The Future...Marriage vs. Ph.D.

In recent months it has been brought to my attention that I should consider the next step in my life.  I completed my Master of Arts degree in May 2012 in Education, but a few friends think that I should be thinking about my future plans since I have "free time" on my hands now. I came across this funny cartoon today while at the office and thought that it was very appropriate. So enjoy this good laugh like I just did...

Home Organizing 4 the Busy Girl

I like to keep my house looking good, but sometimes it can be a challenge with my busy life. Sometimes I like to set the kitchen timer the first 15 minutes whenever I get home as motivation to “pick-up” around the house so that it doesn’t become overwhelming. I am a single lady so whatever mess I make I am usually the only one who sees it unless someone visits, but these fast 15 minute pickups usually do the trick. I like things within my house to have a location or “home” that is sensible and somewhat organized so that it saves me time and energy later whenever I need to find something.

Don’t get me wrong I have a few junk drawers, clutter collecting baskets, and cabinets that stuff somehow magically appears. I am not perfect! I put things in these areas and tell myself that I will deal with it later when I have more time. So occasionally I have to deal with it and face the reality of the “stuff” every now and again. I like to revisit these problem clutter collecting areas within my house occasionally because stuff seems to pileup overnight and no one else will put it up except me. Usually every season I will give everything a good once over to declutter and reorganize things. I do this in hopes to make my life more efficient when I do day-to-day activities. Plus this declutter session allows me to get a chance to take inventory of what I have on hand and it lets me wipe off places that sometimes don’t get touched during a quick clean-up around the house.  

When things are decluttered and organized I find myself happier and more efficient because I can find exactly what I need in a short period of time. Like I mentioned in a previous post I have been trying to lose weight, so whenever clothes get too big I immediately place them into a sell or give away pile in another part of the house so that I can make room for new purchases within my closet otherwise I try to get rid of one clothing article whenever I purchase a new item. I need to practice this in other areas of my house!  This weekend was one of those weekends that I tackled a few areas within my house since I had a little extra time on my hands. I took a good look into my laundry room closet, my bathroom, and my kitchen pantry and cabinets.

Whenever I am doing my seasonal declutter sessions I keep in mind and ask myself the following questions about whether or not I should…

Keep It
Toss It
Donate It
Sell It

Moving stuff gives me a sense of accomplishment, so if I come across something that has memories involved usually I set it back in a special place and save it for later to go through. I try to move swiftly and keep a steady pace so that I don’t get bogged down. I’m excited that this past weekend I knocked out a few spaces, next on the agenda is the catch all room in my house…the craft room / home office. Wish me luck…because it needs attention!     

Birthdays

This past week I celebrated another year of life! I turned 28 this year on January 23. I am so blessed to have an awesome family and great group of friends who all wished me a “Happy Birthday” through cards, texts, calls, visits, and Facebook messages. I was surprised by the warm thoughts and wishes by those who wanted to wish me another year of life. Thank you if you are one of those special people!

My birthday celebration consisted on what seems like a weeklong adventure of celebrating. It was kicked off by a weekend in Winchester, Kentucky with my special guy Scott. I got to celebrate my birthday with his sweet family in Lexington on Saturday night and then we followed it up on Sunday night with dinner with some of his friends after church. I took the day off from work on my actual birthday because I thought I needed a little girltime. I got my hair cut and styled and then my friend Courtney and I went to Glasgow to get pampered. We got much needed manicures and pedicures! A birthday for me would not be complete without having dinner with my awesome family and eating birthday cake!

Anyways since I celebrated another year of life revolving around the sun I want to stop and thank God for the freedoms I have been given all because He sent His son Jesus to Earth to die for our sins so that we might live and get to experience "birthdays" and "life" each day.   

Healthy Snacking

When looking for something at work this morning I found a great resource on "Smarter Snacking". Snacks are a huge part of my life and I normally can not go a day without eating a snack. So I thought I would share the University of Nebraska at Lincoln Extension resource I found since I thought it might be of interest to you if you are trying to be healthier in 2013 like me! Click on the photo below to go to the publication on "Smarter Snacking".

 

 

Work + Life = ME

If you are curious about what I do professionally, I am the Monroe County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences. So occasionally, you might hear me blog about my work life and what is going on within that avenue of my life because it is a big part of who I am and what I do on a daily basis. For those of you who have no clue what this is and what I do on a daily basis…I am a community educator who brings research based information back into the county to encourage Kentuckians with new knowledge and skills to improve their life for their families, schools, and communities.

Last year in 2012, I decided that I was going to be healthier and actually practice what I tried to “preach” and encourage others to do with their lives. I thought of myself as healthy but occasionally I let things slip because I did not have “time”. Having no "time" was just a big cover-up and excuse because being healthy in our crazy world is hard and takes dedication and I was not willing to do it until 2012! Last year on my quest to be healthier, I set a few goals for myself. I wanted to lose 71 pounds and be more physically active. As hard as this sounds I am slowly making progress on these goals so I thought I needed to celebrate a few on my successes!  

As of January 15, 2013 I have lost a total of 45 pounds! I have been pretty faithful to my new physical fitness routine and my "healthy challenge". I  try to move more "4-5 times per week" and make healthier eating choices every day. Do not get me wrong this has been a challenge and I am still working hard at it!  I am 26 pounds away from my goal but I believe that I can do it! I feel better and I am in love with my new self!

Life is all about the choices we make on a daily basis. Balancing those choices within life and sticking to a plan while meeting our own physical and emotional needs in life can sometime be a challenging task. If you truly want a better body and better health for yourself and your family, I believe you can make “changes” within your life that you need to make if you are true to yourself and what you really want. That is what I did and so far it has worked. So with all that said, I am almost to my goal…I have the last 1/3 of the race still to run but I know that I can do this! That is why “Make healthier lifestyle choices to improve my overall health and well-being” was one of my goals for 2013.

Follow me as I share all of my favorite tips and tricks to losing these last 26 pounds of extra weight. I would love hear your ideas, questions, and comments! 

Lara

Professional photo of 2011-2012

The official "before" picture in 2012 with my mama

Me "currently" as I celebrated the start of 2013 with a "special" friend ;)