Look Beyond the Past

Yesterday I logged into facebook and the first thing that showed up on my wall was this:

This one rings close to home for me...twelve years ago if you were to tell me that this is how my life would be I would have told you you were crazy! 

I didn't believe it was possible for me to lose my "good health".

However, I'm learning that it's far more beneficial to focus on the future, where I can actually make a difference!  A difference is exactly what I have planned for the upcoming weeks, months, year...so many ideas just need to figure out how to get started.  Which will be simply by starting one day at a time!

Just a Typical Week

This week has been insanely Crazy!  I've loved every minute of it!  Our Mondays are insane - I work every Monday during the same hours my kids are in school, then we come home for a quick snack and spend the next 2.5 hours hanging out between the Hockey Rink and Dance Studio, then grab a quick bite to eat and head back home just in time to catch our Shaklee Team Conference Call, then bed for the kids while I try to play catch up on emails and phone messages.  Then I crash...or lie awake in bed thinking of all the things that I need to get done later in the week.  This past Monday was no exception!

Tuesday was a day of deliveries...Shaklee products to new customers & toys that my kids have out grown going to new homes, and a meeting at the Legion where our next Shopping Extravaganza will be to discuss the layout and go over last minute details. This last one ended up lasting a lot longer than I had planned and quite frankly too much thinking for one afternoon...lol.

Wednesday I spent the day working on an upcoming challenge that I'm really excited about.  If it's as successful as I believe it will be it will have a great impact on many lives!

Thursday was an amazingly busy day!  It started out in Sylvan working with the Social Media Rockstar Jennifer Belanger...I thought I knew quite a bit about social media - turns out I've got alot more to learn!  Then I was off to Red Deer for more Shaklee deliveries (which I forgot at home on my steps...crap) and doing a quick Costco run.  I got back to town just in time to pick up my babysitter from school and then make it home to make supper and off again! This time in support of a great cause...The Breast Cancer Fashion Show. Last year they raised over $6000 and I'm hoping that they surpassed it this year, even with the little mishaps it was really a great evening spent with friends. 

Friday was another day spent working on our top secret upcoming challenge! It's going to be so much fun :) Friday night was a night of dressing up and celebrating Halloween adult style!  Maybe it's just me, but doesn't it seem as though all the outfits are getting skimpier and skimpier every year?

Saturday...well today I managed to get up, get dressed, pick up my kids, feed them, drop one off at the neighbours while taking the other to Lacombe for her 3rd Hockey game this season (also her lifetime total), back home to pick up my other daughter and the neighbour girl from a Birthday party, and back home in hopes of being able to finally recover from the night before...still waiting for that recover!

Sunday is a day that both the kids and I are looking forward to...their Dad comes home! It's been 21 days since he was last home and we are all looking forward to him being here, we miss him so much when he's gone and so we try to make the most of his time at home! 

Next week looks as though it's going to be a complete right off...can hardly wait!

I Love These Kinds of Days!

Today was the kind of day that I love having!  We went to a Fundraising Trade Show, and by we I mean my kids and I.  I thought for sure my kids were going to be bored and driving me crazy within a couple hours. Nope they totally rocked it!

I really should start at the beginning....my day started out with me finding the missing book of raffle tickets! You can't imagine how excited I was to finally find these...so very very excited. 

Then both kids did everything they needed to without any resistance! Ate breakfast, got dressed, brushed hair and teeth, washed up, and then helped pack the truck. Yep they did awesome today!

Left on time, made it on time and was set up with a great table!  The girls helped me set up the table (excellent helpers for sure) and we were ready to roll.

I absolutely love talking with people, especially about Shaklee! Today was no exception.  I met some very wonderful ladies (and a couple guys) whom I was able to share my Shaklee story with and was able to hopefully help them with their questions in regards to cleaning without chemicals, enjoying a satisfying snack and/or shake without all the "extra" additives, and natural supplements that not only work but actually do what their supposed to without any "nasty side effects".

As per usual I spent more money at the other tables, but can you blame me when there is so much great products out there just waiting to be picked up?  Some delicious spices, a little bling, some sweet treats, a little aroma therapy, and then the items I picked up from the silent auction! Yep, great day :)

Clean up was a breeze, and so much better when I don't have to make all the trips back and forth by myself! 

