Even~Steven

Purpose – schmurpose!

LOL 

20 days down and I've spent most of it rather down … but not quite out... due to some of life's unexpected troubles. :( The damages are reversing, healing, returning to normal, slowly. But, as usual, it's not going to stop me from moving toward my goals!

And I am still moving ahead WITH PURPOSE! I am determined that even starting my business month 33% behind (so to speak) will not keep me from building my business!

Same for SPARKnEarthlyBest – no progress to report, but no backsliding either!

On the green front... we are doing LOTS BETTER at eating REAL FOODS! I found a few new blogs to follow in this effort of avoiding processed foods more:

100daysofrealfood.com and foodformyfamily.com and eatingrules.com

If you have any interest at all in eating less processed foods, more organic foods, or more local foods you may find one or all of these very helpful! :)

And with ANDEE365 – Wow! Have we been 'thru the ringer' and then some! It wasn't fun. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. :( However, we have had some extensive family discussions about the things that have happened and the things that could yet happen. These have resulted in a number of things improving around here. But there are still some “issues” to resolve ~ aren't there always such things in large families? LOL So, we move ahead! We go forward WITH PURPOSE! We take stock of where we are at; where we want to go; and which path(s) we want to take to get there.

I do have to say this: In the last 20 days I've talked to a number of locals and met some really nice people! This makes me look forward even more to what's ahead as I seek out more and more of the people of my little town and help them understand what a wonderful thing I have for them with my company! :) There are lots of hard-working folks around here who are barely getting by and really struggling to find that “something” that will help them get to the next check, help them get to feeling better so they can do more to meet their families' needs, and give them hope for a brighter future. Before long they will all know! I can't wait to share what I have with all of them!!!

I close with this:

"Your time is limited so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

~ Steve Jobs (Feb. 24, 1955 – Oct. 5, 2011)

SPARKnEarthlyBest! :)

100 With A Purpose!

Today, Tuesday, September 20, 2011 marks yet another beginning for me...

and my family! (little do they know – hehehe)

It's the start of a 100 day countdown to a better life – for all of us!

For SPARKnEarthlyBest it's continuing my quest to lose 100 pounds. Yeah, a year has come and gone and I didn't meet that goal. :( I am however 50 pounds lighter – so there is clear and definite progress! Ultimately I will be eating 100% whole foods and absolutely nothing commercially processed or produced. This journey will not really ever end either as all of us, until we can gain perfection, will always have some aspect of our health to improve upon. Given all that – let's just see where we are at in 100 days!

For All My Earthly Best it's moving forward in becoming GREENER and more completely self-sufficient. This project is ongoing with no foreseeable end as it is my opinion that one can ALWAYS improve upon any given circumstance or situation. But – for 100 days I plan to increase focus on a few matters that will directly impact our environment for the better!

For Andee365 it will become a test to see how much can be accomplished in 100 days! We are all working at ways to gain self-sufficiency; to reach that point where there is no need to depend upon others for that which we need. We need to find another house – perhaps to buy – maybe even out in the country where we are more free to adjust our lives to living more on our own and less dependent upon what others provide. No, we won't move anytime soon – unless we are given a miracle or two. ;-) But we will build up our resources, cut down our wastes, fine tune our wants, and – in 100 days – find ourselves in a better place in many ways. :)

There is a Bible verse that states:

“Whatever you are doing, work at it whole-souled, as to Jehovah, and not to men.” Colossians 3:23 NWT

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not human masters.” Colossians 3:23 NIV

“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” Colossians 3:23 NLT

However it is stated, the idea is the same: whatever it is you are doing (so not just things you do that are specifically religious in nature), do that work in the best way and mood possible (give it everything you've got and give it joyfully), just as if you were being asked by God, himself (by the most supreme being in the universe) to get that task done.

As a Bible Student I take this very seriously. I realize that in this regard too, there is always room for improvement. So this next 100 days as I work towards a better life by making specific, focused efforts in several areas of life, simultaneously I will do so “whole-heartedly” and “gladly” and with my best possible efforts regardless of the obstacles and challenges that are put in front of me!

One of the key factors that will allow me to accomplish these goals begins here: www.andee.ecomomteam.com and if you wish to know more on that just fill in the “Request Info” form and submit it to me. :)

The next 100 days I am DOING WITH A PURPOSE!

SPARKnEarthlyBest

Am I Ready?

Today has been full of challenges: got up late (but got to meeting on time), got invited to two different lunches after the meeting - could only accept one (got there late, they were serving dessert), the muffler came off my van (boy is it loud now!), the weather was iffy... it was snowing when I woke up but not sticking as the ground was too wet from all the rain but just before dark we got it all - rain - sleet - hail - snow - all at once!!!  I've been in since then.  I feel horribly achy.  There is so much to do tomorrow - soon as businesses open up.  I have a doctor appointment too.  I'm so not sure about transportation now. Am I ready to push myself to start up on the gazelle again? It's been a good month (got sick 10/11/10 and haven't been on it since then) so I know it won't be much fun but will be a lot of work, even if just for 2 minutes!!!  Don't know if I can do it!

I'm back! (again)

WOW!  So long since my last posting here!


