Baby steps to a better future

Well, I am not completely back into the swing of writing every day, but I am taking baby steps. Baby steps to a better blog is right in lines with my baby steps to a better future on the whole. This week was the first week that I didn't take meal breaks with no food. I made my lunches and then took them to work to eat while on the clock. I am absolutely in love with the blog, Cotter Crunch.

Maintaining New Year's Resolutions - Saving Money

Continuing with my mini-series, let's talk money today. Everyone LOVES to talk money when it comes to MAKING money ... but no one likes to talk about SAVING money. It's hard and it means making sacrifices. Saving money means looking at your income and thinking about expenses that may or may not be needed.

So, how do you go about saying, "I want to save money this year" and then actually see it happen? Read on ... and if you have any ideas, feel free to comment! Please share with others you think might find this post beneficial or those who might have some great input. I love seeing comments on my blog posts. *Note - make sure you sign up for my mailing list so you do not miss any posts or deals!*

Analyzing Bills

The first step in saving money is to analyze your bills. There are some things that you just cannot get rid of. These include:

• Housing (mortgage, rent, property taxes)
• Food
• Utilities (gas, water, trash, electricity)
• Insurance
• Vehicle (monthly payment, registration, insurance)
• Phone (I put this in unavoidable because I have kids ... communication is a necessity)

These are the bills that you need to plan for and make sure that you get covered. We spend no more than 1/3 of our monthly income on housing costs and then do everything in our power to keep all of the other bills as low as possible. It may sound crazy, but we can get by on roughly $100 to $130 a week for food for our family of six. Part of that is because we have children in school, and the rest is just shopping the deals (will cover that a little later).

Giving Up the Extras

It is really hard to live a lifestyle that will save money. You have to be willing not eat out at all (or on rare occasions). You have to be willing to learn how to do-it-yourself, such as mending clothing and making your own decorations. My older sister will occasionally show on her blog how she sees something she likes, and then makes something very similar for MUCH less. It isn't a savings of only a few dollars (although that also adds up), but sometimes it is $50 to $100 less! Learn to make coffee at home instead of stopping at Starbucks or search Pinterest for copycat recipes.

Shop Frugal

IF you have the ability, then put the money you save into your savings account. That is where I hope to be later this year. I want to purchase the same items I am now, but put the money I would have spent on the name brand into my savings. This will give you a great way to see how much you are saving by shopping differently. We love to shop at the Dollar Tree. I get a lot of my staples there that I would have to pay more for elsewhere. It isn't always the cheapest. It is often cheaper to go to Aldi's for a can of corn and then grocery stores often have sales on canned products. If you are used to spending $.99 on a canned vegetable for the name brand, and get a can for $.39, you are able to put $.60 in your savings account. If you think of only one can a day, every day for a year, you have put nearly $220 in your savings account! See how easy it will be to build a savings if you deposit the money you didn't spend?

Use Cash When Possible

Oh, how I LOVE Dave Ramsey and his envelope system. It is one of the key things to our success. We literally do not go shopping without taking the cash we plan to spend. If you don't want to carry actual cash, then put it on a gift card. This works great for gassing up the vehicle, grocery shopping, holiday shopping, and any other time when you have a very strict budget. Again, if you are under budget, put the extra into your savings account and let it gain interest!

The best part about this method is you are in complete control of how much you save. We have found a few things that we want to spend the money on because it is important to us. However, we went for awhile without these luxuries ... including gym memberships. What are you doing to save money this year? Is this one of your New Year's Resolutions? Let me know in the comments below!

Maintaining New Year's Resolutions - Losing Weight

When I was reading other blogs and my friends' Facebook statuses, I noticed a trend on New Year's Resolutions. They seemd to all be about losing weight, saving money, getting healthier, getting a better job, and managing stress better. I know they all seem cliche, but honestly ... these are the keys to a happy and healthy life! They are also things that I am looking to achieve this year ... except for the getting a better job. I love my job ... I just have a vision for my job!

