In The Refiner's Fire

I'm dreaming of summer and warm evening fires, like the one above.  We're supposed to get rain and then snow and then cold again through tonight (Wednesday) into Friday.  Sigh. I'm ready for winter to be done and it's only the beginning-ish of January.  One of the things that people are doing this time of year is posting their "schedule" for their days.  And since I often get asked how I "do it all" (trust me, I definitely don't do it all!), I thought I'd jump on that bandwagon, at least in a way.  We have more of a routine than a set schedule, though we do have times to be places and the like.  This is our weekday schedule. Some things to keep in mind: Our children are tweens, so plenty old enough to sleep through the night, do all their own grooming, and help with the household chores.  Most days we don't have to keep reminding them to do their homework and practice instruments (they both play two).  I'm so grateful!  Hav...

So, how did you do with last week's challenge? Me - I actually have to laugh.  I started the challenge on Monday and the only day this last week I didn't do it was Tuesday. Um, yeah.  The day I posted here.   ***BLUSH*** So for this week: Habit #2: Take "the long way". Honestly, when I was trying to come up with a good title for this habit, it was really hard.  So "Take "the long way."" it is! The goal for this is to build a little more activity into your day without doing anything drastic. I find that typically these things take very little extra time. And, now that I've done them for a while they are a habit - something I do without thinking!   Here's what I mean:   * When I'm at work and need to go use the restroom, I walk the long way.  In my old building, unless I was really desperate, I used the restroom one floor up and took the stairs.   * When I need to throw something away, unless it's drippy or me...

In 2015 I'm hoping to implement one healthy habit per week.  Care to join me? Since we're on a tight budget this year, I'm hoping to have these habits be things that are either free or inexpensive or things that are definitely worth the effort and financial contribution. This week's habit:   Week #1:   Drink a glass of water first! I always, always start my day with coffee.  During the Christmas break from school, I started going out to the early morning Jazzercise class a couple mornings a week.  On those mornings I didn't start with coffee, I started with water. And, um, yeah, I felt more refreshed for the day too.  I'm not sure if it was the workout or the water, but I'm pretty sure the water helped. So, for my first habit in 2015, I'm going to work on drinking a glass of water first thing each morning. I figure that way, even if I don't do a good job of drinking all the water I should each day, at least I started the day well!...

One of the biggest things we need to work on with ourselves as women, wives, mothers and human beings is giving ourselves grace!  It is so important in every aspect of our lives, but often, we are our own worst enemies - treating ourselves worse than we would people we don't like. This Week's Habit:  Give Yourself Grace Giving ourselves grace is often one of the hardest things.  If we mess up or don't meet our own expectations, we can beat ourselves up for weeks, months or even years. What kind of Mom am I to take the time out of my day to exercise when I should be doing something with my children instead? What kind of wife am I if I make my husband cook dinner (clean the house, watch the kids) so I can exercise (take a nap, take a shower, get my hair cut)? What kind of person am I if my house isn't spotless (don't cook from scratch, eat all organic, have a high-power career, am overweight, don't know how to dress "sharp")? We do this again...