Hi everyone! Hope you’ve had a more productive week than mine. Have you heard of the phrase “Yo-Yo Diet”? Well, sadly to say I used the weight scale and and it read 144.6 and just three days ago it went back up 1 lb.! Maybe it was the breakfast and lunch all together. But I’ll keep on grinding. If you’re like me maybe we shouldn’t expect to lose all in a short pan of time. Got to remember it takes time and moderation. There I’ve said it. Now if I could keep repeating that to myself every day.

Physical exercise is just not the only way to lose weight, so don’t feel too bad if you’ve skipped a day or two out of your routine. Don’t forget running after your kids and cleaning house is another way to lose weight, if and only if you end up sweating in the process .

Alright so let’s keep on grinding and see if we could at least lose 1/2 lb per week to start off with. And soon after we’ll focus on loosing 1 lb/wk. And don’t forget to guzzle up to H2O! Stay hydrated, stay healthy and have fun at it!

- Mom on a Mission

Hello World! How’s your Sunday so far? Mine was a good wrap for a very productive week. So far I’ve done a Tae Bo exercise by Billy Banks and boy was I out of shape! Usually I could whip through the whole video without taking a break. Well this old gal (I’m only 31)needs a lot of work to do. Carpooling, house chores, and taking care of the kids add to the list so I’m pooped!

Yesterday I weighed myself 144 lbs. This morning when I hopped back on the scale it said 145 lbs! Hmmm… Had to be the pork chili and Pepsi. I rewarded myself too fast too soon. Let’s see what next week brings.

Good luck on your journey to shed excess pounds and don’t forget to guzzle up to lots of H2O. Here’s to staying true to our new year’s resolutions!

- Mom on a mission

Are you one to have a new year’s resolution and stick by it? Me, I don’t think so but I try working on it. This year I’ll work on losing my post baby/pregnancy weight… So far I have not start on it but I will eventually. Do you procrastinate like I do? If so then we have to get off our derriere ends and get on with the program. Now that I’ve said that I’m going to stick to the “plan.” So starting tomorrow, Sunday the 8th, 2012 here’s to the starting of my hopefully long lived journey to losing weight and staying healthy. I hope you’ll join me in your own time and do this with me. And every Sunday I’ll come in here and tell you how I’m progressing. Notice I didn’t say try, which is another resolution of mine. Try not to say try.

Alright here goes:

Starting weight: 145.6 lbs (can’t believe I just said that)

Goal: 125-130 lbs (Let’s face it and I’m just keeping it real. We’re never going to weigh 115lbs like we did in our high school days. But if you’re able to get back to that shape and form more power to you.)

I’ll wish you luck and let me know how you’re progressing. Here’s to losing that excess fat and staying healthy! CHEERS!!!!

From time to time, life throws some good one’s at you. It keeps you guessing and on your feet and constantly making decisions. Sometimes the decisions are as easy as the red pill or green pill, but sometimes there is a blue pill in there as well. Choices and what to do huh?

You must become the master of yourself. What I mean by that is that you must be able to make decisions that will dictate the path that you want to take in life; want meaning that you know your current path is not working and that you must change. You should never let others dictate your path because we all have journeys that are planned for us or that we need to experience first hand.

Many think that changing the way they have live their lives is something that is hard to do and to be honest it is not as long as you know what you want and are willing to give up the old things and ways in the process. The first and foremost thing that you MUST do is to have confidence. This is the key to setting everything else in motion. You are about to embark of something that is going to change your life, you must have confidence to know that theire will be bumps and bruises, which are normal. If you are in a relationship with someone who does not provide that, then honestly you should look inward for your inspiration. If you are around a group that is not conducive to your ways and thoughts, you must get within a group that is conducive to your ways and thoughts. The goal is to put YOU first; not second, last, but FIRST.