I thought I would do a short mini series to talk about how to maintain your New Year's Resolutions throughout the year. Things you can do and resources available. To start the mini series off, I'm going to talk about losing weight. Since this is something that is a real struggle for me, I would love comments on how you have lost weight in the past. Do not take this personally, but I am not looking for anything that deals with quick fixes, pills, miracle shakes, wraps, or surgery. That isn't my style and it isn't what I will be covering in my blog. I was a Beachbody Health Coach and while I LOVE their products ... I want to be clear that I do not think the shakes are a fix-it. They are also not in my budget for a large family.

Losing weight is a VERY hard task. It is something that you want immediate results and it just does not work that way. Sorry! I keep hoping that I will wake up one morning and I'm just thin. Wouldn't that be awesome? Yeah ... I have to work for it. I ate horribly for YEARS and put on the weight. I went from 180 to 267 in 13 years. It isn't just going to come off. That is the first hurdle that you must pass. Putting losing weight on your resolution list is great ... but you must realize that it will take some time.

Small Goals

The first task in achieving your New Year's Resolution of losing weight is to set small goals. These goals should be attainable! Here are my goals so you can get an idea of what you should put down for your goals.

• Lose 2 pounds a week
• Be going to the gym 3x a week for 30 minutes by the end of February
• Be going to the gym 5x a week for 30 minutes by the end of March
• Be going to the gym 5x a week for 45 minutes by the end of April
• Get back into Water Fitness by the end of April
• Be drinking 10 cups of water a day by the end of January
• Be drinking 1/2 my body weight a day in water by the end of March
• Sign up and participate in a 5K Race
• Eat clean and/or Paleo for 80% of my diet by the end of January

Notice there are a LOT of small goals. I want something that I can hit and achieve. You NEED deadlines. If I just put "going to the gym 3x a week for 30 minutes" ... I have given myself the ability to delay it all year! I know that losing weight is diet AND exercise.

Change the Diet

You are what you eat. You cannot expect to lose weight and still eat pizza, fast food, and other junk. I have participated in one clean eating challenge already this year and am preparing for my second. Changing the diet is actually something that can be done all at once, but it is best if you do it slowly. We are first increasing our fruit & vegetable intake and decreasing our carb intake. We have cut a lot of dairy out of our diet, mainly because Turtle and I seem to have lactose intolerance issues. I now make sure that my plate is 1/2 fruits and vegetables, 1/4 protein, and then 1/4 starch. There are so many options when it comes to finding a diet for you, just adjust them to meet your needs. I don't like high protein meals because of the costs, but I don't want vegan meals either. I am not saying they are wrong ... they just aren't for our family!

Eliminate the Temptation

I have absolutely no willpower when it comes to sweets. One of the worst things for me is Pinterest. I had to completely cut out my boards that pin sweets because then I end up craving the sugar! Now when food comes up on my Pinterest feed, it is all Paleo, healthier desserts, and clean. This allows me to feel okay with pinning it and thinking about making it. I do make sweets, especially for parties, but I know how to Google.

Figure out what tempts you and get rid of it. By not having desserts made up, I am less likely to binge on them. I am not sugar free yet, and I do look forward to the day where I can be completely free of those types of desserts ... but I'm not there yet. I'm not even sure I will be there before the end of the year. You know what though, it's not on my goal list for right now, so I'm okay with that!

Schedule Workouts

My biggest hangup is working out. I have an exercise area in my basement, but I do better when I leave the house and don't have my kids bugging me non-stop. I use working out as a way to de-stress. I cannot do that with four children whining and complaining at me over everything. Therefore, I am working on getting a schedule down that works with Jeremy's schedule. One that I will make it out of the house and get some time to myself to workout.

I was very ill and so I realize that I am going to need to work up to working out again. I can't just jump into it because I did, technically, just have surgery performed on my throat. While I am feeling SO much better and want to start working out again ... it is important for me to remember that I need to let my body heal. It is the same for you. If you are going from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one, let your body build up to it. You will burn out otherwise and not be able to maintain your weightloss throughout the year.

Okay ... so, finally ... here are the apps that I am currently using to get healthy (these are all on Android but should also be available for iPhones):

• Blogilates
• C25K
• Endomondo
• MapMyFitness
• MyFitnessPal
• Runtastic
• WeightTracker

I also am using Runtastic's and Zen Lab's other apps for specific toning.

