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10 years ago
Posted by
Victoria
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I can't believe that Easter is almost here. This month has flown by in so many ways. We had some great Spring weather, flowers blooming, garden started and a trip to the park and then typical of NC, Winter returned and after watching snow flurries float by the window all day yesterday and today sitting here with my space heater on, I have decided that although I am a Winter girl, I am ready for a return of Spring... it is COLD! I have been off of Facebook now for an entire month, which is the longest time I have been away from it since I signed up 5 or 6 years ago. I thought I would miss it more, but I really haven't. My Goodreads account and my blog are tied in so anytime I post from here or on books that I read on Goodreads, it should show up over on my Facebook page, so I apologize if I have bored you to death with book reviews and reading blogs, I don't know how to turn that off. Since I haven't updated family or friends much about what has been going on with us I decided to just use this post to update whoever is interested on our random happenings this past couple of weeks, so here are some updates from the Hartman home...
-Emma prayed to receive Christ as her savior last week, she was so sweet and said God spoke to her and told her to let Him in and be her Lord. She is being baptised on Easter Sunday and we could not be happier for her. I will try to make a video or photo to show all of our away family this special time. I thank God for answered prayer and hope I can live up to my responsibility as a parent and raise her in the way He would have her to go.
-The other day Emma tells Lydia that she would never get in a fight unless it was a boy trying to kiss her or touch her, then she would punch him right in the face. She said Daddy had given her permission and she wouldn't be in trouble for punching a boy who was trying to kiss her. She also said she passed this info onto a boy in her class who said he was going to chase her across the playground. Said boy is no longer a threat...lol! (* note to self- talk to Jason about not promoting physical violence during recess, and remind him of those times he spent in detention because while it has been a while, he seems to have forgotten that in school- yes, you do get in trouble for fighting.)
- Flax seed is a miracle ingredient when watching cholesterol, I have made homemade noodles, biscuits and cornbread with little to no cholesterol by replacing eggs and oil with it, it is my new best friend in the fight for health.
- Emma was upset last week when she made her first B and lost her straight A honor roll status.. I wish I would have cared as much as she does when I was in school- she is definitely a type A personality and she doesn't get it from her slacker, procrastinating parents.
-Lydia is playing T-ball again this year, she is the only girl on the team, but doesn't seem to care.
- Zulilly is not just for children, I got a pair of Zumba shoes for half price. Now if I could just buy some talent I would be set.
- Jason is finishing up another semester of school soon and has to pick an elective to take over the Summer... it was a close call between Philosophy and Public Speaking, but I think he finally decided on Art.... ( I don't even know how to make the little face that should be inserted here..ha!).... this should be an interesting Summer. Emma was excited because she takes Art camp at the college in the Summer and said they could go together :)
Since everyone on Facebook has seen my Goodreads activity, I thought I should say something about books. I read...a lot... as you have probably guessed. I have a lot of Christian friends who only read Christian books and a couple of them have asked me about my reading selections so here are my reading habits. Yes, I do read Christian literature, but rarely add those books in on Goodreads because I consider Goodreads to be entertainment. I shop the Family Book Store as much as Amazon. I read from lots of different genre's but mostly right now I like YA Fiction because they are quick and easy reads, very character driven and easy to follow, which with my limited time and child interruptions, works well for me. I read completely for entertainment and not really for deep literary focus, spiritual enlightenment or self-help. I do tend to stick to a PG-13 rating, I don't like books with lots of language, sex or explicit content ( another reason I like YA) I do read some paranormal and fantasy stories, but I don't like books about Zombies, witches, or "real" vampires ( I don't consider Twilight to be real vampires) Some books I read are free because I belong to an Author Read to Review group that allows me to get free books gifted for review, these books I don't particularly choose although I can decline them, and I read books for a book club I belong to here in town. I do not choose these either, I just read the selection for the month. Soooo... keep these things in mind when you see books pop up and think " she is reading that?" If you have any recommendations for me, I love to hear about what other people read and get new Authors to check out.