One of the hardest things in life is to take the emotions out of a situation and focus on the facts so that you can understand where you are at now and where you need to go in life. Continuing on the same path you are on, if you are struggling with something, will halt you the same result plain and simple. If you are truly sick and tired of the way things are in your life, YOU must be the first to take action and promote change from within. God and prayer is your primary support system, followed by your family. Friends, I would not let them influence you even if they have your best interest in mind because it is about you and nothing else. No agendas, no drama, no nothing else but you, getting you on a new path to happiness and success in your life.

Normally I provide steps on how to achieve and accomplish things to life simplified and focused and I feel that the following steps will definitely get you on the right path to choosing your fresh and new path in life, minus the fluff, drama and noise that surrounds and influences you on a daily basis. Do the following to begin to change you life path today friends:

1. Separate yourself from any and all negativity in your life: The hardest but most important thing to do in this process. You need separation from those things that have emotional and physical holds on you so that you can begin thought building on a clean slate on how to change your life path.
2. Design and Implement your plan: Think, map and write out on paper, where you want to go in life. Push yourself to go place you have never been before and to be different and change. Not trying to change will get you no where and this will all be in vain. Plus remember that in today modern age of PDA’s, tablets and computers, it is easy to type up your goals but never look at them. Writing is a good way to record your plan because you put in the work to design it out on paper. You spent the necessary time developing your plan and writing it out and with writing it out, you are more likely to treasure that than a word or pdf document. Trust me on this!
3. Build a “small” support system: Build your support system of trusted individuals, who you will share your life plan with, to help you meet the objectives in your plan. Like we suggested, religious or family members are best as they have more of a personal bond with you and can give you the “tough love” that you will need from time to time.
4. Implement your plan: The hardest part yes, but the most important and necessary part. You have to be willing to tell yourself that you will not continue with the way things have been and stick to the plan you formulated to change. Many people fall back into their traps in life because they don’t have the confidence necessary to hurdle over the big objectives, which are always emotional. You have to be willing to trust your support system and listen to their un-biased opinions about you and your situation and how to change according to your plan. You must not let emotions drive you when implementing your plan because they will always influence you. You must remember that if you are changing something that influences your emotions, then that thing must not have been good for you in the first place (think about this sentence). Many overlook this little fact and wind up back in the same situation they were in before reading this blog post. Why do all of the work to not take it anywhere? Why take this advice? STICK TO THE SCRIPT. POINT BLANK PERIOD!

You CAN and WILL change your life path if you take the time and make a dedicated decision to changing it no matter what. No one on this earth can control you or your thoughts ever – remember this. Only you can do that. So take full advantage of the ability to live your life the way that you want to today. You cannot change others, but you can change yourself. So what are you waiting for,

GET GOING!!!

The blessings and goodness that comes into our lives is not from our doing, but from the doing of someone higher and mightier than us. This someone is someone who knows our needs / wants, trials / tribulations, happiness / sadness, pretty much everything about us and what we need to survive. Too many times, we do not fully appreciate the goodness that is bestowed upon us from our God above. We take many a things for granted, knowingly and unknowingly, and fail to grasp that what we have been given and what is around us is all that we need in our lives to survive. In our daily travels, we usually fail to miss the importance of our being and purpose as well which is not ourselves but those and things around us.

Most of the time, our issues stem from our being introverted in nature. We are this way for many reasons: because of how we were raised somewhat; how our personalities, mindset and beliefs have evolved over time molded by our daily trials and struggles; or because we just choose to be this way, which I personally feel is just us being ignorant to the fact. Our loved ones, family, friends, all we have in life is from God, period. But many times this little fact gets overlooked. We do not and cannot comprehend what God has given to us and why because we don’t see outside ourselves. It is at this point where we need to stop, comprehend why these things/people are in our midst and learn how to love and cherish them before they leave or get taken away from us for good.

It takes a special person to step outside of themself, understand their surroundings and blessings to truly understand the point being made today. When you are unable to step away, you prevent yourself from getting to the point in your life where you can begin to fully grasp and understand your purpose and be thankful for all you have. I feel that it is our job, as humans created in image of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, to constantly learn how to be thankful for everything that we have from God. Not from us, but from god! This is not easy thing to do because it requires you to become more extroverted in your daily walks.