Sorry about that - but I did get really sick - totally out of commission for about 3 weeks - and even now still just getting back into the routine of things.


By Monday I should be back to my gazelle in the mornings.  One benefit of being so sick is that it seems to have caused changes to my eating habits.  When I was sickest I lived on soups and teas 24/7.  It's been hard getting back to more normal fare - seems that a lot foods just don't settle well anymore.  The positive side of that is that I'm eating much healthier these days!  That in turn (and probably combined with the long illness) has taken me down a few pounds... about 15 so far, or since a month ago, which is not bad! :)


I'll do an update on my 100# challenge later - maybe around the 20th or so. ;-)

Power of TEN

Today is the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10 year in this century!


There could be so many interesting things about this, but as it relates to my goal of losing weight about the only thing I can come up with is that I've lost ten/tenths of a pound (or 1#) this last week.  LOL


I love numbers though and will always find dates with interesting correlations in their numbers a fascinating study.  Sometimes something comes from it; most times it's nothing. Just numbers. :)


Since there are many things in my life that happen "in threes" this number holds interest because 10 is repeated 3 times.  Nothing special happened in my life today, or even at 10:10 this morning - though 5 tens does absolutely nothing to excite my passion with numbers.  ;-)


Hope you've had a good day!

Some sort of progress

Fall has arrived!  One big difference between living up north versus living down south is the fall colors.  Sure, you'll find some color down south, for a short spell during the fall months; but up north you'll find gorgeous displays of autumn hues for weeks and weeks all around you! :)  It's one of my favorite seasons!


On the 100# goal ~ well, I'm not giving up!  I'm greatly disappointed in my lack of success since the first week but I keep working on ways around it or through it!


The latest of which is creating a schedule - of sorts - something that becomes a basic routine but that must have great flexibility to meet the often unexpected and rapidly changing events in my daily life.


Little by little I'm finding it.


For 8 of the last 9 days I've managed to take an ACCESS bar (very yummy, btw) and 15 or so minutes later spend an increasing number of minutes on my gazelle!  Quite literally the first day I could only manage about 50 strides before feeling wiped out.  Now I'm doing a few hundred; not counting them so much as going for longer without watching the clock.  I note the time when I get on and don't look again until I get off.  I get off when I get that winded and wiped out feeling.  Today I managed 6 minutes!  I do a lot of alternating in speed... starting out with long, slow strides stretching as far as I can, then gradually increase the speed and shorten the stride a bit, then slow it down again and lengthen the stride some too, then speed it up, slow it down... went up and down like that about 3 rounds, or maybe it was 4 today.


Each morning my goal is to do this before getting started with much else.  Twice I was later in getting to it but still got in it before noon.  One day I missed completely.  


I'm looking at this like the SPARK book says; it's a habit to develop, one change at a time.  I've done the FAST BREAK before (a few times) but I guess I'm doing it again.


Usually, in the 15-20 minutes from eating the ACCESS bar to starting on the gazelle I will go over my scripture for the day and meditate on it while exercising.

Still at it - sort of

What a time it's been - way back in July since I updated this blog!


So much was going on that it was impossible to get enough time online to be here. :(  A lot of my time was spent caring for a new-mama cat and her 3 kittens who became sickly.... hundreds of dollars and several vet visits later we had to realize there was nothing more we could do.... sadly we lost them all. :(  It seems so futile!  One of things I truly despise about this whole system of things we live in today!  I so long for the day when the True God will straighten all things out and make them again like he purposed them to be: no more sickness for anyone, man or beast; no more pain; no more sorrow; no more death!  


Anyway, on the weight loss front - hmmm, haven't even stepped on the scale in a few weeks.  So first point of order is to do that Monday and get back on track with the weigh-ins.  Second point would be work on eating less processed foods - which I've been having far too much of the last month or so.  But traveling times are done with for this year... so much easier to not eat out when you stay home! :)  And third point to work with is getting into a routine of exercise again.  


Why is it that when we KNOW what we need to do and we know WHY we need to do them, we STILL get so caught up caring for others that we FAIL to care for ourselves and do what is needed for us to stay well or healthy or to even regain that?!?!?!?!?  It's so frustrating!!!
Perhaps - just for a while - I need to consider this:
Do unto myself as I would want to do unto others - or something like that. ;-)


What I mean is this: I should do for me the sorts of things I'd be doing for others.  Instead of caring for someone else's needs I should care for my own first.  hmmm


But that seems so selfish!  Doesn't it?


All my life I've 'done unto others as I would have them do unto me' and I've done things for others before tending to what I need for me.


How does one change such an ingrained process?


I don't rightly know - yet - but one thing I'm going to do is this...


PRAY 


Yup, you heard me!  PRAY


Prayer, for me, is so powerful!  When I don't know what's right to do I pray to the supreme being of the universe, the one who knows all things, to guide me in doing what's best for the moment.  Never has prayer failed to help me!  Never has the True God failed to care for me in the most complete way.  It's just that I'm stubborn enough at times to not see the sense in something and so I chose a different way.  Well, I must humble myself in this matter - because I've tried numerous ways to lose weight, to stick to a plan for better health, to make needed changes... and I'm still here with 100+ pounds to lose!


You do know, with God all things are possible! :)