"Back" into the routine

So, I wasn't working at the office long enough before the holiday to really get into a routine, but tomorrow, work starts again and it will be a long time before I have a break like that again. We are planning on going to the marriage retreat in February, but I will probably only take Friday off and just a half day on Thursday. We are also planning to go on a trip (where and how long is still a mystery) at the end of the summer, before Alan starts law school. One of the great things about him going to school is that they get 5 or 6 weeks off for Christmas break, so we will both have time off for the holidays this year!

Anyways, I have made out a schedule for doing chores around the house so that I (hopefully) can stay caught up! I'm also working on getting into a routine, at least on weekdays, so that I will have time to eat a healthy breakfast AND exercise every morning which means me waking up around 4:30 and going to bed about 9:30. This might not be a big deal for some, but I am the night owl...I have ALWAYS stayed up late, even when I was a little kid, I would stay up late with my dad (good memories :)) and I just never got out of staying up late. Guess I'll have to work on that!

A part of the routine that is also changing is grocery shopping. Since it basically would take up my entire afternoon if I went during the week, it will work best if I go on the weekends. And, since most sales start on Sunday, it's much better (around here anyways) to go grocery shopping on Sundays. That means in between services I will be doing my grocery shopping! So much for relaxing Sunday afternoons! I guess that's what happens when you become a "grown up."

I really enjoyed my time off for the holidays, but I am honestly looking forward to having a structured routine, especially since I have never really had one! We got a lot of great gifts for the holidays, which I will post pics of later, but for now...I must go, for the grocery stores are calling my name!

New Year...New Me

Well, in our culture, it's traditional to set some resolutions at the end of a new year. Many people set goals that are completely unattainable or that they don't really even intend to complete or fulfill. Most resolutions fail because there is no resolute plan in place for how one is going to carry out or fulfill the goal. I am working on putting plans in place to fulfill the following goals, with the reasons for setting these goals noted.

1. Pray to God EVERY day. I want to grow closer in my walk with the Lord. I want to speak to my Heavenly Father regularly so that I can have a more intimate relationship with Him. One of the ways I am working on this goal is by reading The Power of a Praying Wife and I plan on reading The Power of a Praying Woman after completing the first.
2. Read the Bible EVERY day. Part of growing closer to God is about talking to Him (see #1), but I also need to let Him talk to me! If I'm going to talk to Him every day, I need to give Him a chance to respond through His inspired Word. I am going to do a chronological reading (the same one that I did this year) that can be found at www.thebible.net/read/chron.pdf This is the way I have read through this year and I have learned so much! My tip for anyone who chooses this method is to print the 80 page document (yes, it's 80 pages), and use the last two pages to mark your completed readings. This year, I read through in the NLT and I plan to use the ESV in 2010. If you mark your readings using the last two pages, you will only have to reprint those two pages each time you plan to read (so if you are a couple, you can share and only print the two pages twice).
   
3. Get healthy. Yes, I said get healthy not lose weight for a reason. Even though part of this goal is to lose weight, I wanted to have all positive resolutions. I plan to be at a healthy body weight by this time next year. For my height, the healthy weight range is 125-169. I am only a few pounds away from the upper end of this range, but ideally, I would like to reach 135. I would be content with 140, however. Some of the ways I plan to achieve this goal are: a combination of the 3-hour diet and Weight Watchers diet, 8 Minutes in the Morning workouts, wearing my new Shape-Ups (thank you "Santa"), using my new Shake Weight (I can already feel the burn!), and walking on the track at work on my lunch break (this means eating while I work...fun!). I have struggled with my weight for this past decade, but I am finished with struggling!!! I am going to get in shape and I am going to be healthy! Even though I have set a goal weight, I am more concerned with being healthy than the number on the scale. I do have certain "assets" that are larger than most people's that must be taken into consideration (and yes, I'm one of those lucky people whose "assets" don't get smaller, no matter how much weight I lose). Also, I plan to be very active, which will mean more muscle mass. I'm okay with weighing 150 if a lot of the weight is attributed to muscle.
   
4. Be the wife God wants me to be. So in our society, this one is pretty tough. Tell people your New Year's resolution is to lose weight, they will offer tips and suggestions. Tell them you want to be a more submissive wife and you want to give your husband the respect he deserves, they want to have you committed! Nonetheless, I am committed to loving Alan more every day and I want to be what God commands me to be. Hopefully, goals #1 & 2 will help me in working on this goal. I don't think this is one that I can truly "complete," but I plan to work at it every day for the rest of my life.

Well, this is my list of resolutions for 2010. If you have any tips or advice, please feel free to lend it my way. I am always interested to hear people's suggestions! I hope that I can also encourage others to make positive goals for their life by my example.

Happy New Year 2010!