why I bought it was that the brand Simple has been good to me.  They make a face wipe that is AMAZING!  If you like facial cleansing wipes DO try those!  Seen here at Target.  They honestly get everything off your face.

 So I was excited to see a face wash by the brand with exfoliators in it.  Unfortunately there wasn't much I liked about this product besides the brand.  The exfoliators that are in this scrub are very very gentle.  Definitely something you could use everyday BUT they are so small and not very many in the product that I didn't feel like it was scrubbing my face evenly.  I would get a good scrub in some places and nothing in others.  And by the time I was done rubbing it all around I felt like I was just rubbing water on my face.  I didn't feel like it had much washing power.  I also prefer a face wash with salicylic acid in it, which I knew this didn't have from the beginning but I don't think that helped my non-love of it.  The price isn't bad at around $5 but I feel like if you want a face wash that is going to give you a really good scrub there are plenty out there for around the same price point that will do a much better job.  Sorry Simple brand but this one is a NO in my books. 

What is your favorite face wash? Have you tried this one?

Love, Lacey

Polar Vortex 2014

Yep that's our picnic table! We got just over a foot of snow in the Polar Vortex of 2014 or as I like to call it SNOWMAGEDON 2014. But then we got wind and freezing cold temperatures.  Now I am NOT a winter lover.  I don't like the cold, I don't like being stuck in the house, and least of all I don't like wearing a big heavy coat and freezing all the time.  I am currently typing this in a long sleeve shirt, a sweater, a scarf, and only just recently took off my hat.  And YES I'm sitting in my kitchen.  It's just cold! I refuse to crank up the heat to 80 because I don't want to be paying off my heating bill until next winter.  So we all just add a few extra layers and get on with the day.  I should note the cold does not seem to affect my children? The boys walk around in pj pants and no shirts and my daughter is currently in pj pants and a t-shirt.  How is this possible?  Do children just naturally have high body heat? Do they just not feel the cold? I just do not understand! ANYWAYS!  After the big storm this is currently how they are eating breakfast! 

A little hard to see but they are sitting on the ground in front of our back door just staring outside.  I will agree the snow is gorgeous!  There was nothing like watching it fall last week. It just came down in these big wet flakes that covered everything.  The trees were loaded down with snow, the deck was covered, the bushes, EVERYTHING!  It was like a winter wonderland.  And it was pretty.  THEN we got the temperatures from the arctic.  Now I have nothing against Santa but he needs to take his temperatures BACK!  The other day it was -14F with a windchill of -45!  Now when it's warmer in Alaska than it is here I have a serious problem! It has been freezing the last few days.  So let me give you a little riddle.  What does 12+" of snow plus freezing wind equal?  SNOW DAYS! When I was a kid this was the BEST thing EVER!!! I loved snow days!  You could go outside and play and come in to hot chocolate and snuggle in blankets and watch movies.  But somehow as an adult this is not exactly what a snow day looks like.  It's something like thing . . . 

Disclaimer: I would NEVER drug my kids!  It's a joke!  Lighten up!

But seriously!  It's been too cold to even let the kids go out and play so that means we are all stuck in the house. We have a good sized house and each have a room we can go into but it seems like everyone want to be in the same 2 rooms (living & kitchen) and that makes for some tension.  I'm trying to do my normal dishes, laundry, cooking schedule and the kids want a hot cocoa & movie day.   I LOVE them and I'm TRYING my best to soak in these moments.  Just this morning they covered the boys' room floor in blankets, handed out tickets, and had a dance party.  Best part of my whole day! Yesterday afternoon we have movie time.  We all got blankets and pillows and snuggled and watched "Wreck it Ralph".  I have tried to make each day a little special but seeing as we are currently on snow day #4 (although I have high hopes we MIGHT make it back tomorrow) I'm running low on ideas, and patience!  But I am trying my best.  Mr. D is already in 1st grade and in just a few short years he will be off to college and snow days to him will be spent sleeping in his dorm room.  The other two will follow in the years after and then soon snow days will mean nothing to me except a slow drive to work or a day spent with Mr. J if he stays home.  What is it about the bleakness of winter that makes you re-evaluate life and your goals? I wrote out some goals for 2014 in this post.  But I have been making more and making plans for some family time this summer.  Life is going WAY too fast.  And while I'm wishing these snow days would end, a part of me never wants to give up dance parties and movie days.  

