Merry Christmas!

SIL, son, and myself!

How gorgeous is this place?  Looks like a calendar pic!

Snow!

My handsome boys!

Christmas greetings from the beautiful and sunny CA!  It's been AMAZING weather here, with temps approaching 70 during the day; fabulous :)  Despite the warm days, the nights have been very crisp and cold, so it definitely feels like Winter, no worries!

We are hosting my fabulous sister in law this week.  SO Happy to have her here!  We're not travelling as much this time as we did when she came back in October, but we're spending plenty of quality time together and just enjoying her presence.

I didn't ride last week due to my office Christmas party in the middle of the day; it was Cheesecake Factory, so I HAD to take advantage of a quality lunch AND cheesecake ;)  Since the restaurant is attached to one of the big malls, I used the opportunity to finish up the son's shopping.  Didn't find everything I was looking for, but did find a few things for him.

Planning to ride tomorrow, and SIL is coming with me to watch and take pics!  Hope Miss Jade is good, S has ridden her a few times and said that she was alternately "good", and "interesting", haha :)  The Waterford bit came in, so I'm going to try her in that with a regular cavesson tomorrow and see what she thinks.

We went to Yosemite Tuesday (Christmas Eve), and had a BLAST.  There was snow on the ground, ice on the ground, and the temps ranged from 62-32!  It was our second time, SIL's first time ... good times.  I have a TON of pics, but it takes time to upload all that, so y'all will just have to have patience ;)

We went to church last night (Christmas day).  SIL enjoyed it!  She totally gets why we like Pastor Jimenez so much.  He went over Matthew Ch 2 and went over the REAL Christmas story.  I learn something every single day I step foot in that church, LOVE it.  I'm about half way through Leviticus right now, making slow progress, but definitely making progress.  I'm trying to dedicate a little less time to the computer, and more time in prayer and Bible reading.  I've gotten pretty good with cooking good, healthy food and keeping my house clean vs. being on the computer every single second of my free time.  It's been good for me.  We only have an antennae hooked up for TV, so David and I watch barely any TV together anymore, down from about an average of 3 hours per night, about 8 hours a day on the weekends.

My exercise has been interrupted by the arrival of the sis due to her bed being in the middle of my living room, but I won't magically gain back 10 lbs in a week.  I took the dogs for my nice little 3 mile circle; the dog park, then the human park.  Tomorrow I'll ride.  I've done pretty well food wise, so hopefully it won't be too hard to get back on track Monday.

I'll leave y'all with this synopsis for now, and elaborate more a little later.  It's 11:30, and everyone has ditched me for bed, so I guess I need to follow!  Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and wishing you a continued peaceful holiday as we approach the New Year.  God bless!

Your weekly dose of scripture and motivation

Going healthy :)

Hello!  I am VERY pleased to report I did not cheat myself out of any exercise time this week and did my Insanity every single day like a good girl :)  Lunch has been an adventure!  Carrots, a "salad" of black beans/chick peas/mini corn/red onion/cucumber/italian dressing, yogurt, Kashi bar, string cheese, and a piece of fruit.  It's lots of "munchy" food and I get my crunch desire satisfied, but by the time dinner comes around I'm ready to eat, so not stuffing myself with too many calories.  I've traded in my wheat containing Cheerios for gluten free Rice Chex, and dinner is just whatever.  I wish I could cut out the wheat 100%, but I had to "go cheap" at the grocery store :(  I spent $75 at Bel Air last week on all my "healthy food" that didn't make a single 'dinner' meal, but did last me for lunch.  Spent $79 today at Winco foods and got 9 nights worth of dinner plus a few lunch items.  Sad, I know.  Also rode 3 times this week, so definitely got in some good moving around!

This morning was one of those days where I wondered where the message was heading.  We always begin service (after singing) with reading a full chapter of the Bible.  Today it was 2Kings Ch 7.  It's a slightly confusing story of men robbing a tent, people locked inside a city being offered a chance to buy flour, and a lord getting trampled at the end.  I thought it was going to be a sermon on the evils of Black Friday, lol!  No seriously, this just goes to show how good and focused Pastor Jimenez is.  He was able to develop the sermon, referring back often the Ch 7, and I got the point of the whole thing.  I think I told y'all that sometimes at the end of a church service, I would leave feeling somewhat confused.  Or even feeling as though I was just too stupid to get the point of the sermon.  So far, I've never felt that way at Verity, I always leave feeling like I learned something.

