New beginnings

I don't recommend moving, starting to homeschool an 11 year old girl and buying a 90 year old house all at the same time.  Why?  Because it's my life right now and it is crazy pants.

In the Spring of 2016, we starting hearing about a specific job in a small town that would be perfect for us.  A town that we have always wanted to live in.  To get away from the big city would be a dream so we were pretty excited.
Around that time, my daughter started struggling in school again.  I could write another whole post on that but I'm trying to stay focused here.  Long story short, she did well in a private school with two teachers and a smaller class but the next year at that same school was a totally different experience. So we were back to hours of crying and correcting every day after school.  Anyway, I just couldn't take it anymore so we brought her home with us for me to homeschool just before the end of the year. It was the best decision some days......other days, not so much.  

We got word soon after that decision that the job was his and we started getting the house ready to put on the market.  My girl learned all about selling a house along with school.  Oh why didn't we fix all of those things in the house sooner so we could enjoy them?!  But it paid off because the house sold in 2 days!

We had a month or so before we could physically move out of the house so we kind of enjoyed it. The kids went to camp, we found our old/new house, and we decided to go ahead and go on our big family vacation.  The movers packed up our stuff and we left the next day for the beautiful Smoky Mountains.  But we were stress balls!  We had a beautiful cabin WAY up on the side of a mountain but nobody slept well. We all tried our best to love being there, and we did most days, but the move was looming over our heads the whole time. We knew when we got back it would be a whirlwind because of the closing and having to really saying good bye to everyone. Intense emotions all around for sure.  We're a military family that's used to moving but we were in that house and neighborhood for 8 years.  Our kids grew up SOOOO much in that house and it was awful saying goodbye even if we were moving to our dream town near the river.

And our new/old house?  The 90 year old one?  She's a beauty and the previous owners kept a lot of the original charm but some days that charm just equals OLD. And we aren't used to it.  We had dreams of painting her up and loving downsizing but it's just so different here.  I'll write more about this later but for now I just wanted to get where we are right now, up on this blog.

I've missed this blog so much and have strayed away from so many things that I love. I've let my thyroid illness steal away so much joy and have let comparison creep in.  I've made some tough decisions and some dumb decisions the past few years and I've had to let some things go..... BUT I'm still living! And I realized that what I have loved the most in the past is to write and share here on this blog.  So I'm putting my focus back to this blog in hopes that I can create a spark of happiness back in my life.

I had a good friend give me the advice about this blog years ago.  I felt like the name Fit2feelbetter put me in a fitness box and that I couldn't ever branch out from it but she gently reminded me that we could all strive to be "fitter" in so many other areas of life.   Not only physically fit, but emotionally, spritually, relationally, and financially fit. And she is so right.  I'm excited to get back to my "roots".        

Christmas thoughts

I’ve thought about abandoning this blog.  I’ve been gone too long.  Who cares and who reads anyway?  But the thought of one person reading and taking away something keeps me going.  Just one person.  This will get personal and maybe even uncomfortable.  But I know without a doubt that I’m not the only one going through hard times.  And some may even say that my hard times aren’t even really hard.  But they’re mine and I’m owning them. 

Christmas time was so fun and full of life when I was young.  So many presents and meals and good times.  Until a few days before Christmas when I was 16 and my Grandaddy passed away unexpectedly.  I will never get over burying him the day after Christmas.  He was a rock in our family.  It took a long time to get over it.  And now that I have my own kids, I work SO, so hard to keep Christmas happy and to keep them from being disappointed.  But this year, Christmas is different again.  I wish I could explain more but it’s not my story to tell.  My own little family is fine but we are feeling the weight of loss and heartbreak right now.  And while we are hurting, I’m learning the lesson again of the danger of making Christmas so perfect and unattainable that nothing should break it.   But the fact of the matter is, I do try but it breaks. 

