Who will you be waiting for?

Have you ever thought of who will be waiting for you when you get to Heaven?  Your family members?  Your friends?  Your mentors? 

I heard this phrase the other day, “who will YOU be waiting for”?  Who have you mentored in life or led to Christ that will one day be in Heaven?  Isn’t that a neat thought?  Can you just imagine that the people you have poured into will one day sing praise to Jesus with you in Heaven?

We always think about the people who have done so much for us but really, we need to think about what we can do for others.  It just gives me chills thinking about it.  Jesus had a life of servitude towards others and called us to do it too.  It shouldn’t be “what can you do for me” it SHOULD be “what can I do to help you”.

Even if someone goes to Heaven before you, wouldn’t it be cool to know that you played a hand in helping them get there?  I mean, they did the legwork (along with Jesus), but you played a part.  Who will you be rooting on from Heaven?  I want to be at those gates greeting people all the time!  I wonder if they have a bell or a paging service that when someone you knows is coming up, you greet them! 

When you get up there will you hear “Well done, good and faithful servant” or will you hear something else?  

Creating “Wins” Daily

Yesterday I asked the question, “How is your life different today than it was the same day last week.”  Personally, I couldn’t answer in the positive because I hadn’t made any significant changes for the better from week to week.  I came up with a personal challenge today while at lunch that will help me to meet my goals for the next year.  I figured if I get so many “wins” per week I would be that much closer to my goals.

First, we need to write our 5 year vision.  What do you want your life to look at spiritually, with your family, professionally, personal development, physical health, financial and socially/community?

Below are the areas in my life that I am going to try to “win” at daily, which in turn will help me “win” monthly and yearly.  I made some suggestions for myself on what a “win” in each category would be, but I can always add more “wins” as they happen.  Feel free to add some suggested “wins” if you can think of some. :)

Let me know if you decide to do this!  I would love a Life “Wins” Running Buddy to help me stay accountable!!  We need to give ourselves more credit for what we DO do, instead of ONLY beating ourselves up over what we don’t do.  Or letting ourselves slack over things we shouldn’t slack at.

Rules:

Multiple wins can be done per category per day. 

Each month I want to track how many “wins” I get and then try to increase it.  Maybe give myself a reward each quarter?  Like maybe XX-XX wins equal X prize for me. 

Write down your “wins” each day so you can go back and remember them on “bad days” when you need a little encouragement.

Spiritual Life

Go to church

Having a quiet time

Pray at every meal

Pray at night before I go to sleep

Invite someone to church

Pray with someone

Pray for someone

Go to a Bible study

Thank God for all the blessings as you see them

Volunteer at church or church event

Family Life

Talk to a family member

Spend time with a family member (quality time-no phone or TV!)

Professional Life

Get 5 New Leads a Day

Place 2 bookings on calendar a day

Sell $100

Have a party

Listen to the Million $ Message

Say business daily affirmations

Add someone to my team

Personal Development

Read 1 chapter of a personal development book

Listen to a training/motivational/sermon while getting dressed

Listen to a training/motivational/sermon while commuting to work/errands

Say personal daily affirmations

Read my 5 year life vision

Post a positive message on social media to inspire others

Say NO when someone tries to gossip to you

Slap my wrist when I try to gossip about someone (stop yourself before saying it)

Physical Health

Workout at Curves

Walk 1 Mile (1 “win” for each mile)

Get 10,000 steps on my fitbit

Eating a lean protein

Have a salad with an oil/vinegar dressing-no white stuff

Have a broth based soup before  a meal (or as a meal)

Bringing my lunch to work (healthy, no leftovers)

Walk the dog around the block

Do 30 minutes of exercise (non-Curves)

Resist something bad to eat

Lose 1 lb

Fit into the clothing size below

Sign up for a race or other physical challenge that you would need to train for

Financial Health

Bringing my lunch to work (homemade-not leftovers)

Saving $100 each week (1 “win” for each $100)

Earn and extra $30 (and save it)

Only 1 “cheat meal” a week

Social Life/Community Life

Seeing 1 friend in person

Talking to 1 friend

Doing a bucket list item

Doing a bucket list item with 1 or more friends

Trying something new

Sending an encouraging note to someone

Make someone smile

Do a random act of kindness

Give someone a (honest) compliment

Connect with an old friend

Have a friend workout with you

Meet a new friend while working out

Send a care package

Say “yes” to something you normally would say “no” to

How Is Your Life Different From Last Week?

