Change

It's funny. Sometimes I don't blog because I don't have anything new to say. In other instances, I don't blog because I struggle with the quality of my writing. In some cases, I am an absentee blogger because I am mired in the posts of social media. This is not a time like those.

My One Little Word for this year is "light". It should probably be "change" or "new".  It seems like I have had a lot of changes lately. This odd phenomena started when I had a mole removed. As silly as it sounds, it was a big change. I've had it all my life, on my right cheek, right up on the cheekbone. My mom once had an identical mole on the opposite side of her face-we had mirror-image moles. She had her mole removed when it got to be quite large. I did the same-bigger than a new pencil's eraser. It wasn't a "cancerous" mole, my dermatologists said. However, it would keep getting bigger, and my face is small, so it was quite noticeable. Once it was removed, it felt like a big change.

I also worked on another aesthetic change-getting my teeth fixed. I had braces from 8-12+ grade. I had them removed before my senior pictures, and replaced for a few months after my freshman year in college, but they didn't do permanent retainers, when they removed braces, then. I had the plastic kind that slipped over your teeth. Once I was expecting my first daughter, and had some morning sickness, I stopped wearing them. My teeth slowly moved out of their perfect places. However, over the last few years, they have moved exponentially faster and got harder and harder to clean due to their proximity to one another. So, I started the Invisalign procedure. I am so excited for the final product.

Sad vs happy changes... My big dog passed away and then we got a puppy-Quite big changes in the pet department. Both big changes to my heart, as well.

Changes in my profession also sailed along. I officially accepted the fact that I was moving away from teaching, cleaning and sorting my supplies. I stayed put in the realm of funeral coordinator. I still have that job, and happily, it's been a slow business lately-knock on wood. With that freed time, I wondered... "what else?" My house is quiet, when I'm not working on teaching Morgan commands, and even then, it is only I who speak. I started researching how to make my husband better at social media for his business posts. I found I really enjoyed the topic, reading and learning about business. Who knew? :) I talked with two women I knew in the business field, who knew me-my first "networking" appointments. They were adamant that I could make the transition. My husband had been saying this for a long time, but he's married to me so he has to say nice things, right? ;) I also set up a meeting with one of his partners, on my own, and spoke with him. He was in agreement. They are meeting about possibilities of me helping out in a more permanent capacity with their company. We will see what changes come from that. In the process, I am reading several books about marketing, mainly in the social media realm, and business analysis. This would be a huge change.

We are making changes in our home, as well. We had some companies look into remodeling, and after pondering the choices, we are building a new home. It won't be done until May or June and it is only about two blocks from where we currently live, but will have such better use of space. I am incredibly delighted. I have no reservations about this or the occupational jump. They both feel like the right steps to make right now. The right changes to make.

One last change that is fairly big for me, and then I will stop for tonight. I have always loved running. Long story short, over the last two summers of half-marathon training, I have battled injuries. I haven't given myself time to heal. This year's half was slower than I'd hoped and was by no means a personal record. However, I finished. Normally the thought of resting from running makes me sad and restless. This year I am going to keep running, but cut down on my milage and begin to try some other things like pilates and barre. I enjoy yoga, definitely, but am ready to try something new. With these as two new possibilities of cross training, running seems like a fun "extra". I'm hoping these will help me change my fitness level, away from the running only plateau I have put my tent up on. Once I feel successful, I know it will help me change some of my bad eating habits, too. That's how it works for me, it's all a cycle.

What changes are you experiencing these days, Reader? I hope they are good changes.

One Little Word 2014- Light

Each year, since I read about Ali Edward's concept of the One Little Word, I have tried to set one for myself. A few of the years I have really tried to live it out. A few years, conversely, I have let it slip by unnoticed. This year I have resolved for it to guide me and be present in my mind and heart, to live it and I look forward to it. I also love reading about other people's OLW, how they chose them, what it means to them... all meaningful to me, like Stephanie Howell's blog post, here. And Elise's post, here.