How are you planning on maintaining your New Year's Resolution of losing weight? Let me know in the comments below!

Reaching my vision through babysteps

So, my focus word this year is Vision and I chose that word because I want to focus on the vision I have for my life. Where I see myself in ten years. I have some pretty hefty ideas, but I can't reach any of them until I break it down into goals that will help me achieve that vision. Each of my goals then must have tasks to achieve those goals. It's a very complicated process. It can also be overwhelming.

To help prevent being overwhelmed, I have decided to look at things in a very micromanaged fashion. I am a Type-A Parent and this year, they are doing a challenge to grow your blog. Since blogging is on my vision board, I decided it would be a great thing to participate in!

Not too late to join either!

Month one is all about looking at your goals for 2015 for your blog, creating a topic editorial calendar, and planning your posts for the month of January. I also worked on a mission statement for my blog. I want this blog to be a place parents can come to find tools and resources, but I also want it to be about caring for your health in mind, body, and soul. Where moms feel empowered and not guilty about being more than moms. It is my hope that through this year, I will be able to fulfill my mission.

In addition to the challenge, I am using a goals planner from Tools4Wisdom. They sent it to me free to test and review, so you will see updates on how this planner is helping me throughout the year! I have started to fill out the front, which is all about your goals and what steps you need to take to achieve those goals. Then you break it down to each month. What is your biggest goal for the month, what are other things you want to achieve that month. After you have that setup, then you can plan your to-dos for the month to achieve  those goals.

Finally, I am making it a mission to fill out a weekly plan sheet for my Mary Kay business. I really want to become a Sapphire Star so I am taking small steps to achieve that goal. I love everything Mary Kay is about, because I am not being pushed to this goal ... it is just one I have set for myself. They don't make me feel guilty about going the pace that I want AND I get 50% off my makeup, so it's a win/win for me.

Anyway, my desk has become chaos with all my planning stages so I am looking forward to having my workspace reorganized. Right now it's a hot mess of highlighters and colored pens.

So, what are your New Year's Resolutions? How are you working to keep them throughout the year?

Moving towards a goal (in pictures)

I know that many of you know one of my biggest goals this year is to lose weight and become healthy. I had been working on it throughout 2014 but I never got fully serious. This year is different. I haven't been on my blog much this week because I have been resetting my life. Being healthy is much more than just working out. You have to eat right, sleep right, drink water, and exercise. Your body is complex.

Many people believe that if they burn as many calories as they take in, they will maintain weight. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. I have stopped calorie counting because I found that if I eat properly, I have no problems keeping on speaking terms with my scale.

So, this past week I have changed my diet (started going towards Clean Eating and Paleo - but still have carbs in a few meals when I will be doing a heavy workout) and set up an area to work out. I know that with four children and one vehicle, the odds of me getting to the gym as often as I would like isn't likely. I don't want that to be an excuse ... Here's my week:

Homemade fish sticks, homemade slaw, sauteed zucchini

workout area before treadmill, pilates, stepper, pullup bar, step aerobics step, yoga mat, and bosu ball were added

organized my laundry area and food pantry so I know exactly what I have

Chicken & Couscous Salad with sauteed zucchini

Shrimp Penne with steamed asparagus

How are you moving towards your goals? Let me know in the comments below!

Got it started

After a lot of brainstorming yesterday, and thinking on what I really wanted to do, I decided to name my creative side. Ginger Hawkins will be the name I use when writing novels and I am keeping her separate from Birdcage Media. The reason ... I don't ever want to feel like my novel writing is a job. It is what I do for fun ... to release the ideas always forming in my head.

So, I have made a Facebook page and a blog for Ginger. She even has an email! While I will definitely update some of the things I am doing with my novels on this blog, since it is a personal blog, most of my novel writing will be updated there. I will still use my Twitter and Pinterest accounts with her.

Thank you so much for all the support you have offered me as I travel down a new path with some of my writing.