How is your life different from one week ago?  I’ve had this thought running through my head for the past few weeks.  I get paid on Tuesdays and I was thinking about how much I saved from one week to the next.  Or how much I SPENT from last week to the next.  Or how much I have paid towards my student loans from last week to the next. Etc. etc. etc.

THEN I got to thinking, how has my LIFE changed from one week to the next. Did you make a step forward or backward in your career?  Did you make a step forward or backward in your relationship?  Did you make a step forward or backward in your walk with God?  Did you make a step forward or backward in your fitness?

To have a good YEAR you need good MONTHS.  For good MONTHS you need to have good WEEKS.  To have good WEEKS you need to have good DAYS.  To have good DAYS you need to have good HOURS.  To have good HOURS you need good Minutes. 

Let’s take the fitness example.  My goal is to lose 30 lbs this year.  Broken down by months that is 2.5 lbs per MONTH (OK, side note…as I am breaking it down by pound/month I am thinking I’m going to UP my goal, but for this post, I will keep it since I already did the math).  Or .625  lbs per week or .089 lbs per day.  Totally Do-able.

YOU CAN START A DIET IN THE MIDDLE OF A BAG OF POTATO CHIPS.

 

He looks so sad, doesn't he?  Lay's ARE really good though

So why don’t we?  We (or at least I do) WHINE and COMPLAIN that we are overweight or that we aren’t where we want to be in life.  We scroll through Facebook or Instagram and see other’s “achieving” the goals we set out for ourselves and then feel deflated because we don’t have those things. 

Two things:  

1.  FB is someone’s highlight reel and our reality is our entire movie.  We can’t judge our circumstances by their highlight reel. 

2.  We are quick to be envious of that person but we aren’t looking at the WORK it took to get there.  Granted, some people seem like they are given things (sometimes that’s true) but for the vast majority of people, they WORKED for it.  You only see the beautiful ballerina that is so graceful, while you trip going UP the stairs (that happened to me last week-yes, going UP).  You don’t see her aching, calloused feet beneath her satin slippers.  You don’t see that sales person bust their ass to earn that trip of a lifetime, you only get to see the pictures of them taking selfies from the Eiffel Tower on said trip.

 

Sorry (not sorry) for the graphic ballerina picture.

So, what can YOU (me included) do to make your life your dream life TODAY?  How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time. 

Maybe you sell something that you bought that you don’t need anymore (did you ever need that??) and set that money aside for a debt payment.  Or you make that profile on match.com to see if you can find that one fish in the sea.  Or maybe you cannot eat that rice krispie treat that you REALLY WANTED at Newk’s today at lunch and eat fruit instead.   Or go walk a mile because you don’t can’t seem to do three miles right now.  Baby steps.

 

I love this movie BTW!!

So, anyone with me to make a change TODAY and then the next day and then the next day for your business, personal life, spiritual life, financial life, etc. better for tomorrow and then a month from now, and then a year from now?  The baby steps you take will create a snowball effect on your life to make you that much closer to your dream life and your dream circumstances.

Game Plan:

1.  Make a list of what you want your life to look like within 5 years.  Salary, relationships, financial fitness, physical fitness, etc. 

2.  Break that down by year. Then by months, days, hours, minutes, etc.  Keep in mind that you can't break it down exactly evenly.  Your snowball will take effect at some point and you will begin to see the "light at the end of the tunnel" and start to move faster towards you goal.   