I began to think over my word and what it might be, as I do every year. I was stuck. My past words were:
Faith 2008
Peace 2009
Grace 2010
Read (which I can't even remember thinking over... so this wasn't a particularly definitive word choice/year for me...) 2011
Brave 2012
Grow 2013

And this year, my word is Light. I popped onto Pinterest the other morning and the first thing I saw was this piece of art. I knew Light was to be my word for the year, my One Little Word. I began to pin a "One Little Word" board on Pinterest, letting myself be inspired and soaking it in. Many ideas began to swirl in my mind:

• eat light-fitness
• be light to others-sharing a good attitude
• live light-live clean, get rid of the junk and think about what I choose to carry with me
• find my light-seek light and seek my faith (with teaching a Bible study, chaplain classes and my funeral coordinator's job, I see this one coming to fruition-hopefully! :))
• let my soul be light-with less worry
• light the way-be a good example for my girls
• lighten the load-less stuff, better budget, burdens of others?
• leave the light on-connect with others
• light streaming-work with my plants more-I love to work with plants, inside and out, but have let it slip away
• travel light-go somewhere new? a trip or a new restaurant, a new museum for new ideas/sights?
• lighten expectations-will I be a knitter or sewer/quilter? relax about it and if it doesn't come, remove those expectations from myself, as well as supplies I won't ever use and let them go

I let all these just come and wash over me, one triggering the next. Then, when no more thoughts like this came, I looked up common phrases with the word "light" in them. It was fun! I'm hoping to apply them throughout the year to something, although I'm not sure what just yet. A couple I found were:

• guiding light
• light as a feather
• at first light/light of day
• light years away
• out like a light

I thought of some songs right away, as well:

• This Little Light of Mine
• Learning to be the Light
• Jesus, Light of the World
• Thy Word

For a few of my previous words I ordered a charm for a necklace or a ring to be a constant reminder. I still have and wear almost daily, my rings of the past words: grace, grow and peace. I ordered my light ring from the same place, here on etsy. I'm ready to tackle 2014 with Light. :) Do you have a One Little Word? Or are you still choosing one? 

One Little Word Recap 2013

This year I chose the "One Little Word" Grow for myself. Here is how it worked...

I grew in my running mileage: in 2011 I ran 506 miles, in 2012 I ran 725 and this year I ran-up till this moment, but I will increase over the last few days this month-844 miles. I also "grew" in speed as I ran my fastest half marathon yet.

I grew in my openness as far as a job was concerned-from teacher to funeral coordinator and chaplain-in-training.

I grew in my openness to God's work-from reading my Bible on my own to co-leading a Bible Study and working toward becoming a chaplain to help others in times of need.

I grew in my relationship with my daughters-not that it was lacking before, but it has been a different type of growth. One daughter is off at college and our communication has changed. One daughter is here, the only child of sorts, and our relationship has changed, as well, both for the better.

I grew in my knowledge of myself... so many things I could list here...

I grew in my list of "books" I've read: I set a goal on Good Reads for 20 books and read 22. My goal for 2014 is to read 24. One of those books I worked on this year was my daily devotional and my daily Bible reading time.

Now, what to set as my One Little Word of 2014?

One Little Word 2013

Hello, Reader! Happy New Year! I have chosen my One Little Word and after much thought I have chosen Grow. I have chosen words, after reading Ali Edwards posts, since 2008. My first few years I really worked on it. I posted the word around the house, found quotes and Bible verses to inspire me... My words have been: Faith (2008) Peace (2009) Grace (2010) Read (2011) Brave (2012) And then in '11 and '12 I didn't dig as deeply into the words. In fact, I had to look through my old posts to remember what they were. This year my word is Grow. I have so much growing to do, as person, in my faith, as a mother and teacher... I have so many thoughts and reasons for this word. I actually spent a while looking through the list of words posted on Ali's blog and was stewing over it. I took a break, went to let our dogs out and thought, "I really need a word that will help me grow in the many ways I need to this year" and, thus, my word for 2013 was born. I have printed out my definition and Scripture verses to look up. A new list will come later, as to my reasons, more specific ones. Thank you for reading, reader, and commenting-helping me to grow. :) grow [groh] verb, grew, grown, grow·ing. verb (used without object) 1. to increase by natural development, as any living organism or part by assimilation of nutriment; increase in size or substance. 2. to form and increase in size by a process of inorganic accretion, as by crystallization. 3. to arise or issue as a natural development from an original happening, circumstance, or source: Our friendship grew from common interests. 4. to increase gradually in size, amount, etc.; become greater or larger; expand: His influence has grown. 5. to become gradually attached or united by or as if by growth: The branches of the trees grew together, forming a natural arch.