So what do I do with this?  I keep thinking of Jesus being born in the manger.  Surely Mary thought differently of where the King should be born.  I can only imagine how she probably tried to make everything perfect for him.  But she couldn’t. And neither can I.  All I can do is ask him into my broken manger.  Into my broken heart.  This big city is still not what we hoped and expected. But I ask him in anyway.  My body is broken with a thyroid disease that was painful and scary and still I have to ask him in to help me carry on when I’m so so tired and weak.  My kids make decisions that I wouldn’t and I ask him in.  Our broken mangers. 

Will you invite him in with me?  Our pastor uses the following words when asking for the Lord to come into your life (for the first time or just again): 

Sorry

Thank You

Please

Sorry for going my own way

Thank you for dying on the cross for me

Please come into my life. 

That’s all we have to do. 

He’s not unattainable and he’s not waiting for perfection. 

Smart Success Seminar Story

I had an incredible time at the Smart Success Seminar this past weekend.  I learned that your personal life and your business go hand in hand.  You cannot separate them and you don't really want to!  If you are looking to amp up your life and business please contact me so that we can chat about the seminar.  It would be my pleasure.

My motivation

I've had a few people ask me about what motivates me lately. This picture just about sums it up. For me, it's not about rock hard abs. It's about the fact that I hiked up that very steep mountain WITH my kids and got to see a view that I will never forget. Was it hard? Yes, but I wouldn't trade that feeling for the world. What are you willing to work hard for? Who are you wanting to feel better for? Find your MOTIVATION and run with it.

Do you have a word for this year? My word is ~BREATHE~. I am a jaw clincher, breath holder and it takes a huge toll on my body. I constantly have a stiff neck, jaw and shoulders because of this problem. I'm learning to make myself stop and take big deep breaths throughout the day. I'm doing it not only during my workouts but in everyday life as well.

What is your word?

Currently

finishing up the first phase of Focus T25, my latest workout program

learning from the Smart Success videos from Chalene Johnson

cooking homemade chicken broth (after seeing a horrible video about "natural" flavors)
tending to poison ivy on my boy
listening to Just a Fool by Christina Aguilera
crushing on these workout tops

via

missing this place

Arrival in Silverton and a day trip to Ouray

I'm finally continuing on with our big summer trip.  I'm motivated now because we have completed several major projects in our house that I want to share.  But the trip must be documented before I move on or I fear it will never get finished!
After a nerve-wracking trip to Wally world in Durango, we drove on over to Silverton for the rest of our trip.  To be honest, when we arrived to Silverton on our train ride I was nervous that we wouldn't have much to do in that teeny tiny town.  But the drive there was one of the most beautiful drives I have ever experienced and I was wrong about not having anything to do.

We didn't have much planned that day except for travel, unpacking, and exploring the town.  (This is when I wish I had more pictures of the house!)  Here is one from the website but it definitely doesn't do it justice.  

As we were unpacking, a biker from on top of the mountain behind our house yelled down "WOLF!" and then took off.  James quickly had the kids get inside and I had to stand guard.  What in the world had we gotten ourselves into?!  After speaking to some locals later that evening, we learned it was only Wolfie, the town dog. 

credit

Wolfie chases bears and coyotes away in exchange for food and comfort from the locals.  I actually felt safer knowing that he was around once we learned more about him.

With a view like this, I would play at this playground all day!The kids saw this sluice machine on train day and couldn't wait to try it out.  They "found" all kinds of minerals and gems to collect and sort.  It was the best 14 dollars spent that day.

 We were glad to have our fleeces and hats ready for the afternoon storms that rolled in every evening.

The next morning the early birds (that would be Justin and I), sorted and classified all of the treasures found the night before.  I enjoyed it as much as he did.  

After the sleepy heads woke up we packed up our gear for our first hiking trip to Ouray.  We had our sights set on a easy hike up to a waterfall.  It so reminded me of our Yosemite trip.  It's just amazing that you can see such beauty a short walk up from your car!

 And here is where the day turned for me.  Do you see that drop off to the right of my husband?  Do you see that rock right about their heads?  Do you see how that gravely trail slopes down?!  My heart is beating faster right now just looking at this picture.  I was scared to death and this was not the only moment on this trip I felt this way.  Let's just leave it at that for now.