3.  Start with one change at a time, otherwise you might become overwhelmed.  Example:  Don't plan on getting up at 5 am EVERY DAY, NO MATTER WHAT to workout and have a quiet time. Maybe get up 30 minutes earlier for a few weeks to do one or the other.  Then in a few weeks time, get up another 30 minutes earlier to do the other one.  Then a few weeks later add something else.  If you make it your goal to go to the gym for 3 hours a day, but you are tired (burned out) or have errands to run, you will beat yourself up for not doing the "NO MATTER WHAT" scenario in your head, which will leave you deflated and make you want to give up.  Baby Steps.

4.  Give your self a break.  

Remember, ALL OF THE WISHES AND PLAN MAKING WON'T WORK UNTIL YOU TAKE ACTION ON YOUR DREAMS.  You can WISH all you want but you have to go to WORK.

 I'm working on all of these things by the way.  Writing it all out helps me pinpoint my feelings.  I'm not preaching...unless you take it and run with it-then it's all me. LOL. :)

Black Flamingo

Did you know that there are black flamingos in the world?  They are extremely rare.  I found this picture a while ago but I just added the text.  I wasn't sure how to caption it, but I found this quote today.

I saw it on Instagram and it applied perfectly to a situation I am currently going through.  Just because someone is mean to you, you don't have to be like them and be mean back. I found it at the perfect time so I could just breathe it out and not get upset.  I won't be like them, I will be nice and unique...like a black flamingo. :)

 

Foot detoxing

A few weeks ago I went to get a foot massage.  Now, some of those places are not real foot massage places but the one I went to is.  Tip:  If they have a security camera, dark windows and the door is locked then it is NOT a real massage place.  They massage something entirely different. LOL.

I love getting foot massages.  They sit you in a really comfy chair and put your feet in water.  They massage your neck, head and shoulders plus your feet.  It’s awesome and usually a lot cheaper than regular massage parlors.

After my foot massage I was about to pay and I saw a sign about foot detoxing.  I had always wanted to try it so I asked how much it was (about $30) and then decided to do it.  They put your feet in this bath thing and plug in a machine.  I’ve read online that the machine turns a different color because of the salt water and the electric currant but it is the color of the flakes in the water that matter.

Mine turned out SUPER GROSS!  It was all yucky brown and stuff. Nasty.

They have a chart that tells you what the flakes mean.  Brown is detoxing from the liver, tobacco (I don’t smoke) and cellular debris. Plus a little orange from joints. 

Anyway, I don’t know if it is “real” or not, but it was fun and kinda gross. LOL.

Have you ever tried it?

So this happened

A few weeks ago I had my car broken into while eating at Max’s Wine Dive in the Montrose area.  I had parked on the street behind the building because I am too cheap to pay for valet. Haha. :)  Big mistake though because they smashed my back window in because they are assholes.

I walked to my car to find stuff in the driver’s seat and thought it was weird.  It took me a minute to realize that I didn’t leave anything in my seat (never do) so why would it be there?  Then I looked all around my car but didn’t see the smashed window until I walked to the other side (it was dark and my windows are tinted).  My entire window was on the ground.  It had been smashed but the tinting made it stay in one piece when they pulled it out.  They unlocked the front passenger door and rummaged inside.  Everything was out of console and glove box was strewn about the car, making my car look even messier.

My car is usually a mess inside because honestly 1.  I am just a messy person (stuff not trash) and 2.  I travel a lot.  I live on the East side of Houston, I work on the West side of Houston and I am in both the South side and North side of Houston frequently (North side more though).  I am always traveling to babysit for my niece or going out with friends so I leave a lot of stuff in my car because I need it and it isn’t always easy to go home to pick something up.

I know I need to put everything in the trunk but that’s messy too. LOL.  My trunk has my emergency car kit, my 72 hour bag, and a lawn chair.  I really just need to organize it and I am working on it this weekend. 