One Little Word 2012

I haven't posted my One Little Word, yet, and here we are almost halfway through February.
I had a hard time picking a word this year.

I chose brave: a do it/try it/go for it theme.

I am very wimpy and a worrier. I worry so much that it hinders me from fun and enjoying my family. We went to Disney with our girls two summers ago and I wouldn't even get on rides they all enjoyed. I went so far as to go all the way through a long line (fretting all the way) and left the line as I got up to the ride. Granted, that really isn't my thing, but I do let my worry get in the way of life, sometimes.

Since choosing the word, I have tried sushi (and liked it!), which is "brave" for me. ;)
My in laws have given our entire family a cruise to Alaska next summer and we had to sign up for excursions. I chose kayaking (I am seriously afraid of water, so that will be brave...in fact my hands sweat as I type this! ;)) and a 3.5 hour horse back ride with my girls! Should be fun! (And I will definitely be sore after those two days in a row! :)

I think sometimes, if I found out I were deathly ill, what would I wish for? More time with family and friends... doing what? Worrying? God specifically tells me not to...So, I will be more wise with my time, worry less and be brave...

One Little Word

The past few years, I have chosen "one little word" to work on the entire year.

One year I chose Faith. I wanted to dig more into my faith, celebrate my family's faith. We did and we all got baptized as a family that year.

One year I worked on peace, and one year grace. I liked the sound of both. I really studied peace, more, looking up passages in the Bible with it.

Last year I wanted to think of all three, although the one little word slipped my mind in the focused sense.

This year I'm still choosing. I want a word that inspires me to keep going, working on who I want to be as a person. I went to Ali's list of word choices she's accumulated this year and I started writing down words I liked... I wrote down 20 and hadn't gotten out of the e's yet. I need to give it more concentrated thought.

Any ideas as to what one little word would be for you this year, Dear Reader?

Happy New Year!

I have been thinking of several things to post. Now to sit down and post a few! :)

I hope your 2011 has started off well! Mine started off with a nice family get together at my brother in law's with his wife, their four kids, his in laws and my in laws. :) It was full of fun, games and good food. There was the toast at midnight, too. I decided on our short drive home that we should start a new tradition as a family of four. We should go on a walk when we got home... start the new year with fresh air, togetherness... family and fitness. :) As we walked, I realized that, although it was an unusually balmy 60 degrees this year... it very likely could be below freezing for our next walk. Hmmm, a good "new tradition" idea? ;)

I have started (yet again) a journal. I have written in it two days in a row. :) Hoping to keep that up. This will help me keep track of my thoughts, and hopes for 2011, which reminds me of my "resolutions, goals, plans, or procedures" that I'd like to start in 2011. I always thought of them as resolutions, but have read this blog post, this one and this post, too, and thought I liked these better. :)

A few plans I have for myself/procedures I'd like to start are as follows:

1. I had been thinking about my goals since around Thanksgiving (leading up to my one little word) and thought I'd like to work on my weight/fitness this year. I thought one habit I needed to break was Starbucks coffee-in fact, a grande, nonfat, vanilla latte with half the normal pumps of vanilla in it... EVERY DAY. So, not only was I drinking 200 calories per day but spending quite a bit as well (their prices went up around Thanksgiving, too.) So, I broke the habit. I quit cold turkey on Dec 4. I had one on our way to visit my family (New Year's Day, early...) and one on the way back. I didn't sleep well either night thanks to all the caffeine! :) I make coffee each day at home, and drink probably about 8 ounces.