Basically, 2Kings7 is a story of a starving Israel locked inside the walls of a city.  In Deut28:52-57, God tells the Israelites they will be punished by a famine so severe, they will begin to eat their own children.  In 2Kings, this prophesy comes to pass.  It was because of their sins that they brought upon them this horrible, horrible famine.  In 2Kings6:26, a woman talks of how she actually killed and ate her son!  The people were desperate, and utterly hopeless.

The story relates to our modern life; how many of us have felt like our situation was completely hopeless?  You were totally desperate, unable to see a way out, maybe even contemplating suicide?  2 things to keep in mind; 1.  We don't know HOW God works.  2.  We don't know WHEN God works.  When life seems worthless and hopeless, God is always working on the other side.  He uses people that are in our lives, SINNERS, to help us through.  He uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary.  He brings us through our hard times in unexpected ways, and always in His own time.  We need to walk by FAITH, and NOT by sight.

Back to 2Kings7 ... 4 lepers decided to enter into the city after coming across a camp of Syrian soldiers and pilfering all their food.  The offer to sell flour and meat for a reasonable rate, just as God had said.  He used LEPERS, who were the blight of civilization back in biblical times to bring hope to the people of Israel.  The lepers took a risk, it worked out.  When YOU take a risk, when YOU take the first step, God will meet you there.  If you go to church and enjoy it, good for you.  Your life will not be fully blessed because you lack the faith to take it a step further.  You MUST grow in your journey as a Christian; share the gospel, invite people to church, give offering, tithe, get baptized, THEN you will begin to see your life be truly blessed.  Walk by Faith.

I've always loved "Walk by Faith" by Jeremy Camp.  That song was running through my head as the pastor went through the sermon today.  I'm so thankful that God is allowing me to open up and FINALLY grow in my own journey ... I'm 34 years old, and I rarely have ever openly talked about God, the Bible, or anything related to religion.  While I'm still not ready yet to go door to door and minister that way to people, I do bring it here to the blog.  I do give offering.  In January, we will begin to tithe even though it's going to hurt!  I have invited several co-workers to church even though they haven't come yet. I'm going to be faithful in my giving, faithful in my volunteering, and faithful in my faith and see where I'm at this time next year.  Looking forward to continuing to grow spiritually and always remembering that when things seem unmanageable, God is always working in unseen, unexpected ways.

Recharging!

3/4 of my loves!  Getting in a little exercise and Vitamin D!

I think we all need a little re-charge now and then.  That's what I feel like is going on with me right now.  I feel SO good being here in CA, but it's still LIFE.  It's still WORK.  It's not some big, giant vacation.  My life, OUR life, finally got on track after finding and getting involved with a church.  I definitely feel like in a big way I've been born again spiritually.  Last year, I was reborn in the body.  This year, I was reborn in the spirit.  Now?  I need to be reborn in both at the same time, lol!  I started over ... AGAIN ... this morning, Insanity.  It took me a few false starts the first time I did it too, to really get in the habit of doing it, so hopefully this time it sticks with me.  I went to the grocery store after work (when I was quite hungry, incidentally) and tried to buy some good, fresh, food.  Got some big, sweet apples, yogurt, Kashi granola bars, popcorn, and some veggies.  Had grilled shrimp and quinoa/brown rice mixture for dinner tonight.  Going to throw together a cold bean salad tonight for my protein source for lunch the rest of the week.  Last year, I ate cold cut ham held together with Laughing Cow soft cheese, but cold cuts aren't the healthiest of foods.  I'm not looking to go LOW CALORIE, I'm looking to go healthy.  Going to try and enjoy more veggies, less fruit ... a typical lunch last year would be a banana, a container of melons, another container of grapes, the cold cut/laughing cow cheese combo, and a serving size of tortilla chips.  Good food, but probably too much sugar.  I want to try and cut out wheat as much as possible from my life, because I have come to the conclusion that I am pretty addicted to it.