As you can see, our lives are just as exciting as ever and we are still the wild party animals you all know and love :)
I hope everyone has a fabulous Holy Week, enjoys time with their family and friends and spends some time thinking about the Sacrifice Christ made just for you because He loves you, Thank the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever! Happy Easter!
-Emma prayed to receive Christ as her savior last week, she was so sweet and said God spoke to her and told her to let Him in and be her Lord. She is being baptised on Easter Sunday and we could not be happier for her. I will try to make a video or photo to show all of our away family this special time. I thank God for answered prayer and hope I can live up to my responsibility as a parent and raise her in the way He would have her to go.
-The other day Emma tells Lydia that she would never get in a fight unless it was a boy trying to kiss her or touch her, then she would punch him right in the face. She said Daddy had given her permission and she wouldn't be in trouble for punching a boy who was trying to kiss her. She also said she passed this info onto a boy in her class who said he was going to chase her across the playground. Said boy is no longer a threat...lol! (* note to self- talk to Jason about not promoting physical violence during recess, and remind him of those times he spent in detention because while it has been a while, he seems to have forgotten that in school- yes, you do get in trouble for fighting.)
- Flax seed is a miracle ingredient when watching cholesterol, I have made homemade noodles, biscuits and cornbread with little to no cholesterol by replacing eggs and oil with it, it is my new best friend in the fight for health.
- Emma was upset last week when she made her first B and lost her straight A honor roll status.. I wish I would have cared as much as she does when I was in school- she is definitely a type A personality and she doesn't get it from her slacker, procrastinating parents.
-Lydia is playing T-ball again this year, she is the only girl on the team, but doesn't seem to care.
- Zulilly is not just for children, I got a pair of Zumba shoes for half price. Now if I could just buy some talent I would be set.
- Jason is finishing up another semester of school soon and has to pick an elective to take over the Summer... it was a close call between Philosophy and Public Speaking, but I think he finally decided on Art.... ( I don't even know how to make the little face that should be inserted here..ha!).... this should be an interesting Summer. Emma was excited because she takes Art camp at the college in the Summer and said they could go together :)
Since everyone on Facebook has seen my Goodreads activity, I thought I should say something about books. I read...a lot... as you have probably guessed. I have a lot of Christian friends who only read Christian books and a couple of them have asked me about my reading selections so here are my reading habits. Yes, I do read Christian literature, but rarely add those books in on Goodreads because I consider Goodreads to be entertainment. I shop the Family Book Store as much as Amazon. I read from lots of different genre's but mostly right now I like YA Fiction because they are quick and easy reads, very character driven and easy to follow, which with my limited time and child interruptions, works well for me. I read completely for entertainment and not really for deep literary focus, spiritual enlightenment or self-help. I do tend to stick to a PG-13 rating, I don't like books with lots of language, sex or explicit content ( another reason I like YA) I do read some paranormal and fantasy stories, but I don't like books about Zombies, witches, or "real" vampires ( I don't consider Twilight to be real vampires) Some books I read are free because I belong to an Author Read to Review group that allows me to get free books gifted for review, these books I don't particularly choose although I can decline them, and I read books for a book club I belong to here in town. I do not choose these either, I just read the selection for the month. Soooo... keep these things in mind when you see books pop up and think " she is reading that?" If you have any recommendations for me, I love to hear about what other people read and get new Authors to check out.
As you can see, our lives are just as exciting as ever and we are still the wild party animals you all know and love :)
I hope everyone has a fabulous Holy Week, enjoys time with their family and friends and spends some time thinking about the Sacrifice Christ made just for you because He loves you, Thank the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever! Happy Easter!
Posted by
Victoria
comments (0)
This year, for me, is all about changing habits. I have made changes in my spiritual habits. I have been reading my Bible and doing devotions with Jason and the girls daily. I have memorized one book of the Bible and am now working on another, I have prayed more frequently and more earnestly. I have made changes in my time management. I have been off of Facebook for a few weeks now and it has made a huge difference in my time, I have had more time to catch up on books that I am reading, crafts that I am making, garden work, planting, and more time to give to God and my family. Old habits are beginning to die out and new ones are slowly starting to form... good ones...better ones. A year of changing habits.
