Monday, January 20, 2014

My Crazy COKE Addiction

Last month I drank a can of Coca-Cola every. single. day. Some days I even drank up to 2 or 3 cans. I wanted to see how it made made feel both physically and emotionally. Here are some things I noticed:

- it made me pretty crabby
- I felt "on edge" a lot
- I felt stressed out
- I wasn't sleeping too well
- I felt sluggish every day
- my body always ached.....my joints felt weird

So, in January I decided to kick the Coca- Cola habit for the month. Actually, I am not drinking any soda at all this month. I am definitely feeling better in every single way......plus, it's definitely helping with my weight loss. All the tips I've read on losing weight always recommend that you never drink your calories.

I definitely miss my Coca-Cola but I am drinking a ton of water and when I feel like drinking something different I drink lemonade or some Crystal Light. I know that I definitely need to cut down on my soda intake so in February I plan to only drink it on special occasions.


Saturday, January 4, 2014

Balboa Lake

Another beautiful day in California today! A friend of mine posted a picture of all the snow in Samara on Facebook right now and even though I do miss the snow and cold......it was just an absolutely gorgeous day.

So, we headed out to Balboa Lake. It's basically a huge park with a man made lake and lots of walking/biking paths. There were a lot of people out today so it was also fun for people watching. I overheard 6 different Russians as we walked along the paths.


The boys finally had a lot of fun riding their Razors.

The day was so nice that after lunch we headed to a different park closer to home.


Friday, January 3, 2014

New Year - New Goals

As the new year rolls around everyone usually sets their resolutions. Some people can be pretty negative about the whole idea but I see setting goals or resolutions as something positive. It just so happens that a new year is a great time for many people to re-evaluate their lives and try to make changes. I think the problem is when we try to accomplish these goals on our own strength and will.

There are some things in my life that I definitely need to work on. One being my quiet times with the Lord. In the last couple of years I have done a reading through the Bible plan which I still plan to continue. While we lived in Russia I had the privilege of teaching in my small group and in a couple of other wives' groups........this kept me accountable and also allowed me to really dig into the Word and actually study it. I have to confess that I haven't been so great at studying Scripture since we've moved back. So, I am starting "The Book-A-Month Bible Study". The study can be found here on the TMS Seminary Wives link. You will just need to scroll down to page 5. I am personally going through the book of I Peter in January and I am super excited about it.

Another area in my life where I need to really make some changes is in my diet and exercise. Seriously, how in the world did 30 extra pounds creep up on me since I've been married??? I suppose it's age and metabolism but the bottom line is that it's also self-control and discipline!!!
Lately I haven't been wanting to have pictures taken of myself or I hide behind my kids. I'd like to lose 10 pounds by summer time and I'll set another goal then. I'm blogging about it because I figure it doesn't hurt to have this blog as a chronicle of these goals and to periodically check in about them.

There are many other goals or resolutions I have and I pray that in the Lord's strength that I will be able to maintain faithful to working on all of them. After all, in Philippians 2:12 the apostle Paul encourages us to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" meaning that I am to constantly be pursuing obedience in the process of my sanctification!

How about you, how do you feel about resolutions or goals in the new year? Have you made any?

Here are two encouraging articles on New Year's resolutions and Jonathan Edwards' resolutions.

Paul Tripp on Ringing in the New Year

Matt Perman on How to be Productive in 2013

The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards



Posted also on: Weekly Wrap - Up

Thursday, January 2, 2014

The Huntington

This past weekend my sisters and I went to the Huntington in San Marino. It's not only a library but there are amazing gardens, the home were Mr. Huntington lived, and museums. It has been a few years since I have been there and there are several improvements that have been made.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we really enjoyed our time there.



Cherry blossoms are beginning to bloom.


The only pointsetta plant on the grounds.


Beautiful flowers all over the gardens.

The Guttenberg Bible

The Japanese Gardens



The Boy Blue.

If you want to read more on the Huntington you can check out their site here.