What did they take?  My (new) gym bag with my $200 running shoes, my favorite sports bra, workout clothes, and some of my favorite jewelry:  TWO pairs of Kendra Scott earrings plus this awesome beaded disco type necklace that I got so many compliments on (see this link for picture).  Sad day. :/

They also took a beautiful purple snake skin type leather bag that I got at a silent auction (I bid on it JUST for the bag) that had some papers and a Beth Moore bible study.  There were some Mary Kay cd’s in there too.  Just to make light of the situation (because you have to in dark days) I said “Well, they are either going to learn about Mary Kay from the cd’s or Jesus from the Bible, either way they are getting something great out of it”.  LOL.  God knows who will pick up that Bible study, either they will or someone else will when they discard of it.  

Luckily my friend who had gone out to eat with me had not driven too far when I got to my car had stayed with me while I called the cops.  The cops never came and couldn’t give an ETA as to when they would be coming so we just cancelled the call after about an hour of waiting.   They didn’t take anything of too much value so I didn’t file a police report.  I didn’t have electronics or anything in there, just some of my favorite things.  While we were waiting for the police we saw another car drive off with its window smashed too.  I guess the losers got multiple cars that night.

The next day I went to get my window fixed.  It cost about $90 plus about $25 for the window tinting.  I got it fixed at Uni Glass which was wonderful to work with!  I highly recommend them.

So moral of the story:  1. Thieves are assholes who need to get real jobs and contribute something to society.  2. I learned to not keep anything in my car.  3.  Don’t go back to Max’s Wine Dive even though it was a good place to eat.  I don’t want to take another chance of something happening because the area isn’t very safe.

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner

Last week my friend from work, Delia, asked me if I wanted to go with her to Newk’s Eatery since it was now open for business.  I had tried Newk’s in Nacodoches and loved it (they were also a sponsor of the 2014 Driving Jacks Color Run 5K) so I already knew it would be good.

We got there and it was actually their “soft opening” where they were giving out free food to everyone to train their staff.  Score!  Delia and I both got the same thing and both agreed it was wonderful: Half Italian sandwich and half Crab and Lobster Bisque.  As we were leaving they told us that the first 50 people on Monday to show up will get free Newk’s for a Year!!!  Delia and I immediately went back to work and made a calendar appointment to take an early lunch on Monday. :)

When Monday rolled around Delia was sick and went home early. I could either not go or go by myself, iI chose to go by myself  because I had a work errand I needed to make anyway. I was planning on doing a drive by to see if there was a line, but there wasn’t so I got out of my car.  I got there about 10:03 am and was #50!!!  It was cold outside (Cold by Houston’s standards) so you could put your name down and then go back to sit in the car, so that is why there wasn’t a line.  Isn’t that AMAZING???!!!  God knew exactly what time I needed to leave the office to make it there on time.  God is good.

I got my food (pizza this time) and sat down.  Another winner had started talking to me so I moved to his table and talked to him.  His name was Steve and he said that he had heard about it through the paper and lived close enough that he would try and make it.  He got there at 8:15 am and he was 20 something in line.  I can’t believe that people got there that early!  Here I was just planning on being there around 10 am but everyone else had gotten there a lot earlier than me. It was a total God thing, I believe.

In the little black box you got a pair of sunglasses, a koozie, and a pen plus 52 vouchers for $10 in an entrée credit.  So fun!! I do not need to hoard them all!  You are allowed to share since they don’t have your name on them or anything. I gave one to Delia since she was sick and one to two of my co-workers so we can have a team lunch. 

So, THANK YOU NEWK’S EATERY for having this amazing opportunity for your fans!!!  I loved it before and loved it even more now because of my free food! Ha!

ChallengeBox Subscription Box

I have heard of subscription boxes for a while but never really looked into it.  Apparently there is an entire industry of subscription box companies just waiting to take your money monthly.   Interested in golf?  No problem.  Clothes?  Gotcha covered.  Kids crafts? Easy.