Honestly, it is nice to read that many of my peers have also "fallen off the wagon" a little bit.  Comfort in numbers, I suppose.  I allowed myself to pig out at TG, now I've recharged my will, recharged my zeal for health, and recharged my desire to challenge myself to rise above junk food.  Got to recharge my soul a little bit when I got to see my Honorary Little Sis Nicole!  She is a wonderful friend, a wonderful person, and I've missed seeing her!  Seeing as how we're not quite on our feet enough yet to buy plane tickets back to the good 'ol east coast, I jumped at the opportunity to make a little 2 1/2 hour drive southwest to the little bay town of San Jose to go see my soul sister.  He husband was born and raised in Cali, so it was natural they'd have to come out this way SOME time, and it's quite fortunate they're in the bay area, and not way down by LA :)  It was so nice to have some good conversation with someone I know ; though I'm branching out and making an actual effort to get to know people here, I've always been a loner.  Even loners get lonely sometimes, though!  It's nice not to have to work so hard at the conversation :)

I've also recharged a bit in my equine life.  I've had a nice 5 month break, now I'm beginning to miss it (as I knew I would), and fortunately, I've found some opportunity to ride!  I rode for the first time this past week, and while my seat bones are super sore, my soul is super satisfied ;)  Though my wallet will feel the pain, it was great to have a week off at Thanksgiving, and though my wallet will feel the pain AGAIN, I'll have a week off at Christmas too.  I have faith that God will see us through it, and just try to relax and enjoy!  Extra riding time, woo hoo!  It also makes me happy that my husband is so happy.  He's a quiet guy, and I knew when he talked about how much of a rut he was in, he was unhappy.  Vacations are the BEST!  Ever since moving out here, it's like this huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders, certainly thankful for that too.

Love y'all, thanks for reading my blog.  I try to be uplifting, informative without TMI, and motivational even when I'm failing to a degree.  I'm definitely not anywhere close to being perfect, but I enjoy inspiring people :)  Keep on keepin' on, and enjoy this holiday season!  Remember to be thankful for everything you have, and don't worry about anything you don't have.

A season of firsts

Home made carrot cake!  Icing and all :)

Well, my family and I were out of town for Thanksgiving this year ... WAY out of town!  We called everybody and talked to them, but I'm sure they'll tell you it's not the same.  It was weird with it just being the 3 of us, but it was nice too.  We stayed in our pj's all day :)  I had cooked some stuff yesterday, but still spent plenty of time in the kitchen today as well.

Our menu this year included a Honeybaked Ham, potato salad, sweet potato casserole (with brown sugar and pecans), stuffing, gravy, and homemade mac and cheese.  My husband likes these meatballs my mom makes, with grape jelly and BBQ sauce, so I made those as an appetizer.  I was determined that just because we were "alone", that didn't mean we weren't going to eat well :)  I made the peanut butter cookies with a hershey's kiss in the center, chocolate chip cookies, a pecan pie and my first attempt at a homemade carrot cake.  So LOTS of yummy sweets!  Haha, time to get back on the diet bandwagon again first thing in the morning!  No, seriously ... not even gonna post a pic because I can PROMISE you I have not lost one single pound in the last 25 days.  I was on the Insanity bandwagon GREAT last week, and then I got the Black Plague of Death and TRIED to keep working out.  I did the T25 stretch which is AMAZING, then the Insanity Recovery workout, then the stretch again and then just decided to take the week off.  I am STILL not well, it's been about 10 days and I'm still coughing crap up. :(  My throat is sore, my nose is sore from blowing it so much and I have that constant annoying drainage that JUST won't quit.  Not going to worry about working out until Monday since Insanity is a 6 day program and I like having Sundays off, but I am going cold turkey on the food thing.  I ate EXACTLY what I wanted to today; didn't stuff myself silly, but didn't deny either.

No matter, I feel just fine about myself.  I know I was strong enough to lose 45 lbs, I'm strong enough to knock the 15 or so lbs I've gained back off again.  I have worked out a deal to take some riding lessons from a local trainer, AND I'm doing a "test ride" on Saturday to see about me riding a person's horse once or twice a week because she just doesn't have the time to ride a whole bunch.  I'm SO happy about that, because even though riding isn't enough by itself, it's definitely a step in the right direction OUT of the whole sedentary thing.  I'm thankful to have been presented these opportunities and I intend to make the most of them!

I hope all y'all had a great Thanksgiving, and remember to be thankful EVERY day.  Remember, the key to happiness is contentment, and in order to be content you have to WORK at it.  The holiday season tends to bring out both the best and worst in people; always strive to be at your best and keep a positive attitude.

The magic of being happy!

This week's motivational seminar is brought to you by ... haha.  Happiness.  Most of the time, I have it.  Occasionally, I don't.  Fortunately, the "don'ts" are few and far between.  The key to happiness is contentment.  When you're content, you're happy.  The Bible shows us many, many examples of how to have contentment in your life.  Whether you "believe" or not, you can't deny that some things are self-evident.  When you do them, you WILL be happy :)

1.  Being content is NOT complaining.  We all complain.  ALL of us, every now and then.  Some of us ... we complain every day.  It's SO easy in this land of instant gratification that when our phone is slow ... we slam the phone on the table and complain about how old and slow our phone is, or the stupid AT&T network, or ... you get the picture.  Instead of complaining how the potatoes are cold, instead be grateful you have a full belly and food on your table!  Change your perspective.