Came home and was beat, but feeling great about how the day went.  Next Trade Show is scheduled for November 5 and I'm getting excited about it!  Means we are getting that much closer to Christmas!!

My Little Helpers!!

Simplicity...One Step at a Time...

Success is achieved and maintained

by those who try and keep trying.

~W. Clement Stone

Lately I've been struggling to stay motivated...with everything!

There are so many things on my "list" that needs to be done and I have no idea where to start.  Start. That is what I think every morning. Today I will Start ____. Then next thing I know it's later in the day and I haven't started anything!  I know for the most part it's about taking those steps one at a time and slowly but surely I will be at the place I want to be, but I don't understand why it has to be so hard?

I know what I want, I have a good idea of what it's going to take to get there, but there seems to be nothing to kicking my butt to start.  My reason(s) for getting Healthy are quite simple:

I want to watch my kids and grandkids and 
even my great-grandkids grow up, and even more
so I want to be an active part in their lives!

If I was to stay on the same path I've been on that is not going to happen. Never. It will be the exact opposite and I won't live to meet my great-grandkids guaranteed.  Someone asked me the other day "Why don't you do something about your weight?" My response "I am"  I know that only I can do it for myself, but I just wish I didn't feel so alone in the process.

So today I made a plan...it's really quite simple...today I'm going to start....tomorrow I'm going to keep on going...and the day after I'm going to continue....repeat!  Simple yet realistic.





Stepping off the Sick Train

So last week was a total right off at this house! It started off with one sick kid one night and home from school for 2 days, and then her sister decided it was her turn {sigh} it was a long long week.  This was what I had started to write while sitting up with my daughter:

Tonight started out just like any other with the usual routine on a school night, and then all 'shit' let loose. Literally. Exactly 3.5 hours after I tucked my girls in.


I honestly can't remember the last time a sickness such as the flu hit our house and affected more than one individual.  We've had the rare occasion when a kid has gotten sick, had diarreah, or a cough but none of these cases have lasted very long everyone seems to bounce back quickly. So tonight was a complete and utter shock to the system.


In less than an hour I had done 3 loads of laundry -- blankets/sheets/pj's -- cleaned up a mattress, the floor, the toilet, ect. only to come upstairs to find her getting sick again, and then again.  My heart aches for this poor little girl.  She can't control her bodily functions and I don't know what else to do to help :o(  The one thing I'm extremely thankful for is that this is not a common experience!  I would be beside myself if this happened on a regular basis.

So after a full week of sick kids and my own experience in the "sick bed" I am so glad that it is over!

There are so many things that can play a part in a person getting sick and the only thing you can do is try to prevent it.  I fully intend to get back on track and prevent this from coming back into our home....ever again!  So from now on I plan to get more sleep (starting tomorrow..lol), reduce stress (already got some numbers blocked), eat healthy (if I don't buy crap I can't eat it), take my vitamins (everyday), and drink more water (I don't know why I have such a hard time with this one??). 

To keep the body in good shape is a duty,

otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.

~Budda

Giving Thanks

When I think about Thanksgiving it's more than just the delicious meals with Turkey, Stuffing, Potatoes, Gravy, and of course dessert!  I give thanks for the life we have been blessed with - 2 amazing girls, a supportive family, a wonderful bunch of friends, a roof over our heads, vehicles to get us from point A to B, food to fill our bellies and clothes to cover them, all that other "stuff" that we are able to buy because we have financial stability, and of course the most important of all ~ our Health. 

There always seems to be so much negativity being projected by everyone, what would happen if everyone turned the negative into positive?  What if everyone was thankful for what they had and not complain about what they don't? What if we praised our friends and family rather than focus on their short comings?  What if we gratefully accepted compliments rather than twist them and point out our flaws?  I believe that the world would be a much Happier place!

Last year I was not looking forward to Thanksgiving at all! It was just a reminder of the heart throbbing year before when we lost one of my favorite people...my Grandma.  This year I've decided to take the approach of looking at all the wonderful times we were able to spend together, memories that will last a life time, and the inspiring woman she was.  This year I'm Giving Thanks for everything in our life...no matter how big or small they may be!