Love, Lacey

Words of Peace from Psalms

Every once in awhile I will be reading the bible (something I don't do enough of) and a verse will stand out as if it were written just for me.  I'm going to share one of those verses with you today.  

I recently accidentally said I would join a group of women for a "Read through the bible in a year" group.  It started out with one girl wanting to do it and then a few of us said we wanted to do it too, so we just decided to make a group of it and share out thoughts along the way.  I love how God puts people in your path to encourage you to do things outside of your comfort zone! Join a group of women I don't really know and share my thoughts on the bible?!  PS my thoughts on the bible aren't usually outstanding.  I am NOT a bible scholar by any means.  But I have grown up in the church basically from birth and I have been in quite a few bible studies and some of those studies were written by awesome scholarly women.  So over the course of my life I have heard a lot of things and I have an awesome study bible that answers a lot of questions that you might have as you read through different passages.   The bible I have (just in case you are in the market for a new one) is the Quest Study bible. Here on Amazon.  I have had this bible for over 11 years and mine looks like it's been through a war.  The cover is falling off, a few pages are so underlined you can hardly read the next page, but it's still kicking and helping me learn new and exciting things.  

So the other day while I was doing my daily bible reading I came across Psalm 4:8 and I stopped dead in my tracks.  Now when I read the bible (especially if I have a lot of reading to do) I don't really read slowly and meditate on each word and soak it in the way I should.  I sort of just read and if something jumps out at me or doesn't make sense I will re-read over it a few times, maybe make a note of it in my prayer journal, and keep right on moving.  But on this particular day I literally sat back and took a breath.  I swear God wrote that verse just for me.  

You see I struggle with anxiety. It usually hits at night while I'm laying in bed.  I mean there are different things that set my anxiety off but one of the things I struggle with is worry and night is the worst.  I struggle to get to sleep because my mind just won't turn off.  I think I hear one of the kids crying, I think about if I remembered to set my alarm, or if Mr J set his alarm, I think of the 101 million things I need to get done the next day, and  I make lists in my head.  The list of things I think about at night is endless!  I have even gotten up (because I can't sleep) and cleaned or made a list or done something to try to ease my mind.  So when I saw a verse about sleeping and safety I stopped.  I probably read that verse 5 or 6 times. It spoke so deeply to me that I am going to have to have it printed or order a picture of it. This is one of those verses that may not be my life verse but it has such meaning and power to me that I need it with me nightly.  Then just a few nights after I read this verse I was laying in bed and swore I heard something. The running joke between Mr J and I is that the axe murderer is somewhere.  So if I hear a bump in the night I'll say "Oh it's just the ax murderer". It helps me not be worried of nothing because we can joke about the pretend person.  Funny side story, one time our jet tub kept turning on by itself so we decided it was just the ax murderer trying to take a bath.  ANYWAYS!!!!  So the other night I was laying in bed and I thought I heard or saw something.  My mind went into anxiety/panic mode.  And then this verse popped into my head.  So I prayed this verse (the best I could remember it) over and over and over until I fell asleep.  I LOVE that I serve a God that cares about me so much that He will give me peace and safety so that I can sleep. 

Has God ever given you a verse that you thought was written just for you? Have you been in The Word lately? God wants to talk to you.  He wants to meet you right where you are and give you peace and security.  I pray you all seek Him and His peace today!

Love, Lacey

The Journey Update

Well Good Morning!  I wanted to post this update before the new year but it just didn't happen!  At this point we have about 3 weeks left in the fitness challenge.  If you haven't read my original post about what we are doing go find it here.  I also updated once after week one, here.  So with 3 weeks left what's my update?