Now it is time to start working on the hardest habit for me to break. The habit (or lack thereof) of exercise...yes, that is right, exercise! ( I even struggled typing that out) I hate to exercise. I HATE it!!! I was always the skinny girl growing up. I was that girl...the one that never seemed to watch what she ate, the one who never played a sport, the one who only showed up to PE class to watch the guys work out. I ate Skittles and Coke for breakfast, I ate popcorn, pizza and doughnuts for lunch, and whatever for dinner. I ate fast food whenever possible, ate out everyday at work, and never did a minute of anything that would cause you to sweat or lose your breath. In fact, I am not sure I have ever really sweated...ever...at all! When I got married I wore a size 2 and for most of my life never payed attention to a scale, but all that changed when I got pregnant for the first time. I was pregnant three times in the next three years, the first one ended in miscarriage in the first weeks of my second trimester, but not before I had gained 10 pounds. The next two came two years apart and along with staying home, complications which required bed rest, and my lack of exercise and diet, they managed to bring along 20 more pounds. I have now held steady for the last 6 years, not really gaining, not really losing, just hanging out at about 20 pounds overweight.
This year Jason and I have had somewhat of a wake up call, the we are getting old and out of shape, wake up call. He went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and found that now, not only does he still have to take high blood pressure medication, but he also has high cholesterol, and not just a little high, the "well Mr. Hartman, we will give you 3 months to bring it down or you will have to go on medication" kind of high. He is younger than me, 3 years younger than me, and we eat the same things. He eats what I cook, we eat out together, and we don't exercise... together. This means that if his is bad, mine is more than likely not far behind. I have a history of good genes on my side and the fact that I do eat more fruits and vegetables overall than he does, but he works a LOT harder than I do and...oh yeah, he is younger. I will be 40 this year. This is the year your metabolism slows down considerably, the year that you begin to have to work to maintain health. The year I need to start exercising.... and dieting... and sweating... o.k. maybe not too much sweating, but definitely the other two. I looked at the list of foods that the doctor gave to him and I thought to myself...oh my, we are there, we are at the turning point, we are at the "we can't go to Chili's, we need K & W" stage .... this is bad! I am not good at diet, I am not good at working out. I flunked Weight Watchers, I gained it all back. I flunked Jazzersize ( o.k., I didn't flunk, I quit). Jason decided that I flunked at the Y and he dropped my membership. My friend Brandy I went for a whole year, three nights a week, and I never lost anything or gained anything....such as...oh..muscle. We walked ( o.k. we strolled) the track, we sat on the machines to talk, and some nights we just gave up and went for milkshakes. He decided we could use the money for more important things and Brandy and I could hang out and walk through town for free ( which we did, and still didn't lose any weight) I am a diet failure! I like to eat and I hate to sweat, this is not a good combination. but...
This is a year of changing habits. Time to change mine. This is the only body I have, the only one God will ever give me here on Earth. The time has come,we have to change our diet. I am buying more whole and organic foods and hardly any processed ones. No more box meals. Time to cook the old fashioned way, from scratch. This is how you know what you are getting. This is the only way I can make sure what we eat is healthy. Time to exercise! There is no time like the present and Zumba has proven to be a great way to get the movement going and so far, I have not failed out, although some days my body wishes I would. My feet and ankles hurt a lot more now and my muscles are not happy with me. When I look at some of those young girls dancing away like they are in a club, enjoying the fun and not feeling the work, it is easy to try and tell myself I should just give up, but I remind myself that I used to be like them and I am still alive. God has blessed me with good health and a good body although I don't deserve it, and that could change in an instant. Today I have to do whatever it takes to be healthy and be a good steward of what God has provided. That means I may have to sacrifice some things and sweat a little ( very little), but I guess it is the least I can do. Changing habits for Him...a strong soul, a strong mind and now a strong body.... as the song we dance to at Zumba says...What doesn't kill you makes you stronger... and I am not dead yet!