I decided I wanted a fitness related box so I searched various ones.  I found one called ChallengeBox that goes along with your FitBit (but it doesn’t have to if you don’t have one).  I signed up and my first box arrived this week!!

They give you a challenge each month and if you hit it that month you will then get an extra item in your box.

I LOVED that they included a hand written note inside my box.  It gave it a personalized touch!

Here is what was inside for February 2016.  

They list things out for you to know what it is. I  think there is a typo on the #1 it is resistance bands instead of resistance balls but I figured it out. ;)

My workout t-shirt was 3 sizes too big.  Usually women’s workout shirts run small so I put down a size that was waaaaaay to big apparently.  That’s OK. I will know for next time and can just donate this shirt.

Saffron Road Lentil Chips, cucumber dill flavor.  I am excited to try these! I haven’t opened them yet but I will soon. 

Stress Relief ball with spikes.  I love rolling these things on my foot after I have worked out.  You can roll them all over your body but I would recommend having a layer of clothes in between because the spikes are hard!

RX Bar Protein Bar, Chocolate Sea Salt flavor.  I really am not a protein bar person so I will just send these in the car package for the troops that I am sending out this week.

Nuun, Grapefruit flavor-I love Nuun but hate grapefruit flavored ANYTHING.  I won’t be using this either.  To the troops it goes!

Oatmega Protein Bar-see above for my dislike of protein bars.  But I will send it on.

Resistance bands in light, medium and heavy resistance levels. These are pretty cool.  I have one resistance band at home but I never use it and I didn’t know they came in different resistance levels.

All in all the box was just OK.  It had some great stuff in it but the stuff just wasn’t for me. I am giving four out of 7 things away (one being my fault because of sizing) so I am not sure $25 is worth some chips, resistance bands and a stress ball.  I might give it one more try next month.

I also didn't like how they do not have a referral program (as far as I could find on the website) that gives you either free stuff or discounts on your next box. 

What about you?  Do you have any subscription box suggestions for me?

What I've Been Up to Lately Vol. 10

I'm not really sure what # this is, but we'll just pretend it's #10.  I have written several blog posts so you will see them over the next few days! :)

Here we go:

Turned in some Buddy Bucks at HEB

Because we are in the Terrible 2's and throw tantrums when we can't get Buddy Bucks when we see the machine.  

Had my Wonton Soup stolen

Thieves are still thieves even when they are super cute.  

Went to a Rocket’s Game 

They won!

Found out it was time.  I didn't find out who they were talking about though. :)

Had a Mary Kay party with a really cute helper

Received my 2016 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo badge

Special Children's Committee!

Hung out with Cinderella

Blew up a Volcano

With this mad scientist

I love the goggles on him!  His hair was super wild when he took them off.  He had put them on his head (like a mad scientist) while his hair was wet.  

Fell in love with this little camper!  

I haven't seen a camper you can pull with your car!  #roadtrip

Roatan, Honduras Take 3

On December 30^th I flew to Roatan, Honduras for the New Year’s weekend. I had never been out of the country on a holiday before so I was excited to see how other countries celebrate.  (technically I was in Venezuela over the 4^th of July but they do not celebrate the US’s holiday over there so I wasn’t going to count that).

 

You walk on the tarmac at this airport!

My Aunt Tracy and Aunt Laura both greeted me at the airport with a Monkey La La at the airport bar.  We went straight to the West End section of the island to pick up my uncles and my cousin.  We just hung out the rest of the day and evening.  It is sooooo relaxing there!

The next day my uncle took me snorkeling.  I FREAK OUT snorkeling in Roatan because the water is so clear that you think fish are 4 feet away but they can really be 15+ feet away.  BUT, you don’t realize that in your head and you freak out. At least that’s what I do.  My aunt’s house has a long dock on it that has great snorkeling around it but you have to swim through turtle grass to get to it.  I know it’s irrational but it freaks me out. 