Well my update is that I fell off the wagon for a couple of weeks.  I just felt a bit blah and down and just didn't want to work out.  My eating was ok but not the best.  But I jumped back on the bandwagon about 4 weeks ago.  I got back into T25 and am happy to report that I haven't missed a day yet.  With T25 you workout 25 min a day Monday through Thursday.  There are different workouts and a schedule and you switch them up each day so you don't get bored and your body is constantly working different areas.   Then on Friday is "double day". So you do two of the 25 min workouts.  It's not as bad as it sounds because after you do the double workout you get to take the weekend off! Saturday is "STATurday" or measurement's day.  So on Saturdays I wake up, weigh myself (yes I try to limit this to once a week!), and then do my measurements.  I have really enjoyed T25.  Knowing that it's only 25 minutes has helped so much.  I have doubled up a few days, like Christmas eve, so that I didn't have to workout on Christmas.  I think that is ok and if not, too bad I already did it!  

So where does that leave me? Basically 4 weeks in to a 10 weeks program?  Well, I thought I would share some stats with you!

Here are my starting stats on November 22.

Height: 5'4"
Weight: 140
Measurements
Chest: 36"
Waist: 35"
Hips:40"
Arms:
Left -11"
Right-11"
Legs:
Left-23"
Right-24"

So here we are Jan 6 and these are my updated stats!
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 139
Measurements
Chest: 35"
Waist: 31"
Hips:39"
Arms:
Left -10.5"
Right-11"
Legs:
Left-22.25"
Right-22"

So with only 3 weeks left I feel good about where I am.  I didn't expect to lose a massive amount of weight, to be honest I don't have a lot of weight lose.  I really just wanted to tone up and generally feel better about myself.  So what will the next 3 weeks look like?  The same as the last 4!  I'm going to continue on with my T25 workouts and I hope to finish that program. I'm going to continue to revamp my nutrition to continue to feel better about myself and my body strong and healthy.  

How are you doing on your journey?  What changes have you made lately to make you a better person?

Love, Lacey

Small Reminders Daily

A few weeks ago I wrote this post about not fat shaming ourselves.  About loving ourselves for who we are and finding beauty and strength in our bodies.  For Christmas a dear sweet friend of mine gave me this necklace.

It's a little hard to see but it's a brass bead with writing on it.  You can buy different beads with different things written on them but mine says BEAUTIFUL.  I wanted to cry when I got it.  It was the perfect reminder that not only do I need constant reminders to find myself beautiful but that God thinks I'm beautiful! Psalm 45 says "Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." And while I'm pretty sure in this verse they are talking of an earthly king, the SAME goes for our Heavenly King. He is enthralled with our beauty. And I don't mean just our physical beauty, the beauty that is inside and out.  He made every piece of us.  Psalm 139:13 says "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb."  God has known and loved us since before the beginning of time; but he handmade each of us in our mother's womb. What an amazing thought.  That the God that created the entire universe, that made giant things like mountains, and the moon, and the sun, used His powerfully mighty hands to knit me together.  That just blows me away!  If he thinks that I'm beautiful and worthy to be knit together by His amazingly powerful hands, who am I to tell Him (or myself) anything different?

What are you doing to make yourself feel beautiful today? How are you doing not talking down to yourself? 

Love, Lacey

New Year's Eve Recap

For the last 11 years we have gotten together with friends on New Years Eve.  Although I was trying to remember but I think we may have missed one year due to having a baby. The people that we have spent that evening with have also changed but for the most part we have spent every New Year's Eve with friends.  For the last few years we have had people over to our house.  The last few we have done nothing but drink wine & play games.  The games vary from year to year.  We have played everything from board games, to Super Mario Brothers on the Wii, and then last year (and this year too) we are playing a card game called BOHNANZA!  If you haven't heard of this game PLEASE go and buy it (here it is on amazon).  If you like card games and playing games with friend this is so  much fun.

The premise of the game is that you are a bean farmer.  YEP! I said bean farmer! And you farm different types of beans.  Chili, Green, Blue, coffee, soy, you get the idea.  And you help others with their fields while you farm yours and try to get the most coins.  Now that may not sound like the most fun game but when you start saying things like "I'll trade you a stink for a chili" and get into trading and helping, you will be laughing so hard.   I would HIGHLY recommend it!

The best part about this year? We decided that we wanted to have a super laid back night.  We promised to wear comfy clothes (aka Yoga pants) and just eat snacky food.  Now you know I love getting dressed up and putting on two tons of make up.  But there is something to be said for a relaxing evening at home with friends.  Love our yearly tradition!

And just for fun here is a group picture which is also a tradition!  

Happy New Years!!

Love, Lacey