Changes over a decade

I was asked to select a photo from 10 years ago, and compare it to a photo taken recently. What has changed? How do I view myself differently? Well, 10 years ago I had a 1 year old and now I have an 11, 9, 3, and 1 yr old (rounding up for my early 2014 birthdays). I have learned and changed, a lot. I have discovered those who accept me for who I am, those who are willing to hold my hand through trials, and those who were friends for statistical purposes (at least that is what I see them as now).

12/03

11/13

One of the hardest things one can ever do is look back over the past decade. I had a hard time selecting a photo of myself from late 2003 to match with 2013. Not because I hated the way I looked, but because I was not into having my photo taken. I have thousands of photographs of Peanut, though.

That got me thinking. Much of my life has been spent thinking about my weight. I am always depressed about my size. What is scary is that between 2003 and 2013, I have gained 60 pounds. I have not lost much more than 30 and put it all back on. This year, that is going to change. I am working to get my affairs in order and reserve 90 minutes a day that is mine. That is when I will work out and then shower.

Many moms will agree that it is very hard to put yourself first at any point in the day. Especially when you have children that need you. However, I realized that I am having a hard time keeping up with them. I don't care why this may be, I just want it to change. To make it easier for me, I have told myself that I want the change FOR the kids.

Here are my goals:
~ Work out 30 min a day 3x a week. After 4 weeks of success, I will bump it up to 4x a week. Again, after 4 weeks of success, I will bump it up to 5x a week. This will repeat until I do some form of exercise every day of the week.
~ Eventually work up to Blogilates & purchase the Fitness Journal
~ Eat clean (meat at 1 meal and other protein at all other meals, vegetarian 1 day a week)
~ Drink more water
~ Be completely soda free by my birthday (10/23/2014)
~ Make meals from scratch again by the time school is out (end of May 2014) using my subscription to eMeals (ask me how to enter a drawing for an iPad).

So... what is my end goal?

While I would love this transformation-

   

 I will be happy with any steady weight loss and an increase of energy.

My Focus Word 2014

My Focus word for 2013 was:

This year, I am focusing on the word:

• Growth in Self ~ I plan to spend this year continuing to explore who I am and what I am capable of. I want to expand my love for others, my care for myself, and take classes to grow in knowledge.
• Growth in Family ~ I would love this year for our family to continue to grow closer together. I want to take a family vacation by the end of this year. I have started this by initiating family journaling time. We will start forming our own traditions and break away from old habits.
• Growth in Company ~ I am eager to see my business continue to grow. I stated yesterday that I want to attend one or two blog conferences. I would also love to really see my page views and page rank to grow. As far as BCM, I want to see it really take off with private clients. I take control of the writing aspect, and my husband handles the web development. We have the possibility of being an indestructible duo
• Growth in Spirituality ~ Jer and I have great dreams to be sealed as a family. We are working to get to the point where we can all attend church again (as in, I am not working). We need to get Willow named and then work as a family unit. I want to have family prayer time and scripture reading. I am hoping by the end of this year that we can be a unit that is held by the bonds of faith, hope, and love.

Farewell to 2013

Source Unknown - anyone know?

Your past is just a story. And once you realize this, it has no power over you. ~ Chuck Palahniuk

Source

No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again. ~ Jack Kornfield

My Goals for 2014

I have never been a fan of resolutions because I am usually a huge failure with them.

At the beginning of 2013, I was living in a 2 bdrm apartment with my husband and my littlest. By the end of January, we had finally moved into our current 3 bdrm townhome. 6 months later, we had everyone back home. My business really took off and now the year is coming to a close. I sat this past month reflecting on the year and what I want from 2014. This is what I came up with:

• Becoming Healthy - I will be adding a fitness part to my blog next year. I will update on Wednesdays what my weight is (weigh-in Wednesday) and I will do my measurements on the first. I am VERY scared to post this publicly because I am so ashamed of how big I am. When I do my weigh-in, I will give an update on the products I am trying, my workout regimes, and anything else that helps me stay motivated. Feel free to join me, I will also be on My Fitness Pal and posting picture updates on Instagram with the hashtag #BecomeHealthy2014
• Family Journaling - I am going to set a time with my family (may just be me and the kids) and make family journals. We will pull out our journals and answer a question or writing prompt. We can then reflect on our answers at the end of the year and keep them for the future.
• Attend a Blog Conference - I am determined to attend at least one blog conference. I am hoping for two. I want to attend the Bloggy Boot Camp on April 5th in St. Louis, MO and the Bloggy Conference on September 12-14 in Sandusky, OH. The BlogHer Conference will have to wait until 2015.
• Family Vacation - I would like to take ONE family vacation this year. I want to go somewhere outside of Kansas and I want to stay for more than just one day. Since we have more than a people than the standard 4 or 5, we have to plan a little bit more than usual. I think it is possible and we need to make it a goal.

I already plan to take you on my journey through parenting and kid events. My blog will continue to spotlight technology (especially with my children being more tech-friendly), meal planning, frugal living, and BCM.

I do so hope you will continue traveling with me as I grow and share my journey. I am on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

New Year!

Today sparked a new year. I would love to say that my new resolution is to keep up on my blog, to lose weight, and to do more with my kids. I swear I say that every year though. SO, I am not resolving to do it. My resolutions are going to be:

~ Promote my writing business
~ Support my husband in all his endeavors
~ Do something fun every day
~ Desire to live in a healthy manner
~ Make sure my kids know I love them every day

Does that not sound much more achievable?

Today was annual Global Family Day where you are to feed a needy family. I failed today as it snowed yesterday and Willow is ill. I had no desire to get out and do a darn thing. We will drum up some cool ideas for next year and I am sure the kids will enjoy doing something for others.

Many people have asked us where Turtle's name came from. I think I probably should shed some light on that.
Willow - It is English and means from the Willow Grove. HOWEVER, we chose this name because my husband's grandfather's second wife was named Wilma. She passed in 2011 with the thought that no one would ever name a child after her. I am sure she is smiling down on our little Willow Bear knowing that we chose to alter Wilma so that it would fit into today's culture perfectly!
Ambher - English and means red/orange. My mother once told me that she was going to name me Amber Dawn because of the color of my hair and when I was born. She went with Heather, however, and I wanted a part of that history in my family. I love the "h" in there, so that is why it is spelled Ambher ... it is NOT a typo!
Rose - English and means rose *laugh* ... I liked the name. Nothing else to put here.

If we had a boy, his name was going to be Patrick Arlen Cole. I still love this as a boy's name ... BUT we are done having kids. My body barely made it through this last pregnancy and delivery. It is time to make sure that we are done, even if it is a decision I regret later.

Off to a good start

I told myself I would not make any specific New Year's Resolution. I don't resolve to do anything new really ... I just want to get back to me! I had a really rough 2011 that I would really just like to forget. So I sat back and thought, who am I? I am a mother who loves crafting, spending time with her children, baking and animals. Those aren't new resolutions, I just have lost myself over the past year ... or years.


This week I have attempted to get back on track. I have started tracking my food again, started packing my husband's lunches, and have continued in making crafts. We have tried new methods in our household structure and I feel that we have a long way to go before we are where I am hoping to be. I am feeling hopeful.

For those like me who don't make resolutions, what are you hoping 2012 brings for you?

New Year, New Life!

I am SO glad 2011 is done. Good riddance. I am ready to start 2012 off fresh and new. I don't really believe in New Year's Resolutions, but my husband and I do take stock in what we have accomplished and what needs to be fixed. Among the things we have noticed is the need for us to get to a healthier state, a routine with structure that works for our family, and more down time for us adults.


Jeremy and I are DONE being unhealthy. We have decided that there is just no getting around the fact we have GOT to shed pounds and we have GOT to get out of the house to do it. Until tax return, we plan to go walking around the park on nice evenings and walking around our dying outlet mall in Olathe for the colder days. When we get our tax return, we are going to pay for a year membership at the Y so that we don't have to worry about any bills for a year. The kids have been begging to go back to the Y, even though it is a drive. I LOVE our Y and have missed it greatly myself. In addition to working out, we are going to start eating better meals for breakfasts and lunches. Dinners we already do pretty good on. I am eager to travel to Gardner twice a month to make fresh pasta with a friend. My mixer, her attachment, kids playing .... yes, totally see this as GREAT times by all. Our goals - Jeremy wants to lose 30lbs by the end of the year and I would like to lose 50lbs.