The rest of the day was filled with more waterfalls, a rain storm that kept us waiting to swim in the hot springs pool and picking up hitchhikers and taking them back to Silverton.  We've never picked up hitchhikers before but it was such a blessing for us to help them and to have a serious talk about the dangers of drugs (she was clearly using) with our kids.  Quite a day.

And what a surprise it was to come home to hail/snow all over our deck.  The boys were picking up the jeep for the next day so Roo got it all to herself for a while.  She was in heaven!

Yes, that is the gorgeous view right from our deck.

Wanna see how Texans make snowballs?  (-:

Colorado Trip 2012 Part 2-Durango to Silverton Train Ride

On our second full day of our trip, we boarded this beauty for a scenic trip to Silverton, Colorado.

I love that this picture gives you another chance to see the views all around Durango.

When we arrived in Silverton, we made a beeline to a little restaurant called Avalanche (thanks to Yelp!).  We explored the town and got excited for the next 7 days that we would be spending there.  We spent most of the time looking for the grocery store and quickly decided that we would be doing most of our shopping in Durango and bringing it with us!  The store was so tiny and expensive.  But I was glad to know that we had options just in case we forgot something.

I have to be honest, the train ride was long and bumpy.   And because it started so early in the morning, a few of us may have been a little grumpy.   Also, our views were somewhat limited in the covered cars on the way to Silverton, so we moved out to the open gondolas on the way back to Durango.  It made the other 3 1/2 hours go a bit faster, I think.

We could actually stick our heads out and see the bridges we were going over.

And we really got to experience the cliffs that we were hugging.  This my friends, is a straight shot all the way down.

Ah, this is more like it.  Flat on the ground and a gorgeous river roaring right beside us.  

We ended the day with a good dinner with even better family conversations.  I had the opportunity to check my email and find out that J-man had officially been assigned a drum lesson time.  Roo quickly expressed that she wanted to do piano lessons instead of soccer and "Musical Fall" was born!  With hubby's crazy shift schedule, we made it very clear to the kids that for now only one child could be in a sport.  It was Roo's turn.  But now, since she is in lessons as well, we can enjoy our weekends together and not feel pressured going here and there for games.  I know it won't be forever but we are looking forward to spending more time together as a family this Fall.  And to learning and playing new instruments in our new music room.  More of that to come!  I've been busy painting.....  

Colorado Trip 2012 Part 1- Mesa Verde

We had an amazing trip to Colorado.  Like our California trip, we had to change plans at the last minute (a few weeks before).  We usually "full-out" camp in Colorado but due to the recent devestating fires there, all campfires were banned.  No campfire means no cooking and heating up water to bathe and clean.  Hubby, our travel agent, planned for three nights in Durango and seven in Silverton.  We drove and tried to save a little money staying in KOA cabins along the way.  The drive there was nothing to write home about except for a faith story that I will share after I'm done documenting the trip.  So after a long drive, we arrived in Durango and I fell in love with that town!

It was a big city that wasn't too big and had spectacular views from all around.  Seriously, this is our view from our little KOA cabin.

  The first night we all witnessed a storm with a lightning show up on that mountain.  We didn't spend too much time in our cabin though because we were up early and getting ready for our adventures during the day.  Mesa Verde was our very first one and it was everything I had hoped it would be.

You have to climb this ladder to get there.  

 Not for the faint of heart but I made it.  One step at a time.  Don't worry Mom, it was very sturdy and the kids had a blast climbing it.  

I could have stayed up there all day and imagined about what it would have been like to live in that time period.  What I took away from our trip that day was a sense of community.  I could feel it from those walls.  And how it was out of necessity to work together or they would die.  I think there is much we can learn from those walls.

 Roo's wish was granted when she got to go down into a recreated kiva.  It was dark and dusty and SMALL.  I could not imagine being stuck down there with so many other people to keep warm in the winter.

We are peering through a window(door?) to look way up and see this beautiful ancient artwork.

And we ended the day with this amazing sight.  It's a view of 100 miles all around and this site was originally used for watching for wildfires.  Some things are worth turning around for.  Thanks honey!