 

We also took the boat out one day

Anyway, to fix my fear he made me hold on to a pink water noodle and he stayed with me the entire time.  I did freak out a little but not as much as I did the last time when I almost killed my aunt while snorkeling with her.  Needless to say, my entire family doesn’t go anywhere near me while snorkeling so it was quite a pleasant surprise when my uncle helped me. :)  My Uncle Roger always took care of us when we were little though so I shouldn’t have been surprised.   Thanks Uncle Rog!

That night we went to a restaurant in the West End called the Blue Marlin for their New Year’s Eve celebration.  I haven’t had so much fun on NYE before.  I am forever spoiled by Roatan.  The Blue Marlin had a steak and lobster dinner with champagne, fireworks and dancing…all for $40!  I usually spend between $100-$200 on NYE (depending on what I am doing) so $40 is awesome.  The food was awesome, the fireworks were bright, and the dancing was fun!  I can’t even begin to explain how awesome it was.  When I got sick of dancing (I only like to dance to songs I know) I would sit by the water and just listen to the waves crashing.  So peaceful on one hand but exciting from the music behind me.

 

I spent a lot of time reading in these hammocks!

The next day my aunt had invited several of her friends from the island over for lunch.  I was on my tablet when I saw a message on Facebook from my sister.  I couldn’t open it for some reason so I figured I would just wait until I could turn my phone’s wi-fi on.  I figured it was just a note asking if I was having fun.  A few hours later I was able to turn it on and saw that she had sent me a note saying that my dad had been having chest pains and was about to go in for surgery.  He had had a heart attack several years ago so this wasn’t the first time.  In the days leading up to it he had what he though was heart burn but since it continued for 3 days straight, they decided to go to the hospital.  It turns out that one of his stints had come loose and he needed it repaired.

I was a crying/sobbing mess that I couldn’t get anyone on the phone and I couldn’t get there.  There is one flight back to Houston a day and it left at 2 pm.  I didn’t have time to make it to the airport on time, even if there had been space.  I was able to get ahold of my sister and then my step-mom and they assured me that he was fine.  They had asked the doctor if they needed me to fly back right away but the doctor said he was ok and would be fine to wait until I got home.  I talked to him that afternoon and felt much better about being so far away.  It is so hard being that far away and pretty much helpless because you can’t catch a flight back.  People were starting to get to the house for lunch so I went upstairs after I talked to him to regroup.  Both my aunt and uncle came up to check on me and see how I was doing.  They’re awesome.

After a while I felt ok enough to go downstairs and be with people.  Sometimes you just need a few minutes by yourself after you get bad news.  We all ate lunch (including cabbage for money and peas for good luck) and then played games well into the night.  I brought the Bean Boozled game from Jelly Belly with me and it was a huge hit!  We all took turns spinning the wheel and eating good or bad jelly beans.  Some of the were really bad! :)  We all also played Cards Against Humanity which is hilarious!  I had played a few times before but I especially got into it for this game.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing on the beach or dock.  My aunt took me and her friend Jackie to this abandoned resort on the east side of the island.  It is still kept up really nice but no one goes there anymore.  There are guards at the front gate but if you ask nicely they will let you take a peak.  We stayed at the dock for about an hour just talking. 

My Uncle Roger and Aunt Laura left Sunday afternoon and we left Monday afternoon.  I did get a chance to take a picture of this little fish that we think was protecting its eggs.  All of the snorkelers on the dock were complaining this little grey fish was biting them when they were getting on/off the ladder.  On the other side of the platform I saw a post that had a hole in it (that really needs repairing btw) and a little grey fish just swimming by it and chasing all of the other fish away.  I asked and they think it probably had laid its eggs in there and that’s why it was being so protective.  I couldn’t really get a good picture, but you can still sort of see.