My Three Things

Hello readers!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Easter weekend! 

This week I want to share three things with you that I have been working to improve on. 

Self-improvement is something that I always strive for. It is important to me that I don't remain stagnant in my life and that I become a better version of myself year after year. I know that if I push myself to improve in the things I care about or is needed of me most, I (and my family) will benefit from this.  I will say that It's in a healthy form and not something I think about too much, but in the back of my head it's usually there. 

Here's an example. When my husband and I were dating, I would say that I was a pretty bad cook. I had very little confidence in cooking and, for some reason, I didn't think it was necessary to read the directions word for word. I would even get anxiety about making pasta.

Since I have been a wife and mom, I (thankfully) have had many opportunities to cook many meals. I have learned quite a bit along the way about cooking, but of course there is still much more to learn. I am no great cook, but I will say that I am much better than I was pre-Kiel and Edward! 

Here are some of the ways I am working on improving myself this week. 

1. Lowering my carb/sugar intake and eating more veggies!

After this past weekend, my body is angry at me for the cupcakes, sister shubert rolls, jelly beans, and beignets I had. Last night I was determined to have a detox dinner, so I cooked some Publix Greenwise chicken sausages, cut them up, threw them in with some cabbage and onions and served that with some fresh butter beans on the side. Slap yo' momma good! 

 Notice that empty muffin pan sitting there on the stove. I was SO tempted to make some cornbread until I saw the calorie content and the word "LARD" on three different ingredients on the cornbread mix. Sadly, I had to pass! 

At the end of the day, I was proud to say I had eaten 7 different vegetables! 

2. Using my Cell Phone Less. 

This is a difficult one too! Why? Well, We can do EVERYTHING on our phones now and it is so convenient and sometimes relaxing to use them. I could write a whole blog post (or several) about technology and why we all shouldn't use it as much.  The other day, my friend and I were talking about the topic of substance abuse and she said "Yeah, my husband says it's never good to be dependent on anything." 

I never want my child to think I am dependent on my phone. I can accept that he will think that about coffee (ha!), but not my phone. When my son looks at me, I don't want him to often see mommy's head down looking at that device. I want him to have my full attention most of the time!  I also don't want to be a bad influence. Am I going to use my phone around him? Yes! But, I definitely need to have more limits. 

 

3. Living in the Present.

Without a doubt, this is the most important improvement I must make! This week I have heard some amazing music, seen some beautiful sunsets, tasted some delicious food, smelled some divine scents, and touched very very soft skin. I have been working on just enjoying the moment as it is happening. Taking mental pictures of the precious moments. 

Who knows what the future holds for us?  We need to take it in now before it's too late!

Whether it was watching Edward watch his daddy throw a castnet off of a pier, eating popcorn and watching Shrek Forever After with Edward in bed, (I put the phone down shortly thereafter I swear!)

Easter eggs hunts, listening to a man at our church with no arms or legs talk about how "God doesn't make mistakes", or having meaningful conversations with my family, I made it a point to soak it in more than usual. I hope to always work on this. 

What are you currently working to improve in your life? 

Are you putting the work into improving what matters to you or do you procrastinate these things?

Help Yourself by becoming aware of how you'd like to improve yourself. Make sure it's healthy self-improvement. Think about how this improvement could (I.e) help your family, boost your self-esteem, change your attitude or even make you a happier person! Then DO THE WORK and have lots of self control along the way.  Have a great week everyone! 

 

 

Clear Vision

"Is everyone seeing what I am seeing?" I wondered to myself while driving down a road in Fairhope, Al. I was mesmerized. 

It was a beautiful day in May. Low humidity. Temperature was in the low 70's. Just a few tiny clouds floated in the sky. On this street, heading to the dentist, were the most beautiful trees I had ever seen. They were bright green and glowed as they moved along with the wind. I turned my eyes to the right and then to the left. "Have I even noticed these before?" I also thought as I was nearly  hypnotized by them. They were just pecan or oak trees. Trees that I have seen all of my life in my hometown. Trees on probably every road or highway I have ever been on. 

What made them SO much more noticeable and striking this time? Was it the fact that the sun was shining to its max and the trees reflected that? Maybe. 

It has been years since I have had an eye exam.  The last exam I had I was told I had 10/20 vision.  This means that I could see at 20 feet what most people could see at 10.  I would guess that my vision is no longer 10/20 just because I am 10 years older now, but nonetheless, I am grateful I overall have pretty clear vision. 

Was it my decent vision that was allowing me to see such beauty in nature?  Possibly. 

About a week ago, I started taking a few different vitamins to strengthen my immune system. One of the vitamins I was recommended was Spirulina. I had never heard of it until I visited the health food store. "Spiru-what?" I said to myself as the lady told me about its benefits and how she takes it. One of the many benefits of this super food algae is its high concentration of beta-carotene. It has 10 times the amount of beta-carotene than in one carrot. And we all know what beta-carotene does. So, I wondered while looking at these stunning trees...

"Are these vitamins enhancing my vision?".   Hard to tell. 

If you know me well, you know how much I love flowers. If I was rich, I would have the most beautifully landscaped yard you have ever seen. I heard once when I was in sales that people tend to do things that make them feel good. Well, this is definitely very true for me. My flowers make me feel happy because of their colors they exude and how much they can dress up my front porch. I thought as I saw those trees...

"Am I noticing this because of my love for flowers and plants?" (Because, really, I don't obsess over trees). 

Yes, it is quite possible that these trees grabbed my attention for the above reasons. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. I was on some good vitamins, and I can appreciate some pretty flowers and plants. 

Or what if it was something even bigger than that? 

God is more creative than we could ever imagine. He designed me and you with five senses: sight, touch, smell, taste, and hearing. He also created different things just to satisfy all of our senses. Think about it...what is something that really stimulates your senses that makes you happy and is naturally occurring? Here are some of mine...

• Seeing Edward's smile, Troy chasing lizards and bumblebees, my porch plants, Bouganvilla's (I'm obsessed), and the water sparking on Mobile bay. 

• The taste of pineapples, eggs, avocados, almonds, salsa, and grilled chicken. 

•  The smell of Gardenia's, onions/garlic, bacon cooking, puppies. 

• Feeling Edward's soft skin, a warm bath, holding Edward and my husband's hands. 

• Hearing the dryer and the dishwasher running, Kiel and Edward's laughs, hearing "I love you" completely out of the blue from Edward, songs from 1,000,000 different artists and bands, and waves crashing at the beach. 

I had an epiphany a few weeks ago as I was enjoying watching some Pelicans flying. I realized that He had to have put those birds in that blue sky for me to notice. He could have made the sky grey, filled it with floating black rocks, and made it constantly dreary looking. But instead, he didn't. I know that He created those birds and the bright blue sky for me to have pleasure seeing. Yes, those birds have many purposes, but I know one purpose has to be to make us enjoy life a little more. 

Those trees are just an example of what God did for us when he designed us. He wants us to enjoy life on earth and get a little piece of heaven while we are here. He wants us to embrace his creations and be less distracted by worldly things (Internet, material items, harmful substances, etc.) I also think he uses beauty in things and in people to remind us of Him and his love for us. 

What's the biggest way God has shown He loves us and wants the best for us?

By sending his ONLY son, a perfect man, to earth to die on a cross---which came from a TREE---for the sole purpose of giving whoever believes in Him (for generations and generations to come) eternal life in heaven!

Now that's something to make us happy!