2.  Being content is NOT coveting.  We can't help it.  Sometimes, envy creeps in.  Our neighbor has a new car, or a new purse, or a new baby, or a new computer, or a new ... you understand, right?  Just because they have something you think you want doesn't mean they're happy!  Look to your OWN life and remember to have an "attitude of gratitude".

3.  Being content is NOT normal or natural.  What?  Scratching your head at this one?  It is natural to be jealous!  It is natural to covet others.  It is NOT natural to be content and happy.  You have to TEACH yourself how to be content.  When you change the way you LIVE you will change the way you FEEL.  YOU have to have control over your "thought life".  When you sit on the computer and shop for all the things you know you can't afford, does that make you happy?  Stop allowing yourself to think negatively.

4.  Being content is NOT circumstantial.  Your circumstances are ALWAYS changing.  You can't sit there and think "When A, B, and C happen for me, THEN I'll FINALLY be happy.  Life is cyclical.  When one problem resolves itself, another one pops up.  You are NEVER living a life 100% free of drama or problems.  Your happiness cannot depend on whether you have money in the bank, or you're having a good hair day.  You must learn to be content in ANY situation.

5.  Being content is NOT complacency.  You shouldn't be content with mediocrity.  You should ALWAYS strive to be better in character, in your faith, in your role as father/mother/daughter/son/etc.  Don't strive to improve your lot in life with a bigger car/faster phone/bigger TV/etc.  Strive to give more/volunteer/mentor/etc.

There ya go.  Happy Thanksgiving!  I haven't participated in the "happiness" challenge on facebook because I attempt to be happy and thankful EVERY day.  Sometimes I slip, and have a "poor, poor, pitiful me" day, but I don't save the month of November as my "Happy Month".  People have always told me they love how I'm always happy and "even keel".  It's because I TRY to be content despite my circumstances.  I always try to remember that no matter what's happening in my life, I (and my family) have my health.  I know so many people that suffer from health problems in addition to "life", and know that no matter how "bad" I perceive my life to be, it's NOT.  Just be grateful.  Be thankful.  I know I am!  Happy Thanksgiving y'all :)

The great transformation

The more I think about it, the more I believe we humans never really "Arrive".  The meaning of life is the journey we take, the constant molding and transforming of ourselves in the physical sense and in the spiritual sense.  Think about it!  How many times has your hairstyle changed?  Everything from our piercings/tattoos/hair/weight/plastic surgery ... is to make us FEEL something.  It's to express things we feel on the inside.  I certainly don't claim to know everything, or even CLOSE to everything, but I do feel it in my heart and soul that I am on the right path right now.  My mom can't really understand WHY California over Tennessee or Virginia.  I can't really explain it myself, just that I KNOW on a spiritual level that this is where I'm supposed to be right now in my life.  Maybe it was to bring our family in contact with Pastor Jimenez, I don't know!  All I DO know is we went 3 months with no jobs, all the time telling God that if he would just help us out, we'd find a church.  Well ... through a crazy round about way, we found a church and THEN the jobs came, BAM!  Me, then David in the space of a week.  Boggles my mind, still.

Sadly, David had to work today, but I feel moved to share this week's sermon.  I think it's one EVERYONE will be interested in:  Foolproof ways to have God answer your prayers.  What, did your ears perk up at that?  That's right, the Bible lays it all out in black and white HOW to have your prayers answered 100% of the time.  I have about 5 pages of notes, but I will paraphrase here:

First, you have to PRAY!  And I mean really connect and PRAY.  Second, you have to BELIEVE that your prayer can and will be answered.  If you pray with doubt in your heart, it will NOT happen.  Third, you have to pray in the NAME of Jesus.  By that, I mean you have to really truly connect and allow your heart to feel Him when you pray.  Fourth, you have to be asking for the right things.  Selfish, self serving prayers will go unanswered.  You have to pray within the wants of God.  Fifth, you have to BANISH the sins on your heart.  It's not hard; confess them to God!  Let go of all the "secret" sins that you hold onto, for if you don't you'll never have your prayers answered.  Sixth, you should share your faults with a Godly and righteous person, then ask them to pray with you.  This doesn't necessarily have to be your pastor, it can be an acquaintance that has the gift of the Holy Spirit.  "Faults" doesn't mean confessing your sins as if to a priest.  Simply get off your chest the things that you feel are burdening you!  There is power in group prayer!  Seventh, you need to make sure your life is Christ centered.  You can't be a child of the World, practicing Wiccan magic and going out and getting stoned every night and expect to just pray to God and have your prayers answered.  You have to live your life as an example to others.  Eighth, you must be PERSISTENT in your prayer.  Don't ask just once.  You can't give up, you must ask God for what you want over and over again until he answers you.  And finally, make sure you're right with your spouse.  If you and your spouse are in a hostile/bad relationship God will not hear you.  You have to fix what is wrong between you and your SO so you can be on the right track in your prayer life.

Like I said, serious paraphrase, but y'all get the general idea :)  For every single one of these points, there are 2 or 3 Bible verses backing them up.  It's so amazing the way Pastor Jimenez brings the Bible to light.  I went to Lifeway Christian store yesterday and finally bought a KJV bible.  I've had a NKJV for the past 20 years, and had no idea how it has subtly changed key words and phrases to have a TOTALLY different meaning than the "regular" KJV.  Like I said, I believe God has brought us to where we are right now for many different reasons, but the primary one is the spiritual growth we are experiencing.  Kody and I went alone today; that is the FIRST time I have EVER gone to church sans the hubby.  Makes me feel good!

Loving it

Want to go back here!  Sutro Baths, just outside San Fran

Just a few random thoughts for ye old blog before bed tonight.  Firstly, I am SO grateful and happy to be here.  I am enjoying this place, spending time with my boys, and focusing on "real" life SO much.  Not gonna lie; it has been HARD.  It took us so long to find jobs that we're still fighting money issues right now, but we're s   l   o   w   l   y   getting on track.  I'm trying to reach out and make some friends.  I almost made it to the ladies night church activity, but I allowed the long work day to be my excuse not to go.  I'm thinking about making the effort to get out and be social, hard as that is for me.

It's actually been a welcome break and a nice relief to step away from the horse world for a few months.  I honestly haven't thought much about them in the time we've been here.  I definitely don't miss the hustle and bustle of the WORK part of it, but I am starting to miss just the simplicity of BEING with horses and smelling/touching them.  I reached out to a local big name event trainer tonight to see if she minded if I stopped in to watch a lesson or 2.  I would like to slowly ease my way back into it, just watch some lessons, maybe find an event to volunteer at.  Then, maybe find a ride.  I'm not pushing anything, like I said, the break has been good for me.  When you own a horse, ALL your thoughts are obsessed on shows, money for lessons and clinics, new tack, shoes, vet bills, etc.  It's nice to not have to worry about that farrier bill or vet bill ... it's stressful!  And plus, I worked SO hard just to be able to (barely) afford my horse, it's so weird to work a 4 day week behind a desk; I feel like a slacker!

Great message on disciplining your kids at church today.  Makes me realize I can indeed take SOME credit for how awesome my child is, because even though his personality is amazing, my husband and I have NEVER allowed him to get away with anything.  From a young age, we had expectations of our son.  He has to clean his room, be respectful, sit still, and generally not be a heathen.  He is currently one of the most amazing, respectful, kind hearted, and awesome 11 year olds I know.  I'm glad we had the sense to set boundaries and have expectations back when he was 2, so now as he begins to transition to teenager, I'm confident he will not resort to sullen teenage boy antics.

Once again, I am having issues with a REALLY (bad) sore ab muscle.  I felt it in my obliques about a month ago; my side hurt so bad I literally would have gone to the emergency room if we'd had the money.  After about 3 days of pretty bad pain, I came to the conclusion that it was muscle strain, and I just took things REALLY easy.  This time, it's front and center, the top abs.  They HURT, and not in a good way.  DANG!  That's definitely the biggest disadvantage to moving from a very physical job to a desk job, and exercising every day.  I need to be more careful and do a longer warmup than I have been.  Strained muscles hurt! And they're counter productive; I don't feel like I can do my T-25 at all this week; I need to take the week off so I don't REALLY hurt myself :(  I'm actually thinking about breaking out the Insanity workout of "core cardio and balance", which is a normal length 43 minute Insanity workout, but one that's lower impact than even the typical T25 workout.  I think I will just do the T25 "stretch" video tomorrow, then try CC and B on Tuesday and see how I feel.  I've got skinny jeans to fit into!:)