2. I also looked at my garmin calendar which tracks each of the days/times/distances I run. I looked at 2010 and saw (after my run on New Year's eve...) that I had ran 596 miles in 2010. So, I set a goal to run 1000 miles in 2011. I will run the half marathon this spring and a full in the fall, hopefully (after stress fractures, we know nothing is set in stone!) I planned out my goal-52 weeks, about 20 miles per week. I have run 3.25 miles on the two days since I wrote out this plan.

3. I have been keeping track of my calories on www.thedailyplate.com and keeping the total low enough to (hopefully, eventually) lose some of the chubbiness my legs have acquired-the pants that don't fit can attest. I just want to be fit again and fit into the clothes I like. These three plans will help with that! :)

4. I'd like to take more photos-not an abundance at special family activities, but some of each day, of our daily lives. I am sad to think that our oldest is almost midway through her sophomore year and will be headed to college in a few short years-she turns 16 this month!! Even our youngest will be out on her own in 6 years or so.

5. I mentioned that I was contemplating my one little word being "Read" and I'm sticking with that, thus far. Since I posted, I have read my Bible, and read a book (got the new Laura Childs scrapbooking mystery, even though I like her tea books far better, these are good reads, too) and I'm halfway through that.

I think that's all for now. Don't want the post to be too disjointed! :) I hope you all are well on this 4th day of January, 2011.

One Little Word

I have, once again, been revisiting my "one little word". Here are some posts about my previous words: here and here.
My words in the past have been faith, peace, grace and this year I'm thinking Read.
I have forgone book reading for tv watching or computer/online reading, so I want to read more books, again.
I have forgone reading the scale as the numbers continue to climb.
I have not been reading the news or newspaper (except the comics) since I dislike news that makes me sad inside, but I do need to be more informed on our government-national and local-as well as other issues and things I can do about them.
I also need to get back to reading my Bible. I go in streaks. It's always something I want to do, and feel I need to do, but I haven't been picking it up lately. It would be such a good example for my girls, too.
I need to "read" pictures to get back to retelling a story-in my scrapbooking; it's a tremendous gift of memories to give my family.
I need to write down and read my goals, to become the person I want to be-the example, good wife, mother and teacher I want to be.

Have you given any thought to your one little word? Hope all is well, Dear Reader. :)

Winter Wonderland

We got a lot of snow this weekend. Starting about noon on Friday, the flakes started falling and didn't stop until Saturday afternoon. I think we received about fourteen inches. The first day there were big, beautiful flakes, that made snow fun to play in. We shoveled the driveway into big snowballs, a snow fort and it was warm enough to enjoy being out in. On Saturday the wind became bitter cold. I got in part of my run outside, but the skin on my face paid for it-bitter wind burnt my skin into pink blotchiness. The girls didn't want to be out building or playing in it much, at first, but when friends called, they braved it for a while. We still have it all-it's not warm enough to melt, but the roads have been thoroughly cleared. We ended up shoveling three different times to get the driveway cleaned off. We're supposed to get about two more inches on Tuesday, on top of what we already have, since it still won't be warm enough to melt it. I think it's beautiful. :)

In other news, I picked my one little word, as I mentioned a few posts ago, and never even considered it is in one of my all time favorite songs: Amazing Grace. That song means so much to me that I can't sing the whole thing without tears. Today in church I began to sing and thought, "Hey, that's my 'one little word'".

My office is 90% put back together, all I need to do is have the husband put up a curtain rod and some pictures. I also have to organize my scrapbook supplies, but I am thinking that is a bigger job than I have with what's left of today... I also need to get the housecleaning done and schoolwork, as well.

I hope the weather has been kind to you, Reader, and your "one little word" is working out for you, motivating and encouraging you, too. :)

Grace

I have finally decided on my "one little word". Just like last year, I sat and struggled through wonderful words in our language. I wrestled over the combination of goals/activities I wanted to accomplish, as well as things I wanted to change in myself and succinct words I could use as motivation. I thumbed through pages of ideas, clicked through websites with similar "one word" interests. I talked them over with my family, too.