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 John 1:2
Now it is time to start working on the hardest habit for me to break. The habit (or lack thereof) of exercise...yes, that is right, exercise! ( I even struggled typing that out) I hate to exercise. I HATE it!!! I was always the skinny girl growing up. I was that girl...the one that never seemed to watch what she ate, the one who never played a sport, the one who only showed up to PE class to watch the guys work out. I ate Skittles and Coke for breakfast, I ate popcorn, pizza and doughnuts for lunch, and whatever for dinner. I ate fast food whenever possible, ate out everyday at work, and never did a minute of anything that would cause you to sweat or lose your breath. In fact, I am not sure I have ever really sweated...ever...at all! When I got married I wore a size 2 and for most of my life never payed attention to a scale, but all that changed when I got pregnant for the first time. I was pregnant three times in the next three years, the first one ended in miscarriage in the first weeks of my second trimester, but not before I had gained 10 pounds. The next two came two years apart and along with staying home, complications which required bed rest, and my lack of exercise and diet, they managed to bring along 20 more pounds. I have now held steady for the last 6 years, not really gaining, not really losing, just hanging out at about 20 pounds overweight.
This year Jason and I have had somewhat of a wake up call, the we are getting old and out of shape, wake up call. He went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and found that now, not only does he still have to take high blood pressure medication, but he also has high cholesterol, and not just a little high, the "well Mr. Hartman, we will give you 3 months to bring it down or you will have to go on medication" kind of high. He is younger than me, 3 years younger than me, and we eat the same things. He eats what I cook, we eat out together, and we don't exercise... together. This means that if his is bad, mine is more than likely not far behind. I have a history of good genes on my side and the fact that I do eat more fruits and vegetables overall than he does, but he works a LOT harder than I do and...oh yeah, he is younger. I will be 40 this year. This is the year your metabolism slows down considerably, the year that you begin to have to work to maintain health. The year I need to start exercising.... and dieting... and sweating... o.k. maybe not too much sweating, but definitely the other two. I looked at the list of foods that the doctor gave to him and I thought to myself...oh my, we are there, we are at the turning point, we are at the "we can't go to Chili's, we need K & W" stage .... this is bad! I am not good at diet, I am not good at working out. I flunked Weight Watchers, I gained it all back. I flunked Jazzersize ( o.k., I didn't flunk, I quit). Jason decided that I flunked at the Y and he dropped my membership. My friend Brandy I went for a whole year, three nights a week, and I never lost anything or gained anything....such as...oh..muscle. We walked ( o.k. we strolled) the track, we sat on the machines to talk, and some nights we just gave up and went for milkshakes. He decided we could use the money for more important things and Brandy and I could hang out and walk through town for free ( which we did, and still didn't lose any weight) I am a diet failure! I like to eat and I hate to sweat, this is not a good combination. but...
This is a year of changing habits. Time to change mine. This is the only body I have, the only one God will ever give me here on Earth. The time has come,we have to change our diet. I am buying more whole and organic foods and hardly any processed ones. No more box meals. Time to cook the old fashioned way, from scratch. This is how you know what you are getting. This is the only way I can make sure what we eat is healthy. Time to exercise! There is no time like the present and Zumba has proven to be a great way to get the movement going and so far, I have not failed out, although some days my body wishes I would. My feet and ankles hurt a lot more now and my muscles are not happy with me. When I look at some of those young girls dancing away like they are in a club, enjoying the fun and not feeling the work, it is easy to try and tell myself I should just give up, but I remind myself that I used to be like them and I am still alive. God has blessed me with good health and a good body although I don't deserve it, and that could change in an instant. Today I have to do whatever it takes to be healthy and be a good steward of what God has provided. That means I may have to sacrifice some things and sweat a little ( very little), but I guess it is the least I can do. Changing habits for Him...a strong soul, a strong mind and now a strong body.... as the song we dance to at Zumba says...What doesn't kill you makes you stronger... and I am not dead yet!
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 John 1:2
