I found a fun new tool today. It is a snowball calculator you just enter all your payments and it shows you how soon you can be out of debt. We only have our student loans and our house that we owe on, but we can have all of that paid off (mortgage included) by 2019! That is such a good feeling that in 11 years, we can have our 30 year mortgage paid for - and that is if we continue to make the same income we are now. Add bonuses or raises, and that number will drop! I had fun playing around with numbers and seeing the light. Have Fun!

Book Recommendation

I am in desperate need of some book recommendations. I tend to find a good book or series and get stuck on it. I am currently stuck on the Twilight series, and while I do love the books, I really need to read something different (I've read them 3 times already). I would love any suggestions you may have. Thanks so much for doing this for me. I'm looking forward to getting into some new books.

I Never Regret...

I read this today, and it really hit home; both the cleaning part and the weightloss part. I've been trying to make conscious decisions for the past few days, and it is amazing how great it feels to know that what I do now will affect how I feel later (good or bad). Enjoy...

I never regret...

I stood in my kitchen one evening, debating whether I was going to
wash the dishes and shine my sink before I went to bed, or wait and
try to get up a little early to do it. It dawned on me that I have
NEVER regretted biting the bullet and just doing it before I go to
bed. Yes, I may be tired, but I have never plodded into my clean
kitchen in the morning and thought to myself, "Boy, I wish I hadn't
cleaned the kitchen before I went to bed last night. I'm really in
the mood to scrub a pot or pan while waiting for the coffee to brew."

On the flip side, I ALWAYS regret waking up to a messy kitchen when I
have not hunkered down for the 15 minutes it takes to just get the
job done before I go to bed. It's like getting a slap in the face
first thing in the morning when I walk into the kitchen dreaming of
that first cup of coffee, and then BAM! Oh yeah, I have this mess to
work around to get the coffee started and then try to clean up while
I'm feeding the kids their breakfast and pack lunches. YUCK! It just
gets my day started off on the wrong foot.

When I started thinking about it, I realized that this regret/no
regret thing pertains to other areas of my life as well. For example,
I never regret getting on the treadmill or playing soccer with my
kids. I always feel remorseful when I have passed the day away
without spending any time in physical activity. I NEVER regret having
a salad for lunch, but I ALWAYS regret having a Big Mac and fries
with my diet Coke. I never regret turning down that piece of
chocolate cake and instead opting for a fresh pear. I never regret
making the healthy choice.

As we head toward the end of the month, think about the little choices
we make every day that put us on the path to health. Every time
you're faced with a tough choice (to walk or not to walk), remember
that you'll never regret being the fit and fabulous person you want
to be!

Scrapbooking

It's been forever since I got out my scrapbook supplies, and it felt good yesterday. My friend Leslie Varner from Washington has moved to South Jordan, and yesterday she came over to scrapbook with me. This is the same friend that got me started in this habit! We haven't seen each other in 6 years. We keep in touch by email and Christmas card, but yesterday when we got together, it was just like old times - like time hadn't passed.

The moral of my story - Scrapbooking is good for the soul :)

Goals

Someone once told me it isn't a goal until it is written down, and once you tell someone, you then feel the need to stick to it, because you told someone you would. So I am telling all of you what my new goals are, because I've had good intentions all week, but nothing has gotten done.

1. Get showered and dressed, hair and make up done, and bed made first thing in the morning.
2. Eat breakfast with my family every morning.
3. Clean at least 2 rooms/day - top to bottom.
4. Plan meals weekly and only buy stuff I need for those meals or food storage (If it's a good stock up sale)
5. Buy only stuff I NEED and not stuff just because it's on sale or cheap.

Well, that's a start, I don't want to overwhelm myself all in one day. After I get working on these, I'll probably find more areas to work on, but I want these to be habit first!

Stairstepper

So, if one of my new year's resolutions was to work out more (which it's not), I'd be right on track. I have a built in stairstepper with 50lbs added to my body weight. Carrying my 2 babies up the stairs multiple times daily should be considered a full fledged workout - I shouldn't need a gym membership on top of what I'm already required to do :)

Why, oh why, oh why

is it allowed to be sick the week before Christmas? I was down flat on Monday, as was Makayla. Throwing up, body aches, and the whole 9 yards. Makayla seems better, but my tummy is still queasy on and off (no, I'm not preggo, that was my thought at first too.) Holden has had diarrhea for 3 days, and just a lot of grumpiness - probably his tummy too since he isn't eating much by way of food. Clara woke up a few nights ago moaning in pain for about an hour until the advil kicked in. Last night she had a fever of 102, and this morning when she woke me up at 5:00, her fever was up to 104.9. It took the advil a couple hours to even touch it, and then I noticed when I was actually awake, that her ear is draining - a wonderful ear infection. It seems like everything is related, but we are running the whole gamut of symptoms. If we don't get over this quickly, we are going to be spending a long Christmas stuck in our house.