We need structure in this house! I am STRUGGLING with being an at home mom, a teacher, a wife, and still being me! I realized that our routine we had going prior to Chloe entering the picture has been washed away and I need to come up with something creative and new. So we have started holding Family Meetings every Sunday night. At our meetings, we discuss plans for the upcoming week, any concerns a child has, any activity the child knows about, and above all, showing that  we respect each family member. We started scripture reading & story time every evening at 7pm, unless we have a 4-H event. The kids enjoy reading from the New Testament and I am sure they will enjoy the story time where we pick a book and they read to me every evening. The big change we are making is adding a reward system with the use of marbles. I will post the system at the bottom of the blog for those who are wanting to know more in depth, but basically we have a large jar (Mason Qt jar) for accumulating acts. There is NO removal of marbles from this jar. Then we have 2 small jars (we used Stage 3 baby food) that is for their daily marbles. Here is where they start out with marbles and can gain and lose them. They will get a daily reward if earned and then they can accumulate points for a weekly reward. The kids are VERY excited about this to go into affect tomorrow. We will see how it goes. The entire system cost under $20 for supplies.

You will notice a HUGE change to my blog in appearance. I have separated my blogs out so that those who don't care to read about natural parenting, don't have to ... but ALSO because I am going to start reviewing products and doing giveaways. I have gotten into writing and am making a little money on the side but have decided that I enjoy it so much, I might as well get better with my blog and help other mamas and businesses out. At this time, my reviews will all be from small companies OR work-at-home parents. I have a few that will be starting soon. I will be testing a product and then giving away either a product or a discount from that company. I am very excited about this change. So with our new schedule, we are looking at me having time to myself and ability to play from 8pm to about midnight. Of course, that does depend on Chloe. Jeremy will be getting his downtime from the time he gets done with work until 4:30pm. I am very excited about the prospects. However, if you are following this blog, you will want to follow the other blogs to make sure you catch the updates.

Large Jar (quart mason jar)

To get marbles:

~ All chores done – 1 marble

~ Any time child responds to non-yelling commands – 1 marble

~ Resolving fights on your own – 2 marbles

~ Finishing school work by the end of the day – 2 marbles

~ Finishing school work early & correctly – 1 marble

~ Getting caught being good – 2 marbles

~ More than 4 marbles at the end of the jar each day – 1 marble

~ More than 8 marbles at the end of the jar each day – 2 marble

Personal Jar (Stage 3 baby food jar)

To get marbles:

~ All chores done without being informed – 1 marble

~ Doing an extra chore without being asked – 1 marble

~ Respond to commands without yelling each day – 2 marble

~ Finishing school work early & correctly – 1 marble

Lose marbles:

~ Simple disobedience(not doing what you’re told) – 1 marble

~ Physical attack on sibling – 1 marble

~ Leaving a mark(scratch or red mark) – 2 marbles

~ Drawing blood – 3 marbles

~ Urgent Care trip – 5 marbles

~ Meltdowns – 1 marble

~ Not finishing schoolwork by 4:30pm *exceptions for special days* – 1 marble

~ Name calling – 1 marble

~ Yelling or escalating a fight – 1 marble

~ Interrupting – 1 marble

~ Repeat questions – 1 marble

~ Bad words – 1 marble

~ Lying – 1 marble

~ Stealing – 2 marbles

~ End in thinking time –1 marble *extended time out is more marble*

~ Sent to extended thinking time *bedroom* - 2 marbles

Rewards –

Personal Jar

          ~ 4 marbles at the end of the day – 1 cookie

          ~ 8 marbles at the end of the day – 2 cookies

          ~ Each marble you have at the end of the day you get 1minute of Wii or Computer game time on Saturday – guaranteed! *5 marbles at endof the day = 5 minutes*

Large Jar

          ~ First time Filled *FUN* – movie day, park day, other free events

          ~ Second time Filled *PARTY* – movie theater, pizza party,Monkey Bizness, or other paid events