  Just a few of my favorite People!

5 Generations in this Picture :o)

Frustrating or Annoying?? What's the Diff?

When I first started this Blog I was kind of in a Tizzy...not really about one thing, but a whole bunch of things that made me completely irrate!  Now that I've had some time to think about it I realize I've been looking at it all wrong.  It's not my job or my place to tell anyone what they should be doing or how they should be doing it...plus I'm no where near perfect so how can I judge?

Anyone on Facebook can probably tell you that every group/page that you join or "like" has someone on there trying to sell you their product, and there is always that one person who feels the need to post the same thing over and over and over as if no one seen the last 20 posts!  I'm all for you advertising your business, but really at least you could change your post to be more interesting and not so generic...or maybe not? 

I love to network with other WAHM's (and Dad's I just don't know that many..), for myself it's about the personal relationships that you build and the ideas that are shared, along with the support.  What I don't enjoy is that there is always that one person who is there just to try to sell you on their product(s), I love to hear about what you do and will gladly pass your name on to someone who I believe will be interested but please don't try to persuade me to join your team!  If you want to compare our products lets set up a time to meet somewhere else and discuss it in greater detail.

False Advertising ~ this makes me want to scream!! I could use so many examples of what I mean by this, but it really is simple....when one makes claims about their product/service that is no where near the truth.  How is it that a company can claim to be All-Natural yet their products contain artificial flavours/colors? 

Geez now that I've got that off my chest....

10 Years Already....Really???

Today our oldest Daughter Shelby has officially hit Double Digits! 

We Love You!! Happy Birthday!!

It has been a day of mixed emotions, for starters I can't believe that I have a ten year old!  While looking through older pictures I can still remember the events of this day ten years ago...just in a less painful way.  I can remember how excited and scared I was all at once. So ready to meet the little one who used my bladder as a trampoline, but so nervous of what was happening and what was about to come....all the while wishing I had paid more attention during the Lamaze Classes. lol

Regardless of the many hours spent in labor, the mass confusion during delivery (mainly worried my Doctor wasn't going to make it and I was going to have to try to interpret the Doctor from South Africa), and the pain <shudder> no need to go on with that...once I got to hold my precious 9lb 4oz bundle and look at her thick black hair and beautiful blue eyes nothing else mattered!

It's been just under 3 years since our family started it's journey to being healthier, and we have definately had our bumps along the way, but today I came to the realization that now more than ever our children are watching us and copying our habits -- whether it be eating or socializing -- and if I'm not taking care of myself chances are my daughters will end up with similar "bad" habits and that is not something I want to happen!

Making the time to plan meals for the week, sticking to an exercise routine (no matter how basic it may be), doing things together as a family, taking our supplements, eating more veggies, laughing more <-- these are all the things we are going to work harder at doing every week!



Anything is possible, It's your choice whether or not you choose to make IT happen!

Stress

Every year at the same time...right about now actually...I always seem to have a higher amount of stress.

Stress from a new school year starting with new classes, new homework routines, and new classmates for my kids...this year hasn't been too bad as both my girls have great teachers, plus it helps that they love school as much as they do! 

There is also the stress from trying to get into a routine with the after school activities...it always seems to be that we have to wait on planning one thing until we have the schedule from another. <sigh>

Then there's the stress from our businesses...one has a year end at the end of Aug, while the other seems to take a back seat while trying to work on all the above!

The one stress I actually look forward to is my daughters birthday parties...they are stressful only due to planning around all the rest.  Seeing their smiling faces as their friends arrive to the parties, the giggles, and the pure chaos makes it all worth it!  Just need to find a healthier cake to serve :)

Today happens to be my youngest daughters birthday...she is 7 and is brilliant.  J is reading at a grade 4 level, she loves math & phys ed, loves her familiy & friends, she is clutzy like her mom but she is a dancing queen, she is determined, and she truly is a caring little girl. 

Happy Birthday!!!!

Love you!!!

Give your stress wings and let it fly away.  ~Terri Guillemets