Then I prayed about it. And our sermon in church the next Sunday focused on grace; the kind we give others, the kind we give ourselves and the kind we are Given. It made me think. Last year I "received" my word in church, too. It just felt right. So, this year my word is grace.

I picked grace because: first, I am so thankful God blesses us with His grace. I would be nowhere without it. I also picked it because I don't work on my actions showing that appreciation. I don't work hard enough at my daily delving into Words and descriptions of His grace.

Also, I sometimes am impatient with my immediate family. When something isn't going right, I don't extend them grace, I snap at them. That is something I want to work on. I try to be so positive with others, that sometimes in the bustle of life I forget to be positive with my three most beloved members of my family. I need to extend grace.

I need to look at the grace of life, too. I will be thirty five this year on my birthday (I know, a youngster ;)) but I haven't eaten or exercised with grace lately. I haven't felt graceful, I have felt more overweight than ever before (although I'm still average to the population, I am not the fit runner I once was...)

So, these are the reasons I chose grace and am striving to accomplish the goals I've set for myself.


What "one little word" have you chosen for your life?? If you haven't, I encourage you to.

Randomness and lots of it!

I have a lot to catch up on! It's been almost a month since I posted. I apologize to the regular readers. Been a lot happening here. My husband says I need to break things up into small posts so people can find info better, but... I don't. :)
First, I'm still subbing. My job has been extended until March 7. The teacher who has breast cancer is doing great, but still tired, and the kiddos wear you out, so she needs to get more strength before she comes back. I am definitely still enjoying my job!
Other things I have enjoyed:

• Church: We have been greeters in the mornings (for all of February). I like starting other people's day off with a smile and warmth. Also, I have been attending a Beth Moore Bible Study on Tuesday nights. It is called Jesus the One and Only. It has been pretty good so far. It has daily homework, which has been hard to keep on, but the study has been good! We have also started a life group (the hubby and I) where we meet with 7 other adults and talk about the week's sermon. Our church is encouraging this study through Lent.
• Speaking of Lent, our church did an Ash Wednesday service, even though it's not a Catholic Church. It was a very reverent evening with much peace. I felt very moved throughout the evening.
• Deciding on my "one little word". I chose Faith. I need to have faith in myself as a teacher. I need to work on my relationship with God to grow my faith, I have to have faith in His decisions... You get the idea. Faith is my word for the year. I got a charm from Etsy that says "FAITH" on it a while back as inspiration, also. Any of the regular readers choose a word?

Things I haven't enjoyed:

• Let's start with the easy things...Running... well, I did a nice three mile with my daughter and dog and it was great-no soreness, although the lungs were tired at the end...and that's it. Sad, hmmm?
• The hubby went on a business trip last week. Everytime he goes somewhere the kids get sick; our oldest got the flu. Yuck! Luckily none of us got it, other than her. Also, he went somewhere warm and we were stuck in the winter storms, which made it tough for all of us to appreciate. :)
• I haven't done any scrapbooking, either. Just not enough time, although I'd love to! :)
• I had two moles removed on Martin Luther King, Jr. day and they came back pre-pre-cancerous so I had to go back today and have more, deeper outer lying areas removed, too. Ouch. They said to prevent my moles getting worse, wear long sleeved, shirts, hats (even when I run), 50SPF sunscreen every hour when I'm out between 11am and 3pm, and gt check-ups every 6 months.
• However, I can't do too much complaining about simple moles. Our worst news is that one of my dear friends found out last Monday that she has breast cancer (invasive ductal carcinoma). Long list of details, but she started chemotherapy today to shrink the tumor. Then they'll do surgery (after 6 sessions of chemo-one every three weeks) and then radiation. Her oldest daughter is my youngest daughter's best friend, which is how I got to know her. She's been on my mind, heart and prayer list and hopefully things will go positively. Keep her in your prayer, as well, if you can.

That's all from here, from the minimal to the scary. I hope all of you, readers, have had a good weekend and a good start to your week.