For those who are all about self, who do not feel that they cannot look outside, hope should not be lost. You can learn how to look outside of yourself if you will believe and know you can. The key to doing it can be summed up in one word, submission. You need to submit yourself to God and your life. You need to tell him and yourself that you cannot do it, that you want to be different, that you want to learn and then you have to do the hardest thing in life, let go and trust God. By letting go I mean that you do not dwell and worry on things after you have asked God to help you with and in the same breathe, know that he is there for you and trust in him. You simply believe in his goodness and works and know that he will be there for you and have strong faith that he will find favor in you and all you are doing. This paragraph is the key to living care-free and stress-free, but it all starts with you turning to God, being extroverted, asking him for the strength and will to change and be different to understand all of the blessings that have been bestowed upon you. This secret has been looked for by many for some time, but many do not find it because they do not have a purpose and drive in them to tell them how and where to find it. Think about that.

So let me ask you friends, are you grateful for what you have today? Are you grateful for your life today? If you are not sure, stop looking to yourself and look to God and be willing to be changed.

I leave you with this my friends…

the power of the word ‘no’ is something that is so powerful that it can change your life in ways you never imagined.

humans in general, we are caring beings. okay, well most of us are ! we hate to say ‘no’, no matter what because we always want to be accepted, liked, loved – that is our nature. but sometimes saying no in the right situations can be valuable enough to save our life. example:

being there for someone or something that has asked you for or to do something is important. for one, you will give your word and two, they look to you for that someone to count on to help them out in there time of need. but hold on, something urgent comes up and you cannot help now, oh what in the world to do?

should you tell them “sorry, i cannot help. something urgent has come up that needs my attention. i hope and know you will understand”? or should you tell them nothing at all; make alternate plans for your urgent item (as long as it is viable and something life threatening) and deal with your consequences? but would that be fair to you? ah the dilemma.

there is no good answer here friends, but there is the right answer. you do what you need to do with no worries behind it. regardless of what decision you make in the above example, or if you are asked for provide your help, you can never, i will repeat never make everyone or everything happy all of the time – you already know this. but what you should know is that you cannot discount your happiness / priorities / life either. be it a business deal, family or personal thing, whatever, promises and agreements will be broken and there is just nothing you can do about.

The best way to keep one’s word is not to give it. ~Napoleon Bonaparte

if the asking party does not take offense, then they understand that you have a life and that things come up that may be more important and require your attention, period. they know that you do not mean anything by saying no and that there is a good reason for you doing so. they will still care about you after the fact and will respect you more because you can identify with your priorities and keep on them.

but if the asking party does take offense, then they are selfish and could less about you. they are only concerned about their own well-being and do not care that things happen in life. even if you do what mr bonaparte says, you will still be number one on the black list. but it is this, where the power of no becomes so powerful though. i will explain.

growing up, we were all trained that we always have to get along and compromise with people no matter what the reason. we always had to give of ourselves and never expect for them to give of themselves; kind of selfish huh? we were told that we had to come to a place where both people will be happy in life with the outcomes and that was it – compromise (how often does that happen in life?) now think, in life, can this ever be the case?

the power of no shows and tells you a lot about the people that you surround yourself, but it tells you more about you and who you are. thinking no in a situation that you are not comfortable in at the present moment or at all is safe. why? because thinking no right off the bat is being direct, this is being fair and honest. you are being transparent and not telling people what they want to hear, but what they need to hear. you are busy and you have something to deal with. but remember, saying no only works though if you are being honest with the situation and yourself.

if you employ the no strategy at any time for anyone and know that you are not being fair, then this will not apply to you. if you are using no in the correct manner, then ‘no’ can make sure that you keep your life simplified and focused on those things that drive your thoughts, beliefs, values, goals, you name it, while being transparent and honest!

it is NOT your job to make the asking feel better because of your no answer. it is your job to live, which means:

live – a) to maintain oneself

Definition from Merriam-Webster

in the end, you will know that you are on the right track to not only being honest with others, but being honest with yourself.

the power of ‘no’, oh how strong it is!